LUCI (The Naughty Ones Book 2) Read online

  Ah, Aunt Millie, I think Mum’s going to outpace you in the daughter-in-law department, I muse, shaking my head silently.

  Bloody females.

  ***

  Shaw

  It’s two in the morning, and I can’t sleep. Again. Because of that damned idiot and his apology. After Marge gave him the mother of all set downs, we’d spent the drive silently staring out of the window, a state I far prefer to defending myself or others defending me.

  He’d cornered me in the library and shocked me speechless with an apology that seemed dragged out of him but sincere enough that I’d felt almost giddy with joy.

  Why that would be is so not worth examining because I’m quite frankly too afraid of looking too deeply into feelings I refuse to acknowledge.

  And now I’m standing in the freaking kitchen, as usual, trying to calm my nerves by turning to food. Again.

  “The chocolate biscuits aren’t in the fridge.”

  I whirl around and almost topple over onto my ass, only to be saved by a pair of large, strong arms that circle my waist and stay put as he steers me to the cupboard and leans in to get the cookies.

  The action pushes his front flush with my back, and I shiver when he shifts his hips, pushing his crotch into my ass. Oh, well goodness! Is that a—?

  “Er, I was avoiding going for…the fattening stuff,” I say with a gasp, searching for somewhere to go when his hand settles just under my breast and squeezes subtly.

  “You don’t need to eat carrot sticks here. This isn’t the Larson house,” he growls, and I release a sigh when he steps back and steers me to the table. “You can’t sleep?”

  I shake my head and accept the cookies and milk he’s poured, feeling out of my depth and vulnerable, as he eats quietly, his eyes never leaving me.

  “What was it about him that caught your fancy?”

  The question startles me, as it breaks through the silence, and I swallow an unchewed piece of cookie, glugging milk to wash it down and stop my coughing fit.

  “Sorry?”

  “What was it about Rob that you liked?” he asks again, waiting patiently for my answer.

  Oh God, how to answer this without setting him off?

  “Er, I don’t really—”

  “Just tell me.”

  I nod and crumble the cookies as I collect my thoughts.

  “It’s not that I liked him or even really would have been interested in him on a normal day. I dunno. I’d just finished college early, and I had a foot in the door on this great internship. I’d spent four years just keeping my head down and working my butt off.”

  God, Shaw, don’t give the guy your whole life story! Stick to the basics.

  “Anyway, my roommate made me go clubbing with her and her friends, and I was…he came up to me and gave me a line. I was going to turn him down when Linda came over and made a smart-ass comment. He gave her the brush off and got me out of there and well…I’d never just done something for the sake of doing it before. And he could be kinda sweet.”

  “So he seduced you? That first night?” he asks, and for some reason he seems angry, as if he’s casting his brother in the villain role before I’ve even finished my story.

  “No. I told him I wasn’t into one-night stands, and he understood. He took me out and called me that whole next week, and by then, I’d decided that I could do a lot worse for a first time. We, uh, we were together once, and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone.”

  He nods, and his shoulders droop, almost like a deflating balloon.

  “Rob was—”

  “Human.” I cut in, smiling slightly. “I was so angry at him for leaving like that. I mean, I didn’t think we were destined for love or marriage or anything, but he was a good friend, and it hurt to realize that he’d used me so callously.”

  “You didn’t love him?” he asks, his face a blank mask that gives nothing away.

  Gosh, if I say no will he get all angry and start insulting me? But what’s the alternative. I can’t lie, not even to make my life easier.

  “No. I was too focused on work and keeping my position. I didn’t want anything interfering in my goals, and I told him so that first night. Guess he took it literally.”

  We are quiet for a while, both of us lost in thought before he looks up at me and grins. “Come with me?”

  “What? Where?” I ask, squeaking when he pulls me up and starts towing me towards the stairs.

  “You’ll see.”

  I keep my mouth shut and tiptoe—even though we’re going in the opposite direction of the family wing and Marge and Vic are probably conked out in their room.

  When we get to a set of double doors at the end of the long corridor, he pulls me in and closes the door. The lock turns and I gulp, looking around at what is obviously his room, well, suite really.

  It’s decorated in browns and blues with a huge bed dominating the center of the wall to my left and a lit fireplace to the right.

  “Er, what—?”

  I don’t get anything else out before he twists me around, pulls me up and into his body, and seals his mouth over mine. The contact is explosive, and I moan at the heat, my mouth gaping wide to admit his tongue. He tastes me with a desperation I’ve never known and runs his hands down my back to cup my ass and jerk me closer.

  My belly is too big to allow for contact, but he’s not stopping there, and I feel a hand travel down to cup me from behind, his fingers delving and spreading, rubbing at the seam of my sex through the soft silk.

  “Christ, you’re so warm.”

  Oh God. Is that a finger going beneath my underwear?

  I groan and go to my toes when he thrusts a finger into me and starts curling it inside in a beckoning manner that makes my sex fire to life and moisten in a rush.

  “I want you, Shaw. I want you so badly I walk around hard and aching, hungry for you.” He growls, licking at my lips. “Tell me I can have you. Please.”

  “But?” I gasp when his finger goes deeper and step to my toes, but there’s nowhere to go to escape the sensation of his hand, of those knowing fingers. “You don’t even like me. I don’t like you.”

  I don’t care. I don’t care. Right now, I want what he’s giving me and so much more. I had sex once, and while it was good, it was nowhere near the sensations I feel now, and we’re not even down to the good stuff yet.

  “We can give each other mutual satisfaction, Shaw. I know you’re in need with your body changing. I saw your face when Kent kissed Molly. You need a body on yours, skin heating you and providing the closeness you haven’t had. You need someone who will tell you how desirable your ripe body is. Let me. I swear I’ll give you so much pleasure nothing else will matter.”

  I’ve been here before. Only once before have I told myself to let go and just give in to the flow, and I’d lost everything because of it. I should say “no” now, knowing how bad my judgement has been, but I don’t because—fuck it, I’m already screwed, I may as well get some pleasure out of it.

  “Don’t insult me. Please. If we do this, you don’t walk around insulting me at every turn. It’s hurtful, and I can’t take it if we get intimate.” I warn.

  He smiles and pulls his finger out of me, releasing me and pushing me back.

  “Strip.”

  I shiver at the command and go liquid when he sucks his finger into his mouth and groans.

  “Hurry, Shaw.”

  God, this is a bad idea.

  Chapter Ten

  Cam

  God, she’s so beautiful as she blushes and nibbles at her lips indecisively before gathering her gown and pulling it up. It catches on her belly for a breath before tugging free and whipping over her head.

  She’s not wearing any pants and the sight of her large, swollen body is enough to bring me to my knees. She’s more than I imagined, so much more, and it arouses me to the point of pain. Her breasts are large with peach-pink nipples that are hard and tight with need.

  Her belly is a roun
d ball that almost hides her sex from view, so large that her navel is distended with her girth.

  When all I do is stare, she flushes and brings her hands up self-consciously, trying to hide herself from me. I can’t have that. I won’t. For this one moment, she is mine, and I will have everything I need from her and more.

  I’ll give her so much pleasure she won’t even remember the one that came before. She’ll be so full of me her skin will tingle just hearing my voice.

  The possessive thoughts are shocking, but I don’t stop to examine them.

  “You’re so beautiful. There’s nothing more arousing than a woman ready to bring a life into this world. See how sexy you are?”

  I drop my sleeping pants and palm my erection, letting her see the extent of my desire.

  “I walk around like this constantly,” I say, taking her hand to wrap it around me. “Feel that. I’m so hard it hurts.”

  Those purple-blue eyes are bright when she squeezes her hand around me and starts exploring my length as if she’s never seen a dick before.

  “Ah, yes, harder,” I moan, helping her start a rhythm that makes me tingle from the base of my spine to where she’s gripping me.

  She obeys, and I revel in the feeling for as long as I can before removing her hand and leading her to the bed. I’m not quite sure how to do this and keep her comfortable at the same time, but she solves that for me by lying down on the bed and spreading her legs, her eyes beckoning, her hips writhing in a rhythm that assures me she’s as needy for me as I am for her.

  But first, a taste.

  She stiffens when I bend my head and settle between her legs. The first swipe of my tongue has her choking on a scream while I groan and my eyes roll back in my head.

  She’s so wet and responsive, everything I could ask for, and soon even the taste of her isn’t enough to satisfy my thirst. I rear up just as her muscles start tensing and fill her in one motion, her body tightening up too late to stop my momentum.

  When I’m completely in, we both sigh, and I lean back on my haunches to keep my weight off her smaller form.

  “So perfect.”

  Her body is heaven as I start plunging in and out, my hips working against my better judgement and going full steam ahead even as my mind screams at me to slow.

  I don’t want to hurt her—

  “Harder. Oh God, that feels so good,” she moans, digging her nails into my arms where my hands are gripping her hips.

  Her urging spurs me on, and I let go, battering her with my lust. The sensations of heat and tightness are too much, and I angle deeper, searching for that spot that will set her off.

  Ladies first after all.

  That does the trick, and I feel her tense and the tremors deep within and let go, spilling inside her in a long stream of mind numbing pleasure that goes on for long minutes before I collapse to the side, wrung out and so blissed out my eyes won’t stay open.

  “You’re bloody amazing.”

  When I get no response, I turn my head only to huff out a laugh when I see her fast asleep, her body sprawled across the sheets in abandon.

  Shit. I definitely need more before I can give her up and walk away. This has easily been one of the best sexual experiences of my life, and believe me, that’s a bloody compliment because while I’m not a glory hound like Rob, I have and can equal his score if not top it.

  I’m a highly sexed man, and when I’m not busy keeping things running smoothly, I’m indulging my sex drive.

  The fact that I’d been going without—besides that empty coupling with Sophie, that had in no way diminished my lust—tells me that I am in deep with Shaw Mallory.

  Do I want her? Yes. Do I want to want her? The answer is—most emphatically—a no and if I could have slaked my lust with another, I would most definitely never have laid a finger on her.

  But it seems my dick has become more discerning in recent months, and I’ve finally given in. Now I just need to find a way to get what I need from her without my parents knowing and without putting more in than I am willing to give.

  “Stop thinking so hard. I’m not gonna run out and start scouting rings,” she mumbles from her pillow, her mouth curved in a rueful smile.

  “No?”

  Why am I offended by that rejection?

  “Nope. That was good sex, but I’m not dumb enough to see it as more than it is, so you can chill out. Oh God, I need to go back to my room, but I’m not sure my legs agree with me.” She groans, struggling to a seated position on the side of the bed. “Could I ask you to get my gown? Please? I can’t bend that low without embarrassing myself.”

  I do as she asks, stifling my disappointment that she’s leaving me to sleep alone. Surely she can stay for a while? Enjoy the afterglow and maybe another round.

  “You should stay a little longer.”

  “Look out the window, Cameron. It’ll be dawn soon, and I doubt you want your mom finding me sneaking out of here.”

  I look to my left and curse when I see that the sky is indeed just starting to turn a lighter shade than pitch black.

  “Oh, you’re right. Should I walk you?”

  “No. Thanks. I’m good.”

  When she walks to the door and pauses, I prepare for histrionics.

  “You know, I never wanted anything more out of life than to have a good job that I worked for and maybe an apartment in a good side of town. I don’t want or need your money for me. This baby may not be planned, but I love him enough to shame myself if it means giving him the best that I possibly can.”

  She’s gone before I can say a word, and I feel the euphoria I’d been nursing slip away to leave a bitter regret behind.

  I want to believe her, and that is perhaps more dangerous than wanting her body because it means that I could want something more, and more, I don’t do.

  Ever.

  Chapter Eleven

  Shaw

  Breakfast is the same old process. Marge talks non-stop, Vic smiles indulgently, and I listen as best as I can as she chatters on a mile a minute.

  Only this morning it’s an added struggle, as I try to ignore Cameron’s heated stares and the way his tongue keeps flicking at his bottom lip.

  “You have an appointment today, Ducky. Oh! I’m so excited. We’ll get a photo of the ultrasound, and the doctor says that with these 3-D scans you can see just what the baby looks like. Isn’t it exciting!”

  I notice Cameron tense before his head dips, and he makes a noncommittal sound that sounds like a grunt.

  “Well, I for one am quite curious to see if the little tyke will have the Stone mouth or take more after Margie’s side. The Maxwells have less lip and more nose.”

  “Oh you!” she chides, her eyes shining brightly. “You know full well the lads are only as handsome as they are because of me.”

  She must realize what she said because her eyes get moist and soon she’s sniffling into her napkin.

  I feel so guilty for some reason that it’s physically painful not to jump up and run away. It’s hard to commiserate when I didn’t love her son and he didn’t love me. I can’t even have one of those ‘Remember Rob liked to…’ kinds of talks because as far as I remember he liked drinking, dancing, and sex.

  And no commitment.

  “Oh hush, you old watering pot; you’re upsetting the poor girl. You alright, Ducky?”

  “Yeah, I just don’t like it when Marge gets sad, but I understand. This must be hard for her since…”

  I don’t finish, and when I look up Cameron is glaring at me. I ignore him and smile at Marge before digging into my breakfast.

  I can’t believe I slept with him just hours ago, and here he is, right back to his old nastiness. I shouldn’t be surprised; he is a dick after all, and I freaking know it, I just didn’t expect…

  Whom am I kidding? Like Cameron getting some from me would magically change his opinion. It’s probably the opposite. Now he just thinks I’m an easy lay. Or maybe a glutton for punishment, because really,
who in their right mind gives it up for a guy who can’t stand them.

  Me apparently.

  ***

  “Oh goodness! Would you look at that?!”

  I smile indulgently at Marge and watch as she looks at the ultrasound photo and exclaims for the millionth time. We’re on our way home now, and she hasn’t stopped gushing since that wand touched my belly and the very clear picture of the baby popped up on screen.

  I think the poor kid looks like a goblin, but Marge is in raptures about the eye shape and the ‘proud Stone nose.’

  We don’t know what to call it yet since the stubborn baggage wasn’t showing winky or cookie, so we’re surmising, maybe hoping on Marge’s part that it’s a boy.

  “He’s so beautiful, Ducky. So perfect. Why I don’t think my lads were this adorable.”

  “Okay, now I know you’re just full of it. I’ve seen both your sons, and from what they are today, I can guess they were little cherubs when they came out of the womb.” I snort, giggling when she blushes and shrugs.

  “Robbie was big and red and chubby, with this shock of blonde spikes that made him look like he got a shock. Cameron, well, that boy came out as quiet and serious as he is today, but Lord, was he gorgeous. He takes after my side with all that dark coloring. Looks just like my dad.”

  “They’re so different. I couldn’t believe they’re brothers. Robert was…well, he was light and quick to jump into anything. Once we went out to dinner and he saw an ad for a theater production. I shake my head with the memory because I’d spent three hours trying to stop my stomach growling. When we’d finally got done—the production was not my kind of thing—he’d dropped me at home having forgotten dinner and I’d been forced to eat a can of tuna before falling into bed.”