DOTTY (The Naughty Ones Book 3) Read online

  Dammit, why can’t he understand that my need to experience all the life I’ve missed out on in no way means that I want him any less? Of course, I fully intend to be totally monogamous with him. I’m not a slut.

  I want him and only him. I just also would very much enjoy the chance to go out and live a little before settling into whatever pattern our relationship will take.

  When I’d refused his offer of home and hearth he’d gone nuts.

  “What are you saying, Rem? You don’t want me?”

  “That’s not it at all! Stop putting words in my mouth! All I’m saying is that I’m not ready for a heavy relationship right off the bat. I just got divorced after a decade of being under the thumbs of Brian and my parents, I don’t want to just jump into something so soon.”

  That had not gone over well. Like at all. He’d sprung from the bed where we’d been lazily caressing each other and murmuring in the darkness and stalked from the room, his magnificent body coiled so tight with anger I’d briefly considered grabbing my stuff and making a run for it.

  But that’s the old me, the me who’s avoided confrontation at every turn. The me who’s been too afraid to rock the boat in case mom and dad would hear about it and subject me to endless lectures about my duty and the role of a good wife.

  So instead of tucking tail and running, I’d abandoned the warmth of the massive bed that had seemed so safe just moments ago and grabbed the sheet, wrapping myself up tight before leaving the room and going in search of my lover.

  I’d found him in the kitchen, angrily throwing back what looked like scotch, his naked torso flexing with every raise of his muscled arms.

  “Chase, please just listen to me for a minute,” I’d begged, feeling my nerves ramp up when he looked at me without expression, his face having lost all traces of the bliss and joy from before.

  “What more is there to hear? You’re satisfied letting me fuck you while you flit around town, testing the waters.”

  Jesus, so freaking cold. The man is hot and all kinds of crazy intelligent, but how could I ever forget that he’s also insanely rich and got that way through ruthless determination.

  Chase Marshall is no one's fool, he bends for no one and that seems to include me, the woman he’s decided he wants—now.

  “I’m not testing anything! I just don’t want to rush this!”

  I’d spent a good thirty minutes trying to reason with him before giving up and getting dressed. He hadn’t moved from his spot the whole time and didn’t bother to acknowledge my greeting when I nervously kissed his stubbled cheek and asked him if I could call him.

  That had been six days ago.

  “Sure. We’ll meet you there.” Travis says, bringing me back from the funk. “Save me a dance gorgeous Remy.”

  I nod, feeling suddenly weird about this whole situation and follow Liv out to the waiting taxi. I would have driven us, but Liv insists that we’re going out on a Friday night to cut loose, not watch our alcohol intake and part of me agrees.

  I need to get bombed and forget that I feel like I’ve screwed up the only good thing that I’ve found so far.

  “Would you stop moping? Come on, Remy, the guy isn’t worth it if he’s making you this miserable,” Liv mutters, giving the cabbie directions and slumping back into the seat beside me.

  “He’s…not taking my calls. I feel so terrible about the way things ended and, God, I miss him,” I admit, blinking rapidly at the idea that I won’t ever hear from him again.

  He doesn’t even call me to discuss the park or the plans about the center anymore, instead having handed the entire project off to his right hand, Gabe, a man I like but don’t want to be talking to about something that has officially become an obsession for me.

  The project, and everything that the place is, was a bond that I had with Chase, the tie that bound us together and gave us a common purpose…

  Oh God, I have monumentally and singlehandedly fucked up something good because, as I have finally come to admit to myself, I am gun shy and terrified of commitment, especially so early on out of the gate from a divorce that would have been a whole lot messier if not for the judge who’d fast tracked it.

  Liv sighs, and I almost feel guilty for subjecting her to my whining again. She’s my best friend and so supportive, but I know she hates listening to me cry over Chase when according to her the asshole should understand my misgivings and give me time to process everything.

  Pathetic as it is to admit, I’m a little terrified of this freedom I’ve fought so hard to get. I spent a good half of my life knowing that I’d be with only one guy and that my life was already mapped out for me before we said our I do’s.

  I just need some time to come to grips with it all and move on from the dark cloud of not only losing a chunk of my social set, whom I considered friends, but my family as well.

  Mom and dad warned me that they are squarely in Brian’s corner and that if I do this, they are one daughter down.

  So yeah, I am totally alone save for Liv and her support, thanks to Chase cutting me loose so quickly.

  “We’re here. Look at me, Remy, and freaking listen. You are young, single and more than worth your weight in gold. If that hot mess wants to throw a tantrum about your needing some time, then I say good riddance and move on. You deserve a chance to experience with single life and see what’s out there.”

  I nod, not trusting my voice as her words bolster my quivering confidence and make me feel less alone and sad.

  “Push it all away and just enjoy tonight. Drink too much, dance your ass off and let it all go for a while. Tomorrow’s another day, and I say put off the ugly as long as you can. Now, you ready to do this?”

  “Yes.”

  “What? I can’t hear you!” she yells, making the cabbie chuckle and turn our way.

  “Come on, sweetheart, say it loud so all those young assholes inside can hear you.” He urges, throwing me a wink.

  “Yes!”

  “Good, now prepare to me mauled.”

  Hell of a battle cry, but by the time we’re inside, the bouncer having taken one look at Liv and raised the rope to usher us past the line that wrapped around the block, I’m feeling as giddy as a college girl at a frat party.

  I’m ready to live and enjoy my life for the first time in over ten years.

  I just hope I make it out of this place alive because from the look in Liv’s eye, she plans to throw me in the deep end and watch me sink or come up kicking.

  Chapter 11

  Chase

  I don’t know whether to laugh or start ripping this place apart at the seams as I recline on the long sofa in the VIP room and watch the crowd writhing below on the dark dance floor.

  “This place is an orgy waiting to happen,” Gabe mutters at me, throwing back another shot of Goose as the waitress skips over, her breasts fully on display as she smiles coyly and sets down another round.

  The message in her eyes is clear; she’s more than open to suggestions, and from the way she’s been eying me and Gabe both, I think she’d be all too happy if that suggestion came back as two dicks ready to pleasure her too-eager body.

  I flick her a dismissive glance and train my eyes on the dance floor. I gazed across the area of writhing, sweaty bodies before finding my woman where she’s currently grinding and gyrating to the dark beat of what sounds like Meatloaf remixed.

  Jesus, she’s gorgeous. That dress almost had me stalking my way through the crowd of salivating idiots to get to her. I had the almost feral urge to bend her over my arm and kiss her, ravage her mouth in such a way that all and sundry would have no doubt that my girl is not free and that my claim has most definitely been staked.

  The only thing stopping me had been the utter excitement on her face as she scampered to the bar and ordered a drink before turning to survey the crowd with a gleam of curiosity.

  And I’d recalled my resolution to give her the time she needs to get this all out of her system.

  I’d b
een pissed at first, angry at not getting my way in this as easily as I get everything else. But then I sat down and really gave it some thought. I’d been shamed when the liquor had relaxed me enough to actually consider what she was saying, and so annoyed at myself I’d almost finished the bottle as I sat and mapped out a new course for myself.

  Remy needs this time to let loose and shake off the bonds that shackled her for over a decade—a proposal that I never once considered because, as usual, I was only thinking of what I wanted instead of considering that she’s been trapped in a colorless void where people moved her around like a plastic Barbie doll.

  Of course she would be gun-shy about taking the leap with me. I’m a controlling bastard, and arrogant besides, and while I will do everything in my power to make her happy, I cannot allow her the opportunity to do anything that might cause her harm—and we both know it.

  So, yeah, her reticence about committing and moving in with me is understandable—to a degree.

  So, I’ve decided to give her space and time to see what she missed, to a point, since I’m still me and that’s never going to change. I’m content, for the moment, to watch her break free of the restrictions.

  And then I will, of course, grab her right back up and claim the living shit out of her because as much as I hate to admit it, I am an acquiring bastard who already sees that beautiful woman as mine.

  “Go down there already.”

  I shake my head at Gabe and take another drink of Goose, enjoying the mellow burn as the alcohol slides down my throat and settles warmly in my gut.

  “No, she wants to dance and party, and there’s no way will that happen if I’m looming over her like a rabid dog.”

  But, Jesus, I want to.

  A stocky guy, shorter than me by at least a foot, sidles closer to Remy where she’s leaning against the bar, laughing with Liv. I have to force myself not to move when he bends down close and whispers into her ear, his body language so obvious I feel the overwhelming need to beat him to a pulp for daring to breathe on what is mine. I leave him breathing only because Rem takes a subtle step back and shakes her head kindly before turning away to laugh at something Liv says.

  Good, one less fucker to put in the ground, I snarl silently, throwing my drink back and signaling for another.

  “You’re gonna lose your girl to one of those bozos down there if you don’t do something,” Gabe warns, though I’m not sure if he’s upset about Remy being hit on so consistently or the fact that Liv is decked out in a pink, strapless dress that looks like a tutu and is complimented by pink heels sporting ribbons that wrap her legs from ankle to just below the knee.

  Her outfit screams sexy and available, and I swear the guy is almost wild with lust and pulsing anger the longer he’s forced to sit here and watch every swinging dick in the place come on to her.

  I’d tried to set up a date for him but he refused, so he can just sit here and suffer as far as I’m concerned.

  I’m still silently chuckling at his annoyance when I see a blond sidle up to the pair and lean down, his mouth pulled wide in a suggestive smile. He leans in and says something to Rem before taking her hand and pulling her onto the crowded dance floor.

  “Fuck.”

  Well, I tried.

  “About fucking time,” Gabe mutters, coming to his feet with a surge of repressed power. He follows me as I pound down the stairs and throw myself into the mass of overzealous bodies.

  I’m a lot taller than most and it takes me a matter of seconds to peer over the heads of those on the dance floor. I spot Remy and the dead fucker, who not only has hands on my girl but also seems to be flirting shamelessly with her.

  He says something and she throws her head back and laughs. The sound is lost to me but no less painful when I see him smile back and pull her closer into his body, his hands locking at the small of her back, in that place where only my hands belong.

  “You go get your girl. I’ll…get the friend in case she won’t leave without her.”

  I snort but nod, feeling the urge to smile despite my fury because that man is sure as hell as gone and lost as I am. Gabe may be sporting a tree stuck up his arse, but the man is not to be underestimated.

  There are those of us in the world who are dominant and downright lethal to cross when we consider something ours, and I have no doubt in my mind that Gabe took one look at the imp in a pink tutu and had that same wild need to stake his claim.

  Poor Liv doesn’t stand a chance.

  I cut through the crowd with ease, something on my face alerting them to the fact that I am pissed and dangerous. The bodies part like the Red Sea, opening up a path that gives me clear access to my prey and the walking corpse who’s unaware of his fate.

  When he leans down and sniffs at her, taking in the scent that belongs to me, the scent I have yet to wash off my sheets, I feel a feral growl rumble through my chest.

  Dead. Definitely dead.

  I make it to them in what feels like two strides and grab the hand inching its way to her ass, squeezing hard enough that I feel bone crunch and hear his pain filled cry a second before he stumbles back and lets her go.

  Remy, unaware of my presence till now, frowns at his defection and turns sharply, her aqua eyes widening. Her eyes meet mine, and she sees the absolute fury that I do nothing to mask.

  “Chase!”

  “Hey man, what gives?” the idiot barks, cradling his hand, which I am pleased to say is sporting at least one broken finger.

  “Touch her again and I’ll rip your fucking hands off.”

  The guy swallows and looks like he’s about to argue before taking a closer look at my eyes. Yeah, fucker, take a good look and see the fate I have in store for you if you don’t bugger off.

  He swallows again and turns without so much as I nod, leaving me alone with a now scowling, very angry Remy.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  I almost choke on a laugh when her words come out in a husky slur and she weaves in place, her eyes blinking rapidly as if she’s having trouble keeping them open.

  Instead of answering, I grab her hand and start pulling her behind me, ignoring her struggles and the fingernails that bite into the flesh of my wrist.

  I don’t stop till I reach a long corridor reserved for staff and find a door. It turns out to be a supply closet for glasses and other odds and ends. I pull her in and slam the door, pushing her up against it and pinning her with my body.

  As we make contact, I feel the anger and fear that’s been dogging me slip away, replaced by an almost instantaneous erection at the feel of her heat and the scent of apples that fill the air.

  “Did you enjoy having his hands all over you?” I growl, grabbing her pounding fists and pinning them to the door beside her head.

  With my hands engaged, I am forced to rely on my hips to keep her pinned, but hey, no complaints as she squirms and bumps at me to get free, her movements serving only to drive her mound into my raging dick.

  “Answer me babe. Did you enjoy having his hands all over you?” I hiss, shoving my dick harder into her, almost losing my train of thought when she moans at the contact and bites at her bottom lip.

  “I watched him touching what is mine, Rem. I saw the way he ever so slowly inched his hands down. He wanted to touch this ass babe.”

  The recollection makes my blood pound and I let loose and give into the need to free my possessive beast and take her, no longer caring for the idea of giving her a little freedom.

  When she whimpers and bites at her lip, I drop her hands and cup her face roughly, slamming my moth down on hers in a kiss rife with hunger, possession and the need to prove to her that I am and always will be everything she needs.

  She responds just as I hoped, opening her mouth and kissing me back, her tongue and teeth grinding over mine, seeking, tasting, demanding satisfaction.

  Her dress slips, gliding its way down between us to pool at her feet and I realize that I’ve unzipped her and that I’m attac
king her clothes like a mad man. The bra lets out a groan and surrenders to my forceful grip and I attack her thong with the same urgency, and pocket item that is nothing more than a wet shred of fabric.

  “I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll never forget who you belong to,” I growl, smiling in satisfaction when all she does is moan and pulls my head back down to hers.

  I respond by releasing my raging cock, hoisting her up and slamming into her without a though to her readiness. She screams and bites my lip, her muscles contracting so strongly around my girth that my eyes roll back in my head.

  And then I smile. Because she is wet and ready, her moans and tightening grip on my dick tell me exactly what I need to know. She wants me.

  “This is mine. Only mine.” I yell, fucking into her hard enough that the door shakes with every forceful thrust.

  Anyone walking on the other side will hear it and know what’s happening, know that I’m fucking my woman to within an inch of her life. They’ll also know that I’m doing a bloody good job because Remy is screaming and moaning with every thrust, her little fist pounding at the wood every time I bottom out and hit her so high I feel her cervix kiss the crown.

  “Tell me,” I demand, keeping up a hard, fast rhythm that makes my legs shake with the need to give in as my balls draw up and beg for release.

  She shakes her head no and I snarl, increasing my pace.

  “Say it.”

  “Yours!” she screams, bringing her hands up to grab at my head as the contractions of her orgasm grasp at me.

  Her nails dig deep and she slams her mouth down on mine, screaming and clawing at the intensity if her climax.

  I let go and give her my pleasure, my dick spewing into her in hard bursts. The pleasure is so intense I come up on my toes, plunging deeper with every burst, coming so hard I feel my balls empty and groan in surrender.

  By the time I’m done, I’m so replete I have to lock my knees to keep us both from falling.

  “We clear babe?” I ask, sucking a hickey into her neck as she nods her head and peers down at me with lust-drunk aqua eyes.

  I smile for the first time in six days and feel myself click back into place.