Dirty Wicked: A Wicked Lovers Novella Read online

  “It does. And I’m telling you the truth.”

  “Why would Fiona Normand lie?”

  He shrugged. “The town princess told the policemen that the bad man lured her into opening her front door, then he raped her. How else was she going to explain being tied to her bed? Certainly not by admitting that she begged someone like me to bind her to it. It’s all smoke and mirrors to prevent me from investigating her uncle, the very crooked Mr. Clifford.”

  Sasha felt her eyes widen. “Fiona is his niece?”

  “Through marriage, but notice how the press didn’t mention that? You can thank the cops and reporters he has stashed in his back pocket for neglecting to include that info.”

  The press didn’t surprise her so much but… “Clifford is bribing the police?”

  “You look shocked to find out the good guys can be bought.” He smirked. “Yeah, he’s paid them to disregard his shit for years.”

  “So…” She grappled to comprehend the depth of seedy corruption. “Fiona lied about everything that happened between you to protect her uncle? Why? I’d never protect anyone doing such awful things.”

  “If she let her Uncle Walter go down, where would her meal ticket be? So Fiona told him I was pumping her for information about Mike’s disappearance.” Nick smiled grimly. “Clifford set up the rest. Crying rape served the added bonus of preserving Fiona’s precious reputation. She wasn’t willingly having sex with a P.I. who had a record. No, I forced her.” He cut her a mocking glare. “Of course.”

  Sasha wasn’t sure what to believe. “How did you meet her?”

  “I heard she and Clifford were close, so I picked her up in a bar. I suspected she knew all the dirty dealings her uncle was up to. I gave her whatever she wanted so she’d talk.”

  Even sex?

  “Oh, my…” Sasha sat stunned. Nick had tried to work Fiona over, and in the end she’d worked him?

  “I should have seen the con coming. I won’t be played again.” Self-recrimination filled his bitter tone. “Look, I never said I was a Boy Scout. I only said I didn’t rape her.”

  Did she dare believe that or did she simply want to because she couldn’t stomach the thought of giving her body to the kind of man who would hold a woman down and force his way inside her?

  It didn’t matter. It was felicity for her that Nick had been released from prison early for good behavior. Without him, she and Harper might be dead soon.

  She drew in a deep breath. “You want sex in exchange for your help and protection. I understand. What are your exact terms?”

  “Four weeks. It will take me that long to figure out how to play this, whether I should fake your deaths, find or fabricate evidence to discredit Clifford, or just kill the son of a bitch.”

  Kill? Her conscience balked. Logic reminded her quickly that the Orleans Parish DA had no such qualms about murder. He’d threatened to smother the life from her daughter. High-minded morals wouldn’t keep her and Harper alive.

  “Sasha.” He snapped, bringing her attention back to him. “Hear me well. In those four weeks, the word ‘no’ never falls from your lips. Whatever I want, whatever I ask, you comply.”

  “You mean if you want us to hide at three in the morning, we do it? That’s okay. We’ve been doing that for…it seems like forever.”

  “I mean that, too. But I’m also telling you that I expect perfect willingness in bed.”

  Shock knocked the air from her lungs. “You’d want someone giving you whatever just because you commanded it?”

  “The commands are for your psyche, sweetheart. That way, you can tell yourself that you didn’t have a choice, that of course you didn’t like bedding down with a rapist. But honestly, I’m not going to do a damn thing to you until your body is good and wet and ready.”

  She digested his words in a panic and shook her head. “That may never happen.”

  His jaw tightened. “If I can’t get you hot, I don’t have any business between your legs. If you can’t let go because you’re afraid I’ll hurt you, I’ll persuade your body otherwise. That’s a promise.”

  How was she supposed to respond to that? “Um, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of…arousing a woman. I meant that I may disappoint you if you’re expecting some vixen. I—I’m not very sexual.”

  Nick stilled, then a smile quirked up the side of his mouth. “You will be.”

  Those words filled her with part dread—and if she was honest—part anticipation. Always, she’d been the good girl. She’d been a virgin on her wedding night, done her best to be a lady, even in the bedroom. Somehow, she didn’t think Nick would appreciate her circumspect nature or accept her lying back and sorting through her mental to-do list during sex.

  Then again, what choice did she have? Faking a few moans would be much easier than actually orgasming with a virtual—and very dangerous—stranger.

  Sasha thought back to his touch on her breast, the way he’d rocked his hips against her. She’d felt something, far more than she expected. Maybe it would be enough to see her through.

  “I—I’ll do my best not to disappoint you,” she murmured finally.

  A laugh played across Nick’s wide mouth. “Don’t worry. I plan to be thoroughly satisfied.”

  She bit her lip, feeling a violent flush rush up her cheeks. Then silence ensued. What was left to say? For the next four weeks, she’d agreed to whore herself to a ruthless criminal fresh from prison. She had a full belly, her daughter was tucked safely into a bed, and a doctor would see Harper in the morning. Sasha really had no excuse to delay the inevitable.

  She stood. Nick did the same. Their stares met. She ignored the jolt of awareness pinging through her body. Instead, she reached for her blouse, unbuttoned it, and slid it off her shoulders before dropping it on the floor.

  Nick watched, nothing on his face giving away his thoughts. His gaze flicked over her shoulders, her breasts covered by a utilitarian white bra. Was he totally underwhelmed? Lowering her gaze, she saw he had a reaction to the fact she was nearly topless. He was undeniably hard, his bulge trying to burst through his jeans.

  What was she supposed to do now? But she knew. She’d read books, watched a porn movie at a bachelorette party once, listened to Mike go on and on. Sasha knew what all men wanted.

  Uncertainty quaking in her belly, she closed the distance between them and stopped in front of Nick. Then she dropped to her knees.

  Chapter Two

  Nick smothered a curse and clenched his fists. Sasha Porter was in front of him. On her knees. Looking up at him with big hazel eyes that said she’d do anything to please him.

  The fantasy of her oral adoration had been a favorite he’d cha-chinged from his spank bank repeatedly for nearly three years. He was more than a little tempted to unzip and let her go to town.

  She reached for his fly. He grabbed her wrists in a harsh grip. His breath sawed in the silence between them.

  Nothing about her demeanor screamed horny, but Nick knew females. When he’d had her underneath him, her body hadn’t been immune. Still, he couldn’t let that fact fuck with his head. Taking Sasha up on the offer he’d coerced from her would make him a terrible bastard. Well, more terrible than he was. Despite his conviction, he’d never violate a woman who wasn’t willing in every way.

  “Nick?” she breathed. “Don’t you want me to…?”

  Suck his cock? Fuck, yes. “When I say so.”

  As she sat back on her heels, he stared. Who was this woman? Mike had called her modest, sexually restrained. In retrospect, Nick could see how months on the run had turned his buddy’s prim wife into a pragmatist willing to give him a blow job to keep her kid alive.

  And didn’t he feel like a prick? Ten minutes ago, propositioning Sasha had seemed like the perfect antidote for his compulsion to touch her. If he spewed toxic bullshit that made her fear and loathe him, she’d stay far, far away. Then…boom. Temptation removed. Problem solved.

  But here she knelt, blinking at him, pin
k lips softly parted. Blood surged to his cock until he swore his zipper would strangle it.

  How’s that plan working out for you now?

  Mike Porter had been a true-blue kind of guy. A good friend. Undoubtedly, a model husband. He’d definitely been a protective one. If Mike could have read the thoughts running through Nick’s head, his old pal would have wanted to castrate him. Unfortunately, neither that nor his guilt was stopping the endless loop of high-quality porn—starring Sasha—from playing in his head.

  He had to get her the hell away from him.

  “Hands down,” he barked as he released her.

  She complied, still staring at him in question. Though she tried to hide it, he couldn’t miss the relief on her face. She was grateful for the reprieve.

  “I’m sorry if I…” She bowed her head as if she wasn’t sure what to apologize for and searched for something that wouldn’t piss him off. Or maybe she couldn’t stand to look at him.

  He had no right to, but Nick thrust his hand around her ponytail and tugged just enough to force her gaze to him again. Visually was the only way he should touch her, but he threaded his fingers through her strands. Her hair slid like silk against his skin. “For what, rushing me? Crowding me?”

  “Yes.”

  Liar. A grim smile danced at the corner of his lips. She apologized so he wouldn’t change his mind about helping her and protecting Harper. Because she was afraid of him.

  God, that made him feel low.

  He released her, stepped away. “Take a shower. Get in bed.”

  “Y-yours?”

  He’d fucking love that. The thought of unraveling her reserve and making her cling to him went straight to his dick.

  “Stay with your daughter tonight. I’d rather have you once you’ve rested. Because once I start fucking you…well, expect a long night,” he warned.

  As he suspected, she shot to her feet and backed away from him. She could barely keep her opinion of him off her face. Yeah, he was a vile asshole. Perfect.

  “I’ll, um, leave you until morning.” Her back hugged the wall as she edged away.

  Nick grabbed her arm. “Wait.” He brushed past her and grabbed a clean towel, a bottle of shampoo, and his comb from the master bathroom. He returned and put the items in her hands. “You’ll need these. Sorry. That’s the only comb I’ve got.”

  She frowned, looking utterly confused by his consideration. “Thank you.”

  “Rest. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I will.”

  Another lie. If Sasha could afford to, she would walk away from him now. She’d certainly never ask him for anything else, believing every favor came with a price. The sooner they found Mike’s evidence, the better for both of them.

  He just hoped that breakthrough came before desire crushed his self-control.

  * * * *

  Harder than ever, Nick woke to a half-empty king-size bed. The morning would have been a whole lot better if Sasha Porter had been naked and sated beside him.

  With a sigh, he glanced at the clock. Shit. Twenty past eight in the morning.

  Hopping into a pair of sweatpants he’d discarded at the foot of the bed, he rushed down the hall to the first of the spare bedrooms. Why the hell Xander and Javier had rented him a huge house rather than just a crappy apartment near his old stomping grounds, he had no idea. He’d bet London had a hand in it. He had a soft spot for the woman who had helped to save his friends from self-destruction. He’d bet she had one for him for roughly the same reason.

  The vague smile widened when he found Sasha wrapped up with Harper in one twin bed, sound asleep. A nearly empty bottle of children’s Tylenol rested on the nightstand. Neither one looked as if sleep had helped much. Nick felt guilty that he hadn’t realized Sasha might need a hand with her daughter. Hell, he had no experience with kids.

  He walked into the enormous shower. Fantasizing about having Sasha under the spray, clinging to him and panting his name in his ear as she rose to climax was definitely more exciting than soaping up with a bar of Irish Spring. He didn’t punch his express ticket to self-pleasure this morning. With Sasha under his roof, the idea fucking bored him. Instead, he cut the water, dried off, and made his way into a pair of jeans. His black T-shirt had a cartoon depicting terrified people fleeing a hulking figure pursuing from behind. The caption beneath read ZOMBIES HATE FAST FOOD.

  Fingercombing his hair, he headed for the kitchen. When he reached the end of the hall, the doorbell rang. A glance out the window at the sleek Infiniti SUV told him exactly who stood on the other side of the door.

  With a wry shake of his head, he opened up.

  “Where is she?” London asked, her sweet face curious as she held her infant daughter and tried to peek around him.

  “You forgot to say hello, belleza.” Xander’s smile revealed how much he adored his wife.

  Javier didn’t look any less smitten. “She’s been pacing since she took Dulce out of her crib at six a.m. You’re lucky we got her to wait this long before we headed over.”

  Nick opened the door wide and directed everyone to the kitchen. “Sasha and Harper are still asleep. Coffee?”

  London walked in and gave him a loose hug around the neck. “Which I assume you want me to make?”

  “Please,” Xander all but begged. “Nick makes terrible coffee.”

  “It’s a single-cup brewer, asshole,” Nick shot back. “Foolproof.”

  “And yet you fucked it up yesterday morning.”

  Javier barked out a laugh as he carried in a couple of sacks of groceries. “You’re both helpless.” He plucked their seven-month-old out of London’s arms and handed her to Xander. “Hold Dulce.”

  After Javier planted a kiss on the baby’s head, he disappeared into the kitchen with London and tucked items into the refrigerator or pantry. Nick lingered with Xander in the adjoining dining room. It looked so weird to see the former manwhore holding a little girl in a frilly dress. With her daddies’ dark hair and her mother’s bright blue eyes, Dulce was going to be a beauty.

  “Bought a baseball bat to fight off the boys yet?” he asked Xander.

  “Screw some stick of wood. Guns are where it’s at. I’m collecting an arsenal. Not one of those adolescent pricks is touching my daughter.”

  Spoken like an overprotective father. “What about when her teenage hormones kick in? She might want—”

  “If you’d like our help, shut your fucking mouth.”

  Nick laughed. Yanking Xander’s chain had always been on the fun side, but now it was a downright blast. “Shutting it now.”

  “Good man.” Xander glanced across the kitchen to see Javier pulling London close before he dipped his head to cover their wife’s mouth. Nick had seen them kiss before. Usually, they oozed passion; they still did. Both brothers had always looked at her as if she was their moon, sun, and stars. Their very happiness, in fact. But it was different now that they’d had a child. More reverent. More devoted. More sacred. They were a family in every sense.

  Nick looked away and shoved aside a weird stab of envy he could totally do without.

  “So what’s your plan?” Xander asked, bouncing his daughter in his arms and smiling when she giggled.

  “Like I said last night on the phone, I think the little girl is too sick to be anything but a distraction to Sasha. We should be focused on keeping her and her daughter safe. And if we wait for Harper to recover first…I think the kid having a cold will be the least of our troubles.”

  “Yeah. Given the contacts and resources Clifford has, he’ll find you fast. I think you’re right; Harper is better off with us and away from the danger.”

  Nick nodded. “Convincing Sasha will be the hard part.”

  “If she’s half as attached to her daughter as London is to ours? Oh, yeah. She’ll fight you like hell.”

  “I’m betting on it. But the solution to this shitstorm isn’t going to magically roll up to my door. Sasha and I will have to search Mike’
s old stomping grounds for whatever he left behind. A sick kid is a liability. If she and I find what we’re looking for, they’ll have a chance to live happy, healthy lives.”

  “And the bastard who put you in prison will go down.”

  “That, too.” Nick nodded.

  “Then what? Got any plans beyond that? You haven’t talked about reopening your business or taking on new cases.” Xander looked at him as if he saw too much.

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead,” he hedged. Who the hell would hire him now?

  Xander raised a dark brow. “We’ll make you head of security at S.I. Industries.”

  And fire the guy already occupying that position to create a vacancy for their ex-con pal? They had already done too much for him.

  “Thanks, but you know I’m not much of a corporate guy. This is fancy office attire for me.” He gestured to his T-shirt.

  Xander rolled his eyes. “Because you never tried. Look, you’ve had some tough breaks, and I know you’re probably thinking this is a pity hiring, but it isn’t. Just…think about it.”

  “Nick?”

  The sound of Sasha’s startled voice saved him from answering Xander right away. He pushed away from the table and approached Sasha, who held Harper, coughing with red-cheeked abandon. “Morning.”

  She braced a hand on her daughter’s back and cut a glance at Xander, who closed in behind him. He heard London and Javier approach, too.

  Nick didn’t follow Sasha’s gaze. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her clean hair looked rumpled and sexy in a pale cloud around her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were wide and wary. Then she looked to him instinctively for reassurance and safety. He felt a jolt of satisfaction—and the rise of his dick.

  As he reached her, he couldn’t stop himself from curling his hand around her shoulder and bracing his finger under her chin until she lifted her gaze to look at him. “These are my friends. They’re here to help.”

  “You’re sure they can be trusted?” she whispered.

  Nick wasn’t insulted. She’d probably stayed alive this long by questioning everything and everyone in her life. “Positive.”