Bad Boys After Dark: Mick Read online

  She lifted her chin ever so slightly. Anyone else would probably have missed it, but Mick was determined not to miss a thing.

  “I went to the bar crawl last night intent on seducing a man. And I came tonight with the same purpose. I’m not embarrassed by it. I’m just not that good at it yet.”

  Holy hell. Not good at it? She was very good at it. Then again, he was attracted to her vulnerabilities, which other men might have been turned off by, like the death grip she had on the glass, which he knew was to still her trembling hand. He liked when she’d slipped into a voice full of breathless wonder and the way she’d asked if he was going to fuck her in a tone that sounded like she wasn’t sure if she was using the right words.

  “I think you’re quite good at it,” he said honestly.

  Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled. He knew this smile well. It was the you think you’ve bullshitted me smile, which she used very effectively when they were meeting with clients.

  “That’s kind of you, Mick,” she said without the confidence her expression conveyed. “I know I have a long way to go.” Her brows knitted again. “But I’m going to get this right.”

  The tigress and gazelle were in full play. Could she be any more adorable? Going to get it right? He took a long pull of his drink—his second drink, having downed one when she was in the ladies’ room.

  “With who? Some scumbag who’ll take advantage of you?” His protective urges surged forward. He’d had trouble keeping them in check when it came to Amanda these last few months. In fact, he realized, he’d been having trouble since she’d started with the firm.

  “No.” She sat up a little straighter. “I’m going to take advantage of them.”

  Over his dead body. “Why?”

  She cocked her head. “You tell me. Why do you do it?”

  Boy, he’d taught her well, hadn’t he? He couldn’t tell her the truth—because he wanted no part of a relationship. Because love wasn’t real. Because nothing lasted forever and he wasn’t about to open himself up to that sort of pain. Because shit happened that he couldn’t control and, at some point, life would make him into a liar. So he went with the next best thing. A portion of the truth.

  “Intrigue. Excitement. No strings to complicate things.”

  She nodded. “Me too.”

  “So you’ve done this before?” She was hot, smart, and she’d gone on plenty of dates, but the thought of her hooking up with a random guy made his skin crawl. Thank God he’d been there last night.

  “Well, no, but—”

  He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and struggled to keep his emotions in check. “Why, Amanda? Why do you want to seduce a stranger? And don’t regurgitate my answers, because we both know it’s a cop-out.”

  She ran her finger nervously along the edge of the table, her face softening.

  “You go on plenty of dates,” he reminded her. “With respectable guys. Lawyers. Businessmen.”

  His eyes found hers again, big and round and gut-wrenchingly innocent. “You’re gorgeous and smart. You could have any number of men. You don’t have to reduce yourself to that.”

  “Reduce myself? Is that what you were doing last night? Reducing yourself?”

  “No. Yes. I don’t know.” He finished his drink, wishing he’d had a few dozen more. “Not with you, but when I hook up with random women? Yes, I guess I am. It’s filling a void. Don’t you see that? I don’t do it often. It’s been a particularly difficult week for me, and last night was my attempt to forget.”

  “Forget?” Her voice filled with curious compassion.

  She was too bighearted to jump to conclusions. If he’d told any other woman he wanted to get laid in order to forget, they’d assume he meant to forget another woman. Amanda’s brain didn’t work with the same insecurities. Or at least that’s what he’d thought before last night. Her need to seduce a stranger had to be bred of insecurity, didn’t it? As far as he knew, she had no torrid past.

  He needed a clear head, and bringing up the reason for his tumultuous week would only make things worse, so he tried to steer the conversation back on track.

  “This isn’t about me. It’s about you.”

  “Fine,” she said sharply. “You want to know the truth?”

  He cocked a brow. She knew he dealt in truths, save for the little white lie about her drink.

  “I can’t believe I’m even considering telling you this,” she said softly.

  She smiled and he was glad to see her genuine, easy smile. The smile that took no effort, unlike everything else she’d done tonight.

  “I’m a boring-man magnet. The guys I attract might be businessmen, but they’re duller than concrete. I’m just trying to change things up. To find my inner sexy. To learn to flirt and seduce like other women do. To learn how to attract edgier men with better personalities and…”

  “And?”

  “And…God, Mick. You’re my boss. You don’t need to know all of this.”

  He shifted in his seat, guiding her knees between his, and placed his hands on her outer thighs, watching her carefully. Her eyes widened. The pulse at the base of her neck quickened, pleasing him greatly.

  “I was three fingers deep in you last night. I made you come twice. I don’t need to know, Amanda. I want to know.”

  Before she could respond, he lowered his voice and ran his fingers through the ends of her hair, just above her breast, enjoying the quickening of her breath.

  “What are you looking for? An anonymous sexual adventure? A hard fuck to break you out of your conservative shell?” He moved his hand to the base of her neck and ran his finger along the dip at the center of her collarbone. She drew in a sharp breath.

  “I happen to be very attracted to your conservative shell, but if you want someone to break you out of it, come home with me tonight.” He paused, letting his words sink in and reluctantly reminding himself one night was all he could have. One. Night. “I’ll give you the fuck of your life, with a man you know and trust. I’ll keep you safe, you’ll get what you crave, and no one will ever know.”

  “I can’t. You’re my…Mick?” She was trembling again, the good kind of trembling.

  “Tonight I’m not your boss, Amanda. Tonight I’m your stranger.” He slid his hand over the top of her thigh, grazing his fingertips along the crease just beside her sex. “One night of pleasure. A fantasy. No strings. No regrets.” He brushed his lips over hers and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Just one night, and we’ll never speak of it again.”

  **

  AMANDA MUST HAVE lost her mind. That was the only reasonable explanation for why she was walking into Mick’s penthouse apartment, allowing him to slide her purse from her shoulder and press a kiss to the base of her neck. And her collarbone. And her jaw. At some point she’d closed her eyes, because when he stopped kissing her, she opened them and found him gazing at her with that look again. The one that made her feel desired and sexy, despite her pinging nerves.

  His lips curved up in a sinful smile that made her heart race, and he dropped a hand to the small of her back, guiding her further into his spacious apartment.

  Toward our night of debauchery.

  Oh Lord.

  Her boots broke the silence, tapping a slow beat on the hardwood floors. Moonlight spilled in through two enormous round windows on the far wall, filling the room with an erotic bluish hue. A large island separated the kitchen from the living room, and two columns framed a glass elevator beside an open staircase. An elevator? Her entire apartment could fit in one quarter of his first floor.

  “Your apartment is gorgeous.”

  “You’re gorgeous; it’s functional,” he said casually, leading her to a fully stocked bar by one of the round windows.

  Her head was spinning. He was really good at this. So good at it she might need to drink an entire bottle of liquor just to forget how she paled in comparison.

  “Functional?” she said nervously. “Mick, you have an ele
vator.”

  He poured them each a drink. “We’ll make good use of that elevator.” He stepped closer, their bodies brushing from hips to knees. “And the bedroom, and the crow’s nest.”

  Her body burned with anticipation. Crow’s nest? Was that a kinky position she didn’t know about?

  “And the bath,” he promised in a low voice, pulling her tight against him.

  She heard a whimpering sound and realized it came from her.

  He pressed a kiss beside her ear and whispered, “And the staircase.”

  He dipped his finger into his drink and dragged it along her lower lip, then followed it with his tongue. Her knees weakened and she grabbed hold of him to remain standing. She was still trying to imagine what they would do on the staircase and he was already six steps ahead.

  “Shall I go on?”

  “Mick. I…I’m totally out of my league with you,” she regretfully admitted.

  He set his drink down and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re here. You are my league.”

  “But all those things you said. I don’t, I haven’t…” How could she say this without sounding like a total loser? “I’m still learning. I can’t even imagine what we’d do on the stairs.”

  He ran a finger down her cheek, under her lower lip, and held her jaw between his index finger and thumb. Kiss me. Please kiss me. He dragged a finger over her lower lip, pushing it just far enough into her mouth to touch her tongue with the tip. The slow, precise move made her damp.

  “You want this, Amanda.” He slid his other hand to her ass and squeezed.

  Yes.

  “I’ll show you everything you want to know.” He pressed his cheek to hers, reminding her of the jet-black scruff he’d sported last night.

  “Your beard,” slipped out before she could stop it. “You didn’t shave last night. You always shave. That was another reason I didn’t recognize you. Your beard was thick, like you hadn’t shaved in days.”

  “I hadn’t. But I shaved this morning. For our date.” He touched his lips to the abrasion above her upper lip. “It grows fast. I’ll shave again if it’s too harsh for you.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I like it. I just didn’t recognize you with it and the mask.”

  “Then it stays.”

  His voice was better than rich milk chocolate, better than a warm summer afternoon, better than…anything. He lowered his mouth to her neck, placing openmouthed kisses from one shoulder to the other. Each kiss brought a pulse of pleasure. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, giving him better access and hoping he wouldn’t stop this tantalizing awakening of her senses. He grazed his teeth over her jaw and nibbled his way to the nape of her neck, where he lingered, placing kiss after delicious kiss. She’d dreamed of this moment, but nothing came close to feeling his strong hands around her, his hard body—and it was hard—against her, or his glorious mouth taking and giving pleasure in equal measure.

  “Those freckles. I love those freckles.” He pressed another kiss to the ones below her ear and framed her face with his hands. “Open your eyes.”

  His command was as thrilling as his touch, and the dark look in his eyes stoked the fire burning inside her.

  “When you wear your hair up, I want to bend you over my desk and take you from behind, just so I can see those sweet little marks that belong only to you.”

  “Wow.” The awe-filled exclamation sailed from her lips unbidden, and she clamped her mouth shut. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I just…” Really want you to do that. Oh, man, she was losing it. “You’re really good at this.”

  His eyes narrowed. “This?”

  Making me fall for you. One night was all this would ever be. She needed to remember that and assure him she understood it. She’d remember this night for the rest of her life, unless she screwed it up and he sent her home, which she had a feeling she was on the verge of doing.

  “Seduction,” she explained. “You know, the whole game of it. That’s what I need to learn.”

  “Fuck,” he mumbled, confusing her again. “Right. The game. Well, don’t use that line, because that was just for you.”

  “The freckle thing?” God, she loved the freckle thing, but surely he didn’t mean it the way she took it, like he really meant it. “I know. Thank you.”

  He touched her face again, and his electric gaze sent currents coursing all the way to her toes. She would be perfectly happy staying right there in his arms, doing nothing more than gazing into his entrancing eyes. Nothing would ever measure up to this magnificent moment she’d somehow lucked into—and secretly, selfishly twisted into more than she should.

  He laced their fingers together at her sides and brought them behind her back as he moved forward, trapping her between the bar and his strong frame. His eyes turned suddenly serious, darker, boring into her, stroking her from the inside out. How did he do that?

  “If I do anything you don’t like, or anything that makes you uncomfortable, tell me to stop.”

  Anticipation stole her voice. She nodded and mouthed, Okay.

  “Trust me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. I always have.

  “Good. I’d never hurt you.” He pressed his lips to hers. “We should talk about the important things up front, to avoid it later.” He kissed her again. “Condoms, always use them.”

  Oh God. More embarrassing talk? “I do, but I’m also on the pill.”

  “Good,” he said more sternly. “You can’t trust guys to tell you the truth when it comes to sex.” The muscle in his jaw jumped, like he hated telling her that.

  “But you just asked if I trusted you. Was that a trick question?”

  He made a sexy groaning sound that vibrated through his chest to hers. “When you tell me things that way—”

  Oh no! She was already screwing up? “What way?”

  “With wide eyes and that sexy, innocent voice. It kills me. It makes me want to stop talking and carry you upstairs.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” She smiled, proud of herself for doing something right naturally, without having to try.

  “Christ, Amanda.”

  Oh boy, the look in his eyes was tortured and hot at once. This was new. This, she loved.

  “It’s a very good thing. But this is serious. You can trust me. You know me. I’ll never lie to you. But other guys? They want to get laid, and it sucks to wear condoms, so they’ll tell you they’ve always used them just to get you to say you’re on the pill and forgo using them.”

  His tone was caring, firm, and pained at once, and it touched her deeply.

  “They want to fuck you, feel you, and forget you,” he said coldly.

  His words stung, but she knew he didn’t mean them to.

  He brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek, and his tone softened. “But you can’t put yourself at risk like that.”

  “I know about diseases. I’m not a child.”

  “I know. But this isn’t just a game, Amanda. You can get hurt in so many ways. I need to be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

  She hadn’t expected him to do more than give her a night of hot sex, but she probably should have known he’d be careful, make sure she understood the ground rules. Because when she’d first started working with him, he’d spent many long evenings meticulously going over things he said other attorneys and paralegals overlooked, to ensure she was as careful as he was.

  “Thank you for caring enough to want me to be protected.”

  “Baby, if something happens to you, I’d have to go out and find a new paralegal.”

  Baby. Her heart squeezed even though he’d made a joke. She reminded herself to keep this light and went up on her toes, pressing a kiss to the center of his chin. “So romantic.”

  His eyes narrowed and he wrapped one hand around both her wrists, holding them behind her back and kissing the center of her breastbone. “Does that hurt?”

  “No.” She closed her eyes, reveling in his
strength and his tenderness as he kissed the swell of her right breast.

  “Lesson number two.” He dipped his tongue into her cleavage, then blew on her damp skin, bringing goose bumps to her flesh. “There’s no place for romance where hookups are concerned.”

  “Ever?” That surprised her. Couldn’t a hookup also be romantic?

  He used his other hand to unzip her dress and slid it off one shoulder, pressing a kiss to the skin he bared. “If a guy gets romantic, you’re not hooking up. End of story.”

  Using his teeth, he slid the dress from her other shoulder. The silky material hitched just above her elbows and beneath her breasts, revealing her black lace demi bra. She was breathing so hard she half expected him to tell her to chill out.

  “So beautiful,” he said, eyes locked on her breasts. He ran his finger just above her bra with a feathery touch, sending chills through her. “I have an affinity for black lace.”

  He lowered his head, placing hot licks and long, sucking kisses, over the same path. Her nipples hardened, and she arched against his mouth, aching to touch him. She struggled to free her hands, but he held her captive, every mind-numbing touch stealing more of her brain cells. She closed her eyes and moaned as he sealed his mouth over her nipple, sucking and stroking her through the lace.

  She felt a whimper rising from her lungs and didn’t even try to resist it.

  “Love the sounds you make, the way you taste,” he whispered, before moving to her other breast and giving it the same scintillating attention.

  She told herself what he said shouldn’t sound romantic, but it felt like a lie. He released her wrists, and her dress slipped to the floor, leaving her bare save for her bra and heels. She closed her eyes against a wave of embarrassment.

  His lips touched hers lightly, a tease of a kiss. “Open your eyes.” His voice carried the command smoothly to her ear, beckoning her in the most seductive way.

  She opened her eyes, and his lips curved up in a gratified smile.

  “Lesson number three. Watch. Always watch.” Passion blazed in his smoldering stare as he placed his hand between her legs, cupping her sex. “Waxed bare. So fucking sexy.”