By Amie Stuart
Against The Wall
Copyright © Amie Stuart 2015
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If this story seems familiar, that’s because it is. This is the first story from the HANDS ON single-author anthology published in 2007 by Kensington. It’s been updated a little and gotten a new title, and for the next six months or so, this box set will be the only place you can find it.
Lexi Kimball has the unenviable position of Safety Supervisor on a construction crew. The one person everyone loves to hate—she’s caught between bringing a job in on time and getting it done without any accidents. Not an easy task in the best of circumstances, but throw in a sexy foreman with an adventurous streak and a construction site plagued with problems and you’ve got a recipe for trouble.
CHAPTER ONE
Hot bath; cold beer. Hot bath; cold beer.
This mantra sustained me on the long drive across Houston, on the long walk up my driveway, and even as I’d shoved the key in the back door and unlocked it.
I was so tired that I almost regretted the fact it was Friday night. Friday was Girl’s Night. And there was no getting out of it.
Weekends were this blue collar girl’s guilty pleasure. Weekends were spent on the white collar side of town, in white collar bars, dancing and teasing and flirting with men who didn’t think burping should be an Olympic sport. In other words, no blue collars allowed. Not after Melanie, Carlotta and I spent our week dealing with them daily.
Dealing being the operative word.
I dropped my hardhat on the washer and struggled out of my filthy work boots. They were covered in mud, as was I, from the knees down. Thanks to the heavy spring rains that had saturated the site and put us behind schedule. And a rogue forklift that had gone crashing through a wall with a load of bricks. Luckily no one had been hurt, but the afternoon’s descent into hell had killed any excitement or anticipation I had about going out tonight.
And you wanted to go into construction why, Lexi Kimball?
With a groan, I stepped out of my jeans and work shirt, and then grabbed a beer from the kitchen. That first long drink hit my empty stomach at lightning speed and didn’t stop until it reached my feet. After being trapped in steel toed boots all day they practically steamed on the tile floor. With a sigh, I rubbed the chilly bottle against my hot neck.
Momentarily satisfied, I headed for the bathroom and a nice long soak. One of the first things I’d done after I’d bought the house two years ago was gut the extra closet in the master bedroom and put in a Jacuzzi tub for days just like today.
While the tub filled, I stripped off my tanktop and tossed it into the hamper. The rest of my clothes quickly followed. I ran a hand across the flat plain of my stomach and smiled. Tanned and fairly firm—I certainly didn’t get many complaints. My breasts were average, but still perky. Working construction had always kept the arms and legs in shape. Yoga took care of the rest.
Despite the fact that I was a natural redhead, I was lucky enough to be of the variety that tans easily. Rare, but not unheard of. I leaned in closer to the vanity mirror and ran a hand through my short shaggy hair. Soon I’d have to do something about those silver threads starting to peek through.
Relieved to see the end of another awful day, I sipped at my beer and set the bottle on the edge of the tub, then slid in with a deep sigh.
I liked the satisfaction of seeing something I’d helped build as a finished product, and the money was really good, but construction workers were a breed unto themselves. Being a female Job Supervisor on an all-male crew had been stressful enough. Adding Safety Supervisor to my title had made things ten times worse, and I didn’t believe for a minute that the rest of the job would be any less difficult than the last eighty-eight had been. Nothing like overseeing a group of men who resented the hell out of you to take the wind out of your sails. I’d worked tough gigs before but none this bad.
My sex meant everything to them; my femininity meant nothing.
Shaking off my reverie, I took another long pull off my beer. The combination of warm water and beer were definitely doing the trick; unworking knots of stress and loosening tense muscles. With another sigh, I closed my eyes and relaxed, my mind drifting to Wade Wilkins, as it had far too often lately.
He didn’t strike me as the typical construction crew guy—married, settled, kids, running to fat around his middle and bitter at the chances he’d pissed away or let pass him by. Wade seemed more like the type who enjoyed gambling, and he was the only man on the crew who didn’t seem fazed by my sex or my charms (or lack thereof, depending on who you asked). Too bad his part of the job would be done soon.
Compact, tanned, and muscular, Wade topped my own 5’6 inches by only a few more, but the man knew how to fill out a pair of Levi’s, and he had these thick, tanned forearms that rippled and flexed from all the manual exertion. You could tell he spent a lot of time outdoors—no "Farmer’s Tan" for him. I heard he played sand volleyball with a group of friends on the weekends. With his easy-going personality and bright green eyes, he had charmer written all over him. I’d miss watching him work once his drywall crew finished up, but then again, he was a distraction I couldn’t afford.
I closed my eyes to block out the sight of the tiled walls surrounding me and let my hands have free reign, imagining they were his. They drifted through the silky water until they reached my breasts, cupping them as I imagined Wade’s hard length behind me surrounding me, instead of the fiberglass tub. The throbbing between my thighs quickly intensified as my excitement grew. Lifting one leg, I draped it over the side of the tub, moaning as the water caressed my sensitive pussy lips. My hands continued to squeeze my breasts until my nipples were hard achy little points. I groaned at the thought of my vibrator tucked away in my nightstand drawer. My muscles were so jellified from the heat and beer, I didn’t feel like climbing out of the tub for it. With no other relief in sight, I closed my eyes again and stroked the insides of my thighs, kneading and stroking my way higher and drawing every ounce of anticipation out of it. This race was about endurance, not speed.
An image of Wade pounding into me filled my head, so vivid I could almost believe he was really there in the tub with me. Finally, need overcame all other thoughts and I stroked my clit, biting my lower lip as it swelled under my fingertips. The ache intensified and my labored breathing filled my ears as I neared my goal. Feverishly, my emboldened fingers continued until, my body took on a will of its own. Toes curled and hips involuntarily thrust upward, out of the water as the waves of my orgasm traveled through me, released by the stroke of my fingers and thoughts of Wade.
Afterward I lay there, listening to my harsh breathing and the soft plunk of water dripping from the faucet.
With a smile of satisfaction, I reached for my beer and sipped the lukewarm brew, contemplating dinner. Only to dismiss such a mundane thought, dismayed at the reminder of my solitary existence.
The sound of the doorbell echoing through the house reminded me that the clock was ticking. Knowing my luck it was Laney or Carlotta come to rob my closets.
On shaky legs, I climbed out of the tub, wrapped my wet, flushed body in my old robe, and then dashed down the hall to the front door.
It wasn’t my friends, who would have just used their key, and it wasn’t a salesman.
It was Wade with my lunchbox.
"Wade." How nice to see you, since I just masturbated in my bathtub while thinking about you.
As his full lips curved into a grin, I tightened my robe around my waist, conscious of legs that still trembled from the aftermath of my orgasm. Despite the aviator sunglasses he wore, I had the strange feeling he knew I’d been...well...thinking about him. Then again maybe it was the wet robe and the hard nipples.
"Evening, Alex. You forgot this."
So it wasn’t really a lunchbox but a small cooler. I’d left it sitting on the steps of the construction trailer when I’d gone tearing across the site after the forklift crash earlier this afternoon.
I had no choice but to take the damn thing from his outstretched hand and couldn’t work out anything beyond a mumbled thank you. How could it be legal to work all day in the blistering Houston sun and still look as good as he did? "Thank you."
"Didn’t mean to interrupt anything."
I pulled my robe tighter still and forced myself to breathe. "It was time for me to get out anyway."
"Hot date?" he asked with a tiny, curious smile.
"Girl’s Night," I replied with a smile.
He slowly nodded, his grin deepening as he took a few steps backward. "Then I won't keep you. Have fun."
If he had any idea! "I will."
"And stay out of trouble!"
Ducking back inside, I shut the door before he saw me standing there, wishing I’d invited him in.
~*~
Two hours later I stepped through Jimmy Z’s shiny black double doors, smiling to the burly bouncer who greeted me by name. Located just down the road from the Houston Galleria, Jimmy Z’s catered to an eclectic, but mostly upscale, clientele which was reflected in the tasteful chrome and black decor. I took the long way downstairs to where the girls were waiting, barely giving the booths full of snuggling couples a glance as I checked out some of the evening’s offerings. Men weren’t the only ones hunting tonight. My earlier tub adventures and Wade’s visit had left me hungry for more. And if I couldn’t have him, then I’d just have to make do.
At our table (positioned strategically beside a set of stairs that led to the dance floor), the girls were already digging into appetizers and admiring the evening’s early, yet so far slim, offerings. They both stopped eating long enough to hug me while we admired each others outfits. Carlotta looked great, as usual, dressed in a multi-colored watered silk skirt and red halter-top that showed off her natural tan and curly blonde hair to perfection.
"Lanie, is that new?" Smiling, I motioned to leopard print dress with turquoise trim that hugged her lush curves and swirled around her knees. Only Lanie would or could pull of leopard print. And with her chocolate brown hair, framing deep blue-green eyes, she pulled it off well. No one would ever guess that up until a few hours ago she’d probably been elbow deep in grease and engines.
"Just a little something I dug out of my closet." Her deep coral colored lips curved into a Cheshire cat grin as she crossed her legs.
"She went shopping," Carlotta and I chimed in unison.
I waved at a Brian, our regular waiter as he went breezing by and hollered out my order for a Woo Woo—peach Schnapps, vodka and cranberry juice—then settled on the vacant stool.
"Looks like she’s not the only one who went shopping," Carlotta observed with a grin.
"I bought this two weeks ago, thank you very much!" I’d spotted the funky yellow, orange and royal blue paisley outfit on a Sunday afternoon shopping expedition and hadn’t been able to leave it behind. They went perfect with my strappy orange sandals.
I snitched a chicken eggroll off the platter in the middle of the small table, dipped it some of Jimmy’s homemade salsa duck sauce, and bit in with a sigh of appreciation as the spicy, tangy flavor filled my mouth. Jimmy Z’s made the best eggrolls in all of Houston.
"So how was your day?" Carlotta asked while she scoped out the bar.
"I’ll be so glad when this job is over!" I accepted my drink with a pained smile for Brian and handed him my credit card to run a tab. He was...hot, but then most of the waitstaff at Jimmy’s were. A crisp white t-shirt hugged his well-defined pecs and sharply creased black pants accented the rest of his assets.
"You ladies ready for something more substantial?" He pointed to our platter of appetizers, then suggestively wiggled an eyebrow at Carlotta who giggled.
"I’m fine." With a soft sigh, I turned and scoped on the half full dance floor and tables surrounding it. I didn’t mind being single; sometimes it did have a downside but the good far outweighed the bad.
I didn’t have to share my bed for more than a night if I didn’t want to (and usually I didn’t).
I could come and go as I pleased.
I didn’t have to answer to anyone about how I spent my money.
I didn’t have to cook if I didn’t feel like it.
I could ogle men to my heart’s desire without someone getting jealous.
And if I got tired of a man, I just dumped him (no nasty divorces and splitting of assets to deal with).
I polished off the last of my eggroll and turned to Carlotta. "Did you finish up that wiring job today?"
She pursed her lips and nodded, a "it was a shitty day" expression on her face.
"That bad, huh?"
"Have I told you how much I hate my new boss?" she continued with a curl of her lip.
"Noooo," I drawled, grinning.
"That asshole wants me to wire his nephew’s office Monday for phones and internet. God forbid I fuck that up." Carlotta’s new boss was all we’d heard about for the last two months. He was, in her words, a control freak, who constantly felt the need to double check her work and censure her for the slightest infractions, imagined or real. Never mind that she was the best field technician the company had, and had been there twice as long as him. Other than the fact she’d applied for his job (and been passed over for him—an outsider), none of us had been able to figure out what his beef was with her, so we’d decided he was just A Chauvinistic Pig.
"I swear to God, he wants me to quit!"
"Well, maybe you should," Lanie threw in. "You’re too damned good to put up with that shit."
"Hell no! Why should I quit because he’s got issues? He can just get the fuck over it." With a scowl, Carlotta slipped off her barstool.
I gave her an understanding smile, then watched as she turned and headed downstairs toward the dance floor. Carlotta could wire damn near anything—from a small office phone system to a computer network for a multi-story office building.
"I don’t blame her a bit, you know," I sighed, scooping up a quesadilla filled with cheese, cilantro and bits of pork. "She shouldn’t have to quit because some asshole’s determined to make her life miserable."
"Yeah, but you know how hard-headed she is. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did stuff just to piss him off." Lanie thoughtfully sipped her dirty martini, focused on something—or someone—over my shoulder, while I polished off what amounted to my dinner.
"What?"
She grinned and nodded to a spot behind me, pure female lust making her blue eyes sparkle. "Check him out."
With a grin of my own, I checked. Lanie might like ‘em young, but she had really good taste in men. Not six feet away stood a tall slender young thang with dark, curly hair and even darker eyes. He quirked an eyebrow at us and we waved and laughed.
"Back soon!" Lanie cheerfully announced as she circled around me and headed straight for him.
By the time I’d nursed my way through half of my second drink and let the girls drag my tired body onto the dance floor, the bar was packed. And the three of us were dancing to some house techno with any man brave enough to get close. After fifteen minutes Lanie had ditched Freddie, the sexy brunette with the baby face, and rejoined me, announcing he was only twenty-one. Even for a hottie like him she wouldn’t break her ten year rule.
House techno segued into something sexy for showing off and I did, despite the fact Lanie and Carlotta had now deserted me, claiming they were ready for a break.
Shyness had never been a problem for me and I was a good dancer. While Gwen Stefani sang, I danced, letting the sensuous rhythm of the sexy song rolled through me. Before I knew it, I found myself pulled up on one of the podiums positioned at the end of the dance floor, grooving with a hot blonde in a psychedelic pink mini-dress.
We danced with each other as much for the crowd as ourselves. With a grin, she grabbed my hips and we ground against each other. We both laughed at the hoots and appreciative whistles from the group of men below us. I returned her smile and spun around, wiggling my hips and inviting her closer. My bones turned fluid as the vodka, heat and admiring cheers of the crowd worked their magic.
I shimmied down the length of her body, tilting my head back as I came in contact with her heavy breasts then paused in a crouch at her feet, gathered up my skirt and pulled it up to the tops of my thighs as I slowly wiggled my way back up. We danced belly to back, me with my skirt pulled up as high as I dared and her with her incredibly soft hands stroking my bare thighs. Hands that raised goosebumps on my skin and ventured dangerously close to my panties more than once, causing the silky material to rub my crotch, exciting me even more.
Then I saw him. The bottom fell out of my stomach and ice cold shock, horror, dread even, washed through me, replacing the heat brought on by our little show.
What the hell was Wade doing in a place like this?
Lucky for me, the song ended and the DJ spun a faster groove. But before I could stop her, my erstwhile dance partner spun me around and kissed me full on the lips, giving my ass a squeeze in the process. I had no choice but to hang on to her to keep from falling off the mini-stage.
"Thanks for the dance," she mouthed. "Maybe later...we can do it again." She spun on her heels and accepted a hand down from our group of admirers.
I turned for a quick peek over my shoulder. Wade still stood at the top of the stairs, a level above the dance floor. On shaky legs, I headed his way.
With clammy hands I climbed the stairs, forcing a bright smile on my face, but nerves, adrenaline and the heat of too many bodies was too much. As I neared the top, Wade grabbed my wrist, a frown of concern on his face.
"Air," I gasped, my head swimming.
He led me through the thick crowd and up to the main level, cruising through the two muscled-up goons who guarded the entrance to the VIP Lounge.
Interesting, but my head was swimming too much to even contemplate how he’d managed what Lanie, with her arsenal of wiles, hadn’t been able to. I gratefully sank down on a gaudy crushed red velvet couch that Wade led me to in some VIP hidey-hole. Then watched as he closed the opaque screen that made up the door, muting the music in the process.
God my whole crew is gonna know I’d kissed a woman in a bar. My stomach rolled over and the two Woo-Woo’s I’d drunk threatened to come back up.
Sure, I’d heard all the rumors about how I was a ball-busting dyke. Being insulted—and worse—was the price I paid for working in a man’s world; I could take the heat, and I was more than willing to pay it. At least blue-collar men were honest in their bias, instead of shielding it behind glass ceilings and polite smiles. But that didn’t mean I wanted them finding out I’d been dirty dancing with a woman in the hottest bar in Houston—and enjoyed it.
I forced my eyes open, fully aware of his firm grip on my wrist, the crisp starch of his shirt against my bare arm and the woodsy scent of his cologne tickling my nose. "What are you doing here?"
His deep green eyes widened slightly then narrowed. "I’m here with friends. Do you need to let your girlfriend know where you went?"
"She’s not my girlfriend. God, Wade—" I just stared at him, my stomach lurching as he gave me a slow once over. "Please..."
"Hey, it’s okay if she is. To each his...her own." He gave me a conspiratorial wink that made me want to slap him. "I won't say anything."
"It was just a ... show," I said with a wave of my hand. "For the guys. Just for fun."
"Could’a fooled me, honey."
"Fool you or not, what I do in my off-time is no one’s business okay? So just...don’t." Refusing to give in to the nausea that threatened, I struggled out of the too-soft cushions.
"Especially your crew’s." Wade’s pointed observation stung.
"Yeah, especially them." I gently tugged my arm free. "I’m going back downstairs before my friends wonder where I went. Please...please keep this just between us."
Outside of our little private hidey-hole I debated going back inside and seducing him into silence. I could do it. I knew I could do it. Hell, I wanted to do it.
No way had I forgotten Wade was the stuff of fantasies—specifically mine—but as a member of my crew, he was also forbidden fruit.
Luscious, tempting, forbidden fruit. I gave a quick smile to the two men standing at the rail, then pivoted around and stepped back inside the room.
Ready or not, I was about to get my man.
CHAPTER TWO
Wade eyed me, a wary expression on his face, as I slid the door closed.
"Did you decide not to let me live?" he asked, his lips quirking into a wry smile.
"Did you mean it when you said you wouldn’t tell anyone?" With a slow roll of my hips, I closed the short distance between us and gave him a predatory once over. Sharply creased khakis hugged his thighs and outlined his erection. More than once this week—hell today—I’d walked the strip shopping center we were building just to watch him hang sheetrock. The tool belt that rode low in his hips, the jeans that hugged his ass, the sweaty, sleeveless t-shirt, those thick arms raised above his head.
"I’m not the blackmailing kind, if that’s what you’re afraid of."
I lifted my skirt, spread my legs and straddled his lap, biting the inside of my lip to keep from laughing at the look of surprise that appeared on his face.
"You don’t have to do this." He leaned back.
The eyes focused on my breasts said otherwise, as did the hard-on pressed against my already damp panties. I rubbed against him, and then exhaled sharply, my thighs tightening at the friction against my sensitive clit.
"I’m not worried about blackmail." I pushed my blouse up over my head to reveal a white demi-bra that barely covered the tops of my nipples.
A loud burst of laughter from outside briefly penetrated the thick cloud of need that surrounded us. "You do realize that, at any given moment, someone could walk in here." Wade’s voice was thick and his focus was on my chest.
In lieu of a reply, I unhooked the bra and let it slide down my shoulders. Dropping it on the couch beside him, I leaned in, wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in the collar of his shirt. And Wade didn’t resist. Warm strong hands skimmed across my back and gave my shoulders a firm squeeze as I nuzzled his neck. "Jesus, Alex!"
"It’s Lexi," I whispered, nipping at his earlobe.
"Lexi—" he gasped, "suits you."
I eased upright to a sitting position and cupped my breasts, squeezing the puckered tips hard enough to feel deep in my belly. "I like to watch you work." Licking my lips, I forced myself to focus on my hands. Just like earlier in the bathtub, this one wasn’t about speed. I rolled my nipples between my fingers and forced myself to keep talking. "Earlier, when you came by my house..."
"Yeah." His fingers slid up my thighs and under my skirt. As much as we were both enjoying the show, I wanted him to touch me. I wanted his fingers inside me, for starters.
"—And I was all...wet."
His fingers slipped inside my panties.
"I’d just finished masturbating." My hips started a sinuous roll as Wade spread my swollen pussy lips. I glanced up at him from under my lashes and gave my nipples a painfully slow tug as anticipation curled outward from my belly and seeped from my skin like the musky sweet smell of sex that filled the room. From outside the door, the music and laughter of another world faded away at the first light caress of his finger on my clit.
"I was thinking about you."
"What were you thinking about?"
"This." I pulled up my skirt and watched as he slipped two fingers inside me, stretching me. Flexing and stroking, fucking me as I closed my eyes and forced myself to breath. The need to climax gathered forced, doubling on itself and picking up speed even as Wade kept a slow steady pace, his fingers sliding in and out of my pussy. Until it was beyond even my control, and my heavy breathing turned to low moaning. My nails cut into the palms of my hands, and furious with need, I grasped a nipple between fingers and gave it a hard squeeze as I came with a sharp long shout. I watched my hips buck against his fingers as the sound of loud raucous laughter and "Get it, honey!" reached my ears. Apparently we had an audience nearby and the thought that someone had heard me, and knew what we’d done, only made it that much sweeter.
After easing off his lap, I reached for my blouse and pulled it on. "There’s more where that came from. You just have to come and get it."
On shaky legs, I closed the door behind me and headed back downstairs. I pushed my way through a group of college students toward our table, my purse and another drink. I forced myself to smile for the benefit of Lanie’s latest pick-up (despite the fact he screamed gigolo), while I drained the last of my watered-down drink and motioned to Brian to bring me another.
Carlotta’s hand on my arm caught my attention. "You okay?"
With a sigh, I leaned over and yelled in her ear, "One of my guys is here." At her puzzled frown, I continued. "From my crew!"
"Oh...My...God, you are shitting me?" she mouthed, wide eyed.
I slowly shook my head, and then started to giggle. By the time I filled in her on what I’d done, we were both in stitches.
"He is hot." With a lift of her chin, she motioned behind me, then put on her best limpid-eyed expression and eased back in her seat, lips pursed. Mata Hari had nothing on Carlotta when it came to getting her man.
Before I could turn to investigate, an arm slid around my shoulder and the come hither expression on Carlotta’s face morphed into shock as she realized the hottie she’d been ogling was the same hottie who’d just gotten me off upstairs.
Wade.
"Hi!" The deep rumble of his voice as he introduced himself to her, tickled my stomach...and other more sensitive parts of my anatomy. He pressed his lips to my ear and said, "Thanks for the boner, for leaving me high and dry like that. You owe me."
As casually as possible, I reached for my little purse, and more lipstick, before uncrossing my legs and slipping off the bar stood. I pressed myself against the length of him and smiled. "We can always finish what we started someplace else."
~*~
I wanted to drag Wade to bed as soon as we hit my front door, but he apparently had other ideas. Thoroughly puzzled, I followed him through to the living room then stood behind the couch and watched while he fiddled with my stereo across the far wall.
He’d practically dragged me out of the bar and now he had cold feet? With just a few pushes of a button music filled the room through the surround sound speakers—wired for me by Carlotta.
"That’s a lot better than that bouncy ass shit they played at the bar." Wade turned to me with a smile.
"I like that bouncy ass shit." I strolled the length of the couch, running my finger along the caramel suede cushions. By the time I reached the end, only a few feet separated us. Excitement over what was to come made me slightly jittery as I quickly covered the short distance separating us
"Won’t your friends worry about you?"
He pulled me into his arms. I gave myself over to the feel of his heavy hands on my hips and his broad chest plastered against my breasts.
"Nah," he said.
With heels on I was in the perfect position to snuggle up close, and gave in to the urge. Cheek to cheek, my lips less than an inch from a tantalizing earlobe, I closed my eyes and relaxed against him. His warm breath tickled my ear and danced down my neck as his hands slid down my back and cupped my bottom, leaving heat trails in their wake as he pulled me even tighter against him. Tight enough to feel the erection I’d left him with. Tight enough to feel the rumble deep in his chest as groaned, and months of anticipation and lust caught up with me.
I opened my eyes, that earlobe still temptingly near. Near enough to...I flicked my tongue out and gave it a tiny quick lick. When Wade didn’t respond—negatively anyway—I leaned up and pulled it between my lips for a slow hard suck, then traced the delicate ridges with my tongue.
"Do you have any idea what you’re doing?" His grip on my ass was now almost painful.
Laughing in the back of my throat, I nipped the tender flesh then sucked again to take the sting out.
"Where’s your bedroom?" he whispered.
"Who needs a bed?" I countered, chuckling softly to myself.
"I’m an old-fashioned kinda guy." He pushed me away and smiled.
With a nod, I led him down the dimly lit hall to my bedroom. I grinned at his soft snort of laughter. The girls and I had affectionately named it "my harem room," and for good reason. Multi-colored sheers shot through with gold thread hung at the windows and a coordinating duvet cover made up of silk squares on the king size bed. Bright purple, orange and yellow throw rugs on the floor completed the look.
Feminine just didn’t cover it.
"Not exactly what I expected from the boss lady."
"Mmmm, what did you expect?" I peeled my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. "Condoms are in the nightstand."
With a grin, Wade pushed me back onto the slippery silk and fell on top of me. He wiggled his hips, nudging my legs apart and settling between them. "I didn’t expect anything this colorful, but then, I never expected to see you French kissing another woman either."
"She French kissed me." Not that I’d minded. I only minded getting caught. I thrust my hips against his. "Is that a banana in your pocket?"
"No, I’m just happy to see you, darlin." He slowly thrust back, pressing against my tender, nerve-filled mound.
We stayed like that for a while, his fingers combing my hair, his lips hovering over mine, teasing, testing, exploring until I found myself insistently grinding my hips against his, seeking release. His stamina surprised me—pleasantly so. I’d expected him to be all over me the moment we hit the door.
"Hmm mmph. Not yet." He worked his way down my chest, biting and sucking at my taut nipples until I’d arched up toward him as high as I could, frustrated and achey as little sharp spikes of pleasure radiated through me. Then he slowly worked his way lower to the valley under my ribs, and lower still. I squirmed and giggled as his warm, wet tongue circled my belly button.
He laughed and sat up. Just sat there, staring at me with those warm green eyes until self-consciousness forced me to speak.
"What?"
"Just admiring the view." He continued to make long sweeps up and down the outsides of my legs. I heaved a sigh of relief and anticipation as he finally reached for the waistband of my lacy panties and pulled them down, flinging them over his shoulder with a grin.
Sitting up, I returned the favor, making it as far as shirt off, pants unzipped before I started teasing him. I couldn’t help myself, he was right there, in all his glory, his cock hot and hard and thick in my hand. With my legs still forced wide open by his position between my thighs, I cupped the smooth round cheeks of his buttocks and wrapped my lips around his cock. He was smooth and deliciously alive against my tongue.
He slowly pumped into my mouth, one hand fisted in my hair. His other hand found my nipple and gave a gentle tug that sent little electrical impulses straight to my pussy. Grunting as my need and frustration grew, I swirled my tongue around the head and gave an extra firm suck.
"Did you know that girl you were dancing with?" he whispered as his fingertips lightly caressed my back.
"Hmmph mmm," I muttered with my mouth full.
"I liked watching you dance with her. It turned me on," he said, tangling a hand deeper in my hair.
With a smile of thanks, I kept up a slow steady movement, using my hand to jack him off at the same time.
"Ever been with a woman?" he asked, pushing me back on the bed and reaching for a condom.
"Sure," I confessed as I straddled his hips. "But I prefer men."
"That’s good to know," he hissed as I eased him inside me.
"How do you want it? Slow? Fast? Hard?" I wiggled my hips experimentally and bit my lip as my oversensitive clit ground against his pubic bone.
"Fast is good," he countered with a painful grin.
I fucked him hard and fast, not at all surprised when he didn’t last very long. After all the teasing, I didn’t either, and collapsed on his chest a few hot and sweaty minutes later.
"Damn," he huffed, "that girl at the bar has no idea what she’s missing."
CHAPTER THREE
Sunday I forced myself to run Wade off. He left with a good-natured laugh and I barely made it to Baroque in time for brunch with the girls. Sunday was our weekend recap day. Who got lucky. Who hadn’t. Was it any good? And it came with a 5-Star rating system—lowest star buys. We were as bad (and as thorough) as any man, and completely unapologetic about it.
Then if we didn’t go shopping or Lanie didn’t have paperwork to catch up on, we’d spend the afternoon in her pool or at the pool at Carlotta’s condo—depending on whether we felt like being ogled or not.
Sunday was all about relaxing and making it to work on Monday with none the wiser of our weekend activities.
"So," Lanie said once we’d all been seated and served our Mimosas, "how was Wade, you hussie? Carlotta told me what you did."
I eased back in my chair and gave her a satisfied grin. "Five shiny gold stars, Miss Cradle Robber." Maybe I should feel bad talking about him—rating him—but he did get five stars! And besides, he was probably telling his roommate all about his wild weekend anyway.
Men talk. Women talk. Deal with it.
"He didn’t even leave until this morning."
"He stayed all weekend?" Carlotta whispered with a sly smile. "What have I told you about hog-tying men?"
"I think the important question is what is she gonna do tomorrow?" Lanie asked between snorts of laughter.
"Go to work just like normal and pray he doesn’t tell his crew that the Safety Supervisor screwed his brains out," I finished with a laugh of my own. I was worried, but not terribly so. Wade and I hadn’t discussed any post-sexual relationship. I figured he knew the rules—a lay was a lay was a lay (not a relationship or a commitment)—and if he knew not to tell the guys about me kissing a woman, he surely knew that applied to our weekend of sexual acrobatics.
We stopped gossiping long enough to order and waited till our server was out of earshot before continuing. Around us, Sunday diners were dressed in their Sunday best, doing their post-church socializing, and the low chatter of people filled with God surrounded us.
Then there were us three heathens discussing sex, with just as much reverence, I might add.
"Lanie deserted me Friday night," Carlotta said, then paused to take a sip of her drink, "So I ended up going home alone."
"It’s not like you didn’t have any offers," she countered with a frown.
"After Friday work, I wasn’t in the mood but trust me, I made up for it Saturday night."
We were forced to wait for details until the waitress served us each a small plate of fruit.
"Rate it," Lanie ordered under her breath.
"Four stars—almost a five but—" She shook her head, "—not quite."
"Details," I demanded, leaning forward in my chair.
"Details yourself," she countered. "What made Wade a five—God he’s so hot, never mind."
"He’s got all the moves." I forked up a piece of cantaloupe, practically moaning as it melted in my mouth. "Yum. Wade was the entire package—and you?"
"I think his name was Greg—"
"You think his name was Greg," I said, only to be interrupted by Carlotta who gave me a dirty look.
"I was talking! He was a little sloppy, a little passive for my taste but well equipped."
"Who isn’t passive for your tastes," Lanie teased. She picked up a piece of strawberry and slid it between her lips and slowly bit down—slow enough to make me roll my eyes and look around. I shook my head and cut a piece of kiwi in half then forked it up, chewing as I slowly scanned the room until I found what had caught her eye.
A Suit—a tall blonde with a chiseled jaw and dimples, dressed to the nines in a navy suit with a coordinating red power tie. He sat with an older woman not three tables away.
"Quit flirting and give us the dirty skinny on your Friday conquest. Was it the gigolo, the babe in the woods, or what?"
"Three stars," she said with a sneer of disgust, "small and lacking serious moves."
"Oops," Carlotta giggled.
"Not only did he lack moves, he passed out! Thank God we were at his place, so I just got up and left him there."
"Left him where?" I asked with a laugh.
"On the floor." Lanie rolled her eyes then sat back as the waitress slid a Belgian waffle in front of her.
"God that smells good. I should have gotten one," I said regretting my own omelet, and never mind that I knew it’d be to die for. The grass was always greener on the other plate.
Carlotta, on the other hand, was too busy tittering to even thank the waitress. While we ate, poor Lanie filled us in on her horrible pick-up, making us laugh loud enough to disturb the church crowd and garner us more than a few frowns.
By the time the food was gone and the Mimosas drained from our glasses and the waitress returned with our check, the dining room was nearly empty. Except for the guy Lanie had spent the entire meal silently flirting with.
"Brunch is on you, since you had the 3-Star lay." I grinned and pushed the little tray with our check in it toward her.
"No need to remind me," she said, throwing her gold card on top of the bill and smiling as the waitress took it. "I should have gone home with Carlotta."
I shook my head at the sight of her pulling an extra piece of paper from her purse. "You’re not?" I asked, glancing at the tall Adonis who kept eyeing our table. His mother –or sugar mama—had disappeared, but probably not for long.
"I am, damnit. I have to redeem myself somehow. ‘Cause I’m not buying breakfast next week, too!"
Once she’d signed the receipt we stood and wound our way through the tables with Lanie brining up the rear.
Neither Carlotta nor I stopped. Instead we stood at the dining room entrance, watching her work her magic.
"Well?" I asked once she joined us.
"He’ll be at Jimmy Z’s on Friday night."
"Slut," I muttered with a laugh.
~*~
None of us felt like being ogled or going shopping so by unanimous decision, we headed for Lanie’s after brunch. Dressed in a skimpy and shockingly yellow bikini, I stood on the patio while Carlotta in an equally skimpy red ensemble slathered sunscreen on my back.
While I returned the favor, a topless Lanie went bouncing by—literally—with a tray of margaritas in hand, her smile as impudent as her unfettered C-cups.
"Someday when her tits are down to her bellybutton, she’ll regret that."
"In the mean time I get to enjoy the view," Carlotta giggled.
"Y’all are so bad!" I snapped the lid on the sunscreen and set it on the table before following Lanie to the pool.
"You okay, doll?" she asked, handing me a sparkly plastic glass rimmed with salt as I sat down beside her.
"Just thinking about Monday, is all."
"Oh don’t do that! You’ll ruin the whole afternoon."
"Thinking about Wade?" Carlotta leaned down and took a full glass then stepped daintily into the pool, her top left behind on the patio table. Her golden brown skin gleamed from the suntan lotion, and her nut-brown nipples puckered from the chilled water.
Lanie sighed and sipped her drink. "Fooling with the help is a bad idea, girl, and I’d hate to say I told you so but."
"You should know," Carlotta said.
"Y’all remember Jay?" Lanie chuckled and shook her head. "Jay was hot. Best damn mechanic I ever had and the best lay too—but he was an ass. Hated working under me outside of the bedroom. My point is men just don’t like taking orders from women. It’s tough but that’s why we have rules."
CHAPTER FOUR
I pulled into the construction site’s freshly cemented parking lot, barely getting my truck in park before Wade had my driver’s side door open.
"What are you doing?" I hissed as I killed the engine. God, don’t go lovesick fool on me now!
"We have a problem." The deadly serious expression on his face made me instantly queasy with fear.
"Someone saw us Saturday night?" We’d gone to a little Chinese restaurant just north of The Heights for dinner, then back to my apartment for more mattress acrobatics.
"No!" With a scowl, he yanked off his ballcap, ran a hand through seriously mussed hair and then replaced it on his head. "We have nearly twenty-five thousand feet of fucking ruined sheetrock!"
The only thing that kept me from screaming in horror was the site of Wade’s crew standing a few feet away. They shuffled from foot to foot looking as awful as I suddenly felt. I turned my head enough to take a good hard look at our strip shopping center sitting smack ass in the middle of a lake of sour mud. It nearly brought my English muffin and coffee up. The entire footprint—the building layout—was fifty thousand feet. How the hell had half of it gotten ruined?
"This isn’t happening."
"It is. And it gets worse, honey. Dolan is on his way out."
"Jerry or Junior?" I asked, grabbing my hardhat.
"Both."
"I’m dead." I killed my engine and slid out, pocketing my keys and ignoring Wade’s empathetic ‘honey’.
Jerry Dolan was Dolan Industries—the most prominent commercial builder in Houston. And his son, Junior was the Senior Project Manager. If they were on their way, our jobs were in serious jeopardy.
"We’re all dead, " Wade echoed.
My very first assignment as an Assistant Job Supervisor and nothing had gone right from day one. We were already behind schedule due to a dozen or so minor mishaps, including lost materials which weren’t my domain, but Hal Langston, the Job Supervisor’s. As Assistant Job Supervisor and Safety Supervisor, I had more than enough to keep me busy. Barring any serious budget problems, the possibility of us working around the clock to meet our deadline becoming a distinct probability.
I looked up at Wade and sighed. "Nice knowing you."
Despite his understanding chuckle, I knew he knew exactly what I was feeling. A company’s reputation could be made or broken on a job and so could a crew’s—and a supervisor’s.
As we gingerly traversed the sidewalk covered in mud and muck, I was as aware of Wade’s hand on the small of my back as I was Hal Langston’s eyes on me from just inside the building. He was a tall, stocky man, weather-beaten from years of construction work. Another crew stood at the edge of what would someday soon be a landscaped lawn waiting for the word to start repairs on the eight by four hole located to the left of the door.
Sweat pockets were already forming under my t-shirt, and I couldn’t even shake Wade’s hand off—not with forty or so men watching. As Monday’s went, this one ranked somewhere in the seventh circle of Hell.
Hal hated me more than anyone else who worked for Dolan Industries. And for no other reason than because I was a woman. He was old school—women should be seen and not heard, I mean barefoot and pregnant. And he always smelled like he’d just swam out of the bottom of a can of beer.
"Alex." Hal wasn’t one for formalities like "How was your weekend?" or "Good morning."
Which suited me just fine.
"Hal." As I stepped inside the building, I did my best to stay upwind of him but I had a feeling that today it wouldn’t do me much good. "How bad is it?"
"Some idiot left the water on, and after Friday’s fuckup, Dolan’s gonna have someone’s ass!" His voice echoed off the concrete foundation as he spoke to be heard over the pumps currently sucking out the excess water. Someone, of course, meaning anyone but him.
As if someone had left a tap running. And then wandered off. I shook my head and bit my lip to keep from calling him the idiot.
"Did anyone call the plumbers? Do we have any idea what caused this?" I demanded, focusing on the inch of water under my feet. I turned in a slow circle surveying square feet upon square feet of newly sheetrocked walls that had sucked up water for two days, and my heart sank to my toes. A quick glance said everything from about my waist down would have to be ripped out and replaced—sheetrock, insulation and another wiring inspection, to boot.
"One of my guys found one of those oversized plumber’s wrenches near the water main."
Hal butted in before Wade could continue, "I told you that could have been left by Little when he shut the water off."
"We don’t know that for sure though." A scowling Wade shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Have we called the police?" I asked even though I already knew the answer. Hell no, Hal hadn’t called the police.
"I don’t see any reason to call the police. It was an accident!"
"I need coffee," I said, digging my cell phone out of my purse and dialing 911. Hal and I had our own little scowl battle while I reported the possible vandalism.
"It’s your job," he muttered after I hung up.
"Yeah, it is. Now what about the brick layers?" They were supposed to have finished up this week. I slowly started my initial walk-through, wanting a chance to assess the damage before the boss showed up.
"Sent ‘em home." Hal shuffled along behind me. Whether he liked it or not, it wasn’t just my reputation on the line but Hal’s, too.
My steel-toed work boots made little sucking sloshy noises as I silently walked the length of the building. The sight of the damage had a sobering effect on all of us.
By the time we stepped back into the bright morning sunshine, all three of us heaved a sigh of relief. We watched as a shiny black Lincoln Navigator with dark tinted windows pulled into a space beside my Chevy. If it had been just Wade and me, I might have cracked a joke or something to ease the tension, but Hal didn’t have much of a sense of humor. So we all just stood silently waiting as Jerry and Junior Dolan slid out of the shiny SUV. Jerry wore his customary cowboy boots, jeans, a pearl snap shirt and a ferocious frown on his rugged face. Junior, a younger taller version of his father, just looked concerned.
Jerry slipped off his sunglasses and silently greeted us, as if we were all attending a funeral. And I suppose in a way it was. Someone’s funeral.
Now normally Jerry was a likeable man, full of good humor and quick with a joke. He’d earned his money the old-fashioned way and insisted his sons did likewise. He respected people who got the job done, but today he didn’t look like he respected much and none of us had answers for him.
Junior gave me a nod and an understanding smile. "Morning, Alex. What happened?" he asked, as Jerry stepped around us and inside the building. The water on the floor came just shy of hitting the snake skin on his boots, as if it knew better than to slosh.
"Friday—" Hal began.
"We already know about Friday," Junior said. The other reason Hal hated me? He wasn’t my boss—Junior was—and Junior Dolan, who had also hired me, liked me. I quickly filled him in, earning another understanding smile at Hal’s sputtering when I got to the part about calling the police.
"Let’s not go assigning blame yet. Wade," Jerry sighed, "How long you think it’s gonna take your crew to redo that sheetrock?"
"At least a week; ten days at the outside," Wade quietly said. "And that’s just a guess."
"How far behind will this put us?" Jerry pulled a cigar from his pocket and clamped it between thinly compressed lips.
I dreaded saying what I had to say but I knew Jerry was man enough to take it and besides, he what was coming even if none of us liked hearing it. "We’ll have to have another electrical inspection, and all the insulation will have to be replaced. Ten days with overtime, and that includes fixing the hole."
"If they can get all the old sheetrock out by Thursday, I can have two insulation crews here to work all day," Junior said.
I didn’t even have a chance to ask where he’d find the insulation so fast.
"Do it." Jerry turned my way with a shake of his head. "Get the electricians out here ASAP, and get this job in as close to on time as you can. With no more fuck-ups!"
~*~
The rest of the morning was like something out of my worst nightmare as I watched Wade’s crew remove the saturated sheetrock they’d spent weeks installing, patching and sanding. And when I wasn’t supervising, I was dealing with the police, who finally showed up, or on the phone screaming at the electricians. After enough threats and cajoling, they agreed to get their asses out on Tuesday and check our wiring, though they made no promises about how long fixing anything would take.
I collapsed in the chair in my tiny office nearly deaf after a morning of listening to heavy equipment suck out water and the sound of my little window air conditioning unit drowning out everything else. I was hot and tired and sure as hell not in the mood for anyone’s crap when Wade showed up at my office door.
"How come you’re not eating with your crew?" I asked between bites of my meatloaf sandwich. With his jeans and t-shirt covered in white smudges from the damp sheetrock, he looked as stressed and worn out as I felt.
"Thought I’d come see how you were doing." He dropped his cooler on the desk and collapsed in a chair across from me.
"Finally got the fucking electricians straightened around."
"And the police?"
"They said there’s probably not much they can do but file the report and get us some extra patrol cars."
Wade pulled his lunch out and set it on the edge of my desk with almost military precision. "Did you tell them about that pack of skateboarders?"
"They’re not a pack," I said with a laugh, then asked, "You really think it was them?" I nibbled on a Dorito, waiting for his reply. I had nothing against skateboarders. Hell they were up and down my street all the time and their tricks were...well, they took more skill than I’d ever have. But I didn’t want them darting in and out of a busy construction site and risk getting run over or hurt—and of course, suing us.
"I think anything’s possible, darlin’. They got mighty pissed at you last week." Grinning, he eased back in his chair, a small plastic cup and spoon in his hand. "Between you running ‘em off and Hal nearly getting into a fistfight with another one of ‘em on Friday, anything’s possible."
As if Friday’s mess hadn’t been enough, the three skateboarders, who’d been a total nuisance from the day the concrete had dried, had appeared out of nowhere to laugh at The Hole. Hal hadn’t taken it well, but then there wasn’t much Hal did take well, and a heated argument had ensued.
"It’s a wonder we all still have jobs."
Nodding, Wade slipped a spoonful of something between his lips.
"What are you eating?" I frowned over the pile of paperwork at his lunch.
"Chocolate pudding."
"You eat your dessert first?"
"I gotta sweet tooth," he replied with a grin that said he had more than a sweet tooth.
I chuckled and shook my head as Hal appeared in the doorway, the perennial frown on his face killing my desire to flirt with Wade. "How’s it going out there?"
"We’re making good progress." Wade didn’t bother to turn around, just sighed and slipped another spoonful of pudding between his lips. I didn’t miss the hard assessing look Hal gave the both of us. Or the way Wade slowly licked the spoon clean, a huge shit-eating grin on his face.
"Electricians are scheduled for tomorrow."
"Good." With one last nod, Hal turned and headed down the tiny hallway, his footsteps reverberating through the tiny trailer.
"Do me a favor," I said once the door slammed, announcing Hal’s departure.
"What’s that?"
"Don’t call me darlin’ when we’re at work...or honey either."
I hadn’t meant to say it quite so harshly but Hal just did that to me. With a curt nod, Wade had gathered up his lunch and quickly retreated from my office, leaving me all alone and pissed off at myself for not having more tact. I made it a point to stop him when they knocked off work for the day, then found myself hemming and hawing under his scowl until all of them finished streaming past.
"I have a reputation—"
"As a ball-buster. Yeah, I know."
Before I could respond, Hal went trolling by, giving us both another long hard look like he’d done earlier. "See you both tomorrow."
We said our good-nights then watched him climb in his dusty Ford. The sound of the diesel engine starting up drowned out anything else we might have said.
CHAPTER FIVE
If anything, Tuesday was worse. The stench of sour mud hit me the minute I got to work and stayed with me the entire time I walked the site with the electricians who, of course, confirmed my worst fears. We had wiring problems.
I stepped outside the building in time to see Wade, who’d ignored me all morning, coming my way with two biscuits and two cups of coffee, a smile on his handsome face. Sure, it was probably for the best that he’d ignored me, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
"You look like you could use this," he said, handing me one.
With a sigh of relief and a smile, I accepted his peace offering.
"Where’s mine?" Hal boomed from behind me with a raucous laugh. "Or do you just treat the ladies to breakfast?"
From nearby a few men chuckled and I swallowed a lump of dread as I picked up a few sly glances shot my way. As business-like as possible, I filled Wade in on the electrician’s verdicts while I ate.
"They’ll need at least two days to fix the wiring."
"It’s a wonder Dolan hasn’t shown up back out here to supervise." Hal stepped past Wade, giving him a slap on the shoulder.
"Any other bad news you’d like to share, darlin’?"
More laughs, and louder to boot; this time from Wade’s crew and the electricians who streamed past us on their way to the catering truck. It wasn’t even noon yet and the humidity was so thick I could feel it pressing me into the sidewalk. My feet were so heavy, I couldn’t move as fear and anger stiffened my spine. Somehow or another I had to make him understand that being at work meant business as usual. Though that didn’t make me want him any less.
I sipped my coffee, and then gave him a cold, hard stare from under my hardhat. "You’re guys are gonna have to work this weekend." I couldn’t hold back a smirk at the sound of groans that accompanied my statement.
"I ain’t working this weekend," Wade said with a shake of his head.
"’Fraid it looks like you are."
"I got a hot date."
I wanted to ask who with, since he hadn’t asked me out, but I didn’t.
"Your hot date will have to wait. You’re working this weekend to get that sheetrock finished up. And you’re probably working late this Friday night."
"Which means you’ll be here, too, right?" He shot the crew a grin.
"Nope, but I will be on call." I made to step past him and escape to the relative peace of my office where I could hide out and forget he’d called me darlin’ again.
"What if we can’t reach you?"
Because, of course, I’d be at Jimmy Z’s while he was here hanging sheetrock by spotlight. "I’ll have my cell phone."
"So we can just call you you if something goes wrong?"
There was no missing the threat in his voice. If there was an emergency and I had to come straight from the bar all dressed up in high heels and a skimpy dress, I was busted. I wadded up the biscuit wrapper and threw it in a nearby trash bin. "Let’s take this in my office, shall we?"
On shaky legs I led him across the parking lot to the trailer and flung the door open. One of Hal’s flunkies sat at a rickety corner desk, talking on the phone in a low voice. At my scowl, he set his feet on the floor and turned his back to us, obviously not in the mood to be disturbed.
I led Wade back to my office, slammed the door and threw my hard hat in the corner, thankful Hal was still outside. Kicking the extra chair out of my way, I leaned against the desk beside Wade.
"Do you think I asked you not to call me sugar or darling or honey just to be a bitch?" I asked, scowling down at him.
He set his biscuit and coffee next to mine and eased to his feet so I had to look up at him. "I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing."
"Nothing? How long have you worked for Dolan?" I hissed, wishing I could holler at the top of my lungs and throw stuff instead, but I damned sure didn’t want anyone finding out the real reason I’d yanked him into my office.
"This is my first job, but I’ve worked construction all my life."
"Ever work with a woman?"
"Yeah," he said, with a slow nod. He stepped in front of me so his legs straddled mine and reached up to give my shoulders a firm squeeze. Talking was nearly impossible with him distracting me.
"Wade, I’ve worked my ass off for the last three years just to earn a little respect. Just a little and you’re putting all of that in jeopardy. You see how Hal—what are you doing?"
He was unsnapping my dusty work shirt. Then he was untucking my tanktop. Fear and desire slid up my spine, competing with one another as his firm, warm hands grasped my ribcage. "No, Wade! Not here. We can’t," I whispered as he leaned closer. What I could do and what I should do were two very different things. What I should do is chase his ass out of my office.
"The door’s not even locked," he murmured, his lips curving into a smile.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, that I could kiss my job good-bye, if we got caught, I let him kiss me. His mouth was as warm and firm as I remembered as his tongue slid smoothly against mine and his fingers dug deep into the sore tired muscles of my back.
"You know if we get caught—" I stammered once he let me up for air. I felt hypnotized by his deep green gaze, my legs were heavy and my cunt damp and eager, in spite of, or because of, the possibility of getting caught.
"We’re not gonna get caught. We didn’t get caught Friday night," he added, unzipping the fly of my jeans.
I cupped the erection outlined in worn denim. "That was a bar, though."
"Yell at me," he said, pulling a condom out of his pocket.
I snorted in shocked laughter at the little cellophane package. "Yell at you?"
"Yeah, and turn around, while you’re at it."
I could barely remember why I’d dragged him in here in the first place. Biting my lip to keep from laughing, I spun around in my heavy work boots. He moved up behind me and leisurely unfastened my jeans and pushed them over my hips, as if he had all the time in the world. I closed my eyes and leaned against him as soft worn denim caressed my bottom and caused my nipples to strain against my bra. His hand at the small of my back coaxed me to bend over my desk. Frigid air to drift across my backside and sent another shiver up my spine. I moaned and grabbed the edge of my desk for support as he bent me over and slid a finger inside me.
"Yell," he hissed, leaning over to cover my body with his. Anyone who walked in would have no doubt about what we were doing.
I sighed at the feel of his cock pressed against me, then forced myself to follow his instructions. "Y’all are working this weekend whether you like it or not!"
With one hard thrust, Wade was buried deep inside me, and I wasn’t laughing anymore. I struggled to adjust to the feel of him inside me, stretching me, finally pushing myself up on my toes and arching my hips to better accommodate the both of us.
"No we’re not! That sheetrock can get hung—"
From somewhere nearby a door slammed. I tensed slightly until my sex-fogged brain didn’t pick up footsteps.
"This weekend, Goddamnit!"
The window A/C unit hummed loud enough to drown out the moans we forced ourselves to stifle as Wade pumped in and out of me like a piston, filling me, only to pull back and tease me, then thrust inside again until skin slapped against skin.
"Harder," I ordered from between gritted teeth.
"Yell some more," Wade replied on a thrust I felt at the back of my throat.
"It’s your turn."
"If you ain’t workin’, I’m not either." He pressed his face against my shirt so I could feel him laughing against my back.
"I’m not the drywall foreman," came out somewhere between a yell and a screech at another extra-hard thrust. I could barely force the words out as I got closer and closer to climaxing. "And don’t call me darlin’ again or I’ll have your ass!"
"I got your ass," he ground out softly.
Now we were both laughing. I shifted enough to get to my clit with my fingers and stroked myself while Wade raced to keep up. "Come on, baby," I hissed, ready to finish it before we did get caught. Groaning, I pressed my face into a stack of paperwork, crumpling some of it with my free hand. "Hurry, Wade...oh God."
"Like that," he panted in my ear.
A door slammed again and footsteps bounced down the hallway, stopped, then started again and a door closed. Hell! "Hal."
"Hurry up, darlin’," Wade hissed.
"Call me darlin’ again," I yelled for our audience, "and I’ll have your fucking job!" I reached around and dug my fingers into his bare ass as my pussy clenched and my legs nearly gave out beneath me.
Wade didn’t waste any time. A few sharp thrusts and a groan he muffled by biting my shoulder and then he sagged against me. The harsh, raspy sound of our heavy breathing filled my ears but I didn’t miss the sound of the floor creaking somewhere nearby. I sat up as much as I could and tapped Wade’s shoulder then pointed toward the wall that separated Hal’s office from mine. He gave me a nod of understanding.
We hurriedly dressed, then I sank down in the chair next to Wade on shaky legs.
"Does it smell like sex in here," I asked with a nervous laugh.
"Probably," he replied with a soft chuckle. "But ya gotta admit, it was worth it."
"You’re damn good, but you’re not worth my job, Wade."
CHAPTER SIX
Wade and I had quickly reached an agreement about work. I agreed to go on a real date with him Thursday night and he’d leave me be to have my fun at Jimmy Z’s on Friday. Which is how I found myself standing outside of Houston’s premiere gentleman’s entertainment establishment two nights later.
An evening breeze pressed the skirt of my paisley halter dress against my legs as Wade and I crossed the parking lot of The Dollhouse. She’d never qualify as a genteel southern belle. She was more of a Yankee carpetbagger type mansion lit up like Christmas and flaunting her presents.
I quirked an eyebrow at him as I stepped inside. "Wade, in case you haven’t noticed, this is a strip club." Our dinner date had gone off without a hitch. In fact he’d been a perfect gentleman all evening, but I could see now why he’d been so secretive about our destination plans. As dates went this one was definitely different.
"They have pool tables." Grinning, he rested a hand at the small of my back and guided me toward the cover charge girl. I got in for free. "And this is the classiest strip joint in the whole state, which means the chances of us getting caught together are slim to none."
"It better be as much as she charged you to walk in here. You bring all your dates here?" Inside the Dollhouse, some country singer was going on and on about picking wild flowers while up on stage a busty blonde pranced around in a thong and a cowboy hat.
"Only the special ones."
When Wade had asked me out on a date, I never imagined he’d take me to a strip joint. Albeit one that qualified as the epitome of swanky. The place was busier than I’d expected for a Thursday night, but judging from the amount of suits and ties, Wade was right. No one from work would be caught dead in here.
Wade guided me to a table near a side stage, planted our chairs so close that I was nearly in his lap and then draped an arm around my shoulder. I listened as he ordered us beer but couldn’t seem to take my eyes off the woman on stage drawing figure eights with the cheeks of her ass.
He pressed his lips to my earlobe and asked with a husky laugh, "Think you could do that?"
Pursing my lips, I watched for a few more minutes. Her golden tanned skin shone under the lights, and when she turned around I didn’t miss the challenging angle of her chin or how she appraised the crowd with slightly narrowed eyes. She might have been almost naked but she was completely in charge and knew it. She was also incredibly hot.
"I could do that."
"But would you?"
"I didn’t go to college for four years to strip for a living." I raised my voice to make myself heard above the music. "And besides, my steel-toed boots are a hell of a lot more comfortable than what she’s wearing."
The four-inch come-fuck-me heels practically made me wince. But I could see why she wore them. They probably added an extra cup to her firm, dark tipped breasts and curve to the globes of her full bottom. She had nice tits, full and natural looking. But then most of the women in here were exceptional.
"Want me to buy you a lap dance?" He leaned over and slipped a hand up my skirt.
I squeezed my thighs together and gave him a long hard look, then took in the Mayan cutie cupping her breasts with long red-tipped fingers and licking lips that matched. "How about I buy you one?"
"How about you give me one?" His hand slid a little higher, and I squirmed against the tingle of excitement between my thighs.
"Right here?" I waved a hand at the high-class crowd, at the busty redhead who’d taken the last girl’s place on the small stage two tables in front of us.
"They won’t say anything. Just pretend it’s the VIP lounge at Jimmy Z’s."
"How did you get in that lounge?" I sipped my beer, needing a little false courage for what I was about to do. The thought of climbing on his lap with an audience made my blood flow a little...a lot faster.
"Gimme a lap dance and I’ll tell you," he coaxed with a sly grin.
Smiling, I stood and straddled his lap and lifted my skirt out of the way so my thong and the bare cheeks of my ass rested against the rough denim crotch of his jeans. A waitress with a tray full of beer walked by, her pace slowing as she returned my smile. I wrapped my arms around Wade’s neck and winked at the guys at the next table. The slender, well-fed duo, a blonde with a crew cut and lots of well-developed muscles and a preppy looking brunette, watched in fascination. I never took my eyes off of our audience, even as Wade’s hands slipped under my skirt and cupped my ass. My panties grew damper and my clit swelled at the constant friction on my pussy lips and Wade’s strong fingers, but I refused to let myself speed up. Refused to let myself just hurry and finish, because my climax was imminent.
Wade’s lips were on my neck and he was saying something, but I couldn’t make out what, and honestly, it didn’t matter. All I could do was focus on his hands, the finger slipping under the thin string of my thong to tease the tender, nerve-filled skin. Then he slid one finger inside me and I bit back a moan, licked my lips and checked to see if our audience had grown. The waitress who’d winked at me earlier now stood at the bar, watching while she chattered with the female bartender. If anything, my nipples grew harder at the few appreciative smiles I caught.
That finger slid in and out of me as I rode it, never going deep enough, never hard enough or big enough, while Wade smiled at me in a way that made my insides quivered and quickened. I slid down as far I could go and my thighs clenched his hips. "I want you," I mouthed, knowing he’d understand.
He nodded in understanding and gently withdrew his finger. "I think that’s enough for you, little girl."
The absence of his finger was almost painful and incredibly frustrating and I sagged against him. "Damnit, Wade."
"Payback’s a bitch, darlin’."
I sucked in a deep breath of cold air and then let it out slowly. "So that was for Jimmy Z’s?" I asked, pushing myself upright on his lap and reaching for my beer.
Nodding, he squeezed my thigh. "My college roommate is a part owner."
"So, if you went to college, how come you’re a drywall foreman?"
"No more talking. Let’s get out of here."
~*~
We turned onto my dark quiet street, lit with splashes of paleness from the occasional street lights. Neither of us spoke again until Wade pulled into the driveway beside my truck and killed the engine.
"I had a nice time."
"We’re not through," I insisted. I slid out of the truck to the sound of his chuckle in my ears. The warm night air quickly took away the air conditioner’s chill as I crossed from the driveway to the sidewalk, Wade on my heels. We barely made it to the door before he had his hand under my skirt again and his fingers under the thin strap of my thong.
"A wedgie is not the way to win me over," I said, yanking my keys out of my purse and finally located the right one. My shaking hands didn’t help matters at all.
"Maybe this is," he murmured huskily. His fingers trailed across my butt cheeks and down my thighs, distracting me even more from the door lock that refused to cooperate with my determined attempts to get it open, get Wade inside and get naked. I gave one last rattle of frustration and rested my forehead against the door with a chuckle of frustration.
"Problems?" Wade whispered in my hair. His hands were busy elsewhere, pushing my thong off my hips until it was tangled around my feet.
"I can’t get the damned door open." I dropped my purse.
Wade lifted the skirt of my dress and smoothed a hand over my belly while slowly grinding his crotch against me in a way that made me want to bend over and just submit. The twenty minute drive home hadn’t quenched my appetite for him at all.
Turning, I peeked over his shoulder at the quiet dark neighborhood, then stepped out of the thong and yanked my dress over my head, dropping it beside my purse. "What happened to the old-fashioned guy who needed a bed?"
With a chuckle, he untucked his shirt and unzipped his jeans, pushing them down just enough to free his cock. "I was afraid I’d scare you off."
"I kissed a woman in a bar and you were afraid you’d scare me off?" Snorting with laughter, I wrapped my fingers around his erection and rubbed my thumb across the tip then licked it.
"Turn around."
"No." Giving him a saucy grin in the dim light, I leaned against the door and lifted my right leg, waiting for him to take it.
He did, moving closer so his cock was pressed against the cradle of my hips. "Your hand’s in the way."
"I know," I said, giving it a firm stroke.
He grabbed my wrist and pushed it away, then guided himself inside me. Sighing, I relaxed against the door as he filled me, pumping into me with smooth even strokes. The sound of an oversized pickup truck caught my attention and I wrapped my arms around his neck, watching from the safety of my recessed porch as it eased up the street with no clue that not far from where they passed a couple were fucking like rabbits. Laughing softly at the fact that Wade never even stopped, I sank my teeth into his neck, sucking at the warm, slightly salty skin.
"Harder," I ordered, slipping an arm under his and grabbing a firm butt cheek.
He obliged with a grunt, thrusting nearly hard enough to make my teeth rattle, and suddenly we were all business, fighting for our release. Fighting for it not to end. Fucking like a couple of back-alley dogs in heat as we took turns nipping at each other.
Like I said nothing was sacred. Wade kept me pinned to the door with one hand while the other one roamed free, down the length of my leg and back up again, leaving heat trails in its wake and pushing me closer to my climax. He caught a tight, hard nipple between his fingers and worried it as his hips never stopped. Neither did mine.
We were both straining for our climax, until all it took was one last hard stroke, and the one leg I had on the ground buckled. I clung to him as the force of my orgasm left me breathless, and only the chunk of flesh I’d nearly taken out of his shoulder saved me from the whole neighborhood finding out what a tramp I was.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"I think I pulled a muscle last night," I murmured in reply to the kiss Wade pressed on my neck before he rolled out of bed.
"Come take a shower with me and I’ll massage it," he offered.
"You go ahead." I threw back the covers and rolled over, smiling appreciatively at the sight of his bare ass disappearing into the bathroom. After a slow stretch, I gave my leg an experimental flex and forced myself up. I grabbed my robe from a nearby chair before hollering, "I’ll start the coffee."
A few minutes later we traded places, sorta. I stepped into the steam-filled bathroom for a shower while Wade dressed and sipped at the cup of coffee I’d left sitting on the dresser for him.
On sore legs I stood letting warm water run down me, soaping my hair and thinking. A dangerous thing for any woman, especially after a night like last night. I couldn’t even begin to contemplate what a real relationship with Wade would mean for our jobs. Someone would have to leave Dolan Industries. And just then, I wasn’t even sure I wanted one—a relationship. What I was sure of was that I liked his company in and out of bed. Wade had become more than just a fuck, but then I’d probably already known that all along. A lover maybe? Not a boyfriend. That implied too much control, and holidays and families—things that tended to complicate relationships even more. I shuddered and added body wash to the sponge, then winced as I bent over to wash my feet and legs.
"You gonna stay in there all day?"
Leaning against the wall, I peered up at Wade through the water streaming down my face. "I just got in."
"Want me to fix us something to eat?" he offered with a tender smile that made me grimace a bit.
Oh dear. Maybe I’m just imagining things. I blinked to clear the water from my eyes and shook my head no. "You don’t have to wait on me or anything, I’ll just grab something on the way to work."
"Suit yourself." He disappeared from view, and with a sigh of relief, I reached for the conditioner. "I guess you don’t want a ride to work, either, huh?"
"No, thanks." The bottle slipped from my hand and landed in the bottom of the shower with a loud splat. I frowned down at it while slowly untangling my hair. "See you later," I blurted out, unsure if it was a question or a comment.
By the time I stepped out of the shower Wade was gone and my house was silent as a tomb. Sighing in frustration, I sipped lukewarm coffee and stared at myself in the dresser mirror. I didn’t have time right now to think about what to do with Wade.
After drying my hair and pulling it up in a clip, I hurriedly dressed. While a bagel toasted, I packed a lunch and filled my thermos with iced tea, grabbing a couple of extra bottles of water for later in the afternoon. I slathered my breakfast with cream cheese, and then collapsed in a kitchen chair with a fresh cup of coffee, refusing to think about how tired I was.
Or how much I didn’t want to go out tonight.
Or how I was going to make it through the day dead on my feet. At least Wade had to work tonight. I snorted into my cup, then quickly finished my breakfast and headed out the door before I was late.
Other than stopping to talk drywall progress during their afternoon break, we didn’t speak until it was nearly my quitting time. And surprisingly he didn’t put off any of those bristly angry-man vibes like he’d done on Tuesday.
"At this rate, y’all might finish up tomorrow." I slid onto the tailgate of his truck and swung my legs. Fatigue weighed me down nearly as much as the heat and humidity did. Hal stood on the steps of the construction trailer watching us.
"I don’t think I’m gonna make it," he murmured with a tired sigh. "But yeah, we should finish hanging the sheetrock tomorrow."
We both laughed softly. Thankfully, no one was within hearing distance.
"If you do, I’ll cook dinner Sunday to celebrate."
"Fuck that. We’re going out."
"I thought we were staying in?"
"How about a movie and popcorn instead?"
"How about you rent movies and bring them over?"
"I’ve got a great porno collection."
Snorting softly, I slipped off the tailgate and smoothed my jeans down with my hands.
"We need to talk...about this morning," he added before I could say anything.
"Yeah, we do."
"How late is your crew working tonight?" Hal stepped off the porch and headed our way, reminding me that I had no business flirting or making plans with Wade on the clock.
Then again, I had no business fooling around with him in the first place.
"’Til the sun’s gone—eight or so."
"I need to get going," I said, "but remember, I’ll have my phone on if y’all need anything."
"Will do," Wade said with a nod.
"I’m sure he’ll holler if he needs anything," Hal muttered snidely.
Ignoring him, I headed for the trailer to get my stuff and call it a day. By the time I stepped back outside Hal’s truck was gone. Apparently, he’d slipped out early to get his nightly beer fix.
Wade motioned me over to the building’s entrance. From inside I could hear the nail guns going non-stop as his men worked to finish up. "Behave yourself tonight. No seducing men in the VIP lounge."
"Just because I took you home doesn’t mean I take just anyone home."
"I did wonder."
"You aren’t going to get all jealous and clingy on me, are you?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, but I didn’t appreciate him questioning my morals. Those were mine to live or die by, not his.
"Should I?"
"Remember when I said you weren’t worth my job? I wasn’t kidding, and this week I came this close—" I held my thumb and forefinger together just inches from his nose, "—to losing my job."
"Don’t blame me because you’ve got an exhibitionist streak."
"I’m not, but I’m not the only one.” I gave him a pointed look. “And I don’t think this is going to work. I’m sorry." And I truly was sorry. I liked Wade, a lot. Regret at my decision weighed me down, but I didn’t see where we had any other choice.
He sighed and offered up a last-ditch save. "No more sex at work, I swear."
"I don’t know if that’s enough for me." I needed my job, more than I needed him. If I had no job, I had nothing. Going back to Washington State, home, with my tail between my legs, was not an option.
"Is it the blue collar thing?" He offered me a smile that could only be called sad and for a minute, I softened.
"No, silly. The whole point of going to Jimmy’s is about being around men who don’t resent us because they have to take orders from us—women."
"So what do you want?"
Famous last words. "I think, in this case, what I want and what I’m gonna have aren’t the same thing. I want you to be my lover—I just don’t see how that’s possible."
CHAPTER EIGHT
As soon as I got out of the parking lot, I pulled out my cell phone and hit auto-dial for Carlotta.
"’H’lo?" She sounded like she’d been crying—which wasn’t very Carlotta-like at all.
"Girl, are you okay?"
"I’m fine," she said, sniffling.
I pulled the phone away and stared at it before putting it to my ear again. "Meet me for dinner at Casa Grande, and call Lanie pretty please." I hung up, not waiting for a response, and forced myself to focus on the Friday rush-hour traffic.
I pulled into my driveway and killed the truck’s engine, and then sat there listening to the soft tick of the engine cooling. I eased out of the truck and inside the house, grabbed myself a beer, and headed for the bath. Unlike last week, this one was a quick utilitarian shave and wash with no time or desire for playing. I was even more tired than I’d been last Friday. And if I stayed in the tub too long, there was a good chance I’d doze off.
I’d barely dried myself off when a knock at the door had me groaning in frustration.
"Hello, hello," two voices chorused from the entryway. Either Carlotta or Lanie had used their key. "We brought wine and pizza!"
"Are we staying in?" I stuck my head into the hall while tying my robe at my waist.
"You look like shit." Carlotta pursed her lips and frowned at me.
"Can I cancel tonight?" I asked hopeful.
"No!" Lanie wagged a finger at me and shook her head.
"How the hell did y’all get cleaned up so fast, and don’t you have a date tonight, Lanie?"
"I quit my job." Carlotta shook the pizza box with a triumphant grin.
"And she shanghaied me out from under a Volvo. I had two mechanics quit this week." Lanie added with a scowl, "I’m never going to get caught up."
"Let me get dressed." I turned back toward my bedroom not at all surprised when Carlotta followed with the pizza. My stomach rumbled as the spicy scent of tomato sauce and sausage filled the bedroom.
By the time Lanie reappeared, carrying paper plates and cups for the wine, I’d finished drying myself off and had slipped into some underwear. Eyeing the both of them clad in jeans, I pulled my second-best pair of jeans off a hanger. Then dove back in for a shirt, yanking a chocolate brown, crotched halter over my head.
"So, I dumped Wade and you quit your job." I collapsed on the bed across from the both of them and fished a piece of veggie pizza out of the box. "I thought you were just planning to give notice?"
"I was." Carlotta handed me a paper cup half-full of wine. Her smile didn’t do much to hide the tight lines of tension around her eyes. "But Chambers lit into me and I let him have it. Now I have a two week vacation before I start my new job."
"And you didn’t say anything because?" Lanie asked from her position at my feet.
"I was afraid it wouldn’t pan out. It’s for a company that works with new home builders doing wiring for communications, home theaters, and security systems. High dollar homes with high dollar pay."
"Like there’s any such thing as a cheap home in Houston," I said with a grin. "I’m proud of you for leaving that shit factory behind. So what about the Geek-Meister?"
"At least he won’t be sending me flowers at work anymore."
"You didn’t tell him you quit?"
"Nope, now what’s this about you dumping Wade?"
"Yeah, and hurry up. I gotta date."
"Bitch!" Laughing, I kicked Lanie and nearly sent her sprawling on the floor. "What the hell are you gonna do with that Suit?"
"Fuck his brains out, I hope. Can’t have you taking my title of Queen Ho, now can I?"
While we polished off the last of the pizza and the cheap merlot, I filled them in on my conversation with Wade.
"Told’ja so!" Lanie lifted her cup and for just a moment, I considered kicking her off the bed on purpose.
By the time we arrived at Jimmy Z’s, the merlot and chit-chat had done its job—dragged my ass off the ceiling. We made our way through the crowded bar accompanied by the sound of the latest Top 40 hit. I offered up a grateful smile to Brian who’d left a small cardboard "Reserved" sign on our table. He knew us too well, appearing at our table with the first round of drinks before we’d even settled in.
"You’re late, ladies," he scolded with a good-natured smile that even Lanie couldn’t fail to return.
I double-checked to make sure my phone was on vibrate since I’d never hear it ring in here, and then took a sip of my Woo-Woo. The cold fruity drink slid down my throat and landed somewhere near my toes. Before I’d even gotten settled in or had a chance to check out the crowd, I found myself led out onto the dance floor by a swarthy hunk in a brightly striped designer shirt. He gave octopus’ a bad name, and I ditched him quick after spotting the blonde I’d danced with last weekend. I lost him in the crowd, then slipped up behind her with a smile. "I had to ditch a creep!"
"No prob." She raised her beer bottle and slipped an arm around my waist. "I’m Cherise, by the way."
"Lexi! Can I buy you a drink? Since you sorta rescued me."
After a stop at the bar, we headed back to the table with the girls. Cherise, it turns out, was bisexual like Queen Ho Lanie. Not that being bisexual made Lanie a ho—I attributed that to an old-school Irish father and four older brothers.
My cell phone vibrated in the middle of laughing my ass off to an especially bad joke Carlotta had dared to share with us. I jumped as it buzzed against my hipbone then unclipped it, frowning in the dim bar light. The readout listed Wade’s number, and yeah, for a minute,. I considered ignoring it, figuring he just wanted to talk. Then I thought better of it. "I’ll be back."
The girls nodded and I slid off my stool, purse in hand as I headed for the ladies room where I’d at least be able to hear. The door had no sooner closed behind me than my cell phone started ringing. "What happened?"
"A small accident, but I think you need to be here," Wade replied.
Rolling my eyes at the girl standing beside me fixing her lipstick, I said, "How small?"
"Remember those skateboarders?"
"Shit!" How could I forget them?
"About the time we were closing down for the night I heard screams. We didn’t hear them out there, Lexi, because of the nail guns and Ramon’s radio."
"It’s okay! How bad is he hurt?"
"I think it’s a broken leg. I left Ramon in charge of closing up, and I’m following the ambulance to Memorial."
"Call Dolan; I’ll meet you there!"
"Hal said not to."
"You called Hal?" I silently swore then swore again as I caught my reflection in the mirror. Moussed and sprayed hair, dark eyeliner and killer brown lips to match my brown halter top.
"He’s the Job Supervisor, Lexi."
"Fuck, Hal! Call Dolan, or better yet, call Junior. I’ll be there as soon as I can."
~*~
Memorial Hospital was close enough to the club, I didn’t get much of a chance to worry how I was dressed or how I was going to deal with Hal as I zipped down the 610 Loop.
I frowned at Hal’s Ford as I crossed the parking lot in three-inch Jimmy Choos, preparing myself for the worst. Inside the ER was controlled chaos. I gave Wade’s name to the nurse at the desk, and she motioned to a hallway to her left while giving me a once over. It’s Friday night lady, sue me! Spending the night in the ER hadn’t been in my plans when I left the house.
I had no trouble spotting Wade still covered in sheetrock dust and plaster, or Hal, looming over him with a finger in his face. From behind a curtain I could hear soft moaning and the voices—some giving orders while others fretted. "How’s the kid? Did we contact his parents?"
Apparently, my strident voice did the trick, distracting Hal from whatever he’d been chewing Wade out about.
"Well lookie you! Dolan’s bitch. He with ya?" The smell of beer was strong, and I had serious doubts about the wisdom of Hal having driven here. He smelled as if the only place he needed to drive was between his sheets at home for a long sleep-it-off.
"If you have a problem with me or the instructions I gave Wade, you can take it up with me when you’re sober." I stood as far away as possible, smiling to myself as Wade stepped out of the line of fire. No way was he getting between two supervisors having a turf-war and that’s just what this was. "Now—" I turned to Wade, "—how’s the kid?"
"It’s definitely a broken leg. His parents got here right before you did—"
"You didn’t have any business calling Junior." Hal gave my shoulder a firm nudge, demanding my attention.
"I had all the business in the world–"
"We all know how much you like telling men what to do. Bossy-ass bitch." Hal leered at me. An ugly sight even at the best of times, but I refused to back down and propped my hands on my hips, stepping closer despite my protesting stomach.
"I do my job. And part of my job is keeping the Senior Project Manager apprised of safety problems."
"They don’t want safety; they want results—"
"—That’s what you think." By this time we were shouting while Wade hovered somewhere nearby.
"—That’s what I know."
"The only reason Dolan promoted you is ‘cause you got balls on your chest instead between your legs where they belong." He grabbed his own and gave them a shake for emphasis.
"You’re just pissed ‘cause deep down inside you know I’ll make Project Manager while you’ll spend the rest of your days supervising a crew." I stuck my finger in the middle of his chest for emphases. "And I get the job done."
From behind me came the sound of Wade choking on a laugh, but I didn’t dare look at him or I’d bust out laughing, too.
"What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
"It means you couldn’t get the job done if it came with directions written in single syllable words." I gave him a scornful once-over. "You’re an incompetent drunk, and Dolan should have fired you a hell of a long time ago. Probably only keeps you around—"
Hal lunged, his meaty paw landing somewhere in the vicinity of my chest with enough force to take me down in my three inch heels. Suddenly Wade was there between us, dragging me out of harm’s way and helping me stay on my feet while two EMT’s who’d appeared from behind the curtained-off room, kept a firm grip on Hal.
"Alex, you okay?" Junior Dolan appeared at my other side, his forehead creased into a frown of concern.
I nodded and gave him a grateful smile as Wade pulled me close enough to him that the heat of his body seared me through my jeans.
"Be right back," Dolan murmured.
With a grateful nod, I eased myself out of Wade’s arms and gave both my ankles a test drive. But for a small twinge in one, they were fine.
"You sure you’re okay?" Wade gave my arm a gentle squeeze and in return, I gave him a reassuring smile and another nod.
"I’m fine. Thanks! Now, for the last time, how’s that kid doing?"
Wade slowly shook his head. "I don’t know who was more scared, me or him. He was just lying on the ground squalling like a baby. I know he took at least ten years off my life. I’m real sorry I ruined your evening, Lexi."
Wincing at the reference to Lexi, I eased myself down into a chair. "Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you called."
I’d no sooner gotten comfortable when an angry redhead came flying out of the cubicle, her tall and tanned counterpart hard on her heels.
"What’s the kid’s name?" I hissed.
"Jeremy."
Nodding, I stood up and crossed the small space, reaching them about the same time Junior did.
"How’s your son?"
"How’s Jeremy?" we asked, stumbling over each other.
"How’s your insurance?" the obviously fuming redhead countered. Hell, she was practically foaming at the mouth. "First thing tomorrow morning we’re calling our lawyers!"
"I can assure you, that won’t be necessary," Junior said, "We’ll cover his medical bills."
"From where I’m standing, it is necessary," tall and tanned countered. "Our son could have died on that construction site!"
"We understand that, sir, and we understand you have every right to be upset."
"Damned right we do!"
"But consider this." I forced myself to speak up despite worry for Jeremy, which they’d never addressed, and my boiling anger. "Your son and his friends were warned more than once to stay out of our construction site."
"So now it’s our fault?" Jeremy’s mother’s face almost matched her hair.
"Of course she’s not saying it’s your fault." Junior rested a calming hand on my shoulder as if he knew just how angry I was.
"Of course it’s not your fault! Though I do wonder where you were the four times I warned your son and his friends to leave. All documented, I might add, and with witnesses."
"Are you threatening us?" the father demanded.
"No sir. We’ll be happy to cover your son’s medical expenses, but if you sue Dolan Industries, those four warnings and the flooding the site experienced last weekend, that I did report to the police, will all come into play. Your son and his two friends will be required to testify, and if it comes out that those boys are responsible for causing thousands of dollars in damages, there could be criminal charges filed against him." I smiled serenely and let my words hang in the air between all of us, pleased when the redhead deflated and her husband followed suit.
Finally, the doctor emerged, announcing that someone from orthopedics would be down to take Jeremy upstairs and cast his leg. Dr. Reaves left to attend other patients, leaving Jeremy in the care of a nurse—and his parents, who disappeared back inside the cubicle with tails tucked between their legs.
Turning, I smiled at Junior and held out my arms. "Anything else?"
"I am so glad you were here," he said softly.
"You can go on home, Junior." I felt funny calling him Junior when he was at least ten years older than me. "I’ll stay and take care of the hospital paperwork."
Junior turned to Wade. "You’ll stay with her and do a report on what happened, and then follow her home in case Hal shows up. I don’t think he will, but I fired him and he’s liable to try and take it out on you."
"I will definitely see her home and make sure everything’s okay." Wade draped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze.
While I walked down to the cafeteria for coffee, Wade called his guys to make sure they’d secured the site. They’d come in early and we’d do their reports on the accident. Which meant I’d end up working tomorrow whether I wanted to or not. By the time I got back, Wade had found a seat and stolen a pad of legal paper from somewhere.
"You okay?" I fell into the chair beside him and handed him a Styrofoam cup. He looked like hell.
"Yeah." He accepted the cup with a smile. "Sorry again for ruining your evening."
"You didn’t ruin my night. To be honest, it’s been a long week and I didn’t really want to go."
A nurse appeared and handed me a ream of insurance forms to fill out. Luckily I knew most of it by heart and what I didn’t know she assured me I could return with tomorrow.
"You were right," Wade said once she’d gone.
"About?" I propped the clipboard on my knee and started filling in all the little boxes.
"Us. This was a bad idea."
"More like ‘good idea, bad timing’."
CHAPTER NINE
By the time we left the hospital we’d somehow come to a silent understanding that Wade was staying the night at my house. I’m not sure how it happened and I’m not sure I cared. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of him yet and the feeling was mutual.
Inside the house I dropped my keys and purse on the hall table and turned to face him. "Is this good timing or bad?"
He wrapped his arms around me and covered my lips with his, his tongue performing a sensual exploration of my mouth that I felt in the pit of my stomach. Heat radiated outward, pooling between my thighs and making my knees weak. I came up for air and took his hand, leading him down the dimly lit hallway to my bedroom where we silently stripped each other and fell on the bed, all hands and tongues as we found the spots we knew turned each other on: Wade’s extra-sensitive nipples, the base of my spine he trailed his fingers across, the wet heat between my thighs that I spread, unconsciously begging him to fuck me.
More than anything I wanted to feel him inside me. I stretched out on my back and reached for his cock, running a finger across the tip and licking his precum off with a smile. The silk quilt cooled my fevered skin and made my nipples stand straight up in the chilly room.
"Don’t tease me." I reached between my own thighs and stroked myself, sighing with pleasure at my wetness, at the feel of my clit swelling under my fingers.
He swatted my hand away and buried his face between my thighs, lapping and suckling at my clit until I wanted to scream. Until his mouth and my hips settled into a rhythm that I knew would only satisfy me temporarily. My hips arched off the bed while overhead, the fan spun in a lazy circle, feathering my overheated skin with a cool lazy caress.
While Wade’s tongue teased and tormented, my hands skimmed across my ribcage to pinch my nipples. Little darts of pleasure zinged to the clit he was worrying with his teeth, and my heavy breathing and sharp moans filled the air as I came.
He settled between my thighs and stroked me with his cock before finally sliding home with a satisfied grunt. I grinned up at him, still working to catch my breath.
"You do realize—" he pulled out and slid home again, "—we just did this last night."
"Nope, you didn’t go down on me last night." I locked his hips between my legs and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
"There is that." A groan rumbled deep in his chest as he sank into me again, his face tense with concentration.
I urged him on, meeting every thrust and watching intently as his control deserted him in a climax that left him clinging to me.
~*~
The sun burning through my eyelids woke me up the next morning. Wade was gone, but I had no clue when he’d left, and I’d overslept. I didn’t even have time to think about why he’d left. I had a ton of paperwork to do.
I pulled into the parking lot of the construction site mid-morning and slid out of the truck with two dozen donuts and a cup of coffee. The site was eerily quiet but for the rhythmic sound of the nail gun, the occasional burst of male laughter and a radio playing Cuban music from somewhere inside the building. Stepping out of the mid-morning heat, I slipped my sunglasses off with a free finger and looked around.
Despite having to work a Saturday, and the previous night’s accident, things were going well, judging from the smiles on their faces. One by one the nail guns stopped, and Carter, a tall skinny redhead took the donuts from me with a grateful smile.
"Thanks, boss lady."
"If you want, I can open up the trailer and make coffee," I offered.
"I’ve got a cooler full of soda in the back of my truck." Wade gave me a tired smile.
Two of the guys took off to get the cooler while the rest grabbed donuts and found a place to sit.
"You not eating?" Wade asked.
I shook my head and took another sip of my coffee. "I ate earlier. Guys, I’ll need to talk to everyone who was here last night; shouldn’t take more than a few minutes a piece."
One by one they all nodded, and then Carter spoke up, asking the question that was apparently on all their minds. "Who’s taking over now that Hal’s gone?"
A few guys clinked their soda cans together in a toast. Guess I wasn’t the only one happy about Hal leaving.
"I’m sure Junior will let us know as soon as possible."
Nodding, Wade said, "Come on. I’ll show you what we’ve got done."
I followed him, while carrying on an internal debate. Ask why he left, or no? What was he thinking behind those cool green eyes? Because they didn’t reveal a thing.
"We should be done early this afternoon."
"Need an extra hand?"
"Couldn’t hurt," he said with a smile that left me still curious.
As soon as I finished up my paperwork, I grabbed the hard hat out of the front of my truck and spend the rest of the morning holding sheetrock in place while Wade nailed it to the two by fours. Just when I didn’t think my shirt could soak up another drop of sweat, the nail guns around us stopped. I turned and stifled a groan at the sight of Jerry Dolan standing at the building’s entrance.
"I need to see you." Dolan gave me a once over, unaware that the bottom had just fallen out of my stomach at his terse tone.
I motioned for Carter to come take my place, and then followed Dolan outside where the muggy air only seemed to make my shirt wetter. Holding it away from my body, I gave it a good shake to cool my midriff.
Wade and I were busted. I knew it. And there was no way to warn him. It’d only confirm what Dolan obviously suspected. I couldn’t afford to lose my job. I had a house payment. Not to mention Dolan could get me blackballed from working construction anywhere in Texas. Fuck a duck.
I’d acted carelessly and I had to suffer the consequences all on my own. There’d be time to commiserate with Carlotta and Lanie later tonight. After I cleaned out my desk.
I followed him to his Navigator, my stomach a tight knot of nerves and too much coffee, scolding myself and Wade in my head for screwing at work. That had to be it. Hal had to have heard us and retaliated by telling Dolan. It wasn’t any less than I deserved. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I slid my sunglasses over my eyes to shield them from the bright afternoon sunlight. Dolan’s Navigator sat parked next to Wade’s truck. He motioned to the passenger side door and on heavy feet, I climbed in.
"Care for a cigar?" he asked once the doors were shut and the Navigator was started, so that frosty cold air filled the vehicle.
I’m about to be fired and... "No thank you, sir."
"I would have been here earlier but I had a meeting over golf. I hate golf. In the good old days you just went out and built something. Now you gotta schmooze and grease palms to get anything done. Houston used to be a lady. Now she’s just a whore."
I winced at the word whore, despite the fact that he never took his eyes off of the half-finished building across the way. "What’s this about, sir?" I asked, wishing he’d just get it over with so I could go home and throw up. Then go get drunk with the girls.
"I like you, Alex. I really do, but I’ll be honest. I had serious reservations when Junior hired a woman.” He glanced in my direction. "You’ve proven me wrong more than once."
"Thank you," I murmured automatically, even though his words stung.
"I know there’s no love lost between you and Hal, and I wouldn’t have put you on the same crew if I’d had a choice...it’s a moot point now anyway," he added with a chuckle.
Fear mixed with a bit of annoyance gave way to mystification, and I frowned, trying to figure out what in the hell he was talking about.
He cleared his throat before he spoke again, "Sometimes my position requires me to go places that...to be frank, my wife would kill me if she found out about. Places like The Dollhouse."
Even as my own cheeks burned in embarrassment, he was kind enough to keep his focus on the scenery outside the SUV.
"I see," I said after I swallowed the lump of embarrassment in my throat.
"So, it was you."
I slowly crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap as if needing some sort of modesty. "Yes...sir."
"I almost didn’t believe it." He chuckled again.
Snorting softly, I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, not sure whether I wanted to die from embarrassment, howl with laughter or puke.
"Wade’s crew almost done with the sheetrock?"
"Yes, sir." I nodded slowly, wondering at the change of topics. "We’ve got most of it up, and they should be done with the tape and bed by Thursday or so."
"As soon as Wade’s crew is finished, I’ve got a new job for them. Next Monday a different drywall crew will come out to drop in the ceiling tiles. Make sure you’re ready for them. And I’ll have Junior see that you two don’t land on the same project again. Which shouldn’t be too hard since his isn’t the company’s only drywall crew, and you’ll be stuck here at the site for a while. I’m putting you in charge."
All I could do was bink in surprise. "You are?"
"Junior says you’re plenty capable...and he’ll take the heat if you screw up—which he doesn’t think you’ll do."
"I won’t. Thank you. I won’t, sir." My nausea turned to giddy bubbles as I pulled the door handle.
"My wife’s having a dinner party tonight, and I need to get going before she gets in a tizzy and fires the housekeeper."
With a nod, I pushed the door open.
"Alex," he said, stopping me, "from now on be careful what you do, where you do it, and who you do it with."
"I will, sir."
~*~
On shaky legs, I walked back to the building and gave Wade a huge grin. Peeking over my shoulder to assure myself Dolan was gone, I did a little dance over to Wade, my arms raised in the air and fisted in triumph, and all the guys slowly stopped working.
Wade stood, hands propped on his hips, watching me. "Well?"
"Say hello to your new Job Supervisor, guys!"
I accepted their cheers and congratulations while silently breathing a sigh of relief. I couldn’t even bring myself to think about how close I’d come to losing my job.
Wade had called it nearly right. We were done by 2:15 and the guys were gone by 2:30. Then it was just the two of us, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. My shoulders were screaming and all I wanted was a long hot soak in the tub with the jets pounding my back and shoulders.
"How come you left this morning?" I asked as we crossed the parking lot to my truck.
"I figured it was best. I needed to be here early, but you didn’t."
"Is that the only reason?"
"You’re a grumpy-ass in the mornings." He opened the truck door for me.
"So you noticed." Grinning, I slid past him and into the truck.
Wade’s only reply was a snort.
"What are you doing for dinner?"
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the truck’s door. "I thought ‘our timing was off’?"
"It’s my prerogative to change my mind. Besides, apparently we weren’t the only ones at The Dollhouse the other night. Dolan also gave us a green light to date, as long as we were more discreet...in the future." Reaching out, I snagged his T-shirt between my fingers and tugged him closer, meeting his lips halfway for a warm, sweaty kiss. "Sooo, you go home, get cleaned up and meet me at my place with some Italian and those pornos you mentioned, or whatever, " I added with a soft laugh, "and we’ll celebrate. Deal?"
"Deal."
EPILOGUE
We’d had an adventurous week, to say the least, so Sunday with the girls was almost anticlimactic. Carlotta looked much more relaxed and Lanie’s smile, as we took our seats in the crowded restaurant, was positively triumphant.
Guess she got her "Suit".
"Dish it." I sat back with my legs crossed and sipped my mimosa, needing the fortification after another night short on sleep.
"He had the most amazing apartment—"
Carlotta interrupted Lanie’s gushing with a wave of her hand. "We don’t want to hear about his damned apartment. We want to know how he was in bed."
"Guess she didn’t leave him passed out on the floor with whiskey dick." I snickered and winked at Carlotta.
Our subsequent giggles and bad behavior earned us more than a few frowns from the Sunday crowd. Too bad. I wasn’t feeling terribly "good" today.
"He had the most amazing silk sheets." She opened the menu and pretended to study it. "I’m gonna have to get me some."
I snatched the menu out of her hand. "Screw the sheets, rate him!"
"Five stars," she muttered, frowning at both Carlotta and I. "I can see this is gonna be a fun breakfast."
"Sorry, I’m beat."
"We did it on his balcony too." She rolled her eyes and grinned.
Before we could comment on her five stars, we were forced to stop and order breakfast.
Lanie arched one eyebrow while from my other side, Carlotta groaned softly. "What the hell happened to you Friday night?"
With a sigh, I smoothed the starched napkin in my lap, then proceeded to fill them in.
"I can’t believe you got busted in a strip joint," Lanie said with a laugh.
"You know, now I almost think Dolan was as afraid I’d seen him as he was that he’d seen me. I hear his wife’s a real hard ass. Old school charm and all that, but a real sweetheart."
"I can’t believe you went to a strip joint! I mean, if it were Lanie, I could definitely see it. Especially on amateur night," Carlotta added with a wicked grin. "Then again, I have seen it on amateur night. So you and Wade patched everything up?"
"Yup. What about you? Get lucky Friday night?"
"No," she drawled, focusing her eyes somewhere near the ceiling, "but there was Thursday afternoon!"
Giggling, I forked up a bite of honeydew. "Was that your farewell fuck? No, don’t answer that. You like him, don’t you, Carlotta? You like the Geek Meister?!"
Leaning over, Carlotta covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, "He’s got a big dick."
"Lanie," I sighed, "better watch it, she’s after your title."
"Ain’t nobody takin’ my title. By the way I’m out this afternoon. I need to catch up on some paperwork."
"I need to catch up on some sleep," I said with a nod.
"I need to catch up on my sex."
I arched an eyebrow at Carlotta. "With Devon the Geek you swore off?"
She cut off a bite of her omelet and popped it in her mouth with a nod. "After Lanie ditched me Friday night, Cherise and I went to this swinger’s club. Guess who was there?"
"Fuck sleep." I laughed, setting my fork down. This was gonna be good. "I wanna hear about this."
Amie Stuart
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Against The Wall! I hope you enjoyed Wade and Lexi’s story as well as the other stories in the blue collar box set.
Thank you for helping me spread the word, including telling your friends! Reviews really do help readers find books, so please take the time to leave a review on your favorite site.
It would mean the world to me!
Thanks again,
Amie
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