Bad Boy Good Man (5 page)

“Motherfuck—mmm.” I self-censored, pressing
my lips together from the pain.

He chuckled. The sound was so…knowing.

“What?” I demanded. “I swear. Everybody
swears.”

“I know, but I got that impression that you
were…”

“I was what?”

The sound of paper crinkling preceded his
words. “A little uptight.”

He pressed the Band-Aid onto my skin as I
protested, “You don’t know me. How would you know if I was
uptight?”

“How would you know that I’m an adulterer?”
he countered.

“Fair enough.” I wiggled my toes, checking to
see that my foot still worked. “Thank you. And your flashlight. And
your first aid kit.”

“And my beer?” he asked, a note of hope in
his voice. “This is where I confess that I’m afraid of the
dark.”

“No, you’re not,” I scoffed. “That sounds
like a line.”

“It’s not a line. If I was trying to hook up
with you, you’d know it.” He clicked off the light, and I heard the
fizz-pop of a beer opening. “And, it’s too quiet over there.”

“For once,” I teased. How had I lived next to
this guy and never learned he had a sense of humor? “Give me your
flashlight. I’m going to find some clothes.”

I made sure I was well and truly wrapped up
before I turned the light back on and went to my dresser. The good
thing about being in the dark was, I didn’t have to dress to
impress him.
Not that it would matter
, I reminded
myself.

Just to prove it, I put on my floppiest,
softest t-shirt and a pair of cotton sleep pants. Shapeless, drab,
and miss-matched shades of brown and gray. I was dressed for
painting a living room, not getting my freak on.

I limped past my bed, swinging the
flashlight. “The couch is this way.”

He followed me in the darkness, and we took
opposite ends of the small sofa. In the beam of light, I saw him
press the top of a beer bottle against his flexed forearm. With a
twist, the top popped off.

“Holy shit.” I was definitely hard up for it
when just looking at the muscles of his arm knocked the wind out of
me. He hadn’t gotten a shirt when he’d gone for the beer and
Band-Aids. I wondered if that was intentional. No, wait. Maybe I
was
hoping
it was intentional.

He passed the bottle to me. “I didn’t have
much in the way of food, or I would have brought some.”

“I have cake!” I blurted.

“Was it your birthday?” he asked as I dashed
to the kitchen–as much of a dash as I could accomplish with my sore
heel.

“No, actually…” Oh well. He’d seen me
practically naked, might as well bare my embarrassing soul, too. “I
made it for you. I was going to bring it over today, to say I was
sorry for the whole misunderstanding.”

“What made you change your mind? It was so
good, you wanted to keep it for yourself?” he teased.

“No, um…”
Your tantrum fuck made me want
to keep it for myself.
No. I would not throw cold water on him
when we were both making the most of a bad evening. “I thought you
might think I was being silly, making a cake for you. We barely
know each other.”

“I think it’s a safe bet that everyone likes
cake, though, isn’t it?” he called as I cut a couple slices and put
them on plates. At least, with the lights off, he wouldn’t see what
a mess the kitchen was.

I returned and passed him a plate. “You’d
think, right?”

He took the cake and raised an eyebrow at it.
“I was expecting to get a piece that said ‘jerk’ in frosting.”

“No, only really, really big jerks get it in
writing.” I waited, oddly nervous as he took his first bite.
Sometimes, I think it would be less nerve-wracking to walk through
Times Square naked than introduce new people to my baking.

“This is amazing,” he said around a
mouthful.

I swallowed and said, “Thanks. It should be.
I’ve been baking for a while.”

“It’s a good hobby. Could be a fallback
career, if you needed one.” When I laughed, he went on, “Seriously.
This is good enough that you could open your own bakery.”

“Sometimes, I do fantasize about this
alternate universe me, with alternate universe parents who let her
open up her own alternate universe bakery.” I laughed at myself and
tipped my head back against the couch. “That’s so pathetic.”

“No, not pathetic.” His voice was oddly soft.
“I think it sounds deeply unhappy.”

“I was raised to be practical, not happy.”
Wow, that sounded maudlin. “I just mean, I was taught by my parents
to be cautious about stuff. I don’t generally take chances.”

He shrugged. “My family was the same. But I’m
a rebel. Maybe you’d be happier if you tried it out, some
time.”

Maybe it was the realization of how repressed
my life sounded when explained to someone else. Maybe it was the
beer, or the fact that the most built guy I’d ever seen in person
was sitting next to me with his shirt off. Maybe it was the
ecstatic screaming I heard on Tuesday and Thursday nights that gave
testament to the fact that he had skills to go with that awesome
body.

For whatever reason, I decided then and there
that I was going to rebel. And, I did it by launching myself at him
and kissing him.

Chapter
Four

“Whoa!” Antony pulled back, his hands on my shoulders. He laughed,
a shocked sound that didn’t necessarily rule out anything. “I’ve
never had someone take my advice that quick, before.”

“Sorry, I thought…” I’d thought what? That
because he was constantly having overnight guests, he wanted to be
with me? That our friendly banter had been a promise of seduction
or something? “Ugh, I’m sorry, that was totally inappropriate.” A
bead of sweat formed at my temple. It had to be from embarrassment,
since the temperature was dropping fast with no thermostat to
regulate it.

“Maybe a little inappropriate. More
surprising than inappropriate.” He paused. “Because to be honest,
I’ve been sitting here trying to think of a good moment to make a
move.”

“No, you weren’t,” I laughed. “You’re just
trying to make me feel better.”

“No, I was, I swear.” He shrugged. “I think
you’re cute. And, I kind of dig that whole repressed vibe you’ve
got going on.”

“Because you want to be the bad boy who
corrupts the uptight virgin?” I amended quickly, “I’m not a virgin.
It was just an expression.”

“I didn’t think you were. And, I’m not a
pervert; I don’t get off on exploiting innocent young women. But
I’d be lying if I said that’s not a thing that turns men on.” He
stopped himself with an embarrassed laugh. “I sound like a total
dick right now, don’t I?”

“Yeah, kind of dickish. But maybe not as
dickish as morally condemning someone, then jumping them at the
first available opportunity.” Now that he’d admitted that he was
attracted to me, and I’d made it mortifyingly clear that I was
attracted to him, the pressure was off.

His slow smile in the dim light told me that
he felt the same. “So…if you wanted to…”

If I wanted to. If I wanted to have casual
sex with my neighbor, opening up a ton of potentially awkward
situations—even more awkward than what had already transpired
between us—and ensuring future embarrassment and general
misery.

The memory of all those screams and moans
that had floated through the wall taunted me. I had never been with
anyone who’d made me feel like that. After the dry spell I’d been
having, I could really, really use a night of feeling like
that.

“Totally casual? No big deal if I bring a guy
over here for a date or something? You’re not going to be insulted
or anything?” I asked cautiously. He didn’t know that there was no
other man on the horizon.

“As long as you don’t mind my Tuesdays and
Thursdays,” he said with a smirk.

“I think if we stick to our volume control
rule, it’ll be fine.” I leaned forward and tentatively placed one
hand on his chest. Oh god, the hair there tickled my palm. My
throat went desert dry.

“And no pressure, if it’s not going to happen
again,” he said, taking that hand and shaking it. “I have to be
honest… We don’t know each other very well. And, I don’t have any
guarantee that you’re not going to be weird about this in the
future, and you can only take me at my word that I’m not going to
be weird about it, so…”

“So, we’re on equal footing here.” I pulled
back slightly, testing the connection of our hands. He didn’t let
me go. Holding my gaze in the diffuse glow of the flashlight, he
lifted my hand to his mouth and brushed my fingertips across his
bottom lip. There was an easy intimacy in the way he did it that
flooded my veins with heat.

I exhaled, shaking.

Still pressing kisses to my fingers, my palm
the ticklish base of my thumb, he said, “Look, I find it helps to
be upfront about stuff before we get in the moment and let things
slide. One, do you have any condoms, or should I run over to my
place and get one?”

“I have some.” I didn’t need to tell him that
they’d been sitting in my dresser drawer without hope for weeks
now. I’d bought them to go on a blind date with someone Dawn had
set me up with. We’d had zero chemistry.

I
don’t
go on a date with a guy, and
we end up having sex. That was really something.

“Good,” he said, sounding relieved that would
we go on without interruption. He bent his head to suck at the
pulse point of my wrist. “I usually take the lead during sex, and
I’m told I can be a little bossy.”

“Oh.” I had to keep from fanning myself.
“That’s…fine.”

“If I’m too forceful or rough or something,
let me know.” He nibbled his way up the inside of my forearm to my
elbow.

“I’ve never been accused of bossiness. I
generally let the guy take the lead.” It was difficult to keep my
voice steady as he guided my arm around his neck. “Is there
anything you don’t like?”

“How about we take that on a case-by-case
basis?” He started laughing before he could continue. “I don’t want
to say ‘no holds barred’ and then find myself tied up and getting
it from your strap-on.”

My abs hurt from laughing too hard. My head
sagged forward as I tried to get myself under control. When I
looked up again, there was no space between our lips. He’d swooped
in on me, cupping my jaw in his hands, leaning into the embrace
he’d already set up by sliding my arm onto his shoulder.

He was smooth as fuck.

His lips soft, gentle and demanding at the
same time. I opened my mouth, and he took the invitation, sliding
his tongue against mine. I’d never really been into kissing, but
clearly, I hadn’t been with guys who did it right. I’d had guys go
down on me and not turn me on as much as Antony’s mouth on mine
did.

With a hand on each shoulder, I gave him a
small push back, just so I could get a breath. “You’re a really
good kisser.”

“You have to have a good partner,” he
murmured against my lips before he claimed them again.

He brought his hands up to bracket my head,
and encountered the tangles of my slightly damp hair. “Can we take
this down?”

I reached up and freed my hair from the
ponytail holder that held it piled up in a ridiculous floppy bun.
How had he even wanted to have sex with me after seeing me like
that? Maybe the power outage was to my advantage.

As my hair fell around my shoulders, he
leaned close. He buried his face in my tresses, inhaling deeply. “I
love your hair. Come here, I want to feel it.”

I didn’t have to ask where he wanted me,
because he slipped his hands under my butt and lifted me up, like I
was a handful of feathers.

“Right here,” he whispered against my ear,
guiding my legs apart with his knees so that I straddled his lap.
He made a low sound in his throat as my hair fell around his
shoulders.

“Hey,” I whispered. “The batteries in that
flashlight are going to run out.” It wasn’t because I was nervous
of him seeing me. Well, that was a part of it. But doing it in the
total dark had some really sexy advantages. Everything was a
surprise, that way.

He reached over and turned it off, plunging
us into blackness. “This has a real ‘seven minutes in heaven’ feel,
right now.”

“I know; it’s like being in middle school.”
But the last time I’d been locked in a closet with someone as a
party game, he sure as hell hadn’t had a body like Antony’s. He was
so…solid. There was only a little give to his arms when I gripped
them to steady myself. “Except, not exactly PG-13.”

“No, tonight is going to be NC-17, I
promise.” His fingers combed through my hair, bringing it forward
to enclose us both like a canopy of willow branches. “You’re so
goddamn beautiful. And, I’m not just saying that to fuck you.”

“I know. I was gonna fuck you, anyway.” I
pressed our mouths together again, and it was such a hungry, deep
kiss that I couldn’t breathe. When we pulled apart, I gasped. “But
it’s nice to hear.”

“You wanna try something?” he whispered
against my jaw.

I most definitely wanted to try something.
“Anything you want. Tell me what to do, if you’re so damn
bossy.”

“Sit on your hands.” His voice was gruff as
he issued the command, and heat shot through me.
So,
this
is what they mean by “alpha-male”.

I straightened up a little, flipping my hair
to one side the way dogs tilt their heads when they looked
confused. “Why?”

“Just do it.” He took my hands and guided
them to my thighs. I slipped them under, trapping my fingers
between my legs and his. “Good,” he murmured against my cheek.
“Very good.”

I held my breath as his fingers skimmed up my
thighs, over my belly, and to the hem of my t-shirt. He hadn’t
tried to take it off, which was some how hotter than having him
strip it from me. With my hands pinned, removing the shirt wasn’t
even an option. It was the lightest form of bondage I could
imagine, but I felt so helplessly constricted.