Hungry Like the Wolf
By
Mandy Monroe
(C) Copyright by Mandy Monroe, October 2010
Published by New Concepts Publishing
Smashwords Edition
Cover Art by Alex DeShanks, October 2010
ISBN 978-1-60394-464-9
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Chapter One
With a stifled gasp, Nicole pushed back her desk chair and got up stiffly from her seat to rub her now numb butt. Wryly shaking her head, she grimaced as the deluge of pins and needles assailed her from, what felt like, head to toe. As the annoying prickling tingles attacked her lower limbs, she took a few stumbling steps from her worktop and gingerly stretched her foot en pointe in the vain hope that the uncomfortable needle-like sensation would soon dissipate. As it began to wane, she sighed gratefully and wandered over to the first of the three windows in the farthest corner of the room.
She'd tried to make this room as comfortable and pleasing to the eye as possible and to a point, she'd actually succeeded. The entire office was calming and soothing, free from clutter and prepared for the work she had to do.
The room was square shaped and while blandly painted in a dark beige and sparsely furnished, its focal point was the three windows on the east wall. The plainness of the room was accentuated by the lush views of the outside world, but the two complimented each other. The simplicity of the atmosphere didn't detract from the earthy garden. Looking out on to a leafy yard, filled with trees and old oaks, it was a perfectly lovely view and one she appreciated immensely.
Red leaves fluttered to the ground, autumn having turned the once bright green foliage to a more somber shade. Really, the yard needed raking, but a part of her loved the messiness of it. It reminded her of being in a park and kicking her way through the deep piles of leaves.
Sighing, Nicole realized she hadn't done anything so playful or childlike in a very long time. A part of her longed to go outside and make angel shapes on the loamy ground, but she held back.
Was this why Joe had sought succor from another, younger woman?
Was it because she was boring?
As the pins and needles abated, she flexed her muscles a little and sighed again. Glaring mutinously out of the window, she march out of her office and down the hall. Opening the door, she let it bang unheeded against the wall and marched outside. With a cry of laughter, feeling exuberant about giving in to the urge she’d had before, she launched herself into the huge pile of leaves and began to move her arms and legs to create an angel.
Angel now completed, she lay in the disbanded pile of leaves for a moment. Staring upwards through the densely packed branches, she saw the bright blue sky and the gleaming pure white clouds that mocked the season. It was hard to believe that it was autumn.
She supposed that this was one of the perks of working at home. All her family believed her to have a quaint job and to a point, they were correct. It was convenient, but still damned hard work. Just because she didn't have to work from 9-5 they considered her job to be less of a pain. They considered it to be less of a chore—hardly deserving to be considered work. Working irregular hours didn't mean that she never had to work. She still had to put the same amount of hours into her job. It was impossible telling them that though. They were stuck in their ways and refused to see her work as a real job.
At this moment in time though, she didn't care. For the first time in a long while, she took advantage of the fact that she didn't have to work from 9-5, that she could work when she wanted to. Perhaps it was about time that she stopped listening to her family and started listening to herself. That thought made her snort in self-disgust. She was far too much of a wimp to cut the apron strings. Her family worked on the principle that what Mama wanted, Mama got. What Mama believed, be it true or false, was always correct. A true matriarch, Nicole's mother would never allow her to cut the family ties.
Scrunching her nose in annoyance at that train of thought, she tried to disregard it as she scrambled to her feet, cleaning up as best she could before turning to look down at her work of art. With a smile on her face, she headed to the kitchen to grab a soft drink from the fridge. It was an unseasonably warm day and the small burst of energy had warmed her thoroughly. She could feel small beads of sweat forming on her temples and upper lip. Her T-shirt clung damply to her back and although the fans swept gustily overhead, they didn't cool her down any. Finally reaching the refrigerator, she grabbed a drink, popped the top, and sighed in relief as the cool refreshing liquid soothed her overheated body. As she drank, a guilty thought popped into her head. Unconsciously, a blush started to form on her cheeks, and she clenched her eyes tightly shut.
She had no business thinking about the men working upstairs—not the things she’d been thinking, for God's sake! The ink was barely dry on her divorce papers and, truthfully, she still felt married, felt guilty about having lustful thoughts about men not her husband. Her Mama certainly considered her to still be a married woman. It felt wrong to think about the builders and the carpenters upstairs on the third floor. Well, it wasn’t wrong just to think about them. It was wrong to think about them with no clothes on and sweat gleaming on their work-hardened and muscularly taut bodies, particularly so because they were all younger than she was. It was wrong to think of Hugh, the foreman, and his brother, Byron, with nothing but their tool belts on and everything else laid bare to her lustful gaze.
She gulped when the images refused to go away and took another sip of her drink, feeling hotter than before. Unable to help herself, her mind crafted a perfectly detailed mental image of what they would look like with no clothes on and with the heat from the day settling against their skin, creating a glistening expanse of delicious flesh. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she bowed her head against that glorious image and bit her lip uncertainly. She cleared her throat in a vain attempt to clear the image from her mind and began to tap her fingers against the can.
There was nothing wrong, surely, with checking on their progress? If, at the same time, she happened to glance over Hugh and Byron, then that was her prerogative, wasn't it? No one else knew what had been running through her mind, thank God. She could peruse them in silence and without their knowledge or awareness that she was checking them out.
Starting up the carpeted stairs, she quickly reached the second floor hallway. The staircase was open so that when you looked over the banister and either up or down, you could see what was happening on the three different floors. As she began climbing to the third floor, she hesitated as Hugh's husky yet strong timbre rang throughout the floor above and filtered into the stairwell.
Feeling a little guilty at unintentionally eavesdropping, she took another hesitant step upwards, reasoning that he wouldn't be speaking so loudly if he didn't want other people to hear. It obviously wasn't a private conversation!
“...Yeah and the damn woman had the audacity to say that I was at fault! I mean she practically wore me out- wanted to fuck at least four times a day, sometimes more. She was insatiable and I had no problem with that- what man would? But to fuck other men, as well? How much sex did she need, for fuck's sake?”
“She must have been a nymphomaniac, Hugh. You lucky bastard!”
“Lucky? Who knows what the fuck I could have caught from her! Hell, that's why I had to get tested. She could have been riddled with all kinds of disease and even with our constitutions and immune systems, we're not totally infallible. I can't believe that all that time she was literally fucking me over, putting my damned health at risk, damn crazy woman!”
“Don't make out like you're hurt. If anything is hurting you, it's your dented ego and pride. She was as much your fuck-toy as you were hers. Sure it's battered your dignity a little, but at least you didn't love her. Better a bruised ego than a bruised heart, you narcissistic prick.”
The voice was deep and had a husky timber to it. Although she wasn’t one hundred percent sure, she thought it belonged to Hugh’s brother, Byron. She doubted that Hugh would have allowed any of his employees to speak to him in such a nonchalant and disrespectful way, so it just had to be him.
“Thanks for the loving support, oh brother mine!” Hugh muttered wryly. “But none of that makes her actions right. If I fucked someone else, which by the way I didn't when we were together, I would have used a condom. She never wanted to use a condom with me. She said she didn’t want to and told me she was on the pill besides. So, if she didn't use one with me, she wouldn't have used one with anyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a fucking lie, as well. I swear she’d completely lost it. I should be grateful I'm not a father for all the care she'd taken with her body!” he complained, the irritation he felt evident in his tone of voice.
“When did you get the results back?”
“Ten days ago and thank fuck I'm all clear. It's taken all this time to establish that I'm completely free of everything. I bet if we hadn't split up over eighteen months ago, I wouldn't be so damned lucky! She could have been around the whole state by now!”
“What made her call you last night?” Byron questioned curiously.
“She was bored and wanted to fuck me. Those are not my words, mind you, but hers. I told her that I'd only just managed to ascertain that I was free from all STD's and that I didn't feel like having to go through that whole procedure again.”
“I bet she loved that,” Byron said with a chuckle.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” Hugh said, laughing coldly. “I just wish I'd realized what kind of person she really was in the first place.”
“Don't look so damned martyred. You enjoyed her 'sluttish' ways and don't deny it. I agree it was out of order for her to cheat and not use protection, but what's done is done, man. Get over it or I'll start thinking that you want to be with her again,” Byron warned teasingly.
“Prick,” Hugh muttered, his voice quieter and less aggravated now.
“You love me really, brother dear.”
“Good fucking job. How long till this project is done, do you reckon? He was on the phone again last night, damned jerk. He wants a detailed estimation of time restraints. Fuck, I'll be glad to be out of this place. The man makes my flesh crawl.”
“Yeah, it freaks me out that he can watch us. It’s the first time I've been caught on camera without my pants around my ankles,” Byron joked.
Hugh's booming laugh reverberated around the walls at that comment.
Despite herself, Nicole felt like she was being embraced by his show of humor.
“Yeah, well, I don't know what Nicole sees in that guy. There's something perverted about the way he watches us. Dirty old man.”
It should have hurt or at least shocked her that the workmen Joe had hired to fix the house were bitching about him. But she had to agree, it was creepy for him to have installed cameras. And, yes, since he’d cheated on her and left her she’d called him a bastard more times that she would like to recall. But, she’d gone along with it when he’d talked about installing the cameras in the house because, in his own words, it was to ‘Insure that he wasn't being taken to the cleaners by cowboy builders.’ Rolling her eyes as she could almost hear him saying that in that tone of voice he always used when he was talking to her as if she didn’t have enough sense to realize something that to him was as plain as day, she leaned closer to the banister to listen more carefully.
“They're divorced, didn't you hear?”
Flinching as the stark state of her situation was laid bare to all of the workers, she cringed. She couldn’t help but think if they knew that much that they must also have heard why she was divorced—because Joe had managed to get some woman pregnant. She wouldn’t have felt so—discarded if it had been anything but that, wouldn’t have felt like a complete failure. Her mother had often told her during their marriage that Joe was a good man and a good husband. She knew that her mother wasn't pleased with this latest turn of events.
Personally, over their fifteen year marriage, she'd often thought that wedding herself to Joe for life had been a complete and utter mistake, a disaster from start to finish. Since their separation, her mother had done nothing but reiterate that Joe was a good husband, that he'd always provided for her and helped their entire family when times were hard. So, she could recognize that there were good points and, she supposed glumly, that was the real reason she wanted him back, the reason she hadn’t completely accepted the divorce, however final, because she couldn’t stand the thought of not being able to help her family out when they needed it.
As she tuned back into the conversation, she heard Hugh.
“No! Really? She finally left the bastard?”
Hugh's voice had a definite spark of interest and curiosity in it.
“Uh, no, actually. He dumped her. Apparently he’d been fucking some beach bunny and wound up getting her pregnant.”
“Damn, he's more of a bastard than I thought! Why the fuck would any man cheat on a woman like Nicole?”
“The hell if I know. Have you seen her breasts? And that ass!” Byron exclaimed before moaning lustfully.
Hugh laughed in agreement. “It’s perfect for an ass-fuck,” Hugh admitted throatily.
A shock wave traveled through Nicole. Eyes flaring wide open at that extremely bold statement, Nicole fought the desire to run down the stairs and back to her office right then and there. It was difficult to not clear her throat in embarrassment and harder still to remain where she was and maintain absolute silence. Her cheeks started to flare bright red, and she could feel the burning heat flush her face. The most feminine part of her was pleasantly surprised that they both obviously found her attractive, but, at the same time, it was highly discomforting to know that her workmen knew the detailed ins and outs of her personal life and her marriage.
She fanned her hands in front of her in an attempt to try and cool her face down. She was so focused on how mortified she was that several minutes passed before she realized that they weren’t talking any more. With a grimace, she realized that now that they'd stopped talking, they would definitely hear her footsteps on the stairs and probably come to investigate if she tried to high tail it back to her room instead of going up to view their progress on the upstairs. They would undoubtedly draw the conclusion that she had overheard some of their little talk. The only option open to her was to continue on up the stairs and face them calmly and coolly. She was several years older than both of them. Surely she could remain collected enough to be in the same room as them despite what she’d heard, for a few minutes at any rate. She wasn't such a jackass that two men, gorgeous as they both were, could make her tongue tied! Or was she?
Could she actually stand in front of those men and pretend as if she hadn't just overheard their conversation? Sure, she wouldn't be tongue tied, but she knew that the flush that had crept over her cheeks had yet to dissipate, and she didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that all the emotions that the men's conversation had inspired were written all over her face. Sure it would be hard to tell what she was feeling since she was also having a hard time analyzing it, a confusing mixture of lust, embarrassment and a reciprocal attraction seemed to be warring inside of her.
Deciding to take the safest option, Nicole spun as quietly as she possibly could on her heel and crept down the stairs. She headed back to her home office and made sure that her work had been saved before shutting the computer down. Her mind was buzzing with all kinds of disturbing thoughts, and she knew that she wouldn’t get any work done in this state of mind. Switching the screen off, she headed to the connecting door to her bedroom. Seeking the comfort that only her bed could provide, she lay down and began to stare at the ceiling. The blank canvas of her bedroom was neither soothing nor constricting. It offered no answers to the turbulent questions that were oscillating through her very being.
Was it wrong to want three men at once?
She wasn't sure if she loved Joe anymore. Even though he wasn’t still technically her husband, they’d been married for fifteen years and it felt disloyal to even think about wanting another man. There was no harm in still wanting him, but wanting Hugh and Byron? That was beyond wrong, it was just plain sinful. She tried to think about how she would feel if Joe was there. She knew that if he were, she wouldn’t be feeling any lust. He had never really stirred sexual need or burning desire in her. There was a comfort to being with Joe. Being nearly fifteen years older than her, she knew she'd chosen him because she’d seen him as sort of a parental figure. What she felt for the two men upstairs was so beyond the feelings that Joe inspired in her that it actually frightened her. She hadn't realized that she could feel so much.
Shivering a little, not sure why she felt cold now when she’d been hot all day, she sat up and tucked herself under the bed covers. Consumed with her thoughts, she didn't hear the knock on the office door or the footsteps inside her office. She almost jumped out of her skin when her bedroom door opened and Byron popped his head around it. He looked startled to see her sitting in her bed.
“Nicole, are you alright?” Byron asked, concern softening his voice and making his eyes glow warmly.
She shook her head at him a little more fervently than she’d intended. “Y-yes, y-yes. Of course. I'm fine. Is there something I can help you with, Byron?” She damned herself for quavering at the start but was somewhat mollified to have eventually sounded steady.
“No,” he said and hesitated briefly before replying, “Well, if you’re alright, there is something. I just brought this list of materials by. We need your approval before taking it to the lumber yard. With Joe not being here . . . well, I need you to sign for it. You’re almost always at your computer now, are you sure you’re not ill?” he asked, pausing. “Your eyes . . . they look a little glassy. Do you feel okay?”
She swallowed a little uncomfortably. “No need to worry, Byron, I'm fine. I just thought I'd take a nap. I’ve been working hard recently, and I haven't been sleeping all that well. That's all that's wrong,” she quietly whispered.
He looked a little doubtful but approached her and handed her the list, smiling at her as she signed the material list before leaving her to the peace and quiet of her room.
Dammit! Why did he have to be so good looking? Why did Hugh have to be so good looking, as well? It was too terrible for words to have such gorgeous men always about the place. Hugh and Byron were devilishly handsome men, and, when the two were together, it was a stunning sight to behold.
Despite her renewed embarrassment as she recalled the brothers’ earlier conversation, she felt her body throb with need. But seconds later the sensation was quashed by the thought of Joe and her mother's insistence that they get back together. Her thoughts felt overcrowded, and it was hard to be rational when her life felt as though it had reached the rock bottom.
Tapping her fingers on the bedspread, she bit her lip as she considered the next actions to take. As ridiculous as it sounded, her mother wanted her to get back with Joe. Whether she wanted it herself was another matter entirely. Closing her eyes against the horrible truth, she sucked in a steadying breath. Although her mother told her it was for her own good that she get back with Joe, she knew that it was primarily for selfish reasons. Joe had been supporting her family ever since they’d gotten married by getting them out of scrapes with the law, by paying off mortgage arrears that the family couldn't handle. The list just went on and on. She knew that her mother didn't want the gravy train to end. She wasn't completely blind to her mother's faults!
At the same time, she knew, knew, that Joe wouldn't get back with her unless she sparked his interest in her as a woman once more. She wasn’t unfortunate looking, and, as annoying and unsettling as it was, she also knew, because she’d been told often enough, that she exuded an aura of innocence that made men want to corrupt her. Her figure was decent. She’d always had to work hard at it to keep it that way, especially in the last few years because all the hours at the computer had taken their toll... but she thought she had curves in all the appropriate places. There was no reason for Joe to find her wholly unattractive.
To a point, she knew that she was equally at fault for the breakdown of their marriage. She'd lost as much interest in him as he had in her, so she had to shake things up a bit. When she recalled the conversation that Hugh and Byron had had about the cameras, a crazy idea began to take shape in her mind’s eye.
The surveillance system was entirely visual. There was no audio. She'd watched some porn once, where a woman's husband had watched her fuck some strange guy who had come to their house to fix or deliver something. Maybe, if she did the same, maybe if she added some spice to their admittedly lacking bedroom department, he would want to come back to her? Sometimes all it took for Joe was for someone to want something of his for him to remember why he wanted it. Maybe if he saw that another man found her attractive enough to have sex with, his interest in her would be renewed. Or was all of that just wishful thinking?
Sighing a little morosely because of the situation she found herself in, she sat up and looked out of the window for a moment. Did she really want to go to such extremes to turn her ex-husband on? Was it madness to assume that after seeing what she’d done he’d want her again? She really didn't know. What she did know, however, was that if she could get Byron and Hugh, just one of them to fuck her, then she herself would feel a whole hell of a lot better. Whether she succeeded in getting Joe back, at least she'd have an experience worth remembering!
Both deliciously luscious, they were any woman's idea of the perfect man. Hugh was tall, around 6'1'', his body was taut and muscled. Atypical of a man that worked hard and used his hands while pushing his body to the extreme. One day, about a week ago, she'd watched him surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye as he'd stripped off his shirt. It had been hard not to start drooling. His body was enough to make a woman weep!
His black hair was several inches long in the back but cut shorter at the sides for ease of wear. It swept behind his ears and gave him an almost poetic look, like a hero from a fairytale, with navy-blue eyes that pierced you right to the soul and sun-browned skin that looked as tasty as molasses.
Byron on the other hand, was a little smaller and probably somewhere around 5'11''. His body was slightly smaller than Hugh's, but not overly so. In his own way, his body was hard from his work, but he was slender. Every move was packed with masculine vitality, and he exuded a raw earthiness that made her pussy beg for attention. His hair was thick and dark brown, cut similarly to Hugh's, but his eyes were an exotic green and the combination of the color of his hair, eyes, and skin, was just a match made in heaven. Those eyes, they seemed to penetrate her to the very core of her being.
What woman wouldn't want the chance to fuck them?
Plus her eavesdropping had informed her that they found her, or at least parts of her, attractive. Surely there would be no harm in propositioning them? Worst case scenario was that they would say no, and, if it came down to it, she could give them something for their trouble, maybe some financial compensation.
The thought made her squirm as she felt as though she was relying on a gigolo. However uncomfortable and guilty it made her feel, what she was planning to do wasn’t cheating. Joe had made it clear that they were through and that he’d moved on. But how would he feel knowing she’d been with another man? Just knowing that Joe had been with another woman raised her hackles, mostly because he’d done it behind her back instead of calling their marriage quits and then sleeping with her.
No, she thought as she tried to build up courage to go and proposition the men, she would do this and get Joe back. She could learn to forgive him for what he’d done. Her mother was right. She should not let fifteen years of marriage go up in smoke over nothing, not when it meant that the well-being of her entire family was in danger. She had to think about more than herself.
Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was almost quitting time. Resolutely, she climbed off the bed and headed over to her wardrobe. Pulling out a low cut T-shirt that accentuated her breasts and the curve of her waist, while looking extremely casual, she quickly changed, and, with the force of momentum keeping her going, she walked out of her bedroom and into the office. Rummaging through her emergency stash of cash, she grabbed a couple hundred dollars and stuffed them into her back pocket. She was unable to control the damned blush that overtook her at the thought of paying men for services rendered. It was ridiculous for her to feel that way. My god, she was almost thirty-five. By this time in her life nothing should embarrass her, and yet it got away with her something fierce.
Running up the steps almost two at a time, she soon reached the third floor and looked curiously at the progress before she scanned the rooms for one of the brothers. Her breath hitched in her chest as she watched Hugh picking up some tools and transferring them to the toolbox in front of him. She watched him as he examined the work completed by his crew. Seeing that aura of responsibility, that mantel of control, just made her shiver in pleasure.
What woman didn't appreciate a man's man?
Stepping forward and clearing her throat to get his attention was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do in her entire life. Never had she propositioned a man. She just wasn't the type. And, for the entirety of her twenties, she'd been married, so she hadn’t had any kind of practice talking with men in nearly two decades! Her nerves were rattling a corrosive path through her, but she realized, since all other attempts had failed, that if she wanted the spark in her marriage to return, then she was going to have to go to the extreme.
And there was nothing more extreme than this!
After all, the reality was that this was the only way she could actually contact Joe at all. He watched the videos to ensure he wasn't being ripped off by the Jakman brothers. Whereas he'd stopped all contact with her weeks ago. She had received no response either by email or phone for at least a month or two. Probably this endeavor wouldn't succeed in rekindling Joe’s feelings of love for her, but there was a distinct possibility that it would rile his possessive instincts and make him jealous.
Clearing her throat, she watched Hugh spin around a little warily. His body had tensed and, seeing it, made her eyebrows rise. It reminded her of an animal whose hackles had risen. She frowned but walked further into the room despite his aggressive stance and, sticking her fingers in her jeans' pockets, murmured, “You're almost done here, aren't you, Hugh?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She sighed wearily. “I thought I asked you to call me Nicole.”
She wanted to snap at him for calling her ma'am. Ma'am made her feel about twenty years older than him, not the actual relatively small gap of around four or five years!
“Okay, Nicole,” he said, his voice seeming to deepen as he spoke her name. It added another texture to his already husky voice. “Yes, we're almost finished. We’ve mostly just got the aesthetics to deal with now.”
“Good,” she said as she stepped forward and laid a hand on his arm. Curling her fingers around his strong forearm, she had to hold back the shivers of reaction that pervaded her from that one small touch. The rasp of his body air on the sensitive plain of her palm was like setting a burning match to dry timber.
“Is something wrong, Nicole?” he said, frowning at her. His eyes revealed a certain amount of bewilderment at her actions.
“No,” she said, compounding her response with the shake her head before tilting it and looking up at him questioningly.
“Do I have sawdust on my face or something?” he joked and teasingly quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No,” she murmured quietly. Her jittery nerves had abated somewhat. Looking into his eyes, she realized that she wanted to do this, no matter the outcome. But, actually spitting it out, telling him what she wanted, was a little more difficult than she'd expected!
“O-k-a-y,” he said, drawing the syllables out in his confusion at her behavior.
“I have to ask you something,” she said, mumbling a little. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply. “Hugh, I was wondering if you or your brother would be interested in helping me make Joe jealous?”
As soon as the words were out of Nicole's mouth, the entire room seemed to become deathly quiet in shock.
Hugh stared at her a little blankly and wondered what the hell he'd just been asked. She wanted him or Byron to fuck her to make her bastard ex jealous? Did she have no self-respect where that prick was concerned? Should he be offended or take it as a compliment?
He frowned down at her, but almost immediately his expression softened. Fuck, she was beautiful. Maybe not conventionally so, but the features of her face were delicate, with big green eyes that seemed to take over her face. High cheekbones were covered with taut pale skin that was so fine and fragile you could see the blue of her veins underneath it at times. Her hair was long, brown, and had reddish tints in it, and he longed to grasp that length of hair. He longed to curl it around his wrist, forcing her head back with the force of his grasp as he pumped his cock into her.
His eyes flared at her suggestively. Hearing her shocked gasp and quick inhalation made him smile. She was nervous. He'd sensed that before she'd even stepped into the damned room. Her heart had been beating ten to the dozen and his keen wolf senses that had saved his ass many a time had told him that whatever she was nervous about was a big deal.
He'd been cautious when she'd first approached him, unsure of what she wanted. Never in a million years had he expected this! For the last thirteen months of this job, he’d had to control himself around Nicole. Something about her, something in her look and her seeming innocence drew him to her. She inspired a whole host of emotions in him that both shocked and, to a point, concerned him.
At the start of the job, she'd been married and had been completely untouchable, but now that she was free … the matter needed more contemplation.
* * * *
Damning his brother's perfectionist ways, Byron Jakman grabbed the toolkit from the back of his truck. Every day they went through this routine and every day it bored him silly.
Grabbing it, he began his return trip to the top floor of the house. As he looked around on his way up, he realized that it would be weird not working here. Thirteen months was a damned long job. The house had been a complete wreck. It had needed a complete renovation which was why they'd been here for over a year now.
It would be strange to not look out for a peek at Nicole's ass or watch her bend over and unknowingly reveal the luscious twin globes of her breasts as they almost spilled out of whatever insubstantial top she was wearing. Her complete unawareness of her own sexual appeal both amused and touched him. There was something extremely innocent about her, although he knew she was no virgin. Hell, she'd been married for fifteen years and Joe Durst might be a prick, but he wasn't dead.
Frowning, he realized that he would miss her and how strange was that? Shaking his head at the unusual path his thoughts had taken, he slowed his pace as he considered why he felt like that. It wasn’t as though he had anything to truly miss!
As he reached the third set of stairs, Byron tilted his head to the side as he heard voices coming from the top floor. The rest of the crew had left an hour ago, so it had to be Hugh and Nicole talking.
He crept up to the room and stood outside listening to Nicole's long silences and Hugh's discomforted jokes.
Byron totally understood Hugh's dilemma. Nicole had always been friendly but had never made a point to be overly chatty or talkative with them. She would make conversation but she'd never sought them out for anything but work. And whatever was on her mind sure didn't sound like work!
He leaned a little closer to the door and almost choked on his tongue as he heard her say, “Hugh, I was wondering if you or your brother would be interested in helping me make Joe jealous?”
* * * *
Could she have made a deeper mess of this situation?
The man was looking at her as if she was a moron. A frown had overtaken the raw perfection of his features, and, as the earlier image of an animal with raised hackles came to mind, she almost took a hesitant step backwards, but in a matter of seconds the intimidating expression of his face was gone, replaced by his usual stoic demeanor.
Despite his earlier conversation with Byron, there was a distinct possibility that he didn't find her attractive. Maybe men discussed all women like that? She knew how indiscreet they could be. Maybe he'd just been bull-shitting with his brother as a joke or it was just playful banter or something.
She was older than him. Maybe that was a problem. Self-consciously, she sucked her tummy in and tensed the muscles in her butt. Then damned herself for trying to improve her appearance.
She knew he was stunned by her suggestion, which was why she wasn't surprised by his reaction.
“Could you clarify what you meant by that, please, Nicole?” he asked, clearing his throat a tad nervously.
She tried to control her embarrassment, tried to talk to him like the mature woman she was, but, around him, she felt as though she reverted to a silly, giddy teenage school girl. Crossing her left arm over her waist, she clutched at her right elbow. Then, realizing how telling that body language was, she immediately dropped her arms and looked at his forehead so she didn't have to look into his piercing blue eyes. “I think we both know what I mean, Hugh,” she whispered softly.
His hand came up to reach for her chin, and he tilted her face slightly lower, until her eyes met his, so that she couldn't hide from that penetrating gaze. “I need clarification, Nicole.”
She ground her teeth in annoyance. “Dammit, Hugh. I want you to fuck me in front of the cameras so that Joe will be jealous!” Her voice rang out loud and clear in the empty room, and she cringed at how it sounded. I'd be willing to pay you for your time,” she added in a rush, hoping to stall any objections.
Surreptitiously, she grabbed the rolled up bills, hiding them in her palm before placing her hand down Hugh's jeans' pocket, hoping against hope that their little transaction hadn't been picked up on camera.
“Nicole!” he muttered in confusion, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from his crotch.
“What? I need your help, Hugh. If you don't want to, maybe Byron will?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because he's my husband, Hugh. What do you expect me to do? Just let him go? Look, I just need you to pretend to be smitten with me. If the idea of sleeping with me is so repulsive, then you don't have to do that. But, please, just pretend. We both know that Joe checks out the cameras to see how the project is coming along. I can't contact him, he won't reply to my emails ....”
“Nicole,” he interrupted her gruffly.
She watched his lips as they mouthed her name and almost sighed at the perfection of that cupid's bow and the full lower lip that merely enhanced his masculine beauty. Having never been particularly fond of her name, not having appreciated being named after some dead singer from the 60's, she realized that when Hugh said it, it was beautiful. Looking into his eyes, she gulped a little and saw his smile light up those blue orbs before it even touched his mouth. A dimple came out to play in his left cheek, and, God help her, she wanted to put her tongue right there.
“I'd be more than happy to help you with your problem.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, closing her eyes in relief. Then, before he could say anything else, she quickly backed away from him and nodded farewell to him. Running through the door, she headed out into the hallway and started down the stairs. Almost running into Byron, she jumped back as though burned.
He smiled peculiarly at her, and her cheeks flushed uncomfortably. Ducking her head, she moved out of his way and ran back to the safe haven of her office.
“Did I hear that conversation right?” Byron asked as he walked into the room with Hugh.
Hugh looked up blankly. “You heard then?” he muttered uncomfortably, shaking his head a little at Byron.
“Yeah.”
“I can't believe that. I feel like I'm in a parallel universe. She actually paid me.”
“Do you feel like a hooker now?” Byron teased then ducked when Hugh aimed a fist at his shoulder.
“Fuck you.”
Hugh looked around the bare bones of the room and frowned at what had just happened. It seemed surreal yet, at the same time, a chance to be with her. Obviously, she wanted her husband back, but he was sure he'd seen a sliver of doubt in that emerald gaze of hers. She'd looked at him with such passion, such need, such desire that he felt like there was something deeper going on. But he couldn't be sure. Maybe she just wanted to get back with her husband.
He shook his head at the folly of women. That she wanted Joe Durst back was completely bizarre to him. He didn't understand it. The man was a lech, a dirty old man, and, if Hugh hadn't received almost seventy-five percent down-payment for the job, there would’ve been no way in hell he would’ve started to work for the creep.
A part of him was annoyed that she only considered him good enough to toy with to ingratiate herself into her husband's good books again. But then, it wasn't her fault that she still wanted Joe. He'd seen some of the doubts, seen her desire for him, and knew she was both vulnerable and confused. He couldn’t understand why a beautiful woman like that would want to stay with a man that cheated on her. It seemed extremely odd to him, but then women were a complete puzzle to him. Women always seemed to want the bastards. The sorry mother fuckers who treated them like shit. And the women just loved it, loved them. But the good guys? They were just treated like shit in general.
* * * *
With sleepy eyes, Nicole gazed blearily out of her kitchen window. Her coffee percolator was bubbling, and she knew that her drink was almost ready. While she didn't need a caffeine boost to start the day, it had become a routine to enjoy a dark cup of coffee before she got down to work. She found that drinking the strong substance curbed her appetite somewhat and stopped her from munching on snacks throughout the day.
Rubbing her eyes with a fist, she yawned then froze as she saw the crew from the Jakman Building Co. pull up outside her house. Having seen them for what felt like a thousand times before, she shouldn't have been nervous. But then, she'd never propositioned any of them before!
A part of her was on tenterhooks, wondering which option Hugh would take. Would he play besotted boyfriend? Or would he take on the role of lover?
A buzz of adrenaline jolted her awake at the thought, and she stared out of the window to watch both of the brothers start their work day. The men hauled their tools out of their cabs, and she heard the front door bang open as they all stomped in.
The kitchen was set to the side and wasn't accessible via the front hallway, so she could wear her nightgown in comfort and not fear for her butt being wolf-whistled at by sex-obsessed builders.
The coffee percolator stopped bubbling, and she turned it off.
There were times when she hated this kitchen. Joe had been a selfish prick and had had it designed for his size. Considering the fact that she spent the most time in it, it hadn't made much sense to her. But then Joe had been selfish and inconsiderate at times. Joe was over the six foot mark and she was barely over the five! That meant every movement in the kitchen necessitated careful planning and the use of a sturdy stool. Whenever she did anything, she always tried to get all the tools and products she needed, otherwise she was up and down all the time and it drove her insane.
She stood on her stool and started to make her coffee the way she liked it. Adding a drop of half and half and two sweeteners, she stirred it and took a deep sip of the tasty brew.
Hearing a creak that was closer to home than she liked, she turned her head sharply to the kitchen door and saw that Hugh stood in the doorway. His hard body was propped up against the door frame. With his arms crossed across his wide chest and a wolfish grin on his face, he looked overtly masculine and eminently desirable.
She blushed a little. She had known he might approach her, but she'd never suspected it would have been first thing the very next day! And she hadn’t imagined him approaching her when she was wearing a ratty old t-shirt! She hadn't even brushed her hair, for God's sake! She knew that she looked a mess and felt mortified that he should see her like this.
“Hello,” she murmured weakly, ducking her head and taking another sip of her fortifying coffee.
“Good morning,” Hugh replied.
His voice was deep as it resonated through her, seeming to jolt against every nerve ending and creating a miniature explosion wherever it touched.
Gulping, she nodded and hid her face in her large mug. Then feeling like a wimp, she turned around to face him.
Looking over him in his work gear, she felt like sighing. As her gaze raked over his legs, she noticed the hard bulge at his crotch and felt like jumping for joy or shouting hosannas at the sky!
“You look... overdressed,” Hugh growled.
“I do?” she squeaked.
He nodded slowly and stepped closer to her.
“Turn around so that you face the window again,” he murmured sensually.
Heading towards her, he stopped when he stood directly behind her, curving his body against hers so that every inch of her was pressed against him.
She felt the rasp of the coarse materials of his clothes against her soft skin and a shiver overtook her.
He pulled away slightly, and his hand trailed down to cover the peachy curve of her butt. His fingers delved still further down and soon she felt the 'string' of her G-string being pulled between her pussy lips.
She gulped but felt the cotton of her underwear rub against her clit and a small gasp escaped her throat. Placing her hands on the counter, she bowed her head, which pushed her butt out a little. Grasping the countertop, she spread her legs a little and was rewarded by the pressure of his firm and callused fingers touching her intimately. Moaning softly, she rocked her hips and hissed as a broad finger slid along the seam of her slit. When his finger began to circle the entrance to her body, she must have made a sound of denial because he hushed her and pressed himself closer to her. The movement made the digit penetrate her a little more deeply and she let her head drop down even further.
Her lower body felt both lax and tense at the same time. As that finger began to move and another one began to rub at the nubbin of her clit, she was bombarded by furious and powerful sensations of lust. She rocked her hips in time to his movements and groaned despondently when he pulled away from her.
But soon she heard the slow slide of his zipper and the muffled sounds of his clothing being moved around to accommodate him.
His fingers returned between her legs, and, this time, he pulled her underwear away and to the side.
Intense excitement coursed through her, and, when she felt his jeans against the back of her thighs, she thought she would pass out from exhilaration.
The blunt head of his cock nudged against her and when it began its long slide into her cunt, she moaned a little fearfully. Rolling her hips, she moved around a little to escape that ceaseless thrust and when finally he hit home, she groaned. He was so big, so wide, she felt spread apart, plundered by his rampaging cock.
Grunting as his cock settled, she heard the satisfaction in that gesture and was pleased by it. Despite her own nerves and discomfort and worry at his size, the most feminine part of her was immensely pleased at satisfying him.
His cock spread her that wide apart that she knew her clit had escaped its small hood and whenever he moved, it pulled that flesh even tauter and with invisible fingers that fluttered over it, she felt both spiritually and physically stimulated.
Moving faster now, his hips began to thrust harder and moans of pleasure/ pain escaped her at his relentless battering. When his hand moved down between her legs and began to rub her clit, the combination of the invisible fingers, his rough ones and the deep penetration made her shout out as a rush of release pervaded her every sense.
Pleasure like she'd never before known seemed to ricochet throughout her body. Unable to handle it, her arms slumped and he caught her in his arms before she could hit the counter. The position pushed him deeper, causing them both to moan and soon the splash of his seed hit the walls of her womb and the silent sounds of the kitchen were invaded by the sounds of groans and heavy breathing.
Dammit, Hugh swore to himself as he pulled out of her warm and welcoming body. Patting her softly on the butt, he covered himself up before lifting her from the stool and placing her weak and trembling body on the kitchen floor. Seeing how wobbly she appeared, he lifted her once more and carried her to the bedroom, where he lay her down on the bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He watched amusedly as her eyes fluttered shut and a deep sleep overtook her. There was nothing more that he longed to do than join her and sleep with her for real, but he had work to do and for the first time since establishing his company, he resented it.
Walking upstairs, he contemplated how bad a move fucking her had been.
When he'd gone to greet her, it had never been his intention to make any move on her. He'd intended to return the money to her and to tell her that they were going to be making a lot of noise today. Obviously as she was now sleeping and it was his fault, there would have to be a change of plan; but he felt like kicking himself for moving so far ahead when she probably wasn't ready for that.
Seeing her there though, standing on that stool, her butt exposed, the creamy flesh of her legs bared to his sight; his wolf, his beast had taken over. Had seen that curve of her ass, seen the small shade of color there which told him she'd been wearing nothing but a thong and suddenly, control was no longer his.
Unable to control any part of himself, his beast had wanted to mark her with his scent. Make her his. Get that dirty old bastard's scent from her delectable body and make her retain the perfume of his own.
The only part of this situation that he was pleased with, was that he'd satisfied her as no other man had. He'd seen the stunned wonder on her face, knew that her intense orgasm was the reason behind her need for sleep.
Closing his eyes, he fought for control once more. The beast wanted to return, but the man held the reins this time. It pissed the wolf off that she wanted him for the sole reason to make her husband jealous and the combination of pleasure, lust and anger had riled him until he'd no longer been in charge of his own body.
Now that the beast was sated, Hugh thought it would be easier to control, but that wasn't a definite. He would just have to be more careful around her. Obviously she inspired some deep emotion in him and that would have to be monitored at a later and less hectic date.
Chapter Two
Flickering her eyes shut to veil the emotions she knew would be projected from them, and easily read by the man standing before her, Nicole sighed softly as she felt the gentle press of Hugh's lips at her temple.
The unnecessary tenderness behind that move made her stomach churn with a need to reciprocate that pleasingly delicate touch. A part of her wanted to respond. A part of her needed to respond. But how could she? Was there correct protocol for situations like this? Was there a certain way a woman had to act after being thoroughly satisfied by her new lover? Why did his tenderness affect her so? Because affect her, it did.
Her stomach felt practically like jelly at the thought of this man caring for her, even in only a tiny way. Her heart was going pitter patter in her chest. How had he penetrated her defenses so easily? How had he reached deep down inside of her and touched the molten core of her being that seemed to burn stronger and brighter under his one small act of tenderness?
Joe, in all their years of marriage, had never managed to do that. Basically an intrinsically selfish man, he'd in no way managed to touch that intensely vulnerable part of her. But she'd loved him and God help her, she'd tried to make their marriage succeed. If only her husband had tried as damned hard, she wouldn't be here now . . . having sex with another man, a younger man, to make her ex-husband jealous.
It hurt her that Hugh, with that one act, had managed to evoke sensations in her that Joe hadn't. She wasn't sure if that made this whole hellish situation better or worse! For a man she'd had such a short acquaintance with to have reached somewhere deep inside of her that her husband of a decade and a half had never reached scared her terribly. What rested at the very depth of that emotion was the part that frightened her.
Was she forever destined to make a fool of herself over men?
Firstly, her husband not only cheated on her but managed to impregnate his girlfriend. Then, her heart was melting over the man she had basically hired to have sex with her in order to make her ex-husband jealous. God, how pathetic was she?
How had Hugh managed to lower all her guards? That she left herself open to such hurt was both foolish and reprehensible. And why couldn't she learn from her mistakes? Why couldn’t she get it through her head that no man could be trusted and that they were all out for any and all they could get.
Feeling the whisper of his breath drift over the sensitized skin of her face almost made her shudder. Her body felt hyper alert to his presence and, in a way, that frightened her too. Should this be happening to her? It was abnormal to feel so . . . alive after just the one experience together, wasn't it? The questions and concerns tumbled together clumsily in her mind and upon hearing the click of the door as it closed, she breathed out in relief at being alone once more.
Her eyes flickered open as soon as she realized he couldn't see whatever foolish emotion was in them. Because she was indeed feeling foolish. That she should feel anything but lust and satisfaction towards him was just ridiculous.
Clearing her throat, she fidgeted a little. Rolling from the position he'd set her in, on her back, to her side and then returning to her original position to study the detailed plasterwork on her ceiling minutely.
It was hard to concentrate, hard to assemble those jumbled thoughts into a semblance of reality and so, she conceded defeat. She allowed her body to reign supreme for the moment and just the thought enabled her to free herself from the restraint she'd tried to place upon herself.
Feeling as though she were watching from afar, her body fell softly back down to Earth and as that feeling of weightlessness assailed her, she pushed those pesky thoughts to the side. The time spent with Hugh had shaken her up more than she ever would’ve believed possible, and the aftermath of that surfeit of pleasure was taking its toll on her still tingling nerves.
Gulping a little in remembrance, her body seemed to flash back through the past twenty minutes. Every sensation and emotion rocketed through her body and she guiltily realized that she had never once felt this way with Joe. Never had both her mind and body been in such synchronization before. Never had the feelings assailing her, powered through her veins like a firework fizzing and spitting as it reached the sky before bursting into a series of magnificent sparkling lights.
Almost snorting at her need to embellish reality, Nicole lifted her left arm and raised it to cover her eyes. Feeling unbelievably shy and embarrassed by the depth of emotion she was experiencing, she childishly hid herself from the empty room.
The whole situation seemed scarily dream-like. The prospect that she could wake up at any given moment frightened her more than she cared to admit.
Everything about this morning had been unexpected. In fact, everything about the last two days had been unexpected. Maybe that added an extra buzz, an extra tingle to her excitement.
From feeling unbearably low at the prospect of having to ask her contractor to help her re-ensnare her husband. To feeling even worse at misinterpreting Hugh's reaction to her proposition and believing him to find her unattractive. Nicole had then experienced an extreme high as relief had settled as light as a feather in her heart.
Despite her discomfort and embarrassment, something inside of her felt damned good, secure in the knowledge that her builder, the one with the movie-star good looks, wanted her. There could be no mistake, he'd wanted and now had had her.
That thought shouldn't have been as thrilling as it truly was, she thought on a chortle.