Bedding The Bad Boy (Dalton Brothers Novels) Read online

  “You might think I’m makin’ a mistake, but it really is none of your business. Aside from what you’re offerin’ me, I’m not your business. So I don’t want to hear any more about my baby plan bein’ idiotic, okay?”

  Fuck, what could he say to that? He still had every intention of convincing her to rethink her plan, if only because he owed that to Melina. But she didn’t wait for his response.

  “I’d made up my mind that I was focused on the wrong thing. Because sex has been good for me, even without… all that.” She waved her hand in a small circle, obviously referring to her ever-elusive orgasm. “But I’ve nevah believed sex is the be-all, end-all.”

  Did she seriously think he was going to agree with her? He remained silent.

  She rubbed her arms together, appearing frustrated that he wasn’t responding the way she obviously wanted.

  “Maybe it’s not the be-all, end-all,” he finally said. “But it sure makes life worth living.”

  Her mouth twisted and she looked away. “Spoken like a man,” she said.

  “No,” he said. “Spoken like someone who’s actually had sex.”

  Her head whipped up. “I’ve had sex. Good sex.”

  “You haven’t come with a man, Grace. In the end, how good could the sex have been?”

  She licked her lips and shuffled her feet, looking as uncertain and tentative as he’d ever seen her. “And you really think you could change my mind about the benefits of sex?”

  What was going on here? Was she testing him? Did she expect him to say, “Hell, yes. No problem”? He wasn’t that naïve. He couldn’t just touch Grace and make her come, but he would keep going until they found the magic ticket. Hell, he imagined he’d die trying, and it wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. Only he couldn’t do it by himself. “Depends,” he said.

  “On what?”

  “On whether you’ll actually give up control.”

  “I give up control.”

  “No. You don’t. Because if you did, you’d have had an orgasm long before now.”

  She seemed stumped for an answer. “Have you evah… been with a woman who’s had trouble with all that?” Again, the hand wave.

  He dragged his hands over his face, trying not to smile. Somehow he didn’t think she’d appreciate it. “Sure,” he said. “It’s not that uncommon for women, Dixie. But those women trusted me. They embraced the idea that that—” He waved his hand. “—was possible and let me run the show. And we always worked it out.”

  Her face transformed. She practically pointed her finger at him and shouted, “Ah ha.” Of course she did neither, but he read her all the same. “How do you know? They could have faked like a possum.”

  His brows furrowed at the suggestion he’d allow a woman to leave his bed without being completely satisfied. “Did you fake it?” he asked.

  She immediately sobered, giving him his answer even as she took several steps back. He sighed. Not exactly what he was going for. He’d have to push her to talk, of course, but he’d have to do it when she was closer so she couldn’t run away and hide.

  “Most men have fragile egos,” she said.

  “Well, I don’t, so you don’t have to worry about playing possum. But let’s focus on one thing at a time here. It seems you’re accepting the offer I made inside. If that’s the case, stop using delay tactics to cover up your nerves and come here.” He said it gently, but with the obvious intention that she obey. He wondered if she’d balk. He liked to dominate in bed, and instinctively he knew that was exactly what Grace needed from him.

  Only she wasn’t through fighting whatever was keeping her ten feet away.

  “Wait. Before… it’s only fair... You have to know I enjoy sex. I like pleasin’ a man. I like bein’ pleased. And despite what you said, I do give up control. But the chances of it happenin’ for me are zero. Below zero.”

  He immediately wanted to deny her claim. Hell, he immediately wanted to take her in his arms and kiss away the nonsense she was spouting. Instead, knowing she was all jazzed up and needed to say what was on her mind, he leaned back against his car and crossed his arms over his chest. “In this context, I’m not sure a below zero chance is even possible.”

  His relaxed posture seemed to calm her and she stepped closer. That’s right, baby girl. Come to me. A strange sense of lightness overcame him, as if a burden he was carrying and didn’t notice until now was lifted. It confused him, but he was too focused on Grace and her next words to analyze it.

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I mean, you’re right. I did come to see you last night to ask for… that. But part of the reason I chickened out, well, I can’t let this go any further until you know exactly what a burden it’s goin’ to be for you, Shugah.”

  Max felt a fierce frown overtake his face. “Burden?” he said, straightening. Suddenly he remembered her telling Melina and Lucy she was a sorry excuse for a woman. “That’s how you think of yourself? Damn it, Grace—”

  “Please,” she said. “Just listen to me. Let me say what I need to say or this can’t go any further.”

  Seeing she was serious, Max forced himself to lean back against the car again. “Fine. But don’t refer to yourself as a fucking burden. You’re a beautiful woman and it would be my honor to be with you. It would be any man’s honor.”

  “That’s what several men before you thought. Before they tried to give me what I wanted and couldn’t. And before you say what I know you’re goin’ to say, it wasn’t them, it was me.”

  “Dixie—”

  “My first boyfriend was an all-star quarterback in college. He was handsome, popular, smart. And he was a good lovah. He took his time. He liked sex. He liked me. But we went out for two years. Two years, Max, and nothin’.”

  She was speaking fast now. As if she had to in order to get it all out. Max straightened and took two steps toward her. “That doesn’t mean—”

  She took exactly two steps back, causing him to narrow his eyes and stop. He’d stayed away from her for more than a year, but already he was damn tired of her backing away from him.

  “After that, I tried a couple of times… with guys I just met and…” She was clearly embarrassed to be admitting she’d had casual sex. He wanted to shake her. As if she had anything to be embarrassed about, considering he was a veritable master at casual sex. “Those times, it wasn’t even good. Not any part of it. I could barely relax and I learned it wasn’t worth it, tryin’ with someone who didn’t care about me and whom I didn’t give a hoot about either. I just ended up feelin’ worse about myself.”

  “That’s not what’s happening here. I care about you. And I’ve—”

  She interrupted him again, and it started to piss him off even as part of him was finding her more and more adorable. “I didn’t have a serious boyfriend again until a few years later. I met a guy when I was out celebratin’ my twenty-fourth birthday. He was a college professor, but far from a nerd. Again, handsome. Again, sexy. Again, he cared about me and I cared about him. He had—he had straight, white teeth. Great hair. He was funny. He was kind. He came from good people. I tried to fake it but eventually he caught on. And after three years together, three years of him tryin’ and tryin’ and tryin’, and me failin’ and failin’ and failin’…” Her breath hitched and Max had had enough.

  He moved quickly toward her, not letting the fact she backed away from him deter him this time. “Grace,” he whispered as he gathered her in his arms and hugged her. She was shaking, he realized. Totally eating up that shit about her being a failure. Or maybe she was just reliving the sheer frustration she’d felt time after time, caring about a man but not being able to totally let herself go sexually. Reliving the heartache of those men walking away from her because of it.

  Only she wasn’t seeing things clearly. With the amount of pressure she was putting on herself, of course it had been impossible to let go. And that’s what this was about, he was sure of it. She hadn’t been fully able to let herself go with th
ose men. He was going to find out why and help her past those barriers.

  “It happened again and again, just like that,” she said. “Good men. Men I was attracted to. Men I let tie me down or blindfold me. Men with hard abs and big biceps and some with big—”

  She abruptly stopped talking and he found himself no longer able to hide his amusement. Laughing, he hugged her tighter. “White teeth. Good hair. Hot bods and big dicks. I got it. Message received, Grace.” She shook her head and started to pull away, but he held her tighter. “You were with quality men. They were with a quality woman. You don’t have to worry that I don’t know what I’m getting into. You’ve warned me this isn’t going to be easy. What I need now is for you to get that shit out of your head.” He pulled back and held her gaze. “This isn’t just about me doing you a favor. I want you. I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

  When she started to look away, he cupped her chin and refused to let her. “I think you’re beautiful. You turn me on more than any woman has in a long, long time. I need this, Dixie, just as much as you need it. Something’s been missing from my life. I don’t know what it is, but what I do know is the idea of being with you, and yes, the idea of proving to you there’s not one damn thing wrong with you, has me jazzed up in a big way. Has me excited. Very excited,” he whispered. “You with me?”

  “Max—”

  “Are you with me, Grace?”

  She hesitated, her anxiety and doubt apparent. Then, tentatively, she nodded.

  “Good,” he said, feeling like he’d crossed over some kind of finish line when in reality the race had barely begun. “Now, I’m assuming Lucy knows you’re with me and is heading back to your hotel on her own?”

  She nodded again, seeming to have gone mute. He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Have you ever parked?” he asked.

  “Parked?” she asked with a crinkle between her brows. She looked over at his car, a sleek black Audi.

  “Yeah, as in, made out in a car. Until the windows got all steamy. Until you were ready to rip off your clothes and do it regardless of who might come along and find you.”

  She swallowed hard, and Max couldn’t help himself. He reached out and lightly caressed her throat with the pads of his fingers. She shivered.

  He clenched his teeth to contain his own moan.

  She was as responsive as hell. He couldn’t wait to see what else made her shiver. And shake. And scream.

  “In college,” she whispered, her eyes getting drowsy with memory.

  “Then let’s get in the car, Grace. Because I want to hear more about what you were like in college. Including what you liked then, what you like now, and what you think you might like but have been too embarrassed to admit.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Max’s Magic Rule #6:

  Always leave them wanting more.

  Good Lord, Grace thought. I’m in a parked car with Max Dalton. And he told me he needs me. He wants me to give up control so he can give me a big O. So why am I sitting here pressed against the passenger door? And why isn’t he reaching over the center console and touching me?

  Max, who’d just pulled his car into a lookout point with a stunning view of the Las Vegas Strip, turned toward her. “Locals call this place Love with a View. I’ve never actually been up here but I’ve meaning to check it out.”

  She gazed at the twinkling lights and far-off desert scape.

  “It’s pretty,” she said. She tried to relax and started with unfolding her hands from her lap. Her palms were sweaty but she resisted wiping them on her skirt.

  She wasn’t sure how he planned on starting to steam up the windows, but when he asked, “So, what were you like in college?” she blinked in surprise.

  “You really want to talk about that?”

  “It’s a good place to start.”

  “Start what?”

  “Start talking, Grace,” he said gently.

  “I thought you wanted to make out and steam up some windows.”

  “We’ll work our way up to that. You said you had your first sexual experience with your college boyfriend. What was his name?”

  Grace just stared at Max, not sure why they were working their way up to anything. And really not sure why working their way up meant telling Max her ex-boyfriend’s name.

  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “He’s really not relevant.”

  “So humor me.”

  “His name was Neil.”

  “And you said Neil was a good lover. That you enjoyed sex with him for… two years, wasn’t it?”

  “A little less than that considerin’ we went out six months before we actually had sex, but that’s about right, yes.”

  “Since you waited until college, waited six months with Neil, sex is meaningful to you. Did you wait for religious reasons?”

  “No.”

  “Then why?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t want to give myself to just anyone.”

  He nodded, his eyes darkening, and she wondered what he was thinking. She was obviously willing to give herself to him. “Before that, before you had a boyfriend, did you experiment with sex? Make out in high school?”

  “Not really,” she said.

  “Did you masturbate?”

  She felt her face getting warm but tried to appear composed. “Sure.”

  “You never had any problem getting off by yourself and that’s still true?”

  “Yes, it’s still true. But I’ve got to tell you, Max. This is startin’ to feel like a routine doctor’s appointment. And I’m not turned on at all. I—”

  She gasped when Max reached over, put his hand on her thigh and leaned in close. “Concentrate, Grace. Because I’m betting if I put my hand down your panties right now, you’d be wet. Shall I find out?”

  She swallowed hard, concentrated and realized he was right. She’d been in her head, focusing on the seeming mundane questions he was asking her, but her body was obviously going where Max wanted. She was wet. She actually ached. But that didn’t mean she wanted to talk about sex with him.

  Listening to him say sexy things to her, fine.

  But her? While she could surprise people with her sexuality and her piercings and her other secrets, one thing she’d never been good at was talking about sex. The only thing that mattered during sex was action, whether she could make a guy feel good and whether he could do the same for her.

  She covered his hand with her own. “Max—”

  “I was going to spend a little more time exploring your sexual history, but I certainly don’t want this encounter to seem clinical. So let’s change the subject. What gets you off?”

  She tried to move back, but he caught her hand in one of his. “Why do we have to talk about mechanics?”

  Without preamble, he slipped his free hand into the crease between her thighs. His hand didn’t get far between her closed legs, but it got far enough. “Because talking about sex gets you hot.”

  “No, listenin’ to you talk about sex gets me hot, but I’m not any good at it.”

  “Or maybe it just makes you uncomfortable. And what we’re going to be doing isn’t about comfort. I’m going to push you, a lot. Contrary to what you might think, I’m not just a sex toy and sex isn’t just about the physical. It’s psychological. Emotional. It’s about tapping into a woman’s fantasies even if she doesn’t know what they are or is unwilling to admit them to herself. I’m going to find out your fantasies even if I have to drag them out of you. Now what gets you off?”

  “I—I’m not sure what you’re askin’. And can you move your hand, please,” she asked, her voice high and breathy. “I—I can’t think straight when you’re touchin’ me.”

  “I’m going to be touching you a whole lot more. Get used to it. Now let me rephrase my question so you understand. When you’re pleasuring yourself, how do you do it? Do you use a toy?”

  Okay, fine. He wanted to push her to talk. She could do that. “Some—sometimes. Most of the time.”

&n
bsp; “What kind of toys?”

  “A vibrator?” Oh no. Was she asking him or telling him?

  “Do you ever use a dildo?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “I—I don’t know. I don’t need it. I can make myself come with the vibrator and my—my…”

  “You use your fingers?” It was the barest movement, but he rubbed against her center. She gasped and automatically reached out with her one free hand to grab his wrist. She didn’t pull him away, however. She just held him. Waiting.

  “Yes.” She closed her eyes, focusing on his touch. Her words.

  “So you focus on your clit and fuck yourself with your fingers. And how long does it usually take to make yourself come that way?”

  “Not long. Maybe… ten minutes?” More like five since she’d gotten the clit ring, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. Granted, if they ended up going all the way, he’d see it, but he could damn well discover it for himself.

  “What do you think of while you’re doing it? Who do you think of?”

  Her eyes flew open.

  “Max—”

  “You ever think of me?”

  With the barest of movements, she nodded.

  “Ah, Grace. That’s good. That’s fucking fabulous. In your fantasies, what was I doing to you?”

  She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. “What’s wrong? What are you embarrassed of?”

  “Nothin’.” Everything.

  “Then tell me what I was doing to you. Was I eating you out?”

  His words caused such a spike of arousal that she automatically flinched away from it. Maybe this had all been a really bad idea. “Why are you bein’ so crude?” she said. He must have sensed the panic in her voice because he straightened and took his hands off her. She barely stopped herself from whimpering in protest.

  “You think I’m being crude?”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Haven’t men talked dirty to you before?”

  “Yes. But with you… I don’t know… I just thought you’d have more finesse. That you’d be more… romantic.”