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Chapter Two
Josephine
What the hell is wrong with me?I had sex with a complete stranger in a fucking nature preserve where any Tom, Dick, or Harry could have watched.
Fear of jumping off the deep end after a chance encounter had me running for the hills—literally. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Good thing Hades was on my heels, or I might have left him behind.
I speed out of the parking lot, but I allow myself one last look in the review mirror. Fuck if my heart doesn’t leap into my throat when I see him standing in the lot with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his handsome face. I force myself to accelerate when every fiber in my body is screaming at me to stomp on the breaks.
Shame consumes me as I speed back to my condo, hoping and praying I can get ready fast enough for my morning appointment with my biggest client in over a year.
This was not how I planned my morning when I set out for my daily run. I was up by five and out the door no later than a quarter after with Hades. Running is the only time in my schedule when I unwind and meditate. It brings me the peace I need to tackle the rest of my hectic day. I was minding my own damn business, not bothering a soul in the world, before everything went batshit crazy.
I was running the trail wallowing in a pity party over the past year’s events. Over a year ago, I was a content woman working at the firm of my dreams, and on the arm of a man I was in love with. But the fucker broke my heart and didn’t give two shits about stealing my dream from me. I try to brush off the bad vibes while I weave my way along the trail.
All of a sudden—BOOM—this walking sex-on-a-stick barreled in to me and threw me over his massive shoulder like a bag of flour.
I laugh through my tears thinking of how I pounded against his chest and kicked at his shins, making his arm constrict around me tighter than a damn boa. He explained himself—his only concern was to save me from Hades. Looking at Hades from an outsider’s perspective, I totally got his reasoning.
And fuck me if Maceo wasn’t charming the pants right off of me like he wanted. His proximity was enough to make me drunk with need. His soft lips on my knuckles only made me want those lips all over me. The warmth of his arms holding me close sent shivers of pleasure all through my body and deep into my lower belly. His voice hypnotized me, and I gave into his charisma and unspoken sexual requests.
Choking on my tears as I drive, I want to blame my rash decision—having sex with a total stranger—on not having sex for a whole damn year. I haven’t felt compelled to be involved with anyone else since I broke up with Jacob.
It had only been Jacob since freshman year in college. If I’m being honest, Jacob didn’t bring much to the bedroom. Most of the time, I had to finish myself off in the bathroom after the fact; Jacob was a two-pump chump.
Maceo—my stomach flutters and my thighs squeeze together—Maceo was a sex god who was clearly ready to lay me out. A voice in my head I never listen to—the irrational part that had me leave my life the last time I paid attention to it—was screaming at me to jump his bones.
So what did I do? I took the fucking leap.
Before I knew what I was doing, my hands were running all over his hard body and groping him through his shorts, where I could feel he had a frenum piercing. I never intended for things to get carried away the way they did. I should have stopped it right there, but his hand slid past my soaked panties, and his thick fingers were inside me, circling my clit. My body turned off my mind, and I pushed my hips forward to ride his hand like I was starving for his touch. His commanding voice was all I needed to go over the edge.
Without hesitation, I stripped both of us and begged Maceo to fuck me bareback.Reasoning be damned.Not when he impaled me on his long shaft, or kissed me fervently, or in our final moments before we exploded together, I never belong anywhere else but with him.
Our happy encounter ended right there. Reality came crashing down hard while I was still perched on his dick, which I swear never went soft. Shame and dread bubble up inside me. I fucked a man I just met and know nothing about.
As if that isn’t bad enough already, the crazed look of possession in his dark eyes scared me more than anything else. But it was those small touches he gave me after I came to my senses which had me second guessing everything. His words about our partnering being inevitable had me painting a picture in my head with him by my side. And fuck me if it didn’t feelright.
My mind drifts back to the present as another sob escapes my throat and tears prick my eyes.What the hell am I doing?Was Maceo right when he said not to fight this? I shake my head to clear the absurd notion.
It’s not long before Hades and I are pulling up to the condo. I race with him up the steps, and I immediately go to the kitchen to put dog food in Hades’s dish. I grab a glass of water for myself, but I regret it instantly because I can no longer taste Maceo’s kiss on my lips.
Enough!These ridiculous thoughts have to go.
On autopilot, I navigate myself around my condo, pulling out my best business clothes and highest stilettos before turning on the shower. I step into the hot blast and scrub any remainder of Maceo from my body. Thank God I splurged on waxing last week because I’m damn near out of time to get ready.
Finished, I dry off quickly and throw my hair in a towel, brushing my teeth for the second time this morning, and beginning my daily moisturizing treatment. After stepping into my undergarments, I slip into my black pencil skirt and sheer white blouse—only slightly provocative, which never hurts in sealing a business deal.
By now my hair is dry enough to blow out and throw up into a French twist. A couple of bobby pins, a dab of perfume on my neck and wrists, and I’m good to go. I step into my heels, grab my purse and computer case with my portfolio, before kissing Hades’ big head and running out the door.
Trying to get my head in the game, I focus on what I need to accomplish.I need to score this deal.My whole career is riding on landing stable projects, and right now I’m getting pretty desperate. I deserve better—at least that’s what I keep telling myself.
To say it’s been a struggle would be an understatement—it’s been fucking awful. I’ve taken every single design job I’ve gotten my hands on, which has limited my creativity and often forced me to work with some shady-ass characters.
Like Lorenzo Bianchi, the mob boss who hired me to build an illegal casino under his family’s Italian restaurant. The dude is still sending me flowers in hopes I’ll finally break down and take him up on his offer of a date.Hard pass. Or the freaky religious group I had never heard of before, who asked me to build a temple into the cliff face of the Rockies. I swear they were a cult. And countless sleazy landlords wanting cheap and shabby work, while asking top-dollar from tenants.
At least I’ve had enough local clients now to have a decent portfolio, and some contacts for production around Fort Collins. This is not where I saw myself at twenty-seven, but here I am nonetheless.
Today, it’s all going to change. I’m meeting with my first multimillion-dollar client on a project which is sure to take months to complete. My first stepping-stone in the direction I want to go: up.
