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Authors: Karen Erickson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Suspense

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BOOK: Scandalous
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God, he loved it. He loved Brandon. Their relationship
wasn’t necessarily normal and it certainly wasn’t boring.

But it was theirs. And he wasn’t about to give it up, not
now.

Especially not for a woman.

Chapter Three

Alexa’s cell phone rang yet again and she checked it, saw
the unfamiliar phone number flashing on the screen. She swore that number had
called her earlier and again she hit ignore, sending it straight to voicemail.

If they wanted to get a hold of her so damn bad, then they
should leave her a message.

Flashing a smile at her best friend Stacy, she grabbed hold
of her drink and took a sip. “So tell me what happened next.”

“Who keeps calling you?”

Alexa shrugged. “I have no clue. It’s a number I don’t
recognize, and I don’t want to answer it. I’d rather listen to your story.”

“Okay, okay. So I head toward my bedroom with the can of
mace in one hand and a baseball bat in the other because I swear to God,
someone is in there, ruffling through my stuff,” Stacy said, her eyes wide. “I walk
through the door and I drop the bat and scream, I’m so freaked out.”

“Oh my God, what happened? And I can’t believe you walked in
there by yourself. Why didn’t you call the cops? It could’ve been a murderer or
a rapist!”

“Yeah well, it was no one like that. It was Keith.” Stacy
remained quiet for a moment, letting that little piece of information seep in.
Keith was her boyfriend of over a year. “Wearing my favorite, sexiest bra and
panty set.
Wearing
it!”

“No way.” Alexa’s mouth dropped open. “What did you do?”

“I yelled at him to take it off! He stretched it out so bad,
I’ll never be able to wear it again.” Stacy grabbed a stuffed mushroom from the
appetizer plate they’d ordered and popped it into her mouth. They’d met after
work for drinks and dinner, which was code for a night of gossip and various
complaints.

“That’s it? You’re pissed that he stretched out your bra and
panties? What about the fact that he was actually, you know, wearing them?”
Alexa was incredulous. Couldn’t imagine catching any man she was with prancing
around in her underwear.

Stacy shrugged. “It’s not worth breaking up over. After I
freaked out for a while, he calmed me down. Then he admitted that he kind of
likes that sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing?”

“Wearing women’s underwear. Not all the time or anything
like that, just…sometimes. He says he finds it a turn on.” Stacy shrugged. “I
think it’s relatively harmless in the scheme of things.”

“I think it’s weird.” And she kind of regretted Stacy
telling her such a fact. She’d never look at Keith the same way again.

“Yeah, it is kind of weird, but we all have our kinks,
right? And Keith is a good guy, you can’t deny that.”

He was a good guy. And her friend Stacy, who she’d known
since college, had been acting a little desperate lately. Always going on and
on about obtaining an engagement ring, frustrated with Keith for not taking
that next step.

She’d rather ignore the fact that he liked to secretly try
on her underwear in the hopes of getting that elusive diamond ring that
symbolized impending marriage and utter commitment.

Impending and utter entrapment, more like, Alexa thought.

Her phone beeped, indicating she had a voicemail and she
pulled it out of her purse, hit the speed dial. “Let me check this,” she told
Stacy. “Maybe we’ll find out who keeps calling me.” Most likely some sort of
sales call.

But when Eric’s deep, sexy voice sounded in her ear, she
clutched the phone closer, hitting the button to listen to his message one more
time.

“Who was it?” Stacy mock whispered, and Alexa shushed her.

He asked if she wanted to meet for drinks sometime this week
so he could make up for the rude way he left her on Saturday night. Left his
cell phone number and said he looked forward to her calling him back.

Soon.

“It was an…old friend,” she finally answered when she
realized Stacy waited expectantly. “I saw him again at my brother’s wedding.”

“Ooh.” Stacy smiled. “Sounds promising. What’s his name?”

“Eric and trust me, it isn’t promising.” Stacy was always on
the lookout for prospects for Alexa. She desperately wanted all of her friends
hooked up just as she was. She viewed single life as a death sentence. “He’s
gay, has a live-in boyfriend and everything.”

“Aww.” Stacy pushed her lower lip out in a humorous pout. “I
bet he’s gorgeous too. They always are. The good ones are always taken or
gay—or both.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Alexa muttered as she reached for
her drink.

Should she call Eric and agree to meet him for drinks? He
mentioned in his message his boyfriend wanted to meet her too. What was that
all about? Did he feel incredibly guilty for leaving her in a panting heap and
wanted to make amends? By introducing her to his boyfriend? It made no freaking
sense.

But she was curious to see this boyfriend. And talk with
Eric a little more. Even without all of the confusing kissing and swirl of
emotions it brought forth, she had to admit it had been great to see him again.
Talk to him. Bask in his attention even for a little while.

She’d always been a sucker for Eric. She couldn’t help
herself.

“So are you going to meet with him?”

Stacy’s question knocked her from her thoughts. “I think so.
It wouldn’t hurt to get together and catch up some more. I considered him a
friend when he was going out with my brother.”

“Oh, he’s one of Austin’s old boyfriends? That brother of
yours gets around.” Stacy laughed. “I always thought he was hot.”

Alexa squirmed in her seat. The last thing she wanted to
think about was her brother being hot. She knew he was attractive but eww.
“Yeah well thanks for sharing yet another bit of info that I never needed to
hear.”

Stacy laughed. “Come on, relax. You’re acting awfully
uptight. What’s your deal? Bad day at work?”

Not any worse than usual. She liked her job okay but it was
so damn boring. The same thing day in and day out, answering phones and typing
up memos and letters, she didn’t want to turn into one of those people who
hated going to work.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just…bored.” Alexa shrugged her
shoulders, feeling dumb. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong with her,
why her mood was so crappy. She could blame it on the abrupt ending of the
insanely intense kiss she shared with Eric but that wasn’t the real reason.
She’d felt this way for a while.

Restless, unfulfilled, so damn bored with her life. She was
too young for this. But she didn’t know what to do to change it.

“You need some excitement in your life.” Stacy reached over
and patted her on the hand. “Keith has a friend he works with who I think might
be perfect for you. He’s super cute.”

“Is he a cross-dresser?” Alexa couldn’t help but ask.

Stacy frowned and withdrew her hand. “I should’ve never told
you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Alexa agreed. The image of Keith
in a bra and panties was now firmly burned on her brain forever.

“Don’t say anything to Keith about what I discovered, okay?
I don’t want to embarrass him.”

“I would never do that.” Alexa paused. “And please don’t
match me up with one of Keith’s friends. You know how much I hate that.”

“Fine, fine, you never let me wave my matchmaker wand, whatever.”
Stacy munched on another mushroom. “If you ever change your mind, tell me. I
have a long list of cute single guys you might be interested in,” she said
after she swallowed.

“I know that’s supposed to make me feel better, but it
depresses me more than anything. If these guys are so great then why are they
single?”

“You’re pretty great, and you’re single,” Stacy pointed out.
“Don’t knock them until you meet them.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” With a sigh, Alexa sipped from
her drink. “I’m grouchy. Ignore me.”

“Call your friend. Set up a drink date. Maybe that’ll get
you out of your funk,” Stacy suggested.

“Do you really think I should do it?”

“Sure, what could it hurt? Sounds like he’s reaching out to
you which is promising.”

She wished it was promising in a sexual manner. That he
wanted to get together for drinks so he could get in her panties.

Damn it, she was wasting her time with the lustful thoughts.
Would drive herself crazy if she went and met him for drinks. Wanting him when
she knew she couldn’t have him, what sort of sick self-torture was she setting
herself up for?

“Yeah, I’ll do it.” And she wasn’t about to confess to Stacy
her true feelings for Eric. She’d only make
tsking
noises and shake her
head, tell her she was wasting her time. And why didn’t she want to be set up
with one of Keith’s cute friends again?

Because he was most likely an investment banker obsessed
with his Rolex watch and trying to make more money in a deflated market, that’s
why, Alexa thought grumpily.

Damn. She seriously needed to get laid.

 

“Trendy place,” Brandon said as he looked around the dark
bar.

They’d just walked into Valentino’s, a wine bar that had
opened near their house recently. It was full of the young and glamorous, with
a smattering of after-work types still garbed in dress shirts and loose ties.
The interior was dark and sleek, the lighting low and complimentary, casting
everything in a warm golden hue. Brandon looked around and looked toward the
bar for the mysterious Alexa but no single woman sat in wait.

Disappointment filled him. He’d wanted a chance to
speculate, check her out before she checked him out. He was curious as to what
the woman who actually aroused his boyfriend looked like. Wondered if he might
find her attractive as well.

“She’s not here yet,” Eric said as they moved deeper into
the crowded room. “Let’s go wait for her at the bar.”

They headed toward the sleek bar, garnering subtle attention
from various females in the room. He wasn’t a conceited prick, but it happened almost
anywhere they went. He knew he wasn’t a bad looking guy, and he took great care
of his body. As a certified fitness trainer, he felt it was his responsibility
to look good. Eric was handsome and physically fit as well. Two attractive guys
walk into a room together and well, they attracted attention.

Of course, the women always figured out pretty fast they
only had eyes for each other. And the disappointment was always clear. The
gorgeous ones are always gay, more than one of his female clients at the gym
had lamented right to his face. He never argued even though he didn’t consider
himself necessarily gay.

He was attracted to both sexes—it didn’t matter. He’d been
with his fair share of women as well as men. The last three years of his life,
it had been mostly men he entered into relationships with. He and Eric had been
together for a year and a half.

And lately, he’d started to feel…restless. At no fault of
Eric’s, he wasn’t dissatisfied with their relationship.

Brandon was unsatisfied with himself.

“You going to get something to drink?” Eric asked as they
settled onto barstools.

“Just a beer.” He pushed up the sleeves of his black
sweater, uncomfortably warm in the crowded bar. Probably he broke out in a
sweat at the thought of meeting Alexa for the first time.

Eric ordered their drinks, a beer and a vodka cranberry for
himself. Brandon kept his watch on the front door, trying to appear nonchalant,
knowing his body was as tense as steel. Ever since he latched onto the idea of
meeting Alexa his imagination had run rampant. Coming up with all sorts of
scenarios involving the three of them…together…in bed…naked.

He’d never even seen a picture of her but she’d been a
living, breathing thing in his dreams for the last few nights.

“Ah there she is,” Eric said as the bartender handed them
their drinks. “I’ll go greet her. Introduce the two of you.”

Brandon watched Eric head toward the door, tipping his head
to the side in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. Slender and tall, smooth
dark hair cut into a straight edge that ended just about her chin. A heart
shaped face and long bare arms wrapping around Eric in a fierce hug.

He saw her face, and his heart hammered. Big blue eyes, ripe
red lips, her gaze latched onto him and didn’t let go the entire time Eric led
her toward him.

Damn, she was gorgeous. He let his gaze drift down her body,
lingered on her breasts encased in the simple black top, her long legs
emphasized by the tight fitting jeans.

“Lex, this is Brandon,” Eric said, a wary smile on his face.
He looked worried.

Brandon grinned, hoping to ease everyone’s fears, including
his own. “Nice to meet you, Lex.” He extended his hand toward her.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him close, giving him a
quick hug. “It’s great to meet you too.”

“Should we get a table?” Eric asked.

“Yes, I’m starved. I just got off work. Well, I went home
and changed quickly before I came to meet you guys, but I never ate dinner. Do
they serve food here?” She looked from Eric to Brandon, her eyes glowing with
excitement.

“They probably do,” Brandon said carefully, wondering why
the hell his words felt so thick in his mouth. “At least appetizers.”

“I love appetizers. Let’s go sit down.” She waved a hand and
they both followed her like eager puppies.

Brandon clutched his beer, ran a shaky hand through his
hair. His body still vibrated from the hug they just shared. Completely
impersonal and meant only as a friendly gesture and yet he got hard just
touching her. Just
touching
her.

Once Alexa perused the short appetizer menu and they made
their choices known to the server, she smiled at the both of them, her gaze
lingering on Eric. “So tell me how long the two of you have been together?”

“A little over two years,” Eric answered, shooting a quick
smile in his direction. Brandon nodded in return.

“And how did you two meet?”

“This sounds like such a cliché but we met at the gym.
Brandon works at our local gym. He’s a personal fitness trainer, and I signed
up for a few lessons. We met and just…clicked.”

BOOK: Scandalous
11.44Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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