Shot Caller (A Bad Boy's Baby Novel) Page 9

  “Ex-husband,” I correct him.

  “Shit!” Maddox laughs, yanking open the driver’s side door, “You have an ex-husband? Just how old are you, then?”

  “Fuck off, Walcott,” I grin back at him, slipping into the passenger’s seat.

  How can I possibly be in the joking mood after that encounter with Jason? By all rights, I should be totally shaken up. But something about Mad’s larger-than-life presence makes even Jason’s most desperate gesture just seem… insubstantial. Small. In fact, Maddox seems to have this effect on all aspects of my life. Worries about my job security, thoughts of propriety, everything else just seems far too insignificant to think about when Mad is standing before to me. I know that kind of blinding presence should concern me…but instead, I just find myself wanting to look straight into the light.

  As we pull up to the Tangier, I can feel the bass pumping from inside before I even step out of the car. I glance over at Maddox, suddenly nervous.

  “Should we…I don’t know… Stagger our entrances?” I suggest.

  “What for?” he replies, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.”

  “Just to, you know, keep people from talking,” I go on.

  Maddox’s lips turn up in a raking grin as he watches me blush in the passenger seat.

  “What, exactly, would people be talking about?” he murmurs, “The way I can make you come with a few texts?”

  I cross my legs a little more tightly, clenching my thighs as my countless sexting exchanges with Maddox come streaming back into my mind’s eye.

  “You’re not too shabby at making me come in person, as I recall,” I tell him, my voice going raspy with lust.

  “Oh, sweetheart…” he chuckles deviously, laying a hand scandalously high on my bare thigh, “I was just a boy when I fucked you last. You have no idea what I could do to you now.”

  “Well…” I breathe, “You’ll just have to bring me up to speed, then.”

  “Just come out and say it, Poppy,” Maddox growls, edging his hand up along my thigh, “Say that you want me to take you up to my room and fuck you until the sun comes up.”

  My fingers dig into the leather upholstery as a pulse of desire rings out throw my body.

  “I want you to fuck me, Mad,” I whisper, “Really, I do.”

  “Good,” he grins in the darkened car, the neon lights of the casino playing off his perfect skin, “We’re on the same page, then.”

  He lifts his hand abruptly from my skin, pops open the driver’s side door, and swings his perfect body out into the early spring evening. I hurry out after him, gaping as he walks toward the casino ahead of me.

  “Hold up,” I call after him, “I thought we were gonna… You know…”

  “We are,” he says over his shoulder as I struggle to keep up in my heels, “But not before we knock a few back with the guys. Gotta keep up appearances. And my buzz, for that matter.”

  So, he’s not exactly a gentleman, I think to myself as I step through the revolving doors in Maddox’s wake. But then again, who wants a gentleman for a fuck buddy?

  Chapter Twelve

  Poppy

  A wave of sound hits me square in the face as I step into the bar of the Tangier Hotel. This is no hotel bar like I’ve ever seen—it’s practically a club unto itself. A DJ is spinning from his perch high above the dance floor, holding forth for a mass of writhing, scantily clad bodies. There’s a huge oval bar in the center of the room, with smaller satellite bars tucked away in every available corner. Deep, cushy booths ring the space, many of them hidden behind plush curtains. Who knows what dirty deeds are going on behind them? Flashing lights and shouting voices threaten to overwhelm my senses. My clubbing days ended around the time I finished my doctorate. But I can’t have the Empire boys thinking I’m over the hill, can I?

  “There they are!” Hadrian Barlow roars from his set at the central bar. He and the better part of the team are clustered together, just about to knock back a round of tequila shots.

  “You better not be about to drink without me,” Maddox shoots back, giving Barlow a thump on the back. Looks like these two are getting along much better, all of a sudden.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Hadrian replies, handing Maddox a shot, “We can’t drink without our MVP, can we?” To my surprise, his eyes swing my way just then. He hands me a shot as well, raising his own in my direction. “To Pops!”

  “What?” I exclaim, as the rest of the guys knock back their shots in my honor.

  “You stood up to O’Leary for me this afternoon,” Barlow says.

  “Yeah, but he didn’t listen,” I point out, “It didn’t stop you from getting hurt.”

  “Regardless, that look a lot of balls,” he shrugs, “From now on, we’ll all be taking our advice from you.”

  “All right, quit blowing sunshine up her ass,” Maddox cuts in, “Or she’ll be as useless as big ol’ Barry. Drink up, Poppy. This one’s on the Empire.”

  Barely controlling my wild grin, I happy raise the shot glass to my lips and savor the smooth liquor and it all but glides down my throat. A cheer goes up all down the bar as I decidedly join the fun. But as much fun as the rest of the team is, I can’t help but wish this part of the evening would hurry up so Maddox and I could get to the real party.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maddox

  In all the world, there are three places I know I’ll always feel at home: the pitch, the party, or the sack. If all goes well tonight, I’ll get to visit all three before the day is up. I glance up at the dance floor from my place at the bar, watching as Poppy indulges Carrera with a spin. I’ve never seen her cut loose like this before. If I thought she was a knockout in khakis and a polo, I don’t know how I’m even containing myself seeing her in that slinky, sexy dress. I let my eyes rake over her body as she swings her hips out on the dance floor. Her perfect, firm curves and narrow waist are on full display in that tight blue dress. But as much as I love how it looks on her, I’m chomping at the bit to see it crumpled on the floor of my hotel room.

  I chase the slight throbbing in my forehead with a long sip of whiskey. Luckily, that wanker I knocked out earlier had a pretty soft skull. Shouldn’t leave much of a mark. I didn’t show up at Poppy’s planning to head butt anybody, that’s for sure. But the second I laid eyes on that prick trying to mess with her, I lost it. It was just like when O’Leary was laying into her in front of the whole squad. I’m a pretty unpredictable bloke, but I at least usually know what I’m about to do next. But whenever I’m around Poppy Abrams, even I can’t be sure of what’s going to happen. It’s one of the things I like best about being around her.

  Draining my glass of amber liquor, I set my sights on the fine-as-fuck Ms. Abrams and stride out onto the dance floor. Diego sees me coming and promptly sidles up to a gorgeous blonde, giving me plenty of room. I don’t know how word seems to be getting around the team to stay out of my way when it comes to Poppy, but I don’t mind it one bit. Maybe my want of her is so strong that it’s palpable. Visible. Watching her curves strain against the thin fabric of her dress, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if my desire was shining like a fucking neon sign.

  “Looks like you could use a breather,” I murmur in Poppy’s ear, slipping an arm around her waist. She spins around toward me, grinning breathlessly as she lays her hands on my chest.

  “What, you don’t want to dance with me?” she laughs, slipping her hands under my sport coat, down along my torso.

  “Oh, I do want that,” I say, leaning in so close that my lips brush against the shell of her ear, “But I want to get you alone even more.”

  I feel a shudder of anticipation run through her body as I guide her through the crowd.

  “We can’t just disappear together, though,” she points out, glancing around at my teammates scattered throughout the room, “Someone will notice.”

  “That’s why we’re not going to head upstairs just yet,” I tell her, intercepting a cocktail waitress who furnis
hes me with two fresh whiskeys, just like I ordered. “Have one more drink with me first.”

  “If you insist,” Poppy laughs, her voice slipping deeper into her chest the more excited she gets.

  Drinks in hand, we slip into an empty booth overlooking the dance floor. I feel my pulse pick up the pace as we settle back into the shadows. We’re hidden in plain sight, here. Alone, but still completely exposed… it’s a sexy combination.

  “You’ve already had your toast,” I say to Poppy, slipping my arm over her slender shoulders, “What should we drink to now?”

  “To you,” she smiles, clinking her whiskey glass against mine as she presses against my side, “The Destroyer of Toxic Exes.”

  “Now that’s a title I can get behind,” I laugh, savoring the heat of her body against mine, “Though most women would say that I’m a Toxic Ex myself.”

  “Yeah…You don’t strike me as being particularly good at relationships,” she teases, bringing her red lips to her glass.

  “Is that going to be a problem for you?” I ask her directly. No use beating around the bush, is there?

  “Not at all,” she replies, without missing a beat. I can see that she’s not just telling me what I want to hear, either.

  “Really?” I press, all the same.

  “Really,” she assures me adamantly, “A relationship is the last thing I want right now, you have my word.”

  “And what is it you want instead?” I ask her, letting my arm slip from her shoulders to her waist.

  Her big brown eyes flick up to meet mine, gleaming wickedly in the pulsing light.

  “You know exactly what I want,” she says, her voice low and raspy.

  I arch my back as Poppy lays her hands on my thigh. Daringly, she runs a hand along my quickly stiffening cock. I close my eyes as she strokes me, blocking out everything in the world except her expert hands. I can feel myself getting harder by the second. One thing becomes perfect clear right quick—I can’t hold back any longer. If this woman isn’t in my bed in the next ten minutes, I’m a fucking goner. Luckily, she seems more than down with my preferred course of action.

  “What floor is your room on?” Poppy whispers in my ear.

  “The top floor. Obviously.”

  “Well,” she says, lifting her perfect hands from my throbbing cock, “I’m just going to hop in an elevator and take a trip to the top floor, then. Why don’t you finish your drink and then come find me?”

  “You bet your perfect fucking arse I will,” I grin, taking a good long look at her most impressive asset as she stands to go.

  I settle back in the booth, forcing myself to finish my drink before I run after Poppy. We’ve already been playing it fast and loose just by being in the same place together tonight. These days, the paparazzi aren’t the only ones you have to worry about prying into your personal life. Every single person you pass on the street—or in the club—is equipped with their own personal cellphone camera. In a heartbeat, some incriminating photo of you can travel around the world and back before you can say “PR nightmare”.

  But that’s what doors are for, isn’t it?

  Feeling a proper buzz at last, I slam down my whiskey glass and go off in search of the adventurous, feisty, mysterious Poppy Abrams. After eight long years, it’s well past time we headed back to bed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Poppy

  My knees are quivering as I pace along the hotel hallway in my precariously high heels. There are only a couple of rooms up on the top floor, and I haven’t seen a soul since I stepped out of the elevator. I’m a few drinks in now, tipsy as hell but not quite drunk. Am I crazy, or is it taking Maddox forever to get up here? What if he was just messing with me down there, playing some cruel prank on my horny-as-hell self?

  No. That’s impossible. I saw the lust crackling in his gray eyes, clear as day. I felt it, reflected back in my own gaze. Flicking a loose lock of hair over my shoulder, I will myself not to crumble into a sexed-up mess before Maddox even gets here. That wouldn’t be very dignified now, would it?

  But as soon as I hear the elevator doors whisper open, all my notions of propriety fly right out the window and out across the Atlantic Ocean. As Maddox Walcott steps out of the elevator and turns to face me across the long hallway, I know that my days of holding back are gone. Long gone. And I’m not the only one who feels that way.

  Without saying a word, Maddox and I rush toward each other along the carpeted hallway. I feel the floor fall away beneath me as Mad catches me up in his arms—I may as well be weightless to him. I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders, hooking my ankles behind his muscled back. Our mouths meet as Maddox swings me around, presses my back hard against the wall. I laugh against his lips as a painting nearly crashes to the floor, but soon any thought beyond Maddox’s expert tongue and firm lips is beyond me.

  I let my mouth open to his, pressing myself flush against his hard chest. Maddox pins me to the wall, pushing up the hem of my tight dress so that it gathers at my waist. I let a soft cry escape my lips as he shifts his weight, letting me feel his staggeringly huge cock press against my ready, eager pussy. I feel a warm, aching wetness blossom between my legs as Mad’s tongue sweeps against mine, his member throbbing against my barely-clothed sex all the while.

  “If you don’t take me into your room right now,” I gasp, letting my head fall back against the wall, “I can’t be held responsible for fucking you right here in the hallway.”

  “As hot as that sounds,” Maddox murmurs, kissing along my neck, “The things I want to do to you belong behind closed doors.”

  He takes my full weight in his arms, easily suspending me as he strides down the hall to the very last door. With a flick of the wrist, he’s swiped his key card. He pushes open the penthouse door and carries me over the threshold, punching on the lights as we go. For the first time since Maddox’s lips touched mine, I’m able to formulate a thought outside of how good his body feels against mine.

  “This place is fucking gorgeous,” I breathe, marveling at the clean lines and elegant sophistication of the sprawling suite.

  “I’m glad you think so,” Maddox murmurs, carrying me toward the kitchen island, “Because I’m gonna fuck you on every surface in this place.”

  I gasp as Maddox sets me down on the cool granite countertop, pressing me down onto my back. His eyes are burning with need as he drops to his knees before me, tugging down my lacy panties in one swift motion. With my high heels still on, I shiver with delight as Maddox presses back against on my knees, spreading me wide open before him.

  “Jesus Christ,” he growls, kissing along my tender inner thigh, “You have no idea how much I’ve missed the taste of you.”

  “Oh, I think I have some—”

  But my words trail off into a rapturous silence as Maddox brings his mouth to my wet pussy. He flattens his tongue against my pulsating sex, trailing a long, slow line all along the length of me. My back arches as I bury my hands in his thick brown hair, and I nearly come on the spot as he flicks my hard clit with the tip of his tongue.

  “Fuck me,” I gasp, “You’ve gotten even better at this?!”

  “Oh, Poppy…” he grins, licking the taste of me from his lips, “You don’t know the half of it.

  Grabbing hold of my hips, Maddox lifts me down from the countertop and sets my feet on the floor. I grab hold of his shoulders, unsure of whether I can even stand up in my insanely turned-on state.

  “What is it with us and table tops?” I laugh deliriously, tugging the sport coat from his ripped torso.

  “You know what would be really novel for us?” he grins back, shucking off his shirt, “Fucking in an actual bed.”

  We fall back into each other’s arms, our lips locked in seamless rhythm as Maddox guides me across the suite. I kick off my shoes as I we step into his palatial room, at the center of which stands a huge, sturdy, king-sized bed. Yep. That’ll do nicely.

  I run my fingers eagerly down his impeccable chest,
memorizing the feel of every single muscle. Maddox slides my dress down over my shoulders, down my arms. He groans in delight as my breasts spring forth from the fabric. No bra needed in a garment this skin-tight. I step out of the navy blue dress as he slides it over my ass and down my legs. Taking a step back, I let Maddox take in the sight of me, naked but for my gold bangles and earrings. I swear, I can actually see him getting even harder as he stares at me.

  “Look,” Maddox growls, taking a swinging step toward me, “You may give the orders on game day, but tonight? I want you to do exactly as I say. Think you can handle that?”

  My core twists with the illicit thrill of ceding control.

  “Yes,” I whisper, my knees trembling beneath me.

  “Good,” Maddox murmurs, his grey eyes hard on my firm tits, the hourglass sweep of my waist and hips. “That’s what I hoped you say.”

  I’ve been with my fair share of men, but I’ve never felt more truly naked than I do in this moment. With anyone else, such a sensation would be terrifying, unsettling. But with Maddox, it just makes me feel more powerful. Holding a man like this rapt with nothing but my presence is exhilarating. Addictive, even. I can feel myself getting hooked with every moment that passes.

  “Walk over to the bed,” Maddox commands me, “Slowly.”

  With a knowing smile, I turn slowly on my heel. The parquet floor is cool beneath my feet as I lay one in front of the other, feeling Mad’s gaze fixed firmly to my gently swinging hips, the firm swell of my ass.

  “Slow down,” he says, his voice ragged with lust.

  I follow Mad’s command, moving as slow as my excitement will let me until I’m finally standing before the wide expanse of his bed.

  “Now,” he goes on, stepping up behind me, “Get on your hands and knees.”

  A rush of anticipation courses down my spine as I lower myself to kneeling on his bed. “Keep going,” he urges, standing right behind me now.

  I let myself fall forward onto my hands as I hear his belt buckle clatter against the floor. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as Maddox tugs down his trousers, then his briefs. My body goes stock still with wonder as I look back at his perfect form. The moonlight streaming in from the wide windows plays against his tanned, tattooed torso, casting shadows along every well-defined muscle. He has more tattoos and muscles alike since the last time I saw him like this. My eyes trail down his steely abs, along the tapered, muscular v of his waist. Finally, I let myself take in the sight of his massive, glorious cock. His staggering length is absolutely pulsing with need as Maddox stares down at me on my hands and knees before him.