Calling the Shots (9 page)

A horrible mistake. Best thing I ever did was run and get as far from you as I could.

Beth snapped her mouth shut as her gaze shifted to the door. He didn’t need to look to know Josh was standing there. He could feel the change in the air, the scent of the other man reaching him across the room.

“Don’t let me interrupt. The show was just getting good.”

This time when Beth squirmed, Oliver did nothing to stop her. Too shell-shocked to care, he didn’t move a muscle. “Sorry, Josh,” he said, hating how dead his voice sounded.

“I told you I didn’t mind as long as the club isn’t open. Oliver, you’re a hard temptation to pass up, especially when you’re on your knees.”

Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?
Beth moved away, rejecting his touch, rejecting him. Josh, someone he shouldn’t be attracted to, moved in close. The brush of his fingers down the back of Oliver’s neck dragged reactions from his body he should be ashamed of.

When had the world gotten so fucked up?

Right around the time Mallory had walked out on him.

No, before then. Back when he realized the pain from the tattoos turned him on, when he loved the way Brandon would boss him around while he was inking him up. It wasn’t normal. There must be something wrong with his brain for him to get off on stuff like this. It wasn’t the way things should be.

“Beth, it’s okay. You two are beautiful together. I’d never ask you to stop if it was something you wanted.” Josh held out his hand for her even as he squeezed the back of Oliver’s neck. The touch did nothing to calm Oliver’s rising panic. Just the opposite. But he couldn’t move, needing to see Beth, watch her reaction.

For a moment, Oliver thought she was going to listen to him. Her gaze bounced between them—Josh standing imposingly above him, Oliver half panting with a lust that brought his guilt to another level. Beth’s smile was barely a twitch of her lips and certainly didn’t come anywhere close to reaching her eyes.

“Josh, I can’t. Not here in the office.” Her voice wavered as she spoke, the sound going straight through Oliver’s heart.

“This isn’t the coffee shop. Sex is part of the deal in this environment.”

“It’s not that.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “You know that’s not the problem.”

“I thought you didn’t regret what we did?” The question left Oliver before it had fully formed in his brain. Not that he was sorry he asked. If things were going to go tits up, he wanted to know sooner than later.

Beth stiffened. “Oliver, this actually has nothing to do with you.”

That didn’t exactly make things better. He should have known better than to push for this. While he knew Beth was attracted to him, it took more than that for a relationship to work.

Getting to his feet, Oliver ignored Josh’s firm touch to the small of his back. This was about Beth. The few feet that separated them was a chasm he wasn’t ready to breach. Instead he smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“This is why I hesitated.” He shrugged at her frown. “I didn’t want to risk our friendship with sex. I thought—” God, what was the point. He spun on his heel and strode away.

“Don’t you dare leave.”

Josh’s booming voice stopped Oliver dead in his tracks. He couldn’t turn around to face them. Oliver knew he was being irrational. He’d learned to recognize the signs of his brain beginning to spiral down into loathing months ago, but he didn’t know how to yank himself back from the brink.

“The last thing I wanted to do was ruin things by acting on my desires.” He managed to keep his voice even. “Beth said ‘Stop,’ and I did. If I stay…” He squeezed his hands into fists. “I just need some time to cool off. I’ll be fine and things can go back to how they were before.”

Josh moved behind him, standing close without touching. “Running away won’t make this better. We need to talk about what happened.”

“I’m not running. Just taking a breather. I’m not a coward, but I need…I just need some space.” Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Oliver met Josh’s concerned gaze. “Sorry. What did Kingston want?”

“He’s a lawyer for Allison. Wanted to see if I was going to press charges, and apparently wanted to try and rile me up about the club being vandalized. Totally irrelevant to our current conversation.”

“Ah. Are you going to? Press charges?”

“No.”

Oliver stepped away but couldn’t quite bring himself to leave. “I’ll be down in the freezer finishing the inventory.”

The entire time Beth hadn’t said a word. Whatever he’d done to upset her, she wasn’t about to share with him. Better to put distance between them.

Any man would be a better choice over you, Ollie.

“Oliver—”

He moved before Josh’s hand made contact again.

The cold of the freezer wouldn’t help this time. Instead, Oliver took the stairs two at a time and strode out into the afternoon sun.

Chapter Eleven

Josh stood on the catwalk above the main club floor and watched Paul and Sadie’s approach up the stairs. Sadie had emailed him weeks ago about arranging a special surprise for her husband’s birthday, and Josh had taken pains to pull everything together. Paul’s birthday present was currently waiting in one of the private rooms, and Josh had no doubt his friend was going to remember tonight for a long time to come.

Josh hadn’t allowed any of the staff to help with the setup, wanting to keep the event private, while at the same time taking some small pleasure in being a part of things. If he couldn’t be there with them, this was the next best thing.

Sadie was breathtaking in a strapless PVC dress. Light glinted off the surface, bending as she moved closer to where he waited. Paul held her hand but walked a step behind her. Josh had no doubt his friend was staring more at his wife’s ass than where he was going.

“Now aren’t the two of you a sight for sore eyes.” It was easy to wrap an arm around Sadie and kiss the side of her neck. Josh made sure to look at Paul, winking as he did. “Happy birthday, dude.”

“So I take it you know all about her plans for me this evening?” Paul’s smirk widened into a smile. “This one won’t tell me a thing.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “It’s called a
surprise.
A new concept for you, I know. Just go with me on this one.”

“Who am I to argue with the lady?” Josh stepped back and held out the key for her. “To your specifications. I took care of everything personally.”

“You’re not joining us?” There was a curious note to Paul’s voice.

Sadie hadn’t mentioned anything to him about participating. A few months ago, Josh would have taken Paul’s question and worked it to his favor, maneuvered his way into their bed for a night of fun and hot sex. It would have fueled his dreams for weeks and his guilt for months.

Now, though, a quick glance toward his office and the woman who was currently inside belayed any attempt he would have made. “This is between the two of you. Take your time and enjoy. Paul, you know the security code if you want to stay later than close.”

Their twin expressions of confusion and surprise brought a smile to Josh’s face. He’d always have a place for the couple in his life. If either of them ever needed anything, he’d never hesitate to help. But it was time he moved on and found something of his own. His own birthday was fast approaching as well, and for once Josh wanted to avoid any regrets.

Watching Sadie and Paul make their way down the hall wasn’t as painful as it might have been at one point. Instead, Josh found his attention drifting to Beth, who’d been holed up in the office since Oliver walked out on them. Casting a quick glance around the club to ensure everything was fine, Josh strode through to his office, shutting the door behind him.

Beth didn’t acknowledge his arrival. She was pounding away at the keyboard, working on something that undoubtedly could wait until another day. She was the type of woman who’d take on complete responsibility for the situation. While Josh hadn’t figured out exactly what past demon had sent Oliver running, he did know why Beth was so upset.

Moving to stand behind her, Josh placed his hand on the back of her neck. “You’re going to burn yourself out.”

“These need to get done, Josh. God, I can’t believe you’ve let these meeting minute notes go so long.”

“They can wait.”

“Not really. We need to have them for the next board meeting. Shouldn’t you be down on the floor?” Her fingers exploded in a flurry of keystrokes. “I can take over down there if you need a break.”

Suppressing a growl, Josh pulled the computer chair away from the desk and spun Beth around to face him. She didn’t seem surprised so much as resigned, letting her hands fall to her lap.

“Yes, Josh?”

“You’ve been avoiding me since Oliver left.”

“I’ve done no such thing.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “I haven’t left the office all night.”

“But you’ve hardly said two words to me.”

Josh dropped to his knees, spreading her thighs wide and inserting himself between them. Her skin was warm beneath her shirt as he burrowed his way beneath. Beth’s breathing never changed, but her eyes were wide and wild. He wrapped his hands around her sides and held her still.

“You wanted Oliver to go down on you earlier.” He didn’t need her to respond to know the truth of his statement. The expressions of lust and adoration on her face when he’d come into the office was what he’d wanted to put back. “You would have let him if I hadn’t interrupted.”

“No.”

“Liar.” Josh rubbed his thumbs across the skin below her bra. “Why did it bother you so much, me walking in on you?”

Beth closed her eyes and turned her face away. He could feel her breathing deepen, which only served to encourage him. Shifting forward, Josh pressed his lips to the side of her neck and breathed in deep.

“I hope you weren’t thinking about Mitch. Oliver isn’t him. He would have treated you right.”

She stiffened. “I know.”

“But you still pulled away.” He opened his mouth and licked a short trail across her skin. The taste and smell of her made his cock swell in his pants and a possessive impulse build in his gut. Fuck, he was starting to lose it. “Why?”

“Josh—”

“Why?”

“Mitch was waiting for me today after my class.”

Pulling back, Josh had to grind his teeth to keep from making a comment about her asshole of an ex. “What did he want?”

There was tightness in her expression as she let out a soft breath. “He’s getting married. Wanted to tell me in person so I wouldn’t find out from someone else.”

When Beth had first told Josh about what Mitch had done and her subsequent kicking him to the curb, Josh had been furious on her behalf. Irrationally so when he thought back on it. He’d been forced to watch the spark go out in her eyes, something that took him months to reignite. Mitch’s sudden reappearance and Oliver’s bad timing certainly explained Beth’s mood.

Beth was a vibrant person once you got her morning coffee into her. She’d been embarrassed, then mortified when she’d been caught having sex at work and subsequently fired. When she’d started at Mavericks, she’d worked harder than the others to prove herself. Josh hadn’t regretted his decision to hire her, and over the years had encouraged her impulsive nature and her natural sexiness.

He wasn’t going to let Mitch and the memory of one bad decision pull her back down. Josh knew there was only one way to make this work.

“What if I’d told you to stay?”

Beth shifted her hands to his shoulders, where she squeezed hard. “You did.”

“No. I mean
really
told you. Like in the bedroom. Would you have listened?”

Josh pressed his lips to her pulse point, chuckling when it jumped beneath his touch. Her nails dug into his shoulders harder as she bucked her hips up. The air around them thickened with the unmistakable scent of arousal, making his head spin.

“Answer me, Beth.”

“Yes.” She turned her face to nuzzle her nose against his cheek. “Yes, I would have.”

“Then why did you make him stop?”

“It was too much…like before.”

“When Paige caught you and Mitch at the shop?”

“It’s the single most embarrassing moment of my life.” Her jaw muscle bunched before she bumped her head against his. “For a second Oliver and Mitch were the same in my head and I just couldn’t make that mistake again. I didn’t want Oliver to be another…” She shrugged.

Josh pulled back enough to see her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but no tears had fallen. He knew her well enough to understand the hell she was currently subjecting herself to. Beth wanted Oliver. That much was clear.

“Oliver is not Mitch.” Josh could never be attracted to a self-absorbed ass.

“I know.”

“Oliver cares for you. He came back in right before shift start. Do you trust me?”

She nodded.

“Good. Let me fix this for you. I know you could do this on your own, but consider it payment for everything you’ve done for me over the years. Okay?” He could tell she was about to protest and pressed his hand to her mouth. “Okay?” Beth had grown into her ability to take charge. He knew it was a hard habit to break, but she wasn’t going to be able to easily break out of this funk. Not that she couldn’t do it on her own, but Josh could help speed up the process.

A puff of air squeezed its way between his fingers. She nodded.

“Good girl. We’ll meet you at your place after close and we’ll work this out.” Before he released her, Josh slid his hand between her legs and pressed gently. “And I don’t want you doing anything about this yet. I want Oliver to finish what he started.”

“Fine.”

“Now, go out to the club and do a sweep. You don’t have to go down to the bar, but it couldn’t hurt to let him see you. If I know that boy, he’ll be beating himself up over this.”

Getting to his feet, Josh pulled Beth out of the chair and against his chest. Her muscles melted under his touch as she relaxed against him. “Thank you.”

He spun her around gently and nudged her toward the door. “Do a round and then go home. I’ll swing by later and we
will
make this better.”

Josh kept his gaze locked on Beth until she left the office. Falling into his chair, he shut down the document she’d been working on and flicked off the monitor.

Today had more crap piled into it than Josh wanted to deal with. Between the escalating vandalism attacks on the clubs in the area, idiotic lawyers who took pleasure in making others feel like shit, and the newfound tension between two people he was starting to care for, he was exhausted.

Robert Kingston’s words echoed in his head once more. The temptation to punch the sneer off the other man’s face was one Josh didn’t want to be faced with again—he couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to restrain himself next time. Josh hadn’t intended to sue Allison for her attack. She’d been devastated by the news that her husband was leaving her and had gone a bit far. But based on Kingston’s obvious animosity, he might reconsider out of spite.

How dare the bastard imply his club members invited the attack on the club? That they shouldn’t be surprised if
deviants
were being targeted, and perhaps they should be servicing a different clientele?

Fuck him.

Whore.

Josh closed his eyes and let out a long breath. It wasn’t worth the stress to worry about the opinion of a narrow-minded jerk. The views of people like Kingston hadn’t mattered to him before now, and Josh had more important things to concentrate on. Oliver being at the top of that list.

You’re a filthy whore who needs to be fixed.

Josh shifted his focus to what was important. He had to figure out a way to get Oliver talking. With Beth it had been easy, but Josh didn’t know the other man as well as he might like. While they had talked about sports, politics and local issues, Josh didn’t know much beyond the basics of Oliver’s life before coming to Mavericks. He’d had a marriage, a house, a breakup and maybe even a breakdown. No details though, and that bothered the hell out of him. He had to get Oliver to lower his guard enough to let Beth in.

It was time for Josh to make things right.

Picking up the phone, he waited for the bar line to be connected. “Yeah, Josh?”

“Oliver, get someone to cover for you and come up to the office. I need to check something with you.”

“Ah…sure, boss-man. Give me a few.”

Josh hung up and reached into the bottom drawer of his desk. The bag—hidden in plain sight—had never been questioned by Beth the few times she’d opened the drawer. It wasn’t the sort of thing people thought twice about at Mavericks, which was part of why he enjoyed the nature of his business. It gave him the excuse to keep his favorite toys close at hand. He’d slipped this extra order in the last time he’d restocked the rest of the club. One for Beth. One for Oliver.

Both for Josh.

“You needed me?”

Josh grinned, keeping his hand below the desk so Oliver couldn’t see what he held. “Shut the door and come here.”

Frowning, Oliver did as instructed. His cautious approach would have been amusing if there wasn’t an issue lurking beneath the surface. Josh fisted the item and put his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair.

“Do you trust me?”

Oliver’s frown deepened. He shifted so he was now half turned toward the door, braced to flee. “Most of the time.”

“Do you trust that I wouldn’t intentionally do anything to hurt you?”

“I…” Oliver’s shoulder dropped and he finally faced him. “Trust and I have difficulty sometimes. But I don’t think you’d do something maliciously.”

Josh understood that level of hurt. He’d had front-row seats to so many of his parents’ fights, when they’d still cared enough to fight—seeing anger and mistrust on a massive scale was commonplace for him, and he relived that same pain every time he thought about his mother. “You liked what I did to you the other night at my place?”

Oliver stiffened and sucked in a deep breath. He didn’t answer immediately, instead he locked his gaze on Josh’s chest and let out a soft moan. “Yeah.”

“Did you like what I did to you in the bondage room? Suspending you? Spanking you?”

Oliver closed his eyes. “Yes.”

Josh lowered his voice but kept the command firm. “Come here.”

Oliver shuddered but followed the order with only the slightest hesitation. He stopped beside Josh’s chair, his hands balled into fists at his side. “Now what?”

Sitting up straight, Josh spun his chair so Oliver stood between his thighs. “Now you’re going to listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.” Without asking permission, Josh tugged on the belt that held up Oliver’s jeans. “You walked away from Beth earlier. I didn’t like that.”

“She told me to stop.”

“She was reliving a bad experience.”

“She told me to
stop.
”

“Yes, but she didn’t tell you to
leave.
”

Without warning, Josh reached past the elastic band of Oliver’s y-fronts and grabbed his semi-hard cock. The gasp and full body shudder only spurred Josh on. He pulled the thickening length from its fabric prison, giving it several long, firm strokes.