Underneath It All (Sexual Misconduct Volume II) (5 page)

Xander

I woke in Avery’s bed. The day before, she’d had her second session with Ian, and I handled it a lot better this time. I knew I had to trust her, and I did. I just didn’t trust Ian for shit. I didn’t want him turning her against me.

She
loomed over me with a sweet smile on her face. She’d held on to her serious façade for quite a while, but once she released it, she smiled and laughed all the time.

“
How’d you sleep?” She asked the same thing every morning, and the answer was always the same.

“
Good.” This was a half-truth. Since I’d begun to spend every night with Avery, I fell asleep so content that I slept great until the dreams would start. They didn’t come as often, but when they did, I made sure to not wake Avery with the restlessness I felt afterward. She tended to rough it out with me, and though I appreciated it, I didn’t want her watching over me.

Therapy was helping in a sense. I didn
’t feel like all those memories were bottled up inside me, and the dreams lessened, but it wasn’t a cure-all. I never expected it to be. I was just thankful for the nights I did sleep and even more grateful I got to wake next to Avery every morning.

She leaned in, her naked skin caressing mine, her pebbled nipples brushing against my chest. My morning wood began to ache with the need to be inside her. Her lips brushed against mine
, and she bit me on my jawline, her wet pussy rubbing against my cock.

I fucking love morning sex.

“I’m late,” she said before hopping off me abruptly
.

What?
I tried to catch hold of her waist, but she’d been expecting that. She dodged my attempt to pull her back with a giggle.

“
Fuck no. You can’t just make me hard, then walk away.” I’d been so close to being inside her, my cock was weeping pre-cum from the anticipation.

“
You were already hard.” She smiled wickedly at me before running into the bathroom. I threw an arm over my eyes, trying to convince my cock to calm down. After all, I’d come three times last night.
We could wait, right?
I looked down at my cock and it twitched. Yeah, not happy with waiting at all.

Avery
came out and sat in front of her vanity, fixing her hair in the mirror. Watching her from the bed in the morning when she got ready for work had become one of my favorite pastimes. It was foolish to be so captivated by the simple act of rolling on stockings and snapping garters, but it got me hard every single time. I was beginning to think she was purposely putting on a show for me, because it seemed to get more provocative with each passing day. She had no idea just how much power she held over me.

I rose from the bed and walked up behind her.
She watched me in the mirror, a smile forming as she glided the red tip of the lipstick over her lips. I flicked the long red locks off her shoulder and kissed her there. She shivered.

“
Don’t start, Xander. I have an appointment in less than hour.”

“
I only need ten minutes,” I whispered.

S
he shook her head, her eyes dancing with laughter as our gazes met in the mirror. I raised an eyebrow. She laughed and stood. “No, Xander.”

S
he dropped a quick kiss on my lips, then went into her closet to finish getting dressed. She came back out a few minutes later, balancing on one red
fuck-me now
heel as she slid on the other. Her dark-gray skirt clung to her curves and stopped right above her knees, and the matching jacket was slung over her arm.

“
Come with me.” She looked at me, her blue eyes uncertain. I’d been trying to convince her to come to California with me for a week. The film I’d produced before going into rehab was up for an award, and I needed to be there, even if it was only for the weekend.

“
I don’t know, Xander.” She glanced up at me as she fastened the last few buttons of her white blouse.

S
he was wary about putting our relationship out for public consumption, and I didn’t blame her. I knew bringing her to California could potentially put her under a microscope for public scrutiny. But regardless, I couldn’t picture leaving her for even three short days. We were in a good place, and I felt as if things were
too
good and the other shoe would drop soon. The closer I kept her, the better I’d be at deflecting any obstacles that came our way.

“
It’s just one weekend.” She sighed.
She’s going to give in soon.
“I need you.”

“
Fine, I’ll come, but if things get crazy, I’m hiding out in your condo.”

I smiled and kissed her before she h
urried out of the room, her soft scent lingering long after she pulled from the driveway.

After
she left, I showered and dressed, grabbed my leather jacket, and headed for the door. I stilled as it flung open and Ellie came through. She startled, then eyed me suspiciously.

“
Ellie.” I greeted her cautiously. Last time we’d been here alone, things didn’t go well, but we couldn’t keep avoiding each other or Avery would know something was up.

“
Avery’s car was gone so I thought you guys left.”

“
She left about half an hour ago.”

She
nodded, then proceeded to walk past me.

“
You know you don’t have to sneak in after we’re gone. This is your home.” I admit it made me a bit uncomfortable to come to Avery’s house with everything going on with Ellie, but Avery insisted. It looked suspicious that I was always trying to talk her into staying at my place when her house was closer to her office.

Ellie turned around and glared at me.
“I know this is my home. I can’t help it that I’m not as cold as you are. I feel guilty about all this.”

“
You think I don’t?”

She
raised an eyebrow. Skeptical.

“
Don’t think just because I’ve grown accustomed to guilt that I’m immune. I hate keeping this from her, but what will we have accomplished by telling her? That she should’ve never trusted her heart to me. That she’ll never open up again.”

She shook her head slowly, scrutinizing me through narrowed eyes.
“I can’t figure out if you’re bullshitting me or if you’re completely different than the man I knew.”

I looked at her with her oversized
T-shirt and long blonde braid down her back and smiled. “Seems like we both were completely different people when we met.”

She
nodded, turned, and then continued on to her room.

Avery

When I received my trust fund at twenty-one, I always thought I’d travel the world and see all the places I dreamed of. My determination stood in my way. Regardless of how big the trust fund my parents left me had been, I’d always wanted success more than riches. The one thing having money helped with was opening my own practice.

When I think of all the times I dr
eamed of coming to California, I’d never once imagined I’d make my debut on the arm of a sexy Hollywood star. As Xander and I strolled—no, speed-walked—through LAX, I was amazed by how many people stopped and stared and by how many cameras flashed in my face.

I knew I looked like a deer caught in headlights in at least half of the pictures taken. I was an amateur.
Xander had this thing down to a science. He wore sunglasses, held his head low, and kept a straight path to his destination. By the time we got to the car that was sent to pick us up, I’d bumped into enough people while trying to keep up that I felt like I’d just been through a maze or a circus. And Xander was the main attraction.

“
You okay?” Xander asked, sweeping my hair behind my ear once we got settled in the waiting car.

“
I think so.”

He smiled.
“You’ll get used to it.”

Will
I?
Were we at a place where we were planning a future in L.A.? Because I couldn’t picture myself moving away from Seattle.

“
In L.A., the world spins at a faster pace. You blink your eyes, and you’ve been to an award show, two parties, done a shitload of interviews, and then you spend most of the next day in bed.”

“
Being in Washington must be driving you crazy.”

He shook his head.
“It’s not. Being
here
is driving me crazy. This was the place I came to escape everything. I knew I’d come back here and prove to myself and Jessica that I could make it. Now that I have…” He shrugged. “I just want to slow down for a while.”

“
What does that mean?”

“
It means you can stop worrying your lip. I’m not staying here.
We’re
not staying here. We go to the award show, make an appearance at a few parties, then we jet out of here in two days or less. I want to try my hand at some screenwriting, and there’s no better place to do that than my little house in Washington.”

“
I still can’t believe you’re buying that house.”

“
Why not? Don’t you like it?”

I loved the little house. It was a secluded bungalow
, quaint and cozy—not at all what you’d expect from a famous actor. His decision to buy it a week ago was rash, and I thought he’d come to his senses, but he was determined. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I was relieved he wasn’t trying to run back to L.A.

We pulled up to a high-
rise building, and an attendant stepped out and collected our bags. We walked through a lush lobby with marble floors. There was a doorman, a receptionist, a security guard, and an elevator man. Everything I would expect for Xander the movie star to have. It was just so different than the Xander I’d come to know.

The elevator took us up to the twelfth floor.
This condo was nothing like his bungalow in Washington.
This
was what I expected of a movie star. Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed a view that could be seen throughout the open-concept floor plan. Cherry cabinets and dark countertops in the kitchen, black-and-red furniture in the living room, and two nice gray loungers out on the balcony.

The attendant arrived
with our bags and left them at the entrance. After tipping him, Xander pulled me into his bedroom. The bed was big and obnoxious. I guessed that made sense since he didn’t sleep much and only needed it to lure in unsuspecting women. I grimaced.

“W
hy are you making that face?” He pulled me out of my thoughts.

“
Just thinking of how many women you’ve fucked in that bed.” I tilted my head toward the monstrosity.

“
I’ll throw it out if you want. I can call the furniture store and they’ll have a new one here by tomorrow.” He pulled out his phone and I snatched it from him.

“
I’m not that insecure.” I wrapped my arm around his neck and kissed him. “As long as we agree there’ll be no one else in there but me from now on, you can keep the bed
and
your dick. Now if you break this deal, I make no promises to what might happen to either one.” I cupped his cock in my hand and he scowled.

“
You would never hurt it. You love it too much.”

“T
hat’s exactly why I don’t want anyone else having it.”

He leaned in and kissed my jaw.
“And no one else will.”

Avery

I woke with Xander’s head between my legs, on the verge of an incredible orgasm. The gentle glide of his tongue against my clit was an intense way to be yanked out of sleep. I tried shutting my legs as the jolts of pleasure became extreme, but he spread them wider with a hand on each thigh. It didn’t take long before I was rocking into his strokes, chasing my orgasm. He sucked my clit sharply, then flicked it with his tongue. By the third flick of his hot, slick tongue, I rocketed. Came so hard my legs shook and my muscles tightened so hard I felt like I was locked in an ongoing circle of orgasms. His tongue was relentless, torturing my sensitized clit and stretching out my orgasm until I was begging him for mercy.

I was boneless by the time he backed
away, fading in and out of reality. But when his cock delved into my wet flesh, I was suddenly centered again.

There were no words to describe the first moment of impact. That moment when we became one and the pressure of his cock filling
me stole my breath away and sent shivers up my spine. The moment he spread me open and made me feel nothing but hard flesh and raw emotion.

He
braced his palms on the bed as he took slow, leisured strokes. He was fucking me like he wanted to stay in me all day. And I didn’t doubt he’d try.

“
Now that’s what I call a show,” someone said, but I figured it must’ve been the television we’d left on.

“
Go away, Marcus.”

Wha
t? Someone’s actually in the room.

I covered my chest with one arm and tried to push
Xander off with the other. That didn’t work. Xander became more determined, speeding up despite our audience of one.

“
Come on, Xander, you could do better than that.”

What the fuck is wrong with this guy?
I was so glad the sheet was at least thrown over our lower half.

“
Fuck off, Marcus.” Xander spoke of Marcus before, but I never imagined I’d meet him while Xander was eight inches deep in me.

“
And miss the finale?” Marcus said. I couldn’t see past Xander, so I still had no idea where he was in the room.

“
Xander, stop,” I hissed. My face was on fire, but my body was still hyperaware of Xander. My nipples were hard, and my pussy demanded I ride this out until I orgasmed again, but there was no way I’d climax with a stranger in the room.

Xander
growled, gritted his teeth, slammed into me, and came. His hot cum filled me while his friend whistled and made catcalls.

He fell over me.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I chided.

He chuckled through his heavy breathing.
“Weren’t you a little turned on by someone watching me claiming you?”

“
No,” I whispered.

“
He couldn’t see you.” He assured me like that made a difference when I’d just been a participant in a live sex show. He pulled out of me and got up, making sure the sheet concealed me.

I pulled it over my head
, then peeked out. Marcus followed Xander into the bathroom, not at all fazed by Xander walking around naked. I hopped out of the bed with the sheets still clutched to my chest and grabbed a shirt Xander had tossed on the floor, threw it on, and hastily buttoned it up. I took a pair of shorts out of my bag and pulled them on even faster.

Marcus
walked back into the room like a bellow in a quiet night. He was nothing like Xander described him to me. He was boyishly cute, aggressively outgoing, and as
wild
as his surname. He was almost as tall as Xander’s 6’2” with a mess of dirty-blond curls on his head.

“
Avery,” he shouted as though I were a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in a while. He surprised me with a hug that I didn’t return, my arms just awkwardly hanging at my sides as he squeezed me. I gazed over his shoulder at Xander, giving him a confused look. He shrugged and walked into the closet to get dressed.

When
Marcus finally let me go, he held me back by my arms and analyzed me with his dark-brown eyes. “So you’re the woman who’s out to prove Xander has a heart.”

“
If I didn’t have one, I’d have fired you years ago,” Xander shouted from the walk-in closet.

“
Then who would do your dirty work and deal with all your bullshit?” Marcus smiled as he looped an arm around my shoulder.
“Come on. I brought us breakfast,” he said, pulling me toward the kitchen with his arm still draped around my shoulders.

~*~*~

“Is everything ready for tonight?” Xander asked as we gathered around the table for breakfast.

Marcus
nodded because his mouth was full. He picked up his cup of coffee and gulped it. I wondered if maybe people like him—who already seemed super-hyper—should be banned from coffee intake.

He
never sat down. He paced around the kitchen and living room, only coming back to the table to take a bite of his bagel. “So, Avery… first time to California?”

“
Yes.” I watched Marcus rock back and forth on the balls of his feet.
He can’t stay still.

“
No family vacations when you were younger?”

Xander stopped eating and stared at him.

I wiped my mouth with my napkin, swallowing before answering. “Before my parents passed, we took vacations, but never came here.”

“
Oh. I’m sorry about your parents.” He took a sip of his coffee. The sipping thing seemed off—like he was biding his time—since he was gulping before. “Who took care of you after they passed?”

“
Marcus!” Xander glared at him as he stood, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out onto the balcony. He didn’t talk loud enough for me to hear, but judging by the angry gestures he was making, Xander wasn’t happy with Marcus bringing up my parents. I got that he was trying to protect me, but I was beyond the point where it hurt to talk about them. I’d come to grips with it all years ago.

Marcus came back in first,
picked up his coffee, and emptied it in a few gulps. Then he looked at me and said, “It was nice meeting you, Avery. Thanks for the interesting morning.”

H
e picked up his phone and keys off the table and finished with, “Nice tits, by the way.” He winked, then pointed down. I followed his finger and noticed in my haste I’d missed a few buttons, exposing half my breast.

I
pulled it shut, then looked up, but Marcus was already out the door. I glanced at Xander, and he just stood in the balcony doorway with his arms crossed, shaking his head.

I didn
’t have a way to describe quite how rash and loud and pushy he was. He had no filters. He lived out loud. He was just Marcus
fucking
Wilder!