Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) - J.C. Reed Page 0,54

eyes closed as I responded. “Yeah?”

“Laurie.” Jude’s frantic voice echoed at the other end. “You promised to call.”

I winced at her shrill tone and pressed my eyes tightly shut. The pounding in my head was merciless and hard—as if a sledgehammer was working hard to split my skull open. “Please stop shouting. I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.”

Which was true. I barely got any sleep last night.

“Sorry. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important.”

I sighed and tossed the pillow aside. “All right. What’s going on?”

“Clint called.”

The two words were enough to freeze my blood in my veins.

I rose instantly, all sleep gone, and blinked against the glaring morning sun flooding in through the window. A glance at the bedside clock told me it was ten a.m. so it had to be late morning in NYC, where Jude was staying, and early morning in California, where Clint lived.

The sun spilled its unnerving rays into the bedroom, lighting it up like a shrine. I got up and pulled the curtains, the semi-darkness providing instant relief.

“Did you hear what I just said?” Jude asked. “I just got off the phone with Clint.”

“What did he want?” I asked with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach.

“He wants to know where you are, but don’t worry, I didn’t blab,” Jude said.

“Did he say why he wants to know where I am?”

“Yes, he did.” She paused, hesitating. “He asked why you went to court behind his back. He said you and he had a deal, and that you broke it.” She sounded concerned. “Are you taking him to court, Laurie? He sounded real mad and threatened you with consequences.”

Oh, shit.

All the blood rushed out of my face as my hands started to sweat. Letting myself fall on my back, I closed my eyes and willed myself to take deep breaths.

They didn’t calm me down one bit.

Worse yet, panic rose inside me as my mind recalled Chase’s words, his plans, his intentions.

He was moving forward with his plans.

It was all his fault.

I didn’t have to consider the possibility, I just knew. After all, he had warned me of what he was about to do, but for some stupid reason, I thought after last night he’d change his mind; that I had more time, that he’d respect my wishes.

I had been wrong again.

“What’s going on?” Jude probed carefully, drawing my attention back to her. “I’m sure this is some kind of misunderstanding. I mean, obviously you didn’t take legal actions against your stepfather. He must be crazy to think you’d do that.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Or would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” I shook my head and began to massage my temples.

“See, I knew it. So, I’m—”

“It was Chase,” I cut her off. “He’s taking Clint to court.”

“Chase?” Her voice betrayed her shock. “Why would he do that?”

“It’s a long story.” I sighed and jumped to my feet. Cradling the cell phone between my ear and my shoulder, I headed for the closet as I considered my next words. Jude had grown silent. She knew better than to pester me for details in such matters.

I decided, even if I wanted to, there was no point in recapping yesterday’s events. I had to talk with Chase first and ask him to redo his actions—and fast, before Clint made my life a living hell.

“Hold on a sec,” I said to Jude and slipped into my jeans and shirt, regarding myself in the mirror.

In spite of the fact that I had never felt so tired, I looked radiant. Yeah, sex did that to you.

“So, you really met up with him?” Jude’s question was fairly harmless, but the inquisitiveness in her voice was palpable.

I rolled my eyes, cursing the fact that I had loved every second with Chase—yet he had gone behind my back, as if the time we spent together meant nothing to him. “Yeah, I saw him all right.”

“And?” Damn Jude and her curiosity.

“And we talked.”

And I also slept with him.

Kissed him.

Begged him to lick me and take me while he pleasured me, and pleasure me again.

Relentlessly.

Oh, God.

The way he had fucked me slowly, hard, fast on the bed, in the shower, and on the floor, in that respective order, it had felt as though he couldn’t get enough of me. But I couldn’t admit that to Jude.

Not now.

Not ever.

Not when Chase spelled trouble with a six pack. Or was it an eight pack?

I couldn’t tell her about the way he