Lust & Lies Box Set-Sexual Awakenings, Excess, Predator & Prey

“Come on.” He stood up, cradling me and gently lowering me to my feet.

“I’ll take you home.”

He kissed me deeply again, and we stood wrapped up in each other, listening to the soothing melody of the Atlantic.

“I’m convinced we have each been endowed with a beautiful heart. We may not always see it. We may not even believe it. But it’s a gift that came with birth and, every time we act selflessly, it grows a little.”

? Steve Goodier

§§

Devin

“You are not concentrating,” Walker said as I recovered from his last blow. I was furious now. I lunged toward him on the mat at neck-breaking speed and landed a hard blow to his chin. He flew back but recovered quickly, sweeping my legs out from under me.

“Getting mad about it isn’t going to help your case.” He chuckled, hitting me with a right and then a left on the ground before springing back to his feet. I was on my feet in seconds. I purposely slowed my breathing, blocking everything out.

With the help of silent clarity, I stepped forward, waiting for Walker’s inevitable slip. As soon as he dropped his knee—a telltale sign of a right punch—I dodged it and brought my gloved fist around, resuming my fury. I landed one after the other, pounding my coach into oblivion.

“Fuck,” he declared, spitting a mouthful of blood on the mat before narrowing his eyes. I braced myself for his body shot and took it with a grunt before he nailed me once again to the mat.

“Is it a woman, McIntyre? Oh, what the fuck am I asking. Of course it is. Is the missus set on a summer in the Hamptons and you wanted Europe?”

Jesus, this idiot had no clue. He was a roughneck from Detroit and apparently thought talking to me like that was rough speak to us privileged folk. I didn’t have the strength to tell him that it was my ex-mistress, not my wife, and chuckled at the thought right before he backhanded me with his glove for the fuck of it.

I deserved that hit. She wasn’t just an ex-mistress.

And he was right. My head wasn’t in it, but that didn’t keep him from punishing me for the last five minutes of our session.

“You make me regret taking you on,” he said, grabbing his water and spilling half of it over his face and chest.

“I pay you, so your opinion really isn’t that important.” I stared at Adam Walker as he looked back at me with no humor. He wasn’t happy. Well, that made two of us.

“You have shit going on, understandable, but this is where you are supposed to twist it to your advantage. Dig deep.”

“Do I get brownies and milk with this after school special speech?” I took my gloves off, disgusted. I’d never landed so few punches.

“Seriously…” Adam walked away. He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere. “Bring your A game or don’t come back next time, McIntyre. I’ve taught you better, and I need a partner worth sparring with.”

I grabbed my bag and sped out of the parking lot, heading toward downtown. Eileen had called twice, but I had no intention of returning the calls. The threat was always there. Maybe tonight she would ruin what was left of my life, and maybe I’d fucking let her. I was so over the whole thing. I could stack my chips, cash in, and let the rest scatter around me. I wasn’t even interested in my current clients and found no thrill in rolling the dice for them. What had been my driving force for so long, the reason behind my inability to keep Nina, now appealed to me less and less. What did it really matter if I couldn’t do what I “loved” anymore if I could no longer look at it the same.

Pulling up to my home, I was greeted by a stack of mail before heading to the bathroom for a hot shower. I was completely useless these days. I wasn’t doing a fucking thing to further my career because all my thoughts were occupied by a woman who’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me. I had a decision to make. I could fight for her, or move on.

I could get laid. That would help. Fuck some stray, make her come, make myself feel better. The only problem was, my dick only got hard to thoughts of her. I stood in the shower, letting the hot water hit me.

Nina, fuck.

I gripped my cock, thinking about the first time I saw her out after we’d slept together.

It was at a charity auction. Some fucking half-assed attempt for one of my partner’s wives to do her good bidding for the year. The items up for bid were strange and morbid, and I had no interest in any of them. I was there to support my partner’s wife, and possibly get a little networking done. I hadn’t called Nina since that day, though it had been less than a week. Seeing her, I instantly felt guilty. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to. I just didn’t want her getting used to it. We’d made no promises. I was already worried about the repercussions of that day and how much I’d wanted her since.

One look from her as she gathered her paddle let me know she wasn’t interested in excuses. I gaped at her in a floor-length, off the shoulder red gown. She was fucking stunning. I walked over without hesitation, thankful my wife had a headache. I didn’t know how I would handle it when we all came face to face. I would have to tell her the truth and soon.

She plastered a smile on her face as I approached.

“Devin, how are you?”

“Don’t. Don’t do that,” I said quickly.