Malfeasance Page 6

  “Out with it,” I grumble as bring the ring up closer so I can inspect the diamond closely. “You’re not on board with me wanting to marry her. Tell me why.”

  He scrubs at his jaw. “You haven’t dated in over a decade. The first chick you stick your dick into you’re ready to marry. Seems impulsive and not at all like you, Max.”

  I scowl and pass him the ring to inspect. “I have always made good decisions, man. She’s the best damn decision I’ve ever made. I love her. She loves me. Who cares if it’s fast? It’s happening.”

  He inspects the ring and gives me a nod before handing it back. “I just worry she’ll screw you over or some shit.”

  I lift a brow. “Does Dorian really seem the type to screw anyone over? Hell, she’s the only person these days that can make Sophia smile. She’s perfect, Dane.”

  “What about her ex, Carson?” His features darken. “He still fucking stalks her.”

  I grit my teeth at the mention of that motherfucker. He’s yet to put his hands on her again but he does seem to show up wherever she goes. I’ve called Sheriff McMahon out several times because he’s violating his restraining order. The hits keep stacking up on the guy. It’s only a matter of time before we nail his ass and he leaves her alone for good.

  “I’ll keep her safe,” I vow, my voice deadly.

  He sighs. “Well, since you’ve obviously thought all of this out thoroughly, I guess your mind is made up. Will we be having a big wedding? What’s on the agenda?”

  I’d sent Soph on a recon mission to determine if Dorian was the storybook wedding type. She’d said one day when she gets married, she wants something simple since her dad is no longer here to walk her down the aisle. She told my daughter it doesn’t matter when it comes to the wedding as long as the love is there.

  The love is so damn there.

  “Simple. Just us. My daughters. A few friends.”

  He then smirks at me. “What happens if she says no?”

  “She won’t say no.”

  “So confident I see.”

  I flash him a smug grin. “All she says is yes around me.”

  He laughs loudly and earns us an annoyed glare from the salesclerk. I’m about to drop fifteen grand on a ring. She can at least look happy about it.

  “I want this one,” I tell her, wiggling the ring at her. “Wrap it up.”

  “Where’s Soph?” Dorian asks, frowning.

  I hug her to me and kiss the top of her head. We’re sitting on the back patio next to the fire pit after a nice grilled fish dinner. She sips on some lemon water and I nurse a beer. Together, we lounge on the outdoor sofa with her sitting between my spread legs leaned back against me with the blanket covering us.

  “Staying with her sister and her husband tonight.” I’m glad those two seem to be connecting again.

  “Just us. All alone. I wonder what sort of trouble we’ll get into,” she teases.

  I reach into my pocket. “I imagine the good kind of trouble. Let me see your hand.”

  She sets down the glass and absently holds her hand back to me. I slide the ring down her finger before releasing her hand. A small gasp escapes her. I chuckle when she scrambles to sit up and then straddles me. The brisk air chills her so I grab the blanket to pull up over her shoulders.

  “Max…”

  I take her hand wearing my ring and bring it to my lips. With a kiss to her knuckle, I smile. “Please be my wife. I love you so much. We were two people who desperately needed one another. Circumstance had us at the right place at exactly the right time. I can’t let you go, Dorian. I don’t want to let you go. You make me so damn happy. And I want to keep making you happy until the day I die.”

  Tears well in her eyes. When she leans forward to kiss me, they roll out and splash my face. Our mouths meet for a needy kiss and she nods the whole time.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” I say with a laugh before she attacks my mouth again.

  “Yes.” Her palms cup my cheeks. “So many yeses. All the yeses.”

  We set to tearing each other’s clothes off. My shirt gets tossed away and her dress is a thing of the past. It’s chilly outside but we’re making fire. She squeals when I savagely rip the fabric of her panties and toss them into the fire pit.

  “I can’t believe you set my panties on fire!” she squeals, laughing.

  “I’ve heard that one a time or two from you,” I tease back.

  She laughs but the moment I lift her by the hips and then push her down on my hard throbbing length, her laughter dies away. Her fingers claw at me as she kisses me wildly. I fuck her hard and without apology. Our slapping bodies will no doubt give the neighbors something to talk about. Her screams will make them jealous.

  As she rides me, she fumbles with her bra and tosses it away. “Suck them.”

  Obeying my sweet girl, I lean forward and suck her nipple hard enough to make her squeal. Her pussy clenches around me which tells me she loves the fuck out of it. Our lovemaking is harsh and rushed as we each fight to devour the other. When she comes with my name bursting from her lips, I let out my own release with a groan. My hot seed shoots deep inside her.

  We haven’t been careful.

  I don’t even care.

  I want her.

  All of her.

  Everything we can be together.

  “I’m pretty sure we just made a baby right now,” I say with a laugh.

  She stiffens in my arms. It’s then I realize maybe she doesn’t want kids. I have two but I always wanted to have more. We never really discussed having a family. I just thought it was a given.

  “Max…” Her voice is wobbly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Looking up at her, I stroke her cheek. “It’s okay, beautiful. Talk to me.”

  “We didn’t just make a baby. I wanted to tell you sooner.” A sob catches in her throat.

  She can’t have kids. That’s the only explanation for her behavior. “It’s okay. You not being able to get pregnant isn’t a deal breaker for me, sweetheart. I love you no matter what. I’ve got the girls. And if you want to adopt one day, I’m all for it.”

  Tears roll down her eyes and she presses a kiss to my forehead. “How did I somehow catch the perfect man?”

  I kiss her throat. “I caught you, baby. I’m the lucky one here.”

  She places her hands on my shoulders and pulls away. Her pink cheeks are streaked with tears and her lips are swollen from our kissing. With the shadows from the fire pit dancing around us, her tits seem fuller and are begging for more attention. I lean forward to suck on her nipple again, but she pushes me away.

  “I’m pregnant, Max.”

  I freeze and jerk my head up. “W-What?”

  Her lip wobbles again. The words come out barely as a whisper. “I found out but was afraid it would ruin what we had. I didn’t tell you. I’ve been holding onto this secret for a while.”

  My thumb brushes across her stomach that I now realize seems pudgier than usual. Here I thought I just fed her better than she was used to. “How long?”

  “A little over two months. I’m so sorry.”

  I grip her jaw and pull her to my mouth. The kiss I give her is possessive. “This is the best present ever, Dorian. You’ve made me happier than I could have ever dreamed.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  I laugh. “I’m fucking over the moon with excitement. Are you happy?”

  She bites on her bottom lip and nods. “So happy.”

  “We made a baby,” I say in awe.

  “We sure did.”

  We still haven’t told my girls but we’re dying to. Dorian manages to hide her pregnancy with flowing shirts to mask her swell despite her being well into her fifth month. But when we’re alone, I like when she shows her belly off to me. I get so turned on seeing her rounded stomach.

  “Your son wants chocolate pudding,” she tells me as she looks up from her laptop.

  “Daddy is hungry for something sweet too.�
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  She laughs. “You’re impossible.”

  “How are your classes this semester? Need any help?”

  A yawn escapes her and she stretches. Her fitted tank lifts and reveals her cute stomach to me. She’s just wearing the shirt and a pair of pink panties that are making my mouth water.

  “Hard but still fun. Dane likes to quiz me at work. Sometimes he drives me crazy,” she pouts.

  I chuckle. “He’s reliving the past through you. That guy was a major over-achiever in college. Looks like he’s trying to teach his little apprentice how to be the best too.”

  She sets her computer down on the floor and lies back on the chaise lounge. I love how relaxed she is in my presence. Like a lazy cat just waiting to be pet. I willingly volunteer for that job every goddamned day.

  I peel off my shirt, pride thrumming through me when I get her attention, and strut over to her. Her eyes rake over my hard chest down to something else that is hard. I’m still sweaty from working out in my home gym but Dorian always seems more turned on after I’ve been to the gym. I think she likes looking at me all sweaty, veins still bulging from exertion.

  “See something you like?” I tease, rubbing my palm across my solid abs.

  “I see something I love. I see something delicious.” Her blue eyes are hooded with desire.

  “Better than chocolate pudding?”

  “Close.”

  We both laugh.

  “Touch yourself over your panties,” I order, my demand husky.

  She parts her thighs and reaches down between her legs. The pink is darker where her sex is because she’s wet there. I want to rip her panties off and lick her juices from them.

  “How does it feel?”

  A moan escapes her. “Not as good as when you touch me.”

  I kneel down at the end of the chaise lounge and ignore my raging boner that’s tenting my basketball shorts. Grabbing her by the hips, I pull her to the end. She cries out when I move her hand away and replace it with my mouth. I nip at her clit through the fabric. My tongue teases along the sides of her panties, tickling her thighs. And to drive her crazier, I explore her sensitive areas with my fingers. I slip one finger in the side of her soaked underwear and seek her entrance. Another moan rips from her when I push it inside her tight body.

  I fuck her with my finger from an odd angle while I continue to bite at her clit and the lips of her pussy. She squirms and thrashes and soon screams my name. Her entire body shudders from her release. I waste no time jerking her panties down her thighs, pushing my shorts down, and then entering her with one hard thrust. Her fingernails claw at me so she can draw me closer to her. Our teeth bump against each other as I kiss her roughly. My cock is in fucking heaven having her wrapped so tight around me.

  “Max!” she cries out as I slam into her hard.

  Together, we fuck like wild animals until she’s shuddering again.

  This is my life now.

  Dorian and I—a perfect pair.

  Nothing can ever change this.

  Fucking nothing.

  “We should get drunk,” Sophia challenges, an evil glint in her eyes. “Since Daddy is off golfing with Miles and Dane, it would be fun. Our little secret.”

  I self-consciously pull at my oversized shirt. “I’m not really in the mood. Plus, you’re too young,” I admonish.

  She rolls her eyes. “Is that really the reason? Or is it because you’re pregnant?”

  My mouth pops open. Max promised he’d tell the girls this weekend over dinner. We just haven’t gotten that far yet.

  “I, uh, oh my God.”

  A smug grin crosses over her face. “I fucking knew it!”

  “Language, Soph!” I shriek and my hand automatically goes to my belly when our son jumps from my outburst. Before I can pull it away, I notice her gaze on me.

  “Just tell me,” she whines. “I’m a big girl. I can take it.”

  I chew on my lip for a second before letting out a huff. “We were going to tell you this weekend. I’m pregnant. A boy.”

  Her screech makes me laugh.

  “This is so exciting!”

  We giggle and hug in the kitchen. Sophia may be much younger than I am but we’ve grown really close. Over time, I divulged every dirty detail that Carson did to me. Stuff I couldn’t even bring myself to tell her father. She knows he still stalks me from time to time too. Together we cried and she viciously vowed to hurt him one day. I love her like I would a sister. I may have lost my family when Dad died, but I gained a new one. I’ve never been happier.

  Ding-dong!

  “You stay and watch the sauce. Keep cutting the mushrooms. I’ll get the door,” I tell her, my voice breathy from laughing. I’m all smiles as I flit through the house. My house. A few weeks ago, Max had one of his judge friends marry us at the courthouse. It was small and perfect. I’m officially Mrs. Rowe now.

  My smile gets impossibly wider.

  The moment I open the front door though, it melts away like butter in a frying pan.

  “Well if it isn’t the little princess moving from one fucking prince charming to the other,” Carson snarls, staggering slightly toward me.

  I go to slam the door shut but he pushes right inside. His hand catches me by the throat and I’m slammed against the nearest wall. He leans forward and I get a disgusting whiff of hard liquor. It’s barely five in the afternoon and he’s wasted.

  “And you got yourself knocked up too,” he snarls, his hand squeezing my throat. “I bet you’re so goddamned happy!”

  I flinch when he screams at me. My fingernails claw at him so he’ll release me but stars are beginning to glitter in my vision. When I see Sophia behind him, I implore her to run and get help with my eyes.

  He starts shaking me and my head bangs against the wall. Blackness swarms around me. Just when I think my perfect life will be over as quick as it began, I’m released. His howling is loud but I slide down to my knees to try and catch my breath. Glass shatters and I hear grunting. When I come to my senses, I see Carson straddling Soph as he tries to strangle her. A kitchen knife sticks out of his back.

  Oh God.

  I bolt into Max’s office and look in the drawer he told me about. Once I pull out my weapon, I rush back in there. Since he’s sitting on top of her, I easily take a shot at him, knowing I won’t hit her. The bang is loud and scares the baby in my belly because he rolls hard in my stomach.

  Carson howls again and releases Sophia. He falls onto his side cursing. It’s not a fatal wound from what I can tell but at least he’s let her go. She scrambles to her feet and hobbles over to me. I’m supposed to be the one consoling the teenager here but I’m crying so hard and my hands are shaking too badly. She whispers assurances to me as she takes the gun.

  “Sit, Dorian,” she demands, her voice authoritative like her father’s.

  She disappears and then returns with her cell phone to her ear. I can hear her talking calmly to someone. Sheriff McMahon. Then she calls her father. His bellowing can be heard all the way over here.

  Carson sobs from the floor but neither of us move to help him.

  Either he’s going to die or go to prison.

  Either way, I’ll be glad.

  My nightmare will finally be over.

  Several months later…

  “With all the evidence stacked against him and an attempted murder charge, that asshole is looking at sixty years at least. The jury will proverbially hang him. To attack a pregnant woman and a teenager in their own home, he’s going down.” Max smiles at me before kissing our son on his dark head.

  “Justice will be served. I have no doubt,” I agree, flashing him a grin.

  Ethan, named after my father, kicks his little legs and stops nursing to gaze dreamily up at me. His eyes are a perfect shade of blue like mine but he looks so much like Max it hurts. This kid is beautiful and he’s mine.

  “Olivia and her family will be over later for dinner. If you’re not feeling up to it, I can resche
dule,” he says, as he makes silly faces at our baby.

  Ethan coos and gurgles at his daddy.

  These two are too adorable.

  “I feel good. I want to see them,” I assure him.

  He leans forward and kisses my mouth as Ethan greedily finds the breast again. “You make me feel young again, Dorian Dresser Rowe.”

  My heart patters at hearing my new last name. It never gets old. “You make me feel loved again, Maximillian Edward Rowe.”

  We both grin before he attacks my mouth once more.

  Flames of love and desire surge through me.

  Carson spent so much time trying to snuff me out. And at one time, I’d thought he had. But then a formidable and brutally handsome judge stepped into my life. He picked me up when I thought I’d never get up again. Dusted me off and looked right in my eyes. Max made me feel worthy and valued and like I was something special. He rekindled that fire and continually feeds it to this day. With every kind word, sensual touch, and sweet kiss, I fall deeper into the raging flames of love we make.

  The internship. Law school. My career. All of those are exciting and I’m thrilled to be on that journey.

  But my favorite adventure is the one I set out on every day with Max. Together we experience new things. Together we share our love and enjoy life.

  Together we are…

  Simply together.

  And that’s better than anything I could ever imagine.

  The End

  Check out Judge Rowe’s oldest daughter’s story in Ex-Rated Attraction!

  I liked Caleb.

  I like his dad more.

  Miles Reynolds sent shocks through me the very first time I met him. With his full beard and sculpted ass, he’s every inch a heroic, powerful Greek god.

  He saved me from a bad situation and now he’s all I can think of. Every minute of every hour of every day, I want that man.

  He’s warned me away, says I can’t handle what he has to give.

  But I know better.

  Miles is exactly what I need—now, then and forever.