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  When his hand lifted from her hip and swatted her ass, adding a delicious sting of pain to her pleasure, she cried out, clenching down around him.

  His hand came down on her other cheek. Not hard. Not a punishment. Not playful either.

  It was just right.

  She screamed as she came again, her second orgasm much more intense, Jake’s cock driving into her and sending her soaring as the waves rushed over her. The rapture intensified with every thrust as he worked his way to his own climax, and when he finally groaned and buried himself inside of her, pulsing against her spasming walls, she thought she might actually be seeing stars.

  Best terrible idea, ever.

  Chapter 1

  The shifting of a large, muscular body next to her was what woke Sharon up. That was not something she’d had in her bed for a while.

  When she opened her eyes, it became very clear that she wasn't in her bed.

  Well that explains that.

  It had been a party-hard kind of New Year’s Eve, so she wasn't exactly surprised. Especially not since she'd gone into the night feeling more than a little sorry for herself. It was kind of hard not to when she was beginning the new year as the only single lady in her group of friends.

  She turned her head to find out exactly whose bed she was waking up in... and froze.

  Oh, fuck a duck... What the hell did I do? Fucking mother-of-all-mistakes... How could I have possibly thought this was a good idea?

  The thought triggered a memory.

  Hands touching her, her body throbbing, her voice saying 'This is such a bad idea...'

  And what did I do? I did it anyway. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  Out. She needed to get out.

  Without waking him up.

  Although, as she looked at his far-too-handsome sleeping expression, she couldn't help but smirk a little. Jake Standish, her friend Lexie's goody-two-shoes older brother, tended to be constantly scowling in disapproval at Sharon.

  He didn't disapprove of anything we did last night. Boo-yah!

  But she didn't really want to stick around and rub his face in it. Partly because... well, if he was mean to her, she might cry. The idea of watching his expression change from sleepy satisfaction to horror if he woke up and saw her in his bed... yeah, not at the top of her to-do list.

  It sucked that he could hurt her feelings, because she'd gotten pretty good at not caring what people thought about her, but for some reason his disapproval tended to sting. Maybe because he hung out with all of her friends, so she couldn't get away from him. Maybe because he was the only other single person in their group of friends and so they should have been natural allies.

  Maybe because he was hot as fuck and she had been attracted to him from the moment she'd met him, but he treated her like an obnoxious brat that wasn't worth even minimal politeness.

  Not that she'd ever let his Judgy-Mcjudgerson attitude change how she behaved, but there was still some small part of her that shriveled a little whenever he directed that bright blue gaze of disapproval her way.

  So get moving before he wakes up, dumbass.

  Right. Moving. She could do that.

  She rolled away and then had to stifle a moan as she pushed herself up in bed. Her lady bits had gotten a serious workout last night. Like, “a multiple times and multiple orgasms with a big cock”-level workout. Jake had been very generous with fingers, mouth, and dick. Her inner thighs ached. Her swollen lower lips ached. Her insides ached. All in a good way.

  It figured he'd be the best one-night stand of her life so far.

  Jerk.

  As quietly and quickly as she could, she pulled on her dress, found her underwear and snuck out of his bedroom. Okay, she did take one last look at him... But who could blame her? The man was hot. He hadn't lost any muscle definition since leaving the army, although his black hair had grown out a little over an inch. The sheet was pulled down to his waist. It was a good look for him.

  Her purse and shoes were in his living room, and she quickly grabbed them, putting in a request for an Uber before she started doing up the straps on her shoes. Four minutes. Perfect. Just enough time for her to make sure she had everything, close the front door quietly, and get down to the curb.

  The second she closed the car door behind her, she blew out a sigh of relief.

  Why she was so relieved she couldn't exactly say. It wasn't like she expected Jake to come chasing after her just to be mean to her... Or chasing after her to be nice to her either, for that matter.

  "Happy New Year," the woman in the front seat said cheerfully.

  "Happy New Year," Sharon replied, giving her the best smile she could under the circumstances.

  At least her driver didn't seem judgmental about the fact that Sharon was obviously doing a walk of shame.

  Not that she felt ashamed. Mostly she felt deliciously sore and maybe just a little regretful that there was no way it would ever happen again. Also, she was definitely not looking forward to seeing him again. At least there was no big group thing coming up soon.

  The next time she'd see him would probably be at Stronghold. Maybe he'd skip the next few weekends. Lexie and Patrick had gotten engaged last night, so Sharon knew they'd be extra amorous for the next few weeks - maybe even months. Jake tended to make himself scarce when he thought the two of them were going to be doing anything super publicly.

  He'd even missed the actual proposal last night, since Patrick had done it after tying Lexie up and suspending her on stage as part of one of the 'acts' celebrating the opening of his new club, Marquis. Sharon could understand why Jake didn't want to see his sister naked. Maybe that would be enough to keep him away from Stronghold for a while. And if it wasn't, maybe she could see more of what Marquis had to offer.

  She'd already bought a membership there... But she didn't want to go alone all the time, and the rest of their friends preferred Stronghold.

  Whatever. She'd figure it out.

  The awkwardness had to wear off after a few weeks anyway, right?

  ******

  Reaching out, Jake opened his eyes when he realized the soft curves that should have been snuggled up against him were missing.

  He frowned.

  Yeah, he had definitely not come home alone last night. With a slight groan, he rolled onto his back, covering his eyes with his hands as a headache started to pulse behind his eyes in response to the sunlight. He'd had way too much to drink.

  Enough that he'd thought indulging in his inexplicable attraction to Sharon was a good idea.

  Let's just get it out of our systems. That's what he'd said to her. It had made sense at the time. And she'd agreed. Pretty enthusiastically. Although she had also reiterated multiple times that it was a fucking terrible idea, from the moment she'd gotten into his apartment right through her first orgasm on his tongue and until he'd finally gotten his cock in her.

  Then she had stopped thinking it was such a bad idea.

  He smirked, but it faded quickly.

  It hadn't been the great idea he'd thought it was last night.

  Whether or not it was a bad one remained to be seen.

  Before he could really start thinking through the ramifications, his phone started buzzing and loudly beeping. Not his alarm.

  With a groan, he rolled towards it and grabbed it up, blinking at the screen through bleary eyes. Five new text messages from Lexie? All at once?

  Adrenaline shot through him, the stimulant clearing his system of any sleepiness. Time in the army had taught him how to go from groggy to fully awake and battle ready in a matter of seconds. Not that he needed to be battle ready for whatever his sister wanted - at least, he'd better not be.

  He relaxed slightly as soon as he saw the first message - a photo of her new engagement ring sparkling from her dainty finger. She wouldn't be sending that if something were wrong.

  Following the ring picture was a series of messages from Lexie -

  ENGAGED! You rat, you didn't stick arou
nd last night to see!

  AND GUESS WHAT?!

  ANGEL'S HAVING HER BABY! She went into labor a little before midnight!

  Sunny Banks hospital - we're headed there now!

  Crap. Looked like he was getting up and going to the hospital with a hangover. Unless he wanted another barrage of text messages, likely not just from his sister but from the rest of their friends.

  They wanted to include him in everything now that he was home and he appreciated it. He tried to make it out for the big events - and the first kid entering their group was a big event. On the upside, it was probably going to be funny seeing how Adam handled being a new father. And all of them were dying to find out whether the baby was a boy or girl.

  Jake had twenty dollars on a girl. Might as well go find out whether or not he was taking Patrick's money today.

  "Shower," he muttered, because he needed to clean off if he was going to go face his friends after a night of fucking amazing sex with Sharon. He was pretty sure he still smelled like her perfume. "Then coffee. Then hospital."

  Maybe he'd grab some donuts on the way too. Babies took a while to come right? People would probably be hungry. And he wanted a donut.

  Plus, having something to hold would keep him from trying to touch Sharon again...

  There were a lot of uncertainties after last night, but one thing he knew for sure was that she was definitely not out of his system. As if to concur, his damned cock twitched.

  ******

  So much for avoiding Jake.

  But there had been no way she was going to miss seeing Angel and Adam's new arrival. Babies trump awkward morning afters.

  At least she got some entertainment from the fact that he didn't quite seem to know how to deal with her presence either. His blue eyes kept flitting over in her direction, and when she had first arrived he'd practically used the box of donuts he was holding as a shield. Sharon had smirked at him as she'd picked up a pink one with sprinkles, both to hide her own awkwardness and just to get under his skin.

  Jumping into their usual routine was not only familiar, it made her feel less awkward.

  He'd scowled at her, but there was a little something extra in his eyes that had sent a shiver up her spine. Doing her best to ignore him, she took her donut with her and settled down into a chair next to her bestie, Kate. All of her friends were already there, in varying degrees of sleepiness and hungover - even Lexie and Patrick who were wrapped up in one chair and practically cooing at each other. Lexie had her left hand outstretched and both of them kept looking at the ring on it with expressions of loving awe.

  They were so cute she almost wanted to vomit.

  But her donut was too delicious to throw it right back up again.

  She happened to catch Jake's eye where he was sitting next to Luke and Olivia. Deliberately she licked a swipe of icing off the top of the donut. Even from across the room she could feel the heat of his gaze as his eyes flashed at her.

  So much for trying not to be awkward.

  But if she was being honest with herself, ducking her head and keeping a low profile had never really been her style anyway. It was his though, and he looked both annoyed and turned on.

  Smug, she turned away to try and pay attention to what Hilary and Jessica were saying. The two besties were sitting across from Kate and Andrew, with Liam on one side of them and Justin and Chris on the other, talking about Jessica's commitment ceremony to her two men. Yup, Jessica was engaged to both Chris and Justin, the brave, brave woman. Two Doms! They were best friends and looked enough alike to be brothers – dark hair, dark eyes, and super sexy. Sometimes Sharon envied her a little bit, but twice the bossiness? No thanks. They suited sweet, curvy Jessica perfectly though.

  Hilary was tucked into her husband’s side as usual, even with the arm of the hospital chair between them. Sharon was almost surprised to see that Hilary wasn’t on Liam’s lap. He was a pretty easy-going Dom in a lot of ways, but they did tend to be attached at the hip. The shortest of the men, his stature and boyish face didn’t get in the way of his authority when he decided to exercise it. Not that he needed to much; Hilary liked being a good girl.

  "Angel and Adam have already agreed to let their kid be either ring bearer or flower girl," Jessica said, her hazel eyes sparkling. Beside her, Justin and Chris exchanged amused glances, obviously willing to indulge whatever whim their soon-to-be-wife wanted. Well, legally she wouldn’t actually be their wife, but close enough.

  Sharon had recommended them an excellent lawyer to help them figure out all the legal and financial stuff that would bind them together even though they wouldn't be technically married. They didn't know it, but she was also paying a portion of the lawyers' fee. Hey, what was the point of being the rich trust fund friend if she couldn't use it? They deserved a happily-ever-after and she was perfectly happy to make sure they could afford everything they ever wanted.

  It made her feel a little bit like a fairy godmother.

  Kate squealed, clapping her hands together. A shiny ring sparkled from her left finger as well. "That's amazing! Oh, my goodness, can you imagine if their kid was in all of our weddings?"

  "Ugh, we got married too soon," Hilary said, pouting at her husband, Liam.

  Chuckling, he lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a kiss. "I think we got married at just the right time. Besides, we really didn't need another flower girl or ring bearer."

  Theirs had been an extravagant society wedding, thanks to Hilary's parents, who ran with the same kinds of circles Sharon's did. If she remembered correctly, there had been three adorable little flower girls and two chubby-cheeked ring-bearers.

  "That's just what happens when you do things first," Jessica said, poking Hilary in the side and beginning a small poking war between the two of them. Sharon grinned at their antics, sharing her amusement with Kate.

  She really loved her friends. They were fun, funny, genuinely some of the nicest people she'd ever met, supportive as all hell, and none of them cared about her money. All things which could be frustratingly hard to find, especially in that particular combination.

  Although she hadn't been sure it would be a good idea for Kate to get back together with her ex, Andrew, it had turned out to be great for all of them. He was Antonio Banderas level hot, and Sharon counted her blessings that she hadn't hooked up with him before Kate had moved back here. Sharon had arrived about a month earlier than Kate and started going to Stronghold, where she had met a lot of people but hadn’t started hanging out with them till after Kate arrived and been welcomed back into the fold.

  She’d had no idea that Andrew was Kate’s ex at the time and she was just thankful she’d never slept with him. Talk about awkward. Before Kate's return Andrew been a total manwhore - to the point where Sharon dubbed him 'Crusty Cock' - and so she'd never been tempted no matter how sexy he was. Plus, she tended to avoid the serious sadists, unlike her bestie. Now they were together, happily engaged, and everything was awesome. Well, other than the fact that Sharon now needed a new roommate and was still struggling to find one. She really hated living alone.

  Unfortunately, all her friends were now paired up and living with each other, which meant she was stuck interviewing random people in hopes of finding one she could happily live with. So far, no luck, which meant she was left alone with her thoughts far too often.

  Blech. So much alone time wasn’t good for her mental health.

  Deciding she'd had more than enough of her own melancholy, she poked her bestie in the side. Kate squealed, shrinking away from the finger digging into her side.

  "So, when are we going to sit down and talk about your wedding?" Sharon asked, grinning. "I've got big plans for your bachelorette party."

  ******

  It was like the woman was incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes, Jake thought grumpily, eyeing her from across the room. Considering that she was pretty much the opposite of his 'type' personality-wise, he still didn't understand why he'd always been
so attracted to her. Of course, it was even worse now that he knew what she tasted like, what she sounded like when she was orgasming, and what she felt like as she writhed underneath him.

  She was now having some kind of tickle war with Kate. In a freaking hospital waiting room. Uncaring about everyone else in the room and whether or not they were watching or listening. Drawing every eye to her, as usual, including several admiring eyes from the other men in the room, thanks to the low-cut shirt she was wearing. There was an awful lot of cleavage on display. Who wore a shirt like that to come see a newborn baby? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his memories of exactly how much he'd enjoyed laving attention on that particular area of her body last night were still very clear.

  A hard elbow in his side drew his gaze away from her.

  "Ow," he complained to Olivia. She had sharp elbows. The Domme gave him a look that was guaranteed to shrivel any man’s balls. Jake didn’t take it too hard that he was intimidated by her – so was everyone else.

  "Leave her alone," she said firmly, in a low voice that only he could hear. On the other side of her, her boyfriend and submissive, Luke Evans, was chatting away with Rick and Maria, not paying attention to Olivia's conversation with Jake. "You're way too hard on that girl."

  "I wasn't doing anything," he protested. Hell, he hadn't said a word aloud about how gauche she was being.

  "You're glaring at her," Olivia accused, as her grey eyes turned flinty. She could be a little bit of a mother-hen about submissives, especially those in their group of friends, and since Sharon was the only one currently unattached Jake supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Olivia was feeling protective. Still, he was a little irked that Olivia thought Sharon needed protecting from him.

  As far as he could tell, Sharon didn't need protecting from anyone. Other people's stares and occasional mutters bounced off of her like she had some kind of impenetrable shield. She sure as hell hadn't ever been influenced by Jake's disapproval in the past, and he'd occasionally been pretty vocal about it.