Male Order Page 9

  She sighed. “Thanks, Dad, and sorry.”

  Sam chimed in. “I’m sorry too, sir.”

  Mr. Riley shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, son. From what I saw you were giving her a good time, and I love when my girls are happy, but make sure you treat her right, you hear me?”

  Sam nodded. “Heard and understood.”

  “I’ll leave you alone to untangle yourselves.”

  They watched as he wandered out of the room.

  Meg stared at Sam. “Fuck.”

  He grinned. “Not now, your dad says sex in the kitchen is unhygienic.”

  Meg burped loudly then glanced at Sam. “Excuse me.”

  After leaving the party she had stopped to collect takeout and had met Sam at home. Curled up on the sofa dressed in her pink Winnie The Pooh PJ’s, she was beginning to think the second cheeseburger may have been too much. Neither of them had mentioned what happened at her parents’ house. She wasn’t sure what Sam thought about her dad’s warning. What did he interpret ‘treating her right’ to mean? Maybe her dad was a little more straitlaced than he had initially appeared. Her mother would have just come right out and said ‘guys don’t marry girls who give it away for free.’

  Sam had suggested they become fuck buddies and she had agreed. They had been screwing like rabbits for two days, but how long before he got bored with her? Her concerns that this was a bad idea were starting to crowd back in.

  “Sam.”

  He glanced up from the TV. “What?”

  “This fucking thing, I think we need some rules.”

  “Rules?” He hit pause on the remote and turned sideways on the sofa to look at her. “Why do we need rules? If we want to fuck we fuck, if we don’t, we don’t.”

  “Sounds simple…but…”

  “But?” He let out a loud sigh. “You’re about to complicate things, aren’t you? Why can’t you just let it alone?”

  “I don’t want it to affect our friendship.”

  “So, we won’t let it.”

  “But what if we meet someone else?”

  Sam scratched his head, apparently deep in thought. “You want to know if I care if you sleep with someone else?”

  That was so not what she had been thinking. He was great company and fantastic in bed. Why would she swap him for someone else? However, he might not be thinking the same thing. A man with his skills could have any woman he wanted.

  “Yes and no. I meant, what if one of us meets someone we want to date and not just fuck?”

  “Ah, well if you meet someone we can discuss it then.”

  “And if you meet someone?”

  “The same.”

  He hit play on the remote and turned his attention back to the flickering screen. A weight settled in her stomach and it had nothing to do with the takeout she’d devoured. Why hadn’t his answer been of some comfort? She asked and he gave her an honest answer. Apparently he had no trouble thinking the day would come when he would be happy to drop her for someone better. If they continued to have sex she needed to deal with the fact fucking him was a temporary arrangement.

  She slid off the sofa. “I’m going to bed.”

  Sam glanced up at her. “You want me to come with you?”

  “No, I’m tired.”

  As she stepped away from the sofa he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap. When he covered her mouth with his she fought not to respond but his tongue flicking her lips melted her resolve. After a thorough smooch he set her back on her feet. Who was she kidding, as long as he had a stallion primed for action, she had a stall waiting, she wanted him to fill it.

  Maybe she should cut down so she wouldn’t miss it so much when things changed between them. He seemed to think this was a temporary arrangement and she needed to make sure she treated it the same way. A night alone in her own bed would do her good.

  “Night, Meg.”

  “Night, Sam.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Meg had managed to spend the rest of the weekend occupied, one way or another. Despite a stern talking to herself that she needed to cut back, she’d fallen into bed with Sam more times than she cared to think about. And not just the bed, she had serious doubts her ‘fuck me sandals’ as Sam had named them, would ever recover from the half hour they spent in the shower. Sam said he would buy her another pair; it was a small price to pay to live out a fantasy. She loved the idea of being his fantasy shower fuck. He had said she was also his fantasy face fuck—just how many fantasies did he have left to play out with her?

  The ringing doorbell brought her musings to a halt. She checked her watch. Two already, Laura was right on time. Opening the front door, she let her in. “Coffee?’

  Laura dumped her bag and a folder on the kitchen table. “Sure. Where’s Sam?”

  “He’s at work.”

  “Shame, I hoped he give us a repeat performance.”

  “He hasn’t wanked lately.”

  Laura put her hands on her hips and raised any eyebrow. “Since when? Don’t tell me I missed the boat and he found someone to screw around with.” Laura smiled at her. “Is she someone I know?”

  “I am not discussing Sam’s private life with you.” She could feel heat rising to her cheeks and turned her attention to coffee making.

  Laura sighed. “Shame, but it’s probably for the best. We need to concentrate on getting this business up and running before we’re both eating out of garbage bins at the back of restaurants.”

  Meg hesitated; she didn’t want to quash Laura’s enthusiasm. She hadn’t spent Sunday just reevaluating her relationship with Sam and deciding she could live with things the way they were. She’d also reconsidered the business idea. The whole venture was stupid. Knowing their luck, it would all go pear shaped. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not sure we’re cut out for the corporate world. Maybe we should try another pitch for Wonder Bites.”

  Laura grinned at her. “Too late. Bob hated your latest effort. He said you couldn’t sell condoms to hookers.”

  “What effort? I never made another pitch.”

  “Sure you did. ‘Wonder Bites, like cardboard, only crunchy.’”

  Meg could feel her blood pressure rising. How dare Laura take away the only option for work still open to her? She would never come up with anything so stupid. “That was your crappy jingle.”

  “I know that and you know that, but Bob doesn’t. I knew you’d get cold feet so I made sure you wouldn’t have an out. Now hurry up, our first candidate will be here at three, and we need to get organized.”

  She fisted her hands and ground her teeth. Laura didn’t have the right to make choices on her behalf. “How dare you, Laura. I’m a grown woman and I make my own choices.”

  “Sure you do.” Laura smiled sweetly at her. “And going into business with me is the best choice you ever made.”

  No matter what she did or said, Laura would never understand she had overstepped the mark. This had better work out or their friendship would be over. Meg couldn’t afford to be out of a job.

  Meg poured two cups of coffee from the percolator, added milk and sugar, and carried them to the table. “What candidate were you talking about? We don’t even have a business plan, or a name.”

  “Male Order.”

  “What?”

  “Our business name. Male Order. Men who can help you sort your life out, you know like get things in order, and men you can order.”

  “Prostitutes, you mean? We agreed no sex.”

  Laura glared at her. “You agreed no sex, but sex is integral to the niche market we’re targeting, and they’re called lifestyle advisors.”

  Meg sighed. Apparently Laura planned to go ahead with or without her. Now she had no job what else did she have to do? She would play along until she got a new position and pray to God no one hired anyone for sex. “I still don’t like the sex thing.”

  Laura patted her hand. “Girlfriend, this is not some sleazy business where we pimp women on street corners or pay
men to make out in bus shelters. Besides, not every woman will want sex. We’re just offering them the option.”

  Meg tried to convince herself the idea wasn’t so bad. The occasional sexual encounter that made someone happy was hardly armed robbery. Was what she and Sam did so different? Okay, she wasn’t paying Sam, but they didn’t have a lasting monogamous relationship. They were having a mutually beneficial fuck. Was paying someone worse? “So, where do we go from here?”

  Laura grinned at her. “That’s my girl.” She glanced at the hard timber kitchen chair. “Have you got a cushion I can sit on?”

  “Sure. Why?” Meg passed her a pillow from the sofa.

  “Don’t ask. Okay, well if you insist. When I got home on Saturday I found Gerard had turned up.”

  “Did you get caught in a fight between your men?”

  “Not exactly. I thought the flat was empty. Then I heard noises from the bedroom. I figured Dean was in there waiting for me.”

  “And?”

  “He was in there but he had found a way to amuse himself.”

  “Oh, Laura, I’m so sorry. He had another woman in your bed?”

  “Not a woman. Gerard.”

  Meg stared at her, lost for words. She couldn’t even imagine how she would react if she walked in and found her boyfriends going for it in her bed, not that she had any boyfriends. Laura must be devastated. Floods of tears were probably imminent. “Did you kick them to the curb?”

  Laura took a seat, opened her bag and pulled out a cigarette. “Not on your life, hun. They invited me to join in and now I am aching all over. I never tried two at once before, but now I’m not sure I can ever go back to one at a time. There is nothing like getting fucked both ends at once.”

  Meg sat in stunned silence. She was worried about Sam dumping her for another woman when he got bored with screwing her, and Laura sat there telling her she had been bonking two men at once all weekend. A vision of Sam and Michael Monaghan in bed with her came to mind and she groaned. No way would she ever go there. Maybe she was more of a prude than she knew. Her mother would be so proud.

  Comfortably settled, Laura opened the folder and ran through her ideas. She had done more work than Meg had expected. A pile of flyers sat on the table, along with business cards and a pricing policy. Laura seemed to think they could charge a thousand dollars for a night of sex. Their cut could be as high as two hundred and fifty each but she couldn’t sway Meg. The flyers emphasized the sex more than she liked. Laura agreed to take the semi-naked men off the front and tone down the service description. When a knock rang out they both jumped.

  Laura got to her feet. “I’ll get it. I expect it’s our first candidate.”

  “Who is he?”

  Without answering, Laura crossed the lounge and threw the door open.

  Dressed in figure hugging black jeans and skin tight white t-shirt, he wandered into her flat like he lived there. He grinned as he sauntered through to the kitchen. “Maggie Riley, as I live and breathe. Imagine seeing you again. So, is this your little love nest?”

  Could life get any worse? Michael Monaghan. What was Laura thinking?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Meg got to her feet. “Laura, what the hell is he doing here?”

  Following him into the kitchen, Laura started to scoop papers off the table and shove them in her bag. “After you disappeared from the party on Saturday we talked. Where did you go anyway?”

  “I had a headache.”

  Michael grinned at her. “Your little friend Sam, too?”

  Meg chose to ignore him. “Laura, we are not giving him a job.”

  “Hey, I deserve a chance the same as the next man. You might at least interview me before you make your decision.”

  Laura lifted her bag off the chair. “She will.”

  “Me? What the fuck?”

  “I need to go and deliver leaflets so we can get some customers.” Laura waved a bunch of leaflets in Michael’s direction then in Meg’s. “Of the two of us, you’re the most qualified to interview him.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You were our inspiration, remember. Now I have to go.”

  Before Meg could come up with another reason why Laura should stay, or why he should go, Laura disappeared out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. She was alone with Michael Monaghan.

  Without waiting for an invitation, he pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his legs out in front of him.

  “So, Maggie, what do you want to know?”

  She hated being alone with him. She didn’t fancy him, not at all. With his dark hair and dark eyes he was the exact opposite of Sam. They were both toned from working out, as evidenced by the rippling pecs beneath his skin tight t-shirt, but Michael Monaghan was not the sort to watch chick flicks, share her love for Ben & Jerry, or care whether his partner had a good time in bed. So why did the memory of him butt naked keep creeping into her mind?

  From the smirk on his face she guessed he had a fair idea what was going on in her head, either that or he knew something about what she’d been up to with Sam. No he couldn’t, no one could, other than getting caught by her dad, they’d been discreet. Now he was sitting in her kitchen, she figured the only way to get rid of him was to go through the motions and reject his application. She had no idea what to ask, she needed some time to get her shit together.

  “You want a drink before we start?”

  He shrugged. “What’s on offer? How about a beer?”

  “How about a coffee?”

  “I’ll take it.”

  Meg refilled her mug and made a cup for Michael. She took a seat on the other side of the table and tried not to fidget.

  He added milk and sugar and slowly stirred his drink. “So, Maggie, where do you want to start?”

  She had no freakin’ idea. If Laura had warned her she would have thought of some questions or, more likely, left home.

  “How about I start by telling you what Laura told me about your business venture?”

  Meg nodded, happy to be given time to think. “Sure, what do you know about the job?”

  “Well, let me see. Apparently you’re looking to find men who know how to make women feel special. Help them buy new clothes, learn to dress, take them out to dinner, and generally give them a good time.”

  She glanced up and he winked at her. Despite her best efforts, her cheeks flushed.

  “Now let’s assume that, like Laura said, you were the inspiration for the business. If you hired me to make you feel special I would start by getting you out of those track pants and oversized men’s tshirts, and into something figure hugging and slinky to show off your beautiful jugs.”

  Jugs? No man had ever referred to her boobs as jugs. Certainly no man had ever said he wanted to see her in anything figure hugging, other than Sam. He loved her in outfits she wouldn’t wear for anyone else.

  Michael clearly had no idea how to dress a woman. She would look like a hooker and most discerning clients would wallop him around the ears with their purses for the jugs comment.

  He focused on her boobs, and even though they were behind a fortress of brushed cotton and a sensible and very unattractive sports bra, she suddenly felt exposed. She cleared her throat, searching her scrambled brain for a question. “Don’t you have a job already?”

  He stretched his arms above his head, revealing a flat stomach lightly dusted with dark hair. She glanced at him but was not going to stare, no way, nope. When she glanced back at his face his grin had spread so wide she could’ve counted his teeth.

  “To answer your question, yes, I work at a bar but I thought it was time to expand my horizons and cash in on my God given talents.”

  Meg snorted. “God given talents, I bet Father Murphy would love to hear you refer to them as that.”

  “What can I say? You need to work with what you’re given. It’s hardly my fault if God gave me a great body and an eye for the ladies. I’d be happy to give you a workout so you can see
me at my best.”

  Folding her arms, Meg tried to shove the vision of his bare arse rising and falling above her prone sister from her mind. “I’ve heard all about your best.”

  “I bet you have, but how do you know if it’s all talk and no substance unless you take me for a trial run yourself? I’d be happy to oblige.”

  Dear God in heaven, had he just offered to fuck her? Was this what he did at all his job interviews? Did it work? No way. No way would she ever become a notch in Michael Monaghan’s belt. She might have been tempted before she started sleeping with Sam but now she was nowhere near desperate enough.

  “Did Sian give you the flick?”

  “I’m not dating your sister. I met her at work the other night and she needed someone to take to the party. She didn’t think it wise to bring Sandra Baker, and I figured it would be fun to see your ma’s reaction.”

  “Sandra Baker? Isn’t she gay?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I don’t get it?”

  “You want me to draw you a picture? And there I was thinking you were sexually adventurous, at least you seemed to be when I walked through the kitchen Saturday afternoon on my way to the bathroom.”

  Oh, please he couldn’t have seen them. “The kitchen?”

  “You and your little flat mate were going at it like a couple of randy dogs. The boy sure did seem to be giving you a good time.” Michael leaned forward and grinned at her. “And I was thinking Sian was the one most likely to make your ma blush. You’re a dark horse, Maggie Riley.”

  The air in the kitchen was stifling. Interview or not, he needed to go. Getting to her feet, she folded her arms tight across her chest.

  “Okay, well if we need you we’ll be in touch.”

  He stood and grinned at her. “I don’t think I’ve had a chance to sell myself yet.”

  Sell himself? What did he think this was, a Tupperware party? “I’ve seen enough.”

  “No you haven’t, not nearly enough.” Slowly, he unzipped his jeans. Despite her brain yelling ‘get him the fuck out’, her mouth wouldn’t open. Not only had her voice gone on vacation but her eyes decided to stop following orders and instead followed the actions of his fingers as he unbuckled his belt, popped the snap on his jeans and pulled out his cock. Oh my, he was no pencil dick.