We’ve given you Chapter 1 and Chapter 2…but we know you want more 😉 so here’s Chapter 3 of WHIPPED…just TWO MORE DAYS! Enjoy!
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CHAPTER THREE
Vi
I stare at the wad of money sitting on my dresser. What the hell did I just do? I wanted a nice, respectful, quiet roommate. Someone who wouldn’t intrude on my life too much. Not the womanizing ass who frequents my sex shop.
I count the money again, just to make sure it’s real. It is. And this pile of cash is the answer to my question. At least it’s temporary. He’ll only be here a few months, just long enough for Zoe and me to get our shop in the green and to recover from our initial investment. How bad can it be?
Famous last words, right?
But I ignore my own trepidation and grab the cash before it disappears. He paid more than twice what I asked, and all up front. My landlord will be happy.
I shove rent money into an envelope and pen a quick note, then sneak out of my condo to stick it into the mail slot next door. At least now I can start entering and exiting my house without fear of confrontation.
I check the time on my cell and grab my purse. I’ll have just long enough to get to the bank and keep my utilities on, if I hurry. With a last glance at my unusually clean condo I lock up and head out.
On the drive to the bank I consider what it will mean to have a roommate. I haven’t lived with anyone since I moved out of my parents’ house—aside from a very brief stint with Chad, which obviously didn’t end well. Even in college I scored a private dorm room. As an only child, it suited me. I guess I was going to have to learn to share my toys.
This ought to be interesting.
I make the bank just in time to get cashier’s checks drawn up and taken in person to three different buildings to keep my life from being shut off.
And I still have money left. I feel like splurging but resist the urge. Instead, I set my course for home, ready to curl up with a good book and glass of wine, when my phone rings.
“Vi, hey, I need a huge favor.”
“What’s up, Zoe?”
“The vendor delivering our new shipment of dildos just got to the store, and I know it’s my night to do receiving but Henry and I are in the middle of another… discussion, and I can’t leave now. Can you cover for me? I’ll close for you for a week if you do. Pretty please with cherries and extra rich whipped cream?”
I can’t help but laugh, even though I feel bad for her right now and have to bite my tongue to keep from telling her to leave the ass she’s with. He so does not deserve her. “Sure, I got you covered, no problem.”
I hear Henry in the background… crying. God.
She sighs. “I gotta go. …Wait, oh shit, how did things go with the roomie? You all set?”
“Girlfriend, you are not going to believe what went down tonight.”
Henry calls out to Zoe, a sound of desperation through tears and snot. She sighs again. “You’ve got me intrigued. I can’t wait to hear every detail,” she says, adding, “tomorrow?”
“Sure, tomorrow. I hope things settle down for you. If you need me, I’m here.” I hang up, turn my car around and drive to Whipped.
The delivery guy is waiting there, stacks of boxes by his feet, when I arrive. I smile big and thank him for his patience.
“No worries. Where do you want them?” The guy is actually pretty sexy. A cross between a younger Brad Pitt and a current Channing Tatum.
I unlock the store and direct him toward the back, where we keep our inventory. “Could you stack them here?”
I can’t help but put an extra sway to my hips as I walk, and I see him noticing my ass, which pleases me.
And I know he sees me noticing his bulging muscles under his FedEx uniform. Suddenly, I feel like I’m in a porn, and I can’t help but laugh as I concoct a reason to keep him here longer.
“Can I get you something to drink before you go? We have some bottled water in back.”
He grins and his chipped front tooth makes him even sexier. The tousled dark hair and bedroom eyes don’t hurt either. Am I seriously thinking of seducing the FedEx guy in my own fucking store? I’ve clearly lost my mind.
“Thank you, that would be nice.”
I get the water for him and he drinks the bottle quickly.
As we stand there, the silence stretches awkwardly as the sexual tension builds. But neither of us makes a move. Normally, this would be my time to come in as Dom and manage the situation, but… I don’t. It just doesn’t feel right. Instead, I thank him again for waiting and he leaves, a slight frown of disappointment on his lips.
I do a quick check of the shipment, confirming we do indeed have ten boxes of a variety of dildos and sex toys and, in a moment of abandon, I grab a dildo from the top of the box, drop $40 in the cash register and head home.
What? It’s product testing.
***
When I arrive home, it’s late, and I’m ready for bed. I have to get to the store extra early tomorrow to set up the new dildos before we open, and I need a solid eight hours of sleep to function adequately. Always have. I consider it a DNA flaw inherited from my mother.
I’ve all but forgotten about my new roommate as I turn off my light and lay down, my bed embracing me in luxury. I’m falling into sleep when something knocks against my bedroom wall and someone moans.
And for the next several hours I endure a cacophony of “oh my God” and “you’re so huge” and “fuck me harder” and “deeper, oh yes, God!” as Lachlan’s bed bangs against my wall. Great.
So much for easing in to a having a roommate.
I rummage through my bedside dresser for my earplugs and shove them in my ears, but it doesn’t completely block out the sound. I toss and turn all night, with dreams too strange to speak of, and wake with one need. Coffee, with lots of sugar and milk.
In sweats and a robe, I shuffle to the kitchen before my eyes have fully opened. Which is probably for the best. Because there’s a nearly naked woman in a g-string standing in front of my open refrigerator. Drinking out of my milk jug.
She smiles when she sees me, her platinum hair artfully styled in the ‘just fucked but still sexy’ look. “Morning. Hope we didn’t keep you up.”
I don’t even know what to say. I just stand there, looking like one of those cartoon characters with my jaw dropped. She holds out the milk, then frowns into it. “Oops, sorry, I think I drank the last of it. I’m Jessie, by the way. Sorry if we were too loud last night, but God, you know how Lach is.” Jessie. The one from the store.
I push past her and reach for the coffee pot, until I realize there’s no milk and I nearly cry. “Um, no, I don’t know what he’s like. We’re not sleeping together.”
“Seriously? Wow. I just assumed. I mean, you two live together. How could you not? He’s like a god in bed… I mean, I’ve been with lots of guys and he’s… oh wow. You’re missing out.”
She shoves the empty milk jug back into the fridge and closes the door, then turns, her perky breasts now staring at me. “If you ever want in, maybe the three of us could…”
“Thank you, but no.” Please God, save me from this morning.
As if in answer, Lachlan walks out in jeans and no shirt and for a moment I can see why Jesse assumes all women who glance upon this man’s flesh end up fucking him. Because a little part of me…
No. Just stop it, Vi. Not going there.
Lachlan smiles lazily. “Good morning, ladies.” His accent is stronger in the morning it seems. “I see you’ve met. Jessie, why don’t you go get dressed and pack up. It’s time to go.”
She practically skips out of the room. “Sure thing, baby.”
I open the fridge, pull out the milk and dump it in the trash, my desperation for coffee and lack of sleep making me unusually angry.
“Sorry about her.” He rubs his head and fills a glass of water, downing it in one gulp.
I spin on him and try not to look at his tanned abs of steel, his chiseled chest, his sculpted biceps… but looking at his face doesn’t help as much as I’d hoped. He’s so goddamned gorgeous. “Look, I know you live here and this is your home too, for the time being, so obviously you are free to have houseguests. But please make sure your… friends… stay out of my stuff and respect proper social rules, like not walking around my condo naked. Okay?”
He grins, his blue eyes mischievous. “That seems reasonable. It won’t happen again.”
“Great.” I slam the refrigerator closed, unable to find anything that contains enough sugar, caffeine and dairy to assuage me. “I have to get coffee and go to work. Make sure your friend is gone before you leave. And lock up.”
I dress quickly and head out without running into either of them again, but as I acquire my morning nectar and start to settle down, I can’t help but wonder… just what is it about Lachlan Pierce that makes him a god in bed?
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And that’s all you get! 😉 If you want more WHIPPED, you’ll have to wait til it shows up on your e-reader on Monday! Here are the links where you can preorder WHIPPED and make sure you get it the second it’s live:
Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Add it your Goodreads list, too!
The chemisty between these two is sizzling. We can’t wait for you to meet them!
