Power Station Book 2: Crash Ride

Megan

If anything was going to make me forget my crap-tastic day at work, it was Troy Harris. Ah, sigh. He was like the Holy Grail of good times wrapped up in one badass package. Not that I knew—it was all assumptions and measured guesses—but surely a man built like that wouldn’t disappoint. And disappointment is one thing I didn’t need tonight.

It wasn’t like I didn’t have an amazing life. My quota of great was straining against the maximum. A loving, supportive family, a beautiful apartment, wonderful friends, and a fulfilling job—how did I get so lucky? Sure, Prince Charming hadn’t shown up yet, but I hadn’t had to give up one of my shoes either, so it wasn’t all bad.

Not a lot of people understood my career choice, but working with troubled kids was something you could never attach a dollar value to.

While angels didn’t cluster around me like a renaissance painting—I’m still partially bummed about that—what I did mattered. There was no greater reward than seeing one of my kids weather the storm. Nothing even came close.

My latest kid was Brad Hemsworth. A sixteen-year-old who, despite coming from a middle-class, well-adjusted family, was dealing with adolescent depression. He was struggling to find his place—not fitting in with the jocks or smart kids at the school—and generally spending most of his time alone. He had tried to commit suicide once before, and he was admitted into the ER yesterday after another failed attempt. This time with pills. His reasoning? It was neater than slitting his wrist like he had done the time previously. I tried not to take it personally, but a part of me felt I’d failed him. Tonight, I needed a night to just forget. Selfish, I know, and I hoped that feeling this way wasn’t going to guarantee me a place burning in Hell, but I needed distance. Distance from the sadness and distance from the guilt.

Panic was the club Ash and I had fatefully found ourselves in so many months ago when we were trying to cheer up Ash. It wasn’t a coincidence that I chose this place, hoping it would rework its magic. Troy Harris, along for the ride—well, that was the cherry on top.

True to Dan’s word, dress code hadn’t been an issue with the bouncers falling over themselves to raise the rope for both he and Troy. Not even a look was thrown in our direction as we breezed right in. They didn’t even check ID. I could have been a sixteen-year-old runaway with a purse full of blow, and I would have received the same nod and smile.

Lucky for them I was of age and ~not~ packing narcotics—they had dodged that bullet.

“You going to get drunk and fall over?” Troy playfully bumped my shoulder as we entered the club, the light sweeping through the room in an erratic wave. The noise wasn’t any less obnoxious since our last visit, but strangely, that excited me. My senses exploded with the familiarity of the room; the darkness and the light were at war with each other as a soundtrack of destruction played in the background. Panic was an appropriate name for the place; the thumping of my pulse matched the bass booming from the speakers.

I playfully nudged him back as we waded through the crowd. My hands probably lingered a little longer than was necessary, but it was crowded and dark, so the touching was totally acceptable. That was my story, and I was sticking to it. All that was needed was a suitable justification for my hand wandering to his ass, and my night would be complete. Just putting it out there, and if the universe wanted to reward me, then what could I say? I would be grabbing that opportunity with both hands—pun totally intended.

“If I fall, will you promise you’ll nurse me back to health, Troy Harris?” Seeing as sleeping with me was out, a little TLC from those strong, capable hands would be worth another tumble.

Dan and Ash were a few feet in front of us, Dan’s arms wrapped protectively around Ash’s waist. No one would have missed his territorial vibe, and short of actually marking her, he was doing a fine job so that no man would think twice about approaching her. It was kind of adorable.

“I’ve got an icepack waiting in the car, just in case.” His lips teased into a smile.

I liked that. His smile. It was so contagious and it did amazing things to those hazel eyes. It also managed to do other amazing things—tingly things to parts of my body. He didn’t even have to touch me. Look, Mom—no hands—just that smile and those eyes. It was his superpower. I wasn’t entirely convinced he was human.

The stress of my day had already started to evaporate. This was definitely one of my smartest decisions. Troy had a kindness in his face that contradicted the roughness of his body. All those hard lines converged into big walls of flesh. He was solid, and I wanted nothing more than to rub myself up against his mass.

Wearing a fitted, black button-down he left undone at the collar and at the sleeves, he was looking particularly good tonight. He’d teamed it up with a pair of black jeans and black heavy boots, the pop of color coming from his intricate and artful tattoos that poked out from the fabric. His tats were beautiful, covering both arms, most of his chest, and back. Not that I’d actually seen all of them up close, but I’d stalked enough pictures to know. Have we discussed my Google habit? Yeah, it wasn’t a coincidence that when you typed “TR” into my search bar, Troy Harris was the first thing to pop up. If he ever checked out my computer’s history, I would be totally screwed. Mental note—clear my cache when I get home.

My want for him hadn’t diminished despite him telling me it wasn’t happening. Masochism was the only explanation for it. Because despite our flirting back and forth, I knew he didn’t feel for me what I felt for him. Did I stop? Nope.

The lust I had ran deep; it was an itch I just couldn’t quite reach no matter how hard I scratched. No one else seemed to satisfy it either. Not like I hadn’t tried and not like I bet he could. And I needed that more than I cared to admit, especially tonight. To help me forget the thoughts that were unrelenting in my mind, and to help me remember the pleasure that my body had long been denied.

A couple rushed past, almost knocking me over. They didn’t even notice I’d almost fallen on my ass as they pushed through the crowd. Too busy laughing and wrapped up in their own excitement to worry about the fact they had shoved me. My body swayed as I tried to regain my balance.

Troy instinctively pulled me to his side. “You okay?” His hand moved around my body, forming a protective barrier around me as he tried to right me back onto my feet. His concern for me dissipated my anger at the couple for being rude assholes. I actually might thank them.

—Troy’s hands on me as a result of their handy work; that was a serious positive.

“I’m fine, thanks.” My hand brushed up against his arm, hoping he would hold me a little longer. Sadly, I needed to get my thrills when they came, and Troy touching me definitely fell into that category. If only I could convince him to touch me a little lower, and possibly while we were both naked. Too much?

“Maybe I should hold on to you, just to be sure. We wouldn’t want for you to end up injured so soon. You can’t even blame the booze this time around.” He lowered his hand so that it circled my waist, and I had to remember to breathe. My body pressed against his side as he guided me through the crowd. Instinctively, I reciprocated and wrapped my arm around his waist. After all, I wouldn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful; manners were a big part of my upbringing. I sure wasn’t going to argue.

He could keep his hands on me for as long as he wanted. Not that I would vocalize that encouragement; I still had my pride.

“I can assure you, I’m going to do everything I can not to end up on my ass.” I leaned against him, his scent intoxicating me. I had to stop myself from actually pressing my nose against his chest and sniffing him. It would not be something that would have been easily explained even though the pleasure would have been worth the embarrassment. He smelled good too. All that masculine-sexy—whatever it was—spliced with cologne. Yum. I actually had to stop myself from licking my lips. I seriously needed to get laid, and preferably by someone who knew what he was doing.

It’s not like I had spent the last six months pining after a guy I couldn’t have. No, I had brushed myself off and went full steam ahead in trying to find a distraction. Any distraction. Not that I started bedding strange men and having one-night stands, but I was certainly more open to a casual relationship. I was actively dating and I’d always had a healthy sex life, but the last couple of months… well, I was a little bored with what the life buffet had offered me. Maybe it’s the bad-boy hang-up or the allure of the forbidden, but the reasons why Troy and I shouldn’t sleep together were making less and less sense. After all, we were adults. Rational ones even. Well, for the most part. Feelings wouldn’t even have to come into it. Who says it has to be a relationship? It could just be just sex. Maybe once we’d ~had~ sex, the whole forbidden fruit issue would be gone, thus remedying the situation. Maybe it would be like a vaccination, sort of like when they give you the live virus of something to prevent a full-blown outbreak. It would definitely cure the sexual frustration I had going on.

“Um, Megs? Where did you go?” Troy’s raised eyebrow hinted at the fact I’d zoned out again. It seemed to be a real hazard when I was around him. I hadn’t even noticed we reached the stairs that led to the VIP area.

“I was just thinking…” I swallowed. My heartbeat raced as I contemplated what I was about to say. Best not to overthink it; I didn’t want to lose my nerve. I was also stone cold sober, as Troy had helpfully pointed out, so there was no way I could blame my future actions on inebriation. Still, there was a surefire way to stop the loop of crap rolling around in my head—and that way was standing in front of me. Sue me if I sounded desperate; I really didn’t care about public opinion. What I needed was to lose myself for an hour or two. And the person I wanted to do that with was Troy. Here goes nothing. I was about to test my theory once and for all to prove that honesty is in fact the best policy.

“We should have sex.”

“Whoa. Um. Megs. Maybe we should get a drink first. Maybe sit down?” Troy smiled but didn’t act shocked. After all, the flirting was nothing new, so he probably assumed this was just an extension of that—turning it up a notch, if you will. I could tell he didn’t think it was a legitimate proposition. I would fix that.

“No, seriously. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced we should do it.”

He lowered his face inches from mine. “Megs, didn’t we already agree dating would be a bad idea?”

“Who said anything about dating? No, I’m talking about fucking. Just sex. Purely physical,” I clarified in case there was any confusion. I figured if I was going to sell this baby, I had to do it justice, and leaving wiggle room in the interpretation would not do.

His eyes narrowed, realizing I was serious. “Were you drinking

before you got to Ash and Dan’s?”

Laughing would be inappropriate, and would not help my cause, so I tried not to. It wasn’t easy. Sure, what I was asking was slightly out of character—scratch that, extremely out of character—but I had suggested it in the past. Granted, I’d been drunk, and my lets-have-sex had been off-the-cuff, but a proposal had been made. What did I have to lose? “No. I’m completely sober. Actually, this is the clearest my mind has been in a long time.”

“So we’re just supposed to fuck and then stay friends?” His eyes were a mix of contradiction and confusion. Strangely, it just made him even more alluring. “I really don’t think that works out that way for anyone.”

While I admired his integrity on the issue—really, give the man a round of applause—it was his other attributes I was interested in tonight. It wasn’t going to turn into some long and romantic love story. I was okay with that. I was surprised I hadn’t come to this conclusion sooner. Sex was definitely the answer. “No, not if they go in with other expectations. Of course, we know better. No emotional attachment, just fulfilling a primal need.”

His mouth curved into a grin, and despite my indecent proposal, he didn’t seem pissed. “Megs, think about what you are saying. Once you go there, you can’t un-go there. We both know it’s not that simple.”

“Are you two coming up or what? I thought we were going to party tonight, not have a PTA meeting on the stairs,” Dan called from the top of the stairs, his arm around Ash. I guess they had finally noticed our absence, or potentially heard the whistle of the crazy train threatening to take me away.

“Shut up, asshole. We’ll be there in a minute.” Troy turned and called back to him over the noise. Secretly, I was glad he hadn’t just shot down the conversation. It would be premature to high-five myself just yet.

Dan rolled his eyes but didn’t seem overly concerned as he allowed Ash to pull him away. She gave me a quick wink and a smile just before they disappeared from view. I would have to thank her for that later; her intuition guessing it was a conversation that didn’t need an interruption. She didn’t need to know the finer details, especially seeing as I had no idea what I was actually doing.

I leaned in closer to Troy, needing to know if I was fighting a losing battle. “Aren’t you even the slightest bit turned on by me?”

“Megs, my dick is about to get choked out by my jeans. Trust me, not being turned on is not the issue here.”

So I wasn’t imagining it. He was interested. Or at the very least his dick was, and let’s face it, that was the only part we really ~needed~ to be on board. Yep, we can officially declare me out of control. Maybe the stress really was getting to me? Whatever the excuse, I was going with it. I’d come this far, might as well jump off the cliff. I had always been an overachiever.

“I think you are overthinking this. Here is the way I see it. I have had a really bad week, horrendous even. And what I would really like right now is sex. Just to lose myself in a raging, screaming orgasm.

Nothing fancy, as long as we both get off. Now, I know I could find some random guy and take him home, but I would really prefer for it to be you. Who gives me the orgasm, I mean.”

Troy cocked an eyebrow as he considered my offer. “And you think we can just have sex and shit won’t be awkward later?”

“I know so. Besides, I think it might actually help us.” At the very least help me. Possibly even cure me of my crazy obsession all while helping me forget my mental baggage. There really wasn’t a drawback as far as I was concerned.

“How do you figure?”

I took a deep breath. This is what I like to call my finishing maneuver. The final wrap-up. The end argument. “Well, I’ve always had a thing for you. I’d go to shows and see you on stage and secretly wonder what it would be like. Knowing you hasn’t really stopped me from thinking about it. If we did it, then maybe I could stop looking at you and wondering what it would feel like to cum with your cock inside me.”

His jaw tightened as his eyes raked up and down my body. The intensity of his stare made me feel naked.

“Fuck.” He hissed out a breath.

“That’s what I’m trying to facilitate here—”

“Seriously, douchebags. What’s the hold-up? You stand on that step any longer and the club is going to start charging you rent.” Dan reappeared, his timing horrible. Fortunately, he was alone, but he was descending the stairs toward us. Well, this was about to get interesting.

“Give me a minute, Megs.” Troy eyed me intently before turning to Dan, who was now standing beside us. “Dude, what the fuck is your problem? Can’t you see we’re talking?”

Dan rubbed his neck as he looked between us. “Yeah, I see. What I don’t get is what’s so important you can’t talk up here?”

“I’ve had a shitty week,” I began to explain. Not a lie. My week had been horrible. “Worse than normal, and I just needed to offload some steam. I know Ash will worry if I talk about it up there. Troy was just lending me a friendly ear. Trust me, it’s not the kind of conversation you want to hear.” There was the understatement of the century, if ever I’d heard one.

“Why? Are you okay?” Dan’s face turned serious. “Megs, if you are in some kind of trouble, you need to tell me and we will handle that shit.

You’re Ash’s best friend; I don’t give a fuck what’s going down, Troy and I will be front and center on it.” His concern was endearing. Granted he could be conceited, but underneath it all, he had such a good heart. Sadly, this was not something I wanted him front and center on, however impassionate the plea.

“Stand down, asshole. I’ve got it covered.” Troy tapped Dan across the chest and shot him a look in warning.

“I’m fine, really.” I smiled. I really didn’t want to explain to Dan that the real reason we were standing here was that we were deliberating the finer points of Troy’s cock giving me pleasure. It sounded so crude when I said it like that, so it definitely shouldn’t be repeated.

Troy placed his hand on the small of my back, asserting he had this under control. “We’re just going to take a walk around the club, okay? Just tell Ash we’re dancing or something.”

“Fine.” Dan’s eyes darted between us, somewhat appeased. “Go do what needs doing but if you need reinforcements, I’m your first port of call.” He poked Troy in the chest.

Stopping myself from getting my hopes up was not an easy task. The what-did-it-mean dominated my thoughts while the tugging in my lower belly prayed I wasn’t getting ready for another brush-off. Not after I’d laid all my cards on the table. Surely, that would be too cruel.

Troy laughed, tapping Dan on the shoulder while his other hand stayed glued to my lower back. “Always. Now stop busting my stones and go hang with your girl before she wises up and realizes she can do better than your sorry ass.”

Dan flipped Troy the finger and wisely retreated back to the VIP area, where no doubt he would make out with Ash until we returned. If we returned. Was he actually considering doing this? He easily could have had an out, citing that we would attract too much attention if we slunk off into the darkness. Could it be that this sexual tension I had been feeling was not just one-sided?

Troy.”

He lowered his head and whispered in my ear. “You called me

“Huh?” That was not where I thought this conversation was

heading.

“When you were talking to Dan, you didn’t tack on my last name.” “Oh, yeah, I guess I didn’t.” I hadn’t really noticed, but I guess now

that I thought about it, I had just called him Troy. Though I didn’t see how this piece of information was conducive to us getting horizontal.

His lips rested against my ear, his breath tickled my skin. “Hmmmm, so now that has me curious.”

His beautiful eyes seared me. My body wondered if he was going to touch me in a way I needed, and my brain needed to know what he had meant. Internally, I was a mess. I was both turned on and confused. “Curious about what?”

“About how you are going to scream out my name when I fuck you.”

I swallowed, hard. “Are you going to fuck me, Troy Harris?” “You bet your ass I am. Let’s go.”