Hot Bastard Next Door

A Boy Next Door, Second Chance Romance

CHAPTER ONE – DUNCAN KELLEY

Last night must have been one wild f*cking night.

The woman next to me was growing hotter by the second and not just because of her looks, but because her body heat was more than I could stand. I pulled back the covers and let in some air, exposing her tight little ass in the process. Yes, now I remember. Katherine, I believe, was her name.

Sure, she was hot, but things wouldn’t go any further than the sex we’d had the night before. Her personality left a lot to be desired. I needed a woman that had talent aside from giving good head, and passion for something other than how to best spend my money. I wasn’t in the market for a girl who acted like the only reason she existed was to please me and look pretty. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when that much would have been appealing, but I’d learned well enough that it only goes so far. At the end of the day, I wanted someone I could stand talking to about nothing; someone who might have an opinion other than what they thought I wanted to hear.

I slid away from her and sat up hoping she’d wake up soon so I could show her the door. I had shit to take care of today and playing host to another one-night-stand wasn’t on the list.

The phone rang and as I went to silence it, she rolled over and opened her eyes. I got up and headed to the bathroom with my phone.

“Hello,” I said as I lifted the toilet seat to take care of my morning duties.

“Do you have to answer the phone while you’re taking a piss, Duncan?” My sister’s tone was as always grating at that time of morning.

“That’s right Shauna. It’s not my fault you called and woke me up.” I told her for years to stop calling when the crickets were still chirping, but she had never gotten the hint. Katherine walked in once I was finished and turned on the shower.

“Want to join me?” she asked with a whisper.

I shook my head, but Shauna was already onto me. “Duncan Kelley, you’ve got company? This time of morning? You’ll never change.”

“What’s so bad about that?” I made my way to the kitchen where I washed my hands at the sink and then started a pot of coffee before grabbing a bagel.

“What’s so bad? Oh, so I suppose I will be meeting the lovely lady? What’s her name, Lexi? Roxie? Vixen? Dancer? Prancer?”

Despite my sister’s accusations, I hadn’t graced a strip club in some time. I had standards at the end of the day.

“No, there won’t be any meeting, and her name is Katherine – I think.” I didn’t like explaining my lifestyle to my sister. I was a bachelor and ex-SEAL, and I’d earned my right to live any damned way I wanted. Besides, it wasn’t like I was going to fall in love. I’d given up my heart years ago and other than amazing sex, I now didn’t have much to offer.

She made a sound of aggravation, and it rattled through the phone. “I just think—”

“I know what you think, Sis, and you swore to me that we wouldn’t talk about that.”

“You mean her.”

I froze, and my coffee turned bitter in my mouth. Not only had my sister promised not to nag me about my social life, but we’d sworn years ago not to talk about my old relationship with her best friend, Rachel Dean – unless I was the one to initiate the conversation.

I cleared my throat in agitation. “Yeah, that and other things, but I suppose since you brought her up there’s no harm in me asking how she is.” I had often wondered what she turned up doing. Had she married, had children? The hollow spot in my chest grew tender.

“You mean you really want to know?” My sister had never forgiven me for leaving things with Rachel the way I had, but I had never taken the time to explain things to her. Rachel was too young to devote her life to me. When I was preparing to leave for the military, she was only a sophomore, and I hadn’t wanted her to put her dreams on hold for mine. She had so much talent and life in her that I knew she’d have a great future ahead. Her father knew it too and had his plans all laid out for her. As much as I regretted to this day what I’d done, the way I’d done it would haunt me to my dying day. She’d deserved so much better.

Rachel’s dad had been the town’s leading attorney; so naturally, he wanted his daughter to follow in his footsteps. But I could never see it, not my Rachel. She had a free spirit about her, that was too powerful to be cooped up in a courtroom. She needed a paintbrush in one hand and a book in the other. She was going to be so much more, so waiting for me to return from the battlefield was never an option. Never mind the uncertainty of how things could have turned out with me while I was on the other side of the earth. I couldn’t put that much pressure on her – when I knew she could do so much better than me anyway.

“Yeah, so is she a powerhouse attorney like her old man wanted?” Her adventurous spirit and artistic dreams were more fitting for a gallery or a trip around the world, in my opinion, but who was I to have a say in her life?

“She’s fine. But that’s not what I called to talk about.”

Just like that, the conversation about Rachel was over. Admittedly I’d asked for it. I’d been the one who wanted to keep my memories preserved, and the tiny pieces of whatever lay hardened in stone; in that dark cavity where my heart should be left untouched.

“So, spill it, I haven’t got all day, I’ve got to run this Katherine chic out so I can move on with my weekend.” With any luck at all, I’d make nine holes and get my car washed and diapered dry.

“You’re impossible. I thought you might like to know that there’s a new job opening. Harris called me about it last night. It’s perfect for you.” Her fiancé, Harris Connor had helped me land some of my more eccentric contracts. Luckily, the money always out-weighed the drama that came with them.

“Yeah, well all my guys are tied up in contracts. So, it will have to be me – if the gig makes sense.” We’d been so busy at my private security firm lately that had to start taking on jobs again instead of just managing the business. I didn’t mind doing a job or two, so long as it was something interesting. Harris’ connections usually were.

She let out a breath. “Yes, I remember you saying that. This one is tailor-made for you. I wouldn’t want you trusting it to just anyone.”

I gave a sound of displeasure. “It better be good and not some spoiled rich kid’s birthday weekend this time. I mean it, Shauna, I’m still picking damn glitter out of my hair, and that was months ago.”

She giggled, and I could picture the look on her face. “No, this is much better. You’d be working with one of the studios in Hollywood. Harris will tell you more about it. He said to meet with him on Tuesday, and he’ll give you the details. And do me a favor - be nice to him. He said you intimidated him the last time you met him up.”

Her fiancé was a good guy, but he needed to grow some serious balls. “I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. If he’s going to act like a snowflake, he’s bound to feel intimidated.”

“Be nice,” Shauna scolded. “You know he’ll be family soon.”

“I suppose you set a date then? Finally?” My sister was stringing Harris along for years, and that gaudy ring of hers was already starting to look outdated.

“Not quite, but soon, I think. Who knows, if this job goes right maybe Harris will let you be the best man.” She let out another giggle.

“Fine. But he better be nice to me. I’ll be the one walking you down the aisle.” I was more than ready for that honor to be mine.

“Duncan, please.” Her sweet tone hit my soft spot.

“I’ll try to be good. I can’t help but look like a mean bastard, though.” It was the dark hair, light eyes, and tattoos that gave me that infamous deadly look. All my SEAL brothers had envied it, but Harris was too soft to appreciate it. It was perfect for my line of work though.

“You could shave off that goatee. Not that you aren’t stunningly handsome with it, but you do seem a bit less intimidating without it.” She always liked me cleanly shaven and said I looked like our dad that way, which was all the more incentive to grow my goatee.

“I like the intimidating look. It pays the bills.” I put that goatee to work. Its money sis.

“Fine, Tuesday morning,” she said, and then she hung up the phone.

I turned around to see Katherine standing in nothing but her towel, which she had wrapped loosely around her waist, her bare breasts still glistening and her nipples tight and rosy. “What’s for breakfast?” Her chest heaved as she stared into my eyes and as my cock stiffened, I had a pretty good idea what was on the menu.

I guess could send her away later.