On the Sly : The Grange Complex Book 2
On the Sly: Chapter 4

Ellie

I had no idea how I got to my car without being violently sick. The moment when they both confirmed that Mack was married, I thought I was going to pass out. Not for one second had I suspected that he was seriously involved with another woman or even that he was my neighbour. How could he not tell me when I said that I lived in number thirteen? Well, maybe those were the consequences of having a one-night stand. Men were liars and I had learnt that the hard way when I laid my eyes on Andrew.

My head was vibrating and pulsing with worries. Memories from that night were still pouring into me. Our sticky bodies together, him kissing me and me begging for more. I shouldn’t have been feeling guilty about it because he didn’t tell me he was married. I was angry that I adored his name, furious with the fact that I was stupid enough to believe that one night with a total stranger could erase all my problems.

My inner voice screamed at me that this wasn’t the same as Andrew. He was a mistake, and Mack, well, he was just a scumbag.

Dad had asked me to watch him whenever he was dealing with clients or the press, trying to convince me that I was cut out to be a lawyer, not a reporter. Andrew was one of his clients that I’d decided to help. He had been a married man with three kids.

Then, two days ago, I spent a night with Mack, another married man who had responsibilities and probably kids too. I hadn’t asked questions that night; I just wanted to be with someone and figured anyone at that singles party would be free. A moment ago, he pretended that we didn’t know each other—bastard. His wife obviously had no idea what had gone on between us, and part of me wished I had said something. Instead, I agreed to a social evening with drinks in their apartment. Geez.

After another ten minutes in the car, I started the engine and got to the office twenty minutes late. Monday morning was important. My perverted misogynistic boss assigned the stories in the morning huddle, but when I arrived the meeting was almost over and I had to take what was left, which, surprisingly, wasn’t the usual boring crap. I took the assignment and decided I would turn in a really good article.

In order to forget about Saturday night I had to either kill Mack or move out. Neither of these options was possible. I was broke and alone with absolutely no way of regaining my old life. It was up to me to make it and show my father that I didn’t need him in order to be successful.

I put my head down and wiped the tears away, knowing that sooner or later Mack would regret that he used me. For now I had to deal with the consequences of my one-night stand.

***

“So how about we knock together? That way we can all start drinking at the same time. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a hell of a week,” Adrian said when I met him outside my apartment on Friday night. Since that awkward moment when the four of us met in the corridor, I had been asking myself the same question over and over—Was I ready to spend an evening with Mack and his wife, pretending that we hadn’t shared the most amazing mind-blowing sex in history? I managed to avoid them all week, but I didn’t want to look like a complete coward, so I went. My guilty conscience kept me on my toes, and whenever I closed my eyes, I saw myself burning in hell.

Andrew had seduced me and I had been stupid enough to fall for his charm, for his generosity and tender lovemaking. He had said that he loved me, but once everyone found out about us, he changed his mind, blaming me for inciting the affair, making it sound tawdry and illicit.

Adrian had just given me another signal that he was interested in me. This was our second meeting and he was already flirting. I could use him to get back at Mack. After all, he was single and probably available, but first I needed to be absolutely one hundred percent sure about this.

“Yes, my week was exhausting too. It would be good to have a drinking partner next door.” I laughed, sticking to his flirty banter for now. There it was, the excitement for the thrill of the chase in his eyes, the way his jaw twitched when I bit my lip. Okay, so that might have been easier than I wanted, but then I realised that I had a whole awkward evening with Mack ahead of me.

When Adrian knocked, Mack was the one that opened the door. When his eyes found mine I felt like I had just been shocked by a strong electric current. His eyes hovered over my body for a brief second, reclaiming me and reminding me that I was still under his spell.

“Adrian, Ellie, please come on in,” he greeted us with a faint smile. Both men shook hands enthusiastically and I forced a bright grin, taking a long, deep breath.

Mack and Claire’s apartment had the same set-up as mine. The kitchen was hidden behind a dividing wall, the living room was large and airy, and like me, they were able to enjoy a stunning view of the sea.

I had gone for a simple classic black dress that exposed my long legs, which Mack noticed of course when he asked for our drink preferences. I hated the way his eyes were making me all gooey and weak. Tonight I would make him pay for his lies. Adrian and I sat down on the plain white sofa and several minutes later, the happily-married couple showed up in the living room.

“Sex on the Beach for Ellie and a strong whiskey for you, Adrian,” Claire said, smiling at me. God, I wanted to kill myself then. She probably would go mental if she knew that I had slept with her husband. When I glanced at Mack, I caught him watching me, and something inside my stomach twisted. Lust began crawling its way towards my centre, and for a split second I wanted him all over again.

“So, Mack, what do you do for work?” Adrian asked, brushing his knee against mine accidentally on purpose.

Mack noticed and shifted in his chair. One point to me.

Mack

“This and that. I’m doing some driving for an agency at the moment. I have been trying to replace something stable since last year,” I replied, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. I had been so sure that Ellie wouldn’t show up. I nearly had a heart attack when I opened the door and she stood on my doorstep, looking gorgeous and radiant with that twat from next door. “What about you?”

For the last several days I’d been arguing with Claire about who was in charge of this operation. Stephanie would do what I asked her to. She was more cooperative, but Claire, well, she wanted to get promoted this year, so she needed to make an impact.

I had been pissed off all week, but I hadn’t brought up this whole social evening with drinks in our apartment. I’d hoped that she had forgotten this, but then tonight she had come home with plenty of buzz, so I had to get ready. I still blamed her for an operation from the past that went terribly wrong. She made a few fatal mistakes, but she was too proud to admit to any of it.

“Yes, Adrian, tell me, what is it that you do? I’m intrigued,” Ellie said all of a sudden, placing her hand on that asshole’s shoulder. I tensed in my chair, remembering how much she enjoyed my cock the other night.

“I own a few food businesses around Edinburgh. Nothing exciting, Ellie,” he said, sliding his eyes down her legs. “What about you?”

“I’m trying to make it as a reporter, but I’m still looking for my breakthrough story,” she explained.

“Wow, a reporter. That sounds exciting,” Adrian said, sounding like he really did give a fuck.

“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. The magazine that I’m working for is very small. I don’t have much say on what I get to write about. Hopefully it will change eventually, but we will see.” She shrugged and sank her sexy lips over her glass. So she not only had looks but also a brain. This shouldn’t have really bothered me.

“It’s probably hard to get established. There’s so much competition out there,” Claire commented. “I’m a qualified accountant. Mack and I met when I was studying. I tried to set up my own business but found it very challenging.”

“Yes, it has been, but I’m determined to succeed. I just need to gain some more experience,” Ellie assured Claire. The ice had been kind of broken by now and I had to fucking replace some common ground with Lurkin; otherwise, we were going to be stuck here all night. Ellie could be distracting. In any other circumstance maybe I would have been interested, maybe I would’ve even dated her, but now this seemed like an impossible task.

“There is no doubt about that, Ellie. I think there are many wom–”

“So, Adrian, any unusual hobbies you have?” I asked, cutting off Claire, because I was fed up with her pointless chitchat. We were forced to work together again, and we had a mutual goal: to replace common ground with Lurkin. Ellie was a mistake that was probably going to cost me my balls, pissing on my already strained relationship with Claire. My so-called “wife” looked at me, baffled, probably because I had cut her off quite rudely. Lurkin shifted on the sofa, clearing his throat. Okay, so I made this awkward. Nothing was going my way tonight.

“I play cards,” he grumbled and took a sip of whiskey.

Cards. I could play poker and let him beat me. Whatever I needed in order to get to his laptop to replace out what I could. Ellie started talking to Claire, asking questions about our fucking marriage. There was a reason that I kept away from her since Charlotte died. She needed to make sure not to cross me.

“Well, if it’s poker, then we have to play a few hands together one day,” I added, trying to sound excited about the whole thing, but I hated that he kept checking Ellie out right in front of me. She was so sexy, with that smooth, glorious tanned skin. Her seductive moans had turned me on the other night. We were just so compatible.

“Sure, why not?” Adrian stated.

“God, I forgot that I had stuff in the oven. Be right back.” Claire sprang up and left the room. I hated chitchat and socialising, but I was too invested now to ruin this whole thing just because of some pretty face. Lurkin was tangled in my past and I needed to bring him down.

“So, Ellie, how come you moved into the Grange? Wouldn’t it be easier living closer to the city?” Adrian threw her the question. She glanced at me, burning me with her brown sexy eyes, and shifted her weight, moving closer to that scumbag.

“I found an apartment for a very good price. Besides, if I had chosen the city I wouldn’t have met you, would I?” she asked, in a low seductive voice that made my cock twitch.

That rat bastard laughed! I was ready to rip his balls out and squash them between my clenched fists.

“So you’re single then?” he asked. “No possessive, belligerent boyfriend of any sort?”

Ellie glanced at me and licked her upper lip, sending me a clear signal that she remembered the other night quite clearly.

“No. I’m single, handsome. What about you? How come a guy like you isn’t married like our Mack here?”

She was punishing me for the fact that I hadn’t mentioned Claire. She had every right to be furious with me. My crotch was burning with discomfort and if I couldn’t get hold of myself, I was going to ruin this carefully prepared plan by punching this asshole. That’s why I hated getting involved in serious shit with women. I could have taken care of Adrian myself.

“Women don’t stick to me at all,” Lurkin replied, sending me a wink, and Ellie giggled, running her finger over his arm. It was a good thing that the asshole’s phone started ringing, because I couldn’t take her game any fucking longer. Lurkin answered, pointing that he was going outside. This would have been the perfect opportunity to record some stuff, but I had a woman that I had fucked senseless pissing on my parade. Claire wasn’t in the kitchen; she was probably in the bedroom trying to replace the phone bug.

Ellie kept watching Adrian until he disappeared behind the doors, leaving us alone.

“So, when were you supposed to tell me that you were married?” she hissed at me after we were left alone. I dragged my hand through my hair, knowing that what I had done was wrong in every respect, but there was something about her that crushed whatever anger and frustration I held. “And what about that you lived on the same fucking floor as me?”

“This isn’t how it looks, Angel,” I said, having no idea how to explain myself. I couldn’t tell her anything and put her at risk. Lurkin wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if he suspected anything. I had already lost the love of my life.

“Don’t you dare call me that, you slimy liar. The other night was a massive mistake. I would have never done that with you if I had known that you were my married neighbour,” she said, glancing back and forth between the corridor and the bedroom.

She looked so hot when she was pissed like that.

“You enjoyed riding my cock and being under my control, so don’t give me that guilty conscience bollocks. Lurkin won’t satisfy you the way I did. I don’t think anyone will,” I snapped.

Her face contracted with anger. This Angel had no idea what else I could do to her. Sex had never felt like it had with her, pushing the boundaries of total surrender. I wanted to tie her up and lick her wet folds until she couldn’t take it anymore.

“I guess I’ll have to replace out, right? At least he isn’t tied down, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a bit better,” Ellie said with a sweet smile that twisted my gut. I shifted on the sofa, ready to fuck that idea out of her head, when Claire walked back into the room. I was in some really deep, messy shit. It looked like that one night could not only break me, but also put at risk the other lives that depended on me.