The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Lark woke in the morning blinking in surprise at the face hovering over hers and gave a shriek of terror. "What the f**k, Ollie!" she groaned at the close proximity of her friend. "You scared the hell out of me." "Why are you sleeping in Max's guest room?" Ollie was wicked, "I thought I'd find you in his bed, not in here." A bright red mark caught Lark's attention and she pushed Ollie's hair off her neck. "Did Johan give you a hickey?" "A lot of them," Ollie giggled. "He's really good at scratching itches."

"Ollie, what did you do?"

"I had multiple orgasms, let him work out whatever demons he was fighting and then slept very soundly in my own bed." "Where did he sleep?"

"Buried deep inside me," her brown eyes were dancing with delight. "Dude fell asleep with his d**k still in me. Woke me up this morning doing it all over again."

"Johan?"

"He's freaky as hell. There's a real reason the women turn stalker on him."

"You're messing with me, right?"

"Nope." Ollie shook her head. "I can't believe it never once dawned on me to try him out until last night." "What the hell? Why last night?"

"Truth?" Ollie asked as she climbed into the bed with Lark and snuggled up next to her. "I know he loves me as a friend. I know he cares for me and frankly, I really wanted to feel loved, even if it was only for a moment.Many paragraphs are missing. Read the complete book on Jo b ni b.com. However," she made wide eyes at Lark as they stared at each other on the pillow, "I was not expecting him to be so," she paused searching for the word.

"So?" Lark egged her to complete her sentence.

"He's really good at being the hype guy, Lark. I mean, he was making me feel like I was the most beautiful, sexiest woman in the world. He was attentive and thorough, and you know how when you get close to an orgasm and guys stupidly change their tempo? He didn't do that."

"But Ollie, he's your friend."

"Friend with benefits right now."

"What if he falls in love with you?"

"I might wife him up," Ollie snickered and tugged her shirt downwards, "look at the hickeys, Lark. I think I have one on my pu-"

Lark covered her mouth with her hand, "don't say it."

"I'm simply saying, I was having a very rough emotional evening, but I was putting it aside to be there for you and to make you happy and laugh after all the s**t we've put you through. Johan saw me hurting and made me feel better. It's what friends do."

"I will never ask you to give me an orgasm to make me feel better."

"Ew. I told you before, you're my sister. It is gross to even consider." "How is it different with Johan?" she was confused.

"Because he's different. I've only known him since I was twelve. You I shared a crib with. It's different. We potty trained together Lark. I've seen you naked so many times there is no excitement for me in it." Ollie frowned, "are you jealous I f****d him and not you?"

She slapped frantically at Ollie who held her hands up defensively laughing, "no I'm not jealous you asshole. I'm trying to figure out how this is going to mess up our quartet."

"It isn't. He's in the kitchen right now having this same conversation with Max. We're good. It was an effective way to work out emotions. We may do it again. We may not. We'll play it by ear."

"Fine. If, you're sure. I was really worried for you."

"I'm great! What happened last night with you and Max?"

"We talked. Really talked. It was good." She pursed her lips, "I flirted with him. He liked it. I'm wearing his boxers."

Ollie lifted the blanket and then giggled, "you're wearing his drawers? You did this when we were kids too."

"I know. We talked about what happened the night of the prom."

"You told him?"

"Not all of it," she shook her head.

"So, he doesn't know Jackson almost raped you?" Ollie said, an angry tone to her voice.

"No. Ollie, you need to let it go."

"I can't yet. You spent twelve years letting it go but I just found out and I really want to beat the hell out of him and bury him somewhere. At the least, he should be in prison."

"You didn't see the beating Henri put on him, Ollie. He was dropped off at the hospital."

"He should have been dropped at the morgue."

"Ollie, stop." Lark gripped her hands tightly. "This kind of anger isn't good for anyone. I got help with a counsellor. I moved on."

As they exchanged heated glances Ollie finally sighed, "fine. I'll leave it but if I ever see him when we're out and he looks sideways at you, I'm punching him in the balls.

"Fine." She knew Jackson was now living in Florida. His family moved him as far away from the Hoffman and Villeneuves as they could afford after they were warned if he was caught breathing her air. "Now, tell me about what made you get all desperate for love and affection last night."

She groaned, "do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Hey," Max's voice called down the hall, "get out here. Johan is making breakfast."

****k, he cooks too." Ollie squealed. "I may still wife him up."

"You don't get out of this," she growled at Ollie as she followed her friend who bounded down the hall. "Ollie! I want to know what is going on!"

She entered the kitchen and plunked onto a stool at the island where Johan was chopping up fruit. He grinned at her and then winked Ollie. Ollie jumped up beside Lark and stole a strawberry holding one out to Lark to bite.

She folded her arms on the countertop and looked at her friends. "Ollie. Spill it."

"Okay." Ollie took a deep breath and then blurted it out. "Four years ago, my security team got into a kerfuffle with a group of guys Grandpa Gael used from time to time to deal with his more sensitive issues. You know, the kind of problems we don't want to come back on the family."

"Jesus." Max folded his arms over his chest and glared at her. "Ollie. He's a gangster. You know it right? Grandpa Gael is a gangster."

"Me too, Max. He trained me to be his replacement and I like my life. I'm not as brilliant as you but I'm as shrewd as he is. Anyway, the guy he hired was set to take over his family. I," she took a deep breath, "fell hard. He's charismatic and good looking and you know me, the more someone tells me to stay away, the harder I go at it."

"No, really?" Max mocked her.

"Anyway. He's dangerous and I loved the risk. He would show up at places I was at and steal me away and we'd have crazy s*x in insane places. Like once, he was dealing with guys at a carnival, of all places and we f****d in the fun house."

"Oh, dear god," Lark groaned.

"Anyway, I fell harder for him than I did Emo girl and then I saw an invitation at Grandpa Gael's house. It was an invite for him to attend this guy's wedding which was the following Saturday."

"No way," Johan stared at her. "He was screwing you while engaged to someone else?"

"For a year. I was clueless. I was so blindsided, and I felt so stupid. I called him on the phone, told him I hated him for lying to me. He said I would come back to him because our love for one another would surpass even him being forced to marry a b***h he didn't want to be with. I removed all my temptations. I changed my numbers and made them unlisted except the ones at the office. My work calls are all screened. I moved back to Dallas from Houston. I erased him from my life. He never came after me because he's a prideful prick and waited for me to come back to him."

"I see." Johan shot her a sideways glance. "And you did?"

"Not for me." She gave Lark and Max a look. "Max, you beat Doug up and you beat him bad. It was going to come back on the Villeneuve family or on Lark and the Hoffmans. You broke his face. I texted the one number I memorized for him and asked him for a favor. I told him he owed it to me for lying to me all those years ago and I was calling it in. I needed Doug to understand if he didn't keep his mouth shut about what happened then he needed to disappear."

"Clearly this guy isn't so scary if Doug is still calling Lark and threatening to sue us." Max moved to follow Johan's instructions to remove bacon from the oven.

"Which is why I texted him again yesterday to tell him to get his s**t together because he's slipping in doing a job. He said he wanted to see me. Said he divorced his wife and wanted to meet. I got my team, who are pretty unscrupulous because I need them to be and asked them to investigate whether he was telling the truth or not. I don't want to go into a meeting with him thinking one thing and finding out another."

"He lied?" Johan asked curiously.

"Yup. His wife lives in Bogota in a lovely little mansion. He hasn't been to her home in over a year. They have no kids. She has a lover. My intel says she's a few pancakes short of a stack," she motioned to the breakfast Johan was preparing with a smirk happy with her pun.

"How so?"

"She fancies herself an artist and once made a sculpture of her own shit."

"What?" Max choked on his spittle while Lark gagged.

"Yeah. Then when the local art gallery owner laughed at her, she killed him after she made him eat the s**t. Apparently, her father ran a cartel of his own and she saw too much and has zero fear of anything. Their marriage gave him the control over her family and his."

"Why hasn't he divorced her?" Lark was reeling.

"I don't know, and I don't care. He lied to me. Again. I am not a weak minded, simpleton he can order to him and I'm going to come running."

"He ordered you?"

"Yes. Last night. When I went to the bathroom at the restaurant, it was because I received the intel, and I messaged him and let him know I was not happy about being lied to. He didn't like I went digging and I made it clear I didn't trust him. I told him I'd manage the situation with Doug myself and told him to back off. I told him I wouldn't be contacting him again. He then ordered me to Houston."

"Damn."

"Yes, well, he's furious with me. I don't give a s**t. He can go f**k himself. I deserve to be treated with respect. I might not be the kind of woman you bring home to mom, but I am not taking such s**t, not from anyone."

"Are you in danger?"

"Nope. I have a kick ass security team, trained by Grandpa Gael himself and nobody is shiftier than the old coot. I'm fine."

The group was quiet and then Johan spoke, "you're wrong you know, Ollie."

"About what?"

"You're definitely the kind of woman a man takes home to meet his mother. You deserve far better than a murderous moron who lies to you and makes you feel less than the incredible woman you are. f**k him." And with that, the entire group was full of smiles again.