Shameless (Made For Them #3)

16. A Deal With The Devil

Lula

M y fingers are laced with Jules’s and he’s walking fast, dragging me along, just shy of running. We cross the pool area and my stepbrother ignores anyone who tries to get his attention, like a man on a mission.

“Jules, Lula.” As we round the corner out of the pool gate, we bump into Dad coming from the opposite direction.

“Tom,” Jules stops but doesn’t let go of my hand. “What are you doing here?”

Dad’s eyes settle on our joined hands for a second, and I brace myself for what I’m pretty sure will be a third degree interrogation.

Surprisingly, he answers Jules’s question instead. “An alarm went off at our private boathouse. I just went to check it out but everything looked fine. We have a new security system and it’s way too sensitive, the wind is picking up and I bet that’s what tripped it.”

Jules tenses up. “Are you sure it was our private one? You know we need to keep that area secure.”

Dad nods. “Yeah, that’s why I checked. But everything looks fine. Were you headed there?”

“I just wanted to show Lula the new boat.” Jules says.

Dad’s eyes dart to our joined hands, but again he doesn’t say anything. “Sounds good. Just make sure you lock everything when you leave. The docks are one of the best locations to watch the fireworks show and tonight it’s going to be crowded. The staff are going to start bringing out extra blankets and cushions soon, so the members can get comfortable and enjoy the show.”

Jules thanks him. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me. We won’t be long.”

We wait until Dad walks out of sight, before Jules begins walking again.

“Where are we going?” I ask, as he uses his staff ID to open the door to one of the two boathouses.

The inside is dark and I can smell the salt coming from the sea.

“The only place where I’m sure no one will walk in on us. I would have gotten us a room, but we’re fully booked this weekend.”

The lights come on and I’m confused by the two speedboats I see inside the boathouse. One is moored to the dock, the other one is suspended from the ceiling, hanging off four thick metal chains.

“Isn’t that Eddie’s electric boat?”

“Yeah. And that one,” Jules points out the second vessel. “Is a new prototype Eddie was building with two outboard bigger engines. Always fully electric.”

The second boat doesn’t sport the blue color and the sponsors logos like the one I’ve already seen. “It doesn’t look like much. Is it supposed to be that dull black color?”

“No,” Jules explains. “Tory is still finishing it, that’s just the raw material. She just installed the engine but the electric system hasn’t been insulated and tested yet. Once it’s all done, it’ll look similar to the one we’re already using but it’s going to be way faster.”

I shrug. “Maybe it’ll look better once it’s finished. The other one is much prettier.”

“Girls,” Jules chuckles. “Jenna would say exactly the same thing. If it was up to you, I’d have to paint it pink.”

He’s right, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction. “Nah. Maybe when I was ten-years-old. Now I would prefer a cool purple or even a glossy black, not this matte, primer color.”

Jules takes a step toward me, stopping only when my back hits the wall of the boathouse. “Once it’s insulated, we’ll paint it. We were going to do the same blue as the other one, but I like purple. I’ll tell Tory.”

Jules’s fingers trace the edge of my jaw, his dark blue eyes lower as he stares at my lips.

My pulse quickens as butterflies take residence in the pit of my stomach. I’m dying to feel his lips on mine, but my curiosity has the best of me. “Why are these boats here? I thought Eddie bought the Hudson’s old premises including their docks and their hangars.”

His fingers slip down the column of my neck, settling at the base of my throat. Jules doesn’t apply any pressure, the way he holds me there is possessive but not aggressive. I could slip out of his hold if I wanted to.

“We do have Hudson’s old boatyard with all its facilities, but we decided to store the electric boats here, just in case the sheriff decided to go back on his end of the deal and confiscate everything. These are the most valuable assets Star Thunders owns and if everything else was seized, we could still try for the world record.”

It makes sense. “Aren’t you worried about someone seeing them and asking questions?”

He shakes his head. “No one has any reason to come here. Dustin Hudson kept his personal boats here. The members who dock their yachts at the club have no reason to come looking in here. It’s too small for their big yachts anyway. Now if you’re done asking questions, we have about fifteen minutes before we turn into pumpkins.”

His lips are a breath away from mine. “Do you think Dad is going to be mad?” I ask. “He saw that you were holding my hand, he kept looking at our hands.”

My palms are flat on his chest to keep him from kissing me, because I know that once he does, I’ll forget the rest of the world even exists.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to speak to him. I don’t want to hide the way I feel about you from our parents or from anyone else.”

His words make me happy but they also scare me. “Do you think our parents will be ok with the idea of us together?” Dad is surprisingly ok with the idea of me and Stefan being more than friends and stepsiblings, but I’m dreading his reaction when he finds out that I’m in love with three men. Like I told Stefan, I’m not ashamed of my feelings for them. But there’s still a little girl inside me who needs her dad’s approval.

The corner of Jules’s lips quirks in just the hint of a smile, in a way that reminds me of Crew. “Lula, I’m not going to put pressure on you but I want you to know something. One day I’m going to marry you. It doesn’t have to be this year or the next. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you to be ready, but I’m so in love with you I can’t fucking breathe. I’ve been in love with you my entire life, I was too stupid to understand it until after I fucked everything up. You coming back here was our second chance and I’m not going to let that slip through my fingers again.”

“I love you too.”

I’ve never been kissed this way. It’s hot and urgent, dominant and soft at the same time.

The second his tongue teases the seam of my lips, I part for him.

My body reacts to every skilled brush of his tongue against mine and my bones turn to liquid fire.

If I wasn’t pinned between the wall of the boathouse and Jules’s hard body, my knees would give in.

The slow, hypnotic way the pad of his thumb is stroking the pulse point in my throat, reverberates all the way between my thighs.

My clit is throbbing with need, my nipples are two hard, aching points.

“Jules,” I pant, grabbing his hand and forcing it down to my chest. “I thought we had fifteen minutes.”

He covers my mouth with his, nipping at my bottom lip. “Probably ten by now,” he chuckles. “Why, are you in a hurry?”

“Unbelievable,” I bite out, dragging my hand from his hard chest to his washboard stomach. “You’re as much of a cock tease as Stefan. Even worse, judging by this.” I prove my point by tracing the outline of his hard-on through the thick cotton of his shorts.

His eyes darken and he pinches my nipple hard enough to cause a little pain with the wave of searing pleasure that surges through me. “Are we really talking about Stefan right now?”

Jules lowers one side of my tank and the bikini top underneath, freeing my breast.

The rush of cold, salty air of the boathouse would be enough to make me shiver with sensation, but it’s nothing compared to the feeling of his mouth closed around my nipple.

“Oh fuck.” I cry out. “Yes.”

He hums, sucking on my pebbled nipple. Then he bites and I lose my shit.

My fingers fly to the button of his denim shorts, making quick work of the zipper.

The skin of his hard cock is smooth and taut and I can’t resist the urge to run the pad of my thumb over the small opening in his head.

I’m rewarded with a bead of warm, slightly sticky fluid. “I want to taste you, Jules.”

He pulses in my hand. “Fuck, you have no idea how much I want to feel those pretty lips wrapped around my cock. How much I want to come all over your tongue. But if we do that, there won’t be time for anything else and I want to taste you too.”

“No,” I whine. “I need you inside me or I think I’m gonna die.”

Jules is on the same page. “Me too. I was about to say just that. Even that isn’t going to be enough, Luls. It’s never enough with you.”

I regret not wearing a dress or even a skirt now.

Jules lowers my shorts and my bikini bottoms down my legs and I help him by stepping out of them as they hit the concrete of the dock.

“Fuck, you’re so wet.” Jules praises me, running two fingers over the sensitive skin of my slit and teasing my entrance.

“Jules, please.”

He doesn’t let me ask twice. He lifts me by the backs of my thighs, angling me so that he can slide me down his hard shaft.

I’m so wet, that he enters me easily. “Oh my God,” I close my eyes, squeezing my muscles around his hardness as the throb in my clit intensifies almost to snapping point. “I’m so close, Jules. So, so close.”

He rocks his hips against me, sending sparks of heat through my nerve endings. “Thank fuck, Luls. Because I doubt I’m gonna last very long.”

I tighten my muscles again, chasing the sensation that’s just seconds away. “That’s good, right?” I say, breathless. “We’re almost out of time.”

“I’ve got you.” He promises, moving his hips and lifting mine to lower me onto his rock hard cock. “Come for me, Luls.”

He lifts me up and down in a seesaw movement that causes his shaft to drag over my clit with every delicious thrust.

All it takes is mere seconds for me to explode. “Oh God.” I cry out.

“Fuck, that feels too good.”

Another hard thrust and Jules stills, following me over the edge. He pulses over and over, and I love the feeling of his warmth inside me.

Neither of us moves for a long moment. We’re still joined, our breaths still coming in fast and loud in the deserted boathouse.

“Can you stand?” Jules worries as he helps me back onto my feet.

“Barely,” I laugh. “You turned my knees into Jell-O.”

He takes my palm, resting it on his chest. His heart is hammering against it just as fast as mine. “You take my breath away, Luls. I love you.”

I say it back, I have no hesitation.

“We should get dressed,” I add, grabbing my discarded clothes from the floor. I walk carefully, if Jules’s release leaks out of me, I don’t have anything to wipe it off.

Of course he notices.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think this through, Luls. There’s nothing here for you to clean up with.” He looks around, opening a little storage cubby built into the wall next to where the new boat is kept. “Maybe there’s something we could use inside this old gym bag.”

I curl my nose, slightly disgusted. “Nah, that bag looks old as fuck. Besides, I don’t want to use some stranger’s gym clothes to wipe my privates.”

Jules lets go of the velcro that keeps the bag’s handles tied together. “You’re right. This bag might have been here since the Hudsons owned the club. This boathouse hasn’t been used since then. I’m sorry, Luls. If you want to wait here, I can run to the clubhouse and?—”

I take his hand, bringing his knuckles to my lips. “Don’t worry, Jules. I’ll be fine. I can wait until we’re back at the clubhouse and sneak into a bathroom. Later I’ll have to change for dinner anyway. Your mom insisted on having family dinner in the main restaurant and I know cut-off shorts don’t fly there, no matter who owns the club. Besides, I kinda like the idea of not cleaning up straight away. I like feeling you still inside me in a way.”

I don’t expect the effect my words have on my stepbrother.

He picks me up, like he did before, crushing his mouth on mine in a searing kiss.

“Fuck,” he growls, setting me back down slowly but keeping me in his arms. “You can’t say stuff like this, Luls. It makes me want to fuck you again.”

I can’t help the way my body reacts to Jules. “Why don’t you?” I surround his neck with my arms, coaxing him into another passionate kiss.

Jules chuckles, looking at his smart watch. “Our time is up. How mad do you think Crew will be if we stay here a while longer?”

As if summoned by Jules’s word, there’s a knock on the boathouse door. “Jules? Lula?”

“Has he been running a fucking timer?” Jules rolls his eyes. “It’s twenty minutes since we left him by the pool to the second.”

I shrug. “Maybe someone noticed we were gone?”

“Or he’s just a gigantic cock block and he’s enjoying interrupting us. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear him. Kiss me, Lula.”

Crew

Fucking Cutler.

That’ll teach me to be nice to him. The fucker doesn’t deserve a thing.

“I can hear you, Dipshit.” I raise my voice. “Get the fuck out of there, will you? Or next time I’ll see that your balls get so blue everyone will think you’re a fucking Smurf.”

I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my foot on the concrete of the docks.

The door to the boathouse opens and Cutler comes out, Lula is one step behind him but their fingers are laced together.

I brace myself for the jealousy I’ve felt every time Jules and I have ever crossed paths. As predicted it hits me square in the face, but it’s short lived.

The look in Lula’s eyes when she sees me is what changes everything. She’s looking at me the same way she was looking at Jules earlier, when I decided to be nice and play wingman.

I’ve known that she’s in love with him since the day I met her. That was what made me take an interest in Lula to begin with. I’ve always hated Jules Cutler and I wanted to piss him off when I realized that he cared about her too.

Falling for her wasn’t my plan, but I had very little choice in the matter. I fell for Lula little by little and now all I want is to see her happy. Even if that means watching her hold Cutler’s hand.

Even if I know that the flush on Lula’s cheeks and the happiness that shines in her eyes are there because she had sex with him.

I feel possessive of Lula, but it’s not the way I thought it would be. Being able to share her with Stefan surprised me but I rationalized it by telling myself that Jules would be twice as mad when he found out.

It’s crazy but I was lying to myself. I could share Lula with Stefan because he makes her happy and he’s my brother. If the same thing is true for Jules, maybe Stefan is right that things between me and my rival can change.

As long as Lula doesn’t love him more than she loves me, I can learn to tolerate Jules.

It wouldn’t be possible with anyone else, but maybe that saying that “blood is thicker than water” has some truth in it.

“Hey James,” Jules asks. “Where’s Jenna? Is everything ok?”

I nod. “Yeah, she’s fine. My mom and yours got her from the bouncy castle and there’s a raffle going on right now for the kids. They have tons of prizes, including a giant teddy bear the size of Stefan. Jenna has her eye on it.”

He shakes his head. “Fuck. I hope she wins something good or she’ll be sad.”

I reassure him. “Arianna said the raffle is rigged so that every child gets a prize. Usually I wouldn’t like the idea of a participation trophy, but those kids are all full of sugar and have been playing in the sun all day. Can you imagine the tantrums if they don’t win anything?”

He shrugs. “When we have kids tournaments we don’t usually issue participation prizes, but on the Fourth of July and Christmas, we make sure every kid goes home happy. Not that these are underprivileged kids, but their parents pay a boatload of money for their memberships. We think it’s good business practice to keep our future members happy.”

It makes sense. “Jenna was excited, that’s for sure.”

Jules looks perplexed. “I bet. Is it that late though? I thought the raffle was going to be later. I promised Jenna we would go on a jet ski and for a swim.”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “They brought the raffle forward because the wind is picking up and the lifeguards raised a red flag. No swimming in the sea or water sports right now. It doesn’t look that bad but with a hundred kids, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Cutler’s lopsided smile is annoying, but I choose to keep my focus on Lula.

“Come on baby,” I offer her my hand and I’m relieved when she doesn’t hesitate to take it. “Let’s walk back to the clubhouse. I got us a bottle of champagne squirreled away, so we can start our own Fourth of July celebration.”

Jules hasn’t learned the art of keeping his mouth shut, especially when he owes someone. “Are you trying to get my girl drunk?”

Motherfucker.

Next time he needs help to get some time alone with Lula, he can forget it.

“No. You should fucking know I would never take advantage of a drunk girl. Besides, we were gonna share the bottle with Stefan. That’s not enough champagne to get drunk.”

Jules glares at me. “Share it with Stef? Why does it sound like the champagne isn’t the only thing you two are going to share?”

He doesn’t understand and I’m not going to explain how hot it is to see Lula and Stefan together. And how much of a turn on it is to see Stefan watching me with our girl.

“Ready to go, baby?” I ask, ignoring Jules.

“Wait guys,” the pain in the ass says. “Just let me make sure the boathouse is locked and we can all walk back together.”

At least the asshole isn’t careless with our assets. “Is the new boat in there too?” I ask. “I haven’t seen it yet.”

“If you wanted to see it, you should have helped Tory and the team when we moved everything here last night.” He provokes me.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have to justify myself to you, but Mom was swamped at the bakery last night. She had a large order for a wedding and several orders for the holiday weekend, including the club’s pastries. With Rikki at rehab, she had no one else to help.”

Lula squeezes my hand. “You should have told me. I would have been happy to come and help you and Tilly.”

I can’t help but smile. “Thank you, baby. You’re the best. I’ll tell Mom, but be careful because next time she needs help, she’s really going to take you up on your offer.”

“Good,” she beams. “Because I mean it.”

It’s Jules’s turn to get frustrated. “Right. If you’re done asking questions, I’m gonna lock up.”

I genuinely want to check out the new boat and if that annoys Cutler, it’s an added bonus. “Do you mind if I just take a quick look at it?”

I struggle not to laugh at how irritated he looks.

“Sure,” he moves to the side with a flourish. “Be my fucking guest.”

The two boats take most of the space in the boathouse, one moored and the other one hanging from the ceiling. They’re identical in size and shape but the new one is obviously not finished yet. “The primer color of the hull doesn’t give this beauty justice,” I say. “Once this one is done, we’ll have that world record in the bag.”

For once, Cutler agrees with me. “That’s damn right. Tory said that it’s pretty much done. The only thing left to do before we can start test runs is to complete and test the electric system. Something to do with it being properly grounded and insulated. So no test runs and no engine on in the water until Tory gives us the go ahead.”

Lula looks at the new boat as if it could bite her.

“What’s up, baby?” I tuck a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “You look worried.”

“I have a bad feeling,” her voice is barely audible, her fingers clutching mine with crushing force. “Isn’t carbon fibre an electricity conductor? Mixing water and electricity seems dangerous.”

I pull her into my arms. “Don’t worry, Tory knows what she’s doing. No one will put this boat in the water with the engine on until everything is properly insulated. Then it’ll be perfectly safe to touch every part of the hull with the engine running.”

“You guys aren’t going to run it until it’s finished, right?”

I reassure her. “Of course, baby. Besides, that pain in the ass over there,” I laugh, pointing at Jules. “Insists on being the one who will race for the world record.”

Jules doesn’t back down. “Damn skippy I do. Didn’t I win the tryouts? We can say anything we want about our late father, but he truly wanted the fastest racer in the best boat.”

He’s absolutely insufferable when he toots his own horn. “Yeah, yeah. We know. Don’t tempt me into convincing Tory to let you into that boat with the engine on before it has been insulated and tested.”

He flips me off, but there’s no heat in his eyes. “Ha, you wish you could get rid of me so easily. I have no intention to experience being flambé. I have a beautiful daughter and I’m in love with the sweetest, most beautiful woman in the world. I have too much to live for.”

It’s the first time I hear Jules declaring his feelings for Lula this openly.

I should hate to hear him say that he loves Lula, but again, the look in her eyes makes it impossible to feel jealous.

“You’re right,” I concede. “And whether we like it or not, we’re a team. So if you win, we all win.”

Lula’s smile is all the incentive I need not to regret being nice to Cutler. “You’re right, Crew. Maybe Eddie wasn’t so wrong for forcing you guys to work together.”

Jules laughs. “Yeah, maybe. I mean fuck, I don’t think that man cared about us being brothers or even friends. But if his obsession with winning means we can coexist, I guess him coming back isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to us. I hated fighting with Stefan anyway and this guy,” he says, looking at me. “Has proven impossible to get rid of. So might as well make this truce work.”

I’m about to agree and tell him to fuck off—and I’m actually joking for the first time ever—but we’re no longer alone in the boathouse.

“Aww how adorable,” Evan barks out a laugh. “Are you going to braid each other’s hair and sync your periods now?”

“Hey,” Jules’s scowl isn’t directed at me for once. “This is a private space for the club owners. Club members and visitors aren’t allowed in here.”

The smile on Lula’s other stepbrother’s face ranks so high on the creep scale, that I get goosebumps. “Your wife was just choking on my cock five minutes ago and we have our little Lula in common. She’s my stepsister too, so that makes us family.”

Lula’s body tenses up, she’s shaking like a leaf.

I step in front of her, putting myself between her and Evan.

Jules is immediately by my side, so close that our arms are touching. Usually that would tick me off but right now we’re forming an impenetrable barrier between our girl and Tiffany’s stepson.

“Don’t you even dare look at Lula.” Jules growls. “I already told you to stay the fuck away from her.”

Evan’s smile widens. That motherfucker must have a death wish for not taking Jules seriously.

“Jules is right,” I agree. “Lula has made it clear that she wants nothing to do with you. You’re lucky my dog isn’t here or I’d let him finish what he started on the ferry.”

Evan Johnston definitely has a death wish.

“Now I get it,” his chuckle is sinister. “You guys look so cozy. I bet you enjoy sword crossing when you tag team her, huh? Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

What the fuck is he talking about? “We don’t—” I start, but Evan interrupts me.

“I’m not judging you for that. Who hasn’t experimented a little with some man on man action here and there? Boarding school was all about that. What I’m judging you for is that you guys are actually related. I bet that turns you on, Lula? I’ve always known you were a dirty little slut. That’s why I like you.”

I’m going to fucking end this fucker.

Whoever killed Eddie was probably angry with him but I doubt they truly hated him. A shotgun to the face is a fast way to die after all. When I kill Evan, I’m gonna make it as slow and painful as humanly possible, I swear.

“Say another word to Lula,” I grind out. “And I swear to fucking God?—”

“Cool your jets, dude.” Evan laughs. “For as much as I enjoy the foreplay between me and Lula, I actually came here to talk to you.”

I don’t understand. “Me?”

Evan nods. “Yeah. Remember our little issue with the yacht you crashed? And our wager? You had to place first in at least one heat or in one of the categories overall in the race that was canceled at Twinberry Cove and I wasn’t going to press charges and forgive your debt. If you lost, I was gonna get to drive the electric boat.”

How could I fucking forget? “It isn’t my fault if the race was canceled. The next race is in the Ozarks in a month. Unless you want to let our bet stand until then, do what you need to do. I hired a lawyer to help with our issue anyway.”

I haven’t yet, but I’m going to do it soon.

“Nah,” Evan says. “I lost interest in seeing you lose a race and in a month I’ll be back on the campaign trail with my dad. But if you let me drive the electric boat before I leave Star Cove, I’m willing to forget the whole thing with the yacht.”

I don’t trust Evan, that much I know. But this situation with the yacht has literally derailed my life. Making a deal with him would be great, as long as he keeps his word.

Jules voices my question before I can. “Who tells us that you’re not going to go back on your word if we let you drive the electric boat?”

Evan looks amused by this entire conversation. “No one. You’ll have to trust me.”

Fuck.

Again, Jules is the one who expresses my own thoughts better than I could. “Yeah, you just answered your own question. You’re a slimy asshole and a creep. Your word means nothing to us.”

Maybe I should be worried about the fact that not only do I agree with Jules Cutler, I’m actually grateful that he’s talking to Evan when I’m too furious to even put my thoughts into coherent speech.

“Are you sure?” Evan says. “The damages to the yacht plus all the legal fees, if I press charges and we go to court, are going to be more than half a million dollars. A few minutes on your boat are a small price to pay to make it all go away.”

I hate that he’s right. Even with Eddie’s money, a trial would be stressful and take a long time.

“What I don’t understand,” I finally say. “Is why you would forget about the damages just to drive one of our powerboats.”

Evan shrugs. “The yacht was insured against theft and accidental damage. My father has already ordered another one. I just want the thrill of driving a one of a kind boat. Posting a video like that on social media would get me all kinds of pussy. You should know that.”

I don’t tell him that I’ve never needed any help to get pussy. “Yeah, but like Jules said, we don’t trust you.”

The creep finally shows his hand and looks eager. “I’ll get my lawyer to write an agreement with the terms of this deal. You let me drive the boat for a few minutes and film me and your fuck up is forgotten. Once the sheriff clears me and Lula’s Mom from the murders, I’ll have to go back East. First is the campaign trail with my old man. Then he expects me to intern for him in his senator's office and to find another rich, snooty girl to marry. My life is going to be so fucking boring. Maura at least was fun, but most of his friend’s daughters are snobby and superficial. The only thing that will keep me from taking a shotgun to my own head out of boredom, is some street cred so I can get laid.”

Jules and I look at each other.

Cutler could be a pain in my ass and veto this. After all, the boat isn’t just mine.

“On one condition,” Jules finally says. “If we do this, you stay away from Star Cove and from Lula once and for all. I want it in fucking writing too.”

“Sure,” Evan chuckles. “We have a deal. I’ll stay away. One day though when Lula wants to be with a real man, she’ll know where to find me. I’m going to call my family lawyer now.”

“He’s fucking crazy,” Lula shudders as Evan walks away. “Thank you guys for doing this for me.”

I pull Lula into my arms. “Are you kidding? We would do anything for you.”

Jules agrees with me. “Crew is right. I would fucking give him a boat. All the boats we have actually, as long as you’re safe.”

As we lock up the boathouse and we walk back to the clubhouse, there’s an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even with a written agreement, I don’t trust Evan Johnston as far as I can throw him.

This must be how it feels to make a deal with the devil.