“You’re not going to let this go?”
“No.” A single tug to her arm and she’s standing upright, both hands on her hips. I lift her small frame, loving the way she immediately wraps those pretty thighs around my waist. She’s so warm and soft, melts into me, and I walk us back toward the bedroom.
Her bed is still unmade. The room still holds a small hint of her earlier release.
Lying us down in the center, I remove her top and mine, rolling onto my back before pulling her in close. I need to feel her skin to skin. Aliana doesn’t complain, her willing body burrowing closer until half her lithe curves cover my harsher planes. It’s perfection.
To feel her like this is my version of heaven.
We don’t talk. I have a feeling she needs this. To just enjoy the silence, and I’ll be whatever she needs, whenever it’s needed, until I have her full trust.
That’s not to be mistaken with sainthood. My moves in the shadows will always be dark.
“I know you mean well,” is the first thing she says after a while. Her fingers are busy tracing the lines of the Jameson name across my abdomen in Old English and leaving behind a trail of heat over every inch she touches. It’s maddening, but at the same time absolutely fascinating how enraptured I become in her presence. “So please understand when I ask that you give me time. We just met, Callum. Literally. I’m still trying to wrap my head around you and this...” pushing off my chest, she points a finger between myself and her “...attraction I don’t understand and can’t help. My life is complicated enough as is, and all I need is time to assimilate you, Giannis, and the meathead you have lingering around like a guard.”
The teasing tone and sassy grin on her makes me chuckle. “Caught on to that, did you?”
“Hard not to.” Aliana snorts, then rolls her eyes. “The guy is a fridge.”
“So dramatic.”
“So is avoiding an admittance,” she counters, and I roll us over, my body pinning hers to the mattress. “Hey! No fair.”
Running my nose against hers, I nip her top lip. “I’ll give you time, Venus, but he stays. I’ll be gone a little bit, but I need eyes and ears here to make sure you’re okay. That’s not up for negotiation.”
“You’re being extra.” Even her huff is cute. “We just met, and a security detail should come after a three-month relationship, not the first weekend.”
Not a no. Not denying that we are more than a passing hookup.
“Three days was my limit.” I run the pad of my fingers down her side and to the edge of her tights, slipping a finger beneath the waist to feel the warmth of her skin there. “I need you safe. My world is dangerous, sweetheart, and I can’t take chances where you’re concerned.”
“Part time.” Voice low. A bit husky. “Actually, more like a trial basis, and I choose the events he’s allowed to come to.”
“Full time, and you don’t complain.”
“Three times a week, and I’ll FaceTime you on the other days to give you a day-by-day breakdown. It’ll be boring, I must warn you. I’m not that interesting between work and school.” She arches her back, pressing her chest against my mouth. Goose bumps rise across her skin and her thighs cradle mine, my trouser-covered-cock against her yoga-pant-covered heat. “I’ll even throw in the occasional picture.”
“Naughty?” I growl, flexing against her once. The thin lace bralette she’s wearing is black and covers nothing. Her nipples are hard, her flesh spilling out. “Are you trying to bribe me, Miss Rubens?”
“It can be if you agree to my terms.” Her attempt at distracting me is charming, but all it does is make me want her even more. To be around every second of her day.
“Love, I was going to demand that either way.” I lick a path from one pebbled tip to the other, lightly biting on the right one. “I’ll give you time, but my sanity needs this. Agree.”
“Not fair.”
“Nothing in life worth a damn ever is.” This time I blow across the tender flesh, my hands moving lower to the waistband of her bottoms. They’re easy to remove, more so when she whines and lifts her hips when I tease her nipples, but once they’re off, I pause. It’s easy to become lost in her body, but Aliana needs to understand what I’m asking of her.
“Why’d you stop?”
“When I walk out of here tomorrow, I’m no longer the man you have at your mercy, Aliana. I’m a murderer. A criminal.” It’s the truth, and I won’t lie to her. I’m exposing myself so she sees that I’m serious, that she can trust me. “I’m going home to London to help my cousin kill every single man involved in the murder of my aunt. I’m going home to make changes, eliminate every single threat, and then I’ll be bringing you home. You, my stubborn beauty, are important to me and I want you safe. So can you please do this for me? Don’t give them a tough time, and let me know if something is wrong.”
Tears brim in her eyes, and she nods. “After my trip.”
“What trip?”
“Give me this, and I’ll accept this without further argument.”
“What trip?”
Lifting a hand, she cups my face and brings it to hers. Lays a tiny peck across my lips. “Trust in me the same way you’re asking me to trust you.”
“Okay.” This time I kiss her, dragging my teeth across her bottom lip. “Will you be safe?”
“It’s a family retreat. I promise to be careful while vacationing.”
“Aye.”
“Thank you.” Relief sweeps across her expression, but I’m not letting this go. I’ll find out what she’s hiding soon enough, but Kray will remain on duty, just not out in the open. At least, until she gets back. “I appreciate it.”
“Then show me, my Venus.”
“How,” she moans low, a keening sound as I drag my lips down the column of her throat and to the valley between her breasts. I lick and suck the skin there, the lovely shade of bruising complementing her tanned skin tone. “What can I do to show my—”
“Feed me.” A grunt. My chest rumbles as I hold back my need to dominate and own. To demand she be honest and then take her away from whatever problems she has. Because I know they are there; the clues laid out so far create a picture that would lead to the destruction of her family, but before I make her an orphan, I need concrete proof. I’d hate to be wrong and eradicate someone she loves. “I need you to shimmy out of your knickers, arch your back, then spread your pussy lips and present me my meal.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Soon, Aliana. I’ll claim you soon, but today I want to taste your pleasure.”
15
I’m an idiot. Completely and utterly moronic, but smiling like the hussy this man is turning me into. If only I could say no. But I can’t, and every time those piercing, gem-like eyes ask me for something or need an answer, I end up agreeing while letting down every single one of my walls.
Dios mio, ayudame. This position I’ve put myself in will cost me. I know it will.
My father will never allow this, but I also can’t stop the small bloom of hope taking place in my chest, burrowing deep and holding on for dear life after Callum shared his plans.
He wants to take me home. To London.
Somewhere far from Chicago and all that I know, but with him I’d do so happily and without a second thought, knowing this could blow up in my face in so many tragic ways.
That man is the perfect heartbreak waiting to happen.
He’d tear me apart, something I’m no longer able to stop if he walked away.
I already care too much.
So much can go wrong.
What about returning to Spain?
That had been my original plan, but after hearing his, it doesn’t hold the same appeal.
Nothing else does. And perhaps I’ll feel differently tomorrow, but in the afterglow of his touch, I want to follow him. Because a part of me, the scared and disillusioned fragment of my soul, wants it—craves his words to be true.
Which makes no sense. But then again, nothin
g of the last few days does.
“How did I let myself get caught up in such a mess?” I want to feel whole again. I want to trust him. “Things that sound too good to be true usually are.” My low muttering is accompanied by a hiss, my thigh muscles protesting as I stand on the tips of my toes to grab a glass from the cupboard. This is the aftereffect of being kept on my back, legs spread wide while he worshipped me for hours.
Mouth. Fingers. But never his cock.
And damn him, I wanted the latter. Begged for it, but Callum denied my request each time.
“Oh God,” I moan, body thrumming as the aftershocks of my last orgasm still ring through me. Not that the man between my thighs cares. If anything, the last two weren’t enough. Another long lick with the flat of his tongue and I close my eyes, fighting instincts that contradict each other. Push him away. Pull him closer. More. Stop. “Callum, come here. Please, just come up here.”
“No.” A growl, the vibrations of the simple word running through me like a live current. From the tip of my toes to the last strand of hair on my head, I feel it. Pulsing. Pushing me. “Need you to give me another, Venus. One more.”
“Too much.”
“Never bloody enough.”
Back arching, I scream as his teeth scrape over my throbbing clit. It hurts a bit; a painful pleasure seizes every nerve ending and lights me on fire. “Please. Please, I need to feel you inside me...son of a—”
“I’ll never fuck you and leave, Aliana.” He bites my thigh, teeth digging in. This shuts me up. My mouth is open in a silent scream, body shaking as another orgasm is ripped from me with nothing more than a harsh nip. With my flesh between his teeth, his hooded eyes watch me come apart, his cheek nuzzling my tender pussy as uncontrollable tremors rock me. I pulse. I cry a bit, but then my breath gets caught in my throat and nothing matters more than the sight of this man gripping his cock. “Please tell me you understand.”
“Callum, I—”
Muscles straining, he braces himself with one arm on the mattress, his body leaning over mine. “Answer me, Venus. Tell me you understand,” he hisses, teeth gritted tight as he jerks off at the juncture of my thighs. He’s thick, the head almost angry while his pace is punishing.
I’ve lost all ability to speak. I’m lost to the perfect picture of masculinity he paints.
I’m following each movement hungrily, my core clenching involuntarily, and another rough spasm shakes me. “Fuck me.”
Pace quickening, Callum’s eyes travel from my wet core to my eyes. “Beautiful.” His stare is hooded, so hungry. Those gem-colored eyes stay on mine as the first rope of warm come lands across my labia and clit, dripping down to my ass and then the sheets. They don’t waver when the next two make a mess of my mound and stomach. Instead, they darken even more as he rubs the tip against my skin, spreading his release all over me.
I’m a mess. My pussy still throbs.
“Why?”
“Tell me you understand why I denied us both what we need?” he counters, and I want to tell him that I do, but that would be a lie. Rejection suddenly floods me, and I look away, my eyes tearing up for a different reason. Maybe I’m being too desperate? “Stop that.”
Callum’s hovering over me now, lips almost touching mine as I meet his hard stare. He’s a total contradiction to the man that watched me come a minute ago and then marked me with his release. I try to move away, to slide out from beneath him, but his weight drops, and I find myself pinned to the bed.
“Please move.”
“No.” Two warm hands cup my face and hold me so I can’t look away. “Don’t shut me out, Aliana.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, baby. It’s not.” With a pained groan, he lowers his mouth to mine and kisses me slowly. So tenderly. The way Callum takes my lips this time is what every woman dreams of, and I didn’t know I’ve been missing for so long. It’s raw, shakes me to the core, and the taste of my release on his sweet lips quickly becomes something I’ll crave until the day I die. It’s the tangible proof of his hunger for me. A peck and then nibble to my bottom lip and he pulls back, smiling down at me. “Never think that I’m rejecting you, love. I couldn’t, but I am postponing the inevitable when in a few hours I’ll be gone. There’s no way I’d be able to leave if I do, and taking you back with me until our enemies are removed; I can’t put you in danger like that. So please, sweetheart. Be patient. Wait for me.”
Wait for me.
He said those same words a few days ago when he walked out after a final kiss and the exchange of our phone numbers. Formally, anyway. I know he’s had mine since pulling information on me, and it doesn’t bother me in the least.
The sudden hard knock on my front door pulls me back into the present and away from the memory of his touch. They’re not pounding, but the noise is loud, and I cautiously make my way over.
I’m not expecting anyone.
Standing up onto the tips of my toes, I look through the peephole and find a man I’ve never seen before standing on the other side. He’s tall, his face impassive, and in his hand is some sort of envelope.
I don’t open the door. Instead, I take quiet steps back until I’m back in the kitchen and can grab my cell.
With shaky fingers, I press the security camera app and go to live feed. His retreating form is what I find, and the envelope is no longer in his hand.
“What the hell?” For the next ten minutes I keep watch through my phone, not moving from my spot until I’m sure no one is outside, and then I rush to check the outside of my door. With each step closer, dread fills my stomach and my nerves pick up. And I’m right in doing so, because there lying atop my floor mat is a padded manila casing with my name written across the front in a penmanship I’d know anywhere.
Moreover, my suspicions are confirmed when I open it and read the first page.
This slice of reality slams into me with a vengeance. Brutally. Unforgiving.
There’s no future with Callum. There’s no reason to entertain him or any offer he makes when this is my life.
I’m a puppet on a string.
How can I withhold this from him and my newly appointed guard long term while keeping my father happy and at bay?
I can’t juggle this.
I can’t live multiple lives.
You leave in seventy-two hours. Disappoint me, and you know the price.
16
“We’re behind schedule.”
Casper’s head snaps in my direction at the sound of my voice, a shitty grin on his face. He has a small carry-on over his left shoulder and a large love bite on the left side of his neck. Our plane is ready, the pilot is on standby, but we won’t be getting on it until much later. I’m not leaving this up to him. “By four minutes, you arse. If I’m late, it’s acceptable.”
Pushing off the wall beside the door he walked through, I clap his shoulder. “To me, it’s not.”
At once, his amusement drops and the bag in his hand is tossed to a male crew member standing at the ready to assist a few feet away. The lad catches it, rushing away to stow it while Kray’s car pulls up and idles.
Before we leave the States, there are two personal messages I’ll be delivering.
“What’s wrong?” This is the head of the family I know and have trusted all my life.
“Gaspar.”
“What the fuck did that cunt do? Is he pushing product here?”
“Worse.” Tilting my head in Kray’s direction, I motion for him to follow me. We don’t talk while we walk, and when the door closes and the SUV drives off the private airstrip, I look over. “I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and I want your honest answer, Casper. Not as my boss, but as my family. Can you set your ego aside and do that?”
“What the fuck?” An angry hiss. “Of course, I can.”
“Good.” Turning my head, I lean forward and tap the back of Kray’s seat. “Pull up to the end of the road and step outside.”
“Understood,” Timmons says,
following my instructions and stopping near a small cluster of trees and then exits, holding his mobile up to let me know he’ll wait for my text to come back.
When his back is a few feet away, Casper clears his throat. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Are you moving to Chicago?”
For a few beats he’s quiet, his face unreadable, but a nod follows. “Yes. For a little bit, at least.”
“Fuck does that mean? When were you going to tell me?” My tone comes out a bit accusatory, although I’m not mad—more like annoyed with his current lack of communication. We’ve always had each other’s backs, I respect him, and having to deduce clues and decipher his head space shouldn’t be how we work. Because even if he moves to Japan or the South Pole, we’re family. He will always be a Jameson. “What are you planning?”
“I want Boston.” No further explanation. Just throws that out.
It’s also not something I saw coming, and I scrunch my nose in question. He’s never expressed a need to take over another state in the US. “Now isn’t the time for riddles, cousin. Speak up.”
“You sound like a boss.”
“That’s because I am.” I’m not going to pussyfoot around this subject anymore.
“I haven’t stepped down.”
“You will.”
His reply to that is a smirk and another nod. Acceptance. “Gem’s father wants her to take over Boston, and she will. By my side.”
“Are you with her for—”
“You fucking taking the piss?” Casper says, his tone acerbic. “I love that woman.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yes, good. I’d hate to break that ugly mug of yours for being a cunt.”
Usually, something like that would make him laugh or flip me off, but instead, his eyes narrow and lips thin. “Since when do you care who I see or don’t? Or if I’m using—”
“You hurt Aurora, and that affects Aliana.” Shrugging, I begin to undo the button of my right sleeve and roll it up to my elbow, then repeat with the other. “I won’t allow that.”
Risqué: Mafia Romance (Beautiful Sinner Series Book 5) Page 12
