by K. L. Ramsey
“I’m sure,” she said, without hesitation. “I want you, Damion.” That was all the reassurance that he needed. He pressed Nix up against the bed, and when her knees hit the mattress, she fell onto it. Damion quickly followed her over, covering her body with his own. She felt so right underneath him. She felt like she was made to fit him and oddly enough, that thought didn’t scare the shit out of him like he thought it would.
Damion stood to strip out of his t-shirt and she groaned and reached for him. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere, Honey. I want this too much.”
“You do?” she asked. He hated that she didn’t believe that he wanted her. “I honestly thought that you hated me, Damion.”
“I didn’t hate you, Nix. I hated the message you were delivering for my uncle. I told you that I don’t trust easily. I didn’t believe that you were there to help Finn and me. Honestly, I never hated you, Honey,” he promised.
“Well, I never thought that we’d end up here,” she said, pointing to the bed.
“Wanting you and not trusting you are two very different things, Nix. I wanted you as soon as I saw you. Hell, I thought about you while I jerked off in the shower last night when I got back to my place.” Yeah—that was more information than he planned on sharing with her, but he couldn’t seem to filter his mouth when it came to everything he wanted to tell Nix.
She stared up at him; her eyes greedily roaming his body, making his skin feel like it was on fire. “You thought about me while you got off in the shower?” she asked. He nodded and slowly unbuttoned his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. He stood in front of her in just his boxers and Nix sat up to the edge of the bed, straddling his body between her thighs. Damion hissed out his breath when she reached out to rub her hands over his erection. God, if she kept that up, he’d be coming in his boxers like a fucking teenager.
“I want to taste you,” she whispered, looking up at him through her long lashes. Yeah—she was going to be the death of him and if that was the case, he was going to die a happy man.
“Nix,” he breathed. She didn’t wait for him to give his permission, pulling his boxers down his thighs to let his erection spring free. She wrapped her small hands around the base of his shaft, letting them slide up and down, and all he could do was let her have what she wanted. He felt completely powerless. That was how Nix made him feel since the moment he walked into that conference room, the day before, to find her sitting there waiting for him—powerless.
A small droplet of pre-cum beaded the head of his cock and she dipped her head to lick it clean. Her mouth felt so good; he needed more. He wanted to feel her warm lips around his shaft, sucking him in deep. “Nix,” he rasped. “I need your mouth around me,” he ordered. Damion stroked back a strand of her blond hair that had fallen into her eyes, so he could see her beautiful face as she wrapped her sexy lips around his cock.
“Yes,” he hissed, “just like that, Honey.” His voice sounded like he had gargled with broken glass. He was past the point of turned on and he knew that he’d be coming down her throat in no time.
Nix worked him in and out of her mouth taking him to the edge of sanity, and when she massaged his balls with her hands, he couldn’t stop his orgasm. “Nix,” he warned, trying to pull from her mouth. “I’m going to come.” The vixen wrapped her hands around his ass and held him in her mouth, working her tongue around the tip of his shaft. He spilled his seed in hot ropes down her pretty throat and when she finally finished, she licked him clean and let him pop from her swollen lips.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he rasped. Damion collapsed onto the bed next to her and She climbed on top of his sated body. He could feel the heat from her core and thought of all the wicked things he wanted to do to make her feel as good as she made him feel.
“Your turn, Baby,” he breathed, rolling her back to the mattress. He pinned her down with his body, kissing her swollen lips. “I’m going to take my time and make a meal of you, Nixon,” he promised. Her breathy little sighs and gasps filled the room as he worked his way down her body, paying special attention to her taut nipples. She seemed to like it a little rough. When he bit down on her nipple, she yelped and moaned, shamelessly rubbing her wet folds on his thigh.
“Damion,” she moaned, “please.” He liked the way she begged him. It made him feel wanted, desired, and powerful. He would give her just about anything she wanted, even if she didn’t know that yet.
“I’ll take good care of you, Nix,” he promised. He settled between her legs, spreading them over his shoulders, and looked up to find Nix watching him. He smiled up at her and ran his fingers through her drenched folds, loving the little whimper that escaped her parted lips.
Damion licked her sensitive nub into his mouth and she thrashed against him. He put his hand over her belly, pinning her down. “Hold still, Honey,” he ordered. He didn’t give her time to obey, licking through her folds again. Damion reached up and grabbed a handful of her ample breasts and she moaned. And when he slipped two fingers into her core, she went off like a firecracker. Nix shouted out his name and it sounded like music to his ears. All he wanted to do was claim her, sink balls deep into her body, and make her his.
He stood and pulled her limp body to the edge of the mattress and sunk into her, causing them both to moan. She felt so fucking good, so tight around his cock from her last orgasm. “This is going to be fast and hard, Honey. You good with that?” he asked.
“Yes, Damion,” she moaned. “Make me yours, please.” He wanted to tell her that she already belonged to him. He wasn’t going to let her go—ever, but he thought that he’d wait to share that bit of information with her.
Damion pumped in and out of her body, setting a furious pace. Nix wrapped her legs around him, hooking her feet behind his ass, giving him everything she had. She met him thrust for thrust and when she cried out his name again, he lost himself inside of her, pumping his seed into her body. She was his, whether she knew it or not and there would be no letting her go now. Nixon Lust belonged to him.
They had spent the better part of a week together and the only time Damion ever left Nixon’s side was when he went to work. He hated leaving her locked in his house, alone for the whole day, but he had no choice in the matter. He worked from home as much as possible but then had to go into the office for meetings. When he went into the office, he had two armed guards at his place, hiding in plain sight. He’d never tell Nix that because she’d most likely balk at the idea and insist that she was capable of taking care of herself. Having the guards there was for his benefit, mostly. When he went into the office, he knew that his girl was covered, and he could concentrate on business.
Most of their clients expected both him and Finn to be present, representing their company, and he couldn’t blame them. Clients wanted to see that the Pride and Envy families were indeed working together and that their money was going to good use. They had financial backers and letting any of them down wasn’t an option if they wanted to build a Syndicate strong enough to stand up to the Gluttony family.
Nix had gone into work with him a few times, insisting that they bring Oak along. His puppy had bonded with his girl and he had to admit that it was pretty damn cute. She had become quite an asset to have around the office. She knew her way around big business, having worked for Rock, and he had an idea, but it would need Finn’s approval.
He found his best friend sitting in his office, his head down on his desk, and Damion knew that he was having the same shit day as him. They were understaffed and overworked and his idea would help solve most of their problems. “Well, don’t you look chipper this morning,” Damion teased. Finn glared up at him, letting him know that he was in no mood for his jokes.
“I can’t keep working these hours,” Finn grumbled. “I have no social life anymore. I’ve only been out three times this week and it’s Thursday.” Damion laughed at his overly dramatic friend. Finn loved going out and did so most nights. He liked going to clubs,
finding a man, woman, or sometimes both, and taking them back to his place.
“While I’m finding it hard to feel bad for you, buddy, I think I can help. I might have a solution,” Damion said.
“Thank fuck,” Finn growled. “Let’s hear it.”
“We can hire Nixon,” Damion said. Finn opened his mouth and Damion worried that he was going to protest his idea—or worse, turn him down flat. “Before you say no,” he said, holding up his hands, “hear me out.” Finn nodded and sat back in his seat. “She knows what she’s doing. Hell, she was Rock’s right-hand woman. If anyone can help us out around here, it’s her.”
“Do it,” Finn said. Damion looked at him, stunned that he had agreed so quickly and easily. He was ready to give him more of a fight, but now, he didn’t have to.
“I had more points to run through, but I guess they aren’t necessary,” Damion mumbled.
“Nope,” Finn agreed. “You’re right. We need help around here and Nix would be a perfect fit. Hell, at some point, we might even make her a partner. I mean, she and her brother are both backing us and the Lust name will only strengthen our Syndicate. But, we can make that call later. Bring her on.” Damion nodded. He hadn’t believed that Finn would be so easily convinced about bringing Nix on. He loved the idea of making her a partner eventually since that was what Damion planned on doing in his personal life with her. He wanted forever with her but all of these steps needed to be done in a process that wouldn’t have Nix running for the hills. She was still getting used to the two of them together, now, he was going to ask her to work for them. He just hoped that it wasn’t all too much for her.
“I’ll call her now,” Damion said. “Thanks, man.” He left Finn’s office and pulled his cell from his jacket pocket, and dialed Nix’s number.
“Hey,” she breathed into the other end of the call. “What’s up?”
“Not much,” he lied. “Finn and I were just talking about you.”
“About me?” she asked.
“Yes,” he breathed. “Just hear me out, Nix.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound like a good start to our conversation, Damion,” she teased.
“Come to work for us,” he said. He sounded like he was giving her an order, rather than asking her.
“Work for you?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Finn and I are desperate for the help and well, you are the best fit for our company. You know the Syndicate and well, we are partnering with you and Carter. Why not come work for us too?” She didn’t answer and Damion worried that her answer would be an automatic “no”. “Listen, don’t answer now. Think about it and give me your answer tomorrow. We could use you around here, though, Nix,” he said.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “Thank you, Damion.”
“I’ll be home in a few hours,” he said. “I have one more meeting. You want me to pick up some dinner on my way home?” he asked.
“Nope,” she said. “I cooked.” He made a face, knowing she wouldn’t be able to see it. Nix had cooked a few times for him over the past week, and it wasn’t her strong suit.
“Did you just make a face?” she asked. How the hell would she know that?
“No,” he lied. Nix giggled into the phone.
“See you in a few hours,” she said, ending the call. Damion couldn’t seem to stop smiling. What was it about this woman that had him so amped up that he couldn’t wait to go home for the day—even with the threat of her cooking hanging over his head, he was anxious to get home to her. The only explanation he could come up with was that he was falling for her and why that didn’t scare the shit out of him was a mystery, but it didn’t.
Nixon
Nix drove down to Damion’s office and she knew that she was going to have to give him an answer. He wasn’t going to let her dodge him for much longer. It had been almost a week since he had asked her to work for him, and that wasn’t quite the proposal she was hoping for from him. She worried that he and Finn were hiring her because they pitied her. Rock fired her right in front of them and she didn’t want their job if they offered it to her out of a false sense of obligation. She wanted the job, that much she knew. She liked the idea of joining their three families in the Syndicate and through business, but she wanted more. She wanted Damion to be her forever and he wasn’t offering her that.
Nix wasn’t sure what she expected from him. They had been living together over the past two weeks and she had to admit, she was kind of hoping that he was going to ask her to move in on a more permanent basis. Sure, it was probably too soon for her to be thinking like that, but it was how she felt.
She got out of her car and took Damion and Finn’s private elevator up to their offices. Nix checked her text messages for what felt like the millionth time today. She was hoping that her brother would have checked in by now, but he hadn’t. In fact, she hadn’t heard from Carter since the first night he left town. He had called to say that he was safely at his destination, but then he went radio silent. As soon as she stepped from the elevator, she was faced by two alpha men hovering, waiting for her.
“What’s going on guys?” she breathed.
“We need to talk,” Finn said. She couldn’t help her giggle as she looked between the two of them.
“Isn’t that what Damion is supposed to say to me?” she asked.
“Why would I say that to you?” Damion asked. The confusion on his face was pretty damn cute and she crossed the small space between them and wrapped her arms around his middle.
“You know, when you break up with someone, you say that you need to talk. It’s code for, ‘I want to break up with you.’ Please tell me you knew that” she said.
“I did know that,” he said. “But, we’re not breaking up, Honey. Ever,” he whispered into her ear.
“So, why do the two of you seem to be all doom and gloom right now? What is it that we need to talk about?” she asked.
“The Gluttony family has Carter,” Finn said. “I’m so sorry, Nixon.” She heard his words but it was almost as if they didn’t register. Her brother said that he had a business meeting to reinstate the Lust family into the Syndicate. Her brother wouldn’t be stupid enough to go to the Gluttony family on his own, would he? If he did; if he told them who he was, they’d murder him without asking any questions.
“Wait—how can they have my brother?” she asked. “He said that he had a business meeting out of town.”
“Apparently, the meeting was with the Gluttony Syndicate,” Damion said.
“What a fucking idiot,” Nixon breathed.
“Yeah—that’s what we thought too. I’d love to know what he was thinking,” Finn said.
“Well, how do we get him back?” she asked. “Have they told us what they want for him?”
“Yes,” Damion said. “And, you’re not going to like their demands.”
“Demand,” Finn corrected. “There was only one demand.”
“What was it? I’ll do whatever they want, I just want my brother back,” she said. Nix hadn’t realized that she was crying until she felt the warm tears spilling down her face.
“It’s a pretty big ask, Nix. Gluttony wants you to marry his son—Bruno,” Finn said.
“What the fuck?” she almost shouted.
“That is exactly how we feel about all of this. There is no way that you’re going to marry that jackass,” Damion said. “I know that you want to help your brother, but there is no way in hell that you’re marrying Bruno Gluttony.”
“Thank you for that,” she said. “But, what other option do I have? Why would he want to marry me anyway?”
“For one—look at you, Baby,” Damion said. She giggled and rolled her eyes at him. “They want to merge the Lust and Gluttony family and they figure you’ll make a better wife than Carter will. I quite agree, by the way. Plus, you’re a lot prettier than him too.”
“While I appreciate you saying that,” she said, “how will we get my brother back if I don’t agree to their terms?�
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“We’re working on all of that,” Finn said.
“In the meantime, you’re going to need to marry me.” She gasped and took a step back from Damion. He wanted her to marry him?
“Well, two marriage proposals in one day—that's a record for me,” she teased.
“How many proposals have you had, Nixon?” Damion asked.
“Counting the two this morning?” she asked. Damion nodded and she put her finger to her bottom lip, tapping it as if she was thinking. “Three. I’m not sure which proposal is more romantic. I mean, on the one hand, a mobster’s son wants to marry me to link our families. And, on the other hand, your proposal was so romantic, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to say no.”
“You shouldn’t say no to his proposal, Nix,” Finn said. “It’s the only way to keep you safe. If you’re already married, you won’t be able to marry Bruno Gluttony.”
“I get it—we can head them off at the pass and all that cowboy shit you two seem to enjoy, but this is my life. I won’t marry someone just because I’ve been ordered to, forced, or even simply asked—not if I don’t want to.”
“Okay,” Damion breathed. “Well, I hope that you and Bruno will be very happy together. Please let Finn and I know where the two of you register so that we can send you a wedding gift.” Damion walked down the hallway to his office and all she could do was watch him go. How could either of them be serious about her marrying Damion Pride or Bruno Gluttony? Nix wasn’t sure what denying both of them would mean to her brother’s survival, but she couldn’t give up her life for her brother’s freedom, could she?
“He only wants to help you, Nixon. The Gluttony’s mean business,” Finn said.
She turned to face him, “You don’t think I know what the Gluttony Syndicate is capable of?” she asked. “They killed my parents and if I don’t get Carter out of this mess, they’ll kill him too.”
