by Zoey Parker
A little perturbed, I walked toward my room, unbuttoning the first couple of buttons of my shirt as I strolled. I pushed opened the door to find Kelly sitting on my bed.
I stilled in the doorway. She had never been in my bedroom before. I had always come to her. Did I like this change in the routine? Maybe…if not for the dour expression on her face. I quickly glanced at my watch. It wasn’t a super late hour that she would rather be sleeping in bed than sleeping with me, so that couldn’t be it. Had she had a second thought about the position? That wouldn’t do well for me. We were only a few weeks in, but so far, it seemed like she wasn’t pregnant yet. If I had to find someone else and start all over, I’d be more than just a little annoyed. I’d arranged for the nurse for her mother and everything, and besides, I enjoyed Kelly. She was very talented in the bedroom, and she was more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure I was happy. And more than that, she seemed to genuinely want me to be happy. It wasn’t just that she felt like she had to for the sake of being paid. And I enjoyed making her happy in bed, too. When she orgasmed, it made my own that much more satisfying.
But something clearly wasn’t right.
I cleared my throat. “What’s wrong?” I asked, remaining by the door, feeling for some reason that I should keep some distance between us as we spoke. Had something happened?
“Earlier today…” she said, trailing off. She was staring at me in a way she hadn’t ever. Like she was mad at me.
“What happened?” I demanded.
“Earlier today, a man accosted me.” She narrowed her eyes, her hands fists on her lap.
“What did he say?” I growled, my own hands curling into tight fists. “What did he want? What did he look like?”
“He said, and I quote, ‘You need to tell your boyfriend to watch his back, or we’ll come for you.’”
“Fuck,” I muttered. I wanted to rub my chin, to grit my teeth, to react, but I knew that would be a sign of weakness, and that was the last thing Kelly needed to see right now. What the hell was she thinking after being threatened like that? But as pissed as I was that she had been accosted, I was even more furious for another reason. “Why the hell did you leave my house?” I demanded. She should’ve known better. Nothing like this would have ever happened if she stayed where she was supposed to: in the bedroom, waiting for me.
How could my butler or her guard allow her to leave like that? Heads would roll for this!
She scowled at me, her eyes narrowing, lips pursed. Even furious, she remained pretty, and something inside of me grew uncomfortably tight. “I received a phone call from your nurse,” she said slowly, haltingly.
I pulled up short.
“My mom…she had a fall. She’s in the hospital.” Kelly glanced away and started to cry.
Oh. My heart ached for her. What would it feel like to know your mother was sick? To do everything in your power to try to give her the best care all the while knowing it might not be enough to save her? My mother died before I could experience anything of the sort. Kelly clearly loved her mother, so much so she was willing to rent out her uterus. I knew now I had definitely made the right choice in having her be the one to have my child with, but it also made me slightly fearful, too. Would she be willing to give up the child when the time came if family meant this much to her?
Despite myself, I could feel myself softening to her. I wanted to take her into my arms, to kiss away her tears, to whisper promises that she would always be safe, that I would never let anyone harm her, that her mother would be looked after by the best doctors money could buy. I wanted to comfort her.
But I stopped myself. I dialed it back. I wasn’t here for emotions. I couldn’t get emotionally involved with Kelly. She was just a uterus. Nothing more.
Right?
But listening to her cry tore at me, so I did pull her into my arms after all, but instead of kissing away her tears, I kissed her full on the lips, hoping to distract her.
For a moment, she didn’t respond, so I pulled back. I didn’t want to force myself on her. I would never do that. But then she initiated another kiss, one that had my cock stirring. I knew this time wasn’t about me. It was purely for her, for distraction, for her to maybe do something life-affirming, to continue living while her mother fought against the claws of death. And I would give that to her. I would let her lead for once. I would grant her this small kindness.
She slowly — way too slowly — undressed me and then herself, but even after we were naked, she took her time, with lots of kisses and caressing. I wanted to take charge, to dominate her, but I held back, letting her dictate the pace. Gradually, she seemed to recognize that I was following her lead, and then she smiled, and that smile was definitely sly.
That smile sent a jolt right to my throbbing cock. Man, this was fucking hot.
Still smiling, she pulled me close for a deep, long kiss, and I almost rubbed myself against her. Her fingers gripped my hair, and she pushed me down. I managed to suck one of her nipples for a second before she pushed me down farther. The lower I went, the wider her smile grew, and she lay down on the bed. It wasn’t hard to figure out what she wanted, and I went to town. Kelly was so wet, so fucking wet, and I lapped it up. Her moans were the loudest they had ever been, but not once had she screamed out my name while we fucked, and I found myself trying harder, wanting that validation for whatever reason.
One time, at least one time, she would scream out my name while orgasming. Other women had in the past, but I hadn’t wanted them to, not as badly as I wanted Kelly to. I didn’t want to think too much about why that was. I only wanted to give of myself, to give her pleasure. Watching her draw closer and closer to her climax made me that much harder, and I knew that as giving as I was being, it was also selfish, too, because giving her pleasure gave me pleasure, as well.
Her squirms became more and more frantic each time my tongue flicked against her clit in between licking up her juices, so I changed tactics and lavished her clit with more attention from my tongue and lips and shoved a finger then two more inside of her. Her walls clenched tightly, and she came almost instantly.
“Did you like that?” I asked, pulling away slightly but still fucking her with my fingers.
She nodded meekly, eyes closed. Her forehead was covered with sweat, some hair sticking to her cheeks. That combined with the fresh pink glow of sex made her gorgeous. “Yes,” she murmured, opening her eyes, her expression a little dazed. “Oh, yes, I liked that.”
I smirked, feeling invincible. “What’s next?”
Her eyes widened, and she grinned. Fuck, I loved it when she grinned. “I think I have an idea…”
She sat up and got onto her knees, and I allowed her to lay me down on the bed. I normally wasn’t a fan of girl on top — probably because of my control issues — but I gritted my teeth and vowed to bear it. This was about her. Not me. Not us. What would it be like to have a go around that was for us both mutually? For us to both be leading and sharing our deepest secrets, to give into our basic desires, to let loose, have no worries?
I had never had all that I needed from a woman before. I liked to push the limits. I liked to take things almost too far. Would she be the first woman I would feel comfortable letting her in?
Only time would tell, but that would be a matter for another day.
Kelly didn’t mount me right away. Instead, she pinned my hands above my head and kissed my eyelids, my nose, my cheeks, my lips. She sucked along my neck and nibbled on my nipples. She licked the ridges of my abs and then the length of my cock. Her hot breath caused my cock to twitch, and she giggled.
I leaned forward slightly to be able to watch this woman destroy me. Her having her way with my body and expecting me to just lay here and take it was amazing. It was fucking unreal. But I needed more. I willed her to open her lips, and she did. I desperately wanted her to put me in her mouth.
She licked her lips and maneuvered herself to plunge down straight on my cock. What a tease and yet
this was so much better. Her walls massaged me, and she rolled her hips up and down, her head back, her tits bouncing, and just watching her enjoy herself was almost enough for me to lose control. I couldn’t sit back and do nothing anymore, not while watching her tits move like that. I reached up and palmed her breasts. Kelly glanced down at me before slamming down hard and throwing her head back again. She was moaning loudly, and I was moaning myself. God, this felt un-fucking-believable.
And then she did something unexpected.
She reached behind her and tickled my balls, and that was all it took. The forcefulness of my orgasm left me gasping for air, and the way she kept on going, riding up and down, her walls squeezing every drop of cum out of me as she orgasmed, too…damn it all if that wasn’t pretty close to perfection.
Kelly collapsed on top of me. I wasn’t much for cuddling, but I still wrapped an arm around her, tracing lazy circles on her soft skin. To say I was relaxed would be an understatement, and she sure seemed distracted. Mission accomplished.
She lifted her head and stared at me, her eyes shining. “That was…”
“What?” I asked as I brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. She always looked her best in the moments right after we finished.
“Our fifth time this week, wasn’t it?” she asked.
I slowly dropped my hand. “Yes…” I said, drawing out the word. So she was keeping track of our romps. I had enjoyed them so much that I hoped she wouldn’t mind if we ever did do more than four times in a week. She certainly seemed to enjoy them, as well. I sometimes forgot that the purpose of them wasn’t pleasure but to get her pregnant.
“But this time hadn’t been about making a baby, had it?” she murmured, staring at me intently. “It had been for me. Wasn’t it?”
Fuck, she could read me. That wasn’t good.
I just lay there, not saying anything, but my silence had to be confirmation enough.
She settled back down on my chest, and I resumed tracing patterns on her skin. We were sticky, and my room was hot, but I didn’t mind. I was oddly comfortable.
All too soon, though, she sat back up again. “Do you know anything about the man who threatened me?” she asked. “I tried to get a good look at him, but there isn’t a whole lot to go on. He was wearing—”
“I don’t know why someone would threaten you,” I said smoothly, trying to get her to lie back down on me, “and I’m sorry that happened to you. If you would stay here, you won’t ever have to worry about that happening again.”
Her eyes clouded over, and she shifted away from me, though we were still touching. “You would have expected me to stay here, to do nothing, when I found out my mom was in the hospital?”
Way for her to kill the afterglow. “I would expect you to not leave without your bodyguard.”
“Ah, yes, my bodyguard. Because that’s normal.” She snorted and pulled away completely, disentangling her limbs from mine. Her back to me, she started to get dressed. Even her movements showed how upset she was, all jerky and forceful.
“Our agreement is so normal,” I tossed back. I thought about sitting up but opted not to. My bed was too comfortable, and maybe I would seem less threatening if I stayed reclined. I could be an intimidating man, but one person I didn’t want to intimidate was her. “You will be safe within these walls. That I can promise you. If you leave without a bodyguard, then I can’t guarantee your protection, but that would be on you, not me.”
“Right,” she muttered, shaking her head, her back still to me. “Should’ve known…”
“Should’ve known what?” I asked.
“Should’ve known you wouldn’t want me to know more about you than is absolutely necessary.” She finished dressing.
“Damn straight.” I crossed my arms, muscles flexing. “That’s not in the contract, and it’s not up for debate.”
Now dressed, she stood, turned around, and stared at me, her grimace tearing me apart. She inhaled deeply, and her face turned curiously blank. Kelly nodded. “Understood,” she said stiffly. Like a robot, she marched out the door and slammed it shut behind her.
Well, that hadn’t gone well at all, but I wasn’t about to tell her everything. It wasn’t her place to know every little thing about me, and the more she knew, the more danger she would be in. I couldn’t — and didn’t — blame her for wanting to visit her mother, but she needed to be smart about it.
In my world, only the smartest and the most cunning survived. I had every intention of being the smarter and more cunning of the two between myself and Mikhail Vasilev. Looked like I would have to be even more so if I also wanted to ensure Kelly survived, as well, despite her too-caring heart.
Damn it all. How had Vasilev found out about her already? And to threaten her after leaving the hospital from visiting her sick mother was especially cruel.
The sooner I have my revenge, the better for everyone’s sake.
Chapter 17 Kelly
What the hell? Andrei had been so kind and tender and almost loving when we had sex. It hadn’t been fucking this time. It had been so much more. And it had been just what I needed. It made me feel alive again after the taint of death that always seemed to hover over me with Mom. It made me forget about my grief and my guilt and my worry. It burned me with life, even gave me hope.
And afterward, I knew bringing up the guy might set Andrei off, but I had every right to know. I had been the one threatened. I was the one being tailed. And it was because of him. He was the reason why I was in danger. That the guy had approached me outside of the hospital my mom was currently getting treated at only made things that much more terrible for me. What if he went after my mom to get to me in order to get to Andrei? This was making my head spin. My chest ached. Fear and anger brewed inside of me, generated at myself, Andrei, the guy, and the guy’s boss — he had said we after all.
I shouldn’t have been blinded by the dollar signs, should’ve never agreed to this. I certainly shouldn’t have had sex with him again today when it had been more times than the contract stipulated. I had been desperate, and I would be just as desperate now if I backed out and had to repay him the money I had already spent, but was it worth it to stick around and fulfill my obligation? I should’ve done more research. I should’ve demanded more information up front. I should’ve done a hundred things differently.
How could he act like he had a right to keep me closed off from the details that were pertinent to the whole threat? He hadn’t acted surprised at all, only furious. But it hadn’t been unexpected. And that, in turn, only fueled my fury. What the hell kind of a twisted mess had Andrei ensnared me in? I had signed the contract, but he hadn’t disclosed all relevant details. Wouldn’t that be enough to get me out of the contract legally?
I should’ve walked away the moment I suspected he was a mob boss. That a mob boss was paying two million to have a baby should’ve been another red flag. He wanted a kid as soon as possible for some reason.
A reason that was becoming slightly clearer.
Because someone was after him. Someone was threatening him, too. And now they were threatening me to get to him. Too bad they didn’t realize I wasn’t a girlfriend. I was just a uterus. And since Andrei had this bull’s eye on his back, and now that there was one on me, for that matter, how could I possibly give a child to him? The child would be in danger from day one! And to grow up under the guidance of a mob boss…it would be irresponsible of me to give him a child.
I had made a huge mistake in signing that contract. But what the hell was I going to do about it? The last thing I wanted was to piss off a mob boss. If Andrei turned on me, what would happen then? I had no illusions that I meant anything to him, this last bit of mind-blowing sex notwithstanding. Sure, it had been more intimate, and he had given himself to me, but he didn’t care about me as a person. Maybe he couldn’t care about anyone period.
So I couldn’t back out. Or at least not yet. If only I could find another well-paying job before I got pregna
nt. But what there the chances of that? I had tried to find a second job before I got canned, and there hadn’t been any jobs available other than Andrei’s offer.
I was screwed. In more ways than one.
***
The next day, I waited until Andrei left and decided it was well past time to do some snooping in this huge house. I had seen a few of the rooms, but now I wanted to see the ones off limits to me, the ones the servants had turned me away from on more than one occasion when I had just been walking around the place, not even trying to be nosy.
Lucas, my bodyguard, was busy on the phone, so I ducked down the hall and around the corner out of his field of vision. I had a feeling Lucas was going to hear about it from Andrei, and I sure hoped he wasn’t fired over my leaving the house. I wasn’t a child. I didn’t need to be babysat. And if I wanted to leave the house, I was going to leave the house. This place wasn’t my prison. I’d always thought it strange that Andrei had Lucas assigned to me as my bodyguard. Well, now I knew why.
