After Tomorrow (Kingsley series Book 2)

by Haylee Thorne

  “Wait, did you say that his father was named Jasper?”

  River nods.

  “I am not sure if he picked that name because it has some kind of significance to him, but it could also be a coincidence.”

  “I don’t think it was a coincidence. I think he used that name on purpose. Can we find out more about the father?”

  “Sure, I’ll look into him some more. Are you okay?”

  I’m about to answer when Mika’s ringtone plays loudly. I look down to see a message from him.

  Mika – Don’t forget about the charity dinner we are attending tonight. I think Mikaela has laid out a dress for you. Xoxo

  Crap.

  I did totally forget about the dinner, and I really want to stay here and find out more. But I guess it can wait. I explain to River that I have to leave but that I will check in over the next couple of days. I work tomorrow, so it’ll probably be the day after that. After I explain when to take out the lasagna and when to put in the garlic bread I’ve already prepared, I hug my brother and tell him goodbye. When I open the front door, Clark and another guy I don’t know are standing there. The new guy has a buzz cut, and I immediately note the large scar on the left side of his face. I avert my eyes, not wanting him to see that I noticed. They look like they have not moved an inch, but they must have changed shifts because this guy is new.

  “Hey Clark,” I say with a friendly smile.

  “Hello, Ms. Ray,” he answers stiffly. “Are you ready to go?”

  I smile. This man is always professional.

  “Yes, I am.”

  He nods his head once.

  “Perfect. Everything is ready,” he says, gesturing for me to follow the man before me.

  When we arrive downstairs and exit the building, another man falls into step. He is skinny and tall, and his brown hair is slicked back with just a little too much product. He’s dressed like Clark and the new guy, and the men barely acknowledge the new presence, so I think it is safe to assume that he is part of the team. A very large SUV with tinted windows pulls onto the curb, and Clark steps forward to open the passenger door for me.

  “Ms. Ray.”

  I climb into the vehicle, which can easily sit eight people comfortably. When I look behind me, there are a man and a woman sitting in the back seats. The woman is blonde and has her hair in a tight bun, and she’s wearing black dress pants and a crisp white button-up shirt. The man beside her has no hair at all, and although he’s sitting down, I can tell that he is very large. He’s bulky and tall, even sitting down, and his size is impressive.

  “Hello,” I mutter.

  The strange pair in the back simply nod at me in greeting.

  The man that accompanied Clark upstairs climbs in next, while the other that had fallen into step with us climbs in the front seat next to the driver. Clark climbs in last, and when he slides the door shut behind him, he takes a seat in the row behind me next to the man with a scar. We start driving the second he puts his seat buckle into place. I look around the vehicle, utterly perplexed. Including the driver, there are six security people accompanying me at the moment.

  What. The. Hell?

  I am less than amused when we pull into the garage at Mika’s apartment building. He must have lost his damn mind. We agreed on subtle. We agreed to let Clark and maybe one more person accompany me. We did not agree to a small army. The entire ride over here has been in complete silence, but my inner monologue has been spewing profanities geared toward Mika. I am still fuming when I am led to the elevator, the security team around me in formation. This is ridiculous. I am a total nobody. Why in the world do I need a security team? I have barely finished the thought when it occurs to me that this sudden increase in security indicates something has happened. A plethora of ‘what if?’ scenarios start to run through my brain. By the time I step into the elevator, I am almost in full-blown panic mode. Only Clark accompanies me into the cart. The seconds go by so slowly, they feel like minutes—dreadfully long minutes. When the doors finally slide open, Mika is standing there waiting for me.

  “Hello there, beautiful. How was your day?”

  The second I hear his voice, the panic starts to subside, and when our eyes meet, it gets pushed into the background. He steps closer, pulls me into his arms, and captures my mouth with his. I let him sweep me away for just a moment before I have to let the real world coming crash down on our little bubble. Too soon, I pull away.

  Looking into his eyes, I tell him, “We need to talk.” .

  “Uh oh. Those four little words instill fear in men everywhere.”

  I shake my head at Mika’s attempt to lighten the situation with a joke.

  “Would you like to tell me what is going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  I sigh.

  “Mika, let’s skip the whole part in which you pretend that you don’t know why I am annoyed with you.”

  “You really have me there because I wasn’t even aware that you were annoyed. Care to tell me exactly why you are annoyed with me, Sweet Pea?”

  “Do you care to tell me why I left this morning with a security team of three and returned with a team of six?”

  “Raeva, I have told you this before. I will not apologize for making sure that you are safe.”

  He can be so impossible sometimes.

  “This morning when I left you thought I was fine with three people, which in my opinion was overkill to begin with. So when you suddenly double the amount of people guarding me while I am spending time with my little brother, it leads me to conclude that something has happened. So, I ask you again, what is going on?”

  Mika leans in and kisses the tip of my nose.

  “Come,” he says, holding out a hand for me.

  I take it and follow him into the living room. He guides me to a sitting position when we reach the couch and takes a seat next to me.

  “Yesterday afternoon I started getting messages on my work computer from an unknown source. Messages that should not even be able to get to my computer. I have the latest software to protect my computer and its files. I immediately got IT on it, and they put up more walls and started to trace the messages. They didn’t find the people responsible, but the messages stopped for a bit...until this afternoon. Then more messages throughout the rest of the day implying my security isn’t up to snuff, challenging me to beef up the security at my company and at home. At first I thought it was just someone messing with me, but I am not taking any risks. I am not about to let anyone hurt you or Mikaela ever again.

  “We can see if River can help, maybe? He knows a lot about computers. I can ask him, if you’d like.”

  Mika mutters a noncommittal answer, and selfishly I decide that since River is busy trying to help me right now, I don’t push the issue.

  “Maybe in the future you can discuss these kind of changes with me before you implement them?”

  Mika pulls me closer until I’m snuggled up against him. I inhale his scent, and my body voluntarily melts into him. I love the way he smells.

  “I think that I can agree to do that.”

  “Don’t just tell me that to appease me. Promise me, Mika.”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  “You were a boy scout?”

  Mika chuckles.

  “Hardly.”

  “I don’t think you’re allowed to use the phrase then,” I reply, unable to hide my amusement.

  “Says who?”

  “Says the Boy Scouts.”

  “What they don’t know can’t hurt them.”

  “I am not sure I can get behind that statement.”

  Mika turns me on my back and holds my arms above my head. He hovers above me, his eyes boring into mine.

  “I bet I can change your mind.”

  I’m smiling so big, my face hurts.

  “You can certainly try, Mr. Kingsley. I actually have some ideas on how you might do that,” I tease.

  “What do you have in mind, Sweet Pea?”
/>   “Very filthy things, Mr. Kingsley,” I purr.

  “Oh Ms. Ray, I can certainly get on board with that.”

  Mika leans in and trails kisses from my ear to my neck, sending shivers down my spine. His hand finds its way under my shirt, caressing his way from my belly to the heavy globe of my breast. A soft moan falls from my lips.

  “Tell me more,” he mutters against my neck.

  I roll my hips up, shamelessly grinding my needy core against him.

  “I was always better at show than I was at tell,” I croon.

  I feel his hard length straining in the confines of his pants, and lord knows it only makes me hungry for more.

  “Are you wet for me, Sweet Pea?”

  “Maybe. Why don’t you find out for yourself?” I challenge him.

  I should know better than to present Mika Kingsley with a challenge. In the blink of an eye he’s on his feet, and I’m dangling upside down. Mika has thrown me over his shoulder. With huge strides, he heads into the bedroom and deposits me onto the large king-sized bed. Before I can blink, he’s peeling my jeans off of me. He makes short work of his mission to rid me of my clothing. Mika loosens his tie, not taking his eyes off me once, before pulling it from his neck and placing it at the foot of the bed. I bite my lip as I watch him shrug out of his suit jacket and slowly—way too slowly for my liking—undo the buttons of his shirt. Mika flashes me that wicked grin of his as he unbuckles his belt and pulls it from the loops.

  “Hold out your hands,” he demands.

  I blink.

  “Now.”

  I oblige.

  “Lace your fingers together,” he instructs.

  I do as he asks, and he wraps the belt around my wrists. He tugs on it, and his lips curl.

  “Arms above your head, Sweet Pea.”

  I submit to his demand, lifting my arms above my head without question.

  He fastens the belt at the head of the bed, pulling at it to make sure it’s secure.

  “Don’t move,” he says with a smirk.

  Even if I could move, I can guarantee that I’m not going anywhere. Mika gets off the bed and goes into the bathroom. He walks out less than a minute later, gloriously naked and carrying a small bottle. When he gets closer, I can see that it’s a scented oil. The bed dips as he climbs on it, and my pulse reacts to his nearness. Mika reaches for the tie at the foot of the bed and crawls toward me.

  “Close your eyes.”

  Once more, I obey without question. He fastens the tie around my head, covering my eyes. For what seems to be forever nothing happens, so when he starts to drip oil on my breasts, I arch off the bed. Now that he’s taken away one of my senses, every other one seems to compensate. I am entranced by the scent of jasmine that caresses my nostrils with every breath I take. I can clearly hear my heart thumping against my chest and can clearly hear him suck in a breath as my body responds to his hands exploring my now greased up skin. As his fingers slide smoothly across every inch of me, it feels as if every nerve ending is tingling with excitement. When he has rubbed and caressed every inch of my front side, he flips me over and repeats his actions on the other side. Every touch is strategic, always brushing against my sex or my breasts. And it has the desired effect; I am dripping and needy for him. I am damn near close to begging here. When he softly blows against my core, I am almost ready to combust on the spot.

  “Mika,” I gasp. “Please.”

  I’m flipped over onto my back, my legs thrown over his shoulder. He slides a finger through my folds.

  “So wet for me. Always so fucking wet for me,” he says approvingly.

  He has barely finished that sentence before his mouth is on me, hungrily licking and nipping at my most intimate part. He presses his face into my core as he thrusts his tongue inside of me, and I moan loudly. I feel him smile against me, and knowing that he is enjoying this intimate act only makes me wetter for him. His clever mouth has found that little bundle of nerves, and I scream out his name. He doesn’t let up and slides two fingers into my throbbing opening.

  “Oh God.”

  He pumps into me relentlessly while his mouth never loses focus on its task, and I can feel my orgasm building from the tips of my toes.

  “Oh God, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

  Mika doesn’t stop. Instead he increases the pace, pumping into me faster and faster. He swirls his tongue around my clit and sucks hard, catapulting me into the throes of epic ecstasy. His name falls from my lips repeatedly, like a mantra or a prayer. He doesn’t stop until the last wave pulses through my body. He tugs on the tie, and it falls onto the bed. His beautiful blue eyes are blazing.

  “That is the most stunning sight in the world, Sweet Pea. I can’t think of anything more beautiful than the look on your face when you come for me.”

  While just mere seconds ago I would have sworn to you that I was spent, right now I need him inside me more than I need to take my next breath. Our eyes meet, and I’m not sure where this boldness I am feeling is coming from, but I am taking full advantage.

  “Baby, if you’re not inside of me in the next few seconds, I think I might die.”

  Surprise flashes in his eyes for a split second. I know that he isn’t used to me being so brazen, especially without being prompted. The smirk that follows tells me that he definitely likes to hear me tell him how much I want him.

  “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?” he nearly growls as he positions himself at my opening.

  The guttural sound he makes as he sinks into me nearly undoes me on the spot. He fills me up so I’m impossibly full, and when he has gone as far as he can go, he waits a beat, letting me adjust to his impressive size. His mouth covers mine, and while he has stilled inside of me, his tongue is taking over and skillfully invading my mouth. I can taste myself as his tongue dances with mine. He pulls back short moments later, and our eyes meet once more. His gaze bores into mine as he begins to move his hips, thrusting into me with deep, long strokes at first while never once breaking eye contact.

  “Nothing feels as good as when you touch the deepest part of me,” I tell him.

  He rewards me by grabbing my hips, pushing in harder, and changing the angle so it feels even deeper. Every time he pulls out, he seems to touch every nerve ending inside my walls. I nearly scream.

  “You have ruined me, Mika. There will never be anyone else but you,” I manage to choke out.

  That undoes him. He starts to thrust in earnest now, taking no mercy as he pounds into me with wild abandon.

  “I’m so close baby…so...aaaaaah.”

  I come hard, and he continues to chase his own release, uttering my name loudly as he does. Mika collapses on the bed next to me. It takes a bit for both of us to catch our breaths. I’m still lying here with my hands tied above my head. Mika reaches above my head and releases me, but he immediately pulls me flush against him. He tangles our limbs together, and I wonder if he feels like I do, like even lying here skin to skin doesn’t feel close enough. His large arms envelop me, and I inhale his scent.

  “I love that you are becoming bolder,” he says against my temple. “It is incredibly sexy when you tell me what you want me to do to you.”

  My brazen mood has come and gone. I feel myself flush at his words, and I can’t seem to find the words to respond. I burry my face in his chest, and Mika chuckles.

  “You’re incredible, Raeva. I know for sure I have never done anything to deserve you, but you can be for damn sure that I will keep working to rectify that.”

  A yawn involuntarily escapes me.

  “I’m sorry,” I mutter, embarrassed.

  Mika smiles and releases me just long enough to jump out of bed. He pulls me toward him and lifts me into his arms.

  “Whoa, what are you doing?” I ask with wide eyes.

  “I’m going to hose you down so we can get ready to go, someone caused us to be late already,” he says with a chuckle as he carries me into the bathroom.

  “I am per
fectly capable of taking a shower by myself, you know,” I challenge him.

  “I am quite sure you can, Sweet Pea, but where’s the fun in that?”

  When I wake up it is still dark. I pick up my phone to check the time, only to notice a text from River, telling me to head to his place pronto. It is almost 6:00 a.m., and I hear Mika in the bathroom taking a shower. I jump out of bed, step into the enormous walk-in closet to grab some clothes, and reply that I will be over there as soon as I can. I wait for the shower to turn off and then head into the bathroom. Mika is standing in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth with his electric toothbrush. He is wearing nothing but a towel, and I try to ignore the uncontrollable heat that is rising between my legs. He looks so incredibly sexy right now, it’s hard not to admire the deliciously defined muscles of his body. Drops of water are dripping from the tips of his hair, and I watch the little pearls trail down his magnificently sculpted body. I am barely able to restrain myself from gaping. I don’t think I am walking because it feels like I am floating toward him, hypnotized like a moth to a flame. He hasn’t even noticed me yet, let alone touched me, but my pulse reacts. Just being near him, seeing him almost devoid of clothing, makes me feel…wanton. His gaze meets mine in the mirror, surprise flashing clearly in his beautiful blue windows to the soul. He spits into the sink and rinses his mouth out, not once taking his eyes off me.

  “Good morning, Sweet Pea,” he croons. “Are you liking what you are seeing?” he adds with a naughty smirk.

  He knows very well the effect he has on me, the bastard. Not one to let him win easily, I give him a smart aleck response.

  “Hmmm, it’s okay. I have definitely seen better.”

  “I’m sure you are craving me, almost as much as I am craving you,” he challenges.

  I shrug.

  “Not really,” I say, feigning disinterest. “Nope, I’m good.”

  He steps closer to me, and my heart rate accelerates even more. Our eyes remain locked as he turns his head slightly to the side. He’s clearly assessing me, like a lion assessing its prey. I take an involuntary step backward every time he takes a step closer toward me. He smirks when my back hits the door. In a flash, he closes the distance between us. He grabs an arm with one hand, pinning me against the door. With his other hand, he holds down my free arm above my head, effectively holding me in place.