by Maya Banks
Drake’s eyes were riveted to her now wide-open pussy; the soft, puffy pink lips beckoned his touch. He wanted to touch her everywhere, taste her, but there was plenty of time for that later. Right now his dick was about to burst at the seams at the thought of that deliciously tight clasp just waiting for him to push in.
The silky flesh glistened with moisture, making it shiny and so very inviting. She was wet. Very wet. But even so, it was going to be a difficult task to get inside her. He was going to have to take it slow or risk tearing her, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her pain.
There was pain that was pleasure and then there was pain. Never would he cause harm to her while satisfying his own selfish desires.
He moved in between her spread legs, grasping his thick erection with one hand. He rubbed the weeping head up and down her satiny opening to her clit and then back down again to tease her entrance.
She moaned desperately as her hips, though firmly in Manuel’s grasp, bucked upward as if trying to sheathe him herself. Finally he lodged the tip of his dick in her tiny hole and pressed forward with steady pressure. Her eyes flew open, wide with shock, hazy with desire. She found his gaze and he felt it like a jolt to his senses.
Her eyes said it all. Take me. I’m yours.
Hell yes, she was his.
With a groan he pushed all the way in, sweating and swearing as her body resisted his advance, tightening around him as if to push him out. The war of wills was fierce. Him against her natural defenses. He would win. Of course he would win. He’d have it no other way.
His jaw clenched tight, he withdrew the barest of inches and then slammed into her, seating himself to the balls. There was a chorus of moans and sighs, a mixture of reactions from Evangeline, Manuel and himself as the three struggled against the wicked edge of heady pain mixed with the sweetest of pleasures.
As soon as he was all the way in, the walls of her vagina fluttered around him, clenching, going even wetter with her impending orgasm.
“Come, Angel,” he murmured. “Come as many times as you want.”
With a startled cry, her body erupted around him, spasming, going slick and clutching desperately at his dick. He had to grit his teeth to keep from coming himself. Manuel groaned and cursed, his hands moving restlessly at Evangeline’s hips as he too fought for control.
Drake began fucking her hard. He moved with ruthless, powerful strokes, fucking her through one orgasm until he felt her stir and her body tighten as she began the fast climb to another.
“Jesus,” Manuel muttered.
She was wild between them, bucking, moving mindlessly, her head twisting back and forth as ecstasy overtook her. She no longer had any control over her body. It was Drake’s to command. Drake’s to take care of. And take care of her he would.
He drove her through another orgasm and then Manuel could no longer hold up under the enormous strain and he began bucking his hips up, powering into her from behind while Drake slammed into her from the front. Manuel collapsed onto the couch, still holding Evangeline up to Drake like a pagan sacrifice. He nuzzled his lips against her neck, pulling her damp hair away from the tender flesh so he could lavish more attention on it.
But Drake wasn’t finished.
“One more. Give me one more,” he commanded. “Come for me, Angel.”
“I can’t,” she gasped.
“Yes, you can.”
Despite her denial, he felt the ripple of her tissues and he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. But he was determined to give her ultimate pleasure first. So he slowed, forgoing the brutal pace he’d set, and began sliding into her with long, leisurely thrusts. Fuck, she felt good. Sweat beaded his brow and his features were a mask of strain, delicious torment licking from his balls to the tip of his dick.
“Drake!” she cried out, her hands fluttering in a helpless gesture as though she didn’t know what to do.
“Hold on to me, baby,” he said huskily. “Let’s go together. You and me. Come with me now.”
Her fingers dug into his shoulders, holding on frantically as he pushed himself inside her until his balls pressed against her ass. Once. Twice. On the third thrust, he was bathed in the hot surge of her sweet release and it triggered his own. He began pumping harder, filling her with his seed until it spilled from her cunt.
He thrust one last time and then locked them together, holding himself still as his cock twitched and pulsed, expelling what seemed like a gallon of semen into her pussy. She sagged, utterly spent, against Manuel’s chest, her eyelashes fluttering closed.
Transfixed by the sight, he kissed both her eyelids and then her nose and finally her mouth, resting against her as she lay sandwiched between the two of them. His chest rose and heaved, pressing her farther into Manuel, and no one spoke, unwilling to break the sensual fog that surrounded them.
“Wow,” she mumbled, her words slurring, her eyes only able to open partway. “I think y’all killed me but I can’t think of a better way to go. That was . . . amazing.”
Manuel nipped at her neck and Drake kissed her delectable mouth.
“Glad you enjoyed it, Angel, but I assure you, the honor was all ours. You gave us something very precious tonight and don’t think we don’t know it, or that we’ll forget it.”
“Never,” Manuel vowed in a somber voice. “You are a very special woman, Evangeline, and Drake is one lucky son of a bitch who better be glad he saw you and claimed you first or you’d be in my bed right now.”
Evangeline smiled crookedly, looking intoxicated, drunk on passion. She never reacted to Manuel’s statement, one that Drake knew to be absolutely sincere—Manuel wasn’t a man who said shit he didn’t mean—but instead she focused on Drake, her eyes warm and bright with love and affection. She reached out to cup his jaw, caressing his much rougher skin with baby-soft fingertips.
“Do I get a shower before we start all over again? I seem to recall a promise of having all night and by my math, we still have several hours left.”
16
Evangeline paced the living room floor in agitation. Tonight was the benefit at Carnegie Hall and, other than knowing what she was going to wear, she had no idea how to pull off hair and makeup. Drake had warned her about the media and that photographers would be everywhere, and the last thing she wanted was to embarrass Drake by looking like the gauche girl-just-off-the-farm that she was.
She picked up her cell phone and plucked up the courage to punch Silas’s contact. She nearly hung up the minute the call connected but she forced herself to put the phone to her ear and wait for him to answer.
“Evangeline?” he said on the second ring. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. No. I mean nothing’s wrong. It’s just . . .” She broke off with a sigh and sank onto the couch.
“Are you at the apartment?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said lamely.
“I’m only five minutes away. I’ll be right there.”
The call ended and the line went silent. Alrighty then. And that was the law according to Silas. He was going to think she was a flaming moron when he realized why she’d called him. She let out a groan of dismay and flopped back on the couch.
And that was where Silas found her exactly four minutes later when he strode into the apartment.
“What’s wrong?” he asked sharply, plopping down on the couch beside her.
“You’re going to think I’m an idiot,” she mumbled.
He stared expectantly at her, obviously waiting for her to expound.
She sighed again and sat up. “Tonight is the benefit Drake’s taking me to at Carnegie Hall.”
“Yeah, and?”
“I have a dress and shoes. But I need help with hair and makeup. I don’t want to embarrass Drake and make a fool out of myself,” she said, growing more distressed by the minute. “He said there would be photographers and cameras everywhere. Oh God, Silas. What am I supposed to do? I don’t belong at things like that. I should have never agreed to go
.”
Silas’s lips grew thin. “Bullshit. You’ll be the most beautiful woman there. I guarantee it.”
“I don’t suppose you’re my fairy godmother and have a magic wand hidden on you somewhere,” she said glumly.
His lips twitched and then curved upward into an honest-to-goodness smile. She was so startled that all she could do was stare in utter fascination. Silas was always so serious and somber. He so rarely smiled that she was completely transfixed each time he did.
“I may not have a magic wand, but I’m not without my resources,” he said with an arrogant twist to his lips that unseated his smile. “How quickly can you be ready to go?”
At that she blinked. “Ready to go where?”
“I’m taking you to get your hair and makeup done. Then I’ll run you back by here so you can get dressed and be ready when Drake gets home from work.”
“You know someone who’ll do my hair and makeup?” she asked suspiciously.
“What can I say, I’m a jack-of-all-trades. Now get your ass up and get dressed so we can get out of here. I’ll call ahead so they can get you right in.”
Four hours later, she and Silas arrived back at the apartment. Evangeline was completely glammed out and unrecognizable, thanks to an amazing makeup artist who owned an exclusive salon where appointments had to be booked weeks in advance. Silas, however, obviously had some serious pull, because the artist who’d done her hair and makeup had canceled all her afternoon appointments in order to accommodate Silas’s request to fit Evangeline in.
She stopped to study her reflection in the mirror in the foyer as they got off the elevator and she frowned.
“This isn’t me,” she fretted. “I look like some high-class call girl.”
Silas frowned and pinned her with his steely stare. “Swear to God, Evangeline. You get one more pass from me and then I will turn you over my knee and spank your ass. You look beautiful. Now go change into your dress and shoes and come out and let me see the finished product. You’ve got five minutes, so get moving.”
She launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. He staggered back, bewilderment shining in his eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re the best, Silas. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the absolute best friend I’ve ever had.”
His arms tentatively went around her and he squeezed her back, though he was obviously discomfited by her spontaneous outburst of affection.
“You’re very welcome, Evangeline,” he said warmly. “Now go get changed so I can check you out.”
She ran for the bedroom and pulled the dress from the closet, carefully unzipping it from the garment bag. Being careful not to mess up her hair or get makeup all over the dress, she pulled it on and then realized she wasn’t going to be able to zip it herself.
Holding the bodice over her chest, she toed out the shoes and slipped them over her feet, admiring the sparkle from heel to toe. She examined herself in the mirror and realized that when it all came together, she didn’t look half bad. The makeup artist had asked her what color her dress and shoes were and had then used bronze hues and tones so her skin had a golden glow.
The dress was a darker, shimmery gold that picked up the blond highlights in her upswept hair. Small ringlets dangled down her neck and framed her face. Remembering the huge pair of diamond earrings Drake had bought for her, she dug them out of her jewelry box and then scrounged for the diamond teardrop necklace that was bigger than her thumb.
She fastened the earrings and then looped the necklace over her head so it dangled down her bodice. She glanced at her bare wrist and then shrugged. Why not? It wasn’t as though she had a lot of opportunity to wear the expensive jewelry Drake showered her with. If tonight wasn’t such a night, she didn’t know what was.
She was a reflection on Drake and she wanted to make him proud. If it was true that he’d never attended any public function with a woman on his arm, well, that made tonight that much more epic in her book. She fastened the diamond bracelet around her wrist, satisfied with the end result.
Heels tapping on the marble floor, she hurried into the living room, still holding her dress up with one hand.
“I need help,” she said breathlessly. “Can you zip me up?”
“This has got to qualify me for sainthood,” Silas muttered. “A man can only take so much, for fuck’s sake.”
She looked at him in puzzlement. He rolled his eyes and turned her so he could zip her dress.
“Are you really so clueless as to your effect on the male population?”
She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t think.”
“I’m just teasing you, Evangeline,” he said gently. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to A, call me because you had no one to do your hair and makeup, and B, ask me to zip up your dress. Having been around you long enough to know that you’re pretty picky about the people you trust, I’m honored that I can be one of them.”
He turned her back around and then took several steps back so he could survey her from head to toe.
“Turn around slowly and give me the full view,” he encouraged.
She twirled slowly and laughed when the dress sparkled and glittered in the light.
“I really do feel like Cinderella now,” she said with a wide grin.
“What you are is special, Evangeline,” he said sincerely. “And very beautiful. I’m glad I’ll be going with you and Drake tonight. I’m going to be a smug bastard muttering ‘I told you so’ the entire night watching grown men make asses of themselves in front of you.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Evangeline exclaimed. “I had forgotten you’re going. I’m so glad. That makes me feel so much better now that you’ll be there.”
She hugged him again and he carefully held her away from him by her shoulders so she didn’t mess up her hair and makeup. Then to her surprise, he lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ve got to go now so I can change and get back in time to accompany you and Drake to the benefit. Do not allow anyone up unless it’s Drake or one of us. Got me?”
“Yes, oh lord and master,” Evangeline drawled.
His dark gaze smoldered. “If you were in my bed, you’d know I was exactly that and you wouldn’t joke about who was your master.”
Butterflies scuttled around in her belly, but she refused to let him shake her.
“Out,” she ordered. “You’re just trying to rattle me. I have quite enough lord and master to deal with already, thank you very much.”
Silas winked and then sauntered to the elevator. “See you in a few, doll. Don’t mess up my work of art.”
Evangeline went in search of her phone, hoping Drake had texted to let her know when he’d be home. When she didn’t find a notification, she nibbled at her lip and briefly pondered whether to text him or not.
They’d never had an actual discussion about her texting or calling him when he was at work. She just took it on herself never to do so because she didn’t want to be a distraction or bother. But couples texted one another all the time. In the beginning she had reason to doubt her place in Drake’s life, but he’d made it clear ever since their reconciliation that he had no intention of her going anywhere.
“Quit being a chicken,” she muttered.
She could have asked Silas whether it was a good idea for her to text Drake at work, but she hadn’t thought of it until after he’d left. Shaking her head at her cowardice, she typed in a quick text and hit send before she could change her mind.
Hi. Hope you had a good day at work. Just wondering what time you’ll be home. I’ll be ready and waiting. xoxo –Evangeline
Her face grew hot. She felt like a complete idiot. What was with the xoxo? Jesus, what was she, in high school?
Her phone pinged and she hurriedly punched in her code so she could read the return message.
Will be home in fifteen minutes. Day was good. Will be better
when I get home to my angel. xoxo back at you. –D
A million tiny flutters assaulted her chest and she felt her lips split wide open as a huge smile attacked her face. Who knew a text message could be so sweet? She read it twice more, savoring each word. Lord, but she was in so deep she had no hope of ever finding her way out. For that matter she had no desire to.
She squeezed herself and then danced across the living room floor in her sparkly princess heels. It was going to be a perfect night. She loved Christmas and the holidays. Loved Christmas music and decorations and lights. A night at Carnegie Hall with a kickoff to the holiday season was about as awesome as it could get. But being there on Drake’s arm? To boldly go where no woman had ever gone before?
A giggle escaped her at the insane direction of her thoughts. Then she let out a dreamy sigh. Drake in a tux, her on his arm for the world to see.
Absolute perfection.
17
Drake squeezed Evangeline’s hand as the car came to a stop behind several others waiting to drop off passengers on the red-carpet entrance to Carnegie Hall.
“You look stunning, baby,” he said in a warm voice.
Her gaze was riveted to the mass of people at the entrance and at all the news cameras and photographers. Flashbulbs were cascading in waves as people got out of their vehicles. Oh God. Drake had warned her, yes, but she hadn’t expected this. Like they were freaking celebrities or something.
“Breathe, Angel,” Drake whispered. “Maddox, Silas and I are all with you. We won’t let anything happen. I promise.”
She swallowed the knot in her throat but it promptly got lodged when their car moved ahead and was next to disembark. The door swung open and Drake got out, shielding the inside of the car with his big body. Immediately, Maddox and Silas both pressed in on either side of him as he reached inside for Evangeline’s hand.
He pulled her to stand next to him in the chilly night air and she shivered, dazzled and dazed by the flood of bright lights and the flash of cameras going off in forty different directions.
