by C. J. Thomas
My tongue wrapped around the tip of his finger. “I do.”
“That’s a good girl.” He slid his thick cockhead into my sheath. Then he slammed into me.
My chin dropped to my chest and I braced myself on the window, too consumed with how deep he drove into me to worry whether or not the outside world could see us.
He slammed me again, grunting with each powerful thrust.
My eyes squeezed shut as I surrendered myself to the waves of pleasure he inflicted upon me. A pellet of sweat dripped off my brow. I’d never been so hot, so turned on, and maybe it was because I knew that after tonight, Nash and I were finished. This was it. Our last hurrah.
Nash slowed his lunges and finally slid himself out, leaving me to cope with the sudden empty feeling that he was gone—maybe forever.
I breathed heavily, catching my breath, waiting for him to make the next move.
“Get on your knees.” His voice was heavy.
I turned and fell to my knees.
Kneeling down in front of him, he pointed his manhood at my lips. “Now taste yourself again.”
I moved closer.
“Lick your taste off my cock.” His eyes went black.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and lifted the backs of my thighs off my calves and wrapped my fingers around his slick rod.
His abs flexed and I kissed the tip.
“Kiss it with your tongue.” He took his shaft at the base and moved the tip across my lips.
I flattened my tongue and pushed the tip of his cock toward his belly button and licked him from base to tip.
“That’s better. Now take it in your mouth.”
I opened and he slid himself all the way to the back of my throat until I gagged.
“Does it taste better knowing that you are on me?”
I nodded as he fisted my hair and slid into my mouth again. When he hit the back of my throat, I choked on his length and he pulled himself out.
“Don’t you forget that.” He thrust harder and deeper, pulling my hair at the roots. “We’re better together.”
My cheeks hollowed, my jaw muscles ached, and I gagged.
He fucked my mouth good and hard before freeing himself.
I fell forward to catch my breath, wondering how he knew.
Because that’s what he was acting like. Like a man who knew his woman was about to leave him.
Why else would he keep reassuring himself that I was his?
I didn’t want to end it. But I had no choice. There was no way I could do it now. Not with the way he was standing over me with that look in his eye that said I’d regret the decision I knew I needed to make.
“Stand up.” He showed me his palm and curled his fingers toward himself.
Slowly, I stood. Not a second after my feet were firmly rooted into the floor, he twirled me around and pushed me over the back of the couch, slamming his cock into me. His hips worked themselves into a frenzy, driving harder and deeper until my vision blurred and we both lost control, filling the room with moans of pleasure and self-doubt.
87
Nash
I NEEDED to find a way to pay off her debt.
She wouldn’t take my money.
But I was sure Mr. Lopez would.
Now I just had to get inside his heavily guarded circle. It wouldn’t be easy. But maybe I knew someone who could make the introduction.
It was time to call Dex Ross.
I couldn’t lose her. And that was what was about to happen if I didn’t act.
Now that Wes let me in on how—and why—Dex was involved with the money, I could make amends. He was the closest person I had to Blake Stone. He probably even knew more about what Stone was up to before the rug got ripped out from beneath his feet.
I dialed Dex.
If luck was on my side, then he’d show me the generosity I knew he was known for and get me headed in the right direction. Because the way I saw it, I had two choices: pay Mr. Lopez, or somehow get myself involved in the Madam’s business and hire Alex to be my personal escort.
I was fine with either option if it meant saving Alex from having to go through with this. But if I had a choice, I’d prefer to keep this behind Alex’s back and just get it over and done with before she went any further.
The phone rang as I waited for Dex to answer. I pulled open my desk drawer to finger the photographs I took from Alex’s apartment.
I couldn’t let her hang onto these.
Even if she wanted to.
No, these were meant for me.
It was important I kept them safe. I couldn’t risk them getting leaked to the press. But more importantly, I needed them to remind me of the pain I felt when my ex left and how much there was to lose when I thought about what I had with Alex.
“C’mon, pick up,” I mumbled under my breath.
There was a difference between my ex and Alex. A clear difference. When it came to Alex, losing her would be so much worse—something I didn’t think I could recover from.
When I first laid eyes on her, she was a prize. Someone I needed to taste. In my mind she was just one night.
But I got hooked.
Now, knowing more about the kind of woman she was, what started as a small sampling quickly turned into a dangerous addiction. I needed to have all of her, in every capacity, completely to myself.
“Nash Brooks,” Ross answered. “I can’t say I’m surprised to be hearing from you.”
“I need a favor.”
“You talked with Wes?”
“He straightened my story out.”
“Good.” I imagined him puffing out his chest. “Then you’ll know that I don’t want to be involved in this mess. I owed Wes a favor. That was it. Now I’m out.”
“My woman is in trouble.” My eyes closed.
“And I should care because . . .” He was polite but I could still hear the opposition in his voice.
“Because your reputation needs to be restored.”
My phone went silent.
“Dex, you were the last to do industry business with Blake Stone.” I tipped my head back. “Right before all shit broke loose.”
“What do you want from me, Nash?” He sighed.
“I need you to put me in touch with Mr. Lopez.” I kept my tone firm.
The line went dead again. Then, a second later, it came back and I could hear him breathing, mulling over my request.
“Your lady is in serious trouble.”
“She’s safe for now, but if I don’t get in front of Lopez soon, who knows what might happen to her.”
“Shit, Nash.” He exhaled. “He isn’t just someone that just anybody can sit down with.”
“I know. That’s why I need your help.”
“What do you want with him, anyway?”
“You really want to know?”
“I do.” He paused. “But you’re right. It’s better I don’t know any more than I already do.”
I closed my eyes and thought of Alex. “What do you think; is it possible to get me in touch?”
“Fuck,” he breathed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I owe you one, Dex.”
“If this works out, you’ll owe me a hell of a lot more than just one solid.”
“Make it happen.” I hung up and was already dialing Wes.
If Dex couldn’t pull this off, maybe Wes could work his angle with the Madam and get me on her list of clientele. He had history with her, which wasn’t surprising. Wes has done business with nearly everyone in town, so this plan seemed more likely to come together than the one I just proposed to Dex. I had nothing to lose.
He picked up after the first ring.
“She’s going to go through with it unless I can pay off her debt.”
“Shit,” Wes huffed.
“You know this woman. Maybe if I talk to her, I can pay off Alex’s debt myself.”
“You busy?”
I flicked my wrist and glanced at my watch. “I got time.�
�
“Meet me at Mojito, ASAP. We can’t talk about this over the phone.”
88
Alex
I SPENT an hour in the shower.
Men would never understand the work we women put in for them. From shampooing to shaving and last minute touches of makeup, it was a hell of a lot of work to be a woman.
And tonight, it had to be perfect, perfect, perfect. I had to be flawless.
When I stepped out of my room, I found Kendra lying on the couch with her hands tucked behind her head and her legs crossed, feet kicked up on the armrest. She turned to look at me, sitting up suddenly when her gaze met mine. “Wow. You look amazing.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.
I looked down my chest.
This dress had major sex appeal. Not only did I look good, but I felt good, too. My only wish was that I could show it off to Nash and not some random dude I knew absolutely zero about.
“I can’t keep my eyes off you.” Kendra was still all googly-eyed.
The spliced black and white dinner dress with a V-neck really showed off my goods, and the slit that went nearly up to my hip was more than enticing. I knew the zipper up the back would drive the guy wild.
If only it would be Nash unzipping it.
“I need to borrow that when you’re finished.”
“Maybe if it was mine,” my hands smoothed down my sides, “I’d let you.”
Her eyes drifted off my chest and flew up to my face. “Who’s is it?”
“The Madam gave it to me to wear.” Heat spread across my cheeks.
Kendra whistled a low tune. “What else did she give you?”
I walked over to the mirror in the foyer and let the white pearl necklace fall out of my hand—all courtesy of the Madam.
When I met with her this afternoon, she told me many things I had to be. Sexy was first on the list, but I also had to be proper, lady-like, and she reminded me to not say too much—this wasn’t my night, or my party—and most importantly, I had to be obedient.
“She gave that to you?” Kendra’s eyes were locked on the pearls.
I nodded and smiled as I clasped it around my neck.
“You know, there’s not much on her file at work. Did she tell you anything about what to expect tonight?”
“Not much.” I leaned forward and centered the pearls. “Just that I’ll be joining a wealthy businessman for a dinner party.” I glanced up and caught her reflection in the mirror.
She had adopted a sullen look since my last glance.
I puckered my lips. “I know that look.”
She drew her brows together and tilted her head.
I twisted and faced her. “Are you jealous?”
She stood and started pacing back and forth. “My job isn’t what I thought it would be.” She turned her head to make sure I was still listening. “I need excitement. You know? Like what you’re about to experience.”
I dropped my gaze and broke eye contact.
“I wasn’t meant to push papers and be stuck inside an office for twelve to fourteen hours a day, chatting about legalities of this and that.” She pulled her long hair over the front of one of her shoulders and started playing with it.
“I don’t get it. I thought this is what you wanted to do?” I flicked my gaze in her direction.
“It was.” She chewed on her lip. “But now I’m not so sure.” Her face brightened.
“What is it?” I turned away from the mirror to look at her.
“No.” She shook her head and continued pacing. “It’s nothing.”
Kendra’s wheels were spinning and I wondered what it was she was up to. I still wasn’t happy with the way she’d been treating me as a friend lately. She was supposed to go to bat for me. Instead, it felt like she was throwing me under the bus.
“So are you going to look for something else?” I asked. She didn’t even have to work if she didn’t want to.
She stopped in the kitchen to munch on an open bag of chips. “I don’t know. I want things to be like they used to.” She glanced my way. “You know, like when we used to go out and pick up guys.”
My phone dinged with a message. I picked it up and quickly read it over.
It was from the Madam.
“Who is it? Is it him?” Kendra munched away.
“No,” I murmured. “I was just told where I’m going to be picked up.”
“Where is it? Maybe I can take you. That way you won’t have to take a cab.”
“Really? You’d do that?” I didn’t mean to sound so skeptical, but that was how it came across. “I thought you had to get back to the office.”
“Where is it?” she asked again.
“Beverly Hills.”
“That would work. I’ll drop you off and skirt back around to the office. It’s not too far out of my way.”
“All right, but you can’t stay. Just drop me off and let me do this alone.”
“Don’t worry.” She scrunched her brows. “I wouldn’t dare. I know how independent you are.”
I laughed as I gathered my things.
We were out of my apartment, sitting in her BMW and speeding across town in no time at all.
“So how many dates will make back the money?” Kendra’s hair whipped around her face when she took her eyes off the road and glanced in my direction.
I turned and rolled my window down. Suddenly, the reality of what I was on my way to do hit me hard and I felt trapped. .
“I don’t know. I can’t think about it.” The hollow pit in my stomach grew as we got closer to my drop off point. “Tonight won’t be my last. That much I’m sure about.”
“You know, I haven’t said it, but I’m sorry.” There was something genuine about her words that made me choke up.
We both turned to look at each other.
“With my mind on work and everything else, I didn’t think everything through,” she admitted. “I keep thinking, what if I never took the money? What if I didn’t get rid of it so quickly after you gave it to me? What if I just digested what was actually going on a little bit more?”
She pulled the wheel and made a left turn. We were almost to my drop off point.
“Kendra, don’t.” My gaze cast down to my fingers fiddling on my lap.
“No, Alex.” She raised her voice. “Let me confess my sins. I can’t sleep knowing that I did this to you.”
“This isn’t your fault.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s no one’s fault but my own.”
“I can sell this car, my jewelry.” She glanced in my direction. “We can make back that money ourselves.”
“Just stop.” My nervous jitters were hardening into clumps of pain the more she talked. It was too late. We were too late. There was no sense in turning back the hands of time. “This is all so fucked up,” I mumbled under my breath as I stared out my window.
Kendra slowed the car and pulled up to the curb. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” She angled her head in my direction.
“It’s too late.” I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.” I slid out of the car.
“Alex,” she leaned over, “please keep yourself safe.”
I nodded and slammed the door shut.
Kendra pulled away and I felt a tension headache coming on.
Kendra should be standing here.
She could do this. Not me.
I should be the one driving the beamer and having the good-paying job.
But the world wasn’t kind. I had to find the courage to be strong as I waited to get picked up.
My arms wrapped around my belly and I hugged myself as I watched a dark sedan pull up and stop. My mind raced and my stomach churned.
Was this my ride?
A man in a designer suit stepped out. “Alex Grace?”
“Yes,” I said, frozen stiff.
He strode toward me and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was my date.
Then he flashed his badge. “My name’s Detective Pierc
e. I’d like to have a word with you down at the station.”
89
Nash
DEX MESSAGED me as soon as I sat down with Wes.
I got you a meeting. Call me and I’ll let you in on the details.
“Everything all right?” Wes leaned back and stretched his arm out across the back of the booth.
“Yeah, yeah.” I tucked my phone away. “So, what couldn’t you tell me over the phone?”
The waitress brought us two Manhattans and set one down in front of each of us.
Wes lifted his drink and took a sip. “So, it’s true, she’s going to escort?”
I nodded and let out a heavy breath as I stirred the ice around in my drink.
“I thought you said you set things straight with her.” His eyes narrowed.
“I did.” I looked toward the bar. Kami was there with Wes’s brother. “At least I thought I did.” I turned back to face Wes. “She tells me she won’t leave me.”
“If she’s working with the Madam, she’s going to have no choice but to leave you.”
I lifted my glass and gulped down a larger-than-normal sip. “What is it with this Madam, anyway?”
Wes hunched his posture and leaned over his hands. “It all started with Adrianna.” His voice went quiet. “Before her addiction. Before I found her in the motel room overdosing.”
I stared into my drink and retreated inward. Those were dark times and I remembered them well.
“The Madam put Adrianna in some compromising situations.” His nostrils flared.
I lifted my eyes and met Wes’s heavy gaze. Even after all this time, I could see the pain in the wrinkles around his eyes. “Adrianna worked for her?”
He nodded. “And her clients like to get rough.” He squinted his eyes and frowned. “And sometimes there were more than one. She’d come home with bruises. There were days where she couldn’t walk.” He raised his brow and nodded again.
My stomach rolled. The thought of Alex being with one man was hard enough. But two? No fucking way.
“Think Mint, but multiply it by two. There’s a reason she’ll be making big money.” Wes lifted his glass and held the rim to his lips without taking a sip. “Her clients don’t just want arm candy for their fancy events.”
It was like we weren’t talking about my woman, but someone else’s, and that stung.
