by C. J. Thomas
I opened for him and sucked him in deep, completely relieved that it was him I was kissing and not the strange man who’d purchased my time. I was so confused, but it didn’t matter.
Nash was here and that meant the world to me.
He’d come to save me. And I loved him for it.
Our tongues thrusted and I nipped and clawed at this man who totally surprised the shit out of me again and again. He wrapped his strong arms around me and picked me up.
“How did you know?” Tears filled my eyes.
“I’ll explain everything in the car.” He slid his tongue into my mouth. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded and fluffed up my hair.
Before I knew it, we were in his car, racing across town.
“Have you seen the news?” He kept his eyes focused on the road.
I turned to the window and watched the world pass me by. “I have.” My voice was light as a feather. “Nash, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“I didn’t kill her,” he said, faster than the speed of light.
My head whipped in his direction. He gave me a reassuring glance and dropped a gear, letting the engine roar. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry.” He reached over and quickly squeezed my hand. “I let this go too far.”
“I shouldn’t have been on this date tonight.” My gaze cast down to my lap where my fingers couldn’t stop dancing with each other.
“I know.” His voice was a soft bass that sent shivers down my spine. “But I found a way to make it work.”
My arteries pulsed as my blood pressure rose. “Did you pay off my debt?”
He loosened his grip on the wheel before tightening his fingers back over it.
I took his silence for a confession. This could have all been prevented if I’d just let him give me money the moment he found out. But I hadn’t, and I regretted it ever since. Never again. From here on out, it was up to me to trust his decisions, knowing he knew what was best for the both of us.
“Nash, the cops brought me in for questioning,” I confessed.
The muscle in his jaw bulged.
“They made me believe you were responsible for her death.”
His foot pressed down on the gas pedal and he accelerated the car quickly around a corner.
I reached up and held onto the handle above the window as we sped off into the night. “It’s not true, is it? Please tell me it’s not true.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. “Sylvia, the tabloid reporter—”
“I remember.”
“She has things on me that might get released to the public.” He paused and glanced over at me. “Whatever you read, it’s to get me back for not wanting a relationship with her. I didn’t do these things. Not like how they’ll present it anyway.”
I licked my lips and let my mind race to figure out what exactly she might have and what it was he was trying to tell me.
“When it comes out,” he turned to look at me, “it’s important to know that none of it is true. You believe in me, don’t you?”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and nodded.
“I didn’t kill her,” he said under his breath.
I believed him. I didn’t know why, but I did. “There is something else I need to tell you.”
He exhaled a heavy breath.
“This escorting thing, I’m still bound by contract to the Madam.”
He slammed on the brakes and stopped the car.
“She has my hands tied.”
He leaned over and threaded his fingers through my hair, pulling my lips to his. I opened and he slipped his tongue past, curling it over mine. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t you worry.” He nipped my lips and I moaned.
When he pulled away, he put the car in gear and burned rubber.
“Where are we going?”
He accelerated and lurched the car forward. “There’s something I must do first.”
100
Nash
WHEN I PARKED my car in front of Ted’s house, I told Alex to stay in the car. She had no idea that was where I’d taken us.
Tonight had gone better than I’d planned. I was thankful that I had Alex back. She was safe, and we were together.
I opened my car door.
Alex anxiously looked on.
Now it was time to close out another one of my nuisances.
I marched straight up the front steps and barged through his front door without knocking. Tonight, I was on a winning streak and filled with optimism. All this bullshit that had kept me from doing what I did best was about to end.
“Normal people knock before coming in.” Ted rounded the corner.
I marched straight up to him.
He could blame me for Alex quitting, but he couldn’t get away with accusing me of Maria’s death. That was taking it too far. Especially, knowing what I knew about him.
“You couldn’t have told me,” he squared his shoulders and strutted toward me, “that Alex quit?”
“No matter what I would have said, I’d be guilty.”
“She’s gone, and you didn’t say a word.” He stopped only a foot away from my face. “I knew it. I knew you were trouble the moment you laid eyes on her.”
“See, you’re already blaming me.”
He stepped one foot forward. “That’s twice now that you’ve destroyed another intern’s future.” He closed the gap between us and bared his teeth.
The corners of my mouth curled upward.
“You think this is a game?”
“She doesn’t have the money.” I shook my head. “It’s gone. And she’s back.”
Ted slowly raised his chin.
“She’s outside, waiting in my car.” I inched closer. “You might want to think about a different way to pay Lopez the money you owe him.” I took another step in his direction. “I don’t think he’d like it if he knew you wanted to pay him back with his own money.”
He took a step backwards and had a dazed look on his face.
“That’s right, Ted. I figured you out.”
He blinked rapidly.
I opened up my jacket, reached my hand inside, and pulled out an envelope.
Ted’s wide eyes drifted down the piece of paper I held out to him. “What’s this?”
“A one-way ticket to Europe.”
He stumbled back and fell to the couch. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because you should have come to me first.”
He opened the envelope and stared at the flight details. He’d be leaving tonight.
“Use it to get away.”
His face was blank.
I shook my head. “After what we’ve been through, don’t make me regret this.”
He looked up at me. “I fucked up, Nash.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No. You don’t understand. I really fucked up.” His face turned white. “But you might have just given me my ticket out.” He waved the ticket in the air.
I didn’t know what he was talking about. Didn’t really care, either. I just wanted to get back to Alex and take her home.
“Clear your head.” I made my way to the door. “And figure out that I wasn’t the one using Alex. It was you. All along, it was you.”
He stood and smirked. “I still need to pay Mr. Lopez back.”
“Use the ticket. It will take him a while to track you down.” I heard him laughing as I closed the door behind me.
I let the night’s cool air wash over me as I made my way back to my car.
“Everything okay?” Alex asked as I got behind the wheel.
I palmed the back of her skull and kissed her. “Yeah. Everything might go the way I want for once.”
She kissed me before I drove us away.
We were already across town when my phone rang. It was Wes.
“Nash, Julia Mabel just sent me an email.”
“Okay.”
“Apparently, sh
e has a photo of Ted with Maria only an hour before she was murdered.”
“Are you sure?”
“Julia’s the best. If she has the proof, then that’s what I believe.”
“Okay, but what does that mean?”
“This is all speculation, but Julia thinks he might have been the one to kill her.”
Pain spread across my chest.
If it was true, then I just gave him a free pass to skip town. And once he used the ticket, I’d be his accomplice in the murder of my ex.
BOOK 11
On My Knees
The Hollywood Nights Series Vol. 11
CJ Thomas
101
Nash
I WATCHED her walk through my front foyer and hang her coat on the backside of my expansive leather couch.
She’d never been here before.
This was her first time inside my place. It felt right to have her here. Inside, freely roaming my private domain.
“I thought I lost you,” I admitted.
Her slender fingers raked over the fabric and I noticed each of the hollow clacks as she walked on my hardwood floors. Her heels were tall and lengthened her legs perfectly. She was beautiful.
“Me too,” she muttered as she took it all in.
The chandelier light sparkled across the walls and danced over the large canvas paintings of African wildlife. I stuffed my hands inside my pants pockets and slowly met her in the middle of the large room. “I missed you.”
She turned to look at me.
Heat traveled to my groin. The way her long black hair framed her face, and how her eyes softened when they met mine made me realize just how close I was to losing her forever.
“I’m an idiot for not taking your money.” Her voice was soft, supple.
My stomach tightened and I closed the gap that kept her from being inside my firm grasp. She closed her eyes and exhaled a heavy breath. It was then that I saw the pain that lined her face. She did an amazing job of keeping it hidden. What she’d convinced herself to do—anything to correct her mistake and make it right—was something I wouldn’t want anyone I cared so deeply for to ever have to go through.
I never wanted to imagine her with another man.
Ever.
Again.
When I lifted my hand and threaded my fingers through her hair, she leaned into my touch as my thumb stroked the pink flesh of her cheek. My other hand smoothed down her side until I latched on to her hip, yanking her tight into my chest.
Her breath hitched and I silenced her moan with a deep, desperate kiss.
She coiled her tongue softly, pressing it into mine, before tilting her head back and sucking me deeper into her mouth.
Thrust after thrust, our fingers dug deeper into each other until I lifted her leg and wrapped it around my thigh. My hardness ached to be inside her.
“I’ll never hurt you.” I nipped at her swollen lips.
She reached behind my head and cupped the back of my skull, pulling my mouth back over hers. A whimper escaped as the urgency behind her actions increased.
I picked her up and laid her down on the couch, settling in between her legs. She hooked her ankles across my lower back and pulled my hardness against her heated mound.
“I’m not the monster people make me out to be.”
She curled her claws into my scalp and continued to slide and twist her tongue over mine.
Alex tasted amazing. Like a fruity wine, ripe and aged to perfection. I couldn’t get enough. Our kisses got sloppy, and my balls tightened with a sense of desperation that took me back to that first night in the alleyway when I couldn’t survive without knowing what it felt like to be inside her.
Her tight pussy sheathing my cock flashed through my mind—I could feel her there, writhing on my shaft—and it made my manhood throb for everything that she was.
She broke our kiss, unhooking her legs, and left me fighting to catch my breath.
Her eyes danced across my face. “Thank you, Nash.” She lifted her head and nipped at my moist lips.
My fingers curled, and the tips kneaded into the soft flesh of the gorgeous globes of her ass. She had no idea just how perfect she was.
“Thank you for saving me.” She touched my lips lightly. “I didn’t want to do it.”
“I didn’t want you to do it, either.”
The corner of her mouth curled as she worked to undress me.
I hiked up her dress and pushed her panties to the side. “You should have listened to me.” I could feel the heat of her pussy as I dipped my finger inside her for the first time. She was creamy and slick with need. “That’s what good, obedient Submissives do.” I spread the moisture around and wet her lips.
Her mouth parted as she giggled, and she wrapped one leg around the backside of my thigh. I pressed the pad of my finger a little bit deeper and she arched her back, eliciting a sexy moan that steeled my cock.
“The entire time, all I could think about was you.” She lifted her back a little bit higher off the couch.
My finger brushed feather-light circles over her swollen nub, causing her body to shiver.
“I promise to never leave your side,” she whimpered as I worked to slide in a second finger. “I’ll be a good girl.” Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before closing.
“But you weren’t.” I licked her neck.
“Then punish me. Punish me for forgetting what we started.” Her breath caught when I pressed my thumb over her clit. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
I plunged my fingers deep into her slick cavern and let the punishment begin.
Yeah. That was exactly what I wanted.
102
Alex
I BLINKED, rolled over, and tucked my arm under my head.
A faint glow of morning broke through the curtains. Nash gripped my waist and pulled me back against him. He spooned me and nuzzled his nose against my spine.
I giggled. His whiskers tickled.
He moaned and I could hear the sleepiness in his tone.
I liked that I was here, waking up beside the man my heart beat for, safely cuddled inside his arms, and still naked.
Nash adjusted himself and I could feel his arousal pressing between my ass cheeks. If I didn’t feel like I’d been run over by a bus from last night’s activities, maybe I’d be more enthusiastic in welcoming him to come and play again.
My body ached. A good kind of pain that was caused from relentless waves of pleasure.
Nash was ruthless with the way he fucked me hard, slapping my ass—intensifying the blows as the night went on—and saying that tonight was only the beginning to my punishment. “There will be more,” he’d warned.
I knew I deserved it.
My decisions jeopardized not only myself, but also brought Nash into dangers that weren’t meant for either of us. I’d cost him. Both in terms of money, and stress.
He peppered open-mouth kisses across my back and between my shoulders. His morning whiskers sent delicious shivers down my spine. I reached behind me and wrapped my fingers around his heavy shaft, taking it inside my hand.
I owed him my life.
And I’d do whatever it took to repay the debt I owed to him.
He was my lover.
My savior.
And also my Master.
My wrist twisted from base to tip and I felt him grow inside my palm.
Nash was the one I should have been listening to all along.
I knew it.
But for some insane reason, I’d refused.
And now I regretted it all. None of this would have happened if I’d just trusted Nash from the beginning. “Did you get any sleep,” I asked as my hand pumped his length.
He moaned and caused my sex to quiver.
He must have given me four—perhaps five—incredibly intense orgasms last night—driving me to the edge, then retreating, before doing it all over again—yet here he was harder than granite with relentless stamina.
The man was a beast.
I was sore, but if he could make me feel the things I felt last night, then I’d find a way to manage the pain. Because I knew it would be totally worth the toe-curling flashes of light that made me realize what was important. Despite the throb between my legs, I found myself getting wet for him all over again.
“I’m still not convinced you fully trust me.” He groaned at the same time he flipped me onto my back and pierced me with his rod.
I burned at the suddenness of being stretched by a man his size. But despite the initial sharp pain, I settled in, adjusted, and felt full—complete—once again. “I trust you.”
He rocked his hips forward.
My back arched off the plush mattress. His bed was so large, so soft and silky, so perfect for the acrobatics we so often performed.
Nash stared at me as he punished me with his sharp, deep thrusts, driving harder, deeper.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head and stars flashed across my vision.
I knew Nash was hung. But today he seemed longer, thicker, and fuller than ever before. The agony of him reminding me who my man was, was almost unbearable, but I’d do anything to gain back his trust and let him know with absolute certainty that he was the one I would be listening to from here on out.
No one else.
Just him.
His hand smoothed up my side, stopping to squeeze my tit before clamping his fingers around my neck.
I caught my breath and felt my heartbeat turn up a notch. My eyes closed as I reminded myself to trust him. Nash wouldn’t hurt me. This was just his way to discipline a naughty Sub who forgot her place.
He added enough pressure on his clamp hold to get me to open my eyes without saying a word. And when they did, I quickly met his gaze.
His eyes grew dark as I watched an intense storm gather inside.
He pressed harder. Rocked his hips more aggressively.
I met him thrust for thrust, pushing my pelvic bone hard into his.
His brow furrowed and he gritted his teeth.
My toes curled, and waves of electricity lit me on fire. I was so close, ready to blast through another thunderous release when I felt him swell.
I hung on and whimpered through his jackhammer-like thrusts. I cried out and shuddered through my own release as he grunted and tightened his grip around my neck. A second later, he flung his head back and roared through his own climax—the one I suspected he’d been waiting to experience all night. The one that shook the walls.
