Camouflage (Predator and Prey #1)

by Angelica Chase

  “Derek,” he answered, revealing nothing I had desire for as he exposed himself.

  “Derek, sweetheart, if you can’t give proper head, it can only get worse from here. I appreciate the effort, but put that thing away before you embarrass yourself further.”

  He looked at me in confusion before I finished him off. “No.”

  He sighed, putting his cock back into place as I pulled my legs into my seat and nudged him toward the door. “I offered you a taste. I delivered. You did not. Get. Out.”

  He looked at me as if I would offer a punch line, but I kept quiet. I felt bad for his future wife. Maybe he would try and improve for his own sake.

  “Can I call you?”

  “Hell no. Goodbye,” I said, starting my car.

  “Bitch,” he whispered under his breath as he exited. With a sigh, I placed my forehead on the steering wheel, completely baffled by what I had just let happen. I’d gone into that upscale bar to bed an equal and ended up letting a valet tongue fuck me because of Daniello.

  I smiled slightly at how good he had gotten me. “Son of a bitch.”

  I would never ruin my career or reputation for a sexual need, ever. I’d left hoping I looked like I was offended to the rest of the group, but a complete stranger knew better. Daniello knew better. He knew I was into kink and he’d used it and had gotten the best of me. He’d beat me at a game he’d roped me into for the second time. His plays were taunting and I’d fallen for it twice. Though I should hate him already, my hunger only grew. This was lust and this is what he was capable of, and I hated that I’d become desperate and at his mercy.

  And still, I wanted him. And I wanted the feeling to last. The uncertainty, the need, it made me feel alive, excited.

  I laughed again as I thought about the fact I may never see him again and I’d run away with my clit on fire and my tail between my legs.

  Tonight I had walked out of my home a tiger on the prowl and ran back home as a mouse ...but that was far from boring.

  A week later, I was in my office, pacing. “You have twenty minutes to deliver what you promised or I’ll find you in breach of contract,” I snapped, irritated with my situation. Murphy’s Law had found a way to make my workweek hell. I had absolutely no patience for bullshit and was getting a solid stream of it spewed at me over the phone line. I looked out of my office window at downtown Charleston as tourists lined the city streets. Couples holding hands or families roamed the sidewalks of the historic city as young kids on their bikes pulled others around by cart. Some were crowded in horse drawn carriages as they were given a guided tour telling of Charleston’s history. It was summer and that meant more were on their way to drown in the humidity and crowd the beaches. I looked out the window with longing, thinking it may be time for me to finally take a few days to myself to do the same.

  I heard my office door open and close and kept my gaze on the city, assuming it was my assistant waiting on me.

  “I don’t like to repeat myself, Warren. We’ve given months of leeway here and hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you’ve pissed it away on shitty mechanics, that’s your issue. I want the prototype in four days.” I cut the line and threw my headset on the chair next to me. “What is it Ross?”

  “Ross has gone for coffee.” I froze for a brief moment before turning around to find Daniello sitting in my desk chair.

  Of course, he took my chair.

  “My time is valuable, Mr.?”

  “Di Giovanni.”

  “Italian?” I asked, finally given the opportunity.

  “Some of me,” he answered vaguely. As I surveyed him, I was sure God had granted my wish and poured the perfect man into an expensive suit. His looks were unmatched by any other man I’d ever met. I gave myself a brief moment to appreciate him before taking a step toward him to bite.

  “As I said, Mr. Di Giovanni, my time is money, and I’m pretty sure you aren’t here on business.”

  “I wanted to see where you reign, Ms. Ellison.” He looked slightly amused, as always, but somehow I knew the bitch in me would be far more hesitant to let him win here. I dug in.

  “Great, months of watching each other and now we both have a last name. You’re here and you’ve seen my office, anything else?”

  “I want to share a little time with you,” he said, steepling his fingers under his chin and leaning back in my chair.

  “Do you? And what would be the purpose?”

  “Pleasure, companionship, things we both crave,” he replied, sure of himself. Confidence and arrogance ran through him in abundance.

  “Pleasure is better left outside of my office, and companionship ...well, let’s just cut to the chase. You aren’t that type of man.” I flicked my hand and gestured for him to move out of my seat.

  “Let us not assume anything about the other,” he said in a surprise move to give me back my throne. “You are angry with me for not pursuing you sooner,” he taunted. “You wanted to be the one coming on my hand, no?”

  My sex pulsed as his truth came out. “My time is valuable, as well. I want to share time with you while I have it and I want you to agree. So what do I have to do to make that happen?” As he spoke, he walked slowly around, picking up various items off my shelf to study them. “No pictures. You have no family?”

  “We aren’t assuming, remember?” I pointed out, taking a seat in my chair and watching as his expansive frame moved throughout my office. The man was incredible and looked completely out of place handling my knickknacks. “Are these your things?” he asked, knowing the answer.

  “Decorator. So I suppose I should just agree to this since you seem to think you know what I want?”

  He placed the last knickknack down and stared at me. The connection was just as electric as it had been the first time we locked eyes. Dispelling a breath, I tried to force myself to remain unclouded. He was intoxicating.

  “I know exactly what you want,” he taunted, slipping off his coat. I stared at his build, stunned by his ability to shift gears to intimate so smoothly.

  “And what’s that?” I smarted at him, way too confident. He smirked as my heart began to pound and blood pooled below.

  He rounded the corner of my desk and without warning unzipped his pants. I glanced over at the door and noted it was locked before turning my full attention back to him. He stroked over his pants, his length thickening in front of me, and I envied his hand. I felt my desire kick into overdrive as I watched his hand move back and forth, shortening my breath. He was taunting me again and I was letting him.

  Because I wanted it.

  “Don’t flatter yourself.” I straightened just as his full thick shaft came into view. I stared, riveted.

  “You hurt yourself with your lies,” he hissed as he began to stroke himself right in front of me. “I am not afraid to admit I have been thinking of you. I have hunger for you.” In an attempt to even my breathing, I rested my hands on my thighs and slowly rubbed them back and forth.

  He was long and thick. The head looked silky and my mouth dried at the moisture gleaming from the tip. My tongue fought hard to remain inside my mouth as I watched his skilled hand stroke the perfect, hard, full cock.

  “Who are you?” I asked aloud, though I didn’t mean to. He paused his hand and leaned in with a whisper.

  “I am the man who will disappear from your bed one night without any explanation.”

  He resumed his strokes and pulled harder, gripping himself tight. I leaned forward, entranced, waiting for his invitation. He pulled away to make sure I didn’t touch as he circled his perfect, throbbing dick and pumped.

  I couldn’t believe the sight in front of me. In all of my wildest sexual imagination, I’d never pictured anything like it. I was stunned by his boldness and at the same time not surprised at all after his display at the club. He towered over me as I sat there appraising him, an inferno of need growing hot inside me.

  He pulled at himself as he watched me watch him. “You see, there are bad me
n out there who will not hesitate to pull the trigger ...rape, steal, and climb with hungry claws to get to where they want to be.”

  I was so turned on I could barely get the words out as he cupped, stroked, and claimed his cock without any help. Unable to hold back, I put my hands on his thighs and licked my lips as I looked up at him.

  “And you are one of them?”

  Suddenly, he jerked my head forward and I parted my lips. He yanked a handful of my hair and tilted my head back, commanding my eyes on his as he slid his full length into my mouth. I took it eagerly, licking and sucking as my pussy pulsed out of control. The salty taste of him spurred me on as I felt him harden further. He watched my mouth with molten eyes as I finished him without hesitation. I couldn’t control it, and I didn’t want to.

  “No.” He smirked down at me as I bobbed and sucked eagerly. “I am the man who stomps on those men with my heel.” He fisted my hair tighter and shot his hot release into my eager mouth as I consumed every drop, cursing my desire for him. Daniello leaned in as I savored the rest of him and placed a gentle, lasting kiss on my lips. Liquid brown eyes burned into mine as I rubbed my thighs together.

  “I will be good to you. I will be as honest as I can and when the time comes, I end it,” he declared. “I am giving you the option to start something only I will finish and when I finish it, it will be over, Taylor.” I was still entranced and equally disheartened as he zipped his pants and brushed his thumb over my lip. Cornering my desk, he grabbed his suit jacket and slipped it on. “Think about it. Think about me.” As soon as those words were out, he was gone.

  That night, I lay in bed, doing nothing but fantasizing about Daniello. He wanted to share time? I already knew I would agree to what he offered. What I was pondering on were his conditions. Though he disguised it in a gentlemen’s way, and only after he’d spit his cum down my throat, he’d given me a clear indication that he would be in charge. That was something I’d never given to anyone other than Lazarus, and that in itself had resulted in our downfall.

  I could very easily let him objectify my body, but giving him the ability to control our situation and the nature of our relationship down to the point of where it would end, that was an entirely different kind of power.

  Still, I loved having his silky, huge cock in my mouth. Even then, I wasn’t in control. I’d spent hours cursing my stupidity and inability to handle myself.

  But wasn’t that what I was looking for? A man who could easily take the reins as I lost myself in him? I’d given him so much power over me in showing my arousal, my need for him, my eagerness to please him.

  Daniello was a force to be reckoned with. Could this finally be the man who topped me in every way?

  Had I let him make a fool out of me or had I simply given into what I wanted?

  Indecisiveness was not my forte.

  I could keep things strictly sexual. That wasn’t an issue for me, never had been. Lazarus was really my only experience with matters of the heart, besides the one and only man I’d entertained at Harvard. At one point, I’d actually agreed to marry him, but that was more out of an obligation to fit in further to the new life I had attempted to create. Greg was handsome, ridiculously intelligent, wealthy, well-endowed, and he’d loved me. But he didn’t really know me, and I didn’t know if I could go through the rest of my life being only half of my true self. Men like Greg could never fully grasp where I came from and how I got to where I was. My marriage would have been a lie the minute we signed the certificate. I knew some day I’d maybe want more for myself than a satisfying fuck, but it wasn’t an ambition of mine. Reluctantly, I broke his heart. He stayed close to me until graduation and even after, but finally met someone and ended our friendship. Looking back, I knew the new part of me truly cared for him, but I didn’t feel it everywhere or with every part of me. I figured I was missing something.

  I’d never, not once in my life, uttered the word love.

  So Daniello wanted to share time with me. He’d clearly told me he was a dangerous man. And from what he’d gathered from me so far, I was all bark and no bite. I actually liked that fact.

  It could make things extremely interesting.

  Okay, Mr. Di Giovanni, let’s share some time.

  “You son of a bitch,” I heard Nina yell from her office as I passed by it the next morning. I laughed along with Devin as I heard a small crash and the breaking of glass. I paused by the door to make sure my girl was holding her own.

  “Do not throw that, Nina. I simply asked you a question.” I could hear the amusement in Devin’s voice.

  “And the answer is no. Get out of my office!”

  “Jesus, woman, you are insane,” he scoffed as the knob twisted and the door opened. Devin gave me a raised brow as he caught me eavesdropping.

  “Good Morning, Devin.” I smiled as Nina fumed behind him. “I see you are leaving her in a good mood for me today.”

  Devin was a beautiful man. I’d always thought so, even when I was tempted to kill him for the hell he’d put Nina through. I noted his impeccable dress as he shook his head slowly back and forth while Nina muttered obscenities behind him.

  He gave me a smug grin as he spoke. “You know, you think the woman would be grateful to be asked to be the next Mrs. McIntyre.”

  “Well ...” I paused trying to hide my chuckle. “The last one did end up in the nut house.”

  “True.” He grinned wickedly as he looked back at Nina. “So I take it that’s a no?” He winced as she lifted her stapler. “Okay, baby, see you at home.” He turned to me with a nod. “Taylor.”

  “Give her time.” I winked as he retreated down the hall toward the elevator.

  I turned to Nina and couldn’t hide my smile as her chest rose and fell in hurried breaths.

  “Is he crazy!?”

  I took a step into her office. “No, Nina, he’s in love and wants to make an honest woman out of you. Congratulations.”

  “It’s barely been a month,” she huffed as she paced her floor.

  “What do you want?” I asked as I took a seat.

  “I want to marry him, of course,” she snapped. “But he’s still the man who lied to me for almost a year and then kept some pretty serious shit from me for the remaining time I’d known him. No way. Not now.” She crossed her hands and pulled them away quickly in gesture.

  “I forgot to leave this,” Devin said softly, unaffected by her rant as he crossed the room with an open Tiffany’s box and placed it on her desk.

  “You’re broke. You can’t afford that,” she snapped without looking at the ring.

  “I plan on marrying a millionaire,” he said as he stood in front of her now, lifting a single finger to stroke her cheek. “Stop being such an ungrateful bitch about this.” I saw her face soften as he leaned in and brushed her lips with his. I stood to leave. “Taylor, you stay, he leaves.” Devin pressed his lips into a thin line and again made his way out the door. “Later, Mrs. McIntyre.”

  “That name is a curse,” she called after him. “You can keep it.”

  “Hyphenate,” he called back over his shoulder. “I love you.” I heard the elevator and turned to her with a smile. They were absolutely perfect for each other and I knew no matter how much she resisted there would be a wedding sometime in Nina’s future.

  “What are you so afraid of?” I asked as she looked at the box.

  She gave me an ‘are you kidding me?’ look.

  “Okay, aside from the obvious nightmare you two endured to finally be together. Would it be so bad to live with the man you love?”

  “I already live with him. He hasn’t gone home since we got back from the Keys. I actually asked him to stay with me.” She sighed as she paced, fighting herself on an answer she knew she wanted to give.

  “And how’s it been?” She picked up the ring with tears in her eyes and slipped it on.

  “Perfect. But, Taylor, I swore I’d never get married again. I don’t need that. I don’t have to be his wife.�
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  “Maybe he has to be your husband,” I suggested. “His track record is just as tainted.”

  “I know, trust me. I didn’t think he would ever even talk about marriage.” She looked up to me with a smile. “He wants to marry me.”

  “Well, my job here is done.” She laughed at my retreating back. She knew I was uncomfortable with these talks and let me off the hook. “We have the Bledsoe meeting in an hour,” I reminded before I shut her door, her eyes glued to her finger.

  “Un huh,” she answered absently.

  Walking back to my desk, I willed away the sick feeling in my stomach. The day Greg proposed it felt incredible and real, but deep down I knew better. Still, the feeling I remembered having at that moment when he slid to his knee, I hadn’t had since. It validated all the hard work I’d put into my efforts of becoming someone else, someone better than the helpless red head who had committed her first felony at age fifteen.

  Cedric, my only friend from my past, and Nina’s bodyguard, was the only one who knew me both as the penniless piece of white trash and the business mogul. He’d never judged me, making moves himself to get out of the timeless hell we’d lived in. But he was never anyone I could love or ever have sexual interest in. He had been like a brother to me until I disappeared from Tennessee, and he had done the same himself a year later to join the Army to better his situation. From what Cedric told me, all of our friends from those days were either dead, in jail, or still up to the same shit they had been when we’d escaped. Now, I had only one thing keeping me tied to Tennessee.

  And one day soon, I would have to face my demons to rid myself of that life once and for all.

  I wanted the way Devin looked at Nina for myself one day, but deep down I knew the man who would wholly capture my heart would have to know all the parts of me, and the truth was I knew I would never share that part of myself with anyone. Love had and always would be an illusion for me. I wasn’t incapable, my circumstances were. And I honestly didn’t know if I would ever let myself become a victim to it.