Better (The Change Series Book 2)

by Melanie Jayne

  The look she gave me was pure invitation, and my cock went hard.

  “It’s the emotional stuff that rips at my heart. There’s a big difference.”

  I got it. “Lay,” I whispered as my mouth lowered to hers.

  How we made it to the bed, I’ll never know.

  I intended for the kiss to be gentle, a promise that I’d made to myself once I’d heard what she’d shared, but the second our lips met, the kiss turned into something more. Hot, hungry, wild.

  I half carried, half dragged her to the bedroom. She was trying to tear off my shorts. Her hands were everywhere, as were her lips and her teeth.

  I threw her face down on the bed and kicked off my shorts. I yanked her yoga pants down her hips and legs. God, she wasn’t wearing panties. She was trying to pull her shirt over her head. I grabbed the back of the neck and ripped it off of her.

  As soon as the fabric shredded, I was on her. I could feel her still trying to free her arms from what was left of her top. I looped one arm under her waist and raised her hips. I pushed my other hand between her legs and ran it over her mound. Mine, echoed in my head. I used my index finger to test her wetness.

  God, she was so hot and so ready. I didn’t think or ask. I lined up my cock with her entrance and filled her in one thrust.

  “Yes, goddammit,” she cried.

  My hands gripped her hips as I hammered into her.

  Christ. I was making noises, low animal growls, but so was Lay.

  She used her arms to push her shoulders up, and it changed the angle of my thrusts. “Jesus fuck, that’s good.” Her voice was pure sex.

  I think that’s what she said. I was fixated on how good my hands looked holding onto her hips. Each finger was digging into her pale skin. Tomorrow, the bruises would be a reminder of what we did.

  Layla chanted, “Yes, yes, goddammit, yes.”

  I felt her orgasm, those strong inner muscles clamping down on me.

  “Fuck,” I groaned as I felt my cum shoot into her. I collapsed on her, covering her back with my chest. I ran my tongue along the fleshy part of her shoulder where it met her neck, and I bit down. Hard.

  “Lucien.” She moaned but didn’t try to push me off of her.

  I think only a few minutes had passed before I pulled free of her and moved off of her back.

  She rolled onto her side facing me. “Christ, the lights are still on.”

  “So?” I pushed her hair away from her face.

  “I don’t want to think about how big my ass looked.” Her eyes were lowered, and then she ducked her head.

  “That’s what you’re worried about? Jesus, Lay, you’re worried about whether your ass looked fat?” I would never understand women.

  She went up on her elbow and leaned over me. “Did you just call me fat?”

  Fuck that look she was giving me. I used my most reasonable voice. “Stop trying to turn everything into a fight, Lay. When you were on all fours, all I could think about was burying my cock in your heat, getting my hands on your tits, and my mouth at your neck. Christ, the thought of you like that makes me hot now.”

  She threw her leg over my hips and straddled me. She leaned over me and grabbed two handfuls of hair. I noticed that her hard nipples were rubbing against my chest. “Don’t you dare use that tone of voice with me, like I’m some, I dunno, some idiot you need to placate. I liked the sex like that—hard, rough, with a little bit of pain. Stop treating me like someone you have to baby.”

  “Then stop acting like one.” I didn’t really want to fight, but I liked this side of my woman, all aggressive and hungry. I felt my cock wake and stir against her ass that was planted just above my groin.

  “I’m not the one who had a meeting with a gang leader, and then explained nothing to me. You know how worried I was. The only thing you managed to tell me was you didn’t want me to touch you, and we both know that’s a lie. We just fucked our brains out, and it was good.” She purred the last word as her eyes flashed at me. “Baby, you wanted me to touch you just as much as you wanted to do me.”

  “Then that explains it. Our brains aren’t working right,” I said, my lips beginning to curve upward. I stretched upward, toward her, and nipped her bottom lip, while I put my hands on her tits.

  She lowered her head, pushing mine gently backward until it rested on the pillow. “Fuck you,” she said when I let go of her lip. She sucked it into her mouth to ease the sting.

  “I’d like that,” I said with a laugh.

  She rode me hard and fast.

  God, I loved watching her with her back arched, and my hands working her big tits.

  As I moved them down her belly, I ran my nails across the delicate skin.

  “Lucien, please,” she said, her tone begging for release.

  I moved to her clit, squeezing it hard between my fingers.

  She screamed as she came, and I bucked my hips upward and followed her.

  When she dropped onto my chest, she turned her head and bit me on the pec, right above my heart.

  I was going to fucking get that imprint tattooed as a reminder of tonight. As soon as the skin healed because I was sure she’d drawn blood.

  At some point, we moved onto our sides and covered our bodies with the comforter. I didn’t remember any of it. The next thing I knew, my alarm was beeping.

  “No way,” Layla mumbled.

  I twisted my upper body and grabbed my phone to kill the alarm. “It’s six.” My voice was rough this morning. I repositioned and wrapped my arm around her soft body.

  “Can you hit snooze?” She rubbed her ass against my cock that was always hard in the morning.

  “Got shit to do today.” I had a meeting with one of Tye’s clients at nine.

  She rolled over and pushed me onto my back. Her eyes widened. “Oh, My God! I hurt you.” She ran her finger over the dried blood where she’d bitten me.

  “I think we did our share of leaving marks. Your hips should have the individual outlines of my fingers.” I patted her ass.

  “That got kinda crazy last night,” she murmured, running her fingers across my chest.

  “Helluva way to end a fight.” I smiled.

  “I don’t like being kept in the dark.” She stopped touching me and leaned up on her elbow so she could see my face.

  I missed her touching me. “I get that.”

  “I don’t like it that you didn’t tell me what happened at the meet. You should have told me last night.” She lifted her chin a little as she locked her lips together.

  “Vador got the message.”

  “But something happened that you don’t like, or you had to give up something for that guarantee.” She pushed up to a sitting position.

  She wasn’t going to let this go. I sat up too and moved pillows behind my shoulders. “He knows my position. This shit keeps on and we go to war.”

  “I don’t want that,” she whispered, and then bit her bottom lip.

  “Nobody wants that. It takes manpower, and we both lose money.”

  “We could lose a lot more…”

  She said it so quietly that I think it was more to herself than to me. “It won’t come to that.” I really didn’t think it would, but at the moment, Vador was not in control of his people

  “I need to know. This is about me, so you have to keep me updated.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about shit you can’t control. The trial starts next week. You already have that on your mind.” I knew she was nervous about it. She was baking every night, not that my staff at Limited or at Tye’s firm minded, but I knew it was always on her mind.

  “Forde, I’m telling you I need to know.” She turned to me, her eyes pleading. “Don’t cut me out. I can’t be cut out, not after everything that happened before.”

  I didn’t like that she compared the shit that had happened with her ex to what was happening now, with us. I hated that she compared me to Brian Shepherd. I
brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “If you keep looking back at the past, you’re going to miss our future.”

  She sucked in a breath. “You’re nothing like him,” she whispered.

  I arched a brow. “Then remember that when you’re comparing us.”

  “I know that, Lucien. I do.”

  “Good. Now get your ass into the shower.” I smacked a cheek as she climbed out of bed.

  She froze and looked back at me over her shoulder. “You’re so much better.” Then she winked.

  God, I loved my woman.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Several days had passed with no new events. I don’t know what it said about my life, that I measured my days by the number of catastrophes. Working at Limited, I’d learned there was an entire segment of society that I knew nothing about. Sure, growing up in my neighborhood I’d heard about criminals, but mostly they were small-time. Here, I was getting educated about highly organized, tiered officialdoms. They had territories, treaties, and a code of conduct. I tried to be a sponge and soak up all of the information. I needed it for the job and so that I could be good for Forde, a part of his world.

  I was reviewing the billing from the day before. I’d set the rule that paperwork had to be to me by fourteen hundred, which to us, regular folk, was two in the afternoon. At first, the “boys” complained, but when I made it clear—no paperwork, no pay—they changed their tune.

  My cell rang, and I recognized the number as ADA Miller’s.

  “Hello,” I said. My thigh muscles tensed, and my toes curled as if they wanted to get a better grip on the floor through my shoes.

  “We need to set up a few meetings.” Corrine Miller did not waste time on niceties. She was all business. I found her attitude a little off-putting and, in the past, she’d intimidated me.

  “I’d like for Lucas Forde in on those meetings,” I said. “He might have questions I forget to ask.” He’d already made it clear he was going to be involved in every step of this process. I thought I would warn her before he showed up, and then refused to leave.

  “If he must.”

  I heard her sigh as I checked to see if Forde was using his office phone. “Please hold, while I locate him and put us on speaker.” I hit the mute function on my phone. I didn’t care about her reply.

  I hustled to the door to Forde’s office. I knocked and saw him look up from his computer.

  “Babe?”

  So much for keeping work and home separate. My stomach did a little flutter because I liked it. “I have ADA Miller on the phone. She wants to set up some meetings. I thought I could put her on speaker in here.”

  “Fine, but you might want to come in.” He raised one brow, which irritated me because I couldn’t do that move. I’d tried it in the mirror; I didn’t have the coordination.

  I took a chair in front of his desk, and he came around and parked his ass on the edge of the desk in front of me.

  I tapped the mute button. “Ms. Miller, thank you for holding. Mr. Forde is with us, and I have you on speaker.”

  “A regular professional, isn’t she, Forde?” Her disembodied voice was snarky.

  I shot Forde a questioning look, and his mouth tightened. “Corrine, I’m not sure I like your tone. Let’s try to keep it cordial today.”

  “Just an observation. You’ve taken in our Mrs. Shepherd, given her lodging, a job, and your protection. Now, her phone skills are impeccable. I’m sure that is due to your training.”

  I didn’t like her tone, her words, or the insinuation that I was stupid, and Forde had to teach me to be professional. Time to take control. “You said something about setting up some meetings. I have our calendar open.” My voice sounded frigid. I wanted her to know I was not happy with her conclusions.

  Forde smirked as I gave him a “what” look.

  “I’m in court tomorrow morning. How about three o’clock?” Corrine suggested.

  Forde held up four fingers.

  I nodded, liking that he was letting me take the lead. “Three’s bad for me, but we can make four.”

  “Our meeting could take several hours. I hope you won’t be missing dinner plans,” she said with false concern.

  I was feeling catty. “We’ll be fine. It turns out I’m very flexible.”

  Forde snickered. This was fun.

  “I suppose this means you’ll be available to accompany her?” Corrine didn’t attempt to hide her displeasure.

  “Yes, I will, and I think I’ll bring Tye, if he’s free.” Forde flashed an evil smile.

  “Really? Will that be necessary?” It was almost a whine from Corrine.

  “Promise to play nice Corrine, and so will I.”

  I shot him a look. There was something going on. I guessed they had some kind of history.

  “Tomorrow, four o’clock.” She clicked off.

  I picked up my phone and shoved it into my pocket. “So which one of you fucked Ms. Miller, or was it fucked with?” I shot Forde a sideways look.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “It was Tye. He was in it for fun and she thought it was more. It didn’t end well.”

  I had a hard time picturing the free-wheeling Tye with the very buttoned up Corrine Miller. “And you?”

  “She doesn’t approve of my work.” He frowned. “Ms. Miller has a very definite idea of right and wrong.”

  I nodded. Forde and others moved in that gray area between the two.

  “She doesn’t see the in-between. Her work involves it, but she refuses to see it.” He shrugged.

  “Is this,” I circled my finger in the air, encompassing Limited, “going to be a problem for her? She’s still going to do her best, right?”

  His mouth went hard, his lips forming a straight line. “She shouldn’t let our relationship affect things. I don’t think she will, but that’s one of the reasons I’m going with you. If she makes more remarks like those she dished out today, I’ll call in Tye.”

  “Is that wise?” I really wanted to know the story.

  “When he didn’t respond to her continued interest, Corrine tried to make some trouble for Tye. She made calls to the managing partner at the firm he was working for. She also made some remarks at those meetings that all the attorneys attend.” He moved back to his chair.

  “Didn’t that make her look stupid?” I figured that the practice of law was still a “good old boys network”.

  “Ultimately, yes but Tye had to explain his behavior to the partners, and he doesn’t like to do that.” Forde smiled.

  “I never want to get on Tye’s bad side.”

  “I’d prefer that you don’t get on any of his sides.”

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” I rolled my eyes. “You are enough, believe me.”

  “Good to know. Now come over her and give me a kiss.”

  I did what the boss asked.

  I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve become an office snob. I looked around Ms. Miller’s space and found the chairs uncomfortable, and her desk? Well, it was ugly. I laughed internally at my silliness. Forde was sitting next to me with a yellow legal pad resting on his lap.

  “Now, Marlena, we have you listed as our first witness. You’ll be called and sworn in, and then I’ll have you describe what happened the night that Dr. Shepherd was killed. After you finish your testimony, the defense will question you. Then I can do a follow up, which I’ll use to explain or qualify anything you say during your testimony that might hurt our case.”

  I nodded and tried to concentrate on what she was saying. I kept thinking how weird it was to be called Marlena. I didn’t feel like that person anymore.

  She gave me a steely look. “You will need to verbalize your answers for the record.”

  I started to nod, but stopped. “Yes ma’am.”

  “I want you to stay in the courtroom after your testimony is finished. You’re to sit on the prosecution’s side, and please refrain f
rom any public displays of affection with Mr. Forde. We need to keep your late husband first and foremost in the jury’s mind. Some might frown upon how quickly you’ve moved on.”

  “All right.” I looked at Forde.

  He was frowning.

  She leaned back in her creaky chair. “So, let’s begin.”

  “One moment, Corrine,” Forde interjected.

  Ms. Miller frowned. I’m not sure if it was his interrupting or that he called her Corrine.

  “I’d like for you to go over a few things in more depth. You need to be straight with Mrs. Shepherd about how this is going to go.”

  Corrine’s mouth got tight, and I wanted to giggle at the way Forde emphasized my name.

  “Sure.” Corrine flashed him an unhappy look. “The accused’s friends and family will sit behind him. Be prepared for them to make comments loud enough so that you will overhear them. They’ll stare at you and try to make you uncomfortable. Do not interact. I repeat—don’t pay attention to them. If you need to use the facilities, I would suggest going with another woman and using one on another floor.”

  Forde shifted in his chair. “Talk to her about the cross, or I’ll put a call into Tye.”

  “I was just getting to that,” she said, speaking slowly. “The Defense will try to shake your story. They will ask you the same question in multiple ways in order to see if you get mixed up. They’ll try to bring in personal questions.”

  “Oh.” I lowered my brows. I didn’t like the idea of having my personal life discussed in front of strangers.

  “When they put a question to you that is about your personal life, don’t answer immediately. Give me the chance to object.”

  “I can do that.” I liked the sound of that.

  “The judge will either sustain the objection, which means he agrees with me and you won’t have to answer, or deny it, and you’ll have to answer.” She paused and frowned. “If it is a yes or no question, then answer it with one word. If you don’t understand the question, admit you don’t understand. If you don’t know the answer, that’s fine to say as well. Just don’t try to help by explaining.”

  “Keep it short, gotcha.” I smiled. I could do that.