by Zara Cox
Traffic was light, and with the radio in the SUV set to low, I heard the other voice on the line. “The band won’t take me back.”
Caleb suppressed a sigh. “Have you been showing up for rehearsals like we agreed?”
“Every day. I even blew off my weekend plans to put in some extra work. They said it was too little, too late.”
“It’s only been a week. Maybe they’re testing you to see whether you’ll disappoint them again. Where are you right now?” Caleb asked.
There was a moment’s hesitation before Ross-whoever-he-was answered, “At the Beverly Hilton.”
A muscle rippled in Caleb’s jaw. “Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t go back there again?”
“Yeah, but if the guys won’t take me back then what’s—?”
“You better not be thinking of pulling that stunt again or I’ll hang up right now and block your number permanently,” Caleb interrupted harshly.
“I won’t... But it’s hard, man,” the other man whined.
“That’s what happens when you let people down, Ross. They stop trusting you.” His voice gentled. “If you really want this, you just have to keep trying. They’ll come around eventually.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then you have to find answers elsewhere. You’re talented. You just need to take a little more responsibility for your life. Ultimately, it’s down to you whether you want to succeed or fail.”
“I...want this. The band,” Ross said.
“Then you know what you have to do.”
A sigh echoed down the line. “Yeah. Umm...thanks, man.”
“You can thank me by checking out of that hotel and getting your ass back home.” He hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket.
Silence throbbed through the vehicle for a few blocks.
“You’re good at this... Being a fixer.”
The corners of his mouth lifted, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thanks. That’s high praise coming from you.”
“I mean it. It can’t be easy dealing with people who aren’t always receptive.”
He eyed me. “Are you including yourself in that?”
I hid a grimace. “Maybe. But what you said to him, just now...is that why you’re a fixer? Because people let you down?”
His face tightened. “That’s too heavy a conversation for this time of the morning, sweetheart.”
“You’re avoiding.”
“And you’re searching for something to take your mind off your meeting. This subject isn’t it, Lily.” There was a touch of warning in his voice.
“Why not? I’ve told you my secrets. You owe me something. Quid pro quo. Isn’t that what it’s called?”
His lips flattened. But he blew out a breath a moment later. “Yeah, a bunch of people let me down. But more than that, they let my mother down when she needed them the most. It’s not a good feeling, being that helpless, so fixing became my thing.”
“When did you start?”
“Officially? When I was twenty. Unofficially, shortly after my mother died. There was a lot of fixing to be done in Trenton Gardens.” There was a hard, bitter note in his voice that drew shivers down my arms.
“I don’t know where that is.”
“Consider that a good thing, baby.”
I looked at his rigid profile, and burning with a need I couldn’t suppress, I tapped the name into my phone.
And grew colder. “Trenton Gardens, home of the most notorious gangs in South Central LA. Five people are killed there every week!” I read out loud with growing horror.
A flash of anger lit his eyes as he glanced at the phone, but then he gave a grim shrug. “Not exactly fairy-tale reading, is it?”
I put my phone away, my chest tightening with sympathy for this man with the hard exterior and flashes of tenderness. I wanted to know more, uncover his layers.
“I hear you sometimes,” I murmured.
His body tensed. “Excuse me?”
“In the night. You don’t sleep very well, do you?” I probed gently.
“What makes you think I’m not checking on things? Keeping you safe?”
“Are you?”
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Leave it alone, Lily.”
“My mother left just before I turned eight. I didn’t sleep through the night for a year,” I blurted. “My stepdad and I woke up one morning and she was...gone. Left a note to say she was never coming back and we shouldn’t try to find her. Even after we received papers the next week from her lawyer granting my stepfather full custody of me I still thought she would come back. Stephen was sterile and couldn’t have children of his own. That’s the only reason he kept me.”
Caleb cursed under his breath. “That’s his loss, Lily, not yours.”
I attempted to shrug his sympathy away, but my shoulders didn’t comply. “I wasn’t entirely blameless. It...hurt, knowing my mother could leave without a second thought, and my stepfather would’ve walked away if he had children of his own. I acted out. Sometimes.”
“That’s still not an excuse for what he did.”
“I know, but...” I shrugged.
“Deep down you wish things had turned out differently,” he said.
I sniffed away the unexpected tears. “Stupid, right?”
“No. Not stupid at all,” he murmured, reaching out to glide a finger down my cheek.
Damn, there he went, being all gentle again. A fat drop rolled down my cheek.
He cursed again as he turned off the ignition. A distracted look outside showed we were in SDM’s parking lot. It was still early enough that there were only a handful of cars around, the nearest one six bays away.
When his thumb brushed my chin, I tried to pull away, more than a little terrified of the softening happening inside me. He clamped his fingers in my hair, forcing me to look at him.
One brow was cocked, but his eyes were gentle. “I told you this was too heavy for this time of the morning. You should listen to me more often.”
Another tear slipped free. I tried to laugh it away. “I have no idea why I’m crying. I’m over all of that. Counting the days until I put him and Chance in my rearview.”
His fingers tightened on my nape. His other hand patted his lap. “Come here,” he commanded.
My breath caught. “Why?”
“So I can make you feel better,” he answered, his voice lower, deeper, curling around my turbulent emotions.
I shouldn’t.
I really, really, shouldn’t.
My hands slowly went to my seat belt, freeing it despite the voice screeching warning at the back of my head. Caleb’s seat, already extended fully to accommodate his long legs, afforded me plenty of space as I crawled into his lap.
The hand on my nape speared into my hair and the other clamped one hip.
“Open your jacket,” he instructed.
Hands shaking, I complied.
The sun wasn’t fully up yet and the tinted windows shielded us as I braced my knees on either side of him. The moment my hands landed on his shoulders, he pulled me down and fused his lips to mine.
Caleb ravaged my mouth like I was his last meal, and I was more than happy to be devoured.
Between my legs, his erection thickened, pressing insistently against me. Shamelessly turned on, I ground against him, earning his tortured groan. We kissed until the need for more oxygen forced us apart. He kneaded my ass, encouraging me to grind against him. The feeling was intensely exquisite.
God, I could come from just rubbing my clit on his cock.
The thought drew a hungry moan but when I tried to dive back into the kiss, he stopped me.
“I didn’t see a zipper on your dress when I helped you with your jacket earlier. Where is it?” he demanded hoarsely.
I motioned dazedly to my left rib cage.
“Take it down for me, baby,” he said, his eyes still consuming me.
My racing heart tripled its tempo but I couldn’t have stopped myself if a freight train was bearing down on me. I lowered the zipper until the corset gaped to reveal my breasts.
Caleb stared at me for another tense second before his gaze dropped. He exhaled sharply. “Fuck.” His hand dropped to brush the back of his knuckles over one tight nipple, making me jerk against him. “I wondered whether these would be pale or dark.” His gaze flicked to my face, absorbing my reaction as he repeated the gesture over the twin peak. “I have no clue which I would’ve preferred because seeing them now...they’re fucking perfect.” The words ended in a groan as he yanked me forward and clamped his mouth around one tight bud.
“Oh, God!”
He suckled me, hot and urgent, then flicked his tongue mercilessly over the sensitive bud, all the while dragging my damp center back and forth over his erection.
He transferred his attention to the other nipple, catching the freed, wet bud between his thumb and finger.
Stars exploded across my vision. “Yes!”
My fingers dug into his hair, desperate to keep him right where he was. I threw my head back as my hips took on a life of their own, fixated on riding him to the bliss that hovered on the horizon.
“Holy fuck, you’re beautiful,” he groaned against me, staring up at me with an intensity I couldn’t fathom.
“Caleb...”
“You have no idea how gorgeous you are, do you?”
I couldn’t breathe. This man was unraveling me, piece by piece. Body and soul. And I couldn’t think of a single reason to stop him.
My body was a knot of seething sensation, waiting for some unknown directive to explode. Caleb wrapped one hand around my throat, restricting but not hurting. The other slipped beneath my dress and nudged my panties aside.
My fingers dug into his shoulders.
“I wasn’t going to. But I need to feel you, Lily.”
“Yes.” Agreement was as easy as breathing, my need unstoppable.
His eyes hooked into mine, Caleb dragged his tongue across my nipple as he sank one thick finger inside me.
A tight scream erupted from my throat. He added a second finger and pleasure rained on me, quickening the movements of my hips as I chased ecstasy.
“Damn, you’re so fucking tight,” he exclaimed harshly, his breathing a ragged mess. “I can’t wait to bury my cock inside you.”
“Caleb...” I couldn’t form any other words other than his name as he drove me insane with his fingers.
Sweet vortex swirled closer, sucking me down.
The hand around my throat bore me down onto piston-fast fingers. His thumb circled my clit and pleasure like I’ve never known before completely unraveled me. I came hard.
Somewhere in the midst of blinding ecstasy, Caleb covered my mouth with his, riding the waves with me until my convulsions ebbed away.
I collapsed in a boneless heap on top of him, panting like a bitch straight out of heat. He rained kisses on my neck and jaw, his hand caressing my ass.
“You okay?” he asked gruffly in my ear.
I hummed, mindlessly floating on a sea of bliss. The fingers inside me crooked, making me gasp one last time before he pulled out.
He gently nudged me upright, made me watch as he put his fingers in his mouth and licked off my essence. A fierce blush lit up my skin as he pressed his mouth against mine. “You taste even more sublime than I thought you would. The list of what I’m going to do to you is growing by the hour, baby. I’ve just added eating your pussy for hours to it.”
I groaned, my senses firing up all over again. Before my orgasm-addled brain could return to reality, I scooted sideways and reached for his belt.
He tensed. “Lily?”
Maybe it was the orgasms that made me bold. Maybe it was his words of praise that tapped into a reserve of strength inside me. Either way, I slowly brushed my fingers over his mouth before replacing them with my own. “Shh,” I whispered. “You’re not the only one who gets to bestow awesome gifts this morning. I’m feeling generous, too.”
His eyes widened a touch, right before his gaze dropped to my mouth. And locked, with blazing hunger flaring in his eyes. “Lily...” Hoarse anticipation thickened his voice.
“Will you let me, Caleb?” I lowered his zipper and slipped my hand beneath the waistband of his boxers. “Make us both feel good?”
He slammed his head against the headrest and groaned, long and hard and pained. “Do you really expect me to refuse an offer like that?”
I pulled him out, gasped and just...stared. God. He was huge. Thick and hard and insanely hot. Caleb’s cock was everything I’d dreamed it would be and more. “You’re beautiful.” Tentatively, I stroked his hard length.
A rough sound erupted from his throat. “Dammit, Lily...”
Trepidation threatened to overcome me as the difference between watching a few porn clips and giving my first blowjob hit home.
I stroked him harder, loving the velvet-steel feel of him, loving the way his teeth gritted and his cheekbones flushed with color.
Lost in my ministrations, I startled when he cursed, “Fuck, stop licking your lips like that and put your gorgeous mouth on me before I come.”
Heart racing, I slowly lowered my head and kissed his crown. A hiss flew from his lips as his hand slid up my back. I trailed kisses over his length, and then dragged my tongue up the underside of his cock, earning myself another deep groan.
Still sliding my hand up and down his glorious shaft, I flicked my tongue in rapid succession over his slit. His hips jerked against my mouth and frantic fingers dug into my hair. “Fuck!”
I sucked and pumped him with long, even strokes, establishing a rhythm that drew harsh pants from him.
“Yes! Fuck, yes, just like that,” he croaked, his other hand fumbling for my breast.
Sensation curled through me as he fondled me almost frantically, his movements growing jerkier as I kept up a relentless pace on his cock.
A glance up showed his eyes squeezed shut, his chest heaving as he sucked in desperate breaths.
I reached between his legs, stroked his balls, and his fingers tightened painfully in my hair.
“God, Lily, don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop.”
Impossibly, he thickened in my mouth. I drew him deep, right to the back of my throat and held still, glorying in his utter lack of control when he ground himself mercilessly against me.
“Take it. Fuck, take it all,” he panted, right before a pure, animalist growl rumbled from his chest, then erupted in a hoarse shout as he came furiously in my mouth.
I swallowed him down, the salty muskiness of him weirdly addictive. When his body sagged against the seat, I licked him clean, then allowed him to pull me upright.
“Jesus, Lily. That was sensational,” he breathed against my mouth.
The smile that curved my lips was pure feminine power. My first blow and I hadn’t sucked at it. A wicked little laugh broke loose before I could stop it.
“Enjoying your power, are you?” he croaked.
“Maybe,” I replied breathlessly.
He pulled me in for a deep, long kiss. When we parted, we stared at each other for several heartbeats, both adjusting to the shifting landscape beneath our feet.
His gaze scoured my face; then his thumb brushed my lower lip.
After he zipped himself up, he reached into the center console and handed me packet of tissues. I took one and reached between my legs.
He caught my wrist. “No. Not there. I want you to walk around the office today with a reminder of how good this moment felt. Each time you get anxious, remember this moment. Remember that you’re phenomenal. Okay?”
The
huge lump that rose in my throat prevented me from speaking. After I nodded, he took the tissue from me, and gently wiped my smeared lipstick. Then he wiped his own mouth before reaching for my satchel and the small makeup bag I kept in there.
He watched as I repaired my makeup, his intense gaze fixed on my face. Only then did he zip me back up, button my jacket and let me slide back into my seat.
“You ready?”
I took a deep breath and let my gratitude show in my smile. “Yes.”
His return smile was gentle if a little dazed around the edges. “Let’s go.”
The morning presentation went without a hitch, with an eager audience comprising the tech media and bloggers, applauding when the two-hour event was done.
Over the years, Chance and I had perfected the art of being in the same room but speaking only the barest minimum to one another.
Afterward, I returned to my office with Chance. Caleb had grudgingly agreed to keep out of sight while I dealt with Chance but I knew he was nearby, and that gave me a layer of comfort I didn’t know I needed till it was time for the second presentation.
The beta test started off well, my tweaks making the algorithm as fast as I promised it would be.
Right up until the moment the compression sequence slowed to a crawl. My heart jumped into my throat. Seventeen excruciating seconds ticked by before it sped up again.
But the blip was the only thing that mattered when the screen turned black and the lights went back up in the conference room.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Lily
“I CAN FIX IT,” I blurted. “It’s just a small area of the code.”
Chance looked furious. “We thought these wrinkles would’ve been ironed out by now.”
“I still have three weeks of beta testing before the final deadline.”
Walter Green, the man Chance had brought with him, frowned. “You said it would be ready, Donovan.”
“I was assured it would be,” Chance responded.
I ignored the men and fired up my laptop. Scrolling through the code, I zeroed in on where the problem was. Heart pumping, I forced myself to analyze it line by line. After forty lines, I stopped. “It’s fixable,” I repeated. “But I’ll need time.”
