by B. B. Reid
“Child support.”
I gaped. A part of me didn’t believe the senator had really offered me so much money and it was all because of Angel.
Instead of grateful, I felt trapped. “Am I supposed to thank you?”
“I don’t want your gratitude.” I nodded and relaxed until he said, “But you should know this money was originally payment to kill you.” I gasped. “ Both of you,” he corrected, sending my heart to my stomach.
“I don’t understand.”
“The senator paid me to make you and Caylen disappear, and since neither of us like loose ends, which took making you simply leave the city off the table.”
It was scary to know my life had a price on it. There were many questions running through my mind, but only one spilled forth. “You were going to kill me, anyway. Why not just take the money?”
His face looked like I’d just ripped out his gut at the thought of taking my last breath when he’d been so eager just days before. “That was before I knew you were innocent.”
It was an answer, but it wasn’t good enough.
“If you believe that, why haven’t you let us go?” I felt the pinch from my nails digging into my thighs. “Why haven’t I been able to see or hold my son?”
“Believe it or not, I’m protecting you.”
“I don’t believe it,” I confirmed. “What do you think you’re protecting me from?”
“The bounty on your head?” he answered as if I was dimwitted. I was well aware of the bounty, but what he didn’t realize was that he was the only danger to me.
“Who will protect me from you?”
“Angel may not be many things, but he is loyal,” Z answered when Angel couldn’t. It was the first time I’d seen him speechless. I’d forgotten Z was even in the room. “He’ll protect you because you need it, and he owes you. It’s as simple as that.”
“I’m supposed to trust the man who had my son ripped from my arms while he slept?”
“Like I said… he owes you.”
“That’s not loyalty. That’s guilt.”
“I may be guilty, but I’m still in control,” he growled. “And you aren’t leaving until I say it’s safe.”
“I know the senator only agreed to pay me the money instead so I’d disappear. What makes you think I’m still in danger?”
“Because as long as you’re breathing, you’re a threat to his position and name. He’ll just pay someone double what he gave me to kill you.”
“What about the book? Isn’t the purpose to keep your clients under control?” His gaze slid to Z accusingly, but Z shrugged in an “it wasn’t me” gesture.
“The book holds power, but it doesn’t stop bullets.”
“I can leave Chicago.” I refused to accept that Angel was my only hope.
He was already shaking his head before I finished. “If I let you go, he’ll find you. One hundred and fifty stacks isn’t enough to get you out of his reach.”
I continued to argue, but he backed me into a corner at every turn until I was too mentally exhausted to keep up.
“Promise me you’ll stay, and I’ll give you back your son.”
No. Never. “I can’t do that.”
“Then I can’t trust you with him.”
“He’s my son.”
“You say that, but you aren’t putting his safety first like a mother should.”
“How the fuck would you know? Your mother was too busy hiding, and your father was too busy stealing livelihoods and getting blood on his hands.”
“And your father was right there with him.”
We both seemed to back down at the same time knowing our parents left lasting damage on both of us. Pointing fingers didn’t change our past, and it sure as fuck didn’t make our present easier to swallow.
At that moment, I made the decision to accept Angel’s protection. I wouldn’t do to Caylen what my parents did to me.
“I’m the one who was raped, yet I get imprisoned,” I muttered to myself.
His eyes flashed with something. Jealousy? Anger? I couldn’t put a finger on it, but I did not want to be on the other side of it.
“What did you just say?”
I swallowed even though my mouth and throat had long dried out. “Which part?”
“You know damn well which part, Mian.”
“I was raped, Angel. Is that what you would like to hear? I was slipped a drug after a party and woke up the next day with his come on my thighs and no memory of how it happened.” I didn’t mean to be so upfront, but the way he looked at me made me defensive. Reliving that night wasn’t exactly good for my mood either. But it was more than two years ago, and I was dealing with it.
Sort of.
“You were a virgin.” Z’s striking green eyes were troubled as he stared into mine. “Weren’t you?” He spoke softly. Maybe that was why I found myself nodding. “Jesus Christ…” He shoved his hands in his hair and met Angel’s hard gaze. “You need to erase that memory from her mind. Fucking destroy it.”
Just like that, the vibe in the room changed to something warmer and more dangerous. Before I could ask what he meant, I was pulled into his lap.
“What he did to you…” He wrapped his hand around my neck and tilted my head back to rest on his shoulder. “That isn’t the way a man should touch you.” I sucked in air when I felt his other arm wrap around my waist. “You should want it.” His fingertips skimmed my lips. “You should crave it.” I felt his hot breath on my neck. “And if he’s really good, you should beg for it.”
What was happening? One moment, I was arguing against staying with the man who had kidnapped my son, and the next, I was sitting in his partner’s lap as his husky voice did things I wasn’t proud of to my body.
“Am I scaring you?” I twisted my head enough to see genuine concern in Z’s green eyes. Once again , I found myself nodding. He didn’t scare me. He terrified me. “Do you like it?”
I didn’t know if the torturous feeling low in my stomach was right or wrong. It was akin to how Angel made me feel back when I was just a kid with a crush though it didn’t burn as hot.
Z was right.
If I wanted to be touched, I’d beg for it, and it didn’t always come with words. My body knew what it wanted even when my brain boycotted. I lifted my head and saw Angel watching. His dark, burning gaze never left me, but I knew he was clocking every move Z made.
“What do you say we put on a show?” Z whispered so only I could hear. “Let him see how much you really want it?”
It was too late to pretend. Z knew who and what I wanted, which meant Angel would too.
“How?”
“We’ll make him jealous, princess.” I felt his hands leave my waist. The breath I almost took was caught in my throat when his hand slipped beneath my shirt. He caressed the spot, low on my stomach, where I felt my urges. “You in?”
If sex had a voice, it would have been Z’s. He waited while I finally exhaled. There was nothing I could do without my racing heart, though.
Gratifying sex with a man who helped kidnap my son?
Why would I say yes?
I met Angel’s darkening glare, and wondered why I couldn’t say no either.
“You control the pace and how far this goes.” He paused to kiss my shoulder through my shirt and said, “But don’t worry. He’ll give in before you do.”
My nod was barely complete when he lifted my shirt over my head. I was still coming to grips with my answer when he tossed it on the empty seat beside us. I should have felt shy and shameful for being exposed, but we were past that, weren’t we?
“You have beautiful tits, princess. Did you know Angel was a tit man?”
I saw Angel’s surprise when I nodded. “All the girls used to talk about it… He’d go crazy for them and make them come just by
sucking on them.” I could still feel the devastation and misplaced sense of betrayal whenever I heard about Angel with other girls. And I always heard about him. When girls weren’t whispering about Angel, they were interrogating me.
I was hurtled back to the present when Z flicked my nipple and growled. “Yeah, but it’s you who drives him crazy. Never forget that, princess.” He repeated the assault on my other nipple before moving his hands down to my jeans and flicking open the button.
Angel didn’t take his eyes off of us, so I waited for him to make his next move. I was confused when he pulled his hands away. “If you want more, show him. He can’t resist you if you command it.” I felt him wrap his hands around my waist and lift me from his lap.
What did he want from me?
I wanted Angel, but our past wouldn’t allow me to speak the words.
Angel sat so still behind his father’s desk, but I could sense the struggle within him to hold back and win this round. Years ago, my age kept a barrier between us, but now that I was of age, there was nothing but his restraint keeping him contained.
I could return the favor, push his boundaries until they collapsed, and push him away like he did to me. Z promised I controlled how far this would go, and for some reason, I believed him.
“Remember, Mian… you’re in control,” Z reminded as if on cue.
My hands moved to my open jeans and pushed them down my legs. I had to force my gaze away from Angel to step out of my jeans. It would be a definite mood killer if I were to fall on my face.
I stood up and forced my hands to hang by my sides. I was completely naked since, once again, I wasn’t given a pair of panties.
“Damn, princess. I’ve missed you naked for us.” I watched Angel for a reaction. His jaw ticked but other than that? Nothing.
God, why won’t you say something?
“Come here,” Z commanded. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I wanted to scream. It should be Angel touching me. It should be him showing me that sex isn’t something you take, it’s something you give. Instead, he was determined to resist me.
For a moment, I was desperate enough to believe he’d read my mind and knew I intended to leave him high and dry the moment he gave in.
Maybe he just knows you well enough.
I ignored the voice and made the decision to try harder. I didn’t doubt Angel’s desire, but he obviously questioned mine. I turned my back on Angel and climbed gracefully onto Z’s lap. I moved to wrap my arms around his neck, willing to give this my all, when he suddenly lifted me up and turned me, so my back was against his chest once more.
Shit.
I wanted to provoke his possessive nature by shutting him out, but Z had other plans. I hadn’t realized his intent when he slid his palms over my knees until he cupped them underneath to lift and spread my legs apart enough to qualify as obscene. I was spread open like an offering and Angel had a front row seat.
My heart hammered against my chest. I felt trapped. If I panicked, it would scare them both off, and I’d never get this chance to make Angel lose control again. Angel’s gaze lowered, but I couldn’t stop watching him. If I had, I would have missed the first slip of his control. It was so fleeting that, had I blinked, I would have missed it.
I would have moved in for the kill, but Z’s hands on my thighs destroyed the little control I had. He may not have been Angel, but I wasn’t oblivious to his touch either. “Don’t let him fool you, princess.” His hands caressed my skin as he moved closer to my center. “He would have fucked you a long time ago if he thought you could handle him.”
“I can handle him,” I gasped. Z’s fingers skimming my pussy erased reason from my mind.
“Then what do you say we kick this up a notch?” Z whispered. It was too late when I realized what was happening. At some point, while he was driving me crazy to torture his best friend, he’d released his cock. When I felt the hard length of Z’s cock slide between my legs, an electric shock ran through me. With his hands on my hips, he lifted and lowered me, moving my sex along the length of his cock all the while Angel watched. I was spread open like an offering.
His voice was thick with barely restrained lust when Angel finally spoke. “I know what you’re doing.”
“But is it working?” Z whispered to me. I cried out when he lifted me again. This time, he shifted his hips and positioned his cock at my entrance. Angel’s eyes blackened. “That’s it,” Z encouraged. “He’s almost ready.” He lowered me and at the same time, lifted his hips from the couch. The head of his cock pushed inside and when the sensation proved too much, I screamed as my orgasm unexpectedly rocked through me.
“Goddamn it!” Angel roared and surged to his feet. His chair toppled over when he charged for us. I expected Z to pull away, but I had the feeling he was still trying to push Angel’s buttons. “You won’t break me before I break you,” he said as he slid to his knees. Z lifted me, breaking our meager connection, and sat me in his lap. His cock was now hidden as it pressed hot against my spine.
Angel’s eyes were wild, but I saw the intent in them just before he lowered his head and destroyed me completely. His tongue swept my pussy lips, and he groaned like a starving man just before he devoured me.
“I told you he wanted it. He needs it,” Z taunted over my cries. He pinched my nipples while Angel ate my pussy as if it were his last meal on earth. I don’t remember sliding my fingers through his hair, but I tugged him closer anyway and demanded everything he had denied me since I knew what desire was. “How does she taste?”
I moaned despite my confusion.
“She tastes exactly how I thought she would.” Angel’s voice was rough like gravel.
“Like you’d kill to have more?”
“Precisely.”
Oh, God. They were talking about killing just to have me, and I was growing wetter at the possibility. How much more twisted could we get before we completely snapped and destroyed each other?
I came apart again without the answer, and when my cries died, I slumped back against Z’s chest. However, before I could fully recover, I was lifted into Angel’s arms and carried away…
Chapter Forty-Nine
They combust.
ANGEL
Finally.
I carried her upstairs, and instead of my parent’s old bedroom where I’d been sleeping, I took her to my old bedroom. The rare times I visited home, I had fantasized about getting her in this bed, and then I’d fall asleep disgusted with myself for lusting after a kid. Sure, we’d known each other since we were both kids, but the age gap was always there, and when I became an adult, everything changed.
No other girl ever did more than turn my head. They didn’t follow me in my dreams or keep me awake at night.
I was Adam, and she was forbidden fruit.
She always would be.
I lowered her to my bed and stood back to watch her. I realized I would never have my fill, so I removed my clothes and climbed on top of her. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn’t moving. A gentleman would let her rest, but I was neither gentle or patient. I was a man who needed her.
“Angel?” Her voice was soft and sleepy from two orgasms.
“Baby?”
Her eyes peeked open, and she stared at me through narrow slits. “What are we doing?”
I nudged her legs apart and settled between them. “We’re finally combusting.” My cock wasted little time finding her pussy and hardened, even more, when it felt how wet she was, and I knew damn well it was all for me. I pushed my hips and reveled in the sounds she made as I slowly began to slip inside her. Her breath caught in her throat, and her gaze lost focus as her body welcomed me.
“What if I don’t want to combust?” I looked deep into her eyes and saw only longing, desire, and something else that pulled at something deep inside me. There was no fear.
She wanted this.
S
o I gave it to her.
I slid deep and hard and watched the breath leave her lungs. Her head fell back, exposing her neck as she cried out.
She was tight.
So damn tight.
I bent low and whispered in her ear, “Don’t you?”
All the breath left her body in one long exhale and ended with a whimper. The sound was tortured, and when she didn’t move, I had a moment of regret for not taking more care. Her first time was traumatic, and she was still very much a virgin. But then she did something to remind me she wasn’t made of glass.
She dug her nails deep enough in my back to return the pain I had caused her.
Her devious smile when I grunted tempted me to ignore the rules and take her with the little mercy I’d shown her since she came back into my life. I pushed deeper, testing the waters. She slid her hands down my back and gripped my ass. I didn’t miss the subtle way she pulled me deeper and lifted her hips.
When I pulled my hips back, she dug her nails into my ass and moaned, “No.” Smiling, I gave her what she wanted and thrust inside her, harder and deeper than before. Her lips parted when she groaned. The sight was so sexy, I considered pulling out so I could fuck them. Her pussy tightened around me as if to protest.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised her.
She lowered her head and met my gaze. “Stop talking,” she ordered.
Grinning, I gave her what she wanted. Mian didn’t want to be wooed. She wanted to be fucked. She shuddered beneath me as I pounded inside her. I couldn’t look into her face twisted with pleasure without wanting to explode, so I shoved my face in her neck and inhaled her scent instead. God, she smelled as sweet as she tasted. Just when I didn’t think I could hold back much longer, I felt her pussy grip my dick. I lifted my face from her neck to watch her come and decided Z had been right. Mian coming was fucking sweet. When she settled, I managed to hold back my need to come and flipped her on her stomach.
No way in hell was I done with her.
I leaned over and slid deep again. “Stay with me, baby. We’re not done.” When she didn’t move, I rose to my knees and lifted her ass against my hips. She moaned when my cock reached even deeper. “Wake the fuck up.” My voice was thick with lust.
