by WL Knightly
“Fine, but I want to come too.” She stepped forward and straddled his lap, putting her big breasts in his face as she reached down and undid his pants. Once she had his cock out, he put his hands around her waist and guided her down on his dick.
“I’ll make you come then you can suck me off. I want to come down that pretty throat.” Less mess, he thought. His fucking day was messy enough.
“I could be your private whore, you know? Make sure all of your needs are met.”
“You already are, aren’t you? I mean, you will be as soon as you take my money.” He was good with that. What he wasn’t good with was this becoming a habit. Sex and secrets were usually expensive though, at least from his experience. She could cost him thousands easily.
He had to give her credit; she was working hard for her dollar. She slowly rocked her hips, and when she made a little moaning sound, he captured her lips with his to keep her quiet. He felt her walls tighten, milking his cock as she came. She stilled, and he pulled away, putting a finger to his lips. “We can’t be loud in here, angel.”
“It feels so good.” She hopped off and got to her feet, straightening her skirt as she got to her knees.
He reached forward and put his hand around the back of her neck, guiding her down, and once she had her mouth around his head, he closed his eyes and rocked his hips upward, pulling her down. He knew exactly how much of his dick she could take, and he wasn’t going to stop forcing until his balls were at her lips.
She held herself there, puffing as the girth became too much, and he pulled away and let her take her time, sucking and licking. He finally felt his orgasm on the horizon and put both hands on the side of her face and held her still. Then he rocked his hips upward, fucking her face and throat until he orgasmed, splashing her tongue and coating her throat. She gulped it down like a pro and pulled away with a smile.
As one hand wiped her mouth, she held the other out, wanting her pay. “Do you think I’ll be able to earn the rest tonight instead? I have work tomorrow.”
“No, it’s too risky. And no more office pop-ins. I’ll meet you somewhere on our lunch hour.”
She nodded. “Okay.” She rubbed her fingers together, and he reached into his wallet and pulled out two crisp hundreds. “Thank you,” she said, snatching them out of his hands.
“This can’t be a habit, Keely. If I get caught doing this, it not only means the well runs dry, but it means that we have to stop having our fun. You feel me?”
She gave a nod and licked her lips. “Don’t worry. I’m good with it. I just needed a little help.”
He gave her a pat on the bottom, and she walked around the desk and grabbed her bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she was about to open the door to leave, the phone rang, and he looked down to see that it was the number he had for Brandy. Time to make more fun money.
He answered. “It was wise of you to call me back, Mrs. Farrow.” He hoped the name bothered her and would put her on edge, but she didn’t seem too fazed.
“I take it you’re the person who Justin talked to about faking the marriage certificate?”
“Justin called me about performing your ceremony with Corey,” he said.
“And what did he promise you in return?”
“My usual fee,” said Carter. “But in light of things, I think my rates just increased.”
“Of course, it did.” The amused tone went out of her voice. “How much do you want?”
“I know what Corey was worth. I can imagine that increasing the original amount by twenty would be a start, but then, you could do better.”
“That’s not helpful. You see, Justin didn’t tell me how much he offered you to start.”
“Twenty-grand. But I’m thinking more like two million, maybe five. I know your late husband had more money than he knew what to do with.”
“I think you’re grossly overestimating his worth.”
“No, I don’t think so. There was insurance money on top of his already insane bankroll. I’ll make it easy. I want half. Don’t pay me, and I’ll make sure the FBI knows you faked the marriage certificate and you’ll lose all of it and go to prison for fraud.”
Brandy gave a nervous laugh. “You’re out of your mind. I have a baby to think about. Do I need to remind you of the details in this situation? Your name is on the document too; you’d be just as guilty.”
“The signature is a forgery, and I’m an upstanding citizen. That can be proved. Maybe it was done by Justin before you had him killed?”
“I beg your pardon?” Her tone hardened, and Carter laughed, knowing he was going to have a lot of fun with her.
“I think it’s quite a coincidence that two men who were trying to take care of you end up dead,” he said. “And you sure didn’t take long to rebound from Corey. Poor guy’s ashes were still embers when you put your claws into Justin Finch.”
“I’ll get you your money so you can fuck off. I never want to hear from you again.”
“I’ll have the account set up later today and text you the number.”
Her breath sent static through the phone, and he realized she was in tears. “I loved Corey. We had big plans until someone gunned him down in the street like a dog. I’ll have to live the rest of my life alone, knowing that someone killed him and took him from me and the baby.”
“And you’ll do it all while living in style I’m sure. Save your sob tears, honey.” He didn’t want to hear it. “Have the money there by the end of the day.” With that, he hung up and eased back in his chair. He knew he had to figure out an answer for Darek, but he was going to make sure that none of the other Zodiacs knew a damned thing about what he had planned. Bay had told them to seize their fortune in life, and that was exactly what he was about to do.
Chapter 8
Bay
Bay hadn’t heard from Mia in nearly a week, and he was losing all hope of finding her alive. He had checked with everyone he could think of and had even given himself a few days past when he knew he should tell Lila and the girls’ mother that she’d gone missing.
He hadn’t let anything affect him for as long as he could remember, and while he was very much in touch with anger, this emotion was something different, and that was very rare and frustrating for him.
He hated to compare it to the way he felt about Rose Marie, but it certainly wasn’t the type of feeling he had for Lila. This was separate and too complicated to deal with. A part of him felt it might just serve him right to love her, and if there was a God, he was probably laughing in Bay’s face, knowing he took her away from him.
But there wasn’t a God, only himself, and he wasn’t going to let this knock him down. He raised his glass to his lips and drank the last swig of his bourbon. Then he went to fetch another one.
He had never been a coward in his life, but telling Lila about her sister? He needed a lot of liquid courage to make that call.
As he walked to the kitchen, he heard the soft hum of the security camera moving and then the sound of his alert beeping to let him know there was movement from a potential intruder. He took out his phone and pulled up his camera feeds, and sure enough, there was something moving out by the pool house.
Bay went for the gun he kept in a box on the fireplace mantle and checked to make sure it was loaded.
It hadn’t escaped his attention that the number of Zodiacs was decreasing, and while he’d never admit it bothered him to anyone else, he had grown increasingly concerned for his safety. He knew that by all accounts, Carter should be up next on the chopping block, but there was never any guarantee with homicidal maniacs. He should know.
He held the gun tight and hurried to the back-patio door where he could have access to the pool area. He hoped this intruder would be acting alone. He didn’t want someone to come up behind him on his way out and take him down.
He looked out to the trellis beside the house, and it was moving, the entire thing shaking like it could break any minute. As he moved out
, hoping to walk up behind them, he saw a little shadow moving across the roof. They were headed for the upstairs window.
His heart raced, and he ran back into the house to head them off. He had the strangest feeling come into his chest again as he took to the stairs.
Running down the hall, he threw open Mia’s bedroom door, and sure enough, his instinct had been correct. She fell into the window and landed on the floor.
Bay rushed over to pick her up.
“I’m fine!” she said, scrambling to her feet.
He held on to her arm and checked her over. “You’re not all right. Where the hell have you been?”
Mia pulled away and walked over to the bed. “I had to get away and think.”
“Think? You had to think? You can fucking think any time of the day. All you had to do was pick up a phone and fucking tell me you needed to think.” He threw his hands up in the air and started to pace the room. “Do you have any idea how fucking worried I’ve been about you? That you were lying someplace dead in the gutter or tossed into the river?” He had feared all the evil things he’d done to others had been done to her.
“I’m sorry. I just, I—” She began to sob, and Bay resisted the urge to hold her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and cradle her like a child and kiss her feverishly like a lover, but then a part of him wanted to show her the pain she’d shown him. He closed the window and then turned to face her.
“I know about your affair with Maxwell Smith.”
She backed away even more, looking as if Bay might strike her at any moment. “I’m sorry.” Tears sprang to her eyes.
“You’re a grown woman, Mia. You’re certainly entitled to make mistakes and to have affairs. What you do with your body is not my choice. I do not own you.” As much as he wanted to, he hadn’t ever. “I tried to keep you pure and innocent for my own ego. You were, to me, unlike any other.”
“I’m sorry I let you down.”
“I guess it’s my fault for thinking you could have feelings for me. I know I’m a rough man. Hard to handle. I’ve always been just that. Only Rose Marie could tame me when I was a boy, and I misbehaved for everyone else but her.”
Mis shook her head slowly. “It’s not that, though, Bay. It’s just I was so angry that you wouldn’t let me have my fun, and it didn’t seem fair.”
“Why would you think I treat you unfairly when I give you everything?” His voice had gotten much louder than he expected, and when Mia flinched, he knew he should tone it down or risk losing her forever. He had to be calm and coaxing.
“You get to eat your cake and have it too.”
“Because I take it, Mia.”
“I realized after I rebelled that I only did it because I love you.”
He was about to scold her for using such a line on him, but then a closer look at her expression told him it was true. He felt such relief that he closed his eyes.
“I didn’t mean to disappoint you, Bay. I’ve just been dealing with my feelings. I thought I could just have fun with how things were. I liked being your little kitten, your plaything to be petted and adored. But as my feelings got stronger, I knew it was all for nothing. You’ll never be mine, Bay. You’ll always be Lila’s. She’s giving you a child. How could I compete with that? How could my feelings matter at all compared to hers? I know you could never really love me back.”
“Why did you sneak in?”
“I only meant to come and get a few things. I am staying with a friend.”
“I’ve called all of your friends.”
“I know. I had her lie.” She lowered her chin. “I’ll just gather my things and leave.”
“No, you won’t. For one, you don’t sneak into my house and tell me how I feel and who I am. And secondly, you are not safe out on the streets with some little liar who should have had the good sense to tell me the fucking truth before I involved the police.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did Max know where you went?”
She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t about him. I broke things off. He was okay, but it was too weird for me.”
“Too weird?” Bay couldn’t imagine it getting any fucking weirder than it had been with him. “Did he do something inappropriate?”
“He liked it rough, and he always wanted me to beg. He wanted me to look in his eyes and put his hands on my throat while I begged. I nearly passed out once, and when I asked him not to do it again, he got even weirder. Told me that I should be used to weird shit after fucking you.”
Bay wasn’t too shocked by the officer’s strange fetishes. As the owner of a sex club, he had seen plenty, but what pissed him off more than anything was the manner in which he liked to get off. Bay didn’t like anyone abusing his property, human or otherwise.
“What do you mean even weirder?”
“The last time we met, he had this knife, and he held it to me, said he wanted me to pretend he was going to kill me. It was too intense. I didn’t mind fucking. He was actually a lot smaller than I’m used to, so it wasn’t all that bad. But the creepy shit that went with it was too much to take.”
“I hope you realize what kind of things you’ll find when you go out looking for better.”
“There isn’t anyone better,” she said. “I’ve learned that.”
“Then why are you planning on leaving again?”
“Because you’re not mine, and you never will be.”
“Greedy girl. Isn’t it enough to be mine? I treated you like a princess, pampered you, gave you the world, and you shit on me by going to that cop!”
“He approached me,” she said. “I just felt so flattered.”
“I’ll kill that asshole. Preying on young girls.” He knew some could say the same of him, but Mia was his family.
Mia lowered her eyes to his feet. “Are you going to punish me?”
He walked over and lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes. “You have a lot to do to make up for this, Mia. Are you up for the task?”
Her tears came swiftly again, rolling down her cheeks. “Yes. Thank you.”
“No, thank you, Mia. Thank you for loving me.” He pulled her close, tightening his grip on her arm. “But if you ever lie to me again, I’ll throw you out and disown you. You’ll not be allowed near Lila or the baby, and I’ll even make sure your mother doesn’t respond. Do you understand what I’m saying, Mia?”
“Yes, sir.” She began to cry, and Bay wondered if he was choosing the right thing. He really thought it possible that he loved her as much as she loved him. He just didn’t know how to show it. His love was possessive and harsh; it wasn’t the kind of love that other men could give her. But shame for her, she was too good for other men. He was going to keep her all to himself.
“You know, I think we should go get you cleaned up, and I’ll bring you to bed. We have a lot of making up to do.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. Then he walked her to the master suite where his large marble tub and shower were about to be put to use in more ways than one.
As she pulled off her clothes, she kept a melancholy look, like any minute he would rip the carpet out from under her and things would go south. “Chin up, baby. It’s not many days I give someone a second chance.”
The two of them moved together until their bodies were joined. Bay kissed her hard, knowing he’d have to do all he could to reclaim what had once been his, but that aching feeling in his chest had slowly begun to subside, with pleasure filling its place.
Chapter 9
Darek
“They’ve found Antonio,” said Lizzy, walking out to greet him at his car with her morning coffee in hand. She took a sip as Darek gave her a strange look and closed his car door.
“Antonio?”
“Yes,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Come on, I sat around stuffing my face with enough sugar to be comatose yesterday, and you’re the one who can’t remember the fine details of the case?”
“Ah, the tattoo,” said Darek, remembering the victim’s wrist. “Did they find him dead or al
ive?”
“Alive and he’s not talking. Yet. They arrested him on drug charges, so he’ll be around a while, no matter the outcome of our little chat.”
They turned and headed for the building where Darek wondered how far into processing the man was. “How soon will they have him ready for us?”
Lizzy placed her hand on his shoulder. “They just snagged him an hour ago. They are a bit behind, but I told them to move him up. I want him in stripes before I see him, and I don’t want to wait all goddamned morning.”
“Do you think it’s going to tie into our case?” he asked. Just because it was a brutal stabbing didn’t mean it was linked.
She gave a shrug. “Unless someone thought it was a good idea to throw us off by using a similar knife.”
Darek stepped up ahead of her and opened the door. “That’s true. Maybe we’ll get a miracle, and he’ll say Ken Sin put him up to it.” He gave a chuckle, knowing that was never going to happen.
“He could. People watch the news, and with them sensationalizing Sin’s arrest, a natural cult following could form. Stranger things have happened for sure.”
“Like a man saying he’s a serial killer for fame?”
Lizzy rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yeah, just like that.”
As they walked into the front office, Lizzy let out a sigh. “It’s good to be home,” she said, being a little dramatic.
Darek shook his head, not understanding her one bit. “Are you serious? I’d do anything for someone to give me a day off.”
“I could smash your face into a table if you want,” she said with a nudge.
Darek glanced over at her bruises, which were healing and turning an ugly shade of purple with yellow edges. The brown was gone, which was good. It showed that she was healing. “No thanks.”
