by B. B. Hamel
“Come for me,” I commanded. “Emma, come for me. Come on this big cock.”
“Yes,” she moaned. “Yes, yes, Brooks. Fuck me.”
I worked her and she rocked her hips, losing herself, working my cock deep inside that pussy. She slowly came hard on my cock, her whole body tensing and shaking.I grabbed her hips and held hard as I kept fucking her, watching her come. Her whole body tensed, and her moans were wild and loud, as she was out of her mind with sex and orgasm.
Watching that face pushed me over the edge. I fucked her rougher, savagely and deep, and came deep inside her pussy.
I grunted with pleasure as I came, a burst of pure bliss filling my mind. I filled that pussy up as I came, rocking my hips, fucking her rough and deep.
Slowly, both of our orgasms ended and we drifted back into the real world.
I collapsed down next to her, panting. She giggled and touched my hair. “That was intense,” she said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “it fucking was.” I sighed, sitting up. “We need to leave, though.”
She pouted. “Are you sure? We can’t just stay here, risk our lives a little bit more?”
I laughed and kissed her gently on the lips. “Unfortunately, as much as I want to stay right here with you, we need to get moving. Did Louisa say where we need to be?”
She sighed and started to get dressed. “I know where to go. Don’t worry.”
I nodded and tossed the condom in the trash before putting my clothes back on. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, barely able to conceal a smile.
Not too long ago, I was packing to leave this city alone. I was ready to start a new life and to leave my old one behind.
Now, I was doing that same thing, but this time I was leaving to start a new life with Emma. I was giving it all up, but I was giving it all up for her. Really, I’d always been giving it up for her, even if she didn’t know it.
She was the reason for all of this. She was the reason I was leaving the mob and was ready to start a new life, a better life.
When we finished dressing, we walked out into the living room. I grabbed my pack and threw it over my shoulder. She smiled at me.
“Are you ready for this?”
I nodded and pulled her against me. “Better question is, are you?”
“I think so.”
“Sure you can handle this?” I asked. “Are you sure you can handle me?”
She smiled. “I think so.”
“Good.” I kissed her once. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
I walked to the door, threw it open, and we left the apartment together. We walked down the stairs, went out the front door, and went out into the city together.
I didn’t look back.
There was nothing left back there.
I felt Emma take my hand, and I laced my fingers through hers. That was all I needed.
Epilogue: Emma
One Year Later
I stood at the window looking out over the city. I could see all the way across our neighborhood and into downtown Chicago. I watched the cars bustling down the road, the people moving between the buildings, and the life and the beauty.
My mind wandered over the past week. We’d been busy as hell trying to get a bunch of new girls off heroin, which was never fun. I also had classes to deal with, which meant I was basically pulling double duty all day and night. Nursing classes weren’t easy, especially when you were basically already a practicing nurse all day long. At least I’d gotten better at speaking Russian, so I could communicate with a lot of these girls.
The Spiders were real, and they were doing good work. I saw much less of Louisa Barone, but I’d formed a real friendship with Kasia over the last year. The Spiders were putting me through nursing school in order to make me better at my job, which was essentially to try to help the girls acclimate to a world without sex slavery.
It was a hard job. These girls were beaten, broken, and hooked on drugs. They’d never experienced real kindness at all in their lives, and it took them a while to finally accept that we were trying to help. But I was patient and I was kind, and eventually they all figured it out.
We were the good guys. We were giving power to the powerless.
I heard the key turn in the lock and the door push open. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was past midnight as Brooks came into the room.
“Honey, I’m home,” he said.
I turned, smiling at him. “How was work?” I asked.
“The target is very, very dead,” he answered, coming over to me. “How are you?”
He pulled me against him and kissed me deeply. It felt like it did the very first time he’d touched me, all fireworks and electric tingles along my spine.
“Today was good,” I said, “though I felt sick as hell this morning.”
He frowned and put his hand against my stomach. “Poor girl.”
I smiled and kissed him. “It’s worth it.”
And it was. I couldn’t believe I was carrying his child, but I couldn’t imagine anything better. We lived in a large penthouse at the top of a building the Spiders owned, and it was going to be the perfect place to raise a child. There were good, private schools nearby, and Louisa promised to take care of everything financially. We had to just keep concentrating on our jobs.
Brooks worked for the Spiders. He was a killer and always would be, but now he used his skills for good. He’d been skeptical of the Spiders from the start, but he’d slowly begun to see the truth of what they were doing.
He still sometimes said that he felt like Louisa was playing some bigger game, but if she was, I never saw it. The only thing I saw was her saving women from sex slavery and giving them a life again.
“Listen,” Brooks said. “I made a little stop earlier today.”
“Oh yeah? Between all your killings?”
He laughed. “Only killed one guy today. The others were more cooperative.”
“That’s nice, honey.”
He grinned at me. “Cut it out. I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, dear?”
He rolled his eyes. “Look.” I watched as he took a little box from his pocket, and my heart started to race. “We keep saying we’re going to do this one day, but I’m sick of putting it off. Marry me, Emma.”
“Of course,” I whispered.
He opened the box and showed me a beautiful, enormous diamond ring.
“Brooks!” I gasped. “How could you afford this?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He took it out of the box and slipped it on my finger, a perfect fit. “You like it?”
“I love it.” I kissed him hard, my heart hammering.
I couldn’t believe this had happened to me. Only a year ago, I was living a horrible life, afraid every day of my father. Now I was engaged to the love of my life, the strongest and most honorable man I’d ever met. I did work I really believed in, important work. I helped save lives.
Not to mention the child I had growing inside me.
And I lived in a gorgeous penthouse. Nothing could have worked out better.
There were still problems, of course. The mafia was getting more aggressive in trying to fight us, and their war with the Russians was slowing down. The Russians were also starting to come after us, and so more and more of our people were getting caught.
But the risks were all worth it. Brooks wrapped me in his arms and held me tight, and I felt safe. I knew I was safe. Brooks would keep us alive, keep us safe. We had a family on the way.
“We’ll do this right,” he said. “Big wedding. Invite everyone in the city.”
I laughed. “How about we just go down to the courthouse and make it real?”
“That can work too.” He grinned and kissed me.
That was all I needed, just Brooks and a judge and a pen to sign the papers with. Brooks was my truth, my honor, my purpose. This family and this life, it was all I could ever need, more than I could ever ask for.
My beautiful ap
artment, my beautiful husband. I didn’t know how I’d gotten here, but I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I trusted him with everything I had, and he trusted me.
Trust and love. That was going to be enough, more than enough, just perfectly enough.
Smash: A Stepbrother MMA Romance
1
Alexa
It all started with a mistake.
A big, stupid mistake, but I couldn’t help myself. Not when he grabbed me by the hips and steered me through the doorway, whispering, Come on, be my fake bride. I want to consummate this trip until you can’t stop screaming my name. I was powerless when it came to him, and he knew it. We barely knew each other, but I’d learned enough over the last few days to know that he got what he wanted. I didn’t even bother saying no anymore, because I knew that saying yes would feel so much better. He had deep blue eyes, a perpetual five o’clock shadow, tattoos all over his body, and muscles that just didn’t quit.
Frankly, he was the most attractive man I’d ever seen, let alone touched, and he definitely knew it. Cole was cocky, too cocky, but he had the swagger to back it up.
Come here, girl, he whispered in my ear. You’re going to be my bride of paradise. I’m going to sink my cock deep into that pretty little pussy of yours, right after we say these words.
We didn’t understand what was really happening. The staff didn’t either, but what did they care? They didn’t know what we really were to each other. We were just some stupid tourists, a little drunk on wine, a little drunk on each other. When we asked for the deluxe ceremony, they figured we understood what we were really getting.
They figured we really wanted to be married. Legally married, not just as some stupid joke.
We stood there in front of the priest as he spoke in Thai, a language neither of us knew. The air was thick and humid, even at night, and Cole held my hand the whole time, his eyes drilling holes in mine. We were in paradise, one of the best vacations of my life, even if my best friend had ditched me on the second day for some lawyer she’d just met. I wasn’t going to let it ruin my good time.
It was all fun and games until I met Cole. Then it was much, much more.
Later, much later, his strong body pressed up against mine in the cool white expanse of my bed, our bodies sweating, pleasure rushing through my skull. Is that how you like it, little wife? he whispered into my ear.
Yes. Please.
His fingers moved down between my thighs and did things I’d never felt before.
“Are you kidding me?” Lacey said, exasperated. “Your dad got married again?”
“Yeah, and this time he didn’t even bother telling me about it.”
I stood with Lacey in line at Starbucks, my backpack heavy from my last day of class. Finals were over and done with, which meant I was headed back home for the summer.
Junior year was finished. I was pretty sure I already had senioritis.
“Typical Frank. Always thinking with his dick.”
“Gross,” I said, laughing. “He’s still my dad, you know.”
“Sorry, but it’s the truth. Your dad is the biggest horndog I’ve ever met.”
“Okay, that’s enough.”
“I know it’s hard to hear, Alex, but it’s the truth. Your father is a grade-A player.”
I sighed, shaking my head. Nobody likes hearing about their parent’s sex life, but unfortunately, in this instance, everything she was saying was the truth. My dad, Frank Miller, was on his third marriage, plus however many girlfriends he’d had over the years. He seemed to constantly go from one “true love” to the next with no real regard for anyone else around him. He insisted that it was different this time, that things were going to last for a long time, but he almost always said that.
I was pretty used to it, though. These new women appeared in my life like a hurricane, trying to be my friend, sometimes trying to be my mom, but they never lasted long. Frank didn’t have “commitment” or “monogamy” anywhere in his vocab, no matter how hard he tried otherwise.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t even met this one yet,” I said.
“Seriously? He got married again and didn’t even invite you to the wedding?”
“Supposedly it was a low-key thing. She’s this high-powered CEO of the company that just bought him out.”
We got to the front of the line and ordered our coffee. As we moved over to wait for the drinks, Lacey gave me a look.
“Her company bought his, and now they’re married? Seems pretty weird.”
I sighed, nodding. “Yeah. It’s some big scandal in the business community or something.”
“Classic Frank.”
“What I don’t understand is why this woman would want to go through all this for him. Don’t get me wrong,” I said quickly, “I love my dad. But who’s worth that much trouble?”
“What a cynic.”
“Like father, like daughter, I guess.”
Lacey laughed as our names were called. We gathered up our caffeine-and-sugar beverages and headed out into the warm afternoon.
I really wasn’t looking forward to going home for the first time in a long time. In years past, going back to my dad’s house in San Francisco was usually pretty great, but for some reason I was dreading meeting his new wife.
I’d heard bad things about her. They were both CEOs of up-and-coming tech firms, and Cindy was supposedly something of a hard ass. Everything I knew about her was either from the mouth of a PR firm or from some gossip rag online, but so far nothing seemed to really paint her in a flattering light.
And yet when Dad called me to tell me about the nuptials, he sounded really happy. For the last few years, his life had been all about work and more work, with the occasional girlfriend of course. But that never seemed to make him happy, just more and more stressed. He needed something in his life to brighten up his days, and if Cindy was doing that for him, well, then I couldn’t get in the way of it.
Still, I didn’t have to be excited to meet another woman that was going to want to be my replacement mother. Or maybe this one was going to want to be my best friend instead. You could never tell until you met them which direction they’d take.
“You’ll be home this summer, right?” I asked her.
“Of course. What else would I do, pay rent?”
I laughed. “Solid point.”
“Between prostituting myself for cash and living with my parents for a few months, I choose parents.”
“Not an easy choice, though.”
“Not at all.” She paused, looking thoughtful. “You get to make your own hours as a hoe. On the flip side, free food is a big bonus.”
We both laughed, and I shook my head at her. I was pretty sure she was genuinely considering becoming a prostitute to avoid going home.
Lacey and I had been best friends all through high school. I moved around a lot when I was younger, because my dad got jobs all over the country. Eventually, though, he wound up at his company Blingo, and we stayed put in San Francisco. I met Lacey my second day of school, and we had been inseparable ever since.
“Well, you know where to find me if you ever need to escape the oppression,” I said.
“Please. You’ll come crawling to me first I bet.”
“How long before I’m knocking on your door? A day?”
“Four hours. Tops.”
The University of California at Berkeley’s campus was more or less empty by the end of the school year, and we didn’t have any trouble finding a prime spot to sit down and watch what few students were left walk by.
“You know,” Lacey said after a few minutes of relaxing silence, “you haven’t mentioned your little problem recently.”
I frowned, sipping my coffee. I hadn’t mentioned it because I was sick of thinking about him. Even though I hadn’t seen him since we’d gotten back from vacation, he hadn’t been too far from my mind at pretty much at all times. Cole the fighter, the cocky asshole, the gorgeous stranger.
And my husband,
of course.
Technically, at least.
“Wish I had an update for you,” I said. “Just counting the days until I can legally pronounce him dead.”
“Seriously?”
“No. I wish. I can just push the divorce through without his consent at that point.”
“How long?”
“End of the summer.”
“Have you told your dad yet?”
I snorted. “Yeah, right. And disappoint him? No, thanks.”
“Still, he could probably help you. I bet he has contacts and stuff like that.”
“Maybe, but at this point, why bother? It’s almost over.”
Lacey nudged me, grinning. “You sure you want to divorce him? I mean, I remember what he looked like.”
I thought for a second. Flashes of Cole’s body as he walked from the ocean, dripping salt water, his eyes looking at me both playfully and intensely.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said, not sure at all.
“What a shame. Waste of prime real estate, if you ask me.”
“Who knows if it’s a waste? He’s gone and I’ll never see him again.”
Which was exactly how it was supposed to be. But one stupid night, half drunk on wine and half drunk on each other, we had stumbled into this Vegas-style marriage chapel. Normally, the marriages were just for fun, a kind of fake ceremony to make couples feel good about themselves.
But we ordered the “deluxe” package. Cole said that if we were getting married, then we were doing it right, and how could I argue with him?
What we didn’t know, of course, was that the Deluxe Package meant we were marrying legally. The staff probably did try to explain that at one point, but we were either too giddy to listen or just too stupid.
And so when I got home and tried to register to vote, I got a nice little surprise. In the field for “Marital Status” in the official records website I was browsing, I saw a nice big fat “M.” After a bunch of phone calls, and at least two total meltdowns, I found out that I had been legally married in Thailand to one Mister Cole Redson.
