by Lexi Blake
She stared up at him as he laid her out on the bed. “I can’t trust you.”
“I’ll put it in writing in the morning. It can be a postnup.” He was willing to do anything to get this precious time with her. One month. Thirty days. If he couldn’t win her, he would lose her. “I promise.”
“I’m going to leave, Riley,” she said, but she sat up and tugged the tank top off, her gorgeous breasts came into view.
“I’ll let you go if that’s what you want.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was so stunning.
“But as long as I’m here, I can’t lie to you. I do want you physically.”
He would take whatever he could get. He had to bet that Ellie would come back to herself. She’d had a horrible shock to her system. Everyone had let her down. She’d managed to come through a lonely childhood whole and filled with love. He couldn’t be the one who put out her light. “I want you so badly.”
He let his hands find the bottom of her pants and pulled them down, leaving her in nothing but a pair of underwear. It was too much. He dragged them down and fell to his knees.
“Please.” She lay back and let him spread her legs.
She didn’t need to plead with him. She was all he wanted and it had been far too long since he’d made a meal of her. He pulled her down the bed until she was in the perfect position for what he wanted to do.
“I will never get enough of you. If all I have is a month, I’ll make sure it’s a month neither one of us will forget.” He could already smell the sweet scent of her arousal. He touched her, parting her labia. She was already slick and wet and ready for him. He would never get used to this, always need it.
He leaned over and put his mouth on her, his tongue going deep. He didn’t have to warm her up. She was already hot as hell. He fucked her with his tongue long and slow, not leaving an inch of her untouched.
She writhed beneath him, the little moans going straight to his cock. His body pulsed with need, but he continued his feast. He licked and nipped at her. He let his finger slide against her as he settled over the pearl of her clit. It was already swollen and needy. He pulled back her hood and was thoroughly satisfied by the shudder that went through her body when he dragged his tongue over her.
“How can you do this to me?” Her voice was breathless, the words exhaled with a throaty groan. “Why is it only you?”
Because they belonged together. Because she was the only woman in the world for him. “You do the same to me.”
She shook her head. He watched her, his eyes staring up the length of her body. “No. You’ve had so many women.”
He kept up the slow motion of his hand. “You seem to think I’m much more of a player than I am.”
“I’ve seen the pictures. I looked you up in the Austin papers.”
“Those were dates because I didn’t want to go to functions alone. They weren’t girlfriends. I didn’t have time for a girlfriend. I told myself that at the time, but now I know the truth. I didn’t want to make time for them. They weren’t the right girl. For the right woman, I’ll change my whole life. There’s no question of making time. There’s only how much of your time I can have.”
“Don’t talk. I can’t. I can’t talk about this with you. Not now.”
He knew what she wanted, needed. And he definitely liked the fact that she hadn’t said not ever. It was what he counted on. He would use every charm he had, every trick he could think of to make sure that in one month she was right here in his bed and his life.
He settled in and suckled her clit. His whole body was tight, ready to take her. His wife.
She gasped, tightening like a bowstring, her head thrashing back and forth as she came.
He stood, shoving off his pajama bottoms, freeing his cock.
He stood between her legs, making a place for himself. She was laid out for him, her body languid, and for the first time in days she looked relaxed and sated. Her hair was spread out on the sheets. She glanced up at him, her eyes soft and her smile lazy, and for a second it was like nothing had come between them. Just for a heartbeat, they were together and his Ellie was back to her happy, loving self.
He would do anything to get her back there. To get them back.
“What’s wrong?” Wariness replaced the sweet glow in her eyes.
“I don’t want you to take me because you think you owe me for the orgasm.”
She groaned and moved up on the bed. “I was kind of hoping for round two. If I’m going to use you, I’m going to use you well. Don’t hold out on me, Lawless. I admitted I want you. I’m not giving you anything else.”
He practically jumped on her. He settled his body on hers, giving her every ounce of his weight. She wasn’t holding back. Her legs went around his waist, trapping him and squeezing him tight.
“I need this.” He thrust in. He needed her. The last two days had been marred by misery, but it all fell away when he was with her. His cock drove deep, as deep as he could go, so he could feel their connection.
“You feel so good.” She was wrapped around him, not letting go.
She never held back during sex. She didn’t play coy or make him work harder for her affection. Ellie gave and he soaked it all up like a sponge denied for far too long.
He let go, the primitive need to mark his wife too overwhelming to resist. His wife. His. He’d never been possessive before. He’d always known the things he cared about could be stolen or lost or tossed away like they were trash. He’d seen everything he loved lost at one point or another, but she was different.
He couldn’t lose her.
Over and over he drove into her, pushing them both along. She tightened around him and he felt her come.
He couldn’t hold out and let go, pouring himself deep inside her.
He fell to her side, holding her close.
For one blissful moment, she lay in his arms. And then she took a deep breath and moved, disentangling herself and rolling over.
“Can you hand me the blanket before you go?” She took the left side of the bed, moving her head to the pillow.
He didn’t want to go.
He didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to sleep with his wife.
“Can I stay?”
She rolled over again, her eyes steady on him. “You don’t sleep with anyone.”
“I want to sleep with you. I know I don’t deserve it, but if I only have a month, I want to spend it with you.”
She sighed. “It won’t work. I can’t trust you.”
He would have to work on it. She didn’t trust him and she had good reason. He had to pray that time and proximity would fix what was wrong between them. He would try this every time she let him in her bed. Eventually she would give in.
And what? And he would wake up screaming or simply lie next to her all night, not sleeping at all. Maybe it was better she told him no.
He started to get off the bed to get his pants.
“Lock the door, turn out the light, and come to bed, Riley,” she said quietly.
He rushed over to lock the door. He wasn’t going to move the chair under the door handle. The lock was enough. He wasn’t going to show Ellie he was a complete freak.
“You should use the vanity chair. It looks like it’s the right height.”
He stopped. How had she known about that? Probably Bran had been talking, explaining why he was on the couch and Riley in his room. He took a deep breath. “I don’t need it.”
“One thing at a time, Riley. I’m falling asleep, so get the door secure and come to bed or go to your own room.”
This was his room, technically. He grabbed the chair and placed it where he needed it. Once he’d turned out the lights, he climbed into bed with Ellie, dragging a blanket over them.
He’d never done this. Not once in his life. He lay in bed, staring up at the ceil
ing. He was going to get through the night. Maybe tomorrow it would be easier. Or he could take a nap. Yeah, he could take a nap during the afternoon.
She turned and her arm went around him.
Warmth suffused him and he was surrounded by her scent. He relaxed a bit and let his skin settle against hers.
“I owe you, too, Lawless. I can’t stand the thought of you never sleeping with another human being. My father took that from you. Maybe I can give it back. Don’t think this means more than that.”
It sure felt like more than recompense. It felt like love and affection and comfort.
“Gotcha, Lawless.” He wasn’t going to let her forget that she’d married him. “This is a sympathy cuddle.”
He felt her chuckle against him. “Damn straight.”
It wasn’t long before he felt her breathing even out. Her head was on his chest, her legs tangled with his and after a while, he drifted off, too.
—
At first, it didn’t register. He felt the flare of pain, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. They stuffed something in his mouth, something filthy. He tried to spit it out, but they held it in.
Not so tough without your brother around, are you?
He couldn’t see. It was too dark, but he knew that voice. Donny. Asshole. He and Drew had been enemies for the past two years. When they’d come into this group home, Donny had been the bullying fucker everyone was scared of. Then Drew had kicked his ass and left him a crying mess.
Drew was gone. He’d left earlier in the day. He had a full ride at the University of Texas and he’d moved into a dorm. He’d promised it wouldn’t be long. He intended to find their dad’s old business partner, get a job, and bring them all back together.
Four months tops, Ri. Survive for four months and I’ll get you out of there.
He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t shout. He felt a punch to his gut and all the air he had in his lungs was gone. The pain seemed to be everywhere as more than one kid used their fists on him. When he fell to the floor, they started to kick him. Donny held down his hands.
Yeah, this should let your brother know who the real king is.
He tried to scream again.
—
“Babe, you’re having a nightmare.”
A hand moved over his chest but this wasn’t the same. Soft. Warm. Gentle.
He came awake with a shock.
Ellie. He was in bed with Ellie. He dragged air into his body.
Had he hurt her?
“Are you okay? Did I hit you?”
She snorted a little and yawned. Early-morning light streamed in, but she made no move to get up. “Is that what you thought would happen? You thought you would hit me in your sleep?”
“It’s a violent dream.” He tried to shake it off. It was easier this time because she was cuddling against him.
He couldn’t mistake her for some sweaty, awful gang of boys. She wasn’t ever going to hurt him. Not intentionally. She would lock herself in a room with the crazy guy on the off chance she might help him.
“You’re not a violent man, Lawless. Hush and go back to sleep. I was having a good dream. Prison was actually a five-star all-inclusive resort and all the guards looked like Chris Hemsworth.”
He was still shaking a bit, but it didn’t matter because she was here with him. “I’m definitely keeping you out of that jail.”
“Spoilsport,” she muttered before turning over.
He turned with her, spooning her as she went back to sleep. Her backside cuddled his cock and he discovered the real problem of sleeping with Ellie. He got hard fast.
He kissed her cheek. She needed sleep. He let go of the dream and held on to her.
Fourteen
Two weeks later, Ellie looked down at a grainy photo.
Fourteen days into her marriage to Riley and she felt different. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. She was calm. She had a hearing coming up, but she wasn’t crying herself to sleep every night like she’d thought she would.
She was crying, all right. Crying out Riley’s name, screaming in passion. The man was getting creative and now that he’d proven he could manage to sleep with another person, he seemed to have forgotten how to sleep not wrapped around her.
“I managed to get this from a security camera across from the bank in the Bahamas where the account was set up.” Case stood behind her, the rest of the family sitting around what she now called the war council table. It was a heavy wood table that easily could have graced the war room of Winston Churchill or FDR. She wouldn’t be surprised if Drew had found and purchased an antique. The man had a flair for the dramatic.
“I can’t see her.” It was obviously a woman, but she was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. There were three photos and none of them really showed the woman’s face. She couldn’t even tell what color the woman’s hair was.
“Is this really the best we have?” Hatch asked with a shake of his head. “This could easily be Ellie.”
“She’s too thin to be Ellie,” Bran argued.
Ellie briefly glanced up to see Riley watching her intently.
The man always seemed to be watching her. She would look up and his piercing eyes would be on her, waiting for her to need something, to ask for something. He was always close. She’d nearly tripped on a step the other day and Riley had shown up out of nowhere to catch her and set her back on her feet.
“Of course it’s not Ellie. We need to look at the women in Castalano’s circle and figure out who he would use,” Riley said with a sad smile.
Yeah, that sad smile was starting to get to her.
Two weeks into her marriage to the man and she felt like the clock was ticking down. According to their agreement, she had two weeks left before she could move out on her own. She could go back to her place. The cops had taken everything they were going to take. Riley would pay her mortgage as long as her accounts were frozen. She could move back in and try to rebuild her life.
She’d gotten used to not being alone. She’d gotten used to walking into the kitchen at all hours of the day and finding someone to talk to or playing strategy games with her brothers-in-law at night.
Everything was likely happening the way Riley wanted it to happen. But she had a surprise for him.
She was still going to leave. She wasn’t going to be the woman who built a life with someone who could betray her. As much as she’d come to care for these people, she couldn’t forget that they were the reason she was here in the first place. They had a job to do and damn anyone who got in the way.
“We know it’s not Ellie,” Drew said with a sigh. “The problem is the authorities aren’t going to accept our belief in Ellie’s good heart as an acceptable defense. Someone had to open the account in her name.”
“And this is as close as I could get to a picture of the woman who did it.” Case rubbed between his eyes. She was fairly certain the man had been working overtime on more than one issue. “I sent someone down to the Bahamas to look into it. We even paid the bank rep to talk to us, and it didn’t come cheap. She didn’t remember much since it was several years ago. The woman had the proper identification. She hasn’t been back since. They don’t take photos or keep video footage. Like many of these types of banks, they make their living off confidentiality.”
“And tax evasion.” That would likely be another fun charge she would deal with. She looked at the photo, trying to figure out anyone it could be. “His admin is sixty-two. This looks like a much younger woman.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t say she was middle aged,” Mia agreed. “And we can’t count on this being someone from his office. He’s a wily one. This particular account was opened before Ellie’s father died, right after she came to StratCast. Have we considered that he could have opened the account? He and Castalano were partners for a very long time. They commit
ted one crime together. Why not two?”
She hated to think of her father setting her up, but she had to be reasonable. “It’s possible that he and Castalano were in on it. They are the types of men to view a publicly held company as their own private money source. And he wouldn’t have minded setting me up for the fall.”
Riley frowned as he pointed at the picture. “Is there any way this is your sister?”
Tears welled, but she shoved them back. Nothing mattered except the truth. “Anything is possible. I was actually shocked when Dad left her the stock he did. It was all supposed to be held by me. He didn’t trust her with it any more than he did her trust fund. Dad might have had more affection for Shari, but he was also honest about who she was.”
“You think the stock was a payoff for pretending to be you?” Bran asked, sympathy in his voice. “Because I don’t know that your sister’s smart enough to see that as a proper bribe. Designer shoes, maybe.”
“Cut the sarcasm, Bran,” Hatch ordered.
Bran shrugged. “Well, I met her. I’m the one who had to take her and douchebag to the airport. She’s dumb as a post. Like, man, Ellie got all the brains and all the sweet curves. Chick needs to eat a burger.”
“How about you stop commenting on my wife’s curves,” Riley shot back. “But you’re right about her sister. I’m not sure anyone in their right mind would use her to cover up a crime.”
Yes, realism was important. “My father might have done something like this, but Shari would definitely have said something to me. She can’t help but say mean shit, and this would be something that would hurt me. She’s a bitch, but she’s a predictable bitch.”
Drew sat up. “All right. We’re no closer to figuring out where the source code is than we were before. I’ve even hacked into StratCast and can’t find anything resembling my father’s code.”
“It’s morphed over the last twenty years, though I’m sure you know that. Some companies keep their code, building on the last and changing, but about seven years ago we upgraded to something completely new. Tech changes so quickly. I can hand over the code we were using then.”
