Fractured

by Sydney Landon

  “Luc!” I protest, although I know it’s weak at best. “She’s just going through a tough time right now.” It’s all I’ve got in the way of defense for her. After her comment about Max, I’m beginning to wonder whether she’s on a mission for revenge on Jake or to get Max Decker’s attention. Whichever it is, I hope she stops before she ends up behind bars for more than a few hours.

  Lucian grabs his own phone and places a call to Max. I hear the other man yelling from where I’m sitting. Finally, Luc seems to have heard enough and snaps, “If you don’t want to do it, send one of the junior lawyers.” Max says something else I don’t catch. “All right then, take care of it.”

  “Is someone going to help her?” I ask tentatively when he continues to scan the stock reports as if nothing has happened.

  “Max is on his way to the police department now. I’m sure he’ll be able to get her out.”

  “Max is going himself?” I ask for clarification. After all of the yelling, I can’t imagine him going if he could send someone else.

  Lucian puts his iPad aside as he pulls me from my chair and onto his lap. “Yep, apparently he can’t stand to be around her but doesn’t want anyone else to be either. Go figure.” Before I can reply, he lowers his mouth to mine, nipping at my lower lip before slipping his tongue inside my mouth when I gasp. His tongue plunges over and over, reminding me of how he fucks. I wasn’t sure how he would act this morning after everything that happened between us last night, but he has been relaxed and almost loving. That seems to have changed, though, in the last few moments. Now he’s like a barely-leashed stallion, just on the edge of breaking free.

  As his mouth continues to devour mine, he pushes a hand up my thin T-shirt, finding my bare, erect nipple. I moan into his mouth as he pulls on the sensitive peak, causing it to throb and beg for his attention. My core floods with moisture as he continues to work my body into a frenzy. I rub my bottom against his rapidly hardening cock, frustrated by the clothing separating us. “Luc, please,” I cry, as he drops his hand to the needy spot between my legs. “I need you now,” I groan. He has just touched my wet slit when there is a knock at the door. His hand pauses and I almost scream in frustration. “No! They’ll go away,” I whisper against him as I lick his neck. I feel him shudder. His hand begins to move against my clit again before another knock sounds.

  “Ah, fuck.” He sounds as desperate as I feel. “It’s Sam, baby. I’ve got a meeting in half an hour, and he’s here to pick me up.”

  “No, no,” I moan as I throw my arms around his neck. “Stay with me today.”

  He chuckles softly as he pries my hands loose. “You have no idea how much I’d like that, sweetheart. Sam’s not going away, though, and as much as I hate it, I’ve got to go.” He gives me another kiss before putting me down on my feet. We both look at his prominently displayed cock, which is pushing against the zipper of his pants as if fighting to get out. I hand him his suit jacket off the back of the chair.

  “You might want to cover that before someone gets hurt,” I joke, perversely glad to see he is suffering as much as I am. I walk him to the door where he calls to Sam that he’ll be out in a minute.

  I jump in shock when he suddenly palms my core, resting his hand between my legs. “No touching this today, no matter how much you want to. This belongs to me, and I’ll have it tonight.” When I only laugh in reply, he pushes me back against the wall, growling in my ear. “Who owns your pussy, baby?”

  I wonder briefly why his show of dominance after all I’ve been through doesn’t scare me. I think it’s because I want nothing more than to belong to this man and no matter how much he likes to dominate me in bed, I know he would never raise a hand to physically hurt me. Even knowing what he does, he doesn’t treat me as if I’m fragile. He lets me know how much he wants me with every look and every touch. I lower my hand to cover his, until we are both pressing against my damp heat. “You own it, Luc. You and only you.”

  Our joined hands are rubbing my aching clit when an amused voice calls through the door. “Come on, kids; Luc needs to go to work now.” We both burst out laughing, feeling like teenagers caught making out. I give him a quick kiss and push him out the door before Sam can see my bedraggled appearance. I’m certain he knows what we were up to, though.

  The desire to finish what we started is pounding through me, but I resist. An idea is forming as I walk back toward the kitchen to clean up our breakfast dishes. I have a few hours left to shower and call Debra to catch up before I head downtown to deliver a surprise lunch to Lucian: me.

  Lucian

  I’m frustrated as I finish my call with Peter Jacks. Peter told me Lee is out of town on business and should be back by the end of the week. I had asked the other man point-blank if his brother had security on Lia. The extra security I have in place at the apartment has noticed a couple of guys who appeared to be doing some type of surveillance. Peter hadn’t wanted to admit anything at first, but when I threatened to have the men arrested the next time, he admitted they were employed by his brother. Truthfully, I’m relieved. Even though I don’t think Jim Dawson could get past my security, I’m still glad to have a few extra sets of eyes on the building.

  If not for Lia’s stepfather still being somewhere out there, I’d be happy not to hear from Lee Jacks for a while. He is a ticking time bomb, which I don’t have the time or the energy to deal with right now. Lia and I are in a good place despite the drama of last night. I think we are both at peace with our decision to leave any consequences that arise from our unprotected sex to fate. We will of course use condoms until we know for sure one way or the other, but there is nothing to do now but wait.

  I had actually been shocked to discover that Lia felt as I did about not taking the morning-after pill. Even though it would have been hard, I would have supported any decision she made.

  When Cassie had found out she was pregnant, she had been determined to have an abortion. I had been in no way ready to be a father, but after losing my parents in an accident, which I had had no control over, I just couldn’t stand the thought of voluntarily ending a life. I had promised Cassie the world if she would go through with the pregnancy.

  Even with medication, her mental and emotional health had always been shaky at best. She would be on top of the world one minute and staring at the walls without speaking the next. As close as Aidan and I were to her, she had gone weeks at a time without speaking to us. Then suddenly, out of the blue, she would be back to normal as if nothing had happened. There was never any rhyme or reason to these drastic mood swings, at least that we were aware of. I suspected that much of her troubles centered on her home life, but she never actually came out and admitted that. For all of the years I was friends and then more with her, I find when I think back that I never really knew her.

  Cassie was a girl and then a woman of secrets. I met her father on a few occasions through the years and he seemed perfectly normal, although Cassie always seemed almost afraid of him. Her mother had passed away when she was a baby, or at least that was Cassie’s version of the story. Her father was the manager at a local lumber mill and worked long hours. Cassie seemed to have the freedom to come and go as she pleased, which I used to envy when Aunt Fae was keeping tighter reins on me. I’ve often wondered in the last eight years if my feelings of unease about her father were totally off. Could it have been Cassie who was the problem all along, and her father just another victim of her sickness? Maybe he was as powerless as I was to help someone who continued to spiral out of control. He took off shortly after Cassie and I were engaged. I have no idea where he is now. I do know he was contacted when she was hospitalized, but he never showed up. Regardless of what she had done, the burden of caring for her ultimately fell on my shoulders, especially since I refused to press charges against her. What was the fucking point? She was completely out of it and would have been institutionalized anyway, and again, the guilt I felt for my part in her ultimate undoing was also a big factor.

&nb
sp; I jerk in surprise as my cell phone rings. I see Max’s name on the ID and brace myself to hear him raging over Lia’s friend, Rose. I have no idea what is going on there, and I don’t really want to know. I suspect from Max’s reaction to her that he has either fucked her or is damn close. “Quinn,” I answer, resigned to hearing the tirade I know is coming.

  “Luc…I need to see you today.” Just wonderful. Apparently, it’s bad enough that he wants some face time to rant. Maybe fucking Rose is exactly what he needs; they both appear to be wound entirely too tight. Of course, she’s likely to sew his balls to his leg when it’s over, but everyone has problems.

  “Max,” I sigh, as I twirl my pen between my fingers. “She’s Lia’s friend. I know she’s crazy, but just do this…”

  “It’s not that,” he says in a tone, which sounds dead serious. “I’m probably going to be a couple more hours between getting Rose released and dropping off some papers at the courthouse. Are you going to be in the office all afternoon?”

  He has my attention now. Max isn’t one to cry wolf without a reason. “Yeah, I’ll be in. Stop by when you arrive.” I’m uneasy when the call ends, wondering what’s going on. I ponder calling him back and demanding an explanation, but if he wants to meet in person, then there’s a reason. Instead of dwelling on it, I grab some workout clothes and decide to burn off some adrenaline before I have Cindy pick up my lunch.

  I’ve just rounded the five-mile mark on the treadmill as sweat trickles down my chest when I hear a noise behind me. I glance over, expecting to see Cindy, but instead the sight that greets me damn near causes me to break my fucking neck. Lia is standing there with a hungry expression as her eyes devour me, and she’s completely…naked. Not a stitch of clothing in sight. I stumble, precariously close to going down as she runs over and unplugs the treadmill. I manage to hold it together until the belt stops.

  “OH, MY GOD! I’m so sorry.” She puts a hand over her chest as if trying to calm herself. “I wanted to surprise you, but I never thought about it making you fall.” She looks at me in alarm as I exit the machine, my legs jelly-like and wobbly. She takes my arm as if bracing me. “Are you okay?” Actually, now that the shock has worn off and I’ve made it to steady ground without crashing, I’m just horny…completely turned-on by the woman clutching me.

  I use the arm she’s not holding to grab my water bottle and swallow half of it. I wipe the excess off with the back of my hand before answering. “No, I seem to have a problem…a big one.” At my words, her eyes run up and down my body, scanning for injuries and finding none. She looks adorably confused and concerned. I decide to take mercy on her and help her out. Taking her hand from my arm, I lower it until she is holding my hard cock in her palm. “That’s what I need help with, baby.” I thrust against her hold and chuckle as her eyes go big as saucers. She seems so surprised that it makes me wonder what she’d been expecting when she walked in here naked. She has to know by now that I only have to see her to get hard. I am a fucking walking erection since I met her. The fact that she doesn’t seem to know it makes me want her more.

  She licks her lips, and I almost lose it. “You’re not wearing a shirt,” she says on something similar to a moan. I grin wolfishly as my hands slide over her silky flesh. Her eyes are glazed, and I know without touching her that she’s wet for me. I begin pulling her closer when she suddenly drops through my hands and onto her knees. Okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming, but I’m more than ready to see where she’s going with this. My cock is hoping it’ll involve those plump, pink lips. When she looks up at me and starts tugging my shorts down, I fight the urge to fist pump. Her nails drag across my thighs as she lowers my shorts, causing shivers to race through my body. My dick literally leaps free from the waistband and I hiss as the cool air hits the hot flesh. She is sitting back on her heels now, staring at it, as if mesmerized.

  “Suck it, baby,” I urge as I take the length in my hand and shake it lightly in her face. When her tongue reaches out and delicately licks the bead of moisture off the tip, I almost blow my load all over her. I plant my legs firmly and brace myself as she begins licking me as if I’m the best ice cream she’s ever had. Her hand nudges mine away from the base of my cock as she encircles my girth and starts pumping upwards to meet her lips. Watching her mouth take me is one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Fuck, who am I kidding? It’s the hottest hands-down. I’m too big for her to take all the way, but she gives it her best shot. I feel myself sliding halfway down her throat as she struggles to control her gag reflex. When I start to pull back, she holds on, refusing to let me stop. “Ah, fuck, that feels so good,” I moan as I run my hand through her hair, guiding her mouth.

  I try to draw back when I feel my balls tighten, and I know I’m seconds from blowing. “Baby, I’m coming,” I warn, trying to give her a chance to release me. Instead, she sucks harder, her mouth forming a vacuum that I’m helpless to resist. I feel my spine tingle as the first spurt shoots from my cock and into her hot mouth. It seems to go on forever, and I wonder how she’s keeping up without choking. She swallows everything I give her and licks my cock as if asking for more.

  I slump back against the wall behind me, feeling faint as she finally releases me. When she raises her hand to wipe a trickle of cum from the corner of her mouth and then licks her finger, I almost declare my love on the spot. However, having me profess my undying devotion seconds after she sucked my cock might not exactly be the romantic gesture she’s been dreaming of, so I wisely keep my mouth shut. “Was it…good?” she asks shyly. I wonder how she could possibly doubt that it was mind-blowing; everyone on this floor probably heard me yelling out my pleasure.

  “It was phenomenal,” I assure her as I finally find the strength to move. I pick her up before lowering her to the treadmill. I flip her onto her stomach then fall to my knees behind her. She moves her legs apart instinctively and I groan when I see the moisture glistening between her thighs. Even in this position, it’s impossible to miss how wet and swollen she is. She is past ready to be fucked.

  “I…I brought some condoms,” she manages to say, as I trail a finger over her slit. I see her pointing to a box on the floor beside her purse. It’s not the brand I’ve always purchased so I know she bought these herself. As I study the box, she stutters, “I…um…had Sam stop on the way. I…didn’t know if you had any.” I smile in reply, not wanting to burst her bubble by telling her that every man over the age of fifteen has a condom on hand. I didn’t want her to think for even a moment that I kept them for anyone else.

  “And did you tell Sam what you were buying?” I pick up the box and feel like a stud when I see she’s bought the large size. It just so happens that she knows that part of my body well, and the rubber is a perfect fit. After I sheath myself, I return my attention to her sopping pussy.

  “I…er…no,” she moans as I push one finger inside her snug passage.

  “What reason did you give him then?” I bite off a chuckle as she gives me a snort of impatience. Her hips push back against my hand, trying to force me deeper. She is clearly tired of my idle conversation and my teasing finger, which hasn’t fully penetrated her yet. “Answer the question,” I say, smacking her ass to get her attention.

  “Ouch!” she yells, but I hear her breathing catch as fresh moisture flows onto my hand. “I didn’t tell him what I needed!” she snaps. “I know he could tell I was embarrassed, so he probably assumed it was for…personal products.”

  “Good girl.” I praise her patience as I remove my finger. She is in the middle of protesting when I line my cock up with her opening and bury myself to the hilt inside her, my balls slapping against her ass. I work my body over hers, holding my full weight from her on my arms. My chest rests against her back and my groin is on top of her ass. The position is gritty, erotic, and dominant—all of the things I love.

  “Luc!” she shudders, as her body struggles to accommodate me. I still for a moment, buried deep inside her as she
adjusts. When her hips start to circle, I pull out almost completely before surging back in. She’s so tight and wet her body makes a sucking noise as if trying to hold me inside as I thrust repeatedly. “Luc…Oh, God, yes!” she moans. It sends me over the edge when she says my name in that high, breathy way. I’ve joked before that she only calls me Luc when she’s coming, and that’s exactly what she’s doing now. Her body is beginning to spasm, and I’m lost. She wrings my cock dry as I explode inside her. In that moment, I hate the fucking condom that keeps me from bathing her pussy in my cum. It’s the basest of needs to stake my claim, even though no one but me would know.

  I wrap one arm around her waist and roll us both off the treadmill and to the side. I sit her aside for a moment to dispose of the condom in my bathroom trashcan before returning to the floor. I put my back against the wall and she sits in my lap, my cock now at half-mast against her hip. She feels boneless against me as our hearts race in tandem before slowing. “You okay?” I ask as I slowly stroke my hand up and down her arm. I smile against the top of her head as goose bumps cover the skin I touch. No matter how many times we’re together, our reaction to each other never lessens. After coming twice, I could be ready to go again with just a look or touch from her.

  “I’m great,” she answers, snuggling further into my chest. I’ve never been much of a cuddler, but I love holding her. In moments such as this, I can almost believe that nothing will ever come between us. While she’s relaxed and content, I decide to dig deeper. I’m worried about how she’s dealing with everything that’s happened to her. She seems to have turned a corner almost overnight, and truthfully, even though I’m happy, it also unsettles me to think that maybe she’s trying to bury what happened to her instead of confronting it. I know that it’s completely fucked-up on my part to try to push her to deal with her trauma when I’ve done nothing for eight years but run from mine. I just can’t stand for her to let it all fester, though, and end up eating away at her day-by-day as mine has. “Are you really okay?” She freezes against me and know she understands my question has nothing to do with where she is in this moment.