Canvas (The Program Book 1)

by N. M. Catalano

  Summer starts to squirm harder, trying to push me off.

  “Get off Rock, I’ve got to go,” she refuses to look at me.

  I can tell whatever nerve I’ve touched on scares the shit out of her.

  “Princess, hey,” I cup her cheek, “look at me,” I whisper.

  At least she’s stopped fighting against me, stopped trying to get away. I didn’t mean to fuck with her mind, goddamn it, but old habits never die, fucking Army and PSYOPS. Hesitantly, her eyes find mine. I stroke her cheek with my thumb, my palm still cradling her face, trying to ease some of the tenseness from her.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Summer. Whatever it is you’re hiding, you can trust me. I promise.”

  She can trust me. I have to let her because she needs to. And that will make me something I never allow myself to be.

  Vulnerable.

  She doesn’t say anything and for a fraction of a moment there’s a flash of something in her eyes.

  Was it hope?

  Faith?

  Fear?

  Whatever it was, it’s gone, and is replaced by the shutters of her long eyelashes concealing any and all emotion she was feeling. But more importantly, what I was seeing.

  Going for aloof, she comments, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine, I don’t need anyone. Now,” she tugs roughly on her arms, “would you please let me go? I need to get home. I was kidnapped last night, and I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on.”

  My hold tightens around her wrists. I need to get her attention again, need to get her back to me, out of that place, that safe-zone behind her mask of I’m-independent-strong-and-don’t-need-any-fucking-body. That bullshit facade where no one can tell she’s scared and she’s hiding from the very thing that scares the shit out of her.

  It would work, except this isn’t the place where somebody goes to be that strong independent person.

  This is a pretty little town, with nice regular people where the most exciting thing that happens here is someone burns their Sunday roast, and the cops stop the kids from getting to third base in their cars on a dead-end street.

  This is a place where nobody comes.

  I should know, that’s why I’m here.

  Unfortunately, if certain people want to find you, there’s no place to go, they will find you, regardless if you want to be found or not.

  Today the phone call came, dragging me back into the life after the service I thought had let go of me when I left.

  I’ll deal with that shit later.

  What’s most important right now is Summer. I don’t want to let her out of my sight. I sure don’t want her to leave. Alone. The trick’s going to be getting her to let me make her stay.

  The real kicker? I’ve got a woman who’s scared to death, but strong as hell. That’s what’s going to make it nearly impossible. I’m sure of it.

  “I might not have told you that I was bringing you to my house when we left here, but that was only because I knew you wouldn’t have come. You’re a mule headed, stubborn woman.”

  Now that we’re back in a neutral place, she starts to relax.

  “You’re right, I wouldn’t have. Now get up.” Her tone is not as guarded anymore.

  I slide my hands down her arms, not breaking contact, still trying to soothe her back into the place where she trusts me.

  “Then you would have made your leg worse and you wouldn’t have made it to work today, then you would have lost money. God only knows how long you would have been incapacitated. Christ, Summer,” I grin and straighten, pulling her up with me, “I saved you and your business. If it weren’t for me, you’d be homeless and begging on the streets.,” her eyes are back on mine and the sparkle has returned to them, that fucking sparkle that holds my goddamn nuts.

  She gives me one of those smiles that stops the world, the one where she’s completely unguarded for just that second, the million-fucking-dollar smile that I’m starting to need.

  “Why Rock, I do believe,” there’s just the tiniest hint of a southern accent, “I owe you my gratitude. How can I ever repay you for saving me?” she smiles demurely.

  Fucking slaying me!

  My hands glide down the length of her body, relishing the feel of her soft skin under my palms. I lower my face to nip the soft mounds of her bare breasts. “That would bring us back to the original question, princess, do you like the idea of me keeping you right here,” I slide a finger over her wet slit, “just like this?” I suck a nipple into my mouth as I flick her still swollen little nub. “Be my own indulgence right here on my desk, always ready for me to feast, and fuck, and taste, and touch.” Her legs open as she moans a deep little sound, her eyelids dipping, as I slip a finger inside her. “Answer me, princess,” I whisper roughly and nibble along her jaw.

  “Yes,” she breathes out heavily.

  I smile against her skin.

  God, was I wrong about her.

  “Tell me, princess,” I ask her as I slowly thrust my finger in and out of her wetness, turning it, and rubbing her clit with my thumb, “you enjoyed two men bringing you pleasure.” I feel her walls grip my finger inside her. Yes, she did. “Answer me, I want to hear you say it.”

  With my free arm wrapped around her back, I lower my mouth to suckle her sweet tits, roll her hardened pink peaks between my lips, and rub that spot in her cunt that makes her toes curl.

  Her head falls back as she thrusts her hips into my hand. “Yes,” she whispers.

  “You were so perfect,” I say before biting down gently on her nipple. “Your face showed every single thing you were feeling,” I add a second finger, “your mouth,” I raise my face to glide my tongue along her lips, “sucking Snake’s cock,” I press down on her clit with my thumb, “the closer you got, the harder you sucked,” I plunge my tongue into her open mouth, slide my hand up her back and take a handful of her hair, and kiss her so fucking hard, I get lost in her.

  She’s grinding herself on my hand, working her sweet pussy, driving herself to that peak.

  She breaks the kiss and pleads, “Please, Rock…”

  I growl. I’m so hard, I can’t get enough of her.

  “Take my cock out.”

  Her dainty little hands fumble with my boxers working to free my erection. Once she’s got them shoved down, I tell her, “Take it out and rub yourself with it.”

  “Rock,” she pants as she frees my hardness.

  “Do it, princess, rub that sweet cunt of yours with my cock while I fuck you with my fingers.”

  And I’ll probably come all over you when you do.

  After a moment’s hesitation, she bows her back, hooks her heels behind my thighs and lines herself up with my shaft.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  FUCK.

  I grit my teeth as my head falls back the instant she wraps her hand around my thickness and makes contact with her velvety wetness.

  “Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh. My. God!” she whispers loudly.

  She doesn’t hold back, she uses the fuck out of me and I love every goddamn second of it.

  My balls are sucked up tight ready to blow as her hips move harder and more demanding, fucking my fingers and her grip tightens around me, I feel that coiling inside me grow stronger. I’m going to come all over her when she explodes.

  “Rock,” she pants moving faster, rubbing herself harder.

  “That’s it, princess, use me,” I grit out tightly.

  She grinds her hips slow and deliberately, gripping me tightly with her inner walls, rubbing the head of my dick on her clit, as her back arches and she throws her head back.

  “OHMYGOD,” she yells long and deep. I can feel her coming and it sets me off.

  I grip my shaft right below her hand and pump it, it takes only twice until several long hot streams of cum cover her stomach. She looks down at herself, then she lifts her eyes to look into mine. A slow smile spreads across her face as she raises a hand to swirl her fingers through my cum, then lif
ts them to her mouth and sucks them clean.

  “My whore.” Our mouths crash together in a rough kiss. “Mine,” I growl against her mouth.

  “Yours,” she pants out heavily.

  She is fucking mine!

  With our hearts pounding and her still naked, me with my pants around my ankles and underwear shoved down, I grab the towel I used to clean her with before and remove the rest of my cream from her stomach.

  “You should come home with me,” I tell her.

  Not only because I don’t want to let you out of my sight, but more importantly, I don’t want to let you go yet.

  “I can’t, I really do have work to do.”

  I try another tactic. “You really shouldn’t be climbing those stairs. You’ve been on that bad leg all day, and you don’t want to damage it anymore.”

  I step around the desk and grab the pile of her clothes on the chair.

  She chuckles, it sounds so damn sweet. “Nice try, but it’s fine. It hasn’t bothered me all day. Thanks to you and the ace bandage, I’m sure that helped a lot.”

  I’ve got her pretty pink bra secure on her perfect tits, next I slip her blouse over her head. She raises her arms and lets me dress her with a smile on her face.

  “Alright, I’ll agree to let you go home and climb those ridiculous three flights of stairs when you don’t have to only on one condition.” I stare into her eyes hoping to give her my most stern glare.

  Another cute ass chuckle. “Alright, Mr. Sore Loser, what is it?”

  I kiss the tip of her nose as I slide the matching thong up her legs. She lifts herself up so I can pull it up over her hips.

  “If your knee hurts you at all, even in the middle of all those steps, call me immediately and I’ll come and get you. Or anything else. Anything at all.” This time the look I give her is serious.

  She lets out a long breath as different emotions pass over her face. “I promise.” She smiles.

  “I’m serious. I don’t want you to be stuck on the top floor helpless if something should happen, Summer.” I give her a long look. “Promise me.”

  “Okay,” she smiles. “I promise, if it hurts at all, even a little, I’ll call you.”

  “Good, and anything else,” I reach for her purse and hand it to her. “Then get your phone and unlock it.”

  “Sheez, so bossy,” she mumbles as she digs around the bottomless pit she calls a purse.

  “I think you’re starting to see how bossy I am.”

  A blush slowly spreads across her cheeks, Adorable! as she types onto the screen of her phone. She looks at me when she’s done. I take the phone from her hand, open the messages and type in a text to my phone. A ding sounds from my back pocket. I shrug and smirk at her as she folds her arms across her chest.

  “Are you finished?” She asks resisting a smile.

  “Not yet,” I grin.

  Next I add myself to her contacts. I hand her phone back. “Now I’m done.”

  She gives me a sideways glance as she takes it and goes straight to her messages.

  “’My Pussy Owner’, are you out of your mind?” she croaks out on a laugh.

  I can’t help but laugh. “You knew exactly who it was, didn’t you, by the name?”

  “Good Lord, Rock, what if a customer sees it?”

  “Then they’d think, ‘What a lucky son-of-a-bitch.’”

  “You are absolutely impossible,” she grumbles, chuckling as she types on her phone.

  “Yeah, you already told me that earlier today. Besides, some people need to have it spelled out who that belongs to, seeing as they’re too fucking stupid to figure it out on their own.”

  Steve the little douche alerts every one of my suspicions even when he’s not around.

  Summer tucks her phone back in her purse then slides off the desk.

  “Well, holy shit, look at that,” I smile.

  She turns around to glance at the place she just vacated.

  “Oh my…,” she exhales.

  She left a puddle on the glass surface. I big one.

  “I’ll clean that up,” she mumbles shyly.

  I take her hand and lead her toward the door. “Don’t you dare. I might leave it, so your scent will always be right there.”

  She looks at me wide-eyed disbelievingly. “You know that’s disgusting, right?”

  “What can I say, I love your pussy,” I grin at her and give her a cheeky wink.

  “Ugh,” she laughs. “Well thank you, but clean it.”

  Laughing, I open the door, her hand still in mine, and we enter into the main room of the shop. Gringo and Bull are still working on clients, and Snake is running this quarters numbers. It’s such a plus working with people you trust with your life. It might appear to be business as usual, but I know my friends. They’re waiting to find out about the call.

  Right now, it’s about Summer and the guys

  Summer doesn’t flinch when her eyes meet Snakes. Her jaw tenses a little, that’s the only outward sign of any discomfort she might be feeling from what just happened between the three of us. He gives her a warm smile and she instantly relaxes as her faces flushes.

  Time to break the ice with the other guys.

  From behind Summer’s head, I catch Snake’s eye and motion for him to join us. He gets up and walks toward us.

  “Let me give you a little tour, princess…”

  “I’m still gonna call her Tinkerbell,” Snake adds in.

  “You can’t,” I snap.

  “Why not?”

  I clamp my mouth shut.

  He looks at me with a smug smirk.

  “Why can’t I call her Tinkerbell, Rock?”

  The fucker is going to goad me.

  “Yeah, Rock, why can’t he call her that?” Bull says loudly from his seat with a big fat smile from ear to ear.

  “You got a problem with him calling her that, Rock?” Gringo joins the ball busting.

  The fuckers!

  “You used to call me that I hear,” Summer gazes at me from beneath her eyelashes. She’s fighting a grin too, apparently she’s well aware of what the guys are doing and jumped right in on the party.

  “Yes, I used to call you that,” I whisper hoarsely.

  Snake catches it.

  “Is that why? Because that’s your name for her? No one else can have it?”

  The whole damn shop erupts into raucous laughter. I silently fume.

  “Come here, Sugar…,” Bull calls Summer over.

  “Don’t you fucking dare say it,” I growl at him.

  “Don’t get your panties all wadded up, dude,” Gringo laughs.

  I don’t let go of her hand as she walks over. For now, I’m not leaving her alone with them.

  Bull’s working on a girl. She’s been a regular client of his.

  “That’s beautiful, Bull.” Summer examines the designs he’s done for her.

  “Thanks, Sugar. They’re runes, we do one each time she comes in. Each one means something.”

  The woman looks over her shoulder at us. “Yes, I’m Celtic and each symbol has very ancient and very sacred meanings. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted,” she smiles.

  We walk down to Gringo. The man he’s working on is quiet. Summer looks at what Gringo’s doing.

  “Oh my God, you did that?” she asks.

  Gringo’s been working on a portrait of the man’s daughter on his chest, close to his heart.

  “Gringo’s the best portrait artist for a hundred miles. He’s booked for months at a time.”

  “It’s magnificent,” she whispers, the fingers on her free hand reaching out slightly as if to stroke the image of the beautiful little girl.

  The client finally makes eye contact with us.

  “I really wanted to do this, but I had a horrible fear of needles. Gringo helped me get over it so I could get my baby done.” The guys grinning so big, I think he’s gonna start crying.

  “You’re going to wear it proudly for the re
st of your life,” she replies sincerely.

  We might be an unusually close bunch of guys, but we’ve walked through hell together and would give our lives for each other without a second thought. Not many people can honestly say that.

  “Are you leaving? I thought we were going to talk about the call,” Snake asks.

  Shit, not in front of Summer.

  “Yeah, man, it’s been a while since we got one of those,” Bull adds from his place over his client.

  Summer’s gaze finds mine, her eyes full of questions.

  She’s looking for answers I can’t give her.

  “No, I’m not leaving. Just walking Summer out to her car, she won’t stay,” I mumble with a hint of frustration.

  Turning her around, I start to lead her out.

  “Good night,” she turns to look over her shoulder at my friends.

  There are parts of my life and past I wish would stay in the shadows.

  The parts of my life I want her nowhere around.

  It seems like that’s not going to happen,

  ROCK

  CHAPTER 18

  “We all knew it was coming.”

  The guys are quiet.

  Not because they’re pissed off or remorseful, but because we’ve been given an assignment.

  Correction.

  Offered an assignment. We don’t have to take it, just like you don’t have to save someone you see getting mugged on the street. It’s all situations with false choices, the obvious one always staring you in the face and always surrounded by land mines and pitfalls. With the mugger, he could turn his gun on you. In our situation, it’s exactly what we do, or more specifically what we’ve done, that could be turned against us, even often times the mission itself.

  Either way, we’ve created a prison for ourselves, one we’re working on getting out of. Hopefully that’ll happen in this lifetime.

  It’s this very reason we live the way we do. No attachments, just decadence and indulgence and selfishness.

  Because at any moment it could all be snuffed out.