The Private Serials Box Set

by Anie Michaels

  “Everything is going to be all right. I swear. If I’m all you have then I’ll be all you need.” I leaned back and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Will you drink this water for me and take these pills? I need you to sober up a little so we can have a conversation.”

  “Is everything all right?” she asked anxiously.

  “Yeah. Just do this for me and then get ready for bed and I’ll meet you there after I shower.”

  She nodded then tipped up on her toes, trying to reach my lips with hers—always failing since I was so much taller than her. So I smiled and leaned down to meet her, accepting the way her lush lips pressed into mine, the way her meek and shy tongue asked gently for permission to enter, then took more from her than I had anticipated when my tongue took a few wide sweeps through her mouth.

  I pulled away, not wanting to take the kiss further, needing, instead, to clear the air between us.

  “Go, babe. I’ll meet you in the bedroom in a bit.”

  She smiled, turned away from me, and made her way down the hall. I scrubbed my hands down my face, trying to build up some nerve to have a discussion with Lena that could really go one of two ways. I made my way to the bathroom and showered, distracted, trying to piece together what I would say to her, how I would tell the woman I loved I was being forced to kill her husband.

  I stepped out of the shower, confidence at an all-time high, convinced I was going to march into the bedroom and tell her the truth, tell her about Edgar and Derrek, and everything would work out for the best. I wrapped a towel around my waist and marched into the room, only to be stopped in my tracks by the sight of Lena kneeling on the bed.

  Her black, luscious hair was falling down her back, her knees were spread, and her hands rested on her thighs. She was wearing what looked like a short lace dress. It obviously wasn’t made to wear in public and was more of the bedroom variety of dress, but it was absolutely sexy. The lace did nothing to hide the brownish-pink color of her nipples, nor the fact that they were hard and straining through the lace itself.

  “Fuck me,” I mumbled, still standing in the doorway.

  “That’s the idea,” she responded, her voice deep and sultry. She lifted one hand and crooked a finger at me, and I’ll be damned if my feet didn’t move of their own accord. I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried—which I didn’t. When I made it to the foot of the bed, she lifted to her knees and her hands slid up my body, starting at my waist and trailing all the way up to my shoulders. Once she had a firm grasp on me there, she pulled me in closer to her. I watched as her mouth came to press a kiss right in the center of my chest, moving to one side, licking my nipple, then moved to the other side and repeated the attention on the other. Her lips moved up my chest and headed for my neck, leaving a trail of kisses. When she met the skin just below my neck she sucked and my knees nearly gave out.

  “Lena, please, we need to talk.” I groaned at my own words. Her hands moved down my sides then gripped the towel, pulling it from me, leaving me bare.

  “We can talk, but we can only say dirty words.”

  I tried to keep my laugh in, but she was too goddamned cute. Lena was sexy all of the time, so watching her trying to be sexy was hilarious. “You don’t know any good dirty words,” I teased. If she was offended, I couldn’t tell. She continued her assault against the skin on my neck, her words coming out between kisses, licks, and bites.

  “Dick,” she whispered.

  “Sweetheart, dick is a nicer way of saying cock. Cock is the dirty word you’re looking for.” My hands came to her waist. I loved the way the lace looked on her, but I didn’t like the way it felt on my hands. I wanted her skin.

  “Fuck,” she whispered again, sounding more determined. I could admit, hearing the word come from her, raspy and vibrating against my skin, was definitely sexy.

  “Closer.” I surprised her by climbing onto the bed. It made me taller than her again so her lips were forced from my neck. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me, I wound the other hand in her hair and pulled back so her eyes found mine. “Try again.”

  “I want to feel your cock in my pussy.” Her eyes never left mine as she bravely said words I’d never heard her utter before, but her breath faltered; she was obviously affected on a base level.

  “Oh yeah? What else?” My pulse raced, wanting to do everything she suggested and more. I pulled her hair a little harder, but then moved forward, forcing her to lie on the bed. I grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head.

  “I want to feel your hard cock pound into me from behind, and I want to feel your hand pulling my hair, all while you tell me what it feels like to be inside me.”

  Well, holy fuck.

  “Is that so?” Apparently, if Lena got a little drunk, her inner minx came out.

  She nodded, her eyes glassy, a sexy grin gracing her lips.

  “I’m pretty sure I can manage all that.” My cock was begging to give her exactly what she wanted and I’d given up trying to deny her when she started whispering dirty words in my ear. I reached down and grabbed the bottom of her lacy dress, pulling it up and over her body while she wiggled, giggling. As the black lace passed her magnificent breasts I stopped to take one into my mouth, never willing to pass up an opportunity to admire their perfection. She had the kind of breasts my dick wanted to live between.

  She groaned quietly as I took one of her nipples into my mouth and sucked hungrily, her lip trapped between her teeth. I moved away and continued to pull off the lacy garment, then took a moment to let my eyes take in all her beauty as she lay naked in my bed, her black hair fanned out around her, creamy skin just barely pink with arousal. When she reached between us, grasping my cock and stroking me up and down, I knew she was done waiting.

  Her hand moved over me like silk and every muscle in my body tensed at the sensation. Nothing felt as fantastic as having Lena’s hands on me. I placed my fingers just at the edge of her entrance, and all my breath left me at the wetness there.

  “Jesus, Lena. You’re soaked.” She groaned, more loudly this time, as I slid two fingers into her, loving the way her body accepted me, the way it seemed to be waiting for me. I moved my fingers in and out of her at a bruising pace, neither one of us looking for slow or smooth. She wanted it rough and I intended to give her everything she wanted. Always. Her hips bucked up into my hand as she cried out. Apparently, slightly drunk Lena was also louder. Hearing her cries only made my cock jump and throb harder. I leaned down and grabbed her breast with my free hand, squeezing roughly, and then my mouth covered her hard, tight peak.

  With every thrust of my fingers, I not only heard her arousal climbing, but I could feel her warm slickness. She was nearly to her peak. Still with two fingers plunging in and out, I used my thumb to circle her clit and watched as she exploded like a firecracker. Hips bucked, mouth opened, eyes closed, and I watched as she lost herself in the sexual euphoria I got so much pleasure out of giving her. Watching her fall apart at my hand was one of the most singularly arousing things to witness.

  I didn’t wait for her to come all the way down before I grabbed her hips, flipped her over, pulled her ass up, and plunged into her.

  “Fucking Christ, you’re so tight. I love slamming into you while you’re still clenching. It feels fucking amazing.” I reached forward and wrapped my hand in her hair, just as she’d asked, pulled back gently and watched as her back arched and ass tipped up, fitting me perfectly. I continued to pound into her, loving the sound of her cries with every thrust. A ball of heat erupted in my spine, shooting forward, and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. I gripped her hair more tightly, pulled her back harder, impaling her with significant force and speed, listening to her guttural moans and incoherent words. When she collapsed onto her forearms, her pussy gripping me with more force than ever before, I knew she’d come again, and I followed right behind her.

  We both collapsed, panting, trying to catch our breath, each on our respective
sides of the bed. When I finally felt as though my heart wasn’t going to gallop away, I turned, wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her toward me. When she was secure against me, her back to my front, I brushed her hair aside and kissed her temple. I heard her exhale a shallow breath, then she settled into her spot, snuggling down.

  “Love you,” she murmured, which I understood as her telling me goodnight.

  I smiled, as if I could help it, and whispered into her ear, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  I sighed as she drifted off to sleep, resigned to having our much-needed conversation the next day. I smiled to myself as I vowed not to let her distract me with hot, drunken sex again.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, I didn’t waste any time getting Lena to listen to everything I had to say. I woke up early, brewed coffee, cut up some fruit, and set it all out on the balcony. Then I gently woke Lena, asking her to meet me for breakfast overlooking the ocean. A few minutes later, when she joined me, I let myself drink her in. Her face was soft from sleep, her hair pulled up high and piled atop her head, and she’d put on one of my button-up shirts. She looked delectable, but I couldn’t let myself get distracted.

  She came up beside my chair and leaned down, pressing a kiss against my lips, then sat down next to me, taking a sip of her coffee.

  “It’s gorgeous out this morning,” she said, her voice still raspy and fucking beautiful.

  I smiled in response because I knew if I opened my mouth some cheesy bullshit about nothing comparing to her beauty would fall out of it, and I would mean every word.

  “Do you remember how every night, back in Portland, I would sleep in my Lotus outside your house to make sure you were safe?”

  She looked confused by my question; I had obviously started a conversation she wasn’t prepared for. “Um, yeah.”

  “I need you to remember that. I need you to remember that, since the day I met you, I’ve done everything I could to keep you safe. Remember that, and trust me. Can you do that?”

  “You’re scaring me, Preston.”

  “I’m not trying to scare you, sweetheart, but I do have something to tell you and it will go more smoothly if you just keep that in mind—that I’ve always been focused on you and your safety and your happiness.”

  She nodded, her expression a little hesitant.

  “Yesterday, at the luau, I took a phone call.”

  “Right, from Parker.” Her face paled and I watched as she became instantly panicked. “Oh my God, is he okay?”

  “Parker is fine, but it wasn’t him on the phone. It was Edgar.” I waited as my words sunk in and watched as realization came over her face.

  “The man who tailed us the night of the gala?”

  “Right.”

  “Why would he be calling you? Isn’t he the man you were working for when we met? I thought Derrek got what he wanted and all that was over?”

  “Well, it turns out Derrek got what he wanted, but Edgar didn’t. Derrek was in deep with Edgar and owed him a lot of money. When Derrek disappeared, he did so before he paid Edgar back. And now Edgar wants his money.”

  “Sucks to be Derrek,” Lena said just before popping a strawberry in her mouth, chewing with more force than necessary. I tried not to smile at her sass, but I lost that struggle, my mouth curling upward. Fuck, she was perfect.

  “It does suck to be Derrek, but that’s not really news. News is, Edgar wants me to find Derrek.” Lena stopped chewing, her eyes locked on mine. When she moved again, it was to speak.

  “I thought you knew where Derrek was.”

  “I did know where he was—a week ago. I haven’t kept up any investigative work since I’ve been here. I could probably find him again, and there’s also the chance he hasn’t moved at all. But that’s not all Edgar wants.”

  “What else?” She sounded nervous.

  “He wants me to kill Derrek.” I didn’t know how else to put it to her, didn’t know any other words to say. It was blunt and to the point, but I figured she needed it that way. Needed to know exactly what was happening. Exactly what we were facing.

  “Kill him?” Her voice was shrill and scared.

  I nodded in response. She remained quiet for a few minutes and I watched her profile as she looked out to the ocean. She blinked and she breathed, but she did nothing else. Finally, she turned back to me, her eyes worried.

  “If I ask you a question, do you promise to be completely and one hundred percent honest with me?”

  “Yes,” I answered instantly.

  “I’m not kidding, Preston. I need the truth, even if it changes everything. I need you to give it to me.”

  “Ask me.”

  “Have you ever killed anyone before?”

  “Never.” My answer came immediately and with force. I pushed the word out as if it weighed a thousand pounds. I needed her to believe me, needed her to realize that not only was I telling the truth, but also that killing people wasn’t something I did. I turned toward her and made sure she was looking me in the eye before I continued. “I am not a thug, a gangster, or a mob boss, Lena. I am a clean, law-abiding private investigator. I got caught up in one questionable job to protect my sister. One. And that job led me to you, so I can’t regret it. But I am not crooked. I promise you that.” I sighed, feeling some tension leave my body with my words. “I might have killed Piper’s ex, I wouldn’t have cared at the time if I had, but that was different. That was me protecting my baby sister. He lived. But I’ve never killed anyone. Not for the job and not for any reason.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. I reached my hand out and wrapped it around the back of her neck, pulling her over to me, our bodies stretching out to meet each other’s, my forehead gently touching hers.

  “You believe me?”

  “Of course I believe you,” she whispered gently.

  I sighed out my relief. Of course she believed me. I pressed my mouth to hers, kissing her just barely, then let her go, resting back into my chair. “I’m not going to kill Derrek.” I looked over at her just in time to watch her nod. “Edgar wants him dead, but we’ll find a way to work around that.”

  “Do you think if Derrek gives Edgar his money, he’ll leave him alone and let him live?”

  “I honestly don’t know. My instincts tell me no. Edgar may not be the most prominent boss out there, but he’s still dangerous and definitely means business.”

  “Wait,” Lena said, new worry and panic filling her voice. “If you don’t kill him, won’t Edgar then come after you?”

  “Let me worry about Edgar, sweetheart.”

  “Where was Derrek the last time you tracked him?”

  “Caribbean.”

  “Do you think he’s still there?”

  “I don’t know. He moved around a bit at first, then landed there and didn’t leave for a few days before I found him, but that doesn’t really mean anything. He could be anywhere.”

  “I assume that means you’ll have to go wherever you end up finding him.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, these aren’t the kind of conversations you have with someone over the phone. I have to go wherever he is.”

  Lena turned to look back out to the blue sea. “I want to go with you,” she nearly whispered, her words so light and soft, almost as if she were afraid to say them, afraid of how I would respond.

  “You know I never want to be away from you, but this isn’t safe.”

  “I need to go with you.”

  “I need to know you’re safe, Lena. I need to do my job without worrying whether or not you’ll get hurt.”

  “And I’m supposed to just stay here and wonder whether or not you’re safe? That isn’t fair to me. That will drive me insane.”

  “What if you went to Portland and stayed with Parker?”

  “I am not going to Portland. Not now. Not yet.”

  “Portland, with Parker, is the safest place you could be right now, Lena. The only place where I would know someone would be watching out for
you.”

  “And who would be watching out for you? Edgar? Derrek? What if Parker came with us?”

  This was not an angle I’d considered. Parker was someone I could always count on, and I had used him before in my work, but not in this way. I had never asked Parker to help me with something so fundamentally and obviously illegal. I didn’t want him knowing anything about what was going on. I couldn’t implicate him that way. “He can’t know what I’m up to, Lena. That would mean, if I were caught, he’d be an accomplice. I can’t do that to him.”

  “Now you think you’re going to get caught?” She was almost to the point of panic. Her face was pained, eyebrows arched toward the sky, hands gripping her thighs, and I swore I could see her pulse beating in her neck.

  “Lena, baby, Derrek isn’t dangerous. He’s got money, but that’s all. He doesn’t have contacts—and even if he did have any, he’s abandoned all of them, gone dark. I’m not planning on getting caught. But if something were to go wrong, I wouldn’t want you and Parker there. It’s just not worth the risk.”

  Suddenly Lena stood and took two quick steps, standing right in front of me. I couldn’t help it when my eyes roamed down her body, landing right where my white shirt ended and the smooth skin of her thighs began. Before I could reach out and touch her, like I ached to do every time she was within reach, she knelt between my legs and I was taken by a whole new visual.