Preach to me Baby

by Hazel Parker

  “I’ve been in this business for a few years.” Mitchell sipped his drink once more. “I’ve got an eye for beautiful women.”

  “I’m certain that you do.” The girl’s bright red lips formed a coy smile. “Men like you are brilliant.”

  “Well, I’m not the only one who is good with flattery.”

  “I can’t help myself.” She took a step closer to him. “There’s just something about a man in power that has always… turned me on.”

  Mitchell smiled. So she was certainly interested. That was a good thing. He wanted to see what was under that skimpy little dress that she was wearing.

  “It’s certainly a shame that you never went into modeling.” Mitchell took his own step closer to her. “The runway would have loved you.”

  “Thank you.” His mystery woman took another step closer. It made the scent of her intoxicating perfume stronger. When he moved his arm to rest on the bar, he brushed against her breasts. She did not pull away. In fact, she looked even more interested.

  “What can I tell you?” Mitchell pressed his arm more firmly against her breast. “I know a body the camera would love.”

  He watched her press her tongue against her front teeth. He found it incredibly sexy. He moved his arm slightly so that he could stroke his fingers against the side of her breast.

  “Actually,” he murmured, “I know a body that anyone would love.”

  “Oh, I know that you do.” The woman let her hand fall to rest on his upper arm. “I know all about your talent, Mr. Fields. There’s no one that I’d… trust… more.”

  Mitchell shook his head. He met his share of beautiful women at these events, and he had many of them play up to him, but this one seemed to have a particular determination. He did not really understand it—or why she was not offering her name. But he was not about to turn her down.

  “If you ever do want to get into the business,” he met her eyes, “you just let me know. I’ll make sure to find you the right connections.”

  The woman laughed flirtatiously. It was a beautiful sound, and the action made her brilliant green eyes light up. She was playing this game like a champion—and she was clearly in it to win it.

  “Well, maybe if you were really interested, I could find some time to give you a private performance.”

  Ah, there it was. It was exactly as he had thought. He felt the immediate stirrings of arousal. He was certainly not going to turn this one down.

  “Why don’t we do just that?”

  BONUS MATERIAL

  Beautiful Release

  My sister always said if you had to hide something, you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. I sure was happy she couldn’t see me now.

  I dug through the freezer to the roll of bills stashed there. Not a very imaginative hiding spot, but that didn’t matter anymore. If I could get my shit together fast enough, I would be leaving my apartment and not coming back. None of this would matter.

  I shoved the cash into my bag and jogged to my room. I had no idea how long I’d have until Jason realized I cut a new deal with his drugs. All I knew was he would find out, and when he did, he’d make sure I paid for it. I shoved a few handfuls of clothes into the bag and carried on.

  In retrospect, it wasn’t my most brilliant idea, hijacking the load of cocaine and selling it to his competitor, but neither was dating him in the first place. I really should have taken into consideration my complete lack of stealth or criminal skills before I did it though. Too late for that now.

  I zipped up my bag and took a final look around my tiny apartment. I drew in a long, calming breath, steadying myself to head back out of there. I may not have had many criminal skills, but I had life skills and I was relying on them to get me out of here in one piece.

  The knock at the door had my heart spasming in my chest. My thoughts were temporarily stilted from the panic that coursed through me and I had to fight to suck in a lungful of air. I needed to get a hold of myself if I had any hope of pulling this off.

  As rational thought returned, I made a quick list of who could be on the other side of the door. There weren’t many possibilities. If it was Jason or one of his lackeys, they wouldn’t have knocked. Any friends I made since moving here should think I was at work. The only family I had left lived thousands of miles east, and they hadn’t shown any interest in looking me up since I left a few years back.

  The fist pounded on the door again and this time I chanced a look through the peep hole. I used all the stealth I had to ease my way towards the door, but half way there, another knock rang out and this time it was accompanied by a voice.

  “Open the god damn door, Alexis. I can hear you breathing in there, for Christ sake.”

  The panic receded, replaced by irritation. I pulled to door open to glare at AJ.

  “What the hell are you doing here AJ?” I asked, resisting the urge to punch him in the shoulder for scaring me, and resisting the urge to let my eyes roam his body. AJ may have an amazing body, but he was off limits. I’d been only making direct eye contact with him for over two years.

  “Quit being a bitch and let me in,” he said with his lopsided grin. I hated that it made me lose my battle to maintain eye contact. I was helpless when it came to that smile. I watched it straighten. I watched his tongue wet his bottom lip.

  “I was just heading out,” I said, drawing my eyes back up to his. “You’re going to have to come back later to annoy me.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

  “I am.” My heart rate picked up before the story I’d rehearsed came back to me. “I was, but I had to run home to grab something. And now I have to get back. This counts as my lunch break and you know how pissy Jack gets when I’m late.”

  “What did you have to get?”

  I held up the bag. “Gym clothes. A couple of us are heading there after our shift.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, Lexie. Let me in before you get us both killed.”

  My mouth ran dry and I struggled for an answer, but AJ didn’t wait. He just moved past me into my apartment. I was left to shut the door and follow him to where he stood in the living room.

  “I’m not lying, AJ. I really need to get back to work.”

  “Cut the crap. I know what you did. I came to help.”

  My eyebrows pulled together. “Help how?” I asked, thinking for the first time that maybe AJ wasn’t as harmless as I first thought.

  “Well, according to my brother, you cut a backroom deal, with what and with who I don’t want to know. Moral of the story is you screwed him out of a shitload of money. He wants his money back and I can get you to him to make things right.”

  “I don’t want to give it back. And I sure as hell don’t want to make things right with him. He used me for two years. Kept me in the dark, tricked me into doing his bidding. He flaunted his business and his other girlfriends under my nose and I was too stupid to realize it. His dirty money is restitution for years of humiliation.”

  “You weren’t stupid. Jason’s had a lot of practice at hiding his shady deals. We probably don’t know half of what he’s into. But that doesn’t mean you’re not being stupid about it now. He’s going to come after you.”

  “So what are you doing here? Did he send you to bring me in peacefully?”

  “Hell no. My brother doesn’t tell me what to do, just like I won’t tell you what to do. I came to try and fix this. To figure out a way to get you out of this.”

  “And that was your plan? Convince me to hand over the money and everyone would pretend it never happened? Even I’m not that naïve.”

  He ran a hand through his hair and cut his eyes away from me to the window. “It’s not a brilliant plan, I know that, but it’s all I could come up with for now.” His voice had lost all trace of the humor that usually laced it; now it was soft. “I don’t think he’ll do anything to you while I’m there, and maybe once he has his money, I can buy you time to slip away. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be worth
it for him to go after you once he had what he wanted.”

  He turned back to me and his eyes were pleading. Maybe he thought this plan was my only way out, but it would be my death sentence.

  “You should go home, AJ. I appreciate your concern, but I made the choice to make that deal and I can’t put you in the middle of it. I have a plan of my own.”

  “And what’s that?” He came close to me, his russet eyes burning into mine. “You’re going to take off with the money? How far do you think you’ll get before Jason tracks you down? I’d be surprised if you make it out of the city.”

  “You’re not going to scare me into staying,” I said, breathing in the spicy notes of his scent.

  “I’m not trying to scare you, Lexie.” He reached out his hand. After a hesitant second, he ran his knuckles down my cheek, the pad of his thumb across my lips.

  I spent so much time resisting AJ, living with his untouchable temptations, that his open invitation called to me. My pulse beat heavy between my legs and my fingers twitched at my sides. When he lowered his face to mine and his warm breath danced across my skin, I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.

  I nipped at his thumb that was still at my lips, drew it into my mouth, watched the desire flare in his eyes. And just like a match head, we ignited in a burst of intensity. AJ’s mouth was on mine in an instant, stealing my breath with his own and pulling me against him hard. My hands worked their way under his shirt with an urgency. I was rewarded with his warm, taut skin under my kneading fingers, the muscles in his back moving and flexing under my grip.

  I don’t know what facet of my brain was in control in that moment, what part told me this was okay. Maybe it was the same part that had forced me to repel AJ’s appeal all these months, deny his effect on me, monogamous to the core. It seemed as though that part had gone as haywire as the rest of me.

  I pulled his shirt up over his head and ran my hands down the hard plane of his chest. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him nearly naked, but it was the first time I was able to satisfy my curiosity, inspect him openly, touch him freely. His hands seemed to have the same thing in mind and months of fantasies flooded through me while his thick fingers slid my shirt off and came back to cover my breasts.

  I pushed into his grasp, scraped my fingers into his hair, and pulled him closer, drawing long breaths in through my nose. It was like I was trying to crawl into him. I felt desperate for him but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. Especially when he was devouring my mouth just as desperately.

  The throbbing between my legs strengthened, aided by the wetness that seeped through my panties. I reached for the button of his jeans and shoved them down his legs as far as I could reach. He kicked them off, never breaking his kneading hold of my tits. That grip was only relinquished to undo the clasp at my back, pulling me against him and kissing and nipping at the skin he revealed as he pulled my bra off.

  His firm lips found my nipples, his hands smoothed down my hips to the waistband of my pants. A flurry of sensation stormed through me. His lips and teeth teased at my pebble nipples. His long fingers snaked their way into my pants. I closed my eyes and let myself take in the ripples of anticipation that seized me just seconds before the pad of his finger brushed against my mound. Liquid pooled again as AJ’s finger nestled its way closer, this time with gentle pressure against my clit.

  I took hold of his hard cock through his boxers. The warmth of it seeped through the cotton and I pulled down the length of it. AJ’s deep rumble reverberated against my skin, his eyes looking up through his lashes at me. I did it again and this time he broke our connection, and I found my pants around my ankles a second later.

  He left me to step out of them while he pulled his cock free from its restraint. My eyes were drawn down to his firm grip on it, and he pulled his hand down over the head. My eyes were on his erection but his eyes were on me and the heat in them was easy to read. He took a step forward, backing me up against the wall. The smooth skin of his cock brushed against my lower stomach, and my hands went to his shoulders.

  As if it were the most natural, most practiced sequence between us, AJ lifted my left leg up while I wrapped it around his waist. He supported an arm around my waist as I secured my hold around his shoulders. In one smooth move, AJ positioned himself at my entrance and pushed in fully.

  Just that easy and just that fast, a million fantasies came to fruition. In this position, with one foot on the floor and the other around him, AJ could push all the way in. His hips pumped against mine and he filled me over again. My nails gripped into his skin, holding tight to this stolen moment. The rapid thrum in my chest was as much a warning as it was a reaction to the thrill.

  Each push in forced an exhale from both of us. His steady thrusts weren’t gentle, but his grip on me was. I tried to avoid his eyes, but I kept being drawn up to them, his focus on me constant. There was too much intensity there, too much emotion. Instead I focused on the tingle of anticipation that surged out from my core, warming my fingertips and toes.

  As his movements became more hurried, I tightened my leg around him, using the heel of my foot to draw him in faster. With each slap of skin, each touch of cool wall to my back, the tingle that had stretched out into my limbs was drawn back in. It curled back fluidly through my body like smoke in the night air, until it was swirling deep in my belly. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the wall, letting the sensation thicken and contract.

  AJ’s grip on my thigh tightened, fingers biting into flesh. The sting of it heightened the tight pulses through my core. While he continued his barrage, the pulses burst out through me, my orgasm pulling me into the bliss of the moment.

  When the quiver in my legs stopped, I opened my eyes in time to see AJ’s mouth open, eyes still on me. His silent cry hung in the air between us until he released a low groan, his hips movements becoming stilted. They lost intensity until, little by little, they slowed to a stop.

  My head caught up in the silence that followed. I lowered my leg to the ground and waited for the self-loathing to happen. When it didn’t, I shook off the other feeling that settled in my chest. The one that told me letting AJ fuck me against a wall was a long time coming.

  The look of fear must have registered in my face because AJ straightened and pulled me against his chest.

  After a long minute, he said, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Lexie. You don’t need to be scared.”

  I was scared, but not for the exact reason he thought. I was terrified and didn’t want to let go of him. I wanted to accept his offer of help, wanted to believe he would make everything okay. But I had held onto Jason for too long, outwore my welcome; I wasn’t about to do the same with AJ. There was also the worry in the back of my mind that AJ knew more than he was letting on.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” I backed away from him abruptly, heading down the hall, needing to put some space between us to think.

  Jason was his only brother. His only family. They grew up alone together. Although AJ stayed out of Jason’s business and vice versa, family was a bond that ran deeper than business. He already knew what happened, and he knew I was still here. That was more than I needed anyone knowing. Especially Jason’s brother.

  When I came back out, he was still there, not that I really thought he would be gone. It didn’t stop me from hoping though. It would make my life a hell of a lot easier. He met me in the hallway and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to clean up and then we’ll figure this out, okay?”

  I nodded stiffly while he gathered his clothes and headed for the bathroom. As soon as the door clicked shut, I slipped to the front door and grabbed my duffel bag that was waiting there. With a deep inhale, and not so much as one look behind me, I inched open the door. A quick scan of the hall showed it was empty and quiet.

  Easing the door shut behind me I made it to the stairs and down to the ground floor at a good speed. My ears were straining to hear the smallest sound that would tell me
I had been busted. I cringed when I pushed open the heavy metal door, but still no one came running down the stairs after me, and when I pushed it open enough to slip out onto the street no one was waiting for me with guns blazing. It was terribly anticlimactic, but even so my heartrate thundered.

  Admittedly, my game plan from here was vague at best. It was a hodge-podge of snippets from TV dramas and tidbits I’d learned from living in this city for so long. A few back road short cuts and dating-a-criminal knowhow weren’t going to do me much good without a means of transportation out of the city. If TV taught me anything, it was that driving my own car would be suicide, as would taking a bus or any other easy means of escaping the city.

  On my way to my apartment, when I really fully committed myself to the idea of taking off, of starting over, my brilliant plan was to hitch a ride out of town. It solved the dilemma of using a credit card or of being in a public place for too long. Now that I had to put that plan into action, though, I was more than a little nervous. It was a pretty big risk to put my fate into someone else’s hands. But then again, so was stealing drug money from Jason.

  The way I figured it, making my way to the outside of town would be the hardest part. My apartment was already on the west edge of the residential part of town, bordered by the industrial district. I could over think things and decide to head east, reasoning that going west out of town was the quickest and therefore most obvious route. But I had to face the fact that my resources were limited and cutting through the city and leaving the other way would give me way too much exposure. If I was lucky, Jason would assume I was smarter than that, that I would have had the foresight to create a slightly more evasive plan. I could hope.

  As the sidewalks narrowed and the people on them became non-existent, I felt the true breadth of being exposed. The clang of metal doors shutting and a wheezing cough came from a yard across the street. A dog barking and rattling the chain link sounded from up ahead. The noises echoed in the quiet of the early evening. It was unsettling and I willed my legs to move faster. Within a few blocks, the sound of approaching vehicles stopped, making me panic, the loud roar of diesel engines alerting me to the approach of a truck, and not the type of vehicle I would need to be worried about.