“Jesus.” She sucks in a shocked breath. “What the fuck did he do to you?”
My reflection in the mirror reveals a truth I can’t hide. I shift the towel higher to hide the hickeys on my breasts. Round fingertip bruises dot my thighs and throat. It’s my face that betrays me. My lips are pink and swollen. I touch them gingerly. The brush of my fingertips brings back a rush of memories. I close my eyes, squeezing them tight to fight back the titillating images flooding my head.
“Oh, Jag. Did he—did he—” She pauses to clear her throat. “Do I need to call the police?”
“No. No.” I grab her arm to keep her from making the call. “It wasn’t like that. He didn’t—we never—I mean, it was consensual.”
Her eyebrows lift. “You’re one freaky bitch, Jagger Jones.”
“We didn’t have sex. Technically.” I wave a hand through the air, like that will help my case, not sure where the line is drawn between foreplay and fucking. “It’s complicated.”
“Apparently.” With a confused shrug, she backs out of the room. “All right. Take your shower. Meanwhile, I’ll be waiting impatiently to hear this story.”
“Thanks.” I give her a tight smile then exhale a sigh of relief when the door closes behind her.
The cleansing spray of water does little to erase the events of the previous night. With each glide of the loofah over my skin, I feel his hands on my breasts and the scrape of his beard against my inner thighs. I squeeze my eyes shut, but the memories won’t stop.
Even today, his question echoes through the hollow space between my ribs: “What’s it going to be, Jagger?”
“I’ll stay.” Those two words had sealed my fate. What choice did I have? Sex with a hot guy seemed like the simplest answer, so I agreed. “But I won’t beg you for it.”
“Really? Wanna bet on it?” The cockiness in his voice spurred my competitive streak.
“Sure.”
He moved closer, drawing his fingertips across his flat belly. “Name your stakes.”
“If I win, you forgive the debt.”
“Can’t do that, little girl.” He took another step, bringing us toe to toe. “Try again.”
“Double or nothing,” I replied.
“That’s a bold wager. Especially when you ain’t seen what I’m bringing to the table.” His arrogance, combined with the heat in his eyes, made me a little bit insane. Why else would I make a bet over sex with a known criminal?
“You’re not as attractive as you think. Not to me.” My words matched his in confidence. However, he knows I’m lying. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted any man.
“I beg to differ.” He leaned down, placing his nose next to my ear, scenting my hair like an alpha male about to choose his female. I raised my chin. No matter what happened, I wasn’t going to let him see how he affected me. He toyed with a lock of my hair between his thumb and forefinger before moving around me in a slow circle. “You’ve been giving me the eye since I walked into your store. You want it. I know you want it. Let’s make this easy. Just admit it, and we can move on.”
When he was behind me, he paused to press his lips to the nape of my neck. I shivered, unable to control my response to his hot mouth on my bare skin. He continued to brush light kisses along my shoulder, my collarbone, the ticklish spot behind my ear. I gulped, the sound audible. “You’re an arrogant bastard.”
“Aw, but you like that about me, don’t you?” He exhaled. His breath heated my earlobe. “Give yourself a break, Jagger. I promise you’ll enjoy it.” The edges of his teeth nibbled along the shell of my ear, and it was like a direct hotline to my pussy. “And no bets. This isn’t about business, this is pleasure—for both of us. I want you to beg for it because you want me inside you. Balls deep. Banging that pussy until you come.”
The filthy talk kindled a fire between my legs. He came to a stop in front of me, rested his forehead against mine, and kissed the corner of my mouth. My inner muscles clenched. If only he’d touch me down there. “Do you kiss your mamma with that dirty mouth?”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” With one hand, he grabbed my bottom, his fingers digging into the cleft of my ass, and yanked my hips to his. I gasped at the hard steel rod pressed against my stomach. His opposite hand snaked to the back of my head, and then he took my mouth. Claimed it in a kiss so deep and so wet that my knees almost buckled. His tongue dueled with mine, searching every inch of real estate, until I grew dizzy from lack of oxygen and the flood of endorphins. He stripped away the barrier that encased my darkest desires and turned them loose. I dug my fingers into his hair and ground against him, wild with need.
When he finally released me, I panted, desperate to catch my breath. We stood staring at each other, his cock tenting the front of his shorts and my nipples pointing through the satin bra cups. It had only been a kiss, but it had been as intimate as fucking. I dragged the back of my forearm over my wet mouth. “Is that all you’ve got?” I asked with more sass than brains.
“Oh, darlin’,” he drawled. “I haven’t even started yet.”
The water from the shower is starting to cool. I have no idea how long I’ve been standing under the stream. All I know is that the memories of last night are enough to bring me to the brink of orgasm. I slip two fingers between my legs, eager to relieve the ache before I implode.
“Do you like it when I fuck your mouth?” His dirty whisper echoed in my ears.
Unable to speak, I nodded. He clenched his fingers in my hair, holding my head in place while his cock slipped through my lips. The crown touched the back of my throat. Tears ran down my cheeks. I tried to rub my clit, eager to relieve the ache, but he grabbed my hands and pinned them behind my back.
“Not yet. Not unless you beg for it.” He dragged his dick out of my mouth. The red tip bobbed in front of my nose. “Do you want me to fuck you now, Jagger? All you have to do is say please.”
I take my time getting dressed. My body aches from exhaustion and the strain of overworked muscles. On the drive to the store, I almost run a stop sign thinking about the way things had ended with Cash this morning.
“Spread your legs. Let me taste that pussy.” His nasty words echoed in my ears. His hand slipped between my thighs and rubbed the tight nub. I followed his command, blinded by my lust.
I grabbed his cock and tugged him toward me. The thick, protruding veins formed ridges on his shaft. Ridges that would have felt like ecstasy inside me. My walls pulsed, ready for orgasm.
“Hands over your head. Grab the headboard.” His voice was low and raspy, scratching all the dark and dirty places inside my head.
My fingers wrapped around the rungs of the painted wood. The tip of his nose slid along my seam. I jerked my hips upward, eager for whatever came next. His tongue dragged through the tender folds between my legs. My knuckles ached from my tight hold on the headboard. One of his fingers penetrated the tight ring of muscle in my bottom and curled upward. I jerked at the surprise intrusion. His chuckle vibrated against my thigh. A second finger entered my pussy, followed by a third.
He filled me, all of me. I came in a torrent of cries and tears and pleas to make it stop and to never stop. To my credit, I never begged for him to fuck me. But I was so close to surrendering. With one hand buried inside me, he lurched to his knees. He came on my stomach in hot spurts and a frenzy of groans.
The intensity of my orgasm lasted an eternity. When he’d finished, he grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom and cleaned me up. I unclenched my fingers from the headboard, certain I’d never be the same again. Once I was clean, Cash dotted kisses along my overheated skin. He rested his chin on my sternum and grinned up at me. I ran my fingers through his glossy hair, loving the softness between my fingers.
Sin and mischief glimmered in his eyes. “So much for round one. Are you ready to go again?”
A knock on my car window jerks me from the memory. I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting in the store parking lot. A minute? Ten? The UPS guy smil
es and motions for me to roll down my window. My cheeks flame with embarrassment as he passes an overnight envelope into the car.
“Can you sign for this?” he asks. “I’m running behind.”
“Sure.” I scrawl my name with a shaking hand and muster a smile. He probably thinks I’m insane. Maybe I am. I had four orgasms with Cash, and I’m ready for more. I don’t care that he’s a criminal. In fact, his lawless spirit turns me on.
When I walk into the store, Em is so involved in inventory that she doesn’t notice my entrance. I toss my purse into the desk drawer, lay the envelope on the counter, and head for the gallery.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Her reproach catches me with my hand on the doorknob. So close. I turn and give her a weary smile. The playful light is missing from her eyes. “Do you have the bracelets and earrings you wore last night? I want to get them back inside the display.”
My heart sinks. After the trauma of Hubert Spillman’s death, the encounter with Kyle, and the bet with Cash, the loss of the jewelry had seemed insignificant. Not so much now. I can’t look at her. I’m in so deep. Up to my eyeballs. I shift from one foot to the other, training my attention on the pressed tin ceiling of the office. “Yes and no.”
Hearing the note of dismay in my voice, she drops her pencil onto the desk and comes around to sit on the front of it. “What does that mean?”
“I fucked up, Em. Big time. And I have no idea how to get out of it.”
“Okay.” Seeing the tears in my eyes, she rubs my shoulder, her expression tender. “It can’t be that bad. Tell me what’s going on and we’ll fix it.”
“You can’t fix this. No one can.” I wrap my arms around my waist, wishing I could evaporate into thin air.
“Bullshit. I’m a fantastic fixer. And you know how I love a challenge.” Under different circumstances, I’d find her determination endearing.
“It’s so complicated. I don’t know where to begin.”
She smiles and settles back onto the desk, letting her legs swing. “That’s easy. Start at the beginning.”
Ten
Jagger
My life is filled with so many lies, I’m not sure where the truth begins and the deceptions end. Emeline’s sympathetic expression buoys my confidence. Unable to sit, I pace the wood floor in front of the shelves and wring my hands while I decide how much she needs to know. “About a year ago, I stole a necklace from a jewelry store. It was easy. I made a copy, walked into the showroom, and replaced the original with my fake when the salesperson wasn’t looking.” Em’s mouth gapes open. I lift a hand. “I know. I know. It was wrong and stupid and I feel terrible about it.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“I guess I wanted to prove to myself that my work was good enough to pass.” Spoken aloud, the excuse sounds hollow. “That was the first time.”
“There was more than one time?” With a shocked gasp, she shoves back into the chair, making the castors squeak.
“Jimmy sold the pieces to an underground dealer, and I gave him twenty percent for keeping his mouth shut. The last store I stole from belonged to Cash. Anyway, Cash started asking around and he ended up here.” She starts to speak, but I interrupt. “Hang on. It gets worse.”
“How can it possibly get any worse?” I can tell how uncomfortable my confession is making her by the way she crosses her arms over her chest. “Okay. Keep going.”
“So, he came in here and demanded payment, and when I couldn’t pay him, he took the Stella Valentine photograph. And then I couldn’t pay for the photo, so I got a payday loan and slipped it into the account when you weren’t looking.” Embarrassment burns my face.
“Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve worked out an installment plan or something.”
“There’s more.”
“More?” Her eyebrows lift incredulously.
“It seems my sister owes him money—a lot of money—and now he wants me to pay her debt, too.”
“When you say a lot, what exactly does that mean?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Em purses her lips, the way she does when she’s thinking hard. “When your grandma died, she didn’t really leave you any money, did she?” It’s not a question. “That was Callie’s money.”
“Yes.” I’ve been holding in the truth for so long that the words tumble out in a rush. “When she escaped from Cash, she gave me the money to start over in a new life. I bought twenty percent of Mr. Mercer’s business, our house, and this building we work in. I thought they were sound investments. I’ve spent all of it, Em—every last penny—trying to keep the business afloat. And last night, Cash said he had a job for me, a way to pay him back, but I botched it up. So he took the bracelet and earrings and my dress as part of the repayment, and now I owe him an extra fifty thousand dollars.”
Em closes her eyes and grips her skull with both hands like she has a headache. I can’t blame her because my head hurts, too. “Shit, Jagger. This is bad. Really, really bad.”
“I know.” I continue pacing.
“First of all, I’m hurt that you lied to me.” The reproach in her expression cuts through my chest like a dagger.
“I wanted to tell you, but I was embarrassed, and he kept threatening to hurt you. I didn’t want to drag you into my mess.”
“Who took you to the hospital when Kyle pushed you down the stairs? And who hid you from him until the cops could pick him up?”
“You did.” I lick the dryness from my lips. “I forgot to mention that Kyle was at Cash’s club. He cornered me in the bathroom, but Cash came in and saved me.”
“Wait? He’s out of prison?” The color fades from her face.
“He said he got an early release. But I have a restraining order. Now that he knows I’m with Cash, he won’t bother me.” At least, I hope he won’t.
“This is crazy, Jag. How did it get to this?”
She’s right. Nothing I say will excuse my bad behavior. Of all the people in my life, she’s the one who matters most. “I’m so, so sorry, Em.”
Her heavy sigh ruffles the loose wisps of hair around her face. “Just so we’re clear, you’re not forgiven, but you can make it up to me later. Right now, we need to figure out how to get Cash out of your life.” She taps her pink polished fingernails on the desk. “Isn’t there a way to reach your sister? Maybe she can help.”
“No. No way. I don’t want to involve her. She went to a lot of trouble to escape Cash. The last thing I want to do is subject her to him again.”
“I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start.” Shaking her head, she grabs her phone. “I’m calling Tony. Maybe he can help.”
I snatch the phone away from her before she can initiate the call. “No. No way. You can’t tell anyone, especially not Tony.”
“Cash must be breaking a zillion laws. Tony will know how to handle it.”
“Guys like Cash are above the law. If you tell Tony, it will only put him in harm’s way. You don’t want that, do you?” Some twisted part of me feels loyal to Cash. I’m no longer afraid of him. Although he’s been a menace, I don’t wish him any harm.
Her somber eyes study me. After a long minute, she nods. “Fine. I won’t say anything. Not yet.”
“I shouldn’t have dragged you into this, but I’m so glad to have you on my side. You have to promise not to tell a soul. No one.”
“All right. I promise.” To signify her sincerity, she draws a cross over her heart. “But there’s one more thing I don’t understand.”
I nod. “What’s that?”
“If he’s done all these terrible things, why did you sleep with him?” When I open my mouth to dispute the term, she shakes her head. “Or whatever it is that you did? What is this hold he has over you?”
“I don’t know.” But I do. The minute his lips touched mine, I was lost to him. “He so confident. Invincible. I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s tough but tender. When he touches me—” I shiver. “The
sex—it was unbelievable. Mind-blowing.” The next part is more difficult to admit. “I’d do it again if he asked.”
What I can’t tell Em is about this morning. The way he held me in his arms after giving me one orgasm after another. We watched the sun rise over the lake and listened to the water lapping on the shore through the open balcony doors. It had felt right. Perfect.
“That girl—Chelle—was she your girlfriend?” That kind of question threatened to ruin the mood, but I had to ask him.
“I should get you home.” He started to unwrap his arms from around my waist. I tightened my embrace, wanting this peaceful interlude to continue for a few more minutes. Once we left his bed, we’d become enemies again, and I wasn’t ready. Not yet.
“Wait. Just a few more minutes. I’m so comfortable.” I snuggled deeper into the warmth of his chest. He smelled like me, like sex. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just—I don’t know anything about you.”
His chin rested on top of my head. “I don’t like to live in the past. Today and tomorrow are all that matters.”
“I get it.” I trailed my fingers along the length of his arm. “Can you at least tell me why Reaper is so angry with you?”
A few minutes pass before he answers. “I left the Disciples of Rage because I had bigger plans for my life. I didn’t want to be a slave to their bullshit. Reaper is powerful, but he’s just a petty criminal. Boosting cars, dealing drugs, prostitution—those things only lead in one direction—prison. Diamonds are where it’s at.” He tapped my forearm with an index finger, drew back to look me in the eyes. “I saw a way out, and I took it. Gage came with me. We had no idea that the price of freedom would be so high.”
“What was—?” My question was cut off when he rolled me underneath him.
“No more questions.” His lips found the tender skin beneath my ear and sucked until I squirmed. My gasp seemed to satisfy him. He hopped out of bed, strutting naked across the floor, giving me a glorious view of his taut ass and tossed his dress shirt at me. “Time to get up, lazybones. I’ve got a big day ahead of me.”
Absolute Power (Absolute Power Duet Book 1) Page 8
