by Anne Mercier
She looks up at me and I see the love shining in her eyes. It steals my breath. I want nothing more than to kiss her lips and tell her I'm in love with her, that she holds my heart in her hands. But I won't. Not until she's ready. Otherwise she'll run from me and that's something I can't have happen. I can't be without her.
When we reach the house, Sera goes to shower and I handle a couple phone calls. Gio's still not sure if the Manzinis are blowing smoke up our asses or not, and he's just as irritated by it as I am.
After we eat dinner, we snuggle down in my bed to watch a movie, which I know Sera won't see more than twenty minutes of. She's exhausted and it shows. I know she's not been sleeping well and it's taking a toll on her.
As I predicted, she's asleep in less than fifteen minutes. I turn the television off then the bedside lamp. I want to move her on top of me, I know she sleeps better there, but I don't want to wake her either. It's the first sign of peaceful sleep I've seen for her in nearly a week. It's as if she knew the Manzinis were up to no good. I swear she's got her Nana Russo's mojo powers. She always knows more than she should.
I tuck her in close to my side and close my eyes, relaxing my body bit by bit until I fall asleep.
I haven't been asleep long when she wakes me. I hear her whimpers and cries and I reach for her. She thrashes around in the throes of her nightmare and when she cries out for her parents, I know she's reliving that day.
I gently coax her awake.
"Fee," I whisper. "Baby, wake up. It's just a dream." I kiss her forehead. "Fee, wake up for me." Finally she opens her tear-filled eyes and falls into me, holding me tight while she sobs.
"Shh, Fee. It was a dream. They can't hurt you anymore," I reassure her, holding her, rocking her, kissing her temple.
"They'll try," she sniffles.
"They can try. They will fail. I won't let them hurt you, baby," I tell her as I run my hand over her back.
"Promise?" she asks, looking up at me.
"I promise," I vow and I mean it to my very soul.
She's watching me closely and I watch her back. She bites her lower lip, looks away, then looks right back into my eyes.
I watch, as if in slow motion, as she moves toward me, her eyes fluttering closed just before her lips touch mine. We've kissed before, short, goodnight kisses—but this isn't one of those kisses. This is one of those kisses filled with need and want and desire.
I kiss her back, letting her set the pace. When she runs her tongue along the seam of my lips, I open, and when her tongue brushes against mine I groan aloud, pulling her closer into my body. She threads her fingers through my short hair and I pull back. I need to see her. I need to see…
She looks at me, eyes filled with longing.
"Are you sure, Fee?" I ask.
She nods. "Yes."
"Finally," I whisper against her lips.
"What?" she asks.
"I've waited for you for a long time, Fee," I tell her, pressing soft kisses over her face.
"You have?" she asks again.
"I have."
"I've waited a long time for you too," she confesses and my breath catches.
"Fee," I whisper just before I take her mouth in a kiss filled with all the passion and desire I've been holding in. She moans low in her throat and I roll her to her back. She reaches out to pull my shirt off and I grab her wrists, pinning them over her head. She can't touch me now. Not yet or I'll lose the last bit of control I'm holding on to.
I kiss down her neck and her back arches off the bed, her pussy rubbing against my erection. I groan at the contact and rip her tank top down the middle, then suck on her nipple.
She gasps and moans and mewls incredibly sexy sounds as I squeeze and suck on her tits, and when I slide my hand down between us, beneath the waistband of her sleep shorts and into her lace panties, I find her wet. Holy fuck she's wet and creamy and it's mine.
I rub her wetness around her clit and slip my middle finger slowly inside her pussy. She moans loud and whispers my name—my name. I start fucking her with my finger but it's not enough. I want more. I bring my finger up to my mouth and suck on it.
"You taste so fucking good, Fee," I tell her and she squirms beneath me.
I slide down the bed, taking my shirt off along the way, then her shorts and panties. I toss them across the room. I reach for her legs, hooking them over my shoulders before leaning in and just smelling her. Christ. She's musky and aroused and I can't hold back. I lick her slowly, starting at her opening and swirling my tongue around, licking up her arousal. She cries out when I slip a finger back inside, and when my tongue touches her clit her body begins to shake.
I look up at her, needing to know. "Has it been a while, Fee?"
She nods and I close my eyes. It's been a while for me too. Since she started sleeping in my bed on a regular basis.
I add another finger, working them both in and out of her tight channel, while my tongue flicks and swirls around her clit. When I use my whole mouth on her, French kissing her pussy, she screams out her orgasm. She comes and comes, and when she's done, I lick up every drop of her cum.
"This is mine. Only mine from now on. No one else gets this. Only me," I tell her as I slide up her body.
"Only you," she agrees before I kiss her lips, letting her taste herself. I slide my shorts down and reach for the box of condoms in my drawer. I'm a hopeful son of a bitch and right now I'm pretty damn grateful I bought this box.
After slipping the condom on, I lay on top of her, our fingers interlocked beside her head, my cock pushing inside her slowly.
Our gazes are locked as I slowly work my cock deeper and deeper until I'm as far as I can go, our bodies fused together. I rest my forehead against her, panting through the need to take her hard.
"Cage," she whispers, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye.
"You undo me, Fee," I tell her, kissing her tears away and slowly starting to move. It doesn't take long before need takes over and she's lifting her hips to match my thrusts as I pick up the pace.
"You feel so good," I tell her, and when I slip my hands underneath her ass, tilting her hips, I hit the right spot because she moans long and low. "Right there, Fee?"
She nods and I fuck her harder, hitting that spot with every thrust, my cock grazing along her clit as I slam into her.
"I'm going to come soon, Fee. Come with me," I beg, knowing I won't last much longer. I lift her legs, resting her calves on my forearms as I pump into her furiously, needing to feel her come. "I want to feel you come on my cock, Fee. Squeeze it tight and make me come for you."
Obviously she likes the naughty talk because within seconds she's screaming out my name, her pussy clamping down around my cock, stealing my breath as the first shot of cum pulses from my dick. I come hard, groaning into her neck, her body shuddering with mine.
I adjust our position with me resting on top of her, holding my weight on my elbows. Her fingers are tracing random patterns on my back and I grin. My Fee is nervous and unsure. I kiss her neck, her jaw, her lips, lingering there.
I look up into her eyes, so beautifully darkened from pleasure. I reach up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she watches me so seriously.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She nods.
"Do you regret it?" I ask, still inside her body.
"Not for a second," she admits.
I let out the breath I was holding and close my eyes briefly. "Thank God."
She smirks and I kiss her softly again as I slowly pull out of her, immediately missing the feel of her wrapped around me.
"I'll be right back," I tell her and walk to the bathroom to toss the condom. When I walk back to the bed and crawl in, she flips me to my back and climbs her gloriously naked body on top of mine.
"You're so damn beautiful, Fee," I tell her, tracing a finger over her shoulder and down her arm as my eyes memorize her nude body.
"Cage," she begins and I lift a brow when I see the misch
ief blooming in her eyes. "This time I want to be on top," she tells me before she reaches over to the bedside table to grab a condom.
"I don't want you to get too sore, baby," I tell her.
She grins. "I hope I do. Just think," she mutters as she opens the condom wrapper. "Every time I move and feel the soreness and ache, I'll know it's from you being inside of me, making love to me."
If I hadn't already been hard, I would be now. The thought of that has me wanting to fuck her hard and raw, and I'm going to before the night's over.
She hands me the condom and I put it on. When she sinks down onto my cock, I'm lost, so completely lost in her I never want to find my way out.
I wake to the feel of Sera's bare ass pressed against my hard cock. After rolling on a condom, I lift her leg over mine and slip into her from behind, slowly rocking my cock deeper into her.
She moans and arches her back, wrapping her arms around my neck. I kiss and suck on her neck, pulling her back tighter against me, thrusting harder into her.
"Mmm," she hums and I have to agree. I pinch her nipples and feel her get wetter around my cock.
"You like that, Fee?" I ask. When she doesn't answer, I pinch again and am rewarded with a rush of wetness that's now coating her thighs. "Fuck that's hot. Push back, baby. Fuck me back," I tell her, slamming her hips down hard.
She cries out in pleasure.
"Harder, baby?" I ask.
She nods.
I sit up on my knees, keeping her pussy wrapped around my cock, then thrusting upward while I pull her down hard. We fuck hard, really hard, our bodies slapping together and moans and panting the only sounds filling the room until I slide a finger down to her clit. She moans and jerks against me, super sensitive, so I take her hand, dip her fingers into her wetness and have her rub herself.
When she does, I groan, watching over her shoulder as she circles her clit.
"Shit. You're so damn sexy, Fee. Fuck me harder. Come on and give it to me," I demand.
She moans.
"Come Fee, come on my cock." She whimpers and I press her finger hard against her clit, her pussy tightening around me. I groan. "Oh yeah. Pinch your clit, baby. Pinch it and come. Now," I demand again. She does as I tell her and pinches her clit. The first time doesn't set her off but the second time does and god damn does she come hard and long, her juices soaking us both, and I lift her and pull her down twice hard, so fucking hard, and then I'm coming as she watches me over her shoulder, her hips pumping each spurt of cum from my dick.
When I'm done, I'm breathing hard, my legs weak and I rest my forehead against the back of her shoulder.
"Your naughty talk gets me hot," she tells me with a laugh.
I grin. "Good because everything about you gets me hot."
She snorts. "Not my temper."
I lift my head and kiss her shoulder. "Oh, I don't know. I imagine if we angry fucked it'd be pretty damn amazing."
She laughs. "One day we might find out."
At the word 'might' I frown. "I want this, Fee."
She turns to look at me and I hold her gaze steadily.
"I want us," I admit to her.
She's on the verge of tears.
"Please don't cry, Fee. If it's not what you want, we'll work it out. Whatever it takes, it'll be okay," I tell her.
She shakes her head and smiles. "I want this too."
My heart—it's alive for the first time in a long damn time.
"Then let's do this," I tell her.
"Me and you," she answers.
I rest my forehead against hers. "Me and you."
We shower. Make love. Eat breakfast. Make love. Shower again and when we're finished dressing, Sera tells me she has to go home to get more clothes.
"I'll have some of the men take you."
She shakes her head. "I've got my car."
"You're not safe. They'll follow you and there's no arguing about that," I tell her and she smirks.
"Okay."
I pull her in for a kiss and it feels so damn good to be able to do so whenever I want, how I've wanted to for so long. I walk her to the door.
"What'll you do while I’m gone?" she asks.
"I need to make a few phone calls. Nothing much. When you get back we'll watch that movie you fell asleep during last night," I tell her, hugging her close and kissing her again. She kisses my neck, sucking hard and I don't even flinch when I know it's going to leave a mark. I want her mark. God knows I marked her entire body last night from the whisker burns on her inner thighs to the love bites on her tits and neck. Mmm, Fee's a wild one in the sack. The rougher the better, at times.
"Go," I tell her with a laugh when I feel myself getting hard again, "before I bend you over this table and fuck you from behind."
Her eyes darken with desire and I chuckle.
"Go," I say again and she laughs. "And no ditching your tail," I tell her sternly.
She smirks.
"I mean it, Fee," I warn.
"I won't. I promise," she tells me, then kisses me softly before skipping down the front stairs.
"Tight tail. No excuses," I tell the guard and he nods, repeating my orders into his mic.
I finish up with Gio, no closer to figuring out what the Manzinis are up to than we were yesterday, and my phone rings.
Carina. I frown. I haven't heard from her in a long while. She knows we're done.
"Nichols."
She's in a mess. Where the fuck is her guard?
"I'll be there in ten," I say and hang up. I open the door to Noel again. "If Sera comes back before I do, let her know I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Will do, Sir."
If I had known it was going to start pouring rain, I wouldn't have gone. If I had known Carina had a hidden agenda, I wouldn't have gone. If I had known what happened next was coming, I would never have gone.
I'm changing out of my wet clothes, pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms, getting ready for a night of movies with Sera, when the doorbell rings. I grab my shirt and head toward the front door.
I see Carina standing there in the shirt I gave her, but no boxers—a great big what the fuck moment—and then I see my Fee standing in the rain, both women on the wrong side of the door. I see the hurt flash in Sera's eyes, and I know the second she decides to run. I know it looks bad but does she really think I'd go screw someone else when we just admitted our feelings to each other… after we made love all night and all morning?
She turns and runs to her car, the rain pouring down on her, soaking her to the skin. I run out after her.
"Sera!" I yell. She looks at me with eyes void of emotion before she takes off down the drive. "God damn it!" I yell. "Noel, get a tail on Sera right now. Tight."
"Yes, sir. They're already behind her," he tells me.
I nod, hanging my head as the rain pelts down against my skin.
Son of a bitch. Now what do I do?
"Get Carina out of my house and find out what happened to Aleo," I tell Damian, who's standing next to me.
"Done. Are you going after her?" he asks.
I shake my head. "No. She's running now."
"Run faster," Damian tells me.
"It's not that easy."
"Then work hard," he says and walks away.
I call her. I go to her house. I text her. I send flowers. I try everything but she avoids me, even when we're in the same room at the same time. It kills me to know she's hurting because of a misunderstanding but she's not ready to listen to the truth. All I can do now is wait and hope she'll find her way back to me. That one night with her will never be enough for me. Never. I'm pretty sure it won't be for her either.
So I'll wait.
Sixteen days later I watch her mourn for her parents as she talks softly to them, placing a large floral bouquet in the vase by their gravestone. When she's finished arranging the flowers, she kneels down, bows her head, and weeps. It takes everything in me not to go to her but this is her private moment. The one she needs
with her parents.
Her body jerks with the violence of her sobs and when she reaches out her hand to me, I go, scooping her up into my arms, holding her while she purges her heartbreak. My heart breaks at the sound of every pain-filled wail. I sit in the grass, holding her, rocking her, comforting her, loving her.
"Fee, shhh," I soothe. "You're going to make yourself sick."
She just keeps going and when the grief has passed, her anger surfaces. She pounds on my chest, screaming out her anguish. Damian looks over to me and I see the grief he feels with her in his eyes.
"Shh, Fee. It's all right," I murmur as she gets it all out, this year is worse than the one before. I'm not sure what's made it so much harder on her, but I'm going to try to make it better in any way I can.
She sobs so hard she heaves.
"Baby, please. Please calm down," I beg. "Please, Fee. Shhh," I soothe again, rubbing her back. She's still crying silent tears as she rests her head on my chest. I wrap her up tight in my arms, rocking her back and forth, murmuring words of comfort.
It isn't long before she's drifted off to sleep. I stand up with her in my arms and make my way to the car. Damian opens my door and I slide in, holding Sera tight so she feels safe. Damian walks around and gets in the other side, his hands fisted on his lap.
"I want to kill them. Every last one of them. She was just a little girl and they did it so she'd see," he mutters softly.
I nod.
"What happened? Why was this year so much worse than last?" he mutters.
"I'm not sure, but if I had to guess I'd say Carina," I tell him honestly. "You've seen the security footage."
He nods. "It's only a matter of time."
"Agreed."
"You know your girl is going to want a piece of that bitch, right?" Damian asks.
I nod. "And she'll get it. Gio and I have already discussed it. Whatever she wants or needs, it's hers."
"Good," Damian tells me.
When we reach the house, I carry Sera to my bed, and begin to undress her. She sits slumped over, so forlorn and dejected it hurts my heart. I would take every ounce of pain from her if I could.
