Sixty Nine (Payne Brothers Romance Book 4)

by Sosie Frost

“Glory…” Where Andre wielded my name like a switchblade, Varius spoke the word like a caramel cream. “Who was that?”

  I didn’t need him fighting my battles for me. Besides, I’d already won this one. With a calming breath, I shrugged the call away.

  “Forget about it,” I said. “It was no one.”

  If it’d been any other time, with a kiss, a touch, or a sweet word, Varius would have obeyed my every command.

  But not now.

  He stepped closer, his words shadowed with warning. “Who was that?”

  “No one you need to worry about.”

  “I’m making it my concern.”

  My meddling hero. “V, this has nothing to do with you—”

  “He threatened you.”

  And it was nothing new. “I ended the call.”

  I turned from him, but Varius grabbed my good wrist. Instinctively, remembering the last time, I froze. But he didn’t yank. Didn’t twist. Didn’t drive me to my knees with a quick snap. Varius simply held me still, forcing me to meet his gaze.

  And his eyes blazed with a righteous anger.

  “He threatened Lulu.” Now his words scraped against his throat. “Tell me who the hell he is.”

  “It was my ex. Andre.”

  “Lulu’s father?”

  Unfortunately. “We don’t talk much.”

  “Is he dangerous?”

  “He’d like to be.” I crossed my arms, hiding the cast. “Now he’s just pissed. Throwing a hissy fit.”

  Varius was the sort of man who knew far more than he would reveal. He seized a breath, but it did nothing to soothe the rage tensing his body.

  “Your apartment isn’t being fumigated,” he said.

  Was it worth lying to a holy man? “Andre found the address. I left. Hoped he’d cool down a bit.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”

  “You think I can’t handle myself?”

  “I think you have a two-year-old daughter to worry about.”

  Now I tensed. “I would never let anything happen to Lulu.”

  “That’s not an excuse.”

  “I’m not making an excuse. I’m telling you I don’t need help,” I said. “You know the story. Stripper meets a bad boy. Stripper gets knocked up. Stripper gets knocked around. Stripper leaves. I figured you, above everyone else, would understand keeping problems to yourself.”

  Wrong words.

  Wrong thing to say.

  Wrong man.

  A rush of strength surged through Varius, and it was like he came to life. I expected him to lash out, to yell, to fight.

  But Varius wasn’t like other men.

  And that was the reason he frightened me more than Andre.

  With a gentle hand, he cupped my cheek and stepped close. I wasn’t prepared for him to kiss my forehead, but I melted into his heat.

  “I’ve never asked for help because there is no help for me,” he whispered. “But I can protect you.”

  “I don’t need it.” I peeked up at him, shivering as his thumb caressed my skin. We both fought an urge that would so easily overwhelm us—more powerful than anger, more devastating than grief. “I’m fine on my own.”

  “You should never be alone, Glory.” His words etched in a newfound pain. “You’re too good for this world, too good to live in fear.”

  He’d said it before, in words, touch, passion. But that didn’t make it right, not the promises he made or the praises he’d whispered.

  “I don’t know what you see in me.” My fingers tangled in his shirt and drew him closer, until our bodies touched and a new desire burned. “You don’t actually see me.”

  “I know. I’m blinded by your halo.”

  “I’m just a woman, V.”

  “You’re so much more. Beauty. Forgiveness…” His words faded. “Salvation.”

  Why did I let him speak in such a way? His lips fell upon mine in utter gratitude, as if he breathed honesty and rewarded me with heat.

  He wrapped me in muscle and desperation, until I was crushed against his chest. A fierce hardness pressed into my leg. I accidentally groaned, parting my lips with invitation. His tongue flicked against mine. Tasting. Savoring. As if this were the first time that he kissed me.

  And maybe it was.

  I didn’t recognize this Varius Payne. This wasn’t the man who had come to me, broken and sullen, damned by his own desires. Whatever power coursed through his veins was all virtuous, all protector. It’d taken a single threat to draw this man from his self-imposed prison, but now that he was free?

  He would defend me until the last breath of his life.

  “You’ll never know how you cured me…” His fingers slowed, gently trailing to my curves. “I can’t explain who I was before I met you.”

  “V—”

  “The light had left me, but it burns through you. Don’t you understand?”

  I didn’t, but I savored the feel of him. His desire strained against his jeans, hard against my belly. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders, but it wasn’t close enough for him. He swept me into his embrace and held me tighter.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Taking you to bed.”

  I hummed. “Think that’s a good idea?”

  “Screw the consequences.” His words shadowed with lust. “I’ll damn myself if it means a night with you.”

  Who would be damned? A night with him was a blessing—a trip through heaven that detoured through every depraved and titillating shadow of hell.

  The door to my bedroom closed behind us, and the bed captured our fall from grace. Our clothes tore away, and our kiss tangled us in each other’s arms.

  This man didn’t fuck. He made love with every part of his body—his touch, his gaze, his voice. I welcomed his weight over me, the roughness of his hands on my skin.

  And I revealed everything to him.

  No dancing.

  No teasing.

  Just a solemn, perfect moment of trust.

  My body was his and his alone, and his first touch was taken purposefully. This wouldn’t be a quick, sensual tease or rush to ecstasy.

  This was us. Together. Both ready to make the biggest mistake of our lives again and again.

  My body was made for this man.

  But I had no idea if he’d accept my heart.

  11

  Varius

  This woman was a miracle.

  Her body was a temple. Her lips a triumph.

  Her touch so pure it must have been holy.

  And I was the mortal blaspheming her soul with my own desire.

  She lay before me, bare and welcoming. Every inch of her dark skin existed in a state of such absolute perfection it nearly reinvigorated my faith. No creature this lovely existed without a creator.

  And no man was worth the softness of her skin, the curves of her body, the richness of her soul.

  Worship meant nothing unless my lips pressed in prayer against her heated perfection. I willingly surrendered to it. To her.

  To a woman who had awakened the soul inside me—a force I’d feared was long dead and lost to the shadow of pain.

  Glory was a goddess of sexuality and pleasure.

  So what vile, loathsome man dared to threaten her and her child?

  Rage and lust boiled in my blood. The shock of it would stop my heart.

  Christ only knew how long it’d been since I let myself feel anything. That numbness had consumed me, and I’d welcomed the nothingness each day as the ripping, gnashing hatred poisoned my soul.

  But this…this was different. New and righteous.

  I felt alive. For the first time in years, I wasn’t consumed in gut-wrenching helplessness, screaming in silence for a savior who no longer existed. I’d questioned, I’d strayed, and I’d stopped feeling. It was all I could do to survive the insatiable darkness. And just when the light had flickered from the depths of my solitude…

  Glory.

  No one would ever hurt
this woman. And nobody, not even God himself, would harm her child.

  Glory’s voice whispered my name—a soft blessing murmured through kisses. “V…come back to me. You’re slipping away.”

  No.

  I was coming back to life.

  Rejuvenated. Reborn.

  Resurrected in her arms.

  She was the breath, the touch, the heartbeat that rekindled my soul and saved me from the wretchedness of the world I’d longed to forget.

  But I could no longer avoid this life and its pain and terror. Not when Glory needed me. Not when this woman was in trouble. Not when her beautiful little girl needed my help.

  I would defend her.

  I would possess her.

  And yet it would be Glory who owned my surrender.

  “You are my everything, Glory.” My voice broke—too rough, too harsh for this hallowed woman. The anger suffocated me, but so did my desire. Conflicting emotions might have torn me to shreds had it not been for the peace of her fingers upon my cheek. “Let me worship you, show you…”

  With an agonizing slowness, Glory shook her head, pushing onto her elbow just to torment me with those beautiful curves.

  How did this angel know how to sin?

  She licked her bottom lip, full and begging for a kiss, but she didn’t award me the pleasure. Instead, her voice lowered to a sultry purr.

  “The last time we touched, you already proved that devotion to me…” Her fingers explored my chest. “But you didn’t let me express my gratitude at all…”

  She plucked at my shirt with a hopeful hum. Damn the clothing. A revelation like this deserved skin-to-skin contact. I tossed the shirt away, welcoming her hands as they rubbed the tension from my aching muscles.

  “My pleasure is yours,” I whispered.

  “You have no idea, preacher.”

  Her mischievous smirk stilled my heart, though I swore it hadn’t beat since the first night I met her, when I was lost, wandering, and struggling with the last decision I’d ever planned to make.

  She moved like Heavenly sin, pushing me onto the bed as she lowered herself to the floor at my feet. Every movement she made was fluid, and her dangerous dance meant only for me. Her hands traced a devilish path over my jeans.

  And that terrible bulge grew ever harder.

  She’d pleasured me before, dazzled me with her talents and drowned me in my own inhibitions. But nothing compared to her touch now, not as my skin burned like fire and the weight of the world crashed into my soul.

  Her hands teased my damned flesh. It was a quick and dreadful road to madness but at least I’d enjoy every last inch of it.

  “I meant to make love to you,” I said.

  Glory’s eyebrow arched. A challenge. “Girls like me don’t make love. Girls like me suck cock. Get fucked.” Her tongue slipped over my hardness with a satisfied moan. “Girls like me get off on getting their men off.”

  And men like me surrendered to their base instincts for a chance at paradise.

  Her hands gripped me, warm and firm, but her lips…

  A baptism of softness.

  Glory consumed me. Every swipe of her tongue, every drag of her mouth set me aflame in a blissful agony. A shiver tore through my body, and a quiet strength rendered my muscles to stone. I reached for her, letting my fingers glide through her hair as her lips wrapped over my length and stole from me every confession I might have whispered.

  “I don’t deserve this…” My words roughened, lost in rage and heat.

  She teased me with a wink. “We all deserve a bit of pleasure now and then.

  “There’s no man alive worth your touch, Glory. Especially me.”

  “Then you better thank your lucky stars, preacher.”

  This wasn’t lucky.

  This was miraculous.

  And she still didn’t see it. Still didn’t know.

  Didn’t understand how badly I needed her.

  She tugged my shaft harder. Was it a punishment or a blessing? The warmth of her mouth did nothing but weaken the beast inside me.

  It fought against my every instinct, destroyed my vows.

  Threatened me with a ravaging insanity if I didn’t get a taste of her honey.

  The ultimate sin was the pleasure of my unworthy flesh, but I indulged myself until my body, heart, and soul cried out in a pained desperation for more than a lick over my throbbing length.

  I’d lost my humanity a long time ago, and I denied the animal instincts for so long. Basic, carnal needs and desires. Emotions that led only to anger, lust, violence.

  But in Glory, the beast awoke.

  I seized her, lifting her to my lips for a kiss before falling onto the bed, arms entwined and bodies already arching for that final, infinite passion. She surrendered beneath me like a sacrifice on my own altar of worship. My desire ached in me. Demanding. Every instinct commanded me to take her, make her mine, capture her in my arms.

  And her encouragement moaned from parted lips.

  She wrapped herself around me, arms entwined behind my neck, capturing me in her kiss. Our bodies fit together as if designed for this dark and wonderful union.

  How could this be a sin?

  Her touch, her heated desire, her siren commandments felt right. Pure. Forgiving.

  I’d never felt so alive.

  And I’d never needed her more.

  I pressed against her slick, inviting warmth. She stayed quiet, bumping her hips to rub along the tip of my hardness.

  What man could resist?

  I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t control the monster inside that wanted nothing more than to prove to this world and the next that this woman belonged to me.

  With a single, conquering thrust, I claimed her for my own.

  I buried myself inside her, inch after mind-bending inch. She arched, offering more than I deserved to take, but I selfishly and desperately accepted all that she gave. Her moan muffled under my kiss, and I drank it in. Every sound. Every whimper. Every prayer.

  The world hadn’t known such perfection since the garden.

  “V…” Glory clutched at my arms and welcomed me deeper into her body. “Talk to me.”

  What was left to say?

  Faith had failed me. Words followed. Now all that remained was Glory, a living pleasure that filled my soul with the Devil’s heat and an angel’s kiss.

  Glory gave me meaning in this world. And for that gift, I would worship her body, protect her from harm, and deliver her to the heights of desire that she craved.

  And I’d begin with hard, consuming thrusts.

  Deep. The velvet softness blinded me to all else. I ground myself against her hips until she took the entirety of me. All the way. Completely sheathed. Only then could I offer her the true pleasure, decipher her mysteries, and bind myself within her light forever.

  Glory murmured my name as her hips rose to meet my every thrust with a rhythm of perfection. Could I become any more addicted to her sweetness?

  Yes.

  And it would destroy me with bliss.

  “Why did we deny ourselves this?” My words rasped through clenched teeth. She kissed my worries away, but I’d never hide the truth buried so deep inside of her. “I tried so hard to stay numb through it all.”

  Her touch sizzled with tiny shocks, teasing my chest, arms, cheek. Her lips parted with a heady sigh as I rocked within her.

  “You’ve never been numb, V. You’ve always felt everything so much.”

  “Not until now. Not until you.”

  “Don’t punish yourself. You’re a good man.”

  It wasn’t true, but I could pretend because she believed it. “It’s because of you.”

  “I’ve done nothing.”

  “You did everything. You proved that there’s something of me left to give…and I want you to have it all.”

  And no confession had ever unburdened me more.

  Nothing in this world made any sense save for the heat of her body, the t
ightness of her core, and the soft promises murmuring from her lips. Her every shudder rewarded me with truth.

  I could devote myself to her, to her pleasure, to the simplicity that was our bodies connected, grinding, writhing in absolute ecstasy.

  Glory was the only thing in this world that made sense to me. And through her, I could fill every void, answer every question, and resolve every fear.

  And for the first time in years, my faith was renewed.

  I’d believe in nothing but her. And through my worship, she would know the true meaning of desire.

  Her pleasure built with my every animalistic thrust. Her legs spread, and the tease of her perfectly manicured fingertips drifted down, down, down until she pleased that silken slit while my name danced over her parted lips.

  My length stretched her tightness. Obscene and lovely. Wicked and enthralling. Her slit wetted, and the slickness glistened in the low light as I crushed my body over hers and sunk in deep until she bit her pouty lip and dug her nails into my shoulders.

  The same shiver that stole her breath raced inside me.

  Christ, we were both so close. Eager to prove everything to the other and yet wanting so much more. I couldn’t help myself. My pace quickened until I hated myself for being too rough, too wild with a woman as delicate as Glory.

  But the woman, the angel, met my every raging thrust with a gasped breath and wide eyes. I forced her hand away from her beautiful folds and flicked her nub with my thumb instead.

  She’d already given me so much. I’d be the one to deliver this paradise.

  Her pleasure crippled her first, crashing from within as I invaded her molten core with desperate slices. She clenched over me. Blinding me. Seizing my hardness with soul-shattering whimpers. But I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Not until every ounce of my worship poured inside her passion and seared us both with a divine heat.

  “V…” Glory arched for me. “Please…”

  I would do anything for this woman.

  She was mine, and I surrendered to the desire that blinded me to all else.

  Her orgasm was beautiful. Her expression crumpled, lost within a blitz of pleasure, intensity, and the utter savagery of my deepest, hardest thrust. My own lust filled her with jet after jet of my own heat.

  Pleasure had no name but Glory, and inside her, we were bound together. My thrusts didn’t slow. Renewed, reinvigorated, I filled her again, my seed drenching her dark petals with pale promise. Maddened with pleasure, we crashed once more, and submitted to the insatiable demons of our lust. We clung to each other, fighting to stay tethered to perfection.