by Layla Hagen
I smiled at the affection in my brother’s voice. I was beyond excited that he was so happy. Heather had been a single mom when he’d met her, and he loved both her and Avery to bits.
“We have great news. I’ve finalized the adoption process for Avery, so she’ll officially be mine in a few days.”
“Wow, congratulations brother. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. And by the way, I think Mom is giving the talk to Rob.”
Oh, shit. Mom definitely had her fierce principal face on.
“Yeah... looks like he needs to be rescued,” I said before heading their way. When I reached them, they abruptly stopped talking.
“What were you talking about?” I asked.
“That’s between Rob and me,” Mom replied.
I jerked my head back, then turned to Rob, who just nodded.
Well, well. I’d completely misread the situation. Rob wasn’t being cornered, he was just charming Mom some more, though I couldn’t figure out the fierce expression in this context. But since neither of them was going to share anything, I was going to let it slide... for now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Skye
We left Mom’s place in the afternoon. Tess was spending the night with her, so I had the evening off.
“You look a bit preoccupied,” I said once we were on the train, sitting opposite each other. About an hour ago, Rob had started checking his phone every few minutes.
“Things in LA are a bit of a shit-show. The CEO I hired in my place just quit.”
“Crap. When, tonight? What are you going to do?”
“Yeah, haven’t decided yet. Might need to fly there and put some fires out.”
My heart was lodged in my throat. “Oh? For how long?”
“Not sure. It will—” He stopped midsentence as his phone beeped with yet another message. “Sorry, have to check this.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I bit my lip, swallowing all the questions I still had. What did not sure mean? A few days, a week, a month? It didn’t matter. He had to do what was necessary, and he didn’t have to consult with me. This was one of the things I loved about our relationship, that we didn’t pressure each other to figure out every detail.
So I resolved to do something else: help him relax for the rest of the afternoon. After all, one could decide better with a clear mind than under stress.
He went back and forth with emails while we were on the train, making two calls as well. I overheard everything, of course, but since I was only privy to his side of the conversation, I didn’t get the bigger picture. To give myself something to do, I pulled out a study I’d been wanting to read for a while on my phone. Before long, I was completely lost in it, able to tune out Rob’s voice.
“What are you reading?” he asked after a while.
“A study about music and concentration, how it impacts brain waves.”
“What’s the result?”
“I don’t like to talk about the results until I finish the whole thing.”
“Wait, you’re reading the actual study?”
“Yes. What did you think?”
“I don’t know. I usually just read an article summing up the findings.”
“I like to know the stuff articles don’t include, especially details on how they gather data.”
He just stared for a few seconds, blinking. “I thought you did that just for the study about exercising.”
“I know, I’m a geek.”
“You’re a fucking sexy brainiac,” he whispered.
My cheeks instantly felt hot. Peeking around, I realized no one was sitting close enough to hear. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, his phone rang, and I dove back into the study.
“All in all, a successful day, I’d say,” I announced once we reached his house, playfully shoving my hip into Rob’s. He’d slid his phone in the back pocket of his jeans.
“And very informative.”
“Meaning?”
“Between your mom and Tess, I’ve got a pretty good rundown about... everything.”
Right. I still had no clue what he and Mom had talked about. And he’d also spoken with Tess?
“Okay, first things first. Why were you and Mom so secretive?”
“No secrets, just exchanging information. She told me a bit about your life in Boston.”
“Wow. I’m surprised Mom would even tell you about those times.”
“She just told me about you, in general.”
“Oh yeah? Find out anything new?”
“Just confirmed a few things. You’re a lot like her.”
“Thanks.” I loved the compliment. And because he seemed to be in sharing mode, I seized my chance. “What did Tess tell you?”
“That if I want to plan a surprise for you, I should consult her first.”
I adored my sister to bits!
“And you’re going to listen to her.”
“Absolutely. But right now, I have other things on my mind.”
“Oh?”
He put both hands on my waist and skimmed them up to my breasts, moving his fingers in small circles until I was panting and my chest trembled lightly. He whirled me around, ushering me to his front door.
“We need to go inside for you to put your plan into action?” I teased as he put the key in the lock.
“That’s right. We have to be indoors so I can have my fill of you.” His voice was raw and hoarse, and it turned me on to no end. He was right behind me. His chest pressed against me; his lips were almost touching my ear. “Ever since I saw you in this little dress, all I could think about was taking it off, drawing my tongue all over you until you beg for more. First, you’ll beg, then you’ll scream my name.”
“You’ll have to work for that.” I’d meant to tease him again, but my own voice was hoarse. My entire body vibrated, instantly going on high alert.
“I promise I will.”
***
Rob
“And how exactly do you plan to keep your promises?” she asked coyly, turning around. What she saw in my eyes made her jerk her head back. A crazy need to completely own her: pleasure, body, soul.
This day had started out great, and then reality just had to break in and turn it all to shit. I’d barely brought things in New York to a balance, and now they’d imploded in LA. It was a damn hamster wheel. I wasn’t complaining; I’d taken it on. I was proud to not only carry on my family’s legacy but also vastly expand it, but some days were just hard. Period.
Right now, I wanted to lose myself in Skye and forget everything else.
She seemed to realize exactly what I needed, because she pulled that dress up teasingly, revealing her ass and the red lace panties that were covering the upper part of her luscious backside.
“You’re going to kill me with all these sexy things you’re wearing.”
“Would you prefer I don’t wear anything?” She batted her eyelashes, turning around and seductively touching her inner thighs until she reached the hem of her panties.
“Want me to go commando all over New York... again?” she teased.
“Fuck no. I couldn’t work just thinking about it.” Before she could say anything else, I pushed her up my body, over my shoulder, holding her by that delicious ass.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you to a bed.” I wasn’t patient enough to head upstairs, so I just brought her to the guest bedroom downstairs, putting her on the bed, pressing a knee on the mattress. As she whisked her dress over her head, I lowered myself above her. “No one else gets to see you. Any part of you. Yes, I know I’m possessive as hell, but I can’t be any other way with you. It’s an instinct. A need.”
Parting her legs even wider, I touched between her thighs. She gasped when I pressed the drenched fabric against her sensitive skin. Her panties had bows on the sides, making it all too easy to open them. I pulled at each, then yanked the panties from underneath her.
I ran two fingers from her navel downward, right to her clit. She shuddered, opening up even wider. I changed my position, settling between her legs.
“Rob.”
“I want to make you come every way there is.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Now. Have anything against it?”
She shook her head. The light coming from the reading lamp was too faint, but I didn’t have it in me to move and turn on the overhead lights.
“Take off your bra,” I commanded.
She immediately obliged. Her breasts spilled out of it as I lowered my head between her thighs. I drew the tip of my nose on the inside of her right thigh, then applied the same treatment to the left one. Her sounds were completely muffled by the pillow, but her body wasn’t lying.
I alternated between pressing the flat of my tongue against her clit and drawing just the tip around in circles as she pulled at the mattress with her hands. But when she attempted to move her legs, I pressed my hands on her ankles, like cuffs. I kept them in place. Not giving her an outlet for the pleasure was only going to make her climax stronger.
When Skye pressed her ass cheeks together, contracting the muscles in them, I knew she was close. I couldn’t take it anymore. I unzipped my pants, jamming my hand inside and squeezing my cock tight. It was nothing compared to how it felt when she touched me, but I needed the pressure or I was going to blow.
She exploded the next second, but I was still relentless. I licked and nipped until her sounds subsided and her body stopped shuddering. Then I stood up long enough to take off all my clothes before pleasuring Skye further.
I kissed from above her navel up to her chest. I skimmed the tip of my nose on the soft skin under her nipple. Turning her on one side, I moved my mouth from the side of her breast down to her waist. When I reached her hips, I pushed myself up and just watched her. She was lying in an S-shape, head slightly bent, the pillow under her head. She was shuffling her feet against the mattress, as if she had too much energy to keep still.
I moved behind her, and my cock grazed her ass cheek in the process. Fuck me. The contact sent a bolt of energy spiraling through me. Groaning, I pulled back a few inches. She wiggled her ass but missed me. I gripped her hip, keeping her in place while I continued kissing her body from her hip down to her outer thighs.
“Rob....” Her voice was mutinous. I imagined her pouting. Hell, I had no idea where I’d suddenly found all this self-restraint, but I planned to make good use of it while it lasted.
I slipped my hand farther up between her thighs, skimming her slit with my thumb.
She gasped into the pillow. The muffled sound didn’t satisfy me. She glanced at me furtively. Her cheeks were flushed. I wanted her to let loose, utterly and completely. I didn’t want her to hold anything back. I slid one finger inside her. She clenched her inner muscles so tight that my self-restraint vanished, as if I’d flipped a switch. I turned her to face me. Skye drew her fingers down my chest, curling them against my skin, as if she was so desperate for me that she forgot I wasn’t wearing anything for her to tug at.
She looked down between us when I hovered above her and drew my erection against her lower belly, teasing her clit, stopping when the tip was right at her entrance.
Her breath was shaky, and so were her legs. She was holding them up in the air, her hips rolled toward me.
I slid inside her slowly, watching her expression change from anticipating to being overwhelmed by pleasure.
Damn, this felt so exquisite. She was tight and pulsing around me, and when she rolled her hips, taking me even deeper, I buried my face in her neck. A groan tore from me. The scent of her hair and skin were driving me crazy. Resting my full weight on my knees, I moved faster and harder. Pulling my head back, I slid one hand under her ass, pressing her against me, holding her at the angle I wanted her. She cried into the pillow when I touched her G-spot. Her eyes widened in surprise. Her inner muscles squeezed me so tight that my breath was knocked out of me. Pleasure zipped down my spine, shot through my limbs. My muscles tightened.
Skye scratched down my arms and then my back. That was it. She was letting loose, and it was a glorious feeling. I wanted to push her over the edge right now. I changed the angle of my hips, thrusting my pelvis so it rubbed against her clit. She gasped. The pillow dropped to one side, and she clamped her mouth on my arm. She came the next second, arching her back. I felt her heels settle on the back of my thighs, and she grabbed my ass with both hands, pushing me deeper inside her.
I stopped moving, just losing myself in the sensation of her tightening around me, riding out the wave of pleasure. The sounds she was making were delicious. When she dropped her head back on the mattress, her breath was coming out in heavy pants. There was perspiration at the base of her neck. I drew the tip of my nose on the soft skin between her neck and shoulder before pushing myself up on my knees. Skye’s cheeks were flushed, and her body glistened with perspiration. She was still pulsing around my cock, driving me mad.
I hooked my elbows under her knees, lifting her legs up a notch. She stretched her arms wide on the bed, grabbing at the sheets as if needing to brace herself.
“You’re so beautiful, Skye. Just perfect. Your skin.” I drew my fingers down her ankles. “Your body.” I reached her inner thigh and moved up right between them.
“Your pussy.” I didn’t last long after that. I came so hard that my mind turned blank. Even through the shot of pleasure, I felt my thighs cramping, but I wouldn’t stop. Couldn’t. I needed to wring out every drop of pleasure. When my legs cramped so hard that I couldn’t stand on my knees alone, I fell forward on my palms, thrusting until I could barely move.
Skye touched my face, drawing her hands down my chest, watching me with a wry smile. It took several solid minutes for me to compose myself. Physically, at least. I still wasn’t thinking clearly, or at all... nothing more coherent than Skye. Here. Want. Her.
If it wasn’t for my phone buzzing, I would have stayed with her like that for the rest of the afternoon. After Skye got up from the bed, heading to the bathroom, I grabbed my jeans from the floor and took out my phone. It was Anne. I immediately answered.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“Ummm... it’s been rough.”
“Want to come by? I have wine, and a rough story too.”
“Skye there with you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
I was so happy at how close those two had become.
Twenty minutes later, Skye, Lindsay, Anne, and I were all sitting outside.
Before I had the chance to ask my sister what was wrong, Lindsay announced proudly, “I’m going to stay with Dad for two weeks. He’s taking me to his new place on Monday.”
Anne smiled sadly, and everything clicked into place. Douchebag finally took my threats seriously and was paying some attention to his daughter... but that made things even more difficult for my sister.
“What do you plan to do?” Skye asked Lindsay.
“I don’t know. Whatever Daddy wants. I’m going to take all my dolls and show them to him. And my new necklace and bracelet.”
Anne nudged her. “Don’t forget to thank Skye for the bracelet.”
“Thank you,” Lindsay said seriously.
“My pleasure.”
“So, what was the bad news you had?” Anne asked.
“CEO in LA quit. Now I need to find a new one.”
Anne grimaced. “We can’t catch a break, can we?”
“Seems not.”
“Who are you thinking of making CEO?”
“Denis, Hope, and Alyssa are on top of my list. Or I could hire some fresh blood.” Turning to Skye, I asked, “What would you do?”
“Promote from inside. They already know the company, and things will move faster.”
“That’s what my gut says too,” I replied.
Predictably, Lindsay got bored of business talk and asked me to show her how to ma
ke grilled cheese sandwiches. Five minutes into the process, she got bored of that too and preferred to play on Anne’s tablet. I finished the sandwiches, and when it was time to take them outside, Lindsay said she wanted to stay inside on the couch. Knowing she’d be fine, I went back outside to Skye and Anne.
With Lindsay out of earshot, I focused on Anne.
“How are you holding up?”
“Miserable. I’m happy he’s finally paying attention to her, of course. And don’t think you’re fooling me with that poker face. I know you scared him into it.”
“I admit it. I’m not even sorry.”
“I’m grateful you did it, honestly, because I can’t even bear to talk to him, and I want him to be in her life. But it’s the first time I’ll be without Lindsay in years, and I already miss her.”
I had no idea what to say.
“Let’s organize a girls’ evening next weekend,” Skye suggested.
Anne sat up straighter, finally smiling for real.
“I’d really like that. Just you and me?”
“The group would be a bit larger. My sister, our best friend, our brother’s fiancée. Depends who has time, but I think everyone’s in need of a girly evening.”
“Sold.”
I had no idea how Skye could tell exactly what someone needed, but hell if I didn’t fall for her even more after this.
“I’m just going to check on what Lindsay’s watching and be back in a minute,” Anne said before heading inside.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Skye asked.
“No reason.”
Even though we both had challenges with our families and businesses, things between us were falling in place in a way I’d never imagined, but I was looking forward to whatever followed. No matter what, Skye was mine. I’d just realized we were a team, and I liked that so damn much.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Skye
We organized the girls’ evening three days later instead of waiting for the weekend. Since it was a weeknight, that decision wasn’t taken lightly but more out of necessity.