by AC Arthur
He pumped into her, cupping her ass cheeks in his hands. “Me too. It’s so weird and yet so fucking good.”
Her hands were planted on his shoulders, blunt-tipped nails digging into his skin. “Definitely good,” she said and then moaned. “Very definitely good.”
Roark gritted his teeth as he moved inside her, and she rode him with matched vigor. For endless moments, neither of them spoke, just enjoyed the in-and-out pull toward ecstasy.
He moaned abruptly. “All the time. Think about you all the damn time.”
“Same,” she said, her voice a breathy whisper. “Same. Same. Same.”
“Can’t stop, and I don’t know if I want to.” That was true for his thoughts and for the deep strokes he was taking inside her, although he was positive he didn’t want to stop pumping.
She shook her head. “No answers. Don’t stop. Please, for the love of everything, don’t stop.”
And he didn’t, at least not for long. He stood them up again, this time easing his dick out of her slowly and letting her wet body slide down the length of his. Taking her face in his hands then, Roark kissed her. He dipped his tongue deep into her mouth and stroked it along hers, drenching himself in her taste. She grabbed his biceps, holding them tight as she tilted her head to accept his kiss and offer even more access.
Out of breath and aroused beyond measure, Roark finally tore his mouth away from hers, but for another few seconds he simply stared down at her. She blinked, but stared up at him too. Her eyes weren’t quite hazel, but they weren’t as dark as his either, and tonight he thought he could see something sparkle in them. Her lips were swollen now after his hungry kiss, parted slightly so he just caught a glimpse of her straight white teeth.
“I could look at you forever.” He had no idea where that admission came from. It didn’t accurately depict how much he wanted to be inside her again, and yet it seemed true from some far-away place inside him. “You make me feel…” he continued and then stopped to shake his head. “You just make me feel.”
She leaned in, resting her forehead against his chest, but didn’t speak. After a few seconds, Roark walked them back until she was against the edge of the pool. He dropped another kiss on her lips before turning her away from him and kissing down her spine. He cupped her ass, groaned at how good it felt in his hands and eased her cheeks apart so he could slide his dick into her pussy again.
Tamika gripped the lip of the tub and leaned forward until he had to take a step back. He held her hips and just stood, buried deep inside her for endless moments, loving how tightly her pussy grabbed his dick every time, as if it’d waited specifically for him. That thought spurred him on, and Roark began to move, at first pumping slowly, but then picking up the pace.
She pumped back, twirling her ass on his dick and then popping her hips so he felt like her pussy would strangle him with how good it felt. He looked down and watched her ass jiggle, and his mouth watered. In the next seconds, he did something he’d never done before, lifted a hand and smacked her ass cheek. It wasn’t a hard smack, but the sound echoed over the rumble of the bubbles, and when she moaned, he did that shit again and again. One hand to one cheek, the other hand to the other cheek. In between, her ass moved and he pumped. She arched her back, and he thought he’d explode at that very moment, but Tamika had more to give him, and Roark was there for the taking.
Until there was nothing left for either of them but bliss. She moaned his name, repeating it as his body tensed. “Roark. Roark. Roark.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” he replied as he stiffened behind her and closed his eyes to the intense sensations rippling through him. “Yes, my sweetness. Fuckin’ yes!”
Seconds seemed like years as they stood in that water trying to catch their breath. Roark was afraid to move, afraid something inside him might break once they were separated. That feeling bothered him enough that he pulled away and immediately stepped out of the hot tub.
He extended his hands to her, helped her out and when they stood holding hands, he leaned in to kiss her forehead and then her cheek. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “For what?”
“For not protecting you.” He felt like an ass now for not stopping to think about the condom.
“I’m on birth control,” she said, and Roark’s mind immediately reverted to their discussion about children. When he didn’t speak, she sighed. “It’s my fault too. So let’s leave the apologies.” She eased out of his grasp then and went in search of her bathing suit. Roark found his clothes. He held the wet boxers in his hand after slipping on his pants, shirt and shoes. “You think anybody’s still up? I’d love a slice of that rum cake Dorianne made.”
Her tone sounded light and when Roark turned, it was to see that she’d put on a robe that came to her knees and flip-flops.
“Probably not. Suri was going over to the manor to see what type of nightly entertainment they had. One of the guards went with her, and he’ll bring her back. The others are probably in their rooms for the night.”
“I sure hope so,” she said and led the way to the door.
Roark followed her, thinking about the things he’d said when inside her and how true they all were. He hadn’t come here to get involved with a woman and yet, that was exactly what he’d done.
Now, he had to figure out what he was going to do about that.
Chapter 18
It was Sunday morning, and Tamika was dressed for church. It had been years since she’d attended a church service, and she’d never attended one in England.
Standing in front of the floor-length mirror in her room, she surveyed the outfit she’d selected again. She adjusted the waist of the chocolate-brown pleated skirt she’d decided to wear and then tugged on the navy-blue jacket she’d put on over a white top.
“Dressy, but not too dressy. Every body part covered, except my toes, which will need a pedicure pretty soon.” She turned one way and looked at her reflection and then another to see the same reflection.
“The shoes are really cute.”
Tamika spun around to see Lily walking further into her room. She hadn’t heard the woman enter, but she knew her door was open, because her mother had been in here to hurry her along about ten minutes ago. “Thank you, and yes, I agree,” Tamika said, extending one foot so she could look down at the strappy brown sandals that had come with the shipment of things from CKDavis Designs. “Oh, and thanks again for recommending the design website. There are some great things on there for plus-size women. You don’t see that often.”
Lily stood closer to her now. She’d pulled her hair up today, twisting it into a stylish knot that sat at her nape. She was a pretty woman with an American accent, and Tamika wondered if being an assistant concierge was her dream job. It seemed like such an out-of-the-ordinary thought, so she didn’t say anything. “I love the clothes there, although I can’t afford any.” Lily lifted one of Tamika’s curls and continued to smile at her.
“Is it too much?” she asked and then looked at her hair in the mirror. “I wanted to do something other than wear it straight or in a ponytail. That’s all I’ve done to it since I’ve been here. I mean, I am going to church with Roark’s family for the first time.”
“Yes, it’s fine. And I completely understand your being worried about a family outing such as this, but believe me, everything is going to be just fine.” Lily’s smile was reassuring.
“You’re always so helpful,” Tamika told her. “And I don’t think it’s all your job, either.”
She shrugged. “I like what I do, so I try to do it well. Anyway, I came up to tell you Roark wanted to see you before everyone got into the cars to leave.”
“Oh, okay. I’m ready.” Tamika finally moved away from the mirror. She walked over to the chair where she’d put the brown leather purse she’d dumped all her stuff into earlier this morning and picked it up. At the door, she took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I can do this.”
Lily chuckled and touched her
shoulder, giving her a little nudge out the door. “Of course, you can.”
Downstairs, Roark was talking to Jack and two other guards in the foyer. He looked devilishly handsome in a navy-blue suit, light-blue shirt and pink tie. “Good morning,” he said when he turned to see her standing just a few feet away from him.
“Mornin’. You look really good in that suit, Mr. Donovan.”
He grinned. “You look even better in that skirt, Ms. Rayder.”
She picked up the sides of her skirt and did a frilly little turn. “Why thank you, kind sir.”
When her gaze rested on him, Tamika admitted she’d never felt as happy and excited in her life. Right now, there was nothing better than standing here being stared at and complimented with obvious appreciation and adoration. It felt good, and she wanted to revel in it forever. In addition to that feeling, there was something else she’d been pushing aside for the past two days since Roark’s sister and aunt had arrived. Despite the circumstances, a comfortable feeling had settled over her. Knowing that her mother was safe and healthy just a couple of doors down from her, seeing Tuppence healing and thriving as she enjoyed the gardens, and sitting in the kitchen talking with Dorianne was great. Even listening to Aunt Birdie tell stories about the Donovan Seniors and her brothers before them after dinner each night was enlightening and entertaining. Not to mention the fact that she’d felt like she’d known Roark forever, like they’d been a couple for…a very long time.
“You’re going to ride with me,” Roark was saying when she snapped herself out of those thoughts. “Suri’s going to ride with Aunt Birdie, and your mother and Tuppence will be in the middle truck.”
“Trucks? We’re not taking limos this time?” Her question was meant as a joke, but Roark answered seriously.
“These are specially equipped tactical vehicles made to look like any other truck on the road. There’ll be three guards in the truck with your mother, two in every other vehicle. Once we get to the church, the guards will hang back a bit, but we’ll have half a dozen positioned inside the sanctuary and half a dozen outside.”
And this right here brought her soundly back to reality. This wasn’t a family vacation on the English countryside. It was a dire situation where her mother’s life was in danger. “I thought about this all last night, wondering if it was a smart move to let her go to church,” she said and then sighed. “But she doesn’t want to act like a victim, and I can’t blame her. Hiding from a problem has never been my mom’s thing, and I get that from her. I like to face my issues head-on.”
Roark moved closer to her then, touching her shoulders. “None of us are going to hide from this bastard. We’re going to be prepared for him, and we’re going to win.”
“Watch your mouth, Roark. It’s a good thing you’re going to the house of the Lord this morning. I’ll say a few extra prayers for you.” Aunt Birdie walked past them wearing a lavish church hat in royal purple.
Roark never looked away from Tamika. “Good morning, Aunt Birdie.”
“Let’s get moving—we don’t want to be late,” was his aunt’s reply as she headed for the door.
A few seconds passed, and Tamika grinned. “We’d better get going before she yells for the guards to pick us up and dump us into the vehicles.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Roark said, laughing. He extended his elbow, and Tamika laced her arm through it before they took the first step toward the door.
Detectives Gibbons and Pennington walked in before they could exit. Gibbons held up a piece of paper. “Search warrant.”
That was it—no good morning, no nothing, just back to business.
Roark reached for the document and opened it. While he read, Geoff and Lily appeared.
“Is everything alright, sir?” Geoff asked.
“Yes.” Roark’s response was terse. “These detectives have a warrant to search the clubhouse.”
“Why?” Tamika asked.
Roark refolded the paper and looked at Gibbons. “Because now they think I planted that bomb at Suri’s flat.”
“I’ll stay here to make sure nothing’s disturbed, sir,” Geoff said immediately.
“And I’ll have a guard come into the house as well.” Roark handed the warrant to Geoff. “I’m going to call Burrows from the truck.”
“Where will you be in case we need to contact you?” Pennington asked.
Roark smirked. “You’re the detectives—if you want me, you’ll find me.”
* * *
“They won’t find anything,” Tamika said ten minutes later when they were seated in the backseat of the truck and on their way to church.
“I know,” he replied and continued staring out the window.
The countryside whizzed by, hills and small houses, wooden fences that held back healthy growing gardens, creeks that broke through the landscape. During the time he’d been on the phone with his attorney, she’d stared out the window, wondering how so much chaos could be happening in such a gorgeous place. “It’s their job to be thorough, and when they don’t find anything, this will further clear your name.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. Always. But I know how it feels to have a job to do, to have to ask the hard questions. I’ve had family members sic their dogs on me when I showed up to ask them questions. Businesses have banned me from entering their buildings, and I’ve been cursed out by more than one firefighter who didn’t agree when I found something in my investigation that said they’d been negligent on the job.”
“But I bet you weren’t an asshole about any of that. You weren’t rude or disrespectful in any way.”
“Um, maybe not all those things all the time, but there were situations where I had to clap back at a few people. That wasn’t because I disliked any of them or held a personal grudge, it was just because I had to stand my ground.”
“Yes, I understand,” she continued. “Gibbons has an ax to grind. He doesn’t like rich people.”
“Huh. Well, there’re a lot of people suffering from that affliction.”
“Not you.” She looked at him then, saw the sincerity and question in his gaze. “No, not me. I mean, to be honest, you’re the first rich person I’ve known personally. I’ve had occasion to deal with a few businessmen who were clients of the insurance company, but that was just business.”
“Did you judge me by my portfolio before you met me?”
That was a heavy question considering, she had done her research and she’d known just how much Roark Donovan was worth—the man, not the companies he ran. That only added more. But at no point had she considered how that would affect the answers she’d sought. “I didn’t plan to become personally involved with you, so there was no need to make any judgments. But if you’re talking about now, I can tell you I’ve never known a family as loyal and dedicated to each other, and your family seems to be. That’s why you’ll get over people like Gibbons and all the others who think they know you, but really don’t.”
He reached across the seat to take her hand. “You’re good for me. Really good.”
They were pulling up along the side of the church now so Tamika didn’t have to reply, or rather she took that as a cop-out to replying, because she didn’t know how to explain the way Roark’s words had made her feel.
Minutes later, they were out of the truck and being seated on a row that’d been reserved for them. Tamika wasn’t even surprised the Donovans had called ahead to the church to let them know they’d be coming. It was actually a pretty preemptive move, since they had to have security there as well. She was still thinking about Roark’s words and the comfortable feeling she’d noted before the police had shown up at the clubhouse when the choir stood up to sing. On one side of her, Sandra clapped and sang along, and Tamika was instantly taken back to her days as a little girl in church. She remembered the music, the lyrics and felt an entirely different meaning to them now. It was a surreal moment, but she found herself enjoying it throughout the service. She�
�d also stopped thinking about Kaymen Benedict, mysterious letters, arson and what was going on between her and Roark.
That was until she felt him move beside her. When she looked over at him, she watched him reach into the inside pocket of his jacket and pull out his phone. The screen lit up, and he swiped it to pull up a text message. Tamika looked away then. She refocused on the pastor’s sermon and what, if anything, she could take from it that might help her in life this coming week.
There’s something I need to tell you that I should’ve told you before. Please call me back, or at least answer when I call.
* * *
Roark stared down at the phone screen, reading Katrina’s message for the third time.
What the hell was she talking about? There was absolutely nothing else they needed to say to each other. The divorce papers she’d served him four years ago had said it all. She wasn’t happy with him, and she’d wanted to leave. He hadn’t known what to say at the time, and so he’d said nothing. And frankly, he hadn’t felt overly bad about that decision. He stuffed the phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back to the service. Katrina was the last person he planned to deal with today.
The first, when he returned to the clubhouse, would be Detective Gibbons and the ridiculous warrant he’d pursued even after his commanding officer had informed him about the information Pierce and Cade had found. During his call with Ed Burrows on the ride to church, he’d learned that little tidbit and had been even angrier about the search currently going on at the clubhouse.
Roark had instructed Geoff to call him the moment they were gone. That was why he’d answered the vibration of his phone, because he’d thought it was something about the search, not his ex-wife.
Tamika stood beside him, and Roark realized the service was over, so he stood too.
“Is everything alright?” she asked.
Roark nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine. I think we’ll go out for lunch.”