“And you stayed?”
“Aye. Isaac didn’t want to go back. Couldn’t really blame him. So, we settled in here. Started doing some security work, bought this house. Made a go at our own security company, gave it up after a few years.”
“Didn’t like it?” I asked.
“Didn’t like the politics that came along with owning a business, schmoozing people in an effort to get business. Not really my thing. Prefer someone else handle that. We stick to the protection part.”
“What about your mother?” I asked.
“Let’s just say she preferred the pub.”
“Alcoholic?”
Ian leaned back, took a swig of his beer. “Men.”
He didn’t elaborate.
“You work in security now,” Dante said. “Local gigs?”
“Not usually, no. A lot of what we’ve been assigned to are in LA and New York.”
“Long-term assignments?”
It wasn’t until that question that I understood what Ian was saying. They travelled. Were gone a lot.
“Yeah,” he replied to Dante. “Usually two or three weeks. Sometimes a couple of months at a time.”
The thought of a relationship having to endure that sort of distance… I was suddenly not hungry anymore.
“Problem?” Ian asked, frowning.
“Nope,” I lied.
His eyes hardened instantly, a look I hadn’t yet seen on his face.
“I might put up with a lot of things.” He held my gaze in his without force. “But I don’t tolerate lies or avoidance.” He took a drink. “One more time. What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing,” I said, exasperation in my tone.
After depositing my plate in the sink, I took off for the guest room, ignoring him when he called after me.
I should’ve known he would follow. The man didn’t know the meaning of personal space.
He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his full attention on me.
“Would you mind?” I snapped. “I’d like to get some sleep. I’ll need it at my sister’s. Kids and all.”
“I do mind.” He stepped into the room, closed the door.
“Ian, I’m not interested in your games right now.” I started to get on the bed, but he stopped me, his arm banding around my middle, lifting me off the ground. “Put me down, dammit.”
“Something you haven’t had a chance to explore yet,” he said, depositing me on my feet. “Kneel.”
I gave him a go-to-hell glare. “I’ve seen more than enough, thank you very much.”
“Kneel.” His voice was so low, so deep it sent chills down my spine.
For a second, I had to wonder if he even remembered who I was.
“Go to hell,” I rasped, hoping he didn’t singe me with the anger in his eyes.
Ian stepped forward, his hand shooting out. I flinched, expecting a blow, but he didn’t hit me. In fact, his hand was almost gentle as it curled around the back of my neck. He was so close I was forced to crane my neck to look at him.
“I told you, I don’t tolerate lies or avoidance. Not even from my friends. You’ve done both in less than two minutes.” His gaze searched my face. “And I’m going to be clear on one thing. I will never hit you. Not out of anger.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
His smile was vicious but not quite mean. “I’m quite intrigued by the idea of turning your little ass red.”
I inhaled sharply. “You want to spank me?”
“Right now?” He leaned closer. “More than anything.”
“Because I walked off?” I huffed a laugh. “That’s just stupid.”
“No, what’s stupid is you avoiding the conversation. Something I said bothered you. Rather than talking it out, you stormed off. That’s stupid.”
I tried to form words but couldn’t.
Ian released me, took my arm, and led me over to the bed.
“Bend over,” he ordered, his clipped words telling me he was serious.
“If I don’t?”
He took a step back. “Then I’ll walk out. All forgotten.”
It sounded to me as though he was leaving this in my hands. While I’d been taken aback by his high-handed behavior, I had to give him credit. That whole domination thing was quite hot. It did strange things to me.
“If you want to see what punishment feels like, Heaven, bend over the bed. If not…” He motioned to the door to the guest room.
“You’re throwing me out?”
With a resigned sigh, I turned and bent over the bed.
I could hear him breathing behind me. He didn’t move for the longest time. I thought for a second he was going to talk it out.
He didn’t.
No, the big, bad Dom was going to hold true to his word, and my ass was going to hurt before this was over.
He took a deep breath, exhaled. “Strip.”
I turned my head, glanced his way. “What?”
“Don’t make me tell you again.”
He moved then, taking a seat behind me.
I pushed off the bed, turned away, looked back. Did it several times before I huffed again but proceeded to strip. Before I could turn back to the bed, he patted his knees. “Over here.”
I walked toward him, never more aware of how naked I was.
“Bend over my lap.”
I wanted to ask him if he was serious, but I knew he was. The look on his face was fierce.
“Count for me.”
I didn’t quite understand, but then he smacked my ass with his hand and it didn’t matter. I sucked in air. That hadn’t been a playful swat. My ass stung.
“I can’t hear you,” he growled.
“One,” I bit out, realizing that was what he’d meant by count.
He spanked me again, this time his hand moving slightly, not in the same spot but just as painful as the first.
“Two,” I snarled.
Again.
“Three.”
We made it all the way to seven before I sobbed, tears leaking from my eyes. The pain was intense, but I didn’t try to move away.
His hand smoothed over me a second before he landed another.
“Eight,” I cried, the dam breaking, emotion flooding out of me. Anger, embarrassment, remorse. Not just from this encounter, but from everything I’d been holding in for the past few months. Danny, his infidelity. It was all there, coalescing into a storm that ripped through me.
Just when I thought Ian would spank me again, he pulled me up, settled me on his lap, and wrapped his arms around me. I held on to him, not willing to talk or look at him, but I held on, burying my face in his neck and openly sobbing against him.
His hands were warm, gentle as they slid over my back. He held me just as tightly.
We remained like that for several minutes. Long enough for the tears to stop.
“Look at me, Heaven.”
I didn’t want to, but I managed to pull back, look in his face.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“Indulging me.”
“If my ass didn’t burn, I’d say you’re welcome.”
He grinned. “Believe it or not, it’s the tears I was going for.”
“You wanted to make me cry?”
“I wanted you to let it out. I can tell you hold everything in. You need to find a way to decompress.”
His big hands cupped my head, brushing my hair back from my face before settling on both sides of my neck. His thumbs brushed over my jaw. “I’m going to miss you, but I hope you’ll keep in touch when you’re gone.”
“Me, too,” I said, realizing it was true.
ISAAC
I had lain in the dark while Everly slept, letting the minutes tick by while listening to her breathing, thinking about the three words she’d said before she succumbed to exhaustion.
That had been hours ago.
My brain was racing, making it impossible to relax. On top of that, my heart was be
ating hard, like I’d just returned from a jog, but it wasn’t physical exertion that was causing it. No, the credit for that went to those three little words my fairy princess had whispered before she had drifted off. I couldn’t stop replaying them in my head, relishing the peace that had settled over me.
At some point, I had drifted off, waking when she shifted, moving closer. I dragged my fingers over her soft skin, pressing my lips to her forehead.
When she tipped her head, I knew she was awake, but she didn’t move, just held on. I kissed her nose, her cheek, then trailed down to her lips. Her hand curled against my face, her fingers whisper-soft against my skin.
“Say it again, fairy princess. I need to hear it.”
Her lips brushed mine. “I love you. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I don’t—”
I pressed two fingers against her lips. “I love you, mo grá. Have since the first day I met you.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, moving closer.
“My love,” I whispered, took her mouth with mine.
Everly sighed, rolling to her back as I encouraged her with my body.
An urgency ignited, my need to have her, to claim her. To possess her. What started as a gentle mating of mouths turned frantic. Everly cried out when I nipped her neck, sucking her skin, drowning in her scent. She did that to me. Made me wild, desperate. And it was a need I couldn’t control, one that overpowered me, made me a slave to my own desire.
I took her hands, lifted them over her head with one hand on her wrists and crushed my mouth to hers. She writhed beneath me, her leg curling around my thigh, trying to tug me closer. I ground my hips, then angled my cock at her entrance and drove into her.
“My Liege!” Her back bowed.
I impaled her again, watched her lovely face as she gave herself over to me. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
“Keep your hands there,” I ordered, pushing up to my knees.
I jerked her hips toward me, impaled her on my cock, loving the way she came apart before me. I wasn’t gentle, punishing thrusts of my hips driving us both higher. I rode her for what felt like hours, never giving her enough to send her over. I slid my arms behind her knees, bent her in half, and drove into her deeper than I’d ever been, staring down into her face. Her eyes were closed, head tipped back as she cried out my name over and over again. Never did she ask to come, nor did she give in to it. My sweet fairy princess had heeded the lesson, staying right there with me.
I couldn’t get enough, fucking her hard, fast, sweat beading on our skin, her pussy hot and slick around me as I slammed my hips forward, paused, retreated. Again and again.
“Everly, I want you to come for me, love,” I growled, dropping her legs when I shot to the precipice, hanging by a thread. “Hold on to me.”
It was a plea more than an order, and she obliged me, crushing her mouth to mine as we came together in a conflagration of light and heat and love. I crumbled on top of her, knowing I was crushing her but unable to move. Her arms stayed around me, her hands sliding into my hair, nails tickling my scalp.
I lifted my head enough to stare into her eyes. “I’m never letting you go.”
She smiled, so sweet. “I don’t want you to.”
Rolling onto my back, I brought her with me, my cock still deep inside her, still hard. My need for her never abated; it only grew stronger with every passing second.
Expecting her to sleep, I wrapped her in my arms, listening to the rasp of my own breath. When her pussy flexed, tightening around me, I had to smile.
“Little minx,” I muttered, tugging her hair until she lifted her head. “You want more.”
Everly pushed up, her hands on my chest, eyes bright. “I’ll never get enough.”
“Take all you want. All you need.”
Grinding her hips forward and back, Everly rode me, never looking away. I cupped her breasts, pinched her nipples. Her soft sighs were music we made love by, the way I’d intended the first time. I teased her clit with my thumb, her mouth falling open as my sweet fairy princess took her pleasure from me. When I stopped, she pouted but took over herself, her back bowed, fingers teasing her clit while she rode me.
Our eyes met and I knew she was close.
“Please, my Liege,” she whispered so softly, so sweetly. “May I come?”
“All over my cock,” I told her, my voice harder than I’d intended, my restraint kicking in. I wanted to fuck her hard and fast, to chase my own release, but I wanted this more. To see her slide over the edge into oblivion without my help.
Seconds ticked by, my focus only on her as she tipped over that razor-sharp edge into bliss, my name falling from her lips. This time, when she collapsed on me, I held her in my arms, kissed the top of her head, and urged her to sleep.
Several hours later, I was up, ready for the morning run. By the time I made it to the kitchen, Dante and Ian were already outside waiting. Without speaking, the three of us took off, enjoying the solitude that came along with what had become a nice routine for us.
When we left the house, I noticed a black Jeep Cherokee parked two doors down. I wasn’t familiar with it. And though I didn’t track my neighbors’ vehicles, I was very perceptive. Since that particular neighbor was prone to having overnight guests, I attributed it to that, not thinking about it again.
That would be the first of many mistakes in the coming days.
TWENTY
Everly
Sunday, June 2, 2019
“How is it that you manage to beat me every time?” I asked Heaven as she took out my last piece on the board.
Though she’d said she was going to her sister’s yesterday, her plans had changed when one of Honor’s kids had gotten sick. She’d asked Heaven to delay a day or two. When she’d mentioned it to Ian, he’d told her to stay as long as she needed.
“Checkers is my jam,” she said, something akin to sweet innocence in her voice.
“I can see that. I still think you cheat.”
She laughed.
We’d been up in the attic for the better part of the afternoon, chilling, playing checkers, chatting, and reading. Nothing overly heavy, neither of us looking to move too much. Just a relaxing Sunday at home.
The thought had me stilling. This wasn’t my home even if I was here for an undetermined amount of time. I’d probably do well to remember that.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to go stir-crazy in this house,” Heaven said, her voice low, her eyes moving to the door.
I sighed, leaned back against the recliner at my back. “Me, too.”
My butt had fallen asleep halfway through the last game and I rubbed at it to wake it up. Hardwood did not make a great chair when playing checkers.
“Don’t you just want to go grab a coffee or something? Maybe see a movie?”
“Yep. I do.”
“Instead, we’re staring at the walls all day, every day. It’s been a week,” she whined.
“Eight days, actually,” I said teasingly.
“Okay, longer than a week.” Heaven turned so she could lie flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. “My boss was cool about yesterday, but I have to go back to work tomorrow.” She turned her head toward me, peeking around the table leg. “If I don’t, they will fire me.”
“I’ve probably lost my job already,” I admitted. “Dee told me she understood, but I could tell she didn’t mean it. I mean, it’s not that hard to find someone to take my place.”
“Whatever.” Heaven looked at the ceiling again. “You’re a great barista. Not just anyone can walk in off the street and do that.”
That was Heaven for you, always propping up someone else’s self-esteem when she was the first to be hard on herself.
“Thank you,” I told her. “Even if it’s not true.”
“It is,” she insisted, glaring at me.
I laughed. “I’m kidding. But seriously.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Heaven said. “It�
��s been an amazing week, despite the circumstances of why we’re here.”
“Have you talked to your sister?”
“Yeah. She called this morning, said the coast was clear. I told her I’d be there as soon as I could. She asked where I was. Told her we were staying with a friend.”
“She’s just worried.” Heaven’s sister was overprotective of her. It was nice to see, considering I had no one who was worried about me anymore. My own parents lived fifteen minutes from Dante’s, but they’d long ago disowned me. I had let them, honestly. They’d never understood me. Not the real me.
“Yeah, probably. She’ll get over it.”
“I told Isaac I loved him,” I said, eyes on the checkerboard in front of me.
Heaven popped up, her eyes wide. “Oh, my God. Do you?”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”
Her smile was sheepish. “I knew that. Wow. That’s… Please tell me it’s great.”
“It is.” My smile was so wide my cheeks hurt. “He said he loves me, too.”
Heaven’s mouth dropped open. “What does that mean?”
We stared at each other, then both burst into a fit of laughter.
“You know what I mean,” she rasped between giggles. “I know what it means, but … what does it mean?”
More laughter.
I heard footsteps on the stairs, glanced back over my shoulder to see Ian. He was watching us closely. “What’s so funny?”
“Just girl stuff,” Heaven said before spurting into more giggles.
Of course, they were contagious, and I ended up flopping over onto my side.
“What brings you this way?” Heaven asked when she’d sobered somewhat.
Ian’s eyes darkened. “I actually came to tell you that Isaac said he could take you to your sister’s. Whenever you’re ready.”
She popped up so quickly I inhaled. “Really?”
Wow. I honestly hadn’t realized she’d been that eager to leave.
“Aye.”
I glanced at Ian. Admittedly, that Irish thing did it for me in so many ways.
Heaven’s eyes shot to me. “It’s okay, right? That I’m leaving?”
I pushed to my feet. “Of course it is. I know you need to get back to work. Just remember, you can’t go home until they tell you the coast is clear.”
Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Book 7) Page 22