Falling in Deeper (Wicked Lovers Series Book 11)

by Shayla Black

  Lily dug through her suitcase. She found a blush silk-and-lace number that Callie had given her for her birthday. It was great for luxurious slumber in the summer but way too seductive. Instead, she grabbed one of Axel’s old T-shirts, stained with dye from one of her many hair-color experiments. The short sleeves hung down to her elbows. The hem fell to her knees.

  She washed her face and took down the victory rolls that swept the long bangs from her face. Then she brushed the curls from her hair, letting the strands fall past her shoulders. After a quick brush of her teeth, she dragged in a deep breath. Now or never.

  The five steps across the hall were some of the hardest she’d ever taken. When she walked into the bedroom, Stone stood beside a four-poster bed. He’d tugged down the cozy blankets and sheets.

  “Get in,” he instructed.

  When he stepped back to give her room, she climbed into the bed, her gaze never leaving his. She pulled up the covers as if they would protect her. As if some part of her didn’t want to strip off everything she wore and try to actually enjoy the touch of a man.

  But no, she’d just freeze up. Like she always did.

  Stone swept her hair back from her face and bent to her. Lily’s heart revved as he came closer, closer . . . But he only kissed her cheek.

  “Close your eyes. Rest,” he murmured.

  “Where are you sleeping?”

  “I’ll figure it out. I want to check in with Jack and reassure Thorpe before I call it a night.”

  He didn’t say anything else, just shut the door behind him. She felt alone—in a bad way. Usually, she preferred solitude. Tonight, she simply felt lonely.

  Lily tossed. Turned. Shaped her pillow. Rolled to her side, then her back. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw terror or sadness or . . . Stone, who confused her. Lily had no idea how long she’d been seeking sleep, only that the sheets had turned warm, the ceiling fan was completely ineffective against the August humidity, and she didn’t want to lie there alone anymore.

  As if he’d read her thoughts, Stone opened the door a moment later and eased inside, his footfalls nearly silent. “You’re not asleep.”

  Why rehash the obvious? “No.”

  He watched her, taking her in. Then he reached behind his head, grabbed a handful of his shirt, and peeled it off. His tattoos covered both shoulders and spilled onto his pectorals. He was every bit as powerfully built as she’d imagined, and as she stared, she couldn’t breathe.

  “Stone?”

  He didn’t answer, simply kicked off his shoes and shucked his pants. Her breath caught at the sight of him in nothing but a pair of dark briefs. He put underwear models to shame. His body—and his erection—looked beyond hard.

  But the expression in his eyes undid her most. Understanding, concern, tenderness. Caring. God, why was he looking at her that way?

  He sauntered to the bed and pulled back the sheets on the other side. Lily thought she should object but she didn’t. She wanted to know what he intended, was desperate to find out what thoughts bounced around in his head.

  When he climbed in bed beside her, he did nothing but open his arms to her. “Yes, I have an erection. I know it, just like I know you saw it. Rest assured, I can control it. Come here. I want to hold you until you fall asleep.”

  It was a sweet notion. “I won’t be able to nod off with someone touching me.”

  Even the idea made her shudder.

  “Humor me.” He motioned her closer.

  No denying that he scared Lily, but a part of her just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to touch him, feel his strength. Besides, he wouldn’t leave her in peace until she complied.

  With a sigh, she rolled over and laid her head on his chest and listened to the beating of his heart.

  Chapter Seven

  WHEN Stone woke just after six a.m. with his arms all full of Lily, he wanted so badly to wake her with a kiss, then roll her onto her back and bury himself inside her. For now, he found himself equally content to hold her close.

  Through the gray fingers of light filtering through the bedroom’s lone window, he watched her sleep. She looked young and so innocent that it hurt. Nestled against his body, she’d relaxed utterly, giving him her trust, even if temporarily and unconsciously. But if he lay with her much longer, he would wake her up in a way guaranteed to freak her out and earn him a kick in the balls. Besides, he had work to do if he wanted them both to be free.

  Stone crept from the bed and brewed a cup of coffee. No doubt, he needed the liquid brainpower before starting this day.

  He’d barely swallowed his first sip when Jack Cole strode through the door, carrying a few bags, which he set on the kitchen table. “Morning.”

  “Hey. Lily is still sleeping.”

  “Perfect. How did you two get on last night?”

  Not half as well as he would have liked, but she wasn’t ready for any of the million and one sexual thoughts burning behind his retinas. “She’s wound tight. Like we suspected, trust is going to be a huge issue. Another woman might soften up enough to tell me something that resembles the truth about her past in the next two weeks, but I’m not sure about this one. I can’t afford to chip away at her slowly.”

  “Nope,” Jack agreed, grabbing a cup of coffee for himself.

  “I’ve been devising a plan to cut through her subterfuge about her name and past. I just need to gather more research. Shouldn’t be hard. Then we’ll get the truth on the table so we can start dealing with it.”

  “Is this plan going to set you back in the trust department?”

  “Probably, but not for long. I just don’t see a more expedient way to start talking about the truth.”

  “You work on that. In the meantime, I have some information for you. The press says that Canton and his wife are headed to an undisclosed location for a lovely vacation off the grid before what’s expected to be his announcement to join the race to the governorship.” Jack sneered. “That’s a tall tale, from what I’m hearing. His wife is in rehab—again—and he’s supposedly gone camping with a couple of his aides somewhere in Texas near the coast.”

  “In August? In the heat?” Stone shook his head as they sat at the kitchen table. “That’s bullshit. This time of year, the mosquito population there is in the millions. If he’s staying in a tent, they’ll eat him alive.”

  “He would know that since he spent his summers as a kid with his grandparents who lived near Galveston.”

  “On the other hand, it wouldn’t take him too long to drive from Galveston to Dallas . . . or wherever Lily might travel. I assume he brought the aides along to do his dirty work? After all, a guy like that has people.”

  “Unless Lily is personal enough for him to risk everything, yes.” Jack shrugged.

  Yeah, they could speculate about the plans of this violent asshole all day and still be wrong. Stone didn’t want to waste the time or energy now. “Thanks.”

  “Everything else good?” At Stone’s nod, he went on. “We’ve finally got decent cell service out here recently, so that should make communicating easy. I’ve brought you a few more groceries. Holler if you need anything else. I’m going to keep drilling down on Canton’s location.”

  “If that son of a bitch is close, I need to know.”

  “You do.” Jack sighed and looked as if he knew something he didn’t want to impart. “I have some other news. Somehow Axel got wind of Lily’s exploding car. He’s heading home on a flight to Dallas this afternoon.”

  That was all Stone needed, for Axel to come racing out here and undermine what little progress he’d made with Lily. If she had someone to rely on that she trusted more, Stone knew she’d never look to him. “Fuck.”

  “Exactly. Thorpe will try to hold him off for a few days. I’ll do my best to embroil Axel in something else but . . . I can’t make any promises.”

 
“Thorpe still doesn’t want to tell Axel that ‘Misty’ isn’t real?”

  Jack shook his head. “He thinks it will only suck Axel deeper into the situation. I’ve known the guy for a long time. He’s got a hell of a protective streak. He’ll take that girl under his wing again. Probably insist on hiding her, too. And maybe she would let him. I think she’d rather go on pretending that Lily Taylor no longer exists.”

  “I agree.” And Stone intended to absolve her of that notion this morning. “Thanks for everything.”

  He and Jack worked well together, and it was nice to have an ally in his corner right now. They almost felt like friends. Stupid because Stone knew he was no hero. But that didn’t seem to matter to the man who sat across the table, sipping a cup of joe.

  “No problem. Oh . . .” Jack stood and fished into his pocket and retrieved a key. “I forgot. If you want to use the playroom, you’ll need this.”

  He dropped the little slice of precisely formed metal into Stone’s palm. No one had said that he should begin earning Lily’s trust through sex or romance . . . but they clearly weren’t against it.

  Stone leashed his excitement as he pocketed the key. “Perfect. I’ll touch base if there are any developments here. Call me if you’ve got news.”

  “Will do.”

  The second Jack left, Stone headed down the hall toward the locked playroom door. He may not have started his sex life as a Dominant, but he couldn’t deny that he liked being in control.

  As he passed the bedroom, he spotted Lily’s luggage and grimaced. Getting his cover story straight came first, so he shoved the key back in his jeans and dragged the pieces of her luggage into the living room.

  One by one, he opened them. Once he found the details he needed and her past was out in the open . . . Well, that key was burning a hole in his pocket. He didn’t intend to let it smolder there too long.

  For now, he crawled back into bed with her. Within moments, she curled around him. Her softness and scent aroused him as if she’d stroked her hand up his cock. But Stone resolved to savor every moment of the delicious hell until she woke.

  * * *

  LILY woke cozy-warm and wrapped in Stone’s arms. At some point, she’d laid her head on his chest and simply dropped into slumber. In the past, she’d only ever done that with Axel, and it had taken him months to coax the necessary trust from her. Stone had broken down that barrier in next to no time.

  Oh my god.

  She jerked out of his arms and jackknifed up, staring out the window that was covered in gauzy black drapes. Sunlight streamed from high in the sky. She hadn’t just slept through the night; she’d conked out and snoozed through most of the morning, too.

  Staring down at the muscled, mostly naked ex-con, Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to know why she’d trusted him on any level so readily and easily.

  “You don’t have to jump up. We have nowhere to go,” he said lazily, his eyes still closed.

  She swallowed hard and tried to breathe. So much intimacy . . . Their bodies were nearly plastered together. The sheets smelled like him, woodsy, musky. Intoxicating.

  Detrimental to her mental health.

  “I-I should get up.”

  When Lily tried to crawl from the bed, Stone clamped a hand around her wrist, not hard enough to hurt her but tight enough to make certain she knew he didn’t want her to leave. “We’re going to talk.”

  Meaning he planned to ask her all the questions she’d refused to answer last night.

  “I’ve already talked as much as I intend to.” She yanked her arm, but he didn’t give an inch. “Let go.”

  He cracked his eyes open, and his dark expression told her that he wasn’t in the mood for pushback. “Here’s what’s going to happen: You have ten minutes in the bathroom. Brush your teeth, wash your face, change your clothes—whatever you need to do. Then you’ll come back here and listen to some things I have to say.”

  Lily didn’t want to agree, but it would give her a reason to escape the dizzying masculinity of his presence and let her collect her wits again.

  “Fine.”

  When he released her, she escaped and took every second of those ten minutes in the bathroom, plus another few to steady herself.

  Finally, he pounded on the bathroom door. “Time’s up. And I have coffee.”

  When she emerged, she found him in yesterday’s clothes. He’d obviously cleaned up somewhere. Kitchen? More important, he held two mugs of steaming brew.

  “Follow me.” He cocked his head to the bedroom. “Sit.”

  Warily, she perched on the edge of the bed. He rewarded her by handing her a mug of liquid caffeine. Stone sat on the other side and sipped his coffee, staring at her over the rim.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  She flushed. “You know I did since it appears I slept all over you.”

  He frowned. “That bothers you. Why?”

  “Because I don’t trust you.” But that wasn’t entirely true. Some part of her registered him as nonthreatening to her physical safety or she would never have slept five minutes beside him, much less ten hours.

  “Maybe I don’t trust you, either.”

  “What does that mean?” She frowned. “It’s not like I’m going to rape you.”

  He set his coffee down on the nightstand beside him. “And I’m not going to rape you. If I’d wanted to last night, it would have been damn easy,” he pointed out with an acerbic smile. “But as it happens, I don’t want you any way except willing, panting, and begging.”

  A wave of heat rolled through her body at his words. She’d say he was thinking wishfully, but when she had awakened all plastered against him, her rational mind had nearly panicked while her body hadn’t wanted to let go. If she didn’t steel herself against him, would all that needing and whimpering he’d described come next?

  Trashing the thought, she shook her head. “You keep dreaming big.”

  Stone sent her a smile of supreme confidence.

  His expression set her off. “Wipe that smarmy look off your face. Or are you so convinced you’re god’s gift to women and that, of course, I’m going to fall all over myself to get your pants off and jump on your penis?”

  He burst out laughing. “No, baby. I’m convinced the heat between us can’t be denied. But you’re funny, which is a point in your favor. Because I also know you’re lying to me, which isn’t.”

  “Lying?” A chill ran through her, leaching out all the heat she’d felt only moments before. “What do you mean?”

  Stone reached behind him. She thought he meant to grab his mug and swig the coffee, but he turned back around with an all-too-familiar black tome in hand and dumped it on the bed between them.

  She gasped. “You had no right . . .”

  When she reached for her yearbook, he grabbed her wrist. “Lily Alexandra Taylor. That’s who you really are. You lied to me, Thorpe, Axel . . . everyone. And you did it for years. Don’t deny it. Once I saw this name embossed on the front of the cover, I looked up the corresponding picture. Imagine my surprise to find out that Misty isn’t your name at all. A few Internet searches gave me a whole lot of information about you, like the fact that you’re considered a teen runaway.”

  Lily shook her head, already trying to spin more tales to throw Stone off track. But his dark stare ripped away her composure, warning her that he already knew every story she’d concoct now would be bullshit.

  “You’re getting yourself into something you don’t understand. Please don’t do this.”

  “You think I don’t get a man like Timothy Canton?” He scoffed.

  Hearing Stone say that monster’s name made Lily freeze from head to toe. She gaped at him. “You . . .”

  “Figured out the name of the guy tormenting you? Not too tough. The police questioned you about him. You disappeared less than a week later. I can
put two and two together. He’s just a thug who put a little spit and polish on his street cred and figured out how to morph his drug money into political power. He’s not hard to understand.”

  Stone had guessed the truth so quickly and accurately. If he could figure out all that in a night, what else could he divine during the next few days? Weeks?

  “So now that your big secret is out, why don’t you tell me what happened so we can start working together to take him down?”

  She scrambled off the bed, shoving her mug on the little nightstand and shaking her head frantically. “There is no taking him down. You’re insane.”

  Stone climbed off the bed and blocked her path to the door. “You’re insane if you’d rather keep running than try.”

  “I know what he’s capable of. There’s no way I can stop him.”

  “If not you, then who? You make him sound bigger than Godzilla, like he’s defeated everyone else who’s ever come up against him.”

  “Yes!” She didn’t know how else to make him understand.

  “Unless you want him to keep destroying other innocent lives and killing, it sounds as if you’re the only one who can make sure he gets what he deserves.”

  That gave Lily pause. She’d considered that before, but she lacked the deviousness and the might to vanquish him alone. Yet if she died, some of his worst secrets died with her. Then no one would ever know the terrible truth. The thought of doing nothing to stop him from killing someone else’s loved ones and destroying their families slashed her more than a vague sense of shame.

  She dropped her face in her hands. Tears didn’t come. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. Why should she be allowed to purge all this grief and guilt and move on?

  “So let’s start at the beginning.” His voice had gone gentle, but she didn’t mistake the steel beneath. “How did you come into contact with this fucker?”

  Was she going to answer that question and put him at risk, too? But if she didn’t, wouldn’t she be leaving other unsuspecting people in danger? God, she didn’t see a right answer.