by B. B. Hamel
“Excuses.” He pushed my panties aside. I felt cool air on my soaking lips. He rolled his fingers along me and spread me wide. “Look at you, dripping wet. When did you first realize you were soaking? Was it when we walked into the hotel? Or earlier, when I took a bath?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He let out a soft chuckle as his fingers teased me, rolling up and down my pussy, gathering up my soaking and spreading it all around.
“You want more truth from me?”
“Yes,” I groaned.
He slid two fingers deep inside. My back arched and a gasp escaped my lips.
“This is why I’m still here,” he said. “This is why I came back.”
“Fuck,” I moaned and rolled my hips.
He slid his fingers back out and moved them up to my clit.
An explosion of pleasure.
“I don’t know what it is about you, Elise. But I can’t stop thinking about your body, about the way you rode my cock, about the way you bit my shoulder. You kept moaning my name, yeah, just like that.”
“Tanner,” I whispered and gasped. His fingers felt like heaven as they teased my clit, pressing gently then moving faster.
“Your breasts, your lips, that delicious ass. I can’t help myself. I keep thinking about taking you, little Elise, and it takes everything I have to hold back.”
“Looks like you… fuck… let go,” I moaned.
“Damn right I did.” His eyes burned, blazed. “I deserve a little taste.”
“Tanner.” I gasped as he released me, moved off the bed, and spread my legs wide.
His tongue was heaven as he lapped me up. I rolled my hips fast as his tongue worked me. He sucked, licked, lapped me up.
“Oh my god,” I gasped as pleasure exploded, bloomed, built deep inside.
He licked my clit like he couldn’t get enough. “Delicious little Elise,” he growled. “Fuck, I want to feel you wrapped around my tongue. I want to feel you riding my fat cock.”
“Yes,” I moaned, grabbing his hair.
He licked me, and licked me, and god, my back arched, my hips writhed, and I came on his incredible tongue. I held his hair hard as I came and the world dropped to a pinpoint as pleasure burst through my brain. I laughed and said his name and collapsed back onto the bed as he licked me one more time nice and slow. I twitched and my back shuddered as another pleased laugh ripped itself from my throat.
“There you go,” he said, standing. He licked his fingers clean as I stared at him. My cheeks buzzed with pleasure and my ears rang. “Now, you need to get some rest.”
“Yeah,” I said in a daze.
He walked to the other bed, climbed onto it, crawled up to the pillow.
And was asleep two minutes later.
I curled in on myself, hands between my legs, knees to my chest. I shut my eyes and thought about him touching my skin, about him coming deep inside me.
I was stuck in a gorgeous, overpriced hotel with a monster, with a killer, with a man that could make my body feel things I’d never pictured before.
I couldn’t decide if it was heaven or hell.
I fell asleep before I could choose.
9
Tanner
I woke up around nine the next morning. It wasn’t enough sleep, but I couldn’t waste the whole morning in bed. I took a shower while Elise stirred. She was asleep on top of the comforter, her gorgeous bare ass naked in the morning light. I wanted to bite it and slide my thick cock between her legs, but we had business.
Fun could wait.
I got myself cleaned up. My right eye was black and my jaw was bruised, but the swelling on my lip went down over night. It wasn’t as bad as I expected.
I put on fresh clothes and quietly ordered room service. Eggs, bacon, coffee. When that was finished, I stood next to a sleeping Elise and looked at her half-naked body.
Then slapped her ass.
She woke with a start. “What— what the fuck— what’s going on?” She looked around, still dazed.
“Get up,” I said.
“Did you just… Tanner?”
“Yes, I just spanked your pretty ass. Now get up and get showered. We have business.”
She blinked at me. “What time is it?” Her eyes moved to the clock and she groaned. “We got like… four hours of sleep.”
“I know. You can catch up tonight.”
She groaned, rolled onto her back, then seemed to realize she was naked at the bottom.
She covered herself with her hands. “Uh,” she said.
“Uh,” I said, grinning.
“Can you, uh, turn around?”
“Modest. Cute, but annoying.”
“Please?”
“You know I licked you until you came last night, right?”
“Tanner.” Her eyes narrowed and I saw a hint of anger.
I sighed and left the room. “Hurry up,” I called through the door.
I heard the shower start a minute later. The food came not long after that. I drank coffee and sat at the small round table near the window thinking about my plan for the day.
Elise came out ten minutes later wearing a pair of jeans and a dark low-cut tank top. Her hair was piled up on the top of her head.
She poured herself some coffee and chewed on a strip of bacon.
“So why’d you get me out of bed?” she asked.
“We’re visiting a friend.”
“Okay,” she said, “who?”
“His name’s Dante. And he sort of hired me to kill you.”
She stared at me. “Are you joking?”
“I’m not joking,” I said. “We’ll be safe. He won’t try anything.”
“Tanner. This is my life we’re talking about. I’m not leaving this room if there’s even a tiny chance I might be killed.”
“I promise, Elise. There’s no chance you’ll get killed. Dante does what he’s ordered to do, but he’s not a piece of shit. He’ll at the very least listen.”
“Fuck,” she said.
“I know.” I snatched the bacon from her hand and chomped it. “Trust me on this one, okay? This is the first step.”
She glared and grabbed another bacon strip. “What’s the next step?”
“We’ll have to talk to your dad at some point,” I said while studying my nails.
“Tanner,” she said, her voice rough. “I didn’t sign up for that.”
“Come on.” I jumped to my feet. “Let’s go see Dante.”
“You’re insane.”
“You’ll love him, I promise. He’s a great guy.”
“He’s trying to kill me.” She stuffed more bacon in her mouth. “Can’t be that great.”
“Aw, don’t hold that against him. It’s just business.”
“You’re fucking insane. All of you are insane. I’m surrounded by insane people.”
I gave her one of those little gentle friendly punches on the shoulder.
She just glared at me and chewed her bacon.
“Let’s roll,” I said.
She followed, grumbling the whole way.
The bakery was more crowded than I had ever seen it. The light was low. Tables were wood and polished metal. The display case had ten different types of donuts and pastries. Baskets behind the counter overflowed with fresh bread. The espresso machine screamed out steam as an older woman jostled back and forth between the machine and the counter.
I stood in the doorway with Elise just behind me. I felt the reassuring weight of the Glock tucked into my pants.
At least half the place stared at me in shocked recognition.
“I guess you all heard,” I said as my eyes swept the coffee shop. A guy with a thick beard and a bun on his head typed on a MacBook to my right. A mother with a baby in a carrier drank coffee. A few others were blissfully unaware of the situation.
I spotted Dante sitting in the booth on my left. He had three guys with him, each dressed in dark clothes. I spotted the telltale lumps of guns on them.
>
Dante smiled. “I had a feeling you’d show up.”
I spread my hands wide. “Can’t help myself.”
“Always were a showman.”
“Ah, man, you got me.” I walked toward his table.
One of Dante’s guys stood up. I poked his chest with my finger. “You’re… Ryan?”
“That’s Ryan,” the guy said, nodding at the younger kid with slicked-back hair sitting next to Dante. “I’m John.”
“Oh, right, shit. Sorry, John.”
“If you touch me again—”
“John,” Dante said, “don’t bother. You know him.”
John glared at me and I just smiled and waggled my eyebrows. “Better listen to the big boss, Johnny boy.”
He turned and gestured at the table.
The other guys cleared away and sat at an adjoining table. I pulled out a chair for Elise and she sat, her back straight. She looked fucking terrified and I couldn’t blame her.
I took the chair next to her.
Dante sat leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest.
“So what are you doing here, Tanner?”
“Came to talk,” I said.
“I figured. But you realize we’re out for the girl here, right?” His eyes flipped to Elise. “No offense, darling. Nothing personal.”
“Yeah, not personal to you,” she said.
I laughed. “She’s funny. You really want to kill her?”
“I don’t want to kill anyone,” Dante said with a hint of annoyance in his tone. “But I do what I’m told.”
“Good little soldier, I know.” I leaned forward. “But come on, Dante. You’ve earned a little… autonomy these days, haven’t you?”
He flinched. “Maybe.”
“I know you’ve been killing it,” I said. “You own almost all of West Philly now, right?”
“Could be.”
“I bet the Don loves you,” I said. “You don’t start trouble, you bring in the money, you grow the business. You’re probably in line for some serious leadership role one day.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, if you spoke up for the girl, we might be able to avoid all this nonsense.”
“Could be,” he said. “The Don might listen to me. But the bigger question is, why the fuck would I spend any of the good will that I’ve accrued over the years on this girl?”
“Hey,” she said, “asshole.”
“No offense,” he said.
“Right, just business.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
“Think of it this way,” I said. “You do this favor for me, and I owe you.”
He tilted his head. “That’s not enough.”
“Okay,” I said. “You do this favor, and I owe you, and your Don praises you for your forethought and business savvy.”
Dante let out a breath and looked at Elise. “Does he talk like this to you?” he asked. “Like everyone just understands what the hell he means?”
“Yep,” she said. “Annoying. But not as annoying as when people try to kill me.”
Dante grinned at that then turned back to me. “Explain yourself.”
I crossed my legs and put my hands on the table. “It’s pretty simple. If you spare the girl, I might be able to set up some kind of beneficial business arrangement with her father,” I said. “Even though he’s new to town, we both know he has some serious muscle up north.”
“That’s true,” Dante said. “He hasn’t been a pushover here, either.”
“Which is why you’re going after the girl,” I said, nodding. “Makes sense.”
“No, it doesn’t make sense,” Elise said. “I don’t have anything to do with my father. I walked away from all that, and now—”
I held up a hand and stared at her. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at me.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “None of that’s important. Whether you like it or not, you’re a tool to be used against your father.”
“Stick to the point, Tanner,” Dante said.
“Right.” I looked back at him. “If you kill the girl, her father’s just going to dig in and start a real war. He’s not going to back down, not after you murdered his daughter. If you want to avoid a long, protracted engagement, you need to spare her life and set up some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement.”
Dante stroked his chin. “And you think you can come up with some arrangement that works for everyone?” he asked.
“I think we can all come up with something,” I said. “I don’t know why the hell you’d think that would be all on me.”
Dante laughed. “Sorry for assuming you had something in mind.”
“You’re businessmen. Talk about business and stuff.”
“Business… and stuff. For someone who seems smart, you sure do sound like a moron sometimes.”
I grinned. “Come on, Dante. You know I’m right here. Kill this girl and you guarantee your family gets involved in another bloody and protracted engagement. But spare her life and maybe you can walk away from this with a deal that helps everyone out.”
“I hear you,” he said. “And I’ll be honest. It’s a tempting proposal and not without merit.”
“See, I really am smart,” I said.
“But you’re not her father,” Dante said. “You can’t make these arrangements for him. I don’t know if I can trust him.”
“He doesn’t know if he can trust you, either,” I said. “But you’ll work it out. Business depends on a little trust, right?”
“Sure,” Dante said. “How much does he know about this?”
“Not much,” I said. “He knows you’re coming after his daughter. Not much beyond that.”
“Can’t imagine he’ll want to deal then.”
“He will. His daughter wants nothing to do with him. So I’m betting he’d be willing to make a deal just to make her happy. Seems that he moved to town to be closer to her, which suggests he’s making business decisions based on rebuilding their relationship.”
“It’s really weird to hear you analyze my relationship with my father right in front of me,” Elise said.
“I bet it is, but you know I’m right.”
She shrugged and waved a hand. “I know what he wants. I’m not interested in it.”
“Still doesn’t change the fact that I bet he’d make a deal to save your life.” I shifted toward Dante. “So what do you say?”
Dante stroked his chin again then glanced to the left. I followed his gaze and saw Sergio standing in the kitchen doorway. He had graying hair, a medium-sized gut, and a plain white apron slung around his neck.
“I know what he’d say,” Dante said.
“What’s that?”
“He’d tell me to take it. Wars are expensive and lives are priceless. No reason to get involved in killing each other if there’s some other way.”
“Sergio’s a smart man.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not my Capo anymore. He walked away from the life and now he bakes bread every fucking day.”
“He looks good though,” I said. “Like he’s happy.”
“He looks fat and slovenly.” Dante turned to me. “I’ll think about it, all right?”
“You should do more than think,” I said.
“You’re lucky I’m not killing you here and now, Tanner.”
“You probably could,” I said. “But no way you’d walk away from this alive. So don’t make stupid threats you can’t back up.”
Dante glared at me and I smiled at him as sweetly as I could. I felt Elise tense next to me and I could tell this turn was making her uncomfortable.
But it was just mafia man bluster. These guys were all full of shit. They thought they could throw around a few threats and everyone would just roll over and do whatever they wanted.
Mostly it worked like that. But I happen to be one of the few men in the city that could see through their bluff and back up my words with action.
“It’s tempting,”
Dante said. “I’ll admit it. But I don’t know if I can trust you in this. You turned your back on us. That’s a pretty big deal.”
“Oh, please. I dropped a contract. Fucking sue me.”
Dante laughed. “You more than dropped a contract. I heard you had a little run-in with Bennigan.”
I clenched my jaw. “Yeah, I did,” I said. “And it was shitty of you to send him.”
“I told you what I was going to do if you turned the contract down.”
“I thought you’d at least give me a day to reconsider.”
“No time for that shit,” Dante said.
“I gather.”
“So look, I’ll think about your proposal. But I’m not going to back down. And anyway, Bennigan’s off his leash, and you know how he can be.”
I gave Dante a flat look. “Yeah, I know all about Bennigan.”
“Do yourself a favor. Find some hole to hide in and hope Bennigan doesn’t find you again. I’m not sure you can survive another interaction.”
“We both know I can,” I said. “And when Bennigan ends up dead, you’re the one to blame, not me.”
Dante shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“Take a day or two and think it over. I’ll come back for your answer.”
“You sure you want to do that?” Dante asked. “You come here and I might put a bullet in your girl.”
I stood up and looked down at him. “If I were really afraid of that, I wouldn’t have shown my face. But you’re a smart guy, Dante. I always liked you. I really hope you make the right decision.”
Dante leaned back with his hands behind his head and just grinned up at me.
Elise stood and I took her by the arm. I steered her to the door and kept my eye on the mafia guys. They stared at us, and a few of them looked like they wanted to put my reputation to the test, but nobody moved.
We made it back outside. I walked fast and tugged Elise along with me.
“I have no clue how that went,” she said. “I’m honestly just surprised we’re not dead.”
“Not over yet,” I said.
Three of Dante’s guys were following us.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just come with me.” I pulled her along faster.
“You’re hurting me,” she said. “My arm.”