“Your skin is always so soft,” he sighed, his hands gliding over the tops of her thighs as he worked his way back up her body. She laid down flat and stretched her arms out.
“Your hands are always so rough,” she replied. As if to confirm that fact, his fingernails scratched at the sides of her breasts before he cupped them in his palms.
“You like rough,” he whispered, his mouth moving to a nipple.
“I like you rough.”
Teeth met sensitive skin and she jumped, forcing more of her breast into his mouth. He chuckled and pulled back, letting his tongue skim all the way up to her neck. Then he left her and it was like someone took all her heat away. She reached for him, but her fingertips barely brushed against his chest before he was gone.
“Come here,” he breathed, grabbing her by the waist and dragging her towards him. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she bit down on her lip, relishing in the feeling of being full with him again. Then he was moving them again, holding her hips up to meet him as he stood on his knees. Her back arched, leaving just her shoulder blades flat against the mattress.
“God! Yes, Marc, yes … just … like … that,” she panted in time to his thrusts. He was pounding into her, drilling her into the mattress.
“Tell me you love this,” he grunted, one of his hands slipping through the sheen of sweat that was covering her body and gripping onto her breast.
“I love this. God, I love this so much,” she concurred.
“No one’s ever made you feel this way,” he kept going.
“No one. Never,” her voice reached a pitch she’d never heard before as his hips started moving at a breakneck pace.
“You want me. You want this with me.”
“So much. All the time.”
“Always?”
“Always.”
If he asked anymore questions, Lily couldn’t hear him. She’d lost control of her mouth, was moaning and shrieking. The headboard was slamming against the wall, causing a decorative painting to fall. His hand let go of her breast, and she replaced it with her own, kneading and pinching. His fingers dragged against her skin, scratching a path to where his pelvis was trying its hardest to turn her inside out. When his fingers pinched and kneaded at the same time as hers, she couldn’t handle it anymore.
I was never able to handle him.
She screamed when she came, her hands flying to the mattress, gripping the blanket in her fists. She sobbed and begged him to stop moving, unable to handle the electricity that was coursing through her body alongside his cock moving in out of her.
He didn’t stop, just like usual, but he did let go of her hips. Moved with her and laid flat on top of her. While she shuddered and convulsed underneath him, he wiggled an arm under her back, moving his hand up her spine till he gripped her shoulder. She kept shuddering as he twisted his hips against her. Her orgasm had lessened, but hadn’t stopped. It felt like a cattle prod kept zapping her, low in her belly, and she jerked and moved, unable to reciprocate any of his movements.
His other arm encircled her waist, and they were in complete contact. One entity, every inch of skin touching from hips to chest. The electrical jolts grew stronger, the orgasm gaining traction again. She was whimpering incoherently, and she almost missed it when he pressed his lips to her ear and whispered something. Something she would’ve hated to miss.
“Always.”
Her orgasm came into full bloom at the same time as his erupted. His whole body flexed, his arms holding her so tightly she had trouble breathing. His hips twitched and jerk for what felt like forever, but she didn’t mind. She would lay like that forever, if he’d let her.
Always.
She would’ve passed out if he would’ve left her alone, but of course he didn’t. He dragged her off the bed and into the shower. She complained, but as she stood under the hot water, she realized it was a good idea. All of her muscles were sore, and now that she wasn’t caught in a sexual fog, she could feel that her arm was aching.
Marc washed her body for her, massaging her muscles as he worked over her skin. Then he helped her wash her hair, and she laughed at him, explaining that she had never imaged him to be a good caregiver. Or good at anything gentle for that matter.
She got smacked in the face with a washcloth.
“How often do you do that?” Lily groaned, crawling across the bed and getting under the sheet.
“Do what?” Marc asked, sitting down next to her. He grabbed her injured arm and held it across his legs.
“Fuck women till they can’t think straight.”
He chuckled while he wrapped her arm back up in the ace bandage.
“As often as possible, sweetheart,” was his response.
“When was the last time you had a girlfriend?” Lily decided to be forward. He glanced down at her.
“Why? You applying for the job?” he asked a question of his own.
“That’s probably exactly what it would be like – a job,” she joked.
“This lifestyle and relationships don’t exactly go hand in hand,” he finally answered. “I know a couple people who manage it, lead double lives, only take select jobs. Most opt for Law’s lifestyle, though.”
“What’s ‘Law’s lifestyle’?” she asked. He moved under the sheet, then slid down so he was laying flat next to her.
“Fucking anything that moves. I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten you into bed yet. If that man didn’t get sex regularly, I’m pretty sure his brain would melt down. He needs it to function,” Marc explained.
“I wonder why?”
“It’s a long story. Take my advice – never ask.”
“And what about you, Mr. De Sant? Do you need it to function?” she asked, rolling onto her side to face him. He smiled as he stared up at the ceiling.
“No. I only sleep with sexy redheads who like to beat the shit out of me,” he replied.
She laughed and went to smack him in the arm, but she froze mid swing. There was a sound coming from the room next to him. She lifted her head while Marc propped himself up on his elbows. They listened in silence for a moment, but then she caught onto what it was and her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “Is that Kingsley!?”
There was no mistaking the accent as the voice in the other room got louder. Lily stared at Marc while she listened to the things coming out of the other man’s mouth. She didn’t even know some of the swear words he was yelling. A woman was in the room with him, but she wasn’t saying words. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. She kept screaming yes, over and over again, in several different languages. There was the sound of something being slapped, repeatedly, and her screams increased in volume. His dirty talk got even louder.
“Yeah, yeah sounds like him. I didn’t realize he was in the room next to us,” Marc commented.
“Are we going to have to listen to this all night?” Lily moaned, laying back down.
“Probably.”
“God.”
“It’s okay, cause you know what?” Marc asked, rolling onto his side as well and wrapping his arm around her waist.
“What?”
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Let’s give him a run for his money,” Marc suggested, rolling back over and pulling her with him. She smiled and moved so she was straddling his waist.
“Finally, a plan I can get behind.”
DAY ELEVEN
“Morning, darling!”
Marc glanced over his shoulder, watching as Kingsley approached. The Brit looked out of place, walking across the sand while wearing an almost shiny gunmetal suit, tailored to fit.
“Morning,” Marc replied, returning his attention to the shoreline.
“Sounds like you had a bang up night last night. I swear, there is nothing like a little bit of rough sex to get rid of those post-job jitters,” Kingsley sighed as he plopped down in the sand.
“Very true, I should try it more often.”
“Well, that sh
ould be easy from now on.”
“Not really.”
“Based on the noises I heard coming out of your room last night, it should be beyond easy. In fact, I have very serious doubts that you’ll even be able to keep up with her,” Kingsley teased, and gestured with his head at the object of their discussion.
Marc smiled, watching as Lily waded around in thigh deep water. She was quite a distance away, wearing the black bikini he’d bought for her only a couple days ago.
So little time together. So much time together.
“Yeah, yeah I have those same doubts, too. Listen, I have some bad news …,” Marc let his voice trail off.
After their second or third round on the bed, Marc had gotten up to go to the bathroom. Washed his face, then decided to brush his teeth. When he’d come back into the room, Lily had already been asleep, lying flat on her stomach once again
He watched her for a long time. It had sort of become a habit, he realized. Shocking. Marc had never been around anyone long enough to form any habits with them. But he liked it. Her presence soothed him, eased the world weary ache that had settled into his bones. Into his soul.
But there was no rest for the wicked. That’s why Marc hardly ever slept. While Lily dreamed away, he got busy. He’d taken a laptop out of Kingsley’s gear and set it up on a table in the corner of the room. Hacking into it wasn’t difficult, and soon enough, Marc was surfing on the world wide web.
In his line of work, Marc stuck strictly to organized crime rings. In his experience, they were more trustworthy, at least in the sense that they always paid, and rarely double crossed – current circumstances notwithstanding. He’d worked with branches of La Cosa Nostra, Mexican drug rings, the Jewish Mob, and of course, many Russian Bratvas. Marc was a freelancer, working only for himself, and had different ways he could be contacted. Burner phones, secure e-mail addresses, and a call service out of Thailand.
But there were a lot of people who preferred to have someone else handle the technicalities of the business, like Kingsley. The British mercenary had a contractor out of Brooklyn, a man by the name of Carl, who would deal with the lowlifes, and call Kingsley with the job offers. The people paying Kingsley never knew his actual identity. The contractor negotiated the price, and got a cut of the fee. Kingsley’s anonymity was protected. Carl had been trying to get Marc to work with him for years, so getting a hold of him wasn’t hard, and getting news out of him was even easier.
“Oh jesus, do I even want to know? I haven’t even had breakfast, I -” Kingsley started to complain, but Marc held up his hand. Two men were walking down the beach, right at the shoreline. Marc watched them, his other hand resting on the butt of his gun. But luckily all they did was stare at Lily, catcalled her a little, while still walking past. She flipped them off and Marc smiled.
“Stankovski’s taken out hits on us,” Marc said. Kingsley snorted.
“Add it to the list. No one’s gotten me yet. How many is that for you?”
“I don’t know, a few. The price tags aren’t even that big.”
“Then what’s the big deal? You’re scared?”
“He also kept the hit on her,” Marc went on.
“Oh. Well, so? We’ve both had prices on our heads for years, and we’ve survived quite nicely.”
“One million.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“One million. One million dollars for her head,” Marc repeated himself.
Kingsley made a choking noise, inhaling too sharply and gagging on air. He turned his head back towards the ocean.
“You’re telling me that Anatoly Stankovski is offering one million dollars for Lily’s death!?” he exclaimed. Marc nodded.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Apparently, he’d really like his diamonds back.”
“But she said she threw them away!”
“And now you see the problem.”
“I can’t believe it. One million dollars,” Kingsley mumbled. Marc turned and saw that the other man was staring at Lily.
“Hey. Don’t get any fucking ideas, alright? Or I’ll be collecting on your bounty,” Marc threatened. Kingsley rolled his eyes.
“You would never. And for that matter, neither would I. It’s obvious why you’ve grown so attached. She’s a very special girl,” he commented.
“She’s a pain in the ass,” Marc snapped, then turned back so he could watch her.
“Ah, but she’s your pain.”
Marc continued to glare, taking deep breaths through his nose.
“She was so upset yesterday,” he started talking in a soft voice. “Kind of all over the place before dinner. She was freaked out. Jumpy. Scared. Then she told me that she thought the only reason we’d gone back for her was to get the diamonds. She was upset.”
“All normal reactions for a person, I’d say,” Kingsley pointed out.
“Yeah, for a normal person. We’re not normal people, Law. This is not a normal lifestyle. She was only doing it to get revenge. She wasn’t meant to be this person. I don’t want her to be this person. I don’t want …,” Marc’s voice died out.
I don’t want to be the one to turn her into that person.
“I don’t think any of that’s really your business. She’s a grown woman who got into this business all on her own, by herself, which in itself is a feat. She’s obviously also very good at it. So, regardless of whether or not you want her to be ‘this person’, it’s her choice, and you need to let her make it, ” Kingsley double checked.
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Why?”
“Because … I care about her too much.”
“Jesus, De Sant,” Kingsley sighed. “You go all out, don’t you? Find a woman who can actually keep up with you, in every sense of the word, and you’re worried she’ll get hurt. I wasn’t even aware you were capable of worrying about anybody.”
“Shut up.”
“So when are you going to tell her about the hit?” Kingsley asked.
“I’m not.”
“Why not!?”
“Because it’ll just freak her out. I’m going to take care of all this. I’ll sort it out.”
“This is stupid, De Sant. Even for you.”
“Maybe. But I’m willing to be stupid, if it means protecting her.”
“Talk to her. She seems quite capable of taking care of herself. You need to start thinking of her as a partner, not as a delicate doll.”
“I don’t think of her as a doll. I think of her as something … important. Something that needs to be kept safe.”
Kingsley heaved a deep sigh.
“Of all the fucking times to find nobility, De Sant.”
“Right? Just in time.”
DAY ELEVEN
“You can’t be serious.”
Lily stood in the hallway of the hotel, watching as Kingsley dragged his rucksack out of his room.
“It’s a funny thing, darling,” he sighed as he pulled on a suit jacket. “I love De Sant like a brother, which also means after too much time together, I want to kill him. He’s coming perilously close to getting a bullet in the head from me, so I must be off.”
Lily wasn’t sure what had happened in her absence. She’d spent most of the morning on the beach, soaking in the sun and surf. When she’d come back to their room, Marc had been gone. Kingsley had been gone. But all their stuff was still there, so she hadn’t worried about it too much. Got herself lunch in the hotel’s restaurant, then went back upstairs and took a nap, stretching across the whole bed. Marc woke her up a couple hours later, informing her that Kingsley was leaving.
“Just stay another night,” Lily begged, sad to see him ago. She enjoyed Kingsley’s company, his wit and his banter. The easiness they had with each other. She didn’t find that often with other people, and wanted to cling to it. Cling to a little bit of normalcy.
“What’s one more night going to do, aside from make tomorrow even harder?” he asked. She frowned.
�
��I just thought it would be nice …,” her voice trailed off. What could she say? Nice to stay together? What, the three of them ride off in the sunset together? Buy a duplex in suburban Cleveland and live side by side? Marc could get a job managing a grocery store, Kingsley could work in advertising, Lily could go back to banking.
You’re so out of your league with these men. Time to decide if you want to jump into the deep end, or hang back in the kiddie pool.
“Me, too. I’m very easy to get attached to, I understand,” he joked, smiling down at her. He had to crane his neck a little, he was so much taller than her. A tall, lanky man, so handsome in his designer suits.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said simply.
“And I, you. But we’ll see each other again,” he assured her.
“We will?”
“Oh, I’m sure of that. Something tells me you won’t be able to stay out of trouble long, and then good ol’ Law will have to come in and save the day again,” he teased, pinching her chin between his fingers and waggling her head.
“Again? You held me down and choked me!”
“And wasn’t it fun? I already can’t wait for the next time.”
Before she could respond, he leaned down and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Lily went onto her tip toes and hugged him back, as tight as she could. He’d done so much for her. She’d done so little for him. It didn’t feel right.
“Thank you, for everything,” she whispered.
“You’re very welcome, darling,” he whispered back.
The moment was incredibly heavy, so it was doubly shocking when he squeezed her ass before spanking her sharply. She laughed and pulled away from him. He gave her another wink and a smile, then shouldered his pack before striding off down the hall. She sighed as she watched him go, all the way till he disappeared into the elevator.
“Jesus, that was dramatic. I kept waiting for you to shove your tongue in his mouth.”
Lily rolled her eyes and turned around, finding Marc standing in their doorway.
“I was going to, but I could feel your beady little eyes on us. I can’t believe you didn’t even say goodbye,” she grumbled, pushing past him and walking into the room.
Best Laid Plans Page 29