We looked into each other’s eyes. The house was now dark, but there was moonlight coming through the new windows; the drapes were gone.
“That wasn’t a lie. You have to know that, Lay.” His grip didn’t loosen.
“You can’t be sure so soon.” I told him as I tried to climb off of his lap.
“Don’t,” he said, biting out the order. “I love you. You have to feel it, in here,” he touched my chest where my heart was pounding, “and here.” He moved lower and palmed my mound.
A small moan escaped. “Forde,” I breathed.
“Love you, Lay.” He kissed me again.
I surrendered to him. God, the man knew how to kiss. I showed him my appreciation by shifting closer to him. Rubbing my mound against his cock and my boobs against his chest, I was so hungry for his touch.
I’d never acted like this before. I liked sex, but I’d never initiated it. Usually, it took me a little bit of time to get into it. Not so with Forde. I felt like my body was on fire, and the only way to quench it was for him to be inside of me.
I was kissing his neck when the world’s greatest idea popped into my head. “There’s a bed upstairs.”
I heard his chuckle. I pulled back so that I could see his face.
“You want my cock bad.” He looked like he was feeling victorious.
I started to climb off of him. “If you aren’t that interested…” I made it to my feet, and I put my hand on my hip. “You can go.”
“Lay, I’m so hard I hurt.”
Of course, I had to look, and that made me think about a naked Forde inside of me. I made a frustrated sound.
He stood. “Let’s go to my place. Bed’s bigger.” He moved closer to me.
“What, you don’t want to do it in a twin-size bed?” Even I laughed at that thought.
“No…” He didn’t get to finish his thought.
I heard glass breaking, something hit the wooden floor, then a whoosh sound. I whipped around and stared.
Forde went into action hero mode. He grabbed my arm and gave it a yank to break my stupor. “Layla, we’ve got to move before this place goes up in flames.”
I looked at the fire that was now surrounding the object that had come through the window. I asked stupidly, “What’s happening?”
The other new window broke, and now, I could smell the gasoline. My nose immediately started to burn. Somebody was trying to burn the house down.
Forde yanked harder on my good arm. “Babe, come on. Don’t let go of my hand, but if I tell you to run, you go. Hear me?”
I watched Forde pull a gun from the holster he wore at the small of his back. “But—”
“Shit’s getting real. I don’t know what’s outside. You do what I say.”
He didn’t wait for my answer. We started moving, hugging the wall toward the back of the house. It’s incredible how fast the house was filling with smoke. My eyes were watering from the burn, and I kept blinking trying to clear them. It was getting hard to breathe.
At the back door, Forde moved my hand to his waistband at the back of his cargo pants while he unlocked the deadbolt. “When we get out, stay with me.” He took my hand again and threw open the door.
We paused at the side of the door. It took everything I had not to push through, out into the clean air. My lungs were burning. It hurt to breathe.
“Come on.” I don’t know if he actually said the words or if I imagined them. I held onto his hand tightly as we ran across the meager backyard area and into the alley. Forde turned left and kept to the shadows. Two houses down, we cut through the side yard and paused, leaning against their front porch. I bent over at the waist. It felt like I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. My ribs rebelled, but I didn’t care.
I felt his hand run up and down my spine. “Easy breaths. Try to take easy breaths.”
I was shaking all over and freaking out, still choking on every deep inhale of air. We’d almost been burned alive.
Forde spoke into his cell. “Yeah, somebody just firebombed Layla’s rental. Send fire and an ambulance. She needs some oxygen.”
I straightened and leaned against his side.
He pulled me in closer as he finished his call.
“That was…fire. Oh my God, we could’ve been burned up in there.” I wasn’t making sense. I was terrified, and yet, I felt safe in his arms.
“We’re fine, babe.” He curled me into his front with one arm. He held his shooting hand along his thigh at the ready.
“If we’d gone upstairs…” I started to freak out. The house was old and burning rapidly. The flames lit up the night. We would have been trapped.
“Shh, we made it. That’s all that matters.”
I tried to take a deep breath and coughed hard and deep.
He loosened his hold on me. “Medics will be here soon.”
“No—” I coughed. “Hospital,” I tried to tell him.
“Just let them check you out, please?” He started moving us down the sidewalk as the sirens sounded in the distance.
I was sitting on the hood of Rick’s Escalade, which he’d parked on the sidewalk beside Forde’s SUV. I’d been seen by a nice medic named, Joy. She’d listened to my lungs and given me oxygen. I’d checked out okay, and was now wrapped in a light blanket watching Forde and Rick talk to Det. Eames and a fireman.
My throat hurt and my eyes were swollen, but I was alive. The house had gone up like kindling, and next door neighbors on both sides had to be evacuated because of the chance of the flames jumping.
I heard a commotion behind me. “Where’s my niece? Dear God, was she in there?” Aunt Nora had arrived.
I watched Forde break away from his conference and stride down the street to the area behind me. I didn’t try to turn around to see what was going to happen. I knew Forde would handle Nora. I was beyond exhausted and wanted to go home to his soft bed.
“Oh, baby.” Nora jogged to me with her boyfriend following in her wake. She reached up and hugged me. “I was so worried when I got the first call, and then more kept coming in.”
“I’m fine, Nora. Forde took care of me.” I tried to calm her, but it was no use.
“You’re so lucky to have that boy.”
A boy, Forde? That made me choke out a laugh. “He is pretty amazing,” I agreed.
Rick and the two men joined our group. Nora peppered Det. Eames and the fireman with questions. She was upset and loud, and kept repeating the same questions. I zoned out.
I felt a hand on my thigh. “Ready to go?” Forde asked.
I felt relief wash over me. “I can’t wait to get home and into the shower.”
His hand tightened on my thigh for a second, and then he gave me a pat. “Let’s go.”
He helped me down, taking my weight and lowering me like I weighed nothing. He walked me to his SUV and helped me in, even buckling my seatbelt. He then shut my door, said something to the group, and Rick walked with him to his side.
“Set up the meet. I’m done with this shit.” I heard Forde’s voice. It was ice cold, and I felt a chill pass over my body.
“Will do.” Rick waited until Forde shut his door and he crossed back to the group.
“I feel bad, leaving Rick to deal with Aunt Nora.” I watched her turn to him and say something.
Forde started the engine and pulled away. “He’ll be fine, and if he’s not, he’ll disappear.”
I glanced at him. The muscle at the side of his jaw was pulsing. I decided to keep quiet, giving him some peace.
During the fifteen minute drive he took and made a few calls. I listened, but had trouble following since he seemed to speak in code. No names or locations.
Forde pulled into his parking place and killed the engine. “Sorry about the calls. I needed to touch base with people.”
I shifted so that I was facing him. “It’s okay. I mean this is my new life, I’d better get used to it.”
I saw
the corners of his mouth turn up.
I rushed to continue. “I mean without the firebombs, me going rabbit and all.” I finished with a shrug.
“Lay, you make me laugh.” He leaned closer, and I knew he was going to kiss me.
I told him after he finished kissing me, “I need a dictionary or a guide to learn your special lingo.”
He chuckled. “I’ll work on that. Come on, let’s get inside.”
I couldn’t begin to say how good the shower felt, although I took it alone. Forde didn’t think even multiple washings would get the smoke and gasoline smell out of our clothes, so I said goodbye to my last bra, and he bagged everything and took it to the outside trash receptacle.
I was in bed, in another of his T-shirts, listening to him shower. He didn’t close the door. Forde was comfortable being naked in front of me. I was not and still closed the door, even when I brushed my teeth. He usually found a reason to come into the bathroom, and then the door stayed open.
I heard the water shut off, and within a minute, he was walking out with a towel wrapped around his hips. It was a good look.
“Gonna do a final check. Do you need anything to drink? Maybe a Sprite?” He paused in the doorway.
God, he could be so sweet. “No, hon, I’m good.” My throat was still irritated, but that was supposed to clear up in a day or two.
I relaxed back into the pillows. My shoulder and ribs were still a little tender, but I’d gotten used to the feeling. I could roll from side to side if I wanted to. Although that meant Forde had to readjust—he was a contact sleeper. That had been a bit of a surprise. I’d thought that a badass would only do what he needed then move away. Forde touched me, a lot. In private, as well as when we were out. I allowed myself a little smile. I liked that too.
He returned and whipped the towel off his hips, checked his phone that was now on the nightstand and then turned off the light. I felt the mattress depress as he climbed in.
He moved close to me. Neither of us said a word.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted a little louder than I intended.
“No need, it’s forgotten.” His voice was quieter than mine had been.
I turned in his arms to face him. “No, really, I could have gotten us killed. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have been there.” I wished he had left the light on so that I could see his face more clearly.
He let out a sigh. “I’m not sure that the Cancerberos knew that you were in there. I’m guessing that they didn’t. They torched the place to keep up the pressure, the intimidation.”
“I was impulsive and stupid today,” I said, drawing my legs, my knees bent so tightly my heels touched my ass. I ignored the pain in my knee.
“I don’t like that you slipped away, and that you did it pretty damn well. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.” His hand covered my hip, and I felt fingers dig in. “I didn’t foresee Nene being a problem.”
“Did you and she ever…” What did I want to say? Fuck, have sex, get involved?
“Christ, no. I don’t shit where I eat,” he said with some heat.
Hmm. “Not too sure I’m going to be thrilled if you use that analogy with respect to me, Forde.”
“Well, you are a totally different matter.”
I heard the teasing note in his voice. I bit down on my lip. I didn’t like saying this out loud. “I’m probably going to make a lot of mistakes. I don’t think I know how to do this. You know, have a good relationship.” My voice got a little rough. “And I want it to be good between us.”
“Same goes with me,” he said softly.
“You’re nothing like him.”
His hand flexed. I could feel each individual finger dig in. “He wasn’t all bad. If he had been, you would never have been with him, Lay. He got into something that took control and buried him before he even knew it.”
“He could have told me. I would have helped him.” I hated that my voice shook.
“I imagine he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to show you he had a problem. From everything I’ve read, he worked hard to shield you from that side of his life. I’m not saying what he did was right, but I think he was trying to protect you.” Forde’s fingers relaxed as he finished. “He wanted you to think well of him.”
“Don’t be like him.” The words were torn from my heart. “I don’t mean that I think you’d get addicted to some drug. I mean, keeping me in the dark.”
“I want to protect you. Give you a good life. I don’t want shit to touch you.” His voice had gone deeper.
I straightened my legs and moved closer to him. “I’m stronger than you think. I can handle a lot. I know this life is dangerous. I get that.”
“Don’t ask me to stop,” he warned.
“Not a chance. It’s important to you, like it’s your mission. I’m just saying, keep me in the loop. I won’t try to stop you, I promise. I might not like something, or I might be worried, but I won’t ever tell you to stop or make you choose between me and your job.”
His hand moved to my ass, and he pulled me even closer to him. “Love you, Lay.”
“Because I just told you that I wouldn’t tell you what to do?” I asked in a teasing tone.
“Because you get me. If you’d ask me to choose, it would be the beginning of the end. It might not be fair, but it’s just the way I am. I’ll try to be open with you.”
I couldn’t ask for much more. I put my hand on the side of his face, and moved in to give him a kiss.
“Marlena Blue, you are an amazing woman.” He kissed me again.
My hand moved to his back. I loved feeling the muscles move under my touch. “What’s your middle name?” Sometimes it freaked me out how little I knew about him.
“Dean.”
“Lucas Dean Forde. That’s a very masculine name.” I pictured it in writing on a document.
“Lucien,” he told me softly. “It’s really Lucien.”
“Lucien,” I breathed. “I like it.”
“Well, don’t use it,” he ordered. “I mean, unless somebody checked my official records, nobody knows it.”
I loved that. It was our secret. I kissed him, and I ran my tongue along the seam of his lips. He opened immediately.
Chapter Thirteen
I ran my hands under the T-shirt Lay was wearing, touching her soft skin.
She pulled it over her head.
“Better,” I whispered as I ran my lips down her neck, using my teeth along the tendon, which drove her wild. She ran her hands up my arms and over my shoulders.
I moved lower to palm her tits. God, I would never get tired of touching them. I knew she thought they were too big. She didn’t dress provocatively. I liked that. Layla wasn’t flashy. It was like she didn’t want to show off her body to others, just to me. I moved my head lower to suck her hard nipple into my mouth. I rolled the other between my fingers.
She made a low moaning sound. “God, that feels good.”
I chuckled as my hand continued lower. Christ, she was wet, practically dripping. I shifted my body so that I had my mouth on her left breast and my right hand on her mound. I didn’t waste any time. I pushed one finger into her hot channel, and her hips bucked.
“Yes,” she whispered as she grabbed a handful of my hair.
I pumped my finger in and out then added another. God, she was so wet.
“Forde?” I think I heard her say. This time, she yanked on my hair to get my attention. “Forde, honey?” She sounded concerned.
I raised my head from her breast. “What?” I may have sounded a little short.
“I, uh, I need to tell you something.”
I rested my chest’s weight on my arm and tried to soften my tone. “What babe?”
She hesitated. “Well, it’s just, uhm…”
My impatience won out. “Lay, you’re riding my hand, and I had my mouth on your tit, what do you need to say right now?”
I felt her
body tense, trying to move away from mine. I’d learned that when she was uneasy, or thought I wasn’t going to like what she had to say, she tried to move away from me. I pumped my hand a few times, hard. She lost interest in moving.
She whispered, “It’s just that I don’t have a lot of experience. I mean, I might not be very good.”
Jesus, she killed me. “Babe…” I sighed. “I’ve got no worries.” I started to lower my head to her breasts again, but she wasn’t done.
“I mean, I’ve only been with one other guy.” She sounded so unsure. “I don’t know how to do very much…stuff.”
“Lay, trust me. We’re in this together. If I do something you like, let me know, and I’ll do the same. We’ll get to know each other’s bodies and needs. It’ll be fine, I promise.” I watched her. I could just see her face from the light in the hall.
She relaxed her hold on my hair and ran her hand down onto my shoulder. “’Kay.”
I continued with my fingers in her pussy, keeping a steady rhythm, but I added a twist as I pulled out. I felt her hips match my rhythm.
She made those sweet noises I wanted to hear every night. “Forde, Forde,” she chanted as her nails bit into my back. “Forde, ahhhh…” She came riding my hand.
I moved over her body, and she raised her knees and widened her thighs. God I wanted inside of her. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to fuck you.”
“You won’t hurt me.” She sounded sure.
“Don’t let me, okay?”
“Forde.” She ran her hands down my arms, urging me to continue. “I need you.”
I raised my hips, lined my cock up with her entrance, and slowly pushed inside. Christ, she felt so good, tight and hot.
“Honey, I, we, birth control.” She didn’t seem to be able to complete a sentence.
We hadn’t discussed it. I didn’t care. “I’m clean, I swear.”
“Not that,” she panted, “I’m not on anything.” She tried to push at my shoulders.
I chuckled. “So we make a baby.” I smiled at her.
She lifted her head to see me better. “What?”
“Layla, we want kids. I say we start now.” I pumped my hips to show her that I meant what I said.
Better (The Change Series Book 2) Page 11