by Jani Kay
“I’m so sorry you had to experience all of that,” I said, keeping pity from my voice because Montana wasn’t after sympathy. Empathy, maybe. Kindness, definitely.
She lifted her chin. “That’s why I decided having a fuck buddy is the best thing for me.” I suppressed a smile at how easily she used the term she’d once hated. Ironic now that I wanted to erase that agreement. Three days a week wasn’t enough. I wanted to wake to her every day for the rest of my life. But I had to move slowly or risk frightening her away again. I couldn’t bear that.
This was far, far more complicated than I’d originally imagined. My heart sank to my stomach. I still had a hell of a long way to go to change her mindset, to convince her I wasn’t going to become a deadbeat like Adrian no matter what happened.
“I also only want what’s best for you,” I said. I wasn’t lying, but neither was I was telling the whole truth. She wasn’t ready to hear what I thought was the best for her. Me.
“You’re not judging me because I killed my stepfather.” She said it like a statement, and as if it had only just occurred to her.
“Of course not. It wasn’t your fault, Montana. You reacted like anyone else who witnessed and was a victim of such a terrible thing.”
A long outward breath pushed out between her lips, as if a weight just rolled off her shoulders.
“Everyone else turned their back on my mother because she took the blame for his death, even though it was in self-defense. People can be petty and cruel. And by default, they shunned me, too. Even when we moved to a different town, the story followed us.”
“Everyone?” That must’ve been really hard on a kid. Peers were the most important thing at that age. I couldn’t have gotten through adolescence without my buddies.
“Except for Red, who stood by my side through it all. And Jaqueline, but she was labelled as crazy already, so that didn’t count.”
“Jacqueline as in Jacqui you mentioned the other night in your apartment? Does Jake know her, too?” It was certainly confusing, and I wanted to know where Jake fit in to all of that.
Montana was silent for a while, and I watched as different emotions flitted across her face. She was clearly warring with herself if she should tell me or not. All it did was pique my curiosity further.
“Jake is Jacqui.”
I nearly choked. “What? Are you shitting me?”
“She came to New York and had a sex change. People always said she acted like a boy at school.”
I shook my head. “That’s what I couldn’t fathom about Jake. He’s very pretty. Not handsome, but pretty, like a girl. And sometimes small gestures or things he says are really girlish. It all makes sense now.” I paused for a moment. “Is there something between you and Jake . . . Jacqui . . . whatever?” I wasn’t proud that it took all my energy to push away the jealousy that raged through my veins. I wanted to rip pretty-boy’s face right off his body.
“Jacqui was a lesbian before she became a man. She had a crazy crush on me and tried to turn me. Now Jake claims he’s still in love with me and wants a relationship. That’s what that threat you overheard was all about. Jake purposely set out to ruin us and break us up.”
“The fucker.” I didn’t mean for it to burst out as loudly as it did. “Well, it backfired on him. Doesn’t mean I still don’t wanna cut his balls—he does have balls, doesn’t he?”
She gave me a small smile. “You heard him. The full package, he claims.”
I had nothing against transgender people. Hell, we had Nicola in Finance and Ted in I.T. Not that I’d tell anyone, but I knew their secret. Both were in good relationships and valued members of our large organization. My motto for life was live and let live. But not the way Jake was going about it.
Manipulating Montana was not okay. I didn’t care so much that he’d tried to ruin me. It wasn’t personal; it would’ve been anyone Montana was in any kind of relationship with. Now I was aware of what was going on, I could work on solving it. Fuck the Snake. He wasn’t going to win this battle. Montana is mine.
We fell silent for a moment while I mulled over all she’d told me, piecing it all together.
I broke the silence. “How did you end up in the loft tonight? And did you call me or was that a mistake?” Since I had her talking, I wanted to know everything.
With wide eyes, she told me about the water burst in her apartment. It was way too co-incidental that something like that would happen out of the blue. I was convinced the Snake had something to do with it. I’d get Wilson involved to get to the bottom of that.
She lay her hand on my chest. “And yes, I did call you. You were the first person I thought of when I didn’t know what to do. But then my phone died presumably because it had fallen in the water earlier.” She sighed. “It was still dead when I got to the loft.”
My heart swelled that she’d called me first. I liked that I was her go-to man.
“You call me any time of the day or night, sweetheart. If I’m not right beside you, that is. I’ll always be there for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Any time. I mean it, baby.”
Her voice was thin. “Even when you have another woman in your apartment?”
I chuckled heartily. “Samantha? She has a shrill voice, doesn’t she? I swear she could break the sound barrier if she applied herself.”
Montana didn’t seem amused by my joke. Okay, it wasn’t that funny, but she just stared at me with a puzzled look on her face. Fuck. Did she think I was sleeping with another woman?
“You know that Sam is my aunt, right? The opera singer from London.”
She sucked in a breath. “Sam is a woman? I always assumed—”
“Never assume, baby. But yes, Sam is a very annoying woman. When she asked if she could stay at my place for a few nights I thought nothing of it because my apartment is spacious, but after a two days I’ve had enough of her sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. That’s partly why I came to the loft—to get away from her.”
“Partly?”
“Yeah. The other part, my sweet lover, was because I missed the fuck out of you and I thought if I came here, I’d be a little closer to you. Imagine my surprise when I found you asleep . . . naked . . . in our bed. The Monster was excited beyond words.”
“So The Monster missed me,” she teased.
“Fuck yeah. He’s behind on a few fucks, you know.” I sucked her earlobe between my lips and bit down softly. “In fact, he’s asking permission to have his way with you again.”
“Tell The Monster I’m all his.”
My cock jerked at her words. “You can tell him yourself, baby. In fact, you can show him.”
She rolled to her side and lifted the sheet. “Hard for me already?”
“Fuck yeah. Always hard for you,” I growled, as I pulled her into my arms.
We could talk more later. First we had some fucking to catch up on.
Chapter 30 — Montana
The man was insatiable. I’d called in sick and stayed in bed with Levi, making love and catching up on sleep in between fucking. It seemed as if neither of us had slept well during the past week and we fell asleep in one another’s arms only to wake and do it all over again.
Levi had run down to the bakery while I took a shower. If I hadn’t sent him out for food, threatening to pass out from hunger if he didn’t feed me soon, he’d have wanted to fuck me again.
I may have let words slip from my lips in the throes of passion that I’d never said before and it was still worrying me. Words like “I almost love you as much as The Monster,” and “I fucking missed the shit out of you,” and other random stuff as it came into my head.
All restraint left my normally logical brain. All I wanted was to soak up Levi’s love. His lovemaking had become more intense, more passionate, more caring—just more of everything and I couldn’t get enough.
Levi didn’t seem one bit worried about what had happened. Not about Jake’s exposé, not about my past and the
fact I’d killed a man or that my Mom was in the crazy house. Not about Jake’s threats, either.
Maybe he was just on a sex high. I was and it felt damn great. I hadn’t been this free in a long time—in fact, since that day with Adrian happened.
As soon as I got out of the shower, I dried myself, and since the only clothing I had was the crumpled stuff I’d arrived in last night, I went to see if there was something of Levi’s in the chest of drawers I could borrow.
He’d invited me to leave some of my stuff in the closet, but I’d refused. The loft was there for one purpose only, and I’d wanted to keep that completely separate from my real life. Or so I had thought at the time.
I found a branded pair of underpants—the type sexy models wore in sexy advertisements showing off their sexy bodies—and slipped them on. They fit like boy shorts, and I was pleased that my ass didn’t look too bad in them. Next I found a white button-down shirt that I rolled up the sleeves of and only did up the middle three buttons. I pulled my long hair up and twisted it into a knot behind my head, securing it with a clip I found in the drawer. It was meant for stationery, but it worked just fine to hold my thick hair. When you grew up like I did, you learned to be resourceful and make do with what you had.
I applied lip balm that I’d once forgotten in the bathroom and pinched my cheeks like I’d seen actors do in the movies for extra color, but it didn’t do shit for me other than hurt, so I quickly gave up on that idea.
I padded my way to the kitchen and started the coffee machine. I would kill for caffeine and if Levi wasn’t back soon, I’d have a coffee while I waited and a second with whatever he brought back to eat.
Moments later, the door swung open and I was blown away by how fast my heart beat just because Levi had stepped back into the loft. His mere presence lit up the room and made me feel giddy. I’d felt this high a few times before but always put it down to low blood sugar or some other medical reason. Yeah, I was stubborn like that when I didn’t want to admit something to myself.
“Hey, babe. Miss me?” he said, with his arms full of groceries.
“Nah, why would I miss you? It’s the food I’m holding out for,” I teased, as I took some of the bags from him.
He let out a long, low whistle as his gaze travelled up and down my body, practically eye-fucking me. “Damn. You make my clothes look so fucking sexy.”
“I’m glad you like it and that I’m not in trouble for borrowing your things.” I bit my bottom lip and gave him big round eyes.
He chuckled. “What’s mine is yours.”
“Hmmm, does that include The Monster?” I said, licking my lips.
“Hell yeah! He’s all yours. Every inch.” He placed the rest of the bags on the kitchen counter and pulled me closer, his hands going straight to my ass. He leaned forward so our foreheads touched. “There’s only one condition though.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s that you take the rest of me, too. My lovesick heart, my brilliant brain, and of course all six-foot-two of brawn and muscle. Does that work for you?”
I smiled. There was nothing on this planet I wanted more. All of Levi was like winning the sweepstakes.
“Um, I’ll have to think about that.”
“You’re such a tease. Maybe this will sweeten the deal.” He leaned in for a kiss, stealing my breath away. When he released my lips, I was all hot and flustered. The man could kiss like a champion and I was certain he’d win a gold medal at the Olympics for kissing, if there were such a sport.
“I’m already addicted to those,” I said, holding my pouting lips up for more.
“That’s the plan, baby. You’ll always have to come back,” he said with a playful smirk.
“I always knew you were smart,” I told him, while running the back of my hand across his jawline. “And a smartass, and sexy, too.” I held his face between my palms, ignoring the hunger pangs. “Now kiss me again while I think about it some more.”
He laughed. “You really must be addicted ’cause I can hear your stomach rumbling.”
“Hmmm . . . food or kisses. Which will nourish me the most?”
He answered with a deep kiss and my body melted into his. When he finally pulled his head away, I clung to him as if I were drowning.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. He lay me down gently, gave me a peck on the forehead, and took a step back. “If we keep going like that, I’m afraid you won’t see food for another hour and I really don’t want you passing out. I’ve got some eggs and other stuff, and I’m going to whip up something that will give you your strength back.”
It was the small things like these that made me love him more. The fact that he cared enough about my wellbeing and not just his dick. I would’ve offered to help, but the thought of watching him while he worked in the kitchen was a bigger turn-on. I’d never had a man prepare food for me and I was going to savor every damn moment.
I rolled onto my stomach, propped myself up on a pillow, and let my feet dance in the air. This was fun.
Levi knew his way around the kitchen and I was impressed as hell. I’d never imagined a billionaire businessman would be able to cook, but the more I got to really know him, the more Levi surprised me. I hummed a tune as I watched him effortlessly break eggs into a stainless-steel bowl and whisk them. His strong forearms held my attention, and I drooled over the way his pecs bunched and pulled his T-shirt tighter while he worked away.
As he cooked the bacon, I salivated. Not because of the aroma of the food, but because he had his back to me and I could study his ass without interruption.
Levi turned and caught me staring. He grinned from ear to ear.
“Like what you see?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
“Oh yeah,” I said, licking my lips. “I’m really really hungry.”
His face turned serious for a moment. “Montana, I was thinking . . .” He paused for a moment, holding the spatula mid-air. I held my breath and waited. “Since your place is underwater and will take a while to fix, why don’t we go shopping today for clothes and other stuff women need? Then move into the loft for as long as you need. Everything is here already, and I bought extra stuff from the grocer until you can do a decent shop.”
My breath hitched. That’s what he was thinking? About my situation and fixing it? Good Lord, this man was definitely a keeper.
“You’d seriously go clothes shopping with me?” I narrowed my eyes and waited for him to realize what he’d offered. Most men hated shopping. All the women at work always complained about it.
He nodded and gave me a sheepish grin. “Secretly, I’ve always wanted to do the Pretty Woman thing. Watch while you parade different outfits.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“As long as I get my reward afterwards, you can melt my credit card with pleasure.”
“I thought that offer was too good to be true. What’s the catch?”
“My reward. I want to fuck you from behind in the fitting rooms while you watch in the mirror.”
My eyes widened, and I swallowed hard. “That wasn’t in the movie.”
“Oh yes it was, they just didn’t show it. Director’s cut I’ve heard.”
I laughed. “I have expensive taste in clothes. You sure you wanna do this?”
“Hell yeah. Just think of all the sex we can have while the sales ladies are prancing around us, unaware of what we’re doing. Unless I make you moan out loud, of course.”
“Levi.” I chuckled, shaking my head as my face heated up. But I had to admit it turned me on like crazy. It had always been a fantasy of mine, too.
His eyes met mine. “Deal?”
I smacked my lips together. “Deal.”
Chapter 31 — Levi
Since she had nothing to wear to our proposed shopping spree, I’d gone down a few blocks to Fifth Avenue just after we finished eating to get her something to throw on in the meantime.
Pleased with
my haul, I rushed back to the loft. Shopping for women’s clothing wasn’t as hard as I’d initially imagined. Usually, I didn’t even shop for myself, as Wilson took care of my needs. If I found a shirt or suit I liked, he ordered half-a-dozen of those at a time and it had worked well enough for me.
As I pushed the door open, the beautiful voice of Nora Jones greeted me. Sunlight streamed through the large windows making patterns on the wood floor, and particles of dust floated in the air. I set the bags on the kitchen counter and moved farther into the space.
I smiled when I found Montana fast asleep on the sofa, a book draped over her stomach where the shirt had fallen open. Her hair partly covered her beautiful face, and I leaned over to gently brush it back as I took a long moment to study her. I’d never really noticed the fine freckles scattered over her nose, maybe because we mostly met in the evenings and other times she was wearing make-up, but this had to be my absolute favorite look on her. She didn’t need all that shit on her face or to hide those cute freckles.
Fuck, how I loved this woman. She looked so damn vulnerable that it awoke every protective instinct in my soul. I’d give my fucking life for her.
I lifted the book gently and lay it on the coffee table. She only stirred for a second, moving her arm so that it fell off the edge of the sofa.
It was wicked of me, but I couldn’t help the urge to kiss her skin. It was warm from where the sun had baked on her, and she smelled like vanilla. I ran my hands under the shirt, her nipples tightening and responding to me even in her sleep.
“Levi?”
“Hush, baby, I’m going to make you feel all good.”
“Oh, okay,” she said softly and went back to sleep.
I massaged her feet, then her calves and up her thighs. Sometimes she let out a sound that made me wonder if she were a cat in a previous life, because it sounded just like a purr.
My fingers slipped between the Y-fronts of the Calvin Klein underpants she wore. While these were functional for a man, they were sexy as fuck on a woman. I ran my hand over her smooth pussy, loving the feel of her softness under my fingertips. I gently glided my index finger through her slickness. Even in her state of semi-sleep she was wet for me. Fuck, that raised the bar, and my cock stirred in appreciation.