She draws her bottom lip into her mouth, and her eyes drop. “I know,” she whispers.
Pressing my finger under her chin, I force her eyes to mine. “We’ll talk upstairs. Don’t say another word until then. I’m so angry right now, I need a drink to cool off and then you’re going to tell me everything, Kennedy. Everything.”
“I can’t do that.”
My gaze is firm and serious. We’ve been having fun, but the time for that is over. “You’re not who you say you are. You’re hiding something, and after saving your ass tonight, I deserve to know what it is.”
“I didn’t ask you to vouch for me.”
Troy spots us before I can open the door. “Good evening, Mr. Ash,” he says, using his body as a doorstopper. “How are you this evening?” He glances at Kennedy, but he doesn’t say a word about the streaked makeup.
“We’re doing well, Troy. How about yourself?”
“Couldn’t be better, sir. I dropped a package off for you earlier, and I gave it to Coco.”
Kennedy’s eyes flash with recognition. “I think I should go.”
My hand comes out, wrapping around her arm and keeping her next to me as we walk toward the bank of elevators. “Not this time, kid. Coco is a friend and nothing more. I’ve explained that.”
“Fine,” Kennedy says through gritted teeth as we step inside and Troy pushes the button.
“Ah, Miss Coco. I remember when she was a kid. She’s come a long way, sir.” He tips his hat as the doors begin to close and waves with his free hand.
Kennedy plasters her body against the back wall, getting as far away from me as she can. “Who is she?”
Turning quickly, I cage her in and bring my face so close to hers I can feel her breath. “I’m not fucking her, if that’s what you’re asking. Are you jealous?”
Her eyes flash with fury, and she moves her face closer to mine. “Is she your sister?”
“No. I found her on the streets as a kid. She needed someone to look after her.”
“You found her?” Her eyes narrow, and she continues to speak through clenched teeth.
“I helped her.” We’re arguing, but about what, I don’t know.
I’m so pissed off about tonight that I want to punch something. The anger running through my system isn’t an emotion I’m used to feeling. When the lights flash and the elevator stops unexpectedly, alarms blaring above us, I do the only thing I can to remedy how I’m feeling—push my body flush against her and crush my mouth to hers.
My mouth takes without permission, demanding her compliance. Her fingernails dig into my flesh, breaking the skin on my forearms as she opens to me. We’re tethered to each other by our mouths, and the anger and fear flow between us. My arm drops as my hand finds the bare flesh of her thighs and blazes a trail upward, disappearing under her skirt.
Her skin is hot and soft underneath my fingertips, and my cock starts to ache. The hard-on that had vanished earlier is back and worse than ever. Fuckin’ Kennedy Preston. This night was supposed to be different. But she had to go and fuck it up with her bullshit as soon as I was away from her for ten minutes.
She moans softly when the tips of my fingers graze the edges of her underwear. I want to tear it off and have my way with her. Taking the anger inside of me, channeling the energy through my cock, and pummeling her body with mine as payback.
We’re both so lost in the moment that we barely feel the elevator starting to move again. Our lips stay connected until the ding alerts me that we’ve arrived. Keeping my eyes closed, I rest my forehead against hers. “We’re not done,” I tell her as I open my eyes and look into hers.
“I hope not.” She smiles softly, thinking I’m talking about sex. Maybe I am, but not before I get more information out of her.
I push myself away and blow out a breath, trying to calm the need that’s coursing through my veins. “First, we talk. Then, if I’m satisfied with your answers, I’ll fuck you like you’ve never been fucked.”
“Mighty sure of yourself, aren’t you, Nix?”
I rush to her, wrapping my hands in her hair and bringing her lips to mine. “Trust me, Kennedy. With all this anger in me, I have to take it out somewhere.” I bury my knee between her legs, brushing against her pussy and aching to be inside her. “You’re not going to be able to walk for a few days when I’m done with you.”
Her eyes widen. “Fuck,” she hisses and moves her mouth closer, her breath skidding across my lips.
I pull her body closer, flush against mine and right into my bulging cock, reveling in the feel of her softness against my hardness. “You’ll have a lot of explaining to do to someone.”
“Yeah,” she says.
“Nix?” Coco says. “Who’s she?”
“A friend, Coco. You’re done for the night.” I turn to face her, and she’s standing with her hands crossed in front of her chest with the same look as Kennedy. Fuck me. This night just can’t get any more fucked up than it already has been.
“I don’t think I should leave here tonight.”
“We’ll be okay, babe. Eva and I have some shit to work through. I’d prefer it if you weren’t here.”
She eyes Kennedy cautiously as they size each other up. “You may need my protection.”
Her statement makes me smile, but I hold back my laughter as I pull Kennedy out of the elevator with me. “I think I’ll be okay. Leave your homework in my office and go home, Coco. That’s an order.”
“Sure,” she says. “I’ll call you later.”
“Make it tomorrow,” I tell Coco, stopping in front of the couch with my hands still on Kennedy.
She nods, giving Kennedy an evil look before spinning on her heels and heading toward my office. I don’t have time for Coco’s antics or the mothering she sometimes feels I need. Usually, I have more patience for her, but not tonight…not after the shit Kennedy pulled.
The women in my life are becoming a complication I don’t need. Each of them wants something from me. Coco’s motives are clear. But Kennedy…I am about to get to the bottom of her game, but not before playing a few of my own.
13
Kennedy
Nix is throwing questions at me right and left. He’s so pissed I can barely even get a word in edgewise.
“You know he might’ve killed you if I hadn’t come in, right? I’ve watched Grayson choke the life out of people in that basement.”
“I wouldn’t have let him kill me.”
“You wouldn’t have let him?” Nix thunders. “He’s twice your fucking size, Kennedy. He could crush your windpipe with one good squeeze.”
“I’m not some dumb bimbo. Don’t treat me like you treat her,” I warn.
“Who?”
“Coco…or whatever the hell her name is.”
“Why the hell not? You’re both headstrong women who don’t look before you fucking leap.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I always look. I knew what I was doing. Don’t take that condescending tone with me.”
He scoffs and throws his hands up, then walks over to a small bar in his living room to make a drink. The muscle in his clenched jaw ticks as he pours.
I hadn’t planned on getting caught in that room, obviously. And sure, I was scared of Grayson. I don’t like getting my ass kicked, no matter how many times I endured it in training. My plan had been to play scared and dumb, take my lumps and let him interrogate me. I could have taken it, and I would have been able to maintain my cover.
But then Nix came riding in on his white horse, thinking he was saving the day. He saved me from a beating, yes, but now I’ll have issues with Hassan.
I’m standing in the middle of the large room, still watching Nix. He pours two drinks but leaves them sitting on the bar top, his back to me as he leans on the bar with both hands, dropping his head in frustration. The muscles in his back and shoulders are flexed with tension.
“You don’t know what you’re playing at, Kennedy,” he says in a low tone. “I don’t know wh
at your end game is, but I think you need to learn a valuable lesson from someone who cares.”
He turns and rushes me, shoving me back until I lose my footing. Catching me before I fall, he scoops his hands beneath my ass and tosses me onto his massive dark leather sofa.
He’s on top of me in an instant, his knees on either side of my waist. He wraps his hands around my neck, applying light pressure.
“You see?” His dark eyes are locked on mine. “You see how easy it would be for—”
I just crushed his balls with my thigh, and I apply another hard blow.
“Fuck,” he mutters angrily. “Don’t—”
I slide a hand into his hair and pull with everything I’ve got, moving my other hand to his balls and giving them a rough pull. His expression morphs into a darker anger than I’ve seen from him before.
“Kennedy, st—”
As soon as he moves a hand down to protect the family jewels, I slam the butt of my hand into his eye and use one of my feet to kick his knee several times.
He growls furiously and I fight harder, instinct requiring me to get this two-hundred-pound man off of my chest. Finally, I manage to slide out from under him. I spring to my feet and back up, arms out in front of me in a fighting stance.
“Stop,” I say, breathing heavily. “I’m not some damsel in distress who needs your lessons. I’ll hurt you if you come at me like that again, asshole.”
He stands and our eyes lock. For a few seconds, I think he’s going to charge me again.
“What if I had a gun?” he asks softly.
“I’d talk my way out of getting shot.”
“Like you did with Grayson?” He puts his hands on his hips, the anger returning. “You were scared shitless back there, Ken.”
“Maybe I just wanted him to think I was.”
Nix takes a breath, studying me. “Tell me who you are. I need to know.”
I shrug. “Tell me who you are.”
“You already know. I’m a hacker and a criminal.”
“Who taught you?”
He almost smiles. “No, it’s your turn. Who are you?”
“I’m a woman trying to make a name for myself.”
He takes a couple steps toward me. “And is there room for me in there somewhere? Are you willing to let me see more of you than you show the rest of the world?”
“I already have,” I admit. “You know my real name.”
My body heats in response as he comes closer. “I found that out myself. Tell me something I can’t dig up on my own.”
I run my tongue over the back of my lip ring nervously. Though I can’t tell Nix any of the secrets he wants to know about me, I want to give him something. I want him to know that he’s different and that against all logic, I trust him.
“What if I show you something instead?” I ask.
He nods. “You can start there.”
I slide the loose straps of my top over my shoulders and it falls away, revealing my breasts. I don’t wear bras with backless shirts, and I consider never wearing one again as Nix inhales sharply while he takes me in. He holds his breath as I shimmy out of the top and then unzip my miniskirt, pushing it past my hips.
“Holy shit,” he whispers.
Now he can see not just my body, but also the ink that runs down the left side of my torso. As he studies me, his gaze dark and hungry, I slide my panties down past my tall leather boots and step out of them, then adjust my necklace so it falls down my back like it’s supposed to.
“You keep asking who I am,” I say softly. “This is me.”
He covers the last few steps between us and runs his fingertips over my ink and across my bare stomach. It only takes the brush of his thumb tip to make my nipples hard.
“Lie down on the coffee table,” he orders.
I lick my lips as I look at the modern table made of glass and steel. My body can’t even consider saying no to him. I take off my necklace and toss it on the couch and then walk over to the table and lie down. The glass top is cool against my back, a contrast to the warmth between my thighs.
Nix gets on his knees and takes hold of my thighs, hissing as he pulls me to the edge of the table.
His breath is hot as he spreads me, and I gasp when his mouth meets my skin. He teases me with nips, easing the burn with his tongue.
I’m panting, my back arched and my pussy aching for him. I’ve wanted this from the moment I laid eyes on this dark, sexy man who pushes my buttons in all the right ways. He eases my thighs back, opening me even wider to him.
He trails the tip of his tongue down the line of my pussy, and I cry out involuntarily. I push myself up on my elbows so I can see his face between my legs. His dark hair is rumpled, and there’s a smirk in his eyes when they lock with mine.
Nix works magic with his tongue, and just when I think it can’t get any better, he slides a finger inside me, and I moan for more. A few seconds later, he adds another one, and I ride his fingers, my body chasing after the orgasm that promises to rock me hard.
“You taste so fucking sweet,” he says, the vibration of his voice sending a shiver of satisfaction through me.
“Nix…oh, God.” I’m thrusting my hips shamelessly, close to the edge now. My effort to distract him from probing for more information is turning out really well for me.
He swipes his tongue over my sensitive clit and then sucks on it, which is all it takes to launch me into an orgasm so strong my whole body tenses as the waves sweep me under. Nix’s tongue prolongs it for a few more blissful seconds, and then I collapse onto the table.
“Wow,” I say, exhaling deeply. “That was…wow.”
I sit up and put my hands on his cheeks, kissing him. I can taste myself on his lips.
“My turn,” I say, reaching for his shirt to take it off.
He groans and kisses me again. “Next time.”
“Next time? Not now?”
“Nope. Now we’re going to bed.”
“You’re tired?”
He runs a fingertip down my spine, sending a shiver through me. I wrap my legs around his chest and he groans again.
“I’m not tired. I just want to be in bed with you.”
“But not for sex?”
“Not this time.”
Now I’m the one groaning. “Why not?”
“Did you know it takes years to make a good brandy?”
I furrow my brow. “Um…no?”
“Years. And each step has to be done just right. A glass of good brandy should be savored one sip at a time. I want to savor you the same way.”
I brush a lock of hair back from his forehead and smile. “You’re comparing me to booze?”
He grips me by the ass and pulls me close. “Not just any booze. The best brandy in the world. Cognac. A bottle of beer can be swilled in under a minute. Most women are beer. But you…you’re like the finest Cognac I’ve ever tasted. I plan to sip very slowly.”
The affection in his eyes and reverence in his tone touch a spot deep inside me no one’s ever touched before. I kiss him again, lost for the words to tell him how good he makes me feel. And not just the sex, though that was amazing.
Nix stands and offers me a hand. I stand too, and we walk into his ultramodern kitchen together.
“I’m grabbing some water,” I say, opening the fridge and reaching in for a bottle.
“Help yourself to anything when you’re here.”
“Anything but your dick,” I remind him.
He smiles and shakes his head. “Once we get to it, you can have my dick anytime, too, baby. You’ll wake up with my wood against your ass every time you stay here.”
I like this talk of more nights together. Of a future. My life is crazy and a relationship isn’t a good idea, but this relationship is part of my job.
Or is it? I think so, but the lines are so blurry with Nix. I know I have feelings for him.
“Hey, you want some Cocoa Pebbles?” He holds up a box he just pulled out of the pantry, and I
laugh.
“Badass Phoenix Ash likes Cocoa Pebbles?”
“Damn right. They make the milk all chocolatey.”
“I’ll have some.”
“Your body is incredible,” he says as he takes two bowls from a cabinet. “What kind of exercise do you do?”
I can’t tell him I spar at the Greenlight gym, so I omit that and tell him about the other stuff. “Just running and some weights.”
He sets our bowls of cereal on the island and hands me a spoon.
“You know I brought you here because I trust you, right?” he says. “I’m letting you see a side of me very few people see.”
“I like it.”
“I want to see all the sides of you, too. Need it, actually. And I need to know you trust me in return.”
“I’m working on it, Nix.”
A smile plays on his lips. “I know. One sip at a time.”
“One sip at a time,” I agree, smiling back.
And then we eat cereal at his island, and I don’t even think about the fact that I’m naked. Because when I’m next to Nix, all I seem to be able to think about is him.
14
Phoenix
She’s proud of herself. I can see it in her eyes as she shoves a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. She thinks she distracted me by getting naked. I didn’t get this far by letting tits and ass disrupt my course of action. It was a valiant effort, and I play it off a little longer, letting her believe she’s won.
I wouldn’t be the man I am today if that’s all it took to get me off course. It’s a simple mistake, though. Women try it all the time—hell, even men will drop their drawers in a second if they think it will get them out of a jam and get them sucked off in the process.
Lifting the bowl to her lips, she sips the milk and lets out a small moan. “I forgot how freakin’ good this is.”
My stomach flips; a combination of her pleasure and the knowledge of what’s to come has my body in overdrive. “Ready for bed?” I ask as I set my half-finished cereal in the sink, not able to stomach another bite.
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