by Nana Malone
She nodded but stayed silent. Here it was. Apology time, and he had no grand gesture or anything under his belt to offer. "Ricca, look. I'm really sorry about the other day with Braedon. The whole thing actually. I should have told you about the women. I honestly didn’t see the purpose in hurting you anymore. If I’d even thought you were considering going back to him, I would have told you."
She shook her head. "I’m sorry too. I guess I overreacted. Braedon is firmly in my past, and I won’t go there again. I shouldn’t have been so angry. But just the idea that you knew and didn’t tell me…that this was some secret you were keeping for him. It didn’t feel so hot."
“I swear, if I’d known when the two of you were together, I would have made him tell you.”
“Have you talked to him since the rumble?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m persona non grata right now. He hasn’t even shown up to do any work on the gym. He’s pretty pissed about the two of us.”
She chewed her bottom lip for a moment. A move that made him want to take over the task for her. Then finally, she shrugged. “I could give a good goddamn about how he feels about us sleeping together. It falls into the realm of none of his business. Though, I’m sorry that you guys aren’t talking right now.”
“He’ll come around.”
She peered at him. “So, I was thinking, maybe you and I could go on a date.”
His eyebrows shot up. “A date?”
“Yeah. You and I have sort of jumped into this thing without actually doing the get–to-know-you phase. I don’t know what we’re doing, but maybe we can fill in some of the missed steps.”
He smiled. “I think that’s a good idea. We can maybe start to figure out what we’re doing here.”
She nodded and tugged on the hem of her tank top. “I was thinking that maybe we take this a little more casually. The most important thing to me is our friendship, and clearly we have a problem keeping our hands off each other. So what if we did more of a friends with benefits thing?”
A stab of pain wormed through his body. “Friends with benefits?”
“Yeah, that way we can have the fun without any of the complicated stuff.”
In a million years, he’d never thought Ricca would go for something like this. It should make him happy. Yet somehow it took the wind out of his sails. But he’d take her any way he could get her right now. Maybe they’d figure it all out. “We can try. We’ll see what happens.”
As if sensing his hesitation, she changed the topic. “Well, think about it. How’s the eye?”
“It’s fine. A little tender, but okay. Braedon hits like a drunken sorority girl.” He cleared his throat. "So we’re okay?" A small part of his subconscious wondered how this thing that was supposed to be light and carefree felt an awful lot like a relationship.
"We’re good. So maybe now I can eat something?"
"Is your stomach all you ever think about?"
"No, but I'm starving. I didn't eat all day, then me and the strawberries did the tango, and I'm starving now."
"Well, food will be here soon. But I wanted to ask you something first. You think it was your strawberry allergy?"
"Must have been. I’m not allergic to anything else. I guess the juice we brought for Lila had strawberries in it. I was really clear on the instructions though. Fancy Juice is going to get an earful from me tomorrow. They could have killed her." Ricca paused, frowning. "Wait, why didn't they kill her? She drank it too, right?"
"Exactly. I've been trying to figure out what happened all day. You guys share the same allergy. If you had a reaction, she should have too, but she was fine. I checked. As far as she and Roberto are concerned, they had a fantastic magical day in an oasis in the desert."
"Oh, thank God. I was pretty sure we'd be fired for sure if something happened to her.”
“I’m starting to think this isn’t a coincidence. The driving course, and now this?"
"Aren’t I supposed to be the one with the conspiracy theories? You never liked The X-Files."
"All I know is something isn’t right. The juice in the prepped glass had strawberries in it, but not the pitcher. It’s the only explanation since we know for a fact that Lila drank the juice and she was okay. So either someone was trying to hurt you or someone was trying to hurt Lila."
“It just makes no sense. Why would anyone want to hurt Lila?”
“I don’t know. But maybe this is about us. Ruin the fantasy, and we don’t get the job.”
Ricca’s eyes widened. “Angel.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“But murder is really extreme. Even for her. Roberto could have been killed. Lila could have been killed. Angel is a mean-spirited bitch, but she’s not a sociopath.”
She had a point there. “Okay, look. I’ll talk to her and see if maybe some harmless pranks have turned into something more dangerous.”
“Fine. But honestly, you know how much I hate her, and I still think this is crazy. Even for her.”
Maybe Ricca had a point. But he wasn’t going to let it go. He’d talk to Angel. Then he’d take his suspicions to Serena. He didn’t give a shit what happened to him, but Ricca’s life wasn’t one he wanted to play around with.
Ricca had a point, but something wasn’t right here. Just as he opened his mouth to argue with her, there was a knock at the door. As he got the take out and set up the kitchen table, his mind continued to work on it. Someone had tried to hurt them, and he wanted to know who.
Later that night, Beckett almost broke his own rule. He held Ricca as she slept, content to do nothing more than hold her, which was a first. Forcing his mind to relax, he drifted off to sleep.
He wasn’t sure how many hours had passed when the most intense pleasure rocketed through his dick and radiated throughout his body. He groaned, and his fingers dug into the sheets, desperate to hold onto the intense rush. Ricca.
He forced his eyes open, and there she was, like a goddess between his legs, stroking the length of him with her tongue. He’d removed his jeans before getting into bed with her, but he’d left his boxers on. Tonight was supposed to be about comforting, not sex. Apparently, Ricca had other plans.
As she caressed him, she stopped just short of the most sensitive spot at the underside of the tip. Beckett held his breath as Ricca went still, only her breath whispering over his rigid erection. Suddenly, she flicked the sensitive tip with her dexterous tongue. Beckett’s hips rose, and he ground out a string of curses through his teeth.
He dropped his head back, and harsh ragged breaths tore out of his chest as she took all of him into her mouth and sucked. She wrapped delicate hands around the base of his shaft and milked him with her hands and mouth. Shifting one of her hands from his erection, she gently caressed his balls.
“Jesus. Fuck, Ricca. Are you trying to kill me?”
She licked him once, then twice before beaming up at him. “I wanted to see if I could make you lose control.” Her cheeks went pink in the soft moonlight of her bedroom. She pumped him with her hands. “I wanted to see if I could make you lose control again. Like the other night.”
“Ricca, I—” His brain was already on vacation. What was he trying to tell her? Oh yeah, there it was, the reasons he wasn’t going to be a complete asshole and bury himself in her until he couldn’t remember his name. “You—” She licked him again. Shit. “Long day—” She swirled her tongue over the tip of his erection, and his spine tingled. “Not fair—”
She stroked him again, then looked up at him thoughtfully. “So you mean, now isn’t a good time to mention that I’m on the pill and we don’t need to used condoms?”
Beckett flipped her on her back before his conscious mind even registered her words. Yanking her pajama bottoms down with her panties, he slipped his hands up under her tank top, and she moaned when his hands came in contact with her breasts.
Beckett wasted no time once he’d divulged her of her clothes. He kicked his boxers off, wincing as
he shoved the cotton material off his rigid erection. Kissing her breasts, he slipped his hand between them and stroked her core. She was already so wet, so ready for him.
As he suckled her right breast, he slipped two fingers inside her and growled as her flesh contracted around his fingers. With his thumb, he stroked her clit. She tugged on his hair, clamping him to her breast.
He scraped her nipple lightly with his teeth, and she shivered underneath him. “Turn over, baby.”
He removed his fingers and helped her into a kneeling position. “Here, put your hands up on the headboard and hold on tight.” Her breaths were ragged, but she did as he said. Shifting into position behind her, he nipped her shoulder. “Now, I need you to show me how you like to be touched.”
Beneath him, she froze. He kissed the nape of her neck and stroked her breast. “Here, let me help you. Taking her right hand into his, he smoothed their hands on her hips, then down to the juncture between her thighs. Intertwining their fingers, he whispered. “I want to make you feel good. I need you to teach me.”
He led her fingers in stroking her clit in slow steady circles. She was so slick, so wet for him already. Her breath hitched, and he gently pinched her nipple. “You like this?”
Her response was soft and breathy. “Y-yes.”
“Good. I just want to make you happy.” Removing his hand from her breast, he shifted behind her and aligned his erection with her dewy center. “Lean forward for me, baby. Just a little and—” Oh, God. The moment the tip of his sensitive flesh met her molten heat, his hips jerked. He slid in slowly, gritting his teeth.
Their bodies rocked together, and Ricca welcomed every thrust with one of her own. With their hands fused together, she led him in a tutorial he would never forget.
When he felt her inner walls convulse around him, he moved both his hands to her hips and held on tight as he increased the pace. Rockets of pleasure were shooting from the base of his spine, but he held the orgasm at bay until he felt her jerk and quiver in his hands. Meeting him thrust for thrust, Ricca exploded around him and called his name as she came.
As Beckett’s release spiraled through his body, he knew he wouldn’t be able to let go of her anytime soon.
Chapter Eighteen
“We think Angel is sabotaging the missions.”
With sweat slick hands, Ricca listened to Beckett as he presented their evidence to Serena. She had no idea how Serena would react. She tried to pay attention to the strong case Beckett was making against Angel, but she kept getting distracted by the day-old stubble on his chin. Her lips twitched as she tried to hide her smile. He’d left beard burn on some interesting spots on her body.
Serena angled her head and listened intently. Eventually, her boss let out a slow breath before speaking. "Okay, I hear you. Angel has been perhaps not so nice to Ricca in the past. But I do need proof, and if you can prove she's behind all these incidents, then I’ll be the first one to jump on that bandwagon. Until then, there’s not much I can do. These are some pretty serious allegations."
Ricca couldn’t believe her ears. Her brows furrowed as she spoke. “Serena, we have another fantasy today. Neither one of us wants anything to go wrong, but you have to take us seriously. Something isn’t right.”
Serena brushed her long hair off her shoulder. “I agree that it is suspicious. But I need proof. Do you have any?”
“No, but you have to keep her off site today.”
Serena’s brows drew down. “At this late stage in the game? No can do. I need all hands on deck today.” Serena slid her Jackie O sunglasses on over her nose. “Bring me some proof, and I’ll have her fired. Until then, there isn’t much I can do.”
Forget fired—Ricca wanted Angel’s skinny ass in jail.
Beckett snagged her hand and tugged. “Come on, Baby. Let’s go.”
How the hell couldn’t Serena see what was happening? How the hell couldn’t Serena see that this went way beyond high school grousing and evil hazing rituals? Angel had nearly killed both her and Beckett. That had to be attempted murder or something.
As Serena stalked off toward the track, Ricca frowned. “She barely even listened to us. I don’t understand how she doesn’t see what Angel’s been up to.”
“She has a point. We’ll get the proof we need. Right now, we need to get this fantasy going.”
He was right. It didn’t mean she had to like it. She followed him, keeping an eye out for Angel. Heat rose in waves off the tarmac. A quarter mile down the track, teams of people worked on the two cars. Since Roberto’s first fantasy had gone so horribly wrong, they’d opted to give him a do-over of sorts.
They’d managed to procure a Fisker Karma and a Bugatti Veyron for racing purposes. Roberto had almost died when he and Lila had shown up at the track. He’d run over to the Karma and standing shock still, had stared, open mouthed.
Beckett squeezed her hand. “You need to relax. Stay out of Angel’s way if you see her okay? And for the love of God, don’t eat anything you didn’t bring with you yourself. If you feel sick, just head back to the hotel. I’ll come find you later.”
Ricca rolled her eyes. His concern was sweet. And his intense gaze made her tingle in all kinds of delicious places. “I hear you. But I’ll be fine.” She hesitated a minute, not wanting to come off like a clingy girlfriend or something. Guys like Beckett needed their space. But she also didn’t want to see him hurt.
Defeat made for a nauseous meal in her belly. “Beckett, I don’t think you should drive today. We should try and postpone.”
"Ree, I get it, you’re concerned. It's your job to worry about people. You’ve been doing it as long as I've known you. But don’t worry today, okay? Angel has no access to the cars. I made sure of that. You see those beefy knuckle draggers over there?” He indicated two behemoths by the cars looking very large…and capable.
She nodded.
“Their whole purpose is to make sure no one tampers with those cars. They’ve been given the run down. The car company sent them, along with the mechanics. It’ll be fine. Angel may be on the fantasy today, but she can’t hurt either one of us."
Ricca chewed her bottom lip. "So you're saying if nothing happens we’ll need more proof?"
He chuckled ruefully. "Well that, and we live another day. We’ll sort it out. I promise."
She sighed. "Fine, go play with the shiny toy. I'll just stand here with paramedics on standby."
He jogged off to join Roberto and the techs. The techs stood by the cars, giving instructions to Roberto, showing him the fancy computers they used to measure each car’s performance. Beckett looked as happy as Roberto did. He was such a motor head. If it went vroom, he pretty much was reduced to a stuttering, drooling mess. He loved cars almost as much as he loved being in the water.
She wasn’t needed on this fantasy, but she'd come to support Lila. She knew her new friend was a little nervous, considering the car crash. Besides, even if Lila didn't know it, she'd almost died yesterday.
Lila grinned when she saw Ricca coming up the stands that had been set up for spectators. "Hey there. I didn’t see you at all yesterday."
Ricca did a brief memory scan from the day before and considered what to divulge. "Yeah I was strictly behind the scenes yesterday. Unlike Beckett, my fantasies don't usually involve me being seen and interactive." She smiled. "I'm pretty sure my clients prefer it that way."
Lila giggled. "Yes, good point. Would have made for awkward drinks and lunch if Roberto and I were caught by you doing all kinds of kinky things in that tent."
Ricca gave her a bemused smile. Lila was lovely. Kinky and her didn’t necessarily fit well. She wouldn't choose this time to tell Lila that cameras were planted all over the outside of the tents and that the waiters had been just within earshot to give the couple privacy. But if Lila and Roberto had gotten up to all kinds of fun, then they might have been overheard.
“Jesus, Ricca, you look tense. Why are you so nervous?" Lila indicated her hands. “You d
on’t have to watch Roberto drive, you know."
Yeah, that’s what you think. "I'm always around on fantasies. It makes me feel better if I can monitor everything myself. To be sure..."
Lila's eyes softened as she gave Ricca a small smile. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent Roberto from driving that day. He wanted to be behind that wheel. It was a total freak accident. Preliminary checks of the car wouldn't even have revealed anything. He’s fine, and he had a great time. Today you’ve taken every precaution. Just let the guys have fun.” She drew in a breath. “He says Beckett can be his wingman any time. And I agree." Lila nodded enthusiastically. "Beckett saved his life."
Ricca gazed out across the track as the guys put on their identical protective jumpsuits. The two of them grinned like idiots as they clapped each other on the back. What was it about men's sports? There was always some kind of homoerotic element. "Oh I know. He does stuff like that all the time. Not saving lives, but risking them. He'd be the one to know what to do in that situation."
Ricca felt Lila's gaze on her face for a second too long, and her skin grew hot and prickly under the scrutiny.
"Oh my God, you’re in love with him.” Lila squeezed her arm, and Ricca winced with pain. For such a little thing, Lila sure was strong.
"No. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not."
Lila's eyes narrowed. "Don’t lie to me. I see the way you look at him. You’re tracking his every movement. You can’t take your eyes off of him." Lila chortled. "And who can blame you? He's got a great ass."
Ricca turned on her new friend, mouth agog.
"Oh come on. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed."
"Well, of course I have. He runs around flaunting it every chance he gets, but you're married. Eyeballs to yourself."
"Married ain’t dead." She laughed. “But to me, Roberto is hunk on a stick."
Ricca smiled and ignored the twinge of jealousy. She’d love to have that kind of relationship with someone one day. “You two make a great pair."