by Kira Blakely
“I know you didn’t ask for anything. You never do.”
Now she understood. Gage was used to women wanting something from him, and he didn’t know what to do with her because on her best days she was indifferent to him. A slow, seductive smile spread across her face and she felt bold, thanks to the top shelf tequila coursing through her veins.
“Well, I’m asking for something now. Tonight.” She pushed closer until her breasts brushed his chest. Well, his stomach, thanks to her lack of height. His arms automatically went to her hips, gripping her like he never wanted to let her go. Pressing up on her toes, she licked a path from the pulse at the base of his neck to his ear, nibbling the lobe before pulling back to look into his baby blue eyes. “Just tonight.”
“And after tonight?” He squeezed her ass, pulling her tighter to him so she could feel exactly how ready he was for her.
Shawna felt bold and sexy, pulling him down to lick his bottom lip from one corner to the other and treating his top lip to the same action. His mouth opened, and she licked his tongue before sucking it into her mouth, eliciting a groan from Gage.
“After tonight, we go back to ignoring each other.” She took a step back and kicked off her shoes. “We have to live together, and I don’t want things to be weird.” Tugging on her sleeves until the dress loosened around her waist, Shawna let it slide down her hips and puddle on the floor at her feet. “Besides, everyone knows you only do one night.” She’d said it for her benefit as much as to let him know she understood and accepted it. She stood for several heated moments in nothing but a scrap of lace, then turned down the hall and disappeared into his bedroom.
“Shawna,” he growled when he entered his room and found her spread across his bed. “Fuck me, you are hot.” His gaze heated every part of her it touched, but her focus was on the skin revealed as he unbuttoned his shirt, kicked off his shoes and dropped his pants. Tanned muscles bunched with every move, as he moved with a ferocious grace toward the bed.
His bronze skin only made his white-blond hair look lighter, especially the small sprinkling on his chest that disappeared into red boxer briefs that barely contained his bulging erection.
“Gage, damn.” She heard the awe in her own voice and cringed inwardly. The last thing he needed was for her to stroke his ego. I’m willing to stroke something else though. “You are beautiful,” she told him and pressed a kiss to his midsection, enjoying the way her touch made his muscles jump.
Gage let her explore him with her mouth, but it felt good. Too damn good. Her delicate hands caressed him lightly, setting nerve endings on fire with every touch. “Shawna,” he groaned when he yanked down the last barrier between them, but he was powerless with her small hands wrapped around his cock. “Shawna,” he gritted out when her mouth engulfed him in wet heat.
She moaned at the taste of him, masculine and musky, at the way he easily slid between her lips. More turned on than she’d ever been, she took him deep until a moan ripped from his chest and he pulled her hair. It stung, but she felt moisture drip down her thighs.
She pulled back and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he grunted and placed his hand on her chest until she was on her back. “I love the feel of those lush lips wrapped around my cock, but this is my show.”
She shivered at his gravelly voice and rose on her elbows to watch him as he watched her. He hovered over her before slowly kissing her mouth until she writhed beneath him and begged for more. “Please, Gage.”
He flashed her another of those smiles that made her core pulse. “I love the sound of you moaning my name. Begging me,” he told her, pulling a raspberry-tipped breast into his mouth, tongue swirling around the nipple in a teasing manner before sinking his teeth into her flesh and pulling a squeal from her. Then he did it all over again with the other breast.
Good lord, the man’s mouth should be registered as a deadly weapon. He kissed down her stomach and her fingers curled around his blond hair, gripping it tight as his tongue swiped through her damp folds, slow and torturous.
“Yes, Gage. Please.” Her plea flipped a switch inside Gage, at least she thought so, because the soft gentle touch was gone, replaced by a hungry and intense man with one purpose. Owning her body. He settled between her legs, his wide shoulders exposing all of her to his gaze. His touch. His mouth.
“Oh!” His tongue wove an erotic spell around her, licking and sucking at her clit, slipping inside her opening and fucking her until she came on his tongue.
“My goodness,” she panted, body still shaking as slow licks helped her come back to earth after the most powerful orgasm she’d ever had with another person.
His smile was pure male smugness. “Damn, babe, you taste like honey.” He licked his lips, smiling when a groan escaped her.
Shawna reached for him, stroking him with both hands as feminine pride swelled inside her. She was responsible for this erection, for the heated look in his eyes. The idea that she could make a big, powerful man like Gage feel out of control made her feel sexy. Desired. And she used that to push him further. “I can still taste you,” she told him as she rubbed his tip through her moisture.
“Shawna,” he grunted and pushed her down, reaching over her to his nightstand. Seconds later, he was sheathed, one hand on her belly and the other guiding him into her eager body. In one long thrust, he was seated and she had never felt so full. “Fuck you’re so tight. So hot. Wet.” He grunted the last word.
His hips moved away, and she cried out before he slammed back in with a smug smile on his face.
“Gage,” she groaned, feeling completely out of her mind with desire and lust. She’d just come moments ago, but already her body was gearing up for number two, a rarity in her limited experience. “Gage.” His name sprang from her lips like a song or a prayer. It was like his name was the only word she could recall.
“Fuck, Shawna.” He grabbed her legs, tossing them over his forearms and ramming her hard and fast. She dripped around his cock, coating him as she convulsed around him.
Her hips circled in time with his, faster and faster until she felt the telltale tensing of her muscles. “Gage,” she warned him as his thrusts came harder, and somehow deeper. “More, I’m close,” she told him, gazing deeply into his eyes. Just one night, she reminded herself and that made her more confident to change things up. She took one of his hands and placed it on her breasts and he moved the other one on his own, eyes darkening as he began to knead them and pinch her nipples.
“Oh, Gage,” she moaned again, letting her own hand trace down her belly and settle on her clit.
“Ah, shit,” he screamed, pounding as though it was his only job in this world, and then she was falling and screaming and shaking as pleasure shot through her.
“Gage, oh, Gage!” Her brain was fried, empty of all thoughts but those of the man still pounding inside her and finally, roaring his pleasure before collapsing on top of her. Shivers ran up and down her body as his delicious weight crushed her into the bed, but she didn’t notice because his tongue traced small circles just behind her ear. “Gage,” she moaned and felt herself tighten around him.
He sat up with a sexy satisfied smile, pushing into her one more time and grinding against her deliciously, firing her up all over again. “Don’t move.”
“Like I could if I wanted to.” She smiled at his retreating backside. I’m totally going to bite into that like an apple later. She smiled to herself as she drifted off to sleep.
Hours later, she was jolted awake by… something. Groggy from their third—or was it fourth? —round of lovemaking, she scanned the unfamiliar surroundings for a clue. Then she heard a loud piercing shriek that kicked her heart rate into overdrive. “Gage, wake up!” A pinch to his arm sent him into an upright position.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something sent the smoke detector off,” she told him and his eyes came into focus. “Do you smell that?” The overwhelming scent of smoke hit her as
Gage scrambled from the bed and slipped on a pair of jeans.
“Here, put this on.” He tossed her the shirt she’d watched him peel off his body earlier and she slid it on, her heart racing so fast she could almost hear it over the shriek of the smoke alarm.
Shawna reached for her purse on the floor beside the bed and called 911. “Gage, don’t go out there!”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, voice low and gravelly, but not the way it sounded earlier.
Shawna turned to the window to open it as smoke filtered into the room and then she let out an ear-splitting scream. Pearce stood outside the window with a creepy smile, staring at her.
She shivered, unable to tear her gaze away as sirens sounded in the distance.
Chapter Six
“I’m going to make that scrawny motherfucker sorry he was ever born!” Gage’s voice echoed in the great room as he paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. He couldn’t believe Pearce had the balls to come to his home. And start a fucking fire! Luckily, it had been contained to the dining room, where the bastard had started it. The damage was minimal, and he’d have it cleaned up and remodeled within a matter of days. “I will ruin his whole family!”
The police had arrived in waves, starting with two cars of uniformed officers and then two detectives along with two fire trucks. It was the middle of the night, a damn good night at that, and his house was filled with emergency workers. And his brother.
“Tell me everything that happened,” his twin brother Ryker demanded. He was always calm; part of it was due to his years working with governments around the world and part of it was the painstaking detail-oriented job creating security software. But that calmness belied the tightly coiled rage that only those who knew him could see. And those who’d faced him in the octagon during his fighting days.
Gage gave him a quick rundown of the situation and how Shawna came to be in his home. “We have an arrangement.”
Ryker’s blond brows rose skeptically. “What kind of arrangement?”
“She’s pretending to be my girlfriend and, in exchange, I’m protecting her from that asshole.” He knew Ryker would keep his secret the same way he knew his twin didn’t like what he was hearing.
“What in the hell do you need a fake girlfriend for?” Ryker’s voice was low enough that no one could hear them and full of fury.
Gage sent his brother a look that said, really, and shook his head. “Three reasons.” He lifted a hand and counted them off. “Tiffany and Amber,” he said, reminding his brother of the two women whose false paternity claims had tied him up in court for months. He’d refused to give them a dime until tests were completed and, being the opportunistic leeches they were, they had played the long game. In the end, Gage had won, because that’s what he did. He won. But it had also caused unforeseen problems. “Steve Wilde is worried about what my reputation will do to his legacy.”
Ryker absorbed all the details his brother shot at him and nodded, but Gage knew it wasn’t acceptance, merely acknowledging he’d heard it all. “I’ll run a background check on her,” he said as his fingers flew across the on-screen keyboard.
“That’s not necessary. She works at Revolution and one has already been done.”
Ryker frowned. “It is necessary! I’m not talking about your standard please-the-gaming-commission bullshit, I mean a real background check with interviews and all. Dammit, Gage, you don’t know shit about this girl. She could be a gold digger. Or worse, she could be in on this with that asshole to extort you.”
The floor squeaked, and Gage turned slowly, already knowing what he would find. “Shawna.”
Her gaze darted between them, and she pulled her lips in before nodding. “I’ll be in my room, the guest room,” she corrected sharply, “when the police want to take my statement.” She padded back to her room, closing the door with a quiet click rather than the slam he’d expected.
“Great job, Ryker. You hurt her feelings.”
Ryker scoffed. “Since when do you care about shit like that?”
Good question. The answer was never. He wasn’t a bad guy but he knew how women could turn their emotions on and off to suit their needs. “Shawna isn’t like my women, and don’t go reading anything into that.”
“Should I apologize?”
That surprised the hell out of Gage; his brother rarely apologized for anything. “Nah, she won’t want to hear it anyway.”
“Just buy her something pretty,” his brother added dismissively.
Gage laughed again. “She’d just throw it back in my face and tell me money can’t solve everything.”
Ryker’s brows rose in surprise and he stood, clapping his brother on the back. “In that case, maybe you ought to be careful. I’ll get back to you about that background check.”
Gage nodded and watched his brother cut through the police and out of his house. Moments later, his motorcycle started up. Gage turned his attention to the two detectives approaching him. He answered their questions as best as he could, but what he couldn’t do was forget that hurt look on Shawna’s face when she’d heard Ryker’s words.
Maybe jewelry isn’t a bad idea after all.
***
Shawna had just finished braiding her hair after a quick shower when a detective knocked on the guest room door. Happy she had time to get rid of Gage’s shirt and scent so she could clear her mind of him, she took a fortifying breath and opened it up before she took a seat on the edge of the bed, waiting for their questions. Or if Gage and his brother’s doubts were any indication, their accusations. She was glad she’d heard those hurtful words though, because they were a good reminder that none of this was real. Not even the world-rocking, axis-tilting sex they’d had several times throughout the night had been real. Satisfying and memorable, yes. But that was it.
“Miss?” The female detective had kind brown eyes, and her flawless cocoa skin made her look younger than she probably was.
Shawna shook off her ridiculous thoughts. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Why would Pearce Worthington to do this?”
She took a breath and explained about their brief relationship and it’s dramatic ending. “He seemed so normal, but I guess if I had known he was rich and indulged, his reaction would have made more sense.” She still kicked herself over that. “I saw him in the window just after I called you guys.” That look on his face would cause more than a couple sleepless nights, she knew.
“How did he know where to find you?”
She shrugged and told him everything. “The last time I saw him was when I moved out, after he lied to my landlord. He shredded all of my clothes and furniture, and yes, I filed a report, but I’m sure someone took a look at his last name and shredded it.”
“Miss, we take our jobs seriously.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said bitterly. The truth was that Pearce’s father probably gave a lot of money to the LVPD to make sure his crazy as hell son never had to pay for his actions. “Anyway, that’s all I know.”
The detective continued to jot down notes in her miniature notebook before looking at Shawna again. “How did you find out Pearce comes from money?”
“Gage told me when he found Pearce manhandling me on the casino floor.”
She nodded. Wrote more notes. “Do you have proof it was Pearce who damaged your property?”
Shawna nodded. “He was caught by the movers Gage hired to get my belongings. Ran out before they could stop him, but based on the description, it was him.”
She wrote down more notes before tucking the pad away. “We will follow up with everything, Ms. Peterson, but cases like this are difficult to prosecute.”
“Of course,” Shawna said, her voice emotionless even to her own ears. This made her realize she wouldn’t be rid of Pearce until she left Las Vegas behind. After the past few weeks, that idea sounded better with every passing day. She gave the female detective half-hearted thanks and then locked the guest room door, double checked the windows and cl
imbed into bed.
Her thoughts swirled as she waited for sleep to claim her. Had it only been hours ago that she and Gage were tangled in his sheets, shouting each other’s names as pleasure engulfed them? It seemed as though ages had passed since she’d felt pleasure like that.
Just forget that pleasure because you won’t experience it again.
You can’t, she reminded herself as she finally drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seven
A new week had come and gone, and other than a few passing exchanges in the kitchen, Gage hadn’t seen Shawna at all. He knew he should have gone after her when it was clear his brother’s words had hurt her, but he had to deal with the detective and make sure she was safe. That was his end of the deal, and he intended to stick to it. Is that all? That sarcastic voice in his head wouldn’t stop taunting him. So maybe he cared about what happened to her; no big deal.
Only it was a big deal, because she’d taken to ignoring him. No, to ignore him she would have to at least be in his presence. She avoided him, and quite deftly, too. She was already gone when he woke up most mornings, and she’d locked herself up in her room by the time he got home at night. There were no more shared lunches in the middle of the day when she had class, and there certainly hadn’t been more of the explosive sex he couldn’t stop thinking about. Dreaming about. He had to handle himself in the shower every damn day just to get rid of his constant arousal.
This shit ends today, he vowed. Women didn’t ignore Gage. They would claw out their best friend’s eyes for a night with him, they would fake pregnancies in hopes of landing a ring or, if that failed, a fat cash settlement. He was done letting her avoid him, and as he made his way home, Gage began to set a plan in motion.
The house smelled of chocolate and peanut butter when he strode in, hoping to catch Shawna home since her classes had finished for the day. He’d half expected to find Esme in the kitchen with news that she was off in the school library or something. Instead he found both women bent over a long casserole dish filled with some sort of chocolate batter.