by Emelia Blair
He has such an affectionate look on his face as he tumbles me into his arms. “Of course you do, you precious thing. Let me kiss your potty mouth.”
“No!” I protest, indignantly as I try to escape his hold. “You’re making fun of me.”
He laughs, absorbing my shoving. “I wouldn’t dare. What if you curse at me?”
“I hate you!” I pretend to be insulted.
He easily subdues me, pressing sweet kisses on my nose, my cheeks, my chin, my mouth, all the while laughing. “Ooh…” He chuckles, his breath warm against my neck as he nibbles on my collarbone as if it’s a sweet dessert. “Are you going to call me a bad word now?”
“You’re a sadist,” I moan out now when he licks his way up the side of my neck and tugs on my earlobe with his teeth.
“Well, you are incredibly easy to tease,” he breathes the words out, and then his mouth finds mine as he tangles one hand in my hair, holding me in place while his mouth plunders mine with an exquisite sweetness that has me gasping and murmuring his name.
The kiss is slow, gentle, and deep. I find myself arching against him when he laps his tongue against mine. I’m half in his lap at this point, my upper body pressed against his. One of his hands is resting on my stomach and as he sucks my tongue, my mind grows hazed with need.
Without thinking, I try to take control of the kiss.
Lucas’s reaction is abrupt.
His hand tightens in my hair in a punishing grip. He pulls me towards him, pressing me even closer against him until I can feel all the lean muscle underneath his shirt, and kisses me in an incredibly filthy way. He’s yanking my head back by his grip in my hair and pushes his tongue deep into my mouth. He doesn’t relent until I’m moaning and gasping for breath, my lower abdomen tightening with need as I rub my legs together.
His palm resting on my stomach slides up and caresses my breast, lightly, and I whimper in need, making him chuckle, huskily.
I don’t know when he’s positioned me so I’m straddling his lap but now, I’m grinding against him, desperately, my mind a hazy fog, letting out small needy sounds, begging for his touch.
When his hand that had been thumbing at my nipple through the shirt, slides under the flimsy material, my skin burns at his touch and my back arches. He squeezes my breast and playfully tugs on my nipple, making me brokenly murmur his name over and over again.
He releases his grip on my hair and adjusts me until I’m straddling his thigh. One hand pinching my nipple, teasing my breast, and the other on my back keeping me steady, he presses up with his thigh and I let out a keening sound when his muscled thigh comes into contact with my clothed pussy.
It’s already so wet that I mindlessly start riding it, and now he uses both his hands to guide mine to his shoulders for support as he presses again and again against my pussy, his eyes on me, dark with lust.
It doesn’t take me long to come apart and I sob out at the sharp pleasure. He brings my dazed, pleasure strung form to him, pressing kisses to my faces, soothing kisses which slowly bring me down from my high, my heart still hammering against my chest.
“You’re horrible,” I mumble, exhausted, when I get a sense of my surroundings.
He just laughs, throatily. “No, I’m not,” he corrects me.
“I still want that date where you promised you’d take me dancing,” I remind him, my voice a little hoarse.
He’s about to move when I still and then I glance down at the bulge in his pants. Something like heat trickles into me but I force it down and ask. “What about you? Don’t you…”
Lucas is exceedingly gentle as he brushes his fingers against my cheek. “Tonight was about you.” He stretches out on the couch, and drags me with him until I’m lying on his chest.
His words warm me from my core and I wonder at this man who just gives and gives and never seems to expect anything in return from me.
He smooths a hand down my back and I close my eyes, my ear pressed his chest as I let his heartbeat provide a lulling effect on me. “I was really hoping you would say some bad curse words at me,” he teases me.
I don’t even have the strength to scowl. I’m completely boneless. “I would hit you but I can’t move anymore,” I say, lazily. I’m not even embarrassed or blushing. Lucas makes it so natural to want to be with him that when I’m in his arms it feels like it’s right where I belong.
He keeps running his hand over my back.
I don’t know at what point when I actually fall asleep. But when I wake up, I’m in my own bed, tucked in, and he’s gone.
And I can’t help but feel a bit bereft over this.
11
Lucas
“Have you found anything?” Oliver is leaning against my desk and studying the contract in his hands.
“I think I might have a loophole. But it’s very slight.” I glance in his direction. “This whole thing though seems very strange. He doesn’t want the kid but he doesn’t want her to date me. He’s trying to control her in some way and I can’t figure out the why.”
Caleb is standing behind my chair, his hands behind his back, as he stares at the view out the window. His voice is thoughtful and cold as he states, “Didn’t he tell Elise that he comes from money? Where are we on that?”
“I went through his employee file but there’s nothing I can find,” Oliver replies, sounding frustrated. “Even Lana helped. She wanted to know why I was digging into a random employee’s files at a whim. I haven’t said anything yet but the women are getting suspicious.”
At this, Caleb looks over his shoulders. “Kendall asked me as well. Apparently, your wife sent her over to find out from me. I feigned ignorance.”
“So, you lied?” I ask, bluntly, turning my chair a fraction to stare at him.
“By omission.” Caleb waves off my words.
”So, we can’t find anything on his family?” My words are calm.
Oliver puts his hands in his pockets and studies me. “I did find it odd that he didn’t mention his parents’ names on the file.”
I curse under my breath. “I know I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Caleb turns around now. “I can send some people to shadow him.”
I stare at him. “Could you try not to sound like you’re in the mafia or something?”
Caleb’s lips just curve in a small smile that’s as soulless as he is when he’s not around Kendall. “I meant that we hire a few private investigators.”
“I heard you talked to his supervisor.” Oliver cocks his head at me. “Doubled his workload.”
“Gives him less time to run around, harassing my woman.”
“What’s this loophole that you found?” Caleb interrupts.
My brow knits together. “Aside from the terms simply being ridiculous, the fact that she was coerced into signing this, it makes me think that maybe we could rescind this contract on the basis that she felt the life of her child was being threatened. But to make it a solid case, I want to find out if there have been any other women who have signed something similar to this.”
“You think other women have also been…?” Oliver’s voice is impassive but his eyes are blazing.
“Don’t you?” I ask, gravely. “The terms of the contract are too refined for it to be the first attempt.” I give him a cold smile. “I think Mr. Hall has been running around doing these things before. It’s only what he’s doing with Elise is making me uneasy. He’s deliberately inserting herself into her life now.”
“Kendall has been keeping her ear to the ground, as has Jace. They say that each rumor varies. There are some that say he was forced into this situation. There are a few that say that he wants his child but Elise is taunting him and not letting him close to see his daughter; that she cheated on him and used him.” Caleb snorts. “It’s a clumsy game he’s playing.”
I look at him.
He nods. “I’ll hire a few PIs. Something or the other will be dug out about his past. I know some very skilled individuals.�
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“Does Elise suspect?” Oliver asks me.
I shake my head.
“She knows I’m working on it and she asked me to help her, well demanded is more like it.” I’m smiling now. It fades just as quickly. “But she doesn’t know that you two are helping out.”
“If Kendall and Lana suspect, you can be sure they’ll tell Elise all about it. It’s very likely that she’ll get upset,” Oliver concludes.
I shrug. “I feel we underestimate Elise a lot. She can be quite ferocious when she needs to be. And she’s smart. If she thinks this is to her benefit, she won’t protest.” Elise may be sweet and sometimes innocent, but I’ve seen her with her claws bared.
Then she’s such a magnificent sight to behold!
Despite Elise insisting that she would meet me at the venue, I show up at her place at around ten in the morning.
The wedding is at noon and I know firsthand how long women take to get dressed so I knock on the door expecting that I will have to cajole and hurry Elise along.
She opens the door, dressed in sweat pants and a tank top, a naked wriggling baby in her arms who’s vocalizing her complaints. She grabs me by my tie and drags me in, slamming the door shut behind me. Thrusting Sophie into my arms she says, “Hold her.”
Without thinking, I hold an annoyed baby who looks to be on the verge of tears and watch as Elise grabs a packet of diapers and struggles to rip it open.
She looks frazzled and as always, Sophie is completely in tune with her mother’s mood.
Sophie kicks her legs and I shift her in my arms until she’s cradled in the crook of my elbow. The position seems to suit her more but she still looks disgruntled and her little face is scrunched up in anger.
Having never seen the usually good-natured child throw such a temper tantrum, my heart immediately goes out to her, and I cuddle her. “Is your momma being mean to you?”
I follow a disgruntled looking Elise to the changing table, as she responds, “Every time I try to change her, she rolls over and starts sliding away. Then, when I scolded her, she started kicking with her legs. I don’t know why she’s being so fussy today!” Elise is glaring at her.
I bring the baby to my chest, protectively. “Let me give it a shot.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, she steps back, exasperated. “Fine!”
Sophie lays quietly for me, her fist stuck in her mouth, an innocent expression on her face. She lets me change her without any fuss.
Elise storms out the room.
Before she leaves, I see the glimmer of frustrated tears in her eyes and I have to wonder if there is more to this than Sophie just being difficult.
Alone with the quiet baby, I look down at her, whispering, “Your mom looks like she’s having a hard time. Let’s not pick on her today.”
“Gah!” Sophie catches my chin with her foot making me wince.
Bundling her up in my arms, I follow after Elise who is looking miserable. “Want to talk about it?” I ask, carefully.
She turns to look at me, then walks over and takes Sophie from me, pressing kisses on her cheeks. “Sorry for yelling at you, baby.”
The infant just gurgles.
She glances at me. “The stupid fridge broke down this morning.” She’s starting to look a little irritated. “So I brought out the tools to check it. I mean it’s a pretty normal occurrence. But when I was trying to move it, it toppled over. And if it wasn’t broken before, now it’s done for!”
Fear makes my heart clench. “You weren’t—?”
“No, no. I was behind the fridge. I’m fine. But all the milk is going to spoil and all the frozen dinners I cooked last Sunday.”
“So, get a new fridge.”
She sighs. “My neighbor is selling his. He’s moving in a week. But how am I supposed to survive without one in the meantime?”
I nudge her shoulder, offering a smile. “I could always buy you a fridge.”
She nudges me back. “I don’t want you for your money.”
“I could be your sugar daddy.”
She makes a face. “You’re disgusting.” But her eyes are laughing now. She strokes Sophie’s back. “I’ll have to figure something out.”
I can’t bear the troubled look on her face so I suggest, “Why don’t you use mine?”
“Don’t be silly.” She looks amused. “How would that even work?”
I’m about to answer when a sharp rap on the door has her getting up to answer it. She’s blocking my view, so I can’t see who it is. It’s only when I hear her laugh and a male voice says something in response that I suddenly feel threatened.
I walk over to her just as she’s saying, “That’s incredibly sweet of you, Brad!”
Sensing me hovering, she turns her head to look at me, smiling broadly. “Lucas, this is Brad. He lives on the seventh floor. Mr. Ernesto told him about my fridge so Brad just offered to store the perishables in his fridge. Isn’t that nice of him?”
Brad is six foot something giant with a shy smile and a pretty face. His smile wobbles at the sight of me.
I look at him, expressionlessly. “Just dandy.”
“Thank you for this, Brad.” Elise is beaming at him.
Stupid Brad.
“Yes, thank you, Brad,” my sentiments are offered with a more mocking tone.
The man’s face tightens but all he says is, “You know my apartment number. I’m home all day, so you can drop them off anytime.”
“I’ll drop off the things,” I smoothly, intervene, puzzled by this gnawing sensation in my chest. I glance at Elise to remind her, “You have to get dressed.”
“Oh, yeah.” She turns to Brad. “Lucas will be by in a few minutes.”
Her neighbor clearly does not like this arrangement but he can’t say anything since he’s already offered the space.
I wait for Elise to close the door and then see her put Sophie in a small playpen in the corner lined with soft pillows.
Trailing after her into the kitchen, I ask, “So, Brad, huh?”
“What about him?” she asks, absentmindedly.
Someone has flipped over the fridge at this point and I can see that it’s shattered from the front. She has frozen containers on the counter and bottles of milk that I have a feeling, have gone bad. “So, you’re going to go to his place every day to get things?” I try to keep my tone casual. “Sounds like a lot of hassle.”
She pauses, thoughtfully, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “You’ve got a point. But I’m also out of options at the moment. A week won’t be so bad. I’ll make it up to him.”
Elise is so unaware of herself that she doesn’t even realize her neighbor would welcome her daily appearance. And I’m determined that this will not happen. “I might be able to help you out,” I say slowly, as if with great deliberation. When she just glances at me, I purse my lips. “I have a mini fridge in my house. I initially bought it for my room but I’ve never really used it and I was meaning to dispose of it. It’s a couple of years old but in excellent condition.”
I’m lying through my teeth right now.
“I could bring it over right now, if you want while you get dressed.”
Elise looks tempted by the offer but asks suspiciously, “Were you really going to toss it out?”
I shrug. “It’s taking up extra space.”
When she finally relents, I take the great pleasure of informing Brad of this change in plans.
My place is a half hour drive and I rush home. A large unopened package stands in the hallway and I rip off the cardboard, ignoring the mess, to reveal a brand new grey mini fridge.
I had just bought it for my room a few days ago. Never got the chance to open it.
I rip off the protective seal and check the insides. Unwrapping the cord and bending it a little, I try to give it the appearance of looking mangled rather than brand new and I really hope Elise doesn’t notice.
As I’m putting it in the car, I pause, and then use my keys to scrat
ch the shiny surface of it. Feeling rather proud, I lean back and study the long line. “That’s totally believable.”
By the time I drive back, we only have a half hour left until the wedding and we need to get there fast. I’m about to knock on Elise’s door when she opens it without any warning.
My brain freezes as I take in the blinding goddess in front of me. The dress is midnight blue, wrapping itself around her curves, a thick silver thread along her neckline which is modest and yet, hints at cleavage. The hem is also outlined with a thicker silver gleaming lace. The whole dress shimmers with movement as if it’s a piece of midnight torn from the sky with stars still hanging from it.
Debra has outdone herself.
The sleeves are fitted as they taper off at the elbow with a small flare.
It’s a stunningly elegant dress made even more so by the fact that Elise has put her hair up in a loose bun with strands trailing down. And all I want to do is tear it off of her, bend her over the table and fuck her until she’s begging me to let her come.
I’m dragged out of my fantasies as she looks down at the small fridge at my feet. “Is that the one you were talking about?”
I nod, trying to find my voice. “Where should I put this?”
My voice is husky and she looks at me, curiously.
The dress stops a little above her ankles, so she doesn’t have a problem with moving in it.
I set it up for her, not wanting her to see the new wires.
However, when I turn to face her, she’s giving the fridge an odd look. “What?”
She tucks her tongue in her cheek. “That scratch looks new.”
I stiffen, and start denying slowly, scoffing. “No, no. No. No.” I’m running out of ‘no’s’ at this point. “It’s been there for a while.”
She meets my innocent gaze and says slowly, “If you say so.”
But we’re running out of time, so after putting the food in, I hurry her and Sophie out. The latter in a fluffy pink dress that makes her look so adorable that I can’t help but stop and take a picture of her first. Then, of course, I just have to take a picture of a blushing Elise as well.