17
Isaiah had been telling the truth when he’d said he was dying to get inside her again. He’d thought about little else since they’d arrived back at the club. And throughout the night, when he had been making the rounds inside Devil’s Playground, he had been tempted to pull Cassidy into a dark corner so he could do just that.
Now they had a little privacy, and he wasn’t going to wait any longer.
Sliding his finger through her slick folds, Isaiah pushed inside her, fingering her slowly while she moaned sweetly against his mouth.
“You like that? When I finger you?”
“Yes,” she said on a breathless moan. “So much.”
He did, too. The scent of her, the sexy sounds she made… It went to his head like nothing else.
“Tell me to eat your pussy, Cassidy,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she replied. “Please.”
“Tell me,” he insisted, pulling back enough to make eye contact with her. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Eat my … pussy,” she whispered, her cheeks turning pink.
It was enough, just hearing those dirty words coming from her sweet mouth… Definitely enough.
Crouching in front of her, Isaiah replaced his finger with his tongue, delving through her smooth folds, tasting her, teasing her.
God, he’d never get enough. He could eat her for hours, never stopping, just to hear her moans, to feel her fingers clasping his hair.
As she ground her pussy against his mouth, Isaiah pushed his finger inside her again, then two. Slowly fucking her while he suckled her clit, looking up at the beautiful woman who had managed, in the matter of a day, to capture a piece of him that he hadn’t realized was afloat. But here he was, and this … this few minutes they had to themselves… Isaiah intended to show her how good it could be, because he couldn’t see spending tomorrow without her. Or the day after that.
“Isaiah. Oh, God. I need to … feel you … inside me. Fuck me,” she cried out, thrusting her hips forward against his intruding fingers while she pulled his hair, urging him back to his feet.
He did as she asked, standing to his full height, retrieving the condom he’d placed in his wallet a short time ago, then releasing his cock and sheathing himself. And then …
Heaven.
He was pushing inside her, her pussy clamping on his dick, squeezing him, milking him, making him crazy with want.
“Cass … you … God, baby, you feel so good,” he groaned, burying himself to the hilt in her warmth. “Hold on to me,” he ordered.
Cassidy’s arms came around his neck, her legs around his hips, her ass perched on the edge of his desk as he began thrusting into her. Harder, faster, deeper.
He feared he would never get enough. Not in this lifetime.
Pulling back to look at her, he locked his gaze with hers. Searching. Seeking.
He wanted to know if what he’d seen there earlier had only been a figment of his imagination.
The way Cassidy’s hooded gaze locked with his … he knew she felt it too.
This wasn’t just sex. He’d had that enough to know that this was more.
So much more.
“Cassidy… Aww, fuck, baby. Too good.”
He thrust his hips forward, slamming into her, holding her with one arm around her back, the other on his desk for traction.
“Harder,” Cassidy pleaded. “Never stop, Isaiah. Never.”
He didn’t intend to, but his body had other ideas. Her muscles tightened around his cock, a surge of pleasure igniting in his veins.
He wanted to fuck her into oblivion, to continue with the punishing thrusts of his hips until she was screaming his name and begging for more.
So. Fucking. Good.
“Isaiah,” she breathed, her fingernails digging into his scalp, electrical pulses of pleasure-pain darting down his spine.
“I’m here, Cass. Right here with you, baby.” Panting, he continued to thrust into her. “I could do this forever, sinking my dick into your pretty pussy. Aww, that’s it, baby. Squeeze my dick.”
Her muscles tightened, her breath rushing out of her lungs as she moaned. He was going to come if she kept… Her legs locked tightly around him, the shift of her hips changing the angle, sending him closer to the razor-sharp edge that he hovered over. Crushing his mouth to hers, Isaiah pounded into her, fucking her mercilessly, desperate to make her come.
“Yes,” she breathed sharply, breaking the kiss when she tossed her head back. “God, yes!”
Her muscles locked on his cock once more, her legs tightening around his hips as her orgasm crested, sending him right over the edge with her.
Neither of them moved, holding one another until their breathing was somewhat regulated. Even then, Isaiah didn’t let her go.
“You okay?” she asked, her fingers sliding through his hair.
“Never better,” he whispered, his forehead against her neck.
“So, what do we do now?”
He knew by the tone of her voice that she wasn’t talking about cleaning up and going back to work. Cassidy wanted to know about what the future held for them.
Lifting his head and looking directly into her eyes, he swallowed hard. “That’s your call.”
“Mine? Why mine?”
“I’ve … never done this before.”
Cassidy’s smile lit her entire face, and her laugh made him grin.
“You know what I meant,” he added.
Her smile faded, her face sobering. “I do know. And I’ve … never done this before, either.”
“There’s a first time for everything. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”
“I think so,” she answered easily.
“Then I say we take this one day at a time.”
Her smile returned, and the vise grip on his heart loosened somewhat.
“I like that plan. A lot.”
Good. Because he didn’t know how else to tell her that he had no intention of walking away.
18
After their rendezvous in Isaiah’s office, Cassidy opted to go to his penthouse while he went back into the club. It was when she was getting presentable in the private bathroom in Isaiah’s office that she remembered she had a room at the hotel, which meant she did have some of her things with her.
Why she hadn’t thought about it before, she didn’t know, but instead of taking the private elevator up to his suite as Isaiah had instructed, Cassidy decided to slip through the club and back to the main part of the hotel. From there, she took the public elevator up to her floor, relieved that things were finally back to normal.
Once inside her hotel room, she took a quick look around, noticing nothing different than the last time she’d been there, which meant during all the chaos, those men who’d taken Jordan hadn’t found her hideout. She was grateful for that.
It only took a few minutes for Cassidy to gather her things and to retrieve the items she’d placed in the safe, including the cash she’d pulled out of her savings account in order to try and get Jordan out of his predicament. She’d taken out forty thousand just in case.
It was all there, every bill.
Not that she was all that keen on walking around the casino with that kind of cash, but she didn’t have much of a choice. If she wanted to spend one last night with Isaiah before they started taking things one day at a time, she had to get back to his penthouse. Preferably before he realized she’d taken a brief detour.
Dumping all of her bathroom items into her overnight bag, Cassidy finished packing her things. One last look around and she was satisfied that she’d gotten everything.
Just as she was heading to the door, there was a knock. Figuring Isaiah had realized where she’d gone, she smiled to herself as she yanked open the door.
“Ms. Owens. So good to see you again.”
Oh, shit.
Cassidy tried to slam the door in the man’s face, but he was faster than she was, placing his foot in the way, which kept the do
or from closing.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“What do you want?” she asked, trying to keep her cool.
“We’ve got a few things to discuss, Ms. Owens,” the gray-haired man—Mr. Turner, she believed Isaiah had called him—said as he pushed his way into the room.
“I don’t think we do,” she retorted, clutching her bag close to her side.
“Just so we’re clear,” the man said, his lips thinning, “I don’t give a damn what you think.”
When he pulled out his gun, Cassidy knew that her options were extremely limited.
“But we do have somewhere to be, so I suggest you be on your best behavior, and I won’t have to hurt you.”
Cassidy remembered the conversation from earlier, the clear threat Isaiah had delivered to this man. “Isaiah’s going to kill you,” she said, using her most lethal tone.
The man merely laughed, which only pissed her off more.
“I think he’ll be willing to negotiate. He underestimated me, Ms. Owens. And now he’s going to see what I’m truly capable of.”
Cassidy did not like the sound of that.
Rather than argue, she allowed him to push her toward the door. Once they were out in the hall, he tucked his gun back into his pants, gripping her arm firmly as he steered her toward the elevator.
If she could get in a public place, surely she could lose him.
Unfortunately, the elevator car that arrived was empty, which meant they were still alone. But not for long.
The elevator delivered them to the main floor a couple of minutes later.
“Think of doing anything stupid and I will shoot you.”
Right. Like this idiot was going to shoot her in a crowded casino. A casino owned by Max Adorite, no less.
But she kept that tidbit of information to herself. For now, she’d go willingly.
At least until she found an opening, and that damn sure wouldn’t be after they’d made it to their destination.
19
“Isaiah, we’ve got a problem.”
Isaiah stopped his conversation instantly, turning to look at Jake Andrews, the head of security for Devil’s Playground and one of Max Adorite’s enforcers.
“What is it?” he inquired, watching the man’s face intently. The other man did not look happy.
“Ms. Owens never made it back to your penthouse, so I had them search the hotel cameras. She was seen going into one of the rooms a short time ago.”
“I’m sure she went to get her things,” he said, hoping that was the case. He knew she had been registered at the hotel when he had originally set out to find her.
“Perhaps, but while they watched the cameras, they noticed Howard Turner arrive at her room. A minute later, he left with her at gunpoint.”
Fuck.
“We found one of his men here at the club. Apparently he’d been keeping tabs on the two of you.”
“Where is he now?”
Jake didn’t respond, but the shadows that moved in the man’s eyes told Isaiah everything he needed to know. Howard Turner was now down one headcount.
“Where are they?”
“I instructed my men to watch for them on the casino floor. Less than a minute ago, they were seen coming out of the elevator.”
“Come with me,” Isaiah ordered, making a beeline for the exit.
On his way out, Isaiah gave the bouncer instructions to find Micah, to let him know what was going on, and to have Micah meet him on the casino floor.
Without waiting for his brother, Isaiah allowed Jake to lead him to the area where Howard and Cassidy had been seen last.
That dumb fucker. What was he thinking?
Isaiah knew that was a stupid question. He knew what Howard was thinking. He was going to use Cassidy as a bargaining chip, as a way to get Max off his back.
Too bad Max would never find out about this. Isaiah was more than capable of handling his own. Not to mention, the order to kill Howard had already come down. Looked as though the bastard’s timeline had just been moved up.
“There they are,” Jake confirmed gruffly. “I’ll come around behind them to make sure they don’t slip out.”
Isaiah nodded, then squeezed through the crowded casino. It was Friday night, and the place was packed. He used the crowd to his advantage, slipping between people while keeping his eyes on Cassidy.
She was carrying a bag, and Howard had a firm grip on her arm. She didn’t seem to be trying to get away, which meant she was smart.
He had to wonder whether she knew he’d get to her, that he’d never let anyone hurt her.
Not now. Not ever.
And Howard Turner had just made a grave mistake. One Isaiah fully intended to rectify.
Once he was within a few feet of them, Isaiah opted to use the people scattered about to his benefit. Surely Howard wasn’t stupid enough to hurt her in front of all these people. He would know that hotel security would not be lenient on him. They’d shoot first, ask questions later. That was what happened when an armed man attempted to do something stupid in a Vegas casino.
“Cassidy? Hey, honey,” he greeted as cheerfully as he could manage. Strolling right up to them, he pulled her into his arms, never taking his eyes off Howard. “Don’t even think about it. There’re guns trained on you right this minute. You so much as breathe the wrong fucking way, they’ll kill you.”
Howard glared at him.
Yeah, it was clear the loan shark was pissed because he’d just been divested of his only leverage.
“What’d I tell you?” Isaiah asked Howard directly.
Howard shrugged.
“I distinctly remember telling you that if you touched one hair on her head, I’d rip your throat out with my bare hands. That sound familiar?”
Cassidy clutched Isaiah’s shirt, her hands trembling as she pressed her face against his chest. Unable to resist, Isaiah wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as he kept his eyes locked with Howard’s.
“I wasn’t kidding,” Isaiah tacked on. “Not one fucking bit.”
Cassidy’s entire body shook, and Isaiah pressed his lips to the top of her head. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
He’d told her earlier that they would be taking things one day at a time, but this little stunt had just taken ten years off his life. He hadn’t considered what his feelings for her truly meant until Jake had relayed the information that she’d been kidnapped. That had sealed it for him.
Isaiah loved her, and he had no intention of losing her now.
“It’s over, baby,” he whispered into her ear, hoping to reassure her. “You’re safe. You’ll always be safe.”
She nodded but didn’t lift her face.
Jake moved up behind Howard, his weapon drawn while Micah arrived on their other side.
Howard Turner wasn’t going anywhere.
“No leverage now,” Isaiah told Howard. “But we’d be happy to show you our generous accommodations.”
“I want to talk to Max,” Howard grunted.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Adorite is otherwise occupied at the moment. However, we expect him to arrive at any time,” Isaiah relayed. “You can speak to him in person when he gets here.”
As he expected, Howard’s eyes widened in fear.
Yes, Max had opted to come to Vegas in order to deal with things himself. His way of making his presence known. The man was one to be respected, and after Howard had so blatantly defied Max, the boss figured it was time to make an appearance.
In an effort to keep the peace, of course.
“Come on,” Isaiah whispered to Cassidy. “I’ll take you to the penthouse.”
“What about the club?” she asked, looking up at him for the first time.
“It’s being taken care of.”
With his arm around her shoulder, Isaiah steered Cassidy away from the others, leaving Jake and Micah to deal with Howard. They’d put him somewhere safe until Isaiah could deal with him.
“Will I get to meet Max?”
Cassidy questioned when they were alone in the elevator.
“Would you like to?” he asked, smiling. Out of all that, the woman chose that tidbit of information to cling to.
“Yeah. I’d like to … thank him.”
Isaiah nodded.
“And…” she continued, “I’d like to find out what his plans for Jordan are. I know favors don’t come free.”
Lifting her chin so that she was looking at him, Isaiah peered into her eyes. “Max didn’t do your brother any favors. I did.”
Her eyes widened with the news.
“You did? You gave him the money?”
He nodded.
Cassidy patted her bag. “I’ll repay you. I’ve got the cash.”
Isaiah shook his head.
The elevator stopped, and he kept his hand on the small of her back, urging her out into the hall. After greeting Frank, Isaiah led her into his penthouse, closing and locking the door behind them.
“Here,” she said, thrusting the bag toward him.
“I don’t want your money, Cass.”
“But…”
“Jordan owes me,” he said firmly. “And he and I will come to an agreement on how he’ll repay the loan. Tomorrow.”
“He doesn’t have the money,” she said quickly, her eyes sad.
“He doesn’t need to have it. To pay it off, he’ll work for me. In the club.”
“But …”
Isaiah placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know he’s got a gambling problem. We’re going to get him help. You and me. He’ll work for me until the loan is paid off and possibly after that.” Cupping the side of her face with one hand, Isaiah studied her. “I talked to him, Cass. He knows what he did. He realizes the danger he put you in. And your brother loves you, baby. He’s going to get help.”
A tear rolled over her smooth cheek, and Isaiah used his thumb to wipe it away.
“Why would you do that for him?”
“I didn’t do it for him,” Isaiah confessed. “I did it for you.”
“Me? Why me?” she inquired.
With both hands, he held her head gently. “Because I love you, Cass.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
He knew how she felt. He hadn’t expected to say those words. Not to anyone. But especially not to a woman he’d met only a day ago.
Without Regret (Devil's Playground #1) Page 7