by London Casey
Penny licked her lips. She was freaking scared. “Did you murder someone’s brother?”
I just stared at her.
I didn’t want to answer the question.
Because the truth… was…
Chapter 19
(Penny)
“Yes.”
One word. It completely changed everything. I was too far away from the door to make a run for it. Noah had at least told me the truth. He killed Erik’s brother. And now Erik wanted revenge on him.
And I was dragged through the middle of it all.
“Who told you that?” Noah asked.
“This is bad,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have gotten involved with this story. With the idea of these fights. Of anything.”
“Then go,” Noah said. “Make a run for it.”
“I can’t!” I yelled. “He’s going to kill me.”
“Who?”
“The detective. He’s doing this off the record. He wants me to find out all I can about you. He wants to hurt you bad, Noah.”
“And Marcos wants to hurt you,” Noah said. “So we have something in common here.”
I watched as Noah closed in on me again. I put a hand out and stopped him. “Did he deserve it?”
Noah just stared at me. I hated that he wasn’t answering me. What kind of man was he really? I shook my head, not wanting to believe any of this. I preferred to meet up with Noah after a fight, in the bathroom, and have fun. The smell of man and sweat. The touch of his slippery skin. The strength of his muscles. The way his heart raced with the adrenaline still flowing. That was what I had wanted out of this.
“So we’re stuck together for now,” Noah said. “If you’re not leaving, then neither am I. You stay here until I figure out where we can go hide. If Marcos finds you, he’ll kill you. Then he’ll kill me for protecting you.”
“You never answered my question,” I whispered.
“Erik is a detective now?”
My heart jumped. “You really know who it is. What it’s about.”
“Of course I do. The only other person who can answer your questions is Seth. Last time I saw him, the front of his head was fucking missing. Want to keep asking me questions?”
I stared down Noah. “How do we get out of this then?”
“Is there someone you could call to bring you clothes?”
“Yeah. I could do that.”
“Then do it. Get clothes here. You’re staying put until I say so.”
“So, what, I’m kidnapped again?”
Noah moved at me. He put a hand to my waist. “At least you’re not tied to a chair, right? Don’t push at me, Penny. My best friend is dead because of whatever you stepped into. And now there’s people after me. People after you. I’m supposed to be a fighter and nothing else.”
“You’re a murderer,” I said. “And if you don’t tell me everything, then I’ll just leave.”
“You want to leave?” Noah asked. “Then go through me.”
I could have fought or wrestled him or something. Truthfully, he was my only hope at the moment. He was willing to let me stay at his place. He was willing to protect me. So I had to suck it up and stay.
“I’ll make my phone call,” I said.
“You do that. And don’t try anything funny. I’m not the bad guy, Penny. No matter what you think.”
“And I didn’t do anything to kill Seth,” I said. “No matter what you think.”
The pain moved over Noah’s face. His lip started to curl a little. His hold to my waist grew tighter. I touched his wrist and pushed. I couldn’t fall to temptation again with him.
“I need a beer,” Noah said.
“Got anything stronger?” I asked.
“As strong as you fucking want,” he said.
His eyes devoured me.
I sucked at this resisting temptation thing.
“Are you okay?” Dani asked as she plopped a bag on the floor outside the apartment.
“It’s a work thing,” I said. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“Whose apartment is this?”
“A friend’s. I’m working an angle. You know how Andy is, right?”
“He’s an asshole. My father is still pissed at me that I took the job.”
“Well, you’re kind of rich, Dani. You don’t need to work.”
“It isn’t about working. I want my own life, Penny. You wouldn’t understand it. People see me and they see my father and see money.”
“Thank you for doing this.”
“Sure. I grabbed all I could fit. How long is this…”
I touched Dani’s shoulders. “Hey. If you have any time off from work, you should take it. Things with Andy have been getting weird. I don’t know what’s going on with him. That’s kind of why I’m staying away right now. I think you should do the same.”
“Penny, are you in trouble?”
“No,” I lied. “It’s just… it doesn’t matter. Thanks for helping me.”
“Hey, where’s your car?” Dani asked.
“I have it somewhere else. I’m sort of hiding out here.”
“Wow,” Dani said. “What kind of story is this?”
“It’s deep. So you better get going.”
Dani tried to read me up and down and I did my best to just stand there with a smile on my face.
She walked away and I went back into the apartment.
I heard the shower running and rolled my eyes. Just what I needed. The temptation of Noah being naked. In the shower. Water rushing all down his perfectly cut body. Water dancing along his muscles.
I was suddenly jealous of water.
Of water.
I dropped my bag and took a deep breath. I reminded myself that outside the apartment there were people waiting to kill me and Noah. The worst part? Different people. Erik wanted to kill Noah because Noah killed Erik’s brother. Marcos wanted to kill me because I was writing a story about underground fighting. Or maybe it was more. Maybe Marcos and Erik had a history together.
Shit. I was tied to the police now. To a detective. To a rogue detective.
The more I thought about it, the deeper it all seemed to go.
The bedroom door opened and there appeared Noah.
He wore nothing but a black towel. He had a beer bottle in his hand. The towel hung way too low on his body, barely balled up on the left side. The sides of his body were wide up top and then cut together, meeting at the edges of his stomach muscles. They all worked down into the towel.
He was the hottest thing I’d ever seen in my life. I’d already slept with him a handful of times, but my body felt like I’d never been touched. A warm rush moved through my body, my fingertips tingling, along with between my legs.
“I’m jumping in the shower,” he said. “Everything okay?”
“Got my bag,” I said and pointed.
“Good. Put it in the bedroom. Relax. We have nowhere to go, for now.”
Noah walked to the bathroom.
“Noah?”
“What?”
“Can I sit in the bathroom? I just don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Sure.”
He disappeared and I grabbed my bag. I carried it to the bedroom. The last time I was in the bedroom with him we were sleeping together. He took care of every need I had, right down to holding me as I confessed to him about my father. Something I never did with anyone. I felt like I had dragged him into this as much as he pulled me into it.
Had I really gotten Seth killed? That wasn’t my fault. Seth kidnapped me. Then he got drunk. And Noah saved me. Noah saved me because I had been fucking him. So, maybe it was my fault.
I went to the bathroom and it was full of steam. I shut the door and instantly heated up. Not just from the steam either, but because of what I knew stood behind the shower curtain.
“You coming in?” Noah asked.
I sighed and bit my lip. My knees bent as my heart and mind battled between right and wrong.
&nb
sp; “No,” I managed to say.
“Your loss.”
I know.
The bathroom was silent except for the running water. I could hear the water hitting Noah’s body. The way it collected and crashed to the floor harder.
I was so turned on, it was insane.
“I’m sorry for what I said,” I said.
“What?”
“About you being a murderer. I… I’m scared, Noah.”
“I know.”
“I’m sure whatever happened… if you had to do it…”
“Penny,” Noah said. He pulled the shower curtain back enough to show his face. The water dripped from his hair and off his chin to the floor. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m more worried about finding a way to get you to safety.”
“Why? You don’t know me, Noah. What if I’m the one who is doing all this to you? Stirring it all up?”
“I shouldn’t trust you, but I do,” he said. “I don’t want you to end up dead in all this. You don’t deserve that. You were telling me the truth about your father. I could tell.”
He shut the shower curtain.
I made fists and shook my head.
One second he’s pinning me against the wall, ready to threaten me. The next, he’s dripping wet in the shower and saying he trusts me.
“He said something about my father,” I said.
“What?”
“There were two sets of reports. One report said he was beaten to death. Just something random. Tragic. The other report says he had drugs and was shot before he was beaten to death.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.”
“He’s using it all against me,” I said. “He’ll help me find out the truth if I give up information about you. He wants to hurt you.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Noah said. The water turned off. He grabbed the black towel. A second later the shower curtain opened and Noah stood there, dripping wet, the towel back around his waist. “Yeah, he does want me dead. But he wants more. He wants a revenge he doesn’t understand.”
“Noah, if you do trust me…”
Noah grabbed his beer from the sink and drank. He then stood a few inches from me. The heat pouring off his beautiful body. The steam filled my lungs, making the room feel really small.
“Do you have anywhere you can go?” he asked me. “Out of state?”
“No. I have nothing. Dani’s my only friend. She brought me my bag. I hinted to her to take off. Go spend time with her father. I’m worried Andy might lean on her if I don’t check in.”
“Makes sense,” Noah said. “I’ll get you out of this. Give me a chance to figure it out. If you’re gone and stay gone, then Marcos…”
“He’ll kill you. You said that.”
“Probably.”
I reached forward, unable to resist touching Noah’s body. My hand moved over his chest, feeling the hardness of his muscle.
“I don’t want you dead either.”
“If we stay together, we both could die.”
“I don’t like any of our choices, Noah.”
He touched my face. “Neither do I.”
Our eyes burned for one another. My instinct took control.
I reached forward and grabbed at his towel.
Chapter 20
(Noah)
“No.”
I hated myself for saying that to her. I reached down and pushed her hand away. At the moment, when I looked at Penny, I saw Seth’s head exploding. I thought about everything we’d been through. Me and Seth. Me and Penny.
Seth wouldn’t get a proper burial. He wouldn’t get a chance to be memorialized. He wouldn’t have a headstone. Shit, I didn’t even know where Marcos had him buried. I’d never get a chance to see Seth again.
“What is it?” Penny asked.
I slipped away from her and went into the bedroom. I locked the door and dropped my towel. When I looked down and saw my dick throbbing, filling up, I shut my eyes and groaned. I couldn’t be this close to Penny with these feelings raging through me. It was dangerous. If I hadn’t already cared about her I would have given her up to Marcos.
But I couldn’t do that to her. It didn’t seem right or fair. Something was wrong with Marcos, too. Killing Seth like that…
I opened my eyes and looked down.
My dick was starting to calm. I grabbed a pair of jeans and put them on. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away from Penny for forever. The feelings, temptation, the danger, it was all too great.
I twisted the lock on the bedroom door and backed up.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
I’m sorry, Seth. I’m so fucking sorry.
I felt like it should have hurt worse. Maybe I had been waiting for it since I met him. From day one, he loved to mess with people. He’d pick fights and I’d finish them. He’d hustle people, work them over, teeter on the lines of theft, and come out unscathed. I think somewhere in his heart he knew he’d end up dead by a bullet. And instant, too. Just like what Marcos had done.
The bedroom door slowly opened.
Penny stood there, holding a bottle of whiskey in her hand. She approached the bed without a word and handed me the bottle. I nodded and threw it back, drinking more than I should have. It burned the whole way down and sat like lava in my stomach.
Two more drinks and I was numb from the inside out.
I handed the bottle to Penny. To my surprise she took a drink. And then she took her shirt off. She kicked the bedroom door shut and reached back, unsnapping her bra.
This time… I couldn’t tell her no.
She climbed on top of me and put her hands to the back of my head. Her fingers slid through my wet hair. My eyes looked up at her and then looked forward at her small, perfect tits. My hands spread across her soft back and pulled at her.
My mouth slipped over her left breast, tasting her sweet skin. My tongue flicked up and down at her nipple, feeling it get hard to my touch. I pulled back and moved to her other breast and did the same. I slid my hands down and opened her pants, moving fast so my mind wouldn’t tell me to fucking stop.
Penny slithered off me and I stripped her jeans down. She stepped out of her jeans and gripped my shoulders. She pulled at me, wanting me. Everything was in silence. Complete fucking beautiful silence.
I inched forward and dropped to one knee before Penny. My hands slid around and cupped down into her panties at her ass. I pulled her to my mouth, kissing just above the line of her panties. As I kissed, I stripped her. When I stripped her, I moved down, tasting all her perfect skin right to her wet flower, my tongue thirsting in a way I couldn’t remember. My tongue curled and lapped all she had to offer me.
One taste was never going to be enough, but for now, it was. My cock was full again, painfully hard, pressing against my jeans. I stood back up, the tip of my tongue drawing a straight line up Penny’s body until I reached her mouth. That’s when I pulled back. Kissing her was even more dangerous. Kissing her implied feelings and other bullshit that I didn’t want to deal with.
Penny moved to her toes and let her lips flirt with mine. I turned my head and let out a sigh.
That should have been the point where Penny slapped me and walked away. That was her chance to go.
But she didn’t.
Her hand touched between my legs.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“It’s not my fault,” Penny said, her breath hitting my chest. She kissed me. “I’m sorry for everything. It's not my fault.”
I lifted my hand and grabbed her by the hair. I pulled so she was looking up at me.
“I never fucking said it was your fault,” I growled.
Her hand slid into my jeans and gripped my cock.
“I’m still sorry,” she whispered.
“Then fucking make it up to me.”
I had enough talking. I put my mouth to hers.
Yeah, fuck the no kissing thing. I needed to taste her. She was better than whiskey and
twice as strong to fuck with my mind and heart.
I kissed her as hard as she squeezed my cock. She stroked me once and then let go. But I didn’t stop kissing her. Her hands touched my stomach and pushed at me. She wanted me on the bed so I sat down and leaned back.
A beautifully naked Penny climbed right on top of me. She positioned herself over me and eased down. I grabbed at her ass and pulled, bringing her down. I felt her sheath me, her body like an inferno, wild, hot, yet soothing. My body tensed as I groaned, feeling her take me in with every inch I had.
When she was completely on me, her hands were on my chest, shaking. I slowly lifted her up and brought her back down. I worked her body gently, feeling all of her.
Penny then grabbed at my wrist and shoved my hand away. She repeated with her other hand and moved her hands from my chest to the bed. Her hand gripped tight and she started to fuck. Moving up and down, her hips thrusting and bucking at me, going faster by the second. It almost caught me off guard the way she quickly went into it.
My hands cupped her breasts, squeezing them until she groaned. She threw her head back and let out a cry. Her body kept moving, hitting against mine. Her groans were the soundtrack, only matched by the sound of us colliding as I started to thrust up at her. I put a hand to the small of her back, feeling the way her back moved. The way her ass pumped. Fuck, she was goddamn amazing.
Was she worth dying for?
The question hit me as I stared at Penny’s body. She looked down at me, her hair everywhere. Her knees on the bed, her thighs strong and working hard to move her body. She put a hand to my lower stomach, the other hand to my chest. She suddenly stopped and started to rock hard, back and forth. Her mouth opened with a whimper and I saw sex pour from her eyes.
As she started to climax, I grabbed her hips and kept her moving. Pulling at her, thrusting up, making sure she felt everything. I could feel her pulsing as she came, her body releasing the stress, fear, and pleasure. When she was finished she looked down at me. She gritted her teeth and groaned. I thought we were done, but then Penny slowly lifted up and came right back down on me. She repeated the slow move, over and over, working herself back into a faster rhythm.