“Did you ever give him a name?” she whispered, hungry to get away from the scary path her thoughts wanted to take her.
Gage matched the shy smile on her face, a soft blush coming up his cheeks. “The moment you left me that voicemail, telling me you were pregnant? I gave him one. On the drive over, I gave him many more.”
“Which one was your favorite?”
He searched her eyes as if wondering whether he could trust her with this secret, then spoke softly. “Noah.”
“Noah…” She nodded sharply, lips puckered. “Good name. Strong name.”
“You hate it.”
“I don’t!” she shrieked, a little higher than necessary. Apparently, he’d grown to know her much better than she’d imagined because while she didn’t hate the name, it would be far from her first choice.
He bit his smiling bottom lip. “Did you? Give him a name?”
She cut her eyes playfully at him. “Maybe…”
“What was yours?”
“You can’t make fun of it.”
“I’ll make no such promise. You made fun of mine.”
She rolled her eyes, acquiescing. “Wyatt.”
His eyebrows shot up, and he looked away, eyes wide.
Her mouth dropped as she shoved him, eliciting the chortle he’d been trying to hold back. “Wyatt is a beautiful name!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. That shit eating grin on your face says it all.”
“Wyatt, Veda?” he reclaimed her eyes. “Wyatt? Was our son going to be a biracial California kid, or an Alt-Right farmhand in Louisville, Kentucky?”
She curled her lip, even as his smile grew. Then, she sank back into the warm strength of his arm, cuddling her cheek into it with a deep breath that filled her body with nothing but love and light.
Their conversation carried on. Whispered secrets about the son they’d never meet—but had imagined too many times to count—echoed off the cave walls. Along with the love in their heartfelt laughter, the warmth in their never-ending embrace, and the yearning in their pounding hearts for the Noah’s and Wyatt’s they’d yet to meet but hoped they’d have a chance to, one day.
It was a future they were willing to fight for.
Even if it was a fight to the death.
——
At the sound of a woman’s scream, Linc stopped dead in his tracks on his way into the hospital, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. His eyes blazed toward the hospital’s courtyard garden, where the scream had originated, and his blood ran cold.
The sight of the man’s strange, almost reptilian face shook Linc. But not as much as the fear in Veda Vandyke’s usually vivacious eyes. The way her arm was firmly clenched in that man’s hand, even as she tried to yank it away.
A nuclear blast lit a fire under him, and he raced across the street. He raced for Veda, still begging that reptilian man to release her through clenched teeth. When it became apparent that she was pulling back with all her might, attempting to remove her arm from the man’s hold with so much force she was surely seconds from dislocating it, the flames lapping under Linc’s skin picked up speed.
And he was running. He hadn’t even realized he’d made it to them, not until his hands tightened into fists and one of those fists flew, connecting with the man’s chiseled jaw.
Veda’s stunned scream was the first thing that filled Linc’s ears, along with the man’s groan as the punch sent him barreling backward into the grass. The camera they’d seemed to be tussling over plopped down to the grass as well.
The reptilian man looked up at him from the grass, blue eyes wide, a streak of blood racing from his split lip and dripping down his chin.
Linc jolted awake with a gasp that flared his nostrils, his long limbs shifting against the bed sheets that were now damp with his sweat. Shooting up in bed, brow wrinkled, he braced his hands behind his body to hold himself upright, his sleepy green eyes narrowing to the windows of his bedroom. Wisps of moonlight petered in from a dark sky, confirming the dream had woken him in the dead of night. That dream replayed itself as the sickness in his stomach tied itself into an unbearable knot.
Then, a rush of adrenaline shot through him, making his arms shake so wildly he worried his elbows might buckle under his weight. His squinted eyes dashed back and forth as his mind went a mile a minute.
Jax Murphy.
The man whose murder investigation was still ongoing. The man who Linc had always suspected had been killed by The Shadow Rock Chopper. The man who Linc had always known he’d seen somewhere before, but could never figure out where.
That dream had not only confirmed where Linc had first seen that weird looking son of a bitch, Jax Murphy, but also with whom.
The vision of Veda’s terrified face that morning, in the hospital garden, where she’d been tussling with Jax, zoomed through Linc’s mind like wildfire, every new recollection making his heart race faster and his chest heave higher.
Glaring down at Jax, still crumbled in a heap in the grass, Linc hadn’t even realized he was going in for round two until Veda’s fingers were around his arm, grabbing him, pulling him, begging him, trying to move him even though they both knew he wouldn’t be moved until he chose.
“Linc!” she begged. “It’s okay. He’s….” Her eyes narrowed to Jax, still lying in the grass. “He’s a friend,” she finished. “We were just kidding around.”
It had smelled like a damn lie back then, and it still stunk of one now. Lips smashed together, gasping sharply, Linc threw the sweat-soaked sheets and blanket off his body, crossed his bedroom, and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from his dresser drawer. After pulling them on, he moved into the living area, zoomed into the kitchen and grabbed a Ziploc bag from the cabinets. Every muscle in his face was taut as he seized his car keys from the counter and left his apartment.
Entering the elevator on his floor moments later, he pressed the button for the garage, unable to stop his wild mind as the doors slid closed.
“Who was he?” Linc asked.
“A friend,” Veda said.
“Didn’t look friendly.”
He remembered how quickly she’d pivoted away from the subject, minutes after he’d punched Jax Murphy in the face. How he’d allowed her to pivot, even as every reflex in his body kicked in and told him to pursue. That same reflex was hard at work right then, sending one ice-cold whoosh of air after another racing through his body. The kind of whoosh he only experienced when he’d just gotten a big hit. An epiphany strong enough to send tingles down his spine.
Veda’s eyes fell to Linc’s lips. “Heard about that poor man you guys found in the river yesterday. Any idea what happened?”
The line between his eyebrows deepened as he recalled Veda asking him that question, just days after Jax Murphy had been found dead, body washed up at the edge of the Mackenzie River.
He slammed his eyes closed and kept them that way until the elevator dinged open in the garage. In the dead of night, the garage was empty—silent. His hurried breathing filled the quiet air as he stomped to his car. The adrenaline pulsing in his veins grew so powerful, he didn’t even remember making the walk from the elevator to his truck, unlocking the door, or even climbing inside.
No.
Not until he’d reached into the cup holder in the middle console did his mind become centered once more, allowing him to live in the moment. Not until he seized the watermelon Blow Pop that Veda had been sucking on the night he’d driven her home from Dante’s after finding Kathy Richardson next to the trashcans.
Linc lifted the half-eaten Blow Pop, which she’d had the decency to lay on top of its original wrapper instead of leaving its sticky body to adhere itself to his leather interior.
He studied the sucker for only a moment before he ripped open the Ziploc bag and dropped it inside.
16
Veda and Gage remained on the beach from sun up to sun down, only throwing in the towel and ending their
leisurely excursion when the evening breeze became too cold to bear. They climbed the scenic trail back up to the villa hand-in-hand, thrilled to be in each other’s presence but also regretful that time was running out. The Celeste would set sail for Australia the following morning.
And it’d be taking Gage with it.
The thought caused Veda to tighten her hold on his hand—her small fingers nearly swallowed up by his as he unlocked the front door to their seven-bedroomed villa. Sprawling palm trees, scattered across the fives acres of private land, danced in the evening breeze.
Veda breathed in the fresh air, along with the smoothness of Gage’s fingers, hoping it would help separate her from the thoughts of leaving him the following day. The desire for his smooth fingers to infiltrate the aching walls of her pussy made everything else cease to exist.
She’d given Gage what he wanted. They’d spent the entire day enjoying their first real date. And, just as Gage had promised, it had been strangely erotic. Even without having sex, just knowing they eventually would, had sent Veda’s pulse racing randomly throughout the day. She’d already violated his body in every room of that villa in her imagination, and in every torrid position her mind could dream up. Which of the explicit fantasies was her favorite, she didn’t know, so deeply she’d fallen in love with all of them.
As they made their way through the villa, the secret looks, smiles, and hand squeezes they shared spoke a million words. The sand between their toes covered the marble floors as they moved. One look down at Gage’s turquoise swim trunks—still wet and sticking to his muscular golden thighs, showed he was just as ready as she was.
They started up the stairs of the living area, decorated in all modern white finishes, surrounded by walls of glass that disappeared into the walls, allowing every bit of the ocean and cliffside views to be soaked up.
Gage squeezed her ass from behind as they climbed the stairs to the master suite, his anguished moans proving he’d taken his vow of keeping their date innocent a bit too far.
“You’re so beautiful, Veda…” Voice low with need, barely audible, his greedy hands moved from one ass cheek to the other.
Looking over her shoulder, Veda laughed at the sight of his bottom lip trapped between his teeth, his hooded eyes hungry as he drank in her ample bottom.
“This was all your idea.” She faced him, walking backward into the master suite, also lined with walls of glass that looked all the way to the bottom of the cliffs, ocean waves crashing at their base.
Gage seized her around the waist and tugged her in so their chests were flush. His strength brought her to her toes, biceps strong against her back as he bent his neck and covered her lips in a fervent kiss.
She moaned, tilting her head to deepen the embrace, clawing her nails through his hair, still damp from their time swimming and splashing in the ocean. She nearly disappeared into his manly scent, the strength of his arms around her, and the insistence of his hardness pressing against her stomach.
When she pulled away, he tried to tug her back in.
“I missed you so badly.” He locked one arm around her waist while moving the other arm lower, sinking his fingers into the back of her bikini bottoms and finding the slippery entry of her pussy.
Veda gasped at how swiftly he’d moved, and it took everything in her power to take hold of his broad shoulders and push him back.
“Wait,” she whispered.
She tried to step away again, but he seized her arm, attempting to pull her toward the plush king sized bed that awaited them, the white linens glowing under the setting sun and inviting them to join.
“Get that beautiful ass back over here,” he said.
She shook her head at him while wagging a finger. “Not yet. I have a big surprise for you.”
His eyebrows jumped like a kid at Christmas, and he released her arm. “A surprise?”
She laughed at the childish gleam in his eyes, unable to ignore the love that blasted through her heart at the sight. She turned on her heel and skipped across the room to her overnight bag and her cell phone, which she’d left sitting on the chest of drawers underneath the plasma TV. Cradling the bag on one arm, she turned back to Gage, offering him her cell phone.
He took it, seeing that she’d pulled up a song, the album cover glowing up at him from the screen.
“When I give you the word,” she said. “Press play.”
With dark brown eyes still alight in anticipation, Gage gave her a sideways smile. “Okay.”
He smacked her ass as she passed him, and she squealed with a small hop before racing into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.
——
“Okay!” Veda’s voice floated in from the other side of the bathroom door a few minutes later. “Now!”
Chuckling softly, leaning forward on his knees at the edge of the bed, Gage broke his eyes away from the bathroom door he faced and looked down at the screen of Veda’s cell phone, pressing play.
The blaze of an electric guitar and the heart pounding punch of drums filled the bedroom air as “Sweet Cherry Pie” boomed through the phone’s speakers.
Rock song blaring, his eyes flew back to the bathroom door just as it swung open and slammed against the wall. The heavy metal anthem filled the air to the brim as Veda appeared. Slapping her hands high on either side of the doorway, she was clad in a slutty maid costume that was nothing more than a white lace bra with a skinny satin apron attached. She didn’t wear panties underneath. The black apron was lined with the same white ruffles that domed the headpiece on top of her head, and a white feather duster fluttered in her hand.
The smile vanished from Gage’s face. Not because he wasn’t enjoying the view, but because the sight of her had rendered every muscle in his body—including the seventeen he needed to smile—outside of his dick, completely useless. Just as the lyrics to the song suggested, in that moment, Veda was so beautiful to him, she was on the very real verge of making a grown man cry.
With a sultry smile on her red lips, Veda shimmied in four-inch patent leather heels, swaying her hips to the music while sweeping the dainty white feather duster over her white lace bra. The sheer fabric left no secret to the outline of her pert, dark brown nipples, growing harder as she teased them with the duster’s soft feathers. The black satin apron, also lined with white ruffles, attached to the bra, was slimmer than Veda’s waist, revealing her flawless chocolate skin underneath. The apron followed the curve of her slim waist and her naked hips, just long enough to conceal her bare pussy. Sheer white thigh-highs finished the outfit, hugging her plush, writhing thighs.
“Jesus,” Gage breathed, the smile that had vanished from his face returning with a vengeance, lighting him up as he leaned forward on his knees, tilting his head softly at her, eyes gleaming.
Veda swiveled to the side, where the costume left even less to the imagination, revealing the perfect curve of her naked ass. The bra clasp and apron tie served as the only fabric concealing her gorgeous backside. She took hold of the doorframe in both hands, giving a high-pitched giggle before her mouth fell wide open and she arched her back, slithering down the frame, never breaking her eyes from Gage.
“Wow.” His wide smile evolved, growing bigger every second she shimmied down that doorway, riveted like she’d tied a string from his eyeballs to her body. His hungry gaze fell to her white thigh-highs as she bent down and spread her legs wide, the bottom of the apron still concealing her pussy, and rested her wrists on her wide-open knees. His desperate eyes fell to the valley between her thighs, and she clapped them closed, swiveled, and bent her back once more, shimmying to a stand in time with the music.
The feather duster tickled her breasts to the beat of the music as she faced him, purring at him in a Marilyn Monroe tone of voice. “You’ve been a very, very naughty, Vice President of Guest Services, Mr. Blackwater.”
“I’ve been so naughty,” he agreed, shaking his head softly, licking his lips as a small sideways smile bloomed. “So, so naug
hty.”
“Tonight, you’re going to take your punishment like a man.”
“Punish me.” His smile vanished. “Please punish me.”
She bit her bottom lip around her smile, struggling not to break character as she tossed the feather duster and pushed away from the doorframe, strutting closer to him with the beat of the music.
His thirsty eyes held hers from the bed, rising higher with each step she grew closer, his own bottom lip trapped between his teeth.
When Veda grew close enough to touch, close enough to exact whatever “punishment” she’d had in mind, Gage reached behind him and came back with a black velvet box in his hand, holding it between them. Still leaning on his knees, he stared at the box he’d just presented before slowly lifting his eyes to hers.
Veda had come to an immediate halt, rock music still blasting through the air even as her face, shoulders, and mouth all fell at once. Her chest lifted in a gasp, and tears filled her eyes.
Holding her gaze, Gage gave a quick flick of his thumb and popped open the box, revealing the oval halo engagement ring gleaming inside.
Veda clapped her hands over her mouth, slamming her eyes closed when a sob tried to race up her throat. She mumbled something unintelligible, words muffled by the hands still clasped over her mouth.
Gage couldn’t fight a small smile. “You’re not the only one with a few surprises up your sleeve tonight.”
Her hands fell to her sides, and she tried to speak, only able to give a strangled laugh of agreement as a tear tumbled from her eye.
“Letting you take off this ring was the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life.” Moisture threatened his eyes, and his voice shook, barely audible over the music. “And, if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’ll never make the same mistake again. Veda, I love you. There’s no one I could ever love more. No one I’d even want to.” He shook the box. “Will you wear my ring?”
Raw (Revenge Book 6) Page 11