I bring my hand down and grasp my cock and stroke it a couple times, never taking my eyes off her slim, fucking perfect body. Lainey reaches down and spreads her pussy with two fingers, showing me exactly where I want my dick to be. With her fingers on her other hand she works her clit in small circles. I smile. She smiles. It’s lazy, turned on—erotic. “Play the piano, huh?” I ask, taking another step forward.
She moans a little, her pink pussy getting wetter with each flick of her fingers. “Mmmm, hmmm,” she mumbles, too caught up in her handiwork to form a sentence. The floor is cold beneath my feet, but the rest of my body is on fire, aching with the heat of desire. I hit a piano key as I walk past it and then grab Lainey’s arm. She pauses.
Leaning down, I kiss her neck and breathe her in. Perfume and sex. Lethal. My dick pulses up now that I’m this close to her. It wants in. I want it in. “Fucking you on the piano would be cliché,” I rasp in her ear in between kisses. I see the corners of her lips pull into a smile. “Tell me where you want it, Lainey.” I use her name and she shivers, responding to my words just as she used to. I have complete control over her and that’s exactly how she likes it.
Lainey spits into her palm, not daintily, never taking her eyes off mine, and grabs my cock. I groan when she starts working me, moving her hand all the way down and then back to the tip. Several more strokes and I’m breathing heavily, eyes closed in fucking ecstasy. Grabbing her arm, I still her. I won’t last long once I get inside her if she keeps it up. She smiles a knowing smile. “Let’s see the bedroom, then.” I inhale sharply and nod.
I pull her back against my front and reach around to touch her wet pussy. She relaxes back against me. “Walk,” I tell her. Tentatively she takes a step forward while I rub her clit and dip my middle finger inside her as far as I can manage. She moans, tilts her head back on my chest, and looks up at me. The sight is so fucking beautiful that I want to plunge inside her right here. Her lips are parted and those eyes are begging for me. I grin. “Keep going straight,” I command.
She smiles. “Fine. You keep going,” she returns. She takes a step and I follow without disconnecting our bodies all the way down the cool hallway into the large master suite. By the time we make it to the bed in the center of the expansive room, she’s panting and clutching my arm about to explode. “I want to come around your dick,” she pants, spinning around in my arms.
I kiss her lips. They’re dry and sweet. Moving my hands up her sides, I cup her perfect tits and pinch her rose-colored nipples. Lainey grabs my biceps and with as much force as she can muster she pushes me back onto the enormous bed. I make a show of landing harder than I should and her eyes widen. “You’re so strong.” I smirk. Next, she’s crawling toward me, straddling my legs and then walking, ever so carefully on her knees up toward my cock. “You’re so beautiful, Lane. So fucking perfect.” She is. Right now my vision of her is absolutely perfect. “Fuck me,” I say, lifting my chin and folding my arms behind my head. “I can’t take much more of looking at you like this and not being inside you.” My dick is coated in pre-cum and it could cut cold steel with ease.
She’s hovering over my dick now, and I can feel the heat radiating from her core. I jut my hips up seeking, hoping to slide home, but she doesn’t let me. Not yet. She wants to tease herself by rubbing the tip of my cock on her clit. She works herself with me and I can only watch. I alternate between her face, with her eyes closed in sheer pleasure and my dick, which is almost inside her. Almost.
I’m not a man who begs for anything in life and I hear the words coming out of my mouth like a prayer, begging her to let me in. I’d make deals with the devil to sheath myself inside her right this second. “Please, Lainey,” I say again. She moans and then blessedly she sits down slowly, my dick inching its way into her tight, clenching pussy. Yes. Yes. Yes. Grabbing her hips because I can’t stand another second of teasing, I pull her all the way down onto me. She cries out in pleasure as I fill her completely, hitting the back. She rises again, rocks her hips back, and slams herself down again. I keep one hand on her hip and with the other I work her clit quickly. She’s so wet. “I’m coming,” she says, now grinding on me quicker. The pace is one I know I won’t be able to stand long.
“I am, too,” I rasp. “Come with me,” I say. She meets my eyes and I’m blinded by fucking love. I feel her legs shake. Her eyes close and then she explodes around me, and finally, I let myself go, allowing myself to spill inside of her in quick, hot bursts of pure fucking bliss. Lainey leans over and plants her mouth on my neck. She kisses me and licks me, and keeps my cock inside her while she circles her hips, keeping our connection.
“I love you, Cody Ridge. I never stopped. I never will. I missed this so, so much,” Lainey whispers. Love mixes with relief and is quickly replaced by horror.
I swallow down the lump in my throat. “I love you, too, beautiful girl. Forever and always. Remember that.” She moves her mouth to mine and kisses me with force and passion I can’t ignore. When I’m here with her, inside of her, I can’t fathom what would ever lead me to believe I could give her away.
Lainey breaks the kiss and stares in my eyes like she’s reading her favorite book. “I won’t have to remember because you’ll be with me always. Right?” It’s like she suspects something is up. Does she? I give her a lot of credit, but how could she possibly know this?
“Right,” I lie. “You have to see the shower. It’s exactly like the one we designed for our house.” Distract her with home interiors. Real fucking smart, Cody. Doh.
She narrows her eyes. Shit. “You mean it has a steam room, too?” Phew. Bait and switch.
I nod. “Yeah. And long, deep benches.” I raise one brow. She smiles. When she finally rises enough to remove my dick from her body I feel cold. It’s not a good feeling. Maybe if I keep reminding myself that if V is dead she’ll be safe, the sensation will go away. She won’t be mine, but she’ll be safe. That has to count for something. More than that prick asshole she’ll marry leveraging information to snag her forever. It’s not fair, yet it’s completely fair. Lainey smiles and talks animatedly about something, I’m not sure what, because my thoughts have run away from me. The only thing standing between happily ever after and fate is revenge. And even I can’t change that. I zone back in when I hear the word wedding.
Lainey swings her naturally white blond hair from one shoulder to the other. “When I cancel the wedding, I may need you as a bodyguard,” she says, dragging a manicured nail over my chest, tracing a tattoo. When I swallow it’s thick and takes entirely too long to go down my throat. I wish there were a switch to control my emotions. How easy life would be.
I laugh. “Surely no one will fault you for making a decision. Women change their minds all the time.” Vagueness is key here. Lie, but don’t lie. Growing up with my aunt, I saw her do it countless times. It was artful, so well handled that my uncle never saw through it. She never lied about anything significant, per se—an unplanned shopping trip here or there was her M.O. She was vague about which store she visited and my uncle always assumed it was of the grocery variety.
Lainey is too keen to play it any other way. I have to be vague. I rub the skin on her waist. It’s warm and so fucking smooth. Goosebumps rise where my fingers stroked. “Right?” I ask. “A woman’s prerogative, and all that?”
“They’re a fucking angry lynch mob, Cody. You know that. I bet Aunt Velma will send a hit man to my house to either kill me or find the wedding gift she sent three months too early.” Grinning, because I know Aunt Velma, I shake my head. “I guess it’s just embarrassing, too. When you…left, our wedding plans were cancelled. Surely they forgave me that go round even if I did inconvenience them. This time, they’ll string me up by my toes. Grandma already bought a plane ticket.” Lainey talks more about her family, but the way she’s looking at me, so tenderly, with so much love, I know she’s not really upset about calling off her wedding to Dax.
I take a deep breath. “You’ve thought it thr
ough, then? I couldn’t fault you if you wanted to marry him, Fast Lane.” Her eyes widen and flicker with anger. Shit.
“Your cock is mere inches from my vagina right now and you’re telling me it’s okay if I want to marry another man? Are you okay?” She feels my forehead with the back of her hand. “There wasn’t even a question since the first time we met in the street. He wouldn’t let me break it off.” She looks away, probably thinking about that blackmailing asshole.
“Hey,” I say. She turns her face toward me again. “I’m sorry. Okay?” Saying anything further will cross into lying territory. “I love you.” Lainey smiles that glorious smile that lights her whole face. She leads me to the stream room and starts talking about the interior design of the estate. It was all for her, after all. When she marries Dax and has two point five children and a white picket fence, all I’ll have left of my Lainey is this house. Which means I need to have her in every single fucking room. Memories I can keep forever. Could I find V on my own without Dax’s information? Probably. Would it take longer, putting more people in danger? Yes. I look at Lainey in the full-length mirror in the expansive bathroom. Her creamy tan skin, unmarred by any imperfection except red marks where my hands have just been is reason enough. My cum is running down the inside of her leg. Mine. Not his. My claim. She meets my gaze in the mirror. The corner of her mouth quirks up in a devil-may-care grin. She waggles her pointer finger at me, summoning me over. She’ll always pick me, no matter what, I think. She has to. This is a risk I’m going to take. I stalk up to her, hit the button to turn on the steam, and pick her up with ease. She wraps her legs around my waist and locks her arms around my neck. I nuzzle my nose into her neck. “You didn’t mention the security cameras. What do you think?” I ask.
“Too much,” she coos against the side of my face. “Too much seems to be how you operate these days, though.”
I press my lips to the side of her face. “Too much of this?” I ask, sliding her down my body onto my dick.
Lainey shakes her head, her eyes closed. “Never too much of that.” I walk her into the steam room and fuck her so hard I can’t see straight.
We don’t even use the bench.
****
“I. Can’t. Keep. Up,” Lainey says, breathing heavy. We decided to go for a jog on the beach. The morning air is cool and dewy and the silence is peaceful at this time of morning. Well, you know, the silence before Lainey started whining. I laugh. We started about five minutes ago.
“The marathon sex last night didn’t help your endurance much, did it?” Sex. With Lainey. It was so fucking hot. Thinking about it makes me want more of it. The tight black workout shorts she’s wearing make me want more right now. After a long as hell dry spell her pussy wrapped around my cock feels like nirvana.
She grabs my arm to slow me to a walk. “It’s because my endurance is all used up. Plus, my vagina is baboon style. Totally Animal Planet stuff going on. All red and wet and overused. I can’t take the D six times in one night and be expected to cardio the next day.” Or maybe we should take a break from sex for a short period of time.
I cough, laugh and then shake my head. “Your eloquence knows no bounds. Do you need a doctor? Baboon isn’t the best way to describe that part of your anatomy. And cardio was your idea, remember? I wanted to use the gym at the house.” It’s safer and so we can have sex without worrying about prying eyes. Although if she wanted to right here, I wouldn’t turn her down.
“There’s a mansion on the beach named after my alter ego. Forgive me for wanting to check out some of the beach that belongs to it. I’m sure the cameras you’ve installed have zoom. We’re being monitored right now, aren’t we?” Yes.
“I’m not sure of the reach on the ones in the back.” She nods, acknowledging my half lie. We walk in companionable silence for a few minutes. She looks out at the ocean, back up at the estate, and then at me.
“I want to live here,” she deadpans.
“Vacation houses lose their charm when you live year-round in them,” I explain. “I’m glad you love it, though. It’s my biggest purchase since I’ve been back in the real world.”
Lainey stops, halting in her tracks. “How are you perfectly okay?” she finally asks. I know it’s not the real question she wants an answer to. I don’t talk about the time I spent locked underground, living in destitution counting drips. It’s not particularly painful to think about, but because I’ve tried to push past it, it’s like a distant memory I’m no longer attached to. Don’t get me wrong, I know exactly who is to blame and what I need to do about it to make things right. V was smart, crafty, a genius in his plans to steal me and keep me away. In my current profession I can appreciate perfect execution. With some distance from the situation, I realize the only flaw in his plan was not killing me. That’s not his way, though. Suffering is his thing and I plan on taking his thing and serving him extra helpings. The dinner bell is about to ring, motherfucker.
I realize I haven’t responded to Lainey yet. “Who said I’m perfectly okay?” I tease, laying a hand on her waist. A piece of her wavy hair floats across her face and gets caught between her lips. She crosses her arms, obviously not amused by my response. Releasing her, I run a hand through my own hair. I don’t want to get into this. “It was bad, Lainey. Forgive me for wanting to spare you the gory details.”
She shakes her head, eyes closed. “I’m not asking for details.”
“You are. Just not in so many words.”
She pulls that wayward piece of hair out of her mouth and tucks it behind her ear. “I guess it’s hard for me to fathom coming back after something so awful…and for so long.” Valid point. The first few months living among respectable humans almost felt like I was an actor in a Blockbuster hit. I believe my acting days are over, but I can’t be sure.
I turn her chin to face me. “I’m the same person. A little beaten down, a little inked up, with some external scars, but inside,” I say, bringing her hand to rest on the left side of my chest, “I’m the same. Getting another chance with you was, at best, my wildest dream during my darkest days.” And I’m about to throw it away.
She smiles now and hugs me, her small arms cutting me like vices as she tightens her grip. The curves of her body press against me and the wind blows her unruly hair into my face. “My baboon level is about four. We should start heading back to the house now. For the record, I’m glad you’re okay. And being with you now is also my wildest dream come true. I never thought I’d be able to think of you without being sad and now I get to have you. And this happiness makes me want to explode.”
I hang on to her a little tighter. Breathe her in a little deeper. “Never give up on the good guy, yeah?” I say.
Lainey pulls back and looks at me with bright, laughing eyes. “You remembered.”
“Of course. How could I forget?” Good guys finish last, or so the saying goes. When we first began dating she told me that when she found a good guy she was never going to give up on him. “Remember that, okay?”
She looks off into the ocean. Is she thinking of Dax and her wedding? Wondering if there’s some hidden meaning behind my words? I don’t have precious time to waste wondering. I only have two more days with her in this false, safe paradise.
My phone rings from the holster on my arm. It’s Molly. Wrapping my arm around Lainey, we begin our walk back while I listen to Molly panic about threatening messages she’s received from anonymous callers. Everything is coming to a head, and I need all my best-laid plans to be meticulous. Lainey smiles up at me, and I force a grin back and kiss the top of her head.
Never give up on the good guy.
Chapter Thirteen
Lainey
Cody’s on the phone again. He’s in the library on the second floor of this palatial mansion. A quick mental calculation has it in the mid millions. I’m pretty sure I saw it on an episode of Cribs when I was seventeen years old. In between sex sessions and eating and more sex, I check out the different areas of the
house. One could easily get lost in here. That fact creeps me the fuck out. He hates the beach, which is how I’m certain this truly is all for me. Obviously it’s a grand gesture I could have done without. There’s a locked door at the end of a long hallway that reminds me of the movie The Shining. I don’t hang around long enough to see if I can pick the lock. It’s not like I have anything to help me anyways. Thankfully, I threw a light cotton robe in my bag, because Morganna was right. Clothing is optional.
As I approach the library I hear Cody’s voice pouring from the large doorway. He’s angry. I make my steps lighter, my bare feet a whisper against the cool floor. My chest rises and falls a little more rapidly. Some women would turn the other way. Others would make their presence known with a cough or a fake sneeze. Not me. This is part of who I am. Cody should know better. I press my back against the door and listen to him speak.
Whatever Cody is currently laughing at isn’t of the funny variety. “I don’t need you. I have my ways. She’s not safe,” he growls and then pauses. “Of course that is what’s important. Don’t start this shit again. I keep my word.” I realize I haven’t taken a breath in too long and open my mouth to gobble up air. I’m the she. “You better follow through. I have a lot riding on this. More than you realize.” Suddenly, I don’t want to know what will come next—my nosey nature aside, I want to stay oblivious for a little while longer.
“Yes, dead. And by my own hand,” Cody says. I swallow and look at the beautiful ceiling. He has always killed people. Why would it bother me now? Because he is talking about me in the same breath as killing.
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