The Pleasure's All Mine

  She reached down and stroked his erection. “Suppose I want our Peeping Tom to be right?” she asked before giving him a demanding, searing kiss—one that almost shattered what was left of his control.

  He lowered, took a nipple into his mouth while his fingertips tickled her center before stretching it a bit to accept him. She moaned and pushed herself solidly against his hand. He continued for several minutes, teasing with a single finger, then one, then two and three—she only loosened a little.

  Slowly he rolled the condom onto his throbbing erection and inched into the soft heat of her, taking a bit of her wetness with him. He paused as she wrapped her arms around his neck, arching her hips to meet him, allowing a bit more of him to sear her flesh.

  “Mmmmmmmmmmm.” A single tear escaped, running down her cheek, crossing down at the chin. Pierce caught it with his lips before it reached her breasts. He peered into her eyes, her vision blurred by tears.

  He pulled away, breaking the glorious connection of hot flesh to hot flesh. She gasped and pulled him back to her.

  Poised to enter again, he kissed her, then pressed the tip and a few more inches inside. He froze.

  She lifted from the pillow. “What’s wrong?”

  “The condom’s inside you. I’m not.”

  Trying to find the small slip of latex, he felt around inside her. Minutes later, he hit pay dirt and placed the condom on his palm.

  “Another slipped condom?” she inquired, shaking her head. “That’s exactly how Eric got here. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t do casual sex.”

  “So, this isn’t just a fling for you?”

  “I don’t have flings,” she responded absently, looking at the condom. “Do they make those any bigger than that?”

  “Magnum’s as large as they come.”

  Raven blinked. Her lips were pursed in grim determination, but her eyes still held a hint of fear…and wonder.

  “Then we’re always going to have this problem,” she contemplated aloud.

  “Afraid so,” he said with a sigh. “I tried stretching you, but you stay so tight, it’s almost unreal. You snatched the condom right off.”

  “I was supposed to have surgery to…well, you know…deal with that tightness issue.” She shrugged. “But I didn’t feel I was active enough for me to go under the knife just for that.”

  “If I didn’t know about Eric, I’d swear you were a virgin.”

  “It’s not like I haven’t done anything,” she protested. “I mean, I masturbate—and my toy is a pretty nice size, too.”

  Pierce almost laughed at how sincere that sexy little admission was. But his mind still wrapped around a way to protect them even though pregnancy wasn’t an issue. “Do you have a problem getting it in?”

  She nodded. “But I also do those Kegel muscle exercises. Didn’t want the man I finally slept with to think I’d been whoring for a living because I masturbate so much.”

  Now that straight-forward statement was funny as hell, but Pierce didn’t laugh. His dick was so hard and he wanted her so bad. She looked so frustrated, so confused he couldn’t laugh. He answered with a kiss.

  She moved in closer. “Have you really wanted me since that night we met?”

  He simply nodded, letting the intensity of his gaze carry his message.

  Moments later, she pulled him on top of her, reached down, wrapped her fingers around him, guiding him back to her center.

  “Are you sure?” he asked in a husky whisper.

  Her eyes were moist and alive. Pierce’s fevered kiss brought her back to the moment, stoking her passion as he inched more of himself inside of her. She thrust forward softly, gasping as he stretched her.

  They joined slowly, carefully, as though the world revolved around the connection of their bodies. She felt a sliver of pain followed by a slice of pleasure, and it continued on that way—pain, pleasure, pain—inch by inch until he filled as much as her body would take.

  She reached down and wrapped her fingers around the base, shocked. He wasn’t even halfway in. She swiftly gripped his buttocks, riding the wave of his rhythm with each slow stroke, building to a pleasure so intense she felt lightheaded, almost nauseated. “Pierce,” she breathed.

  “Yes.” His response was barely audible.

  “Pierce!”

  This time, his answer was to capture her lips, his tongue tangling with hers as her legs crossed behind the fullness of his buttocks.

  She held on for dear life, rising to meet his thrusts, soft folds of her flesh parting, expanding, grasping his hardness with every cell within her. Damn! A low, almost animalistic groan sounded in her ears and echoed around them as he almost lost control. He slowed his rhythm, then started to move his hips in a methodic circular movement, demanding her to follow.

  The world shifted as he hit one soft sensitive spot again and again. As her eyes fluttered open, his intense gaze met hers. Her eyes shut slowly, only to open once more as his hips rolled, pressing his erection deep into that wonderful space—away—then in—away—then in.

  She couldn’t keep her gentle scream muffled. She couldn’t keep her thighs from trembling, or her hips from following suit.

  His rhythm increased, and a wave of pleasure crashed over her. She went numb from the waist down just before a spiral of tingling sensations spread from her womb, out to her thighs, then shot like a ball of fire to her toes.

  “Sweet Jesus!”

  The orgasm built like a steam engine and barreled down the track to the finish line at top speed.

  “Pieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerce!” Raven gripped him, holding on, as his hips continued driving into that sweet place. Her trembling increased to a dangerous, almost seizure-like level, then stopped just as quickly as it had started. The blood flooding his erection allowed him to take her for a second pleasure-filled ride before a sudden lightheadedness assailed him.

  Raven felt like she was losing her mind with the overwhelming waves of pleasure followed by even more thrills. Good Lord. All she could do was feel. And with him, she felt every single thing.

  Several heated moments passed before Pierce rolled away, pulling her into his arms. She nestled within the hard expanse of his chest, her breathing slowly returning to normal. She glanced up at him through half-closed lashes. A thin sheen of perspiration covered his face and forehead.

  She finally said, “I need a cigarette.”

  “You don’t smoke.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “But I’ve always wanted to say that. It just sounds like,” she lowered her voice to a deep pitch, “the final frontier.”

  Pierce laughed, a hearty sound that rumbled within his chest. “I’m famished. I’m going to get us some vittles.”

  She followed him to the kitchen, where she watched as he soaped his hands and beckoned her to join him. Raven allowed him to stroke the soap over her hands then rinse them in the warm water—that simple act alone arousing her. He poured a tall glass of juice and passed it to her as he prepared a quick bite to eat—bread, meat, and cheese. He lifted up the jar of Miracle Whip and said, “Can’t forget this.”

  “Yes, a sandwich isn’t a sandwich and all that,” she replied in a grim tone. “Speaking of sandwiches,” she began with a quick glance at his almost sleeping erection that had once been strong enough to take the door off the hinges—at least her door.

  He offered her a bite of his masterpiece and she took a huge one and he chuckled at her full cheeks trying to tackle it like a pro.

  Moments after they had made a dent in the food she said, “You didn’t have an orgasm.”

  “It’s okay,” he managed to say around a mouthful of food.

  “It’s not okay.”

  Pierce kissed her forehead, then stroked her buttocks with a beefy hand before offering her the last swallow of orange juice and leading her back to bed. “Go to sleep, Raven.”

  She didn’t move.

  Groaning, he replied, “I probably won’t have one. It has nothing to do with you.�
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  “Then what does it have to do with?”

  “Maintaining control for me means not having one. If I let my control slip, you could end up in the hospital…or worse.” He ignored her surprise. “Now go to sleep, woman!”

  Twenty-Two

  Get your ass down to MEG ASAP!

  Eric looked at the text message. It was 3:27 a.m. Anything important at MEG could wait—especially if it had to do with Simeon Cahill. He turned over and fluffed his pillow, poised to settle back into sleep.

  Just as his headache disappeared and his eyes were at half-mast, the phone rang.

  “Dang! Can’t a man get some shuteye around this camp?” He looked at his display and picked up. “What’s up, Steve?”

  “I’m five minutes away from you.”

  Eric jerked up, scrambling to find his jeans. “What’s going on?”

  “Hell if I know. I got a call from Scoop and all hell’s breaking loose down at the office.”

  “What kind of hell?”

  “The kind that doesn’t come with its own extinguisher.”

  Eric splashed water on his face. “I’ll be outside when you get here.”

  Thirty minutes later, Eric followed Steve into the lobby of MEG. The place was nothing short of mayhem.

  People were running out of the elevators crying and hysterical. Some huddled in bunches on the sofas, while others hugged in the corners, consoling one another. As security escorted two men to the revolving doors, another set of men bellowed expletives at the rest of the security force, who now stood as a barrier between the angry mob and the elevators.

  The sun hadn’t even come up, yet it seemed that every single daytime employee was on the premises.

  Eric scanned the area as he whispered, “Who died?” Then his heart slammed in his chest. Had something happened to Pierce? To his mother? He checked his iPhone, but nothing had come through.

  Steve pulled one of Simeon’s bodyguards over. The man was still wearing the same jeans and MEG t-shirt he’d had on yesterday. “What’s all this?”

  “Simeon fired e’rebody.”

  “They were fired today, and they’re still hanging around here?”

  “Naw. He called them all in at 2 a.m. and fired them a few minutes ago.”

  Steve and Eric exchanged horrified glances. “What?”

  Scoop shrugged, thick lips pulled into a frown. “He gave ‘em twenty minutes to collect their shit and jet.”

  “What brought this on?”

  Scoop scanned the area, as though making sure Simeon—or Vlad—wasn’t nearby. “Because Pierce hasn’t signed off on the deal, two distributors won’t renew their contracts. Word is out that Pierce is out the door, and MEG’s stock went dirty south.” His phone rang, and he looked at it. “Gotta go.” He walked on, putting the cell to his ear, while stepping over a weeping woman who was slumped on the floor near the stairwell. Seconds later, he turned back to Steve and Eric. “Simeon wants to see you two upstairs.”

  Eric didn’t move. “What have we done?” he whispered, a hollowness settling in his soul. “What have we done?” Now he understood Pierce’s need to do things slowly, methodically, and with the least amount of damage. He’d wanted to avoid this very thing. Eric suddenly felt ill and off balance.

  “Let’s get upstairs and see what this asshole wants,” Steve growled, moving toward Scoop. “I mean, at this point, what can he do? Fire us?”

  “No, he’s done even worse,” Eric replied, trailing Steve, past security and to the elevators.

  “I don’t get you.”

  “He did this to hurt Pierce.” Eric gestured to the people still standing in the lobby. “He fired all the people who actually make this place run. I don’t think Simeon’s even realized what he’s done.”

  “He will soon enough.”

  Vlad met them as soon as the elevators opened on the twenty-fifth floor.

  “Well, if it ain’t little boy blue eyes and his sidekick, little boy wonder.” Vlad smirked as his hand gestured to the office at the end of the hallway. “Right this way, gentlemen.”

  Simeon was pacing the floor, tossing a baseball in the air every five steps. The moment he set eyes on Steve and Eric, his nostrils flared. “Y’all still want to play fucking games with me?” Simeon slammed the ball against the wall nearest them, barely missing their heads.

  Steve and Eric didn’t move a muscle.

  “You’re fired. Get your shit, and get the fuck outta here.”

  The two men looked at each other, smiled and shrugged.

  “Cool,” Eric said, and whipped around in the opposite direction.

  “Peace,” answered Steve, who followed Eric’s lead.

  Simeon banged his fist on the desk. “Naw, don’t go. I got something else for yo’ sorry asses.” He nodded to the burly man at the door. “Vlad, call the police. Tell them these two stole some shit—those boxes that got out of here a few days ago.”

  Eric shot back, “Oh yeah? I’m going to love suing you.” He crossed the room, lifted the phone from the cradle and thrust it toward Simeon. “Seventeen-year-old New York Times bestselling author wrongly jailed by his employer on a bullshit charge.” He pushed the phone into the man’s face. “Call ‘em. My lawyer will use your money to clean her dinner dishes.”

  Simeon glared at Eric, then Steve, who crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk playing on his thin lips.

  Eric leaned toward Simeon. “You might have some pull with your celebrity friends, but your cred with the boys in blue is practically nada—zilch—zero. They’re waiting for you to do something this stupid.”

  Simeon backed up an inch, then dismissed them with a wave. “Get them the fuck outta here.”

  Vlad reached for Steve, who pulled back.

  “Keep your fucking hands off me!”

  Eric gave Simeon a mock salute. “Thanks, but we know our way out.”

  The moment the two hit the elevator, they let out sighs of relief and rested their backs on the wooden panels.

  Eric looked at Steve. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Steve nodded. “As much as I hate to interrupt Pierce’s first vacation in fourteen years…”

  ❤ ❤ ❤

  “God didn’t mean for it to be that damn good,” Raven murmured as she changed positions.

  “I disagree,” Pierce replied, spooning her from behind and reaching forward to cup a hand over her breasts. “He wanted to make sure we’d be fruitful and multiply no matter how pissed we were.”

  “Hmph.”

  “You know how you women are—put us on lockdown just on general principle.”

  “I’d never deny you this,” she said, moving against him. “I’d never deny me this.”

  “Try saying that when I piss you off.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Woman, as stubborn as you are, it’s bound to happen.”

  Miffed, she said, “I’m not stubborn—”

  “Mule-headed, headstrong—”

  “All right, I get your point,” she grumbled, watching as he pulled the blanket around them. “Then what am I doing here?”

  “Finally, you agree that we belong together.” He nuzzled her neck, eliciting a small moan.

  “You’ll get no argument from me.”

  Pierce kissed the tip of her shoulder.

  This time, she laughed and her emotions spilled over. “I love you, Pierce.” Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

  His hand froze on its trail down her rib cage.

  She looked over her shoulder and up at him. “Pierce, I didn’t…I mean to say—”

  Pierce turned her to face him, cupped her face in his hands, kissing her again. “And I love you, Raven. My Raven.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “For so long, I’ve waited to hear that from someone who said it because she meant it—and not because they had someone else in mind.”

  “Simeon?”

  Pierce nodded, causing a slight tug at her heart forcing her to wind her soft arms around
his neck and pull him toward her. At this moment, he was so very vulnerable—every beefy pound—and her heart went out to him. They stayed that way for so long she thought he might have fallen asleep.

  Finally, her voice broke the silence. “Pierce…talk to me, baby.”

  Pierce slid up so that he was holding her again and locked gazes with her. “I haven’t been too big on the romance thing. This is the first time since Jennifer that I’ve even tested these waters. I haven’t met a woman that I’ve wanted to go there with—until now.” He tilted her chin toward him. “I don’t want Sim anywhere near you, and if you’re more into his type, Raven, I’d rather know sooner than later.”

  That small request was issued softly, but she didn’t miss the hardness in his voice or the pain.

  “Pierce, you’ll never have to worry about that. I’m all yours.”

  A slow, burning liquid filled his eyes, but if they were tears, they refused to fall. “I won’t doubt it for a single moment.” He lowered, buried his head into the soft swell of her breasts.

  She held him there, allowing him to tease her. Moisture pooled between her thighs; she couldn’t believe that as sated as she had been, she wanted him even more now.

  Raven inched him away slowly, turning so her buttocks rested comfortably in his groin. She felt him grow hard and pressed herself back toward him.

  “Ahhhhh, baby,” he groaned as her hips began a slow, teasing rhythm that made him harder. He cupped her breasts, burying his head in the soft curve between her neck and shoulder. “Raven.”

  “Take me from this position. I want to feel you. I want you to cum.”

  “Raven, I can’t do that.”

  “Yes, you can.” She reached back, taking his hands and placing them squarely on her buttocks. Was that a growl she heard from Pierce? Or was that her own reaction?

  “Raven?”

  “Go on, Pierce. I’m ready.”

  Reaching down to her delta, he teased her pearl until her hips moved against him in a pace rife with need. Slowly, he parted her buttocks with his thighs, moving his hips forward so his erection teased along her pearl.