by Kit Rocha
"Just like that." His thumb brushed her cheek, and his hands were trembling.
So she moaned for him.
His breathing hitched. "Again."
This time it was an order. Lili pulled back and ran her thumb across the crown. "Now you're being bossy. Is that what you want, Jared?"
"Yes." With another soft growl, he touched her lips, then pushed his fingers between them to slick over her tongue. "I don't want to wait, not tonight. Make me come."
This. This was her secret thrill. Not his commands, but the desire it took before he'd issue them. Nothing was more fragile, more precious, than the moment Jared trusted her so much that he stopped trying to be her fantasy.
Instead, she got to be his.
She sucked his fingers until he pulled them back, and didn't wait for another command. She closed her lips around him, taking him as deep as she could, and used every trick she'd learned to reduce him to naked want.
The trembling turned to shudders, and Jared chanted her name, slow and soft, then louder as he grew harder in her mouth. She could have pulled away. Could have dragged him down and climbed astride him, because she was wet enough to take him deep and aroused enough to follow close behind him.
But she didn't. Because Jared was wrapped in his own fantasy, and she was making it come true.
His hands were rough now. His hips jerked, and she moaned her approval. When he came, it was with a shout. He banged his head on the door hard enough to rattle the jars and bottles on the shelves, and his fingers tightened in her hair, pulling to the point of pain.
But only for a moment. Even lost in release, Jared was too careful with her. He loosened his grip, and she distracted him with soft touches and tugged on his hips until he slid down the door to join her.
On the floor. Of their supply closet. The next time Gia felt like throwing money at them, Lili was going to invest in fixing up one of spare rooms with a nice, comfortable bed.
Slowly, his breathing evened, returned to normal. "Now that was properly scandalous."
Lili settled back against him and decided the floor wasn't so bad, not when she had the warmth of Jared's body behind her and his arms around her. "And here I thought I was behaving. Not like the last time I got on my knees."
"And ruin this dress?" He plucked at the fabric with a breathless chuckle. "Never."
No, the last time she'd pulled back at the last moment, just to see how wild his eyes got—a feat better performed naked than in silk that cost more than one of those crates of liquor. "Don't lie. You'd just buy me a new one. And it would be worth it, if it made us happy."
"Always, love." He tipped her head back and met her eyes. "The rest of the night is easy. We just have to make it through. Then we can go home."
Home. They had so many now. An apartment in the city, for when they needed to engage in more clandestine meetings. Her room on the O'Kane compound, for when they needed the security that only came with having their backs guarded by family.
And, in between, Jared's apartment. The midpoint between their dual lives. The place where they could be Jared and Lili, naked of masks, free of games. The place where he'd kissed her awake, taught her to feel—the place where she'd taught him how to be loved.
But even that wasn't home, not really. She turned her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes. His heart was still pounding strongly, and every beat was life. Not just his, but hers.
Even the cold floor of a supply closet could be home, if he was there with her. "I already am."
Closed Doors
Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O'Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters. The stories are also available for free at kitrocha.com.
The O'Kanes are growing more powerful by the month, but Dallas is the one who has to work to keep them all safe. Luckily this King has a Queen who knows when he needs a night off from responsibility--and Noelle and Jasper are willing to let him be as selfish as he wants. Sometimes you can only let down your guard behind closed doors.
Length: 6,750 words
Characters: Dallas, Lex, Noelle & Jasper
Timeline: Set between Beyond Innocence and Beyond Ruin.
Closed Doors
Mia and Noelle had been in his office again.
Dallas glared into the empty drawer in the file cabinet and—not for the first time—regretted giving Noelle a key. Every damn time he crossed the threshold these days, something was new.
“New and improved,” he muttered, snapping the drawer shut. Not that he relished the idea of digging through stacks of paperwork to find information on petty bureaucrats. He probably would have given up and used their goddamn database anyway, just so he'd have a chance of sleeping before dawn.
Now he didn't have a choice. They'd taken it from him.
The door popped open just far enough for Jasper to stick his head inside. “Got a minute?”
“Only if you can make your girlfriend give my files back.” Great, now he just sounded petulant. Sighing, Dallas dropped into his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “What do you need?”
“I have a message for—” Jas stopped and grinned. “Actually, I'm on a mission. Queen's orders.”
The corner of Dallas's mouth tugged up in spite of his exhaustion. Lex was as busy as he was, holding together all the bits of their empire he was too busy to handle. Holding him together, too, most of the time. “And what does our queen desire?”
“Your presence.” Then he added meaningfully, “In your bedroom. Sir.”
Sir. Not a word Jas used often, and not one he used casually now. Dallas studied him more closely, taking in his formal stance and the glint in his friend's eyes.
Lex took care of him all the time. And tonight, she knew exactly what he needed—time away from files and databases, time away from finding work just to have work, because the weight on his shoulders felt heavier every day.
He needed her. “All right. Tell her I'm on my way.”
“She wants me to wait.” Jas's grin turned sheepish. “Whatever Lex wants, Lex gets.”
This time, it was Dallas's eyebrow that swept up. “Are you waiting because she doesn't trust me to leave?”
Jas clasped his hands behind his back and studied the ceiling. “I've got another order, Dallas—not to let you ask too many damn questions.”
Of course. He laughed and rose, leaving the files and research for tomorrow. Maybe he'd even make Noelle handle it as punishment for making everything too efficient. “All right. I won't get you in trouble.”
“Good. I'd hate to have Lex pissed at me tonight.”
“It's more fun than you think,” Dallas drawled, ushering Jas out of his office. “Don't tell me Noelle's never shown you her claws.”
“Oh, she has.” He stretched one arm across his chest, flexing his shoulder. Just beneath the edge of the vest he wore, Dallas could make out the thin, pale lines of healed scratches disappearing beneath the leather.
Minor compared to what Lex could do when she was riding the edge, but he still remembered his first glimpse of Noelle. Fragile, lost, with eyes so big the whole damn world could have fallen into them.
Lex had corrupted her in all the very best ways.
And she wasn't done. Given Jas's quiet anticipation, Dallas wasn't surprised at what he found when he opened his bedroom door—but the sight that awaited him was still worth admiring.
Noelle was in his bed. Naked. Soft curves and sleepy brown eyes and tousled hair, made for mischief and dark pleasure. And in front of her, perched on the bench that provided so many wonderful options for creative fucking…
Lex was clothed. Sort of. The soft, sheer lingerie was almost the same color as her skin, and like nothing he'd ever seen her in before. It hinted and t
eased, giving him a glimpse through gauzy fabric of his name tattooed from one hip to the other. The top was barely opaque, cupping her breasts while revealing plenty.
The queen of Sector Four might have summoned him, but Alexa was the one waiting. The woman he only saw behind closed doors, with the most trusted of companions. The woman who could be as hard or as soft as she wanted, because when they were together in private, neither of them had a damn thing to prove.
“Close the door,” he ordered Jas, his voice rough and rasping. “And lock it.”
The deadbolt clicked into place a split second later, and the door creaked as Jas leaned against it.
Lex smiled. “Good. You've already figured out how this goes.”
“Have I?” Dallas crossed the room and stopped just out of arm's reach. “How does it go, Lexie? You know I love rules.”
Her lashes swept down, shielding her dark eyes as she closed the distance between them and ran her fingers up his arm. “Anything. Tonight, you can be as fucking selfish as you need, because all we want—all any of us want—is to give you that.”
So much for being tired. His body responded swiftly to her touch—and to the promise beneath her words. He cupped her chin and glanced back to where Jas stood, waiting.
Willing.
Dallas could coordinate this. The ideas were already bubbling up. The four of them had played often enough for him to know where the lines were, and where their fantasies lay. He and Jas had spent hours, sometimes, working together to coax both women to the limits of their endurance, to give them oblivion.
Selfish, in some ways. But tonight he wanted a different sort of selfishness. He stared down at Lex and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “You know what I like. Give it to me.”
“Yes, sir.” Her hand drifted down to the front of his pants, where his cock strained against his fly. “Noelle, honey?”
He couldn't tear his gaze from Lex's, but he heard the whisper of the covers and soft creak of the bed as she slipped from it. She knelt when she reached them, obedient and silent.
Lex slipped her other hand into Noelle's hair and drew in a shaky breath. “Show him.”
Noelle's fingers joined Lex's over his cock, soft and taunting and hot enough to drive a groan from him as she reached the button on his jeans and slipped it free. “Jas told me to behave for Lex.”
Dallas covered Lex's hand and twisted Noelle's hair tighter. “Did he tell you what he'll do when you misbehave?”
“What I'll do, you mean,” Lex cut in smoothly. “I'll tie her up and make her watch while I get everything. All the fingers, the tongues. All the cock.”
“I'll be good,” Noelle insisted, tugging gently at his zipper. The rasp was loud, and the heat of her quick breaths against the thin fabric beneath was a torment.
He held his breath as she freed his cock with trembling fingers and let it out in a rush as her lips brushed him. “Fucking hell.”
“Mmm.” Lex slipped her hands up, under his T-shirt, to rest on his stomach. She leaned in, pressed her open mouth to the base of his neck, and licked him just as Noelle's tongue dragged up his shaft.
He groaned and let his head fall back. “You teasing me, Lex?”
“Never.” She laughed softly and curled her fingers until her nails dug into his flesh. “Okay, maybe a little.”
Heat shot up his spine, and he caught Lex's hip, rubbing that gauzy fabric against her skin as Noelle licked him again. “It's your show, darling. Just remember—when my patience snaps, you'll get every bit of this torment back.”
Lex's moan vibrated against his shoulder. “Now who's a tease?”
“Still you—” He cut off with a hiss as Noelle closed her lips around the head of his cock, wrapping him in wet heat. “But not Jas's little kitten. I think you tamed her, Lexie love.”
“She's an O'Kane, honey. We can't be tamed.” She raised one hand. “Jas?”
He had his vest off by the time he moved into view, obeying Lex's command, and her fingers brushed the bleeding heart inked on his chest before he grasped her wrist and licked the tattoo encircling it.
She smiled—and raked her nails over his cheek. “Faster, I think. And definitely deeper.”
Jas growled his approval and dropped Lex's wrist in favor of sinking both hands into Noelle's hair. He tightened his fingers and used his grip to move her head, forcing her to take more of Dallas.
Forcing. That was the game, and Noelle loved it. She stared up at Dallas with gleeful eyes and practically purred around his dick, eager even when Jas urged her forward so far that Dallas's cock bumped the back of her throat.
Her eyes watered, but she kept trying. Dallas rubbed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the wetness, and savored the sweetness of her submission as much as the physical pleasure of her mouth. “Such a pretty present you gave me, Lex.”
“Shh.” She tugged his head down until his mouth touched hers in the barest hint of a kiss. “Just feel it.”
He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, and Christ. The tension that had been knotting him up all day was now pushing him toward oblivion, especially with Jas guiding Noelle's clever, tormenting lips in an even faster rhythm.
Soft mouth. Quick tongue. Wet, hot, tight—pure pleasure, with Lex's nails pricking just the right amount of pain across his stomach as he inhaled the familiar but intoxicating scent of her. “I won't last long if I keep feeling it.”
“Don't.” Lex shivered. “Give her this. Take it. Come in her mouth.”
Noelle moaned, muffled and taunting as her tongue fluttered against him. It would be so easy to drive deep and come on that hungry little tongue—
All he had to do was loosen his rigid control.
It was hard. Even like this, behind a locked door, with only Jas and Noelle as witnesses. His unyielding grip—not only on the world around him but on himself—was the only thing keeping most of them alive. To let go, to follow instinct…
Feeling raw, he growled against Lex's lips. Then he kissed her, hard and rough, pouring that loss of control into claiming the only person in the world he trusted with this weakness. When she kissed him back, he jerked his hips against Noelle's mouth and came so fast, so fucking hard, that the world swam with the bright, burning relief of it.
Lex moaned, shuddered—and dropped to her knees. Jas jerked Noelle's head back while Dallas was still pumping hot jets across her tongue, and Lex took over, wrapping her hand around him so tight his knees weakened.
The next spurts hit Noelle's chin and dripped onto her nipple. Lex followed the path with her tongue, licking the taut peak clean before returning to capture Noelle's open mouth in a fierce, hungry kiss.
Light-headed and panting, Dallas watched their tongues tangle, watched Lex lick Noelle's plump lower lip and her cute little chin, watched her kiss the younger woman until Noelle was whimpering into her mouth and trembling.
“Bed,” he growled, mostly to save himself the embarrassment of tipping the fuck over. “Everyone should be on the fucking bed.”
Jas lifted Noelle into his arms and whispered low words in her ear as he crossed the room. Lex rose slowly, sliding her body against Dallas's. The friction dislodged the top of her chemise, baring one hard nipple for a split second before she turned away.
He caught the fabric and dragged her back against his chest. The view over her shoulder was mouthwatering, too tempting. He traced one finger down the lace edge where it swooped over her breast. “Where did you get this thing? I haven't seen it before.”
“You like it?”
“I like you in everything,” he whispered against her temple. Just a tiny nudge, and the fabric slipped off her nipple again. He brushed the tight, aroused flesh with his fingertip and smiled at her indrawn breath. “And nothing.”
“Mmm.” She moved again, and he let her go. She walked to the bed, a slow saunter that was its own sort of show, then knelt on the end of it. She touched Noelle's trembling leg before stretching out beside her, just close enough
to kiss. “That was beautiful, honey.”
“He needed it so much.” Noelle arched to nuzzle Lex's throat. “Our poor, overworked king.”
“You play the submissive kitten,” Lex murmured, “but Dallas is right. You know how to use your claws.”
Noelle glanced at him with a mischief in her eyes that Dallas knew would end somewhere beautiful. “Not tonight. Tonight I'm going to be so, so good.”
No she wasn't—and that was the fun of it. Dallas slapped her hip lightly as he circled the bed, then paused only long enough to shed his clothes before sinking onto the bed to enjoy the show.
Lex gestured to Jasper again. He stripped off his shirt and slid onto the mattress at Noelle's feet. She kept her legs closed until he stroked her ankle in a soft movement Dallas had seen him make before.
A silent command. They'd been together for long enough now to build up their own language of them, and Noelle obeyed without thought. Her legs parted, revealing a pussy so wet, Jas could have flipped her over and been balls deep in seconds.
Lex sighed and trailed one hand down the center of Noelle's body. She barely, barely, touched her clit, and Noelle moaned and arched her hips. “I love watching him eat your pussy. Like he doesn't even care about breathing. All he wants in the world is to make you come.”
Noelle stretched her arms above her head and grabbed fistfuls of the blanket. “Sometimes he does it for hours. I beg him to stop because I can't come anymore, and then he proves I'm a liar.”
Her hands were close. Dallas stretched out on the bed and wrapped his fingers around one, teasing the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “You let her lie to you, Jas?”
He bent his head until his mouth almost touched her pussy, but he held back and watched, his eyes gleaming, as Lex fingered her. “It's not a lie if she thinks it's true.”
“I did—”
Noelle's words broke on a moan as Lex stroked her again. She twisted, straining toward Jas's mouth, and Dallas caught her other wrist in a steely grip and pressed them both to the mattress. “Uh-uh, kitten. You stay still and take whatever they want to give you.”