“Seriously, dude. Don’t run this assistant off,” Garrett warned. “Come on, man. She’s actually a good one.”
He tossed his drink back and plunked the glass down on a table before crossing his arms over his chest all arrogant and condescending. “Her call.”
There was a strong possibility that I might have growled deep in my throat. “Come on,” I snapped grabbing his arm and moving us to a private room on our floor. The back wall was made entirely of glass with a view of the whole dance floor below us. “Well shit.”
“It’s privacy glass,” Killian said, moving to a side wall and flipping a switch that turned all the glass panels a cloudy opaque, keeping us from seeing out, but more so, it kept them from seeing in.
Once we had complete and total privacy, he shifted to face me, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his arms and legs casually, like he could stand there all day. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he stated in a dull tone that only worked to make me angrier.
“Uh, yeah! Because I don’t wanna talk to you, asshole!” He pushed off the wall while I continued to rant. “You had absolutely no right—”
He cut me off by grabbing me, pulling me flush against his solid body, and crashing his mouth against mine. My damn traitorous body wanted nothing more than to melt into him, but my brain was in charge that time, thank god, and I kept my mouth clamped firmly closed.
His chest rumbled with agitation. “Let me in,” he grunted.
I narrowed my eyes into vicious slits and spat, “No!”
His arms were like steel bands, squeezing tighter and tighter. “Fuck, Gina. Open your mouth.”
He kissed me again, his tongue prodding and poking, demanding entrance. I granted it just long enough to bite down on his bottom lip and draw blood.
“Ow! Son of a bitch!” he shot back, bringing his hand to his lip while scowling at me. “What the fuck?”
Killian
“You really think I’d let you kiss me with how you acted before the show? How you’ve acted all day?” she bit out. “What the hell is wrong with you? And don’t say nothing,” she warned when I opened my mouth to do just that.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. No way I’d ever admit all the horrible shit my father had said about her, or how I let it fuck with me. That would only make the already nasty situation even worse. I wasn’t letting my dickhead of a father screw this up more than I already had.
And that was just the start of what had turned into an epically fucked-up day, layered with Marco rearing his fucking head and that bitch Cara appearing like a goddamn apparition set on ruining my life.
“Who was that woman?” she asked when I didn’t say anything.
My answer was succinct. “She’s no one.”
Her face scrunched with skepticism. “Don’t give me that. The look I saw on your face isn’t a look you get when you’re talking to no one.”
Scrubbing at my face, I blew out a breath and winced when the action stung the cut she’d left on my lip. “She’s just a skank from the past.” And that was the truth… for the most part. She didn’t need to know about Cara. Ian was taking care of her as we spoke. Come morning, it would be like she was never even there. “She’s not even on my radar. Unlike Marco for you, apparently.”
Not the right thing to say.
Gina scoffed and spun around, charging for the door. “Fuck you, you selfish prick. I’m done.”
She managed to get the door open a crack before I reached her and slammed my hand on it, forcing it closed. “I’m sorry.” I spoke quietly in her ear, my body holding her captive between the door and me. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Thumbelina. Please, just….” My breath was coming in frenzied pants as desperation seeped into my bones. “Just talk to me.”
She turned around, her gold eyes flashing with a wide array of emotions. “See, this is the problem. Your MO is to get mad, hurt my feelings, then think you can simply apologize and it’ll all be forgotten. That’s not how real life works, Killian. Only so much can be forgiven before you finally use the person up.”
My lungs deflated and a vise squeezed at my heart. “Is that what I’m doing?” I asked on a craggy whisper. “Am I using you up?”
Her head dropped with a heavy exhale. “No. I don’t know….” When she finally looked back up at me, I couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking. “Honestly, Kill, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time when it comes to you. One second I think everything’s working great, and the next you flip a switch that turns you into this raging asshole. I don’t like that version of you, and I have no way of knowing when he’s gonna rear his ugly head.”
I felt like I was losing her, and I didn’t know the first goddamn way to stop it. Raking a hand through my hair, I stepped back and took a seat on the long leather bench that lined one of the side walls. “I’m sorry,” I repeated pathetically. “I know it doesn’t matter, but I am.” I couldn’t tell her the whole truth, but I could at least give her some of it. Hopefully that would be enough to keep her from walking away, because honest to God, I didn’t know what I’d do if she did. “I talked to my dad today, and he’s got this gift for turning my mood to shit. Always has. I didn’t handle the conversation well, and I took that out on you.”
“People are entitled to bad days, Kill. That doesn’t make it okay to take it out on other people, though.”
Propping my elbows on my knees, I dropped my head into my hands. “I know. It’s just… that man has a way of getting under my skin. He’s been a miserable bastard for as long as I can remember, and every time we talk it’s like he pulls me down into that sinking pit with him. I don’t know how to stop it.”
Her heels clacked against the floor as she headed in my direction and sat next to me. “I’m sorry he makes you feel that way,” she said softly. “I hate that for you.”
Acting purely on instinct, I moved, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her across my lap so she was straggling my thighs. “Say you forgive me, Thumbelina. Please forgive me. I can’t fuckin’ stand feeling like this.”
Her breath hitched and her eyes went wide as she clasped my shoulders. “Killian, it doesn’t work that way.”
“Please,” I growled, my desperation for her growing into a tangible thing. “I’ll try and do better. I swear, I’ll do better. Just forgive me.”
I could feel her heart beating wildly against my chest like Garrett on his drum kit. The rapid-fire rhythm matched my own, beat for frenzied beat. I knew I had no right to touch her like I was, but feeling her beneath my hands was necessary. Not touching her was like trying to live without air. I couldn’t do it.
“I—” I died a little inside as I waited. “I forgive you.”
Dropping my forehead to her chest, I clenched my eyes closed and pulled in my first full breath since before the concert. My fingers dug into her hips as relief enveloped me. My voice sounded like I’d gargled glass as I ground out, “Thank you.”
Gina’s fingers threaded through my hair gently, pulling my head up so I could see her face. “You’re welcome. Just don’t do it again.”
“I won’t,” I replied instantly, peppering her face with frantic kisses. “I won’t. You have my word.”
My lips met hers, and that time they immediately parted, granting me the access I’d been craving so much. The instant her tongue brushed mine, I lost all ability to think rationally. Three things ran through my head on a continuous loop: need, now, and most importantly, mine.
A startled yelp escaped her lips when I lifted her just long enough to rip her jeans and panties down her legs.
“Killian,” she gasped as I situated her back on my lap. “We can’t do this here.”
“Yes, here.” I pulled my cock from my pants, fisting it as I lined it up with her damp pussy. She was ready for me. Always fuckin’ ready. “Now. Need you now, sweetness.” I snapped my hips up at the same time I grabbed her waist and slammed her down on me. We let out a collective groan as she stretched around my shaft.
Never in my life had I ached for someone the way I did her. We were connected in the most intimate way possible, and it still didn’t feel like it was enough.
“Ride me,” I ground out. “Show me you want me as much as I want you.”
Without a second’s pause, she lifted up and drove back down, whimpering and moaning with each thrust and swivel of her hips. But I needed more. More of her. More of this. More of everything.
Whipping her shirt over her head, I yanked the cups of her bra down, exposing those pert rosy nipples that made my mouth water. I dove in, sucking and biting until Gina’s movements became sloppy and agitated. Her cunt tightened and I knew she was close, but when I lifted my head, I saw her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip in an effort to hold it back… until I gave her the okay.
Fuck, she was perfect for me.
“Don’t hold back,” I commanded, driving up into her every time she ground down on me.
Her eyes were glazed and unfocused as she gazed down at me. “You feel so good,” she groaned. “So thick. I need to come.”
I needed it too. “Then do it, baby.”
When her lips parted and her walls clamped around my cock, I had just enough time to slap my hand over her mouth to muffle the scream as she came all over me, drenching me in her juices until I had no choice but to follow right after her. It was fucking ecstasy, draining myself inside her with no barrier between us, and I knew right then, without a doubt, that I’d never get enough. Not for as long as I lived.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Killian
My phone pinged with a text, pulling me from a dreamless sleep. Unwinding myself from Gina’s soft, warm body, I twisted around to look at the bedside clock. It was barely four in the morning. We’d only been asleep for about two hours, so whoever was texting could fuck off.
Bending over the bed to grab my phone from my pants pocket, I swiped the screen to reply, telling the asshole exactly that when I saw who the message was from.
Declan: Where the fuck are you?
Shit.
Me: In bed. Sleeping. Go away.
His response was immediate.
Declan: You’re not in your room, asshole. We need to talk.
Me: We can talk later. When it’s not the middle of the fucking night. And how the hell do you know I’m not in my room, psycho?
Declan: Cuz I walked in on you and Gina at the club, motherfucker. You were too busy to notice. Now get your ass down to the lobby. Now.
“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled as I threw my legs over the side of the bed.
Gina stirred and slowly peeled her eyes open as I pulled my pants back on. “Where you goin’?” she murmured sleepily.
“Shh, sweetness.” I finished dressing and sat down in the bend of her legs. “Go back to sleep. I just gotta go talk to Deck real quick, then I’ll be back. Where’s your room key?”
Her face scrunched in adorable confusion. “On the dresser. Why do you have to go talk to him in the middle of the night?”
What I said next woke her up completely. “Apparently he saw us. At the club.”
“What?” She shot to sitting so fast her head nearly connected with my chin.
“Relax.” I tried to soothe the frayed nerves I could see in her golden eyes. “I’ll take care of it. It’ll be fine.” She chewed on that bottom lip again, a tell that she was uncomfortable, so I asked, “You trust me?”
A stagnant pause sent a cloud over the room before she finally nodded. “Yes.”
“Then trust me to handle this. Everything’ll be just fine. I’ll be back before you know it.”
I gave her a quick kiss, stood, and grabbed the key from the dresser before taking the elevator down to the lobby. It was the last goddamn place I wanted to be when the other option was curled up in bed with my Thumbelina.
“Make it quick,” I growled once I stepped off and spotted Declan propped against the wall with his arms crossed.
The lobby was dead at this time of night, with the exception of a skeleton crew working the front desk. We had to be mindful to keep our voices low so the words didn’t reverberate off the miles of expensive Italian marble loud enough for anyone to hear.
“Our assistant? Really, Kill? After what fuckin’ happened with the last one?”
“Hey!” I snapped defensively, drilling my finger into his chest. “Don’t act like what happened with that bitch was my fault. Every one of you guys drilled Kimber, that wasn’t just me.”
Declan’s lips pursed on a puff of air while he looked to the side and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Christ, man, I get it. She’s hot. She’s also sweet and funny as hell, but it’s different this time. She’s tight with Tate and the rest of the girls.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
His scowl was heavy with disapproval. “Then why the fuck did you go there? She’s not just some skank you can scrape off when you’re done with her. She’ll always be around.”
My insides began to heat at the accusation in his tone. “Newsflash, asshole. I already thought about all that.”
“And you still decided to fuck her?” he asked with an incredulous laugh. “Jesus!”
“Yeah, I did. Because it’s more than just that. I love her.”
That statement jerked us both to a stop. I hadn’t intended to say it out loud, or even think it, but the words just spilled out.
Holy shit. Holy shit! I loved her. I hadn’t even realized until I said it, hadn’t even let myself consider it. I’d been in love before, or at least thought I had. And that hadn’t exactly worked out in a way that made me gung-ho to take another turn on that ride. But I couldn’t stop myself from falling for her.
Shit.
“You… what?”
I lifted my shoulder with a dejected shrug. “I love her,” I admitted. “I didn’t plan to. Hell, I didn’t even want to. But it happened, and I couldn’t stop it.”
“Jesus, brother.” He curled his top lip at me. “You make it sound like loving her is the same as eating a steaming pile of dog shit.”
“I’ve been down that road before, dude. I know where it leads, and I know what it’s paved with.”
“Cara fucked you over, I’ll give you that.” When he spoke her name, every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “So, what? You’re tellin’ me that me and Tate won’t work out? Garrett and Baby Mama? Ian and Corrie? They gonna screw us all over?”
“What? Of course not!”
“Well, it sure as hell sounds like that’s what you’re sayin’. Look, I get it. You were burned pretty fuckin’ bad, and not just by Cara. Your mom was a real piece of work. It takes a special kinda bitch to walk out on your own kid. I don’t blame you for being hesitant, but don’t paint all women with the same brush. You’re only hurting yourself.”
My brain was on overload; it couldn’t process anything more, not in the middle of the night with practically no sleep. “Look, I get you’re trying to help, and I appreciate it. I promise, I’m not gonna screw Gina over. But for now, can we keep this under wraps? And can I please fuckin’ go back to bed?”
His mouth twisted in a knowing smirk. “Yeah, go on. Just try not to keep her up too late. We fly out tomorrow.”
I turned on my heel and started for the elevator, flipping him the bird over my shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, asshole. See you in a few hours.” Then I got on the elevator and let it take me back up to my Thumbelina.
Slipping the keycard into the lock, I waited for the light to turn green, then pushed the door open. Gina sat up in the bed, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She’d been naked when I left but now wore the button-down I’d been wearing over my tee earlier.
“Hey.” She was worrying that bottom lip of hers again. “Everything go okay?”
I shed my clothes as I moved, leaving them in a trail to the bed. Putting my knee into the mattress, I grabbed her ankle and pulled so she was lying on her back beneath me.
“Yeah,” I answered, slowly undoing o
ne button at a time, revealing inch after inch of that smooth, olive-toned skin. “I told you you could trust me. I took care of it.”
“And I’m not gonna lose my job?”
My hand froze. When I looked into her eyes, there was uncertainty and fear shining back at me. “That’s what you’re worried about? Losing your paycheck?”
“Killian,” she said, her voice full of warning as her face went hard. “I see where your head is going, and I’m only gonna say this once. Don’t. I’m not a moneygrubber, you know that. But you also know how important these paychecks have been when it comes to taking care of my mom. I’ve almost saved up enough to get her into a better home.”
“Damn it,” I groaned, rolling to my back and digging the heels of my palms into my eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let my mind go there.”
Her voice went soft as she climbed on top of me. “Hey. It’s okay. You pulled yourself back, so don’t beat yourself up too badly.”
Dropping my arms to my sides, I looked up as she started back on the task I’d abandoned, unbuttoning the shirt at a teasing pace. The valley between her breasts all the way to her navel was exposed. There wasn’t anything sexier on a woman than that patch of skin. It didn’t matter if they were a leg man, a tit man, or an ass man—show that area, and any guy on earth would cave to a woman’s will.
“Christ, you’re so goddamn beautiful,” I mumbled, lifting a hand and trailing a finger down the center of her chest and belly. “So smooth and soft and fuckin’ perfect.”
“Glad you think so.” The shirt fell from her shoulders, and my eyes feasted on every creamy square inch as she smirked wickedly and lifted my hand to her breast. “Now touch me.”
I squeezed the full round globe, twisting her nipple between my thumb and index finger as I slid the other hand between her thighs. She was already fucking dripping. Sliding two fingers in deep, I curled them toward me to rub her G-spot. Gina’s head fell back as she began riding my hand, the slick folds of her pussy gliding back and forth along the underside of my dick.
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