by J. S. Cooper
“No one got luckier than me.” He kissed me back, and I felt his hands slide down to caress my ass.
“Jakob,” I whimpered against his mouth as he pushed me back against the wall and pressed his full length against me.
“Yes, Bianca?” He drew my hands up and flattened them against the wall behind me. I could feel my heart racing as he pushed himself into me harder and kissed my neck.
“Do you want to get lucky?” I whispered teasingly. All I could focus on was the fact that I was with the sexiest man in the world and that he was all mine.
“Are you joking?” he groaned as his left hand entered the slit of my dress and he ran his fingers up my thigh. I changed my stance slightly to give him easier access, groaning as he slid his hand all the way up to my thong and lightly rubbed between my legs. My body pulsed in reaction to his fingers, and Jakob’s heartbeat throbbed next to mine.
“Would I joke about that?” I murmured as I curled my hand around his neck and pulled his face closer to kiss him. His lips clung to mine longingly, and I ran my fingers through his silky hair as he continued getting me wet and excited with his fingers. And then he pushed his tongue into my mouth at the exact moment that he slipped a finger inside of me, and I felt myself drowning in the moment. Everything was turning me on: the roughness of his fingers inside of my smooth wetness, the feel of his hard cock against my stomach, the plunging of his guided, yet silky tongue as he assaulted the senses of my mouth, the woodsy masculine scent of his cologne, the soft tresses of his luxurious hair against my fingers, the rapid beating of his heart next to mine.
“Fuck me, Jakob,” I muttered as I pulled away from his kiss and looked directly into his eyes. “Take me now.”
Jakob didn’t wait to comply. I reached down and rubbed the front of his pants, quickly undoing his zipper. He was already hard as I slipped my fingers into his pants and I grinned with satisfaction that I’d been able to turn him on so quickly. I looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed what we were up to in our darkened corner, but I couldn’t see anyone watching us. “I’m a dirty bitch,” I whispered to myself as I realized that being in this room full of other disguised people was part of the excitement.
“Turn around,” Jakob said before spinning me to face the wall. “Lean forward and tilt your ass up.” He pulled my hair as he whispered into my ear and pushed himself up against me. I felt him moving the length of my dress to the side and once again I felt his fingers rubbing me, getting me wet and ready for his manhood. “Oh, Bianca . . . ,” he groaned as I felt the tip of his cock rubbing against my wet opening. I felt him glide into me smoothly and determinedly, and his cock pushed in and out of me quickly. All I could think about was how good it felt to have him inside of me. I clutched the wall and closed my eyes. I could almost forget that I was in a ballroom. I could almost pretend that I couldn’t hear the sounds of music pulsating from the speakers a couple of meters away from me. All I could really hear was the guttural sound of Jakob breathing as he filled me up. His movements were graceful and rough, and I almost collapsed as he grabbed hold of my hips and slammed into me hard. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take the intense pleasure before bursting into orgasm, and that made me almost sad. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want this exquisite feeling to leave me, ever. I loved the feel of him inside of me. I loved the feel of his pants rubbing against my ass as he entered me. I loved the pressure of his fingers on my hips. I even loved the cool breeze on my face from the AC vent above me. I loved the fact that we were doing something so taboo in public, and no one knew. I loved the fact that even if someone knew, I didn’t care.
“I’m going to come, Bianca.” He grunted and increased his movements. I felt him slam into me hard three more times before he exploded inside of me, and that’s when I erupted, my body shaking against him and the wall as I orgasmed. I rested my forehead against the wall for a few seconds and then felt him withdrawing from me and pulling my skirt back down before he turned me around and kissed me hard. “I fucking love you, Bianca London.”
“For letting you fuck me in a packed room?”
“No, for being you,” he said simply, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “And for letting me make love to you at a masquerade ball.” He laughed. “That was even hotter than I’d imagined it.”
eleven
“There you are.” Blake hurried over to us a few minutes later, and I blushed, wondering if he could tell what we’d been up to. He looked sharp in his black tuxedo and sparkly gold mask, and I smiled up at him, pretending that I hadn’t made love in this very spot just moments ago.
“How did you know it was us?” I said, surprised.
“I’d recognize you anywhere,” he said softly, and I shifted uncomfortably as Jakob gave me a knowing look.
“I’m glad you made it.” I changed the subject. “I haven’t seen Rosie or Steve yet, but some guy in a red mask was staring at us¸ so I’m sure they know we’re here.”
“Which means they most probably know I’m here too, now that I’ve come up to you.” Blake made a face. “That blows my cover.”
“So why did you come up to us?” I asked him softly.
“I’ve got more news, and I wasn’t thinking.”
“This is why I hired the other men,” Jakob said matter-of-factly.
“The chances of Blake making it in without talking to us or making eye contact were far too slim, and I’m sure every move we make is being watched.” He touched my arm lightly. “You forget that I’ve been on the other side.”
“Oh, I didn’t forget,” I said, and turned back to Blake. “So what did you find out?”
“The love child. I know who it is. I know who David’s secret half sibling is.”
“Just David’s?” I asked, my mind racing. “I thought it was David and Jakob’s half sibling?”
“I was wrong about that.” Blake was speaking fast, stumbling over his words. “The blackmail letter said ‘We have a child that shares our DNA.’ I automatically assumed that meant the child was Jeremiah’s, and thus David and Jakob’s sibling. However, that wasn’t right. The child was only related to David.”
“How is that possible?” I said, confused. “If Jeremiah fathered a child, why wouldn’t it be Jakob’s sibling as well?”
“Because in this case, the child wasn’t directly a result of the cheating,” Blake said dramatically.
“Then why the blackmail letter?” I frowned. “And who was cheating?”
“You’re talking about Macy, right?” Jakob looked at Blake, who nodded.
“Yes, I’m talking about Macy.”
“So who’s this mysterious child of Macy?” Jakob asked, his face looking intense. I wondered how he was feeling in this moment. If he felt as overwhelmed as I did.
“Steve!” Blake said excitedly. “Macy Vanderbilt is listed on his original birth certificate.”
“What are you talking about, original?” Jakob frowned. “How many does he have?” He paused and looked at me glaring at him and grinned.
“His first birth certificate was deleted from the system, and a new one was created,” Blake said. “And the mother was listed as unknown.”
“And Oliver Case was listed as the dad?” I asked.
“No, there was no dad listed. Ever.” Blake shook his head.
I was confused. “So no parents were listed on his birth certificate?”
“That’s correct.” He nodded. “I have a source at CPS and got access to the files from when Steve was put into foster care as a baby. Someone in children’s services never shredded the original birth certificate.”
“I don’t get it,” I said. “So Oliver and Macy had an affair. Macy had the baby and then put it up for adoption?” I said, looking at Jakob to see if he understood it better than I did.
“Why would Penny send my father a blackmail letter if it was Macy who had the affair?” Jakob asked Blake. “And why did Macy have an affair with Oliver and then give the baby up for adoption?”
“Why is a good question,” a voice said from behind us, and we all jumped. Steve stood there in all his awkward glory. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo or a mask, and he looked dreadfully out of place in his blue jeans and black shirt.
“Steve,” I said, my tone weak as I could feel the blood racing through my veins. This was it, then. This was the moment I’d been waiting for since I’d last seen Steve and Rosie.
“Fancy seeing you here, Bianca London,” he said, and then laughed. His face looked weirdly contorted, and I shivered as I stared at him. “We must stop bumping into each other like this. It almost seems like you’re following me around. Everywhere I go, there you are. It’s almost like fate.”
“Almost,” I said lightly. He stopped laughing and sneered.
“I mean it had to have been fate that had us on a deserted island together.” He paused. “Oh wait, that wasn’t fate. That was your boyfriend paying me to terrorize you.”
“What do you want, Steve?” Jakob’s voice was harsh. “We’re here now. Show us whoever you want to show us, and let’s get this over with.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Steve narrowed his eyes. “You’re not calling the shots tonight, Bradley.”
“And you are?” Jakob sneered back at him. “You’re not in charge of anything, Steve. You know that, right? Rosie is playing you.”
“I am in charge.” Steve’s face twisted up angrily, and he made a move toward Jakob. “You have no idea who you’re talking to.”
“What is it you want, Steve?” I asked him softly. “Maybe we can help you. I know you must have had a hard life.”
“A hard life?” He looked at me in distaste. “My mother was a whore who cheated on her husband. My father was a pathetic useless man who tried to play games to get what he wanted, but it backfired on him. They gave me up as a baby, and it was only when I became a teenager that I got a chance. Jeremiah Bradley hired me as his special assistant. Oh, the irony.” He moved his face to inches from mine. “You want to know what a hard life is? Being called a love child when you’re anything but loved.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I’m truly sorry that you’re a victim, Steve. We’re all victims here. I’m not your enemy.”
“I could love someone like you,” he said softly, and lightly touched the side of my face. I shook my head slightly as I saw Jakob about to make a move toward us. “I could spend my days in your arms as you kissed me and told me everything was going to be all right.” His eyes gazed into mine softly for a few seconds, and then he stepped back. “I see why he loves you so much.”
“I do love her,” Jakob said softly, and Steve turned to him with a sneer.
“I’m not talking about you.” He glanced at Blake. “You must be the best friend.” He glanced up and down at Blake and laughed. “And you wonder why you never got the girl. You look like a loser.”
“Steve,” I said, wondering what was going on. “Who do you want us to meet?” I touched his arm, and he turned to me with a blank expression.
“Who do I want you to meet?” His accent changed to English, as it had the first time I’d met him, and I wondered if he was truly all right in the head. There was a distinct possibility that Steve was insane. At first, I’d thought it was all an act, but I was starting to realize that this crazy ran bone-deep.
“Steve, you and Rosie wanted to take me to meet someone and then told me to bring Jakob to this ball.”
“I can’t believe you came.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you listened to us.”
“Is this a trap?” I leaned forward. “Please tell me, are Rosie and David trying to trap us?”
“David?” He started laughing. “David?” He fell forward as his laughter took over his whole body. “David doesn’t know anything. He’s a fool.”
“He’s your brother,” Blake spoke up.
“He’s no brother of mine.” Steve looked at him in disgust. “I should have killed him.”
“Why?” Jakob asked. “Why did you want to kill him?”
“Because.” Steve shrugged. “Just because.”
“What happened with our parents was wrong,” Jakob continued. “And you were a victim, Steve, but Rosie doesn’t have your best interests at heart. She’s using you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” He took a pill out of his pocket and swallowed it. “That dumb bitch has no idea what I have planned.”
“For us or for her?” I said softly.
“Jakob was right, you know. Your parents ruined everything.” Steve suddenly turned to me with a menacing look.
“What do you mean?” My heart thudded, and my whole body suddenly felt cold, and my hands were clammy.
“I know why my father slept with Macy Vanderbilt. I know why I was given up. But your father ruined everything. I trusted him at first. I thought he was on my side. But he’s not. He wasn’t. He used me, and now it’s time for him to know what it means to be used. His precious daughter will pay for his sins.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked him with a frown, my heart racing.
“He’s talking about the fact that Oliver was in love with Jeremiah,” Blake spoke up, and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor as I looked at him in shock.
“What?” My eyes nearly popped open. “What are you saying?”
“Oliver was in love with Jeremiah Bradley,” Blake said, and the only one who didn’t look shocked was Steve. Jakob stepped forward, and I watched as he took his mask off.
“Are you sure?” Jakob said, and Blake nodded.
“Nick caught them in bed together,” he said, his face a blank slate, even though he was telling us the most salacious news of the investigation.
“In bed?” I screeched. “Jeremiah and Oliver were in a relationship, or were they just having sex?”
“They were in love!” Steve shouted, and we all jumped. “That is why Jeremiah treated me like his own son. I was the son of the man he loved. Oliver wanted them to be a family. But your father ruined it, Bianca. Your father ruined everything.”
“Should we go into another room? Or find somewhere private?” I said quietly as I saw a couple looking at us with curious eyes. “We’re drawing attention to ourselves,” I said and looked at Jakob, my eyes darting to Steve and then back to him, hoping he was understanding the message I was trying to convey, that Steve was unbalanced and this wasn’t a good place for us to be hashing anything out.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Steve snarled, his eyes manic as he gazed at me. “You’re not going to ruin this for me, like your father ruined my life.” His voice rose again. “I don’t care how embarrassed you get.”
“That’s not quite true, you know,” Blake interjected, looking at Steve with narrowed eyes. “It’s true that Oliver was in love with Jeremiah. And it’s true that he wanted them to be together. He slept with Macy to show Jeremiah that Macy wasn’t faithful. He had hoped that Jeremiah would leave Macy and be with him instead. He wanted Jeremiah to come out of the closet and admit their love to the world.”
“My father was gay?” Jakob said softly. He had a glazed look on his face and was obviously struggling to process this revelation.
“Penny thinks he was bisexual,” Blake said, and it was then I realized that he must have been in contact with Penny again. I wondered why she’d been able to open up to him when she hadn’t wanted to open up completely to me and Jakob. As if Blake could read my mind, he looked at me sheepishly. “I was going to tell you what I’d found out right away, but I forgot with so much stuff going on.”
“That’s okay.” I could barely keep everything straight myself.
“She’s pretty sure that Jeremiah didn’t love Oliver,” he continued. “He was using Oliver so that he could get what he wanted from him, just like he used everyone else. But Oliver was so impressionable. He fell for Jeremiah the first moment he met him. He became his staunchest supporter, his number one fan. He worshipped him. He loved him as he’d never loved anyone.” He looke
d at Steve sympathetically.
“How do you know this?” I asked him softly.
“Penny sent me an e-mail. It contained copies of letters that Oliver had sent her from school. Oliver was a prolific writer, and his sister was the only one who knew he was gay. She was the only one he could confide in,” Blake said matter-of-factly, but I could see from the way he was staring at me that there was something he wasn’t telling me. Something he didn’t want Steve to know. Only I had no idea what it was.
“That’s what she tried to blackmail Jeremiah with, isn’t it?” I said thoughtfully. “That’s why she asked for a million dollars all those years ago. To keep her mouth shut. It had nothing to do with Steve being in a foster home or being Jeremiah’s long-lost son. It was about his affair with Oliver. That’s what he’d do anything to keep secret.”
“Yeah.” Blake nodded. “She said she realized after Oliver’s death that he’d been used. She said that the second-to-last letter she received from Oliver told her that Nick had walked in on him and Jeremiah in bed. He’d been shocked at first, but then happy because he thought it would be a reason for them to come out, maybe live a happier and more honest life. But Jeremiah was angry and insisted he was going to do no such thing. He said that he was going to pay Nick to keep quiet. He’d been confident Nick would take the money because he was still grieving over his wife’s death.”
“My dad would never do that.” I shook my head, knowing in my heart that my dad would never accept a bribe. He had been a good man. I truly believed that. Whatever had happened all those years ago had been a setup. And my father had paid for it with the loss of his wife and his own life.
“No, he didn’t.” Blake nodded. “He didn’t accept any money. He wasn’t trying to hurt your father, Steve.”
“He stole my father’s inventions and passed them off as his,” Steve shouted. “And then he ruined my father’s relationship. And then, then he said I needed to stay away from Bianca. As if I wasn’t good enough for her. I’m good enough. I’ll show him I’m good enough.”