WickedTakeover

by Tina Donahue

Dante stopped this time and frowned. “No.”

  “Hey,” she shot back. “Don’t blame me if I jump to the wrong conclusion with your cryptic comments. You keep making me guess. Don’t you ever spit things out like the rest of us?”

  Not since he became an attorney. Sharing as little information as possible was so ingrained in him, Dante hadn’t realized he was still in lawyer mode. “I quit my job as lead counsel for one of the largest civil litigation firms in Palm Beach. My department handled product liability. Most of the time I was able to get out-of-court settlements. When I went to trial, I always won. I was fucking good at what I did. Too good.”

  They’d reached the kitchen. Its square footage was just a shade less than all of Wicked Brand’s. Dante turned on the lights, a series of recessed bulbs in the ceiling and a wrought iron chandelier. Its amber shades glowed softly above the mahogany island in the center of the room. Wood cabinets, copper utensils and black granite counters provided a decidedly masculine feel.

  Lauren regarded the refrigerator’s engraved wooden door. “What do you mean you were too good? How is that possible?”

  “I won when I shouldn’t have.” He pulled china and a silver serving tray from the cabinets, handing them to her.

  Lauren studied the pieces. “Are these yours too?”

  “Yep. Sold everything except my clothes and pickup.”

  Lauren put the plates and tray on the island. When she joined him at the refrigerator, he showed her two frozen rib eyes. “These look good.”

  “I’ll have to take your word for it. I haven’t had steak in months.”

  “That’s right. Thank god there’s no peanut butter and jelly here—hey.” She’d slapped his arm. “That fucking hurt.”

  “No it didn’t.” Lauren kissed his tat. “Better?”

  She had no idea. Her warm lips were a balm for his lust and longing. “Maybe.” After pulling out a third rib eye, Dante put the meat on a plate and ran cool water over it.

  “Are they dirty?” she asked.

  He laughed. Clearly, she’d never cooked unprocessed food. “No. The water helps them thaw.”

  Lauren nodded. “Why shouldn’t you have won? You said that earlier. It doesn’t make sense. If you don’t want to tell me,” she added quickly, “that’s okay. I can see how much this hurts you.”

  Dante hadn’t realized his feelings were still that strong or obvious. “I need to get the grill ready. I’ll tell you everything while I do.”

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want,” she murmured. “Whatever happened, you made the right choice as long as it made you happy.”

  Her approval was such a gift, Dante wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled Lauren close. She hugged him without restraint, her hands moving up and down his back as though to console. He pressed his cheek to hers. “I want to tell you. Come on.”

  She followed him out the sliding backdoor that led to the patio. As he headed for the bricked-in grill, Lauren spotted the pool. Only a small wall separated it from the Waterway. Dozens of stars dusted the sky, adding their sparkling light to the heavy moon. A smudge of clouds muted its brightness. Warm, humid air drifted past, ruffling vegetation, delivering it and the water’s pleasant fragrance.

  Lauren turned to him, her expression awed, eyes glittering in the soft landscape lights. Dante recalled feeling the same when he’d first seen this place and had known he could easily afford it. A hell of an accomplishment for a Cuban boy who’d grown up in Little Havana in a financially strapped family.

  As though Lauren recalled what he’d willingly given up, embarassment flooded her face.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “The place is beautiful. Nothing can ever change that.”

  “What happened?”

  “Before I tell you, I have a request.”

  “I won’t judge.”

  He knew that now. Being with her was so fucking comfortable again, Dante felt mischievous. “That’s not my request. Actually, it’s a demand. Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”

  Lauren’s attention darted to the neighbor’s yards, hidden by tall stone fences and vegetation, then to the Waterway and finally to the landscape lights. The illumination was hardly enough to expose the area to prying eyes from passing boats. There weren’t any at the moment and probably wouldn’t be at this hour. Whether that or desire stoked Lauren’s courage, she pulled down her skirt and stepped out of it.

  Dante grinned at her naked tummy and cunt. “You didn’t wear panties.”

  “You told me not to.”

  That he had. “I said that about your bra too.”

  “I won’t have it on for long.”

  She ditched the rest of her clothes quickly then toed off her sandals. In the yellowish lighting, her pale skin took on a golden hue, except for her rosy nipples. Tight as hell, the tips rigid.

  His hunger for her kicked in again, big time.

  Lauren pulled one of the deck chairs to the grill, turned it away from the Waterway to face him, then sank down to its plump cushions. With her legs parted widely and her arms folded over her head to display her breasts, she said, “Show me yours. Please.”

  Dante’s smile died, taking his lust with it. He pulled a bag of mesquite chips from one of the drawers beneath the grill, along with a large aluminum bowl that he filled with the chips and water. As he stirred the concoction with his hand, he said, “When I first started law, I had no illusions about making the world a better place. I can’t remember a time when my parents didn’t struggle to feed all of us. I didn’t want that for myself, them or any of my brothers and sisters.”

  He turned to her. “I wanted money. Hell, I worshipped it. Well before I passed the bar, I knew product liability was the way to go as long as I was on a corporation’s side. I was as greedy as they come.”

  “I don’t believe that,” she said. “You were tired of struggling. Who wouldn’t be?”

  “I could have been a better man,” he argued. “I knew exactly what I was doing when I twisted the law in favor of the businesses I fought for. Don’t get me wrong, I never did anything illegal. I simply pushed the envelope. For a lot of the plaintiffs that made sense. Everyone knew they were trying to stiff the companies. The bigger the business, the better the payoff. To them, a suit was their way of getting rich. I was simply keeping them from fucking others who’d worked for their money. Soon, I looked at all plantiffs that way even if they had legitimate complaints.”

  He shook his head at how judgmental and arrogant he’d been. “I got to the point where the truth didn’t matter anymore. I dragged everyone through endless depositions, delayed their day in court as much as I could, wearing them down until they were willing to settle for practically nothing and were grateful to be getting that. At the time I told myself it was all right because I wanted to pay off my parents’ mortage, send my brothers and sisters to college, buy this place. If not for my last case, I’d probably still be doing it.”

  Lauren had already lowered her arms. With her hands clasped, she leaned forward, listening, not judging.

  Dante wasn’t certain he deserved her support. Until now, he’d been fairly certain he’d forgiven himself, yet all of the shame edged close again.

  He cleared his throat and laid it all out. “On my last case, a toy manufacturer retained the firm to fight a class action suit filed by a group of parents. Their children were injured by a tricycle the company sold. Two of the kids died.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened.

  Dante should have stopped but couldn’t. He wanted her to know. “All of the kids had been riding the trikes without direct parental supervision, meaning the kids were with their siblings rather than an adult at all times. Even if the parents were around, they were busy with other stuff, barbequing, doing yard work, you name it. Just like countless other people every day. But that’s what I honed in on. The fact that the parents hadn’t watched their kids every minute they were on the trikes. Not that it would have mattered if they had.”
>
  He leaned against the grill and took a deep breath. “The turn radius on the trikes was off, which made them tip over if the kid got a little rambunctious. What kid doesn’t? One little girl went over the handlebars and landed on her head. She died of brain injuries on the way to the hospital. A boy fell sideways. He was near the edge of a curb and injured his spine. He won’t walk again. He’d just turned three. The trike was a birthday present.”

  Lauren bit her bottom lip.

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, not wanting to cause her any pain, hating himself for not even considering that. “I will. I don’t have to tell—”

  “Please. I want to hear it.”

  It was a moment before he could fight his guilt enough to continue. “The company knew there were problems and could have fixed them easily but they counted on nothing more than a few scraped knees and elbows even though their engineers had warned them it could be worse. They refused to budge because it would have cost them a few pennies in profit. I knew all of this, and I still fought for them.

  “I argued that it was the parents’ responsibility to rein in their kids and see that they used the trikes properly. They should have insisted their children wear headgear. Everything in life carries risks. You can’t put a company out of business when a few out of hundreds of thousands get hurt simply because the parents were too lazy to supervise. The jurors believed my case more than they did Scott’s and refused to award anything to the parents. These were people who didn’t have a lot to begin with, many were minorities, struggling to pay their children’s medical bills. I shouldn’t have won. It was wrong. I knew it at the time but I wanted this.”

  He gestured to the house and backyard.

  Lauren didn’t comment.

  Sighing deeply, Dante dropped his arms and risked looking at her, afraid he’d see disdain finally.

  Tears sparkled in her eyes. Not for him, he didn’t deserve that. For the families and kids.

  “I tried to live with myself after that,” he said, his words catching. “I couldn’t. It ate at me. Finally, I left the firm and sold this place to Scott. I set up trusts for Eduardo, the toddler who was paralyzed, and two other kids who needed prolonged medical care. I liquidated everything that was left and gave it to my family.” Dante laughed sadly. “They’re a lot like you. They didn’t want it either. Said I had nothing to be ashamed of.” He swallowed. “I begged them to keep it so they wouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet. Money doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I don’t want—”

  He stopped as Lauren moved into him. She slipped her arms around his torso and rested her head against his chest.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, deeply ashamed of what she’d said to him that day at the parlor. If she’d only known…

  No. Screw that. She shouldn’t have judged period. Dante never had when it came to her. She was so fucking imperfect it was laughable. Yet, he’d done nothing except be her friend and lover. He’d continually tried to help.

  “Hey,” Dante murmured. He eased back and stared at her. Lauren hadn’t meant to cry and suddenly couldn’t seem to stop.

  “I shouldn’t have told you,” he said.

  “I’m glad you did.”

  “But you’re crying. Don’t, please,” he pleaded. “Everything’s okay.”

  “No it’s not. I was such a bitch to you.”

  “You were just having a bad day.”

  She blubbered another apology and pressed her face to his throat, kissing it and his cheek. His bristly skin was so damn masculine, he was such a good, decent man, she lost all control.

  “Lauren?”

  She’d yanked his tee up but the damn thing wouldn’t go past his shoulders and the back of his head.

  “Hey,” he said. “Slow down.”

  She couldn’t. Having been without him for too many days, she needed his strength and warmth. Fuck, she needed him deep within her. Forgetting his tee, she unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the fly.

  Dante finally had his shirt off. He dropped it and grabbed her hands. “I’ll get it.”

  Her thumbs were already beneath the waistband of his jeans and stretchy boxers. “You’re not moving fast enough.”

  “I will if you let go. Let me do this. You might hurt me.”

  She jerked her hands away from him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “I know. It’s no problem, all right?” He shoved off his clothes and kicked them aside.

  Lauren flew into his arms. Dante staggered back. She followed, pushing her fingers through his hair, using it to keep him to her as she captured his mouth and plunged her tongue inside. He froze for a moment then cupped her ass and pulled her into his ginormous erection, fucking hard, freaking silky, incredibly hot.

  They went wild, each of them trying to control the kiss. Dante won, pushing her tongue aside. He angled his head for greater penetration. Lauren submitted eagerly and couldn’t touch him enough. She ran her hands over his broad back, down his torso to his ass, the furrow between his cheeks.

  He pushed to his toes. She shot up with him. They sank to their heels together, the sounds they made sloppy, joyous, hardcore. Dante broke free finally and pointed his finger at her. “Don’t move,” he rasped and edged back. “I mean it.”

  Panting, Lauren padded closer, ready for a fucking lot more.

  Dante grinned then sobered. “Stay.” Quickly, he went to his jeans and dug a condom from his pocket.

  “Not yet,” she said.

  He gave her a weird look. “Not what?”

  “That’s our entrée. I want an appetizer first.” She headed for the chaise lounge.

  Dante grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting one of the pillows to put on the patio so we can lie on it.” Lauren snuggled into him, her mouth on his throat. “We’re going to eat each other.”

  She didn’t need to draw him a picture. Dante released her wrist. “I’ll set it up.”

  “It’ll go faster if I help.”

  “Just give me a sec. Hold this.” He handed her the condom.

  She tossed it over her shoulder.

  Dante planted his hands on his lean hips and breathed hard. Lauren took the opportunity to lick his left nipple then sucked the tat on his side.

  Laughing, he squirmed away. “Shit, that tickles. Don’t fucking move.”

  “Ever?”

  “Just until the boat passes.”

  Her heart stalled. Holding one arm over her breasts, Lauren covered her cunt with her free hand and looked over. The Waterway was still empty. She faced him with a frown.

  “You wouldn’t give me a sec,” he said. Finished with untying the chaise’s cushion, he tossed it. The thing landed near her feet. He undid a second one and dropped it near the first, making a reasonable bed for them.

  “Go on.” She pointed. “Lie down.”

  Dante pushed his face into hers. “Hey, who’s the boss here?”

  “Me. If you don’t do as I say, you won’t get my mouth on this.” She played with his equipment, stroking his cock, caressing his balls. “Sure you want that?”

  Like a good boy and a sex-starved man, Dante sank to the cushions but tied the corners together first to make certain they wouldn’t pull away from each other once the action started. Finished, he plopped down on his back, spread his legs and shamelessly flaunted his stuff. “Don’t make me wait.”

  Lauren held her hands behind herself as she strutted around the cushions, taking him in as he’d done with her their first night in his workstation.

  Dante kept turning his head to follow her, his cock growing harder by the minute. That baby was so erect, it lay on his belly, the crown pointing at his other head.

  “You’re so going to pay for this,” he warned.

  “Promises, promises.”

  He reached for her. She danced away.

  “Fine. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” He grabbed his rod and started stroking. Fas
t and hard.

  Lauren fell to her knees and slapped his hand away. “That’s my job.”

  “Then do it,” he ordered.

  Smiling, she turned to his feet and straddled his body. With his hands guiding her, Lauren positioned herself until her cunt was above his mouth and her lips were a breath away from his balls and cock.

  “I hope you like meat,” he said.

  Lauren laughed then settled in, wanting to relish the moment. She smelled his wonderful scent and licked his full length.

  He moaned loudly.

  Not letting that sway her, she swirled her tongue over his crown.

  Dante brought up his legs so fast, his hairy thighs bumped her shoulders. Offering no apology, he gripped Lauren’s hips, pulled her down to his mouth and licked her slit.

  She grunted at how damn good that felt.

  It was only the beginning. With one hand, Dante separated her cheeks then ran his finger down her furrow and probed her anus.

  Her tongue paused on his shaft.

  He sucked her nub.

  Lauren cried out and gripped his thigh as everything began spinning.

  Dante made it worse, licking her nub, working his finger into her anus, taking control.

  Uh-uh. This belonged to both of them. With more willpower than Lauren knew she owned, she fought every base sensation rolling through her and concentrated on the job at hand. She licked Dante’s crown as she would one of Jasmina’s Dove bars or Fudgsicles, enjoying his flavor far more. Once she lapped the veins on his shaft, she flicked her tongue over the base of his balls.

  He stiffened, paused then started suckling her again.

  Panting, Lauren tended to his needs, trying to ignore her own. Soon, they were sweating and swearing, trying to outdo each other as they both went nuts.

  “Shit,” Dante finally snapped. “I can’t fucking take it.”

  “Good—hey.”

  Ignoring her shout, he turned Lauren around and pushed her on her back. “I have to be inside you.”

  “You were.”

  “Your cunt, not your mouth.” He looked around for the condom.

  Leaning over, Lauren reached it first. “I’ll put it on you.”

  Dante looked like he wanted to argue. His face was scrunched in what appeared to be real pain.