I don’t care that I may not be able to afford it. I don’t care about anything except rest. I doze off as the car drives, and must fall asleep completely because I jerk awake when I hear the cabbie swear.
“Shit, girl. You sure this is where you want to be?”
He’s just started pulling into Brent’s driveway, to the point it would be hard for anyone to see us. We can clearly see the glow of flashing red and blue police lights coming from near the house.
“Back up and park down the road,” I say. “How much do I owe you?”
He does as I ask, and I’m elated that I have just enough soggy cash left to pay him off. My heart is pounding as I get out and head to the back of the house. No one can see me here as I’m protected by a line of trees. The back lights come on automatically, and the door is locked. The side door has a lock code on it for the housekeeper to use. I go there, punch in the code and slip inside.
Why the hell are the cops here? I have no idea what I’m going to find when I go in. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Hours ago, I ran from this place for my life. Now I’m right back where I started, without any answers or reassurance that I’m not in danger.
Just a hunch, and honestly, a lack of other options.
My only solace is that the police are here. Voices from the front room float back to me, getting louder as I go down the hall. It’s surreal when I stop in the archway and come face-to-face with Brent.
A tumult of emotion crosses his face at the same time my heart fills with nearly unbearable joy and anger and love.
“Erica!” He rushes over to me, hands outstretched as if he’s afraid I’m some figment of his imagination. Four cops stop what they are doing and turn to watch us. Tears prick my eyes as Brent stops before me. He’s visibly trembling, and I wish—hope—it’s because he was worried about my safety.
“Are they here because of me?” It comes out as a whisper. I clear my throat and ask again, stronger this time. He nods absently, as if he’s in a fog.
Looking past him, I catch a cop’s attention. “I’m fine right now, but there’s no guarantee I’m going to stay that way. Can you all check back tomorrow to make sure I’m still alive?”
Brent’s brow falls, his tempting lips part as if he’s stunned by what I said. Meeting his eyes, I cross my arms to keep myself from touching him.
“You are going to tell me everything. Everything, including what happened to Liz.”
For the first time since I’ve known him, Brent doesn’t fight authority. He’s not the alpha right now and he knows it. I am.
I fucking am.
He nods and moves towards me, but the officer intervenes.
He has me sit, asks me a million questions. I’m too tired to talk about it now, I beg off. I need to figure out a story that doesn’t involve Georgios. It takes some convincing, but they finally leave without me saying much of anything. They set a time to come back tomorrow.
The entire time, Brent never takes his eyes off me.
I want his arms around me, those strong, warm arms holding together all the parts of me that are broken by fear.
By the time the house is empty, I’m ready to drop.
Brent sinks onto the sofa beside me, his leg brushing into mine. I can’t bear his touch right now. We’re alone and I still don’t know what part he played in my kidnapping.
“Erica…”
“Did you have me kidnapped?” I bark out the words, trying to keep some semblance of control.
“Jesus, no. I was trying to protect you! The housekeeper said you locked her in the wine cellar. Fuck, Erica, what happened?”
“I left.” I move back as if I can back away from the truth. “I thought you were trying to—”
“Left? Do you have a fucking death wish?”
“You left me little choice, Brent! I thought you were working with…with Georgios.”
Brent advances on me then. I don’t move away from him. In fact, there’s no fear left in me right now. The enormity of what I’ve gone through is setting in, and it’s too exhausting to allow for any fright.
When he takes my upper arms in his hands and pulls me to his chest, I melt. Sobs rack up from deep inside my soul. I bury my face in his shoulder and am still. He smells like shampoo and detergent and musk.
“Never, Erica. My God, no.”
“What about the expense reports?”
He takes a breath as if to speak, but doesn’t. Pulling away, I look into his eyes and struggle to not lose myself there. He lowers his gaze and shoves his hands in his pockets. I’ve never seen him so lost and I equally want to rip him apart and comfort him.
“Brent, listen to me. When I ask you about Liz, it’s not because I’m jealous. I need to know what I’m up against here. I want to make it out of this mess alive, and I need the truth about what happened to her. I need the truth about everything, and that might be a good place to start.”
His Adam’s apple moves as he swallows hard. With a step away from me, he runs one hand through his hair and gives an absent shake of his head. His shoulders relax and then, like the will is just knocked out of him, he seems to deflate.
He’s defeated.
My heart swells with undeniable pain in reaction to seeing him like this.
“Brent,” I murmur. I take his wrist lightly in my hand. Our eyes lock and I’ll do anything to see light fill his again. On instinct, I brush a lock of hair away from his temple. His skin is so warm beneath my fingertips. Just like that, I’m falling all over again.
His lips twitch as his gaze falls to my mouth. In that moment, we move toward each other and his lips press down on mine. I open for him, allowing his tongue to slide against mine, hot and wet, and I’m lost in the familiar need I have only for him. Tingles race over my body, elation filling me up.
Brent leans into me, his body seeking and malleable as his form presses to mine. For a beat, I stay still and absorb the feel of him. His scent. Our lips meet, and I suddenly need to move against him, to show him all the love and urgency inside me. Our fingers entwine as he pulls back to look at me.
The confidence and control he wears like a second skin is back. I can tell he needs this, needs to feel strong again before he can expose himself to me.
“Upstairs,” he growls.
I purr, “Yes, Sir.”
5
I barely step into Brent’s room before he grabs me and shoves me against the door frame. He takes my face in his hands and grinds his lips to mine. In a rush, our bodies are pressed together. It feels like a lifetime since we’ve been this way. His growing erection presses against my stomach, and I lean my hips into him so I can feel every inch of it swell into hardness.
My hand slides up into his thick hair, my fingers entwining in the strands as he deepens his kiss. Brent holds my chin, keeping me in place as he drives his tongue into my mouth, over and over. The edge of the doorframe cuts into my back, but I barely feel it as lust consumes me. I want to devour him. He can’t kiss me hard enough, deep enough.
I want more. I always want more.
His hand slides to my throat. I draw in a shallow breath right before his fingers close gently around my neck, his palm pressed against the hollow at the base of my throat. He squeezes as he kisses me harder. A burst of edgy need explodes through me. I want to claw his clothes off, but I don’t dare move. Swallowing is difficult against his hand, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love when he possess me.
This show of his dominance makes me so wet, I can feel my thighs dampening.
Slowly, his hand leaves my neck and drags down my body. He leisurely plays with my nipples through my shirt. The pleasure is instant and deep. His mouth on mine pins me, reminding me not to move until he tells me. I can’t help but arch a little against his hand as he pinches my nipple. He groans, but it’s not reproachful, so I arch a little more, desperate for more pleasure.
“Are you being greedy, Erica?”
I am. So greedy.
“Yes, Sir.”
>
“Undress.”
He doesn’t have to ask me twice. I’m trembling as I remove my clothes. I keep my eyes lowered, very aware that he’s watching me. It turns me on so hard to know he’s devouring me with his eyes. Brent makes an appreciative sound as he takes my hand and leads me across the room to the closet. There, he opens the bifold door and pulls a red box forward.
My breath catches as he moves to stand behind me. His hands grace over my body, lightly tracing the curve of my back and the rise of my ass. My pussy throbs as he caresses, teasing the creases on the backs of my thighs. I want to spread my legs and beg him to explore. His touch whispers over my hip bones to my stomach and up over my ribs.
My body is on fire with need, my clit tingling and begging to be touched. He cups my breasts and thumbs my nipples and I’m ready to come out of my skin.
“On your knees.” He punctuates the order by gripping my hips and pushing me down. My knees and palms touch the soft carpeting when I hear the sound of his zipper. He sinks down behind me, one hand holding my hip, his knee spreading my legs wider apart. I’m panting now, so filled with anticipation I can hardly breathe. The tip of his cock slides in between my pussy lips.
A jolt of white hot pleasure shoots through me as he strokes my clit. Slowly, again and again, his plump tip rubs against me. I’m mindless with building ecstasy when he drives into me.
The first thrust nearly knocks me off my knees.
The second pushes me to the edge of orgasm, but he pulls out before I can fall.
“Open the box.” His voice is thick and ragged.
I swear, I can’t think of a fucking thing. “What?”
“Open. The. Box.”
He fucks me again, harder. The top of his cock rubs against my sensitive spot, deep inside. It feels amazing and all I can think of is to grind down on him, take him deeper and hold him in place so he never leaves that spot.
“Box.”
I fumble to do as he asks. My legs tremble as I hold back the urge to push back against him, to lower my head and meet him thrust for thrust. But he’s given me an order, and I need to comply. I lift the top off and set it aside. Just then, Brent slides out. I groan in protest as the delicious, amazing pleasure uncurling deep inside from his cock starts to slowly fade. He moves my legs a little farther apart and thrusts his length against my clit.
My eyes close against the intense pleasure, my mind chanting, pleasepleaseplease as the spiral starts to wind deep inside my pussy, hotter and harder.
“Choose something from the box.”
I’m drowning in sensation and it takes all my concentration to look inside the box. A smile pulls my lips.
Vibrators. A pile of vibrators. All colors, sizes and shapes, heaped up and waiting for me to choose. Brent increases his pace and I clench my eyes against the orgasmic rim I’m tiptoeing around. Without looking, I reach inside the box and grab the first vibe my fingers touch. Brent takes it from me before I get a good look at it, and pulls away. He stands and pulls me up with him. My body screams in protest, legs so weak I can barely stand.
“Lie on the bed.”
I do as he says, grateful to not have to stand on my jellified legs. His expression is lusty and dark as opens the drawer on the nightstand, his eyes never leaving mine. Gently, he slips a black velvet blindfold over my eyes.
Something warm brushes my cheek. I jerk in response, until I get a whiff of his decadent skin, and recognize the scruff on his jaw against mine.
“Do you trust me?” Brent whispers against my ear. I’m momentarily stunned by the question. He knows why my faith in him as a boss, as a man, was rattled. But as my lover, as my Dom, my trust is iron clad.
I press my thighs together to try and ease the ache. “Yes.”
He flips me onto my stomach and pulls my hips up so I’m back on my knees again. Then something soft and cool touches my wrists, binding them. He’s tied me to the bedpost. I wiggle my fingers, realizing my wrists are loose enough I can easily pull free. I wait for him to tighten the cord…but he doesn’t.
Brent’s fingers are warm and firm as he traces the curves of my body. My breath catches in anticipation as he settles behind me again, his hands stroking my ass. He reaches between my legs and pets my pussy, one finger dragging slowly along my seam. I moan but force myself to hold still. The vibe clicks on with a soft whirring sound.
“Your sweet pussy is begging for this, isn’t it?” Brent presses the vibe against my inner thigh. I quiver and exhale as excitement courses through me. He rolls the length of the vibe up my thigh where the soft vibrations tickle my lips. He moves the vibrator up and down my thighs and presses it against my pussy just enough to leave me breathless before moving it again.
I’m edging so hard that it takes all my concentration and will to hold still and let him tease me like this. My orgasm wants to roar out of me and I’m damn near begging as he slips the vibe between my legs and presses my thighs close together. The toy isn’t touching my clit directly, but the vibrations ripple through, surrounding me in torturous pleasure.
“Please,” I beg quietly.
Brent strokes my ass and settles himself firmly behind me. With a grunt, he thrusts into me. It’s tight like this but I’m so wet, he slides in easily. Reaching around my front, he wiggles the vibrator until it breaches between my lips and settles against my clit. I cry out, my arms pulling on the restraints as I nearly lose myself in the pleasure.
Suddenly, the vibrator buzzes at high speed. My throat clenches with the impact. He moves it hard, back and forth over my clit while he fucks me. In and out, his thighs slamming against mine. My mind start a fade to black, a slow dizziness consuming me. It’s hard and forced, the whirlwind that’s ripping through me. But I love it. I fucking love it.
He’s given me an out by leaving my restraints loose. He’s saying he trusts me too. But I won’t break free because I want this. I need this.
Brent groans and grips my hip hard. He presses the length of the vibe against me so it fills every empty space. I cry out and grind against him. I’m dying. I’m losing it. Fuck.
“Come on my cock, Erica. I want to fucking feel you come.”
The dirty words throw me over. I clench hard around him as the orgasm slams into me. My head drops to the mattress, my arms pulling on the restraints. My hands break free and I grip the sheets, crying out into the satin. His cock swells and pulses, his release pumping into me in hard spurts that make the waves of pleasure stronger.
By the time I come back into awareness of my surroundings, I’m lying on my side with Brent’s arm around me.
Jesus.
Our heavy breathing surrounds me, our sweaty bodies entwined. I’m drifting in and out, my mind and body so sated that I’m a puddle. It’s a while before my head is clear and alert. I glance up and find Brent watching me. He smiles lazily and kisses the top of my head.
He pulls me closer until my head settles comfortably on his chest. His arm presses tight against me, holding me as if he never intends to let me go. I savor this, just letting the intimacy of it sink in. After a moment, our breaths match pace, and I swear I hear our heartbeats beating the same rhythm. The coarse hair on his chest tickles my fingers as I swirl them over his skin.
I really could stay like this forever, and sleep while I do it. But the lingering questions in my mind won’t let me rest. His own fingers begin to trail over my back, eliciting goosebumps in their wake. As if sensing my inner thoughts, he lolls his head toward me and kisses my forehead.
“Liz was everything to me.”
The words are bombs. Jealousy spikes through me, even though I told him that particular emotion no longer drove my curiosity about his former lover. It’s just that, when I’m with him like this, I don’t want to hear about another woman being his everything, even though my rational self knows his past feelings for Liz don’t represent his present feelings for me.
“Her name wasn’t even Liz. It was Olivia.” Brent pauses for a long time and he see
ms to be so lost in the past that he perhaps forgot to continue.
“Why did you call her Liz?” I prompt softly. It eats at me that simply thinking about her can wrap him up like this, but I also feel a profound sadness that her life was cut short. His fingers keep brushing my skin, back and forth, back and forth, and I wonder if he’s aware that he’s even touching me.
“When she was a teenager, she looked like a young Liz Taylor. I guess I teased her about it once or twice and the nickname stuck.” His arm tightened around me. “We were childhood friends. Our families spent time together. For whatever reason, Liz and I just…clicked. Always. In every way.”
Twin flames, I think.
“We dated in high school and we were just so close that everyone, including Liz and me, thought we’d get married one day. But, it was complicated too. As we got older…” His voice trails off as if he’s hesitant to reveal what’s on his mind. I lightly kiss his cheek, letting my lips linger on the scruff along his jaw. He exhales.
“We were a complete match sexually. She loved my need for dominance and was more than willing to explore her submissive tendencies with me. We grew together that way. It bonded us.”
I think of Liz’s collar, the one I found in Brent’s room. The relationship between a dominant and a submissive can be many things, and I understand how deep it can go for two people already in love, learning and exploring dark fantasies. My breathing is shallow and my chest hurts, but like watching a car wreck, I can’t stop staring.
“We broke things off when we each went away to college. I needed to explore more, and so did she. We couldn’t marry having had no other experiences. It was hard at first, to think about her fucking other men. But I was excited about broadening dominance with other women and…it worked. We didn’t have to be together to be in love.”
I understand, I do. Even though I’ve not had that sort of love in my life before Brent, I imagine the pain he must have felt at letting her go was second only to his exhilaration over the freedom to explore who he was. Knowing she would still love him when the time came around was probably grounding.
Boss: Complete Box Set: A Mob BDSM Romance Page 22