by L. P. Dover
That brought a smile to Kassie’s face. “Hopefully, that means you’ll be staying here for a while longer. I’m surrounded by racers every day and all day. It’ll be good to have a female around for a change.”
“Trust me, I know what that’s like. I’ve been surrounded by men my entire life, and not in a good way. Take for instance, Julian Cartwright.”
She gasped. “The guy who got murdered at the gala you were at?”
“Yep,” I said. “He used to scare off the men I tried to date. He was determined to have me to himself.”
“Wow, that’s insane, and really messed up.”
That pretty much summed up my life. “Yes, it was.”
Kassie reached over and grabbed my hand. “Not anymore. You’re here now, and away from all that shit. If you stay until the holidays, I promise you won’t regret it. We have the best Thanksgiving and Christmas ever. That’s only three to four months away. The town goes all out with decorations, and we have a huge bake sale that I never miss. Mrs. Jennings from the local church makes the best cakes ever. I always buy a couple and serve them at our family dinners.”
It all sounded amazing. “If she makes a red velvet I’ll be first in line to buy it.”
Kassie’s eyes brightened. “You’ll have to fight me for it. I get one every year.”
All three guys walked around the side of the house, laughing and joking. Micah nodded at us and smiled before disappearing inside the house. Bryce and Logan came up the steps, and Logan grinned. “Ready to ride again tomorrow?”
Shaking my head, I stood and rubbed my arms. “No way. You might have to give me a few days. My arms are already sore from holding onto Bryce.”
Bryce winked. “The hot tub will help with that.”
Logan turned to Bryce and shook his hand. “It was fun, man. You and Layla are more than welcome to come here anytime you want.”
“Yes,” Kassie blurted. I glanced back at her, and she nodded. “I could seriously use the girl talk. Plus, you’re safe here.”
“Thanks. For once in my life, I actually do feel safe.” I met Bryce’s gaze, and smiled. “It’s a good feeling.” I just hope it lasted.
Chapter Nineteen
Bryce
Today was a good day with Layla. I didn’t know how she was going to be with Logan and Kassie, but she fit in perfectly. It made lying to her that much more difficult, especially the harder I fell for her. And dammit to hell, I’d fallen so fucking hard.
We were on our way back to the cabin, and Layla smiled the entire time. Her whole body buzzed with energy, and it was the first time I’d seen her so alive. “I take it you had fun today?” I asked.
She slapped a hand over her chest. “Are you kidding? It was amazing. I’ve never been able to do anything like that before.”
I couldn’t imagine living life the way she did, basically locked in a cage and constantly guarded. “You and Kassie seemed to get along really well.”
She nodded. “Oh yeah, definitely. She said we should stay in town for the holidays. I know that’s another three to four months away, but it sounded like fun. They always have a big Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, and the town goes all out with decorations.”
I pulled up to our cabin, and we got out of the car. Staying would mean more time with her away from her family, and also, more time that sent me deeper into the lies. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I didn’t want to let her go. I reached for her hand, and we walked up the front porch stairs together.
“Do you really want to stay?” I asked, stopping at the front door.
I turned to her and she grabbed my other hand. “More than anything. The time I’ve had with you has changed everything. I don’t want this to end.”
“Then it won’t,” I murmured, pulling her to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I cupped her cheeks. “We can stay as long you want.”
“What about your family? Don’t you want to see them for Christmas?”
Brushing my thumb across her lips, I shook my head. “There’s always next year. They’ll understand. Maybe one of these days you’ll meet them.” Her eyes lit up, and I leaned down to kiss her. “Besides, you’re what’s important right now.”
She rested her forehead to mine. “Maybe I shouldn’t ask this, but I have to know.”
Brows furrowed, I looked into her angelic, greenish-brown eyes. “What is it?”
“Why are you doing this for me? I know you have a life you need to get back to.”
I shook my head and stared at her. The only life I had to get back to was the Circle of Justice. I never allowed myself to have anything other than that, until her. I got a taste of what it could be like to have something other than my job, and I wasn’t about to give it up.
Holding her tight, I kissed her long and hard, loving the feel of her body against mine. She moaned into my mouth, and I gripped her hips, ready to make love to her as soon as we walked through the door. I pulled away from the kiss and met her gaze. “I’m doing this because I’ve fallen so fucking hard for you, Layla. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
Eyes glistening, she gasped. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I love you,” I replied. The words rolled off my tongue so easily. I’d never said them to a woman before, but I meant it.
Layla flung her arms around my neck and held on tight. “Oh my God, you have no idea how much I wanted to hear that. I love you too.” I didn’t realize how much I wanted to hear it as well, but the flood of relief I felt at her words made it obvious. “Why don’t we go inside, and I can show you how much.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I picked her up in my arms and carried her inside the cabin to the bedroom we now shared. I tossed her onto the bed, and she giggled, but before I could rip off her clothes, her phone rang.
She pulled it out of her back pocket and groaned. “It’s Dominic. I’ll call him back later.” Grabbing the phone, I set it on the bedside table while she unbuttoned her jeans. I started to pull them off of her, but her phone rang again and again. Layla kissed me, and stared apologetically at me. “Let me see what he wants so he’ll stop calling.” Dominic had shitty timing. I took off my shirt and laid down on the bed with a huff. She rubbed a hand over my cock and winked. “It won’t take long, I promise. I’ll put him on speaker.” She pressed the speaker button on the phone and straddled my waist. “Hey, Dom,” she answered.
“Layla, are you okay? Dad’s been trying to reach you.” He sounded concerned, which had me on alert. Layla had been ignoring her father’s calls. She climbed off my lap, and I sat up. “Yeah, I’m okay,” she said quickly. “What’s wrong?”
“Penelope Cartwright went missing without a trace last night. We think she was abducted.”
Layla slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s horrible.” With everything going on, my guess was that it was the same men who tried to take Layla. She looked at me with a raised brow, and I nodded. She’d kept that information from her family so they wouldn’t pressure her to go back to New York, but they needed to know the truth.
“Go ahead and tell him,” I said, keeping my voice low.
Layla took a deep breath, and blew it out slow. “Dom, there’s something I need to tell you. The night Bryce and I left New York, we were chased by the same two men who took Michael.”
“What?” he snapped. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want you and Dad demanding I come back.”
Dominic huffed. “Dammit, Layla. At least, you’re okay. You haven’t had any problems where you’re at, have you?”
Layla nodded at me, and I answered. “No. I have cameras everywhere, and I have close friends nearby. We’re not alone out here.”
“Good. I know my father’s going to hate me saying this, but I think you two are probably much safer wherever you’re at. Hopefully, it’s somewhere far away.”
“We are,” Layla assured him.
“Dominic, were there c
ameras at Penelope’s house?” I asked.
Dominic sighed. “Yes. Cadoc Cartwright already looked through them. It’s the same shit we ran in to at the gala. Someone tampered with them.”
Layla looked at me, and I could see the fear in her eyes. “I see. Keep us posted if you hear anything. We’ll stay put.”
“Will do,” he said. “And Layla?”
She turned away from me, and focused on the phone. “Yeah?”
“You can’t ignore him forever. He’s still your dad, and he misses you. Yes, he’s made mistakes…”
“And I doubt he regrets any of them, Dom,” she growled. “He’s done some horrible, vile things I can’t just pretend never happened, and I hope and pray you aren’t doing the same.”
“I’m not, Layla. You can trust me. Stay safe, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. She ended the call, and laid down beside me.
Pulling her into my arms, I kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry about Penelope. I wish there was something I could do.”
She snuggled in closer to me. “What the hell is going on? First, Michael and the Cartwrights are murdered, then they come after me, and now they most likely have Penelope. What are these people trying to do?”
That was a good question, and one I didn’t have the answer to. None of it made sense. “I don’t know, Lemon Drop. If there’s anything I can do to help, tell me.”
She shook her head. “Just hold me. I feel safe whenever you’re close.”
I did as she said and held her tight. “Nothing and no one is ever going to take you away from me, Layla. I can promise you that.”
Her lips grazed against my neck. “I trust you.”
Guilt racked through my body, and I closed my eyes. Trusting me was the last thing she needed to do.
Chapter Twenty
Layla
FOUR MONTHS LATER
The months had come and gone so quickly. It was a week before Christmas, and we’d just gotten back from the town bake sale. There were two red velvet cakes up for grabs, and Kassie and I took them. I also convinced Bryce that we needed a Christmas tree. We picked one out together at the local lot, and I bought a ton of sparkly ornaments. It was actually kind of sexy watching him put it up in the living room, even more so when he wrapped the lights around it. I could tell he’d never done it before, and it took all I had not to laugh.
“Is it still leaning to the left?” Bryce asked from behind the Christmas tree.
I stood back and scanned the tree. It looked perfect. “Nope. You’re good. Now we need to hang the decorations.”
He stepped out from behind the tree, and I held out a box of ornaments. He stared down at them and sighed. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, Mr. Scrooge. Christmas is my favorite holiday. It’s our first one together, so it needs to be special.” He took the box, and I grabbed mine. Everything was just as I wanted it to be. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and the whole cabin smelled like warm cinnamon and apples. Bryce hung up the first ornament, and I smiled. “See, it’s not so bad, right?”
A smile spread across his face as he put up another one. “No. I remember helping my mom decorate when I was younger. But then, when my brothers and I got older, we didn’t care about it as much.”
Reaching into my box, I pulled out a glittery snowflake. “Must be a boy thing. Dom was the same way.” My brother still kept in touch pretty regularly, only to give me the same news I’d heard many times before. Penelope had never been found, but the investigation was still ongoing. It was all over the news for weeks, but then it died down, and now there was nothing about the progress of the case. It was like she never even existed. I was so afraid they’d find her dead, but I tried to keep optimistic. With each passing day, it grew harder and harder. I’d talked to my father on occasion, and every time he’d always find a way to ask how mine and Bryce’s relationship was going. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing, so I always lied and said nothing was going on.
Shaking my head, I tried to get thoughts of Penelope and my father out of my mind. It hurt to think about her, and it pissed me off to think about him. I grabbed another ornament, this one a small golden snow globe with a Santa inside. “My mother and I always decorated the tree together, even when I was away at college,” I said, trying to think of happy memories. “She’d wait for me to come home from break. Francis would make his creamy hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, and we’d drink it the entire night.” I looked over at him, and smiled. “My mom would’ve loved you. I hate you never got to meet her.”
His gaze saddened. “Same with mine. She would’ve loved you too.”
We finished decorating the tree, and I spread a couple of blankets on the floor by the fireplace so we could lay down and admire it. Or at least, I could. Bryce pulled me into his arms, and I laid against his chest.
“My father keeps asking about us,” I confessed. I’d intentionally kept it from him, but it was time he knew the truth. It hurt to keep secrets from him. “I think he knows I’m lying when I tell him nothing’s going on.”
Bryce sighed. “My family’s not going to be on his side, Layla. Whatever he wants from me, he’s not going to get it. The last thing I’m going to do is get my family involved in his shit. No one can do what he’s done and get away with it.”
The thought terrified me. Karma was a bitch, and my father definitely had it coming to him. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, but I knew it was inevitable.
Bryce rubbed his fingers gently up and down my arm. “I’m sorry if what I said upsets you, Lemon Drop. I’m just telling the truth.”
Eyes burning, I sat up and faced him. “It’s okay. I love my father, and I always will. It’ll break my heart if something happens to him, but I honestly don’t see him changing. He loves power way too much.” I gave in to the pain and let the tears fall down my face. “I miss my family, Bryce. I miss the way it used to be.”
Bryce brushed his thumb across my cheek to wipe away my tears. “I know. Every time you talk to your brother and Faith, I can tell how much you miss them.”
Holding his hand to my cheek, I leaned into his touch. “Being with you gets me through it.” I kissed him gently on the lips and deepened it when he dug his fingers into my hips. He pulled me down on top of him, and then rolled over, his weight pressing me into the blankets. “Are you trying to get me in a better mood?”
He winked. “Is it working?”
I wrapped my legs around his waist and felt how hard he was between my legs. “Maybe. If you take off your clothes, that might work better.”
His eyes flashed with a hunger so raw it made me tremble. “How about I take off yours?” He slid a hand over my breast and down my stomach to the waistband of my yoga pants. My breath hitched, and all I could do was nod. Ever so slowly, he pulled them down, along with my underwear. I tore off my own shirt and bra, wanting desperately to feel him touch me. Bryce chuckled and stared down at me, his cock straining against his jeans. “Guess my tactic is working.”
I bit my lip. “Clothes. Off. Now. If you don’t hurry, I’ll handle business myself.”
Mouth gaping, he groaned and closed his eyes. “Holy fuck, you’re gonna make me come just thinking about that.” When he opened his eyes, they were dark with need. He quickly took off his shirt and jeans and joined me back on the floor, covering me with his body. Everything moved in slow motion, starting when Bryce’s lips touched mine. It was as if every nerve ending in my body lit up like fire.
I groaned impatiently. “Bryce?”
He nipped the tender flesh behind my ear and growled low in his chest. “Yeah?”
“I want you…now.”
His lips stilled against mine, and he pulled back. “Right here?”
“Yes,” I claimed breathlessly. “I don’t think I can make it to the bedroom.”
He pushed his body into mine, teasing me by rubbing his cock against my clit. Lifting my hands above my head, he held me prisoner whil
e he bit his way along my collarbone and down to the mounds of my breasts. “Don’t think I could make it back either,” he murmured, grabbing one of my breasts. He pinched a nipple between his fingers, and I cried out as the pain shot through my body. It felt amazing.
Slowly, I glided my fingers down his washboard abs and wrapped them around his cock. Holding him tight, I pumped his length, rendering a strangled moan from between his lips. I loved that I could do that to him.
“You’re fucking killing me, Lemon Drop.” I let him go and he closed his lips over a taut nipple, sucking feverishly.
“More,” I rasped, arching my back.
“I’ll give you more,” he growled, sliding down my body. Goose bumps broke out all over my skin as Bryce started at my ankles and ran his hands up the length of my legs. I could feel his warm breath blow across my skin as he nipped my tender flesh. Using his knee to bump my legs apart, he slowly kneaded my thighs until he reached the spot between my legs. His thumb rubbed in circular motion over my clit, and my core tightened. When his face pushed between my legs and his tongue licked a straight line up and over my center, I sucked in a huge gasp.
Looking down, we made eye contact, and I almost lost it. Bringing my hands around the back of his head, I raked my fingers through his hair as he tongue-fucked me. Over and over, he licked and sucked my clit until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Let me taste you,” he commanded.
Just hearing his words was my undoing. Grinding against his face, I exploded from the inside out, gripping handfuls of his dark tresses as he tasted every drop of my desire. I couldn’t help but smile. No man had ever made me come that way.
“That felt amazing.” My body quivered as it came down from its orgasm-induced high, and Bryce was all too happy with my reaction. “I think I’m addicted to your mouth. I want more.” I pushed him off of me and straddled his waist. His cock throbbed between my legs, and I teased him by sliding along its length, only letting the tip inside me.