I dropped her bag on the floor and the briefcase on the bed.
“What’s all that?” Easton asked, eyeing the bags.
“When did you get so damn nosy?” I checked my watch. “Let’s go up. You can tell Daddy Dearest I was outside smoking.”
Easton worked his jaw in frustration but let us pass.
“Don’t you have enough to worry about? I’ll talk to Mulaney at dinner about a few ways to relieve stress,” Sonya said with a wink.
My brother looked ready to explode. “Leave my wife out of this.”
She walked backward down the hall. “I would, except I think she’s very much involved in all of this.” She latched onto me, tucking her fingers in the crook of my arm.
“You hungry, sugar?” I asked.
“Starved,” she answered dramatically, overtaking my lead position so I was following her out the door.
The moment the three of us were in the elevator, she was all over me, pressing her tight little body up against me. This was to irritate my brother, but it quickly morphed into being about us. My hands sank into her ass, and she ground against my cock as she kissed me like she couldn’t get enough. The minx ran her hands all over me, and suddenly, I didn’t give fuck-all about anything else.
“Do you want to come?” I growled against her mouth, and she bit my lip.
“Why would you waste your breath on such a stupid question?”
Easton cleared his throat as the elevator signaled our arrival at his floor, then opened.
“Jesus Christ.” Mulaney was waiting for us by the elevator.
“I’m not ready to share this with you yet.”
Sonya was all but riding me now, the two of us dry humping like kids.
“God, you’re so selfish,” Sonya said breathlessly. “You’re going to make me get you off first, aren’t you?”
The smile I gave her rivaled one from the devil himself. “It took you that long to figure it out?” I asked. “Get on your knees and prove you deserve to have my dick in your mouth.”
She dropped to her knees and wasted no time reaching for my zipper. Mulaney spluttered, and Easton dragged her away, letting the elevator doors close. Sonya beamed at me from her position on the floor.
“That was so much fun,” she said, rubbing her hands together in glee. “They are so easy to rile up.”
I narrowed my gaze on her. “I wasn’t playing games, Tigress.”
Heat and desire dilated her big blue eyes. She lowered the zipper of my jeans and reached inside, taking out my cock. She wrapped her plump lips around my shaft. Her eyes stayed locked on mine, and I groaned, her mouth like heaven as she took me into it.
“Do it quick,” I commanded, and she sped her pace, opening wide as I deep throated her. She gagged, saliva streaming out both sides of her mouth. I held her head so she couldn’t do anything but take my cock, reminding her she was at my mercy. “My fuck doll is such a good girl,” I praised, and she raked her teeth along my shaft. I hissed and tugged on her hair, but the wicked look in her eyes told me she loved it.
She swiped her index finger along the side of her mouth, collecting the saliva without missing a beat.
“Don’t even think about touching yourself,” I warned, and I swear she smirked at me even though she had a mouthful of cock.
I was getting close, my balls already tightening. My jeans dropped to my knees, but I was too lost in how good her mouth felt to think much of it. Until her wet finger was jammed into my ass.
“Fucking hell,” I shouted.
She hit a spot inside me, and I came in her mouth without warning, my grip on her hair the only thing keeping me standing. Over and over she pumped that finger, and I just kept coming, hips jerking.
No woman had ever had the gall to do that to me. But fuck, I’d let Sonya do that again. Give her control. Fucking hell.
“Told you that you’d like letting me watch you with another man,” she said triumphantly. Just because she’d had her finger in my ass didn’t mean I wanted to take a dick up mine.
“Get your jeans down.” She did it slowly as though she was trying to seduce me. “I’ve already come, sugar. My concern about whether you do will only last another thirty seconds.”
She threw herself into action, and I enjoyed the power I held over her. “I can—”
“If you want to do it yourself, I won’t stop you. But right now, I’m willing to put my mouth on you.”
“Then do it.”
I hauled her to her feet, planted my hands on her waist, and turned her upside down, burying my face in her exposed cunt. She locked her legs around my neck, the rest of her dangling, her hair sweeping the floor. I regretted starting this in the elevator, especially when it began to move. I wanted to savor her sweet taste and devour her for hours. Keep her on the brink because I was cruel like that. “How good are you under pressure?” I asked.
“Better than you,” she fired back. “Now hurry up. If you just keep using your mouth for something good instead of talking, I’ll be there.”
I stabbed my tongue inside her, lapping at her like I was in a race to get her off. Her hips arched into my face and her legs tightened around my neck. One final suck on her swollen nub, and she let out a scream, going lax in my hands.
I glanced at the digital number panel. Sixth floor. Almost at the bottom.
“Unless you want to be exposed to whoever called this elevator, I suggest you untangle yourself and pull your jeans up.”
“I don’t care,” she said, sated, and I laughed.
“Well, at least let me put my dick away. I don’t want you getting in a cat fight because of your jealous streak.”
She lifted her torso like she was doing a sit-up. “Not every woman wants you, you ass.”
She unlocked her legs, and I set her on the ground, both of us straightening our clothes as the doors opened. Gabriel, Holly, and that asshole who was playing daddy to my son stepped into the car. The frown formed before I could stop it. I should be grateful he’d taken the responsibility from me. He has everything I wanted. Everything stolen from me. I didn’t want Holly; it was what the three of them represented that I craved. I was jealous of their little family.
My jaw clenched as Carlos’s gaze clashed with mine. Just because I’d let him have his way before didn’t mean I was intimidated by him. He’d gotten what he wanted; that would have to be enough. Holly’s face flushed with anger as she took in our disheveled appearance. Sonya’s arm went protectively around my waist, somehow easing my simmering blood. How? How did she always know when I was angry? How did she seem to sense that standing with me was appreciated? And had I ever had that before?
The only one who seemed oblivious to the tension was Gabriel. “Hi, Mr. Drew. Hi, Miss Sonya.”
Sonya shrank into me, though she put on a brave smile. It was fake. My tigress was afraid of a five-year-old. Damn it, I was too.
“Hi, there,” she said with false cheer. Gabriel cocked his head, not judging but assessing, as though he was working out a puzzle.
“Do you want to come to our house for ice cream? We have chocolate. It fixes stuff,” he said.
“That it does,” she agreed, relaxing. I wanted to have ice cream with him, and I wanted to rip open the elevator doors and jump down the shaft. I’d spent all of five minutes with the kid and figured out he was nothing like me, yet he had some of my mannerisms. It was uncanny. And frightening. “Then you’ll come?” he asked hopefully.
“They have somewhere they have to be,” Holly said evenly.
“But there’s no button pushed,” Gabriel pointed out.
“That’s because we were waiting for you to help us,” Sonya said, and I was impressed with her quick thinking.
He pressed seven, then gave us a look. “What floor?” he asked. “Twenty-five,” I said hoarsely, clearing my throat.
“That’s the Carters’ floor,” Gabriel said as the button lit up under his touch.
“We’re going to have dinner with them,”
I said, confused as to why I was offering this information up to him. I should ignore all of them, pretend they weren’t there. “But I bet we won’t have ice cream,” I rambled, tempted to shove a fist in my mouth so I’d shut up.
“Is Miss Muriella and Mr. Stone going to be there?”
“I’m not sure.”
“We have dinner with them most nights, but they were busy yesterday. We’re not eating with them again tonight either.” He sounded disappointed as though he’d been left out, and I hated that for him.
“Drew’s mom isn’t feeling well, so I’m not sure they’re eating with us,” Sonya interjected, and I was grateful to have her support because this little guy had me off my game.
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want the boy, but seeing how easily replaceable I was—that he didn’t need me—did things to me. He belonged there, was better off with them, but I felt the scowl form on my face before I thought better of it.
“She’s sick, baby,” Holly said softly, brushing his hair back. I hated that she didn’t need me, hadn’t been desperate for my help. At the same time, I was glad she was my son’s mother. I couldn’t have handpicked a better woman.
“I’ll draw her a picture,” Gabriel said brightly.
“She’d like that very much,” Sonya said, and I dug my fingers into her side. My mother wasn’t going to be anywhere near Gabriel. That would be the worst thing possible for me. “I’ll take it to her once you’re finished,” she volunteered, discreetly nudging me.
“Okay.”
The elevator arrived on their floor, and Gabriel said goodbye, Carlos and Holly barely acknowledging us.
“Daddy, can we play soccer now?”
I stumbled back into the corner as though I’d been punched in the gut.
Fuck. Daddy, can we play soccer now?
He hadn’t been talking to me.
“I-I wanted that moment for you so badly—the second you saw your own child for the first time. Maybe you’d understand what it’s like to love something more than yourself. To live for that someone . . .” I’d never have that moment. Mama was right. I’d never have Gabriel say that to me. No child would.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sonya
Drew punched the button for our floor.
I punched the button for his parents’.
When we stopped on ours, I grabbed the back of his shirt. That didn’t deter him from walking. All it did was drag me toward the exit with him.
“We should go to dinner. For your mother.”
He stopped so suddenly, I ran into the back of him. The elevator doors closed in his face, and we ascended.
Grim expressions greeted us when we entered the living room. Loretta was nowhere to be seen, and Drew went straight for her room without uttering a word.
Mr. Carter stood to follow him, but Easton put a hand on his arm and shook his head. The man had aged a decade since the first time I’d seen him. There wasn’t a trace of the power and authority he’d had before.
He looked helpless.
They all did.
No one moved to the dinner table.
“We should try to eat something,” I said, breaking the silence. “She’d want us to.”
Mulaney slowly lifted her gaze to mine. It was icy, unshielded contempt. “You don’t know anything about what Loretta wants.” Easton touched her knee, but it didn’t seem to calm her. “Why are you here?”
“For Drew and Loretta.”
She snorted. “You might have everyone else fooled, but I don’t believe a thing that comes out of your mouth. What kind of person lies to get into an abused women’s shelter?”
“What kind of people treat their own family the way you do Drew?”
She bolted up from the sofa. Easton caught her arm and held her back. “Do you know what he did to us?”
Her shout echoed through the living room. Easton stood and put his hands on her shoulders. I flinched. It was the perfect image of him having her back. I’d never known what that was like, and it stung to see the definition in the flesh.
“You probably deserved it.” So much for making amends.
Her eyes bulged as she lunged toward me. The only thing that kept her from reaching me was Easton’s arms around her waist.
Mr. Carter stared at the floor. “Enough.”
Mulaney stopped trying to get out of her husband’s grasp.
Stone, Muriella, Vivian, and Daniel halted as soon as they walked in on the scene.
“Everything okay here?” Stone asked, his focus on his sister.
“He just brings more havoc in our lives at every turn.” She glared in my direction.
I was outnumbered. And what was the point in arguing? I’d bought Drew some time alone with his mother, and that was good enough for me.
I crossed my legs and folded my hands around my knee. “I don’t want to cause problems.” The shock on their faces was worth backing down. “Loretta’s health is the most important thing, and whatever I can do to help, I’m willing.”
“Appreciate that,” Easton said gruffly.
“We always miss the good stuff,” Vivian said not so discreetly.
Muriella elbowed her in the ribs, but the faintest hint of a smile graced Daniel’s lips.
“Want to provide more entertainment?” I lifted a brow at Mulaney, and her stiff posture relaxed. “Arm wrestle after dinner?”
She scowled at me, and I was sure I heard her mumble the word bitch. “You know what? You don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. It’s what I expect from someone with Drew,” she said.
I shrugged, because she wasn’t wrong. I’d take that as a compliment.
* * *
I found Drew in the bathroom with his mother, where she was huddled over the toilet. He held a damp cloth to her head and rubbed her back in a soothing rhythm.
Sam was by her side on the stone floor, his paw against her leg as if he wanted to comfort her. I’d missed the boy, but seeing him with Loretta made the time apart worth it. She needed him. And in some way, he needed her.
Knowing I wouldn’t want an audience while I was sick, I backed into the bedroom and sat in my usual chair. I had a perfect view of Drew. When the cloth was too cold, he warmed it. When it was too hot, he fixed that.
Loretta rolled off her knees and leaned against the cabinets. Drew and Sam sat on either side of her. He put an arm around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his chest.
Mr. Carter crept in but said nothing as he stood rigidly in the doorway. While I didn’t particularly care for the man, seeing him in such pain over his wife caused an ache in my chest. I’d never witnessed this kind of love and devotion and suffering. My parents loved one another but not like this. My father had never looked at my mother this way. How had Drew ended up the way he was with such an example of what a marriage should be?
“Bed,” Loretta said hoarsely.
Drew easily lifted her in his arms and gently set her on the mattress. He pulled the covers up over her. Then he boosted Sam up and scruffed behind his ears when he’d settled next to his mother.
I scrambled from the chair so Drew could take it.
“Want me to go get your sweatpants and a T-shirt so you can stay here with your mom?” I whispered.
He seemed startled I was still there but nodded. “And the briefcase.”
I kissed his cheek. His brows knit together, and I blinked at him, as surprised by the affectionate gesture as he appeared to be.
Sweetness wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sonya
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Drew glowed from the screen of his laptop in the darkness. His fingers flew, furiously tapping on the keyboard.
I stretched and yawned without him noticing, so I crawled out of bed and went to where he sat in the oversized chair of the room I’d commandeered in his parents' apartment.
He had headphones over his ears, the expensive kind from the looks of
it. I lifted one and spoke into his ear, “Whatcha listening to?”
His head snapped up, and I grinned. He took off the headphones and handed them to me. I settled them over my ears as he pulled up the playlist. The music stopped abruptly, then restarted.
“I love this song.”
“Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man, flowed into my ears. I sang along, muscling my way into the chair with Drew. He scooted over as best he could, the chair only big enough for a person and a half. I draped my legs over his lap, and he rested his laptop on me, continuing with whatever he was working on.
The song was on repeat, and I wondered if it made him feel better about the things he’d done. We were only human after all, but Drew and I were exceedingly flawed. Our problems had been brought on mostly by our own doing.
“What are you up to?”
He hushed me, his fingers still moving at a rapid pace. The screen was filled with what looked like code, and it might as well have been an alien language. Watching him work was fascinating. I wouldn’t say I considered him to be a passionate guy per se, but this excited him.
Drew lifted the headphones off my ears and set them on the table next to the chair. He switched on the lamp, and I squinted until my eyes adjusted to the light.
“You know anybody who wants to buy an oil company, sugar? I’ll make them a good deal.”
“Let me scroll through my contacts. I have them listed under oil tycoons.”
If my sarcasm bothered him, he didn’t let it show.
“Thought you might have run into someone along the way. It’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.”
“I did go out with a sheik once.” I tapped my cheek a few times. “But that didn’t work out.”
“Obviously, since you’re here with me,” he said dryly, and I knocked my head against his playfully.
“Lucky you.”
He closed the laptop and set it aside. “How exactly does one go about meeting a sheik?”
Thick As Thieves: An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (Paths To Love Book 5) Page 19