Switch (Black Ties Book 2)

by Brynn Ford

  “But they won’t make you go back? To finish your sentence? You still had a hundred and sixteen days to go.”

  “Please tell me you’re as adorable as I remember. You made a countdown calendar, didn’t you?” I smiled.

  Desi bit her lip, “Maybe.”

  “God, you’re so fucking sweet, baby.”

  “Vaughn,” she rolled onto her side, looking at me with a stern expression, “Are they going to make you go back?”

  “No, I promise. It’s time served. Court’s decision. I’m officially, completely done with my jail sentence. I mean, I’m on probation for a year, so can’t fuck that up, but I promise you I’m home for good. I’m gonna get my shit together, Desi.”

  She watched me with big, brown eyes, “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “When I got out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry, I probably should have. I should have let you be the one to pick me up,” I swiped my hand across my thick, freshly trimmed beard and rolled onto my back, “I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I really had to check myself because I honestly thought it was all a sick joke at first. That they would throw me back in before signing the last page to let me go.”

  Desi curled against my side, laying her head and hand on my chest. The warmth of her calmed the chaos of the day, soothing my soul into the present where only she and I existed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

  “That must have been so scary.”

  “It was an odd mix of emotions, for sure. I kept thinking, if this isn’t real, if I’m completely losing my mind and dreaming all this, I don’t want to call Desi and get her hopes up, make her think I’m coming home. Or just fucking insane.”

  “So you called Law? Why not Milo? Hazel?”

  I scratched my head, “Shit, I still need to call Hazel.”

  Desi sat up, reaching across us to the nightstand and grabbing her cell phone, holding it to my chest, “You can call her now. I just…I wondered why you called him. That’s all.”

  “He’s the closest person to you. I think I knew he could get me to you the fastest.”

  She looked down at me with regret in her eyes, “And I wasn’t here for you when you arrived. I’m so sorry, V.”

  My eyebrows slanted inward, “What are you apologizing for? None of us knew they were releasing me today. I didn’t expect you’d just be waiting around for me.”

  I swallowed, remembering where we were, in the home of her ex-side guy. The man I’d given her permission to seek comfort from during my incarceration, emotional and physical. Desi and Ris had done a good job keeping me updated on their agreement in working with Law to train Desi as a submissive. I’d been given a full play-by-play of her sexual healing session with Ris at the Queen’s Party. But I still had that fear inside me that Desi could be holding the truth back from me. That she and Law might have been physical beyond the pain release he gave her.

  “Desi, I need to know something,” I questioned.

  “Anything, V.”

  Her chocolate eyes sparkled with truth and confidence, a strength in assuredness like I had never seen in her before and it was too damn hot. I reached over to tuck a wayward strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.

  “Did you have sex with Law? I believe everything you’ve told me. I’m not accusing, not judging, I won’t be mad if you did, because I know I told you to do it if you needed that connection, that release. I didn’t want you being reckless, running around, unsafe, meeting assholes at bars who wouldn’t love you and treat you right. At least I know Law took good care of you if you did –”

  I was rambling.

  It was unusual for me.

  I didn’t like it.

  Thank God for Desi for stopping me before I could go on as a small smile creeped up her cheeks.

  “Baby, you’re making yourself crazy and there’s no need.”

  “Yeah?”

  Damn, when did I become so uncertain?

  Desi took the cell phone from where she had laid it on my chest and moved slowly, climbing over me and straddling my waist.

  Fuck me.

  She settled her weight on my groin and nearly drove me insane with her sexy smile that lit up her eyes. She tapped her phone screen and I put my hands on her hips.

  “Here, call your sis, tell her the quick and easy version of why you’re out of jail early so I can take my time giving you the slow and passionate proof of why I exploded the moment your fingers so much as grazed my clit.”

  Shit, where did this sexy, confident beast come from?

  Desi turned her phone around and held it out to me and I could see it was already ringing through to Hazel on speakerphone.

  “Hey, Des. Can I call you back?” my sister’s voice came through on the line, “I’m in a literal crisis right now with Carmen. Miguel, get off your brother’s head, I will not tell you again.”

  I smiled at the beautiful chaos of my sister’s life, “Maybe I’ll come over tomorrow and babysit, let you get a break.”

  Hazel gasped, “Vaughn? Vaughn? How are you calling me from Desi’s…are you…where are you?”

  “He’s out, Hazel,” Desi said, “They let him out on early release. He’s home. He’s with me.”

  “Overcrowding and good behavior,” I added.

  Hazel was quiet a minute, then I heard her sniffle before she returned to big sis jabs, “Are you sure they got the right guy? I wouldn’t put Vaughn Cooper and good behavior in the same sentence in a million years.”

  “We just wanted to call and tell you so you can get a good night’s rest. I know you’ve been up stressing a lot,” Desi said, physically removing one of my hands from her hip and putting her phone in it.

  She reached for an elastic hair tie from the nightstand and started to gather her hair. The way she did it, looking down at me with lust in her eyes, it was deliberate, sensual. It told me I needed to end this call with Hazel.

  “Sis, can I come over tomorrow?”

  “Yes, of course, I’ll tell Milo.”

  “I love you, sis. But I’ve got to go.”

  Desi arched her back, finishing sweeping her hair up into a messy bun. I didn’t want or need flawlessly structured curls, combed hair, primped to perfection. I wanted Desi most when she was natural, tousled hair tied up on her head, bouncing around and tangling as I fucked her.

  “I know, I get it,” Hazel said, “You two have a good night. I’ll try not to think about how you’re saying hello. Ew.”

  I chuckled, “Love you, sis.”

  “I love you, too, little bro. I’m so happy you’re out. Details tomorrow, okay?”

  “Of course.”

  I tapped to end the call and tossed the phone on the bed as Desi rocked her hips forward, grinding against my growing erection.

  “I believe you were going to give me a slow, passionate answer to my question, Mrs. C.”

  She bit her lip, “I was a good girl while you were away, V.”

  “Tell me what that means, baby. I just need to know. I need you to tell me if you fucked him.”

  God, will she put me out of my misery?

  Desi bent forward, placing her hands on my chest.

  “I didn’t have sex with Law. He didn’t touch me in that way. I didn’t touch him. There was temptation,” her cheeks twitched with regret, “For both of us, but nothing ever happened. Do you know why, baby?”

  “Tell me.”

  “Because my pussy is yours, V. You can’t just give me blanket permission like that and expect I’m going to take it at face value. The only time I’ve been touched is when Ris forced me to come. That’s it. It’s yours, V, I’m yours and I’ve been saving it all up for you. That’s why I came so hard on your fingers just now. Because I’ve been saving it all up for you and I’m hungry for it.”

  “All this time, you’ve been saving yourself for me. No self-love under the covers late at night?”

  Desi shook her head as she leaned back, sliding her s
lick pussy across my length. Her back arched again as she reached behind to hold herself up on my thighs. Moving, always moving, rocking, grinding.

  “I’m your girl, V. I belong to you. I don’t want to give it up for anyone else. I just want you,” her head dropped back, “Fuck, I want you inside me.”

  I groaned, hard and ready for her to ride me just like this, “Fuck me, Holly Blue. Ride me slow, baby. Make yourself come with me inside you.”

  I grabbed the shaft, guiding it toward her entrance. She looked down and dropped a hand between us, taking over for me and angling her body. With my tip at her core, she circled her hips, getting me wet from her arousal, preparing me to slide right on in.

  Without warning, she sat down over my cock, taking me slowly, deeply inside her, deeper and deeper until she couldn’t take me any further. The stretch of her around my girth was the feeling of being home. Warmth, comfort, familiarity, and a tight, tight embrace that I never wanted to let go of me.

  “Oh, my God, V,” she flashed me a quick smile and rocked against me slowly.

  But then her hands came up to cover her face and she dropped her head into them. Her movements slowed, but never settled. I reached out for her wrists and tugged her hands away. Her eyes were narrowed, as if confused and concentrating.

  “Desi?”

  “Sorry.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m in shock.”

  I sighed, “I know, baby. Do you want to stop?”

  With a snap, she landed her hands on my chest, “No. Please don’t make me stop.”

  I chuckled, “Baby, I’m not going to make you to stop. But we can if you need to. I’m just reminding you that I’ve had blue balls for a long time and I can wait a little longer if this is too much right now. I get it.”

  “It is too much, V, but I don’t want to stop. I can’t. I’ve just,” she paused to moan as she pushed her hips forward harder in demonstration of her wanting, “I feel everything for you right now.”

  I bucked up against her with a smirk, “Everything?”

  She groaned, “Yes, yes, everything. Baby. Don’t…you can’t…”

  She trailed off as her pace picked up. I wanted her to find her release like this, taking me with her into an explosive shared orgasm that was sure to come. But I needed her to finish that sentence.

  I took her off guard, sitting up in a flash and lassoing my arms around her waist. I held her tightly against me as I scooted us both back toward the headboard, leaning my back against it. She gripped my shoulders as I moved her with me.

  “I can’t what, Des? Tell me.”

  Sliding her hands up my neck, she held my face in both hands at the jawline, “You can’t leave me. Don’t leave me alone like this again.”

  Her eyes narrowed on mine with a spark of pain behind them, showing me how lonely I had left her. All because I lost my cool and beat the shit out of a creep. He deserved it, but my actions had cost me so much.

  Being in jail gave me a different perspective on my priorities, time to think, find myself, regroup. It was an experience I never wanted to repeat. But God, to be there with my wife, seeing the pain my absence had caused her, it was humbling and horrifying. I was the cause of that look in her eyes, of that single tear drop that was slipping out of the corner.

  “I’m so sorry,” I took her cheeks in my hands, “I promise I’m never leaving you again.”

  I licked my lips and leaned in to kiss her, pressing my mouth to hers. She opened for me and her tongue dove in past my teeth, desperately seeking mine. I groaned at the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the warmth of connection.

  She sat heavy over my cock. I was sunk so deep inside her I felt I didn’t know where I ended and she began. As cheesy and cliché as it was, it was true. I felt the soul deep connection where our bodies joined physically. I put her hand over my heart and I put mine over hers.

  “Feel me, babe. My heart’s beating for you.”

  She nodded, rocking faster, her movements growing in urgency. The quick and steady thump, thump, thump, of her heart excited me, knowing it raced that way just for me. She kissed me passionately, whimpering notes of ecstasy vibrating against my lips. I could feel her getting closer, her muscles contracting around my thick cock, pulling me toward my own release.

  Her body jerked in sharp, subtle thrusts as she leaned forward, deepening our kiss. I was conflicted between wanting her tongue in my mouth and watching her face when she came. She decided for me. Her mouth broke free of mine, but only barely. Her lips still hovered just in front of mine, exchanging breath and heat between us. I could see her face just enough to watch her as she came.

  Her eyebrows stitched together in the middle as her eyes fluttered shut, concentration and need pulling at her features. She was full on fucking me then, moving in the exact way she needed to get her release. I wanted her to take it, unleash it, let go and be free with me.

  Finally, free and together.

  “Come for me, Holly Blue. I wanna feel it.”

  “V…” she breathed.

  She pressed down harder, turning her angle just a hair and she found it. That perfect spot that would send her tumbling over the edge.

  “Yes, yes, yes…God, yes, V!”

  She fucked hard, sweat starting to slick her perfect, olive skin. I felt it pulsing, rippling through her and suddenly I was ready to explode.

  “Come, baby,” I grunted, “Come now.”

  The bed creaked beneath us as she moved even faster. A whimper of breath escaped as her lips parted and her body stilled all at once. She traded grinding me hard for a long, slow, overwhelming orgasm. Her release shattered her as a full body tremble of sensation. Her pussy clenched around me and dragged me there right along with her. I bucked up, pushing in hard as she rode the final wave, and I came deep, deep inside her.

  “Desi!”

  I cried out her name and it felt like a prayer, gratitude for the way she made me feel, begging to feel it again and again and again.

  She collapsed, limp against me as she laid her head on my shoulder, embracing me sensually. Her chest heaved as she worked to catch her breath and she pressed a soft kiss to my neck.

  “I think you’re my soul mate, Vaughn Cooper.”

  “You’re definitely mine.”

  Chapter 23

  Ris

  I was armed and ready.

  No bra. Sweatpants on. Hair tied up in a tangled mess, but out of my face, nonetheless. Pointlessly fuzzy slippers. Fleece blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Pint of ice cream and spoon in hand.

  Oh, yes, I was equipped to spend the rest of the evening wallowing successfully in my own disgrace.

  I didn’t expect to hear from Desi for a while. Eventually she would come up for air and start to worry about me. Even then, when she called, I had every intention of lying and telling her I was in tip-top shape because that sweet little thing needed to spend her energy on the much more satisfying pursuit of pleasing her man.

  I was depressed and struggling, yes, but I hadn’t completely given up.

  Is this a flipping cookie crumb in my hair?

  I plopped down on the sofa and stuck my spoon in the ice cream. It was as hard as a rock. I jabbed at it a few times, managing to scrape the most pathetic little flakes of frozen dairy treat from the surface.

  “Screw you,” I snapped at the spoon, setting it down hard on the coffee table along with the container of ice cream.

  I grabbed the remote and opened my streaming app on the television. I did a voice search for “trashy reality TV” and started scrolling through my options, hoping to find something that would make me feel better about my own life choices.

  A tap at the door gave me hope that my takeout had arrived. Then I remembered I hadn’t ordered takeout.

  Did I even eat dinner tonight?

  I reluctantly halted my search for guilty pleasure entertainment to glance through the peep hole.

  “Seriously?” I muttered with a sigh when I s
aw Law standing there on the other side of the door.

  I was half tempted to ignore him. I couldn’t believe he only lasted two weeks before deciding he couldn’t give me the space I asked for. I really wasn’t in the head space to see him while maintaining my sanity. I didn’t need his arrogance while I worked through processing everything that was happening with Asher and the trial.

  I pulled the door open, holding onto the side of it for a quick slam shut if needed. I rested my other hand on my hip.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He held up a plastic bag, “I brought takeout.”

  “I’ve already eaten.”

  My stomach betrayed me by growling.

  “No, you haven’t.”

  “I’m a big girl. I can find food for myself.”

  He ran his hand through his hair, “I know you can. I’m not here to be condescending. Desi and Vaughn are holed up in my apartment fucking like beasts and I’m not needed at my clubs. I’m here seeking refuge and I thought food might convince you to let me in.”

  I watched him for a few breaths, studying his face for signs of deception. The last thing I needed was for him to be here to try and seduce me into giving him what he wants without me getting what I want in return.

  I sighed, “Fine. Come in. But we’re eating on the couch and watching what I wanna watch and you’re just gonna have to deal with that.”

  That’ll tell him.

  “Deal,” he replied and wasted no time pushing past me before I could change my mind.

  I locked the door and returned to the couch, falling into it in a heap. I heard Law in the kitchen, clanging around. Eventually he plopped down beside me as I settled on a dating reality show, holding out a plate of Chinese food for me.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking it from him.

  We sat side-by-side for quiet minutes, watching a group of bouncy twenty-something women fighting for attention from some sexy guy they knew nothing about.

  “I’m sorry,” he broke the silent bubble, “But what the fuck is this show?”

  “Shh,” I snapped my head and narrowed my eyes at him, “I’ve graciously opened my home to you, you can do me the kindness of watching my terrible shows in silence.”