Risqué by Elena M. Reyes
14
“Are you being honest right now?” Aliana asks, eyes narrowed while darting between myself and the man beside me and opposite of her the following afternoon. We’ve been sitting in her living room for thirty minutes now—she’d gone in to work for just a half day—and it’s been six hours since I woke her up with my face between her thighs. I’d licked every drop of her sweetness, made her coffee with a bagel, and then told her I’d be leaving tonight. The immediate sadness that flashed through those lovely orbs cut me deep. I don’t want to leave her, but the sooner I go, the sooner I’m back to escort her home.
Because she belongs with me. She’s my better half.
The Martin kid swallows hard. “I am.”
“Jesus, Giannis. Why didn’t you say anything before?” It’s not lost on me that she hasn’t given Kray more than a passing glance, not the least bit affronted by his presence in her home, at least, that’s because she doesn’t know he’ll be her shadow while I’m gone. That’s a conversation best had in private. I’m not taking no for an answer. However, the kid she’s known since middle school—he’s another matter. That’s her focus. There’s confusion, a bit of anger, and now sadness. “For crap’s sake, we’ve known each other for years, and it would’ve made things easier between us. At the least, I wouldn’t have been so rude to you.”
“I’m not blaming you for that. I was pushy.”
“But still.”
“It’s not that I didn’t, Ali. I just couldn’t.” Giannis flicks a quick look toward a sitting Kray who’s listening with a neutral expression. The bloke already sent me an email this morning with the header: Her name is Lindsey Blackheart, but I haven’t cared to open it. His reactions right now are speaking louder than words on a screen. “Too many factors stood in the way. People who asked me to keep it quiet; one of them being a good friend and the other my father—”
“He knows?”
“That I’m gay?” She nods and he shrugs, body language showing heavy exhaustion. “They all do.”
“What a mess.” That’s it. She hasn’t yelled or ranted. Instead, she’s looked at me for confirmation, and my nod seems to be enough each time. Aliana grabs her can of pop and sits back in her large accent chair, taking a few sips, while the matching one is occupied by Kray. He’s on his mobile checking the addresses I gave him for Rubens and the Martin family, but when Giannis confessed, I didn’t miss the sudden drop in his tense posture. Not in surprise, but as if this is a confirmation he needed. Interesting indeed. “Wait a minute. Time-out.” The adorable girl even holds her hand up in the universal sign for stop. “What about the chick from the other night? The one you went home with?”
Thank you, gorgeous. But then again, I wasn’t going to ask. I’m a person who watches, lets those around him hang themselves, and these two are protective over the woman but for different reasons.
“Umm.” Giannis rubs the back of his neck, ears turning pink while Kray pauses and looks up. His eyes are hard on the git, silently demanding that Martin tell the truth. “About her...”
“Speak up, bloke. Don’t dig yourself a hole you won’t get out of.”
It’s not a suggestion, but a demand he adheres to. Giannis takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Lindsey knows my boyfriend. They’re cousins, actually, and she’s around to help buffer for us. He was one of the men that came in with her to the bar; they all work together.”
A loud, boisterous laugh pulls our attention toward the guard. He’s smiling, slapping his knee while sitting forward in the green velvet chair with gold trim that’s not large enough to contain him properly. Dwarfs my perfect girl, though. “That woman is a genius little troublemaker.”
“Oi. You okay there, mate?” Had this meeting been formal, two lashes from my whip would’ve reprimanded his outburst. Kray sobers immediately at my harsh glare, but his relief at their non-intimate connection is noticeable. She’s his. “Is there something you want to share with the rest of us?”
“Please forgive my interruption.”
I nod. “Carry on, Giannis. Finish explaining.”
“Dwayne is my everything.” Hands in front of him, he wrings them together nervously. “We’ve been together for eight months now, and we met through her. By pure divine luck, to be honest, I caught a flat and she happened to be driving down the road. Lindsey offered to help, and then called him when she realized her kit wasn’t in the trunk.”
“So, he changed your tire?” Aliana is smiling now, a genuine, silly grin, and my chest clenches at the gorgeous sight. “That’s how he swept you off your feet?”
“And gave me his number.”
“You meet up with Lindsey and her cousin outside the city limits every Monday, Wednesday, and on the weekends. Correct?” Kray interjects, and Giannis blushes a bit but doesn’t deny it. “I could’ve helped her. She had no need to lie.”
“The better question is why did they pull you out of the bar?” All eyes turn toward my girl, and I’m proud of her for being observant. The answer to her question is the one that matters. “What was the urgency, because she was adamant on you leaving.”
“Your cousin was in the building with his newest flavor of the month. I cut them off in the elevator before they made it upstairs.” The rosiness in her cheeks disappears at his words and she becomes pallid, eyes wide. “We cut off Jorge and invited him to join us at another club. He didn’t see or know you were there.”
“Thank you.” Her voice is shaky, uncertain. “This is such a clusterfuck.”
“This is my truth, Ali. What I’m doing to help—”
“Giannis, what do you...no.” She’s shaking her head from side to side. “No. You can’t get involved.”
“I already am.” They share a look I don’t miss, nor can I ignore the heavy implication.
“Venus,” I say, pulling her attention toward me, hating the worry in her expression. “What is going on with your family?”
“Don’t ask me that.” Head shaking from side to side, she stands and walks into her kitchen. The other two remain seated, but stand once I point at the door. In the background, I hear the slam of kitchen cabinets and a muffled curse that worries me.
“Get out. I’ll see you before I leave with instructions.”
“I’ll be near. My brother has a baseball game tonight.” Kray steps beside me, carefully placing a hand on my shoulder. It’s a friendly gesture. “Are we okay? Everything he said is true and can be found in the email I sent you. I love her and don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“We are.” That’s the only reason I’m calm. I’m doing the same for Aliana. “But fuck up again, and I won’t be so forgiving. Don’t make me doubt you.”
“Thank you.”
Timmons walks out without another word, and I turn my face toward the other man. He’s running a rough hand down his face, eyes shifting toward the kitchen. “Something you want to say?”
“My family’s having dinner tonight, but I can get out if you—”
I level him with a hard stare; it’s not friendly. “You will go and pretend nothing has changed. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“You will also be spending more time across the street until I return.” There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s aware of what’s going on with her, but I’m going to give her the chance to be honest with me. To trust me before I act out of reflex and not fact.
“Okay.”
“I expect a report every night when I call. No exceptions.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now leave.” The front door hasn’t fully closed when I enter her kitchen, leaning against the doorframe to watch her. She’s wiping down cabinet doors while muttering under her breath, ignoring my presence. “Talk to me, love. What upset you?”
Venus doesn’t pause in her cleaning but tilts her head to let me know she heard me. “Too much at once. This is all so overwhelming.”
“I can understand that, but—”
“Why is there a but in there?”
“Look at me.” She doesn’t, and I push off the wall to walk over, taking the dishrag from her hand and settling that, and bottle atop the counter. There’s a small whine of protest and I get a dirty look when she looks up, but at least I have her full attention. “Much better.”
“You’re not going to let this go?”
“No.” A single tug to her arm and she’s standing upright, both hands on her hips. I lift her small frame, loving the way she immediately wraps those pretty thighs around my waist. She’s so warm and soft, melts into me, and I walk us back toward the bedroom.
Her bed is still unmade. The room still holds a small hint of her earlier release.
Lying us down in the center, I remove her top and mine, rolling onto my back before pulling her in close. I need to feel her skin to skin. Aliana doesn’t complain, her willing body burrowing closer until half her lithe curves cover my harsher planes. It’s perfection.
To feel her like this is my version of heaven.
We don’t talk. I have a feeling she needs this. To just enjoy the silence, and I’ll be whatever she needs, whenever it’s needed, until I have her full trust.
That’s not to be mistaken with sainthood. My moves in the shadows will always be dark.
“I know you mean well,” is the first thing she says after a while. Her fingers are busy tracing the lines of the Jameson name across my abdomen in Old English and leaving behind a trail of heat over every inch she touches. It’s maddening, but at the same time absolutely fascinating how enraptured I become in her presence. “So please understand when I ask that you give me time. We just met, Callum. Literally. I’m still trying to wrap my head around you and this...” pushing off my chest, she points a finger between myself and her “...attraction I don’t understand and can’t help. My life is complicated enough as is, and all I need is time to assimilate you, Giannis, and the meathead you have lingering around like a guard.”
The teasing tone and sassy grin on her makes me chuckle. “Caught on to that, did you?”
“Hard not to.” Aliana snorts, then rolls her eyes. “The guy is a fridge.”
“So dramatic.”
“So is avoiding an admittance,” she counters, and I roll us over, my body pinning hers to the mattress. “Hey! No fair.”
Running my nose against hers, I nip her top lip. “I’ll give you time, Venus, but he stays. I’ll be gone a little bit, but I need eyes and ears here to make sure you’re okay. That’s not up for negotiation.”
“You’re being extra.” Even her huff is cute. “We just met, and a security detail should come after a three-month relationship, not the first weekend.”
Not a no. Not denying that we are more than a passing hookup.
“Three days was my limit.” I run the pad of my fingers down her side and to the edge of her tights, slipping a finger beneath the waist to feel the warmth of her skin there. “I need you safe. My world is dangerous, sweetheart, and I can’t take chances where you’re concerned.”
“Part time.” Voice low. A bit husky. “Actually, more like a trial basis, and I choose the events he’s allowed to come to.”
“Full time, and you don’t complain.”
“Three times a week, and I’ll FaceTime you on the other days to give you a day-by-day breakdown. It’ll be boring, I must warn you. I’m not that interesting between work and school.” She arches her back, pressing her chest against my mouth. Goose bumps rise across her skin and her thighs cradle mine, my trouser-covered-cock against her yoga-pant-covered heat. “I’ll even throw in the occasional picture.”
“Naughty?” I growl, flexing against her once. The thin lace bralette she’s wearing is black and covers nothing. Her nipples are hard, her flesh spilling out. “Are you trying to bribe me, Miss Rubens?”
“It can be if you agree to my terms.” Her attempt at distracting me is charming, but all it does is make me want her even more. To be around every second of her day.
“Love, I was going to demand that either way.” I lick a path from one pebbled tip to the other, lightly biting on the right one. “I’ll give you time, but my sanity needs this. Agree.”
“Not fair.”
“Nothing in life worth a damn ever is.” This time I blow across the tender flesh, my hands moving lower to the waistband of her bottoms. They’re easy to remove, more so when she whines and lifts her hips when I tease her nipples, but once they’re off, I pause. It’s easy to become lost in her body, but Aliana needs to understand what I’m asking of her.
“Why’d you stop?”
“When I walk out of here tomorrow, I’m no longer the man you have at your mercy, Aliana. I’m a murderer. A criminal.” It’s the truth, and I won’t lie to her. I’m exposing myself so she sees that I’m serious, that she can trust me. “I’m going home to London to help my cousin kill every single man involved in the murder of my aunt. I’m going home to make changes, eliminate every single threat, and then I’ll be bringing you home. You, my stubborn beauty, are important to me and I want you safe. So can you please do this for me? Don’t give them a tough time, and let me know if something is wrong.”
Tears brim in her eyes, and she nods. “After my trip.”
“What trip?”
“Give me this, and I’ll accept this without further argument.”
“What trip?”
Lifting a hand, she cups my face and brings it to hers. Lays a tiny peck across my lips. “Trust in me the same way you’re asking me to trust you.”
“Okay.” This time I kiss her, dragging my teeth across her bottom lip. “Will you be safe?”
“It’s a family retreat. I promise to be careful while vacationing.”
“Aye.”
“Thank you.” Relief sweeps across her expression, but I’m not letting this go. I’ll find out what she’s hiding soon enough, but Kray will remain on duty, just not out in the open. At least, until she gets back. “I appreciate it.”
“Then show me, my Venus.”
“How,” she moans low, a keening sound as I drag my lips down the column of her throat and to the valley between her breasts. I lick and suck the skin there, the lovely shade of bruising complementing her tanned skin tone. “What can I do to show my—”
“Feed me.” A grunt. My chest rumbles as I hold back my need to dominate and own. To demand she be honest and then take her away from whatever problems she has. Because I know they are there; the clues laid out so far create a picture that would lead to the destruction of her family, but before I make her an orphan, I need concrete proof. I’d hate to be wrong and eradicate someone she loves. “I need you to shimmy out of your knickers, arch your back, then spread your pussy lips and present me my meal.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Soon, Aliana. I’ll claim you soon, but today I want to taste your pleasure.”