Eight

 

CARA

 

“Have a good night.” I cringe just as I finish saying the word night.

“Sure thing, beautiful,” the guy in front of me replies as he takes the bag from my hand.

My brain is all fucked up and it’s because of what happened two hours ago.

When Lucas informed me I was his.

His.

He said I was his and that tonight we were going to go over what that meant. In great detail. No matter if I was ready for it or not.

 

“What?” my voice is low. I’m in shock.

He didn’t just tell me that, did he?

“Yes, mia,” he seductively whispers against my lips. “You’re mine.”

My body slowly starts to melt against him and I know I’m in some major trouble. The need to taste him has me pressing just a bit more forward, hoping he’d catch my intent. However, before I can kiss him, there’s a knock at the door causing him to pull his head back.

“That must be one of Xander’s men to take the camera out of the office,” he tells me, and my body goes tight. “He said they didn’t see anything. His call was to prevent them from witnessing something they shouldn’t.” My body relaxes just a bit. “You should know, mia, I’ll never let anyone, man or woman, see you when you’re coming. That’s for me and me alone. Now, let’s go back to work. Just know that we’ll continue this talk after closing. I’m not only going to tell you, I’m going to show you. And come hell or high water, by the time I’m done, you’ll never not understand what it means to be mine.”

 

There’s no stopping the mini orgasm that I had right there in his arms when he finished that speech. I’ve never in my life felt so wanted and needed as I did at that moment.

Back on the floor, he was completely different. Granted, the moment we emerged, we found the store swamped with customers, so he really didn’t have the chance to speak to me before he had to leave with Rhys. I expected more than the see you tonight I got as he walked out.

Maybe he’s embarrassed of me.

I swallow against the knot that begins to form at that thought. It would explain why he didn’t publicly call me his.

Maybe he’s ashamed of me . . .

Taking a deep breath, I shake off that thought. There’s no way he’s embarrassed that I work at Dirty Players. He’s buying it for God’s sake. But . . . what if it has to do with my live reviews?

Ugh.

I shake my head again.

Busy work, Cara. You need busy work.

Turning, I remember I need to do a lingerie display up by the front door. As I begin to gather the items needed, I start to think about everything he said again, still learning nothing new from it. Actually, I’m wrong there’s two things that I did learn. One, Lucas fucking Fisher wanted me. And two, I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to stop him from getting exactly that.

 

 

“Ms. Johnson is there anything else you can remember?” The detective asks as he finishes writing down my statement.

“No,” I whisper, glancing back over at Lucas. His eyes haven’t left me since he had to step away to answer his phone.

“Here's my card. If you think of anything else, please don’t hesitate to call.”

The anger in Lucas’s eyes holds mine hostage as fear starts to creep up my spine. I don’t know if he’s mad at me, or at the situation I was in.

Tears start to form and I begin to shake as it fully hits me what just happened.

“Cara, it’s okay, baby,” Lucas’s says as he pulls his phone from his ear. “Why don’t you go into the office? I’ll lock up.”

Nodding, I head for the office, re-playing everything that happened.

Gun. Point.

I was held at fucking gun point by two men, and the only thing that saved me was the fact that I pointed out the camera. One of them demanded to know its location, furious when I told him it wasn't just for show. As bad as that is alone, it’s his words that he said after that scares me.

“We’re watching you. We’ll meet again . . . soon.”

Those words have me practically falling into the couch as my legs give out. I should’ve known better and looked at the door when it opened. But so engrossed in my work, I just yelled out my greeting as I worked on the display.

That mistake caused a gun to be placed against my head by one man, while another man stepped in front of me.

I have no clue who the two guys were or what they wanted. They had their faces covered, leaving me no way to be one hundred percent certain I’ve never seen them before. I did see a tattoo on the side of one of the men’s neck. After I described the tattoo, the detective stated it was related to the Mexican mafia. The fear I felt in that moment threatened to consume me.

There’s only one reason I could come up with on why they’d want me.

Human trafficking.

There’s been a bunch of missing women all over the country lately, and the media has speculated that mobs and gangs have been kidnapping them for human trafficking purposes. It’s the only thing I can come up with as I’ve never dealt with the mafia before. I have no reason to.

“I’m not FBI anymore. I don’t have to play by the rules. Roman, I mean it. Find who the fuck it is and now,” Lucas orders as he steps into the room, causing me to jump.

My eyes follow him as he walks over to the desk then tosses his phone down before slowly turning toward me. His arms lift me bridal style and he takes the seat I was just sitting in, placing me gently on his lap.

“Lucas, what are you doing?” I yell, trying to get off him.

“Cara, how do you know the mafia?” His question causes me to jerk back in shock.

“What do you mean, how do I know them? Like I told the detective, I don’t know them. I’ve never seen a tattoo like that before.”

“Then why the fuck did they say that to you?” His arms tighten as I try again to stand up.

The way he’s questioning me is pissing me the fuck off.

“I don’t know, maybe they want to traffic me. I know I’m not a fucking model, but is it that hard to believe that maybe I’m found attractive enough that they want to sell me? Not that I want that to happen. The point is, I didn’t do anything, and I don’t know them. Whatever it is they want isn’t something I have knowledge of. You might be ashamed of me, but that doesn’t—”

“Ashamed,” he repeats, and his arms tighten even more around my waist causing me to freeze in place.

“No, don’t change the subject, Lucas. We’re talking about the mafia,” I force myself to speak, when really all I want to do is curl up in a ball somewhere and deny any of this happened to me.

“We’ll get back to the trafficking thing in a moment. What in the fuck are you talking about? What makes you think I’m ashamed of you?”

Groaning, I throw my head back and look at the ceiling. I really don’t want to get into this, but I have a feeling I’m not going to get out of talking about it.

“Earlier, you just yelled as you left. You didn’t . . .” my voice trails off. I can’t get the words out around the knot that’s now formed in my throat.

“I didn’t show in public that you're mine?” he whispers.

“And now that this happened . . . what if I was killed? I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that I wanted you too. That I wanted to be yours . . .” my voice fades out.

I can’t believe I just opened up to him like that. But it’s the truth. What if I didn’t get the chance to express my true feelings?

“Fuck me.” His hand goes to the back of my neck and he turns my hand toward him. The softness in his dark brown eyes has me swallowing back the tears that are now starting to form. “I wanted to kiss you, but I held back. One, I didn’t want our first kiss to be in front of customers in a sex shop and two, I knew I wouldn’t be leaving you the moment I tasted your lips. I had to get the paperwork notarized tonight. If I didn't, I would’ve been kicking everyone out and taking you home to finish making you mine. I’m sorry, mia. I’ll not make that mistake again.”

“What do you mean when you call me yours, Lucas? I need to know.”

“It means you’re my life. That I’ll stop at nothing to keep you safe. To make sure you know only love from this point on. To give you your dreams. It means that not only do I want your heart for all eternity, but I want you to have mine for just as long,” his lips press against mine before he slips his tongue inside.

My hands slide up against his chest and circle his neck as the kiss deepens.

He might not have said he loved me, but he just promised me eternity and I want that with everything in me. However, his hands roaming all over under my shirt has me retreating.

He shakes his head and pulls me back in, his tongue plunging into my open mouth. I moan as my skin begins to feel like the flames of a fire is lightly licking all over my body. With each thrust of his tongue against mine I begin to wonder if I’m slowly combusting from the inside out.

“Fuck, you taste like my woman,” he moans as we both gasp for air.

“And that tastes like what exactly?” I pant.

“Mine, Cara. It tastes like mine.”

As much as that turns me on hearing, I know I don’t want to lose my virginity at Dirty Players, so I have to stop this now before I can’t.

“Lucas, umm,” I stutter, trying to gather my thoughts as his lips nip along my collarbone.

Focus.

“I’m a virgin.”

His tongue that was just licking where his teeth bit into my skin stops in mid lick, and his head slowly rears back until his dark eyes meet my gaze. Silence descends over us as doubt begins to creep across hi face, and my heart drops seeing it. The live porn question starts screaming in my head and I know I’m going to have to explain.

“Macy’s telling the truth about the reviews. I’ll show you if you like, but I’ve never had sex before. I don’t—”

His lips are suddenly on mine, stopping me from saying another thing. The moment his tongue seeks entrance, my mouth opens and I can’t help but moan at the taste of him flooding my senses.

I know right away that the change I thought about earlier in the coffee shop, wasn’t a bad change.

No, bad isn’t the right word for it at all.

It’s downright sinful.