****
Loren
His even breathing tells me he’s asleep, but he never loosens his grip around me. He holds on tight, as if someone might sneak inside the apartment and grab me while he dozes. He told me he couldn’t stay, but after that last round, we’d been too spent to do much else other than allow our eyes to float closed and lose ourselves in our dream of the day when all of this is behind us. With any luck, it’ll be sooner than later.
I don’t have the heart to wake him. Sleep seems to be the only time he can be at peace, and the last thing I want to do is yank that away from him. I let out a deep sigh, careful not to startle him. My body is still sizzling from the aftershocks, and I need time to relish these moments since I’m not sure when…or if…I’ll have any more to enjoy.
My lips move quickly in a silent prayer. I’d never been overly religious, but even less so after losing my parents. My world, pulverized in a single second because some bastard was too blitzed to consider calling an Uber before plowing his car into theirs. I didn’t allow God to have much of a place in my heart after that, until Braxton showed up and gave me the hope that had long since evaded me. It was then I realized there was something to divine intervention after all.
Mom and Dad. They always were looking out for me. I just hope they’re still watching. I need them more than ever now.
Brax stirs behind me, the warmth of his breath tickling the back of my neck. He pulls me closer, his hands sliding over my hips, cupping my ass before continuing their devious quest. When they delve inside me, I let out a sharp gasp, clenching tight around them.
They sink deeper, in search of the bundle of nerves that can launch me like a rocket soaring into another galaxy as his thumb strokes my clit. I arch my back, pushing my ass against his hard cock.
“You dirty girl,” he murmurs. “I know what you want.”
“Please…” I gasp, barely able to breathe. Holy fuck, he’s a master with those hands, and just about every other appendage gracing his god-like body.
He presses the palm of his free hand against my mouth. “Lick it,” he whispers.
I grab it and slide my tongue over it, sucking each and every finger as seductively as I can manage as my body trembles from the orgasm that promises to catapult me into the most blissful orbit of pleasure I can imagine.
He takes back his hand and strokes himself. The head of his cock teases the tight rim of muscle between my cheeks before he presses into my ass, fucking me like it’s our last time. I clench, pulling him deeper into my heat, sliding my ass along his thick cock. The flames of my climax roar to life, blasting through my writhing body, incinerating every cell in their path.
His body shudders against mine, gripping me tight, as he fills me. God, this connection we have, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Tears pool in my eyes. But he won’t stay, of this I’m certain. He has to leave before anyone sees him. The sob rises in my throat, my shoulders quaking as I weep into the pillow.
His fingertips stroke my back. “Don’t cry, baby.”
“I kn-knew this would happen. I d-don’t know how much more of this I can t-take.” The tears flow fast and furious, the fear of the unknown all-consuming. For weeks, I’ve tried to channel my inner badass, to rise above my circumstances and reconnect with my former snarky, confident, and calculating self, but this situation is so much more menacing than anything I’ve ever known, and I’m scared shitless on my own. Dammit, I hate being so dependent on a man for security, but this is my reality. There’s a huge, ugly red target on my forehead, and one false move will get it blown off before I can utter the word “bullseye.”
“I promise, I’m working hard to make sure you’re safe. That we’re both safe. Free.” He speaks the word with a hint of wistfulness, almost as if it’s just out of reach. I open my mouth to call him on it, but clamp it shut. No sense in pointing a finger at the big ass elephant in the room. He’s there, clear as day, poised to trample our little bliss bubble if given the word.
Braxton’s lips tickle the back of my neck and he slides out of bed, heading into the bathroom. After the water runs for a few seconds, he returns with a washcloth, sliding in beside me.
“Tell me about it again.” I force my body to relax as he runs the warm cloth over my most sensitive areas to clean me with slow, careful strokes.
“Lily has your eyes, crystal blue, with that impish sparkle that can make me do just about anything she asks. She’s a spitfire, just like her mama.”
I let out a soft giggle. “And she sings to her little brother every night before bed.”
“Yeah, she’s the entertainer. Always ready to break into song, so long as she has an audience.”
“Our little exhibitionist.”
Braxton laughs, and the sound rolls through me like rippling waves of happiness over a sea of uncertainty. “Completely opposite her little brother, Decker. He’s happy to let her take center stage while he builds Legos in the corner.”
“An aspiring architect/engineer and a pop star. Magical combination. What did we do to get so lucky?”
Braxton pulls me next to him. I lay my arm across his bare chest, tracing the indentation of a scar that runs the length of his muscular torso. It always reminds me of what he’s survived, and the danger we’re up against. His even breathing settling my nerves, albeit temporarily. “I know how I got so lucky.”
I let out a deep sigh and settle into his warm embrace, “Tell me about the house.”
“Our property is in the middle of nowhere, just what we wanted, with tons of open land and trees, surrounding a beautiful lake. Our own personal paradise. The house is spacious, with wide-open halls, and a conservatory with the baby grand piano you love to play. The kids have their own bedrooms and playrooms filled with every toy imaginable. You have the state-of-the-art kitchen of your dreams.”
“And what about your special room? What’s in it?”
He strokes the back of my head. “It has you three in it. That’s all I need.”
“I don’t care where we land, Brax, as long as we’re together.”
“I know, baby. And I swear I’m going to make that happen.”
A chill snakes its way through my insides. The question hangs in the air between us, and while I want to choke it back, I can’t. It’s the only assurance I have, what I need to get through each lonely day and night. “How much longer do we have to wait?” My voice is tiny, frightened, barely audible, but I spoke the words that have taken center stage since he pressed my body against the apartment door and stripped me bare, leaving me exposed, vulnerable, and more frightened than I’d ever been.
I’ve fallen in love with a guy, and said guy works for the mafia. Even I know people don’t just walk away from that affiliation. Maybe they float away in a body bag, but letting them check out after witnessing so much? It just doesn’t happen. Too many secrets can be exposed; too much collateral damage can be done. But Braxton has never lied to me. He said he’d find me after that horrific night, and here we are. He promised me forever, and I believe he’ll try to deliver.
But I’m scared to death he’ll fail. And if that happens, the dream, along with my heart, will shatter like a pane of glass.
The silence slowly kills me because he’s confirming my suspicion, the one I keep buried. My heart pounds with such force; he must be able to feel it.
“I just need more time, Lor. I hope it won’t be too much longer.”
“Okay,” I whisper then bite my lip to keep the sob from rising in my throat. I refuse to fall apart. He has to know I have faith in him, in us.
He strokes the side of my face, his thumb wiping away the stray tear that escaped.
“You have to trust me. Good things happen to good people. I know that because I found you, and there is no way I’m going to let anyone tear us apart.”