chapter eight
Max
I’M FUCKING CRAZY. I have straight-up lost my mind and I need to leave before I do something really stupid and risk my career forever.
Yet here I am, standing in front of Lily’s bungalow after I snuck into the exclusive area by hopping over the gate, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my black cargo pants, the warm tropical wind whipping around me and making my hair fly into my eyes.
I push the hair away from my forehead and scratch the back of my neck, contemplating my next move. It’s late. Past midnight. I waited on purpose, walking Lily to the entrance of the bungalow area after we left Vice, giving her a soft, chaste kiss before I whispered in her ear, asking her which bungalow she’s in.
“Number eight,” she murmured, looking disappointed when I didn’t say anything else, didn’t make a move to kiss her again. “Do you …”
I shook my head, cutting her off. “Maybe I’ll see you later,” I tell her pointedly, hoping she got the hint.
But the disappointment was still there, written all over her expressive face. She didn’t want me to leave. She wanted me to come back to her bungalow and get naked. Hell, I haven’t even really tasted her mouth yet, though I felt her wet panties, the heat emanating from her pussy.
The moment I went back to my hotel room, I wanted to jack off. My cock was aching, my mind filled with thoughts of licking Lily all over her body, driving her wild with my tongue, making her come and fucking her hard.
But I held back. I did nothing but take a cold shower and will my erection to go down. Dressed in all black and snuck out like a thief in the night, my thoughts wild with the prospect of having Lily naked and beneath me soon.
I’m a man desperate for a woman. And only one woman will do.
Glancing about and making sure no one is near, I skirt around the premises, ducking along the side of the building and out of view of the windows. I go around to the back of Lily’s bungalow, opening a tiny gate that’s unlocked and leads to the beach. The moon is full tonight, shining its silvery light so that the sand is bright and the whitecaps of the waves stand out stark against the swirling dark blue sea. It’s a beautiful evening, not one on which I should be sneaking into Lily’s room and possibly scaring the shit out of her.
But she wants it. It’s her deepest, darkest fantasy and I’m hell bent on fulfilling it. What if she freaks out? What if she was feeding me a line of bullshit and she calls security on my ass and I somehow end up getting arrested?
That would ruin everything. Not that I’ve been following my plan to get into that laptop and destroy whatever’s inside it. My fascination with Lily shot that to hell. I’ve never been so distracted on a case before and I can only blame her.
If everything fell apart, Pilar would want to kill me. My cover would be blown, my reputation trashed. I shouldn’t risk it.
I should turn back right now. Go back to my hotel room and hope like hell I run into her in the morning. I know I would, because we always find each other. And I could come up with some sort of excuse, tell her I’m sorry, that I fell asleep and maybe I could make it up to her? I bet she’d understand. I bet I could convince her to understand.
You sneak into her room and you have instant access to the laptop. It’s gotta be in there. Get inside Lily and then grab the laptop. Everything you want, all at once.
Right. I have to do this. There’s really no other choice.
I sneak onto the lanai, holding my breath as I approach the French doors. They’ll be locked, but I can peek through the glass and see if there’s any movement inside. Leaning in close but not touching anything, I do exactly that, squinting against the reflection of the moon off the clean glass, trying to see something, anything that’ll make me turn tail and get the hell out of here.
There’s nothing. No lights on, no movement, no Lily in sight. She’s in her bedroom. She’s asleep.
I can almost guarantee it.
Cursing under my breath, I stride across the lanai, following along the building until I reach the sliding glass doors. One side of the curtains is drawn back, allowing me a glimpse inside the bedroom. The bed is huge, covered in white, and I see the form of a body beneath the comforter, tucked in tight.
Blissfully unaware that I’m watching her.
I reach out and curl my fingers around the handle, close my eyes, and count to three.
One … I shouldn’t do this.
Two … I need to walk. Now.
Three … My hand tugs on the handle and the screen door glides open, whisper soft.
Almost as if I never opened it at all.
I take a deep breath and step inside the quiet room, pulling the screen door closed behind me. It doesn’t even make a sound—nothing like the screen door at my parents’ place, which screeches on its hinges like an old witch’s laugh.
The sound of soft breathing reaches my ears and I stand at the foot of the bed, staring down at the figure lying on her side, buried beneath the fluffy white comforter. The air conditioner is on despite the open screen door and it’s frigid in the room. A fan swirls overhead, stirring the ice-cold air, and I shiver, stuffing my hands in my pockets as I stare at Lily.
She shifts, almost as if she knows she’s being watched, and I take a couple of steps back, panic nearly making me run into the dresser. She throws her leg over the comforter, nudging the fabric so it’s tucked between her legs, and I realize she has nothing on.
Lily is fucking naked, just like I described in my fantasy.
I swipe a hand across my face, leave it covering my mouth as I stare at her, contemplating my next move.
Go, asshole. Before you do something really stupid and scare the shit out of her. Next thing you know she’s calling security, they’re calling the police, and they’re arresting your ass for stalking—and you’re fucked for life.
But I don’t leave. Instead, I step closer to the bed, coming around to the side closest to where she’s sleeping, my gaze never leaving her. The moon’s light shines into the room, illuminating her in a soft glow, and I’m fascinated. I watch the rise and fall of her body as she breathes deeply, her parted lips plump and alluring even when she’s asleep. I listen to the sound of her soft, even breathing. Her eyes are closed, thick eyelashes like dark little fans lying across her skin.
She looks peaceful. So beautiful that the urge to go to her, to slip beneath the covers and join her, is so strong I almost do it.
But not yet. I need to rationalize this first. Though it’s nothing close to rational, being in this room with her uninvited. I’m breaking the fucking law. I should leave.
I don’t.
My cell phone is set on silent and my wallet is in my back pocket, my room’s key card tucked safely inside. I brought nothing else with me beyond the clothes I’m wearing and the shoes on my feet. I could easily strip in silence and climb into bed with her like some sort of nut job, explore her body with my hands and mouth and fucking teeth, waking her up in the best possible way. Then I’d finally slide deep inside her, fuck her hard, fuck her deep until we’re both coming with low groans.
I’d have to be quiet. Stealthy, if I’m really going through with it.
No way are you going through with it, asshole.
My smug side rises up, ready for the challenge.
Watch me. It’s what she wants. You’ve got nothing to worry about.
I really hate that guy sometimes. He gets my ass in trouble.
Deciding the hell with it, I take off my shirt and toss it on the floor. Undo the button snap on my cargoes and carefully pull down the zipper, thankful it’s quiet. Until I’m standing in her bedroom with just my blue boxer briefs on, my entire body on fire at the thought of what I’m about to do.
I go around to the other side of the bed, the one that’s empty, and I carefully, quietly pull back the covers. She doesn’t move. Her back is still to me and I can definitely confirm that she has nothing on. She sleeps naked.
Approval wholeheartedly given.
Without another thought I slide into bed with her, pulling the covers up over me. I lie there for a minute, stiff as a board, holding my breath, not wanting her to wake up and freak out. Because she absolutely should freak out. She has to, despite what she said to me earlier. No way did she really mean that, wanting me to sneak into her room. Maybe it was more like a dare, her wanting to see if I’d be crazy enough to make her supposed fantasy come true.
Like the dumbass I am, I fell for it. This girl … makes me do stupid shit. I’m a thinker, a planner, and she’s turned me spontaneous. Something I never believed I could be.
She shifts in her sleep, sticking her ass out straight toward me almost provocatively, and all rational thought seeps out of my brain. I become nothing but primitive urges, resting my hand on her ass, smoothing my palm over her soft skin, intoxicated with the feel of her, the smell of her, the knowledge that she’s lying next to me, oblivious and vulnerable to whatever I want to do to her.
How dangerous that is. How lucky she is that I’m a relatively good guy who snuck into her room, ready to fulfill her every fantasy, and not some violent asshole that’s hell bent on hurting her.
Yeah. My rationalization for my actions wouldn’t fly with the law. I don’t know who I’m trying to convince.
Maybe yourself?
A soft, feminine sigh lingers in the air and Lily is pushing her ass into my hand, almost as if she knows it’s there. I caress her skin, swear I can feel the heat of her pussy, and then she’s humming, a sweet little sound that definitely indicates she feels my touch.
And she likes it.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she whispers and I go completely still, wondering if I should jump out of the bed and get the fuck out of here. What if she calls security? What if she already did? Or worse, what if she tries to wrench off my nuts?
“I knew you’d come back,” she continues as she scoots closer to me, her back to my front, her bare ass brushing against my cock, which happily rises to the occasion. Only the thin barrier of my underwear prevents me from slipping inside her and I grit my teeth, tell myself to get it together.
I say nothing and Lily lifts her arms behind her so they come around my neck, her hands at my nape, and I automatically wrap my arms around her waist, my fingers resting against the soft skin of her stomach. “You’re pretty bold, you know, sneaking into my room.”
So she’s really okay with this? “You wanted it,” I say, as a sort of test. I skim my hands up her stomach and she arches forward, my palms cradling her breasts.
A laugh escapes her and she squeezes tighter around my neck. “I did. I still do,” she admits softly, a little moan escaping her when I run my thumbs over her nipples, back and forth over the beaded points. “God, your hands are so big.”
“I’m a crazy motherfucker for doing this,” I tell her. She needs to know what a risk I took, sneaking in here. What a risk she took by leaving her door unlocked for any old asshole to walk in and attack her. I should spank her ass for doing something so careless.
I wonder if she’d like it if I tried to spank her ass.
“I have a thing for crazy motherfuckers,” she admits, her breath catching in her throat when I pinch her nipple hard. “Are you really here to make my fantasy come true?”
“Yes.” I lean into her and nibble on her ear, making her gasp. “Are you going to do what I say, no questions? I need total submission from you, princess. No protests. No arguing.”
She nods, her hair brushing against my face. I love the smell of her. I could inhale her all damn day. “Whatever you want me to do. I’m yours.”
Her words sound way too good. She shouldn’t make promises she probably can’t keep.
“So when I tell you what to do, you’ll do it? I won’t push you too far. I’ll make sure and give you everything you want, baby girl.” She shivers when I call her that, and I caress her breasts, holding them in my hands. I’m dying to suck her nipples into my mouth and really taste her, feel her squirm beneath me and beg me for more. “I promise.”
“I promise, too,” she whispers. The purr of satisfaction in her voice is raw and unfiltered. I want her falling apart in my arms. I want her gasping, unable to breathe, unable to fucking think.
I probably want too much from a woman I barely know but damn it, that’s exactly what I need to experience, too. It’s been too long since I’ve lost myself inside a woman. I’ve been too wrapped up in other shit. Stupid shit that holds me back and fucks with my head.
“Then let’s get started, princess.” I release her breasts and pull away from her, her hands falling from around my neck. Placing my hands on her back, I give her a gentle push. “Lie on your stomach.”
She does as I say, no questions asked, no protesting, kicking the comforter away from her body so all I see is naked flesh as she rolls over onto her stomach. She folds her arms underneath her head, resting her cheek on her entwined hands so she can watch me. Her eyes glow in the dim light and my skin tightens the longer she looks at me.
“You have too much clothing on,” she observes.
I glance down at my underwear, my cock straining against the front like it wants to burst free, a tiny spot of wetness from leaking pre-come. “I get naked and I’m bound to fuck you.”
Her eyes heat and her lips curve in a tiny smile. “But that’s exactly what I want.”
“I’m sure.” I hover over her, pushing her hair away from her neck. “We’ll get there,” I murmur against her skin just before I kiss her nape. Lick her, her salty sweetness dissolving on my tongue, making me crave more.
Without moving away from her neck I shift so I’m completely over her, my knees on either side of her hips, my mouth still at her nape, my hands curling around her front. She lifts up, allowing my hands to slide between her body and the mattress, and I cup her breasts, kneading them, running the heel of my palms up and down, teasing her nipples.
I lift away from her nape and that’s when I spot a tattoo. High up on her neck, almost hidden completely by her hairline, is a bird—a flock of them, at least five, seeming to try and escape into her hair. “Nice tattoo,” I say.
“You found my birds,” she murmurs as she bends her head, allowing me a better glimpse. I trace each bird with the tip of my finger, enjoying the hide-and-seek game we’re having with her ink. “I never get to see them.”
“That’s what happens when you get a tattoo on the back of your neck.” I drop a kiss on each bird, making her shiver. “Do you have more?”
“You’ll have to search my body and find out.”
Her words are just the invitation I want to hear. I slide down the length of her, my lips mapping her skin, making note of the spots where she jerks away because she’s too sensitive or where she moans when I find a spot that must feel particularly good. She’s ticklish, especially around her ribs, on the back of her thighs, behind her knees. I even kiss her feet, the soft soles, lightly tonguing her toes. She giggles and I find another tattoo, this one on the side of her left foot, a pretty little pink flower.
“A hibiscus,” she explains when I trace the delicate design. “I’ve always had a thing for them.”
I don’t say a word, just continue to kiss my way back up her body until I’m gently flipping her over at her waist and she goes willingly. Lifting up, I straddle her hips, staring down at her, my gaze zeroing in on her breasts. That’s when I spot yet another tattoo, this one curving just beneath her right breast. A scattering of stars, like a constellation. I trace them with my finger, goose bumps forming in my wake.
They represent something, a part of her. What, I’m not exactly sure, but there must be a meaning for the tattoos she chooses.
I want to find out those meanings. The meaning of Lily. There’s more to her than she leads on. She’s not just some sexy rich girl out looking for a good time, no matter how hard she tries to push that image. It’s a front. There’s something deeper playing behind the scenes. There’s a reason she’s on the run, why Pilar hates her so damn much, why Lily’s hiding.
I want to discover all of her secrets. Fuck the job. Fuck what I’m supposed to take from her, this woman who’s naked and beautiful and wants me just as much as I want her.
At least for tonight. All I want to do, all I can think about, is fucking Lily.
“Are there more?” I cock a brow.
Her smile is mysterious. “Search and see for yourself.”
That means there are definitely more. And I can’t wait to find them.