Текст книги "Axle Alley Vipers Series"

Автор книги: Sherilee Gray

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Chapter Nine

The dress Deke had brought her to wear for drinks with Tammy the super bitch really was gorgeous, but it wasn’t her. It looked a heck of a lot better crumpled on Deacon’s pale gray carpet. The matching shoes were amazing, though—he had great taste in shoes—and were currently resting against his bare back.

Alex arched and gasped, then looked down her body. Deacon’s dark head didn’t look too shabby buried between her thighs, either.

“Ah…please.” She barely recognized her own voice, all husky and needy. She also didn’t beg. Ever. But it seemed Deacon’s expert tongue could get her to do almost anything. She lifted her hips, seeking more, asking for it without words.

Deacon moved quick as a flash. One minute he was between her thighs, the next he was up and on his back beside her. He did an ab curl, twisted, grabbed her around the waist, and dragged her on top of him.

“Sit on my face,” he growled.

Oh dear God.

Firm hands guided her higher, not giving her the option to refuse—like she ever would. She pressed her palms against the wall to steady herself, thighs resting on either side of his head. His hands went to her ass, holding her up a little, where he wanted her, and that tongue got back to work. She whimpered, desperate to grind down against his face, get herself off. But the sadist wouldn’t let her.

He made a deep growling sound that vibrated through her lower belly, sucking and licking her clit until she was panting and shaking, barely hanging on.

His eyes were open, locked on her, watching, taking in every whimper, every tremor. His fingers moved between the cheeks of her ass, dipping down between her drenched folds then back. He slicked her rear, those scorching green eyes on her the whole time. Massaging the tight ring of muscle, he tested her resistance and growled again when she leaned forward, telling him that she wasn’t giving him any, that she wanted it.

She shivered as delicious anticipation moved through her. Anything Deacon did to her felt good. Always.

His other hand went back to her hip, and he pulled her down on his mouth, tongue sliding inside her while he pushed that slick finger in her ass.

She cried out. “Holy shit.” The added pressure, the exquisite pleasure sent her hurtling over the edge. She came hard against his mouth, hips rolling helplessly. He sucked and licked her sensitive flesh through it without mercy, his finger doing wicked things to her the whole time, until she’d slumped forward in a boneless heap.

His strong hands moved to her waist, and he gently dragged her down his body. He rolled her to her back and tucked her into his side, staring down at her, eyes blazing. “Fuck, I love the way you taste. The way you come hard for me. Those needy sounds you make. I can’t get enough of it.”

His gaze was intense, and it kinda freaked her out. She grinned, trying to lighten things up. “Feel free to do that whenever you like.”

He chuckled darkly. “The night’s not over yet.” He slid to his side of the bed—not that she had a side. She didn’t want a damn side. It was just where he had all his crap sitting on the bedside table—and climbed out.

There was no way to miss the massive erection tenting his black boxer briefs when he stood. She bit her lip. She wanted him inside her. Oh, it was a stupid, ridiculously bad idea to have sex with him, but she wanted to, wanted him. She couldn’t take her eyes off his ass, or the thick slabs of muscle that bunched under the smooth skin of his back as he strode to the bathroom and shut himself in.

Nerves fluttered in her belly. He’d driven her to distraction with want over the last couple of days, made her come several times, and hadn’t asked her to return the favor. She kind of wanted to get it over and done with. All this anticipation was messing with her head. It was all she could think about. The memory of their night together still made her hot and bothered. Yeah, it was a dumb idea, but she wanted another taste all the same.

He was in there awhile, then finally the door swung open and he walked out. Her eyes dropped. No more erection. His hair looked rumpled, sticking up like he’d thrust his hand in it repeatedly.

He hadn’t…had he? No. Why would he go and jerk off when she was lying naked and—despite her protests—more than willing in his bed? He climbed back in, wrapped an arm around her waist, hauled her against his front, and threw a heavy thigh over hers.

Then did…nothing.

“Um…Deacon?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we going to sleep now?” Despite what he’d done to her, repeatedly, for some reason asking the man if he’d just rubbed one off in the bathroom felt a bit too—intimate.

“Uh-huh.” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled, then mumbled against her shoulder. “And don’t move from this bed, Alex. I mean it. If I wake up and you’ve run off into the night, I’m coming to get you and dragging you back.”

“What if I need to pee?”

Hot breath skimmed her skin as he chuckled quietly. “Wise-ass.” He tightened his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her belly. “Go to sleep, little viper.”

She’d played up to the nickname she, Rusty, and Piper had been given in their teens, but she’d never liked what it implied, never liked it when people called her by it, but when Deacon said it, she kind of did.

“But aren’t you…are we…”

“Sleep.” His voice did that growly thing he was so good at, and she started to get all hot and bothered again. Damn him.

What was he doing? Was he trying to ease her into this whole arrangement they had going on, to be nice, sensitive to her feelings? What? Did he respect her? God, she didn’t want that—that wasn’t what this was about. She couldn’t handle him treating her like she mattered.

“Stop it,” he said into the silence.

“What?”

He gave her another squeeze. “Thinking. I can hear you from here.”

“Yeah? What am I thinking?”

He sighed. “You want to know why I haven’t fucked you yet.”

Okay. The guy was a damn mind reader as well as a control freak and a major pain in the ass. “Maybe. Um, so why haven’t you?”

Deacon nuzzled behind her ear, his tongue darting out to tease the skin there. “We don’t need to rush this thing. And anyway I like the buildup, the anticipation.”

Bullshit. But no way was she calling him on it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the truth. In fact, she knew she didn’t. The man who’d asked her to be his sex toy and occasional date several days ago was all about instant gratification. Deacon West didn’t take time to smell the roses. The journey was just another delay. Anticipation another obstacle in the way of reaching his final destination. He treated everything in his life like a business transaction, and, she’d found out recently, that included sex.

She didn’t want him to respect her, and she sure as hell didn’t want him to worry about her feelings. “Don’t be nice to me. That’s not what this is about.”

He stilled and was quiet for so long, she thought that maybe he hadn’t heard her, that he’d drifted off. But then he said, “You think I should treat you like a whore? We have a history. I care about you, whether you like it or not, whether you welcome it or not.”

She bit her lip against the unwanted emotion bombarding her, had no idea how to reply.

He didn’t say anything else after that, just lay there holding her. Like she mattered. Like he cared. Her stomach flipped, and not necessarily in a good way. The urge to get up and run was almost overwhelming, but she knew he’d do what he’d threatened and come after her this time. She couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t risk his sisters seeing them together.

Dammit. How would she get to sleep now?

Her mind turned to the garage, to the job she loved. The reason she was lying here with Deke in the first place. A couple weeks ago, Piper had put together a quote for a potential customer. A customer they wanted, badly. He still hadn’t made a decision, and all three of them were on tenterhooks while they waited. The guy usually took his cars to R.I.P. Classic, the biggest car restoration business in Miami. If they managed to take that job from R.I.P.—well, it could mean big things for them. Had the potential to get West Restoration’s name out there.

Which meant more work coming their way. It also meant proving Deacon wrong.

“You’re still thinking,” he mumbled into her hair, arm tightening around her waist. “Sleep, woman.”

Dammit. Closing her eyes, she pretended to do just that. At least that way there was no chance of further conversation…

…

She woke curled in a tight ball, screaming.

Strong arms were wrapped around her, warm lips pressed against her temple. “Shh, I’m here.”

“Get the fuck off me!” The angry words burst from her throat, remnants from the nightmare still swimming in her head.

“Alex, calm down.” Deacon’s voice broke through the terror, the sadness, the pounding blood rushing though her ears. His strong arms restrained her as she fought the invisible hands trying to take her from the people she loved, his deep voice low as he whispered in an attempt to soothe and comfort.

She fought the tight feeling in the back of her throat, the sob desperate to escape, and tried to pull herself together. She didn’t want his sympathy, didn’t want to need him, to need anyone.

“You still have them.” His voice was gentle, guarded. “I wondered.”

There had been no secrets from the West family. It wasn’t like she could hide it. Deacon had been living there when she started having sleepovers with Piper and Rusty. He’d woken in the night, like the rest of the house, to her screaming bloody murder.

“I hadn’t been, not often anyway.” Not until you forced your way back into my life.

“Have you tried—”

“Don’t. Just leave it, okay?”

He slid his hand across her shoulder to the back of her neck. “Come here.”

It felt good to be touched, better than good, and she went to him without thought, letting him comfort her despite knowing what a bad idea it was.

Going back to sleep wasn’t going to happen, so she just lay beside him and listened to his slow, steady breaths, the faint thump of his heart against her back as he curled around her.

The next thing she knew, the sun was filtering in through the window and Deacon’s warm hand was coasting down her belly to her hip.

“Morning.” His voice was sleep rough and sexy as hell.

She couldn’t believe it; she’d actually fallen back to sleep. “Hey.”

His fingers moved between her thighs, and he lifted her leg over his, opening her for him. Fingers dipping low, he started toying with her. Heating her up like no one else could.

“You’re already wet for me.”

Yeah. He only had to touch her, look at her, and her body ached for him. He circled her entrance, teased and tormented her until her breathing was choppy and she thrust her hips into his touch. Finally, he pushed two fingers inside her. His other arm came around, underneath her, and he massaged her breast, playing with her nipple, tugging gently. She could feel his cock digging into her ass; he rubbed up against her, hard and restless, urgent. She pushed back against him, telling him without words that she wanted him to put that impressive erection to good use, like now.

He didn’t. He kept up his beautiful torture. Playing her like the weak-willed instrument she was.

It took only minutes for her to become a trembling, screaming mess, coming hard around his thick, thrusting fingers.

That magnificent cock was still pressed into her back, but he didn’t roll her over and screw her into the mattress like she desperately wanted him to. He gave her a quick kiss on the neck and climbed out of bed, heading to the bathroom, where he shut himself in.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Alex climbed out of bed, legs still shaky from what he’d just done to her, and walked to the bathroom door. She gathered her courage and pushed it open.

Her breath stuck in her throat when she saw him. Legs braced apart, boxers shoved down just enough to free his massive erection. He worked himself. Fingers wrapped around his thick shaft, sliding up and down the hard length. Every muscle was bunched tight, abs rigid, thighs rock solid.

He hadn’t seen or heard her, too focused on getting off fast. Head thrown back, eyes closed, biting his bottom lip as he thrust into his fist. She didn’t have to think about it; she moved in behind him and wrapped her arms around his, covering his hand with her own. “Let me.”

He stilled, then shuddered. “Alex.”

Hand never leaving his cock, she moved around to face him. He looked almost panicked. God, she wanted him to lose control; she didn’t want this, whatever the hell this was. Leaning in, she circled one of his flat nipples with her tongue, then nipped gently. He sucked in a rough breath.

“So far this deal has been one-sided. I’ve gotten the new clothes, the orgasms, and instead of letting me get you off, you’ve hidden in the bathroom and taken care of yourself. I want to take care of you, Deacon. Let me.” She pointed at herself. “Sex slave, remember.” Squeezing his cock to stop whatever he was going to say, she took over stroking him fully. “Is this better than your own hand?”

He groaned. “Yes.”

“Thought so, but I think I can go one better.” She dropped to her knees in front of him. The desperate need in his eyes when he looked down at her made her heart skip a beat. It’s just sex. She kept their stares locked when she leaned in and licked the tip. Deacon bucked and reached for the wall for support.

“Yum, tasty,” she purred.

“Jesus.”

Then she took him into her mouth and sucked his beautiful cock as hard and deep as she could. She cupped his heavy balls, massaging, and he groaned, widening his stance to give her better access. He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding it back. His expression changed, eyes hot, control gone. He flexed his hips, pushing deeper into her mouth.

Yes!

“That’s it. Let me fuck that sexy mouth. Take it. Take all of me.”

This was the Deacon she wanted. This Deacon was all about getting off, about taking what he wanted. The businessman who’d blackmailed her into this whole thing in the first place. This was what it was all about. She felt the scale tip, and for the first time it was in her favor.

He wasn’t gentle, but she didn’t want him to be. She loved every minute of it, of watching him lose all that rigid control. She’d had enough of his noble bullshit. Whatever his reasons for treating her with kid gloves—being his sisters’ best friend, or because he’d known her as a sad, screwed-up little brat—it didn’t matter anymore. This was what it came down to. This was what he really wanted from her.

Cuddles and terms of endearments hadn’t been part of the deal when he’d forced her into this. Those things confused a straightforward agreement.

She gripped his hips when she felt him swell in her mouth, sucked harder when he tried to pull out right before he came.

He tightened his fingers in her hair when he realized what she wanted.

Those solid thigh muscles trembled, and he moaned deep and low. “Ah, fuck, baby.” Then he shot hot and hard against the back of her throat. She swallowed the load as best as she could, sucking and licking until he began to soften in her mouth. She gave him one last lick, then smiled up at him.

Head bowed, his hair hung across his forehead and his wide chest pumped in an effort to calm his beating heart. A small grin lifted one side of his mouth, and he reached down to brush light fingers across her jaw. “Thank you.”

She stood but had nowhere to go with the wall at her back. “What’s the point of having a sex slave if you don’t utilize her talents?”

He caught her around the waist, hauled her in close, and kissed the top of her head. Then he rested his forehead against hers. “If I didn’t have to get to work early, I’d be utilizing a hell of a lot more than your mouth.”

Finally!

He reached around her and turned on the shower. “I just need one more taste before I leave.”

Chapter Ten

Deacon stared out his office window. He’d lost it this morning, happily. Jesus, that mouth. Just when he thought he had things between him and Alex under control, she went and turned the tables on him.

The phone on his desk started ringing, and he snatched it up. “What is it, Jessica?”

“I have an Alex on the phone for you, sir. Sorry, she won’t give me her last name. She said it’s important.”

He didn’t need a mirror to know a stupid grin had spread across his face. “Put her through.”

He put the phone on speaker and sat back in his chair. “This is a surprise.”

“Yeah, hey. Um…sorry to hassle you at work.”

Jesus, he loved the sound of her voice—it had a low, husky quality that made him hard just hearing it. But he also hadn’t missed the underlying hesitation in her tone. Even though he was sure it was nothing, he found himself gripping the edge of his desk, anxiety chasing away the shot of lust like a dunk in the Arctic Ocean. “Don’t apologize. You can call me anytime you want. Hearing your voice has improved an otherwise shitty day.”

Alex was silent for several seconds, and he cringed. Too much? The woman was driving him insane. She was like a skittish foal—get too close and she’d dance right out of reach.

“I have to cancel our plans for tonight.”

He sat forward in his seat. “No.” The word left his lips before he could stop himself.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“I won’t let you cancel, Alex. We have an agreement.” Not after the small step forward he’d made with her, the way she’d come after him, taken him into her mouth, the teasing, the way she’d looked at him. His chest squeezed. He’d barely resisted telling her how he felt, those three words so close to spilling from his lips when she’d sat back, still on her knees at his feet, and smiled up at him.

No. He wouldn’t let her try to put distance between them again.

“What’s so important, Deke? Do you really need me to sit there with you while you drone on to some old stiff about stuff I don’t understand? Really?”

He clenched his fists. “I thought we could stay in tonight. Just you and me.”

Silence. “Right. So it’s nothing important then?”

“Jesus.” Did she really feel that way? Was spending time alone with him so god-awful?

The phone crackled, the sound muffled, and then he heard her tell someone she wouldn’t be long. One of his sisters, no doubt. “Look, it’s crazy busy here at the garage. I don’t have time for a drawn-out discussion. How much?”

“Pardon?” he said carefully.

“This whole thing’s about money, right? You want to sell our building to make more money. That’s why you have me at your beck and call. So how much for a night off? I have savings. Name your price.”

He cursed under his breath, struggling and failing to keep it together. “Are you purposely trying to piss me off?” Because by fuck, it was working.

“Nah, that would require a certain amount of give a shit, and I don’t.”

Whoa. Where the hell had that come from? “You’re angry. Why?”

“Are you serious?”

This was a battle he couldn’t win, not without Alex thinking he was an even bigger asshole than she already did. So he gave in. “What’s so important that you need to break our plans?”

“If you must know, I’m having a girls’ night out with Rusty and Piper. We made plans before you blackmailed me into being your human sex toy. I’ve been so busy obeying your every command, I forgot to tell you.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. She was purposely being obnoxious, definitely trying to push his buttons. “Where are you going?”

“Just a couple clubs.”

Like hell.

He’d seen the way they dressed to go out to the clubs. The shit they got up to together. No way was she going without him. But he’d keep that part a surprise. “Fine. Have fun.”

More silence. He’d shocked her. Good.

“You know I will.” Then she hung up without so much as a good-bye.

What are you playing at, my little viper?

Alex was acting differently. She’d changed the moment they’d walked out of the bathroom, after she’d sucked him off so expertly he’d had to hang onto the wall so his legs didn’t give out. He’d been desperate for her, hadn’t had the strength to stop it. The woman was on a mission. As if she believed that once they had sex it would prove this thing between them was nothing but physical, that there was nothing else.

He’d resisted. Just. At first he’d thought having sex right away would give her the excuse she needed to keep that distance between them, to keep that protective wall up, but she was doing a good job of that anyway.

Ultimately, he was a businessman—if something wasn’t working, you changed the way you approached it. You adapted.

It was time to give Alex what she wanted.

The music blaring from his granny’s mauve and lemon cottage still seemed wrong even though she’d been gone for ten years. He still expected to see her come walking out the front door and welcome him whenever he stopped by.

Deacon climbed out of his car, strode across the yard and up onto the porch. Anticipation drove him forward. He knew his sisters would be happy to see him. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together lately, which was entirely his fault. But coming to the garage brought back a lot of memories—arguments, pain, and frustration. Things said in the heat of the moment that could never be taken back.

Things he’d rather forget.

He lifted his hand to knock and noticed the door had been left ajar. He’d told them repeatedly to be more careful. Piper usually was; Rusty, on the other hand, had been driving him insane with worry since she was a fearless three-year-old. The women in this cottage meant everything to him, were his whole damn world, and he’d do whatever he had to do to protect them, even from themselves.

He pushed the door open. It led straight into the small living room, and he smiled at the sight of his sisters dancing, drinks in hand, singing their tone-deaf heads off. Pair of goofs. Both were gorgeous, Piper in a more subtle way than Rusty. But since Rusty was a walking, talking canvas, with all those bright tattoos and her vibrant red hair, she didn’t exactly blend in with the crowd. He’d spent a good deal of their teenage years warning his friends away from the pair of them.

“Deke!” Piper shrieked and ran at him. He caught her in his arms. “You’re here.” She beamed at him, and guilt over his recent absence gnawed in his stomach.

“Hey, sis.” He smacked a kiss on her cheek. “Why wasn’t that door shut and locked?”

She frowned. “Wasn’t it?”

“Nope.”

“Rusty must have left it open when she got back from getting drinks.” She waved her glass in front of his face.

Tomorrow he’d call his friend Cole Black. The guy had recently left the police force and now managed one of Deacon’s businesses, West Security. The girls could argue all they wanted, but his mind was made up. He was getting a state-of-the-art security system installed.

“So what’s going on here? You having a party and forget my invitation?”

Rusty joined them, slinging an arm around his waist. “It’s girls’ night, bro.”

He looked toward the kitchen in time to see Alex strut out and had to stifle a groan.

Goddammit.

Her skirt barely covered her ass, and the scrap of fabric masquerading as a top was so thin he could see her piercing through it. That was not a girls’ night outfit.

“Alex,” he ground out.

Her dark, exotic, catlike eyes bored into him. “Deke. This is a surprise.”

“A good one, I hope.” He knew by the way she pursed those sexy lips, she didn’t agree. Yeah, well, tough shit.

Piper wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. “Of course it is.”

“I should leave you to it. If I’d known you were going out, I wouldn’t have stopped by.” Low blow, pulling the sympathy card, but right now he’d do whatever was necessary to make sure he went with them. The idea of other men looking at Alex dressed like that made him damn near insane.

“Come with us, Deke?” Piper said with that goofy smile still in place. By the looks of her, he’d spend most of the night watching after his tipsy sister.

“Yeah, come with us,” Rusty said. “We’re celebrating.”

“Oh?”

Piper squeezed his arm. “Rusty scored us a massive restoration job earlier this week, and a quote I put in last week, that I was positive we wouldn’t get, was accepted this morning! We beat out three other shops.”

“That’s fantastic, Pipe.”

Alex scowled at him. He ignored her mood; of course she thought he was being insincere. She crossed her arms, forcing her perfect tits higher, and he was surprised a nipple didn’t pop out the damn top. His dick filled, hard and aching. His infuriating little viper was determined to drive him to distraction.

“It’s supposed to be girls’ night, remember?” Alex said. “And the last time I looked, Deacon didn’t qualify.”

Rusty laughed. “I didn’t know you had looked.”

Piper screwed up her face. “Ew, that’s not a mental image I want in my head.”

They were only teasing her, but Alex’s face drained of all color. “Cut it out. You know what I mean.”

“Oh, come on, Alex. Deacon doesn’t count. He’s…well, he’s Deacon. Consider him an honorary chick for tonight.”

Deacon pretended to be offended. “If I can keep my man card, I’ll provide chauffeur-driven transportation.”

His sisters squealed and did the happy dance they’d been doing since they were kids.

“What do you say? You ladies ready to go?”

They grabbed their bags and filed out the door. He followed Alex out last and made sure the place was locked up tight. “I hope I didn’t spoil your plans,” he said under his breath.

“You know you did,” she hissed back.

Jealousy reared up, cold and ugly, and he had no hope of reining it in. His sisters climbed in the Mercedes, and he stopped Alex before she could follow. Rusty started talking to Martin, so he took advantage of the distraction and blocked the door with his body. He reached around Alex and slid his hand up under her skirt and squeezed her delectable lace-covered ass, letting all the lust and anger show hot on his face as he gave her a slow once-over and ground his hard cock into her hip. “We had a deal, Alex. This relationship, for as long as it lasts, is exclusive. You look like you’re ready to spread your legs for the first loser willing to fuck you.”

Alex gaped at him, hurt and anger coming off her in waves. “Back the hell off,” she hissed. “You’re acting like an asshole.”

Goddammit. He was screwing up badly, allowing his insecurities to poison what he was trying to build with her. Jesus. This was Alex. His Alex. He should be able to tell her anything, but she wasn’t ready to hear how he felt about her. So for now all he could do was focus on the physical. At least she couldn’t deny the fire between them.

He slipped a finger under the delicate fabric covering her smooth flesh, pleased when he felt how wet she was. “No one touches this but me, do you understand?”

She bit her lip, eyes glazing over, even as she continued to glare at him. He knew she wanted to tell him to go to hell, could see it written all over her face. Instead she rolled her hips when he grazed lightly over her clit.

Rusty tapped him on the back, and thankfully his body was still blocking the door and Alex. “Come on, I’m getting thirsty.”

He released Alex and stepped back, motioning toward the car. “After you.”

She wouldn’t look at him as she pushed past, and he knew he’d taken it too far, knew what an asshole he’d been, and hated that in his near desperation to break past her protective barriers, to make her accept what was between them, he’d released an insecure side of himself he detested. A side he thought he’d buried a long time ago. But it was still there, the doubt, the mistrust…the fear. Projecting those feelings on Alex was far from okay.

But he didn’t know how much longer he could go on like this. Disturbingly, it was becoming far too easy to play this role with her. His possessiveness, it seemed, knew no limits.