22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
L una
After I cleaned up a second time, Roman helped me put on a bra and shirt. Then he wrapped his hands around my covered breasts from behind and softly kissed my shoulder.
“It’s a sad shame to cover these,” he lamented. He turned me around and kissed and nuzzled my neck and the side of my face that wasn’t covered by a fist-sized bruise. His mouth sent lust coursing through my system again. I felt a little less tired and sore this morning, but my mind churned with confusion. Since he’d handed my internship off to Ivan, Roman had come after me with a single-minded focus, and now we were married.
When Gideon arrived later that morning, he brought Roman’s laptop, my textbook, and some shopping bags with him. He also brought a bodyguard. Milo was middle-aged, had a shaved head and a serious expression, and he also wore a suit. He looked like a retired FBI agent.
Gideon placed my textbook on the counter and patted my shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear you were injured, but congratulations on your marriage.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks?” Roman shook his head at my half-assed response, but Gideon just smiled.
I made coffee and toast while Roman introduced me to my bodyguard. “Luna, this is Milo Carlson. When you leave the property, you go with him. He’ll be living in the apartment above the garage.”
When Roman gave me the tour yesterday, I’d glimpsed the massive, four-car garage at the far side of his house, but he hadn’t shown me the apartment above it.
“Hello, Ms. Fowler. I’ve got your phone number programed in my phone.” Milo pulled his phone out, and a few seconds later mine vibrated. “I just forwarded you my information.”
His calling me Ms. Fowler sent a shot of adrenaline through me, and I cleared my throat. “Just Luna.”
He nodded. “And I’m Milo. If you need to leave the house for any reason, contact me and I’ll escort you. If Mr. Fowler leaves the house, you need to let me know, and I’ll come stay in the main house until he gets home. Finally, if you plan to have guests, let me know so there aren’t any misunderstandings.”
“Got it. I feel like a grown woman who’s been assigned a babysitter, but if that keeps Lionel from punching me in the face again, I’ll play along.”
Milo smiled. “It would make my job easier.”
We talked for a few more minutes, and I found out Milo was indeed a retired FBI agent who now worked for The Firm. I wondered what else he did for them.
“I’ll get settled in.” After Milo left, Roman and Gideon holed themselves up in Roman’s office for an hour. I was still reading at the kitchen bar when they came out.
Roman walked over to the coffeepot and poured himself another cup. “I want you to wear a tracking device.”
My head snapped up, and I stared at him. “Why?”
“Because I could find you faster if you get taken.”
“But you’d also know where I am, all the time.”
His lip quirked. “Exactly.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of tracking device? How would I wear it, and what’s its range?”
Gideon chuckled. “I’m glad to hear you rapidly firing off questions again. It means you’re feeling better.”
Roman reached into his pocket and pulled out an exquisite, expensive-looking, crafted metal necklace with an O-ring. Attached to the ring was a round, coin-like object dangling from it, and the band was held together with an intricate lock.
“It’s GPS so we can find you anywhere,” Roman murmured as he studied me.
I stared up at him, then glanced at the necklace. “Why is there a lock on it?”
“So it can’t be easily removed.”
My eyes narrowed. “What type of metal is it?”
His grinned this time. “Tungsten.”
“What if I want to take it off?”
Roman shrugged. “We can’t always have what we want.” The cheeky bastard had thrown my words back in my face.
I turned to Gideon and changed the subject. “Roman said you do more for The Firm than just administrative work.”
Gideon smiled and straightened his cuffs. “That's true.”
“Do you know what’s happening with the Stracks?”
“I have a good idea.”
“Are the partners going to take him out when they find him?”
He glanced at Roman with a raised eyebrow. “Your assessment is reasonable, but I can’t give you a definitive answer.”
I took his nonresponse as a yes. “Does anyone know where Lionel is?”
“Not specifically right now, but we’re narrowing his location down.”
“Do you know why Klim paired Roman and me together?”
Gideon’s expression didn’t change, but I sensed a shift in the room. “I wouldn’t venture to speculate. You and Roman make a good pair, you know. I’ll help you plan a wedding celebration when things quiet down and we neutralize the threat.”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to do that, but thank you for the offer. When the police find Lionel, we’re getting the marriage annulled.”
Roman carefully set his coffee down. “Gideon, I’ll see you later at the office. My wife and I need to come to an understanding.”
Gideon raised an eyebrow, and his lip quirked. “Luna, I hope you feel better. Good luck.”
When he walked out, I turned to Roman. “Is the forty-eight-hour truce over, then?”
He pushed off the counter and came to me. Swiveling my stool to face him, he leaned in. “Not if you don’t want it to be.” He held up the band and studied me. “You have two choices. You can allow me to put it on, or force me to find another way. But you’re wearing it.”
Goose bumps broke out on my arms from the heat of his stare. “I don’t want to wear it all the time.”
He reached up and ran his fingers down my cheek to my injured jaw, then glided them over my throbbing elbow. “And I don’t want you to wind up in Strack’s hands.”
Cupping the back of my neck, he leaned in and brushed his lips across mine. Then he ran his tongue over my mouth, and I opened for him.
He groaned low in his throat and gave me a long, wet, open-mouthed kiss. When he pulled back, I panted and held onto him.
“Let me keep you safe. Wear the necklace for me,” he whispered softly in my ear.
His breath sent a ripple of lust through me. “Why does it have to lock? I don’t like… being locked in.” My breath hitched.
Until the words came out, I hadn’t realized it wasn’t the tracking device that sent dread through me, it was the lock. He didn’t know about the nightmares or my trauma. Maybe if he knew how scarred I really was, he’d be the one pushing for an annulment.
He stilled for a moment and sucked in a breath, then gathered me into his arms. “Wrap your legs around me.”
My thighs curled around his waist before I registered what I’d done. He pulled me to him and walked us to his bedroom, cradling me to his chest. My heart thudded, and untethered, random thoughts flitted through my mind.
Laying me across his bed, he leaned over and brushed my hair back. Then he ran his hands up my waist, pushing my shirt up to my neck. His fingers brushed lightly across my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps. When he reached around and unhooked my bra, then leaned over and took a nipple in his mouth, my back arched and my breath stuttered.
He diligently worked me, and when my breast was swollen and throbbing in his mouth, he gave the nipple a firm suck, then went to work on the other. My clit swelled and throbbed, greedy for his attention. I felt empty, so I reached in and unzipped his pants, then slid my hand in and palmed his thick, hard cock. His size gave me pause until he bit my nipple and then flicked it with his tongue.
This was a spectacularly bad idea, and I knew giving in to my lust for him would end in pain and heartbreak. But I’d never ached inside for a cock before. Never felt that emptiness in my pussy that I’d read about in novels or heard other women describe. But I understood it now.
Stroking my thumb across the tip of his shaft, I ran it through his pre-cum.
His hips bucked. “I need to fuck you like I need my next breath. Say yes.”
I exhaled a long breath and admitted the truth. “Yes. I want you.”
His mouth slanted over mine, and he devoured me in a hot, carnal kiss. Then he crawled off, pulled down my shorts and thong, yanked his own clothes off, and came over me. His hand cupped my slit, and he pushed a finger inside.
“You’re soaked.” My hips thrust up to meet his hand, and he smirked and worked another finger in. “Look at you, panting for my cock like my good, slutty girl.”
My eyes rolled back and my neck arched when he called me that as he worked his fingers inside me. “Please, I need you.”
“Say it. Tell me exactly what you want–exactly what you need.”
“You, inside me. I need your hard–” I gasped as he replaced his fingers with his hot, solid length, and even though I was soaked, he had to work to get inside me.
“Fuuck me, your wet little pussy is choking my cock.”
“It’s too much,” I wailed softly. My back bowed and I grabbed his hips as he worked himself into me. “Oh, God!” I gasped and held my breath as both pleasure and pain filled me while he reached in and expertly stroked my clit.
“Your dripping, swollen cunt disagrees. You need to breathe, love. Take a breath for me.”
It took me a moment to register his words, but when my vision started to tunnel, I forced myself to gasp in air as he moved rhythmically above me. My body loosened underneath him, and a climax built. He leaned over and grasped my good hand above my head, then pounded into me. His stare was too intense, too knowing, and I turned my head to the side.
Roman grasped my chin and brought my face back to his. “No, Luna. Give me your eyes,” he growled. “Watch while your sweet little pussy takes my cock.”
The world slid away as we stared at each other while he pounded inside me. “You are my wife. Mine to protect, mine to ruin. Mine. ” He punctuated his words with deep thrusts.
When he stroked and worked my clit, my orgasm built deep inside, then broke and rolled through me. I clamped down on him and came hard, gasping under the onslaught. My climax triggered his, and he pushed himself deep inside me. His hot come filled me as his fingers dug into my hips, holding me tight against him.
Time seemed to pause as we lay there, locked against each other, breathing heavily. Eventually, our heart rates regulated and Roman let go of my hips to prop himself on his elbows, his shaft still inside me. “I’ll give you a key to the lock if you promise to tell me when you take off the tracker.” His words caused my insides to clench, and I knew he felt it. He brushed a damp strand of hair off my cheek and held my stare. “Please. I need to keep you safe.”
“Okay. While Lionel is still out there, I’ll wear it.”
He smiled and rubbed my cheek with his nose. “That wasn’t so painful, was it?”
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t be a sore winner, Fowler.”
Grinning, he kissed me hard and pulled out, then sat me on the side of the bed and stood next to me, holding the band.
“Lift up your hair,” he demanded softly.
With a nervous breath, I reached up and gathered my hair with one hand. He stared at my neck and cupped it, sliding his palm up and down its length. Then he watched my eyes as he put the band on me and clicked the lock into place. The tracker and lock clinked lightly against each other at the hollow of my throat when he let go. Then he leaned in and bit my collarbone, causing a shudder to ripple through me.
“I want to fuck you in this, and only this.” He stared at it, then reached out and fingered the metal.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand, and he slowly pulled back and stood. I reached over and grabbed it, seeing Sylvie’s name on the display.
I answered as I looked up at Roman. “Hey. Are you on your way over?”
“Alexa got called into work so she can’t come. I have one more makeup consult, and then I’ll head over. The Sawyer sisters are fighting over what shade of lipstick their mother would want to be buried in, and I’m ready to pull all their hair extensions out. Speaking of fake, how’s the first day going with your new husband?”
Roman looked pained to hear Sylvie’s voice, and I smiled. “We haven’t killed each other yet, but it’s still early.”
He palmed the side of my face. “We could try fucking each other again. We’ve got the rest of the day,” he murmured in a conversational voice.
My eyes went wide, and I smacked his stomach. “She can hear you!”
Sylvie gasped. “You guys fucked already? Goddamned it, he’s slick. I’m rescheduling the consult, I’ll be over in fifteen minutes.”
I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. “No, don’t do that. You don’t want the Sawyer sisters’ wrath turned on you. Besides, coming earlier won’t change anything.”
“Fine,” Sylvie huffed out. “But try to keep your barn door closed until you two figure a few things out.”
“Did you just compare my vagina to a barn door?” I scowled at Roman as he grinned down at me.
“Relax. I’m sure Roman knows by now your barn door has rarely been used.”
My face flushed. “You need to quit with that metaphor.”
She chuckled. “He is kind of a stud, though.”
I sighed and hung my head. “Stop already.”
“Fine. Do you want me to bring anything else? More books, a bottle of wine, your trusty vibrator?” Roman’s eyes narrowed when he heard Sylvie talk about my vibrator.
“All three would be appreciated, and I’ll try to keep my barn door closed. See you in a few.”
When I disconnected, his hand slid around me, and he grasped the hair at the base of my neck. “Keep provoking me. Give me a good reason to re-consummate our marriage and carve out time for an extended honeymoon.”
My insides tingled, and visions of us tangled together in a hotel room bed somewhere swam through my mind. But I needed to step back and slow this down. We’d kissed for the first time a few days ago, and now we were married and sharing a room and a bed. I’d also just had the best sex of my life–by far–with no end in sight until we annulled the marriage.
Suddenly, nerves and uncertainty welled up inside me. I needed time and some distance to process what was happening between us.
I gazed at him cautiously. “Is there a quiet place somewhere I can use to study?”
He stared at me as if he knew what I was thinking. “The second guest bedroom has a desk by the window. It’s all yours.”
It was just what I needed–a place to escape, step back and process all these strange feelings before I got into this sham marriage too deep. Maybe I could sleep there. I looked down at my phone to escape his stare.
“Luna.”
“Yes?” I didn’t look up.
“You can use it as an office, but you’re not sleeping there.”
My shoulders tightened. “Fine.” I hated that he read me so well.
He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Give me a kiss, wife.” This time, his kiss was soft and probing, and my body loosened and melted into him.
When Roman left for the office, I cleaned up and dutifully texted Milo about Sylvie’s visit. I didn’t want him harassing her. He showed up less than two minutes later, walking in through the garage door.
“How do you know Ms. Spade?” Milo asked. By his tone, I could tell he believed all the rumors about the Spade family.
“She’s my best friend.”
“How long have you known her?” I could hear a hint of disapproval.
“Since elementary school. She and her grandfather took me in when I turned twelve, and I’ve lived with them since.”
He stared at me. “You lived with the Spades?”
“Yes. Ezra was my guardian, and Sylvie’s my foster sister. All of them are family in the ways that count. Don’t make her uncomfortable.”
Milo let Sylvie in a few minutes later, and she looked him up and down. “Who are you? Does Roman have a damned butler?”
Milo shook his head. “He doesn’t need a butler, he has Gideon. My name is Milo Carlson, and I’ll be Luna’s bodyguard for the foreseeable future.”
She nodded approvingly and turned to me. “I can tell you don’t love the idea, but you need one.”
I sighed. “Milo is retired FBI and Gideon vouched for him, so I think besides being a judgmental dick, he’s safe.”
Sylvie smirked. “You’ve heard of my family, I take it.” Then she turned back to me and looked me up and down. “What’s on your neck?” She marched over and glared at the necklace. “There’s a fucking lock on it. Why?”
My face flushed, and I turned to Milo. “You’ve met Sylvie. If I go anywhere today, I’ll let you know.”
“If Roman isn’t here, I stay in the house.”
I folded my arms. “You don’t need to stay in the same room with me.”
He nodded. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. If someone comes to the door, let me answer it.”
I took Sylvie to the guest bedroom I planned to turn into my office. It looked out onto the pool on the other side of the kitchen and had its own luxury bathroom with a steam shower and a soaker tub.
She wandered through the space. “His guest bedroom is bigger than our living room.”
I sat on the bed and gazed around the room. “I know.”
She nodded toward my neck. “Tell me about that.”
My fingers went up to the band. “It has a tracker. Roman said he wanted to be able to find me quickly if the Stracks got ahold of me.”
“Hmm. That’s actually smart. Why the lock?”
“He said he wanted it to be harder to take off, but I told him I didn’t want to be locked in.” My gaze shifted away. Sylvie would understand, but shame still swam through me.
She straightened off the doorframe and sat next to me. “You have every right to feel however the fuck you want without worrying about anyone else. And think about it, Luna. If anyone could understand your feelings about being locked in, it would probably be him and his partners.”
I gazed unseeing at the floor. It was true. Some of the leaked photos from the Ranch showed small, cramped cells with chains drilled into the walls where the boys had been kept. Thinking about those cells gave me a vicious case of claustrophobia.
I took her hand and turned her arm around, staring at the now-faint scars on her forearms she’d gotten when she climbed into my bedroom window to save me. “He gave me a key to the lock.”
Sylvie nodded and studied me. “Did it help?”
“Yes.” I let go of her hand.
“How was it?”
“How was what?”
She rolled her eyes. “The sex, dumbass.”
A blush moved over my face and chest, but not all of it was from embarrassment. My eyelids fluttered just thinking about it. “It was… so good.”
“Bitch,” she chuckled.
“More like a bitch in heat,” I mumbled.
She smacked my thigh and laughed. “If we can get you extracted from all this bullshit with the Stracks, I think you and Roman should give this marriage thing a good-faith effort.”
I stared at her, wondering if I’d heard her right. “Are you serious right now?”
“I am. Give yourself a chance. I think Klim might be right, maybe you two could help each other heal.”
I stared at Sylvie. “If we’re delivering atrocious, unsolicited advice, I have some for you. I think you should give Drakos a chance too.”
Her eyebrows went up, and an appalled look settled on her face. “Point taken, forget I said anything.”