Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Seated across the vintage Formica tabletop at the local greasy spoon near my house, Todd regales me with another batch of dull stories that would put the most enthusiastic person to sleep. Perhaps that’s his objective. Tire me out so I don’t discuss what happened at the restaurant. Though, I haven’t planned on it unless he brings it up. That was part of my strategy with Dark and Sunshine—don’t rock the boat. I’m supposed to be easy breezy even if that’s far from my nature.
Pasting on a smile, I nod and twirl the straw in my water, rattling the ice around the cloudy plastic cup that should have been replaced a decade ago.
We already ordered our lunch, and he opted to have the same as me again, but I didn’t say anything.
“Has your ex and his father been around much?” Todd asks out of nowhere and leans down to sip from his straw, eyes on me, judging my reaction.
I deliver nothing more than a blank face and a half- assed shrug. “They’re in hot water after what happened,” I reply, which is partly true.
Todd hums around the straw and continues to suck water in deep pulls, filling his cheeks like he’s either nervous or dying of thirst. If I had to guess, I’d say the former. We haven’t spoken much after the incident, and he’s treading lightly. I can tell. As much as Sunshine and Dark paint him to be some bad guy mastermind, he acts like all the rest of the stalkers—friendly but unassuming. Nothing about him stands out, including his typical black Dickeys and a muted blue, collared shirt. He’s the poster boy for a golf outing. I guess that’s the point. He blends with the patrons, which I rarely do unless I’m working a job where the objective is to be a chameleon.
Today, I’m no chameleon. I dressed to make this fucker eat his possible villainous heart out—orange high-rise, wide-leg, flowy cotton pants paired with a cream crop top sans bra and my cropped motorcycle jacket. It’s a total boho meets biker vibe. My brown, half-up, half-down hair, braided along each side and pinned in the back, adds a touch of whimsy. Add in the smokey eye, a nude lip, and layers of necklaces, and I’m setting a new fashion statement in our cozy town. I’ve gotten more than a few looks since I strolled in with my oversized purse tucked into the crook of my arm.
Todd was already seated at our booth when I arrived.
He brought me daisies to smooth things over.
Before we lapse into any conversation of merit, our food arrives—two club sandwiches, extra tomatoes, and extra bacon with a side of seasoned fries. Our young, bubbly waitress refills Todd’s water with a pitcher and tops mine off. “Enjoy!” she sings, wearing the brightest customer service smile before turning to the next table, her blonde ponytail swaying down her back.
“Thanks,” I reply belatedly as Todd squirts a mountain of ketchup on the corner of his plate.
“Are things right with us?” he asks, dipping a fry into the tomato mound before using it to gesture between us and popping it into his mouth.
“Yes,” I lie. “Why wouldn’t it be?” Snatching a thin napkin from the silver dispenser on the table, I unfold it once and place it on my lap. What good it’ll do if I drop anything, but it should keep me from wiping my hands on my pants.
“This.” He does the fry gesture thingy again, and a string of ketchup flings across the table, landing on the edge of my white plate. I don’t bother wiping it up, and he doesn’t notice. “Feels tense,” he explains. “You didn’t laugh at a single story I told. You always laugh. That’s why I asked about your ex and his dad. I don’t want them hasslin’ you.”
Right. Hassling me.
This man is good—too good. He’s an expert at playing the concerned, patient boyfriend. If I didn’t know he was possibly a hired professional, I’d believe every word is genuine. I’m impressed.
“Oh. Sorry. I mean, my ex does live down the street from me, so he’s around. But not around, around.” I dip an edge of my crusty club sandwich in the side of ranch I requested and take a bite.
Todd’s head bobs along as if he understands what I mean. “Has Lily been over?” he asks as if making polite conversation, but the hairs on my arms stand on end. Worried we’re being watched, I keep my face forward so as not to draw suspicion as I dart my gaze around the small restaurant, including out of the window of our booth, which faces the side of the diner and a line of cars parked there. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. A family eats with their three tiny children two booths over. Their little girl has a chocolate milkshake smeared all over her adorable cherub face. An elderly couple is chatting at the small eat-in bar, drinking coffee from a typical white diner mug.
“Yes. Why?” I ask around a mouthful of deliciousness.
“Because she makes you happy.”
“Yes. She does.” I grin around another bite, and our conversation fizzles into a companionable silence as we enjoy our meals. Playing my part and hoping to erase whatever tension Todd feels, I rub my foot up and down the inside of his leg seductively. The quicker I get him horny, the quicker I get him home. Sure, I can’t fuck him, but we could make out. Maybe. I’m willing to try, even if the idea makes me wanna cut my tongue out.
Once my foot reaches Todd’s knee, he groans and squeezes his eyes shut for half a beat before he reopens them—his pupils blown wide. He readjusts something under the table. I bite back a knowing grin and pay far too much attention to my sandwich while my foot continues to have a mind of her own. It’s better to use it than my hand. After touching him, I might need to dip my hand into a vat of bleach. I’m not fond of messing around with the enemy, even though I sometimes have to for a job. I don’t know many people who are, except maybe Dark. Anything with a vagina and a pulse is fair game for him.
“Am I interrupting?” a deep, sensual voice cuts in.
Before I can respond, let alone process what to do, a gray-haired stud who lights my world on fire slides into the booth beside me. I scooch over a bit to let him the rest of the way in. Without a single fuck, Sunshine plucks a fry from Todd’s plate and shoves it into his mouth, where he slowly chews, all the while staring at my date.
Why is he here?
We didn’t discuss this—not at all. He had all morning to talk to me. We planted seeds in the garden with Lily before I showered to come here. He had time.
I open my mouth to say as much because Todd doesn’t need to know Sunshine stayed over, but by the dark look that passes between them, something is about to go down.
Getting comfortable in the booth, Sunshine stretches his muscular arm across the back of the seat, boxing me in. His fingertips brush my opposite shoulder.
Annoyed he’s here without giving me a heads-up, I discretely elbow the jerk in the side. He doesn’t wince. Doesn’t move. He keeps his gaze locked on Todd as if he’s afraid my date might do something rash, like make a scene.
“Sunshine,” Todd greets with a macho chin lift as if they know each other.
“Anthony,” Sunshine replies, head cocking to the side.
Wait. What?
Todd visibly pales as Sunshine’s hand cuffs around the side of my neck, an obvious claim of ownership. I don’t exactly hate it, but it’s uncalled for, given what we planned with Dark yesterday. “Didn’t think I knew, did ya, Anthony? You’ve been fuckin’ my woman here, for what? A few months? Think I wouldn’t look into ya?” my booth companion asks, his tone menacing as I’m still stuck on the fact his name isn’t Todd.
Clearly out of his element, the man across from us looks at me and back to Sunshine, then scoots to the side of the booth.
“If you pull that gun you’ve got strapped to your ankle, you and I both know I’ll put a hole between your eyes before your next fuckin’ breath.” To cement his point, Sunshine pulls back the flap of his Sacred Sinner cut and flashes Todd what I assume is the gun he legally carries. I can’t see it from here without sitting forward, and I can’t move with the big body blocking me in my seat, a hand still very much around the side of my neck. Knowing what’s good for me, I keep my trap shut and let the man I trust the most in this world take care of whatever business he wants to take care of. I’m smart enough to know when to back down. Him wearing his colors is telling enough—he’s here officially, for the club, and he’s not fucking around.
“What do you want?” Todd asks.
“I want you to call your handler,” Sunshine replies smoothly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. You don’t. Hmmm… I’d say you’re a lyin’ piece of shit, Anthony. That’s your name, isn’t it? Thirty-six years old, never married, no kids. Had your appendix removed at fourteen.”
Wait…When did Sunshine learn all that? Did he al ready know this morning? Was that why he acted weird on the couch when I left the bedroom?
Todd swallows hard.
Sunshine doesn’t relent in that same no-bullshit tone. “You picked up a hobby.”
“Whatever he says isn’t true, Kali. I swear it,” my lunch date says, focusing on me.
“Your name isn’t Anthony?” Sunshine sneers.
Todd taps the side of his fingers on the edge of the table. “Fine. Maybe that part’s true.”
“Do you wanna have the rest of this conversation here, Anthony? Or should we take this to a place a bit more private?” The biker flicks his gaze toward the exit.
Visibly gulping, Todd—Anthony, whatever his name is, looks between us for the right answer.
Not giving him a chance to respond, Sunshine twists in the booth enough to give me all his attention. “We’re gonna ride home with our good friend Anthony, Sweets. You good with that?” He brushes the back of his fingers across my cheek and waits patiently for a reply.
If Sunshine says that’s what we’re gonna do, that’s what we’re gonna do.
“Sure,” I reply, following his lead.
“You good to drive?” he addresses me, brow popping in question.
“Don’t you usually do the driving when we’re together?” I tease, and Sunshine’s stern expression softens a fraction. The cutest smirk flashes at the corner of his mouth and is gone a blink later.
“Normally, yeah. You’re my passenger queen.” He winks, and my heart skips a silly schoolgirl beat .
“Queen, huh?” I smile.
“Yeah, Sweets. You’re a fuckin’ queen. My queen.”
Gah. This man and his words.
The stupid raven butterflies take flight in my belly.
If that doesn’t make a woman feel special, I don’t know what does.
Flashing me a final wink that communicates— I’ve got you. Just roll with it— my seatmate then turns back to Todd-Anthony .
“Asshole.” Sunshine’s chin lifts. “Give the lady your keys. We’re gonna kumbaya in the backseat,” the sexy biker orders.
For whatever reason, Anthony doesn’t fight when he stretches back, pulls the set of car keys from his front pocket, and slides them across the table to me. I secure them in my fist just as Sunshine waves our waitress down and asks for boxes to go. Hand still cuffed around the side of my neck, he reaches into his back pocket and wrestles his wallet free. Without a word, he drops the leather bifold in front of me. Taking this as my cue to pay the bill, I extract a crisp fifty and slap it in the center of the table.
Pleased with me, Sunshine squeezes my neck in affection before reclaiming his wallet and slipping it back into place as our waitress returns with the to-go containers.
I dump what’s left of my food into the Styrofoam, and Anthony does the same before we move. Sunshine shoos the liar from his side of the booth with a stern flick of his chin as we slide out of our side together. I drop Anthony’s keys into my oversized bag and snatch my daisies from the tabletop.
“Let’s go.” Sunshine holds my food and ushers us from the diner, his hand on my lower back and Anthony a few feet in front of us. We don’t speak as we climb into his Toyota—them in the rear, me in the driver’s seat. I set my purse on the empty side and adjust everything to my height.
“We’re gonna talk to your bitch of a boss when we get to your place,” Sunshine announces in the quiet car as I back out of the space and turn on my blinker to enter the main road.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Anthony grumbles.
“Sure, you don’t.”
The ride to the liar’s place is uneventful. Every now and again, I seek Sunshine in the rearview mirror, and he flashes me a friendly smile. When we arrive at the single-story, I’ve visited plenty of times, I click the button on the visor to open the garage door and ease us inside. Knowing we don’t want Anthony to get any dumb ideas, like running from us, I shut the garage with the same button as I turn off the car. They’re the first to exit the vehicle. Anthony pushes a handful of buttons on his alarm system panel outside the garage entrance, with Sunshine following him closely from behind, watching his every move.
I wait for them to disappear inside before I shoulder my purse and enter his 1970s-style home, which hasn’t been updated since the decade it was built. The walls are covered in bright, patterned wallpaper or wood paneling. The floors are green shag, even the kitchen—where the green carries over into the vintage appliances that still somehow function .
As I enter the living room, Anthony sits in the center of his basic brown sofa, back straight, palms on his knees. Sunshine stands post in the center of the space. There’s a small handgun on the nearby recliner—likely the piece from Anthony’s ankle.
Not knowing how involved I should be, considering Sunshine has taken the reins, I set my purse on the carpet by the kitchen door and lean my shoulder against the frame, out of the way but with a clear view of all the exits and the men in the living room, just in case Anthony has some contingency plan we’re not aware of.
Then again, he didn’t see this coming, and, in some part, neither did I. He really is a piece of shit. I can’t believe I ever considered otherwise. Sunshine and Dark were right.
“Now what?” Anthony sneers from the couch, his foot tapping the floor.
Sighing as if he’s already annoyed, Sunshine pulls his phone from his front pocket and connects a call. It’s on speaker when a familiar voice answers.
“What’s up?” Dark asks, breathing heavily as if he just had sex or whatever else he does to exert himself.
“We have a problem.” Sunshine rocks back on his heels and glances over his shoulder to ensure I’m paying attention.
There’s a rustling over the phone followed by a door shutting. “What problem is that?” Dark pants, still catching his breath.
Sunshine grips the back of his neck. The muscles in his bicep turn to steel. “Your wife’s lap dog needs to die.”
Wait. I don’t understand. Lap dog ?
“My wife’s wha— ohhh … My wife’s… Fuck,” Dark replies.
Biting my bottom lip, I swallow hard.
Sunshine sighs. “My sentiments exactly.”
Another door shuts on Dark’s end. “Where are you?”
“At Todd’s with Kali, and you’re on speaker.”
Yeah. I’m listening to everything. None of which sounds good.
“Goddammit. Take me off,” my ex demands.
“No. She needs to hear this shit. Enough is enough.”
“Fuck!”
“This is on you.”
“You’re sure?” Dark asks as if his dad would make this up.
Sunshine nods and rolls his eyes before flashing me a small grin. “That Todd’s actually Anthony, and that Anthony’s Penelope’s little bitch? Yep. I’m sure.”
Who the hell is Penelope?
My ex grumbles a slew of curses under his breath. “Gunz?” he queries.
“Yep.”
“Fuck. Okay. I’ll be right over. Don’t tell Kali shit ‘til I get there.”
Newsflash—Kali already knows something, dickweed.
“There’s no fixin’ this.” Frowning, Sunshine kicks the carpet with the toe of his boot.
“I know. Fuck. I know.”
Shaking his head, the older biker disconnects the call, pockets his cell, and turns to me, but not enough to lose sight of Anthony .
“What’s going on, Colton?” I rub my palms up and down my arms.
“I’m not doin’ this to you, Sweets. This is on Dark.”
“Does anyone care to let me fuckin’ talk here?” Anthony pipes up.
“No!” Sunshine and I declare in unison.
Grumbling under his breath, Anthony rolls his eyes and shoulders as if priming for a fight. The idiot can try. I’d like to see it. But unless he has some magical karate skills I don’t know about, he won’t stand a chance against a man who carries literal dead bodies over his shoulder and tosses them into the back of his van as if they’re nothing more than a sack of rice. Sunshine’s as strong as an ox, and before you say something about strength and fighting not being the same thing, I’ve seen him bounce plenty of men from the bar over the years. If you think they all go quietly, they don’t.
Nostrils flaring in agitation, Sunshine cracks his knuckles. “If you wanna admit what we already fuckin’ know, dumbass, then you can talk,” he growls at Anthony. “But we both know you’re gonna lie. You’ve been lyin’. That’s what ya do. You fuck her.” His head tilts my way. “ And you lie.”
Anthony fists both hands on top of his knees. “I actually like her.”
“Sure.” Sunshine scoffs.
“Fuck you, old man. You don’t know shit.”
“I don’t? Really? You. Fucked. With. The. Wrong. Woman. You should’ve stopped sending those weak-ass stalkers years ago, but you didn’t. Did ya jack off to the photos they sent ya, Anthony? Dreamin’ of the day she’d be in your bed?”
“Fuck you.” He spits at Sunshine’s feet, varnishing the top of his boots in specks of saliva.
“That’s what I thought.” The biker chuckles without humor and tucks his arms across his chest. “She wanted her gone, didn’t she? But you couldn’t do it. That’s why you hired who ya did. Disposable men, nobody’d miss. Right? That was the plan. Get her scared, and one of these days, you’d come into the bar, and she’d finally notice you. You’d be her savior. Does Penelope know you fell in love with her mark?”
I gasp. “Colton.”
“What?” He shrugs, not giving a shit. “It’s true.”
“Who’s Penelope?” I ask. Why does he keep saying her name? What does she have to do with this? With me? I’ve never met anyone by that name before.
Mashing his lips together, Sunshine shakes his head and rocks back on his heels, which pisses me off. You don’t get to dangle the carrot and pull it away. This is my life we’re talking about. If what he’s saying is true, then I’ve been a target for years, and Anthony’s behind it.
“While we wait on my son, why don’t you snoop, Sweets? Check under the bed. Trash the place for all I care.”
“Kali. Don’t,” the man from the couch begs with not only his lips but round eyes bursting with remorse or fear. I don’t know which. Perhaps a little of both.
My jaw clenches, and I kick the baseboard with the toe of my pointed flat. Fuck these men. Fuck all this shit.
Huffing, I spin on my heel and march straight to Anthony’s bedroom. It’s as it always is—queen bed, blue comforter, dresser, nightstands. It’s devoid of any personal touch apart from a photo of me beside the lamp on his side of the bed. Ignoring the pang of unease that tugs at my heart for crossing a line I can never uncross, I get to work and start at his nightstand. The drawers hold nothing more than condoms and lube. Boring. His dresser is full of neatly folded clothes. Knowing he’d hide shit in the bottom, I dump them onto the floor, making a mess that I have no intention of cleaning up. I kick the contents around, waiting to see if anything sticks out. It doesn’t.
In the closet, I raid his shoe boxes, which are full of shoes. Boring. Do people still store their shoes in their original boxes? I don’t.
Once I’ve torn his bedroom apart, I flip the mattress off the box spring, and when that is just as disappointing, I move the box spring. Again. Nothing. There’s not even a single loose sock or dust bunny hanging out under the bed.
In his only bathroom, I raid the vanity and medicine cabinet. There’s nothing out of the ordinary—rubbing alcohol, pills for a headache, allergy meds, Band-Aids, aloe, your run-of-the-mill contents.
Sweat beads on my brow, and my adrenaline spikes as I turn my mission toward the office down the hall. I search through the drawers of his oversized desk and the boxes of files from his dental practice. It’s all clean. Too clean.
From there, I move to the kitchen, leaving a trail of chaos in my wake. It’s cathartic. The more mess I make, the better I feel. My anxiety bleeds into excitement as I leave a floor covered in pots and pans and turn my attention to the one curious place nobody would think to visit unless they saw it on an episode of true crime—the attic. Like most houses this age, there’s a hatch in the hallway inside the door leading to the garage. It’s a white rectangle meant to blend in with the popcorn ceiling with a small string attached. I carry a stool from the kitchen to the hall, twist its wooden legs into the carpet for stability, and carefully climb onto the top. It wobbles for a second. I put my arms out at my sides to keep it steady. Sunshine’s searing gaze slides up my spine as he watches me from the living room.
Like something out of Tarzan. Okay. Nothing that smooth or elegant. With the string in hand, I jump down and out pops the attic door on creaky hinges. It hangs midway down from the ceiling, and attached is a folding ladder that I unfold and extend. It rests against the carpet, providing ample support. Bracing my hands on the higher rungs, I ascend the old steps slowly.
“Be careful,” Sunshine calls as I’m halfway up the narrow, surprisingly sturdy ladder.
“Don’t worry about me,” I call over my shoulder.
“I always worry about you.”
That’s true, or he wouldn’t be here.
Air, not from the outside, but from a fan, wafts in my face as I plant my palms on the attic floor to help pull me into the space. At first, it appears to be your typical stuffy room with a fan, which you’d assume was to cool the house. But everything comes to light once I tug on the string to a singular bulb in the center of the ample space.
A tooth rug you’d expect to find in a dentist’s office covers old, unfinished floorboards. On the ground beside it are folders—stacks of folders. My eyes drift up. There it is, what I came here for. What I’ve been curious about all along. On three separate walls are pictures, and not just any pictures—pictures of me. Candid photos. Private photos. Ones you’d expect a stalker or a private investigator to capture.
There are hundreds of them.
Some are layered on top of others. Some are pinned into the board beneath with thumbtacks, some are stapled, and others are taped.
Beneath them is a…
A strangled sound leeches out of my throat. Eyes widening, I cover my mouth and swallow, trying not to puke.
There’s a trash can full of crumpled tissue. If you’re a mother of sons, you know what those are. You’ve cleaned them from your bins over the years.
And it’s full.
So, very full…
Like it’s been pushed down.
Three discarded tissue boxes lie beside it. Stacked neatly.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try and fail to wash the memory from my brain. But it’s there, painted across the back of my eyelids. Pictures of me. The trash can. The rug and the folders.
A shiver of disgust, of… stupidity, ripples down my arms, through my center, and down my legs.
When you’re stalked, you don’t think it’d lead to this. At least I didn’t. I guess I didn’t think much of it at all. How dumb of me not to consider the consequences .
I grew up with a mother who drew attention. Every place we ever stopped long enough to make friends, there was a man or two who’d follow her around like a puppy, wanting her, but she rarely paid them any mind. Well, maybe she did, but I never saw it. Those same men, we’d use that notebook in our van and concoct our next potion. That’s what she called it. Like we were witches, casting a spell when we were killing anyone she deemed appropriate.
They’d show up at night, knocking on our van door, wanting to speak to her. I never understood why, and I still don’t. Sure, my mother was beautiful—worldly even. There was this air about her, this confidence, a grace that drew people in like a moth to a flame. I always watched her from afar and studied how she acted around people. She was kind and smiled often. You’d never suspect she’d hurt a fly, let alone end a life.
How silly is it of me to assume these men who came into my bar were the same—men who took a genuine liking to me? When they didn’t. Not really. It’s obvious this is who they worked for. Anthony. A man I accepted into my home at my most vulnerable time. When the most important men in my life were gone.
I’m… stupid.
And what’s worse, he’s even dumber. Thinking he could get away with this forever. That I wouldn’t catch on. What was the end game? To kill me? To marry me? To kidnap me? What?
A dark head pops up from the stairs like a mouse looking for cheese. “What’d ya find, babe? ”
Stepping to the wayside to give Dark a clear view of the wall, I sweep my hand toward the evidence.
His nose wrinkles in disgust. “Shit.”
“Yep.” I point to a particular photo of my bare chest. One of those nosy stalkers somehow got a peek through a bathroom window when I was showering. There I am, in all my naked glory. “Titties,” I explain for no real reason than to say it aloud, to cement the fact that I’m, in fact, in an attic, seeing this in real-time.
“Babe. We’ll burn it to the ground. Don’t you worry. But why don’t you come down here so we can talk.” Dark double knocks on the wooden floorboards and waves me forward.
“So you can tell me about Penelope?”
Wincing at my words, Dark’s eyes squeeze shut for half a beat. “Yeah. Her.”
“Is she another one of your women?” I cross both arms under my breasts and wait for his reply.
“Yes.” He sighs like he wants to talk about anything but another woman. I get it. I don’t want to discuss this crap any more than he does.
“Who also doesn’t like me,” I throw out.
“There’s no reason for them not to like you, babe. You’re perfect.”
“And you saying that proves the point. Doesn’t it? Now, who’s Penelope?” I tap my foot on the ground.
“She’s my… she’s… Why don’t you come down here so we can talk.” Dark gestures to the main floor.
“No. You can tell me right now.”
“Sweets?” Sunshine hollers up.
“Yes? ”
“Just come down here for me. Please. I’ll hold Dark so you can kick him in the balls.”
Even though I don’t want to, the slightest, microscopic smile breaks free. Leave it to Sunshine to lighten the mood. “Promise?”
“Always,” he vows.
“Hey!” Dark growls, twisting on the ladder to glare down at his father. “Nobody’s doin’ shit to my junk.”
Sunshine chuckles. “I already promised.”
“Fuck.” Dark bangs the side of his fist against the attic floorboards, then grumbling a bunch of colorful expletives, loudly descends the stairs with heavy footfalls. Once he reaches the carpet, he knocks on the wood. “Kali. Babe. Let’s go. My balls are waitin’.”
Head shaking, I snort, glance over the creepy, perverted attic space a final time, and carefully climb backward down the narrow stairs, not bothering to shut off the light. Halfway down, strong hands that I’d know from anywhere secure my waist and pluck me from the rungs until I’m safely back on solid ground. Those same hands spin me to face him. Chest to abs, I stare up at the handsome man with a nice beard and tug the tip of it. He grins and leans down, not caring if anyone else is watching, and lays one right on me.
Wanting to forget everything, even for a moment, I hook my arms around Sunshine’s neck and part my lips. The first taste feels like home as his tongue tests mine with a sensual sweep before he growls like an animal and dives in. Lips mash lips as my fingers sift into the base of his hair, and he swoops down to scoop my ass off the ground. On instinct, I wrap my thighs around his muscular waist, and he slams my back against the hall wall, punching air from my lungs.
Someone curses.
The other laughs maniacally.
Tuning out the world, I focus on him and him alone—the man I can count on most. He doesn’t disappoint. Our tongues twist in a frantic tango. Needy moans pour from my soul as my pulse pounds through my ears. Sunshine’s sexy chest vibrates against mine, a satisfied growl percolating there as he grinds his cock against my center, and my pussy clenches in response, desperate to be filled.
“You two done yet?” Dark barks.
Chuckling quietly into my mouth, Sunshine slowly pulls away like two magnets forced to separate. Smiling almost shyly, with cherry-red lips and eyelids heavy with lust, he winks at me as he collects his breath. Could he be any sexier? Sheesh.
Resting my head against the wall, I suck in lungfuls of air as my lips tingle.
Sunshine leans in and kisses the side of my mouth. “Later,” he promises and pecks me solidly on the lips once more before he sighs as if he doesn’t want to be here. That makes two of us. We could have escaped into the bathroom, where I could have bent over the sink, and we could have had a grand ole time getting each other off. But no. Life and shit.
Coming down from my high, Sunshine sets me back on the green carpet, secures my hand in his own, and escorts me into the living room, where a manic Dark is pacing, hands in his hair, tugging the strands every which way, as he talks to himself .
Noticing my feet, he pauses mid-stride. Those grays ascend my frame slowly until they settle on my face. He scowls and pulls harder on his hair as if trying to rip it out. I want to tell him to stop, but he never listens.
“So, he made it official, huh?” Dark’s words hold an edge of fury as he nods toward his father, and his upper lip curls back in a barely concealed snarl—the pulse in his throat throbbing beneath the sheet of tattoos.
“Made what official?” I ask, my hand still clasped in Sunshine’s.
“This. The shit with you two.” He gestures between us.
“I guess I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re obviously sucking face. You two fucking already?”
“That is none of your business,” I hiss, curbing the urge to flip him off. The goddamn audacity of this man. Whoever I choose to fuck or not to fuck is none of his business.
“The hell it’s not!” Dark roars and steps forward like he’s testing me to see what I’ll do. “Are you really fucking my father, Kali?”
“We’re grown adults, Dark. We don’t have to tell you shit,” I throw back in his nosy face.
“Why don’t we calm down?” Sunshine raises a placating hand, his tone neutral. “We’re not here to discuss this.” He motions between the three of us before nodding to Anthony. “We’re here to deal with him,” the older man reasons and releases my hand to pat me on the ass, silently communicating, we’ll deal with this later. Don’t let him get to you .
But Dark isn’t ready to simmer down when he swings his ire from me to his father. “You’re fucking my wife!”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sunshine shakes his head and sighs. “She’s not your wife, son. And yeah. Sure. We’re fucking. I already asked her to marry me.”
“You what?”
The older man strokes his beard and shrugs a single shoulder. “I warned you.”
Warned him of what?
A horrific laugh rips from Dark’s soul. His red-rimmed eyes fill with tears, and a single tear slides down his cheek. Whipping away from us as if he doesn’t want us to see him upset, the muscles in his shoulders bunch beneath the tight cotton of his shirt. He mumbles something to himself, then expels an audible breath.
From the couch, Anthony watches our little soap opera play out.
Sunshine wraps an arm around my waist and gives me a supportive squeeze as I pretend I’m not affected. But watching Dark come apart at the seams, showing his soft underbelly, does something to me. Something I don’t like. Something I don’t want to acknowledge, much less talk about.
Shuddering, he swipes wetness from his face and discards it on his pants.
“Are you marrying him?” Dark rasps, voice raw with emotion.
“I don’t know. But we’re not here about that. We’re here about Anthony.” I don’t know what he expects from me. I haven’t had a single moment to think about the insane marriage proposal, much less anything else, with their constant whiplash the past few days. I’m barely keeping my head above water.
On a nod, as if that reply is good enough for now, Dark spins back around to face the group. Lifting the hem of his t-shirt, exposing half his abs, he wipes his tear-stained face, leaving a blotchy mess in his wake.
“Penelope?” I ask, tapping my foot, determined to deal with the imminent stalker situation. Ya know. The man who has a shrine in his attic dedicated to me. I’m sorry, but that’s far more pressing than whether I’m fucking Dark’s father or not. Stalker Shrine always trumps dating, fucking, or marrying my ex-father-in-law. At least for now, until we get this situated. Afterward, we can mark another thing off our list, like asking said man why he wants to marry me in the first place.
“She’s Maxim’s wife,” Dark announces as if that’s answer enough.
“She’s your what?”
“ Maxim’s wife,” Dark emphasizes as if I can’t differentiate him from his distinguished alter ego. Clark Kent was always Clark Kent, even in the suit, and Dark is no Superman, even if he resembles Henry Cavil. So, he can quit it with the flip ‘em and reverse babble.
“You’re Maxim,” I point out, obviously. “So, you’re married to another woman? For how long?” Waiting for him to get to the point, my toe continues to tap the vintage carpet as my anxiety ratchets up to the next level. Something tells me I’m not going to like the answer. Not that I expect to.
Stuffing his hands into his front pockets, Dark stares off into the distance, deep in thought, and hums a moment later as if he’s plucked the answer from a sea of half-truths floating in his brain. “Ten-ish years?”
Yep. I was right. I don’t like that answer at all.
“Before Abby?” I verify, my voice eerily calm, even to my ears.
He pauses to think about it again before validating the horrible truth. “Yeah. Before Abby.” His reply is low and sulky—full of guilt, but not enough to sway him not to sleep with other women when we were a couple or, I don’t know, marry one when married to another.
Fed up with all these men and their lying, deceitful bullshit, I don’t hesitate when I launch myself at Dark like Harley Quinn, minus her weapon of choice. My fist will have to do when I swing first and worry about the consequences later. On an internal war cry, I connect with Dark’s cheek, and pain blasts up my arm. Gritting my teeth, I land another blow, then another, burning rage as my fuel. Dark doesn’t try to stop me. He takes it. Standing there like a goddamn martyr, absorbing anything I’ve got, and I’m not even close to being done.
“You lying, son of a bitch!” I shove him in the chest. Dark stumbles backward, hands still in his pockets.
“I didn’t mean for you to ever find out.”
“That’s worse!” I slap him across the face. The sharp sound echoes off the paneled walls, and he takes it in stride, absorbing the blow, and then the next as high-octane adrenaline mixed with a decade of hurt continues to dump into my system. Nobody tries to stop me. Not even Sunshine, who stands back when I sock Dark in the gut, and he folds in half, all the air expelling from his lungs in a rush .
“Fuck,” he croaks, dropping to a knee. “You’re a hellion, babe.”
“And you’re a lying piece of shit. Do you have kids with this one, too?” I snarl, bouncing on the balls of my feet, waiting for him to get back up so I can hurt him all over again.
Looking up at me from the floor, his expression pinches as if I’ve offended him. “No. Of course not.”
“Then you better tell me what the hell this pervert…” I jab two fingers at Anthony. “Has to do with your goddamn wife.”
“That. I don’t know. That’s what I came here to find out.”
Right. He doesn’t know. Whatever.
As if he finds this entertaining, Sunshine lifts his phone above his head and presses a button. The ding, ding, ding of a boxing bell rings through the space. “Sweets. You won. Now come here.” Sunshine secures my elbow and escorts me into the kitchen, where we strategically step over the mess I made until he finds a smashed box of zippy bags tossed against the wall. Leaving me by the table, he fills the bag full of ice from the freezer, swipes a discarded hand towel from the floor, and wraps it around the cold bag before he hands it to me.
“Ice your fist.” Following his orders, I set the bag in place as he secures my elbow and helps me from the room. “Watch your step.” He kicks a pan out of the way so I don’t accidentally slip. “You sure did a number in here.” He chuckles, moving us back into the living room, where Dark’s collapsed into Anthony’s chair. The gun now rests on his knee .
“Talk,” my ex-husband barks at my ex-boyfriend, waving his hand for him to get on with it.
Staring straight ahead, Anthony says nothing.
Not keen on being ignored when he’s already riled up, Dark licks his lips, rolls his eyes, and shoots Anthony in the foot as quick as a snake strikes.
The man screams.
And screams.
Rolling off the couch onto the floor, he grabs his holey foot and tries to staunch the bleeding. It pours over the green carpet, turning it an ugly shade of reddish brown.
Not down to play games, Dark rises from the chair like some Greek god and aims at Anthony’s head. “You fucked with my wife. You have a spank bank on a wall upstairs. Now tell me what the hell Penelope has to do with this.”
Not this wife crap again.
I inwardly sigh as Sunshine stands beside me, drawing designs across my lower back.
Sweat beading on Anthony’s brow, face screwed up in pain, his words are choppy as he tries to explain. “S-she hired me… to scare her an… and keep an eye on things.”
“Scare her?” Dark grunts, as that’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. “How the fuck are some stalkers gonna scare my wife? Have you met her?” Jutting his chin at me, my ex winks then flashes me a panty-melting grin that does nothing more than make my eyes roll, and maybe I smirk for half a second. Maybe.
Sunshine chuckles.
“I… I don’t know,” Anthony whines. “She wanted me to keep in touch. To… to see if you were lying.”
As if some lightbulb goes off in Dark’s fucked-up brain, he pulls out his phone but doesn’t lower the gun when he connects a call and a sultry woman’s voice fills the room. “Hello, Darling.”
My stomach cramps as I hear her voice for the first time. The other, other woman. Her tone’s sexier than mine. Far more sophisticated. Reading my body language like a pro, Sunshine’s fingertips slide up my spine, where he cuffs the back of my neck. Not hard. It’s supportive, communicating what I need, that he’s got me , that he’s here , and everything is gonna be alright , despite the throbbing in my fist and the ache in my heart.
“Don’t you hello, darling me,” Dark growls at his wife. “I’ve got your hired stalker here. You wanna tell me why he’s got a shrine to Kali in his attic and what you have to do with it?”
“Oh. Right.” The bitch giggles. Not in an evil villain way, but like a snobby high schooler who takes nothing seriously.
Dark glares at his phone. “Talk. Now,” he barks.
The other woman sighs. “Okay. Okay. You know how I get jealous, Maxim. I don’t like to share.”
His jaw clenches. “Who the fuck do you think you’re sharing with?”
Yeah. Who the fuck is she sharing him with? We haven’t been together for ages if you ignore the yacht incident. There is Abby, but that has nothing to do with me. Dark has made it clear he doesn’t love her.
“Her, of course. It’s always been her. You won’t move here because of her. You won’t commit because of her.”
Lips pursed in agitation, Dark spares me a glance. “We’re divorced, Penelope. That should tell you enough. ”
“All that tells me is your father finally won,” she volleys in a brusque, no-nonsense way. I look over to Sunshine for something… I don’t know what. The grip on my neck squeezes twice, and he leans in to peck my cheek, forcing me to blush.
“No more of this,” Dark demands, and Anthony, having removed his shoe, sits up and props his back against the couch, where he applies pressure to his wound.
“Oh. Fine. I wasn’t really going to do anything. It was all in good fun, Darling,” Penelope replies.
Fucking excuse me? Stalking me was all in good fun? We have different definitions of the word. I open my mouth to tell the bitch just that, but just as quickly, I press my lips together. Inserting myself into the situation won’t fix this.
“Right,” Dark grumbles. “Like you weren’t going to kill Abby but tried to before you found out she was pregnant?”
“She got in the way.”
“What about Angelia?” Dark tests.
Who the hell is Angelia?
Penelope sighs like she’s done with this conversation. “She deserved it.”
“No. She didn’t. You know the rules, Penelope. You agreed to them.”
“Fine. Fine. No more killing the women. I don’t like to share, Maxim.”
“Tough shit. What did I tell you?”
“If I mess with Kali, you’ll kill me.”
“And you did what?”
“Messed with Kali. But you’re not going to kill me, Darling,” she purrs, and my stomach turns over. I can’t believe this is real. I press my hand to my middle and breathe in and out slowly.
Dark grits his teeth. “Oh, I’m not. Why’s that?”
“Because Daddy will end Abby and Lily, and you wouldn’t want that, now, would you?”
Oh. This bitch has some balls on her. If this “daddy” of hers ends Lily, then I’ll end her in front of her father, slowly, piece by piece. I’ve never dismembered a body, but for her, I’ll make an exception. I’m sure Sunshine could give me some pointers.
Dark massages the nape of his neck as the muscles in his jaw tick. “Don’t test me, Penelope. You know I’m not scared of your father.”
“Oh. Fine. Fine,” she relents as if talking to Dark about inconsequential stuff wastes her precious time. “Anthony likes her, though, and he’s done most of the work. If you want it to stop, you’ll have to clean up that loose end.”
“Penelope!” Anthony screeches as she betrays him.
“It’s been fun, Anthony. Good luck.” Penelope snickers and the call dies.
Pressing his lips together, nostrils flaring, Dark raises the gun and unloads four shots into my stalker, making my ears ring.
“No!” the man gurgles, staunching the leaking holes in his abdomen.
“You don’t get to fuck with our woman.” Snarling, Dark kicks the bottom of Anthony’s mangled foot and hands the gun to Sunshine. “You end it.” He inclines his head toward the whimpering man on the cusp of death .
Kissing me on the corner of my mouth, Sunshine steps away, and his eyes briefly meet mine before he aims at Anthony’s head. Dark steps beside me, not at all fazed by the fact I gave him a black eye and whatever bruises that’ll crop up tomorrow. He slings his arm around my shoulder. “Nobody fucks with you.”
Except him, right? Nobody except him. Fucking asshole.
“Thanks, Dark. But I won’t forgive you for having another wife.” To prove my point, I elbow the liar in the ribs hard.
“I don’t expect you to,” Dark grunts, absorbing the blow. “I’ve never deserved you, babe. But that never kept a man from tryin’.”
Damn straight, he never deserved me. After this and everything else he’s pulled, he’s lucky I haven’t murdered him already. He’s lucky I’m willing to stand in the same room and look him in the face. I don’t know if that makes me an idiot or not. It probably does, but I’ll deal with that emotional fallout once I think this through. It’s one thing to find out your husband, the father of your children, cheated and knocked another woman up. It’s another to hear he’s done it repeatedly and married someone else in the process… and yet he’s mad at Sunshine. Ridiculous.
“You gotta cut your dad some slack,” I note.
Dark nods. “I will in time. I knew this was comin’. Still stings, though.”
“He treats me well.”
“I know. He’s a good man.”
“He is.” Better than Dark. Better than any man I’ve known .
My ex blows out a loud breath. “I know you don’t need it. But if you decide to marry him, you’ve got my blessing.”
I twist my head to look up at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” Dark’s fingertips drum on my shoulder. “We agreed after Fog was born that if I fucked up and couldn’t keep you, that he could. You belong to us. You’re our family. I’d rather you be with Pops than some other douchebag like him.” Dark lifts his chin at Anthony, and as if on cue, Sunshine fires a final shot into the center of his skull, spraying brain matter all over the couch cushions. Anthony’s eyes widened a fraction and freeze that way as blood trickles out of the hole in his forehead and down his face. Anthony’s body twitches once, twice, three times, a postmortem effect of the soul leaving the body, or that’s how I’ve always thought of it. You’d think witnessing someone die in this manner would bother me, but it doesn’t.
Taking the ice from my sore knuckles, I toss the half-melted bag onto the couch next to the brain matter.
Sunshine hands off the gun to Dark and crowds me, his chest meeting my front. Hooking a finger under my chin, he forces me to tilt my head back to look up at him. He smiles, both dark and sensual, crazy and sweet. He just killed another man in my honor. It does something to you—the adrenaline, the power. I get it. I feel it, too. The throb in my chest. The giddiness that it’s over. Truly over.
Covering my mouth, I giggle, staring into the most handsome gray eyes lined around the edges.
A low rumble vibrates against my breasts as Sunshine’s hardness presses into my belly .
“Just take her into the bathroom, for fuck’s sake.” Dark pushes our shoulders as if trying to usher us out of the crime scene. “Go. I’ll make the calls. We’ve got cleanup to do, but you’re not gonna concentrate ‘til you’ve nutted. Now get the fuck outta here.”
Not needing to be told twice, the handsome biker clasps his hand in mine and tugs me down the hall.
“Try to be quiet!” Dark hollers at our retreating backs, and I giggle like a giddy schoolgirl.
We say nothing as the bathroom door slams open and then shut. We don’t waste time tearing off our clothes in the rush to get him inside me. Kicking off his jeans, Sunshine collects all our mess and throws it into a pile by the tub so we don’t trip. Then he’s on me, lifting me off the floor and depositing me on the vanity, where he pries my legs apart to settle between. I wrap them around his waist as my upper back relaxes against the medicine cabinet for support. Positioning his cock at my entrance, Sunshine slides the head in just a fraction before he leans down and sucks one of my nipples into his hot mouth.
Arching my back, holding him to my breast, I cry out in pleasure. My walls clench around his cock, and he curses but doesn’t go further as he worships my tits—one then the other, not wanting either to feel left out. Writhing against him, I dig my heels into his tight ass and urge him forward. Sunshine chuckles around my nipple but doesn’t relieve the ache that builds and builds until I’m scratching at his shoulders, sobbing.
“Please!” I beg, not caring how sore I am from last night. “Please. Please. Fuck me.”
The tortuous man doesn’t relent. He sucks and sucks and sucks on my tits until they hurt and wetness drips from my pussy.
“Colton,” I gasp when I’m on the brink of going mad. “Fuck me.”
But he doesn’t listen.
Not when he sucks welts onto my chest, not when he brands my throat in addictive hickeys, or when he swirls his tongue around my nipple and nips me sharply with his teeth. Eyes slamming shut, a vicious tremor rocks through me.
Chuckling as if he’s found his favorite naughty switch, Sunshine does it again, and I come hard. White hot pleasure sears through every nerve ending as I buck against him, needing to be filled, needing more, and finally, the man gives it to me. All of it. His dick slams home, and I scream, not caring who can hear.
Gripping my ass to keep me steady, Sunshine fucks me senseless. “Just let go, Sweets. I’ve got you.”
Knowing I’m safe, loved, and nothing can hurt me.
I let go…
Of the past.
Of the deceit.
Of the pain.
I release everything holding me back and focus on now. The pleasure. The perfection. The hunger. Every drag of his thick cock as it stretches me, filling me, hitting that sensitive spot, making me gasp in ecstasy. His hot breath on my neck as he whispers sweet nothings. The scrape of my sensitive nipples against his pecs. His scent, winding and weaving through my soul—of spice and man… of home .
A shudder ripples through my core, and I don’t realize I’m crying until a tongue slides up my cheek, collecting my tears and washing them away.
Sunshine’s lips drop to mine as I struggle to catch my breath. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Looking into his eyes, laden with lust, I thread my fingers behind his neck. “I need to come.”
The sexy man smiles lopsided and cocky like the devil himself. “Then come for me, Sweets.”
Not giving me a chance to say more, Sunshine grips my hips and uses my body like a fleshlight, like he owns it, like it’s his sole purpose in life to feed my pleasure. Forcing me on his cock, my shoulders bang against the cabinet. Guttural moans tear from my lungs as I try to hold myself up, to help, to undulate, to give as good as I get, but Sunshine doesn’t care as skin slaps skin, and he forces me to shatter around him.
On a keening cry, the world blacks out for a moment as blood rushes through my ears. Sunshine slams his mouth to mine, swallowing my cries as I come. Wetness bathes my pussy as he draws my orgasms on and on, hitting the perfect spot as his pelvis rubs the other.
Tongues tangling in a mess of need, tears leak down my cheeks as a dam I’ve spent years building breaks in the center of my chest.
“That’s it, Sweets. That’s it. You’re doin’ so well,” Sunshine praises.
As I come down from my high, legs trembling, I wait for him to get off. To bathe me in his cum.
But he doesn’t stop, and he doesn’t climax .
He peppers kisses across my damp face and slows his ministrations.
“Why aren’t you getting off?” I worry my bottom lip.
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t ?” Am I doing something wrong? Does he need more from me? Is it the bathroom? Is it cause Dark’s in the living room?
“I’m…” Settling my bottom on the vanity, Sunshine massages the bridge of his nose, looking a whole world of uncomfortable as his still-hard cock flexes inside my core.
I drag two fingers down the middle of his pecs, through the dusting of hair, down to his belly button. “You can talk to me.”
“It’s not that I don’t wanna get off. I just can’t sometimes.” He shrugs his big muscular shoulders.
“Is there any way I can help?” I trace around his perfect belly button.
“Let me continue to get you off.” Sunshine waggles his brows.
That’s not good enough.
Squeezing my breasts together, I stare down at the small mounds. “How about these? Do you wanna fuck these?”
He licks his lips. “Sweets. Of course, I wanna fuck your tits. You have the sexiest fuckin’ tits. But not here. If you’re done, we can try again later. Yeah?”
“But… I?—”
With a firm shake of his head, Sunshine cuts me off. “No. This is not a thing. I’m an old man.”
“No. You’re not,” I argue, looking at him as if he’s lost his mind. Sure, he’s older, but he’s not an old man. Old men don’t look like him, and they sure as hell don’t fuck like him.
“Yeah, Sweets, I am.” Sunshine chuckles as if he finds me cute. “And sometimes I’m just gonna have to fuck you ‘til you can’t see straight, but I’m not gonna finish.”
That doesn’t seem fair.
“Is that okay?” I ask.
Cocking his head to the side, he looks at me funny. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because we’re both supposed to get off.” That’s how this works. Sure, it’s not equal. His one climax versus my fifteen, or whatever crazy number he forces out of me, isn’t the same, but we’re both getting off.
“No. We’re not.” Sunshine takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. The silly organ in my chest does a flip. “I’m never chasin’ my orgasm. I’m chasin’ yours.”
“But what if I?—”
Sunshine shakes his head, effectively cutting me off. “No, Sweets.”
Tracing around his nipples with my free hand, I frown. “Colton, I don’t like this.”
“Yeah. Well. Welcome to bein’ with an old man.” Releasing my hand and removing his cock from my pussy, he slaps the side of his still-hard member as if he’s angry with the thing. It swings, smacks his upper leg, and returns to jutting straight at me, a drop of precum glistening at the slit.
Hating the idea of us both not coming because that’s the entire point, I slide off the counter, turn around, and bend over to give him the perfect view of my ass. I reach back and part my cheeks. “You can fuck me here,” I offer, wiggling my hips, wanting him to come any way he can.
Chewing his lower lip, Sunshine stares at my tight little hole. Another one of those low, sensual growls vibrates in his chest as he steps forward and brushes the wet tip of his dick to the pucker. He swats my hand away and parts my cheeks himself. “Such a pretty little hole. So sexy. But I can’t fuck you there right now. We gotta prep, and we ain’t got time for that.”
Wanting him to do something, anything, I slip a hand between my legs, gather the wetness there, and reach around to lube my back entrance and the tip of his member. “I don’t need prep.” Pushing back, it kisses my hole and slips a fraction inside. Eyes squeezing shut, I moan, loving him there, wanting him there. It’s been years since I’ve done this because it takes a lot of trust, but there’s no one else I trust more than him, and I want him to have this. I want him to take it.
“Kali,” he warns.
“Fuck me there. Please.”
“Not. Here,” he says, but his body has a mind of its own when he presses in further, just a little, breaking the barrier to enter my body. Sucking in a painful hiss through clenched teeth, I wait with bated breath for him to go further. I can take it. I want the pain. I want his cum. I want everything.
Bracing my hands on the vanity and widening my stance, I shove my ass back. It pulls a guttural moan from the man behind me. “Fuck. Me.”
Sunshine reaches down and slips two fingers down my dripping center, gathers more lube, and massages it around my rim, where he fucks in shallow thrusts until his cock head pops inside, leaving us both groaning in pleasure.
There’s a knock at the bathroom door.
Dammit.
Frustrated by the interruption, I ball my fists on the counter and look over my shoulder at Sunshine, whose lips are cherry red as air saws in and out of his lungs, and he stares, almost hypnotized, at my ass.
Another knock resounds.
“We’re about done out here,” Angel calls from the other side.
“You two about done in there?” comes from Dark.
Dropping my chin to my chest, I blow out an agitated breath as the cock nestled just inside my hole bucks slightly as if saying it doesn’t want to leave just yet. That makes two of us.
“You hear me, brother?” Angel follows up when neither of us replies.
Sunshine’s hand shoots out and grips the base of my neck, and in one violent thrust, he buries himself to the hilt inside my ass, and I scream in burning pleasure-laced pain.
His cock throbs inside me. “Does that answer your question?” Sunshine snarls.
Sunshin e
They know what we’re doing.
Yet they knock.
They can hear her pleasure.
Yet they knock.
Both of ‘em have had her. They’ve been inside this perfect body. This perfect soul. Inside… The woman I love. The woman I’ve killed for. The woman I’ve cleaned up after and will continue to do so until my dying breath.
Now, they wanna interrupt us.
Who gives a fuck if my dick doesn’t wanna come? He still brings her pleasure, and it feels damn good to me, too, even if I’m nowhere near finishing.
My balls ache, nestled against Kali’s wet pussy, as I stare down at her tight little pucker wrapped around my shaft. Fuck. I shouldn’t have done that. Her body trembles violently against mine. She said she wanted it, but I know it can hurt. I heard her pain. I sense it as sweat glistens across her tattooed back and goosebumps sprout.
“You okay, Sweets?” I check, hating myself for not being gentler.
“Yes.” She shivers, and I can’t tell if she’s being honest or just wants me to get off. Sure, I could use her to meet my needs, but there’s no gratification in that. I don’t know why she’s so damn adamant I gotta come. I can do it later when we’re home, not standing in her now-dead stalker's bathroom.
Angry for letting us get this far and hoping I didn’t hurt her sexy little bottom, I withdraw my cock from her ass until just the tip is left inside. Kali reaches back and grips my hip as if she’s afraid I’ll walk away.
“Please,” she begs, voice wavering .
My balls draw up at her plea, wanting to give her what she desires. If only my dick would cooperate. “Sweets. We can finish later.”
Her nails bite into my flesh. “No.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” And we’ve got a body to dispose of.
“Please.”
“Why?”
“Because I need it.”
“I already got you off, Sweets. I can lick your pussy if you want more.”
Her head shakes back and forth. “No. Not that.”
“You need my cum,” I guess.
Messy hair falling over her shoulders, Kali’s shallow nod and sputtered breath is confirmation enough. If she needs my cum, I’ll do whatever I can to give it to her. There hasn’t been a single moment in almost twenty years where I questioned why I wanted her. This, right here, standing in a vintage, blue-tiled bathroom, heart pounding in my chest, cock as hard as a bar of steel, just solidifies what I’ve always known—she’s the one. She’s always been the one. She’ll always be the one… and there’s not a goddamn thing I won’t do to make her happy.
Not wanting to use Kali’s juices as lube and not wanting to hurt her ass any more than necessary, I lean over her sexy little body and flick open the medicine cabinet in search of something to make this go smoother. On the second shelf, I find a squeeze tube of jelly lubrication and squirt a generous amount where we’re connected—first her rim and then up my shaft. The coolness tingles, and she gasps all cute and shit as I work it around her entrance.
“You sure you want this?” I check to be certain. ‘Cause we can stop, and I’ll be just as happy.
A broken, needy moan and swivel of her hips is answer enough. So, I give my woman what she wants. Wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her onto her tippy toes, our eyes clash in the mirror above the sink. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I sweep her hair to the side and kiss her shoulder softly, lingering. Pulse pounding against my lips, her pupils swell, swallowing the sea of her gaze as her lids lower to half-mast, barely able to stay open. When I nibble her neck, she shivers, expelling the most adorable sexually charged gasp. When I press my hand firmly between her breasts, cant my hips, and impale my shaft into her tight little hole, her back goes rigid against my chest, and that sweet mouth pops open, rounding into a perfect “O” as those manicured brows pinch cutely in the center.
“That’s it,” I encourage before dropping my lips to the juncture of her shoulder to suck another welt to match the others as I wait for her to adjust around my girth.
Blowing out an audible breath, tension bleeds from Kali’s form. I pepper kisses from one shoulder to the next and finally give in to what we both want—I fuck her ass.
In and out, slow at first, I build momentum until her eyes roll into the back of her head, and her palm slaps against the mirror for support. Raspy moans pour like melted chocolate from Kali’s parted lips, and I reach around to rub her clit as I pound her from behind.
“ Ohhhh. Fuuuck ,” Kali draws, voice wrecked .
“That’s it.”
A splash of wetness bathes the floor as her entire body convulses, but I don’t stop. I fuck her deeper, harder. On and on, I take her, drawing whatever I can from her needy body, and it lets me. Her ass clamps around my shaft as she comes, and when she’s done, it loosens just enough to let me start again.
And I make her do it again and again.
Dousing our feet in her cum, screaming in ecstasy, head resting on my shoulder.
Once her legs give out, no longer able to hold any weight, I carry her to the toilet, where I drop the lid and sit down, her back to my front. Setting her on my lap, my dick in her ass, my back against the cool porcelain of the tank, I grip the underside of Kali’s thighs and fuck into her awaiting body. Her head rests on my collarbone, and her eyes remain closed as waves of delirious pleasure surge through her form.
“Your ass loves my cock, Sweets.”
In response, her hole squeezes around my shaft. I lower her to the hilt, then pause to let her catch her breath. Resting her feet on my knees, I wipe my palm over her forehead to clear the sweat away as her breasts heave.
Nuzzling the side of her neck, I kiss her there. “You done yet?” I nip her earlobe, and she haphazardly shakes her head. Of course, she's not—the fiend.
Chuckling to myself, I slide my palm down her damp stomach to her soppy wet pussy where I shove two fingers inside. I can feel my cock through the thin wall of her cunt, and she moans as I curve my fingers just enough to massage her G-spot and roll her clit between two fingers with my other hand.
Back arching slightly, Kali’s center clamps around my fingers, and her ass tightens around my cock. “Colton,” she whimpers my name, and damn if that doesn’t do something to me. My heart knocks against my sternum. I know I should focus on getting off because that’s what she wants, but I can’t. Not when I can’t get enough of this. Of her. Those cries. The whimpers. Her climaxes. Watching her shatter over and over, here of all places, because she trusts me to care for her. To love her. To please her.
Damn.
That’s… powerful shit.
“I love touching you.” I nip her shoulder, and Kali groans, cupping my hand that massages her cunt.
For however long it takes, I worship my woman, and when she’s nothing more than a shuddery mess, unable to form a coherent sentence, I stop and pull her off my shaft. Then and only then do I think about myself and giving her what she craves most. Setting her on the vanity once more, Kali’s legs dangle off the edge as I jack myself in a punishing grip and squeeze my balls ’cause I need the glorious bite of pain.
Sucking on her bottom lip, Kali watches on, rubbing her nipples, chin on her chest, eyes nothing more than slits.
“I’m gonna come for you,” I grit through clenched teeth, the veins in my forearms popping.
I’m almost there.
Stepping between Kali’s quivering thighs, I carefully tilt her shoulders against the medicine cabinet and scoot her bottom to the edge of the sink, just enough to expose her stretched hole. Knowing I can’t come in her pussy, I spit on her swollen rim. Eyelids fluttering in desire, Kali groans lowly in her throat as I slip back inside her welcoming passage, firmly jack the base of my shaft, and explode. Abs contracting, I slam my palm against the mirror, cracking it down the center, as I squeeze my eyes shut and growl, dumping every last drop into my woman’s ass. Her hole grips me, drawing out my orgasm as I drive to the hilt, wanting to crawl inside her and live forever.
“Yes,” Kali hisses as I black out for a moment.
Dropping my forehead to hers, unable to see straight, Kali rubs my back as my cock softens enough to slip from her perfect body.
“I feel high.” She giggles, and I peck her lips, noting how fucking sore I am after another round of sex with this insatiable woman. It’s a miracle I can keep up.
Knowing I have a body to make disappear, I kiss her once more before I pull away long enough to find a clean washcloth in a cabinet. I wet it with the tub faucet and use it to wash my cock. Then I rinse it out and help Kali wipe up down there. I’m careful to clean her ass first, discard the rag in the tub, then use another one for her pussy, not wanting to cause any female issues.
She hums in contentment when I lean down to kiss her clit, with my tongue. I mean, it’s there, and the poor little nub looks lonely after ten minutes of no stimulation.
“Colton.” Resting her feet on my shoulders, she grips my hair.
I nuzzle my nose in her folds. Fuck, she smells incredible— a mix of cum and cunt. Inhaling deeply, I get dizzy on her scent.
“Colton.” She tugs on my head. I look up from her mound and make eye contact as I do something I shouldn’t but don’t give a shit and do anyhow, like tickle her clit with my tongue and watch her gasp the hottest little sound. I can’t help it. I do it again, and she pulls my face in like she wants me to eat her alive. You don’t have to tell me twice. Dropping to my knees, I feast on my woman. I gorge. I fucking bathe in her sweet cunt, rubbing it in my beard, lips, and nose.
One hand in my hair, steering me however she likes, Kali plucks her ripe nipple and grinds my face against her pussy. And I let her. Christ, do I let her. I revel in it. When she comes and splashes my beard and chin in her cum, I weep with fucking joy and lap up every drop. When she thinks she’s done, I make her do it again.
I don’t know how long we have our way with each other, but when she’s wrung dry, and I’m happier than I’ve been in a decade, we finish washing up, and I help her dress before kissing her soundly on the mouth and escorting her out of the bathroom. In the living room, Angel and Dark are sitting, eating God-knows-what from Anthony’s kitchen as his corpse lays in the center of the space, wrapped in a thick sheet of plastic. The same kind I buy in bulk for days like this. Blood paints the inside like a shrink-wrapped piece of meat.
Knowing Kali won’t be able to stand for long, I prop her against a wall. She sags there as I rush to the kitchen for a chair for her to rest on.
“Thanks.” She grins, exhausted, and collapses onto the seat.
Kneeling at her feet, I rub my palms up and down her thighs. “You good, Sweets?”
Nodding once, she tries and fails to stifle a yawn. “Just tired.” Her head drops forward, chin resting on her chest.
“You promise?”
The sweet woman cups my cheek, and I lean into her palm. “Yes. I promise.”
Turning into her touch, I kiss the center of her hand before I use my knees to stretch back to my full height. They crack, but nobody says shit as I snap my fingers and gesture for my son and brother to help me get this dead piece of shit out of the house and into the back of the van Angel brought.
Under the guise of darkness, we carry Anthony’s rolled-up body through the back door in the kitchen and across the backyard to the rear alley where Angel parked beside a group of overgrown trees, away from prying eyes.
“That was over a fuckin’ hour,” Dark complains as I open one van door and Angel opens the other, both of us careful not to dump the corpse on the ground.
Ignoring my son, I crouch as I climb into the vehicle and drag Anthony’s body to the front as the guys push from the end. Once his feet don’t stick out, we drop him unceremoniously onto the bed. It rocks as the weight settles, and I make a point to kick him before I hop out onto the gravel alley.
Angel slams the heavy rear doors shut, and I lean against the back, arms tucking across my chest as I stare down my kid, who’s fucking pissed at me, if his pacing is any indication. I get it. I do. But we talked about this happening, not once or twice, but many times. He’s known what I wanted forever. It’s obvious. Angel knows, too. When he started hooking up with Kali, I made it clear that if he screwed her over and played head games, I’d drug him, then bury him alive in the desert, where he’d die a slow death.
Thankfully, he’s smart and cared for my woman when I couldn’t. Am I jealous? I was, maybe, a little bit. But I’d prefer him servicing her pussy over some douchebag like Anthony. Good fucking riddance.
We don’t have to worry about any of that anymore, do we? Dark finally divorced her and I get to claim what’s always been mine.
“I fuckin’ hate this.” My son kicks the ground, and little pebbles fly everywhere, hitting the bottom of the neighbor’s wooden fence.
“I dunno what you expect me to say.”
“I dunno. Maybe, that you’re sorry or something. Fuck!”
“Why the hell would I be sorry?” I stroke my beard. “Am I sorry you cheated on your old lady? Hell no. You did that. Not me. I warned you I would get what I wanted.”
“He’s right, Dark. Everyone knows the score. It’s not like he was hiding it,” Angel adds.
My son points to the rear of the house. “But I love her.”
“So what? I love her, too.” Not to be cheesy as fuck and quote the great Tina Turner, but “What’s love got to do with it?” Not a damn thing. Real love is made up of more than hollow words. It’s actions that matter .
“She’s the mother of my kids.” Dark smacks his palm to the center of his chest. “And you’re old as fuck.”
Rolling my eyes at his childishness, I shrug one shoulder, not bothering to do the other. “Do you think she cares how old I am?”
“Obviously not.”
“Then drop it.” If it doesn’t matter to Kali, it doesn’t matter to me. I can’t change my age any more than she can. That has zero bearing on my feelings for her.
“You fucked her for almost two ,” growling out the words, Dark holds up two fingers as if I need a counting lesson, “goddamn hours.”
“So?” I don’t see the problem here. I took care of her. We’re not pressed for time.
Grumbling as if he expects me to get angry and fight with him, Dark punches the air. “ How can you fuck her for almost two hours?”
How?
I have a functioning dick. That’s how.
Dark’s fully grown. He knows all about the birds and the bees. I found nudie mags under his mattress at twelve. They were a gift from one of my brothers. This insulting shit just to be insulting has gotta stop.
“We’re not doin’ this, Dark.” I sigh. It’s not the time or the place. Angel’s here for a job, and we’re not airing out more family bullshit tonight. Enough is enough.
Squaring up like he’s down to brawl, my son cracks his knuckles. “Yes. We are, Dad. ” He steps forward.
Not in the mood for whatever this is, I put a hand out to cut him off before he does something dumb like hit me and force me to put him on his ass. “I have a woman to get home and calls to make. To make sure the rest of Anthony’s shit disappears. Ya know, to protect Kali. To make sure none of this blows back on her.”
“Sorry, Dark, but I’m with Sunshine on this one,” Angel chimes in, looking between us as if he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is. We’re his brothers, and this love triangle, square, rectangle, whatever the hell you wanna call it, is done. I won. I passed go. Now I get to claim my prize.
“Fuck you, Angel.” Dark flips him off.
Raising both hands in mock surrender, Angel steps back from the situation, then hitches his thumb toward the van’s driver’s side. “I’m gonna go handle this.” He lifts his chin at me. “Brother, if you need anything, give me a ring. Yeah?”
I nod. “Will do. Thanks, brother.”
“Anytime.”
Turning back to my son as Angel pulls away, I stay off the topic of Kali and focus on what we need to do to handle this stalker business. Dark listens and, for once, doesn’t start shit. Once we’re on the same page, I march through the darkness to the back of Anthony’s house and climb the two steps into his kitchen, where Kali’s standing, watching us through the window. She turns to face me as I enter. The rickety screen door slams shut in my wake.
“Hi, Sweets. You okay?”
“Are you okay?” she emphasizes with raised brows, pointing out the window where Dark is sulking like a toddler who lost his favorite toy.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I could hear Dark cussing. ”
“When is Dark not cussing?” I tease.
Shaking her head in amusement, she chuckles and steps over a pile of pots and pans to wrap her arms around my middle. I rest my chin on the top of her head and hug her up tight. Her cute little nose presses into the valley between my pecs, and she breathes in deep like she’s scenting me. I sift my fingers through the back of her hair, which is kind of a mess after our time in the bathroom, and I give her a little tug so she’ll look at me. Pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down, she rests her chin on my sternum with those pretty, beard-burned lips on display. I take full advantage and love on my woman a bit, tongue and all, until we’re breathing like we just ran a marathon, and my heart’s ready to break dance outta my chest.
“Now what?” Kali licks her lips and rests her hands on my pecs.
I flash my surprised gaze to her touch and back to her face. She’s never been this handsy before, not that I’m complainin’. It’s nice, damn nice, I don’t have to initiate or worry if I’m crossin’ a line.
An adorable blush blots her cheeks when she realizes what she’s doing. Trying to be inconspicuous, she attempts to back away, but I don’t let her when I press my hands over hers.
“You like my pecs, huh?” I smile and bounce them beneath her palms.
Kali laughs awkwardly. “Colton.”
“What? You’re allowed to like ‘em. I like yours.” To prove my point, I cup her breasts.
Barking a surprised laugh, she slaps my touch away.
I don’t let that deter me when I go for those mounds again, knowing exactly what those perky little nipples taste like. Oh. They’re yummy. Fucking perfection. Just like everything else about this witchy woman.
This time she squeaks and shoves me away, but that doesn’t do jack shit when I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder, fireman style.
“Colton!” she squeaks and slaps my lower back.
“Yes?” I spank her ass, one cheek, then the next, so they’re treated fairly.
“Hey!” she protests and squirms to get down as I carry her through the house. “What are you doing?” she asks as I push open the garage door and step into the bay.
Hooking my arm over her knees to keep her steady, I open Anthony’s car door. “You’re driving the dead fuck’s car outta town.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Dark’s gonna meet us on the edge of town. We’re gonna trade off Anthony’s car. So it can disappear, and we can make his leavin’ the country believable.”
“Right. Okay,” she yields.
Careful not to bang any part of her body, I slide Kali down my front, peck her lips with a loud smack, and deposit her into the driver’s side. Gripping the wheel, she winces when her bottom settles into the seat.
Curbing my niggle of guilt for making her hurt, I crowd into her space and peck those lips. “I’m gonna lay in the back. You good with that?”
“Yes. Of course. Whatever you need me to do.”
Loving how much this woman trusts me, I kiss her again, more soundly this time, with a smidge of tongue. “I love you so goddamn much. ”
Delicately cupping the side of my face, she smiles, and it lights up the entire world. “I love you, too.”
Her admission makes me feel ten feet tall.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman.
Standing at my full height, I double knock on the car's rooftop before I shut Kali inside and climb into the back, where I flatten myself to the backseat to avoid being seen. Laughing as if she finds me ridiculous, she opens the garage door. Backing out of the space, she glances at me over her shoulder and laughs harder this time. “Twice in one day, I’m chauffeuring you around. Who would have thought.”
“Don’t worry. After this, it won’t be happenin’ again anytime soon, Sweets. That, I can promise you.”
Beaming at me through the rearview mirror, Kali makes a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat as if she doesn’t believe me. Before I can comment on it, we’re cruising through Anthony’s neighborhood.
Relaying the address Dark sent me, Kali hums as if she knows the spot and doesn’t need GPS to get us wherever we’re going.
The ride is quiet, save for the white noise of the road, as she maneuvers through town. The radio remains off, and we don’t speak. It’s nice. I rest on my back, my arm tucked behind my head. It’s a bit cramped, but it works for the short trip.
At the drop site, Kali parks us on the side of the road, and I get out first. Dark throws his bike keys at my chest, and I catch them before they hit the ground. The instant Kali’s out of the Toyota, leaving the door ajar, my son’s sliding inside. Without a single word to either of us, he drives away. We look at each other as we watch red taillights disappear down the dark country road.
“He’s pissed,” she comments.
“He’ll get over it.”
Shrugging as if she doesn’t give two shits, Kali tails me to the Harley parked on the gravel berm. Swinging my leg over the seat, I mount the bike and offer her the helmet hanging from the handlebar, courtesy of Dark. Like a seasoned pro, she secures it beneath her chin before using my shoulder for support as she climbs on behind me. I turn over the engine and rev it a few times. The beaut purrs like a big kitten before I tap my leather-clad sides, and Kali wraps her arms around my waist, tits pressed against my back, thighs snug at my waist. It’s delicious—having her with me, enjoying the late-night air together. It’s been ages since we’ve gotten to do this. I give a thumbs-up to ensure she’s ready to get the hell outta Dodge. In typical Kali fashion, she double-taps my stomach to confirm she’s good. Patting the tops of her hands in return, I squeeze them and breathe in the fresh air, drawing it deep into my lungs. Once I blow it out, I heel up the kickstand and aim us home to shower and sleep. Tomorrow’s another day with my lady.
A day to talk about what went down.
To handle Anthony’s affairs.
And figure out how we’re going forward and if that’s what she wants. If it’s not... We’ll figure it out like we always do.
With my woman at my back, the wind in my face, the stars twinkling in the sky, and black asphalt stretched before me—life’s never been sweeter.