27. Sterling
27
STERLING
“You’re so deep,” Hallie gasps as I thrust inside her.
My grip tightens on her trembling hips as I retreat, pulling all the way out. I marvel at how damn beautiful the shine of our mixed cum is as it coats my rock-hard dick.
“You look so good from this angle,” I groan.
My abs clench and I pull her ass back to meet my balls and slam inside her again. We’ve been fucking for hours. I haven’t been able to let her go since we walked into my penthouse this evening.
After we saw Rory.
That bastard.
I thrust again, and she clenches around me and arches her back, making her filled pussy lift as if on display for me. I might be a grown man, but I haven’t been able to quell the insatiable need to fuck her over and over and claim her as mine.
Because she is mine. And I’m hers. He needs to get it through his thick skull that he will never have a chance with Hallie.
“Baby girl, you’re going to have me everywhere soon.”
“Please,” she whimpers.
I bend so my chest is flush with her back, and I can whisper in her ear. “Where do you think will have taken the most of my cum tonight? Your mouth or your cunt?”
“God, Sterling,” she moans as I reach forward and force two fingers inside her mouth. She sucks on them greedily, swirling her tongue over them the way she did to my cock the minute we got through the door.
We’re damn well feral for one another.
“Those days on your chart?” I groan as I straighten up again, curling my hands back around her hips.
“The ones where you can’t come inside me?”
“Yeah, those.” I suck in a sharp breath as her thighs begin to shake. She’s about to come again. Jesus Christ, she’s perfect. And mine.
I deepen my thrusts, loving the way she mewls for more and pushes back onto my dick, taking it so eagerly.
“Maybe you’ll have to…” She pushes her ass up and whimpers.
“That’s it, Baby girl, come again for me.”
She obliges, screaming out my name as her pussy falls into rhythmic spasms around my dick. I fuck her through them, smiling to myself as I manage to squeeze a second orgasm from her before the first has even had time to finish.
“Maybe you’ll have to come somewhere else inside me instead,” she pants, riding the waves out over my cock.
“Somewhere else?”
“In my ass.”
“Jesus!” The mental image steals my control, and I come hard without warning.
I place my thumbs on her ass cheeks, prizing them open further so I can see her perfect tight hole as my balls unload with each harsh drive of my hips.
“You’re so damn perfect.”
I pull my firing cock out of her pussy and press the swollen head against her asshole, watching the white spurts shoot from it all over her.
“So damn perfect,” I growl as I push the tip against her skin, rubbing it up and down.
“Sterling,” she whimpers, rolling her hips and pleading with her eyes as she looks back over her shoulder at me.
I take her invitation and ease just the head of my dick inside her ass.
“God, yes. I want to take all of you there soon.”
Looking at her beautiful face is the final straw, and my balls give their all, pumping a fresh wave of cum up my shaft and spilling it inside her.
Her eyes widen at the sensation, and I hold her gaze, squeezing her hips, circling the swollen head of my cock inside her as the final drops pass from me to her.
“Did I tell you how much I love you?”
“I think you showed me.” She smiles.
Sweat beads on my chest as I take in a deep drag of much-needed air.
Yeah, I think I damn well did.
My fingers trail up and down the silky skin on Hallie’s naked back as she lies on her front next to me, her icy blonde hair splayed out over the pillow. Her cute little snores make me smile as I watch her sleep.
She looks like an angel. Some days I think she is one, sent to rescue me from living my whole life without experiencing the kind of love that makes you crazy. Because I’m damn crazy about her. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
I lean over and press a kiss to her shoulder. She’s exhausted. I kept her going until she could barely keep her eyes open. I lost count of how many times we fucked before everything slowed down and we made love gently, staring into each other’s eyes as I held her beneath me. No matter how much of her I get, it’s never enough. I always want more.
My cell vibrates on the nightstand, and I reach for it, answering Denver’s call as my gaze returns to Hallie.
“Denver?”
I keep my voice low, so I don’t disturb her. I called him when Hallie fell asleep and told him Rory didn’t get on his flight. He’s been trailing him since, keeping an eye on his movements.
“Boss,” he greets. “I’ve followed him to your apartment building. He hasn’t tried to get inside, but he’s pacing up and down the sidewalk.”
I slip out of bed and walk to the windows even though it’s too high up to make much out at street level below.
“Keep an eye on him. I’ll come down.”
“There’s more.” Denver’s tone is grim. “It’s about Vegas.”
“Go on.”
I grit my teeth knowing that whatever he’s about to tell me isn’t going to be good. Rory ought to run while he can.
“I heard your club in LA got burned down. Shame.” Rory smirks, eyeing me as I walk up to him on the sidewalk.
He looks disheveled. His light brown hair is messy, sticking up in places, like he’s been raking his hands through it. And his eyes are dull and tired, the whites holding a yellow sheen. He could have been back in England with all of his debts paid off. Yet here he is, looking for a fight that he doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning.
“It’s just a building.” I shrug. “I’ll remodel it and make it better.”
“Yeah, an old rich guy like you can afford to see it like that.” He snorts.
“You’re right. I am rich.”
Rory eyes me with disgust, his top lip curling.
“I’m the richest man in the world. You know why? Because I’ve got the love of that incredible woman who’s upstairs sleeping in my bed right now.”
“You keep your hands off her!”
He dives at me, but his punch is poorly executed, and his eyes widen as I catch his fist in my palm.
And squeeze.
“Argh!” He yanks it back, his face contorting in pain.
I stand calmly, waiting for him to?—
“You dirty old bastard!” He comes at me again, but I move at the last moment, leaving him stumbling around.
“I tried to give you an out. You should have taken it.”
“Fuck you! I’m going to kill you!”
Sighing, I check my watch. I don’t want to leave Hallie any longer than is necessary.
“If this is how you want this to go, can I suggest we step around the corner?”
“Fine,” he spits.
I follow him around the corner of a building and into a darkened alleyway. I signal back at the dark SUV parked curbside for Denver to stay put.
Rory’s all mine.
He stomps down the alleyway, then spins to glare at me. “You’re too old for her.”
“I love her.”
His eyes bug at my calm admission.
“You can’t love her!” He jabs a finger into his temple. “You’re going senile if you think she wants you.”
I take my time removing my jacket and finding the cleanest looking part of a dumpster lid to place it down onto.
“I know what you did in Vegas, Rory,” I say calmly.
“You mean when she asked me to marry her?” He laughs, waiting for me to react.
I fold one sleeve up to my elbow meticulously, keeping the cotton neat.
“I mean when you spiked her drinks.”
“I never drugged her,” he spits. “I don’t drug women.”
“I said spiked, not drugged.” I sigh at having to explain this to someone not worth my breath. “Putting extra shots into a person’s drink is spiking. You got her drunk so she wouldn’t know what she was doing. So she’d go along with your suggestions. You took away her choice .”
Choice. Something we should always have. Yet, I’ve lived much of my life having mine dictated by other people. My parents, Elaina’s parents.
Hallie will never have her choice taken away from her again. I’ll die before I let that happen.
“There’s evidence. You’re looking at a potential jail sentence should those videos come out,” I tell him.
Someone won big in Caesars that night. It’s the only reason Denver’s buddy was able to get copies of the CCTV for us. We were lucky they kept them.
Rory won’t be so lucky.
His eyes widen before he shrugs. “Halliday would love that. Going to court, the whole world knowing we were married.”
“Say her name again and I’ll cut out your tongue,” I say simply.
I fold up my other sleeve with the same care as the first.
Rory’s gaze drops to my forearm, and he recoils. “Are you deformed?”
“What I am, is done acting like a gentleman toward a man who doesn’t know how to treat a lady. This will be the last time you ever hurt her.”
He stares at me for a beat, then strides forward, drawing back his fist.
“Hope you’re ready for your nursing home, old man.”
I grab the collar of his shirt, pulling him to me. Then I rear back my head and slam it into his face, headbutting him.
The sound of crunching bone echoes off the high concrete walls around us.
“Fuck!” He grabs his nose and staggers back, folding over at the waist. “You broke my fucking nose!”
I dust down my shirt and wait for him to stand.
He spits a mouthful of blood out on the ground.
“You’re just a charity case to her. She feels sorry for you after your wife and son died. I read all about it. How they were burned to a crisp.”
I take a deep breath so I don’t snap his neck here in this dank, stinking alleyway and throw him in the trash where he belongs.
“She told me you were a piece of work. Now I see, you’re just a piece of shit. Go back to England.”
He straightens and lunges for me again.
One undercut to his gut and he’s wheezing for air.
“I can do this all night, Boy,” I tut as he comes at me again.
This time, my fist connects with his jaw and sends him hurtling backward.
When he comes at me again, I deliver one quick open-handed jab to his windpipe.
He collapses to the floor, clutching his throat, struggling to breathe.
I roll each of my sleeves down, adjusting my cufflinks, then pick my jacket up. He’s writhing around on the ground as I walk over to him.
“We could have discussed this like adults.”
“Fuck you,” he chokes out. “Hall?—”
I press my shoe against the side of his face, pinning his head to the ground. The leather hand-stitched sole applies just the right amount of pressure that his lips pucker and he winces.
“I warned you what would happen if you said my girl’s name again. So maybe you’ll want to re-think how you finish that sentence.”
I remove my foot, and he glares at me with pure hatred darkening his eyes.
“You’re an old man.”
I crouch and pat him on the cheek.
“The only thing past it here is you. Now be a good boy and get yourself on a flight to London while you can still walk yourself onto the plane.”
I stand and stare at him as he scrabbles up to a sitting position. He stares at me, nose pouring with blood. A few seconds pass between us in silence before I turn and stroll away, leaving him sitting alone on the cold piss-stained floor.
I head to the tinted window of the SUV and tap on the glass, waiting for it to roll down.
“Make sure he goes and packs.”
Denver’s eyes track up the alleyway behind me. “You don’t want me to dispose of?—?”
“No.” I frown, looking in Rory’s direction.
As tempting as it is, Hallie deserves a man who can look her in the eye and promise her Rory didn’t meet a painful end. Because I know someone with a heart as pure as hers would blame herself if he did.
Even if he does deserve it.
Giving him a beating him tonight would already be pushing boundaries in her eyes.
“Just make sure he gets on the damn flight,” I say, patting the roof of Denver’s car.
“Will do, Boss.”
Nodding, I head back inside.
I strip off my suit, depositing it all in the laundry before I go into the bathroom and wash my hands. The water has a pink tinge. I went easy on Rory. The temptation to do a hell of a lot worse to make sure he can never come near Hallie again was overwhelming.
“What are you doing up?”
Warm soft fingers dust over my abs as arms encircle me from behind and a soft kiss is pressed between my shoulder blades.
“Hallie,” I rasp, grabbing a towel to dry my hands. I throw it to one side and turn to wrap her in my arms.
“Come back to bed.” She pouts at me sleepily, and I reach up to brush the hair away from her face. “What?” she asks, studying me.
I shake my head softly. “I love you so much, that’s all.” I stroke her cheeks, overcome with emotion at the trust in her eyes.
She leans into one of my hands, a soft smile on her face. “I love you too. Now come back to bed.”
“You know I have to take care of the people I love, don’t you?”
Her brows flatten and she studies me. “I know that. And you do. You always do. Is this about Rory?” She places her hands over mine, curling her fingers around them and stroking the back of them with her thumbs.
“I’ll do anything to keep you safe, Hallie,” I confess. “Things that you might not like. Things that mean I’m not always the man I should be for you.”
“I know who you are, Sterling. And I love you no matter what. You are always going to be the only man for me, no matter which part of you is the one on show, you hear me?”
“Hall—”
She places her fingers over my mouth. “I won’t hear you say a bad word about yourself, okay?” Her eyes shine with tears. “You are everything and more to me.”
I take her wrist, keeping her hand to my lips as I kiss her fingertips.
“You don’t need to worry about Rory. Because no matter what he does, I’m not going anywhere. You won’t lose me. And I won’t allow him to ruin things. I’ve been scared for far too long. And that’s not who I am. I didn’t start my business to let him take it from me without a fight. I did it for Jenny. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her legacy alive.”
“You’re amazing,” I breathe.
“No. You are. You’ve given me my strength back. I didn’t even realize how much of it I’d lost.”
“Hallie,” I rasp, resting my forehead against hers. “You’ve given me everything back. A life I’m happy to wake up to again each day. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be.”
She slides her fingers to my jaw, running them through my stubble.
“Come back to bed,” she whispers.
I let her lead me back by the hand, pulling me down onto the cool sheets. I lie on my back and gaze at her as she straddles me, her lips parting with a soft moan as she takes me inside her and starts to ride me slowly.
She holds my eyes, the city lights twinkling behind her.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you. I need you, Hallie.”
I urge her to increase her pace, gripping her hips.
“I need you, Baby girl,” I groan as I work her up and down my cock with mounting desperation.
The desperate need to have her.
To keep her.
To protect her.
To love her.
It’s only when she grabs my hands and places them on her breasts moments before her first orgasm hits that I see the blood I’ve missed, shining like a beacon on the base of one thumb nail.
I stare at it for far too long, only ripping my gaze away as she moans my name and comes a second time, her body gripping mine inside it like it can’t stand the thought of ever letting go.
Her eyes hold mine as she works herself up and down me, inching me closer and closer until I spill inside her with a choked growl.
I pull myself up while I’m still emptying inside her, and crush my body to hers, my mouth taking hers in a fierce kiss as I wrap her in my arms.
I failed to save and protect my family once. I cannot let that happen with Hallie.
No matter what, I can’t ever let anyone hurt her.
But I also have to be the man she deserves.
I can’t lose her.
I wouldn’t survive it.