Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Riley
“Ice-cream?” Zeke joins me on the sofa in the open concept living room of his penthouse carrying two white bowls.
“Please,” I lean forward, still wrapped in the warm, white blanket, and take one of the bowls from him. My face lights up when I see it’s coconut and vanilla, or at least I think it is. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t,” He gives me a small smile, grabbing the corner of the blanket and joining me underneath. “It’s my favorite.”
“Wow,” I force myself to laugh but the sound comes out weird. “Who would have thought I have something in common with Ezekiel Kavanagh.”
“Aside from taste in movies,” he raises his eyes from the bowl and heat spreads through my entire body remembering everything that we did at the movie theater last night.
“Aside from that…”
I glance at my phone on the coffee table again, hoping it will light up with a phone call from Mia. Not even Zeke has managed to distract me from the thoughts that are still haunting me.
“Hey,” he sets his bowl aside, raising my chin to face him. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I know,” I release a deep sigh, before taking another bite of the ice-cream. “I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
“You have to trust Elijah,” he insists, his hand now resting on my knee.
I can’t ignore the heat coming from his skin every time he even just as much as brushes against me innocently.
Though something tells me that nothing this man does is ever innocent and that he is well aware of the effect he’s having on me.
With one hand still holding my ice-cream bowl, I reach out my free hand and intertwine my fingers with his.
The beating of my heart becomes so loud I’m sure he can hear it and I look away, too shy to meet his eyes, terrified that if I do let him look into them, he’s going to see straight through my soul and know exactly what type of feelings he awakens in me.
Not that I’m ashamed of feeling them. I just need to process and understand them on my own before I let him in like that.
“Riley,” His voice is low when he speaks, and he leans in close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath on my neck. “You’re driving me fucking mad.”
That’s all it takes for heat to pool between my legs and dampen my panties.
A beautiful pair of pink lace panties I put on this morning after showering, hoping he would take them off later.
Maybe rip them off the same way he did at the movie theater.
I might not be rich, but I will buy as many pairs are necessary as long as Zeke Kavanagh will be the one to rip them off me.
Before I can say anything, his lips brush against mine. I part mine slightly, just enough for warm air to enter my mouth. He smells like coconut and vanilla ice cream mixed with that masculine, clean scent of his, and it’s enough for my body to arch, trying to press against him in the tiny space.
“Zeke, I…” Just as I’m about to give into the kiss, my mind spirals and returns back to Mia.
Zeke presses his lips to my cheek, leaving gentle kisses on his way lower, to my jaw. As he works his way down my neck, I let a moan escape me and I feel his lips form a small, satisfied smile before he starts nibbling gently on my neck.
He slides one hand under the blanket and up my exposed thigh, his touch feeling like electricity, making me become a little too aware of the fact that I’m wearing tiny shorts and his oversized shirt only.
When he reaches my butt, he cups one ass cheek firmly, digging his fingers into it as if he’s trying to leave a permanent mark on me.
His other hand drops to the nape of my neck, holding me still while his mouth continues to do its magic on my neck, then lower on my collar bone, before returning to my lips all over again.
Before I manage to keep up with what he’s doing, both his hands are on my ass and he’s lifting me in the air. I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist when he gets to his feet, the friction of his body suddenly too much for me to handle, even through the fabric of his shirt.
Zeke takes me to his bedroom, but somehow today’s events get in the way o Zeke immediately catches it. He kisses me harder, slowly laying me on the large bed. My legs remain wrapped around his waist, refusing to let go of the firm pressure.
His fist tangles in my hair, pulling my head to the back with force that feels incredibly good, as he licks his way from my lips to the middle of my neck. “You’re mine, Riley,” he says in between the kisses.
With ease, he untangles himself from my squeeze. I watch him as he torturously slowly hooks his finger under my shorts and pulls them down. His face lights up and the corners of his lips turn upward in a satisfied smile when he sees my pink thong.
“As expected,” his voice is barely a whisper, intensifying the heat between my legs with just one sentence. “You really are a good girl.”
In one quick motion, he rids me of the oversized shirt, leaving me in nothing but the pink thong in front of him and I try to push everything else out of my head and enjoy the moment. I’ve been dreaming of him claiming me in this room from the moment I set foot in it.
“Because you’re such a sweet girl, Riley,” he leans over, his body hovering mine without ever touching me. “I won’t rip this pair off. Take it off for me.”
The cold air when he gets off me hits me like a train and I blink twice before I can even bring myself to sit up. Zeke takes his clothes off slowly and patiently, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Do you want to keep them?” I ask, my thumb hooked on the tiny string of the thong. He runs his tongue over his teeth as he watches me slowly starting to pull them off.
“They’re mine, just like you’re mine.” My heart drops when he pulls down his boxers.
Even though I’ve seen him and I’ve felt him inside me before, I can’t help but feel mesmerized every time I see him naked.
From his perfectly gorgeous face, the tattoos on his upper body, to his long, thick dick, there isn’t a single thing about this man that I don’t desire.
That I don’t want to leave traces of kisses on.
He smirks as he crosses the short distance between us.
He makes a sound that resembles a wild animal as he cups my face with one hand and lifts me to my feet, before he starts to kiss me. His tongue is rough as he leads a perfectly synchronized dance with mine, while he uses his other hand to fully slip off my thong.
He turns me around over the bed, putting me on all fours as he sets himself behind me.
I feel his erection brush against my bare ass and my body leans backwards, hungry for him.
“Keep your eyes on me in the mirror,” he leans closer to my ear, his voice low.
“I want you to see how much you love when I fuck you.”
I shiver when he trails his hands on both sides of my body, from my shoulders to my hips, before he pins me in place. He uses one hand to keep me still and prevent me from rubbing against him, while his other hand finds my most sensitive part and he smiles.
“You’re dripping wet for me,” he says through his teeth. “Such a good girl.”
Without a warning, he slams his dick deep into my pussy and I moan loudly from the sudden pleasure ripping through me. I watch him in the mirror as he moves behind me in a fast and steady rhythm.
The look on his face reminds me of an animal determined to devour its prey.
But I also know that I’ve never felt safer and that no one has ever taken nearly as much care of me as he does.
He is mine and he’s proving it with each thrust and the way my eyelids barely manage to stay open, while I melt under his touch.
My hands fist in the white sheets, knuckles turning white as I try to hold myself up.
Every heavy, relentless thrust sends a shockwave right to my core, blurring my vision.
In the mirror, our reflection is a breathtaking, beautiful mess, with Zeke’s tattooed body flushed dark, his jaw clenched, his eyes locked onto mine with a terrifying, absolute possessiveness.
He is devouring me, and I’m letting him.
“Zeke,” I gasp, my head barely staying up right. Every thrust is driving me over the edge, erasing the lingering worry about Mia, erasing everything but the sheer mass of him inside of me.
“Look at me, Riley,” he growls, his hand gripping my hip so tightly his fingers leave deep, red imprints. “Tell me who owns your pleasure.”
“You,” I sob, the word torn from my throat as a wave of heat begins to tighten deep in my belly. “You do, Zeke. Please—”
“Show me,” he whispers darkly, lifting me up so my back is pressed against his front, changing the angle just a little, but enough to hit that perfect, agonizing spot deep inside me, over and over again with a brutal, steady rhythm. His teeth graze my lobe as he speaks. “Come for me, good girl.”
The praise is my undoing. A loud, broken cry escapes my lips as I feel my walls clench violently around him, pulsing in tight, desperate waves.
The pleasure is so intense it borderlines on pain, making my knees go weak.
I begin to collapse forward, but Zeke catches me by the waist, holding me up, taking my orgasm with a low, primal groan of his own.
“That’s it,” he whispers. “Show me how much you can take.”
He thrusts deep one last time, and I watch him in the mirror as he hides his face in the crook of my neck while pleasure overwhelms him, his body going rigid as he pours himself into me.
For a few long seconds, the only sound in the room is our ragged, synchronized breathing. My heart is beating so fast, I’m afraid it might jump out of my chest and run away.
Slowly, gently, Zeke slips out of me but immediately pulls me back against him.
He drags the heavy duvet over us, bundling my trembling body against his chest without either of us saying anything.
He wraps his thick arm securely around my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest as he presses a kiss on the back of my head.
The smell of sweat, clean skin, and the faint sweetness of vanilla overwhelms my senses.
My eyelids feel heavy and the phantom weight of his hands is still warm on my skin.
The heavy, protective rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my cheek finally manages to quiet the chaos in my mind.
Safe in his bed, with his heat wrapped around me, I close my eyes, letting his strength carry me into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When I open my eyes, it takes a moment to remember that I’m at Zeke’s place.
In his bed, his sheets, wrapped in his addictive smell.
I blush remembering the way he made me come undone.
But then I remember Mia and my heart sinks all over again.
I turn to face Zeke, hoping that just seeing him lie in bed next to me, will help me calm down.
“Zeke?” I blink in the darkness, realizing he’s not there. I’m all alone in his room and it’s still night.
I push the heavy, fluffy duvet off me and slide out of the coziness of Zeke’s bed. I put my clothes back on and wrap myself in the small blanket I find folded on the chair next to Zeke’s bed, and then I start searching for him.
I find him in his office, reading something on his laptop. He lifts his head from the screen when I enter the room, and I can see he hasn’t slept. There are a mountain of files spread across the table in front of him.
My heart aches at the realization that he went above and beyond to be near me when he had his own things to deal with. I wrap the blanket tighter around me as I approach him.
“You should be sleeping,” Zeke says.
“I was worried when I woke up and you weren’t there,” I admit. “But I could say the same thing about you. Do you ever sleep? Or are you a vampire?”
He lets a throaty laugh escape him as he raises an eyebrow. “I guess you’ll have to find that out by yourself.”
The look in his eyes goes dark and I feel the now familiar heat pool between my legs.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smirks, returning his gaze to the computer.
“Can I keep you company?” I ask. “I don’t feel sleepy anymore.”
“Yes,” he nods. “There is coffee if you want some.”
I pour myself a cup before climbing on the sofa. It’s nice to spend time with Zeke even if I’m not doing anything. “What are you working on?”
“Just trying to figure out if my brothers and I missed anything,” he explains.
“About the missing girls?”
He nods. “My brothers and I suspect that Ronan Devlin, the head of another family, is behind all of it, but we don’t have any proof yet.”
I’m surprised he is telling me all of this. That alone warms my heart in ways I can’t even put into words. I don’t ask questions because I don’t want to distract him.
I can’t stop thinking about Mia, so I open the selfie she sent me yesterday, still unable to shake that feeling that something doesn’t add up.
The selfie is taken at the work, in the breakroom.
Nothing in particular stands out but as I continue staring at it, my eye catches the digital clock in the background.
It’s small enough to be easily overlooked, but when I zoom in, I can clearly see that the date it’s showing is from a month ago.
“Holy shit!”
Zeke’s eyes immediately snap to where I’m sitting. I jump off the sofa and go to Zeke’s desk to show him the photo. “Look, the date is from one month ago.”
Zeke takes my phone. We have a clue about Mia’s disappearance and this time no one can tell me I’m overreacting or making it up.
“You’re right,” Zeke agrees. “I have to call Elijah.”
“Isn’t he asleep?”
But before Zeke can answer, a familiar face from a photo on his screen stares back at me. I reach out for it and pick it up without much thinking. “Why do you have a photo of Cohen’s dad?”
“What?” Zeke stops with his phone in mid-air.
“This,” I turn the photo for him to see what I’m talking about. “Isn’t this Cohen’s dad?”
“No,” He shakes his head. “That’s Ronan Devlin, Riley. Why did you think he’s Cohen’s dad?”
That’s when it all falls into place and a cold shiver runs down my spine. Cohen is indeed what I suspected. “I saw him a few days ago at the club. They were talking very intimately, and I just assumed he was Cohen’s dad,” I explain. “When I mentioned it to Cohen later, he didn’t deny it.”
“Fuck,” Zeke’s eyes narrow, anger building up in his expression. “If Cohen is as close to him as you say, that means we caught the traitor.”
“Fuck…” I blink, trying to process the heaviness of what we just discovered. “I should have told you earlier.”
“You couldn’t have possibly known who Devlin is, Riley,” Zeke reassures me. “But if he’s involved in Mia’s disappearance, we must act immediately.”
I nod, watching him call his brothers, trying to calm the intensity of my own heartbeat that’s threatening to knock me out.
Mia…