LAILAH
EIGHT
As the warm sunlight filtered into the room, I scrunched up my face and tried to roll over, but I was stopped as arms tightened their hold on me.
I tried to open my eyes, but they were gritty from crying last night.
Pulling an arm out from under Jay’s weight—he was half laying on me—I rubbed my eyes.
One of Jay’s hands was still in my hair, and it tightened as I once again tried to move out from under him.
“Jay, you need to let me up. We have a lot to do,” I whispered as he nuzzled into my neck.
“No.”
I couldn’t hold back the smile at how cuddly Jay was.
He wasn’t one who needed much physical affection, being more of a man of action and service.
This was a change, and one that I wasn’t mad at.
I let my hand trail down his back, tracing over his muscles and a few of the tattoos that he had draping over his shoulder.
His muscles shifted under my touch, followed by his lips brushing along my neck, sending tingles through my body.
Using his hold in my hair, he pulled my head to the side, giving him better access to my throat.
He let his teeth skim along the column of skin, causing me to gasp and dig my nails into his back.
This made Jay growl into my neck, nipping at me before he shifted so we were both on our sides with him behind me.
“We don’t have time to play that game, beautiful,” Jay rasped in my ear, his voice still thick with sleep. “But I can take care of you another way.”
Catching up both my hands, he trapped them to my chest, holding me tight against him.
Slowly, he dragged his teeth on the outside shell of my ear before he bit down on the lobe.
I arched against him, rubbing my ass along his rigid dick, which let me know he was as into this as I was.
Jay let his free hand roam over my bare stomach, my shirt having ridden up in the night.
Slowly, he moved lower until he let a finger dip just under the elastic of my sleep pants.
Squirming, I tried to urge his hand lower, but he withdrew it, letting it rest just under my boobs.
“You have to keep still or I’ll stop,” Jay threatened, the command clear in his voice.
Letting out a whimper, I surrendered to his hold, and after a moment he began his slow journey back down.
This time he let two fingers skim under the elastic, letting them run along the top of my pelvis—so close, yet so far.
It took everything in me to hold still and not thrust up into his hand.
Distracting me, he started kissing along my neck again as he moved further down my leg, pushing my sleep pants down.
Once my pants were off, by some magic he’d performed with one hand, he lifted my right leg and settled it over top of his, leaving me exposed if anyone walked into the room.
My heart started beating faster with the fear—and oddly, the excitement—of us doing this and getting away with it.
I knew that Jay, in particular, enjoyed watching, but I wasn’t sure if the other men in my life shared that proclivity.
I sucked in a sharp breath as Jay’s fingers trailed along the inside of my thigh until he reached where it met the rest of my body.
He hadn’t even touched my clit or anywhere near my vagina, and I knew it was drenched with anticipation.
Catching me off guard, he glided his finger along the seam, making me cry out at the shock.
“If you don’t want them seeing this, then I might suggest keeping your voice down,” Jay purred against my jaw.
Swallowing down another moan, I couldn’t help but arch as he circled my clit with his finger. I almost wept as he pulled his hand away in punishment for my actions.
“Jay, please,” I begged, turning my face slightly to look at him. “I’m sorry, I won’t move. Please just let me come.”
A predatory glint showed in Jay’s silver eyes as he plunged two fingers into me, muffling my scream with his mouth.
Everything about Jay in this moment was commanding—he set the pace, and I was only allowed to follow.
Using his thumb, he applied pressure to my nub as he worked his fingers in and out of me.
I desperately wanted to pull my arms out of his hold so I could wrap them around his neck, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let him stop.
His kiss was harsh as he explored my mouth, shifting me so he was slightly more on top of me.
Never had I been so at someone’s mercy and reveled in it.
There wasn’t a fear in my mind other than he might stop before I completed, but all I had to do was let him take care of me as he always did.
My orgasm blindsided me as it rocketed through my body, but Jay didn’t stop.
Instead he sped up and pushed through the tightening of my walls.
Moments after the first one, he slipped a third finger in, and a second release was barreling down on me.
There was no way I could hold still as I shattered apart under his touch.
My body acted of its own will, curling up on itself as Jay forced every ounce of mind-blowing pleasure out of my body.
Finally, he slowed, sending shockwaves through my body each time he flicked his fingers before he removed them.
Languid and panting, I watched as he took those three fingers and placed them in his mouth, holding my gaze as he did.
If I hadn’t been wrung out, I would have demanded another round right then and there, but I wasn’t sure I could move yet.
Gently, Jay rolled me so I was facing him, and he gently massaged my body, helping me come down from my high. He cupped my face with both his hands and placed gentle kisses on my forehead, nose, lips. “You listened well, my beautiful girl.”
I blushed at his words as they filled me with such warmth I couldn’t help but smile. A door somewhere along the hall slammed, letting us know that someone else was awake and I might not have been as quiet as I’d thought I’d been.
No one made any comment or even asked about what they might have heard during breakfast. Granted, Ben and Grace were eating with us, so that would have been embarrassing.
Just when we finished our meal, I heard heels clicking on the marble floors, announcing Isabelle’s presence.
She quickly entered the dining room and stopped as she was putting on her watch, looking surprised to find us all there.
Her thick, dark hair had a slight wave and was shaped into a trendy short style. Defining brows shaped her dark brown eyes, and her full lips were pursed in displeasure. Quickly, she regained her composure and let her gaze sweep the table until she landed on Hudson.
“Why aren’t you at the office?” Isabelle demanded. “It’s almost nine. I was expecting you to be there early so you didn’t disturb us during business hours.”
As she spoke, I watched Hudson become more rigid and his expression slip into the cool, detached look he’d always worn when I first met him. “I wasn’t aware of this, Mother. We stopped by last night, and Sophie didn’t share that information with us.”
Isabelle’s eyebrows rose. “Why would she? I explained this all to your father. He should have told you my expectations. Things need to carry on like normal. We can’t let Chadwick’s blunder tarnish the reputation I have built for this company.”
Hudson told me that his parents didn’t get along, but the things that were coming out of this woman’s mouth were shocking me. Coming from a home with loving parents, I had no experience dealing with a situation like this, and I was afraid to say something and make it worse.
“We were just going to head that way. You have my promise that we will do all we can not to disrupt things. There is still more that we need to do in the labs, so we can deal with that today and get an early start tomorrow, if you would like,” Hudson suggested, proving just how skilled he was at dealing with his mother.
Isabelle sniffed and pulled on her suit jacket.
“What I would like is for this never to have happened. This is what you get for working with friends. It’s better to keep things professional on all levels.
That woman is losing her mind. Why would he think she was a safe project partner?
I’ll bet she’s the one who had it stolen.
Paranoia is strong in the early stages of dementia. ”
As Isabelle’s words registered in my brain, my temper flared.
I moved to get out of my seat, but Brayden grabbed my arm.
Looking at him, shocked, he just gave a quick shake of his head.
Frowning, I couldn’t understand why we weren’t more upset about this.
She was trash, talking badly about his mother, who wasn’t at fault for any of this.
“Ben, Grace, I expect you to be working on those projects for next semester. These two weeks are not a time for you to get sloppy if you want to get into Harvard next year, Grace. Ben, I talked to the school board at MIT, and there is still hope for you if you find the will to apply yourself this semester. Two Bs—honestly, how could you have let your grades slip like that?” Isabelle huffed, shaking her head as she grabbed her purse and marched out of the room.
I waited long enough to hear the door close and for the house to fall silent before I let out what I’d been holding back. “What the hell was that?”
Hudson dropped his head into his hand, and his siblings shifted in their chairs as if they wanted to be anywhere but here. I couldn’t blame them. If I had just had my mother verbally smack my hands with a ruler in front of strangers, I would have been mortified too.
“Well, now you have all met our mother,” Hudson said, lifting his head back up, but he still wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
I could see right away that he needed to stay far away from that woman or all the progress I’d made with him opening up to me would be lost. Never had I imagined a mother being so cold to her kids.
“Let’s go. We don’t want to waste any more time getting this done,” Micah said, pushing back from the table. It didn’t surprise me to see the anger shining in his eyes. Adriana was as much a mother to him as to Brayden.
This time, an SUV came to get us, and we all piled in as we headed back to the lab. Sophie was nowhere in sight when we got there, making me feel better. A lab assistant came out in an all-white jumpsuit with a hair net on, handing us out passes.
“Monsieur Lacy asked me to escort you,” the lab tech said, waving at us to follow.
We all looked at each other, then Parker shrugged and headed off after the guy.