Chapter 4
FOUR
I t’s a low fucking blow, but hopefully it’s powerful enough to make Empire understand: There is no going back, and we are out of options.
It doesn’t matter what she says or how she tries to argue.
It also doesn’t matter how badly I want her or how ready I’d been to claim her less than five minutes before. I gather myself together, hoping against hope I’ve got enough self-control to keep from touching her again.
Those bruised lips, her peaked nipples, the absolute fury and disgust and heat in her eyes…none of it matters as much as getting her out of this alive.
I force myself to stay still and watch as the color leaches from her face. She slowly settles back down on the couch, as though her knees won’t hold her upright any longer.
“How dare you,” she whispers.
Using Olivia and Bennett’s death was my ace, and I’d used it up prematurely.
“It’s the truth.” And I’m unapologetic about it. “I wasn’t able to protect your parents, and look where it got them. The same man who engineered their accident, trying to take me down, is the same one pulling the strings for us now. We have to tread very lightly. I need you to cooperate with me and do everything I tell you.”
“Does that include doing what you tell me in the bedroom? On my back?” She shakes her head, biting down on her lower lip. “Does it include a repeat of what almost happened on the counter, or are you limiting this to lights, camera, action?”
I deserve that.
“If you want to be on your back, or if you think it will help our cause to keep me pleasured, then by all means.” Except I have no intention of taking her virginity. Not now, anyway. One of these days I may very well break down and take her, in whatever rough and brutal fashion pleases me.
The way I’d been prepared to do before the phone rang.
Empire trembles on the couch with her palms pressed into her knees and her legs bobbing up and down. I want to comfort her and make the trouble disappear, like it’s as easy as snapping my fingers.
It’s so much easier to get into the pot of hot water than it is to claw your way out.
“Do you want to stay here?” I ask, aware of the open windows and the unsecured entrances.
She’s shaking like a leaf, her attention miles away, struggling to make sense of this new version of things.
“I don’t know what I want,” she mutters in an undertone I barely hear. “I don’t know anything anymore, Marcus. This is—” She lifts her hand and flutters it in the air in front of her face. “It’s too much for me. And all at the same time.”
“I understand.”
Fuck, do I understand. Bad things always happen to good people. And when they do, they come in waves, one after another. Hammering the person to the sand and forcing them to stay down and take the beating.
Empire isn’t used to the troubles of life. Only the glamour and the glitz. Only the good things until her parents’ plane crashed.
“Come on.” I make the decision in an instant and stand, ignoring the aches in my own body. She stares blankly at the hand I thrust in front of her face. “We’re getting out.”
“I’m not leaving my car, Marcus.”
Her voice is wooden and hollow. If she retreats too far into herself, I won’t be getting her back anytime soon.
“I’ll send someone for it. Don’t worry about the goddamn car.”
When she still refuses to take my hand, I retract it with a leer and move toward the windows. Shutting them one right after another and flipping the locks. The old house has no security system. Bennett always liked that about the place. He said it made him feel like an actual guy instead of a star hounded by the media.
Now it makes the bungalow a huge liability should Stanic Maxim decide he wants to come after us to check on the progress in person.
With those things, he can be a hound on my fucking ass.
Once I have everything shut up tightly, I throw Empire over my shoulder, pausing only to grab her purse, large enough to no doubt fit a change of clothes.
“Stop it.” She beats against my back.
I kick the front door shut before heading to my car to secure her in the front seat, her limbs flailing and her body pliant.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Except there is no heat behind the question. She’s struggling.
How many times have I had to move her this way? When she shuts down and refuses to move, content to let someone else position her like a doll?
She stares blankly ahead at the streetlights burning a path away from the ocean and back toward the highway. The sun sets in a ray of pure red over the water, and soon enough, it sinks too low to follow its movement.
My place is the closest. Much closer than her parents’ house in the hills, so I head there first.
The apartment will be a good middle ground until we figure this shit out. Those next steps I’d wanted desperately to talk to her about, but if she’s not in the right headspace, I’m looking at an argument. A knockout brawl where she’s throwing everything she’s got at me in an attempt to protect herself.
We’ve been there too many times to count at this point.
I know the security I have at the apartment. It’s decent, better than most, and it’s kept me safe once I exited the mob scene. Except the scene is never far away. Once you’re in the life, either born into it or sucked down due to unforeseen circumstances, you’re in it. Until you’re taken out of it.
I should have known better.
Should have known there would be no way out for me.
Empire is silent, her pert lips drawn into a thin, hard line through our trip back to the city. She perks up only once we stop in front of my building, and she grips the seat belt.
“I don’t want to go inside, Marcus.”
“What? Why?” I ask, turning to her.
Her legs are bobbing again, and the rest of her is trembling violently. Her teeth clack together. “I mean I don’t want to go in.” She barely manages to get the words out. “Isn’t there somewhere else we can go? Please. Anywhere.”
I groan, swiping my palm over my jaw. I’d been looking forward to the steam shower and my own bed. Now I’ve got to redirect.
“Fuck me.” I pull onto the street with a screech of tires and join the rest of the evening traffic.
We’re well past rush hour at this point, but the streets are never silent. Not here.
Mind whirring a thousand miles an hour, I’m searching for options and coming up blank. There aren’t many places to go where she might feel safe while I still have a handle on the premises. If she doesn’t want to go to the apartment tonight, then I highly doubt she’ll want to go to her parents’ house.
What a mess.
I drive around until an idea solidifies into place. “What about a hotel? Fancy, discrete. I know the manager.”
He’s an acquaintance from another life who never failed to step up when I needed a favor. Sinclair is a good man. At least, he used to be. People do change.
I glance over at Empire, waiting for her answer. And eventually she bobs her head in a curt affirmative.
Will she ever feel safe again? I wonder at the silent, sullen woman on the seat across from me. She used to be bubbly and full of life like a brightly burning star, ready to take her shot in the career her parents carved out for her. Now she’s struggling to keep her head above the water. And nothing I do helps.
If anything, I make everything worse with my presence, and we’re too far into this for anything to change now. I’ll have to see this through for both our sakes.
The alternatives fucking suck.
The overpowering affirmation— she’s mine— inevitably sinks back into the too familiar I can’t have her .
I finally pull up to the front of a brownstone with copper details and navy-painted frame windows. An attendant wearing black and white steps up to the curb and gestures for me to proceed.
A quick call ahead of time assured the staff to expect us.
Rather than pulling into the roundabout in front of the building, the attendant points me to the space between the buildings and a small side street connecting this block with the next.
Empire isn’t used to the sneaking around bit, not when she’s never had the opportunity to rise to her parents’ career heights. And in a perfect scenario, I would whisk her through the front doors with the respect she goddamn deserves.
But with enemies on our ass and hidden dangers lurking around corners, we’ve got to be careful. Better safe than dead.
Once parked, I round the hood and grab Empire and her bag out of the car. I pound my fist against a discreet metal doorway, and half a second later, someone from the other side pulls it open.
“Thank you,” I tell the woman waiting on the other side, pushing Empire into the dim recesses of a staff hallway.
“Yes, sir.”
Empire stumbles, and I press my hand flat against the small of her back. “Keep moving,” I growl.
She shakes beneath my touch. “This is too much. It’s impossible. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
My heart cracks. “Nothing is impossible. I shouldn’t have to tell you.”
We take the back stairs toward the room, the staff sneaking us in. One of the employee cards opens the door with a beep, and it swings open silently. Inside, a single queen bed is made with white linens pulled into crisp, clean lines.
Only when the door closes do I drop my guard. “We’re going to have to share. I’m not sleeping on the floor.”
Rather than launching into the argument I expect, Empire walks to the side of the mattress and sags down. She slumps forward and cradles her head in her hands, her shoulders sagging.
This has taken a toll on her.
Guilt rises up, burning my throat from the inside, and my cheeks flush. My skin mottles. A red-faced monster with crazed hair and a permanently etched scowl stares back at me from the full-length mirror.
“Come on,” I say, forcing my tongue to go softer. “Go take a shower, relax. Try not to think about it.”
When she’s done, we can make a plan.
And we’re going to need a fucking good plan.
It takes Empire a beat to stand again. She flits past me like a ghost, her depression focused on the bathroom door. Once she’s out of view, I drop her bag and sigh, my head falling back.
I’m too old for this shit and definitely too old to deal with Empire the way she deserves. Someone her age, with her temperament, should have a chill life, joyful and full of riches and happiness.
Not the bullshit I’ve brought to her doorstep.
“I’ll order dinner,” I call out so she’ll hear me above the drone of the shower she turned on. “Is there anything you want?”
No answer.
It’s executive decision time. I’ve watched her eat too many times not to know her tastes. The room service menu in this hotel is extensive. I call down to the front desk, ordering us an assortment of dishes and some dessert—like an apology with a cherry on top.
Even if she only goes for the pastries rather than the fresh fish, it will be a good thing.
Dairy-free to make sure she doesn’t have an allergic reaction.
The moment I sit, I’m done for. My ass sinks right down into the mattress, and fatigue curves my shoulders forward. The longest day of my damn life, and it’s not over yet.
We’re not going to be safe here long term, and I half expect the manager to come up at any moment for a personal chat. At least I know the staff are discreet and trustworthy. How many nights will we be here before she gets a grip on herself? Two?
Empire might get over this eventually, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to. The part I’ve played, dragging her down into the muck, I might have come from garbage, but not her.
She doesn’t—
Every thought disappears out of my brain when she rounds the corner wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. Her blonde hair trails down her shoulders, plastered to her skin. Her eyes are larger than normal, and she swallows hard, tongue darting out to wet her pink lips; my dick goes hard enough to cut glass, fast enough to make me dizzy.
“I need some clothes,” she explains.
I’m speechless.
This perfect creature is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her skin tanned, supple—a youthful blossom of a woman. And I’m about ten seconds away from squashing her under my heel whether I want to or not.
I want her, I need her; if she’s not naked underneath me in the next five seconds—
“Marcus?”
The sound of my name rouses me enough to shake my head, my throat constricting, and my mouth fills with saliva at the sight. I want to lick every droplet of water off. All those nooks and crannies and secret places where only I’ve seen her. Only I’ve touched her.
Her sweet honey taste is something I’ve lapped at, but no one else.
Sullenly, I point to her bag.
She darts past me, grabs the bag, and strides back into the bathroom, leaving a dark line of wetness on the carpet. Unable to stop myself, I trail after her. Unable to look away.
I don’t want to look away.
I want to drink her in, until Empire is the only thing I see when my eyes close. I want to taste her on my lips all goddamn day. Suddenly I’m starving. Hungry in a way food won’t even touch. Nothing will until I get my hands on her.
She’s standing at the vanity by the time I round the corner, her clothes clutched to her chest.
Turning with infinitesimal slowness, Empire faces me, her eyes dark, expression impenetrable. She bites down on her lower lip and scans her gaze from my face to the bulge in my pants.
“What do you want?”
God, even her voice gets me hard.
She taps out an erratic rhythm with her foot, and the look on her face says she’s waiting for me to leave so she can get dressed. While the only thing I’m thinking about is continuing where we left off at the bungalow.
It’s a terrible fucking idea.
And I told myself I’d keep my hands to myself until I saw her wrapped in that fucking towel, with those beads of water practically begging to be licked off her.
“Marcus?”
Rational thought disappears, replaced by lust and need. Rushing in, I grab her, gripping her waist.
I haul her away from the vanity and lift her off her feet, pinning her to the back wall. The towel drops between us, forgotten in an instant. Her tits press against my heart as I slide my torso against hers.
“I’m sorry.”
My mouth captures hers, and I swallow her shuddered gasp. She melts into me, her arms pinned to her side by my body, and the beast inside me rears up. Fire strokes all the way down to my cock, and I kiss her hard, lost to her.
This delicate starlet has possessed me.
There is nothing easy about this.
Worked into a frenzy, I press my cock to her and grind, needing to touch her. I break the kiss only long enough to nip at her earlobe until Empire curses in pleasure. I kiss down the side of her neck.
Her skin is damp from the shower, every part of her smelling like sweet soap. Empire rolls her head to the side to give me better access.
I’m only getting started.
Disgusted with my lack of control, I drop to my knees in front of her and kiss around her belly button, pushing her legs wider to give me better access to that pussy.
Without waiting for her to give me the go-ahead, I lean in and slick my tongue across her slit.
She catches her breath. I want more.
She sinks her hands into my hair as I thrust my tongue into her already sopping wet cunt and taste her. I bury my face in her folds and lap at every part of her before working my tongue in and out of her tight channel. Gripping her hips, I keep her in place while I feast.
Her core pulses around my tongue, and it takes every last bit of concentration I’ve got not to free my cock and fuck her raw.
I growl against her clit and lift one of her legs, sliding it over my shoulder. Her breasts bounce with every shuddering breath she takes, and I catch a glimpse of her eyes, mindless with pleasure, before clamping down on her clit, sucking hard.
Her leg is heavy over my shoulder as I keep her in place and increase the speed of my tongue. I’ll gladly fucking suffocate if it means I get to die with my face against her cunt.
She’s making the sexiest noises and arching her hips with every circle of my tongue. Empire quivers, her legs shaking and her breathing ragged.
I suck on her, and she rocks her hips in time with my rhythm, her orgasm close. It’s so easy to get her off this way. I know every secret place in her body, the things she likes, the things that make her mewl and beg me for more.
Empire’s got herself braced against the wall.
Gripping her left hip, I reach around to squeeze her ass and draw her even closer, shoving my tongue inside her pussy and tasting her pleasure. She moans out my name as she comes on my tongue.
The orgasm shudders through her, and Empire goes limp. I’ve still got her leg over my shoulder, and I slowly stand, keeping her leg lifted high as I press against her. My cock is nestled between her legs, and with one flick of my zipper, I’d be inside her.
“Marcus, please.” She’s gasping, her lips parted, her tongue snaking out to wet them, and my attention is drawn to the motion. “Please.”
“What?”
I reach between us and slide my finger inside her, crooking it and feeling the aftershocks. Fingering her through the last waves of the climax, using my fingers like I would my cock.
A knock at the door sounds, followed half a second later by “Room service!”
Empire’s eyes go wide, and she clenches around my finger. I groan, dropping my forehead to hers, half tempted to tell the hotel employee to fuck all the way off.
I’m close enough to come in my pants, hard enough to cut glass.
But when Empire glances up to me again, I know fucking is off the menu.
I slowly pull my finger out of her and, holding her gaze, lift it to my mouth and suck her juices off me.