28. Twenty-eight Freya
Twenty-eight: Freya
I fiddled with the neckline of my dress, flattening down the sleek, black fabric. My heart had almost fallen out of my ass when Kaleb pulled out a long slinky gown from his bag, handing it to me as if it was nothing and settling down on the bed to flick on the TV.
I noticed the smirk playing on his lips, though, and he pretended not to notice my mouth hanging wide open as I clutched the dress between my fingertips.
It was beautiful. An off-shoulder gown with a slit stopping mid-thigh, soft fibres of material skimming the ground as I walked. I’d tried to look at the tag that was attached to it, but the price had been picked at.
I could only make out the faint markings of four numbers clustered together, and the sight had made me almost topple over. The dress had cost thousands of dollars, and judging by the condition of it, Kaleb hadn’t picked it up second-hand.
“I can’t afford this dress,” I told him for the fifth time as we stood at the entrance to the hotel ballroom, the glorious wooden doors inscribed with meaningless Latin, the ceiling high and glistening as the setting sun beamed through the crystallised stone.
“Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t buy it then, isn’t it?” Kaleb answered.
He looked incredible. My heart was still racing at the sight of him all suited up—but he didn’t wear it like the other bodyguards I’d seen lingering around the foyer. He wasn’t pristine like them. His shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way, and his blazer sleeves were bunched up, revealing his heavily tattooed forearms. He wasn’t putting on a show for anyone. He wasn’t trying to fool people into thinking that he always dressed so immaculately because, frankly, he didn’t care.
“We won’t be here long, right?” I said, my voice laced with anxiety. This wasn’t the sort of party I was used to, and I didn’t know how to trick people into perceiving me as majestic and poised.
“Not with you looking like that,” Kaleb whispered into my ear, leading me into the ballroom.
He hadn’t been able to take his blazing eyes off me since I slipped into the dress and fastened my heels around my ankles, his grey pools imprisoning me and holding me captive.
There was a buzz in the room. Everybody was sipping wine and mingling—some seated on red leather couches pushed into the corners of the room and others hanging by the bar.
“Freya, you look gorgeous!”
I turned my head at the sound of Kaylee’s excited, high-pitched voice, and I smiled, engulfing her in a hug. Her blonde hair was curled to frame her face, and she was dressed in a long, cobalt blue, strapless dress that hugged her body perfectly.
“You look beautiful.” I stood back and admired her.
“Well, don’t you scrub up nicely?” Brent teased me, raising a brow and turning his attention to Kaleb, nodding over to two older men sitting at a table in the corner of the room. They looked to be in the middle of a pretty deep conversation, their eyebrows caving in as they clasped their hands together in front of their stiff forms. “They want you over there.”
“I’ll be back,” Kaleb told me, but Brent shook his head, gripping his friend’s arm.
“Both of you.”
I gulped. I knew there wasn’t a need to be nervous, but the men looked intimidating, permanent frowns scarred onto their faces as they nodded at one another, taking tentative sips of their drinks.
Kaleb placed his hand on my lower back. “These guys can be obnoxious. Just a warning.”
I nodded, plastering a fake smile on my face as we approached the table, and both men turned to us with curious expressions.
“Kaleb,” one of them uttered, nodding at him and holding his hand out for him to shake. “You took my advice and brought someone.”
“It wasn’t so much advice—more a demand.”
He’d been asked to bring someone?
“This is my chief, Reggie,” Kaleb said as he gestured to the short, stubby man before shifting his attention to the beefier gentleman beside him. “This is his boss, Frederick.”
Frederick was a large man—with what appeared to be an even larger ego. He didn’t smile. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, tilting his drink towards me as he downed the rest, keeping intense eye contact.
I shivered uncomfortably under his gaze.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Freya,” Frederick finally said, his lip curling as he smiled.
I arched my eyebrow, meeting the man’s intense stare.
“She didn’t tell you her name.”Kaleb's jaw twitched.
Frederick’s brows lifted in surprise, and he nodded towards Brent and Kaylee, who were busy dancing to a smooth jazz song. “Your partner over there clued me in.”
Kaleb ground his teeth together, releasing a heavy sigh.
“Now, I know we’re not here to talk work,” Frederick said, leaning forward. “But I have to know. There isn’t any new information on the case, is there? Freya, I assume you know all about this since you’re Kaleb’s other half?”
“Well, if she didn’t, she does now,” Kaleb huffed, running his hand through his dark, tousled hair.
“Time is running out, Kaleb,” pressed Frederick, his greying hair falling out of place and blocking his left eye, dulling his grimace. “We have people’s lives hanging in the balance.”
“We don’t have enough evidence yet.”
The chief also agreed. “We won’t get a good conviction. Trust us, Frederick, Will and his team will end up behind bars, but we have to be patient.”
“Make it happen.” Frederick clicked his tongue, looking slightly frustrated, and he gave one sharp nod as he got up from his chair and grabbed his glass, heading for the free bar.
Reggie hummed, shaking his head. “Frederick can be impatient. Enjoy tonight, and we can worry about Will tomorrow.”
The chief excused himself, and Kaleb’s stature stiffened as he led me back toward Brent and Kaylee.
“Well, Frederick was a character.”
“He can be calculating. A few workers have filed complaints against him for the way he handles things, and he often influences my chief, too.” Kaleb shot Frederick one more frosty glare over his shoulder before Brent turned to us with a frown, following his friend’s gaze.
“Frederick is such a creep, man.” He sighed, taking a swig of his whisky. “I try to avoid him at all costs.”
“How did you get roped into speaking to him earlier?” I asked, and Brent pulled his eyebrows together in confusion.
“I haven’t spoken to him tonight. I’m hoping it’ll stay that way.”
Kaleb inhaled deeply, his hand still on my lower back as he clenched his free fist, his fingers looking ready to grab his gun that was hidden away in the back of his pants.
I swallowed, watching Frederick as he leaned up against the bar, chatting with a few other workers, his cocky grin ear to ear as he scanned the ballroom. His dark eyes settled on me for a split second before he dragged them away, downing yet another drink while he tried his best to wipe the smug look from his face.
The rest of the party was tense. Although, Frederick didn’t talk to us again. Nor did he even look in my direction. I’d tried to finish my glass of wine to aid my relaxation, but my stomach lurched every time I swallowed the sweet liquid, and I had to hand the rest to Kaylee.
Glancing at the clock, I sighed when I noticed we hadn’t even been here for three hours, and I picked at a fancy salmon and cream cheese canape as I leaned against the wall next to the buffet.
I’d never seen people eat so much, but it made sense, considering most people in the room were ninety-eight per cent cold, hard muscle, including the women. They could snap me like a twig if they wanted to.
Kaleb hadn’t had a drop of alcohol tonight. Instead, he’d been watching Frederick’s every move, ensuring he had sight of me the entire time. The man’s lie about how he knew my name frustrated him, but as creepy as I found Frederick, I managed to semi-convince Kaleb that he was most likely just nosy and had found out on his own accord.
I wasn’t so persuaded by my explanation, though.
“So, you were asked to bring someone?” I questioned, cocking my head and raising my eyebrows at Kaleb playfully, causing him to shrug.
“Yes, but I would have wanted you here with me, Freya, even if I hadn't been. All I want is to keep you safe.” He sighed as he led me away from another crowd of people we’d been roped into talking to. “Come on, I’m tired of this party shit.”
I let out a small yawn, covering my mouth with embarrassment. It was almost eleven, and I was exhausted. We’d spent most of the day travelling, and I was ready to flop down on our king-sized bed and fall into a restless slumber.
We said our goodbyes to Brent and Kaylee—who were nearing tipsy—and made our way out of the ballroom and to the elevator. I slumped against the mirror, my feet aching from my heels, and Kaleb watched me intensely as we entered our room.
Leaning down to unclasp my shoes, I gasped, his hand on my wrist stopping me. The only light source in the room was the moonlight streaming in from the tall window, casting shadows along the wall, giving the room a sultry appeal.
“I told you that you were going to regret calling me rude and obnoxious earlier,” Kaleb said huskily, and I gulped, heat pooling between my legs as I settled down on the bed in front of him.
He began to unbutton his shirt, and my skin prickled with heat as I watched him slide the fabric away from his body, his rock-hard abs inches away from me.
“What have you got on underneath that dress, Freya?” he asked me, and I shivered at the sound of his voice, blood rushing to my ears. He tilted my chin up with his forefinger. “Are you going to make me ask again, my little artist?”
I shook my head. He knew I wasn’t wearing underwear. I’d been too paranoid about a panty line. “Nothing,” I breathed, my chest rising.
I could see Kaleb’s cock straining against his pants, and he swallowed once he spotted my gaze drop to his obvious arousal.
“If you want it, all you have to do is take it, baby.”
I almost choked at his words, and he held his hands up defensively, gazing down at me with a smirk as he waited. He knew what I wanted. I’d imagined what his dick looked like a thousand times.
Moving my clammy hands, I pressed my fingers to his pant zip, sliding it down, the sound making my thighs impossibly slicker. I shuffled his pants and boxers down slightly, my eyes bulging as his cock sprung free, the sheer size causing my throat to constrict and my heart to slam into my chest.
“Eyes on me,” Kaleb ordered, and I gazed up at him, his thumb running over my bottom lip before I inched forward slightly. A low growl emitted from his chest, and he watched me with a burning stare as I took as much of him into my mouth as I could, gripping his cock at the base and forcing more of him down my throat.
He grunted loudly, cursing under his breath as he pulled his dick out of my mouth, slowly angling his hips to thrust it back in at an agonisingly slow pace.
I was drenched. I could feel my wetness dripping onto the expensive dress he’d bought me, but with my lips wrapped around his cock, I didn’t care. I wanted him deeper.
My tongue swirled around the head, teasing him before I dragged him from my mouth and took even more of him in, repeating the action over and over until Kaleb was groaning above me.
I clenched my thighs together to stop the sensation between my legs from flourishing, but Kaleb gripped the back of my neck, gathering my hair and pulling it. He did it just hard enough so it was pleasurable and not painful, causing me to moan with my mouth full, my eyes fluttering closed.
“Don’t press those thighs together and pretend you aren’t fucking soaking for me, Freya,” he said roughly. “Hike that dress up and touch yourself while I fuck this smart mouth of yours.”
I immediately adhered, spreading my legs and bunching up my dress on either side of my thighs. All I could think about was the sweet taste of Kaleb’s cock in my mouth and the throbbing need emitting from my pussy, and I dipped my fingers down, my wetness soaking them.
I moaned as he thrust into my mouth, twirling my fingers around my clit, my back arching as I widened my throat.
“Am I rude now, Freya?” he grunted as he picked up the pace. “Am.” Thrust . “I.” Thrust. “Obnoxious?” Thrust.
My muscles tensed as my orgasm approached.
“Let me see those beautiful eyes when you come.”
I opened them and gazed up at the god-like man above me. My body was chasing my orgasm, and I tried my best to delay it, wanting to prolong the euphoric feeling for as long as possible. But, the pit in my lower abdomen multiplied in intensity by the second until I couldn't take it anymore, and I reached my peak. The world came crashing down around me—an inferno surrounding my already flaming body, heat encasing me.
Moaning loudly, Kaleb grunted before pulling out and placing his hand on my chest, guiding me down onto the bed. He fisted himself for a few more seconds as I came down from my orgasm, strings of his cum coating my bare thighs as he groaned.
I breathed heavily, pushing my dark hair away from my face, and a bead of sweat trickled down the back of my neck as I watched Kaleb with clouded eyes.
He studied me curiously, breaking out into a wide smile, a throaty laugh escaping his mouth, causing me to do the same.
I was inhaling straight euphoria and breathing out pure exhilaration.
I no longer needed oxygen.
This feeling was what my body survived off.