Chapter 19
FELIX
Our mouths collide and for a long moment, excitement overwhelms me.
Dove in my arms, her heart thundering so hard that her pulse is flying against my palm when I cup her neck, and her lips against mine.
Heaven is real.
Suddenly, she draws back as if she’s changed her mind but before I can speak, she slaps me again.
This time, I draw her back in until we’re nose to nose and I gaze deep into her wide, wild eyes.
“Finished?” I demand in a low voice while my cheek tingles and smarts from the blow.
Her jaw clicks as her teeth snap together and she jerks away from me, but is unable to escape my grip.
As her wrist twists in my hand and her palm flexes as if itching to hit me again, her eyes dart back down to my mouth and I smirk.
“Try it,” I challenge her. “If you think you can.”
With that, I release her wrist. Dove’s beautiful face twists with anger and she launches herself at me but rather than the blow I brace for, she collides with me chest to chest, her hands raking into my hair and her mouth covering mine once more.
We kiss like we’re fighting; teeth catching on lips, tongues battling for control, her hands pulling hard at my hair while I embrace her tightly.
She’s too drunk for me to do what my core screams at me to do and the last thing I want is for her to wake up in the morning with hatred and regret in her heart.
But she’s not getting away with this.
Each jerk of her hand in my hair pulls me away from the desk and we stumble together, her lack of balance making it even harder for me to work out where she’s trying to go.
Giving her control for a few minutes, I end up with enticing pain trickling down the back of my neck as she tugs on my hair, then a trail of fire from her nails scratching down the side of my neck.
“Ahhh-!” Our kiss breaks as I reflexively jerk away from the pain, then we crash back together in another battle of teeth and tongue.
We stumble back to the wall and Dove grunts when she hits it, then she curves her body into mine.
A sweet, soft moan drifts past her lips and into my mouth.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes,” I murmur against her lips, then I catch the swell of her lower lip between my teeth and tug until the elasticity of her skin forces it to slip from my teeth and spring back.
“Me?” Dove gasps, panting harshly. “What about you?”
“I’m not an asshole,” I gasp, catching her chin between my fingers and forcing her to look at me. “I’m the devil.”
Anything else she has to say ends in a cry as I shove my other hand under her skirt, past her panties and directly inside her. She jolts upward, her eyes widening and both her hands drop to claw at my shoulders.
“Holy shit, you’ve fucking soaked. Not much changes, huh?” I pant against her. “Adrenaline still gets you off?”
“Fuck you,” she slurs slightly, leaning in for a kiss but I use my grip on her chin to prevent it. She slides one hand back up into my hair and pulls hard enough to force my head back, then she surges forward and sinks her teeth hard into my neck.
One finger inside her hot, slick pussy becomes two and I pump them back and forth as quickly as I can from this angle.
Dove quakes against me and bites harder into my neck, then she lifts away and bites into my shoulder instead.
Pain blooms between the two throbbing spots and desire surges south, pooling low in my gut until my cock strains against my pants. Any other day, I’d throw her down and fuck her.
Soon.
“You bastard,” Dove cries out as two fingers quickly become three. She wobbles from side to side, gasping and moaning while tugging at my shirt and leaving a trail of bites all over my shoulder. “Fingers all you got, huh? Can’t even get it up?”
“You drank too much,” I reply with a gasp, grabbing her chin and wrenching her head back in place against the wall. “Next time you wanna fuck me, don’t down half a bottle of top-shelf Scotch.”
“I don’t wanna fuck you,” she snarls at me, teeth clacking and cheeks flushed red. “I’d barely feel it.”
I snort, amused. “Oh really?”
Pressing my three fingers as deep into her core as I can reach, I flatten my palm against her pussy and use that as a hold to pull her up the wall.
Dove’s eyes widen tenfold and she yelps in surprise as I pull her upward.
Her hands clutch at my head and then scramble back for the wall while I duck down and grab her thigh, then shove her far enough up the wall until I’m able to get her flailing legs over my shoulders.
From there, I remove my fingers and catch her backside before she falls, then stand back to my full height and shove my face against her hot pussy.
Dove’s moans mix between alarmed and exhilarated and she immediately closes her thighs around my head and squeezes tightly.
It doesn’t last.
Three flat strokes of my tongue through her slick folds and her thighs begin trembling around my ears.
Both her hands clutch at my hair and pull but another three flat strokes and one of her legs relaxes so much it almost falls from my shoulder.
My grip tightens on her thighs, focused on keeping her balanced on my shoulders, safe against the wall, and utterly boneless at the attention from my mouth and tongue.
Soft licks, hard licks, pointed and flat; I switch between them all until her juices soak into my chin and her sweetness is the only thing I can focus on.
“Felix,” Dove moans above me, her words muffled. “Oh my— Oh my— god!”
She cums in a wave, flexing her thighs against me as her hips jerk into my face, then her body arches away from the wall and her pussy clenches around my thrusting tongue.
I lavish her with attention, licking and suckling every inch of her until I focus on her clit and prolong her orgasm until she’s trembling like she’s about to fall apart at her joints.
“En—enough,” Dove gasps. “Oh my god, too much, too much—!” She tugs hard on my hair, a final sign that she’s at her limit so I give her one last flat lick and pull my head away.
Slow steps away from the wall make Dove slide down off my shoulders and back into my arms.
The fire in her has been sated and she clings to me until we’re on the couch.
There, I rest her back against the cushions and sit beside her while her eyelids droop and her head lolls against my shoulder.
“Still don’t wanna fuck me?”
“I hate you,” comes Dove’s reply with absolutely no malice whatsoever. “I d-drank too much.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“You need help.”
I glance down at the bulge in my crotch but my own pleasure isn’t even on my mind right now. “You can make it up to me when you’re sober.”
“Mhmm.” Dove slumps against me and then turns her body into mine, tucking up under my arm.
Pain lances through my chest. I know it’s the alcohol and post-orgasm haze but this is almost like old times. Almost like she still cares.
“I ruined e-everything,” Dove whispers, her words slightly less slurred than before. “I just wanted to keep Alex safe and I’ve ruined everything.”
“No, you haven’t. Listen to me, Dove.” I cup her face and guide her head up until she’s gazing up at me.
“If you really don’t want this life, I’ll set you up privately somewhere.
Somewhere secluded and safe just as long as I can still be in your life.
I can’t lose you again.” The words catch slightly in my throat. “But I can do that for you.”
“I can live with that,” Dove replies, surprisingly amicable. “All I care about is keeping Alex safe. You know that, right? It’s all I’ve ever cared about.”
“You’re a good mother, Dove.”
“Am I?” She tiredly rolls her eyes. “He hates me.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t.”
“He does. When I told him everything, he blamed me for Mike. Blames me that we can’t even go to his funeral.”
The funeral. It’s terribly risky and might blow all my other plans to smithereens but I can’t stand the pain blooming in Dove’s eyes. “He wants to go to his friend's funeral?”
Dove nods slowly.
“I can arrange that.”
She sits up suddenly as if my words were an adrenaline shot to the heart. “You’re serious?”
I nod. “It’ll be risky, don’t get me wrong. But I think I can work something out.”
Dove squints at me as if she doesn’t quite believe me, then she sinks back down onto my chest and my heart soars once again at the contact.
“Okay,” she murmurs. “He’d like that. I’d like that.”
That’s all the motivation I need.
Michael’s funeral is two days later, and the drive there is tense. I sit beside Toph in the driver’s seat to give Dove and Alex space alone but given how frosty Alex has been since he learned the truth, I’m not sure it’s working.
“How are you feeling?” Dove’s quiet voice drifts from the back seat, answered only by a grunt from Alex. “Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do?”
“Can you open the door and let me leave?” Alex snaps.
My heart lurches slightly and I can’t help but turn to face them. “I’m the reason the door won’t open,” I say flatly. “Not your Mom. So you wanna blame someone, blame me.”
Alex fixes me with a glare, then turns to Dove. “At least he doesn’t lie.”
I immediately turn back in my seat and catch Toph’s amused glance. I tried to make it better, but I think I made it worse, and I can’t bring myself to look at Dove in case she’s just as angry.
Better keep my mouth shut.
The rest of the drive passes in silence and we pull up at the top of a grassy embankment shrouded in tall trees that block most of the sunlight.
Alex leaps out of the car the second the door opens and Dove follows him like a bullet.
I follow slowly, knowing the trusted men around me will keep them from running, just as they will keep anyone from approaching.
But they don’t run.
They stand at the edge of the embankment with the wind carrying a few snatched words from Dove’s quiet explanation as to why we’re so far away from the funeral.
Far below, the graveyard stretches out like a gray sea, utterly devoid of life thanks to another security team in place.
Only one area is clustered with people. Michael’s family.
I’ve done what I can for them, including covering hospital bills and the cost of the funeral.
In a few weeks, after some carefully placed phone calls to certain CEOs, Michael’s mother will receive a promotion that will ensure they receive enough money from me to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
I can’t imagine the cost of losing a child.
Watching Dove with Alex tells me that the number doesn’t exist, but this is the least I can do.
Music drifts ever so faintly in the wind. I linger at the car with Toph while Alex slowly closes the gap between him and Dove, then they sit down together on the grass.
After a few minutes, Alex turns into Dove’s embrace and a new pain lances through my chest.
It’s sharper than all the others and lingers as I watch Alex cry and Dove do her best to comfort him.
“You’re doing a nice thing here,” Toph murmurs. “You feeling alright?”
I smirk tiredly and nod. “I wish I could do more.”
“More?”
I nod and turn to him. “Caterina. You know the family I mentioned? I’ve set them up to take the fall and frankly, they deserve to be wiped off the map. But what if this doesn’t end? I refuse to lose her but I can’t keep her caged forever. Reese thinks I’m signing my own death warrant with this.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that,” Toph replies. “I can’t tell you what to do. Just know I have your back, and so do countless others. Whatever you do, whether it’s lock up your pretty woman for the rest of her life, or take down Caterina… I’m here.”
“Thanks, Toph.”
He shrugs it off and smiles. “You’ve got life back in you that I haven’t seen in years. It feels good.”
“What about you?” I run my eyes over him. “You’re okay?”
“Of course, why?”
“Reese being pissed at me is a problem. Just want to make sure you’re not also secretly mad.”
“Nah. You’d know if I was. Besides…” Toph pats my shoulder. “If Reese were around back then, he’d be more understanding. He’s just got that itch to go bigger, y’know? That’s why he’s so intent on highlighting just how many families are loyal to Caterina because of you.”
“Yeah…” I sigh deeply and glance back at Dove. “Shit’s complicated.”
When the ceremony below wraps up, Dove and Alex climb to their feet.
His earlier anger seems to have dissipated and he throws his arms around Dove, hugging her tightly.
It’s enough to ease the strange pain in my heart. I push up from the car as they start to walk back toward me.
Tears sparkle in Dove’s eyes and Alex’s eyes have grown red from crying, but there’s a distinct absence of anger.
“Ready?” I ask softly once they’re close enough.
Dove nods. “Yeah.”
Toph opens the rear door and Dove eases inside. Alex moves to follow but he stops suddenly, which makes me stop, and our eyes meet.
“Thank you, Felix,” Alex says earnestly. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Yeah.” I nod quickly and tension sweeps through my chest, along with the strongest sudden urge to hug him. “It’s no problem. And any time you wanna come back, just let me know.”
“Okay.” Alex sniffles and nods. “I will.”