FORTY
Nyx
"Don't look at me like you want to devour me, little lamb. You're hurt, and I won't be able to go easy on you."
The little minx licks her lips as if she's about to consume a seven-course meal, starting with dessert. I'd love nothing more than to have her and show her just how much I need to feel her take me. After the scare, I need it, but even I ain't that much of a dick. At least not to Raya, anyway.
"But you just booted Mara out. I thought…"
"What?" I ask, smirking. "You thought what?"
"I don't know," she replies and shrugs. "I thought you were going to do—something."
"You're right. I am going to do something. I'm going to make sure you eat all your food. Then I'm going to carry you to the bathroom, where we're going to shower and get the hospital stench off you. Afterward, I'll tuck you back into bed and have the guys come to the room."
Raya gives me an adorable, mischievous look, asking, "Can we have shower sex?"
My eyebrow lifts as I give her a warning look.
"What? I'll let you do all the work. I won't strain myself at all. Girl Scout's honor." Raya's expression is one that I will forever keep locked away—it's that cute.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have the desired effect on me. "You're not a Girl Scout, Raya, and you will strain yourself when you come all over my cock, or have you forgotten?"
Rolling her eyes at me, she crosses her arms in a huff. "Fine, whatever. "
I'm on her in a heartbeat, gripping the back of her neck—not too tight, but enough to show her I mean business. Making her look me in the eyes, I watch her melt at my dominance over her. The bratty behavior disappears instantly.
"I will only say this once, Saraya, so listen well.
I will never do anything that may put you in danger.
That includes fucking that beautiful cunt of yours.
If I have to remain celibate to do that, so be it.
Your health and your life come first. I will always put your safety above all. Do you understand me?"
She watches me, waiting to see if I'll say anything else, I assume, and when I don't, she nods.
"Yes, Phoenyx," she says softly.
"Good." I press my lips to hers briefly before pulling away. "Now, let's get you fed."
I stand and grab the tray I brought into the room with me. I had Jessica prepare a light turkey sandwich along with a small charcuterie spread for her. I also brought up a cup of her favorite cappuccino and some juice.
We make small talk as she picks at everything on the tray. It's actually really nice having this time with her when we aren't bickering with each other. I love the woman. She has a mouth on her, and she doesn't take any shit from me, which only makes me more in awe of her.
Raya doesn't fool me, though. I know that every time she stands up to me, she's nervous.
It's the same when she stands up to Mara; there's a reason to be nervous there.
There's no telling if our little devil will gut you, but my little lamb is like me.
She stands her ground regardless of what the outcome may be.
Now, we're just talking like a normal couple, and it's nice. I'm not sure where it comes from, but suddenly, I blurt out, "I want to take you away."
"What?" she asks, confused at the change in topic.
I grin. "I want to take you away as soon as we finish up with this business. Once we find who bombed the club and we take care of him, I'm going to take you away for a few days."
"Oh, okay."
"Is that alright with you?" I ask because her response didn't sound like it was.
"Yes," she's quick to reply. "You just surprised me, that's all. I'd love to go away with you, Phoenyx. "
My heart races with her response. I haven't felt like this since I was a teenager, and Raya finally revealed that she also had feelings for me. I felt like I was going to burst with happiness, and it's the same feeling I feel now. Of course, I keep it hidden, but I smile at her.
"Good. I wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway. I would have kidnapped you and held you hostage, while hiding you away and ravaging every gorgeous inch of you."
I run my hand up her thigh over the covers, causing her breath to hitch.
I stop right where her thigh meets her hip and graze her mound with the tip of my finger.
I said I wouldn't have sex with her; I never said anything about not teasing her.
Maybe if I have her panting like a bitch in heat, by the time her body has healed enough, she'll be a wildcat the next time I take her.
"Nyx…" she says my name in warning.
I grin wickedly at her, but I remove my hand. Seeing that she's done with her food, I take the tray from her and place it back on the nightstand before pulling back her covers.
"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." I swoop down and pick her up.
"I can walk, Nyx!"
"Yeah, but I want you in my arms, and what I want trumps that."
"What? Why do your wants trump mine?"
"Because I want to feel your body against mine, and I can't do that if you're walking, now can I?"
I notice her lips twitch just before she pecks my cheek and says, "You're a sweet guy, Phoenyx Beckam. You can deny it all you want, but I know better."
I set Raya down on her feet as soon as we get to the shower. I reach in to turn the shower on before I start peeling her clothing off. "And if you ever tell anyone about it, I will tie you down and sexually torture you until I feel you have learned your lesson."
"Mm, when you put it that way, it sounds tempting."
I growl and pull her into the shower with me. "Woman, you fucking tempt me every day, especially when you say things like that."
"Is it working? Am I breaking you—at the very least, cracking you?"
"Not even a little."
I say this, but I'm holding on by a fucking thread at the moment. I need to keep her injury in mind, though. So, no matter what she says or does, I'm going to keep my cock out of her sweet cunt .
I'm harder than a rock, but I'll be fine if my little lamb stops bumping into it. She chuckles every time it happens, making me grunt.
"At least let me jack you off," she says as I finish rinsing the conditioner from her hair.
"No. That would be exerting yourself."
She turns and stares at my throbbing length, wincing. "It looks uncomfortable." She reaches out to touch it, but I slap her hand away.
"Well, it sure as hell doesn't tickle."
"Jerk off," she says just above a whisper.
"What? No, I'm fine."
Her brown eyes meet mine pleadingly. "Please? I want to watch you get yourself off."
Raya turns on the puppy dog eyes, and I find my resolve unraveling.
"Raya…" I sigh.
"Phoenyx…"
"Nyx," I tell her.
She looks confused.
Clenching my jaw, I tell her, "If I do this, then I'm going to be a selfish asshole and want to see you swallow every last drop. I'm not going to be nice about it."
I'm pissed that I'm even in this position. I'm trying to do the right thing by her, yet here she is, teasing the fuck out of me.
"O—kay…" she says slowly.
"On your fucking knees, little lamb."
Not being a complete dick, I hold her hands and help her kneel on the floor of the shower. I swear, when she's recovered, I'm taking my favorite paddle to her ass.
I wrap my hand around my cock and begin stroking it. I can come immediately, but I'm going to make her wait.
"You've given me no choice, Raya. Shame on you for acting like a greedy little whore all because you want my cock and can't have it," I tell her. "Hands behind your back and open that filthy mouth."
The gleam in her eyes gives her away. She's loving this, and I'm loving her even more for it, even though I'm pissed. Raya can be an excellent submissive when she wants to be, but I can't say whether I'd rather have her as one or have her fighting me tooth and nail.
"Tell me, little lamb. Are you a slut for my cock? "
"Yes, Nyx. You know this, now stop talking and start coming. I want my dessert."
"Jesus, Raya! You're starting to sound like me…" My hand picks up the pace, pumping my dick faster and bringing me to climax quickly. "Fucking get ready."
Raya's mouth opens wide, and she sticks her tongue out. Just the sight of her waiting on her knees like a needy whore has my seed jetting out. Most of it lands on her tongue, but I want to paint her gorgeous tits with it, too, so I do.
"That's it. Such a good girl…" I groan, watching her enjoy me painting her with my kids.
Once I'm spent, I help her to stand, and then my mouth latches onto her nipple before licking my cum from it and feeding it to her by kissing her lips. I repeat it once more before I wash her off and wrap her in a towel.
I swing Raya up in my arms and carry her back to the bedroom, where I sit her on the edge of the bed and leave her briefly to grab one of my shirts to wear.
I don't bother grabbing her panties. I like knowing she's completely naked under my clothing.
I'd keep her naked if I had my way, but it's time for answers, and I'm not in the mood to have my friends see her naked at the moment. Maybe next time…
"I had Cale go through the footage from the club, and we got the son of a bitch on camera. There's only one problem. The fucker knew where the camera was in that front area and avoided showing his whole face. We did get a side view of him, though," Zilas informs us.
"Goddamn it!" I growl, but Raya places her hand on my fist, which calms me a bit.
"Cale searched the database and found about six matches to the profile," Cray states. "So, he's going through each one, trying to link any of them to the other two that came to the club."
"Other two?" I ask. I didn't know there were more.
"Yeah," Raya chimes in. "I remember two men coming in wearing suits.
They looked like old money, and they paid their fees.
Mara took them back with her. She told me on the phone that she would be down as soon as she cleaned the blood off her.
I never found out what happened with those two with Mara. "
"We did," Zilas answers. "They were working for Pike. Those two men kept mentioning Raya's name, wanting her to join them. Mara finally had enough and tried kicking them out when one got nasty and shoved her against the wall."
"Are you shitting me right now? Did they not know who Amara was?" I ask incredulously.
Zilas only shrugs. "Who knows, but he told her that they were going to fuck her and cut her up, then they were going to take Raya with them when they left."
"Ha! They obviously didn't know who they were threatening." Raya grins.
Cray finishes telling us how Mara killed the first guy and made the other guy tell her who sent them.
That's how she learned that it was Pike's men.
The fact that he dared send his men to come in and take what is mine tells me he has no respect for the Gods of Nyte.
It's about time we show him and others just what we're capable of.
The leader of the South Crew drug ring has just signed his death certificate.
A knock on my door frame has us all turning to see Adrik and Mara walking in. I nod at them in greeting and wait to hear what Adrik has for me. I knew he was at the club getting estimates of the damage done, so I'm hoping he has some good news for us.
"Well, the damage isn't as bad as we thought. The fire didn't spread from the front room, but there is some damage from the blast and the smoke in the bar area." Adrik's news is very welcoming to hear.
Now that we don't have to be as concerned about the club as I thought, we can concentrate on the South Crew. This is going to take all of us and then some.
I talked to Jarod on the phone while waiting for Jessica to prepare Raya's food.
He informed me that the Bureau bought the story of Clyde's death.
The twins confirmed that Ken, along with Giles and Denver, did indeed work for their father.
They also gave the Bureau a few more names of people who worked with their father.
Since Clyde had his hands in with Pike, the Bureau has taken Raya off their list of suspects.
"We do nothing but recon until Raya is well enough," I tell all four friends.
"Thank you for allowing me to go with you when you— "
"The hell you will, little lamb. You can come to the warehouse if we bring anybody back, but you will not go into their territory with us." I hate to tell her this, but she's a liability for me.
"You can't keep me from taking part in this. That asshole tried to kill me!" she retorts.
"I get that, Raya, but Pike wants you, and that alone puts you in danger. I'll be too worried about you to be able to concentrate. You're staying here."
"Don't do this, Nyx," she says in a warning tone as if it would make me change my mind.
"You don't do this, Raya. I have gotten shot for you, and I've gotten beaten down for you. I don't know about you, but I would like to keep my life, and if you come with us, I may very well lose it."
"Fuck you, Nyx!"
"Guys, Amara, I need you to leave now. I need to have a little talk with Saraya."
I don't need to look to know they have all left and shut the door behind them. I continue to stare at my little lamb as I try to remain calm. She glowers at me as she sits by my side. I hate that she's pissed about this, but I'm not budging on it.
"I will never forgive you if you make me stay. I'll call the wedding off…"
"You will do no such thing, Raya. We will be married, and you will forgive me—over time—but mark my word, I am going to keep you safe, no matter what it fucking takes."