40. My Property
MY PROPERTY
Lorelei
Fuck. What the hell did Brock want now? It had been radio silence for the past few weeks, and I honestly thought I was finally rid of him. I should have known he would never give up that easily. How could I have been so stupid?
“What did he say?” I hissed.
Axel waved me off, his fingers clenching so tight around the phone his knuckles were pure white. “Lorelei was never yours to begin with,” he growled into the mic.
“On the contrary, the contract I signed says otherwise.”
“Let me hear!” I grabbed his phone and jabbed my finger at the speaker button.
“What contract?” Axel barked.
The crinkling of pages sent nausea rising up my throat. “I never signed a contract,” I cried out.
“Oh, good, you’re there too, Lorelei. I can’t say I’m surprised. Did I catch you on your knees with the Vanderhart heir? Or are you attempting to secure your family’s fortune on your back?”
Heat flared across my cheeks, a mixture of embarrassment and red-hot indignation.
“Shut your fucking mouth, Haversham, or I’ll shut it for you, permanently,” Axel barked into the phone. “Don’t you ever talk to Lorelei like that.”
“You have no idea what she’s like, do you, kid? No notion that she’s only using you for your trust fund.”
Axel’s jaw ticked, and I shook my head. “It’s not true,” I mouthed.
The lie came easily, but the truth was that we were both using each other, weren’t we? I’d never explicitly told him of my family’s money troubles, but Ax was a smart guy, he must have figured it out by now.
“You know nothing about my girlfriend.” He stalked toward the library exit, and I raced behind him.
“You mean my fiancée.”
“She’ll never be yours.” Axel’s footfalls became quicker, more agitated until we reached a quiet spot at the edge of the library parking lot. The same spot he’d attacked Micah not long ago. I squeezed my eyes closed, not needing to dredge up those dark memories right now.
“And yet, the contract in my hand says otherwise. Signed by Senator Battenberg himself.”
“My father can’t do that,” I ground out. “He can’t just sign me over to someone. I’m a human being, not a thing to be bought or sold.”
“My dad’s lawyer will shred that contract to bits, Haversham.” He slammed his palm against a tree, and the whole damn thing trembled. “You don’t have a leg to stand on, and you know it.”
“There are other ways to force your hand, Vanderhart. Perhaps other secrets I could unearth that would be more precious than the warm pussy wetting your cock.”
Axel’s teeth gnashed, and a whisper of fear slid up my spine.
He couldn’t possibly know about whatever this mess was that my fake boyfriend had been acting so sketchy about.
Ever since we broke into that mansion, I knew something was going on, but I didn’t want to press.
I figured Ax would tell me when the time was right.
“You don’t know shit. Your desperation is showing.”
“You’re treading dangerous waters, Axel. You better be careful, or you might find yourself going head first over a cliff into the murky depths below.”
His face blanched, a sickly pallor blanketing his features.
“Stay away from him, Brock,” I snarled. “You’re not the only one who can make threats. I can tell everyone what a sick fuck you are, preying on innocent young girls.”
He barked out a laugh, and my gut roiled. “There’s nothing innocent about you, Lorelei, and we both know it. And besides, it’s your word against mine. I technically never assaulted you. There’s no crime against consensual sex. Rough or otherwise.”
My thoughts flew back to the time he forced me to suck him off in the bathroom at that gala. Bile clawed up my throat, and I barely resisted the urge to gag. There was nothing consensual about it.
“I’ll give you until Friday to return my property, Vanderhart. I’ll be in Copper Cove this weekend, and I have every intention of claiming what’s mine.”
The call cut off, and a thick silence descended over us. I dropped to the bench just behind us, my knees nearly giving way before I hit the weathered planks.
“Shit, I’m so screwed,” I muttered. “He’s never going to give this up.”
“Well, I’m right there with you, blondie.” He slumped down beside me, and the bench creaked beneath his massive weight.
“What was he talking about?” I pivoted toward him, searching for answers in that wary gaze. “Does he really have something on you?”
The hard set of his jaw, along with the deep furrow of his brow, revealed the answer before he opened his mouth.
“If you tell me what it is, maybe we can find a way around it?”
His expression hardened to stone, the flirty, smirking guy I’d come to know and really care for disappearing.
“There’s no way around this, Lorelei. I told you I fucked up big time, and it looks like I’m finally going to pay for my sins.”
“Absolutely not. This is my fault. You never would’ve gotten in Brock’s crosshairs if it wasn’t for me.” I barely concealed the tremor in my voice as I spouted the dreaded words. “I’ll just agree to the engagement then he’ll leave you alone.”
“No! No way in hell,” he snarled. Red-hot fury flashed across those typically serene sky blue eyes. “I’ll never let that asshole lay a hand on you again. I’d rather go to jail myself.”
“Axel…” The emotion in his words reached all the way down to my soul, piercing the careful barriers I’d been building all my life.
Also, what the hell did he do that was bad enough to go to prison for?
“I mean it, Lore. I’ll never let him have you. Maybe it’s time for me to finally face the past. I can’t hide behind the protection of the brotherhood forever.”
Hot tears pricked at the back of my eyes. God, I did not deserve this man in my life, as a friend or more. No one had ever stood up for me like this. I glanced up to meet those blazing irises, and my heart sank as the realization slowly snuck in.
I loved Axel Vanderhart. I’d done the unthinkable, broken every rule I’d drawn up.
I’d fallen in love with my fake boyfriend.
The devastating confession, even if only to myself, had all my walls crumbling.
My body moved of its own accord and my arms swung around the back of his neck, pulling his lips to mine.
I kissed him like I’d wanted to for all these months without pretending it was because of alcohol or because others were watching.
I kissed him with every ounce of my broken and battered soul.
And it wasn’t until a few minutes passed that I realized he was kissing me back. Like really kissing me. He dragged me into his lap, parting my legs so I straddled him on the bench. He was already hard beneath me, his thick cock wedged right where I needed it.
I rocked against his erection, fire building even through his thick khakis. My panties were so drenched I was sure I’d leave an embarrassing wet spot on the light material.
“Fuck, Lorelei, what are you doing to me?” he growled against my ear as he nibbled on the sensitive lobe. “You’ve got me so damned out of my mind I’m ready to spend the rest of my life in jail rather than let anyone else have you.”
Icy fear licked up my spine. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.” He claimed my mouth again, stealing the remaining air from my lungs.
What if he really felt something too? Should I tell him…
His hands moved down to cradle my ass, and he lifted me off his lap as he stood, curling my legs around his waist. “I don’t care if it is a terrible idea, or horrible timing, blondie, but I can’t wait another minute to sink my cock inside you.”
His eyes searched mine, and I willed my lips to mutter a no, but the fight was futile.
There was nothing I wanted more than to fuck Axel, to feel his cock inside me, his massive body enveloping me in his warmth and safety. Even if it was only one time.
So my traitorous head dipped, and a feral smile curled the corners of his perfect lips.
My breaths quickened as he lengthened his strides, eating up the asphalt in seconds.
The next thing I knew we were standing in front of his Jeep, and he was lifting me into the back.
He spread me out across the worn leather and crawled over me.
I don’t know how he managed to fit his huge frame in that tiny backseat, but I couldn’t care enough to think about it for long.
I lifted my ass off the leather as he dragged my panties down, then I made quick work of his shorts. His cock sprang free, thick and ready, and anticipation flooded my bloodstream. He wedged his hips between my thighs and those blazing blue spheres met mine.
“You’re good with this, right, even with everything going on–” He chewed on his bottom lip, and gawd, it was so damned sexy. “I never actually asked you.”
“Yes, Axel, I’m so good with this. Please, just fuck me.”
His head fell back, and a deep rumble of laughter pealed out. His big chest vibrated against my own and despite the dozens of questions spiraling in my chaotic thoughts, I relaxed beneath him.
I wanted Axel. I wanted to have sex with my fake boyfriend and fuck the consequences.
He lined his cock up to my entrance and slid his thick head between my wet folds. Every nerve ending lit up in excitement. “Mmm, I’ve been dreaming about this day, blondie. I’m finally going to make that sweet pussy mine.”
A sharp horn blared, sending all lusty thoughts scrambling.