She nods. "Okay."
I give her another quick kiss and motion to the valet, who opens her door.
"I'll see you in the morning, Jesse."
"See you then, Cupcake."
I watch her walk into her hotel, unsure of what I'm feeling. I pull out and head for home.
I want-no, I need to find out what this is between us. I want to know her favorite color, her favorite flavor of ice cream, her favorite time of day, and all the things she doesn't like. I want more than a quick lay. I want more than one time. I want more than a week. Hell, I want a whole hell of a lot where she's concerned.
When I pull in through the gate at the house, I turn the car off in the drive and reach for my phone. I can't get her off my mind and I need her to know … I don't know what, I just need.
Jesse: I'm glad you let me drive you home. I want to get to know you, Lucy.
She responds quickly.
Lucy: I'd like to get to know you too, and that's the truth. I don't know you personally, I only know things second-hand from what I've read or heard or seen, and I think first-hand would be so much better. Oh yeah, double entendre. *winks*
Jesse: I think there's a whole lot of bad girl underneath that good girl, Lucy. I hope you let her come out and play with me sometime.
Lucy: She might be around tomorrow night.
Jesse: I look forward to meeting her too, if she decides to show up. If not, then another time. Goodnight, Cupcake. xx
Lucy: Goodnight, Jesse. Sweet dreams xoxo
I'm not going to rush her to show me that bad girl hiding inside, but I am going to hold tight to the woman she does show me and I'm going to make her mine tomorrow night. I'm going to take her slowly and savor every fucking second I'm inside her. I'm going to savor every inch of her glorious body-and I just know her body's going to bring me to my knees. I also know that one night won't be enough.
Chapter Sixteen
Cage
Past
Watching Fee in her barely-there outfits while she used her body to entice had me aroused all damn day. There's not a part of her that I don't want to touch, lick, and kiss. Since that night in the Jacuzzi, we've kept things platonic. Hell, she's gone out with other guys and because she did, I went out and found someone to fuck on a regular basis. Carina is no Sera and she's way too clingy, but I've got needs. Sera sleeping on top of me every night doesn't help the situation either. I wake up so damn hard I nearly come when she wiggles against me. It's all I can do not to push her panties to the side and sink inside her body. But I don't. Instead I jerk off in the shower and come so damn hard my body shakes, like I hadn't just done the same thing the morning before. All because of her. My Fee.
"Where are we going?" she asks.
"To the house, if that's okay," I tell her.
She nods. "A driver today," she notes. "Does that mean things are getting worse?"
I sigh, hating that she knows about any part of this life and that it touches her personally. "Yes. They've made threats against you personally, Fee," I tell her honestly.
"Were you going to tell me?" she asks.
I nod. "Over dinner. I wanted you to have some down time before we got into things."
She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder. "What do they want, Cage?"
"To be able to run their drugs in and through our territory and that's not how we work. There are others who were there before us and we have an agreement that we will not break for the Manzinis," I tell her honestly.
"What does it have to do with me?" she asks.
I hate having to give her the answer. I wrap my arm around her and pull her onto my lap, kissing the top of her head.
"The anniversary of your parents' death is coming." She gasps and I rub her back. "They're threatening to remove you on that date or sooner, maybe later. They're being completely cryptic and we have no inside information to be able to pinpoint a date-if there even is one."
She runs her fingertip over my wrist and watch. "So, they could be bluffing."
I nod. "Or they could be telling us straight what they're planning. I won't risk you, Fee."
She looks up at me and I see the love shining in her eyes. It steals my breath. I want nothing more than to kiss her lips and tell her I'm in love with her, that she holds my heart in her hands. But I won't. Not until she's ready. Otherwise she'll run from me and that's something I can't have happen. I can't be without her.
When we reach the house, Sera goes to shower and I handle a couple phone calls. Gio's still not sure if the Manzinis are blowing smoke up our asses or not, and he's just as irritated by it as I am.
After we eat dinner, we snuggle down in my bed to watch a movie, which I know Sera won't see more than twenty minutes of. She's exhausted and it shows. I know she's not been sleeping well and it's taking a toll on her.
As I predicted, she's asleep in less than fifteen minutes. I turn the television off then the bedside lamp. I want to move her on top of me, I know she sleeps better there, but I don't want to wake her either. It's the first sign of peaceful sleep I've seen for her in nearly a week. It's as if she knew the Manzinis were up to no good. I swear she's got her Nana Russo's mojo powers. She always knows more than she should.
I tuck her in close to my side and close my eyes, relaxing my body bit by bit until I fall asleep.
I haven't been asleep long when she wakes me. I hear her whimpers and cries and I reach for her. She thrashes around in the throes of her nightmare and when she cries out for her parents, I know she's reliving that day.
I gently coax her awake.
"Fee," I whisper. "Baby, wake up. It's just a dream." I kiss her forehead. "Fee, wake up for me." Finally she opens her tear-filled eyes and falls into me, holding me tight while she sobs.
"Shh, Fee. It was a dream. They can't hurt you anymore," I reassure her, holding her, rocking her, kissing her temple.
"They'll try," she sniffles.
"They can try. They will fail. I won't let them hurt you, baby," I tell her as I run my hand over her back.
"Promise?" she asks, looking up at me.
"I promise," I vow and I mean it to my very soul.
She's watching me closely and I watch her back. She bites her lower lip, looks away, then looks right back into my eyes.
I watch, as if in slow motion, as she moves toward me, her eyes fluttering closed just before her lips touch mine. We've kissed before, short, goodnight kisses-but this isn't one of those kisses. This is one of those kisses filled with need and want and desire.
I kiss her back, letting her set the pace. When she runs her tongue along the seam of my lips, I open, and when her tongue brushes against mine I groan aloud, pulling her closer into my body. She threads her fingers through my short hair and I pull back. I need to see her. I need to see …
She looks at me, eyes filled with longing.
"Are you sure, Fee?" I ask.
She nods. "Yes."
"Finally," I whisper against her lips.
"What?" she asks.
"I've waited for you for a long time, Fee," I tell her, pressing soft kisses over her face.
"You have?" she asks again.
"I have."
"I've waited a long time for you too," she confesses and my breath catches.
"Fee," I whisper just before I take her mouth in a kiss filled with all the passion and desire I've been holding in. She moans low in her throat and I roll her to her back. She reaches out to pull my shirt off and I grab her wrists, pinning them over her head. She can't touch me now. Not yet or I'll lose the last bit of control I'm holding on to.
I kiss down her neck and her back arches off the bed, her pussy rubbing against my erection. I groan at the contact and rip her tank top down the middle, then suck on her nipple.
She gasps and moans and mewls incredibly sexy sounds as I squeeze and suck on her tits, and when I slide my hand down between us, beneath the waistband of her sleep shorts and into her lace panties, I find her wet. Holy fuck she's wet and creamy and it's mine.
I rub her wetness around her clit and slip my middle finger slowly inside her pussy. She moans loud and whispers my name-my name. I start fucking her with my finger but it's not enough. I want more. I bring my finger up to my mouth and suck on it.
"You taste so fucking good, Fee," I tell her and she squirms beneath me.
I slide down the bed, taking my shirt off along the way, then her shorts and panties. I toss them across the room. I reach for her legs, hooking them over my shoulders before leaning in and just smelling her. Christ. She's musky and aroused and I can't hold back. I lick her slowly, starting at her opening and swirling my tongue around, licking up her arousal. She cries out when I slip a finger back inside, and when my tongue touches her clit her body begins to shake.
I look up at her, needing to know. "Has it been a while, Fee?"
She nods and I close my eyes. It's been a while for me too. Since she started sleeping in my bed on a regular basis.