Fuck, this is hot. I want to scream the house down, but I can't make a sound. And that just makes it hotter.
He moves back to my clit, nudging that finger deeper in my ass until he's knuckle-deep in my most forbidden place. He licks hard and fast, and I have to turn my head into a pillow to groan aloud. Dear God, this man is skilled.
"That's my girl," he chuckles, watching me squirm. "My dirty, filthy, sexy girl."
Then he slides two more fingers inside my cunt, thrusting his whole hand to fill me up in every place as he closes his lips around my clit and sucks.
Fuck!
I break apart in another epic shattering orgasm, screaming into the pillow.
When I surface, Dom is on his knees watching me with a satisfied smile.
"All better?" he teases.
I shake my head. He looks confused. "I won't be all better until you're inside me."
"Are you sure?"
He's still worried he'll hurt me, but that consideration just makes me more certain.
"Come here," I tell him. "Right this goddamn second."
He laughs. "Filthy mouth."
"That makes two of us."
Dom doesn't need another invitation. He takes a condom from his wallet and strips off his clothes, quickly joining me on the bed. He releases my hands, and the feel of his warm skin is everything I need. I stroke down his chest, and lower still, relishing the feel of him in my hands. Hard. Big.
Ready.
"Juliet," he groans, propping himself on his elbow above me. He positions himself between my thighs.
Our eyes catch as he enters me, slowly this time. I want to throw my head back from the pleasure, but he won't let go, won't look away.
I see his soul in his eyes- that part of himself that he's never shared with anyone but me. Wrapping my legs around him, I hold him as closely as I can, and I realize we're connected completely. Body and soul.
He starts to move, thrusting easily, carefully.
"I love you." The words come, low in my ear. "I love you so much."
Over and over as he thrusts, until we're moving together and I can't tell where he ends and I begin. The heat rises again, this time consuming us both, until I break, feeling his shudder as I come apart in his arms.
He settles against me, cradling me in his arms. I feel myself drifting off when Dom's phone rings.
"Leave it," I sigh, holding him tightly.
"It might be the hotel." Grabbing a throw blanket off the bed, he wraps it around his hips and answers the call.
"Uh huh. OK. What does that mean?"
His expression darkens. My heart stops. "Is it Xander?" I whisper, frantic. "Is he OK?"
Dom nods, at me, still talking into his phone. "I can't talk now. We'll discuss this later."
He hangs up, but I can tell something's wrong. He's tense and thinking hard.
"Who was that?" I ask.
Dom shakes his head and tries to look reassuring. "Nothing."
I'm not buying it. Now, I'm worried. "Hey, no more secrets."
Dom looks conflicted. "That was the police. They're looking into the accident. Apparently, someone tampered with the brakes on Xander's car."
I freeze. "What?"
"They were severed, nearly straight through." Dom looks grim. "Someone tried to kill you both."
Chapter Nine
I insist on heading to the hospital to see Xander. After what we've just learned, I need to see he's OK for myself. Dom doesn't want me getting out of bed, but I won't take no for an answer. Soon, we're heading down the hospital hallway towards his private room.
Flirty laughter greets us as we step inside the door. Xander is sitting up in bed, looking pale and bruised, but he's got that familiar Rexford smile on his face as he charms his young, attractive nurse.
"It's terrible you're not required to wear the little white nurse's dress anymore." Xander smirks, leaning in to her. "With the deep neckline and the hem up to here-"
He pauses when he sees us come into the room. "And here comes the party! Join us, please. I've been bored as hell on my own. And you know what happens to idle hands." He winks at the nurse, who blushes.
"Your brother is recovering well," she tells Dom.
"Sure I am, I'm the model patient." Xander folds his arms behind his head. "I'll be back on my feet in no time. Or on my back." His gesture is exaggeratedly casual, but I catch a wince.
"You don't need to pretend with us," I scold him, going to sit by the bed. "You've been through hell."
"And I kept on going," Xander says, but he lets the smile drop. "And it turns out, I have you to thank for that. The medics say you dragged me out of the car."
"It was getting kind of toasty in there." Now it's my turn to joke. Anything to keep from reliving the nightmare of feeling trapped in the car, desperate to get him out.
"You both were lucky." Dom's voice is full of emotion. "It could have been so much worse."
I shoot him a nervous look. I don't know how much Xander knows, or what we should tell him. But Xander seems to be filled in. He gives a wry smile.
"Looks like somebody wants one less Rexford on this earth."
"Do you have any idea who would want to hurt you?" Dom frowns.
"Present company excluded, no idea."
I inhale sharply, but Dom doesn't say a word. He's standing there stiffly, his shuttered expression back. To an outsider – to Xander – it would seem like he doesn't care about his brother at all. But I know differently. I saw his panic when he thought Xander was hurt. He loves him, but the two of them are too pig-headed and stubborn to say sorry first.
"OK, enough of this!" I exclaim suddenly. "You guys need to bury the hatchet once and for all. And I don't mean in each other's back," I add. I turn to Dom and give him a fierce look. "Xander didn't come back to steal the hotel out from under you. He just wants to be a part of the family business, too. And Dom would never hurt you," I add to Xander. "He went out of his mind when he thought you were hurt. He barely left your bedside all night. No matter what else has happened, you guys are brothers. You love each other. So can we please stop fighting like this and just make up?"
There's silence. For a moment, I think I've pushed them too far. These guys are proud. Shit, maybe I'm just making this worse.
Then Dom clears his throat, and slowly approaches the bed. He extends a hand formally. "Thank you for looking after Juliet."
"Don't give me that." Xander rolls his eyes, then pulls Dom down into a hug. They slap each other's backs gruffly, the way guys do.
I let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Well, isn't this the happy family?" Lillian's voice comes from the doorway. She looks amused. "I'm glad you're all in one piece."
Dom's tense expression returns. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I called her." I say. "Somebody tried to kill Xander and I. We need to figure this out – all of us."
He scowls. "You're asking me to trust a woman with Lilian's track record?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lillian actually looks offended.
"You set me up to claim half my shares in the Rexford. Who says you don't want to increase that proportion?"
"Are you seriously accusing me of attempted murder?" Lillian's voice rises. "I didn't hire the guy who took pictures of you and Juliet. The tape and pictures arrived anonymously at my office. I've no idea who did it."
"Wait, what?" I frown. "If you didn't set up the honey trap, then who did?"
"I don't know!"
There's a pause as we all process this news. Lillian continues. "Once I saw the evidence, I had to use it. You never let me have anything to do with the hotel before. It was so damn important to you. I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about. Controlling shares aren't that much fun, honestly."
Lillian decided she'd try and run a multi-million dollar hotel because she was bored? I remember what she said about Dominic never letting her in. This was her way of seeing inside his private world-maybe a little inside him, too.
"So who did this?" I ask, thinking hard. "They knew it would make Dom crazy, and split him and Xander even further apart."
"And make Lillian happy," Xander adds. "And put the future of the Rexford in jeopardy."
There's only one person who would stand to gain from all of that.
Dom's eyes narrow as a slow rage washes over his beautiful face. "Blaine Prescott."
"You're right!" I turn to Lillian, recalling the restaurant incident. "Blaine was spitting mad when you turned him down. After you left with Xander, I thought Blaine was going to breathe fire."
Her face goes pale. "He's been asking me out forever, but I never took his interest seriously. Even when I was with Dom, he was always hanging around."
"So he probably thought that once you divorced, the field would be clear." I think it through. "But nothing changed. And then when he saw you with Xander … " I stop. "Shit. I may have suggested that you and Xander were a thing, after you left. I thought it might help deter Blaine, but … "