“You’ll be making a lot more than that soon. I promise. I’m so proud and happy for you, baby. Congrats.”
“As far as my public image, he brought you up.”
“Did he?” Sonny asked as his interest and annoyance took another spike.
“He likes that it’ll be good publicity-wise, but he suggested I not be overly affectionate with you in public.” This had her chuckling while it had Sonny gnashing his teeth. “He says my public image should be a hard badass.”
That did it. Not once had Sonny’s manager ever had a say in his intimate affairs. This fucker was already telling Lila how affectionate she should get with him in public? The guy had just moved up to the very top of Sonny’s shit list.
This was definitely going to have to change. Sonny was pissed that he hadn’t thought to call when he’d gotten nearer to 5th Street. Lila was so damn adamant that she’d be fine taking the bus home today, and with him coming all the way from Burbank, he didn’t want her waiting on him to pick her up in case he got stuck in traffic. Which was exactly what had happened.
Per the guys at the gym, he’d missed her by about twenty minutes. She’d said she had errands to run after work as well, so he’d called her immediately to see where she was. He could pick her up where she was and drive her around. But she hadn’t answered, and it took her a while to respond to his text. Even then her response to his offer to come get her wherever she was, was a vague one. All she’d said was she was on her way home.
He’d been sitting at the corner of her block so she’d at least not have to walk the rest of the way from the bus stop to her apartment in the dark. But still nothing. He texted her again to ask if maybe she’d gotten home. For all he knew, she may’ve gotten off the bus at another stop if wherever her errands had taken her were on a different bus route home. Just as he set his phone down, he did a double take when he saw the pickup truck turn onto her street. Lila was in the passenger seat and a guy was driving.
Instantly, his curiosity was piqued—among another emotion—as he turned on his ignition. He drove up her block and watched as the truck made a U-turn in the middle of the street then didn’t just slow to drop her off. The driver parked and even turned the lights off.
Sonny pulled over before getting too close and waited. Maybe he’d been mistaken. Maybe that hadn’t been her. He glanced down at his phone to see if she’d responded to his last text, but she hadn’t. The longer they remained in the parked truck, the more he didn’t know what to think. Lila had never mentioned any guy friends. But it made sense she’d have some working at a gym and all. Finally, the passenger door opened. Sonny was as relieved as he was annoyed to see it was really her, especially given that she normally responded quickly to his texts—usually immediately—unless she was at work. And this time she’d only responded the one short time and still hadn’t bothered responding to the last one.
He watched as she walked toward her apartment building, carrying what looked like a dress or something in a plastic bag. Maybe she’d stopped at the cleaners. Turning his headlights and engine on, Sonny watched as the guy in the truck did the same. The guy drove away, and Sonny drove to the end of the block, made a U-turn, and parked in the same spot the truck had pulled out of. Just as he turned off the car he got the text.
I’m home now.
Sonny stared at it for a moment. He never would’ve imagined being suspicious of a girl who’d yet to give him a single reason to be suspicious about. Still he reasoned, so far, their relationship had been mostly a long-distance one. He’d only known her less than two months. That and his being this crazy about her so soon was likely a bad combo. This was just another confirmation of how different he felt about Lila than he had about any other girl—ever.
“Don’t blow it, ass,” he muttered under his breath. Then went against his own advice and put the text together, sending it before he could talk himself out of it.
Good. Can I come get you? I’m in LA now.
She responded that she was getting ready to jump in the shower but he was welcome to stop by. She said Ali wouldn’t be home until later and they had the place to themselves. Then she added a smiley face.
Groaning, Sonny debated if he should ruin the night with his unfounded suspicions or enjoy what he might be in for. He decided to give it a few minutes, let her shower, and then wait and see if she mentioned her ride home. For all he knew, it could’ve been an Uber driver. Though as far as he knew, they were supposed to be four-door cars. Pickup trucks wouldn’t qualify. And them sitting there talking for a few minutes afterward didn’t seem right. But he’d give her the benefit of the doubt and texted her he’d be there in fifteen.
Exactly fifteen agonizing minutes later, he texted her to say he was outside. She texted back to say she’d buzz him in. As soon as he dialed her apartment, he was in and he headed up the stairs. She opened the door, wearing a bathrobe and heels so high his crotch instantly tightened. He wrapped his arms around her and devoured her mouth.
Be cool. Don’t fuck this up.
“How was your day?” he asked in between sucking her tongue.
“Good.” She purred then sucked his tongue back.
Breathing in sharply, he kissed her deep then pulled away. “So, you had errands to run after work. I was hoping I could catch you and get you home.”
“No need.” She smiled, gazing into his eyes. “I finished and made it home okay.”
With a fully erect cock, he pressed it against her, pulling on the string of her bathrobe. “I hate you taking the bus, especially when it’s dark.”
“The walk from the bus stop is a short one, Sonny,” she said against his lips then licked his bottom lip. “I promise. It’s no big deal.”
Sonny stared at her. She rolled her shoulders so her robe fell off. In nothing but the high heels she’d walked out wearing, she looked utterly amazing.
Do not fuck this up!
Even his throbbing cock was begging him not to, but his possessive heart was already protesting. “So, you took the bus home, babe?”
“I told you I’ve been doing it forever.” She pulled his shirt up and over his head, so he was now standing there shirtless in only his jeans. Then she kissed his pecks one by one. “It’s no big deal.”
He stared at her, breathing in deep. If she’d just said she got a ride home from a friend, he could’ve let it go, but he still didn’t want to be accusatory. It was probably nothing, and he refused to ruin this night. So, instead of asking why she was lying, he took another route.
“Ever get a ride home from friends?”
His body was pressed against her so firmly he felt it the moment she stiffened. He never took his eyes off her, so he also saw the obvious alarm even as she tried to hide it. Swallowing hard, he did his best to keep his cool. This meant nothing. This was Lila. His Lila. She wouldn’t have slept with him just this past weekend or be standing here naked for him if she were doing something with someone else.
“Sometimes,” she said in a near whisper.
“Tonight?” She nodded but didn’t say more. “Who?” he asked, remaining calm.
“Marcelo.”
Now he might lose it.
“So, why’d you lie?”
Lila shrugged as Sonny pulled away, lifting her chin when she tried to break the eye contact. She looked right into his eyes now. “Technically, I didn’t actually say I took the bus tonight. Just said I’ve been doing it forever.”
Trying not to sound annoyed by her response, he worded his carefully. He didn’t want to sound like he was calling her on what technically was beginning to sound like bullshit. “But you didn’t mention getting a ride from Marcelo—your ex-boyfriend.”
“I just didn’t see the point in mentioning it. It was a quick five-minute ride if that.”
“From where?” Sonny was doing his best to try and keep his cool, but his calm was beginning to wear thin.
“His house,” she whispered again then went on when she obviously saw the spark in
his eyes. “Only reason I didn’t want you to know about it is I didn’t want to have to tell you why I had to be there this week.”
“You’ve been there more than once this week?” She nodded again and again went on quickly because clearly Sonny’s attempts to keep his cool were a joke. “I didn’t want you to know I’m borrowing a dress for tomorrow. His mom’s a seamstress. She always has extra dresses around that she’s working on. It was Ali’s idea, and I made sure to go in the evening when he works so I wouldn’t see him. I didn’t the first night when I went there to get fitted, but today was his night off. I had every intention of taking the bus home, like I had to get there. But his mom insisted he give me a ride home since it was dark.”
She ran her fingers through his hair, and her other hand caressed his rigid chest. “For what it’s worth, it was awkward as shit. I couldn’t get it over with fast enough.”
“But you sat in the truck with him for a while even once you got here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You saw?”
Sonny pressed his body against hers in case she thought to push him away and nodded, staring at her. “I was hoping to catch you when you got off the bus so you wouldn’t have to walk the rest of the way in the dark, when I saw his truck pass with you in it.”
She lifted a brow but didn’t appear pissed. “He’s a talker, Sonny. And I hadn’t spoken to him in years.” She lifted and dropped her shoulder. “I guess he felt like he needed to explain himself since I admitted to not having read any of his letters.”
“What did he explain?”
“A bunch of bullshit. I didn’t even wanna hear it, but only because he gave me a ride and his mom did me this favor with the dress, I let him finish when he dropped me off.”
Sonny brought his hand around her and squeezed her firm ass. “You should’ve told me you didn’t have a dress, and I’m getting you a car.”
Her eyes widened. “No, you’re not,” she said immediately. “A nice car in this area wouldn’t last long anyway.”
“Doesn’t have to be fancy, just reliable.”
“You can’t just—”
“Either that or I’ll set up an Uber account for you. I hate you taking the bus. You said it yourself. This area isn’t the best, and I hate knowing you ever have to walk the neighborhood at night.”
She placed her hand against Sonny’s chest, but he’d be damned if he’d let her push him away. So, he stood his ground firmly. “Sonny, you can’t just—”
“I can and I will. I know this is just the start for us. I haven’t known you long, but I know one thing for sure. I want you to be safe, and getting you a car or out of this building, into a better area, ain’t shit for me. It’d be an enormous relief to know you’re safe, so I’d be doing it as much for you as I am for my own peace of mind.”
She shook her head but with less conviction, and Sonny was done talking. He put his hand on her other ass cheek and squeezed her ass with both hands then dove into her neck.
“Don’t ever keep something like that from me again,” he said, kissing her neck then sucking a little harder, “especially when it comes to him.” He pulled away to look her in the eyes. “You might think you have a temper, sweetheart, but I can already tell things will get ugly fast when it comes to this kind of shit.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s just that—”
Sonny stopped her from saying more by kissing her then nipping her bottom lip. “Don’t tell me how sorry you are. Show me.” He brought his hand around in between her legs and slid his fingers over her hot wet slit. “And then promise you’ll never lie to me again.”
Lila eyed him with a smirk as she undid the button on his jeans then pulled his zipper down. Sonny had every intention of taking her right there against the wall until she pulled his ready-to-go throbbing cock out of his pants and slid down until she was on her knees in front of him. She licked the pre-cum off the tip then took him in her mouth—deep.
Sonny’s legs nearly gave as he let his head fall back with a groan. “I’m sorry,” she said, licking the rim of his cock slowly, “that I lied.”
Lila took him in again so deep he could feel the back of her throat, and he nearly lost it right then. “Oh, baby,” he said with a grunt.
“It’ll never,” she said as she kissed the tip of his cock then licked, “happen again.”
She took him in her mouth nice and deep again as she stroked him with her hand. Her tongue was fucking magic. It felt so damn good he almost felt like telling her to feel free to lie if this was how she’d make up for it every time.
Of course, the words feel free to lie were never coming out of his mouth. Not now that he knew just how easily he could lose his shit if she ever did. Especially about her asshole ex.
Lila sucked his dick so good for what began to feel like too long. Like maybe he should offer to finish by taking her against the wall as he’d first thought might happen. But amazingly, she seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was. Feeling just how deep she’d take him, had him ready to blow.
“I’m gonna come, babe,” he said, desperately trying to keep from blowing in her mouth, but she nodded, giving him the go-ahead and took him even deeper.
It was all he could do to stop the inevitable. He came hard down her throat, and she moaned, swallowing every bit of it. It only made him continue to shoot more. Still grunting in pleasure, he leaned his hand against the wall because his legs felt like noodles now. Sonny watched as his beautiful Lila licked him clean and even sucked the tip of his cock for any lingering juices.
She glanced up at him after kissing the tip one last time then smiled, licking her lips slowly as she stood up. “Delicious.”
He groaned again, leaning into her, already knowing he could easily be hard again very soon. He pressed his body over hers against the wall and leaned his forehead against hers. No way could he still be mad at her after that apology, but he did want to make one thing clear.
“Seriously, babe,” he said, kissing her lips softly. “I’ll be holding you to the promise about not keeping anything from me that might piss me off. And just to be clear, anything you keep from me about this guy will piss me off.”
She nodded. “Like you said the other day, I won’t be doing or keeping anything from you that I know would piss me off if the tables were turned.” She smirked, soothing the brow he didn’t even realize was still sharply arched. “And you know that covers a whole lot of ground.”
Good,” he said, kissing her longer and harder, then stopped to pull up his pants. “’Cause I was this close to spanking this fucking ass.” He squeezed her ass again with one hand then nipped her bottom lip.
“I might’ve liked that,” she said with a wicked grin.
That had him groaning again and tugging her towards her bedroom. “Let’s go to your room in case your sister gets here. This might get loud.”
Chapter 18
Lila
Just as Gio obliged with Lila’s adamant refusal to be interviewed by Tatiana, Gio had also agreed to give Ali that interview she’d asked for. She’d done so yesterday and was way too excited about the possibility of interviewing some of the men on the work-release program. Lila wasn’t thrilled about that. From the looks of some of the ones she’d seen around the gym already, she didn’t care what anyone said. They looked dangerous.
“It’s not like I’ll be interviewing them out in their gritty turfs or anything,” Ali had argued when Lila had expressed her unease about Ali interviewing them. “If I do interview them, I’d be doing it right there in the gym with Gio or one of the owners even. It’s perfectly safe, and I told you Gio said they have to qualify to be in the program, and that means they must have had a good standing record when they did their time of being well-behaved. The smallest of infractions will get them kicked out of the program, as in any type of violation of their probation, including simply being late to check in with their probation officers. And the rumors about any of them being murderers is only half true. Gio said
outright murder-one ex-cons don’t qualify for the program, but manslaughter or second-degree murder ex-felons, who maybe killed someone in self-defense, do. There are also guys with manslaughter convictions from having killed someone by accident.”
“How do you kill someone by accident and still go to jail?” Lila asked skeptically.
“DUI’s.”
“That’s no accident. People who drive drunk do so knowing the risks.”
Lila shuddered at just the thought. If anyone ever killed Ali by accident because they were driving under the influence, she’d make it her mission to make sure they never saw the light of day again.
“There’s one guy in there who fired shots in the air for New Year’s, and somehow the bullet hit someone, killing him,” Ali had countered. “So, it is possible to kill someone by accident and still have to do time. He wasn’t licensed to be carrying a gun and had priors, so he was sentenced to a few years.”
“I’ve seen some of the guys, Ali. They’ve got bad news written all over them.”
“I saw some yesterday too,” Ali said. “But Gio even said, as hard as they look, they’re actually pretty good guys.”
Lila scoffed. “I’ll try to swallow the whole ‘they’re trying to rehabilitate’ themselves crap. But good guys my ass. They did time for good reason and they look shady as shit.”
“I don’t know,” Ali said with a sly little smile. “I think tattoos are kind of sexy.”
Lila had peered at her, knowing her smartass little sister was just trying to rile her. “Don’t you even think about it, Allison.”
“What?” Ali had laughed, glancing up from her phone. “Am I not allowed to drool a little over some of them bad boys? It’s not like any of them are going to be into this mess.” With a huff, she’d added, “You should’ve seen the way one of them looked at me today when I gave into stupid temptation and walked out of the employee break room where I’d been interviewing Gio, devouring one of the donuts they had in there.”