“I didn’t have anything to do with that, Austin. I only knew about it and saw you walking in. All you need to know is that I risked my job for you.” She focuses on me. “I was not supposed to get involved at all, but I messed up and got involved to get you out. Now a family that was going to cleanly wipe out those men had issues because those men were on alert and were ready to do battle. There were more lives lost than necessary all because I refused to let you die.” She doesn’t say a word. “Now, tell me, what were you doing there?”
“I have my reasons just like you have yours. I was looking for someone that they know, and that’s all you need to know.”
She is so frustrating! “Damn it, Austin! Who does that? I know you think you are a badass, but you shouldn’t be walking up on a known drug house.”
“I was only looking to buy a soda, Dace,” she says calmly, turning her back to me.
“Don’t walk away from me. I have a million questions for you.” I grab her arm, forgetting her skills for a second.
She throws me to the ground and holds me there. “Leave before you get hurt,” she says.
I flip her on her back and hover over her. “No, I’m not leaving you until I know for sure they aren’t looking for you.”
She squirms out and lands on top of me in a very erotic position. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
I grab her face and pull her in close. “You are so much trouble. Just a sexy, beautiful bundle of trouble.” She relaxes some, and I kiss her. “You can’t keep me from looking out for you, no matter how hard you try to push me away, Trouble.”
“I can push pretty hard.”
“And I am pretty strong, so you’re going to have to do a whole hell of a lot of pushing.” She stares at me with a heavy exhale, and I slowly lean up and take in her lips again, lift her shirt off over her head, and undo her bra, enjoying her breasts bouncing in my face. Austin cradles my head to her breasts and then allows me to roll her over and slide her pants off. We are both naked in an instant and fucking each other hard in the middle of her living room floor. It all feels so good until we hear a noise. Someone lurks outside her door, and we both scramble towards our guns and wait as they fumble with the lock. When Preston walks through, he immediately stops breathing.
“Preston, you’re home early,” Austin snaps at him.
“Um… yeah, I wasn’t feeling well, and … why are you both pointing guns at me? I’m not really enjoying that.”
We lower our guns and relax. “Sorry, are you going to be okay?” I ask him. He breathes deeply and then looks me over, before stopping at my still hard cock. “Oh we were …”
“Uh-huh, I got it. Thanks for that at least,” he says, walking to his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
I look at Austin holding a gun completely naked and smile. “I knew you had a gun in that drawer.” She smiles, and I walk towards her. “Now, what else are you hiding?”
“Nothing, can’t you see?”
“No, let me get a closer look.” I pick her up, take her to her room, and forget about the rest of my day.
Her bed is comfortable; her body, stretched out naked against me, is warm and incredibly sexy. I am not sure what woke me up until I see Antony poking his head into the doorway. We forgot to shut her bedroom door after we ate. I carefully squeeze out from under her and pull on my pants before walking out into their living room. “When did you get here?” I ask.
“A few hours ago, in time to hear all the heavy breathing and the … Oh Dace, Dace Oh, Ohhhh,” he moans into a dramatic presentation.
“Shut up. Now what’s the word?”
“Things happened so fast that no one recognized either of you coming or going. Anyone that did, died, so I think you’re both in the clear for now, unless Ettore finds out. Now, can I ask a question? Because you two looked like you were ready to kill each other when I dropped you off, and she was determined to get you to tell her everything. So how did you two go from being pissed off as hell at each other to fucking all day and night? You obviously didn’t tell her who you really are.”
“We fought it out, and after wrestling around with our issues, we realized we both are just two very private, sexy people who have a lot of questions for each other. Now, if you don’t mind, I am going back to bed.”
“Make sure you answer every question thoroughly or she might punish you.”
I look back at my brother’s overly smiling face. “Hm, maybe I won’t answer them at all then. I kind of like her rough touch.” I slide back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind me.
“I thought you left,” she says, sitting up in bed, holding the blankets over her naked body.
After unzipping my pants, I ease back into bed with her, kissing up her arm and neck before enjoying her lips fully. “No, why would I do that when there is so much here I would miss if I left?”
She lies back, opening her entire naked body up to my lips and wandering hands. I move slowly, teasing her and enjoying her fondling of my ass. “You like my ass, do you?”
“Among other things.”
I push my hips a little further into her. “Yeah, like what other things?”
“Your gun,” she laughs.
I nod, laughing. She’s so much sweeter in this light, but I am still completely confused by this woman. Who is she? And what is she about? I don’t know why I care, but I want to know more about her. “Why are you so scared, Austin? Why did you move into a building like this, lock every door, and watch every move every person makes around you? Did someone hurt you? Is that why you were there today—looking for someone who hurt you?” I ask, kissing her and caressing her body to try and make her feel comfortable enough to confide in me. I hear a slight whimper, and I raise up to look at her suddenly shy eyes. “Is it that bad, Trouble? You don’t have to tell me. I just don’t like to think of you scared of anything.”
Her focus changes to her fingers, tracing circles on my chest. I suddenly feel as if I have gone too far. There is more to this than her simply hiding something. She’s protecting herself from someone, and that, I feel, is none of my damn business. I start to shake it off when she begins to speak. “It was my mother.” Her sad eyes pull at me as she fights to explain something obviously painful. “We were out shopping, picking up the usual things for dinner. It was a normal, happy day with my mother, one I didn’t have to share with my brother for once. When we got home, these men came out of nowhere and forced their way inside. My father and brother were out together somewhere. I don’t even remember where, so there was no one there to protect us. They …” She pauses, and I gulp, kissing her forehead and wishing I had kept my mouth shut. “They raped her, beat her, and made me sit there and wait my turn. The first chance I got to sneak out of their sight, I took it and called 911 … those men were so mad. They were searching for me and screaming for me, threatening to kill my mother if I didn’t come out. I knew they were going to kill me if I did. Before they could get to me, the police came, and the men ran off. They caught all but one; they saved my life and nearly my mother’s, but her injuries were too great. She died a few days later. They were wearing masks, so I couldn’t identify anyone. Plus, I was too scared to look at them anyway.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry I was so distrusting of you, but … I know someone ordered her death, and I am determined to find out who.”
“No! No, it’s okay. I completely understand why you would be.” She doesn’t shed a tear; she gives me a soft smile, seemingly hardened and unaffected by her story, but I know her pain all too well. No one gets over something like that; they bury it deep inside and hide it from the world or talk about it enough that it becomes a story, a story to tell as if it isn’t even your story, simply a story to tell. “You are pretty impressive. Even as a child you managed to think clearly enough in the face of danger to get away and save your own life. That’s amazing. I don’t know too many people that could do that, let alone a child being able t
o.”
She smiles up at me. “Maybe, but I would have never survived without the police coming as quickly as they did. They were my life savers.”
I shake my head with a roll of my eyes. “You got lucky with them one night. I wouldn’t put too much stock into their abilities to help you or their concern for you.”
She suddenly sits up and stares at me. “No, you’re wrong. They saved me! I would be dead right now if it wasn’t for those men. Why are you so against the police?” I hesitate, trying to think of a reason to tell her anything. I don’t need to explain myself to this woman. I sit up, turning away from her and wondering if it’s time to go. I have really enjoyed our time together; I wasn’t expecting to be done with her so soon. “Dace?” she says softly. “What happened?” She pushes her fingers into my hair, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to persuade me to look at her. And for some reason, I do. At first, I am angry that she was able to get me to turn at all. What the fuck does she care about me? She resituates her body directly in front of me and takes hold of my face. “You don’t have to tell me. You don’t have to tell me anything.” She wraps her arms around my neck, her legs around my waist, and sits in my lap with her head on my shoulder. “Is this okay?” she asks. “I know we still don’t know each other that well, but I need this, and for some reason, I think you do too.”
I feel along her legs, up her back, and around her body, pulling her in close to my chest. The soothing sounds of her soft breaths and the soft thumping of her heart against my chest ease my anger and cause me to exhale deep into her hair. “They killed my mother,” I whisper, feeling a painful weight lifted from my soul. I translate my pain into a sensual embrace, lay her back into the bed, and give her every reason to be glad she survived. In the end, I feel surprisingly comforted, and as before, I sleep perfectly sound.
My brother is going through all the information I gathered from his competitor, cursing under his breath as usual. He grunts every other page which is beginning to annoy the fuck out of me. “Is this not what you asked for?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Ettore asks me.
“I do have other things I would like to be doing. You know… something other than sitting here listening to you complain about nothing.”
“This isn’t nothing. I am actually quite impressed with what you were able to get, much more comprehensive than what my own people have been able to get, and they have been working on this for over a year.” Ettore looks towards Father who sits back, nodding with a smile. I don’t know why it makes me happy that I please him; I have never cared before.
“I told you, Ettore, I told you that you could use him. I was right,” my father says proudly.
Ettore glances my way as if to remind me not to say anything about my ability to sneak in and out of places undetected. He had a long talk with me about our spying on the Aksakovs; he doesn’t want anyone else to know for some reason. I’m fine not talking about it. I really don’t care to discuss my abilities with too many people anyway, even with my family. Ettore looks away and nods.
“Yes, yes, you are always right, aren’t you? Dace did fine this time, but how much more can he do?” Ettore says, leaning back in his chair with a cocked eyebrow in my direction.
“Not right now. You need to learn to be patient,” our father says.
“Why be patient when you can act when they are least expecting it? I guarantee you they are not overlooking us at the moment. They may be distracted but not foolish.”
“They are nothing to be of concern right now, and I don’t want anything jeopardizing my campaign right now,” Michael adds, evoking an instant growl from Ettore.
“How long are we going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs?!” Ettore yells back at him.
“Until I say so!” Michael retaliates strong. I have never seen him like that before. My father places a hand on him, and he calms. There is something going on between them all that I am missing.
“I think you’re purposely holding off for all the wrong reasons.”
“I don’t care what you think.” My father and Ettore glare at each other. “Have a good night, Dace. We will see you in the morning as usual, and make sure Antony comes with you this time,” my father says to me without breaking his focus from Ettore.
I exit as quickly as possible. Their arguments have only escalated since I have been back. If I thought it was because of me, I would be happy to leave town, but I have a feeling it has to do with Michael and Ettore’s escalating battle to be the one to have complete control of the family.
I head home and pull up to my building as Austin walks up from the other direction. The smile that overtakes my face is annoying as hell. I feel like a foolish schoolboy with a crush. She’s fun and exciting and, at the same time, soft and comforting. Yet, I still feel like she is a complete mystery. I walk in at her side, and that damn annoying smile reappears as soon as she looks my way. I get in the elevator with her, push the button to my loft, and then lean back against the wall, waiting for her to look up at me. She tries to avoid doing so, but as soon as she does, I wink at her, causing her to smile. “Come here, Trouble.” I reach out for her hand. She barely takes another breath before taking it and letting me pull her into my arms. Her lips taste so good. “How was your day, Baby?”
“It was good. I got a lot done.”
“Oh yeah, did the filing gods smile down on you today?”
She laughs, taking the initiative to take hold of my shirt and pull me back to her lips. “So how was your day, Sunshine?”
“Sunshine?”
“Yeah you are always so bright and pleasurable to be around.” she says sarcastically.
“Don’t act like that’s not true.” The elevator doors open to her floor, and I shut them back. She looks surprised when I pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist. “You know damn well I can pleasure you all night long. I am very pleasurable.”
“Dace, I should go home. I haven’t been …” She gasps as my erection rises up against her. “Oh! Dace I really shouldn’t.” As soon as the doors open, I move us both out into the hallway to my front door. We don’t make it through my door before clothes begin coming off. We both laugh as we stumble over things to get to each other and pull off that last shoe while attempting to clumsily reach my bedroom. Opening the door was an obstacle in and of itself, but my bed is much bigger than hers and a lot more fun to maneuver around on, so I want her here.
Kissing down her chest, I hear her stomach growl. “Are you hungry?” I ask as she grabs her stomach, blushing. I laugh at her. “If you’re hungry, just say so.”
“I haven’t had a chance to eat since early this morning. That’s why I wanted to go to my place.”
“I have food. What do you want?”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that. I can go home and eat and see you later.”
“No, you stay right where you are. I can cook. Let me show you.” She wants to argue with me; I can see it in her eyes. “Listen, you stay right there, naked, and in my bed, and I will bring you a full meal. You like red or white wine?” I ask as I slide some pants on.
“I like both, but I am in the mood for red.”
“Perfect.” I leave her hiding behind the translucent room dividers so I can make us dinner and watch her figure stretch out around my bed checking out everything that she possibly can without being obvious. I laugh to myself watching the sly Trouble work her body into the oddest of moves. “What are you doing?” I yell out, startling her and almost causing her to fall out of bed. I hold my mouth closed to keep from laughing out loud.
“Me? Nothing, just stretching out the knots from the long day.”
As I finish up dinner, one of my alarms go off, and soon after, someone is buzzing my place to come in. I take a quick look at the camera and instantly curse under my breath. “Fuck. You couldn’t have picked a worse time to visit me, Father.” I allow him in and then quickly pull draperies and dividers around the bedroom. “Hey Trouble, do me a favor and stay
put for a few minutes. A family friend is stopping by, and he likes to get into my business and never leave. So please stay in here and make it so I have a reason to kick him out nicely.” I kiss her on the head and give her a plate of food and drink before closing her off from the rest of the loft. Please stay put.
I rush to open the door for my father as he gets off the elevator. “Hi. What are you doing here? Slumming?” I ask as he gives me his usual smirk.
“Always with the smartass comments, although yours tend to be funnier than Ettore’s lately. I wanted to come see your new place and talk to you about some upcoming business that I want you alone to handle. I don’t want you to talk about it with your brothers.” He walks in further, looking around at the tall ceilings and rustic modern environment. He stops gazing the moment he catches sight of Austin’s image sitting up in bed and seemingly trying to listen without being noticeable. I shake my head with a smile as my father slowly turns towards me. “I see this is not the best time to talk about business?”
I shake my head. “No. I’m sorry. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have made plans.”
“Hm… your plans got busy quickly. You couldn’t have been home long to do much more than have open the door and rush right into it,” he teases.
“Well, we didn’t quite make it through the door,” I say, and he pats me on the back.
“Ah… I am glad to see you’re enjoying yourself too while you are home.”
“Yes sir,” I say, looking back at Austin and her determination to know. “How about breakfast tomorrow? We can meet at our favorite spot,” I say, turning towards him as he looks over the clothes on the floor suspiciously. “Father?”
“Hm? Oh yeah that sounds great.” I walk him to the elevator and kiss his cheek, but the expression on his face as he looks at me is odd. He saw something that bothered him, but even as I go back in to clean it up, I can’t figure out what it might have been.