Beauty in Lingerie: Lingerie #2 Page 12

  It wasn’t the same alarm I used to wake up in the morning.

  It was the alarm I used when shit got serious.

  It meant a door had been opened without the code or a window had been smashed. It meant someone was trying to fuck with me—and they would regret it. I hopped out of bed and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt at lightning speed. Then I grabbed my semiautomatic from underneath my bed, which was fully loaded.

  Dante would have heard the alarm too, and he would be appropriately armed.

  The first place I went was Sapphire’s bedroom. I had to make sure she was alright before I explored the rest of the house. I opened the door without knocking and saw the bedside lamp was turned on. The sheets were kicked back, and she was nowhere in sight. “Muse?” I checked the bathroom and the living room. “Muse?”

  She wasn’t there.

  Fuck.

  Now I was terrified in a whole new way.

  I headed back into the hallway and took the stairs. I had my gun at the ready, prepared to kill anyone inside my house that shouldn’t be there. I wanted to call out for Dante or Muse, but it was too dangerous.

  “Sir?” Dante stepped into my sight at the bottom of the stairs. He held a shotgun with a bulletproof vest strapped over his chest. He wasn’t just a chef and the caretaker of the house, but a man prepared to murder anyone who stepped foot inside the place without being invited. “It’s Sapphire.”

  I stopped at the second landing. “What? Is she alright? Where is she?”

  “She tripped the alarm when she left out the back door. The light from the stables in on, so she must be down there.”

  What the fuck was she doing down there? “It’s three in the morning.”

  “I realize that, sir.”

  “What could be so important for her to go down there in the middle of the night?”

  Dante lowered his gun and shrugged. “No idea, sir. Would you like me to fetch her?”

  I turned the safety on my gun and set it on the ground. “No. I’ll handle her.” I made it to the bottom of the stairs, ferocity circling in my veins. How could she be so stupid? In her defense, I never told her about the alarm system, but she was stupid to run off in the middle of the night.

  Dante pulled out a pistol from his back pocket. “Just in case?”

  I wasn’t walking up to Muse with a gun. I didn’t have a clue what she was doing at the stables, but scaring her wasn’t the best way to handle it. “No.” I left out the back door she used and crossed the grass to get there quicker.

  All the lights from the stables were on, and the bugs were attracted to the bright lights that highlighted the grass around the area. I entered the stables and found her leaning over the fence where one of the tamest mares was housed. Her chin was propped in her hand, and she petted the horse as it stood over her. The rest of the horses stuck their heads out, confused that there was a visitor in the middle of the night. Even Carbine was looking at her.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  She jumped two inches off the ground and even spooked the horse with her movements. “Jesus…you scared me.”

  “I scared you?” I snapped. “Your little stunt set off the alarm in the house. Dante and I were both armed and ready for war. What the hell were you thinking?” I came closer to her, feeling my arms shake in annoyance. “If you couldn’t sleep, you could have turned on the damn TV or made a snack in the kitchen.” When I was just a foot away, that’s when I noticed the puffiness of her eyes. Covered with moisture and red, her eyes showed the classic signs of crying. I shut my mouth when I realized this was more complicated than just not being able to sleep.

  She quickly turned away, hiding her face from me. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know about the alarm. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have left.” She trailed her fingers up and down the snout of the horse, petting the mare gently.

  I came up beside her, feeling like an ass when I shouldn’t. “Why did you come out here?”

  “I just…couldn’t sleep.”

  I wasn’t buying it. “Why are you crying?”

  “I’m not crying.” She continued to hide her face, letting her hair cover her side profile.

  “Don’t lie to me. I don’t lie to you.”

  She sniffed slightly then wiped her nose.

  I leaned against the fence and rested my arm on top. I stared at the side of her face, waiting for her to look me in the eye. Up until that point, she’d never been afraid to meet my gaze. No matter how intimidating I was, she never flinched. But now her posture was broken, and she seemed defeated. “Muse.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just don’t.” She scratched the horse behind the ears then stepped away. “I’ll come inside now so you can go back to sleep.”

  I could just let the conversation die and return to bed, but I was too involved not to care. I didn’t like those tears, not when they weren’t caused by me. I didn’t like knowing she was in pain, unless she was struggling to take my dick. Knowing there was something gnawing at her made me feel vulnerable too. “Muse.” I grabbed her by the elbow and forced her to face me. “You can talk to me.”

  “You don’t care, Conway. And that’s fine. You don’t need to pretend with me.” She turned away again.

  I grabbed her again, and this time, I dragged her into me. “Would I have asked if I didn’t care?”

  She didn’t twist out of my grasp. She held my gaze, her watery eyes slowly drying. “I just had a nightmare. I had to get out of bed. Sweat was everywhere, and I couldn’t breathe…in the dark, I kept seeing his face. My first instinct was to go to your room, but then I remembered your intolerance. So I thought of the place that makes me feel happy…which is this place.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the horses in their pens.

  I wanted to ask what her nightmare was about, but I could connect the dots. “Do they happen often?”

  “Not like this one…it just felt so real. He killed my brother…he touched me. It was bad.” She ran her hands through her hair and closed her eyes, like she was fighting the memory from entering her brain again.

  “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t an empty phrase to replace a real sentiment. I really felt terrible that she felt that way. I’d always considered Muse to be a strong woman, a fearless one who never gave up. To see her break down in fear made me feel like shit.

  “Let’s go back to the house.” She turned away and hit the lights before we walked up the path.

  Not once did she want me to hold her. Not once did she even let me touch her. She was closed off from me, keeping me at a distance because she didn’t feel welcome to do anything else. She’d wanted to come to my room but assumed that was off-limits.

  I didn’t want to sleep with her, but this time, I wanted to make an exception.

  I’d already made exceptions for her before anyway.

  We walked back to the house, and I set the alarm once more.

  “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I won’t do it again.” She walked to the stairs.

  “Muse.”

  She stopped halfway up but didn’t turn around.

  I walked until I reached her at the same level. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, and she seemed so much smaller than usual. I didn’t like this weak version of Muse. I didn’t like seeing her afraid, not when she had nothing to be afraid of. “Sleep with me.”

  Her eyes couldn’t hide their surprise. “It’s okay, Conway. But thank you.” She kept walking and reached the second floor.

  I walked with her. “I mean it.”

  “Really, it’s fine.” She reached the third floor then walked to her bedroom.

  I preferred the moments when she wanted me, when she would dig her nails into my chest possessively. I preferred her kisses and her warmth to her coldness. She’d become closer to me as the months passed, and every time she got too comfortable, I hit the brakes and pushed her away. I reminded her that she was just a woman I
owned, not a person I actually cared about.

  But I reaped what I sowed.

  And now she wasn’t turning to me when she needed me.

  I wanted her to need me. “Muse?”

  This time, she didn’t stop. “Good night, Conway.” She walked inside her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

  I stayed outside her door, knowing she’d given me a way out. I could just go to bed and forget this whole thing. I could enjoy my large bed alone and know she would get over this on her own. In the morning, we could both forget tonight ever happened.

  It would be so easy.

  But that was not what I wanted. I opened the door and walked inside.

  Muse had already taken her boots and jeans off. Her back was to me as she pulled her plaid shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground. I hadn’t visited her room often, but I noticed she was meticulously clean. There was never shoes or clothes on the ground. Her bathroom counters were always free of her makeup bag and her toothbrush. She cleaned up after herself like she was a guest in my home.

  But she wasn’t a guest. This was her home.

  She grabbed a nightshirt from her drawer and pulled it over her head, keeping her back to me.

  I knew she heard me, but she continued to ignore me.

  I pulled my clothes off then got underneath her covers. It was a king bed like my own, with the same mattress and sheets. The only difference was the color of the bedding. Her room was decorated in pink and gold, and mine remained in masculine tones of gray, black, and brown.

  When she turned around and looked at me, her surprise replaced her sadness. She stood in the long white t-shirt with her hair pulled over one shoulder. The puffiness of her eyes had gone down because the cool temperature decreased the swelling. But the devastation was still etched into her face, like carvings out of stone.

  I pulled back the covers on her side. “Get in.”

  It seemed like she might try to argue with me, might try to convince me that she didn’t need me. But there was no argument, and she got into bed beside me. She stuck to her side, lying on her back and looking at the ceiling. Then she turned off the lamp.

  I wrapped my arm around her waist and dragged her across the bed toward me.

  She didn’t fight me, but her breathing picked up.

  I positioned her against my chest, pulling her arm across my stomach and yanking her leg across my waist. I combined us together until we were a single person, her cold body slowly becoming warm because of mine. I rested my lips against her forehead and ran my hand up her toned thigh.

  After a minute, her body finally relaxed. Her hand gripped my side, and she released a quiet sigh. She adjusted her body a little before she was in the optimal position. Then she remained still, cuddled into my side.

  I kissed her forehead and ran my fingers through her hair. She was the softest woman I’d ever touched, with hair like silk and skin like rose petals. She had the prettiest blue eyes, the kind I could get lost in when I fucked her. For someone so pretty, she was very fierce. She’d been through a lot and never allowed it to get to her. But this dream broke her, made her run into the night for comfort.

  She’d wanted to run to me first.

  “You never have to be scared as long as I’m living.” I kept my lips against her forehead, letting my mouth brush against her skin as I spoke. “I will always protect you, Muse. I protect all my girls, but I’ll protect you most of all.”

  Her fingers felt the grooves of my stomach. “I know.”

  “Then don’t ever think about him. And you’ll never dream about him.”

  “I don’t,” she whispered. “But I guess it’s always lingering in the back of my mind.”

  “Don’t allow it to.”

  “Do you think he’ll come after me?”

  According to the Underground rules, he couldn’t. “No. We have rules for this sort of thing. If a master buys a slave, another master can’t steal her away. Once the transaction is complete, he has ownership. Otherwise, it would undermine the business of the Skull Kings. No one will go to their auctions if men will just steal slaves from each other.”

  “I can’t believe criminals have rules…”

  “Rules are always necessary. So, if he broke them, he wouldn’t be allowed to return to another auction.”

  “Yes…but he might not care.”

  Talking about this was only making her more upset. “Even if he doesn’t, he can’t cross me. It’s not possible. Not only am I rich and famous, but I’m very powerful. Carter and I have eyes and ears everywhere. If he ever comes within ten miles of you, I’ll know about it. Alright?”

  She didn’t speak.

  “Alright?” I pressed.

  “Alright.”

  I tilted her head back so we could see each other’s eyes. I raised my head up and kissed her on the mouth, felt the heat between our lips. Ever since the first time I’d felt her mouth with mine, the chemistry had been powerful. I’d kissed women before, and it never felt the way it did with her.

  Here I was, comforting this woman in her bed when I could have walked away. But I didn’t want to brush it off and pretend it never happened. I wanted this woman to break her chains and be free.

  She felt my mouth with hers, giving me purposeful kisses that were slow and sensual. Her hand glided into the back of my hair, and she felt the strands with her fingertips. Every time she touched me, my body lit on fire. I could feel the way she wanted me, the way her body responded to me on an innate level.

  My cock hardened underneath her leg, ballooning up until it grew to its full size. I couldn’t control my reactions to her. My cock had a mind of its own. When a beautiful woman like Muse was kissing me and touching me, there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  But I didn’t make a move, unsure if she wanted me to. It was one of the few times I let her make the decision. If I didn’t care about her, I would just go for it. But I didn’t want to be insensitive.

  And she made the move.

  She slowly rolled onto her back and pulled me with her.

  My mouth wanted to kiss her harder, but I kept my kisses slow and purposeful. My hands wanted to rip her panties off, and I wanted to fold her underneath me so I could fuck her deep and hard. But that didn’t feel right, so I resisted the urge.

  She pulled my boxers to my knees then ran her hands up my back. She spoke against my mouth as she kept kissing me. “Make love to me…”

  My mouth hesitated against hers for an instant as I processed what she said. I’d never made love to a woman in my life. It was all hard fucking and passionate screwing. It was about getting off, getting hot, sweaty, and satisfied.

  But not that romantic bullshit.

  I could tell her no. I had every right to do whatever I wanted. But I didn’t.

  I pulled her panties off then moved between her legs. My eyes locked on hers, and I separated her thighs with my knees before I pushed inside her. Even though she was emotional just minutes ago, she was wet for me when I felt her.

  I pushed through her wetness then slid inside, moving slowly as I inched farther.

  Her nails dug into my shoulders as she looked up at me, her lips slightly parted while her blue eyes were lit up like Christmas lights. She was such a sexy woman without even trying. If I could photograph her this way, my lingerie would always be out of stock.

  But I didn’t want to share her with the world.

  She was mine.

  I sank completely inside her until my balls touched her ass.

  She took a deep breath, her tits rising until her nipples touched my chest.

  I held myself over her and started to thrust, my lips brushing against hers as I kissed her softly. I rolled my hips with the movements, pushing all the way in before I pulled out again. Her pussy was so wet, so tight. She wasn’t as tight as she was when I first took her, but she was still petite. I enjoyed that smallness, that tightness.

  It felt incredible.

  She breathed into my mouth heavier
and harder, her ankles digging into my ass. Every time she took a deep breath, her nails cut into me a little harder. Her tits shook with my thrusts, and in the middle of her kiss, her lips would tremble.

  I knew she was going to come. It was the quickest she’d ever had an explosion. It was the quickest she’d ever been pushed over the edge. This was how she wanted me, nice and slow. She wanted my affection as well as my cock. She wanted my intimacy, my adoration. Muse didn’t care about my money or my wealth. All she wanted was me—the man underneath the suit.

  She sucked my bottom lip into her mouth before she gave me her tongue. It was small and wet, and she touched it to mine and breathed at the same time.

  Fuck, this was hot.

  I never knew sex could be this good when it was this slow.

  I felt her thighs squeeze against me and tremble. I felt her nipples harden even more against my chest. Her nails made small cuts into my skin, nearly drawing blood with their sharpness. Her pussy constricted, tightening around me even more.

  Fuck, I already wanted to come.

  Instead of concentrating on how quickly I could shove my dick inside her, I focused on her kiss and her touch. Those things were even more stimulating than the pussy wrapped around my dick. The wetness of her mouth was even better than the wetness of her cunt. I adored every feature she possessed, from her gorgeous legs to the beauty of her eyes. She was the sexiest woman on the planet, on the inside as well as the outside.

  “Come for me.” I needed her to explode. I needed her to finish. I couldn’t be one of those assholes that didn’t let their women go first. I’d never been that guy, and I didn’t want to start being him now.

  Especially to her.

  She gripped my back and pulled me completely inside her, taking in my entire length so she could come all around me. She dug her nails into me and then exploded, whimpering against my mouth as she hit her high and glided back down again.

  I held on as long as I could, enough to make sure she would enjoy every second of my thick dick. Then I came inside her a second later, exploding with a loud groan. I filled her with my come, feeling the satisfaction immediately spike in my veins. “Muse…” Her pussy was heaven to me, the only place I ever wanted to be. I buried my face into her neck as I finished, smelling her sweat as well as her perfume.