The Scotch Queen: Book Two Read online

  “You would say that even if it weren’t true.”

  “But it is true,” I said. “I’m not defending Crewe because he’s a bad man…but he does have compassion, empathy, and a heart. I’ve seen it myself. If he really were evil, he would have given me to Bones. I prefer Crewe any day.”

  Joseph stayed quiet, still not believing me.

  I couldn’t come out and say Crewe and I were having amazing sex, that our chemistry was scorching and I trusted him to take care of me. So I didn’t say anything more about it. “Crewe is having a grand opening for his distillery in Edinburgh. It sounds like there’s gonna be a lot of people there. Maybe we can cross paths.”

  “I can make it happen. I know the area you’re referring to. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

  “Don’t get caught. If you do, it’ll blow everything for me.”

  “I won’t,” he said with confidence. “I’ll think of a plan over the week. Maybe I can get you out of there that night.”

  “Out of there?” I asked. “There’s no way you can take me away without him killing you.”

  “But you said he’s been falling for you.”

  “Yeah…so what?”

  “Maybe he won’t do it. Maybe he won’t have the balls to hit the trigger.”

  In most instances, Crewe was an honorable guy. He was helping Crow and Cane get their sister back even though he didn’t owe them anything, and he took care of me every single day. There was a good chance he wouldn’t do it. But when Crewe was pissed off…there was no telling what he might do. “I’m not willing to take that chance.”

  “Well, I am. I’d much rather die than let him keep you any longer.”

  Maybe this phone call was a bad idea. “I’m not going with you, so don’t bother.”

  “You don’t have a choice, London. If I see a chance to get you out of there, I’m gonna take it.”

  “No.” Joseph was more stubborn than I was. When he put his mind to something, he never changed it. “We aren’t doing that. We’ll figure something else out. I just need a little more time with him, and I can make things happen.”

  “There’s no way to know if he’ll go that soft. I honestly don’t think he ever will. He has too much pride. This is our only choice.”

  “Joseph, no. If you come for me, I won’t cooperate.”

  “I’ll make you cooperate. You’re all the family I have left, London. I’m not letting that piece of shit touch you any longer.”

  I couldn’t let this happen. “If this plan backfires and you die, then I would have spent six months with this man for no reason. All my time would have been wasted. That can’t be an option.”

  “London, this is all we have. This is our one shot, and I’m willing to take a gamble on this guy.”

  I wanted to scream. “You took a gamble on him the first time, and look where we ended up.”

  Joseph didn’t have a comeback for that.

  “And when someone crosses him, he doesn’t sweep it under the rug. He’ll never forget it. I don’t think we can rely on his compassion for this. Our best hope is for me to talk to him when I think he’s ready.”

  Joseph was quiet over the line as he considered what he said. “You’re aren’t risking anything. I’m getting you out of there. End of story.”

  “Joseph—”

  “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  “Joseph!”

  He hung up.

  When the line went dead against my ear, I knew he was gone. The blood drained from my face when I realized the mess I’d gotten myself into. I never should have called him. I should have known he would risk his life to get me away from Crewe. I underestimated him.

  Crewe walked into the courtyard at that moment, announcing the end of my ten minutes.

  I pretended my brother was still on the line. “Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Crewe sat on the bench beside me and draped his arm over the back of the chair.

  “Love you too.” I pulled the phone from my ear and acted like I hit the end button. Now I had to pretend that I didn’t just get myself into a nightmare. Joseph was organizing his own plan to sneak me out of the opening, but I wasn’t sure if Crewe was as soft as I hoped he was. If he did feel something for me, he might be ticked that I was taken away. I really had no idea.

  I handed the phone back. “Thanks for letting me call him.”

  “Yeah.” He dropped it into his pocket. “Didn’t see the harm.”

  There was a lot of harm in it, actually.

  “I might let you call him again sometime.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “What did you guys talk about?”

  Nothing I could share. “He told me he had a date the other night. Said he liked her, but it could never go anywhere…because of what he does. It was the first time we’ve ever spoken and he was honest with me. Kinda feels like I’m talking to another person.”

  Crewe nodded like he understood. “It must be a drastic change.”

  “Insurance salesman…” I shook my head. “I should have known that was bogus. Too boring for a guy like him.”

  “I don’t know about that,” he said. “If someone wants to hide something, they will.”

  “So what exactly happened with the two of you?” I knew the basics, not the specifics.

  “He crossed me,” he said coldly. “That’s about it.”

  “What intelligence did he want?”

  “He wanted to know more about the leader of Austria. He never told me why.”

  I couldn’t wrap my mind around that. Joseph was involved in criminal affairs. He bought intelligence for millions of dollars and used it in horrible ways. It was like I didn’t know my brother at all.

  “We made the deal. He brought the money, and my men brought the paperwork. I didn’t check the money because I think it’s rude to assume you’re making a deal with a crook. But an hour later, I realized the bills were fake. And that’s when I launched my attack.” He stared across the courtyard and into the darkness up ahead. The lights from the castle allowed us to see the stone walkways and flowers. “I can’t let people get away with stuff like that. People talk. Everyone in my universe knows I’ve taken you as payment. Now no one else will fuck with me.”

  I shook my head. “What did he think was gonna happen? That you weren’t gonna notice?”

  He shrugged. “Possibly thought I wouldn’t notice for a day or two. And he assumed he would be off the radar so I couldn’t find him again. Ironically, I was never planning on going after him. I’m a man who finds information, and it didn’t take long for me to find out about you. Stupid mistake on his part.” His hand returned to the back of my hair, and he massaged my scalp with his fingertips. “But I think I came out ahead in the deal. You’re worth more than four million dollars.”

  It was a sweet thing to say in a very twisted way.

  He turned my face in his direction and leaned in to kiss me. It was full of affection and kindness rather than possession. That was how he always kissed me, with gentleness. “Ready for dinner?”

  It took a second for me to answer the question because that kiss was still heavy in my mind. “Yeah…” I leaned in farther and kissed him again, wanting more of that affection he lavished me with. Letting me call my brother was a compassionate thing to do, especially since my intentions were anything but innocent. I felt a twinge of guilt for what I had done, especially since Joseph was moving forward with a plan I never agreed to.

  Crewe kissed me back with the same passion, his hand gliding up my neck until his thumb rested just behind my ear. “You wanna skip dinner?”

  “No, I’m starving. But let’s postpone it.”

  He smiled against my mouth. “Sounds good to me.”

  I crawled on my hands and knees on the bed and looked at him over my shoulder.

  He moved on top of me and pressed his chest to my back, his skin warm and his physique powerful. His lips moved down my neck until they found my mouth. He
kissed me hard as he rubbed his cock between my ass cheeks.

  My pussy was soaked, and I was eager for him to be inside me. I loved his kisses and his caresses, but the foreplay had gone on long enough. I didn’t need much to get my engine revving, not when it came to Crewe.

  He grabbed my shoulder, rolled me to my back, and moved between my legs. His hands pinned mine to the mattress on either side of my head, and his hips separated my knees.

  I’d assumed he wanted my ass in his face, but he quickly changed the dynamic.

  He read the question in my eyes. “I love watching you come.” He wrapped my legs around his hips and made my ankles lock together. His body returned to mine, and he slid his cock inside me without opposition, my channel slick and wet, but also tight.

  “Oh god…” My hands reached out to his chest for support the second I felt him stretch me. I saw stars in my eyes, and my breathing quickened instantly. I squeezed my thighs around his hips, and my nails dug into him slightly.

  He rocked into me slowly, his eyes on me the entire time. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.” His mocha colored eyes were darker in the dimly lit bedroom, but the passion was burning brighter than ever before. He looked like a king as he held himself with ease on top of me, the beads of sweat starting at his temples.

  “Crewe…” The confession went straight to my heart. He wasn’t the same man that I met when I first came into his captivity. He was coarse and sarcastic, empty and rude. He never had anything even somewhat pleasant to say, and now all those walls of malcontent had disappeared. He made sure no one ever laid a hand on me, and he never hurt me himself. I was the only woman in his bed because he wanted me to be the only one. I’d accomplished the impossible and knew it was an impressive feat. But in that instant, I didn’t care about my success. I cared about the moment I shared with him, the feeling of our bodies moving together in perfect harmony. I loved every inch of him, and there was never a time I felt more connected to him than when we were fucking.

  Or making love.

  My arms circled his neck, and I pulled his lips to mine for a kiss. My tits rubbed against his muscular chest, feeling the light amount of curly hair brush against my soft skin. I could feel his sweat, the strength of his body.

  His tongue moved in my mouth, never overstaying its welcome as it moved with mine. He retracted his tongue then kissed my lips again, feeling them with purpose. His kiss was never predictable, never the same. He always moved with his passion, giving me a different kind of affection every time he embraced. I could feel his arousal, the way I turned him on when we touched.

  And that turned me on in a whole new way.

  “I want your come,” I whispered against his mouth, wanting to feel that heavy weight of seed deep inside me. I wanted to sleep with his essence sitting inside my body all night long.

  He moaned against my mouth and kept moving.

  I didn’t need to come twice tonight. I was satisfied from the way he took me earlier in the day. Now I just wanted us to both find our release at the same time, to feel that ecstasy that we gave one another.

  He changed his thrusts and ground against my clit with his movements, trying to bring me to orgasm as quickly as possible. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth as his breathing quickened, the headboard tapping against the wall in a rhythm that matched his pace.

  His expression darkened, and his jaw tensed, fighting the pleasure that started deep in his core. He was fighting off an orgasm, trying to edge himself until I could cross the finish line before him.

  Seeing him fight his pleasure only increased mine. He was the sexiest man I’d ever been with, making me explode with every touch he gave. When I slept beside him every night, I knew nothing would ever happen to me. I felt safer with him than anywhere else in the entire world.

  “I’m gonna come…”

  “Yes, Lovely.” He rocked into me harder.

  It hit me hard, like a train crashing into a brick building. My hands dug into his shoulders, and I released a restrained scream. His cock hardened inside me as I constricted around him, and I was hit with different waves of pleasures. I writhed and moaned, loving how incredible he made me feel. “Crewe…” I dug my fingers into his ass and pulled him harder into me, still feeling the remains of the blinding orgasm. Now I wanted to feel his come.

  He gave a few swift pumps before he reached his threshold. He buried himself deep inside me and released with a loud moan. His expression hardened as his eyes focused on me. His jawline was tight, and all the muscles in his body flexed as the euphoria swept through him. “Lovely…” He deposited everything he had inside my channel, filling me with the mounds of come I was used to getting before we went to sleep.

  My fingers returned to his hair as I kissed him, silently thanking him for giving me the most incredible orgasm to date. My lips treasured the corner of his mouth and everywhere else, even the stubble on his chin.

  He moved his face into the valley of my breasts and kissed the sweat away, his lips sucking each of my nipples into his mouth and giving them a playful nibble. He pulled his softening cock out, leaving his deposit behind.

  He got off me and lay on his back beside me, his chest rising and falling from his heavy breathing. He stared at the ceiling with his hand resting on his chest.

  I moved to the other side and immediately felt sleepy. I never skipped a meal, but now I couldn’t care less about eating. I was so comfortable where I was, my eyes fluttering as sleep overtook me.

  Minutes later, Crewe moved to my side of the bed and spooned me from behind. His actions had become predictable, and I was used to feeling his arms around me while we slept all night.

  I turned around and faced him, my arm circling his neck and my leg hooking around his waist.

  His hand wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me closer to him, making sure there wasn’t an inch of empty space between us. We were stuck together like glue, becoming one person with our bodies wrapped around one another. “No dinner tonight?”

  I sighed. “Too tired.”

  “I’m too comfortable to move anyway.”

  I closed my eyes and felt the cloud of sleep instantly descend. I was slipping away into the darkness, my body relaxing from the way Crewe kept me warm. I felt his lips brush against my forehead before he planted a kiss just above the middle of my eyebrows. His lips were warm and wet, and the embrace lasted for seconds.

  Now I was awake again, warmed by the unexpected affection he gave me. Joy radiated through me when I realized I accomplished something I never thought was possible. But then the guilt quickly followed afterward. The more Crewe softened for me, the more I softened for him. I felt loyalty to this man when I shouldn’t feel anything. I felt jealousy when I shouldn’t care where he was or who he was with.

  I felt everything when I shouldn’t feel anything.

  10

  Crewe

  “Crewe, you have a moment?” Ariel poked her head inside my office.

  “I always have a moment for you.”

  She smiled and walked inside, looking elegant in her tight skirt and blouse. She always looked perfectly manicured every time I saw her. Even when I needed something from her in the middle of the night, she looked as elegant as a queen. “Have I ever told you you’re my favorite boss?” She sat down and crossed her legs.

  “No. But I assumed. What’s up?”

  “I have the hairdresser and makeup artist lined up for London.” The second she was mentioned, Ariel’s mood soured. “And I strongly encourage the etiquette course. Should I set that up as well?”

  I knew London would never go for it. Besides, she was perfect the way she was. “That won’t be necessary.”

  Ariel made the note without objection, but her jaw tightened in annoyance. “Very well. And you’re still certain you want to take her? There’s going to be a lot of respectable people there.”

  I’d assured Ariel nothing serious was going on between London and me. In fact, I gave her my wo
rd. But now everything was changing, and I wasn’t even sure what was going on. It would be easier to take Sasha or someone else, but I didn’t want another woman on my arm. London wouldn’t want that either. “Yes, I’m certain.”

  Ariel hid her annoyance again, but I knew her so well that it was obvious she was ticked.

  “You should bring someone, Ariel. It’s a social function, after all.” I never met any of the men in her life. She never talked about her personal life, even when I asked questions. I understood her need for professionalism, but we were still friends. I cared about her as a person, not just a business partner.

  “I may.”

  “That’s great. I’d love to meet him.”

  She only smiled in response.

  “I might give him a bit of an interrogation, but I’m sure he can handle it. If he’s with you, he must be pretty solid.”

  Her smile didn’t drop. “We’ll see.” She rose from the chair, standing on her heels with an ease that implied she was barefoot. “Need anything else?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “You know where to find me.” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

  My thoughts turned to London once I was alone. That woman was on my mind constantly, even when I was in the middle of a business meeting. Like a cloud that hung over my head, she followed me everywhere I went.

  Letting her speak to her brother was an impulse decision. Maybe I would regret it later, but I suspected I wouldn’t. He thought his life could be claimed at any point in time when my thumb decided to hit the trigger. London would never jeopardize her brother’s life, and Joseph wouldn’t cross me again.

  I wondered if the threat on Joseph’s life wasn’t the only reason London was with me.

  That she wanted to be with me.

  Every time we were together, it seemed different. She wanted me all to herself, she wanted me to spend all of her free time with me, and she looked at me like I was the only man in the world who mattered.

  I wondered if her feelings had grown from hatred, to lust…and to something more.