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  Much later.

  She watched, unblinking, as he dragged a thumb over the slit in the mushroomed head then pulled at the skin. A raw groan echoed in the room. His. Ever cupped her breasts, pinching the nipples. Her hips bucked. Dak mimicked her movements as he jerked himself off. Slick sounds filled the room, coupled with her whimpers and his ragged breathing. Unsteady legs brought her to the bed.

  Lying between his widened legs, Ever brought her face to his crotch and nuzzled. The musk of man and arousal went straight to her head, making her dizzy with want. Pre-cum poured from his cock and she flicked her tongue out, licking it off. Dak groaned. His cock bobbed and her clit pulsed a needy rhythm. The juncture of her thighs was slick with her juices.

  As Dak worked the length of his cock, Ever took one of his balls into her mouth. His hips rose off the bed. She cupped the other heavy sack and traced the seam with her fingernail.

  “Fuck. Ever, please…” His palm fluttered, stilled. Releasing his ball with a plop, she licked the fingers wrapped around his cock then worked her way upward to take the head of him into her mouth.

  He shuddered as she sucked. Salted honey filled her mouth, leaving behind a slightly bitter taste Ever savored. Nails raking his stomach, she ground her hips into the mattress as she bobbed her head and took him deep. To the back of her throat.

  Above her, Dak’s head thrashed back and forth, tense muscles bunched as he fought for control, but he should’ve realized by now she had it all. She smiled around the thickly veined cock in her mouth then grimaced when pain pinched her scalp. Dak gripped her hair, anchoring her to him as he lifted his hips and fucked her mouth. Hard, rough. She stayed in place, mouth open, as he plunged in and out. Ever felt his control fraying in the thick tension in the air. She saw it in the frenzied, almost staccato movement of his hips.

  Digging her fingers into the flesh of his buttocks, she hollowed her cheeks and tightened her lips around him. She slid a finger down the underside of his balls, skating over the sensitive flesh. His body grew taut. Ever pressed a finger over his anus, teasing the tight hole. One last throw of his hips and his low cry bounced off the walls. He froze and frothy cream flooded her mouth. Ever drank him down greedily, moaning as his cum slid down her throat. She slurped all of him down, sucking his cock dry.

  “Ev—” Dak’s hoarse voice broke. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Ever.”

  Wonder and something else was present in that one word. Tears welled up in her eyes, and damn it, she didn’t know why. It was only a skin thing, a scratching of the itch Dak created. Nothing more. Couldn’t be anything. She came here for a farewell fuck and that’s what she’d get.

  Rising to her knees, she crawled up Dak’s body and stood. Legs on either side of his body, Ever grabbed the headboard and lowered herself on his face. Without hesitation, he plunge his tongue deep inside her.

  “God.” Her body shook, legs trembled, and white heat sparked in her spine. His teeth nipped her clit and she fell forward, smashing her face into the padded headboard. Dak grabbed her ass and held her upright as he licked from her clit to her entrance and back.

  “Yes. Fuck.” Her head fell back and she pinched her nipples. “Dakota,” she whispered brokenly. “Dakota.”

  “Hmm.” He hummed against her wet flesh. Her body bowed and she grabbed his hair. Dak lifted her ass off his face and inserted two fingers into her cunt. Ever cried out, but her hips were already at work riding his fingers. He finger-fucked her while circling her clit with his tongue. Slurping sounds told how wet she was, how needy. Lifting even higher off his fingers, she sank back down on them, now three. The slight burn didn’t make her pause, but her walls fluttered and contracted wildly.

  “Motherfuck, Dakota.” The groan sounded from far away. “You’re killing me.”

  Pressure on her clit turned her legs to liquid as heat blossomed in her center and spread. Violent tremors raced through her body. “God. God.” Screams tore from her throat, the orgasm tearing her body apart. The force off it threw her backward. She ended up lying on Dak’s chest, ass on his chin, shaking legs around his neck.

  Dak smoothed a hand over her quivering midsection as she blinked the stars from her eyes and fought to breathe.

  When Ever was finally able to move, she turned around on the bed, laying her head on Dak’s sweaty chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Her eyelids drooped as she reminded herself she needed to be gone from Dak’s bed, and his life, by morning. The steady thumping of his heart lured her into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Four

  A soft, wet sensation at the base of her spine woke her. Disoriented, she lifted her head and blinked sunlight out of her eyes. It took a moment for the room to become familiar, and then the racing of her pulse drowned out any other sound.

  She was in Dakota’s bed. Ever groaned silently. This was going to be a bitch.

  Firm lips pressed into her spine, then Dakota used his tongue to trace the curve of her left hip and moved upward. He was kissing and licking her tattoos.

  “Wake up, sleepy,” he murmured. “Breakfast is served.”

  She narrowed her eyes even though he couldn’t see. “Am I breakfast?”

  His low chuckle vibrated on her skin. “Do you want to be? Cause I’ve got no problems with that.” Sliding a palm down the expanse of her back, he caressed her ass. “Spend the day with me.”

  The fuck? Ever scrambled to a sitting position, facing him. God, such a mistake. Those dark eyes were heavy-lidded, aroused. His mess of hair framed his face and hung to his shoulders. Naked shoulders. Bronzed, smooth, and well-muscled. Damn, the man was full on naked. She felt her defenses flying away on the morning breeze.

  Food sat on a tray at the foot of the bed, but she ignored it. What kind of shit was that? Is this was how he treated his one night stands?

  Ever swallowed and met his eyes forcefully. “Let’s not make this bigger than it was, hmm? I have to leave.”

  His jaw worked. Though he tried to keep his expression passive. Ever caught the surprise and brief flash of hurt before he smoothed it away. “You can certainly eat before you leave, Ever. Or is that making this bigger, too?”

  The words were hard, emotionless, sparking regret she fought to suppress. Spending time with Ian Dakota spelt trouble for her and Wes. And she’d die before she allowed anyone to hurt Wes.

  Choosing her words carefully, Ever said, “Sorry, I don’t eat breakfast.” She hopped off the bed, naked ass and tits jiggling. The heat of his stare felt like a brand on her skin as she grabbed her clothes off the floor.

  “Ever.”

  She ignored the low rumble and made a mad dash to what she hoped was the bathroom. Saved for the moment, she slammed the door and pulled at her hair. Damn, why had she come here last night? And why the hell was it so hard to walk away from this man? No one made her feel like he did. Could be the amazing sex talking. Lord knows she’d never been fucked this good.

  Deciding she needed to wash away his touch, Ever turned on the water and stepped into the shower, closing the sliding glass doors behind her. As the warm water saturated her skin, she thought back to the day her life had changed so dramatically three years ago. The day he called. She and Wes thought they were finally rid of him, but that proved to be false.

  After all the pain visited on her in Ireland, he still held her prisoner, and they weren’t even on the same continent. He was the man behind the scenes, the Ghost, while she and Wes were up front. The faces of the operation.

  In return for not killing Wes, or maybe for not turning him over to the cops, they had to operate his business while he raked in the money. Though he started the business to make money, it was no longer all about that.

  This arrangement was her prison. Her punishment for crimes she’d never even thought to commit against him. More confining than the room he’d locked her in for a week.

  Still, she’d do it for Wes. He’d saved her life on more than one occasion, holding her ha
nd through the darkest times.

  Ever choked up, soaping her body roughly. She cursed herself for allowing Dakota inside her defenses. Now she couldn’t get him out of her head or the imprint of his touch off her skin. After rinsing off, she held up a hand in front of her face. It trembled.

  “Goddamn it.” Tears streamed down her face as she pulled aside the shower door. A gasp fell from frozen lips. Dak stood with a hip against the doorway, staring unblinking at her. Ever didn’t move, she couldn’t. Instead, she covered her eyes with a shaky hand and words poured from her.

  “I can’t wash you away, you’re under my skin.” Tears clogged her throat. “I need to not be near you, but I can’t—”

  “Then don’t.” His voice sounded closer, like he stood mere inches away. The heat swirling around her told her the same need rode him equally as hard.

  Ever’s entire body shook, but she refused to open her eyes, afraid she’d crumble at his feet. Rough fingers grasped her chin and a finger brushed her bottom lip. She forgot to breathe. Molten heat slicked the juncture of her thighs and her nipples beaded.

  “Ever, look at me.”

  The pleading command lifted her eyelids. Dark eyes clashed with hers, need and desire present and so beautiful. Her lips parted and he was on her, sliding his tongue into her mouth, sipping from her, branding her with his lips. Ever sobbed into the kiss. She put her hands on his to push him off, but the instant her fingers touched the smooth skin, they curled, nails digging, marking. Staking claim.

  The kiss turned frenzied, each trying to devour the other. Dak grabbed her ass, and Ever lifted one leg then the other, wrapping them around his narrow waist. He staggered back toward the open door as she wiggled on the rigid cock rubbing her pussy. In the bathroom doorway, he stopped and braced against the frame. Bending his head, he took a nipple in his mouth, biting, punishing. Ever clawed at his shoulders, back arched, soaked pussy sliding over the hard length of him.

  Sinking her nails into his back for purchase, she lifted her lower half off and positioned herself over his hardness. The smooth tip slid into her inch by torturous inch. All Dak’s movement ceased. Ever opened her eyes to find his stare on her face, his eyes glowing, almost feral. The look on his face said she was his. She opened her mouth to deny it, call him a liar, but he kissed her. Tongues mating, she eased the rest of the way down his cock and rocked into him.

  One of his hard arms locked her tightly against him, the other pinched her nipple, rolled it between his fingers. Mewling cries left her throat as she rode the cock hitting all her sweet spots. Dakota’s grunts echoed in the room. Ever would never tire of hearing him voice his pleasure. The pleasure she gave him.

  He broke away from her lips, dropping hurried kisses across her cheek and down her neck, all the while murmuring the words she longed to hear, didn’t want to hear. “You’re mine, Ever. I’m keeping you.”

  Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. It was only the heat of the moment talking. She wasn’t free, and besides, Ian Dakota would never settle down with someone like her.

  His teeth sank into her neck. Screams tore from her throat as her orgasm crashed over her.

  “Motherfuck.” Dak groaned as his hips sped up. A warm gush flooded her insides, an unwelcome reminder of all the mistakes she’d made lately. She practically jumped out of his arms.

  Fighting to stand on wobbly knees, Ever held up a hand when he moved to hold her. “No.” She grabbed her clothes and pulled them on with jerky movements. Fully dressed, she turned to find him in the same spot, arms folded across his chest, semi-hard cock still glistening with a mixture of his cum and her juices.

  Ever licked her lips. “I’m leaving now.” A sharp pain seared her chest and she inhaled sharply, clasping a hand over her heart. “I won’t be coming back.” His gaze darkened and he opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “Please, Dakota,” she whispered brokenly.

  Walking past him, she entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, tugging on her shoes. Dak watched, the air simmering with violence. She ignored him and walked out his bedroom door, and hopefully out of his life.

  Chapter Five

  “You just left?” Wes’s incredulous words matched his narrowed eyes as he stared Ever down.

  Why the hell was he so surprised? Wasn’t he the one who said to purge Dakota? She was purging, damn it. “Was I supposed to break my fast with him, Wes?” She shoveled cereal into her mouth and chewed. “The fucking man doesn’t take no for an answer. And who feeds their one night stands anyway?”

  Wes’s lips twitched, but mercifully he remained silent. She squinted up at him. “I can hear you thinking. You need to stop living out your evil fantasies through me.”

  Color rode his cheekbones. “Dakota isn’t my fantasy, he’s yours.”

  Ever grunted. She wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. “Tonight I’ll take you out on the town, get you some cock so you can forget about me and uh…whatshisname.”

  “We’re going out because we need distractions. Any cock getting on my part will be my doing, not yours.” Getting to his feet, Wes picked up a titanium briefcase from the floor and placed it on the dining table. “Contrary to your meal of choice, it’s after seven pm and you have an appointment.”

  She grimaced. “Cruz can wait.” Cruz Doriaye was a buyer she’d made the mistake of smiling at once. The green-eyed fool hadn’t stopped trying to get in her pants since. She’d always held him off with the whole don’t shit where you eat mantra, but she’d well and truly fucked that one out the window.

  “I’d rather he didn’t have to.” Wes kissed her cheek. “Don’t forget the vest.” He insisted she wear a bulletproof vest whenever doing face-to-face transactions. Like her head wouldn’t be an acceptable target. She jerked her chin in a nod.

  Ever made sure to finish her cereal before taking a shower and heading out, flanked in the tinted SUV by the two bodyguards Wes had hired. She didn’t think she needed bodyguards, but Wes was a stickler for protection. It didn’t matter where she was, his people were everywhere. They could lash out at any time.

  The scent of salt water drifted to her on a breeze as they neared the abandoned docks. Giant carrier containers lined the dark entryway, all empty. The driver pulled the SUV to a stop between a dilapidated boathouse and one of the carriers. Ever unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward, searching out the flash of blue light Cruz used as his signal.

  Nothing came.

  She frowned then checked her watch and the time on the vehicle’s dashboard just to be sure. It was the time they’d agreed to meet, yet Cruz was nowhere around. Unease prickled her spine. In the three years they’d been doing this, Cruz had never been late.

  Bodyguard One—the driver—looked at her. “What do you want me to do, ma’am?”

  “Give it another five minutes.” She buckled her seat belt and crossed her arms over her chest. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t call me ma’am.”

  When they left the docks eight minutes later, Cruz still hadn’t put in an appearance, and the bad feeling Ever couldn’t shake grew progressively worse.

  ****

  “Why do you think he didn’t show?” Wes asked her.

  Ever shrugged with feigned nonchalance. “Who knows? The bastard better have a good reason, else I’m cutting him off.” She downed the remaining drops of the Margarita in her glass and signaled the bartender for another. They sat in a booth at one of the newly opened clubs in downtown Chicago. Practically empty when they first showed up, the place was now bursting at the seams with weekend partygoers. A few feet away, sweaty bodies writhed on the dance floor to the latest head banging music. She kept a wary eye on the room and people around her. Though she didn’t want to admit it, something was definitely off about Cruz’s no-show.

  “Hopefully it’s nothing major.” Wes swigged his beer. “You know he uses his boat to move around, maybe something happened.”

  “Then he should’ve called or send up a freaking flare or something.”
She shifted in her seat. “He knows better than to not show.” Damn it, a bunch of scenarios for Cruz’s absence played out in her head, none of them good.

  “Okay. You’ll ream him a new one at a later date.” Wes leaned over the table and covered her hand with his. “We came to get me laid, remember?” His wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Fine.” She smiled reluctantly and waved a hand at the room. “See anything you like?” Wes was right, she’d deal with Cruz another day.

  “Well…” Wes pursed his lips as his eyes roamed the crowd. “There’s a hot piece of Italian ass staring at me over your shoulder.”

  Ever grinned. “So, what’s the hold-up?”

  “Not a damn thing.” Wes drained his beer and slid out of the booth.

  “Are you safe?” she asked. “And I’m not talking just rubbers.”

  On his feet, he smoothed a hand over his chest and nodded. “I am.”

  “Go get him then. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  Wes smiled and disappeared into the crowd. Ever watched him leave as she sipped her second margarita. Wes deserved a few minutes of reprieve, a quiet moment or two of pleasure. They’d refused themselves the chance for a long time, too caught up in the life they now led. A life neither of them had chosen. Until they found a way to get out from under his thumb, they had no choice but to continue.

  Didn’t mean she had to like it, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to stop until she found a way out. Wes deserved it. She deserved it.

  Fuck, as things stood now, they had no kind of life whatsoever outside of the business. She needed out. How else could she explain her behavior with Ian Dakota? Her heart lurched at the thought of Dakota. Man, if only. If only she wasn’t who she was, and he wasn’t the criminal he was.

  “Are you drinking all alone, pretty lady?”

  She jerked her gaze to the greased-up, smooth-faced idiot sliding into her booth. “Yes and I prefer it that way, so fuck off.”