Eternal Hearts (29 page)

Apparently, he was a little too happy.

She tipped her head back to look up at him, but as soon as his smiling face came into view she got a mouthful of his tongue instead. She smiled around it, but groaned when it slid away as he rolled her onto her stomach. Before she even realized what he was doing, she was on her knees with him bent over her from behind, the weight of his body making her ache to feel him inside her again.

She moaned when all at once he forced his knees between hers, pulled her back against his chest, and then granted her wish. She reached up and sank her hands into his hair as his thick, full cock stretched her until she wasn’t sure she could take any more. Hot needles of pleasure prickled her skin as the rough pads of his thumbs found her nipples.

“How many strokes does it take?” he asked, his stubble tickling her ear. But when he grabbed her hips and slowly pulled out then slammed back into her, she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“One.
Two.
Three.”

“Oh God…”

“Four. Five...”

Six was stalled by the screaming doorbell.

“I’m gonna rip that damn thing out of the wall,” Drake growled against her ear.

“Only if you get to it before I do.” She started to pull away from him but didn’t get very far.

“Six.”

Toni sank her teeth into her own bottom lip when Drake resumed his count by thrusting back inside her, deeper than she thought possible. Ecstasy coiled around the bottom of her spine. Excitement rushed and danced around every nerve.

“Seven. Eight.”

She smiled when eight made her teeth click together, but froze when the next word wasn’t a number…

“I know you’re in there! I can hear you breathing!” a familiar voice yelled.

Toni fisted her hands in Drake’s hair. “We have to stop. That’s Clint!”

“Nine.”

Obviously he must not have heard her, because nine filled her with so much burning sensual tension that it forced a moan so loud past her lips, she was afraid the people on the street heard it.

“What if Daddy.
Ten.
Finds out what I did.
Eleven.
To his innocent little girl?”

She tried to fight back against the erotic assault, tried to ignore the delicious feel of Drake inside her. “We have to stop. I can’t…while he’s out there. I just can’t.”

“No?” He rolled his hips hard. “Twelve.”

Toni shook her head, but wasn’t at all convinced as that exquisite pressure laced with anticipation built between her thighs. She was so close…so damningly close.

Drake’s breath seared her ear as he pulled one of her hands from his hair and used their entwined fingers to stroke her clit. “This is what you do to me. Feel it.” He moved her hand a bit lower then pressed her fingers against his hard shaft. “Thirteen.”

Toni shivered and moaned again at the sensation of his wet cock sliding inside her. He made her so wet and spread her so wide that she could feel herself quivering against their fingers. She’d never felt anything so sexy, so wildly erotic.

What he did to her was incredible.

“Fourteen.”

She pulled on the hand still in his hair when he groaned and ground his hips hard against her.

“Come on! I’m too old to stand out here in the hall for long periods of time. My legs are starting to hurt!”

“Do what he says, Toni.
Fifteen.
Come.”

Toni gasped and arched her back as waves of orgasmic bliss tore through her. She barely noticed Drake’s hand cover her mouth as her body contracted around him while he tautly rubbed her clit. And the man didn’t stop until he’d wrung every drop of pleasure, every whimper of satisfaction, from her shaking body.

His heated lips curved against her ear. “Fifteen it is.”

Heat burned a trail across her cheeks as Drake pulled out of her then worked her tank top down her arms. She watched him as he laid her back and slid her pants on, unable to tear her eyes away from the man who’d just made her feel like a dirty little teenager.

He grinned as clothes appeared on his body. “You better let him in.”

Feeling far too comfortable under Drake’s intense stare, Toni jumped off the bed and ran for the door. If she didn’t go now, Clint might be out there for days.

She opened the door to find Clint looking about as bored as she’d ever seen him, holding a gray garment bag in his right hand.

He frowned at her. “It’s about damn time.”

She ignored his comment. “What the hell is that?”

“This is what you need to wear when you talk to Christian, who is requesting to see you immediately. Now, can I actually come
into
the room or do I have to stand out here all night?”

She moved to the side so he could pass then closed the door behind him. “Why does he want to see me immediately? I’m not in trouble am I? I haven’t even done anything – I swear.”

Clint’s green eyes narrowed on Drake for a moment before his gaze slid back over her. “I don’t know what you’ve done, although I could probably guess.” He shook his head as he drew a heavy breath. “Anyway, I was chatting with Christian this afternoon and he asked me to make sure you had something suitable to wear. He also asked me to pass along that he’d like to speak with you as soon as possible.”

Fire erupted in Toni’s cheeks. Did Clint really need to embarrass her more by inferring something had happened between her and Drake? Damn him! She hated how he always seemed to know everything. And she hated knowing he could stay awake all day even more.

If she and Drake had been awake all day…

She immediately derailed the naughty-train and refocused both her mind and her attention back on Clint. “Christian doesn’t sleep either?”

“Nope, he’s old too.” He turned to Drake. “Don’t you have some place else to go? I’m sure Derek would like to talk to you.”

When Drake gave Clint a curt nod and his leather coat appeared, Toni moved to stand in front of him. “Are you leaving?”

He smiled down at her. “I have some things to check up on. I’ll be back in a few hours though.”

She reached up and let the silky strands of his hair slide between her fingers. “I’ll be back here after I’m done talking to Christian.”

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he leaned down and pulled her into his arms. She sighed as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before he released her. “I’ll see you in a little bit then.”

The moment Drake walked out the door, Toni instantly felt like she was missing a vital part of her body. She didn’t know how he’d come to mean so much to her in such little time, she only knew that he did.

“Well, well, well…it looks like my little girl is growing up,” Clint said as he sniffed and rubbed his nose. “I knew this day would come. I told myself I wouldn’t cry, but now that it’s here…I’m devastated.” He pouted and tipped his head back before he clutched a hand to his chest. “I just don’t know what to do without you!”

Toni rolled her eyes. For anyone who wondered where her award winning wit came from…

Behold, Clint – the King of Sarcasm.

She reached out and tapped the middle of his forehead, hoping it would serve as an off button. “You’re way too old to act like a teenager. I don’t care what you look like.”

He flashed a grin. “Okay, I’ll stop. Here,” he said as he held the garment bag out towards her. But when she just stared at it, he shook it. “It’s not going to bite you.”

She arched a brow. “It might not bite me, but it damn sure might kill me.” When he gave her a fatherly look that said he was tiring of her banter, she returned the childish reply that seemed to fit the situation best. She stuck her tongue out at him.

He shook the bag even harder.

Realizing she had nowhere to run, Toni reluctantly took his offering and stared through one eye as she unzipped it. Maybe it was a pantsuit…

Maybe flew right out the window and crashed into a damn tree when she caught sight of the full length, black velvet evening gown. She frowned as she pulled the dress from the bag. Not only was it a full length, but it had spaghetti straps, a straight neckline, and a long slit up the side.
A she’d-be-lucky-if-she-didn’t-show-everyone-her-ass kind of slit.

“Wow. Thanks, Clint. I’ve always wanted to look like a high class hooker. I hope 8-Ball isn’t there, he’ll probably try to bite me.”

Clint laughed. “I tried to pick one that was simple yet elegant. And I think I did rather well since I knew you’d hate whatever I brought you.”

“At least it doesn’t have sequins or frilly things.” She poked at the fabric. “And you did pick the right color. Considering what you could have done to me…I guess I really shouldn’t complain.”

“I even went with a nice two inch heel,” he said as he pulled a box from the bottom of the bag and held it out. “They match the dress.”

She offered him her sweetest smile. “Great. So instead of looking like a hooker, I’ll look like Lolita, Barbie’s ethnic cousin.” She let the façade slip away as she shook her head. “Wouldn’t Christian rather talk to me as…me? What do my clothes really have to do with anything?”

Clint’s face took on a stern countenance, the old vampire inside shining through. “It has to do with you showing him that you can do what he asks, which ties directly to your willingness to follow the rules. If you’ll go out of your comfort zone to wear the appropriate attire, then he’s more likely to believe you’ll do the same if faced with a more important choice.”

She glared between him and the dress before settling firmly back on him. There was only one choice he could be referring to. “This dress has nothing to do with watching my family die. It has even less to do with the
choice
I made afterwards. I think I’ll just wear a t-shirt and jeans.”

“It’s about the gesture!” When Clint’s fist cracked against his open palm, Toni instinctively jumped. “It’s about you doing exactly what the Lord of Chicago asks of you, whether you like it or not. This isn’t about your family, Toni. This isn’t about Oktober or Stryker. And this most certainly isn’t about what you want. This is about what you’re willing to do to prove to Christian that you’re serious, and that you didn’t crawl back in here just to get revenge.”

“I didn’t crawl back!”

“You didn’t? I don’t remember hearing about a formal letter of intent, penned by Toni Tutoro. I also don’t recall the Warrior Elder Councilor approaching Christian to properly address your petition for return.”

Toni rolled her eyes. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

He nodded. “It might be, but that’s the
right
way to do things. Don’t get me wrong, in the darkest parts of my
unbeating
heart, I’m absolutely tickled that you broke the rules. I’m as happy as a pig in shit that you went to Brick, your family, and somehow managed to worm your way into a meeting with Christian. I love it. But had you followed the proper channels there wouldn’t be a meeting…there wouldn’t be a test. If you’d followed the rules, you’d have gotten a handwritten letter from Christian accepting you back into city well before you even got here.”

Toni tossed the dress and shoes on the couch. “How the hell am I supposed to know all that? Huh? Besides, where the hell would he send a letter, Clint? I didn’t have a fucking address. I didn’t have a fucking home!”

Clint leaned forward, his hands fisted at his sides. “That’s my point, Toni. You’re four years old.
You
.
Don’t. Get.
It
.
I wish you’d just accept that. I wish you’d realize there’s more going on here than you can see.” He pointed at the couch. “I wish I could make you understand that dress is more than just a piece of fabric to Christian. It signifies you’ve grown up a little. It proves that you’ve learned from your mistakes and have better judgment than you did three years ago.”