“Zoe… leave. Now!” I urged her, keeping my attention on Nick. The air around us seemed suffocating, his wrath extracting all the oxygen in his need to calm the rage inside him. He was literally buzzing with electricity, his body shaking with adrenaline.
“WHAT DID I SAY?” he suddenly bellowed at her, spit flying from his mouth as his knuckles whitened.
Fuck that.
He went down with one punch. I crouched beside him, grabbing his face harshly as he remained still and stared up at me. “You ever fucking shout at her again, don’t expect to take another breath.”
His wide eyes were remorseful, guilt now written across his face. It was like my punch had knocked all the anger from him, broke the rage and left his usual character back in its place.
“She gave you all of her last night. She allowed you in, not just into her body but into her fucking soul. She earned your fucking respect. She deserves to be fucking idolised. Do not ever, EVER, treat her like that again!”
He nodded, swallowing before pulling his body upright. He flinched when his eyes found Zoe stood watching him warily. “I… shit!” He ran his fingers through his thick black hair, his face full of shame and pain. “Zoe…”
He didn’t say anything else, just turned and left.
“Wow,” Zoe blew out behind me. I turned to her, taking her hand.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “What was that?”
“Fucked if I know.”
“Well I don’t think he wants the job!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. Her lips twitched before a smile lit her face. “Fucking hell!” she whispered.
I pushed my body against hers, pressing her into the worktop then framed her tiny waist with my hands and lifted her onto it. Her eyes lit up, a dirty smile covering her face. My woman was needy. All the damn time. And I fucking loved it.
I secured my gaze on her eyes as I slid the palms of my hands up the inside of her thighs, her robe falling to the side when I parted her knees wide. The length of her long legs had my dick sobbing, the expanse of her freckled skin driving me wild. I released a strangled moan when she lifted her feet and propped them up on the counter, opening herself to me, displaying her perfection. A shudder ripped through me when her pink lips glistened with her arousal. My mouth watered.
“Are you still hungry?” she whispered.
“I’m fucking famished.”
She clung to my head, her fingers tearing at my hair when I fucked her tight pussy with my tongue, a deep throaty moan trembling from her each time I surrounded her engorged clit with my teeth.
“Oh fuck, I love your mouth,” she panted, her hips lifting to push harder against my face, demanding more.
“I need to taste your cum, baby.” I dipped my tongue inside again, shivering at the delicious wetness that her body gave me. “And then you’re gonna take me hard, from behind, right in your fucking ass.”
I winced when she yanked my hair and flooded my tongue with her climax, my dirty words tipping her over. I lapped at her, devouring every drop that poured from her. Her choked scream had me fiddling with my zip and dragging out my throbbing cock.
I didn’t wait for her to come down before I pulled her trembling body off the side and spun her round, pushing at her lower back until she was bent perfectly, her gorgeous arse making my balls ache.
My lips parted and I groaned long and hard as I slid into her wet, hot pussy, her orgasm giving me all the lube I needed for her arse. I worked her back up again, reaching around and inside her robe to pinch and roll her nipples. When she started to buck back against me, I pulled out and positioned myself further up.
“Hurry!” she urged.
“Tell me what you want, Zoe.”
“I want you hard and in my arse.” Her voice was quiet but gravelly, the tone sexy and needy.
“All of me?”
“All of your cock, inside my ass. Hurry.”
I didn’t make her wait, only because I couldn’t. I forced my way inside her, pushing past the natural tightness of her muscles.
“Fuck. I forgot how fucking stubborn your arse is.”
She shook her head, whimpering and moaning as she pushed against me, opening her tight hole to me. I thrust in further, my teeth vibrating as my balls snatched tight and threatened an imminent climax. “Shit!” I hissed.
When my balls pressed against her pussy, I allowed her to relax, my whole body strung way too tight. I was struggling to hold on, fighting the need to pound into her fiercely.
“Baby,” she breathed as she looked at me over her shoulder. “I’m good. Take me.”
“Sure?”
The flame in her eyes reinforced her nod. She dipped her lower back, changing the angle of me inside her and then pushed hard, her arse clamping tight around me.
“Oh shit.”
My fingers curled around her throat as I leaned over her back. “Hold on. This is gonna be rough.”
She nodded, allowing me my need. I pulled her back, the pulse in the base of her neck pounding under my fingers when I drew out and slammed back in. We both grunted, a torrent of fucks spewing from us as I took her exactly as I told her I would. She was struggling to stay upright under my abuse, her body slamming forward then back onto my cock, her arse jacketing me, milking my dick so hard I was wrestling with my balls to hang on to my excited cum.
She thrashed as her orgasm took her into heaven, her firm little body tightening even further. Taking her hands, I directed her to hold onto the worktop, telling her to hold on. She thought I’d fucked her hard already, it was nothing to what I rained on her after her orgasm. But she took it, and she fucking thrived on it, her body bowing under me as I slammed into her harder and faster, her muscles fighting for my cum.
She cried out when I grabbed her hair, yanked her head back and sank my teeth into the crook of her neck. Fire shot up my spine and surged into my brain when I burst inside her, filling her sweet arse with a rush of warm spunk. Her own orgasm trailed down between her thighs, wetting my balls in its deluge.
“Dan… Daniel!” she screamed again.
Holy shit, she went fucking wild. Her spine shot rigid, the entirety of her skin prickled with goosebumps, each tiny hair covering her body stood rigid and electrified.
Her body reared back harder into me, dragging my orgasm out until my teeth felt like they would crack under the pressure of my clenched jaw.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I growled as I struggled to hold her up.
Giving up, I took us both to the floor, her under my body as she continued to ride out her orgasm.
“Holy shit, baby,” I whispered in her ear as I planted a soft kiss just below.
“Oh Christ,” she panted, her eyes closed and her lips parted, the wet sheen on them inviting me to turn her face to me so I could suck on them. She whimpered, sliding her tongue between my lips. Her mouth moulded to mine, the softness of her lips moving perfectly with my own.
We broke the kiss but kept our foreheads together, our eyes locked. She blinked slowly, sadness trickling in and dulling the bright blue.
“Baby?”
She forced a smile and sighed, shaking her head as though I had imagined the deep sorrow inside her not moments ago.
Jakob’s cry came through the little walkie talkie thing on the kitchen side.
“Always excellent timing.” She rolled her eyes, pushing me off her. I watched her rigid body as she pulled the belt back around her robe and ignored me, completely refused to look at me as I sat on the floor and made no attempt to move.
I stayed there, wondering what the hell was going on as she disappeared up the stairs. I hadn’t imagined it, I knew I hadn’t. I could read her, I’d been doing it for a long time. I knew when she was sad, when she was happy, when she was horny, even when she was hungry. I had learned her little ways through the years, each expression, and the illustration of her body language.
I recognised when she was hiding something. And I had seen the exact same thing right then. She was not only hiding something from me, but whatever it was saddened her too. And that frightened me, because I knew whatever it was, it was going to hurt both of us.
I BLINKED HARD, hoping when my eyes reopened, the email Terry had just secretly forwarded to me would have vanished and something much better had replaced it.
“Shit!”
It had to be a lie.
“Fuck.”
Closing down the email, I fired up another programme and started the long process of trying to prove it wrong.
What I found however, shocked the fuck out of me. I wouldn’t be able to prove it wrong, because it wasn’t wrong.
It was the truth. And the truth was just about to blow a hole in Romeo’s world.
JACK GRABBED HOLD of my elbow when my ankle snapped, my high heel not giving me support as I stepped down the five steps.
“Let me buy you a coffee,” he urged with a sad smile letting go of my elbow and grasping my hand tightly. I nodded unable to say anything. “Look Zo, if this isn’t what you want, I am more than willing to walk back in there and tear up the papers.”
Ignoring him and not giving his offer a chance to alter what had just happened, I blew out a breath as he led me across the road and into a small coffee shop, directing me to a table for two in the window.
“Usual?”
I answered with a nod and moved my face to the window. I stretched my eyes, refusing the tears as I concentrated on the people outside. I studied each shopper, each couple, each family, making myself imagine their lives, what they did, what their house was like, who was having an affair… who’d just sold their business, a business that they’d promised their dead husband they would use his insurance money to buy. A business that meant the fucking world to them.
Jack dipped down to a crouch beside me and palmed the back of my neck, pulling my wet face to his shoulder. He wasn’t bothered what we looked like to other customers, he just cared about me.
His arms pressed around my back as he held me harder and allowed me to sob. “Zo, please, change your mind. I can’t… it feels so wrong taking Slinks from you. It’s yours, you built it up and made it what it is.”
I shook my head and pulled back, smiling through my tears at him. “No, it’s yours now. I need to do this, Jack. And knowing that you have it, and that you will put your heart and soul into it means everything.”
He nodded, taking his seat opposite me. “Well I meant what I said, and I made sure it went in the contract, you have six months to change your mind…”
“You shouldn’t have done that Jack, it’s not exactly…”
“I don’t care,” he interrupted, “it’s what it is and it’s what I wanted. And I will be more than happy if you were ever to come back and slot right back in where you should be.”
I smiled at him, covering his hand with my own. “I’m gonna miss you.”
He closed his eyes and swallowed, pushing back his pain. Jack had come to work for me a couple of years ago and had managed Slinks whilst I was on maternity leave. He had made changes, always making sure I was up to date with any alterations he made, and his love and determination had made Slinks even bigger. I’d been lucky, the guy’s from Room 103 always made sure to advertise me after they’d disclosed new ink or piercings, and with their help and their fans desperation to get the same tats as their idols, they’d made Slinks as big as it was. I’d bought out next doors large empty retail space and extended, therefore giving Jack and me chance to branch into sub-business. He had bought into the extra business so it was 50/50, enabling me to make the renovations that were needed. A few girls overtook one half as a beauty and massage parlour, and a couple of guys ran the small guitar and drum shop.