Indulging in Irene (19 page)

I stripped off my wet clothes and climbed in the shower. Damn mutts had totally dog-handled me. First Ben jumped in the pool; then Rufus followed. After I managed to get them out of the pool and into the dog run, they still managed to open the gate and follow me in the house, shaking water all over me and the great room.

What a fucking mess!

I stood under the shower spray, letting the water calm me. I’d turned the mess over to Zolt and Brody, who seemed better suited to deal with dogs. So much for my assertion that I was great with animals. Ben and Rufus hadn’t listened to a word I’d said.

Whatever. I needed to shake off this mood before dinner. I didn’t want Brody to think I was a bitch.

I heard the shower door latch click open, and I turned around to find I was no longer alone.

“Hi,” Zolt said as his big hands pulled me against him.

“Hi, yourself.” I turned around and put my arms around his neck. “Did you get the boys situated?”

“I did,” he answered, kissing my neck.

I tipped my head back to give him better access. His lips on my skin were quickly eroding my bad mood.

“And your brother?”

“Returning phone calls.” Zolt continued kissing down my neck until he came to my breasts. He drew a nipple into his mouth and sucked, swirling his tongue around its tight peak.

“Oh,” I moaned.

He released my breast and found my mouth, giving my tongue the same swirling action.

Fuck!
This man could send me into raging need in a nanosecond. I was already slick after one kiss.

“We haven’t fucked in the shower yet.” His palms ran over my body and slid between my legs. Zolt toyed with my clit as two of his fingers found their way into me.

I bucked against him, loving the way it felt, and at the same time, wanting so much more.

“Brody will hear us,” I moaned.

Zolt laughed. “If I do my job right, he will. You know how I am about my work.” He plunged his fingers in deeper while he thumbed my clit.

“Uh huh,” I mumbled, no longer caring if Brody heard us or not.

Rivulets of water ran down his body, tracing over the hills and valleys of his ripped chest. With my tongue, I lapped up each drop of water.

Zolt removed his fingers and let his head fall back. I continued my path lower, dropping to my knees as I took him in my mouth.

A moan sounded from deep in his throat as I worked him with my lips and tongue. His hands gripped my head, encouraging me to take him deeper in my mouth.

Zolt let me indulge in his body, bringing him close to his edge. Then, he stopped and pulled me to my feet. Roughly, he captured my mouth with his, kissing me deep and hard.

It took me a moment to get my bearings. I hadn’t expected him to stop me from taking him all the way.

“I need to be inside you. Now.” He kissed me again, pushing me against the cool shower wall. “Put your arms around my neck and wrap your legs around my waist.”

I did as he bid, aligning our bodies for him to enter me. His cock pushed inside, stretching and filling me, and we both groaned. It felt too good—raw and carnal. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation of being possessed by Zolt. At this moment, I couldn’t imagine ever doing this with anyone else.

“Fuck, Irelyn. You’re always so ready for me. I love that.”

I clenched my muscles around him, making him cry out. My eyes drifted open as he started to pound into me. When I saw a brief expression of pain cross his face, I frowned.

“Is this hurting you?” Seeing pain in his eyes, quickly cooled my desire.

Zolt nodded, but didn’t stop moving.

“Stop, Zolt. I can’t do this knowing it’s hurting you.”

“I don’t care.” He drew backed his hips, and rocked back into me, colliding with my sweet spot.

I shook my head, loving the way it felt and hating that this hurt him. There was no reason for us to continue this way when all he had to do was take two steps back and sit on the built-in shower bench.

“Shower bench,” I said, dropping my legs and breaking our contact. I didn’t need him to prove anything to me by screwing me up against the wall.

Zolt growled, but did as I suggested. He sat on the bench and leaned back. Slowly, he stroked himself as he waited for me to join him.

“Mmm.” I licked my lips and considered finishing the job I’d started earlier with my mouth.

“Slide on me,” he commanded, holding his cock for me to ride.

I did as I was told. Straddling him, I slid down, dropping my head back and sighing in pleasure as he filled me to the hilt.

Zolt sat up straight, and nose to nose, we moved together. The penetration at this angle was too much. I wanted to synchronize our releases but I didn’t think I could hold out much longer.

“Wait for me,” he rasped, apparently reading my mind.

I bit my lip and tried to quell my response as he moved faster and harder. We both groaned as he pushed me to the brink. When I felt his length pulse inside me, I lost all control and gave into my impending orgasm.

“Zolt!” I screamed as I spasmed around him.

He followed after me, his hands tightening around my hips as he slammed into me one last time. With his last thrust, he sent me spiraling over again.

I was pretty sure I had lost all sense of time and space. I didn’t know consecutive orgasms were possible. My eyes flew open and our gazes locked. We didn’t speak or move, but stared deeply into each other’s eyes. The tender emotions I saw in his crystalline-blues made my breath catch and a lump formed in my throat. There was no pulling back from this man now. I was completely and hopelessly in love with him.

Since I couldn’t say the words yet, I kissed him, pouring everything I felt into it. I prayed he understood and felt the same because Zolt now had the power to break me. I knew if he did, I’d be done for.

After our shower, I stood at the bathroom sink, drying my hair, and then I put some light make up on. I’d dressed myself in a sapphire, strapless dress. Between the dress and Zolt’s affections, I felt amazing, loved, and beautiful. When Zolt came up behind me and put his arms around my waist, I melted.

“You look amazing.” He brushed my hair aside and kissed my neck. My skin tingled with his kiss and my body heated all over again.

I smiled at him in the mirror. He looked good enough to eat in his khaki pants and black, Ralph Lauren Henley shirt. “Thank you. You’re looking rather hot yourself.”

“Screw dinner. I’ll tell Brody to fend for himself and we’ll go to bed.”

“You’re insatiable, you know that?” I laughed. “I’m starving, and I’m sure Brody is too. We’re going to dinner.”

Zolt pouted. “All right, if that’s how you’re going to be.”

I turned and kissed his nose. “I am. Let’s go.”

We went to Fleming’s Steakhouse, which was perfect as I was hungry enough to eat a side of beef on my own. I hadn’t properly worked out since coming to Zolt’s, but all the sex we’d had was leaving me starving and a little on the sore side—in a good way. Just thinking about it made me squirm.

Zolt smiled wickedly at me and put his hand on my thigh. The warmth of his hand traveled through my dress, to my thigh, and right between my legs.

I took his hand and put it on his leg. As retribution, I placed my hand on his crotch and squeezed his package. “Hands to yourself unless you’re prepared to find a dark corner somewhere and fuck me,” I whispered in his ear; then nipped at his earlobe.

Zolt started to choke and almost spit out the drink he’d just taken.

“Geez, you two,” Brody groaned and rolled his eyes. “It’s bad enough I had to hear your shower antics earlier. Shit, Zolt, I was afraid you were hurting Irelyn. I almost busted the door down to rescue her.”

“Oh. My. God.” I buried my now flaming face in my hands. When I glanced at Zolt, he was grinning from ear to ear with pride.

“I told you.” I punched Zolt hard in the arm.

Zolt put his arm around me and pulled me to him, kissing my hair. “Aw, baby, it’s just sex. Besides, I’ve had to listen to Brody one too many times. He’s just jealous.”

“Damn straight I’m jealous. As always, your woman is totally hot. Me? I haven’t been laid in weeks.” Brody downed the rest of his glass of Scotch in one gulp.

“Uh,” I mumbled and shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

“Sorry, Irelyn. I know, TMI,” Brody said.

“It’s fine. My best friend is always talking about her sex life, too.”

“Best friend? Is she hot? Does she like older men?”

“Yes, and yes. But sorry, she’s taken.”

“Too bad, bro. Rachael is hot. She’d give you a run for your money. But her and Cory seem pretty tight,” Zolt added.

“They are,” I agreed. “We all grew up together. Cory’s been in love with her for years, but Rach wouldn’t give him the time of day. Then, after my brother died, she and Cory found their way together. Hey, why don’t you set him up with Marcy?”

“Marcy from Boston?” Brody squinched his face. “No thanks. She’s a Klingon. How do you know about Marcy?” He cocked his head, and his bright blue eyes gave me a quizzical look. He and Zolt really did look alike. The major difference between the two was Brody’s cleft in his chin, and his slightly squared off jaw. He kept his brown hair short whereas Zolt left his longer, showing off his waves.

“Several members of her firm visited last week. Marcy did what Marcy does, and her and Irelyn came close to having a cat fight.” Zolt smirked at me.

“Ha! You wish. She was no competition for me. Stupid cow.”

“No competition at all.” Zolt kissed me, leaving me breathless. I heard Brody grunt again in protest.

“I’m going to the ladies’.” I excused myself and headed to the restroom.

While I did my business, I thought about Brody and wondered if I knew any available women to set him up with. Most of my friends were paired off. The only one that came to mind was Cory’s little sister, Kenna. But Brody was in his thirties, and Kenna was twenty. Age didn’t matter to me, but it might to either of them. Just in case, I made a mental note to text Cory and invite Kenna to come to our cookout tomorrow.

I finished washing and drying my hands, and then left the restroom. Digging in my purse for my phone, I didn’t notice the man headed directly for me until I slammed into him.

“I’m so sor—Marcus! What are you doing here?” He looked the way he always did—impeccably dressed in his three-piece suit, but there was nothing attractive about him. His beady gray eyes darkened with desire, and he licked his lips, making my skin crawl.

“Eating dinner. A stupid question, really,” he said with his normal smug confidence. He grabbed my arm and pushed me back to the wall, trapping me.

“Marcus! What the fuck? Let go of me.” I tried to wrench my arm free, but I couldn’t break his hold, and I didn’t want to make a scene. I looked around hoping for someone to help, but the hall was empty.

“It’s time you come back to me, Irelyn. You’ve had your sordid fun, and now it’s over.” He moved his face so close to mine that I could smell what he’d eaten for dinner. Bile rose in my throat at his closeness. My blood surged through my ears as I frantically thought about what to do to get away.

“Come willingly or not, it’s your choice, but I’m done humoring you.”

“You’re bent if you think I’m coming back.”

“Oh, Irelyn, I’m fairly certain I can motivate you. Easy way or difficult, either way you’re coming back to me where you belong.”

I fidgeted with my utensils, waiting for Irelyn to come back to the table. After several minutes, that knot of dread grew bigger and my leg shook nervously. Even Brody had a worried expression on his face.

“I’m going to check on her,” I said, rising from the table. “This is taking too long.”

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Brody nod as I started toward the restrooms. My heart was in my throat the closer I got. Something fucked up was going on; I could feel it in my bones.

“Marcus. Let. Go. Of. Me!” I heard Irelyn say in a quavering voice.

Marcus? What the fuck?

As soon as I turned the corner, I saw Irelyn pushed against the wall, trapped by Marcus. Without thinking, I grabbed him by the back of his jacket and yanked him off her. The momentum of his body weight pushed him against the opposite wall. Before he could react, I pinned him to the wall with my forearm on his throat. Then, I pressed until I saw him struggle to breathe. I widened my stance and bent my knees to prevent him from taking my legs out. The adrenaline pumping through my body kept the pain of my bad leg from taking over.

My shadow-self rose up and begged me to finish it—take this asshole out once and for all. He deserved to die given what he wanted to do to Irelyn. Brody and I were both black belts. Though I no longer worked out, I still remembered several fatal strikes.

Pressing my lips together, I fought for control. I didn’t care what Brody said about my shadow-self not being separate from me. Right now, it felt like he had total control of the situation.

“Irelyn. Go back to the table. Now!”

“No, Zolt. Let him go. He’s not worth it.”

Marcus’s beady eyes stared hatefully into mine, his expression murderous.

I knew the feeling well because I wanted to rip him apart limb by limb, but Irelyn was right, and the sound of her voice made my shadow-self retreat.

“If you ever fucking touch her again, it will be the last thing you do. If you want to fuck with someone, I’m more than happy to take you on.”

I released my hold on Marcus and walked to Irelyn, pulling her to me. With my arm tight around her shoulders, we started back to our table. I took several deep inhales to calm myself.

I heard Marcus sputter and cough as he tried to get his air back.

“Zolten,” he yelled from behind me. “Joe Franklin sends his best wishes.”

I stopped and turned around with my hands clenched into fists. “What did you say?”

“Take care of the leg, won’t you?” Marcus looked pointedly at my shin, and then pushed past us as he walked away.

I closed my eyes and searched for control. Memories of that day flooded my brain, and I could feel myself starting to unravel. My body began to shake, and my breath sped up.

But just like that day, she was there. This time she could touch me. We weren’t separated by things out of our control.

“Open your eyes, my love. Come back to me.” Her voice and her hand on my face calmed and reassured me, and I let it center me. Then, I cursed myself for not tending to her. I opened my eyes and felt like a fucking asshole when I saw her eyes large with fear.

Irelyn caressed my cheek; then cupped my face. Her lips gently brushed mine. How she could do this, when I knew she was scared, was beyond me.

“He’s yanking your chain, Zolt. Forget it. Let’s go back to our table and order dinner. Brody’s probably wondering what happened to us.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him, Irelyn. I swear to God. If he ever touches you again, I’ll kill him.”

I pulled her to me and crushed our lips together. She was mine, and I needed her to know that I protected what belonged to me.

When we broke apart, we were both out of air. I was desperate to be with her, claim her and remind her how it was between us. But that was crazy Zolt’s mindset. I could and would control myself.

“Go back to the table. I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right out,” I said with as much calmness as I could muster.

She nodded, and then left for the table.

I watched her walk away, finding it hard not to punch the wall.

“Fuck!” I ran my hands through my hair, and then went into the restroom. At the sink, I splashed water on my face, hoping to cool off my nerves. Shadow-self was urging crazy Zolt to the forefront.

Thank God, Brody was here because I was starting to think he might be right about hypnotherapy.

Marcus’s words came back to me, and my stomach clenched. Why the hell would he say that to me? Obviously to get under my skin, but I was starting to think there was something else going on. This wasn’t the first time he’d referred to my leg in a knowing manner.

Let him underestimate me. It will be the biggest fucking mistake of his life.

I took out my phone and called T-bone.

“Z man. What up?”

I recapped what happened.

“Fuck, Zolt. That’s it; I’m assigning a detail to you and Irelyn.”

“Fine,” I agreed. “T, what do you think he meant by his reference to Franklin?”

The line went silent for a moment.

“Before the cookout tomorrow, let’s meet,” he said. “We can talk about it then. You said Irelyn and your brother are waiting for you. Go back to the table, have a drink and eat dinner. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Okay. Tomorrow.” I disconnected the call and went back to our table.

As we ate dinner, I tried to let go of what happened, but I was seething inside. The wheels in my head were spinning at warp speed. I needed to see the entire playing field in front of me, but I had a sense that not all of the players were in the open. Hopefully, T-bone would be able to shed light on the bigger picture.

Irelyn kept glancing at me with a forced smile on her pretty lips. She was worried about me. Her frantic toying with a lock of her hair betrayed her smile and worry lines marred her lovely forehead.

When we got home, she excused herself and went to bed. I was about to go smoke when Brody pulled me aside.

“What happened back there? When you came back to the table, there was a definite shift in both of your moods.” Brody asked, his hand on my arm.

“Her ex happened. When I went to check on her, I found her with Marcus. He had her pushed up against the wall,” I said through clenched teeth. Thinking about it made my blood boil again.

“What the fuck, Zolt? Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. I wanted to fucking kill him, Brody. If it wasn’t for Irelyn pulling me back, I might have.”

“You didn’t mention this guy was dangerous.”

“I didn’t think he was.”

“Is Irelyn okay?”

“I think so.”

Brody frowned at me. “What do you mean you think so? You need to find out. Go in there and make sure she’s okay. Quit thinking about yourself and tend to your woman.”

“You’re right,” I sighed and put my hands behind my head. “Fuck, Brody, I’m no good at being a boyfriend.”

“Right now, no, you’re not, but you can fix this. She looked really upset, Zolt.”

“I feel as if I’m going to lose it and do something really fucked up,” I confessed.

“You have a choice, Zolt. Whatever you do, you have to consider Irelyn. This isn’t just about you anymore.” Brody put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“I hear you.”

“Go to her. I think I’m going to take the dogs out for a walk on your property.”

I turned on the perimeter floodlights, and then went into the pantry where I downed two of my special brownies and a bottle of water. I didn’t want to take the time to smoke, but I needed a fix. My leg ached like a bitch on the rag.

When I reached the bedroom, Irelyn was already in bed. I stripped off my clothes and climbed in next to her.

She turned over to face me and my heart fell. Her face was wet with tears.

“Why are you crying? Did Marcus hurt you?” I dried her tears and pushed her hair behind her ear.

“No, not really. But I’m afraid this is more than you signed up for. I should have known he wouldn’t just walk away from this.”

“Baby, I knew what I was getting into, but I’m afraid you traded one asshole for another. Tonight, instead of taking care of you, I let him get under my skin. I didn’t do right by you, and I’m sorry.” I stroked her cheek and kissed her lips.

“Don’t you dare compare yourself to Marcus, Zolt. You’re nothing like that man. I shouldn’t have underestimated him. He thinks you took what was his. It doesn’t matter that I never was his.” She dried her eyes with the back of her hands and turned on her side.

“I’m not going to lie, Irelyn, I’m worried about Marcus, which is why we’re going to sit down with T-bone tomorrow and make a plan before everyone gets here. I won’t allow him to get that close to you again.”

“How are you going to do that? Lock me up in your house?”

“Tie you to my bed?” I waggled my eyebrows at her, and she laughed, which was exactly what I wanted.

“Hmm, I think I might like that,” she said sheepishly.

“Yeah? I’m more than happy to play with you anytime you want, baby. I still have a few tricks left to show you.”

“I bet you do.” Her questioning eyes stared into mine “So, we’re okay? You were too quiet at dinner.”

“We are better than okay, Irelyn.” I ran my hand through her silky hair and watched her shiver. I knew she loved it when I did that.

“Zolt?” she said softly.

“Yeah?” I answered as I continued to play with her hair.

“Make love to me.”

She didn’t need to ask me twice. I knew we both needed this. I needed to take her, to reclaim her, to erase Marcus’s touch from her skin. Irelyn needed this for the same reason.

I moved my body over hers and gazed heatedly into the beautiful, expressive eyes of my angel, my seraph.

She gazed back at me through her tear-soaked lashes.

If I hated Marcus before, seeing the pain he’d caused in her eyes energized my anger. I shoved it aside; I didn’t want to make angry love to her. She needed me to be tender and caring. Truth be told, so did I.

My hands slid up the sides of her throat to the sides of her face. Our lips met in a sweet, tender kiss. Our tongues entwined and danced with each other, wanting and needing. Even after I’d seated myself deep within her, I felt like I couldn’t get close enough to her. Both of us had our eyes open, and our gazes locked on each other. We fit together like two puzzle pieces never meant to be separated.

I took my time with her, ignoring the demands of my body to speed up. She matched me stroke for stroke as we moved in perfect synchronicity with each other.

We explored, kissed, teased, and toyed, driving ourselves to the brink; then pulling back. When we finally gave in and let ourselves go, we came together, riding the most explosive wave of pleasure that I had ever experienced.

I held Irelyn close as she fell into sleep. Once her breathing evened out, I took the coward’s way out and let the words I’d been holding on to fall from my lips.

“I love you, Irelyn Wilkes,” I said and kissed her head. Then, I fell deeply asleep myself.