Authors: Raven Monet
Romance: Sports Romance: ON SIDE (Secret Baby Pregnancy Football Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Fiction) (15 page)
Chapter Twenty-Two
AVA
He slipped inside of me so easily, it was like we were made for one another. My body was overcome with pleasure from the very beginning, the need nearly taking its toll on me. I needed this before I could go on before I could face whatever happened next. After all the emotion of the day, I needed to show Elias exactly how I felt about him.
And it would seem he felt the same way about me.
We'd only just met, but he got me in ways no one else did. His story was like mine, we were similar, yet different. He intrigued me, yet I understood him better than I did any man I'd met before.
And as he fucked me, I never wanted this to end. Whatever happened between us, I hoped that we'd be able to stay together. I didn't have to know him well to know I wanted to fall in love with this man, and honestly, it would be easy. No one challenged me the way he did, no one trusted my strength as much as he did. He didn't treat me like a damsel in distress or a child, and that was rare.
He saw me for me, and yet... He liked it.
And I liked him.
He felt so good inside of me, and our bodies moved in a perfect rhythm. The rest of the world was dead to us, it was just him and me and we were savoring the moment.
I shuddered against him, trying my hardest not to cry out his name. But it was hard, so fucking hard. Everything about him was just so perfect. My hands were entwined in his hair, and I felt myself pulling back, pulling his face upward to kiss me. I wanted those perfect lips on mine, wanted to taste his mouth. I wanted to kiss him all over, and while now wasn't the time for that, soon. I'd have to taste more of him soon.
But for now, I was happy fucking him, and my body was overcome with pleasure, causing me to bite down on his lip and cry out into his mouth as I climaxed, my body bucking against his as he continued fucking me. I tightened around him, spasmed around him, and I could feel him shaking and struggling to hold on.
And as quickly as it all started, he was finishing. He filled me with his seed, gripping my ass tightly and grunting as his mouth pulled away from mine. “Oh Ava,” he choked out, his eyes clenched shut as he came inside of. “God, you're amazing.”
He let go of me, gently, letting me slide back to my feet. Kissing me, he said, “I hope next time we won't have to rush or be quiet.”
“Me too, sweetie,” I said, feeling my heart fill with joy. “Me too.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
El Monstruo's people never showed up, as far as we know. Maybe what they witnessed scared them silly, or maybe they needed reinforcements. Hell if I know. After Elias and I made love, we slipped back out and left before we had a chance to run into anyone else.
Come to find out, the reason El Monstruo wanted me was for some sick breeding program. The woman tied in the cabin were shifters, like me, with the ability to transform into more than one animal. I guess there's some sort of power in it, something the cartels wanted from us. He originally wanted Elias to join his ranks, much like Gabriel and Juan, but Deacon foiled those plans by showing up that night and beating his ass.
He thought he'd kill two birds with one stone - get revenge on Deacon while also adding to his collection. But like so many men out there, he underestimated me. He underestimated me big time. I wasn't one to just roll over and let him have me. Oh hell no.
I put up a fight. And in the end, I won. Well, technically WE won. Elias played a huge part in it too, obviously.
Elias left the motorcycle gang world behind, choosing instead to run off with Deacon and me. After all, the cartels were still out there and would love to find us. Easier said than done, though.
“I don't think I'll ever get sick of this view,” I said, standing on our balcony, staring out at the Sydney Harbor. Elias came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me.
“And I don't think I'll ever get sick of this view,” he said, kissing the back of my neck gently.
“I sure as hell hope not,” I said, turning toward him. His hair had finally grown back, it was long again. I loved it. “Because you're stuck with me.”
“And I couldn't be happier about that,” he said, kissing me.
There was a knock at the door.
“Did you--”
“Yeah, I invited Deacon over for dinner,” Elias said. “Him and his new girlfriend.”
“She's not his girlfriend,” I said, laughing as I walked toward the front of the condo.
“So he says, but I see the way he looks at her. Exactly how I look at you, I'm sure.”
Whether or not Deacon was my father, it didn't matter. He filled that role for me, and hopefully one day soon, maybe even get to be a grandfather. Not that we were trying or anything. We were still getting settled and the wedding was months off.
“Well, I'm just glad he's happy, that's all,” I said, opening the door. Deacon had found himself a stunning Australian woman, and I actually kind of liked her. She wasn't my mom... but then again, no one ever would be. He admitted that himself.
As weird as things were now, I honestly had to admit I was happy. My parents were never coming back and the nightmares haunted me from time to time - some of them of El Monstruo's corpse, others of what he probably did to my parents - but Elias was there for me. Elias understood more than anyone else.
I had a family again, and we all had something to live for again. So yeah, things were good.
They were really good.
As I sat around my spacious, luxurious, million dollar bachelor pad surrounded by the biggest and best things that money could buy – televisions, music systems, furniture, gaming machines, the works – I realized that I was bored. I knew that I should be happy with all that I’d achieved, but instead, I just felt empty.
I’d worked damn hard to build up my empire, to get all that I wanted, but now that I had it, it wasn’t quite enough. Somehow, there was still something missing.
“Dex?” Kev – my oldest friend, and nearest confidant – asked me, taking in a long, lazy drag of his joint. “Why the fuck did you buy a nail salon?”
He was clearly amused by my latest business venture, which of course had a lot to do with the fact that he had no idea what he was talking about! He was happy to work for me, to be my muscle when I needed it, but it was me with the business acumen. If he hadn’t met me just before I was expelled from school, he would be working some dead end job in a fast food chain by now. He needed me, and he damn well knew it.
“Because, fuckwit.” I explained, flicking him in the forehead playfully. “No one would suspect a nail salon, ran by a lovely Asian American family, to be involved in money laundering now, would they?” Honestly, how did he not understand this stuff? It was so simple!
Okay, maybe a lot of my empire had been built up by unsavory, criminal activities, but I’d still practically done it all by myself! I’d started off life as a small-time drug dealer, going nowhere, and now I was one of the best-known criminals in the city. I was so good at it that the authorities couldn’t pin a damn thing on me, however hard they tried. I was the best of the best, and renowned for it.
“Oh yeah.” Kev laughed, sounding just about as stupid as he was. “That makes sense.”
I grabbed hold of the bottle of Don Perignon that was sitting on my glass kitchen table and took a swig. I screwed up my face a little because I hated the stuff, but it was the most expensive champagne on the market, and of course it was all about appearances.
“So, what’s next boss?” Another guy asked me. I couldn’t remember his real name. He was one of my lackeys, and I’d given him the nickname Shortround on his first day with me. Now, that was all I knew him as. It was all anyone called him anymore – so desperate were they all to please me.
I’d been giving this a lot of thought because we’d been having a lot of success recently, and I didn’t want the lucky streak to end. Whatever I chose next was going to have to be good. It would only take one slip up, one fail, for my reputation to get damaged. I hadn’t worked all those years to fall at one hurdle!
However long and hard I thought about it, I kept coming back to the same answer.
My most successful ‘above board’ company was a technology business that consistently brought in a lot of profit. However, my biggest competition – which up until recently hadn’t even touched us – was beginning to close the gap and I didn’t like that. I knew it couldn’t make a dent in my personal finances, but I wanted it gone all the same.
“I think I’m gonna take down Empire Technology,” I replied quickly as if the idea had only just occurred to me. “I don’t like how successful they’re becoming.”
“What’s the plan?” He continued. “Who do you want on it?”
I pondered this for a second. Normally, I just sat back and got everything done for me – I’d paid my dues, this was my time to relax – but there was something about the boredom that had been infecting me that gave me another idea. One that filled me with an excitement that hadn’t been there for a very long time.
“No worries guys,” I grinned inanely around the room. “I’m gonna do this one myself.”
I could see the concern filling all of the guy’s expressions in turn. Clearly they thought I was in the process of losing it, but I didn’t care. Suddenly, there was a spark within me, an interest for life. I was excited to take on this task, and to get back into the thick of things, and this was the perfect job for that. The family that ran Empire Technology hadn’t lived here for long enough to know my face. They may have heard my name – Dexter Wilde – whispered on street corners, but that was easily changed.
This was it. This was what would bring me back to life once more!
I hated the company’s morning meetings. In fact, I despised them. I wasn’t a morning person at all, and being forced to sit with a bunch of stiff suits while they discussed numbers that didn’t even make such sense to me, was not my idea of fun.
I’d asked my father – the owner of the company – if I could sit the meetings out a million times, but his answer was always the same. “You’re the head of Public Relations, you have to be there.”
I hated to admit it out loud, but I’d obviously only been given the job because of who my dad was. I didn’t really understand what my role was – only that it was totally boring, and involved signing a lot of things off. I certainly looked the professional part – I was never without a stark pencil skirt, blouse, stilettos and my hair tied back in a complicated chignon – and I was good at acting like I knew what was going on, but I didn’t totally get what I was doing.
It didn’t help that all the people below me completely resented me. Otherwise, I could have asked them for help!
“...and now we have some exciting news.” My father announced to the room which was filled with all of the heads of department. I secretly rolled my eyes. His idea of exciting and mine was very different. “We have a new marketing consultant coming in to help boost our sales even further...”
After that, I tuned him out for a while. I didn’t want to know. All I wanted was for it to be 5pm already so that I could go home to my cat and open a bottle of wine – an existence that might sound boring for a twenty-two-year-old, but I was happy with it. I wasn’t one for partying and acting crazy; I was more of an introvert who loved to be indoors.
Suddenly, I was distracted from my thoughts by the board room door opening, and a stranger walking in. I instantly sat up straighter in my seat as I took note of the man entering the room. At first glance, it was clear that he was undeniably sexy, which certainly brightened up my boring morning! He had dark hair, piercing green eyes and dimples that revealed themselves as he smiled. He was tall – much taller than my five foot four frame – and he was very muscular. He obviously took good care of himself. I couldn’t stop myself from imagining being wrapped up in those strong arms, which wasn’t like me at all! I was so shy, that it normally took me months to work up the courage to even fantasize about a man, yet here I was, doing it at first glance...
“Right everyone.” My father stood up and shook the new guy’s hand. “This is Dexter... sorry, what did you say your surname was?”
“Smith.” The man answered quickly, revealing his smooth, silky voice that melted me inside. “Dexter Smith.”
“Dexter is the marketing consultant I was telling you about. Lori, he’s going to be working very closely with you, do you remember me telling you?” I felt myself blushing brightly as everyone turned to look at me. I couldn’t remember that conversation at all! Maybe if he’d told me that I was going to be working beside an Adonis, I would have damn well listened.
“I... er...” I stammered, growing increasingly embarrassed. Talk about first impressions!
“Well, let’s leave it there for today. Lori, you can show Dexter around the office, okay?”
After everyone had left, I stopped acting like I was looking for something in my bag, and bravely stepped forwards.
“I’m Lori.” I murmured too quietly as I shook his hand. As soon as our skin touched, bolts of desire ran right through me, but I forced my face to remain stoic. I could not let this man know that I was attracted to him. That would be the kiss of death for me; I’d be too terrified to speak to him again!
As I showed him around the building, another sensation began to creep in. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling this new way, only that I couldn’t shake it off.
Suspicion.
I was very protective of my dad and his business. He’d managed to build it up from nothing after my mother had died of cancer – channeling his grief into something positive – and I hated the idea that someone would try to take that from him. There was just something about the way that Dexter questioned me about absolutely everything that had me wary.
Why was he so interested in things? Things that had absolutely nothing to do with marketing? It was weird.
Suddenly, I was glad that he was going to have to work alongside me. If I could curb my embarrassment, then I would be able to keep a strict eye on him. Make sure that there was no funny business...