Amplify (8 page)

"You thought it was me."

I look down again, picking at my pants, then shrug.

"Sera."

"Hmm?" I ask, not looking up.

"Look at me, Fee."

"I’m good, thanks." I can’t. I just can’t. I’m a jerk. I—God.

He chuckles. "Fee. Look at me," he reaches out and tips my chin up and in his direction. I reluctantly meet his gaze.

I sigh. "I’m an asshole."

"Stop. You’re not an asshole."

"I am. Majorly. Big time asshole."

He smirks. "I don’t want you thinking you’re an asshole, Fee."

I sigh and look down.

"And I don’t want you thinking I’m one either."

My head snaps up at that.

"What? I don’t—"

He nods. "You do. You thought it was me fucking Carina. Right?"

I can’t deny it. It’s the truth.

"Yes."

"Fee. We haven’t talked about this, but I’m not involved with her. I haven’t been for a while," he tells me, running the backs of his fingers against my cheek.

"But, she came to Denver."

He nods. "She did. Not for the reason you’re thinking."

I snort. "Please. What other reason could she possibly have to come all the way to Denver to meet you?"

"Business."

"Huh? Say what now?"

He chuckles. "Business."

"She’s—no fucking way."

"She is."

Part of the business. I think I’m going to be sick. This can’t be. She should not be associated with
la Famiglia
.

"Ugh. I need to talk to gampy about firing her. She’s—just yuck."

"Fee. You know that’s not how it works," Cage chides softly.

"Hmm. I bet if I use my ‘Lucy’ eyes on him it’ll work. I’ve got that look down to a T. That look will get you anything you want from gampy," I boast. Hell yeah, I’m bragging about that shit. That is epic. Lucy’s ‘look’ is golden.

"Likely that’s true, but it’d upset the balance of business."

"Well, when you put it like that... Damn it."

He chuckles again. "Sera," he says softly.

"Yeah?"

"You know I mean what I say. I won’t ever lie to you. I’ve told you this. I also know that trusting doesn’t come easily for you, but we’ve known each other for six-plus years now. I’ve never given you reason to doubt my word, have I?"

Well, maybe his actions but not his word, no. I mean, he made no promises to me when we slept together that first time. And God, that night... Amazing.

"We never talked about it," he says, knowing exactly where my mind went.

"No, and I think it’s best if we don’t."

"We’re going to have to at some point, don’t you think? It’s part of the reason you don’t trust me, Fee." He gently squeezes my hand.

I nod. "Then now’s as good of a time as any."

––––––––

W
hat I Did For Love by David Guetta feat. Emeli Sande

Bring On The Rain by Jo Dee Messina

Raining On Sunday by Keith Urban

––––––––

"T
HAT DAY, WHAT YOU SAW
, it wasn’t what you thought, just as today wasn’t what you thought you saw."

She looks up at me through her eyelashes. Her eyes showing her vulnerability. A vulnerability I helped bring to life. That doesn’t sit well with me. Not at all.

"After I dropped you off here, I barely pulled out of the gates when she called. Her car broke down and she couldn’t reach her guard."

"Who was her guard?"

I press my lips together in frustration and anger. "Aleo."

"Oh boy."

I nod. "As you know, Aleo was killed that day, which we didn’t find out until later."

She nods, her small, delicate hand holding mine, her thumb circling just above my thumb trying to calm me. She’s so much more than she knows.

"Carina’s tire went flat and it wasn’t like a normal flat that happens suddenly. It was like a slow leak. Anyway, she called a few others before me but they were assigned and couldn’t go to her, so it was up to me."

"But you’re second, Cage. Why is it allowed for you to put yourself at risk like that?" She asks the question most don’t understand.

"No one outside
la Famiglia
knows who I am. They know me as Cage Nichols, business man and record mogul, and others know me as Giovanni’s second. Only those inside know I’m both."

"You mean, they’ve never seen your face and have never been told who you are—the other families, I mean?"

"No."

"Well, that certainly explains it."

I smirk. "It does. We got soaked when the sky decided to open up and let a deluge fall down on us. I didn’t want her to go home alone with Aleo unable to be reached and the way her tire went flat."

She nods again. "I can understand that. Never take any chances. First rule of survival via Giovanni Russo."

I smile. Smart lady. "A very important rule to follow. Instead of having her sit around in her soaked clothes, I offered her a shirt and a pair of boxers. The only other clothes in the house were yours and I wasn’t—I won’t be sharing any part of you with her—or anyone."

Her breath catches. "Oh."

I watch as I run a fingertip along her jaw, then up over her lips. I will never share her. I think of Ben Kingston and immediately banish the thought. That’s something we’ll discuss when we get home.

"Yeah, ‘oh’."

She blows out a breath. What a bunch of bullshit. All that wasted time over a misunderstanding and if she—if I—had stopped her from running long enough to tell her what was going on, none of this would have happened.

"I need you to trust me, Fee."

She meets my gaze and I see that vulnerability again.

"You know that’s a lot to ask of me."

"I do," I agree with a nod. "I think you know you can. Deep down anyway. You just need to get your conscious to agree with what your subconscious already knows."

"Those psych classes you took in college are sure paying off."

"No dodging." Not this time. There’s no joking or hiding.

She blows out another breath. "Well, you’re just calling me on everything today, aren’t you?"

I nod. "I’ve waited long enough. I don’t want to wait anymore, Fee. No more dancing around what we both want."

"Dancing can be so much fun."

"Not that kind."

"No," she whispers, "not that kind."

It’s time to lay it all on the table. Either she accepts what I want or we stay how we are. For me, it will always be her.

"It’s been long enough, Sera. I want to be with you. Only you."

I hold my breath, hoping like hell she doesn’t say no.

She nods and I breathe.

"It’s been long enough," she agrees.

I lean in and press my lips against hers, softly, lingering. Resting my forehead against hers, I continue.

"We’ve been unofficial for a couple years now, Fee. It’s time to make it official."

"Uh, what does ‘official’ mean?" she asks nervously.

I laugh when I see surprise and a little panic flare in her expression. "Not what
you
think it means, unless you want it to mean that." I watch her closely. I wouldn’t be opposed to that. Making her mine and only mine. She hesitates and I see her considering.

I lift a brow and smile. "Good to know."

"Stop that!" she scolds, swatting at my chest.

"Bully. You’ve beaten me up enough today," I tease.

"I’m so sorry, Cage. If I’d known—"

No. No more sorries. I cut her off with a press of my mouth to hers and this is no chaste kiss. This is the tongue dueling, heart stopping, arousing kind of kiss that has your pulse kicking up a notch or a thousand and leaving nothing to the imagination. I want her to know I want her and only her and I want to be more than friends.

I pull back, just barely, my lips still touching hers, and she lets out a sigh. It’s not disappointment, it’s not discontent, it’s a happy sigh. Her eyes snap open to meet mine and watch me knowingly.

"Okay?" I ask, knowing she could panic at any moment.

She nods. "Yeah."

Slowly, ever so slowly, a smile starts to pull at her lips. Sera wraps her arms around my neck and we hold each other close.

"Fee," I whisper, every bit of what I’m feeling poured into that one word.

She nods. "Yes."

It’s my turn to blow out a breath of relief. Thank God.

"Finally."

She snorts into my neck and I snort in return.

"I love that you snort like me," she tells me.

"I love that you love something about me," I say softly, trailing a finger down her cheek.

I want so much to say it, those three words as they linger on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t. She’s not ready.

"God, you smell so good."

"Are you going to jump me again?" I ask with a laugh. That was so sexy the way she just went for it this morning, how she fucked my fingers and came. She’s so beautiful, but when she comes, she glows.

"I might," she teases.

"Not on my couch, you’re not. Go home and fuck," Xander says from the doorway where he’s leaning a shoulder against the jamb.

"Spy!" Sera chides.

He shrugs and walks into the room.

"Can I just say one thing?" Xander asks.

"Would it matter if we said no?" I ask with a grin.

"Hell no."

As if I’d expect anything less.

"Then, by all means, have at it."

"I have just the one thing to say: It’s about fucking time. I mean, how fucking long were you two gonna keep playing the denial game? Shit, it’s gotta be a couple years now, right?"

Sera swats at his arm. "Nevermind. Brat."

"Hey, I let you beat up on my dummy—then you beat up on your own," Xander says and laughs at his own joke.

I let out a sigh of feigned exasperation.

"If you’re done, Xander, I’m going to take my woman home, help her shower, and then take her to my bed," I say, my gaze locked with Sera’s, my tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Shit. That was hot, Cage, dude. Go. Get the hell outta here and bang your woman. She’s in need of some serious orgasms if the dent in the dummy over there is any indication," Xander teases.

"Oh, Xander, there’s no need to worry about that. She’ll have more orgasms than she can count before the night is over," I promise, picking Sera up with me as I stand. She pulls a Lucy and wraps herself like a monkey around me. I don’t want to let go and apparently neither does she, I realize, as her hold tightens and she buries her face in my neck again.

"I’m all for orgasms," Sera says to Xander. "Lots and lots of orgasms. Screaming orgasms, toe-curling orgasms, mind-numbing orgasms. Cage Nichols delivers all of the above and more."

Oh, I’ll be delivering exactly that.

"Hell yeah. Go do some fucking. I’ll talk to you in a couple days or a week... Whenever you two can pull yourselves out of bed long enough to come up for air."

"Let’s start with a week," I tell Xander as I shut the door behind us.

W
E’RE AT A RED LIGHT
when I turn to her, lift our joined hands, reach into my pocket with my free hand, and place the key in her hand.

"That’s yours. I don’t want it back," I tell her with a raised brow. She gets that defiant look in her eye and I smirk.

"Bossy."

I nod. "Get used to it."

She rolls her eyes. "Please. You think I’m going to let you boss me around?"

"Yeah. I do."

Sera laughs. "You’re delusional."

"Oh, I don’t know, Fee," I say, tapping her on the tip of her nose, "you like me bossy in bed." It gets her crazy and hot and I love how carefree she is when we fuck.

She flushes a pretty pink, just as I knew she would, and I chuckle.

"That’s different and you know it," she chides.

I shrug. "You still let me boss you around."

"Hmm," she murmurs.

"And you enjoy it."

"Yep. I do. The driver needs to hurry up and get there so you can boss me around some more," she tells me with a grin.

"In a hurry?" I ask.

"Kind of."

"Any particular reason why?" I’m curious now. Why the rush? Is she afraid I’m going to change my mind? That’s not going to happen.

She turns in her seat to face me, resting our joined hands on her knee.

"I miss being with you."