Make Me Sweat (4 page)

Wonder and something else was present in that one word. Tears
welled up in her eyes, and damn it, she didn’t know why. It was only a skin
thing, a scratching of the itch Dak created. Nothing more. Couldn’t be
anything. She came here for a farewell fuck and that’s what she’d get.

Rising to her knees, she crawled up Dak’s body and stood. Legs on
either side of his body, Ever grabbed the headboard and lowered herself on his
face. Without hesitation, he plunge his tongue deep inside her.

“God.” Her body shook, legs trembled, and white heat sparked in
her spine. His teeth nipped her clit and she fell forward, smashing her face
into the padded headboard. Dak grabbed her ass and held her upright as he
licked from her clit to her entrance and back.

“Yes. Fuck.” Her head fell back and she pinched her nipples.
“Dakota,” she whispered brokenly. “Dakota.”

“Hmm.” He hummed against her wet flesh. Her body bowed and she
grabbed his hair. Dak lifted her ass off his face and inserted two fingers into
her cunt. Ever cried out, but her hips were already at work riding his fingers.
He finger-fucked her while circling her clit with his tongue. Slurping sounds
told how wet she was, how needy. Lifting even higher off his fingers, she sank
back down on them, now three. The slight burn didn’t make her pause, but her
walls fluttered and contracted wildly.

“Motherfuck, Dakota.” The groan sounded from far away. “You’re
killing me.”

Pressure on her clit turned her legs to liquid as heat blossomed
in her center and spread. Violent tremors raced through her body. “God. God.”
Screams tore from her throat, the orgasm tearing her body apart. The force off
it threw her backward. She ended up lying on Dak’s chest, ass on his chin,
shaking legs around his neck.

Dak smoothed a hand over her quivering midsection as she blinked
the stars from her eyes and fought to breathe.

When Ever was finally able to move, she turned around on the bed,
laying her head on Dak’s sweaty chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed
the top of her head. Her eyelids drooped as she reminded herself she needed to
be gone from Dak’s bed, and his life, by morning. The steady thumping of his
heart lured her into a dreamless sleep. 

Chapter
Four

A soft, wet sensation at the base of her spine woke her.
Disoriented, she lifted her head and blinked sunlight out of her eyes. It took
a moment for the room to become familiar, and then the racing of her pulse
drowned out any other sound.

She was in Dakota’s bed. Ever groaned silently. This was going to
be a bitch.

Firm lips pressed into her spine, then Dakota used his tongue to
trace the curve of her left hip and moved upward. He was kissing and licking
her tattoos.

“Wake up, sleepy,” he murmured. “Breakfast is served.”

She narrowed her eyes even though he couldn’t see. “Am I
breakfast?”

His low chuckle vibrated on her skin. “Do you want to be? Cause I’ve
got no problems with that.” Sliding a palm down the expanse of her back, he
caressed her ass. “Spend the day with me.”

The fuck? Ever scrambled to a sitting position, facing him. God, such
a mistake. Those dark eyes were heavy-lidded, aroused. His mess of hair framed his
face and hung to his shoulders. Naked shoulders. Bronzed, smooth, and
well-muscled. Damn, the man was full on naked. She felt her defenses flying
away on the morning breeze.

Food sat on a tray at the foot of the bed, but she ignored it.
What kind of shit was that? Is this was how he treated his one night stands?

Ever swallowed and met his eyes forcefully. “Let’s not make this
bigger than it was, hmm? I have to leave.”

His jaw worked. Though he tried to keep his expression passive. Ever
caught the surprise and brief flash of hurt before he smoothed it away. “You
can certainly eat before you leave, Ever. Or is that making this bigger, too?”

The words were hard, emotionless, sparking regret she fought to
suppress. Spending time with Ian Dakota spelt trouble for her and Wes. And
she’d die before she allowed anyone to hurt Wes.

Choosing her words carefully, Ever said, “Sorry, I don’t eat
breakfast.” She hopped off the bed, naked ass and tits jiggling. The heat of
his stare felt like a brand on her skin as she grabbed her clothes off the
floor.

“Ever.”

She ignored the low rumble and made a mad dash to what she hoped
was the bathroom. Saved for the moment, she slammed the door and pulled at her
hair. Damn, why had she come here last night? And why the hell was it so hard
to walk away from this man? No one made her feel like he did. Could be the
amazing sex talking. Lord knows she’d never been fucked this good.

Deciding she needed to wash away his touch, Ever turned on the
water and stepped into the shower, closing the sliding glass doors behind her.
As the warm water saturated her skin, she thought back to the day her life had changed
so dramatically three years ago. The day
he
called. She and Wes thought
they were finally rid of him, but that proved to be false.

After all the pain visited on her in Ireland,
he
still
held her prisoner, and they weren’t even on the same continent.
He
was
the man behind the scenes, the Ghost, while she and Wes were up front. The
faces of the operation.

In return for not killing Wes, or maybe for not turning him over
to the cops, they had to operate
his
business while
he
raked in
the money. Though
he
started the business to make money, it was no
longer all about that.

This arrangement was her prison. Her punishment for crimes she’d
never even thought to commit against
him
. More confining than the room
he’d locked her in for a week.   

Still, she’d do it for Wes. He’d saved her life on more than one
occasion, holding her hand through the darkest times. 

Ever choked up, soaping her body roughly. She cursed herself for allowing
Dakota inside her defenses. Now she couldn’t get him out of her head or the
imprint of his touch off her skin. After rinsing off, she held up a hand in
front of her face. It trembled.

“Goddamn it.” Tears streamed down her face as she pulled aside
the shower door. A gasp fell from frozen lips. Dak stood with a hip against the
doorway, staring unblinking at her. Ever didn’t move, she couldn’t. Instead,
she covered her eyes with a shaky hand and words poured from her.

“I can’t wash you away, you’re under my skin.” Tears clogged her
throat. “I need to not be near you, but I can’t—”

“Then don’t.” His voice sounded closer, like he stood mere inches
away. The heat swirling around her told her the same need rode him equally as
hard.

Ever’s entire body shook, but she refused to open her eyes,
afraid she’d crumble at his feet. Rough fingers grasped her chin and a finger
brushed her bottom lip. She forgot to breathe. Molten heat slicked the juncture
of her thighs and her nipples beaded.

“Ever, look at me.”

The pleading command lifted her eyelids. Dark eyes clashed with
hers, need and desire present and so beautiful. Her lips parted and he was on
her, sliding his tongue into her mouth, sipping from her, branding her with his
lips. Ever sobbed into the kiss. She put her hands on his to push him off, but the
instant her fingers touched the smooth skin, they curled, nails digging,
marking. Staking claim.

The kiss turned frenzied, each trying to devour the other. Dak
grabbed her ass, and Ever lifted one leg then the other, wrapping them around
his narrow waist. He staggered back toward the open door as she wiggled on the
rigid cock rubbing her pussy. In the bathroom doorway, he stopped and braced
against the frame. Bending his head, he took a nipple in his mouth, biting,
punishing. Ever clawed at his shoulders, back arched, soaked pussy sliding over
the hard length of him.

Sinking her nails into his back for purchase, she lifted her
lower half off and positioned herself over his hardness. The smooth tip slid
into her inch by torturous inch. All Dak’s movement ceased. Ever opened her
eyes to find his stare on her face, his eyes glowing, almost feral. The look on
his face said she was his. She opened her mouth to deny it, call him a liar,
but he kissed her. Tongues mating, she eased the rest of the way down his cock
and rocked into him.

One of his hard arms locked her tightly against him, the other
pinched her nipple, rolled it between his fingers. Mewling cries left her
throat as she rode the cock hitting all her sweet spots. Dakota’s grunts echoed
in the room. Ever would never tire of hearing him voice his pleasure. The
pleasure she gave him.

He broke away from her lips, dropping hurried kisses across her
cheek and down her neck, all the while murmuring the words she longed to hear,
didn’t want to hear. “You’re mine, Ever. I’m keeping you.”

Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. It was only the heat of
the moment talking. She wasn’t free, and besides, Ian Dakota would never settle
down with someone like her.  

His teeth sank into her neck. Screams tore from her throat as her
orgasm crashed over her.

“Motherfuck.” Dak groaned as his hips sped up. A warm gush
flooded her insides, an unwelcome reminder of all the mistakes she’d made
lately. She practically jumped out of his arms.

Fighting to stand on wobbly knees, Ever held up a hand when he
moved to hold her. “No.” She grabbed her clothes and pulled them on with jerky
movements. Fully dressed, she turned to find him in the same spot, arms folded
across his chest, semi-hard cock still glistening with a mixture of his cum and
her juices.

Ever licked her lips. “I’m leaving now.” A sharp pain seared her
chest and she inhaled sharply, clasping a hand over her heart. “I won’t be
coming back.” His gaze darkened and he opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“Please, Dakota,” she whispered brokenly.

Walking past him, she entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of
the bed, tugging on her shoes. Dak watched, the air simmering with violence.
She ignored him and walked out his bedroom door, and hopefully out of his life.

Chapter
Five

“You just left?” Wes’s incredulous words matched his narrowed
eyes as he stared Ever down.

Why the hell was he so surprised? Wasn’t he the one who said to purge
Dakota? She was purging, damn it. “Was I supposed to break my fast with him,
Wes?” She shoveled cereal into her mouth and chewed. “The fucking man doesn’t
take no for an answer. And who feeds their one night stands anyway?”

Wes’s lips twitched, but mercifully he remained silent. She squinted
up at him. “I can hear you thinking. You need to stop living out your evil
fantasies through me.”

Color rode his cheekbones. “Dakota isn’t my fantasy, he’s yours.”

Ever grunted. She wasn’t going to dignify that with a response.
“Tonight I’ll take you out on the town, get you some cock so you can forget
about me and uh…whatshisname.”

“We’re going out because we need distractions. Any cock getting
on my part will be my doing, not yours.” Getting to his feet, Wes picked up a
titanium briefcase from the floor and placed it on the dining table. “Contrary
to your meal of choice, it’s after seven pm and you have an appointment.”

She grimaced. “Cruz can wait.” Cruz Doriaye was a buyer she’d
made the mistake of smiling at once. The green-eyed fool hadn’t stopped trying
to get in her pants since. She’d always held him off with the whole
don’t
shit
where
you
eat
mantra, but she’d well and truly
fucked that one out the window.

“I’d rather he didn’t have to.” Wes kissed her cheek. “Don’t
forget the vest.” He insisted she wear a bulletproof vest whenever doing face-to-face
transactions. Like her head wouldn’t be an acceptable target. She jerked her
chin in a nod.   

Ever made sure to finish her cereal before taking a shower and
heading out, flanked in the tinted SUV by the two bodyguards Wes had hired. She
didn’t think she needed bodyguards, but Wes was a stickler for protection. It
didn’t matter where she was,
his
people were everywhere. They could lash
out at any time.

The scent of salt water drifted to her on a breeze as they neared
the abandoned docks. Giant carrier containers lined the dark entryway, all
empty. The driver pulled the SUV to a stop between a dilapidated boathouse and
one of the carriers. Ever unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward, searching
out the flash of blue light Cruz used as his signal.

Nothing came.

She frowned then checked her watch and the time on the vehicle’s
dashboard just to be sure. It was the time they’d agreed to meet, yet Cruz was
nowhere around. Unease prickled her spine. In the three years they’d been doing
this, Cruz had never been late.

Bodyguard One—the driver—looked at her. “What do you want me to
do, ma’am?”  

“Give it another five minutes.” She buckled her seat belt and
crossed her arms over her chest. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t call me ma’am.”

When they left the docks eight minutes later, Cruz still hadn’t
put in an appearance, and the bad feeling Ever couldn’t shake grew
progressively worse.

****

“Why do you think he didn’t show?” Wes asked her.

Ever shrugged with feigned nonchalance. “Who knows? The bastard
better have a good reason, else I’m cutting him off.” She downed the remaining
drops of the Margarita in her glass and signaled the bartender for another.
They sat in a booth at one of the newly opened clubs in downtown Chicago. Practically empty when they first showed up, the place was now bursting at the
seams with weekend partygoers. A few feet away, sweaty bodies writhed on the
dance floor to the latest head banging music. She kept a wary eye on the room
and people around her. Though she didn’t want to admit it, something was
definitely off about Cruz’s no-show.