Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (37 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Brooke

The
air between us
was thick with tension as I asked my loaded question and watched as Dax considered
the implications. I knew that I was playing a risky game of chicken and that if
he decided to back out then I'd be left crossing the road alone.

"What do you
want to know?" he asked.

"It's more
what I want to tell you," I said as I picked up my drink and sipped. The
alcohol was doing its job and calming my nerves, but what I was about to do was
going to raise my level of anxiety.

"And what's
that?" he said darkly. I watched as his fingers tightened around the glass
he was holding and knew that he was waiting for me to drop a bomb.

"I got a hold
of the coroner's report," I began. "It said that Lydia Banks was
killed by a shot to the back of her skull. I've been around long enough to know
that that's an execution, Dax. Why would someone want to execute your
lawyer?"

"Don't ask
me," he said glumly. "Not a clue why she was killed. Maybe for her
handbag? Her car? Maybe it was one of her other clients who had a beef with
her? Hell, maybe she was running some kind of underworld empire or something?
Why are you asking me about Lydia's private business?"

"Kind of
defensive, aren't you?" I asked as I leaned back and listened to what
wasn't being said.

"Well,
wouldn't you be defensive if some lawyer was grilling you about a murder?"
he shot back as he leaned back in his chair and looked at me defiantly. I
recognized the look as one worn by clients who had no idea why they were being
questioned.

"You think
I'm accusing you of something," I said trying to back down a bit so that
he wouldn't be spooked. "I'm not, you know. I'm simply trying to get at
the heart of what happened to Lydia. By all accounts, she was a damn good
lawyer and there's no evidence to suggest that she had any under the table
dealings. So, her being executed is something completely off the charts in
terms of motive."

"Look, Lydia
was a great lawyer and a good friend," Dax said as he looked at me
intently. "I liked her and at one time I might have even been in love with
her, but she and I were from totally different worlds and it didn't work. I
still respected her professionally and I think she respected me."

"You were in
love with her?" I said, not able to hide the surprise in my voice.

"Yeah, we
were an item years ago, before she got hired by the big law firm and got all
those big clients," he admitted. I could see that it was difficult for him
to admit this to me, but the honesty of the admission gave me hope that we
would be able to trust each other eventually.

"I see,"
I said taking another sip and carefully measuring my response.

"Oh, don't go
getting all jealous on me," he said in a way that unnerved me. He was
adept at reading people's responses, so I knew I'd have to be careful of where
I tread next. Dax shrugged as he continued, "She was great, but we came
from two totally different worlds and, in the end, there was no way to bridge
the gap. I loved her, but she didn't love me back and she was honest about
that. I wasn't good enough for her."

"So she broke
your heart?"

"I wouldn't
go so far as to say that," he smiled. "But she definitely bruised my
ego."

"Kind of like
I did last night?" I asked.

"Nah, you
just totally confused me last night," he smiled again. I knew he was
hiding something more, but it didn't seem wise to push harder.

"You do
realize what this looks like, don't you?" I asked.

"What? That
you left me standing in the doorway of a popular restaurant wondering what the
hell had happened?" he replied.

"No, that
Lydia has been executed and you're going to be painted as the heartbroken
boyfriend who couldn't let her go," I said. It was a risky move, but I
knew that if I didn't get to the bottom of this, we weren't going to stand a
chance –
 
personally or professionally.

"Jesus,
Brooke!" he shouted as he pushed back from the table and stood up.
"Why can't you let that go? I was not in love with Lydia anymore! I'd
moved on and so had she!"

"But
apparently you hadn't moved on far enough," I said. "She was still
your lawyer and you saw her regularly."

"I saw her
professionally! That's all!" he yelled as he paced the room. "Dammit,
what do I need to do to prove to you that I was over Lydia? I wasn't in love
with her, and I sure as hell didn't kill her!"

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

Dax

Brooke's questions
had pushed me into defensive mode and now I was furious with her for grilling
me about Lydia. I had no idea what had happened, but Brooke was treating me
like a criminal. I paced the floor as she peppered me with questions about my
relationship with Lydia and whether or not I had seen her the day of the
murder.

"I don't
know, dammit! I don't know anything about it because I had nothing to do with
it!" I shouted at Brooke. She was sitting at the table calmly sipping her
drink and watching me get angrier by the minute. It infuriated me that she had
this effect on me, but I didn't know how to stop all of the stress and pressure
I'd been under from bubbling to the surface.

Brooke suddenly
stood up, walked over to me, and stood looking up at me with her hands on her
hips. She looked so sexy and beautiful that I had to look away. She read this
wrong.

"Don't be
ashamed to tell me what happened, Dax," she said as she put a hand on my
arm. I could feel her fingers gripping my skin and shook my head to clear the
thoughts that had begun to race through it as I looked at her.

"I'm not
ashamed," I said through gritted teeth. "I didn't do anything
wrong."

"Dax, look at
me," she said as she raised her other hand and touched my cheek. I closed
my eyes and tried to breathe deeply as I felt a wave of intense desire roll
though me. If she didn't get her hands off of me, I was afraid I wouldn't be
able to control myself.

"Don't touch
me," I growled. "Get your hands off of me."

"Oh, I'm
sorry," she said withdrawing the hand on my cheek but not letting go of my
arm. "I didn't realize that it was so awful for me to touch you. You must
still be missing Lydia..."

"Dammit,
Brooke," I roared as I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her
against my body. "I'm not pining for Lydia, I'm trying to..." Instead
of finishing the sentence I bent down and pressed my lips to Brooke's and
kissed her hard and deep. She hesitated for only a moment before she wrapped
her arms around my neck and returned my kiss.

I brought my hand
up and ran it through her silky blond tresses as I kissed her harder searching
out the deep recess of her mouth and seeking the soft warmth of her tongue. Her
hands gripped my shoulders as she returned my kiss with a fierceness that
fueled my need, and I pushed her backwards toward the table.

With one hand, I
tugged at her blouse, pulling it out of the waist of her skirt until I could
push it up over her head. She raised her arms and let me yank it off, leaving
her with nothing but a black lace bra covering her substantial breasts. I was
desperate to see them completely exposed, so I reached around and quickly undid
the hooks and tugged the straps off of her shoulders as I kept my mouth pressed
against hers.

I felt her moaning
into the kiss as my hands cupped her breasts and my fingers pinched her
nipples. I rolled them between my fingers, feeling them harden as a result of
the attention.

My pulse was
racing as I pulled back and looked into Brooke's gorgeous blue eyes. I raised
an eyebrow and when she nodded almost imperceptibly, I dipped my head and
traced a circle around one hardened nipple with my tongue. She buried her hands
in my hair as I licked and sucked one nipple and then the other. I could feel
her breath coming in ragged gasps as I ran a hand down her skirt and pushed it
up around her waist.

I inhaled sharply
as I slid my fingers up one of her inner thighs and down the other. Her skin
was soft and smooth, and I could feel the heat radiating from between her legs
as I forced myself to hold back and take my time. Brooke was moaning softly as
I traced a path up the inside of one thigh and lightly ran my fingers over her
panties, which were already soaking wet. There was no doubt in my mind that she
wanted me as much as I wanted her, but I wasn't taking any chances.

"I want
you," I said as I kissed my way back up her collarbone to her neck.
"I've wanted you from the minute I saw you sitting on that damn bar
stool." I kissed her neck and then traced a path up to her ear where I
whispered. "I want you, Brooke Raines. I want you here and now."

I heard her moan
as I lightly licked her ear before nipping her earlobe. My fingers played
between her legs as she gripped my hair. She turned her head slightly so that
her lips brushed my ear and whispered," Oh God, yes. Dax, yes."

I felt her hands
sliding down my chest and moving lower until she was pressing one palm against
the bulge in my pants as she unzipped them with the other. When she reached
into my boxers and gripped my engorged shaft, I groaned and slipped two fingers
under the crotch of her panties and pulled them to the side. She whimpered as I
slipped my fingers between her swollen lips and coated them in her wetness.

I sought out her
lips as we struggled to find a way to contain the fiery need that burned
brightly in both of us. I gave up and delivered a brutal kiss. She met my
roughness with her own need as she stroked my shaft and moaned into my lips.

My fingers teased
her hard little clit as I stroked her velvety inner lips before slipping a
finger up inside her tight entrance. She moaned so loudly that I was afraid
Billy would come ask what was going on, but I need not have worried. Billy
knew, and he wasn't coming anywhere near the back room until we were done.

"I need
it," Brooke whispered as I drew my finger back and then slid it in again.
"I need it! I need you, Dax. Please?"

"Are you
begging?" I whispered into her lips.

"If it gets
me what I want, you better damn well believe I am," she smiled as she
kissed me again and thrust her hips forward to meet my probing fingers.

"You asked
for it, lady," I said as I slid my finger out from between her legs and
lifted her up on the table where we'd been having our drinks. I added quietly,
"I need it, too."

"Dax..."
she begged as I spread her thighs and grasped my cock so I could guide it
between her open legs. "Oh God, yes..."

I spread her slick
lips with one hand as I pushed the tip of my shaft between them and slid it up
and down. She was so wet and ready that I had a hard time holding back, so when
she reached around and grabbed my ass and pulled me into her hard and fast, I
gasped as I felt my cock slide deep inside her.

"Oh
fuck," I groaned. "Oh fuck...you're so...so...oh fuck..."

Brooke looked up
at me as I stood between her legs swearing about how amazing she felt, then she
grinned, and said, "Stop talking about how good it feels and fuck me,
would you?"

I let out a laugh
as I gripped her hips and pulled back enough to tease the edge of her tight,
wet opening. She moaned and tried to pull me back inside, but I resisted as I
focused on driving her over the edge. I wanted to see this cool, logical woman
completely lose control and I knew the only way I was going to get that was to
hold out long enough to make her cum first.

I began a rhythmic
slide out and slam back in as I reached down between us and stroked her clit. I
grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back exposing her throat,
which I teased with my tongue as I continued thrusting in and sliding out. The
moans that escaped from Brooke's lips were from a place so deep inside that I
didn't think she had any control over them, and I loved the sound.

The harder I
thrusted, the louder her moans, and soon I realized that I was dangerously
close to the point of no return. I pulled back and teased the outer edge of her
entrance as I stroked her clit a little harder and as soon as I felt her tense
and begin to contract I slammed back inside of her and began pounding hard and
fast. She cried out as she came on my thrusting cock and I soon followed as I
let go and released inside her. I could feel my cock filling her with my thick
warm cum as her inner muscles milked it all out of me.

We clung to each
other until I felt her body growing cold, then I pulled back and grabbed her
blouse off the chair where I'd flung it. She gave me a tired little smile as
she put her bra back on and then pulled the blouse over her head and tucked it
back into the waistband of her skirt.

"Well, now
that was quite a surprise," she said as she stood up. I grabbed her arm as
she wobbled on shaking legs. "Hmm, I didn't think about the after effects
when I put these heels on this morning."

"They look
very sexy," I said as I stroked her hair and then pulled her against me
wrapping my arms around her so I could hold her tightly against my chest. I
wasn't sure I would ever have the chance to do this again, and I wanted to burn
the feeling of her body pressed against mine in my memory.

"That was
amazing," she whispered into my chest.

"It was
pretty great," I agreed.

"Is it wrong
that I want to do it again?" she asked quietly.

"No, not at
all," I said as I looked down at her and then bent to kiss her again.
"But I've got a business to run and I need to check on it before we do.
So, let me run by the club and then I'll come over to your place. How about
that?"

"That sounds
lovely," she said in a contented voice. "I'll order some take out and
we can eat and then think about how to approach round two."

"I can't
think of anything I'd like more," I said as I kissed her forehead.
"Give me an hour to wrap things up and then I'll be on my way."

"Mmmm," she
murmured into my chest. "Has it been an hour yet?"

"Not yet,
lady," I chuckled. "But it will be soon."

When we finally
emerged from the back room, Billy shot me a look that I deflected and told him
to call a cab for Brooke. It arrived a few minutes later, and once I'd tucked
her into it and given the driver more than double the fare, I stuck my head in
the back window and kissed her one more time.

"I'll see you
in an hour, beautiful," I said as I stood up and pounded on the roof of
the cab. I watched the tail lights disappear down the block before I walked
back to the lot and got in my car.

The drive back to
the club was the last moment of peace I would have for a long time.