Consumed Read online

  He wouldn’t leave me here. Would he?

  Once his door is shut, I stroll over to the driver’s side of the convertible. His eyes are narrowed and waiting to see what I’m going to do next.

  Crossing my arms, I reach down and grab the bottom hem of my dress. I pull it over my head and toss it to the ground. His skin is turning red, and I’m not sure if it’s from anger or lust.

  Hooded eyes rake over my body as I unclasp the lacy, nude bra I’m wearing. It hits the ground next, and his eyes travel across my breasts.

  “You’re fucking beautiful, exciting, and so goddamn stubborn.”

  I brandish a sly grin, confirming to be a stubborn-ass girl.

  “Fine, but it’s happening right here in this near-perfect condition, expensive, classic car. Take it or leave it.”

  I can only imagine the look on my face as he turns the tables on me and smirks. “That’s what I thought. Put your dress back on and get inside please.”

  He had a breakthrough tonight, trusting me, so I need to work on my issues, too. Not taking my eyes off of his, I strip off my panties and stalk toward the car. His smirk vanishes as I open the driver’s side door.

  Chapter Five

  Adrian

  “Fuck, you’re always full of surprises.”

  Victoria straddles my lap, her tongue thrusting into my mouth before I can protest. My hands slide around her waist and clutch her ass.

  I release a growl into her sultry mouth to proclaim the desire building inside me. My hips lift as the need to grind against her becomes urgent, but she’s fucking not well. Pulling my mouth free, I press our foreheads together.

  “Baby, I’m worried about you.”

  “Adrian, I’m sitting up. There’s no pressure on my head. Please, I can’t wait any longer to feel you inside me.”

  Her fingers glide down my chest before drifting under my t-shirt. “Please …” she says, kissing my neck. “Please, Adrian,” she whispers into my ear as her fingers roam along my stomach and unbutton my shorts.

  Victoria’s impatient lips continue to convince me between breaths. My cock throbs as her hand slides into my shorts and grips it. Her deliberate strokes, and my name said desperately off her tongue coaxes me.

  “Christ,” I say through a hiss. “There’s a condom in my wallet.” She adjusts her body enough for me to pull my shorts down. Reaching behind me, she frees my wallet and hands it to me.

  After finding the condom, I toss my wallet to the passenger floor. She swipes the package from my fingers and in seconds, her digits are pushing the latex on.

  Shit, this woman gets me so worked up. My fingers touch Victoria, and her soaked cunt is confirmation to every desperate word that has left her lips.

  Damn, I want to fuck her, but I want to love her more, and that scares the shit out of me.

  Grabbing my hand between her legs, she brings it up to her mouth. As she lowers herself onto me like a vice, she pushes my wet fingers between her cherry lips.

  “Holy shit, baby, that’s hot.”

  All my senses go into overdrive.

  While I fill her to the hilt, her whimpers are infectious sounds to my ears. Her stimulating scent pervades my nose, and the image of this erotic moment is being branded in my mind.

  Victoria’s tight pussy feels like ecstasy. Getting a taste is all that’s left, so I pull my fingers free from her mouth and plunge my tongue inside, lapping up the flavor of her addictive juices.

  She pushes down onto me, and I meet her movements with upward thrusts, clutching her hips to assist in driving into her.

  “Yes, fuck me hard,” she says in a breathless command as her fingers root in my hair. Moving a hand to the underside of her bouncing tit, I brace it and suck, pulling her stiff nipple out and releasing it.

  I repeat this until her swollen, slick muscles clamp down on my cock, bringing us both to an orgasm. My head flies back against the seat, and I shove my hips upward while pushing down on her waist to bury myself deep.

  Victoria strengthens her hold on my hair, and her moans echo against the small space as we ride out the pleasure. Our gasps for air are loud in the quiet of the night.

  After falling against me, I hug her harder than I ever have. Although her tenacious personality will inevitably drive me crazy at times, it makes her thrilling. Victoria makes life exhilarating.

  I shift in the seat, and the separation of my thigh to the leather makes an obscene noise. We both laugh, and like her whimpers, her giggle does funny things to my heart.

  “Thank you,” she whispers in my ear.

  Turning my face toward her, I kiss her cheek.

  “No, thank you. That felt incredible.”

  “Yes, it did feel incredible, but I meant thank you for having patience with me.”

  Lifting her head, I cradle her face. “Don’t thank me for being with you, and that’s essentially what you’re doing. You’re bringing me back to life, Victoria. I should be thanking you.”

  It’s almost dark, but her green eyes and sparkling grin are spotlighting her happiness, and I hope like hell she can feel mine, too.

  Victoria

  Adrian opens the car door. “Climb out, and we’ll have dessert on the blanket.”

  I do as he says, and while I put my clothing back on, I watch him dispose of the condom and pull his shorts back up.

  Adrian turns the headlights on for light, and after we spread the blanket out again, he sits down with a silver cardboard box he has retrieved from the picnic basket.

  “Sit across my lap again. I like to see your face.” His fit legs are stretched out as he smiles up at me. I straddle his thighs, leaving a little room between us. He holds the glossy box up for me to take it.

  Upon opening the lid, I find four chocolate covered strawberries, one at each corner. In the center of them is what looks like a truffle, wrapped in shiny, red foil. From the placement of the treats in the box, it’s obvious there is another layer.

  I slightly lift the paper between, to take a peek, and there are six chocolate truffles, free of wrapping, sitting in the bottom. Each is decorated differently, pleasing to the eye, and the sweet scent that hits my nose has me licking my lips.

  “Yum,” I say before I pick up a strawberry and hold it to Adrian’s mouth. “You first.”

  He takes a bite, and pink juice falls onto his cream t-shirt. We’re both giggling as we try to keep more of it from dripping. “Oh, no, it’s going to stain your shirt.”

  “Then I will have a pleasant reminder of this night every time I put it on,” he says.

  I sigh. “I don’t get how you’ve stayed single until now.”

  Adrian brushes wayward brown strands of hair from my face. “It’s simple, Victoria. I hadn’t met you.”

  Feeling vulnerable, I fool with the contents of the box.

  “I think we should see what is so special about this one.” I hold up the round truffle encased in red foil. “It’s the only one wrapped.”

  “I agree,” he says with a grin. A slip of paper, similar to those found in fortune cookies, is tucked around the decadent dark chocolate.

  I pull it free and hold it in front of my face where the lights from the car can illuminate it.

  Her psyche, authentic and unbridled, flourishes beneath a pure outer beauty. She is as nonpareil as the love I longingly possess for her.

  The value of receiving her guarded love in return would be an immeasurable gift.

  My hand covers my mouth as the magnitude of the words I’ve read pummel my bearings.

  “Oh, Adrian, you have to read what this says.” I turn it around and hold it up to his face. Fingers wrap around mine and bring them to his mouth to kiss.

  “I don’t need to read them. I wrote them for you, Victoria.”

  Oh, no. Tears flood my eyes. What’s happening to me? I don’t cry, yet I’ve wanted to on more than one occasion since meeting Adrian. Mammoth tears begin to fall to my cheeks.

  His fingers are promptly brushing them
aside. “My pearl, don’t cry. I wrote it with the hope it would make you happy. I love you.”

  Firmly, he cradles my face in his hands as my tears continue to pour. “God, I had no idea I could even feel a love this powerful, Victoria, and it’s OK if you don’t feel it back. I don’t deserve it yet, but one day … one day I hope to be great enough for your love.”

  “Dammit, stop already, you stupidly happy man. I can’t stop crying.”

  He’s grinning now, probably recalling the texts he frequently sends to remind me that he’s stupidly happy. I’m not quite sure what he means by stupid, but they read adoringly.

  After setting the box of desserts on the blanket, my arms sling around his neck. He falls backward, and I envelop his body with mine, covering his face with kisses.

  “I already love you, too, Adrian Cassano, so you better deserve it.” His smile falters, and now, his eyes look watery. Two fingers skim across my cheek.

  “Do you remember the time in my bathroom when you told me to promise that no matter what the future held, I’d trust that time between us was real?”

  “Yes.”

  “Promise me, Victoria. Promise me you will always believe I loved you at this moment.”

  Tears rain again. “I promise. Now, stop with all the sweetness. I think you just softened my shell.”

  He gives me a heart-stirring grin. “I’m going to do more than soften it. I’m breaking it down, Juice Box.”

  He pulls me to him snugly, and we kiss. It’s heated in no time, the passion we possess becoming the conductor of our hands and mouths.

  They’re playing a sensual song of love and lust until I’m calling an intermission to find another condom in his wallet.

  Chapter Six

  Victoria

  “Good morning,” I say to Reggie after sliding into the seat of his car.

  “Morning.” He doesn’t glance over, and I barely get the door closed before he’s taking off. As I stare at him, his defined jaw shifts, and he rolls his shoulder back. It’s something I’ve watched him do many times when he’s trying to ease his tension.

  He says nothing before we stop at the local coffee shop, where I buy us both drinks. I barely get a thank you when I return and hand it to him.

  It’s apparent he’s upset this morning, which means after he’s finished sulking, we will be talking about it.

  Reggie’s eyes keep tilting up to the rearview mirror as he drives us to work.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “I think someone followed us from your apartment. The same SUV I noticed after I picked you up is behind us once again, which shouldn’t be the case since we stopped for a while.”

  I glance in the passenger mirror, but I can’t see the driver of the vehicle. Yesterday with Adrian will be one of the most memorable days in my life, and I felt only contentment when he dropped me off last night.

  Now, I’m feeling the normal anxiety associated with my job and dealing with a tense Reggie. He pulls into the station parking lot and comes to an abrupt stop.

  The SUV he believed was following us passes, and the man’s head jerks right over toward us to take a look. Once he realizes we’ve stopped, his head whips forward, so I barely get a glance at him.

  “We were definitely being followed. I don’t like it, and it’s probably because of who you are associating with,” Reggie says tersely.

  “You were the one always insisting I quit because nothing illegal was happening there.”

  Slamming his palm down on the steering wheel, he throws his head back against the seat.

  “Dammit, I care about you, Vic. Please don’t be with Adrian Cassano.”

  “I can’t help that I love him.” After hitting the gas pedal harder than necessary, Reg finds a spot and parks. I’m not in the mood for his shit this morning.

  Instantly, I grab the door handle. I don’t look back, but I believe I’m in the building before he ever gets out of the car.

  Adrian

  “You were at the property late,” Theo states as he stands in front of my desk.

  “I showed Victoria the Roadster and the view of the city.”

  “Did she have a good time?”

  “Yes.” I finally look up at my brother. He’s grinning, so I roll my eyes.

  “I have one of my two kids trying to sleep in my bed every night. I can barely get sex with Karen on a mattress, so it sure as hell isn’t happening anywhere else. Please give me some details.”

  “Not happening. You have two younger brothers who probably screw everywhere besides a bed so ask them. Besides, I don’t want you fantasizing about Victoria.”

  “I’m fucking with you. I just wanted to see if you would get jealous and you managed to.”

  Tossing my pen down, I sit back in my chair.

  “I’m pissed this morning. Our night was perfect, but knowing she’ll be working closely with Reggie all day, every day, is driving me nuts.”

  “She chose you, bro, so you have to let it go and trust her.”

  I swivel in my chair and stare out over the Strip.

  “I lost Kelly when she was spending all her time with another man and I couldn’t be there.”

  “Adrian, this is hardly the same thing. You’re right here, for one. You can see Victoria as much if not more than Reggie can.

  “She’s not Kelly, and you shouldn’t even be comparing the two relationships. You were much younger back then. Everything is different now, including you.”

  Theo’s phone rings, so he pulls it from his pocket to answer. In a matter of seconds, he’s ending the call without a word and turning on my television.

  “The two men found shot to death in Ward County, Texas, were suspected terrorists believed to be headed to Dallas,” says the female news anchor.

  “The two Middle Eastern men were found in a vehicle at a rest area off of I-20 with single gunshot wounds to the head. The FBI has taken over this investigation, and we will bring you details as they become available,” she adds.

  “Boone wants you to call him,” Theo says.

  I tap my fingers on my desk as I think about the news report. “I will now.” He leaves as I pull a disposable cell from my desk and dial the number for the leader of my special ops team.

  “I can explain,” Boone says as soon as he answers.

  “Tell me you’re responsible for this.”

  “I am, but we had to let them cross the border first. As you know, Hammond is on the inside. He had to help these men cross to gain trust from Victor.”

  “I understand.”

  “You do?”

  “I know I said another better never cross the US border, but you took care of the problem, and this sends a clearer message to the terrorist community.”

  “My thinking exactly, but uh … we might need to let one by. It was too risky with these two.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Ace, we can’t pick off every one of them we help get through. That would look suspicious, too. We have to be patient.”

  I rub my forehead and blow out a loud breath. He’s right, but the thought of helping a drug lord transport a terrorist into this country makes me want to vomit.

  “One, but it has to be someone already on the government’s watch list, and I want a definitive plan in place for his future execution,” I say.

  “I’ll keep you informed.” Boone ends the call, and I blow out a nervous breath.

  I have to do this for you, Dad, and our country.

  Victoria

  My foot taps, and I’ve drawn blood from my lip. I release the hold my teeth have on it when Reggie strolls out of Sergeant Bishop’s office. He’s been in there twenty minutes.

  Sitting back across from me at his desk, his dark eyes lift to meet mine. He’s wearing a defeated expression, and I don’t like the bad feeling I’m getting.

  “I’m sorry, Vic.”

  “What did you do?” I ask. Bishop opens his door.

  “Victoria, in my office now.”

/>   Shit, I knew he would ask for another partner.

  “Whatever Reggie wants is fine, but please don’t stick me with Tucker,” I say to my boss as I shut his door.

  “Sit, Victoria. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Didn’t Reggie ask to change partners?” I take a chair and wait for his reply.

  “No, he didn’t. He told me about your unauthorized investigation at Hotel Submission and Casino.”

  “That snitch,” I sneer before looking over my shoulder, wishing Bishop’s blinds were open so I could give Reggie the death stare.

  “He’s concerned for your safety. I, on the other hand, am sick of your disobedience. I’m reporting you for suspension, and this is your last warning. Demotion is next.”

  “I’m not working there. I already quit.”

  “It’s too late.”

  “You can’t do this. I am allowed to work a second job.”

  “Are you willing to sign a statement that you weren’t there to investigate Adrian Cassano and his brothers?”

  “No, I can’t do that.”

  “Then this is settled.”

  I storm from Bishop’s office, and Reggie stands as soon as he sees me charging toward him. “You asshole!”

  “Victoria, let me explain.”

  “I swear if I wouldn’t lose my job, I would throat punch you.”

  His hands go up in front of him. “Calm down.”

  “You could’ve given me a heads up that if I didn’t become your fuck partner, I would be snitched on.”

  Reggie glances around our large office, which has suddenly become silent.

  “That’s not fair, Vic. You know that’s not how this is.”

  I feel my fists tighten, so I hurry to my desk and grab my purse. I’m going to injure him if I don’t get the hell out of here.

  After stepping into the bright Nevada sun, I hear Reg calling my name. “Go to hell, Reginald.”

  He grabs my arm and swings me around.