“We’re two consenting adults, Lanie. And one day soon your daddy is going to have to let his baby girl go,” he said with a serious look on his face. His long finger caressed my cheek delicately and he sighed. “Because you’re my baby now.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Who wouldn’t be happy to have Noah Crawford murmur those heart-stopping words to them?
Pleased with my reaction, Noah tilted his head up and kissed me sweetly.
There was never a dull moment between the two of us, and I prayed there never would be. But even if we grew old and gray together, sitting on a little white wooden swing in a gazebo, feeding a family of ducks as the sun set before us, I’d still be happy.
7
SAY WHAT?
Noah
It had been nearly two weeks since I’d seen her. Two very long, very unbearable weeks since I’d taken Lanie back to Hillsboro. I was irritable at best. The absence of the girl he loves will do that to a man.
I’d talked to her every day, though. Some normalcy had returned to their household. Her mother was up and about and seemed to be faring well, her father was back at the factory, and that was a good thing. Even I had to admit Mack deserved the break. And, according to Lanie, he wasn’t nearly as grumpy, but he still hated to leave his wife. Although it was for different reasons entirely, I understood how the man felt; I hated not being by Lanie’s side.
As if the first week without her hadn’t been bad enough, I had been called out of town on business and had to miss our weekend together. I would’ve just said fuck the whole son of a cock-blocking whore of a trip and gone to her anyway, but there was a board meeting coming up and I’d already missed so much work. And that didn’t look good for me at all, especially considering the intensity with which David Stone was breathing down my neck.
He had been acting even more arrogant than he normally did, if that was even possible, and I was beginning to get suspicious. It was like he knew something I didn’t. Something big. I chalked it up to his threat of tattling on me to the board about our little run-in the morning after the Scarlet Lotus Ball. I wasn’t concerned. The board members had a lot of respect for my parents, which trickled down to me by default. More than likely they’d say he deserved it.
I had half a mind to go ahead and sell my half of the company to the bastard so I could move closer to Lanie, but I couldn’t do that to my parents. Scarlet Lotus had been their dream, and although I knew my happiness would have meant more to them, I couldn’t be that selfish.
Yeah, I know; all of a sudden, I was a real saint. But since admitting my feelings to Lanie, I wanted to be the kind of man she deserved—a man who was just as self-sacrificing as she was.
Lanie was very understanding, insisting that I go on my trip and get my work done, but I knew it was all a façade, one that she put up because she knew it was something I had to do. Still, the way she covered the heartbreaking crack in her voice with a perkiness that sounded more like Polly was a dead giveaway, proof that the hardship of our separation was affecting her the same way it was affecting me. It was torture. Pure, unadulterated torture. But the anticipation of how great it was going to be when we finally did get to be together again was enough to keep us both going.
I’d tried to busy myself with work to take my mind off the fact that she wasn’t there, but that hadn’t been successful, either. Admittedly, I was a bit snippy with my employees, Mason, Polly, and Samuel included. Polly snapped right back at me, which really wasn’t a very good idea, but I respected her for it. She wasn’t one to put up with my bullshit when she knew it was uncalled for. I granted her a reprieve because I knew she missed Lanie almost as much as I did. Her friend was gone, and she didn’t have many. Being an annoying pissant sort of limited the number of people who were willing to put up with her ass. Plus I’d sort of forced Mason to go along with me on my business trip. She really hated me for that, but she’d gotten over it. I think.
Two more days.
Two more excruciating, miserable days until the weekend, when I would get to see her again. Hold her in my arms, taste her luscious lips, feel her soft skin. It would be enough to get me through at least a few hours.
Yeah, I was an optimistic motherfucker.
I finished looking over the reports Mason had prepared regarding the new clients I’d managed to sign on despite my preoccupied mind, and packed up my things for the day.
Mason came into my office with the agenda for the meeting. “You out of here, boss?”
“Yeah, I’m calling it a day. Good work on the reports, by the way. They look great.”
Mason drew his head back, eyes wide with disbelief at my kind words. The poor man had really taken a beating from me over the previous days, and it wasn’t right. He didn’t deserve it. So channeling my newfound theory about being self-sacrificing, I offered up an apology.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I’ve been hard on you lately, it’s just that with Lanie gone and all—”
“No worries, man. Polly has been the same way,” he interrupted, letting me off the hook.
“So you’re getting it from both ends, huh?”
Mason nodded. “I guess I never realized the effect that little gal has had on so many lives.”
I hadn’t, either, but he was right. Even Lexi had been calling me a lot more lately, which wasn’t at all like her, and it was always to see how Lanie was doing. I’d told her to call her herself, that Lanie would love to hear from her, but Lexi didn’t want to be intrusive. Yeah right, like that held an ounce of truth.
“Well, you don’t deserve all the shit you’ve been getting.” I shrugged my coat on and clapped him on the shoulder on my way out the door. “Have a good night, man.”
The weather had turned chilly over the last couple of days, which was right on time with the season, but part of me wondered if it hadn’t been more obvious to me because Lanie wasn’t there to keep me warm. Seriously, it was like all the warmth had been sucked out of the space around me. My own personal sunshine was miles away, and I was left feeling desolate and cold.
“Hey, Crawford!” David called out as I made my way toward the elevator. Speaking of cold and desolate …
I didn’t stop to shoot the shit with him because I really didn’t have anything to say. Besides, I had a telephone date with my girl, and I had no intention whatsoever of missing it.
“What do you want, Stone?” I snapped.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re planning on being at the next board meeting, that’s all.” David’s words were ones of casual curiosity, but it wasn’t hard to see the cutting look his dark eyes reflected, or the scornful sneer that played along his lips. My right hand started to close into a fist. I wanted to knock the fucker out cold and wipe that butt-ugly mug along the floor to remove his cocky perma-grin.
“Why wouldn’t I be there?” I sighed in annoyance and punched the down button for my personal elevator, imagining it was his face.
“Well, since you’ve been MIA so much lately, I wasn’t sure. You don’t want to miss this meeting, Crawford. It’s going to be entertaining as hell.” He flashed his toothy grin and then winked at me before he finally got out of my face.
Entertaining. The asshat really thought I’d get ousted over threatening to kill him? People said stuff like that every day. And while it might not be appropriate for the workplace, it certainly wasn’t enough to make me lose my own company to the likes of him. Besides, it was his word against mine, and I highly doubted he was wired at the time.
I rushed home like a madman. Well, as much rushing as a madman could do in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Sitting in the back of the limo for so long drove me crazy. I swore I could still smell Lanie’s delicious scent from the trysts we’d had there.
Once inside the sprawling mansion I’d called home for all my life, the emptiness and longing set in yet again. Lanie had a way of filling the room with a presence that was larger than life, yet so intimate it felt like she and I were the only two people left on the planet
. And I was really into the prospect of the two of us doing all we could to repopulate the damn place. You know, for the sake of mankind and all. And that was when it dawned on me: I wanted kids with her. Lots and lots of kids.
When Lanie and I last spoke, she had claimed she was going to give me a real workout the next time we saw each other. I had to chuckle to myself at the thought. She had become the insatiable one. Once a kitten that trembled under my stare, she had morphed into a lioness, a sleek predator whose need to satiate her hunger made her desperate and bold. The tables had turned—where she had become the predator, I had become the prey.
Well, not really, but I wasn’t averse to letting her think so if it meant she was going to be more adventurous. I admired her for knowing what she wanted and not being ashamed to take it, even if I was a willing participant.
I grabbed a quick bite to eat and a shower while I waited for her call. I had just stepped out of the bathroom when my phone rang. I dropped my towel to lunge at it from the other side of the room, completely naked as I crashed onto the bed in an awkward position. Damn, but that hurt.
“Oh, shit! Goddamnit!” Yes, those were the first words that came out of my mouth when I answered the phone. “Hey, kitten.”
“What’s wrong?” Lanie asked, worry lacing her tone.
“I think I broke my dick,” I told her as I rolled onto my back.
Lanie attempted to stifle her giggle from the other end of the line. “Were you doing your cockarobics?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled, playing along. “Only my dick refuses to bend that way.”
“Aw, poor baby,” she cooed. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?”
Had my cock not been on a perma-leash, I was sure it would’ve attempted to lunge through the phone to get at her.
“You’re an evil little minx. You know damn well I would love nothing more than to fuck your mouth. Now I’m hard from the thought, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Her voice was all deep and sultry and shit. Not helping matters at all. “What are you wearing?”
“I’m lying in bed. What do you think I’m wearing?” I asked in a husky voice, knowing damn well she knew I slept in the nude.
“Mmm, show me.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Look at your cell.”
My phone vibrated on my nightstand and I reached over my head and grabbed it. Sure enough, there was a text from my girl. When I opened it, I nearly fell off the bed. There she was, naked as the day she was born, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. She was propped up against her headboard, her luxurious hair cascading over her shoulders, her breasts full, and nipples taut. Her knees were lifted and spread to the sides, giving me a glorious vision of the tender pink flesh between her thighs. And her eyes. Dear Lord, her eyes were all hooded and she was biting down on that plump, bottom lip like she was craving my touch.
“I showed you mine. Now, show me yours,” she practically purred into the phone.
“Oh, so you want to play, do you?” I asked with a smirk I knew she could hear even though she couldn’t see it.
“Does this sound like I want to play?” I heard the click of a button and then the unmistakable vibration of the Crawford bullet I had gifted her. “I need you. I can’t wait any longer. Make me come, Noah.”
“Jesus Christ …” I was more than happy to make her come, even if it was going to have to be by a piece of goddamn metal instead of any real part of my body. “Is that my bullet, kitten?” I asked, already sure of the answer.
“No, but this is.” Another, higher-pitched vibration joined the low hum of the previous one, and I raised an eyebrow.
“So, what’s that other thing you got there, Lanie?”
She giggled. “Dez made me go to this little shop with her today. An adult shop. I never even knew it existed. Probably because it was tucked away in a back alley.”
“You bought a vibrator?” I hoped like fucking hell she used my credit card to buy the best they had to offer, even though the motherfucking thing was going in the trash as soon as I got her back in my bed where she belonged. No cock, real or fake, was going anywhere near my pussy when I was perfectly capable of taking care of her needs myself. The Crawford bullet was an exception only because it was an enhancer, not a cock replacement.
“Mmm-hmm. Of course, it’s nowhere near as big as the real thing, but since I can’t have you, it’ll have to do.”
Yeah, my head grew about ten times its normal size. Both of them.
“Tell me what to do with it, Noah. Tell me how to make myself feel good. What would you do to me if I was there with you right now?”
I ogled her picture on my cell phone and I knew exactly what I would’ve done. “I’d throw your ass on this bed and bury my face between those beautiful thighs to feast on you. That’s what the fuck I’d do if you were here.”
She moaned into the phone and my dick twitched on my stomach. Goddamn, but that woman could turn me inside out.
“But since you’re not sprawled naked on my bed, we’ll have to make do. That vibrator will play the part of me for the evening. We’ll call it mini-me. I want you to put it to the side and get the bullet, kitten. Move it down your body and let it rest just over your clit. Not on it. Above it.”
She moaned again, obviously approving of the light vibrations that were teasing her nerve endings.
“Leave it there. No matter how badly you want to move it down further, don’t,” I directed her. “Now, palm those beautiful breasts and massage them. God, they feel so good, don’t they? Lick your fingers for me, Lanie. Push your breasts together, and then use those wet fingers to pull and tug on those pert little nipples. That’s my mouth, hot and wet, sucking and teasing. I alternate between each one, my tongue flicking and circling, then both of them at the same time. Scrape your nipples with your fingernails. That’s my teeth. Damn, I want to bite them so bad. Do you feel me, kitten?”
“Oh, God, yes.”
“Fuck, when you say it like that …” I closed my eyes and could almost see her hands manipulating her own body. I made a mental note to make that a reality in the very near future. Maybe I’d even watch her pleasure herself with her little toy as well. I should reconsider letting her keep it after all.
“Touch yourself for me. Slip your fingers between your pussy lips and feel how soft and warm you are,” I continued to toy with her. “Are you wet for me, Lanie?”
She moaned. “So fucking wet.”
My voice was deep and throaty to my own ears, blood pumping through my veins and going straight to my engorged cock. “That’s good, kitten. Take the mini-me and put it in your mouth. I want you to suck my cock. Get me wet and ready to slide inside that tight pussy.”
The hum that came from the other end of the line was muffled, and I could tell she’d done exactly what I’d asked of her. Wet, slurping sounds mixed with greedy moans of satisfaction, and I wanted to feel what the fuck she was doing for real, not just imagine it.
“That’s enough, Lanie. You don’t want to make me jealous, do you?”
“Will it make you fuck me hard?” Her voice was teasing, hoping my answer would be yes.
“You like it when I fuck you hard?”
Lanie mewled on the other end of the line, and my breathing accelerated from the sound alone. My cock was about as hard as it could get and I feared I might seriously burst a blood vessel if I didn’t release some of the tension soon. My hand had a mind of its own at that point and I began to stroke myself.
“I love it when my pussy feels so good to you that you just can’t help yourself.”
When my girl said pussy, it just motherfucking did things to me. A growl erupted from my chest and escaped through my clenched teeth. “Say it again.”
“Say what?”
She knew what the fuck I wanted to hear. She was playing with me, and I was slightly annoyed by it. Mostly because she was there and I wasn’t, and
I was hornier than a nymphomaniac on the set of a porno. “You know what. Say it again.”
“Puuuuusssyyyy.”
“Goddamnit, woman. If you were here right now, I’d have no mercy on you. I’d fuck you so hard you’d be seeing stars.” And I meant every word of it, too.
“Now who’s the tease? Tell me what to do next, Noah.”
Oh, right. She was holding a dildo in her hands. So many places my mind could’ve gone with that thought. It was about to hit on at least one of those.
“Turn it on, kitten. Feel me vibrating in your hands. I want you to run the head of my dick up and down those wet folds. Soak me in your wetness.”
“Mmm, that feels so good.”
I shouldered my phone and reached behind me to fumble around with my hand until I found the lubricant in the drawer of the nightstand. Then I squirted a generous amount into my palm before throwing the bottle to the side so I could watch my hand go to work on my cock.
“Feel me there, teasing your opening with my cock. I’m ready for you. I want to fuck you hard and fast. I want to make you scream my name.”
“God, yes, Noah,” she moaned, her breathing labored to match my own.
“Sit up on your knees, kitten. Can you do that for me? I want you to turn the speakerphone on, sit up on your knees and hold on to the headboard with your free hand.”
I heard a shuffling noise from the other end of the line, and then her voice again, a little more distant than before. “Okay, what now?”
“You’re going to ride my cock, Lanie. Put a pillow between your legs and prop that thing on it. Now spread your knees until you’re low enough that you can feel it at your opening.”
“I want you so bad,” she whined.
“Then take me. Lower yourself onto my cock and ride me hard, just the way you like it.” Wanting to feel the sensation with her, I squeezed the head of my dick between my thumb and forefinger before bucking my hips to push the rest of my cock through the grip of my hand.
My eyes shut as the mental picture of entering her mixed with the memory of how I knew it felt. “Oh, fuck, Lanie. You feel so good. Do you like that?”