Page 43 of Hooked on Trouble

I roll the sheets back. “No. I just missed you. Come to bed.”

He smiles at that. Slightly. He places his phone on the night table, lies down, and pulls me into him. I wish I could spoon him from behind, hold him close, take care of him the way he cares for everyone else, but the man is just too large.

I tug his arm more tightly around me. “Who called?”

He kisses my head and sighs. “Alessi. He got the address for that Russ guy. I might not be able to go with you for a few days, though. Something’s come up at work.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

He tucks a large, sculpted leg over mine. “Nothing important.”

The lie stings. He’s pushed me to open up and be honest. Let him in. I haven’t told him all my secrets, and I doubt I’ve learned all of his, but this feels like a step back. Not that I should be surprised. If he goes so far as to do something illegal to clear his brother, he wouldn’t tell a soul. He’d live with the guilt. Alone. Nico the Martyr.

I lie awake the next couple of hours. I’m pretty sure he does, too. He pushes his nose through my hair and kisses my temple from time to time. Each brush of his lips tingles down to my toes. Soon we’ll have to get up and leave, but the prospect seeps through me like acid. I’ve never felt closer to a person than I do Nico. Last night solidified him in my life in a way that can’t be undone. It cemented him in my heart. But that call and what it implies is powerful, too. The address he got holds enough weight to crush me. For now, though, for these last minutes, it’s just him and me in this room, tangled on this bed.

I twist in his arms and force him on his back. I kiss the enata symbol on his pec—the sky guarding its people. Nico guarding those he loves.

Time for someone to put him first.

I trail my lips over the ridges of his abs, and his soft groans float down with me. I kiss each star that represents his family, pulling his boxers off as I go. Nudging his knees apart, I lick a line up his cock, following the vein on the underside. His dick twitches, and his quads flex. His thighs are huge, bracketing my head with power. I plant a hand on one, then I fist his shaft and circle the head of his cock with my tongue.

“Jesus, Raven.” The words are guttural, his hand pushing back my hair. “Move to the side so I can watch you.”

Pleased he’s asking for what he wants, I move my body perpendicular to his and take him into my mouth, as deep as possible. I swallow a few times, knowing he’ll feel it where it counts, then I slide up, leaving a trail of wetness for my hand to follow. His hips buck. He cups my breast, my angle giving him easy access. He’s too big for me to take all of him in, so I use my hand and mouth and tongue and throat to work him over, traveling his full length. He massages my breast and rolls his hips, eyes on me the whole time. I suck his head and pump his shaft until his muscles tense, his cock hardening in my mouth.

“Babe, I’m there. I’m gonna come.”

At the last second, he drops his head back, a gravelly “Christ” ripped from his chest as he pours into my mouth. I stroke him until he stills.

Most guys would be comatose by now, totally passed out. Not Nico. Growling, he pulls me up and rolls me over. He kisses me hard. “Whatever I did to deserve that, remind me to do it more often.” His brow isn’t creased like it was after that call, the stress no longer visible on his face.

He travels downward, tracing my body with his lips the way I did his, but I lock his waist with my knees. If I’m going to date this man, he’ll have to let me care for him, too. “Save this for next time. That was just for you.”

Shifting his body forward, he cups me between my thighs. The Sexy Beast fights dirty. “Right now I want to eat your pussy. Consider me a starving man.”

Seriously dirty and I’m unarmed, drenched from going down on him. At least the sentiment was there. “As long as you know that’s not why I gave you head.”

He grins and replaces his hand with his face.

Holy Jesus.

Thirteen

Nico

I push into Diamonds, my body wound as tight as my mind. The place is half empty as usual, Alessi’s gelled head nowhere to be seen. I walk over to the bar and fall onto a stool. Doug’s at the end, rambling on with a regular. Hunching forward, I plant my elbows on the wood, the ancient surface peeling and dented in spots. It looks as worn as I feel.

Being with Raven was better than I’d imagined. She didn’t hold back, didn’t keep me at a distance. I rocked into her, and she came undone in my arms. The way her pulse pounded when I gathered her to my chest, I’m pretty sure it was intense for her, too. And her mouth on me this morning melted my mind. Unfortunately, the phone call between those slices of heaven has me ready to split nails. But I can’t stop living. Not the way I’ve been all about Josh and work the past seventeen months. This won’t be a repeat of Aspen.

I pull out my cell to text her.

Last night was amazing. So was this morning. When can I see you again? Her reply doesn’t come, and Doug saunters my way. He’s thinner than he was when we started drinking here, his wrinkled skin revealed below his cuffed sleeves. His mustache and eyebrows are bushier, the same cowboy hat he’s had since forever pulled low on his forehead. “You drinkin’ alone today, son?”

The endearment always makes me smile. “Meeting a friend, but I’ll take a beer.”

He mimics my pose, leaning on his elbows. It’s always like this with Doug—talk first, drinks after. “Got myself a new cash register this week.” He nods to the purchase. “Last one died. Outta the clear blue, just up and croaked. Couldn’t even get out the cash.”

The story goes on, details about the make and model and how hard he had to bargain for the price, years of smoking cigarettes roughing up his voice. The boys joke about how painful Doug’s stories are, but he always calls me son and speaks politely. There are days I come here just to listen. Eventually, he spins around and pours me my glass. A flyer rests by my fist, an ad for some sort of Fright Night. Josh draws stuff like this, creepy yet realistic. Fantastical creatures. Has a real talent for it. Another thing that will go to waste if he gets convicted.