The Private Serials Box Set(95)
I didn’t wait for her to come all the way down before I grabbed her hips, flipped her over, pulled her ass up, and plunged into her.
“Fucking Christ, you’re so tight. I love slamming into you while you’re still clenching. It feels f*cking amazing.” I reached forward and wrapped my hand in her hair, just as she’d asked, pulled back gently and watched as her back arched and ass tipped up, fitting me perfectly. I continued to pound into her, loving the sound of her cries with every thrust. A ball of heat erupted in my spine, shooting forward, and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. I gripped her hair more tightly, pulled her back harder, impaling her with significant force and speed, listening to her guttural moans and incoherent words. When she collapsed onto her forearms, her * gripping me with more force than ever before, I knew she’d come again, and I followed right behind her.
We both collapsed, panting, trying to catch our breath, each on our respective sides of the bed. When I finally felt as though my heart wasn’t going to gallop away, I turned, wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her toward me. When she was secure against me, her back to my front, I brushed her hair aside and kissed her temple. I heard her exhale a shallow breath, then she settled into her spot, snuggling down.
“Love you,” she murmured, which I understood as her telling me goodnight.
I smiled, as if I could help it, and whispered into her ear, “I love you too, sweetheart.”
I sighed as she drifted off to sleep, resigned to having our much-needed conversation the next day. I smiled to myself as I vowed not to let her distract me with hot, drunken sex again.
Chapter Five
The next morning, I didn’t waste any time getting Lena to listen to everything I had to say. I woke up early, brewed coffee, cut up some fruit, and set it all out on the balcony. Then I gently woke Lena, asking her to meet me for breakfast overlooking the ocean. A few minutes later, when she joined me, I let myself drink her in. Her face was soft from sleep, her hair pulled up high and piled atop her head, and she’d put on one of my button-up shirts. She looked delectable, but I couldn’t let myself get distracted.
She came up beside my chair and leaned down, pressing a kiss against my lips, then sat down next to me, taking a sip of her coffee.
“It’s gorgeous out this morning,” she said, her voice still raspy and f*cking beautiful.
I smiled in response because I knew if I opened my mouth some cheesy bullshit about nothing comparing to her beauty would fall out of it, and I would mean every word.
“Do you remember how every night, back in Portland, I would sleep in my Lotus outside your house to make sure you were safe?”
She looked confused by my question; I had obviously started a conversation she wasn’t prepared for. “Um, yeah.”
“I need you to remember that. I need you to remember that, since the day I met you, I’ve done everything I could to keep you safe. Remember that, and trust me. Can you do that?”
“You’re scaring me, Preston.”
“I’m not trying to scare you, sweetheart, but I do have something to tell you and it will go more smoothly if you just keep that in mind—that I’ve always been focused on you and your safety and your happiness.”
She nodded, her expression a little hesitant.
“Yesterday, at the luau, I took a phone call.”
“Right, from Parker.” Her face paled and I watched as she became instantly panicked. “Oh my God, is he okay?”
“Parker is fine, but it wasn’t him on the phone. It was Edgar.” I waited as my words sunk in and watched as realization came over her face.
“The man who tailed us the night of the gala?”
“Right.”
“Why would he be calling you? Isn’t he the man you were working for when we met? I thought Derrek got what he wanted and all that was over?”
“Well, it turns out Derrek got what he wanted, but Edgar didn’t. Derrek was in deep with Edgar and owed him a lot of money. When Derrek disappeared, he did so before he paid Edgar back. And now Edgar wants his money.”
“Sucks to be Derrek,” Lena said just before popping a strawberry in her mouth, chewing with more force than necessary. I tried not to smile at her sass, but I lost that struggle, my mouth curling upward. Fuck, she was perfect.
“It does suck to be Derrek, but that’s not really news. News is, Edgar wants me to find Derrek.” Lena stopped chewing, her eyes locked on mine. When she moved again, it was to speak.
“I thought you knew where Derrek was.”
“I did know where he was—a week ago. I haven’t kept up any investigative work since I’ve been here. I could probably find him again, and there’s also the chance he hasn’t moved at all. But that’s not all Edgar wants.”
“What else?” She sounded nervous.
“He wants me to kill Derrek.” I didn’t know how else to put it to her, didn’t know any other words to say. It was blunt and to the point, but I figured she needed it that way. Needed to know exactly what was happening. Exactly what we were facing.
“Kill him?” Her voice was shrill and scared.
I nodded in response. She remained quiet for a few minutes and I watched her profile as she looked out to the ocean. She blinked and she breathed, but she did nothing else. Finally, she turned back to me, her eyes worried.