Stone: At Your Service (Carolina Bad Boys #1) (16 page)

He
gave the girls a quick inspection. “Those two are the book reviewers and webmistresses at LolliPOP Grrrls. Go say hi.”

At his prodding,
I slipped away from the table, ambling up to the young ladies. They were opposites of each other. One dressed in a hoodie and all-black clothes, sporting an array of facial piercings from her ears to her eyebrows to her nose and lips. Her consort was a bottle blonde femme in tight all-white neoprene. They both had bods any man with a working cock in his pants would appreciate. Miss Blondie sucked a lollipop with audible slurps and the dark angel smacked a piece of gum like she was chewing a cow cud.

They made me feel like a dirty old man, and I wasn
’t even the one leering; they were. At me. It was then I remembered once again I was bare-chested, almost naked . . . and not at all interested in them in any way.

The grins they gave me as I sauntered over were as saccharine as their treats.
“Quite a show, Stone.”

I pulled
my fedora lower, wishing I had a shirt on, too. “Thanks, ladies.”

Even though
they looked like eye candy, Suck and Blow started in all business. “We run a review blog and we want you on it.
You write ’em, we suck ’em down,
” they said in unison.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I was drowning in innuendo-ville.

“But I don’t write.” I shoved my hands into my pockets. That brought the leather low-riders another dangerous inch down my lubed-up body.

Their eyes riveted to the extra amount of skin on show, I withdrew my hands and crossed my arms over my chest. Half naked, oiled down like the kid
’s Slip and Slide when we squirted Dawn dish soap on it, I couldn’t have made more of an
immodest spectacle
of myself.

The
gum smacker said, “Oh, we don’t care about that. We just think you’re smoking—”

“
Capital H hawt.” Lollipop twirled a ringlet of white-blond hair around her finger.

Her kinky
cohort
snapped her gum. “Centerfolds? Nude?”

“
Cover guy.” They both sighed.

Yap, yap, yap,
they went
.
I turned half around to the table so I could drink in Leelee’s fresh-faced gorgeousness to find her . . . glaring at me. Glaring?
What’d I do now?
Oh. She was glaring at me
and
the two girls. Was she jealous?

Hell yeah to that.

I took their card and promised to contact them. They sucked, smacked, and finally backed away, finding new prey to hunt down. I’d almost made it back to the table when I saw LaForge headed our way. Determination in his steady march, he glommed onto Leelee.

Hell no to that.

Whether the skuzzball was looking to get into her panties or her purse, both were a no-go. And I was gonna make sure of that. He got in Leelee’s line of sight and she visibly flinched. I beelined for her before he made contact.

Her g
reen eyes full of anxiety skipped to mine. “Can you get me outta here?”

Knight in shining armor, here I come
. Grasping Leelee’s hand, I sent an apologetic look to Nicky. Her fingers tucked around mine while I skirted the edges of the room.

W
e played a game of duck and dodge while our friends covered our retreat. The cover models had first string. Rafael, Viking, and Army Tank stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a solid wall of muscle between LaForge and our exit. Not to be outdone, LaFucker skirmished aside, intent on getting to Leelee.

The Hens held second defense, Nicky with them, his jaw visibly grinding.
Mess with Leelee, mess with them. That devotion became apparent when from out of nowhere, Missy brandished a crop to beat him over the head.
Better him than me.
Jacqueline’s nails were out, Nicky took up a boxing stance, Janice threw off her bangles. They converged on him, giving him a taste of his own predatory tactics.

By
the time we reached the door, LaForge had hurtled past the Hens only to be foiled by the Widows. Fred, Devon, Fawn, and Felicity made a last stand as we broke through the exit. Nicky glared at me one final time. Noted. Ignored. I’d deal with the consequences later.

Reaching the lobby, we dived between masses of people. One of
Leelee’s heels broke off against an uneven tile. I lifted her into my arms.

“
Stone! Put me down.”

Not likely, not now that I had her
with me. Once we reached our escape route, I slipped her slowly to the floor, cushioning her landing with my hands on the backs of her thighs.

“
That was close, Sir Knight.” Her eyes glittered. Amused Leelee was so much better than scared Leelee.

“
Where to, Milady?” I bent low to kiss her wrist where the pulse raced.

Breathy from more than our mad dash, her voice slid over me like a caress.
“My room, kind sir. I need to get out of this get-up.” She lifted her foot and flicked the broken heel with a sigh. “These were my favorites.”

Her room?
Danger
. Leelee getting undressed with me present?
Fucking perilous.

I helped her hop aboard
the elevator, pressed her floor number, thought about pulling the High Seas Hotty poster off the wall. Anything to take my mind off Leelee and the way she’d watched me during the contest.

The door of her room came too quickly. I wasn
’t prepared when she angled an inviting smile at me. “Comin’ in?”

Pushing my thigh between hers until we met on the threshold, I
moved her with me into the room. The door shut behind us.

No going back.

All Fuckin
’ Mine

I PULLED UP SHORT when I entered Leelee’s room.
Holy shit
. The place looked like a tornado had touched down inside and, after that, maybe a hurricane. Suitcases exploded with clothing. Every available surface was crammed with books, paper, pamphlets, paraphernalia. It was worse than the sort of destruction the kid could easily cook up in less than ten minutes.

Leelee was a slob. Either that or she had some kind of personality disorder where she needed to see all of her belongings at once. I thought about Stone
’s, which was orderly and shipshape even if my employees were a bunch of boneheads.

I hesitated on the edge of the
bomb site. “Uh, you need a minute to tidy up?”

From inside the depths of Hell,
Leelee glanced around the room and shrugged her shoulders. Grabbing an armload from one bed, she tossed it onto the mountain of clothes and shoes on the spare one. Something slipped from her fingers, and I sauntered over to pick it up off the floor.

It was lacey
. It was silky. It was some kind of shimmery green that matched the color of her eyes.
Oh Christ.
Panties. Holding the scrap between both hands, I inspected them while her back was turned. Tiny, with bows at the sides, and—
fuckin’ A
—there were two little heart cutouts that would probably sit over each hipbone.

“
All set.” Leelee whirled around.

I was not a creeper-stalker-lurker-perv so I pushed the panties into her hands and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Um, those were on the floor.”

“
Thanks.” When I looked up, her cheeks wore the most
fetching
shade of pink. But she met my stare with a wink, placing the miniature piece of Heaven on the bed. “I’ve got several more just like those in different colors.”

I
couldn’t think of a thing to say because all my brain cells had simultaneously skyrocketed through the roof of my head, and I wondered if my cock had ripped through my pants yet.

Leelee probably wouldn
’t have noticed anyway, not with all the other shit she had going on in here. And her
all set
clean up had consisted of moving one pile to another pile, clearing off the quilt and pillows of the bed she apparently slept in. The fact that the mess didn’t bother her at all might be a deal breaker.

As if.

I’d sleep in a freakin’ pig sty if I had to, as long as I was with her.

Plucking
a few items from the overspill of clothing, she glanced at me. “I’m just gonna go change. Sit tight, I won’t be a second.”

She headed for the bathroom, and I watched her ass all the way. I grabbed at my hair and took a minute to reconsider what I was doing. The moment fled as soon as I smelled a tantalizing whiff of her perfume. Leelee stripping down in the next room got me hot enough, but when I paced to the far end of the bed, the full-sized mirror on the closet door reflected a sliver of the bathroom.
A sliver of her hourglass waist to the swell of her hips and a generous slice of backside.

Lush Leelee. She had the kind of pin-up body men salivated over. Curves big enough to fill my hands from her tits to her ass to her hips. All topped by that sweetheart face, the red rosebud lips, the dewy eyes. Not to mention the strawberry blond hair I
’d never seen all the way down. Yet. That was gonna get remedied tonight.

I turned my back unless I got carried away and simply barged into the bathroom, bent her over the counter, and fucked her there and then. Facing the clutter and chaos of her room, I was tempted to tidy up a bit more, but I didn
’t want to get caught pawing through her underthings like I’d been caught pawing at my cock. Heaps of silky, frilly panties and bras and—was that a goddamn corset?—teased me. I stuffed my hands into my pockets. Or I tried to. Damned leathers were too tight.

When the door squeaked open, I turned, and Leelee appeared.

She brushed a hand down her front. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s been a long day.”

Then she blushed, and that was so adorable I was one step away from jumping her bones. I couldn
’t have replied even if all my motor skills hadn’t just taken a back seat to primal male urges. Leelee in the feminine dresses hinting at her sexy body, the heels that made me want to start at her ankles and head north, all of that did it for me. But this? My fingers itched to touch her, my breath turned ragged. All because of a pair of loose white sweats she’d cut off mid-calf, her fresh clean face, and the fact she was swinging free underneath an off-the shoulder LSU Tigers sweatshirt.

“
Leelee.” My voice rasped, deep and husky. “Christ, stop blushing. You’re making it hard for me to think.”

Sexual tension arced through the air, drawing her gaze to mine.

Her fingers slipped against her lips, and Jesus goddamn Christ, her tongue slid out to wet them. “Josh, that kiss earlier? Did you mean what you said about you and Nicky?”

H
ypnotized by her shiny lips, I chewed briefly on my own. “Yeah. It’s over. This is our last hurrah. It’s not what you think anyway. There’s so much I wanna tell you, but I can’t—”

Before I could finish, she was in front of me, fingertips pressed to my mouth.
“Just kiss me. Kiss me again.” Her arms wound around my neck. Her fingers lacing into my hair, she pulled me down.

This time
I wouldn’t be stopped by phone calls or fake maids or my false conscience. Barely half an inch remained between my mouth and her upturned lips, but I held it. The feel of her breath racing with mine, the sight of her eyelashes lowered, I didn’t want to forget this moment.

Trapping her in my arms, I forced her the last bit
forward . . . and “Bohemian Rhapsody” went off.

Her lips slanted against mine, moist and ready.
“Queen, Josh? Really?”

I pulled back with a
muffled curse. “I have to take this. It’s the kid.”

Swinging away, I put the cell to my ear.

Ma started right in. “He had a bad dream, Joshy. Woke up sweatin’ and cryin’. I just couldn’t talk him down. He needs his daddy.”

My throat closed
in until it was hard to breathe. I shut my eyes against the sting of tears. “Put ’im on.”

Sinking to the edge of Leelee
’s bed, I motioned for her to sit beside me. I curled my hand over hers, grateful for her presence while I tried to keep it together for the kid. I’d never had anyone beside me before, not like this.

I heard the sleepy-slow
pat-pat-pat of his bare feet on the old oak floors. I imagined JJ’s funny cowlick standing straight up as he sucked his index finger, wearing his favorite-for-the-month Hobbit pj’s . . . and the shiny vinyl blue Superman cape.

“
Hi, Daddy.”

I swiped a hand beneath my eyes with his little tremulous voice in my ears.
“Baby boy, it’s late.”

His h
iccupping breaths hit the line, the kind that broke me in two. Leelee nestled against my shoulder. I tightened my hold on her as I listened.

“
I had a wightware, Daddy. You didn’t come back from L’Ana . . .”

“
I’m always coming home to you, kid. Always.” I swallowed down a salty wash of tears I didn’t let fall. “Nicky and I are gonna pick you and Viper up Sunday night from Jamma.”

“
Jamma said Monday,” he whined.

“
Well, I can’t wait that long. You wearin’ the cape?”

“
Yeah, but I still can’t fwy to Momma.”

I tried to find the words to reassure him one more time she
’d left me, not him. “I don’t want you to fwy to her, kid, okay? You stay with me. I’ll always take care of you.”

Reaching for a box of tissues, Leelee silently blew her nose, snuffling against me.
Her lips were gentle, the touch almost nonexistent, across the ink on my chest.

“
But I fwew off the divin’ board at Jamma’s pool today. No cape! I can fwy!”

Oh God. I need to get home faster.
“That’s cool, JJ, but just remember, kids can’t actually fly, okay? And would you please stop wrestlin’ with Viper while you’re at it?”

“
She wuvs me,” he whispered the same old refrain.

“
I love you too, that’s why I prefer all your fingers attached to your body.”

“
I don’ know what that means, Daddy. Sing to me.” His demand was one step away from a final meltdown for the night.

Leelee right next to me gave me second thoughts about fulfilling his usual bedtime request. I wasn
’t a crooner, not like my dad. The kid just thought I had good lungs because he didn’t have anything but high-pitched Disney chicks to compare me to.

Aw, fuck it.
You couldn’t tell a little kid to just hit the sack when he missed his dad and had nightmares about his mother leaving. When all he needed to get a decent night’s rest was a little musical ditty.

I knew the fastest way to send him to sleep.
“
Little Mermaid
?”

“‘
Kiss the Girl’, Daddy.”

I grinned
, the kid had no idea. “Kiss da girl, huh?” I used my best Rastafarian crab accent.

Leelee curl
ed into me, a smile on her mouth against my neck.

Oh man, I can get used to this.

I sang the tune all about Eric making a move on Ariel complete with the bullfrog chorus. He giggled a few times before the other end of the line grew silent, and I softened my voice.

Ma
came on. “He’s out like a light.”

“
Thanks, Ma. Talk to y’all tomorrow.” Turning off my phone, I shut my eyes, trying to get control of my emotions.

Leelee
’s fingers brushed across my shoulder. “A wightware?”

I shifted, my mouth moving
across her cheek to her ear. “Nightmare. Because his mom left and he’s scared I won’t . . .” I shook my head, tugging her onto my lap.

Leelee
whispered soothingly to me, her hands smoothing up and down my back. Her touch was amplified against my bare torso, heating my skin, changing the mood between us as surely as any words could. She pulled back enough to drag one hand over my chest, down to the muscles of my abs.

When
her fingers skated across clenching muscles, drifting through coarse hair, I let out a hoarse curse. She teasingly dropped her hands lower then drifted them higher again.

With both hands pressed against my chest, she flirted,
“Just kiss the girl, huh?”

“
Yes,” I growled, yanking her against me.

Her lips were perfect, so fucking soft. I attacked her
. Spine-tingling, ball-bursting pleasure exploded inside of me when she met the ferocity of my kiss with a moan. Her tongue grazed my mouth and that was it. I pulled at her top lip then the bottom, tasting them one at a time and twisting my hand around her ponytail. My tongue thrusting in and out of her mouth like I intended to tongue-fuck her pussy, my other hand ran inside the back of her sweatshirt, grasping her to me.

Breathy whimpers spilled out of Leelee
. Our heads angled for the kind of fit that made fireworks go off in my body. I broke away with a groan but didn’t go far. I pulled her ponytail until her neck arched.

“
Oh, God, Josh.”

That
’s right.

Her
neck to her sexy bared shoulder was mine for the taking. I wielded the flat of my tongue along the sensitive skin of her throat, and she shivered in my arms. As soon as she moaned, I stayed right where I was, at the dip of her collarbone. Kissing, nibbling, sucking her sweet flesh until she started a hypnotic grind on my cock and my name escaped her mouth with every gasp.

My hands slid around to her tummy
. My mouth moved slowly to her shoulder, leaving love bites along the way. Under the sweatshirt, I caressed from hip to hip, and upward until the backs of my fingers grazed the undersides of her breasts. I wanted to palm those heavy tits, and I wanted to gorge myself on the sight of my tanned hands against her ivory skin.

“
Take it off,” I demanded.

E
merald colored eyes opened halfway. I ducked down to her mouth again, feverish for her lips. I scraped my teeth over her tongue and withdrew, commanding once again, “Take the top off, Leelee.”

She hit me with a smile that zeroed
in on my cock crushed inside the leathers. With the hem of the sweatshirt clasped in both hands, she scooped it up. Over her belly, taut from her workouts but soft like a woman’s should be, up to the bottom of her breasts, revealing full feminine curves I was gonna have a field day on. When she finally tossed the sweatshirt aside, my breath stopped.