Smokeshow, page 13
This wasn’t safe. This wasn’t going to end well.
II
It’s not the demons you should fear, it’s the Devil who is charming.
Twenty
Neither of us spoke on the drive. It was longer than just a short drive over to Hughes Farm. When he finally turned off the main road, we went down a long dirt one, and I glanced at Blaise several times, wanting to ask where we were going. I didn’t. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know or even if he’d answer me.
A tall iron gate appeared, and when we slowed to a stop, it swung open as motion lights came on and lit the now-paved road that led to a large brick house with massive columns. It wasn’t as big as the Hugheses’ mansion, but it was bigger than the Houstons’ house.
Blaise drove past it, and one of five garage doors opened. He pulled in slowly, then cut the engine before looking at me. I thought he’d explain where we were or tell me something. He didn’t. Instead, he opened his door and got out of the truck. I sat there and watched him walk around the front of the truck to the passenger side.
He opened my door and reached for my hand. I hesitated before giving it to him. His much larger one closed over mine and pulled me to him until he could pick me up and set me down. He didn’t drop his hands right away. His nostrils flared as he stared down at me, and then he pressed his palm to my back and led me toward the door.
When he opened it, I stepped inside, and he followed so close that his chest brushed against my back. The room we walked into was dark, and Blaise didn’t turn on a light as he walked me through it until we came to another door. He opened it, and thankfully, light flooded the darkness. I heard voices. We weren’t here alone.
The room we had entered had large dark brown leather sofas, a fireplace, and exposed wooden beams in the ceiling. I was taking it all in when one of the rodeo squad stepped into the room, pausing when he saw us. His gaze went from Blaise to me, then back to Blaise.
“Things just got real fucking interesting,” he said.
Another one came walking in the room with his arm around a barely dressed brunette. He looked at me, and then his eyebrows shot up. “Oh damn,” he said and grinned. “All right then.”
“That’s Huck and Gage,” Blaise said to me. “That’s Gina,” he added.
Gage was the one with the buzzed hair-cut. Huck was the largest and scarier looking one out of the group.
Gina barely gave me a glance before turning her smile to Blaise.
“We’re going down,” he told them.
“Okay,” Huck drawled slowly when Blaise didn’t say anything more.
“Should we be expecting Trev?” Gage asked.
Blaise shook his head. “No.”
Huck let out a low whistle as Blaise led me through another door, then down a hallway before we came to a closed door. He pulled a key out from his pocket and unlocked it, then opened it. Stairs led down into darkness. Blaise reached for a switch, and lights came on.
“Go on,” he said to me.
I took a few steps down, and then he followed me but first stopped to close the door and lock it. I watched him, and his gaze met mine when he turned back around. He simply nodded his head for me to continue.
I had come this far with him. I might as well go down into the underground with him. When the stairs turned, lights came on automatically, and the massive room surprised me. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but this wasn’t it.
The floor was made of stone but covered in several plush rugs. The center had a sectional sofa, fireplace, and television. A minibar sat to the right of it, and in the back left corner was a king-size bed with a black leather frame. There was an arched doorway that didn’t have a door but led into a bathroom. From where I stood, I could see the opulence tucked inside.
“This is where you live,” I said.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked him as I turned to look up at him.
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, then cupped my neck as his gaze traveled down to my breasts before coming back to meet my eyes. “To fuck you,” he replied.
This was where I needed to tell him that wasn’t going to happen and demand that he let me go back to the Houstons’. My arousal came to life and began to remind me how good he had made me feel. I wasn’t sure I could walk away from him now.
“When you’re done, do I walk back to Moses Mile, or are you going to give me a ride?” I asked him, feeling annoyed by my reactions to him.
He smirked before bending his head down to run the tip of his nose along my neck as he inhaled. “I told you earlier,” he said as his hands cupped my butt and jerked my body up against him.
“No, you didn’t.” I shook my head and tried to stay focused.
This girl was not me. I did not forget myself for a man. I didn’t lose my sanity over an orgasm. No man had ever given me an orgasm until tonight. Hank had always been worried about himself. All that aside, I was smarter than this.
He pulled my dress up with his fingers until he had it around my waist. “In your room,” he said.
Then, he continued to peel the dress up my body until I had no choice but to raise my arms and let him take it off. The sundress fell to the floor at his feet, and his gaze heated my skin.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked, fear mingling with need.
As much as I wanted him to touch me, I also knew I shouldn’t be here. He was older, he was experienced, and I wasn’t sure how dark he went.
“Fuck you, Madeline.” His voice was husky. “Take off the panties,” he demanded as he pulled his shirt off and threw it down.
My eyes went to his chest, and my fingers itched to touch him. He was made of solid muscle. I had to stay focused.
“Off,” he repeated as I stood there, watching him.
I began to push them down until they slid the rest of the way, and I kicked them away once they reached my ankles. His eyes were on my breasts as my breathing grew faster from either panic or excitement—there was a fine line between the two right now.
I started to ask him again what would happen after he … fucked me, but his jeans fell to the ground, and the boxer briefs he had on cupped his erection. Words didn’t come. I’d never seen one like that. I had only ever slept with Hank, and he hadn’t been that size. It had been a normal size.
He held up a foil package and ripped it open. I watched as he shoved his briefs down, and the full size of him was revealed. He rolled the condom down his length.
“Come here,” Blaise said.
I shook my head, looking up at his face.
“Madeline.” There was a warning in his voice.
When I didn’t move, an evil smile curled his lips.
“You want me to make you beg for it?” he asked.
I was still unable to move, unsure if I needed to turn and run.
Blaise moved so quickly that I didn’t have time to make a decision. He picked me up and carried me to the end of the sofa, then dropped me down. His hand wrapped around my left ankle, and he put it up on the back of the sofa. Then, he pressed his hands on my inner thighs, opening me until it was almost painful.
Maybe it might have been if his tongue hadn’t slid over my clit, then down all the way to my bottom before coming back up to flick at every sensitive nerve he could find. It took him less than a minute to have me panting his name and begging. He pulled back, and I moaned, squirming. I was so close to coming that I felt frantic.
He moved over me, and the tip of his erection pushed inside me. It stretched me with a sharp pinch as he filled me with one thrust. The feeling wasn’t what I had feared.
“Fuck,” he groaned loudly as he began to move in me. “My tight little pussy.”
I arched my back, wanting more. I wanted to feel more of the stretch, hear more of his moans and the dirty things he was saying to me.
“That’s it, baby,” he said as he held himself up over me. The muscles in his neck flexed as he looked down at me. “Take all that cock,” he panted. “So damn wet.”
Watching him grow closer to his climax stirred my own pleasure. The spiral was coming, and I grabbed at his biceps, lifting myself as the moment hit me. His shout and the jerk of his body inside me only sent me spiraling harder.
This time, when I came down, he was still there with me. His head was bowed down in the crook of my neck as his breathing returned to normal. I didn’t move and wished dread hadn’t started to set in already. It was done. He’d accomplished what he’d brought me here for. I didn’t want to feel anything for him, but he’d somehow claimed a piece of me that I didn’t think I could get back.
I held my breath as he lifted his head and then began to pull out of me. A gasp escaped me, and I realized I was sore. His eyes met mine, and he grinned before standing up. I watched him as he walked away, then closed my eyes as regret sank in, ruining all of it.
Forcing my body to sit up, I looked around for the dress he’d taken off me in hopes of covering myself back up before he returned. I winced slightly and looked down at the sofa to make sure I hadn’t bled from the size of him. I didn’t see anything and hurried over to grab my sundress.
“What are you doing?” Blaise asked me, standing at the opening to the bathroom, still naked.
I held up my sundress, hoping it covered my body. “Getting dressed,” I replied.
He stared at me for a moment, then held out his hand. “Drop the damn dress and come here.”
I looked at the dress in my hands and back at him. “We aren’t done?” I asked.
“Don’t think that day will come,” he replied. “Either drop the dress and come to me or I’ll come get you.”
I dropped the dress and walked to him. I was obeying his commands, like everyone else seemed to do. How did he manage that? When I made it to him, he nodded his head toward the large iron bathtub that was being filled from some kind of waterfall.
“You need to soak. It’ll help the soreness,” he said, wrapping my hair around his hand. Then, he tugged me back against him with my hair. “I told you that pussy was mine. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
He let my hair go and ran a hand down my bare back. “Take your time. I’ll leave you something to sleep in on the bed. I’ll be back late. Get some rest.”
I turned to look at him. “I’m staying here?” I asked. “What about the Houstons? Melanie will be worried,” I told him.
“They know where you are. No one will worry,” he replied, then walked away, leaving me there in his bathroom, naked.
I seriously doubted they knew I was naked in Blaise’s bathroom.
Twenty-One
When my eyes opened, it was dark. I lay in bed and realized I wasn’t in my bedroom at the Houstons’. Confused, I sat up and looked toward the only small glow coming from a doorway. I saw the iron bathtub from here, and I remembered.
I was at Blaise’s. There were no windows, so I had no idea if it was morning or not. I looked beside me, and he might not be here now, but he had been. I’d fallen asleep easier than I’d thought after my bath last night. Slipping out of the covers, I stepped onto the rug and made my way to the bathroom.
The light came on automatically when I walked through the arched frame. I turned to the mirror to see myself. The shirt that Blaise had left for me to sleep in last night hit mid-thigh and hung off one of my shoulders. It smelled like him too. I walked over to the sink and picked up one of the white washcloths and turned on the warm water so I could wash my face.
There was a toothbrush still in its package and toothpaste lying beside it on the sink. This hadn’t been here last night when I went to bed. All the things he’d said last night began to play through my head as I tried to figure out what we were doing. I had so many questions, including why Melanie didn’t care that I was here with Blaise.
Knowing I had to get some answers, I went about getting ready the best I could before going to find my sundress. It was missing, and after looking for it for several minutes, I gave up and went back to the bathroom to get the black robe I’d seen hanging beside the shower. Slipping it on, I realized it wasn’t meant for Blaise. It fit me. This was for a woman—or women. That fact left a sour feeling in my stomach.
How many had worn this before me?
I lowered my nose and smelled it. No perfume smell. It just smelled clean. Lifting my eyes, I stared at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. If I let myself get jealous just because we’d had sex one time, then I was in for a world of hurt. I shouldn’t have come here. I was one of the many who had worn the robe now.
Not wanting to stand here alone and think about my mistakes anymore, I headed for the stairs. Blaise had to be somewhere, and I wasn’t going to just stay in his cave until he came back to visit me. I needed to leave. Forgetting this had happened would be best.
I just hoped I could emotionally detach from Blaise after having sex with him. Having sex with Hank had caused an emotional attachment. When he’d cheated on me, it had been painful. Blaise and all that he encompassed was something I feared could crush me if I got attached.
The door was locked, and I unlocked it and opened it. The smell of bacon hit me immediately, and my stomach grumbled. I followed the smell of food and sound of voices until I was standing at the kitchen door. My gaze scanned the people around the table, then moved to the island in the center, where I found Blaise leaning against it with a cup in his hand while listening to Huck talk.
It was Gage who noticed me first. Although Gage was ex-military, something about him made me feel as if he were harmless. There was a boyish look to his features, especially when he smiled. The others, not so much.
He flashed me a grin, then looked at Blaise before nodding his head in my direction.
Blaise put his cup down and turned to look at me. His gaze lingered on the robe for a moment, and then he motioned for me to come to him. I walked into the room slowly and wished I were dressed in actual clothes. That way, I could ask to leave. I didn’t know these people. Waking up and coming out of Blaise’s cave in a robe that his women wore made me feel as if they were all judging me. Comparing me to the other females who had slept over with him. I had to stop thinking about that. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.
Remain detached, I reminded myself.
“Fix her a plate,” Blaise said without looking away from me.
I glanced around, confused as to who he was talking to, when I saw Gina over by the coffeepot, pouring a cup. She’d been with Gage last night. I wondered who she was to him. At the pool party, he’d not appeared to have a girlfriend. Yet she seemed comfortable here, and Blaise was ordering her around.
“Sleep good?” Blaise asked me.
I nodded and felt as if everyone in the room was looking at me. I kept my eyes on Blaise. Oddly enough, he was my only safe spot here. I never thought I’d think of him as anything remotely safe. Doing so now was stupid, but I had put myself in this position.
I kept a casual distance between us until Blaise reached out and grabbed the collar of the robe, pulling me closer to him.
When he had me against him, he bent his head and whispered near my ear, “Relax.”
I wanted to laugh. As if I could relax. That was the absolute last thing I would be able to do this morning. Blaise tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and grinned down at me, as if I’d said that aloud.
Someone cleared their throat, and Blaise’s eyes left mine to look toward the sound of it. I knew it was one of the rodeo squad at the table, but I didn’t know which one.
“Should we be expecting Melanie to show up, pitching a damn fit?” Huck asked.
I recognized his drawl. His accent was so similar to a Texan’s that I wondered if he’d always lived in Florida or if he had spent the first part of his life in Texas.
Blaise shook his head, and then his eyes came back to mine. There was a flutter in my stomach this morning when he looked at me. Sure, I’d felt something before, but today, it was more. I was so going to regret this.
“Do you want jelly on your biscuit?” Gina asked.
She shouldn’t have to make me breakfast. I stepped back from Blaise to go take the plate she was holding and finish what she was doing.
“Whoa,” he said, reaching for my arm this time to pull me back to him. “Where are you going?”
I waved my free arm toward the stove, where breakfast was laid out. “To make myself a plate.”
He frowned. “I told Gina to.”
That annoyed me. Was Gina the hired help? And if so, did she have to wait on all the women he brought over here? I wasn’t like them. I didn’t require someone serving me. I was starting to feel cheaper by the minute.
“I am perfectly capable of doing it,” I told him, pulling my arm free, then turning to go take the plate Gina was holding.
She grinned at me like she wasn’t sure if I was crazy or not.
“Thanks,” I told her, then turned to the stove to see cheese grits, sausage links, scrambled eggs, bacon, white gravy, and biscuits. Did they eat like this every morning?
When Huck began talking about the bike he’d been discussing when I walked in, I was relieved that their attention was moved off me. I finished putting things on my plate, no longer sure I could eat. I should have just asked to go back to Moses Mile.
Taking the plate, I turned and found Blaise watching me. Pausing, I looked at him, waiting for him to say something. He smirked, then pushed off from the island he’d been leaning on to walk over to me.
“I’ll be in later today,” he said to Huck, who had just asked if he’d be by the shop. “I’ve got some things to handle first.” He led me over to the table and pulled out a chair for me to take, then sat at the one next to it.
