Page 43 of Sins of Seduction
It was weird not talking to Danielle in the two days since she told Raven it was okay to fuck her. Raven hadn’t truly realized how much she depended on Danielle in business and friendship until these two days. Danielle was important to her, but it was good that they were getting space from one another.
Raven still wasn’t sure what happened or how it had gotten that far that fast between them. The fact that Raven had felt what she felt for Lea for Danielle for a fraction of a second unnerved her. As quickly as Danielle had come into her office was as quickly as Raven’s brain had projected Lea onto Danielle, and Raven wanted to dive at her feet and beg for forgiveness.
Lea’s parents and Raven’s therapist continuously told Raven it wasn’t her fault that Lea took her life, but that wasn’t entirely true. If Raven had been smart enough, she never would have jumped into bed with Lea after her break up with Jax. If Raven had been thinking, she would have known how much of a mistake it was to entertain anyone after her heart had been ripped from her chest for the umpteenth time.
Raven had been emotionally distraught, and Lea’s kind eyes and soft touch had been the best medicine. Lea had stitched Raven back together, and in the process, it destroyed Lea.
“You know, I’ve never been with a woman like this before,” Lea whispered her secret in the darkness. They were both naked, post-orgasm, and wrapped around each other. Their hands still softly touched one another, slowly building the anticipation for another round when Lea had spoken.
Raven paused, searching for Lea’s face in the stillness of the night. They’d been together for close to a year now, and this was the first time she heard Lea say she hadn’t been with a female. “I thought you said you had same sex relationships before?” It wasn’t a deal breaker if she hadn’t. Raven knew who you emotionally connected with wasn’t gender specific. Sometimes you just liked who you liked.
“Not like this,” Lea whispered, sounding nervous. “I love you, Rave. You see me in a world that doesn’t notice me at all. I think I’m going to marry you one day.”
“Hey, why did you let me sleep so late?” Jax’s gruff voice pulled Raven out of the memory that had started Lea’s downfall. It was that night Raven should have told her that their relationship was never going to be more than what they were at that moment. As soon as Lea had mentioned marrying Raven, Raven immediately thought of Jax, and her heart leaped in her throat at the idea of never being with him again.
Raven looked at Jax standing in her doorway in nothing but grey sweats. His facial hair had come in from the days he spent here, and Raven squeezed her legs together, remembering the feel of it against her bare thighs. Jax caught the movement, his smile turning predatory as he stared down at her.
The sound of Raven’s phone going off pulled her attention. She grabbed the phone, seeing the alert that her groceries had been dropped off. “Can you grab the groceries? They just dropped them on the porch.”
Jax moved from the doorway and walked over to her. He leaned down, kissing the side of her head, and she leaned into his touch. She closed her eyes, inhaling him, and her body visibly relaxed. Jax walked out the living room, and Raven knew whatever path she was on would always lead back to Jax, and she should have been clear to Lea from the start.
Raven let Lea fall for her and fall hard, and when she couldn’t love Lea back, it had been the catalyst that broke Lea. Raven might have not put the knife in Lea’s hand, but she didn’t do anything to stop it from happening either.
Do you see me now, Rave? My pain is yours. All you had to do was love me, and you couldn’t. Now you’ll watch me bleed.
Raven shook her head, shifting the memory to the back of her mind. She couldn’t change the past, no matter how many times it crept up into her present. She looked down at her laptop, the email poised and ready to send to the rest of the cops that would be in Lush for the next month. She grumbled under her breath seeing Daniel Cruz’s name on the list.
“Shift one headache only for another to hit,” Raven sucked her teeth as she hit send, hating that someone like Cruz was going to have access to her club, but she had to remember it was to find a killer.
Raven threw her laptop next to her and met Jax in the kitchen. He was unpacking the grocery bags and putting things away where they belonged. It was always interesting to Raven to see how seamlessly they flowed when they lived together. There was a dance between them with music they both could hear and enjoy, and they moved in sync like they’d been doing it all their lives.
“You want me to cook you something? We haven’t been eating whole meals.” Jax was in front of the freezer putting away meat when she noticed a brown box on the counter. When she got closer, she realized it was her protein powder and it made her queasy. The last few batches she made had tasted off and didn’t sit well in her stomach. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to finish a shake she made.
“Actually,” Raven looked at the rest of the groceries that were out, suddenly feeling like she was in the mood for pizza. “Let me get your keys, I think I want pizza.”
Jax eyed her curiously. “You just spent however much money on groceries only to want pizza?”
Raven chuckled. “Don’t question the madness, just give me your keys. Plus, I want to pick something up for the party this weekend. It’s a surprise so don’t ask.”
Jax closed the freezer and walked over to her, pushing her back against the counter. The heat in his eyes made her throb in response. “Every time you mention this party,” his voice dipped as he placed his hands on either side of her, effectively pinning her in place, “my imagination runs wild.” He leaned into her, and she could feel his hard length against her stomach.
Raven reached in between them, letting her hand wrap around his cock, and he rocked into her hand. She wasn’t surprised to find him hard. Every time they mentioned the party, Raven had ended up on her back with either his cock or his tongue inside of her. He was insatiable and she relished in it. The more open he was to the idea of inviting others into their sex life, the more turned on she became by it. “I would love to hear where your imagination has taken you, Pierce.” Raven hooked her hands in his sweats, letting them hit the floor as she slowly slid down to her heels, stroking him in her hands. “How about you tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours while I make you cum.” She closed her mouth around the tip of his cock, tasting the saltiness of his precum. His hands shot to her hair when her tongue swirled around the tip and her other hand came to cup his balls.
Giving Jax head in the kitchen while he spilled his fantasies seemed like a much better idea than getting pizza right now, and it heightened her own anticipation for the upcoming party. She had a feeling she was going to love watching Jax enjoy himself.
Raven was on the road in Jax’s Mustang after what should have been a quick blow job turned into her legs over his shoulders and his name on her lips. She was so deliciously sore and starving that she called the pizzeria ahead and placed an order for pick up: one large pie, half pepperoni, half cheese. Jax’s one fatal flaw was that he enjoyed pineapple on pizza, and she refused to let pineapple be anywhere near her pizza.
Uck.
She also put in an order for garlic knots, French fries, and fried calamari. She ordered enough food to feed five people, and while her stomach had done the talking, now that she was in the car, her stomach was in knots.
She glanced at the box and envelopes sitting in the passenger seat, chewing her bottom lip. When she left the house, she almost stepped on the box, not realizing she had another package. She scooped it up, grabbed her mail and got in the car without a second thought. It was after she started the car that she reached for the package and opened it. She swallowed her scream as she looked down at the box of white rose petals tipped in red, just like there had been in Lush.
Raven threw the box back into the passenger seat and sat frozen, desperate to calm her racing heart. She debated whether to rush back into the house and tell Jax about the package or not. She knew this was no longer a coincidence, but was this a real threat that required immediate attention? The last thing Raven wanted to do was make a mountain out of a molehill, and that’s what made her put the Mustang in drive and head to the pizzeria. She could show Jax when she got back, and they could decide the best course of action, but the longer she sat in the car, the more her unease grew. Her shoulders were in her neck—her body rigid as if she was expecting the roses to attack her at any moment.
“Just grab the food and head back home before you freak yourself out.” Raven gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary as she shifted gears. The traffic was light today, and Raven was itching to open the Mustang up. It had been forever since Jax had let her drive. She loved this car, and hers was still in the shop. According to Jax, the mechanic who had previously worked on her car had somehow fucked it up and was taking longer to fix. While she was annoyed, it did give her an excuse to convince Jax to let her drive his baby.
Raven pushed all thoughts of the package beside her, what happened at Lush, and what happened with Danielle out of her mind. The windows were down and the wind was in her hair. She was about to let it rip on this stretch of road. She had a couple of miles before her exit, and a little speed might just be what the doctor ordered to shake the unease she’d been fighting for a while now.
