Page 44 of Vicious Seduction

“You started this, finish it.”

He nipped my inner thigh. “Say please.”

I’d been relieved of my pride long ago and wasn’t afraid to beg for what I wanted. Right then, I needed that orgasm more than I needed to breathe. I would have done just about anything for the promise of the cataclysmic release he kept dangling just out of my reach.

“Please, let me come.”

“Mmm … one of these days you’re going to beg me to fuck you.”

“Not … happening.” My voice trailed off on a moan as his tongue upped its pace.

“Yet,” he whispered before unleashing a perfectly orchestrated symphony of pleasure.

An unholy orgasm tore through my body like liquid napalm. I wouldn’t have been shocked if I literally started glowing. I felt like I already was. My skin tingled and hummed while every muscle in my body liquefied as little trembling aftershocks kept me in a state of bliss.

Oran rose to his feet once my quakes had subsided, a firm hand on either side of me to ensure I stayed upright. “Now that you’re feeling more …relaxed, let’s get out of here.”

The man was good. His strategy was 100 percent effective because I no longer had the energy or the interest to argue.

What little brainpower I had left was spent trying to figure out what was happening between us. I couldn’t understand why Oran was helping me. Why he was acting like he cared. Was I some kind of pet project to him? Doubtful. His type wasn’t into charity. He had to have had his own motives; I just couldn’t decipher them.

To complicate matters, my feelings about him were just as muddied. The man had framed me for possession of drugs,then blackmailed me, and I’d just let him go down on me. I should have wanted to stop him, but I didn’t. I’d needed the release as an escape. I’d wantedhimto be the one to give it to me.

I couldn’t understand what was going on in my head. Hating Oran would have made life so much easier. So much more clear-cut. I didn’t know what I felt for him, but it wasn’t hate.

I was entirely out of my depth where he was concerned. I’d dealt with my mother my entire life, so I knew how her mind worked and how to protect myself against her. That was impossible with Oran, which meant I had no control over the situation. Control was power, and I didn’t like feeling powerless.

Using him instead of Lawrence had become so much more than a change of tactics. I was now fighting a war on two fronts, and if I didn’t get the upper hand soon, I would lose everything.

Oran helped me back into my coat once we were in the lobby, then opened the door for me. The winter sky had faded to black hours ago, and the air held a bitter chill with a threat of rain. Oran hadn’t parked far, thank goodness, but we’d only taken a few steps down the sidewalk when my stepfather’s voice called after me.

“Carolina, I need to speak with you for a moment. Preferably in private.”

My steps faltered.

“Ignore him,” Oran growled beside me, urging me forward with his hand at my back.

But I couldn’t. Hope was the Twinkie of emotions—it simply wouldn’t die. There was a minuscule chance Charles Brooks had information I wanted, and I couldn’t ignore that possibility, no matter how small. Maybe he was willing tofinally concede some scrap of truth to get me to disappear from their lives forever.

“It’s fine. I want to know what he has to say.”

“Nothing worthwhile, youknowthat.”

“Yeah,” I agreed sadly. “But I still have to go.”

“Not alone, you don’t.” He grabbed my hand and marched us back toward the club entrance.

CHAPTER 23

ORAN

Lina might have been blissedout enough to drop her guard, but I sure as fuck wasn’t. That shit show of a family introduction was still fresh in my mind. The Brooks were going head-to-head for Worst Parent of the Year. I couldn’t imagine what this asshole could possibly have to say that would be worth Lina’s time, but if she insisted on talking to the prick, then I was going to be there for every word of the conversation.

“What is it?” Lina asked in an impressively disinterested tone.

Charles cut a quick look up at me. “This is a family matter.”

The curl of my lips wasn’t at all nice. “As her future husband, Iamfamily. You have something to say, you can say it to us both.”

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