Page 9 of Diamonds (Aces Underground #2)

ALISSA

W e left the coroner. Rode back in silence to my apartment.

Maddox parks my car in the space behind my building, gets out, and opens the door for me.

I get out, look into his hazel eyes.

“Maddox,” I say. “Can you stay here tonight?”

He frowns, looks me up and down. “I don’t think we should have sex tonight given the circumstances.”

“I wasn’t saying that. I just…” I rub the goosebumps on my upper arms. “I’m scared. What if Bill isn’t as trustworthy as you think? What if he’s in Rouge’s pocket as well?”

“I trust Bill with my life.” He grips my shoulders. “You can, too.”

“But what if one of the Kings shows up to the picnic grove? They’ll know someone was there.”

“We did everything we could to hide the fact that we were there, baby. And no one will be checking that area out unless they have a reason to.”

“Still…” I swallow. “I’m scared.”

“I am too, Alissa.” He wraps his arms around me. “I am too. But we can’t let fear dictate our actions.”

“Even so, I’d like you to stay the night. You can even have my bed. I can sleep on the couch.”

He raises an eyebrow. “No way in hell will I kick a woman out of her own bed.”

“You’re not kicking me out. I’m offering.”

“Still though, it’s not right.” He runs his hands up and down my back. “If I stay, I’d like to share the bed with you. You’re safer if I’m right next to you.”

I place my head on his hard chest. I can feel his heart beating. “Thank you,” I say.

I want to say more. I want to tell him that I love him, that I’m sure even though we just met.

But those are the three words that send men running for the hills. And I can’t risk Maddox running off. I need him here tonight.

Just for tonight.

I’ll feel safer once the sun comes up.

Of course, I wouldn’t say no if Maddox wanted to stay another night.

I’ll never say no to that.

“But I mean it,” he says. “When I say we’ll be sleeping together, I mean it in its literal sense. Only its literal sense.”

“Agreed,” I say. “Who could be turned on after the night we had?”

But just feeling Maddox’s arms wrapped around me is warming me up, especially between my legs.

He breaks the embrace and squeezes my hand. “Let’s go up.”

We walk around to the front of the building and I open the door. We slowly ascend the staircase to my apartment on the third floor. I turn the key, and the sound of the deadbolt clicking out of place resounds through the entire building.

It always does that, but it seems much louder at nearly four a.m.

We walk in. I look down at my hands. They’re not nearly as dirty as Maddox’s, since he took the lead on the shoveling, but I still touched the outside of the hatbox.

And more than that, I just feel generally filthy.

“I think a shower would do the both of us a lot of good,” I say.

“Agreed.” Maddox looks at his own fingernails. “But I don’t have a change of clothes.”

I gesture to my bedroom door. “I have a few oversized T-shirts in my dresser that I wear to bed sometimes. They may fit you.”

“What about pants? Underwear?”

You’ll have no need for clothes, I want to say.

But sex is off the table tonight.

“We’ll figure something out.” I lead him to the en suite bathroom connected to my bedroom. “You can take the first shower. You’re dirtier.”

He looks me up and down, a glint of something lascivious passing over his eyes, but then he nods. “Sounds good.”

He strips off his jacket and T-shirt, revealing his gorgeous tan chest. The sprinkling of chest hair is matted down with sweat, which just makes him look all the more luscious.

He unbuckles his belt but then looks at me, his eyes narrowed. “Sorry. I suppose I can strip down in the bathroom.”

I chuckle lightly. “You’re fine. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked already.”

“I guess so.” He takes off his belt. “Not really a rulebook for this particular situation, is there?”

“You mean it’s not normal to dig up a severed head on the third date?” I say. “News to me.”

His lips twitch upward and he exhales sharply out of his nose.

I’ll take that as a laugh.

We shouldn’t be joking. What happened to May was awful. What could happen to us because we found out what happened to May is awful.

But damn, if it doesn’t feel bloody good to lighten the mood, if just a bit.

He peels off his pants and then his boxer briefs.

His cock…

It’s not fully hard. But he’s rocking a solid semi.

He glances at the bathroom door. “Do you have a towel?”

I blink. “Of course.” I pad over to my walk-in closet and grab a clean towel off the shelf. It’s bright yellow with pink flowers.

He squints at the towel. “Seriously?”

I smile nervously. “All my other towels are dirty. I go through a lot of them.”

“Why?”

I bite my lip. “My mum. She insisted that my father and I use a new towel every day. Reduce the spread of germs.”

He smirks. “Hotel housekeepers must have hated you all.”

I look down. “Mum wouldn’t be caught dead in a hotel. She saw those videos online of people with black lights showing stains on the bedspread and swore them off for life. We never traveled anywhere that was more than a few hours’ drive away.”

“So she never visited you in the States, did she?”

I cross my arms. “She passed away, actually, right before I moved here.”

She did a whole lot more than pass away, but I’m not revisiting that memory. Not after what we’ve been through.

I hand him the towel. “But that’s a whole other story. One for another time. Feel free to use my body wash and shampoo. And turn on the fan. Otherwise the mirror will fog up.”

He looks me up and down slowly but then turns and walks into the bathroom, giving me a great view of his sculpted arse.

He closes the bathroom door halfway, allowing a slit of light to peek out from the doorway.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and cover my head with my hands.

I’ll have to eventually tell Maddox about my mother. About what she did that day I was supposed to leave for university.

But it’s the one thing I’d rather discuss less than the severed head we dug up this evening.

“Alissa?”

I walk up to the door and speak through the crack. “Yeah?”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, just come in here. Is this soap or shampoo?”

I crack a small smile as I walk inside. “Did you read the label?”

He pushes a small bottle with an opaque white liquid inside against the glass door of my shower. “It’s unlabeled.”

I narrow my eyes. “That’s strange. I don’t think I own anything that isn’t labeled.

” I scratch my chin. “I had a friend pass through a few weeks ago. Maybe she left it in.” I point to the shelf in the back corner of the shower.

“But all of my body wash and shampoo is on that shelf. Use whatever you need.”

“ Whatever I need?” He raises an eyebrow.

I cross my arms. “I mean, within reason.”

He grins slightly and then starts to work a dollop of shampoo into a lather through his dark hair. He turns around, giving me another view of his beautiful backside.

My God, his body is bloody perfect.

And I’m suddenly feeling very unsafe outside of the shower.

“Maddox?”

“Yeah?” he growls.

“Would you mind if I… If I joined you?”

“I thought we said sex was off the table for the night.”

I bite my lip. “I know… I was just… I would feel safer if I were in the shower with you.”

He gestures to the unoccupied space in the shower. “Plenty of room, baby.”

I smile. “I thought there might be.”

I strip off the sweatpants and hoodie I’m wearing.

How different my world was when I put these clothes on.

I changed out of my formal clothes when I got home from the club and was already changed by the time Maddox showed up.

I knew something was up with May’s suspension with the club, but I figured all I would discover was some shady business practices on Rouge’s part.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be digging up a body.

Or at least, body parts .

But I can put that on the back burner for right now. All I need to focus on for the next fifteen minutes or so is getting all the dirt and grime off my body, all of this horrible night off my body.

And maybe get my body onto another body.

Maddox said no sex.

I’m not one hundred percent sure he meant that, but I’ll respect it if he does. That doesn’t mean we can’t hold each other, let the warm water wash the horrors of the night off of us.

I remove my panties quickly and then step into the shower.

Maddox cracks a smile. “I was hoping you’d end up joining me in here.”

I cock my head. “Were you? I thought we agreed we weren’t going to do anything tonight.”

He shrugs. “Any situation can be improved by adding a naked lady.”

I punch his chest. “That’s all I am to you? A naked lady?”

“No, Alissa.” He wraps his arms around me. “You’re so much more than that.”

And he crushes his mouth to mine.

It’s a fierce kiss. A kiss of aggression. Or desperation. Of need to leave the mortal world and all its injustices behind, if only for an instant.

I return it, letting him invade me with his tongue, to take what he needs.

We kiss and kiss and kiss as the hot water pelts us, creates a protective shield between us and the world that allowed May to die so cruelly.

He finally breaks the kiss, his eyes slightly sullen as he looks down. “Sorry.”

I tip his chin up and look him in the eyes. “Never apologize for kissing me like that, Maddox Hathaway.”

“But we said no messing around.”

I bat my eyes. “I don’t recall making a promise in writing.”

“Fuck, Alissa.” He runs his hands over the small of my back, sending a tingling chill through me. “Are you sure?”

“With you, I’m always sure.”

He kisses me again.

And it makes the last kiss look like the kind a kid would give his grandmother in church.

It’s like he’s fucking me with his mouth. Devouring me. Taking what he must.

And I’m doing the same to him.

Our tongues, teeth, and lips clash almost violently. Something about the water brings out the jungle in us, as if we’re the survivors of a plane crash kissing under a waterfall on a deserted island. He slides his hand between my legs.

He pushes into me with one, two fingers, pressing against my G-spot. I moan out in pleasure.

“That’s right, baby. I love to hear how good this makes you feel.”

“It’s so good, Maddox. So… good .”

My breath hitches as he adds a third finger, stretching me from the inside out. With his other hand, he grabs my arse and teases the tight hole.

“You have a great ass, Alissa. I wonder if it tastes as good as your pussy.”

“Please, Maddox. I’d love that.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Have you ever done anything like that before?”

I swallow. “I haven’t, if I’m being honest.” I look up into his eyes, burning my gaze into his. “But there are a lot of things I didn’t do before I met you, Maddox. And I feel safe enough with you to try just about anything.”

His eyes become heavy-lidded. “Fuck.”

“What is it?”

He removes his fingers from my pussy.

I whimper at the loss, but he trails his hand over my jawline.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, Alissa. Beautiful inside and out. I…” He looks down. “I really like you.”

My heart breaks just a little. For a moment I thought he was going to utter the other four-letter L-word.

But it’s too soon. I get it.

“I like you, too, Maddox. I’m so glad we met.”

I grab his cock with my right hand, cradling his balls with my left.

“Shit.” He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. “Your touch alone turns me on. Way more than any other woman could.”

I give his dick a few gentle pumps. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I kiss him as I continue to work his dick. The kiss is gentle at first.

But it’s not long before it turns dark again.

He squeezes my ass and brings his mouth to my ear. “Bend over. Grab your fucking ankles. Let me see that pretty hole of yours.”

I’ve always been flexible—I dabbled in gymnastics before I discovered the flute—and am glad to obey Maddox’s order.

I’ve never had my arse played with.

Up to now, I’ve been pretty vanilla in the sheets. Straight lines, right angles, and all.

But the Alissa that Maddox has brought out after only three nights is willing to jump in with both feet.

I bend over, exposing my backside to Maddox. I grip my ankles, closing my eyes to keep water from getting into them.

A minute passes. I’m about to stand back up and ask Maddox what’s going on when I finally feel his tongue slide over me.

It’s probing. It’s taboo. It’s…wonderful.

It’s a different feeling from having my pussy eaten. The kind that makes me want to squirm, but I grip onto my ankles for dear life, determined to stay as still as possible for Maddox.

“You like that, baby?”

“F-Fuck. Yes.”

He licks my hole again, this time flexing his tongue to a point and fucking me with it.

I let out a deep moan.

“One day I’ll fuck you in the ass, Alissa. It takes a lot of trust to do that, so I don’t expect you to do it today, but I’d love to get my cock in that tight little hole someday.”

Part of me is willing to give it all to him right now, but I’ve heard that anal sex requires a lot of preparation, and I haven’t done any of that. Best to leave it for now.

“Keep rimming me, Maddox. It feels so…bloody… good .”

“Gladly, my angel.” And he’s back in my arse, licking me up and down. He takes a break now and then to kiss my cheeks but always returns to my hole.

My God, he could live down there if he wanted.

I’m seeing stars.

I don’t know how long he’s been eating me, but the water in the shower is starting to get lukewarm.

I don’t care. Maddox is warming me up fine.

Finally he leaves my arse. I sigh softly at the loss.

“Let’s move this to your bed.”

I straighten up, look him in his eyes. “That was bloody fantastic.”

He grins. “Glad to be of service.”

He steps out of the shower and grabs the flowery towel I picked out for him. I can’t help laughing at how silly he looks.

He scrunches his forehead. “I’ll bring my own towel next time.” Then he looks me over. “Shit. I should have let you use it first. Is it your last clean towel?”

I walk over to a hamper in the corner and grab the towel I used this morning. “It’s fine. I can reuse this one. My mother’s ghost be damned.”

He lifts his eyebrows doesn’t ask any questions.

Good.

Once I’m dry, I take his hand and lead him to my bed. We sit on the edge and I grab his face with my hands, look into the flames in his hazel eyes.

“Now, Maddox, time for payback.”