Page 1 of Laila Manning (Shadeport Crew #3)

H is large hands gripped the backside of my thighs tightly, pushing them against my chest to open my pussy up for his hungry mouth.

“Yes.” I whimpered, thrashing my head back and forth on the bed. “Don’t stop,” I begged.

I hated begging. I hated asking for anything in life, but this man—did things to me. He reduced me to carnal needs and incomplete thoughts, leaving me begging him for more of the pleasure he promised me.

“You taste so good, Laila.” His deep baritone rough voice hummed against my clit and my back bowed involuntarily. His eyes snapped up to look into mine, and the cool blue depths of them made me feel like I was crashing into the ocean headfirst. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“I don’t want you to.” I panted. I needed him more than anything else I’d ever experienced before. I needed the calm he brought to my soul .

He took his tattooed hands off my thighs and pushed two fingers deep inside of me and curled them forward, rubbing them against my G-spot while stroking his pinky against my ass.

He pushed his finger into my ass slowly, letting the saliva and wetness from my two previous orgasms coat his skin and help with the intrusion.

“Damn, your ass is so tight, baby.” He cursed, sucking powerfully on my clit.

“I’m going to come!” I gasped, curling forward, and watching his mouth and fingers attack my body.

It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen before, and it was my undoing.

“Yes!” I screamed and fell back onto the pillow as my brain misfired, and pleasure rocked my entire system.

“Please, Zeke!” I chanted. “Please fuck me, I need more.”

He pushed another finger into my ass and kept the suction on my clit as my orgasm wrecked me, crashing through my body, and destroying me in its wake. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath as his talented mouth and fingers never let up their delicious torture.

“Laila!” He panted, “Laila!” Something in his tone made me open my eyes and look down my body at him, but he was no longer lying between my legs.

Zeke was kneeling on the bed next to me, staring down with a scary and intense glare. His large hands gripped my shoulders tightly and shook me gently as I gasped.

Gone was the erotic high buzzing through my body, and in its place was fear.

“Zeke?” I whispered, suddenly unsure of what was going on.

“You were dreaming.” He said deeply, letting his eyes travel down my body where I lay twisted up in my sheets. I followed his gaze down my body and saw that my thin nightshirt hung awkwardly off my shoulder and the top of my breasts were bare to his eyes.

It was all a dream .

It was all a sex dream.

With Zeke!

I lay frozen in place as he finally slid his hands from my shoulders, and I took in his appearance. He wore nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs with a gun tucked into the waistband.

And tattoos.

Nearly every inch of his arms, legs, chest, and abdomen were covered in a mix of black and brightly colored ink.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, snapping my eyes back to his as the ghost of a smile kissed his manly lips while I got caught staring at his twelve-pack of abs and the deep v that disappeared beneath the thin black fabric of his briefs that hid—almost nothing.

His scowl returned as he stood up to his full height and stared down at me, I didn’t right my shirt, don’t ask me why, but I liked the way his eyes looked troubled as they flickered back and forth from my chest to my pupils.

“You were screaming.” He finally said as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, squeezing the muscles that flexed under the colored skin. “I was worried about you.”

I pushed myself back against the headboard and awkwardly lifted my shirt onto my shoulder, covering my cleavage, cursing myself for wanting his attention at all now that he was mentioning my night terrors.

“I’m sorry I woke you.” Shame filled me before curiosity took its place. “How did you–how did you get in here?”

I looked past him to the brightly lit hallway between our apartments and into his space through both open doors. It was my first glimpse of his personal living space.

“I have a key.” His deep voice rumbled, and my lips parted in surprise.

“Have you always had a key to this apartment? Or just since I started staying here?” I asked.

When his eyes dropped to the bed and he didn’t answer right away, I had my answer.

“You have a key because of me, specifically.” I couldn’t help the humiliation that filled my nerves as I processed that. “Because I need to be babysat.”

“I have a key in case you need me.” he said firmly, staring back into my eyes as his brows dropped into an almost menacing scowl. “Not because you need to be babysat.”

“Right,” I whispered, and took a deep breath, pulling my blanket up to my chest to hide where my nipples poked through the forest green shirt, searching out for the man who had been doing delicious things to them in my dreams.

But it was all just a fantasy.

Not real.

Nothing seemed real anymore.

“Thanks for waking me, I’m sorry I disturbed you. You can go back to bed now.” I said firmly, but I wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Want to talk about it?” he said, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. I looked up at him as he did it and fought to keep my eyes above his incredible chest and on his face.

Did this man have any idea how sexy he was? His shaved head and perfect beard paired flawlessly with the ink and chiseled muscles that he always hid under his tailored suits.

In fact, in the three months since moving onto Ryker’s estate, in the barracks, I’d only ever seen Zeke in anything other than a suit a dozen times or less. It was usually when he wore workout clothes, and while that was a sight to behold, nothing compared to him nearly naked in briefs.

“No,” I blurted, feeling a blush creep across my face as I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. “Not in the least. ”

“You know,” he said, pausing like he was trying to choose his next words carefully, “I hear you most nights. But tonight was different.” I blushed even deeper as he kept talking, praying the world would open up and swallow me whole. “Your screams were more—intense. But they didn’t sound as pained.”

“Jesus.” I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. “I don’t ever remember what I dream about, other nights or tonight. They fade as soon as I wake up.” I lied quickly trying to end this embarrassing conversation.

He didn’t say anything right away, but his crystal-blue eyes stared deep into mine.

Did he have any idea how painful it was for me to maintain eye contact with anyone, let alone him?

Finally, he stood up off the wall and uncrossed his arms, “If that’s how you want to play it. ” He said pensively and frowned.

“What the fuck is going on in here?”

We both snapped our heads toward the open door to my apartment and saw the giant outline of my brother standing in the doorway. Even with the light behind him, I could see the dark glare on his face as he stared at us.

“Jed.” I gasped, looking from him to Zeke and back. My mouth hung open at the assumptions I knew he was making about the two of us right now, but I couldn’t get words to come out of my mouth.

“Laila was having a nightmare. Her screaming woke me up, so I came over here to wake her up.” Zeke said plainly, not shrinking down at all as Jed walked into the room. Their dynamic had intrigued me since coming to live with them.

They were friends who respected each other, but I’d seen Jed fall into an alpha role around Zeke recently when I was around, and I didn’t necessarily like it .

“Are you okay?” Jed asked, deflating a bit as he walked over to me and sat down on the edge of my bed.

He was a total stranger to me as an adult, but there were times like this when I’d see small bits and pieces of the boy he was when we were younger, trying to protect me from the evils of the world.

And I knew what that choice had cost him all those years ago.

“I’m fine,” I said, putting my hand on Jed’s between us on the bed and squeezing it briefly before putting mine back in my lap, twisting the blanket between my nervous fingers.

He watched me closely, letting his eyes bore into me as he remained quiet before finally blinking and nodding his head. “Okay.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking at my phone next to me. It was only three a.m.

Zeke still stood against the wall in his tight boxers, and I tried really hard to keep my eyes from looking in his direction at all. I didn’t want Jed to see something there in them that I wasn’t ready to process myself yet.

“I just got home from a job, and I saw Zeke’s light on, so I came over to walk through and check on you both,” Jed said, looking over at his scantily clad friend, raising an eyebrow at him. “Care to take your naked ass out of my sister’s apartment?” He bit.

I snapped my eyes over to Zeke, appalled by my brother’s rudeness, but Zeke just smirked at him, highlighting a dimple on his cheek under his short dark beard.

He nodded his head and looked over to me, drawing my eyes into the deep blue of his.

“You know where to find me if you need me, Laila.” he said, and his voice caressed my skin like a physical touch.

I nodded back to him quickly and gave him a small smile before dipping my head and staring at my hands, avoiding Jed’s watchful stare as he observed our interaction with interest. Zeke walked out, softly closing my door behind him, and I listened as his own door shut across the hall before I took a deep breath, laying my head back against the headboard as my shoulders deflated.

Jed reached over and flicked on the lamp next to my bed, “Talk to me,” he said firmly as I stared up at the dark ceiling.