Page 25 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. Two (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #2)

Elliot

In the morning, I wake up alone. I have a vague memory of Rhett and Wren waking me up in the living room last night. When I made it to my room, I found Oliver sound asleep in my bed, waiting for me. The second I crawled under the covers, he cuddled up to me, and I kept him in my arms for most of the night.

Disappointment winds through my chest as I sit up. Oliver normally wakes before I do, and it’s already later than I typically sleep, so it makes sense that he’s gone. But I wish he was still here.

Groggily, I force myself out of bed and into the bathroom. As I brush my teeth, the rest of last night plays through my head.

Did Wren and Rhett make it back home okay?

Toothbrush still in my mouth, I rush back into my bedroom and grab my phone. Two text messages await me.

Rhett: Made it to Finn’s just fine.

Rhett: Home safe. Gonna try to get some sleep.

Relief floods my system, and I drop my phone on the bed.

After I finish getting ready for the day, I head downstairs. As I do, I can just make out a soothing melody coming from the living room. Oliver must be playing the piano.

Before I join him, I pop into the kitchen. The coffee pot is full, so I fill two mugs and add cream and sugar to Oliver’s. When I enter the living room, his eyes are immediately drawn to me.

A full smile forms on his face.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Morning. Coffee?”

“Please.”

He wraps his fingers around his mug, but before he takes a sip, he tilts his face up to me.

I kiss him for far longer than I need to. When I pull away, Oliver’s lids are heavy, and he breathes in a deep, happy sigh.

“You were gone when I woke up.”

A little of my earlier disappointment seeps into my voice.

“You were gone when I fell asleep,”

he counters.

“I tried to wait for you this morning, but I got restless.”

“Did you sleep okay otherwise?”

I slide onto the piano bench next to him, and he gladly makes room.

“Yeah. You?”

“Fine. I fell asleep on the couch in the living room last night. Woke up before Rhett and Wren left.”

Oliver frowns. “Left?”

“Rhett needed to let out some of his anger, and Wren went with him. They were only at Finn’s.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up and tell me?”

“You wouldn’t’ve been able to get back to sleep, Ol. You know that.”

“Yeah, but—”

I shut him up with another kiss, which he doesn’t seem to mind too much.

“They’re home safe now,”

I tell him, my lips lingering on his.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

With a groan, he drops his forehead to my shoulder. “I wish.”

I snake an arm around his waist. Careful not to jostle him enough that he spills his coffee, I tug him until he’s as close to me as he can get.

“Do you need to talk?”

“I’m good.”

He gulps down his coffee before setting the mug on a coaster that lives on the piano.

“There’s no way—”

“I’m as fine as I can be. I’m taking my meds, we’re making progress, and at least for now, all four of us are home and safe.”

I frown.

“You’re really okay?”

He laughs, but the sound is hollow.

“No. None of us are okay. But I’m trying to focus on the good today, and I’m also not going to dump my shit on you when you’re already stressed enough.”

“But—”

“Mm mm, no. You’re always taking care of us, Ell. It’s too much weight for you to carry.”

But someone has to.

“I just want to see you happy,”

I tell him.

“Then give yourself a break. Hell, let one of us take care of you for a change.”

“I do,”

I say indignantly.

“Not nearly enough.”

Oliver turns himself so he’s sitting cross-legged on the bench and facing me.

“Something’s gotta give. Both you and Rhett have been burning the candle at both ends, and before you know it, there’s not going to be anything left.”

“I just can’t relax. Yesterday, I tried, but how can I focus on anything but work? I have to. I can’t let anything happen to the boys, or to any of you. There’s so much to do, so much to—”

The rest of my sentence dies as Oliver fits his mouth to mine. I make a startled noise as both his hands hold my head so I can’t pull away. He tastes like coffee and sugar, like happiness and home.

“That’s much better,”

he murmurs when he releases me. It takes the words a couple seconds to register, and by then, one of his hands is already drifting down my body.

“What’re you doing?”

I ask once my brain starts working again.

“Helping you relax,”

he says in between the hungry kisses he’s leaving all over my neck.

“And then I’m gonna make you breakfast while I tell you all about the ideas I have for our secret project, and you’re gonna give me your opinions.”

When he nudges my chin up, I let my head fall back. Oliver sucks on my neck hard enough to bruise, but I don’t mind. The thought actually sends a new wave of desire through me, and I relax into it.

My dick hardens under his hand, which has made its way down my chest and stomach. All I manage is a groan.

“Just focus on how it feels,”

he says against my skin.

“Let me handle the rest.”

When I nod, he slips his hand into my sweatpants and past my briefs. In seconds, I’m fully erect, and he wraps his fingers around the hard length. He loves doing this—placing all his attention on one person and not letting them concentrate on anything except what he’s doing.

As Oliver strokes my dick, his lips find mine again. They’re soft and a bit swollen, and I never want him to pull away.

“Fuck. Turn for me.”

Oliver slides off the bench and onto the floor. His knees hit the carpet as I swivel in place so I’m facing him, and he wastes no time yanking my clothes off.

“God, yes.”

He licks my cock from base to tip before taking it into his mouth. My eyes close of their own accord. There’s something about the way Oliver sucks dick that has me choking on air every time.

“Ol,”

I moan. I lean back, and my elbows hit a bunch of piano keys as I brace myself. The discordant notes sound throughout the room, making Oliver chuckle around my cock. “Fuck.”

He does something with his tongue that forces a grunt from my throat. As his head moves up and down, his hand follows. Opening my eyes, I watch him. He’s moaning and taking as much of my cock as he can, just like he always does. Sometimes I think he enjoys this as much as I do.

After a minute, he raises his head and licks his lips. He’s still stroking me with his hand as he meets my gaze and grins.

“I thought about waking you up like this, but I figured I should let you sleep.”

I groan at the thought. It wouldn’t’ve been the first time he’s done that, but he usually gets my permission the night before.

“Maybe tomorrow,”

he muses before sucking on the tip of my cock. He works his tongue as well, and it pulls a soft moan from my lips.

For once, I do as I’m told. Relaxing into the piano, I close my eyes again and keep my focus on Oliver. It’s not like it’s hard. With the way he’s moving up and down my dick, he’s the only thing I want to concentrate on.

It helps that Oliver is so enthusiastic that it’s almost comical. One of his hands is moving in time with his mouth, and the other is gripping my hip. If I tried to pull him off me, he’d probably protest until I relented.

“Can’t get enough of my dick, can you?” I ask.

He doesn’t bother replying, except to move his hand from my hip to cup my balls. I groan as he switches to focusing on the head of my cock, sucking and using his tongue. By the time I’m close, my worries are at least temporarily forgotten. I gasp Oliver’s name, and he raises his head, still stroking me with his hand.

“Where’d you like to come?”

he asks with a self-satisfied smile.

“Your mouth,”

I pant.

“Oh, Ol, fuck—”

His lips wrap around the crown of my dick just as I start to come. My whole body tenses as the sensations overwhelm me. Oliver’s moans only add to it, along with his gentle sucking. Something about the way he does it adds to the intensity of my orgasm, which causes an unexpected whimper to fall from my lips.

Only when I’m so sensitive that I have to push his head away does Oliver stop. Even then, he stares at my cock longingly, almost like he’s disappointed he can’t continue. It’s his own damn fault. How am I supposed to last when he’s so good at this?

“Get up here.”

Grabbing him, I yank him up and slam my lips to his. He strokes his tongue into my mouth, and I suck my cum off it with a groan.

Although I can tell he doesn’t want to, Oliver breaks off the kiss first.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Much better,”

I pant as I lean closer. Just can’t get enough.

“Good.”

He kisses me again.

“Now let’s get you some breakfast.”

***

The morning flies by. Rhett and Wren don’t come downstairs at all, so my hope is that they’re sleeping. It gives Oliver and I some time to work on Wren’s surprise before our plans for the afternoon. The distraction is a godsend, considering I would’ve tried to work otherwise, even though I’ve hit a temporary dead end until I can talk to Aubrey.

When she arrives around one, Rhett and Wren have just finished breakfast, and Oliver and I have just finished lunch. I’m happy they slept this late, honestly. Both of them still look exhausted.

Aubrey’s driver escorts her to the door but doesn’t come in. It’s a relief—it’s another signal that Ludo trusts us, and it also means we can speak freely.

The moment we’ve shut the door, Aubrey sighs with relief and pushes her dark curls behind her shoulder. She’s wearing high-waisted shorts with a pale pink crop top that contrasts beautifully against her dark skin.

“I told him he didn’t have to walk me to the door, but he insisted.”

She rolls her eyes.

“I can’t wait until I don’t have to deal with Ludo and his rules anymore.”

“At least he didn’t try to come in,”

Oliver says.

“Oh, I would’ve put my foot down at that.”

Aubrey brightens when she sees Wren.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey.”

Wren grins, and they embrace, although it’s slightly awkward considering Aubrey is holding a dress bag.

“Wanna try on your bridesmaid dress?”

“Oooh! Of course I do.”

“Perfect.”

Aubrey glances at me and the guys.

“And I’m assuming we have a lot to talk about as well?”

“Definitely,”

I reply.

“We can talk in the living room.”

Wren takes the dress from Aubrey and disappears, probably to change in the bathroom. Once we’ve sat down in the living room, Rhett doesn’t waste any time.

“Have you seen my brothers?”

“I have. They both seem to be doing perfectly fine. Benny is shaken—I mean, Ludo basically had him kidnapped—but having Andrew around is helping with that.”

“And what about the rat in Ludo’s organization? Is there any news on that?”

I ask.

“Or, more specifically, is the heat off Andrew?”

“One of Ludo’s guys was able to confirm that Andrew’s phone has been hacked. Ludo is still being cautious, but it’s more out of fear that Andrew will make another naive mistake.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes.

“The whole thing isn’t helping with his aversion to technology. He already looks at his phone like it’s going to grow talons and attack him.”

Rhett blows out a long breath and sags into the couch.

“Just as long as Andrew isn’t at any unneeded risk.”

“Ludo isn’t an irrational man,”

Aubrey says.

“When he sees logic, he reacts accordingly. As long as his ego doesn’t get in the way, that is. That doesn’t mean he’s not unreasonably cruel at times, but most of his actions are evidence-based.”

“Which is why he hates technology, right?”

Oliver asks.

Aubrey nods.

“He’s paranoid of being hacked or of storing the wrong data in the wrong place and getting caught by the authorities. It’s why he doesn’t have security cameras at the mansion. And it’s also why—ohhh, Wren! You look gorgeous!”

We all follow Aubrey’s gaze. Wren is standing near the entrance to the living room in a floor-length, pale pink gown. The fabric pools at her feet, probably because it’s meant to be worn with heels.

Wren shifts from foot to foot. Both her arms are behind her.

“Um. Can someone zip me up?”

I’m closest to her, so I volunteer. The zipper is infuriatingly tiny, but I’m also distracted by the curve of Wren’s spine. Before I pull up the zipper, I trace a finger up her back, smirking when it makes her shiver.

“Beautiful,”

I say once I’m finished. Squeezing her waist, I drop a kiss on her shoulder.

“And it seems to fit well.”

“I gave Aubrey my measurements the other day.”

With a little laugh, Wren adds, “Glad I measured correctly.”

Slowly, Aubrey walks around Wren, examining the dress from every angle.

“It’s perfect.”

The girls chat for a few minutes about random wedding details. Bouquets, the other bridesmaids, rehearsal details, etc. The whole time, Rhett shifts restlessly, tapping his fingers on his leg. When the conversation starts to take a turn toward table dressings, he cuts in as gently as he can.

“I know this is stuff you two need to talk about,”

he says.

“And Wren—sweetheart, you look beautiful. But we need to talk about Ludo.”

Aubrey claps her hands together.

“Right! Of course.”

“I’ll go get changed,”

Wren says. “Um… Ell?”

She turns her back toward me, looking over her shoulder.

“I’ll come with you.”

The walk through the hallway is short. Once we’re in the bathroom, Wren gives me a quizzical look.

“Do you need to use the toilet?”

“No. Just wanted a moment alone with you.”

Slowly, I unzip her dress and leave a trail of kisses down her spine as I do.

“This dress is tempting my self-control.”

With an amused huff, Wren turns around. Her eyes are sparkling the way they always do when we remind her just how attracted we are to her.

“I didn’t realize the dress was sexy.”

“You didn’t?”

I groan.

“Jesus, Wren.”

She shrugs, which makes the fabric slip lower down her breasts.

“I think it’s pretty. Just not sexy.”

“Well,”

I say, my gaze dropping to her body.

“Let me tell you that you are one hundred percent wrong. Objectively.”

“Objectively?”

Wren raises an eyebrow.

“Ask Oliver and Rhett. They’ll back me up.”

With a kiss to her cheek, I step away. If we didn’t have such an important conversation to get to, I’d fuck her right here, but I don’t want to keep Rhett waiting.

“See you in a few, love.”

When I get back to the living room, Oliver throws me a knowing smirk as I plop into one of the armchairs across from him and Rhett on the couch. We wait for Wren to get back, and then we waste no time.

“We need to know everything you know about Ludo,”

I say.

“It’s a lot of info, I get that. But anything could help.”

Aubrey pulls a flash drive out of her pocket and hands it to me.

“I came prepared. Everything I gave to Sparrow is on there. Notes, a couple audio clips of conversations I recorded, random pictures of papers I found, the works. There’s also a blueprint of his mansion, which I figured would be useful.”

“Definitely. Thank you.”

I hand the drive to Rhett, who already has his laptop open. He must’ve grabbed it when I helped Wren with her dress.

“Be careful with it,”

Aubrey says.

“Other than the copy Sparrow has, there aren’t any backups. I didn’t want to risk getting caught.”

“Makes sense. I’m sure this felt risky enough.”

She nods solemnly.

“I’ve got more than what’s on that drive, too. Stuff that feels extra important that I didn’t record anywhere.”

“We’re all ears,”

Rhett says. It’s a miracle that only a hint of impatience comes through in his tone.

“As I mentioned earlier, Ludo hates technology,”

Aubrey says.

“Obviously he can’t get away from it completely, but he treats every device like it has a mind of its own and will betray him the second it gets the chance to.

“Because of that, he doesn’t keep records around. Not of his criminal activities, that is. I overheard a couple of his men complaining about how they think it’s overkill. If you were to search any of his properties, you wouldn’t find a shred of evidence of illegal activities. Unless you know where to look, that is.”

At that, Oliver raises an eyebrow.

“And you do?”

“Purely by accident,”

she replies.

“Ludo has a private billiard room that he uses for meetings and relaxing. It’s got the works—a pool table, a full bar, expensive leather couches, et cetera. It looks like something out of a movie.

“When I first moved in with Ludo, he told me I wasn’t allowed in there. So of course, I snuck in once or twice. I thought it was like his man cave or whatever, and he was just protective of the space. But the second time I was in there, I realized that wasn’t it at all.

“I was pouring myself a drink behind the bar when I dropped the cap to one of the bottles. It was pure luck, but as I was bent over to pick it up, I heard the door open.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to get caught somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be, so I stayed out of sight. But I managed to peek around the edge of the bar and watch without Ludo realizing.

“He has a hidden safe behind one of the paintings that’s up on the wall. I didn’t get a chance to see the contents—just what he put inside it, which was a small hard drive.

“After that, I started keeping a closer eye on the room. I can’t always tell when he’s taking the drive out of the safe because he knows how to be discreet, but I’m pretty sure he updates the contents once a week.”

Oliver has been peering at Rhett’s laptop, but now he moves his gaze to Aubrey. One of his legs is bouncing.

“Any idea what’s on the drive?”

“Considering he keeps it hidden and locked away, I’d say it’s evidence of his crimes that he has to keep around. His books, maybe records of agreements, things like that? But I don’t know for sure.”

“Everything on here is definitely helpful,”

Rhett says without looking up from his laptop.

“But like you said, nothing horribly incriminating. That drive could be the key to our whole plan.”

“Do you know the combination?”

Oliver asks Aubrey.

“No. Wouldn’t matter if I did, anyway. Ludo changes all his passwords, PINs, and codes weekly. Some he even switches up daily.”

Dammit. These security measures make sense for the most part, but how the hell are we supposed to get to the drive?

“Is the room guarded?” I ask.

Aubrey shakes her head.

“That would be too conspicuous. I don’t think anyone other than Ludo knows the safe is there, and I believe his plan is to keep it that way. To everyone around, it’s his private recreation and meeting room.”

“Do you think you could sneak in there one last time?” I ask.

“I could try,”

she says hesitantly.

“But I think Ludo is beginning to realize that I know more than I’m letting on. I’ve noticed some of his men watching me more closely since we got back from Florida, so I’d prefer not to risk it.”

“If he’s acting suspicious of you, there’s no way we’re putting you in a dangerous situation,”

Oliver says.

“You’ve already helped enough. I’m sure we can manage to get in there ourselves.”

“We’ll need to know more about Ludo’s security,”

I say.

“And even then, we’ll probably require some type of distraction.”

“Well,”

Oliver says thoughtfully, “there’s one very big distraction coming up in a couple weeks.”

I frown.

“You mean the wedding?”

Oliver nods.

“I won’t be much help that day,”

Aubrey says.

“And there’s definitely no way I’ll be able to sneak off. Not with family, friends, a full bridal party, and a husband who’ll be dragging me around for the entirety of the reception so he can meet my parents’ friends.”

“That’s fine,”

I say.

“I’m not sure it’ll work, anyway. The wedding will come with extra security, I’d imagine, considering it’s happening at the mansion.”

“Actually,”

Aubrey says, “that area of the house won’t be too heavily guarded. The billiard room is closer to the bedrooms and guest rooms, which is where a lot of my extended family is staying. There’s not anything to guard over there—except the safe, of course.”

“But adding extra men to keep an eye on the room would only make it obvious Holloway is hiding something over there,” I say.

“Exactly. Plus, I asked him not to add too many more patrols to that area of the house. I don’t want my family feeling like they’re being watched. Ludo is so set on solidifying the connection with my family that he agreed immediately.”

“Well, that’s convenient,”

Oliver says brightly.

Rhett stands.

“I just sent the mansion blueprint files to the printer. Be back in a second.”

I start pacing. Even without more eyes on that part of the mansion, sneaking into Ludo’s billiard room will be risky. If any of us got caught in there, what would our excuse be? That we got lost looking for the bathroom? No one would believe that for a second, especially since we’d have a safe cracker with us.

Speaking of, how the hell are we supposed to sneak one of those in? It’s easy enough to get our hands on one, but it’s not small enough to hide in a pocket.

“… get there fairly early the day of for hair, makeup, and photos,”

Aubrey is telling Wren.

Right. Wren is in the bridal party. She’ll be able to roam the mansion without extra suspicion.

My stomach turns with dread at the thought of Wren getting caught while she’s cracking the safe. Yet it’s the thing that makes the most sense. Bridesmaids perform lots of duties, including running to the bride’s bedroom for her to, say, grab her lipstick. It’s the perfect cover.

But if she gets hurt or caught… Dammit. We can’t put her in undue danger. This is exactly what I was afraid of.

I can’t let anything happen to her. I can’t let anything happen to any of them.

“Ell?”

Wren touches my arm lightly, and I realize I have no memory of her coming near me.

“You look like you’re gonna puke.”

“I’m fine.”

But the words come out of my mouth funny, and the room feels like it’s getting smaller and smaller. “I just…”

Focus, Elliot. They need you.

It can’t be Wren. She’s not ready.

“I’ll think of another way,” I mumble.

“Another way?”

Wren asks.

“What’re you talking about?”

“Ell. Hey.”

Oliver puts an arm around me, taking some of my weight. As he leads me to a chair, he says something, but I don’t catch it.

“I’m good,”

I say, even though it feels like something is constricting my chest.

What if I can’t do this? What if we mess up the plan and something goes wrong and one of us doesn’t make it? Or none of us do?

Chills sweep through my body. We can’t lose anyone else. Not when we’ve made it so far.

“Elliot,”

Oliver says as he kneels in front of me.

“You’re gonna be okay. I promise.”

But I can’t believe him. How can I believe him? We’re stuck. Helplessly, hopelessly stuck.

Oliver grasps my hands, but I barely feel him. All I can think is that we’re destined to fail. We’ve worked so hard, for so long, but what if we can’t finish what we started?

“O,”

I say, not entirely sure why I do.

All I know is that I’m slipping, and I don’t know how to stop myself from falling.