Page 30

Chapter 30

Eden

Twenty-five pairs of eyes stare at me as I finish relaying the shitshow that happened last night. The staff are grim; a few look scared. Gus looks ready to have a coronary.

Gus and I had already met with the security team to beef up our protocols, which were top-notch even before the attack. Ohith and Axin hadn't gotten wind of a threat, either. We're protected as much as possible, yet it still wasn't enough.

That's not overly reassuring. I understand the fear staring back at me. I had trouble sleeping locked in my office. The similarities between the attackers and what I watched on Aiken's hidden video wouldn't let me sleep for long.

Meg chews her lip. "So, with the security stuff, we're as good as we can be, right?"

Andre wraps his arm around her shoulders. "Working here, we always know there's risk."

"Yes, technically, but…"

"If it's any consolation, it's been the owner-operator targeted both times."

"Ed," Gus growls. "Don't make light of the attacks against you and Aiken."

I sigh and rub my forehead; it feels like a vise is tightening around my skull. "Back to reviewing our safety protocol. All staff is to be escorted by security to their vehicles at the end of their shift. No exceptions.

"Make sure the security at your homes is in place, and if you ever feel the slightest threat, you activate protocol immediately." I scan the room. "If anyone isn't comfortable working here any longer, come and speak with me. No judgment. Okay?"

I wait until they all nod before turning to the large man beside me. "Frank is taking point as the head of security until Ambrose is back in action. That's it. Talk to me if you need."

The staff disperses. I turn and slam right into Frank. He served with Ambrose in the military and still retains the muscular physique of an active-duty soldier.

"Frank," I grit. "I don't need a shadow."

He steps back. "Sorry, boss. We're all just on edge."

"I get that. But in here, I'm fine. You and your team resume what you always do to keep this place secure."

Frank nods and walks away, leaving Gus and me alone. "My office," I say to him as my phone buzzes.

I keep my mask in place, reading Vito's texts.

Any update yet on alternatives for my preferred bourbon?

Or were you able to source my first preference?

He wants to meet me in the passageway. Immediately.

I type a response while walking down the hallway to my office.

I'm meeting with Gus in my office

I'll look into it in fifteen

Meaning: stay out of my office, and I'll meet him in the passageway in fifteen minutes.

Gus bearhugs me as soon as we're inside my office.

"I'm so goddamn sorry, Ed."

I hug him back, even though I don't do personal space invasions often. "It wasn't your fault, Gus."

I push him toward the chair, then sit behind my desk, rubbing my temples.

"You look like shit, kid."

"Leave it to the boxer not to pull punches."

He grunts with a small smile, but it fades quickly. "You could've ended up just like Aiken."

"But I didn't."

He huffs in exasperation, then his eyes narrow. "How did Lixin Xhang happen to be here last night?"

"He said he was swinging by to ensure Amazu wasn't causing any trouble."

"I guess that makes sense.” He rubs his jaw. “Never seen Amazu like that before."

I open my phone to the pictures I took last night. "Ever seen these two guys or the tattoo before?"

Gus leans closer, flicking through them. His brow furrows with a frown, puckering the scar at the bridge of his nose.

"What is it?" I press.

"Three."

"What?"

"A trident—three prongs—with three snakes."

"Does that mean something to you?"

"No… But I caught Aiken muttering sometimes when he thought he was alone about something about threes, like he was working through a riddle."

I sit up straighter. "He always used to say things happen in threes."

It's a common saying, or maybe a belief, but it sends a raking sensation down my spine like a foreboding omen.

"They'll try for you again, Ed."

"Let's not get superstitious on top of paranoid, old man." Opening my desk drawer, I pull out some pain medication and swallow them. "I'm going to grab an hour of sleep."

"You should go home. Take Frank with you. I'll cover here."

"I'll grab an hour's nap in my office, then I'll be good." I don't balk at my lie. I won't be sleeping, but after an hour with Vito, I will be good.

"I just need an hour. Could you have everyone steer clear of my office until then?"

"Of course." He stands, still eyeing me with concern and guilt.

"Gus… Enough with the guilt. Let me rest for an hour, then we'll figure the rest out."

"You're the boss."

"Bet your ass I am."

He shakes his head at me and closes the door behind him. I ensure it's locked, then hurry to the passageway's hidden door with my bookshelves. I activate the unlocking mechanism under one of the shelves. I swept my office for bugs earlier, but my heart still hammers as I take the risk. But I need Vito.

The door seals behind me, and I'm already rushing down the stairs. The light from Vito's phone bounces, illuminating the passageway as he races toward me.

His phone hits the floor, bathing us in light as he whips me off my feet before I hit the bottom step.

His mouth slams down on mine. His tongue seeks immediate entrance into my mouth as his hands shove my shirt up. I know he needs to touch me and reassure himself that I'm okay.

I shove his jacket off his shoulders and down his arms, then rip at his shirt. My need to touch his skin is as demanding as his to touch mine. As he devours my mouth, we pull each other's shirts off and work feverishly on each other's jeans.

I don't have the ability for words right now; I'm all need .

I need to have him. My need for him isn't only physical; I need him mentally and emotionally just as much. I needed to have him by my side after what happened, but I couldn't have that so this will have to do.

I toe off my boots and step out of my jeans as he does the same. My lips feeling swollen and ravaged, and he licks, kisses, and bites my neck before he lowers his head to my chest.

"Fuck, I love your tits." He palms them, squeezing and playing with my nipples.

I grip his long, thick cock and stroke it hard, making him groan; then he bites my nipple, making me cry out.

"I need your beautiful, big god-like cock. Now," I moan.

He hitches me up around his waist and, without hesitation, slams into me, his blue-green eyes heavy with pleasure.

"You're my heaven, Eden."

It always feels like the first time with him, and this well of longing, need, and lust for each other will never dry up and can never be satiated.

I tilt my head back, arching my back to rub my rigid nipples against his chest as he slides out, then back in. "I need it hard, Vito."

His fingers dig into my ass cheeks as he holds me up against the wall. He flashes a smile mixed with heaven and sin. "Hold on, baby."

I hook my ankles around his back, wrap my arms around his neck, and hold on as he fucks me like he's trying to imprint himself on my body.

The concrete wall is rough on my back, scratching and scoring it, but I don't care. All I care about and want is the amazing way he fills me, stretches me, and hammers into me, along with his taut muscular frame pressed against mine.

His scruff scrapes my neck as he buries his face, biting the base of my throat. The pain shoots pleasure down to my nipples, roughening up against his chest, then straight to my pussy.

He works me—it feels endless but, at the same time, like it will never last long enough—and sweat coats both of our bodies.

My skin is alive. Touch is amplified like I'm on some drug—where his fingers dig into my flesh, everywhere our bodies touch, my rock-hard nipples on his chest, his mouth, lips, and teeth, and his beautiful big cock moving in me. It's almost too much, but I drink it, inhale it, ingest it, all like an addict. The sounds he makes intensify it, knowing that I'm doing the same to this powerful, deadly man.

"Work your clit," he orders.

I push my arm between our sweat-slick bodies. My clit is so swollen and sensitive it almost hurts, but I work it like he commands, and my walls flutter.

"That's it, baby. Make your pussy clench and fist my cock while I fuck you." He bites my shoulder, making me cry out again. "You feel so goddamn amazing."

He works me mercilessly, sliding in and out with hard, rapid strokes. I rub my clit harder, feeling the crest of my orgasm start. My walls clench as the pleasure ratchets up another notch, making it hard to breathe as Vito hammers the air out of me with every thrust.

"You're so close. Pinch it. Hard . Come for me. Now, Eden."

The orgasm rips me apart. I cry out his name as the core of ecstasy blasts apart inside me, stealing my breath as I convulse around his thick length.

"Fuck," he grits, fighting off his orgasm by slowing his strokes as the last of my release leaves me limp. I'm well and truly fucked .

But Vito isn't finished with me yet.

His tempo now is slow but with hard slams—him thrusting up and slamming my body down.

"Oh God," I choke on pleasure. My fingernails dig into his chiseled back.

He bites my chin, then sucks it. "Be my good girl and give me one more. Then I'm going to coat your tongue and throat with my cum like my good little cum slut."

The hard, powerful slams and dirty talk bring my second orgasm right on the heels of the first. I scream, his mouth capturing it, as my body shakes and spasms like I'm seizing. If I weren't in euphoric bliss, I'd be concerned my insides have just been fried with the electricity ripping through me.

Somehow, Vito didn't detonate with me. I'm spiraling down from heaven when he lowers my feet to the ground. My knees buckle, and he catches me, kissing me roughly.

Once I can somewhat breathe again, I sink to my knees, staring up at him. He's a god mixed with a devil—all the hard cut angles of him, and his eyes filled with fire and lust.

"If I'm your cum slut, then give me your cum."

"Fuck me," he groans.

I open my mouth, sticking out my tongue, and his hips buck to drive in deep. One of his hands cups my head, and the other braces against the wall as he fucks my mouth. My hands wrap around his muscular ass, pulling him toward me, and my moans edge him on.

I look up at him, staring down at me with a fierce, possessive look that makes my pussy clench as if it didn't just have two orgasms. His groans and grunts add to it. My beautiful predator's face turns almost pained, and he pulls on my hair, adjusting the angle of my head, allowing him to go deeper.

I fucking love it.

I moan and hum around his length and move one of my hands to cup and slightly squeeze his balls.

"Fuck, Eden. Eden," he chants as he explodes with jerky movements in my mouth, on my tongue, and down my throat. I feel every pulse and spurt of cum and swallow it all.

Like a good little cum slut.

I suck hard as I pull up along his long length, easing the suction when I slide back down. His balls suck tight to him while I massage them. That makes him jerk and shudder, his eyes heavy as he looks down at me.

Pulling him out of my mouth, I lick my lips as he pulls me to my feet. He kisses me, lazy and slow, his tongue swirling with mine as he tastes himself in my mouth.

He finally pulls away, cupping my head as he stares down at me with that look of fierce possessiveness. The love I hadn't let myself see these past few months is burning bright.

"You're my every wet dream come to life."

"Just your wet dreams?"

"You're my wet dreams, the dreams of my future, and the dreams I never thought I could have. You're my everything, Eden," he rasps.

He sinks to his knees before me and kisses my stomach, then moves lower. His tongue trails along my skin. Like gasoline being thrown on a fire, my need for him flares back to an inferno because it's never satiated.

He lays back on the floor, licking his full lips. "Come sit on my face so I can worship the woman who is my everything."

I get on my knees, straddling his head, looking down at him. "That sounds like something I can't refuse."

He grips my hips, pulling me down to his mouth. "You're my heaven, Eden."

Then he worships my body, bringing me heaven here on earth as the man, god, and devil I love.