Page 11 of Wickedly Played (Checkmate #1)

Chapter Nine

MAX

I’m awake before Serena is even thinking about waking up. My body is singing from being too warm after having her tight ass pressed against my morning boner. Her scent has been embedded in my nose and has been absorbed through my senses.

After Serena left with Jim, Adam and I spoke a little more about Serena’s case and stalker. I should have known he was going to do something or say something to piss me off when he had that look on his face.

“You look like shit,” he mutters under his breath.

“Thanks, bro. I’ve been working. What do you want?” I’m leaning against the dividing wall with my ankles crossed.

“I want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You seem like you’re strung out or something.”

Shaking my head, I glower at him. “I’m fine. Serena is a lot to deal with, and I’m doing the best I can.”

My other responsibilities haven’t been put on hold just because of my bodyguard gig.

After Serena’s gone to bed, Joey, one of the other associates in our organization, would take over so I can handle some other jobs.

It happens a few times a week, which is a good fucking thing as I need to get this aggression out of my body. That woman is driving me crazy.

“Have you looked into your little protectee yet?” He’s baiting me. I can tell.

“I thought you did all of the scans and assessments. Have you been slacking?”

Adam’s eyes widen as he stares at me from across the room. “I did my job. However, I have some new information in this folder that you might want to take a look at.”

“What is it?” I don’t take the bait. I don’t need him to think he has something over me.

He stands up to hand it over to me. “Read the folder and you’ll learn a little more.” I don’t take the folder from him, and he sets it in front of me on the couch. “Get some sleep.”

I’ve been told I have weird sleep. This isn’t something new for me.

Ever since the first tour I did, my sleep disturbances have caused a lot of problems in my relationships, or lack thereof.

If I kept things casual with women, I wouldn’t have to explain my night terrors.

Only one woman has managed to spend the night with me, and I was rudely woken by her kicking my groin.

She left screaming before I could ask her what happened.

Serena’s chest rises and falls from her sleepy breaths, causing her pouty lips to pucker. I have done my best not to form connections with people… but Serena is different.

I can see why people are obsessed with her.

I can see why people in this lifestyle highly seek her out.

Thrusting her hot body against my dick in front of all of those people…

God damn. She’s magnificent. I should fucking run from the bed.

I should pretend I never tasted her sweet pussy.

I should pretend I don’t know what it feels like to have her little body wrapped around me.

With all of those thoughts warring through my mind, I still burrow her closer to me. My dick is harder than a fucking diamond, but I torture myself even more by kissing her hair.

I wake with a start and glance over at my phone, which is next to my head. Serena’s starting to wake up next to me, and I don’t want to have that awkward conversation with her about how fucking crazy I am. Instead, I take the cowardly way out and slip out of bed before she fully wakes up.

“Hello, this is Max Fitzpatrick,” I say into the phone after one of the security company’s answers.

“Mr. Fitzpatrick,” Billy greets from the other end of the line. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Of course, Billy is going to give me exactly what I want. He doesn’t want to cause a problem with Franky, and he doesn’t want me to visit him at his house. He’s a smart little bottom-feeding asshole.

I close the door behind me and pace my room as I order the security system needed for Serena’s home.

“Yeah, I can send a tech there in about an hour to get it installed,” Billy agrees.

“I want you to do it,” I mutter. “This is important, and I need to make sure it is done right.”

He chuckles. “You like this girl?”

Fuck me.

“She is a job. That’s it. I need to make sure she’s safe.”

Even saying those words out loud… I feel a weight on my chest. She’s my client. I have been hired to be her bodyguard, not to rearrange her guts after fucking her all night.

Plus, shit is about to happen that can really fuck everything up. I’m getting closer and closer to my goal of taking down Lorcan McGuire. Once I’ve killed the Don, all of his endeavors are going to be up for grabs.

Each job I do for the man is another step closer to earning his trust and working on him from the inside out. Lorcan is suspicious and won’t let just anyone close enough to get one over him.

“Sure, man. I’ll be out there in an hour.” Billy hangs up the phone, and I turn to leave my room to see about getting some breakfast.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath when I see Serena at my doorway.

Her shoulders are touching her ears. “Nice. Do you normally eat out the women you protect? Is that something you guys are doing?”

When I don’t respond quickly enough, she continues. “Or do you just try to fuck them? I would like to know if this is the standard treatment. Do you also climb into bed with them, too? Maybe spoon them all night.”

“Serena!” I growl out. Before I can stop myself, I’m pushing her against the wall with the weight of my body. Once she’s caged between me and the wall, I lean down to look her in the eyes. “Don’t be a little brat, sweetness.”

“Fuck off!” She’s running away from me before I can even counter her.

On the bright side, it isn’t like she can get far.

Being deployed as many times as I have been, you would have thought I could withstand torture. My molars have been ground down to nubs as I listen to Serena on her cam. She’s been at it for over an hour since the security systems were updated.

Oh, did I forget to mention Stella is here, too?

Fuck me.

Maybe I should call my shrink and make an emergency appointment since I’m clearly losing my composure here.

I’m about to say fuck it and barge in there.

I’ll show her clients on the camera how a woman comes from a real man.

All I would have to do is spread her thighs, lick her tight little pussy, and then bend her over the bed to fuck her little ass.

I bet they would be jerking their pathetic cocks raw.

I made it worse by kicking open the door a little to watch them inside.

I’ve tortured men for hours, days, weeks, and one time, even a month. I’m built to withstand this bull shit, but a little tempting vixen like Serena? She’s the one thing that’s going to be my downfall.

“My pet,” Serena purrs as she pets Stella’s head. “You look so beautiful in front of me like this.”

“Thank you, Mistress,” the other woman moans.

Serena is pulling Stella’s face to her pussy, and her sub follows through with the simple directions. Judging the moment when her head falls back, I know she’s making it good.

I know it is wrong. I know I should probably quit working for her. However, I want to be the one getting her off. I want to be the one with my tongue stuffed in her pussy until she’s moaning my name. I bet my name sounds erotic on her lips.

I wonder if she would scream my name after I shove my cock down her throat, and then fucked her so hard, she’s leaking my come for the next week.

I adjust myself in the confines of my pants.

“You lick me so good, pet. Show our viewers how much you love to lick me,” Serena encourages.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter to myself and back away.

Serena has a room off to the side of the gym, and it is conveniently located close to the surveillance room. The room has crosses, chains, beds, platforms, chairs, every toy you could think of, and it is sensually sexy.

I’m found about an hour later in the room with all of the cameras by Serena. I’ve been hiding in here to stop myself from bursting into their little love fest.

Truthfully, I don’t know why I’m feeling this possessive.

She’s not mine to have. I don’t get to keep her.

After her bodyguards come back, I’ll go on to another assignment.

Serena will go back to her daily life and forget about me.

It is better this way. She couldn’t begin to understand the level of darkness that chokes me.

Serena loves to be in the spotlight. She is a professional sex worker. What could I possibly offer her? Half of a man who lost the other half long before.

I didn’t even lose the other half. I’ve always been a monster.

I’ve always been the Devil who is under the bed.

I’ve never been the nice guy, and I’m not going to start now.

Since I’ve been here, I have received several job referrals, but I've turned them down.

The ones I have accepted are the ones that allow me to maximize my skills.

Torturing a person to the point where they are almost scared to death is an incredible high that is addictive.

I look up from the screens to see her pretty, freshly washed face.

She purses her lips and then makes a little noise in the back of her throat.

“Why are you hiding?” She smells like she just got out of the shower with her hair damp.

She’s wearing little shorts, a loose tank top, and a little lace bra underneath.

“Sweetness, I’m working,” I grunt. I turn my full attention back to the camera feeds.

“Did you like watching Stella and me earlier?”

I don’t offer her an answer. I don’t want to tell her that I wish it were me with my face between her silky thighs.

She approaches me at the desk, tapping her fingers along the front of it. “I could have sworn I saw you outside my door when we were filming.”

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t you admit it?” She’s brazen today.

I like it when my brats have spunk. “I’m busy at work. How about you save us both some time and tell me what you want?” I don’t give a fuck that I sound like a dick. I’m checking all the cameras to ensure they are all functioning properly.

She’s walking around the desk to be closer to me. I feel her fingers trail up my arm before tracing the lines on my face. “Admit you liked it.”

I shrug her off. “I’m busy doing the job you pay me to do.”

Giggling, Serena leaves my office. I’m scowling at her once the door is shut.

How dare she bait me like this? She knows what she’s doing, and then I remember, she’s good at this. This is what she gets paid to do.

“Serena?” I call out to her to get her to come back.

“You rang,” her voice is flirty.

“We need to talk about last night,” I begin.

She shrugs me off. “You thought I was someone else with your mouth on my pussy. I don’t know what else we can discuss. Oh, and you stabbed me.”

“Let me see it.”

“See what?”

“You know.” I pull at the neckline of her shirt to see if I can find the cut.

She hisses as she lifts her shirt to show me the mark. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Fuck. I’m so sorry.”

Serena’s little mouth turns up in a slight smile. “It was actually kind of hot. It could be something I do in one of my shows. I have been considering adding breath play to some of my subs. Maybe bring in a knife.”

My dick hardens against her sexy body. I groan. “Sweetness,” I moan.

She rubs herself against me and lowers her shirt back to rights.

I take a deep breath and try to find the words I have had such a hard time verbalizing. “My sleep is weird, and that’s why I like to sleep alone.” Might as well kick that door open.

“You think?” She’s quiet for a second before continuing. “But you were fine snuggled up to me last night.”

“I was?”

She nods her confirmation.

“I wasn’t yelling or moving around?” I’m in utter disbelief.

“Nope.”

“Can we…”

Serena starts moving toward the door. “We’re good, Max.”

I wish I could believe her.

I’m out of my chair before I can tell myself to leave it alone. There's no way I could leave this alone without trying to explain a bit more. My hands grab her hips to pull her to me. Her warm little ass rubs against my groin, tearing a groan out from the bottom of my chest.

“Max!”

“Wait,” I demand.

With her little body pressed against mine, I breathe in her sweet, natural smell. “I’ve been told I fight in my sleep,” I admit.

She turns a little in my arms to brace herself against my chest. “Go on,” she whispers.

Taking a deep breath, I try to figure out how much to tell her. “If I didn’t fight you during sleep, that means a lot more than I can ever tell you.”

“Why do you fight people in your sleep?”

“I’ve been used to not sleeping a lot because of being on active duty.

There have been times I would have to wake up and fight to save myself and the others on my team.

” I swallow around the hard lump in my chest. “A few of my buddies have told me I will fight in my sleep. I’ve threatened to kill people and have punched the mattress- amongst other things- when I’ve been passed out from exhaustion. ”

What I don’t tell her is the fact that I liked killing them. I also don’t tell her that I sleep a lot better after I have taken a life.

“But you didn’t do it with me?” Her fingertips burn into my skin.

“No, sweetness, I didn’t.”

“Why do you think that is?”

I know what she’s trying to do. I know she’s trying to get me to admit I like her or something.

I could never do that to her. I could never be the one who makes her put her whole life on the line just because I want her.

Fuck. I more than want her. I want to consume her.

I want her to only breathe for me, and that’s why I need to do this.

“Because my body knows you’re a job. I have to protect you, and that’s why I didn’t attack you in my sleep.”

I see the second the words sink in. “Okay, Max,” she whispers before leaving me.

My body misses the warmth from her instantly.