Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (3 page)

           
“I
will make a mental note of that.”

           
Her
smile fades and she starts to let that busy brain get the best of her again.
“Hugo… about Karlie…”

           
“No.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk anymore tonight.” I kiss her softly for
a moment, letting her know that my request is final. No more talking. No more
of the bad.

           
“Well,
what do you want then?” she whispers against my lips. Her breathing becomes
unsteady, and I’m hard just knowing that I can turn her on with a soft kiss. I
press my forehead to hers and look into those beautiful green eyes, licking my
lips. “I want to drown inside you.”

           
She
freezes and the only thing moving is her eyes as they flicker back and forth
between mine and my lips.

           
“Alright,
then,” she whispers before sliding her hand behind my neck, pulling my lips to
hers. Time is not wasted on what is considered sweet during intimacy as our
tongues intertwine and I grab her ass, pulling her into me, hoping she feels
how much I want her. She wraps her arms around me tight as our mouths sink
deeper.

           
I
lift her up, her legs wrap around my waist. I walk to the bed and toss her over
the duvet. I reach over my head and pull off my shirt. She follows, taking off
hers, and grabs me by the waist of my sweats and draws the string loose. She
reaches around pulls my sweats down as she presses her lips against my bare
chest. Reaching down, she strokes me as I unhook her bra, biting her tender
shoulder and soothing the fresh wound with my tongue. She strokes harder as I
unbutton her jean shorts. The harder she strokes, the more I start to tremble.
She senses it and stops. She leans back and raises her hips allowing me to pull
off both shorts and panties. I step out of my sweats. I crawl on top of Juliet,
kissing her stomach. I nip at her perfect petite breasts and work my way back
down. I make love to her entire body. I want her to feel me in every part of
her. I already have her soul, her heart, her body. I just need to keep them. A
woman’s body is as important as her heart. You make her come in the most
vigorous way, she’s yours. You not only make love to her. You fuck her. You let
her know how deep your feelings are for her. Well, I believe you will have her
forever, and I want Juliet forever.

           
I
press my mouth on her waist and dip down, my tongue sliding between her folds.
In between gasps I can hear her call my name and it just motivates my tongue to
sink further. She pulls my hair, nearly ripping it out as she comes. I hold on
to her hips as they jerk up. I slide my right arm behind her back and raise her
up to face me. I pull her into my lap and kiss her again, moving down to her
neck.

           
“I
want you inside me,” she whispers.

           
“I
have to get a condom.” I remember.

           
“No.”
She shakes her head and cups my face, staring at me with certainty. “I’m on the
pill. I just want
you
to be inside
me.”

           
“I’ve
never… I just want you to know I’ve never been without protection with anyone
other than…” I refrain from mentioning her name at this moment. “And I get
tested every time.”

           
“I
trust you, Hugo. Now shut up.” She kisses me, surely shutting me up. She raises
her hips and reaches below, grabbing hold of me, and slowly she pushes her hips
down. Her jaw drops the deeper I’m inside her. I feel my heart burst as I watch
her eyes widen every time we move. I push the soft brown strands of her hair
out the way and wrap my hands around her head as we move. She rises up and
pushes back down quickly and I close my eyes, the gratifying impact taking over
my entire body. Her hips move faster. She stops and slows down. I can finally
have room to breathe before I die from this woman. She looks into my eyes as
she wraps her arms around my neck and leans back her hips, grinding in this
rhythm I have never been subjected to. It’s slow yet powerful and she knows it.
Her eyes gleam at my reaction. I have no control. She does and she loves it,
and I love that she loves it. She raises one leg and I help push it back,
holding on to her knee as she pushes harder, and the sounds I make are
unrecognizable. She laughs between moans and brings her mouth to mine. She
pushes me down until I’m lying flat on the bed. I softly press my hands against
her breasts as she rides me. Fuck. Fuck! I am in love with this girl. I love
her. I love her. She rubs my face as she looks at me and presses her thumb against
my bottom lip. I bite it and she hisses then whimpers as my tongue tastes. Her
eyes close as she begins to shake. Her fingers dig into my chest. The pain is
stimulating beyond measure and my head tilts back as I come. She moves faster,
not willing to be left behind, and screams as she comes, her head falling on my
chest and her hands wrapped around the duvet, holding tight, begging to be the
anchor for her orgasm. I run my fingers through her hair as she kisses my chest
and lays her head listening to my heart as it beats for her.

           
I
keep running my fingers through her hair, staring up the ceiling. This is how I
am to celebrate my birthday… with the woman I love.
 
This is how I am to go to sleep. I am in
peace before tomorrow.

3

SCARLETT

“Listen,
I’m not saying it’s a complete waste of time,” the lawyer tries to explain in a
polite matter.

           
“Then
what are you saying?” Patrick’s grip on my hand is tight. So tight that it’s
beginning to burn.

           
“There
is no hard evidence. The only reason why we even got to get a warrant for his
arrest was because of your pressure on the head of the special victims
division.”

           
“I
don’t understand the problem.” Jane doesn’t bite her tongue as she speaks to
the lawyer. “Your job is to defend my daughter, and Hugo Mandrake has been
nothing but a menace to this society. I don’t see the problem with this case at
all. There are plenty of women out there he has defiled; I am sure they can
help.”

           
“Mrs.
Townsend, with all due respect, there is a difference between being a womanizer
and rape. You can’t charge a man because of a few broken hearts. It’s a hard
case because she waited too long. Yes, we have the drugs from his room. But we
don’t know if it was in Rebecca’s system. The problem is that after the rape
she did not quickly report it and go through the proper procedures to secure
hard evidence such as DNA, semen.”

           
“Because
she didn’t know!” Patrick snaps waving his hands after releasing mine. “She was
drugged. She was confused and she was alone. I want that bastard to pay.”

           
“I
will do my best, Patrick. I promise.”

           
“You
better make it quick too,” Jane adds. “We can’t let this leak to the press.
We’ll be all over the media’s headlines.”

           
“Seriously
Mother, your image is all you can really think about?” Patrick scoffs.

           
“I
am thinking about this family. Do you really want Rebecca’s life to be labeled
by those soulless spectators out there? We wouldn’t even be in this mess if
your fiancé wasn’t associated with the likes of that boy.”

           
I
knew that was coming.

           
“Don’t
start.” Patrick, my hero. I must admit the angrier he gets, the sexier he is.

           
“This
would have never happened back in Boston or while your father was still alive.”

           
Patrick’s
body tenses and I grab his hand. If I could make Jane pay for that remark I
would, but unfortunately that would also destroy Patrick and my plans. Now I
must admit I didn’t plan this whole framing Hugo for rape thing well, but then
again I didn’t want to. I just wanted to break him, and if he continues to
persuade me, I will ruin him.

           
“Well,
maybe if you weren’t so busy being nosy with Scarlett and I’s engagement, you
would’ve stayed in Boston with Rebecca.”

“You
will not lay blame on me. Lay blame on the company you keep.”

“Stop
it!” Here comes Rebecca with a dramatic cry on the steps of the living room. “I
take it back. I take it all back. He didn’t touch me.”

           
Patrick
quickly gets up, but I beat him to it, rushing towards the little shit. I wrap
my arms around her and soothe her precious and annoying sobbing.

           
“Shhh.
It’s alright,” I say to her, rolling my eyes.

           
“Hey
Becs.” Patrick comes up behind us and presses his hand on my shoulder, the
other on hers. “It’s going to be fine.”

           
“But
I really don’t know, Patrick,” she softly says. “Maybe it was just… maybe it
was just sex?”

           
“Either
way, he still needs to be punished,” I encourage.

           
“That’s
right,” Patrick agrees.

 
“Besides, Rebecca, it’s statutory rape.
Hugo is an adult and you are a young girl. Trust me. You can’t run from this.”

           
Jesus,
I’m even beginning to think I’m sincere in this speech. As long as Patrick
continues to look at me lovingly and Rebecca sinks further into my web, I will
donate to a fucking feed the children foundation if I have to. God do I hate
charity.

JULIET

I
wake up to see Hugo, who is no longer naked in my bed as he should be. Instead
he is fully dressed in dark blue trousers and a white t-shirt, scribbling
something on my notepad that’s on my desk.

           
“Where
ya goin?”

“I
didn’t want to wake you.” He sits back on the bed, throwing his arm over my
hip.

           
“You
didn’t.”

           
“I
was leaving a note.”

           
“There’s
this thing technology created. It’s called texting.”

           
“Call
me nostalgic. I’m going to Karlie Dale’s. Or Fairchild, whatever.”

           
“Do
you want me to come with you?”

           
“I
think this is something I need to do myself.”

           
“I
get it.”

           
My
answer gives him relief as he softly smiles. “I love you.”

           
“I
love you.” He stands up and I can’t help but to tease. “You are really starting
to love those words.”

           
“Not
really.” He doesn’t look back as he walks out.

           
“Liar.”

           
I get
out of bed and throw on a shirt and pajama bottoms before getting back into
bed.

           
“Well,
I see love is still in the air.” Jordana and Poppy come strolling in and make
themselves comfortable in my bed.

           
“Yeah,
I guess it is.” I’m not able to hold in my amusement.

           
“I’m
so happy for you guys.” Poppy claps her hands together in excitement.

           
“Yeah,
I guess I am.” Jordana rolls her eyes.

           
“Have
you heard from Margaret?” I check up on Jordana’s relationship status with the
closeted daughter of a great bigot Republican.

           
She
leans her head against the headboard and sighs. “Yeah. She texts.”

           
“You
don’t sound so happy about it.”

           
“I’m
not. I don’t have time for the hot and cold exploration of lesbianism. You
can’t win em all.” She looks at me. “Straight girls, I mean… now as for asshole
guys, I guess you can because you have won over the worst of them all.”

           
“If
he was the worst, I wouldn’t be able to even have a chance.”

           
“I
call bullshit, Spears. Hear this now because I will only say it once.” I sit up
straight and try not to smile as Jordana takes a deep breath. “You inspire me…
you bitch.”

           
“Awww,
that’s the sweetest thing ever,” I tease and pull her in for a hug.

           
“Even
though I love a woman’s body, I am really uncomfortable right now.”

           
“Oh,
you love this.” Poppy joins in, wrapping her arms around both of us.

           
We
let go and Jordana shakes off the happy feelings.

           
“So
about this Karlie Dale Fairchild, think we can trust her?” Jordana asks.

           
“I
don’t know,” I tell the truth.
 
“I
mean who can blame her for wanting to do this after all these years? I mean the
girl’s life was almost destroyed.”

           
“Yeah,
it’s so sad, especially knowing that she and Hugo and August’s brother were in
love,” Poppy says.

           
“Jesus,
Scarlett used to basically praise Gabriel for being this diabolical lothario
until he supposedly got weak, but turns out… the guy fell in love.” Jordana
shakes her head as she smokes her cigarette.

           
“Yeah,”
I agree. “I just wonder about her.”

           
“What
do you wonder?”

           
“Alright,
don’t tell Hugo, but last night August told me that she’s bad.”

           
“Bad?
How?” Poppy asks.

           
“I
don’t know and you know August; he’s a riddle. I just figure that maybe he
thinks Karlie is the reason why Gabriel killed himself and that he doesn’t know
how to just put it in the right words.”

           
“That
could be,” Jordana says. “I just hope this plan she has is good because once
Scarlett sees us coming, I won’t be shocked if she has more stuff up her
sleeve.”

HUGO

“Good
afternoon, Mr. Mandrake.” A blonde petite woman with a tight bun answers Karlie’s
door.

           
“Good
afternoon.” I enter the penthouse. Everything is pretty much white furnished
with a grey marble fireplace, floor, and kitchen countertop. Very nice. A dark
brown grand piano is in the corner by one of the many windows that display a
clear view of the city.

           
“The
piano came with the place.” I turn around and see Anika. I look at her, like
really look at her, and it comes to me.

           
“We
had a lot of classes together last year.” She laughs, shaking her head.

           
“You’ve
just now realized this?”

           
“Yeah.”

           
“I
was shocked how easy it was. Low-key, I think Karlie wanted me to pick the same
major as you, but there was no damn way I was doing that. But it didn’t matter
anyway because you just took whatever classes to piss off your dad.”

           
“Yep.
So you and Cody?”

           
“Cody
just happened,” she shrugs. “Seriously, I got a job because I didn’t want to
rely on my sister and Cody just so happened to come there with his parents and…
that was it. I think I always knew it was to see me, but I didn’t want to. I
didn’t want to get close to anyone from your world.”

           
“My
world?” I point up, waving my finger around. “This is clearly your world too.”

           
“No.”
She shakes her head. “This is not my world. This isn’t even Karlie’s world. Her
world is your brother. That’s her world. Has been since she was seventeen. Even
when she tried to escape, fate got in the way.”

           
“Fate?”

           
“When
I met William Fairchild,” Karlie interrupts wearing an all-white dress.

           
“Yeah,
when she met that poor fool,” Anika mocks. “Is Cody home?”

           
“Yes,”
I answer. “Locked in his room, listening to Boyz II Men, hoping their soothing
masculine voices will mend his broken heart.”

           
“Funny.”

           
“I’m
being serious and for future reference, tell the truth before you sleep with
someone as sensitive as him. Especially virgins.”

           
“Oh
is that what you usually used when sleeping with girls? From what I’ve heard,
your brother didn’t.”

“See
there’s the difference between my brother and me.”

“Not
technically. He sort of told my sister the truth before he slept with her.”

“That’s
a story I must hear soon.” I am surprised by this, given that supposedly Karlie
was supposed to be a virgin when assaulted.

 
“I’m going to see if I can talk to him.”
Anika grabs her purse off the couch.

“I
advise you not to. Cody has always been a wet blanket and the wet blanket
finally dried up when you allowed him to explore, well, your wetness, so now
that he has discovered that it was partially a lie, he is now about to sink
back into his shell.”

“I
am so glad I never tried to get to know you.”

Anika
slams the door on the way out.

“Listen,
I know you are prone to being a son of a bitch, but talk to my little sister
like that again and your wit will be the only thing you have left to use in
your life.”

“Good
to know that you do care for your sister.”

“I
love my sister.”

“So
much that you made her go to the same school as me just so she could
—
what?
Watch me? Or did you think history would repeat itself?”