Shattered Trust (Shattered #2) (7 page)

“I’m not. I’m crying over your brother.”

She probably is, but her tender heart’s also bleeding for me. I take her mouth, suckle her lips, taste the sweetness that is Madrigal Berkeley. The combination of the wine and her salty tears stirs something in me. Nobody has ever cried for me. And I certainly don’t deserve her tears, not with my wicked past.

“Are you going to make love to me?” she asks.

“I don’t make love, sweet girl, I fu—”

She lays a finger over my lips. “Don’t.”

I nibble her fingertip before sucking it into my mouth. My hand skims down her panties to find her wet. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t say that word. I know the difference between fucking and making love, and what we do is make love.”

Chapter 10

Madrigal

He picks me up by my ass and in one smooth move comes to his feet. I love it when he does that. He’s so big and strong and so very, very male. When we get to his bedroom, he slowly peels off my blouse, stopping to kiss every inch that he reveals. My old boyfriend had always been in so much of a hurry that sometimes he didn’t even stop to take off my clothes. It was like I was a duty to him.

But Steele? With him, I feel precious, like something to be cherished. As soon as my bra comes off, he suckles the tip of my breast, and I wiggle beneath him.

“You like that?”

“You know I do.”

“You’re going to like this even more.” He shimmies off my skirt and my panties. I’m lying naked while he’s still wearing his silk pajama bottoms.

He pulls something from his night drawer.

“What’s that?”

“A silk scarf.”

Unsure about his intentions, I ask, “You’re going to tie me up?”

“Yes. Unless you have an objection.”

“No.” I trust him not to hurt me, not to take more than I can give.

“Place your hands above your head.”

“What if I want to touch you?”

“You can’t.” There is no softness in his voice. It’s as hard as the rest of him.

“Doesn’t seem fair that you can touch me, but I can’t reciprocate.” I want to feel the hills and valleys, the virile heat of him.

“We can stop if you like.”

“No. Do it.” I raise my hands above my head. In the next second, he secures them to the bedpost.

Hunting in his drawer again, he retrieves a second item. A mask. I bite down on my lip. I’ll be helpless. Do I really want this? “I won’t be able to see.”

“Yes, I know. I won’t fasten your legs. We’ll do that another time.”

“Oh?” After the mask is in place, I will my breath to saw in and out while I wait for him to take the next step. Some rustling occurs. “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“To fuck you.”

Too late I realize I shouldn’t have said what I did. He has two ways of fucking. One is what he’s done with me all this time. The other? Whatever he’s getting ready to do, which I imagine is what he does with other women. My heart takes up a wild rhythm. What is he going to do to me?

He climbs back on the bed, clasps one of my tied hands, and curls it around his thick, hard cock. “Feel me.”

The musk of him surrounds me. More than anything I want to taste him, to put him in my mouth, but that’s not what he wants. At least not right now. I pump him the way he likes, and he groans.

“All the way down to the root.”

When my fingers brush against him, I find something there. A cold, metal object wrapped around him right at the base of his shaft. “What is that?”

“A cock ring.”

“What does it do?”

“Makes me hard so I can keep you coming all night long.”

My breathing goes staccato as he leans over me to suck my nipple into his mouth. “Don’t stop pumping.”

When I continue, his cock grows thicker, longer, and he groans.

I jerk away my hand. “I’m hurting you.”

“No, you’re not.” He curls my fingers back around him and moves them up and down his shaft. With his hand over mine, we’re both stroking him, something I find strangely erotic. I lick my lips, and he comes closer. “You want to taste me, don’t you?”

“Yes.” My voice wavers.

“Here. It’s all yours.” He teases my lips open, and I take him in, at first just the head. I lick him, and he groans.

Filled by him, I can’t talk. I can only let him know with my tongue, my teeth, how much I’m enjoying him. As he slowly slides and retreats, I rake them over him.

“Fuck.” For the next few seconds, he gently surges in and out. But then when I lick the rim, his breathing grows harsh, and he pops out. “That’s enough.”

“I want you to come in my mouth.”

“No. Not tonight.”

“Fuck me, then. Please.”

He slides down my body, kissing my skin every inch of the way until he gets to the very heart of me. I wish I could wrap my hand around him, guide him to me, but it’s not to be.

When he parts my folds and licks and suckles my pearl, I shudder. “Please, Steele.” One hand climbs up and clamps over my mouth. How much control does he want? I can’t touch, can’t see, and now he wants to silence me. He teases his cock against my folds, and I moan beneath his open palm. When he finally gives me what I want and slips an inch into me, the feel of him is exquisite. I want him deep in me, so deep he’ll touch my heart. I clamp my legs around him, communicating my need with the only avenue left to me. Grunting, he thrusts. He’s so hot, so big, so thick, I can’t help but buck beneath him. Unhinging his hips, he pounds in and out until he hits rock bottom. When he does, I whimper. The girth of his rigid length is almost more than I can stand. I tense from the sweet ache.

“Relax.”

“I can’t,” I mumble beneath his hand.

“Yes, you can. Trust me, Madrigal.”

Taking a deep breath, I will every cell in my body to ease, to let his body claim mine in the most primeval of ways. Somehow I do. When he thrusts again, my body flushes with pleasure. I’ve gone totally liquid. Everything is heat and ache down below. I lick my lips, thrash my head. I want to touch him, but I can’t. He’s holding my hands captive above. Jerking up my hips, I murmur, “Faster, harder.”

He grabs my ass, and his pace goes to double time. I arch, but he forces me down so he can do what he wants with me. His hand finds my clit, and I go from urgent to downright desperate. I jolt up toward him, but his strength holds me down.

“Stop moving. You will lie there and take what I give you, take me.”

Sliding his hands under my thighs, he opens me wide so he can sink farther and then lets it rip, pumping hard and fast into me until I don’t know where I begin and he ends. I scream with mindless pleasure as he lets loose the punishing strokes of his cock. Sweat, pungent with his lust, drips on me and mixes with my own, creating a unique cocktail of our scents. We’re one in this world he’s created. There is no him and me, just us, two sexual creatures intent on nothing but this dark, mindless paradise.

Heat streaks through me. Everything about me trembles—my legs, my arms, my breath. “I’m coming!” I scream. No words slip out from beneath his hand.

He comes with a curse. I’m so out of it, I barely register his collapse on the bed next to me. A minute goes by before he unties my hands, takes off the mask. He’s wrecked, but then so am I. My gaze finds his cock. The ring’s not there; he took it off.

While I’m still experiencing the aftershocks of what he did to me, of what we did together, he says, “There. We fucked.”

Why did he do this? To prove a point? It doesn’t take long for me to find an answer. Because I got too close. And because I felt sorry for him after the firm severed their partnership. This is his way of telling me I never should feel pity for him. He doesn’t need or want that emotion from me. And he just made it clear what he does want. Mind-blowing sex. The kind I will never, ever forget and will crave for the rest of my life. But is there another reason for him to behave this way? Is he trying to pull us apart? If he thinks I’m going to run away because he showed me this side of him, he’s got another think coming.

Still lost in the aftermath of our lovemaking, I trace my hand through his scruff. “Yes, we did, and I loved it.”

His eyes widen as his right brow hikes.

Pulling him to me, I nibble his sensual lips. “I hope we do it again soon, except next time I’ll tie
you
up.”

He throws back his head and laughs before he flips me over, grabs another condom from the night table, and slips it on. And this time when we join, it’s not another fuck. It’s plain and simple making love.

Chapter 11

Trenton

After rising at my usual time of five thirty, I brew a cup of Italian roast in my Keurig before jumping into the shower. Half an hour later, I’ve shaved and dressed, while Madrigal sleeps. She’s got to be exhausted after last night’s marathon sex session. I’d made good on my promise to keep her coming, if not all night long, then at least until two in the morning. When after a final orgasm she’d fallen asleep, I’d dropped off into a dreamless state myself. This morning I was tempted to wake her in the best way possible, but she has to be sore, so I let her rest.

I’m knotting my tie in front of the bathroom mirror, tossing the occasional glance toward her glorious body, naked and spread out on my bed, when she slowly awakes. She blinks at me, at the clock on the night table, and back at me. “You’re dressed already? It’s not even six thirty.”

“Mitch’s arraignment is today,” I say. “But first I want to swing by the Commonwealth’s Attorney office to talk about the case and their thoughts on setting bail.”

With her breasts jiggling, she climbs out of bed, walks toward me, and pushes my hands out of the way. “Here, let me. You’re making a mess of it.”

No wonder. I’m too busy ogling her tits to focus on what I’m doing.

She tugs and pulls on my tie until it’s arranged to her satisfaction. “There.” She pats the tie. “It’s perfect.”

“Just like you.” I smack her ass. She’s naked, and I’m fully dressed. Something’s wrong with this picture.

“Is the Commonwealth’s Attorney handling the case himself?” she asks, picking up the clothes I’d tossed on the floor last night.

Her butt wiggles in the air, and my cock gets ideas. As much as I’d like to sink balls deep into her, I won’t abuse the privilege. The rude bastard will have to wait until tonight. “Yes, he is. Your grandfather was a pillar of the community, too important to let someone else prosecute.”

She lays out her clothes on the bed and smooths the wrinkles before turning to me. “Wish I could help.”

“Me too.” As much as I’d love her assistance, it can’t happen. Holden was her grandfather, after all. I can’t discuss the case with her, not only because I must maintain lawyer-client confidentiality but also because she’s bound to be called in as a witness since she was present the night Holden died. The thought that Holden’s murderer is running loose brings me back to the present. “How is the security detail working out?”

She scoots into the bathroom and, standing in front of the mirror, wrangles her hair into her ubiquitous ponytail. “Fine. They seem to have sorted themselves out. Alicia Carson is on duty during daytime hours.”

“She seems competent.”

“She is. Madison went riding with her. She’s very patient, something Madison needs. She was an excellent choice.” Bouncing back to my side, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Hunter Stone. He chose her.”

“Yes, but it was your idea to hire security in the first place. I’m not anxious about Madison going riding anymore. Mind if I shower?”

“Of course not.”

“Got more towels?”

“In the hall closet.”

She dances her way into the hall, grabs a couple of towels, and sashays back.

My cock’s so hard, walking’s going to be a challenge. “How are you going to get home?”

She tosses the towels on the clothes hamper in the bathroom before, all swaying hips, she turns to me. “I’ll call Stone.”

My eyes narrow at the mention of his name.

“I thought we settled the Hunter Stone issue,” she says with a teasing smile.

She thinks this is a fucking game. I pull her to me. “You’re mine. And mine alone.” I plunder her mouth while my hand finds the seam of her ass and kneads her cheeks. Finally, when she’s whimpering with need, I walk away.

I leave her wobbling on the carpet. No doubt her pussy’s dripping as much as my cock’s throbbing. Serves her right for torturing me.

It takes the entire trip to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office for me to get my head in the game. I’ve made an appointment, but they keep me and my heels cooling in the reception area for a good half hour before Beauregard Jefferson’s assistant leads me to his office.

In his late forties, Jefferson’s been a fixture in the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney office since he graduated from law school. Rumor has it he’s got his sights set on a congressional seat and that he’ll announce his candidacy in the next year. A victory in the courtroom would provide him with plenty of publicity, and Holden Gardiner’s murder case will certainly gain him plenty of ink in the papers and notice in social media.

“Trenton! Sorry to keep you waiting.” He extends his hand while showing every one of his pearly, perfectly aligned teeth. They’re nice and shiny, and not one of them is chipped.

“Beau.”

“Take a seat, please.” He waves at the leather chair in front of his desk. Probably an antique passed down from an ancestor. Just like Madrigal’s, his family dates back to colonial times, so Virginia blue blood runs in his veins as well. Makes sense. Who else would saddle a son with a name like Beauregard? He smooths down his tie before dropping into his chair. “So what can I do for you?”

“Mitchell Brooks.”

“Oh, yes. Interesting case. Very interesting. Anything in particular you want to know?”

“What are you looking at for bail?”

“I’m afraid, old boy, we won’t be recommending a bail amount. We’ll need to keep Mitchell Brooks in jail.”

I’d been afraid of that. “May I ask why?”

“Well, the charge will be murder.”

“First or second?”

“Murder in the first degree.”

I stop breathing. “Why? The evidence does not support such a charge.” Special material facts need to exist before a defendant can be found guilty of first degree murder. And the circumstances surrounding Holden’s death don’t even come close.

He sways back in his chair and folds his hands over his stomach. “You don’t know the whole of it, Trenton. We do.”

“You’re required by law to reveal whatever evidence you have.”

“We will during the discovery phase. In the meantime, we’ll ask Judge Sutton to deny bail.”

“Unless I can convince the judge otherwise,” I mutter under my breath on the way out. I’ll have to dig deep to discover what evidence the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office has that supports the charge of capital murder.

I stop at the Loudoun County Detention Center to give Mitch the news so he won’t be surprised at the arraignment.

Once I tell him, he almost shrinks into himself. “I didn’t do it.”

“I know that, Mitch. But they say they have evidence that would warrant a capital murder charge.” I run through the ten factors that would provide grounds for such an indictment. None of them seem to fit the crime. Except for one. “Did you stand to gain financially from Holden’s death?”

“No. You were there when the will was read. He left all his money to Madison and Madrigal and made small bequests to his staff.”

“Why did you leave the firm, Mitch?”

“I had my reasons.”

“They’ll use that against you.”

“I don’t see how they would know.”

“They’ll bring Joss into it. She’ll testify.”

“It’ll be hearsay. She doesn’t know why I quit. I never shared my reason with her or anyone else. The only one who knew was Holden, and he’s dead.”

“You know damn well there are many exceptions to the hearsay rule. They’ll find a way around it.” I smack my hand on the table. “You have to level with me.”

He doesn’t even blink at my show of emotion. “I can’t.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

“Isn’t it the same thing?”

Stubborn and closemouthed to the core. As always. He’s not stupid. He has to realize the danger he’s in. There’s a reason why he refuses to talk. I just have to find out what it is. “You’re protecting someone.”

He stares at me stone-faced. Mitch isn’t going to tell me anything he doesn’t want me to know.

“See you in court.” I pound on the door and storm out of the detention center. Only when I’m safely inside my car do I let loose a string of curses. If he doesn’t cooperate, if he doesn’t tell me the truth, he may very well end up with a lethal injection in his veins.