The Exposé 3 (9 page)
“Hey,”
I say softly, reaching to cup his face. “What do you want me to
say? I won’t lie to you, Dax. I want that story. That job. But
that doesn’t mean I’m the enemy here. I’m not
sneaking around anymore.”
He doesn’t look convinced.
“We
both want the same thing,” I point out. “To bring down
Nikolai, and expose him for the bottom-feeder he is. If we work
together, we can make it happen.”
“Together?” Dax
echoes, but he doesn’t pull away.
“Is that so hard for you to
consider?” I say, smiling. “I know you’re a lone
wolf and all, but I do bring some skills to the table.”
He laughs. “I know all
about your skills...”
Dax
slides his hands up my bare legs. I shiver. “I can type a
million words a minute, and hold my breath underwater for a really
long time too.”
Dax’s
hands move higher. I let out a moan as he finds my pussy again, slick
and aching for him.
“I always liked this
shirt,” he murmurs, leaning to kiss me. I sway against him,
loving the feel of his solid body and wicked, delving fingers. “Never
take it off.”
“Never?” I let my
head fall on his shoulder, thrusting against his hand as I reach for
his belt.
“Good point.” Dax
groans as I push down his pants and close my hand around his cock.
“New rule: when you’re here in this apartment, you get
naked as soon as fucking possible.”
He yanks the shirt open. Buttons
go flying, but neither of us care. He closes his mouth around one
breast as I pull his hips closer.
As
he thrusts hard into me, I moan out loud. How can this feel so good?
His cock slides deep inside, the friction driving me crazy,
stretching me open, filling me up.
I reach to grab his ass, but Dax
takes my wrists and pins them behind my back. He rocks into me again,
controlling the pace, tormenting me with the thick, sweet strokes.
“Fuck,” I gasp, as
his body pistons. The pressure is insane, rubbing my clit with every
thrust.
“You’ve got a filthy
mouth,” Dax growls, biting down lightly on my lower lip. I
shudder, pleasure and pain thrumming through my body in an
irresistible rush.
“It’ll be filthier
when it’s wrapped around your cock,” I whisper in his
ears.
Dax
grips my wrists harder, grinding up so his dick fills me completely,
hitting that sweet spot. “Right there,” I moan.
“You mean, here?” Dax
thrusts again.
“Fuck.
Yes. Fuck!” I can hear my voice rising, desperate, but I don’t
care. All I care about is the relentless thick glide of his cock
inside me, every inch spearing me closer to oblivion, the precipice
just out of reach. “Dax,” I pant, rocking to meet him.
“Don’t stop.”
“No fucking way.” Dax
slams into me, so hard I would jolt back on the countertop if he
wasn’t holding me down, pinning me in place. “You’re
mine,” he growls, forcing me to look at him, to see the
possession on his face. His eyes blaze with intensity, totally
dominant and fierce. “You belong to me now.”
With
a final thrust, he takes me over the edge. My body combusts in a
shattering rush, and then he sounds a raw cry, exploding into me.
Oh. My. God.
I
come back to reality. Dax carries me over to a dining chair and sets
me down at the table. He puts my coffee in front of me, and unwraps a
bagel, fully-loaded.
“Breakfast is served,”
he smirks, still naked from the waist down.
I’m
still reeling from my incredible orgasm. “That’s full
service for you.”
He chuckles, pulling his clothes
right and taking a seat beside me. “See, I have skills too.”
He demolishes his bagel in three
bites, then looks hopefully at mine.
“Nope,” I snatch it
away. “Something tells me I’m going to need some fuel.”
Dax grins. “Eat up then.
I’ve got plans for you later.”
I feel a happy glow, sitting back
and sipping my coffee. I sneak a look at Dax. Did he mean what he
said just now, that I’m his? Or was that just getting caught up
in the sex? Some guys will say anything in the heat of the moment.
Either way, I’m happy not
to push it. Right now, it’s enough that we’re relaxing
together without any secrets, or lies, or conflict between us.
“So
what’s your plan for the day?” Dax asks, still eyeing my
bagel.
I
take pity on him, and pass him half. He wolfs it down right away. “I
don’t know.” I think. “I need to go home and
change, maybe fill in some more job applications. I might have to
swallow my pride and beg my old classmates to hook me up with a job
somewhere.”
“You,
proud? I’d never guess it,” Dax teases.
“There’s a lot you
don’t know about me,” I reply lightly. “Maybe if
you took me out for dinner tonight, we could have an actual
conversation for a change.”
He grins. “You mean instead
of just fighting and tearing each other’s clothes off?”
“We
can do that too,” I say. “After.”
“Deal.” Dax nods.
“I’ve got some business to attend to, so why don’t
I pick you up at your place at eight? We could have that dinner, then
stop by the club for dessert.”
“Sounds
good to me.” I smile. Then a thought strikes me. “You
won’t do anything stupid, will you? Going after Nikolai, I
mean.”
With
all the hot sex, I forgot about what happened before that last night:
Nikolai’s guy threatening Maria, and what I learned at the
party about the land deal.
Dax’s smile slips. “I
can’t promise you that.”
“Please, just wait,”
I beg him, suddenly scared. “There’s a way out of this,
if we just think it through. A way to expose his blackmail, so he
gets what he deserves. He’s not someone you can just walk up
and threaten.”
“Believe me, I know just
what kind of man he is.” Dax’s jaw gets tense. I reach
over and take his hand.
“Give it a day or two,”
I urge him. “Let’s play this smart. I know between the
two of us, we can figure it out. I don’t want you getting
hurt,” I add. “Please.”
Dax takes a long moment, then
nods. “I agree, brute force won’t achieve anything. I’ll
take a beat to think about it -- but I won’t take long,”
he warns me. “Nobody messes with the people I love and gets
away with it.”
*
I get dressed in last night’s
clothes and head home, ready to take a half-hour hot shower and revel
in my memories of last night. But just as I make it through the door,
my cellphone rings.
Granger.
I
feel a guilty pang. There’s no way I can keep talking to him
about everything that’s happened with Dax and the club. We
crossed a line last night, and now my loyalty is to Dax, not this
editor. Maybe the mess with Nikolai and the land deal will turn out
to be something, but I can’t say for sure anymore that I would
run with the story if it risked harming Dax.
I’m facing a choice now,
between Dax and my future, but after everything we’ve shared,
it feels like no choice at all.
I need to quit the story for
good.
I
quickly shower and change, and head in to the newspaper office.
Granger waves me straight in, and I nervously take a seat on the
other side of his desk, bracing myself to break the news.
“So
where are we?” he asks, munching on a sandwich. “I’ve
been pulling background on Landsley, lots of happy family values
bullshit, but it’s going to blow up in his face when we run the
truth about all his kinky extra-curricular games.”
I feel a chill. “That’s
the thing...” I hate having to do this. I’m basically
committing career suicide, blowing the one big shot I’ve got.
But Dax is worth it. I know he
is.
“I’m
dropping the story,” I tell Granger.
“What the hell?” He
pauses, his sub halfway to his mouth.
“I’m
sorry,” I say quickly, “But I can’t keep digging
like this. It’s nobody’s business what Andrew Landsley
does in private. I can’t just expose him like this, not without
proof he’s done something corrupt.”
“Of
course he’s corrupt!” Granger explodes. “He’s
a fucking politician getting spanked on the weekends.”
I stare, shocked. “This was
supposed to be a real investigation, in the public interest,” I
tell him. “But there’s no evidence he’s been
compromised, or doing favors.”
Sure,
I heard him talking with Nikolai, but he hadn’t agreed to
anything. And Dax is refusing to give Nikolai any leverage for
blackmail, so I don’t see how Andrew is corrupt.
Granger
snorts. “Are you stupid, or just naive?” he demands. “Sex
sells, what kind of business do you think we’re in here? If I
get photos of that guy in a ball-gag on my front page, circulation
will go through the roof.”
I
can’t believe it. I look at him in disbelief. “But you
told me, this story was about money. Power! Real news that mattered.”
Granger
gives me a pitying look. “Sure, that would be the icing on the
cake, but hell, we’re running this either way. You don’t
even realize what you’re sitting on. A story like this goes
national -- blogs, TV. And we’re ready to clean up.”
“No!” I get up,
furious at him -- and myself, for not realizing what he was after all
along. “I’m not doing it.”
“Are
you sure about that?” Granger gives me a smug grin. “How
about I sweeten the deal? Staffer position, news department. A
full-time job. That’s what you wanted all along, isn’t
it?”
I pause. Everything I wanted,
right within reach.
But at what price?
“No,”
I tell him firmly. “You can forget about this story. I won’t
sell him out like that.”
“I
didn’t realize you cared so much about Landsley,” Granger
sneers. “What, are you part of his kinky sex games too?”
It’s
not Landsley I care about. And Dax has worked too hard, and come too
far, for me to bring his whole empire crashing down.
“I’m
done,” I tell Granger, turning to leave.
“You’re going to
regret this!” His angry yell follows me out. “I’m
going to get this story, one way or another!”
I walk quickly away, my heart
pounding. I can’t believe what I’ve just thrown away
here, but in my heart, I know it’s the right thing to do. I
don’t want anything else to come between Dax and I, and I
believe what I told the editor: what people do in the privacy of the
club is none of our business. It’s a place to be free, to
indulge fantasy.
I
won’t judge them, and I won’t let Granger expose them
either.
My certainty grows as I exit the
newspaper and head home. I can’t take any more secrets. From
now on, I want to be out in the open. Do things above board. Sure,
going undercover was a thrill, but lying to everyone doesn’t
sit right for me anymore. I know there has to be a way for me to do
the work I want -- real, important journalism -- without all the
guilt and betrayal.
I let myself into my building,
and start the long walk up to the fourth floor. My phone buzzes with
a text.
8pm. Panties optional.
I grin, typing out a quick reply.
Only if you go commando too.
I
reach our floor. Someone jostles me on their way into the stairwell,
some jerk neighbor. “Sorry,” he mumbles, but he just
keeps moving.
I let myself in. Tasha is out, so
I have the place to myself. I kick off my shoes and go collapse
face-down on my bed with a groan of satisfaction. I’m
exhausted, and judging by the past twenty-four hours, I’m going
to need my energy tonight.
I yank the drapes closed, and set
my alarm. A real date with Dax... the thought brings a smile to my
lips as sleep takes me over. It’s just the beginning for us, I
know.
*
When I wake, I can’t
breathe. Smoke hangs heavy around me, heat burning, choking me. I
scream for help, but there’s no answer.
The apartment is on fire.
TO BE CONTINUED.
What happens next? Zoe and Dax’s story concludes in The Exposé 4
All women look the same on their knees with their lips wrapped around my cock.
You like to think you're different, special somehow. But trust me, I'll have you wet and begging
for it before you can think of all those bullshit, good girl reasons why not.
I'm your darkest secret. Your dirtiest fantasy.
Who am I?
The Seducer.
And I've never lost a case.
Until her. Keely Fawes. My mysterious new target.
Someone wants to destroy her -- and I'm their weapon of choice.
Her secrets could be my undoing. Her innocence will ruin me.
But I don't care.
I'm going to show her how fucking good it feels to be bad. She'll come screaming my name if it's
the last thing I do.
Discover the red-hot series from the USA Today bestselling author of THE INVITATION!
Welcome to your wildest fantasy...
The invitation arrives out of nowhere. No name. No address. Just one simple challenge.
'Play with me.'
The games are intoxicating, each one more thrilling than the last. And pleasure is the ultimate
prize.
He knows my secrets. He sees my darkest desires. He can drive me to ecstasy -- and I don't even
know his name.
This is your invitation. Now it's your turn to decide.
Are you ready?
Discover the red-hot new series from the USA Today bestselling author of THE SEDUCTION!