Chloe (Cheaters) Page 9

  “You’ve been deprived, haven’t you?”

  I nodded, barely able to breathe as he withdrew, robbing me of his width. But what he did next was totally worth it because his fingers began to completely concentrate on my bud, working overtime. He rubbed and flicked, teased and nurtured. I could feel myself swell in his hand. How could a man’s fingers feel so good? Strike that, his fingers felt unbelievable. I could already see the stars floating around and feel the oncoming orgasm signal its arrival with tiny bursts of energy that flowed from between my legs all through my body. And god did it ever feel good! I kept my eyes closed the entire time, paying attention to the deliberate stokes that were bringing me closer to my climax. And then it happened: my hips thrust forward and I lost it.

  Just as I was about to scream, Axel’s mouth closed over mine. His tongue opened my lips and explored my mouth as if it wanted to get permanently acquainted, muffling my cry. Feeling the last of my orgasm leave my body, I heard myself moaning and whimpering into his mouth, my hips readjusting to find his fingers again as he slowly pulled out. Axel wouldn’t stop kissing me. He now held both arms around me, pressing me to his body, giving me everything that would end any perfect orgasm. When we pulled away and the reality of what had happened hit me, I heated from my toes all the way up to my head.

  “Why did you kiss me?” I asked.

  “I didn’t want you to scream when you came.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Good.”

  “Better than before?”

  I smiled. “What do you think?”

  “Now I can say with certainty that it was your pleasure being here, but we need to get back to the party.”

  For me, there was only one party going on tonight, and it was the one in my panties. As I adjusted my pants and saw him lick his fingers, the ones that a moment ago had been inside me, and growl, I almost fell over. Part of me wanted to yank him by that tie and ask for seconds, but that would be pushing it. I had yet to figure out how what just happened between us affected our professional relationship.

  Just as we were about to head to the table, my phone rang.

  It was Lana, and she was at the hospital.

  Chapter 15

  “How well do you know her?” Axel asked as we drove to the hospital.

  “She doesn’t have anyone. She’s been working as a maid and a nanny for this Fitzpatrick guy, and he’s been abusing her. I don’t know how much, but from what I’ve seen and what she told me, it’s gotten pretty bad. She wasn’t supposed to go back to them. I told her I’d help her.”

  “What do you mean, she doesn’t have anyone? How about a family?”

  “She was orphaned. Raised in foster homes until she finished high school and then she ran into Fitzpatrick at a diner she worked at. He promised her heaven and it turned out to be hell.”

  “Why wouldn’t she go to the police?”

  “Do you know how scared she must have been after he hurt her? And if I were to bet, it wasn’t the first time. And the police, the way they question you, it makes you feel like it’s your own fault, so the only thing you have left to do is to leave or run away.”

  “Are you talking about Lana or yourself?”

  “Lana, of course.”

  Although everything I’d said totally applied to me as well. Even if I had never gone to the police, I knew exactly how I’d be treated. My only option was to leave my old life behind.

  “Okay, so what happened?”

  “The doctor wouldn’t tell me. He just said to come to the hospital because I was the contact person she gave.”

  “Shit. Fitzpatrick better find a deep hole underground to hide in.”

  “Let’s just find out what happened first, okay?”

  When we arrived, Lana had just come out of surgery and was resting. As soon as she looked at me, she broke down. I sat on her bed and took her into my arms, holding her as if she were my child, because that was the kind of care she needed at the moment.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” Her right hand was bandaged all the way up to her elbow and I wondered if she’d broken it. But a broken arm would have a cast, wouldn’t it?

  “I only wanted to get a few of my things. I’ve been staying at a hotel since the other incident.” She pointed to her face where the gash that ran from her eye down to the chin was healing. It would definitely leave a long, thick scar on her face. “I didn’t think he’d come to the guest house. He never had before.”

  “What happened?”

  “He wanted me to remember him for the rest of my life, so he cut my finger off,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  Axel was at the bed in seconds. “Lana, hi. My name is Axel Wagner. Where does Mr. Fitzpatrick live?”

  She gave him the address, and he headed straight for the door. “Axel, wait!” I called after him.

  “Charlie’s going to pick you up.” He then turned back around and left.

  “Axel!” But he didn’t come back.

  “What’s he going to do?” Lana asked.

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, I know that you won’t need to worry about Fitzpatrick ever again. Axel’s a good man.”

  “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I drew you away from your party.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad to be here. If I had known you were at a hotel, avoiding him, I would have gotten you to stay with me. When you’re released, I’m taking you home. Axel already said he can help out with a job, so you shouldn’t worry about anything for now, okay?”

  She nodded and yawned. It was already after ten at night, and given that Lana was barely out of surgery, she’d need some time to recuperate.

  “Now get some rest while I talk to the doctor. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Chloe. You’re my angel.”

  “I’m just doing what’s right.”

  I arranged for the doctor to call me when Lana would be released, and before I left I bought her a few snacks in the cafeteria because that hospital food looked way less appetizing. Charlie dropped me off at my apartment. As we drove home, I kept calling Axel’s cell, but he didn’t pick up. When I walked inside my apartment, I didn’t expect him to be there. He was sitting in the living room chair, though. His hair was a mess, jacket draped over the back of the couch, sleeves rolled up, and knuckles red. He looked up slowly. His eyes were filled with dread that made my heart squeeze with worry.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Turn on the TV.”

  On the table beside him was his gun. The magazine was removed, but I didn’t see any missing bullets.

  “Axel, what did you do?”

  The news came on with a video of a man in Times Square, walking around naked with his parts blurred out. The anchorman announced, “A man was found naked, wandering around Times Square with a sign attached to his back that said: I like to abuse women. He’s been spat on and had trash thrown at him before police took him into custody.”

  “Did you do that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I rushed toward him and threw my arms around his neck, because I knew that he was the only man in the city capable of pulling something like that off, and I couldn’t have been prouder. “Thank you, Axel.”

  “You’re welcome. Even though he deserved to die, I restrained myself.”

  I was sitting in his lap with my arms still around him. As soon as I felt him shift underneath my ass, his cock rubbing against me, I jumped up and went to the kitchen.

  “Will they trace this back to you?”

  “I’m not an amateur, Chloe.”

  “I know, I’m just worried. Should we press charges? Lana told them at the hospital that it was an accident when she was trimming rose bushes.”

  “No need to get the police involved. He’ll pay way more if he stays out of the system.”

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  I went to the fridge
and pulled out a bottle of water for myself. I grabbed a glass for Axel and filled it with the scotch I’d bought to thank him for the new job I’d be completing on his house, and filled it up.

  “It was supposed to be a gift,” I said, handing him the glass.

  “Thank you.”

  “Wanna talk about what happened?”

  “When Lana said his last name was Fitzpatrick, everything clicked. I knew the son of a bitch.”

  “From your former years working for your father?”

  “Yes. Believe me, he got what he deserved, and will get some more.”

  “What do you mean, more?”

  “Well, let’s just say there are people who don’t take lightly the abuse of women, and they’ll be after him until he can no longer breathe from running.”

  I sat down and stretched my legs out on the couch. Axel got off the chair and joined me, lifting my legs and putting them up on his lap.

  “Is Lana okay?” he asked.

  “I think so. I’m going to have her move here until she can support herself.”

  “That’s a good idea. You’re a good person, Chloe.”

  “I learned from the best."

  There was an awkward silence between us, and I wasn’t sure what to say. After Lana called, we didn’t have a chance to discuss how he’d touched me at the party. Part of me wanted to forget about it, and another part wanted to ask him to do it again. “Axel, about what happened—”

  “Did you not enjoy it?” His head whipped up.

  “Of course I did, but—”

  “Chloe, you were stressed, and stress isn’t healthy for the baby. You needed a release, and since you couldn’t do it yourself, I decided to do you a favor.”

  “I could have done it myself.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  He lowered my feet to the ground and reached for my hand. I narrowed my brows at him.

  “Come, I want to show you something.”

  I took his hand, but added, “It shouldn’t have happened.”

  “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then it should have happened. End of story. Now are you coming or not?”

  I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face with my tongue, but I was afraid he’d get the wrong idea. I kept my hand in his and followed Axel to the hallway, but instead of heading for the elevator, he led me to the stairway and up. I had never realized that the staircase led beyond the seventh floor. He pushed the door open, and we stepped out onto the rooftop. The view stretched for thousands of miles to the ocean on one side and out into the city on the other. The moon glistened on the ocean’s surface, and the cool wind flapped my hair. It was a perfect night.

  “This is beautiful,” I gasped.

  “I bought this building because of this rooftop. Isn’t it amazing?” He draped his suit jacket that he’d grabbed before leaving the apartment over my shoulders.

  “It’s breathtaking.”

  “I’m getting a company to put in all-season flooring here, add some railings for safety, maybe a gazebo or two, all-season patio furniture, and flower pots. It will be a nice place to unwind after work for the residents.”

  “I swear, I’m in seventh heaven,” I said.

  “I thought you were in seventh heaven at the party.”

  I had a feeling he wouldn’t stop reminding me just how good he’d made me feel today. Not that I needed a reminder. The feeling of his fingers on me and inside me to relieve that tension would never leave my mind. In fact, the pressure began to build up again as soon as I thought about him.

  “That was a different kind of seventh heaven.”

  “One you’d like to revisit maybe? Because you know, I’m here to help you out any time you want.”

  “Axel, with this pregnant body and my hormones, you’re asking for trouble.”

  “Maybe I like trouble.”

  “Not my kind of trouble.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I leaned over the ledge and looked down. Below, a couple of people were strolling along the boardwalk. I felt Axel’s arm around me. I turned toward him, asking, “Axel, are we friends?”

  “Of course.”

  “Just friends?”

  He didn’t answer at first, pondering. “Yes, if that’s what you want. You have a baby on the way. You don’t need someone like me to clutter your life.”

  “You’re anything but clutter. You’re… if it was a different time and a place, I would have been all over you. But you’re right. I have this little guy to think about.”

  “I understand.” He kissed me on my forehead. “I’ll still be here when the baby comes.”

  Was he saying he’d wait for me until I was ready? Could I even ask him to do that? I knew that I wouldn’t have room for a man in my life until well after the baby was born and I’d made amends with my family.

  “I want you to know that if you need anything until then, I’m here for you. And I mean anything, Chloe.”

  I had a feeling that the anything was meant more for my lady parts and my hormonally charged body — but I didn’t mind that at all.

  Chapter 16

  My first trimester was almost over. My baby bump was clearly visible now, and I couldn’t stop rubbing it. Sometimes I thought I felt the baby kick, but from reading all the books, the more likely reason was gas. Lana has been staying with me while I shopped for Axel’s new furniture, met with him to discuss his decorative needs and wants, which he didn’t seem to have many of, and got approval for the purchases. She’d also been working at his office and slowly building back her confidence in humankind.

  For the past two weeks, Axel had seemed frustrated. I wasn’t sure whether it was his job or something else in his life, but he wouldn’t tell me. Every few days I asked him whether anything was wrong, but he dismissed it as work-related stress. The problem with working for Axel was his constant presence. Each time I thought about him, my mind wandered off in the direction that made my heart race and gave me a reason to reach for that new toy I bought. Yet I never had, and I wasn’t sure why. Somehow I was afraid that after the climax Axel blessed me with at the realtor party, I wouldn’t be able to reach that pure high on my own.

  Today, I was sitting cross-legged on a pillow on the floor in front of his fireplace, flipping through pages of drawings and concepts and updating my to-do list, which seemed to have grown.

  Axel’s dining room furniture was supposed to be delivered today, and I couldn’t wait to see it.

  “Oh, my God! Guess who called me today!” I screamed through the house. Since I didn’t know where Axel was, I wanted him to hear me. In this house we could have played hide and seek for hours. I made a note to ask him about having an intercom installed.

  “Who?” He walked through the door from his office, the only other semi-furnished room in the house, as always dressed in a suit and tie even though he was working from home. I regarded his face, which was composed and lacked the curiosity I was expecting.

  “Wait, it was you! You arranged this, didn’t you?”

  “All I did was put in a good word, and after Olivier saw one of the suites for a client of his, he was sold.”

  “Really? He liked my work?”

  “He loved it. He’d like you to start as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, wow! Well, I better get going.” I shot up off the floor, turning in circles, not too sure where I was going or what I would do. Axel grasped me by my wrist and steadied me.

  “Whoa, hold on there, missy. Take it easy, or you’ll give yourself a headache.”

  “Oh, okay. Oh, my God! There’s so much to do and not enough time.”

  I was sure that for now I’d have to forget about any time to myself. All these hormones coursing through my body would need to find a way to compose themselves for now.

  “I get happy when you’re happy.” He was looking at me from below his hooded lids, and I got a funny feeling of joy inside my chest.

  “That’s so sweet, Axel.
”

  “If I could, I would kiss you. But since we’re just friends” – he looked me over from the bottom up – “Ah, hell with it. One kiss won’t kill.”

  What the…

  His lips were on mine in seconds; their assault on my mouth was unforgiving and so, so welcome. All my hormones rushed in a full-speed stampede, not sure where to settle in my body, making every cell inside me horny in an instant. If I had thought that his kiss at the realtor party was good, then this one was winning an Olympic gold medal. My lips swelled more with each stroke of his tongue, and I couldn’t get enough of him. Why would he kiss me with so much passion? Why would he do this when we couldn’t be more? Right now, I didn’t care much about more, though. All I cared about were his kisses. The way he held me against him with so much need gave me a head rush. The safety of his embrace and the promise that everything between us would remain the same when this kiss was over forced me up on my toes and my arms to snake around his neck.

  When he suddenly pulled away, I was speechless and dazed, and it took a moment for me to grasp what had just happened between us. And that’s when I became more certain that the reason I hadn’t used my toy or relieved myself was because I’d secretly been waiting for Axel to do it for me.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to step away, but I held onto him, not willing to let him go, and looked up into his eyes.

  “Don’t be. I liked it. I needed it.”

  One of his brows rose. “Needed it?”

  I nodded. “I have a confession to make. I can’t stop thinking about how you touched me two weeks ago.”

  He gave me a bemused smile, and so I continued. “Because, you know, I can’t imagine it feeling any better, and I wanted to… you know, let go and have some happy ‘me’ time, but there’s never been time for ‘me’ time, and I was afraid I couldn’t relax enough to do it, and then even if I did, it wouldn’t have been as good as what you did, which would stress me out even more…”