Permanent Lines (27 page)

“Yeah, definitely,” Amelia said, she and Joey both nodding.

“So, what if we get him thinking one of these new guys were doing that, the guys who
came with Franco? Micah and Merrick could egg it on, but not really be involved, acting
like they were on Antonio’s side.”

“So they’d turn on each other,” Miles said, getting what Kayla was saying.

Kayla’s eyes opened wide, getting excited with her plan as she nodded her head and
continued. “I’ve only see this happen in the movies, but then they’d pull guns on
each other …”

“While Micah, Merrick, and I snuck out,” Joey added.

Kayla was nodding her head, enthusiastic again. “Exactly!”

“It’s perfect!” Maddy exclaimed.

“Wait,” Amelia interrupted our grand plan with her quiet voice, “you guys won’t be
able to duck out—it won’t be that easy.”

“She’s right,” Joey started to come down from the high we were on. “Antonio has guys
watching that are ordered not to step in unless necessary. They’ve got the floor covered
for this stuff.”

“What would make it necessary for them to step in?” Micah asked.

“If every person was accounted for and in danger.”

“What, do they do roll call during brawls?” I asked sarcastically.

Amelia nodded her head.

“Jesus Christ!” I cried out. “Seriously?”

“And we have to make sure they’re armed,” Joey added. “Remember, everyone gets patted
down. There’s no question Antonio and his brother will be, but …”

“They’ll have something on them,” Amelia said. “Come on, Joey.”

“Yeah …” He nodded his head. “They always make it in somehow,” he admitted.

“So we’re going to have to look involved,” I said, thinking out loud.

Amelia rubbed her face and looked like she was having an internal struggle before
she nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, you have to look believable or …”

“But they won’t have guns on them,” Kayla pointed out nervously. “They won’t be able
to defend themselves if someone points one at them.”

All of a sudden, the room went into an uproar, people talking over each other, the
confidence quickly draining.

“Hey!” I quieted everyone. “Let’s not forget I own a fucking bar!” I yelled. “I spent
most of my life in brawls and break one up at least once a week. Micah too.”

Micah started nodding his head confidently.

“You could fight each other,” Amelia said behind me. “Joey could flip the table when
shit starts going down.”

“Yeah, yeah …” Joey started to brainstorm out loud, too. “You two can throw punches
at each other, but stay low.”

“Like roll around on the ground,” Micah added.

“Yeah, then when the guys upstairs come down to intervene, end up with me behind the
table,” Joey agreed.

“That’s when guns get pulled?” Miles pointed out, more of a question.

“Yup,” Joey said. “You don’t want to be visible at that point—no doubt it’ll be messy.”

“Isn’t the utility room down there somewhere?” Amelia asked.

Joey smiled. “Right behind my table.”

Nerves were on high alert this morning. We all tried to get some sleep last night,
but I knew, at least for Amelia and I, that didn’t happen. We spent the night wrapped
in each other’s arms, lightly kissing one another randomly to confirm our love. Even
though it wasn’t brought up, the idea of one of us not making it back was definitely
in the back of both of our heads. What if this was our last night together?

Mrs. Doubtfire had a full breakfast spread out on the island when we walked out into
the kitchen. The apartment was eerily quiet, even though all of us but Joey was there.
Joey had to go back home last night so he could be at the studio this morning like
he normally would on game day. There was definitely some anxiety and apprehension
having him back there today, around them all, but he had to. Everything had to look
like business as usual. He was supposed to give the heads up if any thing went south.
His suit was already wired last night before he left, so he was good to go there.

Ours arrived just after breakfast. Micah and I didn’t own any suits, so Miles had
them priority shipped, already wired and ready by Stewart. Everything was falling
into place just as planned.

“Maybe you guys should practice playing?” Kayla said once we were all sitting in the
living room again.

Micah and I both looked at each other.

“Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” I agreed. My buddies and I would sit around and play a few
games on the weekends back in the day, and then occasionally at the bar when it was
slow, but it was nothing crazy and only played with small change. Micah and I were
by no means pro poker players, so getting some practice games under our belts would
be a wise thing to do.

We cleared the coffee table and Maddy pulled out a deck of cards.

“You just carry a deck of cards in your purse?” I asked.

She smiled. “I had a feeling we’d be needing them.”

I nodded my head, impressed. “Good call.”

Miles handed us both the glasses he had for us. Micah and I sat on one side of the
table while Maddy dealt on the other. Amelia watched our body language and confidence
while Maddy showed us some more tricks of the trade.

“Don’t load up your hand with matches,” she began. “Yeah, three and four of a kinds
aren’t bad, but they’re amateur. Try to do some runs, flushes … ya know?”

“What if we got nothing?” Micah asked.

“Seriously, dude?” I hissed.

“What?”

“You fold!”

“Well, I didn’t know if the big dogs did that.”

Maddy chuckled. “They can’t just make cards magically appear,” she pointed out. “If
you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing.”

“Babe, you’re sitting too stiff. You look too tense, not confident,” Amelia told me.
“Relax.”

“Never thought you’d be tellin’ me I was too stiff.” I winked at her before I shook
out my shoulders, throwing down the useless set of cards that I currently had in my
hand.

She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t any other time.” She grinned.

I snickered before turning my focus back to the card game. If I thought about being
stiff for Amelia, I would never appear serious, not to mention I’d be sporting a hefty
chub in the meantime. Though, maybe it would help ease some of the nerves. If all
went as planned, I’d definitely be stiff when I got home. Getting through tonight
would call for some fucking incredible celebrating—my girl better be ready!

As much as the day was tense and playing poker until the sun went down was probably
the smart thing to do, I needed my girl. I needed our time alone. I didn’t know how
tonight was going to go. I had an idea, but I really was fucking clueless with what
was waiting for me.

After, I don’t know, at least ten hands, I stood and pulled Amelia off the couch.

“Come with me, baby,” I told her before gently kissing the top of her hand.

She looked confused, but didn’t refuse.

I moved my mouth close to her ear, whispering, “I need you to myself for a bit.”

She used her free hand to hold the other side of our intertwined ones, sandwiching
my one between her two, looking at me sweetly in response. “Me too,” she replied.

Even though the rest of the crew was looking in our direction, no one offered a comment
about our unexplained departure. They knew why. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all
went in separate directions in a bit to have a few minutes of private time, as well.

I didn’t really have a game plan of what I wanted to say or do once we were alone
in our bedroom, but as soon as I shut the door, I knew what I needed. I needed to
be inside Amelia. I needed to feel the heat of our love between us.

I turned her body to face mine once we were standing in the middle of the room. Our
eyes were locked as my hands slid down her sides to grip the hem of her shirt. Amelia’s
hands lifted above her head to make it easier, allowing me to slip her long sleeved
t-shirt up and over her head with ease.

We continued to undress each other one article of clothing at a time. We didn’t speak.
We didn’t touch each other sexually. Our eyes stayed connected until our bodies were
completely exposed.

When she stood naked and completely stunning before me, I grabbed both of her cheeks
with my hands, cupping her face with my immense desire, love, and passion. I kissed
her lips long and hard, trying to transfer as much of my love for her as possible.
I needed her to know the lengths I would go for her, how nothing in this world mattered
to me more than she did. I didn’t want an ounce of doubt to be lingering before I
left. She needed to know that I loved her with everything in me.

When our lips separated, a tear was slowly grazing her cheek. Immediately, I caught
it will my lips, kissing away any fear she had. I continued to catch any tear that
fell, kissing every single one of them away. With each one I touched, the passion
between us grew.

Her hands slid up my back, desire building with every inch travelled. By the time
they reached my upper body, gripping the back of my shoulders tensely, our lips were
attached, kissing each other feverishly.

I inched Amelia back further until the back of her knees hit the bed, allowing me
to rest her slowly down, my body covering hers. We never separated, our mouths moving
slowly and passionately together. She released little moans periodically, but they
intensified when my mouth started to travel down the length of her body. I kissed
every inch. I wasn’t aggressive. I wasn’t on a mission. I was enjoying caressing her
skin, indulging in the curvatures of her body.

I couldn’t imagine not coming home to this, to never kiss this beautiful skin again.
Even though it was a thought that I didn’t want to think about, I indulged even more
than I had in the past … just in case. I needed to absorb it all in as much as possible,
to focus on the feeling that it gave me, because yeah, it could be the last time that
my lips touched her skin.

Like she knew the thoughts flooding my head, or could feel it in my touch, she sighed
with each connection made, holding my head in her hands, almost guiding me to the
next area needing to be savored.

By the time I made it to her heated area, she was soaked, dripping with pleasure.
I held the folds to her opening with both my finger and thumb, giving me clear access
to her sweet spot. I slowly ran my tongue over it, swirling and gently flicking it
over and over again. Her hips rocked with the sensation it provided as her sighs grew
into heavy moans.

“Oh, babe!” she cried as her body started to spasm, her orgasm filling her body.

I kissed her most sensitive area one last time before crawling back over her, a pleased
grin covering her face. It was a sight that would never get old: my girl beautifully
pleasured and happily fulfilled, by me. But I wasn’t nearly finished. I needed to
claim every part of Amelia this time. I needed no area of her untouched or unsatisfied
by me.

As my cock slid inside her, my mouth carried to her neck. I continued to kiss every
area of her skin that hadn’t yet been touched as I slowly worked my length in and
out. Her fingers gently caressed my back, moving slowly up and down my spine as heavy,
satisfied breaths escaped her mouth. She was feeling it all, hopefully understanding
the undying love that I carried for her.

It was only moments later that the sensation of impending orgasm started engulfing
my body. It was too much. As much as I wanted to stay in this moment forever, I couldn’t
handle even one thrust more. I held her face to mine, cupping each of her cheeks while
I kissed her passionately, breaking, falling into the most amazing orgasm of all of
my life. I felt it everywhere. Everything inch of my body was flooded with pleasure
… with the love that Amelia and I shared.

It went on for what felt like forever, our breaths so heavy and full when we separated
that we looked as though we just had run a marathon, and in a way, we did. Even though
it wasn’t crazy and wild, it was intense—hands down the best damn sex that we had
ever had.