This Is Where I Sleep (13 page)

Coral

              “Daamn,” I purred as I glanced down at his dark head bobbing up and down between my legs that were now spread eagle on his huge sleigh bed. Liam was clearly not playing games tonight. It took him precisely thirty seconds to strip both of us out of our clothes once we exited the elevator.

              “Oh shiiit,” I groaned as he wrapped his tongue around my clit at the same time his fingers made contact with my G-spot. I raised my hips to meet his hungry mouth, and Liam removed his fingers, placing a death grip on my thighs, keeping me from moving away from him. He began doing that damn circular movement with his tongue, and I could no longer hold myself up. My head fell against the soft pillows, and my orgasm crashed into me. My back arched off the bed and in the distance I heard loud moaning, only to realize it’s my own voice.

When I finally opened my eyes, it was to see Liam leaning over me, staring intently. The look on his face was one of a hungry predator whose sole purpose in life at this moment was to claim his prey.

“Do you come for him like that?”

Still dazed from the fog of my previous orgasm it took a few seconds for Li’s words to register. “Wh-what?” I asked, trying to steady my heartbeat, but it was too late. Before I could get the word out fully, I felt Liam’s huge hardness already pushing inside me, as he propped my leg over his shoulder.

“I said do you come for him like that?!”

His voice was demanding. I couldn’t respond as he leaned down and took one of my pert nipples into his mouth. I cupped the back of his head with one hand and thrust my breasts higher, pushing into his mouth. Liam picked up his pace as he thrust even faster in and out of my warm wetness. I grew even wetter from hearing the slap of his skin against mine. Pushing up, Li lifted his head, lowered my leg from his shoulder to wrap around his waist and stared down at me again. I used this opportunity to wrap my other leg around him and pump my hips meeting him stroke for stroke.

“Tell me,” he groaned, while shifting his hips and speeding up even more, so his cock came in contact with my G-spot on every down stroke.

I looked into his eyes and knew what he wanted me to say. I could tell by his insistence and the emotions in his eyes that he was claiming me. But I wouldn’t say what he wanted to hear. I couldn’t.

“Liam.” I instead panted his name as he began rubbing circles over my clit with his thumb.

“Say it!” he demanded more harshly applying more pressure to my bulging pearl.

I could feel another orgasm was imminent. “Liam...don’t stop,” I barely got out as I wrapped my other leg even more tightly around his hip.

“Coral,” his voice was low, guttural, a warning.

I could see the beads of sweat running down the side of his neck. Instead of giving him what he wanted, I reached up to lick the salty liquid and trail my tongue down towards his ear where I nipped his earlobe. “Make me come again,” I whispered in his ear.

“Tell me what I want to hear,” he responded, shifting his hips yet again.

“Ahhh,” I cried out at the intensity of all the feelings rushing through my body. “Liiii,” I half-panted and half-pleaded, wanting the orgasm that was just out of reach. When I thought it was in reach, Liam pulled himself completely out of me. “Nooo,” I cried out, pissed, but not for long.

Liam’s strong hands were at my waist, flipping me over onto my stomach and pulling me up, so I was on all fours. Just that quickly he was once again pushing inside of me. He kneed my legs even wider, thrusting so deeply that I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Daaamn,” I moaned. “Li, fuck me harder,” I panted, getting lost in the feel of him so deep inside of me, his hands tightly gripped my waist and his warm breath against the back of my neck.

“Say it, CeCe!” he continued to order.

I shook my head, silently refusing to give him what he wants.

“Grrr,” he literally growled, pulling me up, so my back was against his sweaty chest. Reaching down, he let his fingers rub against my clit and my head fell back against his shoulder at the sensation.

“Why are you so goddamn stubborn?!” he grunted in my ear. I knew he was close to coming too. His hips began moving wildly. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were his grunts mixed with my moans and the slapping of flesh against flesh. It was the most erotic sound ever. The force of Li’s thrust propelled me forward so much I had to grip onto the top of the headboard to keep from falling over. Liam was pounding into me so fiercely my fingers were getting smashed against the wall with each thrust. I knew I would have bruises in the morning.

Before I could move my hands, Liam leaned down over me, still pounding fiercely into me, running his hands along the length of my arms and down over my hands, shielding my hands from the impact of the wall. It was a move that was tender in spite of the ravenous way he was still hammering at my pussy with his huge stiffness. I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip to keep from yelling out exactly what he wanted to hear. I refused to let him claim me, but that little show of protection was almost my undoing.

“
Ahhhh
!” I screamed out when my orgasm finally ripped into me.

“Fuck!” I heard Liam over my shoulder and felt his warm breathe like a caress at the back of my neck as he comes. I felt his hot liquid release into me. “He can’t have you!” Li panted as he pulled out and released the rest of his come all over my lower back and buttocks.

I sighed at the feeling of his warm semen running down my back and ass, dripping onto my leg. I felt Liam’s strong fingers, rubbing my ass cheeks and labia from behind and I realized he was massaging his come into me. Another act of claiming me as his. I fell down to the bed, laying on my stomach feeling all types of emotions I couldn’t even begin to name.

“Li...” I called out when I felt him move off the bed.

“Don’t move!” he ordered in his pissed off voice. I knew he was angry because I refused to say what he wanted to hear.

I watched his perfectly sculpted and rounded ass as he moved into the bathroom. I watched as he used the toilet and I licked my lips. I don’t usually get turned on by watching my lovers use the toilet, but it was different with Li. Everything was different with him. I wanted to taste him. I went to sit up and felt his heavy hand pressing my back down.

“I said don’t move.” His voice was as unyielding as his hand on my back was.

I felt the wet, warm cloth glide over my back, butt, and in between my legs, cleaning me off.

“Turn over.”

I did as instructed. I looked up at his perfectly chiseled jaw with the light stubble on it and noticed the tightness in it and his lowered eyelids.

“You’re angry,” I stated as an observation.

He merely looked at me, tossed the cloth on the nightstand, and moved in the bed behind me, pulling me so my back was against his chest. His one arm held my body tightly against him while he used the other to cradle my head. He tucked his head in the curve between my shoulder and neck.

“Go to sleep, CeCe.” Those were the last words I heard before I drifted off into a peaceful rest.

Chapter Fourteen

Liam

              Yup, I was pissed as hell last night. I wanted Coral to tell me she belonged to me. Was that too much to ask? Probably, but I could be a selfish bastard at times. Especially, considering I hadn’t told her the reasons I left all those years ago. I could understand why she hesitated. Still, seeing that son of a bitch call and text her like he had rights to her did something to me. I might’ve been less jealous if she’d known where she belonged. Hell, that’s a lie; I’ve hated Nathaniel for years because I knew he had a thing for her. I never liked any of her past boyfriends. Yet, I never felt threatened by any of them because I knew they would never know her the way I do.

I sighed as I ran my finger along her sleeping jaw. She looked so peaceful in my bed. As if in her sleep she knew it was where she belonged. If only she realized the same while she was awake. A knot formed in my stomach as I realized I’d have to leave her in a few hours to catch my flight.

“Mmmm. Why are you looking at me like that?” her eyes were barely open as she yawned, covering her mouth with one hand.

“I’m thinking how perfect you look naked in my bed.”

“Oh, you’re not still pissed at me?” she grinned.

“No, I’m still pissed. And you know why. If I didn’t have a flight to catch, I’d show you how pissed again. Maybe I can delay my meetings?” I wondered out loud as I reached down in between her legs. “Are you sore?” I asked, knowing I had been a little heavy-handed the night before.

“It’s fine.”

That wasn’t a “no” I realized. I pushed back the covers. “I ran you a bath,” I said at the same time I pulled her into my arms. I carried her to the warm bath that I’d already filled with bath salts. I let her feet fall into the warm water and held her arms as she lowered herself into the bath. I held back a groan as I took in every inch of her naked body.

“Thank you,” she said just above a whisper.

I leaned down on one knee next to the tub. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—”

My apology was cut short when Coral cupped my face and pulled my lips in for a kiss. It was short but enough to make me want to pull her out of this tub and take her back to bed.

“I’m fine,” she stated after pulling back. “You didn’t hurt me.” She picked up one of my hands and pressed kisses to my own bruised knuckles. I remembered the bruises were from the headboard when I used my hands to cover hers. I would do anything to protect this woman from more pain.

She leaned back against the tub. “How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“Uh,” I stuttered, distracted by her breasts that were barely covered by the water. “Um, tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” she responded, closing her eyes.

I knew her mind was working on what she’d do with me gone. “I have Brian and Mitch coming over in the next half hour.” I warned her in case she had any thoughts of going off on her own to work the case.

At that, she opened one eyelid. “I expected nothing less. But it’s only six am on a Saturday. You don’t think they wanted to sleep in a little?”

I shrugged. “Your safety is more important than their sleep.”

To that, she merely shook her head and closed her eyes.

I couldn’t help it. I needed to touch her one last time before I left. Rolling up the sleeve of my shirt, I reached down into the water between her legs and felt for her swollen pearl.

“Open your eyes,” I said low in her ear.

She listened without hesitation and looked directly at me, widening her legs granting me better access. When she bit her bottom lip moaning, I reached over and captured that lip myself. I nipped at it with my teeth, then used my tongue to soothe the mild bite. My tongue entered her mouth at the same time I slid my pointer and middle fingers into Coral’s warm pussy. I used my thumb to grind her clit in a circular motion. My cock jumped when she let out a low moan and sighed. She pulled back, and her head fell against the back of the tub. Her eyelids fluttered as she struggled to keep her eyes open, staring at me. I saw her knuckles turning red as she gripped the edges of the bathtub.

“Let me see you come one last time before I go,” I said, low and deep. Just as the last word escaped my mouth, I felt a flush of liquid and her thighs tightened around my hand, locking it in place as she let out a loud moan. Water splashed around the tub, a few drops landing on my pants as Coral squirmed, eeking out the last sensations of her orgasm. When she relaxed, I withdrew my hand, sticking my fingers into my mouth as she silently watched me through lowered lids. I licked my fingers, and closed my eyes, savoring her flavor. I swear it was the sweetest taste I’d ever tasted on a woman. A flavor that only I would be relishing for the rest of my life.

I’d already decided by the end of this trip that Senator Nathaniel Roberts would know who Coral belonged to.

****

Coral

“Mmmm!” I stretched and sighed, not wanting to move from this bed. After checking the clock on the nightstand, I realized it had been nearly two hours since Liam had left for his flight. After he left, I decided to go back to sleep for a little while. I swore since I’d been in this house I’d slept better than I had in the last five years. That thought scared the hell out of me. This place started to feel too much like...home.

I tossed that thought aside as I pushed the warm down comforter off me, also ignoring the feeling of loneliness that began to creep in knowing Liam wasn’t here. I also missed Laura since she was at her grandparents’ for the weekend. I hated to think I was becoming so attached to either one of them. I really needed to get refocused on the main reason I was here, which was to catch a ghost. Not play wife and stepmother or whatever the hell this was I had been doing the last couple of weeks.

I was pretty sure Brian was here somewhere lurking in the house. Liam had let him in just before he left. I picked up my cell to text Brian that I was going to go for a run. I walked into the bedroom I’d been sleeping in for the past week only to find that my clothes were missing. I checked the drawers and closet to be sure and yup, nothing was there. I started to pick up my phone to call Liam, but on a hunch, I doubled back into his room to start checking drawers. The first drawer I opened, I found my neatly folded panties and bras. I closed that one and opened the next one finding my workout clothes and so on. At some point during the night, Liam brought all my clothing in his room and unpacked them in his dressers. It appeared he even bought a few items to replace the clothes destroyed in my hotel suite.

“I’m going to kill him,” I mumbled to myself as I donned a pair of running leggings, sports bra, t-shirt, and running hoodie. I heard my phone beep from a text message.

Ready when you are
.

It was Brian’s response to my previous text.
Good.
A long run finished up with some yoga was just what I needed before I showered and then began to unpack my clothes from Liam’s room back to the guest room where I’d been sleeping. After that, I planned on trying to track down the security guard Rodrigo. He’d been MIA for a few days, and I definitely got the impression he knew we were on to him. I would call Ron to put someone on Rodrigo’s home address around the clock, but Ron’s with Liam and I knew he’d be the first person Ron went to about this. The last thing I wanted was more of Liam trying to get me to back off this case.

“‘Bout time you got up. I was starting to think you’d sleep till noon,” Brian joked as I dismounted the stairs.

“Just resting up getting ready to dust you on this run,” I retorted, adjusting the laces of my Nike running shoes.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I’d seen a lot of vets who’d had horrific injuries and had such a difficult time getting their life back. There were even a few I knew who took their own lives due to the PTSD that can settle in after the war. I was glad to see that Brian was not only physically capable as he was prior to the war, but that he still maintained his sense of humor.

“Let’s go,” I said, heading towards the door. I decided against going to the usual trail I ran. Instead, I ran around the sprawling community that Li’s house resided in. I took the opportunity to take in the surroundings. It was really a nice little community. I noticed a few families out and about with their children. I thought about how in just a few years these kids would likely be in the same classes as Laura when they started school. After some time thinking about that, I shook those thoughts remembering the purpose of this run was to get my mind off Liam and his daughter. I had to figure out what I needed to do to wrap this case up, find out who Ghost was, eliminate him, and move on with my life. Unfortunately, the very thought of wrapping the case up and leaving Liam caused a weight to settle in my chest as if a boulder were sitting on it. I was so caught off guard by this feeling that I slowed down to a light jog, cutting the run short after only five miles. 

“You getting soft on me?” Brian’s teasing voice taunted a little ahead of me.

I threw him a half smile. “Time for some yoga,” I answered. We made our way back to the house and down to Liam’s state of the art gym. Pulling out a mat, I removed my sneakers and sat quietly on the mat. I heard Brian move around, eventually sitting next to me. He’d told me how a yoga practice helped him not only come to terms with his new body, but also stave off flashbacks in the early months and years of his recovery. We silently moved through a series of poses and sequences for the next forty-five minutes.              

As we folded up our mats and cleaned up the gym, I turned my phone back on to see I had a few voice messages. I frowned wondering who it could be, my brain immediately working overtime thinking that Stacey, Liam, or Tasha were injured. I didn’t recognize the number from the missed call, but as I checked my message I heard Susan, Laura’s grandmother.

“Coral, I’m sorry, I got your number from Liam yesterday. An emergency has come up. Laura is fine, but John and I have to go out of town to check on our son, and we need to drop Laura off before we leave…” I didn’t waste time listening to the rest of the message. I hit the callback button, and Susan answered after two rings.

“Susan hi, is everything okay?” I asked, worried. “Okay, I’m sorry to hear that. Sure, it’s no problem,” I responded to Susan’s quick fire responses and explanation. By the time I hung up the phone, Brian was staring at me with a curious expression.

“Laura’s grandparents have to go out to California to check on their son who was in a car accident. He’s okay but in the hospital. They need to cut Laura’s weekend short. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

As soon as I finished explaining, the buzzer for the front gate rang. As we got to the front door, we saw on the monitor that it was Laura with her grandparents. Within minutes, Laura had been dropped off, and her grandparents had rushed off to go tend to their ailing son. Laura’s huge green eyes stared up at me in wide-eyed innocence. Those eyes reminded me so much Liam’s; I couldn’t help the swell of emotion in my chest as I knelt to get eye level with her.

“Your daddy had to take a little trip, so it’s just me and you until he gets back. Is that okay with you, Princess?” I asked, unzipping and removing her jacket.

“Yes,” she nodded. “But can we call Daddy?”

“We sure can,” I told her pulling out my phone. I pressed Li’s number and after a few rings, it went to voicemail. I quickly explained what happened and assured him that Laura was okay. Then I gave her the phone so she could leave a voicemail.  

“Hi Daddy! Nana and Papa had to go take care of Uncle Mike. I’m home with Ms. Coral. I’ll be really good. I promise! Bye.” Laura handed me back the phone and I said bye before hanging up.

“Alright, how about you play a game of hide-and-seek with Uncle Brian, while I go and get dressed and then maybe we can go to the community center?” I suggested, looking between Laura and Brian. 

When they both nodded, and Brian covered his eyes and started counting, I began backing out of the room. The last sight I saw was Laura frantically searching for a good hiding space in the huge living room. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter at the jovial sound. As I rushed through my shower and changed into a pair of skinny jeans and an off the shoulder, long-sleeve t-shirt, all my previous plans I had for this day fell by the wayside.