Because she was too busy taunting me with that sexy ass in the shower. Right. “You’re finished next week?” I’m not used to getting involved with students and having to consider things like schoolwork.

  Then again, I’m not used to getting involved with anyone, period. I’m treading all kinds of new water with Mercy.

  “Yes. And my standings aren’t fantastic, given everything that’s gone on with my dad. My one prof was sympathetic at first, but he’s run out of fucks to give.” Her face pinches with stress.

  A surge of anger courses through me at the thought that a teacher would give Mercy a hard time, especially knowing what she’s gone through. “Do you want me to have my guys pay him a little visit? Make sure he gives you a passing grade? I have no problem doing it.”

  She rolls her eyes but then laughs. At least she thinks I’m kidding.

  “Fine. Just Thursday night for this week.”

  “I volunteer at group therapy on Thursdays.”

  I give her a knowing look. “Until midnight?”

  “No,” she admits reluctantly.

  “Good. So you can meet me at the club after.”

  She shakes her head and sighs, and I can tell she’ll relent to that one night. “Why do you want me there?”

  I shrug. “Maybe I like seeing you in a short dress. You can bring your blond friend with you.”

  She huffs. “Fine. But I’m going to finish my assignment now. And eat, because I’m starving.” She wraps her arms around her waist as if to emphasize that.

  I’ve got something for you to fill your mouth with right here.

  I give my dick another slow, teasing stroke, and her lips part, a small sigh escaping them. She seems to like that visual. “Are you sure you don’t feel compelled to help me out here before analyzing the human psyche, or whatever it is you’re doing for school?”

  She hesitates, her brown eyes skittering south to my obvious dilemma. “Is this a ‘whenever I want it’ test?”

  Yes. Damn, how easy would it be to demand her mouth around my cock right now? And, by the flash of desire in her eyes, I’m almost thinking she’s looking for me to give her an excuse. I’ve been waiting all day, and right now I want to demand that she spend the entire night riding my lap.

  “You should go and eat,” I grit out. “There’s a plate sitting in the fridge for you, if Caleb hasn’t inhaled it yet. Go, and get your assignment done.”

  She stands and takes a step toward me, but then stalls. “Carnitas, you said?”

  “The very best. Caleb ate them all last night, so Rosita made a second batch.”

  Her searing gaze rakes over me once more before she turns and strolls away. “Enjoy playing with yourself,” she calls out, her head held high, her smile triumphant.

  FIVE

  MERCY

  Gabriel has no idea how hard it was for me to walk away from him.

  Even now, as I stand in his bedroom, inhaling the aroma of these carnitas—they do smell better than anything I’ve had in a long time—I watch his sleek, powerful form cut through the water, having picked up where he left off with his laps, and I know there’s no way I’m going to be able to focus on this assignment. I can’t even focus on eating.

  My appetite is for something entirely different, and I am famished.

  Damn that bastard, stripping and stretching out on the chair like that. It’s like he climbed right into my brain, pulled out that erotic Ambien-induced dream, and reenacted it. All I could think about was mounting his lap.

  Michelle helped me wrap my head around what I’d need from him to accept his offer. Some of my demands were deal breakers, and some were far-fetched. I’m bowled over at the fact that he agreed to all of them. Or so he says, anyway. We’ll see if he can keep his dick out of his female staff. But I was so sure the money account would be a no-go, that he’d refuse and then I’d be forced to yield to him anyway, because there’s no way I’ll give up the kind of lawyer he’s dangled in front of me. I know it and Gabriel damn well knows it.

  But he showed me a kindness.

  And another one, by not demanding I blow him right there when he clearly needed the release. Under our new terms, if he had demanded it, I would have had to comply because I’m his. Whenever, whatever.

  The very situation I’ve been so desperate to avoid.

  And yet I was flush with want as I started playing out various scenarios of what Gabriel could possibly mean by wanting things dirtier than I’m used to. I may not trust the man, but I trust he knows what he’s doing with my body.

  Gabriel is a puzzle I can’t begin to figure out. The way he lured me into this mess in the first place shows a man devoid of all basic morals and yet he seems to care that I have everything I could possibly need or want. I wonder if that’s genuine concern or simply to maintain control of me.

  It’s best that I keep reminding myself of who he is, before I do something stupid, like start to want more than just his dick.

  He is an Easton. The Easton family is involved in crime, and if there’s one thing every crime syndicate is involved in, it’s illicit drugs. No matter what lies he has told me, I know his family is into drugs.

  Yet, he is using that money to help an innocent man—my father—get a second chance. For his own perverted gain, of course, but still.

  Michelle said I just need to focus on what I’m getting out of him and I’ll be fine.

  Right now, what I need is relief for the ache between my legs.

  Abandoning my dinner for the time being, I fish the bikini I earlier rescued from my apartment out of my bag and change in the bathroom, and then head back outside. Music pumps over the outdoor speakers.

  “Thought you had an assignment to work on?” Gabriel calls out midstroke as I round the edge toward the stairs, stepping over the shorts he dropped, and I swear I hear amusement in his voice.

  “I felt like a swim to cool off first.” His naked body is strong and rippling with muscle and looks especially beautiful against the purplish glow of the pool lights. “Do you do laps every day?” He’d just come from a swim yesterday when I came back after class.

  “Great way to stay in shape.” He launches himself off the far wall and swims toward me. “The lap pool was a selling feature when we bought this—What the fuck happened to you?” He’s on his feet, charging through the last few feet of water with powerful strides, his hard gaze on my legs.

  “What are you talking about?” I panic, following his eyes. And then I realize where his focus is—on the dark fingerprints marring my skin. I let out a laugh. “Are you kidding me? These bruises? They’re from you. Remember, this morning?”

  “From me?” Tension still radiates from him. “Did I hurt you? Are you hurt?” he demands to know.

  Seeing the horror in his eyes surprises me. His family has no doubt killed people. For all I know, Gabriel himself has hurt people—though he’s joked about having “guys” to send messages. Yet, he seems horrified by the idea that he bruised my thighs during our heated morning sex?

  I could fuck with his head right now and tell him that my legs ache to touch, that I’ve been sore all day, but I find myself wanting to ease his conscience instead. Taking two steps down to reach him, I smooth a hand through his hair, pushing it back. “I’m fine. I just bruise easily.”

  His shoulders sink, but his face is still serious as he moves in, blocking my path forward. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”

  “I’m sure.” I press my fingertip against one, then another. “See? It doesn’t hurt.”

  He leans in to lay a soft kiss against the darkest of the bruises, his lips cool from the water and yet searing hot against my skin. “I didn’t mean to be so rough with you.”

  I smirk. “Yes, you did.”

  He sighs, his jaw growing taut. “Yeah, I guess I did.” He peers up at me with earnest eyes. “But I won’t do it again.”

  I hesitate. “What if I want you to?” The memory of this morning—of every muscle in his beautiful body straining with exertion, his face twisted with ecstasy—fueled my entire day. I don’t want him suddenly turning soft on me.

  Fire flashes in his eyes. He holds my gaze as he slides wet, strong hands up the backs of my thighs, cupping either side of my ass, squeezing. “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Yes,” I admit, heat pooling between my legs as I watch Gabriel’s lips move from bruise to bruise, his face floating oh so close to where I’m aching for him to bury it.

  I let out a sigh. I can’t wait to kiss those lips again.

  “New bathing suit?”

  “No. I grabbed it when I went back to my place today for my dad’s case files.”

  His fingers skim my skin, settling on the strings of my bikini bottoms. “I don’t want you going back to that apartment without me. It’s not safe.”

  I feel the tug. “Hey!” I press my hands over his, stopping him from unraveling the ties completely, my heart racing. “I told you I’m not starring in any home movies.”

  He drags the tip of his tongue up along my inner thigh and my pulse begins to race. “I already shut the camera off.”

  “No, you didn’t.” I steal a glance at the one angled this way, but I can’t tell.

  “I did. From my phone, while you were inside. I knew you’d be back.”

  He definitely turned the music on, so I guess it’s possible. Still … “I don’t believe you.”

  “Why are you arguing with me about this?”

  “I thought you liked me arguing with you,” I retort, earning his laugh. “And you didn’t know I’d come back, you hoped.”

  “How was dinner?” He smirks. “You must have shoveled it in to get back out here so quickly.”

  “It was delicious.” The meal is sitting in the bedroom getting cold as we speak, and the smug bastard knows it.

  “You know what else is delicious?” His mouth moves over the material of my bottoms. He presses the flat of his tongue up my center, teasing right where my clit is beneath.

  I part my legs on impulse, which earns his dimpled smile.

  “Remember what I said about getting what I want, whenever I want it?” His eyes glow with promise, his fists bunching around the sides of my bottoms.

  He wants me now.

  With a hard swallow, I remove my hands.

  The strings on my bottoms offer no resistance, unraveling with ease when he tugs them a touch harder, the skimpy material falling to the step.

  “You have the sexiest body I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Gabriel takes a long, lingering look at the smooth skin he’s uncovered, as if deciding where he wants to attack first. “I want to put my mouth on every square inch of it.”

  I hold my breath, waiting for him to dive in between my legs face-first as he seems to like to. But instead, he weaves his fingers through mine and takes a step back, leading me into the pool until I’m standing before his towering, naked form, looking up into molten eyes.

  Kiss me. I project the soft plea with my gaze.

  His attention drops to my mouth and I think I’ve won, until he whispers, “Turn around.” His hand finds my hips to help guide me around. “You’re overdressed.”

  I feel a sharp tug on the strings of my top and then the rest of my bikini is falling off, leaving me naked, the warm night air caressing my pebbled nipples. Oddly enough, I’m not self-conscious out here. It’s private enough, in Gabriel’s wing of the house, on top of the mountain, with no neighbors overlooking. That we have the house to ourselves certainly helps.

  “Do you know what I’ve been thinking about doing to you all day?” He leans in to caress the curve of my neck with his lips. His words alone would be my undoing, delivered in that naturally raspy voice.

  I close my eyes and revel in his hard length pressed against my back, resisting the urge to reach back and stroke it. I don’t want him to know how much I want him just yet. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  His hands slide from my hips to my ass to massage each cheek in slow circles, pulling my flesh apart with every pass in a deliberate way, exposing my sensitive skin to the refreshing water. “I think I’d rather show you.” He coaxes me forward toward the stairs. “Kneel on the top step.” His voice is soft but commanding.

  My stomach stirs as I find myself obeying without question. Maybe out of curiosity, maybe out of desire. Likely both.

  He comes up behind me. Strong, calloused hands slip between my thighs, persuading my legs apart. Farther, and farther, until they’re stretched the full width of the steps and I have to brace myself on the edge of the pool using my hands.

  Tonight is already so different from last night. Last night, I still had control, or at least the illusion of it.

  I’ve lost all control to Gabriel tonight.

  And a part of me doesn’t care.

  He smooths his palm back and forth over my sex slowly, teasingly, making sure to stroke my clit with each pass of his forefinger. “Have you been thinking about me all day?”

  “Maybe for a minute or two,” I lie.

  He chuckles. “You just can’t admit that you want me, can you?”

  “I guess you’ll have to find out.” I close my eyes and happily wait for the intrusion.

  After five more torturously slow passes of his palm, Gabriel pushes two fingers deep inside me.

  My lips part with an inaudible sound as I roll my pelvis against his hand.

  “Fuck yeah, baby.” Gabriel settles his free hand onto the small of my back, pressing down, urging me forward. “Bend over more.”

  My stomach stirs with a twinge of nerves as I settle my elbows over the hard pavement. I’m utterly exposed in this position.

  “You are so sexy,” he murmurs, his fingers still working while his free hand smooths over my ass, kneading my flesh. If there’s one thing Gabriel isn’t, it’s shy about complimenting my body.

  A moment later I feel the first swipe of his tongue along sensitive flesh and I tense.

  “Come on, Mercy. I told you I wanted every square inch of you,” he whispers.

  Taking several deep breaths, I will myself to relax. I did agree to give him whatever he wants. And last night, when I let him explore a bit, when I let him invade this part of me, I came harder than I ever have before. If this is what he wants …

  “That’s it, baby. Remember how much you loved me touching you here?” His soft words in that crooning voice are my undoing as that silver tongue swirls over me again and again, all while his fingers work their magic, building tension that I crave a release from.

  Heat floods toward my center.

  “Look how wet you’re getting. I knew you’d like that,” he growls, sucking and teasing and that spot on my body that I’ve never let anyone go near. He hooks his arms around my thighs and angles my hips to give him better access.

  I bite my bottom lip as he indulges like a man starved, his tongue lapping and sliding, and dipping deep inside, only to then shift and toy with my other entrance, prodding at it relentlessly. And repeat. It’s overwhelming and intoxicating. I press my forehead to my forearms, his name a whispered moan on my lips as tension begins to build along my spine. This man’s skill and passion is unparalleled, his boundaries nonexistent.

  And he’s right. I am enjoying the way he seems to worship my body. I can’t brace myself against anything but I manage to roll my hips, angling onto his tongue where I want him, reveling in the feel of his stubble as a tingle builds along my spine.

  “That’s it, baby. Let me hear you scream.” His voice vibrates through me, setting off my orgasm in a flood, every muscle tensing as his tongue buries deep inside.

  “Gabriel!” I rasp as wave after intense wave hits me, my thighs quivering as my body rocks against his face. I chase after every last tremor, my mind going utterly blank for a moment. When the last one subsides, I fall limp, my forehead pressed against my forearms. I can’t find the energy to be modest.

  “Told you you’d like it,” he whispers, his hard pants blowing across my sensitive flesh. He releases my hips and guides my body down into the water, only to maneuver me around and lift me again. I end up back on the steps but straddling Gabriel’s lap.

  I’m about to tell him that I need a few minutes to recuperate but he simply pulls me in close, his skin radiating heat as he curls his muscular arms around me in an affectionate way. I nestle against him, wrapped up in postcoital bliss.

  But between my legs, just beneath the water line, his jutting cock presses against my slit. I study the swollen length now. He’s the most well-endowed man I’ve ever been with, and that he knows how to use his dick is a bonus I haven’t fully appreciated yet.

  No wonder he’s so damn cocky; he has reason to be. And yet he didn’t try to fuck me first. He was more focused on getting me off. That’s been the case, thus far, with every sordid encounter between us. It’s another ill-suited puzzle piece to the selfish, narcissistic version of Gabriel I was so sure I had pegged. This version is nothing like the one that sat across from me at Fulcort, eyeing me like a predator eyes its prey.

  “See something you want?” he whispers, flashing a mischievous look my way before dipping down to seize a nipple within his teeth.

  I hiss with the sharp pinch, but it’s followed closely by a playful, soothing lick.

  “That mouth of yours is something else.” I smooth my fingertips along his hard jawline, watching him suckle.

  “Wait. Was that … Did you just actually compliment me?” he teases, offering me a dimpled smile before I feel another pinch of his teeth. “This is a first.”

  “Don’t get used to it.” I push my hands through his mop of wet hair, getting a firm grip so I can gently angle his head back. Even in the dimness, his beauty catches me off guard for a moment.

  His dark eyes narrow. “What’s going on inside that pretty little head of yours?”

  “I’m just thinking that I should kiss you to shut you up.” I lean in to capture his plump lips with mine, in a slow, searing kiss, much like the one he gave me this morning, as we were parting for the day.