Her Silent Revenge novel Chapter 9

His tongue mirrors the movement of his hips, claiming my mouth.

His hands tease my nipples, pushing me closer to the edge of no return. "Fucking come for me, woman. Come like you never have in your life." Like I even have an option.

When I shatter, he swallows my scream, grinding hot encouragement against my lips.

Muscles I didn't know I had tense as I go off.

Somewhere in the beautiful mess, his rhythm fractures, and his breathing deepens into growls.

He slams into me, his pubic bone stroking my clit.

I dig my nails into his back for dear life and hold on—hold the hell on while ecstasy consumes me.

Sex this good feels like flying, I think.

Because the aftermath is definitely falling.

When I'm able to breathe again, we're sticky and still sliding together as he pulls away with a rough curse.

"Shit. Guess my luck improved after leaving the casino tonight," he tells me, right before crashing down on his back beside me, staring at the ceiling. "Fuck me, that was good. I could go for a smoke and I don't even do cigarettes."

I giggle, slurring my laugh as I roll into his arms.

My cheek rests against his shoulder, which feels way too natural, too good at putting me to sleep.

Oh, this is bad.

But it's wonderful when he wraps an arm around me, and even though I want to savor this moment, the exhaustion takes me. I fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart while he runs his hand slowly through my hair.

When I wake up, I'm alone.

I already know I'll never see Mr. Twelve and his black magic moves again.

PATTON

Present

Call it my lucky fucking day.

I stare up at the tall, sleek high-rise we've named The Cardinal.

Soon to be the city's finest hotel that's not technically a hotel.

There's no stopping the proud smile splitting my lips.

We'll have plenty of backups to help handle the daily affairs, plus any quirks that might come up.

Hopefully, our big opening stays quirk-free, considering this place is meant to run virtually on autopilot, but you never know. There's always something.

So far, the only downside is that I need to spend more time mentoring the new manager and making sure she's up to snuff.

Once, that might've been Dex's job with his workaholic lifestyle, but now that he's married and settled, it falls to Archer or me. And knowing Archer might scare the new blood away with his assholery, I stepped up.

Whatever. Let's get this over with.

I leave the gleaming exterior behind and climb the steps up to the building, finding my way to the common area near the information desk. It smells like a new build with that minty, freshly renovated smell.

That's one of the things I love about this job, being able to breathe your work.

Hell, if I wasn't born a Rory, I probably would've wound up in real estate anyway. There's nothing more satisfying than the smell of a new project coming alive, and because we're perfectionists, everything is perfect here.

The lobby seats are old-world leather. The drop-down widescreen TV looks futuristic, and there are silver trays with complimentary breakfast pastries from the Sugar Bowl. We'd never skimp on supporting my sister- in-law's bakery.

For a second, I stop and drink it all in. Yeah, I'd stay here in a heartbeat.

Hell, I'd live here, if I wasn't already set up with a perfectly nice place. I just hope everybody else agrees and this place gets booked up to capacity before we can say—