Page 40 of One for the Money

Heat grew in her eyes as she smiled widely, showing off her gems. I was beginning to learn when she smiled like this, I should either be afraid or prepare for my world to be rocked. Right now, I was really hoping for the latter.

As if hearing my thoughts, she slipped her hand out of mine and let it drift lower. When she came to the elastic band of my sweatpants, her fingers curled around it and pulled until my dick snapped free and stood proudly for her to gaze at. The feel of her fingers as they wrapped around my cock nearly had me blacking out. Whatever magic voodoo this goddamn woman had running through her veins, she deserved the title of siren. Everything about her trapped me in her hold, and the last thing I wanted was to wake up and find it was all a dream.

“Last time, I never got a good look at what you were packing here, Big Red,” Von commented as her hand ran up my shaft. She then used her thumb to wipe some of the pre-cum off the tip.

Gasping, my hips thrust into her hand. “Shit.”

“Damn, guess my little nickname for you is more fitting than I realized. Then I guess long would be more accurate than big, but Long Red just doesn’t have the same ring to it that Big Red does,” Von rambled, torturing me as she lazily played with my dick.

Desperate to get her to make up her mind if she was going to get me off or just leave me to deal with it, I grabbed her thigh and dragged her closer. “Two can play at this game,” I warned, letting a finger dip between her legs and brush over her clit.

Von arched, letting out a loud moan. “God, finally… took you long enough,” she muttered.

“Oh, is that right, little siren? I’m sorry, I totally forgot that I had the power to read your mind,” I quipped, tugging on her clit piercing. She cried out, her hips rocking, trying in vain to find something to fill her. “If you want something from us, then you’re gonna need to tell us. No manipulation, just spell it out for the two of us so there’s no question as to what we’re agreeing to.” As I talked, I teased her entrance, making sure my finger never slipped inside.

A growl tore out of her as she pulled away and sat up. “Why? Why do both of you need to push this? Can’t we just fuck and let our bodies decide what feels good?”

Her words were steady and even but cloaked in frustration and a hint of panic. I slowly sat up facing her, giving Von space so she didn’t feel trapped. “Von, I’m going to ask you a question, and I would really urge you to be honest with yourself as well as us on the answer.”

I got a dubious look as she pulled up the robe around her body, creating a shield between us. Looks like my hunch had been right. Something about asking for what she needed from a sexual partner was triggering to her. Right now, it was putting her on edge, but it was important for her to understand what was happening so she could recognize this feeling.

“What’s your question?” she demanded brusquely, pulling up her shield in the form of being the boss in this situation.

“First, I need you to understand I’m not asking you to pick at a vulnerable spot or because I’m upset with you about anything. Second, my goal in this is for you to recognize how you’re feeling right now because this is the lead-up to triggering something more intense,” I explained.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bear watching her intently, but he was absolutely listening to every word I said. There was a slight tension around his eyes as if he was worried about something.

“Is there a reason you’d prefer not to ask for what you want and just take it in the heat of the moment? I remember you being rather vocal about how you wanted me to fuck you, but it wasn’t asking, it was telling,” I pointed out, hoping she’d be able to see the difference.

Silence fell as we waited for her answer. Everything in her body language told me she was trying to stay calm, but she’d trained her fear to turn into anger, giving her an outlet for the emotion. This explained why the more scared she became, the higher the violence. Turning to her bedside table, Von grabbed a carton of cigarettes and lit one. Drawing deeply on it, she closed her eyes and exhaled. The scent of cloves filled the air, which I hadn’t been expecting.

“My answer to this bullshit question is really that important to you?” Von pressed, taking another drag.

I started to answer, but Bear took the lead. “Yes, it’s important.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at us with suspicion. “So now you’re teaming up on me? Bear, you already made your position incredibly clear… unless I want to have tender, loving sex with you, I need to look elsewhere.”

The venom in her words had my brows shooting up in surprise. It wasn’t like I was shocked that these two would fight, but that accusation told us more than she realized about what was really bothering her.

“That isn’t what I said,” Bear argued.

Von blew a puff of smoke in his face. “Yes, it is, and when I couldn’t give you the answer you wanted, you just fucking turned around and left. Let me guess, you went down to grab ginger spice here and sent him my way so I could have an aimless fuck with him now that you’re too good for that.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I cut in, grabbing Bear’s arm to stop him from leaving. “You can’t walk away from this, man. She’s playing dirty, I know, but it’s a defense mechanism. If she can push you away first, then you’ll never be able to do it to her.”

I knew laying a hand on the living, breathing mountain of a man was playing Russian roulette, but the one thing I was banking on was his love for Von. His gaze felt like a laser burning through my skull as he tried to stare me down, but I knew how devastating this would be for her if he proved her right and left.

“Remove your hand, dog doctor. I’m not going anywhere. The ashtray is on the other nightstand, and I’d prefer to keep her from lighting her bed on fire,” Bear informed me.

Instantly, I released him and held my hand up in surrender. “Cool, man, we're cool. I overreacted. My experience having gone through this is everyone walked away, and I wasn’t gonna let that happen to her.”

“Consider yourself lucky they left. It saved you from being stabbed in the back later on. Only weak people turn their back on the ones they claim to love and care about,” Bear said, passing the ashtray to Von. “In the bowl, Von, or I’ll make good on my threat if you catch another robe on fire.”

With zero pushback or attitude, Von took the ashtray that looked like a witch’s cauldron and tapped off the ash that had been building up. This left me stunned. It was almost as if the previous ten minutes of Von spewing venom had never happened. Bear was like a bomb tech who’d clipped the right wire and defused the whole damn thing mere seconds before detonation. Now I understood how Von was able to keep her shit together all these years—it was because of him. So now we needed to figure out what changed, other than me, to set her off to the point Bear couldn’t bring her back.

The thick taste of clove gave me something tangible to hold onto as I faced off with these two men. Since when had these two become close enough to gang up on me like this? Bear wasn’t known for being friendly or playing well with others, so what made Erik different?

“Von, I really think it would help you, and us, to understand what happened today. You said things were never this bad before, which means something’s changed,” Erik reasoned.