NIX (Daring the Kane Brothers) Read online

“It appears …” Token looks out the window. “She’s still outside with her husband.” He whistles, turning on the heels of his feet back toward everyone.

  “Alright.” Ma gets up from the counter, handing the towel to Becca. She turns her attention to the so-called adults in the room. “You guys need to leave them alone. Those two have a lot to work out.”

  “Ma, they’re not really married,” Lulu says, plopping down next to Harley at the island.

  “I know but leave them alone,” Ma commands.

  Lulu scrunches her nose at the ruler of the house, then slides her sly green eyes over my way. “Now, what’s this about a girlfriend?”

  “And”—Ma points a spatula at each of my siblings—“leave Nix alone as well.”

  “Aww, you’re no fun,” Token says, winking at me. It wasn’t too long ago he was the talk of the clan when he brought Harley to one of our family get-togethers.

  I tilt my head at him, thankful for the reprieve, then glance at the door just in time to catch Jaggs coming through it.

  She throws her hands up in the air. “Don’t ask.” She smiles at Ma. “Hi, Mrs. Kane.”

  Ma wipes her hands on her apron. “Now, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Olivia?”

  “Yes, ma’am, ah, Olivia,” Jaggs says before heading toward the bathroom.

  “I like her,” Lulu blurts out when the door clicks close behind Jaggs.

  I watch Becca and Ma snuggle up close at the table, eating peaches and whipped cream, quietly talking while staring at me. I know Ma’s drilling my kid for the goods on Payton. Obviously, my six-year-old has been dying to tell someone—hell, everyone like my entire family—about our visitor from the other night.

  Thankfully, she didn’t wake up when our other masked visitor showed up. I still haven’t reached out to Dwayne Abel about my unexpected guest. It’s not like she got anything from my laptop. So there’s nothing to report … but one hell of a kiss.

  As hard as I try, I can’t shake the feeling that I know who was behind the mask. But it can’t be her. I refuse to believe that Lexi was in the same vicinity of her child, a mere room away, and didn’t seize the opportunity to take Becca. Maybe it’s just my stupidity, thinking Becca’s mom really gives a shit about her. I just don’t understand how a parent could walk away from their child. I can’t believe I loved someone who could do that.

  Fuck! It’s taken me a long time to forget about that bitch, and now that I’ve met someone who makes everything around me melt away when I look at her, I can’t be dragged down by the memory of my ex. But if Lexi was in my room the other night, I need to find her. Maybe I can get some questions answered so I can move on. As hard as it might be to hear, I need her to tell me the truth.

  Did she leave me and Becca for someone else? For a better life?

  I was with Lexi for a little over two years. I thought I knew her. I trusted her. I trusted us.

  And then she just walked away.

  How could I ever trust anyone again?

  I glance back out the window to find Crash standing alone and get an idea. Within the next ten minutes, I’ve hijacked my bro’s phone, entered the dark web with it, and put out a call to Lexi, something I haven’t done in the past four years since she went missing.

  Now … I just need to wait to see if she takes the bait.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I step out of the shower, grab a towel, and wrap it around my waist. After brushing my teeth and running a comb through my hair, I swipe the steam from the mirror.

  “Well.” Not taking my eyes off the dark blurry masked reflection in the mirror, I set the comb on the sink. “Hello, Lexi.” I smile. “I wasn’t sure if you would come.” Something hard and cold pokes me in the middle of my naked back, and I raise my arms. “Now, there’s no need for a gun. I just wanted to talk. Hell, if I knew it was going to be this easy to reach you, I would’ve tried the dark web sooner.”

  There’s a long silent pause before she waves the gun in the direction of my bedroom. Hands in the air, glasses left on the bathroom sink, I squint as I make my way down the hall. “You really like my bedroom, don’t you?” I enter to find my chair positioned in the middle of the room and my laptop gone from my desk. “Well”—I nod my head—“seeing as you’ve already ransacked the place and took what you want, you gotta know by now, she’s not here?”

  She takes a step back from me, nudging the gun at my chair.

  “Oh, we’re going to do this again?” I shake my head. “Okay.” I sit down in the chair. She pulls out the zip ties and leans forward, but this time, I’m ready for her. I jump up, grab her arm, and the last thing I feel is the butt of the gun as it hits the side of my head.

  I’m not sure how long I was knocked out, but when my eyes do crack open, she’s sitting on the bed, watching me.

  I sit up. “Fuck!” My eyes slam shut. Damn, my head’s killing me. She got me good. Hands tied behind my back and unable to touch my pounding head, I try to ease some of the pain by rolling my head, neck, and shoulders. Unsuccessful and frustrated, I rest my head back against the chair and open my eyes. I peer at her from weighted lids, taking a long assessment of her feminine silhouette outlined in the dim, shadowy room.

  “I’ve missed you.” I grin. “Why don’t you take the mask off and let me see your pretty face?” I wait for a response, but there’s no movement from my uninvited guest. I sigh and rock my head from one side to the other, still trying to lag off the pain from the hit it took. I stop and look at her. “If you didn’t come to talk and you didn’t come to see your daughter, then what the fuck did you come for? The laptop? Looks like you got it.” She continues with her statuette response, or lack of. It’s difficult to make out her eyes, but I’m able to follow the shine of them as they move from my face to my chest, down to my …

  “Oh.” I glance at my crotch. “Would you look at that? I have nothing on but a towel.” I smile, raising my head. “Is that why you’re still here? You want some of that, Lexi?” I thrust my hips. Fuck it, if she wants to play games, I’ll do it. “I do remember how much you liked being on top. You wantin’ to get on me for old times’ sake?”

  Finally, she sets the gun on the bed, picks up something from her lap, and walks over to me.

  “Well, you can’t.” I deepen my voice, pressing my feet to the floor, and push backward, barely moving the chair. “You can’t have anything until you tell me why you left!”

  Her hands come up and out stretches a long black scarf. I try to fight, but she succeeds in getting the damn thing tied around my head, leaving me blinded by darkness.

  “Fuck you!” I hiss, tilting and twisting, trying to find an open spot in the material but, once again, I am at the bitch’s beck and call. And, motherfucker, my fucking dick is getting hard! Dammit. I need to get laid. I don’t know what I’m waiting for; I should’ve taken Payton weeks ago. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have this problem right now. I need to stay strong. I got this.

  It gets real quiet.

  Yeah, I got this.

  Maybe she’s leaving. Hopefully not. I don’t think I can get out of this situation, and I can’t have Ma finding me butt-ass naked again … the sudden yank of my head by the back of the scarf followed by the capture of my lips by a warm, active mouth ceases all thinking. The savage, pervasive kiss soars right to my defenseless dick. With each tongue lash, lip bite, fuck! I’ve missed her lip bites, nearly drawing blood, and with each nip, the blood beats harder and rushes faster to my hollow cock, filling me with rage and want.

  Her mouth leaves mine, and I feel a hand on my chest gently moving downward. Bracing myself, I feel the towel gradually sliding from my body. No other part of her touches me, just fingertips tracing my hypersensitive flesh, trolling over my tense stomach and straining thighs. She touches everywhere but my dick.

  Fuck! I need her to touch my dick!

  “Bitch.” I grit my teeth. “Give me a tit.” To my surprise, within the next few seconds, I feel a hard nipple brus
h against my mouth. Like a starving babe just woken from a nap, I open my mouth and start to feed from her dimpled flesh. The weight of her tit presses against my face as I work the hard nub, wrapping my lips around it and sucking hard. I give her a nip, setting free a desperate cry into the silent room. The sound pushes my cock to stand on its own. When I bite a little harder, I feel her nails dig into my chest. The pulsating, painful heartbeat in my dick reminds me of what’s going on, of whose tit I have between my teeth. Pissed that it’s her. Pissed for the shame and betrayal I feel toward Payton. I sink down hard just as she likes to do on my bottom lip. A new, different high-pitched sound fills my ears. And the moment her hand cracks across my face, my teeth break from her tit.

  The hard, unexpected, and painful slap was totally worth it.

  I laugh. “Come on back.” I laugh harder, twisting my head, again trying to find an opening in the material, trying to catch a glimpse of her. I slide a foot out and come back around toward myself, catching something, maybe her thigh. I give whatever it is a yank. She falls on me, some of her landing on my upper body, a hand on my right thigh and an ass cheek on the other. I crane my neck toward her. “If my hands were free, I’d have a fistful of your ass. No, better yet, I’d beat your ass for being a tease. I’d toss you on the bed, belly down, tie your limbs to every post, and spank you.” I get another sound, something between a muffled moan and a hard whimper. She always did like it a little rough. Most of the good ones do.

  “Or maybe, I’d use my belt. Yeah, you’ve been very bad. I think we’d really need to teach you a lesson this time. Then with your legs spread wide, pussy dripping with wetness, ’cause we both know how wet I can make you.” Soft strands of hair brush my chest. Warm lips press against my neck and almost inaudible moans seep into my flesh. I bend my head, trying to get as close as I can to her face. “I’d take you from behind. Slide my dick so far up inside you.” I get a strong whiff of lilacs as her weight shifts. “Yes, that’s it.” She sits on me, leaving my cock to rest against her parted thighs. “Touch me,” I growl through gritted teeth. I don’t care who she is at this point. My dick hurts with need.

  Fingers grip my full throbbing erection. “Fuck, yeah.” I gasp for air. “Rub my cock. That’s good.” My hips move to the motion of her hand, ass flexing and releasing with each stroke. “Suck it. Come on, give it a taste.” My arms tense, pectoral muscles lifting as I struggle to break free of the zip ties while fending off the need to blow my load. Can’t give her the satisfaction. But fuck!

  No! I can do this. I know how to heed an orgasm, been in training for years. I pride myself on holding out until my partner comes. Something Lexi wouldn’t expect from me. I could never hold back with her. I was a lot younger and inexperienced when we were together, but now …

  Her body shifts downward and … “Ah, shit!” I toss my head back, losing the battle the moment her hot lips slide over my thin-skinned, straining shaft. She’s doing it on purpose! “Motherfucker!” She works my dick with her talented mouth while still giving attention to my base with a gentle but firm stroking palm.

  Hand sliding all the way up, her body shifts with the movement. Her hot and talented mouth arriving at my ear, she taunts in a low whisper. “What’s wrong, Cyberthief?” Her hand grips my dick tight, but it’s the nickname that squeezes the blood from my rod. It’s her! She’s the only one who calls me that! It’s her nickname for me, the one she gave me on our first date. It’s a private endearment. We both did our share of hacking but more of the Robin Hood kind. Still, it wasn’t something we advertised. So she called me Cyberthief when we were alone, in bed, or when I was working intently on the laptop. She could always tell when I was up to no good. She’d come over and whisper in my ear, “What’s my Cyberthief up to now?” Before I knew it, I’d have her bent over the desk with her sweats pulled down around her ankles. I’m sure one of those instances was what led to Becca.

  Fuck! Like cold water hitting my dick, it pulls back from her. Everything from the past five years hits me, every scraped knee, potty training, every tantrum, the first day of school, everything Becca went through without a mom.

  “Get off me!” I clench my hands and yank my wrists. “Get the fuck away from me, you bitch!” I press forward. “You left us! You left her!” Muscles straining against goose-pimpled flesh, I blink back tears burning the corner of my eyes and feel her body leave mine. “How could you! She was just a baby! She needed her mom! I needed you! Where the fuck where you?” I scream at the silent darkness. “Whatever you left for was worth giving her up?” I twist my head, seeking a shape, shadow anything through the dark scarf but find nothing. Not a sound, a warm breeze, nothing indicating she’s still there. “You selfish, heartless bitch!” Defeated. I shake my head. “What do you want, Lexi? What! The! Fuck! Do! You! Want!” I yank my wrists, feeling the ties cutting into my skin. Shit! How am I going to explain the cuts to Becca? I stop and drop my head. Everything I do is for Becca. Every step I make in life is for her. “Just tell me. What’ll make you go away? I just want you to leave and never come back ever again.”

  Soft hands run down my arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispers before my hands jerk free.

  The second it takes me to realize I’m free following the next second it takes to pull the scarf from my eyes, my wish comes true. She’s gone …

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Woken first thing in the morning to the annoying sound of my boss’s ring, I swipe the screen and put the thing to my ear. “Hello?” I roll back over in the bed, closing my eyes.

  “Tucker.” I hate when he calls me that. Just call me by my first name. He’s an ass. “Were you able to locate Mr. Paddington yet?”

  “No,” I reply, setting the back of my hand on my forehead to block out the morning light.

  “Do you need me to come into the office and help you?”

  Oh, shit! I sit up in bed. “No!”

  “You only have a few more weeks to book his flight.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ll get it done.”

  “Alright, I’m counting on it.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of—” I stop, realizing he already hung up. “Asshole.” I toss my cell on the bed and drop back onto the mattress.

  I stare up at the ceiling, partly discolored by the sun.

  And there he is, like every morning, the first thing to pop in my head—Nix Kane. Shit! I need to get it together and stop letting him into my bed. Can’t have him always distracting me, but damn, how can I not? He’s always on my mind, and the last time I saw him, hell, the last time he touched me, his hands in my panties … the thought lowers my hand to between my legs. I arch my back, then thrust my breasts upward. His touch imprinted on me, my fingers start out slow, searching for relief, but just like my thoughts, the more I think about Nix, the hotter, the faster, more aggressive my need is and …

  Shit!

  Another familiar ring vibrates my phone. I glance at it. Mom! Buzzkill! I drop my hand and give myself a couple more rings before answering it. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Oh, Payton! I’m glad I got you. I’ve been trying to reach you for the past two days. Now, I know you said you’re going to be busy with this new job in California, but your father and I worry about you.”

  “I’m okay.” I roll my eyes.

  “Are you sure? You’re eating? Getting plenty of rest? Making new friends?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes.” I’m not lying. I gained a few pounds, it’s nine in the morning, and I consider Harley a friend. And Nix, well, he’s … I don’t know what he is. Filling my days and nights with fantasies, forcing me to masturbate between boss and mom calls? What would you call that?

  “Have you been staying in contact with Dr. Erickson?”

  Oh, here we go! “Mom, I’m fine. Why do you always bring this up? It’s been nearly a year.”

  “Honey, you and Allie were close. I know what her death did to you. You spent a month in bed, lost ten pounds, and for the first time in my life, I saw my happy-go-luc
ky little girl depressed. Are you still taking the pills Dr. Erickson prescribed to you?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” I hear the hitch of concern in her voice.

  “I’m better. I’m not depressed. I’m moving on.” I’m fucking happy-go-lucky!

  “Good. That’s what Allie would want. I know she had no one, no family. You were such a good friend to be there for her through it all until the very end, but I know it took a toll on you.”

  “I couldn’t let her go through it alone.” A flash of my friend, skin and bones lying in a bed, cheeks sunken in, the shine in her eyes gone from the disease that was taking her with each day. She was twenty-six-years old. Cancer sucks! It has no prejudice, no empathy, and it takes what it wants. While my friend would have given it a good fight, she never got the chance. She lost so many things with the diagnosis—her life, her future. Snagged by a selfish beast, the son of a bitch stole my first and only best friend. My eyes well up. Well, isn’t this some shit, I go from near orgasm to near tears. When it comes to my life, yeah, that’s about right.

  “I know but you could have considered hospice—”

  “Mom, I don’t want to talk—”

  “Now, you know what Dr. Erickson says. It’s important to talk about it.”

  “Really.” I take a deep breath so I don’t completely unload on her. “I’m good.”

  “Okay.” She competes with a longer sigh. “The job is going okay?”

  “Yes.” Good, she’s changing the subject, so that means she’s done with the psych check-in.

  I know it’s hard for them. But unlike Nix who has five siblings, I’m an only child. And being the only child, my parents put all their energy into me. And since they retired, it’s only gotten worse.

  I get it, though. I’ve been gone since I went away to college. The longest I was home was when I brought Allie there to die. We were roommates for nearly four years. We met at work and just hit it off. I begged her to call her family, but she refused, so I brought her to mine. My parents own an old farmhouse on a nice piece of land. Figured it’d be better than dying in an overpriced 600-square-foot apartment. Besides, even though Mom and Dad might drive me crazy with their concerns, I knew they’d be good for Allie. Mom tried to help in the end, but I knew my friend. She’s a private person, and she wouldn’t have wanted that. It was difficult watching her wither away, and before she died, my friend made me make some promises I didn’t want to, and one of those promises was to always be nice to my mom. I look up at the ceiling again. I’m trying very hard to honor that promise right now. “How are you and Dad?”