Maya Banks - Sweet Possession

She found Kane and Connor in the living room sprawled on the couches. Connor looked tired and she almost giggled when he reached into his pocket to silence yet another call. Between her manager, her label and the girls’ husbands, Connor was getting it from all corners.

“Feel better?” Kane asked when he looked up and saw her.

“I didn’t feel bad before,” she said with a grin. “Today has been . . . liberating. Fun.”

Connor leaned forward and picked up a steaming mug of hot chocolate. He held it up but didn’t make a move to bring it over. He was enticing her to come to him. Once she caught a whiff of the decadent aroma, he didn’t have to do much to get her to do his bidding.

She went over, took the cup from him and then sat forward on the couch next to him, cradling the warm mug in her palms. Connor’s hand immediately went to her back, stroking up and down.

She drew comfort from that gesture. She loved him touching her. She was so contented right now that she could curl into his arms like a satisfied kitten and purr endlessly.

“What’s on your mind?” Kane asked.

She pulled the mug away and held it on her lap. She pursed her lips a moment trying to formulate her thoughts. This was new territory for her. For so long she’d relied on others around her, her management team, her record label, her security, her handlers, to make decisions for her. Her motto was show up, do what she needed to do and then move on to the next show and do it all over again.

Firing Paul had been huge for her. She doubted even Connor knew just what a momentous step it was. It had been a much-needed slap in the face. A wake-up call that her life was out of control because she’d allowed it to be so.

“I’m ready to make some changes.” She swallowed. It took all her courage to say the next. “I’m a little afraid. I would like your help.”

Connor’s hand stilled on her back, then slid up to her nape and squeezed reassuringly.

“Okay,” Kane said.

“I don’t want my label to hire a new security firm.”

Kane frowned. She turned slightly to see the same frown on Connor’s face.

“What I mean is that I don’t want Phillip to choose. He means well. I have no doubt that he has my best interests and my safety in mind. He’ll hire competent people. But I think I should be the one who decides who holds my safety in their hands.”

She sucked in another deep breath, gripped the mug a little tighter and then glanced up at Kane. “Would your firm be willing to take over my security while I’m on the road?”

Kane didn’t respond right away. He glanced at Connor, then back at Lyric.

“I understand if you’re not set up to travel. It’s just that I . . .” She wrinkled her nose. “I trust your team more than some random firm that Phillip hires. I don’t know them. I know you . . . now.”

“I’m sure something could be worked out,” Kane said slowly. “But you need to consider whether this is going to cause you trouble with your label.”

“I’m going to tell Phillip that from now on I’m going to have a more active part in my career. To be honest, I think he’ll be relieved and more than willing for me to take the reins.”

Connor’s thumb tightened at her neck. He ran his other hand over her arm and squeezed lightly in approval.

Kane’s eyes glinted and then he smiled. “I think I may have misjudged you, Ms. Jones.”

“Oh please, call me Lyric. Ms. Jones sounds so stuffy.”

“All right, Lyric. The problem is that I can’t assemble a team as soon as two weeks. Less than two weeks now. I’ll need to handpick men for the detail and I’ll want to oversee the operation for the first little while until I’m satisfied that everything is progressing well. If you want the best, it’ll take time.”

“I don’t go back on tour right away. I’ll be in the studio recording for a bit. I also have a few appearances but they could be cancelled. My tour picks up in six weeks. Runs for two months and then I have a break at which time I’ll finish recording the next album. Would that give you enough time?”

“I think you need to decide if you can afford me first,” Kane said.

She laughed. “If I want the best, I have to be prepared to pay for it, right?”

“Then the first thing you need to do is ask for a bid. You’ll want to know everything I can do for you and you’ll want to know how much it’ll cost you. I’ll want complete control over picking the men for the detail, and each one will be screened personally by me.”

She nodded. “How soon can you get that to me?”

Kane smiled. “Now we’re talking. You catch on quick.”

She turned to Connor and slipped her hand into his. “I know I probably shouldn’t ask this. But again, I’m a little nervous. I don’t think it will be a problem. But . . .”

“Just ask, baby,” he said softly.

“I want to fire R.J. and Trent. Buy them out. Whatever. The problems are that I’m not sure what, if any, out I have in the contract, and they’re supposed to come in for the rodeo performance. They aren’t going to take it well. I’ve allowed them far too much latitude in their job. My fault, but there you have it.”

He put a finger to her mouth. “I’ll take care of it.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Any other earth-shattering changes you’re contemplating?”

She pressed her lips together and scrunched her brows. “I want to go whole hog. I’ve surrounded myself with people I don’t trust, who don’t care about me, have no investment in me beyond the paycheck I provide them. I know it sounds hypocritical. They don’t owe me anything other than to do the job they’re paid to do just like I don’t owe them anything beyond that paycheck. But I don’t want it to be that way. I want . . . I need a change. I don’t like my life very much.”

“Then do it,” Connor said. “If anyone can turn things around, it’s you. I don’t think there’s a person in the world who can run over you unless you let them.”

A smile twitched at her lips. “Yeah, I am a good bitch on wheels when given the right motivation.”

Kane chuckled and she turned quickly back to glare at him. “You are not to agree with that statement.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. It’s never too late to regain control over your career. And your life.”

“I can’t wait to see what the tabloids do with all of this when it gets out,” she said wryly. “They’ll have a field day. It’ll likely be reported that I’ve checked into the funny farm.”

“Fuck ’em,” Connor said. “You’ll know the truth. The people who care about you will know the truth. That’s all that matters.”

“And who are the people who care about me?” she asked softly.

He looked straight into her eyes. Then he reached out and touched her cheek, just one gentle brush with his fingertip. “I do.”

Connor returned from taking the cups to the kitchen and saw that Lyric had fallen asleep on the couch. Not that it surprised him. She’d been bobbing and weaving for over an hour as she sat and talked to him and Kane. It was obvious she had no desire to go up to her room. Alone. She’d clung to their company until fatigue had overcome her.

“Want me to get her a blanket?” Kane asked.

Connor shook his head. “I’ll take her up. She’ll be more comfortable in her bed.”

“I’m going to turn in then. See you tomorrow.”

Kane walked quietly out of the living room and Connor stared down at Lyric, who was curled against the end of the couch, her head on the arm rest. He reached down and touched a strand of her hair that had fallen over her eyes and gently pushed it back.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you,” he murmured. “Just when I think I’ve got you all figured out, you manage to surprise me all over again. I wonder sometimes if you even know who you are.”

He leaned down and slid his arms underneath her curled-up body and hoisted her up. She stirred and made a murmur of protest and then promptly cuddled into his chest.

He liked the way she felt in his arms. All soft and snuggly, her head tucked underneath his chin like she was made to go there.

Slowly he navigated the stairs and headed into her bedroom, where he deposited her onto the bed. She yawned and then her eyelids fluttered open and she blinked up at him.

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “You going to be okay?”

As he drew away, uncertainty, and a little fear, flashed in her eyes. She was clearly torn between wanting him to go and not wanting to be alone. He wasn’t going to push her. She had to make the choice herself, even if he had no desire to go anywhere.

There was something infinitely fragile about Lyric. Behind the badass persona was a fascinating mix of fear and insecurity that he still hadn’t been able to discern the reason for.

“Stay,” she said. Her gaze traveled over his face and he saw a hint of uncertainty. “I mean, I’d like you to stay. If you want . . .”

He bent down and shushed her with a kiss. He was purposely tender, allowing his mouth to melt over hers. “I want. I want very much. How about we get more comfortable and get into bed.”

It hadn’t been his plan to make love to her, but he’d gone instantly hard the moment she’d given him that sleepy, seductive look.

She rolled to the side of the bed and rose. He watched in the low light as she began undressing. She pulled her shirt over her head and then peeled down her jeans until she was clad in only her bra and panties.

It was a sight to make a red-blooded man get a raging case of lust. Jet-black and lacy. Ultrafeminine but it also screamed “Bad girl gonna rock your world.”

When she turned, he could see the mounds of her breasts pushed up to their best advantage, and the slightest hint of a peach-colored nipple peeked from above the cup.

As if he weren’t even there, she stretched lazily and then pushed the frothy lace from her body. As soon as she was naked, she crawled onto the bed and stretched out on her side, her vivid blue eyes trained on him as if telling him it was his turn.

He wondered if she knew what a provocative image she posed. Probably. She was likely grinning like a maniac on the inside because he was standing here with a bulge at his crotch that would make taking his jeans off painful and damn difficult.

When she shifted restlessly and slipped her fingers between her legs to delve into those soft folds, he lost what little patience he thought he was holding.

He yanked his shirt off and then fumbled with his pants. The condoms were where he’d left them—thank God—and he reached for one of the packets on the nightstand while he unzipped his jeans with the other.

She continued to stroke herself and made soft little sounds of pleasure that drove him insane. He itched from the inside out, like he’d been invaded by a thousand bugs.

He finally managed to get his pants and underwear off and he had to work at getting the condom on. He was so hard, the latex stretched tight over his aching erection until he worried he’d split the damn thing.

He strode to the bed and she gave him an innocent little smile that told him she knew precisely how naughty she was being. He reached for her ankles, yanked her around and then pulled her to the end of the bed. He spread her thighs, held them wide apart and then stroked inside her with one forceful thrust.

Her pussy rippled over his flesh, hugging, fighting, sucking him deeper. His entire body went so taut he was going to get a frigging cramp. But damn, she felt good. So good.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, determined not to come. He was close. After one thrust he was fighting off his release with everything he had.

He leaned down and kissed the valley between her breasts as he pulsed inside her, dying to move, dying to thrust hard and long until she begged him to stop.

Drawn to the plump swells of her breasts, he slid his tongue over the underside and then up over her nipple. A spasm rolled through her body and her pussy contracted around him in little, fluttery pulses that damn near made his eyes roll back in his head.

He nipped at the taut peak and then sucked it strongly between his teeth. She flinched and moved restlessly beneath him and then finally dug her fingers into his shoulders and lifted her hips.

“Please, Connor,” she gasped. “Move. Fuck me. Do something.”

“Christ,” he muttered. “I’m going to come, baby. Give me just a minute to calm down. I want to make this good for you, not get inside you and be done within two minutes.”