Page 16 of Lethal Lover

I pull my phone out and look at the notification, but before I can swipe to unlock and read the message, Warren blurts it out. “She’s dead… my God.” His usually warm skin grows pale. “Nina died.”

I feel like I’ve just been launched out of a cannon. My stomach drops to my feet. I’m nauseous and dizzy. I drop my phone andlisten to him read the message aloud to everyone, but I zone out, staring at the carpet in disbelief.

“Nina passed away one hour ago due to a massive stroke following the accident. A blood clot in her brain dislodged from the concussion and…”

I can’t listen. I can’t think.

I walk out of the room toward the bathroom, but someone is in there. I hear them crying. I jiggle the handle absently but walk past it. My own body begins to shake, my palms sweating and tears welling up. Nina is dead and she’s not coming back.

I find a room down the hall that isn’t locked and I just walk in. It’s dark. I can’t find the light switch, but I don’t care. I leave the door open and walk toward the only thing I can make out. A bed along the far wall becomes my refuge. I sit on the end and cover my face to sob.

The happiest news in the world isn’t enough to cushion this blow. Nina and I were friends. She probably has friends who were closer to her than me, but it hits home with me the same way. Not to mention how scary it seems that Mr. Monroe was attacked and then days later, she was hit in a bad accident. It seems surreal and I’m shaken.

“Hey, are you okay?” Liam’s voice comforts me, and I look up.

“No. I’m not okay.” My words are hardly coherent. “She’s dead, Liam. This can’t be happening. It feels like a curse. Like I brought a curse on the theater.” I cover my face again and hear the door click shut. I can tell the lights come on, but I don’t open my eyes until I feel the bed shake. He sits next to me and puts his arm around me, and I lean on him.

“It’s tough, huh? But I’m here. Let it out.”

So I do. I let it all out, the pain and fear and apprehension. I want my heart to stop feeling because lately, it seems all I feel is anxiety or worry. New York City is no different from the town where I grew up in Ohio. People have car accidents there too, but I’ve never lost someone I knew well or cared about like this. I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel or how I’m supposed to react. All I know is what I do feel, and I can’t stop the reaction.

“Hey, it’s okay… Shh,” he soothes, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have him. His soft words are like salve on my raw heart. “Baby, it’s okay. Listen, she is on heaven’s stage now, performing for the angels. And you get to be here to carry on her legacy of terrific performances.” His hand rubs my lower back, then he pulls my body closer against his.

“I don’t want to carry on her legacy. I want her here to do it.” I can only imagine how her family feels. This is so awful. “I’m scared. My career is taking off at the expense of other people.”

He squeezes me and kisses the top of my head. “No, it’s not like that, okay? I promise you. Try to relax. Let me help you relax…” His other hand pushes up under my chin, forcing my face upward until his lips cover mine. It’s warm and welcoming, and while I’m not in the mood for his advances, I am in the mood to feel him against me, holding me.

“Liam…” I utter in gentle protest, but he clicks his tongue.

“Trust me, baby. You need this. You’re so tight, and I want to help you.” He kisses me again, parting my lips to slip his tongue into my mouth, and I go along with it.

I taste tears—mine, I think—but it doesn’t matter. Sex has become our go-to. It’s how we cope, how we grieve, how wecelebrate. Tonight is no exception. His hands on my body soothe not only my bruised heart, but also my battered psyche. My eyes roll back as he nudges my thighs apart and hikes up the hem of my dress. He dips his fingers into the wet folds between my legs, and I bite down on my lip.

“God, you’re so wet for me.” He growls, planting a kiss along the lower part of my jawline before biting down on my neck. “You like when I do this, don’t you? You like it when I take care of you.”

A low, guttural moan escapes my lips in response because words fail me at this moment. Words are meaningless when compared to the overwhelming desire and need coursing through my body. I don't want to talk, I just want to feel. I want to feel him inside me, his body filling mine, stretching me out and breaking me apart as he brings me to new heights of pleasure. The ache in my chest intensifies with every touch, but I welcome it eagerly, knowing that only he can ease it.

He guides me back to the bed, our clothes seemingly melting off us as we make our way there. His hot, hard cock is out, and my pussy aches for him, but I know it isn’t right. I should be grieving, not fucking him. “I don’t think I can?—”

“Shh,” he says, placing a finger to my lips. “I know what you need. I’ve explored every inch of your body.”

Then he does the most unexpected thing. He pushes my legs apart and buries his head between my thighs, seeking out my core with his talented mouth. I moan, the long, drawn-out sound that tells him how good it feels to have him there, lapping at me like eating my pussy is the healing elixir for all that ails me. His tongue dips into my wet entrance, then flicks over my clit before sucking on it hard. It’s all I can do not to scream out in pleasureas a wave of ecstasy courses through me. I don’t want anyone to know what’s going on in here.

“Liam,” I whimper.

“Shh, baby, let me take care of you,” he mumbles.

I have no other option than to surrender to him, to let him love me the only way he knows how. His skilled tongue caresses my center like a delicate flower, savoring every inch of my essence. I am more than willing to give myself to his desires. As his talented tongue delves deeper inside me, my body instinctively responds, my hips undulating against him in a hypnotizing rhythm. My back arches off the bed, seeking more of his intoxicating touch. With my head thrown back and eyes closed, the pleasure washes over me in waves, consuming me whole. His fingers join in on the exploration, finding that rough patch that craves his touch and ignites a burning heat within me. I tighten around his digits, and he groans against my mound as my core pulsates in a rhythmic dance of ecstasy.

“Shit… oh, fuck. Yes. now.” I writhe against him as my body unravels, pleasure coursing through every cell. My fingers tangle in his hair, and he doesn’t let up until my panting and gasping turn to soft moaning.

He flips me onto my stomach, pinning my arms over my head, and then he’s inside me. I gasp as he fills me to the hilt in one swift motion. “Oh, God, Liam!” I cry out.

“That’s it baby, let it out,” he says, his thrusts shallow at first, but then he picks up speed. I brace myself on my elbows as he pounds into me harder, faster. I feel another orgasm building, but before it crashes over me, he slows his thrusts. I can’t stand it.

“Liam…” I moan wantonly as his cock rubs against my G-spot, and my nipples are hardened from the friction of rubbing against the sheets. He pistons in and out of me, picking up speed as his breathing becomes more labored.

“Goddamn, you feel so good,” he growls before he finds that spot inside me that makes my entire body shatter into a million pieces. The second orgasm is better than the first, and I’m spiraling, screaming into the mattress and trying to claw the sheets away. But as I come down, he slows.

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