Midnight Orchids Read online

  “I didn’t, but I am tinkin’ da same ting, cher.”

  “Okay.” When Remy pulled her close to his side she felt safe. Once they were inside the house, she leaned up and kissed him. She knew he was worried about moving too fast for her and she wanted him to know that tonight she wanted more than to just be held. She wanted him.

  “You need to tell me what you want, Kitten.”

  “I want you to make love to me, Remy.” It was almost as if he’d read her mind.

  A groan escaped him as his lips met hers again. “Dat I can do.”

  Kylie squeaked when he suddenly picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. They shared a heated kiss before he set her on her feet next to the bed. His hands went to the waist of her dress, and he slowly lifted it, revealing her to his hungry gaze. The look in his eyes made her shudder and caused dampness to pool between her thighs.

  “You are so damn beautiful, Kylie,” Remy growled once the dress was gone.

  “You make me feel that way every time you look at me.” Her hands moved to his shirt and she watched his face as she undid each button. The hunger and desire in his eyes increased with every button. Her palms slid against his skin as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms to pool on the floor near her dress. “I can’t believe you’re mine,” she whispered.

  “For eternity, Kitten.”

  He kissed her then and her knees felt weak. The passion in that kiss had her body heating up in no time. Her body jerked a little when he suddenly ripped her panties at the side so he could get them off her. For just a moment she froze as an old memory tried to surface. She pushed it away with effort. She would not let her time with Remy be tarnished by ugly memories.

  “It’s a’right, Kitten. If you need me to slow down, all you have to do is say so. I won’t ever rush you.”

  “No, it’s okay. It was just an ugly memory, nothing more. I want this, Remy. I need it.”

  Remy

  Remy heard the truth in her voice. Over the weekend, he’d been a gentle lover but now, she needed him to be more aggressive to erase those memories for good. “If it gets to be too much, you tell me to stop, understand?”

  “Of course.”

  He felt her relax at his words. Yeah, she needed him to be more aggressive with her right now. He got her bra off and pushed her onto the bed. Before she could do much more than squeak, he had her legs spread and his mouth buried against her sex. “You’re so fuckin’ wet already, Kitten.” Two fingers slid into her and he smirked at the way her hips jerked and a moan escaped her.

  ”Dat’s it, Kitten. Don’t tink. Just feel and know dat ever’ting I do is for mutual pleasure,” he growled. He used his mouth and fingers to push her to the edge and over. The look of euphoria on her face was nearly his undoing. He shucked his pants and boxers then joined her on the bed and moved up her body, kissing a path up to her lips, before he kissed her deeply.

  “Remy…I want…”

  “Tell me, cher.” He watched as she swallowed nervously. What was she wanting that made her so nervous?

  “I…want to taste you.”

  “Are you sure, Kitten? You know you don’t have to do someting just because I did it.” He knew Ezra forced her to perform oral sex on him. He didn’t want her to ever feel obligated to return the favor.

  “I know, Cajun. I’m sure. This is what I want.”

  He groaned as her fingers found him and stroked lightly. “Well, den, who am I to deny you what you want?” He gave her a wicked grin and rolled onto his back, taking her with him.

  Remy watched as Kylie kissed her way down his chest. Her kisses were almost tentative at first, but by the time she’d reached his abdomen, they’d grown in surety. When her tongue suddenly flicked out across the head of his cock, he groaned. When her mouth enveloped him in wet heat, he felt like he’d died and gone to heaven. Without thought, one hand slid down to lightly grip her hair. He felt her stiffen and started to release her, then stopped. He wanted to let her decide if he needed to let go. “Are you a’right, Kitten?” His voice was thick with desire.

  Kylie’s eyes lifted to Remy’s and she nodded. She released him long enough to murmur, “I’m okay,” and then she enveloped him again.

  Remy groaned and he had to force himself to remain still as she took him as far into her mouth as possible. “You keep dat up, and I’m not gonna last much longer, cher.” He reached for her and tugged her up his body. “Enough, Kitten. I need to be inside you.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Part of him wanted to forgo the condom, but until their relationship was on firmer ground, he wasn’t going to risk anything. He managed to reach over far enough without having to make Kylie move, got a condom out of the nightstand, opened it, rolled it on, and then settled her over him. He wanted to watch her. “Ride me, Kitten.”

  Kylie

  If anyone had told her that she would enjoy being ordered around a bit in the bedroom, Kylie would have laughed at them. After what she’d gone through with Ezra there was no way in hell she’d enjoy it. She would have been dead wrong. Remy’s growled command to ride him sent a thrill through her. She took him in her hand and guided him to her entrance before she slowly slid down him. He filled her so completely. By the time he was fully sheathed in her, she was whimpering in pleasure. She felt Remy’s fingers gripping her hips as she began to move.

  “Dat’s it, Kitten. So fucking beautiful.”

  His words of encouragement made her smile. She tried to keep it to a slow, steady pace but all too soon she was speeding up as she pushed closer and closer to orgasm.

  “Come for me, Kitten. Let me feel dat sweet pussy tightening around me.”

  Holy fuck. She was stunned by how turned-on his dirty words made her. With a soft cry she complied, her inner walls clenching him. When he didn’t follow her over the edge, she mewled in frustration. The frustration ended when Remy suddenly flipped them and put her on her back. He pounded into her with abandon, and all Kylie could do was grip his shoulders and hold on for the ride.

  As a third orgasm began to build, her hips arched to meet his every thrust. Her nails dug into his shoulders before they raked down his back, and she screamed when the orgasm crashed over her. It seemed that was all Remy needed to finally push him over, as well.

  Kylie lay there beneath him, trying to remember how to breathe properly. When Remy rolled off her, she reached for him on instinct.

  “Need to get rid of da condom. I’ll be right back, Kitten.”

  She watched him pad across the room to the master bath where he discarded the condom and got a glass of water. He drank it down, then refilled the glass and brought it to the bed. “You should drink someting.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t realize until right then how dry her throat was. When he finally rejoined her in bed, after he’d returned the empty glass to the bathroom, she curled around him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Good-night, Cajun.”

  “Good-night, Kitten.”

  Kylie let her eyes drift closed, her breathing evened out, and sleep claimed her. As she was drifting off, she thought she heard Remy whisper the words ‘I love you’, but she couldn’t be sure. She would try to remember to ask him in the morning.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kylie

  By the time Kylie remembered to ask Remy about what she thought she’d heard him whisper, she was walking into Scarlet Flux after being off for several days. She filed the question in her ‘need to ask’ mental file and headed up to the VIP Lounge.

  “Hey, girl. Welcome back. Feeling better?” Sierra, one of the servers, asked once she’d arrived.

  “Hey, Sierra. Yeah, I am. Thanks. Ready to get back to work.”

  “Well, you’ve definitely been missed by the customers. I swear I think most of them come in just to watch you work. You always put on such a show.”

  “I try. It’s fun and if it gets better tips, why not?”

  “I like the way you think,” Sierra said with a
laugh. “Doors will be opening soon, it’s almost showtime.”

  “I need to make sure the bar is fully stocked.” It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the others to do it. When it came to work, Kylie was a bit of a perfectionist so she had to go over the stock quickly. “Hey, what happened to that bottle of Macallan that we had? Did someone actually buy the whole thing?”

  Sierra frowned. “Not that I’m aware of. You could ask Terry. She might know.” Terry was one of the other Drink Mixologists.

  “I’ll do that.” It was a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask Black Speyside Single Malt Scotch, and the shit cost over four hundred bucks a bottle. She hoped to hell someone purchased it. If not, someone was going to be losing their job and quite possibly their freedom.

  Kylie knew she was terrible at reading body language. If she hadn’t been, she might have seen the warning signs with Ezra. With that in mind, she approached Caleb, the new bouncer for the VIP Lounge. “Hey, Caleb, I need a favor.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I suck at reading body language. I know you did security before you moved here so I’m hoping you’re good at it. A very expensive bottle of Macallan Scotch went missing. The only other person who works behind my section of the bar is Terry. Would you mind watching her when I ask her if she knows where it went?”

  “Macallan, that’s some pricey shit, regardless. Yeah, I’ll watch to see if she gives herself away.”

  “Thanks.”

  With ten minutes until the club opened, Kylie waited patiently for Terry to get upstairs. When the other woman arrived, she didn’t need to be good at reading body language to know the woman was surprised. “Hey, Terry.”

  “Kylie. You’re back. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. You looked like you were having a really rough time just a couple of days ago.”

  Kylie shrugged. “I just needed a couple days away to feel like a new woman. Hey, you don’t by any chance know who bought that bottle of Macallan Rare Cask Black Speyside Single Malt Scotch, do you? I noticed the bottle isn’t here and I know it was when I left the other night.”

  “What? No, I have no idea. I’m sure someone bought it, maybe while I was on break or something.”

  “Huh. Okay.” She glanced Caleb’s way and noticed the arched look he had. Either something Terry said, the way she said it, or the way she held herself must have sent up a red flag given the look on his face.

  As soon as Terry went to the other section of the bar to get her station set up, Kylie motioned Caleb over. “Well?”

  “That chick is definitely hiding something. Good thing we have the security cameras. Emelise had some added to the area behind the bars when she started noticing discrepancies between what she should have in stock and what she actually had. I’ll give it a gander tonight and see what she’s hiding.”

  “Thanks, Caleb.” The doors opened, customers started coming in, and Kylie had to get to work. For the first couple of hours, all was well. Then someone grabbed her arm and Kylie froze.

  Remy

  Remy had mixed feelings about Kylie going back to work, but knowing the way Ezra controlled her, he wasn’t about to voice them. He got the preliminary drawings done and sent off for approval, then decided he needed to swing by Scarlet Flux to check on his girl. He’d give her her independence, as much as his dominant nature could, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t check up on her to make sure she was okay.

  He took the stairs leading to the VIP Lounge two at a time. He arrived just in time to see some guy grab her arm. His first instinct was to go over there and scare the guy off himself but…he waited. He wanted to give Kylie the chance to do it herself. She needed this, the chance to stand up for herself.

  “Let go of me, now, or I’ll have you thrown out.”

  He got close enough to hear her words and grinned. There was nothing but strength in her voice. The guy let go and mumbled an apology before he slunk off like a dog with it’s tail between its legs. “Good job, Kitten. I knew you could do it.” he said as he slid onto a bar stool.

  The grin Kylie flashed him could have lit up the sky. “Thanks. It felt good, too. What brings you by?”

  “Wanted to check on my girl. Make sure she’s doin’ okay. Seems I had no’ting to worry about.”

  “That’s sweet. I’ll admit I was a little nervous when we opened but now I’m back in the groove.”

  “Yo, Remy, how’s it going? Man, you’ve got a helluva woman there. Thanks to her, we may have figured out where some of the missing stock has gone,” Caleb said when he spotted the leopard.

  “Good job, Kitten.” Even Remy could hear the pride in his own voice.

  “Thanks. I’m not so sure how happy I am about it. I mean, if I’m right, someone is losing their job and possibly going to jail.”

  “You be proud of steppin’ forward, cher. If someone is stealin’ from Eme and da club, dey need to pay da consequences. You didn’t do anyting wrong. Dey did.”

  Kylie sighed. “I guess you’re right. I have to get back to work. Are you sticking around a while?”

  “Plannin’ on bein’ here when da doors close, Kitten. I’ll give you a ride home so Emelise doesn’t have to wait for you.”

  “Okay then. Here, on the house,” she said and set a beer in front of him.

  Remy chuckled. “Not happenin’, Kitten. I know ‘on da house’ is code for you’re payin’ for it outta your pocket. I got dis,” he countered and set the money for his drink on the bar. Then he moved to a spot where he could keep an eye on her and enjoy the show she put on for the customers.

  “Hey, Remy, do me a favor, would you? Keep an eye on things up here while I go take a look at the security tape so I can fill Emelise in on whatever I find.” Caleb obviously suspected Emelise would want to know right away.

  “Sure ting, Caleb. How’s da Pack workin’ out for ya?”

  “So far so good. I haven’t met everyone yet, but that’s to be expected since some of the pack work for Ghostpoint Security and are off on jobs.”

  “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad. Declan’s a good Alpha.”

  “Yeah, he is. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with the tape.”

  “No worries. I got dis,” Remy told him and waved him off.

  Half an hour later, Emelise came stalking up the stairs. That was the only word Remy had for the way she was moving. She was the hunter searching out her prey. Whatever the tapes revealed, it was easy to tell the woman was pissed. When she went to Kylie’s side of the bar, he had to bite back a growl. No fucking way was Kylie involved in the missing stock.

  “…think you can handle running it alone?”

  He caught the tail end of Emelise’s words and his anger fled. She wasn’t trying to blame Kylie—she just wanted to be sure she could handle working the bar by herself.

  “Yeah. I’ve done it before. I know that when Sally went home sick and I had to run the Lounge by myself I hadn’t just returned from having a mental breakdown, but I’m okay. Really. I can handle it, Eme.”

  “Good.” Emelise nodded at her before she made her way over to where Terry was working.

  Remy watched as Eme approached the other Drink Mixologist. He watched as the color drained from the woman’s face. Yep, she was busted. From the corner of his eye he saw Julius Lafluer come up the stairs. Jules was quiet while he read the woman her rights, and he didn’t put her in cuffs, but he did take her arm to lead her out of the club. He was the kind of cop every cop should aspire to. He had respect for everyone, even the people he was arresting. He wasn’t the type to humiliate the woman in front of so many witnesses.

  Of course, that didn’t stop some assholes from taking photos of her being led out by one of NOPD’s finest. But, really, if she didn’t want to risk arrest, she shouldn’t have been stealing in the first place.

  When the night was finally over and the bar was cleaned up, Remy approached Kylie. “You look beat, Kitten. What do you say we head back to da compound for some sleep?”

  “That
sounds like the perfect idea for me.”

  He slipped his arm around her as he escorted her out of the club and two blocks down to where he’d parked his truck. “Do you want to go to da cottage or stay wit’ me tonight?” As much as he wanted to hold her every night, if she wanted some space he would give it to her.

  “With you. I like waking up next to you, Remy.”

  “Dat’s a very good ting, Kitten, because I love wakin’ up wit’ you in my arms. When are you off work again?”

  “I was supposed to be off Friday, but with Terry being fired I don’t know if I still will be. Why?”

  “Find out from Emelise. Because, cher, I’d like to take you to dinner.”

  “Oh. Okay. I’ll ask her tomorrow. Maybe I should swing by the cottage for a change of clothes. I really don’t want to put these back on in the morning.”

  Remy chuckled. “You don’t want to smell like alcohol first ting in da mornin’?”

  “Hell no. I don’t particularly like smelling of it, period, but I can handle it if it’s right after work. Accidents happen, drunks spill their drinks and bartenders get splashed. It happens. But I don’t want to wake up smelling like a damn brewery.”

  “Someting tells me dere’s a story dere.”

  Kylie sighed. “Yeah. Ezra. He often woke up reeking after a night of binge-drinking.”

  “I can see why you wouldn’t want to smell dat way, Kitten. I can promise you now, dat’s one ting you’ll never have to worry about wit’ me.”

  “What?”

  “Binge-drinkin’. I got dat outta my system when I was in college.”

  “That’s good to know, Remy.”

  He glanced over at her while at a stop light. He could see the exhaustion on her face. “Why don’t you get in da shower as soon as we get back to da compound and I’ll get you some clothes for in da mornin’? You look like you’re ready to fall asleep sittin’ dere, Kitten.”

  “I feel like I am. Okay. I’ll let you get me some clothes, just this once.”