31. Colton

Chapter thirty-one

Colton

L ayla’s laughter from somewhere nearby filters into my office and makes me grind my teeth as my dick responds to her fucking laugh. I was so twisted up inside, that I was getting turned on by Layla’s laugh. I hadn’t expected her to last this long before begging to be fucked. And now I’ve reached a point where if she doesn’t beg soon, I’ll be the one on my fucking knees, and I refuse to let that happen. I sent a text message to the other guys to meet in my office. I had an idea, and it would take all of us to get it done.

My desk phone rang, so I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Boss. You wanted me to call you if I saw anything weird outside,” Joe said.

“What do you see?”

“That angry cop from the shootout? He’s sitting across the street in an unmarked car. I’m pretty sure he thinks I won’t recognize him,” Joe chuckled.

“Well, as far as he knows, you’re mostly deaf,” I laughed. “Ok, I’ll call Scarni and let him know. Keep an eye on him and let me know if anything changes.”

“Will do,” Joe replied.

I hung up the phone and groaned. The last thing we needed right now was for an ambitious cop to be staking out the house. I picked up my cell and dialed Scarni’s number.

“Do I want to know?” Scarni asked when he answered.

“Probably not. You know that other cop that was grilling Layla at the gate?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s currently sitting outside our house in an unmarked car. Joe spotted him,” I told Scarni.

“Son of a bitch,” he cursed. “He’s on administrative leave because he hasn’t been willing to let this go, and the brass got sick of him barging into their offices daily.”

“Why is this the first we’ve heard about this?” I asked. “If this is something we’re going to have to take care of, we should have been told.”

“And that’s why we’ve been trying to handle it internally,” Scarni replied. “He’s a good guy and a good cop, too good for this city. We didn’t want him to disappear suddenly.”

“Well, there’s a good chance that will happen if you don’t take care of this,” I warned.

“I will talk to him,” Scarni assured me. “Just leave him to me. He won’t bother you.”

My door opened, and I waved the guys in as I finished my cover story. “Let me know if we need to have a chat with him. I’m sure in the end, we’d be able to come to an understanding.”

“Not necessary. I’ve got it,” Scarni replied, ending the call. I snickered as I laid my phone on my desk.

“What was that about?” Sean asked.

“That cop is staking out the house. Scarni assured me that he would handle it. Apparently, he is on administrative leave because he has a hard-on for us,” I informed them. “Tyler, I want a file about him on my desk in the next day or two. If we have to step in, I want to be prepared so we can shut it down quickly.”

“Can do. I’ve already started one, so it won’t take me long to finish,” Tyler replied.

“Now, for the reason I called you all here. I think Layla deserves a night of romance and seduction. She’s gotta be aching for it by now, so a little teamwork should have her begging for it by the end of the night. Thoughts?”

“Well,” Zach said, “I’m pretty sure she isn’t aching for it since I just devoured her pussy for lunch. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but it was pretty earth-shattering. Oh, what the hell.” He raised his arm in the universal signal of an air horn. “Toot toot.”

“Why the fuck do you guys keep helping her?” I exploded. I fisted my hair in frustration. “Don’t you want these fucking things off?”

“We absolutely want them off,” Tyler replied, the ghost of a smile on his face. “But we also kind of want to see you beg more at this point. We went along with it, but faking Sean’s death was your idea.”

“And you’re the reason we dragged it out so long,” Drew pointed out helpfully. I should have known he wouldn’t let our differences in opinions about that go.

“You’re all a bunch of fucking traitors,” I accused. “Way to have my back. Are you going to help me seduce her or not?”

“She deserves a night of romance,” Sean replied, “so, sure. But not so you can win the bet.” The others nodded in agreement with Sean.

“Thank you,” I said begrudgingly. I could work with that.

Planning the evening was easier than I expected. Tyler ordered three dozen red roses to be delivered with a card asking Layla to have dinner with us. We made sure we were all in her office when they were delivered.

“Boss?” one of the men said, knocking on the door. “You’ve got a delivery.”

“A delivery?” Layla asked, looking perplexed. “I didn’t order anything.”

“Bring it in,” Tyler ordered. We grinned like idiots as the three massive bouquets were set on Layla’s desk, effectively hiding her from view.

Layla stood to look at us over the roses with an astonished expression. “I’m assuming, since you guys aren’t flying off the handle that someone else sent me flowers, that these are from you.”

“Read the card!” Zach said excitedly.

Layla sifted through the flowers until she found the card and read it. Her eyes were shining as she looked at us again. “I would love to have dinner with you.”

“Wonderful, then you should probably go with Drew. We have another surprise for you,” I replied. The way Layla lit up even brighter struck home just how neglectful of her we have been. I vowed that going forward, we would make time to romance our woman regardless of what crisis we were in the middle of. Layla deserved to be dated regularly. She knew how much she meant to us, but we needed to be better at showing her.

Layla followed Drew upstairs, and we followed her, wanting to see her reaction to the next surprise. Drew had called the same people Layla had at the house for girls’ night to give her a whole spa experience in the comfort of our bedroom. Her squeal of excitement and subsequent moan when she lay down on the massage table, reconfirmed that we were doing the right thing.

“We’ll leave you to your afternoon,” Drew said.

We left the room, and Sean clapped his hands together. “Ok. I’ll be back. I’m going to go dress shopping. Does everyone have the appropriate attire for tonight, or do I need to pick stuff up for the rest of you, too?”

“We’ve been dressing ourselves for a while. We know what to wear,” I replied sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m just making sure,” Sean replied before leaving.

“I’m going to call the restaurant and rent it out for the night,” I said. “Zach, can you make sure the car is washed and ready?”

“On it,” he replied cheerfully.

I nodded as I went through my mental checklist to ensure we hadn’t forgotten anything.

Tyler patted me on the back. “Relax. You did good,” he assured me. “Even if it was for nefarious reasons.” Tyler left me in the hallway, but I heard him call back, “You know, you might enjoy tonight more if you just accept that you’ll beg first.”

“Never gonna fucking happen,” I muttered to myself as I went downstairs.

L ater that evening, we were all dressed up and waiting in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs for Layla to come down. Sean refused to tell us anything about the dress he picked, only that he chose it specifically to “bring a man to his knees.” My heart stopped when Layla finally appeared at the top of the stairs. Layla wore a silky white dress that stopped just above her knees with strategic mesh-covered cutouts that gave a peek at the skin and garments beneath. It was apparent she wasn’t wearing anything under that dress. Layla spun in a circle to give us the full view before descending on sky-high strappy heels. The dress had an open back with ribbons holding the dress tight to her body. She looked ethereal, and as she slowly made her way closer to us, I had a premonition— I’d be on my knees by the end of the night. Layla was my entire fucking world, and if she wants me to beg, then I will. I’ll give her whatever she wants as long as she lets me stay by her side until my dying breath.

“Fuck,” I swore softly.

Tyler overheard me and gave me a knowing look as he squeezed my shoulder.

“Thank fuck,” I heard Zach whisper.

Layla stepped off the stairs and looked at us expectantly. We were all so enamored by her that we had been rendered speechless.

“You look stunning, Mo stoirín,” Sean said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. When she placed hers in his, he lifted it to his lips, making her blush.

The rest of us quickly echoed him as we snapped out of it. “Shall we go to dinner?” I asked, offering her my arm.

“Yes, I’m starved,” Layla said as she placed her hand on my arm.

“So what’s the occasion?” Layla asked when we pulled away from the house.

“Do we need a reason to wine and dine you?” Drew asked.

“No, but you usually have one,” Layla replied, a soft reminder of when we had whisked her away to the casino for the night, because we had received intel that a hitman would attack the house. She had been furious when she found out.

“This isn’t like that,” I assured her. “There really isn’t any ulterior motive other than giving you an overdue night of romance out on the town.”

The others slid me looks but didn’t say anything about the initial intention of the night. It had always been about taking her out, but it had also been about making her beg. Now, I didn’t care about that. The only time I wanted her on her knees was when she was choking on my cock.

When we got to the restaurant, the ma?tre d’ was waiting for us. He opened the restaurant door as we exited the car. “Miss Romano and guests, welcome,” he said as we approached. “We’re excited to have you dine with us this evening.” I looked down the street in time to see the cop following us duck out of sight in his car. Son of a bitch. I took a picture with my phone just as he peeked over the steering wheel again and sent it to Scarni with a message:

That’s strike two. I won’t warn you when he gets strike three.

Once inside, the ma?tre d’ quickly rushed ahead to show us to our table, not that figuring out which table was ours would have been difficult. Because I bought out the restaurant, they removed all the tables but one round table, just large enough to sit six. Flowers and candles decorated the room, and a man sitting at a piano in the corner began playing softly as soon as we entered the dining room.

“What have you done?” Layla asked in awe.

“Only what you deserve,” I replied.

The ma?tre d’ held Layla’s seat out for her, and once we were all seated, a waiter approached.

“Good evening, Miss Romano, gentlemen. As discussed earlier, the chef has curated a menu of his best dishes this evening, starting with our homemade bread basket.” At his words, a woman rushed forward and placed two baskets of bread and pats of butter on the table. “Could I start you off with champagne?”

“Please,” Layla replied. Once he finished pouring our glasses, he bowed to us before retreating. “Guys, this is too much! I love it. All of it. But it’s too much.”

“No, it isn’t,” Drew assured her.

“Only the best for you, LG,” Zach agreed.

“Dance with me?” I asked.

“I would love to.”

I led her to the makeshift dance floor and pulled her close as our bodies swayed to the music. “I hope you know how much I love you, Layla. There isn’t a damn thing I regret about our life together, except that maybe we didn’t claim you sooner and prevented all of this.” She smiled at me softly. “Of course,” I continued, “then we might not have gotten Sean to join our family, so I guess everything happened exactly as it should have.”

Layla’s eyes traveled to the table where the others were watching us. Shadows entered them as she looked at Sean. “I don’t know what to do about him,” Layla whispered.

I turned us so that my body blocked her from the view of the table and tilted her chin up with my finger. I smiled down at her as I stared deep into her troubled eyes. “Who said you have to have it all figured out now? What would you have done if you hadn’t ordered his death?”

Layla shrugged. “I hadn’t gotten that far in my thought process,” she admitted. “Probably been fucking mad at him for a while.”

“So then do that,” I replied. “Sean’s here, and he’s alive. You both love each other, and you’re still pissed as hell at him. All of that is ok. Stop overthinking it so much. Stop worrying about what you think you’re supposed to do, and just do what you want. You’re the fucking Boss, that’s literally the main perk.”

“Mind if I cut in?” Zach asked, appearing beside us.

“You dance?” I scoffed, moving her into his arms.

“I’m an excellent fucking dancer,” Zach replied as he whisked Layla away in dramatic turns around the room, making her laugh.

I returned to the table and grabbed a slice of still-steamy bread.

“She’s enjoying herself,” Tyler said, watching her.

“She is. And she’s still conflicted about you,” I said, pointing at Sean.

“I know,” he replied sadly. “I swear I’ve done everything I can to respect her space and not push.”

“We know that, Sean,” Drew said reassuringly. “We can see how much you hold back and how difficult it is for you at times.”

“We also see how Layla holds herself back sometimes, and the hurt still swirling inside her,” Tyler added.

“It’s still going to take some time, but I think you guys will eventually be ok,” I assured him. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

When Zach returned Layla to her seat, waiters emerged with the appetizers. The rest of the evening went like that. We danced with Layla between courses as the food and champagne flowed. By the time dessert was finished and we were headed back home, they were all feeling a healthy buzz. I stuck to water for dinner because if I was going to beg, I was going to make sure I did it sober.

Tyler had Layla in his arms as soon as we entered the bedroom. His hands slid beneath her dress to cup her bare ass as his lips claimed hers. He lifted her off the floor, walked her to the bed where Sean was sitting, and nudged her onto the mattress between his legs.

Sean’s arms wrapped around Layla loosely and traced patterns on the inside of her soft thighs. “I think Colton has something to say to you, Stór.” Layla’s attention shifted from Sean to me. She tilted her head to the side quizzically as I knelt before her.

“Layla, I realize I shouldn’t have kept the secret of Sean being alive from you. You mean more to me than my own life, and I couldn’t bear the idea of losing you, which I was certain I would if I killed Sean. You deserved to hear me say that then, not all this time later. I’m sorry. Please, please, Hellcat, can we take these cock cages off and ravish you?”

“That’s the best you could come up with?” Zach asked.

I shifted my eyes to glare at him. “Stay out of it, fucker.”

“I’m just saying, what’s Layla getting out of it?” he pressed.

“Our cocks,” I growled.

Sean whispered something to Layla, and a smile spread across her face. “My price,” she said, “for winning the bet is simple. Give me an orgasm with your mouth, and I’ll take the cages off.” Sean’s hands shifted to grip her thighs, his fingers digging into them as he pulled her legs open for me. Layla lifted the front of her dress, showing me her bare pussy, and I groaned as blood flowed to my dick, making it painful as it swelled against its confines. This was my final penance.

I crawled forward until I was between her legs and pulled her hips closer to the edge of the bed. I met her eyes as I leaned forward and blew across her wet pussy. “As you wish, Hellcat.” I nuzzled against her inner thigh before dipping my tongue into her honey pot. I felt Layla’s legs twitch as they tried to close around my head, but Sean kept her spread open for me. I licked her slowly with determined strokes. I’d give her an orgasm, but I’d do it my way. I ignored her clit until she was writhing in Sean’s arms, her hips lifting and rotating in an attempt to get my mouth where she wanted it.

Maybe there was a way for us both to get a win tonight. I might have begged first, ending the bet, but I would still hear my name on her tongue as she begged me to make her come. I teased her opening with my finger as I lightly touched the tip of my tongue to her swollen button. Layla’s hips bucked at the barely there touch as she groaned in frustration.

“Fuck, Colt, please,” she begged. Her eyes widened as they met mine, realizing what she’d just done. I grinned triumphantly. “That doesn’t—“

Her argument was cut short as I wrapped my lips around her clit and sucked it into my mouth. A guttural groan flew from her lips as I plunged my finger inside her and curled it to press against her G-spot. Layla’s pussy fluttered around my finger as her orgasm slammed into her. I quickly moved my finger to rub her clit as my mouth took its place. I wanted every drop of her release that she could give me.

This time, when she tried to close her legs, Sean let her. With a final lick, I rocked back on my heels and grinned at her. “You begged, after all, Hellcat.”

“It doesn’t count, and you know it,” Layla replied.

“True, but you still said it, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Whatever,” Layla said, yanking on the chain around her neck. “Let’s get those fucking cages off, I need someone inside of me, now!”

“Yes!” Zach cheered.