House of Payne: Ice Read online

“You feel like a tease.” She wrapped her long legs around his hips before she leaned back on the table, taking him with her. “I love the weight of you on me, the feel of you. Don’t make me wait for you.”

  “My Sunny day.” He couldn’t calm his breathing as he at last surged inside her, and it was like coming home. The sensation of tight, wet heat gloving his rock-hard cock was a fantasy made real, and he couldn’t stop himself from growling out his pleasure. “I will never be able to get enough of you.”

  “Good.” Her heels dug into his ass, telling him without words what she wanted. “Feel all of me now, Ice. Give me all of you. Let me feel how deep you can go.”

  “Fuck.” Her words sang through him, filling him with so much chest-thumping pride that his skin felt too tight for his body, “I’m going to make you scream this fucking building down, you got that? Your pleasure is my pleasure, and it’s the only priority I’ve got.” He began to pump hard inside her, his stiffened flesh gliding with absolute perfection into her slick pussy.

  Her low moan in response was like music to his soul.

  “You fit me so well, like you were made for me.” Her soulful eyes were half-closed and glowing in a way that only happened when he was inside her. It was her look of pleasure, which he loved seeing, but he also knew it could be so much more. “Deeper, Ice. Harder.”

  “I know what you need.” The fire inside to please his woman throbbed in his blood and drove him to the brink of madness. Without bothering to give her a warning, he pulled out and flipped her over so that her stomach was against the table and her ass was up in the air, facing him.

  Perfect.

  “Ice, I need—”

  “Baby, I got what you need.” Hungrily he rubbed his palms over the cheeks of her ass, so beautiful in his eyes he could fucking cry. “I’m a selfish bastard, Sunny day. I don’t want any other man to ever come along and see the perfection I’m seeing now, so you can bet I’ll give you whatever the fuck you need, and more. I won’t quit until I’ve made you addicted to me, and no one else. When I’m done, the thought of anyone else touching you will make you sick. That’s how I’m making you mine, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it except enjoy the ride.” With that, he separated her thighs, found her sweet threshold, and plunged back in, deep and hard and sure.

  “Oh, God.” She moaned out the words as she gripped the sides of the table, her head flinging back. “Yes. Yes.”

  “I am what you need, Sunny,” he breathed, and felt the tightness of her pussy begin to convulse. “Say it.”

  “You are what I need.” The words whispered out between panting breathing.

  “Again.”

  “You…you are what I need. Oh God, Ice. You’re what I need.”

  “Damn straight.” To make sure she came like a damn freight train, he slipped a hand down her belly and into her cleft to boldly press against her clit. “My cock inside you, making you come. That’s everything you need. Give yourself over to that need. Come for me, baby. I fucking love it when you come.”

  He’d barely gotten the last word out before the walls sheathing his cock spasmed with almost painful intensity even as she cried out. It was so damn beautiful, watching her as she came, to the point where it pushed him over the edge with her. He thrust into her hard enough to move the table, even as she reared back to take all of him. The impact shook his world, while every nerve in his body seemed to explode with sensation. He was on fire, fire his Sunny ignited, and all he could do was let it melt him in the best possible way.

  “We’re going to kill each other doing this someday.” Eons seemed to pass before her voice reached his ears. That was when he realized he was all but lying on her back, his chest heaving and his body still thrumming with the deepest satisfaction he’d ever known. Slowly he pulled out of her, stripped off the condom and tied it off before tossing it in a nearby trashcan. “When you’re inside me, it’s like the whole world is shaking.”

  “If that means I make the earth move for you, then I’ll take my bows now.” Righting his clothes, he helped her off the table, then smiled at the smudge of dust on her cheek. “When you’re getting your office squared away, get some furniture with soft surfaces—shit that doesn’t gather so much dust it leaves a mark,” he said, rubbing the smudge away before giving her space to sort out her clothes. “Better yet, just get a bed.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that’d be appropriate.”

  “Maybe not, but I’d be willing to bet we’re not the only ones who’ve gotten freaky around here. Doubt we’ll be the last.”

  “This job, though… It’s a dream I didn’t even know I had.” She gave up trying to smooth her hair and spun around in such a giddy, non-Sunny move he couldn’t help but grin. “Can you believe it? House Of freaking Payne. It’s going to kill me to work out my two-week notice at Itty Bitty Kitty Committee.”

  “You never belonged there.” He hooked a hand around her nape and hauled her in for a lingering kiss. When the heat began to curl in his blood again, he pulled back to see an answering spark in her eyes. Excellent. “A person’s got to know where they belong if they want to find happiness. You happy, Sunny day?”

  “I am. For the first time in what feels like forever, I feel…whole. Complete.”

  He gave her a squeeze. “Because of a new job?”

  “Because of everything. Because of…”

  “Don’t run out of words now.” There it was again, that weird distancing he could see in her eyes. It resembled that bland mask both she and her mother wore when things got tense, and while he didn’t know what it meant, he knew he didn’t like it one damn bit. “Let it loose, whatever it is you’re holding back. Say whatever’s going on inside you.”

  “As a Fairfax, I never do that.” She laughed as if she found the concept genuinely silly. “But I am very happy because of the new job, and because of… of you. And the job,” she added, and he could have watched the color flood into her face all damn day. “I can’t wait to hand in my notice. In fact, let’s get out of here. I’ve got a resignation letter to write and two weeks’ notice to work on. The sooner I get going on that, the sooner I can start my new life at House Of Payne.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “To whom it may concern,” Sunny mumbled under her breath as she pushed through the mudroom door. “No, too boilerplate. Maybe just, dear Franklin and June—”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Sunny yelped while her hand clutched at her chest. Hannah was in an identical stance, with the exception of her other hand curled around a wooden spoon as she stood at the stove.

  “Oh my God, Hannah,” Sunny gasped, her heart still thudding as she headed deeper into the kitchen. “You scared the freaking daylights out of me.”

  “How do you think I feel? This is the second time you’ve shown up today, when you’re supposed to be at work. The first time around, I totally understand. You didn’t feel like doing that whole walk of shame thing by showing up at work in yesterday’s clothes. But why are you here now? Wait,” her friend interrupted herself, eyes widening. “Did you get fired? Let me guess—you finally snapped and started meowing and trying to lick everyone.”

  Sunny rolled her eyes. “I had that dream once. I was never in any danger of actually licking people.”

  “You have a whacked-out dream like that, you can’t blame me for wondering.” Turning the heat down under the pot of chowder she was making, Hannah sent her a curious frown. “So, what happened? Did they fire you because you came in late to work?”

  “No, I’m not fired from Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. But…”

  “But?”

  “You know how I said I thought I might be looking for another job in the New Year? Come to find out, I’m not waiting. I came home so I could work on a letter of resignation.”

  Hannah’s response wasn’t what Sunny had been expecting. Her friend dropped the spoon to raise both hands to the ceiling. “Thank you, guardian angels watching over my slow-wi
tted friend! You took your damn time getting her butt out of neutral, but you finally got there in the end. Gold stars for everyone.”

  That definitely deserved a slow-blink. “Excuse me?”

  “When you left Cali and came back home, you were like a wounded animal,” her friend said, shaking her head. Today her curly mane was in a messy topknot, and Sunny couldn’t help but grin at how those defiant curls were doing their best to escape their confinement. “You didn’t want to sleep. You didn’t want to eat. You were so intent on hating the world and being as miserable as humanly possible that you went and found the worst possible job for your rebel spirit.”

  “I’m the daughter of Claire and Archibald Fairfax. It’s not in my blood to be a rebel.”

  “So says the woman who once had long blonde hair, ran an ink-slinging studio on the edge of Venice Beach in front of millions of faithful viewers, and has a tattoo of a sun on her ass.”

  Fair point. “I chose IBKC because it’s just down the street.”

  “No, you chose it because some ancestor of yours probably enjoyed the martyrdom of wearing a damn hair shirt. What I want to know,” she went on while Sunny snorted, “is what finally made you decide to take the damn hair shirt off? What made you stop being so hard on yourself for trusting the wrong man?”

  Sunny bit her lip. Might as well jump in head-first and get it over with. “I slept with that wrong man, Hannah.”

  “Wow.” She didn’t know Hannah’s eyes could get so wide. “I mean, I figured you were getting your sexy on since you were gone all night, but… wow.”

  “I know, right?”

  “To be clear, the wrong man we’re talking is Ice, right? The Ice?”

  Sunny nodded. “I had sex with Ice. If I had crayons, I’d draw you a picture.”

  “Thank God we don’t have crayons,” Hannah said, chowder now dripping off the wooden spoon as she stared at Sunny. “That’s just…wow.”

  “You should also know the reason I’m quitting IBKC is because I’m now the assistant manager and head of digital marketing for House Of Payne.” She took a breath and leaned back against the counter. “So there’s that.”

  “Holy crap.” Belatedly realizing she was making a mess, Hannah dropped the spoon, turned the heat down on the chowder and came to lean against the counter next to Sunny. “You’ve been busy.”

  “The past twenty-four hours have been kind of a lot.”

  “I’m getting that.” Hannah paused. “Which one do you want to talk about first? The sex with the man who fired you in front of millions part? Or the new job part?”

  “I’m not sure I want to talk about either, at least for now.”

  “Give me a hint, at least. Do I congratulate you for finally getting your ass laid and demand some juicy details, or do I sit you down with some liquored-up coffee and start dragging the male of the species? Because I’m versatile, hon. I can do both.”

  Aww. Hannah was the best. “I wouldn’t mind sharing a juicy detail or two.”

  “Hot damn. So, with me trying to forget I hate Ice for being an asshole, I need to know one thing. On a scale of one to ten, how was he in the sack?”

  “Twelve. A double orgasm deserves a twelve, right?” And as for the asshole part, she was beginning to have her doubts about that.

  “A double…?” If possible, Hannah’s eyes went even wider. “Call me shallow, but I’m thinking a twelve negates the whole asshole issue. Tell me more.”

  Sunny was still trying to find the words to accurately describe how Ice’s penis had the magical ability to melt her bones when her mother walked into the kitchen. “Hannah love, is the soup just about—oh, Sunny. I didn’t know you were home.” She did a quick visual once-over that Sunny supposed every mother knew how to do, before she sighed and headed for the stove. “I’m going to put your father’s tray together, Sunny, and I’d like for you to join me in his room. He’s a bit restless today, so I’m hoping seeing you will help him settle. See you there in five minutes?”

  “All right.” Like she’d ever say anything else.

  When Sunny entered her father’s room, she glanced toward the sitting area. The quiet no longer bothered her, because there was no point in mourning how her father had once had music playing throughout the day, boisterously singing along with whatever was on. Those days were gone, and little by little she was coming to grips with that.

  “I wish it was warmer so we could eat out on the verandah,” Claire said when she saw her approach. Her mother and father were already seated at a small round table by the French doors, with her father slowly working his way through his bowl of chowder. “Your father keeps trying to go outside, but it’s just too chilly.”

  Sunny stifled a sigh. That was a classic Claire Dubois-Fairfax move if there ever was one. Open with a harmless subject—like the weather—to lower everyone’s guard, then close in for the kill.

  Luckily, Sunny knew her tactics all too well.

  “Hi, Daddy.” Sunny dropped a kiss on her father’s neatly combed hair and smiled into his eyes. “How are you today?”

  He looked at her in confusion. “I don’t like tomato soup. I didn’t even order this. What the hell is going on here? This restaurant is terrible.”

  “I…see.” Glancing at his half-eaten bowl of clam chowder, she looked to her mother, who shook her head with undeniable weariness.

  “From the time your father woke up this morning, he hasn’t liked anything. You’ve been quite cranky today, haven’t you, my love?” she added, pushing a plate of crackers and aged cheese his way, a favorite snack of his for as far back as Sunny could remember. But now he ignored the plate in favor of glaring at Claire with a ferocity that hurt Sunny to see.

  “You’re trying to poison me, aren’t you?” he said succinctly, before looking back as his soup with what seemed like surprise. “Tomato? Oh, that’s my favorite. We should come here more often, Mike.”

  “So he’s having a less-than-spectacular day, then.” Resigned more than upset, Sunny sat next to him and across from her mother. In that position, she could look Claire right in the eye. “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m home for lunch?”

  Claire gently wiped a napkin at Archie’s chin, then dodged him when he tried to bat her away. “If you like. Why are you home for lunch, Sunny?”

  She bit back another sigh. The slow spiral of her father’s health had put her mother under extreme pressure, she knew that all too well. The one thing she refused to do was add to that stress, so she tried to smile. “A good thing happened. I took the day off and went with Ice to House Of Payne. Before I knew what was happening, Sebastian Payne offered me a dream job—head of marketing. I took it.”

  “Did you?” The surprise in her mother’s voice was genuine, and for the first time since Sunny had come home a smile lit up her mother’s eyes. “My goodness, Sunny, that’s wonderful to hear. I’m so proud of you, darling. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Of course, I was hoping you’d left the world of tattoos behind, and I had dreams of you opening your own exclusive, politically-based PR firm. But,” she added quickly, holding up a hand even as Sunny opened her mouth, “if working at a place like House Of Payne puts that special sparkle back into your eyes, then I’m all for it.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” With a smile, Sunny leaned across the table and curled her hand around her mother’s. “Remember how you were worried about me being unhappy? Well, you can stop worrying. When I made the decision about where I want to be when it comes to my career, it made me happy for the first time in a long time—happy enough to actually spin around Julie Andrews-style in my soon-to-be office. And you know what? It feels good. Better than that, it feels right.”

  “Baby.” Some of that happiness shimmered in Claire’s eyes as she squeezed Sunny’s fingers. “Does that happiness also have something to do with Ice and where you were last night?”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure.” Part of her wanted to dodge the question, but t
hat wasn’t fair to her mother. She had enough on her plate already. “I don’t want you to worry about me.”

  “Impossible.” At that, Claire offered a huff of wry laughter and gave her hand another squeeze before letting go. “News flash, darling—I’m a mother. More than that, I’m a mother who happens to adore her kid. Worrying is what I do.”

  Love filled Sunny’s chest so much it made her eyes water. “Well then, because I’m a grown-up kid who adores her mother, I’ll be as honest as I know how to be so you’ll be up-to-date on everything. Sound good?”

  “Sounds wonderful.” Again, her mother smiled. “And I appreciate that, darling. I really do.”

  “Good.” Since there was no time like the present to get started on that promise, Sunny took a moment to get her thoughts in order. “First off, I don’t know if long-term happiness can ever be achieved with a man like Ice,” she said, and did her best to ignore how much that hurt to admit out loud. “History tells me he’s about as reliable as a leaky boat, so I doubt I’ll ever be sure about him.”

  “If you feel that way, why would you ever want to live with so much uncertainty?”

  “Because the only thing I am sure of is that I don’t want to go through life wondering what he and I could’ve been, if only I’d been brave enough to try. I want to be brave enough, strong enough, to take one last chance on him. Even if he doesn’t deserve that one last chance, I feel that I do. Does that make sense?”

  “Remember who you’re talking to, Sunny bunny.” With her smile turning bittersweet, Claire tried putting cheese and crackers into her husband’s hand, only to have him throw it toward the French doors. A tired sigh dragged out of Claire as she stared at the food on the floor. “No matter how impossible I knew it was to have a loving, husband-wife relationship with your father, I couldn’t stop myself from loving him. Even now, to this day, I love him with everything in me.”

  Sunny’s eyes began to burn. “I know, Mom. You love so beautifully, so purely.”

  “So stupidly.” With a sniff, Claire tried to shrug it away. “I just wanted something more for you. I didn’t just want you to fall in love one day. I wanted you to be loved. Desperately, wildly loved. I wanted you to be loved the way I love your father.”