Between Never and Forever: Dex and Keelani’s Fake Engagement Story (Hardy Billionaires)
Between Never and Forever: Part 2 – Chapter 27

On the way back to our suite, Dex called Jimmy. “Take care of Ezekiel discreetly. Inform him that he’s banned from HEAT and Black Diamond resorts. His lawyers can contact mine.”

“Dex, I can take care of him,” I said, even though the idea made my stomach curl.

“Yes, but I will instead,” he replied and then he ushered me into our suite where I had him show me every camera throughout it.

He didn’t apologize for any of them. He pulled me through each room, even the bathrooms, to show how his technology worked. It was extensive in that it could track even the body temperature of skin, alert him to fluctuations, and pretty much monitor all my activities.

“So you basically know when I’ve…” I couldn’t even say it.

“I haven’t monitored you yet, Kee.” Still, I saw the hunger in his eyes. He wanted to monitor me. It was in him to control every single thing.

“But you’re going to.” My body heated at the thought, and I couldn’t hide the blush as we walked back down the hall to the kitchen where all my flowers sat in vases. I moved one so the petals of the peonies shone in the city lights just right, and my ring glinted as I did it. I remembered his statement about my ring earlier that night. “Is that why my ring is so big? So you could get the tracking in it?”

“The wiring is in the metal, heartbreaker, and the computer chip that transmits me the data is smaller than a grain of salt. I can fit my technology in just about anything, Kee. Your ring is big for other reasons.”

“Like what?”

He stared at me in the cocktail dress I still hadn’t taken off from the concert. The dark-purple sequins flowed around my hips and tapered off as the mermaid shape of it flared out. It was my favorite one that Pink had found for me because it stretched over every curve of my body but I could still move fluidly if needed.

A low rumble came from Dex’s chest as his eyes drank me in. “To show you’re mine even if you are the star that you are. You’re mine first, and I want a blinding display of that everywhere you go.”

“That’s ridiculously territorial of you especially considering you haven’t talked to me in nearly a week,” I chided. “Or especially when this is only for a few more months and you don’t even care to be seen with me.”

“I don’t care to be seen with you?”

“We don’t go out in public. Your social media post made sure of that and you haven’t asked me to—”

“I don’t care to be seen out in public when it’s only serving that crooked label of yours.”

“They aren’t that crooked.” I tried to keep some semblance of respect intact for them.

Dex scoffed at the absurdity of it. Then he said, “You want to go on a date, heartbreaker, just ask.”

“Over the past week when you were practically ignoring me?”

“I needed to figure a few things out first.” He smirked like it was all done now, like it was that easy.

“You know you can’t just go dark when you’re trying to work through something. You’re supposed to share it with the people you’re in a relationship…” My voice faded as I realized what I was saying.

Dex didn’t back away from my statement though. Instead, he smiled at me. “Is that what we’re in now, Kee?”

“Whatever. You know what I mean.” I sighed and crossed my arms as I leaned on the counter to stare up at him. “And we don’t need to go on dates, but it helps our brand to—”

“You think I need to drive my brand up?” Now he chuckled.

“What?” I knew he thought my reasoning was silly and so I turned to rearrange the flowers again. “It always helps.”

“My brand drives itself at this point.” I heard him approach me from behind. Then he moved his mouth near my ear as his hands went to the sides of the counter to cage me in. I felt his length against me as he growled, “The only reason I need to take you on a date is so I can make up for the years I haven’t.”

“Wooing me all of a sudden, Dex?” I couldn’t help but antagonize him now that I had him there.

“Or I’m showing you what you’ve missed.” His mouth skimmed along my neck, and his teeth grazed my skin. “I’ve missed you too. I’ve been warring with myself over how to stop what I’m feeling, but I’m replaceing I can’t. I can’t have another man touch you. I can’t have his lips on you. I can’t even think about it. I want to kill Ezekiel, Kee. I just might.”

I glanced at the roses. “Enough men have tried to touch me over the years, Dex. It comes with the t—”

“They won’t again,” he ground out.

I shrugged. “For now. But we’ll be apart soon enough, and then someone else will try to woo me again or—”

He hummed. “Should I take you on a date to show all the men who’ve sent you flowers that I should be the only one doing so from now on?”

I turned to see his eyes locked on one of the notes that Ethan had left.

For my girl who’s shined bright with me for years. I know you’ll shine even brighter now.

“None of them wooed me, Dex.”

His hand left the counter to touch one of the flowers. “Do you like peonies, Kee?”

“I like all flowers…except roses.”

“Why?”

“Because Mitchell, Frankie, and Ezekiel send me roses every time. It also seems to be the one flower random men replace perfect for—”

He didn’t let me finish. He pushed away from me and rounded the counter as he started grabbing bouquets of roses from their vases. He threw some in the trash. Piles of them. And then he moved to the garbage disposal. He flicked on the switch, and then bouquet after bouquet went down it. When he was done, his phone rang, and he stared at his HEAT watch before silencing it. Then mine went off.

“It’s your record label,” he announced before I could look.

“I should answer,” I said quietly, but before I even took a step in the direction of my phone, he was around the counter and grabbed my hand.

“They’ll wait.” He pulled me toward the door.

“They won’t, Dex.” I wiggled my fingers in his. “Where are we going?”

“You didn’t finish the concert. You didn’t sing me my song. I get that before anything else.”

“Your song?”

“I’ve been alerted that the theater is cleared out.” He held up his wrist to show that his watch obviously gave him security updates. And then his hand grazed over my jaw. “You know, the song you rehearsed for me. I expected it.”

“It has to be perfect, Dex.”

“You’re going on that stage to sing to me tonight.” His hand fell to the strap of my dress. “In this dress.”

“Why?” I whispered, and then I couldn’t stop myself from licking my lips as his hand came up to my jaw and his finger rubbed against my bottom lip. The tip of my tongue brushed against his thumb, and I saw how his jaw worked up and down.

“Because I saw you changing up there on that stage tonight. I saw you changing into who you want to be, Kee. But I want the whole transformation. I want the woman from the girl. I want your whole fucking heart given to me on that stage tonight.”

He didn’t wait for confirmation. He pulled me through the doors and walked me through the resort, pointing out where more security measures were enforced. Every camera, every pathway, every nook and cranny of his resort was packed with security features that I couldn’t even begin to list off.

No one was stealing from a Black Casino and no one was taking advantage of the HEAT resort’s guests. It was clear to me then: Dex didn’t leave any stone unturned. He had complete and utter omniscient and omnipotent control when it came to his buildings.

When we got to the theater, he murmured, “Go to the stage, heartbreaker. I’ll set up the sound and lighting.”

He moved with purpose then to adjust the lighting so a soft glow dimly lit the expanse of the theater. He strode around the stage, still dressed in his suit, looking so in control. He had such quiet confidence as he meticulously checked positions of the lights so that they caressed the stage at just the right angle to accentuate my shadow.

Then, his fingers flew over the buttons I knew controlled the audio. He understood how to control every part of this theater. The man was a perfectionist when it came to managing what he owned, and I wondered if he would be the same with me.

He walked over after all the adjustments with the small mic that he himself slid over my ear and adjusted so the mouthpiece was just the right distance from my lips. “Breathe, Kee. And then say something.”

I didn’t know why I was holding my breath as he stood there in front of me. “This song is supposed to go to a violin.”

He shrugged. “You can sing to anything, heartbreaker. You and I both know that.”

Then he walked to the side stage where the tantric chair had been stored and lifted it to bring back to the center of the stage. I saw how his arms flexed, the muscles rippling under his suit. Yet, he didn’t sit there just yet. He circled me and murmured, “I want you to sing the whole song, Kee.”

And before I could answer, he knelt before me and slid a small case from his pocket. When he opened it up, he murmured, “You didn’t have one in tonight. You will now. Just for me.”

The metal he held was a vibrant red and I saw as he pressed a small button that this Ben Wa ball wasn’t like the last one. “Ready to teach me again? You think I’m worthy now?” I stared at the device, knowing it must be new because I’d thrown all the others away.

“You had to be ready, and I did too,” he said in a grave tone.

“Ready for what? It’s not like you haven’t done this with others,” I said to try and keep the conversation light, but Dex never seemed to allow that with us. He slid the device over my thigh roughly, making me gasp.

“Everything I do with you can’t be compared to others, Kee. You realize that, right? Even in your jealousy, you must know that you affect me like no woman can. I’m fucking addicted to even the sound you make when I touch you.”

“Don’t be ridiculou—” I gasped again as his hand traveled under my skirt and directly up to my clit where he held the device. I felt the vibration of it all the way down to my toes. The man didn’t even ask if he could go under my skirt. Yet, he knew he didn’t need to. I wanted him there and even stepped to the side a little to widen my stance as he rubbed the device back and forth, back and forth.

He didn’t look up at me, but I saw the smile playing on his lips. “Of course you didn’t wear anything underneath this dress.”

“I couldn’t have lines when I was on stage and—” He rolled it over my center and let it hover there. Immediately, I covered the mouthpiece and hissed, “Dex, I can’t sing with this in.”

“You can always sing, heartbreaker.” He slid it in me then, and I felt the shake of it through my whole body. “Don’t cover the mic. The theater is soundproof. You know that.”

He had my dress bunched to the side in his hand, and he yanked me forward before he pressed a few buttons on his phone. It was the time I was supposed to breathe out the words. It was the time for him to feel what I felt.

The theater filled with the notes of that last song. We had the instrumental audio for it, and Dex obviously knew exactly where to replace it.

“Sing for me, Keelani.” His voice was just above a whisper, the command almost wrapped in a plea as he leaned back in that velvet chair, pulling my body closer to him. He used my full name—what I now thought of as a stage name—and I wondered in that moment if I was a prop to him too. Did he want the entertainment of me just for tonight?

“You don’t call me Keelani, Dex,” I reminded him. I wanted the distinction.

He stared up at me, his eyes a vivid green as he tore through all the layers of me right there on that stage. “No. I don’t.” He didn’t drop the side of my dress but rather left me exposed as he draped the fabric over his forearm while his hand started to massage my thigh. He stared up at me as I missed the first few lines of the song. “Sing. For. Me. Kee.”

I shifted closer to him and saw the soft shadows of my body dance over his features. There was an intimacy to having him sit in that chair with me on the stage, even if it was in an empty theater. I felt the weight of who we were as I sang the song and the weight of who we would become.

Together.

We were bound together whether we wanted to be or not. Forever. The air shifted as I sang about our flowers in a field and how he’d broken my heart, but this time, he pulled me closer, his fingers drifting higher and higher toward my center, like he wanted to be a part of me.

The air shifted as I hit the bridge, and I gasped as he slid a finger softly into my pussy. He pushed against the ball, and it rolled farther into me, against walls I never knew could be touched. They were so sensitive, I whimpered instead of sang, my hands falling to his shoulders as his eyes stayed glued to his hand between my legs.

“Fuck, your pussy is so ready for me, Kee. Look how you drip for me when you sing. So wet. So pretty in your glittering heels.”

I moaned out a please rather than sang the next line.

“Sing. Or you don’t come, Kee. I want this song.”

The lyrics came out breathless and raw, the air around us now full of my sexual frustration. Every second there was a moment of silence in the song, I breathed out pleas.

He leaned forward and dragged his tongue up my thigh. The warmth of it against my cool skin had me gripping his hair, pulling his head as close as I could. I wanted him to taste me, wanted him to lap at me like he needed me the way I needed him. “You taste better every fucking time, heartbreaker. Is it that you feel the words you’re singing to me so deeply that your pussy feels it too?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t know.” I was shaking, my hands wringing the shoulders of his suit, my skin pebbled everywhere with goose bumps.

His tongue was on my clit, and he sucked it hard before he said, “Fucking sing. Show me you can handle it, Kee. I want to see you be what you want. Not a sweet girl but the damn firework you always were to me.”

He wanted me completely vulnerable, completely me, completely unhinged.

I growled as I lifted my leg and wrapped it around his shoulder. His hands went to my backside and pulled my pussy so close that the scruff from his five-o’clock shadow would leave marks the next day. I rode his face as he growled a muffled, “Yes,” and pulled me onto his shoulders, yanking my other leg up around him too. He balanced me on him as he leaned back in the chair. The tantric chair had two large curves to it. One side he leaned against as his tongue tasted me but then he growled and slammed me down onto the other side of the chair. My body arched against the curved seat, the supple velvet fabric against my back.

Somehow, being close to him, feeling his hard chest against me while the soft fabric caressed me, grounded me. This was me with him, me in my element, me coming into my own. I was able to sing one more line before his hand slipped between us to reach inside me again. This time, though, he maneuvered the ball in me so he could touch the button again.

I cried out the lyrics as his tongue swirled around and around my swollen center. He slid another finger inside me and worked the Ben Wa ball back and forth, round and round. Everything faded away in that theater except him between my legs. Everything I knew or thought I knew transcended into something more.

It all surrounded him. My pain, my pleasure, my love, my every emotion flew through me as I cried out the words until I couldn’t anymore. Until all that could be heard on the mic was my breathing, my gasping. “Oh God, please, Dex. Please.”

“Say what you want, Kee. Tell me.”

His thumb pushed on my clit, and I shook my head as I buried it in his neck. “It’s too much, Dex.”

“Say it. Into the microphone. Say what you need, Keelani.”

I was on stage, riding his face, my legs spread wide on a chair I performed for the public on. Gone was the good girl. Gone was the persona. I lay there, bare for him. “I want to orgasm. Please. Make me come, Dex. Make me—”

I didn’t finish what I wanted. He finally took pity on me and curled his fingers into just the right spot before he finger-fucked my pussy so hard it almost felt like his cock in me. So good. So fast. So rough. I found my body liked it that way, like he was so hungry for me he couldn’t go slow.

The song had ended, the final notes faded into the ether, mingling with my rapid breathing. Other than that, there was silence mixed with a slew of emotions as I came down from my high. Tears were in my eyes as I gazed at him, his tongue still lapping at me like he wanted every last drop around my pussy. He didn’t pull his fingers from me either, just slowed his rhythm, like he still wanted me to ride out my aftershocks.

My body started to relax, but my heart didn’t. I wasn’t singing anymore, but a new song, an ode to him, now flowed through my veins. My breathing synchronized with his, a rapid rhythm that tied me to his presence, tied me to who I was with him, who we wanted to be.

The theater behind him was soft reds with the chandeliers shining and sparkling, reminding me this stage was mine for months. He was mine. But that was only for months too. And the thought had me pulling back. “Thank you. That was—”

“Just the beginning, Kee.” He didn’t let me move away. Instead, I felt him maneuver the ball inside me and the vibration started to pulse.

“Dex.” My voice rose, trembling with an urgency to stop or keep going. I couldn’t decide which. “We shouldn’t, and I can’t—”

“You wanted me to teach you, right, heartbreaker?” His hand moved in me while his other slid the strap of my dress down.

We both watched as the fabric fell over my breast and then I glanced up at him. “You all of a sudden think I’m ready? After so many days of thinking I wasn’t?”

He swiftly drew me against him then, away from the chair and resettled my legs over his to straddle him. I felt how hard his cock was against his trousers. My body rocked immediately over him like my pussy was already trained to want him in me always. “You think it’s only been about me wondering if you’re ready? What about me? You think I can so easily control what I feel for you?”

“Haven’t you always?”

He leaned close and licked my ear. “You want me to fuck you with that ball inside you on this stage, Kee? See how much I control what I feel then? And maybe we’ll see what you can really take too.”

My hips had a mind of their own and had completely fallen victim to being a slut for him, because they rocked back and forth, grinding hard into him at his words. My mind was smarter though. “You’re too big for me already. I can’t fit both.”

“You fit what I say you fit, heartbreaker. I’m the one who knows this pussy. I’m the one who took its innocence and made it mine. Remember that when I ask you again. You want me to fuck you now, Kee? Stretch you to fit?”

His hand was at my clit now, massaging it back and forth while his other hand was on my nipple, rolling it at the same pace, pebbling it just right so I felt the pleasure and the pain. My adrenaline didn’t know which way to go as I begged him, “Just do it all to me, Dex. I want it all. I want it, please.”

“Show me you’re ready, heartbreaker. I’ll fuck that pretty pussy if you show me how much you want it.”