Consume Read online

  Consume

  a Civil Corruption novel

  Jessica Prince

  Copyright © 2018 by Jessica Prince

  www.authorjessicaprince.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Discover Other Books by Jessica

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue

  Ravage Excerpt

  Discover Other Books by Jessica

  About the Author

  Discover Other Books by Jessica

  THE PICKING UP THE PIECES SERIES:

  Picking up the Pieces

  Rising from the Ashes

  Pushing the Boundaries

  Worth the Wait

  THE COLORS NOVELS:

  Scattered Colors

  Shrinking Violet

  Love Hate Relationship

  Wildflower

  THE LOCKLAINE BOYS (a LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP spinoff):

  Fire & Ice

  Opposites Attract

  Almost Perfect

  THE PEMBROOKE SERIES (a WILDFLOWER spinoff):

  Sweet Sunshine

  Coming Full Circle

  A Broken Soul

  CIVIL CORRUPTION SERIES

  Corrupt

  Defile

  Consume

  GIRL TALK SERIES:

  Seducing Lola

  Tempting Sophia

  Enticing Daphne

  Charming Fiona

  STANDALONE TITLES:

  Chance Encounters

  Nightmares from Within

  DEADLY LOVE SERIES:

  Destructive

  Addictive

  Chapter One

  Gina

  Then

  I was so nervous.

  God, why was I so nervous? It wasn’t like I didn’t know these guys. Thanks to Gwen, I’d been around the band members of Civil Corruption enough to feel comfortable. And for the most part I was—at least with some of them.

  But I never could seem to find my bearings around Killian Everett. I was a grown woman who morphed into a stuttering, fumbling disaster whenever he was around. It was the most ridiculous crush in the history of ever. He was a rich rock star, for crying out loud, and I was just a chick who made coffee for a living and barely had two nickels to rub together.

  Luckily, this was a wedding reception for my friend Gwen and her new husband, Garrett, so the champagne was flowing freely, providing me with the liquid courage I needed to make it through the night.

  Offering the bartender a tiny smile, I held up my empty champagne flute and asked, “One more?”

  I’d been fine up until a few minutes ago when my friend—and buffer—Tatum took off with the band’s lead singer, Declan Forrester, to parts unknown, leaving me all alone in a sea of unfamiliar faces. Everyone was friendly enough, but I couldn’t help but feel like an outsider. Most everybody here worked with the band in one manner or another, or were already close, personal friends. The only one I knew closely aside from Tatum was Gwen, and she was currently too busy slow dancing with—and mooning over—her famous drummer hubby to notice anything around her. Not that I blamed her. Her husband looked like a sexy Viking marauder. There wasn’t a woman on the planet who wouldn’t moon, myself included.

  I scanned the room, looking for someone, anyone, to talk to so I wasn’t that pathetic girl standing by herself in a dark corner. Tatum was still gone and Corrine, another woman I was acquainted with, was currently making out with her man Ian, who just so happened to be the huge, beefy head of security for Civil Corruption. I was on my own. Something I was all too familiar with, unfortunately.

  Pulling my phone out of the tiny purse hanging from my wrist, I scrolled through my contacts as I made my way from the room and began wandering down the halls of Gwen and Garrett’s enormous mansion. I would never admit it to her or anyone else, but I currently suffering from a major case of house envy. Then again, anything was better than my shitty little studio apartment. And sadly, I could barely even afford that.

  Wandering aimlessly, I tapped at the screen until I came to the number I wanted. I hit the base of a huge, curved staircase and started up as the loud trill of the phone ringing in my ear held my attention captive.

  “Whispering Pines Nursing Home. How may I help you?”

  I recognized the voice on the other end instantly. “Hi, Lucille. It’s Gina.”

  “Gina! Hey, girl, how’s it going?”

  At the second-story landing, I had two choices. I could go right, down the hallway, or go left, up another set of steps to the third level. My feet moved of their own accord, going left and upward slowly as I spoke. “It’s going. How’s she doing tonight?”

  “She’s doing all right. Sleeping,” Lucille answered hesitantly. “No worse.”

  “But no better,” I added, already knowing the drill. It was pointless to hope, but even after all this time I couldn’t help it.

  “No change is better than negative change, sweetheart.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured, looking at the roughly hewn hardwood floors beneath my feet. “You say that every time.” I made sure to smile as I spoke, hoping she’d hear that in my voice over the disappointment.

  “Yeah, well, if it’s true, it’s worth repeating.” Yet another mantra Lucille was fond of using. “What are you doing calling so late? Aren’t you supposed to be at a wedding or something tonight?”

  “Yeah. I’m here now. I just wanted to do a quick check-in is all. Did she at least have a good day?” I reached the third level and lifted my head to take a glance around. I was standing in the middle of a giant open area with another hallway farther off to the right. It was like another living room up here, only this one had deeply vaulted ceilings, and a set of French doors straight ahead of me that led to a long, wide balcony that overlooked the lake.

  It was picturesque and calm, the balmy temperature making it comfortable enough to be outside in the fancy little dress and strappy heels I’d borrowed from Corrine for the reception.

  “Yes,” Lucille said. “She had a good day. I think it was peaceful.”

  That allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay, well thanks, Lucille. I’ll let you go. Have a good night, and I’ll see you soon.”

  “See you soon, honey. And try to enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”

  I hung up the phone and stuffed it into my little wristlet before dropping my head on a loud exhale. “Thank God,” I whispered into the light breeze.

  “You up here prayin’?”

  I let out a startled shriek and spun around quickly. “Crap, Killian. You scared the hell out of me,” I breathed, placing my palm over my racing heart.

  He chuckled and leaned a broad shoulder ag
ainst the doorframe. “Gotta say, Thumbelina, didn’t take you as the type.”

  My forehead creased deeply as I cocked my head to the side. “The type? To pray?”

  “Yeah.” He gave a careless shrug and pushed off the frame, taking a few steps toward me, just enough to send my heart into fits.

  “Well… I guess I’m not.” I was suddenly extremely aware of our close proximity, and the fact that we were very much alone. “At least not typically.”

  “Only when there’s really something to be thankful for, then?”

  The goose bumps along my skin weren’t from the nippy air but from the nervous energy and spike of adrenaline that came with being in Killian Everett’s presence. “Yeah,” I muttered, looking down at the ground. “I guess you could say that.”

  He took another step closer. “You wanna talk about it, Thumbelina?”

  “Not really,” I answered with a brisk shake of my head, then asked, “Thumbelina?”

  One corner of Killian’s mouth quirked up in a little smirk. “Well, you’re not exactly big. What are you, like five feet? Five foot one?”

  My anxiousness suddenly gave way to a hint of indignation. “Five-two, thank you very much,” I snapped, slapping my hands onto my hips. “That’s not tiny. That’s totally normal. You’re just… abnormally, uh, large.” Embarrassment at what I just said, and how it could be construed, set my cheeks on fire.

  A low, raspy sound of amusement worked its way from Killian’s throat. “Abnormally large? Sweetness, you got no fuckin’ idea.”

  “I… no… that wasn’t… I didn’t mean it like that!” I sputtered, humiliation coursing through my bloodstream. Why? Why couldn’t I stop making a fool of myself in front of this guy?

  “Relax,” he said with a smirk, obviously finding me entertaining. At least one of us did. “I was just teasin’ you. No need to get all flustered.”

  That was easy for him to say—he was the sexy, rich, famous one. I was the poor barista who’d barely made it out of high school with a diploma in hand.

  Twisting my fingers in front of me, I looked down at them and whispered, “Don’t make fun of me.”

  “Sweetness.” The humor was gone from his voice. That one word was spoken with soft sincerity as his rough, callused fingers pressed beneath my chin and lifted my face. “I was just playing around, promise. I wasn’t making fun of you.”

  My cheeks warmed about thirty degrees hotter than the rest of my body. “Felt like it to me,” I continued in a small, meek voice as I tried to force my gaze anywhere but at him.

  “You’re just too much fun to tease, Thumbelina. Every time I talk to you, your face and neck get all… hot and red.” His thumb scraped slowly along my cheekbone, his eyes shooting down to my lips. “I noticed you don’t get this outta sorts with the other guys. Only me. Why do you think that is?”

  “I-I, um, don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The corner of his mouth trembled like he was fighting back a smile or laugh. “That so? Then why does your soft skin feel like it’s on fire, sweetness?”

  God, he was so damn close. And he smelled so damn good, like whiskey and spicy, citrusy cologne. “I’m just…” Just what? my brain screamed. For the love of all that’s holy, think of words, Gina! “… hot-blooded.” Sweet, merciful mother of pearl! Had I really just said that?

  “That you are,” he mumbled in a low, husky voice. “That you certainly fuckin’ are.”

  My mouth went dry as a desert. Trying to swallow was like trying to force a wad of cotton down my throat. “Wha—uh, what’s happening here?”

  He took another step, coming so close everything about him overwhelmed my senses. “If you don’t know, I’m really off my game. And I’m never off my game.”

  After doing a crazy impression of a goldfish, I somehow managed to pick my jaw up off the floor long enough to ask, “Are you hitting on me?”

  With his next step, his shoes bumped into the toes of my heels, forcing me to move backward until the balcony railing dug into my behind. Killian placed his hands on either side of my hips and leaned in closer. “You can play coy all you want, but you can’t fool me. You know that’s exactly what I’m doing. And I know you want me just as bad as I want you. It’s written in red all over your cheeks. There’s a damn good reason why I’m the only one of the guys you can’t manage a full sentence around.” My heart threatened to beat through my chest, and I was pretty sure my panties were about to spontaneously combust.

  “What do you say we have a little fun tonight, huh? Something tells me you need it,” he whispered before the tip of his tongue peeked out and teased the skin behind my ear. “I’ve been dying to see what you wear under that little barista getup for months.”

  “Y-you have?” I asked, my eyes nearly bugging out of my skull.

  “Fuck yeah.” It came out in an almost aggressive growl as he closed the last few inches of distance between us, pushing his body flush against mine. A surprised gasp passed my lips at the feel of his thick, steely erection pressing against my belly before quickly turning into a moan when he bent his knees so his cock could brush at the apex of my thighs.

  What do you say we have a little fun tonight?

  His question kept replaying in my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I had fun. My life was all about responsibility and stress and constant worry.

  It had been so long since I had a bit of fun without feeling guilty for it that I barely remembered what it felt like. His proposition suddenly held more appeal than it should. Killian Everett was all kinds of wrong for me. He was a player, the very definition of a man whore.

  But I desperately wanted a little fun. I wanted to forget my shitty luck, and how life had a tendency to kick me even though I was already down. And I couldn’t help but think that maybe Killian was just the man to give me that.

  Chapter Two

  Gina

  “Oh. My. God!” I moaned loudly as my back arched off the mattress. My eyes were screwed closed as the intense pressure in my core continued to build and twist into something I’d never experienced. I reached down, tangling my fingers in his hair and pulling hard as the waves of pleasure grew to an almost overwhelming point. “God, Killian. So good.”

  Arousal flooded between my thighs, and he lapped it up with his tongue as he continued to eat me like I was the most delicious gourmet meal he’d ever had. My hips drove upward as I clutched his hair, riding his face with everything I had while I held him as close to my throbbing pussy as possible. “Yeah,” I panted as I fucked his tongue and fingers. “Fuck, Kill, yes. Just like that.”

  “Fuckin’ Christ, you’re wild,” he growled. I was in such a fog, so lost to what was happening inside me, that I almost missed the raw approval in his voice. “And so goddamn sweet.”

  His words sent me spiraling deeper, the tension in my belly coiling even tighter. “I’m close. Shit, Kill. I’m gonna—”

  My words cut off with a strangled cry when Killian lifted his head and stopped thrusting his fingers in and out of my drenched opening. “Don’t you dare come yet,” he said so roughly, so commanding, that a shiver worked its way up my spine.

  He went back to working me like I was an instrument in need of tuning, turning me inside out, and my orgasm continued to build and build. “Killian, please,” I begged as my hips writhed harder against his face. “I need it.”

  “I know what you need, sweetness. But you don’t come without my permission.”

  Damn, that was hot. So unbelievably hot. And it did nothing to lessen the sparks igniting in my core. The fire was burning bright and fierce, and every word he spoke was gasoline on those flames.

  His fingers crooked, finding that one spot that no other man had ever found, and I nearly detonated, clamping my teeth down on my bottom lip as I struggled to keep from coming. I wasn’t sure why I was so desperate to follow Killian’s barbaric order, but something in the back of my mind told me it would be so worth it in the long run.

  �
��You close, sweetness?” he asked in a teasing, mocking tone. He knew damn good and well I was. I was so primed, so wet and swollen, that he couldn’t possibly miss it.

  “Yes,” I whispered, squeezing my eyes closed against his almost brutal onslaught. Those fingers tunneled in and out, rubbing against my G-spot with every plunge and retreat.

  He hummed appreciatively as he flicked his tongue against my clit. “Such a good girl, Gina. You’re listenin’ so well.”

  He was a freaking sadist. I hated him. But at the same time, I never wanted him to stop. I’d never had someone hold me this close to the edge before and refuse to let me dive over. I was teetering at the precipice, but something in my brain wouldn’t let me disobey.

  “You want to come, Thumbelina?” Killian cooed, lapping at my wet folds tenderly. “You need me to give it to you?”

  “Please,” I cried in euphoric agony. “God, please, Killian. Please.”

  He moved then, sliding across the bed toward the nightstand. The second the cold air hit my sensitive, tortured flesh my whole body broke out in goose bumps.

  The familiar crinkling sound of a condom wrapper being torn open ricocheted through the air like a shotgun blast, and my body cried out in relief. I peeled my eyes opened and turned my head, licking my lips eagerly at the sight of Kill’s enormous erection hanging heavy between his muscular thighs. The head shimmered with droplets of precum, the skin stretched so tight it glistened under the bedroom lights. His balls were drawn up, and I knew he was just as desperate as I was, only he was much better at being patient. His cock was huge and thick and clearly ready to explode, and I wanted nothing more than to feel it stretching me open.