Chapter 55: Lexi Couldn’t Wait
Rick let the bloody steel pipe fall onto the concrete and took Lexi’s wrist. Not hard. Just firm enough that she followed without thinking.
They walked out of the alley and back toward the street where her Porsche was parked. Rick held out his hand. Lexi dropped the keys into it without a word. He opened the passenger door for her, then slid behind the wheel and pulled into traffic like the last ten minutes had been a mild inconvenience.
Lexi sat rigid in the seat, eyes fixed on his hands on the steering wheel. There was still a faint smear of someone else’s blood near one knuckle. Every time he shifted gears her thighs pressed tighter together under the yellow sundress. The fabric between her legs was already damp. She could feel it. She hated that she could feel it. She also could not stop shifting in the seat.
Halfway back to the Peninsula she reached across the console and rested her palm on his thigh.
Rick kept his eyes on the road.
"Careful, Judge," he said lightly. "You’re still shaking."
"I’m fine."
"You’re soaked. I can tell from here."
Lexi’s face went hot. She didn’t move her hand.
Rick parked in the VIP garage, killed the engine, and got out. Lexi scrambled after him. The private elevator doors opened the moment he tapped the black card. They stepped inside. The moment the doors sealed, the quiet became unbearable.
Lexi turned toward him, rose on her toes, and tried to close the distance.
Rick caught her by the waist instead of the throat, turned her, and pressed her back to the mirrored wall. His hands stayed on her hips. His mouth hovered near her ear.
"Not yet," he murmured. "You spent the whole ride staring at my hands like you wanted them somewhere else. Say it properly."
Lexi’s breath hitched.
"I want you."
"Louder."
"I want you to fuck me," she said, voice cracking. "I’ve wanted it since the kitchen. Since the fitting room. Since the alley. Please."
Rick’s smile was pure mischief.
"Good girl."
The elevator chimed. The doors opened onto the penthouse.
Rick walked her out by the hand, past the living room, straight to the long glass dining table that looked out over the city. He turned her, guided her forward until her palms met the cool surface, and slowly pushed the yellow sundress up over her hips.
"Rick—"
"Stay like that."
He hooked his fingers in the black lace and dragged it down her legs. The fabric was soaked through. He left it around one ankle and ran both palms up the backs of her thighs, spreading her just enough to look.
"Fuck," he said, almost impressed. "You really did get off on watching me break those guys."
Lexi made a broken sound and pushed back toward him.
Rick unzipped, freed himself, and rubbed the head of his cock along her slit without pushing in. Lexi’s arms trembled.
"Stop teasing—"
"I’m not teasing. I’m deciding how hard I want to ruin this table."
He pushed into her in one long, deep stroke.
Lexi’s head dropped forward. A raw, startled cry tore out of her throat as her body stretched around him.
"Ah—! Oh my god— Rick—"
He held still for a second, buried to the hilt, both hands gripping her hips.
"You feel that?" he asked, voice low and rough. "That’s what you were dripping for in the car."
"Yes— move— please move—"
He pulled almost all the way out and snapped his hips forward. The wet slap of skin echoed through the penthouse. Lexi’s moan cracked in the middle. Rick set a steady, powerful rhythm, each thrust rocking her against the glass.
"Talk to me," he said between strokes. "I want to hear the famous critic when she’s full."
"It feels— ah— so fucking deep—" Lexi’s fingers scrambled on the glass. "Harder— don’t you dare slow down—"
Rick laughed under his breath and gave her exactly that. The table creaked. Lexi’s breasts dragged against the surface with every impact. She pushed back to meet him, greedy, shameless.
"You like this position?" he asked, one hand sliding up her spine to fist loosely in her blonde hair. He didn’t yank. He just held. "Bent over my table like you showed up for private service?"
"Yes— fuck— yes I like it—"
"Then take it properly."
He drove into her harder. Lexi cried out, loud and open, past caring who might hear through the thick penthouse walls. Her inner walls fluttered around him every time he bottomed out.
"Rick— I’m close— I’m so close—"
"Already?" He sounded delighted. "We just started."
"Shut up and make me come—"
He reached around and rubbed tight circles over her clit while he fucked her. Lexi’s whole body locked. A second later she came with a broken scream, legs shaking, soaking his cock and the edge of the table. Rick fucked her through it without slowing, drawing the orgasm out until she was whimpering and twitching.
He pulled out before he finished, turned her around, and lifted her onto the table so she sat facing him. Lexi’s arms went around his neck immediately. He pushed back inside her while she was still sensitive and swallowed the next moan with his mouth against her throat.
"Look at me," he said.
Lexi forced her eyes open. They were glassy, wrecked, hungry.
Rick rolled his hips slow and deep, watching every expression cross her face.
"You going to review this later?" he teased. "Five stars for depth? Four for presentation?"
Lexi let out a breathless, half-mad laugh that turned into another moan when he thrust harder.
"Zero stars for talking during—"
He cut her off with a sharper snap of his hips. Lexi’s head fell back.
"Fuck— okay— five stars— just don’t stop—"
Rick hooked her knees higher and drove into her until the glass table protested under them. Lexi’s second orgasm hit harder than the first. She clamped down around him, nails digging into his shoulders through the expensive suit jacket he still hadn’t fully removed, and came with his name broken on her tongue.
Rick followed a few strokes later with a low groan, buried deep, filling her while she clung to him and shook.
For a long moment the only sounds in the penthouse were their breathing and the distant city far below the windows.
Rick rested his forehead against hers, still inside her, and gave a tired, thoroughly satisfied smile.
"Still coherent enough to talk," he murmured. "Impressive."
Lexi made a weak, ruined sound and dropped her forehead onto his shoulder.
---
Morning light cut across the penthouse kitchen.
Rick stood barefoot at the island in sweatpants, the two-hundred-thousand-dollar Patek gleaming on his wrist while he moved through breakfast like the watch actually was a kitchen timer. Truffled scrambled eggs. Seared bacon. The smell alone was unfair.
Lexi appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but one of his black button-downs. She limped slightly. Her blonde hair was a disaster. She looked thoroughly used and entirely unbothered by it.
She sat at the island. Rick pushed the plate toward her.
"Eat."
Lexi didn’t argue. She took a bite.
The second the eggs hit her tongue, Culinary Mastery’s passive effect rolled through her system like warm honey and lightning at the same time. Her eyes fluttered. The fork clattered onto the marble.
"Oh my god—"
She slid off the stool, still chewing, and ended up on her knees at the edge of the island, forehead briefly pressed against Rick’s thigh like her body had forgotten how dignity worked.
"Everything you make is criminal," she mumbled against the fabric. "I hate how good this is. I hate how much I want more."
Rick looked down at her, coffee in one hand, and ran his fingers once through her messy hair.
"Careful, Judge. You’re starting to sound loyal."
Lexi didn’t get up. She just stayed there, warm and wrecked and already reaching for another bite of the eggs like the system had quietly rewritten her priorities overnight.
A chime sounded in Rick’s head.
Ding!
[Quest Chain Completed: The Chef’s Presentation]
[Objective: Executive presentation acquired. High-tier timepiece acquired. Lead judge secured.]
[Rewards: +5,000 Mischief Points]
[Chef Proficiency: 35%]
[Hidden Milestone Reached]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Absolute Taste]
[Description: Instantly identify every ingredient, chemical, or contaminant in any dish by smell alone. Sabotage becomes visible.]
[Item Acquired: VIP Invitation — International Culinary Summit]
[Time Remaining: 7 Days]
A heavy gold-embossed ticket materialized in Rick’s palm.
He looked at it, then at Lexi still kneeling against his leg with egg on her lip and his shirt slipping off one shoulder, then out at the city.
Seven days.
The watch on his wrist ticked quietly, expensive and ridiculous and perfect.
Rick smiled, small and sharp, and took another sip of coffee.
"Seven days," he said to no one in particular. "Try not to overcook anything before then."
Lexi made a soft, affirmative sound against his thigh and stole another piece of bacon from the plate without standing up.
The summit was coming.
Rick was ready.