by Lynn Burke
“The fuck he is,” I replied with a bored tone, mere inches from his face.
“He’s too powerful -- too many contacts. He’ll get what he was hired to do.”
I slammed my fist into his stomach, and he sagged in the chains, groaning. The sour stench of sweat and fear smothered the shed, feeding my rage like a Goddamn bloodthirsty bull.
“Where can I find Shawshank?” I asked.
“Fuck you.” He spit again.
I glanced at Bowie on my right and stepped back. Knife glinting in the dangling light bulb above our captive, Bowie moved in.
“What’ll it be this time, asshole?’ Bowie asked, slicing the tip of his knife across the man’s chest, blood welling in its wake.
The man kept quiet.
“A nipple?” Bowie grasped the man’s right nipple and pulled it taut. One flick of his other wrist sliced his blade clear through the bit of flesh.
A scream ripped from our captive, and Bowie tossed the circle of skin aside.
“Where?” I asked again once the man quieted.
“Fuck. You.” He gasped the words, the chain rattling over his head.
“Stupid fuck,” Drac said from behind me, his hands free of bruised knuckles as usual.
Without a word, Bowie rid the man of his other nipple.
His scream brought a smile to my face. The fucker thought he could come after my woman -- mess up her shit. “Gonna talk now?” I asked, my arms crossed to keep from pummeling his throat hard enough he wouldn’t breathe again or give me the information I needed.
He gasped and coughed, a groan following. “Shaw…”
“Yes?” I pushed when he didn’t elaborate.
“Goddamn,” the man groaned.
“Bowie,” I said, “cut off his balls.”
“No! God, no!” He jerked in his restrains, trying to back away as Bowie grabbed his belt. “Fuck! I’ll talk. I’ll fucking talk!”
Bowie shot a glance over his shoulder, and I nodded him to the side.
“Talk, motherfucker,” I growled, getting up in the bastard’s face.
“Shawshank.” He heaved for breath. “He’s a hit man -- ex Army ranger or some shit.” A few coughs racked his body, and I grinned, knowing his cracked ribs had to hurt like hell.
“I do his dirty work,” he said. “Messing people up. I -- I wasn’t going to hurt her, though,” he said, tipping his head as though trying to peer at me through his swollen eyes. “He just sent me to get the bracelet.”
Bracelet. My eyebrows shot up. “If you weren’t sent to hurt her, who planned on fulfilling the contract?”
“I don’t know shit about a contract.” He hacked up some blood and spit it out. “Shaw doesn’t tell me that shit. Just told me to get the bracelet.”
“Where can I find him?”
My captive’s head dipped to his chest, a shudder shaking him in his chains. “He’s got a safe house up near Harper’s Ferry,” he muttered, disgust for himself filling his low tone.
“Gotta give me more than that,” I said.
“That’s all I know -- I swear to fucking Christ!”
I turned toward the door, tipping my head to tell Drac to get out of my way. “Finish it,” I told Bowie without sparing our captive a glance.
“No! Please, no --”
A gasp then a gurgle released the man’s final breath, but I didn’t turn. Bowie and Drac would put his knives to good use, and Comet would take care of the mess like he always did.
I took the back stairs and found my apartment empty, a box of Pop Tarts and empty bottle of wine with two glasses on the table.
Scowling, I called Comet.
“Yeah?” he barked.
“Cadence and Angel down there?”
“Yeah.”
I hung up, stripped, and hopped into the shower to rid myself of the splattered blood Cadence didn’t need to see.
* * *
Cadence
Comet hooked us up with some burgers for dinner, and Hannah and I chowed down, our heads together while continuing to catch up.
I’d already shared about the size of Austin’s cock -- and that the man knew how to use it -- and she refused to acknowledge my hesitation in giving in to what was going on between us. The look he’d given me while I’d lounged in the tub told me all I needed to know -- Austin had fallen hard and fast for me. He wanted more than a mere fuck buddy.
Hannah giggled, pouring our glasses full with the last of the wine in the bottle between us. “Bet you a hundred he declares his love before the end of the week.”
I expected my best friend was right, but I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel about that fact. “He won’t be the first to say that, and giving in and going for it in the past hasn’t turned out all that well for me, as you well know.”
She snorted and drank down some wine.
I slid my bracelet around my wrist, remembering when I’d found it in the senator’s tux pocket. He’d seemed a bit out of sorts that night, having come from some big fundraiser, but my squeal and delight in what he’d bought for me had made him smile the rare smile that made him the laid-back, sweet man I thought I’d been falling for.
He’d told me he loved me that night.
Now he wants to kill me.
Tears clogged my throat.
“He’s a self-proclaimed bachelor,” Hannah said, drawing me back, “but Bowie said that Gunner said that he’s gone on you.”
“He’s also the type that would break my heart,” I muttered, grabbing my wine and thinking about how his lifestyle would never afford me the ticket I wanted.
“Bowie was much the same,” Hannah murmured, her words slurred through smiling lips.
The door leading upstairs yanked inward, and Austin filled the doorway.
My heart skipped a beat and took to beating erratically a second later.
Wet hair was plastered to his head, a few droplets of water still clung to his beard. The man showered more than anyone I knew, but I wasn’t about to complain. The scent of his soap washed over me as he sat on the stool beside me, his blue-green eyes boring into mine, his face an unreadable mask.
“You okay?” I asked, breathy as hell.
“I am now.” He turned and motioned the pledge over. “Whiskey.”
Two shots went down the hatch before the tension in his shoulders eased.
“Where’s Bowie?” Hannah asked from my other side.
I’d been so caught up in Austin and his presence tingling over my skin that I’d forgotten about my best friend. Three glasses of wine helped with forgetfulness, but I felt like an ass all the same.
“Taking care of business,” Austin said, pouring a third shot.
Bruises and fresh blood welled from his knuckles.
“What the hell?” I grabbed his hand, and jerked my focus to his face as I realized what he’d been doing. I swallowed. “Who?”
“Not the Goddamn senator, unfortunately,” he said, grumbling a few curses before tossing back his drink.
Bowie came through the doorway leading upstairs, and although he, too, had showered and changed, blood smeared his boots. “Angel!”
Hannah hopped off her stool. “See you later, Cadence,” she said, giving me a quick hug.
I nodded, still clinging to Austin’s wrist, my gaze gluing back on his profile as he stared at the back of the wall behind the bar. “Let’s go upstairs,” I murmured, sliding off my stool land tugging his hand. “Let me take care of your hand.”
He didn’t verbalize an agreement, but stood, threading his fingers through mine. Rather than hit the stairs, he moved behind the bar and into the kitchen beyond. “Comet.”
The dark-haired man at the grill glanced over his shoulder, a spatula in hand. “Yeah?”
“I need you to clean up the shed.”
Comet nodded and turned back to his task.
“Got a first aid kit?” Austin asked.
“Behind the bar -- to the left of the sink,” Comet replied without turning.
I followed on Austin’s heels, and once he had the kit in hand, we headed toward the staircase. He motioned me ahead, and my ass tingled from his stare.
He’d obviously blown off some major steam in beating someone bloody, and my body zinged at the thought that he might need to blow off some other type of steam. My pussy warmed dampening my panties.
My ass was sore as hell from him taking me there, but I would gladly offer my pussy -- or my mouth if he preferred.
“Sit.” I told him, pointing to a kitchen chair.
He sat without a word, and I knelt in front of his spread thighs, plopping the first aid kit on the floor beside me.
“Hand,” I said, holding mine out. I tended to his knuckles, and he didn’t so much as hiss or flinch at the alcohol I used to clean him since the bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the kit was empty. I also applied a bit of ointment, but didn’t bother with bandages since they didn’t have any that would fit over his knuckles.
“Not much more I can do,” I said, tossing the ointment back in the kit. I lifted my focus to his face.
Heat simmered in his eyes, sending flames racing over my skin, heating me clear through.
“Come here.” He grasped my upper arms and tugged me between his thighs, lowering his head to capture my mouth.
I sighed against his lips, at the brush of his soft whiskers along my mouth, at the wet heat of his tongue as he slid inside. Pressing closer wasn’t good enough -- I needed more. While he ate at my mouth, his hands tangling in my hair, I worked his jeans open, freeing his hard cock.
He groaned as I clasped both of my hands around him, one atop the other.
“Let me,” I whispered against his lips, and he sat back, guiding my head down to his leaking cock.
I licked across his slit, the salty taste of him flooding my mouth with drool. Closing my mouth over the head had me stretching my jaw wide, and I gripped his base while sinking down as low as I could.
A few inches of hard cock remained between my lips and my fist around his base when he bottomed out against the back of my throat. Giving head, however, was something I’d learned how to do -- had plenty of fucking practice -- and I put it to good use, relaxing my throat and taking him deeper, until I released my hand and buried my nose in his groin.
“Christ.” He pulled my hair and yanked me upward, but shoved me back down before I dragged in a full breath through my lungs. “Fuck, baby.” He groaned as I laved my tongue up the vein along the back of his cock when he lifted my head again. “Goddamn, woman. You’re taking it all -- fuck.”
My face buried against him, my mouth and throat stuffed full of cock, I found myself smiling.
“No one --” He gasped as I scraped my teeth gently along his length. “No one has taken it all.” He thrust his hips upward, and I swallowed every damn inch, his rumbling chest and moans soaking my panties.
I snaked a hand between my thighs, rubbing over my jeans while he fucked my mouth.
“Need to come, baby?” He slammed my mouth back down onto him.
“Mmm,” I managed to agree around his girth.
“Fuck.” He yanked me up and off him, and I stood on shaky legs, my lips tingling and swollen as he ripped at my jeans. “Need to be inside you. Now.”
I whimpered my agreement while toeing off one sneaker.
“Taking you bare, baby. That okay?”
“Yes.”
I kicked off a shoe and managed to step out of one leg while grasping his shoulders, and he pulled me atop him, shoved my panties to the side, and slammed me down onto his cock.
Stars exploded behind my clenched eyelids, and I gasped at the sudden intrusion. Even soaked and ready for him, the stretch, the fullness of him deep inside me caught my breath -- as did the silkiness of pure skin inside me, something I’d never felt before.
“Fuck.” I groaned and swiveled my hips against him as he clasped his arms around me, holding me in a vise grip.
He groaned into my neck, his whiskers soft and tickling. “You feel so fucking good wrapped around my cock like this, baby. So fucking good.”
I whimpered, needing him to move -- needing him to send me over the edge.
“Never had someone like this.”
“Me neither --” I gasped again and dug my fingernails into his shoulders as he lifted and slammed me back down. “Fuck,” I groaned, tilting my head back, lost in a swarm of feels and flooding emotions.
He set a punishing pace, fucking me down onto his length over and over, until he turned frantic, his grunts the most beautiful music I’d ever heard. “Need you to come all over my dick,” he said, fisting his hands once more in my hair, and yanking my head back. He closed his lips over my neck and sucked, the sting, the assurance he left him mark on me sending a rush of wetness over his cock.
I ground against him, chasing my climax, whimpering and pleading for him to send me over.
He stood without warning, and I clung to him as he laid me down on the kitchen table, thrusting with abandon.
I dug my heels into his ass, one foot bare, the other still encased within a sneaker -- my jeans caught up beneath my ass. “Harder,” I managed to gasp against his mouth.
With a growl, he stood, his grip on my thighs bruising as he slammed into me, his passion-hazed gaze ensnaring me. “I’ll fucking give it to you -- give it all to you, Cadence.”
I arched, pulling him in deeper, every thrust against my cervix taking me closer as I drowned in his eyes.
He spread me wider. Fucked me harder, and I reached for my clit. A mere brush of my finger sent me over, and I screamed, bowing off the table.
“Yes.” Austin grunted one last time, his cock jerking -- and exploding heat and wetness deep inside me. “Fuck, yes.”
I clung to him when he lay atop me, his unsteady thrusts while coming, pulling whimpers from my lips.
Yeah, I realized as he stilled, fucking Austin will always include emotion.
There was no fucking way around it.
Chapter Seven
Austin
I eyed Cadence through the window of my office while wiping my greasy hands on a towel. Head bent, she studied a file on my desk for a few seconds before glancing up and typing something into the computer.
My grin expanded as I remembered waking her up the last seven days with my tongue between her thighs. The first morning, I’d denied her an orgasm until she agreed to work for me at my shop, and I hadn’t denied her a damn thing in the seven days since.
We’d had pizza the last two nights in a row -- fucking ham and pineapple -- whatever shit that was. Even though I’d claimed to not like her favorite toppings, I devoured whatever was left after she’d had her fill.
Fucking more than I’d thought possible, talking until the early morning hours for a week straight, had about depleted every last bit of my energy. I needed to sleep for a week straight. Give my damn balls and dick a rest. My damn vocal cords, too.
Cadence fucking wore my ass out, and I fucking loved it.
No woman had taken me as easily and often as she did. No woman had burrowed under my skin and deep into my heart with giggles and secrets while cuddling in bed. I told her all those stories about how and why I ended up in D.C. -- about the sister I wasn’t able to protect. Even though I’d been too young, too innocent, to recognize the signs of abuse from her long-time boyfriend, I couldn’t rid myself of the guilt of thinking I’d failed her.
I also told Cadence my sister was the reason I didn’t get involved, and while I hadn’t used that lovely little “l” word or asked her to be my old lady, I knew my woman knew.
She glanced up from the computer, catching my stare, and her cheeks flushed. A wave of her fingers fluttered my heart like little butterfly wings. I grinned.
My cell rang.
“‘Sup, Val?”
“The senator bit.”
My grin widened. “He wire the money?”
“Half of what we demanded over leaking those emails.”
A scowl r
eplaced my smile. “The fuck?”
“He wants assurance his anonymous blackmailer won’t come back for more later.”
“The fuck does he expect you to do?” I asked, tossing the rag aside.
“Don’t fucking know.”
“What’s Gunner say?”
“Said to take the cash he wired and drop it. Focus on getting rid of whoever the fuck that Shawshank guy is and whatever other goons he may have sent out after your woman.”
“Fuck.” I heaved a breath. “Anything new on that?”
“Nothing.” Val fumbled with his cell for a second. “He hasn’t contacted anyone through his emails -- women or Shawshank.”
“Nothing on that prick, either?”
“I haven’t been able to find out jack shit,” Val grumbled. “No mention of him in emails, nothing in Harper’s Ferry, nothing from Gunner’s friend, Breslin, either. He’s never heard of him.”
“Fuck.”
“If I asked about using Cadence as bait to lure the fuckers out, would you rip my head off?”
I scowled. “Probably.”
“What if we can’t get to the senator any other way?”
“I can just go shoot the motherfucker in between his eyes.”
“Too much of a risk, and you might leave hired men walking around pissed at missing out on a million.”
I growled, knowing and hating he spoke the truth. “Keep digging. I’ll consider what you said.”
Still annoyed as fuck, I ended the call and shoved my cell back into my coveralls’ back pocket.
Cadence still watched me, her lower lip between her teeth, a slight frown furrowing her brow.
Since the two pledges who worked for me had taken off to grab some lunch, I made my way to the office.
“What’s going on?” she asked the second I stepped through the door.
“Nothing -- and that’s the fucking problem.”
She worried her lower lip.
“How’s it going?” I asked, nodding toward the stacks of files on my desk she worked on uploading into the computer.
A heavy sigh lifted her gorgeous rack I’d lubed up and fucked the night before. “Slow, and boring as shit.”
“I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
“You’re lucky I like you,” she said, closing and tossing aside a file.