by Jen Talty
“Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.” He read the words on her back that had been etched inside a sunrise over a lake.
His fingers glided across her spine, hitting a ticklish spot, and she arched her back. “Where is the other one?”
She swallowed. She tried for the last few years to forget the day her father found her second tattoo. She’d been home visiting, lounging by the pool, reading a book when her father happened by.
The words that came out of his mouth, she’d pushed from her memory, but every once in a while, they tickled her mind.
She lay down on her back and spread her legs.
“Now that’s an interesting tattoo.”
She glanced down at the serpent slinking up her leg—the snake’s head is hidden inside her panties.
“Is there a tongue that’s reaching to a place I want to go to right now?”
“Why don’t you find out for yourself.” Thank God she was obsessive-compulsive about making sure she waxed regularly. Otherwise, the snake’s head and tongue might be covered.
“That has to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” His pink tongue popped out of his mouth, and he licked his way over the body of the snake, up to the inside of her thigh to…
“Oh, my God.” She moaned as she dropped her head back to the pillow.
His hands continued to knead her legs and ass while his hot tongue brought her the kind of pleasure that she’d only imagined.
She dared to peek open her eyes and gasped when she locked gazes with him. His hands roamed up her body, cupping her breasts. His thumbs rolled across her tight nipples.
Her toes curled as she jerked and twisted, clamping his head between her legs. If it hadn’t felt so good, she would be embarrassed about how quickly he’d been able to take her over the edge. Just when she thought she could relax, he slipped his fingers inside her and wiggled them in such a way that she raised her hips, grabbed her breasts, and cried out. “Clayton,” she managed between ragged breaths.
She couldn’t get enough oxygen to fill her lungs, but she didn’t care. Her body had all that it needed, and it came in the form of a six-foot-three sexy protector with magic hands and an enchanting tongue. Her body shivered in anticipation of finding out how the rest of him filled her.
He kissed her stomach just above her belly button before kneeling between her legs.
She reached for the zipper of her pants.
He batted her hand away.
“Hey. No fair.”
“Let’s just say I forgot to put on my undergarments, and the pressure is a tad painful, so perhaps it’s better if I do it.”
“Is it a hurts so good kind of pain?” she asked boldly.
“You have no idea how good.” He slipped from the bed and lowered his pants to the floor.
“Oh, my,” she whispered as she bit down on her lower lip.
Every muscle in his body flexed. His tanned skin shined in the setting sun rays filtering through the window.
She took him into her hands. The sharp contrast between soft skin and solid mass warmed her body, giving her another shiver. She watched her hands glide up and down.
He let out a deep, guttural groan as she brought her lips to the tip of him. His hands fisted her hair, and she took him in slowly, trying not to gag, but she could only handle so much.
His touch remained tender, and he didn’t push her as other men had in the past. She enjoyed assertive lovemaking, but she wasn’t a fan of overly aggressive behavior. But what Clayton offered seemed to be the best of both worlds because she found herself being shamelessly immodest in her overt sexual acts. She stroked him faster and squeezed harder. She took as much of him in her mouth as she could, only to repeat the motion. When she glanced up at him, he stared at her with an admiring gaze. He let her do what she wanted, and he seemed to more than enjoy every second.
Gently, he tugged at her hair and then lifted her off the bed before laying her back down on her back. He rummaged through the nightstand until he found a condom.
She watched in awe as he covered himself in the protection. She held her breath as he eased between her legs. He raised his torso, planting his hands on either side of her head.
“You’re are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
It was impossible to contain her smile. “I’m sure you say that—”
He covered her lips with a quick kiss. “I mean it. I don’t think there could ever be a woman as gorgeous as you. Inside and out.”
Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she stared at a man who just showed her his soul. The world around her blurred. All that mattered was this moment in time.
The lines around his eyes softened. His warm lips kissed her neck, and he whispered sweet things in her ear. Things she wouldn’t expect to come from a man who, at first glance, was far from a romantic.
Wrapping her arms and legs around his body, she lifted her hips in a desperate need to feel him release inside her. Never before had a man’s pleasure meant so much to her. She rocked with him, following his lead, hoping she did exactly what he wanted, needed.
He fanned his hands over her cheeks. “You’ve changed me.”
She gasped as he took her mouth in a hot, wet, sloppy kiss. Their bodies molded together like the stars blanketed the night sky. A wave of dizziness overtook her as he slammed inside her over and over again until her body shook in a violent surge that left her breathless.
Arching his back, he groaned, holding his body steady for a long moment before he gently lowered himself on top of her, rolling his hips in slow motion.
She ran her hands up and down his back, her legs still tightly wrapped around his ass. For the first time in her life, she wanted to hold this man, all night, and never let go.
Chapter 6
Ding.
Ding.
Clayton blinked his eyes open, surprised that both his arms were still wrapped around Sage’s body. He’d never been one to be able to sleep with another human in his bed, so he usually didn’t. But everything about Sage was different.
He picked up his cell and stared at a text from Dustin.
Dustin: Stanley Adams is acting squirrely. He doesn’t want me here and thinks it’s a waste of resources. He keeps taking phone calls, excusing himself to the other room and whispering. He's not very cooperative, and I know he's not truthful. I think he knows who tried to kidnap Sage, but he won’t admit it, and now he’s demanding to see her, so I’m bringing him over, now. Hank said it was okay.
Shit.
Clayton glanced at sleeping beauty. It would take Dustin a good half hour or so to get to the campground, so he’d let her sleep a little while longer. He knew her father would bring out the worst in her, and Clayton didn’t want to upset her before he had to.
She had suffered enough at the hands of her parents. Sadly, more was to come, but Clayton would do his best to protect her.
He’d grown up in a home where falling in love wasn’t an option. Hell, his mother didn’t believe in love or marriage. To her, all those things did was to bring about heartache and pain. Of course, when pressed, his mother swore she’d never been in love.
Except he saw how she looked at Maxwell. How she always let him in and out of her life. She once told Clayton that she did so just because of the money she’d been stealing, but he knew better. He also knew that one week before his mother had been murdered, she’d been with Maxwell again. He was one of the reasons Clayton rarely came back to Vegas. Guilt still plagued him. He should have protected his mother better, even though she was a fiercely independent woman.
He slipped from the bed and Sage’s arms. Hiking up his jeans, he padded toward the kitchen. It was close to six in the morning, and the sun had already started to lighten the sky. Not surprising he was awake, but it was shocking he’d slept through the night, something he didn’t ever remember doing. He snagged a glass of orange juice and fired up his laptop.
“Hey, Siri, call Dustin,” he said into
his phone.
It went straight to voicemail.
Clayton wouldn’t mind spending a few hours with Mr. and Mrs. Adams if only to give them a piece of his mind for not caring for their daughter as they should have. She’d probably come out a better person for having been on her own for so long.
Her large bank account concerned him almost as much as how she’d turned his world upside down. He’d never met a woman quite like Sage. She was a unique blend of confidence, intelligence, with a tiny splash of innocence. She was willing to learn and change, but mostly, she’d changed him on one very fundamental level.
She opened the dam, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to go back to the removed man he was before she sashayed into his world.
His buddy Kick, who’d just gotten married and had a kid on the way, told him that when love happens, there isn’t a damn thing you can do to stop. But that didn’t mean Clayton had to take to it like a fish in a fresh tank. Somehow he’d have to shake this sudden desire to buy a house and settle down somewhere.
He scanned the few emails he’d gotten that highlighted Stanley’s career. On the outside, he looked like a self-made millionaire, but as Clayton’s team dug deeper, it appeared Stanley had a little help from organized crime.
The lead Stanley Adams had given them about Rotork hadn’t panned out. Sure, the family had been bitter about the takeover, and they’d been vocal, selling their story to the tabloids, but nothing in the team’s research indicated the Rotork family had gone rogue.
The best thing that could happen would be finding either Nolan or the man that drove the car in the parking garage. Of course, that could have been Nolan as well. He wasn’t the kind of man who gave up. No. Nolan liked a challenge, and as long as someone had paid him, he’d do the honorable thing among criminals…and finish the job.
That was unless someone paid him to skip out on the job.
Clayton let out a long breath and made himself a cup of coffee. He sipped the tar-flavored water and stared in the direction of the bedroom. He’d had one attempt at a relationship, and it made him crazy. Everything in his life had become a chore, and he’d been miserable. He didn’t like answering to anyone, except maybe Hank, but that was different. The Brotherhood Protectors were a unique blend of a particular type of men and women who had no problem putting human life in front of their own.
But even many of those men and women managed to find love. He remembered the first time he’d met Hank’s wife. She’d been kind and sweet, but she had a certain edge to her that all the women of the Brotherhood had. Clayton knew it took a specific personality type to live with and love a military man, and it was not different for the Brotherhood.
But Clayton didn’t want a family, much less a wife. It honestly hadn’t been anything he’d ever really thought about.
Until he’d climbed into bed with Sage Adams.
A surge of jealousy slithered through his veins for any other man who had been in her life or any future man that might come after him.
Mind-blowing sex.
That’s all it was. She had been the best he’d ever had. Someone had to have that title and for him, the best he’d ever had happened to be Sage.
Headlights outside his trailer, caught his attention. Quickly, he found his weapon and carefully opened the front door.
“Dustin,” Clayton said as he pulled back the door. He frowned the second he laid eyes on Stanley Adams, even though he knew they were on the way.
“Where’s my daughter?” Stanley barked without saying hello. Not even a firm handshake.
Jerk.
Clayton became painfully aware that he stood in the doorway of the bedroom in only a pair of jeans, which weren’t even fastened.
Worse, there wasn’t a door into the other room, and if he glanced over his shoulder, he would get an eyeful of one sexy leg peeking out of his sheets.
“She’s still asleep. It’s been a long couple of days for her,” Clayton said as matter-of-factly as he could muster, and that just pissed him right the fuck off. Never in his life had he been unable to remove emotion from his voice. He could handle the fierce protectiveness he felt, but the rest of it just clouded his judgment. “Why are you here?” Clayton kept his attention focused on Dustin for the time being.
“I’m the one paying both your salaries, and I wanted to see my daughter.” Stanley had a defensive tone to his voice. “I want to make sure you’re doing everything possible to keep her safe.”
Dustin drew his lips into a tight line. He was one of the youngest men employed by the Brotherhood Protectors at the age of twenty-eight. He’d just re-enlisted in the Army when he’d been mortally wounded and ended up being medically discharged with another coworker, Shamus. Dustin was a good man, and he was good at his job, so Clayton had to believe he had a good reason for breaking protocol.
“Daddy?” Sage emerged from the bedroom, wearing only Clayton’s shirt.
Clayton blushed, something he seldom did, and it appeared that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Dustin, who smirked.
“What are you doing here?” Sage slipped her arm around Clayton’s middle, resting her head on his shoulder. Her fingernails sizzled his skin.
For the sake of his job, he should push her away, but he couldn’t. He would give her whatever she wanted or needed, especially when it came to her parents. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of all the information regarding her father and his business, but thus far, none of it looked as if it were on the up-and-up.
“I was worried about you,” her father said.
“You could have just called.” Her voice was tight with thick emotion. The anger skimming across her body, coated his muscles. He’d gladly soak up any negative feeling she had. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
And make her happy.
“I’d like a moment alone with my daughter,” her father said.
Clayton turned to Sage, resting his hands on her hips and ignoring the palpable tension that filled the room. “You going to be okay?”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Stanley took two steps forward.
Clayton held his hand out but didn’t glance in his direction. “I’m the man who saved your daughter’s life.” He heaved in a heavy breath. “Dustin and I are going to step out. There is a fresh pot of coffee on the counter.” Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he kissed her lips gently. “I’ll be right outside.”
“How dare—”
Sage stepped between Clayton and her father.
Clayton puffed out his chest. He knew he’d catch shit from his boss about his idiotic behavior, but her father sent a shiver up his spine and not just because of the way Sage described how he treated her as a child.
“Daddy. Let’s get you a cup of coffee.” She pressed her hand on Clayton’s back and gave him a slight shove toward the door with a narrowed stare.
Well, that didn’t go well.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dustin asked the second the door slammed shut.
The desert sun rose over the mountains, warming the fresh air. In less than an hour, it would be twenty degrees warmer than it had been all night. Clayton turned and stared at the window into his trailer. At least the curtains remained open, and he could see inside.
“I don’t give a shit that you slept with her, but pushing her father’s buttons, that’s just not a good idea, especially when I think he’s the mastermind behind this entire thing,” Dustin said in a low voice.
“If that’s true, bringing him here was a huge mistake.” Clayton swallowed his anger and did his best to suppress the unwelcome sensation that tingled throughout his entire system. Caring about someone on more than a surface level wasn’t something he understood. Protecting someone was easy.
Protecting someone you loved complicated things, and his thinking had already been altered. He inhaled sharply and focused on the situation at hand.
“We weren’t followed,” Dustin said. “And I made him turn off his phone and
leave it in my glove box.”
“Did you tell him where Sage and I were before you left his place?”
“Nope,” Dustin said. He leaned against the trailer and chewed on a toothpick—annoying habit. But then again, Dustin could be annoying. He was young, arrogant, and still resented having to leave the Army for medical reasons.
He was good at what he did, but Clayton often wondered if Dustin had a death wish. He was undoubtedly an adrenaline junkie, always skydiving, bungee jumping, and racing cars—anything to keep his heart pumping at a dangerously high rate.
Another thing Clayton couldn’t relate to. He didn’t chase trouble because he got high off it. No. He chased danger because someone had to protect and serve, and he had the mindset.
“Trisha is working on hacking into his phone and home computer system, another reason Hank thought it was a good idea for me to bring Stanley here.” Dustin popped the toothpick from his mouth before inserting it on the other side.
“Why do you think her father is behind this?” Clayton had to be missing some information because while he suspected Stanley to have dirty hands, there was nothing to suspect he’d want to hurt his own kid.
“Look at this.” Dustin handed Clayton a cell phone.
Clayton sat down on the log in front of the firepit and stared at an image of Nolan sitting at a poker table with Maxwell, Stanley, and four other men Clayton knew to be involved in criminal activity. “When was this taken?”
“I have no idea. The picture is on a bookshelf in Stanley’s office. When I first arrived, he was in the shower, so his wife told me to make myself at home, so I wandered. He wasn’t too thrilled to see me in his office, and when he thought I wasn’t looking, he took the picture and put it face down on his desk. Five minutes later, he’s demanding to see his daughter.”
“That doesn’t make him the puppet master.”
“That’s not the only thing I’m basing my observation on.”
Clayton handed Dustin his phone back. “I’m listening.”
“I stepped outside to call Hank about Stanley’s demands, and you know me, I have to pace when I talk on the phone. I did so up and down the side of the house. But instead of going back in the same way I came, I opted for the kitchen sliders, and I overheard Sage’s parents talking. I didn’t get the entire conversation, but Lorna Adams said something to the effect of He’s in prison, and we don’t work for him anymore, so take care of it. I don’t care what you have to do, including killing her, if that keeps our operations running.” Dustin held up his hand. “Stanley then told his wife that the plan was already in play. His wife then muttered off a couple of obscenities, the final one telling her husband if he could keep his dick in his pants, none of this would have happened.”