Protection (To Love And Defend Book 5)

by Daniella Starre

  Fuck. Now wasn’t the time for any of that. Adrian readjusted and strolled to her back door. He knocked a single time and waited.

  The back door opened, and he was almost upset to see her in her uniform. On second glance, she was just as hot in that.

  What the hell? She thought he was a coward. She thought he wasn’t up to the task. He shouldn’t be attracted to her.

  But he was.

  Adrian cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”

  “You shouldn’t be coming to my house,” she snapped, grabbing his arm and yanking him inside. For a second, they stood toe-to-toe, their bodies pressed up against each other, and he had to back away first so that he didn’t become hard again.

  “I didn’t want to call in case my phone is bugged,” he explained.

  “I can get you a secure phone. Should’ve already. I’m sorry.” She ran a hand through her hair and inhaled deeply. Adrian was sure to keep his eyes on her face and not her heaving chest.

  “It’s all right. Things have been crazy lately,” he said.

  “You don’t even know the half of it.” She gestured behind her. “Do you want something to eat? Drink?”

  “I thought we would just get right down to business,” he said. “I don’t want to keep you. Do you always work night?”

  “I do work nights, but I’m basically working every second I’m awake,” she said, sounding weary.

  “You look like you need to rest.”

  “I don’t need you to tell me I look like shit,” she snapped. “Do you have anything important to say?”

  “Looking tired doesn’t mean you look like shit,” he said coolly.

  She winced and glanced away. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You’re under a lot of stress.”

  “So are you.” She half-smiled. “I’m almost surprised you’re alive yet.”

  “Hey, I can act,” he protested.

  “Act the fool?” she teased.

  “Maybe. There was a meeting last night.”

  “Around what time? Who all was there.”

  “Midnight. Only five showed up, but I have a feeling there’s a fair amount more. Peter doesn’t trust me yet, I don’t think.”

  “And for a good reason. Names?” She grabbed her notepad.

  He hesitated. “Are you sure writing this info down is smart?”

  “Do I tell you how to count bills or whatever it is vice presidents do?” she asked. “I know how to do my job.”

  Adrian flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

  “You’re fine, but if I have to ask for names a third time, it’s not gonna be good for you.”

  “Shouldn’t cops know better than to threaten someone?”

  “Shouldn’t a civilian know better than to toy with a cop?”

  “I’m not toying. Next thing, you’ll be saying I’m pulling your strings.”

  “You’re pulling nothing on me,” she said. “You have no effect on me whatsoever.” She wiggled her pen.

  He listed the names and told her the location of the meeting and the detail that every one was at a different spot.

  “He’s paranoid,” she muttered. “That works in his favor and against ours.”

  “Yes.” Adrian took a step closer to her. He wasn’t even sure why.

  “When’s the next meeting?”

  “He didn’t tell me yet.”

  She placed her pad on the counter and stared at it. Adrian moved to stand behind her and began to massage her shoulders.

  Kiera jerked, tensed, and then relaxed slightly. Without a word, he massaged her for several minutes. Eventually, she patted his hand and turned around.

  Adrian couldn’t say why he was doing this. Why he was massaging her. Why he wanted to touch her. Why he was closing the distance between them even more. Why he lifted his chin. Why he was kissing her.

  Why she was kissing him back.

  But he was, and she was, and he snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She rubbed against him, and he groaned. His lips parted, and she snuck her tongue into her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss even more. His hands roved over her body, gripping her tight ass. Before he could have his other hand touch her boobs, she pulled away, breathing as heavy as he was.

  Then, she took his hand and led him through her house and up to her bedroom.

  Chapter 10

  Kiera knew this was crazy. It was certifiably insane. She should not be sleeping with Adrian, especially not when you considered how messed up she thought it was that people were trying to find love in this fucked up place. That people were going to have babies despite all of the violence.

  But this was a stolen moment of peace.

  No, not peace. This was a chance to turn anger and rage into something else.

  Channeling all of the anger and confusion she had felt for Adrian over the years, she pushed him against her closed bedroom door and ran her hands over his tight shirt. Every shirt he wore was tight considering how bulky his muscles were.

  His hands fell to her waist, and he pressed himself against her, letting her feel his erection through his pants. She groaned and closed her eyes. His mouth claimed hers, and she felt like she was drowning. He was taking something from her, but she didn’t know what it was. All she could process was how she wanted to feel alive. Sometimes, having a connection with another was needed, and she sure as hell needed that right now.

  Easily, he lifted her into the air, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands gripped her ass as he laid her on the bed, rubbing his cock against her.

  “Are you sure about this?” he murmured into her ear. He licked her lobe and then kissed the hollow of her neck.

  She shivered in delight. “Don’t talk. You’ll ruin this.”

  Chuckling, he pulled back and in seconds was naked. Her gaze wandered across his hard muscles, his hard nipples, his hard cock. At least eight inches if not longer and so thick.

  She undid her pants, and he yanked them down to her ankles. Most likely, he could see how wet she was, and she was embarrassed. Her feelings for him were so confusing.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, staring at her face and not between her legs.

  “If you keep talking, you really will ruin this,” she said.

  “If you don’t want to,” he started.

  She grabbed his hand and shoved it against her wet folds. “You tell me if I want this.”

  He slid two fingers inside of her and then a third. He slowly fingered her, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She gyrated her hips, wanting him to move faster, harder, deeper.

  Without warning, he removed his fingers and then licked them one by one. Her heart sped up, and when he held his wet fingers to her mouth, she sucked on them until he groaned.

  “Want me to suck something else?” she asked.

  “Whatever you want.”

  “Do you, ah… I don’t have any condoms,” she said, embarrassed.

  “I don’t make a habit of carrying them with me, no,” he said. His frown turned into a smile. “So maybe you could suck something else?”

  She laughed. “Maybe I could.”

  “Would you?”

  Kiera stared into his eyes. There was lust there, but something else too, something she couldn’t quite determine.

  No. No. No. This was fucking stupid. She was going to get him killed. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. He would make a mistake and would be the price, and that price would be death.

  Maybe he understood what she was thinking because he held out his arms. She reluctantly sat up and then stood, hugging him. He felt so very warm, and she shivered, trying to draw in his heat.

  “We don’t have to,” he said, almost groaning.

  She rubbed against his cock. The tip was wet with pre-cum. “You don’t want this.”

  “I clearly do.”

  “All I am is a distraction.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Adria
n…”

  “Kiera, if you don’t finish me off, I’m going to have to do it myself.”

  Anger sliced through her. “Go ahead then,” she said. “There’s more to life than fucking. There’s death and heartache and moving away and trying to leave the past behind.”

  He furrowed his brows. “I don’t understand. Make me understand.”

  “We shouldn’t be doing this. You shouldn’t be undercover—”

  “You already know I’m willing to—”

  “Doesn’t mean you won’t be killed,” she said stubbornly.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  She considered him a moment. He didn’t seem angry or upset. A little hurt maybe. Definitely confused.

  Kiera swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I thought I wanted… There’s too much death right now. Too many unsolved crimes. With everything going on between the murders and Peter—”

  “Murders?” Adrian interrupted.

  “I just don’t think that fucking will help matters any.”

  “It would be a nice distraction.”

  “Is that all you want?” she asked. “A distraction?”

  “If that’s all I can get for now, yes,” he said bluntly.

  “So you want more?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Murders?” he asked again, but she gripped his cock and stroked him hard and fast. He hadn’t lost his hard-on despite their talk, and his hot cum squirted and landed on her upper thigh. He was a half-foot taller than her.

  Adrian grabbed a few tissues from her nightstand and quickly, sloppily wiped her somewhat clean before laying her back down on the bed. He proceeded to eat her out, and she came hard right as her phone rang.

  “Do you want to get that?” he asked.

  Her eyes were closed, so she didn’t know he was looking at her. She shook her head and ground her pussy against his mouth. He continued sucking and flicking her clit. Unreal. Another orgasm was building, and it was so easy to ignore her phone, so easy…

  “Ah!” she screamed as she came hard.

  Her phone stopped ringing and then rang again immediately.

  Shit.

  Pushing Adrian aside and trying to ignore the haze of lust and contentment, she picked up her phone and answered.

  “’lo?”

  “Kiera, are you all right? You sound funny,” Pamela said.

  Kiera ran a hand through her hair and decidedly avoiding eye contact with Adrian. What the hell had she been thinking?

  That’s the problem. I hadn’t been thinking.

  “What’s going on? Did you find something out?”

  “Not about Robert, no, but I did find something. Someone. Which would you use for a body?”

  “Someone else? Where?” Kiera sat up and stood, shoving her pants on.

  Adrian placed a hand on her back to steady her and support her. She flinched at his touch, and he moved away.

  “I’ll go,” he mouthed, and she nodded.

  Once Pamela gave the address, Kiera said, “I’ll be there.”

  She dashed through her house and out the door. Adrian had already gone, and she felt a sense of relief and frustration.

  Why the hell had she given into lust? Why the hell was she beginning to think differently about Adrian?

  When had she even started to think of him as Adrian isn’t of Hawkins?

  And who was the latest victim? Pamela hadn’t said, and Kiera just knew this wasn’t going to be good.

  And she was right.

  Chapter 11

  The second meeting was scheduled for that night, this time at three in the morning. Adrian had gone into work for an hour after seeing Kiera, but he hadn’t been able to concentrate, so he went home instead, promising to work on files there. Only that hadn’t happened either. He found himself in the shower, rubbing one out, thinking about how wet Kiera had been, how he had been able to make her orgasm twice in a matter of minutes, how he had already shoved several condoms into his wallet.

  He didn’t know if she would let him near her again. Adrian hadn’t missed her flinch or her anger mid-way through. Was she using him? He didn’t think so. They both needed a distraction from all of the terrible things that had been going on lately. Maybe that was all it had been.

  For her.

  Not for him. Kiera might drive him nuts, but she was hot and amazing and strong and determined. Just thinking about holding her, fucking her—no, making love to her—had him coming into the hot stream of water pouring from his shower head.

  Adrian gasped and washed up. He tried not to think about Kiera in the shower with him, him washing her body, soap suds over her breasts, trickling down to her pussy, and, that was all it took for him to be hard again.

  Damn it. Lust. That was all it was. Lust and nothing more.

  I’m a terrible liar.

  Adrian went back to his computer and tried to work again, but the numbers and letters swam before his eyes. Finally, he called up his father.

  “I need to take a vacation,” Adrian said.

  “When?” his father asked.

  “Immediately.”

  He heard a long inhale over the line. “For how long?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Adrian, you know that isn’t—”

  “You know it isn’t like me to ask for something like this,” Adrian said firmly. “I’ve never once taken a vacation day in all of my years working for you. This isn’t a real vacation, Dad. I’m working with the police.”

  “You are? A forensic case? Has someone been embezzling money and I didn’t know about it?”

  “It’s actually about…” Adrian didn’t want to get into the details.

  “Can you not talk about it?” his father asked quietly.

  “I can’t. I know this is all highly irregular, and if you need to talk to an officer to know it’s legit—”

  “I would appreciate a name, yes.”

  Adrian winced. “Kiera. Officer Kiera Turner.”

  “As long as everything is on board, you can take some time off, but I would prefer no more than a week.”

  “I don’t know how long this will last,” Adrian warned.

  “I need you. You’re the vice president of a prestigious bank, and—”

  “And this is a matter of life and death, Dad,” Adrian said quietly. “I can tell you that much.”

  “Very well. I don’t understand why the cops would need you. I’ll call.” And his father hung up.

  Ass.

  Normally, Adrian and his father got along well, but Adrian had never done anything previously to have his father be so upset with him. Yes, his work was important, but Adrian hadn’t been lying. This was life or death.

  Adrian napped until it was time for him to leave for the meeting. Then, he headed out to a seedy-looking motel the next town over. Most of the werewolves from last night were already there, but so were a few others.

  Peter was the last to arrive, right at three on the nose. He appraised those there and nodded.

  Unlike last night, one by one, the werewolves kneeled before Peter. Adrian didn’t, though. Peter noticed but just smirked.

  Then, the werewolves lined up and kissed Peter’s ring. Okay, that was really bizarre. Adrian got in line but didn’t kiss it.

  “You will,” Peter said.

  “Kiss it?” Adrian asked. “It is a nice ring.”

  The truth. It was a huge man’s ring with a massive garnet is a square cut so large it looked more like a rectangle.

  “Understand. This is a revolution. It is the start of a new era for werewolves.”

  “Yes,” Adrian said, nodding and smiling. “I can’t wait.”

  “We will control businesses, operations. We will determine who can work where. We will be in charge of everything. Nothing will happen without our okay.”

  Adrian forced himself to continue nodding and smiling.

  The meeting started shortly after that, and from everything Pe
ter was talking about for the future and the way the werewolves were acting like he was their boss, Adrian realized this whole thing felt very much like a werewolf mob.

  Or maybe even a werewolf cult. He half-expected a chant to start about killing people or down to the humans. It left a terrible pit in his stomach.

  “Everything will be as it should,” Peter said. “You will see. The planning will begin in earnest. My lieutenants and I are almost ready to share our ideas with you all.”

  A quiet cheer ran through the group. Adrian muttered his approval too, but hearing lieutenants made him think of something else.

  War.

  Chapter 12

  The sight of the second body made Kiera want to weep. The same MO, another shot to the head. Zoe Wood had been found in her house. Her neighbor had noticed a strange, bad smell coming from the house and that Zoe hadn’t been in sight for a few days. It would take some time for the coroner to come back with a window for the time of death, but Kiera wondered if Zoe had been killed before Roberto.

  Pamela just stood beside her, camera dangling around her neck, unused.

  “Are you gonna snap some pics?” someone asked her.

  “Leave her alone,” Kiera snapped. “We know—knew—the vic.”

  The man backed away and hung his head. “I’m sorry. Want me to take the photos for you?”

  Pamela blinked a few times and shook her head. “No. Thank you, but no. I can do it. Just give me a moment.”

  The officer nodded and shrugged helplessly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Kiera closed her eyes. Zoe had been one of the fiercest fighters out of all of the werewolves, male or female. She had been a close friend. The three of them had often gone on runs together. Zoe had always won all of them.

  Lately, though, Zoe had been involved with a boyfriend. She had been so involved in him that the three of them hadn’t been hanging out as often. That was the only reason why Kiera hadn’t realized Zoe had been gone for a few days. They checked in with each other every two weeks. Previously, it had been daily.

  Kiera pulled out her phone and found Charlie Dunton’s number. “Hi, Charlie, do you have a moment?” Keira asked, stepping away from the body. That wasn’t Zoe. Not anymore, just an empty shell of her energetic, fierce friend.