“Too much?”
She shook her head and licked her lips. “Keep going.”
I couldn’t argue. I pulled out and thrust again, faster and harder. Each thrust in earned me a little sound from her that just pushed me farther over the edge of sanity. I took hold of her breasts, rubbing my thumbs over her hardened nipples. “Beautiful.”
She arched her back, opening more of her body to me. The new angle had her eyes rolling again. She bit her lip and the sounds stopped.
I caught her lip and tugged at it until she released it. “I want to hear you.”
Something flashed in her eyes and she nodded.
We went on and on like that, both of us flirting with the edge of coming apart. She moaned and begged me again and again until I felt my balls tighten and everything in me shift, ready for an overpowering orgasm.
I dropped my hand to her core and rolled my fingers over her clit until she screamed on an orgasm that tightened her body around my shaft until I had no choice but to sink into her once more and come with her. I watched her face in the mirror as she did, watched the color rise even brighter and her eyes scrunch together. Her mouth stayed open, even after the scream broke off and ended. Her tongue flicked out to press against her upper lip and I jerked into her body again, undone once again by the sheer sexiness of her every move.
When we were both finished coming, I slid out of her and turned her around to kiss her. I stroked and sucked, kissing her with everything I had. I couldn’t say the words that I was feeling. I didn’t know how. I didn’t fully understand it yet. There was just… something… there.
When I pulled away, Sonnie looked up at me and grinned. “You know how to make a girl forget her problems.”
I smiled back down at her and looked her over, from her messy hair to her swollen lips. There was no way of not seeing that she’d just been fucked happy. Not that I was especially worried about anyone seeing her. I was feeling an odd sense of possession over her that was new to me, but that animal in me that hadn’t been satisfied with just one time with her wanted everyone to see that she’d given herself to me.
“You’re even more beautiful like this.”
Her hands came up automatically to fuss with her hair, but I caught them and pushed them back down. She rested her forehead against my chest and blew out a breath. “I wasn’t expecting that. It was a very nice surprise.”
I pulled her chin up so I could kiss her again, something gentler and something I hoped let her know we weren’t finished. Maybe for the moment, but not for good, not by a long shot. “The guys will be here soon.”
Right on time, I heard the alarm beep from the front of the building. It’d be Lauren coming in. She was the only one who parked in the front.
Redness blossomed over Sonnie’s face and she looked around for her clothes. “They’re going to know.”
I glued my eyes to the view of her bent over right in front of me and groaned. “They’re going to hear it if you don’t give a man a little warning.”
She glanced back at me, still bent over, and gave me a sweet smile. “Am I bothering you?”
I yanked my pants up and over another growing erection. “Tease.”
“Maybe.” She stood up, suddenly a minx when she’d come into the building something much shyer. Rubbing her chest against mine as she moved past me to grab her shirt, she fluttered her eyes. “Maybe not.”
I wanted more. I wanted to devour her again, right there, and throw caution to the wind. I wanted a lot. Instead, I buckled my pants and found my shirt. “Next time won’t be a quickie in a bathroom. I’ll take you out first, too. Maybe.”
She pulled on her shirt and stepped into her shorts. “Or maybe not.”
I laughed and pulled her into me. I held her against my chest and breathed out a big sigh. There was something about her. I didn’t know what it was, but she got to me. “Things are messy right now but they’ll settle down. I’ll take you on a real date and maybe even make it to a bed with you.”
I heard the back door open and eased her away so I could pull my shirt on. “The guys are arriving. Want to come out with me and make a big scene or you want to wait a few minutes?”
Her hands started fluttering about her hair again and I nodded. I grabbed the doorknob and looked back at her. She was facing herself in the mirror, but she was watching me.
“What?”
She shrugged. “I just… I like you. Thanks for getting my mind off of everything, Coop.”
Something in my chest fluttered again and I rubbed my knuckles against it. I was a man who knew more about killing men than acting like a normal guy, but there I was, close to feeling something like butterflies because a woman told me she liked me. “I like you, too.”
She went back to fixing her hair and I quietly exited the bathroom, wondering how the hell she’d put such a spell on me.
Everyone was standing around when I came out, their eyes instantly floating over to me. I ran my hand through my hair and walked over to them. “Jake showed up at the house. He tried to break in through her bedroom window. I went out to find him, but he’d vanished. He has to have some kind of military training. I managed to track him back to an empty parking spot, but he was long gone by the time I got that far.”
Lauren cleared her throat. “We’re just ignoring the fact that you were just hooking up with Sonnie in the bathroom?”
Mercer grunted. “Some bodyguard.”
“Fuck off. It’s no one’s business.”
Vince raised his voice to get back to the topic at hand, which wasn’t what Sonnie and I had just done. “How’d she take the news of Jake probably wanting to off her?”
“The same way you’d expect anyone to take it. Not well. She believes it now, at least. She’s worth way more than any of us thought. Has a trust fund from a grandfather. We’re talking lots of millions. Lots of millions of reasons for Jake to keep trying to get to her.”
A door opened behind me and I tensed, waiting on someone to say something to Sonnie that I didn’t like. She stood between me and Vince and when no one said anything, she coughed and elbowed Vince. “Where were you when there was a terrifying face appearing in my window?”
He smiled down at her, giving her a knowing look before glancing at me. “Let’s not start questioning people’s whereabouts, huh?”
Sonnie blushed and shook her head. “Anyway.”
Lauren snorted and broke into a laugh that threatened to pierce eardrums. She clapped her hands and even shed a few tears before getting herself together. “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just hilarious. I’ll get it together. I will, I promise.”
Mercer just shook his head. “We up security for Sonnie. You’re obviously off duty, Cooper.”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m still going to be there.”
“Unless we need you for another case.”
“Unless nothing. I’m going to be there.”
Before we could argue any more, there was a loud knock from the front. Lauren frowned, but went to see who it was. We weren’t open, but that didn’t mean anything usually. Branson trailed along behind her to keep an eye on things.
Before Mercer and I had time to start arguing again, Lauren and Branson led two stiff-looking men into the room. I recognized them instantly as detectives from the local force.
My thoughts instantly went to Jake. I assumed he’d be trying to pull something. I waited to shout at the detectives, though.
“I’m Detective McHale and this is Detective Rance.” They shook hands around the group. “We have something we need to talk to Mr. Dunn about.”
Mercer’s demeanor instantly looked stiffer. “These are my brothers. They can hear whatever you have to say.”
McHale looked at his partner and raised an eyebrow. “Okay. In the company of the ladies, too?”
Lauren hedged. “This isn’t 1930, detective. Go ahead.”
“Okay. Mr. Dunn, do you remember Jessica Freidman?”
Mercer went even stiffer. “Yeah. We
dated a long time ago. What’s this about?”
“Her body was just found buried in the woods on the south side of town. Looks like she’s been there since a long time ago.”
Mercer paled and took a step back. He shook his head and then straightened his shoulders. “I don’t know how I can help you, detectives.”
Rance folded his arms across his large chest. “Her family seems to think you must’ve had something to do with it. Said Jessica sent you a Dear John letter right before she went missing. We went ahead and checked the records before coming here to bother you. You took a leave for a weekend around ten years ago.”
Chapter 20
Sonnie
The whole ground around me felt like a ticking time bomb. All of the men with Black Dog Security had gone stiff and stony. Mercer looked like he was ready to run. Vince looked like he was ready to fight. Cooper seemed seconds from exploding. The angriest-looking one was Lauren, though.
She stepped forward, putting herself in front of Mercer. “Are you suggesting something?”
Detective McHale, a man I’d seen around town a time or two, frowned. “We just want to talk to Mercer there. Some things don’t add up in his favor. We can do it here or we can do it down at the station.”
Mercer eased Lauren to the side and stepped forward again. “I did come back that weekend. I wanted to talk to Jess and reason with her. I didn’t see her, though. Her house was already cleared out and she wasn’t anywhere around.”
McHale nodded. “Her family seems to think otherwise. They remember seeing you with her that weekend.”
“They’re mistaken. As far as I remember, she only had her dad and he wasn’t much use. Always a big drinker, from what I remember.”
“So, you didn’t see her at all that weekend?”
“That’s what he said.” Lauren was all but baring her teeth. “What you’re suggesting is asinine. Mercer would never hurt anyone. Is that all the questions you have? He said he didn’t see her. End of story.”
The detectives looked like they were ready to slap handcuffs on Lauren. Instead, they nodded and handed their cards to Mercer. “If you think of anything, call us. We’re meeting with the judge in a bit. We’ll see what happens from there.”
Even I picked up the underlying threat in the words. I stayed at Cooper’s side as the group dispersed. Mercer went to a room at the side of the building, an office from the looks of it, and Vince helped Lauren escort the officers out.
Tucker stepped forward, closing the circle we were in and looked around at Branson and Cooper. “You think that’s going to be a problem?”
Branson sighed and shrugged. “I sure as hell hope not. We don’t need anything like that messing with business. Or Mercer.”
Cooper shook his head. “I remember Mercer leaving during that time. He came back and was upset, but fine. We all know that he didn’t do anything to Jessica, so there’s nothing they can pin on him. They’ll have to find someone else to point fingers at. For now, we need to focus on keeping Sonnie safe.”
After the tryst in the bathroom, I was feeling much more relaxed. The edge of fear was still playing at the back of my mind, but I felt safe around Cooper and I knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. “Focus on whatever you need to focus on. I’m fine.”
Cooper narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not fine. Your husband wants to kill you.”
“Ex. Don’t say husband like he and I are still loyally betrothed.” The edge grew stronger and it annoyed me. I didn’t want the afterglow of sex with him to fade. I wanted to remain blissfully ignorant.
“You were terrified before—”
“Cooper, you have a visitor.” Lauren’s voice interrupted whatever he was going to say.
We all turned to look and found Lilah standing next to Lauren with a scowl on her face. She tossed a look at me before focusing on Cooper. “Macey’s sick. She’s been throwing up for a while and I’m worried about her. I’m taking her to the doctor, but she wants you to come.”
Cooper’s shoulders drew up and the tense man was back. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know. Since I picked her up, she hasn’t felt great. We should ask your mom and new dad what they fed her.”
“Don’t, Lilah. Now isn’t the time.” Cooper turned to me and frowned. “I have to go make sure that Macey is okay.”
I nodded, forcing myself to bite down the feelings of abandonment that were threatening to choke me. I couldn’t speak for fear of letting it out.
“I’ll be back. Okay?”
I just nodded again and watched him move away from me.
“Whatever is decided about what to do with Sonnie, I’m informed right away. Okay?”
Branson cleared his throat, looking up from his phone. “Sure.”
I turned away, tears burning the backs of my eyes. I sounded more like an object than a person when Cooper spoke that way and it ate away at me. A hand wrapped around my arm and turned me back around. I found Cooper staring down at me.
“Don’t. I have to do this. She’s my daughter. I’ll be back for you soon. Okay?”
I tugged away from his grip and nodded. “I got it.”
“Sonnie—”
“Cooper, come on. She’s in the car. She needs you.” Lilah’s voice rose in annoyance.
“Don’t make me feel guilty right now, Sonnie. I don’t have a choice.”
I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Fighting for control of my emotions, I nodded. “It’s fine. Go. I’ll see you later. Tell Macey I said I hope she feels better.”
He sighed and ran his hands down his face. “Stay safe.”
I wanted to ask what he cared if I stayed safe or not. He was just going to run back to Lilah’s side whenever she called for him. He was too blind to see the game Lilah was playing. He’d probably end up back with her.
My jealous and bitter thoughts were confirmed when he placed his hand on her back to lead her out of the room. Lilah tossed a look back at me that was meant to cut and it worked.
I was mortified to feel the way I was feeling in front of Cooper’s friends. I was sure it was obvious that I wanted to cry.
To make matters worse without meaning to, Branson looked up at me and shrugged. “He’ll be back for you.”
Lauren groaned and pushed his shoulder. “Go away. You’re not good at comforting.”
I held up my hands. “I’m fine. I don’t need comforting. I do want to go home, though.”
Branson shook his head. “No home for right now. Jake is a real threat.”
Tucker clapped his hands together and smiled. “Okay, since we’re all kind of spread out here, I’ll make the call. Sonnie goes home with one of us for the night and then we rally tomorrow to try to figure out the best way to protect her. As for right now, can you call one of your friends on the force to come over, Branson? We need to talk about Jake with them and maybe Mercer, too.”
“I can just go home. It’s fine. The alarm will work.”
“It didn’t work the first time. Cooper would kill us if we didn’t take good care of you. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable for a while?”
I rolled my eyes and looked around. That bitter voice in the back of my head doubted that Cooper would care. Not with how fast he’d run out with Lilah.
“Come on, Sonnie. We can talk in the front while they do their stuff back there.”
I let Lauren pull me to the front of the building and then sank onto a couch in the waiting area. I pulled my feet under me and sighed. I felt like throwing a fit for some reason. The fear that I’d managed to push away earlier was coming back, and along with it a hefty dose of anger. At Jake. At Cooper. At everyone.
“He never would’ve gone with her if Macey wasn’t sick.”
I glared at Lauren. “Maybe not. But maybe he would’ve. There’s history there. A child. I can’t compete with that. Not to mention she looks like a supermodel.”
“She does look like a supermodel. She’s a bitch, tho
ugh. She’s got a nasty personality and she’s got nothing that he’d want more than you.”
“She’s got Macey.”
Lauren sank onto the couch beside me. “She does have Macey.”
“And she uses her.”
“She does use her.”
“I can’t compete with Macey. I don’t want to compete with Macey. She’s his daughter. She should come first.”
Lauren sighed. “She should.”
“She does.”
“Yep.”
“He’s always going to run when Lilah calls because of Macey. There’s no room for anyone else. We had a nice fling in the bathroom but I was stupid for thinking that it would be anything more.”
“No; it still could be—”
“No. He’s tied up. It’s fine. I shouldn’t be upset. It’s not like he promised me anything. He didn’t. I’m just overwhelmed with everything.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m losing it. My soon-to-be ex-husband wants to kill me and I’m in the bathroom, screwing the man who’s supposed to be protecting me. I think I’m getting too into my romance novel.”
Lauren giggled. “You two christened the bathroom. I had plans for it.”
“With Mercer?”
Her cheeks went red. “I wish. He won’t look at me like that, though. And now… now there’s another problem to worry about.”
“Do you think he hurt that girl?”
“There’s not a chance that he did. Mercer is gentle. Rough on the outside, but gentle as can be. I know he didn’t.”
I nodded. She knew him and if she said he didn’t, he didn’t. I sighed and looked around. I was disappointed. It wasn’t easy to not be put first by the man you wanted. I got why he had to go. Macey had to come first. He was a good dad for putting her first. It just wasn’t easy to be the woman coming in second. Or third. I knew that starting something with him was a bad plan, but I’d gone into it anyway. I was an idiot.
“I can see smoke coming out of your ears. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking that I shouldn’t be allowed to choose men. Not that Cooper isn’t a good guy, but he’s unavailable. He all but told me that. And look at me. Still throwing myself at him and making a fool out of myself. And my first pick? The guy I lost my virginity to? He wants to kill me.”
Black Dog Security- Complete 5-Part Series Page 13