‘In a hurry?’ she asked. ‘Who did you shoot?’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said, throwing the gun onto the bed. ‘I had to take care of it, we won’t have to worry about bounty hunters anymore.’
He had told her that it would take time for that information to get out even after it was called off by the source. ‘Are we going on the run?’
‘They’re not going to call the cops, I know too much,’ Dax said, moving into the bathroom. ‘I’ve told you before that Mauri doesn’t want anyone looking too closely. The Starks get rid of bodies all the time. It’s no big deal.’
Ivy followed him and watched him turn on the shower then retrieve a towel from the top shelf above the mirror. ‘Did you see Carina? Did she say what… what happened to Saul?’
‘She was feeding Bruno information,’ he said, hanging the towel over the corner of the shower screen, then stopping to take her hands. ‘Saul died trying to protect her. Bruno showed up at his place, I guess he and Carina were going to hook up.’
‘Saul thought he was keeping her safe,’ Ivy muttered. ‘She told me that she didn’t see who had done it.’
‘I doubt she called the police about it either.’
‘Why would she come back to Mauri’s?’
‘Mauri can’t have known that she and Bruno were communicating again. Mauri is the best person to go to if you’re in trouble. Either Bruno sent her there to set Mauri up for something, or Bruno dumped her and took off, so she went there because she had no other choice.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘I don’t care,’ he shrugged. ‘I left her there and told her not to contact us again.’
Much as Ivy wanted Dax to have a mother he could be secure with, if Carina had so easily succumbed to Bruno’s coercion, she wasn’t a person who could be relied upon to act with integrity. They knew what they needed to know about his past, and it was Dax’s decision to cut his mother out, so Ivy would support that.
He kissed her again then went into the shower to wash off the exploits of the day. Dax could do no wrong as far as Ivy was concerned because he acted in the best interest of their relationship. His actions taught her just how much he valued her and their marriage. She trusted Dax to do what was necessary, he didn’t take any pleasure in the suffering of others. So if someone needed to be extinguished, then it was through necessity not depravity.
‘So where are we going now?’ Ivy called over the drum of the shower spray.
‘Back to North Carolina,’ he replied. ‘We have friends there, a life.’
‘But they know how to find us there!’
‘If they wanted to find us, they would. Mauri doesn’t have much time and Brad isn’t interested in us being a part of his future.’
Going over to the shower, she slid back the stall door to look at him. ‘It was Bruno, wasn’t it?’
He’d referred to everyone else. If Dax was going to kill Trystan, then he would’ve done it already. Bruno was the only one left.
‘Come here,’ he said. Reaching forward, Dax took hold of her wrist and pulled her into the spray with him.
The cotton of her dress clung to her as it absorbed the moisture falling on them. But when he cupped her face and angled her head up to join their mouths, Ivy forgot about her clothes. All of the negativity that had plagued them circled the drain beneath them.
Dax peeled down the straps of her dress and stepped back to draw them down her arms to expose her breasts. Locked in place with the fabric tight around her elbows, she couldn’t manoeuvre in the wet fabric, shaking and wriggling didn’t free her. So when he pushed her back against the wet tile and crouched to bring his mouth level with her chest, she could only experience the sensation of his tongue swirling around her tight, wet peak.
Without the ability to touch him, he took advantage of touching her, cupping and kneading her breasts until the humidity of the space made her throat tighten. ‘Dax,’ she said.
His body went lower and with it went her dress. Pulling it down, he freed her arms then stripped it away from her hips and dropped it behind him in a sloppy heap, saturated with water. He didn’t waste his time removing her panties with any finesse. The frail lace tore away with a single yank and then with the rough fabric still coiled in his fingers, Dax pressed his hands to her and used his thumbs to part the folds between her legs.
‘I’m starved,’ he said, delving his tongue into her, he squeezed her clit between his lips and rubbed the tip of his tongue up and down.
The rhythm of the motion increased and her hands splayed on the tile, the clack of her wedding and engagement rings against it fed into the frenzy of sensations consuming her. His skilful mouth worked on her, and the heat of the shower made her skin sweat while it was cleaned in the cascade of fresh, clean steam that made her breathing grow shallow.
‘Dax,’ she said again, and he sprung to his feet, hooking his arms under her knees in the process. Before he was at full height, he was sliding into her. His thick shaft forced its way into the tunnel reserved for his pleasure.
Sliding out, he came back in and kept pumping until climax was inevitable. Hissing out her orgasm, Ivy coiled her fingers into his hair and made him look at her.
‘I love you,’ she said. ‘Goddamn it, Dax, I fucking love you.’
Maybe it was all they’d been through, or the knowledge that he’d just killed to protect her life, but all of her love for him came out in a long scream. Her body spasmed into another crescendo of pleasure, and he forged his way in deep to fill her.
Dax lowered her onto her feet and with the shower still battering each of their shoulders she rested her hands on his chest. ‘I’m never going to make you sorry,’ she said. ‘You picked me. You gave up everything. I won’t forget that.’
‘I won’t forget the risk you took,’ he said. ‘You didn’t have to marry me, you could’ve run for your life.’
‘You are my life,’ Ivy said. ‘We’re going to pack up here, and we’re going to go home, to where we belong.’
‘Next to you,’ he said. ‘That’s where I belong.’
‘You don’t have to fight anymore. You won. We both did.’
‘Well,’ he said, taking her hair in his fists behind each of her shoulders like they were arranged in bunches. ‘Fighting for our lives is done, now we can just fight for fun.’
‘At least until we have some little fighters running around.’ She grinned and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him.
‘You’re hung up on this kid thing, aren’t you?’
‘Family is important to you. It’s time you started one of your own and got it right this time. Maybe we can help each other find what neither of us had growing up.’
‘What was the one thing of particular importance in your backpack that Mauri mentioned at the party? You never told me what it was. Did you check inside, is it there?’
‘Yes,’ she smiled. ‘And it wasn’t something for me, it was something for you and our little fighters.’
‘What is it?’
‘My grandfather’s pocket watch. My grandfather gave it to me before he died because I adored him. He gave me my morals, taught me why it was important to live right. I didn’t get why it was so important back then, but I looked after it like it was the most important thing in the world. When he was sick and came to stay with us, my mother tried to pawn it, but he would never let her. So when it came to me, I looked after it, took it from place to place all my life. It’s the only possession of mine that I valued because it could never be replaced and carrying that piece of him with me kept me honest.’
‘And you want me to have it?’ Dax asked, stroking his fingertips down her spine to the dimples above her ass.
‘Yeah, I do.’
‘Why give it away now? If it’s the only thing you’ve ever owned that you love then—‘
‘But it’s not anymore,’ she said. ‘You’re the only thing I own now that can never be replaced and I value you more than anything else on this earth; giving it to you is giving
you a part of me.’
‘I want more than a part,’ he said, pinning her to the wall. ‘I want all of you, and I’ll fight every day until I have it.’
‘Oh, Master,’ Ivy said, sliding her hands up to the back of his neck. ‘Every inch of me is yours; you own all of me.’
‘Good,’ he said, lowering for a kiss. ‘Get used to it, because I am where you belong.’
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Up next: an excerpt from the final Risqué novel:
Game Of Risk
Available soon
‘If you entrust the launch to us, Mr. Potter I can assure you that your club will be the most popular hotspot in Miami before this week is out,’ Layla said. ‘Tickets to your opening night will be gold dust in this town.’
‘Your firm does come highly recommended.’
The meeting in this cocktail bar on the waterfront was meant to be informal, but the sixty year old in his slick Italian suit wasn’t from this part of the world – as his apparel betrayed.
‘We have done a number of very successful nightclub launches,’ Layla said, pushing a glossy folder across the metallic table-top toward Potter.
‘I was advised to speak directly with your boss.’
‘Mandy has assigned your account to myself. I am a very trusted member of her team.’
Actually, Mandy couldn’t stand her and Layla had to beg for the chance to hold this meeting. She’d only been working under Mandy for six weeks, but already she could tell that she’d have an uphill climb to gain any kind of respect. She knew that the only reason Mandy had folded and agreed to let Layla have this client was because he insisted on a meeting so late in the evening. “In the buzz of Miami” was apparently what Potter had said, but Mandy had a new boyfriend and her evenings had been reserved for him recently, meaning Layla caught herself a break.
‘I suppose that’s acceptable,’ Potter said, his gaze falling to the slope of her breasts displayed in the V-lines of her spaghetti strap sundress.
Layla reached to the brochure and opened the glossy pages to show him images of clubs the PR firm she worked for had launched. ‘You can read testimonials here from—‘
‘Layla Jansen!’
Drawing her eyes away from the booklet and up to the man who’d stopped at the side of their high silver table, she was at a loss. He had to be six five and was built broad under the white vest he wore.
‘Do I know you?’ she asked, sitting up to examine the tan under the stubble on his jaw. Although she couldn’t see his eyes because they were under slick wraparound shades nothing about him was familiar.
‘Sure!’ he said with an exuberant grin and turned to Potter. ‘I’m Ruger Warner, Layla and I are old friends.’
‘Are we?’ Layla asked through her smile without moving her lips. The men shook hands, but Potter was as flummoxed as she was. ‘Remind me.’
‘Always a kidder,’ Ruger said, dropping a heavy hand onto her newly exfoliated shoulder. ‘Layla and I go way back, she’s a great girl.’
‘Well it was great to see you again, Ruger,’ Layla said, hoping he’d take the hint and vanish as quickly as he had appeared. She’d never had a one night stand in her life, but she began to mentally catalogue every creepy guy in a bar who had tried it on recently. ‘Maybe we’ll see each other again.’
‘You don’t mind if I join you, do you?’ Ruger asked, rounding to table to seat himself in the vacant spot.
‘Actually—‘ Potter began.
‘This is a business meeting,’ Layla said. ‘I can’t catch up right now.’
‘Oh,’ Ruger said. ‘How stupid of me, this is the nightclub guy, Potter, sure. You were worried that he wouldn’t like your pitch, but smart move with the dress.’ Ruger lifted his glasses to ogle her cleavage. ‘Guy won’t hear a word you say.’ He winked and re-seated his glasses.
Trying not to have a heart attack, she pounced out of her seat and snatched Ruger’s wrist. ‘Would you please excuse us, Mr. Potter?’
Ruger put up no resistance when she yanked him from his seat and began to drag him to the sidewalk. Behind the potted palm tree that stood at the entrance, she dropped Ruger’s arm and spun on the spot to thrust her fists onto her hips.
‘An old friend who knows my current calendar?’ she demanded.
‘Weird, isn’t it?’ he grinned.
‘I don’t find this at all funny. What is your problem? Who the hell are you? Stalking laws are strict in this part of the world, you know.’ Layla had no idea about the stalking laws in Miami, she’d been living here for less than six months and that information wasn’t on her research priority list.
‘You need to come with me,’ Ruger said.
‘Yeah, right.’
‘Seriously,’ he said and his grin disappeared. ‘I need to take you from here, right now.’
‘Not a chance. Do you know how long I’ve waited to have a chance at a meeting like this? If I can crack this guy then I can have my own accounts and… wait, why am I explaining myself to you? Go away! If you come near me again, I’ll call the cops.’
She moved half a step to the left in an attempt to get back to her meeting, but he took hold of her wrist. ‘I can’t let you do that.’
‘Can’t let me what? I’ll call the cops if I want to call the cops.’
‘What are they going to arrest me for? Standing in a public place?’
‘Menacing, disturbing the peace, something,’ she said.
‘That will go down really well with your client,’ Ruger said. ‘I’ll just tell them that we’re having a lover’s tiff.’
‘A lovers—what the…? Who the hell are you? We’ve never met!’
‘Only you and I know that,’ he said.
The ultimate test of loyalty…
Fighting Fate
Ivy Dune knows how to survive.
Even when her paycheck-to-paycheck life is ripped from her by a vicious crimelord without a conscience, Ivy knows she’ll do whatever it takes to make it to the other side alive.
Dax Harrow has made a living off of blood and pain…both in the ring and out.
As an enforcer for the most lethal family in California, Dax knows the bounds of loyalty and will do anything to pay back the debt he owes them, no matter the cost.
When Ivy is placed in Dax’s care neither of them are prepared for the fallout.
As enemies close in around them, Ivy and Dax must be prepared for the fight of their lives.
Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery.
Available now on Amazon
Doing what’s necessary often means that you have to…
Risk It All
Blaser Warner has worked hard to put his past behind him. Building up his businesses and mending family bridges, he’s finally got his life back on track.
Brianna Wilcox was devastated when her heart was broken by her only love going to prison. Determined to carry on, she uprooted her life and cut all ties from her past. After suffering a horrific ordeal years later she shuts herself off from the world. To recover from the horror she endured Bri knows that there’s only one place she needs to be: home.
Blaser couldn’t stay away when he heard that Brianna was back in town. But being around her again brings old feelings to the surface. When Bri’s associations bring trouble to her door, old habits die hard and Blaser rallies to protect her.
All the promises he made are in jeopardy and the life he’s built is threatened when he has to fight battles he thought he had left behind. But he knows Brianna is the only woman for whom he will risk it all.
.
Coming Sept 1 on Amazon
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br /> When all else fails…
Take A Risk
Trapper. Risqué.
Two names is all that sex therapist Doctor Lyssa Cutler has, but it’s all she needs. Those two words reveal the name of a man and the name of the strip club that she’ll find him in. She might not have expected to find the solution to her stalker problem in such a place, but she does. In fact, Trapper turns out to be far more than just the man capable of tracking down her pursuer.
Colt Warner’s better judgement tells him that he should reject the job offered to him by the inquisitive doctor because he can tell that this sassy sexpot is going to be trouble. Being attracted to a client goes against his usual ethics, but playing by the rules has never been his strong suit.
Giving in to their sparking attraction lures reality into harsh focus. The stalker that brought them together doesn’t like the picture that the new couple presents and seems prepared to do anything to tear them apart.
Questions mount up, answers are elusive, and only one thing is clear, time is running out.
Available now on Amazon
A woman walks into a bar...
Explicit Instruction
Stranded, Flick seeks salvation. Instead, she finds herself living in a nightmare, under threat of physical and sexual assault, but Flick can see no way out.
Yet, an unexpected reprieve comes in the form of a stranger; a looming silhouette more terrifying than the evil that captured her. She learns that danger has an alias, Rushe. Abrupt, crude, and domineering he becomes her only hope for survival.
Stolen away Flick has to rely on Rushe’s instincts to keep her alive. But rescuing her saviour from his own demise changes things... or does it?
Fighting Back (Harrow #2) Page 28