Love's Taming (The Love's Series)

by Maryann Jordan

  She could taste herself on him as she pulled his tongue in deep. She felt his cock at her entrance and she pushed up, impaling him deep inside her pussy. “Harder,” she panted.

  He leaned up, looking at her smiling face. “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he began pounding in and out, feeling the friction increase against her tight inner walls. Jesus, best I’ve ever had. And he knew it wasn’t just her beauty and innocence, but what he felt for her.

  He grabbed her hands and pulled them over her head. “Hold the headboard, baby. Don’t let go.” She quickly obliged, smiling. He leaned down and pulled her nipple deeply into his mouth, swirling the hard bud around with his tongue.

  She reached one hand down to caress his back, but was quickly ordered to hold on to the headboard again. She complied knowing it was going to be amazing for her, and her lips curving into a delicious smile.

  Shane continued to pull out almost all the way before plunging deeply back in, over and over, until he had her screaming his name again.

  Annie felt the orgasm slam through her, taking her over the edge and leaving her floating back down as he continued to thrust. She looked at his face with lazy eyes as he leaned his head back, neck tensing, as he poured himself into her waiting body.

  He continued to thrust gently until he was spent, then fell to her side pulling her with him. Still connected, they lay as their hearts pounded before slowing to beat in unison.

  Having let go of the headboard, she smoothed her hands over his back, feeling the muscles ripple underneath her fingertips.

  He held her close, rubbing her back from her neck to her ass and back again.

  Annie smiled against his strong chest, his heartbeat strong and solid against her cheek. It wasn’t easy taming her wild man, but it was worth it.

  Chapter 25

  Matt looked over at Shane, who was clearly agitated. Leaning back in his chair, he tossed the files down on his desk. “You wanna tell me what’s got you so uptight?”

  Shane turned his icy glare on his partner, saying nothing for a moment.

  Matt just grinned. “Got all the time in the world, man.”

  “Fuck,” Shane growled, shaking his head.

  Matt leaned forward putting his hands on the files piled up. “You and Annie okay?”

  Shane let out the breath he had been holding. “Yeah,” was the only answer forth-coming. Matt stayed silent so Shane continued. “We had a pretty big fight last night.” Sighing again, he looked down at his hands as he cracked his knuckles. “It’s hard, you know?”

  “What’s hard? You got an amazing woman who loves you. You’re not about to fuck that up are you?”

  “No,” came the vehement answer.

  “So what was the fight about?”

  “She’s been doin’ some investigating on this case. Talked to some vets in the counties surrounding Richland and came up with some possibilities. Now she want to go out and actually visit to try to shut down the puppy mills, especially since we are thinking that is where the gangs are getting their dogs.”

  Matt jerked back. “You gotta be kiddin’ me? She’s thinking about playing detective and putting herself right back in the line of fire?”

  “Yeah, I know, right? I shut that shit down quick, but not without a fight.”

  “Well, she knows you love her so you just tell her how it’s gonna be.”

  “She’s got other ideas.” Shane looked up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sometimes relationships were easier before. At work, we have a chain of command and we know where we stand. Even when I was under and I got in the gang, we had a chain. You knew who you could command.” He paused for a moment, looking directly at Matt. “I can’t change who I am. It’s too ingrained to want to take care of her. But damn, she was mad.”

  “So how’d the argument end?”

  “We discussed it,” Shane said with a smirk.

  Matt raised his eyebrow, “Discussed? You discussed it?”

  “Yeah,” Shane said, dragging out the word. “I calmed down, she told me what she thought, I told her what I thought, and then we started makin’ out.”

  Matt leaned back in his chair, roaring with laughter. “You may call it discussing, but that lil’ bit is taming you, brother, and you don’t even know it!”

  “Fuck you, man,” Shane said as he grinned back. “You just wait until you find the right one.”

  Matt’s laughter quieted, a look of pain flashed through his eyes before he turned his look back to Shane. “Well, maybe. But I haven’t met her yet. So until I do, I’ll just enjoy watching your beautiful woman bring you to heel.”

  Just then the chief walked over, a droll look on his face. “If you two are finished trying to figure out how to get a woman or keep a woman, perhaps you can bring me up to date on what you’ve dug up that I can give to the prosecutors.”

  Smirking, the men followed the chief into the conference room where they were met by others in the task force. Nodding their greetings, they began discussing the new evidence.

  “When the local man, Cal Penski, was killed about two and a half years ago, we were able to shut down his end of the organization pushing the drugs through his strip clubs, which were nothin’ more than fronts for prostitution. And often drugged prostitutes working against their will. Another group just moved right in, but weren’t using the strip joints. This group was movin’ drugs from one place to another inside of dogs. We were able to get most of the gang, except for some of the top people. It appears that Gerard Washington left the area to parts unknown, but Xavier Thomas stayed to try to recoup his losses. You all know I was never able to find out where the dogs were comin’ from or where they were transporting them to. But we think that Rochelle and the DEA were getting close, and that’s probably why she was killed. Someone figured out she was getting intelligence.”

  “So what have you found out about the dogs?”

  “Suspicion is pointing to some possible groups breeding dogs that keep a steady supply to the gang. They are always big dogs, never very old, and not registered with anyone. We’ve looked at pounds and city shelters, but their adoption records don’t indicate any connection at all. But puppy-mills are around, hard to find, and quite possibly the source of the dogs.”

  “All right. Keep working that angle,” the chief said to Shane and Matt as the rest of the group began reporting their findings.

  * * *

  Friday afternoon could not come soon enough for Annie. Regardless of Shane’s warnings, she could not help but look at the websites touting the horrors of the puppy-mills. Suzanne looked over her shoulder as Annie scrolled through pictures.

  Shaking her head she said, “Doc, you’ve got to stop making yourself crazy over this. I know it’s upsetting, but what can you do? You’ve talked to Shane and he is going to follow up on some of the rumors. Don’t you think that might be enough?”

  Annie tossed her copper hair over her shoulder as she looked up at her friend. “I seem to remember you on the phone the other day with Dr. Ketchum arguing with him about a dog being attacked.”

  “That’s different. That affected one of our clients and I swear that doctor is hiding something.”

  Annie raised her eyebrows in response and Suzanne hustled off to answer the phone. Leon was taking a rare day off to celebrate his anniversary with Shirley.

  “So what’s Dr. Nancy Drew up to this weekend?” Carl joked as he walked into the room.

  “Shane is tied up with a case and is working tomorrow, so I thought I would take the opportunity to visit a couple of farmer’s markets outside of town to see if I can find anyone selling pets that look ill.”

  Carl and Suzanne shot each other a look of concern over Annie’s head. “Do you think that is wise?” Carl asked. “You going alone?”

  Laughing, she turned in her seat to look at her friends. “Guys! What do you think I’m going to do? I just want to see for myself what is out there. I’m not going to attack anyone!”

  “I wish I could go with yo
u, but I am going to visit my parents this weekend. I’d go home on a different weekend if I could, but this is the only one that works for me.”

  Annie swung her gaze to Suzanne. “The only one?”

  Her face hardening for a moment, a flash of pain sliced through Suzanne’s eyes before being quickly replaced by a steely gaze. “I have someone from my hometown that I don’t wish to run into so my parents let me know when it is safe to come visit.”

  Annie realized that Suzanne had just given more information about her personal life than she had ever in all the time that Annie had known her. She wanted to question further, find out what had Suzanne so closed off, especially about men, but knew that it wasn’t the right time or place with Carl standing there.

  Nodding, she agreed, “No, you go home. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Carl looked between the two women sighing loudly. “Look, I’ve got tomorrow morning off, I’ll go with you Annie.”

  Beaming, she announced, “Perfect! I won’t have to drive out there alone and you can make sure I don’t go all bad-ass on some poor puppy-mill owner.”

  “You going to tell Shane what you are doing?” Carl asked.

  Sucking her lips in, Annie averted her eyes. “Well, I think I will tell him that I am going shopping. There’s no reason to worry him.”

  Carl and Suzanne shared another look over Annie’s head and Carl just shook his head as Suzanne rolled her eyes.

  * * *

  Shane left the next morning to go to the station and Annie was ready to leave as soon as he did. Thank goodness he didn’t think anything about me going shopping early on a Saturday morning. Feeling slightly guilty that she was doing some snooping without telling him, she knew that he would have had a fit if she had confessed her intent.

  Within a half an hour she had picked up Carl and they were driving out of town.

  “Where’s our first stop?” he asked yawning loudly.

  “I’ve got three I want to check out based on the emails from my vet friends in the county. The first one is on the north side of town and is the closest. Then we will hit two on the west side of the city, toward Jefferstown.”

  Arriving at the first market, they were greeted by a hive of activity. Colorful tents were set up, each filled with produce overflowing with locally grown vegetables, berries, and plants for sale. They started on one end of the market and wandered along the aisle. Carl couldn’t help but stop and buy some produce as they were looking.

  “Come on, Annie. Don’t tell me you aren’t tempted by these berries.”

  She had to admit that they looked scrumptious and found herself buying some as well. “You know I’m here for dogs and you are tempting me with food,” she jokingly accused. By the time they finished walking the entire market, they finally found one older gentleman sitting on the tailgate of his ancient, beat-up pickup truck. He had a large, clean crate with four bloodhound puppies in it, all clambering for attention.

  Annie immediately went over to the truck to look at the dogs. The puppies were clean and healthy, their coats shining and eyes bright.

  “They are gorgeous,” she exclaimed as the dogs immediately jumped and bayed for her attention. Carl had to laugh at the antics of the puppies as he examined them also.

  “Did you breed them?” Annie asked.

  The old farmer puffed up proudly as he answered, “Yep. My old gal, Sallie’s their momma. Thought she was beyond breedin’ years, but she went huntin’ with my son and his dogs. All hounds, just like her.” He chuckled in telling his story. “Didn’t know Sallie could still have any more puppies, but this here is her last. As soon as I could, I got her spayed.” Looking down in the crate, he gazed fondly at the last of his dog’s brood.

  “They are beautiful animals. I can see they are well kept,” Annie said sincerely.

  The old man’s clear gaze met hers as he announced, “Young woman, I love my farm, I love my family.” Smiling, he added, “I’ve loved one woman and she is still the light of my life. And I love my dog. I’m a lucky man.”

  Carl came up behind Annie as she stood smiling back. “Then I think they are very lucky as well.”

  Saying goodbye to the puppies and the old farmer, they made their way back to the car. Carl looked over to her as she was quietly pulling back onto the highway.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “I guess I had gotten it into my head that anyone who sold dogs out of a crate was some kind of a money-grubbing dog peddler.”

  “Do you still want to check out some others?” he asked while popping fresh berries in his mouth.

  “Absolutely! Why? Are you tired already?”

  “Nope. Drive on, doc. I may need refilling my berry basket by the time we get to the next one.”

  Smiling, she kept driving until they pulled into the next market. Their experience there was very similar to the first one they had visited. At this market, they found several dog owners with puppies for sale. The puppies looked healthy and she found nothing suspicious about the families that were selling.

  Piling back into the car again, they drove to the next market, the one farthest from town. At the end of the produce section was a panel van with the sounds of barking coming from inside. Approaching cautiously, they walked toward the noise.

  A young man stepped out of the first van, throwing open the back door to show a crate crowded with puppies. The puppies were skinny with runny eyes. The man eyed them as he said, “You interested in pure-bred dogs, lady?”

  Annie could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she realized that several other men got out of their van and had circled behind her and Carl as they looked at the dogs.

  “Doc,” Carl said under his breath, trying not to move his lips as he whispered. “We need to get out of here.”

  Annie felt his fear as strongly as she felt hers. Turning quickly, she smiled broadly as she said in a sing-song voice, “Awww, these puppies are darling! What kind are they?”

  She forced herself to make eye contact with the young man even though his very appearance made her fearful. From his shaved head to his tattoos that ran down his neck under his dirty t-shirt, he exuded danger. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at her blatantly, his gaze dropping to her breasts.

  “They’re pure-bred German Shepherds, lady. They got papers and everything.”

  Pure-bred, my ass. Jesus, these dogs look horrible. “Really? They look a little skinny to me. Do their papers include visits to the veterinarian and their immunizations? I am assuming that they have that included in their papers?”

  The smile left the man’s face as his eyes shot back up to hers and he stepped menacingly toward her.

  Glancing backing at the young man, she forced herself to smile as she turned to Carl, noticing his uncomfortable stance. “Oh honey,” she said brightly, “Do you want a puppy?”

  “No,” he choked out. “Come on, dear.” He took her arm just as one of the puppies began to whimper.

  Annie moved over closer and noticed how young the pups were. There is no way they should be weaned by now. “Do you sell many puppies at these markets?” she asked, trying not looking at the men who had closed the circle around them. “I mean, you can’t sell that many pure-bred dogs at a little market, can you?”

  “We sell enough. Got people who always come buy our dogs,” he said with a sneer.

  “Marco!” barked out one of the other men. “Shut the fuck up!”

  Chastised, the man closest to her scowled, but turned away.

  “Lady, if you don’t want a dog then move on. We’ve got other business to do,” came a voice from right behind them, causing Carl to grab her arm.

  “Come on, dear. These men don’t need you playing with their dogs,” Carl said, pulling her back through the men toward the market.

  Without glancing back, they walked to the car and began driving away as quickly as possible. Not a word was spoken between them for a few minutes. Finally, Carl slumped down in his seat
rubbing his hand over his face. “Oh, Jesus, Annie. That scared the fuck out of me!”

  The adrenaline rush was still causing her hands to shake on the steering wheel, but she was trying to put on a brave face. “I’m sorry, Carl. That was not what I expected.” She was silent for a moment. “I wanted to help the puppies so much.”

  Carl looked over at her, seeing tears in her eyes. “I know, doc. I did too, but no joke…I just wanted to get out alive. Promise me you won’t try anything stupid. Shane’s going to have a shit fit as it is.” Turning back to her, he asked, “You are going to tell him aren’t you?”

  By this time they were a few miles down the road and she pulled over at a mom-and-pop gas station. Sighing deeply, she said, “Yeah. In fact I really need to call him now so that he can decide if he wants to come check them out himself.”

  Carl threw his head back on the seat in frustration. “Oh my god, I am going to get eaten alive by your boyfriend. He is going to kill both of us.”

  For once, Annie couldn’t disagree.

  * * *

  “Okay, thanks,” Shane said, hanging up his phone. Matt looked over, waiting for his very angry partner to speak.

  Shane looked up and said, “The county sheriff said that by the time they got to the market the vans were gone. They talked to some of the regulars at the market, but they said that when the vans come, they always stay off to the side. No one had any idea where they come from or when they show up.”

  Matt said nothing for a moment, letting Shane get a handle on his anger. “She coming here?”

  Shane’s eyes snapped back up. “Oh yeah. Oh, fuck yeah. And so is Carl. I can’t believe that she went out after we discussed her not getting involved and that crazy-ass vet went with her instead of talking her out of it! Jesus, when I think of what could have happened! Well, she’s going to be talking to one of the investigators here and I’ve made sure they know to put the fear of God into her.”