by B. B. Hamel
“Is that why you’re helping me? I’m some opportunity?”
He didn’t answer at first. I was intensely aware of his leg inches from my own, of his hulking frame, of his handsome lips—of his hands pinning me back against the bed—
“I’m not sure what you are,” he said softly, looking at the bar then back at me. “I’m fascinated by you, and if I let you go now, you’re fucked. I figure I can see this through for a while.”
“That’s it then, you’re fascinated by me, and that’s enough to put your crew in danger?”
He leaned closer, mouth tantalizing and too close. “Do you think I need more? This is my crew. If they don’t like my decisions, they can leave.”
I chewed on my lip. “I never asked for your help, you know. And I never asked for any of them to get involved.”
“Don’t worry about that.” He touched my cheek. “You want to know what I want out of all this?”
I didn’t need him to say it. I already knew—based on the way he looked at me, the way he pinned me, his hand on my face, his body close to mine, I knew what he wanted.
The problem was, I wanted to give it to him.
That complicated things. I wasn’t being honest with him, and the deeper he dug himself into all this, the more guilt I felt. He didn’t have to take this risk and I almost wished that he wouldn’t, but every time I thought about running away, he touched me again, whispered to me again, and that wild pit of longing opened up in my stomach and kept me frozen in place.
I never felt like this before. I always wanted to, always wanted that crazy, spinning, dizzy, impossible lusting desire for someone, but it never happened, not really at least, not until Luke strolled into my life.
He was a killer though. The sort of man I swore off a long time ago.
And he murdered my father.
I should’ve wanted to get away, but what did my dad ever give me, except pain and misery? What did this world ever give me, except a struggle?
Here was something that could be good, a man that wanted me and was willing to do something dangerous to have it.
And all I could think about was how much I didn’t deserve any of this.
He leaned closer and his lips pressed against my cheek.
“Tell me,” I whispered, yearning for the words like nothing I’d ever felt before in my life.
“I want you,” he said, his hand on my thigh. I felt a thrill radiating up from his fingertips to that warm spot between my legs. “I want your mouth. I want your breasts and your hips and your eyes. I won’t force anything on you, Cara, but I won’t pretend, either. I want you stripped bare and sweating in my bed.”
Then he kissed me, his lips meeting mine like a heart beating in perfect rhythm. His tongue was vodka and sunshine, and his smell drove my mind into some black and perfect void where there was only pleasure and Luke. His hand gripped my leg while the other slid in through my hair, fisting it tight, and I melted into that kiss like nothing before, letting it build up through my chest until I wasn’t sure I could breathe anymore.
He broke it off after a moment with a maddening and incredible smile.
“Oh,” was all I could say.
He laughed softly and stood up, not looking at me. “Let’s get back to my place. The longer you’re in public, the more danger you’re in.”
“Right. Back home.” To that house where we’d be alone together and he could do anything he wanted.
Although I suspected he could do anything he wanted right here in the middle of this strip club.
He walked to the door and I followed, my legs like hollow jelly, my heart a rapid patter of butterfly wings.
5
Luke
As much as I wanted that girl, I knew she felt the same way.
It was hard to lie in a kiss. That was the best part of finally tasting her—I got to see the truth behind all her bullshit.
She was still lying to me, leaving something out. That much was obvious. I hoped my guys would find whatever she kept hidden, and if they didn’t, I’d manage to break her eventually.
In the meantime, I wanted to have a little fun.
I left the house early the next morning for a short little shopping trip. German kept watch on the house, and I was back before ten. I went inside and found Cara sitting in the kitchen, drinking some coffee and looking at her phone.
“Where were you?” she asked. “German wouldn’t tell me anything.”
I dropped a bag in front of her. “Getting you some extra clothes.”
She frowned but looked inside. I got her simple things, bra and panties, jeans and shirts, shit I thought would fit and look good enough. She went through it all with a discerning frown. “You have terrible taste,” she said finally.
I snorted and put another bag in front of her. “How about this then?”
She sucked in a breath when she pulled out a set of lacy underwear. “You’re joking, right?”
“There’s more.”
She went through it all, several pairs of lingerie and more than a few sports bras. I had a thing for women in tight yoga pants and sports bras.
“Get changed,” I said. “You’ve been wearing the same clothes for two days now.”
“I’m not parading around your house in skimpy underwear, you do realize that, right?”
“I realize you need me to keep you alive, and I want to see you wear some of this.” I nudged the bag closer to her. “Get changed.”
She glared at me but snatched it up and disappeared into her room. I made myself some coffee, smiling the whole time. I didn’t actually expect her to put on the lingerie, but I did want to see how she’d react if I bought her some.
Five minutes later, she came back downstairs, and I nearly dropped my mug on the tile floor.
She wore a black one-piece that was lace and see-through and left very, very little to the imagination. She had a black silk robe left untied and open, her wavy auburn hair down around her shoulders, a little smirk on her face as I stared at her gorgeous creamy skin. I stepped toward her, clutching the mug between my hands, but she backed away.
“Easy,” she said, raising her hands.
“Easy?” I cocked my head. “You come downstairs in that, and you want me to go easy on you?”
Her eyes went wide, and she must’ve realized her mistake. “I only wanted to tease you.”
“I don’t do teasing, little princess.” I put the mug down on the table.
“Luke.” She kept going back to the stairs.
I followed her each step. I stared at her ass when she turned and hurried, taking two steps at a time, and caught a glimpse of her gorgeous little mound. I kept pace and she tried to slam the door in my face, but I caught it and shoved it open.
She backed toward the far window.
“Don’t look so scared,” I said smirking, head tilted. “You think I’m going to take you against your will?”
“I think you’re looking at me like I’m a snack.”
“You’re a goddamn buffet, princess.” I stopped inches in front of her and shoved the robe back off her shoulders. She gasped in surprise as I reached up to unlace the tie that kept the front of her bodice together. Her breasts were barely contained, and each deep breath she took sent me into wild, heady spins of need and desire. Once the ties were off, she reached up and covered her chest with her arms, crossing them tight.
I laughed softly.
“I get it, I shouldn’t have teased,” she whispered. “If I tell you to back off, are you going to back off?”
“I might,” I said, getting closer. I pinned her hard against the wall, taking one wrist and peeling her arm off her breasts. I held it up above her head, and her chest was barely covered by her other arm, one nipple peeking out above her wrist. “Go ahead and find out.”
She sucked in a gasping breath as I kissed her neck. The second she told me to stop, then I’d stop. But the way she made soft panting noises, and the fact that she’d paraded herself in front of
me in this thing knowing damn well that I wanted to take her, meant she wanted it as badly as I did.
“Luke.” My lips found hers gently at first, then faster, with more urgency. I grabbed her other wrist and pulled it back, and although she resisted me, she didn’t tell me to stop. I put that wrist up above her head, and her breasts spilled out from her lingerie as I kissed her hard, tongue against her tongue, lips rough and soft all at once. I pulled back for a moment and stared at her hard nipples, pink and gorgeous, and let out an involuntary growl. Her eyes were damp and wide with desire as I licked one perfect little pink nub, biting down softly, making her moan, her back arch.
“Luke,” she whispered again.
“Don’t you tell me to stop,” I growled, keeping her wrists pinned.
“Luke!”
That time, it wasn’t her though. I paused, listening. German’s voice from downstairs.
Her mouth fell open but she pulled her wrists from my grasp and covered her chest again with her hands, her cheeks bright pink as she looked down at the floor.
“You should answer,” she said.
“Luke, where are you?” German’s voice again, angry and insistent.
“Fuck,” I said, and stared at her. “I want you still in that thing when I get back. Do you understand? I’m not done with you.”
She pulled her robe up and covered herself, belting it tight. “I think you should go.” She couldn’t meet my eyes.
I tore myself away with another growl, this time from anger. I was inches away from having her, and god, was it delicious, even better than I could’ve guessed. She was primed and perfect, every inch of her quivering for me, the way her wrists felt beneath my hands, the way she submitted to me, fought only enough to drive me wild, but moaned when I licked and kissed her.
I stormed out of the room, blood pumping into my cock.
“What?” I barked from the top of the stairs.
German stared up at me. “Maher’s guys are outside.”
That sent a jolt through me. “How many?”
“Three.”
“Maher with them?”
“No. I think they’re here to talk.”
“I doubt that very much. Don’t move, wait a second.” I went back to my room, pausing only to glance back at Cara. She had her back turned to me and she was tying up the lingerie again.
There was no way she’d still be in that when this was all over. I had my chance, but I felt the moment blow away in the breeze as I went into my nightstand and shoved the gun I kept there into the waistband of my pants. I had to get my head in this or else I might not walk away alive.
German was grim when I got back downstairs. “They’re just standing across the street, waiting.”
I looked out the front window. Sure enough, three guys were perched on the stoop directly opposite mine. I recognized all three—Maher’s guys, all right. The one in the middle was Sully, Maher’s second-in-command. That meant this was serious.
“Come on,” I said, opening the door. “Let’s go see what they want.”
Sully stood as we approached. He was a tall man, square chin, always smiling, but never happy. He wore baggy jeans and a black t-shirt. His two goons were pale redheads, one skinny and one bulky and muscular. I guessed all three were packing, but I couldn’t say for sure.
German lingered a few feet behind me. I stopped halfway to the stoop and crossed my arms.
“What are you doing here, Sully?”
“Maher sent me to talk.” He gave me a big grin, his eyes shining. “He knew if he came himself, you’d probably come out shooting.”
“Maher’s not usually one for talk.”
Sully barked a laugh. “True, true. I guess that’s why I’m here instead.”
“What do you want?”
“The girl, obviously.” He shrugged a little. “You know how this goes. Every crew on the street’s hunting her right now, but we’re the only ones that know exactly which spot you’ve got her stashed. Maher’s in a generous mood so he sent me to negotiate terms.”
“I’m not negotiating. The girl’s with me and that’s all I’ve got to say.”
“We’ll split the reward,” Sully said. “Five grand each. Five’s not bad for doing almost no work, you know what I mean?” His two goons both laughed.
I didn’t smile. “If I wanted money, I’d turn the girl in myself. The way it stands, she’s mine, and that’s the end of it.”
Sully clucked his tongue. German tensed. I knew he didn’t like that condescending shit. I held a hand out to make sure he didn’t do something stupid. Sully noticed and smirked.
“This is why Maher doesn’t negotiate with you, Luke. You fucking Russians, all you know is fighting and vodka.”
“And you potato-eating Irish shits only know getting black-out drunk on whiskey and dying in famines.” I put a hand on my gun. “Why don’t you head back to Maher and tell him I’m not interested.”
“The problem is, I can’t go back with that answer.” Sully seemed regretful. “Maher won’t like it. You know what I mean?”
I moved first. The goon on the right, the bulky one with more shoulders than neck, was already reaching for a gun. I came at him hard, whipping my piece out and smashing him in the face like a club. Blood splattered from his mouth and his gun slipped from his fingers and went clattering to the ground.
I didn’t want a firefight. I could kill these idiots here and now but that’d blow my cover. I liked this house and I didn’t want to have to drag Cara all over the city—although it looked increasingly likely that I’d have to move sooner rather than later, considering Maher knew where we were.
Didn’t matter though. German came next and tackled the skinny guy to the stoop. German slammed his head into the skinny guy’s nose with a lovely crunch and looked over at me, grinning with blood dripping down into his eyes.
Sully punched me in the face. I tried to dance back but tripped on the bulky guy’s legs. Sully kept coming, hitting me a few more times, and I felt a cut open on my forehead, blood dripping down my cheek. I managed to get my hands up, blocked a punch, and came in low, slamming my shoulder hard into Sully’s gut.
We toppled onto the ground. I was bigger and stronger than Sully and had the advantage. I managed to wrestle him down before smashing my elbow into his face twice. German appeared then and kicked Sully in the ribs as I climbed back, breathing hard.
Sully groaned, curling up on himself.
“Tell Maher I’m not interested.” I spit blood onto the sidewalk. “And next time you come here, I’ll shoot instead of fight.”
I grinned wickedly as I walked back to my house with German on my heels. He was smiling like he’d gone for a nice stroll around the block. Inside, Cara stood in a pair of jeans and a tank top, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide with fear.
German collapsed onto the couch and sighed contently. He’d be buzzed and happy for a while.
“I guess you saw that.” I stared at Cara, wishing she really had kept that lingerie on. My heart was racing and my blood was up from the fight, and nothing was better than a soft, wet pussy to fuck after beating the shit out of a couple Irish bastards.
She nodded slowly. “What happened?”
“Maher.” I walked past her and into the kitchen. I splashed water on my face and blood rolled off my skin.
“Let me see.” I turned and she dabbed at me with a towel. She chewed her lip. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I stared into her eyes and could still taste her lips, her nipple, feel her skin beneath my hands. “I told you not to get changed.”
“You can’t always get what you want.” She sighed and shook her head. “They know I’m here, don’t they?”
“Maher does. I don’t think he’s told anyone yet.”
“But he will.”
“Probably.”
She dabbed the towel against my forehead again. I sucked in a breath and grabbed her wrist and held it there. My skin shivered with the touch, and she
didn’t move, inches from me.
“This might need stitches,” she whispered.
“I’ll take care of it.”
She released the towel. I took it from her and pressed it against the wound. She lingered near me, staring for a long, wild second, then walked way. I watched her go, ass shaking with every step, and clenched my jaw. She disappeared into her room and slammed the door behind her.
“I wish she’d give me that treatment too,” German said.
“Shut up, idiot.” I glared at him and he laughed. “Call the doctor. I need stitches.”
“Will do, boss.”
“And get yourself looked after.”
He frowned and touched his face. His fingers came back bloody. “Not mine,” he said.
“Call the doctor.” I went back into the kitchen and snatched up that mug of coffee, gone cold now. I took a long sip and grimaced as I dabbed at the cut with the towel.
I didn’t know what to do about Maher. He’d come again and next time he’d bring more heat. I could move, but Maher knew me too well for that to matter for long. It might buy me a day, maybe two, but not much more than that. He’d hunt me like a fox and take Cara away if I let him.
Which meant I had to figure out what to do about the Lionettis before he could catch me off guard.
It didn’t help that all I wanted was her legs wrapped around my hips, her hips rolling in soft, slow waves with my cock buried inside of her.
6
Cara
That night, alone in my bed, I kept seeing Luke get punched in the face over and over again.
He smiled when it happened. In my dreams, he looked back over his shoulder and laughed. Why aren’t you wearing that outfit for me, princess?
I woke up sweating to weak morning sunlight. I sat up and chewed on my lip, trying to steady myself, but I was a shaky mess.
I never should’ve put on that lingerie and let him follow me into my room. I should’ve told him to stop, to back off. He would’ve listened, we both knew it, but he liked the game and so did I.