In a Bad Way

by Karin Tabke

  “What are you waiting for, Special Agent? An invitation?”

  “If I get into that bed with you and we make love—”

  When the words didn’t come, Izzy finished for him. “Once I make you mine, Flynn, there’s no going back.”

  “I won’t let you go,” he said.

  “I won’t let you.”

  He stepped to the edge of the bed. Raising her arms to him, she lay back into the mound of pillows and smiled.

  His body moved over hers. His fingers slid into her damp hair. Cupping her head, he kissed her. Slowly, worshipfully. Izzy closed her eyes, never feeling more cherished.

  Breaking his kiss, Flynn asked softly, “Why did you pick me?”

  Eyelids fluttering open, she gazed at his limpid blue eyes. They told her everything she needed to know about how he felt about her. She answered from her heart. “Because I knew the moment I set eyes on you, you’d change my life.”

  A rush of breath hissed from his lips. “I thought the same thing when I looked across the room and saw your bubble gum smile.”

  “I have that effect,” she teased.

  “Isa,” Flynn whispered against her lips, “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I never want you to undo it.”

  Smiling, she pressed her heart to his. “You’re stuck with me, missing pieces and all.”

  Pressing his knee between her legs, Flynn gently parted her thighs. “I’ll find the pieces, baby, and put you back together again.”

  “You’re the only missing piece I wanted to find.” Moving forward, she caught the head of his penis, and pressed herself onto him. “Now that I’ve found you, I don’t need anything else.”

  He slid into her aching void, filling her in a way that no other human being could.

  Slowly, he moved within her, seating himself deeply. Then, rocking his hips in an unhurried swirl that reignited the simmering fire he had started in the kitchen, Flynn made love to her.

  Hungrily, her body embraced him. So tightly she could feel the thick veins of him slide against her sensitive lining.

  “I can feel your heart beat in every part of me,” Flynn murmured against her lips.

  “Your body is so soft and tight, Isa. I’ll never get tired of the way it responds to me.” His lips collided with hers. The coiled heat flashed, and as Flynn’s body burrowed into hers, hitting deep, Izzy boiled up and over.

  “Flynn,” she sobbed. Like a rogue summer storm, thunder and lightning flashed inside her, she screamed from the overload.

  In the distance, she heard the echoes of her name being shouted as the fire crackled through her veins, lighting up her nerve endings.

  “Flynn,” she sobbed, digging her nails into his back. “Flynn!”

  “I’m here, baby, right here.” His voice was so raw it didn’t sound like him. Izzy opened her eyes as the last furious waves of the epic orgasms racked her. The earth moved within her as she beheld the awestruck eyes that gazed at her. He didn’t try to conceal the depth of what he felt.

  His body slowed, cradling hers as she reentered the earth’s atmosphere.

  Unable to collect her breath or control the emotion that filled her, Izzy shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed. She didn’t want to feel so much, but couldn’t imagine not feeling it with Flynn. God help her if she lost him.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  In that dreamy space between sleep and consciousness, Izzy idly ran her fingers through Flynn’s thick hair. His cheek was pressed to her heart, his warm breath teasing her nipple. From the heaviness of his body and deep even breaths, she knew he was asleep. She should be too, but she kept mentally pinching herself, afraid this was all a dream. A grand illusion her subconscious had concocted.

  She was living a fairy tale. Whisked away to the handsome prince’s castle, where he made crazy beautiful love to her, all whilst protecting her from the big bad Russian ogre.

  Izzy had never felt as safe as she did in Flynn’s bed. She could stay here forever. Wanted to.

  Sighing heavily, she traced her fingers along his muscular arm and smiled when she realized where his hand was. Even in the unconscious depths of sleep, he possessively cupped the juncture between her thighs.

  An emotional tremor passed through her. Her walls had simply crumbled when he pushed against them. She’d never had a chance. Not that she’d wanted one. Life with a man like Flynn wouldn’t ever be easy. He was headstrong, possessive, protective, and a controller.

  The battles that lay ahead would be epic, and, she smiled, so would the making up.

  Her thoughts abruptly shifted direction when she thought of her mother and how much she would have liked Flynn. Then she thought of Alex and her mood darkened.

  Izzy refused, despite the danger she might be in, to abandon her sister now.

  Did Justin’s team have any information on her whereabouts yet? How could Alex have simply vanished into thin air?

  As much as she didn’t want to, was terrified to, how could Izzy not go back to the club? It was the only link to Alex.

  On the other hand, Andre would be furious if she returned, and would most assuredly demonstrate that via his fists. Damn if she’d be his punching bag. Worry snaked through her. “Where are you, Alex?” she whispered. “Give me something to work with.”

  The key, she realized, was getting that drive into Boris’s hands. Then she’d have to patiently wait for him to contact Flynn and make him an offer Flynn couldn’t refuse. Extortion and blackmail were serious crimes, and even with a slick attorney, Boris would have difficulty slipping out of some prison time. With that being the case, knowing he was going away, Justin could pressure him for information on Alex. But without the warrant, there would be no way to—wait, why not just hand over a drive without the listening device? Would it matter, so long as the end result was that Boris blackmailed Flynn?

  Knowing Flynn would never agree to her returning to the club for any reason, even surrounded by an army of agents, Izzy made the decision not to discuss it with him. She would call Maddox and push him to that end on her own. Because despite the wonder that was her relationship with Flynn, her quest to find Alex had not been abandoned. If anything, she was more committed. Her gut told her that every minute Alex was gone, was a minute she might be closer to death.

  Gingerly she slid from beneath Flynn’s heavy body and hurried into the bathroom. A few minutes later, having attended the usual morning tasks, she headed down to the kitchen wearing one of Flynn’s T-shirts.

  Her bag was where Flynn had left it by the hall table. Digging her phone out, she scowled when she pressed the power button. It was dead. Instead of digging through her duffel for the charger, she strode into the kitchen and used Flynn’s on the counter. After she plugged the phone in, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, opened it, and took a long draught. The cold wet felt good going down. Her stomach growled. She was hungry. Again. The way she and Flynn went at it, she wouldn’t have to watch what she ate. Hell, she could eat like a horse and not gain an ounce.

  Taking a banana from the fruit bowl, she started to peel it as she walked to the table, but stopped when she saw Flynn’s iPhone still positioned on the edge of the table, facing the chair they’d had so much fun in. Heat shimmered through her. Would she ever tire of Flynn’s touch? She loved how he just put it all out there. He was a shameless sexual adventurer. Because he was, she let go.

  Trust was a powerful aphrodisiac. So too would be watching the video. Izzy quickly removed the dishes from the table and set them in the sink. Then she came back to the table and picked up Flynn’s phone. Anticipation ratcheted up her heart rate. She was dying to watch Syrupcapade.

  But the phone was locked.

  “Damn it,” she whispered. She really wanted to see the video. Sitting back in the chair, Izzy set the phone down. She ate the banana, never taking her eyes off the phone.

  After finishing her snack, Izzy washed her hands. Coming back to the table, she picked up the phone, held it up to the
overhead table light at an angle, and studied the prominent touch marks on the screen. Hmm, same numbers as her birthday. She hoped Flynn wouldn’t mind if she watched without him. Especially since she was going to take his phone to the bedroom and wake him up with her lips on his spectacular cock.

  She unlocked the phone on the first try.

  Sitting down, she smiled as she looked for the video. His notification light flashed, and she could see he had several text messages. Work, no doubt.

  Yawning, Izzy looked toward the kitchen window and the grey light of dawn that had begun to infuse the room. She smiled when she noticed the daisy stem from the planter she had angrily thrown in the trashcan sitting in a shot glass full of water on the windowsill. Her heart lurched painfully against her chest. Even when Flynn thought all was lost, he’d tried to save the pink daisy. Yeah, they had it bad for each other.

  The sun was coming up and if she didn’t get some sleep soon, she’d be useless later. She needed to contact Maddox, and the kitchen was a mess from the pancake adventure. And she really wanted to see the video and then wake Flynn up and show it to him. Just the thought of it had her squirming in her chair.

  Finding the videos, she warmed when she saw the one she had made the first night they met. Resisting the urge to watch that one, she scrolled past it to the syrup encounter. As she tapped on the icon, the phone chirped with a notification.

  A text from Maddox, and—Izzy caught her breath—the viewable first line read: Are you going to handle her—

  Izzy couldn’t read the rest of the text without tapping on it and she felt that if she did she was crossing the trust line. The phone chirped again. Another text from Maddox.

  She’s the only way—

  Izzy knew who she was. Maddox was right; Izzy was the only way to get deep enough, even after what happened last night, to get the goods on Boris.

  Swallowing hard, Izzy tapped the icon and read the thread that began the previous morning. Right after Maddox texted Flynn notifying him she was safe at the hotel.

  He’d watched her go, knowing all along Maddox would check in with him?

  As she continued to read, her heart stuttered to a stop and her jaw dropped.

  Oh, dear God! Alex was alive? She was alive! Izzy’s heart swelled with such happiness she couldn’t take a breath.

  “Thank you, Lord,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  As the news settled within her, Izzy’s smile slowly receded.

  And Flynn knew?

  How could he keep this amazing news from her?

  Why?

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” Flynn’s deep voice asked from the doorway.

  Izzy jumped, his voice startling her. For an instant she couldn’t speak, because if she did the words that would come out would forge a wedge so deep between them there would be no coming back. She couldn’t not say them. Not if her self-respect meant anything to her.

  Angry tears stung her eyes. “I trusted you,” she whispered.

  “I haven’t betrayed that trust, Isa,” he said, stepping closer to her.

  “You did!”

  “How?”

  “You knew they found my sister, and you didn’t tell me! Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Wordlessly, Flynn reached for her. Izzy shook her head vehemently, backing away.

  “She’s my sister! I know how you feel. You don’t approve. But that gives you no right to cut me out of her life or her out of mine! You’re not in charge of my life, Flynn! How could you?” She was hysterical, losing it. He’d lied to her. The man of her dreams had lied to her!

  “Isa,” he warned. “Settle down.”

  “No, I won’t settle down!” she shrieked. “I can’t stay here with you. I won’t stay here with you.” She turned to run.

  “Do not run, Isa.” Flynn commanded.

  He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him. “You promised me you wouldn’t run when shit got hard.”

  “And you promised never to lie to me!” She pounded his chest with her free hand. “You ruined everything!” she screamed. She scratched his bare chest. “I hate you for ruining everything! I wish I’d never met you!”

  Wrapping his arms around her, Flynn let her vent as heartache poured out of her. She could never forgive him. He’d lied. “You lied to me,” she sobbed.

  “Isa,” he said, quietly. “I didn’t lie to you.”

  “You know where Alex is, and you didn’t tell me!”

  “We don’t know where she is, only that she’s presumed alive.” His arms tightened around her. “Listen to me, damn it. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want that imagination of yours to go crazy with scenarios. I didn’t tell you because if the intel didn’t pan out, I didn’t want to see you hurt again. I didn’t tell you because I knew if I did, you’d insist on confronting Boris.” Flynn paused for breath, then said, “I didn’t tell you, because damn it, I love you, Isadora Fuentes, and I can’t bear the thought of losing you like you lost your sister.”

  Her world stilled.

  He loved her?

  Alex was only presumed alive?

  “Hate me all you want, but I stand by what I didn’t tell you. I’d do it again. A thousand times. Your safety comes before anything, including your sister’s well-being.” He notched her chin up. She could barely see him through the haze of her tears. “Do you understand that?”

  “I understand that you feel you have to protect me, Flynn, but you can’t keep me out of the loop. You can’t make my decisions for me.”

  “I can when your safety is threatened.”

  Exhaling, feeling drained, Izzy nodded that she understood, and moved out of his arms. She needed to process this. If he was touching her, she’d give in to his physical persuasion.

  Straightening, she kept her eyes level with his, realizing he was butt naked.

  “Why were you going through my phone?” he asked bluntly.

  “I wasn’t snooping, I wanted to look at the syrup video, but Maddox texted you, and—” She should have felt validated because of what she discovered, but she didn’t. “I shouldn’t have.”

  “As you figured out, my code is your birthday. I have nothing to hide from you, Isa.”

  Shaky, she sat down at the table. “I need time to process all of this.”

  He shrugged as if as far as he was concerned there was nothing to process. That was the problem! He strode to the sink where she had put the dishes and started to rinse and stack them in the dishwasher.

  It concerned Izzy that she was actually considering conceding Flynn his points. What if she was justifying his bad behavior so that she could stay with him? What would happen the next time he kept important information from her? Would she justify it away again and so begin the journey on the no-trust road?

  “Stop overthinking it, Isa,” Flynn said. “My reasons were legit. My only motive was your safety and peace of mind.” He put the last dish into the dishwasher, dried his hands, and took a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’m not a liar, I’m not a cheat. I gave you my word I’d help you find Alex. I haven’t backed away from that. I’m doing all I can, but I swore to myself that the minute you were in physical or emotional danger, I was pulling the plug. So I did.”

  Pushing the phone across the table toward him, she said, “You can’t control me through your fear. I want you to call Maddox.”

  As if he didn’t hear her, still standing at the counter, Flynn opened the bottle of water in his hand and chugged it. Once it was empty, he set it down onto the counter. Then he leaned back and crossed his legs at the ankle. Raw strength emanated from every pore of him.

  Her gaze dipped down his contoured chest to the dark hair that gathered at his navel and traveled south, pointing to his beautiful penis. Though he wasn’t erect, he was swollen and he looked good enough to eat. Shaking off his come-to-me-now pheromones, Izzy grabbed the phone from the table and walked toward him. She wasn’t, she decided, overanalyzing this. He was wrong. But she
understood his motivation. A man like Flynn didn’t change overnight. In this regard he might never evolve. She wasn’t going to give up now though. Not when she had worked so hard to get here.

  Smiling, she said, “So, you love me, huh?”

  His eyes darkened. “A little.”

  “Just a little?”

  He shrugged, not budging. He was going to make her come to him, was he? Well, she’d see about that.

  Extending the phone to him, she said, “I think you love me more than a little.”

  When he refused to accept the phone, she leaned into him. Instantly, he swelled. “I’m sorry for saying I hated you. I’m also sorry for going through your phone.”

  “Go through it, I have nothing to hide from you.”

  Izzy exhaled, preparing for the next round of truth or consequences. “Since we’re putting it all out there, were you going to tell me Maddox got the warrant for the drive?”

  “No.”

  Argh! “Why not?”

  “Because it’s irrelevant.”

  Pushing off him, she set the phone on the counter. “It’s very relevant!”

  “Not as it pertains to you, it’s not.”

  “How so?”

  “Because it isn’t.”

  Putting her hands on her hips, Izzy was flabbergasted. Hadn’t they just—Good God, the man was infuriating. “Who decided that?”

  “I did.”

  “Just because we’re having sex doesn’t give you the right to make my decisions, Flynn.”

  He laughed. “Oh, we’re having more than sex, Isa. We passed the sex marker that afternoon when I took you from behind on the balcony in Half Moon Bay.”

  “I didn’t mean to minimize what’s between us, Flynn, I know what we have goes beyond sex. It still doesn’t give you the right to make my decisions for me, especially when you don’t even discuss them with me.”