Devil's Reach Trilogy: Books 1-3

by J. L. Drake

  I couldn’t help but smirk at Brick’s reaction.

  “Don’t…don’t refer to that…” his hand waved in front of her, “…area of your body as your lady bits. The mental image is doing things to my head.” He pretended to shudder.

  She rolled her eyes. “Shall I remind you of the little video clip of you and the mouse?”

  “And we’re done here.” He clapped his hands once for emphasis. “Look, Trigger might ask you to help him out. It’s your call if you want to do it or not.”

  “Such as?”

  “I’ll let him talk to you about it. But for now, if you hear from them, promise me you’ll at least let me know.”

  “I promise.”

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Love you, Tessa.”

  “Love ya, Matt.”

  He rubbed her shoulder before he left her standing with her arms wrapped around her middle. Her hand rubbed under her bracelets. So, there was a scar there, and I planned on finding out what the hell that was about.

  I waited for the door to close before I took a swig from my whiskey. The glass must have caught the reflection of the light, because she looked right over in my direction and squinted.

  She stepped back and grabbed her clothes as I lit my joint. Then she caught my face and sighed.

  “You always creep in the dark?” she muttered, drying herself off.

  “My house,” I grunted back, but my eyes followed her hands. She had a tight little body and an impressive chest, and the memory of me deep inside her was hard to push aside. My dick grew hard against my pants, and I shifted to ease the pressure.

  She bent over at the waist to grab her clothes, and I stroked myself once, needing something to tame my need.

  I hopped down off the truck and made my way over to her. She set her clothes on the chair and rested her hands on her hips.

  “Yes?”

  “Who are they?”

  “They, who?” She played dumb.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Tess.”

  She closed her eyes with a sigh before she sucked in her bottom lip and spoke. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “No.” Her eyes were full of fight, and instead of wanting to drown it out of her, I wanted to fuck it out of her. She stepped closer and pushed up on her toes, and her eyes flicked to my lips. “You might scare me, Trigger, but not enough to share that.”

  Slamming her back against the wall, I hovered over her with a growl. I saw red and wanted to prove my point. My hands ached to punish her, but I managed to hold it back.

  “Be careful, Tess,” I huffed in her face, making her chin rise. “You have no idea how far you’re pushing me.”

  “I do, and I remember what happened the last time you flipped your switch.” Her finger hooked my belt and pushed the button free. I hated that Brick was just inside. Fuck, they all were. Normally, I wouldn’t care who I was doing out here, but Tess…

  I homed in on a drop of water that fell from her hair and raced down her neck. Fuck it. My tongue dragged from between her breasts up her collarbone to the nape of her neck. She sucked in a sharp breath but held still. My lips ran over her skin and sucked.

  Jesus, she tasted good, and when I increased the pressure, her hands clutched my shoulders. I allowed it. A million different thoughts ran through me at once, and they all included Tess naked. I could take her here, flip her over, rip those tiny scraps of fabric off her, and make her tell me what I wanted to know.

  Voices off in the distance had her pushing me away, but I only sucked harder. My hands held her bare hips in place.

  “Trigger.” She tried to sound in control, but she wasn’t. “I don’t have any clothes on.”

  I released my lips and hovered over my work. She sagged back with a frustrated sigh before she moved around me and grabbed her clothes.

  “No.” I hooked her by the waist and dragged her over to the truck where we were hidden. I sat her down on the tailgate and held her head in my hands. “Tell me who they are.”

  “Please, Trigger.” Her hand fell to the center of my chest and her head dropped forward. It was the first time in my life I didn’t snap back with a demand. I was actually lost for words. When her head rose, I saw it. I knew that look. Real pain deep in the soul. “Please don’t make me talk to you about something that took a part of me away. I will, I promise, just not yet.”

  Instead, I leaned down and gently kissed her lips. I thought we were both shocked by the moment. Her hands moved up my shoulders and around my neck. A different emotion ran through me, and I wasn’t sure how to navigate it. To my surprise, the demons in my head stayed away, like they often did when I was around her. It was great, but it also scared the hell out of me. She kept me off balance, and I didn’t like the feeling.

  I pulled away, unsure what to do next, so I let my mouth run.

  “I’m not your Prince Charming, Tess. I wasn’t made that way.”

  She grabbed the hem of my shirt to get my attention. “Prince Charming is overrated, Trigger. People like us need people equally as fucked up. It evens shit out.” She pushed me aside as she pulled her clothes on. I wanted to take her there and then, but she was upset, and the moment was gone.

  I snapped my hand around her arm. She tried to move it free, not in a rough manner, but I could tell her emotions were on edge. I pressed her closer to me, and she struggled against it.

  “I’m going to kill Tiago.” She shivered at my words. “Not today, but it will happen. He will pay.”

  “I know.”

  I let her go, and as she put her last shoe on, Gus and the two prospects came out, and several others followed.

  “Hey, Tess.” One of my more promising prospects, Ty, offered her a hand. She smiled at him, and I admired how she could channel her emotions and act like nothing was wrong.

  “What are you guys up to tonight?”

  Gus caught my eye before he tossed a bag at my feet behind her. A severed hand and an ear bounced out, and a few other human remains were still inside the gory bag.

  “Serpents got to him first. This was all that we could grab. Not sure what they know yet, but I have someone digging now.”

  Tess made a noise and her hand covered her nose as she looked down at the bloody bag and its spilled contents. When I looked over, she seemed interested.

  “Sit,” I ordered, but she ignored me.

  “Is that one of your members” She tried to scrape a piece of, quite possibly, brain matter from her shoe.

  “Was,” Rail answered to my surprise as she came up to join us. “They sawed his limbs off while he was still alive. Probably started with the ears then worked their way down. Makes for a slower, more painful death.” He smiled at her. “You okay, sweetheart?”

  “It’s not how I would have done it.” She shrugged, taking a second to pretend to think.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Mmm.” She bent down to examine the hand. “I would have started with the nails, then maybe some oil and fire.” Her gaze moved to mine then lowered to my twitching erection. “Watched as the layers burned one by one down to the bone.”

  “I’ve never found a woman hotter than you are right now.” Rail laughed and broke her eye contact with me. She stood and glanced over her shoulder. “I should go.”

  “Cops will be there tomorrow,” Gus whispered. “Not sure who is out tonight.”

  “Tess.” I stopped her before she got to the door. “Sleep here tonight.”

  “Minnie’s here.”

  “I have a couch,” Rail offered.

  “Take my room.” Everyone went silent, and even Tess’s eyes widened in surprise. “I won’t be sleeping tonight.”

  “I don’t have a change of clothes.”

  “I said take my room.”

  “Okay,” she whispered before she headed inside.

  ***

  Tess

  Music followed me down the long hallway. Leaning my shoulder on the wall, I glanced around at my new h
ome, at everyone who had now become my family. I smiled at Brick, who had Minnie dancing around him, clearly enjoying her drink.

  “What do you think?” a rough voice asked from behind me. I turned to Gus, who popped a cap off a beer with the palm of his hand. He tossed it in the trash before he chugged more than half of it.

  “It’s different, but I like it.”

  “It’s not for everyone, but you seem to fit in nicely.”

  I looked over at the smoke-infested bar, getting higher as each moment passed. “Good.”

  “My boy seems different with you around too.”

  “Boy?” When he didn’t answer, I looked back, curious who he was referring to.

  “My nephew.”

  “Trigger?” He nodded. “I didn’t know you were his uncle.”

  “Have been now for thirty-six years.” His laugh was followed by a heavy cough. “Hasn’t always been easy, but he’s a good kid. Despite how he comes across.”

  Unsure how to respond, I went back to people watching.

  “Well,” he gently touched my shoulder, “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Thanks, Gus.”

  “You should get some sleep.”

  “Oh, um, if I wanted to take a shower?”

  “Trigger’s got a real nice one. He won’t mind.”

  An uneasy feeling spread through me. I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries.

  “He won’t bite too hard, Tess, and if he does, I have no doubt you can handle yourself.” He winked before he shoved the young prospect Jace out of a chair and settled in.

  With a glance at my best friend, who was giving Rail shit, I decided to leave. The whole meeting today had mentally fried me, and I could use some alone time.

  To my surprise, Trigger’s room was clean. Everything was in place, and it smelled almost like fresh laundry. Not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t that. His bathroom was impressive. Not much décor, but that seemed to suit him. It was large and had a huge tub, although my guess was he never used it. The shower had gray etching that swirled down the glass, French doors, and matching gray tiles offset by white.

  Listening outside, I stripped down and turned the water on. It took a few moments to warm up, but then I sank into it. The steam quickly filled the space, engulfing me in cloud-like heaven. I searched for his body soap and lathered myself in his scent. The urge to stay there and relieve some tension was strong, but I didn’t want to be too long. I made quick work of my hair and laughed when I found he had very expensive conditioner. I guessed it to be about seventy-odd dollars a bottle. Hmm.

  The scent was strong, and Trigger’s face kept appearing in front of me. My fingers inched downward, and I found my spot and gave it a little circle. I closed my eyes and let my imagination run, his strong hands on me, his lips to my neck on that certain place, his look—oh, his look, the one that held me in place and made me instantly wet.

  My free hand pressed to the glass as I tipped myself over the edge, nearly tumbling to the floor. I moaned and let the internal warmth flush through me.

  I dragged myself out of the shower and wrapped myself in his oversized towel. Searching through his drawers, I found a whole basket full of brand new toothbrushes. I questioned if he had a lot of women over, but that wasn’t any of my business. I left the bathroom as it was when I arrived and slipped into his bed and into the softest sheets known to man.

  If I hadn’t just had my shower, these sheets would have been the next best thing. Sliding my hands all around, I nearly lost it again.

  It wasn’t long until I my eyelids grew heavy. I welcomed it, as today had been exhausting.

  I woke with a start when I heard the door shut. The clock screamed 4:00 a.m., and I tried to see in the room, but it was too dark.

  Finally, the bathroom light clicked on, and I saw Trigger’s massive body fill the doorway before the light disappeared as the door closed.

  My heart raced then my mind kicked in. I should move. My head did loops.

  Just as I was going to get up, the door opened, and I stayed still. He removed his cut and draped it off over the back of a chair. His jeans were tossed in the hamper, and his shirt followed. In only his boxer briefs, he turned toward me. There was only a dim light from the bathroom, but I felt him get closer.

  A rush of cold found me as he pulled back the covers and slipped inside. I felt his arm move to tuck under his head, and his feet kicked the sheets free of its hold.

  “You smell like me,” he grunted.

  Again. I froze. He knew I was awake. “Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, just different.”

  Different. Okay.

  I rolled my back to him and hugged my pillow. My hair was finally dry, so I was a bit more comfortable. Minus the two hundred pound, six-foot-three beast of a man lying next to me. He twitched, and I wasn’t sure if it was me or something else bothering him. After about ten minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore. I attempted to sit up, but his hand latched on my arm.

  “Where are you going?”

  “The couch.”

  “Why?”

  “To give you your bed.”

  “No.”

  No again. Not much to key off.

  “You’re twitching, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of me.”

  He yawned. “It is.”

  “Oh, well, in that case…” I dripped with sarcasm.

  “My dick and my head want two different things,” he muttered through another yawn. “My head won, so go to sleep.”

  “Lucky for me your shower gave me what I needed.” I snickered before I tucked myself back down into the blankets. He chuckled, but I heard him whisper something.

  His hand swiped over, grabbed my midsection, and tugged me to him in one quick motion. I thought he was going to attack me, but instead he curled around me, and his hand tucked in between my legs. His erection pushed into my lower back, but he controlled himself.

  It was amazing how we as humans could control our minds when we really tried. All I wanted to do was wiggle my body and have him lose himself on me, but on the other hand, he admitted he needed sleep. So, I controlled my head to think of other things. Finally, I allowed myself a little giggle.

  “Mm?”

  “Nothing.”

  He fell silent, and I found it even harder to control my laughter.

  Trigger’s hand fell to my hip and pressed lightly.

  I jumped and rolled into him. “Hey!”

  “What’s funny?” He pushed my hair off my face.

  “I was just thinking for such an ass, you sure have the softest sheets I’ve ever felt.”

  He huffed, almost a laugh, but he controlled it. “You done?”

  I shoved his shoulder, but I heard the lightness in his voice, and it was damn sexy. “If I wasn’t?”

  His arm scooped around me and yanked me to his chest. I rolled around so I could feel more of him. I couldn’t help but think how nice it felt to be held again as I slipped back to sleep.

  ***

  Black-out curtains could really throw a person off. The clock read nine, and I wanted to go back to sleep, but I was cold and realized I was alone again. I searched for my clothes, but they were gone.

  Shit!

  I saw a yellow dress on the chair next to my heels.

  Who the hell does this belong to? One of his weekend sluts? No, thank you. Besides, I have never worn yellow. Ever.

  I tossed it aside and rooted for something else, anything else. I found a hunter green t-shirt of his and a pair of scissors. Living on the streets, you became very handy when you needed to be. He had a bag of safety pins under his sink, so I dumped them on the bed and went to work.

  After twenty minutes, I wiggled into the new dress and admired it in the mirror.

  I used some of the extra material I had cut from the sides to thread through the holes I made. It was closed to just above mid-thigh. Four safety pins held the rest and added flair to the bottom. The neckline swooped low and looked like a bear had
ripped it across the chest.

  “Not too bad.” I grinned at the sexy little number I made before I hurried out front.

  I should have known something was off when I walked in and Morgan gave me a quick nod. He then looked off to the corner where Trigger and three cops were sitting. I tossed my bag under the counter and grabbed a tray and headed over to the table. My shift didn’t start for another six hours, but that didn’t matter anymore. If I was here, I was working.

  Morgan hissed at me to stay put, but I didn’t listen.

  “Can I get you something?” I directed my question to Trigger, who eyed his shirt…well, what was left of his shirt.

  “Gentlemen?” he asked calmly. “A drink?”

  “No.” The man closest to me looked up, and his face smoothed out into a warm smile. “You’re new.”

  “I am.”

  “I’m Detective Aaron, and this is my partner Detective Rich. And you are?”

  “Tess.”

  “You have a last name?” He pulled out a pen and paper.

  “I do.”

  “May I have it?”

  “Why?”

  Trigger huffed out a small laugh as he played with a joint between his fingers.

  “Because one of your club members was found dismembered this morning, and we need to know who did it.”

  “And that requires you to know my last name?”

  “Everyone is a suspect, miss.”

  I played this part well. My hands went to my chest, and I watched their eyes land there and lowered my voice with concern.

  “Surely you don’t think someone like me could do a thing like that?”

  The detective cleared his throat before he eyed his partner. “We’re not pointing fingers. We just need to know where you all were last night.”

  “Like I told you, we were here.” Trigger’s tone was smooth. I didn’t think anything rattled him.

  The detective turned his attention to me again. “You two were together last night?”

  “Yes, with Brick, Gus, Rail, Morgan, all of us.”

  “The whole night?” He tried to cut me off.

  “Yes.”

  “You have proof?”

  I leaned over the table to make my point. Detective Rich shifted back, but Detective Aaron stayed put, nearly in my cleavage. “I do, but it would be a little inappropriate to show you here.” My hand moved to my shoulder, giving them a little glimpse of Trigger’s mark.