Strong fingers rubbed between her tender folds and brought her off in seconds. She arched into his skillful caress and released a long hiss of satisfaction.
He gathered her closer with her cheek on his arm. The warmth from his body seeped into every inch of her. Her eyes became heavy with each second.
His hand stroked her belly. She smiled. A warm glow surrounded her, a feeling she’d never experienced before in her whole life. The pleasure of knowing she was wanted. That he enjoyed touching her as much as she loved touching him.
She drifted off as she felt his lips touch her hair.
Jake listened to her breathing even out as he smoothed her hair. He stopped and admired the strands against her neck. Damn, he loved how the black contrasted with her pale creamy skin. She surprised him at every turn. No one had ever flipped him over their shoulder and then early this morning after everything settled down and they prepared for bed, he had the biggest surprise ever in his life.
A couple of streaks of what looked like dried blood on the bed. To make certain, he’d checked the condom he’d thrown into the trash. Yep. More blood. In case it was something to do with her monthly, during their preparations for bed he’d asked when she expected her next cycle. “In two weeks,” she’d said, curiosity evident. That told him what he needed to know.
When he’d entered her last night, she’d tensed. Her pussy had been so tight, and he’d wondered, but she hadn’t shown any other sign of discomfort. So he had no idea until he saw the evidence.
Angel had been a virgin.
He’d been told that every woman handled it differently. She had mentioned reading books, and he suspected she watched some porn. She wasn’t unaware. Had she tried to get rid of her hymen? He’d heard girls were doing crazy shit like that, so they could enjoy their first time.
None of it mattered. First time with him or a dildo, she was his and that would not change anytime soon.
He kissed the top of her head again. Releasing a deep sigh, he closed tired, scratchy eyes.
Images of the predawn morning hours flashed behind his eyes. Whose body was in the apartment? Deep inside, he was certain his brothers lived. With one other person uncounted for, chances were high it belonged to Matt.
Frustration pushed sleep back even further. He rubbed his eyes.
Fuck. He hated to tell the guy’s aunt. Matt had been raised by her after his mom died when he was ten. His dad had never been in the picture. Shit. No one had seen Matt the last few hours, and the garage was part of his sector to guard. Most likely, he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once the county medical examiner checked out the body, they would have a better idea of what happened.
He pulled Angel closer and nestled his nose in her hair. She smelled of vanilla and her own special scent, a mixture of leather and sex. Since he’d had his first woman, he’d never cared for cuddling. Yet it felt natural to do it with her.
When had his life become so different and complicated?
He chuckled. Since he tackled her in the cemetery.
Angel stirred and hummed with contentment.
“Shh. Go back to sleep,” he whispered.
Truth be known, complicated started the day he was born and he’d never been afraid. So why worry now?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Angel reached the bottom of the stairs, relieved to hear Damien and Tick jabbering in the kitchen. When she turned the corner, her eyes widened. Jake’s mom, Lydia, sat at the table with Jimmie Sue, smiling at the fellows stuffing their mouths between the commentary of their gaming the night before.
Jake was nowhere in sight.
She tugged at the gold-and-white corset and the decorative, matching short jacket with black lapels. She’d found them on a chair near the bed and guessed Jake had bought the set for her. Talk about glad she’d decided to wear the little jacket. She almost left it off. The corset was so beautiful that she hated to cover it up even a little bit.
Nervously, she stepped into the kitchen.
Jake’s mom stared at her as if she were an alien. Angel smoothed her hands down the barely-there black leather skirt and tried not to breathe too deeply. Glad that her thigh-high boots with spike heels covered all but six inches of what the skirt didn’t, she scooted into the chair next to Damien.
Even at fifty years old and five-one, Lydia Whitfield was beautiful with all her thick, long blonde hair and large blue eyes. Angel felt like a freak next to her.
“Hon, you want some chicken and dumplings?” Jimmie Sue stood, dipping into a large pot, preparing her bowl before receiving an answer.
“Sorry. I’m vegan.” She hated inconveniencing anyone, she rather look after herself, but she was tired of apologizing for wanting to eat healthy. “A salad would be wonderful.” Angel’s stomach growled.
“That’s no way to live, just on fruit, vegetables, and tofu.” Lydia Whitfield’s gaze dropped to her leather skirt. “And I thought that style of living included the clothes you wear.”
Obviously, Jake’s mom was more up on current trends than Angel would’ve thought. “I can eat a lot more than that. There are beans, nuts, and grains. And I buy old leather clothes and retrofit them.”
Jimmie Sue waved them off. “Well, I never want anyone to go hungry in my kitchen. Give me a minute, and I’ll get you fixed up.” The older woman began pulling out all kinds of fresh vegetables from the fridge.
“Sis, you won’t believe how sharp Tick is in the latest Grand Theft Auto. He’s already several levels above me. And he’s shown me some tricks on Warcraft. You wouldn’t believe the stuff I missed. Tonight, he promises to teach me how to play Fortnite.” Damien’s whole body vibrated in excitement. Angel glanced at his large soda.
“How many have you had today?”
“Ahh, sis. Just a couple. I’m okay. School’s out and we’re just hanging.” He darted a look at Tick in support. The big guy only shrugged.
“No more after this one. Water, juices, or noncaffeinated drinks only. You know it hypes you up, and you won’t be able to sleep. You had enough craziness the last few days, you need to stay away from those games for a while.”
“Aww! That’s not fair.”
“Boys will be boys. It won’t hurt anything. Summertime. Boys need to let loose.” Lydia added her two cents, and Angel really wished she hadn’t. The woman didn’t know anything about her brother.
“Mrs. Whitfield, Damien has ADD, and if I don’t limit his intake of caffeine, he’ll bounce off the walls and get in all kinds of problems.”
“Jake never gave me any trouble at all when he was young. A perfect child.” Her eyes got a spacey look as if she was seeing something no one else in the room did.
“Okay, Mom, quit telling people that. You’ll make all of the other mothers jealous.” Jake walked into the room and hugged her.
“Well, it’s true,” she said in a small singsong voice.
“Hey, Jake, you have time for a bowl of chicken and dumplings?” Jimmie Sue pulled out a larger bowl and began dipping.”
“I believe I do. That will give Angel time to eat, too. Then we have people to meet.”
Angel tucked her hair behind an ear. She politely gave a thank you to Jimmie Sue when she sat a strawberry and romaine lettuce salad on the table. Checking the label on the vinaigrette dressing next to it, she sprinkled it on and dug in. With a quick bite—she was so hungry—she then asked, “What people?”
He merely raised an eyebrow as he bit into a steaming dumpling. As he chewed, his gaze wandered over her face and down to her corset. He pointed his fork at her. “I knew it would fit you. Perfect in fact. You look beautiful.”
Thankfully, her white makeup hid her blush. She never remembered anyone calling her beautiful. Pretty, one time by her mom. And she couldn’t get used to his acceptance of her preferred style of dress. It’d driven Mac nuts. Her little way of being defiant.
“Thanks. It’s different from my others.” Her breasts still mounded for all to see, even with all the
pretty lacing and beaded jacket. Considering what he’d said about her other corset, she was surprised he bought it for her. She wondered why.
He grinned and continued to eat.
As soon as she swallowed her last bite, Jake stood and held his hand out to her. “Time, darling.”
She blinked and looked around. Everyone stood, smiling.
“Time for what?”
“You’ll see.”
Flowers and vines hung from everywhere in the front yard. A bridal bower stood at the end of a small path with a minister, Bible in hand, waiting beneath. Two fiddlers started up with the bridal march. Oh, no. The words “here comes the bride, big, fat, and wide” came to mind. The crazy childhood verses told her how nervous all of the attention was making her. Was she ready for this?
“What about your brothers?” Angel asked Jake, trying to keep her mind from what was happening.
“They’ll understand the urgency.” His grimness betrayed the worry about his siblings.
“Urgency?” She wasn’t so sure she understood. The will had not placed a time limit on it.
He turned his gaze to her. “Whoever shot at your brother and burned my garage had something to do with the old men dying. My gut tells me they don’t want us to unite our businesses. So we need to make sure they don’t get what they want.”
She had the same feeling, too.
“Okay. So will you marry me today?” The warmth in his tone and eyes sealed her doom. How could she say no? Why would she? This was a dream come true. Whatever the next few days, weeks, months, or years held for them, she would take one moment at a time. All of it would be worth it to be with him.
“Yes.” Such a simple word with so much hope wrapped around it.
He nodded and they walked down the stairs from the front porch.
With each step she took, the delicious tenderness in her thighs and ass reminded her what had happened between them in his bedroom. She wanted to experience more. Soon.
Without realizing she’d done it, her fingers grasped his.
“Good girl,” he teased. He squeezed her trembling hand and then released it.
She’d almost reached for him again, when Damien slipped between her and Jake and hooked his arm around hers. She scanned the decorations and number of people standing around. Her dithering allowed Jake time to get in position next to the minister. Lydia hesitantly handed Angel a large bouquet of yellow and white flowers. From the way the woman cast a despairing glance her way, she really didn’t want her son marrying her.
Talk about a strange wedding, though it explained his gift of her gold corset and jacket. When had he found time to pick it out for her? She imagined the guests thought they looked to be an odd couple. What with the bride wearing thigh-high boots and a short leather skirt, and the groom laid back and sexy in his black slacks and button-down white shirt sans tie.
She admitted that she felt lighthearted and excited by it all. Yet tears trembled on her lashes as she listened to the preacher recite the vows. She wished her mother was still alive to see this. She bet her dad had been invited, and he refused to come. She hadn’t seen him in the two years he’d been out of prison. Not that she wanted him there. He’d only stir up trouble. She did see a few of Mac’s friends and hoped they understood why she was giving in. Well, at least from a business point of view. She sure didn’t want them thinking about how great Jake was in bed, and it was part of the reason she gave in so easy. Oh, God, why did her thoughts keep going there? She was obsessed by his cock and mouth. Stop thinking about it!
Another step brought her within inches of him. Her brother let her go and kissed her cheek before he moved away. Goodness, she forgotten how tall he’d become the last few months.
Jake grabbed her hands as if he sensed that she wanted to go screaming into the nearby woods. Dreams didn’t come true for Tallys. She, more than anyone, knew that. Sure, he rocked her world when it came to sex and all the kinkiness she loved, but marriage required more.
What was she doing?
Rings appeared, seemingly from nowhere. For Jake, she slid on his finger a plain wide, dark titanium ring, and he, in turn, placed an eternity ring of diamonds on hers. She stared at it for a long time. She’d never owned a piece of jewelry so beautiful. And shiny.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The preacher raised his hands. Everyone shouted. She glanced at her brother as he jumped up and down. Then she remembered why she was there. It wasn’t just for her own selfish reasons. It was to protect Damien.
When Jake wrapped her into his arms and kissed her, no prissy smack either, she wondered if she’d made a mistake. Sure his kisses melted her into her boots, but he didn’t love her. He lusted for her for sure. Most likely, he would break her heart.
She wanted to grab two handfuls of sun-tipped hair and hang on. The man could kiss.
Were her emotions going up and down because she was losing her mind?
A crack resounded in the air. Probably a redneck decided to celebrate by firing his weapon in the air. The crowd quieted as if searching for the culprit. When several more shots fired off and screams followed, she knew they were in deep trouble. She found herself on the ground with Damien next to her. Tick off to one side a couple of feet away.
Hoping everyone was okay, Angel looked around and spotted Jake with the preacher and Lydia squatting near some chairs.
“Who’s firing at us?” Eyes wide, Damien scooted a little closer to her.
She pulled out a small Beretta from her waistband, glad she hadn’t left it in the bedroom earlier. She waited for more shots to determine the direction. Jake ran low to a man’s body and leaned over to pat the fellow’s back. From the way the man moved, he should be okay.
Jake sprinted toward the thicker section of the woods with two of his guards on his heels.
“Stay here with Tick and don’t move until he does,” she said to Damien. She was counting on the big guy’s well-known self-preservation to protect her brother, too. In case, she added toward Tick’s way, “If I come back and see one mark on him, I can promise you’ll be seeing the emergency room fifteen minutes later. Understand?”
Tick nodded and placed an arm around Damien.
Without a second thought, she jerked off her boots, stilettos were hell to run in especially over dirt, and running on tiptoes didn’t help much either. She hoped the little socks on her feet could handle all the pinecones and straw spread over the ground.
Crouched low, she darted around the house to a section parallel to the direction Jake had taken. A couple more gunshots led her to Jake and the guards. They had the man surrounded. Throwing his rifle off to the side, he surrendered and stood with hands above his head. At the same time, a movement several yards away caught her attention. Dressed in camouflage, the other man leaned to one side from behind a tree, giving away his position, and aimed in the shooter’s direction, probably at Jake. Without a second thought, Angel fired. The man in camo screamed and dropped, not moving any longer.
In seconds, Jake reached her. “Who did you shoot?”
She shrugged and pointed to what looked to be a pile of green leaves. “He was about to take out your shooter or shoot you. His camo made it hard to wing him. So I may have done more damage than I planned.” Her voice sounded cold and distant, but inside she shook.
With his handgun pointed down, Jake stalked over and kicked at the piles of leaves. A man’s body flopped over. Jake leaned down to check for a pulse. He squinted at Angel for a second and then he motioned for one of the guards and spoke in a low tone. The guard nodded and lifted the limp body, heading away from the crowd.
Somehow she remained standing as her stomach churned. She’d cut a few men and even kicked the crap out of one in the balls, but she’d never killed anyone. The Tally name put fear in most of her opponents and protected her more than she needed to be violent.
Trying to get her mind off the dead man, she turned her attention to the one being held betw
een two big, angry Whitfield men.
Inhaling deeply, she nodded toward the man. “What are you going to do about him?”
Jake’s eyes narrowed as he glanced down. “Are you okay?”
That was when she realized she held her gun pointed their way. She became more embarrassed when she noticed how her hand trembled.
She flipped the safety on and dropped her hand to her side. “I’m fine. I just never...” What in the world was happening to her? Not once had her life as a collector affected her as the last few minutes. Had her feelings for Jake help drag down the wall of indifference she’d built to protect herself? Was worrying about her new husband making her weak?
“Take him to the pump house. I’ll be along later,” Jake said to his men.
Then the trees spun as Jake picked her up and started toward the house.
Breathless, she didn’t protest as her arms automatically circled his neck. Her gun rested against his shoulder. His warmth seeped into her chilled body. She pressed her cheek beneath his chin, feeling his heart beat fast against her own chest as he took the steps two at a time. Was the fast thumping due to carrying her or because they were coming closer to the bedroom? His domain.
He stretched her out in the middle of the bed, taking her gun and placing it safely inside the top drawer of the nightstand. She pushed up, and he pressed her back.
“No. Don’t move.” His mouth was set in a grim straight line.
“But―”
“Remember our agreement?” He looked at her from beneath his brows.
“Yes, but―” She wanted to ask so many questions, wanted him to assure her that she didn’t screw up. She needed...what?
“Shh! Relax.” Jake pulled off the ruined socks from her feet and then dragged down her skirt, throwing it onto the floor. “Damn.”
Instead of a thong, she wore a pearl G-string that rubbed against her clitoris whenever she moved.
He spread her legs and cupped her mons. She moaned. His big hand was so warm against her.
Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel Page 15