Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel

by Carla Swafford

  “I love hearing your moans mixed with whimpers. My dick is so hard for you, I’m sure I’ll burst.”

  “Please, please, please.” She whimpered again.

  “Shh, we’re almost there.” Several more rained down on her butt until she had a hard time breathing. He stopped. “Promise to take a backup on future collection runs.”

  “I promise.”

  “That means you wait until someone is available or I go with you. I’ll give you a list of my men who you can trust, if yours aren’t available. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  Confused for a split second, she searched her memory for the correct response. Then it came to her.

  “Yes, sir.” She licked her dry lips. Mercy, she craved more of his touch. The man was driving her insane with lust.

  Something touched her butt. She realized he’d pressed a kiss to an abused buttock and then quickly did the same to the other one.

  “Move up and turn around. On your back and head off the edge of the mattress.”

  She already figured what he wanted. In seconds, she had her mouth wide open and Jake feeding her his long, thick cock. Her tongue swirled around the head as more slid down to the back of her throat.

  “Swallow. It will help,” he instructed.

  Before she thought to gag, he pulled back and started over again. Breathing through her nose, she continued to suck him down, and he picked up speed until he hammered toward completion.

  “Damn, you’re so fucking sexy. The view is so carnal, a fucking turn on.” His voice sounded so husky and deep. She liked how much her submission aroused him. “I’d love to let you take everything I offer, but I miss that sweet pussy.” He backed away, his cock slipping out, still hard.

  Sitting up and twisting around, she started to lay back.

  “No, no. On your stomach again.”

  “My butt is so sore.” Surely, he wasn’t going to beat it more. “I learned my lesson.”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Your punishment is over. Yeah, that’s it. Your knees beneath you, spread them, head on the bed. Yeah. That’s a good girl.” He lightly rubbed the sore flesh. “You’re so pretty and red with a little pink surrounding each one. So warm. Perfect.” His gruff voice turned her on as much as his touch. “Now let me see if you’re as eager as I am.” A thick finger swiped between her legs. “Oh, yeah. Hot and moist. Even swollen. You’ll be so tight, just the way I want it.”

  She gave a small mewl, wanting him to hurry. He chuckled.

  “Fuck. You are so hot.”

  His cock pressed against her. She wiggled.

  “Be still.” He slapped a sensitive cheek.

  Her body shivered. She wasn’t sure how long she could be still.

  Then he shoved his cock all the way in. She screamed. Not from pain, though there had been a little, but the sheer pleasure of having him in her. Over her. Taking her. The man took long deep strokes with a rhythm that called to her soul. With each inward slide, the forceful thrust pushed up her butt and the angle touched a part of her she didn’t know existed. She squealed when her orgasm hit. He plunged in several more times.

  “So damn fucking good.” Then he became still.

  The bed trembled. She opened her eyes and noticed his arms shaking.

  “Jake. Hold me.”

  He fell to the side, taking her with him. His cock remained in her as he wrapped her in his arms.

  “I got you. And I don’t plan to let you go anytime soon.”

  She kissed him on his arm. Anytime soon. If only it was forever.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Angel woke a few hours later with someone slamming their fist to the door. Jake whispered for her to stay under the covers as he slid out. Tugging up his jeans with one hand, he picked up his gun from the nightstand. Lazy, and feeling sure he was safe, what with guards outside and...well, it was Jake. The man could handle anything. Including her.

  Earlier, they had gotten out of bed and showered, making love with her back to the tile and Jake holding her legs as the warm water beat down on their surging bodies. They decided to laze away the day in bed, only moving to kiss or fuck.

  She heard murmuring, but she recognized the voice. It was Dan. Jake’s man who had been sent out to track down the shooter.

  By the time Jake returned to the bedroom, she’d dressed and sat on the end of the bed.

  “Did he catch the person?” she asked as soon as he entered the room.

  “No. But he found a cabin on the other side of the mountain broken into. Someone had spent a couple days there. Bloody bandages found in the trash. Canned food opened and eaten. It must have been where Sen holed up after he’d been shot.” The concerned look on his face told her there was more.

  “What makes you think it was your brother?”

  “He left a note.”

  “A note?”

  “Yeah. He knew I’d be looking for him around the lake. He always hung around here whenever the old man came down too hard on him or just the normal shit he had to put up with.”

  “I see. Did he mention in the note where he was going next?”

  “No. But I know he’s okay. He has Tessa with him. They’ll look out for each other.”

  “Tessa? Quinn’s daughter?”

  “Yeah. You know her?”

  “No, not really. I’ve only seen her whenever I needed to see her dad. She’s fascinating to watch her talk with her hands. It’s amazing how much emotion she can show without saying a word.” Angel felt sorry for the girl though Tessa always had a smile on her face and never let her disability hold her back.

  He began pacing back and forth in front of her.

  “You have something else on your mind?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He continued moving.

  “Your other brother okay?”

  “Yeah.” Then he proceeded to tell her about Ethan’s trip into Nashville and having Rat Boy tracking him. Then he gave her info about Matt’s missing fingers, but he continued to look away, his face cold with anger. Why didn’t he spit it all out?

  “What has you wound up?” She wished they lived a normal life, but years ago she’d come to terms with all of the drama. Besides, they probably didn’t deserve peace and quiet. Too many sins committed in the name of family business, creating various types of turmoil while taking care of the people they loved. All her life she’d been dealing with crap, the kind regular people only saw on TV.

  “I have news the bullets that killed the old men were not from the same gun.” His gaze darted her way as he continued walking the width of the room and back.

  “So two shooters,” she stated.

  “Or the shooter had talent and could shoot two guns real fast.”

  “What are the chances of that?”

  “Slim to none.”

  “So two shooters,” she repeated. “Now, not only do we need to find one killer but two. Well, shit.” She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but Mac had taught her the importance of restraint. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she measured each word she said. “What do we do next?”

  “There’s one more thing.”

  Her stomach sank. How much more would they take?

  “Go ahead. Let’s get it all out so we can do what’s needed. I may yet send Damien to military school up north.”

  “Military school. He’ll hate you for it.”

  “Better that than me burying him in the ground. So far we had two shooters who killed the old men.” She raised two fingers. “One on the highway”—another finger up—“two at the wedding and one at the lodge”—a whole hand opened wide and one finger popped up on the other hand. “We have no idea how they are all connected, if they are connected at all. Are they someone close who hates us? Or are they coming in from the outside, wanting to take over our territory? Do you think your cousins could be planning all of this?”

  “There’s a good chance they are involved, but neither one of those assholes can sh
oot worth a damn. The old man used to talk about how they couldn’t shoot the side of a barn.” Jake finally stopped and sat beside her. “I’ve known this for some time, kept hoping it was rumors, but a group from Atlanta has decided to move into our area. They’ve been spotted sniffing around Birmingham.”

  “What are the chances they’re part of our troubles?”

  “That’s my girl.” He grinned and her heart sped up. His handsome face nearly pushed her to grab him by the neck and wrestle him to the floor. “I don’t think they had a hand in the old men’s death. I do believe they are behind the trouble with my cousins and the current shootings. Something deep inside tells me the old men died because someone close had a grudge. You and I know the old men were nowhere near paragons of virtue.”

  They laughed, shaking their heads.

  Then he stopped and stared at her as if he’d never seen her smile.

  Feeling uneasy by the depth of his stare, she shook her head.

  “Don’t look at me. Despite being a mean bastard, Mac helped me protect Damien and bring him up to be a good boy. Killing him has never crossed my mind.”

  He nodded. “Same with me. I’ve plotted the old man’s death many times, but I never would’ve done it. Ethan and Sen wouldn’t have either.”

  “It appears we’re back to square one.”

  Out of the blue, Jake draped his arm around her shoulder. She liked how relaxed he acted around her. When had anyone, besides her brother, acted that way?

  “Is that why you never reported your grandfather for his abuse?”

  “Ha! Like anyone would believe me. Or if they did, they’d most likely ask him to beat me more, I deserved it.You probably don’t remember, but I was a bit of a troublemaker in the day.”

  “You? Nah. Not you.” He chuckled. Though his face turned serious, his eyes twinkled. “Why did you steal my wallet? You knew I’d catch you.”

  Trying to hold back her grin, she raised her eyebrows. “Yes. I knew.”

  He stared at her for a moment longer and then burst out laughing. “You have always been after me, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. It was the only way I could get you to look at me. I’ve had a crush on you since I was six years old.”

  “Six? A little young, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe. But you probably don’t remember—”

  “You said that before.”

  “Well, this time you won’t. I was six and hiding in the middle of a rack of clothes while Mom shopped. You came in with your mom. In minutes, you ducked into the same rack. Before I could scream for you to get out, you pressed your finger to my lips and smiled. I thought you were the prettyish boy in the world.”

  “Prettyish?”

  “Hey, sue me. I was six.”

  “What did you do, kiss me?”

  She couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him. “Quit. Kids then, remember? We giggled and watched everyone until my mom started threatening to kill me if I didn’t come out of my hiding place.” She had waved and been so sad when it was over, and she rarely saw the boy again. Then she was told to stay away that Whitfield. Then in her first year of high school she saw him daily, while he never looked her way. “Do you not remember that?”

  Though it was silly, it bothered her to think he didn’t remember.

  “I remember one time hiding in the racks and coming across a little girl, but nothing else.”

  “Hey, you were older than me. You should remember more.”

  He looked away. “I had a lot going on at the time,” he said.

  “Weren’t you seven when you found out about your brothers?”

  “Yeah. One day, it was me and Mom living with the old man in the big house. Then the next, I come home on the bus, and Ethan and Sen were there and Mom wasn’t.”

  She pressed to his side and slipped an arm around his waist. Resting her head on his chest, she held him to her as he squeezed her tight by the shoulder.

  “Oh, that sucked.”

  “We had fucked up childhoods, heh?”

  “I guess so. I’ll say I had it a little easier than you and your brothers.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because no matter how much Mac treated me like a grandson, he never forgot I was a girl. He wasn’t gentle in no way, but he never abandoned me in the middle of the forest or broke my finger and refused treatment. Your old man went a step too far several times. I think he was a self-centered son of a bitch.” She said the last in a heated tone.

  In a swirl of movement, Jake picked her up and tossed her onto the middle of the bed, covering her with his big body. His mouth took hers, and before she had time to think, he stripped off her clothes.

  She loved his aggressiveness. Whatever she’d said to rile up his testosterone, she hoped to do it again. And often.

  What the fuck?

  Jake’s eyes opened. Staring at the ceiling, unmoving, he waited for a repeat of whatever disturbed his sleep.

  Angel’s breathing, tickling the hairs on his chest with her dainty puffs, and the churning of the fan above were the only sounds. Then he heard it again. A creaking of a board near the French doors that led out to a long back porch. With careful movements, he eased from beneath her and out of the bed.

  Damn it, one knee ached like a son-of-a-bitch. He limped a step and massaged it. He was sore all over. It had been years since he’d had so much sex in one night, and at the time, it had been three prostitutes he’d purchased when he turned twenty-one. With a shake of his head, he looked back at the woman he now called wife. He couldn’t have asked for one who suited him better. She met him stroke for stroke, ready to try anything, and demanded more.

  He picked up his mobile phone from the table next to the bed. Holding it close to his chest and hunched over, not letting the light brighten up the room, he clicked over to the cameras situated around the cabin. Nothing. Had he imagined the sound?

  Another creak outside had Jake sliding the phone underneath a pillow and then palming his gun. In a wide stride, ignoring the twinges in his knee as he rolled his foot from side to heel and then toe, he quietly moved to the doors. No alarm had gone off.

  “Need help?” Angel asked in a low tone.

  The “shh” he released barely pierced the silence.

  He fingered open an edge of the curtain covering one side. A shadow wavered at the other end of the porch. The moon hidden by the clouds confirmed the shadow wasn’t from the surrounding trees. He’d left a lamp on in the huge central room. His men had instructions to stay in the surrounding trees and road, no touching the cabin, and it included no walking across the back deck. Whoever was out there knew the cameras’ blind spots, or had looped the transmitting views.

  Behind him, he heard the faint rubbing of the mattress against boxsprings followed by soft footsteps. He looked down as Angel peeked out of the curtains. She wore his shirt, opened to below her belly button. Mentally, he groaned. The woman was going to get him killed.

  Reining in his libido, he nodded when she jerked her head toward the living room.

  They made their way toward the bedroom door and through a short hallway. Jake held up his hand. They stopped before crossing the threshold into the large living area.

  Out of the shadows a barstool flew toward Jake’s face. In a smooth move, he knocked it to the side with his forearm. Fuck, that hurt.

  A knife sliced through the air, just inches from Jake’s nose, and landed in the large attacker’s chest. The man screeched like a little girl and grabbed at the handle.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Angel said in a matter-of-fact tone to the man. As soon as the man pulled the blade out, he crumpled to the floor. “He should have listened to me. I had suspected it hit his heart.” She shuddered and turned away.

  “Are you okay?” He carefully touched her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, pressing her cheek to his rapid heartbeat.

  “I don’t think there is anyone else here. They would’ve pounced already.” Her voice was s
trangely level and cold. She’d acted the same way at the wedding when she’d killed the shooter. He knew how hard it was on her to take a life. Hell, it would be the same for any normal human.

  “You are one crazy, dangerous woman,” he whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

  “Crazy, huh?” She pulled away and her gaze dropped. “You’re the one standing there buck-naked with a hard-on.”

  “What can I say, adrenaline and you creating havoc does something to me.” He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. All of that soft womanly body pressed to his harder one made him want her, but there was more. A peacefulness enveloped him unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. He’d found a woman who was more than a bed partner. He’d never believed in soul mates, but he was beginning to understand why men wrote ballads and poems to the women they loved. His eyes blurred. What was he saying? Now wasn’t the time to have such insane thoughts.

  She squeezed him back and sighed.

  “I guess we need to get our clothes on and check on your guards. Oh, no. I hope the idiot in there didn’t kill them.” Her voice cracked at the end.

  He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. “You stay here. I’ll call and check.” The intruder appeared to come from the thicket at the end of the porch. Jake guessed he would be chopping down the trees near the water before long. “He was probably the shooter Dan lost.” He was also the shadow spotted moments ago. If only he could figure out who sent the man. Too many people gunning for the Whitfields and Tallys.

  After he checked on his lax security, he would discover who in hell messed with the camera images and where the man came from. “I doubt the men even know we’ve been attacked.”

  As soon as her butt met the mattress, she scrambled to her feet. He appreciated the flashes of rounded ass and sweet pussy.

  “No, no. There’s no way you’re leaving me. I’ve proven to you over and over again I can help.” She pulled on a scrap of material for underwear and then the pair of black jeans she’d worn earlier. “Quit gawking and get dressed, unless you plan to go naked.”