by Cara Carnes
Confident, firm swipes against her mouth destroyed any semblance of control she had. She softened within his embrace and surrendered to the onslaught of awareness arcing through her. God, it’d been too long since someone kissed her like this. Boldly. Hungrily.
The kiss wasn’t a hesitant, exploratory probe. It was a determined invasion, a storming of her senses that left her with little doubt he’d be an awesome lover—the kind who was attentive and focused on her pleasure instead of his. She clasped his head and deepened the kiss as she followed his lead, tasting the depths of his mouth as he had hers. Fuck, the man could kiss.
It was a carnal fusion of tongues and lips. A mouth fucking that promised the real deal would be a life-altering experience, one no sane woman would pass up. Hot skin greeted her exploratory hands as they wandered beneath Dallas’s shirt. She sought the heat of skin-to-skin contact.
More.
The thought ruptured her arousal even as it flared through her like a wanton fire seeking kindling. Labored breaths escaped her as he severed contact. His tongue licked his lips as if seeking one final taste of her. His dilated gaze remained locked on her.
“Tonight.” He growled the word as he ran a hand through his hair and looked around. “Jesus, you’re a good kisser, sweetheart. All in.”
She didn’t try to understand his words. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t the good kisser; she’d simply been following his lead.
“I know this goes against the grain for you, but I need you out at The Arsenal where I know you’ll be safe. The girls have all sorts of things they want your help with. Bree alone could suck days from you if given half the chance.”
“I can’t help them with brainiac stuff,” she argued.
“Babe, the tower was your idea. Bree wants to build one.” Oh, well, that she could totally do. She nodded. “I have some supplies at my place I could take over. We could build a template, then she could redesign with fancier materials. Steel’s all I have.”
“Thinking we don’t need anything fancier than that. We need rugged and durable. Fancy doesn’t hold up under fire,” he whispered. The sultry low tone made her body pulsate in awareness as her mind wandered to the subtext of his words. The molten gaze sweeping across her signaled he wasn’t talking about a drone tower any longer.
“I’ll pack my welding gear up, but it won’t fit in the Camaro,” she said as she eyed the car she’d procured from him. She was only a few miles from her place.
Dallas reached into his pocket. “We’ll switch. Nolan and Jesse are at your place. We’ll leave the car there, help you pack your gear, and then head out to Huntsville. You head to The Arsenal. Someone will help you unload out there. Before we do any of that, we’re feeding you. Jesse’s cooking bacon and eggs, and Nolan’s doing French toast.”
Kamren nodded. Shyness crept through her as the heat from their intimate moment dissipated. “I’ve never had French toast.”
“Now I’m wishing I’d called dibs on fixing breakfast.” His eyes drifted half closed as he cupped her face. “I’m thinking there are a lot of things you haven’t experienced, and I’m gonna enjoy giving them to you.”
Kamren was more than a bit annoyed that she hadn’t been allowed to unpack anything she’d brought from the truck. Gage and some guy named Fallon Graves had met her when she pulled up. They’d whistled at a group of men who looked like they were ready to go ten rounds with something big and bad. The two men had gotten into the truck and headed to Dallas’s with her stuff where the men they’d whistled at were heading.
That was weird enough.
She’d blinked, watching it disappear around the side of the compound buildings for about two seconds, then the women descended on her like a pack of rabid dogs who hadn’t been fed in a year. Okay, maybe not that bad, but it’d been close.
She’d started off by looking over plans Bree had drawn up for the drone house. They’d spent a good hour looking things over, then they’d spent another hour putting a rudimentary one together from the materials Kamren had brought, which a couple of the men had brought to them. The woman had asked more questions than Kamren expected. They all had.
Rhea, Vi, Mary and Addy had sat and watched from the sidelines as Kamren taught Bree how to weld. Then Rhea had wanted to learn. Seriously, they were a bit nuts, but Kamren had to admit it felt nice having people interested in what she could do. By the time she’d done her part in the construction, hunger steered them all to the mess hall.
More people than she expected were inside the large, open room. She’d been there once before with Addy, but it’d been mostly deserted. The redhead guided them to a table along the far wall, well away from the crush of mostly men and a few women. Kamren had no idea how many people were out at The Arsenal.
“We have more people here than normal because we’re in the middle of vetting potential operatives,” Mary said. “It’s a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, but the guys need the help,” Vi said.
“Come on, let’s grab some food. Then you can yap her ears off,” Addy said, her tone gruff even though she offered a humorous grin.
Kamren followed the redhead into the food area and followed her lead, grabbing a tray, silverware, and a napkin. Pizza, burgers, salad fixings. The aroma from across the way drew her attention, though. Jesse was frying up taco meat. The infusion of spices made her stomach growl. How long had it been since she’d eaten tacos?
“You should let me do that. A man as important as you shouldn’t have to cook his own meal,” Rachelle said as she put a hand on Jesse’s shoulder.
The man glanced up at Kamren’s approach and offered a tight smile as he side-stepped the hand wandering across his shoulder. His obvious unease with the physical contact grated Kamren’s nerves. No one should be touched without permission. The fact that Rachelle didn’t care pissed her off.
“Leave him be, Rache. Clearly he’s capable of frying meat without help.”
“This doesn’t concern you.” Rachelle glared. “Jesse’s had a lot on his plate, all the men out here have. I’m trying to be nice and help, not that you’d know anything about that.”
Kamren set her tray down and took position at the counter beside the oven on Jesse’s other side. Dallas’s brother could damn well tell her sister to keep her hands to himself, so why wasn’t he? His obvious unease pissed her off. The fact that he didn’t say no concerned her even more. His lips thinned even more as Rachelle started whispering something.
“Leave him alone.” The voice sliced through Kamren’s thoughts. Her gaze flitted to Ellie Travis. She’d heard Riley mention something about her working out here now, but she hadn’t exactly believed it. Interesting.
She was the sort of woman Kamren thought a Mason man needed in his life. Fierce. Brilliant. Beautiful. Loyal.
“This doesn’t concern you,” Rachelle replied. “Go away.”
“Back off,” Jesse growled as he yanked her sister’s hand off his arm. “Do any of you want tacos? There’s plenty.”
Kamren read the subtle translation beneath the inquiry. He wanted them to hang around. It was as close to a request for help as she’d get. She nodded and grabbed a knife. “I’ll cut up the tomatoes and lettuce.”
“I’ll get the onion,” Ellie whispered, then stopped. “Wait. Does everyone want onion?”
“No,” Rachelle said. “What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be answering phones or something?”
“Enough,” Jesse said. He removed the skillet from the burner and focused his glare on Rachelle. “I’ve tried polite, I’ve tried curt, so I’m going to go with blunt since you aren’t listening to the message my brothers and I are delivering.”
Oh dear. This wasn’t going to end well. Kamren’s gaze flitted back to the women, who’d all approached. Eyes wide, they remained silent as Riley joined their group.
“Stop touching us. Stop rubbing against us and whispering your innuendos in our ears when our sister isn’t around. Stop wandering around here i
n your bikinis while she’s at your farm doing your work. Stop bugging our operatives and flirting with the Warrior’s Path participants.”
“Jesse, I think you misunderstood.” Rachelle took a step back and fluttered her eyes, a move Kamren had seen a thousand times.
“No, he didn’t.” Kamren hacked into an innocent tomato. “You were as subtle as a bull in a hen house.”
“Like you’d know anything about attracting a man,” Rachelle shot back. “Here’s a hint. They don’t want a woman whose only skill is gutting a deer.”
“It’s dressing,” Ellie replied. “You dress a deer.”
“Fuck off, cow. You don’t have any idea how to please a man either. You had a good one, and he scraped you off like the trash you are. Then you lost your house and your job.” She lowered her voice. “Neither of you know what I know about Jesse. It’s not like I could go there with him. He’s not …”
Kamren slammed the knife into the cutting board and snagged her sister by the hair. Juvenile, but an effective move. Rachelle shot daggers with her eyes as she shifted into pissed off mode.
“Leave him be,” Kamren ordered.
“Or what? You’ll beat me? That’s always your answer, isn’t it?”
“Don’t go there, Rache.” Kamren released her grip. “You’re out of line. Again. You have to respect people’s personal boundaries. Not everything is about you.”
“I wasn’t doing anything,” she whined.
“You were. He didn’t want you touching him.”
“He didn’t say anything, and it doesn’t matter. It’s Jesse. Everyone knows…”
“He said plenty. He moved away. That should’ve clued you in.” Kamren lowered her voice. “And don’t ever talk about Jesse like that. Are you taking your medicine?”
“This isn’t about me,” she argued. It was. It was always about Rachelle. Kamren’s entire life had been about her little sister and keeping her safe from herself and others.
“Honey, let’s go talk.”
“No. You’re all nuts.” Rachelle charged out of the room in a huff of tears and growls.
“Erm, what the fuck was that?” Riley demanded.
“Leave it be, sis.”
“No.” Riley powered forward into Jesse’s personal space and looked up at her brother. Then she paled when she saw the haunted expression in the man’s gaze and took a step back. “She was touching you.”
“She’s gone. It’s over. Let’s eat.” A world of demands and needs resided within those words. He didn’t want to chat with his little sister about what’d happened, what’d likely happened repeatedly based on what he’d said. And not just to him. Kamren’s gaze swept the room.
She’d hoped Rachelle wouldn’t stir up trouble out here. Clearly that hadn’t been the case. “I’m sorry, Jesse.”
“Don’t take blame for something that’s not on you,” he said.
“She was touching you,” Riley repeated, this time a little louder.
“Not the first time, sure as fuck won’t be the last,” Jesse said.
“Yeah, it will.” The blonde took a step closer. “How long?”
The man’s jaw twitched. It was a familial trait or something cause all the Mason brothers did that when they were mentally chewing on a piece of something they didn’t like. Or didn’t want to share.
“That long,” she whispered. “All of you?”
Jesse looked away.
Riley paled and visibly recoiled. “That long.”
“She’s a good girl, sweetheart. She just has some boundary issues,” Cord said as he entered the fray. He settled his hands on his sister’s shoulders and drew her into his arms. “Our issues with Rachelle don’t concern you. It’s why we’ve never said anything.”
“She’s my best friend,” Riley said, her voice booming with anger. “If she messes with my brothers and doesn’t respect their right to say no, that damn well does concern me. You should have said something.”
Shit. Kamren mentally reeled from the potential fallout from this moment. She wasn’t sure what to do. Her entire presence within this situation wasn’t good. So much of it was her fault. She hadn’t been around enough to keep Rachelle in line and medicated.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “This is my fault.”
“What?” Riley whirled on her.
Kamren braced. The woman needed an outlet for the anger bleeding from her watery eyes. She needed someone to rail at who could take the brunt of her rage. “She’s had problems. I’m her big sister, and I screwed up by not being around to make sure she was okay. I abandoned her, and she needed me.”
Riley’s intake of breath moved her entire upper body. Hands fisted at her sides, she looked away. “She’s had problems?”
“Yeah.”
“What sort of problems?”
“The sort that aren’t my business to share,” Kamren said. “You’ll have to ask my sister, but I doubt she’ll share. You’re her best friend, Riley. Don’t ever doubt that. No matter what she might try and do with your brothers or anyone around you, you are the most important person in her life.”
“But her ‘problems’ require medication,” Riley surmised. The woman’s gaze locked onto Kamren. “I’ve been her best friend since grade school, but she’s never said anything.”
“It’s not something she’d talk about with anyone.” Kamren took a couple steps closer to the blonde. Cord backed up but remained close. “You were her sanctuary, Riley. You still are. When she’s with you, she’s happy, things are good.”
“Clearly not without side effects for everyone around me,” Riley said.
“For what it’s worth, it’s only gotten noticeably bad since Dylan hooked up with Mary,” Cord noted.
“She messes with any of you again, you let me know,” Riley ordered. “I’m thinking I’d better get to work finding a new cook for out here. I should’ve seen the trouble. Jud’s right. I put blinders on with those I love and trust. It’s a problem.”
“Loving someone’s never a problem,” Ellie said. Red rose in her cheeks when everyone’s attention settled on her. “Sorry, not my business. Carry on.”
“She’s right,” Cord said. “Don’t stop being you because of one bump in the road, Sis.”
“What should I do about Rachelle?” Riley looked up at Jesse. “She’s my best friend.”
“Yeah, and she’s likely needing you right now. Go track her down; talk it out. Don’t scrape her off because of us, Riles.”
“But she—”
“Don’t scrape her off because of us,” Jesse repeated. “She might need a visit with Doc Sinclair. We talked about it back when Mary’s shit started.”
“Yeah, we did,” Riley said. “I thought…” She sighed loudly. “I don’t know what I thought back then. I just knew something wasn’t right.”
And it hadn’t been. She’d been lost because her routine had shifted. Kamren had upended her sister’s life by shifting her own focus from providing a normal, stable environment for her sister to finding their dad’s killer.
“All the things she’s said about you.”
Kamren returned to the chopping board and got to work on tomatoes. As if understanding the importance of moving on with what’d been a good lunch plan, Jesse and Ellie started prepping everything else.
“Answer me, Kamren.”
“Didn’t hear a question,” she lied.
“It was bullshit,” Riley said.
“No, more like partial truths.”
“Right.” The blonde looked around a moment, then focused on Kamren again. “I was looking for you. You’re with Jud and I tomorrow hunting down answers in Marville.”
Okay, wow. Unsure what to say, she nodded and then looked around at everyone. “Anyone else want tacos?”
“You invite this whole place to tacos, you’re helping with more than tomatoes.” Jesse looked over at Cord. “Ma’s been itching to get her hands back on this mess hall. Til we get Rachelle settled, let’s see if she wants to co
me back here.”
“On it,” the man replied as he turned and left.
“Thank you,” Ellie whispered. Kamren stilled. “Thank you for stopping what she was saying. He’s a good man. He doesn’t need to be cut low by her or anyone. He has enough wounds to carry around without whatever she was gonna say seared into his brain.”
“Thank you for helping,” Kamren said. “And I’m sorry for what she said to you. You’re a beautiful, brilliant woman. Whatever went down with you and your ex, it’s your business. But from what I heard, you’re good people. No way it was your fault.”
The woman looked down at the onions she was cutting and didn’t respond. Conversation over. Kamren suspected Ellie had a load of secrets she hadn’t shared with anyone. Fortunately, she’d landed at The Arsenal, which meant they’d wade into whatever troubles she had if necessary. It’s what they did, and for once, Kamren was okay with the fact they’d waded into hers.
Kamren found her quarry in the entertainment room playing a video game. She sat, waiting until the screen flashed red. Cliff threw the control onto the coffee table in front of him and glared.
Seeing her brother hurt in many ways. He looked just like Dad, from the light brown, greasy hair to the cinnamon-colored eyes. He even wore the same constantly pissed glower their father had used. He had the same stocky, tall build that would have made him an excellent football player if he’d bothered learning the sport.
Although Cliff looked just like their father, he’d inherited a lot of their mother as well. His laziness was her to the core. So was the anger. Nothing was ever his fault.
“What the hell do you want?”
“Nice to see you, too, brother. How have you been?”
“Pft, like you give a shit.” Cliff was healthier than she’d expected, not strung out like he’d been a few years before when he’d been lost in drugs.