Seducing Texas (So Not Prince Charming Book 2)

by Diana Downey

  I drive us to the tunnel and wipe down our prints, even though we could’ve left fibers in the car. We hurry through the tunnel and on the other side of it, my truck is waiting with Aedan in it.

  He gets out of the vehicle and runs to Willa, picking her up to hold her. She sobs onto his shoulder, and he pulls her into the rear cab. I don’t know how he found the tunnel, but we should leave before Espinoza shows up.

  It’s a very cold ride home and silent other than Willa’s tears. Cyn stares out the window. The icy chill in the air penetrates my bones and worries the shit out of me. I love Cyn. I shouldn’t have come down so hard on her when I have to see Niki. If more drug dealers are involved with my embezzlement, then they could come after Cyn.

  To my surprise, Cyn lets me come into her townhouse. She’s angry with me, and I haven’t gotten over the kiss with Juarez. Given Lindsey is staying at mine, I don’t want to go there and my clothes are here.

  Willa and Aedan go to her room, and Cyn is seething. Willa comes out a few minutes later with an overnight bag packed.

  “I’m going,” Willa says.

  “You’re not going with him,” Cyn says. “You’re too young.”

  “I’m eighteen, and you can’t tell me what to do. Hell, I killed them.” Her voice is strained and low.

  “You should listen to your sister,” I say. “You’re upset. Why don’t you wait?” I’m pretty sure Willa is a virgin. She’s not like her wild sisters.

  She doesn’t talk back to me but comes over and kisses my cheek by pulling me down to her. “Thank you, but I can’t stay here, not after what happened.”

  “Stop her, Shane,” Cyn begs.

  I pull Cyn into my arms and whisper, “Let her go for now. Aedan’s a good man. Nothing will probably happen.”

  After Willa leaves with Aedan, Cyn pushes me off. “You shouldn’t have let her go.” She walks into her bedroom and closes the door.

  It’s early Monday morning, so I shower, shave, and dress for work. When I’m done, hoping she’s calmed down, I ask, “Do you want me to stay here with you?”

  “I’ll come in after a bit. I just need to…”

  I can feel the tension between Cyn and me. “Please don’t shut me out, Cyn.”

  She won’t look at me, and it’s killing me. “Please go. I’ll see you in an hour. I can’t deal with everything.”

  As I get into my truck, my cell phone rings.

  Shit. It’s Lindsey. “What’s up?”

  “Where’s the key to your room?” she asks. “I’d like to give Remy a bath, and there’s only a shower in the guest bathroom.”

  “You aren’t allowed in my room. He can take a shower.”

  She’s another issue I need to deal with. I need to get her the hell out of my condo.

  Chapter Willa

  Caitlin is at her boyfriend’s house, and other than the dog, we are alone. I may regret this. I couldn’t stay there though, not after my abduction and not after killing my uncle and my cousin. I can’t believe I did it. I didn’t have a choice, and it doesn’t feel real.

  I’m a killer. How does that make me different from Juarez?

  Cyn had told me she had come to Mexico to kill Uncle Manny for me…for us. She loves me, like Mom did.

  The gun I’d taken from the bathroom was meant for her. The toilet flapper had gotten stuck, letting the water run. I had to quiet the whooshing of running water before it gave away my hiding place, so I removed the tank cover and saw the gun taped to it.

  I don’t know if I’m shaking from being alone with Aedan or the terror from killing two people. I can’t seem to stop. We’re sitting on his king sized bed. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never really had a boyfriend, let alone sex.

  “What happened in Mexico?” Aedan asks, his voice dropping low with genuine concern.

  Why would he want to be with me, a murderer?

  My head rests onto his firm chest and more tears fall. I thought I’d cried them all out. His fingers twirl in my long hair, adding to my already shivering and awakening body. He’s sexy, eye-popping man candy, but I want to be held right now. It’s what I desperately need, for him to wrap his strong arms around me.

  “I can’t involve you, and I don’t want you to lie,” I say. “I can’t tell you.”

  He kisses my neck, and I lose my train of thought. “I would for you,” he says.

  “I was taken by my uncle. He had my mother murdered and then he sent men to kill my sister. I did what I had to do.”

  He shifts away from me, shock settling into his blue eyes. “Why would he do that?”

  I already miss his touch, though I don’t blame him. I’m a killer. I’m a child killer. “My uncle wanted my mother’s money and Cyn did my dad’s books. At the time Dad was running drugs for his brother. Cyn knows more than she should.”

  He won’t look at me. “And I thought me da was bad.”

  I sit rigidly on the bed, already missing his touch. He doesn’t want me anymore.

  “What was your mother like?” he asks. His fingers reach for my hand. I need more of him. I need all of him.

  “Beautiful and kind. She loved to garden. We were all close to her. I miss her.” A few tears fall unbidden for her. “How’s your head?”

  “I’ve been hit much harder than that. I wish I could’ve gone to help. They wouldn’t let me. I followed them, and when they went off road, I waited for their return before going down the dirt road. The tracks ended out in the middle of nowhere.”

  “There was a drug tunnel they used. There are a lot of them on the border.”

  “What exactly did you do?” His voice is hesitant and unsure.

  My breathing becomes labored, and my head spins. I don’t really want to talk about it, about what I did. All the crimson swims in my mind. I can smell the gun exploding and the coppery scent of blood. “It wasn’t good, but my uncle will never come after us again.”

  His look of honest concern stirs in my belly and seals my growing attraction for this man. “What about the other drug dealer helping you?” he asks.

  I look into the blue gems of his eyes. “We made his life better. Manny is out of the way.”

  Aedan pulls me down onto the bed, so that I’m lying next to him. Does he hate me? How could anyone love me after what I did? I didn’t just kill my uncle. I killed my thirteen-year-old cousin.

  His warm hands cup my face. “Yer were kidnapped and fighting for yer life. I know in me heart yer made the best decision under the circumstances.”

  “I pray that I did,” I half sob out.

  His long legs stretch out and tangle with mine. He kisses me tenderly, and everything disappears around me, including the little yappy dog. “I really like you, Willa. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you.”

  His lips mesh with mine, soft and wet. His breath is warm and sweet, like he just brushed his teeth for me. His tongue unhurriedly roams over my lips, dampening them, and then fishes inside my mouth. It surfs over my teeth and links to my tongue, completely connecting us. I’ve never had such strong feelings for a man. I’ve never wanted to give into a man before and get lost within his embrace.

  His fingers rake through my hair, stretching it back away from my face. I want him, but nerves freak, inciting ripples of anxiousness.

  I want to forget. I want him to take away what I did. The only way that’ll happen is as if he consumes me.

  Kisses trail down my chin and onto my neck, like feathers brushing against the delicate skin. He mouths my clavicle and sinks his nose into the hollow of my throat. My body feels like it’s on fire, current racing through it. His mouth works lower between my breasts but above my shirt and bra.

  His thumbs press into my hips, and my stomach tightens. Can I do this? Am I ready?

  “Why are you nervous, Willa?” he whispers into my neck. His lips part to nip the area between my neck and shoulder.

  “I’m not,” I whimper, my voice shaky.

  “You are. I want to be with you. Is
that okay?” His thumbs rub small circles into my pelvis.

  His mouth travels lower, lifting my shirt to expose my concave belly beneath his lips. His tongue traces the curves of my hips and the shallow of my belly button. My sex tightens and moistens, heating past my boiling point. A deep pulse thumps between my thighs and sparks shower my abdomen with current. I feel so alive with need.

  My fingers glide up his shirt, the tendrils of hair ghosting on my fingertips. He smells of the sun and man, so I breathe him in. My mouth kisses the top of his head while his mouth explores the sensitive corners of my pelvis. I inhale sharply from the light pressure of his lips grazing my hips.

  I shudder from the intense sensation. I won’t stop. He needs to keep going. My whole body tingles with anticipation.

  “What aren’t yer telling me, sweet lassie?” His tongue laps where his thumb rubs into my hip, tickling and exciting every nerve.

  Should I tell him? I should be honest with him. He’d find out soon anyway. “I’m a virgin.” I shouldn’t feel ashamed, but I do. He’ll think I’m just a little inexperienced girl.

  He gives my belly one last kiss, and his hands squeeze my butt. He moves back to my mouth, applying pressure onto my lips. He presses his body on top of mine, and his arousal bears down on my pelvis, slightly grinding and ramping up an insatiable desire within me.

  “I want to be your first, but this needs to be special, and not because of what you went through. I want it to be your unforgettable first.”

  I stare into blue eyes, need overwhelming me. “But it would be.”

  He brushes back my hair falling across my lips dampened from his. “It will, but I don’t want to take you like this, while you’re vulnerable. Whatever you did in the desert has hurt you and changed you. You need time.”

  He kisses me, and heat pours throughout my body. I desire him, and I don’t want to wait. My fingers find the zipper of his jeans. I unbutton and fumble with the zipper. He lets out a groan, and I slowly exhale while my fingers search for the rigid hardness.

  “If you don’t stop, I won’t be able to,” he growls low in his throat.

  “I don’t want to.” My mouth finds his, and my hand searches out his cock. It’s tucked into his shorts, rigid and ready.

  I taste his skin dewed with perspiration, and greedy hunger stirs between my thighs.

  “Oh shit,” he rasps. “We need to stop.” But he’s not stopping me.

  The front door slams shut, and I jump, my hand instinctually searching for my gun.

  “Hey, Aedan,” Caitlin calls. “I’m home. Want to get lunch?”

  My sex hurts it’s throbbing so hard. I don’t want to stop. I need him now.

  Chapter Cyn

  My nerves are blown. I didn’t want Willa to have to kill our uncle or little Manny. That should’ve been my job. Now she’ll have to live with it, and I don’t want that for her. I should’ve protected her. I’d already killed one person in self-defense. She shouldn’t have to carry that burden.

  After I’ve slept for an hour, I shower and dress for work. Shane has given me extra work, so he can pay me a whole salary. I don’t like doing the reality TV with Fay, even though she had nothing to do with my mother’s abduction. I just don’t like scripted reality. My own reality is already far too real.

  When Juarez kissed me, it totally shocked me. I was pumped full of adrenaline, not lust as Shane imagined. I don’t know what I was feeling at the time, other than relief that Willa was alive. But like Shane, every time he kisses Nikita or spends time with her it’s like a bloodletting. I hate it, and it hurts. I can’t see him with her anymore. Now that I’m free of Manny I want that cabin in the woods on the banks of the Kenai. I want kids circling my wagon like a band of wild Indians. I want that life with Shane, but we have to remove his problem now.

  On little sleep, I drag myself to work and drive cautiously there.

  I don’t want Willa to lose her virginity. I want her to save it for someone she loves. I don’t want her to be like me. I’ve slept with lots of men, and frankly, I’m not proud of it. When I turned eighteen, I should’ve chased after Shane.

  A few cars honk at me because I’m barely functioning. Using my hands-free, I call Willa and leave a message. “Please come get your car at Red Sky or maybe Aedan could. I’m too exhausted to drive. I’ll get a ride home with Shane.”

  As I drive toward the tower, I notice a black Escalade pull in behind me. Juarez wouldn’t follow me, not like this. He’d have Espinoza harass me in his low rider, so I don’t get this.

  The vehicle doesn’t follow me into the covered parking at the tower, and I sigh my relief. It’s my imagination running wild, but then who tried to run me over here? Could it have been Manny? Juarez? How would they know I applied at Shane’s company?

  I take the elevator up and park my butt in my office. Shane is talking to someone, and his voice is raised. I roll my chair close to the door to listen. It’s the fed, and he wants Shane to do what? Oh no. That’s not happening.

  I barge into the office, stabbing a finger at Timmons. “No way in hell is he meeting her in some sleazy bar and then take her home to bed.”

  “Cyn, do you want me to catch these guys?” Shane asks. “I’m not going to sleep with her if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “Nikita had nothing to do with you losing your money. When are you going to figure that out? It has to be someone who either works here or has access to your computers, and she isn’t capable of putting a key logger and malware on your systems.”

  Shane turns toward Timmons. “What have you found on the IP addresses I handed over to you?”

  “We’re still working on them,” Timmons says.

  Dark pockets sag under Shane’s eyes. Despite his exhaustion, he looks good in his button down shirt and jeans. “Cyn’s right. Why are we chasing our tails with her?”

  “What good are you?” I ask Timmons. “You haven’t made any real progress from what I can tell.”

  “Look, Miss Diaz,” Timmons says, anger sparking his words. “You have no idea the amount of resources we have on this case. We expect Niki to make contact with other clients she’s embezzled from, and that’s not all we’re looking into.”

  “You haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying. She would’ve only had access to Shane’s personal laptop while at his apartment, and he was there the whole time.” I scowl at him because she was underneath him the whole time. He wouldn’t have left her alone for enough time. When she wasn’t with him, she stayed at the sorority house.

  My face crumples because all I want is Shane, and I can’t do this anymore. Dealing with Manny has taken it all out of me, and I need Shane tonight and every night. I need him in my bed, and I need his healing. I shake my head and leave.

  “Cyn,” Shane says, but I close the door behind me. I can’t argue about this anymore.

  On my private laptop with the Internet turned off, I spend some time looking at the files on the flash drive my father gave me. Once Juarez lets me know about the primary file, I’ll see if my mom’s lawyer can make a deal for my dad. I’ll do it for Mom and Willa.

  I work on deciphering the folder filled with files. There’s no sense worrying about the other one. I gave my word to Juarez and he seems good with that.

  Shane had mentioned UTF-8, so I spend some time figuring out what it is. It’s an extension of the ASCII 7-bit character coding to define other languages’ alphabets.

  Using a free UTF-8 editor I found online, I peruse the files. Shane said they were Asian. I find a few masks and try several. Most popular Asian countries, Japan, China, and India. The Japanese mask plus a translator doesn’t do jack. The interpreter doesn’t make it any more readable.

  Tang walks into my office. “Hey, thanks for doing payroll.”

  “No problem,” I’m curious why he’s in my office until he walks over to the cupboards behind me and pulls out some Post-Its and a couple pens.

  “Sorry, the supplies are in here.” He
glances over my shoulder, and I change the screen to a Word document to hide the flat files.

  “What are you working on?” he asks.

  “Some genealogy.” I wink at him. “Don’t tell my boss.”

  He grins. “I don’t think he cares as long as you keep the books updated. See you later.”

  Tang leaves my office, closing the door behind him. I open the text file and search online for other character set masks.

  China has several languages: Wu, Cantonese, Mandarin and a few others. Mandarin is the most popular, so I try that first. It translates it but it’s not quite right. A few words are wrong, so I try Wu and holy crap. It’s a hit.

  Chapter Shane

  I knew we’d argue over Niki, so I left the truck for Cyn without saying goodbye. This is the last time I’m seeing Niki. It’s not worth losing Cyn. She was as upset seeing Niki kiss me as I was seeing Juarez touch her. I can’t keep seeing Niki because it’s tearing Cyn and me apart.

  I’ll stay long enough to see if Niki meets those other contacts and then I’m out of here. I love Cyn and she could’ve died today. It still rots in my gut. I should’ve been the one to go after her uncle.

  Even though I can only think of sleeping next to Cyn, I walk into the bar where I’ll meet Niki. Off in a dark corner, she is speaking to a young businessman I recognize from the tower. As soon as she sees me, she leaves him and walks over, looking a little guilty.

  “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it,” she says, grabbing my shirt to pull me down for a kiss.

  I give her my cheek, and that’s when I see Cyn, going up to the bar. She’s watching us. Fuck. I don’t want her in here. Pain slices across her expression, gutting and tearing me apart. I can’t keep doing this. I need to get whatever information I can from Niki and go home with Cyn.

  After ordering scotch, I sit down next to Niki. “Who are you meeting here? And who was that guy?”