Hunt Me Down

by A. L. Jackson

  And I had no idea if it was distrust or excitement that flapped in my belly when I let him lead me to his car.

  Ten minutes later, Broderick made a left in his rented Audi. The realization of where we were going injected a dose of anxiety into my system, and I leaned forward in my seat, my voice riddled with doubt. “Why are you bringing me here?”

  My gaze traveled the line of old buildings that sat like a beacon. A harbor. My safe haven.

  He slowed when he came to the shabby three-story building that housed Tindall’s Thimbles. Easing up next to the curb, he put the car in park but left the engine idling.

  He shifted in his seat to face me. “Because I want you to understand my goals. My vision. I want you to know why Addelaine Tindall signed those papers.”

  Unease stirred through my senses. Along with a shot of hope. I met his gaze. Fully and without restraint. “Tell me.”

  I watched the thick bob of his throat, his voice hoarse. “I am not the bad guy, Lillith. Evil might run through my veins, my blood my father’s, but I have fought his brand of corrupt morals my entire life. I’m not here to ruin people’s lives. I’m here to make them better. And if stamping my father’s name on a project makes me the bad guy, too, then so be it. I love winning, Lillith. I won’t lie. But my wins are on my own merit, and they are always, always fair.”

  I shook my head. I wanted to believe him, but all my reservations warned me to remember exactly who I was dealing with. “But you pushed this purchase without concern for Mrs. Tindall. Just like the rest of the buildings your company acquired.”

  A scowl marred his face. “How could you say without concern? Every financial offer I’ve made has far surpassed the current value of any of these holdings.”

  Frustration bubbled inside of me. “But that’s it, right there. There is no dollar value that can compensate for memories. For heritage.”

  His gaze slid to the plate glass of Addelaine’s store. “Is that what you’re trying to protect, Lillith? Your memories? Is all of this about you?”

  Somehow, the words that fell from his mouth were as soft as they were sharp.

  As if there was a chance he might understand and he was accusing me of an agenda at the same time.

  Old wounds flared. I attempted to stuff them down where they belonged. Apparently, I didn’t succeed because my voice cracked as I pressed my palm over my heart. “I’m fighting for the woman who gave me everything. I’m fighting for her legacy. I’m fighting for her family and her friends and all the people who have stories like hers.”

  His arm suddenly shot out, his hand fisting in my hair, his tone emphatic. “What if financial compensation is the only thing I have to offer them? What if it’s the only thing I can do to save what they’ve created? The only way I can help preserve what they’ve made of themselves?”

  My heart thrummed in the confines of my chest, my eyes darting across his face, desperate to read the truth in his expression. “What are you saying?”

  He grimaced. “I’m saying my father has already made his decision. This street will bear the Wolfe name. Our hotel will stand here, in this spot, one way or another. His way or my way. And I promise you, my way is best.”

  Awareness settled over me, like a rock sinking to the pit of my stomach.

  His thumb brushed over my cheek. “Addelaine signed that contract because when I went to see her, I asked her what she wanted. I asked her what she believed was fair in this situation. She felt the purchase offer was more than fair, and additionally, she asked for six months to find a new location before the sale closed. I agreed, and she signed. She and I? We made a deal. There was no coercion.”

  Regret twisted through my consciousness.

  Had I pegged him wrong all along?

  “Then why isn’t that six month promise in the contract?”

  “Because my father is pushing for a closed deal. I give that to him, and he moves on to his next acquisition. It’s an easy distraction.”

  I wanted to believe it. In him.

  A wry grin pulled at his mouth as his gaze traveled to the storefront. “She’s an incredible woman. Smart. But she’s also flexible.” He moved his other hand to my face, framing both sides when he looked back at me. “And that’s what I’m asking you to be. Flexible.”

  There was no missing the innuendo behind it.

  God, he had me tied up in knots. Because there I was with butterflies in my stomach and a blush on my face. The man made me vulnerable in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to be in so many years.

  Broderick Wolfe brought out the best and the worst in me.

  “What do you want from me?” I finally whispered.

  His hands tightened. “First…I want you to say you trust me and to drop that silly application to make the building a historic monument. You and I both know it won’t stick.”

  Fire glinted in his dark, dark gaze. “Then, I want to take you back to my suite so I can fuck you again, and then from there, you and I can see where this goes.”

  “Where this goes?” It came off as incredulous.

  “Yeah, Ms. Redd. We’ll see where it goes. I loved the taste I got last night. Something tells me I won’t ever get enough.”

  My spirit lurched. Reaching toward something that should be impossible. Because I was supposed to hate him.

  He smiled that magnetic smile.

  And I realized that was what terrified me the most about him.

  I didn’t hate him at all.

  “And you’ll give Mrs. Tindall six months?”

  “Six months.”

  “Promise me this isn’t some kind of trick.” A plea slipped into my tone because I’d opened myself to him in a way that gave him the complete upper hand, every advantage in his corner.

  God, the last thing I needed was to be lured into a trap by this mesmerizing man. Let my guard down so he could rush in for the kill.

  “Trust me,” he said again.

  “I’m not sure I know how.”

  “Then let me prove to you that you can.” His fingertips trailed down the hollow of my throat, a dark promise coating the words, “Do you trust me with this body?”

  “Yes.” A shiver raced down my spine, settling low, igniting a throb between my thighs.

  Broderick sat back, that arrogance setting like stone on every line of his magnificent face. “Good. Then let’s find out where this goes.”

  10

  Broderick

  “Do you trust me?” I whispered close to her ear where she was bent over the side of my bed, her hands pressed to the mattress.

  Shivering, she nodded, locks of raven hair cascading around her shoulders. Her back was bare and just as gorgeous as the rest of her, and I slowly trailed my fingertips down the length of her spine, all the way down to the only thing she wore.

  A red, lacy thong.

  That and a pair of red high, high heels.

  Lust tightened my balls and hardened my dick.

  Yes.

  “I love red,” I murmured as I dipped my fingertips between her cheeks and glided them over the fabric. “So fucking much.”

  She whined, her ass jutting out, asking for more.

  “Did you wear these for me?” The question rumbled from deep in my throat. “Did you know I would come for you? Find you? Take you?”

  A whimper slipped from her mouth.

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  “Yes.” It was a breath. “Please.”

  Hunger ricocheted through my body.

  Something primal.

  Fueling the obsession she’d incited in me since the first time my eyes had scanned across her impassioned words.

  But standing there, a different kind of emotion rushed me. Something bigger. Something more.

  I swallowed around it as I dropped to my knees behind her, forcing her legs apart and situating myself between them. My palms cupped her cheeks, spreading her. “Your ass is as perfect as your pussy, Lillith. Did you know that? Did you know every inch of you drives
me wild?”

  I pressed my nose to the fabric of her underwear, which did nothing to cover her, and inhaled deeply. “You smell delicious.”

  No. Not like flowers or sugar or chocolate.

  She smelled like a woman. She smelled like sex. She smelled like me.

  A growl pulled from my lungs, and I licked the wet, glistening flesh that peeked out from the fabric before I nudged the lace aside so I could go deeper. Fucking my tongue into her tight heat and running my fingers along the crease of her ass.

  She moaned. “Broderick.”

  I bit the inside of her thigh.

  She yelped.

  “I’m going to devour you, Lillith. Every inch.”

  Her legs shook. “Yes,” she whispered.

  I edged back a fraction so I could pull her thong from her waist and drag it down her legs, sitting back on my heels so I could appreciate the view as I unwound them from her feet.

  The lights were off in my room, and only sheer drapes shaded the windows from the winter day.

  It cast her as a silhouette.

  Sleek and sexy.

  “You are so damned beautiful,” I murmured when I gripped her by the outside of the legs. I edged forward, tongue gliding into her folds.

  “Brody.” Her saying my name that way had me close to coming unhinged, and I angled so I could lave attention on her clit. I flicked and circled while she writhed and moaned. “Please…more…don’t stop.”

  My hands explored. Greedily. Skating her soft skin, her legs, her round bottom, and the small of her back.

  God, she was a miracle.

  Appealing in a way that had hit me like a flash flood. Unaware and unprepared.

  I swept my fingertips through the desire that coated her, teasing before I plunged them inside.

  “Like this?” I demanded.

  I drove them deep, making her jerk with the sudden pleasure.

  “Yes,” she begged then cried out in frustration when I pulled them free before she was squirming and panting and flailing again when I brushed them up the sensitive flesh at the back of her pussy and to the tight pucker of her ass.

  “Trust me,” I whispered against her skin, kissing along her inner thigh as I continued to touch her. Tease her. Taunt her. “Tell me you trust me.”

  She warred, her words a wisp of concession. “I…I trust you.”

  I had to suck in a breath to steady myself.

  Because I could feel something wanting to give.

  Something rigid and hard wanting to go soft.

  She whimpered and gave, her legs shaking as she struggled to relax as I slowly eased two fingers inside. “You’re mine, Ms. Redd. Do you hear me? I told you I’d make you mine.”

  Her low moan echoed from the walls as I slowly drove my fingers deeper, her knees weakening as she clawed at the bed.

  “I…I can’t…please.”

  “Please what?”

  “I need you,” she pleaded.

  Swiftly I stood and pulled my fingers free before I sank the fingers of both hands into her ass cheeks, my cock catching on her pussy as I nudged in an inch. “Is this what you need?”

  Desire blazed.

  “Yes. Please…don’t tease me. I’m yours.”

  I’m yours.

  I was consumed by the confession of her words, and I drove my cock deep inside her body. Her walls spasmed with the intrusion, clutching my dick in needy desperation.

  “Fuck…you feel amazing, Ms. Redd. So fucking good. Tell me how good my cock feels. This is why you won’t ever get away from me.”

  The words spilled out without thought or reason.

  The only thing I knew was their truth.

  I would never let this woman get away from me.

  I would hunt her. Find her. Keep her.

  “I…oh my…fuck.” It was all an incoherent jumble of words from her gorgeous mouth as she struggled to keep standing as I began to fuck her—hard and fast.

  Unbridled.

  Wild.

  Claiming.

  Her flesh stretched around me, gripping me in its satiny welcome.

  Offering it all.

  So, I took it.

  With each fierce thrust, she cried out, her fingers digging into the comforter of the bed. I ran my thumb around her slickness, gathering it as I dragged it upward and pushing it into her hole. My other fingers wound around to her front, grabbing her tit, her throat, before I forced two fingers into her mouth.

  She sucked me with her hot, wet tongue while her hot, wet body clutched and begged and moaned.

  Completely unhinged.

  As unhinged as I was.

  My head spun and her body bowed and I was suddenly overcome.

  Staggered in a way I wasn’t sure I could afford to be.

  A surprise gasp flew from her when I pulled out, picked her up, and tossed her onto her back on the bed.

  And there she was. All spread out, raven hair and milky skin and red high heels.

  I was quick to crawl over her, caging her for a heated moment, staring down at her gorgeous face as I felt something shatter inside me.

  I drove back into her, pleasure spiking as I filled her.

  And she watched me with those emerald eyes. Her lips parted. Her heart clear.

  “Redd,” I whispered, “what have you done to me?”

  “It’s you who’s taken me.” Her words were a wispy admission.

  I edged back so I could run my knuckle over her clit.

  That single touch was all it took.

  She arched from the bed as she slammed into ecstasy. Her head rocked back and those perfect tits jutted toward my face.

  My mouth grazed a rosy nipple as I eased my hand away before both my hands were on either side of her head as I conquered her with each erratic thrust.

  Pleasure rushed down my spine. Tightening my balls. Constricting to a pinpoint.

  Exploding and blowing through my body on a fiery circuit.

  Every nerve.

  Every cell.

  I poured into her, my body bowing and my head dipping down to the soft flesh of her shoulder.

  My teeth sank in.

  Making my mark.

  Sated, I collapsed onto her sweat-drenched body before I pushed up onto my elbow and brushed my fingers through her hair. “I think I like where this is going.”

  Lillith giggled. “I think I do, too.”

  She sobered, touched my face, vulnerability slipping into her tone. “I shouldn’t fall for you.”

  I edged down and nipped at her bottom lip. “Yes, you should.”

  11

  Lillith

  “That was amazing,” the deep voice grumbled from beside me, his rugged pants rising into the air as night took hold of the hotel room.

  I struggled to find my own breath. My body blissfully spent.

  But it was my heart pulsing full of an overwhelming satisfaction and joy that shivered through my senses. The feelings pressed and pulsed and thrummed, demanding to make themselves known.

  Affection.

  Fondness.

  Care.

  Stripped of my anger, they were right there, taunting me with the fact I’d rather be in his arms than anywhere else.

  I knew those feelings put me in greater danger with this man than I’d ever been.

  I rolled onto my side and propped up on my elbow. “What is happening here?” I whispered.

  Broderick lay on his back in the middle of the massive bed we’d spent the entire day utilizing to its fullest potential.

  I couldn’t resist tracing a fingertip down the sheer strength of his bare chest and over his ripped abdomen. As if I hadn’t spent the last eight hours exploring every inch of him while he’d consumed every inch of me.

  No place in me had been left unattended. He’d taken me hard and fast and rough, again and again. Until the last time when his touch had turned tender and slow as he’d stared down at me through the descending night.

  He grinned. “I thought we were seeing wher
e this goes.”

  “But now that you have things settled here, you’ll be going back to New York.”

  “Will I be?”

  Quickly, I shifted up farther so I could get a better look at him. “What?”

  He raised a hand and threaded his fingers through my hair. “Maybe you were entirely wrong about my view back in Manhattan, Lillith. Maybe I have the best view right here.”

  Tingles spread like sparking matches to my spirit.

  Stunned, I blinked down at him. “You want to stay here…because of me?” It almost came across as an accusation.

  “You think I wouldn’t?”

  My head shook. “You don’t even know me.”

  His smile was easy. “You keep saying that.”

  He seemed completely unperturbed by my sudden questioning, while my whole world felt as if it’d spun off its axis.

  I was a realist.

  A planner.

  Cautious to the ninth degree.

  I didn’t carelessly fall in love. To me, love was a decision that was made only by choice, given after every consequence had been taken into consideration.

  Otherwise, you were left stung. Bitten. Broken.

  I also didn’t fall recklessly into someone’s bed.

  Yet, there I was.

  “I keep saying that because it’s true.”

  “What are you so afraid of?” he asked as he ran gentle fingers through my hair, a frown denting between his eyes.

  I had the sudden urge to slip from his bed and cover myself, hide, the impulse stronger than it’d been in a long, long time.

  His brow furrowed, the man so intent as he ran the knuckles of one hand down my cheek and under my jaw. Tingles lifted. Warmth and comfort and a stroke of that fire. “Who hurt you, Lillith?”

  “The people who were supposed to love me most.”

  I had no idea what had come over me, because the urge to tell him was suddenly so much greater than the need to run. The pain I’d kept hidden for so long begging to be released. He watched me, silently coaxing me to continue.

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat before I forced out the confession. “I was fifteen…”