Come a Little Closer, If You Dare (Love's Command Book 5)

by Billi Jean

  That got a glance from Mindy, but no more. He assumed because she thought he was crazy. She shouldn’t because he wasn’t. He’d shown her what the drug could do—once. It’d only taken once. She’d never doubted him again. Besides, he couldn’t dish it out to anyone but himself. Until he had someone to reproduce the drug, he needed it all for himself.

  “He’s one of those conspiracy theory geeks. Scrawny, glasses, but what he’s missing in brawn he’s making up for in brain. We give him one pill—that’s all—and he will reproduce it.”

  She licked her lips nervously but kept her eyes on the road.

  “For a price,” he said, knowing she remembered but wanting to remind her of her part.

  For the geek squad to work for him, he had to hand over Mindy—only for a day, but for some reason he couldn’t explain, that didn’t sit well with him. It wasn’t his dick. She’d seen to that three times already today and it was only past one in the afternoon. It was something else.

  He examined her profile again and couldn’t figure it out. She was hot, but so were a lot of women he’d fucked. Blonde, big, natural tits, tiny waist, flat stomach and a killer ass, Mindy had it all. White teeth, clean, neat nails, all of it was a pretty good package, but so were thousands of other women. Savannah came to mind, but even her pampered prettiness paled next to Mindy’s natural, hot rod body.

  Shit puzzled him. No matter how many times he fucked her, he didn’t tire of her. After two nights—three, tops—he usually moved on. Not that he had that option right now, but his drive for her hadn’t dimmed over the past six months of being holed up waiting for shit to die down.

  Maybe it was the loyalty. She didn’t try to escape him. He knew she’d been terrified of him, but she’d settled down so much that he almost felt like she remained because she loved him or for some such insane reason. He let her go out and about for them and she never left. She always came back, even though he still knew she feared him, too. Maybe that was his answer. She was too scared to leave.

  “Here?” she asked and slowed.

  He assessed the area and nodded. “Yeah, go down here a few blocks.”

  Mindy was trouble. If she went in and didn’t do what Jason wanted, she could foul this chance up. Jason was the only one Eric knew who could replicate anything, given a sample. He’d done it for the original Chung shit. He could do it for Duke’s. But if Eric made Mindy do this, she might just walk.

  Did it matter?

  Her shoulders were tight and she was not happy—not at all. She’d given him head today but it had been cold and much less than he’d gotten used to with her. Usually she loved every minute, making fucking her into a hot ride every time. Maybe that was what kept him attracted to her. She loved the games, the lessons and the hardcore sex.

  He exhaled and shifted his leg, easing the tension on his dick. The Chung drug was amazing, but the constant pole got old. As often as they went at it, he had to use lube otherwise he’d suffer from some serious abrasion on his prized possession.

  “Just pull over here,” he growled, more pissed off at his hard-on than at her. Jason was a sleaze bag. Did he really want him touching Mindy?

  “Stay in the car. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Don’t move from this spot,” he said.

  He took her chin in his hand and made her meet his eyes for the first time since he’d told her she’d be sucking computer geek dick today. “I won’t let you do this again.”

  Her eyes widened but she tried to nod.

  Satisfied that she knew he wasn’t fucking happy, he let her go, got out of the car then slammed the door. With a quick glance around, he headed up the sidewalk to where Jason’s seedy apartment sat near the corner. He pulled his baseball hat down to hide his face and shoved his jacket collar up as well. Ten minutes later he was at Jason’s door, banging hard for the second time to get in.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Eric, nimrod.”

  A click, then a grumbled, “Hey, dude, what happened to your face? You look like my plate of scrambled eggs.”

  “Funny, dumb ass, real funny.” Eric shoved the weasel back and regretted touching him instantly. No way would he let this scummy bottom dweller touch Mindy—or have her touch him. His decision made more sense now. The guy shouldn’t get the goods beforehand anyway. “I have a job for you.”

  “You said that,” Jason said and brushed his greasy brown hair from his forehead. His glasses were thick and he’d used masking tape on them in the middle like some geek from the movies—only on Jason it was all real. Even the trousers pulled up to his navel with a too-tight belt was all him. The man probably didn’t even have a dick.

  “You said you’d—” He winced and stared around, no doubt expecting his blow job to come waltzing in. “You said you’d have a woman for me. For today—”

  “I’ll bring one when you make the drug. I want a full dozen to start. Once I test it and it’s right, you get your dick wet. Not before.”

  Jason almost appeared ready to argue that, but Eric chanced the infection to shove him up to his dirty wall and got in his weasel face. He regretted it instantly. The guy had the worst breath on the planet.

  “Take a shower, brush your teeth, dress right and you could get your own pussy. If you can’t, I’ll bring you two, but clean up first or no matter what I pay them, they won’t let you within a mile of the goods.”

  Jason nodded so hard his glasses fell off onto the floor.

  “You get that drug right for me,” Eric snarled. “And maybe, just maybe, you’ll grow wood hard enough that this…” Eric dropped him and indicated Jason’s appearance then the dung heap he lived in with a gesture. “Maybe none of this will matter. They’ll be lining up for a taste of what you have swinging from your hips. Just make it right, and do it quick.”

  Jason snatched his glasses off the floor and blinked at him through the lens. “This drug… It can do that? Make women flock to me?”

  “This drug does shit you can’t even begin to understand until you’re on it. Don’t take it. I’ll kill you. Duplicate it, clean yourself up then take it and I’ll drive you right to where you can sample the best pussy in town. You got it?”

  Jason eyed him, the door then him again. “You have it with you?”

  “Yeah. Is this a deal, Jason? You duplicate it. I take you to where the best tail hangs out waiting for the right man, but not until you have the formula and we reproduce it. The split will be ninety-ten. I have to find sellers and that takes work, but you’ll have all the pussy you’ll need so that counts for something, right?”

  “Ten percent of the profits? Gross or net?”

  “Net.” Like he was going to show the kid his 401K.

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “Now?” Eric mused, taking a deep breath. “I’m going to get my face fixed then go kill a couple of people.”

  Jason stepped back fearfully and nodded. “Sure. Great… That’s great.”

  “Oh, Jason, it is. Believe me it is,” Eric said, thinking of how he was going to make a certain redhead scream before he finally killed her.

  Chapter Six

  Sonya went outside and walked the perimeter, letting Blue go nuts. The place had a shed under another grove of pine trees. She tried the keys Ace had given her and the smallest one opened the lock.

  Inside she found tools, a soft-top Jeep that had seen better days, and equipment for climbing. The ropes were wound neatly on a gun rack. It was such a guy thing to do that she grinned just thinking of Ace doing something like that.

  Maybe some climbing would be a good use of all her energy tomorrow. Blue would have to stay behind but she could set something up for her in here so she wouldn’t tear up the furniture.

  “Come on, Blue,” she called and the pup bounced over, all happy. “Let’s go inside.”

  She was halfway to the wraparound porch when she felt the first fissure of unease race up her back. Blue was ahead of her, already sniffing at the door and ready to go back in. She
scanned the silence but didn’t hear anything. At this stage in her life, she’d learned to listen when her alarms tingled. Scooping Blue up, she paused to scan the area, then quickly moved to the SUV. She opened the door without making a sound, then set the pup inside, closing it as quietly right after.

  From there she waited, crouched down with the entire area within her sight. The moon wasn’t much help but her eyes had adjusted enough to the dimness that she could see very well. Ace had built the perfect fortress out here. There was no way to sneak in on anyone. Walters couldn’t have found her out here this quickly. She’d only just decided two days ago to actually come here. This was the last place anyone would search for her. She loved cities, messy streets full of traffic and loud people shouting at all hours of the day and night.

  A few minutes of waiting and she heard the sound of horse hooves.

  Cody.

  My cowboy has changed his mind again it would seem.

  Laughing briefly, she shook her head and rested it on the side of the SUV. That was twice she’d pulled a gun on the man. He wasn’t silent either, so he must have learned from the first time.

  “Hey, Sonya!”

  The yell wasn’t too loud, but it was clearly meant to warn her that he was there. But did she want him there? After reading his service record, she had a pretty good idea what kind of man sat on his horse, waiting on her to reveal her location. He knew she was out here, knew she was watching him no doubt and knew she was debating whether to tell him to kiss her ass—and not the way she’d like.

  “Around and around and around we go?” she muttered, at a loss as to what to do with him. The newest Rihanna song, Stay, seemed to fit the situation perfectly. There was something about Cody—something about the way he stood, stared at her and, of course, the sex…

  But he was complicated. Much, much too complicated.

  Right?

  Who are you kidding?

  Sex was necessary. If she didn’t get it from Cody, she’d be aching and suffering. There was no way she could keep herself sated alone. It wasn’t just the orgasm the drug seemed to demand, but the hard, almost punishingly long sex. Sonya didn’t feel that need lessening—not even a smidgeon. She hadn’t spoken of it to Chung and since he hadn’t said a word about this particular side effect, she knew none of the men had either. So maybe that part of the drug was permanent.

  Tazz had filled in Commander Carson and Chung on the modifications Duke had made, so it wouldn’t take long before someone wondered if the same sex drive affected those on the original drug. She’d also written a report outlining the changes to the serum. The good part of that was the right people were now after Walters and the drugs he’d taken from Duke. If they nailed him quickly, the sex drug wouldn’t be reproduced—hopefully. And no one would connect the dots back to Chung’s DNA disaster—and, more importantly, her. Even more hopeful was that Tazz was right—and Chung’s daughter. Both believed the sex part would fade along with the fast healing and incredible strength. Tazz suffered from an increase in aggression, too, but so far she’d not had that. Headaches and complete body aches from not having sex were her most difficult obstacles to hurdle.

  None of that helped her now. If the sexual drive was permanent…

  The thought made her heart clench painfully. Her emotions, which had always been rock steady, fluctuated now like crazy. Sometimes she cried for no apparent reason. It was humiliating that afterwards she felt so good she would laugh.

  Being a spy she’d always learned to play a part, and had at times brought out the tears if need be, but she’d never felt them. She’d never needed to cry just to cry—not since she’d been a child—but the drug made those episodes frequent and, in her opinion, painful.

  “Sonya?” Cody called again, jarring her out of her thoughts. “Hey, I—”

  “Cody, I see you learn fast,” she said quietly and stood away from the truck. Rihanna singing around and around and around we go filtered through her memory again as she spotted Cody.

  He took his hat off and scratched the front of his head, giving her a shit-eating grin.

  Good grief, could a man be more attractive?

  It wasn’t just the sex with this one. It was there, the gentleman soldier, the tough physique, the scars that ran much deeper than appearances, and yeah, the survival skills. Confidence, mixed with messed up insecurities. He was practically perfect.

  Except that made him someone she should steer clear of. She avoided men like Cody and went for artsy, professor types for a reason. Men like Cody were too attractive to her.

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “I thought I’d best let you know I pulled my head out of my ass.”

  That shocked her into a full stop a few feet from him.

  He nodded and put his big black Stetson back on. “Surprised you with that, I see. Look, I don’t usually stop thinking, but you know, after great—hell, I mean the best damn sex of my life—a guy can lose brain power.”

  “What are you talking about?” she managed, even more stunned over that than his admitting he’d had to pull his head out of his ass. Men she knew, men that were in the service specifically, almost never admitted mistakes. She used to rake Tazz over the coals for what he’d done—going along with being ‘dead’ because she knew it was a mistake and so did he. He still didn’t admit it.

  Cody sighed heavily, got down from his horse and looped the reins over its neck before he turned to walk over to her. He had a slight limp, but she’d guessed he’d lost his leg from the knee down, so maybe not a leg specifically, but a good enough portion to give a slight hitch to his step. His range of movement was too good otherwise.

  “I guess I’m talking about how I should have explained why I changed my mind.”

  She stayed quiet and merely crossed her arms tight to still the urge to touch him. He had the kind of broad shoulders, the thick chest, of a man who’d worked hard all his life. Her fingers itched to run up and down the warm solid muscle, but she kept her hands to herself, not willing to rush this.

  “I don’t really do casual sex. I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck with a pained expression. “Hell, yeah, I do, but I have a feeling with you, once we spend time together…” He paused and let out a frustrated growl that fascinated her. “Hell, I wanna stay if you’ll still have me.”

  Stay. Right from the song, but which of us is broken?

  “Cody,” she said, finally smiling at his obvious distress. “Not two hours ago we were in the middle of some very, very hot sex. Why would I tell you no now? My only stipulation,” she added, moving closer so she could finally touch him, “is no more issues. And sometimes,” she cautioned, “I’ll have to leave, but then so will you, I assume.”

  “Not really,” he muttered, taking the hand she had on his chest and covering it with his. “I got nothing to do.”

  “Cows?”

  “Piece of cake, a few hours, tops. I’ll go tomorrow before you get up. You won’t even miss me.”

  She lowered her other hand to his belt and played with the waistband of his jeans. “You probably need clothes.”

  “Yeah,” he breathed. “Those I’ll need. Sometime. We going in?”

  “Yes, you are—soon.”

  “Hell, I like that,” he said dropping her hand and pulling her into his arms so she was pressed tight to all of his hard, hot body. “I want to kiss you.”

  “Is that all? Just a kiss?” she asked, leaning into him so the bar of his erection rubbed her stomach. “Tell me what else you want, cowboy.”

  His eyes flared with an intensity that made her shiver. “Cody. Call me Cody.”

  She rubbed her hands over the muscles of his shoulders and tilted her head to examine his serious features. He had a handsome face—even with the scars marring one side and pulling the left side of his lip up a little, he had the good clean appearance of an honest man.

  “Cody. Tell me,” she said, “what do you want?”

  He scanned her face as if he wasn’t sure she really w
anted to know, then surprised her by drawing his arms firmly around her.

  “Everything,” he admitted. “Anyway, anywhere, anything you want, I want to try it. Hell, we might as well, huh? Never know until you do.”

  “Oh,” she breathed and felt her body heat to the melting point. The open invitation to cross off her bucket list of sexual fantasies was hot, but even hotter was how he cupped her ass in both hands and added a lot of meaning to those husky words with a firm caress along the inside of her cheeks.

  Not backing down, she reached down herself and squeezed the firm roundness of his ass. He had an amazing butt. She wanted to watch him while he used those muscles to make her orgasm. “I want a lot. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

  “Does this feel like I’m not?” he asked, pulling her tighter against his long, thick shaft. She opened her legs and rubbed her thigh along the outside of his, pleased with his low groan when she did. “I’m ready now, firecracker. In case you can’t tell by feel alone, you’ve got me on a damn hair trigger.”

  God, that was sexy. She loved a man confident enough to tease, and easy-going enough to make it at his own expense. She didn’t waste time with words. With a needy moan, she pulled his head down and kissed him.

  The first taste of his minty mouth made her so hot she barely stopped herself from ripping his button-down shirt off to get to his skin. He lifted her leg higher along his and lodged his cock against her entrance while he deepened the kiss like a man starved. The firm grip he used on the back of her neck added a dominant flavor to the heat brewing between them, hitching the level up so high that she ached for him. He thrust his hips forward, carefully grinding his long, thick erection against her with a passionate groan.

  She needed this—him—again. He was so tender, but hot—so sweet, but naughty. The combination thrilled her. He thrilled her.

  She got his shirt open and stroked along his hard muscles. He was hot and tight, so well muscled that she shivered, knowing he’d be using every one of them to pleasure her soon enough. The rough feel of the hair on his chest made her tingle all over. She loved the way his eyes intensified as she played and learned the contours of his body. Soon, she consoled herself, soon she would take her time. Now she needed him—as badly as she’d needed him the first time. Feeling like she couldn’t wait, she went for his belt.