Tempting Calm Waters_A Blood Brothers Standalone_Book 2

by Samantha Wolfe

  I moved closer and her eyes flashed up to mine again, her pupils blown wide with desire. I leaned in so my mouth was mere millimeters from hers, breathing in her sweet magnolia scent that was now mixed with her musky arousal. She closed her eyes and sucked in a soft breath as her breasts arched up and her lips parted in anticipation of a kiss. It was all I could do not to give it to her as I restrained the desire that was raging through my body. Instead, I smirked triumphantly.

  "Nice try, babe," I said in a low voice laced with smug satisfaction.

  Lu's head jerked back with a shocked gasp and scowled up at me. "You...you..." she snarled out in impotent fury. She glanced down to find that I was still rubbing my dick. My smirk grew larger. Yeah babe, riling you up turns me on.

  "Tu pervertido bastardo," she finally managed to hiss under her breath. Well, that one was easy to translate.

  Then, still moving my hand over my cock, I proceeded to look down and give her delectable body a long and lecherous once over. When I was finished, I met her flashing dark eyes again with an arched brow and a broad shit-eating grin.

  "Sí," I replied wryly, unapologetically agreeing with her just before her knee flew up toward my balls.

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  ____________________

  Lu

  I thrust my right knee up toward Scott's balls, livid at his boorish behavior and anticipating the satisfying grunt of pain that would follow when I made contact. It never came. Instead, Scott's right hand shot out of nowhere to land palm first in the middle of my upper chest as he roughly shoved me backwards. My knee found nothing but empty air as Scott's defense completely threw off my center of gravity and sent me stumbling backwards. I fully expected to end up on the floor on my ass in the next moment, but that didn't happen either. Scott's left arm flew out, and he snatched my wrist in his hand, immediately halting my backward momentum and jerking me forward.

  The next thing I knew, I was in his arms with my almost completely nude body held flush against his. I was so stunned by how easily he'd defended himself against me, and by how warm and good his hard muscular body felt against my much softer and smaller frame, that it didn't even occur to my muddled brain to fight his hold on me. I looked up at his scowling face, that was now mere inches from mine, and breathed in his indescribably virile scent as his smoldering eyes arrested my attention.

  "Bad girl," he growled out in a low masculine timbre. "Very, very bad girl." He shook his head slightly. "If you were my submissive I'd already have you bent over one of those spanking benches and be paddling your ass red," -he leaned in even closer and narrowed his vivid blue eyes- "right fucking now." His voice was hard, and held a dark and intimidating edge like I'd never heard from him before.

  No man had ever talked to me like that before. It was fierce, commanding, and so sexy it turned my brain into quivering incoherent mush. This man's implied threat to spank me should have pissed me off, but to my shock, his words sounded entirely too good, despite having never even considered letting a man do anything like that to me before.

  What the hell is this man doing to me?

  I could feel his massive erection pressed hard and hot against my belly through the cotton of his underwear, substantiating just how intimidating it had appeared when I glanced at it a few moments ago. Not only was he long, but he was so thick that I suspected my fingers wouldn't even be able to wrap all the way around it. As if he knew what I was thinking about, Scott flexed his hips and thrust his cock against me, but the subtle movement irked me off and managed to pull me out of my lust-addled stupor. I fought his embrace with a growl, angry with him as much as my own wanton behavior. He immediately released me, and I stepped back to glare up at him.

  "And if my sister's best friend hadn't been brutally murdered, I wouldn't be here putting up with you or your perverted games," I snarled out.

  I whirled around before he could see the angry frustrated tears that were already starting to prick my eyes, and began snatching up my clothes, intent on dressing and getting the hell out of here. Fuck this guy. I didn't need this bastard to figure this case out. I'd basically raised my sister while my mom worked long hours to support us. I'd gotten myself through college and the police academy, then clawed my way up to the rank of detective. I could do this on my own too. I didn't need Scott's, or anyone else's goddamn help for this. I'd already picked up my pants, and was shoving my feet into each leg with sharp jerking movements, when Scott finally spoke again.

  "Lu," he said softly behind me.

  I ignored him as I yanked my pants up over my hips and fastened them. I glanced around the floor looking for my shirt.

  "Lu," he repeated, his voice closer and even softer now as I felt him gently touch my upper arm with his calloused fingers.

  The shock of awareness that the brief contact made shoot through my entire body was enough to get me to look at him. His pained and apologetic expression was like nothing I'd seen on his handsome face before, or would have ever expected.

  "I'm sorry," he continued, surprising me yet again, since I'd assumed he was one of those assholes who would never admit when they were wrong. He grimaced. "I don't know what came over me for a while there," he continued as he glanced away for a moment. "I guess...I guess I let my attraction to you get the better of me." He met my eyes again as I reeled from his surprisingly frank admission. "I don't want you to think that I'm not taking what we're doing here seriously. I want to catch this bastard as much as you do, and not only because it affects my business, but because those women deserve justice, and I don't want anyone else to get hurt or killed." His expression became pleading as he let out a sigh. He held a hand out toward me as he stood there in his underwear with a soft warmth in his eyes that melted any lingering anger I still felt. "Can we just start over?" he asked quietly.

  I blinked in astonishment as I glanced down at his hand then back up at his sincere face again. I wondered what other assumptions I made about this man that were wrong, and felt bad about the ones I'd already made. To be honest, I was just as much to blame for how this situation had played out. After all, Scott wasn't the only one who'd taken their clothes off tonight, and even though he'd been the one to instigate that kiss, I'd definitely been a willing participant.

  I nodded. "Yeah," I finally answered him as I took his proffered hand in mine.

  That same jolt of electricity that I always felt when he touched me fired through my body again. I let out a small gasp as lust shivered through me, and this time I knew he'd felt it too since his eyes flashed with desire, and his hand tightened around mine. There was no denying my physical attraction to this man anymore, even if I had no intention of doing anything about it.

  "I suppose being attracted to each other will make this easier to pull off, huh?" I said with a wry smile as I released his hand. I might as well admit it since he already did.

  "Definitely," he replied, his eyes sliding appreciatively down my body and lingered on my breasts as he sank his teeth into his lower lip.

  He really needed to stop doing that. I liked it too much. I pursed my lips and cast a narrowed-eyed glare at him. He glanced back up at my face and shrugged unapologetically.

  "Sorry, babe," he said with his usual sexy and infuriating smirk, but for some reason, it didn't piss me off as much as it typically did. "Your body is very distracting."

  "And so is yours," -I couldn't help letting my eyes travel down his gorgeously-toned torso- "but..." I trailed off as I noticed his body's enthusiastic and very obvious reaction to mine, and lost my train of thought.

  Scott reached out to lift my chin, so I had to look up to see his eyes gleaming roguishly at my reaction to him. The brief contact felt good, too good. "But we can't let it make us lose focus on the real reason we're here. Right?"

  "Right," I answered with a firm nod.

  "Alright," he said in a satisfied tone. "But we should probably do something about the distractions in the room." He looked pointedly at my chest again. "The two v
ery tempting distractions in the room." He shook his head and tore his eyes from my body to grin at me before wandering away toward the chair that held his pile of discarded clothing.

  Men. I rolled my eyes, then turned and bent over to pick up one of my boots.

  "Three," Scott blurted out behind me. "Make that three very tempting distractions."

  I glanced back over my shoulder to see him walking toward me with my shirt in his hand. His keen eyes were fixed on my backside as he bit into his lower lip again.

  "Stop that," I snapped at him as I straightened, then shot a scowl at him as I snatched my shirt out of his hand.

  "Stop what?" he asked wryly. "Because if you want me to stop checking out your rocking ass, then as a man with a long and well-established ass fetish, I can't make any promises."

  "Oh my God," I said in exasperation even as a smile pulled at the corners of my lips. "You really are a pervert, aren't you?"

  "Have you looked around?" he asked with a grin as he motioned around the room. "I own half of a BDSM sex club. What do you think?" he asked rhetorically as he grabbed his pants and began pulling them back on.

  I snorted out a laugh in reply, and glanced around as I pulled my shirt on. Good Lord, I'd been so caught up in this man that I'd practically forgotten about the BDSM dungeon we were standing in. How was that even possible? It was a giant red flag that should probably have given me pause about this situation. After all, I knew that being distracted enough to be unaware of your surroundings could get a cop killed. But I shoved those thoughts away. No matter how much I thought I could do this on my own a few moments ago, I needed Scott's help, and I'd just have to stay focused on the real reason I was here. To that end, I needed to emphatically yet diplomatically make things clear to Scott before we moved forward.

  I finished buttoning my shirt, and looked over to see Scott pulling his on to cover that amazing and mouthwatering upper body of his. What a shame. Shit. I pushed that thought away. Get a grip on yourself woman.

  "We're not having sex," I suddenly blurted out without thinking.

  He turned an incredulous and wide-eyed stare my way as he paused right in the middle of buttoning his shirt. "Hmm, that's odd," he said as his lips quirked into a devastating smirk. "I don't recall even asking if we were going to have sex." The amusement in his voice was very clear, and very annoying.

  "Well, we're not," I said forcefully, trying to ignore the blush currently heating my face.

  Scott's eyes danced with wicked humor as he studied me for a long moment. Finally, his face sobered and he slowly nodded once in acknowledgment. "Duly noted, babe," he said gravely, instead of the sardonic comment I'd been expecting. It threw me off completely, and stifled the scathing comeback I'd planned to give him.

  "Good," I said firmly, despite my discombobulation. I was relieved and satisfied that I'd gotten it over with, yet I couldn't help wondering why I had the sudden suspicion that he hadn't actually agreed to anything. I was just about to voice that suspicion as we finished dressing, but he spoke first.

  "Alright, you ready to get started?" he said in a stern and commanding tone as he rubbed his hands together. "Because we've got a lot to cover before I set you loose on this place tomorrow night."

  A sudden frisson of fear shivered through me at the thought of what we were planning to do and how much a dark part of me looked forward to it, but I ignored them and focused on the real reason we were here. Tasha, Elise, Erin, and Monica. Nothing else mattered but getting justice for them, not my doubts or my physical attraction to this man. Nothing.

  "I'm ready," I answered with certainty, all my attention now fixed on Scott, and learning everything I could from him, so we could pull off this undercover operation.

  "Then your crash course begins now, babe," he said with a serious and focused expression, then dramatically spread his arms wide. "Welcome to BDSM 101."

  CHAPTER

  TEN

  ____________________

  Scott

  "Honey, I'm home!" I announced as I stepped into my downtown penthouse apartment.

  I smiled as the only girl I shared a bed with every night, and completely owned my heart, called out to me. I watched her glide sinuously toward me with the most gorgeous and startling blue eyes I had ever seen locked on my face.

  "Hey, babe," I said softly to her with warm affection. "Did you miss me?"

  My girl's reply was loud and demanding, and made it very clear what she expected from me. I was completely pussy whipped, so I gave her exactly what she wanted, and leaned down to scoop her up into my arms. I cuddled her close to my chest as she vigorously rubbed her face all over my chin, purring and making happy little chirping noises. I kissed my cat's furry cheek soundly and set her back on the floor, before moving down the short hallway further into my apartment with her following right on my heels still happily talking to me.

  My flame point Siamese, Sugar, had been my girl for almost nine years now, and I adored and doted on her. I knew it wasn't exactly manly, but I didn't care because the nine pound little cat had saved my life. From day one, when my brother Rory gave me the beautiful cream-colored kitten with the gorgeous rusty orange points on her face, legs, and tail, I'd been completely smitten. Having this little life that relied entirely on me to take care of her every need had given me purpose, unconditional love, and an added incentive to stay clean when I'd finally fought free from my addiction. Sugar deserved all the love I could give her in return for all the things she'd given me.

  I walked across my modern and comfortably masculine bachelor pad's open concept great room, passing through the living area and between the kitchen and dining areas to enter what should have been my media room. Instead, it was my work space, and was dominated by a huge U-shaped desk with a swath of computer monitors mounted across it, as well as a large gun safe and shelves lined with surveillance equipment against one wall. I had everything a P.I. and a physical security specialist needed, along with access to all the security feeds from the clubs that R&C LTD operated.

  I entered the room, went straight to my black leather chair, and took a seat. I'd spent most of my day doing mobile surveillance for an insurance fraud case, and I needed to work on a few cyber intelligence cases that had piled up now that I was home. Nothing I did today was glamorous or even remotely dangerous, but it sure as hell beat the life I could have led as a corporate stooge for my father. The career I had wasn't the one I really wanted either, but two DUIs and multiple misdemeanor drug possession charges, with a few actual convictions, had put an end to that pipe dream years ago.

  I woke my computer as Sugar hopped up onto my lap and made herself comfortable, purring contentedly as I began absently stroking her soft fur with my free hand. I settled in to get some work done since I had some time to kill before Lu showed up. I actually managed to get some of it done, but after a while, thoughts of Lu wormed their way in and took over my brain like they'd been doing more and more since I met her.

  Lu had insisted on meeting me here after work instead of letting me pick her up at her place tonight. I suspected she was trying to make sure none of what we were doing seemed like a date. I found it amusing that she thought we could just ignore the very big and very horny elephant in the room every time we were together. I knew that it was only a matter of time before we gave in to our mutual lust. Hell, by the time I finished her crash course on BDSM last night at Désir Dangereux, and walked her out to her dark-gray Dodge Challenger, she was so worked up that I thought for sure she was going to maul me in the parking lot.

  She tried to hide it, but I could read her body like a book, from her dilated pupils to the way that her body thrummed and her breaths quickened every time I was close to her or touched her. She wanted me, and from the way my mind kept drifting back to the feel of her almost naked body in my arms and the scent memory of her musky arousal while I worked today, I just kept wanting her more.

  When she drove away last night, I'd already been picturing myself plunging into he
r tight little body again and again as she lay draped across the hood of that gorgeous muscle car of hers. I had the hots for that woman in a bad bad way, and I hoped to God that she didn't keep this denial up much longer, or I was going to lose my shit. She may have said we weren't having sex, and though I'd acknowledged her assertion, I never actually agreed to anything. All bets were off as far as I was concerned, and the second she submitted to her body's desire and gave me the go ahead, I was getting into her pants. I couldn't wait to get my hands on that glorious ass of hers, to grip it tight and pound into her over and over as she screamed my name and came all over my dick.

  Sugar broke my train of thought with a head butt to my arm and a soft yet still somehow demanding meow, calling my attention to the fact that I'd stopped petting her. I realized that I'd been staring at nothing with my hand resting unmoving in the downy soft fur of her back as my mind got lost in visions of Lu's luscious curvy body. I was hard as hell too, and wasn't going to get anymore work done, so I might as well do something about it. I glanced at the clock on my monitor. Good, I had just enough time to take a quick shower and rub one out so I could make it through tonight without losing my fucking mind.

  I pushed my chair back, and deposited an irritated and tail-whipping Sugar onto the floor as I stood. I left my office, then headed for the stairs that ran along one wall of my vaulted great room and led up to the master bedroom. I watched Sugar scurry up the steps ahead of me, no doubt to claim her favorite spot in the center of my king-sized bed, and I followed in her wake as she disappeared through the bedroom door upstairs. I'd just made it halfway up the stairs myself when the doorbell rang. Shit. Was that Lu showing up early? If so, I was going to be blue-balled all fucking night, even if I was thrilled that she was already here. I groaned in frustration, and turned around to go back downstairs so I could answer the door. God only fucking knew when my poor dick would get some relief now.