by Jodi Vaugn
“I’ve never given a blow job.”
Braxton felt like the ground shifted under his feet, and he reached for the side of the washing machine.
Kate pushed at his chest as her face turned red with embarrassment. “I need to go.”
But he didn’t budge. “Wait. Are you saying you’ve never gone down on a guy?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “If you’re going to make fun of me, then you can leave.”
Braxton stared at her. “Make fun of you? Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Because I’m not experienced like all the other girls you’ve been with.”
“No, you’re not.” She was so much more than what he ever deserved.
She tried to shove him out of the way.
“That’s what I love about you.”
She stilled and gave him a suspicious look. “You do? I thought guys liked experience.”
Braxton snorted. “Baby, guys like to teach a woman what they like.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” His gaze zeroed in on her lips, fantasizing about how they would feel around his dick.
She leaned in close. “Show me what you like.”
He swallowed and closed his eyes as his dick hardened at the thought. “Don’t tempt me, baby.”
“I want to tempt you.” She reached down and gripped his dick, already hard and ready for round two.
Braxton opened his eyes and groaned. Her eyes were hungry.
“Step back.”
He obeyed her. How could he refuse her anything?
She released him and hopped off the washing machine. He watched as she slid to her knees.
She looked up at him. “Tell me if you don’t like something.”
Was she fucking kidding? What would he not like?
Her hot, wet mouth closed over him and he groaned at the pleasure. Her heavy-lidded gaze stayed on him as she flicked her tongue over the tip and then sucked him deep into her mouth.
“Fuck, Kate.” He threaded his fingers in her silky hair and rocked into her mouth. She moved back and dipped her head to caress his balls with her tongue before sucking each one into her mouth.
“Jesus Christ, Kate. You need to slow down.” Braxton wasn’t quite sure how he managed to get the words out. He was all sensation, feeling every flick of her tongue and suck of her beautiful lips.
“Am I doing it right?” She gazed up at him with such tenderness and lust, it almost made his knees buckle.
“Hell, yes. It feels good. Too good.”
She sucked him harder and deeper into her white-hot mouth. Each torturous lick of her tongue sent pleasure streaking down his back. He wasn’t going to last much longer if she kept sucking him like that.
“I’m going to come.” He tried to pull her head back, but she didn’t budge. Humming her approval as she looked up into his eyes, he thrust hard, seeing stars as his orgasm overtook him. He came hard, spilling his seed into her willing mouth. She held him tight, sucking and swallowing until he was spent.
She smiled and slid up his body. Braxton forked his fingers through her hair and pulled her into a deep kiss, tasting himself on her tongue.
She pulled back and smiled as she watched him under her lashes. “Did I do okay?”
“That was the best blow job I’d ever had.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” It was the truth.
“Hey, Kate. I need to use your washing machine,” Granny called out from the other side of the locked door and jiggled the door knob. “Why is this door locked?”
Kate scrambled for her clothes, tugging them on. “Just a minute, Granny.” She glared at him as he slid his jeans up over his hips. “Hurry up!” She threw his T-shirt at his face.
Still in the slow afterglow of his orgasm, he couldn’t make his limbs move any faster. Had fate fucked him one more time, giving him the woman of his dreams only to snatch her away? Pack Law clearly stated that wolves mated wolves. End of story.
Which meant his life just got a little more complicated.
***
Braxton and Damon pulled into Eureka Springs just after dark. Braxton put Kate’s SUV in park and surveyed the near-empty streets in the small town. The snow had probably kept most people at home, but there were still a few locals scurrying along on the side streets, trying to find the closest restaurant to pop in for a drink and seeking shelter against the brutal winter wind.
“We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. Riding into town doesn’t fit into that description.” Damon scowled.
Braxton white-knuckled the steering wheel in a death grip. “I need to find my father’s killer to clear my name before the Assassins find me. I can’t do that by sitting around on my ass all fucking day. Besides, I had to get out of the house. I think one of those writers tried to get into the bathroom while I was taking a shower.”
“I hear ya.” Damon let out a shiver. He nodded out the window. “You really think your father’s killer is in Eureka Springs?”
“No. But there is a biker bar in town that caters to Weres, and I want to know if anyone there knows anything.”
“What they probably know is that those fucking Assassins are coming for you. They had to pass through here before they caught up and shot you.” Damon slipped his Oakleys over his eyes. Braxton wondered if Damon really liked the glasses or if he wanted to look more intimidating. Knowing the wolf, probably both.
“I don’t know a single Were that likes Assassins.”
“And I don’t know a single Were, that when cornered, wouldn’t hesitate to give up your location or information about a wanted target.” Damon looked over his glasses. “Right now, you’re the target.”
“Glad to see you have complete trust in the Were species.”
“Fuck you.” Damon showed him the back of his middle finger.
“Like I said, brother, not my type.” Braxton pulled into the parking lot of the bar right off the main drag.
He eased out of the SUV and made his way up the rickety wooden steps leading into the bar with Damon following close behind. Like the rest of the small town, the bar was built around the top of the mountain, curving to fit nature’s own landscape.
The scent of whiskey, stale beer, and cigarettes hit Braxton like a wall the second he stepped inside. Having worked in a bar most of his adult life, he’d come to welcome those scents. Now, after being in the fresh air at Kate’s house, those same scents made him want to gag. The change of scenery seemed to have changed his tastes as well.
Braxton sidled up to the bar with Damon flanking him. The bartender gave him a nod of acknowledgement from where he was busy pouring a round of shots.
“What can I do for you guys?” The bartender rested his beefy arms on the counter while his slit-like eyes assessed both of them.
“Jack.” Damon angled his body where his back wasn’t to the door and kept his gaze sweeping the room.
Braxton smiled. For the brief time he’d known the guy, Damon never sat with his back to the door. The wolf trusted no one.
“Beer.” Braxton leaned against the bar and took a cursory glance around the darkened room.
The tables and booths were full of Weres, mainly males with a couple of females sitting in their laps.
“You guys new to the area? Or just passing through?” The bartender slid their drinks across the counter.
“Passing through.” Braxton looked the Were in the eye.
“Well, if I were you, I’d keep going.” The bartender wiped the counter with a bar towel.
“Why is that?” Damon leaned closer.
“’Cause there’s been some trouble in town. A murder.” The bartender cocked his head. “Cops around here don’t think it was someone in town. Which makes everyone passing through a suspect.”
“Did you know the guy that was killed?” Braxton took a long drink of his beer.
The bartender shrugged. “I’d seen him around. He tried to come in her
e a couple of times but quickly realized he didn’t exactly fit in.”
“Because he wasn’t a Were?” Braxton arched his brow.
“Because he was an asshole.”
“Do you know where he worked?” Braxton turned his full attention to the bartender.
“Yeah, he worked for that builder that’s been putting up those cheap hotels around here. Bigsby is his name.”
“Did he start some trouble in here?” Damon pushed his shot glass to the bartender and was quickly given a refill.
“He tried hitting on the females and they didn’t exactly like it. After that he stayed to his own kind, the low-life human bars.”
Damon snickered.
Braxton scratched his cheek with his middle finger. He judged people by their own actions. Not on what race they were.
“Easy.” Damon chuckled. “I’m sure Kate’s different.”
“Kate? You talking about Kate Wolph?” The bartender gave him an astonished look.
Braxton growled and jealousy tightened his chest. “How do you know her?”
The bartender, sensing Braxton’s anger, held his hands up and fought a grin. “We went to the same school together. “
Braxton narrowed his eyes. “You two ever date?”
“Nah. Kate was too good for me. Besides, she was always too busy helping her mom out at the bed and breakfast to date anyone.”
A tiny pain zinged to his gut. It sounded like Kate didn’t have much time for fun growing up. He could understand that. He’d spent most of his youth trying to either avoid his dad’s drunken wrath or protect his mom.
“What the hell?” Damon glared at the back of the bar. The rising sound of angry voices had Braxton bristling, ready to fight. The bartender grabbed a baseball bat from under the bar.
“Look, man, I can’t help it if the lady can’t keep her hands off me.” A blonde-haired Were grinned at a bunch of rough-looking locals, while a pretty little brunette clung to his muscled arm.
“What the fuck? Jayden?” Damon yelled across the bar. Jayden looked up from his seat.
The bartender scowled at Braxton. “You two know him?”
“Yeah. “ Damon rubbed his hand down his face as Jayden made his way over with the female hanging off him like a vine, refusing to let go. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Jayden gave the female a panty-dropping grin and unwound himself from her. “Braxton said he needed some intel.” Jayden jerked a thumb in Braxton’s direction.
Braxton grinned and shook Jayden’s hand. “Thanks for coming, man. I have to say you look a lot better than the last time I saw you.” The last time he’d seen Jayden, the Were had just been rescued by the unlikely duo of Ava and Granny. A pack of rogue Weres had kidnapped Jayden when he’d gotten too close to discovering the female they’d kidnapped and planned on using as a sex slave. The rogue pack had beaten Jayden with a baseball bat until he looked like hamburger meat.
Jayden shrugged. “Quick healer.” He raised his eyebrows at Damon. “Didn’t know you were here, brother.”
Though not brothers by blood, Jayden and Damon had both been raised by Granny.
“Barrett sent me to get Braxton.”
Jayden snorted. “Looks to me that Braxton’s too damn big to be fetched up for Barrett.”
“I get all the shitty jobs.” Damon narrowed his eyes.
Jayden laughed. “Well, you did luck out when you got Ava.”
Damon grinned, his white teeth flashing against his five o’clock shadow. “Yeah, I did.”
Braxton had learned that Damon had been sent out on a mission to rescue Ava from a pack of rogue wolves. The two had spent a lot of time in close quarters and one thing led to another.
The image of Kate naked and under him flashed through Braxton’s mind. It made his chest ache as he wondered what it would be like to be mated to your one and only lover.
Braxton shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Do you have some information for me?”
“Well, after you escaped the cops…”
“Fuck. You didn’t tell me the cops arrested you,” Damon growled at Braxton.
“I thought you knew. Didn’t Barrett tell you?”
“He told me that the Assassins were after you. Nothing about the cops.”
Braxton shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Get back to what you were saying, Jayden.”
“The cops found the murder weapon.” Jayden leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “It was thrown in the culvert outside the driveway.”
Braxton couldn’t breathe. “What was it? A knife?”
“No. A hammer.”
“Damn,” Damon breathed out. “Takes a lot of anger to beat someone to death with a hammer.”
“That’s not all.” Jayden leaned closer. “His neck was slit with the claw of the hammer. Apparently they knew he was a Were and wanted to make sure he was dead.”
Braxton’s stomach lurched. What a fucking way to go.
“Wouldn’t one of the neighbors have heard someone being beaten with a hammer?” Damon glared at Braxton.
“They did. The neighbors called me thinking it was my dad beating my mom. Again.” Braxton gritted his teeth. “That’s why I went over there.”
Damon gave him an understanding nod. “And that’s how the cops assumed you were guilty.”
He swallowed. “It didn’t help that my mom accused me of killing him in front of the police.”
“Damn,” Jayden breathed out. “That’s fucked up.”
“My whole life has been fucked up.” Why would he expect anything else?
“Yeah, but it’s the present that counts. You’ve got to leave all that garbage in the past and start making decisions that will guarantee you a better future,” Damon offered.
Braxton and Jayden stared hard at Damon.
“What?” Damon scowled.
Jayden shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Jesus, man. You sound like fucking Dr. Phil.”
“You’re not going to hug me now, are you?” Braxton arched his brow.
“You both can go fuck yourselves.” Damon gritted his teeth.
Jayden sighed and smiled. “Now there’s the Damon I know.” Jayden slugged him playfully in the shoulder. “Don’t go around saying shit like that. It’s scary.”
Damon returned the slug to the shoulder, knocking Jayden backward on his ass before heading out of the bar.
***
Kate jerked upright in the chair at the ringing of her phone. She’d fallen asleep trying to wait up for Braxton and Damon to get back from town. She’d tried to talk Braxton out of going, but she knew it was fruitless. Braxton was going to do what Braxton wanted to do, and there was no talking him out of anything.
She reached for the phone and rubbed her stiff neck. Next time, she was going to wait up in bed instead of the chair.
“Hello?”
“Kate. Hope I didn’t wake you.” Oliver Bigsby’s voice gave her chills over the phone.
She frowned and glanced at the wall clock. “It’s two o’clock in the morning. Why are you calling this late?”
“I was just going to let you know that the police are investigating that murder at my construction site.”
“You couldn’t wait to tell me in the morning?” What a douche.
“I was just trying to be nice and warn you.” The polite tone turned haughty.
“Warn me about what?” She never should have answered the phone.
“I thought I’d warn you that the police are looking into any new people that are in town. Like your guest.”
Kate felt her blood go cold.
“Which guest are you referring to?”
“You’ve got more than one?”
Kate smiled. “Yes, the Bella Luna is full.”
Bigsby cleared his throat, apparently not expecting this new turn of events. “Well. I don’t know what to say, Kate.”
“Congratulations would be nice. If this keeps up, I won’t have to worry about foreclosure.” Kate smiled, hoping h
e’d catch the sarcasm in her voice.
He snorted. “It’s going to take more than a couple of days of being booked to make up your late payments.”
Kate felt the smile slide off her face. “How do you know that?”
He tsked. “Oh, Kate. You’re so innocent when it comes to financial matters. You know, I could come over and help you with your books sometime.”
“No thanks.” Kate gripped the phone. She wanted to pull his condescending face through the phone and punch him in the nose.
“Well, you know my offer stands.”
“Good night.” Kate slammed the phone down on her nightstand.
“What’s wrong?” Braxton’s voice filled the doorway.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah. Tell me what’s wrong.” Braxton glanced at the phone. “Who were you talking to?”
Kate sat down on the bed and sighed. “Bigsby.”
Braxton growled.
She cleared her throat. “He was letting me know that the police were looking into the murder.”
“That’s newsworthy, why?”
“He also said the cops were looking at anyone new to Eureka Springs.”
Braxton narrowed his stormy eyes. “Meaning me.”
“I told him I had lots of guests at my place, not just one.”
Braxton grinned. “I bet he loved that.”
She bit her lip. “Yeah, but he also said it would take a lot of booked weeks in order to catch up on my mortgage payments.”
“How the hell does that little prick know how much you owe?”
“That was exactly my thought before I hung up on him.”
Braxton reached for her hand and tugged her up. She melted against his strong chiseled chest and closed her eyes, inhaling his warm male scent.
“It’s going to be okay. You won’t lose the Bella Luna.”
Kate’s chest ached, a sickness filling her body like a child missing her home. It had nothing to do with the fear of losing the Bella Luna and everything to do with losing Braxton.
Shoving away her sadness, she looked up into his gorgeous face. “What about you? Did you find out anything tonight?”
“Not really. At least not anything about my father’s murder.” His hands went up and down her back in a slow, comforting caress. “Have you been waiting up this whole time?”