Burnout: A Legal Heat Novella

by Sarah Castille

  Undaunted, Jackie leaned over the table and whispered. “Right there. That tells me you got it bad for your pretty cop, but she doesn’t have it bad for you, ’cause she didn’t sound so happy to see you this evening. So if you want my advice—”

  “I don’t—”

  “Give up. She’s a cop. You’re an outlaw. Conflict doesn’t get bigger than that, my friend. And what happens if one day you find yourself on the wrong end of the gun?”

  “You done?”

  Jackie grinned. “I’m only just getting started.”

  “Got a new job for you.” He fixed her with his fiercest scowl. “It’s in Alaska.”

  “Got news for you. I’m staying right here to watch the fireworks. After our little fling last year, I’d say I know you better than anyone in the MC. Hunting down the movers, beating them up, and dragging them to Sophie’s apartment is the Ace equivalent of a normal guy showing up with a bunch of flowers.”

  “I don’t do flowers.”

  “But you did her.” Jackie raised her voice over the boom of CCR through the speakers. “And you’re back for more.”

  “Coupla lowlifes leave a helpless woman with a pile of furniture and boxes in the middle of her place and no way to move it. That’s an injustice that needs to be resolved.”

  Jackie snorted a laugh. “She’s a cop. She’s hardly helpless. She’s probably got a bigger gun than you.”

  Sophie returned and slid into the booth beside Ace. Her gaze flicked from Jackie to Ace and back to Jackie. “Did I…uh, interrupt?”

  “No, honey.” Jackie stood. “Ace and I once had a thing. It’s over now, so nothing for you to worry about. But we’re still tight, so sometimes I’ll give him advice, and he’ll tell me to shove it up my ass. Polite like.”

  “You went out with her?” Sophie’s gaze followed Jackie as she headed to the bar to help Kickstand with the drinks.

  “Something like that.”

  “She’s beautiful.”

  “So are you.” Her little hint of vulnerability did strange things to his stomach. There was a chink in his little cop’s armour and one he wanted to fill. He slid an arm around her, then pulled her into his side, his hand stroking in and out of her lush curves. “Love these curves, babe.” He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. “Love this sweet mouth.”

  She stiffened for the briefest second and then relaxed against him, her tongue tangling with his.

  “Beautiful,” he murmured as he buried his nose in the sensitive hollow between her neck and her shoulder. God, she smelled good. The scent of jasmine flooded his senses, and his cock tightened, painfully hard.

  “Ace.” She whispered his name, her body melting against him even as her hands flew to his chest. “Stop. We have to stop. Last night was amazing but—”

  “Tell me to leave.” He’d never been as affected by a woman as he was by Sophie, never had an issue with control. And he’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her now. If she did tell him to leave, he didn’t know if he could. And if she didn’t…hell, he’d never last the walk home.

  “I did. This morning, I said good-bye.”

  He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her, drinking the sweetness from her lips. “Tell me you don’t want me.” His heart pounded in tortured anticipation as she nibbled on her bottom lip, and then she drew in a ragged breath and met his gaze.

  “I don’t…” She shuddered and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down. “Think I can.”

  * * *

  God, he was like a drug. The more she had, the more she wanted. Sophie could see herself getting addicted to him, needing his touch, his warmth, and the deep rumble of his voice. Although she wasn’t a small woman, she felt tiny tucked up against him, safe and protected within the circle of his arms.

  Of course, protection didn’t seem to be foremost in his mind. Not after she’d pretty much given him the green light for another night of wild sex. With a low growl, he clasped her wrist, tossed a few bills on the table, and dragged her out of the booth. Minutes later, they emerged from the bar into a dank, dimly lit back alley.

  For a moment, she wondered if he was planning to take her home, but when he pushed her up against the rough brick wall, a thrill of fear shot through her body. Ace had other plans.

  She took one quick glance around to ensure they were alone, taking in the beat-up dumpster reeking of decay, the pop bottles and needles strewn across the cement, and the rough brick walls, graffiti barely visible under the dim exit light. But before she could finish her visual sweep, he captured her wrists and pinned them over her head.

  Sophie gasped and moisture flooded her sex. “Are we going to engage in another illegal activity? Please say yes.”

  He licked his lips. “Fuck yeah, baby. Get ready for some indecent exposure, offending public decency, nudity—”

  “Sex in a public place?”

  “Definitely sex in a public place.” He tightened his grip on her wrists, and her body arched toward him, offering up her breasts for his touching pleasure. He slid his warm hand under her shirt, smoothing it over her skin, pausing when he discovered she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “Christ. You always go out without a bra?”

  “Only when there are bossy, hot biker types around who get my back up when they order me to change, after I was expecting to spend the evening home alone.”

  With renewed vigour, he crushed his mouth to hers, swallowing her moan of pleasure. Taking full advantage of her missing undergarment, he cupped and squeezed her breasts, rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger until they were tight little buds.

  Sophie writhed against the wall. “Ace…oh God…let me go. I need to touch you.”

  “You’re so fucking sexy, I won’t last if you put those sweet hands on me,” he rasped. “Slow down. Let me take care of you.” But he wasn’t slowing down. He ripped open the button of her jeans and shoved them down over her hips. She wriggled to help him, but the challenge of getting them all the way down proved too much, and he was forced to release her.

  Almost immediately, she slid her hands into his hair, tangling them through the silky strands as he tugged off her jeans and panties, baring her for his touch.

  For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Dark alley, risk of detection, scent of danger, chill of the night, hot badass biker on his knees in front of her. It was simply the most erotic experience Sophie had ever had.

  Ace looked up from his crouch. Eyes hooded, jaw tight, he was sex personified. She gently tugged his head forward, and he smiled.

  “You want my mouth, babe?”

  She swallowed. Oh God. Would he do it here? “Yes. I want your mouth.”

  “Then open those pretty thighs for me.” With gentle pressure, he eased her legs apart. Knees trembling, she waited in breathless anticipation. And then he leaned forward and licked along her folds.

  Her hands tightened in his hair, and a low, guttural groan left her lips. “More.”

  Fingers digging into her thighs, he teased and licked her cleft, drawing her moisture up and around her clit as she leaned heavily against the wall, directing his head with gentle pressure. When her moans turned to whimpers, he added a finger, thrusting deep inside her.

  “Ace.” Her shriek echoed in the alley, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Ace shot up, covering her with his body. Heart pounding, she counted off the seconds, and when one minute had passed and no one had come to investigate, her tension eased. But now, with the extra adrenaline pounding through her system, she didn’t want his mouth. She wanted something bigger and harder. She ached to be filled. She needed him inside her.

  “Fuck me, Ace. Please.”

  With a low groan, he dug a condom from his pocket and shoved his clothing down over his hips, his erection springing free from its confinement. Moments later, sheathed and ready, he pressed up against her, his cock hot and heavy against her soft thighs.

  “I’m gonna fuck you against the wall, sweet Sophie.�
�� His deep voice rumbled, husky and low. “I’m gonna bury myself in your sweet pussy and pound into you until you’re gonna have to bite me to stop from screaming with pleasure.” He feathered kisses along her jaw and then sucked on the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder blade, sending bolts of white lightning straight to her core. “I’m gonna be in you so deep, babe, you’ll forget your own name.”

  She choked on a groan. “I made a mistake. You aren’t just a bad guy. You’re a very bad guy with a very dirty mouth.”

  He teased her lips open with his tongue, then thrust inside, kissing her hard and deep. “You like my dirty mouth.”

  “I like other parts of you more.” She ground her hips against his cock, and he growled a warning.

  “If you’re gonna be naughty, I might have to borrow your cuffs.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath, and Ace licked his lips. “Christ. You like that. We got to try that next.”

  With a soft groan, she rubbed her nipples against his chest. “How about we start with doing Sophie. Now. In the alley. Because her body is on fire, and if you don’t, I’ll be screaming with frustration and not pleasure.”

  She didn’t have to ask again. He grabbed her hips and hiked her up the rough brick wall until her legs wrapped around his hips and his shaft slid against her wet folds.

  “You ready for me, babe?”

  “God, yes.” She angled her hips, trying to get him where she wanted him to be.

  “You gonna play the one-night card on me again?”

  She whined and rocked against him. Too much talking. Not enough fucking. “Maybe not this time.” She didn’t have a chance to qualify her statement before he slid his hard length inside her with one sharp thrust.

  Finally.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and her legs clenched around him, her moan of pleasure echoing through the alley.

  “My baby likes my cock.”

  Sophie wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, breathing in the scent of his leather cut and the faint musk of his cologne. “God, yes.”

  “Say it.”

  “I like your cock, Ace.”

  He drove deeper inside her. “Tell me you want it.”

  “I want your cock inside me.” And then, because she couldn’t believe how easily the words had spilled from her mouth, she said, “Fuck me with your big, hard cock, Ace.”

  Ace grunted his approval. “I like hearing dirty talk coming from your sweet little cop mouth. Fucking gets me off like nothing else.”

  “I like to hear no talk coming from your yapping mouth.” She levered herself up with her arms and sank down on him, taking him so deep her eyes watered with the pleasure-pain.

  Ace groaned and hammered into her, slamming her back against the rough brick wall, over and over, until her need had coiled so tight the barest touch would set her free.

  “Ace…”

  “I got you.” Slipping his hand between them, he circled his fingers around her clit, light at first and then with firmer strokes, until finally, he brushed over the top with the pad of his thumb and pressed down hard.

  She went off like a rocket, her muscles contracting as wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her body. Ace’s thrusts became faster, urgent, until finally he stiffened and released into her with a deep-throated groan. For a long moment, they didn’t move. Chests heaved together. Bodies cleaved together. Hearts beat together.

  And then reality came back in a rush. Public place. Indecent exposure.

  Illegal.

  “I’m going to get suspended if anyone finds out about this,” she murmured.

  Ace kissed her forehead and picked up her clothes. “I’m not telling.”

  “I can’t believe what we just did.” She tugged on her clothes while Ace zipped up. “I can’t believe the things I said….” She straightened and frowned. “You’re a bad influence. Next time I say good-bye, I’m going to mean it.”

  “Then we’d better get busy,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to do before then.”

  * * *

  Ace placed a hand on Sophie’s lower back and walked her into the bar. Jackie waved from their table, but he wasn’t in a mood to share. His little cop had a deliciously dirty wild streak, and he wanted to find out just what made her tick.

  He led Sophie to the counter and checked his phone before ordering their drinks. “We’ve still got a bit of time. Spook says the movers are slowing down. He doesn’t think they’re used to hard labour.”

  “And you are?”

  Ace ran his thumb along the line of her jaw. “Yeah, babe. I am. Grew up being bounced around from one foster home to the next. When I realized stability wasn’t in the cards, I started working so I could get myself out. Not proud of the things I did, but I worked damn hard and saved up enough to get out and pay my way until I hooked up with Hades MC.”

  He winced inwardly at the gloss he’d put on what had been the most difficult time of his life. After being separated from his brother, Sam, and at the mercy of the street gangs, Ace had become a drug mule simply because the gangs wouldn’t touch him if he was carrying a dealer’s product. He gave up the drug trade after losing two friends to drug overdoses and earned his keep in underground boxing matches. His success in the ring had attracted the attention of the president of Hades MC. Once Ace had been introduced to the biker lifestyle, with its creed of honour, brotherhood, and loyalty, there was no turning back. He had found what he had always been looking for—a family, a tribe, and a place to belong. Only now, with the old club gone, and his friends dead or in jail, he realized something had always been missing. His biker family had bonded through friendship. Not love.

  “You ever think about doing anything else?” She took her drink from the bartender and gave him a smile that had Ace gritting his teeth. Sophie should be smiling at him and only him, and if that smarmy bartender didn’t back off…

  “Not that I’m saying there is anything wrong with being an outlaw biker and committing crimes that could get you sent to prison,” she continued, clearly unaware that part of him was calculating how fast he could get over the bar and how much damage he could do with one well-placed punch in the bartender’s face. “But maybe you have other… skills.”

  Yeah, he had skills. And he wanted to get her alone and on a bed so he could put them all to the test. “I like to build stuff,” he said, wisely deciding not to share that thought. “Before I joined Hades MC, I was a carpentry apprentice. I did the course at BCIT right after I finished grade ten, but I dropped out before I finished the last term. After I joined Hades MC, I helped renovate the clubhouse with a senior patch named Arcade who had his journeyman certificate. Learned more from him than I did during my entire apprenticeship.”

  Ace nodded his thanks when the bartender slid his Guinness across the counter and made himself scarce. Arcade had tried to convince Ace to leave the MC and go straight. He’d seen something in Ace that Ace couldn’t see—potential, a future without guns or death or bloodshed. But Ace hadn’t been interested in giving up the closest thing to a family he’d ever known. And by the time he was ready to listen, Arcade was gone—killed in a drug deal gone bad.

  Fuck. He didn’t want to dredge up those memories. Not here. Not now. Time to change the subject. “You ever think about being something other than a cop?”

  Sophie shrugged. “Um… no. My mother was a real estate agent. She wanted me to follow her into the business, but I’m not a salesperson. I’m a straight shooter, and I don’t think it would go over to well if I told people just what I thought of the homes they were trying to sell.”

  “Straight shooter?” He tugged on the waistband of her jeans, dragging her close. “Then be straight with me. What’s a cop doing with a one percenter in a biker bar on the wrong side of town?”

  She lifted her glass to her lips—a blond ale from a local microbrewery the Rogue Riders had taken an interest in after the owner came to them needing protection from a couple of local thugs
who were running a small-time protection racket.

  “I don’t know.” She glanced down and then up again, her gaze warm with sensual promise. “I guess I’m having a bit of fun. My ex was a bit… stifling. At first I liked Ryan’s attention because my parents were very focused on work and Jason was always off doing his own thing, but then he became obsessive. He always wanted to know where I was; he showed up when I went out with my friends; and once he physically tried to stop me from leaving the house when I was going to a party.”

  “You’re a cop…”

  Sophie shrugged. “I think that’s probably why he never really got physical with me. I almost broke his wrist that one time he grabbed me. But he was so apologetic afterwards. He explained it away by saying he just loved me so much and he was worried because the party was in a deserted area. He always had a good reason for his behaviour. I’m not immune to psychological games just because I’m a cop. I stayed because I loved him, and I’m not embarrassed about that. Once you get emotions involved, logic flies out the window. You lose perspective. But it won’t happen again. I’m done with relationships and all the complications that go with them.”

  Ace didn’t know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut. He’d locked up his emotions a long time ago when he realized that there was never enough love to go around for a foster kid with an attitude problem. As a result, although he enjoyed the company of women, he’d never stuck around to form any kind of long-term attachment. Even Jackie, whom he considered a close friend, knew enough to back away after he’d made it clear after their one night together that he wasn’t interested in anything more.

  While they waited for their drinks, Sophie pulled out her phone and checked the messages. “I still haven’t heard from Jason,” she said. “It’s not like him not to answer my texts. I’m worried about him after what happened last night.”

  Ace lifted his Guinness to his lips and took a long sip, hoping she’d wait a few more days before she checked on her brother so he had time to find him. If she was worried now, she’d flip out if she saw Jason’s house. He’d sent a few Rogue Riders to check on Jason this morning, and the house had been totally and utterly destroyed. Either the Red Dragons had torn it apart looking for Jason or they’d caught him and destroyed it as punishment for what they perceived to be a broken deal. Either way, Jason was in serious trouble, and Sophie was at risk if they connected her to him. The Red Dragons didn’t care about guilt or innocence—they would go after any blood relation to collect a debt. And if they found out she was a cop…