Neva patted at her outfit, hoping she’d set the right tone with it. Of course, she never wanted to look ugly in front of Guy, but she also hadn’t wanted him to think she was trying to look sexy in hopes of seducing him into giving her back her job. She wore all black, not too tight but certainly not baggy, shapely but not low-cut, and closed-toed shoes with a lower heel than normal. She’d even subdued her hoop earrings, going for a smaller diameter than usual.
She opened the door to Guy’s Bail Bonds and swept inside. Guy looked up when the door swished over its metal frame. He saw Neva and, without saying anything, let his head sink into his hands. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs.
“Guy,” Neva said quickly. “Please. I’m not here to cause a problem. There’s something important I need to tell you, and I really want you to listen to me, and then I’ll go. You deserve to know this. Please.”
He sighed. “Come here, sit down and make it quick.” She eagerly obeyed, pulling up the chair Emily had used many times when visiting. He fixed her with a baleful stare from his deep brown eyes. “For some reason, I’m trusting your judgment right now. Don’t make me regret that.”
“Of course not.” Neva cleared her throat. “I’m afraid this is about Matthew Lodi.”
Guy growled a little. “I could die happy if I never heard that name again.”
“This needs to be dealt with. Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if I could avoid it.” Neva stared at her hands. She’d painted her nails a pearlescent shade instead of one of the eye-catching colors she normally preferred. “You know I did freelance skiptracing for Emily sometimes. Before…the incident last time, she came and left a lead for me to investigate. When I cleaned out my desk, her note was gone. You know Matthew was going through my desk that day. I think he must have taken it.”
Guy snorted. “With your permission, it sounded like.”
Neva winced. “I can’t say I never betrayed Emily on Matthew’s account. Or you. But that would have been too far across the line. I would never have given him permission to do that to her. I know all about how he used to steal her jobs.”
Guy’s head snapped up. “Steal her jobs?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Emily never told you? I totally thought she had.”
“Why don’t you tell me? Now.”
“For a while, I’d give her the list of jobs like you asked me to, then Matthew would bring in half the quarries. He told me she’d been getting overwhelmed and had asked him to cover her. They were dating and she was new, so I figured it made sense.” Neva swallowed. “Then one day, Emily came in and wanted to know who else I was giving that list to. The way I understood it, you’d been giving her the low-end jobs that pretty much no one else wanted to do. A lot of work for not too much reward.”
“To be fair, she asked me to start her that way. She wanted to be confident she could complete jobs before she’d take them on. I tried to talk her into taking more challenging stuff, but she preferred to avoid competing with other bounty hunters.”
Neva blew out a breath and folded her arms across her chest. “Makes sense when you think how much competition she was getting from her own damn boyfriend, over jobs that were supposedly so far beneath him.”
“What did you tell her when she asked about it?”
“I told her Matthew had been bringing the guys in. She said they’d never had a deal like what he described. Worse than that, every time he brought someone in, it was always right before she’d been planning to go get the guy. After she’d done all the legwork, followed all the leads and tracked the quarry down.”
“Son of a bitch,” Guy breathed.
“Yeah.” Neva nodded, pushing out her upper lip with her tongue.
“You didn’t think this was worth bringing to my attention?”
“Emily begged me not to. She said she had to deal with it herself. She broke up with him. I assumed it was dealt with.”
“Matthew Lodi’s been increasingly unreliable. I can’t understand what happened to him. At one point, he seemed to have the skills of a reputable bounty hunter.”
Neva cleared her throat delicately. “He does seem to have a way of…burning bridges. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lost contacts over the years.”
Guy nodded, studying Neva. Even this restrained intimacy set her body on fire, especially now that she had a bit of real experience to match to her many fantasies. “Why did you do it, Neva? Knowing everything you did about him? Why did you let him get to you?”
She looked away, shielding her face with her hands to hide the tears that immediately started. “I thought you weren’t going to ask me about this. It didn’t seem like you cared about what I had to say.”
“I spoke too harshly. I was shocked and angry. Maybe you can imagine how it felt to come out and see his hands on you, just after I told you I couldn’t handle that. It made everything you’d said seem like a lie.”
Neva shook her head, almost too angry with herself to speak. “I’m sorry. So sorry, Guy. I wish I could tell you how much. I guess I’m just too stupid to know better.”
He touched her then. His big hand peeled hers gently away from her face. “Neva. Could you practically run this office for me if you were stupid? You don’t have a stupid bone in your body.”
She smiled weakly.
“If that’s true, then I can’t explain it. I just…he would talk to me a certain way and something would come over me. I’d think about how I couldn’t have you, how I couldn’t think of anyone who wanted me. He could make me feel good, when he wanted to, but mostly he made me feel like he was the best a girl like me would be able to get.”
“A girl like you?” Guy’s gravelly rumble became a dull roar. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Neva shrugged and gestured at herself. “A little too heavy. A little too old. A little too horny. I don’t ever seem to react quite the way people want me to.”
“Please stop talking that way about yourself, Neva. I don’t think I can stand to listen to that anymore.” Guy stood and walked around to her side of the desk. He pulled her up out of her chair and gathered her against his body. “I’m starting to get an idea of what he was doing to you, and it makes me want to kill him even more.”
Guy tipped her head back so he could look her in the eye. “You are beautiful, Neva. One little word isn’t really enough to express how much. You’re generous and incredibly confident and so smart it scares me. All these years, when I should have been saying that to you, I was worried about how pathetic it would be, coming from me. I thought you would laugh at an old man who thought he had a chance with you. Or worse, sue your creepy boss for making a pass. And now I hear about a loser who made you feel like no one would want you. And for that matter, who made one of my most promising bounty hunters question her ability to handle competition. I bet Emily would handle competition just fine if it didn’t involve someone stealing from her.”
At Emily’s name, Neva stiffened. She’d been melting so completely into Guy’s arms and basking in his kind words that she’d forgotten the purpose that had brought her here. Guy released her the moment her posture changed. “Unless you do think it’s pathetic for me to talk to you that way,” he said.
“No!” Neva cried. “Guy, it’s so wonderful to hear you say things like that. I can’t believe you even would, after what happened the last time. I just…I’m worried about Matthew having taken Emily’s lead.”
“I have an idea,” Guy said. “Wait here.”
He retreated to the back room and came back a moment later holding a business card. He flicked it absentmindedly, staring at the name printed on the front of the card. “Cliff James,” he said. “He’s been coming by the office looking for Matthew.”
“The repo man.”
Guy looked up at Neva in surprise, then shook his head with a smile. “See what I told you? Scary smart. Nothing escapes you in this office.” He set the card down on the desk. “After you leave, I’ll call Matthew and set up a meeting
to discuss possible jobs. No way in hell I’ll actually give him any jobs, but I know we’re going to have a very long conversation in the back room. I’ll let Cliff know when he can expect the Lotus to be in our general vicinity.”
“Matthew’s already had a couple of run-ins with that guy. Would he really drive the Lotus here?”
“Honestly, Neva? I think he would. I used to be a bounty hunter myself, remember? It’s always important to recognize when the quarry is the kind who doesn’t know when to stop.” He stepped close to her again. “There are plenty of signs this clown has no idea when to back off.” Possessive hands found her hips. Neva shivered.
She tilted her head back, hoping he would kiss her. Guy held off. Neva held her breath, afraid to push her luck. They stood still for an unbearably long time. “Do you need to call Matthew?” Neva asked finally.
“Not until after you leave.”
She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry even as the space between her legs moistened. “When do I leave?”
“After we finish what we started. Assuming you still want it.”
Neva flung herself into his kiss. He stopped her before she could lose herself.
“I don’t want this to be because you believe you can’t get anything better,” Guy said.
“You’re the best in the world to me.”
He touched the side of her face. “See, that’s where I wonder about your intelligence.” One side of his mouth quirked up into a grin. “But I’m not going to argue with it too much.” His gaze intensified. The way his eyes snatched up the sight of her, she couldn’t wait for his hands to do the same. “I know a good thing when I see it.”
Neva relaxed against him, and this time he did take her mouth. She moaned helplessly, unable to believe her fate had turned around again. A second chance with Guy. No matter what happened, she would not screw this up.
Guy released her and went to lock the front door, then picked her up and took her to the back room. He set her down on the shabby couch in the only corner free of filing cabinets. “I ought to take you home and get you in my bed,” he said. “I’m just afraid I wouldn’t make it that far.”
Neva shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to wait.”
He opened his wallet and took out a condom. “Good. I want you to strip for me, Neva.”
She cringed a little inside. Harsh light blazed from the fluorescent bulbs installed in the ceiling. She could not imagine she would look good doing this.
Seeing her hesitation, Guy raised an eyebrow. “Do you not want to please me, Neva? I think I remember you telling me you wanted me to own you. Is that not true anymore?”
She let out a long, desperate exhale. “Guy, I want that more than anything.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
If she told him she worried he wouldn’t find her beautiful, he might think she was just trying to get another declaration out of him. Neva stood slowly. Avoiding his eyes, she reached for the hem of her shirt.
“No,” Guy said softly. “Look me in the eye and be proud. I’m not shaming you, Neva. I’m celebrating you. You’re about to show me the most beautiful thing I could ever hope to see. You’re giving me a gift, even if I’m demanding it.”
His words flowed into her heated by years of desire and admiration. Neva stood straighter, as if they lifted her. With him, she could really believe he meant it, that it wasn’t just flattery to get her to do what he wanted. She had a hard time imagining anything he might want that she wouldn’t be willing to do for him, right there as she stood. He didn’t need to work to convince her of anything. She hoped he knew that.
Neva squared her shoulders and lifted off her shirt. Her full breasts bounced in her newly revealed lacy black bra. She tried to stay strong but couldn’t resist sucking in her stomach and trying to cover her stomach with her hands.
“Neva.” Guy crossed the room to her. He took her hands gently in his and moved them aside. “You’re breathtaking. I want to see all of you. Please don’t hide yourself.”
She looked up at his fervent expression, horrified to find tears in her eyes again. He must think she cried constantly. He caught a tear with a thumb, then kissed the spot where it had been. “Don’t forget. This is an amazing thing you’re doing for me. You’re my goddess right now.”
Neva nodded as resolve rose in her chest. She unbuttoned her pants but stopped herself from wiggling her hips out then letting them fall to the floor. Instead, she turned so he could see the back of her and leaned forward with exquisite patience. A wave of insecurity forced her to check Guy’s expression over her shoulder, but his rapt gaze told her all she needed to know. She gathered her courage and moved on, slipping her pants off over her matching black lace panties with a slow movement that also became a self-caress. She inched them off past her ass, down her thighs and to her knees. When they reached that low, she stepped out, one leg at a time, climbing onto the couch as she did. She knelt there, ass facing Guy, panting as if she’d just run a marathon.
“That’s beautiful,” Guy said. “Don’t stop there.”
His approval surged through her, stronger than a shot of vodka. She felt bold. Neva reached behind her to unclasp her bra. She removed each strap but held the cups to her chest. She turned slowly, holding her breasts up and out in a clear invitation to Guy.
Her vision cleared a moment, and she realized that in the time she’d been performing for him, he had gotten naked. His cock jutted forward from his hips, a powerful testament to his desire for her. It twitched as if in response to her attention. Neva parted her lips.
“Show me your breasts,” Guy ordered.
Neva smiled at the naked lust in his voice. She slipped the bra down an inch at a time, allowing the deep-brown tops of her nipples to peek out amid the rest of her creamy brown skin. The hard tips of her nipples finally popped out over the edge of her bra, drawing a gasp from her as the lace scraped across her sensitive skin. Neva dropped the bra and let her breasts fall free.
Guy tore open the condom pack and began fitting the latex over his dick. “The panties. Quickly.”
A grinning Neva disobeyed, feeling the power she had now, even when undressing for his pleasure. She looped her fingers through the waistband of her panties but froze there, allowing her hips to gyrate as if she were at the club. Slowly, she rotated to present her ass to him again. Only then did she slide the fabric down over the firm, round flesh it covered. She massaged and teased her own skin ostentatiously, hoping the display made him as desperate to touch her as she was to feel his hands.
Her effort must have succeeded, because Guy stepped up behind her and fitted his cock to her entrance. But instead of thrusting, he waited, on the verge of impaling her. Neva could barely breathe. How many times had she dreamed about this moment? She wanted him to invade her, to take her the way she’d always wished he would.
“Back up onto it, Neva. Give me everything you’ve got.”
She looked back at him, confused. She knew how to ride a man when she was on top, but in this position she thought a guy was supposed to grab her hips and go to work.
“Move for me, honey. Use it to make yourself happy.”
Neva caught her breath. Of course, she liked sex. She’d always sought her own pleasure. Still, having Guy standing behind her ordering her to pleasure herself with his cock gave the act a twist she’d never experienced before. Desire surged freshly through her.
She propped herself up on one arm and reached between her legs, feeling where the tip of his cock kissed her folds. She’d soaked everything around it. He would sink into her smooth as silk. She toyed with the flesh around her entrance anyway, getting herself even more ready for him, positioning him so she could take him in one long stroke.
“That’s it,” Guy whispered. He seemed to have no trouble with her taking her time. He rested one hand on her hip but not forcefully.
Now that the moment to take him in had come, Neva could not believe that all the details of it had been left to her. S
he slipped her fingers out of the way but left them between her legs, where they could circle her clit. She adjusted her posture so she could rest on her left wrist and right elbow, leaving her free to pleasure herself.
Neva swirled her fingers over her clit, enjoying the imminent intrusion of Guy’s cock, and the way his head just began to stretch her. She pressed back against it bit by bit, the agonizingly slow movement making him feel even larger. Neva strummed her clit all the while.
Guy groaned behind her but did not move. He stroked her hip, his fingers reassuring her that he was content to let her set the pace, even if she did it like this. To please herself, this was the right pace for her. She took him to the root and rotated gently.
Then she wanted a different feeling. She shifted forward until she nearly came off him, then pushed back suddenly to take him almost painfully deep. Again, she paused to rock him inside her at maximum depth and rub her clit in time to that delicious inner movement.
Neva wanted more pressure. She reared up, trusting Guy to help her balance on her knees. Leaning back against him, she could only rock and touch herself, but that was all she wanted. She needed him to stay buried inside her as deep as possible for as long as possible.
Guy moaned as she gyrated. Both hands rested lightly on her hips, then slid up her body to cup her breasts. His mouth lowered to her neck. She felt completely encircled by him, supported and controlled by him even as he set her free to find pleasure however she needed to.
Neva’s orgasm ripped up the length of her body, making the tiny movements of his cock inside her almost unbearably pleasurable. Her voice rose raw above them, sounding like a stranger’s. She wanted to collapse. “Please, Guy. Take me now, however you want. I can’t hold myself up anymore.” She abandoned herself to his arms, trusting him to carry her safely through the waves of her pleasure.
TheFugitivesSexyBrother Page 18