by Nicole Fox
He sighed and drummed his fingers on the meeting table, his eyes turned away from me, but unfocused as he looked off into space. He was thinking my idea over, which meant I had him hooked.
I hated having to manipulate him like this, and I felt as gutted as catfish that took its last bait. But, I needed to be in that room. And, honestly, I think I needed him to hate me a little bit at the end of this. If he really cared for me when it was all said and done, the pain he'd feel would be a thousand times worse.
“Okay,” he slowly said after a moment, dragging it out into almost two words, “but you gotta promise me something.”
“Anything,” I said, smiling that he'd let me convince him. “Just name it.”
“Give me your word me you won't do something stupid, like try to kill Aleksey while we're on tape.”
I nodded quickly, maybe a little too quickly, and held up right hand with its three fingers extended. “Girl scout's honor,” I said.
He nodded as he glanced at my fingers, a little smile turning up just the corners of his mouth. “Good. We'll see what Aleksey has to say, but you can come with me.”
I smiled a little, happy that he was bringing me along. Inside, though, I was reeling from the choice I'd made. This was my chance to finally get the Wolf for Tomlin's death. But, if I was going to take it, I was going to have to throw away the best thing that had ever happened to me.
Because, unfortunately, the joke was on Koen.
I was never a girl scout.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Koen
We stuck around for a few more hours at Club Hellfire, finalizing a few mundane details on the upcoming rally, and my signing off on a few perfectly legal items. When Jace looked bored enough that she was about to cry, I grabbed her by the waist and led her out back to my bike. We hopped on and headed home.
The whole ride home, though, worry gnawed at my insides.
Aleksey Volkov wasn't the kind of man you robbed, or the kind of man you gladly wore a wire to meet with. Just walking into the Wolf's den, even at a place of my choosing, was like playing with matches while you were drowning in a pool full of gas. It was stupid, and liable to get you killed painfully in more ways than just one.
Pile on top of that Jace's fixation on vengeance, and you had the makings of a danger gumbo. True, I was pretty sure she'd dropped the whole murder angle, especially now that we had a viable way of putting him in prison and tearing apart his empire, but that still didn't eliminate the possibility that something else could go wrong.
After all, we weren't exactly batting .1000 here on schemes, not lately.
But, it was her choice, I supposed. And she'd lived a dangerous enough life before I'd come on the scene. Besides, she'd given me her word that she wouldn't try anything.
Still, though, as I pulled the spare bike into my garage, I was secretly terrified for Jace's safety.
And, that was when it really hit me. I was falling for her. Hard. Like out of a plane, no parachute, terminal velocity, here comes the earth and my impending doom, hard. I didn't know what I'd do if lost her, especially not to a man like the Wolf.
I'd agreed to her idea, though. And, no matter what I might have been, I was above all a man of my word. And that meant she was coming along with me, whether I liked it or not.
All this worry had had one other side effect, too. My back was a minefield of knots and cricks, reaching up into my neck and shoulders.
I stretched my neck, twisting it from side to side as I dropped my vest in the living room.
“You alright?” Jace asked as she flopped onto the couch, coiling herself up in such a way that was still sexy as Hell, even though I knew damned well that she wasn't trying.
“Neck's killing me,” I told her. “Stress and shit, that's all.”
“Go take a hot shower, then,” she suggested. “Call it an early night. We've got a crazy couple days ahead of us, anyways. Probably could use the rest while you can get it.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, nodding as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Probably right.”
I headed upstairs and into the master bedroom. I stripped out of my clothes and, naked, headed into the bathroom to start the shower. I cranked up the hot water as far as I could stand and, as the room filled with steam heat, I slipped beneath the water.
The surging droplets massaged my tired muscles as I hung my head beneath the stream of water. The rhythmic pulse didn't do much to wash away my concerns and misgivings, but it at least helped my back release its tension. I tried to focus on the good things that would come out of this, of how I'd be free of the criminal life, how Jace and I would be off on our own together. The MC would be free of any charges, and everyone would have a clean slate.
It even worked, briefly. My mind began to quiet, and I started to see only the good things that could come out of this. I lathered up my soap and cleaned myself from head to toe, washing away as much of my inner turmoil as I could.
Soon, my second-guessings threatened to crowd my thoughts again, and I turned off the water and hopped out to dry myself off. Maybe sleep would be a better hiding place than the shower, I decided.
I killed the water and hopped out of the shower stall, grabbed a towel and began to dry myself. I tossed the towel on the rack to dry and, naked, headed back into my bedroom.
Jace was already tucked in beneath the covers of my bed, her face turned away from the light of the bathroom. I flicked off the light and slipped into bed behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her naked body close. She felt warm and small in my embrace.
As tired as I was, the feel of her skin on mine began to have its easily predicted effect. I felt my cock growing, rising to the occasion between us.
“Hi, you,” Jace nearly purred as she felt my cock slip up between her thighs. I felt her move beneath the covers, readjusting, and her hand was soon wrapped around me, stroking me. “Happy to see me, even after all the stress today?”
God, her hands. I'd never felt anything so soft, but so sure of themselves. She stroked me up and down, sending waves of sensations through my whole body.
I could feel it even in my scalp, and tingles shot up and down my spine as she worked her magic on me. I leaned forward, inhaled her smell, kissed her neck. My hand came up, cupped a naked breast, teased her nipple.
She pushed back into me a little, rubbed her cheeks over my hard and ready cock as she turned her head, moaning. Our lips found each other in the dark, and we kissed like long time lovers, like we knew every move the other was about to make.
She took her hand from my manhood and rolled over to face me, our bodies still beneath the covers. Her breathing was heavy, almost panting, and she bit her lip in the dim light.
“Koen,” she whispered as her hand found my cock again and my hands returned to her body, “I care about you.”
I didn't say anything at first. I just let her words, words I hadn't realized I'd been waiting to hear, soak into my psyche. “I care about you, too,” I said finally.
“Good,” she said, simply. Then, she was taking my hand and guiding it down her body and between her legs.
I slid my fingers over her wetness, rubbed up and down her mound. This close, I could see her eyes go wide at first as I touched her clit, then close in satisfaction as she bit her lip harder.
“Oh, Koen,” she groaned again as I slipped a finger inside of her and she continued to work her witch's spells on my cock. “Please, I want you inside me,” she whispered, groaning out the last word.
I moved myself slightly, hooking an arm below her leg. We kissed again, our tongues like flames lashing at one another, as I guided myself between her lips and entered her.
It was like sliding myself into the personification of sex, all heat and passion.
She groaned into my mouth as I slowly filled her. She sighed when I couldn't go any deeper.
“Please,” she whispered again as our lips parted. “Make love to me.”
I began to slowly stroke in a
nd out of her as her long nails etched their lines up and down my back. As much as we writhed together under the covers, as much as we entangled ourselves in the sheets, this wasn't fucking like before. This was tender in its own way, two bodies moving together in the night.
“God, you feel amazing,” she moaned, her voice raspy and low.
“You're perfect,” I moaned back. “Every inch of you.”
We kissed again, and I felt her shudder, and clamp down on my length. I could feel her muscles contract and tighten around me, massaging my prick as she came on me. That was all I needed, the moment my body wanted.
I stiffened and groaned for a moment, my whole body rigid as I just stayed inside her. Then, the pleasure flooded through me as I began to cum, too, along with her. I began pumping into her again, marking her as mine. I felt myself explode into her, like every ounce of what was left of my soul was emptying from my body and entering hers.
“Oh, babe,” she groaned, her arms tightening around me in a close embrace that wasn't just nail raking, “I can feel you cumming inside me. Please, fill me up.”
I kept pumping into her, groaning. Finally, I could feel myself begin to soften. But, still, I kept going, wanting to enjoy every second I might have left with her. We kissed again, this time more softly, as my softening tool began to slip from her.
She made a sound, almost like a growl, deep in her throat. “God, Koen, where have you been all my life?”
“Right here, Jace,” I whispered before kissing her again. “Right here, babe.”
I rolled off of her, spent, and flopped onto my back beneath the covers. Even during our previous escapades, I hadn't cum like that, to the point where I felt so drained. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was a succubus, or some other supernatural creature. But, she was just as much flesh and blood as I was.
She rolled onto her side, draped an arm over me, and snuggled up against me.
Together, we lay there, our arms entwined, our breathing heavy and full.
“That was amazing,” Jace whispered as she snuggled her face into my shoulder and kissed my chest and collar bone.
“Yeah,” I agreed, kissing the top of her head and taking another deep breath of her addictive smell. “Yeah, it was.”
It had never been like this before. Not with any other woman.
And I was about walk into the Wolf's lair with her by my side. What was I thinking?
# # #
Jace
Koen drifted off to sleep soon after we'd finished making love.
That's what it had been, too. I could feel it in the way he held me so tenderly, in the way I kissed him. Whores didn't kiss men like that no matter how much we got paid. We weren't good enough actresses.
Call it a woman's intuition, but I knew, too, from the way he'd held me, from the way his hands had been so tender on my body, that he was concerned about me. That I would be in danger if I went with him, or that I'd do something stupid.
He was right to be worried, of course. I was going to do something stupid.
Not for the first time, though, I wondered if that was the right choice. I could have a good life with Koen, a great one, even. What girl wouldn't want a smart, tough, sexy man by her side? I could even see myself having children with him. Maybe not a white picket fence, or anything, but maybe something kinda like it.
Silently, I lay there berating myself, even as I debated myself.
I only wanted two things in life, now. To be with Koen. And to see Aleksey Volkov dead.
However, those two things were completely mutually exclusive in each and every way you could conceive of them. One ended up with me happily ever after, maybe. The other with my ass rotting in a federal penitentiary somewhere with a first degree murder rap. That, right there, was a life sentence.
The strangest thing about all this, though, was that out of all the things Koen and I shared, the biggest and most important thing was our sense of allegiance to our families. His was to Xavier, and to the Fire and Brimstone MC. They were his life.
Mine was to Tomlin, and to his memory. And my baby brother deserved to have that memory avenged. I couldn't go off and have babies with Koen, couldn't go ride off into the sunset on the back of Koen's bike, so we could live happy ever after, forever and ever amen.
Not if Tomlin couldn't, too. Where would be the justice in that?
Every time that I picked up my child and saw Tomlin's eyes peering back at me, or the faintest similarity in the silhouette of their nose, I'd be reminded about how I did nothing. Because not only had Aleksey's man Sven killed Tomlin, he'd also killed all the nieces and nephews I'd never have, all the cousins my children would never have.
What was the point, then, of trying to live a life of regret and guilt with Koen?
Better to just enjoy the good times as they came, and love him while I could.
My mind settled, I let myself drift off to sleep, Koen's smell and the feel of his skin on mine filling my nose and distracting me from the future. It wasn't ‘til I was just about dozed off, though, that I realized what conclusion I'd come to.
Shit. I loved him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jace
The next afternoon, we rolled into Club Hellfire. Despite my realization the night before, my mind was still set. Aleksey Volkov needed to pay in blood for what his business had done to my family.
Fed was there waiting for us when we arrived, and we slipped into the meeting room to maintain secrecy. I'm sure everyone in the MC knew something was brewing, but Koen and I hoped that this would all roll into the event we had planned for the biker rally.
“He'll meet,” Fed said, his movements a little twitchier than normal, like he'd just come back from dealing with Sauron or Smaug, “but he won't do it at the hotel. Public place only, so he can be sure there won't be any surveillance or bugs.”
Koen nodded. “Fine,” he said. “Probably thinks the authorities will be less like to bust us up in a park, too. Too many bystanders.”
I clenched my teeth and almost spat a few choice words at this chance of plans. The hotel would've been so much simpler. No civilians or innocents around, no one else to accidentally get caught up in this fucking mess. Now I was going to be out in a place with kids. Great! Even if I didn't accidentally hit one of them in the crossfire, I'd end up scarring them for the rest of their poor lives.
“We got the time and place,” Fed said. “Should be easy for us to prepare.”
Koen looked at Fed, his face blank. “Yeah,” Koen said. “About that . . .”
Fed looked from him to me, then back again. “What?”
“Change of plans,” Koen said, his eyes glancing to me just barely.
“Yeah,” I added, shifting in my seat so I could lean forward and better assert myself. “I'm going with him. Figure I'll be more of a distraction to Aleksey than another guy would be.”
“Also,” Koen added, “I want you with Claire, keeping our side of the deal in check. You know those kinds of people, understand how they work, and you can't help me with that if you're by my side.”
Fed took a breath, held it, seemed to consider whether or not he'd win this fight. He just shook his head and slapped a hand on the table with finality. “Fine, Boss,” he said, shaking his head. “Whatever.”
I smiled a little knowing smile, but was careful not to let either of them see it. That was two wins for me.
# # #
Koen
Agent McKesson called a couple hours after I'd spoken to Fed.
“We need to kill the deal,” she said when I told her about the change in venue of the meeting.
“Wait,” I yelled into the phone, surprise and anger fighting it out like two dogs in my head, “what? Go fuck yourself, McKesson, this deal's going on.”
“This is my op,” the FBI agent snapped back, “and I say we kill it.”
I took a deep breath, exhaled through my nose, counted to five. I'd have counted to ten, but I didn't think I'd have that much time be
fore my window of winning her over closed forever. “Look,” I said. “Sorry for snapping. This is important to me, and it needs to go down. Look, like you said, Aleksey's a careful man, that's why he's been around so damned long, right?”
“Right,” she tentatively agreed. I could hear the wariness in her voice, though.
“You see,” I explained, “this actually works in our favor. He thinks I'm not only a pushover by just agreeing to the change, but he also thinks that he's completely in control by throwing me off my game. He'll be even more likely to talk about his plans, now, since he doesn't think someone like me will be wired.”
I could almost hear her eyes shifting around as she tried to come up with a refutation of my plan, or a better one of her own. We all knew Aleksey had to go down, we just weren't all in agreement on how that was supposed to happen. I imagined her shifting in her seat, practically chewing her nails down to nubs.