Bounty Hunters: 03 Stay Hungry

by Lorie O'Clare

  So she smiled, keeping her thoughts to herself. "You aren't dreaming now, darling," she drawled, and swayed her hips against him but stilled when his thick cock greeted her, rubbing against her inner thigh.

  "I can't wait to find out if your steamy heat is as intoxicating as it was in my dreams."

  Did he really dream about her? Jake said the most romantic things. He could also utter daring sexual comments Angela wouldn't have the nerve to say out loud. Hell, she wouldn't confess she'd dreamed about him all night the night before. His skills should be terrifying her and not making her grin like some dumb twit straight out of high school.

  She tried matching his smooth, confident air, using the training she had learned working undercover over the years. "You'll have to let me know if it does." At least she sounded confident and at ease.

  "Trust me, you'll be the first to know." Jake stepped out of his boxers.

  When his phone rang again he cursed under his breath. Her vision cleared and she watched every inch of him tense, causing muscles to bulge throughout his body.

  "It's Dad." Angela leapt to the side of the bed.

  Jake picked up his phone, scowled, and sent it to voice mail. "No."

  "Well, then you're mighty popular."

  "It's not the kind of popularity I want." Jake dropped the phone on the bedside table before crawling in next to her.

  "Who was it?" She rolled to her side, fighting the urge to cuddle against Jake.

  So much sexual energy charged the air between them she worried the heat surging off his body would scald her alive. At the same time, she sensed his tension. He wasn't as carefree and grinning as he was when they started. His expression had hardened as if he worked to mask his emotions from her.

  Jake was an intense man. In spite of his casual attitude and the way his eyes glowed with a hungry passion she couldn't wait to know firsthand, he didn't fool her for a moment. Maybe his phone ringing so much should bother her, too. What if there was a lady for him back in California and she was desperately trying to reach him?

  There wasn't a spoken commitment between him and Angela. There wasn't any commitment at all. She didn't do one-night stands and she sure as hell didn't have sex with married men or men in commitments. She wasn't the kind of woman who could make love to a man just to enjoy the physical release. There had to be an attraction. And it had to be mutual interest that would possibly take the two of them somewhere more permanent.

  So what the hell was she doing now? She wanted Jake. God, she'd wanted him a year ago when she'd first laid eyes on him. Something about Jake turned her on physically and emotionally. He hadn't given any indication that her feelings for him were mutual. The only thing he'd made obvious was that he really wanted to fuck her. But fucking and making love were different.

  If Jake was the kind of man who could bring any lady to her knees, that very well could mean he'd done just that with women back in California. And there were women. Jake's roguish playboy personality was so well established there were comments about it in some of the articles she'd read about KFA.

  The look he gave her was too focused, too deep and determined, for her to believe he would look at any other woman that way. He might have skills, but he wasn't shallow. She felt his emotions right along with his lust.

  But what were the emotions she was sensing? Were they all driven by one hell of a sex drive and an insatiable lust that he didn't keep hidden from her?

  She lifted herself to relax on her elbow and blinked to focus on his face. That hard look was still there. His green eyes focused on her, but they were opaque, not glowing as they did when he teased her or when they discussed the case. It was those moments she enjoyed with him, when his passion flared, not only for her but also for the hunt. They were two souls with so much in common, but if there was another side to him, encouraged and fine-tuned as a result of him being so incredibly appealing, having sex with him might be her biggest mistake ever, Angela would give him a piece of her heart, and he wouldn't give her anything in return other than incredible sexual satisfaction.

  When he didn't answer but continued staring at her, torturing her with the nearness of so much carnal, unleashed sex appeal reverberating off his tall, overpowering body, she decided to probe a bit harder. "If you need a minute to return a phone call, I won't go anywhere. I promise," she offered, moistening her lips and studying him for his reaction.

  "It's simply a friend who doesn't know I'm out here." Jake slid his arm under the curve of her neck and pulled her on top of him. His hooded gaze made it harder to read how he felt about the interruption. His attention was on her breasts as he adjusted her against him.

  His cock immediately danced between them, stretching and throbbing. Angela's insides swelled. She was already soaked, but as she stretched her legs, straddling him, she felt the moisture cling to her freshly shaved flesh.

  "Your skin is so incredibly soft," he said, changing the subject before she could question him further.

  Call it the detective in her, but immediately she was curious whether this friend was a man or a woman. Angela was about to make love to Jake. That made it somewhat her business. She had a right to know if another woman was trying hard to reach him when Angela was ready to become intimate with him.

  "Every inch of you," Jake continued, dragging his hands down her back until he reached her ass. He cupped it, stretching and spreading her open further as he kneaded her flesh. His fingers inched closer to the source of her heat. "Damn," Jake growled, his eyes glazing over as he finally met her gaze. "Already I can feel the heat, and how wet you are," he added, lowering his voice as he grumbled the last words. "You're going to scald me alive," he added, lowering his attention to her mouth.

  "You know, I can feel you, too," she said, and wiggled her hips against him.

  Jake growled, the sound rising up through his chest and vibrating through her at the same time that his dick thrust up and poked her in the belly. This was how it would be for now. They hadn't known each other long enough to voice any type of commitment. Her brain was quickly fogging over with lust and the overwhelming need to ease him inside her and experience what all this raw sexual being could offer her. Angela had to leave it at that. Nothing more. If as they continued spending time together they determined there was something between them to explore, than they would discuss it at that time. For now, at this moment, she would do something she'd never done before: experience sex as a physical pleasure and not as uniting two bodies together when their minds had already melded.

  "What are you thinking, sweetheart?" Jake asked.

  His question surprised her. She'd just convinced herself to keep her thoughts out of this and take it on as a physical release and Jake tried probing her mind along with her body. He was making her teeter back and forth between the physical and emotional.

  The only thing to do was control the moment and guide him to where she wanted him. "I'm trying to decide how I'm going to take you," she said, lying through her teeth but knowing if she kept it physical she wouldn't be eaten alive with worry that she was making a big mistake.

  "Is that so?" He lifted one eyebrow and searched her face, the glow returning in his gaze. "I would have said you were wondering if this was the right thing to do or not."

  Damn him for reading her mind so well. Especially when he'd turned into a blank slate for her. She let herself drown in his intense gaze. The man was as powerful intellectually as he was physically. That really appealed to her.

  "Are you suggesting I'm the kind of woman who would change her mind once I was sprawled naked on top of you?" she challenged.

  Angela felt a wave of control grip her. She liked how Jake appeared in pain, overwhelmed with hunger that ate at him until her giant, muscular man was damn near putty in her hands.

  He tried moving his hands and preventing her from rising off of him but didn't succeed. Angela pushed herself to a sitting position, still straddling him. The position had his dick dangerously close to her entrance. It puls
ed and danced, continuously moving and trying to grab her attention long enough to distract her. This new position also made Jake move his hands, which helped her hold on to her yearning for him to be inside her and allowed her to tease him just a bit longer.

  Jake gripped her breasts, bracing her and at the same time squeezing and tugging her sensitive flesh. Waves of need washed over her, and she arched into his touch, refusing to let her brain focus on any regret that might come after they were through. If this was just physical, she would make the best of it and take as much as she gave.

  When he chuckled, it pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked down. Her hair streamed over her shoulders, covering her breasts and his hands and shrouding her with long, black locks.

  "I know you want this as much as I do, but you're so damn wet I think you might be torturing yourself as much as you are me." He lifted his hips off the bed, causing her to fall forward. Jake grabbed her, held her in place, and rubbed the tip of his cock against her smooth flesh. "I promise there won't be any regrets, darling," he whispered.

  Angela gripped his forearms, embracing the strength and power emanating from his body. She used it to fuel her confidence. But looking down to see his face when he spoke wasn't as simple. If she moved at all, he would slide inside her. She wasn't prolonging their torture, but there was the smallest part of her brain still arguing with her. Even though she was sure she wanted to go through with this and knew backing down now would piss him off, she wasn't so insecure or meek that she wouldn't take on his temper if she decided this wasn't the time or the right thing to do.

  That's when she realized she wasn't holding herself off of him. Jake was holding her up. He was keeping her from sliding down on him. "Are you saying that to me, or to yourself?" she asked, and moved her legs so she regained control of when she would lower herself onto him.

  Jake growled, and for the first time she noticed frustration in him and not sexual need. He moved her, causing her to roll onto the bed next to him. Her head found one of the many pillows and she sunk into it. Jake tangled their legs together as he nestled into her, pulling her up against him so when she inhaled, his masculine scent wrapped around her.

  "What is it about you?" he asked, his expression torn as he brushed hair from her face. "You annoyed the crap out of me when you wouldn't make love to me the other night. Now I'm holding back until I'm positive you want me. I need to know I'm really who you want," he whispered, his voice gravelly.

  He wasn't smiling. Possibly since meeting her, Jake was sharing a part of himself he didn't let many see. His expression seemed raw, almost vulnerable. Angela was hit with an overwhelming urge to reach out, stroke his apprehension away, and assure him she wanted this, too. But hadn't she just been ransacked with emotions that warned her against doing anything that might go against what she viewed as right?

  She jumped at the sound of Jake's phone ringing.

  "God damn it," Jake cursed, rolling away from her and moving to sit with his back to her as he grabbed his phone.

  For a moment, Angela thought he might hurl the phone across the room. Roped muscle flexed in his back, showing off his incredibly perfect body. Without seeing his face Angela still knew he was ransacked with more than just frustration. Some more primitive emotion warred inside him. She pushed herself up against the pillows, wondering for a moment if it wouldn't be best to get dressed.

  "What is it?" he snarled, answering his phone and using a tone harsher than he'd used before.

  It shouldn't surprise her that the carefree Jake would have a serious side to him. Apparently he also had a fuse that could easily reach its limit if pushed far enough. She didn't know if the phone ringing repeatedly sent him there or if turmoil over making love to her when they didn't have an established commitment ate at him as it did at her.

  If the latter was the case, it made Jake damn near the most perfect man she'd ever met. Something twisted around her heart as she stared at his backside and worked to understand the man sitting naked on the edge of her bed.

  "There's no one out there I want to talk to," he said, sounding really angry. "And last time I checked, you weren't my answering service. Why are you calling to tell me this? Is there something work related you called to talk about?"

  Angela perked up, his words confusing her. She wanted to know who he was talking about but, even more, what messages were just given to him that he didn't want to receive. Apparently someone was desperately trying to reach Jake and he didn't want to talk to them. Her chest constricted. If there was unfinished business in Jake's life, it would create tension between them.

  There was something sizzling between them. It had been since the beginning when they met a year ago. But nothing mattered as much as finding Marianna and ending the game.

  "What? Wait a minute," Jake said, moving off the bed and stalking to the other side of the suite. Muscles flexed in his legs as he walked. His back was taut with roped muscles stretching underneath his smooth flesh. But it was his mannerisms that created anxiety inside her. As she watched while he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call, it was obvious the call upset him as much as his phone ringing over and over again. "Natasha, since you're obviously calling to make a point, spit it out and say it. I don't want to hear any messages."

  Angela saw his profile when he turned. Whoever Natasha was, Jake wasn't pleased with her. Angela wasn't sure she'd ever seen him this angry.

  "Either tell them not to call anymore or let them know I'm not interested. I don't really care." Jake blew out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand through his hair, messing up the curls around his head. "That's none of your business. I'm just not interested anymore. No, not in any of them."

  Jake listened to Natasha a minute longer, then mumbled something and hung up his phone. For a moment he glared at the ground; then moving toward Angela, he didn't make eye contact as he grabbed his clothes and dressed.

  "You deserve the best, Angela," he muttered, straightening his shirt and heading toward the door. "That sure as hell isn't me."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jake sat in his parked car, killing about ten more minutes before the sun began disappearing on the horizon. Angela had left with Mario, and the last Jake spoke to her it had been on the phone, her tone all business. She would text him, sending a 1 if she was returning to the Drake and a 2 if Mario took her to his home. If there were an emergency, she'd text 0.

  He hadn't even seen her before she left. Which was his fault.

  Jake hadn't expected Angela to run after him when he'd left his suite. He had told himself the phone ringing nonstop had ruined the moment, but inside he'd known the truth. It still rose like a ruthless bile, forcing him to face up to it when he really didn't want to.

  Angela was crawling under his skin when no other woman had ever been able to do so. This wasn't the first time he'd met a lady and not taken her to bed right away. Oftentimes building the suspense until they did fuck simply prolonged the excitement and, finally, the thrill of the act. With Angela, he felt as if he'd already waited forever.

  But when Marla tried reaching him, then April, women he hadn't seen in well over a month, he'd taken his frustration and embarrassment out on his cousin. And she'd fed his pride to him on a spoon, which she'd shoved deep down his throat. Natasha was tired of taking calls for him, saying whatever it took to get the ladies off the phone. He should be flattered that so many women were persistently trying to reach him, but instead he was ashamed.

  If Angela found out women were trying to reach him while he was busy falling head over heels for her, she wouldn't speak to him again. That thought did worse than leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth. The trepidation tightening in his gut damn near made him sick to his stomach. He wanted Angela, more than sexually. Jake wanted her as his woman. He'd never felt this way before, and it was scaring the crap out of him.

  "The hell with it." Jake opened his car, which was parked down the street from Mandela's, and tugged on the black shirt he'd put
on along with jeans and comfortable tennis shoes. He was dressed to climb, fight, run, and duck into cramped places. And it was time to focus on doing that and not where he stood with Angela.

  It was so muggy, Jake's shirt stuck to his body. Even after he had sat with the AC cranked in his rental car all the way over here, perspiration beaded on his forehead. Part of it was nerves. He couldn't afford to stress over Angela. Not right now. Everything was about to blow open; the sizzling energy just under his flesh told him as much.

  He hadn't waited more than fifteen minutes after Angela left to head out from the Drake. Mandela had already left his house. Jake slowed and cut off the road into a nearby cluster of trees with thick grass that appeared well maintained growing in their shade. As soon as he'd walked around the curve, the intimidating-looking estate came into view. He stared, confused, at Mandela's place.

  A small procession was leaving Mandela's home. Two nondescript black SUVs, possibly Excursions, although Jake couldn't be sure from this distance, pulled out of Mandela's driveway. A moving truck, not the largest there was but a good-sized one that might be used to move several pieces of furniture or a dozen people or so, followed the SUVs onto the street. Jake stared at the taillights of the truck as the black rod iron gate automatically closed and locked itself with a clang. It was time to make his call. Jake shifted the car into drive.

  His rental wouldn't make it in a high-speed chase. The little four cylinder was good for long-distance traveling or allowing tourists to get around the town they were in. Fortunately, that moving truck wasn't in a hurry to get where it was going.

  His suspicions mounted as he watched the truck leave the gate. They were moving all of the kidnapped victims. He could stay where he was and investigate the outbuilding after they left. Or he could go with his hunch and follow the truck and SUVs. He didn't have much time to decide. On an impulse, Jake sprinted back to his car.