She shudders against me, and I continue the slow torment with my hand, even though my cock is straining against the fabric of my jeans.
“I do,” she whispers, forcing me to bite back a groan.
“Do what?” I ask, brushing my lips over hers now.
Our eyes connect, and she swallows hard as my finger stills inside her.
“I love you,” she whispers.
Not going to lie, that shit sounds good when she says it this time. And my lips crash against hers as my finger finds a steady rhythm inside her, rewarding her, thanking her, owning her. My tongue fucks her mouth like my finger fucks her pussy, and she writhes and moans beneath me while I keep her hands pinned above her head.
She cries out, breaking the kiss as her back arches off the bed, pushing herself against me as she grinds on my hand. When her inner muscles clench around my finger, I have to work damn hard not to go off in my pants right alongside her.
I watch her. Watch as her face twists in euphoric anguish… Watch as her breaths grow harsh and heavy… Watch her come apart under me. For me.
My name is on her lips, and I draw out her orgasm as long as possible, still watching her face as the emotions wash over her. I love her expressive face. Love seeing how she responds to me. Love seeing her.
As her body goes limp and sinks back onto the bed, I pull my finger out of her and slowly release her hands. She watches me as I draw my finger to my mouth to taste her, and her cheeks turn red.
Love that too.
My phone buzzes against my hip, and I inwardly groan before pulling it out to see who’s calling. It’s a random number, but considering the circumstances, I don’t hesitate to answer.
“Drex Caine,” I say over the line, still looking down at my half-naked girl.
“You have something I want, and you owe me.” The familiar voice has my back snapping straight, and I lift off Eve before turning around, putting my back to her.
“What do you want?”
“I’ll text you the info and the meeting place. Bring it and don’t bring your boys. Let’s keep this civil, Drex. I promise you don’t want a fight with me. I tend to leave a mess.”
The phone goes dead, and Eve’s arms come around my waist.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, prompting me to turn around.
I kiss her softly, trying to ease her mind.
“Nothing I can’t handle. But I have to—”
My phone goes off in my hand, and I look down to read the message. That request sounds much too simple, but I don’t argue. If Sarah wanted me dead, I’d probably already be dead.
“I need to go.”
Eve goes stiff against me, and I grab her shorts, handing them to her.
“You’re coming with me,” I tell her. “Not leaving you alone anymore. Besides, she only said I couldn’t bring the guys. Nothing about you.”
“She?” Eve asks, scrambling to pull her shorts on.
“Sarah is calling in a favor,” I sigh. I just wish I knew why.
Chapter 40
EVE
The bike is still vibrating against my inner thighs as we pull up and idle in front of a different motel than I left. Not that I told the guys what motel that was.
Drex helps me off, then shuts off the bike before standing and grabbing my hand. He pushes open a door without knocking, and immediately my eyes find the relaxed blonde against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, gun in hand.
“You said I couldn’t bring one of the guys,” Drex tells her.
I wave awkwardly at Sarah, and she smiles warmly at me while putting her gun in a holster at her leg.
“That’s why I like you, Drex,” she says, dragging her eyes back to him. “A man of honor who looks for loopholes. You got what I asked for?”
Drex pulls a file from the back of his jeans and tosses it on the nearby bed that is made a little too pristine for a place like this.
She eyes it then looks back at him.
“Not sure why your hacker couldn’t have dug up what we did.”
Her eyes flash to mine questioningly, but I shake my head. I haven’t said a word about her hacker. She relaxes subtly, not letting Drex notice that she was worried for a brief moment.
“My hacker is a good guy—or trying to be. Besides, I owe him too many favors as it is. You owed me.”
“Don’t feel like this makes us even for you saving Eve’s life,” Drex grunts.
Sarah’s eyebrows go up. “This isn’t for saving Eve’s life. I did that because I wanted to. And because those bastards shot my girl. Take care of Colleen, by the way. Don’t let them near her again.” She bends, keeping her eyes on Drex warily, and snatches up the file. “You owed me this for finding your thorn.”
Drex nods, but he remains stoic… expressionless.
“That file has everything we gathered on Adam Mason before we found out he was a fed working inside Benny’s crew. It has the ties to your father’s crew. Was it him that turned on your father instead of you or something?” Drex asks her, confusing me.
I might should have asked about that file. Are they talking about the fed Benny killed?
“Nah,” Sarah says nonchalantly. “Mason was dirty. He was working both sides, giving the feds just enough to seem legit, while playing in my father’s crew like an evil bastard. Just knew him from reputation. He went by Jeff at that time.”
“So why the file?” Drex asks.
“I want to know what he was really doing with the Hell Breathers. He was loyal to my father.” She looks up, and she flashes a smile at me again. “You look better. Glad to see you up and about, looking much stronger than what I left you.”
I nod, but don’t speak.
“Why the face-to-face?” Drex asks her, drawing her attention back to him.
Sarah smirks. “Herrin has pissed me off, but I know you boys have split up. I want to know if you share his interest in seeing me dead.”
Drex shakes his head. “You saved Eve. No beef with me.”
She nods like she expected that answer. “Also want to know if you want to eliminate Herrin yourself or if you want me to do it for you. Free of charge, of course.”
Drex mutters something under his breath, then shakes his head. “This is ours. Not your problem. What do you want with a dead man’s file?”
She hugs the file to her chest. “This is mine. Not your problem,” she says, echoing his words. “Just a warning, if Herrin comes for me, he’ll be my problem, and I’ll make him go away. Understood?”
She stares at him like she’s challenging him to object.
“Fair enough,” he says instead. “He’s more focused on me at the moment, though.”
Drex tugs my hand, backing toward the door, but Sarah speaks before we can leave.
“Does he hate me?” Sarah asks quietly, causing my heart to clench for her.
Drex tenses, and I realize this entire thing was more to find out about Snake than anything else. The pain she’s trying to mask is starting to bleed through, becoming visible.
“You should have told him the truth. He wouldn’t have cared, Sarah. He loved you,” Drex tells her coldly. “You know Snake has a major issue with trust.”
She nods solemnly, looking down. “We all have our reasons for the secrets we keep,” she whispers.
Pulling out of Drex’s grip, I walk over to her. She startles a little, but relaxes when I wrap my arms around her in a hug.
She returns the embrace with one hand, keeping the file clutched to her with the other. When I pull back, she winks at me, her chipper mask back in place. But I’ve seen it fractured. She’s hurting and trying her best to hide it.
“Bit of free advice,” she says, looking over at Drex who is keeping a wary eye on her, “Marshall has been having a couple of guys watching your girl’s childhood home. He’s looking for the mother. Her disappearance is what made him go underground. If you want to draw him out, now you know how.”
Drex cocks his head to the side, and he reaches out his hand for me, silently asking me to come back.
“Thank you,” I tell Sarah, watching as she smiles at me again.
“One more thing,” she says, winking at me as she skips by me, moving by Drex next on her way to the door, “teach your girl to shoot a gun. She sucks.”
Drex’s eyes dart to mine, widening in a little horror, as Sarah leaves that hanging in the air and walks out. I give Drex a tight smile.
“When the fuck did she see you shoot?”
I just shrug. “We all have our secrets, right?” I ask nervously.
He narrows his eyes on me, but when I step into him, he holds me against his body, brushing his lips over my head. Uncle Marshall is watching my house…
“I know what to do,” I tell Drex, leaning against his chest.
“Mm?” he mumbles, resting his chin on top of my head as he holds me.
“We use me as bait. It would out Ben or Marshall or both if we’re really lucky.”
He snorts derisively. “Fuck no. Never gonna happen.”
Chapter 41
DREX
Flowers. Lots of fucking flowers.
I can’t believe I let her and the guys talk me into this. I’m supposed to be keeping her safe instead of dangling her at the end of a hook like fresh bait for any shark that wants to take a bite.
I also can’t picture Eve sleeping in a twin bed that has flowers all over the comforter like a pre-teen. But I’m staring at her old bed, studying the very different past she has from her future.