His dark eyes took everything in but never judged. Everyone judged in my business, but I’d never seen even the slightest opinion behind his coffee-colored gaze.
“Lay down.” He patted the bed.
The low rumble of his voice sent my nerves dancing low in my stomach. I forced myself to be strong. “That’s not happening.” My voice wasn’t full of conviction, like I’d hoped, but at least I hadn’t begged him to make me forget.
His lips quirked up in a lopsided grin. “I swear I won’t try anything, Boy Scout’s promise.”
I held his gaze. “You don’t seem like Boy Scout material.”
He chuckled and my body responded.
“I swear on my sister, I’ll just lay here. Be here, for you.” The mirth left his face. This meant something to him. Immediately a half dozen questions jumped to mind. Why did he look so sad? Where was his sister? Did he have other siblings?
“Okay.” The word barely made a noise as I pushed it past the lump of emotion clogging my throat. The day’s events had robbed me of so much—my peace of mind, my safety and now my voice. Tomorrow I’d be strong enough to fight back.
I lay in bed, my back to the man in my bed. There hadn’t been a man in my bed in almost three years. Jensen. What would he think of my actions? He’d been brave, foolhardy in his bravery, and he’d lost his life when he’d rushed into the situation without backup. Was I being foolish now? Should I leave town? Let someone else take the risks?
Joe’s hand on my back startled me out of my heavy thoughts. The light circling touch calmed me. I inhaled his scent, and let the worry slide away when I breathed out. I blanked my mind and repeated my deep, slow breaths. Each one calming me a bit more. Jensen faded. The day faded. Only Joe remained.
Chapter Fourteen
JoJo
I blew out a heavy breath when Charlie fell back to sleep. The long curve of her neck called to me. I touched the curve and inhaled her scent of arousal. Her body might be ready but her mind wasn’t even close.
I’d been waiting for the nightmare, perched on the couch listening for her unrest. Nightmares would chase her for weeks or longer. I still had nightmares of the worst days of my tour when I’d lost our friends. And on truly unlucky nights, I dreamed of Laney.
The hours of the night passed but sleep didn’t come. The sun peeked through the curtains when Charlie rolled over and cuddled into me. I should turn away since she’d never seek me out awake, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d take her subconscious need for me until she acknowledged the mountain-sized attraction between us. The tension crackled between us—we were live wires ready to ignite, explode. Yet she denied it because of what others would think. Total bullshit, and I planned to call her on it. Soon.
She sighed and threw a leg over mine. Even though I still wore my jeans, my cock shouted its pleasure at the touch. I drew her to me and held her close. The scent of apples teased my nose.
I must have drifted to sleep because my eyes popped open when soft lips nuzzled my neck. A better man would wake her up, but that wasn’t me. I pulled her warm body up and planted my lips on hers. She greedily kissed me back. Her softness against my hardness, somehow we meshed. Her tongue explored and body pressed against mine, rubbing to find release.
Flipping her over, I lay atop her, propping my weight on my elbows before I devoured her sweetness. The woman drove me wild. I ran hands down her sides, cupping her firm breasts. She moaned into my lips and lifted her hips, seeking more. Damn, I needed to give her more. But not this morning, a taste would be it, enough to drive her as crazy as I already was. Undeniable. Unstoppable. Unbelievable.
I cataloged each glorious second until she stilled, coming fully awake. Her deep blue eyes met mine at the same time she pushed up on my chest. “What? Off. You said—”
“Easy, darling.” I rolled to the side. “You started this make-out session, I just didn’t resist.”
Bright red raced up her neck and colored her cheeks, so maybe she hadn’t been asleep all that time.
She hurried out of bed and raced to the bathroom. I lay there a minute, a smile on my lips, enjoying her taste on my tongue. I was a goner if kisses made me this happy, but I wasn’t the only one affected—that was a consolation.
I pushed out of the soft bed, deciding to hunt up breakfast. I found a well-stocked kitchen, Charlie must like to cook. I started the coffee then searched through her organized cabinets for two skillets. Bacon, eggs and toast, even I wouldn’t screw them up. The kitchen was an off-white shade all rentals liked, her light gray counters utilitarian but no color brightened up the place. Everything was neat but generic. Her whole house felt that way. Was this a new place for her or had she missed the girl decorating gene? I didn’t care, my place in Ardmore was a haphazard collection of castoffs, nothing this nice or clean.
Bacon was almost done when I heard Charlie on the steps. She walked into the kitchen with brisk, no-nonsense steps.
“Good morning, darling.” I grinned at her.
She froze in place, a statue in her kitchen.
“How do you like your eggs?”
“Why are you cooking?” She fisted hands on hips.
“I’m hungry.” I swallowed the smile I wanted to show. “Eggs? Over easy then?” Everyone liked over easy eggs.
“Yuck. Over hard.” She frowned at me. “No slime.”
So everyone didn’t like over easy, go figure.
“Where’s your shirt?” She prowled behind me.
“On the couch. Like what you see?” I’d flex my muscles but I was at the critical point with the bacon. My cooking skills were on par with a kid, and I didn’t want to screw it up.
Charlie left the kitchen as I put the finishing touches on breakfast. I set the platter of bacon on the table and returned for the two plates of eggs when something hit my back.
“Put the shirt on,” she scolded from behind me.
I turned and gave her an easy smile. “Am I tempting you?” I set down the two plates before I picked up my shirt from the floor and draped it over the back of my chair. She frowned but didn’t say anything more as she sat down across from me.
“Thanks for cooking.” She frowned down at the plate. “We need to set some rules of operation.”
“I cooked so you clean up.” I grinned over at her.
“That’s a good one, but we need boundaries, and—”
The doorbell rang, interrupting her. Bonus for me, I didn’t like the sound of boundaries. She slid out of her chair and headed to the front door. I tugged on my shirt and followed, stopping to palm my gun. Charlie hadn’t gunned up, we definitely needed to discuss SOPs.
She glanced through the peep hole then back at me. “Put that away, it’s my family.” She waved toward my gun before opening the door.
I stuck the gun back in my coat and leaned against the couch, arms across my chest. “I can’t wait to meet Dad.”
She huffed, then opened the door. An old guy with gray hair and Charlie’s eyes came in first. He took me in head to bare toes and frowned. A younger version of the dad followed through the door. Charlie shut the door and turned to her family, a resigned sigh escaping, letting me know she wasn’t thrilled by the invasion.
Her brother stepped forward. “Who are you?” He nodded to me. “And what are you doing here?”
“Stop it, Johnny.” Charlie hurried to get between me and her brother. “Everyone, this is Joe Marcone, he’s...” She trailed off, looking for the right word.
“Her protection against Franco.” I grinned. “And you are?”
“We’re her goddam family and we can protect our little sis just fine,” Johnny barked.
“Enough, Johnny.” Charlie glared up at her older brother. “Besides Johnny, this—” she pointed to the gray-haired man “—is my father, John Sr.”
“Danvers said you were hanging around.” Her f
ather stared at me.
“I am.” I met his gaze and held it. “Charlie, I’ll leave you to your family.” I returned to the kitchen and grabbed my plate, taking it to the back deck. I sat on the small redwood-painted deck and ate in a few quick minutes. I’d barely put my plate on the small cast iron patio table when Johnny joined me.
“We’re worried about Charlie.” He sat across from me. “Exactly what are your intentions?”
“To keep her alive.” I leaned back. “What are your intentions?”
The man narrowed his gaze. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“The man keeping your sister safe. You have a wife to protect, right? All of you have other responsibilities?”
“Are you saying I don’t love my sister?” He stood.
I stood up. “No, I’m saying back the hell off.”
“I don’t know you. We don’t know you.”
“It should be enough that we both want Charlie safe.” I met his hard glare, daring him to push it. I’d be happy to take this physical. Sometimes it was the only way to get past the shit to the real issues. I’d like to bruise his square jaw as I knocked him on his ass.
“Each of us can work out a rotation, with the others protecting our families—six hours each.” He placed hands on the table, leaning forward. “I appreciate your offer, but we don’t need your help.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I crossed my arms. “You have a weakness. I don’t.”
He opened and shut his mouth like a fish out of water as crimson spread up his neck to his face. “How dare you—” He kicked his chair back and it crashed to the deck.
“How’s it going to go when the mob gets to your wife, your children? You picking your sister or your wife? Either way you’re fucked.” I blew out a breath. “Impossible situation.”
He broke eye contact, looking down to the ground. “It’s that bad?”
“Worse. She’d already be dead if I hadn’t had her six. They’ll keep coming until she’s dead or Mickey is.”
“You wouldn’t order—”
“Nope, I can’t even if I wanted to. Franco will turn on Mickey if we apply the right pressure. But we don’t have room for you, any of you. You’re compromised, and we both know it.”
“Fuck, what’s the plan?” He narrowed his gaze on me.
“You already know. I see it in your eyes.” I was done with this guy and his righteousness. “Charlie knows and prefers that to witness relocation.”
Johnny stared off into the distance. “Damn.”
“And you know she won’t back down.”
He rubbed his square jaw. “What can I do?”
“Protect your family. Charlie will give herself up in a minute for any of you.” This was the tight kind of family. They loved each other, would do anything to protect each other. I didn’t want to see the fallout if they lost a family member. The implosion built slow, but in the end, a family missing a member would never be whole again. I knew firsthand. My family had once been just like the Pines. Before. After, all we could do was pretend, but I’d never been good at make-believe, so I’d walked away. And I wouldn’t be going back. Ever.
Her brother nodded. “You’ll keep her safe.” It wasn’t a question.
“With my life.” I held out a hand and he clasped it.
By the time we returned to the living room, Charlie had her father apologizing and side stepping. The woman ruled the men in her family, but then with the love he saw in their eyes, it was no wonder. Laney had ruled me and Levi the same way. Little sisters had power and Charlie wielded hers with a practiced hand.
“Pumpkin, we want you safe.” Her father ran a hand over his close-cropped cut. “That’s reasonable.”
“Do you want me with a new name? Never able to see you...” she choked up “...talk to you again?”
“That’ll never happen,” her father growled.
“It might. Unless we walk away,” Johnny interjected. “Her biggest weakness is us. We get in the way, someone gets hurt or kidnapped, and what would Charlie do? What would any of us do?”
Silence met his question. Charlie stood then, hands on hips. “I love you all, and it sucks, but you can’t help me here. You have to keep my sisters, nieces and nephews safe. I’ll deal with Franco.” She sounded tough, believable. Damn, I wanted to kiss her right now, to hell with the relatives. Her courage was an aphrodisiac, and I couldn’t get enough.
It was another hour before she finally herded her family out of her place. And I wanted nothing more than to take her to bed, but that was a pipe dream, so I paced the living room trying to think of some way to occupy the hours ahead of us. Hours of slow seduction and sex—my mind was caught in a loop.
“You need to calm down.” Charlie walked into the living room after having cleaned up dishes from our aborted breakfast.
“I hate waiting.” I rubbed my palms on the front of my jeans. “Too much up here.” I tapped my temple. “I’m going to shower.” I jogged up the steps, grabbed my duffel and hit the head. Charlie’s bathroom smelled of apples, just like she did. I turned on the hot water and scalded my skin as I let it rain down on me.
After a quick shower, I shrugged on a new set of clothes. The doorbell rang and I beat it downstairs to see who was here now.
Charlie opened the door as I hit the living room. Two detectives came inside. We needed to make statements. We gave statements and answered questions for two hours.
“You’ll be back in no time.” The detective shook Charlie’s hand and nodded my way. The guy didn’t approve of me. Too fucking bad.
Once they left, I still didn’t breathe easier. This place was too small and the walls started closing in on me. I paced the living room, wondering how I’d make it days holed up here. I’d been antsy before, and reliving the moments where I might’ve lost Charlie hadn’t helped.
“We need to get out of here.” Charlie took a cautious step my way.
“What?” She’d interrupted my thoughts.
“Where should we go?”
“Ride my bike.” I loved the speed and freedom of my Harley.
“Let’s go.”
“You sure? When we leave, we become bigger targets.” I wanted to make sure she understood the stakes.
“Isn’t that the plan?”
“Damn straight.” I grinned at her. “Yeah, let’s go get it.”
I followed her to the garage and into the SUV. Once I’d cleared her driveway, I hit the fob on my keys to alarm the new perimeter security system I’d had a friend install yesterday. I didn’t want to walk into any nasty surprises, especially the kind that blew up.
I’d rented a storage garage for my Harley since I’d been using so many different vehicles shadowing Charlie. No way was I leaving my girl on the side of the street to be vandalized or stolen. The garage was across town from Charlie’s, so I’d have time to see if anyone tailed us. By the time we were close, I was 90 percent certain we hadn’t been followed. I parked the SUV and lifted the garage, rolling out my Harley before I had Charlie park the other vehicle inside. She backed it in, my kind of girl.
She hopped out of the car and walked out to me. “Helmets?”
“I have some in the garage. Grab me one too.” I wasn’t a fan, but if it made her feel safer, then I could hang with that.
“Why don’t you wear one every day?” Charlie thrust the small black skull cap at me.
“Freedom. Maybe the edge of danger.” I’d gotten out of the habit in the desert, where no one wore helmets, but a lot of my brothers wore them. I could have gotten back in the habit.
“Maybe a death wish?” Her blue eyes searched mine.
Was she right? I didn’t fear death, but I didn’t think I sought the reaper. I’d witnessed both soldiers and brothers in my club who had a death wish—no, I wasn’t there. Yet, a dark voice whispered.
“Anywhere fast.” With a wide smile she buckled the helmet. “I don’t want to think anymore.”
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie
I swung a leg over the back of Joe’s bike and settled into his hard back. Grasping his narrow hips reminded me of our morning when those same hips had pinned me to the bed. What a seductive dream, but then it’d become reality. Reality sucked. Responsibility overrated. And rebellion tempted me. If my family hadn’t barged into our cozy breakfast, I’d have given in. The damnedest part—I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or disappointed by their appearance. If I didn’t control my urges, I’d end up on my back before the night was out.
Right where you should be, one voice coaxed.
Jensen wouldn’t approve, another voice argued.
But Jensen was gone and nothing would change that. He’d been a considerate lover and a good friend, never pushing me like Joe did. He’d understood me in only the way another in our profession could. The bright sunny day reminded me of the weekend he’d proposed in Galveston. He’d planned a perfect weekend on the ocean with my favorite dinner, steak and lobster, before a late night walk on the beach. We’d walked hand in hand, picking up small shells. He’d found a huge conch—later he told me he’d placed it there; such a planner.
“Hold it to your ear, what’s it say?” Jensen urged me to listen to the rushing sound of the ocean.
I’d held the shell to my ear. He’d whispered “Marry me” in my other ear before he dropped to one knee with a beautiful diamond ring in hand. “Charlotte Mary Pine, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
I’d dropped the shell as I said yes with tears streaming down my cheeks. He’d been so romantic. Now the shell and ring were packed away in a box. Jensen had done everything right until the day he died. He’d broken the rules and paid with his life. Leaving me adrift, alone, with questions that’d never be answered.
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