by Lora Leigh
Ava blew out a breath, tried to hold in her irritation. “Of course there is. I know that.”
Lacey smiled. “Good. Then let’s just have fun this week.”
Lacey made it sound so simple, when Ava knew it wasn’t. Lacey hadn’t just decided to go on vacation, or even sabbatical. She’d tossed everything about her life into the trash to do … what exactly? Hang with a biker? Did she even have a job?
Lacey had planned on becoming a psychologist. She wanted to help people. Her entire life had been focused on her studies. Her goal was her career, her future. Just like Ava’s had always been.
And then just like that she’d tossed it all away. Years of education, the momentum of undergraduate and graduate school. Lacey was going to be so far behind now. Ava just couldn’t fathom it. Not the Lacey she knew.
But this Lacey didn’t want to talk about school or what she’d given up. This Lacey only wanted to have fun.
It was a lifestyle Ava simply couldn’t comprehend. And that’s why she was here, to see if she could figure out what the lure was that would account for Lacey tossing aside her education in favor of a romance with a biker.
And maybe, just maybe, convince her best friend to turn the corner and come back home—back to school—where she belonged.
“Hey, baby, how about we ride on outta here?”
Lacey lifted her head and her whole body perked up as Bo entered the kitchen and rounded the island to put his arms around her.
“I’m game. Wherever you want to go.”
Bo tilted her back in his arms and planted a long, passionate kiss on her lips. Ava turned away at the intimacy and her gaze landed on Rick, who stood next to her, smiling.
“You ready to ride, Ava?”
“Sure.” Not like she had a choice since she couldn’t very well call a taxi to this remote location.
They climbed on the bikes and headed back into town. One thing about the desert—no matter what time of year it was, it got cold at night—especially in the fall. Ava had no choice but to snuggle up against Rick’s back to keep the chilly wind from penetrating through her jacket. Next time she was definitely dressing warmer.
Though she doubted there’d be a next time, at least not with Rick. Not after tonight.
Once they’d returned to the Strip, they pulled into the hotel parking lot and got off their bikes.
“I need to go get my bag from my car so I can check in,” Ava said.
Lacey looked to Bo, who had a tight hold on her hand, obviously eager to drag her up to their room.
“I’ll walk to your car with you,” Rick said. “You two can go on ahead.”
“Great.” Lacey waved to Ava. “See you in the morning.”
Nothing like getting dumped by your best friend. “’Night.”
Ava pushed the elevator button. “My car’s on another level. You really don’t have to stay with me.”
“I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t wandering around in a parking garage at two in the morning by yourself. If that’s okay.”
She managed a smile. “Yes, that’s okay. Thank you.”
Once on the next level she retrieved her bag from her car and they rode up to the lobby. “Have you already checked in?”
He nodded. “Earlier today.”
“Okay. Well, good night then.”
She went to the desk and once she’d checked in, headed to the elevators. Rick was standing there. She cocked her head to the side.
“Again, I don’t like the idea of you wandering around by yourself. I’ll walk you to your room.”
Okay, chivalry definitely wasn’t dead. At least not in Rick’s case. Why did he have to be so freakin’ charming? Especially since it was obvious he didn’t want her? “Thanks. Again.”
They rode the elevator up to her floor. Rick grabbed her bag and took the key from her hand, then led her down the hall to her room. He slid the key card in the lock and opened the door for her. She flipped on the light and turned to face him, but Rick walked inside. Ava shrugged and closed the door, followed him while he flipped on the bathroom light as if he were looking for … something.
He pulled the shower curtain aside, then moved out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, checking things out.
Checking for what, she wasn’t exactly sure. He finally set her bag on the bed and handed her the key.
“Okay, you’re good to go.”
“What were you doing?”
“You can never be too careful about hotels. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”
She melted just a little bit. “Thank you, Rick.”
He seemed to want to linger, as if there was something he wanted to say. Or do.
She wished.
But then he took a step back. “I’ll let you get some sleep.”
She walked him to the door and opened it.
“Rick.”
He paused, turned around. “Yeah?”
“Where’s your room?”
He cocked his head to the left. “Just a few doors down. Room 238. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay. Good night.”
He paused, then leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Soft, easy, and oh she wanted so much more.
“’Night.”
She closed the door and locked it, leaned against the wall and sighed.
This night could have been a lot different, if only …
If only what? If only she were more like Lacey? More adventurous, less rigid? Wasn’t that what Lacey had suggested?
She wasn’t that rigid.
She also hadn’t been the one who had stopped things in the bedroom at Joey’s house. Rick had.
But why?
She unpacked her bag and pondered the situation, thinking back to the two of them kissing, how Rick’s mouth had felt on her. She placed her hand on her neck where his mouth had been, shivering at the remembered contact, how it had made her insides dissolve in a puddle of want and need.
A shower would dissolve any remnants of his touch. She slid under the warm spray and closed her eyes, imagining Rick in the shower with her. His hands soaping her body, cupping her aching breasts and torturing her rigid nipples. She lifted her hands and did just that, which only served to fuel the flames even hotter. She let her hand drift down, over her belly and between her legs, cupping her sex. Her gasp made her eyes shoot open.
With a sigh of frustration, she finished her shower and dried off, brushed her teeth and slid naked under the covers, figuring it was late enough she’d fall asleep right away.
No such luck. Not with her body throbbing with the incessant need for an orgasm. An orgasm she was denying herself.
Why, exactly? She’d certainly seen to her own needs before, so why not tonight?
Because you’d had your chance to be with a rockin’ hot biker guy, and somehow you blew it.
And that’s what bothered her the most. She didn’t know what she’d done to turn him off so abruptly. Maybe if she found out the answer, she could go to sleep.
She reached over and flipped on the switch for the lamp on the nightstand, and stared down at the room number she’d hastily scrawled on the pad of paper.
Room 238. Rick’s room. She picked up the hotel phone, the dial tone screaming in her ear.
For God’s sake, Ava, it’s three-thirty in the morning. He’s sleeping. What kind of a neurotic idiot are you?
Apparently a Class A Neurotic Idiot. She dialed his room number, her stomach clenching as it began to ring.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t sound half asleep. “Rick, it’s … Ava.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I’m fine. Were you sleeping?”
“No. What’s up?”
This had to have been the dumbest idea ever. She fumbled for the right words. There really weren’t any, so she might as well just come right out and say it. “Earlier tonight, at Joey’s …”
“Yeah?”
“When we were upstairs in the bedroo
m. Alone.”
He didn’t say anything. Ava inhaled a breath of courage. “When we were kissing, and touching … you stopped.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you tensed up when you heard a door close out in the hallway.”
She frowned. “I did?”
“Yeah. I just figured you weren’t really into what we were doing. Or maybe you weren’t … ready. I didn’t want to push you into anything you didn’t really want.”
That was why he stopped? Because she tensed up and he didn’t want to push her? Wow. Just … wow. He really was thoughtful. Or utterly full of shit. She couldn’t tell.
“I wasn’t tense at all.”
“You didn’t want to be in that room with me.”
“Yes, I did. I was … very much into what we were doing.”
“Were you.”
He was smiling. She could tell. But was he laughing at her?
“Yes.”
“How much were you into it?”
Her body flushed with heat. “Uh … a lot.”
“Tell me, Ava. Did your nipples get hard?”
Oh, God. She did not have phone conversations like this. Ever. But her nipples puckered. Damn him.
“Yes.”
“Did your pussy get wet?”
Oh. My. God. She shuddered out a breath. “Yes.”
“Are you in bed right now?”
“Yes.”
“What are you wearing?”
She looked down at her breasts. The sheet had slipped down to her waist, revealing tight, hard nipples.
“I still have all my clothes on.”
He laughed, the rumbling sound touching her nerve endings. “Liar. What are you wearing?”
His demand, spoken softly, made her want to tell him. “Nothing.”
“You’re naked.”
“Yes.” She could barely get the word out. It was like she was standing in the same room with him, showing him.
She heard a rustling on the other end, wished she knew what he was doing.
“The thought of you naked makes my dick hard, Ava.”
Now it was her turn to rustle. She reached up and slid her thumb over her nipple, then squeezed her eyes shut as the sensation shot between her legs.
“Does knowing that make you wet?”
“Yes.”
“Does it make you want to touch your pussy?”
She didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to have this conversation with him. And she didn’t want to hang up.
“Answer me.”
“Yes, it does.”
He inhaled and blew it out. A sound of frustration, of need. She’d never heard anything more erotic in her entire life.
“Do it. Touch yourself for me.”
“Oh, God, Rick. Please.”
“Yes. Touch your pussy. You know you want to.”
She did want to. She’d wanted to for hours. And somehow, doing it because he’d asked her to was like Rick putting his hand there. She moved her hand under the covers and cupped her sex, couldn’t hold back the gasp as sensation shot through her.
“Feel good?”
“Yes.” But she needed more. Much more. “Rick.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing?”
“Stroking my dick.”
She squeezed her thighs together, images pummeling her. How was he doing it? Was he naked, too, or were his jeans unzipped, just his cock visible? She wished she could be in the room with him, watching him touch himself.
“Do you like knowing I’m stroking myself while I talk to you?”
She swallowed. Her throat had gone dry. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
“Rub your pussy for me, Ava.”
She rocked her hand against her pussy. Her clit trembled, the tight bud hard and aching for her touch. She split her fingers, capturing her clit between them, feeling it swell and burst with pleasure. It was so, so good. She couldn’t hold back her whimper of pleasure.
“I love hearing the sounds you make. Does it feel good?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what you’re doing.”
“Resting my palm over my pussy. Teasing my clit with my fingers. Rick, I’m shaking all over. I’ve … never done this before.”
“Good. Do it for me, then. I like listening to you. I like hearing your deep breathing.”
She shuddered out a sigh. This was wicked. She pressed the heel of her palm against her clit, and let her fingers dive down along her pussy lips. She was wet, hot, anticipating being filled. Sadly, all she had were her fingers, but she tucked two inside. And moaned.
“Christ” was Rick’s reply. “What are you doing?”
Now she felt the power of what she was doing, and how it affected him. She pulled her fingers out and pushed them in again, her hips rising off the bed to meet them. “Fucking myself with my fingers.”
“Shit. Yeah.”
Now Rick was the one out of breath and making noises, and she had to admit it drove her crazy. Because she couldn’t see, she could only hear. And imagine. It drove her pleasure higher, faster, made her so close to coming she had to back off.
Not yet.
She was panting now, listening to the sounds Rick made, straining to hear everything. She could swear she heard his hand moving along his cock, the rhythmic stroking in tune to his hard, fast breaths in the receiver of the phone. She’d never seen a guy jack off before. Now she wanted to more than anything.
“Ava.”
“Yes.”
“I want you to come for me.”
“Yes.” Faster now, she moved her hand, her fingers, digging the heel of her palm against her clit and driving her fingers deeper inside her pussy.
“Tell me what you’re doing.”
“Spreading my legs. Fucking myself. Making myself come. Oh, God, Rick, I’m coming now.”
“Fuck. Yes. Come on.” He groaned, loud, a deep, guttural sound and she knew he was coming, too.
Her orgasm splintered her, wild and filled with a crazy madness brought about by this wicked thing they’d done together. She went off like a rocket, bursting all over. She bucked against her hand with the waves of her climax, yelling at Rick through the phone and not caring at all who she woke up. Not when she was coming like this and it was oh, so good.
Spent, she dropped her hips to the bed and panted, listened to Rick do the same thing, and closed her eyes, wondering whether she should be laughing or utterly mortified.
“Damn, honey. You are good.”
She smiled, too satiated to be mortified at what she had just done. “So are you.”
“Now get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her smile died. She suddenly felt unsure.
“’Night, Ava.”
“Good night, Rick.”
He clicked off and she hung up the phone, went into the bathroom to clean up. She stared at herself in the mirror and shook her head at the sight she presented. Naked, her nipples puckered, her breasts still flushed with the aftereffects of her orgasm. Her hair was in wild disarray, her eyes had this …what? A passionate look, she supposed.
She didn’t look at all like herself.
But this week was supposed to be about doing something different.
What she’d just done with Rick had sure as hell been different, hadn’t it?
She turned off the bathroom light and climbed back into bed, hoping this time she could sleep without thinking too much.
And hoping she could face Rick tomorrow without dissolving into a puddle of embarrassment.
FIVE
Rick had only slept a few hours. After he’d hung up the phone with Ava last night, it had taken all his willpower not to throw on his jeans, walk down the hall, bang on her door, and climb into bed with her.
Reserved? He’d thought she was reserved? Cool? Hell, she was an inferno. Banked, maybe, but tapped the right way, Ava was explosive. And he wanted his hands on her in the worst way. So yeah, sleep had been
damned hard last night. His dick had been damned hard last night. Phone sex was fun, but nothing like the real thing.
And now that she’d warmed him up, he wanted the real thing.
He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t on vacation, he wasn’t really home. This was an assignment. She was an assignment. And he had to call Grange and give his report. He dialed General Lee’s number. True to form, the general answered on the first ring, his tone crisp and formal as always.
“What?”
Rick smiled and shook his head. “Hey, Grange. Did I wake you?”
“You know better than that, boy. What’s going on there?”
“I’m in the Hellraisers again.”
“Did your cousin buy your background?”
“I think so. They said they were going to check it out, though.”
“Good. We gave you a solid history. Should be no problems. Let me know what they say.”
“Will do.”
“What about Ava Vargas?”
“I made contact with her last night. She actually ended up as my riding buddy while we’re here at bike week. Turns out her best friend is Bo’s girlfriend.”
“Perfect. Have you found out anything yet?”
“Nothing much. She doesn’t seem to be a biker. Seems green.”
“Which doesn’t mean shit. She doesn’t have to be an expert to have something going on with the Hellraisers. Appearances can be deceiving. You should know that better than anyone.”
“I know.”
“Then get close to her and stay that way. There are several Hellraisers who’ve been busted in the past few months for drug distribution. Senator Vargas is shitting his pants that his daughter might be even remotely involved in this gang. And DEA is getting a hard-on over it, too. If Ms. Vargas is dirty, DEA wants to know about it.”
“I’m on it.”
“Good. Keep me updated.”
Rick hung up, satisfied that he was on the right track, even if he did think the senator was being overly protective of his daughter and the DEA was totally off base. Then again, like Grange said, appearances could be deceiving and Ava might be deeply involved in the Hellraisers up to her soft, kissable neck.
But Rick had spent a lifetime trusting his instincts about people. And his instincts told him Ava was a fish out of water with the Hellraisers. He was going to have to find out just what she was doing there, and why.
