I wrinkled my nose. “Semi-cute?”
“No.”
“Gator?”
“Fuck, no.” He laughed, sitting in one of my chairs. “If anyone looks at you sideways, he’s liable to haul off and hit them.”
“I think he’d be fine. He’s not as protective of me as he is of Willow,” I countered.
“You don’t think?” he challenged, pulling on his boots.
“Says you.” I grinned. “Fine, Badger.”
“Badger’s with Quin.” He rose to his feet and slid his phone into his pocket. “I’m gonna send Shadow.”
“He’s, like, twelve.”
“Nineteen,” he said. “I know him. I trust him.”
“He is cute.” I sighed. “If you like monosyllabic types.”
Alamo shook his head. “You keep this up, I’ll send Milky.”
I shivered. Milky was called Milky not just because of his pasty complexion, but also because he had a bad eye. And the reason you knew it was bad, was because it looked... well, milky. It was kind of weird and disconcerting, especially when he left his sunglasses off.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I might.” He leaned down and kissed me quickly. “Shadow’ll text you before he gets here.”
“Okay.” I stroked his face. “Have a good day, dear.”
He laughed as he kissed me again, then left me naked in my bed.
Jasmine
My cell phone buzzed as I pulled a T-shirt over my head, so I snagged it off the dresser and read the screen.
Unknown Caller: Pick you up in twenty.
Me: Um, cool. How do I know you’re not the Gentleman Strangler?
Unknown Caller: I’m no gentleman.
Me: What should I call you, then?
Unknown Caller: Jazz, it’s Shadow. Pretty sure Alamo told you I was comin’.
Me: Shadow of Death?
Unknown Caller: Funny. You gonna be like this all day?
Me: Only if you’re lucky.
He didn’t respond, so I saved his number in my phone (as Shadow of Death, because it made me giggle), and then finished getting ready.
A knock at my door came nineteen minutes later, and I pulled it open to a scowling six-foot-three teenager.
“Why the fuck didn’t you look through the peephole and then make me identify myself,” Shadow growled.
I shrugged. “Because I knew it was you.”
“Goddammit, Jasmine,” he continued as he stepped inside. “You need to be more careful.”
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. “Nope. You don’t get to get all growly on me. One, you’re like twelve. Two, you’re not my boyfriend, father, or brother. And three, don’t make me sic Alamo on you.”
“That doesn’t scare me, babe. Alamo’d kick my ass if something happened to you, so I’ll do whatever I gotta do to make sure you’re safe.”
I sighed. “As long as you act as my pack mule, I’m good with whatever you gotta do.”
“I can do that.”
I heard a hiss and followed the sound to find Scruffy hiding behind the sofa, his back up like he was all that, but hiding because he was definitely a pussy.
“Don’t mind him,” I said. “His hiss is worse than his scratch.”
“Hate cats,” he said. “I’ll stay out of his way.”
“Chicken.” I grinned. “I’ll grab my stuff and we can go.”
I gathered my shopping bags, purse, and keys, then led Shadow out of the house and down to my car. I drove, and we started by heading to the lab.
“I’m gonna come in and make sure it’s cool, then I’m gonna grab a smoke.”
“You’re nineteen. Why the hell are you smoking?” I challenged as I parked.
“You’re not my mother, sister, or girlfriend,” he retorted.
I couldn’t stop a grin. “Fair enough.”
We got out of the car and I unlocked the door to the building. After flipping on the lights and disarming the alarm, I walked to the back (Shadow following) and unlocked my office. “I won’t be long.”
“I’m gonna do a quick walk through, then I’ll meet you out front.”
“Okay.”
Shadow left me, and I grabbed the paperwork and packaging samples I planned to work on at home. I needed Parker’s opinion, because she was firmly in my demographic of customers, so I wanted to know which one she’d be more apt to buy.
As I filled my bag with everything I needed to go through, my phone buzzed, so I pulled it out of my purse and smiled. “Hi, Mo.”
“Hey, Firefly,” Alamo said. “Shadow pick you up okay?”
“Yep. He’s here... in all his bossy glory.”
I could hear the mirth in his voice as he asked, “You good?”
“Yep, I’m good,” I said. “Are you really worried, or just checking in and being all sweet and boyfriendy?”
“All of the above.”
“I like this side of you.”
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Is there anything you want me to get, food-wise?”
“You plannin’ on me bein’ there that often?” he joked.
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll text you a list,” he said.
“Okay, honey, that sounds good.”
“I should go, but text me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
He hung up and I locked up and headed back outside. Shadow paced the sidewalk, a cigarette in his fingers. Admittedly, I was a little conflicted. Mostly because I hated cigarettes. Hated the smell, hated the death factor, but when Shadow lifted it to his lips, holy shit, it was sexy as hell.
He gave me a chin lift as he blew out smoke, then discarded the cigarette and waited for me to join him at my car. He set my bags in the trunk and then we headed to the supermarket.
All-in-all, the errands were somewhat mundane and uneventful. There was no reason I couldn’t have done all this without Shadow. Once he carried all the bags inside for me, he left me alone, although, I know he didn’t go far. He was “on me” until Alamo relieved him, which neither of us knew when that would be.
I changed into my swimsuit and packed a change of clothes, then let Shadow know I was ready. He met me at my front door and we headed to the Y.
Today I was teaching Layla and Noah. Layla was four and Noah was six, and if I was being honest, they were my favorites. I would never say that out loud, but I adored these two with every fiber of my being.
The kids were already in the pool, so I locked my stuff up and joined them. Kelly sat off to the side, her feet in the hot tub.
“Noah, can you dive to the bottom and get the brick?” I asked. I’d dropped a couple of bricks in different places earlier for him to try and get.
“I totally can!” he exclaimed, and his little body disappeared under the water.
He’d been under for a few seconds when Layla yelled, “Noah!”
“He’s okay, LayLay,” I reassured, and just then, Noah popped up holding the brick.
“Got it!” he said, a huge grin on his face.
“Good job,” I said. “You stayed under longer this time.”
“I know,” he said. “I did that on purpose.”
“I’m proud of you, buddy. You might want to hug your sister, though. She was worried.”
Noah grinned and swam to Layla who was floating on a noodle. He smiled and hugged her. “Did you see me get the brick?”
“Yep.”
“You’ll be able to do that in no time.”
Layla’s face broke out in a huge grin, and I glanced at Kelly whose attention was elsewhere. I followed her line of sight and I bit my lip. Alamo walked the perimeter of the pool area, hugging the walls. He probably didn’t want to get water on his leather.
“Hi, honey,” I called.
He gave me chin lift and a smile, but didn’t come any closer. Kelly said something to him and they engaged in conversation while I finished up with the kids.
While Kell
y and I hit the locker room with the kids, Alamo said he’d wait outside, so I rushed through my shower and dressed as quickly as I could.
Kelly and I led the kids outside and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Alamo leaning up against his truck. God, he was... well... everything.
He grinned and waited for me to reach him, kissing me gently with a grin. “Hey, baby.”
“Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Had a break. Figured I’d pick you up.”
“I have my car, though.”
“Shadow already drove it back to your place,” he said.
“How long do I get you for?”
“About an hour.”
“That’s it?”
He stroked my cheek. “Yeah, but I’ll still be at your place tonight.”
I smiled. “Okay. That works.”
He kissed me again, and after we said our goodbyes to Kelly and the kids, we headed back to my place.
* * *
Two hours later, I decided to make dinner, enough for Shadow and Alamo, and pulled all the ingredients out of the fridge right as a pounding on my door echoed through the condo. It was loud enough to make me jump, and I dropped the tomato on the floor with a splat. “Shit.”
Leaving the tomato, I headed to the door (checked the peephole), and frowned. “Who is it?”
“Shadow. Open the door.”
I pulled open the door and Shadow pushed himself inside, closing the door and locking it behind him. “Close all your drapes.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, even as I did as he ordered.
“Another body’s been found.”
“In my condo?” I said it, even though it was kind of rhetorical.
“No, but close.”
“Ohmigod,” I breathed out. “How close?”
“Two miles.”
“That’s close.”
“Yeah, it is.” He peeked out the front window like a sniper shooter would await a target.
I sighed and headed back to the kitchen to clean up the mess. I needed to do something to distract myself from all the death surrounding our little town. “I’m making spaghetti with meatballs. Good for you?”
“Sounds good, Jazz, thanks.”
By the time I got the pasta on to boil and the sauce simmering, Shadow had flopped onto my sofa and turned some sports game on, while Scruffy watched him warily from my overstuffed chair next to the couch, refusing to go any closer.
I had just turned the water off when the locks on my door turned and my man walked in like he owned the place. My heart fluttered, and I forced down a school-girl sigh as he made his way to the kitchen and kissed me. “Hey, baby.”
“Hi.” I grinned. “I like you having a key.”
He kissed me again. “Me too. Gonna get rid of Shadow.”
“I kind of promised him dinner.”
He scowled. “That’s gonna put a heavy dent in our fucking time.”
I chuckled. “It won’t. Everything’s ready. We can eat, then take care of business.”
He pushed me against the counter and boxed me in. “What if I wanna take care of business, then eat?”
I cupped him over his jeans. “You’re gonna need to stow it, honey. We have a guest.”
He hissed out a breath and kissed me. “Let’s make a deal.”
I ran my tongue over his pulse, keeping my hand over his already rock-hard cock. “What do you have in mind?”
He pressed his body against my hand. “No invitin’ people to dinner without checkin’ with each other first.”
“I can do that.” I kissed the underside of his jaw. “We could also step into the bedroom real quick and I’ll give you some relief.”
He closed his eyes shut for a second and took a few deep breaths. “I think I’m okay, but you need to move your hand, Firefly.”
I did, but I did it slowly, kissing his neck and wrapping my arms around his waist. “How was your day?”
“Fruitful.”
“Are we gonna eat?” Shadow called out.
“You keep bein’ a dick, you can go,” Alamo responded, keeping me boxed against the counter.
“Aw, man, she’s makin’ meatballs,” Shadow whined.
I bit back a laugh, dropping my head to Alamo’s chest.
“The faster we feed ’im, the faster he’ll fuck off,” Alamo whispered.
I nodded, raising my head to kiss him quickly, then we went about serving up dinner.
* * *
“I thought he’d never fuckin’ leave,” Alamo complained as he tugged off his T-shirt and followed me to my room.
I chuckled. “He seemed to like my cooking.”
“Your cookin’s off the fuckin’ charts, Firefly, but that was part of the problem.”
“My cooking’s why he didn’t leave?”
“Your cookin’s why he didn’t leave anything for tomorrow.”
I smiled and ran my hands up his chest. “I can make more.”
He shook his head. “My turn to cook tomorrow.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You cook?”
“Did you not enjoy my bacon?”
“I always enjoy your bacon,” I said, slipping my hand under the waistband of his jeans.
He kissed me, and I unzipped his jeans for better access, dropping to my knees and tugging his jeans and boxer briefs down his thighs. I wrapped my hands around his cock and took him into my mouth, deep. God, I couldn’t get enough and worked his dick with my hands and mouth until he tugged my hair. “Baby, I’m gonna come.”
I nodded, taking him deeper and cupping his balls as he came, and came hard. I sucked one more time, then swallowed and Alamo hooked me under my arms, lifting me to my feet.
“You’re fuckin’ perfect, you know that?”
I smiled. “What can I say? I like your bacon.”
He laughed. “It shows.”
Since he was still partially clothed, he removed the rest, then handed me a piece of paper he’d pulled out of his jacket.
“Test results?” I deduced.
“Yep. All clean.”
I clapped my hands. “No condom?”
He grinned. “No condom.”
“Now, I really like your bacon.”
Leaning down he kissed me, virtually ripping my clothes from my body, before setting me on the bed and running his tongue between my breasts and down to my clit. I slid my hands into his hair and held on as he sucked and licked and brought me to the brink. But then he slid his fingers inside of me and twisted against my very special spot and I exploded.
Removing his fingers, he hovered above me, sliding his cock into me as I continued to climax. I gripped his arms and arched to take him deeper, his movements riling me up again. Alamo took his time, burying himself deeper and deeper, and the feeling of his total worship of my body was almost too much to take. In a very good way.
“Now, Mo,” I rasped, and my walls contracted around him.
He wasn’t far behind me, gathering me close as he came inside of me. He continued to kiss me, then ran his nose against mine and pulled gently out of me. “Best way to end the day.”
“Definitely.” I snuggled closer and stroked his beard. “I love having you in my space.”
“I love being here.”
“Do you miss Texas?”
“Not really,” he said, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I miss seeing the Big Dipper every night...it always brought me home, as weird as that might sound. But there are too many lights here.”
“It doesn’t sound weird.”
He smiled. “But nothing good happened in Texas, so, no, I don’t miss it.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever looked for constellations,” I admitted. “I wouldn’t know what the Big Dipper looked like if it scooped me up and dropped me in space.”
Alamo chuckled. “I’ll show you one day, when we can get out of the city.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes for a second. “I’m going to say something, but I don’t want you to respond.”
He frowned. “You okay?”
I nodded, laying my fingers over his mouth. “I love you. I don’t want you to say it back, even if you feel the same way, okay? I don’t want you to say it until you’ve thought about it. Really thought about it, because once you say it to me, you’re mine forever.”
He grinned, but didn’t say anything.
“I know it’s early in our relationship, but I’m totally besotted with you.”
“Besotted?” he mumbled under my hand.
“Completely.”
He grinned and kissed my fingers, then my mouth. “I like that, Firefly.”
“I think I do, too, but it’s weird.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “I’ve never felt this way before, so I can’t figure out if it’s a nice feeling, or if I have super bad gas. I don’t like feeling vulnerable.”
“I got you, baby.”
“I know.” I bit back a yawn. “I trust you.”
He kissed me again. “Gonna clean up, then we’re gonna sleep.”
I couldn’t bite back another yawn as he left the bed and headed to my bathroom. He returned with a warm washcloth to clean me up, then he pulled me over his chest and I fell asleep almost immediately.
Jasmine
The tickle of a beard on the back of my neck dragged me out of a deep sleep. Then, Alamo kissed my pulse and whispered, “Mornin’, Firefly.”
“Hi,” I rasped. “What time is it?”
“Eight. Gotta head to the compound.”
“So early?”
“Yeah. Gotta tow one of the trucks to the shop and try and figure out what’s wrong with it. It’s gonna take a few hours.” He kissed me again. “I made breakfast.”
I craned my neck and smiled. “You did?”
“I did. You wanna eat or sleep?”
“I’m getting up,” I said without moving. “But I’ll eat in a little bit.”
“Okay.” He kissed me gently, then slid off the bed. “Coffee’s in the pot. I’ll text you later.”
“Okay, honey.” I rolled onto my back and watched him walk away.
Scruffy jumped onto the bed and we snuggled for a bit. Parker was coming over to go over package design, so I had two hours to myself since I only had clients booked for later that afternoon.
I was about to get up when my doorbell rang, and I was kind of hoping it was Alamo. Although, he probably wouldn’t have rung the doorbell, so I dragged on clothes and checked the peephole. I frowned, but pulled open the door. “Well, hello, big brother.”
Stealing the Biker's Heart Page 12
