The one to Doc’s left was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. Soft, dark brown hair curled around his face. High cheek bones accented chocolaty brown bedroom eyes, but the trait that certainly got him the most attention was the dimples. If anyone should have gotten the nickname Pretty Boy, it was this man.
The man to Doc’s right had to be Ghost, she decided. Shaggy, white blond hair hung over silvery gray eyes. Tattoos covered both exposed arms even peeked out from the collar of the T-shirt stretched across his broad chest. It was the way he moved as the three advanced into the room that convinced her though.
Doc moved the way big men often did. It reminded her of the way Bo’s cousin Jake moved, like he was used to everyone getting out of his way, as if he feared no one. The beautiful man moved the way a jungle cat moved, slow and smooth, just before it pounced. The third man seemed glide like a wraith. You almost didn’t notice him, one second he was at the door, the next he was in front of her.
“Where’s PB?” Doc questioned suspiciously.
Layla fought the urge to step back, reminding herself that she didn’t owe this man anything. “I’m sure he’ll be here shortly. I have an early morning class.” She turned and tried to ignore them as she continued setting up. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“Uh-huh?” There was doubt in Doc’s grunted reply. “Well, we’ll just keep an eye on things till he gets here. Ghost, Romeo, take point.”
Gritting her teeth, Layla spared a moment to wonder when she had lost control. Just a few short days ago, she’d been a strong, independent woman, then she’d been invaded by muscle-bound men with way more testosterone than should be legal.
When she turned back, Doc was gone, but her new guards had taken up watch at the door like a pair of gargoyles. She grimaced as the students began to file in, all pausing to take the pair in. Tiffany and Mariah saved the day, by joking about making an exercise video. Their antics relaxed the class and they were able to get started.
Now that class was winding down, her guilt was ramping up. She could just imagine how upset Bo was when he woke up and found her gone. He would really be worried, and poor Thunder. She could have left a note at least.
Ten minutes later, she realized that upset was not quite the right word to describe Bo’s temperament. Pissed, incensed, livid, outraged, any of those would do. The look on his face was black when he came storming into the class. Thankfully, her students were packing up their bags as six-foot-four inches of pissed off muscle invaded. Her hazel eyes met his blue and she swallowed hard.
She heard Mariah’s loud whisper. “Uh-oh! Someone’s in trouble.” As she and the other students beat a quick retreat. She cringed because she knew there would be no keeping this a secret. She expected the phone calls to start rolling in from her well-meaning friends within the hour. Right now though, she had much bigger problems. She ended up over his shoulder, yet again. They really needed to talk about his Neanderthal habit of manhandling her.
“Bo! I have another class in an hour. You have to put me down.” But she knew she was wasting her breath.
He gave her ass a sound smack as he headed out of the studio and up the stairs to her apartment. She gave a terrified squeak at the height and squeezed her eyes shut. When they reached the relative safety of her living room, she renewed her struggles. That just earned her another hard whack before he sat down on the couch and upended her over his knee.
Her squeak turned into a screech as she felt him unceremoniously yank down her spandex work out pants. Mortification flooded her as she realized Doc was in the room watching with avid interest. “Bo!” she cried, trying to cover herself.
His voice was deadly calm when he spoke. “Layla, you can move your hands or I can have Doc hold them for me. Your choice. It wouldn’t be the first time we shared a woman.”
Layla knew she was beet red as she pressed her trembling hands into the couch in front of her and buried her face in his thigh. She could say her safe word, she knew. He’d let her up in an instant, but the words wouldn’t come and the sad truth was, she wanted it. The fact that Doc was watching on added to her excitement.
When the first smack landed, she let out a squeal. She’d expected it to sting, but damn it. That hurt. “I made myself very clear last night about you coming to work this morning, but you did it anyway. I will keep you safe, Layla, even if I have to do it against your will.” Then he laid into her in earnest. Heat exploded over her backside, and she knew logically it hurt, but the heat was a sweet pain. Moisture flooded her pussy, seeping out to drench her thighs.
It took her a moment to realize the spanking had stopped, and he was caressing the heated skin of her backside. “You are going to drive me crazy, woman,” he whispered hoarsely, as he pulled her up to straddle his lap. Their eyes met and held. “God, Layla, I just found you again. I can’t lose you.”
Sobbing, she settled her lips over his. “Never!”
A throat clearing drew both their heads up. Layla blushed, realizing that Doc still stood watching them. He shook his head at them in disgust. “You two suck!” he muttered under his breath as he stomped out of the apartment, grumbling about blue balls.
* * * *
Bo spared a moment to chuckle at his friend’s parting comment, but then he was kissing Layla again. Waking up this morning without her had scared the shit out of him. Yeah, he’d figured out where she was pretty quickly, but for that split second it was worse than any feeling he’d ever endured, and fuck knows he’d endured some pretty bad shit in the last few years. That moment of pure terror had fueled his fury, and sent him into a full-on panic.
Now she was here in his arms, and that was all that mattered. His lips worked against hers, loving her eager response. She was always so hot and ready. She was perfection in his arms. He caught the rope of her braid and kissed her again, over and over again. He’d never get tired of kissing her, touching her, fucking her. Restlessly she squirmed on him, and he arched up to meet her, groaning when the tangle of her spandex workout pants got in the way. His fingers slid between her thighs. Ah yes, slick and hot. He parted the heated folds and found the sweet little knot of her clit, drawing a whimper from her as she ground into his hand.
“Yes, baby, that’s it. I’ve got you.” He worked his fingers over her with expert strokes, again and again, bringing her closer to the edge with each pass. She shook in his arms, her need so acute she stole his breath. “Come for me, beautiful!” he ordered, plunging a long thick finger deep as his thumb pressed her clit, and then she was coming apart in his arms. Her body arched, and if he hadn’t had hold of her, she would have fallen to the floor.
She screamed, crying her release, and he couldn’t resist, he captured her mouth and swallowed her orgasm, tasting the ecstasy on her lips.
Slowly he eased his fingers from her, gently bringing her down.
“Stand up, sweetheart,” he rasped, when she’d finally settled, and then he chuckled at the look of disbelief on her face. “Just do it.” He laughed softly.
Grumbling, she came to her feet, her legs shaking like a newborn colt. Arching, he lifted just enough to free himself from his jeans and retrieved a condom from his wallet. He made quick work of sheathing himself and then turned her to face away from him.
“Mmmm yes!” she murmured, understanding his intentions. “You want a little cowgirl?”
“Hell yes!” he growled and loved that this position gave him an excellent view of her pinkened backside. He guided her back, nearly shouting in triumph as she slid down his cock, taking him in one long stroke. Her guttural groan matched his own. Catching her hips, he guided her up and then gave a shout as she slammed back down. Over and over, she rode him, the pleasure so far beyond anything he ever imagined. Her cries fueling his own, as they raced toward orgasm.
The walls of her cunt began to flutter and then pulse, as his balls started to tighten up. He caught her hips and held her for his upward thrust. He powered up into her, drawing screams with each thrust. It was
as if they became one, yin for yang, in a dance that drew them to the edge and tossed them over. Bo cried and he would swear his eyes rolled back in his head as he spurted hot jets of cum into the thin latex barrier separating them.
In the back of his mind, Bo made himself a promise that one day soon, he was going to come inside her without the stupid rubber separating them. He wanted to feel the silken walls of her pussy wrapped around his dick as he filled her. Something primal had taken over him. He wanted to brand her as his, mark her so that there was no doubt who she belonged to. In return, he swore on his very soul that he would protect her with his life. Whoever was after her was going to wish he’d never been born. He’d messed with Bo’s woman.
Chapter Ten
Layla trudged up the stairs to her apartment, Bo right at her heels. She was hot, sweaty, and exhausted after a long day of teaching. Mondays were always bad. Add the stress of the current situation, and it was enough to wear anyone down. She had a crazy stalker who was convinced she was the antichrist, and her apartment apparently had been turned into command central. All in all, life should really suck right now, except she had the silliest stupid grin on her face. She just couldn’t seem to help it. She had her Bo back, and in a world gone crazy, it was the only thing that really made sense. For the first time in nearly a decade, things felt right. It was crazy.
She nodded to everyone as she entered, doing a silent roll call. Bo’s SEAL buddies were all present and accounted for. Jake, Gabe, and Smokey, the local muscle, present as well. The wives and girlfriends all in attendance. Willa was in the kitchen baking away. Bo had explained that when things got tough, Willa baked. Gloria was busy moving from person to person in her sweet, mothering way. If Willa was a baker, Gloria was a caretaker, and then there was Danny, who was smack in the middle of the men despite her advanced pregnancy. Layla grinned. They were a crazy bunch, but she wouldn’t want to face this with anyone else.
She waved a welcome to everyone and breezed past, explaining that she was going to grab a quick shower. After a long day of teaching, she was feeling less than fresh. A quick sniff test proved her right, and she quickly tossed her clothes aside, making a mental note to do a load of laundry when she got back home. That brought her up short. Damn it! She shouldn’t be thinking of Bo’s house as home. That thought didn’t even bear examining right now when things were so crazy.
She was climbing out of the shower when Bo came into the tiny bathroom. Their eyes met, and she read the instant desire in his gaze. Flushing, she quickly wrapped a towel around herself out of self-preservation. Her self-control was practically nonexistent where he was concerned.
“Behave, we have a house full of people. It’s bad enough everyone knows what we were doing up here earlier this afternoon,” she said, putting out a hand to ward him off. “They don’t need to think you came in here so we could…well, you know,” she finished lamely.
Bo beamed with masculine pride at her response. “Oh yeah, they know what we were doing this afternoon. Hell, baby, the neighbors down the street knew. I love making you scream, baby.”
Layla blushed to the roots of her hair. “You are so bad!” But she was smiling.
Bo just laughed in response. “Yes I am, and you love it.” He added, pulling her to him for a long deep kiss.
She had absolutely no willpower where he was concerned. By the time he let her up for air, her knees were weak and she was shaking with need. “Mmmm,” she managed, past the ability to form actual words.
“We’ll continue this tonight.” He promised, and she saw the pain etched across his face as he forced himself to let her go. At least she wasn’t the only one suffering, she thought as she watched him force a deep breath into his broad chest. “Hurry up and get dressed. Jake might have a lead, and Willa baked enough lasagna and garlic bread to feed a battalion.”
Chuckling, Layla pulled on her clothes and quickly dried her hair.
* * * *
Bo looked up as Layla exited her bedroom after dressing. Sometimes just seeing her took his breath away. He forced himself to think of the situation at hand and not the burning need in his pants. He had time to examine his insane desire for her later after they’d put this whack-job away permanently.
Willa began cutting the lasagna and handing out plates. The apartment smelled divine, like garlic and other spices. If things weren’t so crazy, they’d have the makings of a good party. Looking around, he suddenly realized his desire to be alone was fading. He was surrounded by his friends and family and the panic wasn’t setting in. The fist wasn’t grinding into his chest. He didn’t doubt the PTSD would always be a part of him. He knew Jake still had nightmares from time to time about the day he was shot, but Jake also assured him that having Willa to turn to after a rough night made it bearable. Bo knew he’d never forget the hell he’d been through. The scars peppering his body wouldn’t let him, but suddenly the future didn’t seem quite so bleak, not as long as he had Layla to face it. He knew they still had things to work out, but for the first time in a very long time, he was actually feeling optimistic.
“So ahm…Jake, Bo said you might have a lead?” Layla asked as she settled next to him and began downing her lasagna. The tentative tone in her voice reminded him that until recently, she and Jake weren’t exactly on the best of terms. He shot Jake a look of warning.
“It’s a small one.” The big man shrugged. “I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up when it might not be anything.”
Ghost shook his pale head. “It’s the first thing we’ve gotten. It gives us a starting point at least.”
The others nodded, and Jake reluctantly continued. “Well, my contacts at the DEA didn’t have anything, but I called an old friend who used to run with one of the local biker gangs. He’s in witness protection, but insisted we keep in touch. Reb doesn’t much trust authority, but he trusts me. Anyway, he used to run drugs with his gang, and remembers a customer ordering GHB, the date rape drug. Reb has a funny code of ethics. He doesn’t mind if you want to fry your own brain, but he’s real particular if you’re using it to take advantage of someone, particularly a woman. Reb might be dirty, but under that dirt, he’s a gentleman.” This brought a snort from Gabe and Danny. Neither were huge fans of the former biker boss, but Bo felt a certain kinship with the ex-biker. Sometimes you did what you had to in order to survive. Jake just ignored his friend and continued. “Reb said he refused to make the delivery until the guy explained what he was using it for. Apparently this man was part of a small religious group that claimed to ‘deprogram’ people who’d fallen down the wrong path. Reb said the guy gave him a serious case of the…how’d he put it…the heeby-jeebies. After that first delivery, it bugged him, so he refused to deal with the man anymore. Said he was just a little too fanatical for him. Last Reb heard, this same man had found a new source and was still active.”
Romeo actually shuddered. “I hate religious fanatics. Always trying to force their views down everyone’s throats.” Romeo was decidedly liberal, and earned his nickname honestly. He wasn’t real particular when it came to his partners. Bo knew he came from a religious family that had disowned him for his liberal views. As far as Bo was concerned, it was no one’s business and Romeo had always had his back.
“Yeah, this sounds like it could be the type of guy we’re looking for.” Bo nodded.
Layla nodded in agreement. “I’ve had a few ignorant people makes comments about the type of dancing I teach. They don’t like the way we sometimes bump and grind during the Zumba, and don’t get me started on what they have to say about the pole dancing. They don’t understand it’s just a fun way to stay in shape. The ladies at that crazy church around the corner will cross the road when they see me walking down the street. They act like I have some contagious disease or something.” She pushed her plate away, her appetite apparently gone. The room went silent for several seconds as everyone shook their heads in frustration at people’s ignorance.
“I remember when I could bump a
nd grind,” Danny grumbled with a heartfelt sigh, and everyone laughed. Leave it to sweet Danny to throw out something like that just when the mood needed lightening.
“Anyway,” Jake continued. “Reb gave me the name of a few safe informants. I’m going to run down those leads tomorrow. I just have to be careful not to let on that he’s involved. I can’t jeopardize his secret. He has a daughter to think about.”
Bo knew the courage it had taken for Reb to give the information to Jake, and he had to admire him for it.
“And I’m going to head over to the courthouse and see if there have been any complaints filed there,” Gabe added. “It’s all public record. You just have to know where to look.” Bo knew Gabe wasn’t one of the best lawyers in the state by accident. If the information was there, Gabe would find it.
“In the meantime, we’ll get your security system installed as soon as the parts come in,” Bo said, pulling Layla onto his lap. He felt her shaking and again had to fight the urge to roar that someone was messing with his woman.
“And you’ve got lots of muscle looking after you,” Ghost added with a grin. “You’re PB’s woman, that makes you one of ours. We take care of ours.”
Jake shook his head. “She’s always been one of ours. She just slipped out of the fold for a bit.” He shot Layla a wink as he added, “Though one day you’re going to have to tell us what PB stands for. If anyone can get it out of him, it’s you Layla.”
He felt Layla’s body shake with laughter. If she was laughing at his expense, he didn’t mind. At least she wasn’t shaking in fear anymore. “We’ll talk.”
“Besides, it’s got to be better than Runt,” Gabe added with a laugh, and Bo wanted to curse. He was never going to live down the name he’d gotten as a kid.
Breaking Hearts [Smoky Mountain Motorcycles 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 7
