Normally he could draw out a woman’s orgasm for hours, but for once it was he who couldn’t wait.
He thrust up, pinching her clit between his thumb and forefinger, and she went stiff, crying out his name, her pussy convulsing around his dick as the orgasm took her. Then he shifted his hold, gripped her hips, lifting her up and slamming her back down, over and over, harder and harder, until light burst behind his eyes and pleasure annihilated what was left of his brainstem.
He couldn’t seem to find a breath after that, certainly couldn’t move to save his fucking life. If they’d been ambushed by Jimmy Troy and his cronies right there and then, he and Ava would probably both be dead.
It was only when she shifted on him, sending electric jolts of sensation right through him, that he managed to make his fingers work, tightening them on her hips. “Don’t move,” he said hoarsely. “Just give me a fucking minute.”
She stilled, her warmth settling against him, the softness of her hair brushing his mouth. And even though he’d only just had the most intense orgasm of his life, he could feel himself already hardening again inside her.
Holy fucking Christ.
“You’re going to kill me, honey,” he murmured. “You and your sweet little pussy are going to kill me dead.”
“You can’t kill someone dead. If you kill them, they’re already dead.”
He grinned at the very Ava-like response, nuzzling against her neck, a weird euphoria suddenly sweeping through him. He always felt extra good after supremely satisfying sex, and this little interlude had been right up there with the best of them. God, he wanted to kiss her, lick her. Do more filthy, dirty things to her. “You’ve got an answer to everything, haven’t you?”
“Most of the time.” She gave a responsive shiver as he brushed his mouth against the sensitive hollow at the base of her throat. “I need to move. It’s getting uncomfortable.”
Maybe for her, but he sure as hell wasn’t. In fact, he wouldn’t mind sitting here, deep inside her, for the next few hours. Then maybe he’d strip her clothes off, lay her naked in the backseat, and then really go to town on that sweet body of hers….
Ahem. Forgetting something?
Rush closed his eyes. Ah, yes. Their mission. Which meant he needed to pull himself the fuck together.
Regretfully he eased himself out of her and slid her off his lap, dealing with the condom and tucking himself away. Then he glanced at her. “You okay?”
She was smoothing down that ridiculous excuse for a skirt with hands that were trembling—which pleased him no end. Her cheeks were very pink, a few curls stuck to her forehead in little russet crescents, her mouth full and red. She looked like a well-fucked woman, and instantly his cock decided it wanted to go back for seconds.
Jesus.
She paused in her smoothing and frowned. “Um, why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re not sore?”
“Oh.” She flushed and looked down at her lap. “I’m a little, uh, tender, but it’s fine.”
“There’s some wipes in the glove compartment if you—”
“No, no,” she interrupted, going an even deeper color and busying herself with her skirt. “Like I said, I’m fine.”
Her embarrassment, after what they’d just done, was quite frankly adorable, and he, prick that he was, wanted to keep on teasing her. But if he let himself get distracted now, they’d never get there.
He let out a silent breath, trying to get his head back in the game again, the euphoria pumping through him making him feel like putting the pedal to the metal and just screaming all the way out to Troy’s big fuck-off ranch. Then he’d pull out his shotgun and threaten some motherfuckers until he and Ava both got what they wanted. Sweet.
You probably shouldn’t let good sex go to your head when planning a confrontation with a major-league crime boss.
Yeah, he probably shouldn’t.
“Okay,” he said, reaching for the key in the ignition and restarting the truck. “So here’s the plan. I’ll go in and—”
“Wait,” Ava interrupted, holding up a hand and blinking rapidly. “What plan?”
Extreme satisfaction threaded through his euphoria, making him grin even wider, because it looked like he wasn’t the only one who’d just had the top of their head blown clean off. If she’d forgotten all about the reason they were actually in the truck in the first place, then it must have been pretty fucking incredible for her too.
He leaned an elbow on the wheel. “You getting the truth about that tip-off, me and my father. Remember?”
She blinked again. “Oh…right. That. Yes.”
“I just blew your mind, didn’t I?”
The satisfied note in his voice must have been obvious, because instantly her dazed expression vanished and she gave him a repressive look. “I just forgot.” She clasped her hands together in her lap, a curiously ladylike gesture for a woman with only what amounted to tiny bandages protecting her modesty. “So, the plan…?”
Christ, he wanted her again. Right here. Right now. Maybe he’d pull her top up and tie it around her wrists so she was restrained, play with her a little bit. Make her beg. Then maybe he’d pull down that skirt and—
Maybe you should get your fucking shit together instead?
Okay, good plan. After they’d gotten what they wanted from Troy, there would be plenty of time to play. He’d make sure of it.
“Yeah, the plan.” He cleared his throat. “I’m thinking we find Collins first. Got word from one of my contacts that the guy’s been skimming cash from his boss’s profits, which is a big no-no. Think that might be good leverage when it comes to getting him to spill the beans about your mom. We just need to find him and get him alone.”
Ava frowned. “How are we going to do that?”
“Collins likes redheads. All you need to do is shake your ass at him and he’ll follow you anywhere.”
Her frown deepened. “Flirting is not exactly my forte.”
“Who said anything about flirting?” He grinned at her doubtful look. “Men are simple, honey. Take me, for example. Turned out all I need to feel fan-fucking-tastic is you riding my cock. Now, if Collins thinks he’s going to get a taste, I guarantee he’ll walk to hell and back for it.”
She’d gone pink again. “I’m not going to do that with him.”
Rush’s euphoria suddenly dimmed. “No,” he said flatly. “Obviously you’re not going to do that with him.” Over Rush’s dead, decomposing fucking corpse.
Whoa. Jealous much?
He ignored both the thought and the feeling. Jesus, he just didn’t have the goddamn time for that shit right now. “Anyway, you draw him to me,” Rush went on, “and we’ll get what we need from him. Then I’ll go after Troy while you head back to the truck and get out of there.”
“What, and leave you there alone?” Her frown had turned into a scowl. “That’s not—”
“No fucking argument.” He cut her off before she could finish, because he knew exactly what she was going to say. She was going to insist on coming with him, which just wasn’t happening. “You can be there to get what you need about your mom, but then you’re out of there, understand me?” He let his grin vanish, pinning her with his gaze. “I’ve got a duty to your dad to keep you safe. Which means if you don’t agree, you’re not fucking going. End of discussion.”
Ava stared at him for a long moment, an expression he didn’t understand flashing over her face. Then she let out a breath and turned to look out the front windshield. “Fine. I’ll leave after we talk to Collins. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.” He tried a grin again, but this time something felt off. As if somewhere along the line, the atmosphere in the truck had changed in a way he hadn’t been aware of until now.
Shit, what had he said this time?
“Good,” she said in a determinedly neutral voice, keeping her gaze firmly ahead. “Shall we go, then? We don’t want to be late.”
Annoyance crept through him, because he did not
need whatever it was that was bugging her, killing his mood. He wanted the euphoria, that fantastic release of tension the sex had given him, because he was going to fucking need it if he was going to get through tonight.
Dude, you’re a dick. She’s not a stripper you’re paying to make yourself feel good. She’s inexperienced and, whether you like it or not, vulnerable. It’s not always about you all the time.
He sat there a moment, struggling with not wanting to care and yet caring all the same. But fundamentally, this was Ava and yeah, he cared about her.
So after a minute, he reached out and stroked the silky skin of her cheek. “Hey.”
She didn’t want to look, he could tell, so he stroked her again, running his thumb along her lovely jaw until she finally deigned to look at him. “I thought we were going,” she said flatly.
“We are. I just wanted to say that my reasons for keeping you safe aren’t just to do with your dad.”
Her expression turned from set to wary. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I have plans. Big plans. Plans that involve you and may also involve a bed.” He touched the tense corner of her mouth with the tip of one finger. “The you part is non-negotiable, but I could be persuaded otherwise about the bed part.”
He must have done something right for a change, because her mouth softened under his finger, the corner curling slightly, her copper eyes warming. “Well, in that case, I’d better keep myself safe, hadn’t I?”
He smiled at her, but it felt weird, as if he didn’t smile very often. “You do that, honey,” he murmured.
Giving her one last stroke, he turned his attention back to the road and the drive ahead of them, and didn’t think too hard about why there was a warm glow sitting in his chest.
Or about what it might mean.
—
Ava kept her hands clasped in her lap as Rush drove, slightly worried that if she let go she might want to reach for him again. Which was ridiculous considering where they were going and what was going to happen once they got there.
I just blew your mind, didn’t I?
He’d given her that lazy, heated grin, full of male satisfaction, as if he’d known exactly what he’d done to her. Actually, he probably had known what he’d done to her, and was obviously very pleased about it.
And the most annoying thing was that even now, a half hour down the highway, she was still having difficulties getting herself to concentrate on the most important thing, which was questioning Collins about her mother’s death.
It was worrying how much she’d gotten herself distracted with what was happening between her and Rush. God, even just now, on the way to finally uncovering the truth, all she’d been able to think about was him, the terrible secret he’d told her, and how much she wanted to help him.
And then when he’d attempted to tell her about his plan, she hadn’t even known what he was talking about. It had plain slipped out of her head. All she’d been thinking about was the beat of pleasure still vibrating through her, the feel of him inside her, the raw ecstasy of his touch, and the heated eroticism of his voice.
She’d only just managed to shove that aside when he’d told her he’d only been worried about her safety because of her father, and a whole other set of emotions had blindsided her. Inexplicable hurt. Disappointment. A weird sense of betrayal. She’d tried not to let it show, but obviously it had. Because then he’d somehow managed to make it all better with a simple touch and a promise that this wasn’t over. That he had plans for her after they’d completed this little mission.
Yes, it was worrying. Somehow it reminded her of the months after her mother’s death, when she was struggling with her grief and had desperately needed her father to give her some reassurance. But he’d become so reserved and cut off, and her neediness had only made it worse. He’d flat-out refused to talk to her about her mother, shutting her down whenever she brought up the subject, rebuffing her whenever she’d wanted a hug, changing the subject whenever she told him she was sad. Eventually she’d learned to shut up and not bother him with any emotional demands, but the constant rejections had hurt. They’d hurt terribly.
She really didn’t want to get into that with Rush. She didn’t want to give anyone the power to hurt her like that, to have her emotional well-being be dependent on another person. Not again.
Gravel crunched under the tires of the truck, jolting her, and she realized that they’d pulled off the highway in front of a pair of large wrought-iron gates complete with a stylized steer’s skull in the center. There were several large men in suits hanging around and looking menacing, obviously taking their jobs as guards very seriously.
Okay, looked like they were here. Now she really had to pay attention.
“Jesus,” Rush muttered. “Douchebag alert times five.”
One of the men tapped importantly on the driver’s-side window, staring threateningly through the glass at them, as Rush drew the truck to a stop.
Rush sighed and opened the window, giving the guy an insolent grin. “Hey, man, know where any good parties are at?”
“I think you’ve got the wrong address,” the man said, his gaze moving coldly from Rush to her, then back again. “You’d better get the fuck out of here.”
Rush stuck his elbow casually out the window. “Aw, that’s no way to treat a member of the family, is it?”
Ava tensed, biting down on the sudden need to tell him that perhaps now was not a good time to go into irritating-bastard mode.
The guard looked even more threatening. “If you want to stay in one piece, you’d better drive on, prick.”
“Calm down, princess. Ten points for being a mean motherfucker but minus several million for the lack of hospitality.” Rush’s grin broadened. “Besides, I’ve got an invitation.”
The man gave him a look that promised death. “Prove it.”
Rush twinkled at him, reciting a string of numbers that was obviously some magic code, because the guard’s expression hardened and he stepped away, gesturing to one of the others standing near the gates. That guy must have hit a switch, because ponderously the gates began to open.
“Thank you, Dev, you fucking genius,” Rush murmured, and he put his foot down, driving past the guards and giving them a jaunty wave, folding down his fingers and leaving the middle one sticking up.
“Why do you do that?” Ava demanded as they drove along the winding driveway lined with ostentatious oaks, unable to keep silent anymore.
He gave her a surprised look. “Do what?”
“Taunt people. Draw attention to yourself.” She glared at him. “You’ll only end up making this harder on us if you keep acting like you can take them all on with one hand tied behind your back.”
He grinned, cocky and arrogant in a way that made her want to hit him or kiss him, or maybe both. “That’s the whole point, honey. Being an asshole makes them either discount you or believe that you actually can take them on with one hand tied behind your back. Either way, it gives you an advantage.”
Well, okay, she could see that. Kind of. “Was that something you learned in prison?”
He gave her a look she couldn’t interpret. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s just that you didn’t used to be like…this.”
Another enigmatic look crossed his face. “Hey, when in Rome, right? And yeah, I guess you could say I learned a few skills inside.”
Without those skills, she wouldn’t be here right now, she had to admit. “You know,” she said, “they could just take out a gun and shoot you in the head.”
“Yeah, they could. But they won’t. At least not yet.”
“Oh? Why not?”
They rounded a corner, approaching a massive house sitting on top of a small rise. The architecture was weird. There were sweeping staircases and gilt, columns and half-timbered walls with mullioned windows, as if the architect had decided on Versailles for inspiration and then halfway through had changed their mind and decided on Tudor instead.
“Because Troy knows we’re coming,” he murmured, squinting through the windshield as he drove up the sweeping drive, passing a fountain with leaping dolphins and a spear of water soaring up into the night sky, lit from below with lights that changed color.
Ava’s breath caught. “What do you mean, he knows we’re coming?”
But he didn’t seem to be listening. “Jesus, that’s the world’s ugliest fucking fountain.”
There were several cars drawn up outside the house, all of them either sleek, low-slung Italian sports cars or long, wide limousines. Shady-looking characters lurked around, obviously standing guard over the cars. People were going up the staircase to the front entrance of the house, women in glittering gowns with massive hair and even more massive jewels, men in tuxes and bow ties.
It looked like one hell of an occasion.
Ava clasped her hands together harder as he pulled the truck up beside a gleaming white limo, the contrast between the two vehicles almost comical. “Rush. I don’t care about the fountain.”
He turned the engine off and glanced at her. “Relax, it’s fine. Yes, Troy knows I’m looking for him and he knows why. But if he wanted to take me out, he would have done it already, believe me. I think he’s waiting for me to approach him, which is exactly what we want, because that’ll give us access to Collins. And he doesn’t know about that, okay?” He gave her that softer smile from just before when he’d touched her cheek, warm and natural. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got this, okay? Now, they’re probably going to be wondering about who you are, but you just stick tight to me, flutter your eyelashes, and look like you might give them a blow job if they’re very lucky.”
She couldn’t stop the smile that turned her mouth at that, despite the apprehension sitting in her gut. He was ridiculous and outrageous, and his confidence really shouldn’t have been as reassuring as it was. And after they’d gotten out of the truck and he’d reached for her hand, tucking it firmly in his, she found herself even more reassured. Which was odd because she’d never thought simply holding someone’s hand would be enough to make her feel secure. But it did.
There were more guards at the door of the mansion, double-checking guest lists and obviously searching the guests for weapons.
Take Me Harder Page 21
