She broke eye contact and shook her head. “You can say whatever you want, just like always. That doesn’t mean I have to care.” Jasmine got to her feet. “It doesn’t even mean I have to stay here and listen to it. Sounds to me like you have a mess to clean up.”
I rose, a low rumble in the back of my throat. “Sit your ass down, Jasmine.”
She turned and headed to the door. Stopping with her hand on the knob, she tossed a saccharine grin over her shoulder. “Oh, so you do remember my name? That’s good to know.”
She got the door open; I’ll give her that at least.
Then I moved around the desk like lightning and crashed into her from behind, forcing the door closed at the same time I sandwiched our bodies together. A strangled gasp filled my ears as the evidence of my arousal brushed against her hip. She tried to turn, to move away from me, and I was having fucking none of it. My hand came up, catching the back of her neck as I kept her cheek pinned to the door.
I leaned in so I could see the fire burning in those hazel eyes. She kept pushing against the door, arms straining with effort. But she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. I knew it. She knew it. If only her ego would get on the same page.
“Stop. Wiggling,” I bit out, crushing my chest against her back even closer than before. “If you think for a second that I won’t fuck you against this door and let your coworkers hear you scream, you’d be wrong.”
That got her attention.
Jasmine stopped fighting me, although the rage in her eyes went nowhere.
“You have no right to treat me like this,” she whispered.
“I have every right,” I reminded her, slightly loosening the grip I had around her neck. I didn’t want to. Feeling the fluttery evidence of her pounding heart did great things for the fractures she’d left in mine.
“Then where do I fit in?” she spat. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“Because I need to take back this city, and you’re going to help me do it.”
“You’re a criminal. I won’t help you do anything.”
“Really?” I forced a leering grin. Dropping my hands to her waist, I spun her around and pressed her back against the door hard enough to make it rattle in its frame. A slight wince crossed her features and something in my gut squeezed, but I was beyond caring. “Unless my memory is failing me, you didn’t complain when I needed help emptying my balls. In fact, you helped me quite a few times with that.”
She tried to turn away and I caught her jaw. Fucking Christ her skin was soft. That was something my dreams couldn’t recreate. The silky feel of her beneath me. The smell of coffee and peaches that clung to her. The way her body molded against the hard planes of mine.
“I didn’t know who you were,” she said, keeping her eyes turned away.
“And what about after, hmm? What’s your excuse?”
Her shoulder lifted and fell. “Foolishness, maybe.” She took me in, eyes flicking up and down. “You can’t blame a girl for an occasional bad decision. Not when you look like…that.”
My grin didn’t have to be forced. “Like what?”
“Like six feet of sex on a stick.”
“Six and a half feet, actually.”
I let her go and gave her some space, waiting to see what she would do. Instead of trying to escape through the door again, which would’ve been the smart play, she kept leaning against it, watching me.
We stayed like that for longer than I could be sure of. Long enough for me to wonder what our lives might’ve looked like if not for the night that had changed everything.
Would she still be sneaking out of my bed almost every morning?
Would I still be pretending to sleep while I watched her do just that, all while fighting the urge to ask her to stay?
I’d never know.
That possibility had crashed and burned with her betrayal.
Jasmine sighed, shoulders slumping, fight leaving her. “Just admit it,” she said. “I’m useless, even for whatever you might have planned. If you’re here to kill me just get it over with. But before you do, I need you to promise me something.”
What. The. Fuck?
She thought I was going to kill her?
Where the hell had that come from?
Oh, I had plans for her she wasn’t going to like, that was for certain. But death? That was the other way around.
Anyone that tried to harm her would find themselves buried in an unmarked grave. I’d see to it personally.
Still, I indulged her just to see where she was going with this.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I’m listening.”
She raised two fingers. “Don’t make it hurt. And you have to find a new home for Lucille. If something happens to her, I swear on my grandfather’s grave that I will come back and haunt your ass so bad, Hawk Mason.”
A tremble went through my cheeks as I tried not to smile. This was why I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. This was what made Jasmine so completely unforgettable. She thought of herself as unremarkable—a background character in her own life. Then there were times like this she proved to the world that she wasn’t someone to take for granted. How she couldn’t see that for herself was a mystery.
Maybe once, I’d have been interested in solving it for her.
Not anymore.
Squishing those happy feelings beneath a metaphorical boot, I stared her down. “I’m not interested in killing you, Jazzy. That wouldn’t make up for three years behind bars anyway.” I stepped towards her, stopping when I was close enough for my next breath to brush against her lips. My voice dropped, a husky rasp that brought forth a slight shiver she tried to hide. “Do you know what I need while I take back this city? Entertainment.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, peering up at me. “What kind of entertainment?”
I didn’t blink. “I think you know.” Turning, I grabbed a sticky note and a pen from her boss’s desk and scribbled on it before handing the note to Jasmine. “Meet me there at eight in the morning.” I pushed at her hip, moving her from the path of the door. “Don’t be late.”
“Wait,” she said as I stepped into the hall. “I didn’t agree to this.”
I didn’t look back as I sauntered away, ignoring the disgusted glares coming from the police officers around me. They could be pissed. I didn’t care as long as they were on board. Besides, wasn’t it always better to face the devil you knew?
“Be there, Jazzy,” I called. “Don’t make me come find you.”
Because I will, and you won’t like what happens.
Chapter Three
Jasmine
This is the smart choice, I thought, trying to convince myself. You don’t owe him a damn thing.
“Heads up!”
I turned just in time to get a face full of rubber from the basketball I should've been ready to catch. Surprise sent me to the floor more so than the impact. I cursed, loudly, as my tailbone connected to the polished court. A moment later my two teammates were huddled around me, speaking at a million miles per minute.
Gina got up to retrieve the ball and returned to my side while I was rubbing the welling tears from my eyes. Fantastic. Now it looked like I was crying on the court like a wimp.
“That’s twice now,” Gina said, frowning at me. “Your head is in the clouds, girl. What’s up?”
Rachel adjusted her blonde ponytail before patting my thigh. “Seriously, what’s up? You’re making us look bad and it’s getting on my nerves.”
Gina scowled at her. “Really?”
“Really,” she said, grin completely unrepentant. “We can’t have our star player waiting for aliens to descend from the ceiling if we’re going to crush these bitches.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder to the other three women we were playing against. “We’re down five, and if we have to treat them to a spa day after all the shit I talked I’m going to be so damn salty.”
“I’m good,” I told them.
Lie
s.
Shut up, brain.
Springing to my feet, I clapped my hands together and readjusted my headband. We had a somewhat friendly bet going, and I’d be damned if we lost because I couldn’t stop thinking about a man who didn’t deserve an extra second of my attention. Hadn’t those three years and eight months been enough already?
What would it take for me to stop thinking about him completely? To put out of my mind how good it had felt last night when he pressed me against the door, that huge body of his sealing against mine in all the best places? A shiver slid down my spine at the memory alone, and I prayed my nipples weren’t poking through my sports bra.
There were kids present. A youth club occupied the second court. This wasn’t the place to reminisce on a man that drove me wilder than I could ever remember being. Besides, after I’d stood him up this morning, I had another bet going with myself that he would finally be done with me.
Oh, he’d probably get his revenge in one way or another. Of that, I had no doubt. But by now, I was sure he had more pressing concerns than little old me.
By now, surely, word had spread that the legendary Hawk Mason was back on the streets. He’d have his pick of the litter of every woman in a hundred-mile radius, and I’d be nothing more than an afterthought.
Although wouldn’t it be nice if that wasn’t true…
Using that depressing thought as fuel, I slapped my cheeks, startling Gina and Rachel as I grabbed the ball. “Let’s do this. I’m ready.”
Rachel tilted her head. “Are you sure? I know I came on strong, but if you’re not feeling well then—”
“Nope.” I dribbled onto the court, dipping my chin in acknowledgement to the other girls who spread out in front of me. “Trust me. Right now, this is all I need. My head is in the game.”
And it was. Once everyone was back in position, we started the game back up and I returned to life in stunning fashion if I do say so myself. Without any more thoughts of imposing, tattooed men to distract me, my body took the wheel and I fell into a routine I’d perfected years ago.
I hit a crossover at lightning speed that sent my defender stumbling backward, then I pulled up for a three that made that sexy, wet sound as it went in that was almost better than sex. Almost.
Gina whooped.
Rachel made a rude gesture towards her crotch.
I think a few kids on the other court cheered as well while we hustled back on defense, but I couldn’t be sure.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Rachel slapped me on the ass and I shooed her away, laughing before I focused up.
The defender I’d made a fool of before dribbled towards me with a scowl on her face and a chip on her shoulder. I smiled, lowering my center of gravity as she approached.
She made the mistake of glancing to her left. I swooped in and caught the pass, racing to the other end of the court for an easy layup before they could catch me. Just like that, we were tied.
“There we go!” Gina jumped up and down, cheering at a decibel my ears didn’t agree with.
“Luck,” one of the other girls spat, going to retrieve the ball and set up.
Rachel stuck her tongue out. “Skills, bitches!” Once I’d gotten to our side, she nudged me with an elbow. “I don’t think we’re the only ones who noticed either.” Seeing my frown, she tipped her head to the side. “You’ve got an admirer.”
I glanced towards the bleachers, expecting to see the other guys from the precinct that had gotten here shortly after us. They knew what time we reserved the court for. They also liked to claim that they got there early to make sure they could get the court right after us, but I knew better.
Gina had an ass that wouldn’t quit, and Rachel had a rack that her sports bra could barely hope to contain. Combined with the other three beauties we’d been facing off against lately, we all knew they were here for the show.
And they were still there alright, but their focus wasn’t on us any longer. I couldn’t blame them. The man sitting on the bleachers with his jean-clad legs crossed at the ankle certainly grabbed every bit of my attention and held it by the throat.
Hawk Mason didn’t fit in.
Not with his tattooed hands and angry, gray eyes.
Not with the menacing smirk on his lips.
Not with his black shirt stretched to the absolute limits over his chest, and a silver chain glittering around his neck.
He looked like exactly what he was. A walking nightmare. A controlling gangster. A callous male who cared nothing for anyone’s desires but his own.
And he was here.
At eight-thirty in the morning.
So, he’d either finished whatever it was he’d set out to do early, or he’d realized I wasn’t coming and hunted me down. Which brought me to another question that made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest.
How the hell had he found me?
“You know that guy?” Rachel asked.
Poor, sweet, oblivious Rachel who’d only been in town for a year. Okay, maybe she wasn’t that sweet on the court, but she ran a rescue for abandoned dogs. The girl was practically my hero. But in this case, she didn’t have all the facts.
Gina came up on my other side, lowering her voice to a whisper. “What the fuck is he doing here? How did he even know about this?”
See, Gina was on the same page as me. She was a new addition to the force. We hadn’t known each other before she joined, but she’d lived in the city long enough to know what was going on. And that was before she’d had the intel the precinct offered on the kind of man currently watching us—me—like a predator waiting to see if its prey would run or fight.
“I’d love to know,” I muttered, forcing myself to look away.
The longer I allowed myself to be pinned beneath that heavy gaze, the more questions I ended up with. My brain was going to explode if I kept adding to the flaming pile without either extinguishing something or providing an answer.
But. Why. Was. He. Here?
Shouldn’t he have better things to do?
“Let’s just play,” I said, voice firmer than I expected it to be given the situation.
“What about—”
I sliced my chin through the air, cutting Gina off. Rachel looked between both of us with the occasional glance for Hawk like she was trying to put the pieces together and coming up short.
“This is a whole thing, isn’t it?” Rachel asked as we settled into the match again.
“You have no idea,” I said, passing the ball to the opposing team.
I’d lost the groove I was in by the time we went at it again, but it didn’t matter. Having Hawk there, lingering at the edge of my thoughts like a ghost you couldn’t afford to take your eyes off of was enough to drive me up and down the court harder and faster than before.
We won without the other team scoring another point. As they stomped out of the gym, I let myself be pulled to the locker room. If I glanced over my shoulder to assure myself once more that Hawk was really there—and he was—who could blame me? The man was a serious feast for the eyes, no utensils required. Finger licking good, as some would say.
“Are you in trouble?” Gina asked as she and Rachel started to change.
I sat down on a bench and massaged my temples. “Depends on what you mean by trouble. Am I going to die? Probably not. Do I know what he has planned? Not at all.”
“Who is he?” Rachel zipped her light jacket. “Y’all look like the grim reaper just came to town but all I saw was a hot guy. Like, seriously hot. I’m talking tickle his balls and let him lock me in a red room kind of hot. If it didn’t seem like you had dibs, I’d be all over that.”
I shot her a glare as something in my chest heated. “Stay the hell away from him.”
She held up her hands. “Easy there. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Way to bring out the claws on your friend.
I forced a smile, trying to play off the stern tone I’d just used as I said, “I just mean he’s not th
e kind of guy you want to be involved with. He’s bad news.”
“In that case”—she shimmied her hips—”it’s been a while since I had the right kind of bad news. I think I’ll go introduce myself.”
She waved and sauntered off, hips swinging in her tiny gym shorts and tight jacket. I blinked. Why was I noticing that?
“I’ll give her the rundown,” Gina said, going after her. “Are you going to be okay back here?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied, desperately holding onto the false smile.
She studied me for a long moment and I kept it in place until my cheeks pinched, threatening to quit on me. Finally, she nodded. “Alright, but don’t stick around here too long. And have one of the guys walk you out to your car.”
“He’s not going to abduct me in broad daylight,” I said. Her mouth opened and I held up a hand. “Not because he’s incapable of it, but because he could’ve done that last night if he wanted to. But he didn’t.”
Gina frowned. “That...doesn’t make me feel better. Like, at all.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “Go. Catch Rachel before she does something she’ll regret.”
Like I did.
Once Gina was gone, I slowly stood and made my way to my locker.
I touched my shorts, about to peel them down my legs, but I got slapped in the face by another reminder that I wasn’t like my two stunning friends who could play a game of basketball and glisten. I didn’t glisten. I was sweating like a pig on the farm, and if I got back in my regular clothes I’d feel gross all day.
“Oh well,” I mumbled, grabbing a towel and heading to the showers. At least it would be another delay before I had to face Hawk. With any luck, he’d get tired of waiting for me.
Was I postponing the inevitable? Absolutely.
Was I going to stop? Not a snowball’s chance in hell.
Unfortunately, the hot water against my skin was everything I didn’t need. It set my mind on a collision course with fantasies of the man I shouldn’t want. And as it continued to caress me, I imagined the droplets were his fingers sliding over my skin. His heat soaking into me from every direction. His presence surrounding me.
Kingpin's Promise Page 2
