Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  Shit! He needed to get his mind off of what he wanted to do, or he’d be walking around with the largest erection he had no chance in hiding, and nobody in the hospital could miss.

  As they walked back outside to where he’d left his truck, the thought of the assassins still tailing them had him reaching into his pocket. Surreptitiously, he pulled the earpiece out. With the tap of his finger, he had it reactivated.

  “Motherfucker, I swear to fucking all that is holy, I will kick your ass if you shut me down again, got me?” Mike Royce swore into his ear.

  “Damn, this parking lot is fuller than when I pulled in. Let me check my truck out before we get in,” Maddox instructed, figuring his partner had kept eyes on the vehicle while he’d been inside with Hailey.

  “I should let you get in and play Russian roulette asshole. However, I, unlike you, am a gentleman. The little lady looks like she could faint at any moment. The truck is clear, and your tail is waiting around the block. I’m in position to help you out with the latter.” Glee tinged his best friend’s voice.

  He made quick work of looking all around the truck, making sure it appeared he was truly checking it out. “Looks clear. Let’s get you in and on our way. I don’t like standing out here. Makes me feel like a target is on my back.”

  “Nah, I don’t see anyone with a gun pointed at you.” Royce’s tone had gone serious.

  Maddox hated having to speak so that Hailey might assume it was to her, when in actuality it was to the man in his ear. Never had a job conflicted him more.

  “Can we get some fast food? I’m actually starving.” Hailey’s stomach rumbled loudly at her words.

  He made sure she was in before rounding the truck and getting in himself, chuckling at the sound of her groan. “Hey, it’s normal to get hungry, luv.”

  Backing out of the small parking spot, he looked over to see her arms crossed over her midsection. Damn bucket seats. If he’d had a bench seat, he could have pulled her next to him.

  “Whatever, big boy. I don’t hear your stomach making any noises.” Her eyes dared him to say something stupid.

  At the first stoplight, he checked his rearview mirror. Mike Royce was a crazy son of a bitch, and if Maddox knew his partner, he was more than likely already looking for a way to take the other vehicle out. Or, had already figured it out and was waiting for his opportunity.

  Figuring it was safer if he stayed in the busier area, he made a few turns, until he found a restaurant that had a drive thru they both liked.

  His truck was far from standard, with more upgrades than met the eye. Unless they launched a grenade, he figured they had a pretty good chance at whatever was thrown at them. Of course, it would be better if they didn’t have to face anything at the moment.

  “You are clear for takeoff. I repeat. Clear for takeoff,” Mike said, a little winded.

  Unable to think of a way to ask what happened, Maddox nodded. “Good.”

  “What’s good?” Hailey asked.

  He shook his head, then pulled forward as it was their turn to get their order from the window. Fuck! He and Mike were going to have to come up with a code or some shit.

  “Do you mind if I eat my fries in your truck? Seriously! I feel like my stomach is eating my backbone.” Hailey dug into the bag.

  He looked at her trim figure, and imagined her naked, and eating her out. With a shake of his head, he pulled out into the road. “Go ahead,” he answered a little more gruffly than he’d meant.

  “I like it when you get all growly. Your voice is already deep, but when you get angry, your voice gets even deeper. I mean like holy shit, it’s panty melting.” Her dancing brown eyes laughed at him.

  “Sweetheart, I’ll gladly melt your panties in any way you want me to.” This game of tug of war, or one-upmanship, was surely gonna be the death of him. He shifted in the leather seat, trying to ease the tight constriction in his jeans. The way he was going, his poor abused dick would be the one with a permanent injury if he didn’t get it out of his jeans. As soon as he got to his house, he was putting on a pair of loose sweats.

  3

  Hailey licked her lips. “Promises, promises. I believe you’re the one who’s done nothing but run in the opposite direction every time I’ve ever made anything resembling a pass at you.”

  Maddox scowled at her. “You’re loco.”

  She watched him expertly maneuver them through traffic, then onto a side road she’d never driven. “This isn’t the way to the Steinem?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m taking us somewhere safe, and that is not it.”

  “I didn’t know you had a place elsewhere.” Although she should have. Heck, she herself had a home away from the apartment building. Why the others wouldn’t, was the real question.

  His truck bumped over a path that looked like it didn’t get many visitors, making her worry her lower lip. She hadn’t checked in with anyone letting them know where she was going, yet here she was going off with Maddox. Dex, a member of their team, had tried to kill one of them not too long ago. Now, she was blindly assuming Maddox was one of the good guys. Fear tasted like ash on her tongue.

  She grabbed her phone out of her bag. “I’m going to let JoJo know I’m with you. He doesn’t know the location of this place, but if something should happen to me, then I want him to at least know who I was with.” She hit the number for the other man on her speed dial.

  When his voicemail picked up, she left a brief message and said she’d check back in every twelve hours. Maddox met her gaze across the console.

  “Feel better, Hellion?”

  “Not really. I hate not knowing who I can trust and who I can’t.” She put the phone back in her backpack.

  He brought the truck to a stop, his large palm slid around the nape of her neck. “You know you can trust me.” He tapped her chest with his finger of his other hand. “It’s up here that has you all fucked up.” His hand pushed the hair off her forehead, gently tapping her temple.

  Sucking in much-needed oxygen, she silently agreed. Her heart and her head warred with each other. No, she corrected. Her head also knew he was not the enemy.

  She grabbed the hand lying on the console, loving the feel of the one caressing the nape of her neck. “I do trust you.” Staring into his eyes, she let him see the truth of her words. Maddox wouldn’t appreciate her giving him a line of bullshit, or painting him a flowery picture. Hell, she wasn’t that type of woman.

  He lifted their entwined hands, kissing her knuckles. “Good enough.”

  A laugh escaped her. “A man of few words.”

  “Hellion, you ain’t heard or seen nothing yet.”

  Wicked intent lit his features; she couldn’t wait to find out just what he had in store for her.

  The home he pulled up to was a small log house that had been recently built if she wasn’t mistaken. The A-frame structure common, with the front mostly windows that she could see all the way through to the back. “Nice place,” she said.

  Maddox smiled, getting out on his side and coming around to open her door. “Come on, let’s go in and eat before our sandwiches go bad.”

  Handing the paper bag to him, she reached for her backpack, but pulled her hand back as Maddox lifted one of the straps over his shoulder. “I can carry my own stuff, you know.”

  “Keep getting lippy, and I’ll toss you over my shoulder.” He wagged his eyebrows, making her grin.

  Inside the cabin, he’d decorated with a leather and steel theme. “I like your place. Very masculine, yet minimalist.”

  He placed her backpack on top of the bar that acted as the kitchen table too. “It’s not much, but it’ll do. You want a drink?”

  “Water, please.” Hailey hopped onto one of the swivel, high-top chairs. “How many bedrooms does this place have?”

  It looked as if the bottom half was a totally open concept, but she could see stairs leading up to a loft.

  His grin reminded her of the Cheshire Cat. She really did love t
hat fluffy kitty. “There’s one room up there with a big bed. Plenty of room for the both of us to stretch out without touching.” He waited a beat. “Unless you want me to, and then I am all for touching you anywhere and everywhere.”

  With those words, he picked up his deli sandwich and took a huge bite. Even white teeth smiled before he continued to eat, while she struggled to get oxygen into her starved brain. Her stomach reminded her she was hungry.

  By the time he polished off his second sandwich, she finished her first and was ready for a shower. Rolling around in the dirt and gravel was only good if you were doing it for fun.

  The sound of paper being scrunched up had her jerking back to see Maddox gathering up their trash. “Why don’t you head on upstairs and take a shower. I need to set the alarm and check a few things.”

  A small reprieve from the man’s presence, one she desperately needed or she’d make a total fool of herself. Nodding, she slid off the chair. “Thanks, Mad. I really am glad you were there today.” She turned away before she broke down and said any more.

  Taking the steps up to the loft, she glanced down to see him watching her. The open room had a view of trees that went on forever, it seemed. But what caught her attention, was the king sized bed with the white comforter and the mound of pillows. “Damn, a person could get lost in all that fluffy goodness,” she whispered as she walked by. Her body gravitated toward the bed, but she made herself continue to the open door where she could see a glass shower. Inside was what she’d expected. A shower big enough for two with smoked-out blocks for privacy, a vanity, and a toilet. Hanging on the towel rack, she saw he had two white towels. Their softness was like hotel quality, and she wondered how the man paid for such luxury in a secondary home. It made her realize she didn’t know all that much about him.

  “Shit, I need conditioner.” She shrugged, knowing nothing she did would change the fact she didn’t have the basic necessities.

  In her backpack, she always kept an extra change of clothes and some makeup. She’d kill for a toothbrush and moisturizer.

  Not wanting to dawdle, she shimmied out of her clothes, tossing them off to the side, then stepped inside the shower, happy to see Maddox actually had a good quality shampoo and conditioner. The man shaved his head, which raised the question of who was the owner of the product. Hailey wasn’t one to get jealous, but admitted the little monster tried to rear its head, until she reminded herself to be glad since she had something to use. “It’s none of my business if he has a new hussy each day of the week,” she mumbled to herself.

  * * *

  Maddox parked his truck in the garage attached to the side of the cabin, then made sure the security was set to high. He looked at the cameras that were all around the property, making sure the motion sensors were working. With the door shut to the one room that was separate from the rest on the main floor, he called Mike.

  “What up, bro?”

  “My blood pressure,” Maddox flipped the screen to the camera in the upstairs bedroom, catching a glimpse of Hailey running her fingers over the bed.

  Mike chuckled. “I just bet it is. Wanna swap places? I’ll gladly take over guard duty for that piece of ass.”

  It took monumental effort not to say what he wanted. Instead, he gritted his teeth. “You got anything useful for me, or just wanting to yank my chain?”

  A heavy sigh came through the line. “The men who were following you were no amateurs. Lucky for you, I’m better, and have a better set of skills than they possess. Not to mention a lot more toys.”

  He knew Mike wasn’t just bragging. The man was lethal personified. Hell, if you needed a person killed, Royce was the one to call. No matter the way you needed the job done. Thankfully, he was on the good guy’s team. “Please tell me the bodies aren’t going to be on my account?” Each time they had to bury a body, Uncle Sam tended to get a little pissy. Of course, he’d get a whole lot more so if they didn’t take care of the terrorists in question.

  “Pretty sure I made certain they had my tags on them.”

  Even through the phone, Maddox heard the shrug in Mike’s tone. The camera to the room showed Hailey going into the bathroom. His dick twitched as the door stayed open, images of her wet and naked nearly sent him running out of the room, and up to where she was. Only years of training and self-control kept him from acting on the urges running through his mind.

  “Keep me posted if you hear anything, and I’ll do the same. You got eyes on me here?”

  “Does a bear shit in the woods? Get the fuck outta here, man. What do you think? Never mind, don’t answer that, or I’ll have to kick your ass. I gotta go. My show is on,” Mike said.

  “Which one are you addicted to now? Real Housewives of the OC or New York?” Maddox watched the night vision cameras flip on, alerting him to the fact the sun had set.

  “Laugh all you want, but I am learning lots of useful shit from these women. And, for your information, it’s New Jersey.” Mike disconnected before Maddox could say any more.

  Shaking his head, Maddox pictured his partner kicked back watching the reality show. While Maddox was what some might consider tall, dark, and dangerous, Mike Royce was almost pretty-boy gorgeous. His dark hair was shoulder length, but the man always had it pulled back. His dark complexion and tall build made him stand out in a crowd, but it was his emerald-green eyes that had people taking a second look. When he sat a person down, and talked to them, they tended to spill their guts. Of course, his two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, and no-nonsense attitude, didn’t hurt either.

  “Fucking better not have pinned any of your shit on me, Royce,” he muttered, switching the cameras to high alert. He synced them to his watch in case an alarm was set off, knowing his partner would be alerted as well.

  The walk up to the loft took very little time, but he didn’t want to scare Hailey. “Yo, Hales. I’m just going to grab a few things, then I’ll bunk on the sofa downstairs.”

  He’d been too preoccupied on his trek up the stairs, he hadn’t noticed the shower was no longer running. His mouth watered as Hailey appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but one of the fluffy towels from the bathroom. In that moment, he wished they were a lot smaller, yet thanked the lord they were covering her at the same time. Yeah, he was a little skewed in his thinking, and it was the fault of the little hellion standing in front of him with the smirk on her face.

  “What’s the matter, Mad, something wrong?” She trailed the toes of one foot up her leg, bringing his attention to her dainty foot.

  “You paint your toenails polka dot?” he asked. The whimsical art seemed out of character for the woman he knew.

  “I switch it up.” Her shoulders lifted and fell, making the towel move with the action.

  He licked his lips. “I’ll give you one of my shirts to sleep in, if you’d like.”

  The little minx sauntered out of the bathroom. “That would be great. I have clean panties, but only a pair of yoga pants and a tank for tomorrow. I really didn’t want to sleep in them.”

  “Alright. Let me get it for you, then I’ll let you have the room.” Her hand on his arm stopped him.

  “Mad, I think we are both old enough, and mature enough we don’t need to sleep in separate spaces.” She smiled up at him.

  His mind agreed, but his body wasn’t on the same level. “Sure. I’ll just get you the shirt, and then shower. I feel like I got gravel between my teeth.” Maddox grabbed a black T-shirt for Hailey and a clean pair of boxer briefs for himself out of the drawer.

  “Pretty sure I washed away a butt load of dirt and gravel myself. Not to mention, there are probably some pretty colorful bruises appearing all over my ass.” Her playful tone had him laughing.

  “And on that note, I’ll be in taking a cold shower.”

  Unlike Hailey, he shut the bathroom door, needing that little barrier between himself and the woman who was slowly driving him crazy. Or crazier, depending on who you asked. He thought of easing the ache between
his legs, but decided against it. Hell, his right hand had become Hailey number two in the last year or so. No need to announce it to the woman on the other side of the door. Noticing the shampoo and conditioner on the ledge, he groaned. Fucking Royce and his hair care products. Hailey probably thought it was his lover’s or some shit.

  He quickly washed his body, feeling small aches from his own roll over the hard, unforgiving ground. Outside the shower, he grabbed the last towel on the rack and dried off, then scooped their dirty laundry up. He’d throw them into the wash later. At the mirror his shaving cream was tucked inside the cabinet, reminding him the stubble on top his head needed shaving. Grabbing the razor and a wash cloth, he lathered up, making quick work of shaving his head and face. Once he was done, he ran his palm over both.

  Enough time had passed, he hoped like hell she was in bed. If the lord was smiling on him, maybe she’d be fast asleep. He shut the light off before opening the bathroom door, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw she’d taken up a position on one side of the bed. His muscles froze as his eyes adjusted to the darkened room, taking in the view of Hailey, lying on her side facing away from him. The blanket had fallen away, giving him a perfect view of her gorgeous heart shaped ass. “I’m going to fucking hell,” he muttered, looking down at his erection. The boxer briefs couldn’t disguise his state if he’d tried. His only saving grace was the fact she’d clearly fallen asleep and faced away from him. A quick glance at his watch showed it was just after ten, but they’d had an eventful day. Double checking the parameters of the property on his smart watch showed nothing had set off the alarms, other than the animals.

  Thinking he should have put something else on to sleep in other than just his boxers for added barriers, but even a brick wall wouldn’t keep his dick from wanting the woman. He shrugged and sat on the opposite side of the bed. The thought he’d sleep on top of the covers flittered through his mind, then was dismissed. They were grown adults, like she’d said. Mind made up, he stood, pulled the blanket back, and got in next to Hailey. Clearly, she’d chucked half the mound of pillows onto the floor. He held back a laugh, wishing he’d been there to have seen how she’d selected which to keep, and which to toss off.