“You’re thinking again, darlin’. Ain’t you figured out that’s what gets you in all this trouble in the first place?”
“Is that what I’m in?” Rachel whispered back, not sounding angry but cold enough to make Killian scowl. “Because I don’t really think you have the right to punish me for breaking up with you, but I certainly have the right to leave if I want to.”
He snapped the second cufflink free and stepped around to address that one. “Yes, I do, and no, you don’t. It all depends on whether you broke up with us for a good reason or some stupid-ass one.”
That brought the frown back to her brow and the glare back to her gaze. “Why did I even think we could have an honest conversation?”
“Oh, honey,” Killian shook his head at her, “we’re not here to have a conversation.”
“I figured that out.” Rachel snorted.
“This is the part where you shut up and listen.” Killian smiled at the way his blunt words had her cheeks flaming again. He’d really missed messing with his Rachel. She always jumped to every scrap piece of bait.
“No,” she snapped back instantly. “This is the part where you take this damn collar off and point me in the exit because I’ve had enough of these games.”
Killian didn’t think that was true in the slightest. In fact, she appeared to be doing everything she could to rally them into action. Adam didn’t need any encouragement. He’d been straining on the end of his patience since Wednesday.
It hadn’t helped that Rachel had turned down Brandon’s offer and blown Adam’s plans for a seductive dinner to smithereens. Killian had always thought that one was stupid, but it had been the last straw for Adam.
The very last thread came undone when Rachel’s hands lifted to tug at the clasp of the choker Adam had given her. The defiant gesture snapped Adam into action. He caught her wrists in his hands, pulling her arms straight up until she had to go on her tip-toes.
The position brought her ear level with Adam’s lips. Killian watched as her hair danced when he growled. “The games don’t begin until you run through one of those gates. Do you want to flee now?”
Adam took a nibble at her neck, blurring her words into a breathy whimper. “Adam—”
He released her so quickly she stumbled right into Killian’s chest and his waiting arms. Catching her, Killian offered her confused expression a helpful grin. “I told you to watch yourself, darlin’, or you really are going to get hurt.”
That snapped her features back into a look of annoyance as she jerked back. “Nobody likes an—”
“Best you shut up and listen to him,” Adam warned her. “Otherwise, I’ll be taking my turn first.”
That snapped Rachel’s jaw closed as she cast a dirty look in Adam’s direction. His partner didn’t flinch but held her gaze until she folded. Glancing up at Killian, he could see that her sass had turned to a sulk. While the tempting pout of her lips distracted some parts of him, Killian managed to remain focused on the current mission.
They’d get to fucking their brains out once he had an assurance that it wouldn’t be a one night thing but an every night thing. Somebody had to remember the point of all this because Killian knew Adam didn’t right then. Adam wanted Rachel too bad and she’d pissed him off too much for the man to be thinking straight.
So Killian was left to play the gracious host and hope that his partner didn’t make anything worse. With that in mind, he offered Rachel’s wary look a big smile and gestured to the plush bench behind her.
“Why don’t you have a seat?”
Chapter 35
Rachel glanced nervously at Adam, not completely convinced he’d retreated, even if he had paced into the shadowed corner of the patio. She didn’t know what he’d meant by that “flee” comment, but she had a strong feeling he actually intended to run her to ground like honest-to-God prey.
Between Adam’s restless aggression and Killian’s Cheshire cat grin, she certainly felt like the mouse about to be feasted on. It had her hesitating to do anything Killian commanded, even if he masked the order as a cordial suggestion.
“I think I’d rather stand.” Rachel lifted her chin at Killian, letting him know she wouldn’t be cowed. She might feel skittish and pretty damn aroused with Adam’s kiss still tingling down her neck, but she could still be just as strong as them and control herself.
“Suit yourself.” Killian let her attitude slide, not even dimming his grin. “Maybe I could offer you some soda or a beer. The refrigerator is fully—”
“You did not kidnap me and drag me all the way out here to play host,” Rachel snapped, not in the mood to be toyed with. “So why don’t you say what you have to say and let’s get this over with.”
“That anxious to start the game?” Adam murmured as he brushed past her, giving her a heated look that left a trail of fire in his wake.
Rachel steeled herself against the effects of that smoky tone. She would not be caught off guard tonight by their good cop, bad cop routine. They would not wind her all in circles and make her about crazy as she tried to figure out if she were too damn pissed or too damn horny for her own good.
“Why don’t you sit before you fall over?” Killian did more than suggest this time. He used his hands on her shoulders to back her up until she toppled onto the bench. “Those knees are shaking, darlin’. You itching to run, then?”
“Maybe she’s itching to spread,” Adam growled from the shadows, making her jerk back to her feet.
Shoving Killian aside, she glared at the man circling her slowly at a distance. “Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut, Adam? Killian has something to say.”
Killian snorted out a chuckle. “Actually, darlin’, it’s you that have something you should have told us well before now.”
It took her a moment before she figured out that comment. With Killian patiently waiting for an answer and Adam shifting through the shadows, Rachel forgave herself for being a little dense. “You want to know why.”
Killian nodded. “It is the question I’ve been asking your answering machine every other day. Are you ready to answer now?”
Rachel owed him one. It would be the first good step in trying to sort out this disaster of a relationship, if there was one left. “When I went to see Dickles, he kind of implied that you’d stopped by to see him, and you left him with the impression you didn’t think much of me as a reporter.”
She hesitated for a moment, giving them the opportunity to attack her for that admission. When Killian only waited expectantly and Adam didn’t bother to crawl back out of the shadows, Rachel forged on ahead, thinking she knew what they wanted.
“I’ve since learned that he probably lied and did so to settle some score with you two.” It took all her strength and a deep breath to get the rest out. “I was wrong.”
It was time for them to gloat, but neither man jumped at that tempting piece of bait. Killian only nodded and prodded her along. “And?”
“And?” Rachel glanced around before shrugging. “I’m sorry?”
That irritated Killian. She caught the slight flash in his gaze before his smile tightened into a sardonic twist. “Sorry that you didn’t come to us like a mature woman would? Sorry that you believed in a man you’d known for a couple of hours over the men who’d been sharing your bed for over a month? Sorry that you don’t have the barest idea about of trust or respect for us to give us a chance to tell you our side? Just what exactly are you sorry for, darlin’?”
“I don’t know. All of that sounds good.” She was baiting them, and Rachel knew it. Only it didn’t make any sense. She’d wanted to have a conversation to set everything right between them. Maybe it was because the sex was safer. No matter how kinky or perverse they got, they couldn’t scare her on that front. This one, though, had started to make her itchy.
Killian seemed to understand. With a gentle touch, he cupped her cheek and lifted her eyes past his grin to where his gaze had hardened. “You’re not going to tempt Adam
off his leash. You know better than that. The angrier you make him the more controlled he becomes.”
“And the more detailed my plans become,” Adam whispered right over her shoulder. He pressed in close behind her, letting her feel his heat and hardness as his erection bulged out to rub against her ass. “The longer you make this take, the more pain I suffer, the more retribution I will demand.”
Rachel licked her lips and swallowed, not daring to turn around and confront the lust she knew would be simmering in his eyes. It was hard enough to get the words out as she stared up into Killian’s molten gaze.
“Fine. I’m sorry about all of it but…” She couldn’t hold Killian’s look and dropped her head to whisper out the rest. “I wasn’t wrong to let you go.”
“Now see, darlin’, that’s the part that don’t make any sense.” Killian chuckled and shook his head. “It’s been bothering me, trying to figure out just why you’re so screwed up.”
“Excuse me?” That had Rachel bristling with enough indignation to step free of Adam’s strength. “I’m not screwed up!”
“Sure you are,” Killian argued with her. “But don’t take it personally. It’s just ’cause you’re a woman.”
That had Rachel choking. At the snorted laughter behind her, she found herself more than capable of turning to give Adam a dirty look. He might have sounded amused, but that mirth didn’t make it to the hard eyes trying to hypnotize and paralyze her. Rachel wouldn’t fall victim to his seduction so easily.
“Do you mind?”
He didn’t answer that snapped question but to bump her as he shouldered past. This time, Rachel shoved back, about damn tired of being intimidated by him. She didn’t have the strength to topple him, and the only reason he turned was because he wanted to.
Like the shark she’d considered him a minute ago, Adam decided to finally take a bite and see if his prey was ready to be eaten. Devoured, because that’s what it felt like to go from angrily glaring at him to dangling from his arms.
Before she could even think to pry herself free, his lips broke over the tip of the breast he’d lifted up for his feasting. The thin cotton of her sundress offered no real protection against the liquid heat of his kiss. Always exciting but comfortingly familiar, his tongue wound over her tit, flicking and circling the sensitive nub until he bit down and sent a shower of sparkling pleasure erupting out of her chest.
Rachel gave herself over to the brilliant sensation, letting it drench her parched senses. So hot, his kiss flamed across her skin, branding her flesh as his again. His always. She could never deny him or this. The will to even consider such a thing didn’t exist in her body, nor did the strength.
Melting into his embrace, Rachel arched, offering more of her swollen breast up for his tasting. Adam ignored the silent plea, almost seemed to punish her for it when his lips tightened over her trapped nipple and began sucking with such greediness Rachel couldn’t hold back the moans anymore.
Losing herself to the rapid winds of rapture howling through her body, Rachel gave herself over to the rhythm of his swirling tongue. Her hips lifted, rolling with a sensual beat that built steadily upward until she couldn’t stop from crying out.
“Adam, please!”
She didn’t know what she asked for. Only knew that she wanted what he obviously didn’t intend to give her that easily. With a snarl, he dropped her, letting her stumble backward on legs too weak to hold her sudden weight. Rachel couldn’t catch her balance or grasp what had happened, but slamming onto her ass helped to rectify both conditions.
Rachel could have said, “Message received. Don’t push Adam,” but being so quickly discarded made it all the more tempting to chase after him and do something like kick him. He wouldn’t see her coming with his back to her, but the steady, angry march of his feet warned her that violence wouldn’t earn her an orgasm.
“See, women got to convolute everything,” Killian commented as if their conversation had never been interrupted.
The bastard still sounded as chipper as ever, which earned him a dark look from Rachel before she lifted herself. At least he reminded her that she hadn’t come here for the pleasure…well, not solely because of it. Getting what she really wanted appeared even harder to come by with Killian carrying on with his obnoxious comments.
“When a man makes a decision, he makes it and it’s done. Now a woman,” Killian gestured toward her, causing Rachel to pause in the act of dusting off her dress to await his pearl of wisdom, “she makes her decision and two days later has to rethink it, and about a week later has to reassess it, and maybe a month later she’s got to review it.”
“Yeah, I’m reassessing some things right now,” Rachel assured him as she stiffened up.
Her hard tone didn’t even dent Killian’s grin. “A man, he can make a commitment, but a woman comes up with all sorts of excuses. Trust me, honey, I know. I’ve been doing some research.”
“Is that right?” Rachel smirked.
“Oh yeah.” Killian nodded. “I read this study about how something like sixty percent of men want to be married but only around thirty percent of women want to. Apparently, most women think they got to take care of men, and so I figure that’s what you’re all in a twist about. You think we’re like kids or something that’s kind of beneath you, and while you like the fun, you really don’t want to be encumbered in the long run. Right?”
He had it so wrong, so backward that Rachel could only stare at him for a second in blind shock. What amazed her more than Killian’s twisted conclusion was the very fact that he hadn’t lied. Obviously, he had done some kind of research.
“No.” Her quiet denial finally penetrated his happy glow, leaving him with a growing scowl. “That doesn’t have anything to do with anything, Killian.”
“Okay.” It took less than a second for his grin to pop back. “I’ve got another theory.”
“Why don’t you just save us all the time, darlin’, and just tell him what’s wrong?” Adam had circled back around to her. The warmth of his breath teasing over her flushed nape didn’t have her teeth grinding half as much as the hand he slipped around to press over her mound. “Then we can get onto the game, and you know you want to get there. Don’t you, pet?”
Rachel’s response choked on her gasp as Adam’s fingers spread out, pressing down into her dress until he found the seam of her pussy through her panties. One thick finger slid down into her slick folds of her sex, discovering her heat. The flimsy material of her clothes couldn’t hide the truth from him, and Rachel didn’t even try when her hips began to match the slow undulations of his finger rubbing over her clit.
“You’re wet.”
“Yes, I am,” she agreed, but she wouldn’t be played again. It took all her strength to jerk free of his hold. From a safe distance, she turned to confront the man staring back at her with a predatory hunger that made her take another quick step back. “Wanting you isn’t the problem, Adam. I’ll always want you.”
“See, now. That’s confused.” Killian leapt onto her comment. “How does it make any rational sense to want something that you’re denying yourself? If you want us, why not just be with us?”
“Because,” Rachel explained, turning so that she could still keep an eye on Adam while addressing Killian, “wanting something doesn’t make it good for you.”
“We’re not good for you?” From his hesitant tone, Rachel knew she’d hurt him. That wasn’t what she wanted to do.
“No…I’m not saying this right.” Rachel sighed. “I meant…the relationship. It wasn’t exactly a healthy one.”
Killian’s sulky expression tightened into a pissed one in an instant. “In what kind of way wasn’t it?”
“You…” Rachel faltered, really wishing she had something more solid to defend herself with. “You tried to control me to the point where you were checking up on me and going through my papers.”
“First off, we didn’t go through your papers,” Killian shot back, like a commande
r reprimanding an immature private. “I accidently knocked them over and caught a glimpse of something that drew my attention. Of course, you never did ask about that.
“You just assumed you knew we were up to no good, and if you were so damned worried about us snooping, you should’ve put your shit in a drawer.” Killian’s temper was lit now. All the surface show of happiness had pinched out under the tirade raging out of him. “And second off, once you made yourself clear about us over-involving ourselves in your professional activities, we backed off.
“We actually did the mature thing and listened to you, but still you don’t hesitate even a moment to think the worst of us. But we ain’t done anything wrong. I defy you to tell me how we screwed up this relationship.”
“You went to see Dickles,” Rachel shot back instantly, not ready to take all the blame yet.
“So?” Killian didn’t concede even a bit of indignation to her accusation. “The words I wanted to have were with that bastard, not with you. Why would I talk to you? I know you can hold your own against a man like him, but that don’t mean he couldn’t make things difficult or uncomfortable for you. That’s something I had to address with him because it would be my fault if my past messed up your research.”
“What about Watts?” Rachel could have argued the Dickles thing, but she backed off, seeing she wouldn’t be winning on that score. “You looked into Meeks.”
“Yes, I did,” Killian told her proudly. “I’m a cop. You’re my woman. I’m going to keep you safe, no matter what. The first thing I need to know is who you are associating with, because trust me, honey, nobody will get you into trouble faster than a friend.”
Rachel cringed at that last comment, her mind immediately jumping to Hailey and Patton’s wild scheme. If Killian knew about that, they wouldn’t be standing around having a nice conversation. They’d have already moved onto Adam’s game.
Penn, Jenny - Rachel's Seduction [Cattleman's Club] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 37
