“It’s good business. You know that as well as I do. When you find an in, you take it. Gia knows good business. She’ll get it.”
“Christ, it’s gonna be a bloodbath,” Axel muttered almost under his breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. You want to dig a hole, far be it from me to pry the shovel out of your hand.”
Beckett shifted to the far left lane and opened up the engine, his lungs drawing the first solid breath since he’d left Brantley’s apartment. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, what was the name of the clawbaw who cut Gia off at her last gig?”
“Clawbaw?” That was a new one.
“Wanker. Ball fondler. General prick. The Ken doll she grew up next to. What was his name?”
“Judd Rainier.”
“Yeah, that one.”
“Why? What about him?”
“A handy FYI. This whole thing is split into teams. The one Gia wants is the lead detail and if she gets it, she’d have full authority over all teams, but there are four other teams for other big names on the invite list and Trannell’s done the initial hiring. Judd’s already got an assigned team and is angling for the lead.”
“Well, he can’t have it. He’s screwed Gia enough times.”
“Way I understand it he’s got good connections, too.”
“Good enough he can top ours?”
A smile moved into Axel’s voice. “Hell, no. But he’s already in, so he’s likely to be a pain in Gia’s ass regardless.”
Figured. But if she had full authority over all the teams she could handle him. Plus, Beckett would be there this time to make sure Judd couldn’t screw her again. He’d deal with that just as soon as he dug himself out of the hole he’d created today. “Just make it happen. I’m on my way.”
Chapter Seventeen
Chili probably wasn’t the most impressive or season-appropriate meal to launch her culinary exploration, but Gia figured starting somewhere was better than not starting at all. And, given how the kitchen smelled right now, Sylvie hadn’t steered her wrong when she’d said her recipe was foolproof.
The sliding glass door that led to the impressive backyard and the walkway to the eight-car garage beyond it hissed open. “How much longer till it’s done?”
It wasn’t the first time Jace had posed the question. He and Axel had both made their fair share of trips through the kitchen to check on progress, but it was the first time his deep, gravelly voice had held a thread of concern.
Gia peeked over her shoulder and, sure enough, Jace’s laid-back demeanor had been replaced with shrewd eyes aimed on the long driveway and a possessive hand on his wife’s shoulder. Axel was right behind him. “I take it Beckett found me?”
Jace pegged his mom with a warning look that would have made most men take a healthy step back. “One of these days, you’re gonna pull your shit and it’s gonna backfire.”
As she’d learned today, Ninette Kennedy wasn’t easily cowed. Not even by her son. “I bet today’s not that day.”
Beside Ninette, Sylvie raised her wineglass toward Vivienne opposite her at the table. “Och, but I’ll bet we donae get ta drive his car for at least a year.”
“You’d be bloody well right on that one,” Axel murmured.
As soon as the words left his mouth, headlights cut across the lawn and the angry roar of a very big engine swelled outside the house.
Jace patted Vivienne’s shoulder. “Come on. Beckett doesn’t need an audience.” As Vivienne stood, he locked stares with Gia at the stove. “You gonna be alright?”
Gia couldn’t help but smile. Even knowing Beckett had to be fuming mad, the protective streak that seemed to run through all of them couldn’t help but rear its head. “Beckett won’t hurt me. And if he tried, I can hold my own.”
Axel chuckled and ushered Sylvie and Ninette out in front of him. “Might be better to ask if she’s gonna hurt Beckett.”
Ninette was already out of sight, but she bellowed back, “Give him hell, sweetheart!”
Bringing up the tail end of the exodus, Jace paused and lowered his voice. “For what it’s worth, he didn’t do what he did without reason.”
“I know that.” Just like she hadn’t taken Sylvie and Ninette up on their invitation to explore Haven without her own reasons. Reasons that were crucial she follow through with if she had a prayer of holding her own in this relationship.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Jace grinned and dipped his head. “Then go get him, tiger.”
The door to Beckett’s ’Vette slammed shut as if to punctuate Jace’s encouragement, and then she was alone. Waiting. Just her and the imminent arrival of one very pissed-off alpha male.
She covered the big stock pot full of enough chili to feed an army and checked the burner. Low where it was supposed to be. Sylvie had said something about simmering for at least thirty minutes, which should give her enough time to weather the worst of the storm, or at least get the storm relocated somewhere else so Sylvie could take over.
The sliding glass door whisked open with far less softness than when Jace and Axel had entered.
She sucked in a deep breath, braced and faced him.
The air she’d stockpiled whooshed out faster than she’d gathered it, and her body practically sang at the image that greeted her. She’d known he’d be angry. Known he’d be wrestling to keep his control. But holy hell, the man filling the doorway was pure primal rawness, eyes ablaze as they surveyed his surroundings and muscles straining. Had it not been for the T-shirt, jeans and boots marking him as somewhat civilized, a stranger would have called him savage. “I didn’t know where you were.”
Of all the ways she’d expected this confrontation to start, his growled admission wasn’t one of them. So raw. More powerlessness and unchecked fear coating his words than anger.
She forced herself to relax and leaned one hip on the thick granite counter. “I wanted some time to think and get to know your family.”
“I didn’t know where you were.” Every word low, distinctly punctuated and rumbling with the power of thunder.
My mom left me when I was two.
The memory stabbed deep, the pain she’d sensed that day now magnified tenfold on his face. She closed the distance between them in short order, instinct more than wisdom driving her actions. Before she could extend her arms and smooth her hands along his sternum as she’d intended, he yanked her flush against him. Speared his hands in her hair and crushed her cheek against his chest even as his other hand anchored her hips to his. His body shook against hers, his hold possessive and unrelenting. His lungs heaved as though he’d run the distance to Haven, but the kiss he pressed to the top of her head was so reverent and fragile it unwound the bulk of her resolve and anger.
God, she was an idiot. She’d sensed his mother’s abandonment ran deep. Knew firsthand how childhood scars could mark a person, but she’d ripped those wounds wide, whether she’d meant to or not. Smoothing her hands along his back as much as his tightly banded arms would allow, she gave him the touch he seemed to need. “I’m sorry, Beckett. I was angry. I had my reasons, but I didn’t think about how not telling you where I was would impact you.”
He cupped both sides of her face and kissed her temple, breathing her in. “Ninette told you what we were doing today.” Not a question, but a statement. And didn’t that say loads about how involved this family ran in terms of being in each other’s business?
“You should have told me. Should have trusted me with what you planned to do.”
Still not meeting her eyes, he skimmed his nose alongside hers, and his fingers tightened as if he was afraid she’d try to slip away. “I do trust you.”
“Then why not tell me?”
He rested his forehead on hers and drew in a steadying breath before finally lifting his head. “Because I don’t give a
shit if I get busted. My brothers would post my bail and I’d roll with the fallout no matter what it looked like. But your reputation means everything to you. You worked your ass off to build it. Why the hell would I let you risk that if I can risk it for you?”
Not chocolate.
Not wine or long-stemmed roses.
But the effect just as potent. Maybe more so, flooding her bloodstream with enough giddiness it was a wonder her heart didn’t punch right out of her chest. She rolled up her toes, letting him straighten to his full height as she skimmed her fingertips through the soft scruff along his jawline. She murmured against his lips, “You could have just said that to begin with.”
His head snapped back. “Would you have listened?”
No. Probably not. At least not without a healthy amount of debate and undoubtedly demanding she be involved in some capacity. But she was smart. She’d made it a point to learn from her mistakes thus far. With Beckett, her incentive was tenfold. She hooked her hands around his neck and urged him to her. “I will next time.”
He fought the pull, his still-wild eyes scanning her features. “This mean you’ll forgive me?”
She tugged harder, the need to taste him and still the restlessness she’d fought all afternoon with his kiss nearly overriding the need to press her argument. “Will you do it again?”
“If it was for you, or to keep you safe, hell yeah, I would.” He fisted his hand in her hair at the back of her head and lowered his lips closer to hers, his deep voice rolling through her. “What I won’t do is lie to you and promise something I can’t guarantee.”
Truth.
Not flowers and fluff. Not some bullshit line crafted to move them out of the danger zone and into safer waters, but the real deal laid bare at her feet. “I can work with that.”
Who kissed who, she couldn’t say. Didn’t care. Only knew that the taste of him on her tongue seemed richer. Bolder than every other kiss. And there was nothing soft about it. More a sensual sparring match with tongues, teeth and touch as their weapons of choice. Only when her back met wall did the reality of where they were and the undoubted number of people with ears straining not far away yank her focus long enough to drag her lips away from his. “Beckett.”
He growled and used his grip in her hair to yank her head to one side, leaving her throat open to his demanding mouth.
“Beckett, the back door’s still open.”
He slid one hand from the small of her back, up over her hip and higher to her breast. “I was supposed to show you Haven.” He lifted his head and plumped the aching mound, an animalistic claim that only fueled the raging fire he’d started. “I wanted to give you that.”
“I haven’t seen your room yet.”
One heartbeat and her feet were off the floor, her legs around his hips and his mouth consuming her gasp in a breath-stealing kiss. The door slid shut with enough punch it was a wonder the glass didn’t shatter, and then he was on the move. The background noise of a TV grew closer along with the rapid-fire back-and-forth of a somewhat heated discussion. How Beckett made it up the stairs without dropping her she couldn’t say and frankly didn’t care. Or didn’t until Axel’s deep baritone voice stopped mid-sentence and a chorus of feminine laughter filled in behind it.
Gia ripped her mouth from Beckett’s, her heart slamming overtime even as her mind scrambled to process the five smiling faces locked on her and Beckett moving fast past the game room’s wide entrance. With any other audience, she’d have been mortified, or at least felt the need to demand Beckett put her down. With this crew, all she felt was free and giddy. She grinned over Beckett’s shoulder and locked eyes with Sylvie. “Don’t let my chili burn!”
Sylvie giggled and covered her mouth with one hand, but it was Jace’s voice that answered as Beckett hauled her out of sight. “Not thinkin’ it’s her chili she should be worried about.”
“He’s got that right.” Beckett peeled right where the hallway branched toward a separate wing and squeezed both hands palming her ass. “You’ve been after quick and dirty and you’re about to get it.”
The words whipped through her, landing square between her legs and making her sex clench. She tightened her arms and legs around him and nipped the taut muscle where his neck and shoulder met. Licked the same spot and moaned at the taste of his skin. “Beckett.”
“I know, baby. Just hang on.” Shadows wrapped around them. A door opened and slammed shut and his heavy footfalls sounded on thick carpet. A second later, her back met plush mattress, her body laid sideways in the middle of a king-size bed and Beckett at its side yanking off her heels. “Shirt off.”
As if he’d have to ask her twice. With nothing but the moon slanting through a far window and their heavy breaths filling the room, they shucked everything. Her shirt. His tee. His boots. Her bra. When she didn’t move fast enough on her jeans, he batted her hands out of the way and dragged them and her panties free in one swoop.
Taking advantage of the opening, she scrambled to her knees and fumbled with the button at his waist.
Just as fast, the shadows spun around her and she was on her back again, her legs braced wide by Beckett’s shoulders and her breath whooshing out into the darkened room as his mouth locked onto her sex. No buildup. No teasing words or touches. Just blatant consumption. A ravenous predator bent on taking and claiming what it wanted.
And dear God, it felt great. The sheer force of his hunger bending her will to his. Demanding she submit. That she surrender herself at the most intimate level and slake his carnal thirst.
The wet heat of his mouth surrounded her clit and he suckled hard, plunging two fingers into her slick and ready sex.
Her back bowed off the bed, a release that promised to utterly consume her barreling closer. She fisted both hands in his hair and let her legs fall open wider. No way would she fight him. Not him or what his thrusting fingers and wicked mouth offered. In this, he was all-powerful. A master to be obeyed.
The sensation grew tighter, the muscles around his fingers drawing tighter. Close. So close.
And then he was gone. His mouth. His touch. His heat. All of it snatched away and taking oblivion with it. “Beckett!”
“Not yet.”
His grated words launched her into motion, sheer impulse and a wildness born of denied fulfillment fueling her muscles as she all but vaulted toward him.
Before she could gain her feet, he caught her at her hips, flipped her to her belly and yanked her backwards so her tiptoes reached the floor, his knees bracing her legs wide.
She pressed with all she had against the sinfully soft black comforter and tried to wriggle out from under him, but his massive hand was an iron shackle at the back of her neck, pinning her in place, the other a hot brand at her hip where he kept her bent at the waist. “Damn it, Beckett. What are you doing? I was right there.”
“And I’ll get you there again, but you’re not goin’ without me.” His hot, labored breaths against her cheek matched her own and his weight blanketed her back, the dog tags he never took off an icy brand against her spine. He uncoiled the fingers digging into her hips and shifted so the back of his hand teased the globes of her ass.
No, not teasing. Working the buttons on his jeans.
She lifted her hips higher and pressed backward, a needy mewl slipping past her lips.
The hold at the back of her neck tightened and his jeans rasped harsh against the back of her thighs, but then he was there. Velvet steel pressed against the cleft of her ass.
A condom packet landed on the bed beside her.
Leaning back over her, Beckett slipped his hands between her legs and slicked his fingers through her drenched folds. “You get two choices. I glove up and fuck you hard like this, or I roll you over, sink my bare dick in your hot, wet pussy and mark you as mine for the first time. Either way, you’re gonna come hard enough the whole damned hous
e is gonna hear it happen and I’ll have to carry you down to dinner.”
She whimpered, the impending release he’d stolen from her surging back to life.
His fingers slipped from between her legs and he covered the packet beside her.
She stilled his hand with her own before he could pull it away, her heart kicking a ragged yet powerful rhythm. “I trust you.”
His teeth grazed over her shoulder then rubbed the stubble on his chin along the same spot. “No pressure, sweetheart. You wanna wait—want me to prove I’m clear of anything—I got no issue with that.”
It wasn’t that. In the time since they’d been intimate, he’d made it abundantly clear any entanglements before her had been far more discretionary than she’d ever dreamed. No, what moved her—what speared so deep it pierced her very soul—was what it meant. She got it now. This wasn’t a game. Not for him, or his family. A family that was hers now, too, if she accepted it. “I want this.” She pulled in a deeper breath and shifted her focus to him, her hips lifting in invitation. “I want it all.”
The hand at her neck clamped harder and even in the moonlight his eyes sparked with a possessive glint. “Then that’s what you’ll get.” He rolled his hips against her, the weight of his shaft wedged against her cheeks a blatant reminder of what she’d just agreed to. “You gonna be a good girl?”
Oh, hell. She fisted her hands in the comforter and groaned, the mix of his grated voice and the dirty implications his words painted making her sex weep. Years of control and common sense tried to clamp a restraining hand over her mouth. Tried to silence the woman writhing inside her with ideas of what was wrong and what was right.
It didn’t work. She tossed her head to one side and met his steely gaze. “No. I’m gonna be phenomenal.”
He snarled, straightened and smacked one side of her ass. “On your back. Legs spread.”
Oh. My. God.
Nothing could have put her into motion any faster, every muscle working in concert to heed his command. Before she’d even finished moving, his hands were at her hips. He yanked her to the edge of the bed, her hips flush with his where he stood and his cock a ready weapon straining toward his belly. He palmed her knees and squeezed. Pushed them up and wide.
Stand & Deliver Page 19
