by M. S. Parker
Including, it seemed, in the DEA.
Twenty-Three
Slade
This was not how I wanted my first real date with Cheyenne to go. The temperature had dropped down into the high thirties, and the wind was harsh enough to make me miss Boston weather. Every minute of work since I’d hung up on Monday had been dedicated to collaborating with the FBI on the best way to take down Fernando, as well as all the businesses associated with him.
Which included Cheyenne’s only means of income now.
It made sense, then, that I was feeling a little awkward sitting across from her, while knowing that in an hour, I’d be back at work, trying to make her unemployed.
And that didn’t even account for the little voice in the back of my mind that kept asking how sure I was that she wasn’t involved in any of Fernando’s other activities.
“Have you heard anything back from the applications you put in?” I honestly wanted to know, but I couldn’t deny the secondary reason I’d asked the question.
I needed to know that she’d be okay once DDD was gone; and telling her that I’d make sure she was taken care of wouldn’t go over well for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that I’d have to tell her why I was asking in the first place. I didn’t see our date moving on much past that conversation.
“Not yet,” she said as she took another bite of her sandwich.
I’d never seen someone so small eat so much.
“You don’t have to tiptoe around the elephant in the room,” she said quietly.
Shit.
“What elephant?” I took a drink of my water.
She raised an eyebrow. “That you work for the DEA.”
I almost choked. “What?”
“That first morning,” her cheeks flushed, “you told me I could wear your clothes while mine were in the dryer. I was looking through your drawers and saw the badge.”
“You’ve known that long?”
She shrugged. “It didn’t seem important then.”
“And it does now?”
She looked up and met my eyes. “That depends. Is this a real date, or should we just find a place to fuck so you can get back to work?”
I stared at her. “Why would you think–?”
“On a regular first date, would you talk about where you worked?”
I leaned back in my chair. Shit. She was right. Still, I hedged around the answer. “Maybe. I don’t do much undercover stuff, so it’s okay for me to talk about it. I guess it’d depend on if she asked or not.”
She gave me a look that said she believed me as much as I did.
“Before, I wasn’t surprised that you didn’t tell me. It was sex.” She looked away. “But I thought lunch…” She squared her shoulders and met my eyes again. “It’s okay. You can just ask me to meet you for sex. We had an understanding before. We don’t need to ask anything of each other.”
This wasn’t going the right way.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
She was up and gone before I could process what just happened. Fortunately, my brain caught up after a minute, and I was able to follow her, ducking into the single-person bathroom before the door shut behind her.
“Slade, what the hell?”
Enough thinking about what to do.
I slammed my mouth down on hers, letting the momentum carry us backward until her back, hit on the door.
“Can’t it be both?” I asked when I finally tore my mouth away.
“Both what?” She looked as dazed as I felt.
“Can we have a real date and then have sex afterwards?” I asked, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I tried, but I can’t keep my hands off you.”
I bit down on her bottom lip as she made a surprised sound, but she didn’t push me away. Instead, her hands moved between us, pulling at my pants until she managed to get them open and shove her hand inside.
“Fuck, Chey,” I groaned. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes, please,” she gasped.
That was all I needed to hear. She yanked her pants and underwear down, pulling them off over her shoes, and I had her in my arms before she straightened. We both swore as I buried myself inside her, and we froze there, our bodies locked together.
I couldn’t think or breathe. She was so tight around me, I had to be hurting her, but the soft whimpers she was making in my ear were ones I recognized as pleasure. Then she writhed against me, and I realized she was coming.
Fuck.
I pressed my face against the side of her throat, biting the soft skin there until she relaxed enough for me to move. I wasn’t going to last long like this. Skin against skin. The scent of soap and sex.
I drove into her, two, three times, slamming her against the door. Her nails dug into the back of my neck, the pain mixing with the pressure until I came. Hard. A few quick circles with my thumb on her clit and she came again, groaning in my ear as her body tightened around me.
A few blissful blank moments…and then I remembered that I hadn’t put on a condom.
Shit.
Cheyenne had been surprisingly understanding when she realized what happened. She’d reassured me that she’d been on the pill for years as a precaution. The chances of her getting pregnant were minute. I didn’t need to worry.
She hadn’t seemed to understand that I’d been worried about her, not me. I didn’t give a damn about possible child support. I didn’t want her to have to bear the consequences of my slip-up. It wasn’t until later that I realized what she’d meant about taking the pill as a precaution.
Protection in case Fernando or one of her mother’s customers had forced her.
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t keep my distance and take things slow. I meant what I’d said to her about it being both a real date and wanting to have sex with her, but it didn’t make sense. I’d had girlfriends before, casual relationships that had been sexual and monogamous, but none of them had ever been like this. I thought about her all the time. I wanted to fuck her and protect her, hurt her and keep her safe.
And that didn’t even take into consideration the extreme shit-storm that was the DEA and FBI’s case against Fernando.
Talking to Ramon again wasn’t going to help me. He didn’t know anything about my BDSM preferences – and that wasn’t the sort of talk I wanted to have with a staunch Catholic – but it was more than that. I couldn’t explain the complications with who Cheyenne was without revealing her connection to Fernando.
The problem was, I didn’t really have any close friends aside from Ramon and Joey. Not ones I could trust knowing everything.
Except I did know some guys who’d understand complex relationships, commitment issues, and the whole other field of shit that came with a BDSM lifestyle.
Dammit.
I needed to talk to my brothers. One of them anyway.
Cai and Cheyenne had looked like they were still figuring out who they were to each other. I didn’t want to drag them into this and possibly screw things up for them. But Jax…Cai had said he was engaged. My bachelor brother was going to get married.
I turned off the basketball game I wasn’t watching and picked up my phone. I hadn’t spoken to Jax since I came back to Texas, and none of us had really left things in a positive way, but Cai had said Jax was trying. It was time to determine that for myself.
He answered on the second ring. “Slade? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said automatically. Then I sighed. Lying to him wasn’t going to get me the answers I needed. I’d spent so much of my life being the one who got along fine with everyone and everything, that I wasn’t sure I knew how to stop. “No, I’m not.”
“What’s wrong?”
No patronizing, no lecturing. So far, so good.
“Women problems.”
Jax laughed, an abrupt sound that cut off as quickly as it came. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you, just at the fact that you of all people
called me about women problems.”
He didn’t have to explain it. As soon as he said it, I understood the irony. I’d always had the reputation of being a playboy, while Jax had been the guy that women admired from a distance.
“I get it,” I said ruefully. “Trust me, I do, but Cai said you had a girlfriend now. A fiancée.”
“I do,” he said, his tone returning to the more familiar seriousness.
“Then you’re the one I need to talk to. There’s this woman I’m crazy about, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Tell me everything.”
Twenty-Four
Cheyenne
I’d hated the idea of doing drug drop-offs from moment one, but the thought of Austin had gotten me through the first one. The more time I spent with Slade, however, the guiltier I felt about it. Austin would always be number one in my life, and I’d do whatever it took to keep him safe, but I hated the thought of what it would do to Slade if he found out what I was doing. I doubted he’d understand.
I pulled the backpack tighter against me and kept my head down. Bus rides with drugs ranked at the top of my ‘stupidest things ever’ list.
Right behind what I’d done earlier today: fucking a government agent in a public bathroom…without a condom.
I was on my feet before the bus came to a complete stop and out the door before the jackasses leering at me got to their feet. I’d been in such a rush to leave DDD that I hadn’t changed back into normal clothes, which meant I was wearing my sleazy little waitress uniform.
Seleste opened the door almost as soon as I knocked and motioned for me to come in. I started to follow her down the hallway to where we’d done the exchange before, but she stopped before she’d gone a few feet.
“Wait in there.” She pointed toward the main room.
I stared at her. “What?”
Her hazel eyes were cold and flat as she glared down at me. “Sit in there and I’ll be right back.”
I still didn’t move. I could hear the low murmurs from the men in the room, the laughter from the girls. They weren’t having sex in there, but I still didn’t want to go. Resa might have been working here, but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend any more time in this place than necessary.
Seleste’s mouth twisted into a scowl, and she grabbed my arm. I winced as her fingers dug into my upper arm, but she just tightened her grip and shoved me toward the room.
“Get your ass in there, and don’t move unless you plan to take a trick upstairs and fuck him.”
I stumbled into the middle of the room, barely catching myself before I landed on a carpet that had some seriously questionable stains. The girls barely blinked, but my sudden appearance startled a couple of the men.
“Don’t pay attention to her,” a tall blonde said with a smile. “Sometimes the new girls need a…push.”
The girls all dissolved into giggles and went back to groping their prospective marks. Some of the guys still watched me as I shuffled over to the closest chair and started to sit down…and then thought better of it. Just because no one was fucking in here now didn’t mean they hadn’t in the past. I didn’t even want to think about what it would look like if someone brought a black light in here.
“I seen those clothes before.” One of the men pushed himself up from a nearby chair, knocking aside a girl who looked even younger than me. “You a dancer?”
Shit.
I should have guessed that some of the same men who frequented DDD would end up in a place like this.
“No,” I said as I pulled the backpack onto my lap. “I’m a waitress.”
He staggered toward me. “That’s good cuz I want to be served.”
“Jerry, baby, where are you going?” The young-looking one caught the man’s arm, giving him a simpering smile. “You wouldn’t leave me all alone tonight, would you?”
As she steered him back to where he’d been, she glared at me over her shoulder.
“Rule number one, don’t poach.”
I looked up at a curvy brunette who was standing nearby. “I wasn’t…poaching.”
She crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. “New girls get the shit no one else wants. We’ve all done our time, now it’s your turn.”
“I’m not…this isn’t…” I stammered.
“Lacey!” Seleste’s voice snapped the girl to attention. “Get back to work!”
Color flooded the girl’s cheeks, and she scurried back to the men on the couch.
“I’ll take that now,” Seleste said and held out her hand expectantly.
I stood up and gave her the bag. Instead of giving me another of those receipts, however, Seleste pointed at the chair.
“Wait here. I have something for you to take back to Fernando.”
I opened my mouth to ask her why she hadn’t just brought the package in now, but she was already walking away.
“Hey, baby.” A guy appeared from nowhere and grabbed my ass.
“Hands off!” I pushed him away, but he grabbed my wrist.
“No hands off here, babe. I pay, you play. That’s the way it works.”
“I don’t work here,” I said, taking another step back. “I’m just dropping something off to Seleste.” I looked over to where she’d paused in the doorway. “Seleste!”
“You’re not one of my girls,” she said coldly. “And I don’t protect what isn’t mine.”
And then she walked away.
“Guess that means I ain’t gotta pay at all.” The guy leered at me. “Come on, babe, let’s get to know each other better.” I tried to pull free, but he squeezed my wrist until the bones ground against each other. “Don’t be that way.” His voice lost the southern boy charm. “You start being a fuckin’ tease, and I’m gonna stop being so nice.”
“Let me go.” I fought down the panic that welled up inside me. If I started freaking out, things would only get worse.
“I don’t think so.”
He yanked me up against him, and I nearly gagged. He reeked. “I think so.”
Why wasn’t anyone stopping him? I didn’t work here. This wasn’t my job. He couldn’t do this to me.
Except he could, because they’d let him. People didn’t defend girls like me unless they got something out of it, and no one here was getting anything from me. Some of the girls might even be glad it was happening to me and not them.
“You gonna make me hurt you?”
“Hey! Asshole! Let her go!”
Suddenly, Resa was there, shoving herself between the guy and me.
“What are you doing?” one of the girls whispered, fear clear in her voice. “Miss Seleste said she wasn’t gonna help her.”
Resa didn’t even blink. Her eyes were blazing, and she poked the guy in the center of his chest.
“This girl isn’t one of us. You want a fuck, you buy a girl who’s for sale. I’m for sale. Buy me.”
I put my hand on her arm. “I’m okay, Resa.”
She glanced at me, her expression unreadable. “Get out of here, Chey. Go home.”
I hesitated. “Seleste told me to stay.”
The thought of disobeying an order terrified me. As much as I wanted to leave, I was supposed to wait for whatever package Seleste had for Fernando.
“I’ll take care of Seleste,” she said. “Go now.”
I didn’t run, but I sure as hell didn’t walk either. If Fernando was pissed at me for leaving, I’d tell him that Seleste left me to be assaulted. I doubted he’d care, but maybe it’d piss him off at her enough that he wouldn’t get mad at me.
Or maybe Seleste would call him when she realized I left, and he’d come to the apartment. Shit. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I needed to get Austin and get out of the building. But we didn’t have anywhere to go.
My heart was racing as I climbed onto the bus and sat down behind the driver. I needed to slow down and think. By the time I got back home, I needed to have a plan in place. A plan to keep Austin safe.
Twenty-Five
Slade
I couldn’t sleep. When I wasn’t thinking about having sex with Cheyenne, I was thinking about my conversation with my brother about Cheyenne. Jax and I had talked for nearly an hour, but his advice had been simple.
Don’t fuck it up.
Of course, he’d given me all sorts of advice on how to avoid doing that, but that’s what it’d boiled down to.
I didn’t want to fuck it up.
My phone buzzed, and I rolled over to grab it, not even bothering to look at who was calling.
“Hello?”
“Slade?”
I sat up. “Cheyenne? Are you okay?”
She didn’t sound okay, but I didn’t expect her to admit it. “Not really. I hate to ask, but can you come over?”
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m on my way.”
The moment I stepped inside, Cheyenne threw herself at me, and I caught her. I used my foot to push the door closed behind me, and then picked her up. She pressed her face against my chest, and to my shock, I felt her shaking against me.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “I’ve got you.”
“Take me to my room,” she said, her voice muffled.
I carried her down the short hallway, kicking off my shoes before I sat down on the bed. I kissed the top of her head and tightened my arms around her.
“You’re okay,” I said quietly. “You’re safe.”
“I know,” she said as she looked up at me. “That’s why I needed you. You make me safe.”
I bent my head and kissed her. I’d meant it to be a gentle kiss, something to comfort her, but she gripped my shirt, and I could feel her desperation. She shifted in my arms, straddling my lap as she kissed me fiercely, teeth bruising against my lips. I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her, but letting her take the control she needed.
I slid my free hand between us, moving beneath her short skirt. When I slipped my fingers under the elastic band, she made a soft sound, breaking her mouth away from mine.
