“I won’t. But only if you promise to let me in.”
He smiled wistfully, clasping her hand between his. “That’s the hard shit.”
“I’ll let you in if you let me in.”
Bo dragged his gaze up to meet hers. The swirling, vibrant green of her eyes held him captive. “You go first.”
Dakota hesitated, but opened her mouth to speak. “I’ll tell you the real reason I came to L.A.”
“Tell me.”
“I was escaping a past relationship. I don’t have a stellar history, like it seems you might not either. And my last boyfriend was, well…taken. By someone else. He was actually my college art professor, and we’d been dating in secret for over a year. By the time I graduated and wanted to make things legit, I found out he’d been engaged to a former student practically the entire time.”
Bo blinked a few times, squeezing her hand in his. “He was your college professor?”
“Yeah. Was one of my most influential professors too. I guess eventually my adoration for his knowledge and skill eventually morphed into lust and…whatever. It kind of blinded me.” She pinched her eyes shut for a second. “I don’t ever want to be blinded again, Bo. I won’t be. No man is worth that, especially when it ends up in heart break.”
Bo gritted his teeth, wishing he could snag that professor by the collar and put his head into the wall. “I know it, darlin’. You deserve a million times better than that loser.”
“If anything, he showed me that I don’t want to live in someone else’s shadow…or under some guy’s fucking delusions.” She tutted, shaking her head. “I mean, what a dumbass, to think that the situation could have ever ended well? That he could’ve had it all?”
Bo brought her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss there.
Dakota relaxed a little—maybe his kisses had that effect. She nudged him. “Now you.”
Bo studied the ground, trying to find the best way to say it. He didn’t like diving into this territory. It hurt too damn much. “I don’t like to get close to people.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll get hurt.”
Dakota softened, running her thumb over his knuckles. “How do you know?”
“Because that’s all that’s ever happened. I know we come from different worlds and all, so maybe that means I can learn something from you. But any other girl I’ve let in, she’s slashed my heart. And everyone else has their own way of hurting too. My little brother is disabled for the rest of his life because of me, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him and feel guilty.”
Dakota’s hand stroked his back, a pleasing rhythm. “What happened to him?”
“He was trying to stop a robber at a gas station. He was mimicking the type of shit I’d tell him about here with the club. Standing up for your brothers, doing the best good possible, all that shit. But the guy clipped him in the spine with his gun, knocked out some nerves that handle walking and all that shit. He’s in a wheelchair.”
Dakota covered her mouth. “You couldn’t have controlled that.”
“He hasn’t spoken to me in five years.” Bo rubbed at his face, trying to wipe away from of the residual hurt that pooled like rainwater after a storm. “And I hate how much that hurts.”
“He’s your brother. Of course it hurts.”
“So why should I let more people have that power?” He grabbed for her hand again, needing to feel her warmth, her silky grip. “It ends bad.”
“Are you telling me you don’t want to let me in that far?” She nuzzled the side of his neck. “Because I want to go as deep with you as possible. Even though it makes so little sense.” She chuckled softly, biting at his earlobe, sending a thrill of desire through him.
“Darlin’, what I want with you doesn’t make any damn sense either.” He turned to her, scooping her into his arms, pulling her onto his lap. “But you’re the only one I want to try with. Even though it might hurt.”
She nibbled on his other earlobe, arms linked around his neck. “That’s how I feel too.”
He grinned, cinching her closer. “Sounds like we’re on the same page then.”
“But you can’t act like a raging jealous freak,” she warned, pulling back a little to give him a stern look. “That shit’s not okay.”
Bo rested his forehead against hers. “All I can do is try to do better.”
She kissed the tip of his nose. “Good. I think that’ll be just fine then.”
CHAPTER TWELVE Bo flipped her over onto her back, pushing her back onto the bed. Dakota threw her arms over her head, grinning up at him as he straddled her on the bed, his knees pressing into the mattress on either side of her.
“Can we have make-up sex now?” His tone was joking but his eyes were tender, like the emotional spill-over from before had softened him all over, made him porous and vulnerable.
“We fucking better.” She hooked her arms around his neck, letting her legs fall open as he eased himself down. He winced a little, which she knew had to be a strain on the still-healing wound. He buried his face in her breasts, dragging his tongue up the exposed valley of her cleavage.
When his lips met hers a desperate kiss emerged, one that made her heart clench. They kissed until no air remained in her lungs, and she pulled away from him, drawing shaky breaths.
“Fuck.” He pushed back onto his heels, tugging his t-shirt over his head. “You keep kissing me like that and I’ll never be able to let you go.”
She smirked, smoothing her hands over the newly exposed hard planes of his chest. “Is that a promise or a threat?”
“A promise, darlin’.” He unbuckled his belt, then stepped off the bed to push his pants off. He stood before her fully naked, his gaze skimming her like he was looking at a work of art.
Bo slid his hands up the sides of her legs, up to the button of her jeans. He popped it and then slid her pants down slowly, kissing the skin that was revealed, down her thighs, over her kneecaps and shins, all the way to the tops of her feet. He tossed the jeans and panties aside, easing back on top of her. She tugged her shirt off while he kissed around her mons, dragging his tongue up to her belly button, making a teasingly complex trail.
“Come on, Bo.” She wiggled beneath him, need making a dense coil inside. She might burst if she didn’t get it, which was a little frightening since she’d been getting it on the regular from him, which only made her need it more , not less.
His kisses skipped up to her breasts, taking each rosy nipple between his lips in turn. “Impatient.”
“I know what I want.” She pressed her hands to his low back, their bodies forming a hot seal. “And it’s you.”
He leaned onto one side so he could take her chin between his thumb and forefinger, a heartbreakingly boyish smile on his face. “Is that so?”
She nodded, loving the connection that zipped between them when they were on like this. “Mm-hmm. A million percent.”
He dropped his lips to hers and they kissed softly, his tongue pressing in hot and slow, their kisses so deep it almost made her cry. When they broke for air, she had tears in her eyes, but hell if she knew why. Bo must have noticed because he kissed her eyelids, feather light.
“I’m not gonna hurt you like he did,” Bo whispered, kisses skipping down the ridge of her nose.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, but I could feel it.”
Dakota smirked, locking her ankles behind him. “Then we have a problem, because this just went from level three to level ten.”
“I like level ten,” Bo murmured, wiggling his hips into place. His cock slid into the slick groove of her pussy and she gasped at its heat. He always felt so good, in a way that no other boyfriend or temporary lover ever had. There were a slew of things about this guy that just didn’t make sense on the surface…but once she stopped trying to rationalize it all, there was nothing that made more sense.
“Yeah, me too.” Her breath hitched as he moved against
her, his cockhead seeking her opening. It pushed at her entrance and she arched slightly, to welcome him in. “We’re pretty good at going deep right away.”
His soft chuckle at her ear made goosebumps ignite all over her body. “And I go deep.”
Bo pushed himself inside her, deliciously slow, a groan escaping him as he went deeper. She dug her fingernails into his low back as her pussy stretched to take him, all of him, as deep as he could go. Once he’d buried himself, she let out a whimper as stars flitted behind her eyelids, the dull roar of pleasure filling her ears. Bo began a slow rhythm, one that made tears prick her eyes immediately, like they weren’t just fucking but he was also giving something away, something tucked deep inside him. His eyes locked onto hers like he worried she might blink out of existence otherwise.
“Bo.” Her voice came out breathy. She knotted her fingers into his hair, mesmerized by the swirl of emotions in his eyes. “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t, darlin’.” He brushed his lips against hers, thrusting into her. “I won’t ever.”
She grinned lazily, loving the fullness, the heat, the sense of security with Bo wrapped around her, taking her slow and sweet like this. “Is that a promise or a threat?”
He laughed a little, grunting as he thrusted. “A promise. Always a promise.”
Bo wrapped an arm around her, mashing her breasts into his chest as he thrust again and again. Dakota locked her ankles behind his back, gasping with each deep, meaningful thrust, until finally the dam spilled over and rivulets of pleasure began trickling through her.
She clutched at his shoulders, digging her fingernails into the muscly terrain. “Bo, I’m close.”
He groaned and thrust harder, faster, their groins colliding hot and hard. The extra friction pushed her over the edge and she stilled, thighs tensing, mouth caught open like she might scream but no sound came out. Bo buried his face in her neck as the tidal wave built and then burst, warmth prickling through her limbs over and over again, coating her entire body in bliss.
Bo’s movements got quicker until he finally stilled against her, groaning into her shoulders, abs flinching as he came.
After the bliss subsided, they lay there for a while, saying nothing.
Dakota stroked the nape of his neck, eyes drifting shut, feeling a lot like she’d found a place that felt right in the world.
Bo pushed off of her later, but it startled her awake. Maybe they’d been there for hours like that, even though the idea of him sleeping on top of her like dead weight didn’t seem possible. The man was a hunk of muscle, surely it hadn’t been that long.
Bo reached for his phone on the bedside stand and swore. “I’m late.”
Dakota rolled onto her side, curling up into a ball as she watched him get ready. “Late for what?”
“There’s a mission.” Bo didn’t look at her while he hunted for his clothes. “A little thing we gotta do tonight.”
Dakota pushed up onto an arm, arching a brow. “What?”
He looked over at her, seeming confused by her confusion. “What?”
“You’re not supposed to leave. You’ve been saying this since we’ve gotten here.”
“I know, but things change.” Bo tugged a plain white t-shirt over his head, followed by a black zip-up jacket. From the looks of it, he was going into full robber mode. “It’s part of what we went over today in the meeting. I gotta do some surveillance...there’s been a breach.”
“Is that why you’re going at night?”
“Exactly. It won’t be a problem, I’ll keep myself hidden.” Bo smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “And that’s a promise too.”
“But what if something happens to you?” She frowned as he continued loading his backpack. “Why don’t you just stay here and let the others go?”
He sighed tersely, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. “It’s not that simple…and I don’t know how to explain it to you.”
Dakota picked at a stray fiber on the bedspread. “So what should I do? Am I allowed to go back out there with the guys?”
“Oh come on.”
“I mean, you won’t get back and get jealous, right?” She hopped to her feet, slinging her arms around his waist from behind as he loaded up an over-the-shoulder gun holster hidden by his sweatshirt.
Bo sighed, turning to face her, cupping her face in his rough hands. “I’m working on that. You just hang out here and stay comfortable. I’ll be back in a few hours. Maybe early morning at the latest.”
She sighed, burying her face in his chest. The thought of something happening to him thundered through her, leaving her wobbly and nervous, like she hadn’t eaten in days. And the fact that she cared so much, after so little time, was even more unnerving.
Dakota laid back on the bed, tugging the sheet over her naked body to fight the chill that overcame her. She watched as Bo packed another gun into the back of his jeans, and then a knife into the side of his boot.
“Damn.” She wrapped the sheet around her tighter. “Got enough weapons?”
“I like to be prepared.” He grinned at her, mischievous yet sweet, zipping up his black hoodie. “Because nobody’s gonna get the better of me, darlin’. That’s what you don’t know about me yet. I play the game, but I play it smart.”
She sighed, a lazy smile crossing her face. “Well when you put it like that.”
He came over to the bed, leaning over her to press a kiss to her forehead. “Get some dinner, and hang out, or whatever you want.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Go finish Jerry’s tattoo.”
“Oh, now it’s okay, after we fucked,” Dakota cracked, unable to help the grin crossing her face. She nuzzled her nose against his. “I’ll keep that in mind. You just get angry as an excuse for sex.”
“Hey.” He grabbed her chin between his fingers, laughing a little. “I don’t need your sass.”
They kissed again, more tender than any kiss before it, one that made her chest tighten. When he pulled away he looked frazzled.
“You make it hard to leave,” he murmured, smoothing his hands over the back of her neck.
“That’s my job.” She pinched his cheek. “Come back soon, okay?”
He brushed his lips over her forehead. “Promise. See you later, darlin’.”
He squeezed her hip through the sheet and stood, grabbing for his backpack. He paused in the doorway, making a kissy face at her, then stepped outside, pulling the door shut. The silence bloated in the bedroom without him and Dakota lay staring at the ceiling, blinking while thoughts roiled through her head.
Part of her was upset that she was so scared for him. What if he didn’t come back? What if he got hurt…where would that leave her?
But another, deeper part was glad for the worry. It meant she could feel something again, after the brutal shattering back in Las Vegas. And if she was honest with herself, deeply honest in a way that almost hurt, she wanted to feel the knots associated with love again. Her ex might have broken her heart, but he didn’t kill it. And the thought that there still might be love out there for her—real love, the kind that didn’t hide or lie—made her entire body buzz with anticipation.
Bo was the opposite of what she might have imagined for herself...but maybe that’s how real love worked. Her professor had been the paragon of her ideal soul mate—studied, successful, an artist, thoughtful—but that certainly hadn’t gotten her far.
Maybe it was time to throw the book out and just follow what felt right.
And Bo felt right.
Hunger gnawed at her, so she slipped out of bed and got dressed, eager to eat some of those Thai leftovers in the fridge. Out in the main area, a heated pool competition took place, as well as plenty of revelry and loud music. But a lot of the brothers were missing—probably out on that surveillance mission—and the clubhouse felt strangely empty without their big, confident presence.
Dakota smiled at a few of the guys she recognized—mostly friends and family of the club brothers. Across the
room a Blonde Angel sat spread eagle on a stool, cheering on the pool game. Her shoulders tightened—that girl had eyed Bo plenty, practically fucking him with her eyes every time he was in the same room, and it reminded her of the darker thoughts that pressed at the edges of her mind. Was Bo really telling the truth? Or was he just jealous because he was like every other guy out there…secretly fucking around behind her back?
She pushed into the kitchen, frowning as she rummaged for the leftovers. She crossed her arms, staring at the countertop as it reheated in the microwave. Have they fucked? Would Bo even tell you? How can you trust a man who looks like that?
HITMAN’S SURPRISE BABY Page 26
