His Touch: Pine Grove Book 4

by Hamel, B. B.

  I hear the noise just as I decide to give up on my current hole and try somewhere else. It’s a bang and a creak and I stand completely still. My first thought is that my father’s about to catch me ruining this ancient barn even though the structure is basically rotted away at this point. But that makes no sense, since my father’s dead.

  “Guess you lied.”

  I cringe away from the darkness. I grab the flashlight and point it out from me, waving it around, trying to find the source of the voice.

  It takes me a second to spot him. Rowan leans against the frame of the door, although the door itself is long gone at this point.

  “Please,” I say, the word coming out half strangled.

  He walks over toward me, still wearing the same outfit from earlier. He looks tired but he doesn’t look angry.

  “What are you doing?” he asks.

  “Please,” I say again, not sure what else to do. “I had to.”

  He holds up his hands. “Relax,” he says softly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “You said…” I trail off, trying to remember what he said.

  “I knew you’d make a break for it,” he says. “I figured I’d let you get a taste of life alone for the day. I’ve been following you and I gotta admit, I didn’t expect this.” He nods to the holes I’ve torn in the old barn floor.

  I follow his gaze. “I have to keep digging,” I say and my voice barely feels like my own.

  “You’re still in shock,” he says gently.

  “My dad, he told me a story about the gold my great-grandfather buried here. I need to find it.”

  Rowan makes a grunting sound and stops a few feet away from me, crossing his arms. “You’re digging for gold,” he says flatly.

  “I know it sounds stupid but, please,” I say quickly, almost pleading with him. “My family used to be rich but we lost it all a long time ago, this is supposed to be the last of it.”

  He watches me carefully. “Why do you think it would still be here?”

  “It has to be.”

  “Your father would’ve found it by now.”

  “He was a drunk.”

  “Which means he was desperate.”

  “He was stupid. He was an asshole.”

  “He was desperate,” he repeats gently. “If the gold story were even remotely real, do you think he wouldn’t have tried to dig up this entire farm?”

  I bite my lip and I could feel tears in my eyes. “Please,” I say.

  “Did you even see him digging? Even once? If he thought he could find gold, he would’ve dug day and fucking night until he found it.”

  “I never saw him dig,” I say softly and let the shovel slip from my fingers. “Oh, god. He’s dead.”

  I lean back against the wall and slowly slump down to the floor. I bury my head in my hands and stay there, not crying, not moving, not feeling much of anything.

  Slowly I come back to myself. I can see how insane this is. Coming back here to dig for gold is absolutely insane. Of course the gold was never real. It was just a story my dad told me when I was a little girl to make me happy. Of course it was never real. Rowan’s right, if it has any truth to it, my father would’ve ripped this farm up from the roots to try and find it.

  He crouches down a few feet away and stays silent as I sit there, head whirling, fear and horror running through me.

  I’m alone in this world. I have no parents anymore. I have no education, just a high school diploma. I have no money, no job, no real close friends, no car, no nothing. I have nothing at all and I’m completely alone.

  That’s when the tears finally take me.

  I don’t know how long I cry. Rowan stays there crouching a few feet away but he doesn’t speak and he doesn’t try to comfort me. I cry until I can’t cry anymore and when I’m through, I wipe the tears from my eyes on my dirty sleeve.

  “I get what you’re feeling,” he says gently when I’m done.

  “You don’t know shit,” I snap at him.

  He frowns a little bit. “Not exactly this but something like it happened to me a long time ago.”

  I bite my lip. “You did this to me.”

  “Maybe,” he says. “But if it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else. And I bet someone else would’ve killed you too.”

  I glare at him. “So I should thank you? Oh, thanks for killing my dad.”

  He smiles slightly and I’m struck at how handsome he is all over again.

  “Allie, listen to me. Your father got himself killed. Was he such a good guy that it surprises you?”

  I shake my head slowly. “He was an abusive piece of shit.”

  Rowan nods once and stands up. “That I’m sorry about. I wish someone had killed him sooner.”

  I stare up at him. “You’re an asshole,” I say.

  “No. Your dad was a fucking asshole. He beat you for no reason. You think you deserved that?” He steps toward me.

  I shake my head. “I didn’t deserve it.”

  “Damn right you didn’t. But you know what? Your dad deserved what he got. Hell, he fucking worked for it. He earned it.”

  Rowan stops right in front of me and stares down into my eyes.

  “You didn’t deserve it,” he says gently. “You didn’t deserve seeing him get killed and you don’t deserve this. But I promise I’ll take care of you and get you back up on your feet as soon as I can. Shit, it’s the least I can do.”

  I stare at him, the beautiful monster that murdered my father, and I feel something strange. I don’t know what it is at first, but quickly I start to understand.

  Nobody has been kind to me in a long time. Nobody has given a shit about me at all, not since my mother died, not really. I never imagined that someone would think I deserved better than what I have or even offer to help me. And yet here he is, this beautiful monster, saying he’ll take care of me.

  He reaches a hand out. “Come on,” he says gently.

  I stare at his hand. I know what it means.

  Slowly, I reach out and take it.

  He pulls me to my feet. I stumble forward into his arms, my exhaustion hitting me all over again. He catches me, holding me tight against his huge, muscular body. He looks down at me and I look up at him, at his beautiful face, his perfect lips, that cocky smirk, and I lean forward. I get up on my toes.

  And he kisses me.

  He tastes like flowers and fresh dirt and water from a stream. I let myself fall into the kiss, my heart racing. I don’t have a lot of experience with guys but I do know that this kiss feels and tastes good. Honestly, it tastes right, just right.

  The kiss lingers and slowly breaks off. He lets out a soft growl in the back of his throat and grabs me tight, holding my body close against his.

  “That might’ve been a mistake,” he whispers.

  “Maybe,” I say.

  “But you want to find out, don’t you, girl?”

  I stare up into his eyes but I don’t say a word.

  He lets out another growl. “Come on. You’re covered in dirt. Let’s get you back home.”

  I bite my lip and let him lead me away from the barn, away from the holes, away from the past. I let him lead me out to his truck and to the future, not sure where it’s going, but at least willing to try and find out.

  4

  Rowan

  The girl’s practically asleep when I get her back to the cabin. I have to coax her into showering.

  “You’ll feel better,” I say to her as I turn on the water. She’s slumped up against the vanity staring down at the floor like a zombie.

  “Yeah, I guess.” She sighs and starts to take off her shirt.

  I stare for a little longer than I should. I catch a glimpse of round, firm breasts covered by a black bra. Her stomach’s tight and firm and I feel my cock start to stiffen as she unhooks the bra.

  I raise an eyebrow as she pulls down her pants. Her breasts are firm and her nipples are pink and fucking shit, she has a perfect body. I’ve fucked
plenty of women in my time, it was a perk of working for the crime syndicates back in the city. But this girl, she’s something fucking special.

  She slips past me, stepping out of her pants. I back off and turn away just as she takes off her panties and steps behind the curtain

  I’m goddamn hard and I can hear her washing herself. I want to get in there and taste her and feel her tight little body in my hands but I hold back. The girl’s still fucked from what happened last night and probably in some kind of shock. Taking her right now would be like fucking some drunk chick and that’s not my style.

  I prefer them begging, not passed out.

  I leave the bathroom and get a drink. The whiskey tastes good and I let out a little frustrated growl. I should get back in there and rip down the shower curtain. I should lick that cunt and fuck her rough until she’s screaming my goddamn name. I should show her what it’s like to take a real man’s cock between her legs.

  But fuck. I killed her dad last night. I have to go easy on her, at least for now.

  She finishes showering and I catch a glimpse of her wrapped in a towel moving from the bathroom to her bedroom. I follow her, standing in her doorway. She looks up at me as she picks out some clothes from her bag and puts them on the bed.

  “Go to sleep,” I grunt at her. “You need some rest.”

  She shrugs a little and lets the towel slide off her body. I growl low in my throat as she bends over to put on the shorts she picked out.

  Fuck this. I can’t stand it anymore. I walk into the room and stop behind her, rolling my hand through her wet hair and pulling her back against me.

  She lets out a soft moan, rubbing her ass against my cock. Damn right she was trying to tease me. Fuck, I try to go easy on the girl but she’s not making this simple.

  I kiss her neck and tease her breasts with my other hand. I keep her hair wrapped around my fist, pulling it tight, just to let her know that I’m in fucking control now. She moans as my hand moves down her stomach and between her legs.

  I let out a growl of my own. She’s fucking dripping wet. “You were thinking about this in that shower, weren’t you?” I whisper in her ear.

  She lets out a soft gasp as I spread her lips and tease her, rolling my fingers up and down to press against her clit.

  “No,” she whispers. “I should hate you.”

  “Maybe,” I reply. “But you fucking want me anyway.”

  She moans as I slide my fingers in her slick pussy. God damn, she’s dripping wet like honey, warm and tight and fucking inviting. I roll my fingers back and rub her clit again, making her moan, making her rub her ass against my stiff-as-fuck cock.

  “You’re dripping down my fingers, girl,” I growl in her ear. “You’re barely controlling yourself right now. You want my fat cock between your legs, don’t you?”

  “God,” she moans. “I can’t.”

  “You dirty fucking girl.” I turn her around and push her down onto the bed. She stares at me, her pussy soaking slick and dripping down her thighs as I kneel down in front of her. She moans when I pull her closer and bury my mouth between her legs.

  I suck and lick her pussy, working her clit. Maybe I can’t bring myself to fuck the girl just yet but at least I can give her what she wants. She grabs onto my hair as I lick her faster, teeth and tongue sucking at her clit, tasting her tight little nub.

  She rolls her hips. I love her taste and I’m so hard I’m worried I might rip out from my fucking jeans. I lick her delicious cunt faster, tasting every inch of her. I slide my tongue inside and pull back out to lick her clit as I press two fingers nice and deep.

  That makes her back arch. She lets out this low sexy fucking groan. I slide my fingers in deeper, tonguing and sucking her clit faster, driving her wild.

  I bet the girl’s never had a man suck her pussy like this before. She tastes like goddamn heaven and I know she’d feel even better with these tight lips gripped around my hard shaft. I want to feel her ass slapping up against me as I fuck her hard from behind. I want to see every muscle tense as she takes my huge cock for the first time.

  For now I’ll taste her and let her come on my tongue. I fuck her pussy faster with my fingers, my skilled fucking fingers. I roll them along her inside and lick her clit faster, tasting her and licking and sucking. Fuck, she’s dripping, soaked to the core now and rolling her hips and moaning like she can’t get enough.

  “Dirty fucking girl,” I growl, fucking her fast with my fingers. “You want the big killer’s cock, don’t you? You want to taste my big fat cock between your pretty little lips.”

  “Oh, god, yes,” she moans. “I’ll suck you and swallow every drop. You can come on my pretty lips.”

  I let out a growl and go back to licking her faster. She’s rocking her hips and grabbing my hair and I know she’s fucking close. I lick and suck and fuck her with my fingers and god damn, I can barely take it.

  Her back arches and her body tenses. She lets out this animalistic low moan and I can taste it as she comes. I fuck her with my fingers through it, sliding them faster and harder as I tongue her clit. She comes hard, fingers gripping my hair and I can barely fucking handle how sexy her body is as she tenses and moans and shivers.

  I slow it down as she finishes. When I’m done, I stand and pull her up to sitting. I put my fingers against her lips.

  “Lick them clean,” I growl at her. “Right now.”

  She does as I command, sucking her pussy off my fingers. When she’s done, I kiss her slow and deep, making sure she tastes every drop of her own juice still left on my lips.

  When I’m done, I push her back on the bed. She collapses there with a sigh and a groan.

  “Go to sleep,” I tell her. “You’re going to need your rest.”

  I leave her room, shutting the light off as I go. I slam her door shut and have to stand there for a few minutes, breathing deep and thinking about her father’s corpse on the floor before my cock finally starts to soften.

  Fucking hell, that girl. She’s going to be trouble. Hell, she’s already trouble.

  I head back out into the kitchen and knock back another whiskey, thinking about her taste and what I’m going to do to her the whole time. Just as I decide to get some sleep myself, my phone starts to ring.

  I almost don’t answer but I recognize the number. Just before it goes to voicemail, I decide to pick up.

  “Yeah?” I grunt.

  “Rowan.” The voice is friendly and sounds almost excited to hear me. “How the hell are you?”

  “I’m okay, Fish,” I say.

  “Good to hear it, good to hear it. I spoke with Ray recently about you. He had some very interesting things to say.”

  I grunt in response, not ready to commit myself. I’ve been expecting this call but I figured I’d have more time. I didn’t think Fish would come for me this soon. I guessed he’d let me stew a bit before pushing me for more work. Besides, I didn’t think he wanted that many people dead. I pegged Fish as the kind of boss to only deal in violence when necessary.

  I might’ve pegged him wrong.

  “He says you didn’t do a good job,” Fish continues. “Oh, he says the bastard’s finished, but that you left something behind.”

  “Ray doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

  “That’s probably true,” Fish says kindly, almost with a laugh. “Still, I am a touch worried about this.”

  “Don’t be. It’ll look like a suicide.”

  “Suicide,” Dean says almost wistfully. “If only that were something us humans didn’t do. Why would God install a self-destruct button?” He laughs gently at his own weird joke.

  “What can I do for you, Fish? As far as I’m concerned, we’re square.”

  “Not so fast now,” Fish says, his tone getting less friendly by the second. “You did the job as promised, but you didn’t do it all the way. I wanted that body gone, Rowan, and it’s very much not gone.”

  I have to resist the urge to curse him out. I�
�ve never gotten rid of bodies, never in my entire time as a killer, and I’ve left more than a few in my wake.

  “So that’s your excuse to push me for more work, huh?” I say to him angrily. I now I should be a little more circumspect about this but shit, I can’t help myself.

  “Now, now,” Fish says. “I’m not unreasonable. We’ll do this. I have another job, and if you complete it, we’re all set. How’s that sound?”

  “It sounds like you’re going back on our original deal and I have no reason to think you won’t keep going back.”

  Fish laughs but it has an edge to it now.

  “You’re not wrong,” he says. “But here’s the problem. I’m the one that can kill you at any time. You think you’re the only muscle I have, Rowan? You’re just a useful tool and if you prove to be more hassle than you’re worth, I’ll simply dispose of you.”

  I sigh softly. I’ve dealt with lots of crime bosses, lots of scary motherfuckers, and I’ve found that the ones with real power and strength aren’t the ones that make open threats like that. Still, I know what Fish commands and I know he has more money than he knows what to do with. He can make my life really, really hard if I let him.

  “What’s the job?” I ask finally.

  “That’s the spirit,” he says. “I’ll text you a name and an address, just like last time.”

  “I want more than that,” I say.

  “More? You want to know why I want him dead?”

  “For starters.”

  Fish laughs again. “This one stole from me. There are a lot of lowlifes in Pine Grove, Rowan, as you’ll find out. And lots of them need killing. So, watch your phone.”

  “Fish—”

  But he hangs up on me before I can press for more. I grip my phone and have the urge to smash it, but instead I place it gently down on the counter. I stare at it for a few minutes until it finally buzzes with a text from Fish.

  Andrew Peel

  The name of my next hit. The next man I have to murder.

  I want out of this life but I’ve gotten myself sucked back in. As far as I can tell, Fish is going to keep me for as long as he can.