Sly

by Jayne Blue

  “I hired you to do a job. I gave you a hefty down payment in good faith. You’re going to finish the job.”

  “Did you not listen to a fucking word I said? Your plan is going to end up backfiring on you. Now, I don’t give a shit. I’ll collect my money and you’ll never see me again. But I like you Kagan. You remind me of somebody I used to know.”

  “I hired you to bring me a dead wolf. And that’s what you’re going to bring me.”

  My fingers tingled where he cut off the blood flow, but I kept my eyes locked with his.

  “Change of plans.” His voice was little more than a hiss through his clenched teeth. “Reddick. You’re going to kill Reddick.”

  My heart thundered in my throat. I’d played my hand too well. It was bold and brilliant and six weeks ago, I could have appreciated the beauty of it. If all the shit I fed him about Great Wolves disharmony were as true as I’d just convinced him. Take out Colt. The club blames Sly for not keeping a lid on things. They could eat him alive.

  “If that’s the way you want to play it,” I said.

  He smiled and finally loosened his grip on my wrist. Slowly, I pulled my arm back and rested it on the table. The bones ached and throbbed but still, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he could hurt me.

  “Yeah. That’s how we’re going to play it. And you’re going to speed up your timetable. If Reddick is about to make you, you need to get this done. Twenty-four hours. Jinx will reach out to you to tell you where to make the drop.”

  “The drop?”

  Kagan sat back and smiled. He picked now to cut into the stack of waffles I’d put in front of him. “I’m going to need proof. You bring me a dead wolf, you get the rest of your money.”

  “That’s . . .”

  Kagan lifted a hand, cutting me off. “Don’t tell me it’s not how you work. You work for me. You work how I tell you.” He stuffed his face with a forkful and raised his brow in appreciation.

  “I told you,” I said, sliding out of the booth. The Hawks at the bar watched me but didn’t make a move toward me. “Stack of heaven.” I threw a twenty on the table. “And I haven’t lied to you yet.”

  Before Kagan could finish chewing, I turned and left, trying to remember to put one foot in front of the other.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Twenty-four hours. It was a lifeline and a death sentence. I’d saved Sly’s life at the cost of either my own or Colt Reddick’s.

  I weighed my options. I could skip town, go into the wind. I’d planned for this a thousand times before. I started building an escape pod for my life the day after my brother Mickey died in my arms. I had enough money in an offshore account to last me for a few years if I was careful. I had a fake passport and the means to disappear. It might even be easy. I could start over.

  But if I left, Sly might die anyway. Kagan wasn’t going to abandon his plan to take down the Great Wolves. Colt would be dead. Maybe Sly too. The cold reality was, I didn’t think I could live with that. Sly mattered to me.

  I loved him.

  “Fuck!” I screamed into the wind and thumped my steering wheel. My wrist still throbbed where Kagan had crushed it.

  The idea of never seeing Sly again ripped a hole in me. I’d been alone my whole life, it seemed. He made me feel things I thought would never apply to me. It was like my heart started beating for the first time when he touched me.

  This wasn’t supposed to happen. If I’d just shot him in the shower the first night I had the chance, things would be so much simpler.

  My phone vibrated on the seat next to me. I looked down. It was Sly. I’d promised to call him and that deadline passed several hours ago. I pressed the accelerator and headed out toward the bluffs. The easiest thing to do would be to keep on going. Take the freeway north, cross into Oregon and keep heading for the border.

  I screeched to a halt when I reached the turn-off. My heart thundered in my ears. I’d done all I could do. Hadn’t I? I’d taken the mark off Sly’s head. For the moment at least, he was safe. Colt was another matter but I didn’t have the same feelings for him. He wasn’t my problem.

  Except he mattered very much to Sly. Losing Colt would be like losing a brother. And Sly had lost as many people close to him as I had.

  “Fuck!” I slammed my hands against the seat then pressed my forehead against the steering wheel, blaring the horn.

  My other option would be to just Thelma and Louise it off the cliff here. It would be a hell of a lot less painful than what would happen if Kagan got the word out I’d reneged on a job. It would be the end of me. I’d be marked for the rest of my complicated life.

  A full moon rose high, illuminating the mountains. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go, actually. Sly told me the club members all fantasized about going out in their own blaze of glory over the cliff and down into the Great Wolf River. If Lewis had been even slightly more confident, Sly himself would have got his wish.

  I took a deep breath of the cool mountain air and closed my eyes. I let my heart settle back into my chest. One breath. Two. Three. When I opened my eyes, I knew what I had to do.

  I turned my car around and drove as fast as I could.

  ***

  Sly’s loaner bike and the Hummer were in the driveway as I pulled up to his house. I sighed with relief. There was still time. Not much, but hopefully all I would need.

  Sly came to the door as I swung it open. Worry lines creased his face and his eyes brightened when he saw me. I had a thousand things I’d planned to say, but as he stood there in front of me shirtless, his eyes shining in the dark, I went to him.

  I threw my arms around him, letting my hands play over his solid biceps. His muscles twitched at my touch and he brought his arms up around me, pulling me close. He bent his head to kiss me. As I pressed my body against him, I knew I belonged here. With him. To him.

  “Sly.” My voice came out choked with raw emotion. His eyes flashed with questions. He’d known me such a short time, but he could already read my moods. He knew something was wrong. Deadly wrong.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  I took him by the hand and led him into the bedroom. It would be so easy just to throw myself at him and let the feel of his body wash away everything that had happened today.

  I sat on the edge of the bed and he joined me. I had to tell him . . . something. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the full truth.

  “Sly.” I started again. “Do you trust me?” I hadn’t planned what I was going to say next. But with Sly standing right in front of me, looking at me with tenderness and concern, the urge to run and leave all of this behind overpowered me. In that moment, I couldn’t imagine living even a single moment without him, even though I knew I didn’t deserve it. What right did I have to try and steal something good and normal after all the things I’d done?

  He pulled his head back a little, his thick blond brow knit with worry. “What’s going on?”

  “I need to ask you to do something. And I can’t explain all of it right now.”

  “What is it?” He turned to face me, running a soft hand along the line of my jaw. He tilted my face toward his.

  “I want you to come away with me. I want us to get the hell out of Green Bluff and go far away. I know a place. It’s beautiful. Sun. Sand. Beach as far as the eye can see. No Wi-Fi. I want to take you there.”

  He leaned down to kiss me. I felt his strong pulse beat as I slid my hand to the back of his neck. He was warm and strong and mine. I wanted to feel this way forever. I ran my hands over the hard muscles of his chest, trailed a finger over the intricate lines of his ink. I traced the black head of the wolf tattoo he bore over his left pec. He shuddered as my fingers found the puckered, circular scars where his uncle had burned and tortured him. I bent down and kissed each one of those scars. While I wanted to erase the pain and memories he’d suffered, I was grateful for the strong, loyal man he had become in spite of them.

  “Sure, baby,” he said, running his hand o
ver the crown of my head. “We can take off for a while. Just give me a few days to settle some things. It’s not good for both Dex and me to be in the wind at the same time. Let me get an ETA on when he’s coming back.”

  “I don’t care about Dex!” The emotions I’d been trying to hide came bubbling to the surface. I can’t imagine what I must have looked like to him. My fingers trembled where I held them against his neck. I tried to take a breath and make my expression normal but it was too late.

  “Scarlett, what’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble? Just tell me what it is. I’ll take care of it.”

  I smiled and moved off the bed. I stood at the huge glass window overlooking the mountain view. He came behind me and slid his arms around me. I cocked my head to the side as he kissed my neck.

  “Your pulse is racing. What the hell is going on?”

  I turned in his arm. I felt overcome with a desperate need. The need for Sly. Now. Knowing it would probably be the last time. One way or another, he’d find out who I really was. Then I’d never be able to hold onto him.

  He searched my face for answers. I clung to him, hungry for a different kind of satisfaction. My kisses grew more urgent. I slid my hands from around his neck and fumbled with the buttons on his jeans.

  “Baby,” he mumbled against my ear. But his own need was growing as urgent as mine. His erection sprang free as I unzipped his pants. Before he could ask me another question, I sank to my knees in front of him.

  This was simple. This was good. A pulse throbbed between my legs as I took Sly in my mouth. He tasted so good. I looked up at him. He threaded his fingers through my hair, urging me on as I sucked and lapped at his thick cock.

  “Fuck,” he whispered.

  I pulled his pants down until they wadded around his knees. I took a break, just long enough to slide out of my own jeans and throw my shirt off. Sly reached down and dragged my bra straps over my shoulders. My breasts popped out of the cups and pushed up toward him. He squeezed my nipples gently as I settled my mouth around him again.

  “Scarlett,” he groaned. Then the room fell quiet except for the sounds of my tongue and throat as I serviced him. He grew long and hard, nearly gagging me. I wanted him to. I wanted to shut out everything but the feel of him, the taste of him. I wanted to drive out that look of worry and questions in his eyes.

  I slid a hand down between my legs to feel my own throbbing wetness. I was soaked and swollen. I stroked myself as I brought Sly to his own edge. His hands grew tighter around my head as he struggled to maintain control. But I didn’t want him to. I wanted him reckless and wild, a slave to my desires.

  And he was.

  I brought my hands up and clamped them hard on his solid buttocks. I wouldn’t let go and I meant for him to give me exactly what I wanted. Sly’s knees buckled just before he finally let go. I flicked my eyes upward, meeting his. His nostrils flared as his breath came heavy. He was about to lose control in me. A rush of heat went straight between my legs. I put my hands down and went on all fours before him, never breaking suction or eye contact. Sly groaned and shuddered. Then he lost the last bit of control he had, spilling his seed for me and I took it all. Every last drop.

  As he bucked and thrust I showed him no mercy. I sucked as hard as I could. His toes dug into the carpet as he crested down. My own urge rose higher. Finally, Sly could take no more. He staggered backward, looking at me with admiration and lust as I knelt before him, my back arched, eyes blazing and the taste of him still on my lips.

  “Come here.” He choked his words out and held his hands out and helped me to my feet. Unhooking my bra, he let it fall to the ground. He started to sink to his knees to offer me the same treatment but I stopped him. I wanted a different kind of release.

  “Not like that,” I whispered. “I can’t wait.”

  I stepped around him and went to the bed. I crawled on top on all fours and sank down until my chin rested on my hands. I arched my back and offered myself to him. Sly let out a noise that was part wolfish growl and I had a fleeting thought that his uncle had named his club aptly.

  Then my wolf grabbed me by the hips and drove himself home.

  I cried out as he reached around and fingered my poor, swollen clit, coaxing me to a quick and deep orgasm. As he pounded into me from behind, I braced myself, curling my fingers into the bedsheets. Sly was long and hard and he filled me completely. I felt every inch of him as he fucked me in just the way I wanted. It felt dirty and primal and suited my mood.

  Take me. Own me. Don’t say pretty things.

  This wasn’t a time for romance. It was a time for him to wring my pleasure from me. He thrust into me strong and hard. He set a punishing rhythm and I cried out from pleasure and pain. I wanted him rough and feral. It’s what we were, after all. I wanted his darkness. He took mine. When I came, I screamed out his name. “Sly!” He was beautiful. He was mine. If only for tonight.

  When we were both spent, he collapsed against me. I found the strength to wrap my spaghetti arms around him. We were drenched in sweat and each other. He wrapped the sheets around me and pulled me against him.

  “I think I love you,” he whispered and my heart stopped. When he kissed me, it started beating again. I wanted the light again, even if it was only for right now.

  “When do you think you might be sure?” I said.

  He smiled and that dimple undid me, just like the first time I saw it. Sly swatted me on the ass. “Maybe two or three more times like that and you’ll convince me.”

  “Oh.” I tweaked his nose. “You’re saying you only love me for my body.”

  A mischievous twinkle came into his eyes. “I really love your mouth too. Does that count?”

  I swatted his ass right back. “Come here.” He did.

  “Yes,” he said as he started a trail of kisses along my hairline, down my throat and settled between my breasts.

  “Yes what?”

  He picked his head up and looked me in the eye. “Yes. I’ll go wherever you want. Whenever you want.”

  My heart raced for a few beats then seemed to stop. He couldn’t be saying this. I couldn’t want this. The more he loved me now, the more he would hate me. “Do you really mean that?” I shouldn’t ask. It was selfish.

  He nodded. “Hell, yes. I know a good thing when I find one.”

  I leaned down to kiss him again. And for the first time since Sly Cullinan came into my life, I started to tell him the truth.

  “I love you, baby,” I said. The words stung my throat. I prayed he’d still believe me when the whole truth came out.

  He rested his head between my breasts and I smoothed his hair away from his face.

  “Just promise me we’re taking a trip someplace warm,” he said, his voice growing heavy as he began to fall asleep.

  “Deal,” I whispered, trying to let myself believe it could be possible. My eyes welled with tears. I turned my head to make sure he’d never see. Then he settled against me and started to snore.

  I adjusted my body beneath him so I didn’t have the full sleeping weight of Sly Cullinan on me all through the night. He mumbled something but didn’t wake up. I nuzzled against him and let sleep come for me as well. And for the first time in a long time, I slept soundly.

  I didn’t mean to sleep through the night but somehow I did. Sunlight poured in with stabbing brightness. I shielded my eyes with my arm and turned to wake Sly. But the space beside me was empty.

  “Sly?”

  I checked my phone. It was past ten o’clock. Shit. I hadn’t slept that long since I was a kid. I threw the covers off and padded over to the bathroom. My clothes were somewhere but it was going to take some looking to figure out where they’d landed. The memory of how they got there made me smile and blush.

  “Baby?”

  I checked the bathroom but it was empty. I headed out to the other room but Sly was nowhere. My heart started to thump in my chest. My brain seemed to split into two halves. There was the part of me that cou
ld see the oncoming train and the part of me that seemed paralyzed to move out of the way of it. Like if I could pretend everything was fine for the next few minutes, then it would be.

  I needed Sly with me. Kagan was out there. He was after Colt now, but that didn’t mean Sly couldn’t still be in danger.

  “Sly?” I went back in the bedroom and threw the bedsheet around me. I grabbed my purse and pulled out my Glock. Then I went to the front door. Sly’s Hummer was gone.

  Shit. I closed the door and pressed my back to it. Then I sunk to the floor and pressed the butt of my gun against my forehead. Shit. Shit.

  I ran to the bedroom and found my clothes. Once I found my phone I called him. It went straight to voicemail. Something had happened. Something bad. He didn’t wake me. He didn’t leave a note. Either Kagan had changed or accelerated his plans, or Sly had a reason to not want me to follow him.

  Every scenario that made him leave without telling me ended with the pain I’d been hoping to avoid. All of the things I knew in my heart last night were about to come true.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sly

  I raced to the Den, breaking every speed limit on the way. Colt’s text stabbed fear through my heart. It had read simply, “Den - 911.” It was the code we’d established in case something very bad happened very fast. My mind raced with the dozens of things that could rain shit down on our heads.

  Had something happened to one of the guys? Had someone come after Dex, wherever he was?

  “Fuck!” I slammed my fist against the steering wheel. First order of business next week would be to light a fire under Benny’s ass about the bike I’d custom ordered. The Hummer didn’t suit me. And, if we needed to ride out of town, I needed to take the lead.

  I screeched to a halt in front of the Den. Whatever the emergency, Colt had called the full membership. Each of their bikes were lined up near the back door. Tearing a hand through my hair, I pushed the back door open. Sawyer, Tiny, Charlie and the others had taken their seats around the conference table in my office. Only Colt didn’t seem to be here. They all got to their feet when I walked in.