Love and War: A Bad Boy Romance (Small Town Bad Boys Book 2)

by Annette Fields

  Wesley Mills, seventeen years old and Cloverville resident.

  Fuck, this kid was still a minor.

  My head spun in circles at trying to make sense of what I just found. What was a local kid doing with a baggie of heroin in his shirt?

  I spun him around to face me as the panic grew in my chest and the sirens grew louder.

  "Hey, kid! Wesley!" I clapped my hand a few times on his face, just hard enough to get him to focus, and held the baggie up in front of his eyes. "Where did you get this?"

  "Uhhh. I dunno what that is..."

  "Don't fuck with me. Where'd you get it? Who'd you buy it from?"

  "I dunno. Wanna lawyer. Fuck the police."

  Fuck.

  I stepped away from him as the ambulance pulled up, allowing room for the paramedics to examine him for injuries, and dropped the heroin in an evidence bag.

  The kid would be charged with a DUI and the first felony drug possession in Cloverville in five years. Unless he got a good lawyer, he’d likely be charged as an adult and face maximum sentencing.

  A whole life wasted. For a high.

  I sighed heavily as I leaned against my car, thinking I could've been in bed with Hazel right now or even a few hours from now. But my night was about to get even longer.

  ***

  “Officer Barnes! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Solomon,” I growled into the phone. I already said that too many times today.

  He chuckled amusedly on the other line. “A little testy, are we?”

  “Do you know anything about a Cloverville resident, a fucking minor, possessing heroin?”

  “Yes. I’m already dealing with it,” he said as smoothly as a serpent.

  “So what the fuck happened? You’re supposed to be in control of your people and keep that shit out of this city. That was our deal.”

  “To err is human, Officer Barnes. One of my salespeople got a little greedy and wanted some fast money. He has learned his lesson. You won’t see any more substances within Cloverville limits. You have my word.”

  “I had to turn it in as evidence,” I snarled.

  “Naturally. You were doing your job. An amount that small won’t affect my business.”

  “Do you realize my dad will want to investigate?” I hissed. “He won’t stop until your delivery route through Cloverville is blown wide open.”

  “We’ll adjust our route and decoys as necessary then proceed as normal. Nothing will lead back to you.”

  “Huh,” I scoffed. “You know you’re awfully eloquent and cerebral for a small-town criminal.”

  “That’s why I’m good at what I do,” he said cheerfully. “Any other concerns, officer?”

  “I swear to you, Solomon,” I spat into the phone. “If I so much as find a trace of something more dangerous than marijuana in this town I will expose everything myself, do you hear me? The only reason I agreed to this deal was to keep Cloverville safe. If fucking high school kids are able to buy drugs, we’ve got a fucking problem.”

  “Understood,” he said after a brief pause. “You do your job and let me do mine.”

  “Make damn fucking sure that you do.”

  Without another word, I hung up the phone.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  HAZEL

  I felt like a teenager again and in the best way.

  Thinking of him made me want to smile, moan, and touch myself all at the same time. I checked my phone constantly to see if I had any messages or calls from him and was absolutely giddy when I did.

  “Look who’s twitterpated,” Ash teased.

  “Babe, leave her alone,” Dahlia chided gently. “After all you’re still twitterpated over me, right?”

  “Of course I am, Doll,” he said, looking at her adoringly as he ran an affectionate hand over her baby bump. “Even more now that you’re carrying my little one.”

  “Yuck. Stop,” I said, bringing my eyes back to Liam’s text message. “Why do you two have to be so disgustingly cute. You’re setting impossible standards for the rest of us.”

  “You and Liam would make pretty cute babies,” Dahlia said with a wink.

  “Not as cute as ours, though,” Ash added.

  “Yeah, one thing at a time,” I muttered. Let’s see if I can spend one complete night at his place first. Then maybe I dunno, earn the title of girlfriend before getting knocked up.

  I wanted to be smart and not rush into anything, especially after breaking an engagement with a calloused asshole. Hell, I didn't even know if Liam wanted any kind of relationship or just casual sex.

  Still, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy when I looked at my brother and sister-in-law. If they could find their happily ever after against all odds, why couldn't I find mine too?

  Ash was the bad boy in high school. He'd clean up nice for church on Sunday then be caught making out with the pastor's daughter after the service. No one thought any girl could "tame" him. It turned out that girl just had to be Dahlia.

  He looked at her like he would kill to protect her, and she was absolutely glowing when she looked back at him. Complete with her adorable baby bump and their cozy little home, they had a picture-perfect family.

  I told myself for years that wasn't the life for me. I was a career woman, and not even convinced that I would ever want kids. The fast, city life and corporate job with a fat paycheck called to me, not the simple, cliched country life.

  But when I looked at my brother and his wife, they looked so happy to have each other. The thought occurred to me that it didn't matter what kind of lifestyle you had as long as you were with the right person. They could be homeless and still find happiness and comfort in each other.

  At what point was I just rebelling for the sake of being a rebel? A part of me would always want a rewarding career but the thought of waking up next to my life partner, carrying his baby in my belly, and having him to defend and support me just seemed so nice.

  At some point with the right person, I would love that. But I had to take care of me first.

  Dahlia inspired me in more ways than one. Before becoming a wife and mother, she started her flower shop business from the ground up. So far my job applications hadn't turned up anything promising and I couldn't deny the attractiveness of being my own boss.

  In San Francisco, I was on my way to becoming a top account executive at my marketing firm before they went bankrupt. In Cloverville, new businesses were popping up left and right in our cute little downtown strip. Surely some of them would need guidance with their marketing.

  Dahlia got me in touch with some of her fellow business owners and I already had my first consultations booked.

  While trying to ignore the disgustingly cute couple in front of me, I drank my coffee and ate my breakfast with a renewed excitement and energy. My day would be full and busy and I'd be challenged again. Eventually, if the consultations went well, I'd start making some money too and move into my own place. It would be nice to not see Ash & Dahlia's cupcaking every morning and they'd probably appreciate having privacy again before the baby arrived.

  Life was starting to look up again.

  A chirp from my phone pulled me out of my daydream and my smile grew as I looked down.

  “Can I see you today, beautiful?” Liam texted.

  It took all my resolve to not say “YES!” immediately with an obscene amount of emojis but I stayed strong and took a few minutes to type and erase several drafts of my reply.

  “Busy with work meetings today :( But I absolutely want to see you soon!” After waffling for a few minutes, I hit send. His reply came almost immediately.

  “Tomorrow then?”

  My heart felt ready to burst with giddiness and my smile grew even wider on my face.

  “Yup, totally twitterpated.”

  I picked up the first thing I could find to throw at Ash, which was my coffee spoon. He laughed as it bounced off his arm and clattered to the floor.

  “Wait
until I tell Mr. Cop about your penchant for violence. He’ll cuff you up as punishment.”

  I said nothing but kept on grinning as I headed to my room to answer the text in private. He had no idea how much I’d love it if Liam did exactly that.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  LIAM

  As much as I wanted to get Hazel straight into my bed and forget all about the fucked up world outside of it, I was slowly realizing she was more than just a hook up to me. She was worth getting to know and deserved to be treated to a second date.

  This time I had to see how she reacted to some friendly competition.

  The spring carnival was one of Cloverville's biggest community events, although still small on the grand scale of things. It lasted for a week and had just a few, basic rides, carnival games and shows.

  When I first moved here I always had to work patrol during the carnival but never actually attended, not that I had anyone to go with. As Hazel and I walked through the carnival stalls, I actually looked forward to the cheesy cliche of winning some ridiculous stuffed animal for her.

  It was a warm spring day and she wore a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. I nearly turned us right back around so I could bury my face between those creamy thighs without waiting any longer.

  Her warm smile and sweet kiss upon greeting me did nothing to soften my hard, unyielding ache for her.

  "I grew up coming to this carnival," she said, interlacing her fingers with mine. "My brother and I would hide in the Ferris wheel when it was time to go home and nearly gave my parents heart attacks. Old Mr. Jensen even let us play the horseshoe toss for free."

  "Is that your specialty?" I asked, my knuckles brushing against her bare thigh as we walked. "Horseshoes and hide and seek?"

  "One of many," she replied with a wink.

  Goddamn, we would not be lasting long out here.

  "Let's see your famous horseshoe toss then," I said as we approached the stall, unable to resist giving her a light tap on her ass as we did. "Then I'll show you my specialty."

  "Oooh, what could that be?" she asked saucily as she arched under my touch and gathered her horseshoes.

  "You'll see."

  For not playing any carnival games since she left town, she did pretty well at horseshoes. I played sports all throughout high school and had a pretty accurate throw but I still didn't have to go easy on her. She scored a couple of ringers and almost beat me before I squeaked out a win in the end.

  "Beginner's luck," she pouted her full lips teasingly. "And I'm rusty."

  "Yeah, yeah, sore loser." I slid my palms across her waist to the curve in her lower back. "What's my prize?"

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a full, open-mouthed kiss in reply. Her tongue flicked across mine as the full length of her body melted against me.

  Just as I closed my eyes to drink her in and relish in her taste, she broke away with a teasing smile.

  "I think the loser needs some deep-fried Oreos to feel better." She pulled me in the direction of the food stalls.

  "Did you say deep-fried... The fuck?"

  She looked at me aghast. "Have you never had a deep-fried Oreo?"

  "Uh, no?"

  "Deep-fried Twinkies? Cheesecake? Ice cream?"

  "No to all of the above. Sounds like a cardiac arrest waiting to happen."

  "Well, obviously if you ate it all the time. But that's the beauty of carnival food! You gotta indulge when it's only here once a year."

  It was probably the most sugar and oil I consumed all year in a single sitting but I had to admit that deep-fried Oreo was damn good.

  When we stepped up to the shooting gallery where I originally planned to impress her, I briefly wondered if my sugar high would throw off my aim.

  All that disappeared though once I held the BB gun and took aim at the cardboard ducks passing from left to right.

  Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

  "Holy shit!" Hazel exclaimed.

  Bullseyes on every one. Nothing made me more calm, focused, and in control than a gun in my hands.

  "Well done, sir!" said the booth attendant. "Get ready for round two!"

  Two rows of ducks this time, moving in opposite directions. I knew this was a carnival game but come on.

  Pop-pop. Pop-pop. Pop-pop. Pop-pop. Pop-pop.

  All perfect shots. Truth be told, any police academy rookie worth his salt could make them.

  "Didn't know I'd be in for such a gun show." Hazel slid her delicate hands across my flexed, taut bicep which made her hands look smaller. The look she gave made me even harder.

  "Final round!"

  I decided to give myself more of a challenge for this round.

  As I squeezed off the shots I kept looking straight at Hazel, into those brilliant orbs of green on her beautiful face. The ducks only existed in my peripheral vision.

  For my final shots, I let go of the gun with one hand to wrap it around her waist. I pulled her tightly against me and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.

  She returned it eagerly, crashing her tongue against mine as I blindly fired off my last shots. I set the gun down to wrap my other hand into her soft, cascading hair.

  Somewhere off in the distance, I heard someone talking, probably the booth attendant yelling at me to take my prize, the giant stuffed duck, but I had my prize. She was wrapped up in my arms and the world seemed to fade away outside of our embrace.

  Nothing else mattered outside of this moment, this protective shield of heat and desire I built around her.

  Time slipped away until we finally came up for air. The sky was getting darker and the booth worker seemed to give up on trying to talk to us. Carnival lights glowed all around us as more people came to try the shooting game.

  "Did you want your giant duck plushie?" I asked, murmuring the question against Hazel's soft lips.

  "No," she replied, her lips trembling slightly against mine. "All I want is you."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  HAZEL

  What was it about a man who was a little bit dangerous that made him so fucking sexy? Liam could shoot a gun with lethal accuracy and was strong enough to fight off a bear. Sure, he was objectively hot to look at but everything I learned about him just sent my greedy desire into overdrive.

  My whole body practically hummed with anticipation from the fair to his house. Every vibration from the engine to the road caressed my sensitive flesh like it was foreplay.

  “I’m turning my fucking phone off,” Liam said the moment he cut his engine after he pulled into his drive way.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said as I watched him press down the power button on his phone until the screen went dark.

  “Yes, I do,” he growled before grabbing me and pulling me across the center console for a deep, possessive kiss that tingled from my lips all the way down my spine to my toes.

  “I won’t let us be interrupted this time.”

  Just the way he said that, with such passion and conviction, made me want him even more desperately. My pussy felt hollowed out and empty, needing him to fill me up since our kiss at the shooting game.

  We didn't waste any time in getting inside and heading toward the bedroom. The air was thick with electric tension between us. Sparks flew from every light touch, just hinting at what explosive chemistry we had beneath the surface.

  The moment Liam closed the bedroom door behind us, he took hold of me around the waist and lifted me off the floor.

  My legs wrapped around his torso as we devoured each other in voracious kisses and bites. A gasp escaped me as I experienced the briefest moment of freefall and then landed on my back on his soft mattress.

  He was on top of me instantly, like a predator going in for the kill. But I was just as hungry for him as he was for me.

  "You're so fucking beautiful Hazel," he growled into my neck as his hands roamed freely over me. His fingers suddenly speared through my hair and pulled my head back, exposing my throat vulnerably.
r />   "And you're all fucking mine."

  His mouth covered mine again and I moaned my willingness to him, my desperation to please.

  We were still fully clothed as his huge, hard body pinned me down to his bed. He pressed against me so hard I was sure he could feel my clit throbbing against his rock hard shaft.

  His teeth grazed and pulled along the shell of my ear and I was amazed I hadn't already quivered over the edge into orgasm already.

  "Do you want to be a good girl for me?" he whispered into my ear.

  "Yes," I whimpered. I would do anything. I just wanted so desperately to feel him inside me and over every inch of my skin.

  "Yes, what?" he growled, tightening his hold on my hair ever so slightly.

  "Yes, I want to be a good girl for you."

  He kissed my neck and cheek so sweetly and tenderly. It drove me completely wild how gentle and domineering he could be at the same time.

  "I'm going to cuff your hands to the bed frame. Would you like that?"

  I gushed with fresh wetness between my legs as my breath felt stolen from my chest. My brain and body went into an absolute frenzy at that question. Nothing sounded hotter than for my body to be at the mercy of his hands, mouth, and cock.

  "Yes," I breathed. "Yes, please."

  Liam grunted his approval as his hands finally went under my clothing, pulling my T-shirt and bra off with one fell swoop and then tugging my shorts and soaked panties over my hips and down my legs.

  "Oh God," he breathed as he trailed his fingers for a moment from my ankle along my calf muscle before stopping himself.

  "Scoot up to the bedframe," he ordered as he pulled his own shirt over his head, displaying the powerful, rippling muscles I only had the briefest taste of before.

  I did as he instructed and put my hands through the wrought-iron frame of the headboard as he rummaged through his bedside drawer.

  He looked pleased when he saw me. Naked, wet, and my hands in a ready position to be restrained.

  "That's my girl."

  The metal cuffs flashed a bright silver in the moonlight. These weren't the cheesy, fuzzy ones you'd buy from a novelty shop. They were the real things. Hard, cold, and biting.