Whoa there, Nelly, slow those horses.
Just because I’m starting to get cabin fever, does not give me leave to yell at them. Okay, maybe Jericho because he’s always smiling in that condescending way as if the little lady just needs a calmative or something. Fine, and King too, because he’s an ass.
“I already told you that you can’t go home,” he says between clenched teeth, his fingers turning white where he grips the wheel. “Is this more of that shit you keep talking about you and me not suiting each other? Because, Peaches, I am sick and damned tired of hearing it. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t talk to you half the time for fear of exploding whenever I think you might start in on it.”
What? Is he saying…? Is that why he runs like a yellow-bellied coward whenever I go near him? And here I was thinking he was just avoiding my sexual advances, as pathetic as they are.
Maw. Now I feel bad. And sad. And somewhat happy too because it means he does want me, right?
Maybe. Maybe not. Focus, Cleo. Work. Job. Getting out of the bar. Do not digress because your lady flower is trying to bloom too early.
“That is not it, you moron. I am fully aware that the great Jericho Evans has decided to keep the little defenseless mouse and save her from herself! Whatever. I need to go to work. Work. You know, that thing I studied four years to get a degree for? You know, that thing that pays my salary and keeps me from the poor house? Oh, and just by the way, you, you ass, I do want you. How many hints do I have to freaking throw already? If your man parts are experiencing a problem, that is on you, not me.”
Oooh, I do not know why I am goading him this way. Call it temporary insanity if you will, but I know I’m in for it when he gets that blank look in his eyes in the rearview mirror blazing at me.
I’m not scared though, no siree Bob, it sure beats the heck out of the nothing I’ve been getting thus far.
“You may be right, King. She was nicer before.” Is all he says, snarling when the man chokes out a chuckle and winks at me.
Darn men. They’re lucky I love them.
Chapter Twelve
Jericho
She’s in a right fine mood as I pull in behind the bar and hustle out to open her door. The huff I get before she elbows me aside and strides into the place is so adorable I have to keep my laughter in before she decides to try her hand at physically expressing her annoyance.
“Have mercy, she is adorable when she’s mad,” King crows, throwing me a fist bump when I hold my hand out to him.
“Yes sir, she is. How long before she cools her little butt down do you think?”
That makes him sputter, and I eye him narrowly as we shuffle into the back door, locking it behind us.
“That depends. Are you planning to hit that anytime soon? She’s frustrated, stuck inside most all the time except for today, and that was only a few hours of freedom, Jericho. I don’t blame her for feeling put out about having no freedom, man. She may be meek and just learning to spread those wings, but she’s also just human. She misses the good parts of her life. Don’t scowl, man. Listen. Out of all the shit she takes, where is the one place you never saw her being tense?”
He’s right. Even with those rug rats driving her nuts the day I went into the library, she was still relaxed and even smiled genuinely at the children and the teachers. That place is her escape, her haven, and I’ve taken it from her without thought.
“You on point with me if I take her in tomorrow?”
The decision is easy despite the problems I can see from getting her out there and into a situation I can’t control. She needs this, and I guess so do I, because as much as I love my bar, it isn’t mine completely and never will be.
When Cleo is safe, which she will be even if I have to just kill everyone in this Podunk town, I’ll start taking jobs again and be gone at times. I can’t lock her away whenever I leave, and I know it.
She needs her own space and career away from what we will eventually have. One day we’ll have children, and if she wants to work then, well, that’s up to her, but for now, I have to accept that I can’t just be her everything.
Just as she can’t be mine. Not if I want to keep doing my job with The Watchers. Could I quit and just have the bar? Money isn’t an issue for me; I make a lot with every rescue mission or protection job, so I could, I suppose. I don’t want to though. I need that part of me, that thrill of the chase, the danger sometimes, and the knowledge that I am all that stands between a person and their enemies.
Just as Cleo needs her job.
“You know it. We taking the two Shotgun Sally’s with us tomorrow?”
“May as well since they’ll likely just follow anyway. Just please tell them to leave the shotguns at home. They can keep the pistols, but those others will scare the kids.”
“Gotcha. Now go in there and take your woman upstairs. If you come down before sealing the deal, I will kill you myself. She used to smile. I like her smiles, man. And I like her happy.”
Me too. I can’t say she’s unhappy. I see her laughing with the patrons we let in after checks and only if we know them as regulars, and I know she enjoys working the bar, sneaking a sip every now and then, but she’s not happy and that’s what I want.
So I’ll give her this and just work my ass off, keeping her safe until I can unravel the mystery of her would-be killer.
“Peaches!”
“What?” she mumbles, as I hit the bar and grin at her, crooking my finger in a “come to me, I’m about to do you” way.
Her eyes go wide and then narrow as she throws down the rag she was using to scrub the bar down and saunters my way.
“We need to talk. Come on upstairs.”
“Is this another lecture about not waiting on you before I head inside? I am not in the mood, Jericho.”
Oh, but you will be, Peaches, trust me on that, I think darkly as I grab her hand and pull her along behind me. She looks great in the jeans King went out and bought her and the peasant blouse is nice too, but right now all I aim to see is skin and her….
We get upstairs and into the apartment despite her griping and dragging her feet, and I slam and lock the door, pinning her there with my body as I loom over her.
“That mouth of yours is getting mighty lippy lately, woman.”
“Kiss my grits, soldier boy. You wanted the other side of me, well here it is. Don’t—”
I shut her up the only way I can and groan when my lips meet the soft cushions of hers. She’s so soft and sweet tasting that I can’t slow myself as I cup her jaw, using a thumb to open her to my ravaging tongue.
This kiss is no sweet exploration or soft touches; it’s me wanting to claim her again, and this time own her. I’m going for full submersion as I shove my tongue into her and suck hers down, licking and swapping spit in a hot, raunchy mimicking of what I plan to do to her sex.
She moans and melts into me after a brief show of shock, and I almost rip her clothes off when she goes to her toes and burrows her tongue deeper, mewling her delight into me.
My hands are all over her then, stroking, squeezing her ass and tits, and bringing her so close not an inch of space separates us.
“Want you so fucking bad I can’t stand it anymore,” I mutter around the kiss, biting and sucking at her full lips as she hops up and wraps herself around me, her sex meeting my dick and making me groan with the friction.
Cleo may be all but innocent still, but the woman knows what she wants and that appears to be me as she starts grinding herself into me, seeking more pressure to get her off.
I manage to pull away just long enough to rip her shirt off, and then she’s back at my mouth, groaning when her bikini top follows and bares those perfect mounds to my hands.
I love these breasts. They’re so big and soft and full, in total contrast with the rest of her that is small and compact. Pulling away, I latch onto her before she can protest and take as much of her into my mouth as I can, sucking hard and nipping at the tip with the
very edges if my teeth.
Cleo moans loudly and spears her fingers into my hair, pushing me into her. I can hardly breathe but fuck me, I don’t care. I would die happy if this is the way I get to go.
She’s not still anymore, pushing that hot slice of heaven between her thighs into my dick, sliding her clit at just the right angle to get herself off.
“Please, Jericho.”
I can’t bring myself to release the silky flesh of her nipple, so I do all I can right now without giving up what I need. I grab her hips and hump into her, dry fucking, hitting her just right.
She moans and pulls my hair harder, riding herself to orgasm. When she goes over, pulling and scratching at my scalp, I feel the first ooze of pre-come signaling that things are getting critical.
“Peaches, damn, I need…”
“Take me!” she screams, her patience gone now that the throes have her in their grip.
Who the hell am I to deny her?
I swing around, grabbing her ass hard and trip my way to the bedroom. Her jeans come off fast when I throw her down, and she herself rips her bikini bottoms off as I pull at my shirt and shorts.
What comes next isn’t pretty or sweet or anything that a prudish woman would want. I dive in, coming down on her and into her in one stroke. And it feels like every good and right thing in this world.
The heat, the tight clasp, and the way her body opens to me as if I belong there. Only me. Only ever me.
My sigh is long and loud in the room, the only sounds are our moans and the wet slap, as I drive into her without mercy, and without thought to anything else but us and this—the pleasure I’ve dreamt of for days.
“Only me. Say it, Cleo!” I bark through clenched teeth, pushing up on my arms to look down at her, caging her in beneath me.
Her eyes have gone hazy, and I have to yell it at her again, but she focuses finally and mewls her assent.
“Only you.”
That’s when things get dicey and I keep telling myself to slow down. I can’t though. The hot sounds of her body taking me, her breasts bouncing, the way her mouth rounds, her nails digging into my ass. All of it coupled with the beat inside her sex, stroking over my shaft, push me onward.
I’m so hard I want to howl, and yet, I can’t stop; I don’t want to ever stop because this is all mine and I fucking love it. Her. Us together as one. Soon it becomes almost painful and I have to reach down and strum at her clit, needing her to go off before the cum boiling in my balls erupts.
It takes two strokes and then she’s screaming my name and pulling me deeper, the hard quivers rippling over me too much to deny. I come so hard I see black dots and feel like I’m being drained of it all. My seed, my heart, part of my soul.
“Fuuuuck.”
She holds me through it all, and when I come back to reality, she’s squashed beneath my large frame, kissing at my neck and stroking me the way I’ve fantasized about since that first night.
“You’ll still be here in the morning?”
Her giggle is a delight, and I feel my heart lift when she cups my face and kisses me softly, deeply before pulling away and smiling up at me.
“After that you’ll have to grease me up and pry me loose with a crowbar.”
My laughter is loud and satisfying as I pull out with regret and roll to my side, snatching her into my chest for a sweaty, hot snuggle.
“Promise me, Cleo. Promise me that no matter what happens you won’t just leave. Me and you, we make more sense than you or your father think. We’re explosive in bed, just as good out of it, and we get each other. That’s a good start, Peaches, better than most people ever get.”
I feel like a dog begging for a bone here, but I don’t care. She’s everything I could ever want, and dammit, I am everything she deserves even without all those fancy airs her father puts on. I deserve her, deserve this, and nothing and no one, not even Cleo herself, will take it away from me. I won’t let her.
“I promise. Anyway, Evans, who else will make me peanut butter toast and tea in the morning?”
Who indeed, I think as we settle in and let sleep take us. Who indeed.
***
She’s so darn excited it’s as if she’s walking on air as she skips around between King and me, just waiting for us paranoid guys to give her the all clear.
Up ahead looms the library, and she’s so jazzed to see it she can’t contain a smile or the squeal of delight that she would have squelched just weeks ago.
“Can we go now?”
I grin, and King rolls his eyes as we finish our check and start moving, never letting her out of the protective cage that is our big bodies.
She unlocks the doors with a sigh and runs to the counter, her lip trembling a little as she takes in the familiar smell of old books and printer ink that is her heaven.
“Good Lord, you’d swear she just stepped into one of them designer handbag stores the way she’s going on.”
“Can it, King. Leave my girl alone or I’ll call Lex over here and let him ride shotgun for me,” I warn, leaning against the counter as he strides toward the back to double check all entries.
“That asshole? He’d have you pulling your hair out in less than a day. Besides, Cleo loves me! Don’t ya, darling?”
Her giggle is perfection, and I feel—for the first time since I woke this morning and told her that she could come to work—as if I made the right decision.
The woman is glowing and so happy I could kick my own ass for thinking of denying her this. Well, she’s glowing from a night of serious loving too, ahem. I more than made up for the denial I’ve made us both suffer lately.
Want to know something hilarious? Cleo is as innocent about sex as a virgin should be, and yet I have never met a woman who is more open and giving with her body.
No matter what I did to her, how I touched her, she followed my lead and took it all with happy moans, giving herself over to me completely. If I wasn’t all in for this woman before, last night sealed the deal for me, no lie.
Goddamn, she is one sexy little package.
“Hey, Jericho?”
I look up and away from the door to gaze at her, my brows raised.
“Do you think King would go to the store for me later? I want to make some snacks for the high school kids and the stuff I had here is all stale and old by now.”
Why am I not surprised the woman feeds her little miscreants too?
“Sure, Peaches. As soon as Oak and Smiley come along, I’ll send his ass to the supermarket. You need anything else?”
“Umm, maybe, just to go see Lenny later. I just need to check about that shot with her, oh! And I should go home and get some of my stuff, don’t you think, now that I’m all in with you?”
Like music to my jaded ears. I grin at her for that and lean over to steal a kiss just as the alarm on my belt goes off. What? I had King come out here last night and lay down a few sensors at the path leading to the entrance.
I told you people, I like to cover all bases and since so many of those shits are uncovered right now, I’ll go a little overboard on what I can control.
“Stay here.”
She obeys with a happy nod, and I sprint to the door, slipping out before anyone can get in. It turns out it’s that nasty little redheaded gal pal of hers. For real, I do not like this chick. She’s a wolf in sheep’s wool to my little lamb, and I do not approve of her one bit.
Her red hair is a shade too bright to be natural, and her face is so plastered with cosmetics I shudder to think what lies beneath.
“Oh, hi! My, my, my, you are a handsome devil, aren’t you?”
“What do you want?”
Her smile fades a little, but she bounces right back and starts laying it on thick.
“Why, I just came by to see my dear friend, Cleo. We’re like this.” Her fingers twist together and I feel my facial expression go sardonic.
“Come on then.”
The door isn’t even closed behind us before she starts up
with the flirting and cooing, and I look over to see King roll his eyes with a grimace.
“Cleo! There you are. You know I have been so worried about you and yet you never called. Your poor daddy has been beside himself with worry, and Garth has hardly said a word since you moved in with this big ole hunk.”
I expect a sweet smile, maybe that blank expression. What we get though is Cleo’s raised brow and pursed lips as she looks Ginger up and down and cocks her head.
“Really? Well, I must be quite mistaken then, and I do apologize, Ginger honey, but I could have sworn it was your carrot-red ass in the diner spouting off about what a slut I am just days ago.”
Having Cleo throw shit out there is like watching a puppy turn into a flame-spewing dragon. Her sweet voice drips with derision and her eyes are so narrowed I can’t see a scrap of the brown irises.
Ginger seems taken aback before she chuckles and waves a hand.
“Now come on, you know better than that, surely. Haven’t I always been there for you, Cleo? Who has always defended you and helped you? Me. I have never let you down and you know it.”
“Huh! What a crock of poop. You may have helped me with those boys in high school, and you may have always pretended to be my friend, but I see you now, you snake. Was that what the bet was all about to begin with? I should have asked myself why you kept insisting I drink more when you knew I had to drive! And yet you did. You got me so stinking drunk I wasn’t myself and then demanded that damned pact. What did you think would happen, Ginger? Poor pathetic little Cleo would just settle for the first potbellied pig she saw?”
Oh.
King gets up and sidles closer with a grin, his face so filled with glee I would hate to know what expression I’m sporting because, damn, I am impressed.
“You…you little liar. I didn’t make you do a damn thing, and anyway, why should I have thought otherwise? You dated Marshall.”
THE WATCHERS: 6 Military Romance Bundle Page 25
