“She said you would say that and told me to tell you that it’s about Daniel.” She paused. “She said she knows why he was being blackmailed.”
“What?” This time, I did rise out of my chair, shock propelling me to my feet. It crossed my mind that this could be some kind of ploy, but if Kia was sincere, this was important information. Unsure of what to do, I glanced down at Eric.
Eric shrugged. “Can’t hurt to see what she has to say.”
I nodded, sitting back down again. “Send her in.”
I braced myself for my first sight of Kia, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the gaunt figure who rushed into my office. The glow of excitement in her face didn’t quite mask the shadows beneath her eyes or the fact that her clothes were far looser on her than they had any right to be after only three days, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking about her welfare.
“Oh, I’m so glad you haven’t left yet! I’ve got something important to show you.” Kia slammed a leather-bound book on the table, wedging herself between the empty visitor’s chair on her left and Eric on her right.
My brother cleared his throat, and Kia swung around, startled at the noise.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you,” she said distractedly.
I was finding it increasingly hard to hold on to my anger. I’d never seen Kia so scatterbrained before, and somehow, her out-of-character behavior was completely adorable.
“You must be Eric.”
“I am.” Eric lifted an eyebrow, clearly not beguiled the way I was.
I managed to get ahold of myself. “What’s this information that you feel is so important to share that you barged onto my ranch, uninvited?”
Kia bit her lip, some of the light going out of her. She placed her hands reverently on the black journal, focusing on it rather than on me. “I found this in Uncle Daniel’s closet this afternoon when I was going through his stuff,” she said. “It’s one of several journals he kept.” She opened the journal and then carefully flipped through the pages until she found the particular entry she was looking for. “You should read this,” she said, sliding it across the desk to me.
Frowning, I bent over the desk to read the entry, and Eric came around the desk to read over my shoulder.
* * *
9/14
My heart is heavier than it has been in a long, long time. I met with Samuel Bradley, and he does indeed have the photographic evidence of Randy and me that he claimed. He demanded a sum of $2,500 every month in exchange for his silence. I have no choice but to pay it or be driven out of town.
* * *
I glanced up at Kia, in my heart already knowing what Daniel was saying but wanting confirmation. “What the hell is this supposed to mean?”
“Uncle Daniel was gay,” Kia said softly. “His journals confirm that he had a relationship with a man named Randall Wilson, which ended about half a year before the date of this entry when Randy died of cancer.”
“Son of a bitch,” I hissed, outraged on behalf of my old friend.
Being gay in Texas was practically a crime, especially in a town like Bramblebush, and if Bradley had spread those photos around, Daniel would have been run out of town or shot to death.
“That miserable fuck. I’m going to kill him!”
“Now, hang on,” Eric said, resting a placating hand on my shoulder. “There’s no need for that, not with all the dirt we have on him. Let’s allow the government to clean up.”
“Oh, so you were able to find some evidence of illicit activities!” Kia said delightedly. “Now, you can put him away.”
“Wait, you mean you actually want him to go to jail now?” I asked incredulously.
“Fuck yes,” Kia scowled. “I had several friends in college who were gay, and now my assistant, Drew, and I know how unfairly they were treated. There’s no way I’m doing business with a man who tried to blackmail my uncle by using his sexual orientation against him. I can’t do that.”
“Eric,” I murmured to my brother, “can you go out for a moment? I want to speak to Kia privately.”
“Sure.” My brother nodded to Kia and then exited the room, closing the door behind him.
The two of us stared at each other for a long while before Kia finally broke the silence. “What do you want to say to me?”
I took a breath. “I just . . . I want to thank you,” I said. “I wanted so badly to have justice for Daniel and to figure out what the hell happened to him, and you’ve given me that. Despite whatever bad blood there might be between us and whatever you decide to do, I want you to know that I’m eternally grateful for what you’ve done.”
“Oh, Hunter.” Kia shook her head ruefully. “I’m the one who should be saying those things, not you. You’ve done so much for me, and I realized I’d acted no better than a bigot with the way I treated you the night I kicked you off the ranch. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what species you are. You’re an amazing person, and I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life.”
I could hardly believe my ears. “You what?”
“I love you, Hunter Golden,” Kia said, closing the distance between us and wrapping her arms around my neck. She looked up at me with a radiant smile that made me forget about every single thing, except her. “And I’ve never said those words to anyone in my life, so you’d best believe them, cowboy.”
I crushed my mouth against hers, kissing her fiercely, savoring the feel of her in my arms and the heavenly scent of her that surrounded me. She opened her mouth to mine, and I lost myself in the taste of her, drinking in her essence like a man starved. And when the scent of her arousal teased my nostrils, I backed her up against the office door, pressing my erection against her hip.
“Are we—” Kia started to ask.
Then she gasped as I bit down on her neck, hitting one of her sensitive spots. I reached around her to lock the door and then crouched down on my knees to strip off her jeans and panties.
“Hush,” I ordered, lifting one of her legs and hooking it around my shoulders. “I need to make love to you now.”
It had only been a few days since I was last inside her, but it felt like an eternity, and we’d parted on such bad terms after our last lovemaking session that I felt the need to eradicate the memory with something spectacular.
“But your brother . . . ohh . . .” she moaned when I dragged my tongue across her folds.
“Is downstairs, likely enjoying his fifth cup of coffee and some of Leta’s chocolate chip cookies,” I informed her. Then I licked her again. “We can join him afterward if you’d like.”
I found her clit and started gently sucking on the sensitive nub, and Kia clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries of pleasure. Sliding two fingers inside her, I teased her to the breaking point, loving the way she tasted, the way she trembled against my mouth as though she were coming apart. When she came a few minutes later, crying my name against her palm, I stood up and swiftly pulled a condom out of my wallet. I undid my pants, tore open the condom wrapper, and sheathed my cock. I thrust inside her before her tremors eased.
“Yes!” Kia cried, throwing her head back against the door as another orgasm ripped through her.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her parted lips and flushed cheeks, and I bent down to capture her cries of pleasure in my mouth as I fucked her against the oak door. She slid her hands down the back of my jeans, digging her fingers into my ass as she urged me on, and then I was coming, white-hot jets of pleasure shooting through me as I groaned into her mouth.
“I would say that the next time we do this, we’re in our honeymoon bed,” I panted raggedly a few minutes later, my forehead pressed into the crook of her shoulder as we fought for breath. “But I don’t think I can wait that long.”
“Wait . . . what?” Kia lifted my face so that she could look into my eyes. “Are you serious?”
Grinning, I stepped away from her. Then I went to the desk and pulled a s
mall black box out from one of the drawers. “I bought this a week ago, thinking I was fed up with this nonsense of us trying to pretend we didn’t care about each other. But the last time we made love, I decided that you weren’t ready for me to give it to you yet.”
I popped open the velvet box, and my heart swelled as Kia gasped, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the chocolate diamond set in platinum.
“I thought it matched the color of your eyes,” I murmured as I started going down on one knee.
“Wait . . . hold on.” Kia reached for her jeans, but I swatted her hands away.
“Stop that. I like you naked.” I chuckled as I knelt, offering the ring up to Kia. “Kia Nash, love of my life and the most beautiful woman I have ever known . . . will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife?”
Tears filled Kia’s eyes as she carefully took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. “It’s a perfect fit,” she whispered.
“Is that a yes?” I grinned up at her, happy as hell.
Laughing, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around me. “Yes!” she cried, raining kisses down all over my face. “Yes, Hunter, I’ll be your wife.”
And I claimed her mouth in another bone-melting kiss, secure in the knowledge that Daniel was finally going to be avenged when we took all the evidence we had on that fucker Bradley, siccing the authorities on him. And I was finally settling down with the only woman I’d ever truly loved. I quietly acknowledged the reminder that, sometimes, you didn’t know how much you were going to miss someone until they were back in your arms again. I’d just have to make sure I kept my arms around her for the rest of her days.
* * *
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SEDONA VENEZ IS A romance author with a dirty mind. She lives in New York City with her hot ex-military hubby—hooah—and their fur babies. She loves writing sizzling, sexy, intricate stories about strong but broken characters who push limits, overcome their fears, and risk it all for love.
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Operation Wolf: Hunter
SEDONA VENEZ
Copyright © 2017 by Sedona Venez
All rights reserved.
www.sedonavenez.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Editing:
Jovana Shirley, Lisa Hollett
Formatting by:
Christine Borgford, Type A Formatting
Operation Wolf: Hunter ~ Sedona Venez Page 13
