He didn’t move. If he did, he was
coming. Her body didn’t just hold him, but gripped him, milked him. He tried to
move so that he wasn’t going to hurt her, but she wrapped her legs around his thighs
and rocked up. He was lost after that.
Her nipple fit into his mouth like it
was made to be there. He tried not to pound into her, but being gentle, being
easy wasn’t going to happen. When she came again, this time biting his shoulder,
she brought him with her. His cock felt as if it exploded inside of her as he
came. He would swear for the rest of his life that he felt his cum come from
his ears. His entire body felt drained.
He didn’t drop onto her, though he
didn’t know how he managed not to. He rolled her with him and let her spread
over him as he waited for his heart to either explode or calm. Right now he
wasn’t counting on ever being calm again. He kissed her forehead when she
pulled the blanket over them and closed his eyes. He heard her sigh heavily
before her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep.
Daniel Hunter didn’t want to be in love.
But he was pretty sure he was. He hadn’t wanted it to happen. Hell, he never
thought it would. He’d kept his heart firmly behind a locked door for so long
that he was sure the key was gone. And the bundle in his arms had not only
found the key but had moved right into the space and made him see reason.
That didn’t really change the fact that
he wasn’t going to marry her. Love her, yes, he had no problem with that. But
he had been around enough of his buddies to know that love was a fleeting thing
and rarely lasted as long as a car loan. He kissed her head again as he closed
his eyes. He’d stay with her for as long as they both wanted, but he decided to
make sure she knew that marriage wasn’t going to ever happen. If that was what
she wanted, they might as well part company now.
He rubbed the area over his heart. For
some reason, that had hurt him, and he didn’t want—no, he
refused
—to
think of it as anything more than a twinge of something, because he’d enjoyed
her so much. Smiling into the darkness, he decided that was it. He’d miss her. Closing
his eyes, he let sleep take him. They’d talk tomorrow, he thought.
Chapter
12
Reilly was in the kitchen making Benny
breakfast when the phone rang. She’d already opened the gate for Royce Hunter
when he told her that he needed to speak to her and Daniel. She didn’t want to
let him in, but she was pretty sure that whatever the man had to say was
important to their well-being. She nearly had Benny answer it when Daniel came into
the kitchen and picked up the receiver as if he lived there or something. She
turned her back to him so that she wouldn’t snap at him.
“Harlequin residence. How may I help
you?” He looked at her sharply, then turned his back away. She could hear him
mumbling, but not the words. When he turned back around, she knew it had been
Carver.
“Benny, why don’t you go to your room so
your aunt and I can talk?” She bristled.
“He stays. And don’t answer my phone
again. This is still my house.” She put pancakes on Benny’s plate and moved to
get him the bacon. “What did he say?”
“I don’t think—”
“No, you don’t get to think. You also don’t
get to make guesses, nor do you get to decide what my son hears and doesn’t
hear.” She put the plate down on the table a little harder than she’d meant to.
“What did he say?”
“He said that he’ll get you soon. And
after he’s finished raping every orifice of your body he’s going to do the same
to your husband, who he thinks I am by the way. After that he’d going to drag
you behind—”
“That’s enough,” Royce said. She looked
over at Royce and another man she’d never met before they entered the kitchen. Royce
looked at Benny and jerked his head toward the other room. “Go in there and
finish eating. You,” he pointed to Daniel, “go outside.”
“Fuck you. This is between her and I. And
you will not—”
“Someone tried to kill Doyle last
night,” the other man said as he sat down. “He called me to tell me he was
going to his apartment to pick up some clothes. Told me that he’d be back in an
hour, that you and the girl here were in bed together.” The man winked at her
when he turned to her. “We both figured that you’d be safe enough. When I
didn’t hear from him this morning, I went by his place to see. He had been…he
was hurt badly, and this was on his body. I’m pretty sure that whoever did it
to him thinks he was left for dead. And the paper is going to confirm that fact.”
Reilly found herself in a chair with her
head between her knees. She didn’t even fight the person holding her there. Her
friend had been hurt because of her. She didn’t listen to the men talking. She
had enough in her heart right now to wonder if they were blaming her or not. It
wasn’t until she heard Benny’s voice that she pushed against the hand holding
her down and sat up.
“I think he wants this.” Benny dropped
the backpack on the table but didn’t let it go. “My mom, my other mom, gave it
to me when we saw those men pull up in front of the house. She told me to keep
it safe, that it would be my insurance. I still don’t know what that means, but
it has stuff in there that he probably doesn’t want people to know. And the
money.”
“Have you counted it, Benny?” The
stranger got up and pulled a sheet of paper off her notepad and grabbed a pen.
“Tell me what they looked like, how many there were, and anything you can
remember about that—”
“Excuse me, but who the hell are you? And
what the hell are you doing in my…what the hell are any of you doing in my
house? I think it’s time you leave. I’ve got enough going on right now, and
entertaining a bunch of wannabe cops in my kitchen isn’t happening.”
“I’m Agent Alan Levy with the FBI. I’ve
sort of…I became friends of the family when Joey, Jesse’s wife, had some issues
with another bad guy. I’m here to help.”
“I see. Actually, I don’t.” She stood
up. “Thanks for your time, Agent, but you can take that bag with you when you
leave. I don’t care what’s in it or what happens to it. As far as I’m concerned,
Benny and I are going to start over today. Nothing happened before this
morning.”
“We slept together last night, and as
far as I’m concerned, that
does
change things.” Daniel stalked toward
her. “You aren’t going to be doing this on your own anymore. Not now that I’m a
part of your life.”
“A part of my life? How do you figure
that came about? I do not need a man coming into my home and acting like one
night of fucking is going to get him whatever he wants.” She flushed when one
of the men cleared his throat. “I think it’s time you all left. I have things
to do today.”
The agent sat down first, and then
Royce. Reilly was ready to stomp her foot at them when Daniel sat as well. She
looked over at Benny, who was trying his best not to laugh. She had no idea
what he might have thought was funny about this whole thing, but she’d had
enough. She was out the door and running across the yard when she heard cussing
behind her. When she was grabbed and jerked around, she acted without thought.
Daniel was over her shoulder and flat on
his back when she straddled him. He grabbed for her hands just as she doubled
up her fist to hit him. Jerking free, she hit him twice in the face and was
trying for another hit when someone knocked her off him and held her down. It
took her a minute or two before she realized it was the agent.
“You hear me? Listen to me, Reilly, he’s
not going to hurt you.” He shook her. “Damn it, woman, who the fuck trained
you?”
“Doyle. Get off me. I want to get up.” He
stared down at her for several seconds before he spoke.
“Are you going to hit either of us?” She
shook her head. “Okay. I’ll let you up, but I’m not going to let you hurt me
like he did.”
She thought he was trying to make a joke
but didn’t get it until he moved off her and she sat up. She’d hurt Daniel
badly. She didn’t want to feel bad for it, but she did. In fact, the tears were
burning her eyes even as she got up to go to him.
“Are you all right?” he asked her. “I’m
sorry I hurt you. I didn’t mean to. I was only trying to protect you.” He
rubbed his jaw and wiped at the blood on his nose. “But I guess you can do that
all on your own.”
She dropped to her knees in front of him
and let the tears fall. “He trained me to protect and not think. He said that
thinking would get me killed. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Yes you did. But I deserved it.” He
cupped the back of her head and pulled her forehead to his. “O’Reilly, I don’t
want anything to happen to you or Benny.”
She nodded, the only thing she could do
around the lump in her throat. Here was a man willing to get the shit beat out
of him by a woman and still not get pissy with her. She lifted his chin up when
he let her go to look at his face.
“I think I broke your nose. And you’re
going to have a hell of a shiner tomorrow.” She grinned. “And Royce is probably
going to tell everyone I did it.”
She stood up when he did and winced at
the pain. She could feel the burn at her back hurting now, and she looked at
his side to see that he was bleeding there as well. She started to ask him if
he needed to go to the doctor, but didn’t get the chance when he pulled her to
him and kissed her.
It wasn’t near long enough, his tongue
only brushing over hers for a second. His hand cupped her hip, but he didn’t
pull her close. When he pulled his mouth from hers, she looked up at him and
could see more than pain in his eyes.
“We aren’t finished. We have something
starting here and I don’t want it to end. I can’t do permanent, never will
actually, but we can have some fun, right?” She put her head on his shoulder to
hide her pain. She nodded, and he sighed. “I knew that you’d understand. Marriage
is fine for some, but I’m not one of those kind of men. I never want to be in a
relationship that has bonds that tie us together.”
She was saved from making a fool of
herself when Alan cleared his throat again. “I’d like to see what’s in that
backpack now. To see if whatever’s in it was worth a good man’s life.”
She stepped from Daniel and went to the
house. Royce was standing on her deck with Benny, and he held the backpack like
it was a part of him. She ruffled his hair as she went by and laughed when he
said the pancakes were cold now.
“I’ll make some more. You go ahead and
give them everything you have. I want this over with so that you and I can move
on, okay?” He nodded, but looked at Daniel who was still in the yard with Alan.
“He’s not going to be here much longer, I think. Just you and me, kid.”
Reilly went into the house and started a
new batch of batter. Her heart hurt so much that she wanted to find a dark
corner and cry. She’d done something incredibly stupid. She’d fallen for a man,
finally, who only wanted a good roll in the sack and no attachments.
~~~
Royce knew that his brother had hurt
Reilly. He wasn’t sure what he’d said, but he had an idea. Daniel had been
saying that marriage wasn’t for him for nearly all his life. The girl looked to
be about in love with his stupid brother, and he had no idea how to tell her he
could be changed. Or that he’d be worth it if she tried.
When Daniel came into the house, Reilly
had just set a platter of pancakes in front of him. He was scooping off several
of them when a plate of sausage was put next to him. Damn, but he was starved. He
watched her put more sausage and also bacon in a pan. He got up to get more
plates and glasses while chewing the best pancakes he’d ever eaten. Daniel simply
paced the room.
“Can I help you?” Benny asked. Daniel
looked down at him. The kid looked a lot like Carver and nothing like the woman
who he now called Mom. He wondered what his real mother looked like. “Reilly
lets me get the stuff to put on them. And I have to clear and wash if she
cooks.”
“You cook?” Royce asked, and Benny
nodded. “My wife can’t cook. She’s really terrible at it, but she tries. She’s better
at ordering out than in. I cook some, but we have a live-in cook that does a
fantastic job. But if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll….” He didn’t want to
say
beat you
. He’d seen the pictures of his mom. “I’ll tickle you until
you scream like a little girl.”
“Reilly said that I might meet somebody
someday who couldn’t, and eating out wasn’t healthy. I like to do it. I’m not
as good as she is, but I can do pretty good.”
Royce had no doubt. He nodded and handed
him a stack of plates as he gathered up some silverware. His phone ringing made
him jump. It had been a hell of a morning so far.
“I’m thinking that staying here, since
he knows you live here, is a bad idea. I think you should move in with me. I
have a security system and—” Daniel snapped his mouth closed when O’Reilly cut
him off. Royce was going to love this girl.
“No. Benny and I are staying here. I
want you people to see what’s in that bag and get that thing out of my house.” She
stood up to get herself another glass and sat down before continuing. “We have
the best security system money could buy, an electrified fence surrounding the
property, and I have to work.”
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with
here. He’s a very—”
“I know exactly what I’m dealing with
here.” Her voice was calm as she spoke and put butter on her own stack of
pancakes. “I saw firsthand what he’s capable of. You, Mr. Daniel Hunter, are a
pain in the ass.” Royce stood when she finished eating and stood up. This time
he was positive that she was going to brain his brother. “I have to go to work.
Don’t come out to the studio unless you’re on fire.”
When Daniel started to stand to no doubt
go after her, Royce stopped him. “You might want to wait until she cools off a
little bit. She’s mad enough right now to cut you to ribbons and not give a fig
about it.”
“One time I made her mad. She was okay
when she came back in the house. Mr. Royce is right, leave her be. I swear she
won’t ground you as bad if you do.” Royce wanted to laugh at Benny’s serious
tone but was worried he’d hurt the boy’s feelings. “I’m going to do the dishes
while you guys ask me what you want. I can…I like to keep my hands busy when
I’m nervous.”
They all put their dishes on the sink,
and Benny washed the table down for them. He asked if they needed any more to
drink, then filled the sink. Alan picked up the bag and put it on the cleared
table. The zipper opening was loud in the otherwise silent room.
Alan looked poleaxed when he looked
inside. Royce had already figured there was money, but not how much. A lot was
all he could think of. Benny’s mother had had plenty of time to gather it, but
the bag, while the biggest one he’d ever seen, still probably didn’t hold all that
much.
He was wrong.
He’d never thought of the denomination
of the money. He’d been thinking small time. Meagen had not. The money, now
dumped on the table, was over five million dollars, Royce thought. Alan picked
up one of the stacks and fanned it.
“It’s real. And there’s nearly….” He
started staking the money in piles. “There’s close to fifteen, maybe as much as
twenty mill here.” Alan picked up one stack and nodded to Benny, who still had
his back to them. “Benny, did you ever spend any of this? On anything?”