like you and I totally want to do this, but I don’t want to do it on a dirty couch in a bar. Can you understand that?”
Now
that
caught my attention.
“The fuck? What do you mean, you haven’t had sex?”
“I mean I’ve Never. Had. Sex,” she told me, spacing out her words carefully. “True story. You got a problem with that? Because you’re looking at me like I’ve got herpes and that’s not working for me.”
I stilled, trying to wrap my brain around what she’d said. It was hard, given the lack of circulation. Then it sank in.
Shit. Em was
mine
. All mine. No other asshole had been insidethat pretty little cunt—this was fuckin’ beautiful. I smiled slowly, running a hand through my hair.
“That kicks ass, babe,” I said, sinking down to sit next to her.
“It does?” she asked, her voice small. I pulled her over and onto my lap, running my hands up and down her body. God, she was just tiny. A perfect little package I wanted to lick all over and then take home and hide away from the world.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling something like triumph start to build inside me. I wasn’t going to share her—not now, not ever. This body was mine. All mine. Best present ever. Fuck if I knew what I’d done to deserve it, but not a chance in hell I’d let her get away.
“I am gonna have so much fun teaching you everything I know,” I said, kissing the side of her neck. Shit, she smelled good. My cock wanted inside her now, but somehow my brain had reengaged, and I was not going to fuck this up. If I played things right, she’d fall for me so hard she’d never know what hit her. And I wanted that. I wanted it a lot. Win for me, win for the Jacks, too. Perfect.
Em gave a little laugh.
“You kind of scared me there,” she whispered, and damned if she didn’t blush a little. So cute. “I mean, it’s silly, but things were just moving so fast. It’s never been like this for me before.”
“Well, we’ve got some great fuckin’ chemistry,” I told her. “Damned good thing you spoke up when you did. I promise, I’ll make this good for you, babe. Wanna head back to the hotel, or do you need some time first?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a soft smile.
“Hotel,” she said. “Let’s take it slower, though. Okay?”
“No prob.”
Silence fell between us as I leaned into her for a soft kiss, tugging at her lower lip. Then a loud knock on the door broke the moment.
“Go away,” I yelled.
“Need to talk,” Skid said on the other side of the door. “Important, bro. Get out here.”
Emfrowned up at me.
“I didn’t realize you were here with someone,” she said.
“Didn’t feel like sharing you,” I told her, offering a quick grin. My mind had already gone cold and hard, though, switching modes instantly. Skid wasn’t an idiot and he didn’t fuck around. He wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t important.
“Give me five,” I told her, settling her on the couch. Sadly, she started hooking up her corset, covering those gorgeous tits. I walked to the door and stepped out.
One look at Skid’s face and I knew I was screwed.
“Make it good, asshole.”
“We got a situation,” he told me. “Kelsey called from our place in Portland. Said some crazy-ass motherfucker burst into the house and started shooting. Grass is down, shot in the chest. Not sure he’s gonna make it. Shooter managed to grab Clutch and took off with him. Guess there were some girls who saw the whole thing and now they’re talkin’ to the cops. Kels was upstairs in your room, came running down with a gun too late. She couldn’t do a goddamned thing but watch when he threw Clutch in an SUV and took off.”
I felt the world narrow to a pinpoint, my mind running through a thousand calculations. “She get a decent look at the guy?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes growing colder. “Gave her a message, actually. Told her to let us know the truce with the Reapers is dead, and
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