Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
AVA
The familiar scent of stale beer and cigarette smoke wraps around me like a well-worn leather jacket as I settle onto my usual stool at the Grim Reaper’s bar.
For all the shitstorm going on in my life, I rather like this place and the rowdy bikers. Some of them already greet me like a regular.
I take a swig of beer, the cold bottle sweating against my palm, and scroll through my phone. At least the investigation is going somewhere.
It turns out that the anonymous owner of all those shell companies was… Congressman Thorne’s personal assistant.
A flimsy connection, but a connection nonetheless.
The financial records of Congressman Thorne’s secretary swim before my eyes, a jumble of numbers that refuse to make much sense. I’m a journalist. Math was never my forte.
I’ve been combing through these reports for hours, hunting for any clue that could tie the Thorne to the girls who accused him of assault, then mysteriously recanted. So far, I’ve got nothing.
I hit the end of the report, then scroll back up to start again. There has to be something.
Anything .
Wait a minute. I squint at an entry, a payment to someone named Preston Kane. I think I’ve seen this name before. I scroll back down until I find it. There’s another deposit a few weeks before. If I sum them up…
Wow. It’s a pretty hefty sum. Spread over a few weeks, but it’s still pretty high. I gnaw on my lower lip. Could be nothing, could be everything. You never know.
A large hand squeezes my shoulder and I nearly jump out of my skin. I whirl around to see Archer grinning at me, his gray eyes twinkling.
“Hey, Avs. Did I surprise you with my jaw-dropping beauty?”
I snort. “Like hell you did.” The thing about my brother and me is that we can’t be mad at each other for long. I elbow him. “I almost had a heart attack.”
He arches an eyebrow. “You alright? You were all weird, hunched over your phone, glaring.”
I scoff and elbow him again. “I’m fine, just found something interesting in these records.”
“Oh? Are these the ones from Thorne’s secretary?” He leans in, instantly serious. “What did you find?”
“A couple of big payments to somebody named Preston Kane.”
He pulls his phone, nodding. “Preston Kane. I’ll shoot King a message. He’ll find someone to look into it.”
The beauty of having a biker brother. “Really? I’d love that.”
He puts his phone away. “Listen, why don’t you head home and let me handle this? Take the night off. Sleep more than six hours. I know things are moving fast, but you need to rest.”
I wave him off. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
He sighs. “Ava?—”
“I’m fine, Archer. Really. You just focus on finding out who this Preston guy is, ok?”
He holds up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. I’m on it. But seriously, get some rest, ok?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll rest. Scout’s honor.”
He snorts. “You were never a scout.” With a jab at my side, he saunters off.
I slump against the bar, suddenly bone-tired. Maybe Archer’s right. Maybe I should just go home, try to get some sleep. God knows I could use it.
My head is either filled with thoughts of men breaking into my apartment, kidnapping me, or the memories of Dante’s hot kisses.
It’s been a while since I’ve had one of those. With Archer spending time so close to me, Dante and I hardly manage to sneak off.
A part of me wonders if this all-consuming thing Dante and I have is just temporary. I catch myself wondering if it’s already run its course and I’m the only one who’s missed the signs.
A shadow falls across me and I look up to see Dante looming over me, his green eyes dark with concern.
“You’re leaving.” It’s not a question.
I sigh and slide off the stool. Something tells me there’s no point in fighting him. “Yeah, I think it’s time to call it a night.” I wave him off. “You can stay, Dante. I’ll Uber home.”
He chuckles. It’s takes him a moment to notice I’m not laughing. “The fuck you will.” He presses a hand to the small of my back, urging me on. “I’ll take you home.”
“You don’t have to.”
“You’re not going alone. It’s not safe.”
I try to sidestep him, but he grabs my arm. I glare up at him. “Let go, Dante,” I hiss, knowing very well I’m exaggerating.
I don’t know where this is going, and Dante certainly isn’t helping. He hasn’t talked about telling my brother, or making it official or anything. We’ve only been sneaking around.
And I’m too old for that. I’m not a teenager. I have needs and dreams and pain. My entire life I was pushed aside—by my parents, by Steve, even by Archer. I don’t want to be anyone’s second option anymore.
Dante lowers his face, so he’s staring straight at me.. “I won’t let you run away from this, darling. From me.”
My heart hammers against my ribs, anger and something else pulsing through my veins. It’s the darling that does me in. It makes me weak in the knees.
“And how exactly do you plan to stop me?” I demand breathlessly.
The corner of his mouth ticks up.
Before I can react, Dante scoops me up in a bridal carry. I yelp in surprise, but the bar is too noisy for anyone to notice. “Put me down, you Neanderthal! I swear, Dante?—”
He strides out of the bar and to the parking lot, toward his bike. He ignores all of my squirming and cursing.
With one fluid movement, he deposits me on the leather seat, swinging his leg over to cage me in. The rumble of the engine vibrates through my core as he revs it to life. I have only one second to hold on tight before he guns the accelerator, tearing out of the parking lot in a spray of gravel.
Dante takes a sharp turn, veering off onto a narrow dirt path that cuts through the woods. Low-hanging branches fly too close to us, and I bury my face against his leather-clad back, breathing in his intoxicating scent.
Eventually, he brings the bike to an abrupt stop in a small clearing. Before I can catch my breath, he’s off the bike, offering me his hand.
“Dante, what the hell?” I slide off the seat on shaky legs.
Dante lowers the kickstand. He plants his hands on either side of my hips, caging me in against the motorcycle. His eyes flash in the moonlight.
“Tell me,” he whispers, even when there’s no one here to eavesdrop. “What’s upsetting you?”
I take a deep breath, never looking away from him. “What my brother said. About shifters and humans.”
Dante’s face grows serious. He presses his brows together. “It’s got me thinking, too.”
That’s a low blow. I clench my jaw. “That’s right. Soon enough, you’ll realize I’m not worth the trouble and leave, just like everyone else.”
Dante’s gaze snaps up at me, his eyes wide with shock. His fingers skim over my cheek with surprising tenderness. “No, darling. That will never happen. It’s not about your worth. It’s about your safety.”
I shake my head, and it’s impossible to stop my eyes from watering. “No. I?—”
Dante presses his mouth to mine, stealing my breath and the last of my resistance. Like every other time, his kiss melts me. It feels right. My fingers tangle in his dark hair as his tongue delves deep. He tastes like temptation, like forbidden love.
Dante hoists me up, pinning me between the bike and his hard body. I lock my legs around his waist, grinding shamelessly against the thick ridge of his arousal. One kiss and he’s already this hard for me.
“Say you want it,” he growls in command. “Say it, darling.”
“I want it,” I say, gasping for air. “I want you. I want all of you.”
He growls in satisfaction, unbuttoning my jeans, then ripping them down my legs in one swift motion. Dante drops to his knees, hooking my legs over his shoulders.
Steve hated to give me oral. Somehow, Dante is obsessed about it.
I glance up at the woods, but we’re alone, and then Dante’s mouth is on me and I almost black out. He licks and sucks, spearing his tongue deep as his grip on my thighs tightens to the point of pain. It’s too much, too fast, but I never want it to stop.
I shatter with pleasure, circling against his ravenous mouth as the orgasm crashes over me. He laps up every drop, growling into my sensitive flesh.
Before the aftershocks even fade, he flips me around, bending me over the leather seat of his bike. The sound of a zipper, then delicious pressure as he notches himself against my entrance.
Dante presses his chest to my back, his lips on my ear. “Look at you, so wet and ready for me,” he rasps, fingers digging into my hips. “Always ready for me, aren’t you?”
I’m too far gone to answer, writhing back on him with needy whimpers. He pushes forward slowly, stretching me around his thick length until I’m completely full. The burn and pressure are exquisite, bordering on too much.
Dante starts to move, deep strokes that nail my g-spot on every thrust. I grip the handlebars, knuckles white as I try to hold on, but it’s a losing battle. He sets a brutal pace, the dirty slap of skin on skin echoing through the clearing.
A pair of headlights cut through the darkness as a car speeds past on the road far behind us, but Dante doesn’t even falter. If anything, it seems to spur him on, his hips slamming into me even harder. The thought of being seen like this only makes me wetter.
I can feel another orgasm building fast, coiling low in my belly. Dante must sense it too because he reaches around, finding my swollen clit and rubbing in ruthless circles.
“Come on, darling. Let me feel this tight pussy come all over my cock.”
I didn’t know I liked it filthy, but apparently I do. That’s all it takes to send me flying apart with a choked sob. I convulse around him, milking his length as he pounds into me through the aftershocks.
With a final sharp thrust, Dante spills himself deep inside me. He collapses onto my back, mouthing hot, open-mouthed kisses along my neck. Every single touch of his lips sends shivers down my back, making me clench around him.
Every single kiss brings me more certainty: I’m in love with my brother’s best friend and nothing will stop this feeling now.