Chapter 24
Rowan stepped into Adalyn’s new bedroom, ignored the glare she shot him because yeah, he hadn’t knocked. Hailey and the others had moved everything to a new safe house not too far from the other one. They didn’t think their original place had been compromised, but he was glad for the precaution.
Gumbo was stretched out on the bed and her tail started wagging the moment she saw Rowan.
“Hey, sweet girl,” he murmured as he stretched out next to the two of them on the bed as if he had every right.
Blinking in clear shock and annoyance, Adalyn stared at him while Gumbo laid her head on his lap. “What are you doing on my bed?”
He looked at her laptop screen. “Checking up on you. I want to say that I drew the short straw but I actually volunteered since you’ve been holed up since we got back.” She hadn’t even changed, was still wearing the same clothes from the night before. The same ones she’d worn to the police station.
“It’s only been two hours and I’m not holed up. I’m digging into something.”
“Uh huh.”
“Screw you,” she growled, swiveling her computer so he could see.
Gumbo scooted up between them, her little head peeking around the laptop as if she too wanted to see what was going on. He scanned the screen, realized this was some dark web forum shit. For killers. Oh. Shit. “You think Ali hired someone? I thought Hailey and Gage looked into that already.”
“They did, but I’m digging a little deeper, just in case.”
“Because you think our computer geniuses missed something?” he asked dryly.
“No. I don’t. But it doesn’t hurt to check. And I have access to some shit they might not.”
“What are those tabs?” He chin nodded to the ones she’d minimized.
Sighing, she pulled them up and he saw a multitude of camera feeds.
“Rory’s neighbors’ camera feeds?”
“Yeah, Hailey sent them to me. I…know I’m not going to see anything new, but…”
She was just torturing herself trying to figure out what she could have done differently, when at the end of the day, the answer was nothing. He moved fast, plucked her laptop out of her hands—and he was pretty sure the only reason he managed to do it was because she was sleep deprived.
“Rowan—”
“No. You’re burning the candle at both ends and you freaking stink.” A lie, but whatever. He wanted to get her riled up. “Go shower, then you’re going to come downstairs and eat. And then I’ll tell you what we found.”
“Wait…what? What did you find?”
“Uh-uh. Shower first.”
“I will murder you in your sleep when you least expect it,” she growled, but at least she stalked toward the en suite. Aaaand slammed the door in his face.
Good.He hoped she held on to that anger and held it close. It was better than spiraling into grief. Later, once they’d found justice for the dead, she could grieve. But now was the time for action. “Come on, Gumbo. Let’s get some fresh air.”
Gumbo yipped happily and jumped off the bed, her brown and black fur all fluffy now that she’d had a bath. He guessed she was part poodle because she didn’t seem to shed. But her tail was short and cute, and her whole butt moved when she walked as if she was just so excited about everything and couldn’t contain it.
As he passed by the kitchen, he saw the others all in there. “She’s in the shower now. I’m going to tell her what we caught on the drones, and the plan. But she needs to clean up and reset.” Because she was grieving and he could see the wire she was balancing on. He’d been there before, hurting and angry, and that was a recipe for bad decisions. Right now they were so close to taking down Ali and potentially anyone he’d hired. There was no room for mistakes.
This backyard was similar to the other safe house except there were a lot more trees lining the protective wall and a massive hot tub in addition to the pool. The trees were the only thing that bothered him even if they were good for privacy.
They also added another layer for someone to use as cover.
But in addition to all their cameras and other security measures, they had a dog who would alert them to intruders. Once Gumbo was done, he took her back inside and made a plate of snacks for Adalyn. Mainly fruit, cheese, a couple protein bars and the pure fruit juice he knew she liked.
Then he ordered Gumbo to stay put and headed back upstairs—ignoring the curious looks from some of the others, including Fleur. Though she didn’t look so much curious as knowing.
He was definitely playing with fire right now, but he welcomed the flames. Instead of knocking—because yeah, definitely playing with fire—he stalked into Adalyn’s room to find her putting lotion on her legs.
Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and she had on a silky-looking black robe. “What’s going on with you? You’ve just decided that you have no manners now? Get out of my room.”
“I brought you food.” He set the plate on the little desk by the window, turned to face her and accept her wrath.
“Still not okay that you’re barging into my room.” She tossed the lotion aside and stood, looking smaller without her shoes on. But not fragile. No, she looked ready to tear his head off.
And oh god, that was hot. But then, everything she did was. “What are you going to do about it?”
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “You mean other than murder you?”
“You could do that.” He took a step closer, his heart rate kicking up, all the muscles in his body pulling taut. “Or you could take out all your aggression on me. You could let me make you feel so good that—”
“Gah!” She threw her hands up and turned away from him, but he grabbed her wrist.
She swiveled back to him and he wasn’t sure what her original intent was—maybe to smack him—but he saw the moment it changed. Saw the heat flare in her green eyes as she came at him fast.
But he was faster and crushed his mouth to hers as he pinned her to the nearest wall. She wrapped her arms around him, then her legs as he tried to devour her. Just consume her whole because he was one hundred percent obsessed with the stubborn, strong woman.
“This is just one time,” she rasped against his mouth, her words slightly garbled.
He grunted a nonresponse as he slipped his hand between their bodies, pulled the tie on her robe free. He’d seen her scars before, knew how she’d earned some of them, but seeing her in workout clothes was a whole lot different than this.
He managed to get the robe off her shoulders without moving away from the wall. It pooled around her waist and legs as he cupped one breast, slowly teased her already hard nipple.
She gasped slightly, let out a little moan—then let out a frustrated sound and pulled her hair towel free as she arched into his hold.
God, he wanted to spend hours worshiping her body, but knew his time was limited. At least for now, because no way was this going to be a one-time thing. She needed to scratch an itch and he was definitely going to be there for her.
Now and in the future.
Breaking contact with her mouth, he dipped his head to her breast and sucked hard on her nipple—and earned another gasp of pleasure as she rolled her hips against him. Her heat seared him, wrapped around him.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, her short nails biting into his skin as he switched breasts, desperate to taste her everywhere.
“Rowan.” The sound of her crying out his name, even so softly he barely heard it, had him harder than he’d ever been. She pulled at his shirt so he leaned up a fraction, tugged it off and tossed it on top of her towel before he captured her mouth again.
As he fell into the taste of her, he pulled her away from the wall, letting her robe drop behind them as he splayed her out on the bed. The thought of taking her against the wall was something they were definitely going to revisit, but he wanted to taste between her legs, to get her off before they went any further.
She slid her fingers through his hair as he bent between her legs, clearly okay with this. He’d wondered, far more than he wanted to admit, how things would be between them. And now that he finally had her beneath him…he could barely breathe.
Leaning down, he traced his finger along her slick folds, breathed her in because this was Adalyn. The woman who’d been embedded in his brain for years. And right about now he was wondering why it had taken him so long to do anything about it. Soft auburn hair slightly darker than the hair on her head covered her mound. That was something else he’d been curious about and he was glad that she wasn’t totally bare. He liked a woman who—
“Rowan!” This one was said with more insistence and he could practically hear the words she wasn’t saying. As in, Rowan, do something!
Smiling, he leaned forward and began teasing her clit even as he slid a finger inside her. His balls pulled up tight as he felt how wet she was, how turned on.
“Oh, God.” She arched against the bed and he added another finger, stretching her, enjoying every second of touching her the way he’d been fantasizing about.
“Nope. Just Rowan will do.”
She let out a strangled laugh and the sound punched right through him. God, he loved hearing that sound because it was so rare.
As he started stroking his fingers inside her, he continued teasing her clit, learning the kind of pressure she wanted. Needed. And when he felt her inner walls start to tighten, could hear her breathing grow ragged, he knew she was close.
He sucked on her clit a little harder now as he buried his fingers inside her, and she let go of her control. An orgasm punched through her and she reacted with her entire body as she cried out his name. She covered her mouth, as if trying to mute her proclamation, but he didn’t give a shit.
Let the entire house know.
An urge so primal he definitely recognized it, was riding him hard. He wanted everyone to know that she was off-limits. His, and his alone.
He coated his fingers with her climax, and when he sat up he licked them clean, watching her eyes dilate as she stared at him. Her mouth partially opened in surprise, but then she smiled and reached for him, pure pleasure in her green eyes.
“If you still plan to murder me, at least wait until I come too,” he murmured as he covered her body with his, slanted his mouth over hers.
She smiled against him, another laugh bubbling up as she kissed him back. Then she moved quickly, and rolled him so that she was on top of him, their bodies skin to skin. And just as smoothly, she tugged his pants off before settling back on top of him—and looking absolutely perfect sitting there.
He could have stopped her, but why would he. Normally he liked to be in charge, but he wanted to see her riding him, to feel her slide down on him, to take him to the hilt.
“Do you have condoms?” she whispered as she reached between their bodies, started stroking his hard length in a way that had all his brain cells short-circuiting. Just falling right out of his head.
“Ah…” He was going to simply murder himself as this point. “No,” he rasped out. Because he sure hadn’t been thinking about sex for this last-minute job. He’d gotten the call that she was in trouble and he’d gone straight into work mode.
She paused, her eyes a little manic. “I don’t either.” Then she let out a surprisingly savage curse as she looked around the room—as if expecting to find a miracle.
“I’m clean.” And he knew it was just his word, but he hoped she trusted him. Because sex was one thing. Trust, another thing entirely.
Her gaze snapped back to his. “Me too. And I’m on birth control.”
“I’m okay with no condom, then.” Because he trusted her in more ways than one.
For a moment, he thought she was going to retreat, to kick him out. Then she eased down his body and positioned herself right above his hard length—and slid down on him.
He arched up against her, the sensation of her tight body wrapped around his cock almost enough to make him lose control.
Almost.
He held onto her hips as she started riding him in a slow, sensual rhythm, her auburn hair damp ropes falling around her shoulders and breasts. The motion of her hips was hypnotic and it took everything he had to grasp onto his control.
Yep, he was definitely okay if she killed him now because he’d die happy. “You’re perfect. Your pussy is the greatest thing in the world.”
She stared down at him in what he could only describe as surprise, her cheeks flushing pink.
Seeing her off-balance, realizing that his words had done that, made him grin even as he still grappled for control. And it was a tightrope he was walking as he tried not to come. Because Adalyn was on top of him, riding him like there was no tomorrow.
“I’ve thought about taking you on every surface of—”
She cut him off as she leaned down, crushed her mouth to his. “No talking, Rowan. It’s too much.”
He moved quickly, flipping their positions with ease. “Or it’s not enough,” he rasped against her mouth. “Because I jerk off to you all the time.” Was that a screwed-up thing to admit? He didn’t actually care.
Her inner walls tightened at his admission, tight flutters around his hard length as he thrust into her. Yeah, she liked the thought of that. And they both needed to come, right now.
Reaching between their bodies, he began teasing her clit again, having learned how much pressure she liked—and she reacted with her entire body.
She dug her fingers into his back and her heels into his ass as he continued thrusting, as he lost himself inside her.
And when she started coming again, this time around his cock, he threw his control out the window, if he’d ever had it at all where she was concerned. He came hard, burying his face against her neck as she arched against him, met him stroke for manic stroke.
Eventually they both collapsed against the bed, sated but nowhere near done. At least he wasn’t. But he pulled her close in case she got any ideas about bolting. He kissed the top of her head as she curled into him, thankful she wasn’t tensing up, trying to run.
“Thank you,” she murmured, idly stroking her fingers over his chest.
“Please don’t thank me for sex.”
She thumped him once on the chest. “I wasn’t thanking you for that. Thank you for grounding me.”
“And…for the orgasms?”
She snickered as she looked up at him. “Thank you for those as well.”
A hint of sadness still lingered in her eyes as she laid her head back down, and he figured it was there to stay for a while. “I’m sorry about your friend,” he murmured.
“Yeah, me too. And thank you.” Her breath was warm on his chest. “It still feels surreal. God, his family…” She swallowed hard. “I hate everything about this, but especially for them. He and I were…”
Rowan definitely didn’t want to hear about her and an ex, especially when they were naked, but he kept holding her all the same.
“We were friends more than anything. Just two teens trying to figure life out. We never even…you know. And I never should have cut him out of my life, but it was just easier when I was recruited. If it wasn’t for Fleur or Zula Mae, I never would have come back here at all. I… You really don’t want to hear all this shit after sex,” she muttered and started to push up.
But he tugged her back down, held her close. “Who says I don’t?”
“Well, you’re a guy.”
“And thank you for noticing.”
She laughed again, and yep, it was going to be his life’s mission to wrench those out of her. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. And this isn’t some casual one-night stand.”
She made a humming sound and oooh, he didn’t like that at all. “What’s that mean?”
“Nothing.” She pushed up then and he didn’t stop her.
And okay, he enjoyed the view as she stalked over to the desk and picked up the plate. “Thank you for the food. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was.” She bit into a strawberry as she joined him on the bed again. “And what was it you were going to tell me before?”
“So are we just going to dive right into things? No cuddling?” He grinned when she threw a grape at his face in response. He caught it and sat up, leaned against the headboard as she set the plate of food on a pillow on her lap. “Using our drones, we got crystal clear feeds of Ali going into Naomi Winters’ warehouse. He’s in town for certain.”
She jerked slightly, looked as if she was about to bolt right out the door.
“Just wait. I managed to sneak an audio device in using the drone. And I won’t go into detail about how amazing I am or how hard it was to maneuver it inside the warehouse without being seen or heard.”
“Oh my god, Rowan!” She threw another grape at him.
“Anyway. He’s using her place to stash his weapons and he’ll be back at three a.m. to broker a deal. Which means we have plenty of time to get set up nearby.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall, grumbled to herself, but continued eating at least. “We might want to involve the locals. Not because I think they’re better than us but…if they take him down, they’ll be able to prosecute him properly. And Rory and Clara’s families will get justice and closure knowing the man who killed them is in jail.”
Rowan slowly nodded, amazed by her. Because his instinct was to just end the problem.
Then she continued. “And if they don’t handle things with Ali properly, I’ll take care of him myself.”
At her words, he told himself not to push, not to dig deeper, but his mouth didn’t listen to his brain. Which seemed to be a permanent problem around her. “Did you really kill Bes Ali?”
She slid off the bed and plucked up her robe, sadly covering up all that gorgeous skin. “What do you think?”
He lifted a shoulder, not making a move to get dressed or leave. “I think you’re a strong woman who had to make hard decisions.”
She eyed him carefully, her expression doing that opaque thing he hated when he couldn’t get a read on her. “I made certain decisions with my eyes wide open and I’m not sorry about them. Others, I’m very regretful for. And this thing between us…” She took a small step away from the bed, but he could see it in her expression that she was trying to shut things down between them. To put distance between them.
Nope. Not happening.
He slid off the bed and pulled his pants on as he turned to face her. “I know you’re trying to throw walls up right now and that’s fine. For now. But we’re not done. This thing between us, it’s just beginning.” And she might as well get used to it.
She wrapped her arms around herself, shook her head. “Rowan, don’t make this hard or awkward between us.”
“I’m not doing that. I’m just telling you how it is. You don’t get to run from me. You can try.” He tugged his shirt on as he stalked toward her, pinned her up against the wall. “But I will absolutely follow you.”