24. Vince
24
VINCE
As I left the bedroom, I pulled up the security camera footage on my phone and saw the red truck that had pulled into the driveway was now stopped about a hundred yards back from the house. I made my way into the kitchen to grab the spare gun my dad kept under the kitchen sink. I had my own but I took the other just in case. I heard the bedroom door open and silently groaned, knowing Cat hadn’t listened to a damn word I’d said about staying put.
“What do you see?” she asked quietly over my shoulder.
I turned the phone so she could see. “ There’s a red truck stopped a little way up. No one has gotten out yet, though.”
“Do you think they’re lost and just turned down the wrong driveway?” she asked.
“Do you remember the gate we came through on the way in?” I reminded her. “ This person either broke in or knew the code.”
“Should we turn the lights out so they don’t think anyone is here?”
“Even though the truck was back down the road a bit, whoever’s in it would still be able to see not only my vehicle, but the house from where they’re located, so turning the lights off at this point wouldn’t matter,” I explained.
I couldn’t see inside the vehicle, but from the side camera, I could now see the back license plate of the car.
“Grab your phone and call Archer for me,” I told her. “ Put it on speaker-phone.”
I stared at my phone with the security cameras in view while she called my cousin.
Archer answered immediately. “ Cat , everything okay?”
“We’ve got a trespasser,” I said before Cat could answer. “ Can you pull up my dad’s cameras and give me a second set of eyes? Also need you to run the plates.”
“On it,” he responded.
I waited a few moments for him to pull up the cameras on his phone and assess the situation.
“Your camera on the front porch went black for a bit and just recently came back on. You know that?”
“That was me. Needed privacy on the deck for a bit, but I just turned them back on,” I told him then looked over at Cat to see her blushing as she looked at me.
“Got it,” Archer responded with a hint of a chuckle to his voice, which implied he knew exactly what likely went down. “ I see the plate number on the gate camera. Give me a minute to look into it.”
The car started to move again, so I alerted Archer . When the car stopped next to mine, I felt my body become hyperaware.
“Archer,” I said, making sure he was watching.
“I see it,” he responded.
A man slid out from the driver’s side door and walked around to the front of the truck. He wasn’t creeping in a stealthy way, but rather walking with slow, measured steps—like he was being extra cautious. Then he stepped into the light from the front porch, and recognition hit.
“Is that Parker ?” Archer asked.
“Yeah, that’s him,” I responded. “ I think we’re good—no need to run the plate anymore.”
“Got it,” Archer replied. “ At least now we know how he got through the gate. I’m assuming he used the Knox Box . I’ll let you go, but let me know if he has anything interesting to say.”
“Will do,” I told him, then set the phone down on the counter and started toward the main door to meet him.
“What’s a Knox Box ?” Cat asked from behind me.
“It’s what emergency services—like firefighters, cops, and EMTs —use to get into gated communities or homes, so they don’t have to ram the gate open to get in,” I explained, then opened the door to Parker .
“Hey man,” Parker said as he walked up to the door. “ Sorry to just show up, but after I got off the phone with you, I was on my way to meet with the Sherriff one county west of here, when Officer Hess called and told me about the threat to Cat and her sister. Why didn’t you tell me about it when we talked an hour ago?”
“I honestly figured you’d already heard. Sorry , man,” I told him.
“If I’d realized your dad had this place locked down like Fort Knox , I would have called first.”
I chuckled, figuring he must’ve seen the cameras as soon as he pulled in—probably why he stopped for a bit before coming down the rest of the drive. “ There’s no land mines around the property, but he’s got cameras covering just about every angle.”
Parker didn’t stay for long. We gave him a recap of what had happened with the chocolate delivery—the same story we’d told the other cops—and then he said he’d let us know if he heard anything.
“I know you are set for cameras, but do you have enough weapons on you in case something goes down?” he asked. “ I’ve got my hunting rifle in the back if you want to borrow it.”
“I’m good, plus my dad has a few extras up here too,” I told him.
“Alright, I’ll let you guys go so you can enjoy your evening,” Parker said as I walked him to the main door. “ How long you guys gonna stay up here?”
I gave him a vague answer— I was still hoping to convince Cat to stay a little longer. “ I’m not sure. She wants to go back tomorrow to see her sister, but I’d like to stick around a few more days until the dust settles so we’ll see.”
He nodded and made his way out. I walked back inside and locked the door.
“I’m glad that wasn’t an actual trespasser,” Cat said from behind me.
Her voice brought me back to the fact that she hadn’t listened to me earlier.
“Woman, I told you to stay inside the bedroom,” I countered as I turned to face her. “ Yes , we got lucky it was just Parker , but if it hadn’t been, you coming out here would have made this a hell of a lot harder.”
“I’m not just going to sit around and watch someone try to hurt you,” she argued, putting her hands on her hips.
“It was Parker . I wasn’t in danger,” I pointed out.
“We didn’t know that!” she spat back. “ And you have weapons in here. I could have grabbed a knife or something to help you.”
“You can’t help me by wandering all over the house. If I really was in danger, you can call the cops. It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.”
“Oh great, so I’m just a job to you,” she snarled, crossing her arms.
“That’s not what I meant.” I sighed. “ I’m not protecting you because I work in security. I’m protecting you because I’m your man, and it’s my duty to take care of you and protect you.”
“Well, it’s also a woman’s job to take care of her man and protect him, too!” she yelled then stormed off toward the bedroom.
I cursed under my breath, swiping my hand down the front of my face. This was not how I had hoped this evening would go. I certainly hadn’t envisioned her being pissed off at me. Since the house was already locked up from before, I turned the lights off and walked back down the hall to the bedroom to see if I could get this night back on track.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her face down with her hands on either side of her head. She looked forlorn, and I hated knowing I’d caused that.
“I’m sorry,” I communicated, both with the words and also by squatting in front of her with my hands on her knees, hoping she could see the apology written on my face.
She glanced up at me, staring as though she wasn’t sure she’d heard me correctly.
“I appreciate you wanting to take care of me, too,” I uttered in a softer voice. “ It feels good knowing you have my back. Just promise me that if shit really starts to hit the fan and I ask you to do something, you will understand that I have far more experience in these situations and you’ll listen to me. Cat , if something were to happen to you on my watch, I would never be able to forgive myself. And I also can't focus unless I know you're safe.”
“I get it because I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me either,” she said, holding up her hand so I couldn’t interrupt her. “ So , yes, I promise to do what you ask if the situation gets dicey. I don’t exactly want to die now that I have a real boyfriend for the first time in my life.”
Her face flushed as if she hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.
“You think I’m hot?” I teased her as my lip curled up.
“Fishing for compliments, V ?” she taunted right back, her cheeks still an enticing shade of pink.
“I love it when you call me V ,” I confessed. “ It started because of the letters, and you’re the only one to ever do that, so it feels special.”
I leaned forward and kissed her. Softly at first, and then her hands moved to my head, and I deepened the kiss as she lightly tugged at my hair. I broke the kiss and stared into her eyes, which were now full of sparkle and heat.
She smiled back then bit her lip. “ Feel like picking up where we left off in the hot tub?”
“I love that idea.”
I stood up and walked around to the table to put my gun down and slid my shoes off. When I turned around, I saw her begin to slide her sweatpants down.
“Don’t,” I dictated. “ I want to undress you. It’s like getting to unwrap the present you’ve been waiting for all year for from Santa .”
She blushed at my compliment, and it only fueled my desire to give her more. I sauntered over to her and put my hands on her hips. Her pants were down at her ankles, leaving her in only her light-gray lace panties below her waist. I slowly lifted my hands, taking the shirt up at the same time.
“I could spend hours just kissing your beautiful body.”
The shirt was now gone. I felt goosebumps prickle on her skin as my hands trailed to her back to unclasp her bra. She had the best rack I’d ever seen on a woman, bar none. She had way more than a handful, but they were perky and had the most amazing dark pink-colored nipples that just begged you to put your mouth on them. So , I did.
My hands slid to the back of her thighs, and I lifted her up, and plopped her onto the bed. Not wasting any time, I leaned forward and feasted on her nipples. Her hands went back to my head as she sifted through my hair and tugged as she moaned under me.
I kissed my way down her chest, focusing on each full breast, giving them the attention they deserved.
“I love how your beard scratches my nipples.” She gasped, then arched into me. “ It feels so good.”
I slid my hand down between her legs, and I instantly felt that she was drenched.
“You’re already so wet for me.” I loved that she responded so quickly to my touch.
My fingers stroked her through the barrier of her underwear, gently pushing just the tips of my fingers into her entrance.
She let out a deep, throaty moan. “ Vince . I’m ready. I want you inside me. Now .”
I pulled up, looked down at her, and soaked in the sight of her beautiful, flushed body beneath me. “ God , you are stunning. And all mine.”
“It’s not fair you have all your clothes on, and I don’t. How about you give me something stunning to look at, too?”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I ripped my clothes off in record time, aware that she was watching me the entire time. Heat and lust filling her eyes.
“Like what you see?”
“I’d like it a lot more if you were on top of me,” she teased.
I looked down and noticed her panties were soaked through. I realized we were both still worked up from earlier, so I quickly put the condom on and moved to straddle the top of her. I slid her panties down slowly off her body, enjoying the goosebumps that formed under my touch.
“I really want to know what you feel like without that, but I’m not on birth control. I never had a need to be.”
Damn. Just hearing her say she wanted me bare inside her caused my dick to swell even larger, even knowing it wouldn’t happen.
Not yet…
“We’ll get there, baby. No rush,” I told her, my voice croaking.
I knew in my head we couldn’t take that chance, despite my other head lower in my body disagreeing.
I lined myself up at her entrance. Feeling her heat even through the condom had my mind going straight to what she would feel like bare. I closed my eyes, trying to regain control, or I would come the moment I entered her.
After a moment, I opened my eyes then looked right into hers as I slid inside her. It felt like I was sliding home. Her eyes carried so many emotions as I pushed in and out of her. I felt those same emotions right there with her.
“God, you feel so damn good,” I told her.
Her tight, warm heat enveloped me in pure bliss. I kissed her deeply. She tasted amazing, and she felt incredible. I was pretty sure a lifetime of sex with this woman would never get boring.
“V,” she whimpered then cried out as her orgasm squeezed me hard.
I tried desperately to hold on a little longer to let her ride her wave all the way through, but she felt too good. I growled her name as I came right along with her.
After lying there for a few minutes, just enjoying her body next to mine, I got up to remove the condom and brushed my teeth before returning to the bed. She was half asleep, so I lifted her and tucked her under the covers. Flicking off the light, I pulled her up against me. This woman was everything my fantasies were ever made of, but it was more than that. She was loyal, funny, caring, and everything I had ever hoped for in a partner. I fell asleep to thoughts of how good my life was at this moment.
I just needed the threat against her to go away.
* * *
I woke the next morning with a warm, naked body flush against mine. Despite having had sex less than eight hours ago, my dick was up and raring to go. Nicely situated along the crack of her perfect ass, my cock twitched, likely knowing how close it was to her insanely addictive body. My arm was draped over her left arm and chest, my hand brushing her nipple.
I hadn’t been this horny since I was a teenager. Presently , my body acted as though I was coming off a long drought without sex for years. God , this woman was going to be the death of me.
As if she knew the struggle I was currently in and wanted to make it worse, her body shifted back, pressing my dick closer to the Holy Land . Her nipple hardened against my palm, and she made soft whimpers. There was only so much a man could take.
I stroked my thumb against her nipple and kissed her shoulder and neck.
“Mmm, that feels nice,” she muttered, her voice still gravelly from having just woken up.
“I can make you feel even nicer.”
Just as I moved to roll on top of her, a sharp pain sliced at my back along with a loud hiss and angry meow.
“Ahh, shit!” Pain seared down my back.
“Harry, be nice!” Cat reprimanded the vicious creature that had just attacked me. “ Sorry . He doesn’t like it when you jostle him when he’s sleeping.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like it when he cock blocks me,” I said now that the mood was clearly killed by my lacerated back. “ I think he may have drawn blood.”
“Let me see.”
I turned to give her my back and felt a slight twinge of pain as I twisted.
She gasped. “ Harry ! We do not hurt our friends.”
Her soft fingers touched the skin just above where it hurt the most.
“It’s not terrible, but there’s definitely some blood. Let me get something to clean it up and bandage it for you. I’m so sorry.”
I got up and walked to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure it needed to be bandaged, but I could take a look in the mirror. She walked in behind me, still naked, providing me with a nice view while she attended to me.
“First-aid kit is under this sink,” I told her then enjoyed watching as she crouched down to grab the kit from the cabinet.
I turned at an angle so she could access my back to put some antiseptic on it, but I also looked into the mirror and saw her beautiful body while she worked on me.
“I’m so sorry Harry did this. He gets cold at night, not having any fur, so he likes to climb in bed with either Val or me. You must have startled him when you moved closer to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. At least I get the perk of you touching my body while I get to look at yours in the mirror.” I raised my brows at her when she looked up at my reflection.
She smiled back at me shyly then shook her head as if she didn’t believe me. Before I could say anything else, her phone rang from the other room.
“You can go get it. You got most of it anyway. I should be good.”
“It’s probably just Val . I can call her back,” she responded, rubbing the cool gel onto my back, making me long for themoment just before Harry interrupted us.
My phone rang moments later, and I realized that it likely wasn’t a coincidence.
“Stay here. I’ll get it for you,” she said, taking off for the bedroom.
She returned and handed me the phone, but I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello, this is Vince .”
“Mr. Fletcher , this is Officer Greer from a few days ago,” he said, and I recalled he was one of the responding officers to my apartment. “ I’ve been trying to get in touch with Ms . Romano , but she isn’t answering her calls. Her sister recommended I call you since she was with you.”
“Yeah, she’s here. Hold on a second and let me get her,” I told him then put the phone on mute for a moment.
“It’s Officer Greer , the one who responded to my loft,” I turned and informed Cat . “ He wants to talk to you, so I’ll put it on speaker-phone.”
“Oh, wait, hold on. Let me get a shirt.” She exited the bathroom quickly, taking my beautiful view away.
“Sweetheart, he can’t see you,” I reminded her.
“I know that, but it still feels weird to talk to him while I’m naked!” she hollered from the bedroom.
God, she was cute. I would have followed her back to the bedroom and just taken the call in there, but I didn’t trust Harry not to come after me for round two of bloodshed.
She ran back into the bathroom with an oversized T -shirt on. It was long and went almost all the way to her knees, but draped over her body in all the right places, so I could tell she still wasn’t wearing a bra or panties underneath. Crap . Taking a call from the police was not the time to get a hard-on.
She was slightly out of breath when she spoke. “ Okay , put it on speaker.”
I hit the button, and she spoke first. “ Hello , this is Cat .”
“Hello, ma’am. This is Officer Greer .”
“Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?”
She was polite to him and put on a brave face, but I could tell she was anxious and just wanted him to spit it out.
“I called your sister already, but we wanted to let you know that we were unsuccessful in figuring out where the chocolates originated from, nor have we been able to identify the man who dropped them off at the loft.”
She sighed and lowered her head in slight defeat but didn’t interrupt the officer.
“Your contact at the FBI called me back as well and let me know that they have heard no chatter whatsoever from any other gang members or any of their undercover agents about any sort of bounty on your head or any imminent threat to you. I say that because we are hoping that this may just be a one-off. While that makes it a bit more difficult to find the perpetrator and figure out who he is, it also means there isn’t a larger threat against you and your sister from the entire gang.”
I heard what he was saying, but I still didn’t like that there was any threat against her. Period . He assured us he would call if he had any new information. I informed him we would likely stay out of town for a few more days just to be safe and that he could call me if he couldn’t get in touch with Cat on her cell.
After we hung up, she looked so defeated. I set the phone on the counter, placed my hands on the sides of her head, and tilted it up so she could look at me.
“Hey, we’ll figure this out. I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to stress about it.” I kissed her in an attempt to distract her and also because I wanted to.
Before things could get too heated, a loud meow came from the doorway.
I broke the kiss, and Cat chuckled. “ I think the beast is demanding food.”
“I’d rather stay here and continue making out with my woman, but I’ve already seen what that evil thing can do when he doesn’t get his way, and I’d rather not have him butcher my body any further.”
She apologized but also chuckled. She was even more beautiful when she laughed, so I kissed her again, this time quickly.
“Let’s get dressed, feed the dictator, and I’ll take you for a hike around the property and show you the view from the cliff.”
She nodded, kissed me again, and then left to go feed the devil cat.