Chapter 9
ECHO
O nce we realized that the person in charge of the con ring was a woman, Wizard had a fuck of a lot more to work with. So he told us to give him twenty-four hours to put together everything he could find with all the information he’d already gathered.
We had eyes on the two women in the middle of a scheme and on Jeff, who hadn’t initiated his next job yet. If necessary, we’d interfere to keep the marks from being taken advantage of before we could take down Jean and her lackeys.
After Violet and I had our little romp in her recording studio—followed by her bed, the floor, and finally, the shower—I made her dinner. Then we relaxed on the couch with a movie while we ate.
She’d seemed delighted that I’d cooked for her, but it was nothing compared to how elated I was when she pulled a chocolate melting cake from the oven. By the time we’d finished the whole thing, she had a new appreciation for the gooey center since I’d eaten most of it on her pussy.
I asked King to keep Ink on Jeff so I could have some uninterrupted time with my woman while we waited on Wizard and Ace to find our smoking gun.
Not having to worry about surveillance meant I could focus solely on Violet.
The result was that she was gonna be sore as hell after I fucked her relentlessly.
I couldn’t get enough of her…or fucking her bare.
I knew we should have talked about it, but the feeling of her tight pussy wrapped around my naked cock was pure heaven.
And it didn’t completely slip my mind that every time I came inside her, it was one more shot at knocking her up.
“Damn,” I grunted the following morning as we lay sprawled out in the bed, both of us spent from our last round of sexual acrobatics.
“Uh-huh,” Violet panted, her body draped over mine with my semi-hard cock still sheathed in her hot center.
She shifted, and her inner muscles clenched, making me groan and grab her hips to keep her still. “You gotta stop that, baby,” I warned. “Or you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
Violet giggled and turned her face into my chest, placing a soft kiss on my nipple ring, then laying her cheek on my pec. “If anyone had said that to me a few days ago, I would have thought they were crazy.”
“And now?” I pressed, grinning down at her.
She shrugged and turned her head to look up at me, resting her chin on my torso. “It doesn’t sound all that unappealing.”
“Motherfucker,” I rasped, silently shouting at my cock to stand down.
It didn’t give a shit what my brain wanted. A burst of energy filled me, and I flipped us over, put Violet’s legs on my shoulders, and pounded in and out of her vise-like pussy. When her cries escalated, I pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.
When this shit was over, the first thing I was gonna do was find us a house that was isolated enough that she could shout the walls down, and no one would hear her.
After we both found fulfillment, we collapsed again and fell into an exhausted sleep.
We only slept for a little over an hour, then we snuggled in bed and talked for a while.
When she fell silent for a little too long, I put two fingers under her chin and raised her head so I could clearly see her face.
“What’s on your mind, baby?”
She watched me hesitantly for a moment before speaking. “I know you can’t tell me everything, but…can you share anything? Did you accomplish what you needed to yesterday?”
I sighed and leaned back on my pillow, studying the ceiling as I contemplated how much to share. “We found Jeff’s boss. Just going to take a little time to put things into place so we can take the group down completely.”
“Oh.”
She sounded so dejected that I rolled us over so I could study her expression when I asked, “What’s that tone for?”
Violet licked her lips and glanced away.
“Look at me, Violet,” I ordered.
Her purple gaze returned to my face, and we locked eyes.
“So you don’t need my apartment anymore?” she queried softly. “Since you don’t need Jeff to lead you to the guy in charge?”
I immediately understood her change in demeanor, and smug satisfaction bloomed in my chest. “You think we’re done because I found another lead to follow?”
She nodded, and her violet pools glistened with tears, even though she was blinking rapidly to hold them back.
“Think again, baby,” I growled. “This”—I pointed back and forth between us—“will never be done.”
Hope sparked in her beautiful eyes, and her chest froze as if she was holding her breath.
“I meant it when I said you were mine, baby. There’s no going back now.”
Her mouth widened into a brilliant smile, and she sighed happily. “That’s not all that unappealing either.”
I raised an eyebrow and narrowed my eyes. “Just not unappealing? Clearly, I haven’t been doing my job.”
By the time I let her out of bed, she agreed that being mine was the best idea ever as she wobbled to the bathroom on unsteady legs.
We spent the day together, working on our shit between christening every room and piece of sturdy furniture in her apartment.
She let me listen while she recorded the first chapter of her newest project, and I completely understood why she was so sought after. I’d been caught up in the story, transported there by her voice and the way she weaved her words. It was magic.
When we went to bed that night, we were both so damn tired that we slept like the dead. I’d just plated our breakfast and placed it in front of Violet at the bar when my phone rang from the bedroom.
“Be right back, baby,” I told her, giving her a quick kiss before stalking to the other room.
It was Blaze calling so I quickly answered. “Yeah?”
“Hope I’m not interrupting,” he chortled.
“Wouldn’t have answered the damn phone, asshole,” I grumbled.
“Fair enough. Wizard’s got something. Get your ass to the clubhouse.”
“Violet’s eating breakfast. As soon as she’s done, we’ll head over.”
“Fine. Also, I ordered the vest. Should be here next week.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I ended the call as I returned to the kitchen and put my arms around my woman, burying my face in the crook of her neck. Damn, she smelled amazing.
“Gotta go to the clubhouse for some business,” I told her. “I want you to come with me.”
She twisted her neck, and I raised my head to gauge her expression. She looked stunned but pleased, making me grin. “You want to take me to the Hounds of Hellfire clubhouse?”
I nodded. “You’ll be safest there. And I want you with me.”
“But isn’t that like…secret or something?”
Laughing, I kissed her nose and shook my head. “It’s not exactly secret. More like…exclusive.”
“But I thought only club bunnies and old ladies got to be in the clubhouse.”
I rolled my eyes and scooped her into my arms. “You’ve been reading too many of those novels, baby. First, there are no ‘club bunnies’ around our MC. Not since several years before King took over as our prez. And Stella would kick all our asses if someone even tried to suggest it.”
Violet giggled as I bounced her a little while strolling back to the bedroom and into the master bath. She didn’t bring up the second half of her statement again, and without a property patch to give her, I left that subject alone for the moment.
We showered and dressed, then scarfed down our now cold breakfast before hopping on my bike and riding to the compound.
Blaze stood by the hallway that led to the offices when we walked inside, talking quietly with Ace and Ink. He stopped when he spotted me and jerked his chin, a silent order to follow him.
I nodded, then turned to Violet and walked her over to one of the couches in the lounge. “Got club business to deal with. You want me to take you to my room so you can lie down or read?”
She smiled and shook her head, dropping onto the couch. “Nope. I’m good here.” She put her feet up and fished her e-reader out of her purse, then shot me a content smile. “Take your time.”
The sincerity in her voice astonished me. How had I met the perfect fucking woman for me? I didn’t deserve Violet, that was for sure. But nothing would stop me from keeping her.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I loved her, but it was definitely not the right time. Instead, I stalked over to her and gave her a hard, hot kiss before heading to King’s office.
King, Blaze, Wizard, Ace, Ink, Shadow, Kevlar, and Cross were all at the conference table to the right of the door. I grabbed one of the other chairs and sat, halting their hushed conversation.
“Wizard?” King prompted.
Wizard pushed a folder in each of our directions, then leaned back in his chair and tapped the keyboard of his laptop, which was perched on the table in front of him.
“That’s pretty much everything we know about this group.
There’s also a chart for the hierarchy and an info sheet on each of the key players. ”
He continued to share what he’d learned, with Ace jumping in from time to time. Idea after idea on how to finish things swirled around in my head, and from the thoughtful expressions on everyone’s faces, I had a feeling they were similarly occupied.
Finally, Wizard ran out of steam, and the questions started. We tossed out suggestions, analyzed some of the data more thoroughly, and worked the problem from every angle to find a solution.
“Hold up,” Shadow murmured, staring at one of the sheets of paper in his hand. “Jean has been married six times?”
Wizard nodded. “Younger men. No prenup.”
“She was already filthy rich when she started this shit?” Kevlar blurted, tossing his folder on the table with a disgusted huff.
“Yup.”
“She does it for the thrill, then,” Shadow surmised.
“Fair assumption,” King agreed, his gaze locked on Shadow. “You think it would work?”
“Would what work?” Ink asked, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
“Maybe,” I grunted, catching on to their train of thought once I digested Shadow’s words. “Only if there is a compelling reason for her to get back in the game.”