Chapter Eight #2
She didn’t respond with words. Instead, she pressed her body against mine, her arms sliding around my neck. The sensation of her wet skin sliding against mine sent heat rushing through me despite the water surrounding us. Her lips found mine, tasting of chlorine and desire.
My restraint cracked, then shattered completely.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her tight against me as I deepened the kiss.
Water sloshed over us, creating small waves that lapped at our shoulders as we disturbed the water with our movements.
Her legs circled my waist, ankles crossing at the small of my back.
I walked us backward until her spine met the pool wall. She gasped into my mouth at the contact, her fingers digging into my shoulders. The blue from the underwater light rippled across her face as she pulled back slightly, her eyes dark and wanting.
“Here?” I asked, surprised at the rough edge in my voice.
Her answer was to reach down between us, tugging at the waistband of my boxers. “Here,” she confirmed. “Now.”
The water created a barrier between us and the world, a cocoon of privacy within the empty warehouse. I braced one hand against the pool wall as she shifted her underwear aside. When I pushed into her, she buried her face against my neck to muffle her cry.
The water made every movement dreamlike, creating a resistance that forced us to move slowly, deliberately. Her legs tightened around me, heels digging into my back as she urged me to fuck her faster. Deeper. Harder. I held her weight easily, the water making her nearly weightless in my arms.
“Look at me,” I demanded softly, and her eyes found mine immediately. “Look at me when you come.”
She did, screaming as she orgasmed in my arms, her body tensing against mine, her gaze never leaving my face. I followed her over the edge, burying my face in her hair to stifle my own groan as release washed over me and I came deep inside her.
Without a condom.
We stayed like that for several long moments, breathing hard, bodies still joined, the water lapping gently around us. For once, my mind was quiet. At ease. There was only Ada, warm and real in my arms, her heartbeat gradually slowing against my chest.
“Uh, honey?” I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but this needed to be addressed.
“Hmm?” She had her cheek against my shoulder, face pressed against my neck. Her legs were still locked at the ankle around my hips. If we were in bed, I had no doubt she’d be asleep already.
“I, uh, didn’t use a condom.”
She didn’t move. Didn’t stiffen. Didn’t acknowledge me. I was afraid maybe she had gone to sleep. “Ada?”
“I know,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I was waiting to see if I panicked.”
“I… what?”
“I was waiting to see if I panicked at the thought you came inside me. I mean, you told me you had to be tested before you were released.”
“Yes. I’m clean.”
“I’ve got an implant to prevent pregnancy, and my last physical was six months ago. I was clean then and haven’t had a partner since.” She smiled up at me. “At least until now.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t even think.”
“Well, clearly I didn’t either.” Her smile wasn’t dimmed in the least. “And I don’t regret it.”
I leaned in and kissed her, a long, lingering pressing of our lips. I could kiss her all day. Or just hold her in bed. For hours.
“We should probably get dressed,” she eventually whispered against my ear, though she made no move to disentangle herself.
Reality slowly seeped back in. I kissed her once more before carefully setting her down, making sure her feet were steady on the pool floor before releasing her.
We climbed out, water streaming from our bodies onto the concrete. Our discarded clothes clung uncomfortably as we dressed, the fabric sticking to still-wet skin.
Ada wrinkled her nose as she pulled her shirt over her head. “Next time we’ll bring extra clothes,” she laughed as she attempted to wring water from her hair. “Didn’t think this one all the way through.”
“Next time?” I raised an eyebrow, fighting a smile.
She grinned, unrepentant. “Definitely next time.” She reached for my hand. “Come on. Let’s get going. We’ll shower, then see if we can get dirty again.”
As we headed for the door, I cast one last glance around the pool area. Nothing seemed out of place, but now the sexual fog had lifted a little, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching us from the shadows.
I tightened my grip on Ada’s hand as we stepped outside, water dripping in places from our clothes as we made our way back toward our building.
The night air felt cool against my wet clothes as we walked across the compound.
Ada’s hand was warm in mine. She was talking about some book she’d been reading, her voice soft in the darkness, and for once, I wasn’t scanning shadows.
I was just listening to her voice, feeling almost normal.
That’s when the explosion hit. A deep, concussive BOOM that shook the ground beneath our feet.
The blast knocked Ada off her feet. I was already moving before my brain had fully processed what was happening. I threw myself over her, covering her body with mine, one arm cradling her head while my other hand reached instinctively for a weapon I wasn’t carrying.
“Stay down,” I growled.
A plume of dust and smoke billowed about fifty yards away. I couldn’t see anything around the area other than where the base of the explosion had been. If there was shrapnel from the blast, it wasn’t immediately identifiable.
“Jag,” Ada’s voice came from beneath me, steady despite everything. “I’m okay. Let me up.”
I eased back slightly but kept my body over hers as a shield. All around us, doors burst open as Kiss of Death members poured out of buildings, most armed, moving to defensive positions around the perimeter. The soft glow of the pool house suddenly felt like a lifetime ago.
“What the hell was that?” Ada whispered, pushing herself to a sitting position. Her wet hair hung in ropes around her face, but her eyes were clear, focused. No sign of panic, though she shook her head as if to clear it. Knight’s sister through and through.
“Dunno,” I muttered, helping her to her feet but keeping her tucked against my side. My gaze never stopped moving, checking rooftops, doorways, shadows. If this was an attack, the explosion could be just the beginning. Or a distraction to draw us out into the open.
A figure emerged from the shadows to our right.
I tensed, pushing Ada slightly behind me before recognizing Gunnar’s big frame.
The club’s new VP had a rifle slung across his chest and moved with the careful precision of someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
His gaze, like mine, never stopped scanning as he approached us.
“You two hurt?” he asked, voice clipped.
I shook my head. “What got hit?”
“Nothing.” Gunnar’s expression was perplexed.
“If I were guessing, given the fine powder and really loud boom, I’d say someone threw a canister filled with Tannerite into the yard, then moved off a distance and waited to shoot it until they were ready for it to explode.
Knight’s getting a drone ready to look closer at the blast site before anyone gets near it. Fucker loves playin’ with his gadgets.”
“It went off when Ada and I came out into the courtyard,” I mused. “He could have been waiting for one of us. Either he’s terrorizing us, or…” I trailed off, trying to think about what I knew of Rat Man. “I was only a kid at the time,” I muttered. “But he’s not that great a marksman.”
“How do you know?” Gunnar asked.
“Went huntin’ with him more than once. He always misjudges his distance. Either leads too far ahead or not enough.”
“You think he wanted you to be closer? Kill or incapacitate you or Ada?”
“Hard to say. I always thought part of his problem was his vision. But it’s possible, if he intended on getting one or both of us with that blast, he misjudged how far we were from whatever delivery method he used.”
When nothing else happened, I helped Ada to her feet and we hurried inside the nearest compound. Apparently, the camo netting came in handy from time to time and wasn’t merely decoration. Who knew?
“Fuckin’ Rat Man,” I muttered.
Gunnar had his phone to his ear, listening intently. After a few seconds he grunted. “Yeah. What I thought too.” He ended the call.
“Knight says the sound and the white powder indicates it was likely Tannerite.”
“Guess you were right.” I pulled Ada closer, needing to keep her at my side. “What now?”
“Knuckles is on the phone with Tonio Miles. Normally, he wouldn’t get the other man involved in our business.
We’re at his beck and call, not the other way around.
” He said the last with a wry grin. “But Darby is his daughter and if he hears about this from anyone other than Knuckles or Darby, we’ll have bigger problems than Rat Man to worry about. ”
That kind of caught me off guard. “Didn’t know Kiss of Death was affiliated with the Miles family.”
“We’re his muscle. He knows we’re not here to terrorize the city or rob him blind. In return, he pays us very well. And foots most of the bill for Haven.”
As if on cue, the rumble of motorcycles cut through the night. Seconds later, headlights swept across the compound as Knight and Knuckles roared through the gates, flanked by four more riders.
Knuckles moved toward us, parking next to where we stood. Knight was right behind him, his face twisted with cold fury as he looked out to where the white dust was still settling, clearly visible even in the rapidly fading light.
“Anyone hurt?” Knuckles demanded of Gunnar.
“Ada got knocked off her feet.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Ears are ringing a bit.”
“Small fucking mercies.” Knight’s gaze fell on Ada, his expression softening slightly with relief before hardening again as he turned to Knuckles. “This is it. The line’s been fuckin’ obliterated.”
Knuckles nodded once, a simple movement that somehow conveyed absolute finality.
“Tonio is on the way.” Knuckles gave Gunnar a curious look.
“You didn’t say anything about gettin’ Cain involved.
Thought you were only talking to your brothers.
” If Knuckles meant to censure his new VP for not running something by him, I couldn’t tell.
These two had a different dynamic than I was used to.
Gunnar gave Knuckles a puzzled look. “I didn’t call Dad.”
“Well, he says to let him in the Goddamned gate when he gets here.” Knuckles shrugged. “His words. Not mine.”
“Yeah.” Gunnar winced. “Maybe I should have called him before I called my brothers.”
As they continued to talk, I turned to Ada, looking her over closely for the first time. Her wet clothes clung to her frame, her wet hair was a tangled, dirty mess, and she had a small scrape above her eyebrow. Could have been much worse.
I cupped her face between my hands. She was alive. Whole. The relief that flooded through me was quickly chased by something darker, more primal. Whoever had done this had threatened what was mine. Had threatened her.
“I’m gonna end this,” I promised, my voice carrying the weight of every second I’d spent behind bars, every fight I’d survived, every night I’d lain awake planning for a moment like this. “I’m going to find Rat Man, and I’m going to finish this.”
Ada didn’t flinch at the lethal intent in my voice.
Instead, she covered my hands with hers, holding my gaze steady.
“We’re going to finish this,” she corrected.
“All of us. Together.” She was right. We were in this together.
She was my anchor. I was her protector. We were bound by something stronger than fear, deeper than desire.
And God help anyone who tried to come between us.