Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“I ’m fine, Hunt. We’re both fine.”
Vander leaned back in his chair, listening to Brynn talk to Hunt.
She’d already spoken with her mom, her brother, and both her sisters. Vander had fielded messages from his own parents and siblings.
“Uh-huh.” She took a swig of her beer, caught his gaze, and rolled her eyes.
They were back out by the pond again. Golden afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees.
Brynn had found one of his T-shirts, and looked ridiculously appealing in it.
He’d given her some oil and she’d removed the fake tattoos off her arm.
Her bare legs were curled up on the lounger. He wondered what she had on under it.
He flexed the fingers of his right hand. There was nothing to stop him reaching under the cotton to find out.
He knew that she’d happily give him everything he demanded.
His cock throbbed. Damn .
He reached for the plate on the low table between them. They’d put together a platter with some cheese, crackers, dip, salami, grapes, and olives. He snagged an olive and sipped his own beer.
“Yes, yes, he’s taking good care of me.” Her gaze turned amused.
Troublemaker . They both knew Hunt would have a coronary if he knew exactly how Vander was taking care of her.
“Okay, keep me posted.” She dropped her phone on the lounger and scrunched her nose. “So, Nomad has gone to ground. Hunt raided the clubhouse, but he was gone. No one is saying where he is.”
“They’re afraid of him.”
She slumped back. “Yeah.” Another pull of her beer. “Apparently Nomad is good at collecting information on people. Information they’d prefer to stay hidden.”
“He had something on Trucker.”
“Yes. Hunt says it’s something to do with an old murder of a rival biker. From when Trucker was younger. That’s all he knows. Hunt’s informants are flooding him with info.” A line creased her brow. “There are new drug shipments about to pour into San Francisco.”
Nomad wasn’t wasting any time. “That’s what my informants are saying, too.”
She sat up, her gaze sharpening. “Were you planning to tell me that?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
God, that suspicious tone. He held up his phone. “Ace just sent the intel through while you were on the phone.”
“Oh.”
“Not very trusting, are you, Detective?”
She extended one long leg and kicked his shin. “You’re a bit of a shady character, Norcross.”
He grunted, wondering again what she had under that shirt.
“We need to stop the shipments and find whatever rock Nomad has crawled under,” she said.
“I have Ace working on it. We’ll intercept the drug shipments, and we’ll find Nomad.” Vander wasn’t letting that asshole get away with infiltrating his city and turning it into his own little drug playground.
Or attacking his woman.
His chest tightened, but he absorbed the emotion. How he felt about her.
“I’m not going to see one more kid’s life cut short.” Her light-blue eyes fired. “When kids are hurt or killed, it’s the worst.”
He saw the darkness in her eyes. That familiar darkness he saw in the mirror every day.
He reached out and took her hand. “Think of the ones you’ve saved.”
She swallowed, and studied him. Yeah, he knew she’d see his own darkness.
Fuck, the things he’d seen. Done.
“These overdoses get me,” she said quietly.
“Kids on the cusp of adulthood, about to plunge into the prime of their lives. All that potential. But the worst was a few weeks back.” She stroked a finger down the condensation on her bottle.
“I was too late to stop an asshole stepfather from beating his toddler stepdaughter to death. He was sky-high on Stardust and out of his mind. Shit.” She blew out a breath.
“I know.” Vander did. That sense of helplessness. The sense of failure and despair that the world was fucked.
She nodded. “You’re right. I need to focus on the good stuff. The kids I did help get out. The women I’ve saved. The men I’ve helped.”
Yes, but Vander was aware it wasn’t always that easy.
His gaze turned inward. He saw the face of every man he’d lost, every enemy he’d killed, every civilian he’d failed to save.
“Hey.” Brynn slid onto his lap and cupped his cheek. “Stay here with me.”
When he looked at her, she smiled. Smiled like he deserved it.
Light shone out of her. She might’ve seen the darkness, but she hadn’t let it taint her.
She rose. “I feel like another swim.”
She pulled the T-shirt over her head, and he finally got to see what was under it.
His cock went hard in an instant. It was a tiny bikini that Gia had probably left there. It was red, and very small. It had ties at the sides of the bottoms, and small triangles that barely covered Brynn’s breasts.
She turned and dived neatly into the pond.
He watched her swim. Hell, he’d be happy watching her breathe.
“Come and join me,” she called out.
Her hair was slicked back, and her smile was one he couldn’t resist.
Damn . He couldn’t lose every shred of his control around her. It was too dangerous.
He shook his head.
She swam closer, that smile still in place.
Then she splashed him.
Water soaked him. Vander stood, watching as she swam away, laughing.
He narrowed his gaze, then pulled his drenched shirt off. That got her attention.
And when he shucked his wet jeans and boxers, she stared.
He dove into the pond.
“Payback,” he warned.
“It was just water,” she said breathlessly.
As he sliced toward her, she took off. They chased each other across the pond. The sound of her laughter worked its way inside him. He caught her ankle, but she kicked free, quick and sleek.
“Come on, Norcross. You need to be faster than that.”
She shot past him, her wet body brushing his. Then she splashed him again.
He smiled. Game time was over.
Vander lunged after her.
He caught her in two strokes. He circled her waist and yanked her back against him. He fitted her slim back to his front.
She gasped, laughing again. His hard cock rubbed against her ass, and her laughter turned to a choked sound.
“What are you going to do now?” he murmured in her ear, sliding a hand over her belly.
“Nothing.” She turned her head to look at him. “I’m right where I want to be.” Then she blinked, wonder on her face. “God, Vander. I love when you smile.”
He realized he was smiling down at her.
Need hit him.
She was like a firefly, bright and pretty, but he wanted to catch her and keep her all to himself.
He spun her and hauled her up.
She eagerly wrapped her arms and legs around him.
Vander wasted no time. He shifted her and yanked her down, loosening the tie on the bikini bottoms. His throbbing cock thrust inside her with one smooth plunge.
He caught her startled cry with his mouth, and slid a hand into her wet hair. “Now I have you right where I want you.”
He planted his feet and held her as she started to move on him. Water splashed around them.
“Hold on tight, Detective.”
“I’m not letting you go, Vander.”
Then he let her drive them both wild.
Reality would intrude soon enough, but right here, right now, she was all his.
* * *
Brynn woke the next morning with a hard male body curled protectively around her.
Vander was a wall of heat at her back, with one arm snaked around her, a hand cupping her breast.
They’d slept like this all night. Vander kept her pinned close, his body shielding hers. Well, when they weren’t having lots of hot sex. He’d woken her more than once.
God, this felt good.
Waking up, right here, tangled up with this man… Her heart did a little stutter.
Now, she just had to convince Vander that this was right.
She breathed in his scent. She didn’t doubt he had feelings for her. It was dealing with those feelings and the vulnerability they brought that was his problem.
A man like Vander, who’d been honed to recognize and eliminate risks, wouldn’t like having a weakness.
She needed him to trust that she would look after herself.
Slowly and carefully, she turned in his arms to take in his outrageously attractive face. He was too rugged to be classically handsome, but the man was far too hot for his own good. The dark stubble on his jaw made him look even more dangerous.
Lazy heat curled through her. She had stubble burn in a few delicate places, plus a few other interesting aches. Unsurprisingly, Vander Norcross had impressive stamina.
Brynn realized there would always be some risk in their world. They both had jobs that came with it. She needed to show him the other benefits. It didn’t have to all be danger, bad guys, and stress.
Softly, she pressed her mouth to his chest. She peppered kisses over that bronze skin, then moved lower.
The man was all muscle, with zero percent body fat. She felt him stir, one hand sliding into her hair.
“Good morning.” His voice was still gruff from sleep.
She looked up his body and smiled. “Morning. It’s about to go from good to great.”
That got her one of those rare smiles. “Really?”
She curled her fingers around his cock and stroked. “Really.”
She slid lower, raking her teeth over his hipbone. God, these abs.
Vander shifted, pushing up on the pillows. His gaze locked on her.
Brynn stroked his rigid cock, then took him in her mouth.
His groan was low and deep.
She took her time. She didn’t want to rush this. Right now, in this bed, at his cabin, they were in a safe, little cocoon. Reality was very far away.
But she was excruciatingly aware that it would intrude before she was ready.
She used her tongue and lips. She sucked him harder.
“Damn, Brynn.” His body was tense beneath her. “ Christ .”
He moved like he was going to sit up, and try and take over.
“No!” She slid her mouth off him, then pressed his hands to the bed. The man liked to be in control far too much. Especially in bed. He let her explore, but it almost always ended with him pinning her down until she came. He was good at it, so she had no complaints.
But this time, she was making him let go.
She tapped his wrists. “Keep them there.”
His dark-blue eyes flashed, but he sank back on the pillows.
She felt a flush of satisfaction.
She lowered her head and once more sucked that beautiful cock back into her mouth.
“ Brynn .”
His big body vibrated, but he didn’t take over. He wrapped a hand around hers at the base of his hard cock. They worked him together, when she looked up at him, she saw fire, and so much more in those midnight eyes.
“I’m close,” he groaned.
She picked up speed, sucking harder. His powerful body arched, his cock going deeper, then he came down her throat.
As he collapsed back on the bed, she licked him slowly, then worked her way back up his body.
It shocked her just how much she enjoyed pleasuring him. She lay flush against him, filled with satisfaction.
“It is a great morning,” he said.
She smiled at him.
He yanked her close and kissed her hard.
“I’m going to bake cookies,” Brynn announced.
He raised a dark brow. “For breakfast?”
She sat up. “Yeah. I don’t get the urge often, but all these orgasms must have inspired me.”
That got her another smile. Her heart squeezed.
Every one made her feel like she’d won a prize. “I saw flour and sugar in the cupboard when I snooped earlier. What’s your favorite cookie?” Her gaze dropped to his stomach. “Or do you not eat cookies?”
“Chocolate chip,” he said.
“Chocolate chip it is.”
After a quick shower, she found one of Vander’s business shirts and rolled up the sleeves. She also found a pair of denim shorts that were just a tiny bit too tight, but still manageable.
She got to work in the kitchen. Vander sauntered in a short while later, wearing a pair of navy-blue cargo shorts, and a blue polo shirt.
“Any news from San Francisco?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Ace is working on it.” He sat on a stool.
She poured him some coffee. Black with one sugar.
He looked at it. “You’re good, Detective.”
“I am.”
She pulled out all the ingredients she needed for the cookies. He’d bought a block of chocolate, and she broke it into chunks.
He watched her as she mixed the dough.
“So, the Bruins beat the Sharks,” he said.
“Bummer.”
“That means I win our little wager.”
She started rolling the dough into balls and flattening them on a tray. “It does. What do I owe you?”
He leaned forward. “Exotic sexual favors.”
She grinned. “You drive a hard bargain, Norcross. Guess I’ll have to pay up.”
“I’ll let you know.” He watched her set more cookie dough out. “You like to bake?”
“Only when I feel inspired. I don’t have much time to experiment in the kitchen. My mom taught me to bake. My sister, Naomi, is the best at it. My regular cooking is nothing to write home about, though.”
“I can cook,” he said.
Brynn froze. “Come again?”
His lips quirked. “I’m sure you know my mom is Italian-American. Well, she vowed that all her kids would be able to cook.”
“You can cook Italian food?” Brynn breathed.
He smiled. “Yes. My specialty is pizza dough from scratch.”
“That’s it, we have to get married now.”
His gaze went to hers, held.
Heart pounding, she fought hard to keep her face easy, casual. She winked, then turned to slide the tray of cookies into the oven.
She set a timer and then leaned on the messy island. “So, I’ve been thinking about a way to find Nomad.”
Vander’s face turned serious. “We’ll find him eventually.”
“But how many more people will get hurt? How many more kids will overdose?”
“Brynn—”
She shook her head. “I have an idea. We lure him out.”
Vander watched her with that intensity of his.
“He’s fixated on me,” she said. “He thinks I’m a snitch.”
Vander’s brows drew together.
“He wants revenge. That’s big with the Wanderers. So…you use me as bait to lure him out.”
For a second, Vander was stock-still.
Then he shot to his feet. “ No .”