“She liked you, too, and I’m working on fixing it.”
She nods, satisfied with my answers, and turns back to the bar as I head for Blaze’s office and knock on the door.
“Come in.”
I open the door and step inside before collapsing in the chair in front of his desk.
“How is it going over there?” he asks and I scoff.
“She’s filled with the rage of a thousand suns,” I answer and he laughs before a wistful expression crosses his face.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when you brought her to the barbecue. I knew she looked like Sarah but the two could have been twins.”
I nod, crossing my legs. “Ah, so that’s why you were so weird that night.”
“Yes. It was like going back thirty years.”
“I hope you know that I intend to make her my old lady someday,” I say and he lets out a surprised laugh as he grabs a bottle of bourbon out of his desk.
“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been running this club for a long time and dealt with some scary fuckers but I wouldn’t take on that woman. I like my balls right where they are.”
I laugh before letting out a sigh. “I’m just a glutton for punishment, I guess.”
“Just be careful, yeah? I know I let you down when I asked you to do this but it’s turned into a real mess.” He holds up an empty glass, offering me a drink, but I shake my head. I don’t want to be here that long anyway.
“Do you have any news?”
He nods. “Yeah, actually. Dominic King crossed the Louisiana state line last night around midnight. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s already here in Baton Rouge.”
“Okay,” I whisper, thinking over the moves we could make. “We going to wait for him to reach out?”
“I think that’s best. Once he realizes that he can’t get to Tate, he’ll be in contact.”
“About that, we need two people at the house at all times.”
He nods. “Keep Smith with you and make sure you keep everything locked up at all times. One slip-up will be all it takes to lose her.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“Let’s hope not,” he mutters, turning away from the desk and sipping his drink. I stand and walk out of his office with determined steps. There’s no need to hope. I’ll take another bullet, this one to the chest, before I let anyone near her.
* * * *
“I’m exhausted,” Smith says and I glance over at him. “I think I’m gonna go pass out.”
“You can sleep in Theo’s room. It’s the room right at the top of the stairs,” Tate informs him with a smile. He nods and shoves himself off the couch.
“Night, y’all.”
“Goodnight, Luke,” Tate calls, not even sparing me a glance as she turns back to the TV where Vikings is playing. Sighing, I focus back on the screen but I can’t focus on the show. Not when she’s so close to me and still so goddamn far away.
“Tate?”
She arches a brow but doesn’t turn to look at me.
“Could we finally talk, please? I know how angry you are, baby, but there’s got to be a way we can work this out.”
Sighing, she meets my eyes. “What is there to work out, Lincoln? You lied to me and used me as a favor to Blaze. Now we can both move on.”
“I don’t want to move on. I know I lied to you and trust me, I hate that I did but everything I felt and everything you felt, that was all real. Hell, I wasn’t even supposed to make contact with you but once I saw you, I couldn’t stay away.”
“Really?” she asks, vulnerability creeping into her eyes and I sit forward, wishing I could pull her into my arms.
“Yes, baby. I defied Blaze’s order because there was just something about you that called to me. You were made for me.”
Her lip wobbles and her eyes shine with unshed tears as I hold my hand out to her, praying that she’ll take it. It feels like the heavens are shining down on me when she slips her hand into mine, standing up from the loveseat. Slowly, I pull her to me and into my lap, keeping an eye on her expression as hope wells up in my chest.
She straddles my legs and places her hand on my chest, right over my heart and peace settles over me as I suck in a breath.
“I miss you,” she whispers, so quiet that I almost don’t hear her. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer.
“I miss you, too, Tate.”
Leaning down, she cups my face in one hand as her lips hover above mine and she meets my eyes, silently asking if I’m good with this but I’ll never deny her. I close the space between us, claiming her lips and groaning as she melts into me. My cock springs to life and I fist her hair, taking control of the kiss as I flick my tongue against the seam of her lips.
“Open up for me, baby.”
She sighs, giving me exactly what I want and I groan again when the taste of her favorite spearmint gum meets my tongue. She moans, grinding on my lap as she grips my shirt in her fists and I thrust up off the couch, desperate to remove the layers between us.
“If you don’t want this, you gotta stop me now,” I warn her and she shakes her head.
“Don’t stop.”
And just like that, it’s on. We’re a flurry of hands and frantic kisses as we both peel out of our clothes and the next thing I know, Tate is wrapping her hand around my bare cock. I groan, my head falling back on the couch as I suck in a breath. She straddles my legs again and lines the head up with her entrance before slowly sinking down.
“Fuck,” I hiss as her warmth envelops me and I grab her hips, digging my fingers into her flesh. Fisting a handful of her hair, I pull her lips down to mine and kiss her hard before pulling back just enough to whisper, “Ride me, gorgeous.”
She moans, pulling back and grabbing her tits as she bounces on top of me at the perfect tempo. Not too fast and not too slow but just enough to drive me out of my fucking mind. Just when I think that I’m going to lose it, she pauses and leans forward, kissing me so softly that my entire body goes lax. With a firm grip on the back of my neck, she teases me with her tongue and starts rocking her hips – slowly, seductively – and I feel a tingling at the base of my spine.
“Shit, I’m gonna come, baby.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not there yet.”
Reaching down between us, I find her clit and circle it with my thumb as she lets out a moan.
“Yeah, do that,” she says and stops moving her hips as I work her closer and closer to orgasm. Her head falls back and her chest rises and falls rapidly in front of me as she grips my shoulders, lost in a world of pleasure. She starts to tremble and I know I’m close so I start to pull away, wanting to finish with her.
“No, don’t stop,” she cries and I press my thumb against her clit again. Not like I could ever deny her anything she wants. I circle the sensitive nub again and again as I pinch her nipple and she screams as her pussy constricts around my cock. I let out a low groan and reach for her, ready to throw her down on the couch and fuck her senseless but she pushes away from me and stands up.
I frown but before I can reach for her or ask her what she’s doing, a shock rolls through my body and every muscles locks up to the point of agony. I look up at her, trying to understand what the fuck is happening when I see the Taser pull away from my skin.