Dex pounded on the motel room door. Since it was the third time he did it and he didn’t hear a fucking thing in return, he was pretty damn sure Brooke wasn’t in her room.

Just like he thought. She wasn’t going to be patient.

And she certainly wasn’t going to listen to him. He had told her to wait in her room, that he’d be back.

But, of course, with any perceived order coming out of his mouth she was going to do the opposite.

Because she could. And wanted to prove it.

“For fuck’s sake,” he grumbled and raked fingers through his hair. He dropped his head and stared at his boots for a minute as he tried to push the anger aside.

He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and sent out a mass text to all the brothers: Any 1 C Brooke let me know.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth at the answering texts.

She run off with ur balls?

Need 2 tie the leash tighter, brother.

MayB she found a man w bigger rings...

What-fucking-ever.

Dex stared at the text from Dawg: Here.

Oh shit. She was at the gun shop.

Dex quickly texted him back: She lookin 4 Pierce or buyin a gun 2 kill him?

Dunno. Get ur ass here.

“Fuck,” he muttered and quickly strode to his sled, mounted, hit the starter and then headed to the outskirts of town to Shadow Valley Gun Shop and Range at top speed.

Within ten minutes, he was pulling into the lot. His gut twisted at what she might have discovered.

Dawg’s sled was in the lot, but he didn’t see Pierce’s. Maybe that was a good sign.

He crab-walked his sled back into the spot next to Brooke’s BMW. And after heeling down the kickstand, he turned his head to stare into the back of her car.

His dick twitched in his jeans at the memory of fucking her the first time.

Or her fucking him.

Either way, it was fucking hot.

He adjusted himself, then headed inside and out of the cold. When he stepped into the shop, once his eyes adjusted, they landed on Dawg.

The man was leaning back against the glass display case that held handguns and shaking his dark blond head. “She’s a fuckin’ pisser.”

“Where is she?” Dex asked, rubbing his hands together to get them warmed up.

Dawg jerked his head toward the door that lead to the indoor shooting range. “In the back.”

Dex’s brows shot up. “She buy a gun?”

“Fuck no. Had one. Nice little Sig. Asked her if she needed any help with it an’ she just about told me to fuck off. Though, she made it sound a bit nicer.”

Dex glanced around the empty shop. “Where’s Pierce?”

“Gone,” Dawg grunted.

“Good. They see each other?” Dex asked.

“Nope.”

“When’s he gettin’ back?”

“Dunno. Need to get ‘er outta here before he does, though. ‘Cause I can tell you, he ain’t gonna pass up hittin’ on that. An’ if he does...” Dawg shook his head.

“It ain’t gonna be good,” Dex finished for him.

“No. An’ seein’ ‘im will make ‘er suspicious. An’ like D told me, we need to keep it on the D.L. for now ‘til we know if they’re even related.”

Dex plugged his hands on his hips and looked toward the closed door. He needed to convince Brooke to leave the shop with him. Though, if he demanded her to do it, she’d balk. If he even asked, she’d probably wonder why and then things could get sticky.

“Think you could grab some of her hair while she’s here? Got the sample D wanted from Pierce. Figured if you get a few strands of hair, I can let D know what we got an’ get that shit rollin’.”

Dex eyeballed the larger, bearded man. “How’d you get Pierce’s DNA?”

Dawg snorted. “Fuckin’ cornered a woman yesterday, she slapped the shit outta him, gave him a bloody nose. Found some bloody tissues in the trash. D said that’d work. Put it in a baggie an’ gonna run it over to the warehouse later. You get some DNA while you’re here, I’ll run that over, too.”

Dex nodded, again staring at the door that lead to the range. “Anybody else back there shootin’?”

“Nope.”

“Can you make sure nobody comes back for a bit?”

“Yep.” He grinned. “Need about thirty seconds?”

“Thirty-five to be exact.”

Dawg laughed. “If I didn’t have Em an’ the girls an’ hadn’t given up Heaven’s Angels mighta asked if she needed a job. Got good tits, plus an ass that’d give any man a hard-on.”

“Doubt her career goal is swingin’ on a pole.”

“What does she do?”

Dex opened his mouth. Then shut it. He had no fucking clue. He didn’t think she’d be sticking around, so asking her that kind of stuff never crossed his mind. Damn.

Dawg laughed again. “You don’t even fuckin’ know, brother. Hard to keep a woman in your bed if you don’t show any interest in ‘er fuckin’ life.”

“Not everyone’s a whipped pussy at the center like you, Dawg.”

Dawg grinned. “Don’t give a shit what you call me. Got Em in my bed. Never been happier. ‘Happy wife, happy life’ is true as shit. Take it from me.”

Dex had to admit Emma was a catch. Dawg was happy, though he was pretty sure the man would be happier if he didn’t have to share management duties of running the gun shop with Pierce.

But that might change in the near future.

“Gonna just stand there, or go get some DNA?” Dawg said, laughing.

“Yeah,” Dex grunted and headed toward the door to the range. He looked over his shoulder one last time. “Seriously, keep people out.”

“From what I heard, you like an audience.”

Dex shook his head and headed into the range.

Brooke stood with her feet apart as she squeezed off another round. She hit the paper silhouette dead center. Then again and again, until the clip was empty. She released the clip and made sure the chamber was clear before placing the gun in its case. She pulled her protective glasses off her face and removed the rubber plugs from her ears.

“Shoot ‘im an’ you’ll get your ass locked the fuck up,” came a deep voice from behind her.

Her heart skipped a beat, then began to race. She had no idea someone was there. She had not only been concentrating on her target, the earplugs had prevented her from hearing Dex come in.

She turned in the booth and saw him leaning back against the painted cement block wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

Her heart skipped once again, but this time it wasn’t because she was startled.

Hell no, it wasn’t.

He looked damn good. But he was trouble with a capital T. She didn’t need to go down this path with him. Or any path. Take a detour? Maybe. But she had to remind herself that it was only for a few days.

Just until she figured out who her father was. As it was, she didn’t want to waste a lot of time doing that. She needed to get back to her business, her house. Get her life back in order. Back to where it was before her mom died and she found that damn diary.

He pushed away from the wall and Brooke held her breath when he approached her, but he only leaned into the booth to hit the button on the wall. The target rode the track toward them until it was within arm’s reach.

He slipped in next to her to study it. “That’s damn good shootin’.”

“You shoot?”

He traced his fingers over her gun laying in the open case. “Occasionally. I’m not that good.”

“If you’re going to carry, you should be that good.”

He turned to face her. “Don’t carry on the regular.”

They were barely inches apart, his body heat mingling with hers, his breath sweeping across her lips when he talked.

“You mean you don’t carry a gun.” She reached around him and dug into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a folded knife. She held it up. “But you carry.”

Dex plucked it from her fingers and tucked it back away. “Yeah. Stupid not to be prepared.”

“For what?”

He lifted one shoulder. “Whatever’s a threat.”

She cocked her head. “These Shadow Warriors?”

He didn’t answer her question, but instead asked, “How come you’re so good?”

“I have to be.”

“Why? You a cop?”

They’ve slept together for the past couple days and he even crashed in her motel room last night. But he never asked her anything personal about her life. She had asked most of the questions in her attempt to get information on her possible father.

“I’m a contract killer,” she said with a straight face.

“What?”

She smiled. “Just messing with you. Again.”

“Whataya do? Seriously.”

“I’m an interior designer.”

He simply stared at her.

He had to know what an interior designer was, right? “For commercial spaces. Like corporate offices and things...” she drifted off.

“Your boss give you time off for all this?”

She grinned. “Sure did.”

“Got a generous boss.”

She lifted her chin and met his dark gaze directly. “She sure is, since I’m her.”

Surprise crossed his face. “Got your own business?”

“Yes.”

“An’ you can afford to take this time off to find your father?”

“I cleared my schedule, passed my current job over to one of my assistants. And, yes, I can afford it. I put enough away for a rainy day.”

“Findin’ the man who raped your mother’s a rainy day?”

She winced. “No, my mother dying of ovarian cancer was a rainy fucking day.”

It was his turn to wince. “Sorry, babe.” He brushed a loose strand of hair from her ponytail out of her face.

She snagged his hand and held it still. “You know, most strong, independent women don’t like being called things like ‘babe.’”

“Yep.”

“Yep,” she repeated. “But that’s not going to stop you.”

He gave a single nod. “Right.”

She rolled her lips inward and studied him. His hair was a ruffled mess, probably from being on his bike, his dark brown eyes matched his dark hair, his lips were full and definitely kiss-worthy, and he wore a thick wash-worn orange shirt under that leather vest of his. The cut he wore proudly, which clearly claimed he was a badass biker. He had a pair of sunglasses tucked into the collar of that long-sleeved tee. And she knew exactly what was under that shirt, too.

Her nipples pebbled at his hidden secret.

A black leather belt with a bulky brass buckle kept his worn jeans up over his lean hips, a chain looped from the front of his waist to his back pocket where his oversized wallet was tucked, and heavy black biker boots covered his feet. Heavy rings adorned his long fingers, ones she had to admit he could use with some skill, and a gold earring hung from one ear.

He also sported some facial hair today since he hadn’t packed a bag with a razor when he slept in her bed all night at the motel.

Well, he didn’t get much sleep.

Neither did she.

And the bags under her eyes were well worth the lack of sleep.

“Babe,” he murmured.

She lifted her gaze to see his lips curved in a smile and the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement.

Again with the babe. “We just had that discussion,” she reminded him.

“No, you had that discussion.” His lips twitched. “You done checkin’ me out?”

“No.”

His smile widened. That smile was not only breath-taking, but his brown eyes held a twinkle. “Wanna do me right here?”

“No.” That was a complete lie. But there were much better places to do him other than an indoor gun range.

“Why not?”

“I have a perfectly good bed back in my room.”

He reached out and dug his fingers into her hair, pulling it out of the ponytail she wore. “A wall would work.” He tucked the black elastic hairband into the front pocket of his jeans.

She glanced around. “Yes, maybe. But people could come in. We already caused a crowd once, do you really want to do it again?” She might be into a lot of things, but public sex wasn’t one of them.

“Dawg’s got it covered.”

Her eyes narrowed on the man who was tempting her to no end right now. “He has what covered?” Her pussy clenched at the thought of her pushing him against the wall and taking what she wanted.

Though his thoughts were probably opposite. He was probably picturing him taking her against the wall.

But they were in a public spot. Sort of.

Which could be exciting. Sort of.

“Ain’t nobody comin’ in for a bit,” he assured her.

“You arranged that?”

“Yeah.”

“And you thought I’d agree?”

He smirked and his eyes flashed. “Do you?”

She shoved him with her two palms, slamming his back against the wall with an oof. “We’ll play this my way.”

“As long as we’re playin’...”

“Quiet,” she ordered as she kicked off her shoes and began to unfasten her pants.

Dex’s lips pinned together in obedience, but she couldn’t miss the twitch at the corners.

He loved her bossing him around. That surprised the shit out of her.

It also got her blood flowing, as well as her juices. Her panties were already wet in anticipation.

She tossed her pants onto the small counter at the front of the booth and shimmied out of her panties, draping them next to her gun case. “Undo your belt.”

He did as he was told, not saying a word, but his eyes said it all. They were heated and his gaze fell instantly to where she dragged her fingers next. Which was through her wet folds, gathering her slick arousal. She lifted her fingers to his lips. “Suck them clean.”

When he parted his lips, she shoved two fingers into his mouth. With a groan, he sucked them, the tip of his tongue swirling around her digits.

She fought back a moan, too.

“Want your tits out,” he said when she pulled her fingers from between his lips.

“Do you.” She didn’t pose it as a question, because it wasn’t.

Instead of doing what he wanted, she popped the button on his jeans and roughly pulled the zipper down over his erection. He had gone commando once again this morning. She wasn’t sure how comfortable that was for him, especially with his erection right now, nor did she care.

With a rough jerk, she slid his jeans down his thighs just far enough for his cock to be free. He reached down to grab it and she slapped his hand away. “I told you before that’s mine. I didn’t tell you to touch it.”

“Fuck,” he muttered as she dropped to her bare knees onto the cold, epoxied concrete floor.

She circled his cock with her fingers and took him into her mouth.

His hips twitched and jerked as she slid him in and out between her lips, getting him slick with her saliva, scraping her teeth over the entire length and across the crown.

He groaned, pushing his hips forward. “Fuck, babe,” he moaned.

She released him just long enough to command him to, “Hush.”

His body shook and she tipped her eyes up to see him with his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling and chuckling.

He wasn’t going to be laughing for long. She sucked him with greater enthusiasm until his lips parted and his breath began to hitch. Then she sucked him even harder, snagging his balls tightly in her fist.

His hands were down at his sides and she couldn’t miss his fingers twitching, most likely because he wanted to dig them into her hair and fuck her face.

Which she wouldn’t let him do.

No. She would lead this dance.

She released his cock with a wet pop, then sank her teeth into the top of his thigh, making him jerk in surprise.

She rose to her feet, still not releasing his balls, and met his dark gaze. “Like being hobbled like that?” His jeans were still pushed halfway down his thighs prevented him from moving too much.

“If it means you’re gonna ride my dick, then yeah.”

“That’s what it means,” she confirmed. “How much time do we have?”

“Not much, so do what you’re gonna do.”

“Is that an order?”

He hesitated, then said, “Nope. A suggestion.”

“Good answer,” she purred. “You learn quickly.”

“Ain’t stupid.”

She regarded him for a few seconds and finally released his sac. “No, you’re not. I should make you drop to your knees and eat me.”

Before she could stop him, he did just that. He was on his knees, his jeans still gathered around his thighs. He grabbed her hips and roughly pulled her forward, shoving his face into her pussy. The tip of his tongue flicked wildly over her clit.

He was good with his fingers but he was definitely better with his tongue. She separated her legs into a stance that was similar to her shooting position from earlier. And she let him do his thing, let him take over, just for a few moments.

She was enjoying his skills and it wouldn’t take much for her to come with what he was doing. Reaching under his cut, she tweaked both of his nipple rings through his shirt and his tonguing got more intense until he gasped as she twisted his nipples as hard as she could. Then he was sucking her clit fiercely and scraping her sensitive nub with his own teeth.

She wanted to cry out but bit it back before she did. She didn’t want to let him know how much he affected her. She wanted him to work hard for it.

The end result would give not only her more satisfaction but him as well.

Whether he knew it or not.

She threw her head back and the air rushed from her as an orgasm swept over and through her. Then he was up and away, lassoing her thighs with his arms, twisting around, shoving her against the wall, and with one thrust he was inside her.

He pulled her legs up and round his waist so he could pound her relentlessly. Each thrust pulled a grunt from him and a gasp from her.

She needed to be in control.

She needed to be in control.

But, oh fuck, this felt so fucking good. Not only letting him take over, but what he was doing. Showing her what he wanted, not her.

Taking what he wanted, not her.

He shoved his face into her neck, his warm breath beating against her own heated skin.

A thought swirled through her brain... She couldn’t give him an inch because if she did, he’d want it every time.

And she wasn’t ready for that.

No. She needed to stay on top. She needed to hold the power, take control of the situation.

Not him.

Not Dex.

She closed her eyes and allowed it anyway against her better judgement. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she encouraged him by digging her heels into the back of his thighs. Words were tumbling out of her mouth, into his ear, and she wasn’t ready to let go yet.

Not yet.

For a moment she let him have it, that control she loved so much, that control she needed to keep her life in order and on track.

Her thighs gripped his hips tighter, her nails dug into the leather and clawed at patches on the back of his cut. Until she couldn’t hold on any longer.

She fell. Fast. Hard. But he caught her.

He came at the same time, thrusting and grinding against her. Spilling himself deep inside her.

Filling her with Dex.

Dex. This biker. This man she never expected to meet.

The only one capable of letting her control slip.

Why him? Why now?

He stilled, but kept her pinned against the wall. His breathing harsh, his chest heaving.

His mouth against her ear. “Fuck, babe. Fuck.”

Yes, that about summed it up.

She needed to give up on this hunt. This desire to find the man whose DNA she carried.

She needed to get the fuck out of Shadow Valley. Now.

Before she lost herself.