Jake
The late afternoon light streamed in through the kitchen window as I sat at the table and glanced over the three men seated with me. Eli, Ryder, and Deke were all showered and changed after pulling long shifts, either monitoring our base or locking down all of our plans involving Wyatt Reed, most of them without Reed’s knowledge. Four nearly empty mugs of coffee sat on the table. No beer. Not when we were active on a case, especially when things could fuck up at any moment.
“We’re all set for tomorrow night’s shipment?” I asked.
Ryder nodded. “The FBI and a few other agencies are being coordinated through Lance. He’s running point in the next town and will be on hand for us when the bust goes down.”
“What about local law enforcement?” Their absence on the case was not a good sign.
“We’re keeping them dark. The way the shipments have been coming through without any questions or hiccups, there has to be someone at the sheriff’s department on Garcia’s payroll.” Eli’s mouth twisted. “My guess is from the top, since there’s no way so many shipments of that kind of cargo could go unnoticed in such a small town.”
“Agreed.” Deke scratched at the beginnings of a beard he had started to grow. “Locking out the local boys adds complications. They know the lay of the land best, but nothing we can’t handle.” Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a set of car keys and placed them on the table. “These are for the back-up vehicle I collected from the feds outside of town. That gives us four in total. Eli will use one of the SUVs to get back to Reed’s. Ryder and I will take one while on surveillance of the sheriff and his cronies tonight.”
“More time watching good ole boys in sad titty bars.” Ryder sighed before sipping from his mug. “How’s Charlotte?”
“Why?” I didn’t like the smile tugging at the blond bastard’s lips.
“Territorial much?” Ryder chuckled as she shook his head. “I’m asking because her world is about to get seriously complicated if she has any warm feelings for her kin.”
Good point. I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck, sending a rueful glance Ryder’s way. “Sorry, I’m protective of her.”
“No shit,” Eli muttered and leaned his forearms on the table, the man’s huge frame backlit by the kitchen window behind him. Big, bald and badass, that was Eli to a T. “With good reason. Things fuck up tomorrow night, no telling what Garcia could do. Charlotte would make a good target if he finds out Reed is no longer an asset.” He spared a glance over all the men at the table. “You told her about Reed’s involvement?”
“Not yet. I won’t until we have Garcia in custody.” And her safe and far away from this shithole town. “Does Reed still think he’s getting a cut of the profits from the sale of tomorrow night’s delivery? Even though he has an IOU for fifty grand?” Honestly, the guy was dumb as shit and deserved all that was in store for him once we handed him over to the Feds.
“Yeah, he thinks we’ll waive the debt for his help in double-crossing Garcia.” Deke snorted in disgust before eyeing me. “Man, you got the sweet end of this mission with Charlotte. Cute. Sweet natured from what we saw at the diner. She been giving you any trouble?”
Not at the moment, but that was because I had left her bound and gagged on the bed, the harness once again strapped snug between her pussy lips with a vibe on her clit and a tiny plug in her ass.
It was eight hours after I’d last made love to Charlotte. Eight hours after I’d taken her into the shower and made her scream out another orgasm using my fingers as I pressed her up against the tiles in the shower.
We’d gone back into the bedroom and I’d dressed while ordering her to stay naked. Her pout had earned her a swat on that cute round bottom of hers. Damned if she didn’t rub her ass and look like she wanted me to try that again.
We spent the next few hours eating lunch and talking about big and little stuff. Charlotte shared stories about her mom and her life in Chicago, including her first year in community college studying graphic design, before cancer had taken her mother’s life.
Our time getting to know each other better would have lasted longer only me and the guys had our scheduled catch-up. Needing to lock her down—thus ensuring she wouldn’t overhear anything my team discussed—was a security issue I turned into a win with the use of the harness.
Plus, I had the added benefit of taming her once the guys left.
Double win.
But twenty minutes later, as the guys departed to go to the night’s tasks, it appeared fate had conspired against me to have any kind of a relaxing night with Charlotte.
Lightning forked the rapidly darkening sky as thunder rolled in, loud enough to drown out the noise of the radio I had tuned into for local weather updates.
Entering the bedroom, I took in the sight before me. Tied spread-eagle on my bed with leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles, the little waitress was straining to lift her hips in a vain attempt to increase the pressure of the harness—and therefore the vibe—on her clit.
I moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking in her flushed complexion not hidden underneath the black panel gag.
Fuck the storm. I wasn’t letting her up just yet.
“Mmmmppphh!” Her glare would have left burn marks if possible.
Damn that fiery spirit. I ran a hand up the inside of one of her thighs, noting the tremor of her muscles as I clicked the remote, turning up the speed on both vibes. “Miss me, sweetness?”
“Baastaff”
“Master?” I grinned at her outraged squeak. “I wasn’t expecting that from you right away, but I like your initiative.”
Ignoring her angry tugs on her restraints, I ran a finger over the strap in her pussy, stopping at the metal disc that rested on her clit.
“Thirty minutes can seem like forever when you’re helpless.” I pressed down on the vibe, smiling to myself as Charlotte closed her eyes and moaned deeply into her gag.
Another click on the remote and she jolted, her breathing loud through her nose. Tiny muffled noises—desperate and pleading—filled the bedroom.
“I’m going to keep you like this often. Tie you up. Tease you. Make you come.” I pressed harder on the vibe. “Do it all over again.”
“Mmmmph!” The buckles on Charlotte’s cuffs rattled as she tugged against her bonds. She pushed her head back into the pillow, her chest rising rapidly with each frantic breath.
“And there’s not a fucking thing you can do to stop me.” Adding another finger, I pressed hard against the vibe.
Charlotte jolted, her thigh muscles quivering as her body shook from the force of her orgasm. Fists clenched, she closed her eyes, her muffled cries a deeply satisfying sound to my ears.
In slow stages, wanting to stretch out the pleasure as long as possible, I reduced the speed of the vibes until they were turned off. Next I unstrapped the harness and gently removed the vibes. Her smothered moan as I pulled at the anal plug had me grinning.
After removing the gag, I wiped her mouth with a Kleenex and swept back the hair from her forehead. But I wasn’t ready to release her completely. Not yet. Leaning over her, I let some of my weight sink her deeper into the mattress.
“Last night in bed, when I said to you we’d only just begun, I didn’t mean my taking you that evening.” I watched her blink, her focus returning to her gaze as her brows formed a tiny frown. “Each new lesson in stretching your boundaries is another new beginning for you as you learn to trust not just me but also yourself more.”
Her gaze settled on my face, and she swallowed as if she was preparing herself for whatever she was about to say. “I know.” She nodded on a hiccupping breath. “I know.”
“That’s my girl.” I claimed her mouth, my kiss hard and demanding, taking what she offered without apology. Slanting my head, I deepened the kiss, sucking and nipping her lips, then along her jawline and the lobe of her ear, before returning to her mouth and planting one last lingering kiss. She lifted her head off the bed in a vain attempt to keep contact as I broke away.
Once I had unbuckled the last cuff holding Charlotte in place, I eased her up into a sitting position on the bed.
The room was now dark. Normally in summer, the room would still be lit with natural light at the end of the day, but the storm had blackened the skies. I switched on the lamp on the nightstand as a bolt of lightning lit up the room in a pale blue flash.
Then darkness descended.
Fuck. “Storm’s knocked the power out.”
“I hate storms.” Charlotte shivered as thunder rolled in sounding like a set of ominous and deafening drums.
“You’re safe here. There’s flashlights in the kitchen. Wait here, I’ll get a couple.” I reached down and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Go and put your manly shining-knight-to-the-rescue routine in action.”
Chuckling at her attempt to lighten the moment even though I could tell she was scared, I nodded.
Flashes of lightning coming through the open blinds in the windows guided me down the hallway to the kitchen. I located one of the flashlights on the kitchen bench just as my phone rang. Catching the caller ID, I tapped the screen. “Eli, you probably noticed on the camera feed we’ve got a power outage.”
“That’s not why I’m calling. I’m in the truck heading into Longreach. Ryder just called. He and Deke are at the titty bar. They overhead the sheriff get word from Garcia they’ve brought forward the shipment to tonight, using the distraction of the storm to give them extra cover. The fucker’s got the jump on us.”
Shit.
I closed my eyes for a second and went through the plans in my head. “How far out are Deke and Ryder from Longreach?”
“Far enough out they’ll be seriously delayed.”
Another deafening clap of thunder filled the air. Jake could barely hear Eli on the phone.
“They’re having to go the long way around to get on the highway,” Eli continued with more bad news. “Roads are closed due to flash flooding. They’ve notified the Feds who are moving out for the takedown at the shipment’s drop-off point. But with the roads out and local law enforcement compromised, it may be up to you and me to secure Garcia.”
“Right.” And Garcia never traveled alone. “Garcia still set to use his normal meeting point for payment?”
“Far as we know, yes, but there’s no guarantees.”
And the night just kept getting better.
A freak storm with flash flooding, the Feds no help, and a deadly criminal gang to take down.
What else could go wrong?