Nickie’s bladder awakened her before dawn the next morning, and she stopped in the doorway on the way out of the bathroom to look at Bud. Sharp cheekbones, sculpted muscles. The man was beautiful, though she’d never tell him that to his face.

He’d roused a little when she went to the bathroom, but seemed to be sleeping soundly once again. Feeling mischievous, she crawled into bed and under the covers, and took him into her mouth.

“Nice,” he groaned, stretching the word out as he straightened his body. His hands went around her head and he braced it, so when his cock grew Nickie had to work not to gag on it.

“Hope you didn’t think you’d manage to give me a blowjob instead of takin’ a face fuckin’. If so, your plan backfired.”

There was no way for her to answer — it was all she could do to grab oxygen while he was out far enough to keep from blocking her throat.

“Roll over on your side. I don’t like bein’ on bottom, even when I’m in control.”

Once again, just like her fictional werewolves. Bud seemed to get annoyed when she pointed out the similarities though, so she’d stopped. Mostly.

With both of them on their side, Bud arranged her so he could get farther down her throat, and he found the leverage to pound hard. Her hips started moving of their own accord and she desperately wished he was in her empty pussy, but she did all she could to work him with her tongue despite the speed he fucked her mouth and throat.

Thankfully, he only lasted around ten minutes before he blew, though he held her face so she couldn’t move while he spurted all over it.

“Mine, Brat. You’re mine now. Mine to take care of, mine to hurt.”

Nickie hadn’t agreed to that, but she liked the sound of it. Still, shouldn’t she correct him? But then he took such care cleaning her face with a warm washcloth and rubbing stuff on her butt and thighs again, she melted under his tender ministrations.

“Back to sleep, Brat.” He held his arms for her to come closer, and she drifted off in the safety of his warmth and strength.

* * *

Nickie awakened to the sound of a hand popping a butt, and seconds later felt the heat on her right ass cheek.

“Ow!”

“Grab a shower and get dressed, Brat. I’ll have breakfast mostly ready by the time you get downstairs — don’t dawdle.”

“Bossy ass.”

“Yep. You aren’t downstairs in fifteen minutes that left nipple will get even more attention.”

She growled as he left the room, and sat up and looked at her nipples. The left was deep red and a little bruised from him leading her around the room with it, while the right was perfectly fine. He’d meant to fucking make her off balance. Sadistic asshole.

He’d piled eggs and bacon between two slabs of bread when she came down, but her plate was beautiful, with eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and he’d pulled both blueberry and peach preserves out so she’d have a choice.

“Sorry, got a phone call and I have to go. Enjoy breakfast, we’ll talk later.”

“You can’t eat that and ride your bike!”

“I walked over last night. Tiny’s downstairs to get me in a cage. Sorry, but we’ll talk soon.”

She was halfway through her breakfast when she realized she needed to move. After being fucked until walking hurt, she should’ve just wanted to sit and write, but her legs needed to get some energy out.

“I’m going to make use of the condo’s workout room,” she told the guard on the door. “The two of you have around forty minutes to figure out how you want to work it while I drink my coffee and make sure there isn’t anything pressing in my email.”

Nickie looked through the non-disclosure agreement to get the gist of what it said, and decided to wait to send it to her attorney. She’d have to explain to Bud she wouldn’t sign his until he signed hers, and she’d likely have to agree to a good portion of his to get what she wanted. She wasn’t up for that conversation with her attorney just yet, so she shelved it until later.

She spent nearly two hours working her arms and core muscles, and nearly orgasmed at least a dozen times as various movements brought back vivid memories of Bud’s hands on her, his belt, his mouth, his cock.

Fuck, but she could easily fall in love with the man.

She was hungry when she finished, and her guards took her to a little coffee shop they said they’d already scouted and planned for. One of the men sat and ate with her while the other watched from outside.

“I’d like to rent a motorcycle and get out of town.”

“We’ll let Drake Security rent two, and Ranger can ride with you. He and Mac are due back soon.”

“One guard will be enough?”

“On a bike with you in a full-face helmet? Unless Ranger disagrees, then yeah. We’ll have someone close in a chase car in case there’s a problem, but they’ll only need to stay within a mile or two of you, so you won’t have to worry about slowing down for them too much.”

“There are mountains north of the city. Find a route you like that’ll let me sit high up with a great view. At least a two hour round trip but no more than four — and figure time for me to sit and think on the mountain.”

* * *

Ranger stood thirty yards away while Nickie sat and thought. Mac was watching their bikes, and Nickie trusted the two of them to have her back.

Ranger had kept up with her even when she’d flown a little too fast on the curvy mountain roads. There was nothing quite like having the wind in your hair, even if your hair was inside a full-faced helmet.

Her mind once again went down the list of all the unknowns where Bud was concerned. What was the worst case scenario? She didn’t think he was trafficking humans because he’d seemed genuinely angry that kids were being bought and sold when she’d told him about it, and then later he’d gotten upset all over again when he’d read her report. She didn’t believe for a moment he was in Mexico on vacation though, so if he wasn’t there for drugs or humans, that left guns, which meant he had blood on his hands even if he didn’t kill or capture anyone himself.

And what was he doing in Georgia to make money? Did they have other criminal ventures? Could she love a man who did bad things?

Damn, it was possible she’d already fallen for him, and could he truly be that bad if she wanted him in her life?

She didn’t have the best track record with men, but none had been outright criminals. One had proven to be a scam artist who’d ridden her coat tails far too long, but she’d let him because she was getting something out of it at the time. And then there’d been the author who broke out in hives at the thought of anyone actually reading anything he’d written. At least Bud had an income and she wouldn’t have to support him.

But it was easier to support people. It gave you leverage, and she’d clearly never have leverage over a man like Bud. She might negotiate to get him to sign her non-disclosure agreement, but that would just be taking away the leverage he now held over her.

She hadn’t decided anything for sure before she left, but she felt better about continuing to see him. She’d agree to pieces of his non-disclosure agreement in exchange for him signing hers, and she’d do it without bringing her lawyer into it. She’d had contract law classes in college and was decent at reading and crafting them — and she knew how to put loopholes in that the average reader wouldn’t catch.

“I’m hungry,” she told Ranger as she walked back to him. “Know any good places to eat close by?”

“Yeah, but I’d rather get back in town to eat in public. I’ll follow you until we get to the interstate, and then you can follow me to the restaurant.”

“Do you really think the bad guys can find me?”

“They found you before so it’s safest to assume they might find you again. We’ve done everything we can to hide you, but we have to act as if they could pop up at any time.”

Nickie nodded, mounted her bike, and donned her helmet.

The ride back seemed faster than the ride there, and before she knew it they were pulling into a little honkytonk bar with a lot of motorcycles in the parking lot. She looked at the sign and her stomach flip-flopped when she saw it was the Rolling Thunder Bar. She wasn’t sure she needed to be here until she and Bud got the legalities worked out, but now that she was here it’d be awkward to leave.

With a sigh, she parked, got out of her helmet, and fell into step beside Ranger.

“They have the best baby back ribs here.” Ranger opened the door and she paused inside to let her eyes acclimate to the dim lighting. Six pool tables dominated one side of the room, a huge bar in the middle faced both the billiard and restaurant areas, and heavy wooden tables lined the other side. Ranger directed Nickie towards a small booth made for two people, and he nodded to a waitress as she settled napkins and silverware in front of them.

A large man approached them and seemed to sniff Ranger. “You one of Drake’s men?”

“I am. I’m Ranger, Mac’s outside, and we have a third watching from across the street.” He nodded towards Nickie. “This is Nickie and I’m responsible for her safety. Figured this’d be a good place to bring her for ribs.”

“They’re good, Rooster.”

Nickie smiled as she recognized Shadow. Rooster dwarfed him, but Shadow clapped him on the back as he stopped beside him. “I did some work for her through Drake and she gave me a book to give my sister.” Shadow’s smile grew huge as he told Nickie, “I can’t remember the last time I saw her so excited. Thanks. You gave me serious brownie points.”

“Happy to hear it. I hope she enjoys it.”

“Oh, she stayed up all night and read it. Said it was the best yet.”

Nickie relaxed a little inside. She always worried when a new book released. Having her publisher, editor, and beta readers like it was nice, but nothing really counted until the general public weighed in.

Shadow’s eyes drew closer together. “You’re worried people won’t like it?”

“Always. A little piece of your soul goes out with each book, and you never know how it’ll be received until reviews start coming in.”

“Wait, you’re the author?”

Fuck. Nickie was too tired to be doing this.

“Long story, but if I was, it’d be a secret.”

“Secret’s safe with me.”

Their waitress returned with their drinks, and Rooster said, “We’ll leave you alone to enjoy your dinner. Yell if there’s a problem. While you’re here, we’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“I didn’t realize you were bringing me… here,” Nickie told Ranger when Rooster and Shadow were out of earshot. “I’m not sure where things stand with Bud and me.”

“If there was a problem with Bud, he’d tell you. I heard he left quick this morning, but he wouldn’t make up an excuse to leave. If he was done with you, he’d just leave.”

“I know my business is yours while you’re guarding me, but sometimes I really hate needing bodyguards.”

“I understand. Did the bike ride help?”

“It did. I know it makes more work for ya’ll when I don’t stay home, but I needed to get out in the worst sort of way.”

“I can relate. We made it work. No sweat.”

They talked casually until the waitress brought their ribs, and then all speech stopped while they ate. Nickie was ravenous and Ranger must’ve been, too. She felt bad for Mac but figured he’d have snacks in the vehicle. Or hoped so, anyway.

They were nearly finished eating when Ranger lifted his plate and glass, stood, and moved away from the table without saying a word.

Bud sat in his recently vacated booth seat and met her gaze. “How do you feel today?”

She kept her voice low. “If I hadn’t been so focused on driving fast I’m pretty sure I could’ve had some orgasms just from riding the bike.”

He gave her a shit-eating grin, lifted her tea, took a sip, and put it back. “You up for round two or do you need some time to recover?”

He’d fucked her raw, but her insides ignited at the thoughts of him inside her pussy when she was already sore. “I’m up for round two if you take the belt out of the equation.”

He shook his head. “You don’t dictate the terms. You’re either up for it or you aren’t.”

“I’ll need a few days for the bruises to dissipate before the area takes more damage.”

“I didn’t say I’d hit you in the same place. Didn’t belt your boobs last night, now did I? Part of this is you trusting me not to do anything dangerous.”

Nickie’s clit throbbed and she let out an involuntary moan at the mere thought of him striking her breasts with his belt. He hadn’t gone easy on her ass and thighs, and that kind of pain to her boobs would be off the charts.

He sighed. “You’ve met two of my men. I’m going to tell the rest of them you’re off limits, but no one’s to introduce themselves to you unless I give the okay. Rooster and Shadow will be friendly if they see you, but don’t expect much conversation. We have some discussion to get behind us before I can trust you around my people.”

“I know. I won’t do anything to break trust with Shadow or Rooster based on the conversations I’ve had with them. You have my word. They have my word.”

He nodded. “Thanks for that.”

“Ranger wants me in the SUV between here and the condo, so I’m done riding the bike for the day. Tomorrow’s the big conversation about how we can safely use me as bait to catch the traffickers. We have a meeting set with my FBI contacts.”

A muscle flexed in Bud’s jaw and another tensed in his neck. “I don’t like it.”

“I know, but the sooner we take care of them the sooner I can send the bodyguards away. I’m used to having them around when I’m investigating a story, but I’m not prepared to deal with them the rest of the time.”

“I won’t work with the FBI, so you need to decide now if you’d rather do this with the feds or with my men.”

“I thought I wasn’t going to be around your men?”

“I didn’t say you’d actually see them.”

Nickie realized it was an offer he wouldn’t make lightly, but she shook her head. “I can’t ask that of you. I’ll take care of them the right way.”

“Fuck, Nickie. Their priority is catching the enemy, not keeping you safe. My priority will be keeping you safe by catching the bastards. Do you understand the difference?”

“I do, which is why I’ll have four men I’ve hired to keep me safe. I don’t intend to put my life in the hands of the FBI.”

Bud spread his fingers on the table, lifted his hands, put them back. Nickie had the distinct impression he was arguing with himself, so she waited him out.

“Fucking shit. You’ll have four men you’ve hired and me. I won’t bring my men into it, but I’m coming with you.”

“Then I suggest we work through our legal issues tonight, because if we don’t find a resolution we can both live with then you won’t be going anywhere with me.”

“Finish your ribs. There’s an office in the back and I’ll have a waitress bring coffee and key lime pie. I can print out whatever we agree to, and one of your men can act as witness when we sign.”

“You’re awful sure we’re going to come to an agreement.”