Lulu

I squeezed Hunter’s hand tighter as we neared the entrance to the club. This place was exclusive. Only the rich and privileged got to party here. Bret owned it, and after some digging by Neco, we discovered he was still very much under his father’s thumb. This made the guys extremely nervous. But I knew how controlling his father could be and knew how Bret felt about the man. It was common knowledge among his associates that they didn’t get on, which was the only reason Hunter was going ahead with the meeting.

I trusted Bret. He’d been my only friend for a lot of years. My best friend. We were thrown together a lot, and we’d looked out for each other. He’d hated his father almost as much as I’d hated Pierce.

When I’d called to ask for the meeting, he’d sounded as happy to hear my voice as I was his. He’d also made it clear we needed to talk in person, not over the phone. Knowing his family, this didn’t surprise me.

We bypassed the line of people waiting to get in to the club and I felt their stares burning into me as we passed. Not surprising. We were seriously underdressed for this place. Both of us were in jeans. Hunter had on a T-shirt and leather jacket and I had on a plain black jacket and the best top I owned. It was royal blue and shimmery and hit mid-thigh. I’d loved it when I saw it on the rack. None of the women here would be seen dead in it. I knew this because once upon a time, I’d been one of them. I’d worn the designer clothes. I’d had the perfect hair and makeup. Pierce had made sure of that.

I’d hated it. All of it.

These were the young and wealthy. And, more than likely, the bored and resentful. They weren’t my people anymore, never had been. I’d never fitted in. Hadn’t wanted to.

Hunter didn’t seem to notice the stares, or care.

I caught sight of Jude and Neco in the lineup, close to the front, and nearly stumbled over my own feet. They were both in suits, grinning and chatting to a couple of women. Hunter gave my hand a squeeze, silently telling me not to stare.

I gaped up at him. “How do they know those women?”

Hunter smirked and shrugged but didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. At least that cleared up my question over how he was going to get backup into the club.

We walked up to the velvet rope and the bouncer guarding it, blocking the way in. The guy looked as if he ate steroids like Tic Tacs.

“Bret Tanners is expecting us,” Hunter said.

He took our names then spoke into the headpiece attached to his ear. Another guy arrived a few minutes later and motioned us to follow.

We were led into the main club. The music was loud, and the place was already pretty packed. There was a main dance floor down stairs and a second level that was sectioned off—a VIP area. That’s where we were taken. Hunter glanced down at me, and I could see he was on full alert. I could also see he was as confused as I was. I’d expected to be shown to Bret’s office, not some table surrounded by people. Drinks and bottles littered the surface and several people were openly doing drugs.

Bret was sitting back, a woman pressed up against him on either side. When he spotted me, I noticed his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. A lazy smile spread across his lips.

He was high.

I took him in, having a hard time recognizing this Bret.

My old friend disentangled from the women beside him and headed our way, lifting his arms as he approached, his grin getting wider.

“Lucinda. God, I’ve missed you. It’s been too long.”

His hands went to my shoulders and he pulled me in for a hug. He was sweaty and gripped too tight, but I knew how worried he’d been about me, so I hugged him back just as tight, happy to have my friend back.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I said against his shoulder.

Hunter didn’t let go of my hand, pulling me back in close as soon as Bret let me go. I looked up at him brow raised. He wasn’t looking at me—his eyes were locked on Bret.

“You didn’t say you were bringing a friend,” Bret said, eyeing Hunter right back.

I quickly tried to steer this meeting in the right direction. “I was hoping we could go somewhere quiet and talk?”

He sniffed, wiping the back of his hand under his nose, eyes darting around the club. “Yeah, sure. Of course.”

I hated seeing him like this; he’d always hated drugs. I was starting to doubt he’d have anything useful for us, but I had to at least try. Maybe after today we could spend some time together, maybe I could get through to him, help make some changes in his life.

He turned and led us to a door at the back of the VIP section. I saw Hunter slip his hand inside his jacket pocket. I knew he had his phone in there, that it was a simple as hitting a button to alert the other guys if he felt something was off.

Knowing Hunter was worried sent nerves spiraling though me. They only shot higher when that same hand went under his jacket, to the gun on his opposite hip. Surely he didn’t think Bret would try and do something to me?

Bret punched in a code when we reached the door and tilted his head, silently telling us to follow. We entered a short hall and he motioned us into his office. “In here.”

That’s when a toilet flushed opposite us.

The bathroom door opened. Derek, Pierce’s man, walked right on out.

Derek froze, and Hunter cursed.

Everything happened in a blur after that. Hunter shoved me behind him then slammed his fist into Bret’s throat. Bret dropped like a stone as Hunter pulled his gun and aimed it at Derek before I was fully aware of what was going on.

“Hands where I can see them.”

Derek did as he was told, and Hunter started to back us up to the door we’d just come through. The sound of feet pounding came from the other end of the hall, and Derek smirked. They were coming for me. Oh God. Was Pierce here?

A loud thud behind us made me jump. Hunter jerked me out of the way a second before the door flew open. Jude stood there breathing heavily. Hunter grabbed my hand, and we were running. We took the stairs to the lower level. Jude was in front of us, clearing a path with his massive shoulders like a human bowling ball.

We hit the street and Hunter picked me up and started sprinting. The lights on his SUV flashed as we drew near. He opened the passenger door and shoved me in. He was in the driver’s side a second later. Something hit the back of his car. Were they shooting at us?

Jude was still outside returning fire, then he dove into the back and we took off.

I twisted in my seat. “What about Neco?”

“He’s fine,” Jude said. “He’s gonna try and follow Derek. Maybe he’ll lead us to Pierce.”

I started shaking. “I can’t believe it . . .” I shook my head. “He was a sweet kid. Sad and mixed up, but we were friends, best friends.” I turned to Hunter. “I didn’t think he’d . . . he’d betray me like I’d never meant anything to him.”

“You had no way of knowing Bret would do that.” He reached out and gave my thigh a squeeze. His jaw was tight, the fingers of his other hand flexing around the steering wheel. “Whoever’s supplying him drugs more than likely owns him.”

Hunter obviously hadn’t missed Bret’s condition. “He won’t give up, will he?” I turned to Hunter, feeling numb. I was glad of it, of the numbness. If I thought too hard about what just happened, what could have happened, I’d enter full-on meltdown mode. “Pierce . . . he won’t stop until he has me.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Hunter said, voice so low and fierce it made it hard not to believe him.

I just hoped he was right.

Hunter

We walked into the apartment. Van looked up from his phone, frowning. Van had volunteered to babysit. Since Josh seemed to like his uncle a whole hell of a lot, Lulu had been okay with the arrangement.

“That Neco?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Van shook his head. “Nothing.”

Lulu yanked her hand from mine. “I’m going to . . . I need a shower.” Then she all but ran across the living room to get away, tousled hair flying out behind her. Shit.

I turned to my brother. “Josh asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you stay a little longer, just in case he wakes?” I needed to talk to Lulu without interruption. I needed to hold her, reassure myself that she was okay. Tonight had been a fuck-up of epic proportions.

Van gave me a chin lift. “Take as long as you need.”

I wanted more than anything for Lulu to lean on me. Needed it probably more than she did. She’d been dealing with so much shit on her own for so long, I didn’t think she knew how to do anything else. My girl was scared out of her mind. I got that she was afraid to let me back in. I understood it. Fuck, more than most.

But knowing what she’d been through while I was locked up, what Pierce had done to her . . . yeah, I needed her to lean on me. I needed her to see me as her man again, be the one she turned to. She needed to work through all that had happened. On top of all that, she was carrying guilt over the time I’d done, blamed herself when she’d had no choice. None.

I knew Pierce well enough to know he would have followed through with his threat. I also knew that fucker hadn’t been lying when he told her he had someone on the inside watching me. Motherfucking Baker. The screw hated my guts, had fucked with me whenever the chance presented itself. Which had been often.

The parole board didn’t look kindly on a man who beat the shit out of two other inmates. That kind of thing was frowned upon. Thanks to Baker, I’d been placed in a position where I either fucked those guys up or got myself fucked, literally. I had, of course, chosen to the former. It had destroyed my chance of getting out early. And as far as I could see the screw had done it for shits and giggles.

Lulu wasn’t responsible for that. If I could take that from her, release her of that burden, it’d be a start.

I tested the bathroom door. It wasn’t locked, and swung open when I gave it a shove. Lulu stood by the tub, staring blindly at the water as it rushed from the faucet.

“Babe?”

Her head shot up, twisted toward me—then she took a step back. And Jesus, did that cut. The old Lulu had never looked at me with fear in her eyes. Ever.

“Does Josh need me?”

I shook my head and shut the door behind me. “We need to talk.”

“No I . . .”

“Lulu, we need to talk.”

“I can’t do this now.” Her voice was strong, but it shook like hell.

I gritted my teeth. Pierce had a lot to answer for. As soon as they tracked him down, I’d enjoy every fucking minute of making sure he paid for what he’d done to her. What he did to me. What he took from us both.

“Why don’t you get in the tub? I’ll do the talking.”

She didn’t move, just continued to stare into the water, biting her tempting, full lower lip. Shit. My cock swelled in my jeans. I hadn’t touched her since the night on the couch.

I’d resisted taking it further that night, and instead carried her to her bed after she’d fallen asleep, reluctantly going to my own. I’d stayed away since, to give her time to heal. Her body was pretty much back to normal, besides a few bruises, but her mind . . .

I moved up behind her, placing my hands on her hips. “Please, Lulu.”

Her body relaxed against mine. I didn’t even know if she was aware she was doing it. She’d already taken off her jacket and shoes, and the top she still had on clung to her, showed just how full and perfect her tits were, how they’d gotten fuller over the last few years.

I lifted it over her head. She didn’t try to stop me, so I carried on, removing her bra. Jesus. Her nipples were darker, too. They used to be pale pink—now they were strawberry tipped and so fucking tempting I could barely think straight.

She sucked in a soft breath when I dropped the bra to the floor. The sound was a nervous one, but it was also needy as hell. I felt it across my balls, like she reached down and cupped them. I undid her jeans and slid them down her legs.

“What do you actually do for the agency?” she asked out of the blue. She was trying to deflect the attention away from her, from whatever I wanted to talk about.

I ran my hands over her silky skin. “Fugitive recovery, provide muscle, security. Run-of-the-mill P.I. work.”

“That’s not all, though, is it?”

I gave her hips a squeeze. “ No.” I decided to tell her the truth, the best I could anyway. “People come to us when a situation is too dangerous for anyone else, and we . . . fix it for them.”

“What does that mean?” She stepped out of her jeans, and I kicked them away.

“We help people out of impossible situations. Sometimes the police have their hands tied, can’t legally do what’s needed, that’s when we step in. But we know how to cover our asses. We have a kind of . . . working relationship with the NYPD. We scratch each other’s backs from time to time to get shit done.”

She didn’t ask for more. I glanced at the mirror beside us, growling when I got an eyeful of her fading bruises. The sight threatened to take me to an ugly place, a place Lulu did not need to see me go. Somehow I managed to squash it down, the rage. Letting her see my anger over what happened would help nothing. Right now, she needed to be taken care of.

I tucked my fingers in the sides of her underwear and slid them down as well, unable to stop myself from sliding my hand over the side of her ass as I went. Rising back up, I moved my hand higher, over her belly. She was rounder there too. Softer. And it was sexy as fuck. I carried on, until I was cupping her tits in both hands, testing their weight.

“These are bigger,” I whispered in her ear. “You always had a great body, but fuck, Lulu.”

She laughed. It was breathy, a little unsure. “Having a baby, breast feeding. It changes you.”

“You’re beautiful.” I tentatively massaged one of her tits, while my other hand went back to her belly. “You’ve never been sexier than you are now.”

She was breathing heavy, ass nestling my aching cock, the smooth skin of her back hot against my chest and stomach. She was temptation, a dream; all my fucking wishes come to life when I thought I’d lost her for good. But I needed to take this slow. No matter how much I wanted to spin her around, spread her wide and slide inside her, I couldn’t. I didn’t think she was ready for that, not yet. I’d already fucked up with her, when I’d had her at the cabin, at the agency. Jesus, the way I’d behaved. I was disgusted with myself.

Lulu deserved so much more.

Reluctantly, I released her and, testing the water, turned it off. “Climb in, baby.”

It was hot and steamy in the small room. The humid air coated her skin, made her entire body glisten, even as goose bumps broke out over her creamy flesh. I wanted to lean in and lick her, taste her, but I refrained. Barely.

She did as I asked, stepping into the warm water. I went to my knees beside her and, taking a washcloth, lathered it up with bodywash. She’d tied her hair up, out of the way, so I started on her shoulders and back. Her head dropped forward and she moaned softly. Fuck. Another hit to my aching balls.

“Josh is an amazing kid,” I said into the silence. “You’ve done a great job with him.”

She stiffened, but just for a moment. “Thanks.” I barely heard her, she was talking so quiet.

“I know you’re used to doing shit on your own, and I know it won’t be easy for you at first, but I want some of that burden you’ve been carrying.”

“My son’s not a burden.”

There was steel in her voice this time. I preferred it to how damn broken she sounded a second ago. “No, he’s not. He’s a miracle, is what he is. If you hadn’t had that little boy, giving you something else to focus on, to worry about, to keep you moving forward. To live for . . .” Just saying those words were a gut punch, but I shook it off and kept on talking. “I hate to think what might have happened to you. After what Pierce did, babe, that could’ve destroyed you.”

Her shoulders tensed. “Hunter . . .”

“Let me finish.” I moved the cloth to her front and slid it over her chest, and her head dropped back against my arm. “You blow me away. You’re so damn strong. But you’ve buried what happened for too long, all of it. It’s time to work through it. I know it’ll never be gone completely, but babe, I can see you fighting to keep it locked down, so hard it’s fucking crippling you. You opened up to me, and that opened the floodgates. Don’t slam them shut again.”

I knew how dangerous it was, locking that kind of shit away, shoving it down deep. I’d seen it with my own mother, seen how what she’d been though had slowly but surely destroyed her. My father had stood by and let her sink, too caught up in his own damn pain and anger to notice. I wouldn’t let that happen to Lulu. No fucking way.

She was quiet a long time, so long I thought she wasn’t going to say anything.

“You don’t understand,” she finally rasped. “You don’t get it. If I let it out . . . if I—. . .” She cut herself off abruptly and bit her lip.

“Let me help you. Tell me what you need.” I trailed my hand down over her stomach. “Let me get you through this. Let me be there for you and Josh. Where I belong. Where I was always meant to be.”

I skimmed the cloth lower and kept on moving down her leg. She leaned back farther, slid down in the water deeper, watching me as I moved. I could feel her eyes on me, my side, on the ink there. Then around to my back. Her name. I’d put it there a month after we got together. Knew even before then she was meant to be mine. Had never stopped wanting her. Even when I tried, even when I believed she’d betrayed me, I never stopped wanting her.

As I slid the cloth back up, and her knees lifted, then fell open. The water was murky from the body wash, but not that fucking murky. She was totally exposed and so damn beautiful.

I looked up at her. Her eyes were on me, lids heavy. She wasn’t hiding what she wanted. Not at all. Jesus. She was gorgeous. Face flushed, lips plump. Tits floating in the water, nipples dark, making my mouth water.

“Please,” she whispered. “This is what I need. I just want to feel good. I just want to forget. Make me forget, Hunter.”

I could deny her nothing. And why would I? She trusted me with her body. After everything that happened with Pierce—after the way I’d treated her—she still wanted this from me. I didn’t think she fully realized the significance of that, what that meant. But I did. And it was huge.

I hadn’t given her many reasons to trust me since I’d been back in her life, but I’d make sure I proved I was worthy of it.

I’d prove it to her every damn day, for the rest of our lives.

Lulu

Those intense blue eyes seemed to darken right in front of me.

The cloth in his hand whispered past my thigh and drifted to the bottom of the tub. Then his hand was on me, the rough skin of his palm sliding around to my inner thigh.

“You wanna feel good? I’ll make you feel good, always.” His tongue darted out, dampening his lower lip, and damn I felt that, right between my thighs, like he’d licked me. A groan slipped past my lips. It was an anguished sound, but I had no control over it. Right then, I needed him to stop talking. Everything that came out of his mouth made me want what I knew I couldn’t have, made it all ten times harder.

I pulled my knees higher, exposing more of myself to his heated gaze. I wanted his hands on me, not declarations. I knew he was trying to make it better, but it just hurt more to hear them. “Touch me, please.”

His hand crept higher, bypassing where I needed him. I whimpered and wriggled my hips, asking for what I wanted without words. The water on my bare skin felt so good, and just looking at Hunter, having him this close, his fingers digging into my flesh, made me near out of my mind with want. That big hand came up to my chest, cupping me, thumb and forefinger squeezing and tugging on my nipple. I felt that between my thighs as well.

He slid his palm to the underside of my breast and lifted it higher, out of the water, then leaned forward and took the hardened peak into his mouth, sucking me gently. My head dropped back to the edge of the tub and I moaned, loudly. Too good. Not enough.

He played with me, my wet fingers thrust in his hair, until I was forced to squeeze my thighs together to quiet the deep throbbing ache. Finally, he pulled back and I watched as he slid his hand down between my legs, cupping me. “This where you want me?”

“Yes. God, yes.” I couldn’t keep my hips still as he dragged his fingers through my cleft.

“Like this?” His voice was nothing but a growl.

I gripped his wrist, afraid he’d stop. “Push them inside,” I panted, mindless, unable to control what was coming out of my mouth, too far gone to care. “Fuck me with your fingers. Make me come, please.”

He hissed out a breath, and my lust-glazed eyes lifted, focused back on his face instead of what his hand was doing. Dear God, he was beautiful. Lust distorted his face, making him look harder and wilder all at once.

“Fuck,” he growled, and stood suddenly.

Then his hands were under my pits and I was hauled out of the tub. Water went everywhere, covering the floor, soaking through Hunter’s jeans as he dragged me up against him. One hand went to my ass, the other to the back of my head, and he slammed his mouth down on mine as he lifted me off the ground. His tongue thrust deep into my mouth, and I swallowed his deep groan, the vibrations of it teasing my damp nipples. The sodden denim of his jeans rubbed against my pussy when he pulled my legs around his hips. I took full advantage, undulating against him, trying to get myself off.

I gasped when my clit grazed over the fabric, wrapped my arms around his shoulders and dry humped him like a bitch in heat. This was what I needed, this washed everything else away. When I was with Hunter, I didn’t have to think. There was no fear. When his hands were on me, all I could do was feel. That’s all I wanted. That’s all I could take right now.

I’d never been more turned on. I was drenched, my skin burning up, horny as hell. I reached down, grabbed his hard cock through his jeans, and squeezed the rigid flesh. “Fuck me,” I nipped at his throat, his ear. “Please. I need you to fuck me.”

His larger hand covered mine, pulling it away from his beautiful dick. “Lulu . . .”

“Please, I want it. I need it. I need to feel your cock moving inside me.”

“Lulu . . .”

I was rubbing against him still, on the edge, close to coming from just that. My head went back as I felt it building, mouth dropping open.

And then he was gone, the space between my thighs was empty and my ass connected with the shockingly cold vanity.

Hunter was standing a few feet away, wet from me, skin slick from the bath water, chest heaving, expression fierce.

“Fuck, Lulu.” He dragged a hand though his hair, breathing like he’d run the ten-minute-mile.

I was aching and confused, hovering on the edge of an orgasm. I spread my legs, shimmying to the edge. My skin flushed, tight and tingly. “Please,” I begged, and didn’t give a damn how pathetic I sounded.

“I’m not gonna fuck you, babe, not yet.” His hands were fisted at his sides, clenched tight. “Give me a minute. Shit.”

The rejection would have stung if he wasn’t rock hard, his big cock straining against the front of his jeans. He was trying to be noble for some reason. Well, fuck noble. I wanted him to make love to me. I dropped my hand between my thighs and spread myself open then pushed a finger inside.

Hunter cursed repeatedly.

I let my eyes drift shut and started to work myself. Having his eyes on me while I did it definitely helped. It wasn’t as good as having him inside me, but it was better than nothing.

A cry slid past my lips as I pushed deep and added a second finger . . .

My hand was shoved away suddenly, and a second later, wet heat covered me. My eyes shot open, and I moaned again. Hunter was kneeling between my thighs, mouth pressed against my aching flesh. Without stopping, he lifted my legs over his shoulders, hands going to my ass, and held me steady while he sucked and licked me. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Watching him go down on me was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen.

He liked it, liked the way I tasted, enjoyed it almost as much as I did. It was there on his face, in the noises he made. Hunter had always like using his mouth on me.

His tongue slid inside and I cried out, my fingers going to his hair, fisting, holding him there while he worked me into a frenzy. Then he removed his tongue and replaced it with his fingers, shoving two inside me and started to fuck me like that. He didn’t take his eyes off me, didn’t say a thing while I gasped and begged him to go faster. They stayed on me when he swiped his thumb over my clit and pressed down on it, making me scream his name, the echo of it in the small room ringing in my ears.

While I came down, he kissed my inner thigh, my belly, tenderly. I released my death grip in his hair and ran my fingers over it.

He lifted his gaze to mine, still not saying a damn thing. He looked wild, on edge. Though it should be impossible, seeing him like that turned me on all over again.

“I . . . ah . . .” I didn’t know what to say. I’d never behaved like that before, had never been that desperate for another person in my life.

He stood. “So perfect. Nothings as sweet as you on my tongue. Watching you lose control, take what you want.”

I glanced down at the bulge behind his zipper and reached for him. He hissed when I cupped him through the damp denim.

“I want to take things slow with you, Lulu, but after that, I’m fucking dying here, babe. Blue balls really is a thing. I think I’m gonna get a clot or something. No shit.”

I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. It was the first joke he’d cracked since I’d seen him again. “Let me take care of it.” Popping the button, I slid down the zipper. He sprang free, long and thick and beautiful.

I squeezed him, sliding my hand from root to tip and he growled, eyes dark and hot and intense. God, so intense. I kissed his throat, his chest, about to carry on down, to take him into my mouth, but Hunter fisted my hair gently and guided me back, shaking his head.

“This time I want that mouth under mine when I come. You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed about that mouth. How many times I’ve woken up positive you were kissing me, only to wake up alone, hard . . . fucking desperate for you.”

He tugged me closer and then his lips were on mine, mouth opening and tongue gliding in, hot and deep and needy. We devoured each other while I stroked his beautiful cock. Both moaning as I swallowed every groan and growl he fed me.

He held me tighter, his hips moving, thrusting into my hand. Then he gripped my hair tighter. I felt his body stiffen a second before he came, splashing hot come on my stomach. The sexy, rough sounds he made vibrating right through me.

Finally, he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against mine, breathing rough. His eyes dropped to my belly. “I like that,” he said, reaching down, sliding his strong, sure fingertips over my skin, through his come, the growl in his voice making me shiver.

The act was wholly possessive; it was also sexy as hell. I got the feeling he’d been just as shaken as me tonight, when everything went pear-shaped. He hated that I’d been put at risk, but knew as well as I did that I might be the only way to find Pierce now he’d gone into hiding.

He kissed me again, and I kissed him back.

But here in this bathroom, in this moment, I wasn’t in the real world. The real world was just outside the door, and it was ugly and frightening. A place where men carried guns and innocent children got hurt by the people they should be able to trust the most. I clung to Hunter tighter.

I planned to avoid the real world, just for a little bit longer.