Diesel leaned back in his desk chair, his booted feet kicked up on his messy desk. With his cell pressed to his ear, he listened to one of his guys as he reported in.

Two of his “Shadows” that worked for him at In the Shadows Security were on a long-term gig in the city being bodyguards for a well-known NFL player. One who liked to get himself in a bit of trouble. Drinking, constant partying, questionable women, DUIs, the list went on and on.

His guys had their work cut out for them, but they were a couple of his best. And they could keep their cool even in the midst of chaos. But still, he made them check in regularly.

As much as they were paid, they didn’t complain about it.

All of his Shadows were former military and usually of the elite variety. Former Seals, Green Berets, Night Stalkers, Delta Force, Force Recon, and any other special forces men he could recruit.

His “security” company had expanded in the past few years. He and his guys had a good reputation and word had spread. When he first opened the business, he and some of his club brothers did most of the grunt work, which were mostly shit jobs, like being bouncers at bars, nightclubs, and private parties. Now, with the crew he had, the demands on both investigative services and bodyguard work were increasing, as were his fees. He also offered some “elite” services that teetered on legality. But some of the stuff the club used to handle themselves was now dealt with by his crew, which kept the club on the right side of the law. For the most part.

He leaned toward the investigative side of things after Zak was set-up by those fucking bastards, the Warriors, and the cops royally fucked up the investigation. Whether on purpose or not, he didn’t know. He hadn’t found out that gem of truth yet. Though, that was not a closed case in his mind. The evidence had been fucked and it even screwed up Z’s appeal.

Z did his ten-year stint, did it like a fucking pro, and when he got out, moved on to bigger and better things. Like Sophie. He didn’t remain bitter and ignored any talk about making an effort to clear his name. He just wanted to be done with the whole thing and put it behind him. Especially now that he was getting permanently attached to his woman and D wouldn’t be surprised if she soon got knocked up. Z was one of the brothers who wanted a family.

In one way, D understood letting the whole thing go, in another, he wasn’t sure if he could do the same as Z.

No matter what, his woman stuck by his side, whether Z was labeled as a convicted felon or not.

The brother had a perfect ol’ lady. Couldn’t get any better than Sophie. Smart, successful, loyal, hot as fuck. And was a boss when it came to baking shit.

He’d downed three of those cupcakes this morning in about five minutes flat.

They were as sweet as fuck.

Like Jewel’s pussy.

Fuck.

The voice in his ear went quiet. Then he heard, “Boss?”

D adjusted his dick, which was starting to chub up.

“Yeah,” he grunted.

“You get me?”

“Yeah. Got you.”

“Hangin’ up now,” came the amused voice on the other end.

“Yeah.”

The phone went dead. D pulled it away from his ear and tossed it onto the desk.

Fucking Jewel.

He closed his eyes and remembered her yesterday. Legs spread, cunt soaked, moaning and whimpering, squirming beneath him, raking her nails down his back and over his ass. Her legs wrapped around him, nudging him hard with her heels like he was a fucking horse and he needed to “giddy-up.”

He giddy-upped. That he fucking did.

His phone beeped at him. He snagged it and read the text.

Coming over?

He stared at the screen.

Fucking woman. Wanted more of his dick. Wanted him to get addicted to that pussy of hers so she could put a leash on him, nag him, try to control him, fill that empty spot on the back of his sled.

Ain’t gonna happen. No fucking way.

His fat fingers tapped out four letters. Busy. He hit Send.

He waited, expecting drama, but got no answer. After a few minutes, he tossed his phone down, sighed, dropped his feet to the floor, and got to work.

Two hours later he slammed the back door of his building, locked it, then stepped out into the dark parking lot. He hated fucking paperwork, but it was a necessary evil. Especially if he wanted to get paid by his clients. He really needed to hire someone to keep his books, file shit, and whatever. But he hadn’t found anyone he could trust yet. Someone able to keep the shit that went on, and the famous people they covered, on the down low.

He thought about asking Diamond because she had a shit job but the bitch couldn’t keep her trap shut and she had an attitude as well as a smart mouth. He might end up firing her ass five minutes after she started.

He glanced at his phone. It was only ten. He could either go back to his shithole of a room at church, or stop in and visit with Hawk at The Iron Horse. He scrubbed a hand over his short hair. He really needed to get his own place. Hawk had a decent house in the ‘burbs and, now that Kiki had moved in permanently, he was getting more and more domesticated.

D snorted.

Brothers were going down like flies. Jag even bought himself and Ivy a house. He wouldn’t be surprised if those two had rugrats running around under foot soon.

Jesus.

Movement by his sled caught his eye and he froze. He wouldn’t be surprised to come outside one night and find Warriors fucking with his Harley. Maybe even trashing it like they did Jag’s. He needed to get some motion lights set up out back. He put that on his mental to-do list as he moved forward and saw someone sitting...

On his fucking bike!

Jesus fuckin’ Christ.

Jewel sat on the seat, wearing only lacy panties and a bra, and freaking crazy high heels which she had propped on the back foot pegs. And by doing that, her knees were cocked and spread wide, her fingers were moving in between them.

“What the fuck?” he shouted.

She gave him a smile.

“What the fuck?” he repeated, because his brain and his temper were both boiling.

“I’ve been waiting,” she said, her voice husky. “I didn’t expect you to be busy for so long.”

His eyes raked her. “How long you been out here dressed like that? Some of my crew could’ve come back at any time.”

“Then I would’ve given them a message to send you out.”

His head jerked back as he stared at her. She would’ve what?

He didn’t step any closer to the bike or her, because if he did, he might blow a gasket, pull her off it, throw her over his lap and spank her fucking ass to teach her a lesson. And he’d do it until that smirk of hers was wiped clean away.

“Woman,” he growled.

“I figured after a busy night, you could use a little relief.”

She was being a smart ass.

Her fingers trailed back and forth over the center of her panties. She was probably slick and ready for him. One of her hands cupped her bra.

But when she buried her other hand into her panties, he’d had enough.

“Woman,” he growled again, but the word got stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard to clear it.

“Yeah, D?”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ.

His hard-on was now raging, his blood pounding in his ears, his heart thumping against his chest.

“Like fuckin’ in public?” he asked, sounding a bit strangled.

She lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, sure.”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ! Just like that. Yeah, sure! Acting like fucking in public was an everyday thing for her.

His blood pounded harder. “Done it before?” he asked a little too loudly.

“Sure,” she murmured. “You’re so far away.” Her voice caught as the hand down her panties moved faster.

He was about to self-combust. With a few long strides, he was at the bike, pulling her off it with a surprised squeak. He took her place on the seat, unbuttoned his jeans, ripped down the zipper, pushed the denim down far enough until his cock was free. Then he looked at her standing there in only those panties, bra and heels.

Fuck me.

“Get on,” he barked.

With a smile, she placed a hand on his shoulder and didn’t she just fucking pull her panties to the side and climb onto his dick.

Fuck yeah, she did.

As all the oxygen left his lungs at the unbelievable feeling of her pussy wrapped warm and wet around him, he dug one hand into her hair at the back of her head, and snaked an arm around her waist, shoving his face into her neck. His chest tightened as he inhaled her scent. And when she began to move up and down his cock, he closed his eyes and held her even closer.

Fuck him. He was so fucking fucked.

“D,” she groaned in his ear as her cunt squeezed him tight.

She was so wet that she was dripping down his balls, which were jammed painfully against his zipper. But he didn’t give a shit. A little discomfort was worth this woman riding him, making him want to blow his load deep inside her.

She’s mine.

He took her mouth, shoving his tongue against hers and she fought him for control, their tongues twisting, pushing, circling. She groaned into his mouth. And when she tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let her.

Not yet. Her mouth was his. Her pussy was his.

Everything about her was his.

He dropped the hand from the small of her back into her panties, and slid his middle finger down her crease until he found her tight, puckered hole. Curving his finger, he pushed inside her. One knuckle, two, then all the way to the third.

Now her ass was his, too.

She squirmed against him, rode him harder, faster, then bit his bottom lip. He reluctantly released her mouth and she cried out his name.

“That’s it, woman, ride me.” He grunted as she gasped, jamming him deeper inside her until he hit the end of her.

With a twist of her hips she ground herself against his lap, driving him to the edge.

“Tit out,” he mumbled.

Her hand slipped into one of the bra cups, pulled her tit from the cup and he latched onto the nipple, sucking, biting, pulling it with his teeth.

That made her get even wilder.

Throwing her head back, she landed forcefully over and over on his cock. Until he felt it. The unmistakable orgasm that hit her, making her jerk in his arms as he felt the gush of warmth over his dick and down his balls.

He heard “D” breathed into his ear.

He didn’t know if he could even answer. He was barely holding on by a thread. One that was badly frayed and about to snap.

“Ah, fuck, I’m going to come again,” she moaned. And then did just that.

After that one, he was done.

Done.

With a grunt, he buried both his finger and his cock deep and let go. He released her nipple and shoved his forehead into her neck and long hair as his cock pulsed and his balls emptied deep inside her.

That tightness that had been felt in his chest was suddenly gone.

Nowhere to be found.

He flared his nostrils trying to slow his breathing. Her hands gripped both sides of his head and she tilted it up, then placed her lips on his, kissing him deeply.

Jesus, this woman.

He was so fucking fucked.

He grabbed a handful of her long, dark hair and pulled her head back to stare into her blue eyes.

“Don’t get it, do you, woman?”

“What?”

“Ain’t gonna be tied down.”

She circled her hips and he grunted. “Didn’t like it?”

“Didn’t say that.”

She nodded, a sly smile crossing her lips. Then with both hands planted on his shoulder, she pushed herself off his lap and off his bike, adjusting her panties back into place.

“Where’s your clothes?”

She lifted her chin to somewhere behind him. “In my Jeep.”

“Get ‘em an’ get gone.”

She saluted him in a sassy manner, and without an argument, walked away in those crazy-ass heels of hers into the dark. A moment later he heard her car door slam shut and the engine start.

He remained where she left him, on his bike, his dick still hanging out, staring at one of his boots, while he heard her drive away.

He was so fucking fucked.

He tucked his cock back in his jeans, then threw back his head and bellowed a curse to the sky.

* * *

He was so fucking fucked.

As he watched her rise and fall on his dick, he dug his fingers into her hips, desperate to keep her at a slow pace. He didn’t want to finish in this position. Not like this.

Last night on his bike, she was on top. Then after he found himself at her apartment not even a half hour later, he had her once doggy style, once bent over the bed, and, hell, once against the fucking wall.

He couldn’t get enough of her. And luckily, his dick had kept up with his needs.

Now this morning, he wanted to finish when he was on top since she needed a reminder that she wasn’t going to be the one to bring him to heel.

No, she wasn’t.

She threw her head back, gasped, grabbed her own tits and pinched both of her nipples as she clamped down on him hard.

Fuck.

This woman had an insatiable appetite when it came to sex. And he wondered if she was normally like this. And, if so, who the hell she’d been getting her fix from in the past few years.

Certainly not him.

His nostrils flared at the thought, and the muscles in his jaw got tight as he tried to push away the thought of all the men that had come before him.

He wasn’t going to fucking ask. He wasn’t going to even bring it up. He was going to push that from his mind.

Suddenly, she was curled over him, her lips barely above his. “I’m gonna come, D.”

And when she did, their eyes held, even when her face changed while the orgasm rushed through her, making her body twitch on top of him, her muscles tightening like a stretched rubber band then becoming so loose, it seemed every bone disappeared in her body.

She collapsed onto his chest, her breathing ragged, her fingers digging into his pecs, her long, dark hair spread across her back and shoulders.

He grabbed a handful of that wavy silk and rubbed the strands between his fingers.

Jewel lifted her head and her blue eyes flashed at him when she asked, “Taking a break?”

Hell no he wasn’t.

With a grunt, he flipped her onto her back and she squealed then laughed as he kneed her thighs apart forcefully. The giggle died when he thrust into her hard, grabbed her wrists and held them pinned to the bed over her head with one hand. His other hand found her tit and he rolled the hard tip between his finger and thumb.

Her tits might not be big and heavy like he normally liked, but, fuck him, if they didn’t do it for him and they fit her tight body perfectly. Again, he normally liked a lot of flesh on his women, and Jewel was more on the smaller side. Even so, she could handle his bulk on top of her just fine.

That was emphasized when he drove his dick home one more time and she took every inch of him, digging her heels into the backs of his thighs. With another grunt, his body curled over hers and he grounded himself deep inside her. Air hissed out of her as he did that over and over. Finally, he released her wrists and her nails immediately raked down his back, making him hiss, too.

“Fuck me like you mean it,” she demanded.

Jesus fuckin’ Christ. This woman.

“Mean it,” he said.

“Show me.”

“Showin’ you, woman. Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You’re not going to hurt me. You haven’t hurt me yet.” She grabbed his face between her two hands and forced his gaze to hers. “Make me come.”

“Made you fuckin’ come.”

“Again.”

Jesus. “Demandin’.”

“Fuck me harder.”

He sucked in a breath.

“Fuck me like a beast,” she whispered.

His head jerked back. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ! You always like this?”

She blinked slowly then said softly, “Just with you.”

His temper quickly fled when both her eyes and mouth softened as she studied his face.

I’m so fuckin’ fucked! the voice in his head screamed.

He needed to bust a nut and get the hell out of her bed, out of her apartment.

He didn’t scare easily. But this shit...

His heart was thumping so hard in his chest, he swore it was going to explode.

“D, you’re not moving.”

“Right,” he grunted. Then, with willpower he didn’t know he had, he disengaged from her, rolled onto his back, then kept rolling until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her.

His heart was beating so fast that he pressed his palm to his chest. Maybe he was having a heart attack.

The mattress moved and dipped as she came behind him on her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself to his back.

“D,” she whispered, her mouth against his ear.

“Gimme a minute, woman,” he managed to get out.

“You didn’t get to come yet,” she said softly.

“Gimme a minute, woman,” he repeated more firmly. He dropped his head and raked his fingers through his short hair. He sucked in a long breath and let it go. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Shouldn’t be doin’ this, Jewelee.”

“Doing what?”

“This,” he barked.

“Having sex?”

Yeah, but not just the sex. All of it. Whatever she was doing to get into his head. To fuck him up. To make him question what he wanted in fucking life. For his future.

All of it.

Her fingers traced along the lines of his chest, over his collarbone, along his shoulders. Her tits were plastered to his back, her bare pussy at the top of his ass. Her tongue traced his ear, then it dropped to run a line down the side of his neck.

“Gotta stop doin’ this, Jewel.”

“Nobody cares that we’re fucking.”

But I fuckin’ do, he shouted in his head.

“We’re good together. It’s good, D. You’ve made me come more than anyone else.”

Jesus. Just what he needed to hear.

She continued, “We’ll keep it simple.”

Right. Like she was going to keep it simple. He knew better than that. Bitches were always scheming, trying to get into positions of control. Trying to lead their men around by their dick. He witnessed it one too many times.

That wasn’t going to be him. He wasn’t going to fall for that shit. No matter how good the pussy.

No matter that it was Jewel.

No matter that Jewel wasn’t just any pussy to him.

Fuck!

She slid her hands down both of his arms and interlaced her fingers with his. And, fuck him, he didn’t stop her from doing it.

“C’mon,” she murmured. “You still have a hard-on that won’t quit. Let’s do something about that.”

He stared at their linked hands which laid on his thighs. Her hands were so small compared to his. So delicate compared to his meaty paws.

“Can’t expect shit from me, Jewel. Nothin’ more than I’m givin’ you right now.”

After a hesitation he didn’t miss, she said, “Got it, D. I won’t expect nothin’ more than you’re giving me right now.” She pressed her mouth to the back of his neck and sank her teeth in slowly.

His dick kicked at the rush that went through him. He couldn’t get enough of her biting and scratching him.

Hell, he couldn’t get enough of that wet cunt of hers, either.

If she was willing to keep it simple, then why shouldn’t he take what he wanted from her and the same for her from him?

Keeping it simple. That’s what she said.

She shifted and sank her teeth into the area where his neck met his shoulder. He felt that directly in his dick, too.

“Woman,” he growled.

“Beast,” she murmured against his skin.

He twisted, snagged her by the waist, threw her back on the bed and covered her quickly with his body. His eyes closed as he slid inside her, connecting them once more.

He took a couple deep breaths, brushed her hair out of her face before taking her mouth. He didn’t let it go until they both came. This time together.

* * *

D’s head twisted on the pillow toward his ringing cell phone, which was on the nightstand next to Jewel’s bed. He picked it up to not only check to see who was calling, but the time.

Jesus, Jewel was going to be late to the shop this morning. But they’d have to get over it. If anyone had a problem with it, they could come address it with him directly.

He tapped the phone’s screen to answer the call.

“Son...” Ace started.

“Yeah.”

“Anything I should know?”

Jesus fuck. “Nope.”

“Second mornin’ your bike’s been in the lot.”

Maybe it wasn’t so convenient that Jewel’s apartment was directly over his father’s pawn shop. “Yeah.”

Ace snorted. “Okay, glad we had this talk.”

The phone went dead. He pulled it from his ear and stared at it for a second before sliding it back onto the nightstand.

“Something wrong?” Jewel asked, her voice husky from sleep.

“No.”

“Who was it?”

“Pop.”

“This early?”

“Ain’t early, woman. Your ass is gonna be late to work,” he grumbled.

She lifted her head from where it was buried in his neck. “What did Ace want?” she asked, her eyes rounded in surprise.

He stared at her for what felt like a full minute. Her arm was draped over his chest, and one of her legs wrapped around his. And that addictive pussy of hers was pressed to his hip. “Wanted to know what’s goin’ on with us.”

“And you said?”

“Said we’re keepin’ it simple an’ just fuckin’ but you’re tryin’ to get your claws in me so you can be my ol’ lady.”

Jewel made a noise and rolled her eyes. “Really. What else did you say?”

“Are you fuckin’ serious?”

Jewel laughed. She planted a hand on his chest and pushed herself up. “I have to get cleaned up and get to the shop before Crash and Rig have a coronary. Things go to shit when I’m not there.”

“Yeah.” He needed someone like Jewel to run his office. She had a knack for keeping the shop organized and running it like a well-oiled machine.

Instead of rolling out of the empty side of the bed, she climbed over him. He snagged her wrists and pulled her down on top of him. “Ain’t goin’ nowhere, woman. Takin’ care of me first, then Crash an’ Rig.”

“Again?” she whispered, but he didn’t miss the heat flaring in her eyes.

“Fuck yeah, woman. An’ when I say takin’ care of those two boneheads, don’t mean in the same way you’re gonna take care of me.”

“Right,” she whispered and with a smile, she slid down his body to settle between his legs. When she took him into her mouth, he closed his eyes and dug his fingers into all that thick hair of hers.

As her mouth and hand worked him, he couldn’t help but think of how getting head in the morning from a beautiful woman like Jewel was anything but simple.

He was so fucking fucked.