Claiming Honor (Bad Boys of River City Book 3) (3 page)

Honor

Oh God. He’s killing me. His cock is so thick it smarts a little going in, but when he starts those slow, way too gentle thrusts I forget all about it. I knew this would happen when I came to him. I did. I just didn’t expect it to feel so damned good. I’ve come once already. I’d say embarrassingly fast, but hell, I'm practically floating so good I don’t care. And now he’s tormenting me with hard draws on my nipple and those lazy shallow strokes of his cock.

“Oh gawd, Hunter. Fuck me already,” I whisper.

He lifts his head and smirks, but then he moves. Fast and hard and rough, just the way I like it. He tweaks my nipple before moving his hand to my clit and tugging the ring there. It hurts a little and it's exquisite. Yes, prim and proper Honor has a twisted streak a mile wide.

“Damn it," I gasp. More!”

He chuckles. “Fuck, baby, I knew you were hot but I was afraid to hope for kinky.”

I’m almost insulted for half a minute and then he tugs that ring a bit harder this time.

“Hunter!”

There’s no stopping the orgasm. It rips through me in waves and he fucks me through it, dragging it out. Making it perfect. I’ve never come so hard in my life and I know one thing for sure. I may not understand what the hell is going on with us, but if I get sex like this, I want more.

He bends his face to my shoulder, right where it curves into my neck, and bites hard, marking me, as he stiffens. I feel his cock throb inside me, then his fingers move on my clit. It sets me off again, leaving me trembling and wrung out. He holds me a long time, kissing the bite mark on my neck. Then he slowly lowers my legs and I groan when he pulls out of me. He holds me steady while he disposes of the condom, then turns off the water and reaches outside the shower for a towel. I try to take it from him but give up when he stares at me, steady. Resolute. An awkward silence falls while he dries me. Well, for me at least. He doesn’t look the least bit nervous. Then again, he never does. He notices my worry, however.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

I back away and start to pull on my clothes. Suddenly I feel so exposed. When I’m dressed I return to the office and grab my purse. I need to get out of here. I need to think and decompress and process. I open the door and Lake is waiting. Oh hell. He looks over my shoulder and scowls.

Chapter Five

Honor

“Where do you think you’re going, sugar?” he drawls when he doesn’t see Hunter.

I sigh. This is just fucking great. I don’t even get to have my panic attack in private? I spot Walker behind him though and I manage to slip under his arm.

“Can I get a ride to my house?” I ask him

He scowls just as hard as Lake and when he looks behind me, I know my escape is thwarted.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hunter asks.

I turn to face him. He’s in jeans and a t-shirt that stretches tight across his shoulders and chest, and he’s pissed. He doesn’t even bother to hide it from me and frankly I’m stunned. I've seen hard ass Hunter but I haven’t seen him angry. At least not at me. Irritated and frustrated, sure. If he notices my unease he doesn’t acknowledge it.

“My house,” I whisper. “The police, remember?”

It’s a total lie. I’d actually forgotten all about that, he'd blown my mind so well. I’m just trying to get away. He knows it, too. He crosses his arms over his chest and his expression clears. I can’t read him at all. Again. I hate how he can do that.

“You are not to go
anywhere
without me or one of my men. Do you understand that, Honor?”

I feel my whole body go hot with anger. It's actually a relief, and I step forward. “You’re insane,” I snap. “You don’t own me.”

This time he gets a look in his eye he rarely let's me see. Cold and commanding and so, so dominant my panties should be melting right off. Oh shit. It's never wise to rouse a sleeping bear but maybe that's a bad analogy. That gleam in his gaze is definitely more like a wolf on the prowl.

“You want to say that again, sweetheart?” he asks softly. Dangerously. I don’t dare repeat the words, but I can’t let him think I’m going to give in to his every whim either.

“You heard me,” I say. Miraculously it comes out firm instead of timid and wary. I know I’m pushing him too hard. I know what kind of man he is, but I just can’t help myself. He looks at Walker and Trace, who has just joined the group.

“This is your fault. You can’t control your women so now mine thinks she can just walk around and do whatever the fuck she wants, despite the fact she's in danger.”

Neither of them say a word, but they don’t meet Hunter’s gaze and I’m too stunned to open my mouth, though I know I should. I should high tail my ass out of here as fast as I can. I knew better than to fuck him. I knew he’d try to take over my life. Until he loses interest of course. He doesn’t seem like the kind of man to stick around in a long term relationship. The thing is he seems to be pushing for just that. Whatever happened to simple no strings attached sex? I know he’s had plenty of it, so have I, why’s he got to go all Neanderthal over me?

“I--”

He cuts me off with a harsh look. “Not one word. We’ll talk later.”

I shiver and for the first time I wonder if I was wrong. Am I safe with him? Maybe I should have gone to Grace’s instead of coming here. Hell, I should have just stayed home and called the police. He notices my reaction too. I can see he’s not happy about it, but he doesn’t say anything.

“We’re going,” he says to me, turning to the others for a minute. “Lake, meet us at my house.”

“You want us to do anything?” Trace asks.

Hunter shakes his head. “Not right now. Go home to your women.”

Then he has his hand in mine and he’s leading me out to his SUV. He doesn’t say a word. When we arrive at my house there’s only one person waiting out front with Ryder. I can’t believe this shit. Not even breaking into my house is enough to get the police’s attention?

“How do you want to handle this?” the cop, in street clothes so I assume he's a detective, asks when we approach.

No one even bothers to introduce him to me. What the hell?

“Go ahead and do what you need to. Whatever you want from her, you get it now. No one is getting access to her later.”

“You go after him and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to help you.”

“You let me worry about that.”

He shrugs. “Whatever you say, man.”

Oh. My. God. This guy, this
cop
, does he work for Hunter? He turns to me and his eyes are kind. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but that surprises me.

“I need a statement. And you need to look around and see if anything is missing. Then you can pack.”

“Pack? Why?”

Hunter squeezes the back of my neck and swipes his thumb over the mark on my neck. Remembering how it got there sends shivers through my body.

“You can’t stay here, sweetheart. It isn’t safe.”

Damn it. I knew this would happen. Have sex once and he’s trying to take over my life.

“Where the hell am I supposed to go? Home with you?”

My foolish heart races at the thought. Stupid damned thing. He scowls.

“You’re sure as hell not staying here.”

“I’ll go stay with Grace and Walker. I’m sure I’ll be safe there.”

“Like hell you will,” he snarls, stepping close enough his nose is almost touching mine. “
My
woman. My house. My bed.”

“You arrogant bastard. Just ‘cause I fucked you once doesn’t mean I’m ever going to do it again.”

He cocks his eyebrows. “You really wanna have that argument with an audience? I’m game if you are.”

I feel heat rush over me and know I’ve turned bright red. It's not a pretty color on me. He has a real good point, though. I’d completely forgotten Ryder and the detective. One look in their direction and I see they’re watching us, fascinated and amused. And why not? Because hell, I might be almost as tall as Hunter but what am I going to do? Punch him? He’d just laugh, throw me over his shoulder, and do whatever the hell he wants. I stalk into the house without a word. I hesitate at my bedroom door but I want to get this over with. The ruined clothes and roses are gone. What the fuck? I turn to see Hunter and the other two follow me in.

“They were here,” I mumble.

Ryder nodded. “After Liam photographed the room, I cleaned up. I figured you wouldn’t want to see that again.”

Liam must be the cop. I nod. “Thank you.”

He gives me his patented Ryder smile. “No problem.”

They stay out of my way as I look around. My jewelry is all here and I notice a few dresses and slacks missing in the closet. The ones I haven’t worn yet, mostly. I have a weird, creepy feeling about all this. Bad enough someone ripped up my clothes and left those roses. But to paw through my closet and steal from me too? I want to get out of here so I hurry to the dresser. I check my bottom drawers first. Nothing is missing here, but it's all cut off shorts, t-shirts and sweats. Nothing interesting to a fashion conscious thief.

Suddenly I have a bad vibe I can't explain, and I’m afraid to look in my underwear drawer. I made a trip to my favorite lingerie store just a few days ago. The idea that someone might have rifled through it…I look at Hunter, knowing that dread shows, when I reach for the handle. He motions for the other two to leave the room and joins me when I open it. It’s empty. Holy. Fucking. Shit. I don’t know what to say. I stumble back. Hunter catches me, cradles me in his arms, and I cling to him.

“It’s okay, baby,” he whispers. “You’re safe. I promise.”

Maybe, but I’ll never feel that way in this house again. I shove away from him and pull a bag out of the closet. I throw a few changes of clothes in it. I'm not sure if I'll ever be to look at the rest of it again. I push past Ryder and the cop in the hall, but I only go two doors to my office. Inside I pack up my e-reader and chargers. My laptop and planner are out in the car. Yeah, I’m old school. I could keep dates and crap on my phone, but the paper calendar keeps me organized better. I consider unplugging the desktop and dragging it along too, but I don’t keep anything important on it, so there's not much point. I hesitate a second then grab the bag I keep my jewelry making supplies in. I don’t know how long I'll be gone and I'm sure I'll need something to do. It's not like Hunter is going to spend all his time entertaining me.

No one says a word when I exit but they all follow me to the front door. Ryder takes my bags and trails us outside. Hunter speaks to them a minute while I wait in the SUV. I should be with them, finding out what they’re going to do about this, but I’m just so shocked. I’m not the kind of woman men obsess over. Honestly, a part of me doesn’t want to know what they're talking about. I’m pretty sure Hunter is going to kill him. He might have let it go at a warning but not after Wayne broke into my house and stole things so personal. Finally Hunter walks back to me and the other two go back inside the house.

“Ryder will bring your jewelry box and the rest of your clothes,” Hunter says when he gets in the SUV.

I nod. What can I say? He reaches over and takes my hand. I’m not sure if I’m comforted or scared. This is going way too fast. My heart races and his thumb brushes over my fluttering pulse which just makes it worse. Then he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my wrist. Oh hell. It is so innocent but somehow so damned erotic I'm ready to get naked right here and now. My moods are shifting all over the damned place. I need to pull it together before he owns me heart and soul.

“Grace is going to the store for you. She’ll be by later.”

I was hoping to use that as an excuse to put off going to his house, but he’s anticipated me again. We leave my subdivision and head back towards the gym, but we turn on a gravel road about five miles before it. The road is taken care of but it’s still a little bumpy. I'm sure Hunter has left it this way to discourage visitors. A couple minutes later I see three huge houses and two more under construction. I know Hunter bought this land and built the houses several years ago. Now Trace and Walker are also building their own.

We pull in the driveway of the house in the center. The new ones going up are across the road and the crews seem to be packing up for the day. Lake is waiting for us and grabs my bags.

“Go inside with Lake, sweetheart,” Hunter says.

I start to ask him why but notice a couple of the construction guys waiting for him. Neither of them look very menacing or anything but though I’m curious, I don’t want to step too close. The less I know about Hunter's business the better. I follow Lake inside.

“Look around,” he says then jogs up the stairs with my bags.

I look around and feel like I’ve wandered onto the set on some rich and famous reality TV show. The foyer is huge. There’s a grand staircase in front, a big sunken living room on my right and a formal dining room through an archway on the left. I go in and look in awe at the massive table. Damn thing would probably seat twenty if you squeezed in. It opens into a kitchen and I see a den beyond that. I gotta see it up close.

The kitchen is awesome. Tons of cabinet space, double ovens, a mix of butcher and granite counters with black appliances and shiny white subway tile. It’s all out of a showroom. I mean damn, even the floors are marble. I love to cook. The thing I dislike most about my house is the tiny kitchen. I’m still just standing here, staring in awe when the guys come in. Unbelievably, Ryder is just a minute behind them. He must have packed like a demon to get here so fast.

He goes straight to the fridge and pulls out four beers. Hunter takes mine, opens it, and hands it to me. I’m taking a long draw when my phone rings. I get it out of my purse but Hunter snatches it from me before I can answer. He turns it off and tosses it to Ryder who catches it deftly.

“What the hell, Hunter?”

“You can’t keep that phone, baby. The fucker might know how to track it.”

Oh my God. I didn’t think about that. I don’t
want
to think about it. Hasn’t he done enough damage?

“Don’t worry I’ll get you a new one.”

But will he be able to trace that too? Bile surges in my throat. I set the beer down and rush to the bathroom. I haven’t eaten enough today to do more than dry heave and I can’t seem to stop. Hunter kneels down beside me and pulls my hair back. He helps me up and I wash my mouth out with water. Standing here at the sink I can’t help myself. I’m overwhelmed and scared and so incredibly pissed that someone violated my privacy, I start bawling. Once I spew the emotional garbage I'll be better.

“Shh, sweetheart. You're okay. You’re safe with me.”

He gathers me in his arms, picks me up, and I turn my head into his shoulder, my arms clinging to his neck. I don’t want any of the guys to see anymore of my emotional breakdown than necessary. It's embarrassing enough as it is. No one says as a word as he carries me through the kitchen and upstairs. He sits down and it takes me a couple minutes to realize we’re in his bedroom. On his bed. He holds me close, rubbing his hand up and down my back. It's soothing and I begin to relax.

"Better?" he whispers.

I sigh. "Yeah. I only freak out when I think about it," I try to joke.

"You're safe here, sweetheart. I promise."

I believe him. Well, physically at least. I'm not so sure about my heart.

"Talk to me, baby," he orders.

There's no way I'm talking about what I was just thinking. Stalkers somehow seem safer. "I don’t get it. Why me? Why
now
? I've known Wayne Cox for years. He's never shown the slightest interest in me."