Cowboy Boots and Unadulterated Pleasures [Cowboy Boots 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

She should know. She’d endured more than one or two of his strip shows prior to his employment with her father.

“She’s there,” Colt grated out. “I can fucking sense her.” A guttural growl slipped from his lips. “You gonna say hello, baby? Tell us how ya been doin’?”

Her nipples spiked as he spoke. This was the reason why she didn’t want Colt and his team there. Colt was one hundred percent male and the other two were ninety-nine percent right behind him.

Clearing her throat, she turned on her microphone. “Ah, Colt, you know how it is, honey. I’ve been hanging loose in all the right places. Doing all right for myself and getting by. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do in this life…survive?”

He stiffened at her reply. Her words were likely a far cry from what he’d expected to hear. The bitterness in them probably shook him to his core, too, but a lot of that was putting on fronts, doing her best to ward off their forthcoming advances. Even as the thought of avoiding them crossed her mind, she longed for their bodies, acknowledging then what she’d been forced to admit a few weeks before when their shadows showed up in her casino.

No one affected her quite as much as the operatives her father had trained for the Underground Unit’s US-West division. With the shadows, though, she hadn’t worried. Crue and Gabe had a job to do, and part of their assignment detail included staying out of sight. The success of their mission—whatever it was—depended upon their complete discretion.

Still, when she’d discovered Crue and Gabe occupying the suite next to hers, she’d known the others would soon follow. Now here they were, and three pairs of eyes focused on the lens capturing them.

Her fingers tapped across the keyboard. With all faces turned to the main camera, she easily zoomed in on their features and requested recent intel about each operative. In a matter of seconds, she’d know what each man had been up to over the last twelve months.

Using the casino’s identification system, she locked in the request and waited. A few seconds later, she retrieved three printouts. Her effort was in vain. The information desired wasn’t provided. Each white sheet of paper carried only two words, “Data Unknown.”

Colt removed his cowboy hat and slapped the brim against his hand. “You gonna sit there and gawk at us or invite us up so we can give you a proper hello?”

Proper hell
. “I haven’t decided yet.” Their how-do-you-dos and good-byes always ended the same way. Her back against their beds or chests and their cocks thumping inside her pussy or staking a claim in her ass.
Nope
. Seeing them face-to-face probably wasn’t a wise move.

Colt looked down at the floor then lifted his hooded gaze once more. She was certain this sensual look was one he’d practiced and perfected. In those few seconds, he became a raw man, hungry and sensual, sexy and full of desires only she could satisfy.

Damn.
She still bought every cockamamie line of bullshit he’d ever fed her.

“Reckon you might let us out of here sometime in the next few minutes? You know how I feel about tight spaces.”

“Yeah, Colt,” she drawled. “Best I remember, you used to say the tighter, the better.” A beat later she added, “From what I recall, you like everything sealed off and airtight.”

A grunt fell from his lips. “You have one way of remembering things, doll. I have another.”

“We’re not much use to you in this elevator,” Kemper said, pointing out the obvious.

Their practical uses were the reasons why they were temporarily trapped. Those functions of theirs scared her, and based on the way they strolled into her casino like they owned the property and the woman in charge, she was tempted to leave them in the elevator.

“Best I remember, you guys only leave a good impression when you’re holding a loaded gun anyhow.”

Brand grunted. He ran his hand through his short brown hair and set that muscular jaw. His emerald eyes glistened like jewels. Gripping the rail around the lift, he swung his legs back and forth. He looked as if he were just taking it all in stride.

Good Lord, the bulge between his legs made her mouth water.

Kemper reached up and fiddled with the casino’s equipment. “If you can use a zoom feature, aim that camera down, Kelly. Look close now, baby.” He ran his large hand over his denim-clad cock. “That’s it. I know what you’re doing up there, Miss Submissive.” Kemper had a way with smoothly summonsing her with the promise of a rough fuck—just the way she liked things with Kemper—but he wasn’t overly crude. The fashion in which he’d take her body if he had the opportunity was another story. When they fucked, they went at it with no holds barred.

“Talk to me, Miss Submissive. Is your pretty skin flushed? Are you squeezing those knees together? What do you say you let me out of here so I can show you what I’ve waited to aim and fire your way?”

Her pussy quivered at the suggestion. He was right about one thing. Her legs were rubbing against one another. “Let me guess, you have a few silver bullets reserved just for me?”

“I wouldn’t call ’em silver, baby,” Kemper said. “But I bet you still have a snug chamber tight enough to squeeze a few of them out of me.”

“Pervert,” she rasped. Thanks to Kemper and his introduction to the world of sex toys, she’d developed a craving she couldn’t easily sate.

Kelly cleared her throat. She gaped at her weaknesses—the men who’d once sworn they’d always love and protect her. Then, in the same breath, they’d decided to let her go.

An old familiar wave of sadness threatened to destroy her as she thought of the past, the endless days of lovemaking and liberating sexathons they’d enjoyed whenever they could sneak off and love the day away. The delicious activities were quickly overshadowed by bitterness, the never-ending pain she always suffered when she revisited time spent in a Los Angeles hospital, an extended stay she endured without any of the men she loved by her bedside.

Smoothing her palms down her moist cheeks, she reminded herself of how she’d changed since they’d last been together. She’d gained thirty pounds and colored her hair after tolerating a surgeon’s meticulous work and purchasing much-needed implants. If they passed her on a crowded street, they probably wouldn’t take a second look. They wouldn’t recognize her right away.

Oh, who was she kidding? When their unit “shadows” had first arrived, she’d walked by them in the casino and later returned to the security office to review the tapes, convinced until then no one from her old life would recognize her.

Replaying the segment that day, she’d watched as the operatives’ firm bodies had tensed. With balled fists, Crue had slowly turned thirty degrees and watched her in his peripheral. A profound sadness had lingered in his eyes as she’d strolled by him, keeping her eyes downcast as Lorenzo led her through the throng of casino patrons.

Oh yes, they’d known. From the moment she’d approached them, their body language had changed. Gabe had stood frozen in place long after she’d walked by them, acting as if her presence there crushed him from the outside in.

Her fellows—and that’s the way she’d always consider them—hadn’t changed a bit. Every last one of them still looked exactly as she remembered—handsome, mysterious, tough as nails, and completely dangerous.

“So I take it my father told you I’m having a little bit of trouble.”

Kemper snarled. “Define a little bit.”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she fired back.

“I doubt that, Kelly,” Brand said, his nostrils flaring. She could only imagine the graphic details they’d been provided. While her father undoubtedly issued the orders, the shadows would’ve filled in the blanks her father failed to explain.

“I’ve got this,” she assured them.

“Ah now. Don’t be greedy. You know how Colt loves to dabble around in trouble,” Kemper said with a sexy smile.

“That he does,” Brand agreed. Those green eyes of his still destroyed her. A mysterious man existed behind those eyes, but his gaze wasn’t at all what she remembered most. She couldn’t look at Brand without remembering how well he performed with those moist, bow-shaped lips. His mouth had been her undoing on several occasions.

Shaking off those old brewing desires and refusing to credit them for burning anew, she said, “I have to give you props. It didn’t take you long to find me after you heard the news.”

“We knew where you were,” Colt told her, obvious pain lingering in his words.

“But of course you did,” she said. Hurt strummed through her veins, too. They’d known all along where she’d been hiding.
Naturally. Of course.
She’d been hiding in plain sight. “Let me guess. You were too busy to drop by and say hello. Probably never even occurred to you until you caught wind of my engagement.”

Colt threw his head back and laughed. “You’re not getting married, sweet thing.” He clucked. “At least not yet.”

His jaw set in determination and she shuddered against the chill in the air. Her sex felt tighter and wetter as she imagined him pounding into her, reclaiming his stake in her body, reminding her of who took her virginity all those years ago.

“You waited too long, Colt,” she bit out. “Now, look at the three of you standing there. You act like you’re raring to go, have someplace you need to be in a hurry. Well you’re too late.” She backed away from her desk and meant to leave the room.

Instead, she glanced back, curious because they were silent rather than pitching objections right and left.

“You have no idea what kind of hurry I’ve been in, darlin’,” Colt rasped, that hard edge of enticing male ripping through her system like a tornado.

Colt had always been the kind of guy who could look at a woman and have her longing for sex. He could whisper in her ear and make her panties wet. And yes, he’d talked her into more than one orgasm. Phone sex with Colt was almost as good as being in bed with the man himself.

“Let me guess, you’ve been on a mission you can’t discuss and because of duty, you took the long way home?”

“Home?” Kemper visibly jerked. “Sounds to me like we’ve still got a chance, boyfriend or no boyfriend.”

“You don’t. And he’s not my boyfriend. He’s my fiancé.”

Brand hopped off his perched position. In a low, almost inaudible voice, he said, “We’ll see about that.”

“You may have a ring on that third finger, but you aren’t getting married, Kelly. You know it. We know it.”

“Care to place a bet on that, Colt?” she asked, staring down at the glimmering stone on her left hand.

Colt stroked his chin. He took two steps closer to the camera and stood on his tiptoes. She could easily see every pore in his skin. She also noted the resolve in his dark, tortured eyes. “I’ll place a solid bet there. In fact, I’ll split the happy pair and double down on a wager with or without an ace in the hole for show.” He bit down on his lip and paused for a minute. Then, he said, “No, Kelly. You aren’t getting married, doll. There is no way in hell I’ll stand by and let you marry that asshole. If you think I will, then maybe you don’t know me as well as you once thought you did.”

“I don’t know you at all,” she barked.

“Well I know you. And I understand you well enough to know there are few men who can make you scream, only a handful who can make those pretty, long legs tremble. Five, to be exact, Kelly. And one of them is me.”

The lift finally delivered them to the top floor, where they found their three-bedroom suite. Colt would remember to thank Daniel Martin at a later date. He’d gone out of his way to provide the best in luxurious accommodations. The question was—did he have a motive, or was he going the extra mile because he feared his daughter’s life was hanging in the balance? If the latter held true, it would be the first time in a long time.

“How much you wanna bet Kelly stays on this floor?” Brand asked, tossing his luggage to the wayside.

“Most likely,” Colt said, pursuing the wet bar. Retrieving a water bottle from the refrigerator, he tossed the plastic cap in the garbage can and walked to the picture windows. Floor-to-ceiling glass provided a magnificent view of the glamorous Las Vegas Strip, a view many gamblers would love to enjoy just once.

Normally reserved for the high rollers, the suites at Poker Cristal Casino were among some of the best in Vegas. Appointed butlers and round-the-clock maid service were part of the perks along with a rooftop swimming pool, cozy lounge, and a private state-of-the-art gym, an exercise room reserved at specific times for the suite occupants. Somehow they ended up with the five-o’clock morning slot and ten-thirty evening slot. He felt his lips twitch. Kelly arranged those times to ensure they weren’t taking advantage of their time in Vegas and partying until the wee hours of the morning.

As if he would.

His cock had been stiff since he’d learned of this assignment. Unfortunately, until he wrapped his arms around Kelly’s sweet little body, he had a feeling he would remain rigid and uptight.

Brand stood at his right. Kemper at his left.

“When were you going to tell us?” Kemper asked, never looking anywhere except straight ahead.

“Tell you what exactly?” Colt asked, his gut clenching as he thought of some of the things that bastard had done to Kelly. He’d see Lorenzo Molinelli dead before he’d see him towering over Kelly’s body.

Fuck
. He closed his eyes and pursed his lips. The shadows, two of the Underground Unit’s finest operatives—one of them his brother—had bugged her suite right after her father had hired them to tail her. The things Lorenzo had done to Kelly made Colt’s fists clench. He longed to make a physical connection with Lorenzo, punch him the way he’d beaten Kelly. Take him down in a headlock and leave him with a few parting words right before he snapped his pathetic neck and ended his sorry life.

“Don’t hold out on us, man,” Brand said, turning to him. “He’s abusing her. Isn’t he?”

“Why would you say that?” Colt asked.

“You’ve been walking a fine line between rage and heartache since Daniel called us in. I’m betting he’s had the shadows on this for some time and you already knew something wasn’t quite right. You just didn’t know what. Then, we arrive and Kelly doesn’t greet us? She’s afraid of him. Otherwise, she’d be here now.”