Revenge (Phoenix Undercover Book 3) (3 page)

Chapter 6

Gabby

Josh crawled into bed beside me and immediately curled his body around mine. I could tell all through dinner and even during the movie we watched earlier that something was on his mind. But he never brought anything up so I assumed it was work related.

He didn’t usually discuss Leo’s case or any others with me because he said I didn’t need to stress over those things. But what he didn’t understand is not knowing made me stress all the same. When he rested his head against my chest and carefully caressed my stomach, he let out a deep breath before speaking.

“I have to leave for a few days,” he whispered. I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. I didn’t have to ask to know this had something to do with Leo. Everything always fell back to that sick son of a bitch, and god, I just wanted our life to be normal for once.

“We got a lead on the woman Leo has been using as his messenger. Gray and I are gonna go check things out.” Another pause, and more silence from me. I really didn’t know what to say. I also knew that nothing I did attempt to say would change anything.

I lived in fear that one day Leo would hold true to his words and make us all pay for Audrey and Josh’s betrayal.

“I’ve gotta go baby. I have to try everything I can to put an end to this. And if running off to Jersey to look into a tip gets me one step closer to the end of all this shit, then I’ll do it.”

He lifted his head and our gazes connected. “Because keeping you and our family safe—” He lightly rubbed my stomach. “—is the most important thing.”

“This all just makes me nervous, Josh,” I confessed. “I’ve lost you once.”

“And you will never lose me again,” he assured me, arching his neck just enough to kiss me softly. “I love you, baby, and I’m doing this to keep us safe.”

A feeling of defeat settled over me as I remained silent, hoping that this all came to an end soon.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. I just know that both of us continued to hold one another as if that act alone was all we needed to be happy.

“When are you leaving?” I asked.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” he replied, his voice full of exhaustion. “I have a few things to finish up at the office in the morning, and then I plan to come back here and say goodbye to my fiancée before we leave.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he said fiancée as it always did. I too loved the description, and maybe after this mess was all over we could make it more permanent.

He moved up my body and began kissing along my neck as I settled back on to the mattress behind me. Over the last couple of months, we hadn’t really divulged in the pleasure we could bestow on one another. With everything going crazy more often than not, by the end of the day, we were both exhausted. Toss in a swollen pregnant woman who was moody on a daily basis, we rarely even thought about sex, or at least I didn’t, anyway.

But tonight felt different. The gentle kisses mixed with the slow movements of his hands as they explored my body were all I wanted.

“What do you say we forget about everything else for a while?” Josh whispered against my ear just before he lightly sucked on the lobe. “Focus on you and me for once and let go for tonight.”

“That sounds really good,” I admitted as I slid my hand along his chest, downward toward the waistband of his boxers. “I could use a little distraction.”

Josh gently bit the side of my neck and groaned. “Little?”

I smiled when I realized he was fishing for an ego boost.

“Oh, babe, I think we both know that little is in no way a description of you or this,” I confirmed as I circled my hand around his erection and began to stroke him.

Josh bit down on his lower lip and sucked in air through his teeth, making a hissing sound as he looked down at my hand moving over his cock.

“Damn,” he groaned.

Lifting his head, his eyes locked on mine as he lowered his lips, taking my mouth in a slow, teasing kiss. And when he pulled away, I groaned in protest.

An arrogant, cocky smirk covered his lips. He fed on my hunger for him. I knew how it secretly drove his need, making it almost uncontrollable.

He carefully reached for the hem of my t-shirt and lifted it up and over my head, tossing it to the floor. Wasting no time, he hooked the sides of my panties which soon joined my shirt.

Josh’s eyes raked over me as he remained on his knees before me. I loved the way he looked at me, because even at my worst he always made me feel beautiful.

“I’ve missed this,” he confessed as he began to lower his boxers and remove them one leg at a time. “Feeling you beneath me, moaning my name.”

I trembled as his fingertips skimmed over my thighs, parting them to allow more room for him to position himself before me.

Lifting my legs, spreading me wider, he gripped his cock and slid in closer, sliding the tip through my wetness. “So wet,” he cooed, flexing his hips, pressing inside of me just enough to make me whimper.

“You want this?” he asked as he repeated the movement.

“Yes…” It came out in more of a begging tone. I didn’t care. I wanted him inside of me. “Please.”

Without another word he flexed his hips and slid inside of me with ease.

His head fell backward as he moaned in pleasure.

Starting out in slow teasing movements, I could feel each stroke as if my senses were multiplied times ten. My body hummed with such a rush of pure bliss.

With each stroke his movements increased in speed, and I began to feel that sensual feeling of release.

The moment he reached between us and applied pressure to my clit, moving in circles, my legs tensed. “Let go,” he whispered. “Give in to it, baby. Give it to me.”

My eyes locked with his as the first surge of pleasure shot through me. “Yes,” I moaned, throwing my head back, gripping the sheets at my sides.

“There you go,” Josh coaxed me as he continued to move inside me, applying just enough pressure to send me over the top. “Fuck yeah, there it is,” he hissed, shortening his strokes, continuing to massage me in just the right place.

I lifted my hand and pressed it against his lower stomach just as he groaned deeply. “So fucking good.” The muscles in his abdomen tightened and his fingers squeezed my thighs as he pushed into me, releasing himself with one loud moan of ecstasy.

Chapter 7

Josh

“Stop daydreaming and pay attention,” Gray mumbled from the passenger seat. “So you got some last night. We all heard your loud jungle cry. You sound like a fucking gorilla.”

I arched a brow and observed my very grumpy best friend and partner from the passenger seat.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes I did. What the hell is your problem? Trouble in Brooklynn?” I chuckled when he glared at me.

“That girl is insane.” He complained. “She’s up then down, I go left and she fucking goes right. Hell, I can’t win for shit with her.”

I looked back out the windshield and let his words settle over us for a few minutes before I responded. “I tried telling you in the beginning that she would chew your ass and spit you out. She is tiny and looks all peaceful and sweet, but she is hell on wheels, Gray.”

He made a
humph
noise and I thought he was just agreeing. But the next thing he said shocked me more than he ever had before.

“I love her, Josh.” I turned to face him with a shocked expression, but he didn’t look at me. “In the beginning I’ll admit it was fun. We had some amazing sex, and…” He stopped when I held up my hand to stop him.

“I don’t want to hear about it,” I complained, but he kept going.

“Seriously, man, it was off the charts. She has a creative mind when it comes to the freaky shit. That woman is not as innocent as she may appear.” He waggled his eyebrows and I groaned, which made him chuckle.

“But after the first couple weeks, it grew to more than I ever intended it to be. I wasn’t lying when I told her father she meant something to me. Fuck, Josh, she flips my insides around with one damn smile and I can’t tell the girl no. It’s impossible, because all I want to do is make her happy. It’s my first thought in the morning and my last at night.”

“So then what’s the problem?” I asked.

Now he turned to face me. “Can you believe she said I needed to slow things down?” He looked confused, and I couldn’t stop the laughter that struck me.

“What the fuck, man?” He shoved me, and I fell back against the window as my laughter continued. “You’re an ass.”

“Sorry,” I said, holding my stomach. “But I never thought I would see the day a woman had you by the balls. You got to give me a little bit of time to enjoy this.”

“I thought she was feeling it too,” he complained. “At least she acted as if she did. Then bam, she fucking blindsides me with that bullshit right before we leave. What the hell am I supposed to do with that shit?”

“Maybe a couple days away is what she needs. Seriously, Grayson, the girl was warned about you from the beginning.” He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, as if asking me what the hell I meant. “Your longest relationship was three weeks. And that was because she was gone on a modeling shoot and you had to wait until she got back from Brazil to end it. Brook never expected more from you than a few wild nights. Now you go all
love-struck fool
on her and she may just need a little time to process it all.” I looked back toward the building we had been watching. “I know I need some time to process it.”

“Honestly?” he complained again.

“Really, Gray, if Brooklynn is the woman you want, if she makes your fucking heart race with all the possibilities, then you fight for it. Show her she means the world to you and don’t give up until she accepts it.” He twisted his phone around in his hands, as if absorbing my advice and trying to figure out what to do with it. “Don’t give her the chance to push you away. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, and, in my opinion, she feels it too. Maybe she just wants to make sure you’re being truthful.”

He didn’t respond, so I turned back to watch the building, my mind wandering back to me and Gabby. I found myself smiling as I remembered taking her wine hostage until she agreed to have dinner with me.

That night was one of the best nights of my life.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to the side just in time to see Grayson lift his phone to his ear. “Hey, Brooklynn, I just wanted to call you and tell you that I’ll give you these two days. But when I get home, your ass is gonna accept that I fucking love you. No more of this moving too fast bullshit. You and me are gonna work this out, and if you even think for one second I’m letting your ass go, you’re sadly mistaken.”

What in the hell was he doing? Talking to a Shannon girl like that was only gonna get his balls twisted and tied in a knot.

“Yeah, you keep thinking that, sweetheart. But like I said, what I’m feeling is real, so you better catch up. If you think I was moving fast the last time I saw you, you’re gonna have whiplash the next time we’re face to face.” He hung up before she could respond, and I sat gaping at him, wondering what the hell had possessed him to go all alpha on Brook.

“Are you fucking insane?” I asked.

He was breathing hard and he stared back at me. “No,” he said. “Not insane, man, just in love, and apparently that shit makes you do shit you would never normally do.”

He was right there. It sure as shit did.

***

“So, did you find what you were looking for yet?” Gabby asked.

We had gotten back to our hotel close to midnight and I had thought about not calling her, but I had to hear her voice.

“Nothing yet,” I replied. “Tomorrow we’re gonna do a little digging, ask some neighbors.”

“I miss you,” she whispered sleepily. “The bed feels lonely without you next to me.”

I reached out and touched the empty space at my side. “I know what you mean. I miss you too, sweetheart.”

“When are you coming back to me?” she asked. “Do you think you’ll be back in time for Friday’s appointment?”

After missing the most important appointment of her pregnancy, I hadn’t missed another one. Even if it’s just to get her blood pressure checked, I was there.

“I’ll be back Thursday night, baby. There’s no way I’m missing Friday,” I promised. “We get to see our boy again.”

Chapter 8

Leo

It was almost too easy.

Just one little hint called in to the bureau and Josh was ready to travel to another city with hopes of finding even the smallest lead to me.

And here I was, inside his home.

Granted, I had to wait for Mike and that whore Audrey to sneak out, but here I was, only a few feet separating me from the one person who could help me seek my revenge.

Dark, silky hair covered the light-colored pillow. The soft purr of her breath was like a quiet melody that ran through my body, settling straight in my dick.

She was fucking breathtaking.

Breaking her in was going to be my greatest pleasure. And it was only a matter of time until she became mine.

It was this easy. I knew that now.

Reaching out, I touched the dark strands of her hair, allowing them to tickle my palm.

Maybe I won’t sell her.

I gently pulled away the sheet as the material fell beneath her breast. So full and mouthwatering.

I would definitely rethink that idea.

Gabriella Shannon could bring me some serious money from the right market, but for once my desire may outweigh my hunger for money.

Torturing her may actually be worth the loss.

And the pain in Josh’s eyes when he gains knowledge of the things I am doing to her will be the best feat.

Only a few months now, my beauty, and you’ll be mine.