The Promise of Surrender (7 page)

* * * *

Zeke had never dreamed with such clarity before. Where his senses were primed so every sound was magnified and the slightest touch could send his body soaring. He had to be dreaming because nothing outside of dreams could feel like this.

His eyelids felt weighted down and he barely had the energy to grasp at the sheets beneath him as the liquid heat of Mia’s mouth clamped around his cock. Her tongue swirled around the sensitive skin of his head before swallowing him whole. And she repeated the pattern over and over until his hips arched and he was fucking her mouth in earnest. And then she stopped and pulled away, and he groaned in protest.

“It’s my turn,” she whispered. “You’ll lie there and take it.”

And then he realized maybe he wasn’t dreaming after all. He forced his eyes open and looked down the length of his body to see her between his thighs, his cock hard and sticking straight up and wet from her mouth, the veins bulging.

A small amount of light seeped in through the blinds from the porch light she’d left on. Her eyes were dark and seductive and her smile was wicked. She was in a playful mood.

“I thought I was dreaming,” he said.

Her brow arched and her tongue flicked out, making his cock jerk. “Reality is always better.”

“So I’ve discovered.” He gritted his teeth as her hot little fist wrapped around the base of his cock and her tongue continued to wreak havoc on his system.

“I’ve always loved the way you feel. The way my mouth and tongue have learned the shape of you. Every ridge. The way you swell in my mouth just before you’re going to come and the taste of you as I drink every drop.”

“Jesus, Mia,” he panted, his hands going to her head, his fingers tangling in her hair.

“Mmm,” she moaned, swallowing him whole once more.

Her head moved up and down between his thighs and her mouth clamped tighter around him, milking him with every stroke. His balls were tight and he’d be done for in a couple more strokes if she didn’t slow down.

“Enough,” he begged. “I don’t want to come yet.” His gaze met hers as she looked up from the object of her focus. And the sight of his cock in her mouth while she stared at him out of those gypsy eyes was one of the sexiest fucking things he’d ever seen.

“Are you giving me orders?” she purred sweetly, licking him once more, like a cat, from base to tip.

“Has it ever done any good outside of an undercover op?”

“No,” she said, smiling cheekily. And then she released him and sat up on her knees, steadying herself on his muscled thighs.

She looked like a goddess rising over him—powerful and wicked and just a little bit dangerous. Dark hair fell over her shoulders, covering one of her breasts completely and leaving the other exposed. Her muscles were toned—years of discipline and exercise keeping her fit even after she left the job—and his eyes were immediately drawn to the silver bar piercing at her belly button.

“I meant to tell you earlier that I like the piercing, but I was too busy fucking you.”

Her lips quirked and her hand left his thigh to skim across her stomach, tracing the bar with her finger. “Yes, you were. Now it’s my turn to fuck you.”

His cock jerked as she said it. He’d always loved when she talked dirty. And then he lost his train of thought as she straddled his hips and sank down all the way to the hilt. She fit him like a fucking glove and his jaw clenched and his hands went to her hips as he struggled for control. His body was an inferno and he was surprised it was physically possible to withstand that kind of heat.

Her muscles contracted around him and then she threw her head back and rode him with abandon, her hips undulating and her vaginal muscles squeezing him in perfect time. Until he thought he’d lose his mind with the pleasure.

Then he felt the liquid heat of her surround his cock, the ripple of contractions and her screams of pleasure as her orgasm ripped through her.  And he was helpless to stop himself from following after her.

Chapter Five

The shrill scream of the alarm coming from her phone jerked her out of a deep sleep. Three loud raps at the door followed soon after. 

“What the hell?” Zeke asked, rolling out of bed in a fluid motion and grabbing his duty weapon.

“That’s the alert for my shop alarm system,” she said, turning off the phone.

Mia grabbed the gun she had in her nightstand and moved in a crouched motion to the chair in the corner where a gray pair of sweats were folded. She dressed quickly, but Zeke had already pulled on his jeans and was heading to the front door.

“Wait, dammit,” she hissed. “It’s my house.”

“It’s Cooper,” Zeke said. “I looked through the blinds in the bedroom.” He moved to the side and let her answer the door.

“My shop?” she said to Cooper, by way of greeting.

Cooper nodded. “There’s been an attempted break-in. I don’t know how bad or if they breached the inside. I was just on my way into the office this morning when the alarm company called through. The deputy on duty called me and I figured it was faster to stop here first.”

She could smell the soap from Cooper’s morning shower and his black hair was still damp at the tips. He was dressed for work—a chambray button down shirt with the Surrender Sheriff’s Office logo embroidered over the pocket and a pair of jeans and boots. He wore a shoulder holster and his badge was pinned on the left side of his shirt.

“I’ll meet you there,” he said.

“Thanks, we’ll be right behind you.”

Mia headed back to the bedroom in a daze. She heard the mumble of Zeke and Cooper’s words as they talked, but everything was buzzing in her head and all she could think about was her shop and what that small piece of land and the building that sat on it meant—it was the symbol of her new life, of her independence. And now someone had violated that. It didn’t go unnoticed that the breach and the appearance of Zeke had happened all in the same twenty-four-hour time period. That was something to think about later.

She looked at the clock and hadn’t realized it was just past five. It was still dark outside and the air was bitter with the chill. It wouldn’t be long before the first frost hit. Clothes were easy—a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and her boots. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and topped it with a baseball cap. And then she grabbed her holster from the hook she’d hung it from the night before and strapped it on.

It didn’t go past her notice that she and Zeke had fallen into a familiar routine. They’d lived together for a couple of years on and off, depending on if she had to live with a family to give the illusion that she was a student. They knew where to move and which order to do things in to be the most efficient so they could get where they needed to go.

By the time she grabbed her car keys and backpack, he was holding the front door open for her. They were both cautious as they approached her 4x4, scanning the area for signs of a threat. But all was clear and she got behind the wheel. He always hated it when she drove. It was funny how those memories came back now, when she’d forgotten the little details of their relationship during their time apart.

“Anything you want to tell me before we get there?” Mia asked.

She drove down Main Street—the lights were on in the bakery and early birds were coming in for breakfast. Lights were on or flickering on in a few of the other shops, but she barely glanced at them. They were all looking at her as she drove by, however. There was no doubt the word had already started to spread about her shop. At least ten people she knew of had police scanners and kept everyone informed of any misdoings in the community.

She drove past Charlie’s Automotive and then climbed the hill that led out of Surrender. Fiery fingers of the blazing morning sun crept over the landscape as she peaked the hill and then began the descent down the other side.

All in all, it wasn’t a long drive. Maybe fifteen minutes. But it had felt like an eternity.

Zeke went still and quiet beside her. She recognized the blank look on his face. It was the same one he’d always had whenever he was trying to keep something from her.

“Let’s just check it out and see if any damage was done,” he finally said. “Maybe it was someone looking for some fast cash.”

“This is my life, Zeke. Don’t try to fuck me over. And don’t try to feed me lines about you retiring from undercover work. All of a sudden seven years seems like an eternity. I don’t know you anymore. And there’s no reason to trust you.”

“You have every reason to trust me. I love you, and as soon as this job is over I’m done. I just need to gather some facts before I start talking about things that might not have anything to do with you and everything to do with keeping other people alive.”

Mia stayed quiet, not sure how to respond to his declaration of love. He’d never been one to say it often, but when he did she treasured those moments. And she hated that she couldn’t be sure he meant it this time. Time had passed. Things had changed. And there was always an agenda.

She parked next to Cooper’s Tahoe in the back of the parking lot. There was another truck she didn’t recognize parked next to him, and three men stood in front of it. A fire truck with flashing lights was parked to the side of the building, but far enough away not to damage the scene. She tried not to despair at the sight of her missing front door. Other than that, on the outside, it looked untouched.

At least the building was standing. Anything else she could deal with. As if reading her mind, Zeke squeezed her shoulder as they walked over to the others, but she shrugged him off. Sympathy wasn’t what she needed at that moment. Not if she wanted to keep it together. What she really needed was a cup of coffee.

“The alarm company silenced the alarms,” Cooper said. “You’ll need to call them to set things back up once you’re ready to roll.”

“Definitely not someone passing by looking for a quick buck,” Zeke said, hands on hips as he surveyed the scene.

“Not by a long shot. They came prepared and knew what they were doing. Deputy Greyson was first on scene. The fire department pulled in right after him.”

Mia knew Lane Greyson well. His wife, Naya, was one of her closest friends. Naya was a bounty hunter, and they’d hit it off immediately.

“Sorry about this, Mia,” Lane said. “I know what this place means to you.”

“Is the inside as bad as I think it’s going to be?” she asked him.

His lips pinched together. “I brought you a to-go cup of coffee. It’s in the cab of my truck.”

“That bad, huh,” she said, her stomach tied in knots. She went to the cab of the truck and opened the door, grabbing the thermal coffee mug from the middle console. Zeke introduced himself to Lane and they shook hands, and then he shook hands with Riley MacKenzie and slapped him on the shoulder. Mia was guessing he knew all the MacKenzie brothers as well as he did Cooper.

“What dragged you out of bed before noon?” Zeke asked Riley.

Where Cooper was dark-haired and blue-eyed, Riley was his polar opposite with blond hair and brown eyes. They had the same square jaw and eye shape, but at first glance it was hard to tell they were brothers. And then she looked closer and noticed they were very much cut from the same cloth, with broad builds and fighting man’s hands. Neither of them looked as if they’d ever backed away from a fight. No wonder Zeke got along so well with them. He carried himself the same way.

“A crying baby,” Riley answered. “It was my shift for middle of the night duty, so I was wide awake when Cooper texted. Of course, by the time I left the house the baby was sleeping again and the whole house was quiet. I figured it’d be better to tag along than to get my hopes up by lying down and trying to go to sleep.”

“Sounds like fun,” Zeke said. “I’m thinking of having kids in the next forty years or so.”

“Hey, Picasso did it. It’s good to have goals, man.”

“Has there been time to secure the scene?” Mia asked. She knew the drill. Knew they were standing out in the parking lot for a reason. But God, she wanted to get in there and see what they’d destroyed.

“We walked the perimeter when we arrived,” Cooper said. “Anyone who was here was long gone, but you’ll see the marks on the sidewalk. I put the word out for who we’re looking for.”

Mia followed them toward the front of the shop, her boots crunching over gravel. She didn’t see what Cooper was talking about until she was almost on top of it.

“Skid marks,” she said. And one of the motorcycles who’d left it had ridden up her stairs and left them on the porch as well.

“Any reason why a group of bikers would pay you a visit, Mia?” Zeke asked.

Unlike the rookie who’d been standing in her shop yesterday, she knew how to lie. Years of practice made it as easy as breathing. There were techniques they’d been taught at specials ops classes that helped with the art of lying—body language, facial expressions, and making sure the lies were close enough to the truth that you didn’t forget and stumble somewhere along the way.

“Not that I can think of,” she answered. The music box was still in her backpack in the car. She knew she’d have to tell Zeke about the biker and the music box, but now wasn’t the time or the place. If the details were part of whatever op he was running then Cooper and the others wouldn’t know what was going on. And anything they found out could endanger a life.

She looked at Zeke and asked, “Any coincidence as to why bikers would show up and do this the same day you roll back into my life?”

“Not that I can think of,” he said, parroting her.

“We didn’t find any other breached areas,” Cooper said, heading up the short stairs to her porch. “They knew the entry point they wanted and knew how to enter. This is a reinforced steel door and at night you pull down the cage behind it for added security.”

“Yeah, but nothing is infallible,” she said. “Obviously. But it’s a time-consuming job. They had to cut through the hinges and remove the door completely. The alarm would’ve been sounding, but guys like that wouldn’t care. And they’d have the right tools on hand to be able to get in. They’d use the same blade on the pull-down cage and then walk in. There are at least eight or ten skid marks and grooves dug into the gravel of the parking lot.”