Page 12

Chapter Eleven

Lu

I wake to the sounds of nature, birds, wind rustling through leaves, and creaking branches. Light pours into the room and the deep woodsy smell of pine and earth soothes my senses.

I’m safe, I’m in a real bed, and Jeff spent the night cradling me. I stretch languidly and smile because I may not be a glass-half-full kinda girl, but right now it feels as if it’s overflowing. Especially since—I breathe in—is that bacon?

I sit up, too quickly, noting the tweak in my spine where Slash bent me at an unnatural angle for too long, and then, the tightness in my other muscles but who doesn’t want that kind of ache? The kind born of indulgence in pleasure. My smile turns to a crooked grin and my eyes close as I let myself fall back on the bed, arms outstretched because the giver of that pleasure is here and all signs point to him cooking me breakfast—with bacon!

“Hot damn, Grizz Daddy, I hope you’ll help me stretch these muscles out after breakfast.”

“Anything for you.”

My eyes burst open and I fly upright to see Jeff, all sleep-rumpled and sex appeal, standing in the doorway. Before I can even think about being embarrassed, a wide, wicked grin spreads on his face. And even better than the steaming plate of food in his hand, is the way he looks with his hard chest bare and happy trail heading south, down his goofy but still sexy boxers.

“Call me that again, babydoll, and I’m pretty fucking sure this breakfast is going to be cold before we get to it.”

I swallow hard and for a second I’m really not sure which I want more, the aromatic food on the plate, or the manhood that’s tenting his blue undershorts.

That’s when I do it. Even though I haven’t known him for long, and we’re in a helluva mess with Satan’s Ransom, I repeat my earlier statement. Only this time, I say it slower, huskier, and throw the blankets off while saying it.

“Good morning, Grizz Daddy.” Only wearing his shirt, I let my legs fall open.

His smile halts, his gaze finding my open thighs. Heat flares in his eyes and he suddenly looks feral. In an athletic display worthy of his perfect body, he launches himself onto the bed all the while balancing the plate perfectly.

Straddling my waist, he sets the plate on the bed beside us. “Hands up,” he demands with a jut of his chin. I don’t even have to think about it. Not with him. Obeying, I raise my hands and he grabs the t-shirt. With a swish it’s off and tossed across the room. His mouth curves into an approving smile and he gently pinches my chin between his thumb and crooked forefinger.

“Now close your eyes and keep your hands where they are, babydoll.”

I open my mouth to speak, and he puts a piece of bacon in. It’s crisp and salty and I can’t help but moan. Holyfuckingshit! It’s been so long. I whimper as I chew.

He leans down and whispers, “Good girl,” in my ear.

Shivers scatter and dance all over my skin.

He feeds me like this, my hands above my head, my eyes closed and his legs straddling me keeping me in place. And in between bites of glorious food, he teases me with his whispers, caresses, tongue swirls, and love bites. God, it’s the best of both fucking worlds.

My belly sated, I open my eyes. He moves the empty plate to the nightstand and with a cocky grin, moves down my body. Not noticing or not caring that my eyes are open, he presses kisses between my breasts, down my belly and onto my mound. No longer pinned by his straddling legs, my hips tilt greedily. Jeff chuckles before tugging my legs over his shoulders and letting his tongue tickle a gentle stroke over my pussy lips.

I suck in a breath and let it out on a shaky moan, wiggling beneath him to open myself like a greedy, demanding nymph. Jeff’s vibrating chuckle is sexy-as-hell against my pussy and I press my head to the mattress, fighting for control.

“When do I get to return the favor?” I ask on a hot breath.

He ignores the question but slides his tongue through my lips to lap my folds. With a quick dart, his tongue flicks my nub. I clasp the sheets, gasping and squirming with pleasure.

“When I say so,” he says, finally answering me, but it takes me a few moments to remember my question in my sexual fog. A finger, and then two, slide inside me and he buries his face in my pussy again, licking, sucking and plucking my nub with his lips. His beard only adds to the pleasure. His fingers move, curving inside me to rub just there… I squeeze my legs, digging my heels into his back, shamelessly shoving my pussy against him.

It so good, so intense, so… My belly tightens like a coiled spring, my muscles clenching in spasm as an orgasm rips through me. Shards of light dance behind my eyes and my body spasms again, and again, making my fingers and toes curl and tingle.

“Please tell me there’s an encore with your cock. ’Cause, god, I need you inside me.”

He smacks my hip sharply and nips the flesh of my inner thigh. “Who’s in charge here?”

“After that? You. One hundred percent and… Any. Damn. Time. But please hurry up.” I watch him, looking down the hollow plane of my belly, and laugh at his arched brow.

He rises, bringing his mouth to mine for a quick kiss before he lands beside me, his head propped by a hand and bent elbow. “No condom, babydoll. That’ll have to do.” Another kiss, this time a little longer and a lot sweeter, lands on my lips. And as soon as he releases me, and I get my bearings back, I jump up.

“Where’s my purse?”

“Sofa, why?”

“Because thanks to that dick, Slash, I have a purse full of condoms.” My words come out in a sing-song voice more fitting for the bubbly Tallulah than… me. I pause a moment, almost fighting to keep the thought in my head, but all thoughts vanish as he smiles at me.

It’s a mixture of dirty lust and adoration and it hits me right in my greedy middle. My nipples instantly tighten and my clit swells to life, not just willing, but oh so ready again. I skip to the living room for my purse.

When I return, he’s lying back on the bed, his hands behind his head. He nods with his chin. “Your move, babydoll.”

That dirty smile spreads across my face wider, and I eagerly hold the condom wrapper in my mouth so I can grab his shorts. I rip them down with a speed that shocks my Grizzly Daddy and he chuckles.

“Someone is very eager for a fucking.”

His words send shivers of delight through me, and I nod.

Yes, yes I am.

Eyeing his big silky cock, lying at the ready against his taut abdomen, I take the condom from my mouth and lick my lips. I can’t help myself. I’m hungry for it, so I climb onto the bed on my knees. I drop the condom beside him, freeing my hands. My pussy gushes as I lean down to taste his pink swollen tip. Grabbing his shaft with one hand, I squeeze gently and run my tongue around his head.

He inhales sharply as I give a quick suck before smiling up at him.

“Babydoll, that better not be it.” I press my lips and shake my head and before he can speak again, I open my mouth and take him in from tip to stem before sucking off him with a pop. His groan of pleasure urges me on so I slide his cock into my mouth balls deep. I gag a little, making my eyes water, but move over him again and again until he’s both hissing in pleasure and…

“Grizz Daddy, are you growling at me?”

He rises, grinning predatorily, as he jumps off the bed. I watch that beautiful big dick of his glistening from my mouth as he sits me on the end of the bed. Reaching his hand into my hair he twists a handful to hold me. It’s gentle, but firm and I throb with a needy ache for him.

“Hands on the bed and open wide for daddy.”

I obey. Eagerly. He slides into my mouth, holding my head still so he can fuck my mouth exactly how he wants. The contrasting control and weakness playing on his face makes me feel powerful. I reach for my breasts, tweaking and plucking my nipples. He stops, pulling out of my mouth, and frowns.

“Where should your hands be?”

I blink at him, a smirk playing at my mouth. “On the bed.”

He grunts, eyes narrowing on mine. “Up,” he demands, giving me a hard look when I move too slowly. “Over the bed.” He pushes me onto the bed, shoving my legs wide. Taking my hands, he pins them to the small of my back. The sting of a slap startles me and echoes in the small wood-paneled room. But it doesn’t really hurt. It stings a moment before turning into a tingling warmth.

“Naughty little girls don’t get Daddy’s cock in their mouths when they can’t obey, do they?”

Another swat lands on my other cheek and I answer no in a breathy gasp. It feels good. Jesus. So good. “More. Please,” I beg, and he obliges with several continual spanks, equally branding both cheeks. And as the warm buzz heats me all over, he rips open the condom.

Jeff grabs the back of my neck, his warm palm releasing my wrists to hold my nape instead. “Ass up, babydoll.”

I climb onto my knees and he shoves his cock in me. I call out. A strangled cry of pleasure at the fullness and his rough entrance. Fuck, yes! His palm cracks another slap off my ass as his hips piston, balls pounding against my clit. And just when I think it can’t get any more pleasurable, his thumb finds my bottom hole and he rubs the taboo opening.

I rock with him, calling out, begging nonsensically.

“Jeff! Oh god, Daddy! I think I’m…”

“Not until I say,” he growls, and I suck in a breath, holding it in until it burns. He pumps into me, flesh slapping against flesh, and tears leak from my eyes. I gasp for air and hold it again. Every stroke is so intense, so delicious. He keeps me dangling on the edge for several minutes, and just when I think I can’t hold another second, he growls. “Now.

Come for me, now.”

I release, and an orgasm more intense than I’ve ever felt rips through me. He follows, his throbbing cock pumping hotly, our breathing coming in pants and gasps, before he lies over my back to whisper in my ear in short choppy breaths.

“Good. Girl. Good fucking girl.”

He moves us, and as we lie entwined and quiet, I ask him if it’s possible to love someone so fast.

He doesn’t hesitate in answering. “I have to believe that it is, because I’m already in love with you, Lu.”

I turn, placing a kiss on his mouth, my mind finally landing on the thought that’s been hovering in my mind.

“Call me Lulah.”

He looks confused for a second before smiling. “Lulah it is.”

I snuggle into him, deeper. “Lu’s no longer needed and Tallulah was never real.”

Jeff sighs as I sag against him. “You know this isn’t over yet, right?”

“Don’t doubt that Lulah can handle herself, because she can.” I arch my brow. “ I can . I just don’t need to push everyone away with menace and sarcasm to do it.”

“Grit and gumption?”

I nod, a small smile curving on my lips. “I like that. Grit and gumption.”

He kisses my nose. “I’d love to lay here like this with you all day, babydoll, but I have to go to town and grab my data. It can’t wait. I’ve got to get all the evidence I have to the police and hope they have some of their own. Enough to arrest Satan’s Ransom. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”

My eyes widen. “No!” I sit up quickly. “You can’t involve the cops. Not until you can get them for your sister’s death.”

He reaches out to touch me. “Babydoll, as much as I wanted that, it’s no longer my priority. It’s not going to bring her back and I know the truth.”

“You don’t understand,” I plead, scrambling off the bed, panic hitting me hard in the sternum, smothering me. “They’re dirty.” I gasp for breath. “They saw Python take me. They let him.” More gasps follow as I chase air once again.

He rises, swiftly cupping my face in his big palms, avoiding my injured cheek but also steadying me. “Breathe. In. Out.” He mimics the instructions with his own breaths. “I won’t be going to River’s End cops. I’m going bigger. RCMP. Drug task force.”

I pause, the struggle for breath gone as quick as it came.

“How?”

“I have connections.” He sits on the bed and takes my hand, pulling me to sit in his lap. “I almost made it into the RCMP. Made it all the way to the last interview.” He looks down. “That was my dream. Not an astronaut, or fireman, or doctor, nope, this guy wanted to be a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.” He huffs as if it was a silly childish dream. “I was told I’d have gotten the job, except for one thing.”

“What?”

His eyes find mine. “They won’t hire anyone with any connection or association to a criminal organization. Which includes having a sister who’s an Old Lady to a high-ranking member of a one percent biker club.”

“So you lost your dream for something that you had no control over?”

He shrugs. “The rule makes sense. And yeah, it sucked, but I got over it. And lucky for us, before I was rejected, I made some friends. Friends who are now RCMP officers so that’s where I’ll take the evidence.”

“Do you have enough?”

“That, I don’t know.” He sighs and helps me up. “How about you get dressed and relax? I’ll top up the fire.” He kisses me hard one last time. “You’ll be okay?”

I rise, nodding, watching him as he leaves the room. I'm not worried about me, but the man I love. “Be safe.”

There are clothes on a chair in the corner. Not mine, but a pair of jeans and a sweater at least one size too big for me. I slip them on and breathe in the scent of burning wood.

As I’m putting on floppy, clearly not female, wool socks, I notice a baby bassinet tucked into the corner. There are a few stuffed toys, books on birth and child development, as well as framed family photos and albums on top of a plain pine dresser.

“Those were Lisa’s,” Jeff says from the door and I turn to see him leaning against the jamb. “This was her room. Well, my room until she moved in here. She lived here while she was pregnant and for three months after Reece was born. She was hiding from Preacher. It’s the only time she stayed away from Satan’s Ransom for longer than a week.”

He walks to the dresser and picks up a picture of his sister holding his niece. I follow to get a closer look. Lisa’s hair is long and dark, like his, but her eyes are blue.

He smiles down at the photo and when he looks back at me his soft brown eyes warm further. “She loved Reece too much to expose her to her father.”

“I can understand why. He’s unhinged and dangerous. A total sociopath if you ask me.”

His shoulders lower and he gathers a breath.

“I’m sorry, that was unhelpful.” I take his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“But true. He’s a master manipulator.” Jeff looks down at me, his mouth a flat line. “Lisa went back when Reece was three months old. We don’t know why. She wasn’t planning to as far as we knew. Maybe to tell him about the baby. She never told us. Just dropped Reece off at my parents and never came back.”

“She went back to him.” It isn’t a question.

“Her body was found in the lake a week later. Drowned. It was ruled a suicide. But she had too many bruises for it to be suicide. Like she’d been held down. But with detectives on the take…”

“Oh, god.” I tug him, turning him toward me to wrap my arms around him. His big body is warm and he doesn’t hesitate in returning the hug. “We’ll get them. Maybe I know something that I don’t realize will help. I’ll testify. I don’t care if I have to go into witness protection or whatever. I’ll do it.”

He kisses me and it’s soft, but urgent, and when it ends, I melt into him.

“Let’s see how this goes, okay?” he says in a whisper against my head. “But if it goes that way, and you have to testify for any reason, I’m going to disappear with you. What they did to you, extortion, kidnapping, assault, those hold heavy sentences, but we wouldn’t take any chances of them trying to get revenge.”

I swallow and look up. “Disappear? With me?”

“I’m not letting you go, babydoll.” He brushes the hair back from my forehead. “This Grizzly Daddy is for keeps.”

When he’s gone, I look at the albums. They start when Jeff and Lisa were small. There are pictures of the family building castles on the shore, of them swimming, water skiing, and the kids eating hotdogs with toothless grins. Pictures of them as teens with friends, and awkward handholding around a fire pit follow. Jeff’s parents are older in these. The last one makes me laugh. It’s an action shot of Jeff standing, well tipping, in a canoe just as it’s about to flip. He’s thin and gangly but still handsome.

This is what family is supposed to be, I think. And even though Lisa is no longer alive, she’ll never be forgotten after living a life like this. I set the album back and pick up one that’s newer. Reece’s baby album. It starts with a shot of Lisa’s belly. Underneath each picture is a spot for notes. Lisa has scribbled some words about the pregnancy. Baby is a wiggler, especially at night. Craves nachos a lot.

Next, I see the squishy newborn, who looks more like an alien than a human child, in her mother’s arms at the hospital. Underneath it says all the usual things, the date and time of her birth, her length and weight, and even the nurse and doctor who helped Lisa deliver. But underneath that, in even tinier scrawl, it says, Baby looks just like P . I squint, and the baby looks nothing like Preacher as far as I can tell, but then again the only resemblance I see is to a wrinkled alien.

I still don’t see it as I look further into the album and Reece grows into a cute baby instead of ET. The notations change from Lisa’s writing to a larger loopier kind at about the three-month mark and it hits me hard in the gut. Reece’s mother is gone.

I continue with my heart aching for both the mother that wouldn’t know her child and the child that wouldn’t know her mother. I see the little girl sprout red hair, grow teeth, and learn to toddle. Besides the few in the beginning, I see no more of Lisa. I see Jeff and his older parents with the little girl. My heart breaks, but the faces in the pictures are happy ones.

The last picture in that album is of Reece, around two, eating her favorite butterscotch pudding. Her eyes are wide and her smile gooey. It makes me laugh. She’s adorable. I decide she might be the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen as I look closer. It’s that gorgeous red hair and the blue eyes, lighter than her mom’s. Something sparks familiarity as I look for a resemblance to Preacher or even Jeff, or hell, any members of the family, but I see none. But as I glance down at the bottom of the picture to read the caption, it hits. The bag of cheese puffs by her chubby toddler leg makes the lightbulb go off. My eyes fly wide.

Red hair.

Butterscotch pudding.

Cheese puffs.

P.

She looks familiar and yet nothing like the rest of the family or her supposed father because, oh my god, she’s the spitting image of Python.

Jesus Christ! What if Lisa went back to tell Python he was the father and Preacher found out?

That’s a damn good motive for murder. Was that why Python looked so strangely at Jeff back at the house? Why he let us go? He knew who Jeff was because he was having an affair with Jeff’s sister.

I run for the prepaid burner in my purse. The only number in it is Python’s.

I call and when he answers I don’t even say hello. “You had an affair with Lisa.”

I wait and while it feels interminable, only seconds pass before he speaks.

“Yes.”

I think that’s all I’m going to get when he continues.

“It was more than an affair.”

“Did Preacher find out and kill her?”

“I can’t say any more. But everything will come out soon. And when it does, I promise you’ll be safe. For now, stay where you are.” There’s a pause. “And Lu? When this is all over, I hope you’ll help me convince Jeff and his parents to let me see my daughter.” He hangs up before I can reply.

Holy shit.