Page 23 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

AFTER MIDNIGHT

GREYSTONE

T hat evening, just before eleven, Greystone opened the door to Lost Souls with a burning desire to see Caroline. Playing games wasn’t his jam, so tonight, he’d come clean. That meant her blindfold was coming off. Truth was, he liked her. And he was telling her that too.

True confessions .

As Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba” pulsed through him, he made his way toward the bar where Hawk was working it like a bossman. He saw Greystone, broke into a smile, and extended his hand across the bar. Greystone shook it.

“What can I getcha?” Hawk asked.

“Got any cold water back there?”

Hawk tossed him a bottle of chilled water. “How’re things?”

“Slow. Thanks for walkin’ Langley.”

“Yeah, we found nothing.”

Greystone pulled out a five. Hawk waved him off. After a nod of acknowledgment, Greystone cracked open the lid, guzzled half the bottle. At six-three, he towered over most. Leaning his back against the bar, he swept the busy room and saw Caroline talking with some guy.

He wasn’t surprised. Her blond hair was a magnet, she was beautiful, and had a body that did not quit. For him though, she was much more than that. She was his calm in the middle of a shitstorm, she was smart, and for as long as he’d known her, the best part of his day.

He was good at reading people, so he homed in on her. First, the dude was standing too damn close. She furrowed her brow, shook her head, said something like, “I’m not interested.”

Her gaze hardened, she pursed her lips, angled her body away from him, as if shielding herself. A protectiveness came over him like a tsunami.

Go.

He launched into the crowd, but a group of women flocked around him like vultures.

“Hi,” said one. “We’re fairy godmothers.”

“What are you, handsome?” asked another.

“I’m Thor,” he replied, and the women laughed.

“Where’s your costume and hammer?” asked a third.

“Left everything on my planet,” he replied, his gaze jumping to Caroline.

She was gone, and a jolt of concern flooded him. He swept the room, but didn’t see her or the guy.

“Do you want to dance?” asked one of the women.

“I can’t.” He sent Sydney a text.

I’m here. Is she upstairs?

I’m not at the club

He eyed the woman. “Sorry, ladies, I’m out.” He made his way back to the bar, flagged Hawk down.

“Another water?” Hawk asked .

Greystone leaned over the bar. “I’m meeting someone, but I don’t know what room she’s in.”

Hawk pulled a tablet from under the bar. “Who is it?”

“Caroline Austin. I don’t know if she uses an alias.”

Hawk scrolled. “Room eight. She just checked in.”

“Thanks. Not a word.”

“That’ll cost you.” Then, Hawk broke into a grin. “Go Army.”

Greystone chuffed out a laugh before he said, “I’m her guest. How do I get upstairs?”

“I got you.” Hawk led him to the stairs, and stood in front of the scanner. The light turned green and Hawk opened the door.

“Enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks, brother.” A burning need to make sure she was okay had him climbing the stairs three at a time.

On the second floor, he strode down the hallway, stopping in front of room eight. He raked his hands through his hair, then down his beard.

Knock-knock.

She cracked the door open.

“If you’re the same person as last time, identify yourself.”

“I’m the tapper,” he whispered.

On a chuckle, she said, “Give me a few seconds, then come in.”

The anticipation swirled around him, the urge to be near her had him grinding his teeth. Seconds later, he entered, shut the door behind him. Tonight, they were in the purple room. A bed sat pushed against the far wall, a chair filled the far corner. On the wall hung several sex toys.

The only thing in that room that mattered was the beautiful woman perched on the edge of the chair wearing nothing but a blindfold.

She waited, her hands folded in her lap, her calm stillness mesmerizing him.

Gone was the frustration from the day, from their lack of progress. Only beauty and desire awaited him.

And all he had to do was take that next step and she was his.

He knelt at her feet, caressed her beautiful, bare toes, then trailed his fingers up her shapely calves to her knees, carrying on until he stroked her thighs. First one, then the other.

Slowly.

“Mmm, I like that,” she said.

He leaned close, pressed his lips to her cheek, and kissed her. “Tonight, I want you to grant me a wish,” he whispered.

A gritty moan ripped from her throat. “Do you want to fuck me hard, for your own pleasure? Or maybe you want to tie me up and take me against my will? I haven’t had a cock in my asshole. Maybe you should be my first.”

Jesus, she’s wild.

Despite his raging boner, his focus was on her. “Take off your blindfold.”

She stilled.

In the purplish light, he stared at her face, the contours of her cheekbones, her beautiful lips he couldn’t wait to kiss, but it was her eyes he needed to see, wanted to get lost in.

“Are you sure?” she whispered.

“You can do it.”

She heaved in a breath, then with trembling fingers, she removed it. His heart kicked up speed, and he smiled at her.

“Hello, Bella.”

“Grey.”

They came together in a tender kiss. One, then another. And then, they erupted with the force of a tornado. She crashed into him so hard, she knocked him off balance. Onto the floor they tumbled. Her on him.

“Work your magic, baby,” he said as he rested his hands behind his head .

She pinned him with her fiery gaze, but it was the sultry smile tugging on her sexy mouth that made him smile.

“Cocky,” she said before pushing off him.

She tapped her phone and, when a sexy tune started playing, she started moving slowly to the hypnotic beat. As if lost in the music, she continued her seductive dance. When she beckoned with her finger, he rose. Never one to let anyone call the shots, he let go of the control he so coveted.

Tonight, they’d play until they’d had their fill of each other. They’d escape in each other’s bodies. Pleasure and eroticism ruled.

“F is for fun,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him. “F is also for fucking.”

She fisted his sweater, tugged it over his head, then pressed her mouth against his chest and kissed it.

She raked her fingernails down his pecs, the quick sting a reminder that he was alive, he was with someone special.

After he toed off his shoes, she unbuckled his belt, then raised her eyes to his.

A whoosh of energy hit him like a Mack truck. So much sensuality stared back. She was the most enigmatic woman he’d ever known. Just before she tugged off his pants, he withdrew the box of condoms and tossed it on the bed.

Seconds later, he stood naked before her. She stroked his shoulders and his chest, then his abs while he caressed her back.

“I need you,” he rasped before hauling her close and kissing her.

The hunger in her kiss had him biting her lip, then her earlobe. But when he nibbled her neck, she released a whimper and her knees buckled. Desire pounded through him like a bass drum, the hunger in their tight embrace turning him into a beast.

As the music continued, she bit his shoulder while she stroked his back until she cemented her hands on his ass .

“I gotta have you,” she said, her gaze finding his.

“I’m yours.”

Seconds passed while they eye-fucked each other, the frenzied energy swirling around them.

She chugged in a breath, jumped into his arms, and married her lips to his.

An overload of endorphins powered through him, stealing his breath and his mind.

Moaning into her, he devoured her, kissing her with an intensity that left them both panting.

With her in his arms, he sat on the bed, leaned against the pillows.

After pulling out a condom from the box, he said, “Ride me.”

“I love when you boss me around.” She waited while he covered himself, then she positioned herself over him, and sunk down on his shaft.

Euphoria rained down on him, drowning him in everything Caroline.

“Ohmygod,” she ground out as his cock filled her completely. “Fuck, you feel good.” Instead of moving on him, she placed her hands on his face and kissed him. “I don’t want this to mean anything. We’re fuck buddies, that’s it.”

“No.”

“Yes.” She started moving on him. “This can’t mean anything.”

“Fuck, you feel good,” he ground out.

“I don’t want to care about you, your goddamn safety, or your life.” He couldn’t miss the frustration in her voice. She rode him harder, the ecstasy racing through him. “I’m terrified I won’t be able to get you out alive, furious that trouble always finds you.”

She thrust her nipple into his mouth, and he sucked. Hard. Pleasure flooded him. Her mewling made him growl, her sexy juices dripped down his thigh. They were on fire and out of control. The harder he sucked and fondled her tits, the more intense her fucking .

“I hate you so much,” she hissed. “ This is my reward for the pressure of my job, for wondering if you were okay, if you’d been captured, if you were being tortured. When you went dark, my world did too.”

Those words pierced his soul.

She raised her arms over her head and rode him so hard, the orgasm shot out of him without warning. “Fuck, I’m coming so good.”

And then, she started shaking. “Ohmygod,” she cried out as her pussy tightened around him, trapping him inside her. As her orgasm ripped through her, she opened her eyes and pinned him with an intensity that he’d never known.

In that moment, she became his. And only his.

She slumped over him, breathing hard. “F is for fun and F is for fucking.”

“F is for forever,” he murmured in her ear.

CAROLINE

Oh. My. God.

Her heart leapt, but Caroline was determined not to react.

His powerful words took this— this work fling —to a whole nother level.

Despite how she felt about him, she wanted no-strings fun.

Relationships could get complicated or messy.

They had to stay focused. She didn’t want to get in her head about this…

about him, so rather than respond, she said nothing.