Page 14 of Sawyer (Sabre Security Daddies #6)

He wanted to hear his real name on her lips, not one that reminded him of the lies he’d told her. Other than that, it was the hottest thing he’d ever heard. The need, the hunger in her voice. Yeah. His babygirl wanted him.

The pain of his cock doing its best to break through his jeans made it more than evident he wanted her, too.

He pulled back from the kiss long enough to take her in. Her gorgeous curls fell over her shoulders. Her eyes… how could eyes hold both innocence and desire at the same time? Her lips were a delicious pink from his kiss.

Her phone rang again, but he still couldn’t give her up. He wasn’t finished with those lips. He lowered his gaze to hers. “Eyes on me, babygirl.”

She held his eyes as he lowered his mouth back to her. He would never stop wanting more of her lips, her touch…her. Tentatively, she brushed his lips with her tongue, and he opened for her. No t that he could have responded any other way if he’d wanted to. Which he didn’t.

Her sweet uncertainty shattered what was left of his self-control. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, licking the roof of her mouth. When she moaned again, everything else in the world disappeared.

She bit his bottom lip, and he saw visions of her naked in her bed with him on top of her. He let out a low rumble, and she shivered again. He ran his teeth down the length of her neck as he thrust a hand inside her jeans.

She sucked in a breath, her body rocking against his fingers. She was so wet for him. He circled a finger around her clit and then scraped his nail lightly across the top. She exploded, her juices coating his fingers as she screamed his name.

Only it wasn’t his real name, and he couldn’t stand the sound of it. Not now in this moment. He covered her mouth with his, swallowing the sound of her cries of pleasure.

He pressed the flat of his fingers against her sex, letting her ride them as she came down from her climax. The noises she made almost had him coming in his jeans. He removed his hand and straightened her clothes, holding her in his arms until she settled.

He hated to watch the desire fade from her bourbon brown eyes. Adorable.

Then her face reddened with embarrassment, and she dropped her gaze to his chest.

“No.” He firmed his voice. Her eyes shot back to his. “That was the hottest damn thing I’ve ever seen. You were incredible. There is no room for embarrassment about anything we do. There is nothing we do that you need to feel ashamed of. Not between you and me. Not ever. Got me?”

Her confusion was sweet, too. He put his hands on her hips, making sure she regained her balance. “Now, I think we should finish our talk. ”

He guided her back to the sofa and sat back down, but this time he pulled her to sit on his lap. “I don’t think I’m going to like the ending to this story, but I’m going to ask anyway. How did you find out you were wrong?”

He could tell she tried to brace, but she started trembling before she’d even said a word. He hated how traumatizing this was for her. “If you need to wait, we can talk about this later,” he said.

She shook her head. “If I don’t tell you now, I might never get up the nerve again. And that wouldn’t be fair to you. I’ll tell you the rest, and then, if you want to leave, you can.”

“Half-Pint, do you really think, after the way you just melted in my arms, that I’m going to leave? Just tell me.”

She searched his eyes and must have liked what she saw because she picked up her story.

“A month later, the police called me into the station. They played three videos that showed my car on the way to Jaxon’s house, and one from a house across the street that showed my car in his driveway.

They said they’d just received them anonymously in the mail.

They arrested me for possession of drugs…

a lot of drugs… with the intent to distribute. ”

“You are shittin’ me.”

The look of surprise on her face at his words pissed him. Had no one stood up for her when all of this went down? Sure, he’d come here thinking she’d done those things, but that was before he’d met her. What was wrong with the people of Elk Jaw?

He wanted to hear more from her point of view. “I thought they had those videos before. If they weren’t enough at the first trial, why were they suddenly good enough to arrest you?”

Her smile was weary. They needed to wrap this up so he could pamper her. She’d been so brave to talk to him about this.

“I’ve asked myself that question a million times. They said these were different videos. These showed the license plate of the car, and it matched mine. They also had a picture of my car running a stoplight. A woman with curly hair was driving the car.”

“Did the one at Jaxon’s house show a curly-haired woman matching your description, too?”

“No, the camera cut off right as the driver’s door was opening."

Gently, he ran his thumb across her cheek. She hadn’t seemed to realize she was crying.

“I need you to hear me, Half-Pint. I’m going to find a way to make this right for you. I may not be able to change your past; we’ll see. But I can damn for sure change your future. I need you to trust me. And one more thing. I’d like you to let me change it as your Daddy.”

She opened and closed her mouth several times before she got any words out. “Didn’t you hear what I told you? I lied on the stand, and they used that to help send a man to prison. Not only that, I went to jail for three years myself. You can’t possibly still want to be my Daddy.”

“Hide and watch, Half-Pint. Because I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

She stared at him, and he held her gaze. She didn’t see any reservation in his eyes. Or pity. All she saw was a man who meant what he’d said.

She threw her arms around his neck. Nothing had ever felt so right.

“It’s okay if you change your mind,” she told him.

He wouldn’t, but she might. Eventually, when she realized he hadn’t been honest with her.

That might be hard for her to forgive. But he could be patient. If she gave him the chance, he’d convince her they were a perfect match.

But he’d jump off that bridge when he got to it. Right now, he was going to live in the moment. One thing life had taught him was moments matter .

Smiling into his chest, she said, “I’d love for you to be my Daddy, Saul.”

He stiffened, and his heart rate quickened. And then just as quickly, it slowed back down, and he relaxed. He could only jump off one bridge at a time. The first was proving her innocence. That was the key to proving Jaxon was innocent.

“That makes me happy, Half-Pint. You make me happy.”

He never would have guessed their talk would end like this. But that was another thing life had taught him. Take what life gives you and enjoy it while it lasts.

Someone outside started working on their motorcycle.

It sounded like something was off with the timing.

Deciding it wasn’t a threat, he turned back to Lele.

Time to turn the conversation to something lighter.

“So, you said you earned your degree in game design. Have you designed any games? Maybe I’ve heard of it. If not, I'd love to give it a try.”

The engine revved again. His gaze went back to the window. It wasn’t an unusual thing for someone to do on a Sunday afternoon. But just in case, he crossed to the closest window and looked up and down the street.

The revving motor grew louder. A black Ducati motorcycle came around the corner one house down from Lele’s. It wasn’t until the last minute he saw the semi-automatic the rider carried.

“Get down!” Sawyer shouted, running toward his Little girl.

She looked at him in confusion. He tackled her, rolling to take the impact of the fall before covering her with his body.

She screamed at him, but he didn’t catch what she said. He was too busy protecting her as her front windows exploded.

Damn it. He’d sensed something was wrong. When the sound of a motorcycle revving turned into the screech of tires skidding on the street, he knew he had to get Lele to safety.

He shouted for her to get on the ground, but she didn’t move. So he tackled her and pinned her to the ground.

Gunfire echoed through the air as the windows shattered from semi-automatic gunfire. He grabbed his phone from his back pocket, opened Reid’s number, and texted 911. As soon as the gunfire stopped, he pushed to his knees, his hand still applying pressure to Lele’s back.

“Do not move from this spot. Not one inch. If you do, when I get back, I will blister your ass. Got me?”

She nodded, and he took off out the front door. As he ran, he pulled the gun tucked in the back of his waistband. He raced toward the street, but the motorcycle turned the corner before he could get off a shot.

The sound of another bike came up from behind him.

Spinning around to face the new threat, he aimed his gun, ready to fire.

At the last second, he lowered his weapon as Ravage Reese, president of the Lawless Warriors MC, blew past him in pursuit.

At least, he’d better be in pursuit. Friend or not, if he was in town to help the man shooting at his Lele, he was a dead man.

His phone buzzed. When he saw Reid’s name, he answered the call. Not waiting for Reid to speak, he said, “Tell me you sent Ravage for backup.”

“I sent Ravage for backup.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“Brother, you wanna check your missed calls? I’ve been calling all damn day. I sent Ravage in case you needed backup for anything. I figured he’d blend in. I tried to pull him back when we heard the General was involved, but he said he was onto something.”

He glanced at Lele’s house, and his head exploded. She stood behind the screen door, staring at the road, definitely not where he told her to be. It was a good thing she’d just agreed he could be her Daddy. She was about to find out he always kept his promises.

She stared back at him, her eyes wide, then turned and ran. The hunter in him sprang to life. But he had time. She wasn’t going anywhere, and there were precious few places for her to hide.

Walking toward the door of Lele’s house, he focused back on Reid. “Have you been watching the feed from Lele’s house today?”

“Deke has. I’m on my way to the warehouse now. Bring me up to speed.”

Sawyer was just about to go into what had happened so far when Ried cut him off.

“Hold on, Sawyer, I’ve got Ravage on the phone, give me a minute to merge him in.”

Ravage didn’t waste time on pleasantries and greetings. “Are you okay. Was anyone hit?”

“Everyone’s fine, Ravage. Did you catch the bastard that tried to shoot Lele?”

“No. He got away. Cut right in front of a damn fire truck with its lights and siren on. It was all I could do to keep from slamming into it. By the time I got around the thing, they were nowhere to be seen. I canvased the area for a few minutes in the most likely direction for him to go, but it was no use.”

“Thanks, man. It’s good you came up when you did. You saved my ass.”

Ravage grunted. “Would have been, if I could’ve taken the gun from that fucker and shoved it up his ass. Main thing is that you’re both going to be okay. I’ll keep an eye out for them. I got a good look at the car. They’ll turn up eventually.”

Reid cut back in. “Thanks again. Let me know if you find out anything.”

“Later,” Ravage said, and then he was gone .

Sawyer sat down in the rocker on Lele’s front porch and filled Reid in on what he’d observed and how the attack happened.

“What about Lele? Have you got anything out of her that we can use to get Jaxson out?”

He knew this was coming. What was he supposed to say?

About that, boss. I’m seeing now that I had Lele Cortez pegged all wrong.

And I feel like shit because she’s trusting me and sharing her past and her heart, while I’m lying my ass off.

So, I’m gonna keep an eye on her, but my focus is going to be on proving she was set up just as much as Jaxon was, rather than throwing her under the bus.

Yeah, that would go over great.

He might find a way to bring Reid around to his way of thinking. After all, he’d already mentioned the possibility of a setup. But Law? Law would shoot first and ask questions later.

What really bothered him deep down wasn’t his brothers. He could handle them. No, what was eating at him was his feelings for Lele. They grew stronger by the minute.

In the weeks he’d been here, he’d learned only two things recently. First, Lele had the kindest heart of anyone he’d ever met. And second, she was an innocent, which made her easy to manipulate.

It gutted him to know he was one of the men in her life who had done that, even if for what he believed were the best reasons. One day, he would have to give her just as much honesty as she had just given him. He prayed she would forgive him for waiting.

The black skid marks on the road just down from her house convinced him of something else.

Someone had tried to scare her at best. More likely, they wanted her dead.

So now he had three new mission objectives: To find out who was after her.

To find out why. And to make sure they didn’t succeed.

And the only place he could do all of that was Darling.

But that was a tomorrow problem. Right now, it was time to show a naughty girl what happened when she didn’t mind her Daddy.

“You still there?” Reid asked.

He was, but not for long. “Look, Reid. I’m working on it. Right now, I need to take care of Lele. I’ll fill you in when I have any useful information.” And with that, he disconnected the call.