Page 11 of Softer Than Stone (Fangs & Felons)

WARU

My gut hollowed out as I edged further into Kurranba.

By some miracle, there wasn’t anything out of place.

No bullet holes decorated the walls, and the furniture wasn’t smashed to smithereens.

Beyond the broken latch on the one window, everything looked exactly as it should: set up for the following day’s opening.

I suspected Tan had something to do with how immaculate the place was since we’d been ushered out mid-service just yesterday.

Fuck, was that really just yesterday? So much had happened in such a short space of time, it was no wonder I struggled to process.

But all those thoughts did was offer me the tiniest distraction from the real reason I was surrounded by SICB agents while stepping into the restaurant I’d purchased just seven years ago.

I just hadn’t realised at the time I’d purchased it from Brax’s uncle.

“Over here.” I attempted to step away from Chris, only for him to clamp his hand on my waist, tugging me to his side.

“Where? You tell us, and Michaels and Shaw will check it out.”

I worked hard not to sigh into Chris, unused to feeling taken care of.

It was a heady feeling being doted on like this.

Protected. I was so used to calling the shots in the kitchen and running every single minute I was in the restaurant with well-oiled precision, to hand the reins over was different. Liberating.

Something I could get used to.

“Yeah, okay.” I pointed to the small cupboard door not visible from where we stood. “Below the counter is a small hatch. You need to push against it, and it’ll pop open. There you’ll find the key.”

Michaels moved to gather the key, holding it out when he’d found it. “This it?”

“Yeah.” I indicated towards the small corridor. “In my office, you’ll find a bookcase. There’s a button underneath the third shelf on the right. It’ll unlatch the bookcase and reveal the door.”

Chris didn’t let go of me, his arm firm yet careful around my waist as if he knew I might bolt.

It wasn’t fear that made my legs feel unsteady—it was something heavier, more unsettling.

Betrayal, maybe. By a building. A place I’d poured so much of myself into, only to learn it had harboured secrets that could’ve gotten me killed.

I forced myself to stay still, watching Michaels and Shaw move towards the office with quick, deliberate steps.

The ease with which they worked together, the unspoken coordination, reminded me that they weren’t just any security team—they were professionals in a league far beyond anything I’d ever seen.

Not that I had much to go on beyond what I’d seen in the movies.

“Hey.” Chris’s voice broke through my haze. “You okay?”

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak for a moment. Then I gestured around the space I’d worked so hard to make my own. “I bought this place because it felt right. Like I could turn it into something amazing. And now… now I find out it was just a dumping ground for Brax’s mess.”

Chris frowned, his golden eyes sharp and unwavering. “None of this is on you. You didn’t know.”

While true, I struggled to not feel responsible.

If only I’d investigated the creepy basement.

When I’d discovered the secret door, I’d been beyond excited.

But after ten minutes too long down there—in a basement with no electricity and the scent of cold stone preventing me from smelling the earth—I’d hightailed it out of there.

It made sense I hated the feel of the place since it was used by Brax to stash evidence against Kole that could get him killed or help him take over her business.

Shaw’s voice cut through my overloaded brain. “Got it,” he said, emerging from the office. He held up a heavy, leatherbound ledger—the kind that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand secrets.

“This it?” Michaels asked, gesturing to the book.

Chris nodded grimly. “That’s got to be it.”

“Lots of names in here,” Shaw added. “Dates. Transactions. Looks like Kole’s personal blackmail file.”

The air left my lungs in a rush. That unassuming book had nearly cost me my life.

“I still can’t believe it was Brax’s uncle who sold me this place,” I said, the words tumbling out as if speaking them would make them easier to bear.

“Back then, I thought I’d lucked out. I didn’t know the guy.

Never met him in person—everything went through the real estate agent.

But I’d never met Brax nor heard of him.

Why would I?” I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue, “Brax must’ve thought he was being clever, using this place to stash the ledger.

He probably figured his uncle’s place would be the last place Kole would look.

Do you think she knew he had it all along? ”

Chris exhaled slowly, his hand rubbing soothing circles against my back.

Michaels answered, “From what we know about Kole, very little gets past her.”

“I mean, it worked… for a while,” I said bitterly. “Until it didn’t. Kole found out about the ledger and about Brax’s side hustle. It’s why he was nearly killed, isn’t it?”

Chris nodded. “She doesn’t leave loose ends. That he survived at all is a miracle.”

“And now I’m the loose end.”

“You’re not,” Chris said firmly, his voice cutting through the despair threatening to pull me under. “We’ve got the ledger now. Kole can’t use it against you—or anyone else.”

“Good.” I took a shaky breath. “Take it. I don’t want it anywhere near this place.”

Shaw nodded. “We’ll secure it.”

As the team moved with purpose, I glanced around Kurranba again. It was my sanctuary, my dream made real. And now, it felt like a stranger to me.

Chris pulled me closer, his voice soft but steady. “You’re still standing. That’s what matters.”

I looked up at him, my chest tightening at the sincerity in his eyes. “Barely.”

“Barely counts.” He smiled—a real smile this time—and it was enough to chase away some of the bitterness clinging to me. “You’re tenacious, remember? You’re not going to let some shady basement and a vampire ruin your dream.”

The warmth spread, chasing away some of the bitterness. “You think so?”

“I know so.” He nudged me gently, his expression softening in a way that made my heart do a strange little flip. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here. You can figure out what’s next when you’re not in the middle of all this.”

I hesitated, my gaze lingering on the polished floors and neatly set tables. Tan had done their job well.

And so would I.

“Okay,” I said finally, leaning into Chris as we turned to leave. “Let’s go.”

I kneaded Chris’s butt-cheeks, my grin quick to come when he released a loud groan that sounded like sin. After stopping by Chris’s apartment for him to collect a change of clothes, we’d then headed back to my house.

We’d eaten, made out on the sofa, then scrubbed each other down with exploring fingers and mouths, which led us to now. Shifting could be brutal for some species—for panthers, not so much. Regardless, it was as necessary as breathing.

But with the speed Chris had shifted when coming to my rescue, no doubt it left a residual ache behind that he’d likely feel for a few hours yet. A transformation like that left its mark. The same would have happened to me had I even attempted a shift that fast.

Working my fingers over Chris’s muscles was the price I willingly paid for all he’d done.

“Are you trying to ruin me?” Each breathy sigh that escaped Chris rolled over me like a heady caress. I loved I could make him melt, unravel him so it felt like his aching bones turned to jelly.

“Maybe.” I pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, continuing to work the warm oil into his skin.

Chris made it impossibly easy to let my guard down. A skill I didn’t think I should make him aware of. Christ knew what else he could make me do. Eat Macca’s…. I barely suppressed a shudder. Fuck, I wondered if he could talk me into?—

“Did you just say you wanted to eat Macca’s?”

I blanched. The man was so dangerous that I didn’t realise I was mumbling away aloud.

“Eat Macca’s… I think not.” Not that eating a McDonald’s a time or twelve in my youth hadn’t gotten me out of a tough spot. A secret I’d take with me to my grave.

Chris turned his head just enough to smirk at me, his expression equal parts smug and devastatingly charming. “Don’t act like it’s beneath you. Fries are universal.”

“Universal garbage,” I shot back, ignoring the thought of how satisfying eating grease-infused fries could be. Instead, I focussed on kneading my thumbs into the tense line of his shoulders.

He groaned, the sound sinful enough to make me pause. “Keep doing that, and I bet I could get you to eat a Filet-O-Fish.”

I snorted, leaning closer so my lips brushed his ear. “Don’t push your luck. You’re not that charming.”

Chris hummed, entirely too pleased with himself. “Give me time, chef. Everyone’s got a breaking point.”

“Mine’s food poisoning,” I deadpanned.

“Yet here you are,” he murmured, letting his head fall forwards under my touch. “Falling under my spell. One fry at a time.”

“Dream on,” I muttered, but the warmth in my chest betrayed the smile tugging at my lips.

Without warning, he turned, almost bucking me off from where I sat astride his thighs before he caught hold of my waist to stop me from falling.

Once on his back, he settled me on the top of his thighs, our cocks brushing.

Matching moans spilled free as I tried and failed to tear my eyes away from his cock.

“It should be illegal to have such a pretty dick.” My tone was all matter of fact.

Chris snorted out a laugh. “Is that right?”

“Yup.” A smirk curved my lips. “How are your muscles feeling?”

The pads of his fingers rubbed in gentle circles across my skin. “So much better. Thank you.”

“So, you’re relaxed and unwound enough to sleep?” The arch of my brow made my intentions pretty damn clear that energy still buzzed through body. I was more than okay for him to harness it.

Chris darted his gaze around my face, not letting up his slow, sensual circles. “I’ve still got muscles you haven’t touched tonight, if you’re interested.”

Subtlety went flying out of the window when my dick jerked. “Is that right? That not too strenuous for you tonight?” While I desperately, eagerly wanted to be balls deep inside him, we were both bordering on exhaustion slamming into us.

“If you’re happy to stay almost right where you are, then I think I can manage just fine.” His tone screamed sex and promise and the possibility of a tomorrow. And how he managed all of that in a few simple words was beyond me, but I wanted it all.

More than anything, I wanted to fuck him into the mattress. My cock wept at the possibility, a bead of precum dripping to the underside of my cock and landing on his balls.

A shuddery breath escaped Chris, his eyes flaring with heat when I moved to settle between his legs after I took hold of the bottle of lube we’d left next to us on the mattress.

“I’ve got a feeling this is going to go fast.”

Satisfaction filled his expression. “Even after coming three times already?”

“With my cock deep inside you—” I didn’t hold back the shudder rippling over me as I gripped the base of my cock. “—fuck, I’ll be lucky to get two long strokes in before I fill you with my cum.”

“Fuck….” The word tore free from Chris with a moan. “That’s okay. Just get inside me. There’s always tomorrow.”

I slowed my fingers as I worked them inside his tight channel. “Is that, right?” I pushed deeper, and Chris parted his knees wider.

“Uh-huh.”

“And what if I only last three strokes?” I slipped my two fingers out before breaching him with three.

“ Nngh .” He exhaled and swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, leaving it shiny and just begging to be kissed.

“What then?” I pushed, a glutton for punishment, and apparently needy as fuck and wanting to know if he was on the same page I was.

“Then,” he all but whimpered, “we go again the next day, and the next, and every single fucking day of the week, the month, the year.”

“Fuck.” I couldn’t resist any longer, I slammed my mouth to his, drinking in his groans, sliding my tongue against him, wanting his words to be our reality.

But we could make it work and figure this out.

“Okay,” I mumbled breathily before coming up for air and pressing my cock against his slick entrance. “Now that we can do.” I slid home, pausing for a second to commit the moment to memory.

As far as I was concerned, Speed 2 should never have happened. Annie and Jack totally had the chemistry that could last a lifetime. As I eased out before pistoning my hips and pulling every delicious moan from Chris that I could, I just knew he was worth the risk.