Author: Jaci Burton

Finally, she shifted and turned to face him. “You’re absolutely right. I screwed up. I’m sorry.”

His gut twisted at the look of misery on her face. He wanted to gather her in his arms, smooth his hand over her hair, and kiss away her pain. But right now he was her superior, and making her feel better wasn’t part of his job. If she was going to be a Wild Rider, she was going to have to learn to take the bad with the good.

“Don’t do it again. Let’s just hope it’s salvageable, that Crush really can help us.”

She nodded.

There was a knock at the door. Jessie got up to open it, letting Crush through. He didn’t come all the way in the room, just leaned against the wall.

“I don’t know how many guns there are, but there’s a stash of weapons hidden under a false bottom in Nate’s RV.”

Diaz stood. “How do you know?”

“Because I crawled under and found it. Nate was with Rex tonight. Figured if they were going to bring weapons with them, Nate’s RV would be big enough to hide them. I started with the outside.”

“Anyone see you?”

Crush shook his head. “They’re all up at the lodge partying. Hey, I do have some skills. I know how not to get caught.”

Jessie slid her hands in the pockets of her jeans and moved next to Diaz. “Any idea how many weapons?”

“Hundreds. I didn’t stop to count, but there are guns, rifles, some automatic. Ammo, too. Some look like military issue. There’s some other stuff locked up in dark green boxes. I’m thinking maybe explosives or maybe even missiles.”

So not what he wanted to hear. “That’s possible.”

“Now that you know about it, what’s the plan? You bring in the Feds and wrap things up?”

“It’s not that simple,” Diaz explained. “We drag in the Feds now to surround the RV, we lose the survivalists, the chance to bring in some of those tax-evading, scum-sucking antigovernment assholes. We want to take a few of them down, too.”

“Oh, right. So what’s the plan?”

“I’m working on it. I need to call in, make arrangements to bring the Feds in so they’re ready to take these guys down tomorrow. What part we’ll play in all that is uncertain at the moment. We’ll meet up in the morning to talk about it with Spence.”

“Okay. I’m out of here. I’ll keep an eye on the RV tonight.” Crush turned to the door.

“Crush?”

“Yeah.”

“I might have been wrong about you. Thanks for the info.”

His lips quirked. “You bet.”

After Crush left, Jessie turned to him. “Thank you for that.”

“Just because your instincts might have been on about Crush doesn’t mean you can go off half-cocked anytime you want to.”

She nodded. “I understand. But I do trust him. Do you now?”

“I’m beginning to. We’ll see what happens as we move along in the plan.”

“So what exactly is the plan?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to think about options. We’ll have one by tomorrow.”

Diaz knew he’d get no sleep tonight. They had to get those firearms before the survivalists did, and he wanted to bring those guys in.

Which meant the plan had to be solid—no mistakes. All avenues and potential ways things could go wrong had to be covered.

He had a lot to think about.

Jessie went into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned on the shower. He made a call to Grange, gave him the time and location for the arms delivery, and discussed options. Grange said he’d have the Feds call him directly to arrange a liaison point for tomorrow, and then they could plan from there.

After he hung up he stared at the bathroom door. He heard the water running, thought about Jessie naked, and had a driving urge to join her, to say the hell with his determination to keep things impersonal between them when what he really wanted was to get really, really personal.

But after their last time together it would be such a bad idea. She’d been distant, emotionally removed from the encounter—hurt. He didn’t want to keep leading her on just because his dick wanted some comfort.

He’d gone without sexual release before, had gone a long damn time without it, in fact. He’d survive being around Jessie and keeping things strictly business.

She opened the door, the smell of her pouring out of the bathroom. She appeared through the steam, her skin rosy pink from the shower. She wore sweats, her nipples outlined against the soft brown fabric of her shirt. He remembered what her skin felt like—soft, warm, pliant under his hands.

Despite his intentions, his cock twitched, began to harden, his gaze targeting her like a torpedo as she moved around the room busying herself with—well, hell he had no idea what she was doing. He was watching her body—the way she walked, the way her hips swayed, the sensuous stride of her legs, the way her breasts bounced with every movement.

She stilled, obviously becoming aware of his attention, because she slowly turned around to face him as he sat in the wingback chair.

She moved to the bed, pulled back the covers, and pushed the pillows against the headboard. She laid down on her side, half reclining, and looked at him, her intent clear as she laid her palm on the mattress.

Invitation. No words, no explanations, no recriminations later.

Maybe this was what they both needed. A little release of tension before the shit hit the fan tomorrow. But could he do this again, knowing what happened between them the last time? Could he remain detached? Could it ever be “just sex” with Jessie?

He stood, walked to the bed, stopped when he hit the edge.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

He wasn’t going to ask again, because he did need this. And from the way she devoured his erection with her eyes, so did she.

He stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed beside her, laying his hand on the softness of her hip, then rolling his palm upward, raising her shirt up with his movements.

Bare skin. So soft and warm, fragrant from her shower. She watched him touch her, didn’t move, but her breathing quickened. He pushed her onto her back, used both hands to push her shirt up and over her breasts. Her nipples were already tight buds awaiting his mouth. He swooped down and took one between his lips, intoxicated by the sweet smell of her skin. It was almost dizzying to be able to touch her and taste her again, when he thought he’d never be able to. And to feel her arch against him, to feed him her breasts, made his cock rock hard, pressing urgently against the mattress.

He wanted to be inside her, burying deep and fucking her with mindless abandon. But he wanted more than that, because he knew this was going to be the last time.

And it wasn’t going to be “just sex.” Not this time.

He moved to the other nipple, teased it with his teeth and tongue until it stood hard and erect, then kissed his way down her ribs and belly, flicking the little charm at her navel.

He was going to miss having access to her body, refused to think of this being someone else’s playground someday. He pushed aside the warning bells proclaiming him a total dumbass for letting her go.

Not now, not when his hands were filled with her buttery soft skin, when he breathed in the scent of her tempting arousal just south of the teasing jewel of her belly button.

He slid down, swirling his tongue over her mound, feeling her body tense and arch as he drew closer to her sex. He repositioned himself between her legs, spreading them wide so he could see her, touch her, kiss the inside of her thighs as he draped them over his shoulders.

She was so beautiful, even here. He licked her pussy lips and she shuddered, let out a cry of delight, and fisted his hair as he moved his tongue over her clit and sucked.

He wanted more, licking his way down to her pussy. She was so wet here. He let out a groan as he slid his tongue inside her, not realizing how hungry he’d been for her until the taste of her flooded his mouth. She bucked against him in uncontrollable spasms, moaning his name as she came with unashamed screams. He held on to her, licking her, soaking up everything she had to give as she rode out her orgasm. This is what he loved about Jessie, the way she came apart. No hesitation, holding nothing back and giving everything to him. He continued to kiss and lick her pussy until she was tense and needy again, her fingers tightening in his hair. Only then did he let go of her, and only long enough to crawl up her body to capture her mouth in a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him tight as she returned the kiss with fervor.

He broke them apart only long enough to apply a condom before pulling her in his arms and rolling her to the side. He wanted to lie with her, arms and legs tangled up. He slid his cock inside with a gentle push, watching the way her lips parted as he drove until he was fully inside her.

His cock throbbed, his balls tight, full and ready to burst. But all he could do was savor this moment of having Jessie in his arms, her body locked with his, the feel of her pussy gripping him, the scent of her filling the air around them.

Neither of them had spoken—they didn’t need to. There was nothing to be said, only this moment to be shared between them. This contact they both seemed to need, and the understanding they had that this was the last time.

He moved, surging forward. Jessie answered by convulsing around him, her leg wrapping around his hip to lock him in place. With every movement her breathing grew harsher, louder, then turned to whimpers and moans. He breathed them in, memorized every sound, every expression, every subtle movement of her body until he couldn’t take it anymore and started to fuck her with long, deep strokes, holding tight to her hip as he reared back and powered hard inside her.

Then restraint became impossible. He was going to go off, especially when he felt her tighten and tremors erupt inside her. She threw her head back and gasped, held tight to him as she trembled through her orgasm. He watched her climax, then he was unable to hold back and went with her, erupting from the base of his spine to jettison come in a torrent that left him gasping for breath and barely able to move.

Shaken, he held her close, realizing he didn’t want to let her go, but knowing he had to.

Jessie sighed, stroked his back, and pulled away. She kissed him, traced her finger over his lips, and without a word left the bed and went into the bathroom.

Was that to make it easier on him, or on herself?

Christ, why was this so damned difficult?

When she came out again, she had her sweats on.

“I think I’ll make some coffee. I’m not tired, and I figured you probably have to do some planning tonight.”

He nodded on his way to the bathroom. “Good idea. Thanks.”

He shut the bathroom door, stared at his reflection in the mirror, and raked his fingers through his hair. Yeah, he had to do some planning. For the mission.

That had to be his focus, though making love with Jessie had shaken him more than he thought.

He’d always been good about walking away, had never let a woman in. His heart was impenetrable, a solid wall of ice. He was incapable of loving anyone—or so he’d thought.

Jessie had gotten in.

Why was it so goddamn hard to get her out?

SIXTEEN

BEFORE DAWN, JESSIE, DIAZ, CRUSH, AND SPENCE HAD GATHERED in a private room to discuss options. True to his word, Crush had kept watch over the RV all night. He reported no activity. The RV hadn’t moved, and Rex had gone to bed without incident. Apparently a few words to a couple of his guys had put some eyes on Rex. He was under close watch now and Crush assured them no one knew why, and no questions would be asked. It wasn’t the first time Crush had some of his members watched, and no one ever questioned the Skulls’ leader.

Jessie didn’t think any of them had gotten much sleep the night before. They all yawned while nursing that first cup of coffee. She’d tried to sleep, tossing from one side to the other in the bed while Diaz paced, laid on the couch, got up, and paced more.