Page 102 of Full Throttle

I turned to him, pulling out a cig and lighting it. It wasn’t for Ivan; it was for the fucking morning I’d had. He watched me as I took a long drag. “I can handle myself,” I repeated for what felt like the hundredth time today.

“I know you can, but that doesn’t fucking mean you have to,” he clipped. He looked away for a moment, his eyes on the trees in the distance. “I’ll come with you.”

“Absolutely not,” I shot back, smoking coming from my nostrils.

He looked back to me. “Give me one fucking reason why not.”

I dropped the cig on the ground and held up three fingers. “I’ll give you three: your sister, your niece, and your detective.” Leon’s face hardened, but that didn’t stop me. “You have a fucking life here, one that you just got back. There’s not a chance in hell I’m getting in the way of that.”

“And what about you, Cain?” he asked, his voice low. “What about the life you have here?”

My mind immediately went to silk hair and green eyes. I remained silent because I didn’t have an answer for him. He shook his head, muttering something under his breath before getting his car. His engine roared to life as I got into my car.

He was gone before I even looked in the rearview mirror.

As I drove back to her, weaving through the St. Louis traffic, my heart was pounding. Last night had been one of the best nights of my life, and I couldn’t wait to have more with her. When I got to the bar, I parked in the alley beside her Mazda and climbed the stairs.

I didn’t bother knocking, using the key I’d gotten months ago to let myself in.

The last thing I expected to hear was Nik moaning from the bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-One

Nikki

I shouldn’t be doing this.

I should be more worried about what was going on with Sullie and Dom, about how quickly the conversation was hushed when I walked into the bar this morning. Something was going down, and it was confirmed when Cain texted me, ordering me to stay in the loft. I’d gone down to the bar to see if Sullie needed any help opening today, only to find him and Dom in a quiet conversation.

When I asked them what was going on, they told me not to worry about it.

But I was worried about it, and over the slow hours of the morning, I paced in the living area of the loft countless times.

I tried to busy myself with cleaning, but that failed after ten minutes. I tried not to think about last night, but that failed too, because I started worrying about Cain. This led to my heart skipping a few beats, to memories of us as kids resurfacing, to that night at The Pit, to the night in New York, to the night in Denver when he showed up like the ghost from Christmas past, to Oasis, to the hospital, to the loft, and then finally, to last night. Our entire history played out over the course of just a few minutes and my fear only grew.

Then, I got mad. I was Oasis. Whatever meeting he had to get to, I should’ve been in. I didn’t understand why he left me in bed this morning when I was a part of the team too. When the anger became too much, I picked up the phone and called Mina, demanding answers.

And she gave them to me.

She explained the night Cain came to stay with me at the loft, he’d seen a car lingering down the street, watching us. He’d gotten the plate number and gave it to Sullie, who then passed it on to Casey. The car belonged to an investment banker in Chicago, and at the time, he’d recently gone missing. Then, yesterday, Collin’s wife, Kay, found his body in the alley behind her bakery in Chicago. Mina explained to me that this was a message to Oasis, because that investment banker was apparently one of the ones who worked with The Crew. She then went on to explain that Leon and Cain had a very serious conversation about their past. She said Leon forgave Cain.

I didn’t know that whole story, but when the time was right, I’d ask Cain about it.

There was still so much for us to talk about, and I felt like last night, we’d gotten lost in our desire for each other.

When I’d gotten off the phone with Mina, that was all I could think about: my desire for Cain. The way he said my nickname last night, the way he’d touched me, grabbed me, held me. The way his lips devoured me like he was trying to consume me, body and soul. The way his pale eyes seemed to darken for me as he worked me with his hand.

All at once, I was overwhelmed with arousal, my body tingling with need. I tried distracting myself again by reading a book, but then the handsome villain in the book claimed his heroine, and suddenly, I was picturing Cain and me.

There were other things I could be doing—should be doing. Instead, here I was, standing at the end of the bed, staring down at my toy. My nipples pebbled as I remembered the way Cain stared at them.

Nik, I nearly came at the sight of them as second ago.

Perfect tits, baby. So damn perfect.

I whimpered as I closed my eyes, bringing my hands up, the tips of my fingers brushing over the cotton-covered peaks. At the contact, a zap of pleasure shot down, curling low in my belly. Keeping my eyes closed, I slowly pulled off my shirt and took off my bra. The clothes landed on the floor with a quiet thud, and I brought my hands back to my breasts, cupping them as the image of Cain took over my mind, replaying the memory of him taking a single nipple into his mouth.

I pinched that nipple, biting my lip as my head fell back. “Cain,” I sighed.

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