Fatal Exposure (5 page)

He plunged harder and faster as he dug his fingers into her hips. His balls ground against her moist flesh with each thrust. He was going to burst soon. She felt so good. So right. At least, she seemed to be enjoying herself as she moaned and writhed

against the bed. Sweet sounds that made him want more.

Her pussy contracted, clutching him. He watched his throbbing cock, slick with her juices, slide out of her and back in. His pulse raced and his gut knotted, pleading for release. The air in the room was thick as he drew in heavy breaths. He steadied and sped up his rhythm.

“Ohmigod, Kade!” she screamed. Again.

That was all he could take. He crashed into her one last time, letting his cum fill the protective barrier between them.

His body wanted to drop onto hers in exhaustion, but he held himself up in fear he would crush her. Instead, he withdrew and lay by her side. She looped a damp, sweaty lock of dark red hair behind her ear and smiled at him through heavy breaths. Her face was flushed, her cheeks pink, her lips moist and full. Absolutely beautiful. Kade imagined it wouldn’t be difficult waking up to see that face every morning. In fact, it would be a pleasure. If it was possible for a man like him to settle down and get married.

He’d screwed up that likelihood a long time ago when he escaped his father’s fists by joining the army. Four years later, after being shot in the shoulder by a sniper, Kade returned home to find his mother dead and buried and his father in prison for life.

He’d failed to protect the one person who mattered to him, the one person who loved him. He didn’t deserve a family, a second chance. With his mom dead and his second family, the army, declaring him useless, he’d gone independent.

It suited him. PI work paid well, he was good at it, and he never had to get close to anyone. Ever.

****

Ava rolled over and cuddled up next to Kade’s chest, crushing her breasts against him and running her fingers through his thick dark hair. “Thank you,”

she whispered. “That was incredible.”

His face softened to her touch only for an instant before the ice in his eyes thickened. He slipped away and stood from the bed, then gestured toward the condom. “Better get rid of ole faithful.”

Here it goes
.

Ava sighed and pulled the stiff comforter over her bare body. Why had she let herself spin daydreams that Kade might be
that
guy? The one who would rescue her from Zack Moreno...and herself. What a joke. Hadn’t she figured it out by now? The only one who could save her was herself. She listened as the toilet flushed and then watched him as he walked back to the bed with a tight grin on his face. He pulled his jeans on and zipped them up, all the while avoiding eye contact.

“Want a beer?” he asked as if they’d just finished watching a football game together instead of making passionate love twice. He opened the mini refrigerator and pulled out a bottle.

“I get it,” she mumbled and began scanning the dimly lit room for any trace of her clothing. She spotted her panties and scooped them up.

“What do you get, exactly?” He twisted the cap off, not giving her his full attention and not seeming to give a crap what her answer would be.

“I’m supposed to leave before it gets awkward.”

She pulled her panties on and picked up her skirt and sweater.

“Come on, you said yourself this was a one night stand.” He took a swig of his beer and then set it down on top of the fridge. “I don’t even know your real name.”

And it’s a good thing, too
.

She tugged her skirt up and tried to remain calm. She should be used to assholes treating her like a discount whore, like she was less than her worth. Unfortunately, she let this particular asshole lure her out of the safety of the club and straight to his bed.

She’d been lonely and she’d let herself read too much into his actions, and the connection they made in bed. It was a stupid mistake, and she wouldn’t let it happen again.

“Hey,” he said in a low voice and walked the distance between them. “I’m sorry if you thought this was leading somewhere. I didn’t mean to give you that impression. I’m only in town until I complete a job and then I’m gone. A relationship would never work.”

Ava gave him her best dirty look. “Don’t you think I know that? Why else wouldn’t I give you my name? It was just sex. No big deal.”

She shrugged but couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of his shirtless body. The ribbed muscles. The scars that didn’t seem to faze him. The eyes that bore into her.

Focus, Ava. He’s a jerk.

She took a deep breath and slid her arms into her sweater. His hand ran down the side of her breast before she could fully pull it on.

“No big deal? Do you mean that?” he asked with an unsmiling face.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, more furious with herself than with him.

He pulled his hand away and clenched it at his side. “Sorry. You tempt me like no woman I’ve ever known before.”

“You don’t know me, and you never will.” She clasped her sweater shut and grabbed her jacket off the floor.

“Listen. I don’t want it to end this way. I’d like to see you again before I leave. Maybe tonight after you get off work?”

Ava held back a laugh. How desperate did he think she was? “Sorry. I have a date,” she lied. Dates were a thing of the past. Something she couldn’t enjoy as long as she was on the run. But he didn’t need to know that. If he could play games, then so could she.

“With who?” he asked, his blue eyes narrowing. Why did he even care? She shook her head and opened the door to leave.

“With who?” he repeated and grabbed her wrist.

“One of the bouncers? One of those loser guys who sit in there all day dishing out money just so they can get a woman to touch him?”

She twisted from his grip. “Gee, aren’t
you
one of those loser guys?” she asked but knew he wasn’t. No, Kade was unlike any other man she’d ever met. The way he stared at her with thick dark lashes shading his menacing icy eyes told her that much, and it was answer enough.

She huffed out a breath and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What I do is none of your business anyway.”

He heaved the door shut and towered over her, cradling her face and forcing her to look up at him.

“Your date’s canceled. Come back here after work,

and I’ll make you forget any other man exists. I promise.” He dipped his mouth and threatened to kiss her.

“Promises are for fools,” she said, staring at his lips. “And I’m no fool.”

“That’s a shame, because we’d get along a lot better if you were.” He grinned and trapped her against the door. His mouth molded to hers and his tongue thrust past her parted lips as she gasped. One of his hands braced the back of her neck while the other slipped under her sweater and roughly caressed her breast.

Ava tried to shove him away, but he didn’t budge. She should have been frightened. She should have bit his tongue, kneed his groin, and shoved the palm of her hand straight at the bridge of his nose. Just like she’d learned in the self-defense class she’d graduated from less than a month ago. But she didn’t fear Kade—she yearned for him. In his bed, cradled in his strong arms, she could forget all her worries. She didn’t need to think about the looming possibility of Zack finding and hurting her. She was safe. Free from fear and free from her disguise.

If only the overgrown man would stop acting likesuch an ass
.

With fire in his passionate eyes, he finally broke the kiss and opened the door. “I’ll see you soon,” he said in a gruff voice.

She didn’t argue. She’d have plenty of time to do that later. Pinching her sweater and jacket shut, she left.

Chapter Three

After getting a few hours of sleep, Kade showered and dressed. It was time to scope out his probable target, Poppy. And maybe check the stats on Lily’s loser date.

Damn it. Why did he care? It shouldn’t have mattered to him, but just the thought of another man touching her made him mad as hell. Especially so soon after she’d been in his bed, in his arms. God, she’d had his cock inside her one night and she was planning on going out with another man the next. He shook his head. That didn’t seem right. Sure, she was a stripper, but she seemed so sweet. Not the type to fuck around. And, hell, she’d been so tight, almost virginal. His balls tightened from the memory.

Her beautiful face came to mind.
Lily
. The fact that he didn’t know her real name ground at his nerves as well. How could he even begin to have feelings for a woman who was nothing but a stripper incognito?

Fuck it all
. He had more important things to worry about.

He reached under his bed and pulled out his duffle bag to see if everything was still in order before he left the hotel room. His handgun was tucked safely in its lockbox between a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

Satisfied, he clasped it shut, locked it and then slid the bag back under the bed. It wasn’t safe to leave the gun in a hotel room for anyone to find, but he couldn’t get it past the bouncer’s pat-down at the front door. All he could do was tell the hotel manager he didn’t want his room cleaned and hope for the best.

Not that he wanted to carry the gun around. He’d seen enough violence and heard enough gunshots during his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to last him a lifetime.

Most of the time, Kade used his size and sometimes his fists to get what he wanted. People listened when he talked, making his job that much easier.

Which is why he wondered how Lily wasn’t afraid of him. Not even after she’d seen the scars on his body.

She had to know he wasn’t just a regular businessman traveling through town. She had to know he was dangerous and selfish, not worth the time of day she’d given him so far.

Kade drew in a breath, and the vision of her naked underneath him ran wickedly through his mind. To hell with it. Until she figured it out, he planned on taking full of advantage of her naivety.

****

The so-called dressing room was filled with every emotion a woman could have. Poppy was talking and laughing about the guy with man-boobs who always liked to rub his own nipples when she danced for him. Jasmine was crying about her latest breakup. Rose was screaming about the hairy spider in the toilet.

And Ava was angry and horny at the same time.

She walked past the other women and set her bag in one of the cement-colored, doorless stalls. The room was comprised of four of them, with the toilets removed from all but one and replaced with a bench, a full-length mirror and a single hook to hang stuff. Not exactly classy, but at least it gave Ava a little privacy when she changed costumes.

What a glamorous life
. She sighed at just the thought of it. She missed her old life working with the animals at the shelter while studying to be a veterinarian during the week and volunteering at the battered women’s group home on the weekend. How ironic that she had turned into one of them. Zack had called her a saint once, and now he truly wanted her to join the angels.

“Coming in, girls,” Jarred warned, and Ava peeked around the stall to see him barging through the backroom door as if he owned the joint. Arrogant bastard. His brother was the owner, but Jarred might as well have been. Most of the hiring and firing was left up to him.

“Hey, Jarred,” Poppy said in an adoring tone. The woman had a serious crush on the tall, dark, muscular man and everyone in the club knew it. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem Jarred felt the same way. “Hey,” he answered her but gave Ava his attention. “Could everyone give me and Lily some privacy? I need to discuss something with her.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. What did he want now?

With reluctance and audible irritation, the women left the room, leaving Ava alone with him. Thankfully, she hadn’t started to undress for her shift yet and was fully clothed.

“What’s up, Jarred?” She leaned against the outside of the stall so she wouldn’t be trapped inside.

“I wanted to ask you that same question.” He lazily walked to her and stopped only inches away. His dark brown eyes took in her entire body in one swooping glance. “You seemed to be into that guy yesterday, but I didn’t see him tip you. You have something going on with him?”

“No. I was just avoiding the jerks from the university.” She gave him her best innocent smile, loathing that she had to be nice to him.

“Ah, well, they’re the ones who buy drinks and keep us in business. We don’t want them disappointed, do we?”

“Won’t do it again.”
Just tell him what he wantsto hear so he’ll leave
.

He inched closer. “I’d hate to see you get fired, Ava. You know bringing in your boyfriend is a nono.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, and please call me Lily.”

She despised that she’d had a moment of weakness one night after work and told him her real name...after succumbing to four shots of tequila. It had been a long day and all she’d wanted to do was drain her sorrows. But as the evening had progressed, Jarred had begun looking less like an asshole and more like her salvation. What a joke. She vaguely remembered making out with him in the parking lot. Thank God Poppy had caught them, putting a stop to it before anything else happened. But now Poppy hated her guts, and, honestly, Ava didn’t blame her.