Flawed (Blaze of Glory #2) (14 page)

I watch him warily as he takes a seat at a nearby table, stretching his long legs out. He looks cool, calm and composed, but behind his glasses I can clearly see a dark storm building in his eyes. My shoulders slump in defeat; I know he has me over a barrel. Taking a seat opposite him, I twist my fingers together in a worried knot.

“Natalie.” His voice makes me jump.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out, then immediately cover my mouth with my hands, my eyes wide with fright.
Way to fucking go, Natalie. Let’s just jump in the deep end and get it over with.

Keets sits up straighter in the chair, his eyes as round as saucers. “What—”

“Don’t worry, it’s not yours.” I wave him off, figuring if I’m going to air my dirty laundry right here, right now, I may as well do it all at once. “It’s Troy’s. I’d just broken up with my boyfriend, Luke, and my friends took me out to a bar. I was drunk, he was handsome… I didn’t even recognize him.”

Keets says nothing, just stares at me as I get up and start pacing around the table. “I mean, I know I should have said something, but what could I have said? ‘Oh, hey, I’m Shannon’s sister and I’m pregnant by her abusive ex who I later found out may have murdered our father? Get real,” I scoff. “You never would have looked at me, Shannon never would have spoken to me again…” I finally run out of steam and he still hasn’t said anything. I drop back in the chair just before he finally speaks, but it’s not what I want to hear.

“Natalie,” he starts, his voice low and menacing. “I think you need to leave.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I say cheerfully, trying to mask the pain in my voice. “I’m leaving just as soon as I call the cab. I never planned to stick around. It was fun while it lasted, but I think we both knew this was never going to be a permanent thing.”

A muscle ticks in his neck and I see him swallow hard. He’s clearly pissed off, but I just can’t seem to stop myself. “I mean, you’re hot and everything, but let’s be honest. There were things we were both hiding. You can’t have anything if you don’t have trust.” I pick up the phone and place a call for a cab.

“I wasn’t hiding anything from you,” he grits out as I hang up, and I laugh.

“Oh, please. Liz? You really think I didn’t know about her?”

“Don’t you fucking
dare
talk about her!” he roars, pulling himself up from his chair and leaning over the table. “You think you know everything? You know
nothing
!”

I shrink back a little in fear. I’m not sure what I was expecting; embarrassment, an apology, maybe even a little sheepishness, but not this. Not this pure rage. It’s as though someone has lit a fuse beneath him that’s been smoldering for years, and has only just started a fire.

Whatever, I don’t even care.

He stands there for a long time, saying nothing. His nostrils flare in anger and he rakes a hand over his short hair. Taking off his glasses, he places them on the bar and rubs his eyes with one hand. “You should be happy,” I say with a bright smile. Apparently I don’t know when to shut up. “At least you got laid a bunch of times. Liz not doing it for you?”

He snarls and rushes at me. My hands fly up in surprise as he braces his hands on my hips and drives me backward until my ass bumps up against the mechanical bull on the other side of the bar. He picks me up effortlessly and balances me on the seat, roughly shoving my legs apart as he moves between them, thrusting his hard cock against me through his jeans. Fisting both of his hands into my hair, he drags my head back and stares wildly into my eyes. “Is this ‘doing it enough’ for you?” he asks sarcastically with a sadistic grin. I pale, but have no time to contemplate his words as his lips descend to my neck; biting, nibbling and sucking on the sensitive flesh. My hands roam over his chest and I clutch his arms, dragging him closer as he yanks my shirt up and feasts on my breasts. I groan as his teeth lightly graze against my nipple, sending shock waves pulsing through me. I grip his hair tightly as his hands move to my pants. Lifting me slightly, he shoves them down my legs and spins me around to face away from him. He bends me over the mechanical bull, and I cry out as there is a stinging slap against my bare ass.

“You like that?” he growls, his hand roving unforgivingly across my skin. “You want more?”

“Yes,” I groan, hating myself for it, but unable to resist. I gasp as he slaps my ass again, then his hand is between my legs, finding my clit and stroking it to a fever pitch. I hear the rasp of the zipper on his jeans, and I grab on to the leather seat of the bull, tears pricking at my eyes as I feel his bare cock slide forcefully inside me. “Yes,” he groans, and I glance over my shoulder to see him throw his head back, the veins in his arms and neck standing to attention. “Jesus, you’re so fucking tight. This is
so
much better than using a condom.” I cry out as he withdraws almost all the way, then slams back into me again. His hand goes around my throat as he pumps into me. “You like that, don’t you?” he growls. “You like what I do to you, the way I make you feel. He never made you feel like this, did he?”

Tears slip down my cheeks as I realize what he’s doing. He’s literally trying to fuck the memory of Troy out of me. His hand fists into my hair and drags me back onto his cock, then he slips out and grabs my hand, dragging me down to the padding beneath the bull. Grabbing my hips, he pulls me over him and thrusts himself up and into me. This position is so much better for me, it allows me to move him how I need it. And I do. Rocking my hips back and forth, I lean back and rest my hands against his thighs as I stroke his cock with my pussy. My eyes close as his hand moves between us and strums my clit. “Fuck,” I hiss, sliding up and down along his length. I feel the pressure start low in my stomach, spreading all the way through me. He must sense it too, because instead of stopping, his fingers move faster on my clit until I’m pulsating around him. “Yes,” he groans. “Come on my cock.”

I slump forward as the last bit of energy leaves my body, but Keets isn’t done yet. Slipping himself out of me, he picks me up in his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as he carries me in to the office and stands me up next to the desk. “Fucking take it,” he says as he strokes his cock and I immediately sink to my knees and open my mouth. He fists his hands into my hair and guides his length inside. “Ahhh,” he gasps, throwing his head back as his thighs flex beneath my fingers. He pushes his cock in to my mouth so far that I gag and tears spring to my eyes. His hips thrust faster and I allow my lower to to go slack and stop sucking him as he fucks my mouth. I watch his face expression change to one of intense concentration and I moan as I realize he’s close to coming. He growls and pulls his hard cock out of my mouth. “Turn around,” he orders, and I obey, leaning forward to grip the edge of the table as he kicks my legs apart with his foot. I’m spread open for him, and he takes full advantage of it. Fisting his cock, he rubs it along the wet length of my pussy, tapping it firmly against my sensitive clit a few times. I cry out and I can swear I hear him chuckle right before he thrusts himself inside of me again. I try to stand up, but his hand on my back pushes me back down, face first onto the desk. “Stay fucking still,” he orders, hooking his forearms around my thighs and lifting them off the ground. I’m immobilized, suspended in the air as I’m forced to take every inch of his cock.  I feel another orgasm approaching and I let out a low moan, giving myself over to the sensations that are coursing through me. It hits me hard and I scream as I tighten around him, milking him. This position makes it impossible to get away, I have to take everything Keets is giving me, until he’s satisfied. I feel his cum shoot deep inside me, his voice hoarse as he lets out a loud shout of satisfaction. Our breathing is audible and harsh in the quiet office, and my legs shake as he slowly lowers them back to the ground. I stand up and turn to watch him as he walks straight out of the office without a word. Following him, I see him picking up our discarded clothes and he holds mine out for me. Braving the naked walk through the main bar, I accept the clothes and dress quickly. Not a word is spoken between us, in fact, things just got a whole lot more awkward. A horn sounds from outside, and I glance out the window to see the cab pull up. Looking back at Keets with a wry smile, I pick up my bags. “Well, it’s been an experience,” I say, holding out my hand for him to shake. His face is haunted, as though he’s not even in the room with me anymore. He makes no move toward me, so I shrug and walk out the door.

It’s not until the cab is pulling away from Saddles with me in the back seat that I allow the tears to freely fall.

KEETS

I can’t believe she actually fucking left.

Releasing a pent-up cry of rage, I sweep my arm across the bar, sending bottles and glasses flying. I don’t care about the mess, or about the cuts that pepper my forearm. She’s fucking gone, and like the idiot that I am, I let her go. I saw red when she brought up Liz. How did she even know about her? I know Shannon and Stone wouldn’t have said anything to her; they have more respect for me than that. My cock is still twitching as it remembers the way her pussy clenched around it just a few moments ago. It’s still wet from our mixed juices, and I don’t even care. I belatedly remember that I didn’t help her clean up before she left, then pull myself up short.
She’s not your responsibility.

Zipping up my jeans, I slump into the nearest chair. I rub my hands over my tired face, feeling as though I’ve just aged ten years.

Pregnant. She’s fucking pregnant. With Troy’s baby. It’s as though the fates are laughing at me as they slap me in the face with reality. I’d allowed myself to be swayed by a pretty face; Natalie had been the perfect distraction from my depression. I didn’t even realize that it’s only one week until my fortieth birthday. Seven days until the anniversary of the tragic event that took my family from me. Just one hundred and sixy eight hours until I’m reunited with Liz. I can’t let anything else distract me from my goal.

The bar door opens and I glance up, recognition punching me in the gut as I see a ghost from my past. “Bullet?” I gasp, shocked. “I thought you were dead!”

“Keets,” my old Army buddy drawls with a smile. “Long time, no see.” Bullet had served with Stone and me in Afghanistan. On our last night, we’d been attacked by the Taliban at our base camp. The only way they could have known we were there was if they were told, but to this day no one knows who’s to blame. Up until now, I thought Bullet had died that night in the hills.

Standing, I make my way over and pull him into a hug. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Around,” he says vaguely, looking around the bar. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

“It’s Stone’s,” I tell him, moving behind the bar and pouring two beers. “So, what brings you to town?”

“I heard Stone got himself a new wife and kid.” He grins. “Figured I’d better see that shit for myself.”

I can’t help but laugh. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been far too long. I can’t believe you’re actually alive!”

“It takes more than a bullet to stop me.” Bullet laughs at his own little joke. “So tell me, who was that delectable little piece of ass that just left?”

I groan and swallow a mouthful of beer. “I don’t want to talk about her,” I say.

“Oh, I see. Trouble in paradise?” He gives me a knowing wink and I laugh again.

“Something like that.”

“Women, eh?” he scoffs, downing half his beer. “Can’t live with ‘em, can’t join the Army to escape ‘em.”

“Sometimes, I wish we could,” I mutter under my breath. “So, how long are you in town for?”

“Just a couple of days,” he says, placing his glass back on the bar. “I’ve got some business up north I need to take care of.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Just some stuff,” he replies vaguely. I can sense something’s wrong, but my head’s too wrapped up in a certain blonde to give what he’s saying much thought. I know it probably makes me a bad friend, but right now, I can’t help it. A part of me regrets sending her away, but I need to stay firm. There are things I need to do, places I need to return to. Pouring another drink for the both of us, I decide to at least try and get my mind off of things for a while.

***

I hang out with Bullet for a few hours until Stone and Shannon come back. The reception Bullet receives from Stone is icy, to say the least.

“Bullet,” Stone nods, folding his arms across his chest as he leans back against the bar.

“Stone,” Bullet replies, his eyes narrowing.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I needed your permission, Sir,” Bullet bites back sarcastically. Shannon looks back and forth between the two of them, clearly sizing up the matter and deciding on the best course of action to diffuse the situation. She would’ve made a great addition to our team in Afghanistan; full of fire and passion, no one can say Shannon Stone wouldn’t do anything to keep her family safe and happy.

“Hi,” she says brightly, sticking out her hand to Bullet. “I’m Shannon.”