Game On (The Morgan Brothers Book 4) (19 page)

Aspen’s head was
spinning with a thousand questions as she stood in front of the stunning little blonde who’d entered a few minutes ago with Kip Morgan. Since she’d been talking to Phoenix for months on-line, it didn’t take her long to identify the Morgan’s neighbor despite the fact she’d been confused at first. The way Phoenix had always spoken about her, Aspen had assumed Calamity was much younger.
Anybody talking to Jax, Kent, or Kyle about me probably thinks I’m still in junior high, so I don’t know why I’m surprised.

She was worried the younger woman was concealing how badly she’d been traumatized by the events, but when Phoenix wrapped his arm around her, Aspen pushed her concerns aside. When cool air moved against her bare sex, her attention shifted quickly. Standing perfectly still was the only way she was going to avoid another peep show during the meeting intended to keep Caila safe.

Hoping her sincerity showed in her expression, Aspen spoke quietly to the sweet young woman leaning into Kip’s hold. “I’m so sorry, Caila. Please know, I’d never have come here if I’d had any idea he’d follow me to Montana.”

As soon as the words left her lips, Aspen knew she’d made a mistake. Phoenix’s arm suddenly felt like a band of steel, the difference a few seconds could make was truly remarkable. His hold had gone from seduction to restraint in the time it took her to open her big mouth.
Damn it, when will I ever learn to keep my mouth shut. They’ll likely be pissed as hell I’ve brought trouble to their door…and who can blame them?

Mitch moved to stand in front of her so quickly he was practically a blur of motion. “What did you just say,
cher
? What sort of trouble have you had prior to your arrival?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he pinched her nipples firmly enough to make her gasp. “Stop thinking and answer the question without all the mental editing.”

“Mental editing?”

Another sharp pinch made her squeak. “I know full well you are trying to figure out exactly how much you could say, how much you should reveal. Let me help you with that decision. Tell us all of it. Now.” His tone left little question about how serious he was. This was obviously not a command she would be wise to ignore.
Choose your battles, Aspen.

“I’ve known for a while someone was stalking Phoenix through his games, but I haven’t been able to back-trace him. Whoever he is, he’s really careful and has managed to stay one step ahead of me at every turn.” She saw several of the men in the room glancing at each other.
Great now they think I’m some sort of loon.

Taking a deep breath, there wasn’t anything to do but forge ahead. “The thing is…after I’d done the initial report on Phoenix for DHS, I continued playing the on-line games because I enjoyed the on-line banter.” Returning her attention to Mitch, Aspen smiled up into his surprised face. “At first, I thought you were another profile Phoenix had created because your
voice
, the way you phrase things, etc., is so similar and you were rarely gaming at the same time. But I finally spent some time following your cyber trail and found out who you were.”

Grinning at Micah Drake’s thunderous expression, Aspen shook her head. “Don’t get all pissy. Your programs are good…hell, they’re really good. But I found the back door so you might want to lock that baby up. And, no, I didn’t share that information with my supervisor.”
Who am I kidding? I probably won’t even have a job after tonight. Ichabod will be overjoyed to have me out of his hair.
Her boss hadn’t been thrilled to have her pushed onto his team. Robert Crane had been even less happy to learn of her connections to Kent and Kyle West, but she hadn’t cared enough about his complaints to explore his reasoning.
Yeah, and how is THAT working out for you?

The silence in the room was deafening, and her face heated from the continued scrutiny. Brandt Morgan was staring at her, obviously trying to decide whether or not she was somehow responsible for what happened to Caila. “Why exactly
are
you here, Captain?” His use of her former title wasn’t a slip, and she knew it. He was deliberately putting a huge chasm of professional distance between them. It was a jerk move, but she wasn’t going to call him on it.

“Well, Sheriff Morgan.”
See? Two can play your game, asshole.
“I like your brother. We had a great rapport online, and I didn’t want to see him hurt. And, I’d already met Mitch, and as I’m sure you already know, because of unfortunate timing, we didn’t get to explore what I felt was a mutual attraction…so, I saw this as a second chance with him.”

“But why now? The timing seems suspect to me,” Brandt’s voice was tight, and she fought back the temptation to tell him to focus on what was important…the young woman trembling in Kip’s arms.

“I wanted to meet Phoenix and thought the club would be my best opportunity.” Jax was the only one in the room who seemed convinced she’d answered honestly. He’d known her long enough to recognize when she was lying or telling the truth. “I wanted to keep your brother safe because I’d come to see him as a friend…and…well, I don’t really have many friends. And my three best friends have gotten married and had families of their own.”

Stiffening her spine and putting up her hand to stay him when she saw Jax take a step forward, she looked directly into Brandt’s eyes. “From what I’ve read in your file, Sheriff, you probably understand what it’s like to have too few friends. And I’ll bet you’ve seen some of those fade when your buddies’ lives changed from fellow soldiers and teammates to husbands and fathers. It isn’t bad or unfair, it’s just the way things work.”

Brandt studied her carefully, but she held her ground. Aspen saw the light in his eyes shift the moment he decided she’d passed muster. The slow accepting smile spreading over his face totally transformed his appearance.
Holy hotness, no wonder Joelle was watching him with worshipful eyes.
“Welcome to Montana, Captain.” This time, the title sounded more like an endearment, and she wondered if she hadn’t just gained a nickname.
Yippy Skippy.

Brandt wasn’t an
easy sell when it came to the safety of his family and friends. But, the pretty blonde Phoenix and Mitch were flanking with mirrored protective poses hadn’t hesitated to stand up to him when he’d questioned her. Jax had watched from the sidelines, and his relaxed posture helped convince him Aspen Andrews was telling the truth. Brandt found it damned amusing she’d come to Montana intending to protect Phoenix—something he was more than happy to take off her plate.

He’d watched the former Air Force pilot continue to fuss over Caila, her concern for their young neighbor easy to see. He’d been damned amused by the way her spine straightened when she knew he was questioning her motives. Yeah, she would definitely fit in with the other Morgan women. Giving himself a mental shake for the leap forward his thoughts had just taken, Brandt stepped back letting Jax take over.

“Sweetheart, Micah is going to want to talk to you sooner rather than later.”

“Fuck yeah,” Micah’s muttered agreement from the side sent a ripple of laughter through the room.

“And Kent, Kyle, and I are all going to have a long chat with you as well. I’m damned interested in knowing why you didn’t call us about that fucking back door.” Brandt knew Jax McDonald well enough to know the computer issue wasn’t as important as the other issue she’d eluded to, and his suspicion was confirmed when Jax stepped up and pulled Aspen into a crushing hug. “But most of all, I want to know why you didn’t tell your three dimwitted friends how left out you felt. Baby girl, you know hurting you is the very last thing any of us would ever do intentionally.”

Brandt watched her body shaking as she sobbed, the overload of emotion and adrenaline drop finally getting the best of her. Phoenix watched from the sideline for a few seconds before stepping forward and pulling her into his own embrace.
Good man.

S
taring blankly through
the windshield of Phoenix’s pickup, Aspen wondered again how she’d let herself be coerced into leaving her car behind. Brandt had assured her he’d see to it her small rental made its way to the ranch “soon” which she knew translated to when my brother deems it necessary.
Damn.
There wasn’t much she hated more than being dependent on someone else for a ride. The feeling of being stranded always set her nerves on edge.

Mitch’s large hand pressed down on her leg halting the nervous bounce she hadn’t even been aware of. “You are wound awfully tight,
cher
. Care to enlighten us as to why?”

Muttering under her breath, Aspen cursed the fact Doms were so damned observant. “Is that a real question or was it rhetorical?” His low growl was her answer and with an audible sigh, she made a concentrated effort to calm her rising panic. “I’m not comfortable going to someone else’s home without my own vehicle.” What she’d said was true, but it certainly wasn’t the whole story.

Phoenix’s soft chuckle beside her made Aspen turn in his direction. “I’m sorry, sweetness, but that excuse was about as transparent as they come. I’m translating it to read,
I want to be able to bolt if things get too intense.
” His eyes left the road long enough to give her a knowing look before returning his focus to the straight stretch of highway they were barreling down.

“Don’t you have to drive the speed limit? Or do you get some sort of special consideration because your brother is the sheriff?” Her deflection probably wouldn’t work, but what the hell, it was worth a shot. She knew her irritation with his driving was misplaced, but she really didn’t care. After working with men for her entire adult life, she’d learned a long time ago there was no reason to even attempt to explain her emotions. More often than not, her friends and coworkers looked at her like she’d grown a second head when she tried to explain her almost irrational fear of being trapped without a way out.

When Phoenix and Mitch exchanged looks over the top or her head, Aspen became even more annoyed. “Stop with the silent communication you don’t think I’m noticing. The guys have always done that, and it never helps my mood.” The truth was, it pissed her off, but she wasn’t willing to cop to something they might eventually use against her.

After everything that had happened tonight, she simply hadn’t had the strength to fight them on the car issue. And Phoenix’s promise to paddle her bare ass in front of everyone if she didn’t stop arguing had been equal parts annoying and arousing—another point of dissention pissing her off.

“We’ll be at the ranch in twenty minutes. Until then, we’ll table this discussion. I think we’ll be able to sort this out pretty quickly when you understand the consequences for snark and evasion.” His smug tone made her want to deny the effect his Dominance was having on her body. But, she knew that would be tantamount to waving a red flag in front of a couple of bulls. Crossing her arms over her chest and slumping back against the seat, she tried to distract herself from the throbbing pulsing in her sex.
Damn it to donuts, there’s no way I’ll be able to deny how turned on I am if either of them decides to slide the hands resting on my knees further up my thighs.

As if she’d
thought his actions into existence
, Mitch’s hand slid up until the tips of his fingers traced over the soaking folds with touches so light, Aspen caught herself lifting her hips trying to move closer to intensify the sensation. “I think our sub needs some distraction. She’s thinking too much. The problem with smart women is they get all tied up with a zillion things bouncing around in their minds, and they forget all about taking care of themselves. They disregard their own needs to please others.”

Aspen wondered how he’d known she was getting stuck in a quagmire of guilt and fear, but the tighter his fingertips pressed against her soaking sex, the less she could concentrate on anything but the building pleasure. Heat streaked from her sex like lightning bolts, the electricity traveling up her spine before arcing all the way to the tips of her toes and fingers. Losing herself in the vortex swirling around her was more appealing than sorting out her feelings, so she let go.