Whisky on My Mind (17 page)

Pulling away from his lips, she lightly trailed kisses down his chin to his chest and worked her way across his body, until she knelt before him, eager to drive him as wild as he made her feel.

He groaned as she slid her lips around him and ran her tongue along the smooth shaft. His fingers curled and pulled in her hair as his hips began to rock back and forth. God, she loved this man.

Gently he pulled her from the floor with a long
, rugged groan as she slowly slid her body against his own.

“You blow my mind,
Baby,” he whispered against her ear.

“Your mind wasn’t what I was trying to blow,” she smiled back.

“Well get ready ‘cause I’m about to blow yours,” he growled, turning them so her back was against the wet tiles and lifting her leg high against his thigh. Slowly he slid inside her, a gasp and sigh mingling with a long, low groan from Sawyer as he filled her tightly.

Chapter 15

Lying in bed Whisky felt her eyelids getting heavy. The rush of adrenalin from the incident in the bar earlier topped with their latest endorphin-inducing rush of hormones had drained her.

“What you did in the bar…promise me you won’t ever do anything like that again,” Sawyer said into the quiet room as he traced circles on her back as she lay across him.

“I didn’t go in there planning to jump in between them…it just happened.”

“I watched the security footage,” he said dryly. “I think it aged me ten years.”

“I banned her from coming anywhere near this place…including the club house.” Whisky wasn’t even sure if she had the authority to do such a thing.

“If you hadn’t I would have. The last thing the club needs at the moment is a drug addict hanging around the place. We’ve kept hard drugs out of this place for this long—I don’t intend to let things slip especially now the cops are keeping an eye on us.”

“I told you she was trouble,” Whisky pointed out smugly.

“I know,” he sighed. “And I guess I won’t hear the end of that anytime soon, will I?”

“Nope.”

“Go to sleep,
Baby. You’ve had a big day.”

Whisky smiled
, too tired to bother answering. Her eyes closed as she listened to the steady beat of Sawyer’s heart beneath her ear.

****

While the tension of the previous days that followed her walking in on Kiki kissing Sawyer had been brittle, there was a different kind of tension between them now. It wasn’t so much a tension as a
thing
that always seemed to be there. She knew the time was rapidly approaching when they’d have to bring it up…but each time it looked like Sawyer might try and mention the M word, she quickly changed the subject. Yes, she was a coward. It wasn’t helping things by ignoring it…but the panic that always seemed to follow when she thought about it reminded her that this was a huge decision and she needed some time to think it over. Just when she found that time was a whole other problem. There was no time. The club, the business, and her finals took up almost every waking moment. How the hell she was supposed to have time to herself was beyond her. 

Bella had been trying to call her and Whisky had missed the calls each time over the last few days. It was like a game of tag
, so after her last exam for the week she made an effort to drop by the apartment, hoping to finally catch her in.

Whisky unlocked the apartment door, dropping her bag on the kitchen bench, stopping abruptly as she saw Bella seated on the sofa…next to Caleb Santiago.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Whisky demanded, her angry gaze narrowed on the man seated before her.

“Whisky,” Bella started, but Whisky ignored her. How dare Caleb come to her
apartment. What was he trying to do? Get himself killed? Sawyer would freak if he found out Caleb was still harassing them…and in her apartment at that.

“You can’t keep showing up like this, Caleb. It’s police harassment.”

“I’m not here about the case, Sky…I’m here to see Bella.”

“What?” Whisky switched her confused glance between her friend looking a little uncomfortable and Caleb’s calm expression.

“Sky, don’t freak out,” she said, eyeing Whisky a little anxiously.

“Why would I freak out
?” she asked slowly.

“It’s just that Caleb’s here…as a friend.”

“A
friend
,” Whisky said dryly, raising an eyebrow at the pair.

“It’s not
all
about you, Sky,” Caleb said with a small grin.

“Bella, I ne
ed to speak to you for a moment,” Whisky scowled.

Bella looked from Caleb to Whisky and back again, before standing to excuse herself.

“Actually, I should go. I only dropped by for a quick hello. I’ll call you later, Bella,” he said softly, stopping to plant a kiss on her cheek before brushing past a frowning Whisky without a word.

When the door shut behind him, Bella turned on Whisky irritably. “Did you have to be so rude?”

Rude?
Whisky gaped at her friend in shock. “What the
hell
was all that about? I didn’t even know you two knew each other.”

“I was going to tell you,” Bella conceded, picking at the throw on the back of the sofa.

“Tell me
what?
”

Bella swallowed hard, before lifting her tentative gaze to meet her friend’s alarmed expression. “We’re kind of…seeing each other.”

“What?” Whisky breathed.
She had to be hearing things
…
seeing Caleb?
“Since when?”

“Not long…we’ve only met up a few times…went out for coffee once and dinner last night…it just sort of…happened.”

“Are you
crazy?
”

“I really like him, Sky. He’s the first guy I’ve been able to let m
y guard down around since…you know,” she shrugged, and for a minute Whisky felt her anger slip a notch, before she remembered exactly why she was so pissed off right now.

“He’s a cop, Bell…a cop who’s trying his best to put away
my boyfriend
…and destroy the club. Remember?”

“This has got nothing to do with any of that. I have nothing to
do with any of that…I like him…and he likes me.”

“He’s using you
, Bell. How can you not see that?”

“Because it’s so hard to believe a good looking, intelligent man could possibly like me as a woman?”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Isn’t it, Sky? Or is there some other reason you’re angry about him and I?”

“Ah, no. I’m pretty sure the reason I’m having trouble with all this is because the cop who’s trying to
ruin my life
suddenly turns up making goo goo eyes at my best friend.”

“I remember all the phone calls, Sky. I know how much you used to like him…if I hadn’t seen you and Sawyer together, I’d never have even considered seeing Caleb…but you’re happy. You’ve
found
your soul mate. I just want that to,” she said quietly. “I didn’t go looking for him, he showed up one day looking for you, and we talked for a bit…then he invited me out for coffee…coffee turned into dinner,” she shrugged, smiling a little bit. “I’ve never met a man I could lose hours talking with before. We talked all night the first time we went out…I really like him, Sky.”

“He’s trying to get you to let something slip about Sawyer or the club…or Paul…
remember
Paul,
Bell? Remember how Sawyer and the club helped you?”

“
You
asked them to help, Sky…I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Don’t put any of this crap on me.”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt. You don’t know how deep this thing runs between Caleb and Sawyer,” Whisky said
, striving for a calmer more rational tone. “I want you to be happy, Bell…but…”

“Not with a guy you could have had? Is that what you’re saying, Sky?”

“No,” Whisky shook her head and sighed irritably. “That’s not what I’m saying…I don’t have feelings for him like that.”

“Are you sure?”

Whisky grit her teeth and turned away from her friend. How could she even ask? “I’m positive. I’m not upset that you’re with him because of that. I’m worried he’s going to hurt you, Bell. He knows you have something to do with Paul Sorenson and that somehow the Black Mustangs are connected. He’s trying to get you tell him what it is. Why can’t you see that?”

“You’ve changed, Sky. Listen to yourself—you sound paranoid.”

“I’m not being paranoid. I’m being practical.”

“You honestly think I’m that stupid that I’d let him trick me into talking about any of that? I was waiting for him to ask me about it…about the club, but he hasn’t.”

“Then what do you talk about? The weather?”
Honestly, how could she be so blind?

“We talk about you.”

“Me?” Whisky frowned.

“In a roundabout kind of way.
Strangely, every time I go to tell him a story about me and you growing up…he’s already heard it.” Bella shrugged. “Maybe that’s why I feel a connection with him. It feels like he already knows me.”

Whisky didn’t like this at all. It didn’t make sense
; why would Caleb be dating Bella when he had to know she was somehow connected to this whole airport shooting? Surely he had to realize it was some kind of conflict of interest? For all he knew, Bella could have ordered a hit on Paul and been responsible for his death. No, it just didn’t make sense. Caleb valued his career too much to allow something like that to blow back on him. He had to be using Bell to get some inside information on the club. It was the only explanation.

“I’m sorry, Bell. But I think you’re setting yourself up for a fall. Caleb’s ambitious and his career will always come first.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Don’t fall for him, Bell. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Are you warning me off him?”

“Oh
, for goodness sake!” Whisky muttered. “I’m trying to give you some advice, as a friend who doesn’t want to see you get your heart broken by this guy.”

“Save your advice, Sky. I don’t need it.”

Whisky watched her walk down the hall into her bedroom and sank down onto the sofa wearily. How come she was the one feeling like crap when she was only trying to look out for a friend? Well, like it or not, Bella was in too deep. Maybe she couldn’t see past that good looking, clean cut image—but she could. And she wasn’t about to just sit on the sidelines and watch him destroy her friend.

Chapter 16

Whisky pushed through the coffee shop door and looked around, trying to block the rush of memories that washed over her as she smelled the familiar scent of coffee in the air. There was a time in her life when walking into this place had been the highlight of her life. Today it wasn’t.

She spotted Caleb seated in the far corner, watching her. She was glad she was angry, it helped propel her across the floor when really, she just wanted to turn around and leave. She didn’t belong back in this part of her life. She’d moved on and she wanted to stop thinking about the past. She was happy with her life now…although a little part of her bit its lip and looked around
, giving a small sigh at how simple life had been then. She forced the feeling away as she arrived at Caleb’s table.