I shuddered, terrified that he'd bite me and that he wouldn't, all at once.

No biting, though. Nope. He sucked it in deep, dropping his body lower on the bench. The hard edge of the table against my back didn't make it easy, but somehow he managed to deepen my back-and-forth slide along the ridge of his erection. If it wasn't for our pants, I'd have him inside me.

Stupid pants.

Liam groaned, then let me go abruptly. He lifted me by my hips and set me down on the bench next to him.

"Are we doing this?" he asked, his voice tight and tense.

I looked at him blankly. My c.l.i.t wanted to know why we'd stopped, because she was not a happy camper about it. Neither were the girls up top. Liam took a deep, ragged breath, eyes intense.

"Are we having s.e.x?" he asked bluntly. "Because if we aren't, I need to go jerk off. Not trying to pressure you, Em, but it's the f.u.c.kin' truth."

A wave of l.u.s.t hit me hard, and I made my decision.

"Let me text my friends," I said breathlessly. "Then we can go back to the hotel."

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah," I whispered. "I'm sure."

I don't know what I expected after that. Maybe a stately exchange of text messages with Sophie and Kimber, followed by all of us walking back to the hotel together. They'd meet him, we'd all laugh, and then when they quietly gave me a thumbs-up, I'd steal him away.

But Liam was a man of action.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the booth, all but dragging me behind him as I clutched my corset closed in shock. To my surprise, we headed toward the back of the bar instead of the front door. Brushing past a muscular guy who slapped Liam on the back, I followed him down a darkened hallway. On our right were some dubious-looking bathrooms. On the left was a door, which Liam opened, pulling me in.

HUNTER.

If I've learned one thing in this life, it's that lying to yourself is a waste of time.

This hadn't stopped me from pretending tonight was all about the club, and that Em was just a means to an end. Leverage against the Reapers.

It wouldn't be the first time I f.u.c.ked a chick for the Devil's Jacks, and G.o.d knew taking her wouldn't keep me up nights. I'd done far worse things, and that was a fact. But Christ, Em was gorgeous and even worse, she was funny and cute and I was pretty sure she'd taken over one whole region of my brain. About a week ago, I'd convinced her to send a picture of herself in bed. To h.e.l.l with p.o.r.n, that shy little pic of her wearing an old T-shirt did it for me every time.

There was a part of me that had whispered she couldn't possibly be as hot as I remembered, or as sweet as she sounded on the phone. That's what I wanted to believe-no, needed to believe.

But I'd taken one look at her in that bar and it was all over.

Now my d.i.c.k was so hard I thought it might punch through my pants. Seriously. Complete loss of thinking power. I have never wanted to f.u.c.k a woman more in my life. And yeah, I'm a douche, but I hadn't planned to actually screw her in Mick's office. That was before I tasted her and realized I'd die if I didn't get inside what I was pretty d.a.m.ned sure was the hottest s.n.a.t.c.h I'd ever feel clamped around my c.o.c.k.

I slammed the door shut behind us, the dim glow of a single lamp lighting the little room. Thank Christ there was a couch in here. A longish leather one, and while it probably wasn't the cleanest, it wasn't the worst place I'd screwed a girl.

Em definitely deserved better. I didn't care.

My mouth covered hers, my hands reaching down to grab her a.s.s, hoisting her legs up and around my waist. Her hands dug into my hair and I felt her b.o.o.bs against my chest and I s.h.i.t you not-I nearly came. What the h.e.l.l was it about this chick? f.u.c.k, from the moment I'd first seen her last winter, I'd been obsessed. Talking to her on the phone was just the nail in the coffin, because the worst of it was I actually liked her. Burke would laugh his a.s.s off if he could see me now-the coldest b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the club was officially p.u.s.s.y whipped.

At least for the moment.

I should've dropped her and taken off running while I still could. Instead I slammed her against the door, thrusting my c.o.c.k up at her as if I could penetrate her through our clothing if I just tried hard enough. She tugged up my shirt. Then her fingers dug into the muscles of my back, nails scratching me as she dragged them downward.

Lines of sharp pain followed.

Impossibly, my d.i.c.k got harder. Em looked hot as h.e.l.l in those tight jeans of hers, but she needed to get them the f.u.c.k off before I stroked out. I'd do her hard and fast this first time-no way I could hold out. Fortunately, she was just as worked up as me, so odds were good she'd go off like a firecracker. Then I had every intention of dragging her back to the hotel and showing her just how many different ways I could make her come.

First I needed to free up some of that blood pooled in my lower body for my brain, though. Right now I couldn't even remember how to breathe. I carried her over to the couch, dropping her down, and then covered her, our hips rubbing together in the hottest dry hump in history.

Jesus.

I really was gonna come in my pants.

I kissed her one last time, tasting how hot and sweet her mouth was, then forced myself to pull away.

"Never wanted to be inside anyone half as much as you, Em," I told her, the words rough. Her blue eyes opened wide and her breath caught. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink and I wanted to wrap her up and carry her off like a caveman or something. I rolled to the side, digging in my pocket for a condom.

"Jeans off, baby," I added. "I can't wait any longer."

"I have to tell you something."

I found the condom and reached for my fly, only half following her words. G.o.dd.a.m.n she was hot ... b.o.o.bs popped out, nipples flushed, eyes bright with excitement.

"No," she said. "Seriously, I need to tell you something."

"What?" I asked, wondering what the h.e.l.l could be higher priority than getting naked. Then it hit me-she was a girl, she needed rea.s.surance. d.a.m.ned if I knew why, but they all did. "Hey, I didn't just bring you here to screw you, babe. You mean something to me, I swear. But I can't think right now. Can we talk later?"

She looked away and I started to get a sinking feeling. s.h.i.t. Something was really wrong. I don't know what bothered me more, the idea of blowing my mission or not blowing my wad.

No contest-to h.e.l.l with the mission. This was about her c.u.n.t squeezing my c.o.c.k.

"I haven't done this before," she said without meeting my eye.

"f.u.c.ked on the first date?" I asked her. "This isn't like that, babe. I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not-"

"Jesus, will you just shut up and listen to me?" she snapped, sitting up and swinging her legs off the couch. "Why does everyone in my life need to be so d.a.m.n bossy?"

I stared at her, d.i.c.k throbbing, confused as h.e.l.l.

"I haven't had s.e.x before," she said abruptly. "And I really like you and I totally want to do this, but I don't want to do it on a dirty couch in a bar. Can you understand that?"

Now that caught my attention.

"The f.u.c.k? What do you mean, you haven't had s.e.x?"

"I mean I've Never. Had. s.e.x," she told me, s.p.a.cing out her words carefully. "True story. You got a problem with that? Because you're looking at me like I've got herpes and that's not working for me."

I stilled, trying to wrap my brain around what she'd said. It was hard, given the lack of circulation. Then it sank in.

s.h.i.t. Em was mine. All mine. No other a.s.shole had been inside that pretty little c.u.n.t-this was f.u.c.kin' beautiful. I smiled slowly, running a hand through my hair.

"That kicks a.s.s, babe," I said, sinking down to sit next to her.

"It does?" she asked, her voice small. I pulled her over and onto my lap, running my hands up and down her body. G.o.d, she was just tiny. A perfect little package I wanted to lick all over and then take home and hide away from the world.

"Yeah," I said, feeling something like triumph start to build inside me. I wasn't going to share her-not now, not ever. This body was mine. All mine. Best present ever. f.u.c.k if I knew what I'd done to deserve it, but not a chance in h.e.l.l I'd let her get away.

"I am gonna have so much fun teaching you everything I know," I said, kissing the side of her neck. s.h.i.t, she smelled good. My c.o.c.k wanted inside her now, but somehow my brain had reengaged, and I was not going to f.u.c.k this up. If I played things right, she'd fall for me so hard she'd never know what hit her. And I wanted that. I wanted it a lot. Win for me, win for the Jacks, too. Perfect.

Em gave a little laugh.

"You kind of scared me there," she whispered, and d.a.m.ned if she didn't blush a little. So cute. "I mean, it's silly, but things were just moving so fast. It's never been like this for me before."

"Well, we've got some great f.u.c.kin' chemistry," I told her. "d.a.m.ned good thing you spoke up when you did. I promise, I'll make this good for you, babe. Wanna head back to the hotel, or do you need some time first?"

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a soft smile.

"Hotel," she said. "Let's take it slower, though. Okay?"

"No prob."

Silence fell between us as I leaned into her for a soft kiss, tugging at her lower lip. Then a loud knock on the door broke the moment.

"Go away," I yelled.

"Need to talk," Skid said on the other side of the door. "Important, bro. Get out here."

Em frowned up at me.

"I didn't realize you were here with someone," she said.

"Didn't feel like sharing you," I told her, offering a quick grin. My mind had already gone cold and hard, though, switching modes instantly. Skid wasn't an idiot and he didn't f.u.c.k around. He wouldn't interrupt if it weren't important.

"Give me five," I told her, settling her on the couch. Sadly, she started hooking up her corset, covering those gorgeous t.i.ts. I walked to the door and stepped out.

One look at Skid's face and I knew I was screwed.

"Make it good, a.s.shole."

"We got a situation," he told me. "Kelsey called from our place in Portland. Said some crazy-a.s.s motherf.u.c.ker burst into the house and started shooting. Gra.s.s is down, shot in the chest. Not sure he's gonna make it. Shooter managed to grab Clutch and took off with him. Guess there were some girls who saw the whole thing and now they're talkin' to the cops. Kels was upstairs in your room, came running down with a gun too late. She couldn't do a G.o.dd.a.m.ned thing but watch when he threw Clutch in an SUV and took off."

I felt the world narrow to a pinpoint, my mind running through a thousand calculations. "She get a decent look at the guy?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes growing colder. "Gave her a message, actually. Told her to let us know the truce with the Reapers is dead, and Clutch will be, too. Payback for Gracie."

"We got a name?"

"Called himself Toke."

"I'll call Burke."

"Jesus."

"Em, I need to make a quick phone call," I said, ducking my head back into the office. I smiled at her softly, pretending to be human. Harder to pull off every year. "You okay in here for a minute?"

She looked up at me, her face all innocent and trusting, and I savored the sight. I had a pretty good feeling that I'd never see her like that again. Not after tonight.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied, lying easily. "Just a little misunderstanding back home. I'll get it taken care of and get back to you."

I started to close the door.

"Hey," she said, giving me another soft look. "I like you, Liam Blake."

"I like you, Emmy Hayes," I replied, wishing things were different.

Don't know why I bothered.

s.h.i.t happens. f.u.c.kin' weak and stupid to let yourself care.

I went back out into the hallway and called Burke to get my orders.

Chapter Three.

EM.

Liam stepped out of the room and I shivered, so excited I could hardly exist. This was better than I'd hoped. He was better than I'd hoped. So incredibly cute, he made me feel amazing, and best of all? He didn't seem particularly interested in talking about my father.

That last one was a biggie.