“He’s not going to stop, is he?” My words were muffled against Jag’s throat. I knew he heard me because his body stiffened and his arms tightened around my back.
“No.”
“George said El Cuchillo either wasn’t at your house during the attack, or got away.”
“Yes,” Jag said, his response short and curt.
“Can we hide from him?”
“I don’t know. But I swear, Miri, he will never get you.”
“I know.” I tilted my head back to look up at this gorgeous man. So brave, so focused, so much pain living inside his mind. “I don’t want you hurt either.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Jag gave me a quick kiss and with a strong hand to the back of my neck, he hugged me against his chest. “We’ll figure it out, doll.”
Jag
It was done.
I was no longer the Boss of Austin. From now on, I was M. Jagger Bosman, private citizen. Very wealthy private citizen, but private all the same. Gone were the warehouses, the trucks, the suppliers and contacts. My employees went to work for Brick with assurances he would continue to pay them and nothing would happen to my men.
Frank, Sarge, Sammy, and a few of the security guards were my only remaining employees, not counting housekeeping and my private chef. New identities had been ordered for us, and all I was waiting for was the finished paperwork so we could leave Texas and never look back.
“I don’t like my new name,” Miri groused.
“It’s fine,” her friend, Cat, said.
They were sitting at the kitchen table, eating sandwiches for dinner and discussing where we could go and what they would do when we got there.
“Hmph,” Miri said. “I still wish I could have picked own my name.” She shot me an evil glare.
I turned to hide a smirk. Miri was really put out over her new identity. It literally never occurred to me to ask for specific names. You got whatever the guy had on hand. That was how it worked.
“We’ll still call you Miri, you know,” Cat said, trying to placate my pouting doll.
I paced the room, glancing out the windows every so often. Since the two separate, coordinated attacks, and my subsequent hospitalization, I was on high alert, unable to relax in my own home. Part of me couldn’t wait to get the papers and get the fuck out of here, if for no other reason than to get Miri somewhere safe. Another, darker part of me was snarling and clawing at my insides, hungry for revenge, to take out El Cuchillo and watch the life drain from his twisted fucking eyes. I wanted—no needed—him dead and I needed to be the one to do it.
Watching our backs for the rest of my life didn’t sound like a good plan. Sarge had a much better plan. One Miri wasn’t going to approve of. It had been three weeks since I had been shot and I couldn’t wait any longer. I was strong enough and the time had come to tie up the loose ends in Austin and start over.
“Bedtime,” I said the second Miri pushed her empty plate away.
“It’s only seven,” Miri complained.
Undeterred, I stood, walked around the table, grabbed her by the wrist, and tugged her up out of her chair and into my arms. “We need to talk,” I growled, my cock already half hard. I flung her over my shoulder, her head hanging down my back.
“You shouldn’t be doing this until you’re all healed,” she squeaked.
I slapped her butt and laughed. “I feel great.” She huffed as I walked out of the kitchen, Cat’s laughter fading the further we went down the hall.
Up the stairs and into my—no, our—bedroom, I closed the door and dropped Miri on the bed. She gasped and rolled into a sitting position, her mouth curved down.
“What did you want to talk about?” Miri’s eyes tracked me as I moved next to the bed.
Heat unfurled in my groin, flames licking up my spine as my dick grew even harder. It had been way too long since I felt her tight pussy around my cock. I reached behind my neck, pulled off my shirt, and toed out of my shoes, never looking away from Miri’s stunning face and those gorgeous green eyes. Her pale skin flushed, red lips parted, and her lust-filled gaze flicked up and down my body, lingering on the shiny pink scar on my chest right below my shoulder. She swallowed and I saw her chest expand and contract faster as her breathing picked up.
“I-I thought we were going to talk.”
I yanked my belt out of the loops and flipped open my jeans, shoving my boxers down with them and kicking both aside. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips and I felt it from my cock to my balls.
“Fuck first, talk after,” I growled. Miri gulped and watched, her gaze riveted as I stalked over to the bed and grabbed her by the ankle. She squealed when I dragged her across the slick sheets, not stopping until her legs hung over the edge of the mattress, framed by my thighs. “Clothes off.”
I lifted the hem of her shirt and yanked it over her head. Then I attacked her tiny pink shorts, flicking open the button with ease. In one swift move, I pulled them off and Miri was naked, all creamy skin and russet-colored freckles.
“Jesus. You’re so fucking perfect.” I licked my lips and watched as Miri’s eyes darkened. I lifted a leg to put my knee on the bed, but my little doll was faster. She bolted upright, her face now level with my groin, my dick bobbing right in front of her sinful mouth. Miri’s tongue poked out again, only this time she licked a path across my leaking slit, lapping up every drop of fluid. “Holy shit!” I jerked at the ripple of pleasure that shot straight to my balls.
Miri glanced up with an innocent smile and stuck that wicked tongue out once more. She ran it over my thick cock head, flicking her tongue back and forth across the frenulum and into the slit. I groaned, my knees weak from intense pleasure. Miri licked her lips and dove forward, sucking my cock into the wet heat of her mouth, and I nearly collapsed to the floor.
“Jesus, doll. Fuck. Your mouth…” Miri bobbed up and down on my cock and much too soon, I was panting and moaning, straining to hold back my orgasm. She hollowed her cheeks, sucking hard. Then she pulled back, swirling her tongue around the head before taking my full length to the back of her throat. When she swallowed around my cock and her throat muscles gripped my dick like a tight fist, I shouted and pulled out of her mouth with an obscene pop.
“You didn’t like it?” she asked, her mouth shiny with spit, lips red and swollen and so fucking hot.
I laughed and dragged a hand through my damp hair. “Liked it? I fucking loved it. I didn’t want to stop, but I don’t want to come in your mouth, doll.” I wrestled my instincts under control and shot a heated look her way, thrilled to hear her gasp. “What I want is to fuck you until you pass out. Make you see stars, doll.” I took a step forward and leaned over her, putting my hands on the bed, one on either side of Miri’s hips. She reclined as I crowded her space. I rubbed my nose up her neck to her ear and inhaled. “I’m going to give you the ride of a lifetime, doll. One you won’t ever forget.”
Miri dragged in a shaky breath. “You don’t have to worry about me forgetting you. I love you.”
I held her shoulders and met her eyes. “Say that again.”
Miri tried to wriggle out of my grasp, her neck and face blushing crimson. “Stop.”
“Miri. Please… say it again.”
Hesitant, Miri met my gaze, bottom lip trembling. “I-I love you.”
“God, I love you too.” I barely got the words out before pressing her down on the bed, covering her body with mine. Taking her mouth in a deep kiss, I felt something inside me shift, something intangible but very real. I couldn’t put a name to it, but it was there, lodged in my heart, causing it to ache with every beat.
Love. This was what love felt like. It had been so long since I’d loved anyone, and even then, I had never loved someone like I did Miri. Someone I wasn’t related to. A woman. A lover. A partner. I was done trying to deny it, trying to keep from feeling anything. Done kidding myself. I’d know for a while I was in love with Miri. This was the first time I allowed myself to feel all of it
without holding back. To completely open myself to the concept of love… and to her.
Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough of Miri at once. My hands skimmed up and down her sides, touching whatever I could reach while my mouth nipped at the sensitive skin of her neck and throat.
“God, you taste so good.” Miri moaned and her hips twisted beneath me in a silent plea. I would fuck her, but I needed more first. I needed to claim every inch of this amazing woman’s body before taking my own pleasure.
“Jag…” Her voice was ragged and desperate.
“Soon, doll. Soon.” I mouthed at her collarbone, stopping to suck a mark on the ridge.
“Please!” She locked her ankles around my back and lifted her hips off the bed.
“Shhhhh.” I gently unwound her legs and kissed my way down to her breasts, small, with rosy pink nipples, the flesh creamy and free of the freckles that dotted most of her skin. “Fuck,” I whispered, dragging the flat of my tongue across one of the buds. It tightened under my mouth, standing pert, perfect for biting. My lips closed around the peak and I sucked hard, sinking my teeth in gently.
“Oh my god.” Miri threw her head back and her body arched tight. “Jag, I need more.” She was a mess, thrashing and begging for me to fuck her.
Ignoring her pleas, I moved to the other breast, giving it equal treatment. Desperate, Miri thrust her hand between us and began fingering her pussy.
“No.” I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her sides. “That’s mine, doll. I’m in charge of all of your pleasure now.” Holding her arms tight, I lowered my head and lightly touched the tip of my tongue to her slit.
“Jag!” Miri thrashed underneath me, mouth open and green eyes glazed over with lust. “More… please.”
Keeping her hands still, I used my knees to force her thighs apart, spreading her wide.
“God, you’re so fucking hot.” My eyes were focused on her slick pink pussy, shiny and wet and ready for my cock. Instead of giving in to my desire and to thrust my dick in that hot hole, I flattened my tongue and ran it from the bottom of her pussy all the way up to her clit. Miri moaned loud and long and her thighs clenched tight around my ribs. “You taste like sin, doll.”
“Mmph.” Miri grunted and spasmed when I repeated the long, slow lick, relishing the sweetness of her juices. With her wrists tight in my hands pinned next to her hips, those sexy legs splayed apart, I dove onto that silky pink flesh and began to feast on her pussy. “God, Jag… oh my God, oh, oh…” I buried my face in the soft cleft, swiping my tongue over every single crevice. Every time I flicked the tiny bud, Miri arched her back and tried to buck off the bed.
“You like that, doll?” I lapped at her clit over and over, torturing, teasing, nipping and sucking at her most sensitive spot until she was sobbing and begging.
“Fuck me, Jag! Fuck me, please just fuck me… ohmygod.” I could feel her body tense, her climax approaching rapidly, but I wasn’t done with her yet. I pulled back and Miri cried in frustration. “No! More, I need—”
“I know what you need, doll.” I dropped between her legs and pushed my tongue into her hole, poking and prodding as I fucked her with my mouth.
The noises Miri made were the soundtrack to my own personal porno. My cock was like steel, precome dripping down the length as I kneeled on the bed. I wanted to fuck her but she tasted so goddamn good. When my own desire overrode my brain, my brow covered in sweat from the tension caused by my need for release, I released one of her hands. She immediately placed it on my head, gripping my hair in her fist. I shoved two fingers into Miri’s tight pussy, flicking my tongue over her swollen clit. It only took one swipe for her to shatter. She bowed off the bed, screaming as her orgasm wracked her body. Miri’s pussy contracted around my fingers, so goddamn tight and hot I couldn’t wait any longer.
“Fuck,” I shouted as I let go of Miri’s other wrist and wasted no time driving my cock into heaven, not stopping until my balls slapped against her ass. Her pussy was still wracked with tremors, tightening and releasing around my sensitive cock.
“Oh God! Jag!” Miri clawed at my shoulders, her nails digging into my skin as I began fucking her hard and fast through her orgasm, drawing it out as she threw her head back and cried out in ecstasy.
“Jesus, doll.” Her pussy was like a vise, rippling and squeezing my dick as she rode out her never-ending climax. I gritted my teeth and desperately held back my own rapidly building release. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” It was no use. My balls pulled up and pleasure exploded in my groin, flames ripping up my spine and setting my entire body on fire. Miri fell limp beneath me, spent. I spread out on top of her, covering her like a blanket, while pounding my hips fast and hard. “Goddamn! Fuck, Miri. So goddamn good.”
My rhythm faltered and pleasure like nothing I’d ever felt before shot from my cock, each jet of come sending me higher and higher until the euphoria had me flying. Every muscle in my body pulled taut and I roared, slamming in one last time. I collapsed as the tension dissolved, leaving me boneless and sated.
Sweaty and exhausted—my wound aching more than I thought it would, not that I would tell Miri—I rolled off my doll, bringing her with me until she was tucked under one arm, her head resting on the uninjured side of my chest.
Neither of us spoke, our heavy breathing combined with the scent of sex hanging in the air saying more than any words could possibly convey. What happened in this bed just now wasn’t just sex. It was a transcendental experience. It changed something inside me. Changed who I was as a man.
I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the citrus of her shampoo.
My eyes grew heavy and the last thing I remembered before succumbing to a deep, dreamless sleep was that Miri was mine, and I would do whatever it took to make sure it stayed that way.
11
Miri
It was a quiet morning, the sun barely over the horizon. I watched Jag as he kneeled on the neatly clipped grass and ran a hand over a polished granite headstone. He murmured something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. I wanted to be respectful and stayed a few feet back while he visited his sister’s grave. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I let my gaze wander over the cemetery, the stones glinting with orange as the sun rose above the horizon. It was a beautiful place, with blooming trees, and surrounded by woods to give mourners a bit of privacy.
“Miri.” Jag’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. He had his arm extended, fingers out, waiting for me to come to him. I slipped my hand in his and knelt beside him when he gave me a gentle tug. Jag inhaled deep, as if steeling himself before speaking. “This,” he cleared his throat, “this is my sister, Rose.”
Long fingers brushed reverently over the letters carved in the stone. I noted she had died over five years ago, and had only been twenty-one when she passed. Jag would have been twenty-three.
“What happened?”
Jag’s hand tightened around mine.
“My predecessor.” When he didn’t elaborate I turned and faced him. Jag was looking up at the sky, as if searching for answers somewhere in the great beyond. He shuddered and I realized, no, Jag wasn’t looking for answers, he was reining in his anger. Through clenched teeth, Jag told me the tragic story of his sister. “He had her. Kind of like Cat. Drugged, captive, his personal whore.” A low growl vibrated in his chest. “Or maybe he passed her around, I don’t fucking know. Our mom, she was an addict. Bad. It was just me and Rose when she OD’d.” He blew out a breath and ran a finger over the stone. “I was eighteen but Rose wasn’t. I stayed with her so she wouldn’t end up in the system.” He gave a sad smile. “It wasn’t as if I were college material, so I wasn’t really missing out on anything by taking care of my little sister. We needed money, so I ran errands for a local dealer and climbed the ladder quick.” Jag’s voice became strained.
I kissed his shoulder to let him know I was there with him, supporting him. “You don’t have to tell me,” I whispered.
“I do.” His answer was clipped
and immediate. He needed to get this off his chest and I would be here to listen. “I was underage when I started working for Ochoa, using a fake ID to convince him to hire me. At twenty-two I was a petty dealer when Rose…” Jag swallowed and looked sick, or furious. I wasn’t sure which. “When Rose was taken,” he growled. I couldn’t hold back my gasp of surprise. Jag turned to me, his blue eyes shimmering with pain, with regret, with the agony of his sister’s fate. “I couldn’t get to her.” He coughed out an unamused laugh. “No one could. Ricardo ‘The Wolf’ Ochoa ruled Austin’s drug trade, surrounded himself with armed men at all times. My one saving grace, if you could even call it that, was that because of the name on my fake ID, they didn’t know she was my sister. The only way to get her was to get closer to the boss at the top, so that’s what I did.” Jag’s sapphire gaze hardened and my arms pricked with goose bumps.
I held my breath, waiting to hear the inevitable outcome to this horrible tale.
“For a solid year I worked for that bastard, knowing he had Rose, knowing she was likely growing weaker and weaker every day. Her body, her mind…” The muscles in Jag’s jaw pulsed. “Fuck.” He dropped his head and swiped a hand through his dark hair. “I clawed and killed my way to the top in record time,” he said, staring at nothing, not meeting my eyes. “Didn’t stop until I became his right-hand man.” This time, Jag turned to look directly at me. “Then, I killed him.”
I swallowed, not exactly surprised by Jag’s admission. He was a drug lord, a ruthless one. I heard the stories, I knew who he was. Hell, I knew he probably killed Mason, if not by his own hands then by ordering someone else to do it. It should bother me that my lover was a murderer, but it didn’t. My past was filled with horrors and regrets that I couldn’t change. How could I judge him for having the same?
“I couldn’t stop him,” he said, his voice breaking. “When he realized he was going to die, he shot my little sister right in front of me.” Jag locked eyes with mine. “I was so fucked up in the head, Miri. Watching Rose’s brains splatter… every-fucking-where, her lifeless body slump to the floor.” I took a deep breath and saw Jag shudder. I thought he would stop but he kept going. “I need you to know who I am, Miri. This life… this wasn’t my choice, but I did it, and I did it willingly. I’ve killed people. I killed my predecessor. I killed him slowly, painfully, cutting him apart just to listen to him scream, and I don’t regret doing it.” His body tensed, as if he was waiting for me to push him away or scream in terror.