“No, Anna, you don’t. I did want you here,” Arrow quickly says.
“Right.”
“Anna,” both of them say at the same time.
“Talon never hurt me; how come this man wants to?” I ask them.
“Talon isn’t innocent, Anna; why do you keep acting as if he is?” Rake snaps, scowling.
“Hey, you weren’t held captive by him, okay? I was. Trust me, he didn’t hurt me, and I don’t think he would.”
“So he has a soft spot for you,” Rake replies flippantly. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to be enough to save you if his men want you. He’s not the president, Anna; he’s the VP. He doesn’t call all the shots.”
“So, what? This man came to hurt me? But I wasn’t there, so he got angry and destroyed the place?”
Arrow answers this time. “That’s what it looks like. We don’t know for sure.”
“I thought you caught up with him?” I ask, frowning. “What did he say?”
Arrow flinches and Rake cringes.
“What did you do?” I yell, standing up.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Arrow replies curtly. “Come on, let’s go back to bed.”
I open my mouth, then close it with a snap. “You two are unbelievable, you know that?”
Did they kill that man? I don’t want one of them going to prison. I don’t think I could handle that.
Arrow takes my hand, but I pull it away and storm back to his room.
When we get into bed, he pulls me into his arms. My body is stiff for a moment before I relax.
“Sleep,” he whispers.
Even angry, I dream of him.
* * *
“Two vodka and cranberries please,” the young woman says. I smile at her and make the drinks while Summer takes her money and gives her change.
“When does Reid get here?” I ask Summer. It’s been unexpectedly busy, and we’re holding down the fort, waiting for Reid and Tag to arrive.
“He’s on his way,” she replies, then goes to serve the next customer.
I woke up this morning angry with both Arrow and Rake, for different reasons. Arrow because I don’t know if he truly wanted me living with him, and Rake because he was hiding shit from me. I’d crept out of bed early this morning and gone to Lana’s, then came straight to work. An hour early, might I add—that’s how desperate I was to keep busy and not have to deal with my own thoughts. I know Arrow will come to pick me up tonight, demanding that I be reasonable. I know they’re both trying to protect me, but if something involves me I have the right to know. They can keep their club secrets, but when some man is out to hurt me . . . Well, forewarned is forearmed.
Reid arrives and tells me to take a break. I check my phone and see a text from Arrow.
Want to go out for sushi after your shift?
I try and fight my smile but it wins.
I’m not that easy, I type back.
My phone beeps a few seconds later.
How about sushi followed by a bath, a massage, and multiple orgasms?
I shake my head, amused.
Putting my phone away, I head back to work.
* * *
“You can’t still be angry, I took you out for sushi!” he calls behind me as I walk into the bathroom. He holds me by my hips and stares at me in the mirror, our eyes connected. He looks down, then starts to slowly slide my pants and panties off, leaving me naked from the waist down.
“Anna,” he rumbles.
“Hmmmm?”
“I want you, darlin’. I want you badly,” he says with a throaty groan. He undoes his jeans, letting them pool at his ankles.
“Then take me,” I softly demand, tilting my neck to the side as he starts to kiss me there. He sucks on my neck until I’m squirming, then reaches his hands around to cup my breasts. He plumps them, sliding his thumbs over my beaded nipples, grinding his cock against me. Multitasking—I like it.
“Arrow,” I whimper.
He slides his hand down, gently stroking me with his thick finger, sliding it inside me, then playing with my clit.
“I wanted you to move in with me, Anna,” he rasps into my ear. “I wanted you with me, so don’t try and hold that against me.”
He grips my hips, bends me over the sink, and slides into me with one smooth thrust. I curse as he slaps my ass, then moan as he moves in and out, hitting all the right spots.
“You’re mine, Anna,” he says, sliding out of me. “I don’t care how fuckin’ angry you get at me, how mouthy you get. I love your sass, your attitude. It gets me hard every fuckin’ time.”
He thrusts again, harder this time. “This pussy is mine, and no one else will ever get a taste of it now.”
He grabs my hair and pulls my head back, then bends over and captures my mouth in a fierce, possessive kiss. I love it when he gets rough with me, when he lets his passion for me take over. I kiss him greedily, taking everything he offers and demanding more. He bites on my bottom lip before letting my hair go.
We come together, both of us loudly.
Arrow eases out of me gently, and places sweet kisses on my lower back, on both of my dimples.
“Let me fill a bath for you. You can read in there and drink wine,” he says, giving me a gentle look. My heart warms. I was telling him the other day that that was one of my favorite things to do. My legs wobble a little, so he carries me in his arms, letting me sit on his lap and hold on to him while he fills up the tub, then he places me down in the warm water.
“Thanks, Arrow,” I tell him. “Are you going to join me?”
He smirks. “We both know there’s no way I can fit in that tub.”
I look over at him. He is a big man, tall, broad, and packed with muscle.
“I could sit on your lap,” I tell him.
He grins then. “Okay, darlin’, if that’s what you want.”
“I do,” I reply.
“Let me get us some drinks,” he says, kissing me on top of my head, then leaving the room.
I relax into the tub, closing my eyes and enjoying myself. Arrow returns with a glass of red wine for me and an ice-cold beer for himself. He undresses and I scoot forward so he can slide in behind me. I sit between his legs, his knees sticking out of the water, my head leaning back on his warm chest.
“Did you hurt that man?” I ask, my eyes still closed.
He stiffens, but replies. “Yes.”
His hands cup my breasts, not asking for anything, just enjoying touching me.
“Does that upset you?” he asks when I stay silent.
“I just don’t want you to go back to jail,” I admit.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says. “Why would I when I have everything I want right in my arms?”
He squeezes my breasts to emphasize the everything.
I smile at that.
Arrow picks up the wineglass and brings it to my lips. The rich merlot slides down my parched throat, the taste flooding my tongue.
“Where did you get wine from?” I ask him.
“I sent Blade to the store to buy it today.”
I smirk. “You couldn’t go yourself?”
“I would have,” he says. “But Sin needed me to do something for him.”
I don’t bother to ask him what that was.
“Arrow?”
“Yes, Anna.”
“I believe you promised me multiple orgasms,” I say with a grin.
His body shakes as he laughs. “I believe I did, and don’t you worry, I always make good on my promises.”
“I was counting on that,” I say.
“I’ve been dying for a taste of your pussy all day, Anna. Trust me, as soon as we get out of here I’m going to lie you back on the bed with your legs in the air and feast.”
My cheeks redden. “Fuck, you have a dirty mouth.”
He kisses my shoulder. “You love it.”
I love you, I think.
“Maybe we should get out now,” I say, imagining what Arrow spoke of in my head.
He chuckles deeply and bites gently on my neck. “I think you’re right. I’m suddenly famished.”
I gulp.
He makes good on his word.
Three times.