‘He would’ve blackmailed us?’
‘Yeah. I doubt he’d have come out and confessed to being the one behind it, but we’d have figured it out—‘
‘When he was magically able to make it go away.’
‘Yeah,’ Dax said. ‘But he didn’t, so I don’t think he put the bounty up. For one thing, he could’ve gone higher, made the bounty a whole million or more if he was that desperate.’
‘So that leaves us with nothing.’
‘Not nothing. I’m still trying to track down Winlow, if I can find out who was at that poker game then I will have my guy, I know it.’
‘I can come with you. I can—‘
‘No, you’re staying here, indoors. Outside, you’re just a walking target, and if I’m going to be out there scaring my contacts, then I need to know that you’re safe here. If I split my focus—‘
‘I’ll stay here,’ she said. ‘If you promise not to go back to the mansion, not for anything, Dax. I mean it. Even if I drop down dead this minute, I don’t want you to ever go back there.’
‘Why not?’ he asked.
‘Because they enjoy holding you for ransom. Trystan is beyond hope, and Brad cares only about his own interests. Mauri… I know that you still respect him, but I don’t trust him. He had all of that information about your mother and your upbringing and he never told you any of it.’
‘He had his reasons.’
‘Yeah, because it kept you where he wanted you, right there, doing his dirty work. I love you, Dax, and I know that I encourage you to make your own choices, but please, tough guy, don’t sink to their level again. You’re better than that.’
‘I’d make a deal with the devil if it kept you safe.’
‘And I’m telling you not to.’
‘Telling me,’ he said, arching a brow. ‘You forget who owns you?’
‘Not for a second,’ she said, rising up on her knees. ‘Did you forget who owns you? I told you that they can’t have you. Even if I’m dead, you still belong to me.’
‘Sure, until the first piece of ass comes my way.’
Grinning at his attempted joke, she dug her nails into him through his jeans. ‘That should be your number one reason to keep me alive, ‘cause if I’m not around, you’re not getting laid.’
‘How you gonna stop me?’ he asked. Slipping both hands under her jaw, he angled up her head to bring their mouths close.
‘I’ll haunt you and I’ll haunt her. Do you think that death would be enough to stop me from harassing and annoying you?’
‘If I thought it was then I’d have offed you weeks ago.’
‘You are a clever boy,’ she whispered and leaned in to meet his kiss.
Ivy thought that she gave Dax an anchor. But now she realised that he gave her one too. Making out with him never lost its magic, and using his grip on her jaw, he drew her up, onto the bed on top of him without breaking their kiss.
His mouth was never soft, but it was his rough hunger that engorged her, it whipped her into the depth of arousal that eliminated all fears and uncertainties about what they would face together. Kneeling astride him, Ivy crossed her arms to whisk off her dress then helped him out of his tee-shirt. The jeans were next, and as soon as she had them both naked, she climbed back on to seat herself on his erection.
Time and peril dwindled away as she worked herself up and down on him. ‘You see something you want and you go get it,’ he said, skimming his hands up her thighs, her hips, over her waist to take hold of her breasts.
‘You,’ she said, clutching his face and lowering herself to kiss him, he rose up to meet her halfway.
Their bodies came together and with his arms around her they switched positions. Dax took over the dominant position of the union to control the movement of their forms. By now they knew how to tilt, when to rise and when to fall. But no matter how many times they made love together, she never lost the addiction to the feeling of him gratifying her with the bulk of his arousal pushing into her without apology for its mass pervading her.
‘Dax,’ she sighed, but his hand came over her mouth, and he locked his eyes onto her.
‘I’m going to protect you,’ he panted, still thrusting into her. ‘No one will take this away from me, and I’ll kill any man who tries.’
Digging her nails into his shoulders, her body ceased around his, bucking up to keep a hold of his dick within her. He pumped on through her clamping muscles and gave her no space to vocalise her relief, but he growled out his own. Whipping his hand out of the way, he closed his mouth over hers, delving his tongue into her mouth and consuming every part of her.
When he was finished filling her with the liquid of his climax, Dax pulled away and pounced off the bed, giving himself no time to savour the moment. Ivy was curious about why he wasn’t lying with her to recover from his exertion. But she was too busy breathing through the tingling aftereffects of her orgasm that shimmered through her every time she tried to move to question him.
As if Dax had somehow known it would, his cell phone started to ring, so he crouched to swipe through their clothes until he came across the device.
‘Yeah?’ Dax asked the phone.
Opening her eyes, Ivy observed him standing above her at the foot of the bed. Because he was still close, she prodded his knee with her toe. Dax snatched the digit and pulled it high, which forced her legs further apart. Whilst he continued his phone conversation, his focus suggested that he was watching the evidence of their previous union seeping out of her.
‘I’m not on the job anymore, Serg,’ Dax said into the phone. ‘I told Mauri that I wasn’t coming back… Ok… Great, I’ll see you in five.’ He hung up and dropped her foot.
‘What was that?’ Ivy asked, gathering the sheet to wrap it around her body. ‘I can be ready in two minutes if we have to go out, but Serg… what did he say when you told him that you weren’t going back to work with Mauri?’
‘He said this was personal,’ Dax said, throwing the phone onto the end of the bed.
Leaving her, he went into the bathroom. Ivy was up and across the room in a flash, leaving the sheet in a discarded trail on the path she’d taken to get there. Dax switched on the shower then retreated from the stall to give the water time to heat.
‘I’ll grab a towel and—‘
‘You’re not coming,’ Dax said. ‘I want you to stay here and stay away from the windows. I’ll close all the blinds. If you keep the door shut, then you should be safe.’
‘They could come here, anyone who knows where you live… Word will be out about the bounty now and—‘
‘Don’t panic,’ he said, taking her shoulders to square their bodies. ‘I’m going to be as quick as I can. The only way someone will get through that door is to kick it in or blast their way through and in spite of the money at stake here, most criminals don’t want to draw that kind of attention to themselves. This is a good block without many shootings, so if anyone hears gunshots, they’re going to call the cops.’
‘Great, except I’ll be dead by then.’
‘Come here,’ Dax said.
With their fingers linked, he led her out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and into the closet. Reaching up to the top shelf, he pulled down a metal box, which he flicked open to show a nine millimetre.
‘Do you know how to use this?’ he asked, checking the ammunition and loading the chamber. ‘It’s ready, loaded, and the safety is off. If you have to, aim and shoot, just squeeze the trigger.’
‘I’ve used a gun before,’ she said, taking the piece away from him.
‘I’m not surprised.’
‘What does that mean?’ she asked, the gun fell to her side when her arm loosened.
‘I mean you have that kind of personality,’ Dax said. ‘I’ve thought about shooting you a few times myself.’
‘You don’t use a gun, I’ve never seen you even touch one. Why would you use one on me?’
‘I’m not going to hit you, am I? That wouldn’t be right.’
‘But shooting me is ok?’
‘I haven’t done it yet, have I?’ Dax asked.