Evergreen Page 12

  I reached between our moving bodies to the button on his jeans. Momma needed herself some dick, like now. I flicked it open. Sweet Jesus, did this man always go commando? So hot. Wetness pooled between my legs as I thought about his cock always just being a button away. I pushed his jeans down his legs while his mouth was on my neck, driving me insane. I went to take off my shoes and panties, but Ryder stopped me.

  “The shoes stay. I told you, I want your legs around my neck, sweetness.” He moved down my body, his mouth and tongue touching every inch of me, except where I needed it. My hips lifted toward him, needing his brand of ecstasy.

  Hot breath touched my sex, making little shivers dance across my skin. His teeth nipped at me through the silk. My fingers gripped the sheet as he used his teeth to pull my panties ever so slowly down. He licked his way up my legs and settled between them, blowing slightly on my clit, making me squirm. Slowly he ran the tip of his tongue up my slit, flicking my clit. He teased me; it was almost torture, a sweet torture.

  “Please, Ryder, I need to come. Please make me,” I begged. I was so turned on I thought I would combust at any moment.

  At my words, Ryder went at me like man possessed. I screamed his name as I came; I was still riding the waves when I was suddenly filled with his cock. He wrapped my legs around his neck as he pounded into me. My hips lifted toward his, my legs tensed, my heels dug into his shoulders just like he said. He felt so deep in this position. I couldn’t hold out any longer. I combusted again. My body convulsed as he gripped my hips and pulled me into him hard. His fingers bit into my skin, and a feral growl escaped as he found his release. My legs felt like jello. He slowly pulled out and lightly took my heels off before falling to the bed beside me.

  “You alright there?” I asked him. It seemed like Moulin Rouge had gotten to him somehow.

  He huffed, “Fucking movie.”

  The laugh that sprouted from me couldn’t be contained. Who would have thought big, bad FBI agent Ryder would be so affected by a chick flick?

  “Oh, Ryder. It’s a tragic love story. That’s what makes it so epic. Like Romeo and Juliet,” I mused. We were facing each other, the light from the living room shining through the doorway. I could see the sharp outline of his face; he was smirking at me.

  “That shit isn’t happening to us, you hear me?” His voice was calm, but it had an underlying fear to it.

  I lifted up onto my elbow, head braced on my hand. “What’s going on in your head?” Something seemed off a little.

  “I hate seeing you with Gavin,” he stated.

  All of a sudden the little dots started to connect. The movie had a love triangle of sorts but not like our little predicament. Ryder was the penniless sitar player, and I was the courtesan. We were having an affair under the maharaja, so to speak. Then when they could finally be together, she died. Oh.

  “I’m not going to die Ryder; nothing is going to go wrong.” My words were strong; I was confident nothing would happen. My number one reason why: Ryder wouldn’t let it.

  I leaned over and kissed his forehead. Then an idea struck me.

  “We need a ‘Come What May’!”

  Even in the low light, I saw his eyebrows pinch together in confusion. So I elaborated.

  “In the movie they had their secret song, so no matter what happened, you could hum it or sing it, anything. They would remember their love for each other. The song was called ‘Come What May.’ We need one so that no matter what happens, you’ll know I’m yours.” My fingers grazed over his face, just feeling him, comforting him.

  “I still like the idea of you still feeling my cock while you’re out with him, but I get what you’re saying.”

  I laughed; of course he did. His frequent question of “you still feel me?” was just so romantic. Then I thought of a song and blushed.

  “What?”

  I drew my bottom lip in between my teeth at his question, not sure if I wanted to say what I thought or not. But the song had meaning to me, and, well, I thought it did to him to. But I was feeling uncertain and insecure all of a sudden.

  “What is it, sweetness?”

  It was the softness in his voice that did me in.

  “That song, um, you know the one we danced to? I think it fits.” I didn’t go into any detail on what I really thought. How embarrassing would it be if I told him I had listened to it over and over. Everywhere. I knew every word. I felt them down in my soul. One word in the lyric had stood out more than any other. Evergreen. I wanted to be evergreen to him. To be lasting. Permanent.

  “It works. Alright, my Andi. We have our ‘Come What May.’ Not sure how this is gonna work. We aren’t on stage. And I sure as shit am not going to be singing it out to you all the time. But you will always know you belong to me. Always.”

  I tried not to be excited that we were seriously doing this. It might have been cheesy, but it was also very romantic. I needed something like this just as much as he did.

  He gave me a quick kiss and went out to turn the lights off in the living room. His warm body pressed against mine moments later. He drew the covers up and over us. We didn’t say anything; enough had just been said. I was drained. I listened to his breaths against my neck. In his arms, his chest to my back, I felt evergreen.

  CHAPTER 28

  Ryder

  “Skeller’s got men on Andi now. He’s made some calls and has decided he wants protection on his woman.” Rex was giving me updates as we put on our gear.

  The past few days had flown by. Once again, uneventful. It was time for the big bust. Garrett was on point. There was a boat heading from Mexico toward Tampa, estimated to arrive at two a.m. We were gearing up, full tactical gear.

  “You hear me?”

  “Yeah, I figured it was only a matter of time before he did.”

  Gavin had already laid claim on Andi, and with him being so high up on the criminal ladder, he would put guards on her. Spending time with her was going to be a lot trickier. But hell if I was going to stay away.

  “You ready?” I grabbed my Colt AR-15 and adjusted it over my shoulder. Rex nodded, and we climbed into the blacked-out suburban.

  Ten minutes later we pulled up about half a mile away from the beach. Rex, the other five guys that were with us, and I were briefed. We knew what to do. We kept a jogging pace, keeping quiet as we made our way to the dunes. It was fifteen minutes after two. The boat had arrived, but we had yet to visually confirm any drugs or money. Rex put out the parabolic microphone and pressed the button so we could all hear in our headsets what was happening about twenty yards away.

  The men on the beach were speaking Spanish; thankfully everyone on this team spoke the language. Part of the reason they’d been were chosen was for this knowledge so that we wouldn’t give away our position while translating to one another.

  Just as I turned on my night scope, a Ford Bronco drove up onto the beach toward the boat. We all flattened ourselves onto the sand, needing to stay hidden.

  “ ’Bout fucking time, man,” one of the guys said as the driver of the Bronco got out of the vehicle.

  “Let’s just get this shit loaded. I’ve got a sweet piece waiting in my bed I wanna get back to,” the driver said.

  The other men stayed quiet and went to work. They pulled the tarp back from the top of the boat. Rex tapped my arm, getting my attention. I looked to him as he nodded toward our right. A man from the dealer’s group was walking the dunes—protection detail. That made six men total, including the driver and his backup. I looked behind me to Johns. I signaled him to take the man out. With complete stealth he snuck away to do his job. We heard a brief whistle moment later, signaling us that he had done his job. I turned my attention back to the boat to see they had taken out three two-foot-by-three-foot plastic cases. I knew what was in there, but we had to see it before we made our move.

  “This shit is getting harder to transport. We had two choppers fly overhead. I don’t think they saw us. But tell Skeller I wanna talk,” th
e man in charge told the driver.

  “Just open the case. We’ll talk after about conversations with Skeller.” The driver was losing his patience.

  The other man did as he was told and opened the case. The driver pulled out a brick of cocaine.

  BINGO. It was time to move.

  “Load it up,” the driver told the men, and they got to work.

  I looked at my men. Their faces were eager, ready to get it done. I nodded, giving the go-ahead to move forward. We all readied our guns. Rex had his rifle set up on the stand ready to snipe. The goal was to maim, not kill. We spread out into position; I looked at each one of my men, making sure they were ready. After I got nods from everyone, we crawled down the dunes, staying in the cover of the tall grass. Once we were close, I threw a flash bomb. It landed right in front of the men carrying the cases. They dropped them and went for their guns. Shouts and curses filled the air. Time to go.

  We rose quickly and advanced on the group. Shots rang all around me, and the man directly in front of me went down from Rex’s shot. One hand on his knee, the man stretched his other hand to reach the gun he had dropped. I reached him and kicked the gun away. Moving swiftly, I turned him around and zip-tied his hands. With a wound to the leg, he wouldn’t be going anywhere.

  I stayed crouched to the ground and kept an eye on my surroundings. Each of my men had their target. But the driver was missing. I looked around and saw the not-so-stealthy driver hiding behind the Bronco.

  I kept in my crouch position and spoke to him. “Drop your weapon, and come out with your hands up.”

  Most likely this guy would be a prick and not comply. But I was still hoping he would be easy. I wanted to finish this and find Andi, not fill out paper work for killing a man.

  “Fuck you, cracker!” he spat out.

  Hard way it was.

  He whipped around and shot at me. I rolled to the side and aimed my gun. He opened the truck and got inside. My men started shooting the vehicle. The driver managed to turn the key and started to drive off.

  Not on my fucking watch.

  I aimed and took my shots at the tires. I heard the loud pop before seeing the truck veer into the dune with a loud thud. The door popped open and the man took to his feet.

  I shook my head. Dumbass.

  As soon as he rounded the car, I saw him flip backward, going out of my view. I ran toward him, leaving my men to keep the others contained. I laughed when I rounded the truck. Rex had the man hog-tied.

  “ ’Bout time you got here. I thought I was going to have to do everything,” he joked. Always joking. I shook my head.

  The night was far from over, but at least this part had gone over smoothly. No one died. And we got what we came for.

  Six hours later, I finally was able to go home. I headed straight for my bed and passed out.

  “Wakey, wakey.” A soft finger caressed down my nose hours later.

  I wiggled my face away from the ticklish feeling. I tried to roll over and drift back to sleep, but lips were suddenly attached to mine, and then I tasted it. Cotton candy.

  “Mm, mine.”

  My arms snaked around a tiny waist, bringing it against my hard chest. Those lips parted, giving me the opportunity to taste more. I took advantage and slipped my tongue inside, tasting every part of this decadent mouth. I swallowed the groans that came out of her. My Andi. She slowed the kissing and pulled back. Finally I opened my eyes and saw her. She was so beautiful. Her red hair was down and wild. It was so her.

  “I brought you some pumpkin cookies.”

  She beamed, making me beam right back. I tucked the hair that was blocking my view of her face behind her ear. I was happy to see her, but there was a question burning inside me.

  CHAPTER 29

  Andi

  “How’d you get here?” His voice was still husky from sleep. He sounded so hot. I wished I had more time.

  “Um, McKade, the agent that is watching me today. He told me the goons Gavin has on me had taken off speeding toward downtown. I told him earlier that if there was some time he thought I could come stop by, to let me know. So here I am, with the cookies in the kitchen. I, uh, I hope it was okay he let me in.” Uncertainty ran through me again. Maybe coming in without him knowing was a bad idea.

  “You’re cute” was all he said before he leaned in and kissed me. He broke the kiss and bellowed out, “I’m getting you a key.”

  My lips broke out in a smile. I was ecstatic. I kissed him hard and yanked myself off his bed.

  “I’ve got to get back to work, but enjoy your cookies.”

  He shook his head and rolled back onto his pillow. He looked really tired. I wondered if he’d had a long night last night. Maybe I could interrogate McKade in the car and get him to tell me.

  I rushed out of Ryder’s apartment and down to the car. Once I opened the door and got in, I told McKade to book it. I didn’t want Gavin’s men to show back up and I not be in sight.

  “Did you get a little lunch break nookie?” Dallas winked at me as I opened the door to my shop.

  “Nope, just dropped off the cookies.”

  I set my purse in the office and came back to the front. Besides my home, my little shop was my sanctuary. I loved it here. The smell of sweets, the sound of my door bell when someone walked in, and Dallas’s sparkling personality.

  She had been a little off since I started helping the FBI. She was a little more diligent at work. Even weirder, she was being a little huggy. And she was not a huggy girl. She also was keeping something from me. Something about Rex. I didn’t know what was happening, but every time he came in on protection detail or to grab some food, she would always go to the bathroom or be busy in the kitchen. Totally obvious. She was avoiding him. Why? I wish I knew. He never asked about her or looked around for her, so I didn’t think they knew each other. But I was dying to figure it out.

  The sound of my phone ringing broke through my thoughts. I answered with a singing hello.

  “Hey, how’s my girl’s day going?”

  My heart fell. Gavin called me his girl. Something had changed. He had been really nice to me, a friend if you will. He hadn’t pushed for more, and I was perfectly fine not giving him more.

  “Um, it’s good. I was just about to start making chocolate icing for wedding cupcakes for tomorrow. How about yours?” I bit my lip hoping my nervousness wasn’t coming through my voice.

  “Not so good, Andi, but I think it’s going to get better. I won’t keep you long, but I want you to come over tonight. I’ll make dinner and tiramisu. Can you come?”

  Something inside me screamed to say no. Unease was coating me. But I had to do a job, right?

  “Of course. I’ll come over when I’m done tonight, say five thirty?”

  “Perfect! I’ll see you then. Enjoy your chocolate, babes.”

  Babes? BABES! Something had changed.

  “See ya!” I hung up quickly.

  I walked aimlessly toward a chair and sat down. I heard Dallas speak to me but I wasn’t listening.

  Babes.

  I looked at her. “What if he tries to kiss me tonight?” My voice was low and sullen.

  Dallas grabbed my hand in comfort while taking the seat next to me.

  “Then you kiss him good and make him believe you are his girl.” My eyes widened with her brazen statement. She continued speaking.

  “He needs to know you are his girl before he will open up to you. He will want to know you are going to stand by him when he is out doing bad things. I hate this for you. I hate that you are doing this. But I get it. Ryder means everything to you. You would do anything for him, including this crazy mission you are in. This needs to end. You need to up your game, Andi. Make Gavin confess. I’ve seen that body bring men to their knees. It’s time to use it on Gavin. And, no, get that look off your face. I wasn’t talking about sex.”

  My eyes were glued to her. She was right, I had just been beating around the bush, trying to avoid actually putting myself
under Gavin’s control. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to hurt Ryder, but I had a job to do. As soon as my eyes opened, I had a new determination.

  “You’re right. I will do this. Let’s get to work, and afterward I need to go home and get ready for my dinner tonight.” The words were sour in my mouth, but I could live with sour.

  We got up and went to town on some icing. And I was woman enough to admit I totally ate a ton of chocolate cookies before we left. It was my chocolate courage.

  As I stood in front of Gavin’s door, the courage and determination I’d felt earlier had fled the scene. As soon as Gavin opened the door and saw me, the look on his face said it all, and I felt sick seeing it. I watched as his gaze started at my black pumps and worked its way up my bare legs to my forest green dress that stopped right at my knees. It was an off-the-shoulder dress that hugged my bust and waist before flaring out to my knees.

  My camera necklace was nestled between my breasts. So Ryder was still able to see everything but it was also like a bull’s-eye to my boobs. My hair was in my signature pile on top of my head, with a few wispy pieces falling down, and my make up was on point, smokey and sexy. If Gavin had thought I was putting him in the friend zone before, he definitely didn’t think it now.

  His voice stammered, “Andi, you, uh… Wow.”

  I did a little spin for added effect, then walked by him into his house. The smell of tiramisu hit me. Making my way toward his kitchen, I put on a show like I owned this house. I looked back and saw Gavin still staring at me. Confidence grew in my chest with the knowledge that I had thrown him off his game. He shook his head and snapped out of it. My confidence disappeared with one glance to his face. Gone was the sweet Gavin. In his place was a hot-blooded man who was dangerous and knew what he wanted. Me.

  CHAPTER 30