Evergreen Page 6

  A rush of strange relief coursed through my veins. Andi didn’t seem like the type that would play me while we were just getting hot, but no matter how sweet someone might seem, you just never knew, and I wasn’t ready to give her up yet. I wanted to explore her more. She made me laugh and feel ten times lighter. Like she didn’t expect anything from me. I liked it a lot.

  I gave Rex a curt nod when Andi came back out front. I walked over to her, scooped her up, and walked back to her office. She yelped as I lifted her, but then she smiled brightly. We passed her spunky employee on the way; she waved at us.

  As soon as we were in the office, I set Andi on the desk and situated myself between her thighs. I wanted to erase the mere thought of Gavin today. I also wanted to tell her about him, so she would be extra cautious. I had a feeling he would be back even though she’d said she was with someone. Gavin didn’t play by the rules.

  I kissed her with a fever. She opened her lips to me on a sigh. She gave into me so contently. Not asking why I was practically mauling her. She just let it happen. I liked that. Our mouths moved together passionately. Her hands gripped my shirt bringing me closer. I wanted to unbutton my jeans, pull her panties aside, and slide into her wet heat. A growl crawled up my throat thinking of doing just that. I eased the kiss and reluctantly pulled back. I had to tell her what was going on.

  Her lips were glossed over from our kiss. Her eyes were hooded as she looked at me. She was so beautiful with the evidence of our desire.

  “Andi, I need to tell you something. I need you to focus okay?”

  She nodded and lightly pushed me back so she could move away from the desk. I allowed it.

  I closed my eyes, ran my fingers through my hair, and then spoke. “You know the other night I told you I was working on a big case, right?”

  I heard a distinct sound of a door being shut and locked. My head snapped toward her. She tried to look innocent, but her intent was clear as day on her face. I had to get this out before she came at me. I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her if she did.

  “I need you to stay over there and listen, Andi.”

  She looked like a lioness ready to make her kill, but she stayed. Jesus, she was sexy. Shit, I needed to focus.

  “Okay, I know we haven’t known each other long, but it seems like we have a mutual problem.” I took a breath, and let it out. “I’ve been working on taking down Draco Skeller. He is a big problem around here. Drugs, sex, you name it, he dabbles in it. I know everything about him, including his son. Gavin Skeller.”

  Confusion grew on her face.

  “He goes by Gavin McDaniels as his alias. He’s bad news. I want you to stay away from him. I’ll have someone keep an eye on the store so you’ll be safe. I need you to know the truth so you can be careful.”

  She still had a confused look on her face; she walked toward me and stopped just a foot away.

  “Gavin is a drug lord’s son?” She spoke as if she didn’t believe it.

  I nodded. “Yeah, he is, and our guy on the inside tells us he is running things right now.”

  She seemed to chew on that for a minute. What came out of her mouth next stunned the shit out of me.

  “Okay, is there anything I can do to help? Maybe I can ask him for some coke or something, and you can be in the kitchen ready to bust him.”

  She was serious. I shook my head, still stunned.

  I wrapped my arms around that waist of hers and brought her closer. “Andi, no, I repeat, no. I want you nowhere near this.”

  She gave me a mischievous look and then agreed.

  “Good, now what are you doing tonight?” I asked, wanting to change the subject of her helping.

  She rubbed her hands up my chest, feeling me up. My dick was starting to enjoy her fondle.

  “Never mind, don’t answer that. You’re going to be with me tonight,” I stated flatly. I needed to be inside her tonight. No maybes about it.

  She smiled. “Sounds good. I should be home around six tonight. Just message me when you’re on your way.”

  I leaned in, needing to taste her lips.

  CHAPTER 13

  Andi

  He melted me. Just the mere touch of his lips melted my whole body. I became putty in his hands. He could do whatever he wanted to me, and I would just hang on for the ride. I was becoming a bad, bad girl.

  The doorbell rang letting me know it was time for me to go back out and run my business. I pulled back and gave him one last big kiss.

  “Come on, you didn’t get to try your pumpkin cookies, and I wanna see if you like them as much as I do.” I smiled and wiggled out of his arms.

  Dallas was getting the order for the person that had come in, while Rex was sitting where we left him, working on a tablet he must have had hidden somewhere. He looked very serious tapping away on it. Ryder parted ways with me to go talk with Rex. I was grateful he wasn’t the type of guy that expected me to follow him everywhere he went like a dog. I wasn’t a leashed bitch. I liked my space. Of course I liked it when Ryder was in my space too. But I still liked my time to myself. Time to read a book, to watch a tear-filled chick flick, the stuff that guys always complained about.

  As soon as the customer left, I stood next to Dallas and whispered to her, “As soon as we are alone we need to have a powwow. I’ve got news to dish.”

  Her eyes lit up; we were like little old gossip biddies. She nodded excitedly and went back to work. I decided to go see if Ryder and Rex liked the sweets.

  I went over to them, and everything on their table was gone.

  “All of them?” I stared at Rex. He smiled that perfect smile.

  “I could probably eat them all day. They were seriously good,” he complimented. It always made me really happy when people liked what I put my heart and soul into. I loved everything thing I made.

  I looked at Ryder next. He shrugged. A little frown found my face. He took hold of my hand and brought it to his lips. Swoon.

  “It was amazing. I think I’m going to have wet dreams about pumpkin cookies now.”

  I laughed hard at that comment. He smiled, and it was a good look on him. He seemed so carefree. There was a lot that I still didn’t know about him, but I had the feeling he had some real heavy weight on his shoulders. I found myself wanting to help him. I had a feeling of needing to be solid ground for him. Wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing at this moment. I wasn’t sure if he was looking to take this thing we had with each other past sexual. I hid those warm feelings back in the depths of my mind.

  “I’m so glad you guys liked them.”

  Suddenly a big group of people came in. It was the late lunch crowd.

  Looking at Rex I said, “It was nice meeting you.” He said the same, and then I turned to Ryder. I bent down, kissed him quickly and sweetly. “I’ll see you later.”

  They left shortly after I got back to work; it was really busy until about four in the afternoon. Finally we had a break. I sat down at a table and Dallas joined me.

  “Dish.”

  It was a simple request, and I was all too excited to answer.

  “Gavin, you know, the guy that I met at Nikki’s wedding?”

  She nodded.

  “He is a drug lord’s son and is apparently running things right now to give his dad a little breathing room.”

  I watched her face go from intently listening to laughing hysterically. That was how I felt. Gavin didn’t come across as someone who could hurt a squirrel in the road. He was nice and made corny jokes. I just couldn’t see it, but I knew Ryder wouldn’t lie about something like that.

  Her laughter started to ease when she spoke. “Okay, I’m done. That is something. He seems nice, but maybe he is just good at pretending.”

  He must’ve taken some classes or something. He was damn good at pretending.

  “Well, Ryder says I should stay away from him, and he’s going to have someone watch the shop for a while.”

  Her face paled a little. “Who?”
>
  “Not sure, why?” I responded, curiosity clear in my tone.

  The panicked look on her face vanished, she was back to the normal, spunky Dallas. “No reason, I was just wondering. I still think it’s crazy you’re bagging a FBI agent. So hot.”

  She was trying to divert the conversation. I would go along for her sake.

  “Yeah, he is hot. He kind of has this alpha, possessive, caveman vibe going on. I never thought I would like a guy like that, but with him it just hits me hard.”

  She nodded in understanding. “So what are you going to do about Gavin? Just tell him he isn’t welcome here? Wouldn’t that be weird? Technically you aren’t supposed to know about his true colors.”

  I tried to think about that. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. She was right; I couldn’t really ban him from my shop without reason. An idea formed in my head—one Ryder would really hate. But maybe it would help.

  Dallas’s eyes narrowed. “What? You have that face that means you are up to something.”

  She was right; the wheels in my head were turning.

  “I’m going to help him. He said he’d been working on this case for a while. I’m gonna see if I can help him bust Gavin.”

  “I’m in.”

  “Huh?”

  “I wanna help. This sounds like fun,” she replied with a serious face.

  I didn’t really want to go at this by myself. “OK, you’re gonna be my back up.”

  She nodded and then smiled broadly. “Oo, we are like spies. We need cool spy names!”

  I laughed at her excitement. I knew Ryder would probably kill me if he found out. But hopefully it would help, so I was all in for that.

  CHAPTER 14

  Ryder

  This was not where I wanted to be. I was sitting in front of a dumbass dealer that had tried to sell Rex some drugs. The dealer told me after we busted him that he had some information on Draco. He was also high as a fucking kite. I’d been sitting with him for over an hour trying to get the information out of him, and my patience was starting to thin.

  It was nearly nine p.m., and right now I was supposed to be buried inside Andi’s sweet heat. It was unnerving how much I wanted to be around her right now. She soothed me, she made me laugh, and she made me hard as steel just by breathing.

  “Look, Jason, I’m getting tired of you beating around the bush here. So here are your options. Option one. You tell me information on Skeller, and I forget that you tried to sell drugs to an FBI agent. Option two. I let you leave so you won’t be in my interrogation room when I beat your ass until you give me the information I want. Or we could go with option three. You admit you didn’t have any information on Skeller and get charged with possession and distribution of illegal substances.”

  Jason’s eyes widened as he realized I was serious. I gave him another chance before I decided for him.

  “So what’s it gonna be Jason?”

  I leaned back and my chair and waited.

  A minute later he spoke up. “I only know that Gavin shut down that whore’s ring down in Ybor. He’s getting smart. Keeping things tight, ya know.”

  This was good news and bad news. Bad news was Gavin was smart; his dad was an old-fashioned kingpin. Easy to predict. Being smart meant he would be quick on his feet; he would be looking for attacks from every corner. The good news was he was subtly cleaning up the streets himself.

  “Anything else?” I doubted this low-level dealer was privy to anything good.

  “I swear, man, I don’t know any more.”

  He was telling the truth. I nodded to the two-way glass to my right, and some boys came in and led Jason out. I knew we would catch him again. He wasn’t a smart guy. He would be back out selling tomorrow night. I pulled out my phone and texted Andi. I sure as shit hoped I hadn’t ruined my chances to see her tonight.

  Ryder—Sorry, caught up at work.

  A few minutes passed before my phone beeped.

  Andi—You hungry? I’ve got shrimp basil pesto pasta.

  Was she real? Seriously, she was truly something special. I said I was late, and the first thing she thought about was if I was hungry, wanting to feed me. I shook my head and left the room.

  Mack walked out from the room on the other side of the mirror. “Nice work, King. I think we’re gonna finally nail that bastard.”

  I hated it when he called me by my last name, but he was boss, so he could do what he wanted.

  “I hope so.”

  We parted after that, not much more to say. I made my way out to my truck and headed toward the pasta and sexy girl waiting for me.

  I got to Andi’s house twenty minutes later. I knocked and was once again greeted by her dogs barking on the other side of the door. The door swung open, and I was hit with the need to sweep Andi off her feet and take her to bed. She was standing there in yoga pants and a short-sleeve shirt, her hair piled high on her head. She looked amazing in everything I had ever seen her in: corsets, jeans, skirt, yoga pants. And she sure as hell looked amazing in just her skin.

  “Hey, come on in,” she said, then walked back into her house.

  I just stood there staring at her. I bent down and said hello to her dogs before I stalked after her.

  She was scooping pasta into a bowl when I wrapped my hands around her waist, spinning her around and crashing my lips to hers. She was surprised at first, but melted into me and started to move her lips with mine. I pulled on her lower lip with my teeth, causing her hands to wrap around my neck, pulling me closer. We stayed there in her kitchen and made out like teenagers until I slowed us down and looked her in her beautiful, hooded eyes.

  “Hi, beautiful.”

  She blushed, then ran her fingers through my hair.

  “Hi, handsome,” she smiled.

  I kissed her nose and took a step back.

  “Here, it’s all hot for you. Um, we can go sit on the couch.” She handed me the bowl and went to the couch.

  I shook my head. She was trying to play it cool, but I knew she was affected by me. I’d have her, but right now I was pretty damn hungry.

  “So how was your day?” she asked excitedly.

  I ate a couple spoonfuls of the pasta, groaning in the process. She was a master chef; I was going to be addicted to her cooking if she kept it up.

  “It was shit. I spent my afternoon staking out a restaurant, waiting for someone, then wasted the evening trying to get a dumbass to open his mouth. Yours?”

  I ate some more of heaven’s pasta.

  “It was good. I sold out of all the pumpkin sandwich cookies. They were a big hit. The boys and I went for a nice walk and watched an episode of Once Upon a Time. Have you heard of it?”

  Fucking cute.

  “I haven’t, and like I said earlier, those cookies were amazing.”

  She shook her head. “Well, it’s a great show. It’s got my future husband in it.”

  My eyebrows arched in confusion. “Oh? Just taking a guess, Prince Charming?”

  She looked like I’d shot her, her hand braced to her chest.

  “Oh my God, no! Captian Hook, I’m in love with Killian Hook!” she confessed loudly.

  I just laughed. “You love the bad guy, huh?”

  She shook her head. “He isn’t really the bad guy. I mean he’s a pirate, but he does all these really nice things for the woman he loves.” She was getting all defensive over the love of her life—from a TV show. The list of things I liked about her was piling up.

  As I finished eating her pasta, she said something that surprised the hell out of me.

  “You should dress up as a pirate. I bet you’d be hot. In a pillage, plunder, rip bodices type of way.”

  “No way in hell, sweetness. I don’t dress up, but I will rip your bodices any time.”

  She just smiled.

  “Are you all done?” She gestured toward my empty bowl.

  I nodded, and she took it to the kitchen. When she came back to sit on the couch with me, I grabbed her by the wa
ist and brought her into my lap. Her hands came to my chest, gripping my shirt tightly.

  “I’m ready for dessert now,” I teased.

  Her eyes closed slightly. Good, she was on the same page as me. I leaned in and touched my lips to hers, gently at first, then taking it deeper. She opened for me with ease. My fingers gripped her waist, pulling her into me more. Her little moans were starting to make me lose my patience. I wanted to take it slow with her tonight. I brought my hands down to her ass, then lifted her up as I stood and walked back to her room, my mouth still attached to hers. I needed a bed for the plans I had in mind for her.

  CHAPTER 15

  Andi

  We landed on the bed with a soft thud. He pulled back and looked at me. His stare was intense. I saw lust and something else that I didn’t understand. The way he was looking at me made me feel like I was the only woman he saw. I felt special. Probably stupid to do, but I relished in it. I ran my fingers through his short hair.

  “You’re really hot,” I confessed.

  It was a simple compliment, but his hotness was still shocking to me. His shirt was stretched tight against his chest, leaving little to imagine. Thank God I had seen in him real life and didn’t need to use my imagination. His green eyes were staring into mine. I leaned up and kissed his sharp jaw. Scruff from a five o’clock shadow scratched my chin slightly. I loved it. He pressed himself into me; his cock was hard against my side. It turned me on like nothing else.

  I continued kissing along his jaw, then down his neck. My hands reached for the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up. He sat up and whipped it off the rest of the way. Once again his hotness was shocking. I’d seen him shirtless, but it hit me like a heat wave just the same.

  All hard lines and sexy dips. My body moved toward his as if he had his own gravitational pull. I sat up and continued exploring his body with my mouth. Kissing and licking every inch of his chest. He gripped me by my hair, his grasp not super rough, but not light either. It turned me on like crazy.

  “My turn.” His voice was husky and deep.

  A soft whimper slipped from me. My insides clenched together at his words. He came at me with a force of determination. His hands kneaded my breasts, rolling my nipples between his thumbs and fingers. I gasped with the feeling. He brought those hands down to the hem of my shirt, and we got it off in record time. He was back on my skin seconds later, ravishing me, a mix of teeth and tongue devouring the swells of my breasts.