Felicity was normally reluctant to involve anyone except her sisters—and now Bennett—in any skip-hunting plan, since civilians could be wild cards, but she had to admit that using the gun store in the fake contest win was genius. The whole murder club joined them there early that evening, and Felicity had a hard time pulling herself away from the displays in order to put together the fake-winning email. Rory didn’t just have currently popular pistols and long guns in stock, she had everything from antique guns to bear spray to an array of Tasers to—Felicity’s favorite—a tiny little revolver displayed in a place of honor and listed as not for sale.
Bennett was also distracted by Rory’s two dogs—Jack, a big German shepherd, and Kiwi, the cutest little Yorkie Felicity had ever seen. Immediately after they’d arrived, both dogs had made a beeline to Bennett, and he was soon crouched down with two canines—one large and one tiny—licking his face as he scratched them both behind the ears, a huge grin on his face. Felicity was then distracted staring at her favorite Bennett—happy Bennett—but she eventually managed to focus on planning Dino’s takedown.
“I think we should go with Cobra’s email,” Daisy said. She was still wearing workout clothes after a shift at her gym, with Ellie’s toddler, Mila—as adorably serious and watchful as usual—perched on her hip. “How would Rory have gotten Dino’s email—or even his name—to enter him in the drawing?” She grinned down at Mila while bouncing her a little, earning a tiny smile.
“One of the other Freedom Survivors?” Ellie suggested, but her tone was doubtful.
“Someone else entered him in the drawing?” Felicity didn’t think that was very likely. She was leaning toward agreeing with Daisy. “I don’t know if the other militia guys are that magnanimous.”
“But if it goes to Cobra, that’s so uncertain,” Lou argued. “What if Clint isn’t monitoring his emails? And why would he bring Dino with him? Or what if Cobra’s still getting his emails in his RV in Texas, and he comes here to collect his winnings?”
“I’m not actually giving anyone a free Browning rifle,” Rory stated flatly.
All Lou’s points were good ones. “I think we’re going to have to direct the email to Dino,” Felicity said. “Hopefully it’s the right address and he won’t think too hard about how he was entered.”
“He’s just jumped bail. Of course he’s going to be suspicious.”
Felicity gave Bennett a stern look. “No criticizing without suggesting solutions.”
“You let Lou do it,” he said, looking offended. When she kept her pointed gaze on him, he heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine. Sending the email to Dino is still the best option.”
His proud sideways glance at her, as if he was waiting for praise, made her melt a little. He was having one of his obnoxiously adorable moments, especially since he was cuddling Kiwi in his arms. She did her best to ignore the tempting distraction and said, “Dino’s email it is.”
“Shouldn’t we vote on it?” Lou asked.
“This is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.” Felicity borrowed the line Molly always used on her younger sisters when she wanted to get her way. Without waiting for argument—because whenever Molly used it, plenty of arguing followed—she turned to Rory, who was sitting at her shop computer. “Let’s see the certificate.”
Rory turned the screen so they could all see.
“Very nice,” Ellie said approvingly. “It looks very official and not at all shady or sting-like.”
“What are you saying in the email?” Lou asked, peering at the screen as Rory brought it up. “That looks good, but I think we need more exclamation points after the ‘Congratulations.’”
“We want it to be believable,” Rory said without adding any extra punctuation to the email. “If it’s from me, exclamation-point overload would not be believable.”
The women looked at one another and nodded, conceding the point.
“When is he supposed to come in?” Daisy asked, leaning in as close as she could with a toddler on her hip. “Make sure it’s when we can all be here. I don’t want to miss the excitement.”
“We had to keep it broad so he wouldn’t get suspicious—well, more suspicious,” Felicity said. “Anytime tomorrow during open hours—ten to six.” Several of the women groaned with disappointment, and Felicity had to agree. It was going to be a long day hiding in Rory’s back room.
“Okay, go ahead and send it.” As Rory hit Send, anticipation built in Felicity, amping her up and making her feel like doing laps around the shop.
The door opened, and they all jumped. As Felicity turned toward the newcomer, she illogically expected it to be Dino, as if sending the email had magically conjured him. Instead, Deputy Chris walked in, and the tension suddenly released in the shop like an untied balloon.
“Hey, Dais.” He made a direct line to his wife, as if he couldn’t wait another second to be near her. Placing a quick kiss on her lips, he looked down and smiled at her for a long moment, until Mila grabbed a handful of his uniform shirt. Chris shifted his attention to the toddler. “Hey, Mila.” He blew raspberries in her neck, drawing a giggle from her that made everyone else in the room smile.
“Sometimes I worry that her expectations will be unreasonably high when she starts dating,” Ellie said. “She’s constantly held and kissed by extraordinarily attractive men. It’s going to skew her perspective.”
Chris looked smug.
“Okay, Deputy Chris, that’s really cute and all,” Lou said, “but we’re dying to know the latest.”
His good-natured smile was tired as he wrapped his arm around Daisy. “Not much I can share, Lou. You know that.”
“Any ID? I know no dead body is a good dead body, but at least this one has some teeth to check dental records on, right?” Lou didn’t let Chris’s refusal to share bother her.
He just shook his head. “Time to return the baby, Dais. I’m asleep on my feet.”
After several kisses, Daisy relinquished Mila to her mom’s arms. “I have to work at the gym until noon tomorrow, but I’ll be here in the afternoon. Fingers crossed Dino’s not an early riser.”
“He’s not,” Felicity and Bennett said in unison and then smirked at each other.
“Park in the pole barn,” Rory suggested. “That way, he won’t see your car in the lot.”
“Good idea. See you tomorrow for the sting! I’ll bring cookies!” Daisy waved to them as Chris swept her out of the shop.
Before the door closed behind them, Felicity heard Chris ask in a long-suffering voice, “What sting? I’m an actual law enforcement officer. Why do you always get to do more stings than I do?”
Too antsy from anticipation for tomorrow to sit around chatting any longer, Felicity turned to Bennett. “Ready to go?”
He nodded even before she finished speaking.
“Bye, everyone.” Felicity headed toward the door. “Thank you for all your help, especially you, Rory. Hopefully, we’ll wrap this thing up tomorrow and let your murder club focus on the latest dead body.”
They left after a chorus of goodbyes and see-you-tomorrows.
As they walked to her car, Felicity asked, “Any word on your SUV?”
“Should be ready tomorrow afternoon.”
“Bet you’ll be glad to no longer be crammed into my car all the time.”
He gave an affirmative grunt and a playful sideways glance. “Don’t mind being crammed up next to you.”
“Aww…” She grabbed his hand and tugged, trying to get him to bend low enough for her to kiss his cheek. Instead, he used their clasped hands to haul her toward him until she bumped into his chest. Tipping her head back, she met his smoldering gaze and promptly melted into a gooey, boneless blob of lust. She could only lean against his hard chest, waiting, as he bent, bringing his lips closer and closer until—
“Evening.”
The greeting yanked her out of her lustful haze as effectively as if someone had emptied a bucket of cold water over her head. She turned to look at the speaker, knowing that murder was in her eyes.
The hot fireman—Rory’s husband—didn’t seemed bothered by her homicidal eye lasers. Rather, he looked amused. Ellie’s husband—George, the one all the murder club ladies were calling Bennett’s long-lost twin—was standing there as well, but he looked more discomfited by the hot guy’s interruption than entertained, so Felicity decided to spare him.
“Your Mila’s adorable,” she said, meaning every word.
An enormous smile lit up his face for just a second before disappearing again, and she decided that George and Bennett might indeed share a parent or two.
“What was the murder club meeting about?” asked the hot firefighter who she still wanted to kill—Ian, Felicity remembered belatedly. His smile was still lurking, flashing an occasional dimple. Although the man was shockingly attractive, she was mildly surprised to realize that she was completely unaffected. Maybe it’s because I’m an old married woman now, she thought.
She realized Ian was still waiting for an answer and gave him a sunny smile that just had a hint of teeth. “Oh, that? Nothing really.” Still holding Bennett’s hand, she headed for the car. “Just planning a sting.” She waved at him over her shoulder.
“Sting?” Ian called out after them, but Felicity just sent him another wave before closing the car door. She started up the engine and drove out of the lot with Ian and George still staring after them as she snickered to herself.
“You know their wives are going to spill everything.”
“I know.” Despite that, she was still satisfied. “Just my tiny bit of petty revenge for his interruption.”
The corner of Bennett’s mouth curled up.
They’d eaten at the murder club meeting—Callum had dropped off a big pot of chili before heading back to the station to prep for dive team training later that evening—so Felicity drove straight to their cute little boutique hotel. As they walked into the honeymoon suite, the simmering tension hit a full boil before the door even closed behind them.
Bennett pulled her tight against him as if they’d never been interrupted in the gun shop parking lot. While that had been teasing, this was direct—his mouth landed on hers as soon as her chest pressed against his. They didn’t break the kiss as they yanked and pulled on each other’s clothes, not even hearing the occasional rip of popping seams or lost buttons. All they were focused on was finding and touching the other’s naked skin.
In what felt like just a few breaths, they were both bare and stretched out on the bed, their mouths still locked together as Felicity reveled in the slide of his lightly furred skin on hers. She roamed his body with eager hands, needing to know every part of him as well as she knew herself.
Bennett broke the kiss, ignoring her small sound of protest, and began nibbling along the line of her jaw. Finding this an appropriate substitution, she tilted her chin to allow him more access as she explored the hard planes of his back. Just when she was about to dig in the nightstand drawer, Bennett beat her to it, and she smiled dreamily as she grabbed a handful of his shaggy hair.
He groaned as she lightly pulled, scratched at his scalp, and then gently yanked again. When he tilted his head back, she took the opportunity to kiss and take tiny bites of his throat, causing him to moan even louder.
His pleasured sounds made her feel powerful and gorgeous. She reached for the condom packet forgotten in his fist, but before she could grab it, her phone rang.
With a groan that had more to do with exasperation than pleasure, Felicity dropped flat to the mattress and closed her eyes for a moment. Even though she wasn’t even close to pulling herself together enough to answer, she still reached for her phone. If she didn’t answer, her sisters would very likely send in the cavalry or—even more frightening—come themselves. Although they’d probably have the Dino situation sorted in minutes, Felicity wanted to bring this one skip in on her own. She’d worked with Charlie so much that it felt like they were a melded-together pair, and she’d started to wonder if she could even bring skips in on her own anymore.
Although she did have Bennett to help, he didn’t count, since he was hers. Glancing at him, she saw that he’d tipped off her to the side and was mirroring her position, flat on his back with his eyes closed. She gave him a peck on the nose, and he smiled without opening his eyes.
Her phone stopped ringing, and she remembered why she’d called a halt to fun times. Charlie’s name was on the display, and Felicity quickly called her sister back.
“Bad time?” Charlie asked as soon as she answered.
Yes, Felicity immediately thought but didn’t say that out loud, because then she’d have to explain why it was a bad time, and that’d just be awkward. “Nope, just didn’t have an extra hand available to answer my phone,” she answered truthfully. When she glanced at Bennett, she saw he was giving her that smoldering look again, and she flushed with heat, looking away so she could concentrate on what Charlie was saying.
“Any luck with Dino?”
“Not yet, but we have a plan. A good old-fashioned fake contest win.”
“Ooh, I love those,” Charlie enthused. “An oldie but goodie that works shockingly often. Is the ‘we’ part your PI?”
Glad that her sister didn’t call Bennett her stalker, as usual, Felicity said, “Yes, although the ‘we’ also includes four ladies in the local murder club.”
There was a beat of silence before Charlie spoke, and Felicity mentally gave herself five points in the shock-Charlie game. “Murder club? Do I need to visit this town? Because I think I’d like it.”
“You’d fit right in,” Felicity said, meaning every word. “Plus the murder club members are enthusiastic, helpful, and surprisingly practical.”
“I want a murder club,” Charlie moaned dramatically. “Or a bounty-hunting club, actually. Mom’s running me in circles again.”
A spark of guilt lit in Felicity’s chest. “You need help? Because I don’t think Dino’s going anywhere. We can plan our sting for next week.”
“Nope,” Charlie said. “No sense in you being stuck driving through Nebraska too.”
“Oh, Charlie, no,” Felicity said with true sympathy. “Not Nebraska. What happened to hanging out in Colorado Springs?”
“That was my fault.” Charlie sounded abashed. “Zach spotted me surveilling them because I got bored and sloppy.”
“Done that.” It made Felicity feel a little better that her sister wasn’t a perfect bounty hunter either. “So they ran?”
“They ran.” Charlie sighed. “Straight through Nebraska.”
“Where’re they headed? East Coast?” Although she mentally flipped through all her mom’s connections, Felicity couldn’t think of any on the east side of the Mississippi River.
“Who knows?” Charlie said gloomily. “East Coast, Iowa. Maybe she’ll circle around through Dakota again.”
Charlie’s insistence on combining the two states into one generic Dakota made Felicity smile. As many phone chargers as Charlie lost, Felicity still loved her sister.
“Good luck,” Felicity said warmly. “Let me know if you need backup. Love you.”
“Same, same, Fifi.”
Once she ended the call, Felicity put her phone on the nightstand and then leaned over Bennett. Although he stayed on his back, his arms crossed behind his head, every muscle in his body was taut as he met her hungry gaze. Reaching up, she pulled off the band holding her hair coiled in a bun at her nape, and the heavy strands tumbled over her shoulders, the feathery tips brushing his chest.
When she turned her head, sliding her hair over his skin, he grunted low as if she’d punched him in the gut. Smiling, she moved her head again. Scooting down, she allowed her hair to trail across his belly and lower. He tensed even more, his muscles standing out in bold relief, his skin almost quivering with anticipation.
Her phone rang again.
All the air rushing out of her lungs, Felicity crumpled forward, resting her forehead against his chest. His big hand swept over her bare back, testing her resolve.
“I have to get it,” she groaned more to herself than Bennett. She knew that he understood, but her needful body sure didn’t.
Reaching over with his long arm, he nabbed her ringing phone and held it out to her, his eyes still burning with need but also wryly affectionate.
“Thanks,” she said flatly, making him smile.
“Molly!” she answered with grim enthusiasm. “What’s up?”
Bennett’s mouth on her belly woke Felicity.
When she lifted her head to look at him, he gave her a wicked smile before wedging his head between her thighs. He kissed and licked, obviously paying close attention to when her breath caught or goose bumps rose on her skin. His complete focus on her pleasure, as if his life depended on how hard he made her come, sent her flying quickly, her fingers gripping fistfuls of the sheet beneath her.
Afterward, her body went limp as she sucked in air, trying to orient herself in time and space. Bennett lazily kissed her thighs as she recovered before making his way over her belly and to her breasts, where he lingered, keeping everything light enough to not overwhelm her overstimulated skin.
“Good morning.” Her voice was husky as she ran her fingers through his mop of silky hair.
Resting his chin between her breasts, he smiled at her so sweetly that she felt her heart squeeze. Cupping his raspy cheeks, she pulled up for a lingering kiss, mouth to mouth this time.
“That was a nice way to wake up,” she said when he pulled back slightly.
A crease formed between his eyebrows. “Nice?”
She laughed. “Spectacular? Is that better?”
“Only if you mean it.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then her mouth again, as if he couldn’t keep his lips off her.
“Oh, I mean it.” She used her hands, still on his cheeks, to tip his face so she could kiss him properly. As always, it was as if someone struck a match in a room full of gas fumes. As soon as their lips and tongues met, she was primed for him, her earlier orgasm a distant memory as her body cried out for more of Bennett.
He pushed her knees up and wide as he sank into her heat, fitting so well that she had the whimsical thought that they were made to come together. Then he was moving, and all her thoughts scattered as she clung to him and rode out the storm of another mind-blasting orgasm.
Still mostly hard, he rocked in her afterward, small movements, as if he didn’t want to leave the heat of her body. When he finally did withdraw, she gave a disappointed sigh, which made him grin.
“Yeah,” he said, and she realized he really did know how she felt—that empty loneliness when they weren’t locked together.
As he disposed of the condom in the trash can next to the bed, Felicity blinked. “I’m glad you remembered protection,” she said, “because I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You were thinking straight the first time,” he said, bending to give her another kiss that started light but deepened quickly, until she was panting with renewed need by the time he pulled back. “We’ll take turns.”
Since she’d already forgotten what they were discussing the second his lips touched hers, she doubted she’d be much use in remembering next time. “Maybe there’s an app that’ll remind us.”
His low chuckle drew a shiver down her spine in the best way. “I bet there is.”
Felicity did a full-body stretch, feeling pretty amazing, considering their intense schedule over the past week. “What time is it?”
“Six. That’s why I woke you. Figured you’d want to work out before breakfast.”
She beamed at him, both for his consideration and the way he’d chosen to wake her up. “You’re rather spectacular.”
His proud grin was quickly hidden. “That the word of the day then?”
“Spectacular?” Stretching again, she felt like a pampered cat who’d found a patch of sunshine. “Yes, that works. I believe it’s going to be a truly spectacular day.”
That promise held true through breakfast. As she popped a perfectly ripe strawberry into her mouth, she felt strangely like she really was a carefree woman on her honeymoon in a beautiful place with a gorgeous partner, well satisfied in every way and ridiculously in love.
Wait.
In love?
The words made her instantly panic, and she darted a look at Bennett.
He tensed, half standing, his gaze scanning the room. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, sorry, absolutely nothing.” She wasn’t normally a babbler, but right now she was definitely babbling. “Sorry I scared you. I just had a thought, but it’s not even real, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
He stared at her, his gaze piercing, but her reassurances must’ve done the trick, because he relaxed slightly, settling back in his chair. “Everything okay in your head then?”
The wording made her laugh. “As okay as it ever is.”
He smiled back at her. “Ready?”
Immediately brought back to reality and the sting they needed to pull off, Felicity sucked in a bracing breath and then blew it out, expelling all the weirdness her random thought had stirred up in her mind. “Ready.”