Aspen stopped typing notes for her launch plan on her laptop when she heard the throaty purr of a familiar engine pull up to the house. Her heart leapt. Bowie?
It was after eleven. She’d been working on her business and marketing plans all evening, keeping busy even as she’d worried about whoever had delivered that envelope earlier. He’d texted her with a brief response earlier but hadn’t called. She’d been disappointed, wondering if she’d scared him off somehow, and surprised by how much his silence hurt.
Especially after last night. And she still needed to talk to him about the envelope.
His car door shut. She got up, curiosity and excitement flooding her as she went to the side door.
She pulled it open before he could knock, and her greeting smile froze on her lips at the look on his face. His tall, powerful frame filled the doorway, jaw set, eyes like storm clouds as he stared at her.
Her hand tightened on the doorknob. “What’s wr—”
He cupped the back of her neck with one hand, the burning intensity of his gaze making her breath catch. “Missed you,” he rasped out, pent up sexual energy rolling off him in waves.
His mouth came down on hers before she could respond, those big, strong hands pulling her close, and every thought in her head evaporated under the intense blast of heat suffusing her body. She gasped and gripped his head, pressing flush against his long, muscular frame. Relief and desire punched through her, mixing with a powerful need she’d never felt before.
He was here. He’d come for her, and she was safe now. Wanted. Needed.
Bowie locked an arm around her ass and hoisted her off her feet. He walked inside, kicked the door shut behind them, then turned and pinned her flat against the back of it.
She whimpered into his mouth and struggled to get her legs around his hips, her long robe hampering her. Last night she’d been impatient to take charge, but there was no denying he was the one in control now, and his show of strength and dominance sent a dark thrill through her.
He held her in place with his hips and chest, his tongue tangling with hers over and over while the tantalizing bulge of his erection settled against her core. She was dizzy, breathless when he made a low sound and pulled her from the door, still holding her around the hips as he started for the stairs.
Aspen took the opportunity to yank off her robe and then her sleep shirt, peeling it over her head. Baring herself to him completely.
With a low, raw sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest, Bowie lifted her higher to take a straining nipple into his mouth. She fisted his hair and arched, eyes sliding closed as bliss radiated through her. Her clit throbbed, her folds already swelling and growing wet.
Somehow they made it up the stairs while kissing. He moved straight to her bed, laid her in the middle of it and immediately came down on top of her, releasing her nipple to claim her mouth again.
Aspen clutched his shoulder with one hand and pushed the other between them to cup the bulge of his erection through his jeans. He pushed into her hand, his low growl making her shiver in anticipation. She couldn’t wait to feel him filling her again.
He eased his upper body off her enough to rip his T-shirt off while she jerked down the button and fly on his jeans. Together they shoved his jeans and underwear down his thighs, then he leaned down on an elbow to suck on her other nipple while he slipped a hand down her inner thigh.
Heat suffused her, blending with the pleasure. On the way back up, his hand smoothed along her other thigh before he turned his palm and cupped her intimately. Her breath hitched. She opened wider for him, desperate for more, moaning when his searching fingertips stroked her aching clit.
Reaching between them, she curled her fingers around his cock, stroking until he moaned with her, rocking into each other’s touch. Before she could catch her breath, Bowie reared up and dug a condom from his pocket. He slid it on while she ran her hands over the hot perfection of his smooth skin.
He covered her once more, fusing his mouth to hers, one hand locking in her hair as he positioned himself between her thighs and drove into her with a single, inexorable thrust.
Aspen whimpered and dug her fingers into his shoulders, clinging for dear life. He was hot and huge inside her, stretching and filling her, igniting nerve endings that tingled and ached for more friction.
He slowed. Softened the kiss slightly, his fingers finding her clit again. She gasped and rolled her hips, pleasure drenching her.
Bowie pulled back slightly, his face just visible in the moonlight coming through the window across the room. “You make me crazy,” he rasped out. “I can’t get enough of you. Can’t get enough of the fucking sounds you make, or the way you feel when you clench around me…” He hissed in a breath as she did just that, his teeth bared in the moonlight, face taut as if he was in pain as he rocked in and out of her slick core.
A second later, his lips were back on hers, his tongue driving deep between them, the muscles in his back and shoulders bunching beneath her fingers.
This raw hunger, the combination of him stroking inside her while his fingers caressed her clit, was indescribable. All she could do was hold on tight and let him take over, her entire focus on the incredible pleasure he delivered.
He seemed bent on making her lose her mind. Single mindedly driving her higher with every stroke.
Her thighs quivered around his hips. She opened them wider, straining to get just the right friction where she needed it. Sweat dotted her skin, tiny, desperate whimpers leaving on each quick, ragged exhale.
There was nothing but this. Nothing but Bowie, his weight and heat anchoring her, the solid length of him buried inside her while his fingers and mouth made her blind with pleasure. She cried out in surrender when her orgasm hit, a white-hot current of ecstasy he prolonged with each slick stroke.
She was still moaning, clinging for dear life when he growled into her mouth and drove deep, locking there. His big body shuddered over and over, his fist clenching her hair in a dominant grip that shot another thrill through her.
Gradually, he relaxed, slowly sagging as if in sheer relief. He stayed buried inside her, the pressure of his lips easing.
The hand in her hair loosened its grip and opened, his other coming up to cradle her head while the kiss turned tender and sensual. Exploring her slowly. Savoring her now, his tongue caressing instead of conquering.
Aspen melted under him like sun-warmed honey, her entire body floating and boneless, her mind drifting on a haze of adoration and satisfaction. She’d never been wanted like that. Had never had a lover like him, a man who could turn her knees to water with a single kiss, and light her up with a single look.
Lying there beneath him as she caught her breath, she became aware of the rush of the waves outside beyond the house, and the cool breath of the air conditioning on their heated skin. Of the peace filling her. The sense of security he brought.
After another minute Bowie pressed one last gentle kiss to her swollen lips, then buried his face in the curve of her neck with a low groan of contentment. She contented herself with running her hands over his sleek skin, learning each contour and hollow of muscle along his back and shoulders. She could happily do this for hours and not get bored.
“What brought that on?” she whispered, running her fingers through the back of his damp hair.
“Needed to see you.” He eased up enough to withdraw from her gently, then rolled to his side and wrapped his arms around her back to bring her with him. “I decided I’m done being ruled by the past. That it’s time to move forward. And I missed you. A lot.”
She smiled against his chest, snuggling in close to all that warmth and strength. The way he held her made her feel beautiful, treasured and precious. She’d never felt like that before. “I missed you too. I’m glad you came over.”
Bowie kissed the top of her head, and she closed her eyes. It was heaven to lie here with him, safe and warm and satisfied while the sound of the waves drifted through the open transom window across the room. Except what he’d just said about not letting the past rule him made her think of that letter she’d received today.
Her smile faded. She had to tell him. “I got something in the mail today.”
He drew his head back and opened one eye to peer down at her. “Something bad?”
“Yes.”
He pushed up on an elbow. “What?”
Aspen shoved out a breath and pulled the covers to her breasts as she sat up. “I don’t know who sent it, but I can guess.”
“What was it?” He sat up too, his gaze fierce in the moonlight, eyebrows drawn together.
She reached for the envelope on her nightstand, handing it to him without a word. Better that he see for himself.
He flipped on the bedside lamp and pulled the pages out, his lips thinning as he read. “What the fuck?” he muttered.
“Yeah.”
He met her eyes. “Who do you think sent it?”
“Steven. The relative who’s been contesting the will and trust.”
His expression darkened. “It wasn’t mailed. You’re saying he might be here?”
“Maybe.”
Bowie set his jaw. “You need to go to the cops.”
“The cops can’t help me with this. There’s no overt threat in the note, there’s no link between it and the cut brake lines, and I can’t prove he did either of them.”
“What does he mean, he knows what you did?”
Shame hit her, hot and powerful enough to make her hunch over. She’d told him most of it last night, but not everything, and he deserved to know. “After the accident my blood alcohol level was just under the limit when the cops got there. So when it happened, I was likely legally impaired. Driving drunk, irresponsible in thinking I was fine. I made a stupid judgment error and Nat paid the heaviest price of all.”
“But you said it was mostly the other driver’s fault.”
“Yeah, but it was my fault for hitting the back of the trailer while trying to avoid the head-on collision. If I’d been totally sober, I might have seen it sooner. My reaction time might have been faster. Things might have been different.”
“Or they might not have.”
She was convinced they would have been.
Aspen dragged a hand through her hair, hating that she had to dredge up this ugly chapter of her life again in front of him, especially so early on in their relationship. “Everything about that night after the accident is a blur, and so are the weeks that followed, but suffice it to say I became a social pariah overnight. My so-called ‘friends’ wanted nothing to do with me. Everyone blamed me for Nat’s death, believing I was drunk at the time of the crash. Including me.”
She’d never forget the darkness of it. The hopelessness and paralyzing self-disgust. She hadn’t been able to look at herself in the mirror for months.
“What did you do?” Bowie asked quietly.
“I was too broken to do anything. It was Uncle Harry who basically swooped in to do damage control. He got me the best lawyer in the city, hired people to scrub my image on social media as much as possible, and when that didn’t work, we decided I’d better change my surname. Until then I’d gone by my mom’s, so I took my father’s instead and started planning where I would go to start over. It seemed like the only way.”
Bowie watched her, not saying a word. She fiddled with the edge of the quilt and kept going. “I guess it’s true I’ve run from it all in a way, but I didn’t leave Sacramento until long after Harry died, until the estate was settled and the problems with Steven refused to go away. I think he wants to smear my reputation here, or at least try to ruin my life again before I have the chance to start over.”
“Just because he’s got a grudge?”
“Or maybe he thinks he can blackmail me with it, I don’t know.”
A hand slid beneath her chin and tipped her face up, forcing her to meet that deep gray stare. “That’s not gonna happen. I won’t let it happen. And I’ll stand by you no matter what.”
She pulled in a shaky breath, blinking against the sudden sting of tears. “Bowie,” she whispered, overwhelmed by him. His faith in her and his willingness to defend her made her want to cry. The only person she’d ever had in her corner until now had been Harry.
He slid his thumb across her cheek gently, his gaze steady on hers. “I wasn’t there once to protect someone important to me when she needed me most. But I’m damn well going to be there for you now.”
****
God dammit, Aspen was home, but that fucking Challenger was parked in her driveway again.
Steven paused at the end of the street, frustration eating him alive. He’d waited to do this until it was dark, hoping she’d be out somewhere, or worst-case scenario, at least alone. But no, the little slut was with that garage owner, complicating things as usual.
“What are you doing?” Gina demanded from beside him in the passenger seat when he drove past the house.
She didn’t know the real reason why he’d come up with this idea. Didn’t know that she’d been threatened specifically. He wanted to keep it that way, and once they got this painting and gave it to the enforcer, at least the immediate threat was over and they’d have more time to deal with the rest of the debt.
“She’s with that mechanic again,” he muttered, hating Aspen even more.
“So?”
“So, we have to wait. It’s too risky now.” He glanced at the silent kid in the backseat. Eighteen years old, put in touch with them by Gina’s relative for this job. The P.I. had said the mechanic used to be in the Coast Guard. He’d know how to handle a gun and have hand to hand and defense training. It was too much of a risk.
Gina made a disgusted sound and shoved at his shoulder. “So what? They’ll probably be upstairs in bed screwing, which is perfect. The kid gets in, grabs the painting and gets out without them even knowing he was there.”
He didn’t answer, hesitating, then turned slightly to look at the kid. They couldn’t wait. They’d have to risk it. “Can you do this, or not?”
“Yeah, I can do it. It’s downstairs, right?”
“In the living room, just off the kitchen.”
Gina whipped around. “It’s on the east wall. Old oil painting, you can’t miss it. Get it and get out.”
“Gina,” Steven began.
She nailed him with an impatient look. “Quit dicking around. He has to do this right now!”
Her anger only fueled his own rage and the constant fear coiled in the pit of his stomach. He’d barely slept since getting those texts. Barely eaten. Too caught up in the danger facing Gina, the torture of knowing an enforcer was here to hunt them. He was exhausted, desperate, doing everything he could think of to keep Gina safe, watching over his shoulder every moment in case an enforcer was tracking them.
They weren’t safe here. They weren’t safe anywhere until he paid back this part of the money.
His heart thudded hard against his ribs as he slowed and stopped at the curb to watch Aspen’s darkened house in the rearview mirror. Gina was right. They were out of time. They needed that goddamn painting now.
He turned to the kid and nodded. “Do it. We’ll be watching for you.”
The kid opened the door, the car interior staying dark because Steven had turned off the dome light. He watched the teenager blend into the shadows and reach for the mask in his pocket. Steven hoped he was as good as he was reported to be, and that they could trust him not to rat them out if things went sideways.
Much as he hated not having control, there was nothing they could do but wait.