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“GET THE HELL OUT OF the bar, Martin.” Claudia raised her voice, trying to catch the eye of the dealer nearest her. He glanced up, eyes wide, then nodded once, heading for the back, where the security guard was taking a break.
She had known this confrontation was coming since he had caught her at his club. She was surprised he had waited a week, but now she knew she had been foolish. He had been waiting for the time when Lucky wasn’t around, and it was only her and one security guard.
“Not so fast, dude.” One of Martin’s goons grabbed the dealer by the arm. “Let’s all just stay right here.”
So be it. Claudia straightened her spine and faced down the two men encroaching behind her bar and managed a cool stare for their leader. Martin Sussex, known by the locals as Master X, stared back, his reptilian features enhanced by the slick-backed hairstyle he favored wearing. Just recently, she’d had the misfortune of running into him when she had accompanied Lucky to go check out the kink club that he owns.
“If you insist on interrupting my work, let’s take this fucking meeting to the office.” Her voice was cold and hard. She had to be firm with this creep. Any sign of weakness and he would pounce on it.
“Now, Claudia, is that any way for a lady to speak? You wound me.”
“I have never claimed to be a lady, Martin, and given the chance, I’ll do more than wound you. Now back off and follow me to the office for a brief discussion, then you and your goon squad can go and harass some other poor casino manager.”
Sussex stepped away with a slight bow, and then followed her into the office. Thankfully, he did leave his goons outside of the door. He walked up to Claudia until they were toe to toe. With a quick flick of his wrist, he grabbed and then held a punishing grip to her ponytail. “The name is Master X, bitch. I gave up the old name when I left Jersey, as you well know.” His voice was low and menacing, making sure she didn’t miss his threat of violence as he traced a finger along her collarbone.
“Now, let’s get down to business.” He shoved her away, her hip hitting the desk as she scrambled to quickly get behind it and put a barrier between them. “Why won’t your boss sell me this dive? My offer is a good one.”
Claudia tried to calm her fears and temper. She was locked in a room with this maggot, his goons were outside doing who knows what to the place, and she had to tell him “no” again. She had no idea why the boss wouldn’t take the deal. If it was her, she’d sign and be long gone. “Look, the boss is sentimental. This place has been handed down from generations.”
Sussex tilted his head, regarding her statement with a bland smile. “Sentimental? And yet, he’s never here. Why do I think this is yet another ploy by your boss to elicit a higher price? I told you to tell him this was my final offer.”
Claudia couldn’t contain her contempt. “Final offer? You gave him an ultimatum- sell it to you for half its value as payment for your services, or you’ll start taking it apart piece by piece. Some offer.” She snorted, letting her temper get the best of her.
Sussex’s brows snapped together, a sure sign his anger was about to be unleashed.
Claudia braced herself, ready to pounce out of the chair and away. He was truly evil. “I’m sorry. It’s not my fault. He’s not going to agree. I tried.” God, she hated the way her voice quivered.
He stood up with a smile. “I understand, dear. He drives a hard bargain. I’ll have to think on this a bit more.”
Claudia breathed a sigh of relief. He was leaving. She stood up.
Without warning, his hand snaked out once more, grasping her hair and pulling her across the desk. Her computer crashed as her legs scrambled to find purchase on the floor, but he dragged her across the room and then flung her against the door. She couldn’t stop her head from cracking against the frame. She saw stars as her legs gave out and she slid to the floor.
Trying to focus, she became aware that he was standing over her. He reached out and hauled her up by her throat. “You aren’t trying hard enough to convince him. Perhaps you need more incentive.”
He was so close that she could feel the heat of his body. The scent of his cologne was overpowering to her nostrils. His breath caressed her cheek, following the path of his finger. “Now, what type of incentive should I give to you, pretty lady?” He ground his pelvis into her. She felt his erection and tried to hold back a whimper. Please God don’t let him do this. The fear in her system reached panic level and she knew she was mere seconds away from opening her mouth and begging. Where was Lucky? He should have been here by now.
Sussex moved his head lowered as he caged her with his body. She tensed as he hovered over her collarbone, poised to strike like the snake that he was. Claudia struggled, but he held her in place, biting into her soft flesh. She couldn’t stifle the scream that welled up in her throat as his teeth sunk deep into her neck, biting down as he pulled away, taking a piece of her skin with him.
He moved away with ease, licking her blood off his lips. “I knew you would taste so sweet, my darling,” he said as he reached into his pocket. He withdrew a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Wouldn’t want you to get blood on such a pretty blouse, now would we?” He waited until she had placed the square against her bleeding wound, then unlocked the door, ushering her into the casino with a gallant wave. “Let’s go see what other incentives we can find, shall we?”
Sussex nodded to the two goons. “Perhaps this will quell the sentimentality a bit.” The men grabbed a dealer from the nearest table, placed his hands in a vice-like grip and bent his fingers back until the bones cracked. He went down on his knees, wailing in pain, and then all hell broke loose in the room. Customers screamed and ran for the exits, knocking over everything in their way in an effort to get out as fast as possible.
Claudia couldn’t do anything but watch as tables were overturned, glasses crashing to the ground as liquor poured out over the carpets. She simmered in rage as she noticed Otis, her former bouncer, coming out of the back loaded up with cases of supplies. She glared at him. He smirked and nodded, then continued walking over to the employee entrance and out of sight. Rat Bastard Traitor.
Sussex grinned as he turned to her, gathering her close. Tears flowed down her cheeks. He was going to trash the whole place. Her only income. Her only way out of this dive was to keep this place in business and the owner happy. Now this snake was destroying everything.
She winced as Otis came in again and proceeded to pour liquor all over the beautiful mahogany bar. “Nooo,” she screamed, fighting like a woman possessed. She tried to break free from the vise like grip that Sussex had as he held her in place. She could only watch in horror as Otis struck a match and tossed it on the surface.
From the back, she heard something hard hitting the door, splitting it wide open. She looked up and saw Lucky barreling into the casino with what looked like a grizzly bear in a trench coat just a half step behind. To her relief, the bear was actually an extremely hairy man, who pulled out two huge weapons from under his coat. Claudia wasted no time screaming at the top of her lungs as when Sussex slightly loosened his grip. Instead she twisted and slammed her knee into his groin as he leveled a gun at Lucky.
Sussex dropped to the floor with a shrill cry and she kicked him in the side. “You son of a bitch!” she screamed as bullets flew past. She ducked behind the bar, using the seltzer gun to put out the fire as best she could. Spotting Otis crawling for the office, she grabbed a broken wine bottle and headed after the scum. Her feet sloshed through the carpet but he was so intent on getting to the safe that he didn’t hear her approach.
She swung the wine bottle and clocked him good across the side of his head. He reared back so she spared a glance to see how she could get away. Bad idea. She watched Lucky fly across the space separating them. She tried to dive to the side, but she miscalculated.
She closed her eyes and prepared for the impact as he crashed into her and they both went down in a tangle of limbs, onto the bleeding Otis. Her breath was knocked out of her twice – once on impact with Lucky, then with Otis. Her head hit the carpeted floor with enough force to bounce.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Lucky’s angry question hissed in her ear. Rolling with her to the open office door, he pushed her inside. “And don’t you come out until I say so.” With that he slammed the door and left her alone.
She didn’t know how she was going to explain this to the boss or the police. She didn’t know how she was ever going to clean up the mess. But uppermost in her mind was the fact that Lucky was out there and bullets were flying, but she knew she was safe. He could have left her to fend for herself, like most men she knew would have, even if it was their job to protect her. Shit got real, real fast when bullets were flying, and there was a huge difference between saying you’ll take a bullet and actually taking a damn bullet.
God, she hoped he wasn’t going to be stupid. She’d figure a way to explain this mess to the boss. It was his fault, actually. If he’d only take the damn offer, Sussex wouldn’t be doing this. What was so damn special about this piece of shit casino?
Claudia heard the sirens in the distance and winced. She needed to get off the floor and go deal with them and the rest of the mess. She jumped up and cautiously opened the door. Lucky’s big body blocked the opening. She tried to peek around him, but he simply grabbed the doorknob and pulled it closed. He didn’t even look at her. “Dammit, Lucky! Let me out! I’ve got to deal with this.”
She tried the doorknob again but it only increased her frustration as he held it from the other side. “This is not your job! It’s mine. I’m the manager.”
He opened the door slightly and grinned. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ve got this.” He winked then slammed the door once again.
She kicked the door. “Dammit Lucky!” She slid down to the floor. She might as well get comfortable. It was going to be a long night.
Two hours later, she heard a knock on the door. “It’s all clear now. Open the door, Claudia.”
She heard him shuffling back and forth impatiently, moving even as she opened the door. And then he was there, his muscular body seeming to increase in size as he approached her.
“What the hell were you thinking? You can’t be alone with men like that. They could have hurt you.” Oh, he was pissed. He was shaking with temper. How could she explain?
She followed her instincts and walked right up to him. He didn’t move an inch as she folded her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin. “I wasn’t going to let them hurt me, Lucky. I knew what I was doing.”
His big arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight. His large hands came over her head in a protective gesture. “You scared the daylights out of me.”
It felt so good to be in his arms. The man certainly knew how to hug. He enveloped her, surrounding her completely. She couldn’t help but cuddle closer. This. This was so much more dangerous than what she had just been through. The others simply wanted the money. This man could steal her heart.
“You will obey me, dammit. Pam said you went back there with that Master X fellow. What the hell did they want, Claudia? Why would you go back there with them? Anything could have happened. What’s the boss got going now that makes these guys want the place so bad?” He squeezed her tighter. “Tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it.” He kissed her hair. “I’ll take care of you.”
Such a drama queen. She’d been taking care of herself for more years than he’d been alive. And he’d take care of her? No, not if he knew the truth. She lifted her head and found him staring down at her. Heart stopping. That’s what he was. With his sleepy eyes and that sexy mouth, she couldn’t look away. He was everything good and wholesome. She needed to feel clean after what Sussex had done to her. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her lips.
The need to burn off the adrenalin from the fight was riding Lucky hard. When he’d finally thrown those goons out the door, one of them had sucker punched him in the gut and they had taken off running. Sussex had cleared out as soon as he caught sight of Noah. Lucky didn’t think to give chase. Claudia came first.
He gave her a minute to explore before he took command. Her mouth was oddly tentative for such a brazen woman, but then Claudia was quite the study in contradictions. Her hands moved around his chest, fingertips grazing his throat, then his jawline. Her light touch made him come alive with desire for her.
He was used to women wanting him, but this woman completely unnerved him. He grew even harder. He wanted her so fucking bad he couldn’t see straight. From the moment she had opened that door and stepped into his arms, his cock had jumped and pleaded and twitched in his pants.
She stopped, pulling back slightly. When she looked up at him he nearly got down on his knees. She was so gorgeous, her lips swollen from kissing. “We should stop. The bar...” she murmured. She started to step away, but he wouldn’t allow it.
He had zero plans to stop. He was never going to stop. He didn’t have to. He would fuck Claudia until she realized she belonged to him. She was his to take care of, to worry over, and to love. Had he just said love? Wow! He was in love with her.
“Noah’s got the bar and a bat, though I doubt anyone’s going to screw around with him for the rest of the night.”
“The bear’s name is Noah?” she whispered, trailing kisses along his jawline.
Lucky caught her under her knees, lifting her easily, and made his way over to the wall. It was an easy move to shift her up against the wall and then find her sweet spot with his throbbing cock. She moaned when he pressed forward, hitting that little jewel with the hard ridge of his jeans.
“Yes. He’ll take care of it and then cleanup.”
“But...”
“Shhh, he’ll take care of it.”
Lucky wanted to bend her to his will, because she was such a hard ass when it came to everything. She wouldn’t submit to anyone but him. She sure as hell wasn’t backing down from the fight.
Now, he wanted her soft and willing. He wanted her to know she belonged to him, and she didn’t have to be anything but agreeable. He had to feel her need as well as his own.
“Okay.” Claudia whispered, then gasped a little, her legs winding around his waist. It would be so easy to push up that little camisole she was wearing. He would drag this damn mini skirt up too. Then he’d twist those panties right off of her and let his cock roam free. He didn’t want it easy and slow with her. She needed to know he would always give her what she wanted.
He lifted the camisole from her body, revealing her large breasts. She cupped them and offered them to him in sweet submission. She would never know the touch of another again, Lucky vowed. Only him. In a haze of adrenalin filled lust, he believed it, too. He believed it could be true, that she was the only one for him. He no longer gave a damn about the crooks or the arsonist. All that mattered was Claudia.
“What the...?!” Lucky stared at the open wound along the bottom of her collarbone.
“Shh,” she clutched him tight to her. “I’m fine. It’s nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“You shouldn’t have to handle it, dammit. I’m going to add assault to the list for the police.” He started to pull away.
“No!” She grabbed at him, wrapping her body around him. “Please, Lucky. I need you. I need you now. I need to feel...” Claudia begged him with tears in her eyes.
Lucky looked down at her tear streaked face. He was torn between seeing that little prick never hurt another woman again, and giving into their lust. Her beseeching look, together with her whispered, “please”, was all it took to sway him back to into her arms.
He realized he wanted more than her body, he wanted her soul. To know that she had a home with him, that he would never abandon her. “Give me everything, love.” He pressed against her, lighting his whole body up. He licked and suckled her breasts, then moved back to her mouth, pressing in and taking control. He raised her hands above her head and pinned her with his body. She submitted to him, sweetly, giving him access to her core as he lifted her skirt.
She wasn’t wearing panties again.
He needed to be in her. He needed to give her crazy pleasure. Slowly he slid down her body, kneeling at the juncture of her thighs. “Spread your legs for me, baby.”
She opened for him, giving him access to her sweet spot. And then her pussy was right there, spread wide, and she was wet. His cock was so damn hard, but he wasn’t giving in yet. He needed to show her that he would always take care of her needs before his own. He leaned further and breathed in the scent of her arousal. The petals of her sex were already coated, her labia a gorgeous shade of rose velvet.
With shaky hands, he touched her, sliding his fingers through the soft skin of her sex. He ran the pad of his thumb across her clitoris and she jumped. Claudia moaned and pressed up against him, trying to force him to rub harder. Her pussy was glistening in the light of the fluorescent bulbs. He didn’t want to tease either of them a moment more. He pressed in and ran his tongue over her labia.
Sweet and spicy, she coated his tongue. He couldn’t get enough. He felt her tense against him as he held her legs open. She moved restlessly, trying to make him take more of her. She grasped his head and pushed him closer.
He was having none of that. He pried her hands away and slapped them against the wall. He was in charge. “You want to come, my little cat? Ask me nicely.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He rubbed her clit just enough to make her squirm, but not enough to send her over the edge. She moaned. “Yes! Yes, please, Lucky.”
He let himself go. He fucked her with his tongue, diving deep inside and loving the way she shook around him. His thumb found her clit and he pressed down as he speared her roughly with his tongue. She came with a loud moan and coated his tongue even more.
He had never tasted anything so sweet.
He couldn’t wait another second. He had to have her. He stood up and dropped his jeans after reaching into the pocket for a condom. He stroked himself, once and again while watching her watching him. He wanted to watch her as she did this for him with her mouth. Yes, soon. He was too impatient tonight.
“You taste so good, gorgeous. Taste yourself on my tongue.” He commanded as he pressed against her. Her arms went around him. She opened her mouth and let him in. Over and over he stroked her with his tongue.
“Lift up baby. Let me in.” he murmured. “I fucking need you so bad.”
She hitched up and away from the wall slightly, so he could palm her luscious ass and that was all the invitation he needed. He fell against her, his cock seeking her warmth. She pressed him closer, and he growled in joy at their connection. She was so tight.
He pulled back a little and then cautiously moved forward. He didn’t want to hurt her. She wiggled, wanting more of him, so he pressed his full length inside again. He pulled out and fucked his way back in, keeping his strokes measured and grinding against her. He wanted her to feel as good as he did.
“More, Lucky. Faster.” Claudia clawed at his back, grasping his ass and pushing him further into her.
“I’ll give you everything, baby. This is all for you.” He thrust into her forcefully, making her go off like a rocket. Her release only sparked his need more and he lost the controlled rhythm, but continued pounding into her again and again. His eyes closed and he held himself deep inside her as he came.
“Are we ever going to make it to a bed?” she asked a moment later, as they slid to the floor.
“Marry me.” He whispered against her hair. She wiggled to peer up at him as he looked down at her.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Yes.”
He stared at her, his heart thundering in his chest. Way to go, asshole. Lay your cards on the table before she even knows you, there’s no way she’s going to say yes.
“Yes.”