Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (13 page)

One of her h
ands traveled to the nape of his
neck
,
pulling him down as the other traveled south, rubbing as it went. Her lips attacked his, taking control of the hottest kiss he’d ever had. Her tongue demand
ed
entry
,
and he didn’t deny her
,
and when he let her in, it took everything he had not to haul her up
into his arms or over his shoulder
and take her to her room. Butch gasped when her palm encased his manhood, massaging it up and down the outside of
the
jeans he wished he didn’t have on.

She could ask for the moon
,
and he’d find a way to give it to her as long as she kept touching him. All reason left his mind
,
and he did the only thing left to do. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up.
The
hand that was making him feel so good went around his neck with the change in position as she gasped while kissing him.
Her fingers tugged at his hair when s
he wrapped her legs around him and he
pinned her to the nearest wall.
He ground into her sweet mound as he lifted his palm to cup her
overflowing
breast. He gave a gentle squeeze and continued his dual assault as he pulled away from her lips, pulling in a breath.
Another second longer and he would have embarrassed himself
by
exploding in his jeans
, w
hen all he wanted to do was be buried
to the hilt inside her
and feel her
tight sheath
wrapped
around his cock
when he came.

He whispered in her ear. “
Angel,
g
ive me one reason why I shouldn’
t carry you upstairs, undress you, and make you come
,
screaming my name.”

Claire
leaned her head back
,
making a light thump as it hit the wall,
closed her eyes
,
and sighed. “Butch, as much as I want you to, we need to go
before the drunk gets to
o
inebriated to answer anything.
”

Butch let her slid
e
down his body. Her soft breast pressed
firm
against his chest when her feet touched the floor. She swayed
;
he put his palms around her waist to steady her
.
“Easy
,
angel
.”

She leaned back against the wall and away from his chest. Her hand went to her heart as she slowly raised her eyes to his. “Still think I’m Suzie
, t
he sweet little girl you want to protect that can’t handle herself?”

“The only thing you showed me is that you aren’t that scared little girl I thought you were, but you haven’t convinced me you can handle yourself in the bar.” Butch took a step back. He couldn’t have this conversation touching her for fear
he’d give into her demands
.

“
Butch, don’t forget who I’m related to. Mike made sure all of us girls knew how to take care of ourselves
;
I can do this
” Claire crossed her arms under her chest, pushing her breast
s
up and smiled up at him with a twinkle in her eye. “B
esides
,
you need me.”

“Why is that
,
baby?” Butch knew what she was trying to do but still couldn’t get
his head
around why she had to go. He
’d
thought he’d need to ease her into a relationship with him, but now he wasn’t so sure. The woman could have her pick of any man
.
T
hey would all be on their knees
begging
if any of them
ever
experience
d
what she
’d
just d
one
to him. Butch could feel his
fore
head wrinkling. Was he good enough for her? He had plenty of money, not that she needed it. She
was
beautiful,
but
what would she do with a guy like him
?
He had tats on his arms and back. He preferred beer
to
any other
alcohol
. She probably like
d
wine. He
liked his motorcycle
and 4-wheel drive,
and she had her
sporty
Jag.
They were as different as night and day.
Would she really want anything more than just a fling with him?

“
You’re thinking too hard.” Claire raised her fingers to smooth the lines he knew
were
etched on his forehead. “It’s not that bad. I might be able to read his mind if he won’t talk.” Claire’s slid her fingers down his cheek and placed her palm on it. “I promise to stay by your side. I’ll run if you tell me to, and I won’t get in the way, but
,
Butch, you’ve got to understand something about me. This is my name and reputation he’s screwing with
,
and I’m going to do everything in my power to figure out what’s going on. If that means me getting in the car and driving myself, I
am
going.” 

Butch was silent as he contemplated his choices.
For an instant he
thought
about
tying her up
to her bed
,
but thought better of it
. H
er brother and Emma would have a conniption, so that wasn’t a viable option. He could try talking to her until he was blue in his face, but he knew the females in this family. They might not all have the same “gifts
,
”
but they did have one single trait in common. They were all stubborn as hell.
Butch nodded
.
“Agreed, you go with
me. You never leave my side
;
you got that
?
If I say jump, you don’t ask how high
;
you just
do it. That’s the only way I’m
taking you with me.
”

Claire
broke into a wild open smile
and
squealed
. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him to
ward
the door. “No time like the present.”

Chapter 7

Claire felt like jumping for joy. She’d gotten her way, and all it
had taken
was a little makeout session and putting her foot down. She
hadn’t thought
he’d give in so easily
, but he had. Damn
,
that
man
sure c
ould
kiss. One more minute of his hands on her body and she would have let him take her upstairs
, thr
owing
her whole plan out the window for one night with Butch
. She’d been lost in the lust and was thankful he’d pulled away when he had. All of this getting dressed up would have been for nothing. Claire grabbed her purse from the foyer table and opened the door, coming to an abrupt halt.

Butch stopped behind her. “What’s the matter
,
angel
?”

“Who’s driving?” Claire looked from her Jag to his big truck. There was no way she’d be able to climb up in that thing without her tight red dress riding up to her waist. It wasn’t going to make a pretty picture.

“
I’m driving, but don’t worry, I’ll help you up into the truck. I wouldn’t want you to give the neighbors a peep show.
”
Claire glanced back at Butch and his huge grin. He sidestepped her
and trotted
down the three stairs toward his truck.

Claire sighed, locked her door, set the code
,
and followed behind him. She stopped at the passenger door.
Claire bit her lip as she watch
ed
Butch push in the code on the door and pull it open.
She wasn’t expecting for him to le
an down and sweep
her up in his strong arms
,
planting her but
t
in the
passenger seat
, but she’d been glad he did. There wouldn’t have been any other way for her to gracefully get in.

“Buckle up
,
angel
,” Butch said
, then
he close
d the door and rounded
the truck to his side. She grabbed the strap, clicking it in place as he got in and did the sa
me before starting the ignition
. T
here wasn’t any turning back now. She was in this one hundred percent and would see it to the end.

The ride across town
didn’t take
as long as she’d thought. Her mind had been on the man beside her, remembering the feel of his hands touching her. Her panties were soaked from their
tryst
,
a
nd
her thoughts wondered to what
he might actually be like in bed. She wasn’t a virgin by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d always had to make the first move with other men, initiating what she’d wanted and needed
and rarely ever receiving it
. She doubt
ed
she’d
ever
have to do that with Butch. He seemed like a domineering man. Claire shivered at the thought then shook he
r head
to clear
her wicked thoughts to get her head back in the game.

She
twisted in her seat to look at him
. “I forgot to ask
. D
id you find out anything
on
the video
cameras
?” She had meant to ask him earlier but had been sidetracked since walking in the door. Butch
’s mere presence somehow had the effect of making her forget.

“Claire, you aren’t going to like what I found
,
” Butch said as he glanced her way
,
taking his eyes off the road for a
split
second.

“Well
,
that shouldn’t be a surprise; there isn’t much I like about what’s happening. So
you might as well
go ahead and tell me.”
Claire
lifted her hand to her neck in search of her missing pearls before she dropped it back into her lap.

“Someone had looped your video for three hours, and to do that, he must have had plenty of time and still no one saw him. I don’t like this, Claire
. W
hoever did this knew what he was doing, knew his way with the cameras
,
and
,
more importantly, how to avoid
t
h
e
m.”

Claire
resumed her gaze out the
windshield
and s
a
nk back in
to
her
leather
seat. She figured it was bad news, but what the hell did this mean
?
If s
omeone had
enough access to snoop
around her house to figure out where the system was set up
and how to get around it
, what else did he have the chance to do?
Claire rubbed her arms as a chill skirted down her spin
e
. She didn’t like this
,
not one bit
;
this changed things. It wasn’t someone just after money
liked she’d originally thought
. H
e would
’ve
taken the whole deposit.
Moreover,
why
would
someone want to do this to her?
She didn’t have any enem
ies
that she knew of. Heck, she helped needy people.

Butch leaned over and took her hand from her lap and brought it up to his lips, kissing the palm. “Don’t worry
,
angel
, we’ll figure out who did this
and why
.”

Even with his assurance, Claire couldn’t help but worry. After the attempts on her family’s li
ves
over the last year, she’d thought all of their problems
were over
. Butch’s phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. He pulled the phone from his clip and
glanced at
the caller
ID
before putting it back in its holster.
He frowned in exasperation
.

“
Well
I guess that call wasn’t important.”

“Nope
.
”

Claire glanced at Butch to see his brows drawn together. S
he
turned back toward the window and noti
ced they were pulling into the parking lot of the bar
. There were more
motorcycles th
a
n she’d
ever seen together in one place.
She didn’t know anything about motorcycles and biker bars
—
only what she’d seen on television
—
and she hoped it
was true to life because she had every intention on playing the part.
She pulled a piece of gum from her purse, unwrapp
ed
it
,
tossed it in her mouth
,
and started
to chew.

She turned to find Butch staring at her. “What?”
s
he asked as she went to open her door.

Butch halted her on the arm.
“
Angel, wait until I get you down. You were worried about showing the neighbors your
panties
…
Y
ou don’t want those guys to see what’s underneath. I might not be able to take
them all on when they get a look at your goods
.
”
Butch tilted his head to
ward
the group of large men sitting outside the front door on their bikes.

Large
muscular
men with tattoos
blocked the entrance, smoking cigarettes with
beers
in their hands.
Their laughter resonated across the parking lot
.

“You’re right.
I think I’ll
wait”
a
nd she did. Butch
made his way
around the truck and helped her out
the same way he
’d
put her in.
After locking his door
s
,
he put his arm around her shoulders and started pulling Claire to
ward
the
front entrance
and the gang full of big men
.

Claire momentarily glanced
up
at the decrepit building. The old building
s surrounding this one were just as weathered. Tall
er
buildings
stood
on both sides
of the bar encasing
the smaller structure.
The roof looked like it could fall in at any second. What
had
probably once
been
a dark siding had turned a light tan
from sun exposure
over the years. The parking lot was
filled to capacity with bikes and trucks, just like Butch’s
.
The
asphalt
be
neath her heels
w
as
rough
and littered with crumbling pieces
beneath the bottom of her stilettos almost making her trip.
Butch kept his arm wrapped around her shoulder steadying her before she would have ended up on her butt in front of these strangers.
She was glad they hadn’t brought her car
. I
t
would have stuck out with this crowed,
much like her
dress pants and pearls.
Claire let out a nervous laugh.
Here we go.