Addicted (Outlaws Book 2) (16 page)

He couldn’t breathe again. His gaze was glued to the seductive movement of her palm as she rubbed it over her core. Son of a bitch. She was right. This
was
punishment. It was torture. His fingers were buzzing, and not because of the lack of blood reaching them. He was desperate to touch her. Every sexy inch of her.

But she denied him. She stretched out next to him, lifting one knee up so he had a perfect view. One finger delicately stroked her clit, pink and swollen and so damn appetizing his mouth filled with saliva. And even though she’d just milked him dry, his cock was throbbing again.

He’d lied to her the other day. Partly, anyway. He
did
get easily bored of women. But he could never tire of Jamie. Even thinking it was completely absurd.

Jamie kept him on his toes. She excited him as no other woman ever had. Keeping their friendship out of the bedroom was the only way he could think of to preserve it. That distance was necessary. It had kept him in line all these years, allowed him to focus on taking care of her. Sex would’ve been too big a distraction. Hell, it
was
a distraction. A team of armed Enforcers could’ve swarmed this bedroom right now and Lennox wouldn’t have even noticed. He was too busy devouring Jamie’s gorgeous pussy with his eyes.

“Me,” she murmured as she stroked herself. “I’m doing this.” She slipped a finger inside, and the wet noises accompanying each gentle thrust told him she was soaked. “I’m making myself wet.” Her index finger moved faster over her clit. “
I’m
making myself come.”

And then she did, her beautiful features tightening with pleasure as her body convulsed beside him. It was sheer agony lying there and being unable to touch her. Not having his fingers inside her, his tongue on her, licking up every ounce of her arousal.

When the orgasm faded, she sat up with a dreamy smile, then offered him a fleeting taste by rubbing her wet fingertips over his lips.

Lennox growled when she drew her hand away. “More.”

“No.” She climbed off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the rec hall to finish my beer.” Her grin widened. “I’ll be back in a few hours to untie you.”

“Jamie —” But she was already scooping up her discarded clothing and ducking out of the room.

A strangled expletive flew out of his mouth as he stared at the empty doorway. Fucking hell.

Payback really was a bitch.

“You doing all right, sweetie?” Jamie couldn’t fight her concern when she entered the restaurant and found Bethany at the counter, clasping her left hand over her lower back. Her right hand was in the sink, covered with suds as water cascaded from the faucet. There didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong, but Jamie didn’t like the pained look in the woman’s eyes.

“My back is killing me,” Bethany groaned. “And Arch is at the farm today, so I didn’t get my afternoon back rub.”

Jamie had to laugh. “Well, I suck at massages, but I’m damn good at washing dishes.” She pointed to a stool. “Sit. I’ll take over.”

Eyes full of gratitude, Bethany dried her hands on a rag and collapsed onto a stool while Jamie took her place at the sink. “Thanks, sweetie.”

“You need to stop working,” Jamie announced as she picked up a dirty plate from the stack and ran it under the tap.

“And then what? Sit around on my ass all day?” Bethany grumbled. “Reese has rules. If you live in Foxworth, you need to contribute.”

“I’m pretty sure Reese would make an exception for a woman who’s almost seven months pregnant.”

“But then I’ll go crazy with boredom.” Bethany groaned again, still rubbing her back. “What are you doing here, anyway? Isn’t there training today?”

“Nope. It’s our day off.”

Bethany chuckled. “I popped into the rec hall last night and snuck a peek at the scoreboard Rylan tacked up. Lennox is beating you, huh?”

She sighed. “Yep.” On the bright side, she’d managed to push Beckett’s team out of second place. Travis had moved up too, putting Beckett in last place. Which was probably why she’d just spotted him and his teenage charges setting up to practice their long-distance targets on their one day off.

The farther distances were the most difficult for the younger shooters because it meant adjusting for factors like wind and bullet speed. Jamie’s favorite team member, Sara – yep, she was totally picking favorites – seemed to have no problems, though. The girl was a natural sharpshooter.

“We start on moving targets tomorrow,” she told Bethany, “so my team might be able to take the lead. I took Sara and Tina to the old high school yesterday and you should’ve seen them. I was tossing bottles in the air and they were shooting them right out of the sky.”

“Wow, you actually lured Tina out of her room? I’m pretty sure that might be considered a miracle.”

Jamie thought about the quiet girl, and smiled. “She’s super shy, huh?”

“Not shy. Cautious.” Bethany’s expression became grave. “She lost both her parents a few years ago. Sloan and Arch found her wandering alone in the woods, but she refused to tell them what happened to her. Actually, she refused to speak, period. For two whole days. At one point they thought she might not know how to talk.”

“But she eventually told them?”

The woman nodded. “Arch wore her down with jokes and gentleness, and Tina told him everything. Turns out her entire camp had turned against her folks. They were the leaders, and people were unhappy with some of their choices, so they killed them. Shot them both in the head right in front of Tina.”

Jamie cursed. “God.”

“She’s been here for two years, but I honestly don’t think she trusts a single one of us. I think she’s scared we’ll turn on her the way everyone turned on her parents.”

A deep crack formed in Jamie’s heart. There was so much mistrust in the free land, so much violence. And the threats didn’t just come from the Global Council, but from
each other
.

There were still times when she wondered what it would be like to live in West City. Having unrestricted access to food and shelter. Enforcers patrolling the streets to keep everyone safe. Sure, citizens were forced to stay behind the city walls, but maybe that wasn’t too high a price to pay. At least they were safe there.

They’re not safe
.

Her delusional train of thought was instantly derailed. Of course the city wasn’t safe. If it were, then people like Kade and Hudson wouldn’t be escaping it.

“I’m glad the kids are having fun,” Bethany admitted. “The mood around here was kind of bleak before you guys showed up. Everyone was so paranoid that the Enforcers would come back and try to take some of the girls.”

“Reese would never let that happen.” Jamie set the plate on the drying rack and reached for another.

“Neither would Arch. That man would die before letting one of our girls become an Enforcer sex slave. He’s insanely protective of everyone here.”

Jamie went quiet, her mind drifting back to the night at the library. It had been a week since her fight with Lennox. The sex afterward had been hot as hell, and he’d been extra sweet to her since then, but she still couldn’t shake her uneasiness. How would he react if they ran into trouble again? Would he yell at her again? Bark orders at her again? Make her feel like the biggest idiot on the planet again? Or would he be able to control his fear and overprotective instincts?

“Does Arch ever tell you what to do?” she asked slowly.

Bethany snorted. “All the damn time.”

“I’m sure.” Jamie gave a strained laugh. “I mean it in a different way, though. Like…” She bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the soapy water in the sink. “Does he ever treat you like he’s better than you?”

“
Better
than me?”

“Maybe better isn’t the right word. Smarter, I guess. Stronger. More capable.” She awkwardly met the other woman’s eyes.

“Why? Is that how Lennox treats you?” Bethany demanded.

“No.” Jamie was quick to defend him, which was ironic, considering that she’d raised the issue. “I mean, not usually. But he did last week. We got into a huge fight about it.”

“He’s always been overprotective when it comes to you,” Bethany pointed out.

“I know, but this was different. He acted like he owned me. Like his word was law. Like he was going to bend me over his knee and spank me like a child for not following his orders.” She tamped down her rising anger. “It was… demeaning.”

Bethany clearly didn’t like that. At all. “I’m going to kick his ass,” she hissed out.

Jamie laughed. “No ass-kicking necessary. We worked it out. I mean, at least I think we did.” Another confession slipped out. “But the way he acted that night really upset me. I didn’t like it.”

“I don’t blame you.” Bethany ran a soothing hand over her protruding belly. “Arch is overprotective, sure. Even more so since he knocked me up. But we’re partners and always have been. Even when we disagree, or if I do something he doesn’t approve of, he still treats me with respect. He tells me why it pissed him off, I apologize, and we move past it.”

Jamie had thought that was how she and Lennox operated too, but the night at the library continued to haunt her.

“Being in love is so tricky sometimes,” Bethany added. “You need to learn to compromise. Accept each other’s flaws, be patient, respectful, all that crap.”

A flicker of fear skittered up Jamie’s spine at the words
in love
. She loved Lennox, deeply, but she refused to let herself fall
in
love with him. She was already having a tough time sticking to his stupid rule about putting up a barrier between naked times and friendship times. Introducing love to the fold would only complicate matters even more.

Except… well, the encounter with those bandits had happened
after
naked times. They should have been in friendship mode at that point, but Lennox hadn’t treated her like the best friend he’d known and trusted all his life. He’d acted like a king rebuking his lowly subject.

Crap. Reese had been right. Sex did screw everything up. She and Lennox had never fought like that before they started sleeping together.

Things were changing between them.

And Jamie had no idea how to stop it.

Lennox entered the garage to find Jamie’s gorgeous ass sticking up in the air. Bent over the raised hood of a beat-up Mustang, she was wearing a short blue dress and white sneakers, and her legs were bare, drawing his gaze to her right calf. The L hidden among the flowers tattooed to her skin evoked a rush of male pride.

He liked seeing his initial on her flesh. Her initial was on his arm, but it went so much deeper than the ink. This woman was inside him. Always had been.

“Oh yeah, stay in that position, love. Just. Like. That.” Lennox whistled in appreciation as he came up behind her.

Her spine straightened at the sound of his voice, and then her head flew up and smacked into the metal hood. “Ouch!” She rubbed her forehead and turned to glare at him.

Lennox sighed. “I told you to stay like that.”

“You creeped up behind me! It’s a natural reflex to go on the defense.”

She had a point. She also had a smudge of grease on her chin, which made him smile. This was the first chance he’d had to see her today. He’d been at the farm with Arch and Scott, the man who ran the property for Reese.

Before he’d left this morning, Jamie mentioned she planned on helping Bethany in the restaurant, but she hadn’t been there when he popped in. He’d finally tracked her down to Beckett’s garage, though he wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing messing with Beck’s cars.

He gestured to the engine. “Why are you poking around in there?” Jamie had zero knowledge about fixing cars, and they both knew it.

“You don’t want to know.”

“Ha. Now I’m even more curious. What’s up?”

She half sighed, half grumbled. “I was keeping Beck company while he worked on this piece of junk, but it got boring pretty fast, so I was wandering around looking at stuff. And then I accidentally knocked a wrench in here.” She pointed an accusing finger at the engine. “Beck said it was my responsibility to fish it out. Apparently that’s my punishment for ruining his precious engine. And then he left to get a drink with Travis. Asshole.”

Lennox snickered. “Can you see the wrench?” He leaned closer and peered under the hood.

“Yes.” Her tone was laced with frustration. “It’s right
there
.” She picked up a penlight and flashed it at a spot behind the fan belt. “It’s stuck between that thingy and the other thingy.”

He choked down a laugh. “Huh. Glad to see you’re finally picking up the correct terminology for the makeup of a car engine.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s really stuck in there, Len. I can’t get it out.”

He decided to take pity on her, grabbing the light from her hand and bending over the engine. By the time his hand emerged with the metal tool, his fingers were covered in grease.

Jamie threw her arms around him after he’d tossed her the wrench. “Don’t tell Beckett it was you,” she ordered. “Otherwise he’ll probably throw it back in and make me get it myself.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

They walked over to the barrel on the other side of the cluttered garage, where they washed their hands in comfortable silence.

Lennox was so relieved that things were back to normal between them. This past week had been pretty damn good – lots of hot sex and not a trace of the anger or bitterness that had plagued them after the library excursion. He had his Jamie back, the one who gazed at him like he mattered most in the world to her, rather than the one who’d glared daggers at him after he’d reprimanded her like she was a toddler.

Fuck, he still felt like an ass for doing that. He didn’t quite understand it, but his need to protect this woman, to keep her safe, was even greater now. She’d slept in his arms every night this week, and Lennox had often found himself waking up in a panic. Watching her sleep, stroking her hair, making sure she was still breathing.

It made no sense to him, why he was so terrified of something bad happening to her. He wondered if he would’ve felt the same bone-deep terror if he’d stuck around for more than a few nights with the other women he’d been with. But sticking around wasn’t his forte. He’d never let himself get too close to any of the women in his bed. He’d never allowed himself to reach that point where he cared too deeply about them.

His heart inexplicably raced as he watched Jamie dry her hands. They were so small and delicate. He’d seen them shoot a gun with deadly precision. He’d seen them beat the shit out of people. But they were so fucking
small
, damn it.

Gulping hard, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed his cheek to her shoulder.

Her body instantly softened against him. “What’s wrong?”

She knew him so well. “Nothing,” he lied, then cleared his throat. “You just look so sexy right now.” Before he could stop them, his hands slipped under her dress.

Jamie laughed but didn’t push him away. “Interesting. I didn’t realize grease and car exhaust turned you on.”

“
You
turn me on.” He nuzzled her neck as he nudged her forward until she was bending over the hood of a nearby pickup truck.

Lifting up her dress, he skimmed his palms over the sweet curve of her ass. Jesus, his groin fit perfectly against her firm cheeks, as if it had been designed to nestle there.

“Lennox…” She moaned his name when he squeezed her buttocks, and a surge of satisfaction injected into his blood.

He was reaching for his belt buckle when heavy footsteps echoed beyond the open metal door. Jamie hastily straightened up and shoved her skirt down. Lennox’s hands dropped to his sides.

He instantly recognized the man who burst into the garage – Gideon, Sara’s father. Though the man didn’t look at all old enough to be the father of a sixteen-year-old. Despite the faint streaks of silver in his jet-black hair, he couldn’t have been older than thirty-five.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” the man snapped at Lennox. He didn’t even glance at Jamie, who’d flinched at his sharp tone.

Lennox donned a lazy pose. “What can I do for you, Gideon?”

“You want to know what you can do for me?” Hostility lined Gideon’s heavy steps as he advanced on them. “Keep that kid away from my daughter!”

Lennox and Jamie exchanged a look. “What kid?” he asked warily.

“Randy! Boy’s been sniffing around Sara ever since you and Connor’s people showed up here. He never spoke a damn word to her before, and now he’s all over her,” Gideon fumed. “I’ve seen the two of you talking – I know you had something to do with this.”