Addicted (Outlaws Book 2) (3 page)

A crease of unhappiness dug into his proud forehead, but Jamie knew he was close to capitulating. Lennox didn’t like letting her out of his sight and they both knew it. And that was fine by her. His overprotective bullshit annoyed her sometimes, but when it came down to it, she and Lennox were a team and always had been.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “You can come.”

She snickered. “You say that as if you’re giving me permission. But sure, you can keep thinking you’re in charge if it makes you feel better.”

His lips quirked in an exasperated smile. Then he walked over to the bed and captured her chin with one big hand before dipping his head to kiss her cheek. “Night, love. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

The soft brush of his warm lips on her skin made her smile. Lennox was always so tender with her, which was ironic, considering that it was no secret that he liked rough sex. Jamie had seen him pound into women with fervor, use his lips and hands and teeth to let out his sexual aggression.

She was one of the rare people who got to experience the gentle Lennox. The sweet Lennox. She would’ve missed out on that if the two of them had gotten sexually involved, because going to bed with Lennox would’ve come with a choice: sex or friendship.

Times like these, when he ran a tender hand over her cheek and gazed at her as though she meant the world to him, she was glad she’d never been forced to make that choice.

Rylan could tell that Connor had more to say. While the other men headed off in different directions, he remained on the porch, studying his best friend’s serious eyes.

Usually Con was a lot harder to read, but tonight he was conveying his unease as clearly as the neon lights that had once lit up city billboards. Rylan remembered being shown a picture of a place called Vegas when he was a kid, and how his eyes had grown larger than saucers when he saw all those lights, shining bright even at night.

Nowadays, nights were shrouded in darkness unless you were lucky enough to find a place with a generator or access to the power grid. Or if you lived in the city, where modern conveniences were given freely to the citizens who toed the line.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked the camp leader.

Connor rose from his chair and joined Rylan at the railing. He stared into the dark forest for a moment, opened his mouth, then closed it when soft footsteps sounded from the path on their right.

They both turned to find Hudson approaching the cabin. “I’m exhausted,” she announced as she climbed the steps. “You coming to bed?”

Connor gave a brisk nod. “Give me a second, sweetheart. I need to talk to Ry.”

“Don’t take too long.” She glanced at Rylan. “You’ve got five minutes and then I’m dragging him inside. He’s exhausted too, but he’ll never admit it.”

“Of course not. We’re men, baby. We can never admit to having anything less than go-all-night stamina.” Rylan waggled his eyebrows at her.

Laughing, she stepped closer and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. “Night, Ry.”

Rylan squeezed her back, planting a kiss on the top of her head. The other man watched the exchange without a hint of jealousy in his eyes. He turned into a possessive asshole whenever anyone showed interest in Hudson, but never around Rylan. Maybe Connor was confident that Rylan would never try to steal his woman. Or maybe Con just suspected what Rylan had never voiced out loud – that he had no interest in settling down. Ever.

Either way, it didn’t matter why his friend trusted him. He enjoyed his visits to their bed, and as long as Con was willing to share Hudson, Rylan was happy to accommodate them.

The moment Hudson was inside the cabin, Connor finally voiced his thoughts. “Reese is lying to me.”

“Huh. Okay.” Rylan’s gaze sharpened. “You think there weren’t any attacks on Foxworth?”

“No, the attacks were real. I spoke to her people. They confirmed it.”

“They could have been lying too. You know everyone there follows Reese’s lead.” Which never failed to get him hard, seeing the power Reese wielded over her people.

Something about that woman turned Rylan on something fierce. He found it insanely bothersome that she didn’t return the interest. He could rock the woman’s world, if she’d just let him.

Connor was shaking his head. “I know when I’m being lied to. Her people were telling the truth. She wasn’t.” His hands curled over the wooden ledge, frustration etched into his features. “Her request for training… something about it sounded off.”

“What do you think she’s up to?”

“No clue, but there’s definitely something brewing in Foxworth.” Con shrugged. “I need you to find out what it is.”

Rylan offered a rueful grin. “If you need to me to set up some kind of honey pot operation – or would it be honey dick? – then you might be shit out of luck. My natural charisma doesn’t work on that woman.”

The other man chuckled. “Guess you’ll have to dip into your other bag of tricks, then. I don’t care how you get the intel, just get it done. I’m not happy about sending people to Foxworth when I know Reese is cooking something up.”

“I’ll do what I can,” he promised.

“Good, now I should probably get inside before Hudson comes out and —”

A loud crash sounded from the vicinity of the trees. In a heartbeat, both men had their guns out of their waistbands and aimed at the dark forest. Since the entire camp was rigged with trip wires, Rylan tensed, expecting an explosion to light up the sky at any moment, but the night went silent again.

Frowning, Connor slid the radio out of his belt. “Xan, you at the lodge?”

A static-ridden response came back. “Yeah.”

“Check the cameras in the east woods. We heard a crash.”

There was a long beat of silence, then, “Think it was a branch. A few of those dead trees we need to cut down took a beating during the thunderstorm the other night. I’m seeing lots of branches on the ground.”

Connor relaxed. “Gotcha. Thanks.”

They kept their weapons trained for several more seconds before lowering them. It probably
had
been a fallen branch, Rylan decided. The chances of anyone sneaking into the camp without setting off one of the motion sensors or explosives were pretty damn slim.

Tucking his gun away, Connor headed for the cabin door, then halted when he realized Rylan was still at the railing. He slanted his head and said, “You coming in or what?”

Rylan barked out a laugh. “Your woman’s tired.”

A wicked gleam entered Connor’s eyes. “Yeah, but nothing puts her to bed faster than a screaming orgasm. Been a while since we gave her one.”

Rylan’s dick was hard in a nanosecond. Yeah, it’d been a couple of weeks since he and Connor tormented Hudson’s sweet, delectable body.

Jamie had already gone to bed, so it probably wouldn’t be gentlemanly if he woke her up to finish what they’d started in the barn. But damn, he could use a good lay right now. Orgasms were one of the few rewards in this dangerous, fucked-up world. Made living in it a bit more tolerable.

With a grin, he gave Connor a slap on the shoulder. “Lead the way, brother.”

The group gathered in the courtyard the next evening after the sun had set. While the men loaded gear into the Jeep, Jamie hugged Layla and Piper good-bye before pulling Hudson aside.

She checked that the other women were out of earshot, then said, “Take care of them for me.”

“I will,” Hudson promised.

“And keep an extra eye on Piper. Girl’s as stubborn as a mule, and she doesn’t always follow orders.”

The blonde grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m used to dealing with stubborn asses.” She cocked a head toward Connor, who was issuing some last-minute orders to Pike.

Jamie snickered, and the sharp sound startled the one-month-old wolf pup at Hudson’s feet. “Aw, wolfie, don’t be scared.” She knelt down and patted Hope’s soft head. When a pair of eerie blue eyes peered up at her, a shiver ran up Jamie’s spine. “Jesus, her eyes freak me out.”

Hudson scooped up the wolf and nuzzled her dark fur. “Don’t say that. You’ll give her a complex.”

That triggered another snicker. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but… you and Pike are fucking insane. You realize she’s a wolf and not a person, right?”

“Agree to disagree.”

Hudson stuck out her tongue, then ambled off toward Connor and Pike. The latter plucked the furry bundle from Hudson’s arms and whispered something in Hope’s tiny ear. Which only made Jamie gape, because, really? The man barely said a word to the human beings around him, but he was whispering sweet nothings to a
wolf
?

An engine roared to life behind her. She spun around to find Lennox straddling his Harley. “You riding with me or in the Jeep?”

Jamie hesitated. Pike was now straddling his own bike, which left Rylan alone at the Jeep, tossing gear inside. She glanced back to Lennox, who seemed to already know the answer.

“Gotcha,” he said dryly.

For some stupid reason, she found herself on the defensive. “It’s a long drive. Figured I’d ride in comfort so I don’t show up to Foxworth with a sore ass.”

Lennox smirked. “You and Ry alone in a car for five hours? Bet you’ll still be showing up at Foxworth with a sore ass, love.”

She gave him the finger, but he just laughed and started the engine. A moment later the powerful machine disappeared down the path.

Lennox had been mocking her about her crush on Rylan for more than a year, though she supposed she deserved it. She was twenty-five years old, too damn old for girlish crushes, but… damn it, Rylan was sexy as hell, not to mention the most likable man she’d ever met.

She headed for the Jeep and threw her duffel bag in the back. When Kade came up beside her, she battled a spark of disappointment. She thought he’d be on one of the motorcycles.

Just when she’d resigned herself to riding alone in the backseat, the dark-haired man beat her to the door. “Mind if I sit back here? Xan and I were fixing the barn roof all day and I want to stretch out and sleep.”

“It’s all yours.” She gestured to the torn seat.

Kade climbed into it, then rested his head on one of their bags and closed his eyes.

She and Kade were around the same age, but she didn’t know him well. He’d been part of Connor’s group for a year or so, but there was something seriously haunted about his dark eyes, as if he hadn’t quite left the city behind him.

“Ready?” Rylan’s deep voice sounded from behind her.

She walked up to the passenger’s side. “Yep.” She was more than ready, actually. Sitting up front with Rylan for the five-hour drive? Hell yeah.

He grinned as he slid behind the wheel. “You’re the sexiest copilot I’ve ever had,” he drawled.

The compliment brought an uncharacteristic flush to her cheeks. Damn it. She was so gone for this man.

Pike signaled something to Rylan before speeding off on his Ducati, and the Jeep quickly followed suit. Rylan kept the headlights off as he steered down the long path winding along the mountain.

Jamie wholly approved of the location of their camp. The entrance to the main road was overgrown with foliage, and Connor and his men had removed any road signs that had once directed visitors to the resort. The place was completely hidden from view, high enough on the mountain and shielded by forest so that nobody on the road could see the lights in the cabin and main lodge.

But while the isolation boded well for safety, it got to a person after a while. She was looking forward to being at Foxworth and interacting with people again. It was rare for large groups of outlaws to congregate in one place, but Reese’s town had a population of nearly eighty, at last count.

As they followed the motorcycles down the dark, quiet road, she and Rylan chatted for a bit, then settled into silence as he loaded a CD, which was another rarity. Jamie hardly ever got a chance to listen to music, but the Jeep had an older-model CD player that miraculously still worked, and she leaned back in her seat as music floated out of the speakers. They were three songs into the album when she realized how depressing the music was, chock-full of twangy guitar and lyrics about heartbreak and misery.

“Are you trying to depress me?” she teased.

He chuckled. “Pike and I stole this Jeep when we were making our way out of the south. Damn thing only had three CDs in the glove box. This one is the most uplifting, believe it or not.”

“Does this music have a name?” she asked curiously.

“Country.” He shrugged. “It’s not terrible, but I’ve listened to this shit so many times it’s a miracle my ears haven’t exploded.”

They went quiet again as the singer crooned about his lady and a trailer and a field of buckwheat. After thirty minutes, the album ended and Jamie swiftly intercepted Rylan’s hand before he could load the next one.

“Oh my God. No more!” she begged. “I’m ready to hang myself here.”

“Fine, then as my copilot, you need to entertain me in other ways so I don’t pass out like this asshole back there —” He jerked a thumb at Kade, who was out like a light. “Know any games?”

“I know all kinds of games.” She winked at him.

Rylan’s blue eyes instantly smoldered. His tongue came out to moisten his bottom lip, and it was so sexy it sent a bolt of heat right to her core.

“Yeah?” he prompted, those eyes continuing to gleam.

“Oh yeah.”

She slid closer and rested her hand on his groin, shivering when she felt him hardening beneath her palm. She gave a slight stroke, and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. Another teasing stroke, and a groan escaped his lips.

Rylan rocked his hips and thrust into her hand. “Fuck, baby, you’re killing me. Undo my pants.”

Feminine power. It was a heady thing.

Jamie had been fourteen when she realized how much power a woman truly possessed. The men at her camp, her father included, were the toughest, baddest dudes she’d ever known. They hunted to feed the group, fought off bandits and Enforcers, did everything they could to keep everyone safe. The women had been equally tough, but with young children in the camp, the role of caretaker naturally fell to the females.

To Jamie it had always seemed that the men commanded more power – until the day she’d kissed a boy for the first time and watched him turn into a puddle of mush at her feet. In that moment, the toughest boy she’d ever met would have done anything for her. Ripped the shirt off his back to keep her warm, walked on hot coals to keep her safe, stepped in front of a bullet to keep her alive.

In a world where you had to utilize every skill in your repertoire, the realization that sex and seduction could be used as a tool had been a goddamn eye-opener.

But she didn’t have an agenda at the moment. She didn’t want to use Rylan or persuade him into doing something for her. She just wanted him. Period.

Smiling, she slowly dragged his zipper down and slid her hand inside his pants. He jerked when she curled her fingers around his heavy shaft, then moaned when she dipped her head and brought her tongue out for a taste.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Rylan threaded the other one through her hair and choked out, “I like this game.”

It was midnight when they finally neared their destination. About a mile out of Foxworth, Lennox slowed the bike and conducted his usual sweep of the area. He’d been there numerous times and had never encountered any trouble before, but he’d be a fool to take the seemingly secure surroundings at face value. The West City Enforcers were well trained – they knew how to remain invisible, and they excelled at biding their time until the opportunity for an ambush presented itself.

But there was no trouble to be had tonight. A sharp whistle from Pike confirmed that the area was clear, and Lennox sped up toward the huge steel gates surrounding the little town. On the east end of the main gate was a raised landing to accommodate an armed guard, who monitored all arrivals. Another guard manned the back gate, while several others patrolled the perimeter. It was a twenty-four-hour security detail, and every guard reported directly to Reese.

Lennox stopped in front of the gate, which was over ten feet high. Reese’s group had laid claim to Foxworth about four years ago; it had taken nearly half that time to erect the gates, which had involved hauling in sheets of metal from nearby factories and shipyards in order to complete the project. He wholly approved of their efforts. As much as he’d loved his old house, he’d never felt entirely safe there. At Foxworth, he always felt safe, which was all sorts of fucked-up, because he knew damn well that safety was nothing but an illusion.

The dark-clad figure standing above the entrance trained his rifle at the approaching motorcycles. Rylan waved from the front seat of the Jeep. With the vehicle’s top down, the guard had a clear view of him.

A second later, a metallic grinding filled the night air as the gate slid open and two of Reese’s people waved the convoy in.

Lennox drove into a gravel-lined courtyard littered with dozens of other vehicles. He killed the engine and glanced around, noting that not much had changed since his last visit.

Foxworth was nothing more than one street with a town square and park in its center, and one- to three-story shops lining both sides of the wide lane. The gates had been built to enclose just the main stretch; there were several very nice properties in the surrounding area, but Reese wanted everybody close by, so storefronts and boutiques had been converted into living quarters. The town’s rec center served as a gathering place, and there was even one restaurant that was completely operational.

Foxworth was downright paradise compared to some of the other communities Lennox had visited.

He removed his helmet and slid off the bike, turning toward the Jeep as Jamie popped out of the passenger’s seat. She was surprisingly light on her feet. Then again, she’d just spent hours in a car with the object of her affection.

Annoyance clamped around Lennox’s windpipe. He tried to force it away, but the vise only squeezed tighter when Rylan stepped out. His jeans were unzipped.

So that was why Jamie was so chipper. She’d blown Rylan on the ride over.

Lennox met Rylan’s eyes and nodded at the man’s crotch. With a wink, Rylan zipped up and wandered toward Kade to help him unload the Jeep.

Knowing Jamie’s mouth had been on Rylan brought simultaneous jolts of heat and resentment. Jamie knew her way around a man’s cock, so damned if the thought of her sucking someone off didn’t turn him on.

Sadly, Lennox would never be lucky enough to experience that magic mouth on
his
dick. He’d gone to great lengths to preserve their friendship by solidly keeping sex out of the equation.

“I was hoping you’d be here.” A throaty voice sounded from his left, and then Reese appeared and tugged him toward her for a hug.

She looked as gorgeous as ever. Her hair, the color of burnished copper, streamed over one shoulder in long waves. Black pants and a tight black tee hugged her endless supply of curves, showing off a pair of spectacular tits and an ass he’d dug his fingers into on more than one occasion.

Lennox kissed her cheek, then pulled back and examined her. Her brown eyes, usually shrewd and alert, were lined with exhaustion.

“You look tired,” he said frankly.

Reese sighed. “I am tired. Sloan and I butchered a cow today. Took hours.”

Sloan was Reese’s number two. The burly, bearded man served as her shadow, which was why Lennox wasn’t surprised to find him lurking a few feet away, his watchful gaze fixed on his queen.

“I’m glad you’re here.” A slow smile curved Reese’s full red lips. “I was starting to get bored.”

He grinned. “What, the forty-odd dicks in this place aren’t enough to satisfy you?”

“Not like yours.” She swept her gaze over his arms, chest, and groin, then licked her lips. “Fuck, I’m
really
glad you’re here.”

“What about me?” came Rylan’s careless voice. “Happy to see me?”

In the blink of an eye, Reese’s demeanor went from seductive to displeased. “Rylan,” she said coolly.

“Reese.” The blond man bent his tall frame to kiss her cheek, and though she let him, she didn’t seem to enjoy it. “You look beautiful as always, my queen.” He gave an exaggerated bow that made Reese roll her eyes.

“Thanks.”

One syllable was all she spared before dismissing Rylan from her gaze. Shifting around, she leaned up on her tiptoes to press her mouth to Lennox’s.

The kiss was brief but molten hot. Reese’s tongue curled around his in a teasing stroke before she nibbled on his bottom lip and murmured, “Come find me later, honey. We’ve got lots of catching up to do.”

As she drifted off to greet Pike, Rylan let out a heavy sigh. “Tell me your secret, brother. How do you get her to stick her tongue down your throat like that?”

He snickered. “Easy. I don’t annoy her.”

“I don’t do it on purpose,” Rylan protested.

Lennox couldn’t disagree. Rylan was the least annoying person he’d ever met, yet Reese was constantly swatting him away like a bothersome fly buzzing around her head. Lennox couldn’t even begin to figure out why that was. Reese was a strange creature, happily welcoming some men into her bed, while being incredibly selective about others.