Crave (Talon Security #1) (2 page)

They both looked over, offering nearly identical grins.

It was always a close call, but Cade won the first round. I won the second and played Sid. As usual, the three of us got wrapped up in our world, competing playfully and making bets against who would do the chores if they lost.

“Another round?” Caden asked a good deal later. The bar had started to fill up, with the clink of glasses and low hum of conversation ricocheting off the walls.

“I’ve got plans,” Sid’s deep voice replied and I wondered if I imagined the way his gaze flashed to me before hitting the floor.

Was that guilt?

“Oh, yeah, who is she?” Caden smirked.

“Nobody you know,” he replied as my insides twisted in agony. In the years we’d been friends, I’d always felt a twinge of jealously on the rare occasion that Sid went home with someone. Now… now it was like fire in my belly. I wanted to bend over to assuage the pain burning in my gut.

Normally I’d paste a smile on my face and pretend I wasn’t dying inside. Tonight, I simply couldn’t do it. Instead, to my utter horror, I felt tears fill my eyes.

Sid’s eyes widened in surprise as I shoved past him, eager to get the hell out of there.

I practically ran home, feeling utterly humiliated. I’d just told him everything I felt without saying anything at all. Months of hiding my feelings betrayed in a single moment.

I threw my purse and jacket onto my bed and paced back and forth. Sid and I had always had a certain intensity between us, but the past few months it had reached a crescendo.

He barged into my room moments later, his nostrils flaring.

I reeled around in shock, my entire body zinging as I gauged his expression warily. We stood staring at each other, the energy in the room thick with tension.

“What was that, Sam?” he demanded, his voice low and strained.

I stared at him with wide eyes, knowing we were on the precipice of something huge, something we’d never come back from. I’d hidden my feelings for so long, lied to myself and anyone who asked. I simply couldn’t do it anymore.

“I think I’m in love with you,” I whispered hoarsely.

There was a second where I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. That second felt like hours as my heart pounded so hard I thought he could hear it.

Then he moved. He took one big step and I was in his arms, his lips crashing down on mine.

He kicked the door shut as he pulled me so tight against him I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began. His tongue swept past my lips; his taste, the sweetest I’d ever had.

I’d imagined kissing him more times than I could possibly count. The reality was a million times better.

He backed us toward the bed, his hands grasping the hem of my shirt and pulling it up and off. I did the same with him, my hands roaming the plane of his broad muscular chest.

He made a deep rumbling sound as his tongue tasted my neck.

We tore at each other’s clothes, the pent-up sexual tension electric as we sought to devour each other.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned when he got the first look at my bare breasts, before his mouth moved to feast on each nipple.

I grasped his biceps, trying like hell to remain standing. I managed to unclasp his belt buckle, wanting more than anything to taste him.

He slipped my panties down my legs, sliding down my body and to his knees. His expression was fathomless as he looked up at me.

I sucked in a ragged breath as his tongue swept over my core. He feasted on me, devoured me in a way I’d never experienced.

“I’m going to fall,” I gasped.

“I won’t let you,” he rumbled.

He had me on the brink in seconds. I cried out his name as the most powerful orgasm I’d ever had swept through me.

He rose back to his feet and took my mouth again, his hands grabbing my backside and squeezing with another low groan of appreciation.

“Condom?” he demanded.

“I don’t have any,” I panted.

“I do, one second,” he replied, his tone harsh with lust as he stalked out of the room.

I bit my lip, my heart hammering in my chest as I waited for the moment I’d dreamed about to become a reality.

I waited, naked, for what felt like an eternity. With every moment that passed, I grew more and more anxious. After a few minutes, I grabbed my robe and went in search of him.

I found him fully dressed, sitting on the edge of his bed.

My heart sank deep into the pit of my stomach.

“Hey, you okay? What happened?” I asked with quiet dread.

“I’m sorry Sam, I….” He appeared at a loss for words.

I swallowed hard against the razor blades suddenly piercing my throat. “You don’t want me,” I stated flatly.

He shook his head, his blue eyes flooded with emotion as he managed to look up at me. “No, it’s not that. Christ. I’m sorry.”

He rose, brushing past me, and headed out to the living room.

“Sid,” I rasped, my eyes following him as he grabbed his keys and walked through the front door.

He didn’t even look back.

And I moved out the next day.

CHAPTER 1

Six Months Later

T
he chords hummed against my fingers as I sang through the chorus one last time. Seated in a comfortable chair in the recording studio in West Hollywood, I still felt as though I was having an out-of-body experience.

“It’s perfect, Sam—beautiful.”

I looked up at Autumn with a shy smile, placing my hands over the strings to stop their reverberation.

Autumn and I had run into each other throughout the years at various gigs. Her career had taken off in the last year, and by some miracle, she’d requested that I write her a few songs.

Being a famous rock star had never really been my dream, I’d realized. Now I had the opportunity for my songs to be heard by millions. This, this was my dream, new and reclaimed after months of discovery.

“You’ve got everything registered?” she asked as she bent to pick up her guitar, her red curls falling in delicate disarray around her face.

I appreciated her looking out for me. I’d learned a hell of a lot about songwriter rights in the last several months. I’d found myself a music publisher I trusted to ensure that when my songs were played, I got paid, if that day ever came.

“I’m all set.” I smiled. “When are you recording?” I asked, looking around the cozy-feeling recording studio, where a few men stood behind the mixing boards at the ready.

“Probably tomorrow.” She grinned, her blue eyes shining. “I can’t thank you enough. You have such amazing ability, Sam. I hope you don’t mind, but I recommended you to a few other artists.”

I looked at her with wide, excited eyes. “No, I definitely don’t mind. Thank you!”

“I should be thanking you,” she replied before glancing at the time. “Aren’t you late? You said you were meeting up with your brother.”

I grimaced. “Shit, you’re right. At least he’s used to it.” I got up and swept my purse up over my shoulder. “Let me know how the recording goes.” I grinned as she stood up to hug me.

“I will. Talk to you soon.”

I nodded, offered a wave to the studio guys, and headed out into the sunshine. For the first time in months, I felt a genuine smile light up my face.

****

“I’m here!” I called as I swept into the Talon security offices.

Nestled in the heart of the city of industry, Talon headquarters was more of a compound surrounded by barbed wire.

I’d promised I’d meet Travis for lunch an hour ago.

I had a small issue with punctuality. Add in my penchant for losing my balance, frequently rambling on without a point, and my ability to lose anything that wasn’t nailed down, I was often a lot to take.

It was a good thing I was so lovable.

I had a coffee the size of my head in one hand, my giant purse balanced precariously on one shoulder, and the Tupperware container of cookies I’d made under my other arm.

The converted warehouse started off somewhat traditionally with a reception desk at the very front, with a large open-floor plan beyond. There was a desk for each of the guys and a closed-off conference room toward the back for when they needed privacy.

Where it got unique was at the back of the building, where Travis had built a huge, state-of-the-art training facility. I’d only been back there a few times. The sight of the large climbing wall, punching bags, and cardio and weight-training equipment made me nervous. The fat on my ass had been running scared by the time I’d backtracked my way out of there.

Due to the nature of their jobs, all the guys had to stay in military shape. They ate like predators and trained like beasts.

Travis rolled his eyes at me good-naturedly. “Ten bucks says you don’t make it the next five steps without dropping something. And it better not be the cookies.”

I flipped him the bird and in doing so nearly spilled my coffee.

He laughed, shaking his head at my antics. “You’re late.”

“I know, sorry.” I apologized. “I got distracted.” I dropped the Tupperware on the nearest desk.

His brow rose as a slow grin spread across his face. “With…?”

He was teasing me as usual.

Travis was type A through and through. He was driven, meticulous, and impeccably neat. In short, everything I wasn’t. Despite our differences and the occasional dustup over how protective he could be, we’d always been close.

“With life.” I shrugged, looking over at their receptionist, Sarah, and offering her a smile in greeting. I turned back to my brother, giving him a big hug. “Glad you’re back safe,” I murmured in his ear, squeezing before letting go. He’d been overseas six weeks. Sid had been gone twice that long and I bit my tongue, forcing myself not to ask about him.

Sid had been surprisingly angry by my decision to move out, and had been assigned overseas shortly thereafter. We hadn’t spoken in months. I missed him like hell.

“Do I get one of those?” a loud jovial voice boomed from the back of the office. Theo, one of my brother’s partners and another former SEAL, came striding out with a grin on his handsome face.

“A cookie?” I asked coyly.

“A hug,” he replied with a playful glint in his eye.

Theo had always flirted with me, but it was all in good fun. The man only had eyes for Sarah—he just didn’t know it yet.

“Afraid you’re getting a gut? Have a fucking cookie, dude,” Travis grumbled.

Theo patted his ripped stomach thoughtfully. “I think I’m okay in that department,” he mused, grabbing me in a one-armed hug. “Pink, huh?” He continued, tugging on a strand of my hair.

As a natural blonde, I liked to keep things interesting and often died the tips of my shoulder-length hair different colors.

I shrugged. “For this week.”

“Looks good.” He nodded, giving me a final friendly squeeze before stepping away.

“All right, all right—let’s go,” Travis ordered, losing patience with Theo’s flirting. It was a wonder I’d ever been able to date with Mr. Pitbull for a big brother.

We drove to a nearby deli and found a sunny spot near the window.

“How are you really?” he asked without preamble, his intelligent brown eyes regarding me shrewdly.

I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t want you to just be fine.” He shook his head. “I want you to be happy.”

That right there—that was the pure heart and soul of my brother.

I clasped his hand briefly by way of answer. I couldn’t tell him I was happy, not really, and I’d never been able to lie to him. “How about you? I know you’ve been overseas for a little while, but have you met anyone?” I asked hopefully, changing the subject.

“Christ, Sam. You sound like Ma,” he complained.

I cocked a brow, surprised that our mother would spend the time to nag him about his love life. Conversations with her were typically all one-sided—when they happened at all.

Our parents were still married after thirty years and had recently retired. They’d always been like lovesick teenagers. While on the one hand it was great that our parents were still so in love, it was fair to say they took it to the extreme. I knew they loved us both, but they’d always been more focused on each other. They’d been more than happy when Trav and I were old enough to head out on our own and out of their house.

“They still traveling around the country in that RV they rented?” I asked.

“Last I heard.” He nodded.

I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer my earlier question about his love life.

“No, I haven’t met anyone. Don’t have time for that shit,” he grumbled impatiently.

“Trav, you worry about everyone else but yourself. At some point you need to put yourself first, you know?” I coaxed, knowing my words fell on deaf ears.

I debated pushing him—I rarely did. After a moment, I pressed on. “You’re the toughest guy I know. But you also have the biggest heart. Don’t be afraid of that part of yourself.”

He eyed me intently. “I could say the same to you.”

That’s what I got for pushing him.

“So, if you’re not gonna give me an answer about how you are, how about a brief on what you’ve been doing?” he asked, changing the subject as our sandwiches were put in front of us, complete with the huge dill pickle I loved.