Full Exposure: A Loveswept Contemporary Erotic Romance (39 page)

Six months ago, just before her in-depth exposé on the gang leader had run in the paper, she’d had the unfortunate pleasure of talking to the man face-to-face. It had been him, and only him, that Claire had truly feared during her entire investigation—and that had been true long before she’d ever met him. Still, when she’d learned that Hoyt had been arrested three days ago during a drug raid and would be absent from the gang’s annual initiation “festivities,” she’d told herself not to read anything into it. That it wasn’t a sign. That it would be stupid for her to risk going back onto Guardian property now that Hoyt and several others knew what she’d written about them. She had to remember that as harmless as Hoyt’s men might seem, they were dark enough to do his dirty work for him.

None of those arguments had kept her away. She’d heard what went on during Guardian initiations. She’d wanted to see it for herself.

And she’d wanted to see one particular person being initiated far more than any other. Now that it was happening, Ty would discover the very thing she’d been trying to keep hidden from him.

Voyeurism. Danger. Kink.

It was what got her off. It was her vice and her shame. And it was the reason she’d run when Ty had come into her life, even though running from him had been the last thing she’d wanted to do.

If he saw her now, he would know how bad she really was. He’d realize that while he associated with the gang for the greater good, she did it out of sheer fascination and pure perverted pleasure …

“Ouch!” She winced when Randall pulled her hair even harder. Apparently, he didn’t have a problem hurting a woman after all. He propelled her past the crowd, dragging her toward the front of the room until she was standing no more than five feet from Ty.

Even then, he was too distracted to notice her.

Hard to blame him.

The blonde was moving her hand up and down his massive cock as she continued to suck him. Ty’s gaze was fixed on what the woman was doing to him, his eyes half-hooded and his fingers still tangled in her hair. But Claire noticed he wasn’t saying anything. In fact, he wasn’t making any sound. The contrast to how he’d sounded when he’d touched her months earlier, after police officials had arranged for them to meet, was marked. She’d been supposed to prep him for his undercover assignment, but that had led to a date and far more intimate acts. The memory of his gravelly voice wafted around the room, reminding her that he had been far from silent the night they’d almost made love.

That’s it, baby. Let me make you feel good
.

Give it to me, Claire. Give me everything you have
.

But he hadn’t always been so articulate. When she’d stroked him with her palm, he’d groaned his pleasure unabashedly, instructing her with hot, guttural, broken words where to touch him and how hard.

No, he wasn’t a reticent lover, but she had to remember this wasn’t Ty. The person sprawled before her was the cop, not the man. The one doing his “duty” while others, herself included, got off on it.

“So what do you think, Fullerton?” Randall taunted. “You think you can do a better job than Brea here?”

As soon as Randall said “Fullerton,” Ty’s gaze jerked to hers. He blinked, as if struggling to focus his vision. Then, unlike his partner, Luke, Ty couldn’t quite suppress the surprise that flashed across his face. It took a few seconds, and probably no one but her noticed, but he deliberately forced his expression to go blank, then annoyed. He glared at Randall. “Who the fuck is she, Jed?” he gritted out.

The blonde’s head didn’t stop bobbing for one second.

As Ty’s gaze once more landed on Claire, a conflagration of heat spread from the tips of her toes to between her thighs and then to her extremities. She actually shuddered, and it made her remember just how strong and unique her body’s response to Ty was. Watching Randall fuck the woman outside had given her a buzz of pleasure, but it had been nothing compared to this.

Randall laughed, the crude sound jarring her out of her thoughts. “Finish first. Then we’ll talk.”

Finish?

Despite the arousal making her body tingle, her mind automatically rebelled. Knowing what Ty was doing was one thing. Watching him and imagining she was the one pleasuring him was something else. But witnessing as he finished with another woman’s mouth on him? No.

Her denial was a confusing, mingled mess of contradictions. Possessiveness made her want to body-slam the blonde away from him. Another part of her also feared that if she actually watched Ty finish, no matter who it was that was getting him off, she’d come right along with him. And how she would survive that embarrassment she didn’t know.

But if she fought, Ty might be forced to break his cover, and she knew how important it was to him to bring the gang down. Ty suspected Hoyt had ordered the death of one of his best friends. And even if it wasn’t true, regardless of what she’d witnessed the past couple days and whether she thought Randall was truly dangerous or not, she knew
Hoyt
was dangerous, and that the gang engaged in criminal activity and needed to be stopped.

She couldn’t risk jeopardizing any progress the cops had been making.

So she did the only thing she could. She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Claire gasped when hard fingers grabbed her jaw and jerked her head around.

“Keep your eyes on them, Ms. Fullerton. After all, you might learn something. Consider it research.”

When she refused to open her eyes, Randall yanked her hair again, this time cranking her head back so far that she cried out in pain. Real fear swept through her, brief but intense. Her eyes flashed open, automatically locking on Ty’s.

Fury flared in his gaze. His muscles tensed. He looked like he wanted to chop off Randall’s hand and feed it to him, and as much as she wanted to let that happen, she also knew they were stuck. There was nothing they could do without blowing Ty’s cover. So she mouthed “no” then snapped, “Get on it with it, then.”

The woman on her knees still enthusiastically sucked Ty’s cock. Claire could tell by Ty’s ragged breathing that he was close to the edge. She kept her eyes locked on his rather than watch what the woman was doing to him. He never looked away from her. In fact, she, rather than the sensations he was experiencing, seemed to be his sole focus. His breathing grew even more ragged. He released the woman’s hair and placed his clenched fists on his thighs. Then, muscles trembling, he tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long, guttural moan as he came. The sound shivered through her body and straight to the hot spot between her thighs. Ty sounded so much like he had on the night they’d almost made love that she couldn’t help it. She shivered and creamed her panties.

She knew without a shadow of a doubt that when he’d closed his eyes and made the sound, he’d been feeling the pleasure given to him by another woman, but he’d been thinking of Claire.

“She’s all yours.”

Jed’s words should have made Ty happier than a horny sailor with first dibs in a whorehouse. Instead, a feeling of dread coursed through him as he stared into Claire’s eyes.

The room had cleared out; only three other people remained. He’d hurriedly washed off in the dingy adjoining bathroom, but shock still reverberated through his system. Claire stared back at him with a mixture of defiance and fear. And yes, even though she was obviously trying to hide it, arousal was there, too. It was as if she knew he’d been thinking of her when he’d come. He’d bet his pension that she was wet, and for a brief moment he actually forgot the fucked-up situation they were in. His mouth watered at the thought of spearing her flesh with his tongue and lapping her sweet womanly juice. Meanwhile, his dick jerked at the realization that seeing him being blown by another woman had turned her on. He’d suspected Claire had a kinky side when they’d met, but she’d been so determined not to lose control, he’d convinced himself he’d imagined it. Now he knew he hadn’t.

With extreme effort, he broke eye contact with her to face Jed. He cocked a brow and leaned farther back in his chair, knees splayed wide. “So what’s this about? I was just getting started,” he grumbled.

Jed grinned. “I’m giving you an initiation bonus. She’s yours.”

Ty didn’t so much as glance at Claire, but he couldn’t help it—his cock hardened even more at the thought of her being “his.” Of being able to do anything and everything he wanted to her—like give her a screaming orgasm no matter how much she fought it. Forcing her to lose control and give him everything she had, just as he’d urged her on that night. Everything she was. The good and the bad. Her soft, clean innocence as well as her dark, sultry, down-and-dirty side that he’d instinctively known was there.

Immediately, his mind zoomed back to the night three months ago when he’d walked her to her door and kissed her goodnight. Hell, he’d done more than just kiss her lips. He’d dived straight into heaven for a hot-and-heavy make-out session that had haunted his dreams. He’d acquainted himself with her body—her lush curves, her slick secrets, the hitch in her breath and the pitch of her moans when he hit a particularly sensitive spot.

She’d especially liked it when he talked to her. His voice in her ear had had the power to make her pussy clench around his fingers as if it was trying to suck him inside her. When he’d started to talk dirty, she’d clawed his back in her excitement—right until she’d booted him out.

He hadn’t seen her since.

Now here she was, obviously under duress, a prisoner of the very gang Luke and Ty and every other cop in the city were trying to bring down.

Given the circumstances, his hard-on should have made him feel like shit, but he had more important things to worry about right now.

Like surviving the mess this sting had become.

Like making sure Claire survived unscathed.

And rerouting the blood from his dick back to the other parts of his body before it busted through the zipper of his jeans and leaped in her direction. For a second, he stared at her. Considered giving her what she so clearly craved—the cover of duress so she could lose herself in her desires without any guilt.

But he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. There was no way he could be absolutely certain it was what she wanted, and even if it was, she’d use it to push him away afterward. He’d already vowed to see her again after this sting was over. He wasn’t going to give her any ammo to keep him at arm’s length.

Standing, he strode to Jed, his movements smooth and unconcerned. “I didn’t realize the terms of my initiation had changed.”

Jed clasped a hand on his shoulder and nodded. “You’re going to be one of us, brother. Provided you do what has to be done. Tonight.”

Ty’s stomach tightened at the way Jed’s gaze moved over his shoulder, landing on Claire in an appreciative glance that suddenly had his nerves dancing a jig.

Shit.

He tried to look bored instead of grim. “So who the fuck is she?”

“A reporter who was warned to stop sticking her nose into Guardian business. She didn’t listen. So now it’s your turn to persuade her. By being friendly, of course.”

Ty smirked and nodded despite the turmoil inside him.

There’s nothing friendly about rape, you motherfucker.

Nothing he’d read or seen about Jed indicated he’d allow an unconsenting woman—even one who’d stuck her nose into Guardian business—to be raped in his presence. In fact, something about the man’s affiliation with the gang seemed off. He and Luke had even considered approaching Jed to turn state’s witness, but had decided the move was premature. Obviously, that had been the wise choice, given where Jed seemed to be heading.

Behind him, Ty heard Claire’s renewed struggle in objection to Jed’s words. Suddenly, she gasped and stopped fighting. Obviously Tom, the big brute restraining her, had something to do with that.

Where the hell was Luke? If things got ugly, he’d need his partner to back him up. It would mean both their covers would be blown, but together they’d have a better chance of actually getting Claire out of here safely.

Deliberately, he kept his gaze off her. Off Tom, the man whose fingers he wanted to break one by one for daring to touch her. “I made my choice, and Brea’s been doing just fine.”

Jed scowled. “This one will be more fun to watch.”

Imagining Claire bare and beneath him while others watched would have been a turn-on under different circumstances; imagining it here, with these men watching and with real fear darkening her eyes, made nausea roll through Ty’s stomach. “No,” he gritted out.

“You’re refusing a senior member’s orders?”

A tense silence stretched between them and Ty bit back a curse. He forced himself to turn and meet Claire’s gaze directly.

He’d already shown Jed he wasn’t a man to kowtow to others, but they were talking about his initiation into one of the city’s biggest, baddest, and most elusive gangs. To get inside, to be able to stop the insidious drug crimes the gang perpetrated, and to avenge his friend Paul, who’d been killed during a drug raid gone bad, Ty had sacrificed months of his life. Hell, he’d even let them tat him with an obnoxious fire-encased skull and crossbones on his left forearm.

And yes, he was okay with screwing a willing woman in front of the gang and letting a brother or two join in. He wasn’t, however, going to let that woman be Claire. No chance in hell. Especially because the fear in her eyes was now overshadowing any hint of excitement. Claire might get turned on watching sex play, but obviously the idea of her being the evening’s entertainment for a bunch of gang members didn’t have the same effect. He turned back to Jed. “To prove my loyalty to the gang, I was ordered, by Brad, to shoot my seed inside a female of my choice in front of the brothers. I did it. I’m in. Your attempt to change the terms now is an insult. If you want, I’m more than happy to let Brea have another go.”

Whatever Tom had done to restrain Claire minutes earlier still allowed her small gasp to be heard. Was Ty imagining hurt in the sound? Jealousy?

“C’mon, man. What’s wrong with you? This bitch is hot.”

Ty turned to face her again, but this time ran his gaze up and down her body. Hot was an understatement. With the bountiful curves of a ’50s pinup model, the bone structure of a goddess, and the lips of a porn star, she was a wet dream whether it was morning, noon, or night. Her breasts were heavy globes topped with what he knew were dark nipples that fit perfectly inside his mouth. She was also a workaholic with obviously more guts than good sense, and her tailored, buttoned-up clothes definitely screamed “repressed.”