Reno [Wolfe Brothers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

“Apology accepted,” he murmured as he pulled her close to him. His lips brushed against her head. “But you’re still not getting dressed today.”

“Yes, sir.” She couldn’t get over how safe and secure she felt with him. She knew she shouldn’t get too used to this feeling, but for once in her life, she felt cared for by someone other than her grandparents.

“What other kinds of fantasies have run through your dirty little mind, pet?”

She damned near choked on her bagel. “I, uh, I…just the usual stuff I guess.”

“What’s usual?”

“The stuff they put into books?”

“Do I need to punish you again?”

She sighed. I’d really like to punish his highhanded self, she thought before searching through her mental filing cabinet for something that would be dirty, yet acceptable if he should decide to use it against her.

“Toys, spankings, anal sex, oral sex, sex in general, bondage,” she threw them out quickly, but tried to keep the other things like voyeurism and exhibitionism to herself. “I guess it’s been the stuff we’ve done except for the toys.”

“Nothing else?”

The soft quality of his voice made her nervous, but hell, she had a password on her laptop. It wasn’t as if she’d ever shared those fantasies with anyone else. The trust thing came into play, but how much did he really need to do?

“There are some things I like to read and fantasize about that I don’t think I’d want to do.” She buried her head against his throat, as if trying to hide her blush there.

“Such as?”

“Watch someone else have sex,” she mumbled against his neck.

“You could do that at the dungeon.” He chuckled. “You
have
done that at the dungeon. What else?” When she shook her head, he decided to give her a little incentive for honesty. “Your laptop password is Mizzu05.”

“Having someone watching me as I have sex!” She shook as she spoke. “But I honestly don’t know that I could do that,” she quickly added. “It’s one of those things that is arousing to think about, but I really don’t know that I could let go enough to do that kind of thing.”

“Maybe if you felt comfortable with the person watching you, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

“That’s a great idea, but I really don’t know anyone other than you. And that would mean I would have to fuck someone else, and I don’t want to do that either.” His eyes widened as she realized her mistake so she added, “Right now.”

“That’s something to take into consideration.” He pulled her over so that she was sitting across him lap. “Anything else, pet?”

“Not that I can think of right now.” Honesty being the best policy, she refused to let her mind think of anything else that he might like to know. She wrapped her arm around his neck and laid her head on his chest. She was out like a light.

He held her as she slept. She felt right in his arms—his arms tightened around her. He thought about the fantasies she claimed she had, and the others he would love to help her enjoy. He thought about sharing her with Xavier, and for the first time, the idea didn’t hold as much appeal for him as it usually did. That bothered him.

Ever since he was a teenager, he’d been sharing his women, first with his friends and later with his brothers. He and Xavier had been sharing women since they’d become partners in the force, about six years ago. Of course, neither man had ever had a serious woman at the time. He hadn’t minded his friend’s eyes on Trista, but he’d been ready to kill him if he touched her.

That didn’t set so well, he thought as he stood up with her in his arms. He carried her through to his bedroom and laid her on the bed. He tucked her in tight and left her. The quicker this could be resolved, the quicker things could get back to normal.

* * * *

He was on the phone when she woke up. She stood in the doorway as she listened to him talk. “I don’t care what you do. I need to get her out of here.” He listened to the other person on the line. “No, you listen to me. This needs to be resolved ASAP.” Another pause. “I’ll do whatever I need to. Have Xavier call me…” She didn’t wait to hear the rest but went back into the bedroom.

So much for thinking this might turn out to be more than a short-term fling. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she whispered as she walked into the bathroom. A big tub with big jets wouldn’t cure her hurt feelings, but it might help to soothe the hurt she felt in her heart as it helped to relax her body pains.

Her heart? Where the hell did that come from? She was not using her heart in this arrangement. How in the hell was she going to protect her heart against him? Hell, he was only in this for a moment anyway. She had to remember that. She just had to!

With a flip of the switch, bubbles began to pound her in the Jacuzzi tub. She poured a little of her jasmine scented shampoo into the tub so she could have some bubbles. The hot water beat at her skin and tears bruised her eyes. Fuck, how could she have fallen in love with him so quickly?

As the bathroom door opened, she submerged her head under the water in hopes of erasing all traces of her disappointment and pain. Reno was sitting on the toilet seat as she resurfaced.

“What’s going on?” She smiled brightly, hoping that she could mask the hurt. “I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to soak some of the aches and pains away.”

“It’s fine. My captain called. He wanted to know if you know Liam O’Reilly?”

“Sure. He’s my boss at the library. Why?”

“According to our hackers, he’s contacted your father about a payment.” Reno leaned down with his elbows on his knees and hands resting clasped together.

“A payment for what? Satino doesn’t do business with librarians!” She gave him a look, as if to say
what the hell are you thinking?
“The evil little leprechaun doesn’t even know Satino.”

“According to the boss, your father put you for sale on an underground type of website. He included your picture and a sale price of fifty thousand dollars,” Reno informed her matter-of-factly.

“Excuse me?”

“O’Reilly recognized your picture, Trista. Captain said that O’Reilly offered to pay your father twenty grand in two payments of ten thousand. One has been paid, according to bank records. The other is waiting for your delivery.

“Did you know O’Reilly has had several charges brought against him from women who have said that he abused them? Eventually, they drop the charges, but they don’t say why.”

“It would explain some of his behavior, but why would a library hire a man like that?”

“You do know that he’s the son of one of the library board members? And of course, he claims it was all consensual sex that got a little rough.”

“Well, shit.” She sank back against the tub rim. “What can we do? I know that you don’t want me here any longer than necessary. I know I have to be cramping your style and all.” Damn, damn, damn! She needed a lock for her damned mouth. He was giving her the evil eye again.

“I know,” she began, “I can fly out to Montana! Nonno said that they wouldn’t be leaving there until August.”

“No.”

“Look, Reno. I can take care of myself. I appreciate you letting me spend the night here and all, but I should really go.”

His black eyes narrowed onto her. “I said no.”

She threw a kilowatt smile on her face. “Okay. I understand.”

“Don’t worry about anything, honey. I’ll take care of you,” he said as he stood next to the tub. After a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth, he left the room.

“Sure you will,” she mumbled with an inward laugh. “Sure you will.”

Trista had spent the rest of the day, and most of the evening, surfing the Internet and watching television while Reno paced the condo. The pizza he’d had delivered made her wish she was at her home so she could cook something edible, but she didn’t bother to complain. Nope, she was just trying to be the perfect little sub.

She tried to fall asleep on the sofa but couldn’t seem to doze off. Every move he made increased her awareness. In desperation, she wished him a good night then slipped inside the room where he’d originally left her belongings. She was turning the covers back on the double bed, when she heard him behind her.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m going to bed, sir.” She tried to give him another killer smile, but it got lost when she saw his expression. “What? Reno, I’m sore. I won’t be of any use to you tonight. You left my stuff in here yesterday so I thought this is where you wanted me.”

“You fucking thought wrong” was the only warning she received as she was tossed over his shoulder and carried out of the room. He tossed her onto the bed none too gently. “This is where I want you.”

“Yes, sir.” She made sure her back was turned as she rolled her eyes. Heaven above, the man was hard to understand. She crawled to the far side of the king bed and slid under the covers. She could hear his jeans fall to the ground but didn’t bother to watch him. He was being a jerk, and she didn’t want to watch him.

He didn’t even bother to pull her close to him. He’s a big jerk, she thought. She didn’t need him or his shitty attitude. She laid there getting angrier and angrier as she waited for him to sleep. She waited for his breathing to deepen then waited a little longer.

Once she was sure that he was asleep, she quietly climbed out of the bed. She found some of his clothes in a drawer. A T-shirt and pair of nylon shorts would have to do. Trista took the clothes into the living room where she quickly dressed, grabbed her flip-flops, her laptop, and purse, and left.

Fortunately, the next-door neighbor let her borrow his cell to call a taxi so she could leave the gated community. She got the driver to take her to a hotel at the Country Club Plaza. With luck, no one would think to look for her there.

The ride didn’t take long, and the hotel was really nice. She managed to get a room on the top floor. She wondered how Reno was going to react when he woke up. But then, he’d gotten what he wanted so he ought to be pretty damned happy. After all, she was out of his house, and that had been what he wanted, right?

* * * *

Reno reached for her in his sleep and woke immediately when his hand came up empty. “What the fuck?” he mumbled as he climbed out of bed. Groggily, he walked into the bathroom, but she wasn’t there. After a search of the guest room, living room, and kitchen came up empty, he got to cursing.

“Son of a bitch!” He threw on his jeans and padded barefoot outside to check if by the grace of God she decided to step outside for some fresh air. “She won’t sit down for a fucking week,” he stated as he started dialing Xavier.

“Are you sure about that?” Why couldn’t Yuma still live next door, he thought as he glared at Dallas. This younger brother could be a major pain in the ass. For once, he didn’t have Jackson, the baby brother, with him.

“Leave me the hell alone.”

“Don’t blame me if you can’t satisfy your women! Hell, the one that left here last night was hot as hell.”

“What?”

“At first, I thought she was Arianna’s little sister, but I know she isn’t your type, bro.” Dallas chuckled. “I know you like your women experienced and ready for anything and everything.”

“What did she want, Dallas?”

“Just to use my phone.”

“Who did she call?”

Dallas pulled his cell out and scrolled through the call history. “Here you go. I think this is the company she used. I have it on speed dial for some of my customers.”

He used his brother’s cell to track down the driver and found out her location after plenty of threats and bribes. He was able to get into his truck about thirty minutes later, still not any calmer than when he first got up in the morning. What the fuck was she thinking?

She wasn’t thinking at all, he thought as he turned onto I-70. She’d damned sure think before she pulled this kind of shit again—he’d make sure of it.

He was able to convince the hotel clerk that he was Mr. Cangelosi and that he’d lost his key. She’d been ever so eager to help him out as she gave him the eye. Reno thanked her and headed for the elevator. “She’d better have her hot ass in that damned hotel room,” he mumbled as the lift carried him up.

She didn’t even have the sense to latch the fucking door! Reno was growling and snarling as the electric key allowed him entry. Holy fucking shit. There was no excuse for this, he thought as he slid into the room. He quietly closed the door, grabbed a seat beside the bed, and waited.

Trista stretched as she slowly woke up. It wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t been able to go to sleep till five in the morning. Now she needed to make some plans, but wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

“’Bout fucking time you woke up, Trista,” Reno stated from his position in the chair. His feet were stretched out onto the bed, his hands folded across his stomach as he glared at her.

“What are you doing here, Reno?” she asked with a sigh.

“What am I doing here?” His deep baritone sounded incredulous as he spoke. “What the hell are you doing here? I had you in a safe position, and what the hell did you do? You broadcasted to all of fucking Kansas City where you were!”