Wild Aces (9 page)

“I didn’t know, my love.” She kissed my cheek. “I didn’t know the shirt was Cody’s.”

“It’s difficult on all of us, Mom.”

She popped in a cough drop once her sneezing attack was over. “You’ve done incredibly well this past year,” she said. “I just don’t want you to move backward, and Cody’s mom has a tendency to make you go there.”

“I know, Mom. And you’re right.”

I had once loved spending time with Cody’s family. Now, I dreaded the moments they asked me to get together. My time with them was never about having fun and escaping the sadness that hung between us. It was about recounting all the reasons his death was unfair and allowing the sadness to swallow me.

What was unfair was the reliving of it…over and over again.

I had to move forward.

Never had I considered declining their invitation to hang out, but maybe, someday soon, I would. Emotionally, I just couldn’t relive it again.

“I did meet someone,” I whispered.

She pulled the tissue away from her nose and smiled. “Tell me everything about him.”

“His name is Trapper.” I couldn’t comment on his looks since I wasn’t sure about them myself, and telling her how tall he was sounded silly. “He’s a really good kisser. When there’s more to add, I’ll tell you.”

She stood and walked into the kitchen, returning with another cupcake.

“You never eat what you bake.”

“I still don’t.” She set the cupcake on my plate. “But if you keep eating, I might get more out of you.”

“I’m cut off for the night.” I pushed the plate away. “From cupcakes, too.”

“You’re smiling.”

I took a quick look around the living room. The color of the paint was the only thing that had changed since I’d moved out to go to college. That was one of the reasons I loved coming here so much. When I walked into Mom and Dad’s house, I could count on the same smells and the same feels and same love. There were no surprises there.

But there were surprises outside of this house, and Trapper was one of them. He wasn’t the only reason I was grinning although he was a big part of it. I loved that I had gotten to a place that I could talk about someone other than Cody and not be filled with guilt. Everyone else in the past had been just a way to fill the void. But the void remained.

Trapper was different.

“Things are good, Mom. Real good actually.”

She reached across the table and picked up the cupcake. Then she peeled off the paper wrapping on the bottom and took a huge bite. “What?” She had a smudge of frosting on her lip. “You’re doing well, so I think that’s a reason to celebrate.”

“Oh, hell.” I walked into the kitchen to grab one and rushed back in to join her. “I’ll have another, but this is my last one, got it?”

Trapper

Adrianna answered my call as I checked my watch and calculated what time it was in Boston.

“It doesn’t sound like I woke you,” I said.

“You didn’t.” There was pain in her sigh, and the swallow that followed told me she was sipping on something. I was sure it was something real strong. “I just got home from the compound.”

There hadn’t been a pickup scheduled for tonight, so she should have been home hours ago. Something had gone wrong.

“What happened?”

“Please don’t make me relive the meltdown. It was…just terrible.”

I leaned forward in my chair and pressed my palm against my forehead. “As bad as the last one?”

“Worse. Wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sleep. The crying turned to vomiting, screaming…scratching. Jesus, Trapper, it was just like…” She didn’t finish her thought.

She didn’t have to; I heard the word without her speaking it.

You
.

It was just like me.

Adrianna was good at dealing with that shit. She knew what to say, how to act. She usually knew how to fix it. My life had given her a hell of a lot of training.

“Should I fly back?”

“No need. I took care of things. Let’s drop it and give my heart a rest.”

“Tell me about the sales.”

She swallowed again. “Morrison and David are both paid in full. Everything has been processed, and both have arrived home safely.”

Morrison had been an active client for a while, things taking much longer than normal to fulfill his request. Some of our clients were quick at making a purchase; some took their time to make sure things felt right. We didn’t push them. We also didn’t allow them to string us along forever. Adrianna and I knew that wasn’t the case with Morrison. He was a public figure, so he had reasons to move with caution, and we respected that.

“That leaves us with”—I mentally subtracted Morrison and David from our active client list—“about forty-two more buyers to satisfy.”

“Forty-three, if you count Jameson. I spoke to him today, and he gave me everything I needed to get started. I’ll have my assistant work on his request in the morning.”

“Forty-three,” I repeated, shaking my head. “Damn.” It was a number I never thought we’d get to, considering our whole business was based on referrals.

“If we continue growing at this rate, the compound might need an additional wing. That means we’ll need more staff there. Another assistant might not be a bad thing either.”

I knew we’d need to hire more employees soon and add on more space. It was just a risky fucking move. The contractor who had built the compound had died in a skiing accident. There was only one other person I’d even consider hiring, and that was Derek Block. But I didn’t know if I could trust him with a secret that big or if I could even bring him there without disrupting the imports.

“We’ll talk about it when I get back. Now, I want you to go to bed.”

“I want to, but I don’t know if I can.” We didn’t have an easy job. She knew that better than I did. “Those screams, Trapper…shit. It’s the kind of hollering and wailing and clawing that you just don’t ever forget.”

I moved to the other side of the room and pressed my forehead against the window. My eyes shut, and I tried to keep it all back there—the place in my mind where I stored the memories and wouldn’t let them the fuck out. She was right; you didn’t forget those sounds, not when you heard them and not when they were coming out of your own mouth.

“You did good tonight, Adrianna. Do whatever you’ve got to do to quiet the screams.”

I heard the click of a lighter and knew she hadn’t responded because she was hitting a joint. That was her silencer. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she said finally.

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

As I hung up, the screen of my phone changed from Adrianna’s number to a deck of cards. I’d turned the same photo into my first tattoo. It was inked on the left side of my chest.

Those cards were the constant in my life, my escape. They were my silencer. Besides scraps of the necessities, only enough for me to survive on, that deck was the first thing anyone had ever given me. I kept one of the cards in my wallet. Some carried around pictures of their dog or their girl. I carried around the ace of hearts.

I turned my back to the window, fiending for some fast play. If I didn’t get my mind off those screams—and the memories of my own—they’d haunt me for the rest of the night. There were plenty of cash games waiting for me downstairs, and that was where I’d be headed soon.

But there was something I had to do first.

Brea

“Those pictures you sent…” Trapper said, hardly giving me enough time to put the phone to my ear. “Jesus, Brea. Your body is fucking killing me.”

It was the middle of the night. I’d made it home from the bar less than an hour ago. I hadn’t been in a deep sleep, but I was on my way. He didn’t even ask if I was sleeping, and he hadn’t even said hello. He just got straight to the point…and the point was my body.

God, didn’t I like that.

“So you likey?” I’d sent him a few more photos since the ones with the red lace and wet fingers. They were all body shots, different colors and styles of lingerie, holding the camera at certain angles to show him a little more, without revealing my face or ways to identify me.

“It’s all I’ve thought about all day.”

“So, I’m distracting you from your work?”

He laughed. It was the most delicious sound. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Tell me about Vegas. I want to picture myself there with you.”

“It’s cold. Loud. Colorful. It smells like smoke and defeat. And it’s missing something pretty significant.”

“What’s that?”

“You.”

I wiggled in bed from his response.

“Did you play a hard-ass today, or were you easy on everyone…but me?” he asked.

“I’m a hard-ass every day. That’s what my clients are paying me for. You’re just fortunate enough to actually get to see my ass.”

“And damn…that ass.”

Now, I was smiling and wiggling. “Is it your favorite part of me?”

“No,” he answered so quickly and sounded so honest. “Your eyes are my favorite.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m an expert at reading eyes, so when I looked at yours, I knew what you were feeling and what you wanted from me.”

“And that was?”

“My mouth.”

I laughed, feeling heat spread over my cheeks. “Are you sure that’s
all
I wanted from you?”

“Your body might have wanted more, but the reason your eyes were urging me to stay was because you wanted to get to know me.”

“Interesting. So, what would my eyes be telling you right now?”

“How much you want me to touch you.” His voice deepened. “So, touch yourself for me, Brea.”

I quivered from the sound of his demand. “Where, Trapper?” The feel of his name in my throat only fed the sparks.

“Your pussy. Touch it gently. And tell me everything you’re doing to it…”

Oh, it was on. “My legs are spreading…slowly…and I’m sliding my fingers inside my panties.” The lace let my fingers easily dip in. “Now, I’m rubbing up and down my clit…up…and down…up…and down.” The ups came with a gasp; the downs came with a moan.

“Fuck,” he hissed, his voice becoming raspy. “How does it feel?”

“Good. So good.” I imagined that making him hard. “But it would feel so much better if it were you plunging into all this wetness.” There was no background noise in the phone this time, just the rush of movement.

“Check your texts,” he told me.

“Okay.” I rested the phone on my chest and clicked on his text box.

He had sent me a picture of his hand, his broad palm, and his strong long fingers. His wrist was wrapped in several leather straps, and hints of his dark tattoos peeked out from beneath them.

I wanted to lick that fucking ink.

“Now, you don’t have to imagine it,” he said. “You know exactly what I’d be touching you with, what would be sliding in and out of your soft, wet pussy if I were with you right now.”

Good God, this man was perfect. A picture of his cock might have been a tad sexier, but that would have killed the surprise of finding out what was really beneath that zipper once we finally reached that point. And that was one surprise I didn’t mind waiting for.

I stared at his hand while I rubbed, imagining that was what was touching me. “Even your fingers are hot, Trapper.”

“Close your eyes, and press against the top of your clit. Then slowly swipe to the very bottom. And while you’re doing that, picture my mouth above your nipples, blowing on them…my tongue licking them…”

I could actually feel it.

“Making them so fucking hard before I suck them between my teeth.”

“I’m even wetter now,” I moaned, feeling the build within my little bud. “And I’m so close.”

“Now, push two fingers inside you. I want them deep.”

I did as he said.

“I want your other hand on your nipple, tugging it until you’re on the verge of screaming.”

My legs were shaking from how close I was to coming.

“Are your fingers where I want them, Brea?”

“They’re on their way.”

“Good. Now, fuck yourself…with
my
fingers.”

I moaned.

“Don’t stop, and don’t you dare lighten your movements.”

The phone was now resting on the pillow, close enough to hear him perfectly. My hands were where he wanted them—pulling on my nipple, thrusting in and out of my wetness. “Oh my God…”