“Where are we going?”
“Back to Joey’s. I think the horses have rested long enough.”
What? Why? She took a quick glance at him before he turned away and headed toward the horses, saw the outline of his erection, knew what would have happened if she hadn’t hesitated.
Dammit. She’d ruined another moment by having to think out every possibility. What the hell was wrong with her anyway?
She hurried to catch up with him. “We don’t have to leave yet. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
He dragged her into his arms and ravaged her mouth with a demanding, hard kiss, the kind that curled her toes, made her stop breathing—stop thinking—the kind of kiss that melted her right there and made her as hot as the desert sun. When he pulled away, she had no idea what to think, other than her legs were shaking. And she wanted more of his mouth on her.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. We need to get out of here. I don’t want to make love to you in the middle of the desert. It’s getting late and the others will be leaving Joey’s house soon. I need to get with Bo about something before everyone takes off.”
“Oh.”
“But I am going to make love to you, Ava. Count on it.”
He untethered her horse and handed her the reins. She mounted up, the tenderness of her pu**y making contact with the saddle reminding her of what was going to happen between them.
But when? And where?
SIX
Timing was everything. Or in Rick and Ava’s case, never a good thing. Why was it that every time things got hot and heavy between them, the timing wasn’t right?
He supposed that meant that once the timing was finally right, it was going to be damn good.
He hoped it was going to be soon, because his balls were aching. Getting off with her by phone last night had just been a teaser, had left his mind filled with images of her naked and touching herself, her fingers buried in her pu**y. He got hard just thinking about it. And this afternoon in the desert he’d edged toward stripping her and f**king her right there on the ground.
But something just wasn’t right about that. When they got naked together he wanted some goddamned privacy—with nothing to interrupt them. So again he’d put the brakes on.
He wondered when he had developed scruples. Typically he didn’t care where he pulled out his dick, as long as he and the lady got off. And he knew damn well he could get Ava off. From the way she wriggled in his lap, her heavy breathing, the way she clutched his jacket—she was primed for an orgasm or ten.
But no, not there. Not then.
Tonight, for sure. Other than the apocalypse, nothing was going to keep him from getting naked with Ava.
They’d ridden the horses back to Joey’s, unsaddled and brushed them down, which gave them just enough time to make it back to Joey’s house for one cold beer before everyone was ready to ride out of there. There was a bike event that Bo wanted to check out on the Strip, and then an outside band playing tonight where they were all going to gather.
It was dark by the time they reached Las Vegas, the lights of the city just beginning to show their sparkle. Rick had forgotten how much he liked being on the Strip. When he was a kid he used to imagine being rich and making it big in Vegas. He and Bo and their friends would play cards in one of the guys’ garages and Rick would imagine himself as a high roller, welcomed at all the casinos as a hot shot who won big and spent big. He laughed at how naïve he’d once been.
Now he just enjoyed seeing the allure of Vegas—but knowing that he’d leave it as soon as this assignment was over. Las Vegas was part of his past, but would always be home to him.
He’d outgrown the desire to be rich and famous. He was content enough to have stayed out of trouble, to have the job he held, a few people he could call friends. He wondered how things would have been different if General Lee hadn’t walked into his life all those years ago. Would he lead the Hellraisers by now, like Bo did, or would he be rotting in a jail cell somewhere? Or something even worse than that?
He’d gotten damn lucky. He wondered what choices Bo had made for his life, still didn’t know the extent of what the Hellraisers were up to. Part of him hoped that Bo wasn’t into anything bad. They might not be close anymore, but Bo was the only family Rick had. At least the only family Rick acknowledged having. Rick’s parents had long ago given up on him. As far as he was concerned, they were dead. For all he knew, they really were dead by now. Given their lifestyles as cokeheads, they probably were. Or in jail. He didn’t care. The only person he’d ever cared about was Bo.
But he also knew Bo was an adult, and as an adult you made your own choices, chose what road you traveled. If Bo was down and dirty there wouldn’t be much Rick could do to help him.
But considering the hellholes they’d both been raised in, Rick hoped Bo knew better than to involve himself in the same kind of corruption, knowing where he might end up.
The last thing he’d want to do was arrest his cousin. But if he had to, he would. The Hellraisers would let their own kin rot in jail if they got caught by the cops. And Rick would take his own cousin down if he were dirty.
That’s just the way it was. In some areas, you didn’t protect family. You had to stand on your own and face the consequences.
They grabbed some dinner and then hit a bar to kick back and have some beers for a couple hours. Ava went off to chat at a table with Lacey. Bo was off somewhere, so Rick had some time to catch up with guys he hadn’t seen in a while. It was good to hit some downtime, to see what he could find out about what the Hellrasiers were up to. Unfortunately, no one was going to tell him anything, despite his connection as Bo’s cousin. Until Bo gave them the okay to bring Rick into the inner sanctum of the Hellraisers, all the talk was going to be surface at best.
After dinner, Ava and Lacey wanted to wander the exhibits so he and Bo fell in behind them while the girls shopped. Bo spent most of his time on the phone, so Rick contented himself with watching Ava as she walked ahead with her friend, stopping at a booth to admire jewelry or a painting. While Lacey oohed and aahed over trinkets, Ava seemed more reserved. She didn’t spend money extravagantly. Lacey ran to Bo every time she saw a bauble that caught her eye. Bo would just roll his eyes and fork over the money. And from what Rick could see, Bo had one hell of a wad of cash in his wallet.
Rick wanted to know where Bo got that kind of money, but knew better than to ask. Asking too many questions too soon would only cause suspicion. It was still time to lay low and wait for Bo to come to him. Rick knew how the game was played. Sooner or later Bo would come around, and then Rick would know what the Hellraisers were up to. Playing it cool was always the best bet. Getting too eager was the easiest way to blow a cover.