Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (8 page)

As she entered the den, Bull was returning from outside.  Their eyes collided and she was drawn to him and couldn’t have stopped her feet if she tried.  It wasn’t as if she had even wanted to stop.  She floated across the room and directly
into Bull’s massive, welcoming arms.  Their lips met with urgency—there was no slow, simmering kiss between them.  It started blazing hot and continued until the fireball of desire consumed both of them. 

Before she knew they had moved, Bull had backed her up against the wall and was passionately consuming her mouth.  His tongue caressed hers with such finesse it felt finer than the best silk.  Her fingers relished the feel of his hair as she feverishly massaged his head with her touch.   She felt his strong hands move farther down her waist, across her hips
, until he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist.

Supporting her with one leg, he used both hands to cup her face, tilting it to deepen his kiss and take more of her, which she willingly gave to him.  Chaise tightened her legs around him, pulling up with her arms so that her breasts were pressed hard against him. 
The sensitivity of her hardened nipples increased with every brush against his shirt.  The heat of his hands penetrated the thin material of her dress, searing her skin with his brand and making her wish for more at the same time.

Tearing his mouth from hers,
Bull pulled his face back to look her in the eye.  “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, Colton,” she replied decisively while maintaining his gaze.  Pulling his mouth back to hers, she reclaimed it as he shifted his arms underneath her and carried her
toward his bedroom.

Chaise’s fingers floated down his back, appreciating the ripples and striations of his muscles, until she reached the hem of his shirt.  Lifting it slowly with one hand and trailing on his hot skin with the other, she
languidly removed his shirt, breaking their kiss only to fully pull it over his head and cast it away on the floor.

The short length of her dress had her most sensitive core pressed firmly against his manhood, rubbing the rough texture of his jeans and heightening her anticipation of what was yet to come.  When they reached his king-size sleigh bed, Bull stopped and stood her up at the edge of it.  The yearning in his eyes and voice sent shivers down her spine when he delivered his alpha-male demand.

“My turn, Chaise—or more accurately,
your
turn,” his deeply masculine whisper promised.  He lifted her arms above her head. “Keep them up,” he commanded and she obeyed.  His hands skimmed her from her neck, moving down and around the undersides of her breasts, ever so slowly down her stomach, lightly skimming the very core of her before reaching the hem of her dress on her thighs.

When he knelt before her, she gasped audibly, incredibly aroused and eager to learn what he had planned next.  Raising his face to look at her, he issued his repeat command, “Keep your arms up, Chaise.”

Unable to speak, she simply nodded in agreement, until his warm hands touched her bare thighs.  Her hands dropped to his head and her knees threatened to buckle simultaneously as she whimpered unexpectedly.  Bull easily caught her, gently pushed her back up and said, “You can hold on to the footboard for now.  But when I’m done, I want your arms back up in the air.”

“Ok
ay,” Chaise complied, unsure where the ability to speak suddenly appeared from or why she was suddenly so willing to give in and do exactly as she was told.  His take-charge personality bled over into the bedroom in an unexpected and exciting way and she didn’t want to do anything to dissuade him.

Grasping the foot of the sleigh bed, Chaise held on and tightened her grip when she felt his hands on her inner thighs again.  Bull took his time, lightly running his fingers across her smooth skin, leaving kisses, flicks of his tongue and light nips of his teeth in his wake.  Her approving moans of pleasure urged him on, as did her uncontrollable writhing and wiggling under his sensual attentions

She cried out and was unable to draw in a breath when she felt his warm, wet tongue lavish attention on one leg, starting inside her mid-thigh and slowly working its way up to her panty line.  When he stopped and pulled away, she immediately felt the loss of his touch and the tingling sensation he created on her skin, and instantly craved more of him.  Finally breathing again, her gaze began to travel downward to find him when she suddenly felt it on the other leg.

His hands followed his tongue, moving up her legs, under her dress, until he found the innermost silky edge of her panties, directly covering her now soaked core.  He skimmed his fingers slowly around the edge of her panties until he finally moved around to the sides.  Slipping his index finger in each side, he languidly pulled them down her legs, skimming the surface and providing sweet torture, until they were finally in a puddle at her feet.  When she stepped out of them, Bull picked them up and tossed them across the room.

“You won’t be needing those for a while,” his deep voice rumbled.

“
I
can barely wait to taste you, Chaise,” he murmured against her skin.  “You are so fucking beautiful and sexy as hell.”

Just the sound of his rich, bedroom voice was enough to melt her on the spot.  Chaise moaned appreciatively, ready for anything he wanted to give her.  Dropping her head back, her fingers gripped the bed
frame tighter in anticipation of the wanton things he planned to do to her.  Her breathing was shallow, causing her chest to heave in and out in desire.

“Chaise,” Bull’s voice commanded, it did not ask.

“Yes.”
To whatever you want
. 
The answer is yes!

“Get ready to scream.”  Bull’s fingers gripped her hips, pulling her tightly to him and to what she knew would be pure bliss.  She felt his hot breath against her skin and braced herself when she felt the stubble of his jaw
rub against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.  She knew heaven was less than an inch away when she felt his hot breath on her heated core.  Her breaths were ragged and shallow and she felt hypnotized by him, unable to tear her eyes away from his ministrations.

“Oh, Colton,” she sighed on baited
breath, waiting and desperately wanting in a manner she’d never felt before.  He lifted his eyes to meet hers just as his tongue flicked out, wetting his lips in anticipation.  Chaise almost let go of the bed to grab his hair in her hand to push him where she needed him.  Somehow, his order to keep her hands on the bed echoed in her mind and she obeyed.

The chimes of his cell phone stilled his actions, causing Chaise to groan in exasperation. 
He was so close! 
Their eyes were still locked, the desire burning in his like an open white hot flame suddenly dimmed, and he sat back away from her to fish it out of his front pocket.  She was still panting feverishly, still rooted to her place, her hands still gripping the footboard tightly as Bull supplied abrupt answers into the phone.

Ending his conversation, Bull stood and said, “The perimeter sensors have been tripped.  Someone’s here.”

His voice held no indication of any sexual frustration or tension after what had just occurred between them was so suddenly interrupted.  His demeanor was back to the normal, on-duty Bull while Chaise’s head continued to spin out of control. 
How can he go from red-hot to ice-cold in a matter of seconds?
Chaise thought to herself with no small amount of annoyance and distress.

“Get ready to go.  We need to leave,” Bull stated matter-of-factly as he walked into the closet.  He came back out with two more Glock .45 pistols and had put additional clips in his back pockets.

That seemed to suddenly snap Chaise into action as she dashed to his side, her eyes wide with fear and her breaths shallow, but for a different reason now.  She followed closely behind him as he used his immense body as a human shield.  His gun drawn and at the ready, he quietly moved through the house, checking the windows from the safety of the sides until he caught movement along the southern edge of his property.

“A security team is en route, but I need to get you out of here now,” he turned his head to look at her.  “When we get in my truck, keep your head down. 
Lie all the way down and don’t get up until I tell you.”

Chaise nodded, fear taking over and apparently rendering her voice incapable of responding at the moment.  She knew someone was after her, but to hunt her down at Bull’s house demonstrated
their unyielding determination to get to her. 
If I’m not safe here with him, I’m not safe anywhere
, she thought solemnly.

Chaise followed Bull down the hall, through the kitchen
, and into his truck that was parked in the garage.  Quietly opening and closing the doors, Chaise slipped in and hid in the floorboard of the backseat.  The garage door was eerily quiet as it raised and Bull gunned the engine, making a quick exit from the garage until he reached the road.  In his rearview mirror, Bull watched as the Steele Security teams arrived en masse to secure his home and property.

Bull had every confidence the men from Steele Security would thoroughly scrub the entire area until they either found the culprits or they deemed it clear.  In the meantime, he made
the decision of a safe place to take her—a place she could learn new skills to help protect herself and help him feel better.  He would take her to the shooting range owned by Steele Security and teach her how to handle and shoot a pistol. 

“Chaise, you can get up now,” Bull had almost forgotten she was still lying in the floor in the back of his truck.

Chaise slowly rose up and looked around before sitting up fully.

“I feel like I’m being chauffeured sitting back here alone,” Chaise teased.

Bull smiled at her in the rearview mirror and her stomach did somersaults.  He was more than gorgeous when he smiled.  He didn’t smile much, but when he did, it made it all worth the wait.  She couldn’t help but return the smile as she asked, “Where are we going now?”

“I’m taking you somewhere safe while they clear the house.  We’re going to the shooting range and you’re going to learn to handle a pistol,” Bull stated with a glint of humor and anticipation in his eyes.

“Oh yeah, because the shooting range is the best place for me,” she replied sarcastically.

“Yes, it is.  You think someone will try to get to you at a Steele Security shooting range, where everyone is armed to the teeth and an expert mark?  No, sweetheart, that’s the safest place for you to be right now,” he explained.

“If you say so,” she replied while looking out the window.  Chaise was seriously dreading the situation.  Her secret was killing her and it just kept piling up.  Should she pretend to not know how to use guns so that Bull could teach her?  Or should she just go ahead and tell him that she was fairly well versed in handling guns and didn’t really need instruction?  Opting to reduce the backlash she was sure to get later, she decided to share some information with him.

“I’m actually pretty handy with a pistol already,” she said nonchalantly.

“Really?  Who taught you?”  Bull was skeptical and watching her carefully in the mirror.

“My dad and my brothers,” she said softly.  “When we were growing up, my dad always said all his kids needed to be familiar with guns so that we had a healthy respect for them.  He used to take us out in the back yard once a week to practice.”

“Where are your dad and brothers now?”  Bull asked, clearly not happy that they weren’t helping to protect her.

She leaned up between the front seats to be closer to
Bull but to also try to reestablish some connection between them.  She couldn’t tell him everything, but she wanted to convey in some way that she was telling him everything she possibly could.

“My dad and I don’t have the best relationship.  We haven’t for many years now.  I left home and have tried to make it on my own.  He is more than controlling, Colton.  He is overbearing and impossible to please.  I talk to my siblings occasionally but they all have their own separate lives.  My mom is caught in the middle, so when I spend time with her, I try to leave everything else out.”

Keeping her dress in place as best she could, Chaise worked her way between the seats and claimed the front seat beside Bull.  “I know you’re probably wondering why I haven’t run back home to my family in all this.  I just…I can’t do that, Colton.  If you don’t want to be stuck with me, I understand—you didn’t ask for this mess.  I just want you to
know
…..I want you to believe me when I say I mean no harm to Noah or his wife.  And if my being here, with this gang and whoever else after me, puts
them
in danger, I will leave
right now
with no hard feelings.”

Pulling up to a red light, Bull took a moment to read her body language, to study what she wasn’t saying, and to decide what he should do next. 
Do I cut her loose and protect Reaper and Brianna?  Do I keep her close to keep an eye on her and protect them all? 
She kept her eyes trained on him, never breaking eye contact, never flinching and never showing that she was telling him anything but the truth.

“I don’t want you go to anywhere,” he finally replied.  And that was the truth.  He didn’t want her to leave.  He didn’t know if he had it in him to pursue anything serious with her, but he couldn’t deny the attraction. 
For once
, he thought,
maybe I should give someone a chance
. “I believe that you don’t mean them any harm.  As far as danger, Reaper’s job automatically puts him in danger and he’s used to it—he’s good at what he does.  Brianna is pretty tough, too.”

“She sounds great.  I hope I get to meet her one day,” Chaise replied absently, looking out the window.  “And I hope we find Aura soon.  I’m really worried about her, Colton.”

After a couple of minutes, she realized he hadn’t responded.  Looking at him, she saw the muscle in his jaw jumping and recognized the hard set of his teeth.  Aura was still a sore spot between them.  Bull didn’t believe her and she knew she wasn’t lying.  Before she could say anything about it, Bull pulled into the drive of a gated compound, keyed in the code, and soon they pulled into the parking area.

Bull reached across Chaise and removed a
Ruger LCR .357 from his glove compartment.  After grabbing a box of rounds, he and Chaise made their way through the secure building to the shooting range area.  Bull wordlessly handed Chaise a pair of ear plugs and the Ruger pistol.  He set the rounds down on the shelf beside them and proceeded to put up a target and sent it out on the target line.

He stepped back, crossed his arms, and said, “Impress me.” 

It was definitely a challenge—and not just about her ability to shoot a pistol.  She knew he was challenging everything she’d said to him.  He was making her prove what she’d told him, and most likely using this test to gauge if she had told the truth about Aura.  Unwilling to back down, or to risk the small advances they had already made, Chaise met his challenge head on.

She picked up the box of rounds and removed five bullets.  Expertly popping the chamber, she loaded all five bullets in and snapped the cylinder shut.  She carefully put the gun down on the shelf, put her earplugs in and grabbed a pair of safety glasses.  Once set, she took her shooting stance.  She held the gun in her right hand, extended her arm and brought her left palm up underneath her right hand, wrapping her fingers firmly around her right hand to help steady her arm. 

Letting out a calming breath, she aimed, and then slowly squeezed the trigger five times in a row.  Without looking at Bull, she put the gun back on the shelf, removed her ear plugs and safety glasses, and pushed the button to retrieve the target.  Chaise removed it from the line and smugly handed it to Bull.

“Is a one-and-a-half inch grouping at
twenty-five yards enough to impress you?”  Chaise asked with a hint of sarcasm and a hefty amount of pride.  She knew it was good but she waited for his confirmation.  But for good measure, she also hid the intense stinging in her damn hand from firing so many of the .357 rounds in such close succession.

Bull smiled, dropped his arms
, and nodded.  “Impressive, indeed.  Remind me not to piss you off,” he said jokingly.

After Bull finished his practice shots, Chaise helped him pick up all their belongings and walked back
toward his truck.  One of the other Steele Security men stopped Bull.  Bull turned to Chaise, “Can you hold onto these for me for a few minutes?”

“Sure will,” she said happily, taking the few .357 rounds that were left, along with the pistol, and
dropping them in her purse.  Bull walked off with the other man, leaving Chaise to walk around inside the building alone for a few minutes.  She saw a large picture hanging in the main hallway and approached it.  Instantly recognizing it as a company all-employee picture, she searched each face looking for the men she’d recently met.

She smiled when she found Bull in the midst of the all the primarily male employees.  He was younger in the picture, but he had certainly only improved with age.  She kept looking through the faces until she found Shadow and then Rebel.  When she found the next face, her entire body froze.  She would recognize him anywhere, even if she hadn’t seen him in years.  He had aged, of course, since she last saw him, but there was no doubt of who it was.   He was still just as handsome as she remembered.  It was Noah.

Finding her breath, she turned to move away from the picture and saw Bull watching her at the end of the hallway.  Not missing a step, she smiled at him and said, “I found you in the company picture.”

Bull nodded, “Who else did you find in it?”

“All of you,” she answered honestly.

“Even Reaper?” he asked, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes at her as if he dared her to lie to him.

“Yes, even Noah,” she answered but refused to look away from him. 

“Have the gun?”  Bull asked, swiftly changing topics.

“Yep,” Chaise answered as she patted her purse. 

Bull cocked one eyebrow up at her, “You know that’s illegal, right?”