Payback: A Vigilante Justice Novel Read online

  And if that didn’t epitomize the man—forceful, demanding, but for the right reasons. Always watching out for his friends and neighbors, always taking care of people so they didn’t get screwed over. Sometimes, I wished I’d met him before my life went to shit. Sometimes, when the reality that he’d never see me the way I wanted him to hit me, I wished I’d never met him at all.

  I picked up the cash, waving it at him before slipping it into the pocket of my uniform dress. “That’s a little more than their bill.”

  He shrugged, leaning a hip against the counter and crossing his long legs at the ankle. “I made sure they left you a tip for putting up with them all night.”

  My smile couldn’t have been stopped. “You’re horrible.”

  “Am I really?”

  When I looked up, his eyes were still on me. Still staring as if trying to figure something out, to see something inside of me. And hell, I was too tired to hide.

  “No,” I whispered as I turned off the water. “You’re not horrible at all.”

  Alder pushed off the counter, stalking close. So, so close. But he didn’t stop when I expected him to—at a respectable, friendly distance. Oh no, he didn’t stop. Not until he stood right in front of me, his hungry eyes holding mine, his body leaning in. Almost…touching. And then, he did touch.

  He tucked my hair behind my ear and nudged my chin up. Forcing me to keep my eyes on his, not that I could look away even if I wanted to. “I worry about you, honey.”

  My response came automatically, the lie too easy to tell. “You don’t need to.”

  “I think I do. I think I can’t help myself.”

  I shivered, entranced by his voice, by the look on his face, by how close he stood. The man had owned me since the first moment I met him, since that first day when he’d ordered a cup of coffee and smiled at me. He still did, and I was so sick of fighting my desire for him.

  I took a deep breath and closed the gap between us, grabbing his arms as I pressed my breasts against that rock-hard chest I’d dreamed about too many times to count. Surrendering to him and praying he didn’t make me regret it. “So what are you going to do about it?”

  He didn’t answer me—didn’t need to. He cupped my chin in one huge, rough hand, running his thumb over my lips as he kept his blue eyes locked on mine. Waiting. Looking for something. So I gave him the only thing I could—my approval. In the form of a kiss pressed to his thumb as it passed. His response was immediate.

  Eyes gleaming, he dropped down to claim my mouth. I couldn’t call what he did a kiss. The word wasn’t big enough to encapsulate the way his entire body became involved in the act or how he dominated my lips, my tongue, my mouth. It wasn’t a kiss—it was a claiming. He plundered me. Hand on my face, one arm sliding around my waist to pin me to him, he attacked my mouth with an intensity that made me gasp. No soft pecks or easy start, no working his way up to anything—he overtook me, taking advantage of my quiet gasp to lick his way inside.

  I could have died right then and there with his taste on my tongue and had no regrets.

  Heart racing, skin itching with the need to be touched by this man, I let go of all the voices telling me this could never happen, and I kissed him back. He groaned as I threaded my fingers in his hair and tugged him closer, his hands squeezing me hard enough to leave marks. Good, I wanted that. Wanted to see his claim on me. Needed the reminder that for one brief moment, I’d been his. Completely.

  But Alder wasn’t satisfied with kissing, it seemed. Our tongues tangling, he turned me so my back was to the counter, then reached down to grab me by the thighs and hoist me up. My ass landed on the stainless steel, my legs spreading on instinct to give the man room to step between them. And he did.

  And he was so damn hard.

  “Give me permission,” he said, nibbling over my chin. “I won’t take from you, but if you let me…if you want me to.” He groaned, his hips jerking against mine almost of their own volition. “Give me permission, honey. Tell me I can feel you. Let me take care of you so I can watch you come.”

  I nodded even though I had no idea what I was doing, no clue what it was exactly that he wanted to give me. My experience with men—what little I had—had always been about pain and punishment. I’d never been kissed the way Alder kissed me, never gone farther than a simple boob grab that hurt more than aroused. But I’d try, I’d learn. For Alder, I’d figure this whole sex thing out for the first time. So long as he wanted me the way I wanted him.

  Panties wet, I writhed against him as he came back for more, as he continued to own my mouth. The hard ridge of his erection sat wedged between us, his desire obvious. The strong grip of his hands on my flesh, the never-ending kisses that rocked my world on its foundation, the way his body pressed into mine with every breath—the man wanted me, and I definitely felt the same.

  Unashamed of my need for more, I shifted my hips against him as he pulled me closer. As he wrapped me in his arms and his scent and overwhelmed me with his taste. Soaking—I was soaking wet and probably spreading that to his jeans, but I didn’t care. Let him see how much I wanted him, how much he made me feel. Let him know the truth—that there was no other man I’d even looked at in all the years I’d lived in Justice. Only ever him.

  So when he slipped a hand between us, shoving my panties to the side and finding my clit, I simply spread my legs wider. Giving him room to rub, to tease. To finally feel exactly how wet he made me. Something that made him groan.

  “That’s it, Shye. Fuck, I love the way your little body moves against mine. And you’re so damn wet, honey. All for me, right? Is this pussy wet only for me?”

  I nodded, gasping as he growled and thrust harder against me. My god, this had to be a dream. A wonderful, heartbreaking dream where I woke up wet and achy between my legs. One where I blindly reached into my nightstand drawer for the only toy I owned, something to help me reach my peak, to relieve the frustration. Any second now, I’d wake up and want to cry. Want to curse my wretched brain for playing with my heart and making me think about what I could never have.

  But I didn’t wake up. Instead, I let my head fall back, and I moaned as Alder moved his attack from my lips to my neck. As he bit and sucked and licked a trail down to my shoulder while continuing his direct attack on my clit.

  Death. This was death and bliss and heaven and hell all rolled into one. This was everything.

  And then it was more.

  Alder lifted me again, keeping his mouth busy on my neck while he carried me as if I weighed nothing. He stalked to the manager’s office, a small, closet-like room at the back of the kitchen. The only space with a door and a modicum of privacy. Once inside, he set me on the desk and kicked the door closed before tugging my knees up. And out.

  “Alder,” I gasped, feeling exposed. Feeling excited.

  He ran a hand up the length of my thigh, bunching my uniform skirt as he went, letting his finger brush across my panties. “So fucking wet for me, honey. I can’t leave you like that, and I don’t want anyone walking in and seeing you on display.” He bent down to give me a kiss, biting my lip for good measure and making me jump. “No one else gets to see this pussy, and they certainly don’t get to watch as I make you come. Your face, those sweet little sounds you make, are mine. All mine.”

  He tugged my panties to the side again, running his knuckle over my clit. Sending shock waves down my legs as he teased me. “Tell me this is mine, Shye. Say the words.”

  “Yours,” I gasped as he plunged a finger inside me. Spreading me open. The delicious mix of pleasure and pain making me clench around his thick digit. “All yours.”

  “Good. Then I’m going to take what you’re offering, because I can’t hold off anymore.” He dropped to his knees, hooking my legs over his shoulders and bringing his face close to my pussy. Too close. Oh my god, was he going to—

  He licked the entire length of my slit before slipping his tongue inside me, not giving me a moment to refuse him. I arched and groaned
, biting my lip to keep from screaming. My hands scrabbling at the edges of the desk as I tried to find something to hold on to. Something to keep me anchored on earth.

  “Alder,” I cried as he moved up to lap at my clit. My thighs shook on his shoulders, my release already so damn close.

  “Fucking sweet pussy you’ve got, Shye,” he growled against my sensitive flesh, spreading me open with his thumbs so I could feel his breath. “I always knew you would be. It’s why I call you honey. Because I knew this pussy would be the sweetest thing I’ve ever had on my tongue.”

  I arched and yelped as his tongue again found my clit, grabbing hold of his head and shamelessly pulling him into me. And like everything else, he fucked me with his filthy mouth, Alder-style. Rough, strong, not giving me a moment to ease into the attack. Owning everything about me with his lips and tongue. And oh my god, that tongue. It lashed against my clit, throwing in the occasional flat lick to keep me on edge. I writhed, I grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, I chanted his name—I did all the things I’d read about over the years, all the moves that I’d thought were too fake or wild. Instinct…I reacted on instinct alone, wanting more, needing him to make me come, craving it. Demanding it.

  “So good, so…Alder. Please.”

  “Fuck yeah, honey. Give me all that sweetness. So fucking wet, baby, I can’t stop licking it up.”

  And as if the man had somehow studied my body, Alder knew exactly what to do. Finger deep, lips wrapped around my clit as he sucked, he growled and grunted and suckled hard enough to make me scream. To make me whine and shake.

  To make me come.

  He kept up his assault as I surrendered, kept drawing out every ounce of pleasure as I gave myself over to the highest of highs. Refusing to give up his place between my legs until I finally had to push him away, too sensitive to let him lick even one more time. He didn’t move back far, though, resting his cheek against my thigh and running one finger along the seam between my leg and my pussy.

  “Finally mine,” he whispered, placing a gentle kiss over my clit and pulling my panties back into place. He hadn’t even taken them off. He’d made me come that strong while leaving me basically fully clothed—if the man ever got me naked, he might kill me. And I’d die happily in his arms.

  “Yours,” I whispered, unable not to. Too wrecked to even think about the reality of that promise. To hide how much I wanted to believe we could actually be together.

  With a satisfied sort of sigh, Alder moved up the length of my body, letting his hands wander, kissing me over my uniform until he reached my neck and could sink his teeth into my flesh. Not hard, not painful, but telling—the man wanted to own me, and thankfully, I wanted to be his.

  As he moved to drop kisses along my ear, I wrapped my arms around him, holding tight. Still shaking. Still needing more.

  “You’re trembling,” he said, bringing his mouth to mine to give me a soft kiss. “You okay, honey?”

  I nodded, kissing him back. Not ready to let go yet. Rolling my hips against where he was still so hard. “What about you?”

  Alder simply shook his head, a small smile on his lips as they brushed against mine. “I’m fine. It’s not about me tonight, Shye. I don’t expect anything from you.”

  Reality crashed back over me in a blink. He’d given his all but had gotten nothing from me. That was a debt. How did I always end up indebted to some man?

  I pushed him back and sat up, frowning. “But you gave me…that. You should get something in return.”

  “Shye, that’s not how this works. It’s not a deal or a game where we keep track of points.” Alder nuzzled my neck, his hands gripping my hips. “I didn’t come here for any of this, but we’ll figure it all out.”

  He didn’t come here for this. Didn’t come for me.

  “Oh.” I pulled away, suddenly embarrassed. No longer sure of anything other than apparently Alder Kennard had not come to the truck stop for me. I pushed him back, sliding to my feet and tugging my uniform back into place. “Then why are you here?”

  He stepped closer, grabbing me before I could escape, refusing to let me put even an inch between us. His hands so very strong as he held me. “Because I can’t stay away.”

  Well, hell, that sounded like a dream come true for me. But I wasn’t that girl—I didn’t get the happily ever after fairy tale. I got the huntsman with a sadistic side instead of a sweet one, and my seven little helpers were demons instead of dwarfs. I got the man who gave me the best orgasm of my life, then told me he hadn’t been coming to see me at all.

  “Alder—”

  He pressed one more kiss to my lips, one more sweet taste, before pulling back to stare down at me. “I’ve been worried about you. Camden got into that disagreement with some bikers on the Hansen property job—not too far from your trailer. Remember?” He waited for me to nod. “Well, the day of the fire, we found tracks on your property.”

  Oh hell. My stomach turned to ice, and I dropped my gaze to his shoulder. I couldn’t look him in the eye for this, wanting to run, wanting to get away. Wanting so badly not to already know what he was going to say.

  “We think they were the ones who set your place on fire.”

  I locked all the panic—all the terror that statement inspired in me—down tight as I looked up at him. “Why would bikers be interested in me?”

  “I don’t know.” Alder sighed, hands still gripping my hips. Body still so very close to mine. “But it’s not safe out there for you, Shye. Even if the insurance replaces your trailer, those woods are dangerous.”

  He had no idea. “Life is dangerous.”

  I pulled away from him and opened the office door, needing air. Needing space. If he didn’t know about my connection to the Soul Suckers yet, he would soon. He’d figure out how much of a liar I was, how weak and desperate I could be, and then he’d hate me. This, whatever had happened, was already over. He just didn’t know it yet.

  But I did. “I need to get back to work.”

  Alder grabbed my arm, stopping me before I could even reach the sink. “Shye, I think—”

  The door to the dining room flew open, slamming into the wall behind it. I jumped, but Alder was already spinning me behind him. Facing the threat. Standing between me and…Gage.

  “We’ve got a problem,” the big man said, every muscle in his face rigid and locked. “Another fire.”

  Alder slid his hand down to my hip, pulling me into his body, keeping me close. Keeping us connected. “Where?”

  “Camden’s place. And he can’t track down his wife.”

  “Fuck.” Alder turned and grabbed me around the waist, bending slightly and putting his face right in front of mine as he lowered his voice. “We’ll have to finish our stuff later, honey. C’mon. We need to get out there.”

  It wasn’t until he laced his fingers with mine and tugged that the reality of him saying those words to me and not Gage sank in.

  “Wait,” I said as I planted my feet and pulled Alder to a stop. “I’m working. I can’t leave.”

  Alder frowned down at me. “Your shift ends in twenty minutes. Someone can cover for you.”

  “I can’t just disappear. It’s work.”

  “Shye, there was a run-in with some bikers up by your place the day of the fire, and Camden was the one who assaulted one of them. This could be retaliation.”

  Oh god, no. “What did he do?”

  “Let’s go,” Gage yelled from the door to the dining room, glaring at me. “We’ve got time to talk on the road.”

  My head shake came without thought or intention. “Alder, let me go. I need to finish my shift.”

  That jaw tic appeared, his entire face going stony and his eyes locking on mine. Burning, dangerous. Gage may have been a shark in the water, but Alder was worse. You could feel the threat when Gage walked by; Alder hid it. He wasn’t hiding that lethalness anymore.

  “No.” He pulled me against his chest, leaning over me. Dominating me. “Last time I let you go
, you disappeared on me for three days. I can’t do that again, Shye. I can’t spend every minute worrying if you’re safe and have what you need. I’ll take care of your boss—he owes me a few favors anyway—so you don’t have to worry about your job. Trust me, honey. I want to keep you safe, and that means you need to come with me… Now.”

  Nothing about this situation should have been a turn-on. Nothing Alder said should have made my knees weak, should have warmed me from the inside, reminding me how wet my panties already were. But something in his face, in his hard body against mine, in his words—something made my desire for him explode, and I found myself nodding. Unable to tell the man no.

  Not that I wanted to.

  Without another word, Alder dragged me through the restaurant and outside as the panic I’d been running under since the fire wrapped around me once more. Safe—I felt safe with Alder. It’d been months since I could remember feeling that way, maybe even years, but the reality of my past wouldn’t let me accept it. No one was safe from the Soul Suckers.

  The Kennards were good people—law-abiding in their own way. When they figured out what was going on, they’d probably call the sheriff in to investigate. That didn’t mean justice; it meant a possible payoff from the Soul Suckers to avoid an investigation and arrests. More debt on my shoulders because I’d been given one job, and I’d failed at it.

  This wouldn’t be a simple debt of flesh to the Soul Suckers, though. Not something as cheap as a funeral and a few years of living expenses to pay off. They’d take my life for sure this time for causing them to lose a business.

  And if I stayed close to Alder, they’d take his too.

  Chapter Five

  Alder

  Whether I was a king or an asshole, I couldn’t tell. I’d kissed Shye Anderson and made her come on my tongue. Had finally gotten to hear the little mewls and sighs as I brought her pleasure. Had I not basically dragged her little ass out of the truck stop and pretty much forced her to come with me, I’d be in a much better mood.