“I’m sorry about last night,” Sophia said softly from behind me.
I turned and frowned. “I told you that you never need to apologise.”
“No, not for that…for, you know…oh, God…well, when a man starts seeing a woman, it’s all about the sex, right? And we had the most amazing sex the other night, and then the next day, I dump all that stuff on you about my mum, and you take it like a champion, and you stay the night, rather than running a mile like a lot of guys would. And you never even attempt to have sex with me, but I’m guessing it’s on your mind – I mean, it’s on my mind so it’s gotta be on your mind – but, damn, you’re not like any guy I’ve ever slept with, because all those guys would not have done what you did yesterday.” She took a breath and her eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness, that makes me sound like I’ve slept with a lot of guys, but I haven’t...well, I’m no prude, but I’m certainly no slut. I can count on two hands - ”
I closed the distance between us and placed a finger to her lips. Fuck, she was cute when she rambled like this, but there was no way in hell I wanted to hear the number she was about to tell me. I didn’t need to be thinking of another man with his hands on her skin. “Sweetheart, I don’t want to ever hear an apology for not having sex with me fall out of your mouth again. And no, this isn’t just about the sex for me. If you haven’t worked that out yet, I need to do some serious work on my end of this relationship. But I will admit that you, and your body, and the sin you’re capable of leading a man into are always on my mind.”
She gazed up at me with a look that took my breath away for a moment. I’d never had a woman look at me that way, as if all their suns could rise and set with me. And fuck if I didn’t like that. She opened her mouth to say something, but then snapped it shut. After a moment of silence, she smiled and said, “You don’t need to do any work on your end. I’m hearing you loud and clear; we’re on the same page. And tonight, I’ve got some temptation to lead you into.”
Fuck.
“Baby, you’ve already led me. I’m burning in the flames of hell because of the sins I want to commit with you.”
Her smile grew and she brushed her lips across mine in a kiss. And then she deepened that kiss until my dick bulged in my jeans and I thought I would explode with need.
Pulling my lips from hers, I rested my forehead against hers, and said, “As much as I’d love to finish that, I have to get to work. And a quick fuck won’t satisfy the need I have for you today. It would leave me just as frustrated as I feel now.”
“Okay, handsome, you go to work and I’ll be waiting for you here when you finish,” she promised.
The last thought I had as I left her house was to question what I’d ever done to have Sophia come into my life. I may have only known her a short time, but there were some people you met in life who you just knew had the possibility of becoming someone very important to you.
Sophia was already one of those people.
* * *
“You really think someone’s gonna show?” Nash asked as he fidgeted next to me in the back of the van.
We were waiting in position down the street from the rundown house in Redcliffe where his source had told him the drug deal would take place. The deal should have happened ten minutes ago, but so far, no one had turned up. Nash was all out of patience, but Scott and I had decided to give it some more time before we called it quits. We both felt in our guts that something was going on here, and we were committed to waiting it out.
“Yeah, I do,” I answered him.
“I’m wondering if Ricky’s fucking with us from the grave,” J chipped in.
“Fuck me,” Scott muttered and shifted in his seat as if he was trying to get a better look at something. “Motherfucking asshole.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Fucking Keg,” Scott replied. “I would never have picked him to be involved in this shit.” Keg had been a loyal Storm member for eight years.
“I would assume none of our members would be involved in this shit, brother,” I said.
“True,” Scott agreed. “When there’s bank involved, you just never fuckin’ know. Fuck.” He opened his door and exited the van, and we all followed suit.
A couple of minutes later, Scott kicked in the front door of the house and we entered. The plan had been to figure out the best course of entry once we got here, but it seemed Scott was running on anger now, so he didn’t stop to discuss it before he entered.
The three guys standing at the kitchen table looked up in shock as we stormed the house. Fuck, this place stank, and the garbage littered over the table and on the kitchen counters reeked of deadbeats who didn’t give a shit and had no pride. I recognised Keg, but not the other two, which was strange because we pretty much knew every asshole drug dealer in this town.
One of the guys pulled his gun and aimed it at us, but Scott was five steps ahead and shot at the dude’s leg before he could pull the trigger. The bullet grazed his lower leg and he yelled out in pain, but Scott ignored him. “I’m not in the mood to be fucked with today, motherfucker,” Scott thundered as he came to a standstill. Eyeing Keg, he said, “Wanna tell me what the fuck you’re doing here, Keg?”
Guns were aimed all over the place as we all protected our own interests. Keg stared wildly at Scott. “How the fuck did you know about this?”
Scott seethed. “I asked you a fuckin’ question, Keg, and I want that question answered so I can make a decision about what happens next. What the fuck are you doing here?”
While Keg contemplated that, the drug dealer who hadn’t been shot spoke up. “I’m taking it that Storm had no idea this deal was going down?”
Scott’s attention was focused completely on Keg, so I answered, “Not a fucking clue. We’ve made it clear we’re not interested in dealing anymore so I’m not sure why you’d arrange this thinking it was us.”
Keg’s expression turned into a sneer. “Storm should be dealing. Hell, we used to be a force to be reckoned with, but now we’re the laughing fucking joke of Brisbane. Scott and you have seen to that. Marcus was right when he said Scott didn’t have the balls to run the club.”