Speed King (Men of Action 1)

He tears his mouth from mine, dropping his face into my neck. “Fuck me.” His warm breath floats over my skin.

I fight to regain my breathing, holding tight and trying to tamper the panic threatening to erupt. “Please don’t walk away from me again.” There’s no stopping the words from spilling out.

“Three fucking years… three years I’ve thought of this. Every single goddamned second was worth the wait.” He lifts his face to mine, and I lose my breath all over. “There’s no fucking way I’m ever walking away.” His eyes have transformed into a glowing shade of caramel. My panic vanishes, and a new kind of heat rushes through me. Passion, intensity, lust, hunger—it shines from him and bleeds directly into my soul.

There are many things to say, to talk about, tons of questions I want answered. But none of it matters right now because, without him saying it, what we just shared changed the course of our relationship forever.

“Totally worth the wait,” I agree, running my thumb along his jaw. “Let’s not go another three years.”

His eyes gleam with amusement and he lowers himself back down. “Never,” he says before crashing his mouth back to mine.

7

Ace

“I don’t want to hear shit from you.” I slam my locker and come face to face with Talon, who’s grinning like a sly cat.

“I said nothing.”

“Keep it that way.”

He falls into step beside me, whistling all the way down the hall. The sound grates on my nerves and I stop, twisting to face him.

“Go ahead, get it off your chest.”

“What exactly do you think I have to say?”

“You’re gloating like a motherfucker, and it’s pissing me off.”

“After what I witnessed this morning, I was betting on a whole day without the broody, pissed off, Achilles.” He intentionally rasps my name in a feathery, breathy tone.

“Your impersonation is shit.”

“She had the advantage of her tongue lodged down your throat and her body fused to yours.” Hilarity fills his face, and he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“What are you, fourteen? Were you spying?”

“Nope, went to get water and couldn’t miss the sounds coming from the living room at five in the morning. I had to investigate and make sure you hadn’t rolled over on her and she was struggling for life.” He waves his hands in the air and makes a gasping sound to emphasize his point.

He looks like a fucking idiot, and I catch myself grinning. “She wasn’t suffocating.”

“I got that. She seemed to breathe fine when you let her up for air.”

“You enjoying yourself?” I cross my arms and give him a stony glare.

“Cool your shit, I’m giving you a hard time. I glimpsed at what was happening and went back to bed. But tell me the truth, do I need to buy a new sofa? I’d hate to think of laying where your bare ass was pound—”

“Don’t be a dick.” I shove him on the shoulder and start back down the hall toward the parking bay.

His laugh echoes in the hallway, and it doesn’t take long until he’s by my side again. “Man, I’m fucking happy as hell you finally pulled your head out of your pretentious ass. You know I love Harley, but you had this coming. Whatever Major said to you must have worked.”

I jerk my chin, not responding. Them showing up yesterday was the first clue that Major opened his mouth.

“Tell me, how was brunch with the boyfriends.”

“It was fine. Erik, Kelvin, and Harley covered a lot of ideas.”

“You didn’t scare them off?”

“I made my point.”

“Yo!” a sharp voice booms behind us.

I look over my shoulder and spot Hal Hanks strolling our way. Hal’s been my field-training officer most of the time. Unlike some veterans on the force, he seems to enjoy this part of the job. He’s a pretty laid-back guy and easy to get along with, but he’s also not someone you want to piss off.

“You’re with me tonight,” he informs us when he’s closer.

“I’m with Crews,” Talon corrects him.

“He got called out on something. I got the hassle of both of your asses. Let’s get to brief and then we roll out.”

“Roll out where?”

“It’s your lucky night. Tonight’s extra security at the stadium.”

“Shit,” I say under my breath. I’ve worked one football game, and it was a pain in my ass.

“Sunday night football, seventy-thousand fans, and high-intensity rivals. Not to mention the entire day tailgating. This should be fun.” Talon is thinking the same thing.

“After the shift, I’ll splurge on mani-pedis for you pansies.” Hal cracks a smile, enjoying his own joke.

We follow him back to the bullpen, where the room’s packed with other officers. I’m surprised to see Ford and Major heading our way. Hal takes charge, covering the night’s protocol while we stay on the outer edge of the group.

“We got the call for extra help tonight,” Ford explains.