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  Bonnie couldn’t stop herself. She pressed into him, placing him at her willing entrance, but Zack placed a sweet kiss on her mouth before sliding down to devote time to her breasts. Cupping one in his hand, he kissed and suckled on the other, placing hot kisses all around the areola before sucking the nipple into his mouth.

  Sensations shot to Bonnie’s core with a zing, and she started flying.

  “Oh God!” She couldn’t be quiet. It was too much, he was everywhere and everything all at once. He spent a lot of time on her nipples, ratcheting her nerves higher and higher with each pull of his mouth.

  His other hand found her slick heat and sank inside, filling her, stretching her in ways only Zack could.

  Seriously. She’d been with other men, not a ton, but enough to know nobody could touch her the way he could. Bonnie was at his mercy.

  “Please …” She begged. She pleaded. His grin around her nipple told her he heard her but was just ignoring her. Teasing her.

  Zack let loose on her, redoubling his efforts to make her crazy with his fingers.

  “What do you want, Bon-Bon? You want to come?”

  “Yes, please. Make me come.”

  “Tell me what you want me to do, Bon-Bon. Let’s get dirty.”

  “Make me come with your tongue first, then put your cock in me.” The words fell from her mouth without thought, and he complied, sliding down her body until his mouth was at the juncture of her thighs.

  Fingers still inside her, he attacked her clit with his mouth, sucking on it until she practically came off the bed. His teeth trapped it, his tongue flicking it back and forth until she was in a frenzy of heat and light.

  He curled his fingers, hitting her spot and rubbing it hard, and Bonnie flew apart at the seams, moaning so loudly her sight dimmed at the edges and she saw stars.

  When she had her senses back, Zack was standing at the foot of the bed, undressing quickly and sheathing himself with a condom.

  “Don’t. I’m on the pill.” He ripped the rubber off with one swift pull and his muscles coiled to pounce, but he seemed to hold himself back by a thread.

  He was magnificent.

  A sheen of sweat from his restraint coated the muscles he’d grown since adolescence. Coupled with the dewy perspiration on Bonnie’s skin, it made for a lovely slide when he came down on top of her again, hovering over her body. He was hot, by all definitions of the word, and they came together with an explosion.

  He stretched her as he entered, and the moans that followed filled the room with the sounds of sex. Skin against skin, mouths entangled, tastes mingling, every essence joining as one.

  The feel of him bare inside her was exquisite, all the warmth of their bodies joining in that one place where words defied meaning. They slid together, bodies slick with desire and sweat, grinding against each other. She clutched his back as he moved within her, her hips meeting each of his pistoning thrusts. His mouth stayed on her neck as he laved her with open-mouthed kisses, each one hotter than the one before.

  Bonnie closed her eyes to the overwhelming sensations, feeling nothing but the joining of their bodies as if it were some sort of magic. Because it was. It was a transporting magic, taking her home.

  They came together in shouts and groans, neither knowing where one ended and the other began. It was color and light and everything beautiful all at once.

  Zack’s arms gave out, and he fell to her side, tugging her into a tight embrace as he cocooned her in his arms. Bonnie went willingly, ruined by the experience they had just shared.

  They breathed together in silence, trying to catch their breath, Zack’s head on top of hers. It was overwhelming, the thoughts racing through her mind, knowing she had come so close to losing all this. If Jonas had gotten his way, she’d be dead. Or still held captive in his hoseable room.

  But she didn’t want to dwell on that. Zack and her brothers had refused to tell her what exactly had happened with the senator and Jonas, only that they wouldn’t stop looking, but the doubt in their eyes spoke volumes.

  She thought they’d lost him.

  But she couldn’t think about the unknown. As much as she wanted to know, she didn’t really. They were protecting her, but she had some semblance of freedom here in this tiny tourist town, with a new identity. Bonnie would get tired of it after a while, she knew, but for now, she had Zack.

  That’s really all she needed. She would stay here, in their little bubble, until Simon and Quinten deemed it safe for her to return. Until then, she had her man back.

  “Where did you go, Bon-Bon?” Zack crooned against her hair, the heat of his breath sending a shiver coursing through her.

  “Everywhere. Nowhere,” she muttered stupidly. “I’m glad we’re here. I guess I’ll let you ski, if you promise to go down one of those easy slopes.” She’d never been skiing before, and the entire experience was thrilling to her. She couldn’t see why he’d want to do something so dangerous, but then again, she’d never been able to tell him no.

  She felt his grin on her head. “I see my distraction worked.” His evil cackle against her head sent a warmth through her that subdued her shiver.

  “Sort of.”

  “Well, I’ll just have to sort of try again, huh?” He waggled his eyebrows and slipped back down her body, parting her thighs once again.

  Bonnie was in some serious trouble. But she was going to love every damn second of it.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Dex Hollerman held the phone to his ear, a little sickened at what he was doing. It went against everything he’d been taught as a cop, but he had to remind himself he was done with that chapter of his life. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, there were shades of gray, and the black and white world of the force didn’t allow for justice a lot of times.

  When he got an answer, he simply said, “You name the time and the place. This ends today.” Simon nodded at him across his desk, silent, the understanding of Dex’s about-face clear in the man’s eyes. Simon clearly knew exactly what Dex was going through, as he’d had to come to the same realizations in his transition from law enforcement officer to private citizen.

  Dex listened to instructions, writing the address down and sliding it across to Simon. Half of him hoped Andrew had been an informant and would show up today so they could kick his ass. But the other half knew Jonas wouldn’t have waited this long to make his move. That half of Dex’s brain saved his own retribution for Andrew and put it on the back burner. The guy hadn’t done anything to him specifically, but he’d been aggressive in his harassment with Deena Rae, and that stunt he’d pulled with Zack and the Viagra had not been cool.

  As the plan was made, Dex got his head back in the game. Retribution. Justice. Shades of gray.

  Evan knocked on door to Simon’s office. “A word? This is pretty intense.” Evan’s eyes were wide, as if he’d seen something he wished he hadn’t.

  Simon nodded, and Evan plopped down in the chair next to Dex, setting a laptop on the desk. “I found out Jonas had a sister. Step.” Evan turned the computer so they could look at the image on the screen. The woman could pass for Bonnie’s double—same dark, curly hair, same giant brown eyes, same dimply smile.

  Simon scrubbed his face, while Dex muttered, “Shit.”

  “Julia Faraway, daughter of Senator Lawrence’s third wife, step-sister to Jonas Prestley. Jonas and Julia were seen in public together several times, in intimate embraces, before she mysteriously disappeared a year and a half after her mother married Lawrence.”

  Dex felt the blood drain from his face. “I remember that case. I didn’t work it, but I remember a little. Fuck. I can’t believe I didn’t realize before.” It hadn’t been the best missing persons case he’d ever seen, and while they’d tried hard to pin some foul play on it—more at the senator’s wife’s insistence than anything else—they hadn’t been able to. “She was eventually listed as a runaway. APD couldn’t find anything. I always thought the senator himself had something to
do with her disappearance, but fuck if I could find anything to get on him.” It was sick, actually, and he’d been ashamed of his suspicions at the time. He’d always had a gut feeling Senator Lawrence had made his step-daughter disappear after finding out about a relationship with his son, but no one could prove anything.

  Simon clenched his teeth together, his eyes never leaving the computer monitor. “Find out as much as you can, Evan. My gut’s telling me this has more to do with Julia than Bonnie, but he’s clearly transposed his fixation because of physical similarities. Is there any way you can find her?”

  Evan shrugged. “If anybody can, I’d like to think it’s me.”

  Dex tried not to bristle at the man’s insistence of superiority, but the truth was, Evan wasn’t hampered by the strings and laws like the cops were.

  Dex had to get used to this job.

  The parking garage was deserted, silent except for their footfalls echoing around the cavernous concrete space. As soon as the location had been determined, Simon had sent Quinten and Evan for recon. Jordan, Ryan, Hollerman, Deena Rae, and Simon were the faces of Pierce today. Undoubtedly, Senator Lawrence would bring henchmen and would probably outnumber them all. But they had one thing working in their favor.

  The idealist inside Dex told him they had morality on their side, but he knew Simon and Quinten were out for blood today. So maybe they had that passion on their side. Lawrence and his kid had poked the bear and the bear was pissed.

  At the appointed time, Deena Rae, Jordan, and Ryan were hidden behind cars. Evan had done something to jam the security cameras’ signal, and he and Quinten were nowhere to be found, but they all knew they were watching. Ready.

  Hollerman stood with Simon as a unified force, two ex-cops fighting for what they knew was right—one with moral righteousness on his side, the other wanting justice for his family. Dex had become the cowboy he’d always hated.

  When the footsteps echoed in the garage from the direction of the elevator, they readied themselves. They had all spent almost an hour getting ready for this—gathering untraceable weapons, wiping bullets, loading clips, silently praying, or whatever else it took to get mentally prepared for what was about to happen.

  Hollerman counted the men as they came into sight. Eight.

  Not as many as he’d thought the senator would bring. Thankfully, Jonas was one of them, the two looking like bosses with their three-piece suits, giant watches, and slicked hair. The one Zack had called Manicotti Man was surely the giant, Italian-looking guy who chewed on a toothpick and looked like a two-bit criminal’s worst nightmare. He didn’t see the one Bonnie had called V and wondered if he’d left the gang completely. Dex didn’t like unknowns.

  The group stopped in front of Simon and Dex, obviously ready. It was like a Wild West standoff, dozens of muscles coiled and tensed for the upcoming fight. No one looked away.

  Dex had been here before, he was familiar with the tension. So was Simon. Seasoned, hard-boiled cops, they’d both seen their share of battles, which put them at the advantage.

  Dex suspected these men opposite him were accustomed to killing, but not like this. They were sneaky bastards who shot men in the back or while they slept. The scent of sweat and fear hung in the air, and Hollerman was reassured by the fact it was the other side.

  Simon broke the silence. “How do we end this?”

  Lawrence’s mouth twisted into a wry grin, but Jonas was the one who spoke.

  “I want her.”

  Simon barked a laugh that echoed loudly. “Not happening.”

  They had agreed to try to get more information before they let all hell break loose, so Hollerman asked the most obvious question. “Why do you want her?”

  “She knows exactly why. I just can’t figure out why she’s using you guys.” With his hands in his pockets, pulling back his suit jacket, Jonas exuded calm confidence. “She can hide, but I’ll always find her. It’s not like y’all have actual blood bonding you.”

  “Shut up, Jonas.” Lawrence clearly wasn’t having any of it.

  Turning to his father, Jonas broke focus, and Hollerman used the distraction to move his hand closer to where he hid one of his sidearms. One of the goons saw, and his eyes zeroed in on Dex’s hand.

  Dex only grinned at him in return.

  “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’ve told you, that woman is not Julia. Julia’s dead. You have other priorities, one of which is to get rid of these assholes so they’ll quit getting in my business.” Lawrence was growling through clenched teeth, not wanting Simon and Dex to hear, but the acoustics of the parking garage were such that it was practically broadcast to the entire team.

  “Tell us about Julia,” Simon’s voice was deceptively gentle. Dex noticed the slight shift in his stance, but no one else seemed to. The one goon was still focused on Dex, and Dex was still grinning at him like a madman. It seemed to be throwing him off whatever game he had.

  “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” That was it. The preselected signal. With Simon’s words, Evan lowered himself from the rafters of the ceiling. The black-clad figure wrapped his legs around the man standing behind Dex’s goon and twisted them, snapping the man’s neck. Quinten came running from behind the group and launched himself in the air, and the next thing Dex realized, he’d snapped a man’s leg in what looked like a very painful break.

  Screams cut through the air, and then the Pierce group stood from their hiding places, guns drawn. Evan dropped to his feet, pulling a gun from his waistband, and cocked it against the temple of the goon who’d been giving Dex the evil eye.

  “Now, I think it’s safe to say we can call some shots here, Lawrence. Get your asshole son to leave Bonnie alone.”

  “Not a chance in hell,” Jonas sneered.

  Simon pulled his weapon, his jaw ticking. “Then you die,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.

  At the same time Simon pulled the trigger, Senator Lawrence pulled an unexpected move. Launching himself to the side, Jonas’s father took the bullet meant for his son. Jonas stood there, slack-jawed at the senator’s unexpected move. He clearly hadn’t anticipated his father to do that. Or for Simon to actually shoot at him.

  By the time it all registered on his face, Simon fired again, and the others reacted. Jonas was hit in the shoulder, and that spurred him to run into the mass of cars behind him.

  Hollerman took aim and fired, emptying his clip, along with Deena Rae, who suddenly stood next to him. A goon or two returned fire, allowing Jonas to escape, but the rest of the Pierce men followed suit as they took aim, and one by one, goons dropped like flies.

  When the smoke cleared, the odor of spent gunpowder coating Dex’s nostrils, silence once again descended on the parking garage. The distant squeal of tires made everyone realize Jonas was long gone, only a trail of blood evidence of him even being there.

  “Alright. Let’s go and clean the fuck up. Ditch your guns, guys.” Simon was pissed, as they all were, that Jonas had gotten away.

  There were too many dead. All presumably bad guys, but still … dead. That hadn’t been part of the plan, but it was unavoidable. Now they just had to play dumb when the FBI and APD came sniffing around.

  As far as first assignments went, Dex knew this was out of the norm. He hadn’t signed on to fulfill personal vendettas, but it was clear these guys were a family. Mess with one, you get them all on your ass.

  And it had been a long time since Dex had felt like he was a part of a family.

  About Anne

  Anne has written her entire life and has the boxes of angst-filled journals and poetry to prove it. She’s been writing for public consumption for the last four years. Currently she is writing two romance series. In Stories of Serendipity, she explores real people living real lives in small town Texas in a contemporary romance setting. In The Four Winds, she chronicles God’s four closest archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, falling in love and becoming human. She lives in rural East Texas
with her husband and children in her own private oasis, where she prides herself in her complete lack of social skills, choosing instead to live with the people inside her head. Check out her blog, www.anneconley.com for updates, book blurbs, and more.

  Contact Anne

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  Anne’s Series

  Book B!tches

  Welcome to Mystic, Texas, where the past stays alive in more ways than one. Vanessa, Tiffany, Kristie, Wren, Melanie, and Samantha are a motley crew of women who have formed an unlikely alliance. Under the guise of a book club, where they read only indie authors, they discuss men, relationships, and the current mystery surrounding the town. There’s a serial killer on the loose, and he’s targeted the Book B!tches.

  Serendipity Series

  Welcome to Serendipity, Texas, a town where real people deal with real problems. Meet characters in their thirties and forties struggling with day-to-day issues and managing to find love in the process. Visit Serendipity, where the days are hot, and the nights are steamy!

  The Four Winds Series

  The Four Winds series are Paranormal Romances dealing with the Archangels. They are the biblical archangels, so there are aspects of Christianity in them. But the conflict in the stories are about the archangels falling in love and turning human, so they are dealing with human emotions and feelings. Due to various reactions of shock and outrage, I feel the need to put the spoiler out there: These books have sex in them, but also Christianity. So if either of those bother you, please don’t buy these books. First book in the series, Falling for Heaven, is free!