STORY EXCERPT

Jayce (Hawk)

She’s smaller than I remember from the bar as she folds into the chair like she’s trying to make herself less noticeable but there’s defiance in her buried under the realization that she’s outmatched and alone. That realization can break people if it lingers too long and I won’t let that happen.

“You’re not in danger…I wouldn’t…” I say, then correct myself because she deserves certainty. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Harper’s shoulders drop and she lets out a breath so slow and careful it’s obvious she’s been holding it far too long. “Can I go now?” 

The question is quiet and tentative. 

I shake my head once. “You can leave this room…but you can’t come back here. Not to this club.”

Her eyes narrow. “You just said I wasn’t in danger.”

“Of me,” I correct. “You’re not in danger of me…but not one man in this club would think twice about hurting you if they knew what you really are…why you’re really here. They wouldn’t hesitate or feel bad about it and they sure as hell wouldn’t stop once they started.”

“And what makes you different from them?” She meets my eyes head on.

A corner of my mouth twitches before I can stop it. “You sure as shit know how to push buttons.”

Her expression doesn’t soften. “It’s my job.”

“I won’t hurt you because I don’t hurt women. That line matters to me.” My gaze flicks to the door, then back to her. “Some of the men downstairs don’t draw the line in the same place as me…most of them don’t have lines at all.”

Harper leans forward a fraction. “Then stop them, aren’t you the enforcer?”

Her words scrape at my patience. “I can’t stop anything if you keep interfering with my inves…” I cut myself off too late and the room goes very still.

Her eyes sharpen, not with fear this time, but recognition. “Your what?” she asks quietly.

Damn it. I lean back and the chair creaks under my weight. I’ve spent years learning how to talk around the truth and bury it under half-answers. One slip is all it takes to undo that discipline, and I handed it to her.

“You don’t get to ask questions.” My voice is harsher than I mean it to be. “Not in this place.”

A faint smile touches her mouth, but there’s no humor in it. “Funny,” she says. “You’re the one who manhandled me up here.”

“You keep digging, you make noise, you put a spotlight on this place…that’s when people get hurt.”

“People,” she repeats. “Or me?”

My jaw tightens and I lean forward, lowering my voice until it’s nothing but a rough whisper. “Keep pushing, Harper, and I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a federal investigation.”

For half a second, I expect her to go pale, to retreat, and to finally understand just how deep the water is. Instead, a slow smile spreads across her pretty face.

“Tell me what you know.” Her voice is full of excitement, and I rub my hand over my face.

The chair scrapes softly against the floor as I stand and turn away from her and start pacing the narrow length of the room. The sound of my boots feels amplified now.

I fucked up.

I rake a hand through my hair and stare at the wall like it might give me answers. I’ve faced worse than a curious reporter with sharp instincts and a stubborn streak, but this is different. Guns and fists are simple. This is precision work, and I just handed her a loaded truth wrapped in one careless sentence.

I can feel Harper watching me intently. She’s not scared anymore. She’s focused and hungry. 

I stop near the window and brace my hands against the sill as my shoulders tighten. Every instinct trained into me screams to shut this down, to end the conversation, and put distance between her and whatever she’s chasing.

Another harder to kill instinct won’t stop reminding me why I brought her up here in the first place. To protect her.

I don’t hear her move at first. I feel the shift of air behind me and the subtle change that tells me I’m no longer alone in my own space.

Her voice is soft and close enough that it lands against my shoulder instead of the room. “Maybe we don’t have to be on opposite sides of this.”

I spin on reflexes, too fast and she’s closer than I expect. I collide with her before I can stop myself. The impact knocks her off balance and a sharp intake of breath leaves her as she stumbles. I reach out without thinking and my hands catch her at the hips, stopping her from going down. 

She looks up at me, and her eyes are alive with the kind of courage that borders on reckless. 

“I won’t interfere with your investigation,” she continues quietly, like she’s offering something fragile she expects me to crush. “I won’t write a word, but you let me stay close enough to observe.”

I’m acutely aware of where my hands are, of the heat beneath my palms, and how close her face is to my chest. I should let go immediately but I don’t.

“When it’s over…when you’ve done your job and the dust settles, I get an exclusive story…and a detailed interview with you.”

My grip loosens a fraction, but I don’t step back. “You really don’t know when to stop,” I mumble.

ADULT EXCERPT

Harperlynn

Jayce lifts me effortlessly, and my legs instinctively lock around his waist. The strength in his arms, and heat radiating from him, makes my body melt into his. My hands clutch his shoulders as he carries me through the house. Every step is deliberate and every movement sends a jolt of anticipation through me.

He whispers against my ear. “I’ve got you.”

I let myself trust him completely. We reach the bedroom and he gently sets me on the edge of the bed. His hands roam over my body with reverence, sliding up my back, tracing the curve of my spine and the swell of my breasts and thighs. I shiver at the heat of his touch.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he groans as he lifts my shirt over my head and tosses it aside.

Jayce looks me over with hooded eyes and a heaving chest. It drives me wild seeing him so undone by me.

His hands move to my jeans and slide them down my legs slowly. Every inch of exposed skin is fire under his fingertips. I shiver, pressing into him instinctively. 

Jayce’s eyes lock with mine. “Are you sure you’re ready?” His voice is thick with need.

I nod. “Yes…I’m ready…I want you.”

He spreads my legs slowly, deliberately, and the heat between us hits a new level. His fingers slide over my inner thighs, tracing the sensitive skin there, teasing, exploring, and sending tingles up my spine. I gasp as the tips of his fingers brush my wet pussy folds, circling my slick, swollen lips, and I arch into him.

He slides a finger along my slit, pressing and parting me, finding the perfect spot. My hips lift, grinding against his hand without control, and my moans spill out uncontrollably. He slides another finger in, testing, stretching, and filling me. Every stroke, every press and deliberate movement drives me wild.

“Fuck, Harper…” he growls out as he watches me squirm beneath him.

I cry out and rake my nails down his back. He adjusts, circling his fingers inside my pussy, feeling me clench and open for him. His head leans closer to my center, and his lips brush my inner thigh before his tongue flicks over my wetness. I gasp as his mouth worships me, tasting, teasing, and driving me crazy. My hands clutch at his head, pulling and holding him there.

“Harper…” His voice is rough, urgent. “You feel… so incredible. So fucking perfect…”

My body trembles with a need so strong I can barely speak. “I…need you… all of you.”

Jayce peels off his shirt, and my breath catches. Light glints off the ridges of his chest and the planes of his abs as his muscles flow beneath his skin like sculpted marble. The curve of his shoulders, the strength in his arms, and the way his tattoos wind across him with swirling ink that seems to tell secrets just for me draw my gaze. My fingers itch to trace the patterns and feel the warmth of him beneath my touch, but I stay frozen and mesmerized as my heart hammers like a drum.

His hands slide down to his waistband, tugging his pants and underwear off in one motion. His massive hard cock springs free as he stands before me completely bare. My eyes trace over every spectacular inch of him.

Jayce steps closer, and heat rolls off him in waves that I can feel against my skin. He hovers over me carefully, as if he’s reading me. 

His hand brushes against my cheek and his thumb grazes my lips, teasing and possessive. “I just realized…I…don’t have a condom,” he admits.