PROLOGUE
Six months ago…
“SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”
“She’s got a nice curve to her.”
“How long do you think before I have to pick her up?”
“Give me about a week with her and I’ll have her all primed up so you can
ride her away into the sunset, bro.”
“Make sure you take good care of her.”
“Dude it’s a paint job, not rocket science. Pick her up in a week.”
I walked out of Knox’s repair shop feeling hesitant and even a little
strange having to walk home. But Knox had promised me a paint job and who
better to do it than one of the brothers. I was feeling absolutely exhausted and
completely out of it. I had just finished a job and my body was finally feeling it.
I’m in the business of stalking people. Not the type of stalking your
perverted little mind is thinking about, although that kind could definitely be a
lot of fun. No. I do surveillance installments for a special array of clients. I had
built a pretty good reputation of keeping to myself and keeping my mouth shut.
Word spreads pretty quickly around the more affluent members of society, and
every now and then I’d get a call with pretty high payouts. A good side job to
have as a Hell’s Lovers, it gave us access to a lot of information with a lot of
profitable benefits.
In this particular case, the lady wanted surveillance done on her cheating
husband. I had placed a few cameras in the house, but I needed to set up visual
and audio in his office at work. Getting in without being noticed was the
hardest part, especially when I had to infiltrate the security system first.
Did I mention I also handled a few hacking jobs on the side.
Nights like this were few and far between, but like I said, this job alone
would pay my rent for at least a year. The way I saw it, it had to be done, and it
felt great to add another zero to the amount in my savings account.
The streets were dead silent and I was deep in thought as I crossed the
street and headed to my apartment. A shrill scream coming from one of the
warehouse alleys stopped me dead in my tracks. I froze and waited, but I didn’t
hear anything else. Out of the corner of my eye, about a block away, I saw a
young girl run out into the street only to be dragged back into the shadows.
This part of the street had more than a few broken street lamps, and my body
tensed as I tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness. At the same time, I was
assessing my surroundings, but the back streets were always pretty much empty
at this time of night.
I slowly made my way up the block, keeping myself on alert in case
someone jumped out at me. I was ex-Navy Seal, sneaking up on someone was
my expertise. Well, that and being able to use anything in my reach as a
weapon, now that was a honed trait.
As I rounded the corner, her piercing scream shot me into action and my
survival instincts kicked in. As I came up to the dark alley anger coursed
through my veins. The man was a big guy, taller than me, and that’s pretty big
considering I’m six two. The girl looked so tiny and fragile pressed up into the
concrete wall. Her jeans were at her ankles and he was struggling to pull his
own pants down as he dug his hands in between her legs.
“Open up, you fucking whore! Don’t you dare fight me! It’s fucking time I
get paid for all the shit I’ve given you!”
I scowled in disgust at him and went right into action, stealthily coming up
behind them. Her big blue innocent eyes focused on me, unshed tears making
them glisten. In that moment, I felt the dire need to save her and take her far
away from there. She was a fighter and immediately began struggling harder
as I approached. But the mother fucker didn’t like that, and he reached back and
punched her in the gut taking her breath away.
Feeling as if all the demons were carrying me over to them, I grabbed the
collar of his shirt and held him in a vice grip. Catching him off guard, I put all
my strength into my fist and punched him twice on the side, right up against the
liver. He grunted and staggered back. Her knees gave way and she dropped to
the ground. I stepped in to grab her before she collapsed to the floor.
Taking her in my arms, I leaned her gently back against the wall. Her eyes
met mine for a brief moment. “Give me a second, baby girl. I’ll be right back.
I then turned back to the piece of shit behind me. In his hurry to get at her,
one hand was struggling to keep his pants pulled up while the other held a
blade.
“She’s fucking mine!” he yelled out.
I growled in anger and lunged at him. He swung his arm around, but I
caught him by the wrist and squeezed. His eyes widened and his mouth opened
in horror at the sound of his bone cracking. He screamed as his fingers
released the knife. I hit him with a clear upper cut that sent him sprawling onto
the pavement a few feet away from me. I had to be careful or I’d kill him. My
training taught me how to kill, but it also taught me control. I straddled his
large form and grabbed him up by the collar. I punched with precision, twice in
the nose, a feeling of satisfaction running through me as I heard the crack. He
groaned and grabbed his face. I fisted his shirt and forced him to look at me.
“I see you around here again and I’ll fucking end you.” I shoved him back
and the coward crumpled back on the pavement and scurried into a corner.
I went back to the fainted beauty. Dark raven locks flowed around her face
and I pushed them back and lingered on her soft features. She looked young
and fragile. My eyes took in her long lashes that touched high rosy
cheekbones. Her red lips were slightly parted and her breathing was soft and
steady. I looked down and her shirt had been torn open exposing two round
pillows that were encased in what looked like the softest lace, a little worn
from use. The urge to lean my head there was sudden, and unexpected.
I swallowed hard and scrunched my eyes shut. Looking up to the sky, I let
my hands guide me as they trailed down her naked thighs and knees until I
found the waistband of her panties. Not looking at her was even worse. As my
hands drifted over her, I could feel her soft warmth even more intensely.
Hastily, I lifted her, dragging her jeans up over her hips and waist. Her tiny
body leaned against mine and the soft scent of lavender filled the air around
her. I breathed her in as I cradled her in my arms and walked the five blocks to
my apartment.
As soon as I entered the dark space, I slammed the door shut and made my
way into the bedroom. I laid her on my bed and took a good long look at the
delicate beauty. She was so young, so innocent. For some reason, my body
became alive with arousal, but I kept myself under control. She was pulling at
my body with some sort of invisible magnet and I was in complete shock at
myself. My mind filled with thoughts of how sweet her cunt would taste on my
lips, and how long and sleek her hair was, perfect to twist around my fist,
giving me control over her small body as I drove my cock snugly inside of
her.
I turned and left her lying there. I walked out and took the elevator up to
Grayson’s loft. I needed a place to crash, and the club’s VP had plenty of rooms
to spare. To be honest, I didn’t trust myself to be near her, didn’t trust myself to
be alone with her.
Images of her face and body kept drifting in and out of my thoughts and
my dreams all night. I woke up early the next morning and went down to see
her. I needed to know that she was real.
She looked so damn beautiful as she opened the door. She must have
rummaged through my clothes and was wearing an old Nirvana t-shirt I had
tucked in a drawer. Her perky breasts pushed at the fabric letting me know she
had nothing on underneath.
My eyes travelled down to her long sultry legs and I just stood there,
imagining them wrapped around me. She shifted and my eyes met hers, her
eyes shined brightly back at me and when she smiled my heart slammed into
my throat.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi, yourself.” I watched her carefully as she stepped back and let me in.
She looked so tiny in my apartment and all I wanted to do was cradle her on
my lap and murmur sweet nothings into her ear. My cock jumped and I quickly
rounded the kitchen counter, trying to put as much space as I could between us.
I cleared my throat. “Did you sleep well?”
She folded her hands in front of her, shyly playing with the hem of the
shirt. She looked so virginal in that one moment and I could feel my blood
flowing hotly down to my groin. I stifled a groan.
“Um…yes.” Her answer was a soft whisper.
“Did you eat?”
“You…don’t have any food.”
“Fuck.” I grimaced and rummaged through the cabinets to find something.
I sighed when I came up empty handed. “I’ll get you something.”
She nodded and I looked down, not sure what else to say. After a few
seconds she broke the silence.
“Thank you…for last night. My foster father can be a bit brutal.”
“You’re foster father?” my astonishment showed in my face .
She nodded and when she spoke it was the softest of whispers, I had to
strain to hear her. “We had an argument last night. I…I told him I was running
away and he chased me out into the street. I never thought he’d go that far.”
I listened carefully to her confession and a million questions arose, but I
went with the most important of them all. “Has he ever touched you before?”
“No. He’s said stuff to me, but never laid his hands on me.”
“Fucker!” I looked her up and down. She looked thin and frail. “Do you
have a place to stay?”
She bit her bottom lip and once again my cock stirred. “Not really.”
“Then you’re staying here.”
“But…”
I shook my head. “You need a place to stay and this place is as good as
any.”
“I don’t want to intrude…”
I took the three short strides up to her. Taking her chin in my hand, I lifted
it slightly, having her look up at me. “What’s your name, baby girl?”
She hesitated for a moment before answering. “Luna.”
I waited for a last name, but she stayed quiet and I accepted that. If she
didn’t want me knowing her name, I wasn’t going to force her. “Luna, I’m
Jason Riggs. Most people call me Riggs.”
She smiled sweetly and my heart melted. “Hi, Riggs.”
“Hi, baby girl.” I stared at those pretty blue eyes for a good long minute
and then stepped away from her. “You can stay here as long as you’d like. No
worries about me. I can stay at a friend’s.”
“You won’t stay here with me?”
I turned to her and gave her a wolfish grin. “Baby girl, I’m gonna’ be real
honest with you. I’m a grown man, and if I stay here with you, watching you
wear my shirts like you do, I won’t hesitate to take you in my arms until your
moaning my name. You understand me?”
Her cheeks tinted a rosy pink and she looked down to the floor.
I stood up and grabbed a bag from my room, stuffing it with jeans, shirts
and the necessary stuff. I didn’t need much, I never did. When I came out I
noticed she was still wearing my shirt and was perched on one of the kitchen
stools.
I stood in the hall entrance, leisurely taking my time gazing over her legs,
I wanted to keep the mental picture in my mind for as long as possible. When
my eyes travelled up to her lips, I noticed them slightly part and she gasped
softly as her eyes lingered on me.
I shook my head as I headed towards the entrance. I opened the door and
turned to look at her one last time. “Don’t worry about food. I’ll take care of it.
If you need anything, anything at all, I left my number on the nightstand for
you with an extra set of keys.”
Without letting her respond, I slammed the door behind me and trudged
up to Grayson’s apartment. If I stayed with her, there was no telling what I’d do
to her. I wasn’t about to leave her completely alone, and at least if I was
upstairs I would be close by if she needed me. There was something about
Luna that captured me, for the life of me I just didn’t know why.