Dagger (Montana Bounty Hunters Book 2) Read online

  His gaze moved around her living room, and she wondered what he saw. Was he surprised hers wasn’t the same girly pink as Mary Butler’s? She chosen soft, soothing shades of taupe, cloudy blue, and brown for her palette. Her furnishings were comfortable and sturdy rather than designed to impress. “Have a seat,” she said indicating the large corduroy sofa.

  Dagger paused a few seconds to remove his jacket. So, he was planning to stay for a little while…

  She took the jacket and hung it on a hook next to the door, then moved to sit at the other end of the sofa from him, sitting sideways and drawing up her knees. She wrapped an arm around them. “Lacey and Cochise make it back?”

  He nodded. “Butler’s in the detention center. He’ll be held until his new trial date.”

  “That’s good.” Not knowing what else to say to ease the stiltedness of their conversation, she plucked at the fabric of her yoga pants.

  “Jamie called me in to the office when she got back.”

  The way he said it made her stiffen, because she knew this had something to do with her.

  “She likes you.”

  Warmth at Jamie’s approval filled her. Someone didn’t think she was weak and stupid. “I like her. She’s…strong.” Jesus, couldn’t she have chosen something more descriptive—and less likely to serve as a counterpoint to her own lacking qualities.

  “Funny. It’s the same word she used to describe you.”

  Her eyes rounded, and then narrowed when she noted the corners of his mouth held a slight curve. “You think she’s wrong?”

  “No.” He grimaced then let out a sigh. “I wanted you to be less…competent.”

  “So, it would be easier for you to say I wasn’t fit for the job?”

  He nodded.

  She huffed a breath. “Guess it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m sure she was specifically hoping to hire me as your partner, but since that’s not going to work—”

  “I gave her my approval.”

  Her jaw sagged a little, and she stared. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because…” He gave a little shake of his head, like he was reluctant to continue. “Because…we work well together.”

  His voice sounded a little garbled as he made that admission. Her heartbeat picked up and she sat a little straighter. “You think so?” she said softly.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I do. Cochise was right. You think fast on your feet. You’re good with people. You have great instincts.”

  Her cheeks warmed. And she felt a prickling sensation at the backs of her eyes. Oh no, she wasn’t going to cry. He’d simply given her a compliment. How could he know that what he’d just said meant more to her than if he’d complimented her appearance? She blinked her eyes to get rid of the extra moisture. “So, we’re going to work together?”

  “Starting tomorrow—if you still want the job.”

  His gaze had dropped away. “Are you hoping I’ll refuse?”

  “A little.”

  “Because the work can be dangerous?”

  His nod was quick and curt. She’d give him a break. “I’ll bet you’re a great teacher,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “I won’t buck you. When it comes to the training, I’ll follow your lead.”

  “Like you did in Libby?” he said, his tone a tad brisk.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I was…trying to impress you.”

  Again, his gaze met hers.

  She shook her head, not believing what was happening. She had a job. She, Lacey Althea Jones, was going to be a fucking bounty hunter. Joy bubbled up inside her. “Would you like coffee?”

  He shook his head. “I should go. I’ll expect you at the office at nine, so we can over the list of fugitives, choose our next target.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “I’ll schedule time at the gun range. Not that I’ll ever want you to enter a gun battle, but you should be prepared for the worst.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be sure to renew my gym membership—or maybe sign up for some real martial arts classes.”

  “Tai Chi is a martial art.”

  His smile tugged at her mouth, and soon they both sat grinning.

  Dagger rubbed his whiskered chin and stood. “I should go.”

  She nodded, but when she rose, she stepped close to him. Looking up, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. Maybe he wanted this “partnership” to be all business. She didn’t know anything about his private life. For all she knew, he had a string of girls…

  But she couldn’t help herself. She went up on her toes and kissed him. She kept it chaste—in case she’d overstepped.

  When his hands settled on her waist, and gripped her tightly, she worried he would move her back, but his fingers bit into her skin, and he bent to deepen the kiss.

  She opened her mouth, inviting his tongue. When he swept it inside, she moaned.

  His hands lowered, caressing her ass. Then he cupped her buttocks and jerked her upward.

  Relieved and eager, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  He drew back. “Your bedroom.”

  Heart pounding, she pointed the way toward the hall. “Last door.”

  While he strode, she nibbled his earlobe and scooped her mouth against the hard, bristled edge of his jaw. “Do you have condoms?”

  “Thought we’d established we don’t need them.”

  She smiled. “Damage is already done, huh?”

  He reached the bedroom. “Hop down.”

  As soon as her feet hit the floor, she pulled her tee over her head and pushed down her yoga pants. Since she’d been ready for bed, she hadn’t donned any underwear. She stood nude, her nipples hardening as his gaze swept her body.

  His clothing flew away, landing all over her floor. His eagerness made her laugh, and she faced away to turn down the covers. Before she’d finished, his hands were on her hips, coaxing her forward.

  She crawled onto the mattress, but he didn’t let her turn to her back. Instead, he reached for her pillows and stuffed two under belly, then flattened his hand between her shoulders to force her chest to the bed. Then he pushed apart her thighs.

  The slick heat of his tongue stroking over her folds had her gasping. She inched her knees farther apart and clutched the bedding. When his tongue swept inside her, she felt a gush of warmth spill from deep inside her. She groaned and rubbed her face on the coverlet.

  Then he shifted behind her. His rough palm cupped her sex. Fingertips rubbed along her slit, moving toward her clit.

  She jerked when he found it. The tips of her nipples hardened into tight little pebbles, and she rubbed her chest against the quilted top, needing some abrasion to complement the movement of the finger circling around and around.

  She sank her back, pushed up on her elbows, and threw back her hair. “Pull it,” she whispered.

  A hand tangled in her hair and tugged, forcing a deeper curve to her back. Heat centered in her belly, tightening, tightening… “Come inside me!”

  Fingers moved away. She felt the nudge of his cock against her folds and wriggled, helping him center the head at her entrance, and then she held her breath as he pushed inside.

  With one hand gripping her hair and the other clutching a hip, he began to stroke.

  At first, his thrusts were shallow and slow, as though he waited for her accommodate his thickness, but she was ready, needed more. She mewed and bounced backward, fighting his grip on her hair to force him deeper.

  His chuckles were low and dirty as he drove deeper, pushing through engorged, slick tissue. She moaned her approval.

  But then he abruptly withdrew and flipped her to her back. When he came over her again, she eagerly spread her legs. She was so excited her breaths hitched, chopped apart by her quivering chest.

  He hooked his arms beneath her knees and began to root at her pussy. She reached down and gripped his shaft with both hands, glorying in the feel of him shoving through her fingers, loving his slippery, hot cock. When she lowered the tip to her ent
rance, she withdrew her hands, moving them to cup her breasts. She played with the them, lifting them, teasing the tips as he watched.

  With a low, husky growl, he thrust toward her center.

  “Yes!” she shouted and tugged her nipples, plucking them harder as his thrusts intensified. Her breaths gusted, pushed from her by his deepening strokes. Then he straightened, lifting her ass off the bed to drive harder into her body.

  Lacey’s eyelids grew heavy, but she forced them to stay open because she couldn’t get enough of watching him. His exertions refined the definition of the muscles cloaking his arms, chest and abdomen. He was a study of masculine strength. As impressive as any statue she’d ever seen in any museum. She remembered the boy he’d been, fiercely strong even then, and her eyes prickled again. So much time had been lost. She’d missed the changes in his body as he’d grown into the man he was now.

  But what she felt, the fullness, the pounding heat, that was the same. Then, as now, he held back, waiting for her to reach the peak. An unselfish lover, who’d learned restraint as they’d explored their bodies. They’d been each other’s firsts. God, she wished she’d been his only.

  When tears began to roll down the sides of her cheeks, she couldn’t fight the way her breaths came in ragged sobs. She was close, so close, and she couldn’t let him stop, although he was frowning and his movements slowing. She reached out clutched his hips, digging in her fingernails.

  His eyes closed, and his mouth opened. His movements sped up, losing rhythm, and she knew he was holding on by a thread. So, she slid a fingertip into the tops of her folds and toggled her clit. Her orgasm rushed over her, jerking her body, forcing her back into a hard arch.

  His shout echoing in the room and was the last thing she heard as she fell into darkness.

  Chapter 9

  Her tears had been his undoing. A trigger that had pulled him instantly into a powerful orgasm.

  Dagger pulled free and rolled to his side. Then he gathered her against his chest as he drew deep breaths to slow his heart. He stroked her hair and her back, waiting for her to come back to him, still shocked by the strength of his explosion. How could he have forgotten how it was with her?

  All those years ago, they’d both been insatiable. Addicted to each other. Their need so powerful, they’d lived for the precious moments they could be alone. Although he’d petted his previous girlfriends, and accepted the occasional blowjob, he’d always been cautious about sex, fearing for his future—something his single mom had ingrained in him from the time he’d reached puberty.

  Lacey, with her tiny, feminine frame and big blue eyes that gazed at him like he was something special, something better than he really was, had been irresistible. The first time they’d had full-on sex, she’d been shocked into tears, and he’d been sure he’d hurt her.

  But then, as now, as she roused, and her smile was blinding.

  “Wow,” she whispered.

  “You okay?”

  “I think I died a little.”

  He leaned toward her and kissed her mouth. When he drew back, he couldn’t stop touching her. Yes, they’d fucked in his car, but he hadn’t really had the time to admire her lush figure. He still hadn’t done homage to her generous breasts and round ass. He wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her, just to burn every curve into his mind.

  “You’re greedy,” she said, her mouth still smiling. “I remember that now. You’d fuck me in a frenzy, before you stripped and kissed every inch of my body.” She moved her legs, squeezing together her thighs, and gave a soft groan. “I always loved that about you…”

  Before he could stop the words, they spilled from his gut. “Then why did you dump me?”

  Her eyes blinked, and her gaze focused as her smile dimmed. “I thought you dumped me. My daddy never called me to the phone. Never told me you tried to get in touch with me. I went on to school, but I was so…depressed… I couldn’t get out of bed to go to class. I flunked out in my first semester.”

  Dagger sat still for a long moment, waiting as anger rushed through him, waiting as it bled away so he could think. If he believed her, then he’d held a grudge all this time for nothing. And why wouldn’t he believe her? Lacey might avoid certain issues and knew how to manipulate everyone around her to get what she wanted, but she wasn’t a liar. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered.

  He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling.

  She gave a harsh laugh. “Yeah, imagine how I felt when you to told me in the car that you’d called.”

  “That’s why you threw up.”

  “It was a…shock.”

  Dagger rubbed a hand over his face, and then glanced at her.

  There was regret in her eyes. “I loved you.”

  Loved. The sudden pain his chest made his breath catch. “I…loved you.”

  Her glance fell away, and she reached for the sheet, pulling it up as she sat with her back to the headboard. “What he did was shitty and had repercussions. It changed the course of our lives. Ever since I realized he’d cheated us, I’ve been feeling… I don’t know. Off-kilter. Robbed. Angry. I didn’t know what to do with it.” Her gaze swung back. “I took it out on you.”

  “Baby, I wasn’t an angel either. I wanted a little revenge. Sorry about that.”

  She nodded and smiled. It looked a little forced. “So, now…”

  He didn’t know what happened now. He had a lot to think about.

  “I’m thinking…”

  He arched a brow, willing to let her lead. Whatever she wanted, he’d concede.

  “I don’t know if this thing between us is our reliving our past or something more. But, for now, I don’t want to rush anything. I liked this…”

  He gave her a rueful smile. “I fucking loved this.” He could say the L-word and not choke. Had to mean something.

  Her gaze held his. “So, we work together. You get to train me.”

  The way she said “train” had all kinds of sexy connotations. He waggled his eyebrows.

  She arched one eyebrow to tell him silently to behave. “You can make me into a bounty hunter, and when we’re not working…if you like…we can…fuck.”

  She whispered the last word, like it was a dirty invitation. Her eyelids dipped, and she watched him from under the fringe of her eyelashes.

  His cock stirred. “We’re all business at work.”

  “Agreed.”

  “But you’re naked the second we cross the threshold.”

  She reached out a hand, and he shook it.

  Chapter 10

  Lacey marveled at what a difference a week could make.

  In that time, she’d qualified with her weapon and had earned a concealed carry license. She and Dagger had made the trip to a gun store in Whitefish to purchase a Springfield XD-S, a handgun with exceptional safety features, and a belly band holster. With her first paycheck, she’d placed an order for a Kevlar jacket, sized to fit her, a set of handcuffs, and had assembled her own “go bag” to carry the gear she’d need to face any number of different scenarios.

  She sported bruises on her ass and knees from hand-to-hand training both Dagger and Jamie gave her as their schedules allowed. Not that she minded. She liked working out, and now had a few moves that made her feel more confident should she ever have to spring into action.

  During the staff meeting on Monday, when all the hunters had assembled, Jamie mentioned that Lacey needed to be taser-qualified. Dagger had valiantly offered to do the honors, including being her guinea pig when the time came for her to practice.

  Everyone had gathered in the bullpen area of the office. Desks had been shifted. After Dagger ensured that she had set the taser on the lowest stun setting possible, he stood with arms held out from his sides.

  Perhaps he remembered that she tended to aim low; she’d made numerous “crotch shots” during her time at the gun range. “Aim for my head,” he said, his jaw tightening.

  She aimed for his chest and hit him square in the belly. G
uiltily, she’d admitted she felt a rush of satisfaction as the prongs stuck to his taut belly and the electric charge surged.

  “Ah-eee-ah,” he’d squeezed between gritted teeth.

  The rest of the Montana Bounty Hunters had clapped and laughed as she strode toward him and plucked the prongs from the center of his belly, and then stood beside him, blowing on the end of the taser like cowboy in a cheesy western.

  She’d enjoyed meeting the rest of the bounty hunters who worked in the Bear Lodge office. Seeing Sky and Jamie together made her sigh. They were so obviously in love, and their wedding was just a couple of weeks away. Every glance they shared was charged with sexual chemistry. Every little touch infused with affection. And Tessa, Jamie’s working dog, was a real sweetheart.

  Lacey had scored a last-minute invitation to the wedding when she’d volunteered to help the bride with her hair and makeup.

  Reaper and Carly were also a devoted couple. Having opted for a quickie courthouse marriage, they exuded a cool happiness. Reaper was a big guy, and his expressions didn’t give away much, but his eyes crinkled at the corners when he looked at his woman.

  Brian, who she’d learned had lost his legs in the “sandbox” as he described it, was a technical wonder and kept the office running when the rest of the hunters were scattered to the winds. He maintained rooms in the back of the office building and often babysat Tessa.

  Sometimes, he was quiet as he watched the happy couples, and Lacey ached for him. However, she had no doubt there was one lucky woman somewhere who’d walk through the office door and appreciate his sly humor and “Steady Eddie” qualities. If it didn’t happen soon, she’d try to engineer something for him. Brian deserved happiness.

  She still didn’t have a good feel for who Cochise was. He took the quiet Indian thing a little too seriously, but he was very capable and intelligent. Things he’d proved from day one.

  This afternoon, she sat in the Challenger beside Dagger, heading back to, of all places, Libby, Montana.

  Since she’d been hired for full-time work, Dagger and Lacey had pulled light duty, picking up guys who’d failed to show up for their court-appointed drug tests. Each had provided Lacey a chance to earn her telephone chops as she’d contacted friends, co-workers, mothers, to find out where the men and one woman were. The pay was crap, but she’d grown more confident, developing a natural patter that eased the suspicions of the people she called, even when they were reluctant to give up any information.