Sentinel Page 4

  And now that my night was almost over, I wondered if he was going to stay here. I leaned against the bar. “Aren’t you tired of holding up that barstool yet?”

  He downed the last dregs of his beer. “It’s quite comfortable. You should try it sometime.”

  I chuckled, unable to help it. “I’d rather be on the pole than sitting on that stool for as long as you’ve been there.”

  Gary shrugged, his eyes wandering down the front of me as soon as I mentioned dancing. “Trust me, I would much rather be on this stool then.”

  I looked at him, trying to picture him stripping and just the thought of it quickened my pulse. While he wasn’t as bulky as some of the other Legion members, he was still far too good looking for his own good.

  “So you’re in training. I noticed that last night.”

  The humor faded from his eyes as they hardened. “I’m hoping to shed that label soon.”

  “How long have you been in?”

  “Four years,” he answered, clearing his throat. “You about done here?”

  So that was a sore spot for him. “I am, why?”

  “So, I can make sure you get to your car.”

  Laughing, I looked at him. “You’re joking right?”

  “Not in the slightest,” Gary answered, pushing off the stool.

  I waited for him to say anything else, but he didn’t. He just stood watching to see what my next move would be. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  He chuckled. “Darling, I’m not here to be your babysitter.”

  I picked up a dirty cleaning rag and tossed it behind the bar. “Then why are you here, Gary?” I leveled my eyes on his.

  Those eyes. The intensity in them sent shivers down my spine, but I forced myself to stay still. If I was going to keep the upper hand, he didn’t need to know what kind of an effect he had on me.

  “I want to take you out to dinner.”

  That was not what I’d anticipated him saying. “Dinner?”

  His gaze never left me. “Surely you have to be starving. You haven’t stopped all night.”

  I was hungry, but go out with him? “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  “Give me one reason,” he challenged.

  I drew in a breath, searching desperately for that one reason. Surely there was one, right? He was… well he wasn’t crass like the others, nor had he said or done anything inappropriate tonight.

  And he had defended my club last night.

  “See? You can’t come up with one.”

  Arching a brow, I tried to give him my best annoyed look. “I’m not a go-out-to-dinner type of girl.”

  “Sure, you are,” Gary answered. “I peg you for a burger and fries, right? I mean, if you want something fancier….”

  He wasn’t going to quit. I sighed, pushed at the door to the bar and grabbed my phone as I walked by him. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

  He smirked. “Hey, I can be good burger company.”

  I ignored him and the tiny thrill that shot through me at spending time alone with him, away from the strip club. Why did he affect me so? He wasn’t my type, not even close. Normally I would’ve laughed in his face at his attempts to hit on me.

  But there was something endearing about him, something that was keeping me from walking away. “I gotta grab my stuff.”

  Gary shoved his hands in his jeans and followed me behind the stage, to my little back office. Every time I walked into the cramped space, I saw a flash of my dad seated at the metal desk, a cigarette in his mouth and his hands stacking money from the night’s activities. I had seen him hundreds of times in that position, hunched over and plotting his next move. His last task was always to set aside a neat stack of bills that would go to the Legion.

  And when he’d passed on from a sudden heart attack, the Legion had shown their loyalty. I didn’t have anything bad to say about Jack Carry or the club members because of that.

  Well, except maybe this annoying new kid I couldn’t shake.

  “I heard about your father,” Gary was saying as I shoved my jacket in my backpack. “Heard he was a good man.”

  “He was,” I answered around the lump in my throat that formed whenever I talked about my father. Simon White was the best, even considering the unconventional way he had raised me.

  He’d loved me, and I loved him. “Come on,” I said, slinging the backpack over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Gary followed me out of the office and through the Gallery, where I said good night to some of the girls who would stay until closing. Misty was waiting by the door, her long blonde hair swept up into some crazy bun that she favored when she was dancing. I noticed she hadn’t changed out of her tiny bikini, with dollar bills stuffed in her G-string.

  “Leaving?” she asked, her eyes working over Gary.

  Jealousy flowed into me like hot lava, nearly knocking my ass on the floor. I was jealous over a guy I didn’t even know, hadn’t even slept with! What the hell was going on with me?

  “Yeah I’m out for the night. Call me if you have any issues.”

  “Will do,” she said, giving Gary a wink. “You come back, and I’ll put on a show just for you, Kid.”

  I looked over at Gary and he was, oh my god he was blushing! The man who had tackled Marco the night before was blushing at the attention of a stripper. Somehow, it angered me.

  Of all the Legion members under his authority, why had Jared sent this one?

  “You alright?”

  I shook my head to clear it. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

  Not waiting for his response, I walked out to my car, yanking open the door.

  This was a mistake.

  Chapter Five

  Gary

  Well, at least she wasn’t glowering at me anymore.

  I popped the last fry on my plate in my mouth, chewing slowly as Becky swiped hers through a thick blob of ketchup before doing the same. She hadn’t said two words to me since we left the Gallery, but I was glad to see that she had at least taken me up on my offer, ordering a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake.

  Her silence had given me a chance to get a closer look, seeing a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Sitting right across from me, she did look younger than she had commanding that stage last night, but she was even more beautiful than my first impression of her, if that was possible. I had watched her work the bar with a skilled expertise, handling customer after customer with the flick of her wrist.

  She was fucking amazing and way out of my league.

  “I’m stuffed,” Becky said, pushing her empty plate away. “Um, thanks for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome,” I answered, settling in the booth. “Want anything else?”

  She shook her head ‘no,’ her red ponytail swinging behind her head. “So, you’re the Kid everyone talks about.”

  I plucked one of the few fries left on her plate, taking my time to swipe it through some of her ketchup. “Just because they call me that doesn’t mean I am one.”

  Becky smirked. “I didn’t insinuate you were, Gary. In fact, I think the name is quite ridiculous if you ask me. When are you gonna earn your vest anyway? You’ve been with them for what? Two years?”

  “Four,” I answered darkly, wondering the same thing. I had proven myself over and over again, to Jack and to the rest of them. It was high time they gave me what I was due.

  “Wow,” she answered, her green eyes raking over me in surprise. “Jack must really like you then.”

  Chuckling, I threw some bills on the table. “Well, he hasn’t put a bullet in my brain yet.”

  Becky yawned, then slid out of the booth. “Well, Gary, what do we do now?”

  I followed suit, standing so close to her that I could smell the scent of strawberries in her hair. Oh, I could tell her exactly what I wanted to do, but I doubted she would be interested. “A ride home?”

  “Um sure,” she said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Let’
s go.”

  **

  “I just need to grab something,” I said, breaking the easy silence that had descended on us once we’d left the burger joint. Jared had texted me, asking me to tail Becky for the rest of the night, meaning I’d have to discreetly find a place to watch her apartment. As usual, there had been no explanation. Just simple orders.

  If I was going to do a stake out, I’d need some serious caffeine. We arrived at the small house I rented on the outskirts of town, a place I hadn’t spent a whole lot of time in since the war had started. My days and nights were spent at the clubhouse, taking orders and carrying them out until I was so exhausted I could fall flat on my face and not care.

  But as I stepped out of her car, Becky surprised me by doing the same. I didn’t say anything as I opened the door and let her pass, flipping on the light as I shut the door. “Drink?”

  She turned and dropped her backpack on the couch, her eyes on me. “I don’t want a drink.”

  I stepped forward, heat throbbing through my veins. “What do you want, then?”

  She gazed at me for a moment, but then something in her eyes shifted before she gave me a saucy smile. “I think we both know what we want, Gary. So, shut the hell up and come over here.”

  I just stared at her. “I’m not one to be bossed around, Becky.”

  Her smile didn’t fade. “I’m sure you aren’t and that’s not what this is.” She tilted her head so that her hair cascaded down along her face. “Come on, show me that you aren’t a kid.”

  With a growl I crossed the space between us and devoured her lips with mine, swallowing her shock with my mouth. I wanted her, there was no doubt about it, but it was going to be on my terms, not hers.

  My hands cupped her face and I let up on my kiss, teasing her lips with mine. Becky was likely used to hard and fast.

  But I wasn’t a hard and fast kind of guy. I liked to take my time, draw it all out, and she was going to feel that tonight.

  A frustrated sound escaped her as I trailed my lips down her chin, along the side of her jaw until they were level with her ear. “This is my night, my terms, Becky. Take it or leave it.”

  She let out another sound. “Am I going to get what I want?” she asked in a whisper.

  I chuckled. “We both will. I promise.”

  “Good,” she answered, her voice breathless, her hands reaching for my shirt. “But I still get to see you naked.”

  I let her have her way, stripping the shirt off. Becky’s eyes went to the bandage on my side and her smile dimmed. “Did you get hurt last night?”

  I reached for her own shirt, grasping at the hem. “It’s fine.”

  She brushed my hands away, her fingers trailing along the bandage. “You got hurt.”

  “It happens,” I said, the anguish on her face making me feel things I shouldn’t. “I’m fine.”

  Becky looked up at me and I was lost in the depths of her eyes, the emotions reflecting back at me not something I’d expected to see.

  I swallowed hard as I watched her eyes travel over my face, wondering if this had been a mistake.

  “Make me feel, Gary,” she said softly, her fingertips sliding across my abdomen. “Make me feel,” she whispered before planting a light kiss on my collarbone.

  That I could do.

  I eased her shirt over her head. Her breasts strained against the black lace of her bra and my mouth watered. When her fingers released the hooks on her bra and it fell away, I swallowed as the creamy globes with their pink nipples came into view, erasing any rational thoughts.

  Greedily, I took one of her breasts in my mouth, sucking on her nipple until her hands went into my hair. She whimpered when I switched and lavished her other breast. I dropped to one knee, working on her jeans.

  “You’re gorgeous,” I whispered against her skin, my tongue tracing the path down her abdomen to the scrap of lace that covered the rest of her.

  “Gary,” she whispered as I pressed a hot kiss to her lace covered mound, her arousal strong and driving me crazy.

  “What do you want?” I asked, caressing her now bare thigh with my fingers. “Tell me, Becky.”

  “You,” she said in a tight voice. “I want you.”

  I looked up at her, meeting her eyes. “Not yet.”

  “Please,” she begged, biting her lip. “Please kiss me there.”

  I was surprised she wasn’t being more demanding. For a woman who ran a strip joint and danced in front of strangers, I would have anticipated her to be a wildcat in bed.

  She was acting like a woman not quite sure what she wanted.

  I turned my attention back to the scrap of lace, hooking my finger around the material and pushing it aside. “Here?”

  “Yes,” she gasped, her hands fisting in my hair. “There, oh yes there.”

  I heard the desperation in her voice and gave her what she wanted, pushing her legs apart so I could taste her for the first time. The instant her tangy taste hit my tongue, my cock pushed against my jeans insistently, wanting to claim her, to own her.

  And she obviously wanted me, too.

  My tongue stroked her swollen clit until she cried out and buckled, my hands gripping her ass to keep her upright. My own body was sitting on green, ready to go as she quivered against my mouth.

  “Now,” she said after a moment, urging me to get up off the floor. “I need you now.”

  There was the Becky I knew. I stood in front of her and she didn’t waste time undoing my jeans and pushing me on the couch. My cock was hard and ready. Becky lowered herself onto me, her body trembling as she sheathed me inside.

  “God,” she whispered, grabbing the back of the couch with her hands. “You are so hard.”

  “And you’re so wet,” I replied, my hands finding her hips. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she started to move, whimpering as I throbbed into her core. Her hair was down around her shoulders, my hands gripping her hips and urging every movement until she screamed out, her wetness flooding me. I bit down on my lip to keep from blowing my load too soon, allowing her to wreak havoc on my swollen member until I couldn’t take it anymore, urging her to pick up the pace.

  And she didn’t disappoint. Our bodies slapped together, my mouth finding her nipple and sucking hard to bring her to another orgasm that had her screaming my name.

  Then and only then did I let go, joining her with a growl and holding her still as I buried deep inside her, giving her everything I had.

  For a moment, time was suspended around us, my pulse pounding in my own ears. I knew then I wasn’t going to let her go so quickly.

  Becky crumbled against me and I trailed my fingers over her back, feeling the sheen of sweat that covered her body and mixed with my own. This sexual encounter had ended quicker than I would have liked, but there were still many hours left before sunrise.

  And I was doing exactly what I had been told to do.

  **

  Rays of gray light reached in through the blinds as awareness crept into my brain. Groaning, I rolled over on the bed. Becky snuck around, gathering her clothes from the chair in the bedroom.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Home,” she said, sliding her shirt over her head. “It’s morning, isn’t it?”

  I propped myself up on an elbow, watching her dress. I knew every contour of her body now, every freckle on her face. The hours we had spent together had opened my eyes to what I’d been missing. If I wanted what Fulton had, or even what my parents had, I needed to spend some time outside of the Legion. Ease up some on my hardened focus to trade my training label for an enforcer badge.

  “Why don’t you stay?”

  She pulled on her pants, fastening the button. In the morning light, she was perfect. Her long hair tumbled down her back, her face free of makeup and showing a youthfulness that I doubted many saw. There was a vulnerability about her, one that had my protectiveness on edge.

  I wanted to be whatever Becky needed, bu
t I wanted to be the only one.

  She slipped on her shoes before she looked at me. “I’ve got shit to do.”

  So, we were back at square one. I could handle this. “So, do I, but what do you say we forget about it for a while?”

  She pushed her hair back with her hand, letting out a sigh. “Listen, Gary. This was fun.” She paused for the slightest moment. “It was, well, it was great, but I’ve got to go.”