Ante Up: A Sin City Collectors Novella Page 12

  She jammed herself back into Diesel hard, and he braced her as she came around him, each wave shaking her to the core, her sheath gripping his hardness again and again. She cried as she arched herself up against him, bringing her back up to his broad chest. “Oh my goodness, that was so good.”

  Diesel braced one forearm around her chest, the other around her hips, locking her in his grip. He was still hard as stone inside her. “It’s not over yet,” he whispered as he took her neck between his lips and sucked.

  After she calmed down enough, he eased her down on her tiptoes and started a new rhythm, still holding her tight to him. She couldn’t move as his thrusts began again. She moaned and thrashed her head. Everything inside her was on fire as she tried to wiggle against him. He swore in her ear, and she smiled.

  The man was extremely talented.

  His thrusts came slow and deep, both of them enjoying the position and the pace, and as he increased the speed, he began to murmur in her ear all the dirty things he wanted to do with her.

  That’s all it took.

  She came apart again in his arms, her backside pumping against his abdomen as the waves hit again, one after the other.

  “Oh my gods, Sofia,” Diesel whispered. “You’re the girl every guy dreams about.”

  After Sofia’s second climax eased, Diesel was on the edge of release himself. The only thing stopping him was the flood of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him as he held this beautiful woman steady in his arms.

  She had given herself over to him, trusting him completely. She was incredibly passionate and so damn comfortable in her own body—the same body he held tightly against himself right now.

  “Diesel,” Sofia said, running her arm behind her and caressing the back of his neck with her fingertips. “Are you okay?”

  “Never been better,” he assured her, pressing his lips to her neck. “I’m just enjoying the moment. You are so incredibly…perfect.”

  She chuckled softly. The sound was heaven in his ears. “No, you’re the perfect one,” she purred. “Honestly, Diesel, you’d be a hard act to follow. You’re an incredible lover.”

  With supreme effort, he disconnected himself from her and turned her around in his arms, bringing her backside up against the cab window, then entered her again, thrusting deep. Her head lolled back as he filled her, and she wrapped her hands around his ass, her nails raking him. “Sofia,” he said. “I need you to look at me.”

  She brought her head up, smiling.

  “There aren’t going to be any other acts following me,” he said, trying not to snarl the words he needed to tell her so badly. “As long as we’re together, this is it. I don’t want anyone else in my bed.” Ever so slowly, he pulled out to the tip and plunged back in, rocking her hips against the truck. She moaned. “My wolf wants to claim you right now, Sofia. Do you know what that means?”

  She shook her head as he eased himself back out again. “No,” she panted, meeting his gaze. “Tell me.”

  “It means that in the throes of passion, when I reach my conclusion, I bite you. Once we’re done consummating, it means we’re together—kind of like a bonding.” Her eyes went wide. “But I promise it’s more symbolic than anything else. My wolf would say otherwise, but our human sides have evolved from the early days when we took what we wanted and never let go. You will always have a choice to walk away, no matter if my wolf wants you to or not. But I won’t bite you if you don’t want me to.” Diesel tried to keep the hopefulness out of his voice. He hadn’t realized how badly he really wanted this.

  “If you don’t bite me, what happens?”

  “Nothing other than my wolf will continue to push me to as long as we’re together.”

  “Relentlessly?”

  Diesel laughed as he eased in and out again, beginning another slow, methodical rhythm. Gods, she was beautiful, especially when she smiled at him. “Yes, relentlessly. But I can handle it.”

  She wound her hands behind his neck and arched up, kissing him deeply. Then she moved along the side of his neck. “If you bite me, what are the perks?” she whispered in his ear.

  “Perks?”

  “Yes,” she ran her tongue down his neck, “if your wolf wants me, there has to be something that comes along with the bonding, symbolic or not, or you wouldn’t do it and your wolf wouldn’t crave it.”

  “Well…” He slanted his mouth over hers in a deep, penetrating kiss before he answered. “My wolf will drive me to protect you at all costs. Once we’ve bonded, he will be jealous, needy, and hopeful for your affection every day.” He nipped his teeth along her collarbone as he continued his slow thrusts. “He will think you hung the sun, the moon, and the stars. There will be no one else in his periphery. There will only be you.”

  Sofia leaned back in his arms slightly. “And do you feel the same way about me as your wolf?”

  “I do.”

  “Then I want you to bite me.”

  Diesel lifted his head up to the sky and roared. Elation and relief swept through him. He’d had no idea he’d been waiting for this moment all his life. Sofia grinned at him as she leaned back, bending herself gracefully back onto the roof of the cab, leaving herself open for him.

  She couldn’t have looked more gorgeous or beckoning.

  Diesel was going to take her hard and fast, as his wolf demanded. He was still embedded deeply inside her, and he began a pace that wouldn’t last long. He arched himself over her as he pounded into her, the thrusts coming quicker and quicker. “You’re not going to regret this, Sofia,” he said as the sweet pressure built between his legs. “I promise you.”

  “I don’t regret my decisions often, Diesel,” Sofia moaned as he pumped in and out of her, rocking her body against the truck. “And this doesn’t get you off the hook from courting me. This relationship starts right now. I want dates and flowers, and if it doesn’t work out in the end, at least we tried.”

  “Oh, it’s going to work,” Diesel groaned. He was close, but he wanted her to come again or it wouldn’t be as good. He stroked into her, his arms braced on either side of her body. Her beautiful breasts rocked with each thrust. “Once I put my mind to something, I never fail.”

  “Those are big words—ahh,” she cried as he angled himself up to hit her just right. Her cries were so sweet as she came. They sent him over the edge, and as he climaxed, he took her shoulder between his teeth and bit down just enough to satisfy his wolf.

  She would wear his mark, but he was going to make damn sure he worked his ass off every day to make sure she knew how much she meant to him.

  Life had never been sweeter.

  “The intel from Luke about Dossier has been remarkable,” Louie said. “But I’m going to need them to come in. I gave you three weeks, and it’s going on four.” He held up four fingers and wiggled them back and forth.

  Diesel had his arm slung behind the back of the booth. Lorraine’s was hopping. They were in the middle of the lunchtime rush on a weekend.

  “Louie, I swear to you Luke has this handled,” Sofia said. “He’s in contact with us almost daily, and we have every faith in him, as well as Ginger. But like we explained to you before, this is a fragile situation.”

  While Sofia reasoned with their new boss, Diesel grinned next to her like a fool as pride swelled in his chest. Once Louie had found out what had happened at the hangar, and that Sofia alone had the ability to make Diesel into one of the strongest, most capable supernaturals around, he’d put them both on the payroll. As a team.

  “We’re going to need at least one more week,” she said.

  “A week is pushing it.” Louie shook his head. “I’ll talk to the Boss, but I can’t promise you anything. We’ve been digging for information on The Sumerians, but since Diesel took out their leader”—he arched an eyebrow at Diesel—“it’s been difficult.” Keeping Mason alive would’ve been preferred, but with backing by the Vegas pack, Diesel’s right to retribution had held up. “Their infrastructure has complete
ly crumbled. We’ve managed to Collect some of their following, the ones who have fled, but the bottom line is, the members at large are still dangerous, and someone has to pay for the crimes they’ve committed. It seems Damien Stamos held an upper position in the ranks. I need him, along with his sister, to make any of this stick.”

  Diesel leaned forward, running one hand under the table to grab Sofia’s fingers in his. He couldn’t go long without touching her. “Like Sofia told you, Luke has the situation under control. He’s working directly with Ginger to find Damien. They’re very close to reaching that goal. Last we’ve heard, they’ve backed him into a corner. Sofia and I are planning to rendezvous with them in a few days. Luke’s got a plan.”

  “I must stress that Ginger has to come in with him,” Louie countered. “She’s still wanted for questioning.”

  Sofia’s fingertips tickled Diesel’s hand as she absentmindedly traced his palm. “Honestly, it would help the process immensely if you guaranteed her amnesty. She’s innocent of any wrongdoing, like we’ve already explained.” Sofia’s voice was hopeful, but Diesel knew that wasn’t going to fly.

  “The Boss doesn’t do amnesty,” Louie said, folding his arms. “The best we can hope for is a fair review of the crimes against her, which I will personally guarantee. I’ve heard Jake out, and I believe she’s innocent after what he’s told me, but it’s standard procedure to try her after we’ve built a case. If she has all the evidence she claims to have on The Sumerians, it will be open and shut.”

  “Is it going to work against her that she’s…with Dossier?” Diesel asked, knowing Sofia wanted an answer to the same question. It’d been agreed upon by all of them to leave out the very small detail that Ginger was, in fact, Dossier. Jake had made the decision to tell his uncle she worked for the organization, and they’d all followed suit. It was a small omission, but they’d all felt loyal to Ginger after what had happened, including the dhampir, which had been a shock.

  They all wanted to give Luke and Ginger the greatest advantage they could.

  Louie leaned across the table like a conspirator, and both Diesel and Sofia edged over the Formica to meet him. “Dossier is a tricky angle for us. I have my men on it now, but we may have stumbled on something bigger. Mason might have been conspiring with another group. For the last three days, our organization has gathered extensive information, and we’ve uncovered something shattering. It’s highly confidential, but if the intelligence turns out to be correct, we’re in the midst of building an entirely new case against another major organization.”

  Diesel knew they weren’t going to get any more information once Louie had said the word “confidential,” but Sofia cleared her throat and asked, “Will you need information from Dossier to make the new case stick?”

  Louie nodded once, his face grim. “Likely.”

  Diesel heard Sofia exhale the breath she’d been holding. Louie’s answer meant Ginger had leverage. If all else failed with her trial, and the agency was in need of information she had, she would be able to negotiate.

  That was enough. It was time to finish up this conversation. Diesel drank the last of his coffee, set down the mug, and said, “You have my word Luke will bring Ginger back, with or without Damien. Not only is my brother smart and strong, he’s one of the most tenacious guys I know. He’s not going to let you or the agency down. You can count on him.”

  Louie leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms, his face inscrutable. “That’s why I put him on the payroll.”

  Sofia giggled. She couldn’t help it. She still felt like a teenager every single time she was around her man. “How are you feeling?” Sofia ran her hand along his bare torso and sighed.

  “Like a champ,” he growled, turning to nuzzle her ear.

  “The full moon is as high in the sky as it’s going to get tonight.” Sofia snuggled closer to him as the moonlight touched his skin. “If you can handle this, you’ll be able to handle anything.” Her hand continued to trace along his beautiful body, almost with a mind of its own. She was never going to get tired of this.

  “I’m handling this because we’re together,” Diesel said. “If I was at the bar on my own and someone pissed me off, who knows?”

  “I know,” she said as she gazed up into the clear, starry night. “I’m getting a better understanding of your body chemistry each time I spell you. I think I’m closer to figuring out a permanent Band-Aid, one that should give you more freedom from losing yourself to a rage when I’m not around.”

  “And what if I don’t want freedom?” Diesel nipped her ear as he began to trace his tongue down the column of her neck.

  “You can’t expect us to be joined at the hip forever.” Sofia laughed. The blanket beneath them was thick, but she could still feel the ground, though not enough to bother her. They’d hiked up a small hill right outside the city to test Diesel’s moon reactions with a brand new spell—one she’d crafted especially for him.

  It was their first official full moon as a couple.

  “Joined at the hip is not exactly what I had in mind.” Diesel rolled on top of her, bracing his arms above her shoulders.

  “Oh, and what did you have in mind?” she asked jokingly.

  “Joining on a whole different level.” He began a slow assault on her collarbone, and her toes curled in pleasure. Making love to her wolf had been absolutely mind-blowing every single time, and she knew tonight would be no exception. The anticipation had built all day, with silly banter thrown in for fun, and the force of her feelings bubbled to the forefront as she gazed up into his eyes.

  He kissed the tip of her nose, something he now did regularly. “Sofia, I believe you have this under control, but if something happens, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Don’t worry,” she assured him, threading her hands through his thick hair. “Nothing is going to happen. I’m fully prepared.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  She smiled up at him. “Yes.”

  Lust sparked in his eyes in an instant and he growled, bending down to lick the valley between her already aching breasts.

  She wanted this to be a night to remember.

  It was time for Diesel to rewrite his moon issues into something positive. Since he’d been a child the full moon had been a struggle, and as a wolf that had been detrimental. She wasn’t going to share the news with him, but his insides had taken quite a beating. If she hadn’t been here to intervene, who knows what could have happened? “This night is going to be spectacular, I can promise you that, Michael,” she murmured into his ear, using his given name—one he shared with his late father. “We’re starting fresh from here. No more negativity when the moon is full, only positivity from this day forward.”

  Diesel stared down into her eyes with tenderness. “And whatever happens, we’re in this together.”

  “Always.”

  If you enjoyed the world of the Sin City Collectors (SCC), look for more information about the entire series & all the authors participating on our Facebook page.

  *Contributing SCC authors*

  Kristen Painter

  Sara Humphreys

  Angie Fox

  Shawntelle Madison

  Suzanne McLeod

  Next book by Amanda Carlson in the SCC world:

  ALL IN

  by Amanda Carlson

  (Releasing 2014!)

  “Ginger Elliot is a succubus on the run. She’s in danger of being Collected, but her first priority is to find her brother. Even though she operates the biggest spy network in the supernatural world, it may not be enough to free her from the crimes she’s been accused of…”

  “Luke Jones is on a mission to save the succubus he’s fallen for, not only from her brother, who he knows is out to bring her down, but from herself. When they stumble on a bigger threat, the two are forced to go deep undercover. The only way they can survive is to outwit their foes and hope their backup arrives in time…”

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  About the Author

  Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a BA in both Speech and Hearing Science & Child Development. She went on to get an A.A.S in Sign Language Interpreting and worked as an interpreter until her first child was born. She’s the author of high octane Jessica McClain urban fantasy series published by Orbit. Look for those in stores everywhere. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three kids. Find her all over social media: Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

  Other books by Amanda Carlson

  If you enjoy high octane sexy urban fantasy try?

  The Jessica McClain series by Orbit:

  FULL BLOODED

  HOT BLOODED

  COLD BLOODED

  RED BLOODED

  PURE BLOODED

  Nothing is completed without a great team. My many thanks to:

  Cover design: Robin Ludwig Design Inc

  Digital formatting: Author E.M.S.

  Copyedits/proofs: Joyce Lamb

  Early readers: Bill Carlson, Koppy Hansen, Cindi Murphey

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2