Up in Flames Page 3

  I didn’t answer him. He didn’t need to know I was going to go question everyone who knew Nan. Starting with Rush.

  “I’d stay clear of Rush,” Captain called after me. “He thinks you hurt his sister and she’s run off because of you.”

  For fuck’s sake! It wasn’t like I was in a relationship with Nan. Jesus, why did everything have to be so damn serious around here? Why couldn’t we all just get along?

  I climbed into my truck without responding and headed to the Finlays’ house. I didn’t care what Captain said. I was going to go find her. If I had to deal with her protective, slightly pissed-off brother, I would.

  Nan

  My phone started vibrating again. Major’s name was lighting up the screen. He had left me alone most of the day, but he was going strong now. He needed a taste of his own medicine. The only difference was, when he ignored me, I didn’t keep trying. I had more pride than that.

  His early texts had tried to charm me, but now they had a worried tone. He wasn’t happy about not knowing where I was. Served him right. I was not the kind of girl who sat around until someone gave her attention. I went after it.

  “Boyfriend?” Gannon’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I put my phone down.

  “No. A friend. An annoying one.” He wanted us to be friends. He was getting that now.

  “You going to answer?”

  I thought for a second, then shook my head no.

  “Good,” Gannon replied, then held out one of his hands. “I planned something for this evening I thought you’d enjoy.”

  Wow. OK, so he hadn’t come over here thinking about sex. That had been only me. Nice. We had just finished our drinks, and I was wondering where the night was going to take us.

  “What?” I asked, putting my hand in his and standing up.

  “You ever seen the Grand Canyon at sunset?”

  I shook my head.

  “Good. This will be your first time, then.”

  “How?” I asked, a little confused.

  “Helicopter tour.”

  Oh. Nice.

  The driver pulled the Mercedes up to a building with a sign outside that said Maverick Tours. There were several buses unloading and loading people. Gannon was watching me closely.

  “We have a private tour scheduled. We won’t be riding with everyone else.”

  “Do you fly?” I asked, confused.

  He smirked. “I have. Illegally, but that’s another story. I won’t put you through that tonight. We have a pilot.”

  My stomach did a nervous flip. The way he admitted to flying a helicopter illegally as if it were no big deal was exciting and terrifying. Who was this man?

  “Did you go to jail?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  He didn’t bat an eye. “Several times.”

  The door beside me opened, and he nodded for me to get out. “After you.”

  When a man admits to you that he’s gone to jail “several times,” the smart thing to do is get the hell away from him. However, I wasn’t very smart. The area between my legs actually tingled, and I felt like squirming. It absolutely turned me on.

  I was screwed up in the head.

  I slid over and stepped out of the Mercedes without taking the hand the driver had held out for me. I didn’t need his assistance, nor did I want to touch another man at the moment. I was more than turned on by the fact that I was with a man who was exactly what I suspected him of being: dangerous.

  Gannon’s large body came up behind me, and his hand rested on my hip. I felt my panties get damp, and I inhaled deeply. I needed to get hold of myself. This was ridiculous. He’d been in jail. That wasn’t sexy; it was scary . . . no, it was sexy. As. Hell. Who was I kidding? I was completely hot for his dangerous side.

  “You keep panting like that, and I’m going to throw your ass back into that car and fuck you until you become one with the leather seat. You understand?” His voice was in my ear; it was hard, and the warning tone in it made me shiver. Fear? Yes. Definitely fear. Lots of fear, but my female parts didn’t seem to get the fear memo, because they were humming with an ache I hadn’t felt before.

  I inhaled sharply and nodded. I didn’t trust my words. His grip on my hip tightened, and he jerked me close to his side with a force that was sure to bruise my pale skin. Then he eased his hold and ran his hand gently over the spot he’d just abused.

  “Sweet baby, you can’t toy with me. I’m not a boy. I’m a motherfucking man. Understand?”

  I nodded again, and my breathing was erratic. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I was completely drawn in by this taste of brutality. I’d never known this, and I wasn’t sure why it called to me. I should be running like hell, not burrowing closer. Was I that fucked up?

  He led me inside, and while the others around us were being weighed and given directions for their flights, we were immediately directed to a back door.

  “Mr. Roth, this way sir,” a young guy said, staring toward Gannon with a fearful expression I understood. The guy didn’t even glance my way, as if he’d been warned not to, as he led us outside onto the tarmac and toward a waiting helicopter.

  “Your pilot arrived an hour ago, sir, and has checked out the helicopter to his satisfaction. He’s waiting for you.”

  His pilot? Did he have his own pilot?

  “Good. I can take it from here. You may go,” Gannon replied, in a tone that indicated complete power.

  The guy with the Maverick emblem on his navy-blue polo shirt looked relieved and turned to hurry back inside like he couldn’t get away from us fast enough.

  “Are we not using one of their pilots?” I asked, looking up at him. I wasn’t wearing my stilettos tonight, and he towered over my five-nine frame.

  “Only trust my own” was his reply. He stepped up to the helicopter, and the pilot inside nodded to him, then looked straight ahead as if we weren’t there.

  Gannon’s hands slipped around my waist as he lifted me into the back row of seats. “Sit over by the far window,” he instructed.

  He followed me in, taking the seat beside me before reaching over to buckle me into the harness. My breathing was still erratic, and his eyes flared hot with a warning I knew even before he spoke.

  “Careful. I’ll fuck you right here. He can watch.”

  Why did that make me shiver and squeeze my legs together? His words were sick and twisted. Yet the way his hands ran over my body and the fact that I didn’t doubt he’d take me right here, not caring who saw us, made me pant with need.

  “Goddamn, you’re a wild one,” he muttered, then buckled his own straps. “Don’t put on the headset. We don’t need to talk.” His order was a hard bark.

  I nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at me. His attention was straight ahead.

  “Ready,” he said to the pilot, who nodded, and we slowly began to move.

  As the helicopter started to lift, I watched the ground below us as Gannon’s large hand slid between my legs, roughly jerking them open. I inhaled sharply as he squeezed my thigh too hard, then cupped me with more force than was necessary. My skirt rode up my thighs, and I knew he wouldn’t miss the fact that my panties were damp. I wondered if others would be able to see the bruise on my thigh that his hand had no doubt left.

  Unable to control myself, I let my legs fall open to his invasion, as I stared at the mountains of rocks below. It was beautiful and peaceful down there. The thick knuckle pressing against my clit and making me tremble and breathe heavily couldn’t be ignored, however. This was totally insane. Just like the man beside me.

  When he moved the satin crotch of my panties over, I could smell my sex scent, and I knew it was going to permeate the cabin. The pilot would smell me, too. Again, I should have been humiliated, but I wasn’t. I rocked forward, trying to get close to him. A large finger rammed inside me so forcefully I cried out in pain, and the view beneath me became a blur.

  Each shove of his finger was followed by a gentle caress over my clit. It was brut
al and loving. The two didn’t mix, but he was making it work. I was dizzy from the sensation. No longer caring that we weren’t alone, I rocked against his hand. Even when he slapped my tender ache to stop me from moving, I only managed to let out a moan.

  I was close to an orgasm when the scenery beneath us changed, from what I was sure had been the Hoover Dam to the Vegas Strip at sunset. The lights were beautiful, and the view came into focus just as my orgasm hit me.

  Major

  Rush handed me a beer before sitting down across from me on his balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

  “Yeah, I know where she is. She always lets me know where she’s headed. What I don’t know is why the fuck you think I’d tell you. If she isn’t telling you, then she doesn’t want you to know.”

  Rush Finlay was another rock legend’s son, like my cousin Mase. Rush’s father was the drummer in the band Mase’s father was the lead singer of. The boys had grown up in the shadow of their fathers’ fame, Rush more so than Mase. But they also reaped the benefits, as evidenced by their gorgeous wives.

  “She’s mad at me, I think. I’d like to fix that.”

  Rush cocked an eyebrow and glanced out at the water before taking a swig of his beer. “Yeah, I bet you would” was his only response.

  This wasn’t going to be easy, but now that I knew he could tell me where to find her, I wasn’t quitting. “Nan is hard to understand. I’m trying, but I’m obviously not doing it right.”

  Rush didn’t say anything at first, then turned his attention back to me. “Nan is a woman. Granted, she’s a difficult one, but she’s a woman. She gets hurt just like any woman. She has feelings that people assume aren’t there because of how she acts. She ran off, which means she let you get close enough to affect her emotions. That doesn’t happen much.”

  Guilt seeped into my veins and spread throughout my body. This job wasn’t supposed to be so emotional. It was supposed to be cut-and-dried. How was I going to do this if I let myself care too much? Nan had already become more important to me than a mark needed to be. I was concerned for her. She wasn’t exactly lovable, so I was safe there, but she was broken. Vulnerable. I had a hard time doing what needed to be done to someone as damaged as her. I was grateful that they’d given me my first job, but they were asking for way too much.

  “How can I fix this if I can’t find her?”

  “You sure you’re man enough to fix it? Nan isn’t easy. She can chew up and spit out pretty boys all damn day long. I’m not sure you’ve got what it takes. She needs a man who’s stronger than she is. Who isn’t scared of her emotional baggage. And you”—he pointed at me with the hand that held his beer—“you fucked your stepmother. Which tells me you’re not in this shit for more than a fuck. It’s what you do.”

  Ouch. I’d have to thank Mase for sharing that piece of information with Rush.

  Sleeping with my dad’s wife hadn’t been my finest moment, but she had been closer to my age than my dad’s, and she was smoking hot. And it wasn’t as if my dad hadn’t fucked older women in his past. My mistake was that I’d picked up the wrong woman.

  “That was a weak moment. I was mad at my dad, and she was coming on to me heavy. I cracked and took what she was offering. Don’t act like you didn’t fuck your fair share of women you had no business touching before Blaire.”

  Rush smirked. “I had no business touching Blaire, but I’m damn glad I did. Gave me my life.”

  I’d heard this story already. Blaire had been the one person Nan hated most in the world. Daddy problems or some shit. Rush was supposed to get Blaire out of his and Nan’s lives when Blaire showed up to stay with her dad, who had just married Rush and Nan’s mom. But instead, he’d fallen in love with her. That shit hadn’t gone over well with Rush’s sister.

  “Yeah, everyone can see that,” I replied. I hoped that thinking about his wife would make him more open to telling me what I needed to know.

  “She’s not going to be easy. She’ll make you pay for whatever you did. It will be a brutal payback. That’s her way. You up for that?”

  He was cracking. I held my breath and nodded.

  He hesitated, and I began to worry that he was changing his mind. I needed him to talk. He was the only person I could think of who would know the answer.

  Then he said, “I’m only telling you this because I’d like to know she’s being looked after where she’s run off to. I’ve been worried about her. She’s a tornado when she’s upset.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

  Before he could respond, footsteps pounded up the stairs from the beach.

  A little version of Rush hit the top landing, and the kid’s eyes zeroed in on his dad as a massive grin lit his small face. “Daddy, I found a crab!” He ran to throw himself into his dad’s lap and proceeded to pull a hermit crab out of the bucket he was holding.

  I watched as the rock star’s son held his own son and listened with rapt awe and adoration to everything the little boy said. As much as I never wanted that for myself, Rush made it look nice. I’d never had a relationship with my own father resembling anything like that. Ours was pretty much the opposite.

  “I think that makes three this month,” said a voice with a soft Southern drawl. I turned my attention to the gorgeous blonde standing on the landing.

  “I believe it does,” Rush agreed. “You feeling OK?” he asked her, and she touched her swollen stomach with one hand and smiled.

  “Yes, I feel fine, and so does she.”

  Rush and Blaire were having a girl. The idea was hilarious, but I didn’t laugh like I wanted to.

  “Hello, Major,” Blaire said, as she moved her gaze from her son and her husband to me. “I see Rush has gotten you a drink. Can I get you a sandwich? I’m going to make us a snack now. All that walking and chasing has made me hungry.”

  I liked Blaire, but all this family small talk was keeping me from finding Nan. I needed to get Rush focused on my problem.

  “No, thank you. I’ve got somewhere I need to be,” I replied, with the smile that charmed most girls out of their panties. I knew it wouldn’t do anything for Rush’s wife, but I still gave it to her.

  “Vegas,” Rush said, then stood up with his son in his arms. “She’s gone to Vegas.”

  Damn. Not what I wanted to hear.

  Nan

  My legs were weak, and the area between them was sore, as if it had been ravaged by more than just a hand. My inner thigh stung from what would be a bruise soon. I’d already looked down to see the red imprint of his hand. Again, though, instead of terrifying me, it excited me. I liked the feeling of being dominated. I’d never experienced that before, but it made everything feel deeper, more intoxicating. Like a drug you couldn’t get enough of.

  That hadn’t been my first helicopter ride, but it had definitely been my most memorable. Nothing I’d ever done sexually compared to what I had just experienced. The orgasm that tore through me had left me trembling and unable to catch my breath. That had just been from the rough touch of his hand. What would happen if I let him do more? Would I survive it or die of pure ecstasy?

  The trip back to the hotel wasn’t easy. There was an electrical charge between us that confused me. I didn’t know him well enough to climb on top of him in the back of a car, but that was all I wanted to do. I had to close my eyes tightly to block out stray thoughts and to keep from moaning out loud at the ideas my imagination was spinning. After what we had just done in a small space with a witness to hear and smell it, I would think he’d be as sexually needy as I was. He hadn’t been the one to get off. I had. Did I even affect him?

  It had been a while since a man had tried to openly seduce me the proper way. Most guys wanted to party and then fuck. The fact that we’d only danced and had breakfast together before that moment in the helicopter, without him even asking for his own release . . . either I should feel special, or I was a failure at turning him on. I was afraid it was probably the latter. If he was finished with me, I might
fall on my knees and beg for a chance to please him.

  The car came to a stop, and Gannon’s hand slid over mine and enclosed it. “Let’s go.” His voice was deep and raspy.

  I had been so focused on controlling myself in the car ride that I hadn’t paid much attention to him. I let him pull me from the car in a commanding yet gentle way that only made me hotter.

  He walked inside the casino and headed directly toward the tower my room was in. Was it over? He was going to take me back, and we weren’t going to dinner or anything? I felt deflated and wondered if I’d made a mistake. I went over everything that had happened and what I had done. Had I been expected to do more? Had I made a mistake in the helicopter, opening my legs to him and allowing him to touch me and slap me? Had there been a test I’d failed? I’d thought he wanted to dominate me. Every time I moaned at his punishment, he got more aggressive.

  Nothing I could think of would warrant him being upset with me.

  I cut my eyes up to look at him. His firm jaw was tight, and the veins in his neck were bulging. That was sexy, too. Why did he have to be so big and strong and . . . ugh!

  The elevator doors opened, and he pressed my floor number.

  I needed to say something. It was getting awkward now. Maybe I hadn’t thanked him for the ride. I couldn’t remember. When we had gotten off the helicopter, my legs had been wobbly and my breathing a little erratic from his touch.

  I turned to look up at him again, but before I could speak, he was in front of me, pressing me against the wall. The heat from his body sent shivers over me, as he grabbed my waist and inhaled sharply. “God, you’re fucking killing me,” he whispered, and then his mouth was on mine, and I didn’t care who found us or if we got lost or if the place blew up. This was all I wanted.

  I reached up to grab his shoulders and hold on and opened my mouth to taste more. The peppermint freshness of his mouth was delicious, and I leaned in, trying to get more. Anything he was willing to give, I was going to take.

  The ding of the door came too soon, and he was moving me with his hand on my waist out into the hallway and toward my door. “Key,” he almost growled, and I quickly grabbed my purse and pulled it out.