Bo (Bad Boys of Retribution MC Book 3) Read online

  Laughing, I bowed toward her. “Lady’s choice.”

  “I already know you’re experienced in Krav Maga. How do you feel about Muay Tai?”

  “With you?”

  “Definitely.”

  “You’re not really in my weight class.”

  “I’m not scared of you, Bo.”

  The sparring started just like that. She hooked out her foot and knocked me in the stomach with a force that belied her smaller frame.

  Grinning, she blew the loose red tendrils from her face. “Bring it.”

  We jockeyed around the patio, grunting and swearing, sweating more than anything. We went at each other hard and fast—elbows, fists, knees and feet looking for any defenseless stretch of flesh to hammer.

  The faster we sparred the hotter it got. No doubt Veronica turned me on. She was my match on the mat, and I knew she’d be able to hold her own in my bed, too.

  I mostly deflected her blows, blocking her hits. She was no stranger to self-defense, though. When I held her against my chest, my forearm locked around her throat, she threw a heel between my thighs and the back of her head to my nose.

  “Fuck!” I shouted.

  Spinning out of my hold, she swung on me. Her hair fell around her face and her breasts heaved.

  “Come back at me.” She challenged.

  So. Fucking. Hot.

  “I don’t hit women.”

  “It’s a friendly. I won’t press charges.”

  Just then, she spun and undercut my legs. I grabbed her as I went Timber, making sure she landed on top of me.

  Just like that, the fight was over, and she was all over me. She sat up, straddling me, holding my hands down beside my head.

  I wanted to buck up against her so badly I bit my tongue.

  “You’re good.” My voice grated low and gravelly.

  “You could’ve pinned me if you wanted to.” Her gaze travelled up my body stretched taut beneath her.

  “I’d love to pin you down so I could fuck you just the way you need. Just give me the word.”

  Her nipples pinged up beneath her top, and her breath hit my earlobe. No tongue, not even a taste of skin, and I was fucking delirious, desperate for her.

  Flipping her onto her back, I tangled my legs with hers, butting against her. With her hands grasped in mine, I pulled them over her head. “This what you wanted? Because I can give it to you.”

  She bowed up. Her pink tongue reached out, wetting the perfect pucker of her lips.

  I groaned, wanting a taste. I could give it to her, give her me.

  Fuck her.

  Feel her.

  Bed her.

  Need her.

  Circling my pelvis, I laid on top of her. Her fingers spasmed. Her body rose to meet mine. I slid the full length of my shaft up the juncture of her thighs where she threw off insane purgatorial heat until the base of my cock throbbed against her thinly clothed cunt.

  “Bo!” Her nails bit into my hands.

  “You want my cock sliding into you. So deep inside you, you can’t catch a breath. Pounding you, pulsing inside you, filling you with hot, thick come.

  “Want me in your mouth, Veronica?”

  Her body shuddered. She clamped her legs around my waist, undulating up to me.

  Her reaction hit me hard. Hit me fast. Strong and sudden, like a woman hungry for a man, for me.

  I roamed to her neck with my tongue. Finally. That taste. Sweat, woman, perfume, goddamn perfect. She filled my senses and I just needed to shove our shorts down and go down on her.

  “I’m your doctor.”

  “What?” I mumbled.

  “I am your doctor!”

  I collapsed on top of her for a second, grunting. Rolling away, I thrust my hand down my shorts and short-circuited my dick with a merciless grip.

  “I’m sorry.” I couldn’t look at her. I pulled my hand free and cranked an arm over my face.

  “You don’t need to be. I wanted it too.”

  Lifting my arm, I gawked at her. “You did?”

  Veronica stood, adjusting her skewed top and shorts. Her pink cheeks and short breaths and plump lips told the truth.

  “I think my reaction was clear enough. You don’t need me to stroke your ego”—her eyes darted to my hard-on, which was still full mast—“or anything else.”

  “Gimme a minute?”

  “Of course.” She grabbed her water bottle and towel, stepping into the house.

  When I had semi-control over myself, and only a semi in my shorts, I followed after her.

  She waited by the front door, her towel neatly folded beneath her arm.

  I stopped two paces away, a reasonably safe distance. “Come for a ride with me next weekend?”

  Her chin notched up. “Open up to me.”

  “I’ll give it a shot if you do.”

  My guts were suddenly tied in knots. I backed her up to the door, bracketing her in my arms but not grinding against her, not making contact although I gritted my teeth with the effort to remain still.

  “I want to kiss you so fucking bad right now I can almost taste you in my mouth. You’re killing me. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me, Veronica?”

  “I told you to call me Ronnie.” Her voice hitched.

  “You are not a Ronnie. Not even anything close to a guy.” My lips ghosted along the column of her neck, never touching. “A woman. Beautiful.” My hand in her hair snapped her head back with sudden force. “Smart and too goddamn sharp. Sexiest lady I’ve ever known.” I pushed my cock against her for a second, and it was enough to make me groan. “Driving me crazy.”

  With a husky laugh, her hands landed on my hips. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to cure.”

  “I think there’s only one way you can cure me.” I sealed my lips at her ear with another slow circle of my groin.

  She lifted her hips, grazing me, before pushing me off. “A ride on your bike for you talking the truth. That’s the deal.”

  I opened the door for her. “Please tell me this doesn’t happen with any of your other patients.” Because I was still a stealthy killer.

  “You’re different, Bo. But I’m a professional, and I can’t jeopardize my career. What just happened here was a mistake.”

  “But you’re on my time now.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It won’t be happening again,” she said.

  “That won’t change the fact I want you.” I greedily watched her ass switch back and forth as she walked toward her car.

  I was there before her, opening the door and helping her in. Before she shut me out entirely, I swooped down, brushing my lips across her fingertips.

  She sat back, blushing, unable to buckle her seatbelt as her neck turned as red as her cheeks.

  “I’ll see you next week, Veronica.” I shut her door.

  It wasn’t enough. Downtown felt hours away. I knocked on her window, and as soon as she started the engine, she rolled it down.

  “Can you text me so I know you got home all right?”

  “I can do that.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched her drive away.

  Chapter Four

  THE NEXT SATURDAY I wound through downtown’s congested traffic, heading to Veronica’s house.

  The weather couldn’t have been more perfect if I’d ordered it myself. Too bad the pedestrians I wanted to play Frogger with jumped out of the way before I plowed them down. What? They clogged the roadways, and then there were the carriage tours and giant piles of horseshit in the middle of the streets to be cleaned up later.

  I parked outside Veronica’s place, taking in the stately house once again. She was classy, but more than that. I’d had the pleasure of witnessing her getting down, dirty, and sweaty, and she didn’t give a crap if her shirt got damp or her hair messed up. Makeup? She hardly seemed to use it, and she definitely didn’t need it. She was high class but not high maintenance.

  I rang the doorbell and waited.

  A few second
s later she opened the door then stepped outside. I refused to give her space on the small stone stoop, which meant her body immediately slid close to mine.

  Breathing in deeply of her natural perfume, I peered down at her. “What’s up, Do—”

  “Bo, that wasn’t even funny the first time you said it.” Her unusual eyes flipped up to mine.

  “Can’t help it.” I twiddled a tendril of her vibrant red hair between two fingers.

  “Then maybe you could help out by giving me a little breathing room?”

  I let her pass down the steps. Added bonus? I got to watch her ass cheeks fight for space inside a pair of washed out blue jeans.

  Not a bad trade, all in all.

  I hopped down after her and swept up a helmet.

  “Brought you a brain bucket. Can’t let that shrink mind get damaged, right?”

  She stood beside my sleek Triumph with the gold accents as I settled the helmet on top of her head. Her hair fanned out below the half-helmet, and she put on a pair of mirror-tinted aviators. She wore a thin black leather jacket zipped to her breasts and low-heeled boots.

  The woman looked damn tasty kitted out and ready to ride on my motorcycle.

  “You been on one before?” I asked.

  “I’m not a hummer honey, but I have had the pleasure a time or two.”

  Straddling the seat, I reached around to guide her behind me. Damn if she didn’t feel completely right when her chin rested on my shoulder and her arms wound around my waist.

  With a kickstart, the motorcycle roared to life.

  Veronica laughed, her hot breath hitting the sensitive skin on the back of my neck.

  I carefully navigated Charleston’s streets just in case she thought I might go all vehicular manslaughter on the jaywalkers, but once we hit 17 North, I throttled open and hammered down.

  There was nothing but the woman curled around my body and the black tarmac ribbon that disappeared toward a horizon we never quite reached through deep forests and small towns and seaside retreats.

  My mind emptied of thoughts for a change. There was just Veronica hugging me close and the wind whistling in my ears instead of the steady drum of bullets or the constant replay of wails of the wounded.

  Maybe she didn’t have a bike of her own, but she knew what to do, how to lean, and how to hold me right. How to handle herself on a motorcycle, her way around self defense, and had—from what I’d seen—an exquisite full backpiece. The mysteries surrounding her kept piling up.

  We cruised through Awendaw, McLellanville, Georgetown, then the coastal route to Pawleys Island, where I slowed to a stop on the outskirts of a deserted white sand beach.

  The kickstand in place, I stood up and scooped Veronica from the bike.

  Our helmets came off, and her mouth was so close I could taste her. I wanted to suck on her lips, run my tongue into her mouth, hear her gasp my name. The moment stretched until I almost broke and hauled her against me.

  She snapped her gaze from mine, turning to face the ocean.

  I watched, my breath held in my chest as she threw her arms wide.

  Her head kicked back and she laughed. “It’s amazing, Bo!”

  She was amazing. That freewheeling smile, that gorgeous face, all her tawny skin aglow as she dragged off her jacket and tossed it over my bike.

  I spread a blanket and sat down, my gaze locked on her.

  She grinned self-consciously, flipping her hair behind her shoulders so it dazzled in the sun in deep red and gold colors. “How did you discover this place?”

  “I ride a lot. Alone.” I knocked on my forehead with my knuckles. “Helps clear this shit out.”

  With an appreciative moan, she fell back on the blanket beside me. Basking in the salty scent of the sea and the perfect scenery, she smiled in such a peaceful way I was actually fucking envious.

  “Mmm. This feels wonderful.” She shut her eyes, her hand blindly finding the soft sand at the edge of the blanket, her fingers sifting through it.

  Small white-capped waves crashed on shore a few feet away from us. Tall palm trees on either side of the beach created a private grove and the air grew warmer, sultry, as afternoon approached.

  Meanwhile I took advantage of Veronica’s closed eyes to scope her out more closely. There was something so sensual about her there was no hiding it, not even in the stern business suits. But here, now, seeing her relaxed in jeans and a T with her hair fanned out . . . two words came to mind. Absolute Sex. The sumptuous lips perfect for kissing, her eyes hidden beneath the thick fringe of eyelashes, the body that culminated in a plump ass I wanted to cup in my hands. Her features were striking, strong and bold, just like the rest of her.

  Lying back, I groaned, covering my face with one forearm and my bulging crotch with the other.

  “Something wrong?” Veronica lifted her head to look at me.

  “This is difficult.” Christ, not staring at her until my eyes dried up was hard.

  “What is? I’m not asking you questions. I’m not pushing you.”

  “I don’t . . . I haven’t been with a woman like this. Just hanging out.” I propped up on one elbow, my fingers skimming the blanket along the perimeter of her arm. “You know, not fucking you because that’s what I really want to do.”

  She rolled toward me, twisting her hand to touch mine.

  I reared back as if scalded. “Jesus, V. Don’t. Don’t touch me.” Sitting up, I linked my arms around my raised legs. “You’ve got no idea what you do to me.”

  “I’m not trying to do anything.”

  “I know. That’s the point,” I chewed out. “Apparently you don’t have to do anything and this happens.” Lowering my legs, I waved down in the direction of my lap.

  My erection couldn’t be more obvious, and that stiff goddamn cock was getting painful, rasping against the zipper of my jeans.

  Her lips popped open, and hell yeah, I wanted nothing more than to pop open my jeans and guide my dick into her lush mouth.

  I groaned again, balling the blanket in my fists near my hips.

  The one-eighty shift in my feelings toward her dizzied me. It left me on uneven footing. I’d wanted to dislike her, keep her at arm’s length. Now I straight up needed her.

  No other woman got to me like this. Sparring, verbally, physically, she was my match. Fucks I’d had aplenty. Relationships? Zilch. I’d never even considered my own future before I got out of the Marines, much less one with a woman by my side.

  Veronica moved slowly, sitting cross-legged beside me. “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t date, all right? I don’t talk it out, I don’t get trapped. I am nothing more than a one-night-fuck-wonder. And I can’t even do that with you.”

  “I think you’re more than that, Bo.” She leaned closer, and a hint of her perfume teased me.

  This close her lips looked even fuller. Then, fuck me hard, she licked them with the pink tip of her tongue. I knew it was unconscious on her part, but my dick sure didn’t care one way or the other.

  “Stop.” My voice rumbled from the depths of my chest. “You’re testing my limits here, V.”

  Crackling intensity ramped up between us.

  “V?” She gave a surprised laugh.

  “Yeah. I don’t know.” I gave a sheepish shrug. “Just came to me. V for Veronica.”

  “Of course.” Her amusement evident, she scooted closer.

  “V for . . . vivacious.”

  She nodded.

  “V for very pretty,” I whispered, not looking directly at her because she was like the solar eclipse and I could go blind from that shit.

  “Not viperish?”

  Lifting my eyes, I considered her. “Ballsy, maybe.”

  We laughed together because that was damn true.

  Heat flushed her cheeks as she rose to her knees moments later. “Why don’t you date?”

  “Are you asking me out on one?” Predatory, I pushed her to her back. In the next instant, I saddled her hips, driving my
erection against her pelvis.

  “No. You’re still my patient. Code of ethics.”

  Despite her words, her hands lifted to my shoulders. She didn’t push me away, only tilting to press harder against me.

  She wanted me. I knew she did.

  I wondered how far she’d let me go before she made me stop. Stopping would be impossible once I started on her, once I kissed her, once I felt the softness of her body in my arms.

  After a long inhale while I looked down at her, I rolled away and jumped to my feet. “Exactly. And you’re my doc.”

  I kicked off my boots, shucked off my socks, wadded up my jeans.

  Nodding toward the shallows, I held out my hand to help her up. “Come for a walk with me?”

  Veronica took off her boots and rolled up her jeans.

  She walked beside me, and the waves tickled my toes, the froth foaming around my calves. We didn’t talk. The only sounds were the waves lapping ashore and seagulls chattering from the sky.

  I glanced at her. “Thank you for coming out with me today.”

  “On the non-date.” Her lips curved playfully.

  I chuckled as we continued down the shoreline.

  “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, on our non-date and all, but”—I bumped against her shoulder with mine—“I really wish I could hold your hand right now.”

  We walked a few more paces before she said, “I don’t suppose it would make the situation any better to admit I wish you could too.”

  “Well, it’s a start.” My fingers grazed against hers, and fiery sparks shot up my arm from that small contact alone.

  “Why don’t you tell me the reason behind this no-dating policy?”

  I cut a grin at her. “I’d probably repeal that policy for you.”

  She blushed until her skin glowed pink before turning firm eyes on me. “Nice try. Answer the question.”

  “I have nothing to offer a woman.” Shoving my hands in my pockets, I stared straight ahead. “How can I be worth anything to anyone when my head’s a shredded mess like a roadside bomb went off inside it?” I tapped my knuckles against my temple. “Damaged goods, remember?”

  “That’s what I’m supposed to help you with, Bo.” She stopped me in my tracks with her hand on my arm.