“How did you know it was me?” Lana toyed with her blonde braids as she and Ryder walked to the door.
“A man sees you, Roxie, you’re burned into his brain. No matter what you’re wearing.”
Lana’s face flamed. Although hanging around the bikers still made her uneasy, they were damn good for the self-esteem. Well, these bikers anyway.
Was she burned into James’s brain? He was burned into hers. And despite his postfight brush-off, masochist that she was, she couldn’t wait to see him again. Especially wearing her milkmaid outfit. He had a bit of a kink for role-play.
But if they were done, they were done. At least he would be safe and she would have enjoyed the ride. Her heart would just have to heal all over again.
Chapter Eleven
“She was where?” James’s shout rang through the empty Hades clubhouse.
Startled at the high decibel level of his outburst, Lana instinctively searched around the lounge for a place to hide. She should have gone with Ryder to find him. Maybe a little smile would have softened the blow.
“Wearing what?” His voice rose and Lana’s heart pounded. Not good. Not good at all. She spotted a small closet and threw open the door. Too small. Especially with all the petticoats under her skirt.
“On the table? Jesus Christ.” His growl became a yell and Lana fought the urge to dive behind the couch.
“
Roxie
!
Where the fuck are you
?”
Trembling, despite the calming effects of excess alcohol consumption, Lana gritted her teeth, clasped her hands in front of her, and stepped into the middle of the lounge, meeting James’s fierce scowl with a cheerful smile.
“Guten Abend.”
It wasn’t really a good evening, but it was always prudent for frisky
fräuleins
to be polite when faced with an enraged biker and his erstwhile companion.
James’s eyes bored into her like laser beams, raking over her body from her crisp but slightly askew linen cap to her shiny Mary Janes and back up again, hovering over her demicorset-enhanced bosom. His eyes darkened and his body stilled. Anger or arousal? She couldn’t tell, but she wasn’t afraid to play with fire. She racked her brain for the few German phrases Hans had taught her.
“Ich kippe für die große Wurst warten.”
She licked her lips and panted rapid breaths to keep her laughter at bay. She was telling the truth. Truly, she couldn’t wait for the big sausage.
His lips quivered but he didn’t even crack a smile. Maybe he didn’t understand German. Hell, how many people understood German? It would have to be her private little joke.
“
Das wirst du noch bereuen
,”
James growled.
Lana sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes widened. What the hell had he said? Who the hell cared? Despite the harsh-sounding words, the sensual promise in his voice sent fire licking through her body. With a flash of unexpected insight, given her partially fuzzed brain, she suddenly realized the danger of being scantily clad, heavily intoxicated and speaking German with a furious and very hot James.
“He said you’re going to be sorry.” Ryder chuckled. “And that’s my cue to get back to my pretty little milkmaid.”
“You understand German too?” Her blood chilled when Ryder winked. Joke was on her.
“Thanks for bringing her. I owe you,” James said as Ryder made his way to the entrance.
Ryder laughed.
“Ja sind Sie richtig!”
She and James studied each other in silence until the door slammed shut. Lana shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying to ease the pinch from her too-tight shoes. “What did he say?”
“He said ‘you’re right’.”
“So…how is it you both speak German?”
James shrugged. “My grandfather was from Germany. My family kept up the language and traditions. I didn’t know Ryder spoke German until now.”
“It’s his fault I’m here,” she lied quickly. “I had every intention of following your commands. No stepping foot in the clubhouse. No going near Rex. But as luck would have it, Jackie and I decided to go to summer Oktoberfest on the exact same day as Hades. Can you believe it?”
His scowl returned. So cute. “No.”
Lana forced her mouth into a frown. “You never were very trusting.”
“You never could lie to me,” he said dryly.
“I tried not to look at Rex,” Lana continued. “And I told Ryder I’d been forbidden to come to the clubhouse on pain of death. He insisted. He said you would want to see me. You’re lucky to have such a good friend.”
He folded his arms and his deep voice chilled. “You’re lucky I wasn’t there.”
“I was thinking that myself.” She lifted her gaze and froze. His mouth was a straight, thin line. Jaw tight. Eyes cold and hard. Maybe she had pushed him too far. Maybe he truly was done with her. Maybe he had someone upstairs…
Suddenly, she lost her nerve. “Actually, I had something to tell you and then I thought I’d head home. Get some sleep. Prepare for my day tomorrow that doesn’t involve this case, Rex or Hades.”
“Upstairs.”
Lana’s knees trembled. “Pardon me?”
“Now.” His body was tense, his face taut, the pulse at the base of his neck throbbing. A man about to lose control.
She drew in a ragged breath. If it was over, he would be sending her outside, not upstairs. His bedroom was upstairs. And his bed. And there was a door they could close. Hope flared in her chest. She prayed he had a drawerful of condoms because she hadn’t come prepared.
“Lana.” The authoritative look on his face and his unyielding tone made everything inside her turn liquid.
“James?” She shivered uncontrollably as a thrill of fear coursed through her body, unleashing an endorphin rush like nothing she had ever experienced before.
“Last time. Upstairs.”
“Or what?” she breathed, eyes wide with anticipation.
His merciless smile almost made her come right then. “Do you really want to test me?”
Yes!
No.
Her rational mind reminded her they were alone in the clubhouse and he seemed to be a tad annoyed. And this wasn’t the James she knew. This was Ice. Rough, unpredictable and unrestrained.
With a sigh, she held her hands in the air. “Fine. I surrender. I’ll go upstairs.”
He grunted his approval. “Walk slowly. I want to watch your ass under that skirt.”
And just like that her tension disappeared. Her lips curled into a smile. No man could resist a woman in a dirndl skirt, and James apparently even less than most.
“Nice.” She stomped up the stairs, feigning annoyance, her Mary Janes announcing her presence with each clanging step.
“It certainly is. Especially from here.”
She looked back over her shoulder and spotted James at the bottom of the stairwell.
“How juvenile.” She snorted her derision. “I thought only teenage boys hid under the stairwell to peek up girls’ skirts.”
He gave her a salacious look and took the stairs two at a time to join her at the top. “Where do you think I learned my skills? I knew one day I would want to look up a milkmaid’s skirt, so I made sure I had lots of practice.”
“I’m not a milkmaid,” she huffed. “I’m a frisky
fräulein
.”
James pushed open the door to his room and ushered her inside with a firm hand against her back. “Well, frisky
fräulein
, you disobeyed my order to stay away from Rex and the clubhouse.” He slammed the door closed and slid the bolt with a loud thunk. “You’re going to need all that friskiness to pay the price for your disobedience, and I promise it’s going to be high.”
Breathless with anticipation, Lana forced herself to focus on the real reason she had come and backed up against the wall, out of his reach. “Before any prices are paid by frisky
fräuleins
, I have something important to tell you. There’s a mole in the DEU. He’s reporting to some guy who has met with Rex a few times. The guy told Rex there’s a rat in Hades. He offered to give a name for a price but Bones said it was you. Rex isn’t sure. He’s setting up a trap to catch the rat himself. He said it was on an island…Kirkland, I think.”
Other than a slight widening of the eyes, James appeared remarkably unperturbed. “I knew there had to be a mole. Every time I called in about a possible raid opportunity something went wrong. And Bones hasn’t made any effort to hide his suspicions about me. I’ve been waiting for them to set some kind of trap.”
Lana deflated. “I guess I didn’t need to risk your wrath after all.”
“You came to warn me.” His eyes warmed and he closed the distance between them. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate it. It goes some way toward mitigating your otherwise unacceptable behavior.”
He leaned his forearm against the wall, blocking her view of anything except him. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, raw and masculine, leather and grease, with an ocean-breeze chaser.
“That’s a shame,” she whispered. “I was hoping we might put this frisky
fräulein
outfit to good use.” She bit her lip and whispered,
“Willst du mit mir schlafen gehen?”
Her request for sex didn’t meet with the expected response. James scowled and an angry rumble rolled through his chest.
“Did someone at Oktoberfest say that to you?”
Lana’s cheeks burned and she bit her lip. “Mmmm-hmmm. Some guy outside the restroom. My friend Hans translated it for me.”
“You will never wear that outfit again, except in front of me. Is that clear?” He traced her lips with his thumb, then gently parted them. Lana’s insides quivered and she trembled.
“Crystal.” Warmed by his smile, Lana leaned up and tentatively brushed her lips over his. “You didn’t give me an answer.”
“That’s because I don’t have to.” In one swift, sudden motion he lifted her arms, pinning them over her head with one hand. His body pressed against hers, trapping her against the wall, his answer evident in the hard ridge of his erection pressed tight against her stomach.
Lana shivered uncontrollably. James had been the only lover to understand this side of her, to see her need to yield but not submit. The first time he’d fully restrained her had been the first time she had really let go. It had been the first time she’d ever trusted anyone enough to give up control. It had been the last night they’d been together.
A shudder racked her body. Too much. Too far. Too fast. They no longer shared that level of trust. Not even close.
“James…” Her words caught in her throat.
Somehow, he understood. Dropping her wrists, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” She bit her lip and drew in a ragged breath, remembering as she did the picture in his dresser drawer. “And it’s not just that. I can’t do this. You have someone. It’s not…right.”
Chest heaving, James pulled back and frowned. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
Her face flushed. “The girl. In the picture. In your drawer. I was looking around.” She grimaced and her cheeks reddened.
His mouth tightened and pain reflected in his eyes. But only for an instant. “She died ten years ago.”
Oh God. That’s what she got for snooping. Her heart swelled, ached. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
“We’ll just add it to your list of misdeeds,” he said softly, his lips curving in a smile. He stroked the bloom of her cheek with his thumb. “Such a gentle heart for such a frisky
fräulein
.”
Before she could take a breath, he had her face between his palms, his lips on her lips, claiming her gently, driving away her every thought but the desperate need to have him inside her.
She melted into him, welcoming the hardness of his body and the long, demanding caress of his tongue. How many hours had she tossed and turned, remembering their wild nights together, his firm hands stroking their way over her curves, his tongue easing the ache between her thighs?
“You are impossible to resist at the best of times…” he murmured against her lips, his voice raw and husky with need, “…but in this outfit…”
She arched into him, offering herself to the soothing stroke of his hands. He cupped her breast, squeezing gently as he circled his thumb around her nipple through her clothing, drawing it to a tight, hard peak. Desire licked through her body and she burned for the moment he would be inside her.
She hooked her leg around his calf and pulled herself tight against him, rubbing the curve of her sex over the erection straining beneath his jeans, her core tightening at the exquisite sensation.
“No.” He gently detached her and stepped back, leaving her confused and breathless, aching.
“There is a price for disobeying the rules.” He reclined on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. “Strip.”
Still reeling from his sudden withdrawal, Lana just stared.
“Babe, you’re racking up the penalties like there’s no tomorrow. I said
strip
.”
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone at Oktoberfest got a show. Hades got a show. Now it’s my turn. You can start with the cap and work your way down.” His eyes glittered fever-bright. “Once you’re naked, I’ll decide what to do with you.”
“You’ll decide?” Nervous excitement ratcheted through her.