Reaper's Stand(10)

“How?” I whispered.

He chuckled.

“How do you think?”

I closed my eyes, trying to think. Sex. He was talking about sex. Okay. It wasn’t like I didn’t know about sex … Was I willing to sleep with a man to find Jessica? Give up on my relationship with Nate?

My gut twisted, because I’d already given up so much for her.

“It’s a very bad idea to mix work and personal business,” I told him. “I’ve got two crews working for you right now. I think getting involved would be a big mistake. Not only that, I’m seeing someone already.”

Hayes gave a low chuckle.

“I don’t want to get involved and I don’t give a shit about your boyfriend. But I wouldn’t mind f*cking your tits—that’d motivate me to help. Your call.”

I gasped.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that I had a decent-sized chest, but I’d never had someone be so … crude … about it. I didn’t know what to say. My eyes flew around the room, desperate to look at anything but his face hanging over me. Then I spotted a picture up on the file cabinet. A beautiful woman stood next to two teenage girls. Heather Hayes and her daughters. Those girls were grown up and moved out now, one of them in the past year.

Now Hayes lived alone. Inspiration struck.

“Who cleans your house?”

He blinked at me.

“What the f*ck?”

“Who cleans your house?” I asked again, my thoughts coming together quickly. “If you help me find Jessica, I’ll come out to your place and have my crew do a full cleaning, no charge. You can sleep with anyone, but how many of those women can you trust to clean your house?”

He rocked back on his heels, cocking his head at me. A strange light came into his eyes.

“Didn’t see that one coming,” he said, his mouth quirking at one corner. “But any of those girls out there will clean for me.”

“I’ll bet they expect something in return, don’t they?” I asked, sensing I had him. “I’ll bet they want to be your girlfriend or whatever it’s called …”

“Old lady.”

“I’ll bet they want to be your old lady,” I continued, getting into it. I leaned forward, willing him to agree with me. “And I bet they get annoying after a while. My crew comes in, we clean, we leave. No stress, no fuss, and no strings attached. How’s that for something of value?”

“Not your crew, just you.”

I frowned at him. He sat back on his heels, seeming relaxed enough, but I still felt the coiled tension in the air.

“All right,” I said, figuring I should stop while I was ahead. I held my hand out and he took it, wrapping his strong fingers around mine. They were warm and solid. I’d bet his arms would be, too.

He didn’t say he wanted to hold you, I reminded myself firmly. He said he wanted to “f*ck your tits,” and that’s a place we don’t need to go.

Obviously I should start sleeping with Nate sooner rather than later, before my hormones destroyed me entirely.

Don’t question. Just find Jessica.

“So what does she look like?” he asked. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, flipping quickly to her graduation picture.

Good lord, my little cousin was stunning.

Jessica was tall, with long legs toned from running. Her hair was a rich, chestnut-brown and her eyes were bright with thick lashes. She looked like an all-American princess.

He gave a low whistle.

“Pretty girl,” he said slowly, and I glanced quickly at his face, hoping desperately I wouldn’t see lust in his eyes. He took the phone and abruptly turned and walked out of the office, leaving me to scamper after him like a puppy. I followed him back into the main lounge area where I’d first come in. I spotted Gage leaning against the wall, eyes seeing everything as he surveyed the party. Reese walked over to him and handed him the phone.

“So we lookin’ for her?” Gage asked.

“Yup,” he said. “She’s goin’ home with London, just as soon as we find her. And she’s out for good after that, got me?”

“Sure,” Gage said casually. “But she’s upstairs right now with Banks and Painter. Probably already on her back.”

I shivered, closing my eyes. Please, please, please be using condoms …


“This way,” Hayes said, and I followed him through the partiers and across the room. The crowd parted for him like a wave, making it all too clear who was the boss.

At the far end of the room, past the bar, was a staircase leading upstairs. Hayes started climbing and I followed. On the second level we passed through a large game room holding a pool table, old couches, a giant TV, and several generations of video game consoles. There were people here, too, although not as many. Just the occasional couple on a couch.

Eyes forward. Not your place to judge.

Hayes led me up one more level, into a narrow hallway lined on each side by narrow wooden doors.

“Armory used to have barracks space up here,” he said. “I don’t think it was ever really used, but that’s how they built them back then. Now they’re our guest rooms. She’s probably in the one at the far end, because it’s the only one open.”

He strolled down the hallway casually, as if we weren’t in a race to stop my cousin from getting pregnant. I forced myself to follow with measured footsteps, coming to a halt next to him in front of the last door. I heard moaning inside, and I closed my eyes, wishing I were at home in bed, where I belonged.