Precarious

I don’t think, I just rush forward and take his finger. I pop it into my mouth. My mom used to do this when I burned my fingers as a child, so it’s just an instant reaction. The moment I realize that I have a big, thick finger in my mouth and a biker’s eyes on my face, filled with shock and lust, my cheeks flush.

“You wanna be very fuckin’ careful what your next move is,” he growls. “’Cause baby, if you keep suckin’ my finger like that it’s goin’ to be a long night for me and you.”

Oh, boy.

I let his finger fall from my lips. The sexual tension is thick between us. “I . . .” I swallow. “I, ah . . . it helps take the burn out, I didn’t think, and . . .”

His eyes are on me, and God, do I feel them burning into my deepest, darkest parts. “Been a good fuckin’ month since I’ve felt a sweet pussy around my dick; best be careful about how you are around me. I’ve had a glimpse of what you’ve got goin’ on underneath those clothes, and baby, believe me when I say I want a fuckin’ taste.”

Oh . . . my.

The air becomes thick around us, and I hear nothing but the faint sound of crickets chirping about in the trees. I swallow, and it seems like it takes forever to get the lump out of my throat. Krypt’s eyes are on mine, intense and wanting, and fucked if I don’t want to lean forward and capture his mouth with mine.

He’s the one to move his eyes away first. He turns back to the food, pulling the can open quickly. I watch him, my eyes never moving from his large back as he pours the contents into bowls. He spins around and hands me one. I take it wearily, not meeting his gaze. We sit side by side, eating in silence.

“Are you hurtin’?”

I turn to stare at him, confused by his question. “Hurting?”

“Your arm? Your body? Is it hurtin’?”

I shift, feeling a dull ache in my ribs. I don’t actually think I broke them, but I came close. “I am okay, thanks.”

We fall silent again. I have so many questions eating at me.

“Hey, Beau?”

He stops eating, and flashes his gaze in my direction. “Yeah?”

“You’re saying Tristan is a part of all this?”

He nods. “Tristan is most certainly part of all this.”

“He’s . . . I just . . .” I stop, gathering my thoughts. “He was my friend. If you’d asked me weeks ago, I would have said I trusted him one hundred percent. Then I saw stuff going down, and I doubted him . . .”

“Not your fault, babe,” he murmurs. “It’s clear you’re a good chick, and a loyal one.”

Was that a compliment?

“I know that, but I trusted him, and it hurts to know that he could use a prisoner for his own gain.”

“He’s bein’ paid top dollar.”

“He could lose his career,” I whisper, meeting Beau’s gaze.

He reaches over, running his thumb along my jaw. “Not everyone gives a fuck about their career, babe. People like you, who care about their jobs, and show the passion you do, are hard to find.”

Tears burn in my eyes and I turn away, staring down at my half-empty bowl of the bad tasting tinned beans.

“He could have had you killed,” I breathe. “That’s never okay. It doesn’t matter what a prisoner has done. It isn’t his place, and it isn’t his job . . . It would make him no better than half the people in that place.”

“You’re right about that, it’s why he was hopin’ never to get caught. He knows what he’d lose and he knows he’d quickly become one of them . . .”

“He deserves to be one of them,” I growl.

“Hey,” he says, reaching over and cupping my jaw in his hand. “Look at me, Ash.”

My name on his lips has my entire body breaking out in shivers.

“You, girl, are a good fuckin’ person. I saw it in the time I was there. I saw how those prisoners respected you. Don’t you ever let that fucker bring you down. When you get outta here—and babe, you will get outta here—then you will go back and have your head held fuckin’ high, because you’re ten times the person any of those assholes are.”

His words warm me in more ways than one. I like the fact that he thinks I’ll get my job back, and I love that he’s willing to make sure I’ll get out of here.

“What do you think will happen to me when I go back?”

He brings my face closer, sending trembles up my spine. Warm puffs of his breath heat my lips as he speaks. “I’ll make sure nothin’ bad happens to you when you go back. You have my fuckin’ word on that.”

“Why?” I breathe.

“Because you’re the only fuckin’ real person I’ve met in the last ten years of my life. Because you gave me respect and put me in my place when I needed it. And because you kicked my president in the balls.”

I laugh softly. “It wasn’t my finest moment.”

He grins, showing me a perfect, masculine jaw that transforms when his mouth moves. “It was a fuckin’ great moment, babe. You showed him you weren’t some pansy fuckin’ bitch that he could push around. It showed him you were serious.”

“He could have killed me,” I point out.

“I don’t fuckin’ doubt that, but he won’t now, so you’re good.”

I’m not sure if that comforts me, but I’ll let it slide for now. Krypt lets my jaw go and turns back. He pulls out a blanket and lays it out. “It’s goin’ to get cold tonight. You got any issues layin’ beside me?”