I swallow hard, emotion hitting me. “There’s no point blaming yourself.”

   “That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive myself,” he admits, ducking his head. “All we can do now is find out who did this and then try and survive the grief. There are three main players fighting for the top. I’ll give you their names, but I need you to promise me not to do anything stupid. If you need people, I have people. Backup, numbers, guns, whatever you need. Call me, I’m here for you, all right? I want to see this asshole gone, too.”

   Guns?

   I realize now what Crow has been trying to tell me: I’m way out of my league. I’ve never used a gun in my life, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

   “Thank you,” I say.

   I need to reassess this plan, and work smarter, not harder.

   I leave his house with a list of names, and I know if this list got out, there would be a shit storm, so I’m not going to share it with anyone except Crow and Nadia. I get home and have a long shower, and by the time I’m dressed and ready for bed, Crow still hasn’t shown up. I’ve gotten used to him being around here, even though we never formally discussed it, and now that he’s not here I miss him.

   Where are you? I ask via text.

   He replies instantly. At the clubhouse. Is everything okay??

   Yeah, it’s fine.

   I type out, I just miss you, then delete. Then type out, Are you coming here tonight? Then delete that too.

   It’s so hard when you’re at that stage. You know the one. We’re both into each other but we’re not a couple, so I don’t want to act needy when he’s not even my boyfriend yet.

   You miss me?

   I smile down at my phone. Trust him to just put it out there and call it like it is. I reply to him with one word. Yes.

   Be there in thirty.

   I am falling hard for this man.

   Shit.

   I don’t think I’ve really ever fallen in love before. I mean, I thought I did at the time, but looking back, my past relationships have been nothing but lust. I’ve never felt like this before, and it’s a little overwhelming, yet at the same time I’d fight if someone tried to take it away from me.

   I’m lying in bed reading a book when I hear the knock.

   “Hey,” I say, letting him in. “You smell good.”

   “So do you.” He grins, pulling me against his hard chest. “How did it go with your uncle?”

   “Good. I have some leads, and we’re all going to work together to try to find out the truth,” I explain, telling him everything in detail. I don’t know what to do with them yet, but I guess that depends on what Nadia can dig up and on what Crow suggests that I do with the information.

   “This is good,” Crow replies, nodding. “Keep me in the loop, okay? I don’t want you diving in without us at your back.”

   “I know.”

   As I lead him to my bedroom, I realize that tonight everything seems different. He’s stayed here before, but that was when he was looking after me. Now I’m in a completely different headspace, and there’s no way he doesn’t feel the tension between us. It’s like the kiss we had flicked on a switch, and now the heat has turned up between us.

   I haven’t had sex in over a year, and let’s just say I’m all shaved, moisturized and ready to go.

   “What are you reading?” he asks, picking up my historical romance novel, a shirtless highlander in a kilt on the front. He opens to my bookmark and reads a few lines. “This is steamy.”

   I remove my silk robe, letting it fall to the ground. I’m wearing a red lace bra and matching panties.

   When I want something, I go after it.

   Crow’s blue eyes widen, and the novel drops out of his hand. The book lover in me wants to yell at him for that, but the woman in me wants something else more. I’m a little distracted right now.

   “Are you ready for bed?” I ask him boldly.

   He removes his shirt, giving me a closer look at male perfection. His skin is so smooth, his abs so defined, I can’t help but go over to him and run my fingers down them. “I like these.”

   Crow laughs and lifts me up in the air, then throws me down on the bed. He comes over to me, and straddles me with his strong thighs.

   “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asks, stroking my hair back off my face. “I’m so lucky.”

   “You’re about to be,” I tease, as he lowers his lips to mine, kissing me deeply. The fresh stubble on his cheeks is rough on my skin. My fingers running down his back, I moan at the taste of him. His bare skin on mine feels so good, and I’m so damn excited for what’s to come.

   We kiss for a long time, just enjoying each other, and it’s such an intimate moment. It also means I’m extremely turned on by the time his lips move to my neck, and then lower. He helps me remove my bra, and my eyes flutter shut as he kisses and sucks around my breasts, and then tastes my nipples.

   I hold my breath as he goes farther down, past my navel, stopping where my lace panties start. Placing his lips on the material, he continues to kiss his way down, stopping over my pussy, where he kisses just over my clit. Thankfully my panties come off next, and his mouth is right where it should be.

   “Fuck,” I grit out, teeth clenched as he continues to torture me, the pleasure so immense I can’t stay still. Crow pins me down to the bed and keeps eating me, sucking on my clit in between and having me on the verge of an orgasm.

   When he slides a finger into me the same time he sucks on my clit, he pushes me over the edge and I come with his name on my lips.

   His pants are removed next, and I’m still recovering from the amazing orgasm when he gently slides inside of me.

   “I didn’t even get to have a proper look,” I say, grinning.

   He flashes his teeth at me, and pulls out as I sit up, reaching my hands out for him. I stroke his big length a few times, my eyes widening. “Okay, that’s big.”

   Leaning forward, I take him into my mouth, tasting myself and not caring, and take him in as deep as I can. His moans urge me on, and I keep going until he’s about to come, and then I stop, pull away, and push him back on the bed.

   Straddling him, I slide onto his cock, moaning loudly, and slowly ride him until he comes.

   He’s not done yet, though, because he gets hard again soon after, and makes me come twice more with his cock alone.

   I’m left speechless, satisfied, and extremely fucking happy.

   “We didn’t use any protection,” I point out to him. “I’m on the pill, though, and I’m all clear.”