Chapter 6

Six

H alf an hour later Ivy passed her sister off to her overly ecstatic men and made her way back to the bar to find Damon kicking back on a bar stool, a large cup of something on the bar in front of him. Low Christmas tunes greeted her from the jukebox along with the soft jingle of the bell over the door.

Everyone had cleared out except Damon who sat at the bar. The barely noticeable shift in his posture as she walked in signaled he knew she was there. Her knowledge base may be limited, but she was a quick study of human nature.

If he turned to study her, he'd find her heartbeat going into overdrive at seeing his broad shoulders and wanting to find out what they felt like beneath the bite of her nails again.

Over the line of bottles situated on the back bar, Damon caught her gaze in the mirror and for half a heartbeat she faltered, shaken by the flash of amber staring at her.

"Everything go okay with your sister?"

Ivy slipped from her coat and hung it on a peg Damon positioned on a stretch of wall beside the office. "Yep. Found out she's having twins and Holden and Riley are not going to let her out of their sight for the next four months. I guarantee it."

Damon's brows shot up in surprise. "I bet Ethan is going to flip when he hears that and regret offering up a free nursery as bounty in their bet."

"She had him on speed dial before Holden and Riley had her fully settled inside the truck. I foresee he's going to be up several nights redoing the design for Zahara's nursery."

Damon laughed a low relaxed rumble that teased a smile from her. "That'll teach him a few things about mouthing off."

With it barely after noon she still had several hours before Zahara was due back for another visit. A little over twenty-four hours in town and she'd quickly found out not even a snowstorm would keep these people home. Which she guessed was good for business.

"I see you found my hot chocolate."

"Is this what you served to the family earlier? Damn, woman, now they really won't leave."

A glint in his eyes revealed a hint of the untamed man she knew lurked beneath the surface. He tracked her progressed across the room before he took another long sip.

"You'll have to give me the recipe so I can hide it away and never let them get their greedy paws on it."

She bumped her glasses up a notch and let her gaze rake over his crossed ankles and the way his thighs looked locked together. He was the embodiment of masculinity. Mussed hair, a slight shadow of stubble along his jaw and a black t-shirt that clung to well-defined muscles she enjoyed beneath her touch, if only briefly.

A sly grin played with the tips of her mouth.

A voice of reason shuffled aside the bits and pieces of their interaction and focused on what stood out. Damon and her alone. Again. She was in big trouble and not a soul in sight to save her. Not even the dishwasher hummed in the background.

Better yet, there was no one to save him.

She shuddered as a shift in the energy sent a zing of anticipation up her spine. In a bar and not one person on the street beyond the frosted windows when you couldn't get anyone to go home yesterday. A few cars drove by but for the most part no one was due until later that afternoon. What she couldn't decide was if that was a good thing or not.

To busy her hands, Ivy shuffled through the folded aprons before deciding on one of the many identical ones. With ease, she wound the long strands of leather around her waist and tied off the knots. "Give you my super-secret recipe?" She ticked a finger on the side of her lip. "Depends. What's in it for me? I'm still waiting on that steak dinner you offered me yesterday." She huffed on her nails and pretended to polish them on her sweater. The one with the word GANGSTA WRAPPER in bold red and green glitter with tiny boxes, ribbons, and bows splattered all over it. Tacky and she loved it even more as Damon eyed the words with a smirk and a shake of his head.

His sensual lips parted around the rim of his mug again, and she watched the way his throat worked down the warm liquid. "Hmm. True. Which I'll make good on that date."

Like an actual date? Red flags sprang up and she back peddled as though her life depended on it. "No sweat, big guy."

In a slow glide, Damon pushed up from the stool and unleashed the power of his glare on her. "Be careful, angel. Continue to insult my honor and you'll be more than shivering in your boots from the cold. You'll be running from the big bad mountain man on your tail."

Her phone pinged from her back pocket and she dashed away the intrusion. When you were being hunted, rule numero uno was never take your eyes off the predator that was after you.

She swore the energy in the bar shifted to overdrive. Currents of lust were so thick she could reach out and touch them. Touch him. Damon rounded the bar at the exact time her phone pinged from her back pocket for a second time. Damn it. He already suspected something was up. Her phone going off clenched the deal with how she refused to answer it.

"You going to get that?"

Her breath hitched. Marcy had the worst time in the history of texting.

"No one important. Umm… besides, it is almost lunchtime and I am starving. So…" Was that her shaky voice? Gah. Get it together. Ivy took a deep breath and slowly asked, "What is on the menu for today? Anything special?"

She knew as soon as the words left her mouth she had stepped in it big time.

"Special? Yes. You, angel."

Pulling her guidebook out like an invisible shield against sexy beasts with an appetite for city girls, Ivy started thumbing through the pages, her gaze not really landing on anything. "Did you know that in some parts of Alaska they make pizza delivery by plane?"

He stalked closer.

Her heart rate tripled.

"And did you know that the state flower is the forget-me-not?"

"Oh angel, there's not a soul you've come in contact with that could forget you."

Blood rushed in her ears. Her heart was beating so fast she felt light-headed. He was so close now she could feel the heat of him brush against her. He prowled another step closer.

Golden eyes brightened with mischief. This close she could almost count the flecks of gold and she noticed the various shades of yellow coloring in his irises.

Ragged breaths came fast and hard. She fixed her glasses with a shaky hand.

She silently dared him to reach out and put a single finger on her body. The look of surprise and shock on his face when she took him to the floor in a frenzy of lust would be priceless. Something told her he'd enjoy becoming the hunted right before he turned the table on her and she fell prey to his underhanded tactics. He had her so damn hot and the coil so tight, one more push and they'd be finding out how hard the floor was.

Heat struck with precision until her clit throbbed with an unbidden desire. As though instinct and her senses knew what she wanted without checking in with her first. How many times could she be rejected before she got the memo?

Caged.

She gulped, unable to see the words on the page in front of her. If he even slightly breathed on her she feared the inner beast he awoke would break free and have him splayed out on the bar, the floor, or a freaking booth and having every dirty dream she'd had of the man last night come true. "And..." she tried in a whispery voice, his lips a teasing breath from hers. "Alaska is the Christmas cookie cap…"

He didn't let her finish.

Live wires juiced with enough power to fuel the cosmos crackled between them. Goosebumps flushed her skin and her lips parted, desperate for more air. More of anything to calm the fire that ate at her insides when his lips touched hers.

No, not touched. Claimed. Like everything about her belonged to him and he wanted to imprint that on her any way possible.

"I see those eyes filled with lust and it makes me want to rip your clothes off and taste every delicious inch of your luscious skin. Just give into you already and see if you really are like honey."

"How do you know it's lust? Maybe I just want something sweet," she teased just to see his eyes brighten with humor.

"I've never been called sweet, angel." No warning, no prelude, he simply swept in with an arm around her waist and devoured her lips with his once again.

He reached for the clasp of her jeans and popped the button. The hiss of the zipper was sweet torture. It meant he was going to touch her, but she still had a barrier on her body that kept him from taking her fully.

He growled as he peeled back the side of her jeans. "I love red silk on you."

He slipped a hand inside the band of her panties, over the soft, bare and very wet folds of her pussy and pressed.

She gasped.

The rough, hot thickness of his finger dragged through her juices and he only stopped to tease her virginal entrance long enough to pull a moan from her. He continued up until his attention zeroed in on her pulsating clit. Eager for more and ready to please, hot liquid spilled from her pussy and wet the tiny strip of her panties. She clenched her thighs, locking his hand in place. Would it be bad form to ride his hand until she came?

"You feel it, don't you? The burn? The need to touch me. Deny it," he challenged her. "Every damn time I get close to you, look at you, touch you, I tell myself I can't have you." He shrugged. "Yet here we are. I'm realizing the lie is going to cost us more than the truth if we don't sate our desires for one another." A deep growl rumbled up the back of his throat. "Do you agree, angel?"

Heavy and laden with everything she held pent up inside, Ivy sighed a ragged-sounding exhalation of air and her body melted into his as she bucked her hips.

In his arm was not an entirely bad place to be if she thought about it. "What…" she stuttered, then tried again, this time in a firmer voice. "What are you waiting for? A personalized Christmas card as an invitation?" She grew serious. Dug her nails into the delicious muscles of his back and shoulders, her travel book forgotten on the counter. "Fuck me, Damon." She shivered. Desire pooled in the pit of her core and spread with the speed of light through her.

"Damon," she moaned his name. "Now!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her face into the space between his neck and shoulder.

Her body trembled under his touch. Both possessive and infuriating at once. Those powerful eyes of his pulled her in and she was held spellbound as he stroked her clit. Worked her body and held her safely against him so she could let go.

So she did.

The power of her climax exploded inside her and every muscle in her body pulsated with her release. Damon slipped a finger into her tight channel and the walls of her pussy clenched around the thickness of it.

He kissed her like she was the sole reason he breathed as hot come spilled onto his hand.

For once in her life she dropped all defenses and let the moment take over.

Pulse hammering in her chest, Ivy clutched Damon to her and sighed heavily through the burn seeping into her veins. "I need more, Damon. I'm on fire. Take me upstairs. That wasn't enough."

He pulled back and slipped his hand from her panties. Her juices glistened on his fingers. He brought it to his lips and while holding her gaze sucked his finger clean. She whimpered looking on wishing it was her clit between those hot lips.

"Now I have to," he drew out huskily. "I can't leave that beautiful pussy in need."

He leaned down and the second his lips touched hers, she opened and his tongue slipped in. She tasted the sweetness of her release instantly. Not sweet, but on him, he made everything taste divine.

"This is so much more than just lust." She gave power to the thoughts running through her mind by voicing them.

Air cut off as if they drew what they needed from one another. He tore away and pressed his forehead to hers. "Yeah, I know lust when I see it and I also know what I see happening between us. You're right. This is more than simple lust." He nibbled at her lower lip and sucked the tender flesh between his. "I saw it in your eyes during the whiskey run and this morning while you watched me in the back alley and then we both almost joined the cupcakes on the floor. That's more than just lust."

"Abs. I was only looking at your abs this morning. You are the one who got carried away," she teased.

"Right. Abs. So yes, Miss Kennedy, I do know."

She wound her fingers through his hair. "What are you going to do about it, boss?"

He slipped a hand down the small of her back and pressed her into his body until they were flush. He hiked her leg around his waist and he rocked powerful hips into her.

Hard. Every inch of him was magnificently hard.

The hem of his shirt hung freely from his jeans and she took the invitation without a second thought.

He sucked air through gritted teeth and the rumbled growl fed through the palms of her hands.

She caressed higher, pulling his shirt up the higher she teased. She bit at the inside of her lip when her fingers found his nipples. Hard, she couldn't resist using the tips of her nails over the sensitive tips. Not too hard, just enough to have his eyes roll shut and his shaft grow harder between them.

He pressed her hips closer and even through their jeans she could tell the strain of his erection bulged against the zipper.

She flicked his nipples again and shuddered when he rested his forehead in the crook of her shoulder and growled in her ear.

"You're coming close, angel, to having me between your thighs and there won't be any way to stop the inevitable."

"And what is that," she asked huskily, so caught up in her own sensual game she couldn't tell who was more turned on.

"If I take your virginity do you think I'm going to let you walk out of here? Stroll back to Texas alone? I claim that pussy, it's mine and so are you."

His. She pulled back and tipped her chin up to look at him in the eyes. Penetrating as though he could see into her very soul. He was telling the truth. As if scribbled in black ink over his entire face, she could read it in how his brows pinched together and the creases at the corner of his eyes softened.

His body covered hers and every inhale of air carried the essence of Damon. Intoxicating.

"Just sex. I'm no one's to claim, Damon. But this between us is real. I don't think I can go home tomorrow without having you. So what do we do?" She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her chest into his. Delicious pressure from the tight hold he held her in teased her nipples into tighter peaks, and the slightest scrape of lace from her bra jolted her senses.

His eyes grew intense. Twining the long strands of hair at his nape she whispered close to his ear. "Take my virginity as a gift that it is and then let me go. Let's keep this simple."

Ivy dragged him down for another kiss and he hauled her closer yet with both his palms on her ass, leaving her legs only one place to go.

Around his waist.

Something so wrong for her shouldn't feel so damn good. The rough, stiff denim of their jeans barricaded them apart but she could feel his need for her despite the layers of clothing between them. It pulsed, radiated even, and she wanted to find out what his skin would taste like as she kissed his entire body. Took his heavy cock in her mouth and drank his hot come while he watched.

Bells rose up from the silence, and Ivy groaned with frustration. This had to stop happening. Damon pulled back and let her slip down his front. Embarrassed for the second time that day, she buried her face in his shoulder as he cradled her head with his large hand.

Between then she zipped her pants.

"It seems fate is trying to tell us something," he whispered and maybe he was right.

"Hey, bro, sorry didn't mean to interrupt your mojo making."

Fire hotter than Hade's own blue blazes licked up her cheeks as she turned to greet the newcomers.

Whoa. She blinked several times but it didn't help.

It took everything in her not to say that out loud, but her inner vixen nearly doubled over from the surprise. Damn did Alaska know how to grow them, and now she knew where the world's plaid collection had disappeared to. It was the only thing anyone ever wore here. These two men favored the green version and it suited them perfectly. The dark color highlighted their identical pearly smiles and clung to their shoulders to abruptly end right below their belt line. Whatever woman ended up with these two would be a lucky girl indeed.

"Remind me to lock the door next time." Damon looked across the bar, shaking his head.

When the two newcomers grabbed a stool, Damon wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We're not finished, angel. Hold those dirty thoughts for me." Then he reached across the bar to shake hands with the two men. Men that looked identical and carried similar traits to the Savage men she'd already met. How many were there?

"Ivy, meet the Savage playboy twins. My cousins."

"How many of you are there?"

"Too many by the count of our mom and too few by the count of the ladies."

Yep. Playboys.

"Man, you gotta stop calling us that. Sends the wrong message about us." The one on the right with the easy grin grimaced.

He extended his hand to her. She took it. Nice to meet you.

She slipped her hand into his and immediately relaxed. "Don't listen to him." Twin one tightened his hold and the softness to his eyes made her smile. "I'm Jin and this is Rebel Savage. Cool sweater. I gotta get me one of those." Jin hooked his thumb over to his twin. "He's the asshole, by the way, and I'm the charmer."

"Not fair. Why do you always get to greet the girls first? Not like they'll fall for your one-liners. Besides, I saw her first—you get your hands off." Rebel challenged his twin, slapping him on the shoulder with a rueful grin.

"Both of you get your grubby paws off my girl," Damon jumped in, pulling her hand free of Jin's.

Jin pulled back, raising his hands. "My bad, but baby, if you get tired of the broody, sulky cousin of mine, give us a call and we'll take over." He winked and elbowed his brother, who reached over and offered a hand too.

"Yeah, that's enough of the pleasantries." Damon threw his bar towel at the one named Rebel and she loved how he roared with laughter and flashed a broad smile that reached his eyes and charged the air with happy vibes. As if his laughter held magic. She smiled at that thought.

Jin dragged his stool closer. "Sorry for breaking up fun time right when the good stuff started."

As she quickly noticed, not one to let his brother do all the talking, Rebel followed up his brother's wisdom with a little of his own. "Gotta listen to the kids more, Damon. Told ya a nice date would make the holiday pass faster. It's good to see you finally pulling out of your shell."

"If that is what you are here for, you can march right out the same door you two sauntered in. Did Momma send you down here to tell me that?"

"Nah. But it's the truth." Both Jin and Rebel looked at her as if to say thank you, but for what she didn't quite understand. "We just need to have a chat and then you guys can get back to your kissing game."

She moved to pull away and give them their privacy, but Damon held her close. Jin winked at her and patted her on the shoulder, which pulled a growl from Damon. What the hell was that about?

"Down, boy. We don't want your girl even if she is the sweetest candy in Savage Ridge." Yep. That queued up the rise of heat in her and yep, there went that darn pesky blush. She braved a glance at Damon from beneath her lashes, pretending to read through her book.

"What's up then, boys?"

She brushed past Damon to snag a couple of shot glasses and hook some of the good stuff from the top shelf.

"There's been some rumblings among the outer communities. The older folks who live off-grid. Some men have been coming up and telling them to get out. Wanting to take over their land by force. Sounds a lot like what we've already gone through. Your dad told us what Reaper and his brothers found out at their place. Thought you'd like to know. We tried to call but the signals wouldn't connect. Seems like another storm is rolling in. Would suck to be caught with your pants down if you know what I mean. So we decided to swing by on our way to picking up some supplies."

They were right. The weather did look like it was making a turn for the worse.

Damon scratched his chin. "So I've heard."

Both Rebel and Jin held up their glasses in salute before tossing them back. "Damn sweet kick. Thank you, Ivy."

"Anyone hurt?" Damon pushed.

"Not yet. We're keeping a close eye," Rebel offered. She wondered what he did to earn that moniker or if it was his given name.

Pushing her glasses up the ridge of her nose, she studied them closer. Both hiked their shirt sleeves to reveal thick forearms, and several buttons at the neck lay splayed open to show a tease of hair. Frankly, the brothers made it look like spring outside. Looking between them, she couldn't tell them apart except for the tiny scar that sliced through Rebel's eyebrow.

"Whoever is going around intimidating the locals and leaving marked bullets knows you're here. And it's putting everyone in danger."

Chills ran over her body. "We have to warn them."

Ivy turned on her heel, dashed over to where her coat hung and pulled it on.

Damon quickly tugged on her elbow. "Wait, hold up, angel. Warn who?"

She wrapped her scarf around her neck and pulled on her matching black gloves. "The locals, silly. Reapers family. They need to know they have backup. Support. Your family here in town. Everyone! If the lines are down then there has to be radios, right? Or we go door to door."

"They already know, sweetheart."

Her heart hammered. Jin stood and took her hands in his larger ones. "But thank you."

"For what—I haven't done anything."

"For caring. That means a lot more than you think."

Oh. She thought on that for a solid heartbeat and realized one thing. Maybe her heart wasn't as dead inside as she thought. But that didn't change anything. It just meant her heart hadn't turned solid black yet. And that one little trigger brought her thoughts back around to Houston and why she wouldn't be graduating come spring. And why staying here with Damon, as good as he felt, would not work either. How could she take on the responsibility of a relationship when she felt so broken inside?

"I think she has a point, though." Rebel turned on his stool and stretched his long legs out. His statement bringing her out of her dark thoughts.

"Maybe we should make more rounds, head out there and keep an eye on things. Radio in if anything pings on the radar."

Damon helped her out of the coat and pulled up a chair for her from a nearby table. With the windows at their back now, both cousins had to turn. Morning quickly faded to late afternoon.

She knew there was a bigger story behind all this drug trafficking and the group behind it and the Russian tattoos on his chest made a little more sense now but the way his mouth hardened into a thin line told her not to ask any questions. And she wouldn't. His past was his to keep or share. Either way, he didn't owe her anything.

"I'm so sorry all this is happening. Isn't Christmas supposed to be a time of reflection and love? Peace?"

"You have such a tender heart, angel." Damon raked a hand through his hair and the frustrated sigh he let out sounded more like a growl.

Jin smiled and if she'd met him on the street with no introduction in that instant, she'd be able to peg him as a Savage. That damn sexy half smile. She had no idea a smile could be genetic but the proof stood out from every Savage man's lips she'd met in this small mountainside town.

"I like you. You're going to be good for this man."

And he liked to wink. A lot.

Damon growled. He liked to do that a lot.

She smiled. She didn't know what was up with Damon and all the possessive behavior toward her, but she liked the little possessiveness he played over her. It was nice. Even if for a short while.

"So what does this have to do with Savage Ridge? Why would these people come back here if they already know you will fight against them again?"

"Angel, who the fuck would miss a community as small as ours in the Arctic Circle? They can re-establish their dominance over this territory and take out revenge for what I did undercover in one swoop."

Her heart nearly dropped to the floor along with her chin.

She stood and Damon followed. He wrapped an arm around her center and pulled her flush to his front. As he answered her question, his chest vibrated along her back and she loved the soothing effect.

"These people do not forgive or forget. I'm surprised it took them so long, frankly."

What the heck did she get herself into?

Another fact took root in that instant. She was in some real deep crap.