Addicted (Outlaws Book 2) (26 page)

Continue reading for a preview of Elle Kennedy’s

RULED
 

Available in November 2016.

It was hard to look at anything in Foxworth without thinking of Jake. He was ingrained in every inch of this town. He was the one who’d found it, the one who’d convinced Reese that a permanent base didn’t mean instant death. It had been his idea to raid the nearby factories for sheet metal, his idea to erect the gates around the main stretch of town. His idea to form alliances with the shadier Enforcers, offering them sex and booze in exchange for protection and invisibility.

Foxworth was Jake’s creation. He had been its king, and Reese his queen. A queen who’d murdered him for the crown.

No, not for the crown. For
them
– Reese looked around at the thirty or so people filling the room.

A little more than eighty people resided in Foxworth, but not all of them were original members of the group. Some were nomads who’d wandered up to the gates long after Jake’s death. Others were old acquaintances who’d found their way back to the area. But the ones who’d known Jake – the ones who’d suffered at his hands – they were the ones she’d saved from the man she’d loved.

Jake had needed to be stopped.

She’d stopped him.

“So who’s it going to be?”

Reese tensed as Rylan came up beside her. He held a tumbler of amber liquid in one big hand, tapping his thumb against the glass.

“Who’s going to be what?” she muttered. As always, his presence had thrown her guard up a hundred feet.

“The man who’ll be getting the gift of your pussy tonight.” His blue eyes flickered with irritation. “I’d be happy if you chose me, but that’s probably hoping for too much, huh?”

“You’re right about that.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a real ballbuster?”

She fought a smile, but it broke free when she noticed the very obvious bulge in his pants. The man seemed to sport a permanent hard-on, as if he expected he might have to whip out his dick at a moment’s notice and always wanted to be prepared.

“Seriously, gorgeous, would it kill you to say yes?” Rylan leaned in so close that his lips brushed her ear. “You know I’d make it good for you.”

She had no doubt. But Rylan was too damn dangerous to spread her legs for. Forget the fact that he physically resembled her ex-lover, with his golden hair and vivid blue eyes. That was an issue, sure, but not an insurmountable one. He and Jake might look vaguely the same, but Reese knew from experience that no man fucked the same.

No, it was the
other
resemblance between Rylan and Jake that scared her – the reckless streak. Rylan didn’t seem to give a shit whether he lived or died. He breezed through life as if it were a game. One he evidently didn’t care about winning. Otherwise he wouldn’t throw himself headfirst into dangerous situations without a single care for his well-being. And although he took orders from Connor Mackenzie, Reese knew without a doubt that he’d disobey his leader in a heartbeat if it struck his fancy.

Granted, he didn’t seem to crave power the way Jake had, but the motives behind Rylan’s actions didn’t matter. Like Jake, he was too impulsive. Dangerously so.

A man who didn’t think before he acted was a man who couldn’t be controlled.

And for a woman who carefully planned every move she made,
that
was the issue. She refused to let another loose cannon into her bed, especially when she was well aware that men like Jake and Rylan were her weakness.

“You know who else would make it good for me?” she said sweetly. “Beckett.”

Rylan followed her gaze to the tattooed man across the room. Beckett was laughing at something his friend Travis had just said. “Beck’s a decent lay,” Rylan agreed. “But he’s not what you need tonight. Too playful.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And what do I need tonight?”

“With all the adrenaline from the raid still burning in your blood? You need a good, hard dicking, gorgeous.” He shrugged, nodding to their left. “Nash could probably give it to you.”

Reese glanced at the man in question. Nash’s rugged features and lean frame were definitely appealing, but she wasn’t really feeling him tonight.

“It’s too bad Lennox isn’t here. He’d give it to you as rough as you wanted.” Rylan grinned. “But he’s a one-woman man these days, so maybe it’s a good thing he’s at Con’s camp. This way, your poor ego doesn’t have to take a hit every time he rejects you.”

She narrowed her eyes. But she couldn’t argue with that. Lennox had made it clear that he was with Jamie now and was not interested in screwing anyone else. And Jamie had made it clear what would happen if Reese graced Lennox’s bed ever again – that little bitch had beaten the shit out of Reese the last time they’d crossed paths.

Not that Reese held a grudge. She’d be possessive of Lennox too, if he were her man. He fucked like a dream.

“I don’t mind rejection,” she answered with a shrug. “It’s character building.”

Rylan chuckled and handed her his glass. “Drink.”

“You trying to liquor me up, honey?”

He blinked innocently. “Nah, you just looked thirsty.”

A laugh slipped out, but she still accepted the glass and took a long swig. Bourbon, she noted, as the alcohol slid down her throat. She wondered if Rylan had picked it because he knew she had a hard-on for bourbon, or if it was just a coincidence.

After another sip, she handed the glass back. “Getting me drunk won’t impair my judgment, you know. I’m even more stubborn when I’m wasted.”

He laughed too, and the deep husky sound tickled a place she didn’t want associated with this man.

Reese turned away from his twinkling blue eyes and searched the room for Sloan, who was never far from her side – usually lurking in the shadows somewhere, his watchful gaze fixed on her.

When she couldn’t see him anywhere, a pang of unease tugged at her insides. He must have ducked out right after he’d walked her over to the rec hall, which was odd, because Sloan rarely left her alone.

Then again, it
was
late. He’d probably gone to bed.

The room felt unbalanced somehow without Sloan.

“Too stubborn to dance with me?” Rylan countered, drawing her from her thoughts.

Rather than give her the chance to reply, he took her hand and yanked her against him. Reese grabbed onto his broad shoulders by instinct, and she was still battling annoyance when he shoved one thigh between her legs so their bodies were plastered together.

Her traitorous hormones instantly kicked in, her pussy tingling, thanks to the hard thigh pressed against it. The last time she and Rylan were in this position, she’d been seconds away from taking him to bed, a foolish decision that had been interrupted by the arrival of the Enforcers. The events that followed had been a total shit storm. People had died. Good people, like Arch, whose death had left his pregnant woman all alone in this world. Like Kade, whose death had been the push Connor had needed to join Reese’s cause.

“Get out of your head,” Rylan murmured.

She clenched her fingers over his shoulders, but, for some stupid reason, didn’t shove him away. “I’m not…” She trailed off.

“Not thinking about your next move?” he mocked. “Planning the next attack? Mentally counting all the bodies you might leave in your wake?”

His soft laughter grated. And fuck him for knowing what was eating at her. Before his extended stay at Foxworth two months ago, when he’d come to train her people in the art of guns and combat, she never would’ve used the word
perceptive
to describe this man. But he’d proven her wrong during that visit. Rylan was far more observant than she’d ever given him credit for.

His rough fingertips traced a path up her neck to her mouth. He rubbed her lower lip slowly, seductively. “You need to fuck,” he whispered.

Tension gathered inside her, tightening her muscles, pulsing in her core. He was absolutely right. Sex was a surefire way to release all the volatile energy surging through her veins.

“Use me tonight, Reese.” He buried his face in her neck as he continued to rub up against her like a dog in heat. He wasn’t moving in time to the fast-paced beat pulsing out of the rec hall speakers but to his own slow, sensual rhythm, each grind of his hips weakening her resolve. “Use me however you want. Fuck me however you want. Just… say yes.”

A shiver racked her body as his warm mouth latched onto the side of her throat. He kissed her hot flesh, then sucked hard enough to make her moan.

That got her a quiet chuckle. “You know you want to.” His tongue licked a path along her jaw and upward, until their lips were a mere inch apart. “We’ll burn so hot together, baby.”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t, because her throat was clamped shut. God, of course they’d be hot together. Her entire body was already close to going up in flames. Just the feel of his erection against her thigh made her weak-kneed and achy.

But… she didn’t trust herself when she was around this man.

The truth was, there was a reason she was drawn to loose cannons.

Because she
was
one.

She was only careful because she
forced
herself to be, but those wild tendencies that had gravitated toward Jake lived inside her too. She was driven by base urges just like Jake had been, and she struggled every second of every day to hold on to restraint and be the kind of leader her people deserved. The kind of leader Jake had failed to be.

Rylan tested that restraint, and she didn’t like it.

Where was Sloan, damn it? Panic rolled through her as she peered past Rylan’s broad shoulder and once again searched the room. Sloan grounded her. He was the only one who— Her panic faded when she spotted him near the door. A breath of relief slid past her lips.

“I’m down with Sloan joining us. The more, the merrier,” Rylan murmured after he’d twisted his head to track her gaze.

Sloan stared back at them, his gaze steady and reassuring.
I’m here
, his eyes telegraphed from across the room. Reese watched as he settled his broad shoulders against the wall, crossing his arms and resting one ankle on the other.

She turned to Rylan, who took her renewed attention as an invitation. He shifted her around so she couldn’t see Sloan anymore and nuzzled her neck again, whispering, “What’s it going to be, gorgeous?”

No.

Yes.

Her body was a fuse waiting for a spark. Primed for sex. Aching for it.

She felt the unshakable gaze of Sloan at her back. Yeah, she was deep into her head and if she didn’t pull out of this maelstrom of guilt and worry, she wasn’t going to be good for anything.

Now, more than ever, she needed to be sharp and ready. She looked up into Rylan’s heated gaze. He never took anything too seriously, was rumored to be one of the best fucks in the Colonies. Sex with him would be the best distraction she could ask for.

Except… she still didn’t trust herself. She didn’t trust that she could give in to Rylan and come out of it unscathed.

Abruptly, she pulled out of his arms. “Follow me.”

She turned on her heel, not waiting to see if he followed. The hard boots hitting the floor answered for him. Sloan straightened as she arrowed in his direction, and by the time she pulled to a stop in front of him, he’d reached his full, towering height.

“You said I needed a man tonight,” Reese muttered. “Is he the one I need?”

Sloan’s hazel eyes locked with hers. “I can’t think of a better person in this room to pull you out of your head.”

Rylan’s breath was hot on her neck and Reese had to fight to keep from shivering in sexual delight. She shook her head instead. “He’s reckless.”

Sloan nodded.

“It’s not wise.”

“If we did everything that was wise, we would’ve been dead a long time ago.” Sloan lifted his hand as if to cup her cheek, but the touch never landed. It never did. He always held himself back.

She knew, because she wasn’t dumb or blind, that he lusted after her. And even though he’d never made a move to scratch that itch, it was always there between them, like the caress that never happened. Reese had become accustomed to it, as much as she expected the sun to rise and the rain to fall. Sloan was the one constant in her life.

Rylan coughed. “I’m right here, you know.”

They both ignored him. Reese kept her eyes on Sloan. If he was with her… then maybe she could hold on to some shred of control. Maybe the fiery lust, the recklessness Rylan stirred in her, wouldn’t spill over into other more vulnerable areas.

“Only if you’re there,” she whispered to Sloan. “I don’t trust myself.” In other words, she needed him to be the lifeline he’d always been to pull her out of the quicksand when it threatened to swallow her.

Sloan searched her face, looking for what, she wasn’t sure. He could read her like a book. He was the only one. Slowly, as if he’d turned the proposition over in his head a few dozen times, he nodded. “If that’s what it takes to ease your mind, then I’m there. Nothing will happen that you don’t need.”

“Interesting choice of words there, brother,” Rylan noted. “What about giving Reese what she wants?”

Sloan’s gaze hardened when it shifted from her to Rylan. “She gets it all.”