quirked a quick look at me, then hit "answer" on his screen before bringing the phone to his ear. The first thing out of his mouth was a relay of my concerns, and a moment later he gave me a nod and thumbs up to indicate that my friends were all okay.
I let out a sigh of relief, then went back to my kitchen to grab us more drinks. I didn't need to sit there and listen in on his conversation with Archer, not after Kody had made it perfectly clear he'd answer any question I had. Better than that, he'd answer honestly, provided it was his story to tell.
Deciding to show him some small measure of trust—and desperately hoping it wouldn't bite me in the ass again—I dropped our fresh drinks back on the coffee table, then left him to his call while I went for a shower.
I kept my shower pretty quick because the last thing I needed after being shot at was more time alone with my thoughts. All that proved to me was how deluded I was in trying to cut the guys out completely. They were too heavily involved in everything right now, and my own problems—like my stalker and the people trying to kill me—weren't going to magically disappear just because I’d moved out of the mansion.
Fuck me, sometimes my own anger seriously blinded me to the bigger picture. Not that I'd be washing away all our issues like water under a bridge, oh hell no. But I'd be a fucking moron not to use them for what they were good at.
Them, the Reapers... all of them.
I'd use them to reclaim my inheritance, my life, and my freedom. Then, if anything was left in the bloody aftermath, I'd consider reconciliation.
Stepping out of the water, I roughly dried myself off, then tucked the towel around my body. I bypassed the clean clothes I'd brought into the bathroom with me and made my way back through to the living room where Kody still sat on the couch with his phone to his ear.
His glittering green eyes met my gaze as I stepped closer. Curiosity and suspicion vied for supremacy across his face, and I gave him a sly smile in return.
"Yeah," he was saying into his phone, "I think that's probably for the best too." His eyes didn't leave mine for even a second as Archer replied to him, and he mumbled an agreement.
I dropped my towel.
9
"I've gotta go," Kody told Archer, hanging up his call and tossing the phone onto the table without even waiting for a reply. His brows hitched as he stared at me. At all of me. "Part of me knows this is a trap," he admitted, his eyes narrowing even as he ran his thumb across his lower lip and his gaze heated.
"So?" I replied, taking a few steps closer until I was standing between his spread legs. I slid my palms up my torso, cupping my own breasts and squeezing lightly. "You have a problem with being used, Kodiak Jones?"
His hooded gaze followed my hands, hungry with desire. "If it means being used by you, Madison Kate? I have no objections."
He reached out with both hands, grabbing my waist and lifting me to straddle his lap. The moment my weight was situated across him, his hands were in my hair, his strong fingers massaging the back of my head as he brought our lips together in a burst of passion.
"Holy fuck," he groaned when my hands found the hem of his shirt and slipped beneath the fabric. "MK, baby, you have no idea..." He trailed off as his lips met mine once more. This time his kiss was more demanding and needy. Our tongues met in a tangle of desire, and his hands held me firm against him like he was afraid I was messing with him... that maybe I'd get up and laugh, leaving him with aching balls and bruised lips as I took my own ass back to my bedroom to finish off with a vibrator.
I won't lie, the thought crossed my mind.
But then that'd just be denying myself something I badly craved. And I wasn't about masochism. So yeah, I'd see this through. I'd fuck Kody until I had cleared him from my damn mind—at least temporarily—then tomorrow I'd start working out how to get my shit back from Archer.
Who knew, maybe Kody could be convinced to play double agent for me.