The Fire in Her Eyes [In Her Eyes 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  God help her, she wanted a man who was more determined to prove to her he didn’t want her, when in actual fact he did. “Fool,” she admitted to herself while pouring another round of beers for a customer’s order. She was a fool to fall for a man who refused to acknowledge just how much he really cared for her.

  * * * *

  Out of the corner of her eye, Mary J watched as Mick led his date away from their table and headed toward the dance floor.

  “What the hell?” Her sudden outburst had both Randall and Chloe shifting around on their stools up at the bar to see what she was referring to. She could barely believe her own eyes. Talk about rubbing salt into new wounds, wounds that bled for a man who did everything in his power to make those same cuts deeper, and bleed just a little bit harder for him.

  Hearing Chloe almost choke on the sip of wine she had just consumed, Mary J swung her gaze back to her friend.

  “Who the hell is that with Mick? And why is he dancing with her?” Chloe uttered to her and Randall in disbelief.

  “Hey now, if Mick wants to dance with his date, he can. Now, precious, don’t give me that look,” Randall warned Chloe as they all turned to watch Mick dance with the unknown blonde woman.

  “What look?” Chloe asked him meekly.

  “The one you’re throwing my way right now.”

  Mary J watched as her best friend batted her eyelashes at her fiancé and couldn’t hold back her smile when it seemed to have little to no effect on him at all.

  “I agree with Chloe,” Mary J stated, pointing her head in the direction of the dancing couple. “Who is she? And why is she dancing with him? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out all evening.”

  “Did it ever cross your mind to simply ask him?” Randall posed to her.

  Typical male response. Of course she thought about going over to Mick’s table and demanding who the blonde woman was and what she meant to him. But if she did that, then she would more than likely end up pouring a pint of beer all over his denim-covered crotch.

  “Yeah that would go down real well, sweetie.” Mary J rolled her eyes at Randall when he wasn’t looking in her direction. “Can I get you another beer?”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  “How about you, Chloe, would you like another top up, sweetie?”

  “No thanks, not tonight, I’ve got to get up early for work tomorrow.”

  “Actually come to think about it, so do I,” Mary J heard Randall declare to them both as if it was suddenly news he had just remembered.

  “Really?” both Mary J and Chloe asked him at the same time.

  “Yep, got the all clear from the doc this morning, I was waiting to surprise you with the good news.” Randall said the last bit with his eyes on Chloe.

  “That’s fantastic news, Randall,” Mary J offered as she placed his beer down in front of him. It wasn’t hard to miss the concern that flashed in her friend’s eyes at the mention of Randall going back on active duty for the Bomb Squad. Mary J couldn’t blame Chloe for feeling that way, especially after almost losing her fiancé in that bomb blast last month. Chloe had every right to feel concerned that something like that could happen to him again. In both Mick and Randall’s line of work, it was almost inevitable that a bomb explosion could injure or kill one of them at any time.

  “That is good news, babe. Really good news,” Chloe murmured to him.

  Mary J knew her friend tried to portray her excitement to Randall, but it fell a little flat, a fact that wasn’t missed by Randall himself.

  “Yes, precious, it is good news.” Mary J watched as Randall leaned over and whispered something into Chloe’s ear. Whatever he said to her, it had an instant effect on her friend, as she blushed something fierce.

  “Umm…we’re leaving now apparently,” Chloe stuttered out to her.

  “I’ll make sure to fill you in on all the juicy details you missed out on then, sweetie.”

  “Please do. These men folk can be pretty—”

  “Choose your next words carefully, lover. As you may find yourself over my knee before you’re even aware of it.” Randall warned Chloe. Mary J couldn’t help but smirk at the two of them.

  Moments later though, Mary J found herself gaping at Chloe when her friend winked at her before turning her attention back to Randall and finished off what she had been trying to say before he interrupted her. Hearing the mischievous tone echoing in her friend’s voice, Mary J knew then that Chloe was in big trouble with her Dom.

  “These men folk of ours can be pretty cocky at times and this one right here seems to think that because I agreed to marry him, he can boss me around any ole time he wants to.” A squeal left her friend’s lips when Randall dragged her across his lap to sit on it. His hand rubbed her outer thigh in warning to behave or else he would indeed spank her right here in the pub. Mary J found herself laughing so hard at their playful antics that her eyes began to water.

  “Time to go, lover. Now, Chloe.”

  Mary J could hear in the timbre of Randall’s voice the authority he exuded. It had her wishing Mick would speak to her like that. Her entire body craved for him to command her to do things for him, to please him. She needed him to dominate her so completely.

  Saying a quick good-bye to Chloe, she watched Randall usher her friend out the front entrance of the pub with a protective arm around her waist. Clearing up their empty glasses and others left behind by other departing patrons, Mary J turned just in time to see Mick’s date push herself closer to him. She almost dropped the glass she held in her hand at the sight of them dancing and swaying to the music. The only thing stopping her from smashing the glass onto the floor and hightailing out of there was Mick’s grimace. He really wasn’t enjoying this date and his date seemed to be completely oblivious to his discomfort.

  Shaking her head, she turned away from them. She had enough. She didn’t need or want to see anymore. It hurt too much. Even if Mick wasn’t enjoying his date, it still hurt to see the two of them together. She wished more than anything that she was the one leaning against his strong, muscular frame. That she was the one brushing her body up against the impressive bulge punching out through the front of his jeans. God, was he hard for the woman he was dancing with right now? Shit, was he planning on taking her home so he could have his wicked, nasty way with her? Of course he was. Mick was a hot-blooded male after all, with wants and needs that could only be satisfied by a warm and willing woman. And his date was definitely willing if her body language was anything to go by.

  Mary J could feel her eyes stinging from that thought. The betrayal she felt crushed her heart at the knowledge that Mick had every right to take that woman home with him and do the nasty with her. Was that what this was all about, his need for a quick roll in the hay? She thought he was better than that. In the whole time she had known him, which was less than a year, she had never seen him take home a one-night stand before.

  It made her sad to think that he could have had her. All he had to do was ask her and she would have said yes, well, after he chased her around for a bit that was. She wasn’t about to make it easy for him. Mick would have to work for it and work hard to get her. In the end he chose not to ask her out and to her own surprise it had hurt her more than she had ever expected it to do.

  His stupid male stubbornness, the one so determined to prove to her that he didn’t hunger for her and didn’t lust after her was about to get a rude awakening and soon. One way or another, she was determined enough to wake up in Mick’s heated embrace one day real soon. If that meant that she had to be the one to make the first move in order to get there, then she would certainly consider doing it. No longer could she stand there and watch him parade around another one of his floozy dates in front of her, even if this had been the only date he had done it on so far. One date was still bad enough in her book.

  A woman could only hold off her lustful cravings for a stubborn-ass male for so long. And she knew her time of holding back those sinful cravings was alm
ost well and truly up.

  Her need to be taken by Mick, so thoroughly, became a deep-seated desire that went left unsatisfied night after night. The longing she felt deep to her core for him to have his unrestrained way with her became too much to bear for much longer without acting on it. To have him please her wanting body with his own. To satisfy the craving she felt right down to her very soul, well it was everything she had ever wanted from him. She needed to be comprehensively taken by him. She wanted it and needed it more than anything else. Her body cried out in demand for his possession but daily that same need fell short of ever being conquered by him.

  To have her sexual needs controlled by Mick was something had wanted from him, since the very first night she laid eyes on him. Now she found herself asking a tough question tonight. Would Mick ever be ready to take her and make her his so completely just like she dreamed of him doing? By the way this evening was panning out the answer would be probably no.

  Well, hell, two can play this game right?

  Fight fire with fire.

  And Mary J had every intention of fighting Mick with white-hot flames of desire. Make him burn for her until he couldn’t stand it any longer and had to give up his pretence of not wanting her. A sly smile curved at her lips then. Her mind began to work overtime to come up with just the right plan to get Mick into her bed or end up in his. Either way she was going to come out a winner in this little battle of wits and sinful desire. Her body tingled at the thought of how she would celebrate her victory. Yes, victory, and how sweet it will be too. Mick would have no idea what would hit him when operation “in bed with Mick” commenced.

  Grabbing the dish rag from the sink behind the bar, Mary J hurriedly wiped down the countertop and avoided all unnecessary eye contact with Mick. She didn’t need him seeing the devilish thoughts racing through her mind that would be so clearly evident in her eyes. Oh, he was in big, big trouble where her devious mind was concerned, big trouble indeed.

  * * * *

  Christ, he couldn’t take any more of this. Not only was he making a complete fool of himself out on the dance floor under the scornful eye of Mary J, Mick now had to deal with Lucy brushing her body up against his. For the last thirty fucking minutes she had been trying to persuade him to take her back to his place tonight and that so wasn’t happening. Not tonight, not ever. This dance was over and done with right about fucking now. Hell, this damn date needed to end and he was going to put a stop to it right this instant.

  Dropping his arms from around her waist, Mick waited for Lucy to straighten herself up before leading her back to the booth they occupied before they hit the dance floor. This whole fucking evening from the start to finish had been nothing but a pure nightmare for him. He needed to put an end to this charade before it ended up getting worse than it already was.

  To make matter worse, Mary J wasn’t even making eye contact with him anymore. Not that he could blame her for doing it. If he had been in her shoes, well he wouldn’t have put up with it either. Mick had no doubt in his mind what he would have done if the situation had been reversed. He would have thrown her over his shoulder before she knew what was happening and stormed out of the pub to his truck. Then he would have shown her back at his place or on the bed of his truck who the fuck she belonged to. Hell even both options sounded good to him, because at the end of the day Mary J belonged to him. She was his. She just didn’t know it yet is all.

  Christ, he was so totally fucked for sure.

  There was no easy way out of this mess he made around himself tonight. Disarming a bomb was way easier and fraught with less danger than trying to avoid a woman who made his balls taut with need and made his cock ache to come deep inside her hidden depths. Hell, he was so screwed where she was concerned, he was sure of it.

  Chapter Three

  Sitting behind his desk down at the station the following morning, Mick recognised that he needed to make some drastic changes in his life where Mary J was concerned. He couldn’t hold back his need for her for much longer. Last night’s disaster of a date had shown him he couldn’t lie to himself any further. He wanted her and needed her so he would have her, end of story. So while he waited for Randall to show up for work, Mick decided to do a little online shopping at a certain adult store. If he was planning on taming a feisty minx like Mary J in the near future, then he was going to have to update his selection of motivational toys. After all, that’s what his selection of sex toys were, something that stimulated and sometimes offered an incentive for his subs to come.

  A sly smile curved his lips when he viewed his purchases moments later. He had really outdone himself this time by finding a few interesting pieces of equipment. Now all he needed was a willing participant to test them out on when they arrived in a week’s time, and he knew just the right redheaded barmaid who could fit the bill perfectly.

  Hearing noise from the other guys in the office, Mick raised his head up just in time to see Randall stroll into the station. Standing up, Mick made his way over to him and slapped him on the back of his shoulder. “Good to see you back, bro.”

  “Thanks, Mick, it’s good to be back.”

  “You’re late though. Your ass was meant to be here an hour ago. Were you somewhat delayed by a certain sweet thing?”

  Randall just punched him hard in the arm and advised him to mind his own damn business, which was code for “yes,” he was delayed by his woman in the most pleasurable way a man could be.

  “So tell me, Mick, what’s been going on around here while I’ve been shacked up at home recovering?” Randall asked him as they walked over to their joined desks.

  “I’ve kept you in the loop, bro.”

  “Yeah, unofficially you have. Now I want to hear the official side of things. Come on, mate, I’ve been away from this place for five damn long weeks. The lab is refusing to take my numerous phone calls to them, while the detectives on Chloe’s case, well, hell, don’t even get me started on those clowns.”

  “All right, what do you want to know officially then?”

  “The bomb explosion, I want the deets on that one first.”

  Mick blew out a harsh breath then. “The bomb explosion huh, well, you know most of the unofficial information on that one already. But what you don’t know is in a folder I have back in my office at home.” Mick lowered his voice so only Randall could hear him. “I’ve been checking into things, just like you asked me to. While I haven’t got any definite answers for you just yet, things have certainly changed around here in the last few weeks and not in a good way either.”

  “Figured things would go to shit while I was away.”

  “It wasn’t just due to your absence, bro.” Mick scrubbed a hand down his face before adding on quietly, “I have a bad feeling that your suspicions may actually be correct. But now isn’t the time or the place to discuss it.”

  Mick watched as Randall mulled over what he said to him before answering. “Okay, mate, let’s catch up at your place in a few days’ time where we can discuss this openly without being overheard. I’ll make some arrangements for Chloe to be somewhat occupied with something else so she wouldn’t be with me. How’s that sound?”

  “I could deal with that, just name the day and time and I’ll make sure I’m available.”

  “Good. Now, what about the Gang of 39, any leads there we can follow up on now?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a few. I’ve been waiting for you to come back to go over them with you.” Reaching into his desk drawer, Mick took out the thick file he had locked in there with all the records and information the Bomb Squad had accumulated over the past eighteen months they had been investigating the gang for. The folder contained all the information on all the current and noncurrent members of the gang.

  For the next few hours the two of them pored over the information and made some notes on some new leads they needed to look into further. They both came to the same conclusion that they needed to pay an informal visit to the Bomb Squad’s informant, and s
oon. Maybe the informant could shed some light on what was going on, then again maybe not.

  * * * *

  All day her head had been filled with thoughts of Mick, when it should be filled with liquor orders and food-supply orders that needed to be filled out and faxed through or phoned in. Shuffling her way into one of the back offices she used, Mary J yawned loudly as she sat down behind the desk and picked up the phone receiver to dial in an order for the pub. After finishing placing the pub’s order ten minutes later, her office was suddenly bombarded by two men, one of them with a fierce scowl on his face. Christian and the pub’s chef, Jerry, stormed over to her desk. The barman was rather quiet in his approach while Jerry was yelling and swearing his head off at her about god knows what. She couldn’t make any sense of anything he was screaming at her about.

  “Now, boys, do I need to separate the two of you again?”

  Christian was first to answer her as he placed some forms down on her desk. “No, I just came in here to give you the liquor order you left on the bar counter.” He then turned to glare at Jerry. “He has a problem though and if he doesn’t start showing you some damn respect, I’m going to kick him in the balls.”

  “Boys, there will be no fighting in my office or in the pub for that matter. Thank you, Christian, for the order forms. You may leave now, sweetie, and I’ll deal with Jerry by myself.” Mary J turned her gaze to the chef as Christian left the office. “And you, sweetie, what can I do for you and that frown of yours?”