Trouble in a Tight Dress (Six Points Security, #1) Page 20

  She shot him a look that said she knew he was trying to get a rise out of her. “Best two out of three gets to pick?”

  Austin grinned. “You’re on.”

  Nina got back into her usual stance, but this time when she tried to throw him off balance, he countered the motion and flipped her over his shoulder and onto the mat. He used his weight to pin her, and then raised her arms above her head and anchored them there with one hand. She jerked in a futile attempt to break free, her breasts rising and falling with each labored breath.

  Seeing her all stretched out like an offering was more temptation than he could handle. Not to mention, the way she wriggled against him was making him harder than diamonds. Giving in to the urge, he sank into a kiss that made them both moan out loud.

  Even if he lived to a hundred, he seriously doubted he’d ever get enough of her. She was his drug of choice, his first thought in the morning and the very last thing on his mind before he went to sleep at night. And sometimes, in the middle of the night, he woke with the need to have her.

  “Marry me,” he said when he finally came up for air.

  Shock registered in her whiskey eyes. Then a crinkle formed above her nose, the one she got when she thought he’d just lost his mind. “Most men get down on one knee and offer a big honking ring.”

  “I’m not most men.”

  She snorted. “That’s good, because I’m not into most men, and I’m not into flashy jewelry.”

  “I’ll get you any damn ring you want. Just say yes.”

  The crinkle got deeper. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I’m serious. I love you, Nina. You’re everything to me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So what do you say?”

  She stared at him over the space of a few heartbeats, and then her eyes got all dark and dreamy. “Nina Flint. That has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

  The breath he’d been holding came out in a whoosh, as a feeling of elation swept over him. “The best.”

  Smiling, she linked her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. The taste of her, the feel of her, that throaty little sound she made: it all blended together, seducing his senses until nothing else existed but her. He was lost, completely and totally, and he loved every second of it.

  But then his phone sounded with a familiar ringtone and yanked him back to reality.

  “Don’t answer it,” Nina murmured against his mouth.

  “I have to, it’s Ty. It might be important.”

  Ty had driven down to south Florida for some kind of martial arts tournament. Normally, that meant he went off the radar until his matches were over, which should be in another day or two. For him to call this early didn’t bode well. Biting back a curse, Austin got up off the mat and stalked across the room to where he’d left his phone.

  “You better be bleeding or on fire,” he said when he answered the call.

  “I’m in jail, is that close enough?”

  The irritation in his brother’s voice made it clear he wasn’t screwing around. “Shit, what happened?”

  “Long story. I’ll tell you all about it after you bail me out.”

  That didn’t sound good. Austin dragged one hand through his hair. “How much?”

  “Ten thousand.”

  “This better be a damn good story.” He jotted down the name of the correctional facility and ended the call. Annoyed, he glanced over at Nina, and the tightness in his chest loosened. As long as he had her by his side, everything else was details. “You up for a road trip?”

  “Sure, where to?”

  “Okalatchee. Ty got arrested. He said he’d fill us in after we bail him out.”

  For a few seconds, she looked too stunned to speak, which wasn’t a surprise, considering how Ty was one of the more centered members of the Flint family. “Do I have time to grab a shower before we go? I’m all sweaty.”

  The thought of her wet and naked had him rethinking his sense of urgency. “A shower sounds great. I’ll even wash your back.”

  She arched one eyebrow. “If you shower with me, we’ll do more than wash each other’s backs.”

  “I know.” His grin widened as a blast of heat shot through him. Pulling her close, he nuzzled her neck and he loved the breathless sound she made when his teeth grazed a sensitive spot. “You got a problem with that?”

  “Not at all,” she said, her hand on the back of his head. “But won’t your brother?”

  “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He scooped her up in his arms and started toward the showers. “Besides, he interrupted our engagement celebration. That alone deserves a few extra minutes behind bars.”

  She laughed, and a slow, sexy grin spread over her face. “In that case, the first one naked gets to stand under the spray.”

  WANT TO KNOW WHY TY’S in the slammer? His book, Danger in a Dive Bar, is now available! Click HERE to get your copy.

  HERE’S A SNEAK PEEK:

  After ninety minutes of walking along the side of the road in the blistering South Florida sun, Tyler Flint seriously regretted ignoring his sister’s advice about sunscreen.

  His jeans and T-shirt protected most of his body, but his arms, neck, and face already felt crispy from sun exposure. In his defense, he hadn’t planned for his car to break down in the middle of the Everglades. Or that his phone wouldn’t be able to pick up a signal. And after walking for this long, he sure as hell thought he would have run into another human being.

  Wiping sweat from his brow, Ty glanced at the canal to his right. Two huge alligators basked along the bank with their mouths wide open, but thankfully they showed no interest in making him into an early-afternoon snack.

  If his car hadn’t died, he could have already reached Sarasota, where he and his buddies had planned to spend a few days drinking beer and picking up women. It was exactly what he needed to dull the sting from his showing at the South Florida Martial Arts Competition over the weekend.

  Not that it had been a total bust. He’d placed fourth, which was nothing to sneeze at, especially considering it was his first time at an actual competition. Sensei Toshiko had been pleased with his performance. But anything less than the top of the podium felt like a defeat to Ty, most likely because he came from a family filled with highly competitive overachievers. As the fifth of six kids and the youngest boy, he’d felt the pressure to be the best since he was old enough to crawl.

  A flash of light in the distance provided a welcome distraction from his troubles. Squinting, Ty raised one hand to shield his face from the sun, and relief went through him when he realized the light was a reflection off a car windshield. As the car got closer, he spotted a bar of lights on the roof, a sure sign it belonged to law enforcement. Maybe his streak of bad luck was about to change.

  Ty waved his arms in the air to flag the cop down, and when the cruiser got close, it pulled onto the soft shoulder not far from the gators.

  There was a six-pointed gold star on the side of the vehicle, along with the words “Okalatchee Sheriff’s Department.” The engine shut off, and a man stepped out of the car, his expression impossible to read.

  “Good afternoon, Officer. Thank you for stopping.”

  The cop nodded in acknowledgment as he strode toward Ty. He was a big guy, at least six two, late twenties or maybe early thirties, with the build of someone who used to exercise but let it all go to hell. His tan uniform looked a size too small, with the buttons of his shirt holding on for dear life. And even though sunglasses concealed his eyes, Ty could tell the guy was sizing him up.

  “I don’t recognize you from around these parts.” The cop’s voice was a thick, heavy drawl. The metal nameplate pinned to the right side of his shirt indicated his name was E. Taylor. “You got ID?”

  “Sure thing, Officer.” Ty fished his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and retrieved his driver’s license. “My car broke down a few miles back, and my phone isn’t picking up a signal. Do y
ou know anyone with a tow truck who could bring it to a garage?”

  Sheriff Taylor grunted as he inspected the license, as though he wasn’t sure it was real. At last, he handed it back. “Jed’s the only one in town with a tow truck. If you want, I can give you a lift.”

  Finally, some good news. Ty smiled and a little of the tension relaxed in his muscles. “Thanks. That would be great.”

  Taylor grunted again. It seemed to be his preferred method of communication. He gestured toward his cruiser. “Go on and get in—no, not the front. Get in the back.”

  It wouldn’t be Ty’s first ride in the back of a squad car, but at least this time he wouldn’t be doing it while wearing handcuffs or zip ties. As a teenager, he’d been a bit of a delinquent, especially after the hormones kicked in and he rebelled against his parents’ rules.

  His final arrest came at the age of seventeen, when he and his buddies had thought it would be cool to take Jacob’s father’s convertible out for a joyride. The disappointment on his mother’s face when she bailed him out had been enough to put him on the straight and narrow from that point forward.

  Two hours and an ungodly towing bill later, Ty and his car were at a garage that looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned in a decade and reeked of grease and stale cigarettes. Three of the four bay doors were rolled open, letting in much-needed fresh air. A pickup truck was on one of the hydraulic lifts, while Ty’s vintage black Camaro was in the bay beside it.

  “Yep, your water pump’s shot.” The mechanic wiped his hands with a rag. The patch sewn onto his grungy overalls read Calvin, while a big wad of chewing tobacco was tucked between his cheek and gums. He took off his cap, scratched his head, and tugged the cap back on. “It’s too late to get the part today, but if I order it now, it should be here first thing in the morning.”

  Ty’s spirits sank at the news. So much for his luck getting better. “How fast can you fix it once the part arrives?”

  “About an hour, two tops.” The mechanic paused to spit tobacco juice into a red plastic cup. “These older cars are a lot easier to work with. All I gotta do is yank the old pump out and slide the new one in. You might want to go ahead and replace the radiator hoses while you’re at it. These ones look like they’re starting to rot.”

  “Yeah, sure. Is there someplace nearby where I can grab some dinner?” He hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and his stomach was growling like a starving hyena. And while he was there, he’d call Jay and Carlos and ask them to come pick him up. No way was he staying in this backwoods town for any longer than he absolutely had to, not when he could be drinking a cold one on the forty-foot yacht Jay had chartered.

  Calvin glanced over at the skinny guy working on the pickup. “Should we send him to Darryl’s?”

  “Uh-uh. Darryl ain’t been the same ever since his wife left. Send him to the Swamp. It’s closer and the food’s better.” The skinny guy’s gaze flicked over to Ty. “Make sure to tell Lola we sent you so she’ll give us a free pitcher the next time we come in. You’ll love her. She’s a real spitfire.”

  Something in the guy’s voice had Ty doubting the sincerity of his statement. Seeing how the rest of his day had gone, Lola was probably a three-eyed circus freak in desperate search of a husband. On the bright side, at least it would make for an interesting story over a few beers on the boat.

  Hoping for the best but expecting a train wreck, he followed the mechanic’s directions to a small building two blocks over that looked like its best days had come and gone a long time ago. There was a sign out front with the picture of an alligator and the words “The Swamp Bar & Grill” written above it in big green letters. A dozen or so vehicles were parked in the lot, which gave Ty hope that the food wouldn’t be all that bad.

  Here goes nothing, he thought as he crossed the lot and went inside.

  Order your copy HERE!

  DEAR READERS,

  I hope you enjoyed Trouble in a Tight Dress: A Six Points Security Novel. If you did, could you spread the word and leave a review on your favorite online bookseller? Honest reviews from readers help authors and make it easier for people to find books they will enjoy.

  Thanks and happy reading!

  Lori

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  More books by Lori Sjoberg:

  *

  Southern Alphas

  Driven

  Fractured

  Devoted

  Denied

  Six Points Security

  Trouble in a Tight Dress

  Danger in a Dive Bar

  Indecent Obsession

  Can’t Hold Back (Coming Soon!)

  The Grave Series

  Grave Intentions

  Grave Destinations

  Grave Vengeance

  Grave Attraction