Releasing Raven [Braden Security 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “Let’s go and get lunch. Now I’m hungry.” Raven gave a sly grin at Brad.

  “Now you have told everyone that I’m yours, you have to look after me and satisfy my hunger.”

  “What kind of hunger are we talking about?” Brad was liking this new secure Raven and her teasing.

  “What do you say we grab something on the way and go back to my place? Maybe we can continue where you left off,” Raven said as she kissed him on his nose.

  Brad laughed as he stood with her in his arms and gently sat her down in her chair.

  “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chase found James with Clay in Grant’s office. The three of them were bent over Grant’s desk, looking at pictures and papers spread over the top.

  “Hey guy, what’s up?” Chase asked, walking in and flopping down on the couch along the back wall.

  “What the fuck, Chase?” James turned and looked at Chase, who sat back with his head resting on the back of the couch with his eyes closed.

  James left the desk and walked over until he was standing right in front of Chase.

  “What the hell happened to you? Sam didn’t say anything about you coming back when I talked to her a couple of days ago.” James sat beside Chase.

  “You look like shit and smell like it, too.”

  “I love you too, bro. I’m done.” Chase open one of his eyes and looked at James.

  “What do you mean you’re done?”

  “I went through the whole damn course that Sam put me through, and I’m proud to say that I passed.” Chase took a long sigh and closed his eye again.

  James slapped Chase on the thigh. “I knew you could do it. It couldn’t have been that bad, Sam’s a good teacher.”

  Chase who now had his eyes opened, glaring at James. “Well let me just say that I wasn’t the teacher’s pet.”

  “What do you mean? Or, do I have to go and find out from Sam?” James asked with concern.

  “Leave it, James.” Chase sat up wearily.

  James could see the weariness and sadness that Chase seemed to be trying to hide and decided to let it go.

  “Well I’m glad you’re back. We just might have some work for you. I think it’s right up your alley.”

  “No problem. I’m here to help, isn’t that what I trained for?” Chase put his elbows on his thighs and looked back at James.

  “You always support the city and do what you can for it. Now I need you to go schmooze with a bunch of politicians and do some snooping for us.”

  “Okay, fill me in,” Chase asked as he looked over at Grant sitting behind his desk with Clay straddling a corner of it.

  It took the three of them a half an hour to fill Chase in on everything. As he heard the story, Chase got upset that Brad and Braden Security were being slandered by the city. Most of the men and women he had met over time, at charities and events, he had respected for their views. He didn’t like to think that a few of them might not be on the up and up. It would be no hardship for him to take his place back in society and rub shoulders with them. He had hoped for a more exciting part, but he love being included in their capers. Chase hadn’t realized the work and training that the men had gone through to be the elite bunch that made up Braden Security. He had gone into the financial sector with James going into the army. Now he could look back and see that they had been watching his ass every time he had pushed to go along. At least now he could contribute.

  “So Raven’s brother is Les Windfield? I’ve heard about him and seen him at a few functions, but never had the pleasure of talking to him.”

  “Well we’d like you to get to be his best friend. We’re sure he’s the key to all this,” James told him, getting up from the couch and, taking a picture off the desk, he handed it to Chase.

  “There’s a gala tonight with all the big wigs. It a charity event for underprivileged kids. They will all be there. I’m glad you came back. I didn’t know who to send and not raise suspicions. I know you are my brother, but no one will think twice about you attending, after all this is part of your world,” James said as he slapped Chase on his back as he got up from the couch.

  “Yeah, well I better run to my tailor’s and hope that he has something I can wear.” Chase pulled at his shirt.

  “As you can see, I have beefed up a bit and nothing fits.” Chase moved to leave.

  Clay stopped him before he could get to the door with a man hug.

  “I missed you, brat. Glad you’re back.” Clay let him go and gave him a slap on his back that almost pushed him out the door.

  Chase turned to Clay with a wince. “Glad to be back, but next time don’t be so enthusiastic about it, okay? I bruise easy.”

  “Get out of here. After you’re prettied up, come back and we will suit you up with some equipment. I want to hear what is going on in the conversations tonight. I think we might be one of the main topics.”

  “Oh, by the way, How did you get pass Madge? You’re not exactly dressed for the office,” James asked.

  “She wouldn’t let Brad in the other day.”

  Chase gave James and the others a sly grin. “Did you forget this is me, Chase? I don’t have trouble with the ladies.”

  Clay reached out and grabbed a pen off the desk and hit Chase on the back of his head as he made his way out the door.

  “Get out of here, you hound dog. Just make us proud tonight.” Clay laughed as Chase just raised his hand as to brush them off and continued down the hall to the front.

  Chapter Twenty

  Brad and Raven grabbed McDonald’s on the way home. They didn’t want to waste any time on picking up something substantial. Brad parked his truck and helped Raven out and hurried her into her house. All Brad could think of was holding Raven and touching her. He had thought of nothing else every night when his dreams replayed their night together. Brad could still remember her soft skin, breathless moans, and tight sheath. He had never had any woman in his life make such an impression on him that he was able to taste her in his dreams. He awoke every morning like an addict waiting for his next fix. Opening the door, he pushed her chair through and reached out to grab her in his arms.

  When a sound came from the kitchen, Brad stopped and both he and Raven looked up and saw Mary standing in the doorway.

  “I guess I don’t have to ask if you forgot about our workout,” Mary said with a smile as she looked at both of them looking back at her.

  “How did you get here?” Brad asked her, standing up, pulling his shirt out of his pants, then putting a casual hand on Raven chair handles, trying to look innocent.

  “No need to pretend with me. I was young once. I do remember when I couldn’t wait for me and my husband to be alone. Sorry to say, I can’t do that for you today. My car is not being delivered until four. They picked it up for service as soon as I got here.”

  “Don’t say that, Mary, I—We both like your company.” Raven pickup up the McDonald’s bag from her lap.

  “All we were going to do is have lunch.”

  “Sure you were,” Mary said to Raven with an indulgent smile.

  “Why don’t I leave you with Mary and you can do your routine? I’ll come back and bring supper,” Brad said to a now blushing Raven.

  “What about lunch?”

  “I’ll grab something on the way back to the office. The sooner the team can figure out a plan, the sooner I will be able to spend time with you and not have to worry about charges hanging over my head.”

  “Sure, I understand.” Raven turned her chair toward Brad as he walked back to the door.

  “Promise you’ll be back for supper?”

  “Nothing could stop me,” Brad said as he rushed out the door. Jumping in his truck, he let out a long breath. He had gotten so hard in anticipation of having Laura, that he knew he couldn’t stay and make polite conversation with her and Mary. Brad knew he would have to take himself in hand under a cold shower soon. He couldn
’t go to his place, as he told Raven he was on his way to the office. Hopefully he could sneak into his office without the guys knowing and take care of his problem before he joined them. He knew he wouldn’t be much good with any strategy until he could get one head under control.

  Brad made it to the office in record time and was lucky that he was able to sneak in the back door and to his office without anyone knowing he was there. Throwing his clothes off, he walked into his small bathroom attached to his office and turned the water on. Stepping in, he shivered as the first cold drops reached his skin. Reaching a hand down, he briskly took himself in hand and thought of Raven and all the things he had planned to do to her.

  He had been planning for so long that it came across as a picture show that he was more than familiar with. It didn’t take long for him to be spewing on the tiles and gasping for breath. Turning off the shower after a quick rub down with soap, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Walking back with his head down into his office, he had to smile, even make-believe sex with Raven was better than he had ever had. Noticing a pair of shoes beside the couch, he looked up and saw James sitting there looking in a magazine.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Grant’s office, working on some strategy to this mess.”

  “Well we were, until I heard the alert go on that someone was coming in the back way. When I saw your light on, I thought I would stop and ask you if you had come up with anything. But it didn’t take me long to hear that something else had come up, and it had nothing to do with any strategy to do with the case.” James looked over the top of the magazine as he spoke to Brad.

  “Why didn’t you handle that problem of yours with Raven? You left with her.”

  “You know, you could have left when you knew what was going on,” Brad said to James with a flushed face as he gathered up his clothes off the floor and returned to the bathroom.

  “And what fun would that have been? It’s not very often that our first-class sniper is caught with his pants down. You usually always play the calm and collected part around us. It’s nice to know that you have the same base instincts as the rest of us. You should be thanking me, it could have been Madge.” James laughed as he put the magazine down and watched a now dressed Brad come out of the bathroom.

  “Well keep it to yourself,” Brad told him as he walked around his desk and took his chair.

  James sat up and put his arms across his chest. “Now that’s out of the way, I want to bring you up to speed with what we plan.”

  “Sure, shoot,” Brad said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk.

  “Chase came back. I don’t know if you saw him. He sure didn’t look the same as when he left here.”

  “Yeah, I saw him, he might look different, but his manners haven’t changed.”

  “Well we all know Chase. Anyway, now he’s back, we are going to send him to a charity event tonight that all the big wigs will be attending. We’re hoping that he might be able to pick up some clues that we can use.”

  “Don’t you think that might be too obvious sending him in? After all he is your brother.”

  “I thought of that, but nobody knows that Chase hangs around with us. He usually is out on the town with a girl or two. I think he can play up his playboy image and downplay his acceptance of our work. It shouldn’t be hard to convince them that he wouldn’t get his hands dirty with our business. It would be beneath him. Clay and Grant agree.”

  “Well I can see Chase playing that angle up. He might just be able to schmooze with the right people. Have you heard back from Angel and Cyn?”

  “Angel called a while ago. He doesn’t like Jim any better than Les. Angel said he seemed too jittery for a trainer. When Angel asked him about certain workouts, he skirted around the subjects and told Angel he would have to join to find out. Angel took out a membership and is hoping that he’ll find out more working out at the gym. He’s going to be back there first thing in the morning. Cyn said that she spoke to Lucy and she seems on the up and up. So really nothing on that front for now.”

  “Do you really think Carlos is in on this? It seems to be a bit of a stretch to me.”

  “Yes, I really do. With his niece working at Les’s campaign headquarter, there’s no better way for Carlos to get his ear.”

  “Okay, I give you that. But how are we going to get close enough to the niece to find out?”

  “That’s were Chase is going to come in again. The niece will probably be at the fundraiser tonight with Les. Grant found out he likes to bring a few of his gofers everywhere he goes instead of his wife. I’m sure if Chase puts on the moves on this girl, that he should be able to weasel something out of her.”

  “I sure hope Chase is up to everything you expect from him. A lot is riding on him tonight.”

  “If he hadn’t trained with Sam, I might have second thoughts about him handling it. But knowing Sam, she probably put Chase through every pace she could think of. Chase looked like a changed man today. I don’t think we have to worry.” James got up and headed for the door.

  “Well I’m off for dinner with my wife, Clay, and Laura. Grant is ordering in if you want to join him.”

  “No, I’m off to Raven’s. Mary was there today, but she should have left by now.” Brad got up and grabbed his keys from the top of his desk.

  “Oh, so that explains everything.” James laughed as he wandered down the hall.

  Brad just gritted his teeth and waited a few minutes and followed James out to the elevator.

  Brad arrived just in time to catch Mary on her way out of Raven’s. Stopping on the driveway beside her car, he asked, “How did you two make out today?”

  Mary slid into the car and rolled down the window so she could answer Brad.

  “Not as good as I would have liked. Raven had a hard time concentrating today. Do you know anything about that?” She smiled up at Brad.

  “Well I couldn’t be sure, but I’m sure that you have a guess?” Brad smiled back.

  “It’s not hard to figure out, she made me quit early and get everything set up just the way she wanted it for tonight. The door’s open. That why I waited for you to arrive. Supper’s in the oven, everything else you’ll have to find out on your own. Good luck.” Mary wound the window up and back out.

  Brad watched her until her car disappeared down the street, then continued on to the house. He wondered what Raven had planned. Mary sure made it sound mysterious.

  Brad let himself into the house and found candles lit in the hall and a few other rooms. He could hear music coming from the bedroom. Hurriedly, he toed his shoes off and walked silently down the hall. Stopping in front of Raven’s bedroom, he peaked in. There, lying on the bed dress in barely there lingerie, was Raven. Brad wet his lips as he took in the scrumptious feast that she made laying there waiting for him. Moving forward toward the bed, he started to unbutton his shirt with shaky hands. He was as hard as a rock, and couldn’t believe that less than an hour ago, he thought he had taken the edge off. Pushing his shirt off, he reached down and clumsily unzipped his pants, releasing his now painful erection. It didn’t help that Raven laid back and just watched him with eagle eyes, zeroing in on his every movement. Finally rid of all his clothes, he climbed onto the bed and move fully over Raven, holding himself up by his elbows and knees.

  “Is this supper? It looks more like dessert to me?” Brad asked, leaning down, giving her a quick peck on the nose.

  “I thought we’d try something different tonight. It gets boring always starting with the entree.” Raven reached out and brushed Brad’s hair that had fallen over his eyes.

  “I like your way of thinking. Now have you given some thought on how this desert is going to be served? Or is it buffet?”

  “Well, I had a few thoughts, but nothing that can be served another time.”

  “I think I’ll be greedy and go for the whole buffet tonight.” Brad leaned down, devouring her mouth, moaning at the unique taste that
was Raven as his tongue slipped inside. Without breaking the kiss, he moved his arms around her, letting her feel some his weight, then flipped her over, so he was now on the bottom and she was sprawled over him.

  Raven put her hands on his chest and raised herself from his lips. “You sure are potent tonight.”

  “I don’t know about you, but this is all I couldn’t think of all day. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is leaving you today. I had a hard time sitting in the truck on the way back to the office. It really stunned me that Mary was here waiting for you. My mind was full of all the wicked things that I wanted to do to you.”

  “I had a few of those thoughts myself. I had a hard time concentrating today on my workout with Mary. I think she finally admitted defeat and helped me with my plans for tonight.”

  “Well I love these kind of surprises,” Brad said, reaching down, cupping her two ass cheeks with his hands and giving them a squeeze.

  Raven moved her hand up to cup his face. “I just wish at times like this that I could just move my leg and straddle you the way I want to right now.”

  Brad moved his hands up and hugged her tightly “Don’t worry about it. I’m here and I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Kissing her deeply, he rolled them again until she lay under him.

  Coming up on his elbow, he wickedly grinned down at her. “Now what do you say I take advantage of the buffet you so longingly spread before me.”

  Brad put his lips on her neck and sucked the skin just below her ear. Getting a moan from her, he left that spot and made his way down to her breasts. Licking the tips of first one than the other through the flimsy material covering them, he pulled on them strongly, sucking them deeply into his mouth. Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes that were watching his every move. “God you taste so sweet. I could sustain myself for the rest of my life just on your taste.”