Free Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) by Michelle Betham

she was wrong.’
    Michael waited a few beats before he spoke again. ‘You’d better be right, kiddo.’
    ‘This is nobody else’s business…’
    Michael strode purposefully back over to Ben’s desk, leaning into him again, his expression hard and just as defiant. ‘No, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. If trouble comes here, to Paradise , because of something you did…’ And then, like a switch had suddenly been flicked, Michael’s whole demeanour changed and he stood up straight, once more backing away from the desk. ‘I came to give you these papers.’ He pulled a folded-over A4 envelope from his inside jacket pocket. ‘Something to do with the land the Lone Riders have just acquired. The proposed extension to their compound. Coby left them with me yesterday. I told him I’d pop them round to you. He said he’d appreciate it if you could look over them.’
    ‘Michael?’
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘Fiona. What she told you. She hasn’t…?’
    ‘She won’t say anything. I’ve already seen to that.’
    Ben felt his shoulders visibly sag with a relief he hadn’t realized was coming.
    ‘Let Coby know when you’ve looked over those plans. Okay?’
    Ben took the envelope from Michael, laying it down on the desk. ‘Yeah. Yeah, no problem.’
    Michael walked over to the door, turning around to look at Ben. ‘For your sake, especially, let’s hope not.’
     
    ***
     
    She closed her eyes, letting the warm water spill over her naked body. Sighing quietly she reached down to touch herself, smiling as she remembered the feel of his body against hers, his kiss; the way his fingers had touched her, played with her, threatened to invade her and then pulled back, leaving her with nothing but a delicious tingle and an ache that begged him to plunge into her, to touch her inside and out.
    Angling her hips slightly she widened her stance, just enough to allow the jet of water to shoot right where she needed it most, moaning deep as it sent a shiver of pure, unadulterated ecstasy tearing through her. Her whole body shuddered as her fingers, along with the warm water, brought her to a climax that seemed to intensify with each wave that washed over her. And she couldn’t stop her moans from growing louder; a long, low sound almost like a growl spilling forth as that final wave finished its work.
    Keeping her eyes closed she leaned back against the wall of the shower, laughing quietly, her fingers buried in her hair as she waited for her breathing to slow down, for her chest to stop heaving quite so fast. She hadn’t felt this turned on since she and Lennie had first got together. Before he’d changed into the violent, obsessed freak he’d now become. But she was fast beginning to forget the shit he’d put her through. She was fast beginning to forget he’d ever existed, because she had a new life to concentrate on. A new life she hadn’t envisaged involving a man quite so soon because relationships were something she’d vowed to steer clear of, after everything that had happened. But Ben Salter was a curveball she just hadn’t seen coming; one she’d grabbed hold of and now she didn’t want to let go. Not if he could make her feel this way. Because this was good . So good she’d finger-fucked herself too many times to remember since her visit to Ben’s office. The day dreams she now indulged in, the thoughts he was causing her to feel were a wonderful, welcome diversion from all the crap she needed to forget. But as exciting and hot as those day dreams and fantasies were, she knew they were no substitute for the real thing; for the very real diversion Ben could become.
    Stepping out of the shower she quickly got dressed and towel-dried her hair before blasting it roughly with the blow dryer. Staring in the mirror she smiled to herself, cocking her head to one side as she gently touched the now-almost invisible bruises on her neck. The scars were fading, and so were the memories. She actually felt ready to move