Page 69 of Deserving Cora
She turned at the last minute, giving him a frontal view of her naked perfection. He could see the mark he’d left on her chest clearly. It was dark red and huge and she was clearly right, her skin was extra sensitive. He’d have to keep that in mind the next time he gave her a hickey. And he was determined that therewouldbe a next time.
He could also see small bruises on her thighs and waist from where he’d held her a little too tightly. She wasn’t walking as if she was in pain, and he assumed she’d tell him if he was too rough, so he let himself feel a smidgen of male pride thathe’dbeen the one to mark her. Not only that, as she stood there staring at him, Pipe saw a bead of their combined come slowly make its way down her inner thigh.
She wrinkled her nose, then said, “No matter what happens. No matter if we find Lara or not, I’ll never forget or regret last night. You made me feel wanted, Pipe. Loved. Thank you.” With that, she turned and disappeared into the bathroom.
Pipe wanted to get up and go to her. Tell her that shewasloved. That shewaswanted. But they had stuff to do. And if he admitted his love for her, they’d probably end up back in bed. While he didn’t regret what they’d done either, and was anxious to do it again, he also felt the pressing need to find Lara. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the clock was ticking.
They’d made the first move, and Michaels had to know Cora wouldn’t turn around and leave town just because his goon wouldn’t let her see her friend. No, he’d be panicking, trying to fix the situation to his benefit. And Pipe had a feeling that wasn’t good news for Lara.
He needed to talk to Owl and Stone and see what, if anything, they’d found out last night at the strip club. Then they needed to make their move. Before Michaels could make his.
* * *
After meeting Owl and Stone for breakfast, they all headed upstairs to Owl’s room to discuss what the two men had learned the night before.
Cora sat in the only chair in the room, while Pipe found himself hovering near her. Owl was propped up against the headboard of the bed, and Stone paced back and forth.
“It was weird, man,” Stone said. “I went in there fully expecting to find out that Michaels had a favorite girl, and that’s why he was spending so much money. You know how it goes, a guy showers money and gifts on one of the girls because he has the delusion that they’ll marry and live happily ever after…and have really great sex for the rest of their lives. But that’s not what Michaels is doing. Yes, he’s throwing around money, gift cards, and crap he’s bought from those high-end stores as if he’s the money-fairy. But he gets lap dances fromallthe girls. He hasn’t shown a preference for any of them.”
“That’s not exactly true. He likes all the ones with big tits,” Owl said mildly.
“Does he have a schedule? When he goes to the club?” Pipe asked.
“Yeah. Every night. He’s only missed a few nights here and there in the last month,” Stone said.
Pipe frowned. “Was he there last night?”
“Nope,” Owl said.
“Bloody hell,” he swore, running a hand through his hair. “We freaked him out.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Stone agreed.
“Where does that leave us?” Owl asked.
“We could try going back and asking to see Lara again,” Pipe said. “Or we could see if we can break into the house and find her ourselves. Or call the cops and bring our concerns to them, see if they’d do a welfare check.”
“I’m thinking Brick wouldn’t be thrilled with the second option,” Cora suggested.
Pipe nodded. “Maybe not, but he also wouldn’t be surprised. Besides, who said we’d getcaughtbreaking in?”
“Uh…alarms, cameras, bodyguards,” Cora said with a shrug.
“I’m sure we could work around them, if we really needed to,” Owl said dismissively. “Should we go over the list of employees Tex sent?” Owl asked. “When I got back last night, I looked it over and there are some people who we could maybe use to our advantage.”
“Wait, what time did you get home last night?” Cora asked, the concern clear in her tone.
It was one more thing Pipe loved about her. How she was always worrying about others.
“Around two. Couldn’t sleep. It’s not a big deal. Anyway, after asking around at the club, it seems the same bodyguard always accompanies Michaels to the Blue Moon. Arlo Harvey.”
“Arlo. What kind of name is that?” Cora mumbled.
“What’s his background?” Pipe asked, trying not to laugh at Cora’s question.
“He’s twenty-seven. Was in the Marines for a few years right out of high school. Was injured, fell while walking across the base where he was stationed and broke his wrist pretty badly. Got a medical discharge and got a few jobs doing security at warehouses and businesses, before being hired by John Michaels after the lawsuits began to roll in for that drug he’d manufactured. He’s been with Ridge for a couple of years now,” Owl told the others.
“And?” Pipe asked.
