Sentinel's Kiss, page 1
Sentinel’s Kiss is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Loveswept Ebook Original
Copyright © 2017 by Jamie S. Kleinkauf-Schmidt
Excerpt from Stud by Jamie K. Schmidt copyright © 2017 by Jamie S. Kleinkauf-Schmidt
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
LOVESWEPT is a registered trademark and the LOVESWEPT colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Stud by Jamie K. Schmidt. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
Ebook ISBN 9780399594038
Cover design: Okay Creations
Cover photograph: Dmitry Raykin/iStock
randomhousebooks.com
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Dedication
Acknowledgments
By Jamie K. Schmidt
About the Author
Excerpt from Stud
Prologue
TWO YEARS AGO
Slap…Slap…Slap.
Josh “Sentinel” Lehmen was having the best sex of his life in the parking lot of a strip mall. Ashley Carver’s shirt and bra were pushed up over her bodacious tits. The same tits that bounced when he fucked her on the backseat of his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The occasion? They had buried his sister today.
He pushed that thought out of his mind before the grief unmanned him and he wound up sobbing on the beautiful woman he couldn’t believe was coming on his cock. His ass was exposed to anyone who cared to look as he stood in the doorway of the backseat and pumped into her sweet pussy.
Ashley deserved better than this, even if she had followed him from the funeral hoping for an interview. But instead of being the shark journalist he would have fucked and forgot, she had held his hand and pretended she didn’t see him blink away tears.
“Josh,” she sighed, arching into him. Her lips were pouty and swollen from their endless kisses in the back alley. He had been so far gone, he would have taken her there up against the wall by the dumpster. But in a moment of sanity, he dragged her to his car, where they’d at least have a bit more privacy.
They had started out at the coffeehouse next door and talked for hours until they got hungry enough to try the sketchy Chinese-food place. Surprisingly enough, the food was amazing. They stuffed themselves full of dumplings and egg rolls. Then they sat and drank endless pots of strong oolong tea, talking about everything and anything.
Aside from her first stupid question, “How do you feel?” which he answered by being a smart-ass, “With my hands,” they didn’t mention Sarah, or how she died, or how her fucking husband was no longer a suspect.
“Josh, not so rough,” Ashley gasped.
He glanced down at the sexy blonde. Ashley had a body like a stacked cheerleader, all soft curves and strong muscles. “Sorry,” he muttered. He was hard as a rock and if he stared into her eyes, he would come. But he didn’t want to. Not yet. She brought him peace. Peace he hadn’t felt since the last time he was home.
He didn’t have a home now that his sister was dead and the army no longer wanted him.
“Do you like that?” he purred, reaching between them to stroke the silky bud between her legs.
So wet. So wet for him.
She bit her lip and his cock twitched inside her. He’d like to bite her and do a whole lot more. But the backseat of his Jeep was limiting, so he reined in the dark desires. She was a nice girl. She didn’t need to be around a prick like him. A gentleman wouldn’t have kissed her. A nice guy wouldn’t have used her sweet, sympathetic nature to put her flat on her back while he got off.
Sentinel wasn’t a nice guy. And while he had been an officer, he was no gentleman. But he could make sure that any regrets she had about tonight had nothing to do with the sex.
“Come for me, baby.”
And she did.
Chapter 1
It had been two years since Sentinel saw the face of his sister’s murderer. Two years of searching for the bastard who got away with it. Instead of a rifle scope, though, Sentinel was watching him through the telephoto lens of a camera. Stan had shaved his head bald and grown a goatee, but Sentinel would have recognized his brother-in-law even with a bag over his head.
Two years had passed since Evil and Warden had to hold him back from lunging across his sister’s grave to take down the son of a bitch who cried crocodile tears at the burial. The law couldn’t prove Stan had anything to do with Sarah’s death, but Sentinel knew the truth. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind Stan had beaten and tortured his wife before stuffing her in the trunk and driving her car into Hammer Lake, two miles from their home in Pennsylvania.
Sentinel ran through his options. He wouldn’t be able to make the hit on Stan look like anything that could even remotely be traced back to him. That meant he couldn’t blow his head off with a sniper rifle, or put a bomb in his car, or beat him to death slowly. Sentinel’s Special Forces record was almost as well known as his animosity toward his brother-in-law. What he really wanted to do was hook Stan up to the back of his motorcycle and drag him along the highway while his friends rode cover.
Several scenarios entertained him while Stan, oblivious, mowed his lawn. Sentinel could come up behind him and slit his throat from ear to ear. He could suffocate him in his sleep. Hell, he was pretty sure he could poison him and make it look like a heart attack. Didn’t matter how he did it, Stan wasn’t going to see the dawn. Tonight his sister would have justice. Sentinel waited for peace to enter his soul at that thought, but it wasn’t coming. Maybe after the cocksucker took his last breath.
Sentinel had been about to put the camera away when she came into focus. His finger clicked on the shutter and he caught her walking up to Stan, blond hair flowing in the breeze, her luscious lips curved into a tentative smile. The wind pulled at her fitted dress, outlining her lush curves. He hadn’t seen her in person for two years either. But instead of rage, his body tightened with lust. What was Ashley Carver doing here, of all places? It had to have something to do with Sarah’s death.
He was going to have to risk going in closer. Tossing the camera in the glove box, Sentinel pulled his ball cap low on his forehead. He climbed out of the rental car, slipping on a pair of shades. He missed his Harley, but he couldn’t chance spooking Stan if he heard a motorcycle and looked up and saw Sentinel bearing down on him. Crossing the street, Sentinel fitted an earpiece into his ear and pointed the slim microphone that Ryder had given him toward Stan’s yard. Once on the sidewalk, Sentinel bent down, pretending to tie his shoe. He couldn’t stay exposed out here for very long. He didn’t want the neighbors to remember a strange man lurking the day before Stan turned up dead.
The microphone picked up Ashley’s voice. “I’ve been assigned to do a follow-up on your wife’s murder. And I was hoping that you and I could sit down and talk for a while.”
Sentinel stifled a groan. Just what he didn’t need. And she’d be after him next for an interview, if he didn’t already have a message from her on his phone. How did she even track Stan down? Sentinel had been looking for him for two years. Ryder had just handed him a folder containing some pictures and this address yesterday. Stan was going by a different last name and had just moved into this house in Ronkonkoma.
“I’ve worked very hard to put this behind me, Miss Carver. You being here dredges up all the terrible memories.”
Fuck you.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Sentinel could see the remorse in her expression even at this distance. He remembered Ashley’s kindness and empathy from when she had interviewed him for the initial story about his sister’s death. She had scored major points with him when she hadn’t dug deeper into Sarah’s life. Sentinel connected with her at a level that shook him. He had told her things he never told anyone, none of which had anything to do with his sister.
Despite the circumstances, or maybe because of them, the sex had been amazing. He had told her that he would call her, but of course he never did. Though in his defense, Ashley had his number and had never called him either.
She ran the story but left him out of it. Sentinel wasn’t sure if he was relieved or offended. She went back to Manhattan and he wandered all over the States until Evil asked him to buy a bar with him and offered him a chance to put his military skills to use. Evil had made a connection with a judge who was just as sick
Evil gathered the Sentinels of Babylon, their childhood crew, together. The SOBs had been kids who grew up to be guardians of more than just one another and the Long Island town of Babylon. While Sentinel joined the army, Evil became a cop. Warden had been a high-security prison guard and Ryder went into the CIA, which explained all the high-tech toys and intel she always had her hands on. They all swore an oath to bring justice to those who had none. In short, Sentinel and his friends were vigilantes.
“I don’t see the point in revisiting all of this.” Stan’s reply jolted him out of his thoughts. “My wife’s murderer is still free.”
Not for long.
“I’ve been led to believe that the police have received new information in the case.”
Ashley stunned them both with that news.
“I’m sorry to have barged in on you without notice. I was worried you wouldn’t take my call. But I never meant to cause you distress.”
Distress? More like panic. Sentinel would have grinned if he didn’t want that information more than he wanted his next breath.
“Here’s my card, Mr. Stevens. If you change your mind and want to talk, give me a call.”
Sentinel turned and hurried back to his car. He didn’t hear what Stan was saying, but it sounded like he was trying to get more details out of Ashley. But she was already walking away. She’d have her interview, but on her terms. Sentinel tailed her out of the neighborhood, sparing Stan one last look in his rearview mirror.
Soon, motherfucker.
He called around until one of the SOBs picked up the phone. “Warden, I need you to set up twenty-four-hour surveillance on Stan.”
“I thought this was a done deal. The Judge is calling tomorrow.”
The Judge gave the SOBs their assignments, a list of who was going to die because they got off on a technicality or had slipped through the cracks of the system.
“Something came up,” Sentinel said. “But don’t worry. I can handle it. You just make sure someone is always watching this asshole in case he decides to rabbit. I’ll be back at the bar soon and we can talk more then.”
“You need any other help?”
“No, I got this.” Sentinel hung up and concentrated on staying two cars behind Ashley.
At a stoplight, he spared a glance at his messages. She hadn’t called him, but then again she hadn’t called Stan either. Ashley had just showed up to catch his reaction to her news. Playing a hunch, Sentinel veered off and drove to the Blue Line, the bar he co-owned with his best friend, Evan “Evil” Villiers.
Evil had stepped down from the killing at the end of the summer because of Lucy, a spitfire attorney whom Evil had been chasing for years. It galled Sentinel that Evil would turn his back on the necessary evil that they did in the name of justice, but he couldn’t argue that his friend had never seemed happier. In fact, he was probably upstairs screwing Lucy’s brains out right now. Evil lived above the bar in a suite of rooms next to their VIP lounge.
“Anybody been in looking for me?” he asked the new bartender, Naomi. She had been recommended by one of his army buddies, and so far she’d been handling the place better than he ever had. He might consider making her manager, if she proved to be as trustworthy as she was gorgeous. He kept his distance out of respect for Warden, whose tongue dragged on the floor whenever he looked at her. But Sentinel was still a man and couldn’t help an admiring glance at her ample cleavage. He blamed it on the little devil tattoo that peeked out at him from the V-neck of her shirt.
“Nope. It’s been quiet,” Naomi said, not caring if he stared. If anything, she leaned over the bar so he could get a better look.
Sentinel glanced away. He was still a little too wrapped up with Ashley and the new information on Sarah’s murder to seriously flirt with his cute employee. “I’ll be upstairs. If a blond chick named Ashley comes in, call me.”
“You got it, boss.” Naomi gave him a thumbs-up.
Even though Sentinel had an apartment a few streets over, this was home. He took the stairs two at a time and walked into the VIP lounge. It stretched along the entire second floor of the bar, with the exception of Evil’s suite and the locked boardroom where the SOBs conducted their secret business.
Even this early in the day, the VIP lounge had a few people playing pool and darts. Some hung out in booths, and as always, there were gorgeous women ready to party. Normally he’d relax with a beer and maybe a blow job in one of the secluded alcoves, but he avoided eye contact with a few of his regulars.
If Ashley showed up, he wanted to get her alone in the boardroom and find out what she knew about his sister’s case. Then after he was done pumping her for information, if they still had that crazy attraction going on, he’d take her back to his place and they could fuck in a bed this time. Or maybe they wouldn’t make it any farther than the couch in the corner. His cock was hard just thinking about how crazy they had been for each other.
He was nursing a beer when his phone buzzed.
Goldilocks is looking for Papa Bear, the text read.
Sentinel snorted. Naomi needed her ass smacked. He made a note to have Warden get on that. Naomi also eye-fucked Warden when she thought no one was looking.
Taking the stairs back down two at a time, Sentinel explained away his sudden nervousness at seeing her again as being the result of the news she had on Sarah’s death. However, unexpected pleasure washed over him at her smile.
“Josh?” She held out her hand. “It’s good to see you again.” Her blue eyes sparkled and her smile had a hint of wickedness to it. She was obviously thinking about their time in the Jeep, and it made him want her even more.
“Ashley, it’s been a long time.” Sentinel thought about kissing her hand, or yanking it so she fell into his arms. But at the last minute, his manners kicked in and he shook her hand like a gentleman. First time for everything.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she blushed a bit, which sent another jolt of desire through him. He had to get her upstairs before he made a fool out of himself and kissed her in front of the entire bar.
“What can I do for you?” he asked. He had a list, starting with licking her to orgasm and ending with her bouncing on top of him. Ashley’s eyes were dazed and she swayed toward him. It was like no time had passed between them. Part of him wanted to walk her into the nearest wall and pick up where they left off two years ago.
She bit her lip and he wanted to call her out on it. That was his job.
“Can I talk with you about something important?”
He didn’t want to talk. He wanted her naked and wet in his arms.
“In private?” Her voice was husky and low.
Come into my parlor—
“Sure, let’s go into my office.” His fingers tingled when he touched her back to guide her up to the VIP lounge.
“Have fun, Sentinel,” Naomi singsonged to them.
He cut her a glare over his shoulder, but Naomi just laughed. A definite ass smacking was in order.
Ashley’s eyes went wide when all conversation stopped as they walked into the VIP lounge.
“As you were,” he said in a bored voice, but he glared down a few of the women who were going to intercept them before they got to the boardroom. No, this was going to be a private party.
“What is this place?” Ashley asked, hurrying to catch up to him.
He smirked. She had been gawking at a couple kissing hot and heavy in the corner. Does that give you any ideas, baby? Maybe bring back a few memories?
“It’s the VIP lounge. You’re a VIP now. How does that feel?” He mocked the first question she ever asked him.
“Why do they call you Sentinel?” She craned her neck to take in all the bar regulars who were trying not to stare at her. He had never brought a strange woman up here before. They were curious to see who the newcomer was and if he was going to share.
