Hoss’s Limits (House of Lustz #2)

Cady Chapter 8

This whole night had my head spinning from spending hours with Hoss to coming home and finding Flint in my home. I should have quit while I was ahead. That would mean thanking Hoss and sending him on his way. Did I do that? No, I had to yell at him. I wasn’t angry with him over Flint. I was upset over seeing his woman and knowing a man like him was out of reach of me. I’d let myself dream a little as he stuck close to me all night. And I recalled the kiss in the elevator. Even though all women knew a guy kissing you didn’t mean much. To cover my disappointment and hurt, I attacked.

“What’re you doing here? You need to leave. I’ve had all of the male species I can stand for a night. Go,” I tried to pass him to get to the door. He prevented me by grabbing my upper arms and drawing me close. I struggled to get loose, but there was no way I could without going crazy. I resorted to threats.

“I swear to God, if you don’t let go of me, I’m going to kick you in the balls. I’m not in the mood to be manhandled, yelled at, or abused. You need to get back to your woman. You know, the one who’s dying to play with you.” I hissed the last bit.

Did he let me go? Or say anything? No, though he did react. I gasped as I was jerked against his chest, and his mouth took mine. He wrapped me up so tight I couldn’t get away. I still tried, but as his kiss sank in, I went weak, and like an idiot, I gave in to it. It was too perfect to resist. As I kissed him back, I promised myself this would be the last time. After all, he had someone in his life. Poor thing had no idea he flirted and did lord knows what with others. Another reason I didn’t want a man in my life. They lied and cheated.

A moan of desire was torn from me when his hands cupped my ass cheeks and squeezed them. I squirmed because his fingers were so close to my pussy. The pussy that was wet and throbbing to be touched. It was hard not to shift, so his fingers touched me where I needed them. I had no doubt if he did, I’d come. I was that turned on.

Part of it was due to how he’d acted at Lustz and the scenes we’d seen. A tinier part was due to how he’d handled Flint, and now he added the kiss to it. How could a woman resist? The next thing I knew, I was hoisted upward by his hands under my ass and wrapping partway around my thighs. The air tried to cool my skin, but I was on fire, so it didn’t help much. Vaguely, it registered that we were moving, but since his lips never left mine and that talented tongue of his was still playing with my tongue, I didn’t pay attention.

My back met softness as he straddled me. I hazily noted I was lying on my couch. I had my hands hooked behind his neck, holding him to me as our teeth, lips, and tongues devoured each other and teased. I whimpered when his hand slid up from my ass and ended up cupping my breasts. I still had my leather catsuit on, but it felt wonderful. My nipples in my suit were rock-hard pebbles. They must’ve been noticeable because he unerringly found them through the thin layer of leather and plucked them. I cried out, but his mouth captured it.

He strummed his thumb back and forth over it, causing zings of electricity to flash through my tits and radiate down to between my legs. I whimpered as I tried to press my legs together to get relief, but he had one of his knees between mine, which prevented it. Suddenly, he shifted, his knee pressed against my core, and he gently thrust it back and forth. I tore my mouth away from his and screamed as I came. I’d never come that hard before from barely a touch.

My head was thrown back, eyes closed as I shook. I had no idea how long it took before I began to come down, but when it happened, reality started to set in. Along with it came rational thought and guilt. I’d just let him get me off and touch me, and he had a woman. He was a cheating bastard, and I’d let him taint me as the other woman. Shame and guilt flooded me. He was hovering above me, smiling down with a satisfied smirk. Anger hit me.

The way he was situated placed not only one of his legs between mine but one of mine between his. Without a second thought, I raised my knee and kneed his family jewels. He grunted in shock and pain. As he was twisting away from me, I rolled and got out from underneath him. I didn’t waste time. Backing up, I ordered him.

“Get the hell out. I won’t be a plaything or whatever this is. You have a woman. You told me you did, plus I saw her. Why don’t you try being faithful? Oh, wait, I forgot. You’re a man. That’s genetically impossible. Well, screw you, Hoss. I’m not ever knowingly hurting another woman the way I’ve been hurt. Stay away from me. You can find the door.”

I didn’t stick around to hear what he’d say. I knew it would be excuses and empty promises. I darted to the door. I was over this shit. It seemed I needed to find a place where no one could find me tonight. I snatched my purse off the entry table along with my car keys. When I came in, I’d put them there before Flint revealed his presence.

“Cady, wait,” he gasped hoarsely.

Ignoring him, I went out the door, slamming it behind me. I fled to my car and cursed when my shaking hand made it hard to get it started. As soon as it was, I put it in reverse and got out of there. Tears kept trying to obscure my vision, but I angrily wiped them away.

As I drove, I tried to decide where to go. Going to Tajah and Mikhail’s was out. They were friends with Hoss, and I didn’t want to place them in this mess. Carver was a no-go. After the way he acted earlier, he’d be telling me I told you so and lord it over me. There was no need to give him more ammunition to use against me. I didn’t have other friends to go to their place and crash. There was always the clinic, but if Hoss or Flint wanted to find me, they’d look there. That left me only one option. I’d have to stay at a hotel. Nashville was full of them. It shouldn’t be hard to find one. I simply had to avoid ones close to my home, work, and the club.

Scanning the darkness surrounding me, I got my bearings and headed further up the interstate. I’d go toward Victory Park and find a hotel in the Capitol area. I had to fight not to think of Hoss, the kiss, or my orgasm. If I didn’t, I’d be sick. At the moment, I wasn’t sure who I was more disgusted with—him or me. I’d acted like an amoral slut. Why didn’t I resist? Kick him out? Why?

The morning didn’t bring me any revelations. I’d barely slept. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. I had to turn off my phone right after I got to the hotel and into my room. It rang, and the screen flashed up, showing Hoss’s name. Tajah had given me his number after the break-in in case I ever needed help and they weren’t available. I hit ignore, then shut it off. I wasn’t in the mood to speak to him or listen to calls and texts all night.

It was barely seven in the morning. I groaned as I dragged my aching, stiff body out of the bed. I stumbled to the bathroom. I’d shower and then get a coffee. I’d have to go straight to the clinic to be there on time, but that wasn’t a problem. I kept extra clothes and other supplies there. I did that for those times I had to stay the night with a sick animal. It wasn’t always possible to run home and get cleaned up.

Looking into the mirror while the water in the shower heated, I cringed. I looked like hell. My hair was a tangled mess, and I had dark circles underneath my mascara-smeared eyes because of my lack of sleep and makeup remover. I looked like a raccoon who’d gone on an all-night bender. Thankfully, I had a small makeup kit in my purse. I was sure I had concealer in it. I slept in my underwear after getting out of the catsuit. I hated the thought of wearing it again, but I had no choice. Maybe if I hurried, I’d get to the office before anyone else, and no one would see me in it.

Jumping into the shower, I took a speedy one, not the leisurely one I wanted. I was in and out, ready to go within twenty minutes. Five of those minutes were due to me wiggling myself back into the leather suit—not an easy feat. Baby powder was my friend, and I had none. As I exited the hotel, I saw the looks I was getting. I didn’t pay them any mind. I didn’t know them, and they didn’t know me. I let them think I had a wild night.

Traffic was already heavy, so it took me longer to get to the clinic than usual. Even so, I was relieved to see I arrived before any of the staff. Parking in the back, where there were a couple of spots, I hurried to unlock the back door. I’d go in through the kennel. There were no barks or meows greeting me when I got inside. We had no overnight patients.

Locking the door and rearming the alarm, I headed up the hallway to my office. I’d grab my clothes, get changed, and fix my hair. My makeup was enough to cover the circles, and I’d put on some lip and cheek color so I wasn’t so dead-looking. We didn’t open until nine, and the first staff usually didn’t arrive until eight-thirty. I had plenty of time to get myself in order, and none of them would be the wiser.

If only things worked out the way we wanted. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. Oh, I got changed, no problem, and I even tamed my hair enough to put it up in a bun and not have it look like a bird’s nest. What didn’t work out was me flying under the radar. I should’ve known when I turned off my phone and didn’t tell anyone where I was going that someone would show up at my work. Usually, I would’ve, but my mind was a churning mess. That was my excuse, and I was sticking to it. I got clued into that when I heard pounding on the front door. I almost didn’t answer, but then I scolded myself. I was no coward. Whoever it was, I’d handle them .

I marched to the main door, turned off the alarm, unlocked it, then yanked it open. My scowl was firmly in place when I did. I assumed it was Hoss or Flint. I was wrong. There stood Mikhail and Tajah. Before I could say a word, they swept inside, and the door was slammed shut. Tajah threw her arms around and hugged me tightly.

“Where have you been? We’ve been going crazy with worry! You run off from the club, and then later, we get a call from Hoss. He said Flint broke into your place, then the two of you had a misunderstanding, and you left. He had no idea where you were. He tried calling you, but his calls went right to voicemail. I’ve been trying for hours and the same thing. Cady, how could you do that to us?” she cried as she gave me a shake. Mikhail was behind her, watching me with a frown on his face. I disentangled myself from her arms. She appeared taken aback.

“Tajah, I love you, and you’re my best friend, but I’m not talking about last night or what happened. I’m an adult. If I want to spend the night away from my apartment, I can. It’s not that unusual, is it? For adults to stay in other places.”

She blinked and looked surprised. “You spent time with a man? Who? You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone.”

I hadn’t meant to give that impression, but now that it was out there, why not go with it? It wouldn’t hurt anyone, and in fact, it would give me a degree of protection. Maybe Hoss would stay away if they thought I was with someone.

“I didn’t want to jinx it, so I stayed quiet. We’ve been seeing each other for a while.” The lie just tumbled from my lips so easily.

Mikhail’s brow went up, but he didn’t say anything. Tajah’s face was filled with surprise and a smidge of hurt. “Cady, I know how badly relationships seem to go for you, but I’m your best friend. You could’ve told me. I understand waiting on others, but I wouldn’t have said anything. Now that I know, can I ask his name? How did you meet? When might I get to meet him?”

Crap, there she went. I either had to make up more lies or come clean. I was opening my mouth to do the latter when there was knocking at the door.

“What the hell is this, Grand Central Station? I’ve got work to do. The clinic will open shortly. I don’t have time to chat right now. I’ll call you later,” I told them as I went to the door.

They were lagging behind me. Mikhail was whispering something in her ear. I opened the door to find Hoss standing there. He was furious. Panic hit me. I wasn’t ready to see or speak to him. I tried to slam and lock the door on him, but he was too fast and strong. He caught it with one hand and held the door open.

“Tiny, you and I have to talk,” he stated loudly.

“We don’t have to do shit. My name is Cady, or, better yet, Dr. Anderson. I want all of you to leave. This is my place of business. I have employees and patients coming soon. I have preparations to make.”

“I’m not fucking going anywhere until we straighten this shit out,” Hoss growled.

“Man, we need to talk first,” Mikhail said from behind me.

“Cady, please, we need to talk this out,” Tajah pleaded. I knew she was confused and hurt that I hid something from her, but it wasn’t real, and I wasn’t about to come clean with her before these two. They were all talking loudly and over top of each other. After a minute, I couldn’t take any more.

“STOP!” I shouted as loud as I could. They did, much to my surprise. I hurried to continue while I could. “I need you all to leave. My staff will be here any second. Tajah, we’ll talk later. Hoss, we have nothing to say. Mikhail, please take her home.”

Tajah looked hurt, but she moved closer to Mikhail. Her man wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. He kissed her temple and whispered in her ear again. Glancing away from them since their closeness made me feel hollow and sick, I found Hoss was studying me. I waited for him to refuse. I swear if he did, I’d do more than knee him in the balls again.

I was startled when Hoss spoke first, and he didn’t argue. “Mikhail, Tajah, let’s go. Cady is right. This is her work. This isn’t the place or time. It can wait.” He was calm as he spoke, shocking me. I saw no anger or other emotions on his face. Mikhail gave him a contemplative look, while Taj wore a shocked one.

“Of course, you’re right. Forgive us for barging in on you like this, Cady. We were just worried when no one knew where you were and if you were alright. Now that we know you are, we’ll go. See you later,” Mikhail said pleasantly.

For once, Tajah and I didn’t hug before leaving each other. She gave me a sad look. I hated it. Mikhail nodded. As they went out the door, I steeled myself for Hoss’s next words. Maybe he only wanted them out of the way .

Imagine my shock when he wordlessly turned and walked out. I stood there frozen for a long time. What got me moving was the door opening sometime later, and Dottie walked in. She jumped when she saw me standing there. Her hand came up to clutch her chest.

“Oh my God, you scared me, Cady. Is something wrong? The blinds are still shut. For a second, I thought we’d closed for the day.”

“Nothing is wrong, Dottie. I was daydreaming and lost track of time. Here, let’s get them open and ready before anyone else thinks we’re closed today,” I offered with a slight smile and a fake chuckle. She grinned, so I must’ve been convincing.

After Dottie arrived, the others did, and before long, patients began coming. I had a relatively full day, so I had little time to think. I went from patient to patient. Some were there for general check-ups and shots. Others for specific problems. In a few cases, X-rays and other tests were needed, which led to my unbooked time becoming booked. I barely had time to scarf down half of a sandwich Dottie got me for lunch.

This continued right up until closing time at five. In fact, we ran over, and the last patient didn’t leave until five-forty-five. As soon as they were gone, I shooed Dottie and the others out. They’d done enough. I got protests and offers to stay, but I refused. I did say if anyone wanted to come in early, they could. I was so blessed when all of them said they would. They ordered me not to restock or clean anything. They’d do it in the morning. I had the best people.

After they left, I closed the blinds, locked up, and set the alarm, but I didn’t leave. I had charting to do, plus I wasn’t in the mood to do it at home. The reason was as the day passed, I kept replaying the scene with Hoss, Mikhail, and Tajah this morning and how they’d all easily left. I should be relieved, but it had the opposite effect on me. My tension was growing the longer I thought about it. There was no way any of them were okay with it. Why back down so quickly?

This unease made me reluctant to go home. Maybe I’d stay at a hotel again. I had more clothes here. I’d take them and my other stuff with me, so this time, I’d be able to properly get ready before work. The thought of going home and being confronted by Flint or Hoss didn’t appeal to me. In Flint’s case, I never wanted to see him, period. With Hoss, it wasn’t a matter of not wanting to see him. I couldn’t. What if I broke again? It wasn’t fair to the poor woman he was involved with. He might be fine being a cheating dog, but I wouldn’t be a relationship wrecker.

It was dark outside. It always was this time of year. Sitting at my desk, I forced myself to do my charting. I kept having to shake myself to resume when I’d space out. So it took longer than it should. It was after nine, and I was down to the last two. I was yawning and hungry. Last night’s crappy sleep and the hasty half of my lunch had caught up to me.

I flexed my back to relieve the cramp. I was bending back to my keyboard when I heard a crashing sound that sounded like glass breaking. The alarm didn’t go off. Why? I know I set it. I stood to go see what the cause was. Had something fallen in one of the rooms? As I took a step, I heard footsteps. That’s when I realized I hadn’t turned on all the lights. Since the break-in, I had the lights blazing as a warning whenever I stayed over. My conversations with Hoss, Mikhail, and Tajah distracted me when I locked up, and I didn’t turn them on. The only light was the one on my desk. It didn’t shed much light.

Hastily, I reached over, snapped it off, and closed my laptop. It wasn’t pitch black in here. Enough ambient light was filtered between the cracks in the blinds to let me see, barely. The footsteps were coming from the back of the clinic through the kennels. Again, we had no overnight guests, so no one to alert me.

Grabbing my purse, I crawled under my desk. It was an executive type, so I was hidden where the chair would usually rest. I dragged the chair as close to me as possible. If I were lucky, whoever it was wouldn’t find me. As I waited for those steps to reach me, I tried not to shake. I was scared. Whoever it was had no alarm chasing them off this time. The alarm company wouldn’t get an alert, which meant no help was coming to rescue me.

The steps kept going past my office, but I knew they’d come in here when they didn’t find what they were looking for. Based on the sounds that started moments later, they were searching the examination rooms. Biting my lip, I fumbled for my phone in my purse. I found it, and with shaking hands, I called 911. It rang a couple of times before it was answered.

“Hello, this is 911. John speaking. What is your emergency?” a brisk man’s voice asked when the call connected.

“This is Dr. Cadence Anderson. I’m at my veterinarian clinic, and someone just broke in. I’m hiding, and I have no idea how many there are. Please, send someone. This is the second break-in in less than two weeks,” I whispered as softly as possible.

“Ma’am. Stay calm. I need your address. It shows you’re calling from a cell phone,” he said calmly. I was glad one of us was. I hurried to rattle off my address. When I was done, he was quick to reassure me.

“Dr. Anderson, I’ve dispatched the police to your location. Until they get there, stay on the line with me. Is there anything else you can tell me? Do you hear voices? What are they saying? How many of them are there?”

His composed voice helped to settle my nerves. I strained to hear, but there were more crashing sounds, muttering, and swearing. Then, I clearly heard a conversation.

“Jesus Christ, where the fuck is it? He said she has them,” a man’s voice suddenly shouted.

“I don’t know! Keep looking,” a second voice shouted back. Those were the only ones I heard.

“I hear two men. They’re looking for something. I’m pretty sure they want drugs,” I told John.

“Good. Do you recognize either voice? Are there accents?”

“The only accents are the typical slightly Southern ones you hear around Nashville. I don’t recognize either voice.”

An extra loud crashing sound made me jump, hit my head on the underside of my desk, and hiss in pain.

“What’s wrong?” John asked.

“Nothing. A loud noise made me jump, and I hit my head,” I admitted to him ruefully.

He chuckled softly before saying, “Then don’t do that.”

His humor made me snicker. “I’ll try to remember that. How long until the cops get here?”

There was a long pause. “They’re approximately six minutes out. Just stay calm. Where exactly are you in the clinic? I need to inform the officers.”

“I’m in the next to the last office on the left as you come in the front door. I’m in the knee well of the desk.”

“Good. Stay there. If the robbers come into the room, just keep the line open and don’t say anything. You’re doing great, Dr. Anderson.”

“I think under the circumstances, you can call me Cady.”

“Cady, it is. Thank you. And you can call me John or Johnny. How long have you been a vet?”

He asked two questions before I heard the stomping of feet coming toward my office. “They’re headed my way. I can’t talk,” I whispered.

I lay the phone down and reached into my purse again. This time, I took out my gun. If it came down to it, I’d shoot them. I wasn’t keen to kill someone, but if it was them or me, I wanted myself to prevail. I gripped the handle tightly. I jumped when the door was flung open and hit the wall. I flinched.

“It has to be in here. This is her office. Tear this apart,” Mr. Gruff said.

“We looked in all the cabinets and drawers last time. There’s nothing here,” the other thief whined.

“Just do it. Do you want to go back and tell him we failed again?” the first guy asked.

“No.”

“Good. You start with the desk. I’m checking this cabinet.”

I scrunched myself back in the corner as far as I could. I wish I could shrink. If he moved the chair and bent down, he’d see me. I pointed my gun toward the chair. Where were the police?

My desk shook as a drawer was yanked open. Paper rustled and then fell to the floor. Another one was opened. My anger was growing to overshadow my fear. The mess they were making would require us to close the clinic for the day. More income lost. Suddenly, the chair was rolling away. I saw legs. Oh shit! My hands shook. My finger was almost on the trigger when I heard the sweetest sound ever.

There was a loud thumping sound, then a voice yelled, “This is the police.”

The legs in front of me disappeared. “Fuck, I thought the alarm was disabled,” the whiner said. I heard the panic in his voice.

“It is. There must be a secondary one or something. Let’s go,” Number one ordered, and then I heard thundering footsteps as they ran out. There was shouting for them to halt. Arguing and lots of noise followed the running. I stayed in my spot, but I picked up my phone.

“John, are you still there?”

“I am. You did so good, Cady. Stay in there until the cops come for you. If you have a weapon, declare it and come out without it.”

“I have a gun, but I won’t have it out for them. Thank you so much.”

“I’m happy to do it. You can hang up now. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“All due to you. Thank you.”

He made a happy humming sound before he hung up. I didn’t waste time stowing my phone and gun back in my purse, then I waited. My legs were cramping, but I was afraid to extend them or get out of my hidey-hole. As I waited for the all-clear, I couldn’t help but think about how mixed up and crazy the past twenty-four hours had been. My life was spiraling out of control. I had to do something to stop it.