by Kylie Scott
“You really care about her,” said ex-captain Sean, sounding mildly surprised.
Nick sat on the ground, his backs to the bars. “Noticed the medic has you wrapped around her little finger.”
Finn had taken off a while back and Sean sat in the office, reading a book by the light of a lantern. The sun had set about an hour back. Sean and Nick had always gotten on okay. They’d had a decent working relationship. While the big man could be rigid, he played fair. Military through and through. Nick had never been part of Sean’s inner circle, but he’d thought they’d understood each other. Being accused of the sort of shit Emmet was capable of had disgusted him. And worse, it made him feel vaguely ashamed. Because if he hadn’t been standing against Emmet, what the fuck had he been doing?
Good question. One he was finding increasingly hard to answer.
He kept catching himself grinding his teeth, cracking the joints in his fingers. Nothing about this situation was okay.
Sean smiled. “Roslyn seems pretty convinced that you’re trustworthy. That you wanted Emmet dead and we misjudged you.”
“Everyone wanted Emmet dead.”
“Not everyone.”
True. Justin and Pete had thought the lunatic was packed full of good ideas. Ideas about raping and murdering and all sorts of shit most people couldn’t stomach. Nick had wanted him dead. But he hadn’t stood up to him. He’d followed orders, just like he’d been trained to do. When he finally stopped to think for himself everything had long since gone to shit and he’d been hiding in a bottle for over a month. Something he’d have to live with for the rest of his life.
So many regrets. So much guessing about what was right and what was wrong. It all fucked with his head.
“You ever think about the airport? The quarantine?” he asked.
Sean’s nostrils flared. “I try not to.”
“All those people.” Nick shook his head, hating the memory. Those first days of the plague were the stuff of nightmares. He could still remember the stink of fear filling the air, and the terror on people’s faces. Every five minutes a new command would be handed down with the latest contradicting the last. No one knew what was really going on, because no one knew how to stop it. They’d been screwed from the start. “They were terrified, didn’t know what to do. Who could blame them, faced with a field full of tents and people in masks, men shoving machine guns in their faces. I would have panicked too. Man, I would have gone ballistic.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it worth it? Us killing innocent civilians?” he asked. “They were just people on holidays. Wankers in business suits. They weren’t terrorists or anything and we had to shoot them in the back if they made a run for it. What the fuck does that make us? Not the good guys, that’s for certain.”
The captain didn’t answer straight away. He stared at his book with a heavy brow. “If we’d been able to stop the bug at that point, we’d have saved millions of lives.”
“Hmm.” It sounded nice, but the chances of it ever happening were nil. As many seaports and international airports as there were in the country and the amount of travel people did, keeping out a microscopic germ wasn’t possible. Maybe birds had brought it in. No one had figured out if animals could carry it too. There hadn’t been time.
“We had to try,” said Sean, his voice low. “We couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.” Nick snorted, hung his head. The prison bars pressed into his back. “We’ve done some dirty jobs over the years. Things that needed doing, but nothing like that. When did you start questioning orders, huh? When did it get too much for you?”
Sean just stared at him.
“Ever have trouble sleeping at night, captain? Or is your conscience perfectly clean?”
No answer.
Fuck him.
Nick turned back to Roslyn, watched the easy rise and fall of her chest. Her breathing calmed him. Her very existence gave him hope. Always had done, from the first time he saw her. He had no idea what life was for, couldn’t answer a single one of the big questions. But if he could keep her safe, make things better for her, then that would satisfy him. Make up for some of the blood on his hands. Funny, he could barely remember any woman that came before, but there wasn’t an inch of her he could forget.
“To answer your question,” Nick said, “yeah, I care about her.”
Sean set his book down and walked toward the jail cell. “Problem is, Nick, you can be a dickhead on occasion. You like acting up. Makes you less than dependable.”
Nick just waited.
“Maybe you were angry over the way we sent you packing,” said Sean. “You could have been using her to get back into Blackstone. Could have had something planned with Pete and Justin, for all we knew.”
When he didn’t answer, the captain went on.
“The truth is even more insane. How could you have brought that girl, chained her up and yet still have managed to persuade her to give you a chance?” Sean said with a harsh laugh. “I mean, how the fuck did you pull that off? Explain it to me, please.”
“Well, what you have to understand,” said Ros, her voice husky from sleep, “is that I base my decisions on how people behave toward me. And while there might have been some initial early hiccups, there are still far more marks in the win column.”
Nick shuffled over to her bedside, forgetting all about Sean and his bullshit. “How you feeling?”
“Hey.” Big blue eyes watched him steadily. She held out her hand and he went to her. “He earned my trust, Sean. Yes he made some mistakes. But you have to keep them in context. Every time it mattered, he came through for me without hesitation. Actions do speak louder than words and he risked his life for me more than once. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to him that way.”
“You in pain?” Nick asked, wanting the topic changed. Frankly, it was a little embarrassing having her stick up for him. He didn’t need Sean’s good opinion. The man could go fuck himself. “Lila dropped some antibiotics and painkillers off before.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. There’s still little bruises beneath your eyes.”
“Nonsense. Come here.” Ros’s hand snaked up around his neck and drew him down until his lips touched hers. He gave her what she wanted, kissing her soft and slow. She made this noise, this low, needy, intensely horny noise. Fuck, the things it did to him. But he didn’t want Sean hearing it. That noise was personal.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“You have no idea. Sean, can you give us some privacy, please?” asked Ros.
The captain’s brows arched. “I’m not sure …”
She clucked her tongue impatiently. “Wait outside please, Sean. The visit just turned conjugal and we do not require an audience.” Nick tried not to smile and failed. Her ability to mix prim librarian with sex kitten had to be the best thing ever. But still.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“Yes, she is. But I’ll let you two have a moment,” said Sean, heading for the door with his face on fire. “I’ll just be outside.”
Ros grinned. “Half an hour would be great. Thanks, Sean.”
The captain mumbled something along the lines of “for fuck’s sake” and fled the room.
“I’m serious. You need to take it easy,” Nick said.
“Thank you. Your flimsy protest has been duly registered.” A little line appeared between her brows. “Why do I keep having to coerce you into having sex with me lately? What’s with that?”
He rubbed at the line with the pad of his thumb. “Pain meds still working, huh?”
“Hey.” She slapped at his hand. “I’m being serious. Is this some sort of payback, Nick? You’re all gung-ho for a while but now it’s my turn to run around after you? Do I need to prove myself? Is that it?”
“Of course not,” he sighed. “Come on, Ros. Don’t get upset.”
“Don’t tell me what to feel.”
“Ros.”
“Answer me.”
Fuck it. He shut her up by kissing her. Truthfully, it all confused him. Her loyalty unnerved him. He’d done nothing to deserve it. Again, he’d meant to do the right thing and let her go, but it hadn’t worked. No way did he trust himself to offer it one more time. He wasn’t that nice and he wanted her too much.
She opened her mouth and he slid his tongue inside. Some things never got old. Kissing this woman topped the list. Her hand fisted in the T-shirt Finn had given him to wear, dragging him closer, trying to pull him on top of her. From low in her throat came the noise again. Every drop of blood in him rushed straight to his dick. His brain keeled over dead, gave up entirely. Well, mostly.
“Ros, you’re hurt,” he moaned, resisting the urge to get a leg up and join her on the pissy little bed.
“So be gentle. Just be inside me.”
Shit.
What could he say?
His balls felt fucking tortured. The dreamy, needy expression on her face killed him. Her lovely wet lips and sharp little teeth kissed and bit him equally. A hungry woman and he had to hold back. His hungry woman. How fucking unfair.
“Nicky. Life is too short to hesitate. I think we’ve both seen this by now.”
Getting enough of her mouth was out of the question. But when he stopped to think about it, there was something he hadn’t gotten around to giving her yet. And life could be over in an instant. Pete had come damn close to putting a bullet in him.
“You have to keep perfectly still,” he said. “I don’t want you jarring your shoulder and re-opening that wound.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior.”
God help him.
Nick re-checked the room, making sure they were alone. Then he drew her pajama pants down her long legs. Roslyn bare took his breath away. The curls on her mound and the curves of her soft thighs blew his mind. He could smell her, hot and rich and ready. Nothing smelled as good as this woman’s sex. He’d never been nuts over a woman’s vagina before, but Ros’s stayed on his mind day and night. Everything about her did.
No part of her didn’t deserve to be worshipped.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, ever curious.
“Spread your legs for me, then stay still,” he repeated, climbing up onto the bed. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable of positions, but never mind. He had his priorities right. He crouched at the end of the mattress and slipped his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass. First he kissed her belly, her hips and thighs. She had the softest, most satiny skin.
Fingers slid into his hair, rubbing at his scalp. He stopped.
“What did I say?” he asked.
“Hmm?” Her eyes blinked lazily open.
“What did I tell you to do, Ros?”
The hand stilled. “To stay still?”
He raised a brow.
“Seriously? I’m not even allowed to touch you?”
“Can you do what I asked or not? Your choice.”
She pinned her lips shut and her hand returned to her side.
“Good girl.”
“Am I allowed to speak?” she asked in a cranky voice.
“Sure.”
The woman opened her mouth, doubtless to serve him some smartass reply, but wisely shut it.
“That’s a good girl.” Nick nuzzled her belly button, brushed his beard lightly across her mound. The muscles in her stomach jumped.
“I don’t know why I put up with your shit,” she mumbled. Clearly hating everything he did to her. As if. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
“Because you know I’ll make it worth your while.” He spread her open with his thumbs and blew air across her wet folds. So fucking gorgeous and pink. “And because you want to.”
She huffed and he licked up through her pussy with the flat of his tongue, a nice broad swipe to coat his tongue with her taste. No point in half measures. He was a glutton for her. Her butt cheeks tightened and her hips shifted, trying to get closer.
“You’re going to be damn upset if I stop because you can’t behave,” he said.
“I’m trying,” she whined.
“Try harder. That was your last warning.”
“But—”
He buried his face in her sex, lapping and loving her every way he knew how. Getting mindless on the touch and taste of her. So many times he thought he’d lost her, and yet here he was, eating her hot little cunt like the end was nigh. Fuck, he hoped it wasn’t. He wanted decades with her, doing just this.
Her legs trembled and her breath stuttered as he drove her hard toward climax. No time for niceties—who knew how long they’d be left alone. He used his teeth to carefully tease her. He suckled at the lips of her sex and tickled her clit, before going back to swiping at her with the tip of his tongue. Her moans grew louder and louder but her hands stayed put, one by her side and the other in the sling lying across her body. Fuck, he hoped this wouldn’t hurt her shoulder, but he couldn’t stop himself. The scent of her sweat and the heat of her sex made him drunk. Her pussy fluttered against his tongue as he fucked her with it. Groans echoed through the concrete cell.
“Nick, please,” she whimpered.
He rubbed at her clit with his tongue, sucked hard at her spread-open sex. Never had he seen a woman so fucking wet and ready. Perfect was Roslyn with her legs spread wide and his mouth on her as she stuttered his name. Heaven had nothing on this. His fingers dug into her, holding her to him as she shuddered and came, her pussy convulsing against his lips. He almost came himself.
She huffed and puffed and got her breath back as he sat up on his knees, tore open his jeans and shoved them down his thighs. They had no time to waste.
“Stay still,” he said. “Remember?”
Dazed eyes blinked open. Her cheeks were damp with tears.
“Shit. Are you in pain?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. Please, Nick.”
He lay down over her, keeping his weight to himself with an arm beside her head. Without delay he fit the head of his cock to her and pushed in. No one else felt like this, impossibly slick and incredibly hot. How the fuck he’d kept out of her all day he had no idea. And she thought she had to seduce him. Roslyn breathing made him hard. Roslyn wide open and so wet he could drown in her pretty much owned him. Amazingly, he found he could live with that just fine.
He fucked into her sweet and slow, keeping the pace nice and easy, kissing away her tears.
“That was good,” she said with wide eyes, looking at him in awe. The things she did for his ego.
“This’ll be better,” he promised.
Why hadn’t he thought to take his shirt off? Then they could have been skin to skin. Damn it. He couldn’t bring himself to stop. Her pussy made the best wet noises as he thrust into her. All he wanted was to be inside her for as long as possible. But distantly, he could hear voices outside. The thought of anyone else seeing her this way made him want to tear something apart. His fingers curled into the mattress and he could feel the material stretching, giving. Everything in him tensed. Something about her turned him into a caveman with an unending hard-on.
Roslyn had subtly drawn up her legs at some stage and pushed back against him, urging him on. Her sex clenched at him on every withdrawal. It felt impossibly good. Fire spread through him and his balls had crept up into his body, never to be seen again. He tried to slow down, but his pelvis only took orders from his cock and his cock answered solely to her.
“Faster,” she said. Faster he went.
The corner of her lip curled up in a snarl and her hips bumped against him, seconding the demand. Sweat dripped off his face onto her. The tricky girl had him by the balls and he loved it. But it was time to even out the game.
She stared up at him, eyes huge. The first touch of his fingers to her clit had her neck arching. He slipped about in the wet mess between them, strumming the small, hard bead, getting her there. Her thighs clutched at him. That was what he want
ed, the feel of her inner muscles trembling around him. She shivered and her mouth fell open in a silent cry. The grip of her pussy undid him. Once, twice more he thrust into her and then lost it completely. Grinding against her with a hand wrapped hard around her hip. He emptied every last bit of himself into her and she took it all.
He only just stopped himself from collapsing on top of her, remembering at the last minute to hold himself up and not crush her beneath his remains. Because for certain she’d killed him this time. She should bury him and call it a day. It was the best fucking feeling. Blood roared behind his ears. His poor lungs labored to keep up. His heart had burst a while back.
“You’re a bad girl,” he said, after a while.
She still panted, her breasts moving beneath him. “What? What did I do?”
“You didn’t stay still.” He leaned his forehead against hers.
“I only moved a little,” she said, trying her best to look down her nose at him. It couldn’t have been easy to do, flat on her back with his softening dick still stuffed inside her. “I thought I was quite controlled, actually.”
His cock twitched, valiantly trying to reanimate. It was a monster, out of control.
“Nick,” she said. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s the uptight librarian thing. I have no defense against it.” He sighed and pulled out of her. “Stay there. Let me clean you up.”
She gave a low chuckle. “Is this Nurse Nick with a sponge bath? Because this librarian could totally handle that.” Fuck. So could he.
A bucket of water and some washcloths had been left care of her friend Lila. There wouldn’t be any dallying over the task today, however. He could still hear voices outside.
He wet the cloth and smoothed it over her face and neck. Lifted up her tank top and tried not to linger over her breasts. God, he hated seeing that bandage on her. It didn’t look like there’d been any fresh bleeding, thankfully. He kissed the bruising better and washed her gorgeous tits and stomach, the sticky mess they’d made between her legs. Going gently there, since her pussy was still swollen. In an ideal world, Roslyn would always look exactly like this, wet and well loved. But definitely without the bandages.