His to Defend (The Guard Book 2)

by Em Petrova

  He drew her close enough that he could feel her warm, sweet breath cross his face. “And you’re welcome to kick me out, gorgeous.”

  “We seem to be at a standoff,” she rasped.

  He nodded and lowered his lips to hers. The initial touch gave him more of an adrenaline rush than any high-speed vehicle ever could.

  He moved in and pulled Lillian onto tiptoe at the same time. Crushing his mouth over hers, he drank in the feel of the woman. Dammit, he’d missed the hell out of her. How or why he still had no answer for, and he’d stopped giving a fuck about anything but seeing her again. And the rules could go to hell.

  Slashing his mouth across hers, he slid his tongue between her lips. She gasped at the invasion and sucked his tongue into her mouth. A growl rumbled through him. She answered with a throaty cry. The kiss spiraled from urgent to a frenzy in seconds, and she lifted her hands to his belt buckle.

  “Fuck, I love that you know what you want,” he groaned.

  Her eyes flashed as she unbuckled his belt and she worked at his fly. As soon as her fingertips skimmed over his steely length through his boxers, he grabbed her wrists and locked them behind her back. Excitement made her eyes flare. The depths burned up at him, and he captured her lips again.

  He walked her back to the sofa. When she bumped into it, he whipped her off her feet and lay her down in the same fluid movement.

  Arms freed now, she slipped them around his neck and levered him down on top of her. He let the weight of his hips sink into her. She moaned out, and issued a growl at the feel of his cock against the V of her thighs.

  “Why didn’t I strip you first?” He shoved away and then reached for her blouse. He’d never seen the filmy blue blouse, and it gave her a fragile and angelic look. Coupled with the rich brown waves of hair, she might as well be an angel—his angel.

  He ran his tongue over her lower lip, tracing it back and forth. She arched upward, gaze locked on his.

  “You didn’t use up all those condoms without me, did you?”

  She issued a throaty chuckle. “Maybe I did. I’m surprised Amelia and Francis didn’t report the number of men parading through my room.”

  He rumbled out a low sound and claimed her lips again. His balls throbbed, and he rocked his hips to ease the ache. Only getting inside her would help. He skimmed his hand over her side and palmed her small, perky breast.

  “I have to fucking taste you.” He yanked her top off and lowered his mouth to the straining tip. The shiver that ran through her ignited him, and he used soft pulls of his lips and tongue to make her bow off the cushion for more. As he teased the tip with circles of his tongue, she gripped his head and guided him into kissing down her ribs to her waist.

  She skimmed her fingers over his biceps. “You never told me what this roman numeral means. Why is it backward?”

  He tossed her a look as he dragged her pants and underwear down her legs. Her bare pussy glistened with juices, and he burned to delve his tongue inside her and feel her clamp down on him.

  “It’s an angel number.” He thumbed apart her folds and sank his tongue deep. She writhed.

  “Seven is an angel number?” she gasped out.

  Only this woman would want to hold a conversation while being eaten out.

  Licking over her tight bud, he watched her eyes roll back in her head. Good—maybe that would shut her up.

  “Why is it an angel number?”

  Guess not.

  Smiling to himself, he trapped her clit under his tongue and pressed down for several aching heartbeats. When he released her, she gasped for air.

  “If you see a seven, it means your guardian angel is near.” He sucked on her clit. She cried out and thrashed underneath him, but he hooked her legs over his shoulders and pinned her with his palms to the sofa.

  “And you carry it on a tattoo to keep yours near?”

  He inserted one finger into her tight sheath. “No—I’m the guardian. And I’ll kill and maim to keep my wards safe—that’s why it’s backward.”

  Her gaze met his for a split second. He saw understanding wash through her. Now that she knew who she was bedding, would she push him away?

  She already knew he killed. She’d witnessed it several times. Though learning that it was a way of life was much different than the occasional encounter just to keep her safe.

  He slipped his finger free and circled the wetness over her hard bud. She shuddered at the pleasure, and he held her gaze. “Do you still want me knowing what I am?”

  Her chest heaved. “You’re saving people. You saved me. And you’re more than your work, Lars.”

  Her words gave him a pang deep in his chest that he didn’t know how to process. But he did know how to pleasure a woman. He sank two fingers into her pussy and sucked on her clit.

  * * * * *

  Lillian soaked his fingers. Each draw of his mouth on her pussy and the deep thrusts of his fingers sent her higher and higher, until she didn’t know if she could live through whatever came next.

  Her insides tightened, throbbed and finally, she saw the end in sight. She latched her fingers into his hair and bucked as her release slammed hard. Sensation crested. Dark passion flowed through her, and she issued a long, low cry that sounded conspicuously like Lars’s name.

  When his eyes creased at the corners, she knew she’d done it now—stroked his already massive ego.

  Too turned on to care at the moment, she breathed through the last of her orgasm. When he gently lowered her ass to the sofa, she stared at him. Each flick of his wrist as he pulled his hard length from his jeans ignited her all over again. When he drew out the veined length, she wet her lips at the sight of his mushroomed head wet with precum.

  Spreading her legs, she invited him in and then stopped. “The condoms are in my bag in the bedroom.”

  “Guess we need to get to the bedroom then.” A wicked grin passed over his face a split second before he whipped her off the sofa and flung her over his shoulder. She stifled a cry, and he gave her backside a light swat. She thumped his back with her fists.

  “You brute!”

  His laughter vibrated through her all the way to the bedroom. He lay her down on the cozy bed that served as her refuge for many days. Being back here sobered her.

  He gazed at her. “What is it?”

  She reached for him. “I’m just glad to see you.”

  He arched a brow in that cocky way of his and then marched over to her bag. “You didn’t unpack?”

  She shook her head. “I was afraid I’d need to leave with no notice, so I never unpacked.”

  Twisting away, he unzipped the pocket. He knew exactly where to locate the protection, and pulled out several condoms. When he sauntered back to the bed, jeans sagging around his hips and his cock jutting forward, he scattered them on the mattress.

  “We’re staying here a long time, gorgeous. I plan on using every one of those before I take you to the shower and soap you up. Remember last time?”

  She burned. Yes, she did. In fact, she’d masturbated to the memory during her stay.

  Eyes flicking over his broad chest and down to his turgid cock, she reached for a condom. She tore open the packet and beckoned him with a come-hither wave. He edged up to the bed, legs braced wide, and slowly stripped his shirt overhead.

  She shivered at the sight of his glorious muscles. After he removed his boots and stepped out of his jeans and boxers, standing bare before her, she couldn’t get the condom rolled over his erection fast enough.

  She rested back on the pillow and parted her thighs again. “Come to me, Lars. Please.” The hot whisper drew a growl from him.

  He placed a knee on the mattress, making it dip, and then covered her with his big body. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him down against her. Her eyes slipped shut on the sensation of skin to skin and muscle to her own body.

  When he kissed her, she threw herself into the caress. Their time was limited. She had him here and now, and s
he’d hold onto those memories when the time came for them to part for good.

  She spent a lot of time thinking on it and realized this feeling of being smitten with the man probably stemmed from him saving her life. It would pass, and life would return to normal. Right at this moment, though, he felt so damn good.

  After breaking the kiss, he searched her face. “You’ve been unhappy here.”

  “No,” she whispered. “The sisters are so kind and I consider them friends.”

  “I’m sorry it’s taking so long to end this for you.”

  Her heart gave a pang at the idea that he hoped to return her to her world and unload her so he could move on.

  “I know you’re working on it. Lars…” Could she speak the words lingering on her tongue? She had to or burn up with regret. She rarely held anything back, and she couldn’t now.

  Tracing her thumb over his jaw, she said, “Don’t make it end too quickly, okay?”

  As he drew a huge breath, his chest expanded to accommodate it, swelling out to brush against her nipples. She yanked him in and took control of the kiss while running her hands all over his chiseled form. He poised at her entrance and in one hard push, filled her to the root. She squeezed down on his length, reveling in the burn of him stretching her.

  Then he began to move, churning his hips with slow glides. She tightened around him again and again. He pinched and rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, sending shocks of need shooting throughout her system. When he reached between them and swirled his thumb over her throbbing clit, she clamped off a scream.

  “Shhh, they’ll hear us,” he whispered.

  She giggled. “Can’t have the sisters running in to make sure you’re not hurting me.”

  “Am I hurting you now?” He rocked his hips, thrusting his cock ohhh, so deep. She shuddered with pleasure.

  “Who talks too much now?” She bit into his lower lip, hauling him back to her. They stopped talking for a long time.

  Chapter Nine

  When the Church found out that he slept with his ward, they’d put his head on a pike. And he couldn’t give less of a fuck. Buried balls-deep in Lillian’s tight, wet heat stole all the cares he had on the matter.

  Nothing about this encounter with Lillian felt wrong. In fact, the exhilarating high rivaled no other adventures of his life.

  He rolled with her, settling her atop him. She gave him a teasing smile that rocked his world and began to glide up and down his cock. Stroke after stroke, he drank in the sight of her taking him to the hilt. Watching himself disappear into her.

  “Watch me take you,” he gritted out.

  When she bowed her head, her hair tumbled over one shoulder. He fisted it, holding the thick locks back. He rocked his hips, filling her once more. Each tunnel of his cock into her slick pussy drew a simultaneous moan from them.

  “So fucking hot. Jesus Christ, woman.” He cupped her face and drew her down for a kiss. Their mouths slammed together in time to their bodies. The exquisite need built in his groin until he rode the edge of no return.

  Pressing his thumb over her clit again, he drew another throaty cry from her, which he swallowed with his kiss. Over and over he swirled his thumb over her bud, turned on as the flesh stiffened under his touch. When her inner walls clamped on him, he tossed his head back and poured his release into her. Jets of cum shot out as she milked him with her own release.

  Fucking hell. There’s no coming back from this.

  The woman had him wrapped around her slender pinky finger, and damn if he knew how it happened.

  She plastered her body to his, and he tucked her head under his chin, just holding her while they regained their senses and filled their lungs with all the oxygen they’d just expelled.

  He trailed his fingers up and down her spine in long passes that eventually raised goosebumps in the wake of his caress. She rolled off him, and he took the moment to use the bathroom and dispose of the condom. When he returned, she lay on her side, eyes closed. He watched her a moment, mind rioting. Or maybe that was his heart. Who the hell knew what spells she’d cast over him.

  He moved to the bed and sat beside her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him, giving his heart another hard squeeze.

  “I have news for you.”

  She shot up, hand clutched to her chest and her face pale “Is it my parents? Is something wrong?”

  Fuck, he hadn’t even considered she might take his news as something to fear. He reached out and curled his hand around her nape, bringing her against his chest. “No, gorgeous. They’re fine.”

  “You’re sure?” She searched his face for the lie.

  “Positive. You know I have guards set on them. They’ve been going about their lives as usual.”

  She raised a shaky hand and covered her eyes. He didn’t like how fragile she seemed right now. What had he done in bringing her here? For the first time in his career, he second-guessed his decision. But his initial instinct had been to get her as far from the group hunting her down as possible, especially after they learned Brun personally had ordered it. Meanwhile, he and his team were picking the bastards off one by one.

  Two died at Roman’s hands when he lured them in with a fake phone call. Madeline masterfully pieced together recordings of Lillian’s voice, and they projected the call to what the hitmen believed to be Moreau. In the end, their missionary intercepted the call and Roman and some others took them down.

  “Your parents are fine,” he reiterated.

  “Thank God for that.” Lowering her hand to her lap, she clenched it into a fist. He covered it with his own and ran his thumb back and forth over her whitened knuckles.

  “I have news about Pierre Moreau.”

  She held his gaze. “Is he all right too?”

  “Yes. In fact, it seems the attention has completely shifted from him, and our man guarding him believes he’s as safe as anyone else. Though we’ll continue to watch him until this is finished.”

  “And the matter of the insurance policy taken out on him? Suddenly nobody cares about that or wishes to collect?” she asked.

  “The short-term policy expired in sixty days. They hung their hopes on killing him on that racetrack. And that big bet made over him was lost. Neither party got what they wanted.”

  She didn’t speak. “So it really is just me they’re after now. I don’t understand. Sure, I recognized that man at the track, but…”

  “We’re still working on it, Lil. Now I think we need to discuss you remaining here longer.”

  She drew up. “How long?”

  He skated his stare over her body. Though nude, she had none of the affectations most women possessed. She didn’t pose to give him the best angle to her body or try to hide herself at all.

  “Is it so bad being here with me?” he asked.

  She climbed off the bed and walked away, giving him a prime view of her backside, the cheeks curved enough to make his cock stand up again. When she turned to look at him, he felt a fight coming on.

  “I’m not with you, though. I’m here.” She waved at the space. “In this room. Alone.”

  His brows pinched together. “Amelia and Francis told me—”

  “They are good and kind women, but they don’t know what I’m feeling or thinking. You took me from my homeland, Lars. Moved me to a place where I know nobody and left me here. For weeks. Then you come back and tell me you want me again and can’t stop thinking about me. What am I supposed to think about all this?”

  Agitation gave her a snappy tone, and he stood from the bed to face her. Taking slow steps forward, he reached out for her, and she folded her arms to avoid his grasp.

  “I want to go with you. I want to leave,” she said, tipping her chin up in that defiant way he shouldn’t be so surprised to see rise again.

  “It’s not safe for me to take you out of here yet. We’re working on—”

  She landed a hand on her hip. “Who is we? Tell me what you’ve been doing to find these men
?”

  A snake of annoyance slithered through him. “You don’t trust me to do my job now?”

  “I’m questioning if this will ever come to an end. I want to go home, to France. I need to be with my parents. If they’re being guarded, then I can be guarded with them.”

  He shook his head. “Soon, honey.”

  With a glare at him, she cussed in French, and then turned on her heel and walked into the bathroom. She shut the door, leaving him running his fingers through his hair.

  In seconds she’d gone from his sweet little wildcat in bed to demanding. He understood that lack of freedom wore a person down very quick, but she had to trust him to do right by her.

  With a sigh, he looked around the room for his clothing. He located Lillian’s and laid it out on the bed for her whenever she decided to come out. A moment later, he heard the shower turn on. He considered joining her, except the closed door kept him from attempting it.

  Give her space. Give her time.

  He’d confused her with his words too, and no wonder. Hell, he confused himself. Rubbing his finger over the microchip in his wrist, he wondered if he should just say fuck it all and cut it out of his own arm before the Church could. Maybe it was time for him to move on from The Guard. He barely trusted anyone but Oz and North anyway. He could put all this behind him, grab Lillian and take her away. Maybe buy a small place in the French countryside like she dreamed of.

  Crazy thoughts filled his head. The job was his life. He lived for the hunt. He just had to stop getting distracted, drop his obsession for the woman, and get to work finding the men who wanted her dead. His biggest mistake had been touching her.

  He tossed a look at the closed door. The shower still ran. He considered entering and telling her that he would be back soon with better news. In the end, he strode to the door and left. He never was a man of words, anyway. Actions suited him far better.

  * * * * *

  Lil gazed out at the river in the distance, cutting a path through unfamiliar land and leaving her feeling lonelier than she’d felt in her life.

  No, Lars did that.