by Maddie Wade
Love made people weak, made them vulnerable to getting hurt, and in his profession that threat was tenfold. Yet, as he stepped inside his home and closed the door, having her in this space felt right in a way he’d never experienced before.
Reid let her hand go as he slid his jacket off and tossed it on the couch. He needed a moment to calm down, or he was going to maul her like an animal and frighten the fuck out of her.
“Do you want a drink?” Reid walked to the fridge and grabbed a coke.
“No, thanks.”
Reid heard the nerves in her voice and looked over to catch her biting her lip, a worried expression on her stunning face. He was confusing her, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her, her body and her mind, and whatever else she was willing to give him, and the truth was it terrified him. But scared or not, he wouldn’t hurt her because of his uncertainty. “Come here, sunshine.”
Callie walked towards him slowly. She looked like a vision of innocence, and he knew it wasn’t fake or put on for his entertainment. His sunshine was famous, wealthy, one of the most photographed, lusted after women in the world, but to him she was Callie. A woman who loved her dog, who cared for her friends, adored her brother, and wanted him as much as he wanted her.
She stopped as she reached him and looked up, her expression open and so damn beautiful he wished he were a painter. He lifted his hands, then placing them on her hips, drew her flush to his body. A hiss left her body as her nipples rubbed against his chest through her shirt.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” He saw the flare of hunger in her eyes at his words and his fingers flexed on her hips as he fought the urge to rush.
“I think so.” Her hands moved up his chest, and he felt the bite of her nails as she gripped his shirt and pressed deeper.
Reid went on as if she hadn’t answered. “I want you more than my next breath, more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
Callie wet her lips, and his control slipped another notch. “Then why don’t you stop talking and take me?”
Reid growled low in his chest at her words and the husky way she said them, but it was the slight shake of nerves at the end that was his undoing.
Bending, he swung her into his arms. Her laughter curled around him as she threw her head back in enjoyment at the gesture, her arms moving around his neck. Reid strode to his bedroom, pushing the door open with his boot, and kicking it shut behind them. He kept his gaze on her the entire time as he stalked to the bed, watching the way her irises darkened with desire.
Placing her on the bed, he stood back and stared at her as she lay there, her top half propped on her elbows as she waited for him to move, anticipation thick in the air around them. Going to his knees, he removed her shoes as she watched, tossing them behind him. Then he kissed her ankle before he slid his hands higher over her supple thighs. Callie tilted her head as she watched him, and he smiled.
“You plan on helping me undress you?”
His question was met with a grin sexier than any he’d seen before. “And miss the show?”
“Well if it’s a show you want….” He proceeded to pull her trousers over her soft tan thighs, following the movement with his lips. Her skin was sweet, and his dick ached at the thought of just how delicious her pussy would taste.
“Take your top off,” he commanded.
She did as he said, lifting her body and pulling it over her head, leaving her in a lacey pink bra that barely covered the sexy mounds of her tits. Throwing the trousers the way of her boots, he crawled up and over her, stopping only to drop a kiss on her navel. Her belly quivered in response to his touch, and he knew they would be fucking phenomenal together.
With his hands either side of her waist, he dipped his head closer to her face, his lips almost touching hers. He felt the flutter of her hands on his belly, as they roamed over the ridges of muscle until she found skin and he drew in a breath at the sensation.
“I’ve never wanted something as much as I want to be inside you right now.” He touched his mouth to hers, and it was incendiary. Callie’s head fell back as he kissed her, owning her, sucking her sweet tongue into his mouth. His body heated at the way she arched into him, pushing her sweet tits against him.
She pulled her mouth away. “Reid.”
He saw the hunger for more in her face and knew he’d give her anything she desired. With one hand behind her back, he released the clasp on her bra and watched as her breasts tumbled free from the lace. He immediately captured a rosy nipple in his mouth, drawing it in and sucking. Her hands clasped the back of his head, holding him to her as she pushed into his face. He gave the other nipple the same treatment until she was writhing and moaning, and her tits were deep pink nubs.
Reid pulled free needing to be inside her, to take her, own her as she already owned him. He stood between her legs fully clothed and something about the fact she was exposed, lying there so trusting, when he was dressed caused his chest to swell and his balls to ache.
Reid ran his hand over the material at his dick and saw her eyes darken further as her lids lowered. If she wanted a show, he’d give it to her. He slowly undid the buckle on his belt, never taking his eyes from her face as he pulled it through the loops and dropped it to the floor.
Callie moved her eyes lower to the buttons on his jeans as he flicked them open, letting the denim sit on his hips as he reached behind him, and gripping the neck of his shirt, pulled it over his head.
His sunshine wet her lips, the tip of her tongue teasing him as her chest heaved. She was a vision the likes he’d never seen, with beauty that went beyond the physical. It was what made her an excellent model, one adored by so many, and she was his—at least for the time being.
Reid toed off his boots, bending to shed his socks before he lifted up and slowly removed his jeans, pushing them down his legs. Callie sucked in an audible breath as he stood in front of her naked, his cock standing proud against his abdomen.
“You’re like a work of art. So beautiful I don’t know where to look first.”
Her desire washed over him, and he felt a tightness in his chest that was not unpleasant but was a surprise as he’d never felt it before.
Reid prowled closer. Bending over, he took her panties in his hand and tore them from her sexy body, a groan slipped from her as she tipped her back to meet his gaze.
“Did you enjoy the show?” He nipped her ear with his teeth as her breathing quickened.
“Oh, yes.”
Reid smiled to himself and kissed her before he dropped his weight on to her, feeling every inch of her skin against his as his shaft nestled between the beauty of her thighs.
“Keep watching.” He kissed his way down her collar bone, nipping at her breasts, and Callie kept her gaze on him as he worshipped her body. The look of desire mixed with something he hadn’t seen before, a look that made his heart squeeze.
Her perfect pussy was bare, whether from choice or her job he didn’t know, but he loved it. With his tongue he tasted her sweetness. The wetness there evidence of her desire for him, making it all the sweeter. With his fingers, he spread her lips and speared her tight heat, wanting to feel it around his cock but he wanted her to climax first, wanted to watch as she fell apart with pleasure.
Using the tip of his tongue, he flicked the bundle of nerves at her centre and fucked her with his fingers. He lost her eyes when she arched up and screamed his name, and he felt her clit pulse against his tongue as he tasted her pleasure on his lips.
As she came down from her climax, he withdrew his fingers and grinned at the mew of protest it made his woman emit and snagged a condom from his bedside drawer. Rolling it on he was surprised to feel her fingers at his cock. He let go as she pushed the latex down his shaft, her fingers doing crazy things to him. Then her face lifted, and she pumped him twice as she held his gaze with hers.
Reid pulled away and pushed her back onto the bed. He couldn’t wait any longer, needing to be inside her in the
worst way. Once between her legs, he cupped her face in his big hands and angled her face up to his, as her fingertips traced along the lines of his ink.
“I want this to last, but you’re so fucking beautiful and taste and feel so good, I don’t think I can.”
“We can do slow later. I just want to feel you inside me.”
Her words were all it took, and as Reid pulled back, he angled his cock and slid inside her in one long, fierce thrust that had them both groaning.
“Oh, Jesus, you feel so fucking good.”
He kissed her then as he fucked her, his movements becoming faster as she rocked back into him, her legs curling around his hips and locking him to her. He wanted to kiss her everywhere, all at once. He tried to touch every single inch of her skin, to brand her as his own.
Reid felt her fingers in his hair, tugging as her climax built, and the walls around his cock began to flutter. Knowing he wouldn’t be far behind her, he angled his pelvis so it hit her clit with every thrust. She cried out as her climax crashed into them both, dragging his from him as his balls drew up and he came so hard his vision went black, and a thousand stars exploded behind his eyelids.
As Reid came down from the best orgasm of his life, he looked at Callie. The look of satisfaction and serenity on her face was perhaps the most beautiful one he’d seen on her and was his favourite so far. As he thought this, he realised with a little surprise that he’d never be through with this woman.
If they lived a thousand years, she’d still hold him captive, and that was most the terrifying thing of all, because if he lost her or couldn’t protect her from the evils of this world, he would be dead too.
Chapter Seventeen
Standing back against the thick concrete wall of the bunker, his foot braced on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, Reid observed the figure in the metal chair. There was a black cloth bag over her head, and her legs and wrists were cuffed to the chair. He could feel her fear from where he stood, and while he didn’t like it, he knew it was necessary to expedite the answers they needed to end this unseen war they found themselves in.
He, Jack, Liam, and Decker were in the bunker for the interrogation. The container, despite its name, wasn’t a bunker per se. It was a room at the back of the facility. As hi-tech as the rest of the buildings, it had retina scan entry and exit points, walls a foot thick, technology that stopped transmissions from working inside unless they allowed it, and blocked heat signature technology too.
Behind the interrogation room, which was stark and cold with no comfort or lighting giving it the appearance of a cold war bunker, were the cells. There were three in all that held up to ten people each. They were activated by retina scan and had to have two people at the same time to open the doors. Sometimes it felt like overkill, and then every now and again they had a prisoner so dangerous it almost didn’t feel enough.
Jack looked at Liam, who had lost the jovial joker exterior that was his norm and now looked like someone you’d do your very best to avoid on a dark night. His features were stark, his expression ice-cold, almost dead. The four of them had donned the black ski-masks his friends called a bally, which he’d learned was short for balaclava.
Liam approached the woman who sat straight, her head tall on her neck, the fear she felt hidden behind bravery he admired. Liam pulled the fabric hood off her head, and Reid moved closer to see the woman blink as she tried to shield her eyes from the bright light that was pointed directly at her.
Looking over them with confusion and fear, she didn’t speak but waited. His respect for her went up even as his impatience for answers grew.
“What’s your name?” Liam demanded his cockney accent gone, just the cold, deadly undertone of a killer in the sound.
“My name is Erika McConnell.”
“What is your current job?”
“I’m a medical examiner for the Central London NHS Trust.”
“Why did you torch Tina Pugh’s body?” Liam leaned in close and bellowed the question in her face.
McConnell flinched at the sheer violence in his voice and her voice shook as she answered. “No. I didn’t do that.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.”
“I’m not, I swear.”
Reid had a feeling she was telling the truth but stayed where he was, letting Liam handle this one.
“Why the fuck should I believe you?”
Liam paced in front of her, and her frightened eyes followed his every movement. She was a bright one this woman, and knew she had to keep her focus on the biggest threat in the room and for her, that threat was currently Liam.
“Because it’s the truth.”
Liam turned back toward her and Reid saw her flinch slightly. “Then how the fuck did someone get into your office and torch her body so it was unrecognisable?”
“My ID badge and pass were stolen.” Her words held no hint of deceit, but Reid found it far too convenient.
Liam looked at Jack, who nodded. The woman followed his gaze and noted the exchange.
She looked at Jack. “I’m telling the truth. My bag was stolen the night of the fire. I was out for dinner with friends. One minute my bag was at my feet, the next it was gone.”
Liam tilted his head, and it did nothing to lessen the dangerous vibe he gave off. “And you didn’t think to report it so they could get the codes changed?” He made it clear he didn’t believe her, even though Reid knew they all did.
“I did. I called it in as soon as I realised, but by then the fire had been started.”
“What time did you go for dinner?”
“Around eight.”
“Where?” Liam demanded getting in her face again as he fired questions at her.
“La Madelaine.”
“Who were you with?”
“Two friends from university who were visiting.”
“Names.”
“Kaye Jones and Alison Fredderick.”
Liam leaned in close, and saw McConnell pull away, her pulse beating so hard in her neck he worried she’d have a heart attack.
“We’ll be checking, and if I find out you’re lying, I’ll be back, and you don’t want that.”
Reid almost smiled at Liam’s dramatics. He knew Liam, or any of the men in that room, or fact any man at Eidolon, would never lay a finger on a woman who wasn’t coming at them with a weapon. Plus, he knew without even having to hear what Decker thought that she was telling the truth.
Liam stepped back, and Reid moved closer and covered the woman’s head with the cloth with quick efficiency. He cut her wrists and ankles free before firmly but gently pulling her to her feet. He had no desire to hurt an innocent woman. He regretted they’d had to take this approach, but he doubted she’d have answered their questions under different circumstances.
McConnell was known for being a stickler, and she wouldn’t speak to anyone outside of the investigation about the break-in or fire. Now they had some answers at least and a place to start looking for the person who’d stolen her bag and most likely started the fire.
Once McConnell’s head was covered, Liam led her by her elbow to the exit where he and Lopez would load her into a van and drive her back to where they’d snatched her. She would be none the wiser as to where they’d been or who had come for her. It would probably leave her edgy and more aware of her surroundings, but Reid didn’t think that was a bad thing.
The men shed their ski-masks and Reid and Jack looked at Decker.
“Well?” Jack placed his hands on his hips impatiently as he waited for Decker to respond.
“She’s telling the truth.”
Jack nodded and pulled out his phone. “Will, I need CCTV from La Madeleine in Covent Garden. Jolie McConnell had her bag stolen from there the night Tina Pugh died. I want to know who took it and where they went next. Also, run background checks on the women with her, a Kaye Jones and Alison Fredderick.”
Reid waited as Jack went silent on his end, listening to whatever his brother was saying.
Jack sighed and looked to the ceiling. “I know we do but until you have Lopez up to speed with your programmes, you have to fucking help me.” Jack paused again. “I don’t give a flying fuck if Aubrey is going to kick your ass for working late again.”
Reid smirked at the thought of a henpecked Will Granger, and then Callie came to mind, and he realised that perhaps it was worth a little nagging if he could go home to her every night as Will did with Aubrey.
“Fine. Next time I come over I’ll bring her some.… Yes, yes, Sunday as usual.” Jack hung up and looked at his men, who were openly grinning.
“Don’t fucking look at me like that. Aubrey is a ball-buster when she starts. I don’t know how Will copes with her.”
But Reid could tell by the grin on Jack’s face he had a lot of affection for his soon to be sister-in-law, not least because she’d healed the seemingly insurmountable rift between the brothers.
Decker chuckled. “Maybe because he loves her.”
“Yeah, well, as long as he finds the fucker who torched that body, he can love whoever the hell he likes.” Jack paused then and seemed to change his mind. “No scrap that, he has to marry Aubrey. That woman makes the best damn Yorkshire puddings I’ve ever tasted.”
Reid shook his head and laughed. “Well, now that’s cleared up, what’s the plan?”
Jack looked at him, his face cleared of anything except the job. “Now we wait and see what Waggs and Blake find and see if Will can find the arsonist. Do you have any news from Mitch on the investigation?”
“Not a lot. At least not that they’re sharing yet.” Decker was in constant contact with Mitch.
“I need to find the stalker so Callie can relax.” Reid ran a hand over his hair and thought of his sunshine and how she’d looked this morning when he’d woken her with his mouth.
“Ah, fuck not another one,” Jack groused.
Reid tilted his head at his boss’s words. “What the fuck are you on about?”
“You,” he accused.