His tongue traced around the stiffened bud. She arched her back, pressing into the warmth of his mouth. A soft moan tore from her lips when he began sucking. His hand squeezed. The fingers of his second hand teased the neglected mound before it once again trailed down her stomach.
He sucked at her nipple, drawing on it. With each moan he drew from her, his tongue swept across a little harder. His mouth and teeth worked over her flesh. She twisted and writhed underneath his touch. His palm skimmed over her pussy. She stiffened when his fingers pushed between the lips.
“So wet, baby.” His hand stilled before moving again.
Her attention centered on those fingers. They moved closer to the swollen nub. Her body tensed in expectation of a touch on her clit. She craved that with every breath she took.
His fingers circled the sensitive flesh before drawing back. The light pressure pushed her arousal higher. His fingers traced in slow rings, but he avoided the aching nub of her clit. The teasing touch trailed downward. He trailed around her entrance before dipping two fingertips inside.
She gripped his shoulders even though she itched to slide her hand between her thighs and relieve the building ache. He’d pull her hand away before she could do more than add to her torment.
“I’m not going to let you come until I’m inside you, Chelsea.” He slowly curled his finger inside her, stroking the sensitive tissue.
His slick fingers once more trailed upward to her clit. He circled the hardened bud, but this time the tips flicked across it. She gasped and arched. His teeth grazed her nipple. She shuddered. The man drew so much feeling from her. Her throat tightened and her breath rasped against the raw tissue. Her nails sank into his shoulders.
“I need you, Alex.” She tugged on his hair to pull his lips away from her breast before he made her come from that contact. Her body burned with every brush or lick, so damn sensitive now it wouldn’t take much to put her right over the edge.
He lifted his head and took the final step forward. With quick movements, he rolled on the condom. His cock brushed her inner thigh. His lips pressed to hers, before he spread kisses over her cheek and chin. The rounded head of his shaft eased over the lips of her pussy.
She licked her lips. Her fingers threaded through his hair. She tugged him forward for a kiss. Her lips sealed across his. She wanted the connection with him.
He rocked his hips forward. His cock slid into her. She moaned against his lips. She pulled him tighter to her. Her legs wrapped around his hips. His tongue thrust against her lips, swept inside. The kiss deepened, became a claiming. She nipped and sucked at his lower lip.
One of his hands slipped beneath her buttocks and pulled her closer. His hips surged forward. She moaned. She wanted to his hands everywhere and the weight of his body on her. Her nails dug into his back. She rocked into the thrusts. His chest brushed against her hardened nipples.
A little more. The words tore through her mind. A strangled moan escaped her lips. His eyes had darkened to almost black. The hunger flared. The strength of his grip and the almost out of control plunge of his hips showed the intensity of his desire. The knowledge of her effect on him enflamed her.
Her inner muscles clenched around his cock. A groan tore from him. His hips punched forward and he drove into her harder, faster. He pulled her tighter to him. His tongue thrust deep into her mouth as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
The climax rose, edging closer. Her breath rasped in her throat. She lifted into his strokes wanting more. The change in angle caused his cock to hit a sensitive area within her. Pleasure burst through her. Her eyes slammed shut. She tore her mouth away from his and drew in a desperate gasp. Her body stiffened. Sensation sizzled through her nerve endings.
He continued thrusting against her. His cheek brushed against hers. Tension tightened his muscles beneath her hands. Bliss shimmered through her with every movement of his body, the afterglow extended. The hand on her ass tightened. He thrust forward. His head tipped back as the ecstasy took him. He came with a shout. The muscles in his neck flexed. His hips continued to rock as if trying to hold onto the feeling.
When his breathing calmed, he leaned close and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He stepped back for a moment to take care of the condom, but came right back and eased between her thighs again. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. He stood there with his arms around her. The physical closeness comforted her, but she wished for a deeper relationship.
A knot of anxiety built in her stomach whenever she thought about the lack of certainty about him and his place in her life. She wanted him there. Now, it was his choice. He had to be ready to share his full life with her. Not just the parts he thought she needed to know.
“I needed that, baby. After learning that fucker got into your house, I wanted to come straight to you.” Alex’s fingers trailed down her back. “Having to stay away tore at me.”
“I needed to feel you, too. I was so scared,” she admitted.
When she’d found that package, a sense vulnerability rose leaving her feeling naked and exposed. The stalker had gotten into her home. The one place that should be her haven. How could she ever look at it in the same way again?
“We’ll find this person. You just have to give us time.” Alex dropped a kiss on top of her head. “You want to go take a shower with me?”
“A shower sounds wonderful. Then we have to talk about a few things, maybe also think about what we’re going to eat.” She’d need a few things to at least get her over the next few days.
“We’ll be busy for a little while then, but first, let’s make the shower a long one.” Alex helped her down from the countertop and led her to his bedroom and the master bath.
Chapter Four
Alex got out of his car and headed for the white building located in the center of the flower fields. The smaller field office stood to the right of the large cool prep building where they trimmed the flowers before shipping. He saw a delivery van in front of the big doors so someone must be picking up an order.
He was a little early to pick up Chelsea, but he could wait in the office for her. Although it depended on who was in the building, he might be able to ask if there had been any gifts. If it was just her brother, they could talk at will. Unfortunately, that wasn’t likely. He could, at least, ask about her day.
Gallagher wanted to keep the details of the attacks on Chelsea as quiet as possible. Alex agreed with the call. They didn’t want to chance any copycat incidents to confuse the issue. It wasn’t going to be easy to catch the stalker even without some other person making problems.
It had been two days since she’d moved in with him. Her house had been cleaned and was now odor free. Chelsea wouldn’t be going home though. She was staying with him until they caught this person. If he had his way, she wouldn’t move out when the stalking ended.
The attraction between them was too strong to walk away from. It felt right. The connection made him feel as if he finally had a place to belong. He’d been looking for that for a long time. His instincts told him to hold onto her. That’s what he’d do. He had the tenacity to keep pushing for a life with her. Especially since he knew she felt something for him.
Chelsea had doubts because he hadn’t been open about his past. He’d been so focused on her and building a relationship that he hadn’t realized she wasn’t satisfied. Now that he knew about it, he would find a way to make her happy.
Thankfully, she was in the same house with him and wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. With the danger she faced, she’d learn what he’d done in the past. He hoped it didn’t scare her. With any luck, she knew him well enough to see that he wasn’t a monster.
After he opened the door to the office, he looked around the light gray walled room. A thin, blond man walked past him without saying word, carrying what looked like a computer bag and a square box. A young red haired woman, Gina Dysart, sat behind a desk. Caleb, Chelsea’s brother, stood slightly bent over the corner of another d
esk. He studied something on one of the monitors. A man who Alex had seen before, but never met sat in the desk chair pointing something out to Caleb.
“Hi, Alex, Chels is still out in the fields with a couple of other people, but she shouldn’t be too much longer.” Caleb looked up when the door closed behind Alex. A smile crossed the other man’s face.
Alex appreciated Caleb telling him she wasn’t alone. He’d had nightmares over her coming to work. She spent most of her time out in the fields. She touched the plants, healed them, and encouraged their growth. She was also most vulnerable there. He knew before this happened she’d walked through the fields alone while working.
“No worries. I’m early.” Alex shrugged. “Everything good here today?”
“You know this place. Routine as usual. If we’re not planting, we’re tending or harvesting. The latter today,” Caleb said before he glanced back at the monitor. “This is Dean, by the way. You’ve seen him, but I don’t think you’ve met him. The man who just left was Jeremy. He’s always in and out. He works in the office.”
Which meant that Jeremy didn’t have a strong affinity to the plants. The people with a pull to plants worked with them in a direct capacity.
Alex nodded to the man sitting at the desk near Caleb. “Nice to meet you.”
Alex walked past the first desk and found a spare chair. He settled in to wait. His muscles loosened a little and the tension in his shoulders and neck eased. He’d see Chelsea soon. If he was with her, he could handle almost anything.
After a moment, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He brought up his email. He began checking for updates on some searches. His fellow officers were trying to narrow down who could have been behind the attacks on Chelsea. One of the gifts she’d been sent while not rare had been personalized for her.
The glass figurine stood on a glass base. Her name and a poem were etched there. They hoped to discover where the figurine was purchased and who paid for it. If they couldn’t discover the identity there, they also searched for places where the etching might have been done.
Whoever bought the little sculpture didn’t know Chelsea well. They sent her a representation of something she found almost abhorrent. The fairies and elves of myth.
A winged fairy perched atop a grouping of flowers situated on top of the base. Chelsea didn’t like the cutesy depictions, even if the fairies of legend had been inspired by the Aelfir at one point.
A loud boom echoed in the small office. The building shuddered. Pictures dropped from the wall and crashed to the floor. Books and supplies fell to the ground.
Alex’s attention jerked away from the information on the small screen of his phone. He jumped to his feet and ran for the door even as he noted the damage. A shelf tore free from the bracket holding it the wall. It crashed into one of the desks. Luckily, Gina had scrambled away from it. Light streamed in through boards which had torn free from their support on the wall.
He pulled his gun before he ripped the door open. At the moment, that weapon might do more good than the blade at his waist. He had no idea what had hit the building.
Could it be some sort of magical creature? To stop that, he’d need more than a gun. He doubted it. A creature wouldn’t stop at one bump. Still, if necessary, he had his blade. The Aelfir fire imbued within the dagger would handle any magical enemy.
As he left the office, Alex’s eyes swept over the area, searching for the source of that impact. He saw the delivery van rolling toward the fields. He sprinted for the vehicle.
It glanced off a parked car, changing directions slightly and continued on. From the way the van moved, he suspected the stalker had aimed it and jumped out before it hit.
Alex needed to stop it before it rolled into the fields. Not simply because it would damage the plants, but because that would mean more work for Chelsea. And a late night for him waiting while she did her work. He knew his woman. She wouldn’t leave if the plants were harmed.
He ran up to the driver’s side and found the sliding door open. He jumped in and stomped on the break forcing it to a halt. He jammed on the emergency break to prevent it from rolling anywhere else and stepped down from the van. When he turned away from the vehicle, he saw Chelsea standing on the road.
A man came from the prep building. He stopped and then began looking around the lot. He started yelling as he ran across the yard. Alex didn’t pay much attention to him. His attention locked on Chelsea.
She stared at him, her mouth agape. Her wide eyes and that stunned look told him that she’d guessed what he’d hidden from her. He’d run faster than a normal Aelfir could. Fuck. He didn’t want her to find out this way.
His speed was above normal, even for Aelfir. His agility, strength and reflexes had been honed and enhanced. During his training, his magic had heightened those abilities as well as others to aid in his new role as a Hunter.
Alex took a deep breath. It could be worse. She watched him. Her eyes looked twice their normal size. He could live with that shocked expression. Especially when he considered the alternative. She could have a look of revulsion or fear on her face.
Some people in their society considered those who hunted at best brutal killers necessary for the Aelfir to continue and at worst monsters. Not Chelsea. They’d talked. She didn’t think that way. Still, doubts nudged at the back of his mind. What was in her head?
She walked over to him. Her eyes moved over his face. “Are you alright? We saw the truck hit the building, but we were too far away to do anything.”
“The only thing that it damaged was the building. Some of the shelving along that wall fell, I think. No one was hit by it.” He reached for her hand. How would she react?
She took his hand and squeezed just a little. A little of the tense uncertainty eased. She hadn’t pulled back from him. That had to be promising, although he had to make some sort of explanation.
“We’ll talk a little later?” She continued looking up at him.
“Yes, first we have to notify the police and get through the reports.” Alex shifted his shoulders and rolled his head a little. Did the stalker think Chelsea was in the building or was the runaway van meant to scare him?
“Did it just roll and hit the office?” Chelsea glanced at the van and then back to him.
The crash hadn’t been an accident. That truck had been over by the other building. The corner where the van hit didn’t face the prep area. In fact, it was on the opposite side. That meant someone had circled the office and then directed the van toward it.
“No, I saw it parked by the prep building, probably waiting to be loaded, when I drove up.” Alex stared at the damn van. “Did any of you see someone running away or perhaps a vehicle leaving?”
“No, but they wouldn’t have to. They could have gone through the fields behind the office and straight to our main buildings. It wouldn’t take long and wouldn’t be all that strange for someone to cut through there as long as they were careful of the plants.” Chelsea shrugged. “That’s how we send messages sometimes, especially if someone hasn’t responded to the first email or voice mail.”
“And you don’t have any cameras?” Alex thought the answer would be no. He hadn’t seen any out here.
“There’s one at the gates. Also, there are some inside the prep building and the larger offices, but not on the field office, the area around it or the fields.” Chelsea looked around the area. “There’s never been a need for them.”
Well, there’s a need now. Alex kept the thought to himself. He wouldn’t take his frustration out on her.
“We’ve called the police, Alex. They’re on the way. You’re fast.” Caleb strolled up to them.
“Yeah, keeping in shape sort of goes hand in hand with being a police officer.” At least, it did in Alden Glen.
Officers had to pass a fitness test every year. At times, Alden Glen police dealt with more than normal crime. They were the first ones to discover any supernatural trouble in the city. While it depended on the t
ype of trouble, Hunters might be called in to deal with it, but until that happened, the officers needed to keep people safe.
Chelsea’s eyes swept over his chest. A small smile curved her lips. He saw the sensual heat in those eyes. He enjoyed the appreciation in her gaze, but they couldn’t do anything about it right now.
Everyone waited for the police to arrive. The van driver screamed to know who had taken his vehicle. His hands waved wildly. No one answered him even as he continued demanding answers.
Alex let him rant. He understood the man’s anger. Alex wished that he could shout that way, as well. His anger boiled and hadn’t lessened a bit. The only thing that helped him retain his sanity was Chelsea. He kept her beside him even through the interviews by his fellow officers.
Chapter Five
Eventually, Alex took her home. When he pulled up beside his house, he was happy to finally be alone with her, even though there was still some trouble to get through. He escorted her inside. As he thought about the upcoming discussion, anxiety built. His mind spun and his palms sweated. He couldn’t lose her now.
“Let me get you something to drink. We’ll talk before we think about whipping up something to eat.” Alex put his hand on her shoulder.
She nodded. Although something alcoholic sounded great, they should both keep their senses about them for the moment. He took chilled fruit juice and club soda from his fridge. In a few moments, he had two fruit coolers.
He carried them into the living room, handing her one. She took a seat in a light green chair at an angle to the couch. He’d like her to come over beside him, but understood she wanted a little distance.
He didn’t say anything as he settled onto the comfortable blue couch. She sat forward and her arms braced on her thighs. Her eyes ran over his face. He put his cell phone on the coffee table, not wanting to be distracted by any texts or emails.
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