Justice for Sloane - Reina Torres

by Police

  “It would be so easy to kill you, but then it would be over for you.”

  “Damn it, Sloane, walk away from him!”

  Pilar’s tone turned her head.

  “But this will be more fun.”

  Just as she started to move, she saw him reach into his coat. By the time she saw the butt of a gun in his hand she knew she wasn’t going to be the target. He wanted her alive. He wanted her suffering.

  And there was one visible target in the room that he could get to.

  The only other person not protected by a Kevlar vest.

  “No.” Sloane threw herself against him as he tried to extend his arm to fire. Wrapping her arm around his she pulled it down toward the ground as he tried to push her away.

  Her ears rang again as several shots rang out.

  A moment later she was falling. When she came to a stop, she was sprawled on the ground, halfway under her uncle, and blood soaking through her clothes.

  Vicente reached Sloane’s side at the same time Pilar did. Together they lifted Glen McKinnon off of her and rolled him onto his back, still breathing, but gushing blood.

  He didn’t care if someone tried to save the man’s life, he had more important things to do.

  He had to save someone more important than anything else.

  He felt Sloane’s eyes on him as he pulled apart her blouse and smoothed his fingers through the blood on her skin. “Are you hurt, Sloane?”

  She lay still beneath his hands.

  “Damn it, Sloane, are you hurt?”

  He felt her hand touch his cheek and he looked up.

  Her soft green eyes looked into his. She was near tears, her lashes glittering with some untold emotion. “I don’t think it’s my blood.”

  Vicente heard the wooden tone of her voice, the syllables thick on her tongue. And from his side, he heard the words that he already had in his head.

  “She’s in shock.”

  Pilar touched his shoulder with her hand. “I’ll get the EMTs in here. Stay with her.”

  He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Vicente moved up, closer to her head, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder when she tried to get up. “Stay still, baby.”

  She tried again.

  “Hey… I’m not joking. Let them check you out first.”

  “I,” she closed her mouth and bit into her lower lip so hard that the pale line that showed around her teeth was starting to turn pink, “I don’t know how much you heard.”

  Getting up on his knees he touched his hand to the side of her face and leaned over so he was all she could see. “I don’t care what he said. I care that he hurt you. I care that he was trying to make you suffer.

  “And I care that I wasn’t able to get here any sooner.”

  She nodded, an odd rocking movement dictated by the hard floor under her. “Hildie?”

  He smiled. “You are, without a doubt, the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met.”

  She tensed and her skin paled, letting him know that he’d unknowingly hit a little too close to home.

  He wiped his hands off on his slacks and found her hand, drawing it up between them so he could place it against his chest, palm first.

  Vicente watched as the tension eased from her body.

  “You need to know something, Sloane.”

  Her eyes fixed on his, a mix of emotions turned her soft green eyes into a dark stormy sea.

  “I love you.” He held her hand to him with both hands, feeling the harsh beat of his heart and the warmth of her hand against the same thin wall of flesh. “And I’m going to love you forever. That’s what I was thinking tonight before we even started the operation. You’re it for me.”

  He watched as she swallowed, and a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and into her hair.

  He heard the wheels of a gurney rattling in through the door.

  “I just want you to remember that while they’re taking a look at you. Just hold onto that thought, Sloane, until you can hold onto me.”

  She nodded and then he felt a touch on his arm.

  “Agent Bravo, please step back.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze and then set it gently down at her side before he got to his feet and moved away.

  Chapter 16

  When Sloane was released from the hospital just before dawn, Vicente walked her to the Departmental SUV and helped her inside even though they both knew she didn’t need the help. They just couldn’t seem to stop touching each other.

  Hands clasped, or fingers entwined.

  He’d smoothed his hand over her back while they’d waited for her x-rays. She leaned against his shoulder when Pilar had come to visit after she was released almost an hour before.

  They touched to reassure, and they touched to soothe. All of it was just another affirmation that they’d both made it through the last night alive and breathing.

  After he closed her door and made his way around to the driver’s side, they sat in their seats for a long silent moment.

  Neither spoke.

  Neither seemed to move.

  But there was nothing difficult or strained about the distance between them. It just was.

  “Are you,” her voice seemed to startle them both, “are you going to go home after you drop me off at my apartment?”

  He turned to answer her, but she was looking straight out of the windshield, her hands folded in her lap. Vicente smiled as she blew out a breath between her slightly parted lips.

  “I was hoping you’d come to my place.”

  She turned to look at him, her eyes widening. “Your place?”

  He shrugged. I know I’ve been a bachelor for a long time, but if there’s one thing our mother drilled into our heads, especially the boys, was that we had two hands just like everyone else so we could clean.

  “So, unless someone broke in while I was gone, it should be clean enough for human habitation.”

  She shook her head and he felt a knot twist his stomach.

  “I’m not worried about how clean it is,” she told him. “I just want to make sure that it’s what you want.”

  “Sloane-”

  “No, let me say this.”

  He heard the plea in her voice and nodded. “Okay.”

  Turning on the seat, she met his gaze evenly and let out a breath. “When we were in the warehouse, you told me you loved me and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. Just moments before I was sure that I was going to die and that your sister would too. I couldn’t stand the thought that you’d lose someone you loved because of me.

  “And then, you were there, telling me everything was going to be okay. You weren’t angry at me. You didn’t blame me. You told me you loved me. And I knew everything was going to be just fine.

  “So, if you want me to go to your place, then let’s go, because once we get inside and I can get you alone, I’m going to show you how much you mean to me, Vicente.” She leaned closer and traced her fingertips down the side of his face and down to his shoulder. “Because I love you too.”

  Smiling, he turned back to the steering wheel and started the SUV. He backed out of the parking spot, but before he changed the gear to drive he gave her a pointed look. “I never said I wasn’t angry, Sloane. You scared me. Terrified me. I wish I’d known what you were doing, but we’re not going to talk about it today.”

  He shifted gears and they started forward, heading to the exit.

  “Then when are we going to talk about it?”

  He heard the hesitation in her voice and knew he wasn’t going to drag it out. “Later. Tomorrow. Sooner the better. We’re going to have a talk about and we’ll likely argue about it, but I’m told that make up sex is something we shouldn’t miss. We can do that tomorrow too.”

  She laughed as the SUV bumped down onto the main road outside the hospital.

  If you asked her later what the outside of Vicente’s house looked like, she wouldn’t have a clue. Every cell of her body was focused on keepi
ng her hands to her herself until they were inside.

  When the SUV was put into Park, she had her seatbelt undone and the door open. They two set foot on the ground at the same time and before he could come around to get her, she met him at the front of the vehicle.

  He took her hand in his and they made their way up the path to the porch. That was all she could remember. A porch. A door. And then the lock clicking into place with a resounding click. When he finished setting the alarm he turned toward her. “Do you want me to show you around or-”

  Her hands grasped the front of his shirt and pulled it open, sending at least one button flying.

  She saw the curious look in his eyes, but she also saw the way his lips parted. She knew those lips.

  Knew what they felt like on her skin, but she also knew it meant he was trying to slow his breathing… trying to control his need. Vicente liked to touch and taste, but he was willing to let her take control and it only made her hungrier for him.

  “It’s only fair,” she told him as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, “you ruined my shirt.”

  They both knew it was a lie. All the blood that had soaked into her shirt had ruined it, but neither of them wanted to think about that. She was sure of it.

  The shirt fell but didn’t fall from his hands.

  He tugged them apart and cleared his throat as she reached for his belt.

  “I’m busy,” she told him as she released the buckle and made quick work of pulling the end free.

  “I think you forgot my cuffs,” she heard the note of amusement in his voice.

  “Cuffs,” she repeated, “what a perfect name for them.”

  When she pulled his zipper down in one quick movement he hissed slightly.

  “Careful,” he cautioned her, “don’t want to catch something down there.”

  “Oh, I don’t, do I?”

  Before he could answer, she slipped her hand into the waistband of his boxer-briefs and wrapped her hand around his thickening length.

  “You want me to let it go?”

  As she eased his pants down onto his hips she looked up and saw the way his eyes had darkened, and when she drew her closed hand up from the base of his cock to the head she saw him lick his bottom lip before pulling it between his teeth.

  “Or,” she wondered as she got down on her knees on his carpet, “do you want me to keep going?”

  His eyes lowered and she knew what he could see, her pale hand wrapped around his shaft and bumping up against the head.

  “Well, I guess that’s a-” she took him into her mouth, chasing her hand as it lowered to the base.

  “Yes.” He groaned and she felt his hips push forward. “That’s a yes…”

  She couldn’t help the surge of heat that traced through her veins at the feeling of him in her mouth. The power she felt holding him in her hand. It was a heady sensation, but it felt so good to give him this gift.

  She explored his length with her gentle fist and the flat of her tongue. The ridges and velvety skin felt like heaven, and the deeper she took him, the more his head rubbed at the top of her mouth, near the back of her soft palate. The sensations were subtle but seemed to tickle her throat with his touch.

  As she moved back, he rocked back on his feet and stumbled back against the door.

  “Baby,” his voice crawled out of his throat and she heard a series of soft noises against the door, “I want to touch you.”

  She pulled back, releasing him from her mouth with a soft pop. “Wait your turn.” She sat back on her heels and looked up into his face.

  His eyes were dark with want, the lines of his face, tight and angular, giving his face an appearance more suited to an animal on the hunt than a human.

  “You’ll get your chance to play. Let me have my fun.” And just to show him how much she was enjoying it, she held him gently at the base of his erection and leaned forward. When she was just an inch away from him she let her tongue peak out from between her lips.

  She heard him suck in a breath and when she turned ever so slightly to the side, she saw his eyes fixed on her.

  As she touched the tip of her tongue to the underside of his cock it twitched in her hand and a grunt kicked through his body.

  A slow litany of words poured from his lips and when she swirled her tongue around the smooth dome of his head she felt his hips push forward and his balls tightened up, brushing against the backs of her fingers.

  She looked up and saw his face pulled tight and his forehead furrowed as she felt his muscles tensing.

  “You’re going to have to tell me what you said later,” she smiled when he managed to open his eyes wide enough to look down at her, “I have a lot to learn if we’re going to be together.”

  A shudder passed through him as she leaned forward again and dipped her tongue into the opening on the tip and pulled the pearl of pre-cum into her mouth.

  “If you get any better at this, I’m going to lose my mind.” His eyes slid closed as her hand drew up along his length.

  “I think I’m going to like that challenge,” she told him, “I want to make you happy.”

  “You already do, Sloane. Just by loving me.” He tried to lift his hand to touch her and growled as he lowered his hand back against the door. “When are you going to let me have my hands back?”

  She considered his words for a moment and then she shrugged. “You know,” she gave him a wink, “I didn’t think it through.” Getting up to her feet she reached to his side and tugged on the sleeve only to find that it was good and stuck on his wrist. “You want me to pull it back up and-”

  He’d leaned forward and reached over with his fingers, slipping them between his skin and the cuff. A good tug and a low tearing sound reached her ears.

  “I could have gotten you a pair of scissors, or-”

  He brought his hands around front and rid himself of the other cuff.

  “Now that was just wasteful.”

  “Really?” He raised an eyebrow at her. He pushed his pants and underwear down to the floor and toed off his shoes, leaving him naked before her. “The real waste is that I’m naked, and you’re not.”

  “How do you suggest that we remedy this situation, Agent Bravo?”

  He took one step closer, completely at ease with her. “You’ve got two choices, Miss King.”

  She couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of her mouth.

  “You can strip down right here, and I put you up on my counter and christen the first room of my house, or you make a run for it and I get to have you wherever I catch you.”

  She considered the options even as her body caught fire at the look in his eyes and the promise in his words.

  “Well, neither one has a downside really, but why waste the energy of running away from you,” she stepped closer and felt a rush of liquid heat between her thighs, “when I’d rather have you inside me.”

  Just to prove her point she reached down and pulled the hem of her borrowed scrubs up and over her head.

  With her other clothes in evidence, all she was left with was her scrub bottoms.

  “Take them off, Sloane.”

  His voice was low and thick with his arousal and just hearing her name on his lips made her ache to feel him inside of her again.

  She met his gaze with her own hungry need and it took all of a few seconds to hook her fingers and drop the pale blue pants to the ground at her feet.

  She reached down and pushed her flats off her heels, and when she looked back up she saw him inches from her.

  His arms wrapped around her and his hands slid back and over the curve of her ass. He grabbed hold and lifted her from the floor.

  It was only a moment before she felt the cool granite of his countertop under her. The shock of the colder temperature had her leaning forward and put her bare breasts on display.

  “I have to say that I like what the cold did to you.” Vicente lifted a fingertip and brushed it over her nipple, watching as even his light
est touch drew her flesh tight. “And I love what my touch does to you.”

  “’Cente, I- oh!”

  He swept his tongue across her nipple and then back in the other direction. She couldn’t help the breathy moan that fell from her lips, but the arch she put in her back, the way she braced her palms against the granite counter top? That was all her.

  Sloane wanted to enjoy the view and enjoy she did.

  While he took the tip of one breast in his mouth, he continued to brush his fingers over the crest of the other.

  One breast warm and wet, the other teased by his skin, instinct and need for him, arched her back even more, pressing her breast deeper into his mouth where he could taste and tempt with the rough scratch of his tongue.

  When he switched and wrapped his lips around the beaded nipple of her other breast she felt a rush of warmth between her legs and the gasp from her lips was followed by a moan. It sounded like a purr deep in her throat and when she managed to look down at him, his eyes were watching her with triumph in his gaze.

  Bracing his hands on either side of her hips, Vicente leaned in closer and licked the plumped flesh of her bottom lip. “Keep biting on it and you’re going to draw blood, and I’ve had enough of you being in the hospital to last me a lifetime.”

  He paused, his eyes moving over her face and then slowly down her body. Moving his feet the slightest bit he drew closer to her body using his hips to move her legs further out to the side, nestling against her. Lifting his hand, he placed his palm on her belly, brushing over her skin around her belly button. “But one day,” he murmured low as his other hand joined the first, mirroring his touch on the other side of her body, “when you’re round and full with our child, I’m going to be there beside you waiting for our baby to take its first breath. That’s the only need you’ll have for a hospital from now on.”

  She wanted to tell him that you couldn’t just will things like that into being, but she felt the warmth of his touch, saw the reverence of his expression as he touched her body and wondered if things couldn’t just be that simple.