Before the Dawn--A Novel of Romantic Suspense

by Cynthia Eden

  And over it.

  He felt her first orgasm against his mouth. Heard the pleasure in her moan, and it made him desperate for more. He rose up, grabbing a condom from the wallet on the nightstand, and then he was ditching his sweats and shoving that condom on as fast as he could.

  He went back between her thighs. He guided his cock to the entrance of her body. She was wet and hot and just as he’d wanted her.

  But he hesitated. “Dawn?”

  Too dark to see her eyes. Too dark to see her face.

  Too dark for her to see my face.

  “Don’t make me wait longer, Tucker.”

  He wouldn’t. He thrust into her, sinking deep and nearly losing his mind because she felt so utterly perfect around him. His hands slammed down onto the mattress, on either side of her body, and he withdrew, only to thrust again, harder, deeper into her.

  Her legs rose and locked around his hips. She arched toward him, demanding, meeting him eagerly. There was no hesitation now, no room for fear. There was only the driving heat for them both as they raced toward the climax.

  The bed shook beneath him. He grabbed her hips and lifted her even higher. He was rough now, too far gone to hold back.

  It’s Dawn. My Dawn.

  He slid his cock over her clit and she cried out his name. Her sex squeezed around him and he knew her second orgasm was coming. He wanted to feel that orgasm all along his cock. He drove into her, even as his hand slid between them and pressed to her clit. He knew what she liked. He knew every inch of her body. He knew her.

  She gave a little scream, one that he stopped with his kiss. Her sex squeezed around him, contractions of release that sent his own orgasm pounding through him. He stiffened, holding her too tight, but unable to stop.

  The pleasure blasted through him, so good that he could barely suck in a breath. He shuddered and held his body off hers even as her sex continued to contract around his cock.

  Slowly, the madness faded. His drumming heartbeat settled and the frantic thunder stopped filling his ears. His breath came in pants as he strained to see her in the dark. “Dawn?”

  “I missed you.” The same words she’d uttered when she’d first slipped into his room.

  He kissed her once more, then pulled away from her. Tucker went into the bathroom to ditch the condom. He turned on the water, making sure it was warm as he prepared a cloth for her. He’d clean her off, take care of her, and then...

  Then we figure out what the hell we are doing next.

  He opened the bathroom door. The light from the bathroom spilled onto the bed.

  Dawn was gone.

  * * *

  DAWN STARED AT herself in the bathroom mirror. The bathroom that was connected to her room. Because the minute Tucker had left the bed, she’d fled.

  Did that make her a coward?

  Probably.

  But...

  She stared at herself. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright. Her lips still swollen from his kiss. She’d done it. She’d made love with Tucker again.

  Was it love? Was it sex? Does it even matter?

  A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Dawn?”

  Her fingers curled around the edge of the granite countertop.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She was not handling this well.

  Silence. Then... “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” She realized she’d spoken too softly. “No.” Straighten your shoulders. Open the door. Talk to him. She’d put on one of the fluffy white robes that hung behind the door. Lifting her chin, she stepped from the sink and opened that door.

  He stared at her. She stared straight at him. No darkness to hide behind this time.

  “You ran.”

  She’d actually walked—rather quickly—to the other restroom.

  “Is sex in the dark all you wanted?”

  She didn’t know what all she wanted. She just knew what she could have. And maybe it was time for some hard truth between them. “It’s not you.”

  He took a step back and she saw pain flash on his face. That handsome face that haunted her best dreams—and her worst nightmares.

  She grabbed his hand. “I have sex in the dark with all of my lovers. Not just you.”

  His face hardened and a muscle jerked along his jaw. “Your other lovers?” The words were a furious growl. “That’s not what you want to be talking about with me right now.”

  She held him tighter. “Yes, it is. It’s what you need to know. I didn’t keep the lights off because...because of you.” Dawn stumbled over those words. Because you have his face. Because you have his eyes. “I’ve had other lovers in the years since we’ve been apart. I need the dark. It...it helps me to hide.”

  “Why the hell would you want to hide?”

  She let him go and walked around him, pacing toward the window and staring out at the city. Her curtains were pulled back so that she could see all of the glittering lights. “At first, I was hiding my scars. They were ugly, even when they stopped being so red. So jagged.” Her breath whispered out. “And then...then I was hiding because no matter who I was with...” God, this was so hard to say.

  He didn’t speak behind her and the silence was stretching too long. Dawn eased out a slow breath and turned toward him.

  “No matter who I was with, I was still afraid.” Truth. “It became easier to stay in the dark.” Maybe if she’d fallen in love with one of her other lovers, it would have been different. She’d tried to live a normal life. Tried to have relationships, but she put up too many barriers. She knew that.

  It was hard to let men close. It was hard to trust.

  Tucker stared at her, his eyes so bright and blue. Emotion swirled in those depths. He’d turned on all the lights in her room. No more hiding in here. He wore a pair of sweatpants around his hips, and his muscled chest was bare. Strong, determined Tucker. Her gaze drifted over him, staring at him fully in the light.

  He had scars, too. But then, he’d always had them. Even when they’d been together before, she’d noticed his scars. Some were small, barely an inch long. Others were bigger, deeper. A few thick ones were on his back, just below his shoulders.

  She’d asked about them before. She’d kissed them all before.

  He’d told her they didn’t matter. Accidents. Marks he’d gotten in battle. Wounds to be forgotten.

  If only her own scars were so easily forgotten.

  “Were you afraid when you were in my bed tonight?”

  She’d been afraid going to his room. Been afraid as she stood just outside his door, but then he’d begun to touch her, and the feel of his callused fingertips had been so familiar. “No.”

  He nodded once, as if satisfied, then he was stalking toward her. One slow step at a time. She didn’t retreat. Where was there to go? The window was behind her. He was in front of her.

  And—

  He reached behind her. Lowered the shade. Pulled the curtains closed. “Take off the robe.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not your other lovers.” Again, that muscle jerked in his jaw. “I’m not going to be some faceless man in the dark. That’s not who I am to you. Take off your robe. Let me see you in the light.”

  It was so hard. The way his eyes were gleaming. The way his face had gone hard. The way—

  He caught her chin in his hand. Tucker tilted her head up when she hadn’t even realized that she’d turned away. “Who am I?”

  “Tucker.”

  “Fucking right. Remember that. I’m not Jason. I’m not anyone you’ve been with in the past. I’m Tucker, and you can trust me.”

  Easy words to say.

  “Take off the robe.”

  Her fingers fumbled with the belt. Slowly, she shrugged
off the robe. It fell to a pool at her feet.

  He sucked in a quick breath and then he took one step back as his hand fell away from her chin. His gaze—almost burning it was so bright—swept over her. Going first to her shoulder and to the cluster of three roses that had been tattooed there. The scar on her shoulder had been the worst, so Jinx had spent extra time layering the petals there.

  Jinx.

  She had to blink away tears.

  His gaze slipped down to her right side. Another rose, one that curled over her hip. Then he looked at her stomach. Two more roses, twisting together there over the long, thin slice that had been left from Jason’s blade.

  She had three more roses on her body. One on the top of her thigh. He was staring at that one now. One on her back. One small rose along her inner arm.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” His gaze was slowly moving over her as he spoke and his voice was a deep rumble. “You were made to be in the light. Made to be seen, not hidden away in the dark.”

  Her breath came too fast. Her heartbeat seemed to shake her chest.

  His head cocked as his gaze met hers once more. “I’m going to touch you.”

  He’d touched her plenty in the other bedroom. He’d—

  He pressed a kiss to the three roses on her shoulder. “And I’m going to have you...in the light.”

  It was too bright. Too many lights. And he—

  “Say my name.”

  “T-Tucker.”

  He kissed her, a deep, drugging kiss. One that wasn’t as gentle as the ones that had come before. One that took and demanded. One that made her ache.

  “Still wet for me?”

  She was still turned on from the sex before. He rocked against her, and he kissed her again. Harder. The thick length of his arousal shoved against her.

  Her breasts were tight, her nipples aching, and she shouldn’t want him again this quickly, should she?

  “Your eyes are closed.”

  They flew open. She stared at him.

  “This time, I need you to see me. Every second of me.”

  He pulled back from her. Ditched his sweats but pulled a condom from the pocket. Staring straight at her, he rolled on that condom.

  His cock was huge, thick and long, and she could still feel him inside of her.

  She would be feeling him inside of her.

  “Right here, Dawn. Right now.” He came back to her. Lifted her up. Held her between his body and the window. “Keep your eyes on mine. Every minute. See me. Got it?”

  She was seeing him right then. The flecks of gold hidden in the depths of his eyes. The passion on his face. The raw need.

  He thrust into her.

  “See me.”

  Their gazes held.

  He withdrew, the length of his cock sliding along her sensitive skin.

  “Because you’re always what I’ve seen,” he growled. “Only you.”

  She wouldn’t look away from his eyes.

  He thrust in, out, and he pinned her there with his body.

  Her legs locked around his hips. Her hands clamped around his shoulders. This wasn’t soft and tender. It was raw. Primitive.

  Her breath came faster, her heart thundered and he drove into her again and again, pushing her ever closer to her release.

  And when it came, the climax seemed to rip her apart.

  “See me.” He jerked inside of her and she saw the pleasure wash across his face. “Me.”

  * * *

  DAWN HAD FALLEN ASLEEP. Tucker’s arm was wrapped around her body. He was in her bed, and he’d made sure that when she slept, she went to sleep with her body pressed to his.

  Over the years, he’d seen many expressions in Dawn’s eyes. Once, she’d even looked at him with love in her gaze.

  Love.

  Trust.

  Fear.

  Hate.

  That night, he’d seen desire again. She’d stared at him and wanted the man that she’d seen.

  Maybe it hadn’t been fair to give in to the desire they felt. He knew her emotions had been raw. The discovery of her friend Jinx had been brutal and she’d been desperate—probably looking for a way to escape the pain. A gentleman would have just given her comfort and walked away.

  His father had made sure he hadn’t raised a gentleman. He’d raised monsters instead.

  His fingers slid over her arm. The softest silk. Did she know that he’d checked on her over the years? When the need got too great and he’d just had to make sure that she was all right? He’d been so relieved when she went to see the shrink. When she started training to be a PI, he’d been proud.

  When she’d started to date again, he’d been a jealous bastard. When she’d gotten engaged briefly to that boring jerk of an accountant, he’d drunk his way to the bottom of a bottle—or three.

  No other woman had ever gotten to him the way that she did. Dawn was beneath his skin. Soul deep. And that had been the problem. His brother had realized just how hard he’d fallen for her, and he’d attacked Dawn because of that attachment. She’d been targeted, she’d been hurt...

  Because of me.

  That guilt still twisted deep within him.

  He pressed a kiss to her cheek, but Dawn didn’t stir. After her day, the woman needed her sleep, and he needed to work because sleep sure as hell wasn’t going to come easily for him. He slipped from the bed and padded into his room. A few moments later, he was booting up his laptop and pulling up the profile sketch that he’d created on their perp.

  Organized killer. Meticulous. Closely followed the Iceman’s exploits, possibly even received access to the case files that should not have been granted to a civilian. Because the cuts were too precise.

  He kept typing his notes as his mind spun. He always worked best at night. Mostly because he had so much trouble sleeping. He’d been raised to sleep with one eye open because you never knew when an attack would come.

  That same belief had followed him when he’d been a SEAL. Don’t sleep too deep. You might not see the threat until it’s too late.

  Pity that the worst threats had been so close to home.

  His fingers tapped over the keyboard as he considered all that he’d learned. He liked to get his thoughts down, to summarize his notes from the investigation and see where that led him.

  Possibly seduced Jinx Donahue. Could be using charm in order to get close to his victims. If he seduced Jinx, then he may have used the same tactic on Heather Hartley. An agent needs to question those who knew her in Baton Rouge.

  Baton Rouge. He hadn’t been back there in years. There had been some talk from the folks there about putting up a headstone for his brother. What had been the fucking point of that? There was no body to dump in a grave. And no one to mourn around a headstone.

  Jinx revealed details about Dawn to the perp. Number of tattoos. Potentially other intimate details. Killer is fixated on Dawn. Finishing Iceman’s last kill?

  His fingers stilled as he reread what he’d typed. Then his fingers began to tap once more.

  Perp is linked to Iceman. Since the first victim we found here ties back to Baton Rouge, it’s possible the man we’re after knew Jason Frost.

  And that made him wonder...wonder something that he had never thought before.

  What if Jason Frost hadn’t been working alone?

  The killings had stopped when Jason went into the Mississippi River. But...that didn’t mean there hadn’t been an accomplice. And this perp that they were after now—perhaps he understood so much about Jason’s crimes not because he’d read case files...but because he’d been there before, watching from the shadows. Helping?

  A sudden, loud peal of music cut through the quiet suite. His gaze shot up. The sound was coming from Dawn
’s room. He surged to his feet and hurried inside just as Dawn grabbed for her phone. She’d turned on the bedside lamp and illumination spilled onto the bed.

  “Jones?” One of her hands held the sheet to her chest. “Wait...you found him? Where is he?” Her eyes had flared wide. “You are amazing. Yes, thank you. Thank you.” She hung up the phone. “Jones said one of his regulars just came by...”

  He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s one a.m.”

  “Yes, and in restaurant land, that’s closing time. Jones always stays after the kitchen closes down to tally the day’s accounts.” She grabbed for her clothes, dressing quickly. “He gave out a meal a few minutes ago and asked the guy if he’d seen Red. Turns out our missing witness is bunking down at a motel tonight, probably making good use of that hundred I gave him.”

  Tucker watched her in silence. “Where’s the motel?”

  “Just under the overpass. Hard to miss because it’s the one with the big red roof.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be able to find it.”

  Dawn froze. “Um, excuse me?”

  “I want you to stay here.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  Yeah, this wasn’t going over well. He knew that even before her cheeks reddened.

  “Tucker. I thought we were working together on this, I thought—”

  “I’ll call Anthony and get him to meet me at the scene. I want you to stay here and stay safe for the night.”

  She paced toward him with an angry stride. “We sleep together and now you’re barking orders? I can handle myself.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  “Then why—”

  “Because this is my job. Keeping you safe. For tonight, you’re staying here.”

  “Tucker, you can’t—”

  There was a knock at the door. “Just in time.” Actually, the guy was right on time. He turned on his heel and marched for the door. Tucker glanced through the peephole and saw Bowen Murphy’s stony visage staring back at him.

  Bowen had texted him earlier and said when he’d be arriving. The fellow had a thing about being on time. Tucker opened the door.