“Fuck, Blair. Fuck.” He tangled a hand in her wet hair, pulling hard.
Drained, he sat there as she collapsed against him. He held her tight in his lap, not wanting to let her go. He was careful not to put any pressure on her shoulder or face wounds.
He pressed his cheek to her hair and breathed her in. He felt her shiver and worried she was getting cold. “I need to get rid of this condom.”
Pushing to his feet, he kicked free of his jeans, and headed to the downstairs half bath. Job done, he headed back to her. She hadn’t moved from her sprawl on the couch. He lifted her into his arms and she clamped her legs around his waist. Then he strode to the back door, slid it open with one hand, and headed outside again.
When the cold air hit her, she gasped, but he aimed straight for the pool.
He descended and the water felt great on his skin. Holding her, he drifted closer to the deep end. Cocooned in the heated water and the dark night, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.
“I thought you were dead.” The words shot out of him without him intending to say them aloud.
She lifted her head. “I’m right here, Luke.”
He swallowed. He felt like he had a damn rock in his throat. “I saw the cruiser…”
Damn, even now the memory still hurt.
Her hands drifted across his shoulders, massaging. “Luke.”
“I saw the body bag and my world stopped.”
She clutched him tighter. “It reminded you of your mother.”
He stilled. “Who told you about my mother?”
“Baxter.”
Luke let out a breath. “Yeah, it probably did, but at the time, I was only thinking about you.”
She turned his head and her lips touched his. Luke deepened the kiss. Only the feel and taste of her could soothe this ragged, black pain inside him.
As they kissed, the water lapping against them, they both felt desire growing again. Each pull of her mouth turned the hunger from a low simmer to an inferno.
One of her hands slid down between their wet bodies. She stroked her nails over his abs until she circled his cock. She stroked him.
Fuck. Need was like a punch to his gut. He made his way towards the stairs, holding her tight. As he pushed out of the water, she clamped her legs around his hips. He headed straight for the house.
“Next time I’m inside you, it’ll be in my bed.”
She made a humming noise, her mouth sucking on his neck. Need flared over his skin.
Luke strode up the stairs and was soon in his shadow-drenched bedroom. He set her down on the bed. Quickly, he spun her around on her hands and knees. Just like she’d been the other night. He shaped his hands over her ass.
“I’ve been picturing you like this since the other night. It’s been tormenting me. I keep imagining sliding my cock inside you like this. Fucking you hard and coming inside you, not on you.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, wiggling her ass. Desire flushed her face. “So do it.”
He opened the drawer of the bedside table and made short work getting a condom on. Then he gripped her hips and plunged inside her. Her back arched.
“You like that, don’t you? You like my big cock inside you.”
“Yes. Harder. More.”
Of course, she didn’t want soft and gentle. Not Blair Mason. “You make me so hard, Blair.”
“Yes.” She pushed back against him and moaned.
“So damn sexy. I love watching you drive yourself back on my cock. Now, keep going and make yourself come.”
She did, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoing in the room.
“You always give as good as you get,” he said.
“Yes. Give it all to me.”
He pressed his body over hers and gripped her uninjured shoulder. He used that for leverage as he thrust harder inside her. Her body jolted under his, the headboard thumping against the wall.
“This big cock is all for you, Blair.” Damn, he loved her warmth, her tightness. “Now rub your clit.”
She obeyed, her hand sliding beneath her body. She let out a husky cry. “Yes.”
He felt her clench around him and he leaned back, watching her take him. That gorgeous ass, the way her body took his cock, those sexy, needy cries.
Luke felt her body start to tighten. “That’s it. Come on my cock.”
Her head slammed up, her back arching, and he kept pumping inside her. She screamed his name.
A second later, he gripped her hard, thrusting deep. He started coming, roaring through the sensation.
They both collapsed on the bed, damp and sticky. The musky scent of sex filled the air.
She turned her head to look at him, a smile on her face. “That was better than cupcakes.”
“I hope so.” He tugged on her hair, studying her bruised face. “You okay?”
“Do you really need to ask?” She smiled again.
“No, guess I don’t.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “No more hiding, Blair. No more running from me. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m inside your defenses.”
She stared at him. “Okay.”
He cupped her cheek. “I’m right here beside you. Right where I want to be.”
Chapter Fourteen
Blair sat in the early morning Las Vegas sunshine, only wearing Luke’s blue shirt and sipping her coffee. It was chilly, but she liked the bite in the air. Her empty plate sat beside her. She’d finished her delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs. She lifted her face to the sun.
She was alive. She’d popped her fair share of painkillers this morning. Sure, she had a few aches, pains, and bruises…although not all of them were from the attack.
Luke was to blame for plenty of them.
She smiled and sipped her coffee again.
Luke came outside and she smiled at him. His shirt was a dark gray today and it looked good on him.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Nope.”
His gaze ran over her face, a flash of anger in his eyes before he hid it. “The bruising looks bad today. How do you feel?”
“I took enough painkillers to sink a ship.” She smiled. “I’m fine, Luke. The bruises will fade and the wounds will heal.”
He nodded at her coffee. “Need a top-up?”
She shook her head and felt a strange prickle over her skin. A part of her liked this togetherness, but a part of her felt spooked. It was so…domestic.
“You going through the case notes?” He sat and nudged the papers spread out on the table.
“Yeah, I keep hoping I’ll see something we’ve missed. Right now, all we can tell is that Morgan started the ball rolling by initiating the theft of Muramasa swords. Then, this samurai cult got interested and killed Kazan to get the swords.”
“So, Cold Night has the sword. Will they leave Las Vegas? Will they lock it away somewhere? I still don’t have a feel on what they want to do with it. In my gut, I feel like they aren’t done.”
Blair felt the same. “Well, let’s hope they don’t want to massacre a bunch of innocent people.”
He looked lost in thought. He stroked a hand down her arm.
Damn, he was so handsome. Feeling twitchy again, she took a sip of her coffee.
“You okay?”
His question drew her gaze back to his. He was watching her now. She lifted a shoulder. “Just feeling edgy.”
He smiled at her. “About what we did last night?”
“And this morning,” she blurted out.
His smile widened. “I will never look at my shower or my hallway in quite the same way again.”
She felt heat in her cheeks, but it was nothing compared to the heat in her belly. “I liked what we did last night and this morning.” Maybe too much. Especially when they were in the middle of a dangerous mission.
“Happiness, being happy with someone…it’s not incompatible with being a badass, Blair.”
She choked out a laugh. “Right. Because I�
�m so built for happiness and togetherness and all that jazz.”
He reached out and tugged on her hair. “We all want to belong, to be loved.”
Love? The word sent a shot of panic through her. “MacKade, do you see me with a picket fence? I’d probably paint it black.”
He smiled. “Then you’d run over it, chop it up, maybe set it on fire.” His face turned serious. “It doesn’t change the fact that if you wanted it enough, you can have what the fence represents. With or without the actual fence.”
Her throat went tight, and she sipped her coffee again.
“I don’t have a picket fence, Blair.”
She turned her head. “The more people you have in your life, the more people you care about, the greater the risk that they’ll get hurt. That they’ll be gone.”
“Blair—”
She shook her head. “You know that as well as I do. You told me last night.”
He stared at her, his dark eyes like deep, unreadable pools.
“My brother was six when he was run over in our driveway,” the words burst out of her.
Blair’s throat tightened. Shit, she felt like her chest was cracked open.
“Blair—” Luke moved closer and it spurred her on.
“We were playing together. I was a year older, and was supposed to be watching him.”
“No one can blame a seven-year-old for that kind of thing,” he said sternly.
“Our neighbor came out and waved. I was too busy on my new, shiny red bike. Will was right beside me on his bike, and it all happened so quickly.” She sucked in a breath. “The car started backing out…I saw Will riding closer. I screamed, I tried to get to him, but I was too late. Too late.”
“Baby.” Luke curled a hand around the back of her neck and squeezed.
“There was a screech and screams. Then…Will was just gone.” And her family had never been the same.
Luke squeezed again. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“My parents fell apart. My mother was pregnant at the time and lost the baby. After, well, we just seemed like people living under the same roof, not a family. They were distant. I only talk to them on holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays.” She rubbed her chest. God, this baring-your-soul thing hurt.
“I understand,” he murmured. “I felt the same when my mom was murdered. We were this tight-knit, laughing family, then suddenly we weren’t. We weren’t whole any more. I remember thinking I never wanted anyone to feel like I did.”
“To feel that gaping hole, the sense that something important is missing.”
He nodded.
She worried her bottom lip. “But your family pulled through.”
“I was older. I fought to drag them through.” He stroked her cheekbone. “Impossible for a seven-year-old to be the glue. Your parents should have been.”
“I just knew I didn’t want anyone to feel like that, to suffer like that.”
“So you joined the military,” he said.
She nodded. “And now, in our own ways, we both protect others.”
“Yeah.”
“Kids…they’re so damn fragile.”
“That’s why they have parents to love and care for them. But there are no guarantees in life, Blair.” He paused. “I bet you’d make a fierce mother.”
Her belly felt funny. She choked out a laugh. “Hell, why are we talking about kids?”
“Okay, no more talk about family or kids.”
“Or picket fences.”
“Deal.”
She shook her head. “There, I’ve bared my deepest, darkest secret to you.”
His gaze ran over her face. “I bet you have other ones. I’ve never met a woman with so many layers, who protects them so fiercely.” His eyes met hers. “I want them all.”
Her chest knocked against her ribs. She just wanted him.
His gaze ran over her. “I like you in my shirt.”
She fiddled with the top button. “I like it, too.”
“I like you out of my shirt too.”
Just like that, desire roared up, white-hot.
They both shot out of their chairs. His arms closed around her and her hands clenched on his shirt. She drank in the taste of him, her tongue plunging alongside his.
“Have to get to the station soon.” His teeth scraped down the side of her neck, but he kept it gentle near her bruises.
“Then you’d better make this quick.”
He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips. When the hard heat of his erection pressed between her legs, she moaned and undulated against him.
He muttered a curse. In three long strides, he had her back pressed against the side of his house. Then he was tearing at his jeans.
“Hurry.” She bit down on his bottom lip.
Another curse and his hand slid into the side of her panties. With a hard wrench, he ripped them off her. She heard a crinkle of foil and felt his hand working between them.
A second later, he plunged inside her.
Blair’s head rapped back against the house. She felt the stretch, the slow burn, as her body took his. So damn good.
“It’s like the first time every time,” he growled. “Always so good.”
“Fuck me, Luke. Harder.”
He obeyed, thrusting inside her.
“Hello,” a female voice called from behind the fence. “Luke, is that you?”
He made a strangled sound. “Meredith?”
“I thought I heard voices.”
He thrust inside Blair again, and she stifled a laugh. God, he was still inside her and talking to Miss Perky.
He thrust again and Blair smacked his shoulder.
“Blair and I are getting ready for work,” he said.
“Oh. Blair’s there.” Meredith’s tone turned sour. “Well, have a nice day, then.”
“It’s starting off really great.” Luke picked up his pace, thrusting deep inside Blair.
She let out a choked laugh, and then she heard a door slam. Miss Perky was gone.
Thank God. “Move it, MacKade. Fuck me hard.”
* * *
Sitting at his desk at the station, Luke was feeling pretty damn good. He’d just called the hospital and found out that Baxter was awake and conscious.
Nearby, he heard Blair joking with Clements.
He watched her toss her head back, her blonde ponytail swinging. The bruises on her face ignited anger in his gut, but she acted like they weren’t even there. She laughed again. Of course, Blair laughed long and loud. Not a polite little chuckle. And if she ever giggled, he was pretty sure she’d spontaneously combust.
He was in love with her.
Oh, hell. He was in love with Blair. Of course, he was. She was it for him. He watched her head down the hallway toward the break room, his gaze landing on that amazing ass of hers.
He wanted to tell her, but he knew she’d run a mile. She’d finally opened up to him, telling him about her brother, but he knew he couldn’t rush her. He needed to come up with a plan to convince her to be his without freaking her out.
Sensing movement, he turned his head and saw Lachlan striding through the doors into the Homicide Section. Natalie and Ty were by his side.
“Hey.” Luke rose.
“Hi,” Lachlan said. “How’s Blair?”
“Gone to get a candy bar from the vending machine, I believe.” Luke tipped his head to the side, taking in the trio with a hard stare. “She’s doing okay.”
He saw Lachlan’s stiff shoulders relax a little.
“Good,” Nat said.
“I brought some gear.” Ty hefted a bag. “It will help her injuries heal faster.”
Luke nodded and kept studying them. “You guys aren’t just here to check on Blair.”
Nat leaned a hip against the edge of MacKade’s desk. “We found something.”
Luke spotted Blair reappear at the end of the room. He gave a short whistle and she turned, putting her hands on her hips. When she saw Lachlan, Ty an
d Nat, she hurried over, smiling.
“Hey, you guys.” She pointed a finger at Luke. “I’m not a dog, so don’t whistle at me.”
He whistled a little tune and watched her eyes narrow.
Laughing, Natalie leaned in for a hug. “I see you two are still driving each other crazy.”
“At least there hasn’t been bloodshed.” Lachlan gripped her shoulder, staring at her. Even though the man’s face twisted with fury, he gently ran his fingers over her bruises.
Luke felt an instant flash of jealously. He didn’t want any man to put his hands on her. But he knew they were good friends. They’d been through a lot together. Luke reminded himself that Lachlan was very much in love with his woman, Rowan.
“You’re rivaling Kinsey for the bruises she got during her ordeal,” Lachlan growled.
Blair waved a hand. “I’m fine.”
“You will be when I’m finished with you,” Ty added.
Nat shifted. “But first, we have information on the text you found on the wall in Kazan’s house.”
“Go ahead,” Luke said.
“I told you that the last part wasn’t quite right. I translated it. This cult says they follow the code of the samurai, but like many religions, they pick and choose the rules to follow. They’ve interpreted the Bushido to suit their own agenda. They’ve added a ninth virtue. Power. They are all about power and want to showcase the power of the samurai.”
“Shit,” Luke said. “They want to use the sword.”
Natalie nodded. “That’s my take.”
“How?” Blair said. “Where? What are they going to do?”
“They’ll cause another massacre,” Lachlan said.
Nat nodded. “Somewhere that will gain attention.”
“The samurai exhibit again?” Blair said. “Will they go back there again?”
Luke turned to his computer and tapped the keyboard. He frowned. “The samurai exhibit left Las Vegas. After the massacre, they shut it down. It’s moved on. To New York.”
“Shit.” Blair’s eyes met his. “When’s the opening?”
His gut tightened. “Tonight. They’re having a huge gala. All of the who’s who of New York will be there.”
Mission: Her Defense: Team 52 #4 Page 13