Black Dawn

by Cristin Harber

  Parker shifted. “You good?”

  She slid off the bike, then he did as she unsnapped her helmet. Parker snagged her hand and tugged her past her bike as he hit the garage door to close. They went through one door, which opened into a small hallway, then stopped at another door. There he stopped for a security system. Like, an impressive security system complete with scanners, codes, and voice recognition. Seconds later, she was inside the belly of the house.

  “Hungry?” He walked, and she followed, mouth agape.

  “No…” A camera followed them down the hall. “Who’s watching us?”

  “No one right now. Motion activated.”

  “Oh.” The colonial exterior didn’t match the tech-laden interior. The place rocked. Everywhere she looked, something caught her eye.

  Passing the living room, he grabbed two longnecks from the fridge and kept going. The living room was a shrine to an armed hacker nation. Her mouth dropped as she took in the operating station. The walls were lined with provisions, weapons, and lots of military-looking crap. She didn’t know any other way to describe it. It was like a Doomsday cyber station.

  “What is this place?”

  He moved to the chair facing a wall of screens. “Safe house of sorts.”

  “You have a safe house here?”

  “We have safe houses everywhere.”

  “We? Titan?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  Her eyes followed all the up-to-the-second technology. “And you’re outfitted like this everywhere?”

  “Not everywhere. Some places serve different purposes. I have work for both of us to do, and I didn’t know what all we needed.”

  “So you brought… everything?”

  He laughed. “Just about.”

  “Oh… my… God, this is fabulous.” She ran her finger over the processor that had to be powering his work station. State of the freakin’ art.

  “Fingers off, sweetheart.”

  She pulled her hand back. “Sorry.”

  “Kidding.” He smiled the kind of grin that could make a day on the run fade away.

  She turned away, concerned that she’d look way too eager to touch any—and everything—in the room. “So…?”

  “There’s a strong possibility that Monarch was stolen by a terrorist organization interested in targeting the wives and families of servicemen overseas.”

  A wave of dizziness swept over her, and she dropped to the couch. “Excuse me?”

  “There’s not much to share, but until something’s confirmed, I thought you should know.”

  “Oh, my God. I did this.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Evil people ruin good things.”

  “But…” She buried her head in her hands, groaning. “This isn’t what was supposed to happen.”

  “Let me help work on it. We’ll get it back before damage is done.”

  “What if we can’t?”

  “How many times have I asked you for help over the years? How many times did we fail?”

  “Never.” She jumped off the couch and walked into the middle of the room.

  He prowled around the room, circling her tighter with each revolution, the circumference decreasing until he no longer circled the room. No, he stalked her body, pacing a tight circle around her.

  “Parker,” she whispered. “You’re making me nervous.”

  He leaned close, brushing her hair off her shoulder. His soft, full lips tickled the top of her ear, and he spoke low. “That’s the last thing I want to make you.”

  She gasped and flushed, exposed while completely dressed, barely stifling a moan that drifted through her lips. But he backed up the second before she begged him to strip her free of clothes, free of concerns. He could do whatever he wanted to her body—he was already doing it to her mind.

  His eyes darkened, and her insides went mushy. Again. Same as she’d reacted in the ice cream shop and in his car, in the kitchen, just everywhere. Her lungs were full, her chest felt funny. Her breasts swelled, showing him just how badly she was in need of his touch. He grabbed her, his supporting arm pulling her tight and pressing her stomach to his. His free hand cupped her cheek, and she was done.

  Softly his thumb curved over her skin before his palm pushed his fingers into her hair. “What do you like better, Silver or Lexi?”

  She blinked, honesty bleeding through her mind. “I like sweetheart.”

  “You are killing me.” His words sounded like an orgasm sliding off his tongue.

  She arched toward him, and the tiniest groan burned her lips. The bit of space between them slowly evaporated. They were drawn together, eyes still open. Sparks swirled. His lips weren’t on hers yet, and she could feel him deeply. She was desperate to relive their past private moments.

  He was always so gentle with her. He parted her mouth with a soulful soft kiss that shattered her to pieces. Parker tasted like the hint of hot fudge, and he growled, promising that he wasn’t nearly as sweet as he pretended to be. The stubble on his jawline rasped her skin, and Lexi wrapped her arms around his strong neck, running her searching hands into his thick hair.

  “Christ,” he murmured, backing her up fast until they hit the couch.

  In one swoop, she was in his arms, on her back, with a very strong Parker Black pressing his hard weight and thick length against her. She moaned and licked his bottom lip. But it was the wrong thing to do because he stopped his onslaught and left her cold, wanting. Hell, begging for more of his mouth on hers.

  “Parker…” Lips still close enough to flit across his, she wanted to catch their touch again. “Please don’t stop.”

  “You have to know something, Lex. I’m not going to take you here, on some random couch in a safe house.”

  “Why not?” The desperation in her voice sounded close to pathetic, but she didn’t care. His blue eyes neared black. She’d never seen a look more intense, more at war after kissing her.

  “You want this?” he asked.

  She nodded. Wanted. Needed. All the same.

  “You’ve wanted this? Between us?”

  Her eyes sank shut. Parker was calling her on her past, when she’d watched him when she shouldn’t, when she’d closed her eyes to fantasize over a kiss she thought she’d never get. When her eyes opened, she couldn’t lie to the man who seemed to know her in every conceivable way. “Yes.”

  “Then that’s why.”

  “Okay.” She couldn’t hide the hurt falling from within her. Her body went limp, rejected and dejected.

  “Don’t be like that.”

  She blushed, embarrassed that her feelings were so evident. “Yeah, sure.” She tried to roll out from under him, but he had her caged into the cushions.

  “Lex, I want something better from you than a quick-and-dirty fuck, and you deserve that from me.”

  Heat hit her cheeks. She knew, yet again, that she was blushing while Parker was front row to her uncertainty. But then his hand took hers, tugging her upright. Words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t read his mind as he could so easily read hers.

  “What—where are we going?”

  He pushed her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her torso as he guided her forward with a hunger in his growl and his erection thick against her back. “You’re convinced that since I’m not fucking you in the living room of a safe house, I don’t want to hear you scream.”

  Her stomach flipped. “What?”

  “I’m not letting you leave until this computes. You deserve the world, sweetheart. To be taken care of.” He threw open a door and displayed a ginormous bed. “And we’re not leaving this place until you know it.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Nerves and butterflies swept through Lexi as she stood at the door of the bedroom. Parker held her from behind. He was both strong and gentle, her every temptation rolled into a massive package of a man ripped with muscles, a genius without shoving it into anyone’s face. When he pressed her forward, she couldn’t breathe.


  “Changed your mind?” he asked against her neck.

  Need pulsed between her legs as strong as the desire in her heart. “No.”

  “Thank fuck for that.” His low rumble tickled her skin as he walked them to the foot of the bed. When her thighs touched the mattress, he slowly rotated her one hundred eighty degrees so that his arms still draped her, but they were face to face, stomach to stomach.

  “Thank you for finding me.”

  He sighed, pressing his forehead to hers. “Just when I think I’m immune to the sweetness that comes out of your mouth. God, Lex. You do not have to thank me.”

  “Then I’m glad I’m here. Like this. With you.”

  If she thought about it, she’d only seen him twice since she and Matt broke up, and both times, something crazy hot had happened. She shouldn’t have sex with him. This was only their second date or something, even though they’d known each other for years. No… more than a decade.

  Hear you scream… she shivered as Parker’s voice echoed in her ears, making arousal spark life into something that she hadn’t felt in so long. Matt had never cared if she found hers, but Parker, God, he was different. Not just a man who wanted to screw, but a gentleman who wanted to give and give and give.

  He shifted away and tore off his shirt. Her eyes went wide, hungrily drinking in the sight of his defined muscles. They had a smooth ripple, the taut skin pulled tight over the bulges of etched mass. Lexi pressed her palms to his pecs, and his eyes sank shut. He sighed in approval over something so simple. Matt had never made a sound like that, never appreciated her intent or touch. But this… this was far more than anything she’d ever experienced.

  Needing to forget her past and concentrate on Parker, Lexi widened her fingers, spanning them across his chest, then dragged them down. The sparse smattering of dark chest hair and the rigid tips of his tight nipples teased her palms. His cut stomach had slight valleys and grooves, even in a relaxed state.

  “Love your hands on me, Lex.” His head lolled to the side.

  His skin had goose bumps, a trail of explosions that followed her touch. The visceral reaction was stunning to watch. He wanted her. Like really wanted her… and didn’t hide from it. His chest expanded with each of his breaths. His eyes remained closed until she placed her hand on the buckle of his belt then stroked the bulging length of his erection through his jeans.

  Parker’s eyes opened, and his head dropped down as he covered her hands with his. “I’m getting lost in you, but I think the plan was to make you know what you’re worth.”

  The heaviness of his words coated her senses. Lexi pushed back onto the mattress, scooting toward the middle, and Parker took off her boots, one at a time. Each he tossed over his shoulder, his smile torturing her with whatever that devious mind had come up with.

  “So all about me?” she whispered, breathy and bothered.

  He crawled onto the mattress, kicking his shoes off as well. “Completely.”

  She moved to him, and they were both on their knees, eyes locked, in the center of the bed. Her fingers went to his belt again. “I haven’t been able to do what I want in a long time. And what I’m dying for is this.” The harsh leather belt was hers to manipulate, and she unbuckled it before running her hands over his denim-covered thickness.

  His throat bobbed, and his eyelids were heavy. “Sweetheart…”

  Sliding her hands back to his chest, she pushed Parker onto his back. He complied with a look of complete awe, and didn’t that make her feel like his woman. She pulled at his jeans, unsnapping and dragging down the zipper to show dark boxer briefs. He lifted his hips, giving her the freedom to do what she wanted. Seconds later, Parker Black was completely naked, with his impressive, gorgeous erection reaching for attention.

  “Damn you, Parker, you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.”

  He slowly stroked himself. “Got me naked. Wasn’t my plan, so what do you want—”

  She cut him off with her hands covering his. He quickly switched their fists so that the hot, silky flesh was directly under her touch, and his hands clamped tightly on top of hers.

  “God, Lex.” He worked his shaft with her hands. The tighter he squeezed, the thicker he felt in her fingers and the wetter she grew for him. She wanted the ache of an orgasm, but far more prevalent was a hunger, a curiosity asking if that bit of precum crowning the head of his cock tasted as good as her dreams.

  Lexi bent, swiping her tongue over his very essence. It was more than she expected—completely virile and masculine—and she was drunk on just one quick lick.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, drawing out the word. His hips flexed slightly, as if it had been unintentional and he’d caught himself and held back.

  Still with his tight hand over hers, he worked his length, and she opened her mouth, letting him fill her. Parker released her hand, and his palms threaded into her hair. She kept the same grip, the same rhythm that he had set, then she sucked him hard and licked him lightly. Every single gasp and groan that blurred from his lips urged her on.

  He sounded gutted, ravaged. His hips pumped and his cock fucked her mouth while she all but tried to swallow him. Nothing like this had ever seemed fun, let alone erotic. But as she made his entire body react—limbs trembling, hands grabbing, and words lost in moans—she decided that she’d never held more power.

  “Wait,” he panted. “Lex. Lexi.”

  She ran her thumb over his crown when she bobbed up, then she slid down to the base of him, needing to feel him come. He gave her every permission to back away, to work him until he spurted on his own stomach, but God, that wasn’t what she wanted.

  “Silver, sweetheart.” He groaned as his hips flexed up hard, and he came on her tongue, the hotness hitting her senses on several levels. “God. Damn.”

  His rigid body flexed, and his fingers pulled on her hair. She never let up, needing everything he gave her. It was an eternity of mind-altering arousal, and when his body went lax, she was in love with everything about him.

  He was her friend.

  Her co-worker.

  A protector.

  And her lover.

  She wanted this again and again and again. She wanted to watch him, taste him. To feel him push inside her, to have him hold her close. To let her take him in her mouth again, where it wasn’t just about him getting off—an experience her ex had used to debase her—but a connection that they both flat-out loved.

  Parker laid there, looking at her in a way that made her swoon, with his heavy cock lying over his thigh and an appetite in his eyes. Even with all that, she knew he wouldn’t have sex with her yet. But it wasn’t just the location. Safe house or not, he didn’t want to screw up a good thing. Her sense was that until her invisible scars faded, he wouldn’t ride her deep.

  All of those were assumptions, but she was going to take them as fact until maybe he realized aloud that he was in love with her also.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  A calmness washed over Parker as Lexi curled next to his naked skin. Her mouth had been a complex heaven, with enough tease and taunt of promise and fulfillment that he might declare himself officially addicted. It was supposed to be all about her, but somehow he was the one naked. Not that he was complaining…

  Even as she lay next to him, she faced away. That was her—close yet far. She was someone he knew—two someones he knew—but oddly enough, he was only starting to learn all about the real Lexi Dare. He turned on his side to hold her from behind and let his hand drift from her thigh to the hem of her tight cotton shirt. His fingers slipped on her flat stomach, dipping across her belly button then sliding around in circles. She let out a soft sigh and leaned back against his bare chest.

  “Think we should lose this.” He tugged on the cotton, helping her slip out of it without turning around.

  Lexi leaned back against his chest, and his mouth pressed to the angle where her neck became her shoulder. She smelled like citrus, and he breathed her in as his hand cupped he
r breast, its tip hardening against his palm. Massaging its perfect weight, he let his tongue slide on her skin until she squirmed. Her hips writhed and her back arched just enough that he took that as his cue to slip under the lacy cup of her bra and worship the perked breast.

  “God, Parker,” she whispered.

  He pushed up onto his elbow and, with his other hand, undid her bra. The thing fell away, and he tilted her back as he moved over her. Wide-eyed and pink-cheeked, Lexi watched him watch her. They stayed in their moment, him naked and nestled between her leather-clad legs, the length of his erection thickening all over again.

  “You’re gorgeous, sweetheart.” Parker unsnapped her pants and peeled them off her, taking her panties and socks in one ravenous sweep.

  There was complete trust on her face, and he’d never wanted a woman more. Hell, the way in which he wanted her was nothing like he’d experienced. It was possessive, protective… even branding, permanently imprinting her inside him. He wanted to know that the burning aggravation he felt for her was mirrored, that she was in deep for him that same way.

  Parker dropped her clothes off the edge of the bed and held her slender ankle. Slowly, he kissed up her calf until he got to a sensitive spot behind her knee.

  Lexi moaned and turned her head. “Wow…”

  His tongue played in a circle as he grinned at her reaction.

  “That’s so not fair.”

  He laughed against that special spot then moved to the other knee—bending her leg to see if that same location had the same effect. As her hips moved and her lips moaned, he reached the conclusion that it did.

  “Fair’s no fun.” He let his stubble scratch the inside of her thigh.

  “Oh, right.” Her hips wiggled again. “But torture is.”

  Tracing his fingertips along the same path, Parker spread her legs and put her on display, giving him all of her perfect, pink sweetness. “That wasn’t torture, sweetheart. But I’m willing to give that a go too.”

  His lips hovered over her folds, making her thighs crush against him. She smelled like desire, and as his tongue licked her smooth skin, she sucked in a breath that he felt down to his toes.