by Calista Fox
“Did you hear me complaining?” she playfully countered with his previous words.
He chuckled. Then he got serious.
Clearly determined to show her just how much she affected him…exactly how much he wanted her.
26
Damen would never deny there were dire consequences wrapped around his attraction to and his affection for Nikki Kane. His desperate need for her.
Those consequences, however, always took a backseat to the reality of what they shared when they were naked and twisted up in each other.
Her fingers curled at his nape and her breasts pressed to his chest as she rode him slowly, sensuously, with guidance from his hands on her ass.
She kissed him languidly, leisurely, as though they had all the time in the world. And when they were this ensnared, it was also as though they had no cares in the world.
Of course, that was not the case. Yet everything else seemed to fall by the wayside when he was deep inside her and she was moving with him and their lips were tangling and their breaths were rasping in perfect sync. He was pretty damn certain their pulses were in harmony as well, seductively hitching.
It wasn’t exactly clever of him to be so far under her spell. But Damen knew it was mutual. Otherwise, she would have walked out on him. At the very least, she would have kept her back to him, crossed to the bed and slept in it alone.
She’d wanted to be with him, though.
That spoke volumes to him. Told him that it was imperative they work out all the kinks. Because this was too raw and honest to let go of. Too significant to lose.
“You feel amazing,” she whispered against his lips, in between their sexy kisses.
His cock stroked her inner walls and she squeezed him firmly, released him, then squeezed again. Making it difficult to keep up the provocative tempo in lieu of a quicker, more insistent one.
But he was as into taking his time as she was. Absorbing the pleasure, reveling in the heat flooding his veins, feeling her silky skin brushing against his.
“We do the slow burn quite nicely, don’t we?” he murmured.
“Quite nicely,” she concurred. “Though…it never stays this polite between us for long, does it?”
He chuckled. “That’s because you drive me absolutely wild. Rubbing your breasts against me. Grinding against me. Clenching me so damn tight.”
“I can’t help myself.”
He grinned. Though it was a strained one as the adrenaline rushed through him.
“Neither can I,” Damen said as he suddenly sat up.
She gasped as he filled her, completely. He wound an arm around her waist and shifted slightly, more onto his hip, angling them both so that he could pump into her, strong and steady.
Nikki gasped.
She gripped his shoulders. Her spine arched and her head fell back.
She was a sight to behold, her dark-auburn hair flaming in the firelight, her eyes closed, her lips parted. And her long, graceful throat exposed to him.
Damen took full advantage of the offering. His lips grazed her skin. Then he nipped tauntingly with his teeth as he drove deeper into her, making her breath catch.
His other hand moved from her butt and cupped her breast. His thumb whisked over her puckered nipple, beading it even more.
“Yes,” she said on a low, sultry moan. “Oh, God, the things you do to me.”
He was about half out of his mind over how gorgeous she was, over how snug the fit was as he thrust into her, over how she whimpered and moaned.
They set a fierce pace together and his heartbeats echoed in his ears, along with her sharp pants.
“That’s the spot,” she said as his cockhead rubbed that erogenous zone within her. “Right there, Damen. Oh, God… Right there.”
Her nails bit into his flexed muscles. Her spine bowed further, pushing her breast more firmly against his palm. He kneaded the mound, then dragged his mouth from her throat and closed his lips around her nipple, drawing it in, suckling deep.
“Damen,” she whispered.
He knew she was close to losing it. And he needed her to let go…because he was right on the ragged edge himself.
She did this to him. So quickly, so easily, so naturally.
“Oh, goddamn,” he muttered. “You are so fucking wet…so tight. So incredible.”
He pumped into her, heartily, and she clutched at him.
“Nikki…” he urged.
“Yes, I know…it’s just…so good. I don’t want to…oh, God, but I have to. Oh. God! Damen!”
Her body tensed. He thrust deeper, more masterfully.
She cried out as he stroked her fervently. He felt the tremors shoot through her, felt the vibrations though every inch of her body as the release consumed her.
“Jesus, Nikki,” he ground out.
She milked his cock as the orgasm continued to blaze within her. The pulsating sensation stole his breath—and all of his restraint.
“Nikki,” he said one last time. “Oh, fuck.” And then his cock surged and exploded, his hot seed filling her, his blood pounding in his brain, his body convulsing.
She still held him ferociously—with her hands, with her pussy. Soft, though highly erotic moans fell from her lips as ripples of pleasure ensued.
Damen rode out his own searing climax, feeling the emotions, the sensations straight to the core of his being.
And thinking that every time with her, he was convinced it couldn’t get any hotter, any better.
And yet…it always did.
27
Damen collapsed against the mound of pillows in the corner of the sofa and Nikki all-but sprawled against him, feeling beautifully, sinfully singed from head to toe, inside and out.
Neither spoke for several minutes. Just tried to get a normal flow of air to resume.
She was certain she was softly purring like a kitten, because holy hell, when Damen fucked her, he left her boneless and deliriously content.
His fingers twined in her hair while his hand at the small of her back tenderly caressed her spine. His supple lips grazed her temple.
In the near-distance, she heard the crackle of the fire and she imagined the snow was falling beyond the tall windows and for now, she savored the warmth surrounding her, including Damen’s heat and virility. His muscles and strength. She inhaled his darkly exotic scent and thought if ever there was a fragrance that grounded her while still enticingly stimulating her senses, this was it. Her body felt languid and limp against his rigid one, and yet her nerve endings still sizzled.
Every fiber of her being responded to this man.
“You’re burrowing,” he sexily murmured as she settled more comfortably against him, her head resting in the crook of his neck, her mouth pressed against his throat.
It was difficult to form coherent thoughts with that sort of close proximity to him, to his tempting skin, so she merely nipped at the flesh.
He groaned. “That’s playing dirty.”
She sighed dreamily.
He added, “Not that I mind, Nikki. At all.”
His words brought her around. Well…one word.
She lifted her head, shifting just an inch or so away so that she could gaze at him. She earnestly said, “I’m sorry I told you that you don’t have the right to call me Nik. You have every right. It’s personal and intimate and…you have every right,” she reiterated as she stared at him, imploringly. “I was upset and freaked out and…that’s no excuse. I’m so sorry.”
“You do not need to apologize for anything,” he quietly, though fiercely contended. “You’re caught up in something you shouldn’t be, something that’s not your doing. You never should have been pulled into this.”
She gave that sentiment the consideration it was due.
Of course, he was right. She’d unwittingly become wrapped up in this sinister plot.
Conversely…
“It’s true that I did go tearing through that hospital, trying to find you,” she admitted. “I
quizzed everyone…borderline interrogated them. I couldn’t accept that you’d just disappeared. Or…worse.”
Her voice fractured.
Damen cringed. She felt the physical jolt within him.
“I’m sorry for that, too. For you having to doubt whether I was dead or alive. And having no one who could confirm or deny it.”
The backs of her eyes burned. She squeezed them shut. And more honestly confessed, “I was terrified they’d just rolled you off to the morgue.”
“Nik.” His tone was full of anguish. “Goddamn it.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. His beautiful blue eyes held hers captive.
He said, “I didn’t intend for that, either. For you to think that, to be upset over it.”
“I know,” she said with a nod.
His fingertips swept away a teardrop. Then his hand slipped around to her nape and he gently pulled her to him.
His lips brushed hers as he said, “I’m not sure you’re ever going to forgive me.”
She gasped, softly. Stared deeper into his eyes.
She knew there truly was nothing he needed to be forgiven for—none of this was his doing, in the grand scheme of things. Damen Castillo (and Nico Valdiviesio before him) was doing his job, his civic duty. Saving lives.
She was entangled in all of that again, as she’d been with Conner.
And perhaps that was what Damen was truly apologizing for, seeking atonement for; that she was caught up in another perilous plight with another daredevil man.
She couldn’t let him shoulder all the blame there—not for her choice in men or for the fact that she had remained with him all this time.
She told him, “I’ve had options along the way, since meeting you. No one has forced me down a specific path. I could have gone with the FBI at the airport. I could have found some other source of protection. I could have asked Jude to meet me in New York and find a solution for me that didn’t involve—”
“Yes?” Damen carefully, cautiously prompted with a crooked brow.
“That didn’t involve you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He held her gaze steady as he asked, “Why not, Nik?”
“I didn’t want my laptop out of my sight, remember?”
He continued to stare at her, not saying a word. Just silently challenging her.
Nikki wasn’t sure she could articulate all the emotions she’d experienced since that moment when she’d realized it was Nico sitting next to her on the airplane.
The shock, the relief, the…
The emotional pull.
It’d been strong, inherent, fucking cosmic when they’d been at the hospital.
Then as she’d run the gamut of who he could possibly be and how the hell he’d possibly ended up on the same flight as her, in the same row with her, and then the acceptance that he was, indeed, serving a higher purpose than himself, than her…
She was instinctually drawn to that sort of selflessness. For better or for worse.
And Nikki was smart enough, seasoned enough, to know it was usually for the worse.
She’d known from that first conversation she’d had with Kate and Jude about Nico, as they’d learned of his heroism and the people he’d rescued during the explosions, that he was a breed she connected with, one that she was fully simpatico with.
She’d also had to assess that engaging with a man like him… It ran the high probability of being a recipe for disaster.
Of the heart-shattering variety.
And yet what Damen wasn’t saying, what he wanted to infer but apparently needed her to recognize and state herself, was that she had, indeed, remained with him. She was here.
With him.
She’d chosen him.
Regardless of there being other avenues she could have traveled to break free of him.
With or without her laptop.
She gnawed her lip for a brief moment, contemplatively.
She wasn’t fully an innocent pawn in this game.
The longer she stayed with Damen, the more she became a willing participant.
That was something significant and substantial—and, yes, dangerous—to further examine.
And to acknowledge and accept.
Moreover, it was time she faced why she was here, in Damen’s house, in Damen’s bedroom, in Damen’s arms.
28
Her hands slid up his thick neck and cupped his face. She sincerely and wholeheartedly told him, “I want to meet your family. I want you to take me to the ops campus and show me around. Naturally, I want to be right by your side when you offload the info on my computer—and I insist on being the one to check my personal files. There are also client summaries saved that are highly confidential, Damen. I don’t screw around with that.”
“Duly noted,” he said without hesitation or protest. “When I have what I want, the laptop’s all yours again.”
She eyed him curiously, a new thought occurring to her and making her insides seize up. “You don’t think they’ll want to scrub the hard drive, do you? Just in case? As a precautionary measure to ensure there are no hidden files or offshoots or whatever?”
“They will scan for these things, of course. But they’re capable of doing that without opening any files, Nik. Unless they’re associated with the intel.”
“And what about a virus? What if that intel comes with one to infect the host system?”
“We have experts who know how to handle things of that nature. Trust me, please.” His fingers swept through her hair. He cupped the back of her head, holding her in place as he stared deep into her eyes. “As long as the device didn’t wipe out your hard drive, you will get your computer back in the condition it was in when you gave—”
He let out a short, strangled sound.
She gave him a sardonic look.
His jaw clenched for a moment. Then he amended his statement, saying, “In the condition it was in when I commandeered it.”
“Thank you.” She kissed him.
Damen did not allow for it to be a quick one, of course. His lips and tongue tangled with hers in a sexy, seductive way that had her sighing and convincing herself that, somehow, this was all going to work out.
She had no idea what that would entail, specifically.
Just because they could remove the data from her computer did not mean she was instantly out of danger, was her guess. Her fear.
For the moment, however, she was too exhausted and too sated to even wander that path, mentally.
She and Damen tidied up in the bathroom and she settled comfortably in his arms once more. This time in his bed.
She did not question the fact that it felt… Right.
Nikki actually got several decent hours of sleep. In fact, it was noon when she woke. As her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze landed on the bedside table and the phone that had a large screen, digitally displaying the time in glowing blue.
She was still cozied up next to Damen. His arms were around her and her head was on his chest, one of her hands splayed over his abs. He was breathing steadily and calmly. A good sign. If he was agitated about what their day would bring, she’d likely catch it in his pulse. Sense it, even. They seemed to be that attuned to each other.
At the moment, however, he was relaxed and his fingertips were lightly sweeping over her lower back, absently drawing abstract art.
His touch was warm and feathery. Soothing. So much so, she had no desire to move. Not an inch. She felt languorous and content. This was how she wanted to face the day. Not thinking of anything dark and dangerous. That would come later.
Right now, she just wanted to remain enveloped in the little haven Damen created with his embrace, his reassuring breaths and his addictive heat and presence.
Apparently, he felt the same way, because he didn’t speak a word. He had to know she was awake. She’d stirred slightly as the grogginess wore off. Then she’d realized she was in the perfect spot, snuggled wi
th him under the covers and hadn’t shifted in any direction since.
There were a multitude of things they’d have to hit head-on, but Damen was equally reluctant to break the silence, interrupt the Zen, unravel from their cocoon.
So they just laid there for endless minutes. She didn’t even watch the clock. In the far recesses of her mind, yes, there was a sense of urgency to get her computer into her possession. The sooner they arrived at the ops campus, the sooner that would happen.
The prevailing issue was that, once they accomplished this, Nikki would have to make a decision on what came next.
That was hugely daunting.
Eventually, she had to pull her head out of the sand. They both did.
More lengthy minutes ticked by.
Damen was the first to rouse. His hands slid up to her neck and she maneuvered herself so that he could gently tug her toward him. He kissed her, then murmured, “Somewhere we have to be, Nik.”
“Right.”
She hated leaving his arms and his bed, but forced herself to slip from between the rumpled sheets. They showered and dressed. Nikki chose black leggings and suede ankle boots to pair with an oversized winter-white sweater with a drapey cowl neck. She added a long necklace—a gleaming obsidian stone in an oval shape, set in platinum.
She’d taken her wedding ring off almost a year ago, and refrained from wearing rings in general. A psychological manifestation she didn’t analyze at the moment. Rather, she finished with chandelier earrings and makeup, a light coat of lip gloss. She pulled her sleek hair up on the sides and secured the strands with clips.
Damen was waiting for her on the sofa, texting on his phone. He looked devilishly handsome in a black suit with a pewter-colored shirt. But in lieu of a tie, his button-down was opened at the neck. Her gaze fell on the very spot at the base of his throat that pulsated with life. The very spot she loved kissing and teasing with her tongue.
A little thrill ran through her.
The man was all kinds of tempting.
And as he stood and towered over her, she was all kinds of tempted to fall back into bed with him.