No, that hadn’t been a disaster. It had been the right thing to do. She had to remember that. She had to…
“I can’t.” She whispered the words to herself as much as to him, needing the verbal reminder, no matter how softly spoken, to gather her senses. They were senses that only scattered into a billion pieces again the instant he slipped a hand between her legs and palmed her pussy.
“Don’t say that, Alex. Sweetheart, I need to touch you, to taste you. I need to feel you come apart for me. It’s been too long.”
He was already sinking to his knees in front of her and she was helpless to stop him. It had been too long. After leaving him and Drake, she’d thrown herself into her work, determined to finish at the top of her class in the academy. When she’d accomplished that, she’d shifted the goal to her training as a special agent. Once that goal had been met, she’d moved on to making her name known at the Waterston office. She’d accepted few dates in the last five years and had sex even fewer times. She’d given up on the latter when she been with a truly fantastic man whose touch hadn’t turned her on enough to get her off.
All because it hadn’t been Drake or Rhett.
Rhett rested his forehead on her lower belly and took a deep audible breath. “Damn, sweetheart. I forgot how amazing you smell.”
She petted the top of his head as the burn in her pussy intensified to mind-scorching degrees. She felt his fingers hook beneath the thin strips of material holding her thongs on her hips and lifted her head to look down at him when she felt him ease away.
“These are different. You always wore such practical lingerie before. All solid white, pure cotton, and unrevealing.” A low growl rumbled from his throat as he studied her panties. “I like the thin black lace a lot more. It’s almost too bad they have to go.”
She felt herself smile, heard herself giggle, and then forgot to breathe as he removed her panties and the tip of his tongue slipped between her sodden folds. The first flick of his tongue over her clit sent her spiraling straight to the edge. She rested her head against the wall again, closed her eyes, and gave herself over to the skill of his mouth as he buried his face further between her legs.
“I’ve dreamed of this, Alex.” His desire-roughened voice flowed over her pussy, seeped into her most sensitive flesh, and stroked her closer and closer to climax. “Nearly every night since you left, I’ve dreamed of tasting you again.”
She’d dreamed of it, too, of him and Drake devouring her body, taking over her senses, and leaving her with only the ability to enjoy. She’d awakened far too many nights with her hand between her legs, her fingers buried in her cunt, searching for a release she’d only found with them.
“I can’t get to you.” Rhett hooked an arm beneath her right leg and lifted it to rest on his shoulder. The boyish grin he gave her as he gazed up at her from beneath his lashes was full of mischief and wicked heat. “That’s better.”
He proved it by spearing his tongue deep into her cunt. He licked the ultrasensitive inner walls of her channel, his tongue twisting and dancing inside her until her breaths grew ragged and she was gasping for air. Her left leg started to shake first, the tremor moving up her body until every part of her was quivering as he feasted on her pussy.
“Rhett.” His name left her on a breathless plea as his tongue thrust inside and retreated in a slow, torturous rhythm that had her pussy muscles tightening in a frantic need for release. He carried her to the brink and kept her suspended on the edge until her head raced with ecstasy. His tongue retreated once more, his lips closed around her throbbing clit, and he sucked hard, sending her over the edge.
The pleasure tore through her pussy before spreading throughout her system, every muscle quaking from the force of the orgasm. His tongue returned to her channel, driving deep as he lapped at the juices flooding from her pussy until she was certain he would drink her dry. Seconds that felt like minutes passed before he eased her right foot to the floor and slowly straightened in front of her.
Somehow finding the strength to right her head, Alex opened her eyes and gazed at him. The expression on his handsome face was starkly sexual and heavy with lust. Lips glistening with her wetness stretched as they lightly brushed over hers.
“Thank you, Alex. You don’t know how badly I’ve missed that.”
Yes, she did, but God, she couldn’t tell him that now. Regrets were already slamming through her mind and heart. She couldn’t do this again. When she got around him or Drake, she couldn’t think beyond having them, feeling them, and being with them forever. But forever had never been an option for the three of them. She’d known that from the start. Walking away from them had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. Learning to live without them had been harder, but she’d done it.
Did you?
She pushed the question aside and opened her mouth, not knowing exactly what she intended to say, but he silenced her with a kiss. She tasted herself on his lips, in his mouth, and on his tongue as he kissed her deeply enough to reach her soul before slowly pulling back.
“I should go.” He eased back, taking his touch and warmth with him, and she shivered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Because she wanted to reach for him, she balled her fists at her sides, knowing she’d already allowed things to go way too far tonight. “Rhett.”
He lifted a brow as he looked at her and pulled open the front door. Intense emotions mixed a heavy concoction in his eyes.
She could barely swallow around the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” He held her gaze for a meaningful moment and then walked out of the cottage, quietly closing the door behind him.
* * * *
Rhett carried Alexandria’s scent, the remnants of her taste, and her quietly spoken final words with him down the street to the cottage he shared with Drake. He hadn’t meant to go so far with her tonight, hadn’t meant to kiss her, and certainly hadn’t meant to go down on her hot, sweet pussy. He’d been holding her hand, knowing she was about to say good-bye for the night, and something in his head had snapped.
She tried to stop him, but her hands in his hair coupled with her body’s reaction to his touch had defied the words she’d spoken. He’d felt her surrender and then, suddenly, it had been like the last five years hadn’t existed. She’d been back in his arms, beneath his touch, creaming for him, and moaning to be pleasured. She’d come apart for him and watching her, tasting her as she filled his mouth with her release had been better than he’d remembered. He’d wanted to stay. He’d wanted to sweep her into his arms, carry her to the bedroom, and make slow passionate love to her until sunrise. It had been the look in her eyes when he’d straightened in front of her that had stopped him.
I’m sorry.
Her words reverberated through his head like a mantra as he walked into his cottage. The naked emotions that had filled her angelic face had been bad enough. The tears he’d seen glistening in her beautiful hazel eyes and heard in the slight quiver of her tone had turned bad to horribly worse.
He’d told her he was sorry, too, and he was, on so many different levels. He was sorry he’d moved so fast tonight, sorry he hadn’t put up more of a fight for her before, and even sorrier to discover she was hurting as badly as he was.
His thoughts wrapped in Alex, he startled when he spotted Drake sitting at the kitchen table. He shouldn’t have been surprised his friend was still awake. He’d expected to find the man poring over the files of the murders, likely as much in an attempt to keep Alex off his mind as to find the killer they were after.
“I didn’t expect you to come home tonight.”
Drake didn’t lift his head, but Rhett heard the dryness in the man’s tone. He knew it was a disguise in his friend’s attempts to hide the pain and betrayal he’d no doubt been feeling since Alex’s name had been dropped like a bomb on them late that afternoon.
“I thought you might change your mind and join us at Ménage à Drink.” Rhett moved to the kitch
en, snagged a bottle of water from the fridge, and twisted the cap. “Man, you should’ve seen the happiness on Alex’s face as she watched the sun go down over the water. It made me wish I’d had a camera handy.”
Drake made a noncommittal sound, his head still bowed over a report on the table as if the words on that page held his complete concentration. Rhett knew better. If the man had read a word in the house he’d spent along tonight knowing Rhett was out with Alex, Rhett would be surprised.
“She’s intrigued by the island.” Rhett studied his friend as he took a swig from the water bottle. Where he stood, near the island separating the kitchen and the combination dining and living room, gave him a view only of Drake’s side profile. Still, he could tell the man was gritting his teeth so hard Rhett figured he would’ve seen bits of enamel shooting out of the man’s ass if he hadn’t been sitting on it. “She thinks it’s weird, but I guess a lot of people do at first. They’re probably just too shy to say it.”
When Drake still didn’t speak, Rhett went on, determined to make the man talk. “I took her down the main drag, showed her a few places in between, and then brought her down the beach on the way back to the cottage Kenneth set up for her.” He waited a beat and then added, “She said she wants to reconvene in the conference room first thing in the morning.”
“Did she tell you that before or after you kissed her?”
Bingo. Rhett took another swig of his water before he answered. “Before, actually.”
“Then, what, you fucked her and came home?”
Rhett felt himself bristle both at the condescending tone in Drake’s voice and the term he chose to use, but tamped down his temper. “Since when do we give each other explicit details about a date?”
“You weren’t supposed to be on a date with her.” Drake’s head finally came up only long enough to slide another file on top of the one he’d supposedly been reading before bowing again. “And I thought that’s what you were doing anyway, giving me explicit details.”
“Fine. I kissed her, ate her pussy, and came home.” Rhett saw Drake’s shoulders stiffen and could’ve sworn he heard the man growl. “Is that what you wanted to know?”
Drake shot to his feet so fast the back of the wooden chair he’d been sitting in hit the floor. “I didn’t want to know any of it.” He whirled on Rhett, darts of icy anger shooting from his eyes. “I don’t care what she thinks about an island she’s not going to be on any longer than she has to and you’re a fucking fool for getting that close to her again.”
Rhett kept his calm. “She’s hurting, Drake. Our breakup cut her as deep as it did us. If she’s been with a man since she’s been with us, it damn sure wasn’t many. Not the way she came apart so fast for me tonight.”
“We didn’t fucking break up,” Drake said through gritted teeth. “She fucking left us without so much as a good-bye, kiss my ass, or anything. Then she ignored every damn attempt we made to reach her. If she’s hurting, she did it to herself.” He poked a finger in the air toward Rhett. “And you’re stupider than I thought if you believe for one second she won’t do it again.”
Rhett felt his hold on his temper slip. “So I’m supposed to just give her the cold shoulder treatment like you were doing back at the department today? I’m supposed to pretend I don’t still want her, that I’m not still in love with her, and keep my distance for however long she’s on the island? I’m supposed to act like I don’t give a damn?”
Drake lifted a shoulder. “Why the hell not? That’s what I’m doing.”
“Yeah.” Rhett gave him a sardonic half laugh. “How’s that working out for you, man?”
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Shit. Rhett stared him, speechless. Drake’s tone had dropped to a barely audible decibel, but he’d still heard the pain dripping from the man’s words. For the first time since Alex had walked into the conference room that afternoon, he saw it in the man’s eyes, too.
Rhett raked his fingers through his hair and pushed a hard, calming breath from his lungs. “Now you understand why I can’t do it.” Of the two of them, Drake had always been the stronger one, the one who had a better hold on his emotions, and the one who could turn what he was feeling into something that made it easier for him to deal with.
“I know what you’re thinking, man. Believe me, the idea has wanted to form in my head, too.” Drake shook his head. “Getting involved with her again, letting ourselves love her again, and trying to convince her to stay again is only going to turn out like it did last time. She’s going to leave.” He pointed at the files on the table. “When we catch that killer, she’ll pack her bags and be off the island within an hour, if it takes her that long, and we’ll be exactly where we were five years ago.”
Rhett knew damn well Drake was right. If only he could get his mind to convince his heart of that. “I’m not letting her go again. I’ll leave the island if I have to, follow her to Waterston and sit on her front doorstep until she lets me in. I don’t give a damn what I have to do as long as I don’t have to live without her again.”
Drake raked a hand through his hair. “Don’t do this, man.”
“I have to try.” Rhett shrugged. “Whether you’re with me or you’re not, I can’t let her go again without a fight.”
Drake gave him an infinitesimal nod. “I’ll be with you when it’s over to help you pick up the pieces. I can’t give you or her any more than that.”
Rhett watched his friend pivot on his heel and disappear down the short hallway between their bedrooms, a part of him wishing he could act like he didn’t give a damn, too.
Chapter Five
The door to Alexandria’s cottage swung open and Drake nearly swallowed his tongue. She blinked at him, surprise cutting through the sleepy expression on her angelic face as she gripped the lapels of the almost sheer siren-red robe she wore and pulled them closer together.
“Geezus, Alex. Since when do you wear something like that to bed? And what the fuck are you doing answering the door in it at four in the morning?”
He didn’t need to be standing behind her to see her spine stiffen. Her chin came up and temper sent her previous surprise running for cover. Hell, she should’ve went running with it because the thing she was wearing right now was hardly covering anything.
He couldn’t stop his attention from falling down her slender, sultry body all the way to her toes. His heart rate and his cock climbed with his gaze up her bare, shapely legs to the hem of the robe that clung to her upper thighs. He could see straight through the sheer red material to the red teddy she wore beneath. What appeared to be silk hugged her hourglass curves like a second skin. The cups of the bodice lifted her perfect breasts, and thin spaghetti straps held it all in place.
“Would you have rather I keep you waiting on the doorstep while I took the time to shower and put on more appropriate work attire?” Her tone held an edge of sarcasm. “I’m assuming that’s what brought you here since you seem hell bent on not listening to anything I have to say that doesn’t pertain to the case.”
Drake snapped his gaze to her eyes and slid over her mussed strawberry-blonde hair before looking past her into the cottage. “Are you alone?”
“Of course I’m alone,” she snapped. “Who the hell do you think would be in here with me?” She angled her head, drawing his attention back to her face, and he saw a dart of alarm shoot through her eyes. “Rhett did make it home last night, didn’t he?”
“Wh—” Realization dawned before the word fully left his mouth. Rhett was the most obvious choice of who might be in the cottage with her, and the man lived with Drake. “Yeah, I left him sleeping like a baby in his bed.”
He’d tried to wake him, though he couldn’t pretend even to himself that he’d given it his best shot. He’d knocked softly on his friend’s door, eased it open, said his name once, and left the man alone when he didn’t stir. He’d returned to the kitchen table where he hadn’t moved for more than a few mi
nutes since he’d gotten home last night, gathered the files he’d brought from the department, and came here, not caring that the sun hadn’t even started to peek over the horizon.
Alex shot a pointed look at the files in his hand. “Did you find something?”
“Possibly. You, uh, want to invite me inside, or do you want to talk about in the open doorway?”
She hesitated so long he thought she might go with option number two before she turned and walked into the cottage, leaving the door standing open.
Drake stepped inside, his attention focused on the sway of her shapely hips as she flipped on the overhead light on her way to the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and followed her, forcing his gaze up. Not that it helped. There wasn’t a quarter of an inch of the woman he could look at that didn’t make his pulse speed, his heart ache, and his cock throb in agony.
“Have you been up all night?” She shot him an assessing glance over her shoulder as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a container of Folgers. “You look like it.”
Drake bit back a grin despite himself. She might have replaced her practical cotton pajamas with oh-my-God dick-combusting sex-kitten lingerie, but the always functional Alex remained. He knew Kenneth Waters had made sure the cottage was fully stocked with everything from the basic kitchen necessities to toiletries. She’d no doubt taken the time after Rhett had left her alone last night to comb through every inch of the cottage, familiarizing herself with its contents and rearranging to make the space more serviceable to her needs.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he mumbled, and then silently cursed himself for the admission. She was the number one reason above all else that he hadn’t bothered to try for even an hour of shuteye. There was no way in hell he would tell her that, though. Instead, he went for reason number two. “There was something bugging me about one of the reports in these files, but I didn’t put my finger on it until about an hour ago.”
Safe and Deputized with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9