by Anne Rainey
“Damn,” he growled. “I need my cock feeling that squeeze, Deanna.”
“Yes, Jonas, yes,” she cried out.
All thought fled as Deanna began bucking wildly beneath him. She was close; Jonas could feel her body climbing higher and higher. He instantly pulled his finger free of her pussy and slid down her body, putting his mouth to her instead.
“Come in my mouth, girl,” Jonas commanded as Deanna opened her eyes and stared down at him.
He licked and teased her pussy lips, then plunged his tongue in and out several times. He nibbled her clit and felt her body go stiff as a board. When she plunged her fingers into his hair and shouted his name, surprising him with her climax, Jonas nearly came right along with her.
He kept his mouth against her until the last of her spasms subsided. When he lifted up, Jonas touched his index finger to her lips and growled, “Taste it.”
Deanna wrapped her hands around his, then slowly sucked his finger into her mouth and licked it clean. “Mmm, so damn sweet,” he murmured.
As Jonas positioned his cock against her pussy, he kissed her lips. He could taste his precum and her pussy juice both; the mixture drove him higher. He slid his tongue down her chin to her throat, then teased her erratic pulse. He felt it speed up and he nipped at it, leaving his mark behind.
Deanna pushed her hips upward, and his dick slipped inside her narrow passage. “God, you feel so good,” he groaned. “So damn hot and tight.”
She shuddered and he pushed a little farther inside her sweet heat. As her body stretched to accommodate his size, Deanna began to move her hips a little faster.
“Jonas, I feel like I’m on fire,” she moaned.
Her breathless voice spurred him on. He pushed a little farther inside, and her inner walls clenched around him. They both whimpered. “Wrap your legs around me, kitten.”
She did as he bid, and Jonas slammed into her. She shouted and threw her head back. Jonas couldn’t take his eyes off her. The pink flush of her cheeks and the sheen of perspiration on her neck and chest were so damn beautiful.
He started moving, sliding in and out, taking his time at first. Soon it wasn’t enough. He rose up and hooked his arms beneath her knees and spread her wider, then thrust in hard and fast.
He never took his gaze from hers as he said, “Once I’m done loving you, there’ll be no doubt, Deanna.”
Deanna’s eyes opened, her gaze locking with his as she asked, “D-doubt?”
“That you’re mine. That we belong together.”
Deanna felt his declaration clear to her soul. She watched the strain on his face and marveled at his control. But it wasn’t what she wanted. Deanna lifted her bottom off the bed, and the motion pushed Jonas’s cock inside her so far she felt impaled by him. The feel of him buried so deep was nearly overwhelming.
“Goddamn, I’m going to lose it if you don’t lie still,” Jonas growled.
“Good. Fuck me, Jonas.”
The muscles in his neck were straining, and his sinewy arms anchored her to him, effectively keeping her in place and forcing her to submit. As Jonas reached between their bodies and caressed her clit with one calloused fingertip, stroking her wet heat, Deanna began to come undone, again. Her gaze shot wide as her orgasm rushed over her.
“Now,” he gritted out as he drove into her, pumping in and out like a man gone mad. Then suddenly he was joining her, pouring every ounce of his seed inside of her pussy, filling her.
Jonas collapsed on top of her, and they lay sweating and exhausted with his cock still buried inside her sex. Time seemed to stop as Jonas turned his head and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Deanna Harrison.”
Deanna’s heart soared at the words she never thought she’d hear from him. “I love you, Jonas Phoenix.”
Several minutes passed before Jonas lifted off her and carried her to the bathroom, where he spent a great deal of time pampering every inch of her body.
Deanna had definitely died and gone to heaven.
25
The next morning, Deanna found herself perched on top of Jonas’s kitchen table with Jonas seated in the chair between her thighs. He was currently in the process of feeding her a chocolate-cream-filled doughnut. In between each bite, he kept her on the very edge of desire by licking and nibbling on her thighs.
“I’m having a terrible time concentrating on my treat with your mouth on me,” she chastised. Not that she really cared. With Jonas around, food would always take a backseat.
“Hmm, that’s a real shame because I’m not having a bit of trouble concentrating on my treat,” he whispered against her inner thigh.
“You’re insatiable,” she said, a little amazed by his stamina. Even before she’d been fully awake, Jonas had had his hands filled with her flesh. They’d made slow, sweet love and it’d brought tears to her eyes. Afterward, he’d instructed her to take a long, hot shower while he went out to get them some breakfast. When he’d returned, Deanna had been dressed in one of his old black T-shirts, and nothing else. Jonas had dropped the doughnuts on the counter, then carried her back to bed, where he’d brought her to heaven once more.
Now Jonas was dressed in nothing but a pair of gray boxers and treating her as if she were the most desirable woman on the planet. It was enough to make a woman swoon.
When he tried to feed her yet another bite of the pastry, Deanna held up her hand. “I’m going to bust. Please, no more.”
He leaned forward and licked her lower lip. “You had a little chocolate on you,” he explained.
“Oh,” she murmured. To take her mind off the potent, half-naked man seated in front of her, Deanna asked, “So, what are your plans for the day?”
He looked at the clock and cursed. “I need to go to a client’s house first, then later head over to Valdez’s.”
“Valdez? He’s the one under surveillance?”
“Yep. A case we’re working for a friend. Wade took last night’s shift. It’s my turn.”
Deanna frowned. “You don’t have to watch him day and night, though, do you?”
“I planted a long-range camera inside his house, one with audio,” he started to explain as he stood and took their used napkins to the trash, “and in order for it to record the feed, we have to be within range.”
“Oh, wow. That sounds ... boring.”
He chuckled. “It can be.” He came toward her and planted his fists on either side of her hips on the table. “So, call me when you get a chance and talk dirty to me; otherwise I might fall asleep and miss something important.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. “I could do that. I just have a few errands to run; then I’m going home to work on Valerie’s design.”
He kissed his way over her face to her neck, where he lingered. “Valerie?” he asked, his breath whispering against her skin. “Is that your new client’s name?”
“Yeah,” she murmured, becoming pleasantly distracted.
He stilled. “Shit, that picture. I completely forgot.” He moved out of her arms and jogged from the room. When he came back in, he was holding an eight-by-ten sheet of paper. “Valdez,” Jonas said as he handed it over.
Deanna took it and looked at the small driver’s license photo, then nodded. “Same guy,” she confirmed as she handed it back to him. “By the way, I already turned down the job.”
He cupped her cheek and frowned. “I’m sorry. I know you were counting on that money, kitten.”
She shrugged. “I don’t want my business to stay afloat if it means taking on clients like him.” Deanna considered telling him about her errand to pick up the fabric samples at Valdez’s but nixed the idea. It would be a quick trip. She wouldn’t even need to go inside the man’s house. Just get the samples and leave.
Jonas’s cell phone began to ring, and Deanna waited as he answered it.
“Hello?” he said. There was a beat of silence; then his gaze widened. “Oh, hell, man, I’m sorry.” Deanna could see the concern on Jonas’s fac
e, and she began to worry. “No, your son needs you right now, Ray. You need to be with him in case he wakes up.” He paused, obviously listening to whatever the caller was saying, then said, “Yeah, I’ll leave here in a few minutes and meet you there.”
When he ended the call, Deanna asked, “What happened?”
Jonas passed a hand over his face and let out a heavy breath. “That was the friend. His son Cade is hooked on Valdez’s drugs. An ambulance just rushed him to the emergency room. A possible overdose.”
“Oh, no! Is he okay?”
“Ray doesn’t know. He’s headed to the hospital now.” He looked at the clock on the microwave. “Look, I need to go up there. Ray’s a mess with all this. I’m sorry to rush off, kitten.”
She waved away his apology. “Don’t be sorry for helping a friend. Do you want me to come with you? The beauty of being your own boss is that you can take a day off if you have to and you won’t get fired.”
He shook his head. “I think Ray wants to talk to me alone, but thanks for offering.” He kissed her forehead. “Go, take care of your errands. I’ll call you when I know anything, okay?”
She nodded, but as he started to leave the room, Deanna called him back. He stopped and quirked a brow. “I love you,” she said, needing to say it once more before they went about their day.
He crossed the room in two strides and took her mouth in a hard, possessive kiss. “I love you too. Take care of yourself today, kitten.”
Deanna shivered, knowing darn good and well that if she lived to be a hundred, she’d probably still get that little thrill down her spine whenever Jonas kissed her.
“You too,” she murmured.
As Deanna watched Jonas walk out of the kitchen, she knew the truth—Jonas showing up at their family picnic had been the luckiest day of her life.
Noon on the dot, Deanna noticed as she saw the time on her phone when she turned it to vibrate and tossed it into her purse. She walked up to Terrance’s door and rang the bell. Too late, she forgot how much she hated his doorbell. It played an annoying little jingle that grated on her nerves a little more each time she heard it. She just wanted to get the fabric and leave. A gust of bitter cold wind blasted her face, and she pulled her coat closed a little tighter, willing Terrance to hurry. The door opened, nearly paralyzing Deanna with a bout of nerves as realization dawned. A drug dealer, Deanna thought, not a harmless businessman.
“Miss Harrison,” he said as he opened the storm door. “Please, come in.”
He stepped back to allow her entry into his foyer, and fear snaked down Deanna’s spine. No way was she going anywhere near that particular lion’s den. She smiled and hitched her purse up higher on her shoulder. “Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m sure you’re busy. I can just wait here while you grab the swatches; then I’ll be out of your hair.”
His smile instantly disappeared. Too late, Deanna realized her blunder—the man was nearly bald. Oops.
“Of course,” he bit out. “I’ll go get them for you.”
He shut the storm door in her face, and Deanna wanted to kick herself. “Great, you’ve managed to piss off a drug dealer,” she mumbled to herself after he disappeared into another room.
Just then, a truck pulled into the drive. Curious, Deanna turned her head in time to see a man jump out of the driver’s side. He left the door hanging open as he came toward her, his strides eating up the distance. Two things struck Deanna at once. The first was the crazed look in his hazel eyes. He didn’t just look upset; the man was in a full-on rage. The second was the gun he held tight in his right hand.
Too late, Deanna registered Terrance out of the corner of her eye. Unaware of the drama unfolding, he opened the storm door and handed her the fabric. At the same time, the stranger wielding the gun lifted his arm and fired. Deanna screamed and watched in helpless disbelief as Valdez fell to the ground, his body landing half in and half out of the house, blocking the doorway. He clutched at his chest and groaned.
As blood started to form a macabre circle on his chest, Deanna tried to kneel down, her only thought on helping a dying man. The gunman grabbed her by her forearm and shoved her into the house. Next, as if Valdez weighed no more than a bag of flour, the man picked Valdez up by the shirtfront and tossed him into the foyer behind her. When he kicked the door shut, Deanna knew things had just gone from bad to worse.
26
Emotionally wiped from talking to Ray, Jonas drove out of the hospital parking lot and hit the freeway. Cade was going to make it, but it’d been touch and go for the first few hours. Ray had been understandably distraught. Almost out of control. When Cade had opened his eyes and called out for his dad, Ray had calmed and taken charge. He’d been the picture of strength for his son. Jonas had left to give the two of them some privacy.
As he got into his car, Jonas was more than ready to hear Deanna’s sweet voice. He missed her. He still couldn’t believe she loved him. He, more than anyone, knew Deanna deserved better, but hell if he was going to give her up. She’d handed her heart over on a silver platter and he wasn’t about to return it for a refund.
He took his phone out of the middle console, where he’d stored it during the hospital visit, and hit speed-dial 2. After several rings, it went to voice mail. Jonas frowned. “Home,” he mumbled as he remembered his conversation with Deanna earlier. She was supposed to be working on that new bathroom design. Jonas hit speed-dial 3 next. It rang four times before the answering machine picked up. Okay, now Jonas was beginning to get a little worried. It wasn’t like Deanna to be completely unavailable at both numbers. He wondered if maybe Wade had talked to her. Jonas dialed his friend’s cell.
Wade picked up on the second ring. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“Have you talked to your sister today?”
“No, why?”
His hand clutched the steering wheel a little tighter. “She’s not answering at her house or her cell.”
Wade was silent a minute. “Have you called anyone else? Mom? Dean?”
“No,” he answered between clenched teeth. “I tried you first.”
He heard some clanging in the background. Dishes? Jonas wondered if he’d interrupted Wade at lunch. “How long have you been out of touch with her?”
“It’s only been a few hours. I’ve been at the hospital all morning. Ray’s son OD’d.”
“Damn, you’re kidding.”
Jonas rolled to a stop at an intersection. “I wish I were. He’s okay now, but he came damn close to meeting his maker.”
“Hate to say it, but maybe being so near death will force the kid into rehab.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jonas tapped the steering wheel and tried to think where Deanna might be. The only place that made sense was her house. He thought about their night together. They’d only managed a few hours of sleep. Maybe she’d been tired and decided to take a nap. He flipped on his turn signal and said, “I’m going to head over to her place. Maybe she just fell asleep.”
He heard Wade groan. “Did she have a long night, you shit?”
This was the tricky part about dating your buddy’s baby sister, Jonas thought as the conversation turned awkward for both of them. “Uh, yeah.”
Wade cursed. “Christ, I never should’ve asked.”
“If it helps, I plan to marry her.” If I can find her, he added silently.
“Damn right you’ll marry her.”
Jonas rolled his eyes. “I should probably ask her first, don’t you think?”
“This is Deanna we’re talking about.” He snorted. “You’ll probably have to figure out a way to get her to ask you.”
Jonas chuckled, though it felt hollow. He was simply too worried about Deanna. “I’m going to call your mom, see if she’s heard from her.”
“Deanna did agree to turn down the Valdez job, right?”
“Yeah. She’d already called the bastard and told him to find a new designer by the time I’d gotten around to showing her the picture.”
“Good. Oh, about Valdez.”
“Yeah?”
“The only thing I got on that video feed was the guy getting a blow job from some girl young enough to be his daughter. He’s a real piece of work. Jesus.”
Jonas frowned. Something about Valdez was bothering him. “Where are you now?”
“Lunch with Gracie,” he answered. “So, with Ray’s son out of commission and Deanna far away from Valdez, do you still want to continue with the surveillance?”
He couldn’t think about that prick, not until he knew Deanna was safe. “I’ll worry about that after.”
“She’s probably just asleep or something. I’m sure she’s fine, dude.”
Jonas sighed, wishing the hairs on the back of his neck would get the message. “Yeah, probably.”
“Let me know when you hear from her.”
“Will do.”
They hung up and Jonas hit the gas pedal harder. He had a bad feeling, and his bad feelings were always spot-on. Twenty minutes later, Jonas turned down Deanna’s street. The first thing he noticed was the empty driveway. “Shit.”
When he pulled alongside the curb in front of her house, Jonas killed the engine. He leaned across the middle console to open the glove box and dug around until he found his lock-picking kit. Jonas tucked it into his leather jacket, then tore out of the car. He jogged up to the front door and rang the bell, then waited. When she didn’t answer, he unzipped his coat and went to work. A few minutes later, her lock turned and Jonas was inside.
“Deanna!” he called out, but there was no answer. He took the stairs two at a time, then stuck his head inside the first room he came to. Her bedroom. He recognized the blanket from their video chat. Unfortunately, her bed was empty. He looked into another room and realized he’d found her office. Still no sign of her. Jonas searched every room in the house with no luck. He tried her cell phone again, but nothing.