And was that…a toe?
On soft feet he continued forward, not stopping until he stood in front of the matching leather sofa. Bingo was nestled into the corner, though the dog opened one eye at Teague.
Definitely not guard dog material.
His eyes moved over the sofa. It was strewn with pillows and in the middle of them was Sabrina. She was on her side, asleep, and she looked so damn vulnerable that it made him crazy. His chest swelled and he took a step back, surprised at the powerful yearning inside him.
Her delicate features were shown off to perfection by moon glow. With one foot sticking out from under the blanket, that mess of hair all over the place and a small frown on her face, he thought that this might be what angels looked like when they slept.
Teague didn’t know how long he stared down at her, but like a fool, he didn’t stop until her eyelids fluttered open. For a startled moment the two of them stared at each other in silence and then he opened his mouth. There were a lot of things he wanted to say but all he came up with was…
“How did you get in?” Huh. Great start to a conversation.
Sabrina pushed a chunk of hair from her eyes and sat up. “The door was unlocked.”
“Bad habit I’ve got, leaving the place open like that.”
Her eyes slid from his and he swore. He was screwing this up.
“Sabrina, I don’t mean to sound like a bastard.” He sighed and tossed his ball cap onto the table beside her. “It’s been a long night.”
She moistened her bottom lip and need hit him hard in the gut. They stared at each other in silence and that need turned to an ache that was going to be hard to get rid of.
“I should go,” she said abruptly, tossing aside the blanket and getting to her feet. They were bare, her toenails painted every color under the sun, and she was so close he could feel the heat of her.
“Why did you come?”
She licked her lips nervously and he took a step closer.
“Bree?”
The air was thick, charged with electricity he knew all too well. It was powered by need and want and it was so damn hot he barely kept from groaning.
She blew out a shaky breath. “I…I…shit,” she murmured.
When those big blue eyes of hers looked up at him, conscious thought fled like water down the drain. He knew this wasn’t a good idea, but he wanted her.
Badly.
“I wanted to talk,” she said, her voice thick and raspy.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, we probably should.”
That pink tongue of hers darted out to swipe at her lips and his groin tightened. If they were going to talk…
“You have to stop doing that,” he said roughly.
Startled, she froze. “Doing what?”
“That. With your tongue. It’s not fair.”
“Oh.” She swallowed again and his eyes fell to the smooth skin on her throat.
A thought struck him. “Where are Morgan and Harry?”
“They’re in town at Paul and Allie’s.”
“So we’re alone.” Did he sound as desperate as he felt?
“Yes.” The word came out so softly that he barely heard her.
She stepped around him and he was able to breathe a bit—get his shit together somewhat. Teague watched her as she walked over to the floor to ceiling windows. Outside the moon reflected on the water, sending a shimmer of diamonds skating across its surface. And Sabrina, well, her reflection in the window was haunting.
She looked ethereal. Fragile. So damn feminine and vulnerable. Their eyes met and held in the window for so long that his vision blurred and he had to scrub at them. She was breathing heavy, but then so was he.
“We can talk in the morning,” she whispered after a while.
He nodded but hell if he could answer her. He was caught up in whatever this moment was.
Slowly she pulled up her T-shirt and discarded it onto the floor. Next she shimmied out of her shorts, leaving most of her ass bare on account of the tiniest slip of pink underwear he’d ever seen. Her matching bra soon found its way onto the pile of clothes at her feet and then her fingers paused at the laced edge of her panties.
Their eyes were still glued to each other and Teague grimaced because his cock was engorged—painfully so.
She slipped her panties down her hips and stepped out of them, turning slowly to face him. Half of her body was in shadow, the other half moon kissed. She looked like every guy’s fantasy.
And she was walking toward him.
Kneeling in front of him.
“Bree,” he said hoarsely, but she shut him up when her hands unzipped his jeans. She freed him, her hands on his cock, gently moving up and down the shaft. To see her there, on her knees before him was a sight he would never forget. It was erotic and sensual and so damn hot that he was afraid he’d blow early and ruin everything.
“I want us to have tonight,” she whispered, glancing up to him. For a moment, he got a weird feeling. Almost as if she was saying goodbye. He started to speak but then she opened her mouth and took him inside.
Teague’s breath hitched and he lost himself in the sensation of a hot, wet, mouth sucking and licking and working him over until he could do nothing but surrender. Eyes half closed, he watched their reflection in the window. It was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.
When he knew he was almost over the edge, Teague slid his hands into her hair and gently tugged until she let him pop free of her mouth. He didn’t say a word and neither did she. They were communicating on a level that was so basic, so animalistic, there was no need for words.
Teague ripped off his shirt and tossed it. He kicked off his shoes and his pants and let them fall. He reached for Sabrina and pressed her up against the window. He watched her closely, their reflection ghost-like, and when he slid inside her she moaned and clutched at his arm.
For a few seconds he stilled. Enjoying the sensation of being inside her. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gritted his teeth.
“Shit, Bree.”
“Huh,” she gasped, arching her back as she tried to get him to move.
“We didn’t…I don’t have a condom on.”
She exhaled, her voice strained when she spoke. “I’m on the pill if you’re worried about pregnancy and I’ve…well I’ve never…”
“I’m clean.” This was hard. So hard to hold back. “I…”
“Teague, please.” She gyrated her hips and then he was lost.
She was hot and wet and so damn tight that it was going to take every ounce of control for Teague to ride this one out. For her, he’d do it. He’d do anything to keep this feeling alive. This feeling of completion. Connection.
Because it was so damn good.
Teague moved, slowly at first and then when she made that noise—the one that drove him crazy—he increased their tempo. He watched her face as she tightened around him—the parted mouth, the feverish eyes—and he growled with pleasure knowing he’d put that look there.
He rested his palm against the window, while his other hand gripped her hips, and when he came, he leaned into her shoulder, nuzzling her there, and smiling as she screamed her release.
“That was…” she gasped, eyes flung open when he finally managed to look up.
“Only the beginning,” he growled.
Teague scooped her into his arms and headed for his bedroom, desperate to keep their connection alive. He didn’t give a damn that this was probably the wrong thing to do. All he knew was that right now, in this moment, he needed her. And if he was reading the situation right, Sabrina was feeling the same.
They’d talk in the morning. Get things squared away so they knew where they stood.
But there were a lot of hours between now and tomorrow. And as Teague settled Sabrina on his bed, he intended to stay awake and pleasure this woman for every single one of them.
Chapter Twenty
Sabrina woke up abruptly for a couple reasons. One, Bingo jumped on her and bark
ed in her face. And secondly, she heard two men arguing.
Confused for a moment, she scrubbed at her eyes, glancing around the room and—
Her heart took off, beating so fast and hard that she felt faint. Sweat broke out across her brow and she gasped. She’d spent the night with Teague. The entire night. And they’d—oh, wow, they’d….Jesus, they’d done all sorts of things. Stuff she’d read about or heard about but had never had the balls to do.
Blushing hard, she rolled over with a groan. She could still smell him on the pillow. God, she could still smell the sex. Holy. The sex was everywhere. Like there’d been a sex-plosion in the room.
She squeezed her eyes shut and then bolted upright as the voices from downstairs got louder. Angrier. Closer.
Shit.
Scrambling from the bed with a sheet clutched to her chest, Sabrina searched the room frantically for her clothes. But of course there were no clothes to be found because she’d stripped them off like a professional stripper the night before and they were scattered all over the living room. Idiot.
“Dammit,” she whispered, unsure of what to do. She ‘shushed’ her dog and after a few moments, tiptoed over to the door. Cracking it open a bit, she eased by it and paused. She could hear Teague and…
Jack Simon? What was he doing here?
“You’re not thinking this through, Teague,” Jack said, his voice loud and obviously angry.
Instantly concerned, Sabrina held her breath, thinking she should retreat but wanting to know what the hell was going on.
“There’s nothing to think through. It’s a done deal.” Teague’s response was very matter of fact, his voice calm.
“Dammit, Teague. Why the hell would you go back there? After what happened the first time? Do you have a fucking death wish? Most news agencies aren’t even allowing their journalists to travel in that country. That’s how dangerous it is.”
“This isn’t a sanctioned gig, Jack. I already told you that. I’m not filing a report or answering to anyone. This is for me.”
Jack swore a blue streak, and, heart in her throat, Sabrina inched forward. The Simon cottage had a massive great room and the bedrooms all opened to a landing that overlooked it. She peeked over the railing. Teague was in his boxers, arms folded across his chest. Every inch of him looked fierce and her heart twisted at the look in his eyes. It was one she’d never seen before.
It was cold and unrelenting, and so not like the man she knew.
Jack looked rough, as if he’d not had much sleep. With a couple days’ worth of stubble on his face and rumpled hair, he looked about as far removed from his normal persona as you could get. But the thing that caught Sabrina’s attention was the fact that not only did he look pissed off, he looked scared as hell.
“I think you’re being a selfish prick,” Jack bit out, taking a step toward his brother.
“Think whatever you want,” Teague replied. “I don’t need your permission to do this and I certainly don’t need the Simon family blessing either.”
“Don’t you give a shit about Mom? And Dad?”
“That’s a stupid thing to say,” Teague snapped. “Our mother, more than anyone, understands why I have to go.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Jack ran his hands through his hair. “Are you telling me that Mom knows you’re going back?”
“I called her yesterday. As soon as I got off the phone with Bowen.” Teague shrugged. “She knows. She knows everything.”
“Everything?” Jack asked roughly. “Does she know that Dallas is most likely dead? Does she know that this mission of yours to track him down his ghost is probably going to get you killed?”
Tears stung the backs of Sabrina’s eyes and she bit her lip in an effort to keep quiet. But she’d known, hadn’t she? That Teague was leaving her?
“Jack,” Teague warned, but his brother wasn’t having any of it.
“Did you tell Mom about the kid?”
“Don’t go there,” Teague warned, but his brother plunged on as if he hadn’t said a word.
“Did you tell her the whole story? Did you tell her what went down? What you had to do? Does she know what it cost you to make that call?”
Teague stared at his brother for a long time. So long that Sabrina’s legs cramped. Her throat was tight and her chest heavy. She didn’t want to hear any of this, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from listening.
Teague’s mouth was so tight that the skin around his lips was white and when he looked to the side—when he swiped at his eyes angrily—well, her heart broke. It broke into shards because in that moment, she realized that sometime over the last few weeks, she’d fallen for this man and she’d fallen hard.
“Like I said,” Teague answered, his voice dangerously low. “She knows everything. Every fucking thing that happened over there. She knows that I hesitated when I shouldn’t have. She knows that if I would have done the job I was there to do, then Dallas would be home with his wife and kids. She knows that’s why I have to go back.”
Jack shook his head and muttered. “You’re unbelievable. Can’t you think of your family and all the people you’re leaving behind instead of some fucked up crusade that makes no sense to anyone other than you? Don’t you care that when you’re away and we don’t hear from you for weeks or months, Mom can’t eat or sleep? Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
There was silence then. A long period of silence that was so long it became a thing. It became a loud, hard, thing that pressed into Sabrina’s chest. She felt like screaming and maybe she would have except Bingo decided he’d had enough of the silent game and slipped out of Teague’s bedroom.
“Shit.” Sabrina lunged after the dog but the puppy was fast. It barked madly and flew down the stairs, not stopping until it was at Teague’s feet. It licked at his toes tail wagging happily before running to Jack and sniffing every inch of the man that he could reach.
“What the,” Jack sputtered. “Since when do you have a dog?”
Teague sighed, eyes moving upward. “It’s not mine.”
“Then whose is it?” Jack looked at his brother—who was looking up at Sabrina—and Jack turned toward the landing.
To say that Jack Simon looked shocked would be an understatement. He was shocked all right. Shocked, and as the moment wore on, his shock was replaced with something stronger. There was no more hiding.
“Hey Jack,” she said, voice way too bright for the situation. “Bingo belongs to me.” Sabrina hiked up her sheet. “I’ll just get dressed. Teague could you um…could you…”
Teague strode past his brother and gathered up her scattered clothes. He didn’t say a word as he headed up the stairs, but his body language spoke volumes. So did the continued silence and the intensity in his eyes. His fingers touched hers briefly when he handed over the pile of clothes. They were cold and he seemed so damned distant that a part of her wanted to take him in her arms and try to make things better.
But what was the point? Seemed as if the Teague she knew had already left and at this point she had no idea if he was coming back.
“I’ll make coffee,” Teague said after a few moments. “And then we should have that talk.”
“Sounds good,” she replied, trying her hardest to keep an even tone.
On wooden legs, she turned around and headed back to his room. The rumpled sheets and scattered pillows attested to an intense night of lovemaking. But the warmth was long gone.
God she was cold.
Teeth chattering, Sabrina got dressed, wishing she could just sneak out onto the patio and bypass dealing with everything, but one glance in the mirror told her that she needed to deal with this and move on, no matter how hard it was. She never wanted to see that look of hurt in her eyes again.
She exhaled and counted to ten.
She tried to tame her wild waves, but gave up when her fingers kept snagging on the tangles. And then she headed for the stairs.
Teague had found his pants from the night befo
re though he’d not bothered with a shirt and her eyes strayed to the scars on his body.
“Sabrina.” That was Jack.
He folded her into his arms and for a moment, she took the time to enjoy the feel of his warmth and his genuine concern. When he pulled away, she attempted a smile and was happy that she was able to pull it off.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“So,” he said carefully, watching her closely. “You and Teague. That’s not something I saw coming.”
“It’s not what you think,” she replied carefully.
“Then what is it exactly?”
“What it is, is none of your business, Jack,” she said, taking a step back.
His eyes narrowed and slid from her to his brother. There was a warning there, but then it was already too late for that. She’d gone and done something stupid and now she was going to have to deal with the fall-out.
“Hey,” she said, eyes on Jack. “I’m good and that’s all that matters.” She turned and headed for the kitchen. Her muscles were so tight it was a wonder that she could walk properly, but she made the effort to appear as normal as possible.
Just get through this, she thought.
Sabrina grabbed a mug from the cupboard and after she prepared her cup of coffee, she turned around and pasted a smile on her face—one that she hope hid all the turmoil inside her.
“How long you staying Jack?” she asked brightly.
Jack was still watching her, and that made her uncomfortable. The man had always had a sixth sense about things. It was one of the reasons he was such a good politician. He could read people and he was damn good at it.
“I’ve got a meeting at six tonight in New York, so I’m heading back to the airport in a few hours.”
“Oh, quick trip then.”
He nodded and glared at his brother. “Yeah. All for nothing, I guess.”
“Well, I’ll leave you guys alone then. I’m sure there’s lot to catch up on. Pop over to see the kids before you go if you have time. They’ll be home in a few hours and I know they’d love to see you.”
Teague Page 14