If Sloan had thought that neophyte meant shy, he’d been delightfully mistaken. Dev moved sinuously against his hips and erection like a cat rubbing against him. Her fingers slipped though his hair, sliding downward, gripping his thick shoulder muscles as he continued to tease her nipple. Her moan shuddered through him, sending a spike of heat throughout his rigid body. Lifting his lips, he paid an equal amount of time and attention to her other nipple. Dev twisted and writhed beneath him, her small cries sending a flurry of pounding heat through him. She had turned wild and wanton, completely immersed in the intense pleasure rippling through her. It made Sloan feel good and strong as a man that he could please her like this. Nothing meant more to him.
Taking her mouth, Sloan crushed her lips against his, her breasts raking across his chest, fire searing through him. He moved his hand downward, eased her thighs open. His fingers met her dampness. She was more than ready. Sloan wanted to do so much more with Dev, but he cautioned himself to keep it simple. Basic. To let her guide him to what she desired from him. The moment he caressed her wet entrance, a strangled cry erupted from her. She arched upward, pressing against his fingers with her woman’s strength. Sloan was surprised at her power. Her sleek, firm thighs, curved with muscles honed from riding a horse, made him salivate. Heat surged through him, making him groan as she thrust her hips toward his wet fingers. He began to tease her.
Nearly losing his concentration, Sloan kissed the length of her neck, nipping the flesh, soothing it with his tongue, feeling Dev move boldly against his fingers, asking for more. He heard her moan in frustration, wanting him to explore her further, to feel him inside her. Sloan took one of her nipples at the same moment he gently slid his finger into her.
A cry tore from Dev and she clutched frantically at his shoulders, hips moving powerfully against him, wanting more, much more of him. A powerful drumlike rhythm sheared through Sloan as he felt how small and tight she was. His own body was on the edge of exploding. Withdrawing his finger, he lifted his body across her damp one. He saw the desperation in Dev’s half-open eyes, saw the lust shining in them. Taking her hands, he held them gently above her head, opening her thighs with his knee, gauging her reaction. The moment he pressed his erection against that hot, welcoming gate of hers, she shut her eyes, arching hungrily, silently inviting him into her.
Sloan froze, feeling the tight grip of her around him, knowing it had to stress her. But one look at Dev’s flushed features, the ecstasy across them, and he pulled back and then eased forward once again. He wanted to introduce himself slowly to her body. He wanted to avoid causing her discomfort, or worse, pain. With each slow, pumping movement, her cries turned to whimpers of pleasure, her hands opening and closing as he held her wrists captive. Increasing the rhythm, he felt her lower body beginning to contract, a sign she was close to orgasm. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples and his teeth clenched as he held himself in check for Dev’s sake.
Sloan pushed deep into her, feeling her body accommodate him, hearing Dev’s sobbing and panting. Her hips were restless and urgent beneath his. And as she slid her long, slender legs around his waist, Sloan knew he could take her now. He thrust deeply into her. His entire body shook and broke out in a sweat as he felt her hurtling toward that orgasm, groaning as he fought to withhold his own reactive release.
Dev gave a long, keening cry, her entire body flexing upward, paralyzed as Sloan felt her body blossoming from within, that thick, hot fluid drowning him in the most pleasurable of ways. He kept up the rhythm, holding her hands in place, watching a flush sweep across her chest, across her exposed neck and into her taut face that mirrored ecstasy. And it was then, as she rocked into him, that Sloan released her wrists, and her hands settled around his narrow hips. He kept thrusting, understanding Dev would automatically come again, very quickly. And just as he released himself into her, she cried out, fingers digging into his flesh as a second, even more powerful orgasm flooded her. Eyes tightly closed, his teeth clenched, Sloan gripped the bedsheets on either side of her head, surging deep within her, feeling fire rip down his spine, erupt within his lower body, making him growl like the animal he’d become in these scalding moments. His mind turned to jelly and he strained, every muscle screaming as the red-hot intensity jetted through him, taking her, loving her, never wanting to let Dev go.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SLOAN WATCHED DEV SLEEP. She lay on her right side, black hair a frame against the white cotton pillow beneath her head, emphasizing her sensitive features. Her lashes shadowed cheeks that had remained flushed. His heart overflowed with a fierce joy, something he’d never before felt after making love to a woman. Not like this. Sloan’s hand lay across her hip. The bunched sheet had gathered around her waist. Her left arm rested across his rib cage, her other arm between her breasts, fingers slightly curved toward her palm in sleep. It was her profile that held his heart. Head slightly bent forward, brow resting against his torso, the clean line of Dev’s nose, her slightly parted lips, tugged powerfully at Sloan.
Even though he wanted to slide his fingers through her ebony hair, he didn’t want to wake her. Dev had been on an emotional roller coaster the past few days. But as his gaze swept over her sleeping features, what amazed Sloan was that the stress lines around her eyes had disappeared. The tension she’d carried around her mouth was gone. Right now, Dev looked like an angel who was visiting her earthbound lover, like she could magically disappear from his embrace in a heartbeat. There was nothing not to love about this woman and his fingers itched to glide down the smooth flesh of her upper arm.
He glanced at the clock on the dresser. It was 3:00 a.m. Sloan was wide-awake, his body radiating pleasure in small concentric ripples that were somehow continuing well after they’d made love. He lightly smoothed the sheet across her hip. Dev was exhausted, sleeping so deeply that even as he caressed her, she didn’t move. Her breathing, the slow, easy rise and fall of her partially exposed breast, told Sloan she was deep in the arms of her dreamworld. And he sincerely hoped they were good dreams, not nightmares.
The shadows were deep in the corners of the inky room, but the bare night-light showed the clean curve of Dev’s high cheekbones. Where strands of her hair had slid back, pooled on the pillow like ebony water, he appreciated her small, delicate ear. There was nothing overtly powerful about Dev. Sloan remembered his first impression of her at the horse trailer, that she possessed willowlike suppleness and fragility. After getting to know her, Sloan knew differently. She possessed inborn strength. There was so much hidden about her. Sloan wanted to discover all of Dev’s delicious nuances. Wanted her to trust him enough to open herself up fully to him on every possible level. She was worth getting to know. Getting to savor.
What had happened to his wariness about falling in love again? He’d married Cary Davis at twenty-two, right after he’d become a forest ranger. For so long after the acerbic divorce at twenty-seven, Sloan had been sour on women. He’d shrugged off Cary’s behavior as part of her natural personality. The fact she’d hidden it from him still left him bitter. He came from a family where honesty and integrity were foremost in a person’s life. Lies were not tolerated or accepted.
Sloan quietly lay down, his arm curved around Dev’s shoulders. Her presence was incredibly comforting to him. She trusted him. And Cary had never trusted him. Ever. That pain still gigged him every once in a while, even three years after his divorce from her. He was upset with himself for not having seen her drug problem. Was it ignorance on his part? He’d never been involved with drugs or people who took them. So how could he have spotted such a pattern of abuse?
Closing his eyes, Sloan dragged his arm across them, trying to sort it all out as he had attempted to do thousands of times before. His mind moved toward Dev. Was he seeing her accurately?
A faint flow of desperation moved through Sloan. He was lonely. Humans weren’t meant to live alone or apart from one another. They were social animals who thrived in relationships. And he’d been alone
for the past three years, focused on his ranger work. The only reprieve from that loneliness had been being part of Iris Mason’s and Gus Hunter’s two ranch families. Their kindness and inclusiveness had eased some of his biting loneliness. Sloan was more than grateful for them taking him, a stray, into their familial embrace.
Dev, he realized, didn’t have much of a home life, either, thanks to her alcoholic father. In many ways, she’d been cut off from her family, through no fault of her own. He wondered why her mother refused to jettison her husband. Lily had made a choice to keep her sick, addicted husband despite her innocent and unprotected daughter. Sloan knew that cut deep into Dev’s heart. It had to. He couldn’t imagine being estranged from his own family like that. There was a deep love and care between all of them.
And somehow, romantic love had seeped back and taken deep root in his heart when he’d met Dev. Sloan had despaired of ever finding his mate. He’d always wanted marriage, children, but after making such a fatal emotional mistake in choosing Cary, he’d given up on finding the right woman. He smiled a little, remembering his ma shaking her finger in his face shortly after that painful divorce from Cary. She’d told him that time would heal his heart and that eventually the right woman would finally step into his life. Sometimes, she’d counseled, the second marriage was the good one. That people made mistakes and the first marriage was sometimes more like a training-wheels session, prepping you for a much better partner the second time around.
Sloan remembered nodding his head at his impassioned mother, whose eyes had blazed with a fierce love for him. She knew he was hurting badly, blaming himself for the failure of the marriage instead of sharing the responsibility with his ex-wife. He’d taken it all on himself, and the past three years had been a private hell for Sloan. But he always tried to be responsible. He knew that others had trust in him and he wasn’t about to let them down.
His parents had been married at age eighteen. And to this day, they loved one another, so many years later. Sloan had grown up wanting the same thing. Only it hadn’t happened. Cary had been an extrovert, outgoing, a wild child of sorts and beautiful. She had been like brilliant sunlight to Sloan after his long, dangerous deployments over in Afghanistan. He’d pined for some calm in his life, some normalcy, after he’d left the military. And Cary had been there, blazingly beautiful, stealing his heart. He’d been blinded in an emotional sense to her for so many reasons. He wanted a respite from war and killing. He wanted peace and happiness within a marriage, just like his parents had.
Dev called to him on all those levels. Only this time, Sloan wasn’t an emotionally wounded returning military veteran. He was solidly locked in to his job as a ranger and he loved what he was doing. Meeting Dev in a time and place where he was stable, where life was good, although lonely, was markedly different from when he met his first wife. And as much love as he had for Cary, that kind of love wasn’t what he felt now for Dev. She was a quiet, peaceful harbor in his life. Maybe her being an introvert like himself was the reason why Sloan felt relaxed. A sense of peace always surrounded him whenever he was with Dev.
Right now, she was here, beside him. Like it should be. Sloan had envisioned Dev with him like this from the moment he’d met her. It had been a crazy dream, but he couldn’t fight the powerful connection that throbbed with life, with such fierce promise between them. Her soft, moist breath flowed against his chest and Sloan drowned in all the sensations she created lying beside him. He knew his heart oriented only toward Dev. And after that last thought, Sloan drifted off into a healing slumber.
*
DEV BLINKED GROGGILY. Sunlight was bright around the edges of the blinds on the window of Sloan’s bedroom. Rubbing her eyes, she felt almost drugged, her sleep had been so profound. Glancing up at the clock on the dresser, she started. It was 9:00 a.m.! She never slept that long! And she was late for work!
With a gasp, she flew into a sitting position, the sheet falling around her hips. Sliding her fingers through her mussed hair, Dev tried to think clearly. She pushed off the covers, and her feet hit the cool wooden floor. Memories of last night, of loving Sloan, gripped her and she felt her heart instantly swell with rich emotions. She was supposed to be at work at nine. Hurrying toward the bathroom, she saw her civilian clothes were neatly folded on the counter. Why hadn’t Sloan awakened her earlier?
She heard the door to the bedroom open. Sloan entered.
“Hey, relax,” he called softly to her, standing in the doorway. “You’re getting the day off. Take your time.”
Gasping, hand pressed to her throat and realizing she was naked, Dev said, “I thought I was late. Thanks.” Sloan’s eyes burned with a look that told her he wanted her all over again, and her body reacted swiftly to that look. Dev felt no embarrassment this morning being naked in his presence. It made her feel cherished and desired. “Then I have time for a shower?”
He smiled a little. “For sure. I was just making breakfast.” He moved his chin toward the kitchen. “Are you up for some tasty French toast? I coat it in a light crust of peanut butter and then make a syrup for it with Kahlua.”
“Sounds great,” Dev said, some of the strain leaving her voice. “I can be there in about twenty minutes?”
“That’ll do,” he said. “See you then.” He closed the door.
Her heart was tripping double time and Dev sighed, leaning against the doorjamb to the bathroom, relief flooding her. She closed her eyes for a moment, sleep still fogging her brain. Never had she slept so hard or so deep. She remembered nothing after Sloan had tucked her up alongside himself. Dev blinked and made a turn into the large master bathroom. Sloan’s thoughtfulness made her relax. Had he called Charlotte Hastings, her supervisor? He’d thoughtfully brought in a set of clean clothes for her to wear: jeans and a bright pink tee. There were socks as well as her tennis shoes on the floor.
It took a hot shower and washing her hair, for her to finally feel fully awake. As Dev combed and dried her hair, she opened the bathroom door to let the last of the steam escape. The luxurious smell of coffee scented the air and she was dying for a cup or two just to feel more alert. After she dried her hair, she grabbed her tennis shoes and tugged them on. Dev quickly headed for the kitchen, following the fragrant scent of the coffee.
Sloan was just placing four wedges of French toast on her plate when she arrived. There was a full mug of steaming coffee waiting for her, too. As she gave him a grateful look of thanks, he pulled the chair out for her and she sat down.
“I overslept.”
“No, you didn’t. The last couple of days have been really rough on you, Dev.” He walked to the head of the table and sat down at her elbow, his plate piled with a heap of French toast. “You still look sleepy,” Sloan teased, a grin lurking at one corner of his mouth.
Picking up the mug of coffee, Dev sipped it and said, “I feel almost drugged.”
“Drinking the coffee and putting food in your stomach will help,” Sloan coaxed, digging into his plate of food.
“What time did you get up?” Dev asked, eagerly slicing into the fragrant French toast that smelled like peanut butter, along with the chocolate-vanilla taste of the Kahlua syrup. It was mouth-meltingly delicious. Sloan was far more than the average guy in the kitchen opening a can of soup for dinner.
“About 6:00 a.m. You were sleeping so deeply I didn’t have the heart to wake you up. I called Charlotte at 8:00 a.m. and I explained the situation to her, and how exhausted you were. She said for you to take the day off and just rest. It will be marked down as a vacation day and she’s fine with it.”
“Thank you,” Dev said.
Sloan had shaven and her gaze automatically went to his mouth. Her body radiated with the scalding memory of his mouth upon her and she felt her body clench. The look in his clear blue eyes was warm and Dev swore she could feel that wonderful, invisible embrace surrounding her once more. Sloan was his usual calm self. As if nothing had happened last night. But it had, and she wanted to wake up eno
ugh to discuss it with him later. He wore his jeans and a light blue cowboy shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sloan’s masculinity was blatant and she absorbed it, still shimmering from the pleasure he’d given her last night. Dev didn’t want to forget or push away those beautiful sensations and feelings. Sloan had been a wonderful lover.
“Is there any more news from Cade?” She was discovering just how hungry she’d really been, eating the second piece of French toast with relish.
“I called him earlier,” Sloan said. “They’re still running the DNA. It takes forty-eight hours. He’s got an APB out in the counties surrounding ours, which is a good move. We don’t know where Gordon is, or where he’s going.”
Some of her hunger dissolved. “I feel like he’s around here, Sloan. Close, not far away.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Sloan reached out, stroking her cheek and giving Dev a concerned look. “We’re taking this one day at a time, sugar. You and me. You won’t be left alone. You’ll always be with someone. Charlotte and I discussed the situation this morning, and she’s in agreement that you need a full-time guard. Until Gordon is apprehended, you will always be with another ranger.”
Grimacing, Dev muttered, “Sometimes, Sloan, I think it would be better if I just disappeared. Went someplace he couldn’t find me. Right now, I’m putting another person at risk, and that’s you. I’m not comfortable with it.”
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