by Marie Harte
So close, all he could think about was touching her. The more time he spent away from her, the more he missed her. Her wit and laughter warmed him. Her heated temper excited him like nothing else.
He should just sleep with her and get it over with. Maybe it was a case of wanting what he thought he couldn’t have. She couldn’t possibly be that great between the sheets. Maybe the mystery, the build-up between them was all in his mind.
She moaned and turned over, looking decidedly uncomfortable on the couch. He’d often woken from a nap on the thing with a knot in his neck.
The thought of Storm in pain when he could prevent it really bothered him. “I’m a fucking idiot,” he whispered to himself as he scooped her into his arms and hauled her upstairs to the spare room she’d been using.
She snuggled closer to him, but he knew for certain she slept. When awake, she looked at him with wounded eyes, not realizing that by keeping his distance, he was trying to shield her from inadvertent, emotional harm.
He tried to ignore the way his heart rate increased when her breasts rubbed against his chest. Tried to forget how perfect she tasted, how soft and warm her hand had been around his cock…
Rafe carried her into her bedroom and set her down on the bed. He frowned at the sweatpants and sweatshirt she wore. She’d overheat wearing all those clothes under the thick comforter. But his fingers hovered over the hem of her sweatshirt, knowing the folly of removing anything she wore.
He instead sat beside her and watched as she settled into a deep sleep. Her rosy lips parted and her full breasts rose and fell with steady succession. Long lashes lay like shadows over the closed lids that hid her eyes from him, but he could very well imagine the confusion that would be there should she find him watching her.
But now, like this, he could look his fill. The emptiness in his arms didn’t need to be there, not if he held her for just a few moments. He told himself he’d leave her alone after a small hug. She’d never know.
“Fuck it.” Tired of wanting what he couldn’t—shouldn’t—have, he said to hell with denial and crawled into bed with her. When she turned to him in her sleep, he hugged her tight. The nightmares plaguing him might never have been, and a drowsy satisfaction filled him. Before Rafe knew it, he fell into a peaceful sleep with the woman of his dreams.
“No!” Luc woke from another vision of a future he didn’t want to see, soaked in a heavy sweat.
His brother stared grimly down at him.
Shit.
Luc recalled the images swirling through his mind and tried to make sense of them.
“Calm down,” Thorne said, and Luc realized he’d been repeating the litany over and over. “It’s okay now.”
“I’m sorry.” Luc sounded hoarse. The vision faded but left a dark impression in its wake. “I need…I need some space.”
He stood and shakily made his way to the bathroom. There, he splashed cold water over his face and tried not to freak out about what he’d seen.
Storm was dining at a restaurant. Though crowded, her table sat apart from the rest of the patrons. On either side of her, two large mirrors faced each other. She gazed into the mirrors, then behind her at the bloodied body of a man. She turned back and stared at Luc with gray eyes so light they appeared white, the pupils miniscule black dots absorbing light.
“It’s come for me, Luc,” she whispered. A black cloud had poured out of the mirrors, enveloping her. Her mouth opened and filled with a fatal mist.
Watching her leave him had felt like ripping his heart from his chest. One fucked up dream with a bad end in sight.
Thorne knocked on the bathroom door. “Luc, you need to talk.”
Sometimes having a roommate was more trouble than it was worth.
Luc scowled. He didn’t relish having to face his freakish psychic ability in front of his brother again. But what choice did he have? If Storm’s life really hung in the balance, shying from the truth would only hurt someone he loved. With a grim sigh, he exited the bathroom.
A firing squad awaited him in the form of his domineering older brother. “That’s the third time this week. What’s going on?”
“I wish I knew. I have a feeling it’s bad, and it’s coming for us. I saw Storm tonight.” His previous dreams had been of mirrors and dark places, jungles and caves and endless night. He saw red-black blood run in a river down into a hellish abyss. But none of his dreams had involved real faces until tonight. He fucking hated the stupid visions. Just once he’d like a clear idea of what tomorrow might bring.
Thorne frowned. “What’s this about red-black blood and an abyss?”
Luc forcibly shoved his brother from his mind. “Don’t trespass,” he gritted through his teeth. “It’s bad enough I have to deal with this shit. Don’t push.”
“I’m sorry, man. I just want to help.” Thorne paced the room.
“God, you look just like Dad. You’re freaking me out.”
“Join the club. Looking at you is like looking into a mirror, except I see a guy not quite as good-looking, not to mention shorter.” Thorne tried to grin, but he couldn’t mask his worry. “I hate to say it, but I wish Mom and Dad were here right now. They’re a lot better at all this psychic crap than I am.”
Luc couldn’t stop dwelling on Thorne’s mention of mirrors. More than anything, Luc needed to find answers. Maybe sharing what he’d seen would make sense of it. He had nothing to lose but his sanity, he thought with a snort.
“What’s so funny?” Thorne watched him with wary, concerned eyes.
Luc sighed. When Thorne turned all paternal on his ass, it was hard not to love the big guy. “You’re an overbearing jerk, you know that?”
Thorne grinned. “Your point, oh short, ugly one?”
With a chuckle, Luc sank to the bed. “Sit down so I don’t have to look up at your freakish face. Tell me what you think.” As he described what he’d seen, he watched his brother’s reaction. Thorne didn’t mock or speak—he sat quietly and listened.
The heavy burden that always filled Luc when he saw such things lifted. Sharing his fears eased his worries. The hope that together he and Thorne might avert what he’d seen buoyed his spirits. It was a small gift he treasured…until the next time he’d see the grim specter of death waiting with its jaws wide open.
“How long has it been since you’ve lost contact?”
“Three days now,” Lewis Greene said into his cell phone. He stood outside a rundown gas station. The place had an air of desperation about it. The scarred pavement was broken in several places, and the only cars that arrived to fuel up wore more rust and dirt than paint.
“They’re looking for you, did you know that?” the dark voice on the end of the line spoke softly. Lewis felt chills run up and down his spine. He hated talking to the boss. He’d much rather have called the go-between, but now that the heat was on, he’d been forbidden the contact.
“Yeah, I know they’re looking for me. Shit, I did what she told me to do. For what you’re paying me, I’ll leave behind a signed confession if that’s what you want.” He referred to the .38 casings covered with his fingerprints that he’d been ordered to leave behind. “You want me to find Savage and the woman or keep leading the others in circles?”
The voice remained silent a moment. “I know where Savage and that bitch are. I like the fact they’re together now. Things are getting much more interesting. They’re at Savage’s house in the historic district. But I don’t want you to do anything until I give you the go ahead. Understood?”
“Understood. I won’t move a muscle in their direction ’til I hear from you.”
“Very good, Lewis. Now in the meantime, copy this down and follow my directions. Go there and you’ll find the files I left for you on the table.”
Lewis wrote the information down on his hand and disconnected the call. He looked around, and seeing that everything looked clear, moved to the car he’d stolen yesterday.
He drove to an auto parts store near a desert
ed strip mall and parked in the back. At this hour, no one neared the closed shopping venue. He quickly gained entrance through the unlocked employees’ door. Once inside, he entered a four digit code to unlock the door to the stockroom and moved through the back to another door, this one painted black and locked as well. Per the instructions he’d been given, Lewis unlocked it and relocked it behind him.
Turning, he studied the multitude of computers and boxes of paper scattered around. It looked like a mini war room. He could just envision his boss standing with a pointer on an overhead map, dictating their course of action. A lot like Lewis’s own time in the service.
Suddenly, the lock behind him rattled. He stepped back into the shadows and fingered his gun, waiting. The door jerked open and a sleek brunette entered the room. She started when she saw him but made no overt move to leave.
“I hadn’t realized you’d be here.”
But the boss had told him to arrive. Apparently, the go-between didn’t share the boss’s confidence like he did.
The smile she gave him didn’t reach her cold, green eyes. “Hurry up and get out. I have a few things to do that don’t need an audience.”
He’d just bet she did. Lewis didn’t say anything as he gathered the folder he’d been sent to find. His cell phone dropped out of his pocket when he shifted, and as he picked it up, he noticed the length of leg exposed by the go-between’s short skirt. He whistled, and anger darkened her flawless face.
“Dream on,” she snarled and all but shoved him from the room.
Once outside, Lewis paused. He wondered if the bitchy woman had any idea what lay in store for her when the job ended. She was Lewis’s last part of the job and his final payment.
Seeing no one about, he opened the folder and found a picture of Rafe Savage in front of a house. The address was listed, as well as a few pertinent facts about Savage’s security. Another photograph slipped out from the folder—a close-up of the man.
Lewis studied the broad shoulders and lethal stare of his target. Truth be told, he envied Savage. The man’s brutal and effective style of fighting had become legendary both in his work and outside on the streets. Lewis secretly thought his boss envied the bastard too.
He turned his attention to another photograph tucked in the file, this one of Storm Buchanan, taken during the summer. She must have just come out of a pool because she wore a red, one-piece swimsuit that had S-E-X stamped all over it. Her gray eyes flashed up at someone, presumably one of her Neanderthal brothers, and she grinned, her full lips quirking up at the corners.
He didn’t know why the boss wanted Savage. He chalked it up to a bust gone sour, revenge for a friend, or something like that. Savage had enemies everywhere, so what was one more? But the Buchanan woman… Lewis couldn’t imagine beating her to death, the way the boss had been talking. He could imagine a lot of other things, but torturing her? Why mar such beauty when he could own it?
Shaking his head at the whims of the mercurial man he served, Lewis put the photographs away and opened a map. He made a few phone calls to his contacts and settled in to wait. Patience was his particular virtue, and the green-eyed bitch and a ton of cash would be his reward.
Chapter Eight
Storm sighed as a soft hand caressed her cheek. She turned in to the warmth and comfort provided by the large palm. She blinked but saw nothing but darkness, so she closed her eyes again, caught in a desire making it hard to think about anything but his touch. For days she’d been going stir crazy, trying to keep her distance from the man at turns aloof and utterly charming, yet always sexy.
“I need you,” he murmured and kissed her neck, sounding more asleep than awake.
A dream or reality? At this point, she didn’t much care. She’d been dying for him for days. He could turn cold later, after she satisfied this irresistible craving.
He trailed his lips lower but her clothing got in the way.
She hurriedly removed all of it, pleased when his breathing increased. Finally naked, she reveled in being so close to the one man she desired above all others. And it seemed he’d finally come to his senses, because he touched her everywhere.
Over her neck, her collarbone and her arms. Down her breasts, where he sucked hard on each nipple. Past her navel to her wet sex. He kissed her clit but left her to run his tongue down each thigh. Over her shins to the tops of her feet.
The covers rustled and the coolness of night washed over them both. She heard more rustling before Rafe joined her again.
She moaned when his bare skin met hers.
The feel of his cock, so hard and hot, drove her insane. She’d never been this hungry before; she had to have him.
“I want you to come inside me,” she whispered into his ear, finally glad of the birth control she’d forced herself to take in case she ever got lucky.
He shuddered and ground into her, thrusting against her belly before he positioned himself between her legs. The head of his cock brushed her clit as he rocked against her, the friction creating a steady throb that heated her until she felt she’d explode.
“So wet for me, aren’t you baby?” Rafe growled and latched onto her breast. He sucked hard, teasing and toying. He licked and bit, then pinched her other nipple until she cried out at the pain and pleasure of it.
“That’s it, give it to me.”
He wouldn’t relent. Pushing her to the edge of climax before backing off. And she knew he wasn’t immune. He rocked against her, mimicking the act of sex. She felt him against her leg, his tip moist, his cock heavy with need. She shifted again to graze his erection.
He swore and panted, his breath hot against her neck. “Damn, Storm. I’m trying to last, but you keep moving against me like that and I’ll come before I’m ready.”
“I can’t help it. I want you so much.”
He kissed her hard and angled his hips for penetration. “You think you want? I jerk off all the time. I’m constantly hard for you, baby. I want to come deep in that pussy and make it mine,” he growled, his masculine possession lighting her on fire.
“What are you waiting for?” She pulled him closer and he slipped inside her.
“Fuck,” he muttered and sucked hard at her neck. She felt his teeth and trembled at the raw heat burning her from the inside out.
His hesitancy was torture as he slowly filled her inch by inch.
A shaft of moonlight lit the room, illuminating the harsh set of his face as he finally seated the whole of him inside her. Fused, they lay together, man to woman, heart to heart. His eyes glittered with desire and something else, something that scared her with its intensity. He flexed within her and pulled out, then shoved himself back in.
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Clench tight, baby.” He closed his eyes when she held him inside her, clamping down like a vise.
He felt huge inside her, and she craved every bit of him.
“Need a condom,” he moaned and began filling her, surging in and out with faster strokes. “Need to put it on before I come inside you.”
“No, I’m on the Pill. It’s okay.” A good thing she was protected, because Storm didn’t care about anything but fulfillment. She hugged him tight and met him thrust for thrust. But the damned man wouldn’t give her what she needed.
He withdrew and slid down her body.
“No,” she protested and tried to follow him, but he wouldn’t allow it.
He scooted down her body and nipped her belly. “I’m in charge. You do what I tell you to.”
She barely understood, caught in a vortex of need. She wanted him so much, but he wouldn’t do anything she asked. For the first time in her life, she’d met someone truly resistant to her charms. Storm gave a half-hearted tug at his hair, but he slapped her thigh—hard enough to sting, but not hard enough to leave a mark. Still, the action stunned her and she froze.
Rafe chuckled. “I knew you needed a little discipline. You’re bad, aren’t you? Let me taste how bad.”
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nbsp; He nuzzled past her folds and took her clit in his mouth. He bit down with tender pressure, and the sensation made her shake. She was so close…
“Please. Fuck me, Rafe. Take me. Please.”
Another swipe of his tongue and she was lost. She cried out as she came hard, but he didn’t stop. He licked her in earnest, past the point of discomfort until she rode another crest toward fulfillment. With teeth, tongue and lips, he brought her to the edge of climax. And suddenly, it wasn’t enough.
“I want you now. Fuck me,” she demanded, no longer begging, and tugged on his hair.
Rafe petted her stomach, ribs and breasts. As he devoured her, he pinched and teased until she couldn’t stand it.
“I’m going to come again.”
“Mmm, all over my mouth,” he moaned and sucked hard.
She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help it. She screamed and blew apart.
From one second to the next, Rafe blanketed her body and thrust home.
“Christ,” he breathed and began fucking her. “So tight. That’s it, baby, hold me.”
He pushed a few times more while she continued to spasm around him, lost in the joy of feeling him within her. Her climax raged, and then he shouted and shuddered.
While she came down, he moaned and jerked inside her, filling her with him.
Totally spent, she gradually understood that she had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there. All she knew was that she’d finally had a taste of Rafe’s passion, and she wanted more.
Rafe couldn’t believe he’d weathered the Storm, bad pun and all. “Holy shit.” He groaned and slowly withdrew, leaving a mess inside her. But even that wasn’t enough to pull him from the incredible ecstasy reeling through his body.
Making love to Storm had been like sticking his dick into electric heat. He’d been so jazzed, his heart had nearly seized. Had he ever felt so much before? Even his one stint at a three-way in college hadn’t been this good.
He leaned closer to Storm and wanted to purr when she rolled them over and draped herself over his chest. She ran kisses over his pecs and throat to his lips.