Falling For A Donovan (The Donovans Book 14)

by A. C. Arthur

  Bailey nodded then. “Yeah, you’re probably right. She most likely told Jade to make sure I had some clothes and other items as well. Aunt Beverly is very good at taking care of people.”

  Dev didn’t know what to say to that. He only ever remembered taking care of himself.

  “I ordered some food. It should be up any minute now,” he said.

  “Room service this late?” she asked and moved to stand near the beige couch. “I don’t know that I’m hungry.”

  “You should eat something and then try to get some sleep,” he told her.

  He did not want to ask if they’d fed her. Thinking about her being a captive, again, was already pushing his rage buttons into overdrive. It had been that way these past weeks that she’d been missing. Dev had wanted to turn over every rock, break down all the doors and question every person that could talk in order to find her. Tenacious didn’t even come close to what he was in this regard.

  “I don’t think I can sleep either,” she said as she lowered herself slowly onto the couch.

  “I didn’t give room service that much of an option about the time,” he admitted. “And you should—”

  “There’s only one bed,” she interrupted.

  Dev swallowed as he looked towards the direction of the bedroom. She was right. There was a king-size bed in there.

  “I can take the couch,” he announced.

  She gave a quick chuckle that seemed to surprise them both.

  “Really? After all that we’ve been doing this past year.”

  When he would have answered she waved a hand in his direction.

  “We can sleep in the bed together. It’s not a big deal,” she told him.

  “I’ll probably go over some more things,” he told her and stuffed his hands into his front pant pockets because he didn’t know what else to do with them. “I can just sit out here so I don’t disturb you.”

  “I want you in bed with me, Devlin,” she said in a clear and even tone. “I don’t think I can be alone. Not tonight.”

  She looked up at him then, her face clean and clear of any make-up. Her hair hanging in curly tendrils past her shoulders. Her hazel eyes wide and worried. Dev sighed, knowing it was a mistake. Just as having sex with her had been. Bailey Donovan was not a professional woman of the night. She deserved more than Dev could ever give her. Trent’s fears about him messing with Bailey were well-founded. There was absolutely nothing Dev could bring to this situation other than pain and suffering.

  Yet, his words while low-spoken, were undoubtedly clear. “I won’t leave you alone.”

  “I cannot lay in this bed beside you and not touch you,” Dev said into the darkness of the bedroom.

  “I don’t want you to,” Bailey answered and rolled over until she could feel his arms reaching out for her.

  After he’d insisted she eat half a sandwich and some of the salad room service had finally delivered, they’d come into the bedroom. This was after Devlin had double checked the locks on the patio and front door. When they came into the bedroom, he closed that door and went over to check the locks on each of the windows. Their room was on the fifth floor so Bailey doubted anyone would climb up this far to break in, but stranger things had happened. Especially in her family lately.

  She’d put on one of the hotel robes while she ate, but she knew she’d never be able to sleep the entire night in the thick terry cloth material. No matter what the temperature outside, she was always hot at night. At the same time she hated to sleep without a sheet and blanket over her. Yes, it was weird. Her mother had said so on more than one occasion. But Darla Donovan had also made sure there was a ceiling fan in her daughter’s bedroom, in addition to the central air conditioning throughout the house.

  There was no fan in the hotel room, but Bailey had adjusted the air conditioning in this room when she’d come out of the shower. Still, she ditched the robe and had climbed beneath the sheet and the duvet, naked. She knew that Devlin had planned to stay on his side of the bed. Over the past months that she’d been involved with him, she’d learned that he was stubborn and decisive.

  She could be too. But tonight, she’d figured they’d both been through so much. He’d shot someone and she’d been kidnapped. They both deserved a little comfort. So she made the move.

  His arms had already been outstretched to receive her, and Bailey slipped hers easily around his waist. They both lay on their side now, as she leaned in closer to him, her cheek pressed against his bare chest. He’d stripped down to his boxers, but all she could feel right now was smooth dark chocolate skin over his steely hard muscles. Bailey closed her eyes as her fingers moved over his back.

  How many times had she seen him naked? How many times had she looked at him in awe? How many times had she touched him and felt the scars?

  Tonight, at least, he didn’t jump as her fingers moved over the bumpy skin. They felt just like the jagged scar that stretched along the left side of his face. It started just beneath his eye and curved down to his jaw. It had thinned over the years she suspected, but it was still there, as a reminder of whatever had happened to him. Devlin had never shared how he’d gotten the scar on his face or the ones on his back. On his leg there was an old bullet wound and on his back right shoulder a tattoo of a small cross. Bailey had no idea what the tat represented—other than she guessed something religious. Those were just a couple of things she didn’t know about Devlin Bonner.

  He buried his face in her neck and whispered, “Why can’t I stop with you?”

  Every time they were together. Whether he was simply pulling her in for a breathtaking hug, or sinking his thick hot length deep inside of her, he always asked the same question. She never answered. He didn’t seem to expect her to.

  Her answer would have been because she didn’t want him to stop. That was the honest truth. Bailey had always been very certain of what she wanted out of life—a career in law enforcement, preferably the FBI, a husband, a home, and a baby. When she’d failed at achieving the FBI job—thanks to her meddling brothers and Trent—she’d just assumed the others would fall in line. Wasn’t that what was supposed to happen when one made a compromise? She’d opted for the more stable career in the hopes that her brothers and cousin had been right in warning her away from the FBI because it was too dangerous. And yet, the husband, home and baby never came. At least that was partially true.

  “Kiss me, Devlin,” she whispered as she lifted her head to meet his. “Kiss me right now.”

  This way the thoughts flowing through her mind would disappear. Devlin was good at making it all go away. Anytime she was with him, wrapped in his arms, engulfed in the pleasure he always provided, the past, the mistakes, and the tragedy were washed away. Tonight, of all nights, she especially wanted to keep it that way. Roslyn and/or Jaydon could have killed her at any time. They had her all those days. It could have been over for her. Knowing and accepting that everyone has a date with death is one thing, having that date promised by two maniacs with guns was another.

  “Please,” she managed to say before his lips were on hers.

  It wasn’t slow and sweet. It never was with him.

  Fast. Hot. Potent.

  That’s what they shared each and every time. It’s what Bailey had come to crave.

  So when his tongue plunged deep into her mouth, Bailey moaned, letting her blunt tipped nails press into the tight skin of his back. His mouth devoured hers and she panted beneath him. There was nothing, absolutely nothing like feeling as if a man were starving and feeding off only her. One of his hands held the back of her neck, tilting her head so that he could drive the kiss in his own direction. The other hand was around her waist, holding her body so close to his she could feel his heartbeat as if it were reverberating in her chest instead.

  “You,” he gasped when he pulled his mouth away from hers.

  Bailey took this moment to catch her breath and to lift one leg and wrap it around his waist.

  “Just you,” he was
murmuring again as this time he kissed along the line of her neck.

  Bailey arched her back and sighed as his tongue moved sinuously over her skin. He continued to move down, his tongue and teeth leaving a scorching path between the valley of her breasts. He shifted her effortlessly so that it felt as if she were somehow climbing up his body. It was all so that he could have unfettered access, his mouth taking one nipple and sucking until Bailey wanted to scream in ecstasy. He did not leave the other without attention, moving his tongue in quick circles over her nipple before gorging on the second breast.

  Both her legs were wrapped around him now. If that made her wanton, so the hell what! She did want. She needed. She practically ached for everything he was giving her at this moment. Every damn thing.

  He moaned as he moved her once again, his mouth at her navel now. Bailey’s hands fell back to the pillows behind her as Devlin held the lower half of her body up to his face. She knew what was coming next. She’d been privy to this particular brand of scorching hot pleasure from Devlin before. And oh how she’d missed it.

  He grabbed the back of her thighs and in seconds had them propped up on his shoulders. It was like an acrobatic feat in an erotic movie and Bailey loved it. The deep guttural moan she released as his warm breath fanned over the open lips of her vagina was a testament to that fact. If Devlin had been starving when he kissed her, he was definitely feasting now. Bailey could do nothing but close her eyes and let the pleasure take over. With every stroke of his tongue, every suckling sound he made, every time he gripped the back of her thighs and moaned, she just wanted to melt away. It was so good and so needed, she didn’t know how else to react.

  Her head thrashed against the pillows, fingers clenching in the sheets beneath her. It should be an uncomfortable position, she thought absently, but it definitely was not. Her legs trembled over his shoulders, her back arched and she moaned, loudly, until her lips parted and the moan turned into a full-fledged scream.

  “You,” he was saying again. “Just you.”

  Yes. She wanted to say it but she refrained. He wasn’t asking her a question. He was simply making a statement. He did that a lot when they were together. Made statements that only held meaning. Bailey didn’t mind because she knew he was enjoying their time together as much as she was. As long as there was the pleasure, nothing else mattered. Nothing else entered this space. It was their silent agreement.

  His kisses moved to the inside of her thighs now, going lower until he was kissing the arch of her feet. Then he was turning her over so fast she’d huffed out a breath when she landed on her stomach. He moved from the bed then, to get a condom she suspected. They never had unprotected sex. She silently thanked him for that, especially since there was never any talk of whether or not he had a girlfriend or someone else in his life. As for her, she knew she hadn’t slept with anyone else since the first time she and Devlin had given in to their desire in the coat room at her cousin’s wedding. Still, she had also believed in protecting herself, so her prescription for birth control pills was faithfully re-filled every month.

  She could hear him moving behind her and felt like her legs were falling off the bed so Bailey grabbed the blankets and scrambled up to a more comfortable position. That’s when he touched her. With one strong arm around her waist, Devlin lifted her until she was on her knees.

  “Don’t move,” he whispered in her ear and then licked the spot on her lobe. The act had her entire body shivering.

  Bailey planted her palms on the bed and stayed in that position, waiting, hoping, needing like an addict that had no intention of being rehabilitated. With that arm still around her waist, Devlin used his other hand to palm one cheek of her bottom. He squeezed and then pulled his hand away, bringing it back for a slap that sounded throughout the room. Bailey hissed and then shivered as pleasure rippled through her. He did it again and this time she moaned, pressing her bottom back for more. He gave it to her again and again. As the heat rose to her skin there, sweat prickled her forehead. Her partially damp hair clung to her neck and she had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming out his name.

  With that same palm on that same cheek, Devlin massaged and rubbed until Bailey was dripping wet. As if he knew, expected, desired, Devlin slipped his fingers between her crease. He moved slowly, teasing her with the hint of sensation as he moved further down, down, until finally, he was there. Again she pressed back.

  “Not yet,” he warned. “Dammit, not yet!”

  Bailey didn’t listen this time. She pressed back against his fingers, wiggling her ass because she needed so desperately at this point.

  “Now,” she told him.

  “No,” he insisted touching the tip of one finger to her entrance and pulling it back slowly.

  “Don’t tease. Not now. Just don’t,” she said and then bit her lip to keep from saying more. She did not want to beg. She didn’t need to. She wanted Devlin. Okay, that might be an understatement. But she did not beg.

  He dipped that finger back into her and she could hear him curse. He tried to pull that finger out, but didn’t completely. He inserted another and pumped into her slowly. Bailey moved with the rhythm he created. Back and forth, in and out, she took every little bit he was giving her. But she needed more.

  “You have to do it now,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Right now!”

  “Greedy,” he murmured, but pulled his fingers out of her.

  He grabbed her hips then, holding her still.

  “Yes,” she sighed. “Yes.”

  “This is it,” he said as he thrust into her. “This. Is. It.”

  Bailey moaned and grabbed more of the sheet between her fingers. She probably should have stuffed them in her mouth to keep her quiet, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Last time,” he said as he continued to pump into her.

  “More,” Bailey encouraged. Yes, she heard what he was saying. He said it every time. When he circled his hips, pulled back a couple of inches and then thrust forward quickly once more, she said it again, “More.”

  “Last time,” he whispered again. “It has to be the last time.”

  Bailey rotated her hips now, thrusting back to quicken the pace. The pleasure was so intense at this point. He was so thick and so deep inside of her she thought for sure it had to be too much. But at the same time it just did not feel like enough. She needed more and more. Every time. Again and again.

  “You!” he was yelling just as her body began to shake.

  Sometimes Bailey thought he might actually enjoy her release more than she did.

  “Yes!” She did scream this time because the sensations were too delicious to ignore.

  She was so wet it was slick and noisy as he moved in and out of her. The friction was excellent, the sound, hypnotic. She continued to bounce back against him, even when she knew her body was already on its way to being overtaken by pleasure.

  He was holding her hips tighter now, keeping her perfectly still as she trembled. He kept moving, pressing in and out.

  “Yes,” he finally moaned through clenched teeth. “Mine.”

  That was a different word. She’d never heard him say that before.

  It was followed by a guttural cry as he slammed into her one last time. That was all Bailey could recall as she was then lost in their mutual climax.

  Lost in him.

  Chapter 4

  From a Navy SEAL to a personal body guard. I hope you can keep this one safe. Does she know how badly you failed before?

  Dev immediately erased the text message. After his shower, he’d moved as quietly as he could to pick up his clothes and his phone from the nightstand by the bed, and walked out of the room. When the door was closed and he’d made his way into the living room, he dropped his clothes on the couch and checked the phone for messages. This was the first one he’d seen, as it had just come five minutes ago.

  It was also the first one he’d deleted.

  There were a couple other messages f
rom York, telling Dev that he’d retrieved his tablet from Trent’s house and then a follow up giving him the tracking number for the delivery that should arrive at the hotel no later than noon today. Good, Dev had thought as he deleted all of York’s messages except for the one with the tracking number. He wanted to be on a plane out of here before sun down. With that in mind he dressed in the clothes he’d had on yesterday. He wasn’t as fortunate as Bailey to have new clothes arriving at any minute for him.

  Once dressed, Dev called down to room service again. Bailey hadn’t eaten nearly enough last night and after the hours they’d spent in each other’s arms—and all over that bed—she was going to need her strength. She also, apparently, was going to continue to need protection. He frowned with that thought and returned his attention to the next call he needed to make.

  “Yeah?”

  That was the way Trent answered his phone this morning. He sounded tired and bothered and Dev understood both, so he planned to make this short.

  “How’s Tia this morning?” he immediately asked.

  There was a heavy sigh and a second when Dev wished he was a better friend. He wished he had some words that would comfort Trent during this time. He knew that comfort was needed. That and support and understanding. Dev just didn’t have it in him to do any of those things. He’d missed the class on basic human pleasantries and relationship matters.

  “She came through the surgery but she hasn’t been awake yet,” Trent answered.

  Dev suspected that wasn’t good.

  “She was hit three times, all of them through and through shots. There was some internal bleeding which is why they operated in the first place. They were able to get the bleeding under control and are optimistic about her recovery. At least they were,” he ended.

  Dev wanted to tell Trent what was discovered about the rest of the team but he knew now wasn’t the time. Trouble was, that was all Dev knew how to talk about.

  “I just need her to wake up,” Trent said. “I really need to see her eyes and hear her voice.”