by Mandy Baxter
Damien grabbed the foil packet from her hand and wrapped his fingers around her waist, hoisting Tabitha up high on the bed. He spread her thighs and buried his face between them. She cried out with pleasure as his tongue swirled over her clit, already so swollen and throbbing that she ached with the need for release.
“Damien!” His name left her lips on a desperate gasp. She fisted the locks of his hair, holding him between her thighs, crying out with every flick, every thrust of his tongue.
He came up on his knees and Tabitha felt him shift as he ripped open the packet. “Oh God.” Already she was close to the edge, her body humming with need, her pussy so wet that her thighs were slick with her arousal. Damien crawled up the length of her body like an animal about to consume its prey. He took her mouth again in a ravenous kiss, the taste of her on his lips driving him mad.
He entered her in a single purposeful thrust and the orgasm took her with an almost violent intensity.
Damien was mindless with desire. An animal with singular focus and goaded by pure instinctual need. Her pussy clenched around his cock, so fucking tight he welded his teeth together at the intensity of sensation, Tabitha’s impassioned cries the sweetest sound in his ears as she came.
He couldn’t get enough of her. The thought of losing her shook him to his very foundation, filling him with a sense of loss so deep and vast he knew he’d never recover from it. He buried himself to the root, taking her as hard and deep as he dared, and she opened her legs for him, urged him deeper, clawed at his back with the same ferocity. The same hopeless desperation.
“Harder.” Tabitha’s voice was a desperate whimper, her breath warm in his ear. “Oh God, Damien, harder!”
He cupped her ass in one palm, covered one full breast with the other. His muscles strained with every thrust, his jaw locked down and his breath heaved in his chest in time with every frantic beat of his heart. Her swollen bud brushed his shaft as he pulled out, teasing him as he buried himself deep. Each pleading sob from her lips was as sweet as honey, and he swallowed her cries in a kiss, as though he could taste those desperate whimpers as well.
Tabitha’s second orgasm came on the heels of her first, so intense that she threw her head back as her cries grew hoarse from the effort. Damien’s balls drew up tight, and he thrust hard once, and again, burying himself inside of her. “Tabitha.” Her voice was a prayer, spoken in time with every thrust. “Tabitha.” God, he needed her. Wanted her. “Tabitha.” He loved her. “Tabitha!”
Damien’s orgasm hit him in wave after violent wave of sensation, pulsing through his body with the explosiveness of an incendiary detonation. His blood was on fire, his lungs ached with the need for more oxygen. His body shook as his muscles tensed and spasmed. And yet he continued to pump his hips, milking himself on that sweet, tight heat that squeezed his cock.
He collapsed on top of her, no longer able to support his own weight. The only sounds in the room were their labored breaths that melded into one. On the heels of the most intense pleasure he’d ever experienced, a fear gripped at Damien’s chest. Icy fingers that speared his heart and refused to melt. She’d been angry, and there was a fine line between rage and passion. Now that the spell was broken and she’d released all of that pent-up emotion, what now? Would she allow him to apologize, to explain himself? Or would she throw him out like she’d tried to do when he first showed up?
Like that night in the hotel room when he first tried to earn her trust, Damien spoke low against her ear in an effort to win her patience before the warm glow of her orgasm dissipated. “My name is Parker Damien Evans. I’m a deputy marshal with the U.S. Marshals’ Special Operations Group. I’ve been working undercover on and off for the past four years and before I met you, I didn’t think I could ever be anything but the part I’d taught myself to play.”
Her breath hitched, too quietly for him to determine her reaction, so he pressed on. “Keep your eyes closed, baby, and please hear me out. I’ve never played a part with you, Tabitha. Ever. What I gave you was who I really am. And I wanted to tell you who I was, especially after last night. I was prepared to come clean, but then I got your message about Joey, and keeping you safe was more important than explaining myself to you. I meant everything I said to you. I kept the truth from you but I never lied. I know that doesn’t make sense, but you can’t just turn your back on me.”
Damien wrapped his arms around her, held her close as though the simple act would guarantee she’d stay by his side forever. “I love you, Tabitha. I’m in love with you. And I swear, I will never lie, never keep anything from you, ever again.”
Damien had never felt so emotionally or physically spent. Even in that godforsaken desert, surrounded by death and endless miles of cold and heat, sand and unyielding mountain terrain, hiding behind rocks, in caves, and convinced he’d never see home again, he hadn’t been as totally wrecked as he was in this moment. Tabitha Martin had laid him low. Broken him down until he was nothing more than a blubbering pussy, begging her not to turn her back on him. Not to leave him. And damn it, he’d continue to beg, to plead, to do whatever the fuck she asked of him if that’s what it took. He was so goddamned in love with this woman that he didn’t think he’d be able to live through another day that didn’t have her in it.
Damien rolled to his side so he wouldn’t crush Tabitha beneath his weight. When he pulled out, separating their bodies, he fought the urge to go back to her. But if he expected her to give him a chance, he had to give her some space. And though their bodies seemed to crave each other, he needed to allow her to think with a clear head that wasn’t influenced by lust.
Long moments passed. Damien kept his face buried against Tabitha’s throat, breathing in her sweet floral scent. He let his fingers explore her body, memorize every soft curve. If this was the first and last time they made love, Damien wanted to be sure that he never forgot the way her hips flared from her narrow waist, or the freckles that dotted her shoulder. The supple curve of her breasts and the dusky nipples that stood out proud and erect, puckering as her body cooled. He brushed his thumb across her lips, petal soft and full. How he loved that mouth. Loved her taste, the methodical way her lips moved over his.
There wasn’t any part of her that he didn’t love.
His gut twisted into an unyielding knot as the silence stretched out between them. Her breathing was no longer heavy, but rhythmic and quiet as she feathered her fingers through his hair, her nails scraping lightly against his scalp with every pass. Tabitha’s arms came around him and she cradled Damien against her body as though to offer him comfort.
“I think you should leave.”
Her words were nothing more than a ragged whisper, thick with emotion. Panic welled in Damien’s chest, burning like acid. He’d heard her wrong. She wasn’t kicking him out. “Tabitha—”
“Please, Damien.” She couldn’t hide the tears in her voice as she continued to stroke his hair, her touch so gentle. “If you care about me at all, you’ll do as I ask. If you stay I’ll—” Her words ended on a sob. “I need you to go.”
Damien’s heart might as well have exploded in his chest. The ache was so deep, the damage so severe, it was a wound no man could survive. Her fingers left his hair, and her arms as well, taking with them any comfort he might have felt. Tabitha rolled away from him, the soft sound of her tears spearing every major organ in his body.
He rolled toward her and placed a light kiss to her temple before forcing his body off the bed. Each step felt like a thousand, his body rebelling the farther he took himself away from her. Damien eased her bedroom door closed behind him, determined to give her whatever solitude she needed.
Was it too soon to pray that she wouldn’t keep him at arm’s length forever?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tabitha’s body ached for him. Ached. A bone-deep pain that she feared would never go away. She curled into a ball on her mattress, her heart broken into so many pieces that she doubted it would ever be whole again. How
could one man make her feel so complete and so absolutely wrecked, all at the same time?
The sound of Damien washing up in her bathroom had been comforting. The muted rustle of him moving around her living room as he got dressed, reassuring. But then he’d left, the front door of her apartment closing with a finality that stole the breath from Tabitha’s lungs and hollowed her out until she was nothing more than a useless, empty shell.
He’d said that he loved her. And despite the things he’d kept from her, the lies he’d told, she knew in her heart that those words, spoken softly in her ear, had been the truth.
“I love you, too.”
In the lonely quiet of her room, the words weighed heavily on her. As though once spoken aloud, they could never be taken back. Did she want to take them back? And seriously, how could she possibly fall in love with someone after a few sporadic weeks together? Still, there was something about being with Damien . . . Parker . . . whatever . . . that felt so right it was scary. Was fate making up for the crappy hand she’d been dealt by dropping the perfect man right in her lap?
Not so perfect, Tabs.
No. Not perfect. But really, who was? If she tried to see the situation from his perspective, she might be able to acknowledge that he’d done what he had to do. He was an undercover cop, in town to bring down a criminal. And for all he knew, Tabitha was as much a part of the entire operation as Joey was. She hadn’t simply proved her involvement by setting Joey up at the hotel, she’d admitted to knowing the very fugitive Damien was searching for. Pretty damning evidence, to be sure. And though she’d given him glimpses into her life bit by bit, it wasn’t until last night that she’d truly opened up to him. Trusted him. She supposed it had been a lot to process. Maybe she was being unfair in her anger. Wouldn’t anyone need a little time after being hit with a bombshell like that? Especially when Damien realized that Tabitha had firsthand knowledge—not to mention a rocky history—with the man he was trying to arrest.
Afternoon faded into evening, and gray twilight swallowed the last of the light filtering into her bedroom. Worry settled on Tabitha’s chest like a boulder, the weight unrelenting as she wondered if Seth was okay. Praying that Damien was with him. Protecting him.
Tabitha pushed herself off the bed, reluctant to part with the comforter that bore traces of Damien’s clean, musky scent. It wouldn’t do her a damn bit of good to lie there in the dark, second-guessing her decision to ask him to leave. She’d needed time to think, away from his magnetic presence and honest words that tugged at her heartstrings. Besides, Seth’s safety was what was important, and Damien wasn’t going to keep an eye on her brother while he was lounging in her bed. She’d made the right decision. There would be time later—when all of this business with Joey and Gerald was said and done—to work out the kinks of her personal life.
Thirty minutes later, someone knocked at her door. Tabitha muted the television, hoping that someone with the Marshals Service or Boise PD was there to give her an update. This time, she had the good sense to check the peephole before throwing the door wide but all she got was a close-up view of the logo of a Pizza Hut delivery shirt and the back of the guy’s head. A tremor of anxiety rushed through her and Tabitha’s heart began to race. She definitely hadn’t ordered a pizza. It wasn’t the first time something had been delivered to her unit by accident, though. All of the buildings looked the same and weren’t clearly marked. It was easy to get lost. She let out a nervous chuff of breath. Paranoid much, Tabs? She eased the door open a crack only to have it shoved forcefully open. The nervous tremor transformed into panic as once again someone she didn’t want to see barged through the threshold.
A sneer pulled at Joey’s lip as he brought a gun up to Tabitha’s face. “You make a sound, and I’ll put a bullet in your head.”
Tabitha took a step back. And another. How in the hell had he found her apartment? She’d been so careful, so sure that he didn’t know where she lived. If he’d been watching the hotel, he would have seen the Boise PD guys escorting her to their cruiser this afternoon. Shit. How much did he already know? And what part of that knowledge was going to get her killed?
“Did you beat some poor guy up for that T-shirt, Joey?”
Joey snickered and Tabitha wanted to kick him. He advanced, stepping fully inside the apartment and letting the door close quietly behind him.
“I know you’re upset, but you’re obviously not thinking clearly. Don’t do anything stupid, Joey.”
Wrong choice of words. Joey lunged, pressing the cold metal of the barrel into Tabitha’s forehead. “You think you can talk to me like that, you fucking bitch?” His pupils were blown and sweat beaded his brow. Wow. Joey was an idiot if he thought getting high would improve his situation. “Where is my shit? I want every last ounce of it right fucking now.”
Where were the marshals who were supposed to be watching her apartment? The cops parked around the block and along the street? How had Joey managed to get past them? This was bad. He was obviously still operating under the assumption that Tabitha had stolen from him and was looking for someone to take the fall with Gerald so he’d be off the hook. If Gerald hadn’t contacted him yet, he had to know that he was running out of time. Tabitha tried to swallow the lump that rose in her throat, willed enough saliva into her mouth to speak. “Joey, I don’t have your stuff. Neither does Damien. I tried to tell you earlier today. Tony stole those drugs. Not me. He attacked me, and Damien beat the shit out of him. But your drugs were long gone before any of that went down.”
Joey pressed the barrel tighter into Tabitha’s forehead and she winced. If he kept it up he was going to draw blood.
“That’s bullshit. You’re fucking lying. And you’re going to give every single motherfucking ounce back to me before Lightfoot shows up. Do you understand me?”
A tentative wave of relief rippled over Tabitha’s flushed skin. Okay, so all she had to do was convince him to go to the meet. They didn’t need him there to bust Gerald, but if he did show up, Damien could kill two birds with one stone. At least, that’s what she was hoping for. “You need to talk to Tony.” Tabitha’s mind raced as she tried to think of anything that might shift Joey’s focus from putting a bullet in her head. It would have helped to know if Gerald had gotten in touch with Seth yet. Shit. “Joey, if Gerald is coming to town to straighten things out, you know he’s going to call Seth if he can’t get ahold of you. That’s not going to look good. You can’t dodge him and expect it to make this situation better.”
Joey grabbed her just above her left elbow, his fingertips biting painfully into her skin. “I’m not planning to dodge him.” He sneered. “But since I can’t find that piece of shit you’re currently fucking, I’m going to bring Lightfoot the next best thing. There’s no way in hell I’m going down for this, Tabitha.”
Well, hell. If she hadn’t been nervous before, this new development was sure getting it done. “Joey, let’s talk about this.”
He wrenched her arm behind her back with enough force that Tabitha thought it might snap. She cried out from the pain, doubled over and helpless. “Joey, the police are watching me.” It might have been a stupid move to show her hand so quickly, but unless Tabitha wanted to be stuck in the middle of a potential shoot-out, she needed to do something to defuse the situation. “They’re parked outside and around the block. If you try to take me out of here, we’re both screwed.”
“For someone so concerned about walking the straight and narrow, you sure stepped in it, didn’t you, Tabs?”
Boy, wasn’t that the understatement of the year. She wondered what Joey would think if she told him that the guy she was “currently fucking” happened to be a deputy U.S. marshal. “Yeah, well, I think I have you to thank for that.”
Joey wrenched her arm again and Tabitha swallowed down a scream. If he kept it up, he’d dislocate her shoulder. “I think you have your fuck-up of a brother to thank for it.” Joey’s text alert went off and he released Tabitha’s arm, keeping the gun tra
ined on her forehead. “Time to go, sweetheart. Lightfoot’s plane touched down twenty minutes ago and we’re going to get this shit settled once and for all.”
“Did you not hear me?” Tabitha rubbed her injured arm. She was going to have some class-A bruises. “The cops are watching my apartment. Really, it’s a wonder you even got to the front door, Joey.”
“Not really. The cops are fucking stupid. They don’t think twice about whose name they say over the radio. Anyone with a scanner can keep an eye on where they are and what they’re doing.” He gave an arrogant snort. “Or who they’ve got in custody. We’re going to sneak out of here the way I snuck in. Do you think I’m a fucking idiot, Tabitha?” Did he really want her to answer that? “Those assholes think they’re all stealthy and shit hanging out in their cars. Like that isn’t as lame as fuck. Let’s go. We’re outta here.”
A surge of fear-driven adrenaline coursed through Tabitha’s veins. Her only consolation to being dragged out of her apartment at gunpoint was the thought that wherever Joey was taking her, Damien would likely be. Would he protect her like he’d promised to, despite the fact that she’d kicked him out of her apartment only minutes after the most intense sexual experience of her life? Who knew. There wouldn’t be time for her to explain herself, to tell him that she’d been scared and confused and hurt. That her feelings for him ran far deeper than any crush or simple attraction, and she worried that he’d burrowed so deeply into her soul that she couldn’t live without him. All of that would have to wait. She just prayed that her faith in him wasn’t misplaced. Because he was going to have more than just Seth to protect at this point.
Joey bent down and snatched Tabitha’s tennis shoes up from the floor. He chucked them at her feet. “Get your shoes on and let’s go.”