Checkmate

by Annmarie McKenna

  Eli had to smile. A charging bull for sure. Horns, attitude and all. He wiped a hand over his face, trying hard to overlook the pain enveloping his body. Not an easy feat.

  He sighed. “I almost died when I saw her in that bastard’s arms.”

  “You almost died from him stabbing the hell out of you. By the way, you left a nice bruise on Nikki’s thigh when you kicked her.”

  Eli winced. “Damn.”

  “At least it’s over. He’s dead and the police have already been to his house. Word is he’s been killing for quite a while. Morales said he even has a big box of mementos so hopefully some loved ones will finally get some closure.”

  “Jesus. How did he get away with it?”

  Caelan shrugged and blew out a big breath. He looked almost uncomfortable.

  Eli cocked his head. “What’s wrong?”

  Caelan cleared his throat. “Nothing. I mean, I need to get out of here, get back to Tieran.”

  “Shit, Cael, get. Go. What the hell are you still standing here for?”

  His twin reached up and scratched his head. “I will. Now. I couldn’t leave without knowing you were okay.”

  “I’m fine. Tell me about my nephew then get lost.”

  Caelan laughed and rubbed his hands together. “He’s huge.” He spreads his hands apart, way bigger than any baby could be. “Weighed eight pounds, ten ounces.”

  Eli lifted an eyebrow. “Impressive.”

  “Tieran wasn’t too impressed, but then she’d just pushed it—”

  “Stop right there,” Eli groaned, showing his brother the palm of his hand. “Don’t need to know that much.” He paused. “He’s doing okay? You give him a name yet?” Caelan and Tieran had only been fighting over it for nine months.

  Caelan’s grin took over his face. “He’s perfect. For a shriveled-up, slimy, red-skinned…thing, I guess. Ten fingers, ten toes, one penis.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  “As for the name.” Caelan shrugged. “Tieran hasn’t decided yet.”

  “You’re leaving it to her? Good God, Cael, my nephew might end up as a Josephus Jehoshaphat if you give her control.”

  Caelan’s bark of laughter made Nikki stir with a moan.

  “Get out of here,” Eli hissed, “before you wake my mate up.”

  “Oh, now he doesn’t want her to wake up,” Caelan said, heading for the door and shaking his head. He stopped in the doorway and braced his hand on the frame. “I think you guys are being released the day after tomorrow, and so will Tieran, so I’ll drive everyone home.”

  Eli turned, trying to get in a more comfortable position. “That’s so nice of you, bro, you being the only one able to drive.”

  “I love you too, E. Get some sleep, smartass.”

  “Yeah,” he mumbled, turning to face Nikki again. He’d come so close to losing her. At that one moment, when her life literally hung in the balance, when she was a few short breaths away from death, he’d felt it. Deep in his soul like someone ripping his insides out.

  There was color in her cheeks at least. Dark circles smudged the skin beneath her eyes, blending in with the black lashes lying against them. Her eyes would probably be bloodshot, a result of the strangulation. Eli’s breath hitched just thinking about it.

  If the fucker wasn’t already dead, Eli would make certain he never lived to see another day.

  Nikki was too far away. He wanted to go to her, but Caelan was right. He was hurting like a son of a bitch.

  What the hell. He eased the metal rail down and gingerly sat, testing the various parts of his body. An IV clung to his hand. He hadn’t noticed it before. Following the tube, he saw two bags of fluid hanging from the stand. No time like the present. Eli swung his legs to the side, twisting himself up in the blue material covering his body.

  Yanking at it didn’t help. The thing was still stuck under his ass. It tightened around his thighs as he slid off the mattress. Damn thing was possessed and trying to prevent him from getting out of bed. He groped at it, freeing it from whatever held it captive, and finally stood on wobbly legs.

  He was weaker than he thought. Probably still drugged out of his mind too, even though drugs normally left his system quickly. How much had they given him? Cold air washed down his back. “What the…” He angled his head, and stared at his naked ass. Nice. They’d put him in a fucking dress and hadn’t even bothered to tie it shut.

  A tingle shot down his spine. Eli half-expected to look up and see Nikki smiling at his predicament. She hadn’t moved.

  Slowly moving the few feet that separated them, he paused and watched her breathe. Damn she was beautiful. And he loved her. With every fiber of his being.

  An urgent need to kiss her took hold and he bent painfully over the railing and laid his lips on her forehead, inhaling her perfect scent. Standing back up proved even more painful and he discovered he had another pressing need.

  He glanced up longingly. The bathroom looked about a mile away.

  “Fuck. I can make it to the john on my own, damn it.” It took him twice as long as he thought it would because his feet and legs didn’t seem to want to cooperate and he had to lug the stupid IV pole with him.

  Once inside the tiny room, he let the gown fall to the ground. A fucking dress. He shook his head again. Not that he hadn’t been in one before, he had. Nine months ago, in fact. Still, it made a man not feel like a man.

  A square white bandage covered the left side of his abdomen. A few spots of red seeped through, probably from when he nearly launched himself off the bed earlier. He’d have them look at it in the morning. No use disturbing Nikki for something like this. Another bandage adorned his left pec. Hmm. He didn’t remember that.

  Eli shrugged, wincing at the pain. Like you didn’t just see the damage done there? “Moron.”

  His left arm was also wrapped in white. That one he remembered. Popping the muscles in his neck, he performed the necessary functions, flushed, washed his hands and stared at the blue puddle of fabric on the floor, contemplating it.

  Fuck it. If the nurses hadn’t already seen all of him, they more than likely would at some point, changing the bandages. Besides, he knew how much Nikki-Raine liked to be against his skin.

  He yanked the pole over the threshold and made his way back to his mate, leaning heavily on the damn pole, much to his disgust. He was weak as a baby.

  Speaking of babies, his poor baby still hadn’t moved. Fortunately, whenever she’d rolled to her side, she’d left plenty of room for him to get in with her. Unfortunately, she was on the wrong side for him. He’d have to lie on his left side this way, and that wasn’t going to happen.

  Eli hated having to move her and risk waking her, but damned if he was going to go back to his own bed. He had to hold her, to make sure she was really alive and not some figment of his imagination.

  After tugging the blanket off her, he somehow managed to roll Nikki to her other side without her stirring. Feeling heavier and heavier by the minute, Eli eased onto the side of the bed and maneuvered himself behind her. He reached back and yanked the rail back into place and pulled the covers over both of them.

  Sweet, sweet heaven. Nikki instinctively wiggled to get closer, burying her ass in his crotch and making his cock come to life.

  Aah. This is what he needed. Eli laid his injured arm over her belly then nestled his nose into the crook of her shoulder and inhaled.

  Now he could sleep.

  Chapter Twenty

  Nikki guided Eli with an arm around his waist. The fool was heavier than he looked. She grunted under the strain of holding him up. Didn’t help that his naked body was slick with sweat.

  “I don’t need any more rest.” Eli struggled against Nikki’s hands as she tried to push him back in his bed.

  “Right. That’s why you can’t walk under your own steam. It’s all a delusion. Now, lay your ass down or I swear to God I won’t give you sex for a week.” She wouldn’t last a freaking week. No way. Eli was hers.
Forever.

  He whimpered and she hid a smile. He must have believed her because he collapsed onto the mattress and let her pull the covers over his body.

  “I feel like a damned baby.”

  She chuckled at his grouchiness. He could be a baby all he wanted as long as he was still here with her. Nikki shuddered, thinking about what could have happened in that closet.

  “You sound like one too. Why tempt reopening the wound when you can lie here like a good boy and let it heal? And if you ever take on a psycho killer again, I’ll kill you myself.” Damn, she’d never forget waking up to see them lifting him onto a stretcher. There’d been so much blood. She’d been so afraid he wouldn’t live through the blood loss alone.

  He growled. She lifted an eyebrow.

  “You don’t scare me, Eli.”

  He dropped his head to the pillow and groaned. His cock tented the thin sheet. How on Earth could he be hard at a time like this? Weak as an infant, and still horny. She shook her head, but couldn’t resist licking her lips. “Do I look like Superman to you?” he grumbled.

  Nikki looked at his face. His nostrils were flared and his eyes were wide. She swallowed and felt her cheeks burn at being caught checking him out.

  She lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you mean,” she huffed, busying herself with getting his shoes off.

  “You couldn’t make it a week, sweetheart,” he taunted.

  “Watch me.” She’d have to find some kind of resolve somewhere if she wanted to make it through the night.

  Now it was Eli’s turn to swallow. “I don’t wanna sleep anymore.”

  “Quit whining. Besides, if you’re really good, maybe I’ll reward you.”

  From the corner of her eye she saw his cock jump beneath the sheet. She wiggled her eyebrows at him before turning her attention to his groin and licking her lips again.

  “Christ, don’t do that, Nikki-Raine. Just thinking about what that sweet little tongue can do makes me harder than hell.” He rubbed a hand over his bare chest. The T-shirt he’d worn home had left him itchy and feeling confined. Not to mention it was rubbing on his wounds and making him surly. They’d barely hit the front door and he’d stripped it off. That and his pants. Good thing they’d been alone or somebody might have gotten quite a peep show.

  Nikki reached for the tent in the sheet. Eli dug his hands beneath his pillow and waited, breath held in anticipation of her touch. “Damn little tease,” he breathed. “I’ll get you for this.”

  She smiled. “You and what army?”

  “I won’t need a fucking army, sweetheart. Just my cock buried deep inside your tiny wet pussy’ll be enough.”

  Nikki’s breath caught a split second before her fingers wrapped around his circumference. He hissed through his teeth and threw his head back in what she hoped was sheer bliss.

  His abs jumped as she slowly inched the sheet she’d just pulled over him back off. Nikki released him long enough to uncover the steel rod she’d been holding and the cotton slid along his length with wicked intent. He gritted his teeth and his triceps bunched like he was trying to keep from grabbing her and throwing her to the bed so he could fuck her like she needed to be fucked. At least that’s what she wanted to think.

  Her fingers returned, cold on his heated cock.

  “So soft,” she whispered as she started pumping him. “So hard.”

  His teeth lengthened and he hissed. Her thumb brushed over the tip, smearing the small drop of pre-come that seeped out.

  “Fuuuck.” Eli lifted his head to stare at her.

  She lowered her head in an agonizingly slow manner, trying to tease him. From the way he licked his lips and propped himself on his elbows to watch her descent, she would say it was working. Nikki’s hair fell over his hips. She hoped it blocked his view and increased the anticipation. His hands fisted the sheets and his body was a rigid line beneath her. Thank God the painkillers had left his injuries numb. He’d probably be hurting later though. It was a wonder he could even feel his cock, let alone get it up, but oh damn.

  She breathed over the swollen head and he groaned. “Holy mother…”

  Her lips quivered against it as she chuckled. When the tip of her tongue traced the slit he nearly shot off the bed. Nikki sat back, throwing her hair over her shoulder and trying unsuccessfully not to laugh.

  “Anxious?”

  “Stop teasing a wounded man, sweetheart.”

  She rolled her eyes, but smiled, and then bent over him again.

  Sweeping her hot tongue across him made him lift his hips. Nikki enveloped him in her mouth, and sucked strongly. She moved, bobbing her head up and down, drawing on him. His balls tightened, readying themselves to explode.

  It didn’t take long. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his lip bled where a sharp canine bit through it and she could tell his heart pounded. Her hair tickled his abdomen and thighs with every sweep.

  “Baby…” He pursed his lips. She met his eyes with her defiance-filled ones. “Stop. Stop, or I’m going…I’m gonna…”

  She added her hand to the base of his cock and his eyes rolled back.

  “Nikki-Raine.” With a guttural cry he came. Hot spurts of semen shot into the back of her throat and still she squeezed and sucked, milking him for all he was worth. His belly contracted and seized with each discharge.

  Eli collapsed, his chest heaving. Her tongue laved his insatiable cock from root to tip, bathing it with a mixture of come and saliva, lapping up everything. His chest heaved with each effort to draw a breath.

  Nikki released his cock with an audible pop and pulled the sheet over his body. His fingers slackened their death grip and he sank into the mattress. She rained small kisses on his skin just above the sheet and tucked it around his chest. Her lips moved up his throat, around his jaw, over his face, soothing the tenseness away.

  “I love you, my mate.” His drugged announcement barely reached her ears.

  Nikki reared back to look at him. He’d already fallen asleep. She thought about all the time she had now to devote herself to showing him how much she loved him. She took a deep breath, enjoying the freedom that came with it. Now she could finally put this last year behind her. She’d never forget her friends or what had happened to them and she still had a trial to get through for the three men who’d attacked her, but she’d do it. With Eli by her side, she’d be fine. Nikki had no doubt he would see to her happiness just as she would do for him.

  She flipped the hair off his forehead. “I love you too. Always.”

  About the Author

  Annmarie McKenna lives with her husband and four kids in the Midwest. Throw in a dog and a cat and she’s well over her limit for the average family. Luckily, writing fantasies has proven to be an excellent way to de-stress from her daily life of being a cleaning woman, chauffeur, cook and mom. Okay, cleaning woman—not so much. She leaves that to her hubby. Now if only she could figure out how to de-stress her kids, she’d be all set. To learn more about Annmarie, please visit www.annmariemckenna.com or her tries-to-keep-up-with-it-but-rarely-succeeds blog, www.annmariemckenna.blogspot.com. She’d love to hear from you. Send her an email to annmarmck@yahoo.com.

  Look for these titles by Annmarie McKenna

  Now Available:

  Blackmailed

  Seeing Eye Mate

  Checkmate

  Coming Soon:

  Two Sighted

  Fantasmagorical

  The Strength of Three

  Mystified

  Look What Santa Brought

  Even with her shaky past, Aislinn can’t help but to secretly want Kyle. When she witnesses his death in a vision, how can she tell him without giving away her secret or her lust?

  Two Sighted

  © 2007 Annmarie McKenna

  Coming May 15, 2007 to Samhain Publishing

  Aislinn Campbell is a clairvoyant, the latest in a long line of first-born daughters to the previous first-born daughter. All of them have fiery red hair and a second sigh
t. Hiding from her ex in the presence of a sexy ex-military millionaire seems the safest way to start over. Until she “sees” his death.

  Kyle Turner III has been keeping a close eye on Aislinn. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about his personal assistant, including her secret and ugly past. He also wants her in his bed more than his next breath. When he receives an anonymous warning that something might happen at his annual Fourth of July bash, he doesn’t take it lightly. He knows exactly who sent the warning and he knows she’s being watched by her bastard of an ex.

  After he’s injured in an accident, Kyle isn’t about to leave Aislinn unprotected for a second. He coaxes her into more than just tending to his wounds. Because making Aislinn believe in him and her together far outweighs anything her ex can dish out.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Two Sighted:

  Bright light from the full moon glinted off the stainless steel appliances in the immaculate kitchen. A scream echoed through the large space, drowning out the grunts and moans coming from the two men who fought near the center, arms locked in a combative embrace. The sickening thud of flesh on flesh was followed by a spurt of blood that showered the island countertop. The man dressed in black from head to toe took advantage, flinging them both to the ground with a bone- jarring crunch. He rolled, kneeling above the other man who was wearing only boxers. With a snick, the man in black flicked open a switchblade. He swung it in an arc above his head, catching the moonlight, making the metal glow. The knife slashed through the air into the bare chest of the man below and another scream pierced the kitchen’s confines.

  “Yoo-hoo.”

  Aislinn Campbell sucked in a breath and shook her head, trying to ward off the last vestiges of the vision that plagued her yet again.

  “Are you there, hon? Earth to Aislinn.” Christina Marshall, the closest friend Aislinn had—the only friend she had—waved a hand in front of her face.

  Aislinn flushed with embarrassment. Of all the times for her to have a vision—at work in front of numerous co-workers. Great. She could probably count the minutes until word got around about her freakiness. Fighting the urge to cover her ears against the memories of past taunts, she fisted her hands on the arms of the ergonomic computer chair.