His Target: The Downing Family Book 4

by Wild, Cassie

  I’d been debating on bringing the bottle, but just as I went to rise so I could retrieve it, Cormac put it down at my elbow. “You seem…thirsty.”

  “Thank you.” Blood heated my cheeks, something that was becoming a common occurrence in his presence.

  Get a grip, Briar, I told myself. You just have to make it through dinner.

  * * *

  I had no idea just what I expected to do once dinner was over, but as the meal came to a close, it was obvious what I wanted to do. The tension between Cormac and me had grown steadily over the meal. Our fingers brushed as we reached for bread. Our eyes would catch, then linger as we took a sip of wine.

  Eating a meal had never been an exercise in erotic restraint for me. At least not until now.

  By the time we finished, my entire body felt like it was vibrating. I took my dishes to the sink and was soon joined by Cormac. “I can handle these,” he said softly. He was so close, his elbow brushed mine.

  “We can both do it,” I responded.

  So we did, performing the task in near silence. After I finished the last glass, I went to pull the plug from the drain. Cormac shifted away, but not far. I could still feel the heat of him, sense his presence. I gasped as he stroked his hands up my arms, then down. The cami I wore left a lot of skin bare, and the parts of me that hadn’t received such attention clamored to be noticed.

  He rested his hands on my shoulders. My hands, still in the soapy water, trembled.

  He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, down low, right where it joined with my shoulders.

  Such a simple but intimate gesture. My nipples drew tight, stabbing in the flimsy protection offered by the top’s built-in shelf bra. He kept his mouth on my flesh, sliding over my skin until he reached my shoulder. He brushed the strap of the cami away and kissed the spot he’d revealed.

  I pressed my lips together, hunger overtaking me.

  His hands stroked down my back. I angled my head to the side, giving him better access to my neck. He responded by sinking his teeth into the sensitive curve, then dragging his mouth along the arch, sending ripples of sensation through me.

  He settled his hands on my waist. Pressing back against him, I asked silently for more. He gave it, slowly sliding his hands up until he cupped my breasts through the cami.

  The shirt was no protection at all. He easily found my nipples and began to stroke and tease, eliciting a moan from me.

  I pushed myself into his hands, hungry for more.

  It was a surprise when he didn’t give it. I could feel the heavy ridge of his cock cuddled up against my butt, feel the heat of him, hear his ragged breaths. I had no doubt that if I laid a hand on his chest, I’d find his heart racing like a wild thing.

  But try as I might, I couldn’t induce him to deepen the contact.

  Finally, I whispered his name.

  “What do you want, Briar?” he asked against my ear.

  You.

  The word caught in my throat. I did want him. More than I’d ever wanted anybody. But the tentative new sensation was more than I could handle, and I was left mute.

  “Do you want me, Briar?”

  I nodded, my throat still locked tight.

  “Then show me.” He gave my nipples one slow, taunting tug.

  I thought my brain might melt. Do something, I told myself.

  It was almost a shock to find myself turning in his arms, reaching up to push his gingery hair back from his brow. “I’m going to take a shower,” I heard myself saying.

  His lids drooped, brow crumpling in a frown.

  I eased out of his arms and padded over to the doorway. There, I stopped and looked at him. “You want to join me?”

  Eleven

  Cormac

  I’d been propositioned before. More than once. I’d been getting invitations from women since I was seventeen. Sometimes, I accepted what was offered. Other times, I just hadn’t been interested.

  Those simple words from Briar managed to turn me on more than I would have thought possible.

  My mouth was watering. Staring down into her big, pale blue eyes, I felt a pull of arousal so strong, it almost hurt. It was deeper than sheer arousal, too, tangled up with something I’d never felt before.

  I couldn’t even begin to describe it, and just then, thinking about it was a little more than my brain could handle.

  Besides, why in the hell would I want to waste my time thinking when she was watching me with those amazing eyes, her pretty lips curved up in a seductive smile?

  I was already more turned on than I would have thought possible, and we’d only just started. I’d been naked and inside a woman without feeling anything so intense.

  “I suppose I wouldn’t mind a shower,” I said, moving closer. My booted feet nudged against her bare ones. I reached up and traced my finger along the curve of her lower lip. “Are we trying to conserve water?”

  A smile flirted with her lips. “That is just a benefit.”

  “If we’re not trying to conserve water, then what are we doing?”

  To my surprise, she reached out and hooked her fingers in the front of my jeans, tugging me closer. She rose up onto her toes, so when I lowered my head to kiss her, she met me halfway.

  Her mouth was already open, and when she slid her tongue out to trace it across my lower lip, the need already gripping my insides threatened to shatter what little control I had.

  I opened for her, content to let her take the lead.

  And did she ever. She swayed closer and pushed her hands into my hair, pressing against me insistently.

  The top she wore had been driving me nuts. It was worse now. I could feel the tight buds of her nipples through the thin layers. Desperate to see them, I caught the straps of her top and shoved them down her shoulders. Her upraised arms briefly caused me to stop, but before I could address the problem, she lowered them, and I was able to bare her tits.

  They were small, high and firm. Cupping them in my hands, I dipped my head and took one nipple into my mouth. The taste of her skin flooded my senses, and without thinking, I let go of her breasts to grab her ass, hauling her in against me so my cock cuddled against her belly.

  She gasped in surprise.

  As my name left her lips in a breathy sigh, I slid my mouth up across the slope of her breast, her collarbone, along her shoulder and onward until I could once more take her mouth with mine.

  I might have just stripped her bare right there if she hadn’t torn her mouth away from me and lowered her head until her brow pressed to my chest. Her shoulders rose and fell in a series of ragged breaths. Feeling a tenderness I didn’t know I was capable of, I eased back and caught her chin in one hand, guiding her gaze up to mine.

  I searched the pale, soft blue, looking for any sign that she’d changed her mind, but all I could see was hunger.

  Catching her by the hips, I boosted her up, ignoring the pain in my ribs as her legs closed around me. “Where’s the shower?”

  She inclined her head to her left, and I turned down the hall, spying the staircase.

  “Up the stairs,” she instructed, her breath warm on my face. “On the right.”

  The bathroom was bigger than some of the hotels I’d stayed at, the floor covered in glossy, jade green tile shot through with little ribbons of gold. I might have paid more attention if it wasn’t for the fact that Briar stroked her fingers through my hair.

  She reached the ends and gave a short tug. Either I’d suddenly developed a new erogenous zone, or Briar had magic in her hands. I didn’t know which and didn’t care. As she repeated the action, I slammed my mouth down on hers, the tenderness that had filled me evaporating under the torrential onslaught of sheer lust.

  She moaned into my mouth.

  Backing her up into the wall, I caught the material of her top and worked it down until the shirt was in a tangle around her waist, leaving her breasts and arms bare.

  I dragged my hands up her sides, the heels of my palms grazing her br
easts. Pulling back, I stared down at her as I plumped her tits together. The sight of my hands on her was an experiment in erotic torture. I couldn’t taste her fast enough, couldn’t touch her quick enough.

  Lowering my head, I pressed my face to the valley between her breasts. A whimper fell from her lips when I tweaked her nipples.

  My dick ached, and I started to rock against her, seeking out the heat between her thighs, heat that was separated from me by denim and spandex. The barriers were intolerable.

  I tore away and caught her yoga pants by the waistband, yanking them down. She watched me with lambent eyes as I pulled her shirt off, then went to work on my jeans and shoes.

  I was down to my shorts when she slid out from between me and the wall. I turned. My gaze drifted down to her ass, and I took a moment to appreciate the perfect curve before looking back up to see what she was up to.

  She opened a cabinet and pulled a box out, turning to face me.

  I closed the distance and took the box from her, absurdly pleased to find that it was unopened. I practically shredded the package as I tore it open and ripped one condom free from the foil strip.

  She left me to it, moving over to the shower.

  Just as I finished unrolling the latex shield down over my dick, I heard the water come on.

  I turned to see her duck inside.

  I joined her, stepping through the multiple, crisscrossing sprays to corner her up against the wall. As I boosted her up, she curled her arms around my neck and pressed against me. My fucked-up ribs shot pain through me, but it only added to the pleasure eating me alive, making me feel everything.

  My eyes all but rolled back into my head at the pleasure I felt as my chest crushed into her breasts.

  I reached down between us and guided my cock to the notch between her thighs. She was so hot, even hotter than the spray raining down on us.

  Liquid silk seemed to surround me as I pushed inside, her slick, tight cunt a delicious torment while the water from the multiple showerheads jetted down onto us.

  I thrust in deep, filling her until I had nothing left to give.

  She cried out, eyes going wide as her lips parted.

  I stared at her, wanting to commit this to memory.

  Her mouth opened on a moan, her lashes fluttering down to partially shield her blue eyes while her head fell back in surrender.

  “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” I told her.

  She whimpered and twisted against me. The movement caused the slick muscles of her pussy to tighten and milk my cock.

  I grunted as I withdrew, then surged back inside her.

  She was already going tight around me, her pulse fluttering madly in her neck.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  That was all she said, but I was almost positive I knew what she wanted. I tucked her more firmly against me, holding her hips in a tight grip as I began to fuck her harder.

  A low, keening noise escaped her throat.

  I swallowed the next one down.

  She reached up, gripping the back of my neck tightly, her nails biting into my flesh.

  The small pain added to the heat burning between us, burning down low in my groin. My balls drew tight against me, a subtle warning that my climax was already hovering just out of reach.

  I gripped her ass and began to work her more deliberately, rotating my hips so my cock rubbed against her deep inside. She cried out, thrusting her hips up and forward in an attempt to work herself up and down on my cock.

  I clenched my teeth.

  Just as I started to close my eyes, Briar’s entire body suddenly went fist-tight. I groaned as her orgasm broke over her. It was work just to fuck my way past the tight muscles of her spasming cunt, but it was the sweetest work I’d ever known. Despite the water splashing over me, a fine sweat broke out on my forehead. I felt overheated, on fire.

  Just the feel of her pussy milking my cock was enough to push me over. The top of my cock all but blew off as I started to come, the climax never-ending.

  By the time it finally passed, Briar’s pussy had just started to ease its fist-like grip. She moaned as I withdrew. Leaning back against the tile wall, she pressed her hands against the flat surface, fingers spread wide as if seeking purchase.

  Her lids slowly lifted.

  The smile on her face all but melted me.

  * * *

  That smile continued to haunt me a couple hours later as I slid from the bedroom.

  Sleeping with her had been colossally stupid.

  It wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t felt this crazy tug toward her. I had no problem sleeping with women on the job. But I did have a problem sleeping with somebody I found myself liking.

  Sex was nothing more than a physical release for me, and I’d always found it more prudent to find that release outside my very limited circle of friends.

  Briar had somehow ended up on that list, and I’d only known her a few days.

  In the kitchen, away from Briar, I dressed, taking care to be quiet.

  I had to get out of there because, if I didn’t, I’d find myself asking if I really wanted to.

  And I already knew the answer to that.

  It had been far too hard to leave her warm, soft bed and her equally warm and even softer body. Already, I wanted to go back, just strip out of the clothes I’d pulled on and seek her out once more.

  I didn’t let myself.

  Once I was dressed, I found a piece of paper and a pen and scrawled out a quick note to Briar, leaving it under a coffee cup that I put in front of her coffee machine.

  On my way out, despite my intention to just leave, I found myself lingering, gaze drifting to the hallway that would lead to the steps that would take me back to her room.

  Before I could change my mind, I slid outside, then checked to make sure I’d locked the door.

  Shoving my hands into the pockets of my battered hoodie, I started down the sidewalk. Once I reached the end of the sidewalk, I pulled out my phone and called for a Lyft.

  In under twenty minutes, I was well on my way back to the tattoo shop.

  * * *

  It was almost midnight when the driver dropped me off in front of the shop.

  The open sign was still on, but as I strode up the sidewalk, somebody inside flicked it off.

  Jerrel appeared in the doorway just as I approached. We stared at each other through the smudged glass for a long moment before he finally let me in.

  I pushed past him without comment, ready to get up to my room and lay down. If I was lucky, maybe I’d dream about Briar.

  “That’s one hell of a shiner you got,” Jerrel said as I passed him by.

  “Proud of your handiwork?” I asked sardonically. Jerrel had come up with the idea of the two of us getting into a fight so I’d have a legit reason to go to the ED where Briar worked.

  I could have thought of any number of other ways that we could meet, but I’d found myself not at all opposed to the idea of whaling on the bastard. He didn’t look any better than I did, a near-black bruise darkening his right eye. There were plenty of other bruises on him, although my favorite blow was one that hadn’t left a mark. I’d punched him in the throat hard enough that he hadn’t been able to breathe for almost a minute, and it had taken him several more to talk. After that, we’d come to a silent, mutual agreement that the fight was over.

  A wise decision, because he’d started to really piss me off.

  He was doing the same thing now as he stood still partially blocking my way, so I rocked back on my heels and met his stare eye to eye.

  After a few seconds, his lids flickered, ending the moment.

  He scraped short, neat nails down the stubble that darkened his left jaw. “You made contact, right?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s moving ahead just like you planned.”

  “I don’t think I told you to fuck her,” Jerrel said, an amused look on his face. “Although I can see why you did. She’s one fine piece of ass.”

 
; I opened my mouth to smack him down, and I realized he was waiting for it.

  Because of that, I forced a smile before walking right past him without a word.

  I already wanted this job over.

  “What, you’re not going to share?” Jerrel taunted from behind. “She’s a little skinny. Not much of an ass on her. I like my girls with some junk in the trunk. She got nice tits?”

  “Shut up,” I told him, my tone full of warning.

  I would have been better off to just ignore him. He’d smell blood in the water now.

  “Oh, come on. You gotta share something. I ain’t never fucked a pretty, rich lady doctor,” Jerrel said.

  I gave him a narrow look and thought about how much I’d enjoy punching his teeth down his throat. But in the end, I realized it would cause me more trouble than it was worth.

  “You’ve got the mindset of a kid still stuck in school,” I told him with a faint sneer.

  Then, without wasting another moment on him, I turned on my heel and started for the small hall in the back of the shop.

  He called out after me, but I ignored him.

  By the time I was locked in my room, it was close to one.

  I threw myself on the bed and closed my eyes.

  Immediately, a mental image of Briar filled my mind. Muffling a groan, I slid my hand down and rubbed at my already erect cock.

  Down, boy.

  Twelve

  Briar

  I woke with a smile on my face, stretching out muscles that felt pleasantly sore. My smile widened as I recalled, in detail, just what had caused my muscles to feel so deliciously used.

  Cormac.

  Rolling onto my side, a greeting already forming on my lips, I frowned at the sight of the empty mattress beside me.

  Slowly, I reached out and stroked my fingers down the expanse of sheets. It bothered me more than I liked to admit, finding those sheets cool, no lingering body heat from Cormac’s body still warming them.