You're the One

by Angela Verdenius

  “Next time you hear anything you do not unlock or open your windows, you phone the station immediately. Do you understand?”

  “I just-”

  “Del.”

  “Yes.”

  “Your actions were irresponsible.” Hands on hips, he looked down at her. “You risked your safety by unlocking the window to try and see outside. Keep your windows locked.”

  “If I did that you wouldn’t know what I heard or saw, would you?”

  Damn, the woman had balls. Figuratively speaking, of course. Not many people would stand up to Kirk but there she was, almost toe-to-toe with the cop, giving him attitude. He’d thought it was just Molly who was game to do that.

  If it wasn’t such a dangerous situation, Moz would have laughed.

  Kirk stared hard at Del for several seconds.

  She relented. “I know. I’m sorry. It was dumb of me to do, I didn’t think. But I will in future, I promise.”

  “Good to know.” Kirk nodded before turning to Moz. “All yours.”

  Maggie opened her mouth but one head shake from Kirk had her closing it again and heading for the cop car.

  As Kirk drew level with Moz, he stopped. “We’re going to have to tell her for her own safety.”

  “You think?” Moz didn’t remove his gaze from where Del stood watching them.

  “She has no idea how bad this can get. Living in a safe place like Gully’s Fall all her life hasn’t prepared her for what could happen. Twice now she’s had face-offs with Cutter’s mob. She thinks Pierce and Brand are harmless, that they won’t hurt her. We have to tell her that she’s possibly living right in the transfer zone from the sound of it, and they know she’s heard and seen things.”

  “If they touch her, I’ll rip them apart.”

  “You won’t be the only one, but Moz, you can’t be with her all the time.” Kirk glanced back at Del. “That woman has courage, but it’s the kind of courage that is a challenge to some men.”

  Moz cut his eyes to Kirk.

  “Some men,” Kirk said soberly, “would take it as a challenge to break her.”

  “I’d kill anyone who tried.”

  “This is a close-knit community. You’d be one of many.” With that, Kirk walked back to the cop car.

  Remaining still, Moz watched Del as the cop car made its way back to the road. Within no time the only sound was the birds in the trees and distant vehicles.

  Del didn’t move, just continued to stare him down.

  Moz continued to watch her, waiting for her next move. Would she apologise? Back down? Try to explain?

  “If you’ve come here to yell at me, Baylon,” she stated, “you can get your arse back in that ute and leave.”

  Oh, defiance.

  Heat slithered through him as simmering anger started to bubble.

  “Mind repeating that?” he asked softly.

  Hands settled on slender hips as she lifted her chin. “I saw the way you got out of your car, Moz. You came looking for a fight.”

  “I came looking for answers.”

  “Bullshit. You heard about me helping out a friend and you came out here breathing fire.”

  Moz straightened. Oh yeah, the little witch was pushing all his buttons.

  “You think I have no clue as to what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong,” she continued. “I’m telling you right now, I won’t take orders from you. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

  Anger started to beat in his veins. Without a word, he strode forward.

  “I did what I knew to be right, I stand by my decisions, so if you want to start ranting and raving -”

  In one smooth motion he bent and straightened with Del over his shoulder.

  “Hey!” She yelled. “What the hell? Put me down!”

  “You think you know me so well.” Hand clamped around her thighs, he marched across the ground to the veranda, taking the steps in one giant stride. “See if you can guess what’s coming.”

  Chapter 9

  Holy crap! She couldn’t believe it. He’d actually tossed her over his shoulder and was taking her inside the house. “Moz, you moron!” She kicked, struggled.

  Didn’t faze him one iota.

  His shoulder was hard against her hips, his hand seemingly huge on the backs of her thighs. The flex of muscle was so heart-poundingly evident.

  Oh Jesus, what was he going to do?

  Bracing her hands on his back, she tried to push upright. “Put me down!”

  The door opened, he bent and walked in.

  Oh cripes, he’d had to bend to go in the house with her over his shoulder because he was so freaking tall. Tall and strong.

  My bite is worse than my bark. The words seemed to hammer into her brain. Oh shit, maybe she’d pushed him too far.

  In the hallway he bent once more, hands moving from her thighs to her hips as he slid her off his shoulder to stand on her feet. While her head was still swirling from the abrupt positional change, he backed her up to the wall by the simple process of placing one big hand on her chest above her breasts, right on her sternum, and pressing her back. Tossing his sunglasses onto the hall side table, he braced one hand above her head, leaning down so close she could see the anger blazing in his eyes.

  His eyes weren’t a hot, decadent brown now. Nope, they were pissed off, almost glittering with anger.

  Expecting him to start yelling at her, she was shocked when instead he growled, “Were you hurt at all?”

  “What?” She blinked up at him, thrown by the change of tactic.

  “Hurt. You swear that no one laid a hand on you during that stand off with Cutter?”

  “No. No one did.”

  “No one has been lurking around since?”

  “No.” She paused. “Not that I’m aware.”

  “You knew, Del. You were told not to go outside at night, to keep your windows locked.”

  She glared up at him. “I didn’t go out, I’m not stupid!”

  “Stupid enough to open your bloody window at night when you knew things were happening in the area.” This was gritted out from between clenched teeth.

  Hoo boy, he was furious.

  She started forward, but his hand pressed her back against the wall.

  Looking down, she observed just how big his hand was, long fingers splayed out over her upper chest, palm flat against her sternum. Holy heck, she could feel the heat from his palm burning right through her blouse.

  It would have been downright sexy if he hadn’t rasped in a deep, threatening voice, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t give you a bloody good spanking for being so bloody reckless.”

  Outraged, she glared right back up at him. “I’m not a kid!”

  “Then maybe you should stop acting like one.”

  Oh, that was unfair. “Acting like one? Give me one good example where I did!”

  “Really? You’re going to ask that like you don’t know?” Like he had the nerve to act outraged in turn.

  “Yeah, Moz. But here, let me guess. You think I should have left Farris to get the living heck belted out of him by three cowards. You think I should have huddled inside the shop and just watched my friend get pounded into the ground!”

  “You shoved yourself into the middle of what could have been an ugly brawl.” His mouth was so tight that white lines bracketed the corners. “Those bastards wouldn’t have hesitated to take you down, Del. They wouldn’t have hesitated to beat you.”

  “Pierce and Brand are all strut and show.”

  “And Cutter? Is he so harmless?”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “Yet you still faced him down.”

  “Yeah, Moz, I did.” Refusing to give an inch, she met him glare for glare. “I faced him down for a friend. It’s what I do, it’s who I am. I don’t leave friends hanging in the wind. I don’t walk away. I make a stand beside them. If you can’t handle that then maybe we’re not so good together.”

  Uh oh. Maybe that last reckless statement
wasn’t the wisest thing to tack on.

  Moz’s eyes narrowed, the sparkle of fury touched with something else. Ohhh, the air was getting dangerous.

  “What did you just say?”

  Now her heart started pounding. “Um…”

  “You want to repeat that, Del?”

  Pride gave her no choice but to brazen it out now. “If you - if you don’t like the way I am, then maybe I’m not the girl for you.”

  All expression fled from his face, leaving it blank, unreadable except for the fury still in his eyes. Long fingers flexed as he stared down at her.

  Seconds ticked past as she refused to look away, refused to give in, stood her ground.

  Oh no, had she wrecked anything between them? Any hope? All because she’d been so reckless with her words? She barely resisted a nervous swallow.

  The silence in the hallway was broken only by the faint ticking of the grandfather clock.

  The danger in the air slowly became tinged with something else.

  Heart beating a merciless tattoo in her chest, Del stared up at Moz. God, he was so big, so tall, so broad shouldered that she couldn’t see past his shoulders unless she turned her head. It made her feel small, helpless, an emotion she hated but couldn’t deny right then, not with the way he watched her like a predator with prey.

  Suddenly, slowly, his hand slid lower, palm settling between her breasts to press firmly but carefully. “Your heart is pounding.”

  No point denying that, just as there was no point denying the stutter it gave as the heat from his palm made her nipples pebble traitorously.

  Just had to be nerves. Yeah, nerves.

  His head lowered, those unfathomable eyes burning into hers. “You think you’re not the girl for me, Del?”

  Oh boy. The heat of fury had given way to another heat.

  Del did swallow this time, eyes wide as she looked up at him.

  That just couldn’t be a shiver of warmth that swept through her, surely? His nearness was almost over-powering, his strength surrounding her, that ruggedly handsome face almost harsh with…cripes.

  No denying the tingle between her thighs. When had tightly strung trepidation and nerves, anger and defiance, turned into something more? Something hotter, more dangerous?

  His fingers curled, grasping a handful of her blouse, and slowly, inexorably, he drew her toward him, drew her up until she was on tip toe, his face so close to hers that his breath was a warm puff on her skin with every deep, even breath he took.

  Every deep, even breath that lifted that massive chest, every breath that pumped blood around that big, muscular body, the air that made him breathe, the life that filled him.

  The need that was so hot and heavy in the air between them,.

  Her knees felt weak, but he held her up easily by the simple action of his hand fisted in her blouse.

  “You’re the girl for me, Del.” Moz’s voice was a deep, dark rumble. “You’re my woman, never mistake that.”

  Desire prickled through her, the chase of delicious alarm.

  “Anyone hurts you, I’ll kill them. Anyone touches you, I will rip their heads off. And you, Del…”

  Breathlessly she waited, gaze trapped in his burning irises.

  “There’s nowhere you can run that I won’t find you.” His head lowered, lips almost on her’s, eyes burning so fiercely. “Nothing you can do that won’t make me stop wanting you.” So close now his lips brushed hers, his every breath filling her. “Nothing you can do that will stop me needing you with every breath in my body.”

  Then he kissed her.

  No sweetness, no gentleness, no light touches.

  Urgent, demanding, almost ruthless, he plundered her mouth, arms wrapping tight around her, crushing her to him as he kissed her with a burning passion that had her gasping, clutching onto him.

  Kissing him hard back in turn.

  Any wariness, every quaking nerve, disappeared under a molten heat that swept through her.

  The hard planes of his body called to her, every solid dip and swell she wanted against her, needed. Heat flooded her, poured through her veins, pooled low in her loins.

  There was no lingering, no teasing as they ate at each other, both hot, both hungry.

  Del almost ripped his shirt open, wrenching the buttons on his shirt even as he yanked her skirt up, hand hard against her, fingers curling against her mound before he grabbed the front of her panties, fisted them, ripped them clean away, the fragile lace tearing.

  The sound, the sensation, the heat of his hard palm against her bottom had her seeking the belt at his lean waist, fingers fumbling, pulling it free.

  The whole time he kept kissing her, devouring her, teeth grazing her jaw and down further, mouth closing over the pulse that beat so frantically in her throat. Several hard sucks, pulling at her, marking her.

  Gasping, arching her neck, curling her head forward, needing him so much.

  Belt free, her fingers found the button, tore it open, the zipper rasping loud as she yanked it down.

  The hard bulge of his arousal was pressed against her hand but before she could reach in to free him, Moz palmed her bottom and lifted her, shoving her back hard against the wall, pressing his upper body against her to hold her in place as he lightly but firmly scraped his teeth back up her neck, one hand still gripping her bottom, his waist between her thighs.

  The position was hedonistic, the faint warm breeze through the security screen brushing across her damp folds as his waist kept her open.

  Hungrily she kissed him, wanting so badly, needing almost violently.

  Leaning heavily into her, mouth so hot against her ear, breath almost scorching her, Moz shifted his hips, his free hand working below her, then he dipped slightly and she felt the hot tip of his shaft against her opening, the head throbbing against the moist entrance of her body.

  Bracing his hand on the wall above her, his other arm strong under her bottom, Moz thrust hard, shaft shoving unyieldingly up into her, impaling her, forging inwards fast until he could go no further.

  Del cried out, head tipping back, glorying in the sensation, the almost rough way he took her, his lean hips pounding ruthlessly, plundering her depths.

  Oh God, the feel of him, that hard, muscular chest sliding against her, his breath decadently hot next to her ear, the way he growled through clenched teeth, the totally hedonistic feel of just being taken.

  Of knowing he desired her, craved her, took her, dragged her up that carnal slope with him.

  Her blood roared in her ears, her sheath spasmed, gripping onto the hard, long, thick length that invaded her, body weeping for him, creaming, smoothing the way to let him slid inside her with every hard, almost brutal shove of his hips.

  Strength in the big body that pinned her against the wall, strength in the arm beneath her bottom, strength in the fingers that gripped her buttocks with no tenderness but complete possession.

  She craved it, loved it, wanted so much more. So hungry for more.

  Fire roared through her as she was swept along in a tide of insatiable ardour. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she held on, undulated as much as she could but mostly helpless but to do as his body demanded, which was be open for him, take what he gave. Controlled by this man who not only plundered her body but gave her as much pleasure, however base.

  Pure need, pure heat, pure sex. Hard, fast, almost punishing.

  Moz changed angle slightly, growling low and almost savage, the swollen thickness bumping her erogenous zone as he mercilessly scrapped over it, sending her nerves in a shattering spiral up her spine to coil back down to needle deliciously low into her belly, lower to her secrets, tightening her around him.

  With a purely male grunt of harsh satisfaction, he kept up the deliciously brutal assault on her body, giving no quarter, her passionate whimpers and moans spurring him onward, strengthening his thrusts until he pounded into her almost mindlessly.

  Harder, faster.

  The world splintered, s
hattered, the orgasm snatching her from reality to throw her far out into an explosion of pure heat. Dimly she felt Moz stiffen against her, but it was the last thing she remembered before she was rolled under.

  Gradually she became aware of several things - warm skin beneath her cheek, the hard swell of muscle, the strong beat of a heart, the delicious scent of male, the feel of material against her inner thighs.

  Opening her eyes slowly, she realised that her cheek was resting against Moz’s pectoral, his hand was gently stroking her back, and she was straddling his thighs with her nakedness against his trousers.

  Lifting her head, she looked around. Oh boy, at some stage Moz had turned around and slid down the wall to lean against it, head tipped back, eyes partially closed as he cradled her to him.

  Her cheeks flushed. Oh boy, what did she do now? Her body hummed deliciously, spent and satiated, but it wasn’t a position she was familiar with. Did she get up? Stay still? Say something?

  Peeking up at him, she saw that he was watching her from under lowered eyelids, the thickness of his eyelashes dark against the brown irises. “This wasn’t the reaming I had in mind to give you.”

  “Um…” She bit her lip.

  “Relax, baby.”

  Oh, nice.

  One big hand came up to cup her cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” At his searching look, she said, “No, Moz. In fact...wow.”

  This time crinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes.

  “In fact, can we do this again sometime? Because it was…wow.”

  His laugh was deep, amused, his arms wrapping around her to draw her up against his chest. But amusement faded as he looked her in the eyes. “Del, I didn’t mean that to happen.”

  Immediately she felt awkward. “Oh.”

  “It was rough. I was angry.”

  “So we had angry sex?” She sought to soothe the concern from his face. “I think I like angry sex.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t angry sex. I mean, I was angry at first, but…”

  When his voice trailed away, she angled her head slightly. A sudden fear spiked through her. “Did you…did I…” When he simply watched her, she blurted out, “Did I somehow make you have sex with me? Against your will?”