by Billi Jean
Mindy stood and immediately got a frown from the doctor.
“I’m afraid exams are done alone.”
The way she said exams left no doubt what kind in his—or Mindy’s—mind.
“Yeah, can you go get me a soda? I’ll be out in a bit,” he added.
Mindy shocked the shit out of him by giving him a steady, hard stare. If he didn’t know better, he’d have guessed by her expression that she was pissed off.
“Wait out in the other room,” he added with enough force to make her narrow her blue eyes. She glanced at the doctor, seeming to size her up and, by her pinched expression, found her lacking. He gave her more credit. She handled his obvious interest in the doctor with a hell of a lot more dignity than he’d ever thought she possessed Then she walked out quietly and shut the door just as silently.
His erection, always a steady throb, waned as soon as she left the room. It had a few times before, too, when she’d leave to go to the store, but this was a fuckload of bad different. There was pussy right here, eager and ready.
He turned to the doctor and she drew his eyes to her cleavage by running her hand along the gold pendant she wore deep within the fake mounds. Her eyes were already shimmering with lust and she licked her lips slowly enough that he knew exactly what she wanted.
Nothing happened. His cock stayed down. More than down, his hot rod wasn’t even idling. He was deflated, the same way he got after hours of fucking Mindy. Or, he examined the past few months and realized every time Mindy went out, maybe, he got soft. He couldn’t be certain, but he sure the hell didn’t like where that information pointed.
“Good, now we can begin, can’t we, Mr. Davis?”
He glanced down at his hips in disbelief and spotted Mindy’s blue purse by her chair. She’d forgotten it, he guessed. He bent and picked up the leather bag and Mindy’s scent had his body growing heavy. One more evaluation of the doc and his dick nosedived.
Fuck! What is this about?
He tried to remember the last time he’d fucked anyone but Mindy and he had to concentrate on that. The stuck-up bitch at Duke’s—but hell, that didn’t count, did it? He’d been jacked up over seeing sex, hearing sex and ready to fuck a goat. That skinny bitch—his DNA match—had him dropping a nut simply from humiliating her with a spanking.
So that left Mindy. Mindy for over six months. Had Duke’s drug matched him to Mindy? The stupid fucker hadn’t said a word about not being able to get wood for another woman. Eric concentrated on the past, on what Duke had said and he couldn’t remember if he’d said a word about it or not. But Duke had grown hard when he’d been sampling his DNA match. But hell, did that mean Duke shared the same match, because Eric had grown hard for his wife.
Fucking doctors and would-be doctors.
“Mr. Davis?”
Trying hard not to freak out, he turned back to the babe and shrugged. “She can’t get my drink without this.” He lifted the purse and pasted on his best grin. “Be right back. You get ready for me.”
The doc frowned, marring her plastic face. He ducked out of the room and froze. Mindy wasn’t in the waiting room.
Had she left?
The thought sent that chill right down to his marrow. His balls even drew up. A guy could go months without sex. Even he’d done it in the past, but fuck if he wanted to. He needed Mindy by his side and available until he could get hold of Jason and have him fix this shit.
He shoved the waiting room door open and scanned the hallway. He didn’t spot her anywhere. The elevator was closed and the lights weren’t indicating that it was moving. Sweat dripped down his sides, and more cooled his face. He wiped sweat from his brow and considered his options.
She couldn’t have gone far. She’d left her purse. If she’d left.
He turned for the stairs and ran right into Mindy. She stumbled backward into the girls’ bathroom door and cracked her head on the wall.
“Ouch,” she muttered and reached for her temple.
“Shit, where the hell have you been?” he demanded, even as he reached out and steadied her, checking her head where she’d hit it.
He sighed in relief when he felt the surge to semi-hard from the first full breath of her flowery perfume. Touching her sent a jolt of familiar lust right to his dick.
This was not good. He examined her face angrily. He knew before she spoke that she hadn’t been leaving him.
“I had to go to the bathroom,” she murmured.
“Here. You left this,” he said, handing over the purse. He needed to go see his chemist. ASAP. Jason could solve this. If not, Eric had money coming in, and he’d hire someone else to fix it. The sex while on the drug was mind blowing, but if this was the side effect, there wasn’t a chance he’d be able to market it.
What they don’t know…
Right, no one told me this would happen. Why should I spill? And by the time they do know, I’ll have modified it to break whatever was fouling the drug up like this.
“Let’s go,” he muttered, taking her hand.
She tried to pull it away but he ignored her and started off.
“What about the plastic surgery?” she asked, trying to get him to stop.
“We have to go. Jason has some explaining to do, and I decided against surgery,” he said, not prepared to let the only woman who made his dick stiff leave his side.
He had a meeting with the potential buyers for the drug. And he still had three people to kill. One of those was now his next stop.
She was as good as dead.
Chapter Nine
“All right, wood stove is all set, the dogs are put up and you and I’ve cleaned this place from top to bottom,” Cody called from the living room.
Sonya glanced over from the kitchen and hid a smile. Cody had his hat off and reached up to shove his blond hair off his brow. He was one anxious man.
She knew exactly why. It wasn’t the blow job she’d promised. It was the naked part. His leg or what was left of it no doubt worried him. Still, she wasn’t cutting him any slack. He was getting naked and she was licking every inch of him.
He’d rolled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt and helped her to clean the windows, counters and tables with a lemony fresh spray. He’d also helped her air out the couch then changed the sheets on the spare bed. She’d been caught by surprise with the quick hit of a pillow but she’d regrouped and managed a few good tosses herself before he completely smothered her under his sexy body.
He was fun. She’d never considered a lover being fun as well as sexy. Come to think of it, I don’t have many fun friends. She frowned at the thought.
“What’s with the frown, firecracker? Still sore that I beat you in the pillow fight?”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder at that and speared him with her best disdainful expression. “You cheated.”
He snorted, but some of the tension eased from his shoulders. “There are no rules in pillow fights.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at that but quickly pointed to the large bathroom. “Stop stalling and get in that shower,” she ordered.
He exhaled as if she was being difficult.
“Oh, no. You know the rules, besides,” she added with a push to his chest, which did nothing. He didn’t even budge. She threw her arms up. “Don’t be that way, lover. The shower will be fun. I promise to go easy on you, if you’re that worried about your hair trigger,” she teased.
“Hair—”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll ease you into it, slow like, so by the time I get you there, you’ll be more than ready for me to let you come.”
His faced flushed and he had to swallow noisily before he could talk. She liked that—a lot, in fact. He was hard to intimidate but even harder to catch by surprise with a tease.
“Is that so?” he said, sounding a bit strangled. “Why not start here, now.”
She bit her lip to fight the grin.
“No way, cowboy. Shower. You and I have had sex twice, you’ve been God o
nly knows how long in that saddle,” she added with another push, which he allowed and stepped backward cautiously. “So yes, before you get your reward,” she purred and watched his face flush darker before adding, “you need to be cleaned up.”
“Ah, hell,” he grumbled but she could see that he was torn.
Her chest tightened. She didn’t know why but she reached out and caressed his jaw where the burns had left their mark along with the shrapnel.
“Cody, what part of you thinks I’m going to suddenly decide you aren’t the hottest, most sexy man on earth because I see your wound? I assure you,” she said slowly, “I am not going to suddenly decide I don’t want to try every single sexual position I can think up just because your leg is missing a foot.”
“Sonya,” he muttered. “It’s not a pretty sight.”
She pressed both hands on his chest, and he went but not graciously. He scowled at her and if she hadn’t been around military types most of her life, he might have stood a chance at making her falter.
“I lost more than a foot, and it isn’t a clean cut.”
“Cody, what your leg looks like won’t matter. Trust me. It won’t matter,” she added at his immediate snort. “I don’t need you to possess two working feet to fuck me, obviously. So if you’re worried I have some foot fetish, I can assure you, I don’t.”
His frown grew deeper at that instead of easing. But she didn’t let him speak. Instead she shook her head at him and pushed again.
“I know what I want. I’m not going to stop wanting it because of this—” She touched the scar on his face. “Or this.” She pushed him into the chair by the bathroom and crouched in front of him.
“Sonya—”
“No, either you show or you go.”
He didn’t say a word, but neither did she. She also didn’t push him. She merely waited, watching him. His hard-on had taken a nosedive and she had a feeling she’d have to prove to him that his leg wasn’t a big deal before he was once again pushing up past his sexy navel.
“I know pain, Cody. I know what it’s like to have scars—”
“Woman,” he said and took her shoulders in his hands to hold her still. “There’s not one inch of you that’s marred. You’re gorgeous—”
“Outside, sure,” she said and considered what she was saying. She’d never shared her past with anyone. A few men knew, but that was because they’d saved her. But she’d never offered a lover anything of herself. Knowing things about her was taboo. The more a person knew, the more pain they could inflict. But she didn’t know Cody and in a few months, she wouldn’t see him again. She could give him this—and maybe help him as much as he was helping her.
“Look, sure, I’m sexy, and I’ve made it this far without too many scars,” she said, “but I do have them, Cody. I know what it’s like to feel ugly.” After every single quickie she felt that way. Sometimes she vomited, unable to stand what the drug had made her do to ease the constant arousal.
He snorted and would have stood up, clearly unable to comprehend that. Her feeling that this was the right thing to share grew. So did her nervousness. He was an unknown—if he saw her differently after she shared this…
I’ll survive. He’s worth the chance.
She drew in a deep breath and let it out then said, “I’ve been raped, Cody. As a teen, I was raped repeatedly until some men pulled me out and saved my life.”
Cody sat back down and stared at her, but she could tell by his grimace that she didn’t disgust him as much as she had stunned him.
Yet. She didn’t disgust him yet. If he knew about the Sentinel drug and the side effects…
“Damn, Sonya—”
“Those scars run deep—much, much deeper than what you’ve got here. I felt ugly every time I walked outside, as if everyone around me could see what had been done and how filthy I was. This leg…” she said. “It’s a sign of how strong you are. My ability to live after what I was put through is a sign of how strong I am. I no longer think I’m ugly. I’ve grown beyond that when some women never do. I found a way to focus ahead. I don’t dwell on the past, you know? Done is done, in the past and best left there.”
He stroked her shoulders. The intensity in his eyes made her throat tight.
“Cody, we’re survivors. We’re strong. No one can take those things away from us unless we let them.”
“Hell, Sonya, I’m s—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”
He winced at that and squeezed her shoulders. “Stupid words, huh? People think that shows they care.”
His voice came out all husky, which made her own emotions run higher. She swallowed them down and kept his gaze with hers.
“Understand. It makes them feel like they understand. They can’t. I get it, Cody. I can’t relate to losing a limb, but I can get that you have survived. That’s what opened that door for you,” she added, hitching her thumb back at the front door. “And it’s the reason you can stay, but only if you let this shit go.”
“Damn, you don’t cut a man any slack, do you?” he grumbled but rested his head on the wall at the same time that he stretched his legs out. “My leg’s not pretty. You’re beautiful. What happened to you was fucked up and wrong, but it doesn’t make you ugly.”
“Oh yeah?” she snapped and stood to anchor her hands on her hips at that lame response. “It doesn’t make me feel dirty? Or make each time I stare at my reflection in the mirror a battle not to see myself as I was then?” Especially with what she dealt with now, she wanted to add, but bit it back with a vengeance. Don’t show him too much.
But I’m demanding so much from him.
Go, just go. No more around and round, Sonya. You can’t keep him and he can’t stay.
Cody caught her arm before she could turn away. She nearly hit him. It was there, the instinct built upon years of self-defense. The power, the intent rose high, but his expression stopped her.
He was angry.
“Don’t you ever think such a goddamn stupid thing like that about yourself. You’re not to blame for some filthy bastards that used you like that. It doesn’t make you less than perfect. You’re beautiful and strong and—”
She broke his hold and glared at him. “And so are you, so get over it. I told you I had issues and I told you—”
“I got it, all right?” he yelled. “Get your ass in the shower already and I’ll be right there!”
She froze. No one ever raised their voice at her—especially a lover.
Cody’s mouth fell open and he widened his eyes, raising his hands out in front of him in a ‘slow down’ motion. “Shit, I didn’t mean—”
She laughed. “Did you just shout at me?”
“Hell, I did,” he said, raising his eyebrows with a shocked laugh. He pulled her to him and hugged her. “Look, firecracker. Cut me a break here.”
“You have no idea how much I’m already cutting you, cowboy.” He didn’t either. What was she doing? Each second he was here, the more she liked him. Liked him, liked him.
He sighed heavily. “All right, I get it. I’m trying.”
She pulled away to scan his handsome face for some hint of what she should do.
He caught his breath and held it. He worried she’d set him loose.
Did he really think she was beautiful? She half knew she’d thrown that rape out there to see if he would falter, pull back in horror or do something else. Some men would, she knew. Not this one. He took it in then yelled at her for suggesting that she was anything less than perfect.
She reached up and caressed his jaw. “I am not perfect,” she said, more for herself than him. “I am so far from perfect it’s just plain funny you would say such a thing. So don’t.”
“Okay,” he said after a hesitation. His blond hair fell in his eye and she brushed it back gently. “You’re nearly, though.”
“Cody,” she muttered and shook her head, giving up. She didn’t want him to leave. She didn’t think he should stay, but even more,
she didn’t want this fun, handsome, sexy cowboy to leave. “Just get in the shower.”
“I’d rather a bath, you know? I might fall on my ass if you blow me in the shower.”
Again he caught her by surprise. She laughed and leaned into his warm, hard body. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just let him go?
Around and around and around we go.
Rihanna knew—it was something about the way he moved—more something about him she couldn’t bear losing, at least not yet.
“You’ll be fine. There’s a bench, big guy. And if I didn’t make you need to sit, I’d be worried I wasn’t doing my job.”
“Oh hell, if this is an interview, you’re hired already. You know that, right?” He squeezed her butt and against her stomach she felt the big, hard length of his erection waiting for her.
Lust rushed along her flesh. She couldn’t wait to taste him, discover every spot on his body that turned him as inside out as he turned her. She hadn’t teased him about the blow job. She wanted to savor every single inch of his big erection, take him in as far as she could and blow his mind with managing even more. The power of that, the absolutely sexy feeling of paralyzing a man with her mouth, rocked her world. Maybe because she rarely did it—even before the drug—because some men just didn’t deserve all of her.
Cody deserved all she could give—and more.
“You’re a nut,” she told him, keeping things as light as she could when she felt herself entering more and more dangerous, new territory.
“Yeah?” he asked, gripping the back of her neck. “I think you might be right because this feels insane. I like it.”
He kissed her then, not letting her ask what this was. But she knew, and that’s what worried her.
Cody swallowed hard and pulled the shower door open. Inside Sonya didn’t turn but he knew she he was aware he was there. Her delicate body had him frozen in place. All the insecurities over his leg vanished. She was sideways to him, with her head up letting the water spill down over every curve and exquisite inch of her rosy flesh.
She was right. She might have been nearly naked before but the full impact now had his cock filling at a rate that tugged at his stomach muscles.