Bound By Shadows (The McAllister Justice Series Book 2)

by Reily Garrett

  “Jeez, what a mess.”

  “We’re gonna get through this, sweetheart. For now, enough talk. Wanna get out of here? We could go visit family or—”

  “Actually, I’d love a day to just chill with my sketch pad and veg out on comfort food.” She needed a day that screamed normal.

  “A day of chilling on the couch it is then.”

  “What about you? Aren’t you missing work?”

  “I’m okay for a bit. I also got a call from Ciera’s parents—said they were sorry for not calling sooner. Can you believe it? With all they’re going through? At least they have closure after the shock of losing their daughter.”

  “They expected you to find her—alive.”

  “They did. But now they want the partner. They felt guilty over their son pointing fingers at me. I don’t think anyone in that situation can understand such senseless violence. But we wouldn’t have any information if not for you. You’ve been the key to it all.”

  It was a moment where she searched to clarify a situation comprising myriad and muddied fragments. Failure came at the hands of too many facets, viewable from infinite angles where each one led to equally ludicrous conclusions.

  “She meant a lot to you. Ciera.” Had Caden and Ciera shared the depth of connection she now relished?

  “Yes, at one time. But we never related on a deep emotional level. We were both fun loving and adventurous. I think she was a little brasher and rougher around the edges.”

  “You and I have a bond I’ve never shared with another person. Why?”

  “A combination of circumstances, history, and chemistry. I was in the right place at the right time, and we reconnected. I’ve never thought of a woman as a partner—until I met you. You’re fiercely protective of those you care about, loyal, strong-willed, all the things that push my buttons.”

  Indomitable intensity swelled within his gaze. Beneath the cultivated message delivered, he withheld a deeper, illusive implication. One that promised she’d never be the same and leave her heart as ash in the wind.

  Passion simmered in his heavy-lidded gaze, flaring with the cadence of his words and each soft step closer. Inches apart, separated by worlds as his warm breath fanned over her cheek. His look, so intense, she startled when his fingers traced a line over her forehead and down the bridge of her nose, a gesture which accompanied his look of awe.

  A lock of inky-black hair fell over his forehead. She couldn’t help but brush it out of the way, leaving the crystal-blue stare to delve into the depths of her soul, searching, dissecting her emotions. The slow rasp of his lowered voice raked her smoldering libido until she thought she might climax from his slightest touch.

  “You’re dangerous.” Her unchecked utterance filtered back through her mind to strangle the tattered remnants of her equanimity.

  When he moved closer and molded her body to his, she couldn’t find the strength to step away. The atmosphere’s slightest micro currents whispered across her neck and dissolved any hesitation with the intent written in the curving of his body around hers, the light grazing of his touch down her spine before his large hand molded her ass. She closed her eyes and let her head tilt back with the touch of his finger under her chin.

  “I can’t wait any longer. I’ve tried.” He brushed his lips across her forehead before nuzzling the erogenous zone behind her ear.

  The colossal sensitivity weakened her knees. Those words were as much forewarning as he’d give, advance notice that he’d ravage her mind, body, and soul. Self-preservation should have forced her to step away. In time, she might look back with regret.

  To conjure rational thought with his warm breath fanning over her face rivaled an exercise in futility. She’d scale this mountain that was Caden McAllister and scream her pleasure from the peak, regardless of how far she’d fall.

  In counterpoint to her dry mouth, heated moisture dampened her panties, the disparity finding a middle ground in her belly. Hot and cold, wet and dry, safe and forbidding, all that and more brought her thoughts to a stuttering halt. Instinct took over, accepting his advances and upping the ante with her fingers raking down his back.

  “Tell me to stop.” His voice grated through her body and the tender flesh of her thighs as if searing them with his volcanic touch.

  “I can’t.” Raw, primal, sheet-clawing need ripped through her chest.

  The thought of tearing off his shirt, listening to the buttons plink to the floor, then exploring the broad expanse of his muscled chest gave rise to a wave of heat spreading from her belly outward.

  “Caden.” She couldn’t manage more before he sealed his mouth over hers, his tongue delving inside to twine with hers and explore the recesses and reactions. Weakening legs bred embarrassment until he lifted her up with a gravelly mandate. “Lock your legs around my waist.”

  Answering his command generated more heat as he ground himself against the apex of her thighs. How could he be self-possessed when she was melting under his burning advance?

  She moaned.

  He growled.

  “Bed.” Her wish came out on a sigh. Every muscle tightened with the increased friction of him twisting his hips side to side while molding her tight against him.

  “Too far. Never make it.”

  In answer to her unspoken question, he sank to his knees in front of the sofa, settling her carefully before unlocking her ankles at his back. The fluent glide of his hands smoothed back up her legs, molding her hips and feathering up her flanks.

  Cool air brushed her neck, then lower as he opened first one button, then another. The heat from his gaze offset the temperature variance as their innate bond deepened with each breath, each beat of her heart.

  “I want you to be sure, Kaylee.”

  She merely nodded before he bent to take her lips once more. The melding of flesh to flesh, spirit to spirit, and soul to soul, sculpted a new unseen entity where she would never experience uncertainty in his desire or intention. The potency of his gaze declared he was playing for keeps.

  The quiet expectancy consumed them, flared into a fierce voracity neither could deny. He grazed her lace-clad breasts with his fingers, warming and molding them in his fevered strength, absorbing her whimper when thumbing the peaks into hardened points. Everything in her body tightened, responding to his knowledgeable touch, the master of her emotions that owned every aspect of her being.

  The button-down he wore took too long to open. Desperation provided the impetus to rip the plastic discs from their moorings and scatter them abroad. His chuckle only inflamed her lust.

  Somewhere between laying her flat and covering her body with his own, their clothes lay scattered on the floor. Insignificant details blurred in favor of concentrating on the calloused pads of his fingers scraping over sensitized skin, inflaming her hunger to the point of pain.

  “Please, Caden. Now.” She let her hands drift over the bunching muscles in his shoulders, the ripples as he moved heightening her need for exploration over his sweat-dampened skin.

  “Aw, darlin’, we have a long way to go. Settle in and enjoy.” The rip of a foil packed flagged his attention to detail.

  She didn’t know whether to laugh or scream, deciding instead on a groan when his fingers feathered along her lower curls. Despite the burning need inside, she wanted to feel his girth in her hand, stroke him to a fevered pitch before succumbing to what she knew would be the ultimate, mind-blowing release. When her touch slid down his flank and homed in on her destination, he simply slid down her body.

  “Not yet, sweetheart.”

  Warm, moist breath heated her chest and bathed her nipples before his strong suckle arched her back in pleasure. Breath came in quiet gasps, quickening as he moved from one peak to the other. His fingers negated cool air from encompassing her breasts as he molded with one hand while suckling the other needy peak. Her hips took up the rhythm of his tongue, imagination supplying the missing sensations he’d create in her sheath.

  A soft plop
released one breast, his lips and teeth delivering small nips and soothing nuzzles in a line down her abdomen toward his next treasure. Everywhere he stroked lit a new fire she couldn’t hope to extinguish. His unique male scent surrounded her, an aphrodisiac contorting her body to his whim.

  When the chill wash of air caressed the folds he opened in preparation for his next sensual assault, her back arched up and her eyes squeezed shut. She wasn’t sure she’d survive the next phase of his erotic invasion.

  “Oh my God.” She cried out with the rough lash of his tongue against her swelling bud. No gentle preparation, merely an assault that demanded her uncompromising surrender while he suckled and lapped at her throbbing clit. Two fingers pushed gently inside her, curving, stroking until her hips moved in time and her neck muscles strained.

  Every nerve in her body ignited for the explosion soon to come. Panting breaths rasped her throat as she twined her fingers in his hair, holding on, anchoring their souls together. Before she reached the peak, he drew back.

  Her growl filled the air.

  His soft chuckle followed by an appreciative groan detailed his mental restraint. The cool air he blew over her entrance ended with a gentle kiss. “I’m afraid I’m a bit greedy this first time. I want you coming around my cock, not my mouth.”

  His gaze held her immobile as he retrieved a foil from his wallet on the floor. In that split second, an epiphany rocked her soul. He didn’t just want to send her to paradise and take his release, he wanted their joint exploration to be synchronous, a sharing of Nirvana. The bond they’d formed delved deeper, excising pain and replacing it with passion and devotion, tenderness, and respect. All the things she couldn’t voice radiated from him in waves that encompassed them, cocooning her mind and soothing her fears.

  The crisp dark hairs on his chest teased her fingertips as he settled in the cradle of her thighs. Ropes of muscles bunched under her fingers when he stretched over her, pinning her with his weight, twisting his hips and gliding his shaft along her slickened flesh.

  “Now, Caden. Please.”

  “Ahh, I’ve wanted you so much. Every morning I wake up with a massive hard-on. Every night I fall asleep thinking about sinking into your heat. I want to watch us join, becoming one.”

  Unadulterated lust glazed his features, but something else lay deeper, binding them, just as he thrust deep and merged their bodies. He held her prisoner with invisible chains, body and spirit, letting her feel with their joining, the unbreakable nexus linking them together.

  Her muscles clenched instantly, pulling him deeper, the grind of his hips a physical reminder of his ownership. Her body protested when he pulled back until the tip of his shaft rested just inside her sheath.

  The sudden drive forward sending flesh grinding against flesh made her gasp.

  “Now, you’re ready.” The steady pace of his fierce thrusts drove her into the cushions, pleasure rippling through her body each time. With one hand holding her hip and the other by her head, he lowered himself until his upper body weight rested on his forearm, his chest rubbing her sensitive breasts. Light nuzzles along her neck accompanied whispered words. “I can feel the end of your channel. Feel me, Kaylee. This is the way we belong together.”

  “Mmm, you’re binding our spirits, our minds, and our bodies.”

  “Yessss.”

  Each stroke sent jolts of electricity firing down electrified pathways and melting her core. A thin, helpless cry filled his mouth when he slanted his lips over hers, taking her breath, her choices, her will.

  Her climax preceded his by several breaths. Slamming his body tight and lifting her into his thrust then holding her in place, he shuddered as the scream ripped from her throat filled the air.

  After several long seconds, his incredible mass of spent muscle and masculinity relaxed into her, drained of energy. Every part of her body tingled. Every muscle ached in a way she knew she’d forever crave.

  “Wow,” she whispered against his neck.

  “Back at ya, sweetheart.”

  Minutes passed while their breathing came under control and he raised up to grin at her. Underneath the passion, their bond flared, stronger, tangible with the lightest graze of his lips on her forehead.

  “You could end me doing that.” She’d never felt such peace. No words existed to convey the depth of her feelings. If she never again reached that pinnacle above all peaks, she would still remember it as the one experience that couldn’t be topped. The peace and serenity etched in his expression declared the same.

  “Hmm.” After sitting up and removing the condom, he pulled her onto his lap. “I can’t think of a better way to go, but I think we can get away with a lot more of this before we have to worry about heart failure.”

  “You don’t hold back, do you?”

  “Nope. Matter of fact—How about a shower?”

  “How about a jump start?”

  The deep-seated tranquility which followed could never be duplicated. There was only one first time with a man. The ensuing cuddle time cemented her heart’s desire. She would forever want and need Caden in her life, in whatever capacity he’d afford.

  “Next time, I want you in bed.” His declaration carried the promise of a man with insatiable appetites.

  “Next time, I want an energy bar beforehand.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The only thing better than waking up with Kaylee in his bed would be waking up with Kaylee snuggled against him minus the whining dog crushing the moment’s sense of perfection. Each morning for the past three days, he’d roused her for some morning delight, captivated by her enthusiasm for lovemaking. For in his heart, he was falling for her with a finality that declared there could be no other to reach his soul, soothe with a look, or burn him to embers with a touch.

  “What’s going on? It’s not even light out.” With one arm slung across his chest and her head on his shoulder, she huffed a warm sigh across his neck.

  Predawn light had not yet slipped around the curtain’s edges. Maybe the timing wasn’t inconvenient after all. She’s up, I’m up. Might as well make the best use of the moment.

  As he reached for his cell to check the time, Damien bounded out the door and raced down the hall. Low snarls and threatening growls morphed into angry barking as his toenails clicked down the hardwood. At the same time, the insistent buzz of his security alarm sounded.

  “Kaylee, up and dressed, now. We’ve got uninvited company.” Caden surged to his feet while snatching up the phone. “Don’t turn on the lights. It’ll mess up your night vision.”

  “Got it.” Fear and anxiety twined in her tremulous voice. Behind her, a nightlight backlit her jerky preparation for trouble.

  Lucas’ face appeared on the now-bright screen, the dramatic ring tone mocking the current situation. “Lucas? Where are you?” If not for the curtains covering most of two walls in the room, they’d be as fish in an aquarium.

  “Fifty yards north, on the ridge. You’ve got incoming. Count unknown. I’ve seen two, one on a trail cam. I rolled one down the ravine in plastic cuffs. Backup’s on the way.”

  “Shit. We’ll stay upstairs for the best vantage point. Don’t come inside. Kaylee’s armed too.”

  “Right. If you have to leave, head toward the road. Ethan will be waiting.”

  After disconnecting, Caden punched in the emergency number on the digital keypad by the door to silence the alarm. A glance down the hall afforded him the view of the open staircase. Anyone ascending could be easily picked off. The open area was clear.

  Despite Kaylee’s proof of marksmanship, he wouldn’t risk a sibling or officer stepping into her line of fire. Panic altered one’s aim. Glancing back, he noted her dressed and opening the gun case after snatching it from under the bed. Though her hands shook, a stiffened frame declared her ready if not capable.

  From his closet, he fumbled before yanking out his old Kevlar vest. “Here, put this on.” He sensed her quick jerky movements, not surprised with her
inefficiency or grumbled answer.

  “What about you? Do you have another?” Soft swearing filled the room with her frustration.

  “No. I’m not their target. We’ve got at least two intruders, probably more. We’ll stay holed up here until reinforcements arrive.” Caden pulled on his clothes while keeping an eye on the door.

  “How long?

  “Lucas is outside, the rest, probably fifteen minutes.” The sound of glass shattering below flagged the first intruder’s entrance. The hallway upstairs was clear, giving him a bird’s eye view of the kitchen and part of the great room. A rock used to break the glass of his back door thudded against the kitchen island before the invader’s gloved hand pushed past the curtain to thumb the lock open.

  As Damien lunged at the fingers groping for the knob, Caden placed two rounds where he expected to hit center mass. Pay dirt. The arm jerked back accompanied by a bellow of pain.

  A thin whine next to him swiveled his abbreviated gaze to his charge. Sweat dotted Kaylee’s brow, but her gun hand was steady. She’d proven herself a survivor and able to fight back. He prayed she’d withstand the current mental pressure.

  “I’ll watch the stairway. Stay behind me and keep an eye on the curtains. Shoot any shadow that moves. They won’t be friendlies.”

  Few young women faced circumstances necessitating fighting for their lives. He’d no doubt she’d pull the trigger. Consequences would come later.

  “Damien, come. Now!” The dog obeyed yet snarled his displeasure up the steps.

  Once in the room, Kaylee gripped the dog’s collar to hold him in place. Damien’s rigid stance, snarling, and exposed teeth, expressed unmitigated anger.

  From somewhere downstairs, more glass shattered. Damien barked.

  “Sounds like they’re coming in from the office. They’ll probably enter from the back, too. Watch the curtains.”

  A minute passed, lights flooded the downstairs. The thugs remained under the balcony and unseen. Why would they turn on the lights? What are they waiting for?

  “Send the little bitch out, and I won’t burn down your house, Caden. You got two minutes.” Grit and a steadfast resolve laced the heavily accented ultimatum. “The only reason you’re not already burning is cuz I want that cunt alive. She’s cost me both a partner and valuable merchandise.”