by Taylor Lee
He let the silence between them last for several moments and then said, “Thank you for agreeing to talk to me, Ruby.”
Her tone was curt. “I wasn’t aware that I did.”
“Let me rephrase that. Thank you for agreeing to stay on the line so that I could talk to you.”
Ruby didn’t answer for a moment then said disinterestedly, “This is getting old, Noah.”
“That’s Commander Walker to you, Agent Harper.”
He heard her surprised gasp then she responded flatly, “I beg your pardon. This is getting old, Commander Walker.”
Noah tipped back his glass and emptied it. He was silent as he poured himself another draught and said, “Yeah, it is.”
After taking several hearty sips of the potent alcohol, Noah said firmly, “Get your ass over here, Agent Harper. Now! I’ll be waiting for you.”
Her surprised gasp was louder this time although it only took her a few seconds to respond.
“Is that an order, Commander?”
Grunting at her emphasis on the title, “Commander,” Noah blew out a harsh breath.
“Yeah, Ruby, that’s an order.”
~~~
An hour later when she still hadn’t shown up, Noah slammed his empty glass on the bar and headed for the door. It only took him five minutes to walk to her hotel. Assuming correctly that she would have locked the door he yanked his K-bar out of his boot and made short work of the flimsy lock.
Ruby was standing in the middle of the room staring at the door. She was wearing tight low-rider jeans and a halter top. A ruby-colored belly button ring sparkled in her navel. Her glorious fire-red hair was caught up in a ponytail. She was barefoot. Having forgone her customary high heels, she looked small, diminutive. Fragile. Noah couldn’t identify the emotions playing across her face. There were too many of them. Anger for sure, perhaps a smidgen of fear, and… what he hoped was… anticipation.
“Hmm. You didn’t put your chain on the door. Not very smart for a special agent who is supposedly a security expert.”
Noah chuckled. “Hell, I didn’t even have to break down the door. Don’t tell me you were expecting someone, Ruby?”
A dark red flush stained Ruby’s cheeks. Again, Noah couldn’t decide if the rosy glow was caused by anger, embarrassment, or… lust. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, carefully engaging the safety chain.
Noah moved toward her slowly, holding her gaze, daring her to back away. When she held her ground and he was close enough, he reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. She resisted for a moment and then leaned against him, her eyes closed, her cheek against his shoulder.
Noah pressed his hand against the back of her head, then used his thumb and forefinger to lift her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
He murmured, “You’re not very adept at following orders are you, Agent Harper?”
She tried to break his hold but when he held her chin more firmly, she tossed her head and sniffed derisively. “Only when I trust the source.”
Her flush intensified when Noah smiled at her. He lightened his grip and asked softly, “And you don’t trust me?”
Ruby was shaking but her response was firm, cutting. “No, I don’t.”
He laughed softly and stroked her cheek.
“Good girl. Your instincts are as sound as ever, Agent Harper.”
Noah reached for Ruby’s hair and wound the long fiery tresses around his fist. Pulling her toward him, he turned her and pressed her up against the wall. Leaning down, he rubbed his day old beard shadow against the sensitive skin on her neck. His voice was gruffer, rougher, than he intended.
“That’s a good thing, fire woman, because I’ve never been less trustworthy in my life.”
Chapter 23
Ruby cried out when Noah pressed her against the wall. He was whispering hoarse implications in her ear but she barely heard his words. All she could do was writhe against his formidable erection that he was pressing against the crack in her ass. Stunned at the explosion of sensations swamping her she wailed, “Oh, God, Noah, I need you. I need you so much!”
He turned her back to the wall and gazed into her eyes. She could have drowned in the lust she saw burning in his coal dark eyes. His groan was deep, rough.
“You need me, Ruby? Oh, darlin’, you don’t know what need is unless you are feeling what I’m feeling.”
He grabbed both of her hands in one of his big hands and held them against the wall high above her head. Ruby struggled to free them. She had an insane thought that if she didn’t touch him, didn’t feel his bare skin against hers, she would die of deprivation.
“No, Noah. Let me go. I need to touch you. I need to feel you against me. Your skin, your chest… your cock.”
Noah groaned a hard male sound and released her hands.
“God, yes, baby! Holy Christ, I don’t know if I can wait. I swear, Ruby, if my cock gets any harder it’s going to explode! Help me get these fucking clothes off!”
Ruby tugged at the buttons on his shirt while Noah yanked at his belt. Unable to unbutton the buttons fast enough, Ruby gave up and ripped at the placket. Buttons flew across the room. She grabbed the fine cloth and tried to pull it over his shoulders, but she couldn’t get it over his muscular arms.
Fighting tears of frustration, she wailed.
“Help me, Noah. Help me get this off. I have to feel you, touch you! Please help me!”
Noah ripped at his shirt, jerking it out of his jeans and tossed it over his shoulder. Seeing the rippling muscles on chest and arms, Ruby ran her hands over his dark skin and moaned, “Oh my God, Noah. You are beautiful. So strong. So big. I… I need to touch you.”
She dug her fingers into the curly black hair on his massive chest. It wasn’t enough to just touch him. She needed to assault him. Jerking at the coarse strands, she dug her fingernails into his skin and dragged them down. Certain that she’d drawn blood, she did it again. She had a powerful urge to mark him. Claim him. Let the world, and especially Noah, know that he was hers.
“God, yes, baby. That’s the way. Show me how much you want me. You can’t get enough? Take it baby, take it all, but first I gotta get these fucking pants off.”
He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his erection.
“Can you feel this, Ruby? Can you, baby? Have you ever felt anything like it? Don’t answer me, love. I know you haven’t because, I swear to God, I’ve never been this hard in my life!”
Ruby struggled with the buttons on his jeans and groaned.
“God, Noah, are you the only man in the world who has a hundred buttons on his jeans? What’s wrong with zippers? At least then I could get these off!”
Noah laughed, a harsh guttural sound.
“Let me help you, baby, but first I gotta get my boots off. If I don’t I’ll be wearing these jeans around my ankles for one of the most ferocious fucks of my life.”
Ruby was too hot to take issue with his words. But, he was right. This was fucking, pure and simple—and she wanted it as badly as he did. Maybe more.
Noah kicked off his boots and shoved his jeans to his feet. Stepping out of them he stood before her a magnificent specimen of an aroused male animal. Seeing Noah’s astonishing penis, already flush with moisture on the swollen tip, jutting out in front of him, Ruby was overcome by the need to touch him, and taste him. Shoving at his hands, she slipped to her knees in front of him.
“Oh no, Darlin’!” Noah’s protest was rough, fierce. “That you cannot do. Christ, Ruby, I’m about to explode. If you put your luscious mouth on my cock there’s no way I can hold back.”
For the first time Ruby was more fierce than he was. Batting at his hands, she reached for him. Shocked that she couldn’t surround the powerful erection with one hand, she pressed both hands against his thighs and looked up at him, determined to make him understand.
”No, Noah. Please. Let me taste you. Let me love you, love your body the way you love mine!”
Noah groaned a low, hard sound, then put his hands on her shoulders allowing her to take hold of his penis with her eager hands. Ruby had only performed oral sex a few times in her life. She’d always wanted to do it to Stuart to see if she could get him aroused, but he was reluctant, said he was afraid he’d ejaculate. Shoving the unpleasant memories from her mind, Ruby focused on the magnificent man in front of her. His powerful thighs were straining against her grip. Needing to touch all of him, she ran her hands over his tight buttocks, marveling at his sculpted ass. God, he could give Michelangelo’s David a run for its money. Only, in her opinion, Noah’s body was more powerful, more compelling, because of his dark gleaming skin.
Holding his staff firmly at the base, she pulled him next to her and ran her tongue slowly around the swollen end. His deep moan urged her on. Licking at the moisture weeping from the slit, Ruby worked her tongue over the end and along the sensitive skin on the underside of the tip. She cried out at the musky, masculine taste. She didn’t know how she could get enough of him.
Noah grabbed her head and held her in place. Pressing the end of his penis against her lips, he growled, “Ahh, Ruby, girl. Take it! Suck me, baby. Take me deep in your throat. Can you do that, love? Can you?”
His urgent voice and tight grip on her head added to her excitement. The fact that he wanted her to suck him gave her courage. Gripping his staff at the base with one hand, she took him in her mouth and began sucking him as she stroked his formidable length.
Noah groaned a deep, agonized sound. “Like that! God, yes, Ruby. Just like that!”
With Noah’s harsh cries and moans as her guide, Ruby gave in to her need to take him in every way she could. When she was sure he was on the verge of coming she began sucking him harder, deeper. Feeling his thigh muscles tighten, she was startled when he pulled back, holding her away from him.
His order was rough, guttural. “No darlin’. God, Ruby you’re gonna kill me. You gotta stop. I can’t come like this. I have to feel you, taste you. I need you the way you need me, Ruby. First, we need you to be as naked as I am!”
Noah jerked her to her feet. In one movement he’d grabbed her halter and had it over her head. He knelt before her and in seconds had her jeans unzipped and at her ankles. With a loud groan he ripped off her thong and buried his face between her legs. The sensations were so powerful, Ruby felt the rush of an oncoming orgasm.
Noah growled, “That’s the way, baby. Do you want to come all over my face? You can do that, but first I have to taste you.”
Noah lifted her up in his strong arms and turned her back to the wall. Before she could protest he’d lifted her above his head and draped her legs over his shoulders. Pressing his mouth against her intimate lips, he began to lick them slowly, sensually until she was begging him for more. The next few minutes were a blur. Ruby heard her cries and Noah’s groans and fierce instructions. He told her that he wanted her to come, and then insisted that she did. At some point when she had orgasmed multiple times and didn’t know how she could live through another tumultuous climax, Noah lifted her down and wrapped her legs around his waist. Positioning her on his strong thighs, with a driving thrust he finally entered her.
Giving in to one powerful thrust after another, at his demanding exhortation that she come again, Ruby fought to comply. When Noah drove deeper into her than she imagined he could, Ruby rose up to meet her extraordinary lover. At his urgent order, “Now, Ruby. Now!” a firestorm of sensations exploded through her body, rocketing her to the top of the passionate peak. Ruby knew she would remember for the rest of her life Noah’s exultant shout as he came.
Many long minutes later Ruby lay next to him in her bed. He’d pulled down the covers and laid her on the cool sheet. Disappearing into the bathroom he’d returned with a bowl of warm water and a washcloth. He washed her face, neck and chest wiping away the sweat from their ferocious coupling. Gently but thoroughly, he washed her breasts, her intimate folds. Murmuring sweet, loving words as he worked, he praised her beautiful body. When he finished cleaning her, he crawled in beside her and held her tightly against him. When he shifted his position, as though he might get up, Ruby couldn’t hold back her protest.
“Please, Noah, don’t go.” She hesitated and then added, “Like you—”
He cut her off finishing her sentence for her.
“Like I did the last time I assaulted you?”
Not sure she wanted to address the issue that he’d raised, she tried to make light of his comment.
“Can it be an assault if it was a mutual attack?”
He chuckled. “I think in the world of battlefield tactics it might be called a standoff—with neither or both sides winning. In our case, I’m sure it would be designated a mutual victory.”
Noah nestled his chin in her hair, then tipped up her chin and held her gaze.
“You don’t get to let me off that easily, Ruby. I believe your question was, “Am I going to tuck you in and walk out of here without saying a word the way that I did the last time we made love?” He pinched her cheek. “Go ahead, fire woman. Say it. Say that I acted like an asshole and that in the process I hurt you.”
Ruby hesitated then shrugged.
“Yes to both. You acted like an asshole, and… you hurt me.”
Noah sat up straighter in the bed and reached for the pillows that had fallen to the floor. Plumping them, he put them against the headboard and leaned back. Reaching for her he pulled her up next to him.
“I’m not going to make excuses, Ruby. I’ve relived those moments endlessly and I still can’t explain why I left you the way that I did that night. The best I can do is to tell you that I was scared. As strange as it sounds, I was afraid you wouldn’t know how much our lovemaking meant to me. That you might think it was just more of the over privileged asshole scratching an itch.”
Ruby shook her head.
“I didn’t want to believe that, Noah, but after a few days of silence, I pretty well had myself convinced that you couldn’t possibly feel what I was feeling. Especially when you seemed to avoid me. I… convinced myself it was… because of Natalia.”
Noah jerked back with a frown but Ruby pressed her fingers against his lips, stopping his denial.
“Don’t, Noah. You know that everyone in your social circle and all of our team members assume that you and Natalia are engaged. If not formally, then at least you are pledged to one another.”
Noah shook his head.
“Jesus, Ruby. That isn’t true. You’re right. In my social circle as you call it, it is expected that Natalia and I will marry. The only two people who don’t agree with that consensus are Nat and me. Ruby, you need to understand. After I saw you in Washington with that prick of a guy you were with, I admitted something that I’ve known for a long time.”
Noah hesitated and then added, “That is that I love you. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love a woman.”
Ruby sat up straight and stared at him. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. He loved her?
“But, then, why… Noah, why… did you leave me that night and… not say anything?”
Noah gave an exasperated sigh.
“The best I can do, Ruby, is to tell you that I was afraid of your response. Not that you would tell me that you don’t love me, because I know that you do. No, my hardheaded woman, I was afraid that you really had convinced yourself that you needed to marry that fucking asshole Stuart. Jesus, baby, you’re engaged to him. I was afraid that you truly believed that he could give you the life you think you’ve always wanted, always needed.”
He added with a rough snort, “That crazy Rockwellian life you call normal.”
After a moment of silence, he said, “It killed me, Ruby, because as much as I love you, the last thing I can promise you is normal. I decided the only thing I could do was wait, wait as long as it took until you came to your senses and booted Stuart Mason to the curb.”
Ruby couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her face.
“I already did, Noah. The morning after you made love to me.”
Noah jerked up in bed and stared at her, a hard frown tightening his brow. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes, Ruby could have sworn there were tears in his thick lashes.
His voice was gruff. “Jesus. Why the hell didn’t you tell me that, fire woman? Christ, baby, we’ve wasted three whole days in mutual agony when we could have been screwing ourselves raw.”
Ruby swiped at the tears that were now flowing steadily down her cheeks and puddling under her chin. She gazed up at him and whispered, “Maybe we should try to make up for lost time.”
Chapter 24
“I don’t know what you want from me, Noah. Nobody, including you, has to tell me that as the chief law enforcement officer in Cochise County, I’ve done a piss poor job shuttin’ down the FAN.”
Sheriff Carter dragged a checkered handkerchief out of his back pocket and swiped it across his sweat-stained brow. Shoving another wad of Rough Country chewing tobacco into his mouth, he lodged it in his cheek then pinned Noah with a hard stare.
“Look. I know you think you know what you’re up against here. I jest don’t agree. Clay Drechsler has slipped the knot on every fuckin’ law enforcement organization in the country. No one can get a bead on ‘im. He’s too damn smart and too well protected. Hell, even the U.S. Army let him get by with an Officer Discharge. Didn’t dare actually court martial the sum-bitch. How the hell do you think you’re gonna ride in here wearing your white hat on your black head and take down a bunch of racist, Hitler-lovin’ assholes like the FAN and Clay Drechsler himself?”
Noah studied the earnest man and made a decision. He’d always trusted his gut and it was roiling now. He needed the Sheriff’s support over the next couple of days until the troops arrived on Friday night. Huffing a hard sigh, he crawled out on the proverbial limb and hoped to hell the Sheriff and his buddies didn’t saw it off.