“I’m fine,” she breathed against his hot skin, nuzzling his chest with her mouth. “You didn’t need to stop. You weren’t hurting me.”
“It was too good. Too fucking incredible. I was terrified I was going to lose it and hurt you,” he scraped out between his hard breaths. He held her even tighter, crushing her against him as he panted against her temple, still fighting for control, and the next thing she knew she was on her back on the bed and he was coming down over her, a cry of surprise on her lips as he rammed his massive cock deep in her pussy. He started fucking her before she’d even taken her next breath, and the rhythm was too hard, too fast, after everything that they’d done during the previous night, but she didn’t care. She was unraveling, beyond desperate for him, his weight pressing her deep into the mattress as he buried his face in the curve of her shoulder, his open mouth pressed to the heat of her skin. With one hand fisted in her hair, and the other gripping her ass, he hammered himself into her like their lives depended on how wild and hard and fast he could fuck her. She could feel his knees digging into the bedding as he braced himself, using his muscular ass and abs to drive himself into her even deeper, with even more power.
She came almost instantly, her husky cries and the clasping spasms of her inner muscles only making him wilder . . . greedier, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She was breathless and stammering, telling him how much she loved the feel of him inside her, choking back the truly important words she knew she couldn’t say. They burned on her tongue, poignant and hot, as he gripped her ass with both hands and wrenched her lower body off the bed, pulling her against him as he drew up on his knees and crashed into her. He pulled back, then crashed into her again as he came in a scalding burst of pressure, burying his strangled roar against the side of her throat. He kept pumping into her, again and again, his body spilling in thick, sharp pulses, until she could feel his cum being pushed out of her sheath every time he lunged back in.
He collapsed against her fully when he was finally spent, pressing her back into the mattress. The move pushed him even deeper into her swollen, tender tissues, and she gasped.
“Shh,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the sensitive skin beneath her ear. “I’ll make it better.” A deep groan rattled in his throat as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them to their sides. “Just as soon as I can fucking move, I’ll take care of you, baby girl. I promise.”
Snuggling against his chest, Brit couldn’t help but smile, loving the way he talked to her. She probably would have ripped into any other man who tried to say something like that to her, calling her baby girl, but it was different when coming from Alex.
“You sore?” he whispered, stroking his palm down her spine, and then back up again.
“A little,” she admitted.
He started to pull out, moving so carefully it took him nearly a full minute, and she groaned, hating the loss of him, wanting to keep him inside her forever, which was madness. Dangerous, heart-destroying madness. As if he sensed her restless emotions, he cupped her slick folds in his hand, holding her. His fingers moved, stroking across her labia, and she gasped when she realized what he was doing. That he was pushing the thick wetness slipping from the tiny hole back inside her, as if that was where it belonged. It was earthy and raw and breathtakingly erotic, knowing that he wanted her drenched in him. That he wanted her wet and filled with his cum as they lay in the wrecked, tangled bedding, their bodies damp and hot, breaths still rough from exertion. He’d fucked her with so much wild, visceral passion that she didn’t know if she’d ever breathe normally again, the violent intensity of his hunger making her desperate for him even now, when her tender flesh was so swollen and used.
“You okay?” he asked, still stroking her softly.
“Yes.” She lifted her hand and placed it against his powerful biceps, loving how he felt against her palm. So solid and perfect and warm. “I might be a bit tender, but it was worth it.”
* * *
ALEX COULD HEAR THE SMILE IN THE DOC’S SOFT WORDS, AND HE wrapped both arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. He’d never lost it the way he just had with her, his need to somehow bind her to him with pleasure pushing him to a place where he’d lost every fucking ounce of his control. It’d simply been obliterated, leaving him with nothing but hunger and craving and instinct. His head was still spinning as he tried to make sense of what had happened. But it was too hard to concentrate when he had every inch of her silky skin pressed against his, her soft breaths feathering against his chest as she burrowed against him.
“You haven’t told me what happened today in Westville,” she murmured, stroking the hand on his arm up to his shoulder, his skin tingling in the wake of her touch.
It took him a moment to get his brain in the right gear, and then he realized that he still hadn’t shared what he’d learned with Ben, either. Deciding that he could wait until the morning to call his brother, he said, “After the detectives and I talked, we all came to the conclusion that the attack Shepherd said took place at that frat party was a sham.”
She stiffened against him, and he knew she was frowning as she worked through the implications of what he’d just told her. “But there was . . . physical evidence of an attack.”
Running his fingers through her silky hair, he let out a tired sigh. “I know, Doc. But we think he planned it. That he paid someone to do it.”
“Ohmygod. That’s so awful!”
“I just wish I knew what set him off.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Sometimes there is no reason. Sometimes people just can’t handle life and it breaks them. Or shit stockpiles on them and they can’t hold it together. The loss of their job or a failed class. Even a bad relationship.”
He grunted, and she immediately pulled back a little, looking up and locking her worried gaze with his.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t casting any judgments, Alex.”
His mouth twisted. “Don’t worry about it.”
Moving her hand to his face, she cupped his cheek as she softly said, “You tried to self-destruct, yes. But you didn’t try to hurt anyone else.”
“Except for the jackasses that I beat up,” he rumbled.
Her slender brows drew together. “Yeah, well, it may sound barbaric, but I think they had it coming.”
With a quiet, grateful laugh slipping past his lips, Alex lowered his head and gave her a soft kiss. Then he placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her face against his chest again before he could get carried away, since he knew she needed some downtime.
He closed his eyes, holding her close, and had no idea how much time had actually passed, seconds or minutes or hours, when he suddenly said, “Brit?”
“Hmm?” came her sleepy reply.
“What did I say to you that night?” His tone was low, thick with concern, since he wasn’t really sure that he wanted to know. But he couldn’t stop himself from asking the question.
“What night?”
“A few weeks ago, when we were standing on Ryder and Lily’s patio and everyone else had gone inside.”
When she didn’t immediately reply, her body stiffening against him again, he said, “Don’t try to tell me you don’t remember. You slapped me across the face that night, Doc.”
“You don’t remember what you said?” she asked in a muffled voice.
“I’m afraid not.”
She drew her head back, looking up at him with a wary gaze. “Were you drunk?”
“On lust, not alcohol,” he explained with a regretful smile.
Her lips parted with a soft gasp. “What?”
He lifted his hand, pushing her lovely hair back from her even lovelier face. “You’re always beautiful, but that night you were wearing some slinky little green dress that clung to your curves, and your hair was flowing down your back in a riot of curls,” he
explained in a husky murmur. Then a wry smile twisted his lips. “You had me so horny I damn near swallowed my tongue when I saw you. And I was pissed as hell that I couldn’t do anything about it.”
She blinked up at him, looking stunned. “I wish I’d known,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Because I would’ve done my best to really make you suffer,” she said hotly, smacking his shoulder. “You were such an ass that night!”
Alex laughed at the teasing he heard in her throaty voice, then quietly sobered. “Seriously, Doc. What did I say?”
Lifting her brows, she shrugged as she said, “Just something about how you weren’t surprised I was still single, because a woman like me was never worth the time or effort.”
“Jesus, I’m an ass,” he muttered with a scowl, his insides churning. “I can’t believe I said that to you. I’m such a motherfucker.”
She lifted up and pressed a sweet, brief kiss to his lips that he felt in every fucking part of his body, then looked into his eyes. “It’s okay, Alex. You were just . . . angry.”
Curling his hand around her nape, he said, “I didn’t mean a word of it, Doc. You know that, right?”
“I know,” she murmured, snuggling back down against his chest, and he pulled her closer, rubbing the back of her neck, wondering if, like him, she felt too exhausted at that moment to deal with the confusing emotions that were pressing in on them, making it difficult to breathe. Closing his eyes, he tried to let it all just drift away, and simply enjoy the moment. Enjoy having her right where he needed her.
He didn’t think much time had passed when he suddenly jerked awake, his heart nearly pounding its way into his throat as he tried to pull in a deep enough breath. He’d had the dream again. The weird as shit one where Brit was caught up in the churning ocean waves and kept getting pulled away from him, while he struggled to draw her closer . . . closer . . .
Trying to calm his rapid breaths, he wrapped his arms around her, one hand digging into her hair, the other at her lower back, holding her so tight . . . probably too tight, but he couldn’t make himself let go.
“Hmm . . . Keep me closer.”
“Brit? What did you just say?” he gasped, the husky words nearly tripping over themselves as they fell from his lips.
He waited, his chest tight, but she didn’t respond.
Then he realized she’d already fallen back asleep.
16
THE MOMENT ALEX OPENED HIS EYES, HE FELT LIKE HE WAS LIVING ON borrowed time. The heavy weight of something approaching pressed in on him, and his blood fired with an urgency that he couldn’t explain.
The sun was only just rising, slipping through the slanted blinds on the far window, painting the room in muted, golden colors. Brit slept soundly beside him, no doubt exhausted from the long night, since he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. He’d let her sleep for a few hours after that first shattering encounter, and then he’d woken her up so that they could go down to the kitchen together and eat. They’d filled themselves up on fresh bread and slices of cheese and salami that came from a little local gourmet deli, and then he’d carried her back upstairs and made love to her until they were both too exhausted to move. Despite how furious he’d been with her for going to the hospital without him, and that strange dream he’d had, the night had turned out to be incredibly satisfying. And now he wanted to get lost in her lush little body all over again.
He needed her, damn it, as quickly as he could get her, that ticking clock getting louder in the back of his head. But he forced himself to take it slow. Not to rush.
Rolling to his side, he took his time looking at her, his hungry gaze roving over her beautiful form. She lay on her side, facing him, and he slowly pulled the sheet a little lower so that he could watch the way the soft wisps of morning light played over her creamy skin. The gentle breeze from the air-conditioning vent was making her nipples pucker, and his mouth watered with its need to warm them. Taste them. Hold them against his tongue and suckle on the sweet tips until she came.
Christ, he loved her body. Every plush, delectable inch of it. But he was fascinated by her mind as well. By her intellect and her quick wit.
And then there was her heart. Her warmness and caring and sense of compassion. She was so many things he wasn’t used to, and didn’t think he deserved, wrapped up in a mouthwatering, gorgeous package. There’d been times during the night when he’d awakened, and simply watched her in the silvery streams of moonlight, almost afraid to believe she was real. That she was there, with him, in his bed. That she wanted him. All of him. Even as fucked up and difficult as he could be.
Lifting his hand, he curved it around the feminine slope of her shoulder, then trailed his palm down the elegant length of her arm, her pale skin cool to the touch. He needed to turn the air conditioner up so that she didn’t get too cold at night. Or . . . he could just keep her body under his, his dick buried deep in that cushiony pussy, keeping her warm from the inside out.
His cock shot even harder, more than interested in the idea, and he’d just started to lower his mouth to her slightly parted lips, intent on kissing her awake, when the cell phone he’d left on his bedside table started to ring.
Choking back a sharp curse, Alex rolled over and threw his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up, reaching for the phone. When he saw Ben’s name flashing on the screen, he thought, Shit, this is it. I’m out of time.
“You got him?” he muttered, already knowing what the answer would be.
“Yeah.” Ben’s deep voice filled his ear. “We’ve got him, Alex.”
“When?”
“Less than twenty minutes ago. A guy called it in from a campsite over by Ridgeway. He was camping there with his family, and when he got up to take his little girl to the bathroom, he spotted Shepherd coming out of the men’s restroom. Recognized him from an appeal we’d put in all the local papers. He put in the call, then kept an eye on Shepherd’s Suburban until we got there.”
Alex could tell by the tone of his brother’s voice that there was something he wasn’t telling him. “What?” he grunted, shoving his free hand back through his hair. “You might as well go ahead and say whatever it is you think is going to piss me off.”
Ben exhaled a sharp breath. “The bastard had the back of the Suburban fitted out like a torture chamber. We’re talking handcuffs, pliers, blowtorch, scalpels, saws, rope, and a fucking five-foot coil of barbwire.”
Fury scorched through Alex’s veins, pulsing in his head like a guttural roar. He slowly curled his free hand into a fist, his chest jerking as he sucked in hard, deep breaths. “Where is that sick motherfucker?” he snarled. “I want to know where he is, Ben. Now. I want to know what the fuck he planned on doing to her.”
“His ass is already headed to jail, where you can’t reach him. And you don’t need to be driving yourself crazy, thinking about what he had planned. He isn’t getting anywhere near her, so it’s over. It’s done.”
He didn’t say anything, the muscle at the side of his jaw ticking as he ground his molars, and Ben dropped his voice. “Alex, seriously, man, you need to be happy about this. She does not need to be dealing with any of your shit right now. So don’t fuck it up.”
“I’ll call you later,” he muttered, disconnecting the call. He set the phone back on the bedside table, braced his elbows on his spread knees, and dropped his face into his hands. Ben was right. He needed to get his shit together. He was so damn relieved that sick fuck hadn’t gotten his hands on Brit that he could have cried. But at the same time, he couldn’t manage to swallow down the fury ripping through him, or the fucking fear crawling over his skin.
And his heart was thudding with an unmistakable beat of dread, because he didn’t know what the hell was going to happen when he told her that the nightmare was over.
Before he had time to get any of it figured out,
he felt the bed shift as she sat up, her sleepy voice rough with worry. “Alex? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he replied in a low voice, twisting so that he could face her. “It’s good news, babe. Shepherd’s been caught.”
She blinked, her big eyes filling with a powerful swell of emotion. “Oh, God, that’s so wonderful,” she whispered, but she was pale beneath the bright flush spreading across her cheeks, and he’d have given his left nut to know if it was worry for Shepherd that was upsetting her . . . or the same thing that was eating at him.
He watched her slender throat work as she swallowed, her hands clenched in the sheet that had fallen over her lap, her upper body completely bare to him, and he cut her off before she could speak, saying, “Don’t go.”
Her eyes went wide at his husky demand. “What?” she mouthed.
“Don’t go back home,” he rasped, forcing the words past his tight throat. “Don’t leave.”
She caught her lower lip in her teeth. “You want me to stay?”
“Yes.”
Auburn waves of hair spilled over her shoulders as she tilted her head a bit to the side, her eyes bright as she studied him through her lashes. “In what . . . capacity?”
He jerked his head back as if she’d just clipped him on the chin. Maybe he wasn’t thinking straight, but he hadn’t been expecting the question. “You want me to define it?”
“Yes,” she said calmly, pulling the sheet up over her breasts and clutching it against her chest. “I need you to define it.”
Fuck. Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he struggled to find the right words, but couldn’t. He couldn’t even explain what he wanted to himself, so how the hell could he be expected to explain it to her?
At his silence, she gave him a small, sad smile that made his insides twist and ache, because he knew what was coming. “Alex, as much as I would love to keep staying here with you, I . . . I can’t. I need to go home, where I belong. But we can . . . we can talk about things when you’re ready.”
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