His fingers traveled under her chin and lifted her head so she could look at him. “I’m sure of you.”
She wanted to push him into the loveseat. Take him in her mouth. But she needed his hands on her even more.
She somehow managed to get to her feet. She wasn’t sure if she stood up or he pulled her, but she was in his arms. His hands moved over her, igniting a path as they went. Heat swept over her and her muscles pulled tight. And when his hands went to the buttons on her uniform, her breath caught in her throat.
“Yes.” She leaned in until her head rested against his cheek. Looking down, she watched his strong hands brush aside the uniform and slip inside the flimsy material of her bra.
He cupped her breasts and let his thumbs flick over her nipples. In just a few touches her body caught fire. By sheer force of will, she stood still. But when he lowered his head and swept his tongue over her, back and forth in slow sensual torture, her knees buckled. Fighting to stand, she balanced against him for support.
His breathing echoed in her ear as his tongue slipped behind it. The shiver running through her had every bone shaking. The way he licked her, took her in his mouth and sucked on her soft skin, had her head falling back. She forgot how good this could feel.
A hand traveled down her body, pushing the rest of the uniform aside. Between kisses and touches, she shoved it down and off. Standing there in nothing more than a pair of blue bikini underwear, need overtook her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and practically jumped on top of him.
Without even a sway, he caught her. His fingers gripped the back of her bare thighs as she locked her ankles around his waist. The room spun around her. The walls came into focus again as her back hit the bed. Then all she could see was him, over her, touching her from chest to knee.
He kissed her, stealing her breath all over again. The taste of him was like a drug to her. She almost fought him when his mouth moved down her body to her chest. Her breasts ached from the attention and everything inside her started to pull tight.
The foreplay drove her wild. She craved his fingers lower, inside her. She was about to tell him, but he was already shifting.
His mouth traveled over her stomach. While his lips touched the top of the elastic band of her underwear, his finger slipped inside. That tongue skimmed over her through the cotton. Back and forth, tongue and fingers. He rubbed and caressed until her back lifted off the bed.
“Take them off.” She tugged at the side of her underwear, trying to pull them off or at least give him easier access.
He trapped her hand against the mattress while his mouth continued its work. He nuzzled the material aside and his tongue found skin. She tried to open her legs to give him more access but the material still wrapped around and limited her movements.
She slipped her fingers through his hair and tugged until he lifted his head. “Matthias, please.”
She didn’t think he heard her until he moved to his knees between her upraised thighs. The mattress dipped, but he never lost contact. His hand skimmed over the front of her underwear then he pulled them down. Dragged them over her legs and threw them on the floor.
Then he was back. He reached into his back pocket and took out a condom. “I was hopeful.”
She couldn’t laugh because she couldn’t find her breath. Air refused to fill her lungs as her heartbeat hammered in her ears. She wanted this—him—so much. This wasn’t about needing to feel something. It was about needing him. His touch, his body, his kisses.
The realization slammed into her. She lay there totally naked, with her hands dropped beside her head. Open to him and willing to give him anything. “Do it.”
“Hell, yeah.” He put the condom between his teeth and shifted his weight.
She didn’t realize what he was doing until he shoved his pants off. The mattress bounced, but she couldn’t get up. She watched those muscles strain. Every part of him was so sleek and firm.
He slipped the condom on then opened her legs even wider. His finger slipped inside her again, pumping in and out. Her head rolled to the side as she waited right there on the edge, inches from flying apart. All it took was his fingers and mouth. She was wet and ready and . . .
“Matthias.” His name escaped her on a sigh.
He pushed her legs back, closer to her chest. The front of his thighs touched the back of hers. And he entered her. Inch by inch, he pushed inside. Her tiny muscles squeezed around him as her body adjusted to his. He went so deep then began to move.
He plunged in and out, picking up speed as her breathing hitched in her throat.
Her muscles tightened and a rush of heat blew over her. Sweat collected on his chest and she fought the urge to lean up and lick it off.
When he slipped his finger over her, hit her with the double punch of touching her and being inside her, her back arched. Her hand pressed against his, guiding his fingers to exactly where she wanted them. Anything to bring his body closer.
Need spun through her. Excitement ratcheted up. She was so close that his final push started her orgasm. She came on a rough exhale of breath. Her hips bucked and her fingers locked on his hips.
The room blanked out around her as her body took over. She moved and shifted until she didn’t have any energy left. She could hear him groan and tried to wrap her body around his, hold him as he came, but her arms wouldn’t lift. Every muscle ignored the orders from her brain. She slipped into a state of relaxation as his body shivered and moved one last time above hers.
His elbows seemed to give out and his weight came down heavier on top of her. She didn’t complain. The warmth of his body felt so good against her. His heavy breathing brushed over her neck.
She trailed her fingers over his back while they lay there in silence for a few minutes. His fingers played with the ends of her hair as his body cooled.
“Damn,” he said without moving.
The sound of awe in his voice was one of the sexiest things ever. “That’s what I was thinking.”
He pushed up on an elbow and stared down at her. “What is it about you?”
“I’m not sure I’m all that special.”
He took her mouth in a kiss that ended with him sucking on her bottom lip before letting go. “Wrong.”
God knew he did make her feel special. “You should show me.”
He groaned. “Woman, I can barely move.”
This side of him, all satiated and cuddling, made her smile. She slid a hand over his ass and squeezed. “Are you sure you’re done for the night?”
“I know I never said that.”
“So, you want—”
His hands cradled her head. “Stop talking.”
Chapter 17
Matthias still didn’t know what hit him. The sex . . . sweet damn. The first time made him see double. The round in the shower had him rethinking his view on the subject. He wasn’t a huge fan before her because he’d spent most of the time trying not to slip or fall. Not with Kayla. She got on her knees and he lost the ability to form sentences.
He loved that she knew what she liked. Hell, he just plain liked her. Not a sensation he was used to. He’d always been more of a sex-for-companionship-or-release kind of guy. With her, he actually wanted to stay over. The desperate need to race from the bed and get home didn’t hit him in the middle of the chest.
The only difference he could identify was her. All of her. He’d had great sex before and had known a lot of amazing women, but the intensity of his feelings—hell, the fact he had real feelings—ran deeper this time. Chalk it up to the attitude, the strength and the very real sense she was a survivor. A kindred spirit. He actually thought about telling her things about his past he’d never said to any other woman. He craved the unburdening. That confused the hell out of him.
She showed him how she wanted to be touched and didn’t hold back when it came to pleasing him. And that mouth . . . damn. After a night with her, he wanted to please her, which probably explained why he was wearing fa
ded jeans and a gray T-shirt today instead of his usual business clothes.
Two men on his team actually did a double take when they saw him wearing the jeans. The stunned expressions almost made up for letting one of his guys go into his house and grab some clothes. The guy picked up Garrett’s things, too. Which was why neither of them looked recognizable while sitting in the middle of the café the next afternoon.
“Look who’s here.”
At the sound of Garrett’s voice, Matthias looked up from his cup of coffee. He didn’t know what he expected to see but Wren heading right for them definitely wasn’t it. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Wren stopped at the side of the table. He had a file under his arm and wore a severe frown. “What are you wearing?”
“We’re blending in,” Garrett said between bites of pie.
“With what?” Wren pulled out a chair and sat down. “This is an interesting way to conduct surveillance, by the way.”
“We’re on a break.” Garrett swallowed then wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Which reminds me, babysitting Matthias here is a pretty good gig.”
Matthias hoped this conversation ran out of steam soon. He decided to help it along. “Why are you in Annapolis?”
“Garrett told me there was kissing.” Wren dragged Garrett’s near-empty plate over to him and studied the last few bites and pile of crumbs. At the sound of footsteps, he glanced up. “Well, not between you two, but with . . . her, maybe?”
Kayla stopped right behind Matthias. “Oh, good. Another dude in a suit.”
He would pay money to see her force Wren into casual clothes. Matthias was pretty sure Wren wore a black suit to bed. “Kayla, this is Wren.”
She looked amused by the three of them sitting together. “Is that a first name or a last name?”
“Honestly?” Wren shook his head. “That’s not really important.”
Kayla sighed as she moved around to the side of Matthias’s chair. “Apparently all your friends have that mysterious and annoying thing going on.”
“If it’s any consolation, he doesn’t have that many friends,” Garrett said.
“Understandable.” She talked tough but she put her hand on Matthias’s shoulder. Massaged it.
Matthias didn’t hate that. “Wren is Garrett’s actual boss.”
She made a pffft sound. “I don’t really understand the business relationship of any of you. And please don’t spend two seconds trying to explain it.”
Wren grabbed the last piece of crust off Garrett’s plate. “It’s fluid.”
She hummed as she glanced at Matthias. “Wow, he’s more cryptic than you are.”
Now, there was an understatement. Wren was the most paranoid person Matthias had ever met. “You have no idea.”
“I brought some information.” Wren’s gaze bounced to Kayla then back to both men. “Should we . . . uh . . .”
“No.” They were way past this point. She knew about his life. He knew about hers. Parts only, sure, but those fundamentals formed a bond of sorts. Matthias was not about to wreck that now. “It’s her life.”
“Good answer.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You’re learning.”
“I have some skills.”
“One problem.” She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. “When did you plan on sharing the big news that your friends are investigating me?”
“Never, since I didn’t know.” He’d specifically told Wren to keep out of this. He tracked her down but Matthias was determined to handle everything from there.
“I’m investigating the underlying murders,” Wren said as he put a file on the table.
Garrett cleared his throat. “This might be a good time for me to mention that neither Wren nor Matthias have any people skills. Wren is getting better because his girlfriend is making him, but as you can see he still has a long way to go.”
“I think I want to meet this girlfriend,” she said.
“We all do.” Matthias planned to do exactly that once he was back in DC. It would teach Wren to interfere with someone else’s personal life without permission.
“Enough of that.” Wren tapped the folder. “Back to the murders.”
Matthias looked around. There were three full tables and someone sitting at the counter. No one seemed to be watching, but there was no reason to invite strangers into their conversation. “Maybe don’t yell that.”
Wren stared at Kayla. “Doug Weston.”
She tensed. Matthias was in tune with her body but he would have picked up on the move without having seen her naked. The full-body cringe stuck out. That was especially interesting since he remembered reading the name in one of Wren’s files on her. “What about him?”
“Who?” Garrett asked.
“He was a friend of all of yours in college.” Wren’s deep voice rang out even though he whispered, or performed his version of a whisper. “He disappeared about two years after the murders, right after graduation. He’d been on the suspect list before then.”
She balanced her elbows on the armrests. “How do you know all that?”
Wren shrugged. “I have an in at police headquarters.”
“In Syracuse, New York?” She snorted. “I don’t think so.”
“Everywhere, actually.”
She fell back into her chair. “Yeah, I don’t get that answer. Like, at all.”
“He collects information then passes it on to me to act on it,” Matthias explained. “It’s more complicated than that, but think of that as the general rule on how our businesses work together.”
Garrett glanced at her. “Move on. Trust me.”
“As if I have a choice.” She looked at Matthias. “I thought the goal was to find out who was stalking me.”
While Matthias knew some of the information Wren just passed on, mostly because Wren texted bits and pieces to him, it was hard to see how it could be anything but relevant. “It’s logical that the original killer is the one hunting you. Maybe he or she thinks you saw something.”
“No, you’ve got this wrong.” Her chair creaked as she turned to face Matthias. “Listen, I haven’t seen or heard from Doug in years. I left Syracuse after . . . after they died.”
He heard what she was saying but didn’t understand how that absolved Doug of anything. “But why not him?”
“He’s not smart enough to break into apartments without tripping alarms.” She sighed. “I dated the guy for a year. He could barely undo my bra strap without an instruction manual.”
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fire a gun. Matthias knew from experience being basically useless didn’t prevent someone from also being dangerous. “Kayla—”
She nodded toward Lauren and the man with her as they walked through the door. “I have to get back to work.”
Lauren smiled at Kayla. “We’re about to head out, but I wanted to pick up the food.”
“Right.” Kayla got up and double-timed it to the counter. “Hold on.”
“Lauren.” Garrett added a nod to his greeting.
Before anyone could say anything else, Kayla came back holding two large brown bags. “Here you go. You taking the barfer out on the water with you this time?”
“That’s not me, is it?”
“This is Elliot, who’s going out with me today.” Lauren made the introduction as she reached for the bags. “The barfer, as Kayla so delicately puts it, is Paul, my assistant. And he’s gotten better.”
“Because he stays mostly on firm ground,” Kayla said.
Matthias was done hearing about barfing. “Sounds like a good call.”
“So, how did boating lesson two go?” Kayla looked from Lauren to Elliot.
He shrugged in response. “I didn’t drown.”
“Good for you.”
The shot of jealousy surprised Matthias. Kayla’s voice was warm and welcoming while talking with Elliot. Matthias loved her style but he loved it more when she saved those smiles for him.
He looked at Elli
ot, trying to remove the keep-away-from-my-woman bullshit from his voice because he didn’t want to tick Kayla off. “Why?”
Elliot looked confused. “What?”
“Why do you need lessons?” Matthias asked, even though he thought the question was obvious.
Wren glanced at Garrett. “I see his people skills haven’t improved.”
Garrett shook his head. “Not even a little.”
“I’m thinking about buying a boat . . . well, a small yacht.” Elliot reached over and took the bags from Lauren. “I figure I should learn how to handle one before I put the money down.”
“Or you could, you know, stay on land.” Kayla nodded her head when one of the tables motioned for her attention. “Remember, the water isn’t our turf.”
“How do you figure that?” Wren asked.
Kayla’s eyebrow lifted. “Can you breathe underwater?”
“Okay, good point.”
As soon as Wren answered, Kayla took off to handle the table that wanted her attention. From there she slipped behind the counter and got the coffeepot. Matthias followed it all.
With her busy, he figured this was a good time to drop an unwanted bombshell on Lauren. Thanks to all the people hanging around she’d have a harder time going off on him. At least he hoped that was true. “A few friends of mine will be out today. If they shadow you, don’t get nervous. I told them you were a pro and they’d probably like to watch your moves.”
Her smile flattened. “Interesting you waited until now to tell me.”
“I’m not stupid.” And while he was in the process of divvying up his team’s resources . . . “Is the barfer staying back in the office?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering.” Because he hadn’t been able to track down Paul. The kid was always going out as Matthias was going in. Two of his men had the same issue, so Matthias was now determined to check the guy out himself.
Kayla came back just in time to see Lauren and Elliot go. She waved and then came back to the table.
Wren turned to Garrett. “Is that the one with the missing husband?”
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