by Marie Harte
“You are something I’m trying to figure out.”
Alex smiled. “Like a puzzle?”
“Like an addiction,” he said thickly, his gaze drawn to her lips. An indrawn breath told him she was growing aroused. The sweetness of her scent deepened, spreading out to infuse his entire body.
“Now, wait a minute,” she warned as she tried to scramble to her feet.
Hunter let her rise, then stood. He began stalking her, conscious that this challenge entertained him. There was no need for blood, no sense that he had to trap and kill his opponent. Alex made him want to play.
“Better run, angel. Because when I find you, I’m definitely going to take advantage.” He ripped off his shirt and tossed it to the ground.
Her gaze trailed over his sweaty chest to the arousal pushing at his shorts. Alex licked her lips, and he groaned.
“Man, who knew you were this easy?” She laughed and darted out the door. Hunter waited a minute, then gave chase.
He had no intention of losing this prize. The only danger, he admitted to himself, was that he didn’t think he ever wanted to lose her. And that might prove to be a real problem.
Chapter Eleven
Peter walked with quiet arrogance through the spacious hallways of Ray’s tropical estate. He’d always admired the cool beauty of the large house, the blues and greens intermingled with the warm corals and bright yellows. Ray’s estate, for all its size, felt more like a tropical wonderland than a mansion. Just a small bit of property on an uncharted bit of land near Jekyll Island. A rich man’s paradise, and totally private.
He reached the patio overlooking the pool, where Mrs. Simms had directed him. There he found Ray and his detestable assistant, Yasef, involved in conversation.
Yasef stopped mid-sentence as Peter approached. The man’s dark brown eyes tracked his every step.
“Greetings, Mr. Omaney,” he said with disdain. “Ray, if you’ll excuse me?”
Ray chuckled and waved him away, but Peter didn’t understand what his friend found so amusing. Yasef was no more than a damned savage, a monster who liked to play unspeakable games and found pleasure in instilling great pain.
“Come, Peter, tell me what you’ve been up to.” Ray smiled, and Peter smiled back, sitting in Yasef’s vacant chair.
He stared at Ray for a moment, drawn by his friend’s light blue eyes and white-blond hair. The spitting image of his father, which had to eat at him every time he looked in a mirror. Taller than Peter, but thinner, Ray reminded him of a starving artist, those haunted eyes and graceful hands needing only a paintbrush and canvas to complete the picture.
“I wanted to tell you about my meeting with Jed Black.” The bastard who is right now fucking the woman I should have had. “The arms deal he set up went off like clockwork. The police I’d bribed to take him down a peg disappeared.”
“Not a surprise. Black has contacts worldwide. Local police would be easy enough to control.”
“Yes, but afterward, there was an incident. A man tried to kill Black.”
“Oh?” Ray leaned forward.
“Black shot him without hesitation. He’s as cold-blooded and thorough as his reputation claims.”
“Do you think Black set it up?”
“If he did, he was pretty convincing.” Peter paused. “I made some inquiries. He shot and killed Luke Romero, a gun for hire.”
“Interesting. I’m liking Jed Black more and more. And you say he has my angel?”
Peter handed Ray a picture of Alex. “That’s her. He nearly raped her on the dance floor. But your angel didn’t protest a bit.” Much to my disgust.
“Perhaps she’s already corrupted,” Ray murmured. He stroked her picture with a calloused finger. Peter felt a moment’s disquiet. Ray had gone off into that other world he sometimes disappeared to. In that frame of mind, his moods were difficult to predict.
Suddenly, Ray dropped the photo and grabbed Peter by the collar. He yanked him so close their faces touched. Peter froze at the menace in Ray’s wild-eyed stare.
“How could you leave something so precious in that animal’s hands?” he seethed. “That woman might be the one I need. If she’s harmed at all, if she bears so much as one mark...” He paused, his rage clearly building.
“It was Jed Black, Ray,” Peter said quickly. “I tried to hold onto her, but Black interfered. I know how much the girl might mean to you, but I also figured that getting Black involved in your venture was too good to pass up.”
“Maybe it’s a little too good to be true, a little too convenient,” Ray whispered as he uncurled his fingers from Peter’s shirt.
Peter waited until Ray had completely let go of him before moving back out of reach. He did so slowly, not wanting to further enrage his best friend. He knew why Ray lost control, and he knew better than to provoke him. He shouldn’t have given him the picture yet.
“You were right, as always, Peter.” Ray smiled as if his sudden meltdown hadn’t occurred. “I do want Black as well as the woman. I know you don’t usually associate with my peers, but this time I’d like you to make an exception. I believe you know a few of them. Congressman Ulie will be here, and I know you and he are good friends.”
Peter blinked in astonishment. He hadn’t realized Ulie had a dark side.
“Several of my friends in the oil business, as well as a few other prominent businessmen, will be in attendance. Men who can help your career. It’s amazing to me that years ago none of them would have given me the time of day. A preacher’s son, now a multimillionaire.” Ray chuckled. “A good piece of ass can make a man do almost anything.” Ray glanced again at the photo on the table. He pocketed it before he stood.
Peter stood as well, and they walked together toward the beach behind the estate.
“So, tell me more about Alexandra.” Ray purred her name and threw his arm companionably around Peter’s shoulders. Peter described her in loving detail. Thinking about Alex made his heart race. Remembrances of how pliant she’d been under that small dose of Plezure made him wonder what she’d have been like fully entranced. Could she take his mind from Sarah? Would she be the one to break the spell that sexual creature had woven over him?
He managed to contain his lust, or at least, he thought he had. Ray took him, not to the beach, but to a small guesthouse instead.
“Peter, I can’t help noticing your arousal. We both know the only way to save yourself from such sin is to immerse yourself in it. Corruption only works on those bent on denying the truth. But we both know what we are, don’t we, my friend?”
Peter wanted to deny him, until Ray pushed open a door and exposed Sarah Moreland, naked and drugged out on the bed in the center of the room.
“Sarah?” he whispered, excited to find her here, of all places.
“Go ahead, Peter. Get her out of your system before it’s too late.” He watched Ray close the door behind him, and thoughts of Alexandra Tyrell fled his mind as he slowly removed his clothing.
ALEX AND HUNTER SPENT the next few days going over what-ifs, strategies, and conversations with Jurek, who continued to update them with new information. Apparently, Peter Omaney had resurfaced and continued to go about his daily business. He’d called Jed to send his invitation to the auction. With one more phone call, Jed and Alex would receive notice and be on their way.
J.D. had some luck with Omaney’s files. A few of them linked to a man named R.G., and he’d spent the better part of his time figuring out who this R.G. might be. Nothing panned out yet, but he was still looking.
Max was pleased to hear that she and Hunter seemed to be getting along better. She hadn’t told him exactly how they were getting along, but her uncle hadn’t been born yesterday. Cole didn’t ask, and she didn’t say much more than that her time was well spent.
Hunter was becoming a real problem. The gruff bully she’d first met had disappeared. Though he still liked to get his way, he treated her with respect and a genuine caring—pulling her deeper under hi
s spell. She didn’t want to fall in love with him, but against her better judgment, she feared she’d started her decline.
He didn’t react when she used her telekinesis to pass the butter. He didn’t seem to get enough of her roughness when they sparred. He actually encouraged her to defeat him.
She couldn’t believe she’d once thought he didn’t want a strong woman. The more she showed him that she could take what he dished out, the more he relaxed around her.
He still growled and grew surly upon occasion, but she didn’t mind. That was a part of him. Because after he snapped at her, he worked doubly hard to make her happy. And boy, did he make her happy.
The man had a sexual stamina she’d gladly put to the test. Never had she been so aroused around anyone. Sometimes it took little more than the touch of his hand and she wanted to take him to the ground and—
“Yo, angel, you coming or what?”
She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate on their nature walk. Another thing she really liked about Hunter. He spent much of his time outdoors. She had a feeling the hunter inside him felt hemmed in by walls.
“This path looks well worn,” she murmured and skirted another tree root.
“It is. I like to walk by the stream. Lots of crawfish in there, as well as a few salamanders under the rocks.”
“You really should have a little boy. Then you and he can terrorize little girls. Just think of all the frogs you could stuff in their pockets.”
“Hadn’t thought about kids.” He shot her an odd look. “But I think about making them all the time.”
She flushed. “Very funny. I wasn’t saying you and I should have one.” He stopped in front of her, and his smile faded. Crap, can I put my foot farther in my mouth? “I just meant that... Oh, never mind,” she huffed and walked around him.
When he didn’t follow her, she snapped, “Well, come on. These are your woods, not mine.”
Just because she’d been fantasizing about a life with Hunter didn’t mean it would ever happen. Sure, she wanted to continue to see him after this operation, but Hunter didn’t seem like the family type. Look at how he froze at mention of a child. And what the hell was she babbling about children for anyway? Sure she wanted kids, but not now.
Hunter slapped her on the butt. “Testy, aren’t we?”
He passed her, and she followed him to the magical stream he’d mentioned while she was forcing herself to calm down.
“This is one of my favorite spots,” he admitted and sat on a large boulder. Alex joined him, and they watched the light sparkle off the small river of water running over rocks and patches of moss. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of leaves overhead, turning the woodland site into an ethereal vision of solitude.
The weather had cooled with each day spent at Hunter’s house. Instead of unending humidity, a comfortable warmth settled under the breeze that pushed through Alex’s hair. Clad in shorts and T-shirts, the pair of them looked like they were on vacation instead of preparing for a potentially lethal job.
“This feels like paradise.”
Hunter shifted her off the boulder and into his lap. “Yeah, it does.” He kissed the top of her head and held her close.
Dammit. He kept doing things that made her want to hold him and never let go. He brought her coffee each morning, and he added just the right amount of milk and sugar. He liked many of the same books and movies she did, though his taste for action-adventure movies outweighed her preference for romantic comedies. Still, he’d found a few and watched them with her, holding her in his arms the way he did now.
Though Alex knew she and Hunter had been forced to spend their time together, for her, it was anything but a hardship. She dreaded the end of their stay. Sighing, she held his arms tighter to her chest.
“Alex?”
“Hmm. What?”
“You okay?” Hunter turned her in his arms to face him and kissed the base of her throat, stirring her into a desire that, with him, always stayed close to the surface. She couldn’t help squirming over his taut lap.
“You’re good at that,” she rasped and ran her hands over his shoulders. “Too good.”
“How can a man be too good when kissing his woman?” Hunter asked with a grin.
Her heart raced. His woman? “I’m nobody’s woman.” As much as I want to be. She was afraid to hope.
“Funny, because you’re in my arms squirming on top of my dick. Want to try that one again?” He squeezed her tighter.
“You like it rough, don’t you?” She loved how hard he felt beneath her.
“So do you, angel.” He nipped her earlobe before easing his tongue into her ear, a move that never failed to put her into immediate, uncontrollable lust.
She moaned and ground against him. Just what she needed to put her mind back on track. Some mind-blowing sex with Hunter. Time to shelve my emotional issues.
She wriggled out of his hold and hopped down from the boulder. When he pushed off and moved to follow, she held him back with her mind. She allowed her gaze to wander down his frame to center on his groin. “Tell you what, sexy. If you can beat me back to the house, I’ll concede.”
“Concede what?” he asked in a gritty voice.
“Whatever you want.”
“Deal,” he breathed.
“But if I make it back to the house before you catch me, you’re mine for the next twenty-four hours.”
“No problem.” He didn’t sound worried at all.
She frowned. “That means I can make you wait on me hand and foot while you’re naked. I can make you paint your toenails and sing on top of a table, and you have to do it.”
“Sweetheart, stop. You’re giving me all kinds of ideas.”
“I get a five-minute head start.” They’d spent twenty minutes walking to the stream. She figured five minutes was fair.
“Five or ten, doesn’t matter. I’m picturing you waiting on me, hand and foot, while you’re naked. We should have thought of this before.”
“Laugh it up, sweetheart. See you at the house.”
Alex raced back along the trail. Either way, she couldn’t lose. Some light fun, a sexy interlude, and the loss of these maudlin thoughts. What more could she ask for from the man she considered hers...for the next few days?
Running hard, she moved at top speed through the trail. She hadn’t heard Hunter at all, and figured she’d had too much of a head start. But she refused to slow down. Imagining Hunter at her beck and call until tomorrow was too good a fantasy to pass up. At the house, she bent over to catch her breath. Once relaxed, she stood up and waited. And waited some more.
“Miss me?” he whispered from behind her.
She jumped, startled from her exhaustion. “When the hell did you get here?”
“A few minutes before you did.” The grin on his face had her taking a step back. “Now, angel, what was that about twenty-four hours? You’ll concede whatever I want?”
His excitement aroused hers to a fevered pitch. “What do you want?”
“Everything, Alex. Everything.”
MOMENTS LATER, IN HIS bedroom, Hunter stared at Alex, aware of her heady arousal. Fuck, her scent was killing him. “Take off your clothes.”
She bit her lip, as if nervous, but he could see her desire. Her shallow breaths, flushed cheeks, and pebbled nipples told him better than words that his angel wanted him. But how much could she take, especially if he let himself really go?
Dreading the thought of her leaving the way Anna had, Hunter reined in his hungers and promised to just enjoy himself. He and Alex only had a few more days. Why not enjoy having a sexy woman at his beck and call for hours? What more could a man want?
Trust, his conscience whispered. Love. A true partner in every sense of the word.
Everything.
Angry that he couldn’t simply enjoy the moment, he didn’t notice Alex’s stillness until she cleared her throat.
“Why are you still dressed?” he growled.
“Why are you so mad? You won.” Her hands rested at the hem of her shirt.
“What did I win?” he asked, incensed that she seemed perfectly capable of having sex with him, but she didn’t trust him enough to share details about her family’s abilities.
Alex dropped her hands to her sides. “I don’t understand you. We were having fun, a race to the end. You won, I lost, and we were just about to have some incredibly hot sex. What put your panties in a bunch?”
Her tart response pushed him past rational. He yanked her to him and kissed her hard, willing at least one of them to understand what he felt, because he had no idea about what he needed.
She resisted him for a moment, and then she sighed into his embrace and hugged him closer.
“Hunter,” she breathed when he left her mouth to trail kisses down her neck. “Don’t be mad, baby. Let me make you feel better.”
She removed his clothes in between kisses. Then she took off her shirt and shorts, leaving herself in a sexy bra and panties that he wanted to rip off with his teeth. The survival instinct that had pulled him out of more shit than he wanted to remember told him to claim this woman. Not any woman, not Anna, or the string of meaningless conquests he’d had since her meant a tenth of what Alexandra Sainte did. And it scared him to death.
More than just sex, being with Alex was a balm to his soul. She understood him on so many levels. Despite their differences, they had much in common. Too much to blow off by reducing their relationship to nothing but mutual desire.
As Alex kissed her way down his body, from his mouth and chin to his chest, he watched her like the predator he was. “You’re mine,” he rasped.
He didn’t know what to expect, but the longing in her gaze took him aback. She shuttered the look so fast he might have imagined it, but the softness of her kisses, the sure, soothing pressure of her touch, told him he’d witnessed the truth. Perhaps Alex wasn’t as immune to the growing affection between them as he’d thought.
His breathing grew erratic as her hands stroked his belly and lower, following with her mouth. He wanted to conquer her, to tame her, but she held the power now, and she knew it. He loved her strength, her power. And he wondered again if she would bolt or accept him if he decided to show her the truth about himself.