“Yeah, it is.” He looked away before meeting Tori’s gaze again. “It took me a long time to get past it, but I’ve finally come to terms with what happened.”
Tori gave a slow nod. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
“To hell and back.” He reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair. “What about you? Gregory was your boyfriend.”
“He was verbally and emotionally abusive. I finally got smart and left after—” She shook her head. “He as good as raped me the night before I left. He was angry because he thought I was cheating, and he forced himself on me.”
Landon’s expression grew dark. “Sonofabitch.”
“That’s how I ended up here. I fled the next day.” Her throat worked. “But for him to die in such a horrible way. I feel responsible.”
She didn’t know that she’d ever stop feeling responsible.
“Hey.” Landon drew Tori into his arms. At first she resisted, but then she relaxed and burrowed into his embrace, her cheek against his T-shirt, her body so soft against his. He looked down and saw tears squeeze from beneath her closed eyelids as she stifled a sob. “It’s natural to want to blame yourself. I blamed myself for my fiancée’s death when the blame should have been squarely on the hit-and-run driver.”
He never expected those words to come out. He’d felt that it was his fault for so long. Was it true that he didn’t feel responsible for her death any longer? Or was he just saying it to make Tori feel better?
If it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t use that excuse any longer to push people away.
He’d probably have no problem coming up with something else to keep others at a distance.
“Did they find the driver?” Tori’s question drew him back to her. Her face was against his shirt and her body warm in his arms.
“Yes.” He stroked Tori’s hair. “The driver wrapped his car around a telephone pole and managed to live through it. He was drunk, and now he’s in prison for what he did.”
“Even though it doesn’t make up for what happened, I’m glad you had at least some resolution.” Tori shifted against him, like she wanted to get even closer.
Almost absently, he rubbed his thumb along Tori’s delicate jawline while they both remained quiet. He liked the way she fit in his arms. It felt…right.
It was the right time to tell her about what happened with Brian. Landon knew he should do it now.
And then every good intention vanished as she tipped her face up to look at him. Her eyelashes glittered from the remainder of her tears and her brown eyes seemed even darker than normal. As their gazes met and held, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to look away from her again. She drew him to her in so many ways and he was helpless to stop himself from wanting to get closer to her.
The other agents were downstairs and he was upstairs, alone. With Tori.
This wasn’t smart.
Hell, it was a long, long way from smart.
He held his breath, then let out a slow exhale as he lowered his mouth to hers.
The moment their lips met, she gave a sigh, surrendering herself to his kiss. That sense of surrender fueled him, somehow making him desire her even more than he already did.
He moved his lips over hers, hungry for the taste of her, the feel of her. Her scent filled him, as if a part of her was now inside him. Her lips were so soft, her taste exquisite on his tongue. God, he knew he could never get enough of her.
She leaned into him as their body heat melded, fusing them together in a way that defied explanation. Her sighs turned into a soft moan as he moved his hands over her shoulders, down her arms, and to her waist. She was wearing one of her new T-shirts and he pushed the hem up just enough that he could feel her soft skin along the waistband. He gripped her slender waist in his hands, his fingers brushing the base of her spine where she’d been tattooed.
Her hunger and his grew in matching intensity. She moved her palms up his chest to his shoulders and gripped them like she was afraid she would slide away if she didn’t hold on tightly.
He slipped his palms from her waist to her ass, feeling the perfection of it as he squeezed her closer to him. His cock was impossibly hard, pressing against her, straining to get free from behind the tough denim of his jeans.
Their clothes—too much cloth was between them. He wanted to feel her warm silky skin against his, nothing keeping them apart. He wanted only to slide between her thighs and drive his cock deep inside her heat.
The rumble that rose up in his chest was like a lion staking a claim on his territory, and she made an answering purr, giving herself completely to him. Not just surrendering, but offering herself for his pleasure. She asked for nothing, just gave him everything she had.
She sighed again as he slid his lips along her jawline to her ear. She gasped when he nipped at her earlobe and shivered in a delicate way that told him he’d just found one of her erogenous zones. He sucked the soft flesh into his mouth and nipped at it again. He felt another shiver run through her body.
He moved his lips down the column of her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat. The soft purring sounds she made caused his cock to grow even harder and he rubbed himself against her in a slow deliberate movement, like what he’d do when he was inside her.
A gasp escaped her as he cupped her breasts and flicked his thumbs over her taut nipples that pressed against the fabric of her T-shirt. She slid her fingers into his hair and encouraged him to lower his head so his mouth was even with her breasts. His body was close to shaking from the power of his need for her as he circled her nipple with his tongue, wetting the T-shirt and causing her to suck in her breath. She gave a small cry and gripped his hair tighter as he moved his mouth to her other nipple.
He had to taste the salt on her skin, feel its softness in his mouth. He pushed her T-shirt over her perfectly sized breasts and licked each of her nipples through her satin bra. She caught her breath as he pulled her bra beneath her breasts so they were bared for him.
She pushed his head down again, guiding him so that his mouth was directly over her nipple. He skimmed his lips over the hard nub and she moaned as he sucked it and flicked it with his tongue. Her nipples were hard peaks as he nipped at each one. God, but he loved the way she tasted. He loved that she wasn’t afraid to show him what she wanted. He loved everything about her.
“Landon.” His name sounded like music coming from her lips.
“Landon.” A different voice cut through the haze Landon was in. A male voice.
Tori jerked away, frantically tugging at her clothes. Landon stayed in front of her so she couldn’t be seen until she was ready. She looked mortified, and Landon gave her what he hoped was a reassuring expression.
Keeping Tori behind him, he slowly turned to see Dylan standing in the bedroom’s doorway. He had his arms folded across his chest, his shoulder hitched against the doorframe. A hint of amusement was on his features.
“What do you want?” Landon’s voice was rougher than he’d intended.
“Better me than one of the other agents.” Dylan flashed a grin. “I have something to talk about with you when you’re ready.”
Landon glanced back at Tori who appeared to have collected herself. She still looked embarrassed, but gave a nod, telling him she was fine. He squeezed her hand before turning and following Dylan out of the room.
Dylan shook his head as Landon joined him in the hallway. “You picked a hell of a time, not to mention she’s a witness. Are you out of your goddamned mind?”
Keeping his temper down was a feat in itself and Landon’s jaw hurt from clenching his teeth so tightly. It wasn’t Dylan’s fault that he’d walked in on them. Hell, it shouldn’t have happened. Like Dylan said, Tori was a witness.
She’d been so damned sweet to his taste, to his touch. He didn’t know if he could keep his hands off her.
Landon dragged his hand down his face, his stubble coarse against his palm. “What do you need to discuss?”
> “Once you told Aguilar that Tori ID’d Alejandro Jimenez, John Graves, and Pablo Perez, I worked up the affidavit for the arrest warrants and pitched it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Dylan hooked his thumbs in his jeans’ pockets. “Thought you’d be happy to know we have warrants for the arrests of all three bastards.”
“Good.” Landon felt a hint of triumph. “Fucking great.”
Dylan started toward the stairs. “We’ve had teams of agents scouring the area to find and arrest these guys.”
Landon walked down the stairs with Dylan. “Now we just have to find and serve the sonsofbitches and take them in.”
Tori’s face burned as she picked up the paperback she’d dropped on the floor. What had she been thinking? She was in a house full of agents and she’d just made out with one of them. How far would it have gone if Agent Curtis hadn’t walked in on them?
She barely knew Landon, and she’d let him practically take off her shirt. No, more like she had encouraged him to go further and further. She’d wanted him. She still wanted him—more than she could remember wanting any man.
Her thoughts turned to her parents. Landon had said they were both all right, and she trusted him to tell her the truth. If there was anything she could rely on these days, it was that Landon would be honest with her, whatever might happen.
When she was nervous or needed a distraction, she had always liked to pick up an instrument and play, especially her clarinet. During this traumatic time, she hadn’t had anything until now and it had been driving her crazy.
She opened the case that held the clarinet her parents had purchased for her when she earned first chair as a freshman in high school. They had spent more money on the clarinet than they could afford, but they’d pulled it together.
Memories washed through her as she put the instrument together and she thought of her best friend. Tori and Paula often practiced together as well as did all the fun things that women liked to do. Tori missed shopping with her friend, talking for hours, going to movies, meeting up for coffee or dinner. Ordinary things that Tori couldn’t do anymore.
Tori was thankful that she’d left the box of reeds at her parents’ home the last time she was there, and that her mother had thought to grab them for her. Otherwise she would have had to wait until someone bought a box for her—if she could find someone who had the time to do so.
She wet a reed, and when she was finished, she absently let her fingers dance over the keys as she closed her eyes.
At their first concert of the season in September the Tucson Symphony Orchestra would be performing Gustav Holst’s The Planets. One of her favorite parts in the suite for clarinet was in “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” and she let the tune fill the air.
As her fingers moved, she let the music flow through her. Music completed her heart and soul in a way that nothing else could, and carried her far away from reality.
Music had been an escape for her from the time she was a small child and her father was a belligerent drunk. It was an escape when she was in junior high and high school, the times she’d been bullied for any number of things. It had been an escape from Gregory’s verbal and emotional abuse.
And now, once again, it was taking her away.
Escape, she just needed the escape.
The last note faded and she sighed, her eyes still closed as she let herself hold on to the moment.
The bed dipped and the bedsprings creaked. Her eyelids flew open and she set the clarinet on her lap. Even before she’d opened her eyes, she’d known it was Landon who had sat on the bed beside her. His scent was magnetic, his presence electrifying.
She met his gaze and felt warm all over again as she let herself be caught in the spell of the unusual green shade of his eyes.
“You are incredible,” he stated. “Your music is magic.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Usually, not a day goes by that I don’t do something music-related, especially practicing.” She shifted on the bed to face him better. “I wanted to ask you if I could have a notebook along with pencils and pens.”
“Sure.” He gave a nod. “Do you journal?”
“Not really.” She shook her head. “I compose. It’s something I do because I love it, but it’s also good therapy.”
“Not a problem.” He gave her a smile. “Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.”
“Thank you.” She returned his smile, but it faded as she remembered what they’d been doing just a short time earlier. “I’m sorry about what happened. I shouldn’t have—”
He put his fingers over her lips. “Hey. You don’t have anything to apologize for. If anyone should apologize, it should be me.”
As she studied his roughly carved features she realized she didn’t want him to have to feel like he should apologize. She wanted him to tell her it hadn’t been a mistake and that the kiss had meant everything to him that it had to her. She wanted him to say how he’d wanted to kiss her since they’d met, because that was the way she felt.
For a long moment neither of them said anything. “I loved it,” almost spilled out of her mouth but the words stayed in her head where they belonged.
He gave her a long, searching look. “Are you tired?”
She blinked at the change in topic. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll let you get some sleep.” He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it before he stood.
She got to her feet, too. “Are you leaving?”
He hesitated and looked like he wanted to touch her again. “I’ll be in the living room.”
“Thank you.” She crossed her arms over her chest, holding herself tightly, feeling as if she might fall apart if she didn’t.
He hesitated then leaned down and brushed his lips over her cheek. “Get some rest, honey.”
Her eyes widened a bit at the endearment, but he turned away and walked to the bedroom door. He looked once over his shoulder, his gaze meeting hers, and then he was gone.
For a long moment she gripped her clarinet as she stared at the place where he’d been standing. She was attracted to Landon more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. She didn’t just feel a physical attraction, but something deeper, on a level she wasn’t sure she could recognize even if it was pointed out to her.
But she and Agent Landon Walker were not meant to be. She’d better keep that fact in mind before she ended up losing her heart to him.
CHAPTER 15
Smoke filled the air as Diego crushed the stub of his Cuban cigar in the ashtray on the corner of his desk. Fury heated him, crawled up his spine, and sent tension through every part of his body. The woman had escaped the first attack and now her parents had as well.
But Alejandro said his plans for tonight would work.
Still, Diego wasn’t pleased she wasn’t dead yet.
Alejandro was in danger of being arrested by the American agents, as were the two men assigned to protect him and to clean up any messes that might arise. And this was one big fucking mess.
Diego would never allow his son to be tried for any crime, much less imprisoned. Once Tori Cox was eliminated, Diego would make sure every last person involved was dead. The dead couldn’t speak.
He sensed a presence and he cut his gaze from the ashtray to the doorway to see Alicia. At nineteen, she was the youngest of his housekeepers, with an inviting smile and even more enticing body.
But today all he cared about was relieving some of his anger.
“You called for me?” she asked in a small voice that still managed to sound sexy.
“Come in and close the door.” He snarled the command. “And lock it.”
She gave him a frightened look as she obeyed. Her eyes were wide and he could see her hand shake as she turned the lock.
He motioned for her to come to him. She hesitated and he narrowed his gaze. The look in her dark eyes became one of true fear, and that made him hard.
When she reached him, he raised his hand and backhanded her. She
cried out as her head snapped to the side. In his mind she became the woman who had put his son in danger, the woman who needed to be killed.
It was all he could do not to snap Alicia’s neck. Instead, he gripped the front of her blouse and ripped it open. She gave another cry and he backhanded her again. He still had a grip on her blouse with one hand, holding her so she didn’t stumble backward.
He raised his hand to strike her again. “Shut up, bitch.”
Tears formed in her eyes and she clamped her mouth shut. Diego moved his gaze to her breasts. One of the things he liked about her was the size of them. He’d wanted to fuck her since Esmeralda had hired her, but he hadn’t touched her. He only hired beautiful, young women and most of them were willing and pleased to serve him in every way possible.
But right now he didn’t want a willing woman. He wanted a powerless woman…just like the woman in Arizona would be when he smuggled her into Mexico and then used her before handing her off to others. He had decided now that he did not want to kill her…he wanted to make her pay in other ways.
Diego’s gaze roved over Alicia’s beautiful body. He still loved his wife who had passed away years ago. But a man had his needs, and right now Diego needed to take out his anger and frustration on someone. Alicia was that someone.
She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out again as he took her large nipples and pinched them hard. He twisted them and her eyes watered, tears rolling down her cheeks. He released her nipples long enough to spin her around and force her face and torso against the desk. Her whole body was shaking.
He shoved her skirt over her ass and was pleased to see she wore nothing beneath her clothing. She had a beautiful ass. He forced her legs apart with his knees before he unfastened his belt and pants.
In one thrust he was buried inside her and she made a muffled sound. She was slightly dry but he liked the friction. She wasn’t a virgin, which was unfortunate, as he would have liked to be the first to take her.
He fucked the bitch hard, taking out all of his fury. The slut deserved to be on the receiving end of his anger. She should have kept herself pure. No doubt she’d worn nothing beneath her uniform so that she could fuck his driver or his gardener, or any one of the many men on his staff. Maybe all of them.
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