Night Moves: A Shadow Force Novel

by Stephanie Tyler

  He sank down into the chair. “This was under your car.”

  “He got away because you stopped to save me,” she said quietly and he nodded.

  “You should put yourself into protective custody for a while, until we can catch this guy.”

  “Do you know why he’s targeting you?”

  “Yeah. He’s researched me. Knows I won’t let anyone die on my watch, even if it means letting his ass go.” The words came out in a fierce growl—he didn’t intend it, but even that didn’t scare Grier away. “My family died in a fire when I was fourteen. I was rescued from the house in time, they weren’t.”

  “I’m so sorry, Reid. I can’t imagine—”

  “No, you can’t. It was my fault.” He glanced at her, gauging her reaction, wondering why the hell he’d chosen to tell her, of all people, instead of Kell. “I was supposed to be watching my mother.”

  “She started the fire?”

  He nodded. “She was bipolar. Off her meds. Refused to take them, and when she went into a manic phase, it was bad. You know, from the outside, we were this perfect family. I’ve kept up the act all these years because it was ingrained in me. Don’t air the family’s secrets in public.”

  “I don’t understand why you think the fire’s your fault.”

  “I was supposed to be watching her that night. My father stayed up on the weekends with her, but during the week, it was my job. And I fell asleep when I wasn’t supposed to.” He’d woken up to thick, choking smoke and his first instinct had been to search for his mother. “The firemen dragged me out. It was too late to save the others. They said it was an accident, but I knew better. Her fires were never accidents. But I didn’t tell anyone because there wasn’t a point. And ever since then, that’s what happens to people around me—they die, and for some reason, I don’t. I’m used to people trying to kill me, Grier. Happens all the fucking time. I don’t die, but the people around me do. Fucking guardian angel bullshit.”

  She looked so concerned, so sad. He sighed and glanced up at the ceiling for a long moment. “I’m all fucked-up, Grier. All fucked-up. You should run from me,” he murmured when he finally looked at her again.

  “I know.” She rubbed his shoulder lightly. “But I won’t.”

  Fuck it, then. She knew what she was getting. And he reached up, pulled her onto his lap and kissed her, not caring that almost any place she put her hand would hurt, because he was sore as hell.

  Except for one place, and that was the only one that mattered now. With her mouth on his, her body doing that sweet little dance of surrender against his, the pain no longer mattered. Her mouth was demanding, as if she’d been waiting for this. His tongue dueled with hers, and her hands wound in his hair, pulling him closer. He ran his hands up and down her back, wanting to feel her skin on his, not satisfied with waiting any longer.

  “Strip for me, Grier.” He murmured the order against her mouth. “Do it, and let me watch.”

  “I don’t want to move from this position.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen until you’re naked.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then you strip me.”

  “So I’ll be doing all the work, then?”

  Reid’s smile stretched lazily across his face but she wasn’t deceived. She leaned back and unbuttoned her shirt, let it slip off and then unhooked her bra. She flushed when he let out a soft whistle of obvious approval.

  She was in good shape—had to be. And if she looked at herself with a critical eye, she knew she looked good.

  But seeing herself through Reid’s eyes … well, that level of appreciation was enough to last her a very long time. She wanted more. And she was going to make sure she got it.

  She stood and unbuttoned her pants, let them drop to the floor so that she was left in lacy, see-through boy shorts.

  Reid sucked in a hard breath and pushed off the chair and fell to his knees in front of her as if in some kind of erotic prayer. His hands held her hips and angled her toward him, his face settling between her legs. He put his mouth to her sex, breathed out hot against the thin fabric and she shuddered at the contact.

  If he could do this through underwear …

  And then he moved the thin scrap to the side with a finger and his lips found her, his tongue rooting and discovering her core with an astonishing ease. The sound that welled up from her throat didn’t sound like her at all. It was filled with primal need and everything smelled like lust and all her senses were keenly awake.

  His tongue continued to seek her as his hands tore away the fabric completely so that she was free to him. Naked, and he was fully clothed.

  It was the hottest thing ever, as if he was only there for her pleasure.

  And yet, she knew that Reid, naked, would be a beautiful thing and very much worth savoring.

  She realized she had nothing to hold on to, but that didn’t seem to matter because Reid caught her hips in his hands and held her in place as he continued to lave and lick and drive her absolutely over-the-edge mad in the most delightful way possible.

  She was aware that she was yelling—in a motel like this, it probably wouldn’t register, and normally she wouldn’t be caught dead here. But being on the edge of Reid’s dangerous life was making every experience seem far more exciting.

  When she came, it rocked her entire body, rolled through her like a tidal wave … like nothing she’d ever felt before. And he wasn’t pulling back, continued to keep his face buried against her as the orgasm crested.

  Her legs trembled. At some point, Reid stood and carried her to the bed, laid her down against the soft, worn sheets, and the overhead fan felt good as it pushed air against her too warm body.

  She opened her eyes to see Reid standing next to the bed, stripping off his shirt and pants without ceremony. His eyes never left hers, letting her know they were so not done here.

  Good. Because while she couldn’t move right now, pretty soon she was going to want a whole lot more of him.

  The mattress dipped next to her as he climbed into bed. He tugged her close to him and she could barely catch her breath, pushed her hair from her face as she settled against his naked body. He was warm—his body hard in all the right places, and looking so good despite the many bruises and contusions.

  He didn’t seem to be in any pain and she wasn’t in the mood to be gentle. Not after what he’d aroused in her. Her lips pressed to his chest, then moved down to capture a nipple in her mouth, plying it with her teeth until she felt him stiffen, heard him groan.

  He pulled her back, his face serious. “Just so we’re clear, I’m not giving you any more intel.”

  “What I’m looking for has nothing to do with intel.” Her hand wrapped around his cock and it was warm and smooth and she loved hearing Reid’s groan of surrender. His head went back against the thinly veneered headboard and his eyes closed as she stroked up and down, watching his hips falling in with her rhythm.

  “Nice, Grier.”

  “Nice?” she practically growled, then brought her mouth down around him, her tongue swirling the head of his cock before she took half of him in her mouth.

  “Fuck. Fuck yes.”

  That was a much better response. She continued to work him with her hand and her mouth, using lips and tongue and even a light drag of teeth, feeling his body shuddering under her control. One of his hands caressed the back of her neck, the other tightly fisted on the bed next to him, like he was struggling to keep some semblance of control.

  She wanted him to lose it the way she had and so she doubled her efforts to bring him to climax. But he was tugging at her, telling her to stop, that he needed to be inside her now—and that turned her on too much to continue.

  She wanted the same thing and she kissed her way up his body, savoring the tightly rippled abs and hard chest. He tasted good under her tongue, a heady mix of lust filling her senses.

  When she began to nibble on his collarbone, he wrapped his arms around her, practicall
y threw her back down to the mattress and spread her thighs with one of his. There was no asking—he was taking what he wanted and as he entered her it was her turn to clutch the sheets.

  It had been a while—she was wet but tight. He penetrated her slowly as he watched the look on her face—the surprise and pleasure mingling together. The way her mouth opened and only small, incoherent moans emerged.

  She was so goddamned hot, he couldn’t help but press into her without pause, wanting to drive himself fully inside without any further wait. Her body accepted him, opening to his movements, and soon he was thrusting against her, the bed creaking under them, the fan doing nothing to stop a film of sweat from covering his body from the exertion.

  He didn’t want it to end too soon, and between her impromptu blow job and this, it would.

  To make it last, he leaned back and held her hips, pulled her slowly back and forth against him, his cock massaging her clit, making her arch and clutch for him. She moaned for him to go faster and he went even slower, enjoying the hot drag on his cock. Everything else from the day—and the previous ones—melted away, and he watched Grier’s body writhe, her nipples darkening with arousal, her body flushed a beautiful color, mixing with her tan.

  She was enjoying herself and she had no problem letting him know it. He grit his teeth as his balls tightened, and knew he’d be unable to stop himself from coming. He leaned back over and took her, hard and fast, until her climax brought his forth and he willingly let himself go over the edge with her.

  After a return to earth, Grier rolled onto her stomach, propped herself on her elbows to look at Reid. The man was like a lion, tousled, lazy-eyed and looking content after a somewhat marathon session of seemingly never-ending sex.

  She certainly wasn’t complaining, although her stomach did rumble. Loudly. “Any places that deliver around here?”

  Reid grinned. “Yeah, there are some menus in the night-table drawer, right next to the Bible.”

  She snorted. “I’ll call the front desk to see if they’ve got a recommendation.”

  They did, to a place around the corner. Reid told her he’d have whatever she was having and she placed the order, was told twenty minutes, and she checked her messages, text and otherwise, to make sure no one from her team was looking for her.

  She’d told Jack earlier she’d be available for anything that came up—and in the meantime, he’d been running scans for Kell and Teddie’s credit cards, both of which were coming up a big empty.

  “Have you heard from Kell?” she asked.

  “My phone’s been on the table the whole time—I haven’t heard it ring once,” he said. “I told you, I won’t hear from him.”

  “So he can keep you innocent.”

  “No one’s attempted that for years.”

  “I’ve got a tail on Chambers; you know that, right? So if I take him in and you’re caught working for him, you’re going to jail.”

  “Thanks for the warning. We both know if you had anything on me, I’d already be there.” He lay on his back staring at the ceiling and she went to the bathroom to shower before the food got there. When she came out, dressed in only her shirt, her hair damp, she found Reid unpacking their takeout on the small table in the corner.

  She pulled up one of the chairs and began to dig in almost immediately. Reid did the same.

  “Aren’t you worried about getting yourself in trouble by being with me?” Reid asked.

  “Does it look like I’m worried?”

  “Marshals don’t worry?”

  She didn’t answer that question, chose to continue eating.

  “Why did you choose the marshals?” he asked finally.

  “Why do you do what you do?”

  “I’m good at it. I like danger.”

  He made it sound so simple, and it probably was in a way, but it was also complicated by what had happened to his family. The guilt in his voice when he’d told her had been palpable, and she understood—she carried around a hefty dose of guilt herself. “I was a debutante from a wealthy family. According to them, especially on paper, I didn’t fit into this world at all. I fought with everything I had to get here. I fight every day to stay here.”

  Grier admitted to her vulnerabilities in a way Reid had never been able to. She accepted them, even if they pissed her off.

  Reid tried to process that. Hell, it was obviously working for her.

  “I’m a woman doing a man’s job. I took a lot of flack on the way up but I didn’t let it get to me. At least I never showed in public that it did.” Grier smiled. “Sometimes, I’m too tough and it affects the personal side of my life.”

  “You felt pretty damned soft to me,” he told her. “The job’s hard. You’ve got to be tough to survive.”

  “At first … at first, it was all for me. It felt right. The job fits me. And then my older sister was killed. She was in a convenience store during a robbery and she was shot. They were holding people hostage and they wouldn’t send her out for medical attention. She died on a linoleum floor.” Her voice caught and Reid gently tugged her to his shoulder, like he knew she was going to cry and wanted to pretend she wasn’t. She fought the sobs for a few seconds but in the end, she was unsuccessful in remaining stoic.

  Goddammit, now she remembered why she hated the aftermath of sex. Way too many emotional minefields, brought on by hormones.

  Men had it so much easier.

  “It just makes me so angry. She did charity work … God, it sounds so cliché to say that it should’ve been me.”

  “I’ve lost people,” he said finally. “My best friend … I know he feels like that, that it should’ve been him in certain situations. I know I do, all the fucking time.”

  “But we lived for a reason.”

  “Is this one of those everything-happens-for-a-reason speeches?”

  “No. But my job is important, I honor her memory by doing it to the fullest.”

  Something fell away when she said that. For Reid, it was like a brick wall crumbled inside of him, lightening his load immeasurably. It was like a renewal, and for that moment he and Grier understood each other better than anyone in the entire world. They clicked, and while not everything made sense, Reid felt better.

  Actually, he just felt, and for the first time in a long time, that was all right.

  “Wasn’t it Shakespeare who said, what’s past is prologue?” she asked.

  “I don’t know—Macbeth is my favorite.”

  “Ah, the dangers of too much power.” But she smiled as she said it and maybe she tugged at him first, or perhaps it was he who pulled her close, but their bodies meshed together, tangled, mouths hungry for each other.

  “Grier.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “Yes, to everything you want to do to me now,” she told him, and he didn’t hesitate to bring her back to bed.

  CHAPTER

  14

  Kell had walked away from her after their discussion of his parents. Teddie could tell he needed a little space, heard him in the kitchen, and she stayed under the blanket and tried not to let the sounds from outside upset her.

  Still, her head pounded, the stress of the day—the past months—catching up to her. She rolled her neck and brought her hands up to rub some of the tension away.

  Before she knew it, Kell was behind her and his hands were moving to the back of her neck. They were cool and strong and they massaged the hurt away in a way no one else had ever been able to.

  She moaned softly as his hands moved under her shirt to her shoulders.

  How hands that did such violent work could make her melt, she had no idea, but she was grateful for it.

  “Sorry about before. It’s a subject I don’t like talking about,” he said finally.

  “I can understand that. For a long time, I just concentrated on trying to forgive my mother.”

  “Did you?”

  “I’ve come to terms with what she did,” she said. “I had to
. She was gone, and that was hard enough. I couldn’t hate her. You know, I think she did the best she could. Sometimes, it’s nowhere good enough.”

  Kell gave himself credit for not rolling his eyes at her attempt to be Zen, because she was serious as a heart attack. And when you were trying to reconcile why your parents had screwed up and fucked you over, you clung to anything you could.

  For a while, at least.

  Eventually, you gave up and realized that sometimes certain people were just completely for shit and didn’t deserve a second chance.

  “You don’t believe a word I just said.”

  “It’s not something I need to believe. If you do, that’s okay.”

  She snorted, leaned her head back against the couch. “What happens for you when this is all over?”

  It was a question he wasn’t sure how to answer. “I figure out what I want to do.”

  “You won’t be working with Reid and your other friends anymore?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t know if I wanted to work for them this time, but I decided to try. I didn’t want Reid to go it alone.”

  “Does Reid know how you feel?” she asked. “I think it’s high time you two hashed some things out.”

  “Reid knows.” Reid, who was scared to death that he’d lose Kell, and Kell had nearly made his worst fear come true. He was a fucking bastard who didn’t deserve a friend like Reid, didn’t deserve any of them. “It’ll be better that way. At least that’s how I feel now.”

  “But things can change,” she murmured, falling asleep against him. “Things can always change.”

  It was early morning when the light woke Grier. She shifted with Reid’s heavy weight still on top of her. There was no getting away easily, and she suspected he wanted it that way.

  He wasn’t asleep, probably hadn’t been for quite a while. She, on the other hand, had been in a dead, multiple-orgasm-induced sleep after a long, hot shower together. Now she attempted to extricate herself with a small smile, because there was no graceful way to do this after a one-night stand.