by Scott, J. S.
“Surprisingly, I think you’re absolutely correct. He does sound somewhat desperate,” Evan replied calmly as he strolled across the street to direct one of the medics to her. As he moved toward the house, his large figure disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Mara shook her head at Evan’s retreating figure until he vanished. Sweet Jesus . . . and she had thought Jared was cold and arrogant. Evan Sinclair made Jared look like a warmhearted angel. She mused that Evan was also probably one of the few men who could make the other Sinclair brothers look simply . . . large. The eldest Sinclair was built like a Mack truck covered in an expensive suit, and he hadn’t appeared to have one ounce of fat on his body. He was just . . . mammoth, his expansive shoulders appearing as broad as Atlas, the primordial Titan who could carry the celestial spheres.
Evan Sinclair had just broken into her residence, carried her out of a burning house where both of them could easily have perished when the roof gave way if he’d entered just a few moments later. All without batting an eye. Mara hadn’t seen one single emotion reflected on Evan’s face, his haughty demeanor staying fixed in place.
Mara’s entire body was shivering with horror as one of the EMTs ran over to check her out. She answered his questions shakily, watching with despair as her childhood home went up in flames. Tears streamed down her face as she watched every meager belonging she had destroyed. Firefighters were working furiously to put out the flames, and concerned residents slowly started to crowd the street, most of them with businesses close by.
“Mara! Thank fuck!” Jared exclaimed as he dropped down beside her on the grass, his chest heaving.
“Your brother saved my life,” she told him tearfully, her mind starting to finally process what had happened.
“He told me,” Jared grumbled, wrapping her body in a blanket that must have come from his vehicle.
“Everything’s gone,” she sobbed frantically, covering her face with her hands to keep from watching the rest of the house destroyed.
“You’re alive. That’s all that matters right now, Mara,” Jared rasped, gathering her into his arms and cradling her head against his shoulder.
She let Jared hold her, fisting his shirt to reassure herself that he was here, and that she actually was still alive. He was her anchor right now in this surreal, heart-wrenching nightmare.
Turning her face into his chest, she finally gave in to her sorrow completely and wept.
Hours later, Mara lay in the bed of one of Jared’s many guest rooms, unable to sleep. Fatigue was overwhelming her, but every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was everything she owned, every memory she had of her entire life going up in flames.
In the end, she’d left the house with nothing except her mother’s ring in her pocket.
Emptiness threatened to swallow her whole, and she shivered underneath the blankets even though the bedroom was warm.
“It’s as though I don’t exist anymore,” she whispered in the darkness. Daylight had come hours ago, but Jared had pulled the heavy drapes closed so she could sleep.
Jared.
He’d never left her side after he’d found her, waiting in the emergency room while they X-rayed her ankle and took blood to make sure she hadn’t gotten too much carbon monoxide from the fire. He’d sat beside her patiently, never leaving until he could take her from the hospital, bringing her home with him as though there was no question of where she was going. Physically, she was fine other than her sprained ankle, and the swelling was subsiding already, making the pain bearable. Even so, Jared had tended to her like she was fragile, finding her an old T-shirt to wear to bed after she’d showered, insisting that she sleep.
The fire was contained, no damage done to any other shops except hers. God, she was grateful that nobody else had lost anything, but even that knowledge didn’t lessen her pain.
“I have nothing now,” she whispered huskily, curling on her side in the bed. If she’d had very little before, the total of her belongings since everything had gone up in flames was zip . . . zero . . . zilch. Even the pajamas she’d been wearing had needed to be trashed.
“You have your life,” a husky male voice said from behind her. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“I can’t,” she said tremulously.
The bed dipped heavily as Jared moved onto it behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Not one damn thing in that house mattered except you.” He breathed a masculine sigh of contentment as he held her. “I couldn’t sleep, either. All I could think about was how close you came to dying in that damn house.”
Mara shook her head, but let Jared’s embrace warm her. “My mom’s stuff, my pictures—all gone. I don’t even have my driver’s license or an ID.” The warmth of his strong, muscular body soothed her, and she let herself relax back against him. She could tell he was fully clothed, feeling the denim of his jeans against her legs and his T-shirt against her neck. “I don’t even understand how this happened.”
“I know what happened,” Jared growled into her ear. “The fire investigators will look the place over, but I’m fairly certain they’ll find out the wiring in the place sucked and that it was run up in the attic. The water from the leaking roof probably sparked the shitty wiring. That house should have been renovated years ago. Homes that old can become a goddamn hazard if they aren’t updated right.”
“I suppose that’s possible.” Mara sighed.
“Probable,” Jared corrected.
“I feel . . . lost,” she admitted, hating her own weakness at the moment. She was going to have to move on eventually, but for now, she was still mourning. “Empty,” she added woefully.
Jared ran a soothing hand over her stomach. “Shhh . . . I’ll help you. I swear I will. Whatever you need to come alive again, I’ll get it for you.”
I need you.
His soothing, masculine voice was pulling her out of her haze of loneliness, the touch of his hands on her body making her feel again. Leaning her head back on his shoulder, she asked in a hushed voice, “Will you make love to me?” She needed him, wanted him to make her come alive again. The adrenaline was still pumping through her body, and she needed . . . something . . . anything to make it stop.
Not just anything. I need Jared.
He groaned into her ear. “Not this way. Fuck knows I want you so bad I can’t think, but I can’t do it this way.”
“Why?” she whimpered painfully, her core clenching as his palm moved slowly, gently over her belly.
“You’ve been through hell and back in the last eight hours. I might be an asshole, but I can’t take advantage of the fact that you’re in shock, you nearly died, and you think you’ve lost everything right now,” he rumbled, his deep voice vibrating against her back.
“I have lost everything,” she murmured.
“No you haven’t. You still have me,” he answered in a graveled voice.
“Then show me. I need something to hang on to.” She moved her hips backward, rubbing her ass against his hard erection, proof that he wanted her as much as she wanted him right now.
“Mara.” His voice was a low, ominous warning.
“Please, Jared.” Her voice was needy, entreating. His clean, masculine scent surrounded her, and all she could think about was getting the hard length of him that was pushing against her ass inside her, filling her until she could think of nothing else but him. That’s exactly how it would be with Jared. He’d dominate her senses, push everything else out of her brain until she didn’t have to think anymore.
“Fuck,” he exploded.
Mara moaned with satisfaction as he easily flipped her onto her back and covered her with his hard, muscular body. “Yes,” she begged.
“Your ankle,” he growled.
“It’s fine,” she argued. “Please.” The twinge of pain in her ankle was nothing compared to the overwhelming longing t
hat was clawing at her mercilessly.
He answered her plea by pinning her hands over her head and covering her mouth with a tortured, agitated groan.
CHAPTER 8
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Jared was doing exactly what Mara wanted: eliminating her ability to think of anything else but him. He assaulted her senses with his all-consuming kiss, taking what he wanted, but giving her what she needed in return.
His full-on invasion of her mouth had her moaning beneath him, tilting her head to give him better access as his tongue pushed past her lips and surged deeply, claiming her completely without a word spoken.
Every nerve in her body vibrated with tension as his hips rolled, and his hard cock rubbed against her saturated core. She jerked at her wrists, needing to touch him. Turning her head violently, she broke the embrace that was slowly incinerating her. “Please, Jared,” she panted frantically. “I need to touch you.”
“If you touch me, I’ll lose control,” he grunted harshly against her ear.
“I don’t care.”
“I care, dammit. I care.” Jared loosened his grip on her wrists and rested his forehead against her shoulder.
The note of desperation in his voice nearly made Mara come unraveled. He sounded . . . defeated. Realizing his big body was shuddering above her, she slid her hands free and into his coarse hair in a soothing caress. “It can just be this once, Jared. I’m not expecting forever, or even tomorrow right now. I just want you now.”
The last thing she wanted was for him to feel like he was hurting her. In reality, he’d be doing her a favor, giving her temporary respite from the negative visions and emotions flowing through her mind.
“You think that will be enough?” Jared ground out coarsely, close to her ear.
“It will have to be. I don’t care about the future. I just want to get through today.”
Mara moaned in protest as Jared lifted his body away from hers. “Please don’t leave me right now,” she begged shamelessly, needing the presence of another human right at the moment.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She heard the rustling of clothing, and it was so quiet in the room that she heard the zipper of his jeans come down, followed by more whispery sounds of clothing being discarded.
“Dark or light?” he questioned softly.
“What?” she asked hesitantly.
“Do you want the curtains open or closed?”
He was naked. She knew it as surely as she knew that he wasn’t going to leave her right now despite her fears. For just a moment, she wished for her glasses, which had been badly damaged during her escape from the fire. Mara ached to see Jared as clearly as possible. But her vision wasn’t bad without them. She wore them mainly because she did intricate work and she had a slight astigmatism in one eye. Her vision sharpened up to perfect with glasses. Right at the moment, she longed for the clearest eyesight possible, but she’d deal with what she had.
“Light.” She wanted to see him so urgently that she didn’t care if he saw her less than perfectly toned body.
Wincing as he opened one of the drapes and the room flooded with sunlight, Mara finally got her eyes full of Jared Sinclair. Blinking fast as her pupils adjusted to the brightness, she stared unabashed as he walked back to the bed without a stitch of clothing on. She sat up, her mouth now as dry as a desert, her gaze lovingly adoring his sculpted, masculine body. His biceps and abs were ripped with solid muscle, and it was obvious he worked out on a regular basis. His powerfully built chest had a light dusting of auburn hair, exactly the same color that highlighted the locks on his head. As her eyes moved downward, she licked her parched lips as she saw a narrow happy trail of the same hue snaking down the lower part of a rippling six-pack that had her itching to trace over it. Finally, her curious stare landed on his groin, and her core clenched as she tried to find the right words for his engorged cock. “Huge,” she choked out, stunned. She’d only seen one other naked man in her life, and he hadn’t been built anywhere near Jared’s size. Anywhere.
“Are you done looking?” Jared asked huskily.
“No,” she answered honestly. Really, she could stare at him forever and never get tired of gawking at his sinfully delicious body. Her glance eventually landed on his face, and she melted when his eyes flared with heat.
Leaning down, he grasped the hem of his own T-shirt that she was currently wearing and tugged it upward. “If I have to get naked, so do you.”
“I don’t look nearly as hot as you do,” she told him reluctantly, but she lifted her arms so he could strip away her only item of clothing. She sat in the middle of the bed silently as Jared’s expression grew hungry and heated, his eyes caressing her breasts like he wanted to devour them.
“Sweetheart, you look like a damn wet dream to me right now.” A muscle in his jaw twitched as his long, surveying stare roamed over her possessively. Tearing his gaze away, his eyes met hers, his deep green irises turbulent as he held out his hand. “Here. You’ll need this.”
Mara took the condom from his grasp, watching him move with the grace of a predator as he crawled into the bed. She waited as her breath hitched with anticipation, but he surprised her by lying on his back beside her, kicking the covers to the foot of the bed, and locking his hands behind his head. “If you want it, take what you want.”
Holy hotness, he looked like a gorgeous male sacrifice laid out for her pleasure, and she was itching to lick every inch of his solid, hard body with her tongue. But at the last minute, she balked.
Something was wrong. She doubted Jared Sinclair ever gave up control, and his behavior was just . . . wrong.
If you want it?
His desire was evident, but he looked almost angry . . . and slightly . . . injured? After his display of alpha male take-no-prisoners passion a few moments ago, something about his actions now was off.
If you want it.
Recognition of what he was thinking hit her like a bolt of lightning. “You think I’m using you.” He might be more than willing, but he wasn’t liking the fact that he thought that she would take a man—any man—right now to distract her.
If she had blinked, Mara would have missed the validation of her suspicions shadowing his expression for an instant. And then it was gone, replaced by a stoic look. I wasn’t like she didn’t know that Jared had insecurities buried deep inside that drool-worthy chest of his, but her selfishness hit her like a brick to her head. People always wanted something from him, used him. She’d acted no better than any other woman in his life by trying to rationalize what she was doing by saying she needed the distraction. She did . . . but only Jared could give that to her. She needed . . . him. Somehow, she needed to make him understand.
He shrugged. “It’s not like I’m not willing. More than willing, actually.”
Jared Sinclair was doing something Mara suspected he rarely did, because he knew she was vulnerable. He was letting her take control, letting her use him to escape from her own pain.
I don’t want just anybody. I need him. Jared. I wouldn’t be reacting this way with anybody else.
Dropping the condom she was holding on the pillow beside his head, she straddled him, biting her lip to hold back a moan as her saturated pussy connected with his sinewy, hard abs. She was no seductress, but his split second of insecurity made her bold. “I don’t want it, Jared. I want you.” Spearing her hands through his hair, she leaned down, her pebbled nipples chafed by the light sprinkling of hair on his chest. “Only you. I wouldn’t have asked for this with any other man.” She pressed open-mouthed kisses against his neck and along his strong jaw. Grinding her hips against his stomach, she let him feel her wet heat slide along the hard strength of his groin.
“Jesus, Mara,” he rasped. “You’re so fucking wet. There’s only so much control I can manage right now.”
“No control,” she insisted, infl
amed by his response. “I need you right now, Jared. You.”
Jared’s arms wrapped around her as though he had finally snapped, his hands stroking greedily down her back and to her ass. “You’re so soft. So damn sweet.”
Mara knew she was too soft. She carried more weight than she should, and her ass was entirely too big. But the way that Jared was squeezing, worshiping her body, made her feel like a goddess.
Unable to stop herself from wanting to be more connected to him, she met his tortured gaze briefly before lowering her mouth to his. Mara savored the taste of him, and his delectable masculine scent as he responded, taking control of the passionate clash of tongues and teeth as they devoured each other. Her breath was coming unevenly between her lips as she finally lifted her head.
His fingers reached between their bodies from behind, meeting her wet heat with a low groan. “Have you had a man my size before, Mara?”
No. But she wanted to. She needed him so damn desperately that she was ready to start begging again. “No,” she admitted breathlessly.
“Not like this then.” He grasped her around the waist and flipped their position slowly, careful not to twist her injured ankle. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Mara’s heart clenched as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her ankle twinging in protest, but she ignored it. “I already hurt. I ache, Jared.” All she wanted was to feel their bodies joined, that gorgeous cock of his filling her until she no longer felt empty.
“You won’t,” he promised, his voice graveled with desire as he pushed his body up to kneel between her legs, causing her feet to drop to the bed, her thighs spread wide to accommodate him. “You won’t feel anything but me.” Running his palms up her torso, he cupped her breasts and lowered his head to one of her hardened, sensitive nipples.
“Yes,” she hissed, her hands fisting in his hair to keep him there. “Please.”
His mouth nipped and sucked, tortured and soothed until Mara was lifting her hips, pleading for his cock to fill her. Without letting up on her breasts, one of his hands slid down her body and between her thighs, stroking through the folds of her pussy. She quivered as his fingers brushed her engorged clit, setting off a chain reaction of pulsation that stimulated every nerve ending in her entire body. Slowly, he stroked his way inside her channel with two of his fingers. “Christ, you’re so tight,” he growled against her breast, his fingers curling and finding a sensitive area inside her that she didn’t know existed.