“You’re right.” Ignoring her searching eyes, he gazed over her shoulder at the seemingly endless ocean. “I’ll see you back at the house. I’m going to take a walk.”
He turned away and didn’t look back.
Honor wrapped her arms around herself as she watched Seth’s long strides take him farther down the beach. She could stop him, tell him she didn’t want promises. Tell him whatever he needed to hear just so he’d hold her close, kiss her, and make love to her. She could tell herself that she could have sex just for the pleasure, but lying to herself had never been her thing. As she’d told him yesterday, sex with Seth could never be meaningless.
And there was another issue she hadn’t yet faced. One he’d asked about earlier and she had purposely avoided answering. She hadn’t forgiven him for what he had done to them. Yes, she could understand his reasons, but that was a long way from forgiving. He had deliberately misled her. Not only that, he’d gotten involved with her knowing full well it wouldn’t last. For a woman who’d been making life decisions for herself well before the norm, having Seth arbitrarily decide her future not only infuriated her, it insulted her.
Her mother’s words returned to taunt her self-righteous anger: You weren’t an FBI agent to him. You were the woman he loved.
The buzzing cellphone in her pocket was a welcome distraction. Torturing herself over the past was her least favorite pastime.
She checked the screen: Aidan. When she and Seth had left Tampa, he’d been headed to Pennsylvania to get information about the college student who had been found dead. There was no real reason to suspect that the abductions were related, but everyone wanted to be sure.
Holding the phone to her ear, she began walking back toward her mother’s house. “Are you in Bellefonte?”
“Just landed. Had to fly commercial, so it took longer.”
“What’s up?”
“Just something that came to mind I wanted to ask Seth. He’s not picking up his cellphone. I thought you might be able to reach him.”
Honor jerked around, looking where Seth had headed. Reception on the beach was often spotty. “What do you need? I can ask him for you or get him to call you.”
“You and Seth are taking some downtime together?”
The gentle amusement in his voice would have stirred her ire if it was anyone else. Not with Aidan. From the moment they’d met, they’d teased and joked with each other like a brother and sister would. Considering that Aidan looked liked a sun god dropped from the sky and could be as charming as he could be deadly, not being attracted to him seemed ludicrous. But there it was.
“We’re staying with my mom.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Now, don’t get your bloomers in a bunch. I figured there’d been something between you two. Neither one of you is very good at hiding those heated, furtive looks.”
She snorted. “Did you really have a question to ask Seth or did you just call to needle me?”
She could almost see his grin as he said, “A little bit of both.”
“Then what’s your question.”
“I wanted to ask him if he’d looked beyond last year for any similar disappearances.”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask him, but I would think the Bureau would have done that.”
“Probably did, but since they don’t even think the most recent disappearances are related, why would they think others were?”
He had a point there. “Okay. Let me see if I can find Seth. I’ll call you back.”
“Did you lose him?”
Honor closed the phone without answering, but her answer would have been yes. She’d lost him a long time ago.
Seth looked down at the folders they’d spread out on the dining room table. He’d met Honor on the way back; she’d been looking for him. He hadn’t even realized his cellphone wasn’t working. That had been a reminder he shouldn’t have needed. Going over mistakes he had or hadn’t made wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. Finding Kelli and the other girls had to remain front and center. Yeah, the downtime had been a nice change of pace from the breakneck speed of the last few days, but now he needed to get his head back to where it should be.
“Noah’s checking missing persons records going back ten years.” Honor stood on the other side of the table from him.
Seth shook his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t search further than last year.”
“You were focused on finding Kelli, not looking for a multitude of abductions.”
“Aidan say how he came up with the idea that there could be more?”
Forgetting that it was after one in the morning, Honor pressed a button on her cellphone. “Let’s find out.”
Aidan answered on the first ring. “What’s up?”
“Hey, I’ve got Seth here. We were wondering why you thought there could be more related cases.”
“No real reason other than if no one even thinks these cases are related, how many more of them could there be? What if the guy didn’t just start this last year?”
“Noah’s checking back over the last ten years,” Honor said.
“That should give us something … if there are any. I just got to my hotel room. I have an appointment with the detective in charge of the case tomorrow morning. I’ll call you after that with an update.”
“Okay, thanks.” Honor closed the phone and looked at Seth. “So, seems like it’s more just a supposition than anything else.”
“The man’s got good instincts.” And because he couldn’t leave well enough alone, he said, “Something going on between you two?”
“Yes, I’m sleeping with you and him, too.” Bright jewels of golden-green fire seared him. “Why would you even ask that?”
Well, hell. He used to be better at keeping his stupid thoughts to himself.
“You have an affectionate rapport with him.” He shrugged. “Sorry. None of my business.”
Hurt dimmed the brightness of her eyes. Again, he’d said the wrong thing. Hell, he needed to get some rest before she kicked his ass out on the street. “I’m running on no sleep,” he added.
Looking like she wanted to say something but wouldn’t, she glanced at her watch. “It’s almost two. Let’s get some sleep and then hit it hard again tomorrow. If Noah does get some leads, we’ll head back to Tampa.”
Gathering the folders, he stacked them together and turned away, then turned back and picked them up again. One more review couldn’t hurt. Yeah, he knew them almost by heart, but in the mass of notes, police reports, and theories, there damn well had to be something they were missing.
Honor watched Seth as he preceded her up the stairs. The folders in his hand told her that sleep wasn’t exactly on his mind tonight, either. The man needed rest. His question about her and Aidan had infuriated and hurt her until she’d noticed his glazed, bloodshot eyes. He was running on adrenaline and nothing more. She knew how that was. You said and did stupid things.
So, after she’d followed him up the stairs, she stopped in front of his room and, blaming it on her own exhaustion, said softly, “Sleep with me tonight.”
Whirling around, he stared at her. “What?”
“If you go in there, you’ll stay up all night, reading those files. You need to get some rest.”
Sensuality and arousal erasing the exhaustion from his face, he advanced toward her. “So sleeping with me is really for my health?”
Okay, so that hadn’t been the best come-on line in the world. Hell, what was the use in pretending? Why not just lay it all out and if he couldn’t accept it, that would be the end of it. “Fine. I want you, but I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive you.”
Stopping inches from her, his mouth hovering so close that she felt his breath on her face, he asked quietly, “And if I told you I want you more than my next breath but sex is all I have left to give you … what would you say?”
The warning bells in her head went on shutdown. “That for now �
�� tonight, I don’t need any more than that.”
Seth settled his mouth against hers. Groaning, Honor wrapped her arms around him and let the world fall away. Regrets would come later—acknowledgment of her weakness, maybe even a promise never to let this happen again. But for right now, in Seth’s arms, she didn’t care about any of that.
His mouth lifted slightly. “Your bedroom or mine?”
“Mine,” she whispered. “Yours is directly over my mom’s.”
Surprising her, Seth lifted her into his arms and in five long strides was at her bedroom, carrying her over the threshold.
He dropped her feet to the floor and then closed the door behind them. The click of the lock was a signal to both of them. Here, inside this room, it was only them, only the present. Neither the past nor questions of the future existed. Only need consumed by desire would give them peace. Peace she’d only ever been able to find in this man’s arms.
Their hands and fingers worked with frantic speed, their clothes magically disappearing in a matter of seconds. Seth’s eyes roamed over her entire body, heating Honor everywhere his gaze touched.
Unable to wait, Honor wound her arms around his neck and pressed against him, groaning at his heat, loving the feel of his hard, naked body.
Holding her loosely, gently, Seth let his mouth travel from her cheek down her neck, to the hollow of her shoulder. “You know what I used to fantasize about?” His voice was the rough, sexy growl of a fully aroused male.
“What?” Honor asked softly.
“Remember the first time we danced?”
“Yes.” She smiled at the memory. “Seconds after we met.”
“I used to replay that moment in my mind, with some subtle differences.”
She pulled back to see his face. “And what were those differences?”
Glittering midnight-blue eyes roamed over her face. “We were completely alone. And totally nude.”
“Mmm. Maybe we could make that fantasy a reality.
Want to?”
Instead of answering her with words, he pushed her backward until her bare bottom met the bookshelf. She smiled, knowing he was reaching for the Bose radio on the second shelf.
His mouth tilted in a teasing grin, he said, “Got it set already?”
“Of course.” Seth knew she had a weakness for sappy old love ballads. When they were together, he used to tease her that she and his grandmother liked the same music.
She heard a click and then, as if she’d made a special request, Nat King Cole’s velvet voice began to sing “Unforgettable.” No song could have captured her thoughts better. Seth was unforgettable. No matter what happened in the future, she would never forget him.
Moving her away from the bookshelf, he led her to the middle of the room and began a slow, swaying dance. Melding herself to him, Honor lost herself in Seth’s fantasy. Her eyes fluttered closed as big, callused hands glided down her back to cup her bottom. Hard, hot, and throbbing, his erection pressed up against her stomach.
She rubbed her face against his chest and murmured, “I’d forgotten what a good dancer you are.”
“It helps to have the perfect partner.”
Her heart clenching at his words, she tightened her arms around his neck, loving the feel of the muscular, sexy male body moving against her. Endless moments passed as they glided around the small bedroom, allowing the music to take them away, to another place, another time.
As the last notes faded, Seth stopped. “Ready to move on to another fantasy?”
Aroused to the point of no return already, she asked, “And what would that one be?”
“The one where I kiss and lick you all over until you’re screaming for me to come inside you.”
Her breath hitched in response to those sexy words said in his slow, rough-edged voice. Whispering soft kisses over his chest, she murmured, “Sounds wonderful. And then let’s do my fantasy next.”
“Which one is that?”
“Where I let you lick and kiss me all over and then scream for you to come inside me.”
“Damn, that sounds even better than mine.” Lowering his head, he covered her mouth with his. Honor opened, inviting him inside. Tangling her hands in his hair, she gave herself up to the heat and incredible desire.
What tomorrow held, she didn’t know. All she could concentrate on now was that she’d ached for Seth for five years and if tonight was all she’d ever have of him, she was going to make memories that lasted as long as she lived.
Seth breathed in Honor’s scent, a blend of honey, spice, and sensual female arousal, a fragrance that grew sweeter with each passing moment. Holding her silken, slender body in his arms and gliding around the room was a fantasy come true. How many nights had he woken, so hard and aching that he could barely breathe from the want? This had been one of his most frequent dreams. He just hadn’t known that the reality would be so much better.
His hands moved down the satin-soft skin of her back and then lower, to cup her beautiful ass. Lifting his mouth from hers, he watched the play of desire on her face as one of his hands moved around to her silky stomach, then traveled down to brush lightly at the soft curls between her legs. Her eyes, usually a mix of gold and green, were now a dark, solid green, shimmering with heat. His fingers gently caressing her, Seth carefully watched her expression as arousal took control. He loved the flush of her cheeks, the way her beautiful mouth opened slightly with her increased breaths. When he pressed his fingers into the moist folds, her breath hitched, and then she gave a low, sexy feminine moan of approval.
Throbbing with need and close to explosion, Seth refused to give in so soon. Dropping his hands, he stepped back.
“What are you doing?”
He went to his knees before her, pressed a soft kiss to her belly, and swirled his tongue around her navel. “Enjoying myself,” he murmured. “Got a problem with that?”
Laughing softly, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “Absolutely not.”
While another old love ballad soared around them, Seth lowered his head. Spreading the soft folds of Honor’s sex with his thumbs, he used his tongue to spear deep and then dance inside her. The gasps and soft pleas from the woman above him blended beautifully with the music as he played and flirted, teasing her arousal to the next level.
Needing more, Seth lifted her leg and propped her knee on his shoulder. Growling “Hold on,” he delved deeper. Thrusting and retreating, he licked at her, loving her taste, the quivering, throbbing response in the slick knot of nerves at the top of her sex. His tongue gliding and dancing, he led her to the brink and kept her suspended and on edge, her gasps and groans sweeter than any music he’d ever heard. Then, unable to wait any longer, he suckled hard, pushing her over. Soft, hitching sounds came from her throat as she tugged on his hair, then reaching her peak, she let out a soft, keening cry.
Seth couldn’t wait any longer. Surging to his feet, he scooped her into his arms and carried her the few steps to the bed. Dropping her gently onto the mattress, he followed her down, and with one powerful stroke buried himself deep.
Surrendering his mind to the soft, warm, giving body beneath him, Seth knew there was nothing left for him to lose. He’d lost his heart long ago to this brave, beautiful woman.
Little did Honor know that she’d always had him. And no matter what happened in the future, she always would.
twenty
Tranquillity
“And this is where the community comes together for our weekly meetings.”
“What kind of meetings?” Anna asked.
“We meet once a week, sometimes twice, if it’s deemed necessary, to hear Brother Alden speak on a variety of subjects.”
Lucy’s deliberately vague answers were wearing thin, but since she was the only one Anna was allowed to speak to, she had little choice. For someone who didn’t seem to have a thought in her head other than what her husband or the mysterious leader known as Brother Alden had put there, Lucy was surprisingly deft
at steering away from topics she didn’t want to discuss.
This morning Anna had been untied, allowed a delicious if too brief shower, and given some clothing. Wearing an ankle-length, white corduroy dress and soft leather flats similar to Lucy’s, she had stepped outside, where she’d been introduced to the “community” she was to become a member of … “when the time was right.”
Since she was just as determined that the time would never be right to be part of this oh-so-freaky community, she wanted to learn as much as she could. The more she knew, the better her chances of a successful escape.
The moment she’d walked out into the bright sunlight, she had been stunned by her surroundings. This was a thriving, busy community. At least a dozen large buildings lined a wide paved street. Another street held about twenty or so smaller structures that were apparently houses for the older members of the community. Still other members lived in a communal house about the size of a small hospital.
“Here’s our garden,” Lucy said. “In the spring, once the coldest nights have passed, we work in shifts to get everything planted.”
At least three acres of land, if not more, spread out before them. “Who works the garden?”
As if reciting a mantra, she said, “Every able-bodied person old enough to hold a tool in his or her hand is to assist.”
“How many people live here?”
Lucy shrugged and turned away. “As many as there needs to be.”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Anna followed her once more and then paused when Lucy stopped in front of one of the smaller houses. “This is where I’m allowed to live with my Ben.”
“Allowed?”
Lucy turned toward her, hurt gleaming in her eyes. Okay, so she shouldn’t have put so much sarcasm into that word. But, dammit, did the woman have an independent thought in her head? Why would she want to be with a man who was not only twice her age but treated her like a puppet?
Sweet Justice Page 19