Jenna came to awareness with Riley still inside of her, both of them lying on their sides. Her feet were tangled up in his pants. She tried to move to untangle them, but Riley groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. His cock jerked inside her.
“Be still. I think I died. I need a few minutes to recover,” he groused.
“Did you hurt your chest? What about the stitches?” Jenna tried to twist around to see, but he held her too tightly.
“If you keep moving like that, you’re going to do some more damage.”
Instantly, Jenna went still. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll get us both up in a few seconds. I need to relearn how to breathe again first.”
She giggled. Clearly he had come as hard as she had. She was content to lie in his arms for the time being.
A few seconds later, Riley gently pulled out of her. That was when they both realized he hadn’t used a condom.
“Ah hell,” he said. “I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have gotten so carried away.”
“It’s okay. I’m on birth control.” Secretly, she hummed to herself.
Maybe she would get pregnant and have his baby. He would eventually leave, but she would have a child to remember him by. Then she chastised herself for wishing something like that. He was an honorable man and wouldn’t leave her alone with a child of his to care for. No, she didn’t want him like that. She wanted him to want to be with her just because it was her.
“Lie still while I get a bath cloth.”
Riley eased out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She heard the water run, and a few minutes later, he returned with a warm, wet cloth. He cleansed her despite her protesting she could do it.
“No, I’ve got you.” He finished up and returned to the bathroom.
“It’s been a long night. We both need some rest.” Riley said and climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over them before pulling her back against him.
He kissed her shoulder then her head. Jenna felt cherished, loved even. If only it were true, and he did love her. Even after Riley had clearly gone to sleep, judging by his light snore, she couldn’t rest. Too much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Her mind needed to process it all before it would let her rest. She lay thinking and contemplating for several hours before she finally wound down enough to fall asleep. Then the last thought on her mind was how long Riley would stay.
* * * *
Jenna woke the next morning to a mouth on her breast. She grinned before even opening her eyes. Teeth nipped at her nipple, and she yelped before collapsing in a fit of giggles. She felt so much lighter than she had in a very long time. The only thing that would make it perfect was if Riley would stay forever.
He pinched at her other nipple before he licked over it, soothing the tiny hurt. She shivered as pleasure suffused her insides. His mouth moved up from her breasts to her neck where he licked and sucked until she thought she would die of need. His fingers traced paths down her abdomen to just above her pussy. His hand massaged her mound, drawing her attention there without actually touching her.
“Please,” she begged.
“Please what?”
“I need you…”
He chuckled and slowly dipped one finger through her folds to circle her clit before pulling back again. She whimpered, begging with her body as she bowed up toward him. The heat of his body seeped into hers as his chest rubbed against her back. He turned her further and lifted her leg up and over his. Now she was spread open for his pleasure. Jenna loved the feeling.
“I need you inside of me,” she finally managed to get out.
Riley’s long, hard cock pressed against the crack of her buttocks as he rocked against her. He slipped a finger inside her wet pussy and pumped until she was meeting his thrusts with her own. Then he added a second finger and circled her clit with his thumb. She nearly came undone from the onslaught of feelings his fingers aroused. All the while, his mouth licked and nipped at her neck and shoulder.
“I’m going to fuck this pretty pussy long and deep.”
“Yes,” she managed to say in a breathy whisper.
He spread her wider with his leg and positioned his cock at her entrance before plunging forward to the hilt. She moaned, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pleasure. He filled her full and then some. His hard length pierced her core, leaving a hot trail of fiery need in its wake. The need grew until she was trying to ride him sideways. He laughed and nipped at her ear.
“Hold on, baby. Just feel. Feel how I fill you up, how hard I am for you. Do you know how much I want to bury myself so deep inside of you that you will always feel me there?” His strangled words belied how difficult it was for him to be still inside of her.
Then he rode her as she was meant to be ridden, long, hard, deep. He lifted her off the bed with each thrust. She stretched for the climax just out of reach. She willed it to hurry. An ache began deep within her womb and spread throughout her body. Release seemed only a heartbeat away, only to remain inaccessible despite her fervent pleas.
“That’s it, Jenna. Burn for me.” Riley thrust and retreated, thrust and retreated, then pulled out.
Jenna cried out, begging for him to finish her.
“Please, I need to come. Oh, God.”
“Easy, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
Riley rolled her to her back and pulled both her legs up over his shoulders. He lined his dick up with her entrance and surged forward once again. This time, he bumped the back of her cervix, and she came unglued. The climax washed over her in a flood of sensations. Her body flew apart and then remade itself as he tunneled in and out of her over and over again. His hoarse shout barely registered with her as she throbbed in time with her heartbeat.
Finally, she could breathe again and listened for Riley’s stuttering breathing. His took a little longer to settle, and she smiled. Having him lying on top of her thrilled her. The weight of him made it all the more real. He was there, with her, not out on his bike or on the road, but there with her. But for how long? The sobering thought had her tearing up.
“Hey, why the tears? Did I hurt you?” Riley brushed one away.
He looked down at her as he rested on his elbows above her. The black pool of his eyes seemed brighter than normal. Probably a trick of the light, she decided.
“No,” she reassured him. “You didn’t hurt me.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“Because it felt so good.” Jenna knew Riley didn’t believe that was all there was to it, but he didn’t push it.
“Are you ready for breakfast?” he asked.
“Hmm, thought we already had breakfast,” she murmured as she ran her hand up and down his arm.
“If I’m going to keep up with you, I’m going to need more to sustain me.” He laughed before rolling out of bed.
“Oh, God.”
“What is it, baby?”
“We’re at Logan’s house!” The idea that she’d screamed her climax not once but twice at their house had her mortified to go downstairs.
“So?”
“So, I can’t go down there now. I’m too embarrassed.”
“You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her from the bed.
She leaned into him and hid her face against his chest. She couldn’t stay up here forever, she would have to go downstairs, but surly later would be better. Then she winced as the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock by the bed and noticed it was nearly four in the afternoon. They’d slept the day away.
“You better get dressed. I have a feeling that’s company we won’t be able to get out of,” Riley said with a grim face.
Jenna ran to the bathroom to clean up. Riley followed her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She looked up at him through the mirror. Their eyes met there. For one small instant, she thought she saw more than just caring in his eyes, but it was gone before she could
capture the look. He swatted her on the ass and left her to finish dressing. She heard the bedroom door open then shut, leaving her in the bathroom all alone. She washed her face and dressed in the borrowed clothes once again. Since she didn’t have a bra to wear, she felt self-conscious. Tina’s bras would all be too large for her. She wasn’t flat-chested, but she could get away without a bra in some outfits. The present one wasn’t one of them. With a sigh, she combed her hair and drew in a deep breath. She had no choice except to go down stairs and see what was going on.
* * * *
“He made it through surgery, but the next twenty-four hours will be crucial to see if he will live or not. The odds are against him, but he’s in good hands at the hospital with some of the best doctors on staff there,” Detective Brunson said.
“And this concerns us how?” Riley asked as he walked into the room.
“I figured you would want to know that he will be up on charges for murder, attempted murder, and assault,” Brunson said.
“If he pulls through,” Logan reminded him.
“I get the feeling none of you care if he does or not,” the detective noted.
“You didn’t see what Jenna looked like when he attacked her.” Riley growled.
“The doctors tell me that where the knife was, all someone would have had to do is twist it just a little to the left and he would have been beyond help,” Brunson stated.
“He’s a lucky SOB,” Riley said.
“So, why is he so lucky?”
Riley looked the detective in the eyes. “She means more to me than anything. There is no way I’ll risk losing her.”
Brunson looked over Riley’s shoulder. Riley turned, and there stood Jenna. The jeans were big on her and two inches too short for her. A black blouse didn’t hide the fact that she didn’t have a bra on. He wanted to cover her up but knew that was ridiculous. She was covered. Instead, he held his hand out, and she came to him. He enfolded her in his arms and drew her scent deep into his lungs.
“Ma’am. I hope you are feeling better,” the detective said.
“I am, thanks. I guess Gregg is still alive.”
“He’s hanging on by a thread. He may or may not pull through.”
“Forgive me if I don’t care. He deserves whatever he gets,” she said.
Riley squeezed her against him and kissed the top of her head.
“I needed to ask you a couple more questions if you don’t mind.” The detective pulled out his little notepad and waited pen poised above the paper.
“Sure.” Jenna pulled out of Riley’s arms and walked over to the living room and sat on the couch.
Riley followed and stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. He wasn’t sure why, but something about the detective’s look worried him. Both Logan and Morgan followed behind the detective. Riley wasn’t sure where Tina was at the moment. He worried that Jenna would need her.
“Did you know your husband had a life insurance policy?” The detective asked.
“Ex-husband,” she said. “And no. I didn’t know that.”
“He took out a one million dollar policy when you were married. About,” he looked at his notepad, “two years ago.”
“So what does that have to do with me?” Jenna asked.
Riley squeezed her shoulders. He didn’t like the direction this was going. Not one bit.
“You’re the beneficiary at his death,” Detective Brunson said, watching her closely.
Jenna’s head jerked up. “Me? Why? He didn’t care what happened to me.”
“Are you saying you didn’t know about the life insurance policy?”
“No, I didn’t know about it,” Jenna said.
“Your signature is on the policy. Are you sure you didn’t know about it?”
“I swear. I never knew about it. I signed so many forms when we were getting the divorce I might have signed one for that. I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t in the best shape when I filled out all the paperwork.”
Jenna was shaking now. Riley reached down and clasped her hands in his, pulling them back up to her shoulders where he held onto them. This wasn’t good. Someone had been digging to find a reason to cause trouble. His money was on the policeman, Hudson. Why did the little bastard have a hard-on for him?
“You see this puts things in a different light now, don’t you?” Detective Brunson said.
“No, I don’t really. I don’t want the money. The insurance company can keep it.”
“It’s not that simple. By law, they have to pay it out unless they can prove it was murder.”
There, it was out in the open now, Riley thought. Ah, hell. No matter what happened, she would be considered accessory at the very least and murder by contract at the worst. Thank God he hadn’t actually done it. This hanging over her head because of him would have been more than he could take. He was no good for her. He had known that from the beginning and kept trying to figure out a way to make it work.
If they found out his background in the army, they could make a case of it. Fuck! Riley’s gaze found Logan, and the other man jerked his head toward the kitchen. Then he disappeared. He knew what Riley was thinking about. Morgan took Logan’s place beside the couch.
“Are you saying they are going to try to prove I killed Gregg?” Jenna’s voice had risen and sounded close to breaking.
Riley focused on soothing her. He ran a hand down her arms. She had chill bumps there.
“I’m just warning you about what to expect should your ex not make it. Insurance companies are notorious for looking for ways out of paying off on claims.”
“How did all of this come up anyway?” Riley asked.
“Someone contacted the insurance company about Gregg Weatherby’s situation, and they, in turn, contacted us,” he said.
“Someone, hmm. My money is on that asshole, Hudson,” Morgan said.
“Was there anything else you needed to talk about?” Riley asked.
“More like is there anything you think I might need to know about?” the detective asked.
“You have all the information about me already. Unless you want to go into my duties while I was in the army, that is,” Riley said.
“Did it include murder?”
Chapter Thirteen
Jenna swallowed hard around the lump that had developed in her throat. Tina hugged her tight and drew her back into the kitchen from the living room where the men had gathered. Tyler was back from the hospital now, and though he claimed he was fine, she knew he had to have a headache. There was a fine line of tension evident in the furrow above his brow. It was her fault, all of it. They were going to end up accusing Riley of murder.
“You’re thinking too hard again,” Tina admonished.
“I can’t help it. It’s all my fault.”
“No it’s not. You aren’t to blame for any of it. Gregg is the one to blame. He’s caused all of this, first by beating you and second by setting you up to have to go through hell when he did die.”
“Why didn’t he change the beneficiary after we divorced?” Jenna asked.
“Because he planned for you to have to jump through hoops because of the insurance,” Tina said.
“They’re going to say I asked Riley to do it. I just know they are.”
“The guys will figure something out.”
She couldn’t hear what was going on in the other room. That fact alone ramped up her unease concerning the entire situation. What could they possibly come up with to keep Riley from going to prison for murder? She knew if Gregg died, Riley hadn’t done it on purpose.
Sure, she knew he was capable of killing. If he hadn’t told her that he hadn’t killed Gregg when he had the opportunity, she might have believed he’d done it to save her. It wouldn’t have changed how she felt about him, either. Still, he said he didn’t kill Gregg. She believed him. Now she had to figure out how to make sure everyone else believed him, too. Somehow, she got the impression that wasn’t going to be easy. He had secrets, and those sec
rets were what had everyone on edge.
“Jenna? Are you listening to me?” Tina asked.
“Sorry. I was thinking.”
“Let’s cook dinner so when they finish talking over whatever they are talking about, we can all eat. I don’t think any of us have had a decent meal in a few days now. Have you even eaten in the last twenty-four hours?”
“Um, I’m not sure. I don’t really want anything,” Jenna said, then asked, “How well do you really know Logan?”
“Well enough, why?”
“Do you know what he did in the army?”
“No, it’s never come up. I know he writes mission manuals for the army now.” Tina sat down at the table. “Why?”
“He and Riley are really close. I just thought that maybe you knew more about what they did. I’m worried that something about his past is going to put him in trouble.”
“You mean you think when he was in the army, something he did there might make him more of a target now,” Tina said.
“Right.”
“All we can do is let them handle it. You have got to stop worrying so much and let someone else help you.”
“Says the stubborn woman who nearly got killed by a stalker because she wouldn’t ask for help.”
* * * *
“Unless he dies, you’re covered,” Morgan said.
“They can’t demand any information from Uncle Sam about your status in the army without a damn good reason. Murder might be a good reason, but right now, they don’t have anything to push with,” Logan agreed.
“If the bastard dies, then you might need to think about what they can find out. I’m taking it that you were into some covert ops,” Tyler said.
“Yeah, you could assume that,” Riley allowed. “I can’t talk about any of it.”
“If they bring it up, you can only deny.” Logan flipped through an address book. “Here it is, Dodge Greer.”
In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 16