Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians Book 3)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  “Aiden,” she whispered.

  “Olivia.” He called her by her full name, not her shortened name, not Keeper. No … he used her full name, and hells bells if that didn’t make her hotter than coals in a bonfire. He inched a bit closer, effectively pushing her up against the wall of the pool.

  “What …” She couldn’t even find the words to ask what he was doing as he reached upward and gripped the edge, bracing himself and caging her within his space.

  “I look at you because you are nice to look at. More than nice, actually. I know you look at me too. I have been trained to read people, Olivia. I know what you’re saying when you aren’t speaking and I know what you are thinking merely by looking into your eyes.”

  “Yeah right.” She jutted her chin out defiantly.

  “You keep telling yourself you hate me. I know you have reasons to, but you also want me.”

  “You are so full of yourself.” She spat at him. “I do not!” She felt like a teenager as the childish words spewed from her lips.

  “Really?” He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. Then, before she knew what was happening, he closed the gap between them and their bodies were flush against each other and his lips were crushing down against hers.

  Sizzling heat erupted between them upon contact. Liv felt the electricity travel through the sensitive skin on her lips and then over her arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body suddenly had a mind of its own and took over all action. She, the Liv in her mind, was no longer in control.

  He deepened the kiss and pushed his body harder against hers. She released a moan beneath his lips and wound her legs around his waist, feeling his hardness pressing into her core was almost sending her over the edge already.

  Suddenly, a foreign light flashed over them and they heard a “whoop” of a police siren. “Oh shit,” Liv breathed out, forcing Aiden’s face away from hers.

  “What in God’s name do you think you are doing out here?” Sheriff Davis’s voice echoed over the speaker from his car.

  “Shit. Shit. Shit.” She placed her hands on Aiden’s chest and forced him away from her.

  “Get out of the pool!” Sheriff Davis ordered. “Now!”

  Aiden, with a smug, yet sad expression, gripped her around the waist and lifted her so that her butt was on the edge of the cement. She got to her feet as quickly as she could while Aiden climbed out of the water behind her.

  Standing, she scanned the area and found Sheriff Davis slamming the door of his car and heading up to the locked pool gate. “We’re leaving,” she called out, trying to ignore that the good Sheriff could see her standing there in only her tiny bra and panties. Aiden rose up beside her and she didn’t dare bring herself to look at him.

  The Sheriff approached the gate and squinted his eyes. “Liv!” He finally recognized her. “Dammit, Estmond, I thought I was through with throwing you and the rest of your family out of here years ago.”

  “I’m so sorry, Sheriff Davis.” Suddenly, she was seventeen again and she couldn’t think of one thing to say that was going to make this situation any better. Thank god Aiden was keeping his smart mouth shut.

  He clicked his radio and said something into it that she couldn’t hear. Then he directed his attention back to them. “I don’t even want to know what was going on in that pool.” He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. “Get the hell out of here.”

  “Yes sir.” Relief flooded though her. “Right away.”

  “And don’t do this again or I’m going to arrest you for trespassing.”

  “Yes sir,” she repeated then whispered to Aiden. “Let’s go.” She bolted to the left, heading for the fence. She could hear the Sheriff grumbling about how he thought he had problems with teenagers and then this shit.

  Liv jumped at the fence, clinging to the chain link and wedging her toes into the holes.

  “Seriously,” Aiden muttered. “We have to jump the fence?”

  “Shut up,” she hissed at him.

  “What? This isn’t my fault. This whole thing was your idea.”

  Liv let it go, knowing it was her fault, and swung her leg over the top of the fence. She dropped down onto the grass on the other side and hurried around the back to where they had left their clothes.

  Aiden kept pace with her and, thankfully, he stopped talking. She couldn’t deal with that right now. Her heart was racing and she’d been afraid she was going to get arrested. So crazy. She fought Reapers and faced danger all the time, yet she was afraid of getting busted for trespassing.

  She didn’t let herself relax until she yanked open the driver seat of her van and hopped in without even putting her clothes on. “Get in,” she yelled at Aiden, who had paused to put his pants on.

  “I’m coming, sheesh.” Aiden opened the passenger door and crawled up into the seat. Liv started the van before he even got the door closed.

  Once they were moving along the hauntingly empty streets of Summer Hollow again, she released the longest breath ever. “Oh my god. I cannot believe that happened.”

  Aiden didn’t say anything right away, so she looked away from the road and glanced at him. He met her gaze and their eyes locked, then he burst out laughing.

  “What? None of this is funny.”

  “Oh, yes it is! I see now why this was fun for you. The thrill of breaking and entering. The chance you might get caught. I get it.”

  She turned back to the road. “For crying out loud, Aiden. The Sheriff just saw me naked!” He laughed harder and even stomped his foot gently into the floor as he clutched his stomach. He was still going at it when her cellphone rang.

  “Who in the hell is calling me this late?” she wondered, trying to look at her phone sitting in the console. Aiden, still chuckling, bent over and checked it for her. “It’s your brother.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Which one?”

  “Dan.”

  “Answer it, please.”

  Aiden picked up the phone and slid the screen to answer the call. “Liv Estmond’s phone, she isn’t available right now, she’s busy going do …”

  Liv heard shouting from the phone and held her hand out. “Give it to me.”

  Aiden handed her the phone and Dan’s voice came though. “What in the hell are you doing in the town pool, naked, with that Reaper?”

  Good lord, how had he found out? This had to be the most embarrassing thing ever. “First off, I wasn’t naked. Second, I was just showing Aiden the roof jump and Sheriff Davis showed up.”

  “I have a scanner, Liv. The call said there was a redheaded woman and a blond man making out or having sex in the pool. I only know two people by that description who could possibly be doing that this late at night during the week.”

  “There are tons of redheads and blonds who could be doing that.” Her voice was weak as she attempted to deny what had been going on.

  “I’m going to kill that Reaper,” Dan growled.

  Liv sighed. Not this again. “No, you’re not. Nothing happened.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  “Dan, I can handle it. Stay out of my business.”

  “You forget, sister of mine. Your business is my business.”

  Sometimes having brothers was the dumbest thing ever. “Keep out of it, Dan.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and clicked end call, then tossed the phone back in the console.

  Great, the whole town probably knew what happened now.

  “Awww, you stuck up for me,” Aiden purred from beside her.

  “That is not what I did.” She pressed the pedal down hard, wanting to get home as fast as she possibly could.

  He clutched the overhead handle in the van as Liv tore into her driveway. She skidded to a halt, threw the vehicle into park, grabbed her clothes and headed for the house without saying a word.

  He watched Liv march stubbornly into the house before sliding out of the passenger seat. This Keeper was so full of fire. One minute she was a smoldering ember, and the next, she wa
s flames in full force.

  He liked it.

  And that was not good. The last thing he needed was to hurt one of these Keepers. He wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, but he was definitely the one-night stand kind. What happened in the pool was so far out of line. The Estmond women were off limits if he was going to get the help he needed to get the hell out of dodge. He should never have gone near her and he had fucking kissed her. Who knows how far it would have gone if the sheriff hadn’t showed up when he did.

  Yeah, he needed to stay as far away as possible.

  Which was kind of hard when they were currently residing under the same roof.

  Following her into the house, he softly shut the door behind him. He threw the bolt, a slight click indicating that it had secured. He didn’t see Liv anywhere, so he moved around the house, checking the windows and any other doors that might have been left open.

  No matter what the Empress said, he could not let his guard down. That bitch was going to keep coming after them until either the Keepers were dead … or she was.

  He slid open the back door and found Liv in the hot tub, bubbles churning up around her shoulders and her head leaning back onto the edge, staring up at the nights sky. She didn’t look his way as his boots moved softly across the deck.

  “You can get in if you want.”

  Her words stopped him in his tracks. Holy crap, what was she trying to do to him. After the pool, he knew that he could touch her in the water and here she was, inviting him into a goddamn hot tub with her. Furthermore, he just got done making a pact with himself to stay away from her.

  But … the thought of a dip in the hot tub did sound nice. He could always just stay on the other side, away from her … away from temptation.

  “I didn’t bring a suit,” he told her, immediately regretting the words. He’d never worried about how he came across to women and here he was, feeling like every word out of his mouth was inadequate.

  She opened her eyes and turned her head just the slightest bit toward him. “Seriously. Just strip down like you did for the pool.”

  “I should probably just go to bed. We have an early morning.” Yeah, it would be better if he didn’t get in.

  She laughed and closed her eyes again. “I don’t think you really want to go to bed. I can sense that inner struggle, Reaper.”

  “I don’t have an inner struggle.”

  “After what happened in the pool you’re afraid to get near me.”

  And she pegged it. Of course she knew. He had kissed her in the pool and told her all kinds of dumb shit he should have never said. He didn’t answer her and an awkward silent moment passed before she spoke again. “Just get in.”

  Fuck it. If she wanted him to get in, he’d get in. He bent over and began untying his boots. Never before, in all his history with women, had he ever felt the need to stay away from one he wanted. If they clearly wanted him, he was all in. It was different with Liv, though. For one, the whole Keeper thing, and for two, he actually liked her … like, as a person, and that was something he rarely experienced.

  By the time he had finished talking himself into getting in, he was stripped down to his boxers for the second time in one night. He rounded the whirlpool to the side, completely opposite of where she sat and stepped down into the warm, soothing water.

  Liv lifted her head to meet his gaze. Her brown eyes were dark and almost glittered with intensity. Her red hair was piled up on top of her head with several wisps falling down around her face. Their eyes locked and her plump pink lips tugged up into a gentle smile. “See, it’s nice.”

  “Yeah, it is. It’s cool you have this out here.”

  She skimmed her fingers across the surface of the water. “I am on my feet all day at work, it is a hot, sweaty and tedious business. I wanted a way to relax at home so that I’m not full of knots every day.”

  He nodded. “That’s a good reason.”

  “What’s wrong?” She tilted her head curiously.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Usually, when you speak, something smartass comes out. That hasn’t happened since we got here.”

  Fine. She asked, so he would tell her. “Seriously? Liv, this isn’t a good idea for me to be in here with you. I don’t know why you would want me in here with you after what happened earlier. So yeah, I’m not being a smartass because it feels like a lot of lines are being crossed.”

  She sat up straight, her eyes widening a little bit. “Has it occurred to you that I might have invited you in here specifically because of what happened at the pool?”

  “Um …” Again, he was at a loss for words. Luckily, she kept going as if she hadn’t really expected him to answer. “You were right, about everything you said.”

  “I said a lot of things.”

  “I’m talking about the part where you said that you know I look at you … that you know I want you.”

  He had to stop this. Right now. “Liv, that … it …”

  “Don’t say it was a mistake.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t. You and I both know that the burn has been the biggest thing keeping the attraction at bay.”

  Aiden felt as if the tables had turned on him. He’d never had this sort of discussion with a woman, nevertheless trying to tell one that having sex was not a good idea. Shit, sex was always a good idea. “Look, I’m not the kind of guy who does relationships. This,” he pointed to himself and then to her, “This would just be sex … that’s it.”

  She moved off the bench, inching toward him. “Well, Reaper, I don’t do relationships either, so that works out perfect.” She stood, rising out of the water directly in front of him, droplets of water slipping over her smooth, pale skin. She still wore the silky pink bra and panties that she’d had on at the pool, the fabric covering all the parts that he desperately wanted to see.

  He was instantly hard. The sight of her, the sound of her voice, everything about her was a fucking turn on.

  She took a small step toward him and paused. A slight nervousness flashed in her eyes as she held his gaze. It didn’t last long, though. The determination returned and then, without a word, she reached behind her and unclasped her bra. It hung lose for half a moment until she slipped the straps down over her shoulders, exposing her breasts to him.

  He finally broke eye contact with her and let his eyes ravage her body, inspecting every inch of what she was offering him.

  The night air caused goose pimples to rise up on her skin that had previously been so smooth and soft. He watched as her nipples hardened against the slight breeze and it was all he could do not to jump up and take her right there. Silently, she ran a fingertip beneath the elastic of her panties, trailing from hip to hip before slowly pulling the fabric downward.

  His breath caught in his throat as she bent, dipping briefly into the water and stepping out of the last article of clothing that remained on her body. When she stood, she was fully naked and exposed.

  She tossed the panties off to the side and, finally, he saw a bit of hesitation in her eyes. Not the regretful kind, but the fear of rejection kind. Immediately, he scooted forward, reaching for her. He had to do away with that expression. A deep, internal instinct screamed that he never wanted to see that look on her face again.

  Remembering he still had his boxers on, he practically ripped them off and then went back to Liv, his hands slipped over her thighs and he tilted his head upward so he could see her face. “Last chance to end this before it starts,” he told her.

  Her voice came out in a throaty whisper. “There is only one way this ends.”

  That was it. He yanked her forward, spreading her legs as he moved backward onto the bench again, pulling her into his lap so that she was straddling him. Her arms were around him, the skin that remained outside of the water, sizzling as the burn coursed over their bodies.

  Her lips crashed down onto his and he took her mouth. One of his hands was behind her neck and the other around her waist. She pressed closer against his chest
, her breasts pushing up against his bare skin.

  God dammit, he wanted her. He wanted to slam himself inside of her and take. She was different. No other woman had ever made him feel like giving as much as taking.

  He broke the kiss and she pulled back just a tiny bit, panting breathlessly and staring down at him, but not speaking.

  He moved her backward on his lap just enough so that he could see her breasts and then he brought one hand up, grazing his thumb over one of her nipples. She moaned, tipping her head backward. He felt traces of the burn as the electric energy burst between the both of them when their skin made contact. He didn’t care. It only seemed to add to the pleasure, and he hoped it was the same for her. His tongue found her nipples and he circled one slowly … and then the other. Her body involuntarily pressed into him, and he teasingly nipped with his teeth.

  A moan escaped her and her hips bucked upward. He tilted her head toward him with one hand, bringing her back to him and went back to kissing, then his other hand, beneath the water, grazed over her thigh, finding her core and pressed upward into her with two fingers.

  She cried out and tried to force her body downward onto him, the water gave her buoyancy, so gravity was not present to help her at all. Her hand plunged down into the water, searching and groping until she found his cock.

  It didn’t take long because he was so hard and ready. He was surprised he hadn’t come already just from touching her. He pressed his fingers gently in and out, feeling her tighten against him and wishing that was his cock inside her instead.

  Her hand was working in much the same way, gripping him and slipping up and down over the length. She leaned in, wet her lips with her tongue and trailed it down from his ear to his shoulder, leaving a sizzling line that dissipated quickly.

  “I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”

  He withdrew his fingers from her and gripped her waist with both hands. She let go of him and let both her arms encircle his neck. Just as their lips met for another explosive kiss, he pulled her downward onto him.

  His cock pushed into her silky, hot core with one fluid motion. She cried out, a cross between a moan and a scream, all muffled beneath his lips. The sound only made him want to make her cry out more. He gripped her waist and forced her body up and down over him. She ground her hips in a circular motion at the same time and the effect was fantastic.