His tongue stroked the hollow of her collar bone. One hand pressed inside her, the palm putting pressure on her clit with every inward stroke, he kept a languorous rhythm that made her whole-body shake. His mouth moved lower, seeking out her nipple and sucking hard when he found it. Her knees trembled.
She sank her fingers into his hair. “Please tell me you have a condom.”
He stepped back, drew in a deep breath and leaned down to scoop up his pants and pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed it to her and went back to teasing her body, searching out all the places that made her quiver and ache. She found a square package next to the dollar bills and let the wallet drop from her fingers.
She sheathed him carefully, caressing his hot length as she protected them both.
He grabbed her wrists. His jaw was tense, eyes narrow as they met hers. They both knew they shouldn’t be doing this. It was bad for his career. Dangerous to her heart. But no one would ever have to know. She could be his dirty, little secret.
She wanted him so badly, her body was throbbing with need. She had the horrible feeling she’d beg if he changed his mind this time.
Instead of backing away, he lifted her up until both her legs wrapped around his waist and he positioned himself against her entrance. Then he held both her hands against the door and stared deep into her eyes as he pushed slowly inside. Her head went back as she cried out and her back arched.
She went blind as pleasure rushed through her.
He dropped her hands and grabbed her ass. She gripped his shoulders as he eased farther inside. Sweat beaded on his brow and ran down his temple. She tasted it on her tongue.
With one last push, he was imbedded and Tess sucked in air as she got used to the sensation. He was big and she had never had sex against a wall before.
He seemed to realize she needed a moment, or maybe he did, too. It took a few seconds to get used to being so full and her muscles rippled around him. Not that she was complaining. Her body quivered at the wonderful feeling. Sex had always been plain vanilla. Horizontal and quick. After a few seconds, she deliberately clenched her muscles around him again and he growled his approval. He started moving then, pumping in and out of her in long, deep strokes.
Dear Lord. It felt like Heaven. She whimpered at the pleasure that was flooding her senses. Every muscle in her body was trembling with need to race to that sharp edge of completion, but she wanted it to last, too. She wanted to go slow. And fast. And everywhere in-between. Mac changed his stance and she felt him inside her, touching a place that made her insane with want.
“Oh, God.” Her nails raked his shoulders as her body clenched around him. She wanted to be the girl from her fantasies, the one who asked for and got what she wanted. “More.”
“Is this what you wanted?” He drove into her over and over, holding onto her and thrusting deep at the same time.
“Yes.” She gasped. “This is what I want. You inside me. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
His full body shiver told her he liked what she was saying, and he delivered more in spades. She bit her lip, ankles crossed behind his back, thighs desperately clinging to his hips. Her climax took her by surprise. It burst through her like an explosion of light. She cried out, sobbing, pleasure bursting through her as something inside her shattered.
He stilled against her and her fingers dug into the muscles on his back but she no longer had the strength to hold herself up.
She didn’t want it to be over. She didn’t want him to go.
Disguising the fact that emotions were about to get the better of her, she went with humor. “I hereby declare you a sex god.”
He laughed and it rumbled through his chest all the way inside her.
“We’re not finished yet,” he murmured.
She shivered despite the heat coming off his body. He was like a furnace and she wanted him naked beneath her, behind her, on top of her. She wanted to do everything she’d ever read about with this man. To explore and exploit. Tease and torment. Feel nothing but pleasure. He wouldn’t leave her dissatisfied. He’d laugh and give her whatever she wanted. For tonight anyway.
She started to slip and he grabbed her by the ass, walking them into the kitchen.
* * *
The cops and FBI agents had all left with the exception of one. What was he still doing here? How many questions could he have? What could ignorant little Tess Fallon be telling the guy that took so freaking long?
Poor little Tess had disturbed an intruder. Eddie? She frowned. She wished she knew where he was and why he’d escaped. Was he hoping to steal the glory for himself? After all her years of sacrifice? But then, despite what her father had thought of him, Eddie Hines had always been a bit of an asshole. He’d probably hid in a cupboard while David had fought for his life. David had been planning to get rid of Francis, but had to do it cautiously as the land was in her name.
The bitch had bound him to her with dirt.
She took a chance and sneaked around the back of Tess Fallon’s property, avoiding the house with the noisy dog, staying far enough in the shadows not to be seen. There was a light on somewhere in the Fallon house and it filtered through enough for her to find her target with her binoculars. The lenses steamed up.
Her brows rose in time with her smile.
My, my, my, ASAC McKenzie, what big…hands…you have. And he obviously knew what to do with them if the rapturous look on Tess Fallon’s face was anything to go by.
This was so perfect it was almost too good to be true. She mulled over the timing as she watched the two animals rut. Let them enjoy the moment. She smiled. Reality was about to crash down all too soon.
Half a block away she pulled out a new burner and dialed another number she’d memorized. “It’s time. You have to do it right now. Right this minute.”
She heard him swallow and his uncertainty crackled down the line.
“Okay…”
She frowned. They couldn’t afford a mistake. “Can you carry this out, or should I do it?” She wasn’t sure she had time, but she’d make time. It was vital to their operation. Getting rid of McKenzie would take the heat off them long enough to get the job done. After that she didn’t care what happened.
“I can do it,” he said.
She stared up at the stars and thought of her father. What would he have said?
“I know you can. I have faith in you.” That was the closest she’d ever come to saying “I love you.” She thought about McKenzie and Tess feasting on one another. “You have an hour, maybe two but…” she told him what to do when he got there, then hesitated. What did you say in situations like this? “Don’t get caught.”
He laughed but there was a bitterness in his tone she hadn’t heard before.
“Nothing gets in the way of the mission. Roger that.” He’d heard about the old man and was pissed she hadn’t called him to commiserate. Embers of anger burned inside her. Sentimentality was for fools and they’d grieve when this was over.
Tess Fallon and Steve McKenzie had somehow been involved in Jessop’s demise and she intended to make them pay. She ditched the burner in a trashcan. Tossed the SIM card in the brush.
Now she needed an alibi.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“How strong is that table of yours?” Mac asked.
Tess shook her head, looking wonderfully mussed and fucked and bewildered. “It’s solid oak.”
Her last lover had been a jackass. Mac knew they shouldn’t be doing this, but he figured if he was going to fuck up, he’d at least do it in style.
He had about three hours to prove she was a sex goddess. Then he’d grab a shower, drink a gallon of coffee and head back to HQ in time for the team meeting.
And it might not be romantic to think about murder and team meetings when he had a naked woman in his arms, but he dare not think about the sweet heat or long legs wrapped around him or else he’d be like the other prick who hadn’t been worthy of this beautiful woman.
/> He pushed aside the nearest chair and the detritus from her purse, and lowered her carefully onto the solid, wood surface. Her eyes widened as the cold hit her back but he didn’t give her time to think about it. He drew her knees up and enjoyed the sight of her taking him deep inside her.
Christ, she was beautiful. He’d thought that her face was pretty but the rest of her was spectacular. Hand-sized breasts with perfect, pink nipples he could feast on for days.
As much as he liked this view he knew she was starving for more. Not just sex, but that notion of sexual daring. He pulled out and flipped her onto her stomach, pulling her thighs on either side of his as he stretched out over her back.
Slowly he guided himself back into her molten heat and gently rocked forward, careful not to crush her against the unforgiving surface. She clung to the table edge. She was completely at his mercy like this, unable to do anything except take what he was giving her and hang on for the ride. He drove her higher and higher again. Heating her blood, wanting to hear those panting cries that had almost driven him over the edge last time.
Backing off again, smiling at her little mewl of frustration, he lowered her feet to the floor and pulled her along his length. Now she was able to brace herself against his thrusts, and the feel of her pushing back, of wanting this as much as he did, made sweat break out on his forehead.
He was officially an animal and he didn’t care. He ran one hand over the ridges of her spine. Cupped her breasts and made her moan again. She was perfect. She clenched around his dick and he moved one hand lower, scissoring two fingers around her clit as he did the same with one nipple and drove harder and harder into her. She cried out again, internal muscles squeezing him so hard he gave a roar of triumph as ecstasy rushed over him.
Even as he lay with his cheek pressed to her back, his heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears, the weight of his decision to have sex with Tess Fallon crashed over him.
What the hell had he done?
He squeezed his eyes shut, stroked her skin, warm and pliant beneath his hands. Despite his team’s doubts Mac knew this woman, knew she had a pure heart. But it was possible she was aware of something she wasn’t telling him and he was going to figure out what that was. He couldn’t do that by walking away and, fuck, if he was honest, he didn’t want to. Not yet.
The Bureau might not approve of his methods but hopefully he’d never have to spell them out on an FD 302.
He withdrew to get rid of the condom and tossed it in the garbage, feeling like a sonofabitch for even thinking of using Tess.
When he turned around she was standing beside the table, her expression happy rather than the vulnerable he’d expected.
Because she isn’t in your head, dickhead. She doesn’t know you’re a douche.
Or maybe he was feeding himself bullshit. Just the sight of her had him growing hard again.
What did it matter if he slept with her? She wasn’t the killer. She wasn’t actually a suspect, although technically she was involved—why else had someone broken into her home? And if it was Eddie then the more he was around the better chance he had of putting that fucker back in the cage.
She stepped toward him, definitely not able to read his mind as she brushed her body against his and took his insatiable cock in her hands. Within seconds he was unyielding as granite.
“Sex god,” she purred against his throat.
“Pretty sure you’re having something to do with it,” he muttered.
Her head rested against his shoulder. “I want you inside me again.”
His fists clenched at the words. He wanted inside her, too. “I don’t have any more condoms.”
She hesitated, then her breath brushed across his skin. “I’m on birth control. I’m clean. I got tested after Jason cheated on me. You’re the only person I’ve slept with since.”
“I’m clean, too.” He’d had a full medical when he’d changed jobs. He held her hands. “But I don’t do this.”
“That’s okay. We can do other things.” She dropped to her knees.
His stomach contracted as her soft hair brushed against him.
His hands shook at the thought of being inside her again, not that the idea of a blowjob wasn’t temptation in the extreme, but, fuck…
The fundamental question was, did he trust her? It wasn’t just his life at stake. What about the possibility of a baby? Was it worth the risk getting her pregnant? Unfortunately, the answer was yes and that meant he was about to commit a bigger, more stupendous sin.
He eased her off him and sank to the floor beside her, the wood cold against his bare skin. He lay back and dragged her on top of him. She grinned down at him, so incredibly beautiful in the moonlight his throat closed.
He cupped her cheek. “What do you want, Tess?”
A very female smile curved her lips as she wrapped her hand around his throbbing cock. “This.”
The way she touched him was earthy and sexy and honest.
“Show me where.” His fingers gripped her hips as he let her take control. He knew it was one of the things she craved in a world where her parentage seemed to be the only thing people gave a damn about. She hid her true self from the world—the fear of being judged outweighing the need to really be herself, to be free.
He made himself stay perfectly still as she took him inside her. And his mind was blown. He let her set the pace, let her use his body to arouse, to bring her blood inexorably to the boil while his simmered with need. He played with her beautiful breasts, tweaked the pink crests hard enough to make her buck.
When her eyes closed he took over, gripping her hips, grinding her against him, gathering a handful of her hair in his fist and rearing up, trying to get even deeper inside. And he was the one in charge, in control, right up to the moment she put a twist into the way she rode him and he was gone. She cried out as his world turned black.
* * *
Tess lay on top of Mac, their limbs entwined, hearts keeping pace with one another as they slowed down and settled back to earth.
She could feel his pulse in the tender flesh between her thighs and the contact was intimate, almost more so than having sex. She licked her dry lips and began to ease away from him, but he grabbed hold of her.
“Hold still. If you move too fast my head’s gonna explode.”
“Pretty sure it wasn’t your head doing all that exploding.”
He opened his eyes wide and a slow grin broke out on his face. “You have a dirty side. I guess that explains the books.”
The cold air raised gooseflesh on her arms and she shivered. She went to tug away from him, but he rolled them over until he was lying on top of her, staring down at her face.
“It’s okay, Tess. It isn’t against the law to enjoy sex. If it is I’m a repeat offender.”
The reminder he’d had plenty of sexual partners and she was just another notch on the bedpost made something hurt inside. It was dumb. Classic female mistake. She was old enough to know better so she pushed aside the feelings. Tonight was about exploring the sizzling sexual tension that arced between them and appeasing her curiosity about what it would be like to be with this man. And now she knew. She didn’t kid herself he’d be back with flowers and chocolates. She considered herself lucky he’d stayed this long.
For some reason, the weight of him felt so right, cradled between her thighs that she wrapped her legs and arms around him and squeezed him, everywhere.
He dropped his forehead to hers with a groan. “I’m not as young as I once was. If you’re determined to kill me I’ll need a few minutes.”
A strand of silver glittered in the moonlight. She reached up and touched it. “You have a gray hair.”
“I should have a million by now.” He didn’t sound like he cared.
“How old are you, anyway?”
He reared back. The question seemed to bother him. “Thirty-nine.”
“Ancient.” She joked and his lips twitched.
“I can keep up.” He rocked h
is hips to prove the point and her eyes widened. A cell phone rang from the hallway. MC Hammer’s “U can’t touch this” blared through the quiet of the house. He tensed. It was the irritating ex, who wouldn’t leave him alone. She let go as he propped himself on his elbows and swore.
“I’m about ready to smother the woman with a pillow.” He pulled away and stalked into the hall. She watched as he grabbed his pants and rifled for his cell. It stopped ringing but pinged with a text.
“Dammit. She says it’s an emergency.”
She propped herself up on one elbow and brushed her heavy hair back from her face. “Maybe it is?”
He made a noise than wasn’t flattering. “The emergency is that her ego was bruised and she wants to screw me to the wall so she can prove she still has someone under her thumb. Heather likes to control men with sex. She probably figures three a.m. is the perfect time to do it.”
He pulled on his boxers, then his pants. He didn’t seem to notice Tess had stiffened in place.
Is that what he thought she’d tried to do? She had literally and metaphorically nailed him to the wall. Or him her. She wasn’t sure the logistics were salient.
He shoved on his shoes, scrubbed a hand through his hair before he did up the buttons of his shirt, which he’d retrieved from near the front door. He pulled on his shoulder holster and checked his sidearm. She lay stretched out on the floor, the stickiness of what they’d done smeared on her thighs, evidence of her immense folly.
She heard his footsteps and opened her eyes. He knelt down, ran a finger over her jaw and fleetingly over her breast. Her body reared up like iron drawn to a magnet.
She made herself smile as he withdrew his hand. She wouldn’t be a woman who tried to cling to him. He wasn’t hers. She didn’t need him. She just wanted him.
“Maybe you need a restraining order,” she suggested in a low voice.
He grumbled. “I’d be laughed out of the Bureau.”
He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth again. Didn’t appear to know what to say, but this was clearly goodbye. Awkwardness rose up between them as she pulled away and she forced herself to stretch out rather than curl up in a ball and lick her wounds.
Cold Malice Page 26