Then his mouth closed over my breast, and I whimpered as he pressed me back onto the bed, kissing and sucking at my nipple, until it hardened into a tight, aching bud of need. I twisted my head from side to side, moaning softly as he moved on to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention.
Heat pooled in my core, my entire body alive and so sensitive, aching with desperate need. I reached for him through my sexual haze, pulling at his shirt. He lifted his head from my breasts, his natural eye dark with desire. He shucked the shirt, exposing that impressive torso, and wringing a gasp from me.
“You’re so hot.” I ran my fingers along his pecs, taking delight when his muscles twitched beneath my fingers. God, he was beautiful.
“So are you,” he said huskily, his large hands settling on my hips. “Take these damn things off.” He pulled impatiently at the waistband of my shorts, letting them smack back against my stomach.
I lifted my hips, eager to have them off. He slowly slid his fingers in the waistband, pulling the shorts down my legs, leaving me in nothing but soft cotton panties.
He laid a hand over my stomach, palm down, then gently moved his hand lower, until he covered my aching core. I arched up against his hand with a soft moan.
“Noah,” I panted out, wetness pooling between my thighs. He slipped the panties aside, one hip at a time, pulling them down my legs. Then he gently crawled his fingers back up my thigh, leaving a trail of fire across my skin, and rested his hand between my legs, his fingers gently probing. I gasped and arched against him.
“Noah.”
He stroked gently, pressing deeper, then retreating, rubbing, stroking again. Working me. Teasing me. Bringing me closer and closer to the edge.
And then I came with a soft cry, the orgasm so intense it dulled my senses to everything except the exquisite pleasure throbbing between my thighs.
I slowly opened my eyes to find Noah staring down at me, his natural eye dark with lust. I reached for his jeans, eager to see, eager to touch. He watched my face as I unzipped his pants, his eyes hooded with his desire. I pressed my hand against the bulge of his erection, his thick hot length nearly scorching me through his boxers.
“Take them off,” I urged. “I want to see you.”
He hopped off the bed and shucked his pants and boxers, coming back to me naked, his cheeks flushed.
Lord, he was glorious! I stared, feasting my eyes on his pure masculine beauty. He climbed on the bed again, a condom wrapper crinkling in his hand as he leaned over me, taking my mouth again in a fierce kiss.
I ran my hands up and down his hard, muscular back, then squeezed his ass as we kissed. And kissed. And kept kissing. God, his mouth was addicting. So sexy. I never wanted him to stop. He tasted like mint and man and the promise of intense sexual pleasure. He tasted like Noah. Pure Noah.
He lifted his head and gazed down at me. “Are you one hundred percent certain you want to do this? Because if not, then stop me now. I don’t want you to regret this later.”
I shook my head. “No. Don’t stop. Please Noah. Take me. Make me yours. I won’t regret it.” I arched up against him. So wanton. So needy. “Please.”
His gaze bored into mine for a long moment, as if he was searching for the truth. Whatever he saw in my eyes must have satisfied him, for he kissed me again, while he slid the condom on. Then he settled between my thighs, brushing against me. I arched up in invitation, and then he joined his body with mine in a swift thrust. I gasped, clinging to him. He moaned, pressing deeper. We kissed. We touched. And we began to move, exquisite pleasure arcing between us.
“I’m going to do more than make you fly,” he promised huskily. “I’m going to take you to fucking heaven.”
And he did. Oh God, he did. Together, we flew, clear to heaven.
It was a long time before I came down to earth. Noah lay on top of me, our bodies slick with sweat and still intimately joined. He was breathing heavily, his hot breaths tickling my neck.
His large body squished me, but I didn’t want him to move. I turned my head sideways and pressed a kiss to his temple. He opened his eyes, his gaze more relaxed, more content than I’d ever seen it before. A wave of pleasure washed over me, followed by extreme joy. I’d made him feel this way. Me.
I’m falling for him.
As astonishing as that was, it was true. I was falling for him. The man who’d murdered my father.
There was something very wrong with that.
He was all wrong for me. I was all wrong for him.
But when we touched, when we kissed, it was nothing short of heaven. There was a definite bond between us, a deep connection, something rare and special that went beyond the norm. Together, we were amazing.
And that was enough for now. Maybe it would be enough forever.
Partners in everything. Could we be that?
I normally dated a guy for several weeks or more before sleeping with him. But with Noah, it didn’t feel rushed. It just felt right. Natural. As if we belonged together.
He rolled onto his back, pulling me with him, so that I was now on top.
“You’re mine now,” he said huskily. “Remember that. I warned you that if you entered my bed, you couldn’t stray elsewhere. I’m not sharing you with anyone else.”
I kissed him, slowly, deeply, then leaned back, looking into his eyes. “Yes. I’m yours. But it goes both ways, you know. I’m not sharing you, either. If I’m yours, then you’re mine. Partners in everything.”
His answer was to pull my mouth back to his and kiss me again. Deeply. Passionately. Possessively.
And it was much, much later before we got up from bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Noah
The impossible had happened. I’d made Shannon mine. She’d agreed. She didn’t want anyone else. Just me. God, that made me feel so damn good. I’d never had an exclusive relationship with a woman before. For the first time ever, I didn’t have to share a woman with someone else.
Was I a fool for taking her into my arms? Into my bed? I couldn’t seem to resist her. She made me weak. And now she owned me. Now she had the power to destroy me. I didn’t know whether to be scared or happy as all get out. I guess I was a mixture of both.
We stayed in bed for several more hours, making love, dozing, then waking and making love again. Though I had never had a girlfriend before, I’d known from the start that exclusivity was the only type of relationship I wanted with Shannon. She’d willingly joined me in my bed. And now she was mine.
She’s mine.
My head still spun with that unbelievable truth. Mine.
And I was hers. Completely.
Call me a fool, but I was falling for the daughter of the man I’d killed. Would that always be a wedge between us? Would she ever truly be able to get over that? Could she ever truly love me? A tentative trust had built between us, but a part of me still feared she would use my weakness for her to write her damn story. A small part of me was still afraid to trust her one hundred percent. Maybe if we’d met under different circumstance, maybe if she hadn’t been associated with The Company, I would be able to trust her better completely.
We showered together, laughing, touching, washing each other, then making love again, before finally dressing and heading downstairs to find something to eat. Shannon made me truly happy for the first time in my life. But was this even real? Or just a fantasy? How long could it go on? This time alone with her gave me glimpses of what it would be like to be with her in a permanent relationship. And I liked it. I wanted more. I wanted that happily ever after that my dreg partner Logan had found with Nishi. That Tracker, Jacob, Nate, and Tony had all found with their women. But was that even possible for me? If I was never able to completely trust Shannon, then I should just stay the hell away from her. Except I didn’t want to be away from her. I needed to get over my distrust issues if I was ever going to be able to make this work with Shannon. But I was afraid that if I let my guard down completely, if I trusted he
r completely, that she would only hurt me in the end. Self-preservation. I wasn’t as tough on the inside as I was on the outside. The girl could easily rip out my heart and stomp all over it. And that scared the shit out of me. I was holding back from her, and I sensed it wasn’t distrust as much as it was fear of being vulnerable and being hurt.
We ate chicken sandwiches and apple slices, bumping against each other intentionally, touching, kissing, unable to keep our hands to ourselves, before I finally settled behind the computer again and decided to get to work. I checked my email first, noting a new email from Mastersoldier101, that crazy stalker guy who wanted Shannon.
Shannon dragged a chair in from the kitchen and settled beside me, appearing very interested in what I was doing.
I opened the email.
You want a battle? Fucking A! That makes me happy! You’ll never see me coming. I am like the cheetah. I use stealth, then I go in for the kill. You’ll never see me coming. So, how do you plan to beat me? You’d better strategize, dreg, because I have the advantage. I know who and where you are, but you don’t know shit about me. I’m coming for my girl. I will strike when you least expect it. I will take back what is mine. Are you ready? Let’s get it on!
An unexpected chill crept down my spine. Who was this son-of-a-bitch?
I glanced cautiously at Shannon to gage her reaction. Her lip twisted in a snarl. “Who is he? It sounds more like a challenge to you. He wants a fight.”
Yeah, I was getting that, too. Instead of giving me answers, his email left me with more questions.
Who was this guy?
I decided not to respond to that email.
“I was hoping you could tell me who he was, but now I’m thinking you really have no clue. I can track down his IP address to try to find out who he is. I probably should have done it earlier, but I didn’t really feel threatened by him.” Now, I was starting to take notice. Now, I sensed the threat was real. “If he’s as persistent as it sounds like, then I’m going to have to deal with him sooner or later.”
I know who and where you are, but you don’t know shit about me.
If he knew where I was, then how had he found me? Uneasiness crept over my skin as the strange fog-like man from the other night flashed through my mind. Could Shannon’s stalker be the man from the bushes? If so, had he somehow followed us here from the auction? How had he done that? Why hadn’t I seen him?
He was capable of disappearing into thin air. He could have followed us without my knowledge.
And you were distracted by Shannon. You might not have noticed a tail.
Shit. Uneasiness swept through me again. Was I being paranoid? Or was the fog man from the bushes a threat? Was he somehow connected to this Mastersoldier101? My gut told me whoever had sent the email was a real threat and that the guy was after Shannon in a bad way. He wanted to take me down. He wouldn’t give up. So I needed to take care of him.
But was he the same man/beast who’d been hiding in the shrubs? Or someone else entirely? Were they connected?
Shannon nodded slowly. “I agree that you need to deal with him. Do you think he really knows where we are?”
I didn’t want to scare Shannon unnecessarily, but I didn’t want to lie to her, either.
“Yes. He knows right where we are. I think he may have followed us here from the auction. I promise I will do whatever I have to do to get rid of him.”
She stared into my eyes. “Kill him?”
“If the threat is real, then yes.” I sent my tracking software after the sender’s IP address. Depending on how he’d set up his account, and how well he’d covered his tracks, it could take a while to track him down. I needed to figure out who he was, then decide what to do about him.
“What are you doing now?” Shannon asked curiously.
“Being a digital detective. I have to trace the IP address that the email came from. I created my own tracking software that does all the work for me. It will eventually come back to me with the information and the user’s location. Hopefully this guy hasn’t covered his tracks very well, and we will know who he is and where he is real soon.”
Her gaze filled with fascination. “What else can you do besides hack and track?”
I shrugged. “Pretty much anything I want.”
She cocked a brow. Her lips twitched. “I love confidence in a man. Show me your abilities, then. What, exactly, does a hacker do? Can you teach me how to be a hacker?”
“Anyone can learn how to be a hacker. But if you have morals, a strong sense of right and wrong, then you won’t be a very good one, or at least not an ethical one.”
She studied me more closely. “Do you have morals, Noah? A strong sense of right and wrong? I’m betting you’re a very good hacker.”
I contemplated my response. “Yeah, believe it or not, I do have morals. But I’m not afraid to cross the line from right into wrong, if necessary. Because sometimes, it’s necessary. When I was a soldier for The Company, I was forced to use my abilities to exploit people and obtain information illegally. I try not to use my abilities in an unethical way now, and I tend to use them mostly to catch criminals. To take down bad guys. I would never use my abilities to harm others, especially the innocent. And yes, I’m a good hacker. Probably the best you will ever meet. I’m not trying to sound like an arrogant ass, but there truly is no one else on earth like me.”
Her gaze softened. “I know that. You’re definitely special. I can tell you’re a good guy, Noah.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “So, show me what a hacker does.”
And so, I found myself obliging her, showing her some of the skills required to be a good hacker. Trying not to puff out my chest, I taught her about keyloggers, RAT, and Trojan horses. I explained packet sniffers and base decoders, and how important it was to always use secure browsing when she was online. As I went on, explaining other hacking skills, her eyes began to glaze over.
“Um…” she let out a soft chuckle. “You’ve lost me. All that stuff is beyond my comprehension.”
I laughed and squeezed her hand. “Sorry. What makes me different from other hackers is that I can hack into any device without using a password cracker like most hackers. My skills are in my brain.” I tapped my forehead. “I have a natural skill for it, since it’s my dreg talent, the ability that gave me my dreg name. My brain works like a computer, ones and zeros a constant swirl. It’s not just hacking I’m good at, but anything technical.”
She eyed me with fascination. “Really. You certainly are unique. What is a dreg talent?”
I hesitated. Had I told her too much? She could use the information to destroy me. But I’d already taken her into my bed. I’d already made myself vulnerable. I had to learn to trust her at some point. Completely trust her. “Each of the dregs has a special talent or ability. It’s why we are different from anyone else. Why we are the dregs.”
Her gaze filled with wonder. “And your special ability is anything to do with technical devices like computers and hacking?”
“Pretty much. Yes.”
She looked into my eyes. “And the other dregs?”
I tried to gage the look in her eyes. Was it genuine curiosity? Or a deviousness to learn more for her story?
“Is it the woman asking or the reporter?”
Color crept into her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “The woman,” she answered. “The one who’s fascinated with you. The woman who wants to get to know you better. The woman who finds herself falling for you.”
Heat washed into my face. Was she being real? Or preying on my weakness for her?
Trust her, man. Give her a chance.
Before I could think of a suitable response, my phone went off, indicating a new text. Grateful for the interruption, I snatched it up from where it sat connected to the charger on the desktop.
It was Luke.
What you doing over there? Is that woman still with you? Ryan and I are bored. We need some action. There’s no workout equipment here, nothing t
o do. We’re coming over to bug you guys.
No. Watch a movie, I texted back, not in the mood to entertain them right now.
Already did, he responded. What’s the matter, you don’t want us to come over? You getting all hot and heavy with the chick?
And if I am?
His response was a thumbs up emoji. Then he and Ryan appeared on the security system as they stepped onto the porch. Damn them.
They banged on the front door.
I groaned, tossing my phone back onto the desk.
Shannon smiled, eyeing me curiously. “You don’t want them to come in?”
“Not really. They’re a pain in the ass, sometimes.” I would rather spend time alone with her. But Luke and Ryan were here, and I couldn’t ignore them, because they would just keep banging on the door until I opened it. Shannon stayed at the computer while I got up to let them in.
“You find out any more information about the shareholders?” Luke demanded the moment I opened the door.
“Yeah. I called Logan and told him about it. Come on, I’ll show you guys.” They followed me into the computer room where Shannon still sat behind the desk. She eyed them curiously, her wariness from before now gone.
“Hey, doll.” Ryan winked at her. “Good to see you again. I’m Ryan, by the way.”
Her lips twitched. “Hello. I can tell you’re a player with those pretty boy looks and the exaggerated swag…”
Luke snickered and smacked Ryan’s arm.
Color crept up Ryan’s neck and into his face. “Hey, I can’t help it if women like me. And what can I say, I like women.” He waggled his brows.
Luke guffawed. “If it weren’t for that pheromone, you’d never get laid.”
Ryan scowled. “Bullshit.”
Their gazes locked. I could see a battle brewing here. Luke loved to egg people on, instigate fights, piss people off. And he was good at it. As Luke’s dreg partner, Ryan knew Luke was only messing with him, but this was obviously a sore spot for Ryan, and he didn’t like what Luke was insinuating. Ryan might be a player, but he was a good guy with a big heart. He would never use the pheromone to force a woman to be attracted to him. His looks and his charming personality made using the pheromone unnecessary except during urgent times of war, because women flocked to him anyway. There was no doubt in my mind that Ryan had never used the pheromone to get laid, and he was obviously offended that Luke would think he might do that.
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