Hers To Take

by Karen Anders

  She saw her own hunger mirrored in his eyes. He wanted her hunger; he wanted her so badly that she could feel his body shudder with a keen, pulsating pain.

  His demanding mouth came down on hers again, drawing a moan from deep inside her. “A.J.,” she pleaded against his lips.

  The passion that had been burning inside her could not be denied. His eyes were soaked in desire, glazed with need. His eyes moved with a slow, hot slide down her body. Sienna felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if suddenly her lungs had ignited and were burning. She was burning. When A.J. pressed the full length of his body against hers, the hardness of him sent a violent tremor through her.

  His mouth came down on Sienna’s lips. She couldn’t think, couldn’t reason, couldn’t breathe.

  Heat. Everywhere he touched her body brought scorching heat, burning within and without. A.J. shuddered with it, his body pressing deeper into hers. Sienna writhed with the intensity of that hot need in an uncontrollable movement, afraid of that heat, wanting to escape, yet oddly yearning to be consumed by it.

  The feel of A.J. pressed solidly against her made her want to scream with her need for him. His breath was hot on her neck where he’d buried his face, inches away from her skin, sensitized almost to the point of insanity. His touch branded her. Beautiful, callused fingers trailed over her neck and shoulders, moved with aching slowness down the ridge of her spine where goose bumps were raised and multiplied across her skin. His hands finally spread out to loop around the flare of her naked hips.

  A low sound escaped her as he pressed his hard length against her, his hips undulating with uncontrollable movement.

  “Sienna,” he rasped.

  She twisted against him, an unvoiced cry trapped inside her as he moved his hips slowly. His mouth lowered to sweep the hollow where her neck flowed into her shoulder, his tongue moving in slow, delicious circles over her skin. Her passion came from her throat as a gasping, tearing sound of need. “A.J.,” she pleaded softly.

  Her breasts ached for his touch and she gasped as his hands slid up her rib cage. Her nipples were ready and erect when he finally cupped them in his big, rough, hot hands. His mouth descended to her ear, his voice straining with aching need as he bit her lobe, sending prickles of fire to the tips of her beasts. She arched into him with a moaning cry.

  “Tell me what you want,” he demanded, moving beyond control and dragging Sienna with him with those spoken words.

  She cried out again and arched harder into him, her hands against the wall of his chest, an unmovable, burning hardness. As he took her aching nipples between his fingers, pinching and tugging on them, Sienna thought it was more than she could take. His eyes blazed with a hard, unyielding fire that reached out and burned her. She gasped at the magnificence of him, his dark unruly hair hanging in heavy strands of tangled silk. She reached up and ran her fingers through it, and he closed his eyes as if in agony.

  His mouth descended and captured hers, his lips demanding her to surrender, to submit to him, to give him all that she had to give. Sienna couldn’t give any less.

  She had been made for him. “I want you inside me, A.J.”

  As he lifted her easily, his biceps bulging from the weight of her, she brought her hands up to clasp his wrists, sliding seductively over the silky hair on his forearms until she reached the tight, round bulges. She tested the hot, taut skin and felt the strength of him pulsate into her fingers until the maleness of him seemed to seep into her blood and burn.

  For a moment of heated silence, he just stared at her; then he caught a nipple between his teeth, licking and sucking until she arched in desperate, aching need, causing little fissions of heat to explode in her stomach, reaching into the core of her, stabbing with needles of pleasure so intense she was afraid she was beginning to unravel.

  “Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered, his hands moving down her body to support her, cupping her bottom. He leaned into her, pressing her back up against the wall. With a soft cry, she wrapped her legs around his hips. “A.J., please.”

  At that moment, nothing mattered. Her world narrowed down to having him inside her. “Oh, please. Please,” she sobbed with desperation and need.

  With a move that showed his amazing strength, he reached down into her bedside drawer and pulled out a packet and sheathed himself.

  He pushed into her, and her words ended on a deep moan. He pumped into her, drawing out of her slowly. She tightened her arms around his neck, putting her lips against his throat.

  A.J.’s tempo increased until he was moving frantically in and out. Sienna clung to him incoherent and shredded with pleasure.

  Sienna lost all sense of control as the pressure inside of her began to build and build, pulling into one hot, pulsating center. He moved again and again, until the myriad sensations joined into one aching spasm. She cried out and arched stiffly against him, the explosion sending her off into a shattering release. But before the first contraction finished shuddering through her, he clutched at her, and a low tormented groan ripped from him. Slowly he dropped to his knees until Sienna felt her bottom hit the floor.

  She felt as if her whole body had turned to rubber. A.J.’s harsh breathing slowed to a more normal rhythm. With careful movements he stood, pulling her up with him. Warm and drowsy, he carried her to her bed, settled her on the mattress and lay down next to her. He kissed her forehead and pulled her body against his, needing to feel her hands on him.

  A.J. finally became aware of Sienna’s choppy breathing and rolled them both to the side, unwilling to let her go completely. He had never experienced such heady pleasure with any other woman.

  His vow not to let her get too close was gone. She’d already made a foray into his heart.

  He closed his eyes as his arms wound around her. He wasn’t going to kid himself here; he knew there was no future for them. Sienna was wrapped up in his life right now. In the beginning, he’d joined this investigation because he’d needed her to find his brother. He’d thought this affair was going to be short and intense and then it would be over. But he had to rearrange his thoughts. How could he reorder his life to keep her in it? She wasn’t someone he could leave and never see again. He was falling for her, and what made it worse, was that he knew it.

  10

  SIENNA STOOD at the sliding glass doors, slowly working out the kinks in her sore shoulder. She’d left A.J. peacefully asleep while she enjoyed the blue twilight of early morning. Her apartment was unnaturally quiet, the stillness adding to the twisting feeling in her chest. Folding her arms against the chill, she rested her hip against the cupboard and watched the dark brew trickle into the carafe, the burble of the coffeemaker unnaturally loud in the perfect stillness.

  She felt wonderful. Everything was under control. The investigation was going to break—she could feel it—the fitting for the wedding was taken care of, and she’d settled the issue of A.J. last night.

  When the coffee was done she pulled open the cupboard door and got out two mugs. She paused and looked at the two on the counter. How odd for her to take down two. It wasn’t like A.J. was here to drink the coffee just yet. Funny how it seemed so natural for her to plan for him.

  Was that a bad sign that she was deluding herself about how orderly everything was?

  She poured herself a cup and headed for the living room. The elated feeling wouldn’t last, but she was going to enjoy it as much as she could. She was having a great fling with a great guy. She’d never had a problem letting go. When the time came, she would let go of A.J., too.

  She ran into him looking deliciously sleep tousled as he grunted at her.

  “There’s coffee in the kitchen.” She watched as he went and poured himself a cup.

  Sienna heard a ringing noise, but it wasn’t her phone. She followed the sound. The noise was coming from his jeans. She set her cup down on the end table and picked up the pants, digging into the pocket.

  Without thinking, she flipped the phone open. “Hello.”
r />   There was silence on the other end of the line, and then a man spoke. “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”

  “Are you trying to reach A.J.?”

  “Yes, this is his father.”

  “Just a minute.”

  She went back into the kitchen where A.J. was sipping his coffee slowly at the kitchen table.

  She handed the phone to him. “It’s your father.”

  “Thanks,” he said, putting the phone to his ear. “Hi, Dad.”

  While he was speaking to his father, Sienna went into her room to get ready for court.

  A few minutes later, A.J. wandered in.

  “What did you tell him?” Sienna asked, putting on a bracelet with blue stones.

  “As little as possible, but my dad isn’t stupid. He knows there’s much more than what I’m telling him.” He stared at her for a split second, and then looked away, the muscles in his jaw bunching.

  She tried to clear away the sudden cramp in her throat. “It’s no use telling him information we haven’t verified. It will only worry him more.”

  Releasing a heavy sigh, she dropped her chin and looked down. He was barefoot, his feet finely formed. She moved her eyes up the expanse of his leg to the worn fly where frayed threads separated faded denim from the metal zipper teeth.

  “Right. Need-to-know basis. This is going to kill him.”

  She went to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on. “I’m so sorry.” All she could do was give him her comfort.

  He broke the embrace and sat down heavily on the bed. “Me, too. When my stepfather came into my life, I resented him and did everything I could to keep my distance.”

  “Why?” She curled her hands over his thumbs, his fingers coarse against her and oddly gentle.

  “Because I was afraid that he would disappoint me. I never knew my father and didn’t have any kind of role model, so it was easier to shut him out. Protect myself.”

  He watched her with an unwavering stare, the dark stubble accentuating the stern set of his jaw. Compelled by the pressure of his hands, she held his gaze.

  “How did you get over that?”

  He studied her, as if weighing her question, then closed his eyes and released his breath in a rush. One of his hands slipped to the back of her neck and he squeezed. “He never gave up. He proved himself to me countless times until finally I was worried I would disappoint him.”

  Caught in the spell of their fragile harmony, she found peace in the touching of bodies and hands, the comfort of connection with another human, one she didn’t have to pretend with.

  A.J. noticed her bracelet. “That’s pretty.”

  “My sister gave it to me as a friendship present. I wear it when I have to face unpleasant tasks. It gives me confidence.” Gently she held his face. “I have to get to court.”

  “I can do some recon while you’re busy.”

  “What does that mean?” Her heart lurched. He couldn’t be suggesting what she thought he was suggesting.

  “SEALs have all kinds of skills and we’re not shy about using them.”

  “What kinds of skills?” Trying to be open-minded, Sienna decided to play this out; maybe he had a different angle.

  “I can get into and out of places without being seen, part of our covert training. Taylor will never know I’m there.”

  Sienna closed her eyes as if praying for divine understanding of a particularly stupid comment. When they opened she shot him a sideways look that could have etched stone. “Are you actually standing here in front of a cop and talking about a B and E?”

  “It’s not like I’m going to rob the guy,” he said indignantly. “He’s the thief. I’ll just scout around.”

  This was it, the difference between them. “Absolutely not! It’s against the law.”

  “The guy’s a known gunrunner. We have grounds for suspicion,” he replied in exactly the same clipped tones she’d used.

  “The Bill of Rights is the big deal. I took an oath and I don’t intend to break it for some scum of the earth who doesn’t deserve to be walking the streets. I follow the letter of the law in case that’s not clear to you. If I decide we need to question him, we’ll bring him in.”

  “Who’s going to know?” A.J. asked.

  “I’ll know.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “You can’t do it, A.J.”

  His jaw clenched and he looked away from her. “All right. We’ll play it your way for now.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “The reason we haven’t questioned him so far is that I think it would tip him off that we’re looking for your brother.”

  “You think he’s after David?”

  “Someone is. Tyrone said that the shipment belonged to Taylor. I think that it fits.”

  Sienna looked at her watch and realized that if she didn’t get moving now, she’d be late. “I’ve got to make it to court on time. Believe me. A.D.A. Jericho St. James doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  “How long will you be?” he asked.

  “Probably all morning.”

  “Right.”

  AFTER SHOWERING and shaving, it didn’t take A.J. long to get to the naval base. Gibson entered the questioning room with a wary expression on his face, but when he saw that Sienna wasn’t there, he seemed to relax.

  “I know that you have information about Corporal Buckner that you’re not willing to tell the SDPD. How about you tell his brother?”

  “I thought I recognized you,” Gibson said.

  “I’m here to help him.”

  “Sir, with all due respect, why were you with a cop, then?”

  “She’s point on this investigation. I’m just here to make sure my brother doesn’t get hurt. If you have any information where he might have gone or what he is involved in, I need to know it.”

  A.J. could see the indecision on Sergeant Gibson’s face. “Sir, I helped him unload a military truck and load up a U-Haul,” Gibson said matter-of-factly.

  A.J. had to sit down. “Did he explain?”

  “No, sir. He said the less I knew the better.”

  “Do you know where he went?”

  Gibson hesitated, conflict on his face.

  “Help me, Gibson. I think David’s in danger. I don’t want to lose my brother.”

  Gibson released a pent-up breath, and said, “I saw a Nevada map on the seat of the truck with a route mapped and a city circled.”

  “What city?

  “Lake Tahoe.”

  “Why did you help him, Sergeant?”

  “David and I were stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Angola. When the unrest broke out over there, he saved my life along with the lives of sixty other people.” Gibson looked away then back. “I should tell you that David has huge gambling debts. I offered to help him out with money, but he refused,” Gibson said.

  “Thank you for telling me everything.”

  A.J. left the security building, his gut churning. It wasn’t news to him that David had unloaded that truck, but it was wrenching to actually hear that he had.

  A.J. had taken the list of gunrunners from the computer search yesterday and he looked down at it now. He truly didn’t want to piss Sienna off, but David’s life could be hanging in the balance. He wasn’t going to Tahoe until he was sure that Jack didn’t have David stashed somewhere in that warehouse.

  SIENNA WAITED outside the D.A.’s office. Jericho St. James had asked her to meet him after her testimony. He had a pressing matter to discuss with her.

  Impatience buzzed along her nerve endings. In addition to the urgency to get those stolen guns off the street, there was the real concern about the well-being of A.J.’s brother. She could feel David’s time running out.

  She walked up to the young, pert receptionist sitting behind a shoulder-high counter flanked by file cabinets, telephone switchboard and computer. “How much longer will A.D.A. St. James be?”

  “He called to say that he’d be here by ten o’clock.”

  Sienna
looked at her watch. “That was ten minutes ago.”

  “I’m sorry, Detective, but he stressed that it was urgent that he talk to you. Can you spare a few more minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  Jericho walked in moments later. As in court, he commanded attention the minute he entered a room. He was attractive and intelligent and Sienna could understand Kate’s interest. But he was a little too intense and styled for her tastes in his charcoal gray suit coat with a red power tie, his dark hair styled to perfection.

  “Sienna, sorry to keep you waiting,” he said briskly as he led the way into his office.

  Making herself comfortable in one of the wooden chairs in front of his desk, Sienna waited for him to settle.

  He glanced at the messages on his desk, then put them aside to set his briefcase down. Sitting, he leaned back and said, “The Rojas bust was ironclad. Good police work makes my life so much easier.”

  “Did you bring me here to give me a compliment?” Sienna asked dryly. “A phone call would have sufficed.”

  Jericho smiled. “No. But it is about Rojas.”

  “What about him?”

  “He says that he has information that your informant is part of Jack Taylor’s team.”

  “Tyrone Knight?”

  “One and the same. He says that Knight has performed contract killings for Taylor. He’s willing to testify against Knight and Taylor.”

  “For a reduced sentence, I’m sure.”

  “You got it, but I can’t make the deal.”

  “Why not?” she demanded.

  Jericho picked up a pen and started tapping it against a file folder. “Comes from the D.A. I have to sit on it until next week.”

  “Why?”

  “I was hoping you could shed some light on it. You offered Knight up as a witness to Rojas.”

  Sienna closed her eyes and huffed out a breath. “And immunity.”

  “Right, but don’t get nervous. The immunity is for the gun charges. The murders are separate.”

  “Fat lot of good that does us. If you can’t make a deal with Rojas until next week, Knight walks.”

  “Bingo.”