Danger and Desire: A Romantic Suspense Anthology

by Kimberly Kincaid

  “You’re going to stay and work for Nicole or, God forbid, Ted Godfrey?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her as he pressed her to his broad chest. His thick arms surrounded her. It was the most amazing feeling, to be held by him like that. “Because I think I’m in love with you and I want to give us a chance to find out, like I should have done three years ago.”

  Breath whooshed from her lungs, sounding much like the sent email. “What?” she croaked, having hardly any air to push the word out.

  He smiled down at her, his blue eyes filled with warmth as his gaze caressed her face. “I think you’re amazing, and I’m crazy about you. And I want to make love to you, to show you how I feel about you. I want more than a sex pact can give us.”

  She hardly knew how to respond, so she simply said, “Kiss me.”

  His mouth quirked up on one side in a soft smile, and he lowered his lips to hers. His kiss was soft, sweet. Gentle. Tender. Nothing like the hot kisses they’d shared in the broom alcove. After an interval, his tongue slipped between her lips, a slow, sensuous slide as he claimed her mouth. His hands cupped her face, and he whispered, “My beautiful Jenna,” then returned to kissing her like she was an exquisite dessert.

  They stood there by the door for the longest time, kissing, tasting. Stoking fires with their tongues. Without moving his mouth from hers, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He finally ended the kiss as he laid her back on the bed. The thick coverlet puffed up around her and the fragrant red rose petals slid toward her, some, she suspected, getting tangled in her hair.

  Her butt was on the bed but her legs were not, her feet planted flat on the floor. Brad kissed his way down her belly until his mouth reached her waistline. He undid the snap and zipper of her hiking pants, but left the garment on, shifting his focus to her hiking boots instead.

  Thankfully, they were light hikers and easy to remove along with her socks. He returned to her hips and slid her pants downward until all she wore was a lacy pair of panties that matched the bra she’d eagerly escaped.

  He straightened and smiled at her, his eyes filled with sexy heat. “So beautiful. So damn hot.”

  “I want to see you too. I didn’t get to touch your bare chest that night in the woods. It really wasn’t fair.”

  “While I felt cheated that I didn’t get to go down on you.” He stroked the damp swath of fabric between her legs. “I’m going to make up for that tonight.”

  “Get naked so I can see you. All of you.”

  He started unbuttoning his shirt, and she scooted up on the bed to watch. She’d ogled his impressive build at the car wash, but this was a whole new experience, the idea that he could be hers. This big, perfect man who carved owls just for her. Hers.

  He stripped quickly and stood before her in nothing but boxer briefs that did nothing to hide his impressive erection.

  Emotion overwhelmed her as she took in his body, this man she’d fantasized about endlessly for years. He was sculpted perfection. She knew that already, but this time, she could touch. And taste.

  “Do I get more than twelve hours?” she asked.

  “You get all the hours. Tonight. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month.”

  He pulled down his underwear, and she purred with satisfaction at the sight of him. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite—”

  “Don’t say it.”

  “—weasel.”

  He let out a sexy growl and lunged for her on the bed. She scooted back with a squeal of laughter, and he pinned her, his hands gripping her wrists and holding them above her head as his hips settled between her thighs and his mouth covered hers.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and pressed her clit to the hard ridge of his penis as his tongue probed her mouth. The feel of the coarse hair on his bare chest against her breasts was divine. She’d imagined this skin-to-skin feeling so many times over the years, but never believed it would actually happen.

  His mouth left hers, and he released her wrists as he kissed her neck and breasts, slowly moving down her body. He reached the juncture of her thighs and paused to trace the edges of her panties with a fingertip. “I’ve fantasized about this moment so many times.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “Me too.”

  He tugged at her panties and she lifted her butt from the mattress so he could pull them off. He slid them down her legs and tossed them aside, then returned his attention to her center. He traced her clit with a fingertip, and pleasure infused her. She let out a soft gasp.

  He smiled and stroked again, pressing harder this time. She bucked at the sensation. His grin widened, and he bent his head down and licked her, the wet, hot abrasion sent shivers through her and her gasp turned to a groan. He scraped his teeth over her clit, then sucked on it.

  It was the most glorious, intense sensation to have Brad Fraser sucking on her clit, and she made a noise that was part groan, part yell, and part incoherent jumble of sound.

  “Oh my God,” he said, his breath caressing her most intimate place. “I want to hear you make that sound again.”

  He licked her again, his tongue sliding over her in the most exquisite torture, and she gave him what he wanted as another yell tore from her throat.

  He slipped his fingers inside her and stroked her within as his tongue teased her clit. The pleasure was so intense, she couldn’t hold back if she tried and she came hard and fast as he licked and stroked.

  She scooted up the bed even as her thighs cradled his head. He scooted too, following her retreat, his tongue pressed to her, maintaining the intensity of the orgasm, holding her in ecstasy forever and ever.

  When her orgasm finally subsided, she flopped back on the pillows and let out a laugh. “Holy wow. That was intense.”

  He reached for a condom, which had been strategically placed on the nightstand, and ripped open the wrapper. “It’s about to get even more intense.”

  She grinned and stroked his cock. “I finally get to have this.”

  “You get all of me.” He rolled the condom on and positioned himself between her thighs, the tip probing at her opening. “And I get all of you.”

  She thrust her hips toward him, desperate for him to fill her as her body still hummed with the pleasure of her first orgasm. Pleasure rippled through her again as he penetrated her, sliding deep, his thickness stretching her.

  Seated to the hilt, he stopped. She opened her eyes and met his gaze, his eyes intense with emotion. “You’re everything I ever wanted and imagined,” he said, his voice husky.

  She felt tears prick her eyes at the perfection of the moment. She was always quick to cry with joy as much as with sorrow, but she’d never expected sex could trigger such intense emotion. She crossed her legs over his butt and pulled his mouth down for a kiss, gripping his shoulders, holding her upper body off the bed. His fists were planted on the mattress on either side of her head as he slowly pulled back and thrust again, a sensuous slide that triggered physical and emotional pleasure.

  Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes as she reveled in having him inside her. Loving her. They rocked together, shifting from slow and sensuous to hot and fast. The friction of their bodies together and his cock hitting her just so brought her closer and closer to the brink again. She rarely came just with penetration, but this was clearly going to be one of those exceptions.

  She released his mouth and tilted her head back, letting out a groan as she came again. She clenched around him, feeling utterly wild at the sensation. His mouth found her neck, and he kissed her as his body tightened and he let out his own groan of release, his body pulsing as he came.

  She released his shoulders and flopped back on the bed as he slowly rocked his hips in the aftermath of both their orgasms. He bent his elbows, following her down on the mattress, still inside her. He kissed her, the length of his body on hers but supporting his weight on his forearms. After a long, deep kiss, he roll
ed to the side, scooping her with him so he ended up on his back with her pressed to his chest.

  Her hair had come out of the clip at some point, and it flopped down onto his face. He tucked a lock behind her ear as he gazed up at her. “I’m crazy about you, Jenna O’Donnell. Seeing you at the roadhouse has always been the highlight of my week. Would you believe I rarely drank before moving to Tamarack? I didn’t even like beer that much. But it gave me an excuse to see you, so I learned to like it. Now I love it. I even like this weird-ass drink called Jack-in-the-Box. But I think it’s because it will always make me think of you.”

  And just like that, she was crying again.

  Chapter 12

  Two Weeks Later

  The female owl announced her presence in the nest with a loud hoot, and Jenna felt a rush of joy as she stepped into the meadow in the gray light of the middle of the night in early July. She spotted Brad’s silhouette. He stood in the center of the grass, close to or perhaps even in the exact spot where they’d shared their bodies for the first time.

  It had been a wild two weeks since their night in the cabin. She’d known she wouldn’t get to see him while he and his team ran another training, but things took a sideways turn when Isabel was arrested for interrupting a live-fire training in the middle of the compound just days into the session.

  Being arrested was bad, but the fact that she could have been killed by a stray bullet was terrifying. In the days that followed, Raptor CEO Alec Ravissant had managed to get a restraining order to prevent her from trespassing on Raptor land, and Isabel had turned around and gotten the man’s political opponent in the US Senate race to back her call for investigation of the safety at the compound. As of tomorrow, when the current batch of trainees were bussed to Elmendorf Air Force Base for their flight home, the compound would be closed indefinitely.

  Tonight had been a busy night at the roadhouse as they hosted the usual end-of-training wrap party, but it had a different atmosphere as the mood was muted. No one from Falcon team had been able to enjoy the festivities. Brad had asked if she could meet him here after the bar closed for the night.

  She was nervous, not having seen him since the night they’d made love, and more than a little worried he’d guessed she knew about Isabel’s forays onto Raptor land. But Isabel had assured her she’d admitted nothing. She had, in fact, claimed she was specifically there to halt the training and draw attention to the unsafe conditions on the compound.

  It appeared the gambit worked, and while Jenna was happy Isabel had gotten the results she’d wanted, Jenna still feared the loss of income without the influx of trainees in town for the foreseeable future.

  The male owl hooted, and this time, Jenna responded in a fairly good impersonation of a female, if she did say so herself.

  Brad turned at her owl call and walked toward her. He pulled her into his arms the moment she was in reach and said, “God, how I’ve missed you, kitten.” He kissed her before she could respond, but she figured kissing him back was answer enough.

  The kiss was long and deep, but not nearly enough to make up for two weeks of missing him. One thing she’d become certain of as they’d exchanged texts and short phone calls in the last two weeks, what had once been an infatuation with this big, hot Raptor operative was now something much deeper.

  Scarily so.

  She pulled back from the kiss. “So, do you have anything to do with my dad’s increasing determination to get me to move out of his house?”

  “Maybe. Is it working?”

  “He promised to visit the specialist in Fairbanks if I move out. How on earth did you manage that?”

  Brad grinned. “I might have talked to Doc Larson.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “And your dad. He really wants you to be happy, and when he realized you were holding back because of him, he agreed.”

  She thought her heart might explode that Brad had reached out to her father and that both men were acting out of care for her. “Thank you.” She brushed her lips over his. “But you know I can’t afford the rent on an apartment right now. Especially with the compound closing.”

  “I can afford it—my cost of living is next to nothing here. I’ve saved a lot of money over the last three years.”

  “I can’t just let you pay for an apartment for me.”

  “Why not? Especially when it’s as much for me as it is for you. I want to spend as much time as I can with you, and that means we’ll need a place in Tamarack. Plus, it will be easier for us to sneak around if you’ve got a place of your own.”

  They’d agreed to keep their relationship quiet for the time being. The sneaking part was fun, and it gave them a chance to figure out how serious they were before the whole town knew. Having lived in Tamarack her whole life, Jenna didn’t get to keep much private from the residents who were her extended family. Plus, there was the fact that she would make more in tips, and with the lack of trainings, she’d need every extra penny she could get. She remembered well what it had been like in the years before the compound had opened.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right. What if we break up, or you decide to take the job in Oregon after all, and then I’m stuck in a lease I can’t afford?” Brad had told her that Barstow had upped his offer. If Brad changed his mind and left, Charlie would surely cut her some slack, but she still had to consider all possibilities.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Jenna. I promise. But if it makes you feel better, I can talk to Nicole about hiring you to do some photography for the compound website. With the closure, we’re going to be revamping some of the facilities, and we’ll need professional photos when they’re done.” He slid his fingers in her hair. “But I’m still going to insist on paying all the rent for the apartment. You can bank the extra income for emergencies. Or blow it on whatever you want. You deserve to treat yourself, you know.”

  “You think Nicole would hire me?”

  “I might have already suggested it. And she might have already said it’s a good idea. She plans to talk to you about it soon, after the dust settles on the closure.”

  “Really?” She was getting teary-eyed again. First he’d worked things out with her dad that meant he would take better care of his illness, and now he was lining up freelance work in the career path she’d never really had the chance to follow.

  “Really.” He ran his lips over her forehead. “I wanted to meet you here tonight because this felt like the right place to say what I’ve been wanting to say since we kissed goodbye after our night together. I’m in love with you, Jenna. Wildly, crazy in love with you.”

  She let out a soft gasp. In the two weeks they’d been apart, even though they’d talked on the phone and texted, she’d wondered if the intensity they’d shared would wane for him. For some men, it was all about the chase. Brad had never indicated he was that kind of man, but still, she feared, because this all felt a little too good to be true.

  “I’m required to live in the compound during trainings, but that’s all. With the compound closure, I’ll have a bit more freedom to spend nights in town, and I don’t want to waste another minute after wasting three years. I’m content to sneak around with you until you’re ready to let everyone know we’re together. Whatever you want. Just tell me you want me in your life as much as I need you in mine.”

  She let out a soft sob that became a laugh, her heart feeling like it might burst as a light wind brushed across the meadow. “Took you long enough.”

  He laughed with her. “It took me way too long. I’m going to make up for that.”

  She rose on her toes and brushed her lips over his. “I’m crazy in love with you too.”

  They kissed, as above them, the mated pair of owls hooted in duet.

  Also by Rachel Grant

  Want to know what Ted Godfrey is up to, or what happens when Isabel stumbles across Raptor CEO and senate candidate Alec Ravissant’s unconscious body deep in the Alaskan wilderness? You’ll find answers to that, plus get more of Brad and
Jenna in INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE, available now in print, digital, and audiobook.

  Get it on Audible

  Visit Rachel’s Website.

  Sign up for Rachel’s mailing list and get the second book in the Evidence series, BODY OF EVIDENCE, free!

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Rachel Grant worked for over a decade as a professional archaeologist and mines her experiences for storylines and settings, which are as diverse as excavating a cemetery underneath an historic art museum in San Francisco, survey and excavation of many prehistoric Native American sites in the Pacific Northwest, researching an historic concrete house in Virginia, and mapping a seventeenth century Spanish and Dutch fort on the island of Sint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles.

  She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children and can be found on the web at www.Rachel-Grant.net.

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  Peter Greenwood expected to have to work hard and prove his worth to rise in the ranks of politics. What he didn't expect was that he’d have to work so hard to get his dream girl.

  Martha "Marty" Vanderbilt and Peter are opposites in every way. She's rich from old family money and he couldn't be more middle class. She's a liberal journalist and he's an aide for a Republican senator. She's loud and opinionated and he mostly keeps his mouth shut and his head down.