Thank goodness she’d worn a decent bra. It wasn’t anything fancy, just simple white with a pretty lace edge. But the way Ethan was staring at her made her feel like this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model.
How would he react if…
She unzipped her jeans.
He licked his lips. The playful light in his eyes shifted to raw hunger as she slowly slid the denim over her hips, revealing the white lace panties that matched her bra. She stepped out of her pants, flipping them to the side with a flirty kick.
Ethan’s breath caught. The sound that rumbled from his chest didn’t remotely resemble a laugh. His groan was primitive male hunger. He reached for her.
Abby backed up a step. “Patience.”
“You’re killing me,” he moaned.
But Abby had never been so turned on. And Ethan hadn’t touched her body with anything but his eyes.
She played with the front clasp on her bra for a few tantalizing seconds before flicking it open. Her breasts spilled out. The straps slid down her arms.
“Oh Jesus.” Ethan sat up. His hands were on her waist, holding her in place. He leaned forward and kissed the smooth skin just above her navel. His lips trailed to her hip bone. His tongue played with the lace. Abby’s nerve endings rose. Every touch of his mouth sent a tiny current of pleasure right to her core. But she wanted this night to last. Forever if possible. She tried to back away.
“Oh no you don’t.” With one movement, he swept her feet out from under her. “That’s enough teasing. I’m only a man. I can only take so much.”
Abby tumbled into his arms. “Oh.”
“I want you.” Primal need roared from his eyes, and the brilliant blue darkened and sharpened with desire.
He shifted, laying her down on the couch and stretching out next to her. Their bodies pressed together. Heat shimmered from his skin in waves like a sultry day in August. She definitely wasn’t cold now. Her blood heated and flowed through her body as slow and thick as warm honey. The man had hot hands. Those heated palms kept moving. Callused fingertips trailed up and down along her ribs, alerting the skin on her sides that something good was going to happen to the rest of her body. My God, the way this man could make her feel with a simple caress was amazing. Her bones turned to liquid whenever he touched her.
He lowered his head, and she felt his warm breath wash over her face before his mouth even made contact, and she trembled slightly. He kissed her cheek then her temple, right along the nearly faded bruise. When his lips brushed a sensitive spot on her neck, her head automatically fell to the side to give him more room. Her body leaned into his all on its own, quivering in anticipation.
His fingertips stroked her collarbone and hovered over her breast. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Maybe we should wait.”
“What?” Abby moaned softly. “No.”
Ethan lifted his head to grin down at her. One look at the mischievous glint in his eyes and she knew she’d lost. Or won. She wasn’t sure yet because her brain was now the consistency of oatmeal, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that despite her earlier striptease, now she was the one being thoroughly, expertly seduced.
“Oh, forget it. You win. I can’t hold out any longer.” Ethan dipped his head and caught her nipple in his mouth.
Abby arched back as every brush of his lips on her breast sent warm waves of want rolling through her. Tension built as his hands and lips traveled the length of her torso, not leaving an inch of skin untended. His legs intertwined with hers.
Wait. She ran a foot up his hard calf. “When did you take your pants off?”
“A minute ago.” He stroked a hand up her thigh.
“How did I miss that?” Abby asked. “Are you some kind of magician?”
“You tell me.” His hand was between her legs. What happened to her panties? Oh, who cared? His fingers were nimble all right. They stroked and circled, building her pleasure in overlapping waves, until Abby could barely breathe. She pried a hand off his shoulder, where her nails had left marks in his skin.
“I’m sorry. I scratched you.” She took him in her hand.
“I know,” he hissed. “It’s so hot.”
She stroked him from base to tip. He twitched in her palm. “You find me scratching you a turn-on?”
His body stiffened. “You losing control is a total turn-on.”
“Like this?” Her hand dipped and cupped.
“Jesus.” His erection jumped toward her.
She wrapped one leg over the back of his thigh. “Ethan, now.”
“Yes. Now would be good.” He lifted his head. Their gazes met.
Unexpectedly nervous, Abby swallowed hard to ease the fluttering of her stomach. What was wrong with her? She was no virgin. But something in the back of her mind suspected this was going to be a whole new experience. Her blood had certainly never surged through her veins at this temperature. Nor had every nerve ending in her body ever stood at attention quite like this. Never had a man looked at her as if he couldn’t take his next breath without her.
Her entire body was waiting, anticipating, strung as taut as a tightrope.
Because she also knew to her very soul that sex with Ethan would be more than physical pleasure. They were joining more than their bodies tonight. The last week, they’d been dancing around this moment, this culmination of vulnerability and trust.
“Hold on.” Ethan reached for the floor. He came up with his jeans and fished in the pocket one-handed. He pulled out a foil packet and ripped it open with his teeth. A second later, he settled between Abby’s legs. Wow. The man had magic hands.
He slid inside her, filling her with an aching slowness. The internal stroke set a new bundle of nerves alight. Abby arched backward as pleasure speared her. But Ethan seated himself deeply inside her and held completely still. In the firelight, sweat glimmered on his skin.
“What, now you’re in no rush?” she panted.
“I want this to last as long as possible.” Ethan rested his forehead against hers. “I feel like…” He seated himself deeply in her.
“Like what?” Unable to resist another stroke of pleasure, Abby’s hips rocked. It wasn’t enough. She needed him to move, to finish what he’d started.
“Like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.”
Her heart stammered.
“But I can’t do it.” Ethan pulled back and slid in hard again.
Abby’s body tensed. His admission sent a fresh burst of heat through her. Pleasure coiled, tighter and tighter with each thrust of his body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and bowed backward.
“No. Don’t close your eyes.” Ethan thrust faster. “I want to see you.”
They locked gazes. Tiny dots swirled in Abby’s vision as her body soared and crashed. Energy pulsed through her body. Ethan’s eyes went dark and lost as he followed her over. Breathing hard, he dropped his forehead to hers. Abby could feel his heart thundering against her breasts, mimicking her own racing pulse.
They lay still for several minutes. The fire crackled. Wood shifted. Zeus snored.
Abby gave his shoulder a tap. “You’re heavy.”
“Oh, sorry.” Ethan lifted his upper body off Abby. “So, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Which one?”
“Am I a magician?”
Abby laughed. “You’re a regular Houdini.”
Ethan woke to a dark and empty bedroom. He swept a hand over the indent in the mattress next to him. The sheets were cool. Where was Abby? He threw back the covers and stepped into a pair of sweatpants. The hardwood was chilly under his bare feet.
He went downstairs and turned into the kitchen. Abby was standing at the window, but with all the lights blazing, she wouldn’t be able to see much except her own reflection. She was dressed in flannel pajama
s and a heavy, floor-length robe. The dog at her feet stretched and sighed heavily.
Ethan stepped up behind her. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but her stiff posture stopped him. Their reflections were both visible in the window, but she was so lost in whatever she was seeing in her own head, she didn’t notice him. “Can’t sleep?”
She gasped and blinked, one hand rising to her throat as she whirled to face him. The fingers of her other hand clenched the edge of the countertop behind her. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.” Ethan paused. Something was off. This wasn’t the same playful, in-charge woman who’d thoroughly seduced him. Instead of confidence, fear and helplessness shone in her eyes. An internal alarm went off inside Ethan. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She leaned backward, putting more space between them, but there was no way Ethan was letting her pull away from him. He took two steps forward, bringing their bodies into contact. Her eyes misted.
“Bullshit.” He searched her face.
Her gaze shifted to the window. Her eyes closed. Her shoulders slumped. “I thought that maybe now that Faulkner was dead, it would go away.”
“You thought what would go away?”
“But tonight I was just as afraid as always, maybe even more.”
Ethan drew her closer. He stroked her back through her thick robe. “What are you afraid of?”
With a defeated sigh, she leaned her head into his chest. Ethan’s arms slid around her.
“The dark. I sleep with the lights on.” She lifted her head. “And I’m not talking about a nightlight. At home I usually keep every light in the house on all night. They’re set on timers. Even if I’m not home, it’s as bright as an operating room in there all the time.”
Ethan stiffened. “You said it was dark in that well.”
She nodded. “He’d nailed plywood across the opening. I couldn’t even tell if it was night or day.”
Ethan’s gut twisted. She’d spent ten days in a dark hole in the ground drinking out of a puddle to stay alive. How could anyone do that to another human being? How could anyone take a beautiful woman and treat her worse than an animal? If Faulkner wasn’t dead, Ethan would kill the bastard all over again. He ached to take away all her pain. But that wasn’t possible. The best he could do was help her through the night.
“Come back to bed,” he whispered into her hair.
“I can’t sleep in the dark.”
“Abby, we can light up the house like the Meadowlands. All I care about is having you in my bed.” He took her hand and tugged her toward the stairs. He flipped wall switches as they walked down the hall. In the bedroom, he turned on the lights on both nightstands and the overhead fixture in the bathroom. He made sure the blinds were closed tightly. Not that there were any houses nearby, but so that Abby wouldn’t be staring at the black windows all night long.
She stood in the middle of the room. Looking lost. Adrift. He went to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.
Pressing her cheek to his chest, she shuddered. “Make love to me, Ethan.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. Terrified women weren’t really his thing. “I’m perfectly happy just to hold you all night.”
“I need you.” Her voice cracked.
Those three words stirred his heart in a way he couldn’t articulate. The thought that only he could get her through the night was powerful. The need to chase away her fear coursed through him. With a gentle smile, he slipped the robe from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Then he slowly unbuttoned her pajama top. When he spread the fabric apart and looked at her, she blushed from head to toe, pink heat spreading across her pale skin and wiping away her pallor.
He voiced his male approval. “You are amazing. Why on earth do you hide under baggy clothes?”
“Because hiding is what I do best.”
Ethan silently cursed his stupid comment. “I didn’t mean—”
She put a finger to his lips. “It’s OK. It’s not your fault, and I’m working on it. No more hiding for me. But I could use some help.”
Ethan couldn’t form the words to express the feeling in his heart. He’d have to show her instead.
One hand splayed at the base of her spine, nudging her hips closer, letting her feel the evidence of his desire. “See what you do to me?”
Her answering moan sent more of his blood racing south. He skimmed her rib cage until his hand gently brushed her breast. One fingertip circled her nipple in a feather-light caress.
“You have the most beautiful body.” He pressed his lips against her throat and trailed his mouth down her chest. Her torso bent backward over his arm.
He stripped the pajamas from her body, like he wanted to strip her fears away, leaving every inch of her bared to him. He stroked and caressed, kissed and tasted until her muscles went lax. When a heavy sigh left her lips, Ethan scooped her up and laid her on his bed. Shedding his pants, he stretched out beside her. His eyes roamed her flushed skin. Her nipples were pebbled from his tongue, her lips swollen from his kisses.
“I’ll tell you what.” He brushed his lips across her jaw. “I am loving this whole lights-on thing. I can see every inch of you, and you are perfect.”
She smiled, desire seeping through the sadness.
He was in no hurry. His hands moved lazily across her skin. His mouth took hers deeply over and over. His tongue stroked thoroughly, showing her just how much he cared about her.
Earlier their lovemaking had been playful, with a touch of frantic need. This was tenderness defined. He slipped a hand between her legs.
She opened for him. “I need you, Ethan. Hurry.”
Never had his body felt this primitive, basic urge that was now consuming him. He rolled toward her. Ah, shoot. Condom.
He reached into the nightstand drawer for a packet. There. He had it on in a second. He stretched out on top of her. She wrapped around him as he slid into her heat.
Her body arched off the bed. “Ethan.” His name escaped her lips as a plea.
Were those tears on her face?
“Shh. I know. I’m right here.” He rocked inside her, claiming her as his, promising with his body to be part of her, to keep her safe. Her body surged up to meet his, trying to find his rhythm. “Just relax, Abby. I got this.”
But her body tensed more, so he put aside his tender intentions and matched her rhythm instead. Speeding up his thrusts to bring her close to the release she desperately needed.
Her body went tense, and she clamped around him, tight as a vise. The aftershocks of her orgasm rolled around him and faded to a shimmer. Ethan let himself go. Abby’s body went soft underneath him.
Levering his weight off her with an elbow, he kissed her head and brushed the tears from her face. Her eyes blinked up at him, a heady mix of gratitude and confusion.
Yeah. What just passed between them had rocked him too.
But Ethan wasn’t confused. For once in his life he was absolutely sure about something. Abby had slid under his defenses.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Abby opened her eyes to a beeping sound.
“I’m sorry I woke you.” Ethan swiped his cell phone from the nightstand. “I have to work today. And I have the horses to take care of first.”
The night’s events flooded her brain in a collage of humiliating images. Never in her life had she been so needy. But despite the lack of sleep and the threat that remained to her life, her body felt lighter this morning. What did Ethan think?
Abby sat up, dragging the bedclothes up to cover her breasts. She smoothed the edge of the sheet between her fingers. “I’m sorry about last night.”
Ethan lowered his cell. “Why would you be sorry?”
“I don’t know what happened to make me lose it like that.”
“You mean exce
pt for nearly being killed, finding two dead bodies, and realizing that the people involved in your case are being murdered?”
“The last time I broke down was after I was rescued.” She flattened a wrinkle in the cotton. “I held it together while I was in the well. It wasn’t until it was all over that I lost it.”
“You were in survival mode,” Ethan said.
Abby looked up. “I’m sorry I dumped all that on you.”
“Don’t be.” Ethan pried her fingers off the linens. “Last night was amazing.” He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “You’re an amazing woman. I’ve never met anyone as strong as you.”
“I blubbered all over you.”
“You can blubber on me anytime.” Ethan pulled her to his chest. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a while? You didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“No, I should get up. If you’re working today, perhaps I should go home.” But she didn’t really want to be alone.
Ethan planted a kiss on her lips. “No way.”
He turned his pillow vertically and propped up his sculpted torso. Watching his lean body move, Abby was reminded of what those muscles felt like under her hands.
“Do you want me to stay here and keep an eye on the horses?” Where else would she go? Not home. After the detective’s murder, she wouldn’t feel safe anywhere.
He scrolled through messages on his phone. “The chief messaged me. Some files came from the Harris Police Department. Plus Detective Marshall, that’s the cop who’s handling Roy Abrams’s murder, wants you to look at some mug shots and see if anyone looks familiar.”
“But I didn’t see the killer’s face.”
Ethan shrugged. “You saw his eyes, and you said they were distinctive.”
“Dead gray.” Abby shuddered. “Like a fish, a shark.”
“Gray isn’t as common as brown, blue, or hazel. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“Is this just an excuse for me to sit at the police station all day?”
“Oh, look at the time.” With an exaggerated glance at the clock, Ethan pushed back the covers and stepped into a pair of jeans thrown over a chair. He pulled a sweatshirt over his head. Picking up her robe, he handed it to her. “Not that I really want you to put it on, but I know you get cold.”
She Can Hide (She Can Series) Page 17