by Katie Reus
“Did I wake you up?” she asked, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around herself. She wasn’t scared of him—never that—just a little nervous.
He shook his head, his green eyes practically smoldering. She wished he would say something. Instead he just watched her, the heat simmering there undeniable. He was making it clear what he wanted from her without saying a word.
She cleared her throat, resenting him a little for making her feel nervous and out of sorts. No one had ever had this effect on her body, not even her ex. But it was like Sawyer was just attuned to her. She had to keep her distance or else she’d never be able to resist him. “I’m going to make some coffee, do you want some?” Amazingly, her voice sounded normal, nothing like her quaking insides.
His gaze landed on her lips. “That’s not what I want this morning,” he murmured, his voice a lower octave than she’d ever heard.
Heat pooled low in her belly and her nipples automatically pebbled. “What do you want?” Why was she asking? She knew the answer. Some part of her desperately wanted him to say the words, to spell out exactly what he wanted. Seeing him like this, knowing he’d dropped everything in his life to help her out when he didn’t have to, was one of the biggest turn-ons she could have ever imagined.
He dropped his arms and stepped out of the doorway, his prowl reminding her of a predator on a hunt. “I think you know.”
“Say it,” she whispered, surprising herself.
“Take off your sweater.” His words were a quiet order, the demanding note behind them increasing the warmth between her legs by a hundred degrees.
Without pause, she shrugged it off, letting it fall to the ground in the hallway. What was going to happen between them—again—was a foregone conclusion. She could try to keep her distance but spending time alone with Sawyer pretty much made her lose all self-control. And she was okay with that. The payoff would be worth it if their first time together was any indication. She might be nervous about how things would play out between them but he was worth the risk.
“Now your top.” His gaze was still intent on hers, those dark green eyes pinning her in place.
She was so damn slick between her legs it was almost embarrassing. He hadn’t even touched her and she was ridiculously turned on. This time she did pause, just for a moment, before peeling the thin pajama top off. He’d seen her naked, but that had been fast and furious in her kitchen. She hadn’t even taken her chemise all the way off, it had ended up bunched around her waist.
Now things had slowed down and it was nerve-wracking. Her top joined her sweater on the floor. Before he could give her another order, she strode past him into his room.
The drapes were pulled back but the blinds were shut, letting in very little light. She could see enough to make out the queen-sized bed and blue and white French country décor.
She hadn’t made it past the threshold before he was behind her, on her, his big hands clutching her hips as he tugged her back flush to his torso. His skin was hot against her back. The skin on skin was too much and not enough.
He let out a soft growl as his hands slid up her hips, spanning her waist and stomach before cupping her breasts. He didn’t touch her nipples though, just held her gently. She had curves but she wasn’t exactly overflowing up top. Not that Sawyer seemed to mind.
Leaning down, he nipped her earlobe, his breath warm on her face. His erection pressed insistently against her back, but he seemed to be taking his time. Which was fine with her.
“I’m not walking away from this thing between us, Zoe,” he whispered darkly, his words sending a shiver through her. She didn’t know what to say and he surprised her by continuing. “If you’re thinking of using me for sex this morning, fine. But it’s not just about fucking for me.”
His words sent a thrill through her. She loved the way he was so honest about everything. After dealing with a maniac who couldn’t take no for an answer, who didn’t understand the difference between reality and his crazy fictional world, being with someone as blunt as Sawyer was a breath of fresh air. He said what he meant and she knew that if she told him to stop, even if he was inside her, he would. No questions asked.
She trusted him implicitly. Above all, that was so freeing.
“What is it about?” The question came out as a whisper. In the mostly-darkness, with her back to him, it was easy to be brave, to say what she wanted.
He stilled behind her for a moment and she wondered if he’d respond at all. Slowly, he took her earlobe between his teeth, pressing down on the sensitive area just as his hands fully cupped her breasts, his thumbs swiping over her nipples. Too many sensations twined through her as she arched into his hold.
“I want you to remember the feel of me inside you even when I’m not with you.” He dropped one hand from her breast to sweep her hair out of the way. Slowly, torturously, he kissed a hot path along the back of her neck. Her head fell forward as he teased her, both with his mouth and his hand, which gently stroked over her nipple in soft little circles.
Knees weak, she leaned back into him. His other hand snagged around her waist, pulling her tighter to him. His thick length pressed insistently against her and her inner walls clenched, unfulfilled. She desperately wanted to feel him inside her.
“It’s about you trusting me,” he continued, surprising her.
She’d been so caught up in how he was making her feel she’d forgotten she asked him a question. “I do.”
He stilled again for a moment before he continued his slow dance of kisses, now along her shoulders. She shivered and reached back to hold him. There wasn’t much she could grab other than his behind and that was fine with her. When she dug her fingers into him, he made a sexy, growling sound against her skin.
Before she knew it, he’d moved them to the bed and she was flat on her back against the tangled sheets. The second her back hit the covers, his hands were on the waist of her pajama bottoms, tugging them and her panties down. Her toes curled into the sheets as she was completely bared to him.
He still had on his drawstring pants, something she wanted to remedy soon. She reached for him, ready to push them down, but he moved lightning quick, his hands grasping her wrists.
“Shit,” he murmured, his gaze hot on hers.
A small sliver of alarm twisted through her, her heart rate increasing. “What?”
He gritted his teeth. “No condoms. I fucking forgot them.” Self-loathing pulsed off him.
She’d already told him she was on birth control so… “I’m clean.”
Crouched above her, his big body so beautiful she wanted to stroke every inch of it, he rasped out, “Me too.”
That was that. If it had been anyone else, under any other circumstances, she’d have waited to do tests but she trusted him. “Okay.”
He sucked in a shallow breath and his eyes dilated, the hunger there so damn palpable she could reach out and touch it. When he looked down again, his laser-like focus narrowing between her legs, she fought the urge to squirm under that intensity. She really wanted to taste him—all of him—but it was pretty clear what he had in mind.
And she definitely wasn’t going to stop him.
Reaching out, he slid a finger down her slit and let out a groan. “You’re so damn wet,” he murmured. In her kitchen, he’d been unsteady. Not now. Now he was in control. His jaw was clenched tight and the tendons in his neck kept flexing, telling her he was barely holding onto that control, but this was different than before. She loved it.
Slowly, gently, he slid a finger inside her and they both groaned as she tightened around him. “Fuck, Zoe. You’re going to kill me.”
She shifted lower against the bed, forcing him deeper inside her, her breathing erratic and unsteady. His gaze snapped to hers, a wicked grin spreading across his face before he dipped his head down between the apex of her thighs, his mouth zeroing in on her clit as if he knew exactly what she needed.
And he did.
The man apparently forgo
t nothing about what she liked. His tongue teased against her pulsing bundle of nerves, the rhythm of his thrusting finger perfect. Almost alarmingly so. Without warning he slid another finger inside her, her slick body welcoming him as his tongue and teeth continued stroking against her.
She slid her fingers through his short hair, her back arching off the bed as she grinded against his face and fingers. He made her feel so amazing it was hard to be self-conscious as she immediately started to build higher and higher to climax.
All her muscles pulled tight, her body tensing for what she knew was to come. It should be too soon but she’d been primed forever, just lying in bed thinking about Sawyer. The man was her walking, talking fantasy come to life.
Rough around the edges, protective, smart, sexy as hell, and didn’t worry that she was some delicate flower between the sheets. He was a very unique man, one she didn’t plan to let get away. She’d be insane to do that.
“Come for me,” he growled against her clit. The desperateness in his voice was what pushed her over the edge.
Letting go, her orgasm punched through her, slamming into all her nerve endings as he continued teasing her clit. It finally got to the point where it bordered on painful. She tightened her grip on his head and tried to move back, but he beat her to it.
He withdrew his fingers and sat up before he quickly covered her body with his. His mouth crushed over hers, his tongue demanding entrance as he wrapped his arms around her.
She loved the feel of him covering her, his huge body one protective embrace as he rolled his hips against her, his erection rock hard. She reached between them and slid her hand down his pants. No boxers, just commando.
Groaning into his mouth, she wrapped her fingers around his thickness. He made a strangled sound and thrust into her grip, letting her stroke him up and down until finally he tore his mouth from hers.
“I want to take you from behind.” His words were guttural, sexy, and he was sort of asking.
She could see that raw look in his eyes. He wanted to just flip her onto her knees and pound into her. If they’d been a couple or had been dating longer, she knew he’d have done just that. But he was holding back. Probably because he was worried about her after the crap she’d dealt with recently.
Well, he didn’t need to worry. Without pause, she rolled over and pushed her ass back to him. That seemed to set him off. “Fuck,” he growled, the sound raw and strained. She looked over her shoulder, watching his hands shake as he stripped off his pants.
Then he was back on the bed, one of his big hands smoothing down the length of her spine as the other guided his hard length to her entrance.
When he pushed inside her, she let her head fall forward. He filled her completely in this position, her inner walls molded around him as if they’d been made for each other. For how she felt right now, maybe they had. The man had gotten under her skin in a way no one ever had.
The chemistry was almost too much. And at the same time, not enough. She simply couldn’t get enough of him, wondered if she ever would.
When he pulled back and slid into her again, she moaned his name. “Sawyer.”
Her clit was pulsing, begging to be touched again. Feeling bold, she reached between her legs and started stroking herself as he began thrusting.
“Oh yeah, touch yourself, sweetheart. Come on my dick,” he rasped out, his voice a bare whisper.
His words set her entire body aflame. Her breasts felt heavy, her nipples tingling, as he grabbed one of her hips. He found a delicious rhythm that had her inner walls growing tighter and tighter around him. When he reached up and cupped one of her breasts, unexpectedly tweaking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, she cried out.
Another climax slammed into her, the pleasure more intense than before. Maybe it was because he was inside her, completely filling her, hitting that very important spot. Whatever it was, she clawed at the sheets, moving her body back to meet his with each intense thrust as she pushed over the edge.
He had to feel her coming around him, her inner walls tightening out of control as she called out his name again. Or she tried to. It was hard to think let alone speak straight. Her words were a garbled mess.
When one of his hands tightened almost painfully on her hip and he dropped his other hand from her breast, she knew he was about to let go too.
Just like that, he did, his thrusts erratic as he cried out, releasing himself inside her in long, hot streams. It seemed to go on forever as they lost themselves with each other.
As he came down from his high, he let out a protesting groan as he pulled out of her. Her inner thighs were sticky with both their juices, but she was glad when he didn’t rush to grab something to clean up.
Instead, he turned her over, which was good because her limbs were useless noodles right now. Covering her face in sweet kisses, he pulled her close, his big hands sliding up and down her back and settling on her ass as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him.
Spent, she laid her head on his chest, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck. She could feel his heart beat against her chest, the staccato rhythm steady, if a little faster than normal. “That was amazing,” she murmured, feeling lethargic and satisfied, glad they had nowhere else to be today. Because they were definitely doing that again soon.
After a few minutes passed, he rolled his hips once, his cock already half-hard against her lower abdomen. “Feel like taking a shower with me?”
She grinned against his chest without looking up at him. “You’re a monster,” she muttered.
“You like it.”
That was true. She should be too damn tired but…who was she kidding? If he was up for another round, she was taking full advantage.
Chapter 12
She looked around the grocery store parking lot, making sure no one was paying any attention to her before turning her attention back to Zoe and her new lover. She’d tracked Zoe to Saint Augustine, right down to the beach house she was staying at. It had been so easy, tracking Zoe. All she’d had to do was use the ADM—android device manager—linked to Zoe’s phone. It was Zoe’s own fault for being so stupid, for leaving her email open at work and giving anyone access to her personal information. After that, now she could track Zoe anywhere as long as she had her phone on her and turned on since all her accounts were synced.
So far she hadn’t been able to properly scout the house without getting caught because the street was a dead end and the houses were so far apart she’d be spotted easily if someone looked out a window. She could have gone jogging down the street, but she hadn’t wanted to risk being recognized. Not when she’d come so far.
Instead she’d parked at a gas station at the end of the road where the house was—and waited. It’d been long and tedious to just wait but she didn’t mind being patient. And making sure Zoe paid for all she’d done was worth sitting in her car all day. She wasn’t going to drag this out much longer, not when she had more pressing matters to deal with back home.
With Zoe out of town, she could kill two birds with one stone. Eliminate Zoe and focus on her next love interest. Now that Braddock was dead she needed someone else to fill her bed. Someone better than him. Someone kind and not so narcissistic. While Braddock had had many wonderful attributes, what with being a renowned surgeon and so wealthy, he’d lacked so much emotionally. Her next lover wouldn’t be like that. No, he’d be happy to have someone like her in his life. But only if Zoe was gone.
Now it appeared she’d have the chance to get rid of her sooner than she’d hoped. Just as she’d been about to head back to her motel, she’d seen Zoe’s male friend pulling out onto the street. Now the bitch and he were at a grocery store. Instead of following them inside, even though she desperately wanted to get a peek at Zoe’s face, to see if she was stressed or scared, she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity.
She knew exactly where they were, and would have a limited time to check out the exterior of the house and come up wi
th a game plan. Well, she didn’t have to decide now. Steering out of the parking lot, she could barely contain the thrill that punched through her.
Soon justice would be done. Zoe would be gone forever. She just needed to decide how she was going to kill Zoe. She’d played out too many fantasies in her head. The one thing she was certain of, she’d have to shoot Zoe’s lover. Maybe not kill him first though. A gut shot so he’d bleed out while Zoe watched. Maybe even make it look like Zoe had killed him then killed herself.
That thought brought on a rush of pleasure. She’d have to make sure she cleaned up all her DNA if she did that, make it appear as if she’d never been there. Once she scouted the house, she’d be able to figure out her exact plan better.
The only thing certain right now was that Zoe was going to die, but she’d watch her friend go first.
* * *
Sawyer looked out the glass sliding door leading to the lower back deck, a frown tugging at his mouth. The sun was now setting and ever since they’d left the grocery store that morning, he hadn’t been able to shake an uneasy feeling. Not the kind where someone was looking at him through a sniper scope, but the kind where something bad was on the horizon.
He could just chalk it up to the whole situation of being in hiding, but something tickled his senses.
“You look way too tense,” Zoe murmured, her arms coming around him from behind as she laid her head on his back.
He covered her arms with his own, linking his fingers through hers. She’d been impressive today, not complaining once that they hadn’t been able to leave except to get groceries. Not that he’d expected her to, but he knew how civilians could be, especially after his last month of training for Red Stone Security. People didn’t like feeling as if they were caged, even if the surroundings were nice, and it could make them react poorly. Not Zoe. “Sorry we couldn’t hit the beach today.”