“We can’t hide behind locked doors waiting for them to make the first move.” She inhaled a deep breath, counted to ten and then released it slowly. “There’s one way to expedite their plans. Use me as bait.”
“No. I won’t let you put yourself in danger.”
“I’m already in danger,” she said. “The sooner we get them to act, the quicker I’m out of it. Jacob, I had no power to stop what happened to me… to my friends fourteen years ago. But I do have the power now. Please, try to understand. The waiting for someone… something terrible to happen is far worse than risking my neck by setting a trap.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, but after a few beats of tense silence, he said, “Flushing them out is the best way to get them in our sights on our terms.”
Claire rose to her tiptoes, then wound her arms around his neck. “Thanks for agreeing to do things my way.” She brushed her lips against his.
“Our way,” he corrected her. “We’ve got to be on the same page about every move we make from now until we get them in custody.”
“Our way sounds perfect.” She shared a look with him, feeling like they worked so well together. As a team. Now she wondered how many other ways they’d work that well if they were a couple without danger lurking in the shadows.
He took her hand and together they watched the fire department working hard to try to save what they could of her home.
“Nothing’s left,” she said. “Thank God my mom has a copy of all my pictures and videos, or the most important memories would be gone forever.” Her heart ached, but she refused to cave to the sorrow.
Not yet.
“Looks like the worst of it is contained.” The sheriff took out his flashlight. “Going to check the woods behind Claire’s house for evidence.” He left them standing there and called for his lone deputy to join him in the search.
A horn blared and she turned to see Hank driving toward them. After he parked behind the sheriff’s cruiser, he stepped out. “I’ve got news,” he said, striding toward them. “Waitress at a truck stop in Bozeman spotted Riley after seeing his mug shot on the news. He’s been in Montana since Sunday.”
“Was he alone?” Jacob asked.
“Negative. Someone wearing a hoodie and wraparound sunglasses picked him up in a late-model silver Ford Taurus.” Hank stopped in front of Claire. “Sorry about your place. Real shame.”
If anyone understood what it was like to lose a home to arson or sabotage, it was Hank when his wife lost her family home to a stalker’s bomb. “Me too,” she said. “But it could have been far worse.”
“True,” he said. “People outrank stuff.”
“The waitress’s intel confirms what we suspected,” Jacob said. “Riley’s got an accomplice and he lives somewhere in these mountains.”
“Only a matter of time before they’re caught.”
“Oh, if I have my way, they’ll be in custody in days.” Claire hugged her waist to ward off the night breeze’s chill. “I don’t know who’s helping Riley but there has to be a connection.”
Hank shot her a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
Quickly, she and Jacob recapped their decision to snare the men threatening her. Whoever was helping Vance had a personal stake riding on making good on her former coach’s vendetta.
“You find his son yet?” Hank asked.
“No, which makes him my number one suspect.”
“No one can be completely off the grid,” Hank said. “You’re plan’s risky, but doable. Keep her out in public but under surveillance.”
When the sheriff returned he informed them they’d discovered footprints. “We’ve got pictures, then the examiner will cast them,” he said. “We’ll use them to match the shoes once we have our suspects in custody.”
“Excellent,” Jacob said. “Looks like there’s nothing else we can do tonight. Can you give Taz a lift home?”
“Sure thing. You staying at your sister’s?”
“Affirmative.”
They said their goodbyes, then Jacob drove her to Delaney and Ethan’s house.
“Hard to believe I attended a wedding here over a week ago,” she said after they stepped inside. “Feels like it’s been a year since your sister got married.”
Claire toed off her ballet flats, then crossed the wood floor and moved into the living room to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. She stared at the landscape through blurred vision. The weight of the day’s events pressed heavily on her shoulders, while a scratching pain lingered behind her eyes.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Jacob said gently, folding his arms around her from behind. “You want anything to drink to take the edge off? Wine? Beer?”
She tilted her head back, resting it against his chest. “I don’t think there’s anything strong enough to take the edge off everything’s that’s happened.”
“How about some water? Then I’ll set you up in Delaney’s guest suite.” He caressed her arms. “I’ll raid her closet for PJs.”
The sensation of his hands gliding along her bare skin sent tendrils of heat through her. Warmth filled every pore, and tingles traveled into every sexy part she possessed. Oh, there wasn’t a drink strong enough to obliterate her devastating loss or the fact that the perpetrators had more sickening plans to make her life a living hell.
However, there was someone incredibly strong currently holding her who had the power to do obliterate her fears and more. Only he could take her mind off everything she’d lost today. Only he could make her believe the future would be better, brighter, filled with possibilities.
“Water’d be great, but I don’t want to sleep alone tonight,” she said softly. “And I don’t want anything to wear to bed, not when I have every intention of taking it all off.”
Chapter 8
Jacob’s ears buzzed when he registered her words. He shouldn’t take advantage of Claire’s vulnerability. “What happened to taking things slow?” he asked. Though she didn’t sound helpless. She sounded determined. And her voice had dropped an octave to the deep southern honeyed drawl with a kick of sultry on the side.
She turned in the circle of his arms to face him. “The idea’s highly overrated considering there’re a couple of madmen out there determined to murder me and do God knows what else before they finish the job.”
Her pupils grew dark, surrounded by a rim of emerald-flecked hazel eyes, and her parted lips seemed fuller, plump and ripe for him to taste again.
Nope. No vulnerability in her gaze, only seductive hotness. His blood ran south and his cock hardened. “I’m game for switching up the speed.” He lowered his mouth to a breath away from hers. “But first I want to take my time to get to know every square inch of your body.”
Her breath hitched and she arched her back, exposing her neck. “By all means, take all the time you want,” she said, her voice yet another octave lower.
“Oh, I plan on it.” He stroked her back all the way to the small indent, then cupped her perfect ass to bring her closer. “We’ve got all night long, Claire. And I’m a patient man.”
“Patience is also overrated.”
He nipped her lower lip, grazed his teeth lightly over the delectable fullness and teased the seams with his tongue. She tasted so damn good… like his favorite candy… sweet, tart and addictive.
He doubted he’d ever get enough of her.
Jacob trailed his mouth down the long column of her neck, licking and kissing his way to her wildly beating pulse. Her breathing grew more rapid… the hard points of her nipples pebbled against her fitted V-neck’s fabric.
She twined her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he cruised his tongue over her skin above the shirt’s neckline. “Oh… don’t stop there,” she moaned.
Her sultry demand brought a ragged chuckle through him. “Don’t worry.” He skimmed his hands over her slim waist and tugged the shirt from her waistband. “This is just the beginning.”
He pushed the V-ne
ck higher and she grabbed the hem. “Let me,” Claire said breathlessly. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She whipped the shirt over her head and it flew to the floor.
“You’re off-duty,” he reminded her as he unsnapped her lacy purple bra’s front closure to release her full breasts.
“Yes, but I…” she moaned again when he tweaked her taut nipples between his fingers and thumbs.
“You were saying?” he asked, teasing the engorged buds before bending to suck one into his mouth.
She bucked against his groin. “Oooohhh…. Proceed at your own risk.”
His cock head filled. Man, he loved the way her drawl filled the air, the way her body responded so beautifully to his touch, the way she let herself go for him.
Still licking the sensitized nipple, he circled her other breast’s rosy aureole with his finger until he once again grazed the bud with his thumb pad.
She clutched his head, holding him to her rapidly rising and falling cleavage. “Jacob…”
Claire’s body trembled with the first spasms of her building arousal. Damn. All the blood in his brain flowed south, leaving his body throbbing. His dick strained to get inside her and bring her all the way over the edge.
But as much as he wanted to act on the impulse, he didn’t want their first time together to happen here on the floor. Maybe their second time. Or their third.
Heat flashed low. Fuck. If he didn’t get her to his bedroom now, he’d lose his load.
He licked his way back to her throat, then over to her mouth, and drew her lush lower lip into his mouth before letting it go. “You said something about getting naked in bed,” he rasped. “Let’s go before we bruise our asses on the hardwood floor.”
“Yes. Bed is good. Naked is even better.”
“Naked is great.” He kissed her again, then took her hand. “Come on.”
Within moments, they’d stripped each other bare in a mad chaos of tugging off jeans and dragging off the remainder of their clothes until they littered the floor around them.
And then they were on the bed, his mouth locked onto hers, kissing her with everything he had while molding her to his body. She cruised her hands down his back and stroked them over his ass, then brought him closer.
His cock strained to plunge into the heat spiraling from her sex. “Not yet,” he said, breaking their connection to kiss her cheeks, her jaw, while running his hand over her breasts and lower until he reached the triangle of honey-blonde curls below.
He loved that she was a natural blonde. Really loved it a lot.
Jacob took her lips again and drove his tongue into her mouth while probing lower, sliding his fingers between her slick folds to swirl her hot juice over her clit.
She bucked and he flicked the bud with his thumb while pushing one finger in and out of her. Her muscles clenched around him, pulling him deeper and his vision hazed. She might not be inexperienced, but he’d bet she’d had very few sexual encounters based on her super tight pussy.
He deepened his kiss, gliding his tongue into her mouth and dueling with hers. She grew wetter and he pushed a second finger into her, increased his pace, moving them faster… faster… wanting to get her so hot, so wet, she’d be able to take his cock in all the way to the hilt when he finally plunged into her.
She rode his hand, moaning and wrenching her mouth from his. “It’s… I’ve never…”
“Do it for me,” he said, sweeping her slick moisture over her clit while pushing so deep he could feel her G-spot. “Let me get you there.”
He added a third finger, stroking into her. Her pussy convulsed and milked his fingers, pulling them in. Over and over, he plunged into her determined to give her the one thing no other man ever had given her before. She might not be a virgin, but she sure as hell was a virgin in the orgasm department.
Damned if he didn’t love that too.
“What… this… oh my… stop… no don’t stop,” she cried, her hips bucking up and down as she rode his hand. “Oooooh…”
“I’ve got you. Come Claire. Ride it all the way.”
“I… yes!”
Her entire body trembled as the waves of her orgasm flowed around his fingers as he held her. Slowly, the shudders traveling through her body subsided while he continued gently stroking her pussy and sweeping her come over her clit, his cock hard as granite.
She spread her legs to give him greater access to her slick channel. “You were… this is… wow.” Claire moved her mouth over his. “I don’t think I’ve ever, you know…” Her voice trailed off and pink bloomed across her cheeks.
His heart beat quickened and his pulse pumped in his throat. Her sudden shyness undid him in ways he’d never experienced. “Yeah, I know. I want to take you there again.” He gazed into her luminous hazel eyes. Eyes that could slay a man with one look. Hell, they slayed him.
“I want you too,” she said and rolled ever so slightly to face him, then caressed his leg with her thigh and thrust her pelvis nearer to his.
Her hot pussy’s juice slicked over his skin. His cock head filled and he grew even harder. “Hold on a sec.” He stopped stroking her to reach over her head and withdraw a condom from his nightstand, then ripped the foil and quickly sheathed himself.
Carefully he rolled her on top of him. When she gave him a wide-eyed look, he said, “Got to protect my shoulder or my physical therapist will get mad.” Her bow-shaped lips formed a perfect O and he smiled.
“I’ve never…”
Awesome. Another first. And he adored every bit of her. This beautiful strong woman had the heart of a fighter, the compassionate soul of a healer, and the sensuality of a kick-ass lover.
He cruised his hands along her legs toward her hips. “Set the pace, Claire.” He eased her up and brought her to the tip of his cock. “I’ll take you slow, fast or any speed you like.”
He wanted to be with her in every way possible.
He wanted to show her how incredible she could feel with the right man.
Hell, he wanted to be that man.
When she began to lower herself onto him, he held her hips and thrust into her, and she took him all the way to the hilt. He skimmed his hands to her full breasts and cupped them. She tossed her head back and rode him faster, her gasps filling the air. Then he was lost… lost to the amazing sensation of being inside her hot, slick sex… and lost to the realization he didn’t want this to end… ever.
Jacob teased Claire’s nipples, pinching them, and sending more exquisite jolts of electricity into every nerve she possessed. Her clit throbbed and she rode him faster, loving the way the rough hairs abraded the sensitized bud. She’d never been so free, so wild, so incredibly turned on by a man.
The aftershocks of her orgasm pulsed through her and a new one began to build. “Jacob… I’m want to…”
“You will.”
He abandoned her breasts to grasp her hips, urging her to ride him harder. She leaned over him, grasping his waist to pump him even faster… reaching for the release her body craved.
Sweat slicked her skin and heat blazed through her body. Only Jacob could make her feel this way. The thought both thrilled her and terrified her. Her heart thrummed behind her sternum—she couldn’t let him become too important. The woman who’d yearned for a safe place to fall now clamored to give in to the emotions swirling in her sex-muddled mind.
She clutched his waist. Only one thing would obliterate her yearning for more than this incredible physical connection. “Jacob… now… make me come again.”
He drove into her all the way to the hilt, erasing her confusion. She gasped, sped up, and lost herself to the building pressure and tension in her body… and in his.
“That’s it babe.” He reached between their bodies and flicked her clit. “You’re so close.”
His touch sparked more waves of pleasure. “Yes… this… I love this…” She spiraled higher, the tension coiling at her core.
He thrust into her again and again, then he stiffene
d. “Come with me Claire,” he rasped, then plunged into her one final time.
His spasms pulsed through her, and she spiraled higher, her orgasm erupting. Her cries filled the room and she collapsed against him, stars bursting behind her eyes.
He tugged her into his body, his breath labored. Her heart beat rapidly and she heard his drumming equally as quick.
Minutes passed where neither spoke. Only the sound of their breathing returning to normal filled the air, their bodies molded to each other as Jacob caressed her back with long languid strokes.
Tenderness filled her heart. She could get used to nights like these. She could get used to going to bed with Jacob Lawson and waking up beside him every morning until…
A band wrapped around her lungs and squeezed. Until he shipped out to parts unknown. Though she’d never ask him to give up his way of life for hers, she couldn’t let her heart grow to rely on him. She’d learned long ago that the people she loved wouldn’t always be there protect her from the world’s ugliness, and she’d carried hard-won lesson with her always.
She cared for Jacob. But caring could lead to love… and love would lead to expectations she didn’t want to harbor. Still, she wanted to be with him. Enjoy the time they had before he left. After she finally ended this nightmare with Vance, she’d say goodbye and move on. But, as he tilted her chin up to gaze into her eyes, she nearly lost her resolve when she recognized the tenderness floating in his.
Chapter 9
“I’m so tired of not getting results,” Claire said, walking into the kitchen where Jacob sat at the counter with his laptop open.
“That makes two of us.” He continued scanning his computer screen. “Every day you’re out there without me by your side is a day too many.”
She’d gone about her business without Jacob as her constant shadow for days after the fire had destroyed her home. “You know it’s the only way we’ll get him to come out of hiding.” Though the wire she wore along with the constant discreet camera surveillance gave her a measure of security, every day they didn’t flush Vance out increased her frustration and her fear. “What if we never find him?”
Brotherhood Protectors: Falling for Her Temporary Bodyguard (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 8