by Vicki Tharp
“As much as I’d always wanted to have sex in my helo,” Tessa said as he pushed up her sweatshirt and started kissing his way up from her delicate belly button to her delectable breasts. “This is definitely more comfortable.”
“Mmm.” He pushed her sweatshirt higher and discovered she hadn’t bothered putting on a bra. Sweet Jesus. He molded one with his hand, teasing the nipple to a peak with his thumb and taking it into his mouth to suck.
She arched beneath him, her hands going to his hair and fisting there. A little sound escaped the back of her throat, driving his blood south.
After stripping her sweatshirt off, he took her hand and held it against his arousal. “This is what you do to me.”
“I’m pretty sure if you had any woman’s naked breasts in your face, it would have the same effect on you.”
She was teasing, but for some reason, he couldn’t let what she’d said go. “Probably. But you’re the only woman who does that to me when she’s fully dressed, when she’s sitting at a table eating syrupy pancakes or stealing my coffee or straddling the stick in her cockpit.”
“You have…” Her words dropped off as he skimmed his hand down her abdomen, under the waistband of her sweats, and cupped her through the cotton of her panties. They were damp. He had a feeling it wasn’t because she hadn’t toweled off after her shower. “Y-You’ve got a kink for female pilots?”
“When they’re you I do.”
She kicked off her boots, and he stripped the sweatpants down her long legs, taking her panties with them. He kissed his way up her calves and settled between her thighs, loving the way her hands held tight to his head, encouraging. He didn’t make her wait, but he also didn’t rush. He traced lazy circles around her clit with his tongue.
She bucked up against him, her legs moved over his shoulders as he licked and teased until he drew soft moans from the back of her throat. The sexy, sweet taste of her and the sounds she made, drove him to the brink. He needed to find that condom. Quick.
He pulled away.
“Don’t stop.” The frustration in her voice brought a smile to his face.
He nipped at her inner thigh, then laid across it as he snagged the leg of his jeans and pulled them closer. “Patience, Sunshine.”
His wallet fell out of his back pocket, and he dug around for the condom he’d stowed there. He sheathed himself and rolled on top of Tessa again. He was careful to take his weight on his arms, though unlike some of the women he’d been with, Tessa’s height and athletic build made her substantial enough that he wasn’t afraid he’d crush her or break her.
He slid his arms under her shoulders and cupped the back of her head, pressing open mouth kisses at the base of her neck where her pulse throbbed, fast and erratic.
Reaching down, he adjusted himself at her entrance, but as much as he wanted to plunge deep inside her, he held back, touching his forehead to hers. She pressed her pelvis against his, trying to take him in, but he pulled away.
A strangled sound escaped the back of her throat. “You want me to beg, is that it? Because you’re killing me.”
“I don’t want you to beg, but I don’t intend to rush this either.”
She put her hands on his ass and drove him inside her. Warm, wet, welcoming. His brain seized, his thoughts scattered, and his heart tumbled in his chest. He found her hands and twined his fingers with hers above her head and met her slow, languorous strokes.
He stared down at her, amazed to have a woman like her in his life. She was tough, but sweet. Strong, yet yielding, and content to give but not afraid to take what she wanted.
He didn’t want to leave.
As much as he wanted to take down the bastard responsible for Lang and Rivera, for the first time in his life he wanted something more than justice or vengeance. What he wanted, was Tessa.
Which meant he also wanted Jack, because they were a package deal.
But wanting something didn’t mean he’d come close to getting it. His gaze locked on Tessa’s face. On the curve of her lip, on the way her dark lashes fanned across her cheek, the look of unadulterated ecstasy on her face as he drove her higher and higher.
Opening her eyes, she gazed back at him.
“There you are,” he said as he ducked his head for another kiss. He’d never get enough of her taste. Was it that awful that he didn’t want to leave?
Her eyes cleared, then narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m making love to a beautiful woman. What could be wrong?”
The rhythm they’d been building slowed to a gentle, skin tingling stroke. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I lie for a living. I’m actually pretty accomplished.”
“Is it what you came over to talk to me about earlier?”
He didn’t want to get into that right then, and not because they were making love, but because he didn’t want to lie to her while he was. “Yes. Can we talk about this later?”
She stilled beneath him. “No.”
Fuck. Gil almost laughed at his frustration. Not at stopping, but at himself, at how hard this lie was going to be to sell. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to. Even though Tessa had stopped moving, she felt too good. He continued the slow, slick, slide in and then out to the sensitive tip and back again.
She didn’t protest.
“It’s my grandmother, she—” He started to feed her the same crap line he’d told Jenna about how his grandmother had died and how he had to go to her funeral and take care of her estate. But the lies didn’t roll off his tongue the way they usually did. Probably because Tessa mattered. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. It just was.
“Oh, no.” Tessa freed her hands and cupped his face. “Is she okay?”
“No.”
“I’m so sor—”
He shook his head. “No. She’s fine. Well, she’s not fine, she died five years ago actually, but…” Don’t tell her. Deep undercover was just that. The more people who knew, the higher the chances were that that information would get out, putting his life in danger. But this was Tessa. This was different. She was different.
“I told Jenna my grandmother passed away, but that’s my cover story. Finn found a way to get me undercover with the organization we believe is behind the gun running. No one is supposed to know, but I didn’t want to lie to you or disappear without explanation. You won’t be able to reach me except through Spinks. I don’t want you thinking I wanted to leave, because that would be a damn lie.”
“Is it The Wolf?”
“Possibly. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
She kissed him. Gentle and sweet. “Thanks for telling me the truth. I’ll keep your secret safe.”
Hugging him to her, she started to move beneath him. The pleasure, the tension, the heat building. He got to his knees, his hands on her hips as he drove into her, her breasts bouncing, her head thrashing, her eyes closed tight. Soft, little moans drifted to him, her breath hitching, matching his own.
He placed a hand on her mound, his thumb circling her nub as her breathing grew more and more labored. She stilled in his hands, her internal muscles squeezing, squeezing.
Her body shuddered. “Fuck me.”
He grinned down at her. “I’m doing my best, Sunshine.”
The base of his spine tingled, and his balls got tight. He dropped down on all fours, pounding into her as the sweat slicked their bodies. His rhythm became frantic, erratic, then with one last thrust, he emptied himself inside her.
Holding her close, he rolled to his back, taking her with him, enjoying the aftershocks that wracked her body, tightening her internal muscles around him. He ran his hands down her sides to the curve of her ass, loving the feel of her breasts squished against his chest. “You feel so good, you know that?”
She folded her arms across his chest and laid her chin on her hands. “I could say the same about you.”
He started going soft and as much as he wanted to lay there all night with th
eir bodies joined, they couldn’t. “I’d better take care of the condom before things get messy.”
She grumbled her displeasure but rolled onto her side. Gil turned the other way, pulling the condom off. He held it up to the pale light. “Oh, shit.”
She came up behind him and threw an arm over his shoulder. “What is it?”
“The condom broke.”
He waited for her to get mad, to yell or holler or at least say something. She didn’t. She draped and arm over his shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of his spine.
He dropped the condom in the hay and kissed the palm of the hand. “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you.” Her voice barely carried as she moved away from him.
She laid on her back, a knee raised, covering her face with her hands. Gil stretched out beside her, propping his weight on one elbow. The breeze through the open loft window cooled his skin and raised goosebumps on hers. Moonlight filtered in, making her skin glow.
Their breathing slowed, and he skimmed his hand over the flat of her stomach, wondering what it would be like to feel her belly round with his child. Feel their baby kick and squirm. She covered his hand with hers and stared at the ceiling.
His place a light kiss on the ball of her shoulder. “I guess it’s a little late asking you if you’re on birth control.”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.” It wasn’t his fault the condom broke, but still. “Not about making love to you, but the condom…”
“You don’t have to apologize. Condoms break. We’re both adults here. We knew the risks.”
“I’m clean if that helps any. The hospital did a full screen a few months ago when I was shot. I haven’t been with anyone since.”
She rolled on her side, resting her head on her upturned hand. “Besides a screening when I enlisted, I haven’t been tested. My ex was my first and the few guys I’d been with since we’d always had protected sex. I could get tested if—”
“Let’s not worry about that right now, okay?” He gathered up her clothes and handed them to her.
They both dressed in silence, a pall cast over the evening. They cleaned up the hayloft as best they could, returned the horse blankets to their proper place, and walked back to their cabins, their fingers loosely locked together.
The door to Tessa’s cabin opened before they made it to the porch as if Mia had been standing at the window waiting for them.
Mia stepped out, a pack strapped to her back. “Took you two long enough.” She glanced from Tessa to Gil and back again. “Who died?”
“What?” Tessa said. “No one died.”
“Coulda fooled me.” Mia shouldered on past them and disappeared into the darkness, the slap and scrape of her footfalls fading away.
“Would it be awful having a kid with a guy like me?” He was kidding. Mostly.
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m a pilot. I make my money flying. If I’m pregnant, I’m no good to the task force if I’m grounded.”
“I’ve got some money saved and—”
She pressed a finger to his lips, shutting him up. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We don’t have to solve this tonight, and with luck, there won’t be anything to solve.”
With luck? The words prickled though he knew she didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. But this wasn’t about him, he understood that.
“When I go undercover, you won’t be able to contact me whenever you want. I understand that this could have a more profound impact on your life in the short term than mine. While I’m gone, I want you to know, that if you have to make any decisions, I know you will make the right one.”
“This isn’t up to me. I’m not the only one my decision would affect.”
“I get that. But I’m leaving it up to you to make the best choice for you. Promise me you’ll do that.”
“You need to go undercover and do what you need to do to catch these guys. Then we can make our decisions together.”
He wrapped her in his arms and nuzzled crook of her neck, taking in her scent. “I’ll do the best I can.”
10
The condom broke.
Tessa strode through the doors of the sheriff’s office out of sorts and ten minutes late. Sleep had been elusive, and then when it came, it came crashing down on her. She’d slept through her alarm. If it hadn’t been for Jack, she’d still be in bed.
The condom broke.
Those words kicked around in her head leaving her shaken and reeling as if she’d lost all rudder control and her helo—her life—was spinning out of control.
Was it her imagination, or was everyone either blatantly staring at her or trying to pretend like they weren’t but failing miserably? One of the women deputies glanced away and giggled. Did Tessa have a freaking tattoo on her forehead that said I had astonishing hay sex and I could be pregnant?
Then Gil, the sweet, rotten bastard, had left any decisions she might have to make up to her. Un-freaking-believable. He probably thought he was being understanding, supportive even, but it was nothing like that because no matter what he said, her decision would affect them both for the rest of their lives because she already knew that if she had to decide, she was having the baby.
With him or without him.
For her, there wasn’t any other option. Yeah, she would be grounded. Yeah, she could lose her job, even with the discrimination protections in place, but Spinks probably had enough on her to fire her for cause already.
But, that was a decision for another day. Today she was going to fly the shit out of her helo and make it damn hard for Spinks to even think about replacing her.
Spinks was in the middle of his brief as she walked into the big conference rooms at the sheriff’s office. She tried to squeeze her way to the back, as unobtrusively as possible, but in a packed room, all eyes went to her. Spinks stopped mid-sentence.
She glanced at Quinn, saw a woman on his right, in a flight suit. What the frack?
“Sterling.” Spinks’ voice boomed. “In my office.”
“I’m sorry I’m late, I—”
“Now.”
She glanced around the room at her colleagues. No one met her eye except Quinn. He had one of those apologetic looks on his face as if he’d wanted to stop a train wreck but hadn’t known how.
When she didn’t turn to follow, Spinks stopped in the doorway and said, “Lieutenant.”
She turned on her heel. Murmurs erupted behind her. A few chuckles too. “Enough,” she heard Quinn growl behind her.
Spinks took a seat behind his desk and said, “You’re going to want to close the door.”
She did. Spinks kicked out the seat next to him. It rolled toward her. She caught it and sat.
“What is this about, SAC?”
His eyebrows went up. “You really don’t know do you?”
When she shook her head, he plopped the newspaper in front of her. The headline above the fold read: Misappropriation of Government Property. The sub-headline said: Has illicit spending made the county hard up for cash?
The reporter must have laughed his ass off after turning those headlines in.
The picture accompanying the headline was grainy, the lighting low, but not so blurry that she couldn’t recognize her face in profile. As well as her bare breasts as she straddled Gil’s hips in the open doorway of her helo.
“Care to explain that?”
Instead of explaining, because in her mind it was pretty damn self-explanatory, she said, “Who’s seen this?” Dumb question. It was in the newspaper.
“I think maybe you should be asking, who hasn’t seen it.”
The words, “It’s not what it looks like,” tumbled from her lips even though, clearly, it was what it looked like. Had Gil seen it? If he had, he would have called her.
“Who is he?”
Spinks doesn’t know.
She glanced at the photo again. Gil’s head and shoulders were h
idden behind the helo’s fuselage. “I’d rather not say.”
“It’s not really up to you.”
“I would want to talk to him first and—”
Spinks handed her the receiver to his landline. “Talk away.”
“It’s not that easy.”
Spinks dropped the receiver in the cradle with a loud crack. “Do you even know his name?”
“What? Of course, I know his name.” Who the freaking fat fuck did Spinks think she was that she’d screw some random guy on the back deck of her helo?
“Consider yourself suspended, without pay, pending further investigation, and until I have a name.”
Tessa jumped up from her chair, it shot back and knocked against the wall. “You can’t do that.”
“Oh, lieutenant, I certainly can.” He stood as well. “Tell me who he is. Give me a reason not to fire you.”
Tessa shrank back. “I think I should call the union rep and retain representation.”
“You know, lieutenant, that’s the first right thing you’ve said all morning. Dismissed.”
The first person she’d called after leaving Spinks’ office was her union rep, requesting representation during the investigation. Then she had the pleasure of calling her lawyer to update her on the suspension.
The first unguarded words out of her lawyer’s mouth were, “Oh, shit.” Not what Tessa had wanted to hear. Not with the custody hearing less than twenty-four hours away.
Tessa pulled into the Lazy S after two hours of driving the back roads of Wyoming, getting lost, then finding her way back again. Hard to follow your phone’s GPS when it seemed like the whole fracking state was one big, fat dead zone. The only thing she accomplished was emptying her gas tank. Her thoughts were scrambled, and she couldn’t get ahold of Gil without possibly tipping off Spinks.
You would have thought being suspended would have made her lose her appetite, but as she headed for her cabin, she felt a full-on stress binge coming on.
Near the barn, Mia was working with Sidney, brushing out one of the horses. Mia had her arm stretched out, her body as far away from the horse as she could get and still have the brush touching. Mia might be tough, or she might be full of bluster. She definitely wasn’t comfortable around horses.