by T B Mann
Her hands would slide into his hair, gripping tight as she attempted to force his mouth where she wanted. But he’d resist, kissing her inner thighs instead. And then, when the moment was ripe, he’d strike. His tongue would collide with her clit. Before she’d be able to catch her breath, he’d part her, sliding two fingers in deep while his tongue and mouth went to town, feasting on her.
His cock pressed against the zipper of his jeans. Why, oh why had he changed into them before arriving at her apartment for the evening?
At the sound of footsteps, he hunched forward, placing his elbows on his knees and dropping his chin into his hands. The pain of crushing his cock hurt like nothing he could describe, but the bite of pain cleared his head.
“Have you decided on supper?” She sat down on the couch next to him. His nose filled with her soft, sweet scent, making his hard on worse.
“Um, lady’s choice. I’ve been tied to my computer all day, so it really doesn’t matter.”
“Hmm. I’ve been craving Indian, if that works?”
“Sure.” He expelled a deep breath and cleared his mind, willing his erection down. By the time she finished ordering on her tablet, he thought it was safe enough to lean back.
“Tough day?” She placed her hand on his thigh, destroying all his hard work.
He turned his focus to the case. If anything would help to ruin the mood, that should. “Very tough and frustrating. I’m no closer to discovering who managed to load the virus that turned off all the cameras. The code is not a signature I’ve seen before. The same with all my contacts. It’s like this person sprung from thin air and then disappeared again. That’s not how it works in these circles.”
Her fingers squeezed lightly before withdrawing. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or to cry at their loss. Being this close to his mate, without being able to do anything about it was killing him.
She finished ordering their meal and then leaned back, stretching her legs and feet over the coffee table. “Ahh. So nice to get off my feet.”
“Busy day?” Kai had texted the team throughout the day with her movements, informing them of the preparations taking place for their trip to Octavious Vodnikski’s island, but she didn’t know that. As much as he hated that they were keeping this from her, knowing her actions throughout the day eased his mind. Without those texts on the days he wasn’t with her, he would have spent those days worried about her safety. Not case related, but mate related since security had been increased within her office building. On the two days none of them had been with her, he’d gone crazy with worry.
“It was. Kai and I spent lots of time developing the itinerary for the trip, the security measures to keep Laguna safe, and coordinating with Mr. Octavious Vodnikski’s security team.” She stretched her arms over her head and rocked slowly from side to side, stretching out her muscles before lowering them back to her lap. He tried not to watch but couldn’t resist the sway of her body. “And then I had to change all her scheduled appearances during that time, including some photo shoots. Some of those people can be bigger divas than Laguna.”
He grinned as she chuckled. His feelings on Laguna weren’t quite so loving. The stories Zale shared—he was the one that spent the most time with her—made him thankful he was so good with a computer. Already suffering from increased libido from the unfulfilled mate bond, he wouldn’t have been so nice when dealing with all the come-ons from Laguna, not that she’d been overly friendly any time he’d been in her presence.
“Security issues clear up?” Attempting to coordinate and plan with Octavious Vodnikski’s security had been a nightmare. Kai was pulling his short dark hair out by the fistfuls.
Over the years, since Octavious was a well known and extremely rich supernatural, they’d studied what they could of his island and prepared for possible trouble. But they could only prepare so much. With all his money, Octavious had been able to purchase, weasel, and coerce secrecy from all levels of government and contractors. Looking for more information without triggering any extra interest by Octavious’s security staff had been part of his day. It had not been fun.
He took a call from the front doorman, informing them that their supper had arrived. It was a policy they put in place after their discovery that a letter-delivery person had also been her supper-delivery guy. So, every evening, they made sure that one of them, usually himself or Kai, arrived at Sarah’s apartment for the evening before supper, ensuring no one, despite her protestations that she was safe in her building, gained access to her that they didn’t know.
They passed the evening in conversation while a TV movie played in the background. The longer he spent in her presence, the more relaxed he became. The mate bond weaved around them. He felt it drawing them closer. This damn case couldn’t be solved soon enough so that he could tell her what was happening between them. Because he could see that she was reacting to it even if she wasn’t supernatural.
It was more than just lust or desire that humans felt. It was a need, almost a compulsion to be in each other’s presence, to touch each other, to share life. And when they spoke, she drew closer to him as he did to her. Her hand found his body as frequently his did hers. By the time the movie ended, the side of her body pressed against his, warming him. Tingles spread from each point of contact.
“It’s getting late.”
He turned to find her lips only centimetres from his. Her lush, moist, kissable lips. And boy did he ever want to taste them. Strawberries, lemons, even grapefruit, he didn’t care what she tasted like because she was his.
“I should go to bed.”
“Uh-huh.” He didn’t know if she moved towards him or him to her, but either way, he found his lips on hers. Their satiny softness packed a wallop to his heart. The simmering desire within him boiled over. And all thoughts of a gentlemanly nature fled.
A flick of his tongue spread her mouth wide open, accepting what he offered. He sunk into her depths, loving the feel of her tongue sliding around his. The flavour of the Indian food they’d eaten earlier exploded. But the more he licked and sucked and tasted, he could distinguish her unique taste from the mix. And as much as he loved Indian, her taste was what he craved. It was his new favourite food.
With their mouths still glued together, he shifted, laying her flat on the couch beneath him. Her breasts pushed up into his chest. Each breath dragged her nipples across his own, sending electrical shocks to his aching cock.
He played with her hair at the side of her face. Thumbs brushed over her high cheekbones. Sparks flew between them, binding them closer together.
She moaned. A sound he longed to hear again and again along with his name being shouted in breathless tones from her lips.
His lips tasted the skin down her neck when she tilted her head back until he reached the edge of her shirt. Undeterred, he shifted his weight to one arm, lifting his body enough to drop the other hand to her waist, sliding it up and under. The feeling of her warm skin in areas he hadn’t touched or seen sent his senses reeling.
His hand climbed. Each movement bringing his prize closer. Matching inhalations filled the room when his hand finally grasped her breast.
“Please, Dylan. More.”
Never one to disobey a lady, he squeezed while sliding his hand up and over until her nipple jutted from between his thumb and forefinger. He groaned. His mind filled with visions of what was hidden below the thin scrap of material that was her shirt. Their eyes met as they both held their breath, anxiously awaiting his next move. Would he rip off her shirt like he wanted or did he have something else up his sleeve?
Ripping off her shirt and taking that nipple between his teeth was high on his list. But first he needed to make her squirm. His thumb and index finger gripped her nipple, twisting as he shoved his tongue back into her mouth. Her hips jumped, circling on his hard-as-steel cock, making it grow even harder. He never thought something like that could be possible, but everything with her felt like it was something new.
> Her hands pushed against his chest, breaking the seal between their mouths. “I want you.”
Dylan’s heart stuttered. He wanted her with every fibre of his being. To make love to her, to bind her to him for all eternity, it was everything he could ask for. But he couldn’t do that without talking to her first. To explain what it would mean. That she wasn’t just a one night stand, a roll in the hay, for him.
He pushed up to his knees, straddling her thighs. Emotions warred within him. The need to join with his mate was like flames licking at his heels. But with the pressing needs of the case, there wasn’t time to properly explain everything to her. She needed to know about his shifter capability and that alone could take days if not weeks to come to grips with. To throw that at her now, with everything going on, she didn’t need the added stress. And he didn’t want to be the one to do that to her.
“I really want you, too.” She smiled at his words, and it nearly broke his resolve. He shoved his hands through his dark hair, lifting his bangs off his forehead until they stood upright in a style similar to Zale’s. “Man, you don’t know how tough this is.” Sadness coloured her features. “Please don’t be sad. I really don’t want to stop, but I have to. We have rules… the case…” He pushed himself off her, stood beside the couch, and held out a hand to help her up. “I shouldn’t have kissed you, but I couldn’t resist. Please don’t be angry.”
She stood toe-to-toe with him. Her pointed nipples poking him. Her hands found his forearms, and using them as leverage, she rose on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. “I understand. Maybe a rain check?”
He kissed her back. “Definitely.”
Without another word, she walked away while he sank onto the couch. Fuck. This wasn’t how finding your mate was supposed to go.
Sarah folded the last of her shirts and placed it in the suitcase. Only her toiletries remained to be packed the next morning. The sweat that beaded on her brow had nothing to do with the heat and everything to do with the infuriating man sitting in her living room.
Infuriating but delicious. Visions of how his dress shirt stretched across his chest, how he’d folded the sleeves up to his elbows, displaying a line of ink tattooed down his inner forearm, danced in her head, sending bolts of desire through her.
After her aborted make-out session with Dylan a week earlier, her libido ran rampant. To help out, she’d gone out with Kailee to a bar the previous weekend, but all attempts at easing her ache were thwarted by the weighty stares of Dylan and Kai who’d accompanied them. The girl’s night changed at the last minute when a seventh letter found its way into her mail pile that day—much to their annoyance. Annoyance because none of the men had been able to discover how it landed there. They’d even made her associate Dan rush to the bathroom once they finished with their questions.
While she managed to dance with some male patrons, all her dance partners but Kailee had dried up after Zale arrived, having finished his bodyguard duty with Laguna. The addition of the third man, larger than the other two, appeared to be too much for those few brave souls to risk raising the ire of the wall of muscles and glares. From then on, not a single man came near their table. Not even their waiter, although they didn’t lack in refills. The waitresses ensured the men’s glasses were never empty.
Her fingers ached in remembrance of how tightly she’d clutched them in fists each time one of the waitresses flirted with them. Not that she had the right to complain or be jealous. None of them were hers even if her hormones said otherwise. The only saving grace had been Dylan who’d planted himself between Kai and Zale once the latter arrived and used them as buffers. If he’d been flirting, after their heated session, she’d have lost what little control she had maintained.
Yet even now, she realized how crazy her feelings had been. Sure, she’d been jealous before, who hadn’t, but to want to scratch some girl’s eyeballs out just for doing her job even if she was overly friendly was not a concept known to her.
The heavy tread of male footsteps filled the air. Her chest tightened in anticipation. For some unknown reason, Kai had this way of making her angry and wanting to tear his clothes off at the same time. It really wasn’t fair.
“Sarah, the food is here.” The footsteps retreated, allowing her lungs to expand.
Having finished as much as she could of her packing and with the rumbling of her stomach, she couldn’t hide out in her room any longer. As much as she wanted to. Squaring her shoulders, she headed toward her living room uncertain as to how the evening would progress.
With each footstep, her dread increased. She reacted to everything he said as if it was an attack. And it was all on her. She knew it. Her overwhelming desire for him combined with the knowledge that he was Kailee’s cousin spurred her to keep a distance. And having made out with his friend didn’t help. If she didn’t want the evening to go the way all their previous encounters went, it was up to her to change her behaviour.
To that end, she decided to play nice. The longer she could react politely would give them a longer peaceful time before they butted heads. And maybe, just maybe, they’d actually be able to remain civil all evening. Now there was a dream worth dreaming.
“Thanks for ordering. I’m so hungry but hadn’t had a chance to pack yet.” She sat on the couch and peered into the take out containers. “Yum. Japanese. Haven’t had this in a while.”
They managed to make small talk during the meal, and it wasn’t as tough as she’d feared. It reminded her of those first few nights when the men began spending the evenings at her condo. Those nights before her sexy time with Dylan. When things were still a nice fantasy.
By the time she’d finished eating, she’d laughed a few times and he’d cracked a few smiles.
“Want to watch a movie? I stopped for some popcorn toppings.”
The idea of a movie appealed to her. A way to pass time and she wouldn’t have to speak, limiting their chance of triggering some sort of fight. “Sure. I’ll pull out the old air popper.”
He grabbed her wrist, stilling her. “I’ve got it. You’ve been working so hard without a rest since we’ve arrived. Just sit back and let me do this for you.”
The sentiment surprised her. It really shouldn’t have. Since the beginning, when they weren’t butting heads, he’d been very solicitous, always ensuring she was looked after. But as the case dragged on without any new leads, and as she’d chafed under his—well, really their—curtailing of her free time, her solitude, she’d grown to resent him.
And if that wasn’t enough, his touch to her bare skin brought that underlying lust to the surface.
“Okay. Just holler if you need to know where anything is.” Getting rid of him and giving herself some time alone to settle seemed like a good idea at the moment.
The buttery smell of popcorn sent a tingle of warmth through her. It had been so long since she had some. “Thanks for this. I can’t wait to dig in.”
Kai handed her the big bowl before taking a seat beside her on the couch. “I hope you like dill pickle and cheddar since I added both to the butter.”
Her hand dipped into the bowl, grabbed a few pieces and popped them into her mouth. Her eyes closed as the taste spread across her tongue. “Fuck. I’ve never thought of mixing the two, but it tastes soooo good.”
The expression on his face softened from the harsh brooding look he wore so well. The longer she stared at it, the more she heated, thawing the ice she’d built up between them.
The shine on his lips from the butter made her want to reach out and lick them. See how his taste would change the flavour of the popcorn.
His eyes darkened, and his pupils began to dilate. Their darkness reminded her of her near-nightly, lust-induced, only-written-in-erotic-romance-novels dreams. She licked her lips. A low groan vibrated in his chest. Colour rose to her cheeks when the tip of his tongue split his lips.
Fuck. She needed to get a grip on her hormones. Kissing him was out of the question, no matter how much she
wanted to. She’d already kissed Dylan. Adding him to the mix wasn’t a great idea, even if it was so hot in her dreams.
“Um, movie?”
His eyes cleared. “Right. Movie. What did you decide?”
She rested her back against the couch and turned her gaze to the TV. “Um. I didn’t. What would you like?”
“I’m not sure.” He matched her pose, turning his focus to the TV as he scrolled through the list of movies. “How about this one?”
She didn’t even look at the movie, just agreed with a nod as she stuffed her mouth with popcorn. Maybe with a full mouth, she’d manage to keep herself from trouble.
The movie played, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember anything about it. Instead, she found herself snatching quick peeks at him, memorizing his looks in profile.
The deep-set eyes, his dark eyebrows, all worked together to give him a brooding look. One that served him well as a team leader. But when his eyes twinkled or flared with desire, that harsh, stern look never failed to soak her panties. And that scruff… the dark, two-day beard he wore… the bad boy, motorcycle gang, dark and dangerous vibe contrasted in the most delicious way when he did things like bring her popcorn. She rubbed her thighs together to help with the throbbing.
She examined his straight nose, looking for any signs of the previous breaks she’d heard about, but didn’t find anything. Come to think of it, she couldn’t find any scars or signs of injury on him. Yet, from the stories they told about their time in the Navy and some of the missions they’d done, he should have had some. It wasn’t like they had years to fade away, considering he had to be only a few years older than her. But still, she couldn’t find any. And she’d looked. Hard.
“Do I have something on my face?”
“What?” She flicked her gaze back to the screen as heat travelled over her face. How had he seen her watching him?
He leaned in, placing his arm across the back of the couch and behind her head while he snagged the few remaining popcorn pieces from the bowl still in her lap. “It’s okay if you want to look. I’ve been watching you as well.”
