Rocky Ground

by Kaylea Cross

  “No.” She gasped, sliding against him in tiny, slow circles that were driving him mad. “Stay still.”

  It was insanely hot to lie there while she used him to get off, but frustrating too, because he couldn’t see it or touch her. And he was so damn hard he hurt.

  More moans. Turning throatier. Almost whimpers.

  Jesus, she was trying to kill him.

  “Want me to come like this, or with you inside me?” she panted out.

  He didn’t even have to think about it, his cock surging against the mattress. “Me inside you.”

  “Okay. Turn over.”

  He was already moving, the air shoving from his lungs when he finally saw her. Her mismatched eyes were heavy-lidded, her cheeks flushed with arousal. Her nipples were tight little points he wanted to suck on, and below the tidy triangle of red-gold hair between her thighs, her folds were flushed and glistening.

  “Oh, hell, Tiana,” he breathed, grabbing her hips as he sat up and buried his face in her neck.

  She pushed at his shoulders again. “I gave you permission to turn over. Not sit up.”

  He growled in protest, cupped her breasts in his hands and sucked on one perfect nipple while he squeezed the other, earning a gratifying mewl from her before he gave in to her pushing and lay flat on his back.

  She was on him in an instant, her mouth on the side of his neck. Burying a hand in her hair, he slid the other down the curve of her spine to her arse to dip a finger into her from behind, growling when he felt how slick she was.

  But she wriggled out of his grip, her mouth moving down his chest, his belly. Her fingers closed around his aching cock, making his hips arch. Pleasure ripped up his spine, and the way she looked up at him with those dilated, mismatched eyes as her tongue trailed along the line of hair beneath his navel made him swallow hard.

  Holding him tight in her slippery fist, she stroked him and bent her head, giving him a glimpse of her pink tongue as it stole out to lick at the swollen head.

  “Aw, Christ,” he whispered, clenching his fingers in her hair. His pulse hammered in his ears, his whole body pulling tight.

  She licked him again, parted her lips, then took him into her hot, wet mouth.

  A low, ragged groan tore from him. His eyes closed at the raw pleasure of it but he forced them open, not willing to miss a moment of this incredibly sensual woman as she sucked him off. She teased him with her tongue, sucked him like a lollipop, that incredibly unique stare locked with his.

  His heart almost exploded.

  With firm pressure on her hair he used his hand to guide her, another bolt of lust surging through him at the way her eyes heated. He could barely breathe, didn’t care, drowning in the raw pleasure she gave so generously. But it was too good. He was already addicted to her. There was no way to get her out of his system now.

  “If you’re planning to make use of that for yourself, you’d best stop right now,” he ground out, his voice rough.

  She released him for a moment, touched her tongue to the exquisitely sensitive ridge on the underside of the crown. “In a minute.”

  He drew in a sharp breath as she took him back in her mouth, sucking harder. “Stop,” he warned, giving her hair a tug.

  She murmured and pulled off him, quickly shifting to straddle him as she tore open the condom packet and rolled it down him. Then she reached down to grasp the base of his shaft and planted one hand on his chest. Staring down into his eyes, she slowly sank down onto him.

  Tight, wet heat engulfed him. Aidan tensed and made a deep sound of pleasure at the back of his throat, his hands closing over her curvy hips. She sighed, her eyelids drooping, and reached down to rub the rosy bud of her clit in slow circles.

  God in heaven. It was so insanely hot that she wasn’t shy about her body or what felt good for her.

  He tugged her forward, splayed one hand across the middle of her back to bring her breasts to face level and sucked one hard nipple into his mouth. She made a soft mewling noise and kept rocking, her fingers busy between her legs. “I’m close,” she gasped out.

  Lost in sensation, Aidan sucked on one breast, then the other while the pleasure of being clenched inside her burned like fire. Her moans grew louder, then breathless, and her core squeezed around him.

  “Aye,” he managed, rubbing his tongue across her nipple.

  Her back bowed, her cries of release surrounding him as she shattered. Her core milked him, and her enjoyment of his body shoved him over the edge. He shouted as his own orgasm hit, wringing him out from head to toe.

  They sat wrapped around each other, clinging while they returned to earth. She hummed and kissed the top of his head. “That was so good,” she whispered, still a little out of breath.

  Good? Bloody fantastic. Last night had been intense, but now she was part of him. He would never be able to get enough of her.

  He dreaded leaving her and Ella in two weeks’ time. Couldn’t bear the prospect of not having them in his life if he couldn’t get an extension on his US work visa. What the hell would he do then? He had to find a way to come back to them.

  He drew Tiana down to lie atop him and pulled the covers over them, stroking his hands over the length of her back. She was so soft everywhere, like a kitten. “Can you go back to sleep?”

  “Mmm, yes.” She snuggled into him, her cheek resting in the side of his neck.

  They both jolted awake sometime later at the sound of the front door closing with a slam.

  “I’m back,” Ella called out, her footsteps hurrying toward them.

  “Shite,” he breathed as Tiana leaped up and started pulling her clothes on. He caught her eye as he did the same, hopping awkwardly when he almost tripped getting his second foot into his jeans.

  She laughed as she did hers up. “Bet this has never happened to you before, huh?”

  He grinned and tugged his shirt over his head, managing to be decent a split second before a knock came on the master bedroom door.

  “Are you guys awake?” Ella said as she shoved the door open.

  “Aye,” he answered, a little startled. What was the point in knocking if she was just going to throw the door open? “You finished feeding the kittens already?” He stood there pretending nothing out of the ordinary had been going on, and that he hadn’t just been stark naked with her mother ten seconds ago.

  “Yes.” She frowned. “Your shirt’s on backwards.”

  Somehow he kept a straight face. “Is it? Thanks, I’ll fix it.”

  “Can we make pancakes? We can do them on the barbecue like Mr. Beckett did.”

  He raised an eyebrow at Tiana. “Do we have the makings for pancakes?”

  “They’re nothing like Miss Poppy’s. She makes the best ones, from scratch, but ours comes in a box,” Ella informed him. “We’ve got bottles of water in the garage we can mix into it.”

  His lips twitched. “All right, pancakes from a box it is.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get everything ready.” Ella spun around and disappeared back down the hallway.

  Just then a beeping sound came from the kitchen and the furnace kicked on.

  “The power came back on!” Ella yelled.

  Aidan laughed and righted his shirt. “I love that wee lass.”

  When Tiana started for the door he caught her by the elbow and tugged her to him for a full body hug. “Get back under the covers,” he ordered. “You’re getting breakfast in bed, lassie.”

  She blinked up at him. “Really?”

  “Aye.”

  A startled smile spread across her face. “Okay, then. I—” She stopped as her cell phone rang on the dresser. She picked it up and answered, watching him. “Hi, Noah. You guys okay?”

  Her face tightened at whatever the sheriff said next.

  “Oh,” she murmured, a frown puckering her forehead. “That’s… Yes. Thanks for calling to let me know.”

  “Something wrong?” he asked when she lowered the phone.

  Her eyes were troub
led. “Brian’s missing. And they found his ankle monitor below us on the beach this morning.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Noah ended the call, got out of his patrol car and dragged himself up the brick walkway to the front door of Poppy’s house. He’d moved in last summer, renting his place next door to Mac. After being up for two days without sleep, trying to help everyone as much as he could after the quake and tsunami, he was dead on his feet.

  The scent of something rich and savory hit him the moment he walked inside. “I’m home.”

  Poppy came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel, her blond hair pulled up in a messy bun. The smile she gave him eased the fatigue, and when she wrapped her arms around him, pressing all those delicious curves against him, he sighed, leaning into her embrace. He was home.

  “Did you tell her?” she asked.

  “Yeah, just now.”

  “How’d she take it?”

  “Okay.” Tiana was distressed, which was understandable. As sheriff and her friend, he was distressed too.

  The ankle monitor had been cut with something sharp, so it had been taken off deliberately. It bothered Noah that they’d found it near her house. If Brian was still in the area, Tiana or Ella might be in danger, and his department’s resources were stretched too thin at the moment to allow him to put the kind of vigilance in place that he normally would have.

  Poppy eased back to search his face. “You’re exhausted.”

  “Yeah.” He kissed her. This was his home, the place where he’d grown up, and the people who lived here were like extended family to him. He’d do everything in his power to make sure everyone was safe and warm and fed. “You’ve been such an amazing help through all of this.”

  She’d dropped everything as soon as the quake hit to assist him with coordinating search teams. She’d taken all the food from her café and distributed it to the emergency personnel and townspeople who had assisted in the response effort. She’d handed out supplies and blankets, driven stranded people to safety and stood out in the rain making pots of hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate for people at the emergency shelter in the center of town.

  He loved her and her huge heart so much, he ached. “Thank you.”

  “Of course. Did you eat anything today?”

  “Can’t remember.” The hours had all blurred into each other.

  She made a sympathetic sound. “Come on. Get a plate of spaghetti down, and then you can crash.”

  He didn’t resist as she towed him into the kitchen, sat him down and began serving him a helping of homemade spaghetti with meatballs. His eyes burned and his whole body was tired, but knowing he’d done some good today brought him a deep level of satisfaction and the sight of her filled him with peace. His bright, beautiful sunflower.

  “Here,” she said, placing the plate in front of him. She even put the fork in his hand.

  He ate in silence, his brain sluggish, limbs heavy. When he was done he took his plate and started to rise but she pulled it from him, set it aside and curved an arm around his waist.

  “I’m afraid you’re gonna keel over on me,” she said with a light laugh, and walked him upstairs. “You want a shower first?”

  He shook his head. “Later.” He just wanted to crash.

  In the master bedroom she helped strip him, pulled down the covers and tucked them around him when he slid between them. She knelt beside the bed, gave him a gentle smile and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “I love you. And I’m proud of you.”

  He smiled. “Thanks. Love you too.” He could hardly keep his eyes open.

  She watched him for a moment, something moving in her eyes that he couldn’t decipher, but whatever it was, she had something on her mind. “You know that question you keep asking me?” she said after a loaded pause.

  “What question?” His brain was barely functioning at this point. What was she talking about?

  “You know. The question.”

  Oh. That one. The one he’d already asked three times, and each time his gun-shy sunflower had put him off, saying it was too soon. That she needed more time. “What about it?”

  Her expression was solemn. Almost determined. “Ask me again,” she whispered.

  The fatigue vanished. He shoved up onto an elbow, watching her intently. “What?”

  “Ask me again, Noah. Right now.”

  Hardly daring to believe this was really happening, he reached out for her hand. It shook slightly. He squeezed it, rubbed his thumb over the back of it. Don’t be scared. “Poppy. Will you marry me?”

  Her lips trembled and a sheen of tears glistened in her beautiful brown eyes. “Yes, Noah, I will.”

  Her fervent answer made his heart clench. On a groan he dragged her to him, kissing her hard on the lips before he crushed her to his chest. She’d said yes, after holding him off for months. They were getting married. She was going to be his forever.

  “What changed your mind?” he whispered.

  She cuddled closer. “You. Watching you handle everything after the quake.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her shoulders moved in a little shrug. “I realized I’ve still been afraid that things are too perfect between us. I’ve been waiting for the bottom to fall out like it always has before. But now I see you would never let that happen. Or if it did because you couldn’t stop it, you would be there to break my fall. Just like you were there for everyone today.”

  He closed his eyes, breathed in her scent. She was his forever. He was officially the luckiest son of a bitch in the world. “Yeah, sunflower. I would always break your fall.”

  ****

  The world spun briefly as Brian got out of his car and stood up. He grabbed for the seat to steady himself, knocking the vodka bottle over. Swearing, he caught it just before the last third of it could spill. He needed the liquid courage to get him through these next few hours.

  They’d know by now that he was missing and would be looking for him. They might even have found his ankle monitor. If so, he was on borrowed time.

  He’d moved his car three times throughout the night, in case anyone was looking for him. Leaving now wasn’t an option. There were only two roads out of here. One was blocked by fallen power lines. The other still had a police presence near it.

  His current hiding spot near the woods bordering Tiana’s house wasn’t ideal, but it would do for now. He’d been checking on her place through the night. She’d eventually shown up with some big guy, and they hadn’t come out since.

  Was he fucking her? The idea made Brian snort as he staggered deeper into the trees to take a leak.

  Fucking Tiana was about as much fun as fucking a plastic blow-up doll. It had been fun at first but that had worn off quickly and sex with her had become like a chore. He’d had to go into his head and fantasize about other things just to get off.

  Now she’d ruined his life. And he wouldn’t allow that to go unpunished.

  He zipped up his jeans, leaned a hand on a cedar trunk to steady himself before heading back to his car. He’d keep checking on her place and nurse the last third of the vodka, watching for an opportunity to strike.

  When it came along, he was taking it.

  ****

  Brian was missing? How the hell could he be missing?

  Of course with the ankle monitor removed, it would be that much easier for him to slip away amidst the chaos of the earthquake. They’d found it on the beach, Noah had said. Was it too much to hope that he’d drowned, and that was all that was left of him?

  Scowling, Tiana carried the last of the bags of debris to the front door and left it on the porch for Aidan to put at the curb. He and Ella had gone up to Beckett and Sierra’s to borrow a shop vac so they could give her place a thorough vacuuming and make sure all the bits of glass were off the floor.

  On her way back inside, her cell rang.

  Evan.

  The sight of his number sent her heart plummeting into her stomach. For a moment she cons
idered ignoring it. Pretending she’d missed the call, or that the cell service hadn’t been restored yet.

  Then she thought of Ella, and the crushed look on her face when Tiana told her she wouldn’t get to meet her dad.

  She stopped in the entryway, took a slow, fortifying breath, and answered. For Ella. “Hello.”

  “Tiana, thank God. Are you and Ella okay?”

  He sounded genuinely worried. “We’re both fine.”

  His relieved sigh echoed in her ear. “I’m glad. I was staying at the airport when it happened. I kept calling you, but the cell towers were down, and—”

  “I know. But she’s okay.”

  “Good. What about the tsunami? I heard it wasn’t that big, but…”

  “Thankfully it wasn’t. Some of the businesses here in Crimson Point along the waterfront sustained a little damage, but everything else is okay.”

  “What about your house?”

  She hoped the hell he wasn’t fishing for things to add to his list of negligent things about her he was making. “Just some broken things inside. Nothing that can’t be replaced. Structurally it’s fine.”

  “That’s great news.” He paused. Cleared his throat. “So. Obviously we missed yesterday’s meeting. If everything’s under control there…any chance I could meet Ella today?”

  “You’d never get to her in time. The roads are—”

  “I’m almost at the coast now. Probably take me another hour or two, tops.”

  “Oh.” She fought with herself, wanting to blast him for the shitty stunt he’d pulled with his lawyer.

  “The court liaison is available. I’ve already talked to her. She could make an appointment anytime after two.”

  “What about your flight home?”

  “Everything’s delayed. But even if my flight was still on time, I’d rather see Ella.”

  Well, that was something, at least.

  But she couldn’t let his underhanded treatment go. “I was in Portland yesterday because I had an appointment with my family lawyer to go over the possible visitation schedule and my feelings about sharing custody.”

  “Oh.”