Stronger Than You Know--A Novel

by Lori Foster

  “And that tricky driving you did?”

  “Dad’s covered every scenario,” he confirmed. “Before you start thinking he’s too mercenary, he also started a task force to help ensure victims are legally represented, that they get any counseling they need, and enough financial aid to start over.”

  “Wow. Your dad sounds pretty phenomenal.”

  “He is.” He could also be overbearing, dictatorial and downright cold at times. Except that... Sterling had changed him some, too. Maybe it was getting Cade back as his son that made the difference. Reyes admitted, “I used to be a real hell-raiser.”

  “No?” she said with facetious surprise.

  Reyes gave her a squeeze. “Dad didn’t seem to care as long as I channeled my anger and energy into what he considered the right direction, which basically meant defending someone. But Cade? That dude is military through and through, and he’s all about personal control. He put the stomp on my bad attitude real quick.”

  Rearing up, Kennedy frowned at him. “What does that mean?”

  Her automatic defense made him grin. “It means anytime I got too froggy, Cade showed me that his quiet control trumped my rage every time. He always made it into a lesson. Like he’d block one of my punches, give me a smack, and explain why he’d managed it so easily.”

  Her scowl darkened. “I don’t think I like the idea of him putting hands on you.”

  “Ah, hon, Cade and I have been sparring since we were early teens. This was no different. And I did learn. Funny thing, too, was that Dad would watch on with a satisfied smile, as if it made him proud to see Cade school me.” He shook his head with a short laugh. “It’s the truth, I’m a better man because of Cade. Better fighter, better strategist, probably a better son and brother.”

  “Did he teach you to shoot, too?”

  “Actually, that’s the one place where I’m better than him. I’m a top-notch marksman. Cade is good, better than many, but I have the edge there.”

  “Your family sounds absolutely fascinating.”

  He enjoyed this more than was wise. Having Kennedy curled up against him, her hand idly resting over his abs, her frowns and her smiles, her trust, felt like an amazing gift.

  “What about your family?”

  She ducked her face again. “There’s just my mom and dad. They’re both terrific.”

  “You haven’t told them everything that’s going on now?”

  “They’d just worry.” Her fingertips toyed with the buttons of his flannel shirt, stopping near his navel—and making him nuts. “They’re quiet people, very involved in their church, and they were hurt so badly when I was taken.”

  Eyes narrowing, Reyes lifted her face. “Don’t tell me they blamed you.”

  “No, of course not. Mom and Dad both cried for days when I returned. They’d aged so much, all from grief.” She lowered her eyes. “They love me and I love them, but I couldn’t stay in Florida. Not anymore. It was hard for them to grasp that type of evil. Mom would look at me and then suddenly crumble again. It was heartbreaking, for both of us. Dad couldn’t bear seeing my mother so upset, and he felt like he’d somehow failed me.”

  “So you moved on?”

  “Not the way you’re saying it. I stayed long enough to convince them I was fine, then I moved away with a lot of happy fanfare, letting them think I was on an adventure for life.” She sighed. “We talk often, and I try to get home at least once a year to see them, but I will never again deliberately worry them.”

  “Hey.” He couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss in between her brows, where a fretful frown lingered. “You were a victim, and parents are supposed to worry for their kids. That’s not on you. It’s on the bastards who took you.”

  Her gaze relaxed...then dipped down to his mouth. Yeah, much more of that and instincts would take over. He’d be kissing her hot and hungry before he had time to talk himself down.

  He sat forward and, in a voice as casual as he could make it, he said, “It’s getting late.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “I can be ready for bed in twenty minutes. How about you?”

  She searched his face, her expression confused, a little embarrassed, but she managed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I need thirty minutes, so don’t rush.”

  Reyes watched her head to the guest room, and he knew—oh, yeah, he knew—it was going to be a very long night sleeping beside her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  WELL, HE HADN’T been wrong. An hour had passed and still he stared up at the ceiling, full of conflicts and hunger, both horny and swamped with tenderness.

  Seeing that look on Kennedy’s face when he’d abruptly moved away... He’d done that to her.

  What should he have done instead?

  He thought back to Sterling’s advice, about how he should ease into things. He’d agreed to give it a try, and then instead he’d blown it.

  There wasn’t much he feared in life, but he detested the idea of pushing Kennedy, maybe making her uncomfortable with his lust.

  “Reyes?”

  Her voice was husky with sleep, and she shifted a little, turning to face him. “Hmm.”

  “Why are you still awake?”

  Because I want you so damn much, and you’re here, all sweet and soft beside me, and I can smell the scent of your shampoo and lotion, and the warmer, muskier scent of your skin, and it’s making me nuts.

  Of course, he didn’t say any of that. “Just thinking.”

  “About?”

  And...there went his brain again, pondering all the things he wanted to do with her. He turned on his side and levered up to his forearm. “Why aren’t you sleeping? I thought you were out.”

  “Close, but I keep thinking about earlier.”

  “At the campsite? That’s over, babe. You’re here with me, safe.”

  Smiling, she touched his cheek, then his bare shoulder. “I meant on the couch, when I made you uncomfortable.”

  What the hell? “You didn’t.”

  “It’s just...the way you looked at me, well, I thought you were going to kiss me.”

  He’d been thinking of a hell of a lot more than mere kissing, but all he said was, “I would never take advantage of you.”

  “I know.” Her fingers drifted across his chest. “But did I totally misread that? It’s been forever since I paid attention to a guy, and now I’m worried I got my signals crossed. If so, that’d be really embarrassing.” After all that, she drew a breath, and asked, “So were you thinking about it?”

  Damn. He couldn’t lie to her, not when she sounded so vulnerable. With a mental shrug, he admitted, “Yeah, I was thinking about kissing you—and more. Can’t seem to help it around you. Just remember, you don’t have to worry that I’ll—”

  “What if I wanted you to?” she interrupted. “Because I do. And it’s the strangest feeling, wanting something I haven’t even thought about for so long.”

  Reyes swallowed heavily. What exactly did she want from him?

  “If you’d rather not, I understand.”

  “That’s not the problem.” God, he wished the room were lighter so he could really see her, not just the shadows and outlines of her features from the moonlight filtering through the darkened windows. “Why don’t you tell me why you’d want me to?” Once the words left his mouth, they sounded lame.

  Never in his life had he asked a woman to explain desire.

  She scooted closer, opening her hand over his left pectoral muscle. “Until recently, the thought of getting that close to a man was repugnant.”

  “Things have changed, though?”

  “With you, yes.” Stroking over him, she seemed to relish the texture of his chest hair. She explored him—and it was sexy as hell. “Now I think about it all the time. Not just kissing you, but more.”

  Way to level him. “Kennedy—”


  “I promise it won’t mean anything,” she rushed out. “I know it could be awkward if I got ideas, since I’m staying with you. Still... I just thought maybe you wouldn’t mind.” Her breasts pressed against his upper arm. “It doesn’t have to be more than a kiss—”

  He touched his mouth to hers, as light and easy as he could, but damn, a roaring sounded in his ears.

  This was Kennedy.

  This was red-hot hunger.

  Go slow. Be easy.

  Don’t scare her.

  Gently he framed her face in his hands and shifted her to her back. “I want you to tell me if at any point—”

  She lifted up enough to seal her mouth to his, and he forgot what he was going to say.

  In fact, he forgot his own name. As her mouth moved under his, he forgot that she’d been a victim, that he was her protector...

  That this was only supposed to be a kiss.

  Her arms snaked around his neck, and her lips parted to the touch of his tongue.

  Half atop her now, Reyes slanted his head for a better fit and ate at her mouth with all the need burning up inside him.

  With a soft groan, she shifted one of her legs alongside his hip, creating a cradle with her body. He liked that enough to trail a hand down her side until he could cup one full, soft cheek, lifting her more firmly against him.

  His brain couldn’t seem to wrap around the reality of what was happening. He’d wanted Kennedy forever, and here he was, one big hand stroking over the generous curves of her ass, his tongue in her mouth, their groans mingling.

  This was Kennedy.

  Being so fucking hot.

  She wasn’t at all like a woman caught up in past abuse. She wasn’t timid or reserved. She gave and she took, and it was the most natural thing in the world.

  Even when he had a fleeting moment of sanity, she quickly pushed him beyond it again. He left her mouth to kiss her throat and made a desperate attempt at control. “Babe—”

  “Don’t stop. Please don’t.” Her fingers tunneled into his hair and tightened. “Please.”

  “I won’t unless you tell me to.”

  “Perfect,” she purred, and steered his mouth back to hers.

  Holy hell, she apparently wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. Definitely not something he’d expected, but damn, it set him on fire.

  Suddenly he had to touch and kiss every part of her. He wanted light enough to see, and he wanted nakedness to finally sate his imagination.

  He wanted everything Kennedy Brooks could give, and then some.

  Holding her face in his hands, he slowed her down. “I’m onboard one hundred percent, but I want your word that if anything bothers you, if you want me to ease up, or stop altogether, or—”

  She smashed her fingers to his lips. “Do you have a condom?”

  “Yup.” He didn’t mean to be abrupt, but the more agreeable she was, the hotter he got.

  “Get it, then no more talking.” She gave that quick thought, reconsidering apparently, because she added, “Unless you want to tell me something to do, something that you like.”

  He’d never survive this. Shifting her small, cool hand to his cheek, he whispered, “I like you, Kennedy.” And that was more than enough.

  Her expression softened. “I like you, too, Reyes.” She brushed a tender kiss to his mouth. “Thank you for giving me this.”

  His eyes flared. She was thanking him for agreeing to have sex? “You are the most...” What? Sweetest? Funniest? Craziest woman he’d ever known? All of the above. “You’re welcome,” he said, then quickly slid to the side and turned on a lamp. He was already hard as granite and breathing too fast, but who cared?

  Kennedy liked him.

  He knew the truth—he more than liked her. His brain shied away from dwelling on that disquieting thought. At the closet, he got down a box of condoms, turned—and completely froze.

  Her back to him, Kennedy pushed down her pajama pants, giving him a stellar view of the ass of his dreams.

  His mouth went dry.

  Straightening again, she tossed the bottoms toward the top already on the floor, and turned toward him wearing only minuscule rose-colored panties.

  A wet dream, that’s what she was.

  When he continued to stare, she shifted.

  “I’m not very endowed in the boob department.”

  “Babe, seriously, you’re perfect.” Proud shoulders led down to small, high breasts, her rosy nipples already pebbled tight. A narrow waist flared into generous hips and full thighs, down to shapely calves.

  Visually, he devoured her.

  Holding the box of condoms loosely in his hand, he strode over to her. “I’ve thought about you naked from that first day we met.”

  Her lips lifted into a cheeky smile. “I didn’t think about you naked until we rescued Chimera.”

  Ah, that alley cat had proved most instrumental in his relationship with Kennedy. And, damn it, it was a relationship. That of friends, and soon lovers.

  By far the closest relationship he’d ever had with a woman who wasn’t related.

  Reaching past her, he set the box on the bookcase headboard. He touched her hair, sifting the silky blond strands through his fingers and then settling them behind her shoulder. Leaning down, he kissed her throat, filling himself with the warm scent of her, absorbing her softness and accepting that she was his.

  On a breathy sigh, she tipped her face up and away to give him more room. He cupped both her breasts, loving how they fit into his palms. Against her throat, he suggested, “Let’s lose the panties, too.”

  She nodded but otherwise didn’t move, so he did the honors, trailing his hands over her body, tracking all those sweet curves and the silkiness of her skin, down to her waist, her hips, then around to her bottom—and inside her panties.

  Stepping against him, she opened her mouth on his chest, her hot little tongue tasting his skin, her sharp teeth scraping gently over him.

  While stroking her, he eased her panties down. His arms were long enough, and she was short enough, that it was an easy thing to get them over her hips, and from there, they dropped on their own.

  He was a visual man, and he absolutely loved women’s bodies, so he held her back enough to look her over again.

  “It’s not going to change,” she whispered with the first hint of nervousness. “This is it.”

  His gaze locked on hers. “Just so we’re clear, you’re the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to want to look at you a lot.”

  “Oh.” Her chin angled up. “I’d like to look at you, too, so drop the boxers.”

  Ah, there was the confident, no-nonsense woman he knew. “Yes, ma’am.” He took two steps back and quickly shucked off his shorts. Holding out his arms, he said, “I’m not shy. Look your fill, just make it fast because I’m dying to get you under me.”

  With her eyes on his dick, she murmured, “What if I want you under me?”

  Was that nervousness, or just pure challenge? Was she saying it’d be easier for her in the dominant position?

  He couldn’t tell, so he said, “Whatever you want is fine by me.” More serious now, he gathered her close for a devastating kiss. Yes, this. Skin to skin, heat combining... It couldn’t be more perfect.

  By silent agreement, they moved to the bed, both of them touching, stroking, exploring. Reyes drew her right nipple into his mouth, flicking with his tongue, then leisurely sucking, and she went a little wild. Her fingertips bit into his shoulders and her hips rose in a frantic rhythm against his.

  Nice. He could have spent hours just doing this, but she wasn’t patient enough for that. Her legs were shifting, her feet sliding over the sheets restlessly. Relieved that she wasn’t having any bad memories, at least not so far, he lowered a hand to her sex.

 
That got her still real quick, mostly in bated anticipation. Smiling against her nipple, he stroked over her, parted her and teased her soft, damp lips with one finger.

  Her body arched in response.

  Her hand covered his and she pressed, urging him to move more quickly than he’d planned.

  She was already wet enough that his finger pressed deep, even as her muscles squeezed around him.

  Watching her, turned on even more by her need, he murmured, “It’s like that, huh?”

  “Shut up, Reyes,” she groaned, already sounding near release.

  Her long abstinence had left her incredibly tight, and apparently hungry. Taking her mouth again, he kissed her with every bit of finesse he possessed while rocking his palm against her mound in coordination with his thrusting finger. He was hard enough to be lethal, but he wanted to experience her pleasure first, to know he’d accomplished that much before he let himself go. He wasn’t a bastard—her release mattered a lot to him—and so he concentrated on her, on each small reaction, the catch of her breath and every vibrating moan.

  The problem was that as she got closer to the edge, so did he. Knowing he wouldn’t last much longer, he brought his thumb up to her clitoris, and that almost did it for her. She gave a harsh groan and clenched around him, her heels digging into the mattress.

  Beautiful. Urging her on with whispered words, he found a rhythm that pushed her ever closer. He added a second finger, stretching her carefully, spreading her slick moisture, then pressing his fingers as deeply as he could while continuing to tease her clit with the rough pad of his thumb.

  She grew tighter and tighter, more restless, her breaths fast and shallow. He loved it, every freaking second of it. After a few minutes more, she came with a low, intense groan that absolutely did him in.

  The second Kennedy went limp, he literally lurched over to grab a condom, rolled it on in haste, and parted her legs to settle over her.

  “Yes?” he asked, needing her confirmation, needing to know she was still with him.

  “Yes,” she whispered, getting her eyes open and giving him a dreamy smile. “Definitely—”

  He pressed into her in one long, smooth thrust.