Branded: Savannah: Sisters Bound By Blood

by Karen Kelley

  "Damn, you're beautiful."

  She could feel the heat crawling up her face again.

  He grimaced. "I'm going too fast, aren't I?"

  She shook her head. "Not fast enough," she whispered. She was pretty sure her face was flaming right now, but he only laughed and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it somewhere near hers. She nibbled her bottom lip when he reached for the button on his jeans.

  He groaned. "It drives me crazy when you do that. It's so fucking sexy." He tugged the zipper down on his jeans and quickly kicked out of them.

  Now she was the one who wasn't moving quickly enough. She hurried and undid her shorts, then slid them over her hips. She kicked out of her sandals, then the shorts. She stood in front of him, wearing only a pair of red, lacy bikini panties.

  He closed the distance between them, then picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. There was something about him carrying her that made her feel feminine, as delicate as a flower. She had a feeling all his muscles had something to do with it.

  He laid her on the bed, then crawled in beside her. “Damn, I dreamed about you the whole time I was gone.”

  “I missed you, too,” she said on a breathy whisper.

  His mouth covered one breast and sucked the nipple inside his mouth. He teased it with his tongue. Sweet torture! She moaned. God, she wanted so much more.

  He moved to the other breast while his hand continued to fondle the one he’d just left. Her body felt as if it was on fire. She didn’t know how much more of this she could stand without exploding.

  But when his hand snaked down between her legs and began lightly teasing her through the silk of her panties, she almost came unglued. She whimpered.

  He moved to his knees and slowly worked her panties down her legs. Each inch made her breathing a little more ragged. He slowly tugged her panties over her thighs and down her legs, the back of his hands lightly caressing her legs, not seeming to get in any hurry.

  He finally pulled her panties over her ankles and tossed them to the side. Rather than lying beside her, he moved between her legs. For a moment, he stared down at her. She was embarrassed to be so exposed, but the flames of passion only burned brighter and hotter inside of her.

  His thumb lightly pressed against her, then began a circular motion. She fisted her hands in the sheets. She didn't think it could get any better than this, but then he lowered his head and replaced his thumb with his mouth. The moment his lips touched her, she cried out, but then he began to suck and nibble. She’d never felt so much pleasure before. She arched her back as she began to quiver, her orgasm reaching heights she'd never been before. She cried out from the intensity of it, then slowly floated back to earth. There was nothing left inside her.

  She vaguely knew when he moved off the bed. She watched him through half-closed eyes as he removed his briefs. The man was beautiful in all his naked glory. She could feel the passion begin to build once again inside her.

  He reached in the drawer of the bedside table for a condom. He ripped it open with his teeth, but when he would’ve rolled it down his length, she stopped him.

  “No, let me,” her words were timid, but she wanted to touch him, taste him as he had tasted her.

  He hesitated, then faced her, handing her the condom. She moved to the side of the bed, swinging her legs over the side. She looked up, then quickly averted her gaze. It was one thing to ask him, but kind of embarrassing to meet his eyes. He had said she could do what she wanted. Right now, she wanted to explore.

  She tentatively ran her fingers down his length. He sucked in a breath. She cautiously looked up. His eyes were closed. She relaxed somewhat. She rubbed her thumb over the slick tip. He groaned. A burst of power jolted through her at the realization that she was the one in control.

  She moved to her knees on the bed and ran her tongue down his length. He gasped. Emboldened, she sucked him inside her mouth. His hips jerked forward as his hands tangled in her hair. She couldn’t take him all. He was large and thick, but she liked the slightly salty taste of him on her tongue.

  Suddenly, he was reaching under her arms and pulling her away. Had she done something wrong? She looked at him.

  "No," he answered her unspoken question. "You did nothing wrong. You did everything right, but if we don't shift gears, I won’t last long.

  She bit her lip and downed her head.

  "Ah, so you think it's funny." He took the condom from her and pulled it on, then came after her with a growl.

  She squealed and moved to the other side of the bed, but she wasn't quite fast enough. He grabbed her ankles, rolled her to her back, and then moved between her legs. Everything slowed after that. He kissed one breast, flicking his tongue over the tight nipple, then moved up and nuzzled her neck.

  “Damn, I missed you,” he murmured.

  He slowly entered her, stroking. She tightened her inner muscles around him, loving the way he started a slow burn inside her that began to stoke the flames.

  Savannah didn't think she could rise to the heights he’d already taken her, but she'd been wrong. The friction inside her began to build. He increased the tempo.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he sank deeper. He groaned. They pulled each other close as they reached satisfaction at the same time. Then he was slowly sinking down to her, rolling to his side and taking her with him.

  For a moment, they didn't speak, only held each other tight.

  There was so much she wanted to tell him. She wanted to ask him never to leave her. But she knew that was a promise he might not be able to keep. Just as Jade had been sold, and then she had also been taken from Rena. Sometimes people didn't have a choice between what they wanted to do and what they were forced to do.

  She told herself that she would be satisfied with whatever Breaker could give her, but she knew she was lying to herself. She wanted more. Was that so very wrong?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Breaker woke early the next morning, but he didn't get out of bed, he just lay there watching Savannah sleep. Her breathing was even, and her face relaxed, as if she didn't have a care in the world. He would have to tell her what was going on. The sooner, the better. She needed to know what he and his team had done. Prepare her for what might come.

  Damn it, he wanted to keep her in the dark. Hell, he didn’t even want to mention Marco’s name. There was no getting around it. Sooner or later, he would need to tell her.

  The fear would return. It couldn't be helped. Attacking Marco’s drug flow was the only way to take this man down. They'd hit him hard and fast. It would take him a little while to recover, but he would, and then he would come after them. Not only would he have to protect the people who worked for him, but Savannah as well.

  There was only one way he would be able to keep her safe. One way so that he knew Marco wouldn't be able to get to her. He just wasn't sure if he could handle it or not. Dammit, he'd never wanted to return. Not back to the swamps where he'd grown up, but it was the only place where he could keep her safe.

  Savannah stretched beside him as she slowly came awake, drawing his attention back to her. When she raised her arms above her head, she let out a little sound of satisfaction that told him she'd slept well. As she stretched, the cover slipped down until her breasts were exposed.

  His gaze immediately lowered. He couldn't stop his hand from reaching out and cupping one breast, rubbing his thumb across the nipple. It immediately tightened, and she emitted a soft moan.

  He hadn't planned on making love to her this morning. He'd only wanted to watch her sleep. They'd made love once more during the night, and he figured she'd be sore, but when she turned toward him, her breasts crushed against his chest.

  She moved her leg until it lay across his hip. Her face nuzzled his neck. But when she pressed herself against his hardening cock, all thoughts of not making love to her flew out the window. He cupped her ass and brought her in closer to his erection. She moaned softly again. He rubbed against her, and s
he drew in a quick breath.

  The woman was killing him, but what a sweet way to die. He grabbed a condom out of his bedside drawer and ripped open the foil package. He wiggled his hands between them, then closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath when his hand brushed across the curls at the juncture between her legs. It was all he could do to function long enough to get the condom on.

  He gently pushed her to her back, then stroked between her legs. She was already damp with need. She nibbled her bottom lip, arching her back, silently begging for more.

  He entered her. She was hot, and so damned tight. Her body caressed his erection with every stroke he made. Slow in and out. Just feeling each other. In and out as the intensity began to build between them.

  Her breathing became strained. Her eyelids fluttered open with that glazed look telling him she was getting closer to peaking.

  Her arms slipped around his neck as her legs went around his waist, pulling him even closer to her body. Her breath was hot against his cheek. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him nearer. Her breasts crushed against his chest.

  He closed his eyes and let the sensations wrap around him, cloaking him in sudden, intense pleasure when he climaxed. She gasped, body tightening.

  He sank into her softness, then rolled them both to their sides, but he didn’t let her go. He just wanted to hold her close a little longer. He didn’t want anything to shatter what they’d just experienced.

  It was another hour before they were showered, dressed, and in the kitchen making breakfast. He let her do the cooking while he followed behind doing the cleanup. When he told her that he liked pancakes, she insisted on making some, along with bacon and three eggs—a woman after his heart.

  Except he still hadn't told her what had gone down. He would tell her after breakfast. Maybe he should think about something else in the meantime.

  "You seemed to like the dancers on TV," he said as he sat down to eat. He immediately noticed the softening of her expression.

  "I did. I mean, I do. We had a TV growing up. My father liked to watch boxing. We weren’t supposed to touch the TV, except we did when we knew we wouldn’t get caught. One day he was passed out, so we turned the volume down low. There were some dancers on TV that day. I was hooked from then on.”

  Her face lit up when she talked about the dancers. He could watch the changing expressions on her face all day.

  “Jade encouraged me to dance when we’d put on a play. It was always just the three of us, and Jade would make up these wonderful stories.” She laughed lightly. “At least, we thought they were at the time. When Rena got older, we discovered that she had a talent for singing." She looked up from her plate of food and smiled. "We were perfect, of course. Only the best performance would do for our audience of squirrels and birds." She took a bite of her pancakes and slowly chewed before taking a drink of her orange juice.

  "It sounds like the perfect audience," he said with a smile. He could almost imagine the three of them putting on their play. It sounded as if they were very close. Which reminded him of something that Carter had told him. He wasn't sure how she would react to his news, and for a moment, he thought about not telling her except she had a right to know.

  "My friend has been doing some checking for me.” He drew in a breath, then exhaled. “Your father died last year. I’m sorry."

  She took another drink of her juice, then set the glass down, running her finger up and down the condensation that had formed as if searching for the right words.

  "You know, I thought about killing him once. He had a shotgun he kept loaded in the closet. I overheard the grocer once say that my father wasn't worth the bullet. I think he was right. Sometimes I regretted not killing him. If I had, then maybe I wouldn't have ever been sold to Marco, but then, I might not have met you." She looked up. "I'm not sorry he's dead. I don't feel anything at all about the man. I'm not sure what that makes me, though."

  "Human. It only makes you human. He never acted like your father. If he had, he wouldn't have sold you and Jade."

  She sat a little straighter. "Do you know anything about my sisters?"

  He hated to dash the hope that he saw spring to life in her eyes. "No, but I have a man looking for them. It may take Carter some time to locate them, but he won't give up."

  She closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and opened them. "I picked up a book from the library about how to find missing people, but I was still confused about where to begin. Thank you for doing this."

  "If they can be found, Carter will find them." He set his fork down and looked at her. "It's no big deal having him look."

  "It is for me." She drew in a breath, then exhaled. "Do you have brothers or sisters? You've never said."

  He shook his head. "There was only me. Bunches of aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have a grandmother, too."

  When he didn’t say anything more, she didn’t question him further.

  They finished eating, and he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. "I need to talk to you about where I was."

  Her eyes reflected her concern. "Not if it jeopardizes your work. I remember you saying you worked for the government. You don't have to tell me."

  "The government didn't send me on a mission or anything. I called my team together, and we did this on our own."

  Her eyebrows drew together. "I don't understand."

  He ran a hand through his hair, then came to his feet and began carrying their empty plates to the sink. "I've had a man keeping an eye on Marco. We couldn't get close enough to him, or I might have taken him out and been done with it. He always has men around him."

  When he glanced at her, Breaker noticed her face had lost some of its color, but he had no choice now except to tell her everything. He turned and leaned against the counter.

  "My team goes places where no one else will go. We've had missions in Cambodia and Columbia. Even down in Mexico. We go where no one else can go, and we do what we have to do to make people safe. We’re damn good at our job."

  "Is he dead?"

  He shook his said. "No, but he's mad as hell. He was supposed to get a drug shipment down on the coast. My men and I blew up the boat. While we were doing that, another team was blowing up one of his warehouses that was filled with drugs."

  She drew in a sharp breath. "He's going to come after us. He'll kill you, too."

  "He'll try, but he won't succeed. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."

  "I'm more concerned about you.” She came to her feet and began to pace. “I didn't mean to pull you into my mess. This isn’t your problem."

  "I made it my problem."

  She worried her bottom lip. "I think we’d better pick up with my shooting lessons again."

  Yeah, he was thinking the same thing. He wanted her to be able to defend herself in case something happened to him. Not that he thought it would ever come to that, but it paid to err on the side of caution.

  By the time he took care of some bar business, it was afternoon before they made it to his friend’s pasture so she could practice her driving and her shooting.

  "You’re improving," Breaker stated when they were at their makeshift firing range.

  She laughed. "Well, at least I'm hitting the cardboard target this time, and it's even where I'm aiming. My arm is still killing me, though."

  "Hopefully, you won't have to fire at someone for any length of time, if at all." He turned serious. "It’s not as easy to shoot and kill someone as people think. It takes a toll on you. One that some people don't ever recover from."

  She studied him for a moment. "What about the two men who Marco sent to bring me back? Did that bother you to kill them?"

  He might as well tell her the truth. "I don't want you to think less of me, but no, it didn't bother me at all. I could tell from the look of them, they were bad. Besides, they pulled their guns first. If I hadn't pulled mine, they would’ve killed me and took you back to Marco. I couldn't let that happen."

  "I can un
derstand you wanting to save yourself, but why would you care what happened to me? You didn't even know me. Why would you risk your life for someone you hadn't met until that night?"

  "When we made eye contact in the restaurant that night, I sized you up pretty quickly. I knew you were scared, and I figured you were on the run. I'd seen that look before. I was going to ask if you needed help, but by the time I finished eating, you were gone. I just didn't know you were hiding in my back floorboard."

  She pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, and he wondered how uncomfortable it would be making love in the bed of his pickup.

  "Are you sure you don't regret helping me? Wouldn't it have been easier to take me to the nearest bus stop and drop me off?"

  He pulled his mind back to her question. "Easier? Yeah, probably. You and I both know that Marco would have men checking the bus stops. He would’ve found you sooner or later. I knew if I took you with me, it would be more difficult for him to find you."

  "Now you’ve started a war. I hope no one else gets hurt," she said. "I don't know if I could live with myself if anyone did."

  "That's why as soon as he, or his men, are spotted in the area, I'm going to shut down the bar for as long as this takes. Who knows, he might decide neither one of us is worth the fight and not come after us."

  "He's not like that. It'll be an honor thing with him. He'll lose the respect of everyone if he doesn't exact revenge on us. There are still the townspeople, too. He'll terrorize them."

  "Except, we won't be in town." He could see the confusion on her face. "There's only one place to go. I’ll make sure he knows exactly where to find me, but we’ll be on my turf. The only person who will get hurt is Marco and his men."

  "Where's that?"

  "Deep in the Louisiana swamps."

  Chapter Twenty-Three