Redemption River

by Lindsay Cross

  “My turn,” Evie said. He let go of her hair and just rested his hands, sweat beading his back at the torturous wait. A second later he was rewarded when her hot little mouth surrounded him.

  Fuck, he’d been dreaming about her mouth on him for too long. But the reality was so much sweeter than any dream.

  *

  Evie moved in a dream-like trance, locked into pleasure and lust and desire. Hunter’s cock stretched her lips wide and tight. His salty taste was like heaven.

  She didn’t know what creature had taken over her body, but she fed off the heady power of knowing she was the only one who could make Hunter James lose control. Evie sucked hard and flicked her tongue on the underside of his tip. Hunter jerked and gasped, his fingers yanking her hair. “Witch.”

  Evie smiled around him and continued to explore. She wrapped her hand around the base of his shaft, taking up the space her mouth couldn’t touch. Then she started sucking him in deeper, harder, tighter, feeling him pulse and throb in her mouth. Hunter groaned, hoarse with need.

  Her other hand drifted back to his sac, cupping and teasing the heavy, silken weight of it in her palm. Hunter’s hands pulled tighter in her hair, and his thrusts came harder. Faster.

  Evie moaned around his hot flesh, the feeling of sensual power rising higher in her body. Her breasts were heavy with need, her core wet and ready. Sucking him like this, taking the control from him, aroused her. The sensation of him stretching her lips taut, filling her so completely that she tasted, smelled, and felt only Hunter, drove her wild.

  “Jesus Christ.” Hunter thrust deep and held her still, his cock buried in her throat. Evie fought the urge to choke and forced herself to relax. She wanted to take all of him, so she let Hunter take over, pulling out and thrusting forward while she sucked hard. Wanting to make him lose control completely, she pulled her lips back and scraped her teeth lightly down his length. Hunter roared and a drop of his salty essence spilled onto her tongue before he pulled out.

  It felt like less than a second had passed before his hands encircled her waist. Hunter turned her quickly onto her hands and knees and slammed inside her before she could speak. Evie arched, a gasp escaping her lips as he spread her wet folds wide, thrusting into her with a power that left her weak.

  He latched on to her hips and drilled into her, hard and fast, her whole body jerking forward with each thrust. His finger found her clit and rubbed it in small circles in time with his movements. Evie’s head dropped between her shoulders, his touch sapping all the strength from her muscles. The ball of heat building in her core expanded until it was ready to explode.

  Each time he filled her, he stroked her clit. Sending her higher. She burned. Ached. He stretched her until she couldn’t take any more, then he thrust deeper. Took more. Took her control. She shattered, the scream sliding out of her open mouth, drifting across the water. Down the road. The woods. Everywhere. But she didn’t care. Couldn’t think.

  Evie convulsed around him and her fingers dug into the blanket as Hunter continued to plunge into her, stretching her orgasm out into one long roller coaster ride of pleasure. Hunter slammed in one more time and roared his release.

  Evie collapsed onto her chest, Hunter still holding her hips high. Her body shook, quivered. Small aftershocks of electricity zinged through her. He’d taken her control and lost his.

  The fire had dwindled to a glowing pile of embers and smoke. Its hazy glow illuminated the gravel right around it and nothing else. Hunter pulled out of her a few moments later. Evie was distantly aware of his movements, but she was overwhelmingly aware of the emptiness she felt after his retreat. Hunter had filled those missing parts inside her, parts of which she had only recently become aware. And she knew she could never go back to being without him. To being alone. She needed him.

  He added more limbs to the fire and then fell onto the blanket beside her and she snuggled into his arms, loving the feel of his body completely surrounding hers.

  He had told her she was the reason he’d come home. Up until tonight, she hadn’t believed him. Hadn’t dared to let herself fall for him again, but she had realized something tonight.

  Hunter might have been the reason she fell apart the first time, but he had also put her back together. Made her whole.

  24

  Evie had gone from timid to torrential in a split second. Despite the loss of his ability to speak coherently around her, he’d met his first objective. They’d reestablished their trust in each other. But instead of cold detachment and calm confidence he usually tried to project, he felt incredible heat and the need to protect.

  She’d been on her knees, staring up at him with something close to worship and he had reveled in her gaze as much as the heavenly feel of her lips around his cock. She wasn’t just a mission. No matter how much he tried to lie to himself, he knew she had slipped into his heart. Maybe she’d never left.

  And he wanted her to love him.

  The thought came out of left field, slammed into his chest, and nearly knocked him on his ass.

  Hunter swallowed, his throat tight and dry. Dammit. Evie had dumped his mission on its head and now he needed to find a compass to point him back in the right direction.

  Theft. Guns. Murder.

  Then he looked at Evie, cuddled in his arms, and saw the angry bruises around her neck. She needed protection from Marcus and his man. She needed him. And he vowed right then and there he would do everything in his power to save her.

  “Listen, Evie. I’ve been trying to talk to you since last night. About the reason I came home.”

  She rolled over in his arms and lifted her fingers up to graze his cheek, leaving small spikes of electricity in their wake. “It’s okay, Hunter. You don’t have to say anything else. Let’s just enjoy our time together and when you have to leave again it will be okay. No hurt feelings. No expectations.”

  “But that’s not what I want.” It was true. He needed her to love him. To want him no matter where he was stationed. He needed someone to come home to.

  Shit. Waxing poetic? He had to get it together. She thought he’d come home just for her. And he was starting to believe it himself. All he could think about was how much he wanted to hold her, to sink into her again. When he should be thinking about using her and discarding her.

  Goddamn mission was killing him.

  But Hunter James didn’t fail or quit. He got the job done. He had to compartmentalize. Figure out a way to tuck his emotions back into the steel vault in his mind and finish.

  Evie wasn’t his target anymore. She wasn’t totally innocent either, even if her blue eyes stayed fixed on him with a naive yearning. Even if she kissed him like she was years out of practice. Even if all he could think about was how sweet her moans sounded when he slid into her.

  “Hunter, I really am happy you’re home. And I want to be with you. More. Like this. But I’m scared.” Her voice wavered with barely hidden indecision. She tottered back-and-forth and he had to tip the weight fully in his favor.

  He took a deep breath and ignored the burning ache in his chest. Think. Plan a strategy for infiltration.

  “Look, last night, when I saw him on top of you…last night something snapped inside me. It was stupid of me to stay away for so long. I’ve thought about you. All the time. No matter where I was.” He paused and grabbed her hand, turning it palm up. “In the middle of the desert.” He kissed her palm and inhaled deep, filling his senses with her sweet scent.

  “I would think about you late at night, when I stood outside the tent and looked up at the stars. Remember how we used to lie on the sandbar? Remember how many stars we’d see spread out over the river? Remember our star?” Hunter kissed each of her fingertips, taking his time, savoring each one. Each time she gasped and those small breathy sounds chinked away a piece of his armor. Blood flooded his cock, those little sounds driving him crazy. He let go of her hand and pulled her chest flush with his, savoring the feel of her hard nipples digging into his skin
.

  “No matter where I was, I found our star.” Hunter kept his voice low. He kissed the tip of her nose. Her cheeks. Her head. Evie’s fingers dug into his arms.

  Her breathing increased, and every time she inhaled, her nipples pushed harder against him. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold back. Fire licked his skin wherever they touched.

  He wanted her with a savage need that took control of his body. Took control of everything. Hunter flipped her onto her back, nudged her legs apart, and rammed inside. He didn’t need to see if she was still wet. Her gaze, her body told him how much she wanted him. Evie arched and her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

  Hunter watched her expression, watched her tilt her head back and close her eyes as he thrust slow and deep inside her. “And I always wondered…” He pulled out and thrust forward, not stopping until he hit her core. “If you were staring at our star with me,” he said gently, invading the warm cocoon of her body each time he spoke. She spasmed against him and her eyes flew open. “If you were thinking about me…” He slammed in again, his strokes long and sure. “…like I was thinking about you.” Hunter ignored the vice in his chest and took her mouth in a brutal and possessive kiss. He felt the visceral need to mark her. To make sure she understood she was his. Always had been. Always would be. And he knew it had nothing to do with his mission.

  Evie’s heels dug into his thighs and urged him on. She moaned into his mouth and arched into his touch. Hunter couldn’t get deep enough; he needed more. He tore his mouth from hers and leaned back enough to pull her legs over his shoulders. He drilled into her, using her hips to yank her closer and bring their contact deeper, until her body went rigid and she screamed his name into the night. She clenched around him so tight he could no longer hold back. He let go, his release bursting inside her moist warmth. Marking her from the inside out. His.

  Hunter fell forward, barely catching himself on his elbows, his orgasm draining every last bit of energy from his body. Evie’s eyes closed, her breath coming deep and fast, just like his. Being inside Evie, being a part of her, had opened up the emotions he’d kept carefully hidden for so long. He took her lips. She opened for him and sucked his tongue into her mouth, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her.

  Everything he’d said had been the truth. Not an act. But what he wanted didn’t matter to his CO. He had to find a way to get the real bad guy and protect Evie.

  *

  Evie lay limp and replete in Hunter’s arms. All of her fight, all of her willpower, every single ounce of common sense, lay in the dirt beneath them.

  He had literally pounded her defenses to dust. She smiled. And she’d enjoyed every minute. He might have to leave again for work, but he was here now. He’d proven himself to her over and over. He had opened up and let her know exactly how he felt. He wanted her. The real her. Not just her body. Not just for a few days. He wanted her to be his home.

  Warmth slid into her, filling her as much as Hunter’s body had a few minutes earlier. Her heart seemed to swell past the confines of her rib cage. She didn’t recognize the emotion at first. It had been too long. Hope.

  Hope for a future. For a life she could share with someone. A family. Kids.

  Whoah. She needed to keep these thoughts under lock and key. Kids were definitely way down the road and she didn’t want to scare Hunter off right after she’d gotten him back.

  “We’re gonna have to move soon. We need to make camp.” Hunter’s chest rumbled under her ear as he spoke.

  “Just one more minute.” Life could change in an instant, so she wanted to savor this moment. Remember it.

  She still couldn’t believe he’d left because of Marcus. Chills covered her body, despite the raging heat of the air and Hunter’s body against hers. Everything made sense now. His abrupt departure. His mom.

  Fierce protectiveness welled up inside her and she embraced the emotion. Hunter was the size of a giant and more than capable of defending himself, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need someone to watch out for him.

  He squeezed her tightly and she snuggled deeper into his embrace. Despite the wounds of his past, he hadn’t stopped wanting her even though he’d thought she was a cheater.

  Something inside her splintered open. “I can’t believe you still wanted me after you thought I cheated on you.”

  Hunter pulled her up and lifted her on top of his chest. His eyes had deepened from black to obsidian. She had no idea what he was thinking. But she still hurt. For him. He caught her first tear on his cheek.

  “Honey, don’t cry. That was a long time ago. Let’s live in the present. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I just want you.” His hands cradled her head to pull her down so he could kiss her forehead.

  “I want you too. I missed you so much. I could barely get out of bed after you first left.” The words spilled out as fast as her tears, and Hunter caught every one.

  “Shhh. Let’s not talk about the past. It’s over. We’re here together. Now. And I intend to enjoy every second.” His gentle words and touch were like a safety blanket.

  “Okay. Let’s live in the now.” Her stomach grumbled at that exact moment and she smiled down at the man who had managed to make her feel again. “Too bad we don’t have food.”

  Hunter’s answering grin filled his entire face. “Actually, while you were packing, I swam back down to the kitchen and grabbed some canned food.”

  Evie clutched his face and planted a big kiss on his lips. “I knew I loved you, Hunter James.”

  25

  Hunter looked right into her eyes and forced himself to say, “I love you too.”

  Evie’s smile disappeared. The golden light flickering from the fire highlighted the paleness his words caused. He’d done worse things in his life, but none of those things had felt this bad.

  “Hunter…I was just playing… I don’t think we’re ready for that yet.” She tried to stand, but he held her tight. He’d been dealt his cards, played his hand, and now he had to stick to his bluff.

  “You weren’t playing any more than I was. Admit it, Evie. You love me too,” Hunter whispered, the harsh sound of his voice grating across his own skin.

  “I…need to think.” Evie pushed against his chest again, and this time he let her stand.

  He followed her up, fighting—and failing—to tear his gaze from her perfect breasts. She presented him with her back, taking his choice away. With the light from the fire, he finally got a chance to look at her. Really look at her. He didn’t know at what point his dick had become his brain, but his gaze fell south, straight to her incomparable ass.

  It screeched to a halt at her hip. The light illuminated a red puckered scar, just above her right butt cheek.

  Hunter took a step forward, focusing on the scar. When he realized what he was seeing, he started to shake with anger. “What the fuck is that?”

  M.C. The initials were branding-iron clear.

  Pain nearly bent him forward. Nearly took him to his knees. “He did that to you?” Hunter pointed at her hip. “That goddamn son of a bitch fucking branded you?”

  Fury engulfed him, demolishing any fixation on her naked flesh. Destroying any thoughts about lying and love and loss.

  His ability to maintain any myth of detachment went up in smoke. There would be no nonchalant assassination for Marcus Carvant. No smooth knife to the neck. That motherfucker was as good as butchered meat.

  Evie spun around, her eyes wide with confusion. “What? Another gator?”

  Hunter grabbed her shoulder, spun her, and pointed at her scar. “That, Evie. How did you get that scar?”

  Evie turned to face him again, her eyes wide with fear. She held up her hands, palms flat, as if she could keep him back. “It’s nothing. I swear. Just an accident. I fell.” She took a few steps away, but Hunter stalked toward her, ignoring the gravel digging into his bare feet. Her face lost all color, and tension filled the air between them like the buzz of insects.
He’d seen that kind of fear before. But not in Evie’s eyes.

  His mother used to say the same thing to the cops whenever a neighbor called to report his father for domestic abuse.

  Suddenly everything made sense. The baggy clothes. The distance. “He’s dead.”

  Any doubt he’d harbored of Evie’s willing involvement with Marcus ceased to exist.

  Evie’s entire body jerked. “Hunter, this is crazy. Let’s get dressed, find somewhere to make camp. We can talk then.”

  Every word she said might as well have been a knife thrown into his chest. Her entire stance screamed escape. She kept backing up, her body tight. Defensive.

  He didn’t see her nudity anymore. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her blue eyes and the dark knowledge she was trying to hide behind them.

  “You can keep running from me, Evie, but I’m not going to give up. I’ve seen scars like those before. I’ve got my own.” Hunter kicked his leg around and pointed to his calf, where a smaller version of the scorpions on his back resided.

  He couldn’t get a tattoo of the initials TF-S. No one on their team could, on the off-chance someone would recognize the initials. But the person who’d branded Evie hadn’t cared about recognition. He clearly thought he was above punishment.

  Hunter knew he was making a mistake, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around. He held her to him, traced the initials with his fingers. Evie sobbed and jerked away, her anguish a living, breathing thing between them.

  This time she didn’t back away. She didn’t hold her hands up to ward him off.

  She ran.

  “Evie. Wait.” Hunter took off after her. The night, the clouds, the levee, it all disappeared. She was the only thing that mattered. Hunter ran with every ounce of willpower he possessed.

  He caught up to her and grabbed her arm, but Evie screamed and kicked like a madwoman.

  “Evie, stop. Stop fighting me.” Hunter carried her back to their blanket. Stood her in front of him and didn’t let go. Her hysterical sobbing wrenched his heart, and her harsh breathing and flushed cheeks painted a clear picture of terror.