by Lilly Atlas
“Fuck!” The gun fell away from her temple and the pressure against her chest disappeared as Mike coughed and sputtered behind her. Fia’s fight-or-flight response kicked in with a powerful surge. She lunged forward.
Pop, pop.
What the hell?
Strong arms wrapped around her back and in the next instant, she found herself pressed roughly against another chest. This chest was solid and comforting. This chest she knew.
“Acer? Wh-what’s happening?” Her entire body shook with relief and bewilderment.
“Shh, baby, are you hurt?” His large hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her face buried in his pecs.
“I don’t think so.” She spoke into his shirt. The sound of a man screaming in pain registered and despite the hot sun beating down on the open road, Fia shivered. With her face still mashed against Acer’s firm chest, she couldn’t see, but the agonizing screams seemed to be coming from Mike.
Acer turned, still holding her. “Take her for a minute.”
What, who was he talking to?
Acer pressed his mouth against her ear, his warm breath tickled her skin. “Stay with Lucky while I end this.”
Fia’s head spun and she could barely process Acer’s words. Lucky? Where had he come from?
Acer released his hold on her and gently handed her off to another pair of strong arms. She immediately missed the feeling of safety, comfort, and arousal only Acer could provide.
She glanced up at Lucky, still clueless as to where he’d materialized from, then looked at Acer. If she hadn’t known he was harmless to her, the lethal look of impending violence on his face would have sent her running for the hills. “Be careful,” she whispered.
“Always.” He stepped away.
“I need to see.” She pushed against Lucky’s chest, but his arms remained steel bands around her back.
“No way, Fia. You don’t want this image in your head.”
“Please, Lucky. I need to know it’s over.” She struggled against his sturdy hold.
He hesitated, but after a few seconds, loosened his hold. She rotated in his arms, watching as Acer stalked the short distance to Mike.
Her attacker lay ten feet away, a puddle of crimson blood expanding beneath him. “What did you do to him?” she asked around Mike’s cries of pain.
Lucky paused a second before answering her. “Put a bullet in the hand that held a gun. And a bullet in his leg. Didn’t want him running away.”
Fia swallowed and kept her focus on Acer. He dropped to one knee at Mike’s side and leaned forward, pressing a closed fist into Mike’s thigh, inches from the bullet would. The howl ripped from Mike was that of a mortally-wounded animal and Fia couldn’t hide her flinch.
Then Acer bent down, so his face hovered above Mike’s. He held the muzzle of his gun to the center of Mike’s forehead and the man’s screams dwindled to whimpers. Fia held her breath. Acer wouldn’t let the other man live.
Would guilt set in at some point? Guilt that she wanted this? Wanted another human’s death. Guilt that she let Acer do this? Maybe, but it wasn’t there now. Now all she felt was the anticipation of freedom from fear.
~ ~ ~ ~
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for weeks. Having you at my mercy. Killing you. Gotta say, I was hoping we’d have a little more privacy and a little more time.” Acer kept his voice low. Fia didn’t need to hear this shit. She didn’t need to know how the need make this man suffer pulsed through Acer’s body with each pound of his heart.
He’d longed for this moment every second of every day since he discovered Fia in that hot as hell fucking house, her body violated, her mind terrified. He took a deep breath, savoring the moment, the certain knowledge that his woman would be free of this piece of shit.
“P-pl-please do-don’t kill m-me.” Mike’s eyes were saucer-wide and color leeched from his face with every passing second. Sand mixed with the blood and tears running down his face forming a muddy paste. He cradled his injured hand against his chest, the action not nearly sufficient to stem the flow of blood soaking his clothing.
The cowering and sniveling did nothing to soften Acer toward the injured man. In fact, they only made Mike more loathsome. Fucking coward. Couldn’t even die like a man. “Ohh, that’s good.” Acer’s mouth rose into an evil grin. “Beg me a little more. Maybe, just maybe I’ll have mercy on you.” He kept his pistol centered between Mike’s glassy brown eyes. “Go on.”
“P-please.” His voice grew weak. “I’ll g-get your m-money. I’ll l-leave town.”
“Hmm.” Acer leaned forward just a hair, letting his body weight rest on the fist on Mike’s thigh. The man let out another ear-splitting scream. “You know, I’m just not sure that’s good enough, Mike. See, you hurt someone very important to me. You hurt my woman.”
“I-I didn’t know.” Snot dripped from Mike’s nose as he started to blubber. “P-please m-man. Please.”
Acer chuckled. “You think I care that you didn’t know she was mine? You know now and yet, here we are.” It was time to end this. While he’d been dreaming of a long drawn out death for Mike, Fia waited behind him, and taking her back home was more important. Mike would be dead, and that’s what counted. “I have no fucking intention of letting you live.”
He pulled the trigger, the loud pop echoing through the vast desert. Mike went limp beneath him and Acer was filled with a sense of satisfaction. His woman was safe. “Rot in hell, asshole,” he muttered, before he rose and turned to Fia.
She’d broken out of Lucky’s hold and flew across the distance to Acer. The soft, warm weight of her body slammed into him, soothing him a million times better than any verbal or visual confirmation of her safety. He held her close, careful not to squeeze too hard in case she sustained any injuries in the crash. “It’s over, baby.”
She trembled in his arms. Moisture seeped through his shirt. Christ, he hated to see her cry.
Lucky turned his attention to Fia; his rifle slung over one shoulder. “You okay, sweetie?”
Fia sniffed and lifted her head from Acer’s chest. “I think so. Where did you come from? And how did you—”
“Former Marine sniper.” Acer spoke above her. “And he saw you leave the motel. I asked him to follow you until I could catch up.” Acer stroked his hand up and down her back in a rhythmic, soothing motion. He wasn’t sure if it was her or himself he set out to soothe, but it seemed to have a calming effect on both of them. If he had his way, she wouldn’t leave his arms for the next week, but that wasn’t possible. They needed to get the hell out of here.
“You guys take off. I called for garbage detail. Should be here soon. Thank fuck this Podunk road doesn’t get much traffic.” He looked over his shoulder into the barren desert.
This road was sparsely traveled, but that didn’t mean they could stand here all day with a dead body in the road and not draw unwanted attention. “You sure, Luck?” Acer asked.
Lucky turned back and met his gaze. “I’m sure. Take your girl home. Give her something to smile about.” He winked at Fia and she chuckled.
“Thank you, brother.” For so much more than letting them bug out, but Lucky didn’t need the extra words.
He nodded. “Anything.”
Acer pressed a kiss to Fia’s head. Part of him wanted to stand here with her in his arms all day, just feeling the life flow through her, but they needed to leave. He couldn’t chance her being here if someone drove by. Plus, he needed to get her alone so he could inspect every inch of her body and assure himself she was unharmed.
But first. “Fia, do you need to go to the hospital? Or need me to call Lila?” He stepped back and ran his hands over her face, her arms, her hips. He couldn’t get enough of touching her.
“No, I’m sore, but fine. I just want to get out of here.”
“Will you be able to ride on the bike?”
She nodded. “Yes, anything to get out of here. Please take me home.”
Home.
Damn, that sounded good.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The instant the door closed, Fia found herself backed gently against it with Acer’s face buried in her neck. He ran his teeth over the corded muscles and licked along her collarbone. “Acer,” she said on a moan. She let her head fall back against the wood with a thunk, allowing him easier access to her skin.
This was exactly where she belonged. Pressed between Acer’s muscular body and whatever surface happened to be closest. This was her happy place.
He worked her shirt up and yanked it over her head, taking her bra along with it in a slightly awkward push and pull. When she was free of the material, he tossed it over his shoulder. “Fia! That’s it, you’re going to the hospital.”
She glanced down at her chest where a long diagonal bruise was already multiple shades of purple. She’d never admit it to him, but the ride home hurt like hell. It was worth it though, to be wrapped tight around Acer’s sculpted back as he drove them farther and farther away from her past. Now, desire outweighed the majority of the discomfort. She cupped Acer’s distressed face between her palms. “I’m fine. It will probably hurt later, but it’s not bad right now. And if you stop what you were doing, you’ll end up with a bruise that makes this look like nothing.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it as though considering her words. Assessing whether she was telling the truth. She gifted him a seductive smile that must have done the trick because he returned his mouth to her, trailing biting kisses up her neck. Kisses that would leave a mark, kisses that claimed.
His actions were full of an unfamiliar desperation. He seemed to temper it as he kissed a gentler path down her sore chest, but desperation was still evident in his strong grip on her hips. It was as though he held on by a thin thread, seconds from unraveling. Part of her wanted to ask if he was okay, but then his mouth closed around a puckered nipple and she cried out instead.
He wasn’t gentle, almost in a frenzy, but it was exactly what she needed. He released the nipple and moved to the other, swirling his tongue around it and sucking it into his mouth with a strong pull. Fiery pleasure shot from the tight bud straight to her core.
After just a second or two, he dropped to his knees and yanked her shorts down over her hips. His fast motions and minimal time spent on each part of her body had her head spinning to keep up.
“God, you smell fucking amazing.” With a hand on each inner thigh, he shoved her legs wide apart and inhaled deeply.
She was exposed to him in the most intimate way possible. Standing over him with her legs spread, dripping pussy poised above his mouth as he drank in the sight and scent of her. Mesmerized, she stared down at him, the anticipation of when his lips would land on her an erotic torture.
He breathed her in a few more times, then swiped his tongue through her drenched folds.
“Ah, Acer.” Her hands flew to his head, fisting the soft strands and holding him against her.
“Taste even better, baby. I’m gonna eat every drop of this cream.”
She groaned rocked her pelvis into his face. He gripped her ass in his hands, keeping her locked against his hungry mouth. Not that it was necessary. She wouldn’t move for all the money in the world.
With hum of approval, he swirled his tongue around her clit. Fia’s legs trembled as lightning shot up her spine. Thank God for the wide stance, or she might have toppled over.
There was so much unspoken between them. Just because they wanted to lose themselves in the life-affirming passion of sex, didn’t mean he’d want her for good. The sad thought only lasted for the blink of an eye because he opened his mouth wider and fitted it against her pussy, thrusting his tongue deep inside her.
“Yes, Acer, oh my God, that’s so good.” Between his grip on her bottom and her hold on his hair, his face was pressed so tightly to her center she was surprised he could still breathe. Tension coiled low in her belly as the pleasure reached an almost unbearable intensity.
Acer ate at her like she was a life-giving source.
“Please, don’t stop. Don’t stop.” She was so close, the pressure so great her head might shoot right off her body.
He grunted against her sex and she detonated like a match in a room full of propane. Her head slammed back against the door and her muscles quivered with electric pleasure. If not for his firm hold on her ass, she’d have melted into puddle of satisfaction on the floor.
Acer remained where he was, running his tongue along her over sensitized folds with gentle strokes as her body calmed. He laid a soft kiss on her clit and only then did she realize her hands were still clenched in his hair like she was holding the mane of a bronco.
Her fingers ached as she uncurled them. Yikes, her grip had been strong. Poor guy probably had a bald patch now. “Sorry.” She patted the top of his head, not enough energy for anything else.
He chuckled. “Nothing a little Rogaine won’t fix.”
She laughed with him. Acer rose to a tall kneel and wrapped his arms around her waist. After one kiss to her scarred skin, he laid his cheek against her flat stomach. “I’m so fucking sorry, Fia. Please stay here with me. I can’t—” He swallowed and turned his face into her abdomen. “I can’t be without you.”
Unsure of what to do with her hands, Fia left them hanging in midair. This strong man, who biggest fear was appearing emotionally vulnerable, laid his soul bare on his knees before her. “Stand up,” she whispered.
He rose, his muscles sliding against her, igniting the fire once again, until he stood above her, looking down into her eyes.
“Acer, you don’t need to go to your knees for me, for anyone. You are everything to me. You saved me, you protect me, but that’s not why I want you. I—”
He cut off her words with a kiss. “I’m so fucking sorry I kept important information from you. So sorry that I didn’t trust you.” Acer kissed a trail from her mouth to her ear. “Emily made me realize it wasn’t you I didn’t trust…it was myself. I didn’t trust myself enough to be the man you needed, to keep you safe, to not let you down. Fia, I trust you, more than anyone, and I will prove that to you every day if you stay with me.”
His words were like a balm to her soul. It wasn’t a proclamation of love, but that was okay. For now. They both had emotional baggage, and him admitting to his trust issues and putting his trust in her went a long way toward building a solid foundation. She smiled and turned her face until her mouth met his. “That Emily is pretty smart.” She captured his lips in a quick kiss. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath of relief was almost comical. “Thank fuck.”
Running her hands over the rise and fall of the muscles in his back, she grinned. “Guess that just leaves one thing.”
He pulled back and frowned down at her. “What’s that?”
With a sassy grin, she wrapped her hand around his cock and stroked the smooth skin. “Please, fuck me.”
He growled and spun her until her front pressed against the door. “Yes, ma’am.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Why he’d been gifted with this strong, sexy, independent, and forgiving woman, he’d never know, but he was done questioning it. She was here and she wanted to stay. He planned to grab onto her with both hands and never let her go.
Acer nestled his throbbing erection against the soft curve of Fia’s ass. He molded his chest to her back and linked his fingers with hers where the rested against the door, near her head. With a small tilt of his pelvis, he ground himself against her.
“Have I told you how hard this ass makes me?”
She laughed. “Once or twice.”
“Well then, let me make it an uneven three.” He nipped at her earlobe, enjoying the slight shiver that racked her. “This okay?” Mike may be dead, and Fia may be miles away from the skittish girl she was when she first arrived, be he’d be damned if he did anything to spook her and he wasn’t arrogant enough to think there wouldn’t be some hard times ahead.
“No, it’s not okay.�
�
He started to take a step back, but five sharp nails bit into his ass as she reached behind her and anchored him to her.
“It will be okay once you’re inside me.”
Jesus. She’d scared the crap out of him. He growled against her hair. “You’ll pay for that little stunt.”
He could almost feel the grin spread across her face. “I sure hope so, but so far it’s just more talking.”
He took a step back and slipped one hand around her waist, yanking her hips away from the wall. The other hand pushed against her lower back until she arched, her ass on display for his pleasure. He stroked over the rounded globes, squeezing occasionally. “Keep your hands there on the wall, next to you head. Don’t move them. No touching your tits, no touching your clit. We clear?”
She didn’t answer right away and he slapped a palm against her ass.
She gasped then moaned.
“I asked if we were clear?”
“Crystal. Though if you wanted to punish me, maybe you shouldn’t have done something to make me even wetter.”
Smart-mouth. Damn he loved his woman.
Acer shoved his boxer-briefs over his hips and kicked them away. With a stable grip, he fisted his cock in his hand and ran it up the seam of Fia’s ass. She moaned and did a little shimmy with her bottom. “Spread your legs.”
She complied immediately. There wasn’t much he loved more than when she submitted to him in the bedroom. She may tease him and in the day-to-day sass him, but in here, she obeyed his every command.
Fuckin sexy.
“This reminds me of LA. Against the window.” He slipped the head of his cock between her folds, coating it with her wetness and rubbing along her slit.
“Yes.” She gasped and shifted, trying to impale herself on his cock. He allowed the tip to rest right at her opening, but not enter her. “Acer,” she moaned. “You’re killing me. Please, fuck me already.”
He chuckled, the motion pushing his cock more snuggly against her heat. Okay, enough teasing. With a steady stroke, he pushed into her to the hilt. “Nothing better than this, baby. You’re so fucking hot and tight around me, I can barely hold back every time I get inside of you. Nothing better.”
