by Karin Tabke
Owning Stevie Cavanaugh was not for the faint of heart. It would require a strong hand that could be gentle. A pure heart that would love unconditionally. And a passionate body to challenge and cherish in bed, and out. He was that man.
Air expelled from his lungs. Hell, he didn’t own Stevie, because no man could. But damned if she didn’t own him.
Whatever caused her initial hesitation was set aside. His chest inflated when her fingers strummed her clit. He knew it would be hard and responsive. Slick with her juice. Her scent alluring. He doubted she was aware of how naturally sensual she was. Another thing he loved about her. She didn’t flaunt her sexuality. She didn’t have to. It was a silent siren’s call few men could resist. He’d never been immune from it.
She moaned, tipping her knees a little further apart as her hand slid between her thighs. Her succulent tits poked the air, the nipples straining against those little gold rings that still caused him to shake his head in pleasant surprise. The nipple rings and her short red nails were Stevie’s only tells. Her still waters ran very deep.
Transfixed, he stood and watched her shimmering silhouette undulate to the deep passionate beat of Journey’s “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’.” When she arched, climaxing, he swore he heard her curse him to hell and back. He grinned. Oh, she was going to curse him, all right.
The second Stevie heard the soft whistle of the motion detector she’d armed along the side yard, she grabbed her Sig from beneath the magazine on the end table by her chaise and turned, training it on the intruder’s chest.
“Bang, bang, you’re dead, Thorn,” she said caustically, trying to hide her surprise and embarrassment. Had he seen her in the throes of her masturbating? It didn’t matter.
He was the last person she expected to walk back into her life. She’d tapped out. She’d spent the last several hours trying to exhaust him out of her body and mind. The heavy bag, the treadmill, the laps, and her self-perpetrated orgasm had tapped her body, but her heart was going to take much longer to recover. It would happen, though, because after all he had put her through since walking back into her life less than a week ago, she truly hated him now. Jack Thornton was a selfish, bullying egomaniac. She wanted nothing to do with him on any level.
Halting his approach, he slowly raised his hands, acknowledging the gun pointed at him. “I come in peace.”
She cocked a brow and gave him some swivel head attitude. She didn’t care how he came, she just wanted him gone. “I don’t see you bearing any peace offerings, so unless you want to be shot for trespassing, I suggest you turn around and get off my property.”
“I’ll go, but before I do, I need to talk to you.”
“How does it feel to need, Thorn?”
“Scary.”
His response surprised her. “I hope it hurts like a motherfucker. Now—” She motioned with the barrel of her gun for him to retreat. “Make sure to latch the gate on your way out.”
She lay back on the lounger, making no attempt to cover her nakedness. In fact, she smiled and rolled over to her side so that he got a good long look at what he’d never have again.
“I don’t hear you leaving.”
“I’m not leaving until you hear me out.”
“Still a bully. Still indifferent to what I want.”
“And you still think you don’t need anyone?”
“You’ve proven that I have bad instincts when it comes to picking someone to need.” She shrugged. “And I thank you for that, because I’m good with me. I can depend on Stevie Cavanaugh. Stevie Cavanaugh I can trust. Stevie Cavanaugh won’t lie to me or hurt me. I’m all I need.”
“You need me.”
“You have a lot of gall to come in here and say that to me after all you’ve done. What is it, Jack? Do you get off hurting me?”
“No,” he hoarsely whispered. “But I know you, and you need me.”
She didn’t need him. Sliding the nine beneath the lounger, Stevie flipped over onto her back, mentally forcing the emotion gathering in her chest to settle. Closing her eyes, she crossed her arm over her forehead and eyes. Her nipples tightened. Even done as they were, her body still reacted to his presence. Probably would until she was laid to rest. And damn if she was going to cover herself.
“Think whatever makes you happy, Jack. But think it somewhere else. I’m trying to relax here.”
He took a step closer. “I need you, too, Stevie. You’re as vital to me as oxygen.”
Her heart slammed against her ribcage. She must have misheard.
“God help me, I need you,” he said again, stepping closer.
He’d said it again. Did he truly mean it? She didn’t want it to be true, because she would let him in if it was and she could not bear another fall. When she didn’t stay him, he stopped at the side of the lounger. “Can I sit down next to you?” he asked.
Without looking at him, she said, “No. Pull up a chair and don’t touch me.” If touched, she would cave and allow his words to get to her. She didn’t want that. Not again.
When he had grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the edge of the lounger, he said, “Look at me, Stevie. Please.”
She didn’t want to. She didn’t know what to do with this quiet, serious Jack. She didn’t trust him.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave him a fierce stare. “You have five minutes to say what you have to say, and then I want you to leave.”
He nodded, then said, “I don’t want us to be apart. I want us to try and work us out.”
“You promised me you would do everything in your power not to break my heart. You broke it. Again. I’m done.”
Jack dropped his head and shook his head. “Do you know why I was at the Academy and not on the street when you blew in seven years ago?” he asked, looking up at her.
Steve shrugged. She’d heard rumors about his recruit being killed. She’d never asked him about it because she’d felt it wasn’t her place to. “I figured you requested it or were assigned.”
“Both.”
“Okay.”
“Four months before you set foot in the Academy, my rookie was killed. She was killed because I wasn’t there for her. She was my responsibility; her blood is on my hands. It tore me up. So bad, I walked into my LT’s office and handed him my badge. He wouldn’t take it. He told me to take some time off the street and he sent me to ALCO.” There was no denying the pain in his eyes as he relived it. “I promised Joan Schillner I would protect her. She’s dead.” He grabbed her hands. She didn’t pull them away. “I made a promise to you, too, Stevie. The thought of losing you is unbearable. I choked when I saw what Spoltori did to Miss Schillner. How close he came to doing the same thing to you. I took the cowardly way out. I pushed you away because I was afraid of losing you.” He brought her hand to his lips. “But I can’t live without you. I don’t want to. I never wanted to.”
Swallowing hard, Stevie sat still and quiet. She was afraid to speak. Afraid she was dreaming. I can’t live without you. Never had she expected to hear those words out of Jack Thornton’s mouth. He was a one-man wrecking crew. A badass cop who struck fear in the hearts of the baddest of the bad. He didn’t need anyone. But he needed her. He couldn’t live without her. He didn’t need anyone any more than she didn’t.
Her belly quivered nervously.
“Say something,” he whispered. It was there in his voice, something she had never heard out of Jack: fear.
“What do you want me to say?” She didn’t know what to say. She was torn. How easily he had moved her heart from soundly shut to hopeful. The devil on her shoulder told her she was a fool. She’d been bitten twice. Once should have been enough. The angel swooned, reveling in the possibilities.
“That you can’t live without me. That you need me.” He moved to the edge of the lounger and pulled her to him. He lowered his lips to hers. “That you
want me.” He brushed his lips across hers. “That you love me as much as I love you. That you’ll never look at another man.” He kissed her deeply, then said against her lips, “That you want to grow old with me.”
“Jack,” she breathed, realizing their lives, though similar, were worlds apart. “It won’t work.”
“We’ll make it work.”
“What happens when you get scared again?”
“I’ll turn to you to help me through it.”
“What about when you get reassigned?”
He stilled against her, and simply said, “If I can’t get assigned to a field office in the Bay Area, I’ll resign and go back to the Oakland PD.”
Her heart swelled painfully in her chest. “You would do that for me?”
“I would do anything for you.”
“I don’t think I can survive if you hurt me again, Jack.”
Cupping her face between his hands, his eyes softened. “I would rather die than hurt you again.”
Heat stung her eyes. Damn tears. The possibilities were boundless with a man willing to give up what he loved most for the woman he loved most. The devil on her shoulder shook his head in disgust and disappeared into the recesses of her mind while the angel smiled, hugging itself. Yes, you did the right thing, now own it.
Stevie sniffed loudly, then whacked him in the chest. “If you even look like you’re going to run when it gets too hot for you, Jack Thornton, know that I will hunt you down and shoot you.”
“I’d say, I’ll give you the bullets, but I’m not going to run. You’re stuck with me, sweetheart. I’m not leaving your side.”
“You might regret those words.”
“Highly doubtful. I knew the minute I laid eyes on the sexy, defiant sheriff’s daughter all those years ago, I was a goner.”
“Did you really know I was the sheriff’s daughter?”
Jack laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, yes, your dad brought every one of us teaching your academy class in as a group, then separately, and laid down the law: no special treatment and hands off.”
“Daddy always was a little over the top when it came to me.”
“I won’t be any different, Stevie. It’s who I am. It won’t change.” He looked carefully at her. “Can you accept that?”
“Yes.” She could because she felt that way, too. “So long as you accept the same in me.”
He smiled, the motion lighting up his face. “Absolutely.” Hugging her tightly to him, he said, “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“I was just giving you time to realize I’m the best thing that ever happened to you and you can’t live without me.”
“One of the many things I love about you, you are wise beyond your years.” He looked down at her and traced a finger along her clavicle. “And sexy as hell.”
Moving back, he thoughtfully rubbed a large hand across the stubble of his chin. The soft sandpaper sound intrigued her as she imagined the rough feel of his cheeks between her thighs. Her body reacted, tightening, gooseflesh pimpling her damp skin. And her body’s sex barometer, her nipples, pebbled at the slightest provocation.
His heavy-lidded eyes flickered. “I love that your body is so reactive to my touch, Stevie. Just thinking about me between your legs gets you flushed and sexy.” His voice had dropped several octaves as his hot gaze swept across her flushed breasts.
She watched emotions flicker across his handsome features. Desire, yes. Possession as well. But something more poignant. Deeper. Need.
Licking her lips, Stevie backed away. Despite her mad desire to make love with Jack, she didn’t want to steamroll into it. She wanted a little time to process the totality of what had just happened.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
His keen eyes held hers. “You’re not pulling a Jack, are you, and running scared?”
“No, I just need a little time to process all of this.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Take all the time you need, I’m not going anywhere.”
Reaching for her robe, she shrugged it on and as she slipped past him, said, “Better not.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
When Stevie returned a few minutes later, a beer in each hand, she stopped short. Jack had disappeared.
“C’mon in, Stevie,” he said, from the far end of the pool.
It was then that she noticed his heap of clothing on the very spot where she had dropped her robe earlier. Jack minus his clothes meant she was going to get lucky. Soon. Just the thought of Jack touching her sent ripples of desire sluicing through her.
She was seriously tempted, but wasn’t going to make it that easy for him. “I already swam,” she said as she set the bottles down on the sloping beach entrance, then sat down beside them, just far enough from the water that only the tips of her toes were submerged.
With long powerful strokes, Jack swam to her. Naturally her body reacted. Her blood rushed warm and swift through her veins. As he crawled along the incline toward her, his wide chest emerged, the play of his muscles glistening in the low torchlight. His shoulders looked powerful enough to hold the weight of the world. She loved his tattoos, especially the one on his right shoulder and upper arm with the skull and wings. His long arm reached for one of the bottles, touching her toes in the process. Their eyes locked. Slowly Jack smiled. “Oops.”
Feeling coy, Stevie fought back a smile and looked past the wide expanse of his shoulders to the short waves of water lapping against the tight slope of his ass. Another of his fine assets. It was tight, muscular, and hard. She’d bet her house he was fully erect if he turned over.
Holding the bottle with his right hand, Jack braced himself with his left against the plaster surface. Raising his beer, he caught and held her gaze. “Here’s to us getting it right this time, sweetheart.”
Stevie grabbed her bottle and clinked it against his. “To you not running scared.”
He grinned and winked. “Touché.” Tipping his head back, he took a long draught. “Ahh, that hit the spot.” He shoved his damp hair off his forehead. “This damn heat is oppressive.”
She was used to hot, but he was right, the current heat wave was hellish. Thankfully, she was fully AC’ed. “It’s been breaking century-old records with no end in sight.”
“At least up here you get a breeze, and with all of the surrounding cypress it takes the edge off the direct sun.”
“It’s one of the reasons I bought this place. The privacy.”
“I’m glad it’s private,” he said softly.
Setting the bottle out of the way, Jack inched his way closer, the buoyancy of the water cradling him. Stevie started when his long fingers wrapped around her foot and tugged it. Her breath lodged in her throat. Jack’s eyes burned molten. She knew where this would lead. She wanted it so badly she had difficulty breathing. Even through the coolness of the water his body heat infused her.
“Do you know what I’m going to do to you tonight, Stevie?” he asked as he pulled her foot to his lips and nibbled her toes. Shivers jettisoned through her.
“N—no,” she murmured.
“I’m going to devour your hot little pussy—” He bit her instep. Swallowing hard, she felt dampness gloss said pussy. “Right here under the stars.”
He nibbled some more toes.
“Then, we’re going to take a shower, and as I lather you up, I’m going to fuck you.”
Her breath accelerated.
“Then I’m going to dry you off, and lay you down in that big bed of yours, and make slow, sweet love to you.”
She exhaled loudly.
“With your approval, of course.”
Her gaze caught his. “Are you asking my permission, Jack?”
“Yes.”
Swallowing hard she nodded, but said, “You never h
ave to ask my permission for sex. Take what you want. Hard or soft, however you want it.”
He smiled and nibbled her ankle. “I like the sound of that.” He kissed the back of her calf. “The same goes for me, sweetheart. I’m a walking hard-on around you. I’m all yours, every minute of every day. Milk me dry.”
His hands slid up her thighs to the very center of her. “God, your hungry little cunt is soaking wet.”
Heat rushed through her at his dirty talk.
Spreading her gently, he pushed himself into her as he pulled her down to him. Stevie whimpered as his tongue swept across the swollen lips of her sex. She was so sensitive. So hot for him it hurt.
When she looked down to see Jack’s dark head between her thighs, she moaned. When he looked up, his lips glistening with her moisture on them, something deep and primal shifted inside of her. He resembled a powerful predator savoring his kill. Her hand slid down to his head, her fingers sinking into his thick hair.
“I love the view,” she admitted.
He smiled. “I love your pussy.” He sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring, and that second predatory act of his possession stirred her beyond the norm. He was hers and she his. Mated. “I like the way you smell, all spicy and hot.” He slid a finger along her aching cleft, spreading her cream. Her hips trembled as her pussy wept for him to enter. So slow and so gentle, he pushed a thick finger into her. Her muscles grasped him, pulling him deeper.
“Ohhh.” Breath whooshed from her lungs. The sublimity that was Jack was beyond words.
“I love how greedy your pussy is, Stevie. How it craves all parts of me inside of you.” He flicked her swollen clit with his tongue, causing her to gasp and undulate. “Outside of you.”
He closed his lips around her and gently suckled her as he moved his thick finger tortuously slowly, in and out.
Grasping his forearm with both hands, Stevie did a half sit-up and watched as he finger-fucked her cunt and his lips fucked her clit.
