by Cat Miller
They pulled up to the side entrance of a luxury hotel by the park downtown. Derek looked at Nate, who just shrugged.
“I’m only following orders. Good luck, man.”
Karrie handed him a key card.
“Use the card to get in the building. It’s better to avoid the main entrance. Go to the room number on the card. The card will unlock the door. She’s waiting for you. That’s all I know.”
Nate gave him a new cell phone and some cash. They had plans to meet up when the time was right, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. Derek did as directed,but he stood nervously outside of the hotel room he was supposed to enter. The door opened and he looked down into a lovely and oddly familiar face. She looked so much like Danielle Vaughn, minus the rock star hair and only seemed to be a few years older. But this was not a sister. This was the human mate of Griffin Vaughn, Danielle’s mother. She held out her hand.
“My name is Tessa Vaughn. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Derek. Please come in. We have a lot to talk about.
An hour later Derek sat on the sofa in Tessa’s suite with his head in his hands. He didn’t know why he believed this human woman, but he did. Maybe it was the human in him that wanted to trust her. She needed his help and for him to help her she had to get him out of lock up. The amount of detail she knew regarding the coming rogue offensive was startling. He thought she had a contact feeding her information,but she claimed that she had dreamed it all. If her predictions were correct, much of what was to come was riding on Derek’s shoulders.
Whichever side he chose to fight for would reign. He had choices to make and they were going to be the toughest of his life. Only one of the two women in his life could survive the coming storm, which one was up to him. Did he protect his mother and continue to be a cog in the Master’s machine, or cling to the woman he had come to love? Could he let Brandi’s world fall apart so that his mother could continue to live safely with her delusions?
Derek felt sick. A knock at the door startled him out of his musings.
“It’s okay,” Tessa soothed him, “I have a surprise for you.”
The door opened and a petite woman with the most beautiful hazel eyes strolled into the room stroking the back of the infant resting on her shoulder. Her eyes shot straight to Derek’s and he had the oddest sensation of being a bug under a microscope. She examined his face closely and smiled before looking to Tessa.
“I’m sorry I ever doubted you, friend,” The woman said to Tessa.
“I’ll send her in and wait for you in the lobby.”
Derek had no idea what to make of the woman or her comments. Tessa grabbed her coat and purse before heading for the door. Was she just going to leave him there? What was he supposed to do next? How the hell was he going to sort all this shit out on his own?
“That was my daughter’s mother-in-law. She can be very protective. Remember that everything we spoke of is between us. I will call you when the time is right.” She smiled.
He heard hushed female voices in the hall. Derek knew before she stepped into the room that Brandi was in the hall. The warm honey aroma of her tickled his brain and his heart leapt. Tessa saw the recognition in his eyes.
“I think it’s time you showed her there’s more to you than what the Rogue has tried to make you. I won’t be back until late tonight so feel free to stay as long as you like.” She winked at him and walked out.
Brandi stepped into the doorway and stood there looking forlorn and confused. She was wearing a borrowed sweat suit that was rolled a few times at the ankles. Her skin was too pale and her eyes looked bruised from lack of sleep. He wanted to wrap her up in tissue paper and set her on shelf where no one could ever reach her again. Tears filled her eyes but she didn’t move. She looked lost and unsure.
Taking charge of the situation, Derek walked slowly to her. He guided her gently into the room and locked the door. She turned to look at him and the tears running down her face shimmered and flickered with the heat of her pain. Little flames hit the carpet and Derek had to step on them to prevent a fire. He was lucky she wasn’t too hot to touch. Her mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. He wiped the wetness from her face, wincing when it burned his skin. She was exhausted. Everything else could wait. Right now Brandi just needed to rest.
“It’s alright, Sparky.” He pulled her to him and his heart soared when Brandi immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight.
“You don’t need to say anything. I don’t need any explanations.” He kissed her lips gently and pulled away quickly when she turned her face up to him.
“Let’s get you into bed. I think some sleep will make a world of difference.”
She came without protest when Derek led her to the second of the two bedrooms in the suite. She stood where he placed her by the bed while he turned down the blankets. Like a child, she allowed him to undress her. Derek’s breath caught in his throat when he realized Brandi had no underwear beneath her clothing. Dear God she was perfection. Every creamy inch of her lush body was on display when he tucked her into the bed. Her ample breasts sat up and begged him to lick their dusky peaks. The notch in her waist that flared out to the luscious curve of her hips was made for his hands to grasp and hold tight while he rubbed himself against the firm globes of her ass.
Derek shook his head. This was not about sex. The fact that her sweetly arousing aroma called to him and her soft pink heat could be seen through the neat curls at the apex of her thighs did not mean that he had to act on his lust. His mouth watered. She needed rest and they needed to talk. They needed to spend what little time he had getting to know each other better. The rest of their lives depended on it.
He pulled the blanket up, more to block his view of temptation than to warm her chilled body. He was enjoying the sight of her tightly peaked breasts and the shivers running over her flawless skin entirely too much.
Derek leaned over the bed and brushed another glancing kiss across her full lips. He wanted so badly to delve in and taste her again.
“Sleep, Sparky, I’ll be here when you wake.” Derek backed away from the bed.
“No,” Brandi spoke for the first time. “Don’t go. Please stay with me, Derek. Hold me.”
She pushed back the covers for him to climb in, baring her hip to his hungry eyes.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” His voice was husky and kind of pained. She was tempting him beyond his ability to refuse her.
“Please?”
The look of need in her steel-blue eyes undid Derek. He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes. He approached the bed and Brandi glared at his jeans when he tried to climb in.
“You’re going to kill me, Sparky.”
He growled, but she only smiled when he tugged them off and crawled in behind her in his boxer briefs. He pulled her back against his chest and Brandi sighed contentedly. His best efforts at keeping his arousal from rubbing her ass were foiled when she insisted on tucking herself closer and closer into the curve of his body until her hips were nestled tightly against his. There was no way he would be getting any sleep.
SEVENTEEN
Greyson sat stone-faced in his recliner. The game was on but he stared at the door. He waited in vain for Brandi to come sweeping through the door in a pair of sparkly heels and a designer smile. His heart ached for the sight.
Memories played out around him like reruns of his favorite show come to life in his home. He could see Brandi sitting on the living room floor in her underwear painting her toe nails while he complained about the smell until she left the room. She had put that sofa cover over his beat-up old couch and it made a big difference but he complain it was too girly. She would make them a salad with every meal, except breakfast because she usually skipped it and he had always bitched while she ate it and mostly ignored the pile of protein he put on her plate.
Brandi had a habit of tiding up behind him as he moved through the house, leaving debris in his wake. His clothes always e
nded up magically in the hamper and the shower curtain he left perpetually open would be inexplicably closed when Brandi was around. She made the bed as soon as he climbed out of it and never left a dish in the sink. For a woman who grew up with maids and servants, Brandi was very self-sufficient. Greyson accused her of mothering him on several occasions.
If she would just walk back through that door and into his life, Greyson would never complain or make fun of her good habits again. In the days that had passed since she walked away in a flaming fury of pain and embarrassment, he’d had time to think about their relationship as a whole. Brandi did everything possible to get closer to him and solidify them as a couple with the exception of publicly introducing him to her peers as her man. That still chapped his ass because he knew it was because he fell below her on the food chain of their society.
Brandi would lie next to him in bed and ask him endless questions that he never really answered. During their first argument, which turned out to be their last, he accused her of keeping secrets and being dishonest about who she was inside. In hindsight, Greyson realized that he never bothered to ask her about herself. She would bombard him with questions that he would swat away because he didn’t know her well enough to answer them comfortably. But he never made the effort to get to know her better. She was right. He showed no interest in their relationship except in the bedroom because he was too tired and stressed out from work to bother doing the hard things required of a partnership. Greyson refused to carry their relationship but maybe if he had at least hauled his own weight, things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. He had never even asked her to be with him exclusively. It was no wonder she believed herself to be nothing more than a plaything to him.
Looking back, he realized that all the little things she did in his home were quirks of her true personality. Her behavior when she was alone with Greyson was at total odds with the socialite persona she wore outside of his home. Brandi was giving him little pieces of herself when her guard was down. He was too self-absorbed to see it at the time. Those true glimpses into the real Brandi were the things he complained about and made fun of. Why was he so blind when it mattered most?
Greyson believed they could have gotten past anything, but the scene Brandi walked in on the other night. He would not have been able to forgive her if he caught her in bed with another man. The memory would have haunted him every time they were together until he could no longer look at her. Still, he wanted to search Brandi out and try to explain the extenuating circumstances of his infidelity, but he couldn’t. He was ordered by the chief to stay away from Brandi unless she came to him. Her father was aware of the situation and he had people hunting for her. Her new ability would make her a sure target. Griffin Vaughn made it clear that he would not tolerate his daughter being harassed while she worked on getting over him and concentrated on controlling her ability.
How the hell could he harass her if no one even knew where she had gone? For all they knew the Rogue had already heard of her amazing pyrokinetic ability and snatched her off the street. But that wasn’t supposed to matter to him because he made a mistake and fell into bed with the wrong woman? To hell with them! They could expel him if they didn’t like it. He could always go back to medicine if his career in the Wrath came to an end.
Greyson jumped up from his chair and began to gather his things. He was going to search until he found Brandi. Then he would find a safe place to keep her with him until she at least gave him the chance to explain things and give her his proof from the infirmary that he had been under the influence of the same drug that knocked her out for a day. What she did after that would be her decision, but at least he would know Brandi was safe and she would have all the facts before she condemned him.
Greyson was stuffing some things in a duffle bag when someone rapped on his front door. He ran for the door like the house was on fire and wrenched it open, praying that Brandi would be on his doorstep ready to give him another chance. But it wasn’t his blue-eyed pixie at the door. It was Garrett. And judging by the sympathetic look on his face, Garrett knew he wasn’t who Greyson was hoping to find.
“I’m sorry, man. I tried to call but your phone is going straight to voicemail.”
“It’s cool. I turned it off so Candice would stop calling. What’s up?” Greyson wished for news of Brandi. It would be easier if he didn’t have to search for her.
“We’ve been deployed, my friend. We leave in an hour. I hope you can get past your aversion to Candice quickly because she’s coming along.” Garrett patted him consolingly on the shoulder.
“You’ll be our driver this round. It will keep you busy and away from troublemaking redheads.”
Garrett walked down the front stairs before Greyson got up the nerve to ask.
“Has anyone heard from her?”
He didn’t need to specify which her he was asking about. It was a given.
“I asked Gage when he gave me the assignment. He said she had contacted someone to let them know she’s safe but she isn’t ready to come home. That’s all he could tell me.”
****
Her body felt heavy with sleep. The light of the midday sun seeping into the room through cracks in the drapes told Brandi that she had slept for quite some time. She stretched against the warm, firm body pressed to her back. His heated skin smelled clean and intoxicating. This close, he always made her drunk with hunger and need.
Derek. He made her feel small and protected. She felt sheltered from the world outside when she rested in his arms. Brandi arched her back to press against the erection prodding her bottom. Where had his shorts gone? Who cared? He felt hot and more than substantial. Kisses were pressed to her bare shoulder and climbed her neck to tease her earlobe with nibbling little bits and licks. She moaned. Chills chased each other down her body.
His arm pulled her more tightly to his body and wedged his length against her backside. Derek murmured his approval of the fit while gently kneading her breast and palming the ridged nipple, before gently tugging with his thumb and forefinger. Brandi slowly ground herself against him.
Lazily, he loved her. His hand made an unhurried path south until finally he cupped her wet heat. She waited in an agony of languid anticipation for the touch she needed. The touch he wanted to give her. Parting her curls with one long finger he began teasing and circling her flesh until she pressed into his hand needing more. Another finger joined the first and delved deeper, stroking and tormenting. Brandi tilted her hips backward, panting silently, begging to be filled. He chuckled and tsked.
Derek rolled until his back rested partially on the headboard and dragged Brandi with him so that her legs spread wide and rested over his thighs and he could watch his evil game over her shoulder in the mirror across the room. The blankets slid away and cool air teased her heated skin, tightening her nipples further.
The hand between her legs shifted, thrusting and messaging the spot where she needed him so badly. Her moan filled the room.
“Do you like that?” he asked.
“Yes. More please.”
He gave her three fingers. Stretching and probing deeper he hit that perfect spot with every pass and making her grind against his hand pleading and begging. His other hand continued to pinch and flick the taught peaks of her breasts. It felt so good. So close, but not quite what she wanted.
“Please, Derek. I… I need you. All of you. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
He froze and she feared she had said something wrong. Would he leave her when she needed him this way, this intensely?
Finally he moved his hands to her hips and lifted her onto his length. He entered her slowly so she felt every hard inch of him. It was tight and hot and her breath was stuck in her throat. He worked himself in slow circles until he was able to seat himself entirely. Brandi had been sure for a moment that it wouldn’t work. He petted her and whispered praise in her ear while he let her body adjust to the width of him.
“I love you, Brandi. Do you hear m
e?” He slowly moved out of her and steadily pushed back in.
“If you believe nothing else, believe in that. I love you and I’m about to show you the only way I know how.” He kissed her neck.
She wanted to answer but the slide of flesh against flesh stole her words. Derek guided her hips, setting up a steady rhythm. Before long his hips were slamming against hers and all Brandi could do was hold on for the ride.
****
She was so hot and so wet. Brandi’s body was milking him with little grasping ripples. Her head thrashed back and forth while she repeated his name over and over. She writhed in pleasure, egging Derek on. He wanted to go slower and savor this experience but the months of watching her and wondering what it be like to slide into her eager heat were nothing compared to the reality of being buried inside of her.
He was close. Too close. One hand slid down into her folds and circled the slickly sensitive nub. She gasped and struggled to escape the overwhelming sensation but he held her to the spot. Pounding and rubbing, he bit firmly into the spot where her shoulder flowed into her neck with his blunt teeth. Derek wanted nothing more at that moment than to let his fangs drop and sink them into the delicate column of her neck. Brandi cried out his name and shattered.
“Derek! So good! Can’t… It’s too much!”
Flying apart she took Derek with her. He held on tight, riding out the tsunami of heated waves that pulled him under and drained him. He knew then he’d never let her go. Not now. Not ever.
