by Aliyah Burke
Sitting on the bed, she winced as she bent to tie on her boots.
He was there, brushing her hands away. “Let me.”
Cullen had her secured in moments and she stood, ignoring the voice in the back of her head which screamed for her to take it easy. To rest and allow her body the necessary time to heal.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Nope but I am. So, stop trying to change my mind.”
He snaked an arm around her back, pulling her flush to him. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you saved my life, so thank you.”
Who gave him another vehicle, she didn’t know but she gave him the address to the cabin. He gave her a bottle of orange juice and a few protein bars. She curled her nose but dutifully unwrapped them and ate the bars, which weren’t as bad as she’d first anticipated them to be.
He explained a bit more about what happened after she blacked out in the truck as he drove.
She listened to his deep soothing voice and found herself beginning to drift in and out. The snow-covered roads weren’t getting any better but she wasn’t concerned, he’d shown he could handle himself.
Well, he did crash through the guardrail and send us down the mountain but sure, trust him because you want some cock.
She brushed aside her brain’s commentary and struggled to stay awake as he continued. When he mentioned the state patrol, she perked right up. “Wait, what?”
“What, what?”
“Repeat what you said about the state patrol.”
He coughed. “I called them and explained what had happened to you. Your boss was, is, worried about you, but wants you to contact him when you feel better.”
“I feel bad about not being there with them but thanks for letting him know I was okay.”
“Of course.”
αβ
Cullen hated the affection he heard in her tone when she talked about her boss, Roger Limerack. The man sounded as if he’d had some major concern for her as well. He brushed it aside, this wasn’t about him and any uncalled for jealousy. This was about him getting to the bottom of whatever the fuck was going on, find out who they were and what they were after. Then, stop them.
Gray had arranged for someone to bring him weapons and a new phone, so he felt much better about that. He’d also sent items for staying in a cabin, new clothing and food. So, they were set as far as that went.
Mat had been informed and promised he would let Sheri know. Now it was just getting to the bottom of this mystery.
“Cullen?”
He blinked and slowed for the next hairpin curve. “I’m sorry, what?” Liz had a voice he could listen to forever. There was a slight rasp to it that was like crushed velvet on his cock. He shifted in the seat of the all-wheel drive Subaru Outback.
“I asked what had happened for them to need everyone in.”
“Huge accident, close to one hundred vehicles. Not all in one place but pretty damn close to the same time.”
“Quite a coincidence,” she muttered.
“That’s one way of putting it,” he replied. “I personally don’t believe in them.”
“Me either.” She angled toward him in the seat. “So now that we both know this was some bullshit, who is behind this?”
“Beats the fuck out of me. I can’t think of anyone who would go through all of this just to get to me.”
“Well, it can’t be me. I wasn’t on schedule for tonight. I’ve been off for the week.”
“Maybe someone knew you were going to be off for the wedding and found out. Doing all that is a sure way to get you back in.”
“Why do we think it’s someone who is after me as opposed to you oh, Spec Ops guy?”
He cut his gaze to her, ever so briefly, and longed to pull over and just kiss her senseless. How much sense did it make for him to want her like this? Zero. But ever since he spied her at the rehearsal dinner, all he could think about was making her his. She laughed and flirted with not just him but all the guys there, hell, even some of the women. She was naturally effervescent and drew others to her like a bee to flowers.
Personally, he couldn’t get enough of being in her presence. She had this effect on him he didn’t want to lose it. On top of that were the sparks, nothing either of them could, or would, deny. He was counting down the moments until he could strip her naked and shove her full of his cock. “Oh, Spec Ops guy?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“You worked with Mat, he was Spec Ops. Logical assumption is that you were also, or are.”
“I was, out now, but I was referring to the Oh part.”
She crossed her arms, lifting her breasts.
He groaned and shifted again on the seat.
“I’m sorry, wasn’t there enough breathiness in there for you. Didn’t sound orgasmic enough?”
He smiled and slowed for their turn to the cabin. “Definitely not orgasmic enough. Should have been louder, much higher pitched.”
“Like this you mean?” She cleared her throat and did a very convincing rendition of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally for her orgasm scene.
Cullen’s cock had been dipped in diamonds and coated with titanium instantly. Holy fuck! “Yes,” he croaked. “Exactly like that.”
She dabbed at the corner of her mouth and smirked. “Sorry, that has to be properly earned, I don’t give that away for free.”
He drove up the drive to the cabin and killed the lights and engine. Undoing his belt, he reached over and gripped a fistful of her jacket and top, moving in his direction. “I’ll earn it.”
She released a breathy sigh and he hated to let go but he did. They needed to get inside and figure this out. “Come on,” he ordered. “Let’s get inside and get a fire going.”
“Kinda thinking one’s already going,” she muttered seconds before climbing out.
“No doubt.”
He joined her and after a few trips in and out, they were settled in the cold cabin with a fire burning as it tried to heat up their surroundings. He’d backed the car up to the door in case they had to drive out in a rush, he didn’t want to waste time turning around.
A bowl of soup before each of them, they sat side by side on the couch. A plate of cut up sourdough chunks rested between them on the coffee table.
“I can’t think of anyone that would be pissed off with me. I do routine traffic stops. Ninety percent of what I write tickets for are speeding. I don’t typically have any altercations with people.”
He couldn’t say the same. “My list is considerably longer.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure it is. Are you working on a case right now for The Omega Team that could have to do with this mess?”
He scratched his jaw and put his bowl down. “I finished one three days before the wedding events began. Nothing out of the ordinary here either, basically bodyguard work.”
“Basically? So, was it a woman who maybe had a boyfriend or significant other that would have been jealous of how much attention they received from you?”
He thought about his last assignment. “Well, it was a female, yes, but I highly doubt she has a significant other who would have been jealous.”
“Why is that?”
“Because she was eight years old. I suppose a boy at school could have been but I find it hard to believe he would have masterminded what happened here over the past twenty-four hours.”
Was it his imagination or did she relax a bit with his news on how old the female was? If it was he was okay with that, he wanted her to be jealous, wanted her to only want him around her and no one else. Wanted her to feel proprietary toward him, in the same vein he felt toward her. “I have Gray looking into the other things they’re working and perhaps someone will come up with something but until then, I’m scraping my brain to see what else it could be.”
She dipped the bread in her tomato soup and chewed slowly.
He took the time to ogle her. She took his breath away, her dusky skin a much heal
thier tone now. Liz had on an oversized sweatshirt, workout pants and thick woolen socks on her feet. How Gray knew what size to send for her, he wasn’t sure, but his man had a knack for being on point in ways others couldn’t ever reach, no matter how hard they tried.
As she flicked out her tongue to capture the lone drop of liquid from her lower lip, his cock pushed hard against the fly of his jeans.
“What if we’re going about this the wrong way and they think we were someone we’re not?” she suggested.
“A wrong time, wrong place kind of situation?”
“Right, I mean we were in town, there are businesses and perhaps there was a robbery or something at one and when we pulled out, we got in the middle of it.”
His bowl joined hers on the table as he faced her. “Do you recall vehicles around when we left?”
“Nope but I was focused on getting out of my dress.”
He snapped his focus to her breasts and yanked them back to her eyes. “So was I.” Clearing his throat, he ran over it in his own mind. “We were going fast, trying to get you there asap. I only remember a black or other dark colored SUV.” Cullen shook his head. “I’m not sure. Let me have Gray check into that as well.”
On his feet, he called his boss and chatted with him for a while about a few options. In his periphery, he saw Liz taking the dishes to the kitchen and washing them quickly before turning them upside on a towel on the counter to dry.
“I’ll let you know what we dig up,” Gray informed him.
“Thanks.” Ending the call, Cullen moved up to the woman wiping off the countertop and trapped her between him and it. Cell on the brown counter, he dipped his head and placed a light kiss on her neck.
“Cullen,” she murmured with a shuddery voice. Her fingers clenched and relaxed as she pushed back into him.
“Yes?” He did it twice more, eliciting the same reaction each time.
“What are you doing?”
“Going for that orgasm scream, only real and so much louder.”
“What about working out what’s been going on?”
“We have to wait for him to get back to us, he’s checking to see if there were any robberies or anything similar that were around that time.”
“And in the meantime?”
He brushed his dick against her ass. “You’re mine.”
“Thank god.”
“Let me know if I hurt your side.” He sucked on her neck, wanting to mark her. Craving his mark to be on her, so others knew she was taken and unavailable. “Unless you want me to rip your clothing, Liz, get the fuck out of those. I want you naked.”
Chapter Four
Liz turned to face the man who had his body keeping hers against the counter. His eyes dark with desire and lust. Good, they probably matched hers. Leaving the sponge on the counter, she gripped the edges of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head, mindful of her injury.
A low rumble left him as he zeroed in on her breasts. She didn’t make him demand again, just hooked her thumbs in her waistband and pushed down her workout pants. While she hadn’t worn a bra, she did have panties on. Nothing fancy, just a plain light-yellow bikini.
“Fuck,” he said, eyes narrowing.
With a little shimmy, she removed her panties and waited.
His moan wasn’t far on the heels from her clothing hitting the floor.
The cabin hadn’t warmed up yet and her skin pebbled from a mixture of the chill and his possessive gaze. Oh yeah, this is what she needed.
Cullen’s sea-green gaze deepened further and he reached out, hefting her breasts in his hands, thumbs swiping over her pointed nubs. His calluses were rough against her skin. “You have a fucking heart.”
She dragged her tongue along her lower lip. “Take a closer look.” It wasn’t her tattoo he was talking about, no. She had a tiny heart over her pussy and no other hair down there. “Definitely.”
He dropped to his knees before her.
She trembled as his breath fanned over her exposed pussy. The heat offsetting the cold, yet making goosebumps rising even more.
He skimmed her legs with his hands as he nuzzled the small heart. “You smell so fucking good,” he rasped.
“Touch me,” she begged.
He ran his hands up over her ass before dropping his touch to her pussy. Her breath caught. Cullen slid a finger up the slit and spread her. She shifted, widening her stance, offering him more access to her. Fuck, she wanted him to touch her, lick her, make her scream.
“I’m going to. Promise.”
His voice had gotten even thicker with his southern accent and the need threading along his timbre. Exposing her clit with one hand, he pushed a finger inside her. He flicked his tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves.
“Holy shit,” she cried out, hips bucking pushing her closer to him.
He didn’t speak, just continued laving his attention on her clit as he pumped a finger inside her.
Liz gripped his hair, grinding her pussy into his face, needing more. Desperate for him to give her what she asked for.
Cullen wedged his shoulders between her legs so they were over his shoulders then he stood, releasing her clit.
She whimpered her frustration.
He lifted her so her ass was on the counter. “Lie back,” he ordered.
There wasn’t tons of room and the cold had her inhaling sharply but it swiftly turned into a needy moan as he dipped his head and took control of her pussy once more. His hands were beneath her hips, bringing her to his mouth. Swiping, licking, thrusting his tongue deep within her, she was nothing more than a crying mess as she held him tight to her.
“Cullen!” she screamed as she came hard.
He backed away and was bending over her, sharing his heat with her. His cock probed at her pussy.
“Yes, please. Oh, god yes.”
He pushed slowly into her as he captured her mouth, sharing their mingled tastes with her. He held her gaze as he filled her. Her eyes fluttered but he shook his head and pinched her clit.
She gasped, belly tightening as she began that climb to the precipice once more. Bolts of pleasure shot through her.
Cullen slipped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her upright a bit, as he withdrew until the large head of his cock rested in her pussy. “Whose pussy is this?”
“Yours if you fuck it and stop asking me questions.” She’d let go of his hair and now she dug her short nails into his forearms.
“Mine is right.” He thrust forward with a single flex of his hips.
Liz arched further into him. Fuck, yeah.
Cullen made her forget everything but him. Even with what was going on with them he never forgot about her injury as he never touched it, but she didn’t feel as if he was treating her with kid gloves either.
αβ
Cullen stirred at the vibration from the phone. It took a moment for things to click into place for him. He wasn’t in a hotel room but a cabin. The phone wouldn’t be from the staff, it would be from his employer with hopefully, the needed information to figure out who was after them.
Them.
Liz. She was with him, curved against him, naked beneath the blankets as well. After the kitchen, they’d made their way to the living room and eventually back to one of the two bedrooms. Stopping long enough to pull fresh linens out of the storage bags, they’d made a bed and piled it high with blankets before they proceeded to mess it up with their sexual encounters.
He glanced to the woman tucked into him. She slept on her uninjured side. He’d changed her bandage once more before they finally crashed.
Reaching for the phone, he stole a look outside, still furious fat flakes falling. “Yes?” he answered the phone, a bit surprised that Liz hadn’t woken up.
“Makhumd Pajari.”
Fuck, any and all amorous feelings for Liz vanished in a heartbeat. His entire body stiffened and not in a good way.
“You there, Cullen?”
He blinked. “Yes, sir.”<
br />
“I’m guessing you don’t need any more information then.”
“No sir, that’s all I need.”
“Figured as much, but I do have a bit more for you. Do with it, as you will. We can come and help.”
Cullen listened as Gray filled him in on the intel he had. When he hung up, the woman beside him stirred and glanced at him.
“What’s the news?”
He brushed a hand over her face. “They’re after me and I need to get you out of here.”
Her expression soured in a second but he didn’t dwell on it. He lifted her to a sitting position, doing his best to ignore her bare breasts and that sexy hummingbird tattoo she had on one. “I need you to get dressed. Quickly and quietly.”
“Fuck that, what happened to doing this together?” She tightened her hold on the piles of blankets on them.
“That was before I found out who it was.”
“Gonna share or do I sit here naked as a jaybird for this fuck to arrive?”
Naked was his preference but this was serious. Cullen got out of bed and dressed in moments. He tossed her clothes to her but all she did was lay back down and burrow beneath the covers.
“Get up, Liz. He’s not a man to be taken lightly.” He wasn’t arriving, Cullen was taking this to him.
“So, talk and I’ll get dressed.”
He hated how calm she sounded, his heart was pounding with fear for her life. Not his own but hers. He’d done more than enough to warrant dying but this woman, light and happiness personified and he wasn’t about to let anyone take that from the world. “Get moving,” he snapped.
She narrowed her gaze but reached for her shirt and slowly shrugged into it. Earlier, she’d pulled it off without unbuttoning it but now, she put it on properly. Once it hung from her frame, she climbed from the double bed and moved to stand in front of him.
Cullen gulped as she ran her heated gaze over his naked chest.
She reached out with a trembling hand only to drop it before actually touching him.
He cursed, he craved her touch.
“Who is he?”
“You need to finish dressing.”
“No.” She probed at her wound and winced. “You need to tell me who this guy is and what the plan is.”
