Rescue Me: A Novel

by Christy Reece

  With very little compunction, he used her distraction to his advantage. She finally found her key and just as she slid the card in, he rushed her. Wrapping one arm around her torso, he pressed a hand against her mouth. Before she could take a breath, he whispered, “Open the door. Get inside.”

  She didn't relax, but he knew she recognized his voice since she didn't turn around and slug him, which she was fully capable of doing.

  He'd left a lamp on in the corner, casting the room in a soft romantic glow. Keeping his arm around her, he closed the door with his foot and then released her mouth.

  “What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded hoarse and deliciously familiar.

  Jordan knew he shouldn't. They had so much to get through, to say to each other, but he couldn't resist the urge to wrap his other arm around her and just hold her against him. Just for a second. Burying his face against the tender spot where her neck and shoulder met, he breathed in the beauty of the fragrance that was Eden … spicy, sweet, and alluring.

  Just by touch, he could tell she'd lost more weight than he'd thought. Between the two of them, they probably looked like refugees from a third-world country. Well, if he had his way, they'd both be happy and healthy within a few weeks.

  He pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck and smiled at her shiver. “God, I missed you so much.”

  She relaxed into his arms, seeming to sink into him. They stayed that way for a few seconds. Absorbing the sheer joy of touching each other again.

  Then her body stiffened and she tried to pull away.

  His laugh, soft and low, moved tendrils of her hair against his cheek. “You're not getting away from me that easily.” He pressed forward and forced her to walk into the room and then to the edge of the bed.

  Her body stiffened even more when she saw what he'd attached to the bedposts.

  “Jordan, you can't just waltz in here, handcuff me again and … and—” A gasp of air escaped her when he unzipped her dress. He loosened his arm long enough to let it slide to the floor, leaving her in shoes, pan ties, and bra. Jordan made quick work of the bra.

  “No, you can't …” She swallowed a groan when his teeth bit gently on her earlobe.

  “Slip out of your shoes, sweetheart.”

  Relief swept through him when she obeyed. At least now if she decided to kick him, he might recover. If she'd tried a kick with those stiletto heels, their honeymoon would be celibate and painful.

  Left only in her pan ties, breath caught in her throat as his hands slid to her hips and hooked her pan ties on the way down. They dropped at her feet and everything within him shouted “Yes!” She was completely, totally bare.

  His cock, always ready to celebrate when Eden was present, sprang up in eager anticipation. Though he'd like nothing better than to let it have its way, they had a few things to take care of first.

  “Get on the bed, baby.”

  Her words came out in puffy breaths of air. “Jordan … no. We have to talk… You can't just come in here and … and …”

  “We will talk. I promise. This is just my insurance you won't get up and walk out on me again.”

  She blew out a long sigh and then got on the bed.

  Swallowing hard, desire beating a throbbing tempo, Jordan watched her perfect and deliciously bare ass wiggle its way up the bed.

  “Come on, sweetheart. On your back. No hiding … for either of us.”

  She rolled over and got her first look at him. “Oh, Jordan. You look terrible.”

  Laughing softly, Jordan went to the side of the bed, pulled her hands gently up, and encircled the handcuffs around her wrists. While she watched, her eyes growing hungry and glazed, he stripped off his clothes.

  He'd lost at least twenty pounds. The scar on his chest had healed but was still damn ugly. If he'd worried about how he would look to the woman he loved, the second her eyes turned dark and dreamy, those worries vanished.

  Now naked as she, Jordan crawled on the bed and straddled her. Eden looked down at his penis and the damn thing seemed to preen, growing larger and harder as if wanting to show appreciation of her perusal.

  She practically purred, then whispered, “It's nice to see you haven't lost weight everywhere.”

  He grew harder still.

  Bending lower, Jordan growled in her ear, “Behave for a few minutes and then I'll let you play as long as you want.”

  Raising tortured eyes, she audibly swallowed and whispered, “Jordan, you're engaged.”

  Hell, he was going to kill Noah McCall. Why had the man not told her the truth? “I'm not engaged.” Yet.

  “But Noah said … and the woman at the hospital … I saw her.”

  “You saw Samara? When?”

  “When she first arrived.” She closed her eyes as if the memory still hurt. “I heard her tell the nurse she was your fiancée. I knew then I had to leave.”

  “Open your eyes and look at me, sweetheart.”

  He stared down into the beautiful gray depths of eyes that had haunted him for seven years. No longer concealed by colored contact lenses, they held sadness but also a tentative hope.

  “No more secrets … no closing your eyes, no turning away. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  “I didn't know you'd seen Samara. She came because the hospital contacted her. Her name was on an emergency contact card in my wallet. I don't know why she told the nurse she was my fiancée, unless she thought it would get her in to see me sooner. I never told you about her because I broke off our relationship before you and I ever got involved.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes … Now, let that be a lesson. Ask me before you go running off.”

  “But Noah said—”

  “And another thing. That man's way too nosy for his own good.”

  She giggled and he delighted in the rare sound.

  “I told Noah I was getting married, but I was never even officially engaged. It was just something we'd discussed. That was before I met you and it ended before we became involved. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she answered softly.

  “Now, let's get something else straight.”

  “What?”

  “It's big.”

  Eyes wide, she looked down at him.

  He chuckled. “Not that, silly. What I'm about to say. It's big.”

  “What is it?”

  “You have to promise you'll never leave me.”

  “Okay.”

  Jordan grinned, delighted at her easy agreement, but that wasn't the extent of the promise he was looking for. Touching his forehead to hers, his mouth inches from the luscious lips he was dying to kiss, he said quietly, “Repeat after me. ‘I, Eden St. Claire, aka Devon Winters, promise to never leave Jordan Montgomery ever again.’”

  A tiny sob escaped her and everything within him wanted to hold her, comfort her, but he forced himself to wait. He held his breath until she whispered the first words.

  “I, Eden St. Claire, aka Devon Winters, promise to never leave Jordan Montgomery ever again.”

  “‘I promise to stay and fight it out with him, realizing he is often an idiot.’”

  Soft laughter caressed him as she repeated the words.

  “‘I also promise to tell him when I'm angry, frightened, confused, or any other emotion he's too thickheaded to see.’”

  Solemnly, she again repeated his words.

  “‘And I also promise that when he doesn't seem to get it, or acts like a complete prick, or does things to infuriate me, I will give him a warning and if he doesn't shape up, I'll whop him on the side of his head.’”

  In between giggles and his help in remembering all the words, Eden repeated them.

  “Now that those vows are over, I have some for you. But first, let me free your hands. You promised to never leave me…” He unlocked the cuffs, his thumbs tenderly caressing the silky skin on the inside of her wrists. Locking his eyes with hers, he knew his next words might be what she needed to hear more than anything. “And
I have complete and total faith in your word.”

  When her eyes flooded with tears, Jordan knew he'd said exactly the right thing.

  Eden barely waited for her arms to be free before she threw them around Jordan's shoulders and held him as tight as she could. She couldn't believe he was here. Couldn't believe what he said, what he'd made her promise. That he trusted her after all that had happened.

  Jordan held her just as tight, as if he never wanted to let her go. Finally, with a small sigh, Eden loosened her hold on him.

  Jordan pulled away slightly, his eyes so full of tenderness and love, Eden could barely restrain herself from screaming with sheer happiness.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded, her smile brighter and more authentic than she'd had in years. “Very okay.”

  “Good. Now here comes my vow to you. I love you, Eden St. Claire, aka Devon Winters. You are the strongest, bravest, most beautiful person in the world. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Hold you in my arms every night, and wake with you in my arms every morning. You're my past, present, and future. No one could ever or will ever love you as much as I love you.”

  He leaned down and kissed her softly … tenderly. Then, while she was still absorbing his amazing words, he began to make love to her as if she were a goddess and he her only worshipper.

  Hands glided all over her body, stopping to caress and rub her most sensitive areas. His mouth moved down her face, to her chest, kissing, sucking, and licking her breasts until Eden was sobbing with need.

  A hand rubbed between her legs and Eden parted her legs to allow him in. Fingers probed and entered gently, then thrust repeatedly, till she was on the edge of release. Then he lifted his body and settled between her legs.

  Eden wrapped arms and legs around him and held tight for the sweetest, most beautiful ride of her life. Within seconds, they'd both found the release they sought.

  Held in Jordan's arms, Eden knew she'd never been happier. Never would she have guessed he felt the way he did about her.

  Jordan rolled over, gathered her to him, and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, her cheek, and then her mouth. “We still have to talk about what happened.”

  “I know we do. I'm so sorry for not telling you in the first place. It was wrong—”

  Jordan pressed a finger against her mouth. “Sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for. I don't blame you for not telling me. I'm just surprised you didn't shoot me on sight. I caused you so much grief, you must have hated me.”

  “No, I never hated you. When I saw you again, I panicked… I'd worked so hard to forget. I'd built this new life for myself, and suddenly, my old one was staring me in the face. I just wanted to keep it buried. But I never blamed you for any of it.”

  “You should have. I lost my temper, said some hideous things, and instead of allowing you to explain, I practically forced you to leave.”

  “No … please, don't apologize. What I did—deceiving you like that, letting you make love to me, without knowing who I was—it was so wrong. I was a stupid, idiotic romantic and never gave any thought to the consequences or what it might mean to you.”

  “That night, Eden … You need to know. It meant more to me than just a one-night stand. I think that's why I was so angry. Why I believed your mother's lies.” Elbow propped on a pillow, Jordan gazed down at her. “But the things I said, I can't—”

  Eden pressed a finger to his mouth. “It's over. We both made mistakes.”

  Gratitude and love gleaming in his eyes, Jordan pressed his mouth to hers in a tender kiss. Raising his head, he whispered, “I'm sorry about Henry … telling you about his death that way. I know you loved him. He ended up leaving your mother a few months after you disappeared. Last year he had a heart attack on the golf course. Even though it hurt him that we never found you, the last few years of his life were much happier than the time he spent with your mother.”

  A knot formed in her throat as she thought about the father she would never see again. “He was a good man … a good father. I wish I'd been able to say goodbye to him … let him know I was okay. I thought Alise would tell him, but since you were still looking for me, I'm assuming she told no one I contacted her.”

  Jordan blew out a harsh sigh. “No, she didn't tell anyone. I don't want to talk about her because when I even think about her, all I want to do is get on a plane to D.C. and—”

  Eden covered his mouth with hers. He was right. Bringing Alise into their reunion would mar the perfection of the night.

  Jordan pulled her under him and for several long moments, sighs and groans were the only sounds. Alise Stevens, now and forever, forgotten as the nobody she was.

  Catching his breath, Jordan asked softly, “Were you attacked right after you left my house?”

  Eden knew he couldn't let it go until she'd shared as much as she could. The vague memories couldn't hurt her anymore, but Jordan needed this for closure. “I think so … I don't really remember much about it, which is a blessing, I know. I woke up in some sort of abandoned building. I managed to crawl out into the alleyway, but I'd lost so much blood, I didn't make it much farther than that before I passed out. Someone was passing by and happened to notice a large lump. The lump turned out to be me.”

  “And you remember nothing about the bastards who did this?”

  “Not really. I know there were two of them … after it happened … maybe for a month or two … I'd hear an occasional rough voice in my mind or a facial feature would suddenly flash in front of me, but nothing I could hang on to that helped the police.”

  Jordan gathered her in his arms as if wanting to absorb her pain into his own body. “I swear, I would have given up my life to prevent what happened.”

  She trailed a tender finger down his face. “I know that, and believe me, I would never wish what happened to me on anyone, but if it hadn't happened, I would never have found LCR. I'm proud of what I've accomplished for them.”

  “You're the most amazing woman I've ever known.”

  She shook her head in wonder. “I still can't believe this isn't all a dream. That I won't wake up in the morning and it won't have happened.”

  “Believe in me, sweetheart. Believe in us. Please.”

  She took deep breaths, wanting for once in her life to get something right. Her hands cupped his face. Eyes locked with his, she whispered, “I never stopped loving you.”

  Tension she hadn't been aware of left Jordan's body. “I promise you, I'll not mess up this time, Devon. This time, I'll get it right.”

  Had he realized he called her Devon? Her last worry, her last fear disappeared. Tears blurred her vision, but she didn't mistake the tears she saw in Jordan's eyes. In a voice quiet with conviction, she gave him another promise. “We'll both get it right this time.”

  Standing yards away from the dock, Noah watched two of his best operatives board their honeymoon yacht. Hours ago, he'd given the bride away in a small, private ceremony. He, Dr. Arnot, and Samara Lyons were the only witnesses. The bride, radiant and beautiful, had gazed at her groom as if he were the sun, moon, and stars. And the groom looked at his bride as if his life could not continue without her.

  Noah had questioned himself many times on bringing Jordan Montgomery back into Eden's life, but questioned no longer. It had been the right thing to do.

  Now they were headed for a monthlong cruise, and while he might be upset by such an inordinate amount of time off for an employee, the fact that Eden and her husband would be returning and continuing their work with LCR made him feel extraordinarily generous.

  Noah turned away from the couple who couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other, and looked out over the bright blue water, his eyes only seeing what lay ahead for him.

  When Eden and Jordan returned, Jordan would take the controls of LCR for a while. Noah had plans to go back into the field for an extended period of time. After all these years, his past had caught up with him and it was time, way past time, for Noah McC
all to repay a debt … no matter how deadly.

  Acknowledgments

  Writing is often a solitary endeavor, but my path to publication involved many. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the following:

  My husband, who, without his support and encouragement, I never would have been able to go the distance, and my mom, who shared with me her love of reading and continues to share her favorite books. My furry writing companions, Mae Blossom, who sleeps in my lap as I bang away on my computer, and her sister Prissy Louise, who sleeps beside my chair, forcing me to stay put and write. My sister Debra, who, years ago, stayed up all night reading my very first manuscript and swore she loved it, and my sister Denise, who read the unedited version of this book and told me this was definitely “the one.” I love you both.

  Kelley St. John, Jennifer Echols, Carla Swafford, Marie Campbell, and Erin McClune for guidance, a willing ear, and laughter when I needed it most. Darah Lace, brainstormer extraordinaire. Brenda White, former neighbor and forever friend, who was kind enough to read my early manuscripts. And Jill Lawrence, my very first critique partner.

  Danny Agan for his kindness and willingness to answer my endless questions, and Susan Vickerstaff for her French translations. Any mistakes are entirely my own.

  Laurie Schnebly Campbell and Candace Havens for the incredible online classes that put me back on the right path.

  The employees at Borders Books and Music in West Lafayette, Indiana, for their kind encouragement to a bookseller who desperately wanted to become a published author. I miss you guys! And Romance Writers of America, especially my wonderful home chapter, Southern Magic, and the fantastic Kiss of Death chapter.

  My talented editor, Kate Collins, for her wisdom and vision in whipping this book into shape. Also the wonderful Linda Marrow and the entire staff at Ballantine. What a fantastic group of people you are!