by M. Malone
“Yes,” she breathed, too far gone to hear him, the perfect weights of her breasts rising and falling with her frantic breaths. Her hands came up, settling gently on his shoulders before skimming over his head.
Eli’s fingers clenched against her thighs at her touch. The sensation of her fingertips dragging over his bare scalp was almost orgasmic. His control snapped and he tugged her up, supporting her with a strong hand in the center of her back.
He took her mouth gently at first, just a soft press of their lips before he took her deeper, sealing his mouth over hers. She cried out, but the sound was swallowed up between them. Then her fingers tightened against his skin as she finally, finally, opened her mouth.
She accepted the first stroke of his tongue with a breathy little sigh. The sound wrought something in him, an emotion he couldn’t define. It was like something awakening, something that wanted to own that sound so she’d only make it for him. Tentative and unsure, she seemed to have no idea what to do with her tongue. It was obvious to Eli that Kay hadn’t had many lovers. A rush of satisfaction went through him at the thought.
She gripped his biceps and held on as he coaxed her tongue into his mouth. Before long, her legs were crossed behind his back, and he was snugged up right next to her core, rubbing tight circles in rhythm with the sensual thrusts of their tongues.
“Oh, I can’t breathe,” Kay panted. She arched her back, the move pushing her breasts right up in his face. With any other woman, he would have thought the move was deliberate, but Kay had no idea how desirable she was. He growled and buried his face in all her lush softness. A shot of arousal zinged through him, making him still his movements. If he didn’t slow things down, he’d end up taking her on the kitchen counter. She deserved soft sheets, not a quick tumble on a tabletop.
There was a loud crash behind them and they jumped apart. Kay’s eyes were dazed but cleared quickly.
“Hope,” she whispered. She hopped down from the counter and Eli followed on her heels as she dashed down the hallway. She opened the door to the baby’s room. Eli slipped inside behind her, blinking quickly so his eyes would adjust to the dim interior of the room.
Hope stood on tiptoe, peering over the railing of her crib. “Mess, Mama! Make a mess!” She pointed across the room. Her purple teething ring was lying in front of the dresser along with several picture frames.
Relief swept through him when he saw that she was unharmed. Despite the bad timing, Eli couldn’t help but be amused. “She’s got a good arm.”
Kay picked up the teething ring with an indulgent smile. She left the room and came back a few minutes later, wiping it down with a paper towel.
“I had to wash it off just in case there was any glass on it.” She gave it back to Hope, who promptly stuck the end back in her mouth. The broken pieces of the picture frames were deposited in the waste bin.
“That’ll do it for now. I’ll vacuum tomorrow.”
Eli left the room so she could soothe the baby back to sleep. He walked back to the kitchen and planted his hands on the counter. The salt and pepper shakers were overturned, and there was a dish towel on the floor. He picked it up and cleaned up the counter. Now that his blood pressure had normalized, he was glad they’d been interrupted. His behavior that evening had been borne of jealousy, but it hadn’t been in Kay’s best interest.
She wanted to find Mr. Right and settle down. Kay deserved that life. She was an amazing mother and she deserved someone who could give her the life she was meant for. Eventually she would find that guy. A nice, normal guy with a sense of humor and a nine-to-five. Not an antisocial workaholic with a shady past. He wanted that for her, even if the thought of it was like swallowing knives.
If he wanted to do what was best for Kay, he’d leave her alone.
KAY PULLED THE door to her daughter’s room shut behind her. She clasped her arms around her body. Her nerves were still humming like they were remembering Eli’s touch, the hair on her arms standing on end.
The lights in the living room were low, and she looked around in confusion as she observed the perfectly tidy kitchen. She walked a little farther and then stopped abruptly. Eli lay on the couch, wrapped in the comforter.
Snoring.
She stood there, stunned, for a few moments before the hurt moved in. He’d just had his tongue all over her skin a few minutes ago and now he was asleep? She eyed the lump on the couch suspiciously. Then her hands clenched into fists.
“Don’t you dare pretend to be asleep!”
When he didn’t move, she stalked over to the couch and yanked the top layer of the comforter back. Their eyes met and Kay’s heart sank. Just as she’d suspected, Eli was fully dressed and wide-awake.
Disappointment lanced through her. It was always one step forward and then giant leaps back with Eli. Any time she thought she’d made progress with him, he ran the opposite direction. Then, just when she was finally making an effort to get on with her life, he kissed her like he couldn’t help himself. Like he wanted nothing more than her.
He was leading her on in so many directions she had emotional whiplash. She was sick of it.
“Is this what you do? Kiss a girl and get her all riled up, then roll over and go to sleep?”
Eli’s eyes narrowed at her scathing tone. “I was trying to do you a favor. There’s only one place that little make-out session was going, and you aren’t ready for that. Not by a long shot.”
Kay bristled. “I know exactly where it was going. I was hoping it was going to my bed.”
Eli sat up then, pushing the comforter back. Kay backed up at the dark desire in his eyes. She thought he was annoyed, but as he got closer, his shoulders and thick arms seeming even bigger as his chest heaved with his breaths, she realized she’d misread him.
Badly.
He wasn’t annoyed. He was aroused. The thick length pushing at the front of his jeans proved it. She shivered, remembering how that thick flesh had felt when she’d been wrapped around him. It had been like being caged in by a wall of muscle. She’d never felt so safe and yet so in danger at the same time.
Even when she’d been too boneless and limp to move, she’d never worried about falling. All it took was one of Eli’s hands on her back and she’d felt cradled in safety. He would never let her fall. He would never let her down.
Or so she’d thought. Because his running act made it seem that he was willing to let her down in one way.
“I don’t understand. You know I want this.”
Eli skimmed the back of his hand over the tip of her right breast. His eyes narrowed, watching with obsessive interest as the tip tightened under his touch. Kay bit her lip as a whimper escaped her throat.
“If you keep pushing, we’ll end up sleeping together. Some men would be fine with that except I know that you want more. You want someone you can have a future with. That’s not me. No matter how much I want you.”
It was hard to equate the harsh words coming out of his mouth with the intensely erotic look on his face. But then that was part of her problem, wasn’t it? Any other guy would have told her this after they’d woken up in bed together the next morning. Eli was just nice enough to tell her up front. She wasn’t able to separate sex and love and he could tell. He knew her and knew this wasn’t something she did lightly. Whereas he was no doubt used to casual flings. With a body like his, she wasn’t fooling herself that he’d been saving himself for her. If she even knew how many women he’d been with, she’d probably be shocked.
She was operating way out of her league.
“You’re right. I want it all. I just don’t understand why we can’t have it.”
His face tightened and then his arm slid around her back. “Not possible. No matter how much I might want that, too.” He pulled her closer until her cheek rested against his chest. He gazed down at her and Kaylee wondered what he saw when he looked at her. A client? A friend? An inexperienced girl?
Whatever he saw, it obviously wasn’t enough.
“I don’t want to date some other guy.” Kay squeezed him around the waist. His arms tightened around her for a moment, then he let go.
“You don’t want to now, but in time what you’re feeling will fade. You don’t really know me. If you did… Well, anyway, one day you’ll meet someone worthy of you. You should make another date with that lawyer guy. He seemed like a pretty cool dude. I treated him like shit, and he took it well. That’s a good sign. I won’t interfere this time. I promise.”
He let her go and walked over to the alarm panel next to the door. A series of loud beeps told her he’d set the alarm. Without another word he lay down on the couch and wrapped himself in the comforter.
CHAPTER EIGHT
OVER THE NEXT few days, Eli tried to stay in the background. Kay ran errands, spent time with her daughter, and went to work. She kept to her usual routine. The only thing that was different was Eli shadowing her.
He settled himself in the waiting room at Nick’s office, watching Kay handle the constantly ringing phone. Whatever project his brother had her working on was taking up all her time. She’d been rushing in and out of Nick’s office all morning. She hadn’t even taken her lunch break yet.
He’d taken advantage of her being distracted to finally dig into the e-mails he’d been ignoring. He pulled up the e-mail he’d received from Agent Harris. It linked him to a secure website. He entered his password and then the e-mail opened. He scrolled through pictures of mug shots and scrutinized grainy images of tattooed arms and legs. It was hell being forced to revisit a period of his life that he’d rather forget, but it was the only reason he wasn’t currently in jail. He had knowledge that was invaluable to the authorities. So he was an asset.
One they would use until he ceased to be of value anymore.
He’d just finished college when he was approached by a man named Justice about an opportunity to work in private security. An opportunity to help victims of kidnappings and violence. A chance to help right wrongs and be useful.
Things he’d desperately needed to feel.
Caught up in the young man’s seductive stories of battles fought and won, Eli had joined the secretive vigilante group called the Circle of Seven. After witnessing the inability of law enforcement to help a lot of victims, especially women, he’d believed in their cause wholeheartedly. Working outside the law, they were able to help whoever they deemed worthy. The power had been like a drug, a potent drug that kept him enthralled and unable to see the truth of what he’d become. It wasn’t until he’d seen his friend and mentor almost kill an innocent girl that he’d been forced to acknowledge they were no better than the criminals they’d claimed to fight against.
He’d become one of the monsters he’d worked so long to eradicate.
After he’d finally seen the truth about the Circle, he’d been offered amnesty in exchange for working with the FBI to uncover the leaders of the vigilante group. Despite his claims to the contrary, they were convinced he knew how to reach the group’s elusive leader, known only as Zeus. In the beginning, he’d had to physically meet with the agent in charge on a regular basis, and every meeting had felt like an interrogation.
No, I haven’t been contacted by anyone in the organization.
No, I haven’t had any contact with any foreign nationals lately.
No, I’m not plotting against the United States.
He’d slowly reintegrated back into normal society and tried to atone in his own way for the atrocities he’d allowed to happen under his watch. He sat back, stretching his arms overhead. At least he was allowed to conduct his business and move around freely now. After seven years, he still wasn’t living a “normal” life. But it was better than being in jail.
Anything was better than that.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. The display read Tank Marshall.
“What have you got for me?”
He’d assigned Tank to track and observe Kay’s ex, Timothy Banner. Tank was an interesting character. Quiet. Methodical. Thorough. He was a former Army sniper, so he was trained not only in marksmanship but also in reconnaissance.
“He’s back in town.”
Eli sat up, the tablet on his lap almost sliding to the floor. “Since when?”
“Credit-card activity places him at a deli in D.C. yesterday morning and then a gas station in Williamsburg last night. He just checked into the Stanton Hotel in Virginia Beach.”
Eli gripped the phone tighter. “Interesting coincidence. He hasn’t been in town for a while right?”
“Not for a few months.”
It wasn’t that unusual for a businessman who traveled a lot to be out of town for long periods of time. Eli had noticed Banner tended to spend the majority of his time on the West Coast since a few of his local business ventures had failed last year. However, it was incredibly interesting that he was suddenly back in town just a week after the suspicious package was sent.
Coincidence or premeditation?
“Great work. Keep tabs on him and we’ll see if he tries to make contact with Kay. I’m not sure why the package would have come to me, though. Why not send it directly to Kay?”
“Makes no sense to me. But I’ll let you know if anything changes. Also, I ran a search for those names you got from Jeremy King and I found one of the women he claims he sent letters to. Actually I didn’t have to dig far. She’s in our database.”
“Wait? You’re saying one of the women he stalked was under our protection?”
“Yes. Weird, right? Tanya Cook is a lawyer whose firm hired private security after they lost a high-profile case. It appears he sent letters to Tanya right before he sent the letters to Kay. The bad news is there seems to be no connection to Timothy Banner. He’s never used her firm and they don’t have any common associates. It’s like they live on different planets completely.”
“What about the other girl?”
“I still haven’t found any leads on Elise Able, but I’ll keep looking.”
A dark feeling settled over Eli. This didn’t fit the profile of a stalker at all. Obsession didn’t leave much room for alternates. If this guy was obsessed with Kay, then he wouldn’t have been following and harassing other women at the same time.
“Keep looking. These women may be our only lead on figuring out whether Banner is our guy. Maybe they’re old girlfriends or colleagues. Cross-reference them against his family members and known associates. If there’s a connection between Banner and these women, I need you to find it.”
Eli thanked him and then hung up.
He pulled up the e-mail he’d been looking at again and sighed. It had been so long since he’d been a member of the Circle that a lot of his intel was no longer applicable. However, he recognized their MO for recruiting new members. Find guys who are slightly isolated, strong, healthy, and with a need to belong to something.
His desire to make a difference, to make a mark, had been exactly what the group had used against him. He’d been so starved for purpose that he’d been willing to accept any facsimile of it he could find. Now he could only hope to help the authorities catch as many members of the Circle as possible.
Maybe it would prevent another young man from losing his soul the way he had.
AFTER THE DISASTER of their first meeting, the last thing Kay expected to see in her e-mail inbox was a message from Danny. Apparently Mara had explained everything and he wanted to take her to dinner.
That night.
She got a curl of embarrassment in her stomach every time she thought of their last date. Despite that, she wished she could have been a fly on the wall when Mara had told him what was going on. What could she possibly have said to explain that train wreck of a date? Hopefully no one her mother knew had been in the restaurant. Otherwise, she’d be hearing about it soon since Eli had announced to the entire room that she’d seen him naked.
And way too sexy for her peace of mind.
“Kay. Kaylee?”
She snapped to attention to see her boss, Nicholas Alexander, waving a hand in front of her face. Instantly, Kay was ashamed. How long had she been sitting here daydreaming?
Nick tucked his hands in his pockets as he regarded her. “Are you okay? You know, no one would blame you if you wanted to take some time off.”
“No! That’s not necessary. I’m fine. Really,” she added when he looked doubtful. Staying at home was not an option. Twenty-four hours a day with Eli? She fanned herself absently with her hand. She’d spend her days locked in the bathroom trying to avoid him and her nights delirious from sexual frustration. Being at work was definitely preferable to that.
“I sent you a calendar reminder for two meetings I set up for next week,” Kay reminded him, determined to keep her mind on business.
“I got them. Except they were set up for last year.”
Kay’s mouth dropped open and she turned to her computer. A few key taps later, she had his calendar open. Sure enough, she’d set the correct month and day on both events but with last year’s date.
So much for being fine.
“I am so sorry about that. I’ll fix them immediately.”
“No worries. To be honest, I think I’d rather these appointments be last year anyway.”
Kay smiled weakly when he turned to talk to Eli. She had to get it together. The last thing she wanted was to let Nick down. He’d hired her as a favor to Jackson, but surprisingly, they’d turned out to be a great team.
Nick was sometimes a ball of energy as he paced around his office tossing out ideas for his charity foundation, other times quiet and contemplative when running numbers for his financial clients. She could never predict what her job would be from day to day, but it was always interesting and never predictable. Plus, he didn’t expect perfection. When she made mistakes, he was patient enough to teach her how to correct them.
