The Ultimate Romantic Suspense Set (8 romantic suspense novels from 8 bestselling authors for 99c)

by Lee Taylor

  “I’m sorry, Dameon, so very sorry.”

  She ignored his tightening jaw and cleared her throat, forcing herself to speak.

  “You… I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say and I don’t blame you. Dameon, nothing I can say will excuse the hurt I’ve caused. There’s no reason good enough for hurting you, and I know that. But I can’t walk away until I’ve at least tried to explain.”

  Dameon shook his head. His frown deepened.

  “There’s nothing to explain, Jesse. This isn’t necessary or useful.”

  Again she could have been swamped by his cold disdain. Fortunately it galvanized her.

  “Perhaps not for you. But, please, allow me to indulge myself. I have spent the last ten days agonizing over what I did. Trying to understand why I did things that were the direct opposite of what I wanted to do. I needed to know why I pushed you away, when I wanted more than anything for you to hold me.”

  When he held up his hand to stop her, she shook her head. If she couldn’t make him understand, perhaps she could make herself.

  “At first, I just felt horrible. I crucified myself. I tried to accept that this was the way I was likely to be for the rest of my life. Holding happiness in my hands then doing everything I could to throw it away. But I couldn’t accept that. As hard as it was I forced myself to look at the past in a way I hadn’t before, to try to understand why I’m the way I am.

  “I forced myself to relive the shame of how I left the Army. I made a terrible mistake, Dameon. Not leaving the Army—that was the right decision. My father told you what happened. What Elliott did. But what I did was worse, because it was just inexcusably stupid and self-destructive. I knew he was a pig. We all laughed at him behind his back. Even knowing that, I went to his suite. I thought I could handle him, like I handled everything.

  “Part of the mission plan was for me to do a striptease for the guy we were after. He was a disgusting voyeur. We planned to use his fetish against him. After the mission I went with Elliott, my superior officer, to his suite. Elliott told me then he’d been with the other guy and together they watched me strip. Having our target watch me was part of the mission plan. Having my commanding officer leering at me, seeing me naked, was repulsive… ugly. I felt cheap, violated.

  “Elliott said how much he’d enjoyed it. That I’d proved what he already knew. That I was a cock-tease. He said that he planned to give me what I really wanted and needed. To be fucked by a man who knew how to handle sluts.

  “When he came at me, I could have hit him in the groin or the gut… but, no, I hit him in the face.”

  Jesse was no longer looking at Dameon. She was absorbed in her sordid tale. She felt him beside her. Incongruous as it was, his presence gave her courage.

  “I could have stayed and fought him in court. That would have been the honorable, principled thing to do. But I couldn’t face the public spectacle. I let my sense of privacy selfishly take precedence. I was a coward, Dameon. I knew I was a lot of not-so-good things, but I’d never been a coward. The guilt tore at me. Thank God there was Trey. He needed me and I needed him. He begged me to come and get him. I knew I had to make a choice. Fight Elliott, or fight for Trey. I chose Trey. I will never regret that choice. Just as I will never forgive myself for putting myself in a position to be shamed by Elliott.”

  She paused and forced herself to look at Dameon, to see his reaction. He’d turned his head but she could see his rigid jaw, the deep crease in his cheek. Jesse forced herself to continue.

  “When I moved here and was with Trey, I realized that for the first time for as long as I could remember, I was happy. I was starting my business. I even had a client. I was with Trey more than I’d ever been. Even his arrest was somehow strangely positive. For Trey and for me. Because of you.”

  Jesse refused to let his silence stop her. She moved unchecked into even more dangerous territory.

  “When you kissed me that first time, Dameon, I’d never felt like that in my life. Ever. I’d never responded to anyone the way I responded to you. I’ve only been with a few men and never for more than one night. I knew there was passion in me. But the men I was with barely affected me. It was disappointing. I really can bring myself to orgasm better than any of them could.”

  In the face of his heavy silence, she made herself continue.

  “The first time you kissed me and touched me? You were like a laser beam, Dameon. You went straight to the core of my being. And then… what you did, what I did, over the fucking phone….”

  Startled at the sensations flooding her, she closed her eyes at the erotic memory. When she opened them, she saw Dameon’s brow twitch, his hands clench. She continued. She needed him to understand what he had done to her.

  “As exciting as it was, it scared me, frightened me, Dameon. I was afraid of the things I was feeling for you. They terrified me. You terrified me. I didn’t think it was possible for me to have a relationship with someone like you. I didn’t know if I could give in to someone as powerful as you.”

  She sighed and appealed to him.

  “When Garrett came at me, I went into a tailspin. I’m not making excuses. I’m really not. I’m just trying to tell you what happened, what was going on inside of me, however irrational. I went into a mode where I’d been before. I did what I’ve done all my life. Whenever I was threatened I knew I had to handle it myself because I… I didn’t trust anyone else to handle it for me. You were right about that. I didn’t trust my father, or Eric—or you.”

  Jesse swallowed past the lump in her throat. Fighting a sob, she choked out the painful words.

  “I never felt that I could trust anyone. I couldn’t trust my father to come home when I needed him. I obviously couldn’t trust Garrett. I couldn’t trust myself with the baby. And… I didn’t trust you.”

  She looked down. Tears burned the backs of her eyelids and her throat ached.

  “And, Dameon, I am so very, very sorry.”

  He was quiet, frowning, staring at a spot on the floor. When it was obvious that he wasn’t going to answer her, she rose and walked to the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob. Seeing the jumble of emotions playing across his face she decided that while she had been a coward in the past, she wouldn’t leave like this.

  Her voice surprised her. It was strong, controlled.

  “Dameon.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment then untangled himself from his chair. He rose and faced her.

  “Yes?”

  She swallowed hard, staring at him from across the room. He was gorgeous. Dark, unbelievably handsome. But also stern, dangerous.

  She finally conjured up enough spit in her mouth to ask, “How many?”

  His voice was gruff.

  “How many what?”

  With her heart in her throat, Jesse refused to back down.

  “You said when you made love to me you’d give me more orgasms than I could count.”

  He raised an eyebrow, then gave a dispassionate shrug.

  “So I did.”

  She swallowed again.

  “If you did that? Tonight? How many would it be?”

  His frown darkened. “Tonight?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “A number?”

  Fighting to breathe she murmured, “Yes.”

  His voice was curt, hard.

  “Minimum, six.”

  Jesse shuttered her eyes, refusing to let her tears fall. She gave him a brave smile.

  “It’s getting late. Maybe we should get started.”

  He nodded, his expression was unreadable.

  “Perhaps we should. Come here, Jesse.”

  Chapter 35

  Dameon motioned to her to come across the room pointing to a place in front of him.

  Her legs were shaking but she managed to walk toward him. His expression was cool, hard, implacable. He locked her in his gaze as powerfully as if he held her in his arms.

  “Over here, right there.”
r />   He raked his eyes over her body and came to rest on her breasts.

  “Take off your clothes, Jesse.”

  Jesse trembled and bit down on her bottom lip.

  He jerked his head at her camisole. “Take it off.”

  Jesse hesitated then reached for the hem of her camisole and pulled it over her head. Clutching it in her hands, she pressed the silky material against her bare chest. She swallowed gazing up at him not able to hide her anxiety.

  He flicked his finger. “Drop it. Let it go.”

  Jesse closed her eyes and let the flimsy silk flutter to the floor.

  “Cup your breasts.”

  She faltered then did as he said. Dameon nodded when she lifted the heavy globes in her hands and held them toward him.

  “Yeah, like that. Present them to me.”

  He narrowed his eyes, studying her. To her shock he took out his cell phone. She covered her breasts protectively but his frown stopped her. He waited until she held them up to him again.

  Glancing down at his phone, he pulled up a picture. He examined it then looked at her breasts, his eyes wide with wonder.

  “I didn’t think anything could be more beautiful. I’ve looked at this picture so many times, it’s embedded in my brain. I thought I knew every nuance—every inch of your breasts, of your amazing nipples. How rosy and soft they are. How the more I talked to you, they darkened, beaded up. Like they are now.” He looked down at the picture then back at her. “I didn’t think they could be more beautiful. But they are.”

  Jesse felt the tears slipping down her face. She didn’t try to stop them.

  Dameon moved closer.

  “You said you wanted me to hold you? How would you like me to hold you?”

  She shook her head. “I… I don’t know.”

  “I will hold you, Jesse. But first, show me what you did when I was making love to you on the telephone. I told you to tug on your nipples, to make them hard. Do that for me, now.”

  She tentatively rubbed her tender nipples. They felt swollen, sensitive.

  “Yeah, just like that, Jesse.”

  A shock of sensation hit her when her nipples hardened in her fingers.

  “Oh my god!” She looked up at him imploringly. “Now will you….” Jesse’s voice trailed away. Her need was so strong that she couldn’t find the words.

  “Will I what? Will I suck on them? Run my tongue around those beautiful hard nubs? Yeah, baby I will. Come closer.”

  Dameon pulled her next to him and held her tight against him, burying his face in her hair. He’d known that if he held her in his arms, it would be all over. His fierce resolve fizzled like snow atop an erupting volcano. He was powerless to stop. But she needed to know. In this game, the deck was stacked. The winners would be the luckiest people on earth; the losers the most miserable.

  “Jesse, I’m warning you. You better decide quickly if this is what you want because there’s no turning back. But, if you think I was angry before… if you’re not serious—”

  She reached up and pressed her finger against his lips.

  “Stop talking! And do… something. Dameon. Why do you talk so much?”

  He laughed, kissing the tears on her face. “I do, don’t I? I’m in the ‘persuasion’ business, Jesse. I’m used to making people do what I say. What I tell them to do. But you don’t always do that, do you, tiger?”

  He pinched her cheek, startling her. “You need to know, Jesse. I’m not going to be easy. I’ve waited too long for this. I want you too much. I want you bad. In the worst way.”

  At his teasing threat her stomach leapt then fell. The pitch was disorienting and exciting. Dameon murmured, “How about I start by doing this?”

  He reached up and undid her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. Pulling her closer, he groaned.

  “Oh, Christ. How. I. Have. Missed. This.”

  He ran his tongue around her earlobe then blew on the damp skin. She shuddered when he buried his tongue in her ear and bit at the lobe. She didn’t know how much longer she could stand. Her legs were like rubber, her knees were shaking.

  “Look at me, Jesse.” He brushed at her tears. “Jesse? Honey? Why are you crying?”

  “Because… I’m afraid you’ll stop.”

  “Nah. That’s not why you’re crying. You know I’m not going to stop. You know why you’re crying, Jesse? Because you want this as badly as I do. Your body is begging me to make love to you. You know what, honey? That’s what we’re going to do, what we’re going to do for the rest of the night.”

  He rocked her in his arms, cradling her against him.

  “I lied to you, Jesse.”

  Startled, she frowned. “What, how…. ”

  “I should have been more honest. Six orgasms? Pfftt! That’ll take us an hour at the most.”

  He murmured against her hair. “Uh uh, tiger. I plan to fuck you all night long.”

  At her shocked gasp, he tipped her face up to his. His eyes were dancing with mischievous excitement.

  “What will it be, Major? How do you want me to fuck you? You want me to lift you up here? Lay you out on the top of my desk? Or how about I push you over the back of my chair? Pull your ass up in the air and take you from behind? What’s your pleasure, Major O’Donnell?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t bother answering. It doesn’t matter what you want or in what order. I’m going to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and however I want. I’m giving the orders here. What do you say to that, tiger?”

  Jesse bit down on her lip.

  “What’s taking you so long then to get started?”

  He roared and pulled her up close to him.

  “Christ, even when I act like a caveman I can’t intimidate you, can I, tiger?”

  Jesse laughed. It seemed like forever since she’d felt real joy. Her tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. She didn’t know how she could be any more intimidated, her entire body was shaking so hard, she thought she might break apart. She didn’t know how much longer her skin could hold her together. And then Dameon began to test her limits.

  He nipped at her neck, whispering soft sexy words—dirty words. Winding his fingers in her hair, he tugged her head back, hard.

  “Yeah, I like that. Open your throat to me, honey.”

  Dameon nuzzled her neck, his beard shadow rasping against her tender skin. Jesse shivered, She wanted more, so much more. She arched her back, wanting him to go lower, to take her aching nipples in his mouth.

  “When you do that, Jesse, when you arch your back like that? Your breasts swell and your nipples become even needier.”

  “Mmm, yes.” She moaned and pushed her breasts toward him

  “Damn, you’re begging me, aren’t you? Okay, tiger, I’m not a total brute. I’ll suck you. You want me to suck your breasts until you come, Jesse? I can do that, you know. Make you come just by sucking on those hard nipples of yours. Is that what you want me to do, baby?”

  A hard tremor shook her as her nipples tightened unbearably. Her voice was close to a wail. “Oh my God, Dameon. Yes, please!”

  He pressed her against the edge of the desk and shoved his knee between her legs.

  “Ride me, Jesse, right up against my cock. You can drive me crazy while I do this to you. Now let me at these.”

  Dameon ran his tongue round and round one sensitive nipple. With his other hand he plucked at her opposite nipple, tugging on it, making it long and hard. His murmurs, his low groans drove her higher and higher. His devastatingly expert tongue flung her to the edge of a passionate peak. Waves of excitement sparked from her knees to her core. Just when she thought he couldn’t be more outrageous, Dameon bit down hard on her throbbing nipple and pushed her over the precipice.

  He groaned. “That’s right, tiger. Now, baby. You can come now.”

  Jesse couldn’t control the waves of heat flooding her. Her whole body was on fire. She shattered too long, too hard.

  Dameon held her trembling body close to
his. He whispered, “That’s one, darlin.”

  Setting her on her feet, he swept one hand across the top of his desk. Folders, papers, pens, a stapler and other items crashed to the floor. Dameon lifted her on top of the desk and laid her back. He folded her knees against her chest and pulled her hips to the edge of the desk.

  Panting with excitement, Dameon maneuvered his strong body between her legs.

  Still shaking from her orgasm, Jesse didn’t know how she was breathing at all. When he pulled her pants down over her knees and left them hanging at her ankles, she cried out in shock.

  Dameon smiled at her. “Oh God, yes. We’ve never gotten to this point. Have we, tiger?”

  He gazed in amazement at her bare body.

  “God, look at you! You beautiful woman, you.” He stroked her mound. “Ah, yes. You’re smooth, bare here. Just one little landing strip of hair leading to the honey pot. Clever, Jesse. Sexy. But do you know what would be sexier? If you were totally bare.” He ran his fingers through the tuft of hair and tugged on it. “I’m going to do that to you, Jesse. I’m going to take this pretty dark red fur and shave it off. All that will be left is your sweet pussy.”

  Jesse struggled with a thousand conflicting feelings. She was surprised at his shocking assertion, but more stunned at the way that he was gazing at her most private parts.

  “Dameon, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do this. I’ve never—”

  He interrupted her. “That’s a good thing, Jesse. You don’t need to know anything except how much I want to do this to you. How much I want to touch and kiss and taste you. I want to find places in you and on you that are going to go wild at my touch. Do you understand that?