She moaned in her sleep, flinging one arm above her head, barely missing cracking him in the face with her hand. Holt took her in, his eyes grazing the pert, small breasts that sat so high. Her nipples were a dark rose, contrasting with the creamy paleness of her skin. Right now though, her chest was still flushed pink with the blush of her orgasms.
His eyes traveled down to her smooth belly. A tiny gold ring glittered in her bellybutton. He touched it lightly. Ivy sucked in a soft breath. Holt glanced at her face. She was still sound asleep, her face calm and relaxed. Holt returned to his exploration.
Below her navel, there was a soft roundness to her belly. It wasn’t flat like the anorexic models that made Holt wonder if they ever ate solid food. Ivy’s hipbones didn’t protrude sharply but were smoothly curved, urging him to run his hand over her flesh.
Her pale skin was supple under his palm as he followed the curve of her hip down to her thigh. Ivy’s thighs were smaller than his biceps but muscled beneath the skin. He could tell that she worked out regularly. Running his fingers up the inside of her thigh, Holt grew hard at the treasure to be found at their center.
Holt’s mouth watered as he tenderly spread the folds of her clean-shaven peach. Drinking from her was like tasting nectar, warm and sweet and intoxicating. Holt licked one finger, wetting it so that his callused hands didn’t rasp against her too harshly, and then began to massage the tiny center bud of her delicious peach. Stroking her slowly, Holt toyed with the velvety silkiness, feeling Ivy’s tiny nubbin come awake under his touch, swelling, hardening. He smiled when she moaned and shifted her legs, opening to him.
This little bit of a woman truly enjoyed sex.
Holt dipped his finger inside her velvet sheath, wetting it with her cream, then returned to her clit, bringing her into wakefulness.
He watched her face as her eyes fluttered open. Her brown eyes were smoky with lust underneath her slick lashes.
“You should have been named ‘Halt’,’ she said, her voice husky.
Holt raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
Ivy slid an arm around his neck and pulled him close. “Because once you get started, you don’t stop.”
“Do you want me to stop?” He tugged her clit.
Ivy’s hips jerked. “No way.” She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, nipping. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
Holt captured her mouth and pressed against her. Her skin was cool against the heat of his erection. He had to be inside her.
Holt broke the kiss and pulled away. He rolled over, dropping his feet to the floor over the side of the bed.
Ivy cleared her throat. “What’s wrong?”
Holt didn’t answer. He rose from the bed and went to the dresser where his duffel bag sat. Rummaging through a side pocket, he found what he was looking for. He turned back to the bed, foil packet in his hand.
Ivy graced him with a grin.
As he walked to the side of the bed, she scooted to the edge and sat. Ivy held out her hand. “Let me,” she said.
Holt didn’t argue. He dropped the packet into the palm of her hand.
Ivy ripped it open with her teeth, then removed the condom. She crooked her finger at him, beckoning him closer. Holt took a step forward.
“Wait.” Ivy held up a hand. She slid off the bed and dropped to her knees in front of him. “I think this calls for a little lubrication first,” she said, her eyes sparkling. Then she leaned forward and took the head of his cock in her mouth.
Holt grit his teeth to keep himself from coming on the spot. She ran her tongue around the tip, then released it from her mouth. Holt watched her, one hand on her shoulder, as she used his member to caress her cheek then turned her head and ran her hot, moist tongue down the length of him all the way to the root.
Holt’s intake of breath hissed through his teeth. He was struggling for control. “Ivy,” he growled.
She looked up at him and winked. After planting a kiss on the tip, she proceeded to roll the condom smoothly over his dick. Protection in place, she pushed up off her knees and stood proudly in front of him. “There you go,” she said brightly.
Damn, he thought. She was innocence and wickedness all rolled into one neat, tidy package. He’d better be careful here. He was walking on thin ice. Holt couldn’t afford to let himself get involved in matters of the heart right now. There might be time later. If she wanted. After the job was done. Holt shook his head to clear it.
Ivy placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “You waiting for an invitation?”
Holt took her by the waist, lifted and threw her onto the middle of the bed.
Ivy bounced, laughing.
Holt snared her ankles and pulled her to the edge. He leaned over, snatched a pillow and lifting her hips easily, put the pillow beneath her, bracing her hips high in the air.
Then he spread her legs and stepped in between them.
“Oh yeah,” Ivy sighed. She was breathing through her slightly parted, delectable lips. The lips that had just recently been snugly fit around his hard-on.
Holt grasped her thighs, lifting until she could cradle her knees on his hips.
Ivy stretched her arms over her head, her eyes on fire.
Holt had never seen a woman look so wanton, so sexy and so beautiful at the same time. Holt slid two fingers inside her, testing. He didn’t want to hurt her. Ivy’s eyes closed for a moment. She drew in a deep, satisfied breath.
Holt felt her flex her muscles around his fingers. She was wet with anticipation. She wanted him. And he needed some release before his balls exploded.
He used her cream to moisten her cleft, and then he moved himself closer. Guiding himself to her center with one hand, holding one of her thighs with the other, Holt eased inside her hot sheath an inch. Ivy quivered, then whimpered. He felt her pussy clench. The pressure against the head of his dick was almost more than he could take.
Holt couldn’t hold back any longer. He took both her thighs in his hands and thrust himself slowly forward.
Heaven, he thought, slowing pumping in and out of her heated tightness. Ivy moaned, thrashing her head back and forth. She was lost in her own world. Holt felt a sizzle working through him. He increased his pace, the sound of skin against skin and her wet core milking him drove him insane.
Ivy’s breath came in gasps, her breasts bouncing as he thrust into her. He drove deeper, her pussy stretching to allow him in.
Holt began to shake. He was on the verge of explosion. Blood pulsed through every vein of his body, making him thrum. The bed rocked with their passion, squeaking with their movement.
“Oh, oh, Ohhhh!” Ivy yelled, arching herself up, coming hard. Her pussy clutched at him, the muscles rippling around his cock. One final thrust sent his come bursting from him. Holt threw his head back, shuddering with the thunder that roared through him.
After a few seconds of complete utter ecstasy, Holt felt his legs quiver with the strain. He’d better sit down before he fell down.
Holt released Ivy’s legs. They dropped down as if boneless. He removed his protection, eyeing her as he went to the bathroom to dispose of it. She lay on the bed, eyes closed, spent. But there was a smile on her face that reminded him of sunshine.
In the bathroom, Holt cleaned himself up and splashed water on his face. He braced his hands on the vanity top and glared at himself in the mirror.
What were you thinking? He asked himself, staring at his reflection.
He had warned himself not to uncage his heart but as he looked into his own eyes, he had the feeling that the warning had come too late.
* * * *
Ivy lay sprawled on the bed, muscles turned to jelly, damp with the sweat of passion. Her mouth was dry, her hair a mess and her heart refused to beat a normal rhythm.
And damn … didn’t it feel good.
She stretched languidly, arms out to her sides, toes curled. Gawd, what a man, was all she could think.
She could hear him in the bathroom. She couldn’t wai
t for him to come back to bed. But, she thought, wincing as she struggled to sit up, I think we’re going to have to give it a rest for the night. She stood carefully, testing her legs. She took a step toward the bathroom and immediately sucked in air through her teeth. She was a little bit tender down there where it was still buzzing in delight with all the attention it had received.
Ivy raked her nails through her hair hoping that she didn’t look too scary. She walked into the bathroom to find Holt, hands on the countertop, staring at himself in the mirror. She caught his eyes in the reflection.
“All I can say is…,” she sighed, “…amazing.”
He said nothing.
Ivy frowned. “You really don’t talk very much, do you?” She moved up behind him and slid her arms around his waist. Resting her cheek against his warm back. Ivy could hear the strong beat of his heart. A feeling of calm came over her. One like she’d never known. She splayed her hands across the rippled muscles of his stomach and breathed him in.
Holt caught her hands and straightened. “I need to get some sleep,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
Ivy blinked. What the hell am I doing? She thought. She was letting herself get involved, that’s what she was doing. She couldn’t afford to. Not now. Maybe after she corralled Heather, got her crappy little sister out of the situation she was in, but not now. Ivy slid her hands from around Holt and rubbed at her face. “Yeah,” she said, shaking herself. “Me, too.” She stepped to the side and leaned over to turn the water on in the shower. “I need a shower first.”
She turned back only to have Holt catch her face in his huge hands. She stared deep into his jet eyes. Her breath caught. Something inside her snapped, crackled, made her heart skip a beat. Then his mouth was on hers, his kiss firm and forceful, his tongue probing inside her mouth. Ivy went weak. She leaned into the kiss, a moan rumbling up through her.
Suddenly, Holt broke the kiss. He released her and took a step back as if he’d been burned by fire.
Ivy quivered. She touched her kiss-swollen lips, her eyes not leaving his.
Holt’s nostrils flared, his breath heavy. There was a fleeting glimmer that passed through his eyes. He turned and walked out of the room.
Ivy let out her breath and leaned against the vanity, confusion bubbling inside her. When Holt has kissed her, she had felt the purest sense of being connected to him. As if they were one entity. But when he had pulled away from her, what she had seen in his eyes—that small flash of emotion—had almost split her in two.
What she had seen there, in those black depths of those smoldering eyes had shocked her.
It had been fear.
* * * *
Rogue dropped down on the bed in the motel room and flicked on the TV. Colin was reading some sort of book, Rogue didn’t know what, but he looked like he was really involved in it. “Hey,” Rogue said, turning on his side and propping his head up with his hand.
“Yes?” Colin said, without looking up from the book.
“What do you think Holt and his little ‘wifey’ are doing?”
“I couldn’t guess.” Colin turned a page.
Rogue picked at the bedspread. “She’s a hot little spitfire, that Ivy.”
Colin chuckled. “That she is.”
Rogue wondered how Holt saw Ivy. When he thought about it, Holt seemed pretty interested in the girl. “You know, I’ve never noticed Holt talking as much as he has since Ivy showed up. Do you think he has a thing for her?”
Colin closed the book, putting his finger between the pages to keep his place. “I think that’s a subject we’d better not approach him about. Holt’s a very private person.”
Rogue grinned. “Yeah, but it’s something that I can tease him about, isn’t it? I mean, I like pulling his chain sometimes.”
“Now is not the time to be ‘pulling Holt’s chain’, Rogue. We’re on an assignment. This is serious.”
Rogue rolled onto his back. “Yeah, I know. Okay, I won’t bug him. But I’ll bet those two aren’t just sleeping over there.”
Colin didn’t answer.
Rogue stared up at the ceiling. Had Holt found a woman that could stand up to him? Rogue wondered. Now, if Rogue found someone that had enough spunk, someone like his Aunt Grace, that would be interesting. Very interesting. Might even make him consider toning his attitude down a notch.
Rogue shook his head. Finding a match for himself seemed far off and almost impossible. He was young yet and still had a lot of wild oats to sew. But then again, you never knew. You just never knew.
* * * *
Holt paced back and forth in front of the bed, his eyes returning to the rumpled covers every so often. The room smelled like sex. Good sex. Outrageous sex. Sex that had led to trouble.
The trouble was in his heart. Damn if he wasn’t attached to Ivy Green. She had wormed her way into his senses, into his heart.
And that was the reason that he was going to have to leave her here.
Holt rummaged in his duffel. He found some aspirin, shook out four into his hand and threw them down his throat. Dammit, he hadn’t expected this. To find someone that he felt he could spend major time with. Ivy could be that someone he would never, ever get bored with. But he was on a job, one that was dangerous and very likely deadly. Holt knew what he was in for when he found the boat Bloody Hell. He’d be putting his life on the line.
There was no way he would take a chance with Ivy’s.
But how was he going to get out of here without her knowing. Holt dropped down on the edge of the bed and braced his hands on his knees. He glanced toward the bathroom. The door was still open, steam floating out into the room. She was still in the shower. He shook his head. Shit, he didn’t want to hurt her. He had seen something in her eyes, something soft and tender. She wasn’t all bristles and biting tongue as she pretended to be. The shower stopped.
Holt sighed. He was going to have to wait until she was asleep. Then sneak out, leaving her behind. He'd round up the other two, jump in the Lincoln and head on down the road. Ivy would be all right. She could have the owner of the motel call a wrecker and get her car out for her in the morning. She may be pissed off when she found him gone, but pissed off was better than dead.
Ivy came into the room, wrapped in a towel, rubbing her hair with a hand towel. She glanced at him, and then her eyes immediately flitted away.
“I’ll be ready for bed in just a minute,” she said softly.
“Take your time.” Holt got up from the bed and started straightening out the blankets. He tucked the sheet in at the foot and smoothed it tight on the bed. Then he snapped the blanket in the air and let it fall. It fell perfectly square on the bed. Holt pulled the top of the blanket back and folded it. Then he picked up the pillows from the floor where they had fallen during their last episode and fluffed them. He placed them at the head of the bed. He looked up to find Ivy watching him intently.
“What?” Holt asked.
Ivy snorted, and clamped her hand to her mouth.
Holt frowned. “What is so funny?”
Ivy turned her back to him. He watched her shoulders jerk. She was laughing at him. Laughing.
Holt drew back the covers and climbed into bed, trying to ignore her. He punched his pillow and turned his back on her.
A moment later, she slid in beside him. He stiffened. Having her so close and so naked, wreaked havoc on his senses. His cock jerked and started to swell. Damn woman, he thought, forcing his eyes closed.
A cool hand rested on his back. “You’re very tense,” Ivy said.
Holt felt her move closer. One smooth leg tucked up next to the back of his. Holt sighed. “What happened to wanting to go to sleep?”
Ivy trailed her hand over his shoulders lightly. “I am going to sleep. It’s just that I don’t understand why you’re so tense.”
Holt shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She continued with her light touch, moving over his shoulder, across the back of his neck then down. “Rel
ax,” she whispered.
And he was beginning to relax. Her soothing touch eased his anxiousness. He rested his head on his pillow and opened his eyes. “Why is your sister on Bloody Hell?” he asked.
Her hand hesitated for a moment, and then began to swirl in a circle.
Ivy shifted on the bed. “Heather ran off. She joined these women on the boat.” Ivy snorted. “Heather thinks that living the Sanguine lifestyle might be just the thing she needs.”
Holt turned onto his back and caught her eyes. “Sanguine.”
Ivy nodded. “Heather is … shall we say … flighty. I want to make sure she knows what she’s doing.” Ivy cocked her head. “Not that being Sanguinarian is wrong. I’m not bashing your lifestyle.”
“My lifestyle?”
“But then I kind of wondered why,” Ivy continued, “you didn’t bite me and drink my blood while we were … screwing around.”
Holt jerked up in the bed to a sitting position. “Why would I want to drink your blood, for Christ’s sake?”
Ivy frowned at him. “What? My blood isn’t good enough?”
Holt shook his head. Good grief, she could confuse him in an instant. “I don’t get you.”
Ivy crossed her arms over her bare breasts. “You. Mr. Long in the Tooth. You’re Sanguine, aren’t you? Playing a vampire game.”
“What?”
“Argh!” Ivy shook her head. “Holt, you have fangs.”
Holt’s heart skipped a beat. Shit. She had him there. Better backtrack, he thought. If she wanted to think he was Sanguine, then let her. It was easier than explaining what he really did for a living. “Yes. I am Sanguine. But it doesn’t mean that I drink just anyone’s blood.”
Ivy shot up in bed. “Anyone!”
Christ, now he’d done it. “I didn’t mean…” He touched her face. She didn’t jerk away. “I don’t have to drink blood to have great sex.”
Ivy held him with her gaze for a second. “Well,” she said. “That’s better. I guess.”
Holt mentally sighed. “Okay, so you want to find your sister. Is she an adult?”
Holt the Interceptor Page 5
