I sighed, sliding my hands into his hair as he tortured me with his tongue. I dug my heels into his back, lifting my hips to get more of him, then he sat up, taking me with him and lowering me onto his cock. I let out a quiet breath as I looped my arms around his shoulders.
Dallas flattened one hand against my back and one against my bottom, shifting so his back was to the headboard. “Ride me.”
I nodded as I straddled him and rocked against him. Using his shoulders as a base, I raised my body and lowered myself slowly, leaning down to kiss him as I did. He cupped my breasts, pinching one nipple while he took the other in his mouth. I dropped my head and tried to focus on my breathing. “I can’t wait,” I whispered.
“Don’t.”
My orgasm ripped through me and I fell against him, nestling my face in his neck as I tried to catch my breath. “You love me?”
“I can’t believe you’d ask that.”
I kissed his neck. “You were so mad at me.”
“Yeah, and I imagine it’ll happen again, but I’m not going anywhere.” He lifted me and slid from between my legs. “On your hands and knees, Mace.”
I didn’t hesitate, and he knelt behind me, sliding into me slowly. “This isn’t going to take long.”
“Too bad,” I retorted.
He gripped my hips and surged into me a little faster.
“More,” I demanded.
Dallas pulled out and slammed into me again, then faster and faster, building my climax the harder he thrust into me. I grabbed a pillow and shoved my face into it to muffle my screams.
“Come baby,” he whispered, and I did.
I knew he came when he ran his hand down my back and guided me onto my side, keeping his cock buried inside of me and pulling me against his chest.
We stayed like this for a while, our breathing labored as we came down from our high. I whimpered when he slid out of me, but he didn’t leave the bed, just held me close and kissed my shoulder.
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“To the office.”
“Why?”
“Because Jaxon and I were looking through the footage from the cameras he installed at the beach house.”
I rolled to face him. “Did you find out anything?”
“At the risk of ruining the moment, babe, I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Ever?”
“No, not ‘ever.’ Just not tonight. I’m exhausted and the last thing I want to think about is what could have happened if I hadn’t got you out.” He stroked my cheek. “I just want to hold my woman and sleep.”
“Oh,” I whispered. “Sorry.”
Dallas kissed me and dropped his forehead to mine. “I love you, Mace, but I swear to God, if you ever make me worry like that again, I’ll handcuff you to the bed and you will never be allowed out of my sight again.”
“You are so melodramatic,” I said, but for some weird reason, I couldn’t stop a delicious shiver at the thought of being handcuffed to the bed.
“Sleep, baby.”
“Okay.” I rolled over again and scooted back against him.
He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my neck. “Love you, Mace.”
“Love you, too, Dallas.”
I linked my fingers with his and closed my eyes, smiling as sleep came quickly.
* * *
I awoke the next morning to an empty bed. I sat up, biting back a yawn, and saw that my suitcase had been brought in and settled against the wall under the window.
I climbed off the mattress and tripped over my discarded shirt and panties. Picking them up, I hoisted my suitcase onto the bed and opened it. I stepped from foot to foot trying to stave off my bladder as I found clean underwear, sweats, and a T-shirt, donning them as fast as I could before grabbing my brush and rushing to the bathroom.
I took a few minutes to brush out my hair, clean my teeth, and wash my face, before I felt bolstered enough to face my critics. Opening the door, I squared my shoulders, and made my way to the kitchen.
Payton sat at the table, flipping through a gossip magazine, while Dallas was mid-pour into what was probably a second or third cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I said, and Dallas smiled while Payton gave me a once-over before smiling as well.
“Morning, baby,” Dallas said, and kissed me quickly. “I’ll get you coffee.”
“Thank you.”
“How are you feeling?” Payton asked.
“Better.”
“Good.”
“Where’s Brock?” I asked.
“He didn’t stay,” Dallas said. “He went home after I got here last night, so he probably won’t be back until after dinner. Jax is on the street.”
I nodded, took the mug Dallas offered, and sat across from Payton.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“A little. What are my options?”
“Toast,” he said, holding up a loaf of sourdough. “Or non-toast.”
I giggled. “I’ll take toast, thank you. I can make it.”
“That’d be great, babe. I have to check in.”
I nodded and grabbed the bread as he left the kitchen.
“Have fun last night?” Payton asked, a wry grin on her face.
“Ohmigod, Pay. Did we wake you?” I focused on making toast, my face flaming.
“I had ear plugs. Which I used.” Payton flipped a page on the magazine. “In order to go back to sleep.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Maybe one day I’ll return the favor.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Please feel free not to.”
Payton giggled. “You had stuff to work out. I get it.”
“Is Brock still mad at me?”
“Brock couldn’t hold a grudge if he tried,” Payton said with a wave of her hand. “He was probably over it before you even fell asleep.”
“I do like that about him.” The toast popped up and I smeared peanut butter over both pieces and carried them to the table. “Who’s subbing for you today?”
“I don’t know,” Payton said. “Whoever’s on the sub list. It’s cool. I have sick time.”
“I’m sorry you have to take it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She paused in her page flipping. “I just wish we could be having all this fun at the beach house.”
I grimaced. “I’m such an idiot.”
“We all do dumb things from time to time,” Payton said. “But you owe me a weekend at the beach. Girls’ trip.”
“You’re on.” I grinned and bit into my breakfast.
Macey
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, DALLAS informed Payton and me that the immediate threat was over, and it was time to go home.
“Bummer,” Payton droned. “I was so loving not seeing the water in the morning.”
Dallas chuckled. “When you’re packed, Jax and I’ll take your bags.”
“Thanks.” Payton headed off to her room and I followed Dallas to ours.
“Can we go home for good?” I asked as I packed my bag for the third time.
“We got the guy who left the note, and we’re watching Mona and those close to her, so yeah, we’re optimistically expecting it will be for good.”
“What about Mona? What exactly are you watching?”
“Babe, I can’t tell you that.”
“Oh, right.” I wrinkled my nose. “But you’re sure it’s okay.”
“Sure enough to let you go back to work, yes. Sure enough to let you go back without a detail? No. You’ll have one on you for a while.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And the hospital’s okay with that?”
“Babe, I don’t give a rat’s ass what the hospital’s opinion is, it’s gonna happen. Alec will run interference if need be.” Dallas tugged me away from my packing and cupped my cheek. “You gonna give me grief?”
I laid a hand over my heart. “I would never.”
He chuckled, and I relaxed. His smile had been hard won this weekend, and I found I craved it. �
��I will try not to make this harder,” I promised.
“I love you,” he said, and kissed me.
“I love you, too.”
“Ready?”
I nodded. “Are you really okay with me taking my shift tonight?”
“In theory.”
“Are you going to give me grief about it?” I retorted.
Dallas dragged my suitcase from the bed and shook his head. “As long as you do what you’re told, no.”
“Story of my life,” I grumbled.
“I’m not with you tonight, so please don’t give whoever it is a hard time.”
“I won’t.”
Dallas gripped my chin. “My idea of a hard time, not yours.”
I smiled. “Honey, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”
He kissed me quickly. “Thank you.”
“Am I going to see you tomorrow?”
“No.” He cocked his head. “You’ll see me after your shift.”
“But I’m on until three a.m.,” I said.
“I know. I’ll pick you up.”
“When, exactly, will you sleep?” I stressed.
He dragged my suitcase into the front room. “When you do.”
“Dal, you can’t keep going like this. You’ll burn out.”
“I’m fine.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew he wouldn’t “hear” me and it would probably just piss him off, so I stayed silent. I’d figure it out later when I could make sure he slept for a few days, even if a couple of my muscle relaxers had to find their way into a beer.
* * *
I threw my purse into my locker, keeping my cell phone with me, knowing Dallas would want me to. I fired off a quick text to let him know what I was doing, receiving a quick ‘TY’ from him. I smiled and headed to the nurses’ station.
I was in the ER again tonight. No surprise there, since Alec was on shift. I also had my little tail. A very cute, very young agent who went by the name Marx. I was uncertain if that was his first name or last, but I supposed it didn’t really matter. He seemed serious about his job and managed to be wherever I was, without being obtrusive.
“Mace, we have a motor vehicle collision with motorcycle on its way in,” Alec said. “The kid on the bike is still breathing, but barely.”
“Kid?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s nineteen.”
I nodded. “Okay. Where do you want me?”
“With me.”
“Got it.”
The rest of my shift flew by in a haze and by the time three a.m. hit, I was nearly asleep on my feet. We’d managed to save the kid on the motorcycle, but he was still in surgery in an effort to save his leg. Come to find out, the kid was a new recruit for the Dogs of Fire MC, which we discovered when we removed his leather jacket and vest. We now had about twenty, badass bikers in our waiting area, waiting for an update on their friend.
Dallas arrived to pick me up a few minutes early, his eyes dark from lack of sleep, and a day’s growth of stubble covering his jaw.
“Baby, you look exhausted.”
He nodded. “Which is why we’re going back to my place to sleep.”
“Good.” I grabbed my purse and jacket and followed him down to his awaiting SUV.
He drove us home and quickly locked up the house once we were inside. I felt suddenly wired, which usually happened after a late-night shift. I’d gotten a second wind, but knew it would fizzle pretty quickly if I forced myself to relax.
Dallas stripped down to nothing, leaving his clothes where he’d dropped them and fell into bed. I on the other hand, took time to wash my face, brush my teeth, and grab one of his T-shirts to sleep in, before picking up his clothes and dumping them in the hamper. I turned off the bathroom light I’d kept on for guidance and climbed in next to him.
He was asleep. I could tell, but I still grinned when he rolled over, tugging me against him, something he did if I moved too far away from him. “Love you, baby,” I whispered, and closed my eyes.
I was drifting in and out of sleep when I heard something. I sat up and listened. Nothing. I glanced at Dallas, he was dead to the world, so I snuggled back against him closed my eyes again.
A rattle in the backyard made me jump, but the sound of a barking dog and hissing cat put me at ease. Figuring it was probably the neighbor’s lab protecting his territory, I closed my eyes again, but couldn’t fully relax. Even with Dallas sleeping soundly beside me, I was unsettled. I chalked it up to being overtired, but at this point, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I sat up again.
“Babe,” Dallas grumbled.
“Sorry, honey. Go back to sleep.”
He reached for my hand. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Come here.” He tugged me onto his chest and kissed my forehead. “Sleep, baby.”
I nodded against his chest and closed my eyes again, but when another crash sounded outside, Dallas was up and out of bed, searching for his discarded jeans. “Shit!”
I scrambled from the bed. “Sorry, I put your stuff in the hamper.”
He grabbed a pair of sweats from a drawer and unholstered his gun, safety off, holding it down by his side as he moved to the door. “Stay here.”
I nodded, even though he didn’t look back at me, but I did don a pair of pajama bottoms and head for his gun safe. He’d bought me a Sig P239 with a laser sight and kept it at his home for when I wanted to practice. I thought having my own gun was a little overkill, but now I realized I liked the idea of having it handy.
It took me two tries to scroll through the combination with shaky hands, but I did it, opened the safe, grabbed my gun, and loaded it. Again, it took a little effort because I could not stop shaking, but after a few deep breaths, I was ready.
I heard Dallas swear, then a thud, and my heart raced as I positioned the pistol by my side, my finger off the trigger, but near it, and tiptoed to the bedroom door.
I tried to stay in the bedroom, but when Dallas swore again, and the pop of a gunshot echoed through the house, I rushed through door and sprinted down the hall. Dallas struggled with a man dressed in black, his gun lying useless by the back door. Dallas feigned left. The intruder struck out. Dallas blocked and countered the attack. The intruder spun and kicked. Dallas pulled back, keeping himself between the intruder and his gun.
I hid in the shadows, afraid to draw Dallas’s attention. Dallas swung, connecting with the intruder’s jaw. A glint of metal waved in front of Dallas. He jumped back, but not before the intruder’s blade bit into his arm.
“Drop the knife!” I demanded, aiming the laser at the man’s heart. “Drop it, or I’ll shoot.”
“Fuck, Mace,” Dallas snapped.
The intruder lunged at Dallas. I fired, winging the man’s arm. The intruder grabbed his arm, and Dallas jumped down and retrieved his gun, leveling it at the man.
“Don’t move,” Dallas demanded. “You’re under arrest.”
The intruder moved.
Dallas fired. The intruder fell backwards. Blood gushed from a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead. The gun he’d been reaching for clattered to the ground.
I squeaked, falling against the wall in an effort to stay standing.
Dallas rushed to me, tugging the gun from my hand, setting it on the floor, and wrapping a hand around my neck. “I told you to stay put.”
I nodded. “I know.”
He pulled me against his chest and kissed my temple. “I need you to stay here. I have to call the team and check this guy out.”
“Let me see your arm.”
“It’s fine, babe.”
“Let me see.”
With a sigh, he turned so I could examine his bicep. “You’re right, it’s nothing. We’ll put a bandage on it when you’re done.”
“Told ya,” he said, and smiled gently. “Don’t move, okay?”
I swallowed, but managed a quick nod.
“Don’t lose it just yet, baby. You can in a minute, okay
?”
I nodded again.
“I’m gonna let you go.”
“’K.”
He released me, grabbed his phone, dialed, balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, and then checked the intruder’s pulse and rifled through his pockets, pulling out his wallet.
Dallas slipped into technical language, giving numbers and details I couldn’t follow. I sat against the wall, my knees pulled up to my chin and my arms wrapped around my legs. I watched with a strange detachment as blood pooled around the intruder’s head. Sirens blared in the background, coming even closer. Then blue and red lights flashed through the front window.
When the police arrived, I was photographed, my hand swabbed for gunshot residue, checked over by the EMTs, given a sedative by said EMTs, and then a nice female police officer walked me back to the bedroom and insisted I lie down and not leave the room. I was fine with that. Especially since the sedative meant I fell into oblivion and didn’t wake for several hours. When I did, I was alone in bed with a killer of a headache and feeling as though I had cotton balls in my mouth.
I rolled over to discover a glass of water and an open bottle of ibuprofen sitting on my nightstand, so I took two pills and gulped down the water, grateful for Dallas’s kind forethought.
“You’re awake,” Dallas said from the doorway.
I turned toward the sound of his voice and nodded. “Are you okay?”
He’d changed, now wearing a pair of faded jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. His feet were bare, but he walked into the room and rifled through his drawer for a pair of socks. “I’m fine. How do you feel?”
“Headache,” I said. “Thanks for the painkillers.”
Dallas nodded.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Noon.”
“Crap. I have my shift in two hours.”
“You’re not going to work today, Mace.”
I slid off the bed. “I can’t keep taking time off. I’m going to lose my job.”
Dallas crossed his arms and leaned against the bureau. “I don’t really care about your job right now, honey.”
I frowned. “You’re mad?”
“I’m not mad, Mace,” he ground out. “I’m fucking pissed. You could have been hurt.”
“Um, excuse me, but you could have been killed, Dallas!”
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