Black Dawn

by Cristin Harber

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. I should go.”

  “So wait, a sister? Thought you said you bounced around foster homes.”

  A brief flash of acknowledgment crossed her face. “I just need to go.”

  “Lex—”

  “Will you take me? If not, I think you know I’ll brave the elements.”

  “What the hell is going on with you?” Because if it didn’t sound like an idea worthy of a caveman or jail time, he’d tie her sweet ass to a chair and keep her safe.

  “I have to get out of here.”

  His mind turned over everything he knew, and none of it made sense. There were secrets all over her face. His anger and alarm blurred together. He wanted to shake some common sense into her. Wanted to lay down some kind of law that if she was hiding anything from him, she should stop and rely on him instead.

  “Haven’t I done enough to earn your trust yet?” he asked.

  She dropped her head. “Don’t be like Matt, questioning what I want to do, when I want to do it. I’m asking you to take me to my sister’s. I’ve caused enough trouble and need to go.”

  The comparison was like a wave of ice-cold water. He stepped back and hated their distance, but worse, he hated wanting to protect her while she wanted to leave. “Whatever you say, Lex.”

  But his mind shocked him as he held back the words, “Please don’t go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  It was well after the middle of the night. Lexi was back in her clothes, and Parker was pissed at her as he drove her to her sister’s. Her mind crunched every possible piece of data she had, which only confirmed that she had a problem and needed to go dark after talking to Shadow.

  Lexi buried herself in Parker’s sweatshirt. She said she’d give it back but planned to steal it. Like it or not, no matter their connection, there was the chance they’d never see each other again, especially given how the night was ending and his understandably frustrated response.

  “You sure about this? Did you talk to her?” His knuckles were pinched tight on his steering wheel.

  She had already sworn up and down that Meredith was expecting her and that Matt wouldn’t think to go over there because of how much her sister traveled. Mere wasn’t expecting her, and lying to Parker wasn’t the greatest thing to do, but it was the right course of action. “Yes. She left the door unlocked, told me to go in when I got here.”

  “Okay,” he said in a voice so low she wanted to lean toward him. “I’ll walk you in.”

  “No, you don’t have to.” But if he did come up with her, then she could drag him back into the dark. He could press against her as he’d done when the power was out; he could take her mouth as though neither of them cared who else was in the dark. A shiver ran up her spine as she thought about the power in that kiss.

  “You don’t have to be so secretive with me, Lex. You get that?”

  She tilted her head. “Why do you have guns hidden in your bookshelf? Why is your door electrified?”

  He grumbled. “Touché.”

  They arrived at Meredith’s swanky apartment building, and Lexi wished the drive had taken a hundred miles longer. Parker shifted his SUV to park and turned his smoldering gaze, so hot that the seat warmer had nothing on him, toward her. With just the strength of his look, he held her stationary.

  “Look, Lex, you need to get something.”

  God, he made her feel fuzzy from the inside out. “What’s that?”

  “I’m not him, and whatever you’re holding so close to the vest? You don’t have to.”

  “I do.” She nodded, looking at Bacon, who was asleep on the floorboard.

  “So at least you admit that there is something.”

  “Maybe.”

  He grabbed her hand, which she hadn’t realized was fidgeting. “You disappear, I will find you.”

  Her blood jumped a few degrees hotter because he’d smiled and said nice things. How messed up did she have to be to simply get aroused from kindness? From the growly quiet and protective manner with which he cared for her?

  “I won’t disappear for long.” She unbuckled and jumped out, grabbing her laptop bag and a still-sleeping, snoring Bacon. As she slammed her door, she heard a second door open and shut. Oh, God. Lexi kept her head down and powered toward the apartment’s front door.

  His shoes slapped the ground behind her. Her stomach somersaulted. Parker was running after her. Like running after her, and she couldn’t breathe.

  “Hey.” He stopped in front of her so abruptly that she almost ran into his brick wall of a chest.

  Bacon let out a loud snore but didn’t wake, and Lexi guessed that the poor dog was sleeping so soundly because it was the first time in weeks that she hadn’t felt the need to remain on constant safety patrol. Parker’s hands steadied Lexi, then he pulled himself away as though he’d grabbed her too hard. But with him, it was never possessive enough. Crap, she didn’t want to leave him. Not yet.

  “Wait a sec. Okay?” His breath came out as a cloud in the cold.

  “I should go inside.”

  “I need you to stop.” Hesitation was written all over him, as though he had no idea what he was doing, and that confusion in and of itself was baffling.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  His palms went to his face, running his fingers into his hair, where they knotted. “I want to—I don’t want to hurt you. I need to grab you. Hold you. I want to feel you. But damn it…” Uncertainty danced on his face. “I’m not the guy who knows how to help with whatever you’ve been through. I don’t regret much, but I already regret ruining the chance.”

  His words made her boneless. Standing was a challenge she didn’t think she could meet for much longer. “The chance at what?”

  “At you, sweetheart.”

  Oh God…

  As though he were inching through a minefield, he closed what remained of the distance between them. “I work with numbers. With code. You know I went to MIT but then I became a Marine. Now I’m Titan. I call what I see. It’s either black or white. One way. One order. One goal. So that look on your bruised face, coupled with trying to make sense of today? I want to drag you back to my car. I want what you do not need. And if I let you go, I’m sure of it, you’ll be gone. It’s that simple.”

  Numbers. Code. He couldn’t have said anything more perfect. All those words translated into one phrase: no bullshit. He spoke her language, and he could also read her mind, maybe her soul.

  “You speak code?” she said. “I speak similar. All of which is far easier to understand than what I’m trying to figure out…” With Shadow’s concerns, Phiber sightings, just everything.

  His throat bobbed. “The more I know about you…”

  “Same…” His unfinished thought mirrored hers exactly. “What’s Titan?”

  “Nothing. A job. My world. A lifestyle. It’s complicated.”

  The sound of the apartment’s front door opening interrupted them, and Meredith’s doorman approached from behind Parker. “Can I help you, Miss Dare?”

  “Hi, Malcolm.”

  “Your sister is n—” He cut himself off as her pinched face begged him to shut up. “Can I help you with anything? Bacon, perhaps? And your bag?”

  Lexi transferred her snoring dog into his arms. “Thank you.”

  “Your bag?”

  “No, I’ll keep it.”

  He nodded. “We’ll be inside.”

  “Thanks.”

  Parker stepped close to her again. “Won’t let go of that bag.”

  She shook her head.

  He stepped closer until their stomachs touched. “It doesn’t feel like you were on my steps hours ago. Feels like a lifetime has happened since then.”

  “A lot has.” She nodded. “Matt showing up, someone trying to break in.”

  “Me kissing you.”

  The pounding of her heartbeat nearly drowned out his words. “Yes,” she whispered as the memory of his tongue in he
r mouth became vivid.

  His eyes flared, and he licked his full lips as though he were also remembering. Parker pressed against her until there was only a slip of air between them. His hands took her waist, and his warm breaths in the cold were her undoing.

  “Please…” Kiss me, touch me, save me…

  His mouth claimed hers, and walking her back toward his SUV, he kissed her as though she were leaving him forever. Her back hit his Range Rover, and despite wearing his sweatshirt, the metal froze her body. She hunched into his arms as his lips moved to her neck. The length of his hardened shaft pressed against her through their jeans, and holy crap, Parker was impressive.

  He opened the back door, took her laptop bag, and tossed it onto the floorboard. Then Parker leaned into her and scraped his teeth along her neck until she moaned. God, his sinful, talented tongue worked her skin until her hips writhed against his erection to the point that she should’ve been embarrassed.

  “Get in the car, Lexi.”

  He barely let go of her. As she fell on her back across the seats, he climbed on top of her, shutting the door and leaving the frigid night behind them. She was pinned beneath his weight, his arms around her. One of his hands held the back of her head, and the other wrapped around her torso, under her shirt, smoothing up to the clasp of her bra and down to the edge of the pants that she’d die to take off.

  “Please,” she whispered. “I haven’t felt like this… ever.”

  He flexed his hips, and the tips of his fingers dipped below the waist of her pants.

  “God, I’m begging, Parker.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” His mouth was on hers again, his tongue licking the seam of her lips until they tangled in a kiss. But he stopped and shifted, dragging her into his lap and cradling her. “You’re the only person that makes me do what I’m not expected to.”

  He unsnapped the button on her jeans and dragged the zipper down so slowly she couldn’t help but shift her hips up. His eyes locked on hers as his palm went flat on her belly. His touch was strong, and holding her gaze, he slid past the lace band of her panties and pushed deft fingers between her legs.

  “God,” she moaned.

  He grazed over her folds, and Lexi inched her legs apart, breathing heavily, as though oxygen was in short demand.

  “So soft,” he growled quietly.

  He hadn’t done more than press against her, and she was pulsing for more. “Parker…”

  His fingers spread, finding her clit and stroking. Her head dropped back, but he held her in place. “More?”

  She couldn’t talk. “Hmm-hmm.”

  One finger pressed inside her, then he added another, drawing them in and out. This was heaven. Her nipples ached for his mouth, her body begged to be stripped down, and the building sensation promised to be catastrophic. Just his fingers were better than anything she could remember. Ever.

  Still, he watched her face. His eyes studied her, maybe memorizing the cues to what made her moan and gasp his name.

  “Parker, God.”

  His hand moved deeper, stronger, working her as though he’d been born to make her beg. She gulped breaths and watched his jaw tick, his brow furrow, his tongue lick those lips she’d just kissed.

  “I’m so close,” she gasped.

  He bent over, pressing his mouth to hers and delving his tongue deep, like his fingers. Her body went rigid, her back arched, and she ground down on his hand while crying out.

  “God, Lex. You’re fuckin’ beautiful when you come.”

  The world spun, and she disappeared into a climax-soaked oblivion. This was too much like a dream come true.

  The trembles of her innermost muscles slowed their spasms as she came down off her high. His hand went lax and his kisses went lazy as she lulled through the high and low of climax. This was a euphoric cloud, and she was completely surrounded by all things Parker. His scent. His taste. The way he made her fall apart.

  “Hell. You’re always beautiful.”

  A blush hit her cheeks—she felt its heat almost as much as she could still feel him touching her. “Thank you.”

  He chuckled and rumbled around her, righting her pants, and pulled her to sit up in his lap. “None needed.”

  “Look at you, all gentleman-like.”

  “Sweetheart, I just finger-fucked you in the back of my car. Not a raving sign of chivalry. But…” He directed her face up toward his. “I think maybe it’s the first time in a while anyone took care of you. So I’ll take that.”

  Nodding, she bit her lip, tugging at his belt. She wanted to return the favor as much as she wanted to taste him. That kind of desire was liberating. It was also a sign that she’d been with the wrong guy, even before Matt had ever hurt her. Because never had she ever wanted her mouth on someone as she did at that minute.

  He stilled her hand. “You don’t have to.”

  “But…?”

  “You left your fiancé hours ago. Your face is bruised. As much as I want your tongue stroking my cock, Lex, not like this.”

  Her eyes drifted from him to the apartment building. She didn’t know what to say, but emotions choked her tightly. He was obviously trying to put her ahead of his own needs.

  “I don’t want you to go, but you’re going to anyway.” Parker pressed his lips to her forehead. “Run away. Whatever you’re keeping from me, that’s yours to hide. But when you’re ready, I’ll be there. Deal?”

  Her stomach flipped. “You’re for real, aren’t you?”

  He gave her a short chin lift to say yes. “Real enough.”

  “I’ll call you when I’m…”—safe—“when I’ve had time to figure out what I need to.”

  “Do your thing. Call me later. Maybe explain the big secret on how you knew my number and where I lived.”

  Her cheeks heated all over again. “Maybe.”

  After another quick kiss, Parker opened the back door. “Looking forward to it.”

  Though her spaghetti legs and squishy-filled chest worked as she moved from the Range Rover, she couldn’t help but be unnerved with the casual way he seemed to accept everything she’d tossed at him today. Well, other than him not wanting her to go to Meredith’s. The guy seemed chill about almost everything except for her, and that made her happier than she’d been in a long time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Lexi pushed through the apartment doors to face the doorman and Bacon, who was now groggily awake. “Hey, sleepyhead.”

  “Do you need a hand upstairs, Miss Dare?”

  “No, Malcolm. Thank you.”

  “It’s nice to see you around again, especially when you’re smiling. Have a good night.” He handed her the leash.

  “First time I’ve felt like smiling in a while. Does that all-hours coffee shop across the street have a problem with pets?”

  He shook his head. “Very pet friendly.”

  “Okay, I’ll be back.” She went back outside and tried again to reach her sister.

  Meredith’s phone once more went to voicemail, and Lexi was certain the likelihood that she would come home tonight was nil. Meredith liked to save the world, doing volunteer trips or whatever, hoping that she could help foster kids that had it worse than they had. To each their own. Lexi donated money to the cause while Meredith liked to be hands-on in the system. It actually made her a much better person than Lexi, because Lexi wasn’t sure she could stomach some of the places Meredith had grown up.

  The cold air crushed her as she ran across the street with Bacon huffing and puffing behind her. When she pulled the heavy door, her stomach rumbled at the sweet scents of coffee and muffins. Even the pup grumbled for food.

  “Okay, you get something too,” she told Bacon.

  After looking over her shoulder to be sure no one was watching her, she ordered a vanilla latte, chocolate croissant, and a slice of carrot cake for Bacon. They hunkered down in the back corner, and Lexi punched the Wi-Fi password the cashier had given her into her laptop. She pinged Shadow as
she waited for the latte to cool.

  Shadow: Got your email. All looks good.

  Silver: You said you had some concerns before. Someone wanted what I wouldn’t sell too.

  Shadow: Yes

  Silver: So that’s all taken care of?

  She tapped her finger, waiting for Shadow. There could be a dozen reasons he wasn’t answering immediately. She had no idea where in the world he was, if he was alone, in public, or on the phone. But as the minutes ticked on and she sipped her latte, Lexi knew there was a problem.

  Silver: Shadow.

  Silver: ??

  Shadow: Not all taken care of. Why?

  Silver: Went to a friend’s, someone broke in. Power was cut with a jammer

  Shadow: Where are you?

  Shadow: Don’t answer that. Go off the grid. Now.

  Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she typed out and deleted the same questions more than once: What is the problem?

  Shadow: I still see you. So can the world if they’re smart enough. Shut down and move. See you when and where we planned for the auction.

  Then he went offline. Shit. Lexi looked around. Everything seemed benign. But she’d never had Shadow talk to her like that before, never felt the sense of dread that had started with Parker mentioning the jammer—which meant the person who’d tried to break into his place was most certainly not Matt—and now Shadow’s demand that she go dark for weeks. If there was one person she’d listen to, it was him. And maybe Parker. Perhaps BlackDawn… she wondered what his take on Monarch would be.

  She shut down and packed her computer, shoved the croissant into a bag, and guzzled the rest of her super-hot latte before she tugged Bacon to fall in line behind her. This would be a long night, and for the time being, she had no idea where to go or how to get there.

  Actually… she had transportation. The old Lexi surged in her veins. She knew exactly what her next move was. How had she even forgotten?

  Her cell phone buzzed, and a dooming thought pricked at her. Buzz kill. Was Matt texting her? Maybe it was Shadow telling her that going dark meant turning off her cell? God, going dark wasn’t her thing. She needed a checklist.