by Brant, Kylie
“I’m embarrassed he got the chance.” Her tone was disgusted but stronger than it had been before. She took another drink. “It was just sheer stupidity on my part to let my guard down like that.”
He’d be willing to bet it didn’t happen often. Her guard was as much emotional as physical. Both were equally daunting. “You were distracted.”
“All around, not one of my finer nights.”
“You don’t have to be invincible all the time, Ramsey. Leastways, not ’round me. Bein’ vulnerable once in a while doesn’t make you weak.” The sight of her vulnerability, though, had weakened him, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. His gut still twisted when he recalled the panic that had filled her. He couldn’t help wondering about it. Couldn’t help feeling protective.
Which made him short a couple screws, because until tonight, he couldn’t imagine anyone in less need of protecting than Ramsey Clark.
She sipped in a contemplative silence for while. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. “Once you’ve been at another’s mercy, you swear to yourself it will never happen again. That you’ll get stronger. Smarter. And history will never repeat itself because you’ve grown and changed and you’re not the same person anymore.”
Dev nodded, reaching for her mug. He took a long swallow before handing it back to her. Her words resonated deep inside him, where memories of himself as a young preteen still lingered. His stepdaddy’s idea of teaching him to box had just been a semi-civilized excuse for beating the hell out of him whenever he took a mind to. He could still recall the vicious burn of bitterness as he’d lie across his bed, nursing his latest bruises. He’d worked out twice as hard. Practiced every spare minute he had. Just for the moment he could lay that bastard out for the first time.
“They have a saying in Cripolo, Mississippi. If you’re born in the gutter, you grow up smelling like shit. I guess I’ve spent most of my life trying to get rid of the stench. Even ran off and got married when I was seventeen, determined to leave Cripolo and the Hawkins name behind.”
Her smile was self-mocking. “In our three months of wedded bliss, he punctured one of my eardrums, broke my nose and two ribs, and knocked out my top right bicuspid. When I walked out on Marlin Clark, it was with the intention of never seeing him again. But I kept his last name, because even the name of a lying, cheating, wife-beating lowlife scum was better than being Ramsey Hawkins.” She brought the mug to her lips again. “So, yeah. Invincible is good.”
He didn’t respond right away. Couldn’t. Not with this boulder-sized knot of rage lodged in his throat. His fingers clenched and unclenched while he battled back a primitive wall of fury that was as unexpected as it was overwhelming.
Long minutes passed before he could speak. His voice was tight. “It’d be easy ’nough to find out where the guy is these days.” His smile was feral. “Maybe pay him a li’l visit.” Discuss old times. Settle old scores on her behalf.
She looked at him over the rim of the mug, her gaze puzzled. “What for?” Something in his face must have alerted her then, because astonishment quickly followed. “You don’t even know him.”
“I know you.”
It was, he thought, one of the only times he’d seen her at a loss for words. Their gazes held for long moments before hers softened imperceptibly.
“He’s dead. In a bar fight several years ago. He’s not worth wasting time thinking about. I rarely do.”
But Dev knew he would. Knew he’d mourn the opportunity to make the son of a bitch bleed, just a little, for what he’d put Ramsey through all those years ago.
Just as he knew that whatever had shaped her, her ex-husband was only part of it.
She pushed the mug aside and rose. She’d want to leave now, and he couldn’t think of a single way to stop her. Wasn’t sure it would be wise to try. Not with all this emotion crashing and wheeling inside him.
He stood, too. Made to turn away. But then Ramsey was there, her hand on his arm. Her manner more tentative than he’d ever seen from her.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had someone come to my defense before.” The wonderment of it still showed in her expression. She came up on tiptoe and brushed her mouth over his, first lightly, before returning to press more firmly. His arms went around her of their own accord, and he returned the kiss without any of the restraint he’d shown to date.
There was no holding back at any rate. The events of the evening, the revelations Ramsey had made, unleashed something primal that Dev had no idea how to contain. He could no longer recall why he wanted to.
Cupping the back of her head with one hand, he returned the kiss with all the hunger that had been building inside him for days. Every last bit of self-discipline he possessed abruptly went up in smoke.
The taste of her whipped through his system, amped up his heart rate. Created havoc with hormones that had been under “down boy” command since meeting her.
A command that was currently being ignored.
Without releasing her, Dev moved her backward until her back was against the fridge. His mouth eating at hers, he ran his free hand over the rounded curve of her bare shoulder. Traced her arm, firm with muscle beneath the sleek skin. Slid his hand inside the slinky material of her top to cup warm soft flesh.
Her nipple was a tight knot, and he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. Felt her fingers tunnel into his hair as she pressed closer. Heard the hum of pleasure she made in response.
He’d spent some time thinking about just this moment. Thought about every inch he wanted to taste. The way he’d take his time to touch and stroke until he’d explored every part of her body. But his desire was an uncaged beast, recklessly lunging forth, and it made a mockery of any efforts at control. Slow wasn’t going to be an option.
Their mouths did battle, lips and tongues and teeth clashing as the kiss deepened. Took on an edge of frantic.
His brain fogged with lust. But he could still register a vague sense of alarm at how quickly the taste of her rocketed through him. Left every part of him quivering and straining.
His lips cruised a path up her jawline before closing, not quite gently, on her earlobe. “If this is only about gratitude, better tell me now.” Every muscle in his body clenched in anticipation of her answer. Made a mockery of his unspoken intention of bringing a halt to this.
Her eyes opened slowly, the eyelids heavy. And what he saw in their depths had his gut tightening into a hot ball of need. “I’m not that grateful.” She tugged his shirt loose to skate her palms up his sides.
His hands lacked their usual finesse as he dragged the straps of her top down her arms to free her breasts. Then he swallowed hard at the sight of them, high and firm, smooth white globes tipped with pink nipples. And need clenched in his gut like a fist.
He’d never been a man to take intimacy lightly, but he couldn’t recall ever feeling this urgency before. His blood was churning with it. A more sensible man would take a step back, just long enough to calm his pulse. Regain a measure of reason.
But he’d never felt less sensible. In a primitive quest for the taste of flesh, he lowered his head to take one nipple in his mouth even as he continued to tease the other.
Dev lashed the taut bud with his tongue before sucking strongly from her. Her hands grew just a little frantic as she slid them up his chest, her nails scraping lightly before her fingers clenched on his shoulders. Dimly he heard something clatter to the floor before he felt her knee bend to tighten around his thigh. And he knew that this time, Ramsey wasn’t going to stop him. Wasn’t going to draw away. For some reason, the knowledge helped him regain a measure of control.
He lifted his head, his eyes opening to see her nipple, tight and moist from his mouth. The carnal image pleased him even as it whetted his appetite for more. He wanted her naked. Flesh against flesh. He wanted to see her aroused and demanding, sated and satisfied. And every emotion in between. Whatever he could get from her. Whatever those stalwart defenses of hers would allow.
And then he wanted more: all the secrets she hid from the world; all the emotion she denied herself. He wanted to smash the walls she used to protect herself until he could steep himself in every scent, every whisper and sigh. And tell himself, finally, he’d had it all.
Knowing it was impossible only fanned the flames of need hotter.
She pushed his shirt up his chest, and obligingly, he lifted his arms so she could drag it over his head. Then he snaked an arm around her waist and hauled her closer so skin kissed skin. The sensation had them both hissing in a breath.
“I think we need to move this out of the kitchen.”
“Really?” With the nail of her index finger, she traced the seam of his chest where it met her torso. “What’s your hurry?”
“No hurry.” He leaned forward to worry the cord of her neck, nipping gently at it. “I got all the time in the world. And I find myself curiously turned on at the thought of strip-pin’ you bare and stretchin’ you out on the table.” A smile curved his lips at the thought, and he flicked one nipple with the edge of his fingernail. Felt her shudder. “I’d be lyin’ if I said I haven’t been thinkin’ of feastin’ on you pretty much since the first time I laid eyes on you.”
As if in response to his words, she placed her hands on his chest, gave him a light push. Obligingly he moved away a fraction. When her hands dropped to the hem of her top, his heart stuttered hard once before settling into a heavy thud.
Her eyes on his, she worked the material up her waist and over her head before discarding it. And the sight of her bare torso compelled him to touch.
He dipped to trace the hollow at the base of her throat with the tip of his tongue. Smoothed a hand over the satiny skin of her waist. Cupped her breast. The stark contrast between the softness beneath his hands and her inner toughness was endlessly fascinating. One he wasn’t sure he’d ever get tired of exploring.
The thought had him mentally backpedaling. Women didn’t come any more complicated than Ramsey Clark. It wouldn’t do to be thinking of more. This, now was likely all there’d be. All there could be.
Distracting himself from the stab of regret that observation brought, he cupped her butt, flexing his fingers over the firmness there. And drove himself a little mad just thinking of stripping the slim shorts down her long legs. Following each inch of bared skin with his mouth.
But Ramsey took that decision out of his hands the next moment when her fingers went to the fastening of her shorts and unbuttoned them.
His throat grew thick. The little smile on her lips was knowing. And he recognized that she’d just taken control of the moment. Because he wasn’t a man to miss an opportunity, he stepped back and let her. For now.
Her zipper was worked down with excruciating slowness. Dev could feel perspiration beading on his forehead. His gaze was arrowed on each inch of pale flesh revealed during the zipper’s descent. Whatever the outcome, he knew he’d remember this moment, Ramsey’s eyes dark and knowing, a seductive curve to her lips. Breasts bared and flushed. Nipples beaded with desire.
He curled his fingers into his palms to curb the need to reach for her. Instead, he backed up a few steps and propped his hips against the edge of the table, his gaze never leaving her figure.
She hooked her thumbs in the sides of the waistband and began to work the shorts slowly over her hips. It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. “Need some help with that, sugar?” When she stilled, it was all he could do not to throw back his head and howl.
“Been undressing myself for a long time now.”
“Honey, if you’ve been doin’ it like that, I’m surprised you ever got another blessed thing done.”
She eyed him knowingly. “Criticizing my technique?”
He shook his head, willed her hands to start moving again. “Just makin’ an observation.”
“It occurs to me that this is the first time I’ve ever seen you in such a rush.”
“No rush.” Folding his arms across his chest, he willed the words to reach his brain. And lower. “Got all the time in the world here.”
After a pause that could only be considered cruel, she started inching the shorts down again. Low enough to reveal her flat belly. To show a scrap of lacy black panties he never would have guessed to find in Ramsey’s wardrobe.
Sending up a prayer of thanks to a gracious god, he swallowed hard and tried to call upon his flagging self-discipline. The shorts were to her upper thighs now. It seemed only gentlemanly to reach out and peel them down her legs before taking a long look at the picture she made clad only in the wisp of lingerie.
His blood pooled in his groin.
“You’ve got a streak of mean, sugar.” He nibbled her neck while sliding his hands over her silk-encased bottom. “But you have superb taste in underwear.”
His fingers skimmed under the elastic to touch the smooth rounded cheeks beneath. But when her hands dipped to his waistband, he thwarted her move by going down on his knees in front of her.
He used his grip on her butt to draw her nearer. Felt her hips jerk helplessly as his breath hit her behind the lace. And then he placed his mouth on the thin fabric shielding her moist heat from him. He dampened it with his tongue, his fingers stroking along the crease of her thigh.
Hooking a finger into the side of the panties, he drew them down her legs and pressed his mouth to the slick flesh he’d revealed. Felt her body shudder.
There was a rollicking in his system. A roaring in his ears. The taste of her, the feel, had nerve endings firing. His heart was leaping in his chest. And when he parted her slick flesh to send a finger deep inside her moist center, the broken cry she uttered had primitive satisfaction surging through him.
His tongue stabbed at her clit in rhythm to his stroking fingers. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders, and the sting of pain whipped his hunger to fever pitch. She’d seek to keep a part of herself back. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew that. Her hips began to move, faster and faster, to match the rhythm of his mouth. And when she shattered, the cry she made was drenched in shocked pleasure.
The sound of it sent razor-edged desire sawing through him. Her body was boneless, and he rose, supporting her with one arm around her back. Her eyes fluttered to half-mast, looking drowsy and drugged. And the sight of her had his control fraying dangerously.
Desperation raced through him. He toed off his sandals and shucked his pants, his movements jerky with tension. At the last moment, he remembered to retrieve a condom from his pocket. Then all conscious thought drained out of his head when Ramsey shoved down his briefs and took him in her hands.
Her touch was sure and knowing as she stroked him. Her eyes were slumberous and aroused as she watched him try to summon his rapidly diminishing restraint. He clenched his jaw against the pleasure roaring through him. Every clever clutch and slide of her fingers drew him closer to a shattering response. One that was going to have him embarrassing himself if he didn’t end this soon.
He pushed her hands aside and sheathed himself in the condom with more haste than grace. Then he reached for her, his heart hammering so loud he was certain she could hear it, and turned her to lift her to the table’s edge. Nudging her knees apart, he stepped between them, and her legs climbed to his waist.
“I thought you were kidding about the—” she gasped as he worked the tip of his cock just inside her opening—“table.”
“Next time, I offer you a bed . . .” He entered her with one long stroke, stopping only when he was buried deep inside her. Conscious thought fragmented. He could feel the delicate pulsations of her inner muscles working against him. His vision graying, he withdrew almost completely, only to seat himself inside her again, in a movement that had them both groaning.
The hunger burst through him then, a fierce savage beast intent on release. Her arms twined around his neck, and he gripped her hips as he thrust into her with a brutal greed that wouldn’t be denied. There was no thought of control, no thought of
holding back. Sensation slammed into sensation in a blinding kaleidoscope of pleasure. He heard her moan as she crested, and need turned to madness. His face buried in her hair, he thrust harder and deeper inside her until he felt surrounded by her. Entwined in her.
And when his own climax ripped through him, catapulting him over the edge, he thought of nothing but her.
The mattress moved, and Dev came instantly awake to see Ramsey heading for the bedroom door. “Where you goin’?”
“I told you, I have an early day tomorrow. Make that today. Go back to sleep.”
Like hell. He rolled from the bed to follow her out the door, down the hall, and to the kitchen, where she was gathering up her clothes and quickly pulling them on in the dark.
Dev backed up, rested his bare ass against the oven door, and folded his arms across his chest. “C’mon, honey, let’s go back to bed.”
