Dangerous Secrets: Callaghan Brothers, Book 1

by Zanders, Abbie

  “Easy,” he rasped, fighting his own urge to bury himself within her. He dipped his head and kissed the back of her shoulder, easing in another inch or two. “So fucking tight,” he groaned, his voice thick with desperation as his lips trailed over her dragon. The sweetest moans met his ears, driving thoughts of everything else away. He eased back slightly, then rocked his hips forward, gaining another inch. Another breathy cry of pleasure rewarded him as he struggled with control. “Don’t... want... to hurt...”

  Her low, breathy moans were music to his ears, cranking him into the red zone, but it was the look she gave him over her shoulder that pushed him past the point of no return. He was barely holding it together, and she was right there with him, ready to pick up the pieces when he blew.

  Her eyes were so clear, like rare jewels, filled with desire for him, only him.

  “Jake, please,” she begged. “Please.”

  The words, spoken with such longing, were his undoing. There was not a chance in hell he could refuse her when she pleaded with him like that. With one more thrust he buried himself to the hilt.

  It was pure nirvana. Perfection. He was nestled snugly inside the tightest, wettest, sweetest woman ever. His balls, aching and full, pressed against her, enough that he could feel the ambrosia she spilled just for him. The same confection still lingered on his lips and tongue as he used all of his will to remain still, allowing her to get used to him.

  She wasn’t making it easy, though; Taryn was undulating beneath him, squeezing and rippling along his length. His fingers curled with bruising strength around her hips to hold her in place; sweat beaded along his forehead as he forcibly leashed his most primal instincts to take, to own, and to possess.

  Jake began moving, slowly at first, listening to her body, gauging and adjusting his thrusts accordingly. Each time he re-entered her he swore it was better than the last. Hotter. Wetter. Tighter as she flexed around him. Her muted cries of feminine pleasure were driving him insane. He felt his release building, the ache becoming nearly unbearable. To leave her and sheath himself was unthinkable; he would not survive it. For the sake of his own sanity, he told himself he would pull out before he came.

  As he felt her climax begin to build and her cries grew louder, he pistoned faster and harder, plunging even deeper. Sweat covered his back and chest with the strain of holding back. Dear God she was crying his name, begging for him to take her deeper, harder. Ah, fuck, he couldn’t stop now, she was coming all over his cock....

  Multi-colored stars burst behind his eyes as he exploded inside of her. She continued to milk him, her internal muscles rippling along his length, prolonging the perfect ecstasy. Jake was so deep, it was hard to tell where he left off and she began. It still wasn’t enough. He bent down over her, his chest flush with her back, completely covering her as if he could protect her from what he’d just done.

  What he’d just done. As his lust began to ebb, realization took an unwelcome hold. Christ. He’d just finished inside Taryn. Deep inside Taryn, and without protection. No woman had ever made him lose control like that before, and it scared the shit out of him. Euphoria was replaced by panic, and Jake didn’t do panic. The feeling was foreign and unwelcome. What if he’d just gotten her pregnant?

  And yet, along with panic was something even more worrisome... her body felt far too good under his. Her sex was sheathing him too perfectly. She was like a drug, coursing through his blood, stealing his common sense and good judgment, turning him into some horny teenager rather than the experienced, thirty-year-old ex-SEAL he was.

  He pulled out, her anguished cry at his sudden absence ripping at his heart. How could he have been so stupid? How could he ever have believed he could have sex with Taryn and walk away unscathed? He’d known she was different, known from the very first time he saw her.

  But walk away was exactly what he had to do. He had to put some distance between them, at least until he could figure this out. Because right now, he didn’t trust himself.

  Jake released his grip on Taryn, pushing away and wincing when he saw the dark red marks on her hips that would be bruises come tomorrow. Legs quivering, her body shaking, she pitched forward without him to hold her up, her breathing still ragged, her soft whimpers nearly killing him.

  “Jake?” Taryn looked back at him, confusion etched on her face. Those freaking violet eyes locked onto him, beckoned him, made him think of doing something equally crazy, like crawling back into bed and spending the rest of the night buried inside her.

  “I’m sorry, Taryn,” he said, forcing a coldness into his voice he didn’t feel.

  He watched her questioning glance transition to understanding, followed closely by hurt, shame, anger, and then acceptance, all within the span of a few seconds. With the acceptance, her soft features hardened, her swirling liquid eyes became ice.

  “Don’t be.” Her voice was calm, as if she was excusing him for leaving the cap off the toothpaste, instead of ravaging her like a fucking animal. He might actually believe she was alright, if he hadn’t seen the brief flash of hurt in her eyes; the same one that was eating away at his insides, adding a hefty dose of guilt to the shit storm of foreign emotions already pounding away at him.

  “Taryn, I ...“ He paused, the words not coming easily to him. As gently as he could, he tried to explain that it had all been a huge mistake, that things had simply gotten out of hand. She watched him, as still as a statue, her expression remaining neutral. Emotionless. Cold.

  When her expression did change, he almost wished it hadn’t. The hint of a smirk curled the left side of her mouth. “No worries, Jake,” she said too softly, too calmly, rolling away from him. She stood, grabbing his shirt and using it to wipe the inside of her thighs clean, tossing it onto the bed when she was done.

  She wrapped the sheet she’d been wearing earlier around her, tucking it once more like a strapless gown beneath her arms. It flowed like a flawless train behind her as she glided silently to the door that would lead her back to the unfinished room. “Thanks, by the way. I needed that.”

  Then she opened the door and walked through it, letting it click softly behind her, leaving him speechless.

  Chapter Nine

  Ian was sprawled across his bed, remote in hand. Through the open door, he had a perfect view of the unfinished room in which Taryn was staying. His eyes flicked lazily between the flat screen mounted on the wall, the several computers he had running various programs, and the closed door across the living room from him.

  If Taryn decided to come out of her room again, he would know it. She’d ventured out a little earlier that morning, but turned around and went back when she had run right into Ian. He had the distinct impression that she hadn’t expected to find him there, and was hoping for a clear shot to the exit. After stuttering for a few moments she finally asked if she could borrow a shirt while she soaked the blood out of hers.

  Since then there had been no sign of her, and it was now mid-afternoon. Ian knew she was in there, though. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear her pacing softly back and forth. Earlier he was sure he’d heard muffled crying, though she had tried to conceal it beneath the sound of running water in the shower.

  Jake entered without knocking, his eyes scanning the room as he did, obviously looking for something. Or someone.

  “Where is she?” he asked, his voice rough.

  Ian looked at him for a few long moments before answering. Jake had fired up his Harley and taken off like a bat out of hell in the middle of the night. This morning Taryn was playing hermit and Jake’s stubbled jaw and mean expression had a definite I-fucked-up vibe that was totally out of character for him.

  It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. Taryn wasn’t like the women they normally hooked-up with; he and Jake always made their expectations perfectly clear right up front, and the women made conscious choices with their eyes wide open.

  Ian was pretty sure Taryn hadn’t known exactly what she was getting hers
elf into. It seemed Jake hadn’t, either. At the moment, he wasn’t sure who he felt sorrier for.

  “In her room,” Ian answered coolly.

  “We’ve got to talk.” Ian couldn’t have agreed more. Beyond Jake, a couple of the others were chilling out with several large pizzas and watching a game and pretending not to listen. They knew something was going on, but Ian wasn’t about the fill them in. Not yet, anyway.

  Confident that Taryn would not be able to slip away undetected, he said somberly, “Not here. Downstairs in five.” Jake nodded, his jaw clenched.

  “Is she alright?” Jake asked quietly.

  Ian sat across from him at the scarred wooden table where they had once shared family meals. Before answering, he took another bite of one of the slices he’d swiped on his way out, disposing of half the piece easily. He pinned Jake with steely eyes. “Hell of a time to ask, Jake.”

  “Is. She. Alright?”

  Ian nodded slowly. “I’m worried about that slice on her palm. It was still bleeding this morning. She refuses to let Michael look at it.”

  Jake glared back at him. Ian knew what was coming, but he’d be damned if he’d play that game. Jake was a big boy. He had made his bed, now it was time for him to lay in it. Or not, as the case was. Ian kept his mouth shut and glared right back.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know.” They stared at each other for several long moments, equally stubborn, as well-matched as any two men could be.

  Jake ground out the words with obvious effort. “Did you fuck her?”

  Ian’s expression hardened. “You mean after you did?”

  Jake clenched his teeth. “Yes.”

  “She was crying, you know,” Ian said, his voice low. He saw the pain in Jake’s eyes then, knew that it had been preying on his mind. It wasn’t enough. He wanted Jake to understand that he’d crossed a line this time.

  “Did you?” Jake demanded.

  Ian blinked lazily, the only indication that he’d heard him. They had no secrets between them, especially not where either sex or women were concerned. What really bothered Ian – even more than what Jake had done – was that his brother believed he would seduce Taryn in the state in which he’d left her. Ian had his dark side, but it never involved taking advantage of anyone who didn’t want to be taken advantage of.

  “I am not having this conversation with you.” Ian got up and started walking away. He only made it about two steps before Jake caught him by the arm.

  “Don’t you walk away from me!”

  “Why not, Jake?” sneered Ian. “Is walking away exclusively your privilege?”

  “You did, didn’t you,” Jake said quietly, his face looking pained. “You’ve been with her all this time.”

  “NO!” Ian bit out angrily. “You stupid fucking bastard! You think I would do that to her? To you? Christ, I can’t fucking believe you.” He got right up in Jake’s face. “I’ve seen her a total of five minutes today when I caught her trying to sneak out. The rest of the time I’ve been playing guard, listening to her cry and pace and curse your sorry ass.”

  * * *

  All of the wind left Jake’s sails as the reality hit him in the gut like a two-by-four, slamming into him so hard that it was difficult to fill his lungs with enough air for his next breath. All night, all morning he’d been kicking himself in the ass. He never should have said those things to Taryn. Instead of pushing her away, he should have been holding her in his arms all night. His face should have been the first one she’d seen when she woke, not Ian’s.

  The usual rules didn’t apply. Everything had been different, because she was different.

  It must be his morning for epiphanies, because he suddenly had another one. “Jesus Christ. You’ve been watching over her.”

  Ian didn’t deny it. “You’re in love with her,” he said as if that explained everything.

  Jake sank down into a chair, Ian’s words hitting him with the force of a Mack truck. Was he in love with Taryn?

  “I don’t know.” He looked up at Ian, now looking at him with something like pity and maybe... awe. “I don’t fucking know. All I do know is that last night, being with Taryn... it wasn’t like anything I’ve ever felt before. It scared the shit out of me.”

  Ian smirked. “You are so totally fucked. You know that, don’t you?”

  Jake raked one hand down his face. He was fucked. He’d been through hell and back more than once, but this was uncharted territory for him – for any of them.

  “How the hell did this happen?” he asked. Ian shook his head.

  Jake blew out a breath. Forty-eight hours ago felt like a different lifetime, one that didn’t include a fiery little woman who had shaken him down to his core, tied his dick in knots and had his heart stuttering in his chest, a chest that tightened even further as he wondered what the next forty-eight hours would bring. Damn, they should have basic training for this kind of shit.

  “Was she really crying?” Jake asked. She hadn’t cried last night. If she had, he wouldn’t have had the strength to leave.

  Ian exhaled. “Yeah.”

  Well, thought Jake, that explained a lot. Ian wasn’t the type to play babysitter. Cold bastards they might be on assignment, but not one of them could stomach a woman’s genuine tears. Jake knew if he had seen tears in Taryn’s eyes, he would have done anything she asked without question.

  “I’m glad you were watching out for her.”

  Ian snorted. “Didn’t you just want to kill me for doing that a few minutes ago?”

  “Yeah,” Jake exhaled, but that was when his head had been up his own ass and he thought Ian had been consoling Taryn.

  Now that he was over his initial panic, he realized just how messed up that was. Ian wouldn’t have done that, not after Jake had told him not to.

  And maybe he had overreacted. Yes, he’d felt overprotective of her from the start, but he hadn’t been prepared for the near out-of-body experience of having sex with her. After he’d had a chance to come to terms with that, he realized that by walking away he had cheated both of them. Had he stayed, he could have held her throughout the night, kissed her, took her to new heights of passion. He could have looked in her eyes when she came, over and over again. It sure beat a cold night on the mountains alone running his Harley into the ground.

  “I’ve got your back, Jake,” Ian said quietly, serious once again. “Always. You know that, right?”

  Jake nodded with both relief and gratitude. Ian had sensed the truth even before he had. That, he figured, was a good thing, because he couldn’t seem to think clearly where she was concerned, with one glaring exception: now that he had found her, he was not going to let her go.

  There was only one small detail. Telling Taryn.

  As if reading his mind, Ian asked thoughtfully, “How do you think she’s going to take it?”

  Jake snorted. “She’s going to fight it like the little hellcat she is,” he said truthfully. Just thinking about it was making him hard. “Especially if she suspects for one moment we’ve already decided this amongst ourselves. She does not like to be told what to do.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that,” Ian agreed with a smirk. “She still plans on leaving tomorrow, you know.”

  “Like hell,” growled Jake.

  “And exactly how are we going to stop her?”

  “She can’t leave without her car.”

  “Sean checked it out personally and said the kid was right - it’s just a clogged fuel line. Joey is driving him nuts, too - said he felt like shit lying to her like that.”

  Jake’s eyes glittered. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and he was feeling pretty damn desperate. Once he’d accepted his mistake, he had racked his brains trying to come up with a way to convince her to stick around past Homecoming. After last night, he was pretty certain she wouldn’t be willing to listen to reason (reason being that he wanted her to stay). He’d also dismissed locking her in her room until she agreed to listen
to reason. Ruling out logical, verbal persuasion (never an option with a pissed-off, hurt female) and brute force (last resort), didn’t leave him a lot of viable alternatives.

  “The kid won’t have to lie anymore. The damage is much worse than he originally thought. It is going to take several days to get the necessary parts. Plenty of time to convince her to hang around a little longer.”

  Ian narrowed his eyes, finally realizing where Jake had been all morning. One side of his mouth tilted in a smile remarkably like his brother’s. “Creepy much?”

  Jake shrugged. No one got hurt, and it bought him some time. “We need more time to figure out what she’s running from. Here.” Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out a few clear plastic squares in a small bag. On the center of each were near-perfect prints. “I lifted these from the fuel cap. Run them through that über scanner of yours and see what hits, but cloak it, just in case. I’ll keep her busy.”

  Ian took the squares and pocketed them. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Jake looked at him, puzzled.

  “I don’t think she’s too keen on your attention right now,” Ian reminded him. “As a matter of fact, I’d say that right now she’d be more apt to cuddle up to whatever’s on the bottom of her shoe than you.”

  Jake’s expression darkened. Ian was right. “Well, then, I guess I’ll just have to rectify that.”

  This time it was Ian who snorted. This was going to be fun.

  Chapter Ten

  Taryn was in “her” room, perched on the oversized sill, knees drawn up, looking outward. The white sheet currently doubling as a curtain was pushed aside, held against the frame by her toes. From this vantage point, she could look up and down the street at the old homes, all meticulously maintained and landscaped. Judging by the looks of them, most - if not all - were on a historical registry, like the Pub. The trees were dressed in full fall regalia, the colors unusually bright.

  Her eyes were drawn to the sidewalk below where a family strolled by. The dad held a little girl with hair the color of sunshine on his shoulders, hands clasped protectively around her ankles as she reached up and tried to capture the softly falling leaves like snowflakes. Beside him, his very pretty, very pregnant wife was smiling and holding the hand of a young boy bouncing along, performing his own variation of hopscotch.