by Aliyah Burke
A low growl erupted from him and he rolled them to the soft ground. “I want you, angel. I want that hot, tight, pussy of yours to hold me while I fuck you.”
Spikes of want slammed into her and would have taken her to the ground were she not already there. Her skin tightened and her nipples pebbled while the throbbing between her legs increased a hundredfold.
“Yes,” she gasped.
He ripped her clothes off, followed by his then paused, the large mushroom head of his cock poised tantalisingly at the entrance of her needy core.
“Do you want me, Serefina?” he queried nipping her neck.
“Yes.” She tried to arch up and slide him inside her but he was too strong and she couldn’t budge him.
“Tell me.” He teased her, rubbing the head along her clit.
“P…please,” she begged.
“I need to hear the words, angel. Just say ‘I want you, Taber.’ That’s all you need to say and I’ll give you what you want.”
Her eyes fluttered and it was a struggle to keep focused. “You…inside me…now!”
He pinched her nipple and stroked along her hardened nub again. “Not the words I’m looking for. I’m hard for you, angel. I want your heat surrounding me.”
“T…T…Taber.”
“Closer,” he murmured before sucking on the side of her neck.
“I want you, Taber,” she forced out. “Now.”
“Good girl.” He flexed his hips and sank completely inside her in a single stroke.
“Ahhh shit!” she screamed, arching up to allow deeper penetration.
“Fuck, you’re so blessed tight. So hot. So wet. And it’s all for me, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she panted. “Hard, Taber. Please.”
He didn’t make her ask again. “Hang on, angel.”
Lower lip caught in her teeth, she did as ordered and hung on for the ride. He thrust hard and fast into her, not giving her a second to rest. Which she didn’t want. She wanted it like this.
Hips undulating, she took all he gave. She spiralled close to the edge of control.
“I need…need…need…”
“You’re mine, Serefina. Mine!”
Words escaped her.
“Tell me who you belong to,” he commanded.
“I…don’t… Oh fuck me, you, Taber. I belong to you, Taber!”
“Come for me, Serefina. Come all over my cock.” He angled her more and picked up the speed.
She shuddered and came hard. Two more powerful thrusts and she felt him unload within her, coating her womb. When he stopped coming, he collapsed onto her, pressing his sweaty body against hers.
Their hearts pounded in time with one another. Taber rolled to the side and drew her close. She licked her lips and used a hand to trail along his chest.
“I was jealous, didn’t want to be, but I was when I heard you talk about Special Agent Dodd.” She admitted to herself it wasn’t as hard to tell him of her jealousy as she’d thought it would have been. Regardless, she wouldn’t want to continue to talk about the woman, dead or not.
“I know.”
There was no mocking tone, just simple acceptance. She curled closer and allowed his body heat to warm her in the cool of the evening.
“We should get back and get something to eat.”
“Yes.” Neither of them moved. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. He smelled so good. “But do we have to go now?”
His chuckle made her smile. “No, but I have a feeling the temperature is going to drop rather quickly.”
“Worried about shrinkage?” she teased.
His large hand fell against her ass with a decided smack and she jumped.
“I’m sorry,” he drawled. “Did I not just hear you screaming my name to the heavens? I’m sure there was nothing about small items in there. I heard big, thick, filled full.” He nipped her ear. “Nothing about small.”
“Touchy?”
“You like me touchy.”
She shuddered. He spoke the truth. “Yes, but not now,” she squealed when he rolled her over. “I’m getting chilled.”
“I’d keep you warm.”
“Or we could go back to the room and be warm. Then there’d be no need to stop and move later on.”
He kissed her until her eyes opened. “I love the way you think, angel.”
They dressed in record time. Her panties, however, somehow found their way into his pocket. The man was crazy but he’d made it clear she wasn’t getting them back. Not right now. Which didn’t bother her like she thought it might. On the way back to the hotel, they stopped at a diner for a bite to eat. She noticed a few agents who seemed very interested in them but she and Taber continued on as if they were on vacation. Eating, talking, laughing, and having an all around jovial time.
Once dessert had been taken away and the bill paid, they walked to the hotel room. She leaned against the door once she closed it behind them. “Taber?”
“What is it, angel?” he asked absently, searching through a bag.
“Maybe you should go home.”
That got his attention. He whipped around to face her, blond hair flying around his chiselled features. “I’m sorry?” he asked, disbelief in his tone.
“You heard me,” she said quietly, going towards him. “Your brother knows what you’re doing here, you were already put on admin leave. You should have a solid alibi when shit hits the fan.”
He glared at her. “I’m not leaving you here to do this on your own, Serefina. I don’t need an alibi, I have one. You. We’re in this together.”
“It could kill your career.”
One shoulder lifted lazily and he gathered her close. “If my career is dependent on allowing murderers to go free just to get a testimony from another than that career is not the one I need.”
What do you need? Somehow, she managed to keep the question behind her tightly pressed lips. “Okay.”
“Should we plan?”
“I think so. And there is something else I need to tell you.”
He drew back and stared down at her face. She swallowed and held his gaze. “I’m all ears.”
“It’s about Sean…SA Forrest.”
Taber didn’t know how to categorise the gamut of feelings her statement created within him. Somehow, he managed to only arch an eyebrow. His gut, however, remained a tumultuous mess.
“What about SA Forrest do you need to tell me?”
She worried her lower lip for a few moments. “This…wow…this isn’t easy for me to say. We were engaged to be married a few years ago.”
Even though he knew this, it still didn’t sit well with him. “Were?”
“He left me a note on my wedding day saying he couldn’t marry me. That’s why I swore to stay away from DEA men.”
He wound his hand in her hair. “Did… Do you still love him?”
Her hesitation was like a knife shoved deep into his heart. She licked her lips and lifted her shoulders as if confused.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t believe so but seeing him again definitely rattled me.”
Possessiveness rose swift and fierce within him. “That so?” he bit off before moving away. He sat on the room’s chair.
Serefina watched but didn’t follow him. In her brown eyes, he could see a flare of pain before it was masked. He watched her stiffen before she approached him.
“Look, I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for you to come into my life and throw it into upheaval.”
“So this is my fault?” Anger simmered below the surface.
“No. I’m just saying I’m confused about this. But I wanted you to hear about Sean from me. If I know him, and I do, he’ll say something. That’s all I wanted to say.”
He sat there while she walked away and sank to the floor beside one of her bags. Calm down, Taber. She came out and told you, and it’s not like you don’t have a past of your own, he admonished himself. Heck, an ex-lover had been found dead in his hotel room and she�
�d not raised a stink about it.
Still, it rubbed him raw to hear her speak about it so casually. Then there was the part where she didn’t, couldn’t or wouldn’t say if she remained in love with Sean. He felt primitive and longed to beat his chest and shout from the rooftop, “Me Tarzan, you Jane,” then carry her off where their world existed of just the two of them.
Silence lingered between them for a while until he got up off the chair and crouched down before her. Her large eyes stared up at him, no anger within them, just a quiet acceptance. Acceptance of what?
“I don’t think Thurgood is in this town,” she stated with a blink.
He sank to the floor so their knees touched. “What makes you say that?”
“When my sister was killed, I found a piece of paper on her body. I never gave it to the police. The name on it is a small town on the other end of this forest. On the outskirts the national forest but it doesn’t consist of much.”
“So we go tomorrow.”
“Right. Then maybe these agents here will actually buy the fact we’re on vacation and we just stopped here for the night. I think his sister is here but he only runs to her when he knows he’s in trouble. So he may be here for the moment but he’ll go back home soon enough.”
He nodded. “In that case, we have the night.”
Her eyes sparkled. “To sleep?” The question was innocent.
Readjusting so he was on his hands and knees, Taber moved over her. “Not quite what I had in mind for us, angel.”
Her tongue snuck out and she licked along his lower lip. “More rug burns?”
His cock throbbed in his pants. “Something like that,” he growled before covering her mouth with his own and pressing them back to the carpet.
* * * *
When morning came, they were still on the floor, wrapped in the bedding and naked. Serefina lay on top of him, her head tucked under his chin. He lay there in silence and just enjoyed her being in his arms. She fit against him perfectly and he knew he couldn’t let her go. This woman was his future. She was entwined so intricately into his soul he didn’t understand how he’d managed without her being a part of his life.
“Wake up, angel,” he murmured, brushing his fingertips along her satiny skin.
“Time to go?” she questioned against his chest.
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I see we’re still on the floor.”
He grinned when she lifted herself slightly and looked at him. “Too tired to move it appears.” She appeared delightfully rumpled and beautiful.
“You wore me out,” she said.
“That went both ways, angel.” They’d made love until neither could move.
“It sure did.” She winked and climbed off him, not bothering to hide her naked body from him.
They showered together and dressed before walking down to his truck. Talking and laughing, he noticed his brother off to one side as they tossed their bags into the backseat of his truck. What the hell is he still doing here? I thought he said he was leaving.
“I’ll be right back.”
“No problem. I’ll be right here.”
Their eyes locked across the seat and he slid the keys across to her. “Since you know where we’re going.”
“I’ll get some food while you speak to your brother.”
She pocketed the keys and shut the door. He met her at the front of the truck, hauled her in close and kissed her until she sighed in his mouth. “Don’t miss me too much, angel.”
“I’ll do my best.” She walked away and he stared after her until she could no longer be seen.
“You’re up early, Cort,” he said when he reached his brother’s side.
“As are you.”
“I told you, we’re on vacation. Pressing on. Thought you were leaving.”
Cort’s blue eyes narrowed. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Taber noticed he ignored his own comment on leaving. “You look a lot like Pete when you do that.” He shrugged. “Serefina and I are having a good time, Cort.”
“She pulled guns on me, Tabby.” It was obvious his brother still smarted from that, not to mention what she threatened to shoot off.
“You always have a gun when you travel. We’re federal agents, Cort. Besides, she was right in that you just entered the room.”
“Okay, I’ll give her that. Where are you two going?”
“She wants to do some hiking then we’re going to Provo. Possibly hit Las Vegas then back so I can drop her off and be in Albuquerque in time for Pete’s birthday. Then I’m going back to work.”
“What about the two of you?”
“I want to keep her,” he admitted. “I don’t want to let her go, ever. But I don’t know what will happen. She’s kind of headstrong.”
Cort laughed. “Perfect match for you then.” He sobered. “She must be something special, that’s obvious.”
“How so?”
“Other than your reputation? You’re a man smitten, Tabby. You light up when she’s around. That woman, who I might add just climbed into the driver’s seat of your truck—which I’ve not even been allowed to do—makes you seem human, more than you’ve been in a long, long time. You’re calmer. Hell, look at you, man; you’re on vacation! Treat her well, Tabby. I’ll see you in Albuquerque.”
The brothers hugged and Taber headed off to the passenger side of his truck, feeling Cort’s gaze on him the entire time. He waved as Serefina took them out of the parking lot and got them back on the road.
Once they reached the small town of Haggersville, he got a hotel room. Inside, Serefina was on the phone and he waited until she ended the call. Her gaze troubled when it met his.
“What happened?” he asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.
“There’s still no sign of Kline or Forrest.”
News, which could be good or bad. The feeling in his gut told him it wasn’t good.
“We should go hiking,” she said.
“I agree.” Hiking and recon went hand in hand. He reached for his second bag and put it on the other bed in the room. Serefina followed suit. A while later, they were armed and headed out to his truck to find a trailhead.
Once there, they walked until they were deep in the forest. Senses alert, they proceeded slowly.
“Look,” she whispered.
Following her finger, he noticed what could pass as a deer path. And he would have agreed that’s what it was if not for the faint impression of a boot print in it. He crouched beside the print.
“Man’s boot. He was moving quickly. Let’s go.”
They spread out and he was glad they had communication with one another courtesy of the earpieces and low-profile microphones they wore. He heard a click in his ear and froze, waiting for her to say something.
“I found him.”
He licked his lips and swallowed. “Where?”
“There’s a cabin ahead. I don’t see any vehicles but he’s outside talking to someone.” A slight pause. “His sister, perhaps.”
“Coming to you.”
Grateful he’d learned how to track and hunt growing up, he moved silently until he reached Serefina. She had just about blended in with the landscape. Lowering his body next to hers, he peered through his sight.
“He sure don’t look like much,” he uttered.
If it truly was Dillard Thurgood, he was a skinny unimpressive man. The terseness of Serefina told him she believed it to be him. Stringy brown hair and not much in the way of looks. The woman—Kelly Gordon, if she was Thurgood’s sister—was pretty enough, although on her face Taber could easily read strain. Her hair was a mass of curls and had been attempted to be controlled by a braid.
“I want to talk to his sister,” Serefina stated.
“What for?”
“I just do. Let’s move closer and see if we can find Forrest and Kline. Or at least where they may be being kept.”
“Slow and easy.”
They shared a look and he s
miled when she winked at him before slipping away, leaving him alone with guns and the urge to strip her of her clothes and slip between her firm brown thighs. He forced his attention back on the task before them and melted into the woods.
He watched the two by the cabin split up—the man went back inside, and the woman walked off down a path, only to vanish from view.
“She’s leaving,” he said, unsure of where Serefina was at the precise moment.
“I’ve got her.” A small pause. “Be careful.”
“Worried about me?”
“I’m not answering that.”
He chuckled softly. “Fine. But you be careful as well, and yes, I am worried about you.”
There was no response but he didn’t expect one. They were on recon. Searching for the house, and now that they found it, they needed to find the missing agents. As he prowled closer to the house, he hoped Serefina was okay.
Chapter Nine
Serefina checked and double-checked the area before slipping out from the cover and behind the woman. Hand clamped over her mouth, she whispered, “Shhh. Not a word, Kelly. I’m not here to hurt you.”
The woman stiffened before she relaxed and nodded. Cautiously, Serefina removed her hand. Kelly turned and looked at Serefina. Her blue-green eyes full of confusion.
“What are you doing here? How did you find this place?” she questioned in a rush, her voice raspy like a smoker’s. “The deal was you leave my brother alone and I testify.”
“I’m not with the US Marshalls. I’m with ATF.”
The confusion grew. “ATF?”
“Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. I’m a federal agent.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you about your brother.”
Kelly’s gaze grew wary. “I’ve heard it before. My brother may not be an angel, but he’s all I have left in the world.”
“Your brother is a drug dealer, gun runner and a murderer.”
“No, he’s not.” Her expression was full of defiance and she punctuated her words with a firm shake of her head.
“I’ve seen it firsthand. And I’m sorry you don’t want to believe it, but I speak the truth.” Serefina was torn between the desire to shake Kelly until she realised the truth and feeling sorry for her that she refused to see her brother for what he truly was.
