Red Zone

by Sherri Hayes

  He roamed his hands all over her body. Sometimes they were soft and gentle, at other times strong and passionate. She gasped and all thought left her mind as his fingers disappeared between her legs.

  “Are you ready, beautiful?” he whispered against her lips. She nodded, and he slid inside her.

  Finally making love to Rebecca had Gage on a high unlike anything he’d ever experienced. It was even better than winning the playoff game the year before, and that had been amazing. This was mind-blowing. He’d always enjoyed sex, but it wasn’t really anything he thought about beyond that. With Rebecca, it was . . . different. She was different.

  As he moved inside her, he allowed himself to ride the wave of emotions coursing through him. The way her breasts grazed against his chest, his hands digging into the flesh of her hips. The feel of her riding him.

  He had no idea how long they stayed in that position, with her on top. The woman had stamina. She was driving him to his peak faster than he ever thought possible. Sure, they’d been dancing around each other for weeks, but that was all the more reason to make it last. He was exactly where he wanted to be. He didn’t want it to end anytime soon.

  Lifting her up, he lay her beside him on the bed, and crawled on top of her. She was breathing heavily from her exertion, her chest rising and falling rapidly. He couldn’t resist the urge to take one of her nipples in his mouth.

  She held tight to his head, holding him to her chest. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open. He could have stayed in that position all night.

  The thought of feasting on her body for the rest of the evening spurred him on as he switched his attention to her other breast. Once again, he could have her in his bed for much more than just sleeping. He could wake up with her, having made love to her as he’d dreamed about since the first day he’d laid eyes on her. Just the thought had his body responding with excitement. Rebecca rolled her hips, drawing his attention lower. Lifting her lower half off the bed, he gave her what she wanted and thrust back inside her.

  She appeared stunned by his abrupt movement but recovered quickly. Her hips rocked in time with his, as he moved his lips up her body until he captured her mouth again. The feel of her tongue darting enthusiastically into his mouth had him holding her tighter.

  Much to his dismay, the slight pause in their joining did nothing to stop the growing need for release building inside him. With every movement, every kiss, every touch, he drew closer. Hiking her legs higher on his back, he reached between them.

  Gage knew the moment he made contact. Her breath hitched, and her nails dug into his shoulders. Every little thing about her was driving him to the brink. He just needed to get her there first.

  Time seemed to stand still as Rebecca’s body stiffened, and her cry rang out, reverberating off the walls of his bedroom. Watching her find her release was a beautiful sight. Her cheeks flushed. Her hair splayed against his pillow.

  She opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. They were so full of emotion, so unclouded by the usual mask she wore. What he saw in their depths sent him over the edge he’d been teetering on as he reached his climax.

  Once his breathing began to return to normal, he eased himself down next to her. She turned her head to look at him, and he brushed several strands of hair from her face. There was something about Rebecca Carson. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but he knew it was something. She made his pulse race just thinking about her, and if what they’d just done was any indication, they were more than compatible sexually.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked, rolling onto her side.

  He smiled, still running his fingers along her temple, unable to break the connection just yet. “I was thinking about you. Us. I hope this wasn’t a one-time thing. I’m not sure once is enough for me.” He kept his voice light, playful. He didn’t want her to realize the seriousness of his thoughts.

  “Oh,” she said. “Um. Well . . .”

  He loved seeing her flustered.

  “No. It’s not a one-time thing. Not if you don’t want it to be.”

  “Good,” he said, leaning in to give her a soft kiss.

  Rebecca sighed. She placed her hand on his chest before gliding it up to the nape of his neck. With the additional leverage, she pulled herself closer. The movement reminded him that he needed to go clean up, and he reluctantly broke the kiss.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, giving her one last peck on the lips before climbing off the bed and walking into his bathroom.

  Cleaned up, he strolled back into the bedroom. She was lying on her back, gazing up at the ceiling. He took a moment to watch her without her knowledge. She truly was a beautiful woman. The way she cared about her sister. The way she put everything into her job. All those things were part of what made her who she was, and they all appealed to him.

  “Hey,” she said, catching him staring.

  “Hey.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked as he slipped into the bed.

  He pulled her back into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his hands up her side and down to her hip, feeling the soft skin as he thought of all the ways he could enjoy his time with her.

  “Everything’s great.” He kissed her forehead, hugging her closer.

  Something had begun to dawn on him. Rebecca was one of the most persistent people he’d ever met. He couldn’t imagine she’d give up until whoever it was had been caught. Once the stalker was no longer a threat, he had little doubt she would pack up her things and return to Knoxville. Return to her old life. Without him.

  Unable to hold her close enough, he rolled them over and kissed her. He needed to be with her, feel that connection with her again. No matter what he had told himself over the years, that no woman would ever get his heart, no woman would ever tie him down. He was beginning to realize that, just like everything else when it came to this woman, he wanted her to do just that.

  Chapter 22

  The sound of Rebecca’s phone buzzing roused her from sleep the following morning. Gage’s warm body was nestled up against her back, his breath fanning the nape of her neck. She was relaxed. The last thing she wanted to do was move.

  Sex with Gage had been amazing. While she’d always thought her previous sexual encounters were good, what she’d shared with Gage had put her other experiences to shame.

  Her phone buzzed again, and she reached for it. At some point, Gage had picked up their clothes and laid them on a bench at the foot of his bed. He’d removed her cell phone from her belt, and placed it on the nightstand next to her gun. Her gratitude to him for that small gesture increased. She wouldn’t have to leave his warm bed to answer her phone.

  Rebecca glanced at the caller ID but didn’t recognize the number.

  “Agent Carson.”

  “Good morning, sis.”

  Rebecca sat up quickly, rousing Gage from his slumber.

  “Megan.”

  She laughed.

  “Of course it’s me. Were you expecting a call from someone else?”

  “No,” Rebecca said, brushing the hair away from her face and trying to forget about the very naked man beside her who was intently watching her every move. “I was just expecting you to call last night, not this morning,” she said, noticing the sun was already peeking through the curtains. “What time is it anyway?”

  “Eight.” Gage’s voice drifted from behind her.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Megan asked, excited.

  Rebecca looked over her shoulder at Gage. “Um—”

  “I knew it! I’m so happy for you, Becca. So was it good?”

  She was suddenly awake. “I’m not going to tell you that.”

  Megan chuckled.

  Rebecca felt warm, so she knew she must have been blushing.

  “Fine, don’t tell me,” Megan said, clearly amused by her sister’s discomfort. “I just wanted to let you know that we made it to Indianapolis safe and sound. You’ll be happy to know that I have my own room next to
Chloe’s, and that Paul has been nothing but a gentleman since we arrived.”

  Rebecca sighed. “I just worry about you, you know. You’re always going to be my little sister.”

  “Becca, I know. And I like being your little sister, really I do, but I think this is going to be good for me.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Instead of worrying about me, maybe you should concentrate on that gorgeous hunk of man you have in bed with you. I’m sure he could use some attention.” Rebecca could almost see the smirk on her sister’s face.

  “I’m not—”

  “Bye, bye, sis.”

  “Megan?”

  Dead air greeted her and she realized Megan had hung up.

  Laying her cell back on the nightstand, Rebecca turned to face Gage. He was smiling.

  “You heard what she said, didn’t you?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  “And you agree with her, of course.”

  “Of course,” he said, moving to hover over her.

  “Didn’t you get enough last night?”

  His mouth grazed over hers with the slightest touch, and her lips began to tingle. “Not even close.”

  It was the last thing she thought about for a while.

  Hansen was supposed to come by with surveillance recordings at ten. It was only his impending arrival that got them out of bed. Gage wanted to share a shower with her, but she refused, insisting they would never make it out in time, and she didn’t want her partner showing up and finding her naked. She had no idea how Hansen would feel about what she was doing. It had to be unethical—she was supposed to be protecting Gage. Did that count since she wasn’t there in an official capacity? She wasn’t sure.

  She hurried through her shower and rushed downstairs, wanting to be there when Hansen walked through the door. Much to her disappointment, however, her partner was already there, sitting with Gage at the kitchen island, drinking a cup of coffee. He nodded, acknowledging her, then went back to his conversation with Gage. They were talking sports, of course.

  Walking over to the coffeepot, she found a mug sitting there on the counter waiting for her. She smiled. Gage must have taken it out of the cabinet and left it for her.

  As she poured her coffee and took a sip, she thought about the man with whom she’d just spent the night. He was such a contradiction. When she’d first met him, she’d wondered if he could take anything seriously. Then she’d seen him play, and her opinion began to change. The more she learned about him, the more she liked him. Not just that he was nice to look at, but that there was more to him than the ladies’ man she’d originally pegged him to be. He was sweet and considerate, fun and sexy, both in and out of the bedroom.

  Figuring she needed to change the direction of her thoughts before she made it glaringly obvious to Hansen just how they’d spent their night, she twisted around to face the men. Unfortunately, she ended up staring straight into Gage’s burning gaze. She flushed and felt that tingle in the pit of her stomach. How is that possible? She’d lost count of how many orgasms she’d had in the last twenty-four hours. After the first time, Gage had seemed to make it his mission for her to climax over and over again, until she was begging him to join her.

  “I think we may have gotten lucky,” Hansen said, pulling her from her thoughts. It was a good thing, too. Thinking about the night before wasn’t doing anything to help her current state.

  Gage broke eye contact with her and turned his attention to Hansen. “It’s about time.” His frustration with the situation came through loud and clear.

  Rebecca wasn’t sure how to take that. Of course he wanted to catch whoever was behind this, but that would also mean the end of their association. She wasn’t ready for that quite yet.

  “What did you find?” she asked, pushing that thought from her head. First and foremost, she needed to do her job. That was what was important. Whatever was or wasn’t going on with Gage had to take a backseat.

  Hansen opened his laptop, and she moved to stand behind him so she could see. His e-mail was already up on the screen. Clicking on the second one from the top, he opened the file attachment.

  “This one seems to have the best angle. I called and had a friend at the DMV run the license plate on the way over here. It’s a rental. The good news is the company should have a record of who rented the vehicle, and maybe even video.”

  “I want to go with you,” Gage said, standing.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Hansen spoke up before she’d been able to form the words. Gage was so eager, so determined. Sadness washed over her.

  “Why not? I don’t have practice today. No one is expecting me to be anywhere. Not to mention this is my life this sicko has been messing with.”

  Hansen looked at him calmly, but Rebecca saw a note of sympathy in his expression as well. “If whoever this is sees you tracking their footsteps, they may get scared and run.” Gage opened his mouth to say something, but Hansen cut him off. “I know that might sound like a good thing, but it’s not. Running now doesn’t mean they won’t come back at a later date. Right now, you have Carson and me watching your back. You need to use your advantage.”

  Gage looked to her, and she nodded.

  He sat back down, defeated.

  “Fine. Do what you need to do. Let’s just finish this.”

  Hansen didn’t stay long after that. He downed the rest of his coffee, backed up his laptop, and said a hasty good-bye.

  For some reason, Gage was irritated. Okay, he knew why he was irritated. If not for his stalker, he would have spent the entire morning and probably afternoon in bed with Rebecca. But no, he’d had to get out of his nice, warm, very occupied bed to get dressed, go downstairs to his kitchen, and hear Hansen tell him he had to sit on his hands. The whole situation was grating on his nerves.

  Rebecca touched his arm, startling him. He spun around, and pinned her to the refrigerator. She gasped in shock.

  “Gage?”

  His answer was to pick her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She threw her arms around his neck, meeting his seeking mouth with equal force.

  Her response to his kiss fueled his need to take her again. He didn’t think he’d make it up to his bedroom, though, so he carried her to the nearest usable flat surface. The dining room table.

  He laid her down and immediately began removing clothing. Gage couldn’t remember ever having felt so frantic for a woman before, but as he’d already figured out, everything was different with Rebecca. He needed her naked and him buried deep inside her.

  To his great joy, she appeared to feel the same way. She grabbed blindly at his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the floor as he divested her of her own shirt. Their pants soon followed, and at that moment, he was extremely grateful to his brothers for drilling into his head the importance of always carrying a condom with him. He sheathed himself in protection and pressed forward, feeling as if he’d found peace and chaos at the same time.

  Their joining was fast and frantic, even more so than their first time. He put all the desperation he felt into every action as he made love to her. He needed her to feel the depth of emotion he did coursing through him, needed that connection with her.

  They both fell over the edge not far apart, her nails leaving painful streaks down his back. He gratefully took everything she gave him, and wanted more. He never wanted to let this woman go.

  Their breathing was ragged. He looked down at her, sweat beading on her forehead, her face relaxed in its post-orgasmic glow, and it hit him like a freight train. He loved her.

  “What?” she asked, touching his face with her hand.

  He kissed her palm.

  “Nothing.”

  He may have realized he loved her, but he wasn’t quite ready for her to know that. There was no telling how she’d react to that kind of declaration.

  “I think we may need another shower.” He ran a single finger across her forehead, down her face and neck. Her body
clenched in reaction, which only made his smile wider.

  “I think you may be right,” she said.

  He placed a quick kiss on her lips before stepping back, separating them. Helping her up, he excused himself, disappearing into the half-bathroom off the kitchen. When he returned, Rebecca had put her shirt back on and was holding her jeans. “I thought we were taking a shower.”

  She stared at him, eyes wide.

  “What?” he asked.

  Not giving her time to respond, he circled his arms around her waist, twirling her around. He grabbed her ass, pulling her up against his lower half, reminding her of what they’d shared just a few minutes before.

  “I thought maybe we could share the shower this time, since there shouldn’t be any more distractions for a while.” He grazed her neck with his teeth to emphasize his point. She responded by tilting her head back, giving him better access. He was quick to take advantage.

  “Shower?” he asked again.

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded, slipping her fingers into his hair.

  Gage didn’t bother picking up their clothes. He left them scattered on his dining room floor, and carried Rebecca back upstairs to his bathroom. No matter what else happened between them, he planned to make their shower a memorable one.

  Chapter 23

  Hansen walked into the rental car agency where the vehicle that had been following Carson and Daniels was registered. It was located near the Nashville airport. The moment he’d realized where the address would take him, he’d wondered if it would only be a stop on his journey. In his experience, most rental companies used their airport location as the main hub. They registered all or most of their vehicles out of that location and then shuffled them around as needed. Until he spoke with them, there was no telling from which location the car had actually been rented.

  Being that it was early on a Monday afternoon, there was no one else in the place except him and two employees. One was behind the small desk. The other was over at the coffee machine. They both glanced up when they heard him enter.