by Tina Donahue
Drawn back to the sofas, Lea imagined their scent matching Jake’s, the supple leather caressing her skin, his heated body on top of hers, confining, demanding, his mouth and hands exploring, while Toby watched or participated.
Lea’s body went unsteady with arousal, washing away her sorrow and fear. She encouraged the pleasant sensations, not wanting to think about the coming days, just now. Here with these men, in a house that was decidedly secluded and breathtakingly beautiful. “What is this place? Does the Marshals Service own it?”
Were hidden cameras monitoring them? Is that what the government did to people they protected, making certain those individuals followed the rules and didn’t put themselves or anyone else at risk?
Neither Jake nor Toby answered.
“Another secret I can’t know?” Lea asked.
“It belonged to my mother,” Toby said.
Surprised, she noted the bronze artwork displayed in lighted nooks on either side of the fireplace. The Southwestern-style pieces glinted beneath all the lights and appeared as outrageously expensive as everything else in here.
“Who owns it now?” Lea asked.
Jake withdrew his arm from her.
The loss registered immediately. She wondered if he’d back away, putting more distance between them.
He did not. He seemed comfortable with their proximity, as though they were already more to each other than a federal officer and a potential victim…they were a man and a woman irresistibly attracted to each other.
Lea sensed his lust. She recognized her own.
Toby’s frown said he wasn’t pleased. With his glare on Jake, he answered her question. “I inherited it from my mother.”
Despite his stoic tone, Lea heard a hint of melancholy. She wondered what had made him so cautious, reluctant to break the rules and simply do what he wanted, as Jake seemed to. “I’m sorry. When did you lose her?”
Tossing his jacket on the sofa nearest him, Toby backed away, his movements edgy, like a caged animal or a man who didn’t appreciate personal questions.
Lea could see he was uncomfortable with temptation.
He put more distance between them. The chandeliers’ lights gleamed dully off his leather shoulder holster and the butt of his gun. Warm air poured from the vents in the ceiling, making the room almost too hot. At least for him.
Beads of perspiration shone on his temples.
“Two years ago,” he said at last, turning toward the dining room visible through a wide doorway.
Past the long roughhewn table and eight chairs, Lea saw another doorway leading into the kitchen. Copper appliances shone beneath the overhead lights.
“Would you like something to eat or drink?” Toby asked.
She wanted him and Jake. Their heat enveloping her, their strong bodies demanding everything she had, delivering her to pleasure and a dreamless sleep.
When she didn’t respond, Toby glanced over.
He seemed so lonely, the same as her and no different from Jake. Lea had sensed that unwanted solitude in him too. She wanted to offer her hand to Toby as she had outside, but did not. He wasn’t Jake. He wouldn’t come to her immediately.
But he would come. She’d make certain of it.
As though he’d read her thoughts or sensed her challenge, something passed over his face. Caution? Lust? A bit of both?
Heat curled in Lea’s belly at his sudden intensity.
It didn’t last. “What do you want from the kitchen?” he asked.
“A beer. If you have it.”
He spoke to Jake. “You and I will stay down here. Lea can take her drink up to one of the bedrooms on the second floor.”
“No,” she said immediately, determined to have this one night and the few others they were giving her. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Toby frowned. “It’s just upstairs.”
“Please,” she said to Jake.
Unlike Toby, he didn’t try to hide his feelings. Desire, naked and unashamed, sharpened his rugged features. “It’s all right. You can stay down here.”
“She should go upstairs,” Toby insisted.
Jake’s expression darkened. He spoke in a slow, even tone. “She said she doesn’t want to.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants,” Toby argued.
“Yes, I do,” Lea said, going to him. “And so do you.”
Color crept past his shirt collar and up his neck, flooding his face.
Not waiting for his denial, Lea pulled the elastic band from her ponytail, releasing it. Lifting her hands, she drove her fingers through her hair, shaking it out, letting it tumble over her shoulders.
Toby’s brows drew together. He struggled for a moment, then stared at the thick tresses resting on the swell of her breasts.
She didn’t stop. She wouldn’t until she got the intimacy she craved, even if it was only physical. In her world, that was a lot. And by God, she’d have it. Grabbing the hem of her tee, Lea pulled the garment off, flinging it aside.
Toby followed its journey for a moment, as though he couldn’t believe what she’d done. And then he stared at her breasts, confined by icy blue satin and lace. “Don’t,” he ordered, choking out the word.
Softly, she coaxed, “Why not? If you’re worried about me getting pregnant, it’s not going to happen. I’m well protected. I wouldn’t do to a kid what was done to me. I don’t sleep around either, if that’s what you’re thinking. So you don’t have to worry about getting anything from—”
He interrupted, “I never said—I never thought…” His words trailed off.
“From the moment I saw you and Jake at The Second Circle, I wanted you both,” she said, then glanced over at Jake. “And you wanted me, don’t deny it.”
Jake did not. Stark passion transformed his features, making him look as uncivilized as he had outside.
“We’re here to protect you,” Toby insisted.
With his unyielding answer, Lea spoke quietly, “I need more than your protection. I don’t want to think about the coming days when I’m alone again, all right? I’ve had a lifetime of that. I’ll have nothing but it in the future. Tonight, right now, I need the comfort of someone who wants me as badly as I want him. Are you going to give that to me or not?”
His jaw tightened. Red blotches darkened his tanned forehead and cheeks.
“Have it your way,” Lea said, then went to Jake. Standing before him, she unhooked her bra and pulled it off, dropping it on the floor at his feet.
He didn’t bother to look at the discarded garment. His full attention was on her naked breasts.
As she had during her performance, Lea licked her forefinger, running the moisture over her nipples, constricting the areolas even more.
Jake pulled in a strained breath.
Encouraging his response, Lea arched her back, displaying herself.
“How about you?” she asked, running her fingers down the buttons on his shirt, stopping just short of the meaty bulge behind his fly. “Are you man enough to give me what we both want?”
She’d meant her ultimatum to provoke and entice.
It worked.
On a barely restrained growl, Jake moved into her. Cupping Lea’s face in his palms, he tilted her head so she’d have no option but to look at him, to see what he desired.
Her lids fluttered at his thumbs stroking her cheeks, so downy they made thinking impossible. She breathed shallowly, sighing out her air. He liked that. He demanded her, knowing how crazy this was, but not caring about propriety or rules any more than she did.
In a few days, they’d never see each other again. They’d have nothing more than memories when Jake would have liked more. Her background was as fucked up as his, her future as incomplete. Together they might have been able to repair the damage, if not for Cubrero.
Intolerable hatred flared in Jake, shaking him to his core. He wanted to tear the prick apart with his bare hands, to hammer him with his fists until Cubrero screamed for mercy, which Jake wo
uldn’t give. For what Cubrero planned to do to Lea, how he’d already screwed her future, he would pay.
Not tonight though. Nor tomorrow. But he would suffer. Jake was going to make certain of it.
Not wanting to frighten Lea with his fury, Jake curbed his emotions and edged even closer, his thighs touching hers.
She sagged against him.
Toby snapped, “Jake.”
He ignored the man.
“Dammit, Jake.”
“I’m not stopping,” he said to his partner as his focus remained on Lea, her obvious yearning, the drugged look already in her eyes. “Do whatever the hell you want, but this is going to happen.”
At his promise, Lea’s expression grew even more submissive, telling him she’d do all that he demanded, denying him nothing.
Swearing beneath his breath, Toby strode to the fireplace, smacking the heel of his hand against the mantel.
Lea pressed into Jake with the noise. She whispered, “Will he watch?”
Jake nodded, knowing Toby better than the man knew himself.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“No.” Slipping his hand to the back of her head, Jake drove his fingers through her thick mane, keeping her still.
Imprisoned, she parted her lips, her breathing ragged.
Not good enough. Jake wanted her breathless, limp with arousal, crazy with desire. The real deal, not the performance she’d put on at the club. For him, there’d be no pretending, just naked, irresistible need.
Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers, tempting and teasing, proving in this act, and for the rest of the night, he’d command and she’d submit. Whenever he wanted. Wherever he wanted. At his pace, not hers.
On a throaty moan, Lea ran her hands up his back, fisting his shirt in her fingers, tugging the fabric, wordlessly telling him she wanted more.
In time. For now, Jake drew the tip of his tongue across the seam of her mouth.
Whimpering, she parted her lips, inviting him inside.
Not yet.
His free hand went to her achingly soft breast, covering it, owning it, his thumb rubbing her nipple. The nub was so hot and hard, so incredibly female, he couldn’t pull in enough air.
Mercilessly, Lea ground her cunt into him, taunting his cock, hardened to the point of pain.
Making a noise that sounded more animal than human, he tightened his fingers on her scalp and thrust his tongue into her mouth, filling her fully. Her intense heat, the sheer pleasure of being inside her, caught Jake off guard, making his thoughts spin, causing his knees to sink.
He locked them. Dropping his hand to her waist, he wrapped his arm tightly around her so Lea couldn’t get away from him.
She didn’t try. Her nipples poked his chest, her breasts pushed into him, reminding Jake of their size and weight.
With his hand on her back, he forced her body even closer.
She made primitive noises that matched his, their kiss sloppy, impassioned, deep.
Exactly what every man lived for. Even Toby. Jake sensed his partner watching him and Lea. No doubt frowning.
Too fucking bad. Nothing short of Toby’s gun to Jake’s temple would stop this.
Angling his mouth for greater penetration, Jake swept his tongue over Lea’s, liking how soft it was, how good she tasted. Who the fuck needed food or booze when this was available? On a low, needy groan, Jake kissed her even harder, with less finesse than he would have liked. He was back to being that kid on the reservation, reckless with passion, wanting what he’d been denied for too long. Afraid it wouldn’t last.
It wouldn’t.
The thought encouraged Jake to lose himself in Lea’s scent—musky, yet fresh, with a hint of melon—to enjoy having her body against his. Her ripe curves were the stuff of men’s wet dreams, her height expected, but she was also narrow, decidedly delicate, and here he was behaving like a fucking bruiser.
He gentled his kiss and eased his hold on her.
At the change in his behavior, Lea paused, no longer sucking his tongue. In the next moment, she dug her nails into his back and forced him from her mouth so she could fill him with her tongue instead.
Maybe she wasn’t so delicate after all.
He really liked that.
Holding her as tightly as he wanted, proving his strength, Jake suckled her even deeper and squeezed her breast, using her with a right she’d given him. Hell, she’d practically dared him not to do this.
He’d accepted and crossed that particular line. There was no turning back now. He wanted far, far more. Every fucking thing, not just a damn kiss.
Pulling his mouth from Lea’s, Jake looked down at her.
Long lashes rested on her cheeks, nicely rosy from his passion. Her bruised lips were parted and damp.
He waited as she forced her lids to open. She blinked slowly as though trying to focus.
Proud of what he’d accomplished with her, Jake grinned.
Toby adjusted his weight, his shoes tapping the floor.
Lea didn’t appear to notice, or if she did, she wasn’t letting on. Running her fingers down the buttons on his shirt, she breathed, “Take it off.”
He never got the chance. Lea grabbed his shirt and tugged so hard, the fabric ripped. Buttons flew everywhere, one of them striking his chin.
Jake lifted his brows.
“Sorry,” she said, sounding unrepentant as she planted her palms on his torso.
He swallowed convulsively at the heat of her hands, the way her fingers stroked his flesh as she worked her way up to his pecs.
She cupped his muscles, kneading them as he had fondled her, her thumbs dragging over his nipples.
Jesus. What she was doing sent a surge of heat to his cock, thickening it even more, making the fucker really hurt.
“More,” she insisted, sounding as if she’d reached the end of her patience.
And he hadn’t?
Before Jake could reclaim control of the act, Lea slipped her hands beneath the top of his shirt, dragging it over his shoulders, stopping at his left biceps.
Her already sultry expression grew downright wanton, her delicate nostrils flaring slightly as she stared at his tattoo. A black tribal band of stylized figures curved in all directions and ended in sharpened points.
She spoke on a sigh, “Wow.”
He grinned. Stupidly, he suspected, and didn’t care. “You like?”
“Oh yeah.” She ran her tongue over its length.
Jake nearly choked on his swallow. Shivering at the feel of her hot, wet tongue, he jerked at what she did next. “Hey.”
Paying him no heed, Lea bit his arm again. It wasn’t exactly painful, but certainly unexpected.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“You don’t know?”
He arched a brow at her sass. “You break skin and you’re going to regret it.”
“That right?” She gave him a defiant look, then turned back to his arm and nipped him again.
Sensing what game she wanted to play, Jake intended to give it to her—just as soon as he could move freely. He twisted his other arm, trying to pull it through the sleeve. The damn thing fought him.
Lea made a contented sound, her teeth continuing to scrape him.
Screw that. Working the shirt back up to his shoulder, Jake wrapped his arm around her waist, hauling her away from his biceps and into his chest.
With slow deliberation, she lifted her face to his. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t know?” With his free hand, he swatted her ass.
Lea’s lids fluttered. Her words hushed out on a sigh. “Gonna spank me?”
“If you deserve it, I sure as fuck will.”
Undeterred, she twisted her torso to get back at his arm. Smiling inwardly, Jake swatted her again, harder this time, the crack mingling with the tap of footfalls.
In his peripheral vision, Jake saw Toby moving from the mantel to stand behind one of the chairs, his fingers gripping the leather,
no doubt to keep him from advancing further.
Lea turned at the sound, not quite looking at Toby, but not ignoring him either. More color flooded her face, making it even rosier.
“You want me to obey,” she murmured to Jake, her eyes hooded.
“I expect it,” he said.
She seemed to wilt in his arms, her submission more complete than Jake would have anticipated or hoped.
“Yes, sir,” she breathed, pressing her mouth to his throat, flicking her tongue over his skin.
The top of his head tingled, his hair practically standing on end. Losing all of his breath on a hard sigh, Jake had to tighten his legs to keep from staggering back.
Lea continued to suckle, sliding her hands to either side of his torso, pushing against his arm, clearly wanting Jake to loosen his grip.
He had no choice. Every part of him—except for his persistently hard cock—had gone limp at the first sweep of her tongue.
She used it well as she trailed wet, open-mouthed kisses on his pecs and down his torso, causing his muscles to dance and his skin to burn.
Mouth hanging open, Jake gulped air.
On her knees, Lea gripped his ass in her hands, keeping him still as she speared her tongue into his navel.
He groaned. Not like the man he was, but as the kid he used to be, unable to control his spiraling lust.
Lea encouraged it, lapping the dark line of hair beneath his navel, slipping his jeans’ button through its hole. Despite his harsh breathing, Jake still heard the metal rasp of her lowering his fly.
Somehow, the sound reminded him of his gun. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about it.
“Wait,” he said.
Lea’s hands stalled on him. “No. Why?”
He heard her caution and the disappointment beneath it. Before it really bummed her, he explained, “My gun. I need to take it off.” Removing his waistband’s side holster, he looked for the best place to put it, while also ignoring Toby and what he sensed was the man’s hard frown.
Selecting the chair nearest him, Jake placed his holstered gun and his watch on it, then returned to Lea.
She stared at his weapon.
“Does it frighten you?” Jake asked.
