His Cherished Love (Cuffs and Spurs Book 8)

by Anya Summers

  “We could have stuck with my original plan to drive up to Yellowstone and picnic there,” he remarked.

  She glanced outside at the sheets of rain falling, interspersed with lightning. “Yeah, this is better.”

  “Hungry?”

  “Yes. Starved, actually. I’m usually not this hungry.” The consternation on her face made him want to cuddle her. Didn’t she realize that marathon sex tended to make one ravenous?

  “We burned a ton of calories over the last few nights. It makes sense that you would be on the peckish side.”

  She blushed—even in the candlelight he noticed the flush in her cheeks. Then he turned to the food on the table, picking up one of the plates.

  There were bacon-wrapped dates, stuffed with goat’s cheese. Puff pastries. Cocktail shrimp. An entire meat and cheese board. Humus with freshly baked pita bread. Small finger deli sandwiches. Potato salad. Chocolate covered strawberries. And some type of fruit pizza. Jack loaded the plate for Rayna and handed it to her before fixing his own.

  They sat companionably side by side and ate.

  “Oh my god, this stuff is awesome. Emily is such a good cook,” Rayna exclaimed and took a drink of the wine.

  “She is. Whenever we can persuade Mason to convince her to cook for our poker nights, we do.”

  “Yeah, I understand. Why do you think we started doing a girls’ night at their place? So that Emily will cook. We all bring stuff, but everyone knows that Emily’s cooking puts anything else on the table to shame.”

  “So you guys called dibs on her cooking, is that it?”

  “Pretty much.” She moaned around a bite. And Jack had to admit, Emily’s food was some of the best he had ever had.

  Rayna’s little moans around bites stirred him, his staff twitched with each one. Then again, she always got him hard, simply by being near him. He wanted her.

  “How much longer do you have on medical leave?” she asked.

  Guilt battered him. While he might still have a few pangs of pain, he was, for the most part, healed and back at work. It was just that his work was sitting on the floor in his living room, a small smile playing around her lush lips. Her shoes off, she had her legs stretched out in front of her.

  “Not sure,” he lied. “I have to be cleared by my doctor.”

  “Sounds to me like you’re getting antsy, just waiting to go back.”

  “That’s pretty accurate. But a lot of police work is fairly dull and boring, with a smattering of spine-tingling, life defying moments tossed in to keep things interesting.”

  She tilted her head as she stared at him. “But you love doing it?”

  “Yeah. I like knowing that I help people seek justice. That I keep people from driving drunk and accidentally killing someone. That maybe I might save… forget it.” He shook his head.

  “Someone like your mom?”

  “Yeah.”

  Rayna swallowed a long draught of her wine, finishing off what was in the glass. She placed the glass and her plate on the nearby coffee table. Then she turned and crawled over to him. It was the sexiest damn thing he had ever witnessed. His gut clenched. She rose up and straddled his thighs, which shoved the material of her dress up.

  His hands automatically gripped her hips.

  She brushed her mouth against his, her eyes open and on him.

  “Want something?” he murmured.

  A tiny grin turned up the corners of her mouth. “I plan on taking advantage of you tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Is that right?” He was so on board. He didn’t even mind that she was taking charge. In fact, it was a big fucking turn-on that she wasn’t shy about her desires or intentions. He put his wine glass on the coffee table with his plate, the food and wine forgotten with the siren in his lap.

  She rocked her hips over his jean-clad ones and he hissed, his dick straining against the confines of his pants. She leaned forward, nipped his ear, and whispered in a throaty voice, “That’s right.”

  He groaned. “You have my permission to do whatever you want.”

  “That’s a lot of leeway.”

  “I’m yours to command.” He would give her this night. She’d entered the world of BDSM with such bravery, he could think of no better reward than giving her free rein tonight.

  She pressed her lips over his, her tongue whispering along the seam of his mouth. He opened for her, letting her explore him. It was fucking hot as hell. She kissed him, sucking his tongue into her mouth. He cupped her nape, returning her kiss with everything she made him feel until they were both breathing heavily.

  She nibbled on his lips and undid the buttons on his dress shirt, seeking his flesh beneath. Her capable hands caressed his chest, shoving the material off his shoulders while dueling her tongue with his. She growled in frustration and lifted her mouth from his.

  “Off. I want your clothes off,” she commanded.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He scooted her off his lap, tugged his shirt the rest of the way off his arms, then undid his belt and jeans and shimmied out of them.

  While he undressed, Rayna discarded her sexy dress and stood in a pair of black lace crotchless panties and a matching black lace bra. His cock had already been hard, but seeing her in nothing but strips of black lace damn near made him come out of his skin.

  Rayna grabbed a few of the lounge pillows and piled them at one end. “Lie on your back for me.”

  “Do I need to spread my thighs?” he teased.

  She gave him a sultry smirk. “I’ll let you know.”

  He did as she asked. The power was still out. The storm raged outside. The temperature had dropped with the storm. But inside, with nothing but candlelight, Rayna hovered over him like a seductive goddess.

  She straddled his waist and kissed him again. His hands went to her hips but she caught them. “No.” She pushed them back so that they were at his sides. “Keep your hands there.”

  She could be a switch. And apparently, given the right conditions, so could he. That was rather unexpected. But it was all Rayna. Any other woman, any other sub, wouldn’t even dream of taking charge this way, but she was enjoying herself.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

  Then Rayna explored his body in a way no other woman ever had, maybe because he’d never allowed another one to get close this way. She tested the muscles in his pecs, teased his nipples with her hands, and then sucked them with her mouth.

  Her tongue traced the lines of his belly and obliques. She placed open-mouthed kisses along his happy trail and ran her hands up and down his thighs.

  She traveled south until her face hovered over his dick. It strained, craving to feel her warmth wrapped around him. Her delicate fingers slipped around the base of his shaft and his eyes damn near rolled back inside his head. She laved her tongue over the crest, then circled the ridge with her tongue. She glanced up at him as she took him into her mouth. He clenched his fists. Her mouth on his dick was about as close to heaven as he would ever get.

  It was his turn to shake and quiver as she loved him. She played with his balls in her other hand, rolling them and gently squeezing. He was sweating, trying not to come and yet wanting to fuck her mouth until he filled it with his cum.

  Rayna’s face rose as she released his dick. She was panting. Her glorious chest heaved as she gulped in oxygen. She crawled up his body and rubbed her hips against his. Her moisture coated his cock. It drove him wild that she was this hot for him from sucking his cock.

  She undid her bra and flung it onto the nearby couch. Then she reached down and gripped his firm shaft.

  “Rayna,” he groaned.

  She stilled, her face dark with desire. She panted, then bore down and, with a single thrust, took his length inside. Rayna bareback. Fuck!

  It never diminished how awesome it was to feel her without that thin latex separating them. She felt like heaven. He wasn’t going to last long. Her hands splayed over his chest as she rocked her hips. Slowly at first, drawing out the
sensation of her surrounding him completely. But then her desire began to overshadow her need to make their lovemaking last.

  They had all night, as far as he was concerned. She was staying here with him. It was where she belonged.

  But Rayna began to truly ride him, writhing her hips, her breaths coming in short, moaned gasps. Over and over, she canted her hips. He loved watching his cock spear her pretty pussy. The way his shaft glistened from her cream on each withdrawal.

  She leaned back and put her hands on his thighs, her head tossed back in ecstasy as she screwed his brains into the carpet below. He’d never seen anything more beautiful than Rayna in that moment. Any misgivings he might have still held about getting into a relationship fell away and broke along the shoreline.

  It didn’t matter how things played out with the case. She would be angry, he had no doubt, but he would do everything in his power to make it up to her. And he realized the game had changed for him, more than even he had realized at first.

  She was his. If he had to move heaven and hell to make that happen, he would. This woman was everything. And she made him want things, things he had never imagined he would crave. His child in her belly and at her breast. His ring on her finger and his collar on her neck.

  He wanted it all.

  “Jack. Touch me. Please,” she moaned.

  He took that as his cue. He tugged her down so that her chest was against his and then rolled her onto her back, still embedded deep inside her pussy. He wrapped her legs around his waist and held her wrists above her head as he pounded his cock inside her. Their gazes met. The air around them grew heavy with anticipation. Like the storm that raged outside, the storm inside was building.

  Over and over, he rammed his shaft in her clenching sheath. Rayna moaned, her mouth open, her eyelids heavy. Her pussy spasmed around his plunging cock. It was all his body needed. It began at the base of his spine and traveled the length of his cock, making it jerk and swell.

  “Fuck!” he roared as his cum flooded her pussy. His cock juddered. He quaked against her. He laid his head in the crook of her neck and pulled her even closer. This woman was everything he never knew he wanted, and everything he had always needed.

  There was no going back for him. There was only one path forward. He was resolute in following it.

  “Jack,” Rayna murmured against his neck. Her lips caused a cascade of shivers down his spine.

  “Hmm?” was the best he could do considering he was coming to realize how enamored he was of the woman in his arms.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have gotten one of Emily’s desserts, did you?”

  “I wasn’t enough of a dessert?” he teased and lifted his head up to stare down at her.

  “I didn’t say that. I was more thinking I could use the sugar rush and glucose for round two.” She looked like the cat who had not only eaten the canary but had licked up all the cream too.

  “I like the way you think. She did send me on my way with one of her tortes and whipped cream for the topping. Although I have better uses for the whipped cream. Unless, of course, you have your heart set on the chocolate torte.”

  She shook her head. “I happen to love whipped cream.”

  A Cheshire Cat grin spread over his face. “Stay right here. It will only take me a minute to get it from the fridge.”

  Jack padded over to the fridge in the candlelight and retrieved the whipped cream, and couldn’t stop the warmth, the joy that spread through him when he rejoined her in the living room.

  He had never imagined he could feel this way. And proceeded to show her just how much fun whipped cream could be.

  Chapter 19

  Monday dawned bright and sunny with nary a cloud in the sky. The previous night’s storm had cleared the air. Everything was crisp and fresh. The rain-soaked vegetation gleamed, turning the grass a more verdant green.

  Jack entered the station and headed toward the conference room. Agent Carson was already present and on the phone. There was a tight grimace on his face as Jack entered the room. Moments later they were joined by the chief and his partner, Mitch. Jack nodded acknowledgement to Mitch and the chief.

  Rayna was at the dinner with Pearson and Connors there to watch her. Although, Jack would feel better if she were with him. Especially after last night. His entire being was engaged, and he wouldn’t rest until he knew she was safe.

  Carson ended his call and addressed them. “We got Travino on traffic cam a half dozen times over the weekend. He’s here, and he will strike at some point.”

  “What about the car image I sent you? Anything on that?” Jack asked.

  “Sadly, no. I have no doubt it was him. It fits his pattern: the subtle stalking. My concern is that because he’s not showing us his hand, we aren’t going to be ready when he strikes.”

  Jack unloaded his fury and his fear on Agent Carson. “I thought you were the expert on this guy? This entire plan was your fucking idea. Now you’re telling me that we’re going to lose?”

  “Settle down, Detective,” the chief reprimanded him.

  Jack clenched his fists, wanting to hit something and release some of his pent-up fury. He refused to believe there wasn’t more they could do to ensure Rayna’s safety.

  “He has a right to his anger, Chief Sheffield. And yes, this was my task force. We do know him, better than anyone. The bastard has also proven throughout the years to be wholly unpredictable—and extremely difficult to track because of it. Why the hell do you think we haven’t picked him up before now? Son of a bitch is as wily as they come.”

  “Or you need a better team. If this plan heads south, she dies. That’s unacceptable. It would be better to relocate her than to continue this charade. It’s time we tell her. It’s her life, she deserves to know.” Jack wasn’t going to admit how damn guilty he felt over the lies he was telling her. Or what she had come to mean to him. It put his objectivity on this case in the gutter.

  But he would be damned if he allowed them to remove him from it. He would guard her into the fires of hell if need be.

  Agent Carson glowered, putting his hands on his hips. “No. That’s out of the question. You don’t know her like I do.”

  “That’s debatable. I’ve come to know her well. She can handle it as long as she knows we have her back, which we do. She’s a hell of a lot stronger and more level-headed than you give her credit for. If you’re using her as bait to catch the bastard, she deserves to know,” Jack argued.

  “No. And if you say anything on that account, I will have you yanked from the case and charged with obstruction. Now, my team is using the full resources of the Bureau to catch this bastard. If you have nothing more than a few images of a possible car, we are done here. I want you and your team to continue doing exactly what you currently have been. We need to be patient,” Agent Carson explained.

  Mitch added, “I haven’t seen that vehicle or any others slowing in front of Miss Thompson’s place. Do we have a list of all the tenants on that street? It wouldn’t be a hard thing for someone with the wherewithal to lease one of the places on that road, which would give them a prime position from which to spy on her—and on us. Especially if they are aware that we’ve caught their scent.”

  Carson looked at Mitch, then replied, “Son of a bitch.” He dialed someone on his phone and started barking orders.

  Jack couldn’t fault Carson for not thinking of that. He hadn’t considered it either. But the implications of that scenario, of Travino living in one of the nearby townhomes, of having a bird’s eye vantage point, made him sick. He wanted to rush out and bang on all the doors on the street, checking for the boogeyman.

  Carson ended his call. “We should know in the next few days whether that’s the case. Good work, Detective Martin. If that’s all, I have some leads I need to check up on myself.”

  “Let me come with you,” Jack said.

  Carson looked at him. “Your job, Detective, is to watch Miss Thompson and report any suspicious activity around
her.”

  “Clearly you need help on this case if one of our team helps your task force out. Both Detective Pearson and Connors are at the diner. She will be well protected for the next few hours.”

  “Be that as it may, I can’t take you with me. It’s Bureau business. Chief, if you would apprise me of any new developments. Detective Stone, I’m watching you. Keep her safe. That is your only job.” Then Carson departed.

  Chief Sheffield glared Jack’s way. “Stone, I expect better from you.”

  “He’s playing jurisdiction on this one, Chief, instead of putting Miss Thompson’s safety above all else.”

  “Be that as it may, it is the Bureau’s case. Agent Carson is correct in that your job is to see to the witness’s safety and report suspicious activity. That’s it. I put you on this case—suggested you for it—because I thought it would be a good case to ease yourself back into after your injury. I need to know now if I was wrong. Did you forget how to take orders while you were on medical leave?”

  Jack corralled his temper and replied in a clipped voice, “No. But—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence, Detective. You have your orders and I expect you to follow them,” Chief Sheffield commanded imperiously.

  Jack angrily jerked his head in agreement. He couldn’t reply without letting his fury seep into his words so he kept his mouth shut. Otherwise, Chief Sheffield would remove him from the case. He wouldn’t leave Rayna’s life in another’s hands.

  “Good work, Detective Martin,” Sheffield said, and vacated the conference room without a backward glance.

  Jack seethed and turned toward his partner. Mitch had his hands in his pockets and gave him a knowing stare. Jack snapped, “If you have something to add, just say it.”

  “They saw you with her, Jack. On the surveillance footage. You’re lucky they didn’t yank you off the case this morning. You know I love you like a brother, but it worries me that you’ve lost your impartiality on this case. Emotions cloud our judgement, and you will get her killed if you’re not careful.”

  Jack blew out an angry breath and glanced at the floor. They knew he was sleeping with the witness. No wonder Carson had been such an ass. And even though Carson had protested about caring about Rayna, Jack did wonder if there was more there. Hell, it had taken him hardly any time to fall for her.