by Lori Foster
“Leese,” she groaned, her hips shifting sharply, trying to follow the touch.
He gave in to the need and pressed his face to her, breathing deeply of her musk scent, stroking his tongue into her. He didn’t think about seducing her, but instead, for the next few minutes, he just took what he needed.
It must have been enough, because as he drew in her clitoris, rasping with his tongue, sucking softly, she stiffened beneath him, tangled her fingers in his hair, and arched hard, crying out as she came.
CHAPTER TWELVE
WHEN LEESE LIFTED HER, Cat barely managed to put her arms around his neck. Every part of her felt liquid. And hot. And a deep throbbing remained in her blood, a pulse beat of incredible pleasure.
After a slow inhale, she murmured, “Where are you taking me?”
“The bedroom.” His incendiary gaze bore into hers. “I need you naked.”
“Yeah.” She let out a shuddering breath. “I need that too.”
His hard mouth tipped in a predatory smile.
“Um... I mean...” It was difficult to think around the residual pleasure. “I’d like us both to get naked.”
“Works for me.” He entered the master bedroom and lowered her to the bed.
Before she could think, he had her jeans tugged off completely, taking her panties at the same time and leaving her utterly bare. That might have been a little unsettling, except that he stepped back and, keeping his gaze on her body, unbuckled a thick black belt.
With her heart beating harder, she came up to her elbows to watch.
Reaching toward the small of his back with one hand, Leese caught a belt holster as he pulled the belt free.
He’d been packing? Good grief. She nodded at the heavy Glock he set on the nightstand. “Do you carry that always?”
“Yes.” After toeing off his shoes and kicking them aside, he lifted a foot to the bed, pulled up one pant leg and opened an ankle holster too.
Her eyes rounded. “Always?”
He stared at her breasts. “Always.” The smaller revolver joined the Glock on the nightstand.
A hundred questions vied for priority. But Leese stepped back, eased down the zipper on his jeans and stripped them away.
Cat forgot how to breathe.
The fact that he tossed the pants aside rather than fold them, as was his norm, showed the level of his interest. Leese was a neat freak, but his jeans had just hit the wall and slid to a pile in the corner.
After scouring her hungry gaze over him top to toes, she slowed and looked again, this time taking it all in.
She started with his large feet, currently braced apart, then let her attention crawl up to his strong, hairy calves. Muscles roped the length of his thighs, tapering in to narrower hips, and an impressive erection. Her palms tingled with the need to touch.
“Catalina...”
“Shh.” She took in those shredded abs, the firm pecs and wide shoulders. “You’re incredible.” She’d never before known a man built like him, much less had the opportunity to see such a man naked.
There was so much to appreciate that it took her a second to return to his jutting erection.
Everything on Leese was proportionate and hard, especially that part of him. Unlike a bulky bodybuilder, his muscles were flexible, made for power, not display.
But wow, what a nice picture he made.
There was no mistaking that he wanted her—probably not as much as she wanted him, but she didn’t mind that.
She licked dry lips. “You’re the most impressive man I’ve ever seen.”
Smile strained, he touched her calf, drifted his fingers up to her knee and lightly pressed, urging her legs to part again. “I’m glad you think so, because I’ve been craving you since we met.”
She’d never really been insecure, or a woman who needed compliments. But she heard herself ask, “Do I measure up?”
“You’re hotter than even my imagination.” His gaze met hers for one searing moment. “And I imagined you naked a lot.”
When his fingers teased higher, she caught her breath. “I’m average.”
“There’s nothing average about you.” He stroked over her. “You’re small and soft and, God, Cat, I’m dying to get inside you.”
Her toes curled. “Do you have protection?” She quickly added, “And I don’t mean weapons.”
“Yeah.” Buck-ass and glorious, Leese walked to the closet.
She thought of the picture she’d drawn, and smiled. She’d gotten pretty darned close to the reality.
While she tried not to pant, he got out his overnight kit and removed two condoms.
More revived by the moment, Cat watched him return to her.
Out of necessity, the drapes were drawn as usual. But it was still early enough that plenty of light penetrated the room, showing the flex and shift of his body as he came back to her.
His attention burned over her like a tactile touch.
She opened her arms, expecting Leese to come over her.
Instead he settled beside her, his large hand opened over her breast, his mouth at her throat.
Oh, well yeah, that worked too.
Now on sensory overload, Cat felt the crisp hair on his calf covering one of her legs, the roughness of his fingertips playing over her sensitive nipple, his hot breath on her shoulder and the hotter touch of his erection against her hip.
The man was not idle. He stroked her gently, occasionally caressed roughly, somehow always knowing her preference. By the second her need escalated to a fever pitch.
He trailed small, damp kisses over her temple, opened his mouth over a special place on the side of her neck, took a gentle bite of her shoulder and made his way back to her nipples, using that hot tongue to turn her into a mass of quivering sensation.
“Let’s see if you’re ready.”
“I am,” she promised breathlessly.
But he only smiled against her breast, then pressed his broad hand between her thighs, his long fingers slipping over her, spreading her moisture. “Mmm,” he murmured. “Maybe. But let me...” Slowly, he worked two fingers deep, then groaned. “Nice.”
Cat arched up on a throaty cry of pleasure.
“Yeah,” he growled low in approval. “You’re wet and ready.”
Because she was very close to losing it.
“Come for me again,” he urged, and he brought his thumb up to her clit, idly stroking in a maddening way.
With the tension rapidly building, it would be so easy to give in. But she wanted to touch him too, she needed to touch him, had been thinking about it since meeting him, so she caught his wrist and held him still as she struggled against the tide of release.
“Catalina?” He kissed her ribs, though kiss didn’t quite cover the bone-melting way he used his mouth. “What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”
Speaking wasn’t easy. Heck, breathing was a struggle. “Next time I come,” she managed to whisper, “I want you in me.”
With sultry satisfaction in his voice, he promised, “We’ll get there.”
“But before that—” she turned to face him, then very deliberately pressed him to his back “—I want to play a little too. After all, this was my idea.”
His pale eyes smoldered. “I don’t mind playing, but know that it was a shared idea all along.” He eased her hair away from her face. “Before we went this far out of bounds, I wanted you to be sure.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.”
Appearing pleased by that admission, he searched her face until his focus settled on her mouth. “Then have at it. I’m all yours.”
Oh, if only that was true. If only she knew that when this dark fairy tale ended, Leese would still be with her...it’d make every day,
every minute, so much easier.
But all she had was right here, right now, and she wanted to make the most of it.
She brushed her mouth over his. “Stay still,” she whispered.
Now it was her turn to taste him all over. With her breasts pressed to his chest, she leaned over him and drew his earlobe between her teeth.
Leese put those beautiful arms of his around her, stroking her back, playing with her bottom, doing his own share of kissing her wherever he could reach.
He felt so good, his skin hot and sleek against her palms, muscles taut over large bones.
Crisp chest hair, just the right amount, added to his machismo. He shuddered when she lightly bit his pec muscle, then licked over one flat nipple.
He tangled a hand in her hair, and didn’t object as she began kissing her way down his body, much as he’d done to her.
From his navel down, she teased her nose over the happy trail that bisected his body, then grew thicker around his testicles. With her so near, his erection flexed in spontaneous reaction. The heated scent of him filled her head and, losing herself to the moment, she wrapped her fingers snug around him.
“Damn,” he muttered, his thighs tensing.
She brushed her cheek against him and whispered, “You smell so good, Leese.” When he shifted restlessly, she stroked once, twice, then licked her tongue from the base of him up and over the head.
He breathed harder; his hand in her hair urged her closer. Knowing what he wanted, Cat put one soft kiss to the underside of him, then opened her mouth and drew him in, taking him as deep as she could.
“Catalina,” he whispered, his whole body strung tight, his breathing labored.
Wow, he was in worse shape than her, and that was saying something given how badly she wanted him.
Thrilled, even more turned on by his response, she stroked him with her tongue, then slowly retreated before taking him again. Over and over, she worked him, sucking as she withdrew, licking with her tongue while she took as much of him into her mouth as she could. She tasted his salty pre-cum, heard the broken, almost pained sounds he made and felt the tautness of his big, hard body.
Only a few minutes in, his hands shifted to her cheeks and he held her face. “Enough,” he growled. “You need to let up.”
Rising to an elbow to see him, Cat took in his expression. She’d expected him to be concentrating, eyes closed, teeth locked.
His teeth were locked all right, but he stared at her, watching, his gaze incendiary.
Still holding him in her fist, she asked, “You don’t like it?”
He groaned a laugh. “I like it too much.”
Good. She wasn’t exactly a pro at this sort of thing, so she’d been going mostly by instinct. Now, seeing how she’d affected him, she wouldn’t mind starting all over again. “I can feel you throbbing.” Lightly fondling him, she whispered, “I like doing this to you, Leese. A lot.”
He didn’t smile. “I need you now, Cat.”
“I need you too.” Wanting him to know, she said, “Understand, it’s not just your smokin’ body, and not just because you’re a barrier between me and crazy killers.”
“Cat,” he admonished, because he’d already told her many times he wouldn’t let her be harmed.
She moved her free hand over his abs, up his ribs to his chest. So warm, so strong. So perfect in every way.
Leese didn’t know it yet—how could he? Until this moment, she hadn’t even realized it. Finally getting this close to him, this intimate, she couldn’t mistake her feelings.
She loved him.
Crazy, over the top love.
If it came down to it, she’d sacrifice herself before letting him be hurt in the line of fire. “It’s everything about you.” Her throat felt thick with sudden tears, but that wouldn’t do, not at this precise moment, so she smiled. “You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever known.”
“Good,” he said, the single word so gravelly, it was almost inaudible. “Now come here.” He caught her under the arms and drew her up the length of his body, then in the same movement, turned her beneath him.
“Leese—”
He took her mouth in a hot, demanding, we’re-done-talking kiss that made her forget everything except the desire. His hands were on her again, causing the most delicious friction, teasing in all the right places. For only a moment he moved away, no doubt to roll on the condom, then he settled over her again.
Unsmiling, he kneed her legs apart, held her gaze with his as he reached between their bodies, adjusting, then filled her with one deep thrust.
She was so wet, he entered her without resistance, but it had been a long time for her and she gasped at the unfamiliar sensation.
The incredible sensation.
“That...” She took two breaths and whispered shakily, “That almost did it for me right there.”
Looking very tender, he pressed a sweet kiss to her parted lips. “Let me see if I can improve on it.” Still watching her, he began a slow, deep rhythm, pressing deep, almost leaving her, then driving in again. With each heavy thrust, the pleasure ratcheted up.
Yup, even better.
Curling her legs around his waist, Cat held on, unable to do much more than welcome the expanding need. In this new position, each glide of his body both filled her and stroked her clitoris until, without warning, the waves of sensation spiraled through her.
She cried out, closed her eyes against the intensity and just held on to him. Seconds later he pressed his face to her neck and groaned out his own release, his body shuddering, heat pouring off him.
As the fog slowly receded, Leese went to move to her side.
Cat hugged him, wanting him to stay over her, unwilling to give up the connection. Her body still pulsed and throbbed and a very sweet ache remained in her heart.
God, she loved him so much. She’d been drawn to him the moment she met him and the emotion grew thicker every day until it almost consumed her. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t known him long, she knew everything important. From the start, even with questions unanswered, he’d protected her. He not only believed in her, he gave her blind faith, trusting that she told the truth without pushing her for more than she was willing to share.
She’d already spent more meaningful time with Leese than she would have with anyone else she’d been dating for a month.
With an obvious effort, Leese shifted, coming up on his forearms at either side of her face. He looked mellow, his dark hair over his brow, his face relaxed in a way she’d never seen before.
His gaze searched hers.
Lazily, he brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, then bent to sweetly kiss her. Against her lips, he whispered, “I’m glad I brought your lockbox.”
Immediately, Cat turned her head away to protest.
But he didn’t give her a chance. “I only have one more condom, and I can’t see sending Enoch out for more.”
“Absolutely not!”
“And since I’m not leaving you today, we’re going to need your supply.”
“Oh.” So he wasn’t talking about the vibrator, but about condoms. How many times did he plan to have sex? “Okay, then.”
“Love it when you’re agreeable.” He kissed her neck, his tongue soft and hot against her pulse point. “What do you say we go get something to eat first?”
That worked for her. “Sure.”
“Then we can shower together.”
Better and better. She nodded agreement.
“Tomorrow,” he promised, “I’ll go out for more rubbers. A couple of boxes at least.”
Her toes curled. “Sounds good.”
“After all the teasing you’ve done, you and I are going to make up for lost time.”
She smiled, but at the same time her hear
t broke a little. Forget lost time, she needed to make memories for the future—just in case this special time with him was all she’d ever have.
* * *
“THE CURTAINS ARE never opened on the top floor.”
Tesh paced as he talked on the phone. That probably meant Catalina was in there. His mind jumped ahead, formulating possible ways to get her out of the Body Armor offices. That place was like a fortress. Maybe he could call in a bomb threat, then everyone would have to evacuate. Once he had her out in the open...
Unfortunately, during a time of chaos like that, she’d likely be circled by every damn bodyguard in the building. Fuck.
The low-level lackey who he’d recruited spoke again, interrupting his internal rage. “The windows are always dark on the two floors below that too.”
Running a hand over his head, Tesh tried to reason through possibilities. Maybe those floors were just empty. He’d need to get the blueprints of the building, see if those floors were set up as offices or storage space or...whatever.
Since her brother had passed away, Sahara Silver had taken over, restructuring everything. It was possible there’d been a loss in business. Maybe she’d had to cut back. If so, that could explain the empty floors.
But maybe his little Catalina was inside, held prisoner by her own fears, fears that he’d play on, use to his advantage, fears that he’d nourish to make her his in every way.
Fears, he knew, that were well warranted.
As usual, when he thought of Catalina, his heart beat harder, slower. Soon he’d have her—and he wouldn’t let anyone take her from him.
* * *
BECAUSE OF A steadily falling sleet, Sahara held Justice’s arm—more like a tree trunk—on the slippery walk to the car. It was late, nearing 9:00 p.m., thanks to the lead she’d followed on the web. Sometimes tearing herself away from her work was harder than the work itself.
It was only knowing that Justice waited for her that convinced her to call it a night.
Her high heels were rarely a problem; she could run across snow-covered gravel in them without a single slip. But ice? It wouldn’t matter if she wore athletic shoes, she would still welcome a supporting arm.
