by David, Kori
“Now that’s something I would love to see.”
Mike pulled out a different disc from a small leather pouch he’d set to the side and held out his hand. This one was even smaller than the one he’d already removed. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”
Jesse nodded. “She’s in serious danger and she’s not telling me everything. I have a feeling she’s going to cut and run in some noble attempt to save me from myself. I need to be able to find her quickly when she does.”
He watched Mike’s eyes widen. “She has no idea who you are, does she?”
Jesse shrugged. “She knows who I was and she knows what I do now. That’s all that matters.”
“Jesus, Jess. Maybe if she knew more she wouldn’t run off on you.”
“She still would. I think she’s trying to prove something to herself. Besides, no one wants to hear old war stories." Jesse nudged him. “Unless you can use them to woo the ladies.”
“Shut up, Outlaw.”
“You just haven’t met the right girl yet, Mike.” Jesse laughed.
He rolled his eyes. “There’s no such thing, my friend. I’m only interested in Mrs. Right Now.”
“Spoken like a true coward.”
Mike grinned and shrugged. “All right, I put your bug on her camera, that way if the case gets damaged or left behind, she’ll still have it on her.”
Mike handed him the receiver, which was smaller than a cell phone. “This has the best range available, but if she gets airborne you’ll lose the signal until you're close again.”
“Right.”
“Good luck. Call me if you need anything else.”
“Will do. Thanks, Mike, now I owe you.”
“Bullshit. Just don’t get dead.”
Jesse watched him drive away then climbed back behind the wheel. Lily hadn’t moved once during the stop. He glanced over at her as he pulled out of the parking area. He hoped he was wrong and that she stayed with him so that he could protect her long enough to figure this out.
And he wanted her. Not just her body, he wanted her.
He finally admitted it to himself. Maybe it was watching his best friend, Zach, fall in love, or maybe it was just timing, but he’d been aware of something missing in his life for a while now.
And when she’d thrown herself into his arms after he’d rescued her, all those half-formed feelings he’d had for her as a kid coalesced into a tidal wave of need.
If she’d have him, he was all hers.
Chapter 7
The motel was clean, if nondescript. It was a chain that promised a soft queen-size bed and complimentary continental breakfast. After sleeping strapped to a chair, in a cave, a helicopter, and finally off and on in the SUV, Lily thought the motel looked like a haven. Jesse had assured her that the bug in her case had been dealt with, so they’d be able to sleep without worry this time.
But she didn’t want to sleep. Lily wanted to pick up where they left off in the cabin. Talk about almost coitus interruptus. So she was in the bathroom, cleaning up and washing her face. Jesse had given her his travel first aid kit and she’d tended to a couple of large scratches she’d sustained while running through the woods. Her manicure was shot and she was pretty sure she looked like she’d survived a war.
She’d just keep the lights off and maybe Jesse wouldn’t notice.
When she opened the door to the room, he was already lying on the bed. The room was dark, a shard of light from the parking lot peeking through the partially opened curtains.
“Now where were we?” She posed in the doorway of the bathroom, pretending to consider her own question. “Oh yes, you were going to take advantage of me.”
In her best cat-like, slinky walk, she reached the edge of the bed. Jesse was clearly enthralled with her grace and sex appeal because he hadn’t said a word. She started to worry that he was laughing at her attempt at seduction when she heard the noise he was making. Well, it had been a long time since she’d actually tried to seduce anyone.
“Hey, no making fun.”
She reached over to turn on the lamp. Giving him a piece of her mind required light, and had the added bonus of illuminating his rock hard body. And he was too good-looking to be kept in the dark.
“Jesse?”
Flat on his back, fully clothed, his lips parted just enough for a small snore. He was dead to the world around him, although, she had the feeling if anything out of the ordinary were to happen, he’d be up and fully alert in seconds.
”Well, hell,” she muttered, frustrated. But Jesse looked so tired that she didn’t have the heart to wake him with her sexual demands. Instead, she turned the light back off and crawled in beside him. Even in the dark, she could picture his rugged face. His blond hair wasn’t as short as he would have kept it in the military and she was dying to run her fingers through it to see if it was as soft as she remembered.
She’d done that once, and only once. They’d been fishing at their favorite spot, a shady spot on the river, when a squirrel had decided they were too close to her nest. She’d kicked up a fuss and while she chattered at them, she shook the branches knocking leaves and twigs down onto them.
“Women,” Jesse had said, then laughed.
She’d reached up and brushed the debris out of his hair and the soft curls made her fingers tingle. She’d pulled her hand back and then turned away to hide her blush. Touching Jesse was dangerous—and exciting.
It still was.
***
Jesse woke up the moment Lily shoved against him and whimpered. She was curled up next to him, one long leg out of the covers and the other moving restlessly. She was dreaming. Her hair partially covered her face and some floral scent reached his nose from the cheap motel soap she’d used to clean up.
Oh man. He’d crashed out on her.
Checking his watch, he saw that he’d been asleep for almost four hours. A much needed four hours. He could use another solid ten, just a catch up, but four would do for now. Because he’d left his lady hanging and that needed to be rectified.
He’d been dreaming about her and his body was demanding they pick up where they left off. He stripped off his shirt and shucked his pants, leaving his underwear on, just in case. But looking at all that golden skin peeking at him through lace gave him the sweetest ache.
Rifling through his go-bag, he pulled out a couple of condoms and laid them within easy reach of the bed. They were standard issue in the military, and he’d kept up the practice when he’d left. Thank God.
He slid between the covers and planned his campaign. The tops of Lily’s creamy breasts tempted him, rising and falling with her even breaths. One hand curled by her cheek, as if she’d fallen asleep on her side watching him. He wondered if she had and if she’d been frustrated that he was passed out.
“Time to wake up.”
He molded his body to hers, pulling her leg up and over his hip. Then set about kissing her awake, just like that mythical prince. First, those soft breasts, then moving up her neck, grinning when she moaned low in her throat and moved closer. He nipped gently at her chin before kissing along her jawline to that delicious spot where her earlobe dangled like a dainty little offering for him to suckle.
Her eyes opened.
“Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”
Jesse palmed her breast and gave her nipple a squeeze. “What do you think now?”
Lily stretched, pressing herself into him. “I think this might be my new favorite way to wake up.”
“Mine too. Except you have too many clothes on.”
He sucked in a breath when one of her hands dove under the covers and palmed his erection. “Seems like you do too.”
“Great minds,” he murmured and then took her mouth.
He loved that there was no hesitation with her. She opened to him and tangled her tongue with his in a heated dance that inflamed him and brought him mind numbing pleasure. Gripping the edge of whatever the lacy thing she was wearing, he pulled down enough
to bare her small, coral-tipped breasts. He’d never cared about size, he was a leg and butt man normally, but the sheer perfection of her had him catching his breath.
“They’re small,” she said. “I used to wish they were bigger.”
He noticed the catch in her voice and hated that she had ever felt inadequate.
“They’re perfect.” And he vowed to prove it to her. With one hand he threaded his hand through her hair and forced her head back to look into his eyes.
“Watch me.”
Her eyes shone bright in the dim light, but she obeyed and looked down at his other hand cupped around her breast. “Look at how you fit into my hand.”
She sighed and closed her eyes.
Jesse tightened his fingers in her hair. “Watch me give you pleasure.”
She grinned. “You’re such a bad boy.”
He could see all her confidence was restored. It was there in that smile and the way she moved against him. “I can be very good too.”
He leaned closer and swiped his tongue across her other breast. Her body shook as she plunged her fingers into his hair, nails scraping his scalp hard enough that he felt it in his shaft.
Every sound she made, every little movement, made him want her more. He needed to be inside her, closer than he’d ever been. He nipped, sucked, and plucked at her nipples until they were rosy red and standing out from the attention. But he had to have more.
He wanted to taste every part of her.
When he pulled the covers completely off, he saw that she was wearing a sunshine yellow teddy. All lace. Made him want to go all caveman and rip it, but she looked so damned good in it that he peeled it off her, slowly. Carefully. Making sure the lace dragged over her skin. He was going to want to see her covered in all that lace again at some point.
But right now, he needed her naked and wanting. He began kissing his way south, paying homage to each rib, every curve and dip in her waist, only stopping to dip his tongue into her belly button before nipping around the edges of the intriguing little crevasse.
“You’re making me crazy.”
Throwing the garment off the bed, he grinned up at her while he shifted between her legs. “I haven’t even started making you crazy yet.”
***
Lily felt like a jolt of electricity just plugged into her body as Jesse’s mouth closed over her sex. Waking up to this man making love to her had almost been too good to be true. She really thought she’d been dreaming, but his hands and mouth on her convinced her it was real. Nothing from a dream ever felt this good.
And whatever he was doing with his tongue was just short of miraculous.
“I like those little kitten noises you make.”
Oh God, she’d hoped he hadn’t heard those. “They’re completely involuntary.” Her fingers were buried in his hair, urging him on. She was so primed and ready for him, that it was a force of will to hold off the orgasm threatening to erupt. She wanted him with her when she came. All the way inside.
His chuckle against her inner thigh revved up her libido even more. She was going to melt all over him if he kept it up. They were running for their lives from trained killers but even that didn’t matter. Not at this moment. The only thing that mattered was having Jesse take her. Now.
“I need you inside me.”
“I’m trying to take this slow.”
“Buck up, Marine. It’s time to show me what you got.”
He stopped for a moment and she felt his shoulders tense. “Yes, ma’am.”
Giving her one last long swipe with his tongue, he pulled away to reach for the side table. Lily heard the foil rip as she sat up slightly to tug off his underwear.
She fused her mouth with his, shocked at how erotic it was. She’d never tasted herself before, but mixed with Jesse’s kiss, it was intoxicating. He was a drug and she was getting her first fix.
She was wet and wildly willing. “Jesse.”
Just his name. He’d snuck into her dreams for years. And now she was about to have the reality. It was more than she’d ever imagined. And when he slid home inside her, it was the freaking Fourth of July. Starbursts of pleasure bloomed behind her eyes. Her back arched as he thrust into her, filling her in a way no man ever had. It wasn’t just his delicious size. It was the reverence with which he took her. Touching her, kneading her body, moving her to meet his demands.
“You feel so good. Jesus, you’re responsive.”
She opened her eyes and reached up to palm his jaw. “You’re the one that feels amazing.”
The rasp of his beard made her fingers tingle, but it was his eyes that held her. They blazed into her as he rocked in and out, the low rumble of his pleasure heightening her own. The pressure built as he laced his fingers with hers and held her hands above her head. His chest rubbed her sensitized nipples making her gasp and then moan. Even the smell of their bodies, slick with desire and sweat increased her satisfaction.
“Put your legs around me,” he rasped, before kissing her deeply.
When she complied, it changed the angle of his thrusts and she felt every hard inch of him as he increased his pace. All she could do was hang on to this lion of a man as he took her to a place beyond pleasure. She sucked in a breath because he was hitting a spot so deep within her that she thought she might faint from the intensity.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Come for me.”
“Oh God, Jesse. It’s too much,” she panted. But he didn’t stop and she couldn’t imagine what she would have done if he had. “Kiss me.”
In a move she’d never even dreamed of, he sat up on his knees taking her with him and never leaving her body. They were both upright and she was draped over his powerful thighs. His arms were around her back as he thrust up into her, hands tangled in her hair. He pulled her head back and kissed up the column of her throat. She scratched his back with her nails, trying to make him lose control.
“Come with me,” she gritted out, trying to hold on.
“Now, Lily.”
The command followed by his kiss as he rocked into her harder pushed her over the edge. Her body tensed and then blew apart in a volcanic explosion. Sensation shot up from her core into her nipples, making them harden into throbbing points. Bright yellow and orange spots floated in her vision, and still Jesse took her.
Jesse thrust harder and then growled out his own release. She could feel her inner muscles contracting around him as he pulsed inside her. The force of his release triggered an aftershock that rippled through already exhausted limbs. Her thighs shook and she felt weak and strong at the same time.
“You amaze me, woman.”
Lily grinned and rewarded him with another kiss. “I think you’re a revelation.”
And he was. Sex had never been so fun. So tender. So overwhelmingly passionate. It was everything she’d ever read about in books or seen on the movies, but never experienced.
It was just too bad that she’d probably never see him again.
Chapter 8
“Location?”
“Phoenix Police headquarters, El Jefe. She could be inside.”
Ramon shook his head. No, this was the work of the man that puta was with. This man had some skills and was beginning to annoy him. “She is not there. They have found the tracking device and are playing a little game with us.”
“Instructions?”
Ramon rubbed his chin. There was no way to find the woman in such a large place. But she was bound to go home at some point. And probably soon. When an animal is hurt or in danger, it always returns to a safe place. And women were weak and predictable. Yes, she would go home and hide.
“Meet us at the airport. We have an errand to run and then we are flying to Texas.”
He disconnected the call. Nodding to his driver, they pulled away from the curb. It was time to stop chasing and start planning ahead. And the first thing on that list was to begin tying up other loose ends. Then, and only then, would he finish the woman. He only hoped the big blond man wa
s with her.
Ramon flexed his muscles. It was a point of pride that he was large for a man of his heritage. Tall and whipcord lean, he was fast and deadly in a fight. And he was intrigued by this mystery man who was able to best his men. Ramon needed to find out who he was. Maybe he would take the man back to Mexico with him and keep him locked away.
His men liked it when he brought home fresh candidates for the ring. Even Ramon occasionally watched the fights. It wasn’t often that someone lasted long against the dogs.
But this man might last. At least for a couple of rounds.
No one lasted more than two.
***
The flight home to Austin, Texas, only took two hours, but the guilt that rode with Lily made every mile seem like a torturous betrayal. She’d snuck out of the motel room like she had something to hide. And she did. But that didn’t make her feel any better.
Jesse had given her a night of beauty and passion, and the way she’d left tarnished it.
She worried that he’d keep her safe and protected, but buried away, when she had two things to do. Get home and retrieve something vitally important to finishing this whole fiasco and get to the police with the information. After one minor stop that shouldn’t take very much time, but needed to be done. And maybe once this whole situation was resolved, she would look him up again. To apologize, and maybe more.
Her modest three-bedroom home sat on a street lined with hundred-year-old oaks and statuesque pecan trees. The elderly neighbor always watered her flowers when she was gone on assignment so an explosion of color met her as she exited the cab. A couple jogging by gave her a wide berth and she couldn’t blame them. She looked like a refugee with her tangled hair and weary eyes.
But when her front door opened and her ex-husband smiled at her, she was thankful she looked like something that crawled out of the desert. “Just what do you think you’re doing in my house?”
