by Dawn Ryder
Ridding the world of those sorts, that was a service if you asked him, and as far as he was concerned, his opinion was the only one that mattered. Which was why he went hunting Ginger Boyce. Marc Grog was exactly the sort of man Ricky liked to hamstring. Punch drunk on his own fucking power, without a single thought for the people around him. Those people were like rats and a man like Marc liked to see them scurry.
Well, Ricky was going to enjoy seeing the rats feast on Marc Grog’s flesh. He grinned, thinking about the way the masses would eat Marc alive, converging on him and ripping at his flesh while he felt himself being torn apart. That image was going to keep him warm through the next couple of hours while he did what he had to in order to track Ginger Boyce. He needed her to bait the trap.
Ricky wasn’t gay but he could make exceptions when he needed to. Las Vegas had bars for every taste, and he’d tracked a flight controller to one that specialized in samegender seekers. The flight controller was a senior one, the man who had access to things like flight plans and ownership records for private helicopters. He was nervous, tapping a finger against the top of the bar as he leaned against it instead of slipping onto the barstool. Ricky waited for him to look his way again before he very bluntly stroked the neck of his beer bottle.
The controller’s eyes narrowed, his lips thinning with hunger. Ricky picked up his beer bottle and closed his lips around the top of it before tossing down the last of the brew. When he set the bottle down, the controller was still watching him. Rick jerked his head toward the door and stood, walking out of the bar without a backward glance.
He leaned against the exterior of the building, out of the circle cast by a street lamp.
“I’m not interested in hiring.” The controller had followed him.
“I don’t sell,” Ricky replied. “And I don’t do hotels.”
The controller looked at him, raking him from head to toe before he jerked his head toward the parking lot. “My place is quiet.”
“Good.”
* * *
“In other news today, Pulse Grog made a public announcement that he has decided to support Vice President Tom Hilliard in his bid for the White house…”
The picture turned to show Pulse Grog standing at a podium with a campaign poster for Tom Hilliard on it. He was surrounded by union representatives from the music and movie industry where he was a mover and shaker. He was making a passionate speech that the news anchor talked through, but Ginger felt her belly twist. Just the sight of him brought a memory crashing into her skull from the bar in New Orleans. Just a moment before, it had seemed nothing but a distant echo left to be forgotten in some corner of her brain. Now, it surged up, smothering her in horror as she recalled very precisely the way he’d ordered his men to kill her.
“Sit.”
She jumped and knocked her shin against the chair Saxon had brought up behind her. The pain startled her, but, honestly, she was still locked in the grip of the memory. None of that seemed to matter as she tried to skirt around Saxon. The need to escape was pounding through her brain.
He caught her just as easily as he had in New Orleans, but there was a difference in the way he folded her into his embrace. That broke through the memory, allowing her to draw in some deep breaths.
“Easy…” he said soothingly. She wanted to be stronger, more capable, just … more. But all it had taken was a lousy news story to break her.
“I’m just clumsy. No reason to pet me,” she groused as she wiggled free.
“I like petting you,” he informed her in a tone she recalled from the darker hours of the night when they’d shared a bed.
That shocked her. It set off a tingle of excitement. There was a look on his face she didn’t recognize, largely because it was aimed solely at her. She’d seen him determined before, this was personal.
“And no one would blame you for finding that clip alarming.” His arms tightened around her, making it clear he wasn’t going to be put at arm’s length.
Ginger smiled at him. “Except you’re a street team.”
“I am.”
“So is this where we finally address the elephant in the room?”
He surprised her by cracking up. Ginger stared at him, feeling the corners of her mouth twitch because he was so damned adorable. She slipped away, enjoying the way their laughter was mixing and bouncing off the walls of the small shelter.
Saxon contemplated her for a long moment, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Considering we’ve been stuck in this shelter all day, we should both be commended for managing to avoid any elephant.”
“Maybe it’s a little one.”
His expression tightened, becoming serious. She’d seen it before and yet, this was different. It was personal. The glitter in his eyes had nothing to do with business.
“It’s a damned big one, Gin,” he confirmed.
It was … or maybe, she really hoped it was. Honestly, her thoughts were so jumbled, all she knew was that she needed him too badly to think the matter through. She was worrying her lower lip.
“I like kissing you, Gin.” He closed the gap between them with that fluid, sharp motion of his, making her breath lodge in her chest as her senses went into high alert. He still had his fingers under her chin, lifting her face so that her lips were his for the claiming.
“So don’t bite these…” he rasped as his breath hit the little wet spot left on her lower lip. He was a hair’s breadth from kissing her. The delicate skin on her lower lip was registering the touch of his breath against it, all of her nerve endings lighting up, eager for more stimulation.
But he pulled back, withdrawing a step and crossing his arms across his chest. “So let’s discuss what has kept you from making eye contact all day.”
She was guilty as charged. As in, majorly so. She battled the urge to squirm and look away because, well, she’d had a plan to own her life, and it was time to make good on her choice. They’d had sex, and she’d wanted it. So, no avoiding the issue.
“Well … we should discuss … the fact that we failed to use protection.”
His expression tightened.
“I should have mentioned that I’m not on birth control pills…”
He cut her off. “Wouldn’t have mattered if you were, since I have all your personal belongings. I knew you weren’t, Gin. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Ah…” she wasn’t going to let the subject drop. “That response is going to need a little clarification because my knowledge of biology says I’d better give the matter some attention or I’m going to get drop-kicked by reality. And for the record, I might be guilty of taking advantage of having you within arm’s reach, but I will not chain you to me with a child.”
His jaw clenched in response, but he squared off with her. She had a moment to absorb the fact that he was about to give her exactly what she’d asked for in spite of the fact that he didn’t think she was going to like it.
“I am a field agent.”
He let his words sink in for a moment as his knuckles turned white because he was gipping handfuls of his shirt over his biceps.
“Which has exactly what to do with birth control?” she asked.
“I underwent a sterilization procedure because sex is often part of gathering information.”
His tone was cutting, making her think that it was the first time he’d regretted his choice.
You’re hearing what you want to … He hasn’t just been waiting for you to drop into his life.
“As for STDs, I get tested between assignments. So…” he finished up. “Nothing on my end to worry about. I imagine that’s a shock to you, but in my world, it’s pretty run of the mill.”
“You’ve actually given up ever having a family?” It was a very personal question. “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that one.”
She expected him to become guarded again but instead, he grinned, like she’d done something daring that he found admirable.
“It’s reversible.”
“Oh.”
That was as far as she got with a response. Saxon was watching her, gauging her reaction with those keen eyes of his.
“When you decide what you think of that Gin, let me know,” he spoke softly.
“Why?”
He raised an eyebrow and took a step toward her, reclaiming her in an embrace that sealed her against him.
That fast, her heart started to accelerate, and she felt her flesh warming. He smoothed his hand up her back, sending little ripples of delight down her spine until he reached the skin of her nape. Somehow, the way he slipped his hand beneath her hair just made her shiver. And then he was gripping her hair, just tight enough to let her feel his strength.
God that made her clit twist.
“Because I can’t keep my hands off you.”
And he wasn’t going to discuss it, which suited her just fine because Saxon Hale leaned down and kissed her. She reached for him, rising onto her toes and locking her hands around his neck so that she could meet his kiss with one of her own. She wanted him to feel her strength, see in her someone who could keep pace with him.
Saxon picked her up again, carrying her into the bedroom before he withdrew a step and looked like he was fighting to collect his thoughts.
“I never gave up on having a family. I just made damned sure it wouldn’t happen while I was working a case.” He actually opened his hands, like he needed her to understand him. “My mom and dad are … great, loving, and butt kicking when they had to. Every kid should have that in parents.”
She ended up smiling. “Yeah, I’ve felt a few of those well-meant tush shots myself.”
“You don’t even cuss,” he exclaimed. “Mind you, that sort of control puts you on a pedestal in my opinion.”
“Pedestal?” she scoffed at him. “Don’t placate me. I’ve thrown myself at you.”
Ginger shifted back, her confidence deserting her as the light washed over the perfection of Saxon’s chest. Well, the truth was the truth.
And she still wasn’t repentant.
Nope.
She wanted to lunge at him. Tear her top off, throw her bra aside, and tackle him. But he was doing his job, and if he walked away from her, well, she really didn’t have any right to be upset over it.
Devastated you mean …
She bit her lower lip, and he reached across the space between them and tugged her chin down to free it. With the light coming from behind him, his expression was just shadows, leaving her feeling unbearably exposed. Like her whole house of cards was about to get blown down.
“You fascinate me.” He closed his arms around her, coming up against her back as he cupped the sides of her hips and pressed his lower body firmly against her. “I notice every little thing about you.” His tone was a dark, husky whisper against her ear. “The way you smell…” He inhaled against her head. “The way you look at me and don’t give a crap for how I snarl at you. I put you on that pedestal so that I can see you better.”
Saxon scooped her off her feet, stealing her breath with both his words and his strength. At the moment it was all one thing, him, just him. He was a presence so powerful, the only thing to do was wash away with it.
But she did want more than to give him compliance. She wanted to participate, give as good as she got. When he set her on the bed, she reached for him, hooking her hands into the waist band of his jeans and popping open the first two buttons.
“You scatter my thoughts…” she said as she fought to free the last three buttons on his fly. “So I’m going for wild abandonment.”
“Works for me,” he said through gritted teeth.
She purred with satisfaction and popped the last button. His jeans sagged, slipping off his lean hips as she pulled his briefs down. His cock sprang loose, jutting out from his lower abdomen, swollen and hard.
“I’m going to make you squirm,” she declared softly as she closed her hands around his member. It was hot, delighting her as she stroked it, drawing her fingers along its surface, marveling at the silkiness of the skin covering it.
“Give it your best shot,” he challenged her.
There was just enough light for her to see the glitter in his eyes, but the bed was a perfect height for her to lay on her belly, rest her weight on her elbows and toy with his cock as he stood next to the bed. She licked it, drawing her tongue around its circumcised head and through the slit on the crown before closing her lips around the head.
He arched, sucking in his breath, the bluntness of the sound delighting her. It stroked something inside her, feeding it, encouraging her to stretch the boundaries encasing her. With him, impulse ruled, and she needed to dance to the beat.
It was Saxon who cut her ambitions short. She was sucking him, drawing on his length, teasing the sack of his balls with her fingertips when he threaded his hand into her hair and pulled her head away. His cock came out of her mouth with a little popping sound as she growled at him.
“Can’t let you finish the job, Gin.”
“I’d think you’d understand that need more than most,” she groused, trying to lower her head and regain his cock.
Saxon didn’t give her enough slack. She stopped when pain went zipping across her scalp. “Let loose.”
He lowered himself so that they were nose to nose instead. “No. I can’t let you suck me off, or I won’t be able to fuck you, sweetheart.”
She jerked at the word fuck. It was exactly what she craved. Saxon pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her until she was breathless. Fuck was a verb after all and Saxon’s tone told her he fully intended to be a man of action.
“And you like the way I fuck you…” He was standing up, pulling her with him with the aid of two hands gripping her jeans. It pulled the fabric tight against her clit, driving her nearly insane.
He dropped her on her knees and cupped the sides of her face, tilted his head to the side and sealed her mouth beneath his in a soul-shattering kiss. It was more than carnal; it was pure intensity that broke down the walls between them. In that moment, they were one entity.
She pulled at his shirt and she yanked hers up and over her head. For a moment she was trapped in the soft jersey, the air teasing her bare torso. Saxon left her there as he unhooked her bra and her breasts sagged free. He ripped the shirt off her head but stood for a moment, cupping her breasts.
“I love these.” His tone was rough. Enough light was coming through the open door to show her his face. Appreciation was there, etched deep into his expression.
Unguarded honesty.
“Elvis said it … you’ve got it going on, Gin.”
He pulled her pants open and then sent her onto her back so that he could drag them off her body. She ended up dumped onto the top of the bed, giggling at the way he looked down at her like he’d achieved some sort of major accomplishment.
She wanted to focus on his words, wanted to savor the sound of raw honesty, but there was something she craved even deeper.
Him.
She crooked her finger at him. “Come here…”
His lips curled into a grin a moment before he crawled onto the bed with her. She scooted up toward the headboard and then nearly lost her mind when he lowered himself onto her. He was hot and hard and it was enough to blow her remaining thoughts into smithereens. She was squirming beneath him, the need to rub every last inch of her bare skin against him pulsing through her brain. Her thought process had shifted to impulse mode.
So she opened her legs, cradling him between her thighs as she clasped his hips. It was like she’d never realized what a true embrace should be until that moment when he thrust into her body, completing the moment while he caught his weight on his elbows.
“Goddammit…” He groaned as he withdrew and pressed back into her. “You’re going to make me lose it…”
She purred. Arching up to take his next thrust, a breathless sound escaped her lips as he penetrated deeper, hitting some spot deep inside her. Thinking was beyond her grasp. There w
as only the smell of him and the feeling of his body moving on top of her. A full-body experience that blew her mind with just how intense it was. Like climbing to the top of what you saw as the highest peak and realizing there was an entire mountain range behind it.
Saxon took her up to their heights, driving into her, harder and faster but with a control that stole her breath. She was straining toward him, desperate for release but dreading it too because having him inside her was a bliss she was desperate to savor. But there was no holding back what her body craved. She lifted up toward him, tightening her thighs around him to bind him to her. It was the last bit of pressure that she needed to burst into a white hot flame. She felt the climax jerk through her as Saxon growled and arched back, the muscles along his arms corded as his cock jerked inside of her, giving up its hot load. Something inside her twisted as his seed coated her insides. She gasped, feeling like her muscles just might snap, but she didn’t care a bit.
There was only Saxon and her need to stay as close as possible. Nothing else mattered.
* * *
“What the hell do you do for a living?” Ricky demanded. The man behind him tensed up, his hands biting into Ricky’s hips.
“Let’s not get personal,” Brendon said, his breathing heavy.
“Bet it’s some stupid thing where you have to follow the rules all the time, because you fuck like a schoolboy.”
The cock that was only halfway inside him twitched. Ricky snorted and shoved back toward it. “Come on, show me what your balls are made of.”
Brendon grunted, thrusting forward and gaining depth. “I’ll give it to you,” he rasped out.
“I’m growing old waiting.” Ricky suddenly surged up, taking Brendon by surprise. He turned the man around, slamming him down on the tabletop where he had just been. His own cock was hard. He grabbed the lube that was sitting nearby and squeezed a generous portion against Brendon’s backside.
