Guarding Him

by Kori David

  Nic’s face came up as he looked down—her lips made contact with his.

  Yes, her body screamed, her mind curiously blank. She opened her mouth under his, her tongue darting out to duel with his. His arms tightened for a moment, and then he pulled his lips away from hers. “Nic?” It was a question and a plea. But sanity didn’t belong here, not yet.

  “I want you, Ian,” she whispered. His eyes bored into hers, and she felt his reaction, the hardening of his muscles—all his muscles. The erection pressing against her convinced her that this was what he wanted too. To feel something, to connect with another human being. To feel alive.

  “I don’t think this is a good—"

  Nic was done talking as she stepped back and pulled her shirt off with her sports bra in one smooth movement. Her breasts bounced as they were freed from the tight confines of her bra, and Ian’s eyes followed every move with greedy eyes. She stepped forward and tugged his shirt up, skimming her hands over his six-pack abs and up to his pecs, using her nails to lightly scratch as she tugged.

  “Jesus, Nic,” he muttered. His lips came crashing down on hers the moment the shirt was over his head, and he crushed her naked chest to his. The skin-to-skin contact made her nipples pucker and harden. The friction of her soft skin against the light dusting of hair on his chest ripped a moan out of her. If it was mixed with a little sob, well, Ian didn’t notice.

  “I want you inside me, Ian,” she whispered. All she wanted at this moment was to feel something other than crushing despair. She’d experienced this feeling a couple of times before, after combat. After losing a brother or sister in an incursion. Sex made every nerve ending come alive, made you remember why living was so wonderful.

  “Nic,” he groaned.

  Her hand dove into his sweats as her mouth found his. His perfect ass cheek was in her hand as her mouth made love to his. Nic’s other hand was in his hair, tugging his face closer. But it wasn’t enough; she needed more. Freeing her hand from his hair, she used both hands to slide his sweats down enough for his thick erection to spring free. Before he knew her intent, she was on her knees in front of him, sliding him between her lips.

  “Holy-fucking-hell,” he hissed between clenched teeth.

  She grinned as she cupped his sac and worked her mouth over his shaft. Her tongue traced the throbbing vein as his hands moved through her hair. His head was thrown back in surrender as she licked and sucked, pulling ragged moans out of the man in front of her.

  And then his hips moved backward, and he pulled out of her mouth with a little pop. “My turn,” he growled. Before she knew what happened, she was on her back on the mat, and her own sweats were gone. Ian’s wide shoulders between her thighs was the most erotic sight. Like her, he didn’t waste time. His tongue licked into her, making her wetter than she already was.

  Throwing her head back, her back arched as his mouth worked over her clit, driving her wild. Sensation crashed over her body as he sucked and bit her into a frenzy. Before she flew over the edge, she tugged his hair. “I want you inside me when I come,” she said.

  “You got it,” he said.

  He kissed his way up her flat stomach, pausing to dip his tongue into her belly button before moving upward to worship her breasts. Her nipples peaked and beaded under his hands and mouth, but it wasn’t enough. Nic wanted the high. She wanted the pain to be replaced by nothing but raw sensation. She was done with foreplay.

  Reaching between their bodies, she rubbed him, loving the feel of him in her hands. He was big, but that only excited her even more. “Fuck me, Ian. I want to feel you deep inside me,” Nic panted.

  “You are going to kill me, woman.”

  “Then we’ll both die happy,” she whispered.

  His mouth found hers and then pulled away, “Damn it.”

  “What?” Nic looked around and then back to him.

  “Condom,” he gritted.

  “Are you clean?”

  Ian looked down at her, “Yes.”

  Nic smiled and bit his chin, “So am I, and I am protected,” she said and lifted her arm to show him the underside and the small ridge hiding her implanted birth control.

  His answering grin lit up his face as he plunged into her wet warmth. He stretched her so deliciously that colors exploded behind her lids as her eyes closed. Ian seated himself fully inside of her and waited until her eyes opened.

  “I’ve been dreaming about this. About you.” He kissed her long and hard as he started to move. Her knees drew up around his waist, deepening his thrust. “This is so much better,” he groaned.

  “Yesss,” she hissed as he pulled out and plunged back inside of her. Her breasts bounced as he rocked into and out of her, causing her breath to catch. He’d picked up on her urgency and was giving her all he had and more. All she could focus on was Ian and his beautiful body loving hers. His tongue dueled with hers as they moved in unison as if they were made for each other.

  “You feel so fucking good,” he said. His fingers twined with hers as he pulled her arms over her head and looked down her body to where they joined. She was mesmerized by that look—the raw hunger and satisfaction on his face. “This is just the beginning, Nicolette Montgomery.”

  His voice was strong and sure, and it didn’t matter what the words were or what the implication was. Ian was giving her what she wanted at this moment, and that was all she could think about. Raising her hips to meet his thrusts, she took him just as much as he was taking her. It was so good, and the pressure built. The moan that came out of her was high pitched and animalistic as he continued to pound into her body. She didn’t want gentle or sweet; she wanted to be fucked hard and fast, and he gave her every inch—every thrust pushing her higher and higher.

  “It’s so good,” she groaned.

  “Oh, God, yes,” he answered. His face was a mask of concentration as he moved. Every surge of his body against hers brought her closer to heaven—closer to the feeling of bliss so sweet that it drove out everything else. This is what she’d wanted, what she’d needed.

  And then it was happening. Her inner muscles contracted, making her thighs quiver. Her breath caught before she moaned, long and loud. Nic’s back arched as she felt the beginning of his release, and he let her hands go. Ian shouted her name as he moved against her, the hot rush of his release setting off another round of quakes inside of her.

  “Oh, yes, Ian. Yes, yes, yes.”

  When she floated back down to earth, Ian was right there—holding her. His forehead against hers as their breath mingled. He held his full weight off her, but he was still inside. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave either. The bad part was that she was enjoying all of this. Too much.

  And the bubble needed to burst.

  * * *

  Once his breathing returned to normal, Ian noticed the utter silence. He was used to nonstop chatter from his partners, so he didn’t know what to expect from the woman next to him. That was part of her charm and one of the reasons he was falling for her. Nicolette Montgomery wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known.

  But her silence worried him.

  Turning to his side, he felt her shift with him. She was completely unselfconscious, lying naked on her back next to him. Nic wasn’t even looking at him. Her gaze was far away. While he didn’t need his ego stroked, he was worried about the quiet. “Regrets?”

  Her eyes focused, and she reached up and stroked his cheek. “Yes.”

  Ian had been so focused on Nic as a whole while he’d made love to her that he hadn’t noticed her scar. She’d used the mark as a shield against him, and he wanted to know if she was still in love with the person she’d protected—the one who’d managed to get her shot. He needed to know what he was up against if he wanted a chance with her. And he desperately wanted a chance.

  “What we have is explosive. It’s amazing,” he said.

  She sighed. “The problem is that is shouldn’t have happened. I took advantage of you.”

  Ian chuckled lightly,
noting her frown and serious eyes. “I think I was the one taking advantage. You’re grieving your friend, and I’m a selfish bastard. I didn’t care why you gave in, only that you did.”

  Nic rolled up to a sitting position, reaching for her shirt and bra in the same movement. Ian didn’t want any part of her covered. If he had his way, they’d stay naked for the rest of the day. He was wise enough not to voice it. “If I had a mustache, I’d be twirling it now.”

  Ian caught a quick smile before she got fully dressed. He stood when she did, stepping into the sweats lying nearby. She stayed quiet. Trying her tactic, he used teasing humor in the hopes that she would open up. “You aren’t going to leave money on the dresser for me, are you? For stud services?”

  Another quick smile as she looked at him. He’d located his shirt but had only thrown it over his shoulder. Her pink tongue flicked out to wet her lips as she stared at him. Just the look on her face made him semi-hard again. He recognized the desire, the hunger because it was reflected back. Ian had a feeling that he’d never have enough of her.

  “I need to get back to work.”

  Ian followed her back to the first floor and the bench seat by the window. He’d back off for now, but only because they had a couple of other things to worry about. Their possible life together could wait—for the moment. It was a little strange for him, though, being the one to do the chasing. Ian was the one that always left first; usually, he couldn’t wait to make his exit so he could get back to his real mistress—his work.

  He was about to go blind from watching hours of video footage when Nic sat up. “I think I have them.”

  Ian sat up and turned to the side, so Nic did the same. When he could see the screen, he saw the black Mercedes. Nic started typing some code he recognized, something simple to create a grid search for that area. Sure enough, the Mercedes could be seen coming and going. “Where are you hiding?” she muttered.

  “There are a bunch of older warehouses throughout that radius. A lot of them are vacant, and some have been renovated into lofts. Not a lot of businesses there, so the camera footage is going to be sparse.”

  “This is where they are. Somewhere in here.” Nic had a map pulled up and circled a three-block radius. “A warehouse makes sense. They’d need someplace to hide the car and the privacy to torture and kill.”

  Ian wanted to reach out and touch her, but she’d shut him out. Hyper-focused on the cameras surrounding that area, she marked clip after clip of video of the black Mercedes. He figured it would be better if he just helped her instead of forcing her to accept any feelings she might have about him or what happened upstairs. Ian knew she wouldn’t be pushed, and he didn’t want her to walk away from him because he was being an ass.

  “We need to assume they’ve switched cars. Kei thinks so as well.”

  Ian nodded. That made sense—from a killer’s point of view. The FBI hadn’t apprehended them because at least one of them was smart enough to have some forensic awareness. “Now that we have that grid, we can see what other vehicles are coming and going.”

  Nic pulled out her phone and called Courtney. Ian only half-listened to what she said; instead, focusing on the cars coming and going, starting from last night. Another hour and they had nothing. Running a hand through his hair, Ian shut his laptop and stood up.

  “We need food.”

  Nic closed her laptop as well. “Those bastards are smart, damn it. Whatever car they’re using now is in that warehouse with them, and they haven’t moved.”

  “It’s the cooling-off period.”

  “It’s fucking frustrating is what it is,” she snapped. Then she held out her hand when he opened his mouth. “I know we have more now than we did.”

  Ian shook his head. “I think you might be part witch, Nicolette Barrington. You always seem to know what I’m about to say.” He put his hand out to her, and, after she hesitated a moment, she put her hand in his and let him pull her up from the seat. “How about I make us an early dinner?”

  “You can cook?” she asked.

  He decided to ignore the trepidation in her voice. “I don’t do it often since I’m normally too busy, but I can throw together a decent spaghetti dinner when needed.”

  “I’ll see what I can find for a salad.”

  Ian watched her stride ahead of him toward the kitchen. He wanted to ask her so many questions and he had to shake his head at his thoughts. This one time, he wished she was like any other woman and wanted to talk about her feelings. Hell, he wanted to talk about his feelings—for her. And he wanted to know how soon he’d be able to get her back into bed with him, maybe an actual bed this time.

  Stifling a sigh and giving himself a mental kick in the ass, he left his feelings in the living room and went into the kitchen to make dinner. He hoped to God that Drake found those two killers soon, so he could go on about the business of wooing his bodyguard.

  Then he wondered how he was supposed to woo a woman who came from everything and wanted nothing to do with it? Damn. He needed to put together a presentation on all the advantages of staying with him; that’s what he was best at. Maybe he should present it like a business deal—a merger of sorts.

  Then he decided he was an idiot. But something would come to him, he was sure. It had to.

  Chapter 20

  “I don’t normally do this kind of thing, you know, especially with law enforcement.”

  Cody was a lucky man. Isobel Jamison was a magnificent woman, and even more lovely while naked. “I don’t normally do this kind of thing, either.”

  “Not with brunettes anyway,” Isobel said.

  The look she gave him made him throw back his head and laugh, especially when she grabbed the sheet and brought it up to cover her breasts. “I hadn’t noticed.” He sat at the end of the bed, playing with the toes of her right foot.

  She kicked him with her left. “You’re like a kid who only likes corn flakes. That’s all you want. The same old corn flakes every morning.” Then she rolled her eyes. “I hadn’t realized there were that many leggy blondes in San Francisco.”

  “Isobel Jamison, have you been stalking me?” He injected all the shock he could muster with a straight face into his tone.

  “You’re a bit hard to miss, Cody Sanders.” She tossed her hair but continued to let him rub the arch of her foot. “Besides, it’s my job to be observant.”

  “I hadn’t realized that my life had become so—boring.” And truth to tell, he hadn’t noticed. Looking back over the past couple of years, he realized that he couldn’t recall a single detail of any of the women he’d dated. Jesus, Isobel was right; he’d been drowning in corn flakes.

  She huffed and lifted her pert little nose in the air, letting the sheet covering those luscious breasts fall an inch. Cody grinned. He’d never forget a single detail of this curvy woman in this bed. Isobel was a wildcat, and he had the scratch marks across his back to prove it. Just thinking of it made him hard. He gave the sheet a little tug as Isobel smiled.

  Then, he froze.

  Something was wrong. Looking around, he let go of the sheet and got out of bed.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “There’s something—"

  “Shit, that’s smoke,” Isobel said, cutting him off. She jumped out of bed, and they both grabbed at the clothes scattered around the floor. “Should I call the fire department? Or the police?”

  “I am the police,” Cody said, but he was distracted. They’d made food for themselves before they’d jumped each other. He tried to remember if they’d left something burning downstairs. He turned to Isobel, noticing that she’d thrown on his T-shirt since he’d only donned his jeans. Going to the dresser, he grabbed her cell phone and tossed it to her. “Stay here. I’m going to check it out.”

  “The hell you are. I’m not staying in this room like some idiot girl that needs to be saved. I’ll stay behind you and out of your way, but I won’t stay here alone.”

  Cody grabbed her and kissed her
because damn, she looked good in his shirt. It hung down to her knees, and with her hair down and wild from their passion, she looked like a sex goddess. And she was. He had his gun in his hand as he made his way to the bedroom door. He’d kicked it shut in case the live-in housekeeper came home early from her own date night. Placing a hand against the door, it was cool to the touch, so he opened it slowly. The house was dark, and his ears strained to pick up any sound.

  The smell of smoke was stronger with the door open, and it was coming from downstairs. Cody crept down the stairs on silent feet. He motioned for Isobel to stay at the top, and for once, the woman did as she was told. The foyer seemed empty, but Cody didn’t want to chance turning on the light and blinding himself. Moving forward, he wanted to clear the kitchen and put out the fire before clearing the rest of the house. That was a mistake—the first one he’d made in a very long time. He had just enough time to hear Isobel make her way down the stairs, not as quiet as he was, before his face and upper torso were sprayed. The powder was cold and hit him with force, knocking him backward for a moment and filling his eyes and lungs to the point of burning pain.

  Isobel screamed, and he heard her phone clatter to the ground. She hadn’t even had the chance to call 9-1-1. Then something hit him in the forehead. Blinded and wheezing for air, he coughed and drooled as he fell sideways, but managed to land on top of his gun. He landed hard, still hearing Isobel yell. She sounded like she put up a good fight.

  “Shut up, or I’ll slit his throat right here in front of you,” a man’s voice said. It was a hard voice, one used to being obeyed.

  “Alright,” she said.

  “You come with us, and I’ll leave him alive, but if you give me trouble, he’s dead for sure.”

  “I don’t have the plans,” Isobel said.

  “We know that,” the voice said with slight impatience. “You’re just the bait for your brother.”