by Tara Wyatt
They stayed still for a moment, chests rising and falling. She pressed her face into his neck, trailing featherlight kisses across his skin and then resting her head on his shoulder. He dipped his head and inhaled her addictive scent, wanting to memorize this moment. He caressed his hands up and down her back and kissed the top of her head, and she sighed, snuggling into him a little more. They basked silently in the afterglow, and an intense rush of euphoria washed over him.
* * *
Several hours later Sierra lay with her head on Sean’s chest, her fingers trailing through his chest hair. Her muscles were weak, her body limp from the pleasure Sean had spent hours wringing from her. A white-hot bolt of lightning burned its way across the sky, a booming echo of thunder following closely behind. Rain pelted the window, soft and rhythmic.
They were inching closer to dawn, but she was too alive and awake to even think about sleeping. Every single time she closed her eyes, she saw Sean, rain dripping down his face, telling her he’d loved her since the day he’d met her, and her entire body bloomed all over again. And she knew, after the way he’d made love to her, after the raw intensity in his eyes as they’d connected with nothing between them, that he was telling the truth. She saw the way he looked at her, and it only made her love him more. Love him harder. Love him bigger than she’d thought possible.
After each time they’d had sex, they’d lain in each other’s arms, talking about everything and anything. She’d told him more about her dad, about growing up in Hollywood, about the shows she’d worked on. He’d told her more about playing baseball, getting drafted by the Giants, and even playing a few big league games. They’d swapped college stories—he’d gone to Cal State Fullerton, while she’d gone to UCLA—and talked about their families. She’d told him about dating Jack, and he’d told her that he didn’t really date much. The conversation had drifted to work, and he ran a hand down her back as he told her about running Virtus.
“It must be challenging, working with your dad,” she said, tracing a circle around his nipple.
He sighed. “It can be. He’s not good at letting go, and neither am I, so that’s not a good combination. I think he does respect the work I do. There’s just so much other shit between us that gets in the way.”
She nodded against him, breathing him in, wanting to wrap herself in his scent. Her heart still hurt for him over everything he’d been through losing his mother, and the havoc it had wreaked on his career plans and family life. She wanted to take that hurt for him so that he wouldn’t have to shoulder it alone. She could help him carry it, just as he’d helped her carry so much already.
“Once this job is finished, I’ll talk to him. I’m OK with it if he still wants to be involved with the company—I mean, it’s his baby, I get it—but I know that we need to find a way to communicate that doesn’t involve yelling and slamming doors.”
Sierra pushed up onto an elbow. “What happens once this job is finished?” A completely irrational surge of jealousy charged through her. “Will you be protecting someone else?”
He pulled her back down to him, settling her against his chest. “Yes. Once this job is finished, I’ll be working with another client, or several other clients, depending on what business we’ve got coming in. Sometimes I’m not out in the field, but in the office, doing the more administrative stuff. It depends.” He tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “But once this job is finished, that doesn’t mean you and I will be. We’re just getting started.”
“I know, but…” She trailed off and tried to look away, but he held her gently in place.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Tell me.”
She bit her lip. “This sounds so silly.”
He smiled crookedly. “Tell me anyway.”
“I guess I…I’m having a hard time with the idea that you’ll be protecting someone else. Putting yourself in danger for someone else.”
“It’s my job. And yes, it’s dangerous, but you don’t need to worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”
“I know, but…you’re mine, and I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt for someone else. I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt at all, but—”
He silenced her with a soft, sweet kiss, and she felt instantly calmer. Not completely calm, but calmer. The kiss deepened, and her sense of possessiveness only grew, tangling with the guilt she felt at how much danger she’d already put him in.
“Are you jealous?” he asked, rising up over her and then beginning to kiss his way down her body, his mouth blazing heat over her breasts and down her stomach.
“A…a little, yes. And a little worried. When you’re out risking your life, who’ll protect you to make sure you’ll come home to me?” He nipped at her hip bone, and she found it harder to think.
He flipped her over and started kissing a new trail down her back. “I’ll protect myself, sweetheart.” His teeth sank into one of her ass cheeks, and she moaned, arching her hips up off the bed. He licked and sucked at the spot to soothe the bite before moving to her other cheek to repeat the delicious torment. Sliding his hands under her hips, he pulled them up off the bed so that she was lying ass-up and facedown and feeling wickedly, amazingly exposed and open to him. She knew he was about to claim her, and her arms shook against the mattress.
He slicked his thumb through her folds and she moaned into the mattress. He laughed softly. “It’s cute that you’re a little jealous, Sierra, and very, very hot that you called me yours.” He circled his thumb around her clit, and she arched into his touch. “But you’ve got it all mixed up, sweetheart. It’s because you’re mine that I’ll always come home to you.”
She moaned again, and she felt the mattress dip behind her. And then his tongue was on her, licking a slow, deliberate path over her folds. He slipped a finger into her, and then another, working them in and out in time with his mouth as he swirled his tongue over her in a steady rhythm. A tremble crested through her, and her legs shook, pleasure vibrating through her. He groaned against her, adding to the vibrations, and tension began to coil low in her belly. He gave her ass a playful slap, warm tingles emanating outward from the contact, and she swore she could feel her bones melting.
“I need…to…more…” She panted out, her eyes closed as she focused entirely on Sean’s mouth and what it was doing to her.
“Tell me what you need,” he said, swirling his tongue over her again.
“I need…need to come,” she managed, and he sucked her clit into his mouth, scraping his teeth over it and sending her over the edge. Her entire body bucked as she came, and she screamed his name into the mattress. She felt the head of his cock slide against her swollen lips, and she pushed up onto all fours. His teeth nipped her earlobe, and he growled as he pushed into her.
“I love you, Sierra. That’s my motivation for staying safe.”
Her heart came undone, unspooling like ribbon as he slid home, his hands tight around her hips. She looked at him over her shoulder.
“I love you, Sean.” She couldn’t get the rest of her thought out around the lump pressing against her throat at the tenderness and passion in his eyes.
She heard his breathing hitch, but he continued to move, stroking in and out in a deep, deliberate rhythm. Suddenly he pulled out of her, flipped her over again, and sank back into her, his mouth urgent against hers. She wrapped her legs around his hips as they lost themselves in each other, the sounds of soft moans, the creaking mattress, and the gentle slap of skin against skin filling the room.
“Say it again,” he said, sliding his hands up to twine them with hers above her head.
“I love you.” She blinked and felt a tear slide down her cheek. He dipped his head and kissed it away, slowing his rhythm.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart.” He kissed her neck. “Nothing to cry about. I’m here, and I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
Every single cell in her body buzzed, and she couldn’t think straight. Everything was a jumble inside her
, and all she knew was that she needed this man the way her lungs needed air, the way her heart needed blood, the way her body needed food. He was her air, her blood, her food. He was everything, and she knew that, if they didn’t deal with Sacrosanct, all of this could be snatched away from her, and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing Sean. She was so in love with him that the idea of anything happening to him caused her actual physical pain.
She would do whatever it took to protect not just him, but what they’d found together.
* * *
Sierra stretched her sore muscles, not wanting to open her eyes. The soft glow behind her eyelids told her the room was bright, and she could hear a housekeeping cart rumbling down the hallway. She turned and reached for Sean, her arm thumping against the mattress. Cocking one eye open, she listened, relaxing when she heard the quiet patter of the shower in the adjacent bathroom.
She’d drifted to sleep a few hours ago in his arms, unable to stop touching him. Wanting the comfort and reassurance of his skin against hers. She wished that they didn’t have to go back to Los Angeles this morning, that they could just stay curled up in this hotel suite together for the foreseeable future.
Her phone began to ring from her purse by the door, and she ran to answer it. Taylor’s name scrolled across the screen.
“Hey. I’m surprised you’re up. Isn’t it like, five in the morning there?” Sierra hopped back into bed, pulling the duvet around her.
“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d try and write for a while, but I got nothing. Distract me?”
“Still blocked?” She snuggled deeper into the soft mattress.
“Ugh. Yes. I haven’t written a song in months now, and I feel like I’ve forgotten how.”
“Patience. It’ll come. I think if you try to force it, you’ll make it worse.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Anyway, I didn’t call to whine about being blocked. How’s Miami? I saw your speech online, and you killed it.”
“Really? You saw it online?”
“Yeah, have you been living under a rock for the past twelve hours? It went viral, dude.”
“It did? Wow.” A thrill shot through her at the idea that thousands of people were watching her speech. If that didn’t help galvanize support for Choices’ getting the grant, she didn’t know what would.
“Yeah. Where’s Sean?”
“In the shower.” She cringed as she spoke the last word, knowing that she’d just given them away.
Taylor laughed, the sound deep and husky. “So you weren’t under a rock, but under a hot bodyguard.”
Sierra laughed too, relieved Taylor didn’t seem hurt that she’d kept it from her.
“As a penalty for holding out on me, you owe me details.”
“Oh, really? Such as?” Sierra challenged, not really wanting to share parts of Sean with anyone else.
“Is he proportional? I mean, he’s such a big dude, that I can’t help but wonder…if…you know.”
Sierra laughed, and even though she was alone, her cheeks warmed. “Get real. I’m not telling you how big he is.”
“Oh, come on. Ballpark. I don’t need specifics.”
“Are you that deprived?”
“Deprived? No. Depraved? Yes.”
She laughed again, smushing a hand against her face. “Like, on the Sierra Blake scale of penises?”
“Yes. Although the data on your scale probably isn’t as comprehensive as the Taylor Ross log…log. Ha. Log log.”
Sierra laughed even harder. “You should copyright that.”
“Uh-huh. Enough stalling. Spill.”
“Fine. On the Sierra Blake scale, he falls somewhere between holy shit and unnnggnnnf.” She made a Homer Simpson–like groaning, drooling noise.
Taylor laughed, one sharp burst. “Very scientific, this scale of yours.”
Sierra began to make an even raunchier joke when a muffled male voice on the other end of the phone stopped her. “Everything OK, babe?”
“Yeah, couldn’t sleep. Sorry.” Taylor came back on. “Still there?”
“Um, excuse me, but who was that?” She had a feeling she knew, but she wanted confirmation.
“Uh…it’s Zack.”
Sierra was about to ask for more info when Sean emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a white towel knotted low around his hips. Water droplets still clung to his chest, chasing each other down his glorious muscles. Every single thought flew out of her brain.
“I have…to…go…” she said, watching with anticipation as Sean strode slowly toward her, a wicked smile on his gorgeous face.
Taylor laughed again. “I assume Sean is naked, because it sounds like your brain is sliding out through your ears.”
“I think it is. We’ll catch up when I get back.”
“Have fun with Mr. Unnnggnnnf.”
Sierra slid her thumb across the screen to end the call, watching as Sean dropped the towel to the floor.
Her phone began to buzz again from where she’d dropped it on the bed, and she glanced over at it, wanting to put it in silent mode, but froze when she saw the name on the screen: Detective Rodriguez.
She glanced up at Sean and knew that he’d seen it too, the wicked smile having been replaced with a frown. He nodded for her to answer it.
“Sierra.” Antonio’s voice was hoarse, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Antonio? Is everything OK?”
She could hear the sound of sirens and crackling radios in the background, and he cleared his throat before speaking.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, Sierra, but there was a fire last night. Your house is gone.”
Chapter 26
Sierra stood at the edge of her driveway, trying to make sense of the smoldering wreckage in front of her. A few of the exterior walls still stood, crumbling and charred along the tops. The roof was gone, having collapsed into the house and taking out most of the second floor with it. White smoke still rose into the sky from the ashes, although the fire had long been extinguished. They’d flown back to Los Angeles on an earlier flight than planned, but even still, it had taken nearly eight hours for them to get back from Miami. Worry and guilt had gnawed at her the entire trip.
Carter had been in the house when the fire had started. Someone had thrown several Molotov cocktails in through a window, and the fire had spread far too quickly for Carter to do anything but get out.
He could’ve died. She thought of the pictures of his son, and she wanted to throw up. She took a small step forward and noticed the graffiti scrawled across her driveway.
BURN IN HELL BITCH
She stared at the ruins of her home, trying to wrap her head around the fact that everything was gone. All her furniture. Her clothing. Her personal items. Things that couldn’t be replaced, like photographs, her grandmother’s engagement ring. Gone. She was trying to feel something, anything, but looking at the smoke still rising into the air, she felt numb. Distantly she knew that she was probably in shock, but she didn’t know how to shake herself out of it, or if she even wanted to.
Antonio approached with Carter and a man wearing an LAFD uniform, all with smudges on their faces.
She looked over at Sean, who was talking to one of the other men from the LAFD. He must’ve seen her looking because he broke away and came toward her. Clearly any concern for confidentiality was gone because he slipped an arm around her waist and tucked her against him. With his solid, strong body sheltering hers, some of the numbness started to recede.
“Clearly this was a targeted attack,” said the LAFD officer. “I don’t know if anything from the security cameras is salvageable, but we’ll do everything we can to speed up the investigation.”
“That’s Virtus’s security system,” said Sean, “and everything backs up remotely to one of our servers. I’ll get someone working on getting you that footage ASAP. What time was the fire started?”
“Around three in the morning,” answered Carter. His voice was
hoarse from smoke inhalation, dark circles bruising the skin under his eyes.
Sierra nodded, starting to shake. Sean excused them, clapping Carter on the shoulder, and led her away from the scene. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”
Now that the numbness was wearing off, she missed it. Numbness was better than the terror churning through her and making it difficult to do anything except shake and try not to cry.
“Everything’s gone,” she choked out, pressing her face into his chest. His arms tightened around her, and he stroked her hair. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. “What if we’d been home? What if it wasn’t just stuff that was gone? What if Carter…” She trailed off, unable to keep speaking around the sobs now racking her. She glanced over at what was left of her house and cried harder, letting the loss, the fear, the sense of powerlessness pull her under.
“Shhh.” He kissed her forehead. “It’s OK, sweetheart. You’re OK.”
She pulled out of his arms, suddenly needing space. She paced away from him, hugging herself again. “I know, but I’m sick of this shit, Sean!” She pointed at the house. “If we’d been in there, we could’ve died. Carter could’ve died. And even though that didn’t happen, I’ve lost everything. I’m homeless because of this fucking garbage, and I can’t do it anymore. I’m at my wits’ end with all of this, and something has to give.” Tears made tracks down her face as she voiced the thoughts that had been churning through her the entire way home. Now, seeing the wreckage, she couldn’t keep it in anymore. She sank down onto the curb and sobbed, both for what she’d lost and for how much worse it could’ve been.
He sat down beside her, but didn’t pull her back into his arms. “I know. I’m sorry if it sounded like I was brushing everything off.” Something darkened in his eyes as he looked back at the house. “I’m so angry about this that I’m just trying to keep it together and not lose my shit on everyone here. That won’t help anything.”
