by Katie Reus
He was free to explore Darcy’s body, to kiss her everywhere he wanted. In the bedroom he gently set her down on the thick gold duvet.
“I’m not made of glass,” she murmured, reaching for his pants again.
He let her push them down even as he stripped off his jacket and shirt. When he was naked she ran her fingers up his stomach and the simple action made him pull back. If she started touching him, he wouldn’t be able to think straight.
“You. Naked.”
She laughed at his rasped-out words but lifted her arms as he reached for the hem of her sweater.
It didn’t take long for him to have her completely naked and stretched out on the bed in front of him. Her dark hair spilled out around her face and her breasts rose and fell rapidly as she watched him.
It was still afternoon and light spilled in from the big windows, bathing every inch of her in its warmth.
He was able to see her bruising clearly and forced himself to take a deep breath as he climbed onto the bed and up her delectable body. He had to trust her that if she said she wanted this, she was okay. Gently, he kissed above the bruise on her stomach, then made his way to her breasts.
He kept his hands on the bed, using just his mouth to brush over her smooth, soft skin.
She made a little mewling sound as he pulled one nipple between his teeth and flicked his tongue over it. Her fingers speared through his hair, clutching onto his head as she arched into him.
Reaching between her legs, he cupped her mound and slid a finger through her delicate folds. She was wet, but he wanted her soaking. Slowly moving his finger in and out of her, he continued teasing her breasts, so slowly he knew it would drive her crazy.
She squirmed beneath him, gasping and moaning out his name. “You’re driving me crazy,” she finally rasped out.
He lifted up, looked down at her. “I’ve barely started.”
“I know.” There was a desperation in her voice and her sweet expression that normally would have made him drag this out even longer but…he wanted to see her come. Wanted to taste it on his tongue.
More than anything, he knew she needed this. Keeping his gaze pinned to hers, he slid another finger inside her.
She arched up, sucking in a breath. “No more teasing.”
Oh, he wasn’t teasing. Not now. Hell, for how he felt, he wanted to fuck and fuck until he erased the image of her tumbling out of that van. Though he wanted more than just sex. With Darcy it had always been more.
The memory of carrying her from that van had been seared into his brain and he’d been so damn careful about touching her since then, so careful not to hurt her. The last couple days he’d wanted to claim her, mark her as his in the most primal way. But all the muscles in his body were pulled taut, as if he was walking a tightrope of control.
“Can you be on top?” He sounded as if he’d swallowed gravel.
Surprise flickered across her expression—because he usually liked to be on top or take her from behind—only to be replaced by a smile.
As he flipped onto his back, his cock dragged against her abdomen and he sucked in a breath. He was hard as stone and she was testing all of his control.
“Are you okay?” he asked as she settled her legs on either side of him, slowly rubbing her slick folds over his erection. He groaned.
Laughing lightly, she shook her head at him. “I should be asking you that.” Reaching between their bodies, she grasped his cock and stroked once. “I like having you underneath me,” she whispered.
She could have him any way she wanted. He tried to tell her that, to get the words out, but his throat seized as she stroked him again. He could not come. Not now. Not in her hands. He made a sort of growling sound and she must have understood because she let go and positioned herself on top of him.
She looked like a goddess poised above him, her dark hair fanning around her breasts, her breathing as erratic as his as she looked down at him. Though his instinct was to take over, he wanted her to set the pace, wanted her to be in control.
Right now was all about her pleasure.
When she slid fully down on him, he groaned and grabbed onto her hips, holding her in place as he savored the sensation of being buried inside her.
Her green eyes were heavy-lidded as she watched him, the pink tips of her nipples hard and aroused.
“Touch your breasts,” he ordered even as he reached between their bodies and began teasing her clit.
Just soft little strokes that would drive her crazy. The second he started teasing her, he felt her inner muscles contract around him. There was no better feeling in the world.
That familiar tingling sensation at his spine started as his balls pulled up even tighter but he gritted his teeth. Hell no. Darcy was going to come and he wanted to be inside her for a hell of a lot longer. He could drown in her and die happy.
As she cupped her breasts, she started oh so slowly grinding against him. Not really moving up and down, just barely rolling her hips against his in the most erotic way.
The entire time she watched him, he couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. Something had shifted into place between them. He hadn’t been joking about proposing later, even if she thought he had been.
Nope. Darcy was his. For always.
Soon he’d have a ring on her finger. And hopefully one day they’d create a family of their own. For now, he just wanted her. Only her.
He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, watching each other while he was buried deep inside her. Time didn’t exist now. Nothing did except her.
When he increased the tempo, teasing her clit a little faster and with more pressure, her eyes closed and she fell forward on him, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she began riding him.
Oh, hell. He watched the soft sway of her breasts as she moved up and down, and nearly lost it. His control snapped and though he tried to hold back, his hips rolled up to meet hers stroke for stroke.
He knew the moment before she climaxed—her inner walls pulsed around him as she threw her head back, moaning out his name.
Grasping the back of her neck, he crushed his mouth to hers as her climax shuddered through her. It pulsed through her in waves, consuming her—and him.
God, this was heaven.
She bit his bottom lip and rasped out, “Come in me.” The softly spoken words set something off inside him.
And that was it. He was hers to command. Grasping her hips, he thrust inside her over and over until he found his release in long, hard waves of pleasure. He never wanted this to end.
Eventually she sprawled on top of him, her breathing as uneven as his. Their bodies were slick with sweat and sticky from their release and he had no desire to move. Ever.
He stroked a hand up and down her back, wanting to stay that way forever.
“I could stay like this forever,” she murmured, as if reading his mind.
“Me too.” He tightened his grip on her, holding her close. She was his. For always.
* * *
Stretched out on the king-size bed, Brooks grabbed his buzzing cell phone. Darcy was still in the shower and he was impatiently waiting for her to return so he could wrap her up in his arms—then bury his face between her legs.
“Hey,” he said, answering on the second ring.
“Heard things went well,” Skye said.
“I think so. How’d you get that information, anyway?” He hadn’t asked her before but he was damn curious. Because even Gage hadn’t found out that Kuznetsov had a daughter.
“David Ramirez.” Two simple words. But nothing about that particular man was simple.
“He told you?” Damn. Skye had infiltrated the man’s compound, rescued Mary Grace and killed some of Ramirez’s best men. But…she and Colt had also let the man know that his brother had killed their father and had planned to kill David.
“He owed me.”
“That’s…” Hell, he didn’t know what to think. A year ago Brooks never could have imagined that he’d be c
ashing in favors from known drug lords. It was a whole new world right now. When he’d been in the Marine Corps, things had been black and white. Right and wrong.
“Don’t overthink it too much. Listen, I called for a reason… Olivia is insisting I wear a bridesmaid’s dress for her wedding.”
“Ah…okay. Why are you telling me?”
“I wanted to see if you could talk to Darcy. Maybe she can convince Olivia that it’s a stupid idea. That—”
He stifled a laugh. “This is ridiculous, even for you. It’s a dress. Suck it up and wear it.”
Skye started cursing at him as Darcy stepped out of the bathroom, steam billowing behind her—completely naked.
He hung up on Skye.
Chapter 29
—Happiness often sneaks in a door you didn’t think was open.—
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Darcy asked, her tone anxious. “Seriously, just turn around and pick me up.”
Brooks laughed lightly. “I think you’re more nervous than me. And I’m sure. I think this is something I need to do alone the first time. If she’s nice…then I want to introduce her to you and everyone.”
“I’m crazy nervous but I’m also excited for you.” They’d returned home early this morning, and once he’d gotten her settled back in her house, he’d had one more confession.
Well, not really a confession, but news. He was ninety-five percent certain that the woman who’d been following him was his half-sister. He’d had Gage dig into her a little bit more, and it fit. His father had lived in Jupiter for a while, and right after the woman had been born, her mother had up and moved. No one was listed as her father on the birth certificate, however. And though he might have issues with his dad, he didn’t think his dad knew.
Which left a lot of unanswered questions. And he planned to get them. Now that things were mostly back to normal, he wanted to talk to Hadley.
According to her school schedule, she should be getting out of class soon. He did feel kind of like a dick for ambushing her, but she’d followed him at least twice that he knew of. It was clear she wanted to reach out, but was maybe too afraid. He just hoped she wasn’t going to hit him up for money. He could afford it, and he would give her whatever she asked for if they were related, but he didn’t want a relationship like that.
It didn’t take long to find where she was parked—Gage might have had something to do with tracking her car—so he parked in the same lot and leaned against the driver’s side door of her little red car.
Have you met her yet? a text from Darcy read.
He shook his head at her enthusiasm as he responded. I’m still in the parking lot. She hasn’t come out of class yet. Which Darcy very well knew. She was simply impatient.
OMG, this is so cool! I really hope she’s nice! I swear I’ll stop bothering you, but you better call me as soon as you can. Her text was followed with a bunch of smiley face and cat emojis.
God, he’d missed her. He’d missed their phone conversations, the cute little texts she sent him during the day, all of their naked time, just being around her. He hadn’t realized how empty his life had been without her until he’d lost her.
Never again.
When he looked up from his phone, Hadley was approaching him, almost timidly. She wore jeans, brown boots and a thick jacket that had nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with keeping her warm. With her hair back in a ponytail and her backpack on, she looked younger than twenty-two. She gave a small smile as she reached him and said, “Hi.”
“Hi…I’m Brooks Alexander.”
“I know who you are. I’m Hadley.” She clutched onto the straps of her backpack and watched him, not exactly warily, but she was nervous and vulnerable in that moment.
“You were following me the other day,” he said bluntly.
Her cheeks flushed red and she nodded. “I didn’t know how to approach you. I don’t even know what to say now. This is nothing like I imagined.”
“Was it the first time you followed me?”
She shook her head.
“Why have you been following me?” He had a feeling he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what she had to say.
“I…think I might be your half-sister,” she said in a rush. “I mean, I don’t know for sure. My mom said Douglas Alexander was my dad, but…I don’t know.” It was clear she was getting flustered and nervous. And this wasn’t the place for a conversation like this.
“You want to grab coffee somewhere close? We can talk?”
“Oh my God, yeah! I mean…” She cleared her throat. “That would be great.” Her smile was blinding, and in that moment, his ninety-five percent went up to ninety-nine point nine that they were related. She had the same damn dimple he did, and while he thought it looked stupid on him, it looked adorable on her.
She also had the same dark hair and dark eyes, which might mean nothing but…he could see the family resemblance. And it was like a sucker punch.
He had a sister.
Chapter 30
—Always act like you’re wearing an invisible crown.—
Two weeks later
“I can’t believe you convinced Skye to wear a dress. She’s not even whining about it,” Nova whispered. “And if you say I used the words whine and Skye in the same sentence, I’ll deny it until the day I die.”
Darcy looked up from the screen of her cell phone and smiled at Nova, the beautiful woman getting fitted for her bridesmaid’s dress. Olivia was with her daughter Valencia looking at tiaras because the six-year-old was determined that both she and her mother wear one on Olivia’s wedding day. Darcy was pretty sure the kid was going to win this argument.
“I just showed her who was boss.” Darcy grinned as the other woman’s eyes widened.
And even as she said it, Mary Grace and Martina—two women she’d gotten to know a lot in the last couple weeks—strode over, their eyes wide as well.
“Are you serious? Because Skye is crazier than a bag of cats,” Mary Grace said. “I should know,” she muttered.
Darcy wasn’t sure about the last part, but she nodded. “I told her if she didn’t wear a dress she wouldn’t be in the wedding—and it would seriously disappoint Valencia. Then I sent Valencia in to talk to her. This isn’t my first wedding,” she said, grinning. Though Skye was the first bridesmaid Darcy had met who carried a gun around. It was holstered, and Skye had assured her that she had a license for it, but it had still surprised Darcy a little when she’d seen it.
“Taken down by a six-year-old.” Mary Grace seemed to think that was hilarious as she reached for another glass of champagne on the nearby table.
The women were here at Darcy’s shop for their final fitting since Savage and Olivia were getting married in about a month. The dress designer had blocked out a few hours and the women were having a great time. The wedding was going to be small, just family and friends, and perfect. Of that Darcy had no doubt.
As if she knew she was being talked about, Skye came out of the dressing room wearing the lavender, one-shoulder, floor-length gown with lace and chiffon—looking stunning. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a tight braid and her expression was sulky. Approaching the stand, she stepped up on it and held out her arms as if going to her execution. “All right, let’s finish this,” she said to the seamstress.
Hannah, the seamstress on loan from Faith, gave Darcy a covert look and rolled her eyes. Darcy had to hide a laugh at the woman’s antics.
“At least I can hide my weapons in this thing,” Skye muttered, twisting on the stand so that the dress flared out.
“Stand still or I’ll poke you,” Hannah said, her voice light and cheery.
Which just made Darcy grin. Hannah always had a smile for everyone.
“I think we’re going to do the tiaras,” Olivia said, coming to stand next to Darcy.
She turned all her attention on the bride-to-be. “Good. And it’s not like you have to wear them for all the pictures.”
“I’m going to be wearing mine to sleep tonight and every day until the wedding,” Valencia said matter-of-factly.
Her mother simply looked at her and ran a gentle hand over the top of her head.
“When are you and Uncle Brooks getting married?” the little girl asked, her jet-black ponytail swinging as she hugged her tiara to her chest and rocked back and forth.
Darcy choked on air as she struggled to find an answer. “Ah…”
“Honey, why don’t you go grab a cookie? Miss Darcy just set some out. Chocolate chip, your favorite.”
Apparently, cookie was all Valencia needed to hear because she was gone in a flash, her dark hair flying out behind her.
“Sorry about that,” Olivia murmured. “At that age they don’t have a filter.”
“It’s okay,” Darcy said, laughing. “So how are you feeling? Are you ready for the big day?”
“Honestly, house hunting is proving to be more difficult than planning this wedding. But that’s thanks to you since you’re doing everything.” Olivia laughed lightly. “I feel like I should be more stressed, but I’m not really worried about anything. I just want to be married to Savage.”
That was a good answer.
“How’s your sister?” Olivia asked before Darcy could respond.
“Surprisingly good. Or maybe not good, but they’re dealing with everything.” And from what Darcy could tell, they were facing things as a team. Namely the media scrutiny, which thankfully in the last couple days had seemed to taper off. There was a new scandal in New York, which had taken the heat off. Not that Emma and Peter had been involved in anything, but the media were like vultures, trying to find a story that wasn’t there.
Darcy had learned the truth about why Semyon had planted those bombs—or rather his men had on his orders. One of his security guys, who was now in jail, had helped with planting the one at the school. And the Feds had proof in the form of his DNA, so he’d been willing to talk. Apparently, years ago Alexei Kuznetsov had killed Semyon’s wife and son—Peter’s older brother. Darcy knew he’d had one, but only because Emma had once mentioned it. Semyon hadn’t had proof, not that he would have gone to the cops anyway. Instead he’d been patiently waiting to kill Kuznetsov. He’d even framed a fall guy, Dimitri, to take all the blame, so that Semyon would never be suspected—and then kill Kuznetsov in his own vehicle. Make it look like Kuznetsov’s man had an agenda, including killing someone at the wedding who’d wronged him. Semyon simply hadn’t cared who’d died in the process. There’d also been a loose link to Dimitri at the elementary school, in addition to the wedding. A woman he’d once dated worked there. Semyon had been planning this for years, looking for the perfect person to take the blame for killing Kuznetsov.
