by Em Petrova
Look how that turned out.
“I can help you.”
She stared at him. “How?”
His crooked smile was sexy as hell and brought to mind all the times she’d seen it flash when he moved over her… inside her.
“The Ranger Ops’ motto is guts and glory, that’s how. We don’t back down from a fight.”
She shook her head. “When I met you at Big Mike’s, I never suspected you were some kind of superhero.”
“I’m not. I’m just good at what I do, and I have the best of the best on my six.”
She’d never actually heard anybody use terms like that before except in movies.
“You have more to tell me.” His gaze burrowed into her.
Exactly just how perceptive was this man?
She nodded. “After the speech, the senator caught me at my car. He told me to lay low, that I would be targeted. I thought he might be overreacting, and then somebody pushed a note under my front door.”
He tensed beneath her. “Do you still have it?”
She nodded.
“I’d like to have it looked at later by my forensics team.”
The fact he could get it examined later gave her another shock. Lennon was the real deal.
“What did it say?” he asked.
“To stay inside and watch my back, basically.”
On the surface, Lennon acted as if she’d just told him it was sunny outside. His entire demeanor was calm and unfazed. But searching his eyes told Edie something much different.
He was angry.
Furious, even.
The depths of his hazel eyes darkened. “You’re in the right place, baby. My team and I will dig around and see what we can uncover, because the authorities have allowed these attacks to go on too long. Which makes me question whose payroll they’re on.”
The journalist in her jerked to alertness. “You think the same group could be paying the cops to turn a blind eye?”
“It’s happened before. One thing I’ve learned is trust no one.”
“But you trusted me with your story,” she said quietly.
Lennon stared into her eyes and eased a hand around her neck, stroking a warm path on her skin with his thumb. “I don’t have a reason for telling you what I did, Edie. I’ve had other women and never felt the need to share that part of my life.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
“Maybe for the same reason you came home with me today. There’s just something between us.” He eased closer.
And she tipped her face up to his. He captured her mouth in a tender caress that had her sighing with pleasure even as her insides knotted with want.
His lips brushed across hers gently before he pulled back. “I promise you’ll be safe even if I’m not home. Don’t be afraid to be here in the house alone or walk Ranger.”
She blinked. “What did you do?”
“Just trust me.” He slid his thumb across her lips, still damp from his kiss. Then with a passion that made her stomach bottom out with desire, he swooped in and claimed her mouth again.
There was nothing tender about it this time—it was all-consuming. Demanding.
Where she sat across his thighs, she felt his arousal. Her insides clenched, and she shifted on him.
Letting out a groan, he dragged her closer into the kiss, and she rolled her hips down against the bulge in his jeans. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, and she opened on a gasp, inviting him in.
Their tongues tangled for long minutes, each stroke amping up the tension between them until she couldn’t take it another moment.
“I want you,” she whispered.
“I’ve been waiting to hear those words.” His voice was gravel and ground glass, the rough edges heightening her awareness of this man and how much she wanted to give herself over to him, not only bodily but her safety as well.
She might pride herself on being a bold and strong woman, but this mess she was in was way beyond her skill set. She was in over her head, and fate had given her the perfect man to help.
Holding her gaze, he lifted her and flipped her onto the couch. She spun her arms around his neck and dragged him down on top of her. His weight made her feel too hot, too needy… and entirely safe.
He rocked his hips, grinding against her as he had on the dance floor what felt like months ago. How quickly her life had taken a dark turn. A few weeks ago, her only worry was uncovering stories or getting that full-time position at Notable News.
Lennon edged his fingers under her top, walking up her ribs to her breast. The minute his fingers closed around her nipple, she cried out. Arching, she kissed him with all the need building inside her and gripped his bare shoulders.
Five more shoves of his erection against the V of her legs was too much—she went for his jeans. A couple flicks of her fingers and his hard cock was spilling into her hands. She couldn’t wrap her fingers all the way around his girth, but he still liked her touch, if his moan was anything to go by.
She stared into his eyes and gave him a stroke from base to tip. His eyes fluttered, and he rolled off. With quick jerks, he removed all her clothes. Then he tugged her to the edge of the sofa, spread her legs and sank his tongue into her wet, needy, aching folds.
* * * * *
Edie’s sweet flavors coating his tongue had Lennon throbbing faster than a bullet expelled from a weapon. He parted her petal-soft outer lips and lapped a path around her opening, up through her wet folds to her hard clit.
Fuck, she was so slick and ready. He wanted to bury himself balls-deep—now. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to spend half his days feasting on her pussy and the other half inside her. To hell with sleep, food or Ranger Ops.
She tipped her hips upward, and he drew on her clit with gentle, teasing pulls of his lips. Her thighs quivered around his ears, and his own cock bobbed against his abs.
Opening his mouth wide, he flattened his tongue against the seam of her pussy, his upper lip still covering her hard pearl. She swirled her hips, and he pulled back to gaze at her.
Her eyes burned with intensity, and her pale hair tumbled around her flushed face. Her nipples jutted up toward the ceiling, dark pink. And her stomach dipped sharply with each labored breath she took.
Her pussy begged for his mouth. And his fingers.
He trailed two through her juices, zigzagging down her pussy to her opening. As he thrust them high against her inner wall, he watched her expression shatter into one of bliss. Her eyes rolled back, and she bucked into his hand.
The wet sound of his fingers inside her brought a growl to his lips. He needed to feel her clenching, and while she still pulsated with her orgasm, he was going to sink his cock into her.
He withdrew his fingers and stuck them in his mouth. She opened her eyes to catch him licking each digit clean down to the knuckle.
“Oh my God,” she burst out.
“You taste too damn good.” Holding her stare, he found his jeans. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and located a condom. When he tore open the packet, his hands shook, but he managed to pull out the condom and fit it over the head of his cock. As he jerked it down over his length, he plunged his fingers inside Edie again.
Her head fell back, and she opened to him. With each withdraw of his fingers, she arched up to follow him. He added his thumb over her clit and ground it into her body.
The first shocks of her impending release hit his fingers. She trembled in his hold.
And he went wild with the need to get inside her while she was still pulsating.
He finger-fucked her deeper with every pass, his thumb circling her clit. When she gave a muffled noise, he felt the tight squeezes of her inner walls around his fingers. Two, three…
Quickly, he pulled free and drove his cock into her.
Her eyes popped open with surprise, and she surged upward, arms around his neck, mouth on his as her orgasm shook her in his arms. Biting back his need to blow, he closed his eye
s on the sensation of her coming apart around him.
He began to move, hips churning, ass muscles tensing and releasing as he fucked her. She was soaking, and he didn’t realize what was happening until she called out his name.
She was coming again.
Jesus, he wasn’t going to last.
He roared as spurts of cum jetted from his cock, never slowing, wanting more, deeper, faster.
All of her.
She sagged in his hold, and he drew her mouth to his. The thrum of pleasure in his veins mingled with an intense need to protect this woman, a combination he’d never known before.
It was more powerful than he expected. It made his chest tight with emotions he couldn’t label.
In the pocket of his jeans feet away, his phone buzzed.
Edie looked at him.
“I have to take this.” He carefully separated their bodies and reached for his phone.
Penn’s there.
Sully’s text brought him back to the present situation. The danger coming at Edie was real. But at least they had Penn as backup.
Thanks, man. I owe you.
Don’t worry—I’ll collect when I’m ready.
Lennon grunted with amusement and tucked his phone away again. Then he stood, eyeing the beautiful woman still sprawled out on his sofa. “How does a shower sound, and then we’ll take Ranger for a walk? I’ll show you our route.”
Her blue eyes cleared of the worry he’d seen there when he’d gotten the text. “Yes, that will be nice.”
As soon as he pulled her to her feet, he took one look at her body and was aching all over again.
Having her wet and soapy wasn’t going to help that, but he wasn’t about to miss his chance.
* * * * *
Ranger jumped around her and Lennon, his leash dangling from his jaws.
Edie chuckled. “I think he’s excited.”
“He’s always up for a walk, aren’t ya, boy?” Lennon rubbed his ears and took the leash from him. Ranger held completely still as he hooked the end to his collar.
“He’s well-trained.”
“Surprising how quick he learned, since he was stuck in a kennel for the first nine months of his life. I got him from a rescue, and he’d been treated for malnutrition and sores from the bars of the cage.”
Her stomach hollowed out. “I hate stories like that. They’re all too common. He’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him.”
They walked outside and when Lennon entered an alarm code, he made sure she saw it. He looked to her.
“Did you remember that?”
“Yes.” She tapped her temple to indicate the digits were stored away.
“Arm it every single time you go out.”
“I will.”
When they reached the sidewalk, he turned his head to glance over his shoulder and then continued on, Edie next to him and Ranger out in front leading the way. The neighborhood was quiet. Birds chirped, and the sound of traffic seemed muffled.
“This is a nice area to raise a family.”
He stared at her.
God, had she blurted that out? Now he probably thought she was digging for more from him, when that wasn’t the case at all. She only planned to stay here for a few days, until the senator and whatever authorities were on the case settled things. Then she’d return to her life.
“It is a nice place. I chose it for security reasons. I’ve seen too much working as a state trooper and then Texas Ranger.”
Their pace was leisurely, and the dog settled in. Lennon turned the corner, and they made their way down another residential street. On the opposite side of the street, an older lady was out walking her dog too, a toy poodle the size of Ranger’s head. Lennon lifted a hand to her in greeting.
“You get to know these people, though we never speak.” He slanted a smile at Edie.
“Lennon.” Her heart pounded with fear at the thought in her head. “What if someone follows me?”
“They won’t.”
“But how can you be so sure?”
He glanced over his shoulder again. She followed his gaze but saw nothing. “Trust me, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
She didn’t know where he got his assurance on the topic, but she had no choice than to believe him.
“When do you think you’ll leave the house again?” she asked.
Ranger took a left, knowing this route blindfolded.
“I’m never sure. It could be in ten seconds or ten days. Usually, a week doesn’t pass with me at home, though.”
“How long do you go for?”
He shrugged. “As long as it takes.”
Her mind was all over this story. As a journalist, she liked to dig into the lives of people who fought for and protected their country. She was definitely curious about things Lennon had done. But of course she wouldn’t ask him.
Knowing she’d slept with a man who had this much control and power too… damn, it was hot. She wasn’t a girl whose head was easily turned, and she always went for the smarts in men, though it was clear Lennon wasn’t only a muscled man who was good with weapons. It took a very high intellect to perform his job.
“Ranger never seems to slow,” she noted to make conversation.
Lennon laughed. “I’d like to see the person who can wear this dog out. I’ve tried.”
“I can’t believe that. You have a lot of stamina.” A flush scorched her face as she realized what she’d said and how it sounded. She stole an apologetic look at him.
He arched a brow, the corner of his mouth quirked. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
They walked on and eventually her face cooled.
“Hallie told me a little about you in high school.”
He grunted. “I hate to hear what was said.”
“Only that every girl chased after you and your brother.”
He gave a noncommittal shrug.
“Does he live around here?”
“Few minutes away. Edie, what do you know about the senator’s children?”
His question slapped her, and she missed a step of their pace. He paused until she was beside him again.
“I only know what I’ve read.”
“Never met them?”
She shook her head.
He continued walking in silence, making the last corner to lead them home.
“Why?” she asked after a minute.
“Just wondered.”
She didn’t think he was only questioning her to satisfy his curiosity, though. Lennon wasn’t a man who wasted words. His question had her thinking hard about all she knew about the senator’s son and daughter as they walked back to the house and even later on as she got Ranger a drink of water and she sipped some from a glass with ice.
Lennon disappeared for a spell, and she had to wonder what he was up to.
If she asked, would he tell her? She had a feeling Lennon wasn’t always an open book, and the secrets he kept would be buried too deep for her to dig out.
Chapter Seven
Lennon leaned his elbows on the tabletop, his gaze moving from one man on his team to the next. Each one was paying attention to every word he said.
“We’ve got to dig deep and find out everything we can.” He tapped the table with a palm to punctuate his point. “A threat’s brewing just under the surface. All it takes is that rebel group to cook one bomb and then hundreds of Senator Arthur’s supporters are dead. We can’t wait for that to happen. This isn’t only about Edie.”
Sully leaned back in his chair with a nod. “You’re right. I’ll contact a few people about going deeper to see what we can find.”
Lennon turned to Jess. “Hack whatever mainframes you need to—just get that information.”
Jess shot him a grin but hid it the moment Lennon caught him.
“What’s that for?” Lennon asked.
“Didn’t think I’d see the day you were playing house with a woman.”
&
nbsp; “We’re not playing house—I’m keeping her safe while we sort through this shit.”
“Are hickeys part of the safety part then? I sure hope you’re being ‘safe’, man.” Jess reached out and pressed a forefinger into the side of Lennon’s neck.
He slapped him away, but he felt the heat rising in his face. Across the table from him, Linc was giving him a shit-eating grin.
“I’m not joking about any of this, guys. We need a team on the case and when we get what we need, we move in and end it. This shit’s gone on far too long. The senator has been living in fear for a year at least.”
“Lennon’s right,” Sully said. “Linc, you and Shaw dig up everything you can on the weapons used in the attacks against the senator. Jess, Cav, you work your magic with the computers. Hack into the senator’s fucking phone if you have to. We’re looking for any unusual ties to people who might be selling weapons, importing them illegally or producing them.”
Jess gave a sharp salute and stood. “On it, boss man.” He and Cav moved out to the room where the computers were set up for just this purpose.
“Guys,” Sully said to Linc and Shaw.
The two heaved themselves to their feet and left the room.
Lennon was left with Sully to stare at him.
“Say what’s on your mind, man,” Lennon said at once.
Sully let out a long sigh. “We have to entertain the thought that no matter how much effort you put into this, that we won’t be able to protect her.”
Lennon exploded to his feet, gaze fixed on his commander. “We’re the goddamn Ranger Ops—we don’t fail. Why are you saying this?”
“For a while, I’ve suspected everything isn’t on the up and up with Senator Arthur. If it was, why isn’t the government doing more to protect him and his family?”
“The family is innocent, Sully. Just like your family.”
“Yeah, but there’s something more to Arthur. He’s dirty.”
“If he is, then he’ll get what’s coming to him. But Edie shouldn’t be looped into that category.”
“She’s a journalist. How do you know she isn’t just out to get a story from this, Lennon?”
“Jesus. I thought you were the most levelheaded among us, Sully. Listen to yourself. Nobody wants to put herself into the crosshairs just to get a story.”
