by Cynthia Eden
He withdrew his fingers. Grabbed his cock and—
Condom.
“Do not move,” he ordered her.
“Odin!” A cry of frustration.
He shot from the bed. Grabbed a condom from the nightstand. Had it on and was back to press against her. His cock lodged at the entrance to her body. She’d grabbed the sheets and fisted them. He locked his hands around her hips and began to push into her.
But Maisey tensed. “It’s…ah…” She bit her lower lip. “Been a little while for me.”
He’d gone in an inch. Maybe two. Every cell in his body screamed for him to drive deep.
His left hand slid down. His fingers strummed her clit, just the way he’d learned she liked.
“Oh, that’s good, Odin, that’s—” Her hips did a little shimmy. “That feels—” And then she was the one to surge up against him. Her hips arched.
He drove into her. Thrust past the initial resistance of her inner muscles and sank all the way inside of her.
That was the moment when he lost his mind. Because Maisey didn’t just feel good. Good didn’t begin to describe it. Insane. Fucking fantastic.
He loomed over her. His mouth bent to capture hers in a long, drugging kiss as his cock retreated, then plunged deep. The rhythm was fast, faster, and her legs lifted to curl around him. Maisey’s hands freed the sheets as she grabbed for him.
“Okay?” Odin rasped. It was all he could manage, but he needed to be sure he wasn’t hurting her.
“Do not dare stop.”
He didn’t. He let go of his control, completely. Both of his hands went back to her hips so that he could haul her up against him as he thrust. Over and over. Hard. Deep. She was moaning. His heart was pounding. And he could feel the avalanche of pleasure coming.
He wanted to fuck her forever, but that wasn’t going to happen. Too intense. Too powerful. Too strong to hold back.
Maisey gave a sharp cry, and he felt the contractions of her inner muscles around him as she came. Hell, yes.
He thrust again and again. Lost, blind, to everything but the way she felt. And when his climax hit, the eruption slammed through him with so much force that his breath choked out. The whole damn world seemed to shatter around him and the only thing that remained—
Maisey.
Chapter Twelve
She’d been doing it wrong.
Maisey understood this truth with one hundred percent certainty. Sex had never been like this for her. It had never felt this good.
She’d been doing it way, way wrong before. Or maybe her partners had. Whatever. This—this was a whole other level of pleasure. So good that her body still quivered. So good that aftershocks were exploding through her. So good that she wanted to have sex with Odin a million more times, please.
“Thanks for straightening that out for me,” Maisey murmured.
Odin’s head slowly lifted. His expression was both savage, and sated. He was heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and he was also still in her.
“I won’t make the mistake again,” she added. Nope, she would not be repeating that error. Never, ever again. He’d gone and ruined her for the amateurs.
His lips brushed over hers. “What the hell are you talking about?” But the words were oddly tender. Almost like an endearment.
“Now I know what it’s supposed to feel like. Won’t be able to settle for anything less ever again.” A glow seemed to spread through her, and she just had to ask, “Was it…was it really good for you, too?”
Odin shook his head.
Her heart squeezed. “I’m sorry. I, uh, if you show me what you like, then I can do better.”
“The hell you can.”
Her eyes widened.
“It wasn’t really good, Maisey. You were the best ever. Got it? Ever. So good, so make-me-crazy-perfect, that I need you again.”
He was still in her. Still big in her. “Again, as in…right now?”
But he withdrew. Pulled out of her and she winced because she might be the tiniest bit sore. Not that she’d noticed the soreness before, but—
He strode away. Didn’t say anything. She rolled over and watched his ass and almost whistled because, damn, every single inch of him was muscle. Steel. Strength. And—he was back. Already heading toward her and now she had a view of his front.
Maisey swallowed.
He bent. Reached into the nightstand drawer. Pulled out another condom. Staring at her, he slowly rolled it over his thick length.
Then he waited.
Her gaze rose to catch his.
“Right now,” he said flatly.
That was some admirable recovery time. She made a mental note of it even as she scrambled upright. “Are you always like this?”
He eased onto the bed. Stretched out. “Right now, I can’t think beyond you, so I have no clue.” He motioned toward her. “You’re up.”
“Excuse me?”
“On top. You control it this time. Otherwise, I’ll be too hard.”
She rather thought he was already too hard. But she wasn’t exactly sure that was a problem.
“I don’t want to be too rough with you.”
Oh, he’d meant hard that way.
“You show me what you need,” Odin added.
“That’s simple.” But she crawled on top of him. Straddled him and pressed her hands to his chest. “I need you.”
His eyes widened. “Maisey, what am I supposed to do with you?”
Everything. His cock pressed to the entrance of her body. But she didn’t move to take him inside. Not yet. Instead, she leaned down and her tongue licked over one tight nipple.
Odin hissed out a breath.
She took that as a sign that he liked what she was doing, so she licked him again. Opened her mouth. Sucked.
“Baby, you are pushing…”
Yes, she was. And she liked doing it. Her hips arched down against him, taking the head of his cock inside of her just the smallest bit. She tensed a little, worried about pain, but…
Only pleasure.
She was wet and sensitive and every small push of his cock into her was sending off little waves of pleasure. She kept rocking against him, taking him in deeper. Ever so slowly. She worked him inside of her even as she licked and played with him. Her hands slid down his chest. Felt the raw power beneath her touch.
“All the way, Maisey. Take all of me.” His hands clamped around her hips.
She looked at him. His expression was so fierce and hungry.
Did she look the same way?
Her hands pushed down against his chest. She lifted her upper body and pressed down with her hips.
All the way. He lodged fully inside of her. Maisey’s head tipped forward and her hair fell around her face as she took a moment to savor having him all the way inside of her. He filled her completely. So tight. So full. Curious, experimenting, she deliberately clamped her inner muscles around him a little more with a squeeze.
“Maisey!” His hold hardened on her.
She did it again.
And saw Odin break.
He heaved up against her. His hips pounded with fast and frantic thrusts and she held on as she enjoyed the hell out of the ride. He drove deep. She felt him in every inch of her core. He was driving into her, she was shoving down against him, and they were racing toward release. Maisey could feel the climax coming. It was bearing down on her even as he thrust into her again and again.
She cried out Odin’s name when she came. One moment, she was flying desperately toward release, and in the next instant, her whole body seemed to be going supernova as the pleasure lashed at her.
Odin tumbled her back onto the bed. He grabbed her legs. Lifted them higher. Slammed into her and just had the pleasure increasing. Soaring higher. She didn’t even know if this was another orgasm or if he was just intensifying her feelings. All Maisey knew was that the pleasure was so good it seemed to be consuming her.
Then he was there. Erupting into her. Shoving hard with his
hips right before his body stiffened against her. She was staring straight into his eyes when he came. She saw the pleasure wash over his face, and she knew she would never, ever forget the possessive look in his gaze as he whispered, “Mine.”
***
A phone was ringing somewhere. Blearily, Maisey cracked open her eyes. Something big and warm was on top of her. She pushed against it. Realized it was…an arm?
Odin’s arm. He’d curled it around her stomach.
A phone rang again.
“Yours,” Odin rumbled.
Hers?
“Your new phone.” He slid from the bed. The room was in darkness, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. She strained to see him as her eyes adjusted. He was bending down, picking up a phone from her bag. When had he brought her bag in the room? She didn’t remember. She’d kind of passed out after the second round.
Or had it been the third?
“No caller ID.” He put the phone to his ear. “Who the hell is this?”
The glow from her phone’s screen let her see the hard angles of his face.
Maisey sat up, pulling the sheet with her. They’d just gotten that phone, but it had been programmed with her old number. So anyone who knew that number could call her—or it could just be some random, spam call.
“Hung up.” Odin lowered the phone. He took a step back toward the bed.
The phone rang again.
“Sonofabitch,” Odin began. His finger swiped over the screen.
“Put it on speaker,” Maisey urged him as tension snaked through her.
He came closer to her. Tapped the screen to turn on the speaker.
“Who is this?” Maisey demanded. The clock on her phone told her it was almost one a.m.
“I need you…” A woman’s voice. A voice that was somewhat distorted, but still familiar.
Goosebumps rose on Maisey’s arms. “Who is this?”
“You have to help…” Again, the same voice. But it sounded funny. As if the voice was coming from very far away.
Maisey shook her head because this couldn’t be right. She had to be confused. The caller could not be…
“Maisey?”
Her heart squeezed in her chest. “I’m here. Tell me what I can do.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Tell me where you are. I will help you. I will do anything.”
She could feel Odin’s eyes on her, but he wasn’t saying a word.
“Have to help…” The woman’s voice was even softer.
“How?” Maisey demanded. “Tell me how, and I will. Tell me where you are—I will come to you right now! Please, tell me. Where are you—where—”
The call ended.
A tear leaked down Maisey’s cheek. “No.” She grabbed the phone from Odin’s hand. “We have to call her back.”
“Who was on the phone, Maisey?” Careful. Quiet.
The light from the screen glared up at her. “How do I call her back?” Because there wasn’t a number listed. It had been blocked. “How?”
“Who was on the phone?” Odin repeated.
Her breath came too fast. Her chest burned. And hope had her feeling dizzy. “That was Whitney’s voice.” She hadn’t thought it was possible. She’d been so horribly certain but… “My God, Odin. She’s alive. Whitney is still alive!”
And she wanted Maisey to help her.
***
“I don’t like it,” Jinx announced the next morning as he stood on Odin’s balcony and peered down at the beach. “The woman is missing and suddenly, right after your lady is nearly taken, she calls Maisey?”
Odin glanced back toward the closed balcony doors. Maisey was showering. She hadn’t been able to sleep after the call. She’d had him pull every string he had in order to try and get a trace on the caller.
So far, his strings weren’t doing any good.
But he did have a monitor on her phone now. If she got another call…
“Is Maisey sure the caller was Whitney?”
He focused back on Jinx. “She says it was her friend’s voice. Swears she is one hundred percent certain.” She’d been crying by the time the call ended. Silent tears that had leaked down her cheeks and made his chest ache.
“Sonofabitch.” Jinx shoved his hands into his pockets. “And how long has this woman been missing?”
“Two months.”
Jinx closed his eyes. “If she’s been held for that long…”
“Maisey’s coming,” he said quickly because he’d glanced back once more and seen her approaching the door. “Don’t paint any damn pictures. The last thing I need is for her to get those images in her head about what might have happened to her friend.”
The door opened. Maisey stood there, her feet bare, her hair still wet, no makeup on her face. She’d put back on the clothes that she’d worn the previous night. She looked lovely and delicate and so damn breakable.
No one will break her. Odin wouldn’t let that happen.
“What’s the plan?’ Maisey’s shoulders squared. “How do we find her?”
Jinx and Odin shared a long look.
“No,” Maisey said instantly with a shake of her head. “Not happening. You two aren’t running off and leaving me to sit and twiddle my thumbs. This is my friend.” Her voice thickened. “I’m the one who gave up hope and thought she was dead. I should have kept going, kept hoping, and I will. I swear, I will do it now.” Tears filled her eyes. “You won’t shut me out. I will help on this. I will.”
He couldn’t watch her cry. Odin reached for Maisey and pulled her into his arms. His hand patted her shoulder.
Over her head, Jinx winced. “That is like watching a bear swipe at someone. Try a gentle stroke. It will work way better.”
He was gently stroking her. Couldn’t the man see that?
“And, Maisey, I’ll be the one to say this because Odin doesn’t want to crush your dreams and tender feelings but…”
Oh, hell. Frantic, Odin tried to glare the guy into silence—
Jinx ignored his glare. “But it’s too convenient.”
Maisey’s head whipped up. She spun to face Jinx. “Excuse me?”
“Too convenient,” he repeated and enunciated it extra slowly. “Sorry, but I’m a suspicious bastard even on my best days. All of a sudden, right after you’re nearly abducted, your missing friend reaches out and calls you? Nope. Not legit.”
“It was her voice. I know Whitney’s voice.”
“And voices can be faked. They can be altered. They can be digitally changed in a thousand different ways. Give me five minutes and your phone, and I’ll download an app that lets me sound exactly like my great-grandmother.”
Her body trembled. Odin could feel her pain.
“Jinx,” he warned.
“What? I’m telling her so that you don’t have to do it. So that you don’t have to be the one to watch the hope shatter in her eyes.”
Maisey whirled to face him. “Odin?”
But Jinx wasn’t done. “Look, you contacted the cops last night. Did the whole due diligence bit after you got the mystery call, but, O, you and I both know this is shady. The odds of it actually being the missing woman calling—those odds are so low that no one would take that bet.”
Maisey’s eyes were on Odin. Hope was still clinging to her expression. He didn’t want to destroy the light in her eyes.
“Do you think it was her?” Maisey asked. Then she held her breath.
I don’t want to hurt you. He also didn’t want to lie to her. “I don’t know.”
“Fuck me,” Jinx called out. “Odin, get your balls back. You are as doubtful as I am and allowing Maisey to hope now does nothing but make her vulnerable.”
He couldn’t look away from Maisey. “Sometimes, people need hope.” Maisey needed it. “Until I see a body—”
Maisey flinched and retreated from him.
Yeah, he was back to his usual level of tact.
“Until then,” Odin added, “I can’t know for certain. None of us can.�
��
Some of the tension slid from her shoulders. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“But…” He just had to say this. “It is suspicious. It could damn well be the perp, Maisey. You should prepare for that.”
“Why?” She tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. “Why would he do this?”
Jinx moved to her side. “To jerk you around? To torture you? Because he’s a sadistic prick who gets off on playing with people’s pain? Lots of reasons come to mind for me.”
She frowned at him.
“Could be another reason.” Jinx shrugged.
Jinx had even less tact that Odin did. Odin cleared his throat. “It could be a trick. Could be that he thinks he might have a way of luring you to him. If he offers you Whitney, then you’d come running.”
She nodded. “Yes, I absolutely would.”
No, baby, you absolutely will not.
“If my friend is out there, if she is still alive and this guy is willing to let her go…” Now Maisey grabbed Odin’s hand. “I will help her. I have to help her!”
Jinx sighed. He peered woefully at her. “That’s why it’s called a trap. The perp dangles some bait at you. You run ahead, not even looking at the danger, and the next thing we know, bam, you’re the one who has been missing for months and no one knows what the hell happened to you.”
A dark rage burned within Odin. “Not happening.” There was no way anyone would take Maisey. If he had to chain her to him, he would do it. Maisey was not going to run into danger. She sure as hell wasn’t going to vanish on him.
“What do you want me to do? Ignore the possibility that Whitney might be alive?” She let go of Odin and gestured between him and Jinx. “What if it was the two of you?”
Odin met Jinx’s stare.
“What if someone had Odin?” she asked Jinx.
Jinx gave a rough laugh. “Then the guy is a damn fool. He made the worst mistake of his—”
“Would you risk everything to save Odin? If you thought there was a chance he might be alive, would you risk yourself for him?”
Jinx’s lips pressed into a thin line. After a beat of silence, with his eyes still on Odin, he said, “If she has the chance, your girlfriend will rush off into who-the-hell-knows what kind of situation. She’s going to do anything she can to save her friend.” A pause. “Because it’s the same shit you and I would do for each other.”
