by Anna Hackett
He didn’t laugh, but his face got intense, his blue eyes glittering.
“I felt every minute that asshole had you.” Seth’s thrusts increased in power. “I felt every minute you were gone, not knowing what I’d find when I reached you.”
“I’m right here, baby.”
He reached down between their bodies and thumbed her clit. January’s orgasm blindsided her. She tossed her head back and arched her spine. She held on for dear life as the release hit her hard. Her vision blurred and she screamed his name.
He cursed. “You’re squeezing my cock so hard.”
After a few more thrusts, Seth’s rhythm broke. Then he gave a shout as he thrust inside her and came.
January blinked, staring up at the ceiling. They lay there for who knew how long. All she knew was that her body felt damn good, she had cool concrete at her back, and hard, warm man pinning her to it.
She pressed a kiss to the side of his head and he shifted, kissing her jaw.
“Okay?” he asked.
“I’m so far above okay that I’m in the stratosphere, 007.”
He gave her one of his faint smiles. She lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. He was so damn handsome.
When he froze, she realized she was stroking his scars.
But she didn’t care, hell, she barely noticed them now. They were just a part of him. She lifted her head and pressed her lips to his cheek, taking her time to trace the scars.
Seth shuddered.
Then he seemed to break free of the spell and scooped her up into his arms.
“I want to fuck you in my bed now.”
She laughed. She’d had a horrible few days, but somehow, this man—a man she’d thought she hated—was the bright light making it all okay.
“I think I can get on board with that.”
Chapter Thirteen
January’s husky cries were the sweetest sounds he’d heard.
They were in Seth’s bed, she was under him, her legs clamped to his sides as he moved inside her.
“So good.” She scratched her nails down his back.
Her body squeezed his cock hard. January didn’t hold back a single emotion. No elegant, thought-out moves, or showy, artful cries. No, January enjoyed him fucking her, and she wasn’t afraid to show it.
Something inside Seth broke. He thrust harder into her, pounding her into the bed. She gripped him tighter and moaned.
He watched as she came, crying out his name. He liked that sound even more than her husky cries. Then his own release hit him. With a growl, he lodged himself deep and poured himself inside her.
Damn. Seth rolled off her, falling back on the sheets and pulling her limp body into his side. The air was cool on his slick skin.
“I still haven’t fed you,” he said.
She pushed up, shoving her tangled hair out of her face. “How about burgers in bed?”
“I like your style, James.”
With a grin, she climbed out of the bed. He stared at her curvy ass and toned legs. She pulled on one of his button-down shirts, only doing up a few buttons, and sauntered out. His cock twitched. Damn, it was like he was seventeen again.
Seth sat up, and shoved a pillow behind his back. He grabbed his tablet off the bedside table, checking his security feed.
He still had a twitchy feeling. January getting snatched right under their noses had left him nervous.
He heard her in his kitchen and he stilled. He’d never brought a woman back here before. He sometimes hooked up between missions, but he went to the woman’s place, or one of the many hotels. Plates clanked, and then January muttered a curse.
He grinned. He liked it. Liked her puttering around his place.
When she finally returned, she sauntered in with that confident stride he enjoyed watching so much. His brows rose. Somewhere, she’d found one of his scarves and had it tied rakishly around her neck. She must have grabbed it from his closet earlier. She was holding two plates, loaded with burgers.
“Hello, sir. I hope you’re enjoying the flight,” she said, in a throaty voice.
Seth grinned. Oh, so Dr. James enjoyed a little role-play, did she? “It’s been okay so far.”
She set the plates down on the bedside table. “We’re expecting some turbulence.” She shot him a sexy grin and laid a napkin over his lap. “We want you to enjoy your trip.” She turned to grab a plate, leaning over enough to give him a view of her bare thighs and the bottom curves of her ass.
He reached over and stroked her skin. “I admire your dedication to your job.”
She turned back. “We take customer satisfaction very seriously.” She licked her lips, and his cock surged against the sheet.
“What would you like for your meal this evening?” she asked. “We have homemade burgers on the menu.”
“I don’t want burgers.”
“Oh? Well, whatever you want, I’ll do my best to provide it.”
“I want you to climb onto my lap, straddle me, and sink down on my cock.”
She shivered. “I see you’re interested in joining the Mile-High Club.”
“Very interested.” Seth flung the napkin and sheet away, baring his rock-hard cock to her.
January did as he’d ordered, climbing on and straddling him. Seth reached under her shirt, stroking the slick folds between her legs. She made a sexy sound and undulated on his hand.
“Whatever you want, sir.” Her voice was a husky whisper. “I’m here to provide for your every need.”
“Wrap one of those pretty hands around my cock.”
She obeyed, grasping him. “You’re so hard.”
“Put me inside you.”
She jerked, her lips falling open. But she obeyed, rising up and lodging the head of his cock against her folds. He sank in an inch, and they both moaned. Then she started to sink down, taking him inside her. Damn. So good.
Her hands gripped his shoulders for leverage, the most beautiful look crossing her face.
“Ride me,” he demanded. “I want you to come on my cock, then make me spill inside you.”
“Yes, sir.”
January rode him, her hips rising and falling. Seth opened the buttons on the shirt, cupping her breasts, then sliding his fingers down her flat belly. He touched where they were joined, his thick cock spearing inside her, listening to the small mewling sounds she made. Then, he stroked her clit.
She moved faster, panting. “Seth.”
“Damn, I love hearing you gasp my name.”
He gripped her hips, helping her to move up and down—faster, harder. It didn’t take long for her to come on a moan, tossing her head back.
Pure beauty. Seth followed her a second later, grinding her down on his cock.
“Fuck…January.”
She collapsed against him. Seth held her tight, and they stayed like that for a while. He stroked her back, just listening to her breathe.
“So…can I have my burger now, ma’am?”
She laughed. He stared at her face. There were no signs of worry or trauma from her ordeals. She was tough. He’d always known that.
Soon, they were both propped up on the pillows, eating burgers. Seth was naked, and January was only wearing his shirt. He liked this, too.
“Why archeology?” he asked.
She smiled, licking her fingers. “Because of my mom. She loved history. Instead of kids’ books, she read me history texts and books on mythology.” January’s smile turned dreamy. “We had this book on Egypt. It was illustrated and was so gorgeous. I loved it.”
“How did you lose her?” he asked quietly.
He watched January lick her lips and set her burger down. As she wiped her hands, he felt the air in the room change.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked—”
“No, it’s okay. I was fourteen, and she’d taken me down to L.A. for the day. We lived just outside Fresno. We went to the La Brea Tar Pits and the Natural History Museum. God, I was so excited. We drove, like, three hours to g
et there, and had such an awesome day wandering through all the exhibits.”
Seth’s shoulders tightened, and he realized that he wasn’t going to like the way this story ended.
“We had this piece-of-shit car. Mom worked in an office. We weren’t poor, but we didn’t have a lot, either. The car broke down on our way home.”
January fiddled with the sheet, and Seth fought the urge to pull her into his arms. For the first time, he wanted to fight a woman’s demons and keep her protected. To be her shield.
“It was getting dark, and Mom had taken a scenic route back, so it was pretty isolated,” she continued. “A truck pulled over to help.” She pulled in a breath.
Seth’s gut was in knots.
“There were two guys. They’d been drinking.” Her gaze met Seth’s. “They weren’t there to help us.”
“Shit, January—”
“My mom sensed it, and she told me to run.”
Now Seth grabbed January’s hand. Her fingers tangled with his.
“They raped her.” A shuddering breath. “And one of them raped me. Mom tried to stop them, but they hit her. Over and over.”
Fuck. Fuck. Seth’s chin dropped to his chest and he held her hand tight.
“Hey.” Fingers brushed his jaw. “It was a long time ago, Seth. My mom died of internal bleeding. I went to live with my aunt and uncle. They’re awesome, and we’re close. I won’t lie. There were a lot of rough moments, but I had therapy, I grieved. Yes, I lost my mom and my innocence, but I was determined to live for her.”
Now Seth understood what drove her. Why she embraced life, throwing herself into everything.
“And when I felt like I was spiraling out of control, I had my aunt, uncle, and two overprotective male cousins who are very much like brothers to me.” Her nose wrinkled. “Brandon and Mack still like to try and boss me around.”
Seth yanked her into his arms and she pressed her face against his chest. “Shit, January. That kind of stuff scars people.”
She nodded. “I have scars, but they’re healed.” She lifted her chin. “My mom died. She had no more chances to visit more museums, fall in love again, travel, cook, paint.”
“Or watch her daughter grow into a successful woman.”
“I thought I was a hellcat.”
“That too.” He stroked her hair. “Your mom would love your job.”
“Oh, yeah. I often imagine her visiting my digs. She would have loved it. It makes me smile.”
January was even stronger than Seth had first thought. There was physical strength, but the ability to move on from the shit life threw at you, and do it so successfully? That was another kind of strength.
He admired the hell out of her. He looked down at the scars on his arm. His past had gouged him deep, and he hadn’t come out the other side anywhere as well as January had.
Her hand touched his arm, her finger tracing one of his scars. There was an unspoken question in her eyes. His chest went tight. Nope, he was nowhere near as courageous as her.
“So, what would you like to do next?” he asked.
Disappointment flickered in her gaze, but she smiled at him.
“Well…” She shifted and touched the empty plate on the bed between them. She ran her fingers through some ketchup, then lifted her finger and smeared the red sauce down his chest. Then she leaned forward and licked it off.
His muscles tensed.
“Want to play spy and double agent?”
Seth tumbled her back onto the bed, grabbing the scarf she’d discarded earlier. He ran the fabric around her wrists. “Excellent idea.”
January woke to an empty bed.
She heard Seth moving about in the living room, followed by the sound of a door sliding open. Mmm, she also smelled coffee. She liked the idea of a man up making coffee for her.
She stretched her arms above her head. Damn, she felt good. She had a few aches, but they were of the pleasurable kind.
God. She shivered. She’d dated before, and had a few, longer-term boyfriends, but mostly she wondered if love was a lie concocted by companies to sell stuff. She considered her aunt and uncle the exception that proved the rule.
But here she was, after the worst few days of her life, brimming with emotion. All stirred up by one lean, distrusting, sexy man. What she felt for Seth Lynch was so much, so big, so passionate.
Last night, she’d opened up and shared the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Seth, however, had not shared much about himself. She stared at the ceiling. The man had an icy shell around him an inch thick. She moved on the sheets, sheets they’d done some pretty incredible things on.
January thought—hoped—she might have put a dent in that shell of Seth’s. Maybe even a few cracks. She just needed some patience.
She blew out a breath. They hadn’t talked about what would happen after the mission was over, and right now, they were in an extreme situation. But for the first time in a long time, January felt giddy with hope.
She finally pulled her lazy butt out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. After she washed her face and tied her hair up in a loose knot, she found one of Seth’s button-down shirts and slipped it on.
Then she walked into the living room. She paused.
He was out on the balcony, leaning against the railing. He was also shirtless, just wearing sweats. Yum.
She moved closer and saw he had an expensive camera in hand, snapping shots of a plane that had just taken off.
When she stepped outside, he glanced her way and smiled. His gaze drifted down her body, lingering on her bare legs. “Morning.”
“Morning.” When she got closer, he pulled her in between his body and the railing. “You taking some photos?”
“Felt inspired.” He pushed her hair off her shoulder and dropped a kiss to her skin.
January shivered. She slid a hand up to the camera, looking at all the buttons. “May I?”
“Sure.” He handed it over.
She spun away from the airport, lifted the camera, and snapped a shot of him.
Seth scowled. “I don’t like having my picture taken.”
She backed up, snapping some more. “That’s a shame, because women would consider your body a work of art.”
He snorted.
She felt a chair behind her and sat. She took a few more pictures of him—chiseled abs, hard chest, handsome face. He was still scowling. “You must know you’re gorgeous.”
“I’m scarred.”
January flopped a hand through the air. “That only adds to the appeal. Trust me.”
He was staring at her like she was some puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. Then he strode toward her and snatched the camera off her.
“Hey—”
“My turn.” He aimed it at her. Click.
Great. No make up and messy hair.
He changed a setting on the camera and crouched. She leaned back and realized the shirt was dangerously high on her thighs.
He kept taking pictures, then paused. “You are so damn beautiful, January.”
Heat coiled in her belly. She reached up and fiddled with the buttons on the shirt. She slipped a few free and leaned back.
Seth shot her a sexy grin. “You want to be naughty, hellcat?”
“Only for you.”
He took another picture. “Show me.”
She opened the last of the buttons. Everything was still mostly covered, just hinting at what lay beneath.
“You trust me with photos like this?” he asked.
“Yes, Seth. I trust you.” She shifted her legs, the shirt riding higher.
His gaze sharpened. “No panties.”
“Well, I was hoping to find you and coax you back to bed.”
“Then what?”
“Then I was going to lie back on your big bed and touch myself until your control broke.”
He pressed his tongue to his teeth, his gaze locked on her. “Show me.”
As she slipped a hand down her middle, over her
belly, she heard the camera click. She reached between her legs, his view blocked by her thigh. She slid her finger through her folds. Every click of the camera made her breath hitch. Her head fell back, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.
“So damn beautiful.” His voice had deepened.
January rubbed her clit, so turned on knowing he was watching and photographing her. A husky cry escaped her lips.
“Enough.” Seth set the camera on the outdoor table. He closed the distance to her and dropped down beside her. Then his hands were on her thighs, pushing them apart.
“Seth—”
His hand moved over hers, his thumb caressing her clit alongside hers. She gasped.
Then he slid a finger inside her, then another. So full.
“Yes.” She rocked against his hand. He kept stroking inside her and she couldn’t form any words.
Moaning, she ground down on his fingers, needing more. So much more. Her hips lifted off the chair to meet his strokes.
“That’s it, hellcat. Take what you need.”
She moved faster and when he leaned over her, his lips taking hers, her orgasm hit. Her body twisted and her cries spilled into his mouth.
Then his hand was gone and he lifted her off the chair. She clamped her legs around his waist. In two long strides, he was back inside. Then her back hit the couch and his big body covered hers.
“Seth.”
“Need to fuck you.” His tone was clipped, color riding his cheekbones.
A second later, his sweats were gone, and he rubbed the head of his cock against her wetness.
He groaned. “You’re soaked.”
“Hurry up, Seth.” She lifted her hips.
“No patience.”
“Less talk, more—”
He surged inside her.
Oh, that sweet stretch. She pressed her head back against the couch. With fast, hard strokes, he drove deep inside her. She gripped his shoulders, holding tight, her choked cries echoing with each powerful thrust.
Soon, January was back at the edge of another orgasm. “Oh God, Seth.”
“Shit, January,” he ground out. “Going to come. Hard.”
“Yes.” She lifted her hips to meet his thrusts, her body molten hot. Then the pleasure exploded and she screamed.
