by Cynthia Eden
Yes, she had. She’d seen him rush to help her.
“He’s dangerous. Uncontrolled.” Devin peered over James’s shoulder. “Where’s the fancy limo?”
“Didn’t feel like being fancy tonight.”
A shiver slid over her.
James rubbed his fingers over her knuckles as she clutched her precious fudge close.
He wouldn’t know, he couldn’t know that when she’d been a child, a bakery owner had once seen Tess pressing her face to the shop’s colorful window. The baker had given her a free piece of fudge that day. Told her to come back any time she’d needed a treat.
She hadn’t gone back often.
Just when she’d been sad.
She liked seeing the warm bakery. Liked the smells and the sights. And the kind man who’d worked inside. The man who had never looked at her with pity or scorn.
“I brought my motorcycle instead,” James said, still as cool as could be. He stared at Tess. “Are you ready, baby?”
“Of course,” Devin muttered. “You would have a motorcycle.”
James turned his head. “Are you still here? I thought you were leaving the hospital.”
“I wanted to check on Tess. Things got rough and she was injured, and I wanted to make sure she was going to be all right tonight.”
James returned his focus to Tess. “Don’t you worry.” His words were for Devin, but his gaze never left her. “I’ll stay with Tess tonight. I’ll make sure she’s a lot more than merely all right.”
She wanted to leave with him, right then. But… “I can drive myself home. You don’t have to take me on your motorcycle.”
“I don’t have to do anything. Neither do you. After the day you had, I thought you might want to drive fast. Roar down the road. Feel the wind in your hair as you scream your heart out into the night.”
Her heart surged in her chest.
Devin sniffed. “You obviously do not know her well. That’s not the sort of thing that Tess enjoys. She’s far too refined to ever—”
“Yes,” Tess said to James. Staff members often left their cars in the lot overnight. She’d make arrangements and just take a taxi to work the next day or something. “I’d like that very much.”
“Then get ready to scream.”
She didn’t miss the sensual promise in his words. She was sure Devin hadn’t, either. The guy wasn’t that thick.
Or, maybe he was. But she forgot about him. A few moments later, she was straddling the big, beast of a bike that James owned. “Another piece of your collection?”
“Umm.” He didn’t climb on the bike. “Why don’t you have some fudge first?”
She was already digging into the bag. “Excellent idea. Where did you even get this stuff, anyway? I mean, I would think most of the local shops would be closed at this time of the night.”
“With the right incentive, I got a shop to open.”
Did she want to know what incentive he’d used? Probably not. She put a piece of the fudge to her lips. Took a bite and… “Oh, God.” She couldn’t help her moan. Tess’s eyes squeezed shut. “This is heaven.” Another bite. It was melting on her tongue, and it was that rich, decadent chocolate. The best kind of chocolate fudge. Though, honestly, she’d never met chocolate that she didn’t love.
She had another piece. What the hell? It had been a day.
Another moan slipped from her.
James was dead silent.
Should she offer to share with him? Nah. That fudge was hers.
“I will buy you fudge every night for the rest of your life, if you want.”
Her eyes flew open.
“Because you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen when you eat that fudge.” He shook his head.
Perhaps she should share. Especially since she thought he was pretty sexy. “I didn’t thank you for saving me earlier.”
“Because you don’t need to thank me.”
“When someone saves you, it’s polite to say thank you.”
“And are you always polite?”
“No.”
One of the parking lot lights illuminated his wicked grin. “Good.”
She closed her precious bag of fudge. “I don’t want to drop this while we’re driving.” She’d never been on a motorcycle before, so Tess already knew she’d be holding on for dear life.
“Got you covered.” He tucked the bag into a little compartment she hadn’t even noticed. Then he stared down at her. “You’ve got a little fudge on your lower lip.”
Oh, that was embarrassing.
Her tongue snaked out to lick it away.
“Fuck.”
His mouth took hers. He leaned over her, devoured her mouth, and he had her moaning. Yep, this time, that moan wasn’t from the fudge. It was purely from him and from the way he made her feel.
Her hands curled around his shoulders. She opened her mouth wider. Her tongue slid against his.
“Don’t be polite when I get you home, doc,” James growled against her lips. “You tell me every single thing you want.”
“You.” She didn’t have to wait until she was home. She knew what she wanted. “It’s you.”
He kissed her again, and then he climbed onto the motorcycle. He made sure she was settled with a helmet before he revved the engine, and the bike shot forward. She held on tight. They raced through the streets and the wind battered against her as the motorcycle growled. Her thighs trembled from the powerful vibration and as they drove fast—
“Scream,” James told her.
She thought of the man who’d attacked her.
Of the way he’d almost died beneath her hands from his drug overdose.
Thought of the sixteen-year-old boy she’d lost in her ER…
“You know you want to…Scream.”
Tess opened her mouth. Her neck was sore. Maybe she shouldn’t but…
She screamed.
It felt so good. Almost as good as when she screamed as she came with James. Almost.
***
He’d watched them from the shadows. They had been so focused on one another that they hadn’t even glanced his way. He’d taken one look at the woman, and he’d known.
It’s your turn.
She thought she was safe. Thought she had a lover who could protect her. She had no clue.
All of this time, he’d been waiting.
Fate had just given him the perfect opportunity.
He just had to learn more. A smart man always knew all the players involved in the game. And he’d seen someone at the hospital that he already suspected might prove to be useful.
The motorcycle was long gone. He lingered. Considered his options. The best punishment was the one that ripped apart your whole world.
Once upon a time, his world had been ripped apart.
Time for payback.
He turned on his heel and headed back into the hospital.
Chapter Five
“Are you going to come inside?” Tess tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she stood beside the motorcycle. She was also clutching her fudge bag again. So freaking cute. The woman obviously loved her chocolate fudge very, very much.
He stepped away from the bike. His body brushed against hers. “Is that an invitation? Or were you simply asking about my plans for the night?”
“An invitation.”
He glanced at the big, brick building behind her. He’d dropped her off at her door before, but never gone inside her condo. Tess inviting him in her home seemed like a big step. Or hell, maybe it wasn’t.
But… “I want to come inside.”
“Then let’s go.” She turned quickly and hurried toward the building. Once inside, she marched for the stairwell, but he caught her arm and pointed her toward the elevator instead.
“James?”
They entered the elevator. “I have this fantasy we’ll have to live out soon. It involves me, you, and sex in an elevator.” The elevator doors slid closed.
Her breath caught. “Didn’
t realize that was a fantasy for you.”
“Didn’t realize it either, until you stepped inside. Full disclosure, I pretty much want to have sex with you everywhere so…”
She put her hand on his chest. “It’s not normal, is it?”
The elevator already had them on the second floor. He should have pushed the stop button when he had the chance. “What isn’t normal?”
“This.” She motioned between them. “Us. The way we react to each other. Like…how is it possible that I want you more now than I did the first night?”
“Because you know exactly how good we are together.” As for anything else… “Fuck normal.” He brushed his lips over hers. “I’ve never been normal a day in my life, and I don’t think you have been, either.”
They made it to her condo. She unlocked the door and reset the alarm while he took stock of things. First thing he noticed? He’d already been unimpressed by the security of the building in general, but in her home? “Your security is shit.”
She spun. “What?”
“I know some people who can install a state-of-the-art system for you. I can have them here tomorrow. First thing.” He motioned toward the piece of crap that an eight-year-old could disable. “Anyone with five seconds and pliers can get past this thing.”
“It’s a safe part of town. That’s why I moved in. There’s a security camera downstairs, too.”
He’d seen it. It would be easy enough for an intruder to dodge that one camera.
“I don’t need a new system.” She put the fudge down on her white, marble kitchen countertop. “But thank you.”
Tension tightened his shoulders. He wanted her safe. Especially after the attack earlier. “Things like that happen a lot to you?” He sauntered toward her. A slow saunter when he really wanted to pounce.
“Things like the attack?” Tess shook her head. Turned so that her back was to the counter and her eyes on him. “Luckily, no. We have good security at the hospital, and we’re trained to handle unruly patients. Things just got a little out of control.”
“That’s an understatement.” He tipped back her chin. His fingers lingered against her. “I can see his fingerprints on your skin.” That fucking pissed him off. “I should have killed him.”
She caught his hand. “Don’t say things like that.”
Because life mattered to her—even the life of the bastard who’d hurt her. “He tried to strangle you, and then you saved him.” James shook his head. “You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. She had that same I’ll-risk-myself-for-everyone-else mentality that you do.” Anger stirred. “She got hurt because of it. You got hurt tonight. Some people don’t need saving.” His hand slid down her throat as his fingers feathered over the bruises. The rage he felt was jarring. He hated seeing those marks on her flesh. He wanted to destroy.
James could feel his control unraveling. It was disconcerting. No, fucking terrifying. He didn’t lose control. Not ever. His life had been built on careful control. On watching and waiting, on holding back. On knowing the exact moment to strike.
To kill.
He stared at his hand. On her throat.
Tess spoke softly, calmly, as she told him, “I don’t get to decide who to save. I have to save everyone who comes before me. Good, bad, something in between—it’s not my place to decide. I became a doctor because I wanted to help people, the same way that I’d been helped.”
He barely breathed. They weren’t supposed to share about their pasts. Or at least, he knew Tess didn’t like to share. But—
“I was thirteen when I was brought to the hospital. No money. No family. I had nothing. But the doctors didn’t care. They didn’t turn me away. They saved me that day when I was so desperate. And I vowed that I would pay it forward. I’d save someone else. I’d pay my debt. Some way. Eventually.”
Tears gleamed in her eyes. He hated that. Tess shouldn’t cry.
“But I lose patients. Some days, I help. Some days, I can’t do anything. And some days, I feel like I’m completely lost and back to being that same thirteen-year-old girl who was in the hospital, collapsing, because some asshole pumped her veins full of drugs and tried to kill her.” A swift inhale. “Tried to kill me.”
His heart stopped. The whole world went black for a moment.
He’d known about her being in the hospital, about how close to death she’d come as a teen—that had been in the report that Barnes got for him but…
“So, no, I couldn’t let that man OD in front of me. I don’t care who he is or what he did, saving him is my job.” Her pulse raced frantically beneath his index finger.
“What happened to the sonofabitch?” The question was deep and grating.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“The man who tried to kill you when you were a kid. What happened to him?” Because that hadn’t been in the report. Her admission to the hospital had been in the report. The fact that she’d been ODing had been in the report. At thirteen. But that someone had done that to her? That some bastard had tried to kill Tess?
You’re a dead man, you sonofabitch.
She glanced away. “Why are we talking about this? My past doesn’t matter. Neither does yours. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of your past.”
“Who says I am?”
His hands moved to curl around her waist, and he lifted her up.
Her eyes widened. “James?”
He put her on the counter. Slid closer, moving between her legs. “I don’t want you afraid of anyone or anything.”
She swallowed.
“Are you afraid of me?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer.
For a moment, he didn’t think she would answer. The tension stretched between them.
She smiled. “Because you’re an ex-assassin turned club owner?”
Tess still thought he’d been teasing. “Yes.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not afraid of you. In fact, I feel oddly safe with you.” Her left hand slid down his arm, moving to rest near the bandage that Marilyn had applied. “But as your doctor, I’m telling you that you shouldn’t be exerting yourself. Don’t pull out these stitches again.”
“Screw the stitches.” He went in for a kiss.
“No.”
He stilled.
“I want you to try something first.”
Oh, he was all about trying things with Tess.
She pulled a piece of fudge out of the bag.
“I’m not really much for sweet things,” he told her gruffly.
A soft laugh escaped Tess. “Appearances are deceiving. You think something might be sweet and good, but then you take a bite and you discover something rich enough to rock your whole world.”
“Rock my world, huh? All right. I’ll try a bite.” Then I’m trying you.
She put the fudge to his lips. His tongue snaked out. Licked her fingertips.
A shiver slid over her.
He took a careful bite of the fudge. Damn. She was right. It was rich. Damn good.
She lowered the fudge. Waited with her head slightly cocked. “Well?” She put down the fudge.
“Delicious.” Truth. “But not nearly as delicious as you are.” Another truth.
He kissed her. Yeah, she was about a thousand times better than the fudge. She moaned into his mouth, and he pulled her to the edge of the counter, rocking her against the hard edge of his dick.
He’d been holding tightly to his control. Playing the calm, easy going guy on the ride over and up to her place, but the reality was…
His self-control was in shreds. He kept seeing that bastard with his hands on Tess’s throat. Kept seeing her with fear in her eyes. Kept thinking about how easy it would be for her to die.
No.
He tore his mouth from hers. Moved to her neck. With the last bit of his control, he used care and feathered kisses over the bruises on her. “I want to kill him.”
“James…”
“Want to destroy anyone who hurts you.” He knew his words were wrong. Too savage and dark, but she didn’t get it—that was who he was. He was savage and dark, and he wasn’t a safe lover, not by any means.
Yet she was safe, with him. He would always keep her safe.
He moved back. Tugged off her shoes and hauled off her jeans and underwear. He yanked open his own jeans and shoved on the condom he’d brought—
“Be careful,” Tess scolded, voice all husky and sensual—a sensual scold, hell, he hadn’t even known that was a thing, “don’t tear open the stitches—”
“Sweetheart, I don’t care about the stitches.” He kissed her again as he positioned his cock at the entrance to her body. “All I care about is fucking you.”
His fingers slid into her. She was wet and hot and ready for him. Hell, yes.
He sank deep.
Her legs locked around him.
There was no more talking. He was acting on pure, animal instinct. His thrusts were hard and deep, and she met him. Over and over again. A beast was inside of him, driving him to take and take. The sex was supposed to be casual, no strings.
Yet he’d felt anything but casual when she’d been threatened.
Possessive. Protective. Primitive.
Everything was spinning out of his control. And for once, he didn’t care.
Her delicate inner muscles clamped tightly around him. Her body stiffened as her nails sank into his sides. “James!”
He loved the way she cried out his name when pleasure hit her.
Her sex contracted around him as the climax pulsed through her. He waited, waited until he’d rung every single drop of pleasure from her that he could, and only then did James let go.
He surged into her one more time. Sank as deeply as he could, and he came so long and hard that when the climax finally ended, he was hollowed out, blissed out…
And in deep, deep trouble.
***
“Good-bye, sweetheart.”
Tess heard the words distantly. She turned in her bed, burrowing deeper into the covers.
“I’ll see you tonight. Stay out of trouble for me, will you?” A kiss pressed to her temple.
James. He was leaving. He was—
Her eyes flew open. Holy crap. He’d stayed?
