RidingtheWaves (18 page)

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of
her head. “Welcome to my world, baby.”

There’s no other place she wanted to be. And now that the
mission ended and he’d reclaimed his health and returned to her, it seemed life
had truly just begun. Rediscovering one another after so many years felt right.
The timing of his arrival—the comfort she experienced in his presence—the
security in his protective arms when holding her close—it all made sense. And
as she patted her lips to his breastbone, she relaxed for the first time in
weeks.

Chapter Ten

“Your turn,” Annalee said, planting a subtle kiss to Brent’s
lips. Slowly she worked her way down his body, patting a trail of faint kisses
along every inch of his hot skin. When she reached his injured thigh, she
gently pressed her lips around the red, inflamed scar, making love to it with
her mouth, trying her best to soothe any deep, underlying pain. Coarse, dark hair
tickled her cheek while she placed tiny kisses along the outer edge and lower
to the inside of his leg to his scrotum.

She inhaled the mixture of their erotic scent that lingered
on his genitals while cupping his testicles and giving them a gentle squeeze.
His thighs tightened and he moaned, jutting his hips slightly upward.

His thick erection stood tall and inviting, but she avoided
slipping it into her mouth. To the best of her ability, she wanted to tantalize
and taste him and please him as he’d done to her. Though she wasn’t as
knowledgeable or creative, she vowed to embed a memory in his mind he’d never
forget.

She gripped his thick cock and gave it a full upward stroke.
Cum dribbled from the tip and she took the liberty of licking it off with a
soft caress from her tongue. A shiver ran through his hips and he slid his
hands in the section of hair above her ears.

Hot juices spilled from her pussy and she shuddered from his
subtle display of power. While gliding her lips up one side and down the other,
his ass raised off the bed. It wasn’t until she took the tip in her mouth and
flicked it with her tongue that he tightened his grip on her head.

“Damn you, Annalee,” he groaned, clenching his jaw. “Suck
me. All of it.”

She yearned to please him and didn’t need any further
coaxing to obey the simple command. Covering her teeth with her lips to prevent
scratching his fragile skin, she, inch by inch, guided him into her mouth. How
could something so rock-hard feel as soft as silk to her lips?

He hissed and stiffened and fisted her hair, but not once
had he tried forcing her to take more. Nor did he have to. She was so
determined to satisfy him, she relaxed her throat and slid him deep.

“Christ, baby,” he growled.

While her muscles pulled and tugged and squeezed his rod,
she reached behind his balls and pressed her thumb in the sensitive stretch of
skin between his sac and anus. His ass shot off the bed.

Smiling to herself, she began to steadily thrust his cock in
and out of her mouth. An ideal repayment would include tying him up and
inserting the vibrator in
his
ass. How would he feel about
that
?
As devilish and hot as it sounded, she wasn’t gutsy enough to bring out the
lube, um, olive oil. Not yet anyhow. Maybe when she’d taken him to the level of
delirium she’d experienced that allowed anything to happen.

Dark pubic hairs tickled her chin while inserting him in her
throat then withdrawing painfully slowly, over and over, drawing moans from
deep in his chest. The clenching of fists in her hair and subtle thrust of his
hips forced more liquid from her pussy.

“Annalee, straddle me.” He lifted his upper body and grabbed
her by the arms. Narrowed eyelids partially covered his sinister gaze. “I’m
going to fuck you raw,” he threatened.

Oh no you don’t, mister
. That little bit of sucking
hadn’t compared in the least to the state of insanity he’d driven her to. If he
wasn’t careful, she’d grab the cuffs.

When he tried pulling her forward with a gentle but
unyielding grip, she withdrew his cock from her mouth, placed her hands on his
thighs and squeezed, bracing herself against his attempt. The muscles hardened
beneath her palms and he sucked air through his teeth.

“Oh my God,” she screeched and quickly retracted her hands.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I’m fine.”

She glanced at the angry wound and winced. “I can’t believe
you were shot,” she whispered.

“I wasn’t. I took a ricocheted bullet,” he added
impatiently. “Now c’mere.”

“They could’ve shot you when they killed your partner.
Suppose he’s not seeking revenge against you, but is getting even for wiping
out his men, like you’ve said before.”

“We’ll see.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Forget about it. We’ll talk later.” He grabbed her by the
wrists and tugged, but she steeled her knees into the bed and yanked her hands
free.

“No, tell me now.”

He inhaled a deep, chest-expanding breath and released it
slowly. “It’s not over, Annalee.”

Her stomach toppled. “What?”

“I’ll explain everything when we’re finished making love.
Climb up here.”

“You’ll explain right now.”

He studied her a long moment. “I’m going back to Miami.
Soon.”

She stiffened. As a feeling of dread needled her spine and
her heartbeat whittled to a stop, she sat completely straight in between his
knees. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I owe it to Timmons.”

“So now you’ve got another score to settle? How long can
this go on?”

“Until Rashand is captured dead or alive.”

Un-freaking-believable. She jumped off the bed, charged into
the bathroom and slipped into a short, satin robe. How could he endanger his
life? Not once, but twice! Who in their right flipping mind subjected
themselves to that type of nonsense?

He couldn’t do this. Not again. Her heart couldn’t take it.
Neither could her sanity. Tightening the belt at her waist, she marched back
into the room and stood beside the bed, fisting her hands on her hips. “Nearly
dying once wasn’t enough?”

He sat up on the edge of the mattress, draping his arms
across his knees. “What do you want from me?”

“It’s not what I want, it’s what I’ve already given.”

“Like?”

“My body,” she stammered. “My inhibitions. My darkest
secrets.”
Part of my heart.
And you seem determined to rip the rest
of it out of my chest with your bare hands.
“Look at what you’ve just done
to me. What in the hell do you call that?”

“You tell me.”

A near-death experience.
“Do you honestly think I
would’ve surrendered myself to that extreme had I’d known you were taking
another stroll down death row?”

His eyes narrowed.

Oh she wanted to scream. “I’m going to take a shower and get
dressed,” she said calmly, despite wanting to cry her eyes out. “When I’m done,
I want you gone.”

He reached forward and massaged her hips as if trying to
loosen the muscles. “Why?”

She moved out of his grasp, clutching the robe at her
breasts. “I can’t live like this, Brent. I’m sorry. I just…I don’t understand
why…you were nearly killed. Why didn’t you just stay away if you planned on
going back?”

“I couldn’t.” He stood and took an agile step forward. “My
reasons run deep.”

“Yeah, straight to my womb. I get it.” She clenched her
teeth. “Why don’t you just admit you came back to fuck me? You can’t get any
deeper than that, right?” When he moved yet closer, she stepped back. His eyes
narrowed into thin slits, his chest puffed and those broad shoulders stiffened.
Maybe she should’ve worded things a little differently.

Or maybe he should’ve put on some clothes and sat back down.
Seeing his tense, naked, fully aroused body ignited sparks between her thighs.
Couldn’t her damn pussy sense the seriousness of their conversation?

“That’s not fair, Annalee.”

“Damn it, what are you thinking? You can’t keep reappearing
in a woman’s life in between death missions. Life doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m being selfish, I know. I wouldn’t have come back if I
didn’t need to see you—”

“One last time,” she finished sarcastically. The finality
vaulted her stomach.
Shit.
Why hadn’t she taken his damn career into
consideration before falling at his feet?

She saw nothing beyond his power and aura of confidence at
that time, and she couldn’t think straight, period. But really, this didn’t
pertain to his career. He was willing to put himself into a danger zone to
entrap a cold-blooded murderer who’d possibly bludgeoned hundreds of people to
death. Well, three she knew for sure. A fourth, way too close. These types of
situations couldn’t possibly end in favor of the law, or bait, or whatever the
hell else.

She wanted to vomit. She’d nearly lost him to a sadistic
monster and he’d agreed to attempt a second try? What the fuck! Just recalling
him lying in that hospital bed… “If I knew you’d constantly choose to dangle at
the end of a string, I would have closed my door the last time you left. It’s
that simple.”

“Annalee, you—”

“Don’t
Annalee
me. You don’t know how hard that was,
not knowing whether you were going to live or die.”

His shoulders stiffened and his entire body appeared to
stand guard. She ran her fingers through her hair. “Damn, I worried myself
sick.”

“You had no reason
to
worry. I’m fine.”

“Maybe you are now, but you weren’t. Hell, you were in critical
condition—pounding on death’s door. If someone on the other side would’ve
answered it… Christ. When I saw you lying there…” The thought still twisted her
stomach in a million knots. “I worried when you left. I worried when you quit
calling. I worried about whether or not you were coming back. I worried while
you were fighting death. I’ve done nothing but worry since you reappeared in my
life.”

“I didn’t excite your heart or light up your insides?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You heard what I’d said?”

“Every word. I didn’t realize how much you cared.”

“How could you not have known? I slept with you that very
first night. I don’t do that.”

“Why
did
you let me fuck you, Annalee?”

“Don’t change the subject.” Jesus, what woman in her right
mind wouldn’t? Couldn’t he see how much she lusted after him?

“You want to lay things on the table? Then let’s bring them
all out.”

“It’s irrelevant to the current subject.”

“Bullshit.”

What the hell was he fishing for? “Okay, fine, you want the
truth?” She folded her arms across her stomach. “I would’ve slept with you four
years ago.” And every day in between had he not moved away. “If you would’ve
shown a little interest rather than rub your girlfriend in my face, I would’ve
given you my virginity like I’d said.” That was a night of inebriated
confessions she’d rather forget. Well, not really. It had opened the door to
the awakening she’d just experienced.

“I dated her hoping to draw your attention.”

“You definitely got my attention. It’s when I realized you
had no interest in me whatsoever.”

“Oh I was interested, but you were so classy and innocent, I
didn’t know the best approach without scaring you off.”

Now he sounded like Jared. “Impossible. Mr. Confident was
too afraid to approach me? Right.”

His brow rose. “I wouldn’t have left if not for my mother’s
illness. My entire life turned upside down at that point.”

“Imagine how your next departure is going to affect her. And
your dad, and Brody and Brittany. They went through hell while you were lying
in that hospital bed. Parents don’t want to bury their kids, Brent. It doesn’t
matter that you’re twenty-nine.” She ran her fingers through her hair again.
“I’m glad you came back. I really am, but I think it’s time we move on with our
own lives.”

“I can’t just toss my feelings aside and walk. I’ve already
tried once.”

How was that even possible? “What if I’d been married when
you reappeared weeks ago?”

“I had no intention of disrupting your life.”

“And had children?”

“Annalee, look—”

“No, you look. I want babies someday, and I want them to
have stability without worrying whether or not Daddy will come home.”

His next three steps forced her back-stepping until her hips
grazed the dresser. She gripped the edge, squeezing it while he moved into her
space, pinning her between him and the damn piece of furniture. He stood so
close she had to tilt her head to look into his eyes. Although he kept his
hands at his sides and didn’t physically touch her, his heat initiated a frenzy
of tingles all over her body. They spiraled between her legs to awaken a new
surge of pleasant throbs.

No!
This can’t happen.
She would not succumb
to his power. She was too upset to allow her body, or his, to start dictating
her needs.

He untied her robe and slid his hands to the curve of her
bare waist. “Nicely said, Annalee. So you’ve thought about having my babies?”

Man, his hands were hot. And his breath whisking across her
face set her insides on fire. “Yes. No. That was a generalized statement. I
want a man who will come home every night, not every few days for a couple of
weeks during the month.”

“What’s your true gripe, Annalee? The fact I’m trying to
entrap a killer, or the amount of time I spend at sea?”

How the hell did she know! She barely had a coherent
thought. How could she give a straight answer? “Both,” she shouted. Slowly
those large fingers lowered to her ass, where he tightened his grip and pulled
her hips forward. Every hardened inch of his erection pressed into her belly.
“Brent, don’t.”

Somehow she had to consider the perception of his fate and put
an end to this right now. Every slight touch deepened her feelings and she
pictured herself ultimately falling in love with him. It was already happening.
Having shared intimacies and deep secrets with him, it seemed impossible not to
fall hard and fast. She’d been bitten by a fucking love tick. And it burrowed
beneath her skin, sucking the life out of her.

She was so damn vulnerable when he walked back into her life
she hadn’t a chance against his charm or seduction. He was every bit the man he
used to be, and then some. Why had she let down her guard?

All the innocent innuendos from their past came crashing
back full force with a new meaning. The subtle looks and gentle pats they’d
shared as friends actually planted seeds destined to blossom into something
more. Why would she subject herself to the
more
not knowing what the
future held? Every minute she spent with him created one more memory to dwell
on if he didn’t come back. “I can’t do this.”