Redemption (Bennett Sisters Book 5) (11 page)

Rick placed a kiss above her red curls and caressed the inside her thighs, inching his fingers toward her core. Rick glanced up at her, his mouth right above her mound, the heat from his breath making her more wet from the anticipation.

“Tell me you want this as much as I do,
Lydia
.” His eyes darkened to an emerald green. “I need to hear you say it, baby.”

Lydia
smiled down at him through a lust-filled haze. “If you don’t touch me, I might have to hurt you.”

Rick chuckled. His mouth latched onto her, his tongue swirling around her pink bud, the vibration sending currents to her core. He pushed a finger into her, sliding it through her juices in and out.
Lydia
sighed her relief and let her eyes flutter shut. She arched into his touch. She wanted more; she needed more. The air around them stirred. She felt ready to combust. It had been too long since she’d had a man in her bed, and she’d never had one she’d wanted more. She pulled in a breath, trying to rein in her emotions to control her gift.

Rick pushed two more fingers into her and increased the pressure his thumb had on her clit. “You’re so wet for me, baby.”

Rick gave one last lick from the bottom of her slit to the top, and he pulled his fingers from her. “I can’t wait any more. I need to be in you. I promise next time I’ll take my time and worship your body the way it deserves.”

He slid up her body and positioned himself between her creamy thighs, stopping before giving her what she needed. He whispered, “I’m sorry, Red. I need to grab a condom.”

He moved to pull away from her, but she stilled him. “Where is it?”

He nodded. “Left back pocket of my jeans. Let me just grab it.”

She grinned, and her face heated. “Let me.”

Lydia
thought about the square wrapper in his discarded jeans pocket. Within seconds it was hovering between them. She’d never thought of using her gift for this, but she couldn’t bear the thought of losing his touch. “That’s better.”

Rick smiled and grabbed the floating condom from the air. “Your gift could come in handy.”

Lydia
felt the heat travel from her chest to her cheeks. She wasn’t trying to show off; she just wanted him now.
Lydia
shrugged. “I’m impatient.”

Rick pushed back on his thighs and rolled the condom down his shaft. “I’m glad.”

He leaned back down and placed a tender kiss on her belly then moved back up to her lips as he repositioned his cock at her entrance. He ran it through her slick juices, teasing her, testing her readiness.

He pulled his hand from between them and held her gaze as inch by inch he pushed through her folds, stretching her, readying her until he was buried to the hilt. He closed his eyes. “God, Red, you feel so good.”

He pulled out slowly, and with each thrust he quickened, increasing his speed. “Oh yeah, just like that.”

Rick leaned down and took her breast into his mouth, suckling and nipping at her flesh as he increased the speed of his strokes. Her muscles tightened around him. She wasn’t going to last. Tingles spread down to her toes as he pushed her to the edge. Rick leaned up and closed his eyes as he arched into each thrust.
Lydia
wrapped her legs around him, encouraging his pace. “Oh god, yes.”

Lydia
couldn’t stop herself. She let loose the emotions she’d been holding onto by a string and closed her eyes, holding on tight to his arms as he threw her over the edge into the welcoming bliss, the likes of which she’d never had before. She exploded in his arms, sending out waves of energy through the room. The bed they were in shook and lifted into the air. The lamp on the bedside table fell to the floor. The curtains in the room lifted and swayed as if a breeze had been let in the room. There was nothing she could do to stop the release she’d been sent into. She’d never intentionally exerted her gift when she’d had sex before. The lights above them flickered throughout the room before they blinked off completely. She felt him pulse inside of her, finding his own release before he collapsed to her side, pulling her into his muscular arms. He whispered, “Better than I ever imagined.”

Lydia
sighed and tried to lift her head to glance around the room. “You can say that again. I hope we didn’t break anything.”

Rick kissed her neck and reached and pulled off the condom and discarded it in the overturned trash bin as he righted the fallen can. He pull the covers over them. “Get some rest, Red. You’re going to need it.”

Lydia
had just closed her eyes when she heard banging against her door. “Open up,
Lydia
, or I’m breaking it down.”
Bang. Bang. Bang
.

“Damn. I don’t think I could move if I wanted to,”
Lydia
whispered.

****

Rick leaned over and kissed her cheek as he detangled his limbs from hers. “Just close your eyes. I’ll get them to go away.”

He pulled his jeans on and went to the door. He knew why they were there. They were checking on
Lydia
and would be trying to figure out the little light show she’d just put on for them. There was no excuse he could give them, other than the truth. He was in her suite, half dressed, and she was sleeping in the next room. He didn’t really care what they thought. Little emergency lights strategically positioned throughout her living room gave a little glow to the room.

Rick pulled the door open. Red lights were blinking in the hallway. The general, Brody, and Briggs had guns drawn and pointed at him. They looked like they were about to kick the door open. “Could you keep it down? She’s trying to sleep.”

They pushed their way into the room, knocking Rick out of the way. “Where is she? Is she all right?” Brody demanded

He stormed over to the bedroom door. Rick stepped in front of him just before he reached it. “She’s sleeping, and you’ll have to go through me if you even think about going into that room.”

Brody narrowed his eyes and replaced his gun in the holster. He crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s not even a challenge, Romeo.”

The general placed his palm on Brody’s shoulder. “Why don’t you two wait for me outside? I’ll take care of this.”

Briggs grinned and patted Rick on the back before he left the room. “I knew it was just a matter of time.”

Brody didn’t move.

“That’s an order, soldier.”

Brody hesitated but shrugged the general’s palm off his shoulder. “Fine. But this isn’t over.”

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The general winced at the loud sound and gestured toward the living quarters. “Thompson, let’s have a quick chat.”

Rick glanced back at the bedroom door.

“She’ll be fine. I’ll only keep you for a few minutes.”

Rick turned and followed the general. He sat on the armrest of the recliner, one foot on the floor, never letting his guard down completely.

The general cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but for everyone’s safety, I need to know what happened.”

Rick let his head drop. He didn’t want to have this conversation, not with the general, but Rick knew that he was right. It didn’t change the fact that confessing made him feel like a teenager in need of a scolding.  If they were going to be able to help
Lydia
, they needed to know what she was capable of.

He lifted his gaze. “It’s exactly what you think. We made love, and when she found her release, she sent out some type of energy that made the lights flicker and go out. Furniture and other things were lifted off the ground before slamming back down. She didn’t do it on purpose.”

    “I see.” The general rose from the couch. “She took out our whole system.” General Lister patted him on the back as he walked past. “I’ll take care of it.” He turned the knob on the door. “Make sure she gets plenty of sleep. When she uses her gift, regardless if she means to or not, it wipes her out.”

Rick walked to the door. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The general grinned. “Since the system is already down, I’d make good use of the fact that she can’t do any more harm. I’ll keep Jonah from hurting her in the morning.”

The general left Rick standing at the door. That was the best advice he’d been given in a long time. Rick walked back to the little spitfire he’d left sleeping in bed. She was going to be embarrassed in the morning that everyone in the compound knew what they’d been doing. There was no sense on worrying her tonight. He made a mental note to tell her in the morning, but for now, he had a body to worship and a little window of time to do it in. He did a mental count of the condoms he had left to last them through the night.

Chapter 12

Morning came too soon. He’d lain in bed wide-awake all night after the numerous times they’d made love. She’d slept like a rock. He’d worn her out. Tapped every bit of energy she possessed. In the early morning hours, the lights flickered to life and he’d gotten out of bed and turned them off. The extra work needed through the night by the employees wasn’t going to garnish him any brownie points, but she’d been worth whatever wrath he received. He was getting attached to her. It wasn’t just her sweet body; it was all of her.

There was no way he was willing to walk away from her
or let any of other agent take his place
. Not until they both figured out where their relationship was going.
Lydia
stirred and turned to snuggle into the pillow on the other side of her. He’d only known her for a month and only twenty-four hours intimately. Even weeks before he’d been too consumed with catching Winters to notice her. If it hadn’t been for her brother asking Rick to check out her story when she’d showed up in Southall at such a crucial moment, he wasn’t sure he would have noticed her at all. It wasn’t quite coincidence, but he believed that she’d had a vision about her family, and he couldn’t fault her for that.
The only thing he regretted was the digging he’d done. It alerted his higher-ups to where they could find her.

It wasn’t until he’d got to know her that he’d found himself attracted to her. But just because she painted a pretty package, he wasn’t about to do something as outrageous as propose marriage or confess his undying love to her. She was beautiful, smart, and funny, he couldn’t find any fault. Even her commitment to her family impressed him. But with every day that passed, it became more apparent that he cared about her. He was falling for her, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it. Their chemistry was off the
charts.
She was everything a man could want and wielded more power in her pinky than anyone should be allowed. It was that thought that scared the crap out of him. It was no wonder she was the target of a maniac that wanted to use her, and Rick knew his limits. If he couldn’t protect her with just a gun or his fist, he doubted his ability to truly keep her safe, and that bothered him.

Rick slid from the bed and made his way to her kitchen to start a pot of coffee before he hopped into the shower. She was going to need the caffeine today because of the energy she’d exerted during the night. His shower was quick. Once out, he ran his hand through his wet hair and glanced down at his watch. His ride to the commercial airport on the other side of town was going to be leaving in less than two hours. He was packed and ready, but he still wasn’t going to make her face the music of their actions by herself. He poured two cups of coffee and walked back to the room. Stopping just at the threshold, he leaned against the doorframe. He let his gaze rove over his sleeping beauty.

Lydia
’s eyes flickered open. She put her arms above her head and arched her back, stretching like a cat. A smile graced her lips. “Good morning.”

Rick walked over to the bed and sat down beside her as she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. “I thought you might need this today.”

She leaned up on her elbow and reached for the cup and put it to her lips. “Umm.” She took a long sip. “This is exactly what I needed.”

Rick leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t an awkward morning after. It was as natural as if they’d been sleeping together for a long time. There was no embarrassment, well, at least not yet. Rick kissed a path down to her ear. “Why don’t you take a quick shower, and then we’ll go get something to eat. We need to talk before I leave.”

Lydia
lifted her finger to cover his lips. “No, we don’t. We’re consenting adults. We both had a good time. There isn’t anything else left to say.”

Rick kissed her finger and took her hand,
turning it so he could kiss
her palm. “Oh, there’s plenty I need to tell you about, like our visitors last night.”

“I remember them showing up, but nothing after that.”

“You passed out, probably from all of that energy you exerted.”

Rick let his gaze fall down to her exposed flesh. “And if you’re not dressed, I might get sidetracked.” Rick stood and walked back to the door. “You need clothes for this conversation.”

He pulled the door closed behind him.