When Love Intrudes (When the Mission Ends) (17 page)

Hovering just above his hard length, she scraped her fingernails through the treasure trail of blond hair dusting his lower torso. He fisted a hand around the long length of her hair and as she licked her lips in anticipation of tasting him again, he tugged it so she looked at him.

His jaw clenched in desire and his half-lidded eyes glittered with arousal. “Toni, your mouth is heaven, but I’m too close right now. I want—” He swallowed. “No, I need to be inside you when I come.”

A ripple of desire surged through her and she automatically flexed her hips and ground against his thigh.

A long, hard, “Please,” shuddered out of him as if ripped from his soul.

How could she resist that? With shaking hands, she ripped the condom package open with her teeth and slowly slid the latex down his length. Lifting her hips up, she positioned him at her entrance and then looked up to him. Their gazes locked as she lowered down onto him, inch by torturously long inch, he slowly filled her.

She pressed her palms to his chest and the tautness of his muscles there testified to how much control he used to keep from surging up into her. His jaw clenched as his breathing sped up and his grip on her hips tightened, but he left the reins of control with her. His gaze never wavered from hers, the raw sensuousness reflected there slaying her. This man was everything and he was submitting it all to her. She could see that now.

When he fully seated his cock inside her, she stopped for a moment and closed her eyes against the pure perfection of the moment.

His finger stroked under her chin and her eyes flew open.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked. “It’s not too late to stop if this isn’t what you want.” Devotion and caring flooded through his gaze.

Tears burned at her eyes and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. How many guys out there would offer an out at this point in the game?

“Oh no.” She grinned at him as she lifted and flexed her internal muscles around him as she lowered back onto him again. “You’re not getting out of this that easy. I finally have you right where I want you. I fully intend on keeping you right where you are and doing exactly what you’re doing.”

He thrust up against her. “Okay,” he gasped, “but only because you want it. Never let it be known that I left a lady unsatisfied.” He groaned as he buried his face against her throat. “Oh God,” his voice was low and hoarse, “you feel so good.”

After that, there were no more words. Brian loved her with his whole body, leaving her shaking. Her orgasm shocked her as it shot through her core and she clenched around him. Even her fingertips tingled with the force of it. Under her, his thrusts shuddered and pulsed in time with his low rumbling moans. She crumpled against his chest, trying to catch her breath, completely blown away by the ecstasy of their lovemaking.

After a few minutes, he brushed a sweaty strand of hair off her face with a gentle, sweet caress. He still pulsed inside her core with sporadic movements that made her groan. Their breathing calmed and she looked up to meet his satisfied, smoldering gaze. As he pulled out of her, she gasped.

She could love this man. That realization left her reeling.

He got up to discard the condom, but came back and lay down, gathering her against his chest and pulling a light blanket up over their naked bodies.

“Thank you,” he said, lightly kissing her temple.

She reached up and ran a fingertip down the side of his face. “For what?” she asked.

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Take your pick…for not stopping, for letting me love your body, for trusting me to keep you safe.” He swallowed and his voice lowered as his eyes searched hers. “For not hating me for what happened five months ago.”

Were they finally going to talk about this? Now? She accepted they were probably past the point where they needed to discuss all that had happened between them, but as she looked back down at the tattoo inked into his arm, she had another question first. She traced the lines of the angel worked into the middle of it.

“You never struck me as the tattoo type. Why did you get this?” It hadn’t been there when he’d been shot. In the two weeks when she helped to take care of him, she would have noticed the amazing piece of ink that ran from the top of his shoulder down to end at just above his wrist.

“After I was hurt, it was a couple of months before I could go back to work. I’d failed and almost got you and Julie killed.” She tried to interrupt him, but he pressed a finger to her lips. “I know you and I will never agree on that, but it’s important you accept that was the way I felt so you can understand everything that went on then.”

She slowly nodded although none of what happened had been his fault. Pete was insane and not even his psychologist at the time realized it. There’s no way that Brian could be held accountable.

“You need to know, Toni, that you never did anything wrong then. I’d failed you and to then have you try to help take care of me was all kinds of wrong. Not only was I dealing with my broken body and trying to heal, but I felt horribly guilty over all that. I couldn’t stand to have you, this gorgeous, wonderful, caring creature who was going through your own awful trauma, taking care of me. It wasn’t right. That was my ego at play. I was so weak. I hated for you to see me that way on top of everything else.”

He swallowed and looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “So, I sent you away and I knew the hurt that caused. I saw it in your eyes that day and it just about killed me. I’m so sorry, sweetheart, for causing you that pain. I will regret that for the rest of my life.”

He looked back down at his arm and swallowed hard. “But when I came home, the physical pain and trauma along with where I was at emotionally…well, I just couldn’t sleep. With the meds I was on, I couldn’t do the normal thing like drink a beer to help me relax. So I began to wander and walk at night.

“One night I ran across a late-night tattoo parlor. To do the whole sleeve took a few weeks of tattooing a couple of hours a night, but the process focused me. It allowed me to concentrate on another part of my body. In a way, it allowed the wounded parts of me to heal while I focused elsewhere, if that makes sense?”

Emotion boiled in the back of her throat, but she couldn’t cry. They’d both been in such a bad place. She would do anything to keep him from feeling more guilt over something that wasn’t his fault.

“That makes complete sense. And Brian, you need to know,” she said as she brushed a hand across his chest, his heart, and his scars, “you didn’t do anything wrong with sending me away. You were right. I was using you as an excuse to not face my own trauma and that wasn’t fair to either one of us. I couldn’t face the fact that I had to kill a man or my own guilt that I didn’t see how unhinged he’d become. If anyone should have seen it, it should have been me.” She shook her head at the memories as she pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“But regardless of all that,” she continued, “we’re here, alive. We have a second chance and I think we have a good thing.” She palmed his growing erection and gave him a mischievous smile. “I plan to fully take advantage of it in whatever way possible.”

“Sweetheart, you can take advantage of me anytime you feel the desire.” He rolled her over onto her back and leered at her. “But this time, I’m in charge.” 

The next morning, the guys left before dawn to head out fishing. The only reason Toni even knew they left was because Brian kissed her goodbye. It was just getting interesting when he pulled away with a wry laugh and muttered, “You’re insatiable. Hold that thought, because we’ll be back after lunch. Maybe I can convince Nathan to head into town and we can have a little alone time.” He rolled a pad of his finger over her naked breast and then left. It definitely made for interesting dreams the rest of the morning.

Awake for the second time, she rolled over in bed and buried her face into the pillow. Brian’s masculine scent invaded her nose and a smile broke across her face. Even without privacy, they’d had an amazing night last night. True to his word, Nathan had left them on their own in the living room, which they’d eventually vacated for the comfort of the bed, although that hadn’t meant the end of their lovemaking.

Never had she had so many orgasms in a single stretch of time. She smiled. Brian probably hadn’t gotten more than an hour or two of sleep. She hoped he’d packed a thermos of coffee for their fishing adventure. He was definitely going to need it.

She looked at the clock and groaned, a sound that Sam had obviously been waiting for as he bounded onto the bed. “Do you need to go outside, boy?”

He wagged his tail. She slid out of bed and slipped on a T-shirt and some sweatpants. When she entered the kitchen, she found a full thermos of coffee resting prominently on the countertop. A note was tucked underneath it:

Thought you might need some caffeine after your long night.

That living thing you’ve been helping me with is getting better every day.

Enjoy your alone time this morning.

We’ll be back after lunch and will bring fish for dinner.

Love,

Brian

He’d signed it with ‘love.’ Toni did a little dance in the middle of the kitchen, giddy with where things stood between them. Even with all the craziness, her life had become a wonderful place. She pressed her fingers against her swollen lips and smiled. Yes, things were good.

She filled her coffee cup and settled onto the back porch to watch Sam do his thing and explore the smells of the forest. Today was colder than it had been the last few days up here. Winter came earlier in the mountains. Would they still be here for the first snow? This morning, snowfall felt like it could happen at any time. And honestly, even if it didn’t, Toni would be thrilled with staying here for a while longer. They may be hiding out, but this little adventure seemed more like a romantic dream than a desperate dash for their lives. Now that they were here, she’d be perfectly happy staying for a while.

The sound of gravel under tires sent a thrill down Toni’s spine. She shaded her eyes against the morning sun while butterflies tingled in her stomach. Maybe that was the guys. Brian. They could have cut their fishing trip short this morning. But it wasn’t a blue Impala coming around the bend. It was a black Hummer with super-dark windows.

That sudden thrill turned to nausea as Toni frantically called Sam to her and pulled him into the house, locked the door behind her, panic surging through her. Every instinct told her this was danger coming up the drive.

Toni peeked through the edges of the closed blinds to see four huge muscular men get out of the Hummer, two had weapons drawn. Another pulled up behind it, but she didn’t hang out by the window to see how many more of them there were. Crap, she was so screwed. She was a sitting duck in this house and she was pretty positive they saw her on the porch when she’d taken a moment to grab Sam. While breathtaking, the cabin was also covered by windows that would make it way too easy for the men to get in. All they’d have to do is break a window.

She ran through the house, grabbed Sam’s leash, slid on her tennis shoes and a hooded sweatshirt. She snagged her mace and put it in the front pocket of the sweatshirt, and pulled a shotgun out of the closet she’d seen yesterday. She took half a minute to make sure it was loaded, grabbed the box of shells and put them into the front pocket of the sweatshirt alongside the mace.

She ran to the back door, with Sam close on her heels. She leaned down to attach the leash to Sam’s collar and whispered to him. “Be a good boy and be quiet, okay? Quiet!” she said in command before asking, “You ready to run?”

He wagged his tail, obviously excited and thinking this was a game. The pounding on the front door began just as she cracked the back door open. She couldn’t see anyone on this side of the cabin yet. The tree line was only about fifteen feet away from this side of the house. Holding the leash with her left hand and the shotgun in her right, she took off at a sprint toward the woods, trying not to make a sound.

There was a trail they’d explored yesterday and she headed toward it, although she knew it was too obvious. She’d only stay on it for a few feet until she got deeper into the woods and then she’d take off into the undergrowth. Already breathing harshly from a combination of adrenaline and high altitude, she had just left the trail when she heard the breaking glass echo out over the mountaintop.

It wouldn’t take long for them to realize she’d slipped out the back door. She had to get as far away as possible before that happened. As she slid over the rough terrain, she looked down worriedly at Sam. She hoped his hip would hold up for this.

* * *

Toni’s breath sawed in and out and she leaned up against a tree and tried to catch her breath. Damn, she never realized how heavy a shotgun got when running. She gingerly lowered it to the ground beside her, so that it leaned up against the tree.

By her estimation, she’d been running for around forty-five minutes. She glanced around her. It had been at least thirty minutes since she’d heard the men behind her, but that didn’t make her feel any safer. She knew they were probably out here still stalking her.

Looking up to the sky, she shivered. In the last few minutes the clouds had begun to build and it was getting progressively colder. Her clothes weren’t heavy enough to protect her against the elements for long, and she had no idea where she was. It would be just her luck, the men wouldn’t kill her, but the cold weather would because she’d gotten hopelessly lost.

“Come on, Sam,” she whispered. “We need to keep moving.” The dog perked up and jumped up to trot beside her as she took off at a slow jog again, jumping over fallen limbs and rocks on the rough terrain.

She underestimated the slope on the hill and when she jumped over the fallen log, the leaves on the other side gave way and she slid down the hill. Instinctively she let go of the gun and leash, trying to catch herself, but the slope was too steep. Twigs snapped, puncturing her clothes and skin as she tumbled. Midway down, something hard rammed into the side of her head, probably a rock from the sheer pain of the blow.

Finally the fall ended. She lay there stunned, trying to catch her breath and take stock of the damage to her body.

Everything hurt. The distinct smell of coppery blood assailed her. Wetness seeped into her clothes, both from mud and blood. She needed to move and check her injuries, but just the thought of opening her eyes sent another bolt of pain through her head. But when Sam began to bark, she knew she had to suck it up and get up before he alerted the men where they were located. She opened her eyes to the barrels of two guns pointed at her face.

* * *

Brian smiled tiredly at the good-natured ribbing that continued to flow from Nathan as they entered Mountaintop Grocers. His taunts and the chuckles of the men echoed over the empty store in the lull of early afternoon.

“Maybe if you’d gotten a bit more sleep last night you could have caught a fish like us real men,” Nathan joked.

“Dude,” Trevor said, his eyes wide, “in what world do you live in where catching a fish is more appealing that hot sex?”

Nathan flushed red and ducked his head. “Good point,” he muttered before laughing in embarrassment. The other three men just laughed with him.

Brian was happy to see Nathan relaxed and happy with the men. He’d been a little worried about Nathan’s reaction to having Jamie talk to him, but between Jamie’s no-nonsense approach and Trevor’s insane balls-to-the-wall approach about anything sexual, Nathan had been fairly responsive to their suggestions.

They’d had a successful fishing trip even without Brian catching anything. The other three of the men had caught plenty. They just needed to pick up some seasoning for the fish and fresh bread from the bakery before heading back to the house to cook it all up for dinner.

They were checking out when
Cherise sidled into the store, looking the four of them over like sides of beef. She settled upon the man-whore among them and rubbed her bountiful breasts across Trevor’s arm. “Hey, boys. Anyone up for a party tonight?”

Trevor spoke since he was the one getting felt up. “Sorry, Cher, darling. We already have plans for tonight with Brian and his guests.”

Irritation flitted across her face before she turned to Brian gritting her teeth. “So handsome, did Terri go home with her brother?”

Was she talking about Nathan? “No, Toni’s at the cabin waiting for us to come home. And this is her brother, Nathan, who’s obviously still here.” He pulled the kid forward. “He was the big fisherman for the day.”

She shook her head in confusion. “No, not him. He must be their older brother, good-looking guy, about thirty to thirty-five years old, obviously keeps himself fit. Nice and big.” Her eyes gleamed. “He came by the bar early this morning, looking for her.”

Brian’s gaze met Nathan’s in a moment of panic as ice filled his veins. The blood drained from Nathan’s face.

Cherise had no clue and just kept talking. “I gave him directions out to Rand and Hudson’s place.”

She turned to Trevor with a smile, but Brian grabbed her arm and pulled her back around. “How long ago was this?”

Rolling her eyes, she looked annoyed when she said, “I don’t know. At least a couple of hours ago.” Her eyes took a speculative gleam. “If he’s still around, you can give him my number. Now that’s a man who looks like he knows how to take care of a girl.” She licked her lips.

“
Cherise, this is important. Was he alone? Did you see what he was driving? Did he tell you his name?”

“What’s the big deal, Brian?” She flipped her hair in annoyance. “I don’t know. It was busy at the bar when he came in; so I gave him quick directions to the cabin. Just go back and ask Tammy about him. I’m sure she’s seen him by now.”

That’s what he was afraid of.

* * *

As the men carried her across the rough terrain, Toni floated in and out of consciousness. She must have hit her head harder than she thought since she was having a hard time keeping track of exactly what was going on. They’d zip-tied her hands together behind her back and now she bounced along on the shoulder of one of the guys.

When they’d gone to grab her, Sam had thrown a fit on the hill, but one of the men shot at him and he took off. She didn’t think he’d been hit, but she didn’t know for sure. A sob welled in her chest, but she couldn’t worry about him now. Right now she had to worry about her own safety.

Disoriented, it seemed like they’d been walking for hours. The only good thing was the goon carrying her seemed to be suffering just as much as her as he bitched again about how much she weighed. Now she wished she’d eaten more of Julie’s cookies, just so she could torture him more. Although the further they walked the more likely it became that she would puke down his back next. That probably wouldn’t make his day any better.

The men had
walkie talkies and had reported to someone named Mr. Berg that she’d been found and they were bringing her in, but she had no idea where that meant they were taking her. So she was shocked when they finally walked into the clearing around the cabin that Brian had chosen as their safe house. She scanned the area outside quickly, but it didn’t look like the guys had made it back yet. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved over that or not. Tremors cascaded from her core down her arms and legs at the thought of them being in danger, too. No matter what it took, that couldn’t happen.

A kitchen chair had been placed in the very center of the living room and they quickly zip-tied Toni to it, her arms tied to the spindles of the back and each leg attached to a leg of the chair.

A warm trickle of moisture dripped down the side of her face. From the way her head throbbed, she’d guess it to be blood. Hanging upside on the guy’s back for the hike hadn’t done good things to the condition of it, but it was just one of a plethora of aches and pains that made up her body right now. As she looked around at the grim faces in the room, it occurred to her that maybe she should just be thankful she could still feel those aches and pains. It didn’t look like that was going to be the case for very long.

As the front door opened, a man stepped in. He didn’t look anything like the other four men spread throughout the room. For one thing, it didn’t look like he lived under a weight bench eight hours a day. No, this was a normal guy, in his late thirties or early forties and clean-cut, but as she examined him something else occurred to her. He’d be normal if you didn’t count the $5000 custom-made suit he wore. The problem with watching him was that, courtesy of the new bump on her head, there was actually two of him. But even with that, something seemed very familiar about him. Had she met him before? Blinking her eyes, she tried unsuccessfully to clear her faulty vision.