Blind Faith (32 page)

step away.”

“No.” As graceful as any dancer, she slid down him, her palms along his legs, to land on her knees. “I

don’t think so.”

His cock hardened and pressed against his zipper, fighting to get out of his jeans. Nate held perfectly

still.
Don’t move.
Her mouth was way too close to his dick. Way too close. The beast inside him, the one he

secretly doubted held only human DNA, roared with the need to pounce. To take Audrey all the way down

and make sure she knew exactly who she belonged to.
His woman.
Now and forever. “What are you

doing?” he asked.

She chuckled, the sound all female and challenging. Staying on her knees, she skimmed her palms up

the inside of his legs and his thighs. “I’m perfectly fine, and so are you.”

He groaned, fighting against self-imposed chains. But his feet wouldn’t move. He could easily jump

over her and leave the cabin. Yet his feet remained in place, his thighs tightening, all the blood in his body

rushing to one place.

The sound of her releasing his zipper echoed much louder than he’d expected in the small cabin. Not

even the rain gathering strength outside masked the sound. When he’d changed after the fight, he’d just

donned jeans. No shirt, no boxers. With a happy hum, Audrey took him in her hand.

His knees nearly buckled. “Don’t—”

Her tongue flicked out and licked him.

At that one contact, in that one second, the beast in him took over.

Chapter 25

Audrey licked Nate again, electricity dancing through her veins. Kneeling in front of the deadly soldier

gave her the most satisfying sense of empowerment. She trailed his jeans down his legs. A vibration settled

through his thighs, and yet he kept still. So painfully still.

But he wanted to move, didn’t he? The poor guy wanted to get away from her—to keep her safe.

The real Nate Dean, the kind, gentle, man deep down… she saw him. The sexy soldier and hard-bodied

charmer had intrigued her right from the start, but the man inside had stolen her soul.

She’d never gotten it back.

It was a freakin’ miracle they were both healthy and fine… and she wanted to celebrate that fact. Plus,

she’d spent most of her shower time thinking and remembering the attack and how easily Nate had shifted

into soldier mode. The cold, deliberate killer who’d run toward spraying bullets in order to protect her had

scared her a little bit. In their time together years ago, she’d never truly seen that side of him. The side

created by her mother and the commander. The aspect in him that made him such a good soldier—deadly

and strong.

She needed the
man
. His courage, his strength, his gentleness with her. Only her. Even more so, while

he might not realize it, he needed her.

They were lost souls, without a doubt. Maybe they’d found each other for this brief time. For so long,

she’d been alone. Had her own space and plenty of room to plan her life. Once she succeeded in taking

down the commander, she’d planned to disappear. To find a small house in a small town and become part

of a community.

Not now. Now she had Nate to save and a baby to protect. Suddenly, her life was full. Because of Nate.

So she licked along his shaft to the base, smiling when he groaned again.

Intense passion lived in Nathan Dean, and she’d caught glimpses of his true nature. The loyal brother

who loved so completely, who sacrificed so easily, had taken on that role with his brothers on purpose.

Even after Audrey had hurt him so badly, he’d been kind to her. Before finding out she was pregnant, he’d

been protective.

The coldness in him was necessary for surviving his childhood and for working through his adulthood

as a soldier. But his perfect control didn’t belong between them, and it was time she showed him he could

trust her. Trust her with everything.

So she tipped her head back and took him deep.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, his hands threading through her hair.

He tasted like male and spice—all Nathan. Drawing him out, she caressed her tongue along his base.

“Audrey,” he murmured.

“What?” She sat back and looked up at him, pleasure rippling along her nerves. As she focused, her

breath caught.

The expression on his face was new. Raw need, male demand. Heavy-lidded, his eyes glowed a

darkened gray. Strong and cut hard, his jaw clenched, crimson spiraling across his rugged cheekbones. His

hands tethered and then released her hair, sliding down to her biceps to lift her. Easily. Very easily.

Once she reached her feet, he kept lifting until her thighs tightened against his hips.

Strong fingers latched on to her butt, and he kicked his jeans away. He strode through the room,

avoiding furniture while keeping his gaze completely focused on hers. No hint of gentleness, no inkling of

concern glimmered in those unreal eyes. Just hunger.

When her ass hit the table, she gasped. Cold and rough, the wood scratched her skin. Fire exploded

inside her, dampening her thighs. She’d assumed he would take her to the bedroom, and the idea that he

wanted her too much to wait melted her from the inside out. Made her wet and soft.

The thin T-shirt covering her flew across the room, baring her. His eyes flared with a predatory light.

Delicious and wicked, a shiver tingled down her spine. Keeping his gaze, she slowly widened her legs

on either side of his thighs. Daring him.

His jagged chuckle nearly threw her into an orgasm. Rough and thick, the pad of his index finger drifted

along her bottom lip. Smiling, she opened her mouth and sucked it in. His nostrils flared. He tugged, and

she released his finger with a soft
plop
.

With a primal gaze, he watched his finger as the pad brushed down her chin, her neck, and wandered

between her breasts.

She breathed out, heat flaring along the path of his wet finger. A hollowness set up deep inside her, an

ache only he could fill. Yet his finger trailed traitorously slow, over her naval, down her shifting abdominal

muscles, right to her clit.

He pressed.

Sparks torpedoed inside her. Her mouth opened on a gasp, and she tilted toward his hand.

His upper lip quirked in male satisfaction. In an emotional connection.

Keeping his finger right on her, he leaned in, his lips grazing hers. Not enough. Nowhere near enough.

So she reached up and snagged his arms, yanking until he bent down and she could seize his hair. Digging

her fingers in tight, she pulled him to her mouth. Taking.

Her tongue swept inside as he remained still. As if he could remain in control. So she softened her

assault, teasing and tempting. Layer by layer, she felt his control shred. His breathing sped up first. Then he

slowly, easily kissed her back, taking over so smoothly she didn’t realize it until she couldn’t get enough

oxygen into her lungs.

Her body flared alive, tingling. Finally, he released her mouth and kissed a path down to her breasts,

where he nipped hard enough to make her catch her breath in her throat. Smiling, he laved the small

wound. She moaned, trying to move against his too-still finger. Desire flared so hot it burned, and she

couldn’t get enough.

The thought whispered through her that he’d taken control again as he gentled his movements, as his

kisses softened.

So she tightened her hold on his thick hair with one hand and anchored his cock with the other. No

hesitancy, no subtlety, she gripped him hard. From shaft to tip, she caressed him, her fingers not reaching

all the way around but staying firm.

His mouth on her skin, he sucked in air, the muscles in his arms visibly fighting.

“Give it up, Nate,” she murmured, leaning even farther down and grasping his balls.

He levered back, the snapping of his control confirmed in every line of his body. Catching her hips, he

flipped her around, a firm hand pressing her down to the table. Her breasts scraped against the wood. She

turned her head to the side in order to breathe, yet her lungs wouldn’t cooperate as her heart rammed a

staccato beat against her ribs.

Unyielding hands manacled her hips and slapped her back into a rock-hard erection. With one strong

push, he thrust into her completely, not stopping until his balls hit her thighs.

Oh God.

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe out, tried to anchor herself in a wild storm she’d created as he

pinned her to the table. He somehow shoved even deeper inside her, leaning over her, his chest against her

back, his breath at her ear. “If your leg hurts, tell me.”

Her leg? What leg? She may have whimpered a response.

He stretched her, filling her until he was all that existed. His skin against hers, the hair on his thighs

tickling hers, his scent covering her. He rocked inside her, withdrawing and driving forward with a force

that would’ve sent her across the table if he hadn’t been holding on. Tight.

Hard and fast, the rhythm he set up coiled need tighter and tighter inside her. She gasped and tried to

dig her hands into the table, shoving back. Close, she was so close.

Only Nate could do this to her. Make her forget everything but him. Any future she had included him—

he couldn’t die.

She tried to fight falling over, to hold on to the delicious ecstasy riding her, but he wouldn’t let her. The

powerful, steady pace increased, and he angled her slightly to the left. As her clit slid along the side of the

table, the coils inside her detonated. She screamed his name, riding the waves, her mouth closing suddenly

as the room sheeted white. The sensation shut down her system, so perfect and so intense. Finally, she

came down from the heights, her body going lax.

The second she softened, his hold tightened, and he began to pound harder. She closed her eyes, lost in

the bliss. Finally, he ground against her, his body convulsing. After what seemed like eons, he fell over her,

his mouth at her ear. “No way in hell am I letting you go this time,” he whispered.

* * *

against the table like they hadn’t just been in a car accident, he’d tucked her into bed, watching her sleep.

The woman had slept like she hadn’t slept in years.

He couldn’t find it in himself to regret the previous night. She’d enjoyed him, and he’d enjoyed being

himself with her and letting go. But now, more than ever, he couldn’t lose her. Or the baby.

Awakening her had been one of the hardest things he’d had to do lately, but they had to get a move on.

“Stop frowning,” Audrey said as she stood in her bra and pencil skirt.

“I’m not frowning,” Nate said, frowning harder. Shane had broken into Audrey’s apartment to get her a

full cache of clothes after ditching her car the previous night, so she had something to wear.

Matt glanced up from where he was taping a wire along Audrey’s lower back. “Do you want to do

this?”

“No. You’re better at placing wires.” Nate crossed his arms. “I don’t give a crap if you see Audrey’s

pretty bra, Matt. Jesus. I trust you and my woman.” It was the plan of the day that pissed him off.

Completely.

Shane turned around from the computer on the table and gave him a look.

He looked right back. Yeah, he’d called her
his woman
. So what? Shane rolled his eyes and went back

to the computer.

Nate smirked. If Shane had any idea what had happened on the table the previous night, he wouldn’t be

so comfortable sitting there.

“That’s better, Nathan.” Audrey smiled at him, lifting her arms for Matt to tape the wire closer to the

back of her bra.

He smiled back, his mind reeling. “We need a different plan.”

Matt sighed, his shoulders bunching. “We’ve been over this. If we need another plan, that’s fine. But

enough already.”

Audrey put both hands on her hips. “The plan is for me to go in and videotape the facility so you have a

better understanding of the layout. That’s where we’ll find information about Jory, which is our next step

before we expose the commander. I understand your concerns, but I promise I’ll take good care of the

baby. Nothing will happen to him today.”

“Damn it, Audrey.” A rush of pure anger flooded Nate’s veins. “I’m as worried about you as I am about

the baby. This is a bad idea.”

She shrugged, glancing over her shoulder at the wires. “This is the only idea we have. The senator has

invited me to the facility, and the commander is fine with me there, so I’m the right person to go. Plus, I

wouldn’t mind another ultrasound to check in on the baby, and Dr. Zycor has technology way beyond the

hospitals in the area.” She kept her voice level and her head down while she spoke.

Anxiety felt like needles in the brain. “Is something wrong?” Nate asked quietly.

She looked up and smiled. “No. I want to double-check, and Matt placed the wires along my back, so

nobody will see them.” Her cute hips wiggled when she reached behind her and tugged out a security card.