Checkmate (23 page)

Now he could sleep.

Chapter Twenty

Nikki guided Eli with an arm around his waist. The fool was heavier than he looked. She grunted under the strain of holding him up. Didn’t help that his naked body was slick with sweat.

“I don’t need any more rest.” Eli struggled against Nikki’s hands as she tried to push him back in his bed.

“Right. That’s why you can’t walk under your own steam. It’s all a delusion. Now, lay your ass down or I swear to God I won’t give you sex for a week.” She wouldn’t last a freaking week. No way. Eli was hers. Forever.

He whimpered and she hid a smile. He must have believed her because he collapsed onto the mattress and let her pull the covers over his body.

“I feel like a damned baby.”

She chuckled at his grouchiness. He could be a baby all he wanted as long as he was still here with her. Nikki shuddered, thinking about what could have happened in that closet.

“You sound like one too. Why tempt reopening the wound when you can lie here like a good boy and let it heal? And if you ever take on a psycho killer again, I’ll kill you myself.” Damn, she’d never forget waking up to see them lifting him onto a stretcher. There’d been so much blood. She’d been so afraid he wouldn’t live through the blood loss alone.

He growled. She lifted an eyebrow.

“You don’t scare me, Eli.”

He dropped his head to the pillow and groaned. His cock tented the thin sheet. How on Earth could he be hard at a time like this? Weak as an infant, and still horny. She shook her head, but couldn’t resist licking her lips. “Do I look like Superman to you?” he grumbled.

Nikki looked at his face. His nostrils were flared and his eyes were wide. She swallowed and felt her cheeks burn at being caught checking him out.

She lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you mean,” she huffed, busying herself with getting his shoes off.

“You couldn’t make it a week, sweetheart,” he taunted.

“Watch me.” She’d have to find some kind of resolve somewhere if she wanted to make it through the night.

Now it was Eli’s turn to swallow. “I don’t wanna sleep anymore.”

“Quit whining. Besides, if you’re really good, maybe I’ll reward you.”

From the corner of her eye she saw his cock jump beneath the sheet. She wiggled her eyebrows at him before turning her attention to his groin and licking her lips again.

“Christ, don’t do that, Nikki-Raine. Just thinking about what that sweet little tongue can do makes me harder than hell.” He rubbed a hand over his bare chest. The T-shirt he’d worn home had left him itchy and feeling confined. Not to mention it was rubbing on his wounds and making him surly.
They’d barely hit the front door and he’d stripped it off. That and his pants. Good thing they’d been alone or somebody might have gotten quite a peep show.

Nikki reached for the tent in the sheet. Eli dug his hands beneath his pillow and waited, breath held in anticipation of her touch. “Damn little tease,” he breathed. “I’ll get you for this.”

She smiled. “You and what army?”

“I won’t need a fucking army, sweetheart. Just my cock buried deep inside your tiny wet pussy’ll be enough.”

Nikki’s breath caught a split second before her fingers wrapped around his circumference. He hissed through his teeth and threw his head back in what she hoped was sheer bliss.

His abs jumped as she slowly inched the sheet she’d just pulled over him back off. Nikki released him long enough to uncover the steel rod she’d been holding and the cotton slid along his length with wicked intent. He gritted his teeth and his triceps bunched like he was trying to keep from grabbing her and throwing her to the bed so he could fuck her like she needed to be fucked. At least that’s what she wanted to think.

Her fingers returned, cold on his heated cock.

“So soft,” she whispered as she started pumping him. “So hard.”

His teeth lengthened and he hissed. Her thumb brushed over the tip, smearing the small drop of pre-come that seeped out.

“Fuuuck.” Eli lifted his head to stare at her.

She lowered her head in an agonizingly slow manner, trying to tease him. From the way he licked his lips and propped himself on his elbows to watch her descent, she would say it was working. Nikki’s hair fell over his hips. She hoped it blocked his view and increased the anticipation. His hands fisted the sheets and his body was a rigid line beneath her. Thank God the painkillers had left his injuries numb. He’d probably be hurting later though. It was a wonder he could even feel his cock, let alone get it up, but oh damn.

She breathed over the swollen head and he groaned. “Holy mother…”

Her lips quivered against it as she chuckled. When the tip of her tongue traced the slit he nearly shot off the bed. Nikki sat back, throwing her hair over her shoulder and trying unsuccessfully not to laugh.

“Anxious?”

“Stop teasing a wounded man, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled, and then bent over him again.

Sweeping her hot tongue across him made him lift his hips. Nikki enveloped him in her mouth, and sucked strongly. She moved, bobbing her head up and down, drawing on him. His balls tightened, readying themselves to explode.

It didn’t take long. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his lip bled where a sharp canine bit through it and she could tell his heart pounded. Her hair tickled his abdomen and thighs with every sweep.

“Baby…” He pursed his lips. She met his eyes with her defiance-filled ones. “Stop. Stop, or I’m going…I’m gonna…”

She added her hand to the base of his cock and his eyes rolled back.

“Nikki-Raine.” With a guttural cry he came. Hot spurts of semen shot into the back of her throat and still she squeezed and sucked, milking him for all he was worth. His belly contracted and seized with each discharge.

Eli collapsed, his chest heaving. Her tongue laved his insatiable cock from root to tip, bathing it with a mixture of come and saliva, lapping up everything. His chest heaved with each effort to draw a breath.

Nikki released his cock with an audible pop and pulled the sheet over his body. His fingers slackened their death grip and he sank into the mattress. She rained small kisses on his skin just above the sheet and tucked it around his chest. Her lips moved up his throat, around his jaw, over his face, soothing the tenseness away.

“I love you, my mate.” His drugged announcement barely reached her ears.

Nikki reared back to look at him. He’d already fallen asleep. She thought about all the time she had now to devote herself to showing him how much she loved him. She took a deep breath, enjoying the freedom that came with it. Now she could finally put this last year behind her. She’d never forget her friends or what had happened to them and she still had a trial to get through for the three men who’d attacked her, but she’d do it. With Eli by her side, she’d be fine. Nikki had no doubt he would see to her happiness just as she would do for him.

She flipped the hair off his forehead. “I love you too. Always.”

About the Author

Annmarie McKenna lives with her husband and four kids in the Midwest. Throw in a dog and a cat and she’s well over her limit for the average family. Luckily, writing fantasies has proven to be an excellent way to de-stress from her daily life of being a cleaning woman, chauffeur, cook and mom. Okay, cleaning woman—not so much. She leaves that to her hubby. Now if only she could figure out how to de-stress her kids, she’d be all set. To learn more about Annmarie, please visit
www.annmariemckenna.com
or her tries-to-keep-up-with-it-but-rarely-succeeds blog,
www.annmariemckenna.blogspot.com
. She’d love to hear from you. Send her an email to
[email protected]
.

Look for these titles by Annmarie McKenna

Now Available:

Blackmailed

Seeing Eye Mate

Checkmate

Coming Soon:

Two Sighted

Fantasmagorical

The Strength of Three

Mystified

Look What Santa Brought

Even with her shaky past, Aislinn can’t help but to secretly want Kyle. When she witnesses his death in a vision, how can she tell him without giving away her secret or her lust?

Two Sighted

© 2007 Annmarie McKenna

Coming May 15, 2007 to Samhain Publishing

Aislinn Campbell is a clairvoyant, the latest in a long line of first-born daughters to the previous first-born daughter. All of them have fiery red hair and a second sight. Hiding from her ex in the presence of a sexy ex-military millionaire seems the safest way to start over. Until she “sees” his death.

Kyle Turner III has been keeping a close eye on Aislinn. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about his personal assistant, including her secret and ugly past. He also wants her in his bed more than his next breath. When he receives an anonymous warning that something might happen at his annual Fourth of July bash, he doesn’t take it lightly. He knows exactly who sent the warning and he knows she’s being watched by her bastard of an ex.

After he’s injured in an accident, Kyle isn’t about to leave Aislinn unprotected for a second. He coaxes her into more than just tending to his wounds. Because making Aislinn believe in him and her together far outweighs anything her ex can dish out.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Two Sighted
:

Bright light from the full moon glinted off the stainless steel appliances in the immaculate kitchen. A scream echoed through the large space, drowning out the grunts and moans coming from the two men who fought near the center, arms locked in a combative embrace. The sickening thud of flesh on flesh was followed by a spurt of blood that showered the island countertop. The man dressed in black from head to toe took advantage, flinging them both to the ground with a bone- jarring crunch. He rolled, kneeling above the other man who was wearing only boxers. With a snick, the man in black flicked open a switchblade. He swung it in an arc above his head, catching the moonlight, making the metal glow. The knife slashed through the air into the bare chest of the man below and another scream pierced the kitchen’s confines.

“Yoo-hoo.”

Aislinn Campbell sucked in a breath and shook her head, trying to ward off the last vestiges of the vision that plagued her yet again.

“Are you there, hon? Earth to Aislinn.” Christina Marshall, the closest friend Aislinn had—the only friend she had—waved a hand in front of her face.

Aislinn flushed with embarrassment. Of all the times for her to have a vision—at work in front of numerous co-workers. Great. She could probably count the minutes until word got around about her freakiness. Fighting the urge to cover her ears against the memories of past taunts, she fisted her hands on the arms of the ergonomic computer chair.

Her gaze traveled from one side of the room to the other, taking everything in. No one seemed to be looking except for Chris and hopefully her friend was too busy picking on her fingernail to notice Aislinn’s momentary distress.

“So how late did he make you stay last night?” Chris asked, amusement touching her voice.

Aislinn cleared her throat. Chris didn’t act like anything weird had happened. “What?”

Chris dropped her hand and propped a butt cheek on the corner of Aislinn’s desk. She looked her typical bored self, but Aislinn could see her attention was focused on something. Her gaze darted between the bank of elevators and Aislinn.

If she didn’t know better, Aislinn might be offended. Despite her protests, Chris was seriously interested in one of their boss’s bodyguards. Aislinn hadn’t figured out which one yet. And she didn’t care. No man would ever have that kind of hold over her again.

“You know,” Chris murmured. “Last night. The meeting. How long did he make you stay?”

“Oh. That. Not too late. Seven twenty-eight.”

Chris laughed. “Not too late, but late enough you noticed the exact minute you walked out the door? Were his cronies with him?” she sneered.

Aislinn straightened the paperwork on her desk. Not even eight o’clock in the morning and already Mr. Turner had four messages. Her mouth went dry thinking about Kyle Turner III. Somehow she had to warn him without drawing attention to herself.

Right. And just how did she go about that?
Please watch yourself, Mr. Turner. I think someone’s going to kill you in a kitchen.

That was grounds for whacko of the century if she ever heard one. She could see her padded cell now. Either that or his cronies, as Chris referred to them, would call her an accomplice and have her locked away in a different kind of cell. One with bars.

Either way she wouldn’t have to worry ever again about David. Her ex would have no access to her in jail.

Aislinn forced herself to unclench the arms of the chair she still held.

“Man you are in another world today. What’s up, chickie?” Chris crossed her arms over her chest.

“Nothing,” Aislinn mumbled, rearranging her desk again. “I’ve got a lot to do today and you’re sitting on my faxes.”

Chris lifted her butt and Aislinn yanked the papers out from under her.

“Were his cronies with him? Did they walk you to your car at least? Do you think his cronies ever leave his side, or do you think the three of them sleep together too?” Chris wondered out loud.

Aislinn snickered. “Yes, yes, and I have a feeling none of those men have ever been near a bed at the same time. Well, a real bed anyway. Probably when they were in the military they spent a lot of time watching each other’s backs when they slept.” She paused and cocked her head, thinking about something she’d seen a few weeks ago involving a blonde bombshell of a model and the cronies. “On second thought, TJ and Jonathan might be in cahoots.” She winked at Chris. Talking about the two men was bound to raise Chris’s hackles.