Depths of Salvation (Love on the Edge) (15 page)

He didn’t play into that game. Instead he gripped my hips with firm fingers and jerked me to him with enough force to make me gasp. Claiming my mouth, he worked his hands down my stomach, plunging lower, his fingers slipping easily into my wetness.

“Damn, Sadie. You’re going to give me a big head with how wet you already are. I haven’t even started on you yet.” He snuck a finger inside me, and I writhed against the friction.

“You don’t need me to give you a big . . .
ego
,” I said, my voice breathy as he flicked his fingers in a come-hither motion.

“That’s where you’re wrong, darlin’.”

“Hmm?” I couldn’t pose any more of an intelligent question, not with the way he worked his tongue over the sensitive flesh of my nipple, while continuously staying connected to me with his hand.

“I absolutely fucking need you,” he said, and I opened my eyes. “You understand?”

I swallowed hard, the severity in his eyes making my heart race harder, if that was possible.

“I haven’t needed anything or anyone in years, Sadie. And when I lay claim to something, I
mean
it. And I’m saying this now, you’re mine.”

The words were totally primal and, for some unknown reason, made my body submissive to any way he wanted it. I arched into him, my eyes never leaving his.

“I need you to say it,” he said, pressing his thumb on my clit with a too-light pressure. I bucked against him, shamelessly begging for the release he kept me on the edge of. He shook his head, his black hair falling across his eyes. “I need it, Sadie. Or I can’t take one more step with you.”

I stopped my motions, bringing my hands to his cheeks, tugging him to my mouth. “I’m yours,” I whispered and kissed him hard enough to prove it.

A low growl rumbled from his chest, and he pressed his fingers deeper inside me, drawing a moan from my lips. He lightly nipped at my neck, pushing his thumb on my clit harder, slowly moving it in a circle while I ground against his hand, my orgasm a breath away.

“Connell.” I dug my nails into the skin of his back as he increased the pressure, sending me over the fucking edge, and I came apart underneath him.

He held me close, slowly working me down before slipping his fingers out. I grinned, looking at him through hooded eyes as I reached downward, gripping his large cock in my hands.

“Your turn,” I said, attempting to move and get on top of him.

He held me in place and shook his head, a devious smile on his face. “Oh no, darlin’. We’re still on you and not even close to finished yet.”

My stomach flipped from the anticipation, and I let him guide my hands upward until he pinned them over my head. He kept them secured with one of his hands, separating my thighs with his free hand until I was wide open for him.

He coated his tip in my wetness, teasing me with light touches and smooth strokes. I arched upward, more than inviting, but he seemed content to work me up to a writhing mess. My skin burned with need and I ached for him.

“Connell,” I begged. “Please.”

“Please what?” he asked, rubbing himself against my already oversensitive flesh.

“I
need
you,” I said.

His eyes sparked, and he plunged inside me, the friction from his length so glorious I trembled beneath him. I wrapped my legs around his hips, still unable to move my hands from their pinned position, and bucked against him.

He held me captive with one hand, the control igniting every nerve ending in my body. The trust was off the charts, which only added to the already euphoric state he had me worked into. I met each powerful thrust, each claiming kiss. He was mine as much as I was his and from the way I controlled his speed with my locked ankles, he knew it.

“Sadie,” he growled. “If you’re not covered you have to tell me soon.”

The question was almost enough to halt my building orgasm, but the knowledge that he was on the verge of coming was hot enough to blast it away.

“Yes,” I said, not having the brain power to elaborate. I’d had the implant inserted a couple of years ago when I’d thought I’d found a steady boyfriend. I’d been wrong, but hadn’t had it removed.

“Yes, what?” he groaned, and I smirked up at him, loving the struggle on his face, loving that I made him as crazy as he did me.

I squeezed my thighs and drove him home where he had stopped moving. “Come inside me, Connell.”

He fell on top of me then, claiming my mouth as he thrust harder, faster. “Oh God, Sadie,” he moaned, his breath mixing with mine as our lips broke.

The feel of him bare within me, paired with his words, sent me flying—
again—
so hard I shook against him. He held me tight as his own orgasm rocked his body, his cock growing harder inside me before his entire body released on top of me. He finally allowed my arms down enough to wrap them around him as he laid his head on my breasts.

“Wow,” he said, his breaths quick and short.

“Yeah,” I said, entangling my fingers in his long hair.

We laid there, coming down in the sweetest way, not saying a word. We didn’t need to. Our bodies had worked out every argument, worry, and want we could have possibly brought up.

Connell

“ARE THINGS PROGRESSING
in the right direction with Sadie?” Slade asked from behind his desk, his eyes barely leaving whatever he had pulled up on his computer screen.

I stood with my arms crossed over my chest and tried not to flinch when the image of her beautifully bare body flashed behind my eyes. The thought of it made blood rush to my dick, and I forced the picture away. Not the easiest, since I still had her scent on me. And every time I got a whiff of it . . . damn, I wanted her all over again.

“Yes,” I finally answered him when he looked at me.

“So we still have an understanding?” Slade’s eyes trailed me up and down like he could sense her on me and I shifted my weight. “Murphey?”

“Yeah.” The word tasted bad in my mouth. I hadn’t planned on Sadie. Didn’t think for one second there was a person on this planet who could shed me of some of the weight I carried, who could tear down my expertly built walls as easily as she had.

“Good. Because despite the fact that she is a beautiful woman and is probably using that to her advantage when it comes to you, you signed the contract. And you know if you utter a word of it to her or her crew—“

“You’ll end my career. Yeah, I remember.” I cut him off.

He smiled. “Oh no, not just yours.
Hers
as well.”

“What?” I snapped.

“I can’t believe you’ve gone soft, the one person I was sure wouldn’t fall for the games of a beautiful woman.” He sighed. “You grow a conscious out of nowhere or have a change of heart, and it’s not just you who suffers. Remember
that
.”

Heat sizzled in my gut, and I clenched my fingers together so hard my knuckles cracked.

Slade chuckled and shook his head. “Oh man, I severely hope you haven’t
fallen
for her antics.” He stood up, walking around his desk to stand in front of me. “She’s worked on that site for nearly a year. The woman will do anything”—he raised his eyebrows at me—“and I mean
anything
to save it.”

I swallowed hard, trying not to let his words in, but unsuccessfully keeping them out. Could she have slept with me only to sway my ruling on her site? I scoffed, feeling like an asshole for not even entertaining the thought before I’d slid inside her.

Maybe the connection I felt with her was one-sided. Maybe all the interest she’d had, all the fight to get to know me better, was a plan from the beginning to sway me.

Fuck.

The pain in my chest shocked me as much as it pissed me off. I’d let that woman in, where I’d let no one in in years.

“You got a job for me today?” I asked, suddenly needing to get underwater, where I knew my head would be clearer. It was the best place to think. The one place on this earth where I trusted myself, my instincts.

Slade nodded. “Yeah, I need you to check those stripped joints you repaired a couple of weeks ago.”

“They’re solid.” I knew my work. It wouldn’t slip.

“I need you to check them.” Slade’s tone was sharp, and he cocked an eyebrow at me. “And then you can check every other joint on the beams surrounding while you’re down there.”

“Grunt work? Are you kidding me?” I had better things to do than lay eyes on joints I knew were completely stable. Like check on Sadie and her site. My body itched to dive with her again, unlock more doors for her, watch her light up like Christmas with each discovery.

Shit. Maybe I did need the bitch work to get my head on straight.

“I’ll expect a clean report when you’re topside again.” Slade dismissed me, and I took off to get my gear on.

The battle inside was enough to make me eager to do his bidding, even if it was pointless. At least this would give me time underwater to think. Because part of me knew what Sadie and I had was real—despite how fast it had happened—but another part, the darker one, whispered that she was using me.

Just like you’re using her.
The dollar amount on the contract I’d signed the first day I met Sadie stood out in red ink in my mind.

Shit.

What had I gotten myself into?

An hour and a half under the water hadn’t helped me as much as I thought it would. I was split in half, and I didn’t know which one would win, but I knew how to find out.

I took the jet ski out to Sadie’s site, knowing she’d be there this time of day. When I’d left her with nothing but a sheet on this morning, she hadn’t bothered asking when I’d return, just kissed me and went back to sleep. She had confidence, and it turned me on in a big way. That and her abilities underwater, and with how she could get under my skin like no one else ever had, made me practically bouncing to see her again.

I tried to keep myself in check, reminding myself of the role I had in the destruction of her site. And the fact that she could be doing the same thing to me, I was just on the other side of it.

But I’d claimed her, and I didn’t do that lightly. I just needed to know she was being real with me, and once I did, then I could easily let go of the money promised me. Because I’d meant what I said to her, she was worth more than that. But if she was playing me . . .

An ache in my chest had me kicking up the speed of the jet ski, needing the rush to erase it. I hadn’t been strung up by a woman since high school, and I had no fucking clue how to handle it. I was all over the place inside, my usual cold, calm interior sparking to life, breathing in new, more fulfilling ways, tempting me with hope and ideas for a future—where before I only saw the next job, the next opportunity to put myself at risk.

Pulling up to Sadie’s boat, I quickly spotted her sitting on the deck, her golden-blond hair blowing in the soft breeze. Warmth unfurled in my core, and the only thought on my brain was
mine—
quickly followed with the curiosity of how fast I could get her tongue in my mouth again.

Turned out it only took minutes.

She leaped into my arms the second I reached her position on the ship, wrapping her hands around my neck. She kissed me before saying a word. I liked this form of communication more anyway. I was better at it, absolutely perfect at it with Sadie. I could read what she wanted physically as easily as if I’d had years to learn it, but her mind? That was a harder one to crack.