Out Of The Past (4 page)

He had four nephews he loved dearly. He looked forward to summers when his siblings and their families often descended on him for weekends. A.J. treasured those moments.

“After eight years as a Ranger and eight years with Falcon Securities, I’d say, yeah, I pretty much needed a home base.” He took her hand. “The only thing missing is a woman to greet me when I come home.”

Her cheeks flared and she lowered her eyes. “That would be nice. I wish you had that.”

“I could.”

Her questioning gaze clashed with his honest eyes. “I’ve been avoiding a relationship for years. I don’t even know if I can be the kind of person you would want.”

He pulled her against his chest and whispered, “You already are.”

Her arms circled his neck, and she melted against him. He was ready to make love to her right now, but he knew Zoe wasn’t. It would take time to get past the barrier she’d created to keep from being hurt.

He stroked her silky blonde strands. The perfume of her shampoo tickled his nose and kicked up his pulse. Zoe was not a small, bony woman. She constantly dieted, but he didn’t think that was necessary.

Her curvy body was like a fine sculpture to him. Her full, firm breasts and her smooth skin begged for his touch. Stroking her arms, he leaned down and kissed her long, hard and demanding. Thinking he might scare her, he softened his touch, determined to take his time.

The kiss he’d been afraid might frighten her actually sent him a seal of approval as she slipped her tongue inside his mouth to taste him. He sucked slowly, while his hands roamed over her body. They both still had their clothes on, and A.J. was okay with that as long as they’d be naked sometime in the near future. Something about the kiss Zoe returned affirmed he would catch a glimpse of heaven tonight. 

Z
oe didn’t know how to respond to A.J.’s advances. She’d always been the one to take control, while her johns simply laid back and allowed her to pleasure them. She’d never enjoyed the act. So, why did she feel so sexually excited this close to a man she’d admired from the safety of her own hidden feelings for months?

Fire burned in the wake of his touch. She loved the feel of this man—his strong hands, deep musky scent, and the gentle way he awakened her senses.

Before she knew it, she laid stretched out on the couch with A.J. beside her, his fingers teasing the bottom of the tee shirt. Her breath caught in her throat, and she forced herself to remain calm.

When his calloused palm brushed across her taut nipple, a thrilling shock shot through her body, awakening a passion she had never known existed. She broke the kiss to gasp.

“Do you like that?” he asked. His voice sounded deeper and more sensuous next to her ear.

“Yes,” she sighed. “I do like it, a lot.” She boldly captured his mouth and thrilling possibilities spun in her mind. This man could take her to paradise in the blink of an eye if she let him. She realized she’d wanted him since they’d first met. Oh, she’d denied it, but there was no denying the way his kiss stole her mind and turned her into a bowl of hot chili peppers.

She continued to suck and keep her lips pressed against his as she reached down and unbuttoned his jeans. She released the zipper and shoved the pants over his rear, marveling at the hot thickness pressed against her stomach.

She took him in her hand and stroked his cock several times before she softly ran her thumb over the top. He was wet, hard as granite, and throbbing. She wanted him inside her more than anything.

Gently, A.J. lifted her and carried her to the master bedroom. He laid her on the bed and stepped back. In a way that made her drool, he peeled his clothes off his powerful body. His torso was firm, muscular and perfect. His abs were the creations women dreamed of.

Then he crawled on the bed and towered over her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled to get air into her lungs. She was vaguely aware that he watched her reaction. She panted hungrily as he slowly slid off her jeans and tossed them aside. Her shirt was next, along with her panties and bra.

She wondered where all her embarrassment about her body had gone because at the moment, she didn’t feel anything but need.

A.J. left her lips to trail his hot mouth down her throat, across both breasts, and down her stomach to the light patch of curls at her pelvis. Then he went lower, and when his tongue slid across her thigh, Zoe almost came off the bed. It only grew more intense when he licked between her legs until she was wet and throbbing with desire.

She ran her fingers through his hair and spread her legs wider, making her pleasure more accessible. She groaned as his velvet tongue slid her full length. Then she released a blissful sigh. Nothing had ever felt this good or this exciting in her whole life.

As her skin tightened, A.J. climbed up her body. His navy eyes were dark and forbidding. He captured her mouth, and she tasted her saltiness on his lips. She lavishly licked his mouth as he reached for a condom and sheathed himself. Easily, he slipped into her.

“That feels like home,” A.J. whispered with a lazy smile.

“I can’t argue that point.”

“Let’s just stay like this the rest of the night.”

“I’m very tempted to do just that.”

Outside, rain splattered the ground and lightening flashed across the sky. The clouds rumbled and A.J. slowly and methodically pumped in and out, while sweat peppered his forehead. She knew he wanted to come, and instinctively, she also knew he’d wait for her.

Heat flared in her stomach and spread throughout her body. A fire of seduction built her into a boiling cauldron. She grabbed A.J.’s rear and pulled him closer to her, as she began a strange and pulsating journey to a place she’d only dreamed of.

Just as she thought she’d never felt anything so delicious in all her life, her climax hit and her entire body vibrated and hummed with a new sense of awareness. She gasped then held her breath as wave after wave of aftershock shook her body like nothing else before.

A.J. called out her name as he came. For moments afterward they lay there, waiting for the room to right itself and the world to stop spinning.

“I never felt anything like that before,” she said. “It was earth shattering.”

“I agree.” A.J. lifted most of his weight off her and rolled to pull her on top.

She looked down at his mischievous eyes and smiled. “You’re quite the stud muffin.”

“I simply aim to please.”

“Well, you did that.”

A
.J. folded back the sheets when Zoe returned from the bathroom. “Get dressed. Tonight, we sleep in our clothes. If anything happens, we have to be ready to make a run for it.”

Redressed in his sister’s jeans and the oversized tee shirt, she slipped in beside him. Deeply inhaling her scent, he wrapped her tightly against his body as he closed his eyes. In no time, they were asleep.

Then A.J. awoke to a faint, but distinct sound.

Eyes snapping open, he looked into the darkness. Someone had managed to infiltrate his home. Whoever trespassed was in for a revelation. He had hidden weapons around the house and had unlocked the gun safe just in case. Placing his hand over Zoe’s lips, he stopped her startled reaction.

“We’ve been breached. Slide off the bed to the floor. Stay there,” he whispered against her ear.

Stealthily, he rolled and his bare feet sank into the plush carpet without a sound.

Removing his Glock from the nightstand, he darted across the room and pressed his back against the wall. Carefully inching toward the entrance of the bedroom, he stopped when a dark shadow crossed the doorway. With his gun clasped in both hands at eye level, he turned the corner and fired.

The intruder fell and A.J. dropped to the floor as bullets zinged past him, making it difficult to get back to the bed where Zoe lay. She screamed, her voice blending with the sound of gunfire.

“Zoe, stay down.”

He swung back into the bedroom and checked out the window. Shadows crawled up from the lake shore and across his yard. Hell, they were everywhere. There had to be several men, dressed in black, creeping toward the house. Tipping over the nightstand he grabbed several grenades he’d hidden. He opened the window and tossed.

The sound vibrated the household and shook the foundation. The debris hadn’t cleared when a red smoke bomb crashed through a second closed window. A.J. realized he’d just given away their position.

“Zoe, grab a pillow and plant your face in it.”

He found a tee shirt and held it to his nose, so he could breathe. Eyes burning, he found his way to the door and blindly opened fire. Several shadows dropped. But not before a fiery bullet slammed into his shoulder with the force of a mule kick and the sting of hot tar. 

The Glock flew from his hand.

Darting back to the gun chest, he removed an AK-47, slipped in a clip and started firing wildly, hoping like hell he hit a few targets. He waved the weapon back and forth in a wide sweep, trying to clear the room. While shots were returned, there weren’t as many as earlier.

Zoe screamed and called out his name.

A.J. squatted near the door. “Come toward my voice, hang on to your pillow, and stay down.”

He heard her but saw nothing in the smoke filled room. When her hand touched his knee, he shoved her against the wall and protected her with his body. Reaching down, he grabbed a small pillow off a side chair, buried his face then tossed the last grenade into the center of his home.

The explosion shook the house, shattered windows, and sent rubble flying. He waited for the dust to settle and the invaders to return fire. After a few seconds of silence, he checked the security monitor in the corner of his room. Nothing. After a couple of beats, he inched forward to peer around the door and into the living room.

No movement.

That didn’t mean there were no survivors. It only meant no one wanted to give away their position and had the brains to stay hidden. A scrape of metal against metal and the back door slid open. A.J. fired and a man screamed.

Then silence again.

Against his back, Zoe’s body quivered and her teeth chattered. He waited. Then with an extra clip in his hip pocket, he eased around the corner, signaling Zoe to slide down the wall and sit on the floor.

His dream house, the one he’d built, looked like a war zone. The place he loved no longer existed. Everything had been destroyed, and if his guess was correct, his yard looked like a mine field. But none of that mattered. If they survived and walked out of here alive, it would be worth all he’d lost.

The destruction told him they weren’t safe, and they had to get away and stay on the move. Hell, how had they found him? He’d been careful no one knew who really owned this place. The devastation proved that belief was a fallacy. He couldn’t worry about that right now. The only thing that mattered was he was still alive to finish the fight.

Although the houses on this road weren’t close together, someone had to of heard the grenades and shots. Still, this was a remote area and help might not be coming.

He went back into the bedroom and lifted Zoe up by the arms then pressed her against his side. “We need to get out of here.”

In the dim light, she looked dazed and uncertain. “What happened? How did they find us?”

Suddenly, realization hit him. “I think I know.”

Moving through the kitchen and into the garage, A.J. grabbed a flashlight off the wall. Carefully, he walked around his Avalanche until he found the planted bug.

Evidently, when he’d parked his car behind the Butler Building, someone had been meticulous enough to suspect they might get away.
Damn, he hated being that careless.

Palming the tracer, he told Zoe to get in the car and lock the door. He darted back inside. Looking at what was left of his home, he was astonished that in the midst of all the rubble he managed to find his phone, Zoe’s purse, and their shoes before joining her in the vehicle.

With a loaded semi-automatic in his left hand, he rolled down the window of the car then opened the garage door. He backed out quickly, turned, and charged through the gate. His foot completely buried on the bottom of the floorboard, he tore down the street. Lights from his neighbors’ homes had flashed on and dogs howled at the disturbance.

Sirens blasted in the distance. Homeowners, no doubt, had called 911.

At the intersection, two vehicles blocked him in. At least three men stood armed and waiting. Whoever they were they wanted Zoe bad enough to destroy everything. Obviously, the Croatian wasn’t a man who took chances.

“What the hell.”

Zoe grabbed the dashboard. “Oh, my God. We’re going to die.”

“Not tonight.” His heart pounded fast enough to break the sound barrier as adrenalin surged. His gut instinct screamed to get Zoe out alive. That was his job. But inside, his stomach churned like a whirlpool, and the weight of a steel beam crushed his shoulders.

How could he keep her safe? Anxiously, he swiped the sweat off his brows.

Driving with no headlights, A.J. pulled to the side, near an SUV. He suspected the shooters wore night vision goggles. If so, he might be able to temporarily blind them by using his high beams at the last second. Protecting Zoe came first. If they got her, she’d be dead once everything was over, and he couldn’t live knowing he’d allowed that to happen.

Not to Zoe.

“Listen, if anything happens to me, you grab the wheel and keep going. If you’re captured, don’t fight. Frank will find you, no matter what.” He drank in the sight of her. “Remember, they want you alive.”

Her hand squeezed his thigh.

Before she could respond, he shoved her head down, revved the car engine and drove straight into the battle.

Z
oe had never heard or seen so much violence. She felt like the world had exploded and everything would be blown up and destroyed. While she’d written many reports about the jobs Falcon agents performed, she’d never experienced this kind of terror.

Her mouth dried to dust and her hands shook with fear.