Safe In His Arms (Manhunt) (15 page)

“I want that,” Mia said softly. “I want that so much.”

Alex cupped her face in his big hands. “Believe it, Mia. Trust me. I will never hurt you, and I won’t let him hurt you either.”

Mia’s heart swelled with longing. The walls she’d built around herself to protect her heart crumbled.

Alex was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. He was promising her protection. And so much more…

A night of loving and tenderness.

Something she hadn’t had in a really long time.

Something she desperately craved.

Resistance melted like snow on a hot day, and she tilted her head up and kissed him with all the pent up longing she’d kept restrained for the past year.

Alex groaned at her acquiescence, tunneling his hands through her hair and drawing her closer.  She sank into his arms, meeting his tongue with her own and inviting his inside to dance with hers.

Heat built between them as they deepened the kiss, and his fingers trailed down to pull at the tie to her robe.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” he murmured against her neck.

She shook her head and raked her hands down his back.  “I don’t want you to stop.”

“God, Mia.” His breath bathed her neck, hot and heady, his need so potently strong in his voice that something inside her snapped, and she tore off his shirt.

His broad chest rippled with muscles so well defined that she had to touch them. Had to feel his hot skin, his muscles bunching as he drew a breath.

He dropped kisses along her ear and neck, his tongue flicking out and awakening the sensitive nerve endings along her throat.  Releasing a breathy sigh, his head dipped lower to tease at the opening of her robe, and one hand parted the fabric.

Mia had never been shy or self-conscious until Geoff’s critical scrutiny. Because of him, she had scars, inside and out. The instinctive need to hide them rose within her, and she pulled at the robe.

“Don’t, I want to see you,” he whispered against the curve of her breasts.  “Remember, it’s just me and you, Mia. Trust me. I want this.” He kissed her skin so tenderly that heat flooded her and tears sprang to her eyes. “I want you.”

Mia heaved a sigh filled with resignation, with need and desire. All rational thought fled, and she gave in to the hunger inside her.  “I want you, too. Alex.”

He lifted his head at her admission and looked into her eyes. Need flared just before he lowered his head and kissed her again, this time so fiercely that she moaned his name.

A second later, they tore off each other’s clothes. He tossed her robe to the floor, leaving her naked and vulnerable and starving for more of his touch.

She pulled at his jeans, the zipper rasping in the night as she pushed them down his hips. He kicked them off, stepping out of them, then she reached for his boxers.

He pressed his hand over hers, slowing her, but she wanted none of that. She wanted him naked and on top of her, inside her, all over her, loving her all through the night.

Passion and raw desire overwhelmed Alex as he stripped Mia. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than the sight of her naked and hot for him.

But tonight wasn’t about him. It was about loving Mia.

Showing her how gentle and loving a man could be. Especially a man who loved her

He froze, heart hammering out of his chest. Love? Was he in love with Mia?

Or was this simply an attraction? His need to protect an innocent woman?

Except Mia wasn’t just any innocent woman. She was a woman he liked and admired. A woman he’d wanted but thought he shouldn’t have.

Couldn’t have.

And now here they were, kissing, stroking and tasting each other, and he never wanted it to stop.

She moaned his name again as he dipped his head and tugged one nipple into his mouth. He pulled her closer, then backed her toward his bedroom and eased her onto his bed.

For a moment, he paused. Breathless. So in awe he couldn’t speak.

A drop of perspiration beaded on his lip. He didn’t deserve her.

But he didn’t have the willpower to walk away. Not when she opened her arms and invited him on top of her. Her lips seared his, her hands stroked his back, then his buttocks, and his muscles clenched as he struggled for control.

Tenderly he trailed his tongue down her throat again to her cleavage and cupped both breasts in his palms, massaging one with his hand while he used his lips and tongue on the other. Eventually he traded, loving each breast and suckling her until her body quivered.

Heat washed over him in a tidal wave of need, and he kissed her belly then parted her thighs and drove his mouth over her sweet center. She moaned again, her hips rising as she tried to draw him up to her, but he wanted to taste her essence.

Wanted her to know how much he desired her, that he derived his pleasure from pleasing her.

So he flicked his tongue along her inner thighs, her slick wet folds, then closed his lips over the heart of her sex and suckled her until her body began to tremble with her orgasm.

Still, he licked and sucked her, thrusting his tongue inside her as he wanted to do his cock, his body aching for release as she soared into sweet oblivion.

“Alex, please,” she whispered. “I want you.”

Smiling at her passion-glazed voice, he rose above her, braced his hands beside her head and teased her with his erection. She yanked his hips with her hands, then closed her hand around his stiff length and guided him to her.

He thrust into her, pausing for a second to let her adjust to his size, then almost lost it when she made a guttural sound and climaxed again.

The sound of her pleasure incited his own, and he thrust inside her, lifted her hips so he could drive deeper and began a rhythm that she met thrust for thrust. Sweat trickled down his back as the heat simmering inside him erupted into a blazing inferno, and he thrust faster and harder, deepening his penetration each time until he felt her inner core.

She clawed at his back, her breath panting as he rode her hard, reveling in the sound of her voice crying his name as the two of them came together in a blinding sea of sensations that sent him over the edge.

Even then as his orgasm claimed him, and he held her in his arms, he wanted her again.

One time would never be enough.

In spite her worry and exhaustion, Mia slept peacefully through the night.

Because she’d been well sated and loved for the first time in her life.  Lying in Alex’s arms was a miracle, she thought as she stirred and listened to the sound of his breathing.

But she couldn’t get used to it.

When they caught Geoff, Alex would move onto another case – and maybe another woman. And she would have to pick up the pieces of her life and go on alone.

Alex opened his eyes and looked up at her, hunger flaring in the depths. Beard stubble grazed his jaw, his naked body powerful and even more sexy in the early morning light.

She wanted to stay in bed with him forever.

He reached up and stroked her cheek.  “How do you feel this morning?”

Safe because I’m with you.  “Good.”

He arched a brow, and she smiled.  “Well, I’m a little sore.”

His smile faded. “From the attack?”

She shook her head, then climbed on top of him and straddled him. “No, from using muscles I haven’t used in a while.”

“Is that so?” His hands skated down her bare back as he lifted his head to tug one turgid nipple between his teeth.  “Maybe another round will work out the kinks.” 

She threw her head back and laughed, but her laughter quickly turned to a moan as erotic sensations rippled through her. “God, Alex…”

His naughty chuckle echoed in the air, and he flipped her over, grabbed a condom from the nightstand, rolled it on and slid inside her. She closed her eyes and cupped his butt with her hands, a tidal wave of blinding colors washing over her.

He pounded himself inside her, thrusting hard and deep, over and over, and they rode the pleasure wave again until another orgasm built inside her. He whispered her name, nipping at her neck as euphoria carried her to its peak, then they came together, each moaning as their passion peaked and exploded.

For several blessed seconds, they lay curled together, basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

But Alex’s phone trilled, interrupting the moment. Their gazes locked, and an apology filled his eyes.

“Go ahead and answer it,” she said. She wanted this ordeal over with. Wanted Geoff back in prison where he belonged.

Alex eased away from her, and she felt oddly bereft. Not a good sign. She was getting attached to him. Falling for him…

Geoff would destroy Alex if he knew.

Sobered by the thought, she rose from bed and rushed to the shower in the guest suite while he answered the phone.

“Sgt. Townsend,” Alex said as he reluctantly watched Mia leave the bed. He wanted her back beside him, safe in his arms.

“It’s Chief Dunn. You need to get over to the prison. Jones’s cellmate says he’ll talk but only to the original arresting officer.”

Alex frowned. “All right, I’m on my way.” He rose, quickly showered and dressed, then checked his weapon and went to the kitchen and brewed coffee.

By the time Mia emerged dressed, he’d made them an omelet.

“You cook?” Mia said, surprised.

He shrugged.  “Not much. But I can do eggs.”

She slid into the chair, although she looked wary, like she was already distancing herself from him.

He didn’t like it one damn bit.

“Mia –“

“Don’t,” she said, her coffee cup cradled in her hands.  “Just tell me, what the phone call was about.  Another murder?”

He shook his head. “No, my director wants me to talk to Geoff’s cell mate at the prison. Maybe he has information about Jones’s plans, where he’s hiding out or going next.”

Mia nodded and managed to eat a few bites, although she looked shaken, the earlier pleasure dissipating from her eyes.

She carried her dish to the sink, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. “Then let’s go.”

Alex stepped up behind her and rubbed her arms. “You don’t need to go. I’m going to have a guard watch you while I’m gone.”

Mia’s shoulders straightened. “That’s not necessary. I’ll go to the hospital. I want to see Joy and Henry this morning.”

Alex considered her suggestion. He could alert security guards. If she stayed with Henry and Joy until he returned, she’d be safe.

“All right. But you have to promise not to leave the hospital.” Alex turned her around to face him. “Promise me, Mia?”

Her expression softened. “I promise, Alex. Just find Geoff and let’s end this nightmare.”

“I’m going to do my damnedest.” He grabbed his own plate from the table and stacked it in the dishwasher. 

Five minutes later, they were on their way to hospital. When they arrived and parked, he walked her inside, then they rode the elevator to the second floor and Joy’s room.

The older woman looked more rested and perky than she had the night before, although Henry looked rumpled and tired, as if he hadn’t slept for worrying about his wife.

He was so devoted to Joy that it touched something inside Alex. His own parents had divorced when he was small. His father died in a helicopter crash, his mother in a car accident a few months later. At six, he’d gone into the system in an endless sea of foster homes. None of them had worked out. He’d been bitter, angry and had shut down. One foster mother said he was hard to love…