Storming His Heart (16 page)

She tried not to laugh. “I’ll admit you’ve been a pain in
my
ass
since I’ve known you.”

The teasing glint in his eyes turned dark, sensual. “You know, that’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.” He pulled her closer and forced her to straddle his hips.

“Rafe?” she breathed, unable to resist when he closed the space between them and kissed her.

Like clockwork, her entire body melted into a puddle. Under her, Rafe’s arousal fitted to the dampness growing between her legs. “That’s it. Right there.” He rocked against her, finding her clit as if the clothing between them didn’t exist. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”

“You should have.” She moaned and ground against him, kissing him again.

Rafe took control, slipping his tongue between her lips and a hand down her pants. He kissed her with a voracious need, his fingers quickening between her thighs.

She broke the kiss, panting. “God, I don’t know how you keep doing this to me. I’m going to come.”

“Do it. Come hard.” Rafe sucked on her throat and groaned. “Then let me use that cream to lube your ass. I want more. I want to fuck your ass, baby. Let me take all of you.”

She shivered, caught in the lust and growing connection between them. She’d never had anal sex and hadn’t exactly wanted to try it. But Rafe had a way of making her doubts vanish. Their clothes swiftly disappeared. Standing chest to chest, Rafe feasted from one nipple to the other, making her crazed. She was wet, her body sensitized to his every touch.

“Please,” he whispered before kissing her with enough passion to scorch the room.

“For you, anything.”
And everything. I love you.
She rained kisses down his throat and chest.

“We need a bed for this.”

They quickly made their way to his bedroom. He didn’t give her a chance to do more than squeal as he tossed her to the bed.

“A real he-man, aren’t you?” she said on a gasp when he covered her with his body.

“Oh yeah. Now where were we? Oh, that’s right. Time to make you come.”

He kissed her, alternately teasing her mouth then breasts as he tugged at her answering need. Desperation grew, the familiar call of primal desire building as he played with her body like he owned it.

His fingers splayed over her belly then delved lower, seeking the heat of her.

“Yes,” she hissed as he began fucking her with his finger.

“Christ, I love how wet you get for me.” He kissed his way down her body, then sucked hard on her clit.

She saw stars when he introduced another finger, then added a third. The pressure inside her and over that bundle of nerves at her core became too much. She came on a cry, basking in the waves of release.

He continued to stroke her but removed his fingers until only one remained. He got it nice and wet and slid it lower, coating the rim of her anus with moisture. Then he stopped circling the area and pushed a fraction inside. “I’m going to slide it in. Nice and easy, baby. Trust me, you’ll like this.”

“Mmm.” She spread her legs wider and watched him watching her.

The naked fascination on his face captivated her. He seemed so concentrated on her. No man had ever given her so much loving attention, and it
was
loving. She could feel his affection in every soft touch, in the care he gave to satisfy her first.

He moved slowly, at first slightly stretching her, then pushing farther in, while giving her body a chance to accommodate him.

He played with her for a good while, letting her ease around him. But he didn’t stop there. While he stretched her with first one finger then two, he tormented her pussy with his mouth.

“God, I want to fuck you so hard,” he groaned and looked up, his eyes bright with desire. “This is going to be unforgettable. Hell, everything with you is.”

She should have felt scared or at least nervous about her first time. But Rafe didn’t let her feel anything but aroused. He brought her close to orgasm again with that talented mouth while he readied her for him.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered.

“Slowly. I don’t want to hurt you.” He rose to his knees and straddled her.

His cock was wet, his slit moist with his own desire. He reached across the bed into his bedside drawer. Quickly ripping open a packet, he rolled a condom over his thick cock. Then he withdrew a tube of lubricant and used it to make himself nice and slick.

When done, he shoved her legs wider, tilted her pelvis and positioned himself for penetration.

“I need to see your face when I fuck you, to watch you take me inside for the first time. You’ll feel tight, stuffed with my cock. All mine.”

He pushed at her anus slowly, and at first he felt good. But as he slipped past her sphincter, the burn jolted her.

“Easy,” he whispered and stilled, letting her feel him. “Just push out and I’ll slide inside you a lot easier.”

She tried, but it was a slow process, even with his preparation. And then, suddenly, he was in.

He looked to be in pain, his face tight, his eyes closed. “Oh fuck, I want to move. I need to come inside you. Baby, you feel so damned good.”

Growing excited that she’d brought him to such a state, she teased him by stroking his thighs.

He trembled and gently withdrew from her until only the tip of him remained inside her. The pain wasn’t as bad as she’d expected.

Even when he slowly thrust back inside, she didn’t hurt so much. Because he moved with care, and he’d lubed up so much beforehand, she didn’t have as much a problem taking him as she’d thought she might.

Rafe stared into her eyes as he took her, and the pressure began to build. She’d never thought to make love to man this way, especially not face to face, but she felt so open, so exposed as she lay under him, accepting him.

He gradually increased his pace. His thrusts grew harder, more forceful. “Touch yourself. Bring yourself off while I come inside you,” he rasped.

She didn’t need much. The sexuality inherent in her lover must have rubbed off on her, because she’d never been able to find satisfaction so easily with a partner. It didn’t take her but a few circles of her finger to come.

She tightened around him, taken with the foreign fullness in her ass, and moaned his name as her climax obliterated all thought.

“Fuck,
yes
.
Yes, Storm.
” He groaned as he surged into her once more and stilled. He shuddered and clenched her hips, his face a picture of carnal bliss.

Minutes or hours later, he withdrew and left for the bathroom. He returned without the condom, carrying a damp towel that he used to clean her. While he took care of her, he kissed her tenderly, a strange emotion clouding his gaze.

“Storm, baby, you are so damn giving. I’ve never… You felt so good. So damn perfect.”

She ran her fingers over his cheek and smiled, lost in his eyes, in the feelings she imagined existed just for her. “Better than my blowjob?” she teased.

He tossed the washcloth to the floor and chuckled before he kissed her again. “I don’t know about that. We’ll have to experiment some more. I’ll definitely need to compare.” He lay beside her and pulled her close. “I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?”

She sighed. Handsome, intelligent, psychic, an amazing lover…and a considerate one?
Oh man, I am so in love with this guy.
“No, you didn’t. Did I hurt you?”

“Yeah. Not coming in you right away nearly killed me. But I love eating your sweet pussy,” he whispered and nipped her earlobe. “Almost as much as I like coming inside you. Too bad that condom was in the way. I love filling you up, baby.”

She shivered, caught in a web of lust and affection.

He drew the covers over them. “Here. Between the covers and me, you’ll keep warm.”

She nodded and prayed her feelings for Rafe didn’t tear her apart. They’d paired together out of necessity, initially to solve a case. But their forced intimacy had flourished into a deeper connection, a physical—and, she believed—emotional one as well. Part of her wanted badly to tell him how she felt. But the sane part of her held off.

They had a bad guy to put away. Her love could wait long enough for Rafe to catch up. She hoped.

Chapter Eleven

Rafe slept like a baby and woke the next morning still basking in the afterglow of such incredible lovemaking. Much as he wanted to label his time with Storm as an amazing fuck, he couldn’t. Every time with her, he’d made love. The softness, the tenderness he felt when he touched her couldn’t be ignored. Just being near Storm shot his adrenaline sky high. His instincts clamored for him to keep her.

Forever
.

He should have been focused on finding what that bastard Glass had to do with their troubles, but he had a hard time thinking beyond Storm. Not good. Not good at all. She was a distraction he didn’t want to resist.

She murmured something in her sleep and turned to him, still in his arms. Had he ever waken up holding a woman? Not even with Lydia had he felt this complete. And suddenly the burden of his past was too heavy to carry alone.

“I was almost married once, but Lydia wasn’t right,” he whispered.

Storm relaxed, but he didn’t think she’d awakened. Still, the words flowed, a release he’d needed for a long time, though he hadn’t realized it until now.

“I met Lydia at a time when I needed family. A connection to someone, something more than a job. But you know, now that I think about it, I don’t think I wanted to marry her, not really. I thought I was in love, but mostly I wanted someone in my life.”

Storm’s breathing remained steady and even.

“When I found out she was sleeping with my lieutenant, I was more angry than hurt. I felt like a dupe, and I was pissed at myself for not having seen the truth right there in front of me. Then, to have that same asshole set me up and nearly get me killed made me a victim. I didn’t like that.”

“I wouldn’t either,” she said in a soft voice.

He kissed the top of her head, oddly gratified she’d heard him. “It all worked out in the end. My lieutenant got canned. He and Lydia married after I landed a plum job with Westlake. Last I heard, she was cheating on him too. And here I am, in bed with a woman who can’t work her mental mumbo jumbo on me, no matter how hard she tries.”
If she only knew. She crooks that finger and I’m practically drooling with the need to please her.
“But I still don’t get you. You’re beautiful, sexy, intelligent. Sexy,” he repeated and felt the curve of her smile against his chest. “Why aren’t you with Hank or any of the other idiots camped out on your doorstep? I mean, I’d think a guy who does whatever you want him to do would be the perfect man.”

“You could handle a woman never disagreeing with you? Would you really want to live with a woman who never surprised you or stimulated you?”

“No, you have a point.” He paused, wondering what the hell Storm wanted out of a man. “So you’re looking for a challenge, is that it?”

She sighed. “Yes and no. I don’t need thrills to keep my attention. Some good sex, a trustworthy friend and a guy who can
say no to me.”

He rolled her over onto her back, lost in the light gray eyes that glinted with some deeper emotion he wanted like hell to call love. “I think you’ve got a few things wrong. One, you should hold out for great sex, not good sex. Incredible sex, like the kind we share. Two, you need more than a friend. You need a lover, a protector, a keeper. And three, no.”

He plastered his mouth to hers.

“No.”

He kissed her again.

“No.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung.

They didn’t speak again for hours.

Thorne Buchanan lingered in the doorway of Jennifer Barne’s office. “That’s right. I’ll be staying at the Royale. Look for my name. I look forward to seeing you, beautiful.”

He turned, bumped into J.D., and stuck out his hand. “Oh, excuse me. I’m new here. Sean York.”

J.D. shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Sorry, I don’t have time to talk. Jennifer, if I could have a moment?”

Thorne left the logistics floor and took the elevator to the lobby. Once there, he walked down the block and took his rental car to their appointed meeting place—the parking lot of a large retail store.

J.D. met him a half hour later. He parked right next to him, got out and entered Thorne’s car looking grim.

“I got it,” Thorne said with a tired nod. “The minute I mentioned Richard Glass, it all came pouring out of her mind. She’s in deep. She thinks she’s helping him on some stupid undercover mission, that his rumored death was just a cover Jurek put out to protect his agent. I also saw an image of the guy. It’s him. Your dead guy is alive.”

J.D. drew a PDA from his jacket pocket. “Shit. I just knew you were going to say that.” A blue spark shot from his fingertip into the device.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Equipment issues, never mind.”

J.D. texted a message and waited. After a
ping
, he swore again. “Jurek and Max want us to proceed as planned.”

“Hell.”

J.D. sighed. “You got that right.”

Richard stared at himself in the mirror, watching his dark eyes flare with grief. He hadn’t wanted to do this yet, but he only had so much time before Jurek’s men closed in on him. Everything had to be perfect or the plan wouldn’t succeed. Already he was having second thoughts about Jennifer. She had eased his body but she continued to worry his mind. If only…

A crow outside shattered his attention, cawing at him as if to say
get on with it
. He left his car, the slam of the door overly loud in the empty quiet.

The cemetery was deserted and the night sky dark, the moon obscured by passing clouds. He walked to Richard Glass’s gravestone and raised the pickaxe over his shoulder. He brought it down with such force that the ground gave considerably under him. For hours he attacked the earth, striking the hard ground and shoveling the dirt out of the way.

Consumed with rage and pain, he worked like an automaton. As he did, he fanned his hatred to a slow burn. He dug and thought about those who would pay dearly for their transgressions.