Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (39 page)

She began to kiss her way over his hard jaw, over the rough stubble there, then down his neck.

He growled. “Ivy…”

“Still like that, huh?” And she nipped his neck, lightly, then licked the mark. “Good to know.”  Her heart was drumming in her chest, her whole body going molten.

They were in his darkened bedroom now. With his elbow, he hit the light switch, flooding the room with illumination. A few more steps and he lowered her onto the bed.

She sat up quickly and, with her eyes on his, she yanked off her shirt. 

She saw his green gaze darken.  Ivy smiled. Then she unhooked her bra and tossed it toward him.  Bennett caught her bra and fisted his fingers around it. “You are so damn perfect.”

No, she wasn’t. She was far, far from perfect.

She kicked away her shoes. Then Ivy lifted up her hips and pushed out of her jeans and her underwear. The last of her clothes hit the floor with a soft rustle of sound. She stretched out on the bed, completely naked and not even the slightest bit hesitant.

Not now.

Not with him.

She could feel Bennett’s gaze sliding over her.  Ivy swallowed, then licked her lips, wishing she could taste him. She heard the hiss of his zipper and a moment later, his jeans were the ones hitting the floor. The bed dipped beneath his weight as he closed the distance between them.

She held her breath a moment, waiting, eager, desperate to feel his touch.

But his fingers didn’t trail over her skin.  His thighs didn’t push between hers.  Instead, his mouth pressed to her shoulder. The gentlest of caresses.

“So soft,” he whispered. Then he kissed her shoulder again. Her hands slid out and grabbed the covers, fisting it when she felt his lips press to her collarbone. “I fucking missed you, Ivy.”

Her eyes squeezed shut.
And I missed you.

Bennett’s legs pushed between hers. She could feel the hot, hard length of his arousal against her.  And his mouth—it was on her breast. His lips closed around her nipple and he sucked her in deep.

Her breath left her in a quick gasp and her hold tightened on those covers. He was licking her breast, laving her nipple with his tongue, and her hips twisted wildly against the bed as arousal flooded through her. 

His hand slid down her stomach. Her eyes opened when his fingers—long, strong, slightly rough—slid between her legs. 

“I want to feel you, all of you,” Bennett growled.

Have at it.

He slid one finger into her. Then another.  Her head tipped back as she gasped out his name.  He was going so slowly. Working in and out, thrusting with his fingers even as his thumb flexed over the center of her need. 

Her desire was building—strengthening with every second that passed.  He was savoring her, but she wanted his wildness. She wanted
him.

Maybe it was time to shatter his control. Maybe it was time to let their desire take over.

She let go of the covers. She grabbed him.
“Bennett.”

His head lifted.  His eyes gleamed.

She pushed against his shoulders, and he rolled, lying back against the mattress. She climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. “It’s been too long.” 

“Yes…”

She pushed her sex over him. She was wet and ready and she wanted him inside. 

She bent her head and licked his nipple. Bennett hissed out a breath. Good, so good…

But they could do better.  His hands reached for her, but she grabbed them and pushed them back against the bed. “No, I get to touch now.”

And she was touching all of him.  Licking his flat nipples. Kissing the scars that sliced down his stomach. Moving on down, down to the heavy length of his arousal. Her fingers curled over him. Her mouth pressed to him—

“Ivy.”
It was a guttural demand.

She ignored it. She savored. She took. She—

Was on her back. He was over her. 

“Don’t. Move.”  Such a fierce, hot demand.

One she ignored. Because when he leaned to the side, reaching for the nightstand drawer, she ran her hands over his chest and she felt the quick, hard flex of his muscles.

“Ivy.” A warning edge entered his voice.

She ignored the warning and pressed a kiss to his skin.

He pulled away from her.

“No!” Ivy cried. He’d better not be stopping.

But then she saw that he was just ripping open the foil packet he’d grabbed, and when he had the protection in place, he reached for her again. He caught her hands and pinned them above her head. “You have trouble following orders,” Bennett said, his voice a sensual rasp.

Guilty. 

“Let’s see if you can follow this order.” He kept her wrists imprisoned with one hand while his other moved down her body. Stroked her sex. Then Bennett positioned his cock at the entrance of her body. “I want you to come for me, Ivy.”

She planned to ignite for the guy. She planned—

He thrust into her. Deep and hard and he stretched every inch of her sex. Her breath left her in a quick rush as her whole body stiffened.

“So damn tight.” He kissed her.  “Perfect,” Bennett whispered against her lips.

Then he withdrew. He thrust again. Harder.  Rougher. The time for savoring was gone, and she was desperately arching up against him, moving even faster now that her body had adjusted to his. He still had her hands imprisoned, and she tried to yank them down, wanting to touch him.

“I like you this way,” he told her. “So beautiful. So mine.” He angled his hips so that he pushed down against her core. Her climax was close. She could feel it surging up within her. Closer. Closer.

He thrust. Withdrew. Thrust.

The headboard rammed into the wall. Her legs locked around his hips as she drove up to meet him.

Then her release exploded within her.  The pleasure rocked through her body, filling every cell, taking her breath and making her heart race even faster.  She tried to say his name, but speech was a little too much for her. She just arched toward him and rode out that climax. 

“You feel…
incredible…
” He slid out, then thrust back in. “Squeezing…so
good…
”

Then his hold tightened even more on her wrists. He stiffened against her, then shuddered. Ivy stared up at him, captivated by the pleasure she could see filling his face and blazing in his gaze. He kept thrusting with his release, driving in her again and again, and the slick moves of his body just made her release keep spiraling.

“
Ivy.”

He kissed her. 

She pretty much came apart for him.

In the aftermath, Bennett let her hands go. He brought her wrists to his mouth. Kissed one. Then the other. Did he feel the fast sputter of her pulse beneath his lips?

He slid from her body, and a protest broke from her lips.

“I’ll be right back.”

He’d better be. She closed her eyes.

She heard the pad of his footsteps but Ivy didn’t bother looking to see what he was doing. Her whole body felt limp, languid, pretty damn awesome.  She snuggled deeper into the covers and—

Did she hear the sound of running water? 

Ivy cracked open one eye.  Bennett was back. He bent, slid his arms under her and lifted her up against his chest.

“This is going to stun you,” Ivy told him a bit drowsily. “But I can actually walk.”

“You just feel so good against me.” He carried her toward the bathroom. “I’ve missed you.”

He had a huge, claw-footed tub in the middle of the bathroom. He lowered her into that tub and the warm water was absolute bliss. He stepped in behind her, and they sank down together. The water kept pumping from the brass faucet, filling up the space around them.

Bennett pulled her back against his chest. His hands curled around her stomach and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. 

“I missed you,” Bennett said again.  She heard the echo of pain in his voice.

“Don’t worry,” Ivy told him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And this time, neither are you.
They were together now, and nothing would tear them apart again.

***

Cameron Wilde jogged down the beach. He loved the beach at dawn. When the first streaks of the sun’s light began to inch across the sky, they always looked so red…like blood. His sneakered feet pounded across the sand, but he made sure to stay out of the waves that reached so greedily toward him.  His breath sawed in and out even as his heartbeat pounded steadily. 

The sand flew up in his wake. His hands were fisted as he ran and—

Someone was at his beach house. Not just any person, either. A cop car.  He saw it from a good mile away.  His pace quickened as he hurried forward.  A cop shouldn’t be visiting his beach house. That was his sanctuary. No one should be there.

But now he could see two uniformed men. One was on his balcony. One was walking down the beach toward him.

“Mr. Wilde!” The cop approaching him yelled.

Cameron waved and kept running. When he was within five feet of that cop, he stopped, his breath heaving. “What’s going on?” 

“Got orders to check on you, sir.” The cop surveyed him, more than a bit suspiciously. “I’m Officer Fred Wayne.  The authorities over in Mobile have been trying to reach you.”

His gut clenched. Cameron lowered his head, put his hands on his knees, and sucked in a deep breath. “Why? What’s happening?”
The authorities…

Instantly, Ivy’s face flashed through his mind.

Oh, hell, no—

“We came by last night, looking for you, sir, but you weren’t here.”

No, he hadn’t been. 

“Want to tell us where you were?”

Fucking some girl I met on the beach. A brunette who looked enough like Ivy to get me through the night.
But now, he wasn’t going to tell the guy that bit. “I was out at one of the bars.” True enough.  He’d just left the bar after a while.

Fred took another step toward him. “Where is your Porsche, Mr. Wilde?” 

Cameron kept his hands on his knees, but he tilted his head back so he could gaze at the cop. “The last time I checked, the Porsche was locked in my garage.” He straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders. “I don’t bring it here. The sand would just mess up the paint.” 

The cop frowned.

“I drove the SUV over. It’s parked under the cabin, I’m sure you saw it.”  And the cop was making him nervous. “What’s happening?” Cameron demanded again.

“We’re going to need you to come with us, sir.” Officer Fred glanced over his shoulder. The guy’s partner had left the balcony and was walking toward them.  Fred cleared his throat and said, “It appears that your Porsche may have been stolen.”

“What?”  Could he have worse luck?

“It was spotted at the scene of a murder.”

Cameron took an aggressive step toward that cop. “
Who was murdered?”
Not Ivy, not—

Fred put his hand on his holster. “Sir, I need you to calm down.”

Cameron growled. “I’m wearing a pair of jogging shorts and tennis shoes. I obviously have no weapons, so you’re not in any danger from me.”  He put his hands up, though, so the guys wouldn’t get all trigger happy. “Tell me what the hell is going on here.”

Fred nervously licked his lips. “You need to go in to the Mobile police station.”

Cameron’s back teeth ground together.

“A…a Shelly Estes was killed last night, and the perp who killed her, he drove off in
your
car,” Fred told him.

Shelly?  Cameron shook his head. “No, that’s not possible.”

“I said too much.”  Fred backed up a step. “You need to get dressed. They want you in Mobile.”

“Shelly?” Cameron whispered. Oh, shit, but Hugh must be a mess.  He followed the cop, his steps wooden, his mind whirling.

The killer had used his car?  His Porsche? What the hell?  It was almost as if… “Is the bastard trying to set me up?”  Because cops had come hunting for him, and that shit couldn’t be good.

Fred glanced back at him. “You’ll probably want your lawyer to meet you in Mobile.”

Sonofabitch. “I don’t want a lawyer. I want to see my friends.” Because Hugh and Ivy would need him.

He would be there for them, no matter what. 

Chapter Ten

The sunlight poured through the blinds, falling onto the bed. Onto Ivy.

Bennett stared at her, enjoying the way the light caught her hair, bringing out faint red highlights in the dark mane that he had never noticed before. 

She was lying face down on the bed, with the sheets pooled around her waist. He stood by the edge of the mattress, and his fingers itched to touch her. 

The chief had called him a few minutes ago. The ME wanted to see him—and he was scheduled to meet with the mayor, too. There was no way to keep the murders out of the public eye—hell, by hitting the councilman
and
a high profile society queen like Shelly Estes, the killer had practically guaranteed himself a front page spread in the paper.

A press conference was scheduled for that afternoon. 

And, on top of all that, Cameron Wilde had been found—and the guy was due in for an interrogation very soon.

I have to go.

But he just wanted to stay right there, where he knew Ivy was safe.  His fingers trailed down her back. “Ivy.” He kept his voice soft.

She stretched beneath his touch.

“Ivy…” A little louder now.

Her head turned. Her eyes fluttered open. Her dark gaze focused on him, and she smiled.

When was the last time that someone had looked at him that way?  Like he was something good, something…special?

Ivy had always looked at him that way, though. Even when they were teens. When she should have never noticed a guy like him…she’d turned to him and given him that same slow smile.

“I was dreaming about you,” Ivy said.

And I’ve spent most of my life dreaming about you.

She pushed up a bit in the bed. “You were—”

“I have to go back to the station.” 

Ivy pushed back her hair. She twisted in the bed and brought the sheet up to cover her breasts. A real crying shame.