Wicked Lies: A Dark Mission Novella (15 page)

He did, his hands running over the soft fabric of her new skirt and blouse, purchased especially for this trip. His fingers cupped her knee, then moved higher over the smooth nylon stockings—a gift from him that had made her the envy of all her girlfriends, who had to suffer with old stockings or none at all. When his hand reached the band of her garter, he stopped to trace the line where flesh and fabric met.

Edie shivered. Her thighs parted. “Put your hands on me, Ty. Please.”

Ty groaned and slid his hand higher until his palm cupped her heat. He toyed with the lacy edge of her panties and then, oh yes, he slid a finger inside to touch her. He groaned into her mouth as his tongue stabbed her. His finger moved along her folds, slick with desire, and found the secret places that made her feel so good.

“Baby, I want you naked.” Ty shifted her on his lap so she could feel his hot, hard length pressing her hip. “Get naked for me.”

Edie stood. The train clack-clattered and she shifted with the motion. Her hips swayed as she unpinned her hat and tossed it to the chair and as she unbuttoned her blouse. She shrugged out of it and tossed that at Ty, who grabbed it with a laugh. His eyes shone, reflecting her. She’d never felt so beautiful.

Her hand went to the button and zipper of her skirt, and she eased out of it until she stood in her brassiere and panties and garter belt, wearing the stockings he’d bought her and her nicest shoes. Ty’s tongue slid along his lips and again, Edie shivered. Her nipples peaked and she cocked a hip forward as she favored him with a saucy grin worthy of Lana Turner.

“Well, sailor. Like what you see?”

“I love what I see.”

Edie let the train move her almost in a burlesque dance, a dirty little bump and grind. Her hips moved side to side. Ty’s grin encouraged her and she added a little shimmy-shake.

“You’re so beautiful,” he told her.

She had fallen in love with his smile, but she’d stayed in love with him because of his words.

“Come here,” Ty said.

She took the hand he offered. Ty pulled her closer until she stood between his legs. He pressed his face to the narrow stripe of her belly between her bra and panties. His breath, hot, gusted over her skin. She squirmed at the wet flicker of his tongue.

Ty’s hands cupped her rear as he kissed each hip. He tipped his head to look up at her and she ran her fingers again through his hair. He smiled before ducking back to nuzzle her.

With careful hands, Ty unclipped her garters and rolled her stockings down, one at a time, lifting her feet to take off her shoes, too. Then he unhooked the garter belt and laid it aside. When he put his hand between her legs, the thumb pressing her in the front and his fingers stroking the softness of her panties, Edie had to put a hand on his shoulder to keep herself from falling.

“So pretty,” Ty murmured as he eased her panties over her hips and helped her step out of them, too.

Next came her bra, tossed without fanfare, and Edie stood naked in front of her husband.

“You’re still dressed,” she said with a shake of her head. “That won’t do at all.” Together they undressed him. His clothes mingled with hers in the pile the way their bodies would soon join in the flesh. Naked, Edie stood between Ty’s thighs and looked down at his body, so lean and finely muscled.

His penis begged for her hand. When she curled her fingers around his length, not yet as familiar as his mouth, he let out a low, whispering sigh that sent thrills all through her.
This is what it means to be a woman,
she thought. This
is what it means to be a wife.

With his hands on the backs of her thighs and her hand on his shoulder, she stroked him and watched, fascinated at the way his skin flushed. She twisted her hand around the head of his erection, and he jerked under her touch.

This is power,
she thought.
This is love.

“I need to taste you,” Ty said. She bent to give him what he wanted, but though he kissed her mouth, Ty shook his head. “Not that way.”

When he laid her back on the narrow bed and parted her thighs, Edie had to close her eyes. When his mouth slid over her body, teasing her nipples and wetting her belly, she arched into the touch of hands and mouth. And finally, when Ty kissed her
there
she let out a long, slow cry of desire.

His tongue moved against her flesh, circling in a way that had her lifting her hips within seconds. Edie wanted to cry out at the sound of his breathing, so loud even above the noise of the train on the tracks.

She did, unable to keep her ecstasy silent when Ty slid a finger inside her. Then another, stretching her deliciously. Her hips rocked upward to his feasting mouth. Tension spiraled in her belly, her thighs twitching as Ty’s tongue and fingers moved in tandem with the train’s rocking.

Edie cupped her breasts, found her nipples and rolled them. Ty’s hair, too short for fashion, was barely long enough to tickle her thighs and belly as he licked and suckled. He added a third finger and the first spasm of pleasure shook her.

She cried out his name and he eased off. He moved up her body, replacing his tongue with a fingertip but keeping up the same maddening pressure. He reached between them to guide himself inside her welcoming body. He paused, his penis just inside her, and took long, slow breaths.

Edie shifted and hooked her ankles over the backs of his calves.“Make love to me, Ty.”

“Give me a second, honey.” Ty kissed her, hard, his mouth tangy from her arousal. “I don’t want to go off like a cannon first thing.”

She laughed softly, surprised she could when desire had stolen nearly every other reaction. She held his rear tightly and urged him forward. He opened her with his body, each delicious and indescribable inch. She gasped into his kiss and he took her breath, then gave it back with his moan.

“I can’t wait,” she said against his mouth.

Ty pushed forward and seated himself inside her. He bent his face into the curve of her shoulder. He trembled, and Edie stroked her hands down his back, holding him tight to her.

The spirals of tension had faded a bit, but when he moved, they flared again. Bright sparkles of pleasure radiated throughout her entire body as Ty thrust. Pleasure mounted. He moved faster at her urging.

The train rocked them together. Ty moved in her slickness and her heat, and he filled her completely. Edie brought his mouth to hers, and kissing him, she burst the first time.

As her body bore down on his, Ty said her name over and over. His hips pushed forward. He slid his arms beneath her to hold her closer as the bed rattled beneath them, and Edie no longer could tell or cared if it were the train or their bodies making it shake.

Ty slid a hand between them, his fingers pressing each time he thrust, and pleasure, unexpected, built again. Her fingers clutched his back, scratching, but Ty only moaned and moved faster. Harder.

He shuddered and thrust once more, collapsing on top of her just as Edie exploded into another climax.

The train rocked them both to sleep after that, and when Edie awoke, the first bright pink strands of morning streaked by the window outside. Ty sat in one of the chairs by the window. He’d been watching her.

“Another hour or so,” he said quietly, “until we get there.”

Edie sat without caring the blankets had bunched around her waist. The bed hadn’t been too small, after all. She reached for him and he came to her. They made love slowly and in silence, mindful they had only so much time.

Later, as the train slowed and prepared to stop, he pulled the box from his pocket. “This is why I was late. It’s not much, I know, but—”

Edie kissed him into silence, and she put the ring on her finger. It was more than she’d expected. “It’s beautiful.”

“I wanted you to have one for the wedding, but—”

“It’s enough I have it now.” She didn’t ask him how he’d afforded it. She didn’t tell him a diamond chip on a band of gold wouldn’t replace him beside her. She just kissed him again and again until the train pulled into the station and it was time for them to go.

S
UPERNATURAL
U
NDERGROUND

by Kerrelyn Sparks, Pamela Palmer, Amanda Arista, and Kim Falconer

The vampires have gone wild in this collection of never-before-published stories by bestselling authors Kerrelyn Sparks and Pamela Palmer, and two rising stars of paranormal romance!

V is for VampWoman
by Kerrelyn Sparks

Pamela decides to shed her prim and proper ways for spandex and a mask in order to help fight the Malcontents. Now if only she weren’t so distracted by the sexy vampire fighting at her side . . .

A Forever Love
by Pamela Palmer

Trapped in Vamp City, Lukas has been unable to return to the beauty who stole his heart. But now that she’s stumbled into his world, it will take every ounce of cunning he possesses to keep her alive.

First Dates Are Hell
by Amanda Arista

Valiance’s first date in a hundred years is going great . . . until they’re attacked in the parking lot and quiet, unassuming Esme turns out to be way more than she appears.

Blood and Water
by Kim Falconer

Beneath the waves of San Francisco Bay lives a vampire race that wants nothing to do with the “landers” except to feed on them. But when Stellan sets eyes on Angelina, everything changes.

An Excerpt from

B
OOK
O
NE:
T
HE
H
UNTED
S
ERIES

by Jennifer Ryan

Jenna Caldwell Merrick never expected to find love while running from her abusive ex, until she met rancher Jack Turner . . .

I
s he still here? Lurking, waiting?

Jenna opened her heavy eyelids a mere slit. She lay sprawled on the cold wood floor, shivering, snow falling everywhere. Inside? She squeezed her eyes closed and opened them again, trying to focus on the things around her. Her sight adjusted, the double images coalescing into a morbid scene she didn’t want to see. Feathers from the pillows on the bed floated in the air and rained down, creating a white blanket over the devastation in the room.

The ringing in her ears quieted, allowing her to better focus on the bedroom of her rented cottage. Shards of glass from the smashed antique dressing mirror lay scattered around her. Some of the pulled-out dresser drawers had landed on the floor, others hung open crookedly. Her clothes, though few, lay slashed and strewn everywhere. The overwhelmingly sweet scent of jasmine perfume mixed with the metallic scent of her blood and made her stomach clench and pitch until bile rose and stung the back of her throat, leaving a sour taste on her tongue.

She took a few shallow breaths to put off the inevitable, at least until she got to the bathroom.

His worst rage yet. Memories of the last hour flipped through her sharpening mind like a morbid slideshow.

Him, grabbing her from behind on the front porch when she returned from running. He clamped his gloved hand over her mouth, grabbed her around the waist, and hauled her through the door. Him, spinning her around and, with a backhanded slap, sending her reeling backward and crashing into the dining room table. Pain radiated from her hip and down her leg. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her forward, and squeezed her so tight to his chest that she couldn’t breathe. Pain along her jaw, she opened her mouth to scream in terror, but he clamped his hand down again, cutting off her air, and the scream rising out of her was lost in the back of her throat. Him, shoving her away. She hit her head against the wall and stars exploded on the inside of her eyelids. Pain in the back of her head. A large throbbing bump swelled under her skin.

Nothing but him and pain. And, oh God, more to come.

Forced into the bedroom. He held her in his tight grip, grinding his hips and hard arousal against her bottom, inciting even more fear.

He liked her scared.

She stood helplessly frozen. Tried to get her mind to work, think, tell her body to flee, but her limbs didn’t heed the wild thoughts in her head.

Him, snatching her belt off the dresser, pushing her onto the bed. She landed on her stomach, and his fingers dug into her skin, bruising. She curled up, tried to make herself as small a target as possible. The belt lashed across her back and buttocks, her screams disregarded, her thin tank top and nylon shorts no protection against the bite of the leather whip and metal buckle.

The dressing mirror smashed to the floor with a loud crack. He wielded a shard of broken glass, his lips pulled back in a feral smile. He slashed her thigh, tearing the flesh in a jagged line of searing pain. She screamed in agony. Him, sitting on her bloodied, welted back, pulling her hair. Hacking at it. She tried desperately to scratch and claw at the hands over her head. Him, shoving her off the bed and onto the floor with a resounding thud. Him, in a mindless fury, demanding over and over again, yelling at the top of his lungs,
“Say you’ll come back. I’ll stop. Say it. Say you’ll come back.”

Him, whispering in her ear, his knee grinding into her spine,
“You’re mine. Wherever you go, I’ll find you. You promised before God you’d be my obedient wife. ’Til death do us part. Death, Jenna. Say it.”
The last he said with such menace that his voice became calm as a flat sea.

Her whisper, softer than his gasping breath, broke into his raging mind when all her screams went unheard.