“Reese,” Sadie groaned.
My hands on the inside of her thighs pushed, rolling her ass off the bed, my lips pulled off her clit, and my tongue speared inside her pussy.
“Reese!”
That was a frustrated growl. She was close. Had been for the last ten minutes but every time I heard the hitch in her voice I pulled back.
Even if I wasn’t exacting revenge for the t-shirt, I wouldn’t have let her come. She tasted too fucking good. She felt too good. She sounded like a wet dream, moaning and groaning with every lick and suck. And she looked like a fantasy come to life naked in my bed.
After our first encounter ended with her calling herself a slut—and it must be noted I seriously fucking hated that word—I was a little worried I’d have to take some time coaxing her out of her shell. That was not the case. She stripped out of her clothes, climbed onto my bed, and waited for me to join her.
No hang-ups about her nudity.
She did not hide her reaction to me. Her eyes blatantly roamed my body. She took her time taking her fill and she did it with lust-filled eyes and a smirk.
No hang-ups with my nudity.
When I told her to spread her legs, she spread them. When I’d crawled between her legs, my intentions clear, she spread them farther. When I took my time kissing the inside of her thighs, she squirmed. When I’d taken more time than she liked, she begged. And when my mouth made it to her center, she was dripping wet.
In other words, I could spend all night eating her pussy, edging her to orgasm, and pulling back, only to start all over again.
I heard her phone ringing from somewhere downstairs, ignored it, and swirled my tongue around her opening, lapping up more of her excitement.
“I’m gonna die,” she panted.
I felt her hand slide into my hair until she had a fistful. Her other hand went between her legs and she started working her clit.
Hot as fuck.
“Oh, God.”
I gave her a few moments, mainly because I seriously got off knowing she had no issue playing with herself while my tongue was in her pussy. Either she was so far gone, reaching for an orgasm I’d denied her for the last half hour, or this was just her—hot and wild with no hesitations. Whichever was fine with me.
The ringing finally stopped and the only sounds that filled my small cabin were her moans. She was close again. Her thighs tensed, her hand in my hair held me where she wanted, and she ground her pussy into my face.
It was time.
I lifted my head, glanced up, and nearly shot off at the sight. Sadie’s head was tipped back, her breasts that were too big to be perky were trapped between the insides of her arms, her nipples were pebbled, her knees high and wide.
“Move your hand.”
She kept at her clit.
“Sadie. Move your hand.”
She slowly righted her head, then equally slowly opened her eyes. Oh, yeah, she was gone.
And damn beautiful.
“My turn, baby. Move your hand, I want at your clit.”
Her hand moved and a sluggish smile tugged at her lips.
I now understood the meaning of premature ejaculation. I was dangerously close to coming on the sheets. From a smile and the taste of her on my tongue.
Her phone started ringing again, and again I ignored it when I lowered my head and wrapped my lips around her clit.
All it took was a few flicks of my tongue. Her legs tensed and her hips jerked.
I continued to give her my tongue until some of the tension ebbed, then I could wait no more.
I surged up. Her hand fell away, I moved beside her, rolled to my back, and tagged a condom off the nightstand. I had that fucker rolled on in record time. Rolling again, I plucked her out of the bed and pulled her over me.
“Sit up, Sadie.”
“Hmm.”
“Up, baby, ride me.”
Her head lifted off my chest, but she didn’t sit up.
“Can I kiss you first?”
“I taste of you.”
She seemed to contemplate that for a moment before she shrugged the best she could considering her position on top of me.
“I’ve never tasted myself.”
Why the hell did that turn me on so damn much?
“Then kiss me but do it climbing on.”
The wicked smile she gave me contrasted with the soft, serene look in her eyes.
“In a hurry?”
“I’m not, but you should be. Last chance to climb on.”
“And if I don’t?”
Fuck. She was killing me.
“If you don’t then I’m flipping you over and taking control. I’m giving you this so you control the pace. You wanna play, we’ll play. But warning, Sadie, your pussy in my mouth, listening to you for the last half hour was so goddamn hot, I’m not gonna be able to hold back.”
“That doesn’t sound—”
“Sadie!” I growled and she moved.
Her lips came to mine and they didn’t disconnect as she adjusted herself over my lap. I let her take what she wanted how she wanted it. If she changed her mind about kissing me, I wasn’t going to push it. But when she groaned as she slid her tongue against mine, I knew she not only didn’t mind, but she liked it.
I broke the kiss to order, “Reach down and put me in.”
I felt her fingers graze my shaft, not tentatively, not shyly. Not my Sadie. She wrapped her hand around my cock and started to jerk.
“You wanna give me a hand job later, I’m game. Right now, you need to stop jacking me off and line me up.”
Thank fuck she did what I asked.
I fisted the sheets in an effort not to grab her hips and slam her down when the head of my cock slid in, and she took only a few inches.
“You’re in control, Sadie. As hard and fast as you wanna go. But, honey, I need you to move.”
“Maybe you should be on top.”
That was the first time since we’d gotten into bed that I heard uncertainty in her voice.
My hands came off the bed, went to her thighs, and with more control than I knew I possessed, I slowly moved them up to her hips.
“I want you on top. Whatever you do will feel good. Can you take more of me?”
Sadie nodded and slid me in a little more.
Jesus.
Even through the latex, her pussy was hot. I had to force myself to stay still and let her go at her speed.
She lifted up, glided back down, still not taking me fully, then back up until she just had the tip.
Now it was my turn to bang on death’s door. She was going to kill me. I was using all of my concentration trying not to blow or alternately not flipping her over, so I was not prepared when she dropped down fast and hard, taking all of me.
“Fuck.”
Sadie’s hips swiveled and her tongue plunged into my mouth.
The uncertainty was gone.
There was no more hesitation as she fucked my mouth and my cock.
She rode me hard. She rocked and bounced and ground down. All I could do was hold on for the ride. She was totally in control—not something I normally enjoyed or allowed—but with Sadie, I fucking loved it. Loved how she was getting off, moaning louder, taking what she wanted, not giving a fuck about anything but what her body needed.
She wrenched her mouth off mine, sat up, and fucked me harder.
“Lean back more. Put your hands behind you on my thighs.”
“Reese, baby,” she groaned.
Baby.
Fucking hell. That was the first time she’d called me anything but my name. And I wasn’t sure which I liked better—her moaning Reese or a breathy baby.
“I got you.”
My hands left her hips. One snaked between her legs, the other cupped her tit, and I rolled her nipple between my finger and thumb.
“Harder,” she begged.
I added more pressure to her nipple and rubbed her clit faster.
Her head dropped forward, her eyes closed, and she stopped sliding up and down and started rocking faster.
Good Christ.
Hot, wet, snug pussy hugging my cock.
Tits swaying, strong, thick thighs cradling my lap, beautiful brown hair spilling around her shoulders.
I could take no more.
“I’m gonna come, Sadie.”
Her eyes shot open, she looked at me from under her lashes, and her fingernails dug into my thighs.
Those blue eyes were dark with lust, but there was something else and I hoped it was what I thought. I was not a man who needed the words, I love you. Words were empty. But what I saw shining in her eyes was not. And I needed her to see the same in me. I needed her to know that even though I might not say those words to her, I felt them.
My ass clenched, my muscles tensed, my world narrowed to my cock, and I blew into the condom. The only thought I was capable of was taking her with me. My fingers tightened around her nipple, my thumb at her clit worked faster until with a final roll of her hips, her pussy spasmed.
Neither of us made a sound. Our gazes remained locked as the pleasure of our releases washed over us. No moans, no groans, no words. In the silence, a thousand emotions were exchanged. Everything that needed to be acknowledged was now branded. It was blistered onto my heart. The scar would remain long after my death. A mark I would wear for all of eternity. Knowing that, the enormity of what that meant didn’t scare me. The significance of it soothing. After years of being aimless, my life was set back to right.
I had not yet recovered from my orgasm when my phone started ringing. I hadn’t come to terms with what we’d shared when the shrill sound yanked me from a dreamlike state to the harsh reality of my job.
“Fuck,” I grunted. “I would not move if I didn’t have to. That’s Wilson’s ringtone, so I gotta get it.”
Sadie slowly slid up, taking her time before she lost me.
Fuck, but I liked that.
But I liked the softness in her eyes and the low, nearly inaudible moan that accompanied a look that said she hated that I had to get up as much as I did.
Whatever Wilson had to say, better be good.
She swung her leg over, dropped to her hip, and curled on her side. I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before I rolled the other way and got out of bed.
By the time I was finished in the bathroom my phone had stopped ringing. I was halfway down the stairs when it started again.
This meant I quickened my step.
I found my phone in the kitchen where I’d left it after tossing our dirty dinner dishes in the sink before I carried Sadie up to the loft.
I answered the call just before it went to voice mail.
“What’s going on?”
Wilson didn’t bother with pleasantries, he launched right in.
“Sadie’s house was broken into again.”
The first vestiges of anger seeped in.
“Say again?”
“Neighbor was coming home, saw someone looking in her front window. Didn’t like what he was doing so he called it in. Cops rolled out. When no one answered their knock, they did a walk around. Found a window broken and called in a possible break-in, found out who lived at the address, tried calling her. Since she didn’t answer and Brasco had been asking about Sadie Pierce, they called him. He called me, I told him Sadie was safe with you. I met the cops on scene and let myself into her house. Place has been ransacked. As much as a mostly empty house can be, anyway. Boxes in the closets opened, the contents dumped on the floor. But someone was in here looking for something.”
Traces of anger were a thing of the past.
I was fuming, fucking pissed.
“Did the neighbor give a description?”
“No. It’s dark as fuck around her house. All they saw was someone looking in a window.”
My jaw clenched and I had to remind myself she was no longer living there. And if she ever thought to move out of my cabin, her next house was going to be lit like a motherfucker. Moose be damned.
I heard Sadie padding down the steps and my irritation grew.
One more fucking thing for her to deal with.
“Do the cops need her to come there?”
Her sharp inhale made me turn to face her.
Gone were the soft, sated eyes.
Stress and fear were back and that pissed me off more.
“No. Brasco said he’d meet her here tomorrow.”
She mouthed the word “Josh” and I shook my head.
“Hold on, Wilson, Sadie just got up.”
It was cute as fuck the way her eyes narrowed but not enough to cut through the frustration.
“No easy way to tell you so I’m gonna say it and remind you that a few hours ago, you rightly set my ass straight about stuff being stuff.” She nodded so I continued. “Someone broke into your house. Wilson’s there now. Obviously, he can’t know if something’s stolen so tomorrow after work, we’re gonna met Detective Brasco there and he’ll take your statement.”
She just stared at me with wide eyes. No other reaction. Her body didn’t grow tense, her shoulders didn’t sag, she almost looked like she was indifferent.
“Sadie?”
“Why would someone break into my house two nights in a row?”
“Don’t have an answer to that.”
“Do you think Josh would come back? He already took the money. Which meant he was in my house and saw that there wasn’t anything of value to steal. I mean, is the TV still on the wall? That’s the only thing in there that’s worth anything. I don’t even have a computer at the house.”
That was a good fucking question.
“The neighbor didn’t report seeing a motorcycle,” Wilson said in my ear, obviously hearing Sadie’s question. “But I’ll go over there and ask before I leave. And the TV’s still on the wall.”
“TV’s on the wall,” I relayed. “Has Josh ever asked you to store something for him?”
“No.”
“What do you keep in the boxes?”
“Boxes?”
“Hang on,” I told them both. I pulled the phone from my ear and put it on speaker. “Wilson, where are the boxes?”
“Guest bedroom and garage.”
Sadie scowled and her head twitched.
“Nothing worth anything to anyone but me. High school yearbooks and trophies were in the garage. I think my cap and gown from graduation was in one of the boxes. Old pictures of friends, family. Literally nothing of value. In the guest bedroom, I stored old CDs and DVDs.” She paused to think then went on. “I think there are photo albums in there. Books. Knickknacks from the shelving unit that used to be in my living room. But again, nothing worth anything. In the last few months, anything that was worth any money was sold.”
Fucking hell.
“Those people come to your house?”
“Yeah.”
Jesus.
“Where’d you sell the stuff?” Wilson asked.
“Market Place, Craigslist, and there’s a local CDA website I posted on.”
Not good.
“And they came to your house to pick up the stuff?”
At Wilson’s question, she jolted. The first sign that she understood the danger she possibly put herself in.
“Well, yes and no. They came to the house but never into the house, just the garage. And when someone came over, even if it was just a woman, I wore a fake wedding ring. And I made sure to talk about my husband.”
At least there was that.
“What about the furniture? No one came inside to move it?” Wilson pushed.
“No. My friend Joey helped me move it into the garage. Actually, he was there once when a couple came to pick up my bedroom furniture and helped them load it onto the trailer.”
“Joseph Bramble?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the neighbor who called the police,” Wilson announced.
“He would. He and his wife are good people.”
“Anything else stored in those boxes?” I asked.
“Not that I can remember.”
“What about jewelry? Anything special that you didn’t sell?” I went on.
“No. I’m not a jewelry person. And the fake wedding ring I wore was a gold band I bought at Walmart.”
I hated what I had to ask next, despised it down to my core, but I had to know.
“What about Nate? Did he leave stuff at your house?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“No, Reese, nothing.”
The part of me that was Sadie’s man liked that answer. The investigator side of me wished he’d left a toothbrush. And it was that side of me that was pissed at myself for not thinking about it earlier.
“Now that we’re on that topic,” Wilson said, “what about at the bakery? Did he leave anything there?”
“Like what?”
“Anything,” I told her. “A t-shirt, a toothbrush, a comb, anything.”
Sadie looked startled for a moment then she slowly started to nod.
“Actually, yes. He had this leather case. It has a toothbrush, comb, and razor in it. I forgot about it.”
“Where is it?” Wilson clipped and Sadie stiffened.
“At the bakery, under the sink where he left it.”
I moved around the two-seater dining room table that separated us and tagged her around the waist, bringing her flush to my side. Her arms wrapped around me and she held on.
“We’ll get it in the morning,” I told her.
She nodded against my chest and nuzzled in.
For a smart man, sometimes I was dumb as fuck. I shouldn’t have waited to hold her. Now that I was, I felt the slight tremble in her body and Mrs. Simpson’s warning came rushing back.
Strong men need stronger women. But do not forget there is a fragility that needs to be cared for.
Sadie was so strong, and I had to look so hard to find the fragility it was easy to overlook it.
Yeah, I was a dumb fuck.
“I’ll meet you there,” Wilson told me. “Cops are dusting now. I already sent the prints out I pulled off the letter but those will be a few days. Tomorrow we’ll see if we can get DNA from the kit Mallard left behind. In the meantime, I think you should work from Sadie’s office.”
It was good my boss thought that, since I was going to tell him that was what was going to happen.
“Appreciate it. I’ll stop by the office in the morning and get what I need before we meet you at the bakery.”
“What time should I tell Brasco you’ll be at the house?”
I tipped my head down to look at Sadie but she was burrowed in and I couldn’t see her face.
“Sadie?”
“Six-thirty,” she mumbled.
“Done.”
With that, Wilson disconnected.
I waited for her smart-ass comment about Wilson hanging up without saying goodbye.
It never came.
“Let’s go back to bed.”
She let go and stepped back. I followed her up the stairs, watched her climb into bed, then I turned off the light and did the same.
Before I could shift her into me, she rolled and rested her head on my chest.
“Wanna talk about it?” I asked her.
“No.”
“If something’s scaring you or bothering you, it’s best to get it out.”
“I’m not scared, and it sucks someone went through my stuff, but I wasn’t there so it really doesn’t matter.”
“It does suck, it’s a huge invasion of your privacy. Don’t let—”
“Reese, I’m fine. Totally fine. I’m here with you safe and I know you’ll keep me that way. So what if someone found my high school yearbooks and DVD collection? It’s not like I was hiding something super-secret or someone found a box of kinky sex toys and porn. At most they now know I have an addiction to spicy romance novels and I’m a packrat who still has DVDs even though all the movies I own are now on Netflix and Hulu. What do I care? It’s stuff.”
I’d pretty much stopped paying attention to what she was saying after she said she was safe and she knew I’d keep her that way.
Maybe from her, I needed the words. Or more to the point, I needed to say them to her because I love you was on the tip of my tongue.
I didn’t say it.
But I hoped she understood what I was saying when my hand went under her chin and I tipped it back to kiss her. With every glide of my tongue, every soft touch of my lips, I was saying the words that I wasn’t ready to verbalize. It was not the type of kiss that was the prelude to sex, it was slow and gentle, and never in my life had I shared a better kiss.
When we broke apart and she snuggled in deeper I knew she felt the unspoken words.
“I told you I needed you for the important things.”
I had nothing to say to that but there was a lot to feel.
So many emotions were coursing through me they were ripping me apart—tearing at the muscle, slicing the scar tissue, feeding, repairing, putting me back together.
Everything all at once.
Another because that was really a regardless of.