Although it was still night when Clay left, it wouldn’t be long before the sun started to rise. He meant to make it clear to Clay that visiting Serena could not be a nightly event. The sheriff wasn’t stupid. Once they knew Serena was at Koyama', they’d step up their surveillance.
Putting the shotgun back in the barn, he realized he didn’t have the time to get to the guesthouse and explain to Kennedy where he’d been or why. He’d have to make it up to her tonight. He headed up to the house where he was ambushed by Serena, Trey, and Cole to go wake Kennedy and bring her to the house for breakfast.
Kennedy had persuaded Trey, who’d been fired form the Sheriff’s Department, to become the private investigator on Clay’s case, and Serena to be, as Cole had assumed might happen, her paralegal. He almost felt sorry for the prosecution… almost.
Cole headed to the guesthouse, knowing full well that Kennedy was most likely going to be in a difficult mood.
“Back so soon?” Kennedy asked. “I hate to tell you but you’re late.”
“I’m sorry, Grey. I got hung up and couldn’t even get to a phone.”
“Are you talking about last night? I’m not. You’re late; years too late. I was a damn fool.”
“No, baby, you weren’t. I have a reason...”
“You’re assuming I care,” she snarled at him.
“I’m assuming you’re in a piss-poor mood because you didn’t get laid last night.”
“I’m in a piss-poor mood because I’m an idiot. I suppose I should be grateful that I won’t be brought up on charges and torpedo my career. Oh, wait, the day is young. Who knows what could happen?”
Cole sighed as he walked across the floor, grabbed her by the upper arms, and crushed her to his body as his mouth came down on hers in a fierce duel of wills. At first, Kennedy’s body was stiff and even though there was no bonding link between them, he could feel the anger rolling off of her. He continued to kiss her, his tongue demanding entrance and sliding and tangling with hers until she sighed and sagged into him.
He ground the hard length of his erection against her belly. “Does that feel like I didn’t want to be with you? Serena is cooking breakfast and wants you to join us up at the house.”
Kennedy pushed at his chest. “Fine. Let go of me.”
“I have to tell you, Grey, this pretending we’re not together when we are is getting old.”
“So is waking up not knowing where you were. It felt a little like Naples.” She tried to turn away from him.
Cole growled and held her tighter. “Well, I could put you over my knee every night and leave enough sting in your tail that it’ll still feel like I’m there. Would you like that? Plus, you’re the one who doesn’t want anyone seeing me leave here.”
“Let go,” she said, pushing against him.
When he let her go, she stormed toward the house. “You’re being unreasonable,” he said as he caught up with her.
“I’m not. There are some who would question that sleeping with you is a violation of my professional ethics and even if I could skate around that, the firm has pretty stiff morality type clauses and I know sleeping with the older brother of a criminal client would get me ousted.”
“Sort of like they did to Serena?”
“Exactly. Only they can’t fire me, but they can force me out of the firm. And the sheriff is getting serious about searching Koyama'. With no one knowing where Clay is, they may well be able to say he’s a fugitive.”
“You’ll stop them.” Cole’s tone was so certain.
“Damn it, Cole. I don’t know that I can. The lot of you have tied my hands.”
“Not yet, but that could be fun.”
Kennedy all but shrieked in frustration. They continued to argue. The closer they got to the house, the louder Kennedy’s voice became.
“This is such bullshit,” she shouted. “I’m telling you that they’re going to get an order to search this entire ranch and they’ll keep searching until they find him.”
“You’re assuming the sheriff and whatever posse he’s put together can find their ass with both hands and a map. I assure you that isn’t the case. Clay grew up on Koyama'. We spent our childhoods running wild all over this ranch. If Clay doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.”
“They will probably bring in people to help, trained people, people with dogs, and people who won’t stop until they run him to ground. I don’t think they’ll shoot to kill him because he hasn’t even been indicted, but that could change.”
“If they kill Clay,” said Cole, in a more modified tone as he opened the door for Kennedy, “there will be hell to pay.”
“Jesus, Cole. Nobody wants to kill Clay, but he could be shot. You all seem to think this is some big game when it’s not. They can indict him without arresting him. If they do that, all kinds of shit can happen. I’m trying to convince them not to do that and to give me some time to convince him to turn himself in, but I can’t do that if I can’t talk to him.”
He watched as Kennedy turned her focus on Serena, who’d just walked up and asked her about the two briefs Serena was to have worked on for her.
After point-blank asking Serena if she could talk to Clay, she pointed out that the judge was inclined to agree to house arrest, but only if they could get Clay to turn himself in. When Serena agreed to try, Cade insisted that she wouldn’t be leaving the compound by herself. Trey had to take a phone call and they moved the discussion into the dining room.
Once food had been served, Trey explained that Shep had called to let her know the sheriff was pushing for an indictment against Clay so he could get a team together to try and bring him in.
“In other words, he wants to make him a fugitive and put a bounty on his head,” said Kennedy. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. Can we trust Shep? And did he indicate how much time we have?”
“He said the prosecutor had a couple of days off, but the sheriff wants to see if he won’t come back into town to get this done, so they can start looking,” Trey answered.
Kennedy nodded her head. “Serena, we’re going to need to get that motion in front of the judge and the prosecutor. Level with me. If I tell them I can get Clay to turn himself in before the weekend, provided he’s put on house arrest, can we make that happen?”
“I can only offer to see if I can find Clay. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think any of us knows where he is, but I can think of some places to look and places to leave a message that he might see,” said Serena.
“Do it. I need the brief and the motion.”
Serena took off to get Kennedy the paperwork she put together, then Cole and Serena saddled up horses to go in search of Clay. They searched for the better part of the day to no avail. The plan was to ride back out at sunrise and search another section. After dinner, Cole made his excuses and left, only to return on foot after it was dark.
Kennedy was hard at work on her laptop and barely even gave him a glance when he entered. Okay, she’s still pissed.
“We rode all day trying to find him. We’ll ride out first thing in the morning to cover a different section of the ranch.”
“Then I suggest you get some sleep… elsewhere.”
“Not happening. You want to fight, bring it on. But you’re not going to ignore me and you’re not going to toss me out.”
She swiveled the desk chair around. “You are so wrong on both accounts.”
“No, I’m not. What exactly is it you think I was doing last night?” Cole’s voice did nothing to hide his exhaustion.
“I don’t know. And I don’t know that I care. All I know was that you weren’t here, where you’d promised you’d be.”
“What do you think I was having cigars with the boys in town?”
She closed her eyes and sighed before slowly opening them. “Again, I don’t know and that’s the point. There were so many times in Naples that I didn’t ask questions and you sure as hell didn’t tell me anything.”
“I couldn’t tell you. I was with NATO intelligence. We had to break up Mosby’s operation. I didn’t think you’d get caught up in a turf war between the Agency and NATO.” He matched her sigh with one of his own.
“Aren’t we supposed to be a part of NATO? Aren’t we allies of sorts?”
“It’s the of sorts part that is the sticking point. As soon as I got wind of it, I went through back channels, only it wasn’t enough to save that job at the Hague you wanted.”
“Where were you last night?” she asked pointedly.
“I was here. Out by the barn all night.”
“Why?”
“Baby brother couldn’t stay away. I was headed to you when I saw Clay going up onto the roof to get to Serena. I was worried someone would see him or find out, so I stayed until he left right before the sun started to rise. By the time I put the shotgun away, there was no way for me to get in and out without being seen. That’s part of my frustration with this whole secrecy act of ours.”
Kennedy got up, but instead of coming to him, she walked away to look out at the window. “All day, I’ve been telling myself that this was just some foolish fantasy of mine. The reality is we don’t belong together.”
Cole rushed to her. “That isn’t reality. That’s fear. You’re afraid of getting hurt again. I understand that and I’m telling you that I won’t let that happen.”
She turned to face him, attempting to create distance between them. “To what end, Cole? My home, my life, they’re in Seattle. Yours is here at Koyama'.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have all the answers. Hell, I don’t even know all the questions. What I do know is that we belong together. I never should have left you. When the time came to make a choice, I should have chosen you. I’ve never forgiven myself for that. God help me, I’m almost glad this is all happening because it brought you back to me.”
“I’m here to help Clay.”
“I know, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
She tried to get past him, but he turned her back into his body. He wasn’t going to let her get away again. This time he would do whatever it took to keep her here. He wanted to dominate her in a way he’d never wanted with anyone else. He wanted to claim her and teach her to yield to his hand, to give over and submit to him because she knew they belonged together.
He pulled her into his body, his arms going around her and cupping her ass, drawing her into his groin. He wanted her to feel how much he wanted her, how much he needed her. He wanted inside, not just her pussy, but her heart and soul. He’d made a place there for himself before; he would reclaim that and conquer all the rest. She thought Koyama' was his home; she was wrong. She was his home.
Kennedy didn’t protest when he pulled her sweater over her head, then dispensed with the rest of her clothes before stripping himself bare. His hard cock jutted out from his body, throbbing with anticipation and need.
Cole lifted her off of the ground, holding her tight and grasping her ass so she was suspended off the ground. Kennedy’s legs came up around his waist and he carried her to the bed, crawling up on it while she clung to him. He pressed her into the mattress, kissing her with a dominance she responded to by going soft and letting him take control. Kennedy wasn’t naturally submissive, but she would submit to him. Her lips parted slightly, and he took advantage, sliding his tongue between them to dance and duel with hers. He kissed her long and hard.
Cole reached between them, his fingers seeking her core. She wasn’t just wet, she was soaked. He moved back, allowing himself to slide down to the floor until he was kneeling beside the bed. He grasped her legs behind her bent knees and pulled her to the edge. He nuzzled her slit with his nose, loving the unique scent of her arousal. Her labia were engorged and all he could think of was how much he’d missed her. How much time he’d let slip away?
He’d accused her of being afraid, but he was the one who’d given into fear. Fear that she wouldn’t forgive him for ruining her career. Fear that she would reject his reasons for choosing his duty over her. Fear that when he showed her what he truly was, she’d reject him. No, she was brave, she’d built a new life. He’d simply allowed himself to come home to nurse his wounds and watch her life from afar.
Kennedy raised herself up on her elbows. “Cole?”
“It’s all right, Grey. I’m not going anywhere, and no one will ever part us again, especially not me.”
Leaning over, he tongued her entire labia, kissing and sucking as he went. She was the sweetest thing. Her arousal coated his tongue, and he began to feast on her wild honey. Kennedy would make the most amazing she-cat. She could go from spitting and hissing with her claws extended to the sweetest purring kitten who’d ever lived and all because he put his hands, mouth, and cock on and in her. Her response was even more fierce than he’d remembered.
He drove his tongue deep inside her and reveled in the way her entire body trembled as her pussy clamped down on him. He reached up, circling her clit before spearing her with his tongue as he pressed his thumb down on her swollen nub. She clutched the sheets in her hands and bowed her back as he lapped up her body’s response.
Cole crawled back up on the bed, turning her body so she was now laid out vertically. He kept her legs spread as he settled in and allowed her to take his weight. She could handle it; she could handle him. She wrapped herself around him in invitation and welcome. Heat and arousal surged through his system, and he could feel their heartbeats synchronizing.
He fused his mouth to hers as he pressed his cock against the opening of her core and entered her, stopping halfway so she could adjust to him. She cried out, arching up and impaling herself the rest of the way. He pulled back, only to fuck back into her. Over and over, he thrust inside her as she writhed beneath him. She held onto his shoulder blades, moaning and tossing her head side to side. Cole stroked her long and hard with an even rhythm as he ground himself against her clit.
“More,” she pleaded in the sexiest whisper ever.
Cole began to move with deliberation—faster and harder, stroking her with a ruthless need that matched her own. She cried out again, clinging to him as her pussy contracted around his cock, begging him to give up his cum. He grasped her buttocks, holding her still as he pounded into her until his spine tingled, his balls drew up, and he was flooding her sheath with his seed.
He collapsed on her, the blood coursing through his veins as the fire inside him started to cool. He slipped from her body and held her close. They lay for the longest time, just holding one another and basking in the afterglow.
She started to pull away, and he murmured, “No, baby.”
“I was just going to get us some water,” she said as she stood to leave their bed.
He watched her walk away, confident in who she was and what he was looking at. “You have the most glorious ass.” She laughed. “Although I think it looks a lot better with some color staining it and you’re certainly easier to handle.”
She laughed again and looked out the window toward Himeen Mesa. When she turned back to look at him, there was fear in her eyes. “Cole? The top of the mesa is on fire.”