For the first time since leaping into this nightmare of revenge and danger, Arash didn’t mind that he didn’t know where the road ahead was leading. In fact, he loved that pure blackness stretched out in front of him and Stephanie. Because he was with her. He finally had time to be alone with this woman who had challenged and surprised him with every turn.
His pounding heart outpaced the engine of the minivan as the modified car rocketed out of the suburbs. Stephanie had been right—it was a bullet, and if it was aimed in the wrong direction, it would kill. His focus couldn’t waiver and he understood her again. Wishing for something else ignored the moment. He had to hold on to what he had. Now.
Black hills streaked past around them. Stephanie sat, alert in the passenger seat. Her gaze swept over the landscape, and when it moved across him, he felt the electric heat. She tapped her knuckle on the side window. “There’s the compound.”
The house was set back quite a bit from the road, but small squares of light revealed that the members of the gang were still up. Throughout the teardown and buildup of the minivan, neither he nor Stephanie had found any bugging devices, though that still didn’t set his mind at ease. He held back several curses he could’ve used against the STR and instead stood harder on the gas. The minivan sent its own message with the throaty growl of the engine.
Stephanie smiled as they sped faster, and the thrill charged him, as well. The road north curved, giving Arash a chance to test more of the car’s handling. For the most part the minivan took corners tight and blasted out of them. At the higher speed, though, a wobble shook the back end as he pushed out of a tight bank.
“Feel that?” He shifted the steering back and forth on the straightaway but couldn’t reproduce it.
“Definitely.” Stephanie stared into the rear of the minivan.
“We’ll drop the spare back in—could use the counterweight.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” She tapped the side of her temple.
“That’s why we’re good.” He put his fist out.
She bumped it. “We’re better.”
“And bad when we need to be.” He needed to be with her.
She leaned from her seat and brought her face close to his. “Drive faster.”
He stepped on the gas and the rapid acceleration pushed them back into their seats. Darkness thickened around them. The lights of the compound were long gone, and there didn’t appear to be any more houses in those hills. The minivan ate up the miles and never seemed satisfied. He slowed when the road tightened into curves through a narrowing valley. Once through the pass, the land opened up flatter and the development Ellie had spoken of was dimly visible ahead.
Stephanie leaned forward to peer into the approaching collection of uncompleted houses. “We’ll probably be on city streets.”
He sped into the development and tested the handling in the twisting planned suburb. The shimmy was still there, but otherwise the car sprang neatly through the curves. He and Stephanie were nudged side to side, and four-point harnesses would’ve been much better than the stock seat belts.
The development climbed the side of a hill and he took them higher into where the more expensive houses with a view would be. Most of them were just wooden frames, but a complete house stood above all the rest. Arash took them there and parked in the deepest shadows at the edge of the development, where the last of the asphalt dissolved into the hard dirt of the mountains.
The engine spun to a stop. The car ticked and silence descended. Fabric rustled as Stephanie slid against her seat. Her hands curled into his jacket and she pulled him to her for a kiss that was heated with more power than the motor.
They parted and got out of the car, into the night. Cold air slid down the side of the hills with the aroma of mineral rock and sturdy plants. He and Stephanie huddled together as they walked toward the completed house. She carried the bag from the convenience store. Her other hand wound with his and pulled their bodies closer. “Breaking and entering?” she asked.
“It’s been a while.” Around the time when he was wrecking Pontiac Fieros.
“Same.” He believed her ethic now, proven with all this Frontier Justice business, but he didn’t fully know the person she’d been before.
Instead of approaching the front of the house, they skirted around back and across a dirt lawn with trenches cut for the sprinkler system. The rear patio spanned the entire ground floor of the house. Sliding doors at the dining area would create a huge indoor-outdoor space. Arash tested the latch. Locked.
Stephanie moved to a window just a few feet away and pried the screen off. The window opened quietly and she gestured at the wide gap. “No breaking necessary.”
If there was a security system, it wasn’t hooked up yet. No flashing lights or keypad anywhere. Arash slipped inside and put his hand out for her. She took the assistance, even though he knew she didn’t need it, and climbed through. Any excuse for them to touch. Having her fingers laced with his in the still, quiet house shook him more than he expected. They were finally alone, in a safe place.
“Upstairs.” He directed them to the stairs and they stirred the air with their ascent. The top floor explained why this was the model home for the development. A huge master bedroom overlooked the narrow valley below, with a hint of the glow from Reno in the distance.
But more inviting was the large platform bed. The two of them moved in that direction as if it had a gravity of its own. Stephanie dropped the bag next to the bed and turned to face Arash. She swept her hands up his chest, over the sides of his neck and through his hair. Each touch burned him to life. He held her waist and pulled her to him.
They kissed with no one watching, no one listening. He kissed her, knowing more of this woman than ever before. And revealing all that he was to her. She pulled his jacket over his shoulders and he tugged it off. He did the same for her and froze when he wrapped his hand around the small of her back. She was wearing a gun.
The mood frosted. Her mouth, kissing him just a second ago, was thin. “We both know how bad this can get.”
“You’ve been carrying this whole time?”
“Since we landed in Reno.” She looked him up and down. “You don’t...”
“I drive better than I shoot.” He always knew that however it was going to end with Olesk, it would be on the road.
“We’re safe here for now.” She approached him again and unzipped the front of his hoodie. “And I’m not wearing a gun if I’m naked.”
SHE’D NEVER WANTED to be this naked before, and that scared her. Without a weapon or pretense or an escape route. Her need was stronger than all that. It challenged her to face Arash and her own urges.
She ran her hands across his chest and pushed the open hoodie off his shoulders. It fell to the ground, revealing the angles of his chest and waist in his T-shirt. The room was dark, but she still saw the heated glint in his eyes. He curled his hands in the hem of her sweater and tugged up. She helped him and she was soon one step closer to naked.
He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots and socks. She joined him there and did the same. Before she could stand again, he pulled her into his arms and joined their mouths with another kiss. Only thin cotton separated their chests and the heat built between them. His hands ranged across her back, then higher until his fingers slid through her hair. She sighed into the kiss and let herself be supported by his strength.
Her hands didn’t rest, either. Each ridge of his bare arms was discovered and traced. She reached his shoulders and held on there to pull him tighter, pull the kiss deeper. He gripped her and slicked his tongue along hers. The house’s central heat hadn’t been turned on yet, and still she was too warm for all these clothes. She knew that her naked skin against Arash’s would burn her completely, and she wanted that.
She raked her nails up his back, taking his shirt with her. He hissed a breath, then lifted his arms high so she could remove the T-shirt. His mouth returned at the side of her neck. The blaze shot white-hot through her veins.
He started to pull her T-shirt up but she leaned back to pause the motion. She carefully removed her pistol from the holster and placed it on the built-in bedside table, close within reach. Turning back to Arash, she was able to see all the contours of his muscled chest and abs in the dim light from the tall windows. With his hair down and face obscured in the shadows, he seemed mythic. But when she touched him again, she knew he was very real, warm and surging forward to her.
In a breath, her T-shirt was gone. His hands slid along her ribs, up over her shoulders, until one palm cupped her cheek. “You are so unbelievably beautiful.”
“Because I’m nearly naked.” A hot blush spread across her chest and up her neck.
“I thought the same thing when you were in coveralls, elbow deep in an engine compartment.” Raw emotion shook in his voice.
“You didn’t.” Her body believed him. Heat tightened in her breasts and swirled low between her legs. But her mind couldn’t yet let her be free.
“I did,” he growled, hands smoothing down her arms. “And I thought you were beautiful that first night when you were powering through turns and leaving everyone in the dust.” He leaned close for another kiss. It shocked her with tenderness. He’d matched her passion as they’d been clawing at each other with need. But this was different. The truth of his words was on his lips. He wanted her, she knew that, but he was willing to go slow and savor her, as well.
His kiss trailed over her cheek, then down the front of her throat. Each time he lifted his mouth from her skin, he spoke. “You. Are. Beautiful.” He reached the top of her chest, leaned her onto the bed and continued to kiss down between her breasts. “Incredible. Badass. Strong. As. Hell.” His mouth hovered over her belly. She trembled. Just the lightest kiss splashed shivers across her skin.
She arched up for more. He kissed the curve of her hip, then teased his teeth into the flesh. She gasped with a laugh and felt his mouth grow into a smile on her. His deft fingers undid the fly of her jeans, then popped the top button. Yes, this was what she wanted. The doubts in her brain erased.
Wiggling from side to side, she helped him remove her jeans, and she was lying on the bed beside him in nothing but her bra and panties. “Now you,” she said. He stood and she missed the electricity from his close body. “Hurry.”
A moment later he was back at her side. A pair of boxer briefs were the last barrier to him being as naked as she wanted to be. The electricity returned, then amplified as she touched his chest, his ribs, his hips. Each muscle responded to her, tightening as if he, too, felt the same charge.
Her touch moved between his legs and he surged forward, his arousal obvious. The need deepened in her and she shifted close enough to wind her legs together with his. One of his hands searched over her back and quickly unclasped her bra. The fabric was whisked away and his hot palm moved across one of her breasts. Her nipple tightened for more and he gave her the rough pad of his hand in light passes back and forth. Blinding heat coiled through her.
“Yes,” she told him. “Touch me.” Skin was freedom, and the two of them were finally pressed together, sharing all the heat, surging with their breath. She felt every ridge of his hand on her, and understood each line of the muscles of his arms and back.
Their mouths came together to wordlessly voice the hunger between them. He licked her tongue and she bit at his lower lip. Her fingers dug into his back. The lightest pinch surrounded her nipple and she moaned into his mouth.
She drew him closer with her legs, so she could grind against his erection. The room was dark, her eyes closed, and everything was so bright. Like their bodies were on the brink of turning molten. Arash separated them slightly, but their connection ran so deep now she didn’t feel an absence. His hand glided across her belly, then dived down to the waistband of her panties. He waited there until she nodded, then eased slowly between her legs.
The first touch on her most sensitive skin sent a shock wave through her. The intensity was more than she imagined and it triggered a quick fear. She gripped him and he waited again. With the roll of her hips, she showed him that she wasn’t afraid. Yes, it was reckless. They ran too hot. And that’s exactly what she needed.
His pace on her sex matched her. Both of their bodies surged with the movement. He kissed her mouth, her face and her neck. She stroked her fingers into his hair and held there for support as she felt herself rushing toward release. Each sensation was savored, focused on until she understood how all the nerves of her body collected Arash’s touch and connected together.
“Beautiful,” he rumbled. The added caress of his voice sent her over the edge. She believed him, and let herself crash into the climax. The orgasm racked her body and Arash firmed his hold around her, creating a protective cage for her to slam against.
It wasn’t until she’d regained her breath that she realized she’d sunk her teeth into his collarbone. He didn’t flinch when she moved her mouth and rested her head on his shoulder. The ebbing waves of the climax retained a singeing edge. She wasn’t done.
Leaning up on one elbow, she drew her fingernails down Arash’s chest until reaching his underwear. “Don’t stop,” he told her, voice like smoke. She felt his firm length over the boxer briefs, then tugged at the hem until he helped her remove them.
He filled her hand. This man, so strong and capable, was moved by her, flexing his muscles to thrust with her. The pace of his moans quickened and fired up her own needs. Her heart pounded again as she and Arash sped together through the darkness.
The rhythm stuttered and he sat up, bringing her with him. Heat focused in his eyes as he gazed at her. He leaned forward and kissed her, then gently directed her to standing in front of him. His fingers hooked into her panties and dragged them down her legs. Naked. Finally. In a house she and Arash broke into, at a bed that didn’t belong to either of them. His attention moved over her and she stood, bold. A wicked smile curled his lips. She didn’t see anything after that because he was kissing her belly, her hip, the top of her thigh, with his hands gripping her waist.
She stroked over his hair, wondering how her legs kept her standing. But she knew the strength came from all the need that hadn’t been satisfied. Stepping away from him, she retrieved the box of condoms from the bag and pulled one out. He remained seated, took it from her and rolled it on.
Their gazes locked as she straddled him at the edge of the bed. His arms wrapped around her for support. She balanced herself with her hands on his shoulders. Face-to-face. Nowhere to hide. She lowered herself onto his length as both of them drew a long breath as one.
After a moment of discovering how they fit together, they started to rock. She rose up and he retreated. When she crashed back down, he was there, thrusting up. They moaned as one. His breath swept over her neck and her ear. He touched her in so many ways and she soaked it all in, building the fires hotter.
Too hot. That was the thrill that made her blood race so hard. Their combined strength and hunger pushed her to the verge of wrecking. Complete abandon, with the trust that they would keep each other safe. She called out again and again into the empty house. His growl shook her. She was close to delicious destruction.
“Stephanie,” he whispered. Another climax sped at her. She ground deeper on Arash and he wound his arms tighter across her back. His lips stroked up her throat; his teeth brushed against her neck. She wrapped herself around him and set herself free. The release slammed through her, jolting her limbs, stealing her breath.
He held her through it all, and when she regained enough strength in her arms to scratch across his back, he lifted her up and took them both to the floor. The soft carpet cushioned her back, and Arash kept his weight off her with his arms propped on the ground. She hooked her heels around the backs of his legs to urge him on. He kissed her hard and crashed their bodies back together.
A glow burned her from within, snapping in waves to match Arash’s increasing pace. “Yes, Arash.” Her murmured encouragement remained close and intimate between their bodies. He grew more wild, moving their bodies with his strength. She clasped herself around him and called out his name again. He bared his teeth, thrust one more time, then locked his muscles as he came. Her own pleasure continued to swirl and the two of them stayed bound together for what felt like forever.
But it couldn’t be forever. Arash shifted from her and the two of them lay on their backs on the floor, staring at the ceiling in the dim distance. He reached out and took her hand. She found her breath and whispered, “We didn’t really need the bed.”
“We still might.” He pulled her toward him and into a kiss. How did he have so much energy? But she found that in tasting his unsatisfied hunger, her own rose again. She opened her kiss farther to let him know and his carnal grin when they separated let her know they were far from finished. “And then cookies.”
Arash helped her to her feet and walked with her to the bed. The safety of the moment would only be a memory when they returned to their deadly purposes just a few miles away. Memories could be lost. This freedom wouldn’t last. But the passion with Arash was real, and she would hold on to him with all her strength until the danger swept them back up again.