A Dom Is Forever (21 page)

“This is not your operation. It’s mine and if you don’t like it, you can take a nice long vacation, Your Lordship. I will deal with you in a minute.” Knight turned back to Liam. “You screwing the girl yet?”

He had the wildest urge to pound the fucker’s face until he caught sight of bone, but he shrugged negligently. “Yeah. I’ll get what we need.”

It looked like he was in bed with more than just Avery. He could walk away. It was an option. He could disappear, but then she would be alone and at the mercy of men who had none. And he would never know the truth. Not about himself or his brother or Ian.

“Good man. Ian’s in a car waiting for you. He was very upset when he found out you were in custody. Seriously, I thought he was going to take someone’s head off.” Knight ran a hand across his face, a weary gesture. “Go on, then. He’ll take you back to the girl’s place. You need to be with her before she wakes up. Women don’t like it when you sneak out of their beds. I’ll take care of this one.” Knight turned as Liam got up to walk out. “Talk to Ian. This is pile of information is meaningless without the truth behind it. You can interpret this information in a million different ways, but Ian is the only one who knows the truth. I would trust that man with my life.”

Liam nodded, giving Knight a smile he hoped was fairly carefree. “Hey, mate, I’ve known Ian for years. He’s protected me. I’m not going to let some papers change that fact.”

But he was numb inside as he made his way out of the house. That file did change things, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. The question was how to go about it. He couldn’t trust anyone on his team. He had no idea if they were in on it.

He hated this feeling. He’d trusted them to watch his back. He’d fought and bled with these people. How could he think this way? How could he think that Jake and Eve were in on a plot to keep him ignorant?

It was only paranoia if they weren’t really out to get him.

Ian was standing beside a black BMW, an annoyed look on his face. “Li, we need to talk. I didn’t tell you about the MI6 shit because Damon asked me not to. He facilitated us coming in on their op. He didn’t think for a second that Weston would get around your cover and actually try to arrest you.”

But Weston hadn’t done that. Weston had just tried to show him a ton of information that would have been good to know five years before. “No problem, boss.”

Ian didn’t know what Weston had shown him. He would know soon enough. Knight would fill him in, but at least tonight Liam didn’t have to listen to explanations. He needed time to think.

Ian stared at him warily as Liam hopped into the passenger’s seat. “Are you all right? He didn’t pull any shit with you, did he?”

Weston had pulled the rug out from under him. He’d unsettled the only world Liam had known for the better half of the last decade. “He didn’t
waterboard
me, boss. He did offer me stale biscuits. That’s torture.”

Ian sighed. “I’m glad to hear it. I wanted to deal with the little fucker myself, but Damon talked me out of it. You’re cleared officially now. Damon saw to it.”

“Good.” Liam stared forward. “Let’s get going. I don’t want Avery to wake up without me.”

He slipped back into his Midwestern accent like a security blanket he pulled on to protect himself. He was on a mission, and it had far wider parameters than he thought because now he had to figure out if Ian Taggart had a hand in killing Rory.

Ian turned the ignition and pulled away from the suburban house. “What’s going on? Damon just managed to work a deal that officially clears you of all wrongdoing and set things straight with
G2
. You’re clear, Li. Don’t you have anything to say about it?”

If Weston was right, Ian could have done that himself at any time. “It’s great, man, but I don’t exactly have a hankering to head home or anything. I do appreciate it.”

Ian’s eyes stayed on the road, but frustration dripped from his voice. “Are you sure there isn’t something you want to talk about? Are you having mixed feelings about sleeping with Avery Charles? You’re protecting her, you know.”

“Yeah.” How had Ian protected his woman? “I know. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Ian drove the rest of the way in silence while Liam’s brain raced with a million possibilities.

Unfortunately, not a one of them was good.

Avery woke up, blinking in the early morning light. She stretched, her muscles deliciously aching. Every minute of the night before came flaring back to life. She’d made love with Lee Donnelly, big, gorgeous Lee with the broad shoulders and beautiful face and filthy-as-sin mouth.

She’d made love with him in the middle of the night, but now it was morning and time to face the music. She didn’t look great in the morning. He probably would stay and have breakfast and be polite because that was the kind of man he was, but he would extricate himself from the situation and she needed to look cool and collected. God, she wasn’t cool and collected. She pulled the sheet up, unwilling to turn and look beside her. What if he was already gone?

How did these things work? What made her think she’d be able to handle a one-night stand?

The sheet she clutched was suddenly pulled straight out of her hands and cool air hit her breasts.

“I need you.” Lee straddled her, his eyes on her chest. He looked different this morning. Gone was the patient guy who had calmly explained what he wanted, and in his place was a hungry predator. He was boldly naked, his body lean and hard everywhere. The soft light of morning couldn’t dull his suddenly sharp edges.

And there was no way to avoid his cock. He was utterly erect, the thick, bulbous head of his dick nearly touching his navel as he stared down at her.

There was no kindness in him now. There was challenge and a cool distance that frightened her a little. For the first time, she really understood that she was small and weak, and he could likely kill her with his bare hands. Last night had still been civilized for all the dirty talk, but he seemed to demand something different in the light of day.

He leaned over, catching her wrists in his hands. She was trapped beneath his body, their chests touching, his cock nearly throbbing against her pussy. His weight bore her into the bed. His face was slightly cruel as he looked down on her.

“You want me to go, little girl? Last night was for you. If you let me stay in this bed, this morning is going to be for me and it might not be so pretty. It’s going to be dirty, and it’s going to be my way all the way.”

What had happened to him? She searched his face. Yes, he was acting like a dominant prick, but something in his eyes made her wonder. And what he’d said. He needed her.

She’d needed him the night before, and he’d given her everything she could have wanted. She wasn’t going to fool herself. She was already half in love with him. She wasn’t going to let him scare her off.

And wasn’t that what he was trying to do? Push her to see if she could really accept him?

She suddenly wasn’t so afraid of him anymore. She brought her head up and touched her nose to his. Her body was already warming up. “It wasn’t so clean last night, Sir.”

“Fuck.” The cold look vanished like it had never been there in the first place, and he slammed his mouth on hers.

He held her in place, and Avery understood what it meant to be inhaled. That was what he was doing to her. He dominated her mouth, kissing her like he needed her to breathe. Over and over again he took her mouth, and she gave it up willingly. When he released her wrists, she wrapped her arms around him. She let her legs tangle with his, offering him everything she had. He got her so hot so fast, as though her body now trusted this man to take care of her.

He moved from her mouth to her neck, his fingers on her nipples. “Tell me you’re mine.”

That was easy. She was beginning to think she’d been his from the moment he’d caught her in front of the mummies. “I’m yours.”

She wasn’t sure why he’d gotten possessive so suddenly, but he seemed to need reassurance and she was finding some of her own. He wasn’t acting like a man who was going to walk out on her.

“This is mine. This is fucking mine.” There it was again, that musical tone he took on when he was really aroused. She loved it. He whispered it across her breasts just before he sucked one inside his mouth and settled in to devour her.

She softened, her whole body giving over. She didn’t have to think here. Her mind didn’t run away from her. All she had to do was feel. All she had to do was let the connection between them flow.

She whimpered a little as he bit her nipple. It was a short, sharp pain, but seemed to spark something deep inside her. The pain melted into a thrumming heat.

“Yes, these are mine to torture. You like a little torture, don’t you, love?” He moved to the other nipple and bit down gently. She didn’t flinch. Her chest pressed up, welcoming him. “Yes, I’m going to clamp these gorgeous tits and run a chain between them. I can pull on it whenever I like and you’ll feel my bite.”

Dark images whispered across her brain. He’d told her what he wanted to do, but it hadn’t been real until now. He wanted to tie her up. He wanted her bound and helpless to the whims of his cock. It was so much easier to think that word now. The monster rubbing against her pussy wasn’t a penis. It was a big hard cock. It had brought her so much pleasure the night before. She wanted him inside again.

“Fuck, love. I don’t want to wait. Tell me I can have you now.” He growled against her skin.

Her savage beast. He’d told her it was his way or the highway, and just a few minutes of petting and he was domesticated again. “Please, Lee. I need you, too.”

He reared up, his hands pushing her knees apart. He spread her wide and looked down at her pussy. A little of the savage was back in his face, but she could handle him now. “You’re going to let me tie you up, aren’t you? You’re going to let me spank you. You’re going to be my submissive.”

She was willing to try just about anything with him. “Yes.”

“But not now. I need you too much now.” His hand went to the end table, and he came back with a condom. He had it rolled over his dick in a heartbeat. “Take me.”

He didn’t play around as he had the night before. He shoved his cock in. He spread her wide and forced that big dick inside in one long, penetrating thrust. He was up on his knees, his hands on her legs, controlling the penetration. He went at her hard. This was what he’d meant. He was in control, and he would have what he wanted.

And what he wanted was her.

“Fuck, you feel good.” He thrust in long passes, his balls hitting the curve of her backside as he shoved his way in.

And he felt spectacular. Despite the soreness she felt, her body was responding, lighting up under him. She could feel the delicious wave of pressure ready to go off.

“No one made you feel this way before.” It wasn’t a question.

But she only had one answer. “No one but you.”

She moaned as he leaned over, and his pelvis started to grind down on her clitoris.

An arrogant smile lit his face, but she was happy. That dumb masculine smile was beautiful and it seemed to have pushed all the demons away. He was Lee again. He leaned down, pressing his body to hers, covering her as he continued to fuck. “I’m glad, love. And I really will do all those nasty things to you. You’re mine. I’m yours. We’re together now. Do you understand?”

She didn’t exactly, but she knew he intended to keep her for a while, likely for his time in London, and that was really all she could ask for. She would explore with him and gather memories to keep her warm when he was gone. “Yes. We’re together.”

He kissed her again, his tongue surging in just as his cock hit that perfect spot deep inside and she went off. Her whole body tightened and released in a wave of surging pleasure.

Lee’s hands tightened on her as he thrust in one last time and gave himself over. His face was so open and honest as he came. He dove into her, giving up everything he had, and finally dropped on top of her, his head in the crook of her neck.

This was what she’d wanted. She wrapped herself around him. This closeness was what she’d longed for but now she knew it was so much sweeter because the sex itself had been deep and intimate.

He didn’t roll off her. He nuzzled down, his head in the crook of her neck, his big body pressing her into the mattress. “I didn’t sleep last night. I’m so tired now. I want to stay with you.”

She didn’t want him to go anywhere else. “You can stay as long as you like.”

His head came up, those emerald eyes searching hers. “You’re not lying to me, are you? You’re exactly what you seem to be.”

So he’d been hurt before, and that was what the whole possessive thing was about. She gave him a little smile. “I’m boring, Lee. I’m nearly thirty years old and I’m just starting to live. I don’t have anything to lie about.”

He kissed her, a little touch of his lips. “You’re far from boring.” He sighed and rolled off her. He walked off to her bathroom and when he came back he was yawning, his hair unkempt but that Greek god body still on full display. She couldn’t help but stare.

“Are you hungry?”

His lips kicked up. “Around you? Always. But I need to sleep, love. Is it going to bother you if I bed down for a couple of hours? You can wake me up at noon, and we’ll do whatever you want for the rest of the day. We can walk up the Thames and hit the Eye.”

She grinned. “I would love that. I’ve heard you can have champagne while you ride.”

He lay down, his face so much softer than before. He reached up and touched her cheek. “Champagne it is.” His gaze turned serious. “But while I’m sleeping, I have a job for you.”

“Okay.”

“I want you to get on the Internet and look up
BDSM
. I want you to read up on it because I want to take you to a club in a couple of days, and I need to know if you can handle it. I can keep this vanilla if you want, but I would love to show you my lifestyle.”

It was her turn to lean down and kiss him. He looked so perfect laying there, a big tiger among her fluffy feminine bedding. “I told you. I like strawberry.”