A Man Like No Other (2 page)

Before wisdom could talk him out of it,
he headed for the women’s restroom and let himself in. Serefina stood at the
sink, cleaning her shoulder.

Without stopping in her ministrations,
she said, “‘N here I thought you were a man.”

The soft drawl stroked him like her own
fingers had touched him. A quick glance told him they were alone and he moved
to her side. Licking his lips, he took the damp and dirty wad of paper towels
from her, threw it down, and got new ones before clasping her arm and picked up
where she left off. A soft gentle citrus scent wafted from her.

Her arm was muscular and firm; her skin,
however, was soft and supple. A rumble of possessiveness rose within him. His.
That was the only word he could think of.

“So you noticed, did you?” He was
inordinately pleased she had.

Her head snapped towards him and he
flashed a grin. The flare of heat in her eyes gave away the fact she wasn’t
immune to him. Before she could look away, he captured her chin in two fingers
and sat on the black marbled sink. With careful strokes, he cleaned the dirt
and tiny gravel from where it marred her skin. The thought of fight or flight was
blatant on her face. So was her stubbornness and he knew she refused to let him
rattle her.

“Why didn’t you identify yourself?” he
asked, rinsing out the paper towel and squeezing out the excess.

“Why would I? I was undercover. I don’t
have my badge, and if there were any left from the crew we were selling to,
then I just lost my undercover work.”

It made sense.

“And we messed it up.” He stretched for
her face again.

“Sure did,” she agreed before stepping
away from him and going to the door.

He followed, the paper towel left on
the sink, and reached over her head to press his palm against the cool, smooth
wood of the door. Holding it shut. She turned slowly and he barely caught the
nervousness she had for him boxing her in.

When she faced him, he couldn’t help
but notice how well they fit together. He knew his hunger for her was recognisable
on his face but she didn’t back down. Her heavily lashed gaze reflected a
similar look. He gave into the urge and touched her hair with the hand which
had held the door shut, twirled it around his index finger. Softer than silk.

“Serefina. SA Serefina LeBenoit.” She
watched him in silence, eyes wary and slightly calculating. “Thanks for saving
my life, angel.”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

“No need for regrets, angel. Not a
‘tall.”

“That remains to be seen.”

He stirred closer. “Name the time and
place.”

Her lips twitched. “Pretty assumptive.”

“You want flowery words? Figured you to
be straight to the point.”

A small grin crossed her face. “I am.
Which is why I’ll tell you this so you don’t waste either of our time. I don’t
do your kind.”

Anger surged. “My kind? What do you
mean?” He stepped closer, thoroughly enjoying the flaring of nostrils on her
cute little nose and the way her pupils dilated. “You can try but you can’t
hide your attraction.”

“Desire doesn’t rule my life. I can
find someone to sate an itch.” Another negligent shrug. “It’s not that
difficult to do.”

If she sought to increase his rage, it
was a success. He narrowed his eyes. “So ‘my kind’?” he prompted, pressing
against her lower body, his erection settled at the apex of her thighs. Where
he wanted to be in a much more intimate way. Lust hit him so hard his vision
flickered. “Male, desiring you as much as you’re desiring them, what?”

Serefina rubbed against him, sending
another electrical pulse through him. “Not used to women telling you no, are
you?” Her smile was almost apologetic. Almost. “I’m sure you’re not, so go find
someone else. I don’t sleep with DEA.”

Her hips bucked once and her tongue
snuck out to moisten her lips. Then she ducked under his arm and slipped beyond
the door. He was left alone with a raging hard-on in the women’s restroom. With
a frustrated groan—one of sexual craving and something else—he dropped his head
to the wood.

She didn’t sleep with DEA.
Like hell
. He yanked the door open and
strode out, ignoring the knowing, shocked and amazed looks of those near. He
had a reputation with women and everyone knew it. For a woman to walk away like
Serefina had didn’t happen often at all. His gaze landed on her, on Serefina.
She waited by the elevators, seemingly unaware of those around her. And yet he
wondered.

He moved towards her and entered the
elevator with her. They were the only ones and he couldn’t be happier about it.
Serefina stood there, hands in her pockets, relaxed and stared straight ahead.

The door shut and for two seconds neither
moved. With a snarl, he slammed his hand over the STOP button before crowding
her into the corner, palms rested on either side of her head. Her brown eyes,
so tempting to dive in to, gazed right back at him without fear.

Then he kissed her. Enveloped her mouth
with his own. Her taste exploded over his taste buds, infusing its uniqueness
into him. Imprinting onto his mind and soul was the taste of grapefruit. A
luscious, picked at the peak of perfection grapefruit. Sprinkled with just a
hint of pure cane sugar. And in that instant, Taber found himself totally and
utterly addicted.

Not to mention fucked.

Her response was volcanic. She arched
into him, sucking and slipping her tongue along his. Strong fingers sank into
his hair and ripped the tie holding it back out. A growl rumbled up from his
chest. His cock throbbed in his jeans, making them feel a few sizes too small.

As fast as it began, she ripped their
mouths apart and had distanced them by ducking under his arm and going to the
other side. The elevator had begun moving before he got turned around. Serefina
watched him, her lips swollen from the force of his kiss, and her eyes burned
with passion.

Swallowing hard, he opened his mouth
simultaneously with the elevator doors. Her gaze singed him from head to foot
before she walked off. He was left alone with a hard-on
again
, and this time, he was pretty certain he could drive railroad
spikes with it. Within him grew this deep urge to run after her. He remained
without moving until she disappeared. Then he stepped fully back and allowed
the doors to meet. He pushed the button for his floor and sank back against the
cool steel hoping his erection would fade.

“One day, angel. One day, we’ll meet
again. And I won’t stop at a mere kiss.”

He couldn’t get her out of his mind.

Serefina LeBenoit.

Chapter Two

New
Mexico
,
eight months later

Serefina paused before she turned into
the bar parking lot. Automatically, she scouted the area. She drove in, parked
in a darkened corner and shook her head.
I
need a break. I’m expecting trouble everywhere I look.
With the engine shut
off, she took a deep breath and headed for the establishment’s door. She
slipped through to her normal booth where she could see all who approached.
Lisa brought her a drink and placed it before her.

“Thanks, Lisa.”

“No problem. I’ll be back later to
check on you.”

She waved her hand in response and
stirred the straw in her glass, moving the ice around. Her body was exhausted.
Hell, all of her was. Mind, body, spirit. Their last sting had gone horribly
wrong. Two of the team were recovering in the hospital. Four had been killed.
She’d been injured as well but released much sooner for hers was a much simpler
injury. A gunshot wound along her hip. She’d been very lucky. For which, she hated
herself. Some days, she wondered why she, and not them, had been spared. Other
days, she was glad she had survived then felt bad.

Bottom line, here she sat in a bar
debating whether she wanted to hook up with a guy for a night of forgetting. To
allow herself the ability to get lost in the belief of being important,
cherished, even loved. To allow herself to be lost in a different emotion other
than those which came with the parameters of her job. With a groan, she took a
sip of her Cuervo and Coke, allowing the taste to flood her senses. It soothed
as it slid down her throat.

Outside the thunder rumbled and the
brilliant flashes of lightning illuminated the
Sandia
Mountains
.
There was a wild beauty, a raw beauty, which came with watching a storm roll
uncontested over the mountains.

Movement to her side brought her
attention from the impending onslaught of nature to the man who stood there.
Tall, dark and handsome. As she scanned him, she pictured him with her. Naked.

Just
what I need.
The man stopped by the end of her booth and gave her a look
which told her he was as interested in a one-night thing as she was. Finishing
the last of her drink, she licked her lips and put the glass down. The second
her fingers closed around her keys, her gaze honed in on a man across the room.
He leaned nonchalantly against the wall, ankles hooked and arms crossed. There
was one thing in the joint he focused on and it was her. The neon lights in the
bar couldn’t begin to take away from his appeal to her.

Taber Kysenzki.

She’d been unable to forget him. And
now here he stood. All tanned, buff and handsome in that annoying panty-soaking
way. Tight blue jeans, dusty brown cowboy boots and an indecently tight grey T-shirt.

To
hell with it.

She got up and looked at the man
waiting. “Sorry.” Then she walked purposefully across the room. Without
stopping, she strode to Taber, watching how he readjusted his body and stood
straighter. She positioned herself between his legs and sank one hand in the
thick waves of blond hair, drawing him close enough to kiss.

Asking for nothing but everything, she
thrust her tongue deep into his mouth. Desire and lust slammed into her as his
masculine flavour embedded into her taste buds. His heady scent filled her nose
and she whimpered with shameless longing. Her clit throbbed and moisture soaked
her panties.

His large hands clasped her butt and
squeezed, tugging her tighter against the blatant ridge in his jeans. A low
growl rumbled up from his chest before he wrenched control of the kiss from her.

Like in the elevator, he dominated her
mouth. His thick tongue swept through the recess of her mouth. He stroked and
sucked until her knees threatened to give out on her. Taber tore his mouth off
hers and she found his eyes on her. They weren’t blue, but deep blue. Deep,
intense blue with the power to rock her to the core.

No words between them, they headed for
the door, oblivious to all except their attraction to one another. She walked
to her vehicle; an avalanche-coloured, six-speed, off-road Nissan Xterra, and
unlocked it. Hand on the door, she glanced back to see him standing under a lot
light by a grey Dodge Dooley 3500. The rain had yet to arrive but the storm was
closing in fast.

Figures.

She hopped into the cab and started the
engine, knowing he’d follow. On a beeline, she headed for her hotel.

The moment they pushed into her room,
he was on her. He gripped her hair in one hand and angled her head before
plundering her mouth. The kiss curled her toes, and without hesitation, she
answered his demand. She sucked hard on his invading tongue, stroked the sides
of his mouth and nipped occasionally at his tongue.

He moved them until her back was
against a wall, then he ripped his mouth from hers.

“Serefina,” he rasped.

“No talking,” she snapped.

The flow from the parking lot lights through
the room’s window wasn’t enough to allow her access to the emotion in his eyes
but from the way he stiffened, she knew he wasn’t pleased. Rain began in slight
patters on the glass, only to change into a deluge moments later.

“We need to talk.”

Closing her eyes, she bit back a groan.
Then she cupped him through his jeans. He was long and thick. Hard too. Taber
expelled a sharp breath and she knew he understood what she wanted. What she
craved. What they
both
craved.

He kissed her, hard and unforgiving.
Opening herself, she gave herself over to him. Let him set the pace. As quick
as he’d started, he stopped and deprived her of his mouth.

“Get naked,” he growled in a low tone.

Blood felt like lightning in her veins
as she stripped. The second her final item, her panties, had cleared her ankles,
she was back in his arms, his unclothed flesh pressed into hers. The coarse
chest hair abraded her already highly sensitive nipples. He turned her to mush
with his touch. He nibbled along her jaw line and throat. Stars exploded behind
her eyes and she felt her orgasm race upon her.

“Shit!” she hissed, fingers digging
into his corded arms.

He shoved two thick fingers deep into
her pussy simultaneously with a sharp nip on one turgid nipple.

She came apart. “Ahhh!” Her wail filled
the room as she shuddered from the waves of ecstasy which poured over her.

Before that high had a chance to fade,
he withdrew his digits and replaced them with the head of his cock. Slowly.
Inch by torturous inch, he sank into her wet core. He filled and stretched her;
nerves she didn’t know she had exploded in sensation.

The cool wall at her back and Taber’s
warmth at the front held her immobile until he had completely imbedded himself
within her.

“Oh my,” she sighed euphorically.

“You feel so tight, angel. So tight and
wet.”

“You’re talking why?”

He kissed her cheek, chest rumbling
with amusement. “Something else I should be doing instead of talking?”

“Yes. Shut up an’ fuck me.” Her tone brooked
no room for argument.

Taber lifted one of her legs with his
arm and caught it behind her knee. Then he pressed closer driving his thickness
even farther into her, lifting her up on her toes.

“Sure you can handle that? I don’t fuck
like a pussy, angel. I fuck long and hard.”

His deep rasp ignited the flames all
over again and sent tingles throughout her body.
Just what I need.

Licking her lips, she tightened her
internal muscles around his cock. She slipped a hand into his hair and gripped
it hard.

“Get to it then. Times a-wastin’.”

Taber couldn’t believe it. Not only had
he found Serefina again but he was currently buried balls deep inside her
pussy. Her hot, wet and incredibly tight pussy. He had almost erupted just
pushing into her. He’d not been able to get her out of his head. From the way she’d
kissed him at the bar, he’d bet she’d thought about him as well.

Serefina growled low in her throat. He
smiled slightly in the dark. His angel was horny. Lifting his arm so her leg
rose higher, he began to move.

“No need to be impatient, angel. We
have all night.”

She relaxed slightly and he slammed
hard into her. A cry of raw pleasure ripped from her mouth and she coated his
cock with her thick cream. Nipping the side of her neck, he began to power into
her. Hard. Fast. Deep. Unstoppable. Just like the storm which raged outside.

Serefina kept up with him. Where most
women begged for a break, she begged for more. She worked him as he did her,
undulating her hips and increasing his pleasure. After her third orgasm against
the wall, he carried her to the bed. Rolling them over so she was on top, he
reached for her breasts and played with the tips.

She didn’t miss a beat, just began
riding him. The pace she set was torture for him. The room was filled with the
sounds and smells of their rendezvous. When the impending feel of his own
release nipped at his heels, he tore control away from her, reversed their
positions and thrust into her like a machine. The sweat ran down his face as he
fought to prolong the incredible feeling being within her brought.

Serefina crested first and pulled him
with her. A low roar escaped him as he filled her with thick ropes of cum. He
captured her mouth and kissed her. The taste of grapefruit met him. Only once
his tremors stopped did he break away and pull out of her. He gathered her
sweaty body to his and just held her as their harsh breathing slowed and his
heart rate calmed.

His back stung from where her nails had
shredded the skin. He knew there were some bite marks on his shoulders as well.
Brushing his lips over her temple, he smiled when she burrowed into him.
Serefina LeBenoit was dangerous. And his.

Closing his eyes, he had almost crossed
into the dream world when the silence was broken by a cell phone. The soft,
plaint, exhausted woman in his arms woke instantly and answered it, grabbing it
from the small table beside the bed. How it had gotten there he had no idea.

“LeBenoit.”

He got up and walked to the bathroom
allowing her some privacy. When he came back out, there was a light on, she had
dressed and was shoving her feet into shoes.

“Where are you going?” he asked,
striding towards her. Not remotely feeling like sharing her with anyone.

Her head snapped up and the glare in
her eyes faded when she took in his nudity. They began to smoulder with desire
and he felt himself respond, stiffening.

“I was going out,” she said. Her eyes
flashed down and lingered on his erection before she dragged it back up to his
face.

“Why?” he asked, unpleased with the
jealousy which grew inside him.

“Do I answer to you?”

“Is it work related?” he questioned,
ignoring hers.

“No.”

“Matter of life or death?” He walked
closer, stroking himself.

“No.” Her response barely a whisper.

“Come here,” he ordered.

She did so without hesitation. Before
he could say anything else, she dropped to her knees and took him into her
mouth. Curses escaped as her tongue and mouth did things to him he’d dreamt of
since he’d met her.

Serefina never left that night. They
lay naked, limbs intertwined and dead to the world when the morning rays of sun
pierced into the sandy hued room. He shifted enough to get his face out of the
sun and tightened his hold on the woman in his arms. There was no hesitation
when sleep came knocking. He went willingly.

The heavy scent of lilacs woke him. Slowly,
he sat up. Serefina was not in sight. The shades were drawn, keeping out the
sun but he could see the material moving and realised the window remained open.
Yawning, he got up and headed to take a quick shower.

Serefina returned after he’d tugged on
his jeans. She paused in the doorway and stared. He waited while her gaze
travelled down his bare and still damp torso, jeans with the button undone, and
bare feet. He arched a brow and waited for her to say something. When she did, it
wasn’t what he expected.

“Thanks. I’m sure you have other things
to do.”

He blinked a few times, unsure he’d
heard correctly. Serefina wore a peach T-shirt, white shorts and tennis shoes.
Her dark hair fell freely around her face. The white material of her shorts
highlighted the beauty of her strong legs.

“Thanks?” he rumbled dangerously.

She shrugged and stepped fully into the
room, kicking the door closed behind her. He noticed whisker burn on the side
of her neck when she turned. Despite his anger that mark made him inherently
proud. Anger reclaimed the lead when she withdrew a backpack and duffle, both
black, and placed them on the bed.

A
bed where we fucked like bunnies all night.

He moved to the bed when she entered
the bathroom and sat by her bags, ensuring she couldn’t ignore him. She
reappeared with a few toiletries in her hands and dumped them in the duffel.
Even with him positioned where he was, Serefina did manage to ignore him. Never
once looking at him. He could see the wheels turning in her head; he knew the
expression, almost like planning for an op.

It nagged at him she could take no
notice of him so easily after the passion intense night they’d shared. He
wasn't used to places being reversed. He was normally the cool one, with the
woman craving more attention. Had he not been watching so intently he would
have missed the flash of pain in her otherwise serene expression.

Reclining back on his elbows, he stared
at her face. She wasn’t what the world would consider gorgeous but to him, she
surpassed it.