Belonging to Them (5 page)

One of his hands pushed between them and covered her mound. Her wetness enveloped his fingers as he probed her folds, and satisfaction at her arousal triggered a primal response in him he’d thought long dead. She wanted him; there was no question.

Turning, he placed her against the pillows on the rumpled bed. Her long, sable-colored hair tumbled around her head in silken waves. Her eyes were deep, chocolaty pools of trouble. Her pale pink lips parted as she reached for him, and this time, as he leaned over her, he didn’t stop her as she moved to open the buttons of his shirt. He braced over her and remained still.

His eyes closed, and he tried to keep his face impassive as he waited for her to see the collision of scars from both burns and the metal that had clawed deep into the left side of his body. The damage hidden by his clothing was far worse than what had been done to his face.

“Oh, Jamie,” she whispered as she pushed open the cloth and shoved it down his arms.  She opened his shirt cuffs, and he pulled free. His eyes opened when his upper half was bare, and he almost wished he’d left them shut. Tears brimmed her eyes as she met his gaze with such dismay at what had happened to him. “How?” she asked again.

He shifted to lie beside her, and she cuddled into his arms, not thinking twice about pressing her lips to his chest where scars pulled his nipple to an odd shape.

“I was a photojournalist. You know…that Life magazine, National Geographic, coffee table book kind of stuff. I was in the middle east—wrong place at the wrong time. I was filming a religious festival when a suicide bomber attacked the participants.” He splayed the fingers of his scarred hand. “I was a mess but still very lucky. Nearly a hundred people died.”

Her tongue flicked over his nipple then she kissed his chest again. Her nails dragged along his good side, sending fire through him.

“You have a remarkable attitude,” she said.

“I didn’t for a long time. I still don’t about some things.” Like his chances with a girl like her. He flexed his fingers on her ass. “But I still have my hand. And I have my life. And I can hold you.”

They lay silently for several minutes, chest to chest, two souls meshing. Despite his hold on her rear and their nudity, there wasn’t an overt sexuality to the moment. They comforted one another, though he wasn’t sure yet what had traumatized her. They accepted each other.

Rayna shifted upward and threaded her fingers through his hair. She kissed him hard. “And you can fuck me. You better,” she threatened good-naturedly.

Rolling, he trapped her beneath him. Her legs bracketed his hips. He flexed into her, wishing he’d already removed his pants. “Or else what?” he asked.

“Or I’ll…I’ll march over to the garage, just like this, and start handing out kisses to any man I see.”

“Oh no you won’t.” He kissed her hard, grinding into her until she writhed and moaned. Wriggling beneath him, she removed her panties while he opened the front closure of her bra. His breath caught as her small, perfect breasts fell free. “So beautiful,” he murmured.

She trembled as he ran his thumb over one tip then took the peak between his lips. He sucked deep until she cried out and shook. Her fingers bit into his upper arms, but that was pure bliss in itself, for he knew the pain was due to her own pleasure.

“Oh yes, Jamie,” she moaned. Her pussy flooded as she moved beneath him. She wanted the hard proof of his desire plunging into her. She pushed up into his mouth as his tongue lashed over her nipple, each pass making her cunt clench with the need to be filled by him.

His satyr smile edged up her desire even more as he slid her bra along her arms. With a wicked grin, he tied it around her wrists then re-clasped it around one of the brass rungs of the bed.

“No fair,” she protested even though being tied up for him made her so hot she could barely think.

“Life’s not fair, sweetness,” he growled, his brogue now almost as thick as the one Patrick had put on yesterday. God, she loved the accent on him. “And now you’re all mine. At my mercy.”

She pulled at her wrists, not really trying to get free. “I was all yours before.”

“Perhaps you should know,” he said. “I have a penchant for tyin’ up my woman.”

At the moment, she had a penchant for being tied up by him. Who would have known? She’d never been tied up before, and her body had never responded so strongly to a man before either. Danger lurked inside him—nothing that would physically harm her. No, it was something that could possess her soul.

“I think you should have a penchant for removing your pants,” she said.

“In time,” he promised. Taking his time, he molded her breasts. His fingers pulled the nipples, pinching and twisting to bring her the slightest pain but great bolts of pleasure. Her body vibrated with it, her pulse pounding, her blood burning. Her pussy was so wet, she knew his cock had to be damp with it even through his pants.

“More,” she whispered, breathing heavily.

Ignoring her plea, he abandoned her chest to move downward. His breath was hot on her as his thumbs caught her labia and spread her wide. She screeched as he licked the length of her. She whimpered against the intense laps over and over as he took his time tasting her, dipping inside her channel—barely—and circling her clit. When his lips closed on the needy bud, sucking hard, her hips jerked from the bed. Release rocketed through her.

“Jamie,” she screamed. On and on it went as he suckled ruthlessly on the tiny nub. “Jamie, oh God, please Jamie,” she begged. The clasp of her bra rasped on the brass post that held her as she struggled under her desire. But he wasn’t ready to let up on the tension coiling inside her. Two fingers thrust inside her quivering passage as he nipped at her clit. He rose over her, his fingers never relenting, and made tiny bites up her belly to her breast where his teeth scrapped over one tip.

She bucked against him, needing him and crying out when his hand disappeared from her cunt. A moment later, she groaned in relief as his cock lined up with her opening. Her legs wrapped around him, urging him forward and she felt the fabric of his pants against her thighs. He’d opened his trousers and pushed them down just enough to free himself. Before she could think on it, he surged forward filling her with his thickness and stretching her passage. He didn’t pause for her to adjust—she didn’t want him, too.

Staring into her face with rigid determination in his green eyes, he pistoned in and out of her and claimed her as no one ever had. It didn’t matter who she’d fucked before or who she might after, he was making her his. And she gave herself over to him, glorying in the feel of his possession and the rawness of being bound while he wasn’t fully undressed.

Her climax clawed up on her fast. She arched off the bed and pressed into him as hard as she could, taking him deeply as she could.

“Oh God, Rayna,” he gasped, still driving forward. “So tight… Yes, sweetness…”

He stiffened, and she felt his release pour into her. The heat seemed to flood through her. She groaned, having an overwhelming sense of closeness to him. His head dropped to her shoulder, and he reached up, freeing her. She hugged him, the closeness morphing to protectiveness as he breathed heavily. Her hand smoothed over his back, each ridge of damaged flesh piercing her. She prayed nothing would hurt this man again.

Rising on his elbows, he looked down at her. Gently, he pushed tendrils of hair from her damp face. “Thank you, Rayna.”

She shook her head, smiling and unable to believe he was thanking her. She had no words. Instead, she pulled him down into a kiss she hoped would show exactly what he meant to her.

“Kelsey, oh thank God,” Rayna said as she dusted the newly cleaned living room and held the O’Keefes’ phone between her shoulder and her ear. “Antonio messed with my accounts. Can you
please
look and see what he did?”

Her friend Kelsey worked at Vangaard Federal where Rayna had her accounts. Rayna’s ex, Antonio, was employed there as well, though at a higher level. Now, Kelsey babbled in Rayna’s ear about everything that had happened since Rayna had left town while Rayna finished dusting and moved into the dining room. When she could fit in a word, Rayna brought her friend up to speed on what was happening—minus the sex.

Through an open door, she could see Jamie working on a computer in the small office beside the kitchen. She had no idea what he was working on. It wasn’t garage paperwork. He’s explained earlier that he went over to the shop and worked on the books a few times a week.

He looked up and smiled, creating a flutter in her belly. They’d made love again after the first time and hadn’t gotten out of bed until nearly noon.

It wasn’t until afterward that Rayna had realized they hadn’t used a condom. She’d been so caught up with him that she hadn’t considered it. At the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to be all that concerned over the oversight. Jamie assure her he was disease-free and it wasn’t her fertile time of month—not that that was foolproof. She’d deal with that later if need be. Right now, all her muddled brain kept circling to was her next time with him.

“Oh, I see what he did,” Kelsey finally said. “He blocked access to your account by marking your cards stolen. I don’t have the access to fix it. I can report the misinformation, but that will leave you without funds for days still. I can also issue you new cards and have them delivered to you.”

“That’s fine. As long as I have them in a few days…”

“He’s been by every day, you know. Fishing for information. I won’t tell him anything. Don’t worry.”

Anger knotted the muscles across her shoulders, and she tossed her dust rag on the dining room table.“It doesn’t matter what he knows. I’m not going back to him. You’d think after eight months he’d get the hint.”

She heard Kelsey sigh on the other end of the line. “I still think he’s dangerous. I’m going to bury your contact information so he doesn’t find it until you’re out of there.”

Rayna doubted that would work, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t know how the Vangaard computer records worked. After finishing with her friend, she hung up then carefully set the phone on the table though the ire tearing through her demanded a good slam. Seething, she stared at the far wall.

How dare that man? How dare he! Trying to control her life, trying to manipulate her into doing exactly what he wanted. He’d seemed so nice when they’d first dated and even until when they’d first gotten engaged. Then he’d changed. She didn’t doubt he’d try to track her down, that he’d manhandle her again. And what then? He’d start smacking her around once more? She hadn’t taken it before. She wouldn’t take it now. But the thought of facing him—

“I’m going for a walk,” she said. “I need to stop at the store and get some butter.”

“Rayna,” Jamie called, concern lacing his tone. She heard his chair roll back as he got up, but she was already out the door.

Last night’s rain had tapered to a misty drizzle that clung to her hair as she hurried down the driveway and onto the sidewalk. Leena’s store wasn’t far enough for Rayna to vent her anger, she decided as she jammed her hands into her pockets. Perhaps she’d walked to the edge of town and circle back.

“Rayna!” Jamie called again, and she heard his slightly unsteady gait as he came down the steps. She turned as he approached.

“I need to walk,” she said.

Nodding, he settled a large jacket around her shoulders. His, she decided as his masculine scent rose from the fabric. He flicked open an umbrella to cover them. “I’ll walk with you.”

“You don’t understand…” she murmured, turning into him and resting her forehead against his chest.

His arms came around her. “I understand that someone’s hurt you, and you’re pissed. I heard you say you weren’t going back to him. Are you…married?”

“No, thank heavens. We were engaged when he started showing his true colors. I broke it off, but he’s been stalking me and occasionally getting violent. After the last time, the cops tossed him in jail for the night, and I took off. And right now, I’m ticked off that he had the balls to get my cell phone shut off and mess with my bank account.”

She felt rather than heard his growl as his arms grew hard around her. She looked into his stony countenance. His jaw locked, and he appeared as if he wanted to say something. Instead, his free hand took hers.

Slowly, they made their way toward Leena’s. Neither spoke, their silence a balm to her overwrought nerves. At the store, he kissed her tenderly.

“He’s not going to touch you while you’re here,” Jamie promised.

She nodded, desperately hoping Antonio wouldn’t try to follow her. She didn’t want Jamie fighting him. And she had no doubt Jamie would.

“I’ll be on my way to Oregon before he figures out where I am,” she said.

Again, Jamie’s lips pressed together as if he wanted to say something. She was quickly getting the feeling he held in comments when he disagreed or had something unpopular to say.

“Jamie…what—”

“I’ll be over at the garage,” he interrupted. “Come over when you’re done here.” He grinned then gave her a quick kiss and headed across the street, leaving her with the umbrella. Perplexed, she watched him go. His solid form, only amplified by his limp, endeared her and screamed how strong he was. For an instant, she wished she wouldn’t be leaving here so soon, that she could stay and peel away all the layers that comprised Jamie O’Keefe, enigma.