Exposure (24 page)

Along the way, he called McCannon and got
the same story Raven texted, but he was assured the FBI agent had
put a man in a car outside Elements, just in case. Noah suspected
Rizzoli's hitman already had an in with her, or had made contact
before. He had no basis for this, but his gut was rarely wrong. All
of her exhibits and meetings with artists just left her wide open
for attack. He didn't like it.

And it seemed like the guy was screwing with
them. Texts and notes and car tails. Almost like he was taunting
them. Any professional would've had this wrapped up by now.

The pitting sensation in his gut dropped
when he saw her apartment again. The bastard had left no drawer
unturned. "Box up her books and knickknacks," he said to the
guards. "Leave the furniture." He'd send a cleaning service in for
the rest.

Making his way to her bedroom, his hands
clenched at the violation. Her panties and clothes were strewn
everywhere. Her jewelry box was broken in pieces on the dresser.
Hell. Nicole had given her that.

"I need a box," he shouted and thanked Hintz
when he brought one.

He threw most of her clothes into garbage
bags for charity. She could be upset if she wanted, but it was all
polluted. He'd buy her new clothes. Most of the ones she wore had
been transferred to his place anyway. Kneeling in the closet to
pack her shoes, he found pink paper on the floor.

He collected the letters he'd written and
leaned against the doorframe. Seemed like a long time ago, after
all that had happened. A desperate, lonely man had penned these,
wishing for something he couldn't have. And now that he had her,
they were threatening to take her away. He rubbed his thumb over
the stationery, surprised she'd kept them, even more surprised at
the well of emotion rising in his chest knowing she had.

A few other miscellaneous items littered the
closet floor. He put them in the box and rose. Before leaving the
room, he texted a list of things for his assistant to purchase and
shot it off to Veronica, asking that she have them delivered to the
condo.

Leaving the rest to a cleaning crew, he
headed to the Super's office downstairs and gave him a check
covering the remainder of Raven's lease.

As they pulled away from the building,
regret tore at him. They'd had many Friday night dinners and good
times as friends in that apartment. He sighed and rested his hand
on the box beside him. They'd evolved since then into something not
even he had hoped for. And no way in hell was he letting anything
come between them.

***

"
W
hat would you
like to do for dinner?"

Raven glanced up at Noah, leaning on the
doorframe to her office. He wore faded jeans and a black Henley
under his thick down jacket. And she thought him in a tux was sexy.
"Hi. You look better." She closed her program and reached for her
coat.

He nodded to Max, who stepped out. "Don't
put that on yet."

"My coat? Why?"

From her office viewpoint, she watched Max
and Jones set the alarm code, cut the lights, and went out the
front door.

"Alone at last." His grin was wicked. He
shoved off the doorframe, turned off the lights, and strode toward
her with only the dim hall light at his back.

"What are you up to?" Was it possible to
swallow your own tongue? In his predatory gait, he drew closer, and
her heart pumped. How did he do this every time?

He tossed his coat on a chair and rounded
her desk, setting his hands on her hips until her ass met the edge.
"I told you I had a fantasy about you and this desk."

She forced an exhale. "You can't mean--"

"I do mean." His head dipped closer and he
kissed his way up her neck to her ear. He inhaled deep and groaned.
His hands slowly worked up her skirt, until the material bunched at
her waist.

Oh, God. That…was too good--his hands
parting her thighs and callused thumbs rubbing over her flesh.
"Someone will see." Her head fell back. She held him to her,
contradicting her argument, and shivered.

"The lights are off, the doors are locked,
and my men are outside guarding the building. No one will see." He
unbuttoned her blouse and spread it open, revealing her white bra.
Cupping her breasts, he licked his way from her collarbone to suck
at her nipple through the lace.

She couldn't think when he was touching her.
He set her on fire. Embers that never cooled. By no means had
things ever grown boring or routine between them. Each time they
crashed together, it was more explosive than the last.

"Reach behind you and swipe the stuff off
your desk."

Panting, she turned her head to look at her
perfect order. Neat piles and everything in its rightful place. She
couldn't. No…but, ah. He latched onto the other breast.

He eased her panties past her knees,
grinning against her damp nipple through the bra, then yanked the
cups down, thrusting her breasts out for his viewing. "Come on,
baby. Swipe the desk. You know you want to."

She moaned when he cupped her heat, pressing
his palm to her mound, and continuing the assault on her senses by
kissing her neck. His fingers flicked over her clit, spreading the
wetness and wrenching another moan from her chest.

Insanely needing his skin against hers, the
drugging heat and more of his scent, she gripped the hem of his
shirt and tugged it over his head. She paused to admire the ridges
of muscle, skimming her fingertips over the dips and peaks,
relishing the power when he sucked in a breath at her
exploration.

"I love your body, Noah." She swirled her
finger around his navel.

His mouth crushed hers, his tongue pushing
past her lips to mate with hers. Desperate. Demanding. The edge of
reason. Stepping between her legs, he grabbed her backside, spread
her cheeks and ground his erection against her core, sending her
into orbit.

"Do it, Raven. Swipe the desk. I'll lay you
out and pound into you. You'll come so hard--"

She flung her arm back, sending everything
atop her desk crashing to the floor.

He wasted no time. He unzipped his jeans,
shoving them to his thighs to free his erection. She reached for
him, stroking the soft skin over his hard shaft as he lifted her
onto the desk. He grabbed her wrists, pinned them behind her back,
and thrust deep.

Ah, God.
Yes.
So, so full. She could
feel every inch of him gliding against her walls. Hot and hard.

She tried to ease back onto the desk and lay
across the top, but he held her wrists firm. Her spine bowed, the
top of her head nearly against the wood and body arched off the
surface, rooting him deeper. He pulled out, until only his tip
remained inside. The withdrawal was too much. She needed…she
needed…

"Noah,
please
."

"Is this what you want, baby?" Using her
bound arms as leverage, he brought her down onto his shaft at the
same time his hips jutted forward.

They collided. Hard. His pelvis ground into
her clit. His thick cock shoved deep. Every nerve ending charged
and fractured. She moaned. Begged. As if fueled by her response
alone, he repeated the motion, faster, harder.

And she came in a blinding rush of wet heat,
clenching around him to hold him inside, desperate to keep him
there. Her muscles quaked. The air wheezed from her lungs.

"You're mine." His voice was raw and
strangled, as if each word was torn out. "Never get enough of you.
Never."

Cursing under his breath, he continued the
motions, building her back up. Drawing out, driving deep.
Manipulating her body to his will, until another orgasm ripped
through her with no warning. Lungs seizing and muscles contracting,
she screamed in bliss as he slammed into her.

He pumped hard twice more and threw his head
back as he held her to him. With hot jets, he came, his body poised
stiff over hers. Releasing her wrists, he collapsed onto her chest,
palms pressed to the desk on either side of her head.

His hot breath panted against her neck. "You
let me bind you." He lifted his head to look down at her. Awe and
something she couldn't pin down shone in his blue eyes. "You let me
bind you the whole time. Not once did you panic."

She hadn't thought about it. So ensconced in
pleasure, she hadn't had time for fear. The only thing in her head
was how he touched her and tasted her and took her like an animal.
She'd loved it.

The truth hit her hard. He'd been right when
he'd said she didn't completely trust herself. But an ingrained
part of her trusted him to take her there.

He cupped her cheeks, face twisted as if he
wanted to say more, but was forcing it back. After a moment, he
dropped his forehead to hers. "Come on, baby. Let's get you
home."

"
T
o another
successful show." Nicole clinked her champagne flute to Raven's.
"We sold out."

Raven grinned and scanned the thinning
crowd. Another thirty minutes and they could call it a wrap. "She's
very talented. I knew her work would sell."

Her gaze scanned the far wall where twenty
exquisite pieces hung in symmetry. Their artist, Gloria, had an eye
for unique architecture, but her show on native Inuits was
spectacular. The only hitch tonight had been when a tourist had
mistakenly called them Eskimos--a derogatory insult in these parts.
The poor man hadn't known better, and Nicole had diverted a scene
by whisking the guy off to the food table and flirting until the
artist had stopped seething.

"I assume, by the way Noah's stripping you
naked with his eyes, that we're not going out for drinks?" Nicole
tilted her head.

Guilt slammed into her. This was three shows
now where she'd bailed on Nicole. "I'm sorry. Can you blame me?"
She regrettably tore her gaze away from where Noah was talking to a
small group.

Nicole sighed. "No, I can't blame you. He's
so lickable." She took a healthy sip of champagne. "I need a
man."

"You've had many lovers, as recently as two
nights ago, if memory of our conversation serves." Nicole wasn't
easy by any means, but she enjoyed the opposite sex.

"None of them look at me like that." Nicole
pursed her lips, pointing to where Noah was still watching from
across the room. "And the sex is boring. I mean, forget Fifty
Shades. I'd take twenty-five shades. In any color. Doesn't have to
be grey."

Raven laughed. "How about next Friday? Just
me and you, wherever you want to go. We'll see if we can find you
someone a little naughty. That's your problem. You pick nice
guys."

"Sure. Why not?"

Raven made her way across the room,
attempting not to draw attention, and plastered a smile on her
face. Her steps faltered. Something wasn't right. Intuition stopped
her dead. Not sure what was wrong, she glanced around trying to
find the trigger for her unease.

Her eyes trained on a thin red laser beam of
light shining in from the window, stopping on her chest. Like one
of those toys for cats to chase.

Noah screamed her name.

Heart pounding, she turned toward him,
confused.

Noah yelled for Max, his body poised to run.
He lifted his arm, as if in a plea to stop, as two of his guards
moved in on him. Fighting them, he tried to shove them aside, arms
flailing. "
Nooo
." His voice bounced off the walls.

Shielding him, his guards dragged him to the
floor.

Wait. Shielding him? From what?

Oh God. What was happening? The breath
caught in her throat. Terror froze her in place, her limbs useless
blocks of ice.

Glass broke. Chaos ensued.

Guests screamed and ran. The front door flew
open. Two men with guns raised entered the foyer. A crack echoed,
booming through the room, rupturing her eardrums.

The air punched from her lungs as someone
launched into her side. They hit the floor hard, her facedown and a
man covering her. A sharp pain seared her hip from impact. His
muscles were tense, hard against her back. He had his hand on her
forehead as a buffer between it and the bamboo floor. His weight
was crushing.

Hot, shaky breath fanned her cheek. "Stay
down, Miss Crowne," he grated. "I've got you."

"Oh God. Max?"

He groaned as if in pain. Drew in a harsh
breath. "Yes, ma'am." His body shifted slightly, as if looking over
his shoulder. "Just a minute more. The feds are chasing him on the
street."

Chasing who?

"What's happening?" A sob rose in her
chest.

Oh God. Was Noah okay? Where was Nicole?

"It's okay, Miss Crowne. I've got you."

A violent shudder ripped through her body.
Max held her tighter, pinning her to the floor.

"We're clear!" Someone shouted from behind
them, making her flinch.

Max eased up enough for her to roll over.
His pained gaze swept over her before his arms gave out and he
momentarily collapsed on top of her. With a groan, he raised
himself again and muttered, "You're okay, you're okay," as if
needing to assure himself. He rolled to his back next to her,
panting heavily.

"Raven!"

Oh,
Noah
! Thank God.

She sat up, trembling from head to toe.
Disoriented, she pressed her hand to her forehead as the room spun.
Where was he?

The men who'd charged the front door were
walking around, issuing patrons out of the gallery. The cops? Feds?
Was the hell had happened?

Why couldn't she stop shaking?

"Raven!" Noah rushed across the room,
dropping to his knees beside her. He looked like he didn't know
whether to kiss her or kill someone. Anger and concern shone his
eyes, in the twist of his mouth. Then, he stopped breathing.

"You're hit." He craned around. "Get me an
ambulance!" When he turned back, his breaths were soughing and his
hands frantically ran over her body. Tears welled in his wide, blue
eyes. "Where, baby? Where are you hit?" His hands pressed,
searched.