In Too Deep (11 page)

If there was one thing she knew about her sister, it was that Melody was a fighter.

Avery needed to get off this subject before she either revealed too much or Knox saw more than she wanted.

“So, the nightmare started out a replay of that night, but somewhere in the middle it morphed into what happened with the drug runners.”

She shivered.

“You were solid when that happened. Steady as a rock. I was impressed. I know soldiers who would have lost it back there. But you were cool. Kept your head.”

“Thanks,” Avery couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at her lips.

Knox’s opinion shouldn’t matter, and yet it did. His praise sent a warm flush through her system.

“But that doesn’t mean the experience can’t haunt you days, weeks, even years later. Listen to what your subconscious is telling you, Avery. Don’t hold that fear inside. Let it out.”

She nodded. He made sense. She just didn’t know how to follow through on the suggestion.

Offering comfort, his arms wound around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his body.

She expected him to say or do something, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply held her. It took several moments for her own body to relax, melting against the hard, comforting planes of his.

And maybe because he didn’t ask, the words started flowing.

“I’ve always been awkward around men,” Avery said, her voice soft and low.

“I find that hard to believe. You’re one of the most confident, competent women I’ve ever met.”

“The pearls, heels and suits are armor. They’re easy to hide behind.”

His fingers threaded through her hair, gently urging her head back until she was looking up into his face. “I don’t think so. Maybe they started out that way, but now they’re who you are.”

“Maybe I don’t want them to be who I am.” Maybe she no longer wanted to be the stiff, remote woman everyone seemed afraid to approach. When she was younger, the walls she’d built had protected her, from embarrassment, awkward situations and the anxiety that came with putting herself out there.

But the longer those walls were up, the lonelier she became until one day she’d realized she was utterly alone, with nothing but her work to show for her life.

She’d devoted everything to Melody. Even when she had a few days away from the demands of her job, she spent them with her sister. Up until recently, she hadn’t even been certain Melody cared that she was there.

In the past eight months, Melody had been getting better and better. On her last visit they’d sat quietly together, watching movies. And when she’d gotten up to leave, Melody had offered her a hug. The kind of blind affection she hadn’t known from her sister since they were both little girls.

Avery wouldn’t trade anything in the world for those moments. But that didn’t chase away the loneliness.

Why didn’t she feel any of that with Knox? With him she wasn’t lonely or anxious or cautious. With him, she felt as if she could finally be herself.

“You have a reputation, Dr. Walsh. One you should be proud of. You worked hard to earn it.”

Avery choked on her guilt, uneasy dread mixing with unexpected pride. To hear him praise her work was a victory, especially since he’d fought so hard against having her on the team. “Says the man who didn’t want me here.”

Knox chuckled, his breath stirring the hair at her temple with moist heat.

“Your qualifications were never my concern.”

“Mmm. So, what were your concerns?”

“The same ones I still have. You’re hiding something, Avery. It makes me uneasy. I don’t trust you.”

“And yet you had no problems putting your mouth all over me on the island.”

With her back snuggled against his chest, she felt his body’s reaction to her words. His erection pressing into her hip.

“I can separate business and pleasure. My question, Avery, is can you?”

10

T
HREE
DAYS
AGO
he hadn’t known this woman, not really. And he sure as hell hadn’t trusted her—still didn’t, if truth be told. But apparently that wasn’t stopping his drive to protect.

The moment he’d heard her scream rip through the quiet night, he’d been out of bed and down the hall. Instinct rather than intelligent reaction.

Knox was enough of a soldier to realize there was a time and a place for both, but it bothered him that he hadn’t stopped to think before racing in. That kind of blind response could have gotten them both hurt if Avery had been in real trouble.

And the fact that he thought that a possibility said quite a bit. He had no idea what she was hiding, but it wasn’t good. He had to be prepared for anything.

He hadn’t intended to say he didn’t trust her, but the words had simply come out.

There was a part of him hoping she’d use the opportunity to come clean with him. But she didn’t.

Instead, she wiggled in his lap, rubbing her rear against the burgeoning ridge of his erection. Sucking in a harsh breath, Knox tightened his fingers around her hips, attempting to hold her still.

But she wasn’t having any of that.

Twisting out of his grasp, she scooted off the bed and turned to face him.

She studied him, those pale blue eyes chasing across his face. He could read the hunger there. Felt an answering response as it grew.

“Yes,” she finally said, her voice breathy. He wanted to hear her raspy cries again, to drink them in and claim them as his own.

Knox wasn’t sure he believed her. But he also wasn’t sure it really mattered any longer.

She was here, standing in front of him, asking for more. And he was fresh out of the control needed to ignore the offer.

Swallowing, she took a step closer, placing her palms on his shoulders before sweeping them down across his chest. Until that moment he’d forgotten he was half-naked.

His hands settled at her hips, fingers slipping beneath the hem of her cotton tank to find the soft skin of her belly beneath. He needed more.

A tentative grin tugging at her lips, Avery pushed him backward. When he complied, she climbed onto the bed, pressing a knee to the mattress on either side of his hips.

She settled onto his lap. His erection, caught between them, throbbed with desperation to be buried deep inside her. A delicious heat radiated from her, soaking into him, the thin shorts she wore offering little barrier.

This time, he had no intention of denying himself what he wanted most. He only had the strength to be noble once.

Sweeping the dark red strands of hair over her shoulder, Knox exposed her throat. Going in, he pressed his hot mouth against her skin. She was so soft and fragrant, like vanilla and flowers.

She sighed, the sound echoing between them, and tipped her head back to give him better access.

He wanted to savor this experience. To relish the trust she was placing in him by letting go this way.

Tugging at the delicate strap of material on her shoulder, Knox bared more of her skin. Trailing with his mouth, he sucked and worshipped, paying special attention to every pulse point he encountered until she was breathless in his arms.

And then he did the same thing on the other side, unable to tear his gaze away from the sight of the soft material that caught on her tight nipples before slipping down her body to pool in her lap.

There was something gratifying about the glazed expression on her face. The realization that he could make the entire world disappear for her with nothing more than his mouth and hands was powerful.

But there was so much more.

Lifting her up, Knox rolled them both, spreading her out across the bed. She tried to reach for the long ridge of his erection, but Knox didn’t let her get a hold. Gripping her wrists, he held her arms over her head, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the headboard.

“Don’t let go.”

Avery whimpered a protest, but didn’t move.

A grin stretched across his lips. This was going to be highly enjoyable...for both of them.

Picking up the trail where he’d left off, Knox worked slowly down her throat, across the hollow of her collarbones to the distended peak of one nipple.

Her back arched, silently asking him to lick and suck. But he wasn’t ready for that. Instead, he blew a soft stream of air over her and watched as she writhed at the caress, which was too delicate to assuage the ache building inside her.

“Please, Knox,” she groaned out, her fiery gaze following his every movement. “I need...”

Her voice trailed off, but the words weren’t necessary. “I know exactly what you need, angel.”

Knox pulled one nipple into the heat of his mouth. She bucked, her hips seeking more. But he didn’t let up the pressure. Instead, he ran just the edge of his teeth around the hard knot.

Her chest rose and fell with shallow, ragged breaths as he gave the same attention to the other side. His own body was on fire, his skin tight with the urge to rush, to claim what he wouldn’t let himself have just last night.

But he wasn’t going to do that to her. Tonight he intended to savor every cry that fell from her lips, every shiver that passed through her body and every demanding clench as the tight fist of her sex squeezed him.

He could feel the tension winding tighter inside her, drawing her muscles taut. The scent of her arousal permeated the space between them, heady and hypnotic. He wanted more of it.

Stepping back, he grasped the edge of her shorts and tugged them down her body. Her legs scissored, telling him she craved more.

But he wanted to look at her.

Standing at the end of the bed, Knox let his gaze travel down the length of her body. Avery watched him, her eyes glassy, swollen mouth parted as she tried to pull in enough air.

He understood. She took his breath away too.

“God, you’re gorgeous.”

Knox noted the erotic flush of her creamy skin, the lithe, compact muscles her extensive time in the water had given her, the delicate cast of her features and the exotic coloring of her hair and eyes.

This time, he started at the arch of her foot. Trailing his mouth across her instep, he enjoyed the way her toes flexed at the caressing tickle.

She whimpered, laughed and then groaned.

Alternating nipping bites and soothing kisses, Knox worked up her calf to the sensitive hollow behind her knee. Her inner thigh. He didn’t even have to coax her legs to open. By the time he reached the V where her hip and thigh met she was panting once more.

Restless. He knew exactly how she felt. He’d never wanted a woman so much in his life.

But there was more to this than just sex. Yes, he wanted her with a desperation that bordered on madness. That wasn’t all, though. He wanted to hear what her life had been like growing up with archaeological digs as her playground. What her hobbies were. What kind of music she liked.

Avery was strong and independent. Talented and intelligent. The kind of woman who wouldn’t hesitate to put him in his place and yet still somehow managed to be delicate and draw out his protective instincts.

And if he didn’t suspect she was keeping secrets, he might be tempted to fall at her feet right now and promise that he’d worship her forever.

But he couldn’t do that. So he settled for finishing what he’d started instead.

* * *

H
ER
BODY
WAS
going to go up in flames if Knox didn’t take her. Right. Now.

She might be a bit shy, but when she wanted something, Avery was a force to be reckoned with. And she wanted Knox McLemore.

Pushing against his shoulder, she urged him to roll onto his back. She followed, rising above him in a way that had a powerful, unfamiliar sensation surging through her body.

She had this gorgeous man willingly at her mercy. It was something she’d never thought she wanted or needed, but with Knox...he made her feel perfect and powerful.

Avery wanted to make him as mindless with need as he’d just made her. She wanted his blood to pulse. To have what he hadn’t given her last night—all of him.

Working the gym shorts over his hips, she freed his impressive erection. She’d felt the hard length of him pressed against her body, but seeing it...was so much better.

A pearl of moisture welled at the tip before sliding down. Avery took her fingertip and spread the drop, slowly caressing down the taut length of him.

He hissed, his hips pulsed and his hands fisted into the sheets.

Knox was perfection, but she wasn’t just talking about his body. Sure, the layers of muscle melded together to create an undeniably amazing landscape, but the smaller details were what caught her eyes.

The curve of his shoulder and the twist of black ink that ran across his back. The V at his groin and the tattoo of a frog skeleton that flowed up from it and was only visible now that his clothes were off. The tiny pucker of flesh several inches above and to the right of his belly button. The jagged scar along his right side.

The evidence that he’d spent years putting his life on the line, placing himself in harm’s way so that others wouldn’t have to. Noble. Honorable.

The kind of man every woman would want in her life and bed.

And she had him, gloriously, perfectly naked.

Crawling back between his open thighs, she swept her hands down over the solid wall of his chest. With delicate strokes, she paid homage to the various scars and marks across his body with her mouth.

She enjoyed the way his muscles contracted wherever she touched. The sheen of sweat that popped up across his body as he attempted to remain still while she did whatever she wanted.

Damn, the man was something else. Contained. She respected that kind of discipline. Even as she could see the need roiling faster and faster as he watched her with that hungry gaze, he didn’t rush her.

She’d never expected that kind of physical and emotional control to be a turn-on. But it was. Because it showed her, without a doubt, the kind of strength this man possessed.

It wasn’t something he bragged about. Or flaunted. It just was. A part of him he most likely didn’t even think about.

But she did.

Avery let her eyes dip down his body, much as he’d done to her. She might have felt exposed in those moments, but something told her Knox was perfectly comfortable inside his own skin. That confidence was what set him apart, what made him uniquely frustrating and appealing all at the same time.

Her focus dropped to his sex and she couldn’t help herself. She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip.

“Avery, you’re killing me here. Show a little mercy, woman.”

She smiled as she stared up into his blazing eyes. “I don’t think you really mean that.”

“Suck me, touch me, ride me, I don’t really care which, but you have about thirty seconds to make up your mind before I do it for you.”

His words were low and even, but the promise in his eyes sent a thrill racing through her.

She wanted all of those things, but right now what she wanted most was to feel him deep inside her.

Positioning her thighs on either side of his hips, Avery rose above him. The expression on his face was gratifying as he followed her every move.

Wrapping her fist around his erection, she stroked up and down several times. He was hot against her palm. Smooth and hard at the same time. She ran the pad of her thumb up over the head, pleased when his eyelids fluttered and then narrowed with warning.

The man beneath her was powerful, dynamic. He could easily have done whatever he wanted with her. And there was no doubt in her mind that she’d pushed him to the very end of the leash on his control.

There was something exciting about that knowledge.

But she didn’t want to risk pushing him anymore.

“Condom?” she asked.

“Bedside drawer,” he growled back.

It didn’t take her long to reach over, rummage around until she found a stash and then roll the tight ring of latex down over him.

But the delay felt like a lifetime. They were both panting by the time Avery brought him to the entrance of her body. She pressed down, taking him inch by inch. The twinge and pull as she stretched to accommodate him was exquisite. The slide of him against her swollen, aching flesh felt amazing.

She was torturing them both now, although she’d really been doing that all along.

Their groans mingled when her hips met his, finally taking him all in. Avery sat, unmoving, soaking in the sensations that bombarded her senses.

She could practically feel his pulse where they connected. Or maybe that was her own body.

Rising on her knees, Avery let him slide out, almost to the very tip before plunging back down again.

Fast, slow, she rode him, never taking her gaze away from his. She wanted to watch as his world fell apart, just as hers had last night.

Placing her palms on his chest, Avery braced herself as she picked up speed. Her lips latched onto the underside of his jaw, kissing, licking, biting.

More, she needed more. The orgasm was building. She could feel the sharp edges of it, but couldn’t quite reach it.

The room spun around her, but she refused to stop. Her own heartbeat thudded fast and loud against her eardrums.

His fingers tangled in her hair, holding it away from her face so he could get a clear view of her. Her entire focus was him, them. And the way he watched her...she couldn’t have looked away even if she’d wanted to.

She felt his body winding tighter and tighter beneath her, pushing up with each of her downward thrusts, trying to steal just one more inch of pleasure and connection.

But she couldn’t let go.

Seeming to sense her building frustration, Knox gripped her hips and flipped her onto her back. He loomed above her, blocking out everything and drawing her world down to just him.

It was exactly what she needed.

“Touch me, Knox. Please.”

He simply grinned at her, his expression going feral with promise.

He did a hell of a lot more than touch. Wrapping one arm beneath the bend in her knee, he pressed it up and out as he slipped deep inside her.