Love in the Shadows (14 page)

A wave of feelings overcame him. He
opened his mind to hers, sharing his incredible love for her. His
arms tightened around her waist, crushing her to him. He kissed her
again, desperate to show her how much she meant to him.

“Shit! Where the hell did you two come
from? You’re lucky I didn’t shoot your ass, Red Hawk. Why didn’t
you warn me that you were coming home?” Stacey’s voice came from
the doorway.

Derek waved at her with one hand, while
continuing to kiss Katherine deeply.

“You need to get a room,” Stacey
started. “Oh, I guess this is your room. Sorry, I’m going to go
now.” Derek heard her footsteps going down the hall.

He reached for the buttons on
Katherine’s shirt. In moments it lay on the floor. Continuing to
kiss her, he undid the button of her skirt, letting it fall at her
feet. She stepped out of her heels, and the skirt fell to the
floor. Her bra and panties were next. He ran his hands up and down
her silky skin before lifting her up in his arms and carrying her
to the bed.

He lay her down on the
blue-velvet comforter. Her red hair and porcelain skin glowed. He
slipped out of his loafers and joined her on the bed. She reached
for his shirt. He stopped her with a hand on her wrists. “Tonight
is for you,
tehila
. Let me take care of you.”

She nodded and stilled. Derek leaned
over, taking one of her nipples into his mouth. Her hands gripped
his hair and pulled him closer to her. He licked and sucked before
nipping the little bud. Katherine moaned and arched her back,
begging for more.

More was exactly what he wanted to give
her. He switched to the other side while kneading the moist nubbin
of the first breast in his hand. He sucked her deep into his mouth
and twirled his tongue around the nipple that grew longer and
harder from his attention. When she began to quiver, he nipped her
lightly. She cried out, her hands holding him tight to her
breast.

He rose up kissing his way down her
flat stomach. He moved to between her legs, pulling her thighs open
to admire the fiery red curls between her legs that glistened with
moisture. He pulled her legs up over his shoulders before settling
down to feast.

He blew across her flesh, and she
moaned. Lifting her hips, she tried to entice him to get closer. He
sucked the moisture off her curls before fingering her folds,
opening them to his gaze. He felt his body stir and harden. He
pushed his desire down and licked up her slit. This was for her.
Only her pleasure mattered.

He pushed his tongue into her hot core,
lapping at her. She began to pant, and he knew she was close. He
continued to tease and tantalize, first licking and then sucking,
on the little bundle of nerves. Once more, she raised her hips,
pushing her mound against his lips. He licked some more, then
pushed two fingers into her warmth.

Her muscles quivered, and her head
began to thrash. She began to beg him, her words coming out
strangled as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. He continued
to circle her clit with his tongue and then used his lips to press
on the swollen flesh.

Her hips began to buck. Derek curled
his fingers up inside her, making sure to run them across the
sensitive flesh of her core. She screamed. Her muscles clamped down
around his fingers as moisture gushed into his palm. He continued
to stroke her, riding her orgasm until she lay spent.

He licked his lips as he lowered her
legs to the bed. He crawled off the bed and lowered the covers,
then leaned down and kissed her as he swept her up and placed her
between the sheets. He continued to kiss her as he pulled the
blanket over her. Her eyes were already fighting to stay open. He
kissed her nose and stepped back, watching over her as she slipped
into sleep.

He stood there, watching as her chest
slowly rose and fell with each breath. She was everything to him.
His reason to live. He looked around the room they decorated
together and felt his heart swell even further.

Turning, he made his way out of the
room, closing the door behind him. It was time to find whoever was
behind this and make him pay for every tear Katherine had
shed.

Derek made his way downstairs and found
Stacey in the kitchen. She sat at the table, a cup of coffee in her
hand.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” she
asked.

“This situation has got to stop. I want
this guy nailed.” Derek walked over and poured himself a cup before
joining her at the table. “What else have you learned?”

Stacey yawned. “Besides the fact that
you and Kathy burn so hot I’m surprised you haven’t started a
fire?” She chuckled. “What I wouldn’t give to have a man look at me
like you do her.” She shook her head. Derek wanted to ask her if
she saw how Hugh looked at her, but kept quiet.

Her face dropped the charming smile.
“Someone wants you dead, Red Hawk, and your girlfriend with you. I
can’t trace it back to the lab in the Amazon. Whoever this is, it
isn’t about your crazy doctor.”

“Wanting me dead was easy to figure
after the car bomb. I need to know who.”

“I can’t answer that. None of my
contacts knows anything. Which tells me this isn’t about your
working for the general. This is personal, Derek. Who did you piss
off so much that he wants to kill you?”

“I wish I knew…” Derek shook his head.
It had been a rollercoaster day, and his thoughts were all jumbled.
He needed to get some rest if he wanted to figure this out. He got
up and moved to the sink to pour the coffee down the drain. He
walked back to the table and patted Stacey on the shoulder. “Thanks
for having my back, Johnson. See you in the morning.”

“Yeah. I’ll be up as soon as one of the
guys gets back.”

Derek nodded and headed for the
stairs.

§

When Katherine woke the next morning,
Derek lay wrapped around her, his arm on her waist and his leg
draped over hers. She snuggled back against him. She shouldn’t have
let him get away with last night. His pleasure was important to
her. She had felt so fragile, so ready to break. His lovemaking let
her put it all aside and just be.

She felt a certain part of him pushing
against her behind. He began to wake up, and she wanted to give him
some of the pleasure he had given her last night. She turned in his
arms, pressing tight against him. He sighed, pulling her
closer.

She kissed his neck, then sucked his
ear lobe. She curled her tongue around it before nipping lightly.
Derek’s arms squeezed her, and his hand found her breast, massaging
gently. She kissed her way over his collarbone and down his chest,
until she could suck one of his nipples. She circled the little bud
with her tongue, tasting his musky skin before moving to the other
side. He petted her hair before running his hand down her back. He
rolled to his back, holding her tight, so she now lay on top of
him.

The length of hardness pressing against
her proved his desire matched hers. She continued to kiss and lick
his skin, making her way down his rippled stomach to the dark V of
hair. Using her hand, she caressed his hard length up and down
before encircling it with her fist. He was rock-hard, but his skin
was so soft. She ran her fingers along him, loving the
feel.

He jerked in her hand, and his breath
hissed. A drop of liquid formed on the head, and she quickly licked
it off. His hands tightened in her hair. She licked him like her
favorite treat, curling her tongue around his length.

“Katie, you’re killing me.” His voice
came out gruff and broken.

Katherine smiled, then leaned down to
swallow him. She sucked him deep into her mouth, needing to please
him. He groaned, and his hips thrust up. She pulled back and took
him deep again, sucking his length. Over and over, she teased him,
sucking and then licking. He began to tremble.

“Baby, I’m going to come.”

Katherine sucked him deep and
swallowed, letting her throat muscles constrict him. She played
with his balls, rolling them in her hand. She heard him swear, then
he took control. With his hands fisted in her hair, he pumped in
and out, hitting the back of her throat. She tried to swallow him.
She felt his balls draw up and his body begin to shake. He pumped
once, twice, and then he came. He shouted her name. She sucked down
his essence, wanting every drop.

When he finally quieted, she released
him. She looked up, feeling triumphant. His gaze shone with love as
he looked at her. He tenderly ran his hand over her cheek and then
his thumb over her swollen lips.

“Come here, baby.” He reached for her,
drawing her up. He kissed her, exploring her mouth, taking what she
freely gave. Everything.

“Are you ready? Send the email. I’m
sure Nurse Eschback will be right up.” Derek stood over Katherine’s
desk watching her type the internal department email. This plan
began with the nurse.

“I want to come with you tonight,”
Katherine said. “The plan won’t work if they think you’ve left
alone.”

“Only until we are out of sight of the
building. Then, you will shadow-walk yourself home and wait for
me.”

“Don’t you think they will smell a trap
if one minute I’m in the car with you and the next minute, I’m
gone?”

“I’m hoping they will assume you are
sleeping and slouched down. All we need is for them to show
themselves. Joe and Hugh will be driving vehicles, one in front and
one behind to ensure my safety. I will feel much better if I know
you are home safe.”

Katherine opened her mouth to argue,
but the elevator dinged. Derek stepped back and into the shadows in
the corner of her office. Katherine turned and watched the elevator
doors open and Nurse Eschback walk out.

“I got your email. How many people have
signed up to run?” she asked as she walked up to Katherine’s
desk.

“Wait a minute, where did I put that
list?” Katherine made a show of looking through the papers on her
desk. “I wanted to make sure I gave you the information before I
left with Derek tonight to go to Isanti’s ranch house. Oh, here it
is.” She lifted her face, hoping that Eschback couldn’t tell that
she lied, and handed the paper over to the nurse.

“Only three names? I hoped for
more.”

Katherine shrugged her shoulders and
smiled. “Not much interest this year. Running in the desert heat is
difficult at times.”

“Yes, well, I’ll let the doctor know.
Thank you, Mrs. Sloane. Enjoy your visit with Mr. Quiet Thunder. He
is a very peaceful person. I always enjoy his visits.”

“He is indeed. We leave right after
work. I won’t mind going to the mountains and leaving the desert
behind for a while.”

Nurse Eschback turned and moved to the
elevator. Katherine pretended to read a file on her desk while
secretly watching the woman. When the elevator doors finally closed
with Nurse Eschback inside, Katherine sighed and rested her head in
her palms.

A cold hand rested on her shoulder, and
she jumped. “Hey that’s cold.”

“Sorry, Shadow is always cold.” Derek
rubbed his hands together and blew on them. He reached for
Katherine’s shoulders again. “You did great. I don’t think the
nurse noticed anything unusual. Better?” He messaged some of the
tension away.

“Hhmm, much better. Now about
tonight.”

“Oh, thanks for reminding me. Joe wants
the teams to meet to discuss it. Will you be all right while I’m
gone?”

“Why can’t I come? I’ll be in the car
at the beginning anyway.”

“We need you here at your desk in case
someone is checking up on you. I don’t think it will take very
long.”

Hugh appeared from out of the shadows
with Stacey in his arms. “Holy shit, what did you do to me? Why
does my breast burn? Can the cold burn you?” Stacey’s eyes were
covered with a black scarf. Hugh lowered her to the floor and
removed the blindfold.

Stacey clutched her breast that was now
exposed beneath a leather jacket. “Where the hell is my shirt and
bra? Dammit, Hugh. What the hell is going on here?”

Stacey clutched her jacket closed. She
reached for the zipper and gasped when she found it
gone.

“I told you only all-natural
materials.” Hugh shook his head.

Stacey looked up and noticed Derek and
Katherine watching her and Hugh. Her eyes widened as she spotted
the New Mexican desert through the window. “No way. That’s not
possible. How did we get here?”

“It’s need-to-know, Stacey. You don’t
need to know.” Hugh pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Let
me see that mark on your breast.”

Stacey clutched her jacket tighter and
stared up at Hugh, confusion stamped on her face.

“I need to see if you are all right.
Let me see if you’ve hurt yourself.” Hugh coaxed her. Stacey let
him pull the jacket open and look at her. “It burns…,” she
whispered.

His gaze tender, Hugh leaned down and
blew gently on the reddened flesh. Katherine looked up at Derek and
remembered the night Shadow marked her as his mate. The little
heart tattoo burned for a couple of hours.