Men-of-Action-Seres-04 -Saints and Sinners (13 page)

“You know, Troy did live with me before he died. I packed up his things, but they’re still at my place. I don’t think he brought work home, but if he did there might be something there.” Capri Montgomery 117

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Suddenly he felt jealous of a dead man. Being jealous of a dead man was crazy, but he was. Troy had known Alaina in a way he didn’t, in a way he wanted to. He wanted her to be at ease with him in the way she had been at ease with Troy. It would take time; time he hoped they would have; time he needed to make sure they would have.

“I don’t want to take you back to your place, not yet. We’ll try the editor first. Your place is a last resort.”

“Okay. I’ll call him.”

“No,” he reached up, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, needing to feel her body pressed completely against his. “I like the element of surprise idea; always have.” She slid her hand down his body and reached between them. He moaned. She laughed.

“Can we get back to this first?”

“Absolutely.” She was ready for satisfaction and he was willing to give it to her while taking his own satisfaction in return.

By the time they surfaced for air it was too late to make the trip into Augusta. They had a quick dinner, showered and found themselves back in bed again. By midnight Alaina had fallen asleep in his arms. He looked down at her. She looked peaceful, almost angelic and vulnerable.

Despite the look of her, he knew she was strong. He liked that strength in her. Despite what she had gone through, despite the hardships and pain, she was a good person with a good heart.

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He realized if his gut turned out to be wrong that he would be wasting valuable time chasing down nothing; but if his gut happened to be right and everything was connected then their search might save Alaina’s life. He had one more option and he planned to use it. The McGregor men were, and would always be, two of the best investigative analysts he knew.

Gavin had relocated himself to South Dakota for his beautiful new wife.

Thomas, of course, was still close enough to help him immediately, and that’s what he needed. He couldn’t afford to wait. Alaina’s life depended on his promptness.

He unfolded himself from her embrace, grabbed his cell and went into the kitchen.

“Thomas,” he kept his voice at a moderate volume to avoid waking Alaina. “I need your help.”

“You’ve got it,” Thomas readily agreed. He hadn’t expected anything differently. They were a tight bunch; all of them would drop everything and walk through hell to help each other if they needed it.

There was Drake, Mike, Gavin, Thomas and somebody new Thomas had brought into their clan—a woman who most of them hadn’t met, but all of them knew about by the code name. Of course they’d all assumed she was a he. Reputation alone made them think of a man, but Thomas had assured them she was very much female. She had saved his life and he had been sure to tell them that he wouldn’t betray her trust, not even to them. Sully didn’t take offense, none of them did. They all knew secrets they couldn’t Capri Montgomery 119

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share with each other. They all knew if the time came, and disclosure was necessary, then they’d disclose only what they had to.

“Somebody is trying to kill her, Thomas. I can’t lose her. I wouldn’t survive that.” He had gone through one betrayal. He had barely survived that. He had no doubt he would live if Alaina died, but living and surviving were two different things. With Kathryn’s betrayal, he had shrunk even deeper into his armor and taken one woman’s betrayal out on every other woman until Alaina slapped him in his face with the truth.

When he met her he had felt his armor breaking, and he wouldn’t allow it—he couldn’t allow it. So he tried to paint her in a bad light to make himself distance himself from her. But that hadn’t worked. He was in love with her. If she died he’d never open his heart to another woman again.

“Tell me what you need. You need a wing man I’m there.”

“Research,” he said. “For now that’s all I need, but I might need to use some of your other special skills, my friend.”

“Okay. Which characters in this charade do you want background on?”

Sully rattled off names and details of what he wanted to know specifically, while leaving room for Thomas to gather whatever he thought was a necessity and vital to his mission of keeping Alaina alive and safe.

“And lastly,” he said. “I need some information on her father’s death. I need to know what he was doing, and who he might have had contact with before he died.” Something was going on, something that led back to her father’s death and he was sure of that fact. He felt the Saints and Sinners 120

connection in his gut, and fortunately for him his gut never lied about life and death situations. He was going to trust his instincts on this one. He was going to look into the death of both of the men who had held a significant place in Alaina’s world.

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“D
octor Robert Faulkner; are you sure about that?” Sully watched the sudden shocked expression appear on Alaina’s face. She knew the name and he wanted to know why and how. “Okay, Thomas, thanks.” He hadn’t been able to get anything from Troy’s previous editor.

It wasn’t that the man didn’t want to help; it was that he didn’t know anything. Troy had kept his secret hidden well and because of that he had taken it to his grave. Fortunately, Thomas had ways of finding things most people would never be able to uncover—it’s why he was such an expert private investigator. Sully didn’t think there was anything the man couldn’t find out—except maybe one thing. So far he hadn’t been able to track down the rouge government agent who had nearly gotten him killed.

Sully didn’t doubt Thomas would find him. He was sure the man didn’t plan on stopping until he took his last breath.

“I might need your help,” he spoke absently into the phone as he watched the play of emotions on Alaina’s face. What was she Saints and Sinners 122

remembering? “Let me call you back, Thomas.” After assuring Thomas everything on his end was okay, and that there wasn’t a current threat standing in front of him, he disconnected the call.

“Talk,” he basically ordered.

“What?” She stammered.

“You know this Doctor Faulkner. Who was he to you?”

“No; who is he to whatever research you have your friend doing for you?” She countered with measured anger.

“Answer my question, Alaina. I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Neither am I. What I want to know is what Bob has to do with anything.”

“Bob? Who was he to you, Alaina?”

“Was?” His words registered differently to her this time. “Is he…is he dead?”

“Seems that way.”

She leaned against the counter for support. “When? How?”

“My question first, Alaina. Who was he to you?”

“He was the doctor who delivered me. He remained my doctor until…well, actually it wasn’t that long after my father died. Liz started making me see one of her doctors not long after that. I always missed Bob.

He was so nice, and gentle. He never let me get a shot without distracting me. He knew how afraid of needles I was and he would always make me laugh or talk about art. He insisted I not call him Doctor, but rather he Capri Montgomery 123

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wanted me to call him Bob. He was like the nicest doctor ever. He listened.” She seemed to get lost in the past. He needed her in the present.

“He was murdered.”

“What? When? How?”

“House fire,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “And what’s so odd about the presumed arson of the good doctor’s house is that it happened two weeks after your father’s death.”

“What are you saying, Sully?”

“And more interesting is that shortly after that, the good doctor’s son, Robert Faulkner Jr., died conveniently in his bathtub. Something about accidently knocking the radio into the bath with him.” She shook her head. “Coincidence?”

“I think not,” he brushed his fingers down her arm. “Thomas spoke with an old lady friend of his. It would appear that RF Jr., preferred showers to baths. So what was he doing in the tub?”

“I don’t understand any of this.”

“I don’t either—yet. I assure you I plan to find out what the hell is going on here.” He didn’t know what the two doctors had to do with this mess, but he was sure everything was related. He didn’t believe in coincidences, especially not ones of astronomical proportions. If these deaths weren’t connected he’d eat his shorts. He growled low in his throat.

Right now, being this close to Alaina was making him think about eating something else—something entirely delicious.

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He couldn’t think straight when he was around her. He could barely focus. Right now there were a thousand leads he should be trying to investigate. But right now the only thing he could think about was tasting the sexy woman in front of him.

Sully needed to taste her, touch her, explore every inch of her and he needed to do it now. Never before had a need been so urgent in him that it overtook him, consumed him, pushed him over the threshold.

He covered her mouth with his, letting his tongue slip inside her mouth and conquer her tongue. Lick for lick he tasted her with a hunger so deep he thought it might never be satiated. He felt her respond, pulling closer to him, clinging to him as he devoured every crevice of her mouth, sucked her tongue and enjoyed the sweet taste of her.

His hands slipped low, expertly finding the straps of her tank top and pulling them off her shoulder pushing the fabric away from her naked breasts. “Hmm,” he moaned as his fingers traced her curves.

“Sully,” she moaned as he pulled his mouth away from hers. He backed her up against the refrigerator door before dipping his head low and sucking on her hardened nipple. She tasted so good, so sweet, so intoxicatingly arousing. He would never get enough of this, enough of her.

“I need to taste you,” Alaina. “I want my tongue in you, and I want you to come for me, baby.” His breath brushed against her ear as he whispered his arousing words to her. “Tell me you want it too,” he let his teeth nip at her neck between sweet kisses and subtle sweeps of his tongue against her skin.

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“Yes,” she moaned. “I want it.”

He kneeled before her, pushed her skirt above her behind and swiftly lowered her panties. “Damn,” he mumbled before sliding his tongue up her slick folds. “You’re mine, Alaina. Don’t ever doubt that.” His possessive streak took over him. She was his, and he wasn’t letting her go. He wouldn’t let anybody hurt her. He would die before he let that happen.

He continued to taste her, lick her, suck her. Hearing her moans, feeling her try to undulate her hips to get closer. Instead of letting her have control he claimed her in his own way, gripping her hips to keep her steady as his tongue explored her most intimate parts.

“Sully! Please…” Her voice caught with her sharp inhale as he continued to devour her with his mouth. He felt her trembling, heard her screaming in pleasure and it pushed him forward, made him suck and lick and taste her just that much harder.

He felt it when she started to come; felt her trembling convulsions hit hard. He heard her screaming, begging for more, clinging to him without mercy and trying desperately to hold his head to her. He had no intention of letting up until her last wave of pleasure left her too weak to stand.

She came hard, explosively loud, and he took pride in the pleasure he gave his woman. She was his; he was hers; there would never be any doubt in his mind about that. God help the bastard who was trying to kill Saints and Sinners 126

her because he wouldn’t have mercy. He planned to find the enemy, and sanctioned or not, he would terminate the threat. He would keep her safe.

“I can’t wait,” he mumbled against her ear. “I can’t wait to get inside of you.” His need was so urgent, so powerful that he knew there was no way he could make it to the bed. He was going to have to take her right there, right now.

He unzipped his pants, undid the button and pushed his pants and underwear over his behind; both pooled around his ankles as he lifted her to his waist. His erection effortlessly found what it sought and he slid into her so fast so hard that she screamed out his name. His thick shaft pumped in and out of her. Her back thudded against the refrigerator. With each thrust he sunk in deeper, his pulsing manhood stretching her wider. Her sex clenched around him as her eyes closed tight.

“Sully!”

“Come for me baby,” he groaned as he pushed deep into her.

Hearing her scream his name, feeling her cling to him as if she needed him closer—as if he could get any closer than he already was. He lifted her, easing out of her just enough to let her sink back down on his erection and sinking deep into her.

“Sully!” She screamed his name over and over again, edging him on, pushing him over the edge as he thrust into her hard, fast, and relentless.

She came with a loud scream and a hard shudder that raked her body over. Her muscles clinching him, milking him hard.

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