Riding the Storm (25 page)

The
velvet strokes of his tongue against hers drove her mad, and the slide of the
piercing there made her wonder how his tongue would feel in other places.

"You
aren't running this time," he said softly, so sure, so arrogant, but the
fight had gone out of her.

"No."
Despite her actions over the last few hours, running wasn't in her nature, and
it was time to face some of her demons.

She
helped strip him of his shirt, but then he pressed her back onto the bed and
grazed his lips across her collarbone as he worked off his boots and pants. The
sight of his naked body brought a rush of hunger, an animal need for
skin-on-skin contact. If she had all night, she'd lick every one of the tattoos
that marked the right side of his body, but she had a few minutes at most.

The
more worked up she got, the more danger Creed might be in.

Right
now, though, the danger was to her, because he'd taken her breast in his mouth,
and before she could catch her breath, he cupped her sex, pressed inward with
the heel of his palm until the pressure made her whimper.

"That's
it," he murmured against her skin. "I want to hear you."

She
didn't want him to hear her, to know how weak she was, how she couldn't control
her own body when he was in the same room, let alone doing erotic things to
her. All she had to do was tell him to stop…

Not a
chance. Not when his tongue rasped over her nipple, sending flame-hot sensation
licking deep into places his tongue hadn't yet been.

She
moaned, threaded her hands through his silky hair and held him there. She could
feel moisture pool between her folds, and she twisted, trying to find relief in
his touch.

"So
demanding." His voice was deep, rough, edged with wicked intent.

He
pulled off her underwear in a flash. This could end in disaster, but right now
she didn't care. She wanted his mouth trailing down her belly like that, his
tongue swirling in her navel as his fingers stroked her swollen pussy.

His
hungry gaze lifted and held hers as though asking permission, and she answered
by spreading her legs wide. Heart pounding, she watched as he kneeled between
them and lowered his head.

Panic
flared at the first puff of hot air against her sex. No one had done this to
her, and she squirmed with both impatience and nerves.

"Easy,"
he whispered, and held her thighs with gentle pressure as he used his thumbs to
spread her slick flesh. "I've wanted to do this for so long…

She
shivered at his words even as her skin burned.

the
first, tentative swipe of his tongue through her valley brought her off the bed
with a cry. A low, humming sound welled up from deep in his chest, and he drove
his tongue inside her, eating her in earnest. Sensation shot through her,
electric pinpricks that started at the place where Creed's ball piercing
flicked over her clit and ended in her fingertips.

"Creed,"
she gasped, and his tongue moved faster, dancing in her hot honey and then
thrusting inside her.

Too
much, it was too much. Her skin tightened until she thought it would crack, and
her womb began to clench, and oh, God, lightning crackled through her veins.

"Stop!"
She pushed him away, scrambled back on the bed, her entire body shaking and her
sex quivering with the need to climax. "I'll shock you. I can't control
it. Not when I come." She was babbling, but her body and mind were a mix
of sensations she couldn't contain, which obviously affected her mouth as well.
"You seem to be immune, but…

Creed
crawled up her body, his eyes nearly black with lust, and gripped her hip as
though ensuring she wouldn't run. "You've been trying to shock me?"

Swallowing
dryly, she stared at his hard cock, the bulging, purplish head and the veins
she wanted to trace with her lips. She knew how he tasted, salty and metallic,
and her mouth watered, relieving the dryness.

"Annika?"

"Right.
Yeah. I've tried to light you up a few times. You piss me off a lot."

"Well,
if I'm immune… He grinned, a sinister, sinful grin, and slid his hand between
her legs before she could protest. "Let's see what happens."

"But…
But the last time a man had touched her intimately, with nothing but his
fingers, she'd nearly killed him.

"Shh.
I'll take my chances." He pushed a finger inside her and covered her mouth
with his, and she was already so primed, so ready, that when his thumb circled
her clit, she exploded.

Her
body jerked off the bed as every cell seemed to vaporize, ignited by heat and
electricity and Creed's talented touch. She heard a scream, and somewhere in
the back of her foggy mind she registered Creed's groan, the way he twitched,
and, oh, God, she hoped she hadn't electrocuted him.

She
trembled, unable to function on any level until her body stopped writhing and
her skin stopped sizzling, and then Creed was on top of her, peering into her
eyes in amazement.

"Holy
shit," he panted. "That was so fucking hot." His hand stroked
the length of her side, stopping now and then to cup her breast. "It was
like my piercings were connected. Like electrical conduits. Fuck, Annika, I
felt your orgasm."

"I'm
just glad I didn't fry you."

But
damn, she felt free like never before. Her fear was gone, along with the fear
of the fear. She hated being afraid, hated worrying about Creed when she'd
never worried about anyone in her life.

Best
of all, she could have sex.

As
though a weight had been lifted, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and
arched her hips into his rock-hard erection.

"Now.
I want it all." She had never been one to drag out her wants. Instant
gratification was more her style.

"Yes,
ma'am," he said, and shoved her thighs apart with one of his.
"Dammit. Hold on. Condom."

"I'm
on the pill," stupidly, her nerves making her mouth run without the
benefit of thought. Of course he knew she was on the pill. Like many agencies,
ACRO required all female field operatives to take birth control. "And I
don't want to feel you through a condom. Not for my first time."

"
Our
first time."

"Well,
yeah. But it's my first time ever."

He
blinked. "Could you say that again?"

"First
time. You deaf? I'm a virgin." And geez, was he ever going to get on with
it? He just kept staring at her. It was enough to make a girl paranoid.

"But…
Dev?"

She
rolled her eyes. "I'm not sleeping with him. I let guys think I am so
they'll leave me alone. I've never had sex because, you know, fifty-thousand
volts into a dude's tool… I mean, I've gotten guys off, but—"

"Yeah,
I could've not known that." He moved over her, swallowing audibly, his
gaze taking her in like she'd given him some kind of great gift. A Ferrari or
courtside pro basketball tickets instead of a stupid cherry.

A
shard of irritation speared her. "Are you just going to stare at me all
night?"

His
eyes cut up to hers sharply. "Hell, no." He stretched over her and
sucked her earlobe between his lips. "God, Annika," he murmured,
"to be the only man who's had you… He shuddered, and she hooked her calves
around his legs to bring him in where she needed him.

"Then
have me." She reached between them and grasped his cock, squeezed,
fascinated at the way the tattooed side burned hotter than the other.

Lifting
her knee, she made room for his slim hips between her thighs, and guided him to
her entrance. He hesitated, looked down at her fiercely, possessively, and her
breath caught.

"I
don't know what to do," she admitted, hoping he wouldn't think she was
completely inept. She had experience on the giving end—she'd made sure of
that—but receiving like this was a new thing, and she despised being an amateur
at anything.

"I'll
teach you."

He
pushed, entered her gently, millimeter by millimeter, then pulling back and
starting over again. She'd have complained about the time he took, but his
thick length stretched her deliciously, sliding over nerve endings that fired
and popped, unaccustomed to the slow, erotic massage.

Creed's
groan rumbled in his chest, tickling hers. "You're so tight. So wet. Wrap
your legs around me."

She
did, and desire pooled and pulsed. She'd waited so long for this, and she
wasn't in the mood for slow and easy and sappy. She wanted rough and wild and a
big, fat, emotional disconnect.

"Fuck
me, Creed. I won't break."

"I
don't want to hurt you."

"Jesus!"
She rocked up against him, sheathing him fully inside her. A sharp stab of pain
made her suck air, and he went completely still as she caught her breath.

He
watched her with a cocky I-told-you-so expression, and then he ground against
her and she swallowed a cry at the exquisite sense of fullness.

"I
want this to be good for you." He pulled nearly all the way out and then
drove deep. "So good you never forget."

Pleasure
ripped through her, making her squeeze him tight between her thighs and grip
him hard in her hands. No way in hell would she forget.

His
hard muscles rippled beneath her palms. She dragged them down, grasped his firm
ass, felt it clench as he pumped into her. Something sizzled inside, coiled
tightly all through her womb at the beginnings of a release she knew would make
all others pale.

"Yes…
Creed, oh, Creed…

Panting,
he opened his mouth against her throat, pulled her tight against him.
"Come, baby. Come for me."

His
voice threw her over the edge, into a well of searing pleasure. Sparks stung
her skin, pierced her flesh, dissolved her organs. Blinding flashes of light
burst behind her eyelids, burning the erotic image of Creed's expression of
ecstasy into her brain.

He
grunted, filled her with a hot splash of semen as her spasms squeezed his cock
so hard, he seemed to be locked inside her, bonded by white-hot heat and slick
passion.

Too
weak to move, she lay beneath him. His breath feathered over her shoulder. The
fingers of one hand stroked her cheek. The other hand gripped her ass, holding
her hard against him.

He
was heavy, but it was a good heavy, the kind that probably made women feel all
secure and safe, two things Annika didn't need any man for. When she did suffer
the occasional moment of insecurity, she had Dev.

"You're
squishing me."

"Sorry."
Creed rolled off her and pulled her onto her side so he remained inside her,
his shaft still throbbing. Each pulse made her pussy spasm with pleasure.

"Is
it always like this?" she asked, feeling a little stupid and naive.

His
gaze bored into her with such intensity, such focus that she fell completely
still. "It's never been this good."

Oh,
God
. She had no idea how to respond,
but when he leaned in and brushed his lips over hers in the softest, gentlest
kiss she'd ever experienced, she responded by breaking away.

Heart
pounding ridiculously, she rolled off the bed and grabbed her panties from
where they hung on the bedpost.

"What
are you doing?"

She
didn't look at him as she dressed. He was too sexy, too gorgeous, and she
didn't need the distraction. "I want to be ready in case your
overprotective shadow comes back in a snit and wants a piece of me."

"Annika,"
he said, bracing himself on one elbow and watching her, "there's no need
to rush off. The house seems to have settled for now. I think the entity that
lives here knows it can't have you. The fact that it tried to dump a chandelier
on you was a big clue."

"What
do you mean it knows it can't have me?"

"I
won't let it." His voice was a low, resonant drawl, and suddenly she
realized that Creed was more than just another nerdy psychic. He was a warrior,
and far more lethal than she'd guessed. "There's only room for one
possession here."

Whoa.
Okay, apparently she wasn't finished being in virgin territory, because having
a conversation like this was the first. "I really have to go."

"We
should talk."

Avoiding
his gaze, she tugged her jeans over her hips. "Look, I don't need some
girly post-fuck cuddle. Thanks for popping my cherry, but I'm cool, okay? And
it wasn't like I was saving myself for someone special, so you don't have to
worry about me clinging like a moon-eyed twit."

She
pulled on her shirt and didn't bother with her shoes because she had to get out
of there. The room was closing in and it had nothing to do with the damned
ghosts.

"I'm
going to grab some food. Ciao."

The
sound of Creed's feet hitting the floor chased her out the door. Not that she
was running. She was just hungry.

And
she wished Dev would call with her next assignment, one that would let her kick
some ass, because she was ready to kill something. Too had most of the people
in this house were already dead.