SAFE BY HIS SIDE (MANHUNT) (14 page)

Micah recognized the guilt in Lenora’s eyes. He hated the waiting, and wished to hell he had another clue to chase down, but he didn’t, dammit. Maybe tech would send that map of places to check as possible hideouts soon.

“Lenora?”

She tossed her trash into the trashcan by the door. Night had set in, the moon a distant sliver above the woods. If they weren’t plagued by the shadow of death, it might be a romantic night.

“I’m so worried about Nan,” she finally said. “What if we don’t find her in time? Even if she survives, she’s going to hate me.”

Micah couldn’t resist. The last thing Lenora needed to do was torture herself with self-recriminations. He pulled her toward him, his voice low, soothing.

“This is not your fault,” he said. He’d told her that before, and he’d keep telling her until he convinced her.

“But —”

“No buts, Lenora. We’ll find him.” He stroked her arms with his hands, and she gazed into his eyes as if weighing his words and trying to believe him.

Then she parted her lips with a sultry sigh, and his body hardened. He wanted to kiss her.

“Micah, thank you for being so understanding. I know you’re just doing your job—”

“You’re more than a job to me,” he said, his voice husky. The moment he said the words, he knew they were true. But he shouldn’t have said them.

The last thing Lenora needed was pressure.

“I am?”

The vulnerability in her voice tore at him. “Yes. I admire you…I want to protect you.” The spark of sexuality in her eyes nearly sent him over the edge.

“I want to hold you.”

A soft smile lit her eyes, and she slid her arms beneath his and stepped closer to him. “I want that, too.”

He inhaled her sweet scent as she laid her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to him, savoring the fact that she trusted him.

A second later, she raised one hand and pressed it against his cheek. Her eyes glittered with hunger, making his blood go hot, and he lowered his head and kissed her.

One taste and he wanted more.

Lenora captured his face closer, and he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue as she parted her lips for him. He trailed his hands down her back and drew her closer to him, his hands itching to strip her and feel her naked body next to his.

She must have read his mind because she trailed kisses down his neck and one by one pulled at the buttons of his shirt, her nails scraping his hot, bare skin.

“Lenora?” He paused, desperate for control. But the feel of her lips on his heated skin was so erotic it was hard to remember why he shouldn’t rush to take her to bed.

“Don’t you want me, Micah?”

His heart thumped off beat, and he threaded his hand in her hair and tilted her head so she would look at him. “Of course, I do. But I don’t want to pressure you —”

She touched his lips with one finger to silence him. “You aren’t, Micah. I...” She ran her hand down his chest. “I want this.”

A smile curved his mouth. “Are you sure?” He kissed her forehead, then her eyelids. “Because if you want to stop at any point, all you have to do is say so.”

Her hands stroked his chest, teasing, inviting more play. “I won’t. I trust you.”

Emotions he’d never expected to feel bombarded him. Lenora’s trust in him was just as important as having her.

And dammit, he wanted her with every fiber of his being.

Lenora’s breath rasped out as Micah moved toward the door to the bedroom. “Out here,” she whispered, a seed of panic sprouting at being closed inside.

A sexy smile lit his eyes. “Whatever you want, Lenora.”

His heady tone turned her heart inside out. Heaven help her, but she could fall in love with this man.

His tenderness as he lowered his head and dropped kisses along her jaw and neck made her shiver.

He removed his gun and holster and placed it on the table.

“Are you cold?” he asked huskily.

“No,” she whispered. “Just excited.”

His eyes darkened with longing and raw hunger. “Me, too.” He ran a finger along her cheek. “I’ve wanted you for a long time. But I don’t want to do anything to hurt you. I would never hurt you.”

“I know. ” She lifted his hand and kissed his palm tenderly. “You won’t hurt me, Micah. You make me feel more alive than I have in ages.”

“You don’t know what your trust means to me,” he murmured.

Tears threatened, but she blinked them away. She’d cried enough for a lifetime. She wouldn’t let tears ruin this moment.

He traced a finger down her spine, his other hand sliding from her neck to her chest, and she kissed him again, moaning when his fingers danced around to touch her breast. Her nipples instantly stiffened to peaks, achy and needy, and she clung to him, silently begging him for more.

He ran his hands down her hips, then gently carried her to the chaise. She shoved the blanket aside as he laid her down. His look was one of greed mixed with such hunger that she instantly pulled him on top of her.

“You are the sexiest man I’ve ever known,” she whispered. “Kiss me, Micah. Touch me all over.”

His hair brushed her cheek as he nuzzled her neck, then he slowly slid his hands to the bottom of her T-shirt and tugged it over her head. Cool night air slid over her, making her draw him close again.

But she remembered the nasty scar and froze.

He braced himself on his hands and looked down at her with questions in his eyes.

“The scar,” she said. “It’s so ugly.”

“There is nothing ugly about you,” he said hoarsely as he kissed the sensitive skin between her breasts. “You’re the most beautiful, desirable woman I’ve ever met.”

 Emotions swelled inside her, and she inhaled his masculine scent. He was so tender and strong that all her reservations fled.

“You feel wonderful,” she said softly.

He kissed her again and slowly stripped his shirt, the primal gleam in his eyes making her body tingle all over. His chest was broad, muscular, his stomach flat, dark hair dusting his torso.

She raked her hands over him, watching anxiously as he removed his jeans. His black boxers did nothing to hide the thick erection jutting out.

For a moment, she swallowed, bitter memories trying to destroy her pleasure.

“Lenora?” He folded her hand in his and kissed each finger. “Look at me. It’s just the two of us here. Me. You. No one else.”

She latched onto his words and the sensual promises in his tone. “No one else.”

Her breasts were exposed, felt heavy, aching. She laid his hand over one of them, and smiled as he dipped his head to tug one turgid nipple into his mouth. He suckled her until she cried out his name and pushed at his boxers.

A low, sexy chuckle rumbled from his chest, and he lifted himself enough to shuck his boxers. Then he slowly peeled her pajama bottoms down her legs. She kicked them off, frantic to have him closer. To fill her.

To finally give her the pleasure that only Micah could give her.

Micah’s heart was pounding. He’d never second-guessed himself in the lovemaking department, but he’d never actually cared about his lover in a serious way.

What if he did something wrong? What if he did hurt her?

But Lenora raked her hand down to cup his throbbing cock, and he moaned.

Not yet, he told himself. He had to pleasure her first. Erase all the violent memories.

They could do fast and furious the next time.

Next time? Was he thinking about having her again?

She squeezed his thick length, and he swallowed back a moan. Yes, he would have her again.

Shifting to control himself, he trailed kisses down her breasts again, circling each nipple with his tongue, then teasing her over and over until she lifted her hips in invitation.

His blood was so hot he thought he might explode, but he slid down her body, parted her legs and dipped his head to taste her. Lenora moaned, whispering his name, as he flicked his tongue out to tease her, and a sigh of pure erotic pleasure flowed from her lips.

She tasted like sweetness and honey, arousing his primal needs. He swirled his tongue around her feminine lips, then thrust it inside her.

She groaned again, and clenched the chaise with her fingers as her body quivered with her release.

“Micah…”

His cock heavy with the need to be inside her, he slid up her body and teased her with the tip. “Lenora?”

“I want this, Micah,” she whispered with the most heartbreakingly, beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “I want you inside me.”

Her husky words almost sent him over the edge. But he wanted them to ride the waves of pleasure together

He’d also promised to protect her. Remembering a condom, he grabbed one from his jeans pocket and rolled it on.

Slowly he eased his length inside her.

She spread her legs wider, her body so tight that he withdrew, waiting to make sure she was ready. She quickly took his erection in her hand and guided him back to her.

He joined their bodies again, creating a sensual rhythm, rocking and thrusting until he filled her completely, and she cried out his name in another explosive orgasm.

Sensations flooded him, and he moaned and kissed her neck as he came inside her.

They lay together panting and sated, wrapped in each other’s arms for several minutes. Finally he rose, discarded the condom and lay back down beside her. When he pulled her in his arms, he kissed her again, his heart squeezing as she stroked his chest and sighed in contentment.

He’d never made love to any woman with such passion. With such emotion.

How in the hell was he going to walk away from her when the case was over?

Lenora had never felt so sated and peaceful in her life. Micah’s sexy scent and touch twisted her heart into knots.

She was falling in love with him.

Fear of heartbreak hit her, but she tamped it down. She’d suffered the worst imaginable horrors during her abduction.

She would survive when Micah left.

After all, heartbreak couldn’t kill her. Could it?

Micah’s breathing turned slow and steady, and she realized he’d fallen asleep. She fell asleep, too, dreaming of Micah and being together forever.

But sometime later, the buzzing of a phone jerked her from her peace. She frowned and turned over, wondering if it was Micah’s. But it was her phone vibrating from the table.

Slowly she extracted herself from Micah’s arms, missing him already as she tiptoed over to retrieve it. Frowning when she saw
Unknown
on the screen, she punched connect.

The sound of a wheezed breath made her heart stop.“Lenora…stay away,” her mother screamed. “Don’t do what he says.”

Icy fear paralyzed her. “Mother?”

“He’s got me, but don’t give in to him.”

Her mother’s scream followed…

“Mom?” Lenora choked on the word, her knees buckling.

Simpleton’s monstrous voice replied, “If you want to see your mother and friend alive, come to me. And come alone.”

Lenora bit back a sob and glanced at Micah who looked so sexy and heavenly naked on her chaise that she wanted to fall into his arms again. He would protect her, save her mother and Nan.