Safe (The Shielded Series Book 1) (12 page)

His invitation changed things.

“Darina, I’m not going to bite… unless you want me to.” He turned on a
dim bedside lamp so she could see him grinning now.

Did she want him to bite her? Did she want those grinning lips on her
body?

Hell yes!

Her legs took charge and carried her to the bed where she found herself
climbing on where Foster’s feet were under the sheets. On all fours, she
continued up his body until her face was even with his and she straddled his
lap.

“Hey, Doc,” she whispered.

“Hey.” He cupped her face and wasted no time feasting on her mouth.

She was just as hungry. For at least three solid minutes, they went
between heated kissing to crazy intense kissing. Darina was more than pleased
to find that when she’d rested her hands on Foster’s shoulders, they were bare.
If that impressive something poking her from under the sheet still covering his
lap was any indication, the man was also bare from the waist down.

Shiver.

Foster’s hand clawed at her tank top, pulling the strap off her left
shoulder. He leaned closer and ran his lips along her exposed skin. When his
teeth grazed her flesh, she tightened her thighs around his waist, and he
groaned into her hair.

“I sincerely hope this isn’t a really vivid dream.” He sucked her earlobe
into his mouth then tugged on it with his teeth. “And no one better interrupt
us.”

“I’ll shoot them if they do.” She was kidding. Maybe.

Darina closed her eyes and let her head drop back, giving him more of her
neck to explore. He didn’t disappoint as his mouth charted a course over what
she offered.

She wanted to offer a hell of a lot more.

Foster’s hands skated up into her hair, and he grabbed fistfuls of it,
tethering her to him. He looked into her eyes for a minute, and Darina expected
him to come to his senses or something.

“Please, don’t stop.” Again, she hated the begging in her voice, but
being denied two times in one night was enough to have her throw out all her
rules.

He traced a circle on her cheek and smiled. “I couldn’t stop if I wanted
to, Officer Lazitter… and trust me, I don’t want to.”

In a quick move that made her let out a little squeak, Foster swiveled
her onto her back. Hovering over her, he quickly caught her lips again, and any
demands about being on top faded from her consciousness.

She was only aware of one thing… Foster.

He peeled her tank top off completely, and she shimmied out of the rest
of her clothes, making a point to rest her weapon within reach on the bedside
table. Foster looked at the gun for a few seconds, a crease forming between his
brows. Shaking his head, he rested on his elbows and gazed down at her, the dim
light getting caught in his pale green eyes.

“Ah, yes. Right where we left off.” He lowered and nibbled on her neck, along
her jaw, and to her mouth.

“And Zeke’s totally out in the other room.”

“Another benefit to the seizure medicine. It promotes deep REM sleep.”

“So you sleep that well too?”

“When thoughts of touching you aren’t getting in the way, yes.” His mouth
turned up in a half grin, and she needed him inside her. Immediately.

In tune with her thoughts, he slid down her body and used that skilled
mouth on her breasts, teasing low moans from deep inside her. He stroked her
ready heat with his fingers, testing how badly she wanted him.

Had she ever been this charged with anticipation? Something about seeing
Foster on this Vermont property, watching him interact with the people he
housed here, and the way he’d shared his knowledge to help Zeke made her feel
close to him. Closer than she should. She found it hard to believe she’d only
met him early this morning.

He replaced his fingers with his arousal and slowly slid into her,
filling her. Inch by delightful inch. They shuddered simultaneously, and Foster
stilled for a second, his gaze connecting with hers.

In that moment, Darina saw this man was much more than a doctor trying to
save the world. He was capable, perhaps, of saving her.

He had hoped Darina would come to him tonight. He’d gotten into bed, but
sleepy was the last thing he’d felt. Every time he’d closed his eyes, visions
of Darina in the library, ready and willing, had parts of his body refusing to
settle.

Now she’s here.

He was buried deep inside her, and no hologram could compare to having
her wrapped around him so snugly, so completely, so perfectly. He’d had a few
live partners in the past, but no one like Darina. From the moment she’d pulled
him off the street in the city, he knew she wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. Strong,
confident, smart. She was all of these and more.

Her fingernails grazed his shoulders as she pulled him closer and took
him in deeper. Their bodies were so tangled, her legs hooked around his waist,
his arms touching everything he could reach. Never had he wanted to be a part
of someone so desperately.

“Foster.” His name was a plea on her lips, urging him to give her what
she needed, to take what he wanted.

He shifted, pulled out of her slowly, then thrust back in, causing her to
let out a husky purr that gave him the fuel to continue, to take them both
higher.

With a final series of thrusts, he drove into her and earned a full body
shudder for them both. Breathing heavily, they went limp, and he lay cradled
between her legs, his head resting on her shoulder.

She hugged him, her muscled arms locked around him in a way that made him
feel as if he were important to her. It was silly to think what they had shared
was anything more than two adults finding a release in pleasuring each other.

But it felt like more.

A great deal more.

“Nothing wrong with your genetic coding in this area, Doc,” she said, her
breathing still a bit labored.

He lifted his head and smiled at the satisfied expression on her face.
Her eyelids were lowered, her lips slightly turned up at the corners as she ran
her foot up and down his calf. The light scrape of her toes made him hard all
over again.

“Oh, really?” She raised her head off the pillow to meet his gaze.

“Extra stamina came with the DNA.” He gave her hopeful eyes.

“Be a shame to let it go to waste.” She grabbed him and rolled them over
so he was on the bottom now. “I’m in charge this time.”

“Yes, Officer Lazitter.” He raised a hand and pushed her hair away so he
could see her beautiful face. “You have the most amazing lips.”

“You haven’t even begun to see what they can do.” Her eyebrows tilted
devilishly as she slid down the length of him, her nipples coasting along his
chest, followed by the sweep of her hair.

She reached up to his shoulders and raked her fingers down his front
until she arrived at where his prosthetic right leg began. Like her hand, the
seam was hardly visible. You’d only find it if you were looking for it. The
muscles in his real left leg were slightly bigger than what remained of his
right thigh due to years of overcompensating when walking, but other than that,
the evidence of his non-organic part was almost nonexistent.

“Do you ever take it off?” She ran her index finger along the seam, then
flattened her palm against the prosthetic part of his thigh.

He shook his head. “When I had a lesser model I did because it wasn’t
comfortable, but I often forget this one isn’t the real deal.”

She flexed her prosthetic hand. “Me too. Thanks to you.”

He reached down and threaded his fingers between hers. Pulling her hand
up to his lips, he dropped a kiss on the back of it. “But you can’t feel that,
can you?”

“No, but I like watching you do it anyway.” She grinned at him, and her
face became more magnificent.

“I was working on adding nerve ending simulators into the fleshy outer
layer of my prosthetic designs, but the Anarch ruined my plans.”

“And Warres didn’t help any.” She clenched her teeth hard enough that he
could hear them grind together.

“No, he didn’t. I should be working on so many other things.” Foster blew
out a breath. “Instead, I’m trying to undo a situation that never should have
happened in the first place.” Even now he felt guilty for enjoying the pleasure
Darina had given him. If he wasn’t sleeping, shouldn’t he be trying to find the
cure?

“Recharging is okay.” She grabbed his chin and made him look at her.

“What?”

“I can feel the guilt coming off you, Doc. Have you been working on that
cure the way you worked on it today?”

He nodded. Every hour of every day had been consumed with trying to find
the combination that would eradicate Warres’s plague.

“Then you’re giving it your all. Besides, this,” she gestured between the
two of them, “might be good for your brain.” She tapped his temple. “Might
kickstart a line of thinking you haven’t considered yet. You know, like when
you’re trying to remember something, but the more you try to remember it, the
more you can’t retrieve it. The moment you work on something else, however, it
just pops into your head.” She snapped her fingers. “You know what I mean?”

“I do.” He ran his index finger over her full bottom lip. “Does that make
you the
something else
I’m working on?”

“It would, except…” she shifted lower and stroked his erection, “
I’m
working on
you
.”

He wanted to reply with some witty comment, but her hands on him in that
way made forming sentences impossible. Her hands were warm and strong and most
welcome to touch him like that any time she wanted them to.

She tightened her grip and moved her hand back and forth until he could
barely contain himself. When her mouth closed around him, stars flashed behind
his closed eyelids, and his heart threatened to pummel his ribs to splintery
bits. Her full lips were velvety and the heat of her mouth was a welcome
sanctuary. Her tongue massaged him, coaxed him to steel hard, and brought him
to the breaking point.

“Darina, please…” He had to be inside her. Had to. Immediately.

With a final caress of her lips against his tip, she released him and
climbed atop him instead. “Ask for it again.”

“Now. Please.” One word demands were all he was capable of giving her.

“What do you want, Doc?” She leaned forward, her lips brushing against
his ear. “Tell me.”

“I want you take me into that hot, wet paradise between your legs.” He
impressed himself with that bit of poetry, considering the fact that all the
blood in his body was definitely assembled in one area.

Darina’s eyes darkened as a low growl rumbled in her throat. It was the
most erotic sound Foster had ever heard.

With a few teases of his lips, she slid onto him, accepting him, making
his fantasies come true with each movement of her body above his. Their flight
to the summit was powerful and consuming and primal. He clamped his hands on
her slender hips, holding her to him, pushing himself deeper, wanting to fuse
their bodies into one.

When her insides clenched around him, milked him until he had no more to
give, he had to bite his bottom lip to keep from tossing a victory cry into the
quiet night. She must have known he was trying to contain himself because she
took control of his lips, keeping him busy enough that he no longer wanted to
sound off.

Instead, he wanted to kiss her everywhere.      

Flipping her over onto her back, he ran his tongue down the valley
between her breasts and around her flat stomach. Dropping feather-light kisses along
her soft flesh, he enjoyed the taste of her, knowing it was a flavor he’d
always crave now that he’d sampled her.

She dug her fingers into his hair, her nails scraping his skull in a way
that had him feeling it in every extremity—even his prosthetic leg somehow.

He settled next to her, his arm draped across her stomach, hoping to keep
her there.

“You know I can’t stay, Foster.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead.

He tightened his grip on her waist. “I don’t know anything of the sort.”

She laughed and her body shook beside him. Damn, he loved having a body
beside him. More specifically,
her
body.

“I should get some sleep if I’m to properly protect you, Doc.”

“You can sleep right here.” Again he nestled closer, hoping she wouldn’t
be able to resist staying.

“You and I both know if I stay, we won’t be sleeping.” She patted his
cheek and grinned at him.

“We can rest between not sleeping.”

She angled her head to the digital clock he had beside the bed. “Shit.
The new set of guards is already at your door.”

“See? Too complicated for you to get past them now. Better hunker down
right here.” He liked this line of reasoning.

“Maybe another night. How would it look if I was found in here on the
very first night?”

“Like I’m irresistible?”

She pushed him back with a light slap to the shoulder. “Maybe you are. I
don’t know how to explain falling into bed with you otherwise.”

“You’re probably just too tired to fight me off.” He nibbled on her
shoulder while his thumb caressed her nipple to a tight bud.

Darina arched into his touch. “I don’t want to fight you off.” She
pressed her lips to his, explored his mouth for several glorious moments, then
pushed away. “I have to go.” She slid from his grip and pulled herself to
sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Help me in the lab tomorrow?” He at least wanted to be sure she’d be
with him all day tomorrow.

“Guarding you personally, remember?” She pointed to herself. “It’s my job
to be in your space.”

Foster pumped a fist in the air. “Yes!”

Smiling, she stood and collected her clothes. She dressed in the dim
light, and he enjoyed everything about watching her. Of course, he’d have liked
it better if she were undressing to stay with him, but he was encouraged by the
prospect of being with her tomorrow.

“What time are you planning to get up?” she asked as she stepped into her
boots and tied them.

“When the sun does. I don’t want to waste a moment. I’m close on this
cure.” He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his
neck. “I’m just missing something.” If only he could put his finger on
what
was missing.

Darina pressed her palms to the bed and leaned down to him in a
quasi-pushup. Her bicep muscles caught his attention for a moment, then the way
her tank top dipped over her breasts in that position stole all his focus.

“You’ll get it.”

She sounded so sure. Surer than he felt.

“See you in the morning, Doc.”

After a quick kiss, she left. He heard her talk to the two new guards,
saying something about investigating a sound inside the room. Then the night
got super quiet again except for the crickets singing their summer song
outside. He folded his arms behind his head and listened to those crickets
until he could almost pick out the sounds of the individual insects.

Was Darina back in bed in the guest room? Had Zeke noticed she was gone?
If so, was he asking her a million questions? What were her responses?

Did she want tomorrow to come as fast as he did?

****

Strangely, Darina slept like a newborn puppy after returning to the guest
room. Nothing like a few rounds of amazing sex to make a girl sleep deeply. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept like that.

Possibly she’d
never
slept like that.

In the shower now, she let the water beat against her skin. Zeke had been
right. There was no sense in taking a lukewarm shower when a scorching hot one
was available. Seriously, how did Foster return to the city when he had all
this here in Vermont? She thought back to his Emerge Tech domicile and even
with its state-of-the-art technology, it didn’t compare to this place. She felt
as if she’d been transported back in time to a much better version of living on
planet Earth. It’d be hard to let it go when this gig was over.

Whenever that would be.

Foster had been so frustrated last night when he’d spoken of working on
the cure. The man had dozens of other projects waiting for his brilliance, but
this cure was sucking up all his time and energy. Darina wished she could help.
Too bad she didn’t know shit about mixing up medicines.

“You almost done in there, Mom?” Zeke knocked on the bathroom door.

“Almost.” Though she wanted to stay in there forever. And have Foster
join her. Now
that
was an image to get a girl through the day.

“Good. Hurry up. I’m starving and something smells tasty out there,” Zeke
said.

Darina finished in the bathroom, and by the time she emerged into the
guest bedroom, Zeke was dressed in a pair of black cargo pants and a yellow
T-shirt that gave his skin a healthy glow. She hadn’t seen her boy look that
well ever. When she’d found him, huddled under that pier, he’d been pale with
gray circles around his bloodshot eyes. He’d had a seizure five minutes after
she’d picked him up in the back seat of her squad car. Once his body stopped
convulsing, he certainly didn’t look better.

But now?

Now he looked like a vigorous teenager, ready to conquer the world. Or at
least do some serious eating.

“C’mon,” he said, tugging on her hand. “I don’t want to miss whatever
food is out there.”

She let him drag her out of the guest room. The two morning guards, Vero
and Tonner, still stood at Foster’s bedroom door so she paused.

“Is he still in there?” she asked.

Vero nodded. “But I heard him moving around.”

She was tempted to relieve them of their duty and start her day the way
she wanted to, but Zeke was waiting for her in the hallway.

“Any problems during your shift?” she asked instead, deciding sticking to
official business was best.

“Not one,” Tonner said. “Do you think we’re overdoing this protection
thing?”

“Dr. Ashby almost got killed twice in one day in Boston,” she said. “So no,
I don’t think we’re overdoing anything.”