Your To Take - Connaghers 03 (5 page)

She swallowed hard and tried to slow down her breathing
before she hyperventilated. “On one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You back down on the flirting until I get my head wrapped
around this. Okay?”

“Wrapped around you and me?”

“And me and Elias.”

“Yes’m.” Jesse smiled and tipped his head in a nod. “Is he a
good lover?”

She remembered Elias’s threat-promise:
We’re going to be
loud, babe.
“Oh, yeah. It might get rather…rowdy.”

“Good.” Jesse’s eyes burned sultry. “I can’t wait for him to
arrive.”

Elias quietly slipped his seldom-used key into her locked
door and eased it open. It made him feel sneaky and mean, hoping to catch her
in a compromising position, and also sick to his stomach at the thought. He
didn’t know if he could really face that reality. He could talk about it, even
joke about it, but if he saw her having sex with another man, it might be the
last breath that bastard would ever take.

Even if that man was Jesse, who managed to give off that
helpless victim vibe that must have drawn the vilest perps in Dallas.

Elias had no right to claim her sole affections, not after
abandoning her these past months. Frustrated rage at his job had simmered over
into his personal life. When Donnie had been killed, Elias could only picture
himself lying dead in the street. He’d like to think that maybe he’d wanted to
protect her from ever ending up a sobbing widow leaning over his coffin, but he
couldn’t lie to himself.

Her
client had blown
his
partner away.

She’d only being doing her job, which merely happened to run
counter to his.
But she didn’t have to do it so fucking well.

So he’d taken his rage out on her, even though he knew it
was stupid. He’d been a prick. She was a strong woman and she could carry a
hell of a lot, but that didn’t make it right for him to dump the blame on her
shoulders.
Especially when I carry Donnie’s death on my back too.

It would serve him right if she’d moved on and found another
man. A man who didn’t work himself to death in case a drug dealer didn’t get to
him first.
Or a kid who worships the ground she walks on because she saved
him.

The lights were off but the television was playing one of
those ridiculous black-and-white zombie movies she loved so much. Two heads
were visible above the couch, although Jesse’s was low and tucked into her neck
more than Elias cared to see. Nothing suspicious was going on—they were only
watching a movie.

Doubt ate away at him. She’d been so upset, so desperate
earlier when they’d talked on the phone. Maybe they’d already done the deed
hours ago. Instead of serving dinner, maybe she’d taken Jesse on top of the
table.

Elias knew full well that she was a passionate woman. The
kid was so eager and desperate to belong to her, that God only knew how far
he’d pushed her. Elias couldn’t even bring himself to blame him. He’d do a hell
of a lot to keep her himself, even if the last few months hadn’t proven how
much he cared about her.

He shut the door quietly, but her head whipped around. Her
eyes met his, and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she hadn’t found
release in anyone else’s arms. Not by the fire in her eyes. He swore the
temperature in the room spiked twenty degrees.

Beside her, Jesse uncurled, stretching like a sleepy cat.

Elias forced himself to move slowly instead of falling on
her like a starving wolf. Methodically, he stashed his gun and badge in the
bolted-down safe he’d installed in her coat closet once they got serious.
Shutting the door, he turned and raked his eyes over her as she stood. She wore
jeans and a soft sweater instead of a slinky gown or low-cut blouse, but it was
all he could do not to bury his hands in that cotton and rip his way into her
lush body.

She stalked toward him, her eyes glittering, her body
simmering that siren call of need. Need for him. Eyes only for him. Despite the
handsome younger man hovering warily at her back.

Trying not to be an asshole, at least this time, he said in
a gruff voice, “Get your butt downstairs, Jesse.”

The kid shot toward the door like zombies had started
crawling out of the TV.

Not a moment too soon, because she slammed into Elias and
attacked his shirt. He’d left his tie and jacket in the truck, but he couldn’t
remember if he had any spare clothes here. Jerking at the button on her jeans,
he bit her bottom lip so hard her breath hissed out, spurring her to yank
harder.

“Watch the shirt, babe. I have to show up for work tomorrow
without looking like I was mugged.”

A button pinged on the wall. “I’ll make you a new one.”

He jammed his hand down the front of her jeans, wincing at
the zipper digging into his skin, but he couldn’t slow down. He had to stroke
her, see how turned on she was, how quickly she came at his touch. It’d tell
him a lot about how much she’d missed him.

She rolled her hips, squirming against him, helping him work
his fingers deeper, past the satin, hooking his finger beneath…

“Yes,” he growled out against her ear. “You’re so wet and
hot you’re going to come…now,” he finished, a bit surprised. He hadn’t meant it
as a command, but she shuddered, groaning deep in her throat.

Her cry of pleasure rose in intensity, her hunger flaming
higher. Tightening her arms around his neck, she hopped up against him, forcing
him to catch her with his free arm while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Hurry.” She moaned, but then she stiffened in his arms a
moment, and he wondered if she was going to come again so quickly. He buried a
finger inside her and she shuddered, her voice rising, wild and desperate.
“Elias, please!”

He started for her bedroom, but a soft noise made him
hesitate. It sounded like a low moan. He whipped his head around as the door
snicked shut. Damn that punk. If he’d thought to watch the show…

“I need you now,” she whispered, thrusting and stroking her
tongue in his ear, her breath hot and frantic, and Elias forgot to care.

Leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, Jesse
struggled to calm his breathing. She’d looked at him over the cop’s shoulder.
She’d seen him standing there, jeans gaping open to ease the misery, cock out
and hard and jerking in climax. If the cop had turned around and seen him
indecently exposed, he’d probably be a gelding.

His legs trembled, so he didn’t try to maneuver down the
stairs yet. He’d kept his promise to her, no hands other than to catch as much
of the load as possible, although he’d still have to sneak back up here to
clean the landing.

A muffled thump, a low, hard voice, and his groin stirred
all over again. He stumbled down the stairs, washed his hands, and cleaned up
the mess as quickly as possible. Then he stripped naked, stretched out on the
bed she’d given him, and stared up at the ceiling.

The thumps were louder. Yes, he’d been right. Her bedroom
was directly above. He closed his eyes and imagined how the cop was making love
to her. Not the bed, not yet. They’d been too urgent to make it that far.

Jesse scrambled to his knees and planted his hands on the
wall above the headboard. Yes, against the wall, vibrating with their passion.
Braced on his knees, he imagined her pressed against his back, stroking his
chest and stomach, lingering, playing low on his belly while she laughed huskily
in his ear.

When she screamed, he would be the one rocking the bed.

Chapter Five

Elias set her down long enough for him to shuck his pants,
while she shed her clothes in record time. She burned, worse than she’d ever
ached for him. Yet Jesse’s image hovered in the background of her mind,
stirring her lust to heights she’d never even thought about before. So hot, to
see him standing there, climaxing in secret behind Elias’s back. Only because
she
was climaxing, which had made her come harder, a weird synchronicity that lit
her nerves on fire.

Oh, the power. What a rush.

Yet her stomach twisted with anxiety, because if Elias had
turned around a moment too soon, what would he have done? Would he have broken
Jesse’s arm as he’d threatened that first night? Or worse?

Elias slammed her up against the wall so hard the whole
house shook. By the quirk of his mouth and the wicked glint in his eyes, he
knew damned well how that must have sounded to the younger man downstairs. He
wasn’t pissed because he was the top dog. They all knew it. Only he would be in
her bed tonight.

Dare I hope for something even better than jealous
violence if he’d seen what was happening behind him?

“Condom?”

Breathless, she narrowed her eyes, tempted to tell him yes
just to piss him off. She was on the pill, but they’d been broken up for more
months than she cared to count. “Have you been with anyone else?”

“No.” Somehow, he managed to sound insulted. “I’m not the
one with the hot cabana boy downstairs listening to our every groan.”

“I’m not the one who walked out on us, and no, if you’re
curious, I haven’t been with anyone else either.”

She pushed the shirt the rest of the way off his shoulders,
reveling in the sheer strength in his body. He wasn’t a big man, but he carried
a wallop of power in his lean, six-foot-tall frame. He’d trained for years,
more than capable of running down a druggie or taking out a burglar with his
bare hands. He knew exactly how to use every muscle. His neck and shoulders
corded and flexed, effortlessly shifting her higher on the wall.

“No condom,” she whispered, winding her fingers in the
short, dark hair at the base of his neck. “Just you, Spike.”

Half in play but also deadly serious, he snarled and snapped
his teeth at her ear. He gripped her shoulder in his jaws, biting this side of
pain, and she couldn’t suppress the delicious shiver that rocked her body
against his. With a brutal thrust, he shoved inside her so hard that a cry tore
out of her throat.

He knew exactly what she liked, how much she could take. He
certainly knew how slick and wet she was for him. The only problem—it’d been
too long for him too. After a few thrusts, he shuddered and poured into her.

Panic made her pulse flutter like a butterfly trapped in a
glass. Need pounded inside her as strong as his thrusts, demanding, hammering
for attention. Her skin was raw and tender like she’d rolled around in broken
glass. Swollen and so damned tight, she wanted to scream at him for finishing
so quickly.

“Damn you.” She clawed his back hard enough he grunted and
thudded inside her on another pulse. “God, I need you so bad. What am I
supposed to do now?”

He actually had the audacity to
laugh
. “You’re
insatiable, Vik.”

Furious, desperate emotion tore through her like a
hurricane. He’d said she was like a hungry crocodile. Maybe he was tired of
trying to keep her satisfied. Maybe that’s why she suddenly found herself
attracted to two men. Need and shame twisted inside her, ugly and painful. She
shoved at his chest and threw her elbow at his throat. The more he tried to
contain her struggles, the harder she fought him.

In a smooth move they must teach at the police academy, he
flipped her over and used his weight to pin her against the wall. Awkwardly,
she flailed back at him with both arms, but he snagged first one wrist and then
the other in the small of her back. The more she squirmed, the higher he pushed
her arms until her muscles quivered and her shoulders burned with pain.

“I’ve got you, babe,” he whispered in a devilishly
relaxed—fully satiated—voice. “You know I’ll take good, long, hard care of
you.”

Panting, she pushed out her hips and arched her back,
grinding herself against him, but he’d chosen this position deliberately. He
had full access to her body, but she couldn’t bring herself much pleasure against
him. “Seems like your
long, hard care
is over already.”

“You know long and hard will be back soon enough.” He
scattered feather-light caresses on her ear, cheek, neck, and shoulder, a
torment. “I had your boy slammed up against the wall like this last night. When
you kissed him, did you trap him like this? Did you hold him down?”

“No, I kissed him, that’s all.”

“That’s all.” He shifted his grip on her wrists to his left
hand, freeing his right. “Then you didn’t take as good care of him as I’m going
to give to you.”

Dread and anticipation coiled in her stomach. She was primed
and loaded for bear, more than ready to detonate. A ticking bomb throbbed and
hummed inside her. In this mood, he might torment her a long, long time before
he gave her what she wanted.

Lightly, he traced his fingertips over her right breast,
tickling her skin, driving her insane. Growling beneath her breath, she twisted
in his grip. “I’m trying to take good care of him.”
Which is exactly why I
haven’t taken him yet
.

Elias breathed a low rumbling growl into her ear. “You’d
better be taking good care of
me
, babe. I don’t give a rat’s ass about
Jesse.”

But I do
. Guilt and fury swamped her, stirring her
fighting instincts. She kicked backward and caught his shin hard enough he
cursed. “I think I saw to you already.”

“Nah, that was just the appetizer.” He swiped his tongue
along the curve of her ear. “We’re going to take a long, sweaty ride while you
buck for all you’re worth. You
want
to fight me. You want me to conquer
you, tame you to my hands and my body like a green-broke mare. Every time we
fuck each other into a stupor, you make me prove I’m man enough for you. So
buck. Fight. Or better yet…”

He leaned in, shoving with his body hard enough that her
breath rushed out on a groan, but he released her hands. “Try to drag me into a
death roll at the bottom of the river.”

His fingers locked on her nipple in a fierce pinch that sent
shockwaves tearing through her. Where he’d teased before, he punished now.
Every alarm and button in her body went on high alert. He’d deliberately let go
of her hands—so she could struggle more, harder, and work him to a fevered
pitch. She jammed her elbows back into his ribs, kicked him, threw her head
back at his face, even raked her nails down his forearm braced beside her.

He didn’t duck or try to stop her blows, but he kept her
tight to the wall. It took all her strength, throwing her body like a weapon
and using the wall for leverage, to gain an inch against him, while his fingers
rolled and tugged her breast. His teeth sank into her shoulder, working closer
and closer to her nape.

His hardened cock pressed against her buttocks, and she
redoubled her efforts.
To get him inside me.

Their panting echoed in the room, the dull thuds of flesh on
flesh echoing, promising more, so much more. She could only imagine what it
sounded like to Jesse downstairs.

As if Elias knew she’d thought of the other man, he growled
in her ear. “Can he take you like this, Vik? Can he make you groan and sweat
facedown against the wall? Can he ride you at your worst, no matter how bad you
buck and kick?”

“No,” she wheezed out, her cheek smashed so hard against the
wall it was hard to talk. “But I bet he’ll give
me
a good ride.”

Elias let out a vicious growl against her ear, jerked her hips
back, and surged inside her.

Damn her and those torturous images she’d managed to lodge
in his mind. All too easily, he could see her working the kid over as hard as
he was taking her now. In fact, if she had him flat against the wall beneath
her, Elias could be taking them both without even laying a finger on the man.

He shuddered.

The thought should have disgusted him. He’d never once
considered having another man anywhere near him while he made love to a woman.
But
for Vicki…

“Don’t you dare,” she retorted, shoving harder against him.
“I’m not done with you yet.”

Weaving his fingers with hers, he held her hands against the
wall and eased his attack. She arched and rubbed against him like a cat,
purring against his cheek. Vicki hot and wild, or smoldering tenderness, God,
he’d missed her. “What are you doing to me, babe?”

She choked out a laugh. “You really don’t know?”

He tried to find the words. How sorry he was that he’d run
out on her when things got too complicated. How much he valued her strength,
intelligence, and dedication to her job. How sorry he was that Donnie had died,
and how terrified he’d been at the thought of leaving her like that.

It could happen any moment. The cartels were stronger than
ever. More drugs hit the streets every single day, no matter how hard his team
worked. They’d never keep the streets clean.

“Vicki…”

“I know,” she whispered, twisting her mouth back toward his.
“I still love you, Elias.”

She kissed him, not giving him time to answer. Because she
didn’t want him to feel obligated to voice emotions she knew he hated to admit.

She knows me all too well.

To make up for being such a heartless asshole, he gave her
exactly what she wanted. Long, powerful thrusts, his breath ragged in her ear,
his body punishing, loving, tormenting, until she writhed against him.

“Please, Elias. Please!”

He buried his fingers between her thighs, kept her breast
tight in his other hand, and gripped the back of her neck in his teeth like a
mama cat carrying her babies while he thrust harder, veins pumping, muscles
straining to bursting.

She let out a wordless, hoarse scream that rattled the
windows. Deliberately, he made his own groan rough and deep, a primal growl of
the alpha taking his mate for the young pup downstairs. Sagging against her, he
concentrated on catching his breath. His pulse thundered in his skull and his
thighs ached like he’d run a marathon.

He was totally unprepared for her to slither around, hook
her heel behind his knee, and sling him around so he was on his back against
the wall.

Letting out a laughing groan, he dropped his head back
against the wall and tried not to wheeze.

“That’s better,” she purred against his throat.

She nuzzled and rubbed her face on his chest, while she ran
her hands over his shoulders and arms. No hesitant, gentle touches, not from
his Vicki. She had the powerful hands of a masseuse. Even if she hadn’t made
him blow his mind twice in the span of less than an hour, she could turn him
into a puddle with those incredible hands. God help him when she decided to
involve that luscious mouth of hers.

“Don’t you want to hit your bed at least once, babe?”

“Sure.” She bit his nipple, making him clench his hands into
fists at his sides. “But it’s so rare for me to have you like this.”

He narrowed his gaze, searching her face. “Like what?”

“Passive. Calm. Worn out.” She smiled against his chest and
slid her hands down his flanks and around to his buttocks. She gripped his ass
firmly, tilting his hips closer to hers. “Mine to take.”

His stomach tightened uneasily. That must be why she found
Jesse so appealing. She could take him anytime she wanted, instead of wrestling
and challenging him into exhaustion first. “Is that what you want, really?
Because I can lie back and take one for the team, anytime, anywhere, Vik. If you
want to take me, I’m yours.”

Eyes dark and mysterious, she cocked her head and simply
looked at him, her mouth quirked in a smug little half smile that miraculously
made his cock stir all over again.

“Do you want a shower now or later?”

“I definitely need a shower before I stink up your bed.”

Laughing with a sultry timbre to her voice, she released him
and headed for the bathroom. “I hope I don’t drown you.”