Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 23

After helping Soraya clean up, Lily returned to the living area. “Where’s Stitch?”

Blade looked up from the map and fixed his deep blue eyes on her. “He had patients to check up on. He’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”

“Oh.” She hovered, unsure what to do. There were some books in the corner, so she went to take a closer look, but they were all in Pashto.

“Lily, I think we should talk.”

“What about?” She sank to her knees and perched on the cushion next to him. “How we’re going to get out of here?”

“Among other things.”

A surge of something she couldn’t quite explain erupted from inside her.

“Tomorrow is going to be extremely dangerous,” he said.

“I know.” The river crossing was fraught with danger. It was a natural checkpoint, so they had decided to drive across, even though they’d be fully exposed, at risk of being recognized. “Soraya’s given me a full-length robe, so they won’t see my face.”

“That’s good.” He fell silent, his gaze penetrating.

She swallowed. “Is something wrong?”

He inhaled, and she watched his broad chest expand. “While Stitch drives you across, I’ll hide in the back.”

“Is that wise?” She had no idea what they’d been planning, but the Land Rover she’d seen outside didn’t look like it had enough hiding places for a man Blade’s size. “What if they search our vehicle?”

“It’s risky. I’m hard to miss.”

He had that right. It wasn’t as if he was a small man who could fit into a footwell, or under the spare tire. He was all brawn and bulk and bulging muscles. Six feet four or five of raw power.

“Maybe you should drive.”

He tilted his head, acknowledging her idea. “I think Stitch passes for a better local, don’t you? Plus, he speaks the lingo.”

Lily suddenly found it hard to breathe. “What if they spot you?”

“We have a game plan.”

She nodded, knowing deep down she wasn’t going to like this.

“If I get noticed, Stitch is going to say I flagged you down a mile back and threatened you at gunpoint to give me a ride. You had no choice. That should get you off the hook.”

Lily swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. “What about you?”

He didn’t meet her gaze. “I’ll run for it. There’s plenty of foliage either side of the river. I’ll dive in if I have to. It’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t so sure.

“That’s only if they find you, right? I mean it’s more likely they won’t, that we’ll get through.”

“That’s right.” His offhanded manner made her very uneasy.

A shock ran though her.

This could be her last chance to tell him how grateful she was.

“Blade,” she whispered. “I just want you to know—in case anything happens, which it won’t—I’m so thankful for what you’ve done. Bringing me here. Rescuing me from that cave. Looking after me. I won’t ever forget it.”

Won’t forget him.

Lily didn’t know whether he saw it in her eyes or was responding to her words, but he edged closer, so close she could see the different color flecks of blue in his eyes.

Suddenly, she was drowning, floundering in the desire that she saw there. Blue flames calling to her, drawing her in.

“Blade, if we don’t make it?—”

He didn’t wait for her to finish. With a low moan, he looped a big hand around her neck and pulled her toward him. The whole cushion moved, shifting her closer until she was practically sitting on his lap.

“Fuck, Lily. Fuck.”

She knew what he meant. She felt it too, this magnetic pull neither of them could control. It seemed to drive them together no matter how hard they fought it.

Not even Joe’s memory could prevent it from happening.

Or maybe it was because of it.

When they left here tomorrow, they might not make it home. Might not get another chance.

Lily leaned in, telling him it was okay, that she also felt it.

Also wanted it.

She touched her lips to his, feeling him resist for half a second before exhaling. His hand tightened behind her neck, tilting her head and pulling her closer. Blade’s lips crashed against her, and he growled like an injured bear, leaving her no doubt who was in control.

Lily’s heart surged, pulse racing erratically. She gave up trying to fight her feelings. This was it—what she’d wanted since that first kiss in the cabin when she’d thought he was Joe.

A sob burst from her as they locked together. Heat flowed between them. Scorching, flaming, bursting sparks that only grew stronger the more they kissed.

Holy shit, she was burning alive.

Molten lava surged through her blood, making her pulse at her very core. She pushed aside thoughts of the men hunting her, the fear plaguing her, the anxiety weighing on her about tomorrow’s escape. All she felt was delicious, gut-wrenching desire, proof of what it meant to be alive, to be here with Blade.

Lily had no idea how she ended up kneeling over him, reveling in the feel of his thick thighs beneath hers and basking in the sensation of his hands reaching under her blouse, spreading over her back, crushing her against his rock-hard torso.

He groaned again, a low guttural sound at the back of his throat that sent delicious shivers through her.

His shoulders tensed under her hands. Desperate to get closer, she hung on to him, writhed against him. Wished their clothing would just disappear and he would take her right then, right there. With a ragged gasp, she hiked her skirt up and over his legs, so she could feel him properly.

Holy smoke, he was hard, straining against the material of his cargo pants. Against her.

“Christ, Lily,” he groaned. “I want you so bad. Is this okay?” Sapphire flames blasted into her, begging her to say yes.

Seriously, she had no problem with that.

“Yes,” she whispered, punctuating the word with a nod.

“Are you… I mean, can we…?”

His voice was ragged, his hands melting over her back, snaking under her bra strap. She could hardly think.

She gave a nod. “Once a month shot. We”re good.”

It was like he’d been unleashed. Any thought of holding back had vanished, and it was just him and her.

Feverish now, he reclaimed her lips and ravished her so hard, so passionately, her head spun when they broke for air.

He gripped her ass and positioned her on top of his straining cock. Even though it was buried beneath his clothing, she could tell he was huge. For a panicked second, she wondered if it would fit. Joe hadn’t been as big.

Then again, she was so ready to find out.

He massaged her ass, making her writhe on top of him.

God, she wanted him so bad she could scarcely contain herself. Never had she felt so utterly abandoned, so out of control, as she did with this man.

Blade yanked her blouse over her head then cupped her breasts over the lace, the friction exquisite. He ran his thumbs over her nipples until she panted under his ministrations.

Momentarily unable to speak, she moaned.

He gazed into her eyes, and the deep swirling pools of blue darkened. “God, Lily, you’re so beautiful.”

His words made her sing.

“More.” The plea came as a sigh.

He unclasped her bra, pulled the straps down her arms, then tossed it aside.

Cool air and hot breath mingled on her naked flesh, her pleasure building by the second. He caressed her breasts with his callused hands, driving her wild.

It felt so good.

He traced circles around her nipples, his featherlight touch at once frustrating and exhilarating. A few flicks made them somehow more sensitive, more demanding. She gasped as he squeezed them into hard buds, first gently, then with more urgency.

She yelped as heat flooded her pussy, like invisible wires sending electrical impulses south. It was a miracle she didn’t come right then.

Bending his head, he drew one nipple into his mouth and sucked on it. She arched her back and moaned, the sound throaty and deep, tinged with longing.

His biceps flexed under her hands as he repositioned her. When he turned his hot mouth to her other breast, Lily thought she was going to die.

What a wonderful way to go.

When she was about to combust, he looked up, his heated gaze boring a hole right thought her. There was no chance of stopping now. They both wanted this, both needed it.

She stared into his soul and in turn opened hers to him, trusting him with her vulnerabilities, allowing him to read all the emotions running through her mind, all the desires surging through her body. Though unwilling and unable to stop such an intimate exchange, it terrified her to open herself up like this again, when tomorrow?—

She didn’t want to think about tomorrow.

His eyes burned, blazing with a depth of emotion that made her shiver. She clawed at his chest, gripping handfuls of T-shirt, desperate to get rid of all barriers between them.

In one move, he peeled it off and tossed it aside. They collided again, and she exulted in the contact, his skin soft velvet covering solid steel.

His lips slanted against hers, softer now. At the same time his fingers slid under her panties then he pulled them aside. Stradling him left her wide open to his touch, and she was so wet, so ready. There was no resistance at all. His finger slid straight inside her, filling a space that was crying out for his touch.

He growled against her mouth, swallowing her moan. She rocked her hips, grinding against his hand, every atom of her body on fire.

She didn’t know it could feel like this. So frantic.

So desperate.

She clung to him as his thumb began to stroke her clit, driving her to the edge. She gyrated and bore down, needing more. Craving release. Unwilling to slow down until his cock could fill her.

Then he slid his finger back out.

“No!” It was a half-gasp, half-moan.

“Wait for me, sweetheart.” Blade shifted her to unfasten and lower his pants. He tugged them and his boxers down to his knees, grabbed her ass, then positioned her over him.

The anticipation was killing her. She heard herself whimpering, begging… Then he entered her.

Lily squealed as his cock took the place of his finger. Hard and thick and swollen with need, filling her so completely she thought she’d split open.

He snarled and thrust upward, driving her into another level of ecstasy. How was such pleasure possible? She was lost, heading toward a place she’d never been before. Her hands tangled in his hair, her only tether to reality as the rest of her body was somewhere unimaginable.

Every stroke made her tremble from temples to toes. Every thrust sent sparks flying from her core to her extremities. She clung to him, whimpering with each surge, flying higher and faster into the unknown.

“Oh, God,” Lily cried out when she didn’t think I could take it anymore. “Oh, God. Blade.”

“Come with me, baby,” he murmured, hauling her down as he jerked upwards, sending spasms through her, unleashing the explosion that had been building since their first kiss.

She came hard, screaming with the release. Rapid convulsions consumed her. She jerked spasmodically, crying out his name and digging her fingers into his back.

He held her tight against him, gripping her waist, pistoning his hips. His body went rigid, his head tipped back, and he roared as he went over the edge. She kissed him hard as he exploded inside her, thinking it was the perfect way to end this perfect union.

But it wasn’t over.

The spasms lingered, extended by his primitive thrusts, building again by his renewed attention to her breasts. He sucked a nipple into his mouth and teased it with his teeth while reaching between her legs. Still pumping, still driving, he stroked her clit. The surge built with dizzying speed and delirious desperation until she shattered, her body at once thrumming with electricity and numbed into immobility.

She collapsed on top of him, a swirling pool of roiling emotion.

He held her for a long while. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. She lay in his arms, savoring the moment, cataloging every feeling, every sensation, as the memory might have to last a lifetime. What they’d just shared was incredible, and knowing it may never happen again… It was too intense. She began to sob, her tears a mixture of emotion and desire and overwhelming release.

“Shh.” He kissed the wet trails on her cheeks then the drops on her eyelashes. Finally, his mouth found her lips.

It was different now. Gentle, tender. It felt like they’d both given everything and now were broken. There was nothing to hide, no walls between them. Just brutal honesty and raw emotion.

He knew. Just like she knew.

Whatever happened tomorrow, they’d always have this.