Rescuing Melissa (ALPHA TEAM: Guardian Hostage Rescue Specialists)

27. White Silk

TWENTY-SEVEN

White Silk

CJ

CJ shouldn’t have gone for the kiss. He stormed off to the other end of the hotel suite, shaking out his hands.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

There was so much they still needed to talk about before he confused things with kisses because there definitely would be more. But how to broach the connection with his sister?

He stopped at the large picture window and yanked back the curtains to stare at the city lights.

Street lamps paraded off into the darkness—silent soldiers guarding the night. A clock tower squatted over the town square, keeping time. And off in the distance, floodlights bathed a deserted shopping center in artificial daylight, until the return of shoppers the next day. A few headlights pierced the darkness, illuminating safe passage for the people inside. There were a few areas blanketed by dark, those parts of town where power had yet to be restored. Despite that, the city breathed with a subdued vitality. Hidden between all the light, lurking in the shadows, a killer walked the streets.

What would Patterson’s timeline be this time around? Would one death satisfy his need for desecration, or was he even now brushing against innocent lives, choosing his next victim?

CJ wished he was out hunting, doing what he was trained to do, rather than guarding a woman who tangled his thoughts and had him thinking of nothing other than getting her into his bed.

The trip to this small town wasn’t anything he’d imagined it would be. He’d planned to close off a chapter of his life, witness an execution, and place a flower on his sister’s grave. It was supposed to be over. Instead, his sister’s murderer was killing again.

That was one hell of a detour.

He didn’t need the additional burden of a woman. Eventually, he’d have to tell her about the link which joined them. There was no easy way to address the small detail of Patterson’s rape, torture, and murder of his baby sister. He desperately needed to talk to Melissa before things went any further.

He massaged the corded muscles of his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension building there.

“CJ?”

He spun at the softness of Melissa’s voice. Time to deal with the damage of that kiss.

“Melissa.”

A silk nightgown draped her slim form, covering her body but hiding none of the details of what lay beneath. His mouth went dry, taken in by her beauty. When she took a step toward him, the fabric of the camisole shifted. He couldn’t help but stare at her perfection.

With great effort, he lifted his gaze and met her troubled expression. “You should be sleeping.”

The caution of her movements was painful to watch. After seeing the extent of bruising on her body, he was amazed she was even on her feet.

“I can’t sleep.”

He took an involuntary step back but ran up against the press of the window. The need to run was as palpable as the need to take her. Caught between two warring desires, he found himself paralyzed, afraid even to breathe.

Her eyes closed and she breathed out a long deep sigh as if steeling herself for a difficult task. Her lids flicked open and revealed her determination pinning him in place. She ran a finger along her lower lip, tracing the curve of her mouth.

“You kissed me.” Her brows knitted together, confusion forming a deep furrow.

He wanted to kiss her pain away. “Melissa—”

She held up a hand. “You said you didn’t come to the hospital to bring back my phone. What did you mean by that?”

His gaze darted between her eyes and the curve of her lips, trying to gauge her state of mind, but he came up empty-handed.

She took a few steps but turned away before she got too close. Her nightgown’s white silk hugged the curve of her ass and swished between her long, lean legs.

He checked his robe, making sure it was closed, and tightened the knot at his waist. Nothing was poking out that shouldn’t be, but he’d feel much more comfortable if he were dressed.

“Why did you kiss me then leave?”

“Because you need to rest.”Because if I stayed, I wouldn’t have stopped at a kiss.

“But, in the shower, the way you…so brisk and businesslike…like a chore.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “I’ve never felt so ugly. Why would you kiss me if you felt that way?”

Anguish filled her words. She wrapped herself in her arms, a gesture she did when she felt insecure like she’d become accustomed to being the only person who provided her comfort.

He moved. His powerful legs devoured the distance between them, while his mind replayed her words.

I’ve never felt so ugly…

He did that. He went to her, but she stepped away, holding out a hand to halt his advance.

“I thought you were teasing about the drowned rat comment. It seemed innocent and funny, but you keep saying things like that. I never thought anyone could be so cruel.”

He approached, but her upraised hand stopped him in his tracks.

She scrubbed at her cheeks. “I get who I am, and my life’s a mess.” She fisted her tiny hands and stiffened her spine. “I’m not asking for anything, but please stop toying with me.”

Oh, hell, this was worse than he imagined. How had he messed things up so badly for her to believe such horrible things?

Professionally and personally, he was taking advantage of her vulnerability, but he no longer cared. He needed to feel her lips and taste her sweet mouth. She needed to know how he felt.

“That’s not what I think at all.”

“Then, why?”

He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him, sweeping down to claim her quivering lips before she could react and pull away. As his mouth brushed against hers, she gasped and placed a hand against his chest, but she didn’t push him away. Her fingers curled in the fabric of the robe.

He deepened the kiss, daring to taste her tempting mouth. And while he closed his eyes, he tightened his grip around her waist, trying to be gentle with her bruising, yet desperate to cleave her to him.

She tilted her face back, the soft touch of her lips, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. His cock tightened, fully aroused now, and a tingle of electricity surged through him. He slowed down the kiss, taking time to explore, teasing her to open to him and tangle her tongue with his.

She moaned as he claimed what he wanted, and then he broke the kiss. Not to release her, but to pull her close, and allow her to feel the full force of his arousal pressed between them.

He placed a finger under her chin. “That shower was the hardest thing I’ve endured in a very long time. I kissed you, but I want to do so much more. I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”

She gasped.

“You’ve had a long day, and the last thing I wanted was to make things more difficult. You needed help, and I was trying to help, not push myself on you. I’m sorry if I made you feel ugly.”

“It felt like you were washing a dog. My nurse touched me with more interest than you, and I’m pretty sure he’s gay.”

He laughed. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror? Drowned rat, baggy pants, and you can barely move. You fell in the shower because you had no right taking one alone. A bath would have been the better choice.”

The corner of her lip turned up. “I didn’t think I could fold my body into that tub.”

“Well, what did you think I would do in that shower?”

“I don’t know, but did it ever occur to you to cop a feel? Give a girl some hope?”

He threw his head back, releasing a deep belly of laughter. Now that had not been what he’d expected her to say.

“Cop a feel?Did you really just say that? And you could’ve done the same thing.”

“What?”

“Cop a feel. Can’t you feel how much I want you?” It was a struggle to remain a gentleman around this woman. He gave her a quick once over. “Do you even know how gorgeous you are?” He gripped her upper arms, settling on the safest place on her body to touch. Grabbing her waist would ensure one of two things. Either he’d cop a feel of her ass, or pull her against his hardened cock. A little friction…he shook his head. She was his assignment—a woman to protect, not fuck. But damn did he want to do just that.

“Honestly, I felt like I was getting a sponge bath by a nun.”

“A nun!” Had she compared him to a celibate woman? To hell with Sam and protocol, and screw touching only her arms. He cupped the soft swell of her breast. “Is this something a nun would do?”

She bit her lower lip, and couldn’t have given a more perfect answer.

Sometimes life gave something amazing. He kissed her nose while his fingers traced the tight bead of her nipple until it pebbled beneath the silk of her nightgown.

She reached between them and released the belt of his robe. Her fingers skimmed his muscles, her fingertips tracing each ridge. He held himself perfectly still, unable to stop her exploration, and unwilling to try. She stared down at the full length of him, and a sly smile spread across her face, erasing that deep furrow over her forehead.

“You’re most definitely not a nun.”

He gasped as she gripped him, gliding her fingers up and down his cock. He dug his fingers into her shoulders while she curled hers around his shaft and stroked him root to crown. The path she traced sent bolts of electricity crackling along her nerves. This was not the direction he’d expected this conversation to go. Still, she seemed determined, and he was more than willing to oblige her hunger.

“Melissa.” He rocked forward with a groan. “I hope you’re not teasing me, because…”

There was a twinkle in her eye.

“How do I look to you now, nun? Do you see a drowned rat, or was it a fried rat?”

He rocked back on his heels while she stroked him. A groan escaped his lips despite his best intentions to remain silent.

“You look like the woman I’m going to fuck. Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish because I’m warning you, I’m the farthest thing from a nun.” He tried to capture her in one of his roguish gazes but found himself unprepared for the desire shining in her eyes. She placed a finger on his nose and gave a squeeze to his dick.

“That’s what I’m hoping for.” The glide of her hand up and down his shaft wasn’t light or tentative. “Is this okay?”

“Okay?” The gasp escaping his lips as she stroked him sounded needy even to his ears. Not the picture of the dominant man he wanted to portray. “It’s definitely okay. I have to tell you, I’ve been trying to be the perfect gentleman since the day you launched yourself at me. It’s been very hard not to take what I want.” It was time to turn the tables and take back control.

“Take what you want? You do want me?” She sounded hesitant and unsure, even with her hand all over his dick.

“Yes. Does my hard cock in your hand feel like a man who doesn’t want you?”

“Even knowing who I am?”

“What does that mean?”

“You know, my—”

He placed his finger over her lips. “All I need from you is to hear whether you want to continue this because if that’s a yes, this ends only one way, and that’s with me buried balls deep inside of you. Seeing as how your hand is on my dick, I’m taking that as a yes. But I don’t play around when it comes to sex. I want you. I haven’t been able to think about anything but you since we met. However, I won’t take advantage of this situation, and I most definitely won’t take advantage of you.”

He grabbed her ass, pulling her against his cock, then cupped her chin. His thumb rested at the corner of her mouth, and he dragged a finger across the curve of her lips, then breached them, pressing his thumb inside her mouth.

She curled her lips around his thumb, her tongue circling the tip in a sensuous promise of something more. Her lips were soft, whereas the velvet of her tongue had him groaning and his cock jumping. What would her tongue feel like on his cock?

“So what’s it going to be?”

She let out the tiniest of whimpers, and her gaze locked onto his with a look of desperation matching the need rising within him. She gave a slow lick, then released his thumb from the wonder of her mouth.

“I want you to take advantage of me.” She gave a soft laugh. “I haven’t felt anything like this in my life. Is it wrong to say that?”

“Not at all, but are you sure this is what you want? To be with me?” He picked his words carefully. If she needed only this one night, he’d give it to her, but he hoped this was more of a beginning than a one night stand.

“I do.” Her hand brushed against his cock, and her delicate fingers danced along his shaft.

Leaning in, he touched his lips to hers—just a slow, tender lick before taking more.

The contact detonated a spark between them.

“Fuck, there’s no turning back now. I want you so damn much.” His words came out in a furious growl.

She threw her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. His hands gripped harder, mindless of her injuries. He lifted her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. Nothing but silk separated his hands from her body, something he would soon remedy. He needed to feel the heat of her skin against his body.

Her mouth broke away, her head dropping with a sigh against his shoulder.

“CJ…” she breathed, “I want you too.”

Slowly, he lowered her onto the bed, bending down to suck on the tender skin of her ear. His hand slipped to rest on her belly, grabbing at the fabric of her nightgown. He sought her softest parts, tracing the curve of her breasts with his fingers and walking a path down her belly to swirl around her navel before heading lower still.

She pulled him down, arching her neck to encourage him. He obliged, licking and tasting from her earlobe down to the corner of her jaw, seeking the warm heat of her mouth while his hand explored. He was desperate to taste every inch of her body.

The nightgown needed to go. He found the hem and slipped his fingers beneath the silky fabric. She wriggled her hips, lifting so that he could uncover the expanse of her creamy skin to his aching eyes. Their eyes locked as he moved the bunched fabric over the swell of her breast, exposing her fully to his determined gaze. Time slowed down as she slipped her arms out of the spaghetti straps and let him pull the fabric over her head.

She lay before him, naked except for the small triangle of fabric covering her pussy. That would come off next.

Her arousal filled the air and slammed into him with a heady intoxication he would soon devour.

“God,” he murmured. “I’ve wanted to do this since the day we met.”

Her low laugh had him smiling. “Why didn’t you?”

He slapped the side of her ass playfully. “Because, I’m not the kind of guy who takes advantage of an injured woman.”

She looked at him with hooded eyes. “What kind of man are you then?”

He was a hunter. A boy who’d killed to save his mother. A man who saved strangers.

“I definitely don’t deserve you.” He divested himself of his robe, his cock bobbing in the air, eager and ready, but he wouldn’t rush this moment. She was a feast he intended to savor.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I’m the kind of man who’ll make a drowned rat scream.” A smile tilted the corner of his mouth.

“We need to discuss your pillow talk.” Her lips pushed out into a pout.

“How about this, then?” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I want to fuck you until you lose your voice from screaming until you can’t even remember your name. You won’t be able to walk for days, and I’ll be in you so deep, you’ll never forget I was there. And every time you open your mouth, it’ll be to beg me to take you again.”

Her mouth parted, and her chest heaved. “Oh, my.” The soft pink tip of her tongue rested on her bottom lip, then her mouth widened. “That was good.”

“Good?”

“Very.”

He devoured her, sweeping his tongue inside her eager mouth, claiming her for the night.

His hands wrapped around her waist, his fingers curling under the small scrap of fabric of her panties. Slowly, he pulled it over her hips and down her thighs, enjoying the delicious reveal. He tossed her panties on the ground.

Taking his time, he kissed her chin, then nibbled the soft spot where her neck joined her shoulder. His lips brushed over her nipples, which peaked with arousal. Moving with care, he kissed the worst of her bruising, tracing the angry lines of purple and red with his tongue, trying to determine how sensitive she might be. It would be too easy to hurt her, and his need demanded something rough and raw. He’d be soft and gentle if he had to, but he preferred a harder edge.

She didn’t flinch against his touch, her fingers curled in his hair, tentative and unsure as he moved between her legs.

He positioned himself between the smoothness of her thighs, inhaling her rich beauty, and glanced up to catch her eyes.

She released him and pressed her hands to the sides of her head, giving a soft moan and wriggling her hips beneath his hands.

He pressed a kiss to her mound, then another to the apex of her thigh. His fingers brushed her with gentle strokes, increasing the pressure and moving closer to her core. Then he feathered his kisses, his tongue driving against her tender nub until she bucked beneath him.

He wanted hard and fast but needed to make sure she could handle what he had to give. Tracing the seam of her pussy, he licked and kissed until she shuddered beneath him, melting back into the bed. He slid his fingers against her thigh, then pressed one inside her cleft. She groaned in pleasure, her legs opening for him. He sucked her clit into his mouth, stroking her as he slipped another finger inside her channel.

A strangled sound tore from her throat, her hips bucking beneath his mouth. He pumped his fingers in and out, feeling her walls clench around his knuckles. A shudder hit her body as he thrust his fingers into her, teased her G-spot, and pulled out, circling her clit before thrusting in again.

“CJ,” she cried out. “I’m…” Her entire body jerked beneath him. “Oh, my God!”

He pressed his tongue against her clit as she came apart beneath him, her breathing short and erratic.

Once she came down from the high of her orgasm, she whispered, “Oh, my God, it’s been years…”

Years? He pulled himself up the length of her body; he could do way better than that. They were just getting started. Then, it hit him.

“Fuck!”

“What?” Her lids flew open.

“No, fucking condom.” He pressed his forehead against hers and gave a muffled laugh, and then he kissed her lips.

He expected sympathy for their dilemma, but she laughed hard, dissolving into fits and giggles.

“What’s so damn funny?”

She pointed at him. “There’s a lesson for you. Next time, don’t kiss and run.”

“Kiss and run?” He glanced down between her legs. “I don’t think you can call that kissing and running.”

Her fingers traced the swell of his muscles. “Not that! What you did earlier.”

He tipped his head and vented a deep sigh. His dick ached, and once again, he’d go unfulfilled.

“Good night, you should get some rest.” She kissed him on the cheek and left him gaping as she rolled to her side.

“Good night?”

“Mm-hmm, I should get some sleep.” Another giggle escaped her perfect mouth.

He gripped his cock, angry as hell for not being able to claim her the way he wanted but pleased to have brought her such pleasure.

“How am I supposed to sleep?”

“Hmm,” she said. “Maybe you should make a run to a drugstore before morning. We can try again when the sun comes up, but I think nothing is open this time of night.”

He smacked her on the ass. “Don’t think I won’t. This isn’t funny.”

She turned back over and cracked one eye open. “Call it payback for calling me a drowned rat.”

“What if I apologize?”

She eyed his engorged cock. “I’m listening.”