Chapter 32
JASON
Laurel going down on me was the most erotic thing I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t just the sensation of her hot mouth closed around my dick, but the visual of it too.
It left me with no choice but to stop her, only a heartbeat away from finishing too early again. I pulled her up to meet me, her mouth wet and swollen, and trapped her waist in my hands.
My tone was dark and teasing. “You are way too good at that.”
Before she could say anything, I captured her mouth with mine. My kiss was aggressive. Rough. And I yanked her jeans off with such haste I might have hurt her, but if so, she didn’t say anything or seem to mind.
We both had the same goal on our minds, judging from her determined look.
I tore off my shirt as she shed hers. My hurried fingers hooked under the straps of her bra and pulled them down her arms, not bothering to undo the band around her back. It would only slow me down. My hand closed around one of her breasts, and she made a sound of satisfaction low in her throat.
It was difficult for me to figure out which part of her body I loved the most. Perhaps her legs, but in this moment, it was definitely her high and firm breasts. I grabbed a nipple between my fingers and squeezed, causing her to plunge her tongue deep in my mouth, encouraging me to do it again.
She had on simple white cotton underwear beneath her jeans, and it was no less sexy, but she dragged the fabric down those long legs before I got much of a look.
I kicked off the pants and boxers wadded at my ankles, then bent to take a knee before her.
I looped an arm behind her, pulled her in so my face was in her lap and my tongue between her legs.
She gasped and her knees softened, threatening to collapse. Her face contorted like she both did and didn’t like it. Perhaps she didn’t want to stand as I brought her to orgasm.
I could turn and pin her hips to the wall, like she’d done to me, and give her some support at her back. But instead, I trailed kisses up her stomach, moving up until I could fill my mouth with one of her breasts while my hands wandered lower.
She trembled when my fingers touched her clit, finding her as ready as I was, and I couldn’t wait anymore. I spun us around and put her back against the wall, a surprised and confused expression on her face.
“Stay,” I said, leaving her leaning there and hurrying to the drawer.
I tore the condom open and put it on as I returned.
She’d taken off her bra and thrown it to the floor, coming away from the wall when I reached her.
That wasn’t what I wanted. I put a hand on her hip and eased her back against the wall again.
“Here?” she asked, almost inaudible with shock.
I didn’t answer with words. My fingers maneuvered their way behind her knee and pulled it up against me. My dick was hard, pressing on her, teasing her, changing her mind. Showing her this was what she wanted. How or where it happened didn’t make a difference.
I claimed what I was desperate for, slipping deep inside and making her moan, her back flattened to the wall. It felt good, but my rhythm was awkward with her one foot on the ground.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
She did as I asked and hooked her ankles together, pulling her body to mine. I lifted her by the arms and sank much deeper, generating a moan from both of us.
Her arms crossed behind my neck, and she let me hold her while I fucked her against the wall, her breath hot on my neck. Only this wasn’t fucking, was it? She’d said she might love me. And I was worried I might love her too, so what we were doing . . . it was something more now.
My hands were under her legs, supporting her as she arched into me. I wanted to make her feel good, to make her come. I’d heard her cry and scream in terror. Tonight, I was going to create memories filled with cries of pleasure.
Her hands grasped at me. Her legs were tight as a vise around my waist.
“I want to hear you come,” I breathed into her ear.
I ground my hips into her, hitting exactly where I needed to, and she threw her head back in response. A startled sound came from her lips, a cry loud enough that it was unmistakable what was happening.
Steam filled my body, and every one of her soft moans sent electric pleasure coursing through my limbs.
She was quaking in my arms, struggling to catch her breath when she resumed moving on me. Slow, deliberate. Laurel wanted control again.
I fully supported the idea. I carried her back toward the bed and lowered myself to sit while still inside her, one of her knees on either side of my lap. She lifted until I was barely inside her and then sank back down, painstakingly slow, until she was fully seated again.
I wanted to go faster, to go slower. Every synapse of my brain was firing, and the confusion of signals left me disorientated.
I cupped a hand to her cheek, brushed my thumb over her lips, and slowly dragged my fingertips down the soft skin of her neck. Down over her chest, her flat stomach, all the way to where we were joined. She was a drug to me, and every time I touched her the powerful effects were more addicting.
Her lips were tight against mine in a hurried kiss that changed, and her slow movements built in intensity, bringing my scattered thoughts into focus. I would make it last this time.
Didn’t want to ever stop.
The hand not stirring her abandoned her hip to trace up her spine and grip the back of her neck.
She had her eyes closed, but when I broke off the kiss, they fluttered open to stare at me.
They were full of passion, and need, and love.
All the emotions I felt and couldn’t express in any way other than what we were doing.
Her fingers laced together behind my neck, and she continued to move on me, our gazes locked together. I was aching for release, for her. And too soon, it built until I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Say it,” I asked.
She knew exactly what I meant. “I love you.”
And then I lost control, sending her right over the edge with me.
Pleasure burned through my body, leaving us both quivering. Her head lolled forward to rest on my shoulder, and I could feel her heart pounding through her chest, tight against mine, where my own heart was racing.
“If they haven’t found Frey, will you please go with Shawn?” I asked, struggling for breath.
“What?” Her head came up off my shoulder, and she gave me a hard look.
I took another breath, this one deeper. “After it’s over, as soon as he’s been captured, I’ll join you.”
Her eyes widened.
“I have to know you’re safe,” I continued. “I won't lose you again. As soon as I can, I’ll follow you.”
Her face was a mixture of confusion and excitement, but it soured with distrust. “Like you did to me on the helicopter?”
She had every right to be skeptical of my promise. “Things have changed since then.”
Like the fact that we were having this conversation naked. And I was still inside her.
“L, I don’t want us to be apart any more than you do.”
“Okay,” she said quickly. “I’ll go to Germany, and you’ll come when Frey’s either dead or in custody.”
My brain went on high alert. Too easy.
“And,” she added, “you’re going to let me help you catch him.”
“No. The whole reason you’re going is to stay safe.”
“What about Zupan? I’m supposed to hide when I can do something that could help save him?” Her voice fell to a hush. “And my sister, what if she’s in danger? I might be able to lure Frey out.”
“No. He wants to kill you.” I gripped her face, letting my expression go as severe as possible, causing her to swallow hard. “Or worse.”
She looked determined. “If you want me to go, those are my terms.”
Her lips touched mine and then were gone, and she climbed out of my lap, collapsing into the bed.
I wanted to shake some sense into her. To yell at her about how foolish she was being. She wasn’t just risking her life now.
Instead, I held my tongue, stood, and thudded into the bathroom. Hopefully, this whole plan was unnecessary. When I called Bill in the morning, Frey would already be in custody.
When I came back out, she was sitting upright and topless, the sheet bunched at her waist, and she was drinking my beer. The sight took my breath, and it made me wonder if I was ever going to get enough of her.
“I thought it tasted like swill.”
She gave me half a smile. “It’s not so bad. I might like it after all.”
My brother leaned against the doorframe of the hallway, lingering within earshot while Laurel sat beside me on the couch. She looked as nervous as I felt. I pulled the pre-paid phone out and dialed, then put it on speakerphone and set it on the coffee table.
Let it be over already.
It rang with a dull electronic trill.
It rang a second time, and I tried not to hold my breath. On the third ring, a familiar voice answered.
“Marshals office,” the woman said.
“Caroline?” This was the last person I’d expect to answer Bill’s phone.
“Dunn? Where the hell are you?”
“Around,” I lied. “I need to talk to Bill.”
“You need to talk to . . .?” There was an odd rustling noise, and then her voice fell to a hush. “Jason.”
Cold dread poured into my chest. She’d used my first name.
“Bill’s dead,” she said. “You need to get your ass back here now.”
Laurel didn’t make a sound as she pressed her hand to her mouth. Shawn straightened, tense. In all the scenarios I’d considered, this wasn’t remotely one of them.
My brain refused to function.
“Are you still there?”
“What the hell happened?” My voice was hollow.
“It looks like a home invasion gone bad.” Her voice stayed hushed. “But several of us have questions.”
Bill was dead. There wasn’t any doubt this was a result of the investigation, or because he’d helped me and Laurel disappear. Maybe both.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“No, not really.”
He’d brought me to Chicago, took me under his wing, helped me get through my partner’s death, and then managed to salvage my career after Nelson. He was a tough, direct man who led by example and earned the utmost respect.
So no, I was not okay.
“Do you know where the Hayward girl is?”
I fought back my emotions, trying to even myself out. “No.” Another good person was dead because of Frey. Trying to come up with any other thought was nearly impossible. “Did you find the sister?”
“No, our focus is on Zupan. Look, I don’t know what happened between you and Bill, but you need to come back. Everyone’s stretched thin, and we need all the help we can get.”
“I can’t.”
Laurel’s eyes were wet with tears, but she blinked them back and set her hand on my arm. I knew what she wanted, and with Bill dead, we were out of options. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“You can’t?” Caroline’s voice was angry. “Why not?”
“Because he’s protecting me,” Laurel announced.
I was so angry we’d been forced into this, I considered putting my fist through the glass coffee table. But it’d frighten Laurel, and she didn’t need that right now.
“So, I guess he does know where you are after all,” Caroline said. “What’s the plan, Dunn? You bringing her in?”
“No, she wants to go back to her life.”
I pictured her face on the other side of the phone, wearing the expression she made whenever she heard something ridiculous. “Did you fail to mention to her that was a bad idea?”
“She’s hoping to lure Frey out.”
“Ms. Hayward.” Caroline’s voice was stern. “You don't have to do this, no matter what Dunn told you.”
“I want to stop him from killing anyone else.”
There was a static-filled sigh from the phone. Caroline was practical. She’d see the enormous opportunity this risk could give them.
“When?” she asked.
“We’re heading back to Chicago now,” I said. “Should be there in a few hours. Convince the theater she needs to be back on stage for tonight’s show, and spread the word around.”
So Frey has enough time to hear about the bait, I thought bitterly.
There was a long pause before she came back on the line. “I’ll have a team there as soon as I can.”
My heart sank into my stomach as I pushed the button to end the call. The leather quietly squealed when Laurel moved across the couch into my embrace, either seeking comfort or wanting to offer it, and I greedily accepted.
“I’ll have them keep the jet on standby after I land at Midway,” Shawn said.
All I could do was nod.
Then I sat her up and put one hand on each of her thin shoulders, giving her the strictest look I had in my arsenal. “One performance. If he’s smart enough not to show, you get on the plane.”
The shoulders lifted and fell with her breath. Her gaze locked on mine.
“Yes,” she promised.