Chapter 19
Nineteen
SLOANE
It was strange. I knew I should be more upset because someone had been close enough to us to leave a rat on our door and slash Walker’s tires while he was inside the house with me.
I was unsettled.
But not as much as I was distracted by the fire he’d lit in my belly. It was like Walker had pulled out the stopper on all this sexual tension I’d bottled up over the years. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, about us. It was beyond distracting.
He’d left on the Sunday to investigate the car incident, but no one had seen a damn thing, which meant the perpetrator had been sneaky. Jamie watched over the cottage during the day while I baked a few cake orders for the week. Adam relieved him at night.
But Walker was there, Monday morning, to collect Callie and me.
If I was aware of the man before, now I was hyper-hyperaware.
For instance, the way his fingers brushed my lower back as I climbed into the passenger seat.
School was on a mid-term break for the week and Callie was spending the day with Lewis.
Regan was driving them to tae kwon do later that evening so the kids had asked if Callie could sleepover too.
When we dropped Callie off at Lewis’ and got back into the SUV, Walker had reached over and squeezed my thigh, and I felt it right between my legs.
Except for the touching, Walker was his usual self. Blunt, short sentences as he asked me how I was and updated me on the situation. They were still struggling to find Nathan in LA.
I wanted to kiss him, but except for the thigh squeeze, Walker’s demeanor was a little standoffish. It was surprising, then, when we entered the castle together that he pulled me into a shadowed corner to kiss me breathless.
Then he’d released me, brushed his thumb over my mouth, his expression as tender as I’d ever seen it, and told me to have a good day.
At that moment, he reminded me of that Scottish flower—the thistle. There were all these prickles on the stem and leaves before you could get to the pretty flower. That was Walker. You had to look beyond his gruffness to see he was a caring, good man.
The thought panicked me a little.
I could not get attached to him. I’d promised Walker no-strings sex, and I intended to keep that promise.
Which I did when he drove me home from work that night. Callie wouldn’t be home all night, so I invited Walker in, and we didn’t even make it upstairs before the man was inside me.
The next day at work, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d bent me over my couch and …
By the time the end of my shift arrived, I was revved up and wanting more. Problem was, there was no tae kwon do or sleepover tonight, and Walker and I were heading from the castle straight to Regan and Thane’s to collect Callie.
There were only two nights out of the week where we’d definitely be able to sneak in some time together and, honestly, that just didn’t sound like enough to me.
“You all right?” Walker asked as we settled into his SUV after work. “Is it Andros?”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“You haven’t said a word since I came to the staff room to collect you.”
“Oh.” I stared at his strong profile as he drove toward the staff exit. “No, I’m just preoccupied with other stuff.”
Walker frowned. “Anything I can help with?”
Laughter trembled on my lips. “Actually, yes.”
He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. “What’s up?”
Instead of answering, I waited until we’d driven through the gates and onto the main road that led toward the village.
“Sloane?”
“Is there anywhere private you could pull off? I … there’s something we need to discuss.”
Walker’s hands tightened ever so slightly around the wheel. “I can’t think of anywhere. Just tell me as we drive.”
“There.” I pointed to a dirt road that cut into the trees.
“That’s a private road for the estate.”
“So no one will be in there, right?”
With a quizzical look and a sigh, Walker slowed and turned onto the dirt road. It disappeared into the trees, and he slowed the car to a stop a few seconds later. “We drive any farther, and we’ll trip the CCTV system.”
I most definitely didn’t want that.
Glancing behind me, I was happy to see the road was hidden, which meant we were hidden.
“What’s going on?” Walker turned to me.
In answer, I bit my lip and unclipped my seat belt, my eyes hot on him.
Understanding darkened Walker’s expression. “Here?”
Instead of answering, I unclipped his seat belt and reached for the waist of his suit pants. His breathing grew shallow, and I locked eyes with him as I freed him from his pants. Eyes low-lidded with want, he studied my face, waiting to see what I’d do next.
So I wrapped my lips around his cock and took as much of him as I could into my mouth.
“Fuck!” Walker barked out as his hips jerked, thrusting deeper into my mouth.
Then he brushed the hair off my face so he could watch me suck him.
I watched him, too, as I sucked hard and licked, while I pumped the root of him with my fist. I rested my free hand beneath his now untucked shirt.
The color rose in Walker’s cheeks as his chest rose and fell in rapid breaths.
While one hand held my hair back, the other grabbed the headrest of his car seat, his fingers biting into it.
His biceps bulged, straining his black shirt.
A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, and I felt his abs ripple beneath my hand.
My jaw ached a little, and I sucked harder.
Walker huffed out my name in pleasured pants, and my underwear grew damp with my excitement. It thrilled me I could make this big, stoic man lose his mind.
Then his jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring, and he hissed, “Stop.”
I was confused, but I released him immediately. My lips felt swollen and, by the way Walker’s gaze zeroed in on them, I guessed they were.
“Jeans and knickers off,” he demanded as he pressed the button on the side of his seat that pushed it back.
I didn’t waste a second. With very little grace, I shimmied out of my jeans and panties as Walker donned a condom. Then I was straddling him, my thighs trembling with anticipation as I rested my hands on his big shoulders.
He gazed up at me with a fierceness that I now knew meant I was about to be thoroughly fucked.
“Top and bra off too,” he commanded.
Impatience rode me, but I quickly drew my sweater up and off and unclipped my bra. When my breasts bounced free, Walker cupped them, and I arched into his touch.
“Ride me. Hard.”
The man didn’t have to ask me twice.
I took hold of his erection and guided him where I needed him. Then I pushed down onto Walker and gasped against his lips as his thickness filled me.
“Yes,” I panted, bracing my hands on his shoulders again. “Walker, yes. Feels so good.”
“Aye,” he grunted, squeezing my breasts, massaging them, plucking at my nipples. “Fuck me, Sloane. Take what you need.”
What I wanted was a mind-blowing orgasm, and my body seemed determined to get it immediately.
But I forced myself to take it slow, to enjoy him.
When I twisted my hips at a certain angle, he hit me exactly where I needed him.
My fingers bit into his shoulders as I grew more desperate for the exquisite tension building inside me.
“Sloane,” Walker groaned, squeezing my breasts harder as his hips flexed under me, his movements constrained by his clothes and the car.
It made me hotter. He’d been the boss so far, and was still topping from the bottom even now, but I enjoyed knowing I could do whatever I wanted to him.
As if he sensed my thoughts, Walker’s eyes narrowed and he sat forward before he roughly pulled my hair back so he could clamp his mouth over my breast. His lips pulled at my nipple, and sensation scored down my belly to the apex of my thighs.
“Walker,” I keened. My fingers scraped through his hair as his mouth tormented me, and my hips picked up pace. Walker released me to lift his head, and we stared into each other’s eyes as I rode him. We held each other’s gaze, mine low-lidded with building tension and his intense with lust.
“Fuck me,” he growled against my mouth.
I increased my pace, the pleasure building higher, higher, our breaths mingling as we panted against each other’s mouths.
And then that tightening coil inside me snapped, and I arched my neck, crying out my release, Walker’s lips pressing between my breasts seconds before he groaned in climax.
I shook, trembling as the orgasm melted through my limbs.
“Sloane,” Walker grunted as I throbbed around his pulses. He tugged on my hair again and then his mouth was on mine. He kissed me thoroughly. Deep, possessive, wet kisses that lit me on fire all over again. He broke it to pant harshly, “The way you come … fuck …”
I took his awed tone to be a good thing.
Smiling, I leaned back. Despite the cooling weather outside, sweat dampened my skin. I moved to get off him, but Walker’s grip on my hips tightened.
“Give me a second,” he said, his gaze roaming over my face and then my chest.
As if he couldn’t help himself, he bent his head and took my nipple in his mouth. Aftershocks of pleasure rippled through me, and I groaned as Walker took his sweet time licking and sucking at my breasts.
Finally, he kissed my breastbone and sat back. Satisfaction had softened his harsh features and he patted my bare ass. “We better go get Callie.”
For a moment, I felt a flicker of shame that I was going to be late to pick my daughter up because I’d wanted to have car sex. It was unlike me to be so selfish.
“She’s safe with Regan and Thane,” Walker said, as if he read my thoughts. “We’re not that late.”
I gave him a grateful smile and climbed off him to get dressed.
He dealt with the condom and put it into a little plastic bag he’d kept in the back of his seat. “Remind me that’s in there,” he joked.
Chuckling, I nodded as I buttoned up my jeans and clipped my seat belt on.
“Better?” he asked.
“I still want you,” I admitted with a wry smile. “I guess my body is making up for that five-year dry spell.”
“Five years?” He raised a brow as he reversed expertly back to the road.
“Did I not tell you that?” I chuckled to myself. “Yeah, the last time I had sex was with that guy Nathan chased off, and it was only a quickie. Nothing to write home about. So I guess I have a lot of pent-up sexual tension.”
“More than happy to help you with that,” Walker assured me with a quick grin that did wicked things to my insides.
My ringtone suddenly blared through the car, and my heart jolted. Mom guilt immediately filled me, thinking it was Callie calling to ask why I was late. Fingers trembling, I grabbed the bag off the floor and riffled through it until I found the phone.
It wasn’t Callie.
It was Flora. I told Walker so before I answered, “Hey, Flora.”
“Sloane …” Flora’s voice held an edge I didn’t understand but knew I didn’t like. “There’s something going on at your cottage, lass. Mrs. Fairley said she passed it and the door is open. She said it looks like someone has been in and vandalized it.”
“Oh my God.” My heart raced. “Okay, I’ll be right there. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Of course. We haven’t called the police, but we can if you’d—”
“No, no police.” I could feel Walker glancing at me constantly. “I’ll be five minutes.”
We hung up, and before Walker could bark orders at me, I relayed, “Flora said the cottage has been broken into.”
“Fuck,” Walker muttered under his breath and put his foot down.
We arrived at the cottage five minutes later, skidding to a stop outside it to see Mrs. Fairley, a neighbor, and Gordon, a retired villager who owned a bunch of property here, standing guard.
Walker asked them what they’d seen, and they answered him as if he were the police. All the while I stood there, afraid to peer inside.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen the actual break-in.
“We should call the police,” Gordon insisted.
“No police. This is a private matter.” Walker stared him down, and Gordon, a large man not easily cowed, nodded carefully.
It was my fault. I knew Walker wanted the police involved, but I couldn’t subject Callie to that.
“Thanks for watching over, but we’ve got this.” Walker not so subtly suggested that they leave. Mrs. Fairley frowned at me in worry, but nodded as Gordon led her down the street to her own cottage.
My hands shook as Walker turned to me. “Wait here.”
It seemed like an age that I stood on the sidewalk waiting for Walker to reappear. Eventually, he did.
“There’s no one here.” His face was hard with checked anger. “But prepare yourself.”
I knew as soon as I stepped in what I was supposed to prepare myself against.
It wasn’t the ripped cushions and couches that had been shredded. It wasn’t the broken picture frames of me and Callie and the Adairs and Juanita. Nor the trashed kitchen or the cakes that had been smashed against the walls.
Later, I’d know it wasn’t even because of the dead rat that had been left in my bed.
I was supposed to prepare myself against the threat spray-painted across the living room.
YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE
Nausea rolled up my stomach. Nothing could distract me from the evidence of fury in the cottage. Pure and utter rage had been set off like a bomb in our home.
I hurried outside and threw up my lunch on the sidewalk.