Rekindled (Titanium Security Series) (17 page)

Curious, a little hesitant to ask in light of the emergency hysterectomy the doctors had been forced to perform during the surgery to save her life, he stole a glance at her. “What about you? You ever wish you’d…”

She nodded, still staring out the windshield. “Sometimes. Since I was over forty and my marriage wasn’t great I’d given up on the idea with Robert, but after I met you I wondered if maybe…” She blew out a breath and Alex’s gut knotted when she put a hand to her abdomen.

Unable to help himself he reached out and gripped her hand, squeezed. “I’m so sorry that choice was taken from you.” And that he hadn’t been able to prevent that loss.

She pressed her lips together, gave another little nod, and he knew she was battling the ghostly memories swirling between them. Thankfully she didn’t pull her hand away. Instead she curled hers fingers around his and stroked her thumb across his knuckles. “Well. No sense regretting all of that, because we can’t go back and change the past.”

“No,” he agreed. Which was why it was vital he fix the damage he’d caused, show her how much he wanted her. How much he wanted—needed—her in his life. He couldn’t go back to living without her.

They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the drive to the hotel. In the underground parking lot he parked in a secure area and shut off the engine. When she made no move to undo her belt, he glanced over at her. She was staring at him with an unreadable expression, still holding his hand, and she didn’t seem to be in any hurry to exit the vehicle. Alex quickly scanned the lot and contacted Hunter via their earpieces as the Titanium team leader parked the other SUV close by. The threat level here was minimal. He could see two uniformed guards posted at the lot entrance and knew there were others. “We clear?”

“Clear,” Hunter responded.

The lot was secure, well-lit and patrolled by guards, and nothing had tripped Alex’s internal radar. It was clear Grace wanted to talk, so if she wanted to stay here for a bit, he was fine with it. “You guys go ahead, but post one of you inside until we join you. We’ll be in shortly.”

“Roger that.” Two spots over, the other SUV’s doors popped open. Hunter, Gage, Ellis and Jordyn climbed out and headed for the stairwell entrance.

Having given them as much privacy as he could considering they were in a parkade, Alex focused back on Grace. “You okay?” She looked like she wanted to say something but either didn’t know how or wasn’t sure if she should. “What?”

As she gazed at him, a new tension filled the quiet interior. Arousal buzzed over his skin like a low voltage electrical current, crackling with sudden awareness. She seemed to be measuring him, her pretty eyes glittering in the light from the tall lamp posts that trickled through the tinted windows. Before he could prompt her again she undid her seatbelt, leaned forward, and pulled him down into a hot, hungry kiss.

Momentarily caught off guard, Alex recovered fast and swallowed a groan at her outward display of need and desire. As her fingers speared into his hair he took her face in his hands and seized control of the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue to slide inside and taste her. She made a soft sound at the back of her throat and kissed him harder, her fingers tightening in his hair. Heart pounding, Alex let his right hand trail down her jaw to her neck, paused to feel the rapid pounding of her pulse with his fingertips before he skimmed his hand down to follow the generous curve of one breast.

Her answering gasp was lost in the ravenous kiss. She tasted faintly of mint and smelled like sin. She arched her back to press that soft mound of flesh harder into his palm. Remembering how sensitive and responsive she was, Alex cupped her, squeezed and explored gently before sliding his thumb over the hardened center pushing against her bra and shirt. A strangled whimper escaped her. She scrambled up onto her knees on the leather seat and plastered herself against him, trapping his hand between them.

“I’ve been thinking about this all day. More,” she demanded breathlessly against his mouth.

Fuck yes
.

Alex took over. He climbed over the center console, grabbed her seat release lever and dropped the top half back as far as it would go. Grace gasped and grabbed his shoulders for support, her eyes wide and full of arousal at his move as he followed her down and stretched out on top of her, settling his hips between her legs. The contact was torture, not nearly enough with her snug skirt restricting her movements and blocking access to where he wanted to be. Grace licked her shiny lips and stared up at him during a long, charged silence.

When he saw the knowledge that she was trapped and at his mercy register in her eyes and the shot of pure heat that followed, Alex dipped his head and took her mouth again. He pinned her with his weight, reveling in the way her arms came around him and the little noises of enjoyment she made.

His cock was hard and full against her pelvis. With a frustrated groan, Grace raised her hips to rub against him, wanting more. The friction through their clothing wasn’t nearly enough for either of them. Easing away, he reached down, grabbed the hem of her skirt and yanked it over her hips to bunch around her waist. There was just enough light for him to make out the skimpy black panties she wore, offset by the paleness of the fine-grained skin of her upper thighs above the lace bands of her sheer black thigh highs. He swallowed a groan at the sight of her and those soft, rounded thighs that would fill his hands perfectly, give him something to squeeze as he rode her to ecstasy and back.

He smoothed a hand over their satiny curves, watching her face as he hit the sensitive spots he knew would make her even hotter. The way she bit her full lower lip when he came close to the edge of the fabric covering her sex sent a thrill of power through him.

Without giving her time to surface from the arousal, Alex buried his face in her neck and breathed her in, giving her little licks and nibbles that made her squirm in his arms. Christ, she was so soft, it drove him nuts. He wanted to feel her naked against him, bury himself as deep into that softness as he could get. He trailed his tongue up the side of her neck, chuckled softly when she gasped and threw her head back to give him more access.

Only when she was twisting against him, fighting for more friction, did he finally lower his hips into position and wedge his erection tight against the scrap of fabric between her thighs. At the contact Grace gave a broken cry and dug her fingers into his back. The scent of her arousal swirled around him, making his head spin.

“Oh, God, touch me,” she begged breathlessly. “Please.”

Alex suppressed a growl at the raw need in her voice. Making her fly like this was one of the greatest thrills and pleasures of his life. He loved seeing her this way, protective walls down, craving him so much she let her pride go and surrendered to pure sensation. He quickly lowered his hands to the hem of her top and pulled it upward until the shiny material of her bra was revealed to his ravenous gaze. He paused only a moment to enjoy the view of her ample cleavage displayed so erotically in the black satin cups before reaching behind her to undo the strap. She helped him by wiggling out of it and her breasts spilled free.

This time he couldn’t hold back his groan.
Oh, hell.
He’d always been a breast man, but Grace’s were fucking spectacular. Creamy and plump, topped with tight deep pink nipples. Cupping the luscious mounds reverently, possessively, he buried his face between the heavenly softness and drew in her warm scent as he kissed her smooth flesh. Her breathing turned choppy, her hands clutching at his back through his shirt as he swirled his tongue over the velvety skin and moved in toward the rigid nipples that begged for his mouth.

Alex hummed in enjoyment at the sweet taste of her, reveling in the way she squirmed against him. Normally he’d draw it out, make her wait, but he needed this as much as she did. He dragged the flat of his tongue over one hard tip as he slid an arm beneath her hips to hoist her pelvis upward. He shifted his body to hold her in place with his weight when she bowed up and rubbed against his groin. God, she felt and tasted even better than he’d remembered. Closing his eyes, Alex drew the taut peak into his mouth and sucked, flicking his tongue over the sensitive flesh in the way he knew she loved. Grace let out something close to a sob and arched her neck in a long, lovely line.

He was in heaven. His erection pulsed heavily between his legs as he rocked against her center, his mouth teasing her tender nipples. Her breathing hitched. She reached down to dig a hand into his ass, rubbing her pelvis against him in frantic little circles. He could tell from the sounds she was making and the tight expression on her face that she was getting close already. So was he. It’d been so long; he was so worked up from having her willing beneath him that he could easily come in his pants if he kept rubbing against her like that.

Alex broke the kiss and lifted his head. Grace watched him through heavy lidded eyes, her lips shiny and swollen from his kisses, her gorgeous breasts still cradled in his hands, rising and falling with her rapid breaths. Her nipples were stiff and swollen from his mouth, deep pink morsels he wanted to taste again. And again. He was breathing hard himself, one hand braced on the backrest beside her right shoulder. His cock was so hard it hurt, instinct demanding he finish this, here and now. That wild, hungry glint in her eyes almost undid him, but there was something else he needed first.

“Say my name,” he rasped out. She hadn’t said it yet. Not once. He needed to hear her call him by his real name, acknowledge who he truly was, not as Jack.

She blinked up at him, those slumberous aqua eyes locked on his. “Alex,” she whispered. The hoarse, needy edge to her voice stroked over him like a lazy tongue.

He growled in satisfaction and took her mouth as he rubbed his cock against her center in slow, deliberate circles. Grace moaned into his mouth and brought one leg over his hip to get more contact. Heat built higher, those sexy little mewls of pleasure she made threatening to snap the last shred of control he was clinging to.

At the thought he shook himself. Fucking her in the front seat of the SUV wasn’t what he had in mind and it definitely wasn’t smart. Once he got inside Grace, there was no way he’d be able to focus on his surroundings, and he’d already let his guard down more than he probably should have under the circumstances. But Jesus, in that moment he’d have given anything to open his pants, pull that damp scrap of lace and silk between her legs aside and plunge into her as deep as he could get.

No. He’d taken so much from her already—whether inadvertently or not, it didn’t matter. Now he needed to give.

Fighting for the legendary control he always seemed to lack around her, he forced himself to come up on his knees. She lay there panting beneath him, those gorgeous breasts on display, those fucking sexy thigh highs and heels making him want to dive between her legs, pull those sexy panties aside and lick her until she came screaming. Instead he brushed a lock of her hair back from her forehead, drinking in the sight of her and the way her eyes glittered with pure lust. Once he got her upstairs into the privacy of his room, he was going to show her exactly what she meant to him.

He lifted her into a sitting position, helped her get decent again and grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

****

Grace barely remembered the trip up to Alex’s room, too distracted by the blistering sexual need he’d lit inside her to notice anything but him as they passed through the brightly lit lobby. He kept her close to him the whole time, pulling her up against his hard body and skimming his hands all over her in the elevator. By the time they reached his door she felt frantic and edgy, her skin violently sensitive, as if it was stretched too tight. She remembered with vivid detail how it had been between them before. Those silver eyes delving into hers as he pushed her to the brink of release and pushed into her.

Let me love you.

The memory of those words, whispered in that deep voice, made her throat tighten.

“Stay here,” he said in a low voice as he opened the door. He went inside, presumably to ensure the room was still safe, and as she stood alone in the hallway, the euphoric haze began to evaporate. She was already deep under his spell, and having sex with him would only bind her tighter to him. She knew herself well enough to know that she could never keep her heart out of the equation. With him it could never be just sex. A moment’s indecision made her pause. Was she making another huge mistake?

Alex appeared in the doorway. The sheer heat in his eyes made her mind go blank, and when he tugged her inside and grabbed her close for a hot, deep kiss, she couldn’t think at all. His arms were taut around her, one hand buried in her hair to hold her head still, the other gripping her ass as he pulled her flush against him. He pushed his tongue between her lips to stroke hers, caressing the inside of her mouth in a way that left her wet and aching for him.

With effortless ease he guided her backward until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the wide leather ottoman. She sank onto it and lay down, but came up on her elbows with a sound of protest when he didn’t follow. Alex stayed her with a shake of his head and stood towering above her. “Take off the skirt and top,” he ordered in a low voice that sent a shiver of longing through her.

Her body pulsed all over as she remembered the incredible pleasure he’d bestowed on her before. Except this time she felt a little shy with the lights on and him watching her so intently. She slowly drew the hem of her top up and over her head. Alex let out a deep growl, his eyes fastening on her cleavage. Her nipples tingled in response, dying for the feel of his mouth on them again. Next she lifted her hips to reach back and undo the fastener on the waistband of the skirt. But then she hesitated. She was forty-six years old, had put on weight since she’d last seen him and the surgical scars on her belly were—

“Off,” he bit out.

Her hands trembled slightly with a mix of nerves and desire as she drew the snug material past her hips. As though sensing her hesitation, Alex sank to one knee before her and took over. He peeled the skirt down and off her legs, leaving her in only her bra, panties, thigh highs and heels. A low sound of approval that turned her insides molten rumbled up from his chest, but when his gaze snagged on her scars for a moment, she instinctively covered them with her hands.