Risking it All (12 page)

Keep her alive and safe. He’d justified

his role in guarding Sera as a way to

protect his sister, but it had become

more than that the second he met her. So

much more.

It had become everything.

With a heavy swallow, he walked

back up to the top of the stairs and

slammed the door, before descending

once more, slower than before. As he

entered the basement, she walked out

with a smile, holding up an object. A

cell phone.

“Found it,” she said. “Hogan took

away my cell phone. Figured there was

no harm in getting it back while he’s not

here to bully me.”

It was a weak cover story. She knew

it. So did he. Bowen grew sick as he

registered the look on her face. Fear. Of

him. She might be trying to brazen it out,

but she thought she’d been caught.

Thought it was over and he’d be the one

to mete out her punishment. He could see

it in her wide brown gaze, the bracing of

her shoulders. In his life, he’d never

been more ashamed of his reputation, the

life he’d led.

With one hand outstretched, he went

toward her. “Ladybug—”

“Have to get back upstairs.” She came

through the office door and skirted him,

heading toward the staircase. If he let

her go, she’d run and never come back.

That much was obvious. A part of him

wanted to let her. The rest of him

rebelled at the idea of never seeing her

again, letting her leave fearing him. It

was selfish and yet he couldn’t let it

happen.

Adrenaline blasted through Sera as she

hastened toward the stairs, dodging

Bowen’s attempt to grab her. She’d been

too desperate, too impulsive, and now

she would pay for it. Unless she could

somehow make it up the stairs and

escape through the kitchen into the alley.

Knowing Bowen and how he made his

living, her chances were slim. No matter

what

connection

she’d

imagined

between them or kisses they’d shared, it

would all go out the window now. For

some reason, the realization hurt badly.

Why did it have to be him who caught

her?

Dammit, she’d seen him occupied in a

conversation with Connor and thought

she’d have at least five minutes. Had she

been longer than five minutes? After

what she’d discovered, time had

blurred, then stood still. For all she

knew, an hour had passed as she stood

there, staring disbelievingly at Hogan’s

black book of debts.

She hadn’t wanted it to be true. Didn’t

see how it was possible. But there it had

been in black and white.

Her brother, Colin, had been taking

payouts from Hogan.

Later. She would think about it later.

Right now, she had to get away from

Bowen. She might have taken her

chances fighting him off as she’d been

trained, but she was unarmed and didn’t

know if Bowen carried his gun. As her

foot came down on the bottom step, she

cringed over the anticipation of a bullet

entering her back.
Please don’t shoot.

She chanted it over and over, calling on

Saint Michael for protection, even

knowing it would do her no good. He

wouldn’t let her leave alive after

catching her snooping.

An arm snagged her around the waist

and yanked her backward. One second

she was free-falling, the next she came

up hard against Bowen’s chest. Without

hesitation, she began to fight like hell,

attempting to bring her foot down on his

instep, but he anticipated the move and

shifted his foot. Her elbow managed to

connect with his gut, although besides a

grunt, he didn’t react.

“Stop
struggling
.” His voice sounded

pained, confusing her. “Please, just

stop.”

Sera gathered her strength to renew

her struggles, but went still when his

mouth nuzzled her ear. “Let me go.”

“I wish I could.”

Tears gathered in her throat. This was

it. Her uncle had been right. She wasn’t

cut out to be a cop, and it all ended now.

And after what she’d just discovered, it

had all been for nothing.
Colin, how

could you?

As quickly as the thoughts came, she

grew angry with herself. How could she

lose faith in her brother so easily? Not to

mention herself. There had to be an

explanation for Colin’s deception. She

simply wouldn’t believe otherwise.

With a burst of renewed energy, she

twisted from Bowen’s grip, throwing her

elbow as hard as she could into his

sternum. To her relief, his grip loosened

momentarily and she scrambled up the

stairs. She’d almost reached the top

when a hand circled her ankle, halting

her progress.

“Goddammit, Sera.” His hand gripped

the waistband of her skirt to gain

leverage, his bigger body covering hers

in seconds, keeping her pinned on her

side. Her breath sounded like a

windstorm in her ears as one calloused

hand slipped around the back of her

neck. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he

grated. “How could you think I would?”

His words partially broke through the

fogbank of fear. It didn’t seem possible

that he could have accepted her cell

phone explanation. He was too smart for

that, wasn’t he? “I know…I’m not

supposed to be down here. I thought you

might tell Hogan.”

“No.” He shifted their position, so that

her bottom rested on a stair, his hips

wedged between her thighs. His forearm

supported her back, cushioning her

against the hardness of the stairs. Her

worries dimmed when his closeness

registered. Bowen became aware of it at

the same time, because the pace of his

breathing increased. “Look at me. You

have nothing to fear from me. Ever. Do

you understand?”

The moment was so honest, his voice

so full of passion, she couldn’t stop her

own truth from escaping. “I don’t know

who you are.”

He shook his head slowly. “Baby, I

don’t know either.”

She shifted beneath him and he

groaned. The raw sound sent blazing

heat spiraling through her. After what

she’d just learned, how it had ripped her

beliefs to shreds, followed by the

possibility of being caught, maybe

killed, the emotions crashing around

inside her needed an outlet.
Now.
His

hard body between her thighs, his mouth

so close, promised a distraction. A

distraction she’d been wanting since

they’d met, if she was honest with

herself. Even in the dim light of the

basement, his base, hungry sex appeal

radiated from him, dragging her under.

Of their own accord, her knees rose on

either side of his hips, ankles locking at

the small of his back.

“
Oh, God
, don’t do that.” His hand

slid down from her neck to hitch her leg

higher around his waist, contradicting

his words. Rough fingers stroked down

the outside of her thigh, his hips rolling

once on a choked curse. “You just ran

from me. Forced me to catch you. I don’t

know if I can say no after being

challenged like that.”

“Don’t say no.”

He stamped his mouth over hers, as if

to chastise her for what she’d said, but

almost immediately his lips softened and

he granted her a deep, hot kiss. The hand

resting on the outside of her thigh

continued its path and cupped her

bottom, kneading, squeezing. They broke

away, panting at the intimate contact,

frustration coating his expression. “I

can’t let your first time be on the stairs

of a nightclub.”

“You’re not the one who decides what

I do with my body,” she argued, with a

lot more confidence than she felt. Yes,

this might be new to her, but she didn’t

want to stop feeling this way. She didn’t

want his weight, his touch, to leave her.

It would give her time to think.

Something primal, possessive flared

behind his eyes. “I’ve got my cock

pressed between your legs. For the sake

of my sanity, let’s say I
am
the one who

decides.”

His gravelly request sent liquid

warmth pooling in her lower belly.

Worried he would feel the wetness, she

tried to scoot back and close her thighs,

but he wouldn’t let her. Almost like a

warning, he gave a quick thrust of his

hips, sending the rigid fly of his jeans

dragging up the center of her damp silk

panties.

“Oh my God.” Desire flashed like

lightning, fast and jagged inside her. The

tug low in her belly was becoming

unmanageable. She wanted to squirm to

relieve the growing ache, but the friction

would drive her higher and she needed

to stay grounded. Right? It didn’t help

that Bowen had buried his face in her

neck, his breath rasping along her skin.

When his teeth sank into the side of her

neck, accompanied by another deliberate

drag of his erection against her core,

Sera

decided

embracing

the

overwhelming sensations was better than

letting him stop.
No, please don’t let

him stop.
She closed her eyes and

allowed her thighs to fall open, praying,

begging him to do it again.

Her gesture of permission seemed to

break something free inside him and he

began rocking against her, his tongue

licking up the side of her neck. “What

sound would you make the first time I

sink in, Sera? Would you scream for me

or your God?”

Feeling a sense of desperation,

needing an anchor, she turned her head

to ask for his mouth, but he anticipated

her. Their mouths fused together in a wet

slide of lips, throaty sounds of

satisfaction. She felt a pang of surprise

when he released her backside to work

his belt buckle. He’d just said he

wouldn’t take her on the steps. Had he

changed his mind? She opened her eyes

to watch his progress, her heartbeat

pounding out of control when he

unzipped his jeans and removed his

thick, lengthy arousal.

“I’m not going to put it in you, baby, I

just need to…” He dragged the head of

his fisted erection along the seam of her

panties. “Fuck. Fucking
Christ
.”

White light blossomed behind her eyes

at the contact with her clitoris. “D-do

that

again.
Please
,

Bowen,”

she

implored, hips rising to encourage him.

Teeth gritted, he used the head of his

length to circle her, over and over, silk

clinging to damp flesh. She moaned and

begged, the sound mingling with

Bowen’s dark curses. “Once I broke you

in, you’d be a sweet little fuck, wouldn’t

you, Sera? You’ve got innocent eyes, but

a hot, greedy body. God help me, I

would never stop banging you.”

He punctuated his final word by

pushing his hardness against the silk at

her opening, using his thumb to apply

pressure to her clit at the same time. The

material prevented him from entering,

but his round tip nudging her there, his

gorgeous face awash with agony as he

gave her pleasure…all of it sent her

rocketing over the edge. Broken sobs

ripped from her throat as her sex

trembled and clenched, every muscle in

her

body

seeming

to

spasm

simultaneously.

“
Bowen
.”

“That’s right, sweetheart.” He cupped

her jaw and tilted it, so she was looking

up at him. “You say
my
name when you

come now, don’t you? Every time from

now on.
Again
.”

“Bowen,” she panted. Before she’d

fully formed the word, he’d reversed

their positions, settling himself on the

step with her straddling his thighs. With