Speechless (8 page)

Eva shuddered, chilled by Stone’s expressionless listing, as
if these people were as common as pharmacists and teachers. She had no response
for him, no way to continue a conversation about arms dealers and slave
traders. Stone filled the silence.

“We thought they might eventually decide that you were a dead
end, but then they started getting bolder. By that time, I had recovered from
the surgery and started following their main surveillance team. When they
approached you so directly, I couldn’t stand back and let them hurt you. No
matter how hard we try there is no severing the connection between us. It’s
obvious even to Cronen and Smith.”

Who’s Cronen?

“The leader of the ring I exposed. He’s the assistant
director of the agency.”

Oh. What about the director?

“He’s burned out and about to retire.”

This isn’t real, is it? I’ve somehow fallen into a movie
or something.

“It’s real, Eva. I’m sorry. Try to get some rest.”

Eva hadn’t been able to sleep in the car since the accident
that killed her mother. Even without that she wondered if she’d ever be able to
sleep again after what Stone had just told her, so she watched the Boston
suburbs turn rural, felt the road go from straight to winding, rolling hills to
steep climbs and descents. Stone looked over at her occasionally, but neither
of them said anything. He pulled off the road for gas once and Eva took the
opportunity to use the restroom and pick up some snacks. Who knew when or if
they would stop to eat.

How far are we going?
Eva asked as Stone opened the
car door for her. He scrubbed a hand down his face before answering.

“Tonight? I’d like to get out of Massachusetts before we
stop.”

And total?

“Kentucky.”

Why there?

“I have people there.” At her look of exasperation, he went
on. “Remember when I told you I was an EMT in a rural area? It was Kentucky. We
need to keep a low profile for a while and that’s as good a place to do it as
any.”

What about my work? I have classes to teach and papers to
grade, not to mention my research. I’m supposed to be presenting at a
conference in a few weeks. Maybe you didn’t notice, but my collecting
expedition was interrupted and I have to do a lot of scrambling to make up for
it. Everyone is going to be wondering about me. It’s not like before, when no
one noticed anything.

She knew she sounded petty and demanding. She blamed it on
exhaustion and stress, shock and fear and her need to grasp onto something
real. Stone grimaced. “I’m sorry, Eva. I didn’t plan on things working out this
way. You’ll have to call in sick in the morning. That man and his partner who
we arrested tonight were errand boys and you can be certain that their bosses
won’t let up. It’s simply not safe for you to go about your daily life. They
have a lot at stake and if hurting or killing you will keep me from exposing
them, then they’ll do it.”

And then she heard his voice in her head again.
I could
not bear it if anything happened to you.

Stone—

I nearly went mad, worrying about you. When this is over…

Stone, don’t.

Why not?

Because you said we’re still in danger and I don’t want
to start planning for a time that might never come. I’m superstitious about
planning. The more of it I do, the less likely any of it is to happen. So I’m
not going to plan for “when this is over”.

“Fair enough.”

How am I supposed to call in sick?

“I’ll do it.”

They’ll still worry. What if they call me at home?
They’ll suspect, especially since I already went missing once.

“I know. I’ll think of something.”

They fell silent again. Eva thought about saying something
about being able to hear Stone the way he could hear her, but decided there
wasn’t much point. It was a first, like everything else with him, and she knew
neither of them could explain it. What didn’t break their connection made it
stronger, she supposed. Eventually she dozed, until the road began to wind even
more dramatically, with a drop off on one side and a mountain on the other. It
was still dark when they topped the peak they’d been ascending, but when Eva
turned and looked behind them, she could just see the beginning of sunrise on
the eastern horizon. Then they dropped down the other side and back into night.

I can drive if you need me to.
Eva’s napping had made
her more alert and the dark circles under Stone’s eyes and the stubble on his
chin made him look like he had been awake for days.

“We’re going to stop soon. If I stop driving, I’ll fall
asleep and the route gets a little tricky ahead.”

That fills me with confidence. Should I sing to keep you
awake?

Stone shot her a smile. “I’ll be all right.”

About an hour later, they crossed from Massachusetts into
New York and just outside the first little town, Stone pulled into the parking
lot of the Evergreen Motor Lodge. While Stone arranged their room, Eva went
across the street to the White Pine Family Restaurant and got them a table. She
stared at the menu, trying to decide which of the monstrous breakfast platters
to order. It seemed wrong, somehow, to be ordering breakfast when they were
about to go to bed. Sleep. Go to sleep. Together. She shook her head. She had
to stop thinking like that, despite what Stone said about “when this is over”
or that it was okay to think about him. Still, she’d been longing for his touch
since she’d woken up in the hospital, needing it more than any of her doctor’s
prescriptions or treatments, her father’s concern or comfort. As they’d talked
in the car, some of the distance between them had closed and she needed to
touch him, to close it up the rest of the way, if that was even possible. At
least this time she knew who he was. And maybe she was as frightened of him now
as she should have been in the cabin.

Stone slid into the seat across from her and gave her a
piercing, questioning look, as if he could tell she’d been thinking about more
than the menu. It had been that look, those eyes, that had captivated her when
she first saw him, that strange combination of strength, command and kindness.
He looked down at his own menu and Eva shook herself out of her trance.

“What looks good?” he asked.

You.

Stone lifted his gaze back to her, met her eyes and gave her
a slow smile. “The only room I could get this early in the morning only has one
bed.”

Eva smiled.
Perfect. It’s how we’ve always done it
before.

The waitress interrupted them, tapping her pencil against
the edge of her order pad impatiently. Eva, through Stone, ordered fruit salad
and a muffin, too tired to have much appetite, while he asked for scrambled
eggs and toast.

I don’t have any clothes.
The thought occurred to Eva
and she “voiced” it before she could stop herself.

“We passed a Target on the way into town. Do you want to go
after breakfast, or after sleeping?”

After breakfast. Before sleeping. I need to brush my
teeth and take a shower and I will not want to put on dirty clothes later.

Stone nodded his consent. “I have enough cash to cover a
small shopping spree.”

I have some money and a credit card.

“No. They can trace credit card use. I have plenty. I
planned for it.”

The waitress appeared and slid their plates onto the table,
giving them a puzzled look as she did, as if trying to figure out if Stone were
carrying on a conversation alone or was just plain crazy. They ate in silence,
as if by mutual consent. Not talking about the motel room with one bed only
heightened Eva’s anticipation, although she wondered if she would fall asleep
the moment she hit the bed. She licked a drop of melon juice off her bottom lip
and Stone’s gaze, suddenly hungry, fastened to the movement of her tongue then
traveled up to her eyes.

They got up from the table together. Stone pulled a couple
of bills from his wallet and dropped them onto the table and they left the
restaurant. Eva headed for the car, but Stone caught her elbow and tried to
guide her to the motel. Eva shook her head.

Toothbrush.

He glared.

You can help me pick out lingerie.

His expression changed instantly from irritated stare to
wolfish grin and Eva smiled as she got into the car. When they got to the store
and found the right department, Stone headed straight for the lingerie section.

What sizes?

Eva gave him a dubious look.

Trust me. I’ve shopped for women before.

And where are they now?

Funny. Just tell me.

So she told him and tried not to watch him too closely as
she looked for regular clothing. Before too long, she had picked out a pair of
jeans, some nice slacks and a few shirts she could wear with both and with the
skirt she had on. A few pairs of socks and some cheap canvas sneakers rounded
out her new wardrobe. She found Stone trying to decide between a black lace or
a red satin barely-there bra. Neither looked especially comfortable, but the
others he’d chosen were more modest and practical, without being boring. She
pointed at the black one.

Get some matching panties and come find me in the health
and beauty section.

She left him to continue his shopping.

Eva.

What?

Get some condoms.

Do you have any diseases?

No. You?

No. They tested me for everything known to man in the
hospital.
Eva had switched her birth control method from the pill to an IUD
in the hospital, so she bypassed the condoms.

Stone met her as she grabbed a toilet kit from the shelf and
he added her new underwear to the cart. She peered at it and saw a surprising
mix of sexy and practical and, thank God, not a single thong. She arched her
eyebrows.
I’m impressed.

“I told you I had practice.” He eyed the selection of items
Eva had dropped into the cart. “No condoms?”

I’m on birth control.

His wolfish grin returned. “Ready to go?”

I want to grab a duffel bag or something for all of this.

Fifteen minutes later Eva was fully outfitted and Stone
tossed the now-full duffel onto the backseat of the car.

“You should try on those things I picked out when we get
back to the motel. Just in case we need to take it back.” Stone gave her that
grin again. Eva answered with an irrepressible yawn and his smile disappeared.

Despite her exhaustion though, anticipation curled in Eva’s
core. She could almost feel those circles of heat and sensation Stone’s touch
had always sent rippling through her. She knew she should try not to imagine
it, knew that her memory could not be accurate, knew that her memory was
recalling the situation as much as the touch. Recalling their solitude and the
sense of security he’d provided as much as the way he’d teased and sucked and
tasted her breasts, explored and caressed and filled her pussy with his fingers
and tongue and peaches. She felt herself opening already, weeping moisture just
at the recollection. If she imagined what awaited… She felt heat rise inside
her.

“Eva?”

Hmm?
She opened her eyes, not realizing until just
then that she had closed them.

“Are you all right? You look flushed.”

She smiled at him.
I’m fine.
More than fine.

When they got back to the motel—a basic motel room, clean
and well-lit but with an ugly bedspread on the bed, ugly art bolted to the
walls and an overactive air conditioner—Stone pulled out his cell phone.

“What’s the phone number for your department and your
doctor’s name?”

Eva told him and he dialed. When someone answered, he
recited the story he must have invented as they drove. “Hi. I’m Steve, calling
from Dr. Morris’ office on behalf of Eva James… Yes. Eva was having some pain
in her leg and the doctor has told her to stay off it for a few days, so she
won’t be coming to work for the rest of the week… Yes, I’ll tell her… Yes, she
will be checking e-mail occasionally. The medicine the doctor has prescribed is
fairly strong, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t get an answer right away… Thank
you. And Eva asks that I apologize for her. I know she feels guilty about
leaving you in the lurch like this… Yes, you’re absolutely right. Thanks
again.” Stone hung up. “You have a very understanding secretary. This will keep
them from worrying for a few days, at least. Now, I want to know if what I
picked out for you fits.”

Eva carried her new duffel and all its contents into the
bathroom. She adjusted the water in the shower so it wasn’t too warm—cooler
water would wake her up, while a hot shower would only make her sleepier—and
jumped in just long enough to soap off. Stone would probably protest that she
smelled too much like soap now and not enough like herself, but there was no
way she was getting into bed, especially with Stone, feeling as grubby as she’d
felt five minutes before. After the shower, she took her time putting her new
hair brush and toothbrush to use, then sorted through the underwear Stone had
picked out for her.

It was clear which set he wanted her to “try on.” The black
lace bra was by far the skimpiest and looked as if it might create some extra
cleavage. He’d picked out two pairs of matching panties, bikini and boy shorts.
The first couldn’t quite handle her curves, but the latter fit perfectly,
showing off those same curves. She studied herself in the mirror, looking at
the paleness of her left leg, so newly freed from its cast. It was thinner than
the right one, too and it still ached if she tried to do too much. Would he
find it ugly or see it as a reminder of how she’d upset his life? Would it
surprise him, this sign of the injury that had brought them together? She shook
her head to clear her thoughts. Stone wasn’t the type to be put off by such things.
She hoped. How well did she know him, after all?

She stepped out of the bathroom and found Stone on the bed,
leaning against the wall with his legs stretched out. He was shirtless and with
the top button of his jeans undone, he could have been a billboard model. His
eyes traveled her body even as he bulleted from the bed to her. She shivered,
half from the super-cooled air and half from anticipation.

Stone’s hands hit the wall on either side of Eva’s head and
she barely had time for a breath before his mouth crushed hers, devouring her,
tasting and exploring like he never had in the cabin. She opened to him and his
tongue skated across hers, touching and withdrawing, skimming her lips, then
back to explore more of her mouth.

“God, Eva,” he muttered as he kissed her and she breathed
his words in, answered them with a whimper. His hands roamed her body, sliding
from neck to breast to waist to stomach and back up again. Finally, he pulled
back from her lips, looked down at her and framed her face with his hands.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said, leaning his
forehead against hers. “I had this ache that wouldn’t go away, like someone had
torn part of me out.”

Stone.

“I don’t deserve you. I thought maybe it was divine
punishment, to have known you then have you taken away from me.”

Stone—

But Stone went on as if he had not heard her, as if, once
he’d freed these words, he could not stem the tide.

“God, Eva, the feel of you, your delicious scent, the sound
of your voice in my head—you fill my soul.”

She didn’t want that kind of responsibility. His soul was
too deep, too dark for her to take responsibility for. He started to say more
and she stopped his mouth with hers. All she wanted was to be with him, to
touch him and feel his touch. Her leg had healed, but only now, with him, did
she feel whole.

So she kissed him, ate at his mouth the way he’d devoured
hers moments ago. Whatever control he’d exercised evaporated and he ground his
hips against hers, the solid rod of his erection against her mound. His hands
were hot against her skin, through the lace of her bra and panties, as they
traveled her body, lingered on her breasts and hips and bottom. His fingers
caught in the waistband of the boyshorts and before she knew what he was doing,
she lifted each foot to step out of them and he dropped them on the floor,
instantly forgotten. A moment later, his jeans and briefs joined them.

His erection nestled in her folds and he groaned as he moved
against her. Eva echoed him, clutching his ass and pulling him to her. She
could feel his pre-cum mingling with her own juices, could feel them running
down the insides of her legs.

Please.

He lifted one of her legs and she wrapped it around him.
Then he cupped her bottom in both hands and raised her effortlessly off the
floor. Now both her legs circled his waist and his hands and the wall supported
her. He raised her until the tip of his penis was poised at her opening, then
he lowered her onto him, thrusting at the same time, filling her to the hilt.

Eva cried out at the penetration, the sweetness of it, the
fullness, the simultaneous protest and rejoicing of her muscles and nerves at
his invasion. He stilled for a full three seconds as Eva’s tight channel
adapted to his presence.

“I wanted to…the first time…God, Eva.” Then he bucked,
pounded into her and the sweetness flooded her core, spreading out through her
hips and breasts, all the way to her fingers and toes. Too much, too intense
and the orgasm blew her apart, tremor after tremor chasing through her body. And
through it all, Stone kept moving until Eva thought she would scream so loudly
the whole state would hear her.

Stop. I can’t… Stone, too much…
She seemed to have
lost any coherence she might ever have had. But Stone seemed to get the
message, because he slowed his rhythm, even if he didn’t completely stop.

“Sorry. You feel so good. I couldn’t wait.”

Eva gave a shaky laugh.
No apology needed. I’ve
never…like that. I just need to breathe.

Stone shifted her a little, changed his angle and hit a new,
sensitive place deep inside her. Eva gasped.
Do that again.

He did it again and again, speeding up and she hurtled
toward the brink faster than the first time. When he drew a nipple into his
mouth, sucking it through the lace of her bra, the warmth of his mouth combining
with the texture of the fabric, she toppled over.

This time he followed her with a final thrust and a rough
shout, jetting his seed into her, as her inner muscles pulled him into her
core. Part of him was part of her now. Somehow she knew that his ejaculation
was a claiming, the forming of a bond that could never be broken. And she
welcomed it.

Still hard, he stayed inside her, though his thrusting had
finally slowed to a stop and he rested his head against her shoulder as they
caught their breath.

Eva recovered first.
This was a fantasy of mine,
she
said.

He raised his head and looked at her, his eyes a bit dazed.

Being taken against a wall like this.

A slow smile spread across his face. His mental voice was
thick with satisfaction and promise.
I remember. Any more fantasies you want
to fulfill?

She shook her head.
Just being with you.

“Hold on.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tightened the grip
of her legs around his waist and he turned her away from the wall and took the
three steps required to reach the bed. He laid her down and settled between her
legs without ever coming out of her. Impossibly, she felt him lengthen inside
her and his hips started up with a slower rhythm than the first time, a gentle
stroking of her channel rather than the unrestrained pistoning of before.

Her third orgasm came after a slow build, helped along by
Stone’s mouth scattering kisses over her face and neck and suckling at her
breasts—when had her bra come off? she couldn’t remember—and his very adept
finger finding her clit.

When the aftershocks faded, her exhaustion hit, her desire
too sated to hold it off any longer. She felt as if her limbs were filled with
lead. She gazed blearily up at her lover and saw a reflection of her own
weariness in his eyes and tousled hair.

I’m so tired, Stone.

He kissed her, his mouth warm and reassuring against hers.
“Go to sleep. We have time to sleep.”

* * * * *

Stone rolled onto his side, taking Eva with him. He was
still sheathed in her and he wanted to stay that way as long as possible, but
he didn’t want to crush her. Burying himself in her felt so right, the
culmination of the connection between them that had begun in the cabin,
consummating whatever it was that had brought them together.

Something inside Stone had burst open—and he didn’t mean his
cock—flooding him with warmth and tenderness for the woman in his embrace. He
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was love. He wasn’t sure how he
knew—the same way a parched man knows water or a starving man bread when he tastes
it. The same way a born-again man knows salvation. It hadn’t hit when he’d
entered her, or even during any of the orgasms that had shaken them both,
although finally coming inside her had given him the primal male satisfaction
of physical claiming. No, the emotional flood had rushed through him in the
still moment after he’d offered to make her fantasies come true, when he’d
realized that he meant all her fantasies, not just the sexual ones.

“Eva?” He brushed hair away from her face as he spoke,
wanting to know if she had felt the same things he had, if she would let them
think about the future now that she was his. He felt no echo of response in his
mind and he smiled. She’d been so tired, he was surprised she’d stayed awake as
long as she had. God, she was beautiful, even when she was uncertain, worried,
confused. She’d been amazing back at the train station, following his very
vague “distract him” instruction with quickness and creativity. He’d seen her
slight limp as he’d walked with her to the car and it had made his own leg
hurt. But she’d brushed off his questions of how she was. All he could think
about was how to make everything better.

She still felt good, still caused that nearly physical pain
from the unused emotions she made him feel. He hoped those muscles would
stretch and adapt, become as fit as his other muscles, so he could love her as
well as she deserved, so he wouldn’t be living with this pain for the rest of
his life, because that was how long he planned to keep Eva with him.

He inhaled her scent, not as woodsy as in the cabin, but she
still smelled like Eva, like his woman ought to smell. When she’d come out of
the bathroom, freshly showered and wearing the things he’d picked out for her,
the way the bra and panties had emphasized and outlined her curves, her soft
and firm places, combined with her smell…he’d been ready to come even before
he’d touched her. He felt himself harden inside her just at the thought of it.
He sighed in pleasure and shifted himself for comfort and access.

Eva sighed in her sleep and moved her shoulder away from
him, exposing a breast. Stone licked his lips at the sight of her rose-colored
and rapidly pebbling nipple. He held her hips close to his with his hands and
bent to swipe his tongue across the breast, which seemed to beg for his
attention. She gasped and arched.

Eva?

Still no response and Stone debated waking her up. He liked
making love to her this way, seeing her unguarded reactions, experimenting with
his mouth and hands and cock to see what made her react and how, discovering
how they best fit together in a comfortable, leisurely way, without the
pressure to perform perfectly. He would let her sleep, give her pleasant dreams
and do nothing they hadn’t already done. Which actually left him with a lot of options.

He pulled her nipple into his mouth and suckled gently. The
taste, the feel of her was sustenance to his soul. He wondered, when they had a
baby and she was nursing, how would he survive without being able to taste her?
His hips started pumping slowly and without his command, almost as if his cock
wanted to get the process going, plant his seed in her so deep, no birth
control could keep it from rooting. His hands began to roam her body,
memorizing her shape, the softness of her skin, the way her muscles and ass
flexed as she pushed back against him. Stone moaned with the desire to take
her, to bury his whole self inside her. It was more than he felt comfortable
doing while she slept.

Eva, wake up. Please wake up.

Stone? What…
And then she felt him and he felt her
inner muscles contract around him.
Oh. I love the way you fill me.

All his control shattered. He rolled onto her, pulled her
legs up to allow more depth and he plunged into her tight channel. He didn’t
want to leave her warm wetness, wanted to lodge deep inside her forever, but
his hips wouldn’t stop, moving him in and out, in and out, taking them both
closer to orgasm. Until Eva’s back arched and body shook, her vagina spasming
around his cock and he burst, coming with a ragged shout.

Only when they’d both caught their breaths and the
aftershocks had passed did he finally withdraw from her fully, falling onto his
back next to her.
I love you, Eva
.