Wicked and Dangerous (23 page)

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, moving to his feet. But he didn’t leave her.
Instead, he took off his jeans and turned off the light.

“What are you doing?” she asked, when he climbed back onto the bed, pulled the covers
over them, and yanked her against his chest, tangling his legs with hers.

“Just shut up and let me hold you,” he said into her hair, tucking her head beneath
his chin again. “I haven’t been able to sleep worth a damn tonight anyway.”

She was still hurt that he’d left her, but didn’t argue or resist, simply wanting
as much time with him as she could get. Lying quietly in his arms, she thought he’d
already fallen asleep when his deep voice rumbled above her head in the darkness.
“Did you know that you’re the only person I know who calls me Scott?”

“Not in my thoughts.”

“Huh?”

“I
think
of you as Ryder,” she explained. “But I purposefully started using your first name
when talking to you a long time ago so that you might notice me. I wanted to be different
from all the other girls you knew.”

Running his big hand down her back, he said, “You didn’t need to do that to get me
to notice you, Lil. You were firmly stuck in my head from the first moment I ever
saw you, even though you were too damn young for a guy my age.”

“Well, I’m a big girl now. So you don’t have to feel like a pervert anymore,” she
teased, cuddling a little closer to his mouthwatering bod as she hitched her leg over
his hip.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Considering some of the things
I’d like to do to you, I think the pervert thing is probably still valid.” His tone
was wry.

“Oh yeah? What kind of things?”

“Things that would be too much for your sore little pussy right now,” he rumbled,
sliding his hand between her legs and cupping her puffy folds. He slipped his fingertips
around her vulva, which was already hot and slick. “God, I love how wet you get for
me. But damn, you’re really swollen, Lil. I went at you pretty hard tonight.”

She moaned low in her throat. “I’m okay.”

“Well, let’s make it better than okay.”

Even though she knew how incredible his mouth was, she was actually sore enough that
she didn’t think she would be able to fully appreciate his efforts when he pushed
her to her back and started kissing his way down the front of her body. But she’d
underestimated him and her need for him. Her craving for the way he could make her
feel. Her body melted into a pool of hot liquid as he held her open with his thumbs
and took his time, licking her slowly, thoroughly,
hungrily
. The hard, husky sounds he made in the back of his throat, along with the feel of
his hands as he gripped the insides of her thighs, keeping her pressed open, made
it clear that he was really enjoying himself. Even when she started to come, he kept
at her, licking and sucking on the tender opening of her body, eating her out in every
sense of the word until she was boneless and replete, too steeped in satisfaction
to even open her eyes.

“What now?” she asked when he placed a lingering kiss to her still softly pulsing
clit, then moved back up beside her.

“What do you mean?” There was a definite edge in his voice, as if he was worried about
where she was going with the question.

She trailed her fingertips down the hard ridges on his sexy-as-sin stomach. “Don’t
I get a turn?”

“You can have your turn later,” he said, clearly relieved she’d been talking about
giving him head, and not what was happening between them. He grabbed her hand and
flattened it against his chest, over the heavy beat of his heart. Then he pulled her
close and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “Right now, just get some
sleep. I’ll be here until I have to go and take over the watch for Mike. I won’t leave
you again. I promise.”

With those beautiful words drifting through her head, Lily closed her eyes and drifted
away.

SEVEN

THE NEXT DAY PROVED TO BE HELL FOR RYDER. SHEER FUCKING
hell. He’d wanted to wake Lily up slow and easy, with his dick already buried deep
inside her, where he knew she would be soft and wet . . . soaking him, hugging him.
Had wanted to squeeze himself in, forcing that mouthwatering cunt to give way for
him, and then ride her with gentle nudges, like a lapping sea, until she’d finally
opened her eyes and stared up at him. There would have been a small, sexy smile on
her pink lips. And it would have been his signal to fuck her harder, until they were
pounding away like a storm. Hot and raw, with sweat flying and her short nails digging
into his back, urging him on. It was a hell of a fantasy. But he hadn’t been able
to play it out, since he’d had to leave her to take over for Mike in the early hours
of the morning.

Like a bad sitcom, his luck hadn’t improved as the day progressed. Once everyone was
up and moving around, he’d kept trying to snag a moment alone with her but shit just
kept getting in his way. First there were the calls from Ben, giving him frustrating
updates on the search for Radovich that was so far going nowhere. When he’d finally
gotten off the phone with the sheriff and tracked Lily down in the living room, where
she was reading, Mike had walked into the room announcing that lunch was ready. Getting
desperate, Ryder had cornered her in the kitchen when they’d finished eating and managed
to steal a hungry, mouthwatering kiss from her. She’d tasted delicious, and the innocent
blush on her cheeks when he’d finally pulled away to suck in some much-needed oxygen
had only cranked up his need to fuck her. But before they’d even made it out of the
kitchen, there was another interruption when Reese showed up at the front door with
her friend Brit. The women had come over to keep Lily company for the afternoon, and
while Ryder appreciated the friendly gesture, he’d still wanted to wring their damn
necks for getting in his way.

Listening to the women chattering away in the living room, he’d hunkered down with
Mike in the control room and focused his mind on the Radovich problem. He knew Mike
had to be aware of what had happened between him and Lily during the night, considering
how loudly she’d been screaming. But Mike had been smart enough not to say anything
about it, which was a relief. She might be gutsy as hell in some ways, but Ryder wasn’t
sure how much teasing she could take about the two of them fucking each other’s brains
out. Especially when it was just a temporary thing.

A scowl wove its way between his brows as that last thought twisted through his mind,
same as it’d been doing all damn day. He hated the cramp in his gut that came every
time he thought about the fact that what they had wasn’t permanent. He had no doubt
that the end would . . . suck. For both of them. But it wasn’t going to keep him from
getting as much of her as he could until the Rado situation was over and she could
haul her little ass back to Virginia.

Where I’ll never get to see her. Or talk to her. Or hear her laugh.

Muttering a guttural curse under his breath, he pushed away from the desk in the control
room, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard Reese and Brit saying their good-byes.
The women had even stayed to help clean up after dinner, and Ryder had tried to work
out his frustration in the fitness room, then grabbed a shower while everyone had
coffee. But now they were finally leaving, Mike was taking the first watch again,
and Ryder couldn’t wait to get Lily alone.

With a comfortable pair of jeans hanging low on his hips, he waited in the hallway
for Lily to head to her room, anticipation making his heart pound like a bitch when
she turned the corner. She gave him a shy, sweet smile the second she saw him, and
his damn dick nearly burst through the denim.

“Jesus. I didn’t think they were ever gonna leave.” He grabbed her by the waist, jerking
her against him, and buried his face in the curve of her throat. “I can still taste
you in my mouth, Lil. I can’t get it out of my head. It’s kept me hard the
entire
fucking day.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck, and he could hear the smile in her voice as she
crooned, “Aw. Poor baby. That can’t have been comfortable.”

“You’re telling me,” he muttered, herding her into her room and locking the door behind
them. It took him only a handful of seconds to get rid of her tank top and lacy bra,
and then he lifted her against the front of his body, his face buried between her
perfect tits as he carried her to the bed. “I need help, Lily. I need you to help
me.”

Her touch was gentle as she sifted her fingers through the damp locks of his hair.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what exactly has gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into me?” He was already leaning over her and pulling down the zipper
on her jeans, his shaking hands making the task anything but easy. “How about the
fact that I’m dying to get my tongue back
into
you? It’s damn near the only thing I can think about, which is seriously fucked,
seeing as how I’m meant to be thinking about how to keep you alive.”

“You want to go down on me again?” she whispered, still touching his hair, petting
him like a wild animal. Which was exactly how he felt with her. Wild and savage and
completely out of control.

“Again?” He wrenched her panties down with her jeans, pulled them off her slender
legs, then tossed them over his shoulder, his lungs working even harder as he took
in the beautiful sight of her spread out naked before him. “I never wanted to stop
in the first place. But you were tired last night and needed to get some sleep.”

A warm blush started to burn beneath her creamy skin, her bright eyes glowing in a
way that made her look impossibly happy, and it pierced something deep in his chest.
“You really like it that much?” she asked him, scooting back a little to make room
for him as he climbed onto the bed with her.

Loving the way her breath quickened as he crawled over her, he said, “You have the
sweetest little cunt I’ve ever tasted and I just want to keep my face buried in it.
So yeah, baby, I definitely like it.” He flashed her a sharp smile. “I fucking love
it.”

She gave him a teasing look through her lashes, her tone coy. “And is your tongue
the only thing you were hoping to get back inside me, Deputy? ’Cause I was kinda hoping
we could do more.”

“I’d love that, too, but we can’t,” he said wistfully. He’d noticed her wincing a
few times when they’d been clearing the table after dinner, and when he thought about
how hard they’d gone at it the night before, it hadn’t been difficult to figure out
why.

Her expression fell. “What? Why not?”

He gave her a knowing look. “Because you’re probably sore as hell, Lil.”

Oh . . .
She was, but Lily wasn’t going to let
that
stop her when there was no telling how much longer they had together. “It doesn’t
matter.”

His response was gruff. “It matters to
me
.”

Before she could argue, he shoved his hand between her legs, his long fingers slipping
through her swollen folds, opening her. He pushed two into her, working them deep,
pumping into her tight, wet heat before pulling out. Then he lifted his hand to his
mouth and sucked the glistening digits clean. “Fuck,” he groaned. “I swear you taste
even sweeter today. How is that possible?”

She pushed against his chest, making him roll onto his back. Kneeling beside him,
she started yanking at the buttons on the fly of his jeans. “No more of that until
I get to mess with your mind the same way you’re always messing with mine.”

He went so still she didn’t even think he was breathing. “You want my cock in your
mouth?” The husky rumble in his voice left no doubt that he liked the idea.
A lot.

“That’s exactly what I want.”

He raked a hand back through his hair and grimaced, as if the idea caused him pain.
“Fine,” he growled, lifting his hips to help her as she struggled to pull down his
jeans, stripping him bare. “But it’ll probably kill me.”

Lily started to scowl, until she realized he was teasing her. “I might not have a
lot of practice, but surely I can’t be
that
bad at it,” she said, throwing his jeans over the side of the bed.

He seemed to be having a little trouble breathing as she situated herself between
his long, powerful legs, and his eyes were getting heavy. “I have no doubt it’ll be
the best I’ve ever had. But my heart might not take it.”

She snorted, pressing her forehead to his muscular thigh as she took him in hand.
“You’ll survive.”

“You think I’m joking, but I’m not.” He pulled in a deep breath, then slowly let it
out. “Seriously, Lil. You have no idea how far this is going to push me.”

“Come on. I know you, Scott.” And thanks to some of the comments she had heard Mike
make, she knew he had a helluva reputation in this little beach community as a guy
who liked to fuck but not commit. “You’ve probably had more head than any other man
I’ve ever known.”

•   •   •

SHIT. EVER SINCE
he’d walked away from her, Ryder had tried screwing Lily Heller out of his memory
in a never-ending stream of women. But it hadn’t worked, and there’d always been a
part of him that felt like hell for even trying. As if he were betraying her somehow.
Of course, he’d justified his actions with the belief that she probably had her choice
of handsome men whom she willingly shared her body with. Only, that hadn’t been the
case. Oh, he knew she’d had the opportunity, and that she’d dated, but after last
night it was obvious she’d never let anything get too serious between her and another
man. He, on the other hand, had slept with more women than he could remember, and
it made him cringe. They might not have meant anything to him, but it didn’t change
the fact that he’d fucked them. If Lily had done the same, he’d want to hunt down
every man who’d lost himself in her beautiful little body and make him hurt for it.

Not that he had the right to feel that way. All he’d offered her was sex. It seemed
like so little in comparison to what they could have had if he wasn’t so screwed up
inside. But at least he could offer her a little honesty to go along with it.

Lifting himself onto his elbows, Ryder gave her a sharp look. “I don’t give a fuck
how many mouths I might have been in. They weren’t yours.”

She lifted her brows. “And I’m supposed to think that makes a difference?”

His jaw tightened. “Think what you want. But I’m telling you the truth.”

She didn’t say anything at first. Just stared back at him with those big green eyes.
“I guess I better make it count, then,” she finally murmured, the husky words followed
by a slow lap of her tongue over the very tip of him. Then she took the heavy head
inside her mouth, sucking on it, and Ryder felt every drop of blood drain from his
brain.

“
Damn it
,” he gasped.

She pulled back, keeping her lips against the broad, flushed crown as she asked, “Good
damn it? Or bad damn it?”

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes as he fell back to the bed, his chest
shaking with a gritty burst of laughter. “Uh, that was a
I think I just saw stars
damn it.”

“I can live with that.” Then the crazy woman set about driving him out of his ever-loving
mind.

“Oh, God. Go slow,” he panted, reaching down and digging his fingers into her hair,
curving them around her head. “Make it last. I don’t want this to be over too soon.”

She sucked him a little deeper, and he cursed, his back arching as if he’d been jolted
with a sharp burst of electricity.

“Fuck!” he snarled, when his legs started to shake, the base of his spine tingling.
It was crashing down on him,
hard
, and he couldn’t hold it much longer. “I said
slow
, Lily!”

Her soft curls whipped against his thighs as she shook her head. “No. Just let go.
I want to feel it.”

And she got exactly what she wanted. The instant she sucked him deep again, Lily felt
his incredible power blast against her as he slammed over the edge, coming in hot,
violent bursts. His flavor was incredible, driving her hunger higher, pushing her
craving for him to a place she hadn’t even known existed.

“Wow,” she whispered, when she finally pulled back and looked up at him. “That was
really hot.”

“Yeah.” Ryder blinked, not even sure what he was saying. He lowered one hand, rubbing
his thumb against the corner of her swollen lips, where a drop of his cum was glistening.
He could feel his expression tighten, the way she was smiling at him the most beautiful
thing he’d ever seen.

“What?” she asked, her head tilting a bit to the side as she studied him in that way
that always let her see too much. But in this moment he had nothing to hide. She’d
ripped him wide open.

“You.” He shook his head, his voice shaking a little, too. “You’re so fucking sexy.”

A shy laugh slipped from her lips. “Naw. I’m just kneeling here.”

He touched his thumb to her bottom lip, rubbing the tip across her white teeth. “You
were doing a hell of a lot more than that. And now it’s my turn,” he said, quickly
grabbing her and pinning her beneath him as he reversed their positions.

“You’re obsessed!” Lily squealed, laughing as he kissed his way down her torso, until
he had his broad shoulders wedged between her legs.

He muffled his laughter against her inner thigh. “You complaining?”

“Hardly. It’s just that—”

He cut her off. “Based on the moaning and the screaming you did last night, and in
the motel before that”—he lifted his head a little and winked at her—“I kind of thought
you like it when I go down on you.”

She blinked at him across the trembling length of her body, thinking he was the most
gorgeous man in existence, with that hungry look on his face and his mouth already
damp from the way he’d rubbed his lips across her tingling sex before looking at her.
“Of course I like it,” she panted. “If I liked it any more, it’d probably kill me.
My
heart wouldn’t be able to take it.”