Banishing Shadows (3 page)

The walls of her sheath clenched as his torment continued—one warm, strong hand moving slowly down her body until he was cupping her mound. Without direction, her hips thrust up, pushing her pussy against his hand, searching for friction, for release. Answering her unspoken demand, he brushed a thick finger against her pulsing clit. Her hips stilled as she savored the wicked thrill of his touch.

Raising his head, Cord met her gaze with his. The hard desire she glimpsed in the depths of his gaze made her breath catch. She was almost frightened by his need, by hers. A need so intense it bordered on pain—a need that rode her hard, demanding to be set free.

“Come now, Kayla,” Cord commanded.

“No,” she cried out as he increased the pressure on her clit. She could feel it building, feel each flick thrust her that bit higher, drive her a bit more wild.

“I want you inside me. I want us to come together.”

Cord shook his head. “I want you to come now. And, baby, I always get what I want.” His lips descended on her nipple again, licking, sipping then biting hard. Oh god, it was painful and so very pleasurable. She shattered, orgasm rushing over her in thick waves, tearing her from reality.

Shuddering, lost in dreamy afterglow, she barely felt him moving her thighs apart. Cord raised her left leg, placing it across the back of the sofa. He then placed her other foot on the floor, leaving her open, exposed. With a gasp of realization, she quickly tried to close her legs, but he held her easily in place.

“Ouch!” She cried out as a slap landed on her sensitive lower lips. Like the bite to her nipple, the slap induced a curious mingling of pleasure and pain. “What the hell was that?”

“Just a little slap, Kayla. Keep your legs where I place them.” His velvety rough voice sent a tingle up her skin.

“What are you looking at?” she asked as he stared at her pussy. Inwardly, she cringed at the vulnerability she heard in her voice.

“You.” He glanced up, his eyes filled with such hunger, such lust that she gasped in shock. “You’re beautiful, all pink and moist. I wonder how you taste.”

He lowered his mouth, swiping his tongue through her folds. Her hips rose in shock at the sensation, a cry of wonder escaping her lips before she reached down with one hand to grasp at his hair desperately.

“Wait! Stop!” she cried out.

Cord raised his head. He narrowed his eyes at her warningly.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your hands above your head?”

“You’ve got to stop.”

“Why?” The annoyance disappeared as genuine confusion clouded his face.

“B-because I don’t like it.”

He arched one eyebrow in mocking sarcasm. “Angel, there are two things I will not take from you. One is putting yourself in danger. The other is lying to me. Now put your arm up and let me get back to my treat.” His mouth descended. She grabbed at his hair, ignoring his furious snarl.

“What if you don’t like it?” she asked hesitantly.

He stared at her heavily. “Has anyone ever eaten your pussy before?”

She blushed at his crass words, shaking her head.

“Poor baby,” he crooned, delight in his eyes. “Kayla, your taste is sweet, syrupy and addictive. Believe me when I say I’m going to get as much enjoyment from this as you are. Arm back and keep it there,” he ordered.

Heat so intense she was surprised it didn’t singe her hair fled up her body as he tortured her pussy with his tongue, his lips, even his teeth. Long, smooth glides of his tongue up and down her folds made her hips pulse as waves of bliss spilled through her body to pound against her clit. It wouldn’t take much, a few swipes over that sensitive bundle of nerves and she knew she would drown in intense rapture.

As if sensing how close she was to coming, Cord pulled back, kissing the top of her slit. “Easy, baby, easy,” he crooned, giving her a chance to calm down before the ecstatic torment continued.

She thrashed her head back and forth. Like a thief in the night, his lips and tongue stole every thought, every breath. Kayla heard the needy whimpers, suddenly realizing they were coming from her.

“Please, Cord, I need you inside me.”

Cord groaned, sending delicious vibrations through her body.

Kayla had reached the end of her endurance when he rose so they were face to face. His lips brushed hers and she found herself swept up in a heated kiss. Again she disobeyed him, moving her hands down his hard, muscular back.

He muttered in satisfaction as her attention was stolen by the head of his cock nudging at her entrance. With one hard, firm thrust he entered her, plunging through her untouched passage, her screech of pain captured in his mouth.

They both paused before his gaze caught hers.

“You’re a virgin.” It wasn’t a question.

Kayla smiled nervously, wondering at the air of tension surrounding him. The muscles in his neck were strained, his face set in hard lines. He eased back a little and she whimpered at the mix of pleasure-pain.

“We have to stop.”

“What? Why?” She clasped her legs around his hips.

“You deserve better than this for your first time.”

“Don’t you dare stop! This is exactly what I want. Besides it’s too late, it would be cruel to stop now. Please, keep going.”

Cord stilled, and for a moment she thought he was going to ignore her. Then with a groan, he inched forward, pushing himself inside her and she let out the breath she’d been holding in a whoosh. Muscle gave way, sucking him in. He thrust, slowly at first, building up faster, harder until she screamed her release.

Cord let out a shout, throwing his head back as he followed her over. Kayla ran her hands down his tense back, marveling at the feel of him. Finally, she had him.

And it was better than anything she’d ever read, seen, dreamed about.

It was perfect.

“That was wonderful. I never even imagined… Can we do it again?”

“This was a mistake.”

“What?” she asked, certain she’d misheard him. She must have, right? Cord stood, staring down at her as if seeing her for the first time.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What? Why? I don’t understand.” She sat, covering her breasts with her arm. Suddenly she didn’t feel sexy and beautiful. As if he saw the shame in her eyes, he knelt beside the sofa with a groan.

“What did I do wrong?” she whispered. Part of her was shocked by the vulnerability in her voice. But then she’d wanted him forever. “I know I’m inexperienced, but I—”

“Shh, you were perfect. But you deserved something beautiful, romantic your first time. God, you deserved a damn bed at least. Not me, not like this. I’m sorry, baby.”

She peered around for her dress, desperate to cover herself. “I didn’t want something soft and romantic, what a bore. I wanted hot, fast, hard. I wanted you. I’ve wanted you for a long time, Cord. Dreamed about it. And now you-you’re hurting me.”

Now she was starting to wonder why she’d wanted him. There was only so much rejection a girl could take.

“I’m so sorry, Kayla. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you. I went too far. I never meant for this to happen. I lost control. It’s unforgivable.” He clasped her cheeks in his hands and stared at her intently, his gaze roaming her face. “Find a nice boy, someone who treats you right, who takes you on dates, someone to settle down with and have babies. I’m not that man. I can’t be a little girl’s dream. I’m not who you should be fantasizing about.”

Her cheeks grew hot as he hit the nail on the head. “You arrogant prick. I was after sex, not a lifetime commitment.”

He stared at her for a long moment before rising. She stood up as he walked toward the door. “Cord, wait.” She limped after him, wincing slightly as her ankle protested. He turned at the door.

“Kayla?”

“Yes?”

“Lock the door behind me and stay the hell away from Purgatory.”

She gaped in shock as he left, slamming the door shut behind him. Kayla stood there for a good five minutes before her disbelief wore off and fury took over.

“You-you asshole!”

Chapter One

Present day

Kayla Sinclair sat in on a wooden stool in her brothers’ favorite bar and fought to hold on to her composure. She’d agreed to have a drink at The Rusty Hammer tonight because she wanted to feel normal again—yet she felt more lost and alone than ever. Being surrounded by others seemed only to exacerbate her isolation. Emotions buffeted her on all sides—happiness, anger, fear, joy—everywhere she looked she saw life. Except when it came to herself, then she saw a scared woman insulated in her own little bubble.

It was just another form of hell.

Nerves jangling, she shifted restlessly, gazing around the bar as she silently cursed herself. All the strangers, the noise, it was overwhelming. She longed to go home, to lock her doors and crawl under the bed covers.

Not that home held the safety it once had. Four months ago, her sense of invulnerability, her belief that bad things happened only to other people had been shattered when she’d been attacked in her apartment.

Her gaze slammed into Cord’s too perceptive eyes. The noise around her faded as his gaze pierced every shield she’d erected. He arched a brow. Damn him. She had a feeling her days of avoiding him were gone.

Kayla settled back onto her stool, sending him a haughty look. His lips curled at the corners. Lord, what a fool she was, just asking for trouble and both of them knew it.

She forced back a blush. Two years had passed and yet she still grew embarrassed when she remembered how she’d chased after him—throwing herself at him only to have him run away from her. She’d given up on being mad, but the hurt still lingered.

Because she still cared for him.

Luckily for her, his army career had kept him overseas. And she’d made sure she was busy every time he’d come home. Now, after losing the last of her innocence, well, she didn’t really care what he thought of her, did she?

Yeah, right.

“You okay, kid?”

Jumping slightly, Kayla turned, encountering her oldest brother’s concerned gaze.

“I’m fine, Luke.” She kept her voice low, although it was doubtful the others could hear her over the noise in the bar.

“Are you sure you’re coping all right? You know you can come home anytime, don’t you?”

Kayla smiled and nodded. But she wasn’t going to move back in with her brother—no matter how hard it was to sleep at night or how much she dreaded going home to an empty apartment. It didn’t matter that it sometimes took her half an hour to work up the courage to unlock her apartment door and go inside.

She couldn’t let fear debilitate her. Not anymore.

She had to find herself again, to get a life back. It had been four months since the attack and she was sick of hiding.

“I’m fine, Luke. My apartment is secure. You should know, you helped choose it, remember?”

Luke and her twin brothers, Quinn and Joe, had helped her move into her apartment three weeks ago. Not only did the building have a security system, but they’d had one installed in her apartment as well as a panic button. Everything they could think of to make her safe.

And still she couldn’t turn off all the lights at night.

But moving out of Luke’s place had been a major step in taking back her life. And she’d started working again, as a receptionist for her brothers’ plumbing business. As long as she kept going forward she knew she’d get there in the end. Get her life back to normal. She wanted to have friends again, to date, to go out at night without feeling afraid, to go a week without a nightmare waking her.

So here she was, at welcome drinks for her brothers’ newest employee, Reed. Not because she wanted to be, but because it was time to fight back. Unfortunately she hadn’t figured on Cord being here.

It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. While he’d always been closet to Jed, Cord got on well with all her brothers. Cord had pretty much lived at their house growing up and she knew her other brothers saw him as part of the family.

Years ago, she’d promised herself that the next time she encountered him she’d show him what he missed out on. How together, strong and successful she was. Any chance of that had been ruined four months ago.

Belatedly, she realized Luke had asked her something.

“Umm, sorry, what did you say?”

“Reed.” Luke nodded his head toward the thin, blond-haired man talking to Joe. “He’s been working for us for a week now. What do you think of him?”

Their other employees were men she’d know for a while. Pete had worked for them for three years, Evan close to a year.

Kayla looked over at Reed. “He seems nice. Polite.”

“Good, that’s good. Kayla, is everything all right between you and Cord?”

Kayla swallowed heavily. “Ahh, yes, of course, why do you ask?”

“Well, you used to hang on his every word, yet I’ve noticed you’ve been avoiding him for a while now. Did you two have a fight?”

“Oh yes, just a silly one a couple of years ago. You know how stubborn we both are, we like to hold a grudge.” She laughed, wincing at the nervous edge to it.

“Life’s too short to stay mad, kid. Talk to him, okay?”

“Sure,” she lied.

Luke looked at her thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Swallowing, she found a smile. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

He smiled back. “I’m your big brother. I’ll always worry about you.”

Cord peered across the table at Kayla. Over the past two years he’d barely laid eyes on her. Three days after taking her virginity, he’d left the country, kicking himself for his lack of control. Kayla had deserved someone far better than him for her first time.

Whenever he’d come home during the last two years, she’d either been away or busy.

Busy avoiding him.

Was she still angry over what had happened? Embarrassed? He tapped his fingers on the table, frustrated that he didn’t know what she was thinking. When she’d walked into The Rusty Hammer and seen him sitting there, he knew she’d considered bolting. It was written all over her pale face—in the way she’d paused, quivering. Then her shoulders had straightened and she’d walked over to the table where he sat with her brothers and their employees.

This was the first time he’d gotten a good look at her in the fortnight since he’d been home and he was worried. Her long, dark hair lay lank and dull against her back, her skin was sickly gray, her eyes glazed. Perhaps she’d been ill. It would explain the fatigue he could see on her face, the weight she’d lost. But it didn’t explain the fear in her eyes, or the way she jumped whenever someone brushed past her.

Kayla had always been a firecracker. She’d been brought up with a healthy sense of her own self-worth, her ability to do anything. Now she looked more like a frightened seven-year-old girl than a self-assured woman of twenty-three. And he wanted to know why.

Cord Marsden knew exactly what sort of man he was. He knew his strengths and weaknesses. He lived with the demon inside—his legacy from his father. Restraining that edge of violence had turned him into the man he was today. Others might consider him cold, emotionless. He didn’t care. He wasn’t a man who hesitated, who ever questioned his decisions.

Except where Kayla was concerned.

He’d often thought back to that night Kayla had walked into Purgatory. He’d meant to drag her home and give her a brotherly scolding—he’d ended up seducing her instead.

Now he’d returned with the full intention of seducing her again.

Only this time he was here to stay.

“Kayla, you listening?” Kayla shook herself free from her musings, managing a smile for Quinn as he scowled down at her. He might look like his twin but he was the complete opposite in personality. Where Joe was quiet, calm, Quinn was a hurricane, loud and volatile.

Quinn pulled his cell phone from his pocket as it started to ring and glared at it.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” she asked, knowing the answer.

He grunted, switching it off. Quinn hated mobile phones, using them only when he really had to.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.” She needed some space.

Slipping off the barstool, she avoided Cord’s gaze as she turned to walk across the bar to the bathroom. Inside, she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked pale, stressed. She’d had enough. She’d put in an appearance, faced both Cord and a bar full of strangers. No wonder she felt so on edge.

Time to go home.

She stepped out of the bathroom.

Rough, bruising hands grasped her harshly, pulling her back against a large body, a big palm covering her mouth. Chilled, starved for air, Kayla fought to take a breath through her panic-stricken throat. Dragged backward, she tried hard to fight through her fear.

A door opened and she found herself being hauled through the alleyway behind the bar toward the road.

And then as suddenly as she’d been grabbed she found herself free. Kayla lay on the sidewalk, dazed and disoriented. Turning toward the thick, thudding sound of flesh hitting flesh, she gasped. There was Cord, his face calm, his movements brutal as he beat the shit out of the man who’d attacked her.

The sound of squealing tires barely registered. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the scene in front of her. Cord landed a heavy blow to her assailant’s face as a dark van raced toward her, driving up onto the sidewalk. She stared at the approaching vehicle, stunned.

“Kayla!”

Time slowed. The air grew thicker, smothering all sound. Sprawled on the ground, she felt numb. Her heart wasn’t racing, her hands weren’t shaking, panic no longer clawed at her. Instead a strange calmness descended over her, shielding her, and she welcomed it with open arms.

Cord picked her up, his firm arms surrounding her, piercing her tranquility. He jumped out of the path of the racing van, which slowed briefly so her assailant could scramble inside. Cord put her down before turning to race after the van.

Exhaustion washed over her in a suffocating wave. Kayla sat on the hard ground, eyes closed, willing her body and mind to drift away. It was simply too much. She couldn’t deal with this.

“Kayla, honey, are you all right? Talk to me!” Hands touched her, moving over her, forcing her to face reality. She opened her eyes to a wall of people. Along with her brothers, it seemed as though most of The Rusty Hammer’s patrons were staring down at her in avid curiosity. Air escaped her lungs with a whoosh, her stomach rolling as sweat coated her skin.

“Kayla, breathe, you’re having a panic attack. Come on, honey.” Luke’s voice made little impact. Black edged her vision.

“Kayla. You come back right now. You hear me? Kayla? Hell!”

Caught in a well of darkness, she struggled to surface. Cord’s voice caught her, dragging her into consciousness. Her first breath was more a hiccup. As she breathed in the second, she caught the mingling scents of sandalwood and sexy man.

“Kayla, don’t you dare fucking faint!” His face swam in her vision. “Breathe. Breathe. In and out, there you are. Do it again, in and out.” She was trembling, but the tightness in her chest eased with each breath. Scooping her up, Cord carried her inside.

“Use my office.” She stared over at Tim, The Rusty Hammer’s owner. He was a good friend of Luke’s. By the time they made it to his office, her breathing had evened out, her heartbeat slowing.

Cord marched in as though he owned the place, slamming the door behind him and quickly turning the key, locking her brothers out.

“Cord—” She winced when Quinn pounded on the door, yelling.

“Give us ten,” he called back before turning his glare on her.

“Don’t talk, Kayla, not yet.” He set her on a scarred wooden desk that dwarfed the small office. His face could have been made of granite were it not for the small tic at the side of his mouth, indicating how livid he was.

“I’m mad as hell with you, Kayla.”

Mad at her? She scowled. Where was the sympathy? The soothing words? Would it kill him to smile at her? Yeah, it probably would. The man rarely smiled, probably didn’t even know how.

“Are you hurt? Did he harm you?” Even as he asked, he was running his hands over her body, checking her. She shied back, causing him to glance up, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Kayla forced herself to sit still.

“I’m fine. He didn’t have a chance to hurt me before you came along.”

“You’re white as a ghost.”

“I was just attacked, of course I’m pale,” she snapped back, folding her arms to try to still the trembles running through her. Why was this happening to her again?

“How did you know I was in trouble?” she asked.

“You were taking too long. I checked the bathroom and when I saw you weren’t there, I opened the fire exit door that leads to the alley. That’s when I saw him dragging you toward the road.” His fists clenched.

“Are you sure he didn’t harm you?” He reached out to touch her again, but she held up a hand, shaking her head. “What happened, Kayla?”

“He grabbed me as I left the bathroom. Put his hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream and dragged me out into the alley.”