Dare You to Run (25 page)

Kagan considered the way Tyler was behind Congressman Jeb Ryland.

Oh yeah, he knew who had pulled the strings to get Tyler released now. But that information was as sharp as it was satisfying. Tyler Martin had boasted about the world being a place where the only way to survive was to serve men with power.

Well, I hope you enjoy licking their boots …

Because Kagan was still gunning for Tyler and he was going to get him. For the moment, that meant keeping Damascus Ryland out of Tyler's hands.

It was going to be Kagan's pleasure.

*   *   *

It was dark.

Damascus felt it as much as she sensed it.

She hated the dark …

It was worse now, a hundred times more intense than it had been before. She twisted away from it, trying to break free, but it pushed down on her.

“Damascus.”

She jerked, opening her eyes as Vitus's voice tore through the layers of her nightmare. His tone was as strong as the grip he had on her wrists, and she realized he was holding them because she'd tried to hit him.

“Oh … sorry,” she muttered, horrified by how tight a grip the nightmare had held her in. It seemed she'd been tossing and turning just a minute ago.

“Easy, Princess.” He smoothed her hair back, setting off a little ripple of enjoyment. It spread over the surface of her skin, feeling insanely good for so simple a touch.

God, he really was her undoing, completely and totally.

“I'm fine.”

He grunted, the sound making it clear he didn't believe her. Of course he didn't, he was reading her body language. She was bathed in sweat, her heart racing, her chest heaving, but she still felt like she was suffocating. The room was black, making her feel like a thick blanket was wrapped around her, smothering her like the walls of a concrete cell.

“I'll get the curtains.”

He was suddenly gone, moving across the room to the window. A moment later, there was the soft sound of fabric slipping along the curtain rod, and then the moonlight was spilling in. She let out a little sound of relief and then slapped her hand over her lips when she realized how pathetic she was.

Get grounded.

She'd taken the psychology classes. All she had to do was implement the instructions.

Find five things you can see.

Four things you can touch.

Three things you can hear.

Two things you can smell.

Vitus.

All of them ended up being Vitus, her senses fixated on him. She saw him, traced the lines of his shoulders and the way the moonlight illuminated the muscle of his forearms. Her hearing picked up the slight sound of his jeans rubbing together when he moved and the tiny sound of his shoes connecting with the floor. And then, she could smell him. God, could she. It was intoxicating, the way his skin teased her with its scent, drawing her toward him.

Which left her with touch.

She could reach out and lay her hands on him. He was so close, and she wanted the oblivion contact with him would produce. He was closing the distance between them, with every inch he crossed, offering her what she needed to survive. The bed rocked slightly as he sat down on the edge, there, within reach, so very tempting. His presence was mesmerizing, pulling her closer as she let the nightmare go in favor of what was right beneath her fingertips.

She jerked back at the last minute, realizing what she was doing.

Vitus snorted at her.

“What?” She resorted to temper because at least it helped her keep the nightmare at arm's length. “Does it thrill you to have me throwing myself at you?”

“Yes.”

His tone made her tremble. She clasped her arms around herself because she didn't dare trust the need she felt. She was just projecting onto him or something. Maybe when she wasn't so close to him, she'd be able to think of the right term. At that moment, all she could manage was to bite her lower lip and grip the sleeves of her T-shirt so that she kept her hands off him.

“I've spent the last three years telling myself that you didn't give a shit about me, walked away while I lost my badge, and all I ended up doing was dreaming about you, about getting another moment with you. Like this one.” He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head as he battled some inner demon. “I'm a bastard for it. You've been through hell and all I can think about is how much it works in my favor because it's driving us back together.”

It was an admission. One she never thought she'd get from him, but secretly dreamed of it.

“Touch me.” His voice was raspy. “Reach for me, Princess, before I lose my mind.”

He didn't have to ask twice. She couldn't have stopped herself if there had been a hundred members of the press there. He was a need, rooted so deeply inside her. There was nothing but the desire to connect with him. He was the water she needed to survive. He drew in a deep breath, his chest filling beneath her fingertips, sending a jolt of awareness through her. She felt the connection on a cellular level.

Like becoming whole again.

“I need you.” But even as she said it, she knew that she was going to fail. The reason was simple—definitions of right and wrong changed when she was touching him. What she'd decided was logical, suddenly blew away like dried up leaves that were sucked from the ground as her passion turned everything into a whirlwind.

“Yeah baby, I know the feeling,” He leaned over and claimed her mouth, closing his lips over hers as she curled her hands into his shirt to bind him to her. She was pulling him closer, kissing him back as she crawled right into his lap.

Yeah, now she was grounded.

He was rock solid, more perfect than any relaxation technique. He was the pulsing rhythm of life and she craved him, needed the connection with life that only he seemed to be able to complete. He caught her by her hips, easing her around him until her knees parted on either side of him. She slipped onto his lap so that his erection was nestled against the notch of her sex.

She purred, arching back as his fingers tightened on her hips, sending a jolt of awareness through her. It was like an electric current shooting through her pelvis. She'd never realized how sensitive her hips were.

Only in his grasp.

She'd arched back, pressing her sex against the bulge of his erection. He sucked in his breath, the sound delighting her.

“You're going to drive me insane, Princess.”

“Good.” She brought her head back down so that she was looking at him. His features were tight, hunger making him grit his teeth. She rocked her hips toward his, enjoying the way her clit rubbed against him. “I'm pretty sure it's your turn to squirm.”

She caught the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up over her head. The night air felt perfect against her breasts, like she'd been smothered in the fabric. She wanted to be bare, free of everything. All she really needed was him. She pushed back as his attention slipped to her nude breasts, escaping his hold while he was distracted. She enjoyed the little rush of accomplishment that went through her as she stood in front of him and pushed her yoga pants down.

“I'm squirming now,” he confirmed in a harsh whisper.

“Not nearly enough for my taste.” He'd started to stand, but she poked him in the center of his chest, sending him back onto his butt with a little hiss. She leaned down until her face was an inch from his. “Not … even … close … but I have an idea.”

His eyes narrowed as she slid to her knees and opened his fly. She caught a glimpse of his hands curling into the soft sides of the mattress before she settled her attention on his cock. Honestly, she hadn't really looked at it all that much. It was a full moon, the light coming through the window giving her a good view of his length. It was large. He was circumcised, the head crowned with a thick ridge that sent her clit pulsing, because she really wanted to have it deep inside her.

First things first.

She was going to cause the squirming for a change. His cock was hot and covered in smooth skin. She stroked it, drawing her fingers along its length as she heard his breathing increase. The sound was a pure shot of confidence, filling her with boldness. She leaned down, wrapping her hand around his girth as she opened her mouth and teased the slit on the top of his cock with her tongue.

“Oh shit,” he grunted, pulling the sheet free. She liked knowing he was sitting there, letting her take control.

She opened her mouth wider and took another lap across his cock, this time trailing her tongue along the edge of the crown. She heard him gasping, felt his body drawing tighter, but he maintained his grip on the mattress, submitting to her.

Or at least the closest thing that a man like him could manage.

She took advantage of it, stroking his member and sucking the head deep inside her mouth. He jerked, his hips thrusting up toward her. She let his cock thrust deeper inside her mouth before he relaxed back onto the bed and her lips slid up to the crown again. He was panting and it encouraged her in a way she'd never imagined. She was sucking his cock back into her mouth, lowering her head as she cupped his balls, using her tongue on the underside of the head and reveling in every harsh, male sound coming from him.

He was hers and she was going to make him into the same ball of putty he reduced her to. Determination was racing through her veins, intoxicating her, driving her motions.

“
Princess
…”

She'd never heard him so strained, so completely on edge. He caught her nape, curling his hands into her hair as he lifted her head away from his cock.

“You're going to make me lose it,” he growled.

“Good.” She tried to reclaim his cock, but he grunted in denial and held her away from it.

“No baby.… I'm not going to leave you hungry.”

There was a hard promise in his voice, one that tripled the pulse in her clit. She suddenly felt so empty, like she was going to convulse if she didn't crawl up and sink down onto his cock. “Well, you're not putting me on my back either. Not tonight.”

She climbed back into his lap, settling over his cock and sinking down onto it. His grasp tightened on her nape, his lips curling back from his teeth as she sheathed him and groaned with the feeling of him stretching her.

Now she was grounded.

Now she was complete.

Her eyes had slipped closed, everything centering on the way she felt with him inside her. She was rocking, riding him with short, hard motions, seeking out fulfillment with instinct guiding the way.

“Easy Princess … don't rush.” He stroked her, from her nape to the center of her back, sending a ripple of enjoyment down her spine.

“Open your eyes, Damascus.” There was a firm order in his tone as he captured her hips, taking control of their pace. He eased it, refined it, insisting with a grasp that controlled her without making her submit. Only match him. She opened her eyes, locking gazes with him.

“That's it … no rush.… enjoy the ride.”

They might have been anywhere in time. It was just the two of them, locked together, seeking completion.

She believed in that truth, like nothing else she ever had. It was more than an idea, it was the center of her whole existence at that moment, and the moment was an eternity that they were encased in.

Her nipples were brushing his chest, drawing into hard points as his chest hair teased them. She was lifting and sinking as he moved toward her, pulling her into alignment with a steady grip. Her heart was beating hard but in strong, hard motions that felt like it was slamming into her breast bone. It increased in strength as he moved in closer and pressed a kiss against her mouth.

How long were they locked together? She couldn't have told anyone. Reality was a million miles away. She felt herself tensing, the building pressure promising a climax that she resisted because she wanted to remain right there, in that moment.

Her body wouldn't let her. Every motion was moving her closer to release. Vitus pulled back, watching her as she lost the battle and arched back with the explosion. She was twisting, writhing in the grip of it as she felt him jerk and begin to flood her. The hot shot of fluid sent her into another wave of intense pleasure that would have seen her falling onto the floor if he hadn't held her in place. She was being wrung, the pleasure contorting her flesh as it ripped into the deepest parts of her body. She was gasping, certain her heart was going to burst.

She was on a high she'd never thought her body could produce without some chemical enhancement.

It seemed all she needed was Vitus.

Her personal addiction.

And he'd be her ruin too, but like any junkie she was going willingly to her demise, caring only about the high she'd gain while knowing she was heading face-first into a crash and burn.

But it didn't seem too high a cost to pay for a moment of being able to clasp his hand, entwine her fingers with his, and experience the sense of completeness that she'd been seeking her entire life without realizing she was starving for it. He folded her against him, settling her head on his shoulder as the sound of his heart filled her head.

It was worth it.

She'd live on the memory.

Or at least, survive. It would be worth it because she'd have the knowledge that he was alive too.

And that would be worth everything.

*   *   *

She'd destroyed him.

Vitus had enough strength to pull them both onto the bed before he lost his grip on consciousness. They were both heaving, panting on top of the covers as the moment ebbed. He fought to stay awake. He didn't want to give up his moments with her, didn't want to squander the seconds when she had her defenses down. He opened his eyes and looked at her, marveling at the way the moonlight bathed her, so comfortable next to him. He reached up, smoothing her hair away from her face. She made a soft sound as she turned toward him, inhaling the scent of his fingers before she nuzzled against his palm.