Easton's Claim (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 3) (22 page)

He didn’t like the way she threatened his control. Didn’t
want
to want her, especially since she was Easton’s sister but there was no way he could keep his distance right now.

“You okay?” he murmured.

“Fine.” The word was soft but curt.

He sighed, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her. She wasn’t okay, but he respected her need to pretend she was. “He would have shot you if you hadn’t pulled the trigger.” Dammit, he couldn’t get that thought out of his head.

She nodded, jaw tight. “I know.” A tremor snaked through her, and he couldn’t take it anymore.

Without a word he tugged her close and wrapped his arms around her. She was stiff at first, but when all he did was hold her, she relaxed. “Cold?”

“A little.”

He stood there for a few minutes, running his hands up and down her back, keeping her tight to his chest to warm her. Her sweet scent teased him, her firm curves molding to his body in a way that made him bite back a growl.

He squeezed her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Better?”

A nod.

Lowering his arms, he eased back a few inches to stare down at her in the wash of light coming through the back windows of the main house. “You’re trouble,” he said.

And yet he couldn’t stay away from her. The urge to protect her was overwhelming and he couldn’t shut it off.

Her gaze flicked up to meet his, those deep, dark eyes focusing on him with a spark of anger. “They attacked my home, my family. Was I just supposed to sit on my ass and wring my hands while you guys handled it alone?”

Yes.
He didn’t dare say it aloud, because he suspected she’d rip his balls off if he did. “No, but I didn’t expect you to run for the nearest rifle and chase after the shooter, either.”

“I was backing you up.”

“No, you took off on your own and put yourself in danger. That’s not how teammates back each other up.”

And I couldn’t get to you in time.

That’s really what was bothering him. The thought that she could have been hurt or killed tonight.

Her eyes widened in outrage. “Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m weak or defenseless. You think that just because of my gender and occupation, I don’t know how to handle a weapon? I was raised in a household of four Marines, and even if I didn’t serve like they did, I still shoot like a Marine.”

He struggled not to smile at her sass and the pride in her voice. The way she’d faced that shooter and taken him down had both shocked and impressed the hell out of him, and he didn’t do either of those things easily. “Yeah, you sure as hell do.” God, he wanted to kiss her.

She blinked and eyed him in suspicion. “That’s right.”

Kissing her now would be a really stupid move, but it was hard not to. Charlie burned with an irrepressible energy that was palpable the moment she walked into a room. She did something to him, brought the most possessive and protective parts of him raging to the surface, and tonight had made that even stronger.

“Remind me never to piss you off.”

She glared up at him. “Too late.”

He smothered a laugh, fighting the urge to crush her to him and pillage that sassy mouth. Her eyes glittered up at him in the dimness with pure annoyance, and he lost the battle.

To hell with it.

Unable to help himself, he cupped the back of her head with one hand and leaned in to capture her mouth with his. She sucked in a swift breath, put her free hand on his chest as if to push away.

No way. Not after the way she’d scared him to death and then taken that shooter out. Not with this need to protect her burning inside him.

He wrapped his free arm around her waist and hauled her up against him, groaned at the feel of her softness melded to his body. It was the first time he’d allowed himself to be the aggressor with her.

That night at the club, he’d simply followed her cues and given her a taste of what she’d wanted. The memory had haunted him ever since. The idea of any other man putting his hands on her made him insane and it drove him nuts because she’d made it abundantly clear she didn’t want anything serious.

Well, he was as serious about her as he’d ever been about anything, way more than he’d been with any other woman. Now, he was the one in control and this was more than a kiss—he was staking a claim. Part of him didn’t care that he was making out with her on the lawn within sight of the house where any member of her family might see them.

The feel and taste of her, those little sounds of pleasure she made at the back of her throat as he tangled his tongue with hers made him want to drag her back into the woods for privacy and fuck her deep and hard. It took monumental effort for him to ignore the impulse and settle for this hard, hungry kiss.

Instinct told him that to win Charlie, he had to leave her wanting more. Even if it killed him to pull away, she needed to know she didn’t call the shots between them.

More sirens sounded to the west, where they’d just come from, giving him the perfect excuse to end the kiss. He raised his head to stare down at her in the dimness, fierce satisfaction raging through him at the almost drugged look in her dark eyes. Her lips were shiny and swollen and her hair was mussed.

“Cavalry’s finally here,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb over her satiny cheek.

Her eyes cleared and she licked her lips, a slow smile playing at the edges of her mouth. “Late as usual.”

“Mmm,” he agreed, and just because he couldn’t help himself, he went back for one more taste. This time slower, tender. Savoring her because he didn’t know when he’d get to taste her again. “Let’s get back to the house before they send out a search party for us.”

Blue and red flashing lights came up the driveway, another convoy of police cars roaring toward the house. The moment Charlie walked into the house, both her brothers and father were there to pull her into a tight hug, then Austen and Piper hugged her as well.

It did his heart good to see how much they all loved her. His own family was back in southern California and he didn’t get to see them that often. He was sure as hell calling them tonight.

As expected, the Feds took the lead in the investigation, splitting everyone up to get their individual stories while officers and agents combed the property. By the time they were done with him, it was two in the morning and he still had to drive back to Alexandria before he could get some sleep.

Charlie was talking with her dad and her brothers on the couch in front of the fireplace, her head resting on her father’s shoulder. The sight made Jamie’s heart squeeze.

He was on his way to the front door with his duffel when Charlie came out of the dining room. “You leaving?” she asked.

He turned to face her. “Yeah.”

Her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “So you were just going to leave without saying goodbye?”

“You were busy with your family and I didn’t want to take you away from them.”

She searched his eyes. “Were you going to call me at least?”

“Yeah, I was. I need to go now, though.” Nothing more was going to happen between them, at least not tonight and not here, in her father’s house.

But he knew this was far from over between them and it was only a matter of time until she wound up underneath him. If they took things farther after this…

“Wait,” she exclaimed, and rushed over to him. He stopped, tensed as she drew near, those dark eyes locked with his. She stood a foot away from him, her sugary-sweet scent wrapping around him. “When will I see you again?”

“Depends.”

She raised an eyebrow. “On?”

“On what you’re willing to give. Because if you want to see me again, there’s something you should know.”

Her eyes gleamed with interest and she folded her arms across her chest, deliberately bringing his gaze to her luscious breasts. His lips quirked. “And what’s that?” she asked, the hint of a taunt in her voice.

He stared into her eyes as he answered, convinced he’d read her right. She wanted a challenge. Well, he was that and more. “I play for keeps.” Leaning down, he brushed his lips across her cheek. “See you later, Trouble,” he murmured. “Say goodbye to your family for me.” Then he picked up his bag and walked out into the cold night air.

****

Pinned and helpless beneath the hot, hard male body on top of her in the darkness, Piper had never felt so free. Or more alive.

The last few hours had passed in a complete blur of questioning and interviews by both the police and FBI. Then the medical examiner had come to take Greg’s body to the morgue.

Easton had pulled her into his lap on the easy chair next to the fire and cuddled her while everyone filed out of the house at last. Charlie and Mr. C had both stopped to rub her back and offer their condolences before heading upstairs. In the quiet that followed, she’d finally allowed the tears she’d been holding back to fall.

It didn’t matter that she’d already grieved for Greg once before, after their marriage had ended and she’d walked out. She’d never imagined being there at the end to hold his hand and watch him die right in front of her while she sat next to him, helpless.

Thankfully Easton had seemed to understand. He’d sat with her like that until the logs in the grate burned down to glowing embers, then smoothed the hair back from her face and kissed her gently. She’d cupped his bearded cheek and kissed him with all the love and need in her heart, desperate to feel the magic of their connection, to chase away the sadness and the horror with the tenderness and joy that could only come from making love with him.

I want inside you
, he’d whispered, then picked her up and carried her into the cabin, straight to this bed, where he’d laid her down and undressed her in the darkness.

Now there was nothing but the feel of him anchoring her to the bed, the slam of her heart against her ribs and the rush of her uneven breaths in her ears as she waited for him to push inside her and soothe the empty ache he’d created.

Easton’s hand firmed on her hip, holding her in place while the other wound in her hair. She trembled at the intensity of the moment, the intimate quiet surrounding them magnifying the electric anticipation. Even with her eyes closed she could feel the way he watched her, all his focus and control centered on her and her pleasure.

“Ah!” She gasped and arched beneath him as he buried himself deep inside her with one slow thrust, trapping a throttled cry in her throat. Shuddering in his arms, she forced her eyes open to look up at him through the haze of sensation.

Weak light heralding the approaching dawn streamed through the edges of the blinds in the cabin’s bedroom, giving just enough illumination for her to see his face as he loomed above her, his weight now propped up on his elbows. Rain pattered on the roof in a soothing rhythm overhead, adding to the cozy, intimate atmosphere.

A whimper tore from her lips as he watched her face. He was so thick and hard inside her, the angle of his thrust so perfect, her aching clit pressed against his pelvis. She spread her thighs wider apart, desperate for more.

The strong hand on her hip squeezed tight, stilling her. “Don’t move,” he whispered, his mouth inches from her lips as he stared down at her.

She closed her eyes and shuddered. It was too intimate, felt too good. She was so close already, just another few strokes and she’d come. “I…have to,” she cried, her entire body tensing. The muscles in her thighs and belly trembled, the pleasure swelling inside her. Unbearable.

“Don’t,” he said, his quiet voice barely carrying. “Just stay still and look at me.”

Somehow she forced her heavy eyelids open and met his heated gaze. He was so thick and hot inside her, filling her completely, each ripple of her internal muscles around his cock sending streamers of fire along her nerve endings.

Holding his gaze for those breathless heartbeats, she felt her heart crack wide open. Her core clenched around him, desperate for him to ease the ache. She cried out as the sensation swelled, her eyes slamming shut, her hands digging into his back and hip, fighting to pump her hips and get the friction she craved.

Easton let out a rough groan, eased back, then surged forward, giving her exactly what she needed. His mouth covered hers in a hot, voracious kiss that stole what little breath she had left. He swallowed her sobs of pleasure as the world dissolved around her, his strength and weight the only things anchoring her as she tumbled into the abyss.

“Ah, God, Piper…” he moaned, then thrust deep and stiffened, his entire body shuddering as his release hit him. She clutched him to her like a woman clinging to the debris of a shipwreck.

In the aftermath, lying there trembling in his arms and her heartbeat galloping in her ears, she held him as close as she could. “I love you,” she whispered, her throat and chest clogged with emotion. There was no way she could leave him. But she also didn’t know where they went from here. “I love you and I need you.”

Easton lifted his head to gaze down at her, his expression so full of torment it made her chest ache. “Then don’t go to Minnesota. Come to Alexandria and move in with me instead.”

Letting out a deep breath, she gave him a tremulous smile and nodded. “Okay.”

His face went blank with surprise for a second, then a huge smile spread across his face. “You will?”

She traced a finger down the side of his scruffy cheek. “Yes. I can’t leave. I don’t want to lose you and I’m not leaving you over a job.” Even if it was her dream job, he still mattered a thousand times more. “Wherever you are is my home.” She had no idea what the future held for them, but she couldn’t give up this chance.

He groaned in relief and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re not gonna lose me, sweetness. Not ever.” Still joined with her, he shifted, propping himself up on one forearm to brush her hair back from her face with his free hand. “You still worried about my job?”

“A little,” she admitted. Seeing him in action tonight had been eye-opening, even if she was well aware of what he did for a living.

He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair. “I know what I do is dangerous. But whatever happens, you have to know I’ll do whatever it takes to come home to you. All the guys on my team are like Jamie. Dedicated, solid, dependable guys. We look out for each other, always. The most important thing for all of us is to make sure everyone comes home at the end of a mission or deployment.”