Hijacked (A Retribution Novel) (3 page)

Christian held Eliana’s hand as he led her down a darkened hall. Then, he let go and began discarding his clothes as they walked. Her heart thudded with excitement. She wanted this.

Needed
this.

He dropped his shirt to the side and then hopped as he removed a shoe. She stared with a greedy gaze, tracing the lines of his hard body, longing to touch him.

He took two more steps and then lost the other shoe. As he straightened, he caught her again, threading his fingers through her hair, loosening the strands until they tumbled down her back.

“God, you’re sexy,” he whispered and kissed her neck.

She laughed. “No, you’re sexy.”

“Mmm…” He captured her lips in a heated kiss, giving her the chance to run her fingers up the strong, firm flesh of his chest.

Yes, she could lose herself in this.

He broke away. “If you don’t stop, we’ll never make it to the bed.” He unzipped his pants and was out of them by the time they entered the bedroom.

She wished the room had more light so she could see him, but even in the dim ambiance from the streetlight below, she could follow the contours of his body, and damn if she didn’t like what she saw. Damn if she didn’t want more. A soft sound of need slipped from her lips as he pulled off his boxer briefs.

Oh, God. She was really doing this. She was crazy to consider it. Idiotic, even. In all the best ways, she decided as he caught her gaze and grinned. “You have a condom, right?” She might be crazy, but she wasn’t stupid.

“I’ve got it covered.” He urged her forward with a crook of his finger, closer to the bed, and she couldn’t resist.

She walked into his embrace, his enticing scent surrounding her, working its magic. He took her in his arms and turned her so her back was to him and she faced the bed.

She shivered as he worked the hooks on her bra and set her free. Needing more contact with him, she tilted her head back to his shoulder as he removed the white lace and then cupped her with both hands.

“Shit,” she hissed as moisture pooled at her core. This was more heated, more intense than she’d expected. She’d never imagined naughty could feel so good. She’d focused on her career, on finding her brother, totally forgetting she needed to take care of herself, too. She gripped his hands, following his movements as he massaged her.

A hard bulge pressed against her bottom, and she moved against him, mimicking what she wanted him to do to her.

“Yeah,” he whispered, need evident in his voice. He slid rough hands down her ribcage, owning her curves, and she closed her eyes, enjoying his touch.

When he reached the edge of her panties, she inhaled, ready to beg if he stopped.

He didn’t.

Yes
, echoed through her mind as he dipped his fingers beneath the lace, and he tugged them downward, over her shoes.

“So fucking beautiful.” He trailed fingers up her calves and thighs as he stood. “I have a fantasy,” he said softly, his voice graveled as he donned a condom.

“What’s that?” Just asking made her insides clench.

“Someone like you. Something like this.” He pushed her forward in a take-charge kind of way that bent her over the mattress, leaving her ass in the air.

Damn...

The smell of fresh cotton attacked her senses as her cheek met the soft bed coverings. She gripped them, lost in a sea of fantasy. He ran rough hands over her ass and spread her legs higher.

“Oh, God,” she whispered. She loved a man who wasn’t afraid to take control of a situation. All day long, she was in control. For once, she was happy to let someone else take over. Especially someone who made her feel like this.

She cried out as he impaled her, filling her with hot steel that pleased and tormented her soul. “Jesus,” she whispered as she dug her nails into the cotton and held on. The man knew exactly how to push her to the edge. She couldn’t recall ever experiencing anything so powerfully erotic.

He held her hips as he pumped into her, his thighs slapping her as he exploited the raging hot need burning through her. A few more thrusts and everything suddenly tightened, locking passion into a tight ball that then exploded through her in fiery, pulsing waves.

She cried out, trying to capture the deliciously sweet moment before it disappeared.

He slowed his pace, giving her a chance to catch her breath. Smaller spasms encompassed her, and it took her a minute to find her sanity again.

Sweet Jesus.

“Good?” He followed his question with a sexy, confident laugh.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly. He’d given her the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced. “I want more.” So much more.

“Ah, yeah.” He pulled from her, then lifted her and followed her down to the mattress. He assumed missionary position and slid once again inside her.

She instinctively arched her back, claiming more of him as she ran her hands over his biceps and shoulders. He filled every space, and the sensation of him buried in her depths left her nothing more than an extension of him. She didn’t care. At this moment, that’s all she wanted to be.

By the time he’d finished with her, she’d lost track of the number of times he’d sent her reeling from this world. Her thighs ached from holding him, and he’d wrung every bit of troubled emotion from her.

She was sleepy, satiated, and filled with content.

“Damn, but you’re a hot one,” he said as he cradled her in his arms.

“You, too. Thank you.” She closed her eyes and inhaled, loving the scent of him and the sound of his strong, reassuring heartbeat. It didn’t take long for the annoying little reminders that he wasn’t hers to arrive. They popped like bubbles on the surface of reality, but she refused to acknowledge them.

No harm in basking in the afterglow for a few moments.

He wasn’t hers. She recognized that. What they’d shared had been purely physical, and she wouldn’t embarrass herself by thinking otherwise. But a few more seconds to enjoy him couldn’t hurt.

He drew lazy fingers down her arm, leaving a trail of shivers across her skin. The feel of him touching her, caressing her for no other reason than to bring her pleasure was heady. She had no one to care for her, no one who did something just to bring her joy. Normally, she could survive that way. But today had been hard, and this was so nice.

And dangerous to her psyche. If she allowed it to continue, she’d begin to crave it. That made her weak, vulnerable. These types of feelings would abandon her on the step of a door that wouldn’t open for her. She wasn’t sure she could bear the heartbreak of another love that would never be.

Except, this wasn’t love. It was sex. Pure, unadulterated, amazing sex.

But that time had passed. They’d both gotten what they’d wanted, and she needed to bow out gracefully before things became awkward.

She shifted in his arms and placed a kiss on his lips. “Thank you. You’re one hell of a lover.” She lifted from him, but he quickly wrapped solid arms around her and tugged her back into place.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His voice rumbled in his chest.

“Home.” She tried to sit again, but couldn’t budge him.

“I’m not done yet.” The command in his voice made her shiver.

“If we go another round, I won’t be able to walk tomorrow,” she said with a lighthearted chuckle.

“That’s cool, but that wasn’t what I meant when I said I wasn’t finished.”

Uncertainty sliced through her, and she mentally retraced her steps to where she’d left her purse and the Duke. Had she totally misread this guy? She defended women all the time who had been hurt by trusting the wrong person. God help her if she was the next statistic.

He pulled her tighter and softly kissed her lips. “Stay with me. For a while. I like the feel of you next to me.”

She relaxed back with relief. So it was cuddling he wanted? She swallowed, trying to keep unwanted emotions at bay. She didn’t want this part. No…actually, she did. But she shouldn’t. In some ways, she was in more danger than she would be staring down a gun. “I should go.”

He rolled on top of her, pinning her with the heavy weight of his sexy body. He framed her face between his hands. “Please? Just for a while?” He placed his lips on hers and kissed her until her blood began to sing again.

“Okay,” she said on a sigh. She could be strong for a few more minutes. She thought he’d move off her once she’d agreed, but he stayed, staring into her eyes.

“This feels good,” he whispered.

Normally, she’d worry a guy might get clingy, but she found she didn’t mind so much with him. “It does.”

“Yeah?” He rolled again and pulled her on top of him. “Good.”

She settled next to him and inhaled, drawing his scent deep into her lungs, making her wonder again if she shouldn’t have been more adamant about leaving.

“How long have you lived here?” she asked, needing to chase away the awkward silence.

“About five years. I used to have a place on the outskirts, but I find I like the pulse of the city.”

“I didn’t know the owners had apartments above this bar.”

He chuckled. “You’ve been to Caora Dubh before then?”

“Once or twice.” When she’d been in a similar mood as tonight. Though she hadn’t left with anyone.

“I don’t recall seeing you.”

She snorted. “Just because you live above the pub doesn’t mean you know everyone who frequents it.”

“I could argue that since it
is
my pub, and I’m there most nights.”

She lifted her head and looked at him. “You own Caora Dubh?”

“Aye. I do,” he said with an exaggerated Irish accent.

She laughed.

“What do you do for a living?” he asked.

“That’s a whole different subject. I kick ass and take names.” She said it sarcastically, but she was sure there were many people out there, mostly guys, who hated her with a passion because she’d forced them to own their actions.

“Cop?” he asked. “Though you don’t seem like the law enforcement type. Wait a second. I’m pretty good at reading people…
Attorney
.”

She stiffened, not liking a layer of her anonymity stripped away.

“I’m right.” He squeezed her. “Don’t worry. I won’t give away your secret.”

“Okay.”

“What made you decide to go to law school?” He stroked her arm, drawing sensual fingers over her skin, and she nearly purred from the sensation.

“What made you decide to open a bar?” she countered not wanting to get too personal.

“I like people. I like beer,” he said with certainty. “You?” he asked again.

“Umm…” She hesitated, taking a moment to check the pulse of their circumstances, to assess whether or not she was in a safe place like she’d taught herself to do as a child. Self-preservation had been everything back then.

Despite Christian’s ability to command the situation, she sensed no danger or malicious intent. “I guess I’ve always felt the need to speak up for others who can’t speak for themselves,” she finally answered.

“So a bad ass who looks out for others? I like the way that sounds.”

She couldn’t stop the warmth in her heart from spreading to her lips. “Some people need help, you know? Growing up, my brother and I could have used someone looking out for us, but we were mostly on our own. If I can make that kind of difference in someone’s life, I will.”

“I find that extremely sexy, you know?” He kissed the top of her head. “Can I ask what happened to you and your brother? Where were your parents?”

She inhaled. Her childhood wasn’t something she discussed with most people, but for some reason, Christian seemed different. “My mother was a crack head, if you could call her a mother. She was rarely home. When she was, she was strung out, and she could get mean. We lived that way for years. Finally, my brother Eric and I took the car and ran away when we were sixteen.”

“Your mom never came after you because you took the car?”

“Nope. I haven’t seen or heard from her in ten years. Hope I never do again. She’d better hope she never crosses my path, either.”

“You’ll kick her ass, too?”

A wave of pain she hadn’t experienced in some time rolled through her unexpectedly. “I’d like to, but probably wouldn’t.” That time had come and passed. Her wounds had healed, making her into the woman she was today, and she never wanted to go back to that place.

“Is your brother a lawyer, too?”

If only she hadn’t lost Eric along the way. She tucked her lips in, wondering how Christian managed to hit on her tender spots so easily. “No.”

“What does he do? Does he live in Portland?”

She tried to produce ambiguous words that wouldn’t lead to more questions, but she couldn’t focus on anything except the last time she’d seen Eric living in a park in conditions similar to Howard’s, looking scruffy and lost. “I don’t know.”

He shifted onto one elbow so he could see her better. “You don’t know where your brother is?”