Make Me Yours (14 page)

“I'll wait in the hallway,” Mike said, making it clear that he didn't object to what was about to happen.

When they were alone, Ryder looked back down at Radovich. “You can't shoot a man who's already down,” the terrorist said with a gritty laugh.

A cold smile twisted Ryder's mouth. “That just shows how little you know me.”

“You're a lawman. A soldier,” Rado sneered in his thick accent. “Your honor ties your hands and makes you weak. Your mercy makes you pathetic.”

“You came after my woman and you think I'm going to show you fucking mercy, you miserable piece of shit?”

Radovich wiped at the blood on his face, his upper body twisted to the side as he braced himself on an elbow. “You don't have any choice,” he muttered.

“If the choice is between my honor and her safety,” Ryder said in a low, deadly voice, “then it isn't any choice at all.”

As if he was finally starting to get the picture, the terrorist's eyes widened. “Are you serious? You're going to let a little snatch decide your actions?”

“She's my fucking heart, you stupid prick. And you're nothing more than a dead man.” He lowered his aim, then fired, shooting the bastard straight through the heart, killing him instantly. But he put a second bullet through Rado's forehead, and would have kept firing if not for the fact that Lily was waiting for him.

Stepping over Radovich's stinking body, Ryder intended to find her and just . . . hold her, but Ben and a small army of deputies suddenly arrived and almost two hours had gone by before Ryder finally made his way to his bedroom. He found her inside, talking on the phone, making arrangements for what sounded like a car service to take her to the airport.

“Lily? What's going on?” he demanded, shutting the door to the room behind him.

She set the phone down on the bedside table, then turned to face him. Her face was tense and pale. “Now that Radovich is dead,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around her middle, “I . . . um, called one of my friends in Virginia. She's bought me a plane ticket home and paid for a car to pick me up. I just needed to give the driver the address.”

“What the fuck? You're just gonna up and leave?” he scraped out, while inside he was thinking
No, don't do this. Don't make me lose you. Not now . . .

She sniffed, then took a deep breath before saying, “I've had some time to think while I was waiting for you, and I . . . I know you well enough to know that what he said about you being the reason he came after me is only going to push you away from me again. I can't go through that,” she whispered, swiping at her tears with her fingertips. “Not again. I have to get out before it happens.”

“That doesn't make any fucking sense!”

Her mouth trembled. “I'm sorry, Scott. I just . . . I know we won't be able to get through this without something strong holding us together. Without something that's permanent and lasting. I know . . . I know you care about me. But that's not going to be enough.”

Christ. This was such a fuckup, and he didn't know whether to be pissed that she had so little faith in him . . . or if he should just kick his own ass for failing to make his feelings for her clear. “You think I
care
about you? Like the same way I'd
care
about my elderly neighbors or a pal at work?” He moved closer, hating the pain he could see shimmering in her beautiful eyes. But, damn it, he was hurting, too. “After last night, is that honestly what you think, Lily?”

She bit her lower lip, and her gaze slid away. “I don't want to fight with you.”

Bitterness sharpened his voice. “Then you should have thought of that before trying to sneak out on me.”

Her head snapped back in his direction and her eyes went wide. “I wasn't sneaking anywhere. I was going to talk to you before I left.”

“Yeah? Then call back and cancel that damn car.”

“Scott, I—”

“There's a hell of a lot we need to say to each other,” he growled, cutting her off, “and we can't do it here. At least come back to my house with me. You owe me that much.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, then reluctantly nodded, calling the car service to say that she'd be in touch with a new address and pickup time as soon as possible. Working his jaw, Ryder grabbed their bags—a deputy had brought hers from across the hall earlier—then followed her out of the room. They came across Ben in the living room, which was still crowded with deputies, and Ryder told him he was taking Lily home. Ben nodded, casting a worried look at her pale face, no doubt thinking she was upset because of what had happened with Rado, and Ryder didn't correct him. But he knew Lily well enough to understand that even though she'd been concerned for his safety, she was as thankful as he was that Radovich had finally been dealt with, once and for all.

They made their way out to the Jeep after finding Mike and thanking him, and the drive to his house was quietly tense, the air heavy with the weight of everything that needed to be said. No matter how many ways he turned it over in his head, Ryder knew that the crux of the matter was the fact that she trusted him. Since coming back into his life, she'd trusted him with her body, with her heart, and with her well-being. It was far past time that he trusted her, too. And maybe, just maybe, he needed to trust that together they were right where they were meant to be.

Fuck, there was no maybe about it. He was
meant
to be by this woman's side. Today. Tomorrow. For fucking eternity. And there was nothing he was going to let stand in his way. Not fear. Not his past. And sure as fuck not his desire to protect her. It was what he'd been made for. If he was crazy and overly protective at times, Lily would handle him. Hell, that's what she did best.

After all this time, he finally got it. He'd always felt like he was getting it wrong with Lily because he hadn't done what he should have done the second she was legal. Which was claim her sweet little ass by putting a ring on her finger, his name after hers, and make sure his fucking stamp of ownership was on every inch of her. And he didn't feel like a possessive ass for wanting it, because he expected her to claim him in the same fucking way.

The sun was only just coming up as he parked the Jeep in his driveway and climbed out, not bothering with their bags, just wanting to get her inside as quickly as possible. She followed him up the walkway and he opened the front door, letting her go inside first. Then he went in and locked the door behind him. If he could have barricaded the damn thing to keep her there with him, he would have. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving him. Of not going to sleep every night with her soft little body in his arms, and waking up to her beautiful smile.

“What do you think of Moss Beach?” he asked, tossing his keys onto the small table that sat at the end of his sofa.

She was standing a few feet away, arms crossed over her middle again, and her expression made it clear that she thought it was a strange question. “Um, I haven't gotten out much. But what I've seen is beautiful. And I like the people you work with. The friends you have here.”

He lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his neck. “It's a good place to build a life. Raise a family. All that normal shit I know nothing about, but that I'm, uh, hoping you'll show me.”

She stared back at him, her breaths starting to come a little faster. “What are you saying, Scott? Spell it out for me.”

Yeah, it was about damn time that he did that, wasn't it?

He knew that he was going to spend a long time being pissed at himself for not telling her how he felt all those years ago when he'd had the chance. He'd fucking choked, but he wasn't going to choke now. He scrubbed his hand over his mouth, then dropped it back to his side, looked her right in the eye, and said, “I love you.”

Ohmygod.
Lily's throat shook, melting, her eyes instantly filling with tears. “Wh-what did you say?”

He took a step toward her, looking as if he very much wanted to grab hold of her. “I love you, and I'm not the kind of man who does things in half measures. So I hope you know what this means. I don't just love you—I fucking
live and breathe
you, Lil. You are in every part of me. And I'm done running. I can't do anything now but grab hold of you so hard and tight you can't ever get away.”

“I don't want to get away,” she told him, breathless, unable to believe this was actually happening. “I just want
you.
”

His smile was slow and sweet and sexy. “Then it sounds like we're finally on the same page. About fucking time, too. Don't you think?”

“I can't think,” she gasped, barely able to breathe through her happiness. “You're smiling and that always blows my mind.”

He laughed one of those rich, husky rumbles that made her toes curl, and the next thing Lily knew she was in his arms and he was kissing the hell out of her. Then they were ripping each other's clothes off, and he was taking her down to the sofa, growling that he was too desperate to get inside her to make it to a bed. She smiled and told him that she couldn't care less about a bed . . . and he could get inside her
whenever
and
wherever
he wanted, because she could never get enough of him. He came down over her, his big, beautiful body caging her in, and the way he took her mouth made it clear that he
loved
what she'd said.

“Sweetest fucking pussy in the world,” he groaned when he slid inside her, a sexy lock of hair falling over his brow as he started to move. The muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed with his incredible strength, his mouthwatering abs rippling beneath his skin with each driving, deliberate stroke.

Straightening his arms, he looked down, then brought that heavy-lidded gaze back to hers. “Watch it go in, Lil. Look at us together. You're so pretty and pink, your swollen little entrance stretched so tight around me, barely able to take me. But you're slicking me up so nice and hot, you just suck me right in.”

“Oh, God,” she gasped, lifting her head from the sofa cushion so she could watch.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled in his chest. “You have no idea how incredible it feels when I pull out, all those plush little muscles inside you fighting to hold on to me. And then the slow thrust, forcing my way back in. You have no idea how it feels to know that you're
mine.
If you knew, baby, then you never would have thought I could let you walk away.” His gaze sharpened, and his voice got rougher, the raw edge telling her how much he liked what they were doing. “I'll never get enough, Lily. No matter how many times I have you, I'll just want you more.”

“Scott,”
she moaned, writhing from the blissful sensation of having him so hard and deep inside her. A part of her.

“I love you.” He punctuated each rough word with an even harder thrust, slamming into her with thick, grinding lunges that sent her crashing over the edge. She screamed his name, arching, shuddering, her mouth open as she gasped and cried and tried to breathe through the wrenching pleasure, her body convulsing in sharp, heavy jolts that pulled her tighter and tighter around him.

“
I don't want to lose you,”
he snarled under his breath.

“You won't. I'll always be here. Always,” she promised, her words pushing him over the edge. His hips jerked against her as he let out a guttural shout, his arms banding around her as his cock spurted hot, heavy blasts of cum into her, filling her up until she was drenched in him. A grin curled her lips when she realized they were definitely going to be dealing with a BIG wet spot on the sofa.

“You're not getting away from me.
Ever,
” he groaned when he could finally lift himself onto his elbows and look her in the eye.

“I'm not trying to get away. All I've ever wanted was to get closer. Even when I was telling myself that you would break my heart, I couldn't stay away from you.” She grinned, and gave a dreamy sigh, knowing she must look like a besotted idiot and not even caring. “God, I've been waiting for so long.”

He rubbed his thumb against her cheek, his dark eyes showing her every incredible emotion that was burning inside him. “For what, Lil?”

“For this. For you to make me yours.”

“It was inevitable,” he told her, his deep voice husky and low. “There's no other woman in the world who could ever fit me the way you do. Inside
and
out. You were meant to be mine.”

She shot him a playful smirk. “I'm glad you finally figured it out.”

“I might be slow, but I get there in the end. And you're going to enjoy how I make it up to you, baby. I promise.”

There was a wicked smile on his lips, a scorching look of hunger in his dark eyes as he started to harden inside her, and Lily looked forward to his efforts. Almost as much as she looked forward to their future. She had her man, his heart, and she knew that from this point on her life would be filled with pleasure and laughter and more love than any woman could ever possibly deserve.

And she was going to cherish every beautiful, breathtaking moment.

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Keep reading for an excerpt from

KEEP ME CLOSER

A Dangerous Tides novel available now from Berkley Heat!

As Alex Hudson waited in the shadows of the car-filled multistory parking structure, smoking a cigarette, he silently cursed his brother for putting him in this ridiculous situation. He was a fucking private investigator, not a babysitter. He didn't, for a single moment, think there was any validity to Ben and Reese's claims that Brit Cramer's life was in danger. This was just his brother and new sister-in-law's irritating idea of playing matchmaker. The two had gotten it into their heads last summer that he and the therapist would be good together, and had done their best to make his life a living hell ever since.

It was already hard enough, having to spend so much time around the woman, without putting him through this shit. He was forced to deal with Brit's dimpled smiles and natural, in-your-face sexuality every time they were invited to the same dinners, parties, and weekend barbecues at his middle brother's beachfront home. Now that it was late spring and the weather was warming on southern Florida's gulf coast, the number of beach get-togethers was increasing, while the clothing Brit and the other women wore became practically nonexistent. The past few weeks had been absolute hell, thanks to the amount of smooth, creamy skin she'd started putting on display, and his mood was foul. Last damn thing he needed was this, being forced to watch her every night as she finally dragged herself away from her office and made it home to the two-story house she lived in alone.

And since she had no idea Ben had put him on this assignment, Alex had spent the last two evenings slinking around the parking structure attached to the medical complex where she worked like a goddamn stalker. It made him feel like the very thing he was supposedly there to protect her against, and it sucked.

It was also a serious waste of his time.

Yeah, Alex had looked over the harassment complaint Brit had filed against university student Clay Shepherd the week before, after the twenty-two-year-old had tried to force his way into her office, and he agreed with Ben that her former patient was unstable. But that didn't mean there was any credence to Ben's belief that Shepherd could prove violent. His brother might be the county sheriff here in Moss Beach, but he wasn't a fucking mind reader. No, ever since his wedding, Ben had turned into a nosey, meddling matchmaker, and a serious pain in the ass. Alex knew only too well that this was Ben's way of forcing him to pay attention to the woman he'd been trying so damn hard to avoid.

Not that avoiding her was possible. The last time they'd been invited to the same get-together, this one at Scott Ryder's house—Ryder was a friend of the family and one of Ben's deputies—Alex had tried to look right through Brit, only to nearly swallow his tongue when he saw how the dress she was wearing hugged her curves. The woman was built like a fucking pinup model from the forties, lush and tall and so damn overtly sensual he'd have wanted to eat her alive if he hadn't become a sworn woman-hater. Or at a least a woman-
avoider
. But he'd finally accepted that it was physically impossible for him to ignore a woman who looked like Dr. Brit Cramer, so he'd reverted to the ol' tried and true crutch of being a dick to her.

Pathetic? Oh, yeah. Big-time. But when a guy was desperate he sometimes had to scrape the bottom of the emotional barrel. And Alex had done a stellar job of it. He still couldn't recall exactly what he'd said to her that particular night, when he'd found himself standing alone on Ryder's back patio with Brit, anger and frustration taking control of his mouth while his pulse had roared in his ears, blocking out the sound of his own voice—but it had earned him a slap across the face from the gorgeous redhead.

That had been a few weeks ago, and it was the last time he'd spoken to her.

And now he was here, pissed at his brother for pulling this crap on him, and trying hard to ignore how much he was looking forward to getting a glimpse of the doc as she walked to her car. Jesus, he really did sound like a psychotic stalker. When Ben got back from the Bahamas, where he was vacationing with Reese, Alex was kicking the guy's ass for sticking him with this assignment. He could only be thankful the woman had a quality home alarm system, or he knew his brother would have had him camping out with her, and there was no way in hell he was going there, even if she was Ben and Reese's best friend. If it came to that, their little brother Mike would have to step in.

The thought instantly made him scowl.

Knowing Mike's wild reputation, he and the doc would be screwing like rabbits within an hour of him setting foot in her house. There was no way Mike wouldn't put the moves on her, even though he'd been trying to push Alex into asking her out for months now. It was just in his baby brother's DNA. Mike might be closing in on twenty-nine, a kick-ass agent with the DEA, respected for his sharp mind and dedication to the job, but when it came to killer curves and a beautiful face, his dick could not be trusted. It was as simple as that.

The sudden vibration in Alex's front pocket told him he had an incoming call, and he grimaced when he read the name on the screen. Speak of the devil. Mike's ears must have been burning. His baby brother was recently proving to be just as big a pain in his backside as Ben, the two of them making it clear they believed Alex had wasted enough time stewing in anger after the eventful end of his marriage five years ago. Little did they know his pissy attitude these days had almost nothing to do with his bitch of an ex-wife, and everything to do with the fact that he couldn't get a particular redhead out of his thoughts.

Bracing his back against the side of his new Range Rover, Alex lifted the phone to his ear. “I'm busy, Mike. What do you want?”

“You know, it's been half a decade, Alex. People can go to college and earn degrees in that amount of time. Pop out a couple of kids. Trek through South America and set up an entire empire of llama farms. We're talking serious life changers. So don't you think it's about time you pulled your personality out of your ass and stopped acting like a prick?”

Wondering why his brothers couldn't just cut him some freaking slack, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “I'm not in the mood for any of your shit tonight, Mike.” Not that he was ever in the mood for it. He was an asshole, not a masochist. “So what are you calling for?”

The noises in the background made it clear that his brother was calling from his office. “I just wanted to make sure you were watching Brit,” Mike replied, his slow drawl a dead giveaway that he was Southern born and raised.

“I said I would, so I am.” Alex might be a dick, but he kept his promises. Even when he thought they were pointless and irritating.

“Good,” Mike grunted. “I know you think this is all some sort of conspiracy against you, but Ben's really worried about this Shepherd guy. He thinks Brit was way more creeped out by him than she's letting on.”

“Oh, yeah? Why's that?”

Alex had read the report, which was fairly detailed. Three years ago, Brit had been doing work for the Miami Police Department as part of a statewide program that placed a specially trained clinical psychologist with trauma victims during their police and medical interviews, the point of the program being to ease the process between victims and the officers fighting to bring them justice. That was when she'd met Ben, who had been working as a homicide detective in the city. Not long after she'd started with the program, the doc had worked with Shepherd after he'd been the victim of a violent sexual assault perpetrated by his own mother and her boyfriend.

After counseling him during the week he'd spent in hospital, Brit had passed the nineteen-year-old on to a local therapist who was meant to work with him on a permanent basis, and her association with the young man had come to an end. Until two weeks ago, when Shepherd had claimed to be the victim of another brutal attack while living on campus at Fenton, a private south Florida university in the city of Westville, located north of Moss Beach. He specifically requested a visit from Dr. Cramer when he was admitted to hospital, and being the dedicated professional that she was, she'd immediately driven up to meet with him. Two days later, after being discharged, he'd traveled down to Moss Beach for an appointment at her office, and everything had gone south after that meeting.

Though she had cautioned Shepherd several times during the appointment, he'd grown increasingly personal with her, crossing the line. When she warned him that kind of behavior wouldn't be tolerated during their sessions, he'd stormed out, only to return several days later, when he'd caused a scene with her receptionist, verbally abusing the woman. That was a week ago. Brit had immediately filed the report against him with the local sheriff's department, and made it clear to the Westville Police Department that she would no longer be seeing Shepherd as a patient. According to his attorney, Shepherd regretted his behavior and was willing to keep his distance, claiming the emotional strain he was under had caused him to act out. But Ben apparently wasn't buying it. He said there was more to the story than Brit was letting on, but Alex knew she was too smart to play with her safety.

Which meant this whole setup was nothing more than his family doing their best to yank his chain and meddle where they weren't wanted. God knew he loved them, but there were times when he wondered why he hadn't just packed up and moved to another state, putting some distance between him and their good intentions.

Despite what his brothers thought, he didn't need anything more from Brit Cramer than a hard, furious fucking that left them both wrung out and the bed in shambles. And since that wasn't something he could have, seeing as how she was so close to his family, the best thing he could do was see as little of her as possible.

“Alex!” Mike suddenly barked. “Are you even listening to me, man?”

“What?”

Mike grunted in irritation. “Fuck. Why do I even bother talking to you?”

“Damned if I know,” he shot back, realizing his little brother must have been giving him a hell of a lecture while he'd zoned out thinking about Shepherd and the doc. Then he realized he'd also zoned out on watching the lobby doors of the medical complex for Brit, and a surprisingly sharp slice of anxiety knifed through him.
Shit.
“Look, Mike, I gotta go.”

Without even waiting for Mike's response, Alex shoved his phone back in his pocket and started making his way between the parked cars, carrying on a silent argument with himself the entire time. He didn't understand why he was so twisted with tension when he didn't think she was in any real danger to begin with. Why was he freaking out? He was damn near running, his heart pounding as he made his way down the last row, when she emerged through the lobby doors of the clinic in a gaggle of coworkers, laughing at something one of the women had just said, and he exploded with a violent, stifled stream of curses as he jerked to a stop behind one of the parking deck's concrete columns, careful not to let her see him.

“Christ, what a fucking idiot,” he muttered to himself, peeking around the column. He'd damn near given himself a heart attack, thinking he'd screwed up and missed her leaving, and there she was, looking hot and happy in one of those little designer dresses she always wore to the office, her legs appearing a mile long in a pair of fuck-me heels. The woman knew how to dress to make a man hard, that was for damn sure. He hated it as much as he loved it, seeing as how he'd made a personal vow never to lay a hand on her.

Why in God's name had he even freaked? He honestly didn't think she was in any danger from Shepherd. If he did, he wouldn't be skulking around a parking garage just to make sure she made it to her car okay each day. He'd be on her 24-7, ready to rip the throat out of any sick fuck who so much as breathed on her.

Not because it's her,
he silently assured himself
. I'd do the same for any woman who was in trouble.

“Screw this,” he muttered, reaching for his cigarettes as he spun on his heel, heading back to the Rover. He could hear Mike's smoking lecture droning on in his head, and mentally flipped him off.
Cancer, emphysema, tarring his insides black
. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah. Like he gave a shit. He could no longer touch a bottle, so this was the next best thing.

He'd parked the Range Rover at the end of the first row of cars on the ground level, next to the wall, and there was enough room that he could brace his back against the driver's side door as he took a deep drag on his cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs. With a scowl, he slowly exhaled, determined to ignore a niggling thread of unease over the way he'd turned away from Brit, letting her make her way to her car on her own, instead of under his watchful eye. She was parked at the other end of the deck, just around the corner. Odds were good one of the women she'd walked out with would be parked close by her Audi, and they could look out for each other. He didn't need to be wasting his time with this crap. He just needed to take whatever shit Ben felt like doling out and tell his brother to put one of his deputies on watch duty if he and Reese were so worried about her.

Taking another deep drag on the cigarette, Alex made the sudden decision to ring up one of the single women who lived in his condo complex to see if she was free later on. Her name was Chloe, she was blond, and she was built. She was also definitely interested, considering the way she bopped her tight little ass over to flirt with him whenever he swam laps in the community pool. He'd been putting off messing around with her, since she lived a little too close for comfort. It would no doubt come back and bite him in the ass if they hooked up, but damn it, he needed the distraction. If he had to sit around his condo by himself that night and mull over the way he'd just acted like an idiot, panicking for no reason, he'd end up driving himself crazy.

“Definitely need to make the call.” Dropping the cigarette butt on the concrete floor, he ground it out with his boot and pulled his phone from his pocket again, determined to go through with it. He might wish women were something he could do without these days, but he'd always had an above average sex drive, and once he'd sobered up after his divorce, it'd refused to be completely ignored. Which meant that he might not date, but there were definitely times when he hooked up for casual sex to let off some steam. He'd just started to scroll through his contacts, hoping he could work up some decent enthusiasm for the perky dental assistant, since he needed to screw the tension he'd been carrying around for the past few days out of his system, when a strange noise caught his attention.