Master of the Game (Rush Series Book 3) (14 page)

As her
emotions ran away from her, she sagged into him, sobbing incoherently into his
chest. “No it won’t. Nothing will ever be okay. I’ve ruined everything. My life
is over. You don’t know… you just don’t know…”

Wordlessly,
he continued to hold her and rubbed his hands soothingly up and down her back
as she cried. Comfortingly, he pressed his lips against the side of her face.
His mind scrambling to understand her words – wanting to make her words mean
anything but the obvious.

Gradually,
her ranting became less and less, along with her sobs and her tears, until
finally, all was quiet except for the wind blowing through the trees up above
them.

Once
she’d calmed and the realization of where she was - nestled snuggly against his
rock-hard body – hit her, she turned her face forward, still buried in his
chest. She inhaled him into her senses. This was the scent she hungered for,
the touch she longed for. But it wasn’t hers to have.
 
Swallowing hard, she inhaled deeply once more
before speaking.

“I… I
need to get back,” she said again quietly.

“I
know,” he replied in the same tone.

When
she made to step away from him, he tightened his arms.

“Tell
me,” he said simply.

She
stiffened as she strove to remember what she’d actually said. Anguish and
terror warred within her. She longed to divulge her secrets to this man… to
lean on him. But she just couldn’t. There were too many people already
threatened by what she couldn’t tell.

“There’s
nothing…” she began before he cut her off with his soft command.

“Tell
me,” he repeated.

She
stood in his embrace wavering, but with a small shake of her head, she
whispered, “I can’t.”

“I can
help,” he promised.

Again,
she shook her head slightly. “You… can’t,” she whispered again.

Without
releasing her, he pulled back to stare down into her eyes - eyes that were now
more bruised from her anguish than her previous injuries. “You can trust me,”
he told her solemnly.

She
returned his stare and nodded. “I know,” she replied softly.

“Then
tell me,” he implored.

She
opened her mouth,
then
clamped it shut when her lips
began to tremble. Begging for his understanding with her eyes, she slowly shook
her head. “I just can’t,” she whispered. “Please don’t ask this.”

With
gentle fingers, he brushed her hair from her face. “Listen to me. If Alcazar
has you tied up in something…”

His
words washed like acid over her and she stepped back quickly. “Roman’s done
nothing wrong.
Nothing at all.
He’s innocent…” she
broke off on a quick inhale.

His
lips thinned as his patience reached the end of his rope. Releasing her fully,
he ran an exasperated hand through his hair.
“Dammit, Devon.
I just… you need…” he bit off his words with an oath so
savage,
it made her cringe with its crudeness.

She
took an involuntary step back from his anger and slipped on the same leaves
which had been problematic to her just moments before. Before she could do more
than stumble backwards, he reached out his hands and grabbed her. Her flash of
fear – fear of
him
- infuriated him.

With a
growl, he said, “I’m not the one you should be afraid of, Little Devil.” With that,
he pulled her to him and plundered her mouth with his. She stilled momentarily
beneath him, but he was beyond caring. He wanted her… had been
wanting
her for days.

The
taste of him, the smell of him, the nickname he’d given her – it all took her
back to the hotel room – where life or death were irrelevant – where only need
existed. It took her the space of two heartbeats to slip her arms around his
muscular body, the body that had given her so much pleasure, and pressed
herself
against that body.

He poured
all the angst he’d endured over the past few days into the kiss. Her taste was
exactly as he remembered. A small part of him knew he should soften his touch,
but the aggression flowing through his body begged to be unleashed - he thought
he knew what the Hulk must have felt like. All he could think of was the
satisfaction he would feel if he grabbed her clothes and ripped them from her
body.

Desire
flashed over her and an ache for him began to permeate her body. She groaned
into his mouth and against his tongue when he slid his hands from her shoulders
to cup her breasts. She whimpered when he brushed his thumbs over their tips.
With hands that trembled, not with fear or nervousness, but with the
deep-seated need to have him buried deep within her, she quickly unfastened his
jeans and slid the zipper down. Desperately, she began to shove at his pants
and boxers.

When
her fumbling fingers had begun snatching at his clothes, he reached his hands
down under the elastic band of her sweatpants and panties and cupped her bare
bottom in his hands. He muttered a curse under his breath into her mouth. He
struggled to breathe when she grasped his rock-hard shaft within her hands.

“Devil…
please,” he begged, not sure what he was begging for.

“Now,
now, now…” she moaned repeatedly against his tongue.

Not
caring where they were, where they would land, or who could see them, they slid
to the ground. Alex caught the band of her sweatpants and shoved them down far
enough for her to spread her knees to him. He fell between her legs and plunged
into her scorching hot depths, over and over he plunged. She arched her hips
and met him. He nipped at her lips, her tongue, her neck,
any
exposed area his teeth could find to press into.

She
slid her hands up under his T-shirt and thrilled at the feel of his muscles as
they bunched and retracted in accordance to his movements. Her body flashed
hot… so very hot. She knew for sure she’d be consumed with the sensation of his
body plunging into hers. Her thighs began to tremble as her need grew. The tiny
bundle of nerves buried deep within her was begging for the release his body
could give it. She threw her head back and begged him,
please, please, please
. His tip hit her budding flower’s center
over and over and her body began to tremble and it felt as if she were falling
even though she was lying pinned beneath him on the ground. She tried to lift
her legs to wrap them firmly around his hips to push him even deeper, but she
was tangled in her own pants. Frustration and need had her raking her nails
down his back.

The
feel of her nails scouring his back made him hiss as the pain of it added to
his pleasure. Shoving her shirt and bra impatiently away, he sucked a nipple
into his mouth and bit down, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to make
her body spiral out of control.

She
raised her hands to his head and buried them in his short-cropped blonde hair.
She pressed his hot mouth more firmly against her breast. “Again,
do
it again,” she begged as she thrashed her head side to
side.

He
growled against her skin as he obliged her. He nipped a little harder this time
and her back reared off the ground as the pain mingled with pleasure. The
pressure to climax was building to become almost unbearable. Shoving his hands
underneath her bottom, he held her snuggly as he slammed into her body.

She
dragged his lips back to hers and their tongues mated in the same desperate
fashion their bodies were. She began to twist beneath him… needing to find
closure to the torment of his body plunging into hers… yet wanting to make it
last. When he pulled all the way out, leaving only his tip submerged she moaned
in frustration which melted into a cascading groan of satisfaction when he sank
back down into her, their hips meeting once again.

Panting
against her, he began to move within her making short, jabbing motions. This
movement caused his hard thickness to rub continuously over the bundle of
nerves at her center. The budding flower seemed to open to the tip of his rigid
hardness and she cried out when it became too much and she fell hard and fast.

He
groaned into her neck as he shoved into her, over and over. His body was on
fire and everything burned. When her body began to quiver beneath his, his body
refused to be denied any longer. He felt his climax begin in his toes and twist
almost painfully up his legs and into his belly. He stroked into her over and
over until finally, blessedly, he spurted hot and long into her.

Slowly,
the world began to come back into focus. He lay with his head buried in the
crook of her neck as he struggled to suck air into his lungs. He could feel the
tiny movements of her hands as she fluttered them over the bare skin of his
back. The reality of what he’d just done hit him like a brick. They were lying
on the ground, their pants barely shoved aside, rutting like a couple of wild
animals… and she was married.
Married
– the word slammed around his brain like the silver ball in a pinball machine.

Shame
burned his stomach where just a moment before desire had burned. Moving
jerkily, he pulled out and away from her. He glanced quickly away from her face
which was still thrown back, her eyes closed, and her lips swollen. As he
glanced away, his eyes fell on her breasts which were now marred by both the
roughness of his beard and his teeth.

He
swallowed hard.
What had he done
? “I…
I… we shouldn’t have…” he began.

She
sucked in a breath at his words and stilled. “Please don’t,” she whispered, as
tears spilled out the corners of her eyes.

The
far-reaching ramifications of what they’d done hit him. What if her husband saw
the marks on her body? He knew what he would do if he were her husband. What if
she got pregnant? He rubbed his hand roughly over his head. “I didn’t use a
condom,” he said quietly.

Still
with her eyes closed but now with a hand thrown over them. “It’s fine, don’t
worry,” she said through her trembling lips.

He
looked away from her once again as his chest burned at her obvious distress.
“Devon…” he began before she cut him off with a small wave of her hand.

“I said
it was fine, Ben,” she said as she dragged in deep breaths to calm herself.

Ben
.
Another lie which lay between them.
Alex slowly and
mechanically stood and pulled his pants up and refastened them. “Let me help
you up,” he said quietly.

She
slowly removed the arm flung over her eyes and opened them. The tears had
stopped falling, but the desolation in her dark eyes made the burning in his
chest intensify. He swallowed, leaned down, and held out his hands. Without
releasing his gaze, she lifted her arms as if they weighed a hundred pounds
each. He grasped her hands and pulled her effortlessly to her feet.

He
grimaced and turned his head away when she began to brush the leaves and twigs
from her bared backside. With a quiet oath, he turned his back to her. “Shit!
What are we doing?” he rasped. “You’re married!” he spat the obvious once more.

“I’m
sorry,” she said grievously.

When he
turned back to face her, thankfully she was redressed and trying in vain to
finger-comb her hair.

He
reached out a hand as if to assist her, but let it fall uselessly back to his
side. The muscles in his face seemed to be paralyzed like someone who was
suffering from
Bell’s Palsy
or something, and try as
he might, they continued to be turned down in a frown.

“Hey,”
he said with quiet command and waited until she lifted her eyes up to his.
“Tell me what you’re involved in. I can help if I know.”

She
blinked rapidly, her chest rising and falling quickly as she contemplated his
words. Seeming to reach a decision, she inhaled and let it out slowly, calming
her senses. Placing a hand against his bicep, she met his gaze. “Thanks for…”
she shrugged, “well, everything. I needed…” she began before stopping, the
words becoming lodged in her throat it seemed. “You helped in ways you don’t
know.”

He met
her gaze and tried in vain to understand her meaning.

“I need
to get back. I’ll see you later,” she said calmly.

He
simply nodded.

Chapter 9

He
didn’t draw in a breath until she disappeared. What was he doing? She was
married and he was on a mission and for all he knew, she was involved… her and
her husband. He gave a quick shake of his head. Moving quickly back to the top
of the ridge, he grabbed his pack and the rest of his gear and began moving
quickly toward the place he’d seen Roman and Sara the night before – the
crevice by the waterfall.

It took
him nearly a half-hour to reach the crevice. The opening looked narrow, but up
close, Alex could tell it actually was fairly wide. Due to its angle, it only
appeared narrow. Moving cautiously and quietly, he moved through the naturally
hewn entrance. Darkness met his eyes when he passed through. Dragging his
backpack off his shoulders, he dug into it and found a flashlight buried at the
bottom. Clicking on the light, he flashed it around the area in which he stood.
Shock and amazement kept him rooted to the spot. The area, a cave really, was
huge and cavernous with both stalactites and stalagmites in its interior – the
result of water, limestone, and time. The beauty of the space wasn’t what had
captured his attention, however. It was the six missiles lying to the side of
the cave.