Risking it All (34 page)

you’d let me say good-bye. How long do

I have?”

“They already came to get me.” Those

perfect hands of hers slid into his hair. “I

couldn’t leave you. I couldn’t go.”

“What?”

He

hadn’t

heard

her

correctly. Or maybe he was still sitting

on the ground, imagining this entire

scene. “What do you mean, you couldn’t

leave me?”

“I’m staying, Bowen.” She licked into

his mouth for a dizzying kiss, which he

returned like a starving man. “I need

you.”

Disbelief tried to overshadow the joy

spiraling through him. How could this be

happening? He didn’t want to question

it; he wanted to take this twist of fate he

didn’t deserve and run with it, but he

couldn’t, not completely. She’d given up

a chance to be safe. For
him
. It tempered

his

happiness

with

worry.

The

responsibility to make sure she didn’t

regret it. His blood heated with

possessiveness, the honor he’d been

given to keep her safe. She’d picked

him. This amazing girl had chosen him.

Until she came to her senses, he would

treasure every second.

She tugged at his hair with her fists.

“Let me clarify. I need you
now
.” Her

hips writhed between him and the wall,

hardening his cock with a swiftness that

had him gasping into her delicious

mouth. “Stop thinking, please.”

“Not here, baby.” He pressed higher

between her thighs, negating his plea.

The needy whimper that drifted from her

lips sent blood rushing to his groin. He’d

left himself unfinished this afternoon and

the deprivation came back to bite him

now. It would take an act of God to tear

him away from her at that moment, and

he still would still claw his way back

for more. “Ah, God, don’t let me fuck

you in an alley, Ladybug.”

“Yes.
Here
.” She reached down and

tugged her own skirt higher on her

thighs. Seeing how her desperation

matched his own was a powerful

realization. This wasn’t just sex for her,

either, thank Christ. In his chest, his

heart raced out of control. “I can’t wait,”

she moaned. “I need you so bad.”

Her begging had the effect of a drug,

whizzing along his nerve endings and

making him hungry to get inside her.

Protect her
, a voice shouted from the

back of his racing mind. Keeping her on

the wall with his hips, he reached into

his back pocket and ripped the single

condom from his wallet. Her fingers

were already on his belt, yanking leather

through loops with shaky hands. It

humbled him, her need. He’d never

considered himself a lucky man, but right

now, with Sera wanting him so bad, he

didn’t think anyone luckier had ever

existed in this world.

She slipped her hand into his jeans

and squeezed his erection, chasing away

the last rational thought in his head.

Growling into her frantic kiss, he

reached between her legs and palmed

her pussy.
Mine, mine, mine.

“You still sore from your first time,

baby?” He ripped her panties with a

twist of his wrist. “That’s not going to

stop me from hitting it hard, you

understand? I’m too far gone to fuck you

easy. I might never be able to again.”

“I

understand,”

she

breathed.

“Just…
please
.”

He wedged the packaged condom

between her teeth. “Wrap me up, then.

Get your man ready to fuck. I want to see

it.”

Challenge in her eyes, she ripped the

foil with her teeth and he had to bite his

bottom lip to prevent a growl. Jesus,

how had he ever lived without this girl?

She made him feel so fucking alive, he

didn’t know how he withstood it. As she

rolled the latex over his cock, he

responded to her challenge by slipping

his middle finger inside her, pushing it

high and deep. It distracted her halfway

through her task, her head falling

forward into his shoulder with a hoarse

cry.

“Better finish what you started, Sera.

Unless this is enough for you.” He

withdrew his finger halfway and shoved

it back in again and again, gritting his

teeth at the feel of her tight, damp heat.

Perfect. So goddamn perfect. He nudged

her clit with his knuckle and felt her

mouth open against his neck, her teeth

rake his flesh. “Are my fingers enough

for you?”

“Yes…no. I-I don’t know.” Her hands

moved on his aching cock, rolling the

condom on fully. It made him even

hotter, watching her perform the task.

Seeing her erratic movements, her rush

to get him prepared to be inside her.

Bowen gripped her chin in his hand.

He wanted her looking at him when he

finally sank in. Inevitably, he would lose

himself, and he needed her eyes to

anchor him. “Tell your man how bad you

need him. Tell him to give it to you

hard.”

“I need you, Bowen.” Her eyes were

clouded with lust. “Give it to me hard.”

He rammed himself deep, driving her

high against the wall. She screamed in

her throat, the most erotic sound he’d

ever heard, her lips shaking with the

effort to keep quiet, keep them

undiscovered. Even he had to put a leash

on the need to shout, the feel of her made

him feel so crazed. “Jesus,
fuck
. You

tight-ass girl. I can’t
breathe
when I’m

inside you. I can’t
think
.”

Her ankles locked just above his ass,

sinking him even deeper and drawing a

groan from his mouth. “D-don’t think,

just move,” she said shakily.

Knowing he was seconds from losing

any semblance of control, he braced his

arm between her back and the wall so

she wouldn’t get hurt. Then he flattened

his free hand above her on the wall and

started pumping his hips. He didn’t start

slow. Couldn’t. His pace was merciless,

giving them what they both needed.

“
Nobody
feels like you, baby,” he

groaned against her neck, before sinking

his teeth into the sensitive skin. “I’m so

fucking deep and it’s not enough. It’ll

never be enough. I can’t touch all of you

at once and it drives me crazy. I need

everything, always. More,
more
.”

“You have me.” Her voice shook with

the force of his thrusts. “I’m here.”

“You left.” He pressed their foreheads

together, focused on the brown eyes

glazed with passion. “I watched you

leave. Don’t do that to me again.”

“I won’t.” She whimpered as he

increased his pace. “I promise.”

His hips moved on their own, plowing

into her with deep, savage thrusts. The

force of his drives shook her locked

ankles loose at his back, so her legs

dangled on either side of him, suspended

inches above the ground. She wrapped

her arms around his neck tightly, her

moans increasing in volume against his

ear until he knew she was almost ready

to come. He was overcome by the

obsessive need for her to tighten up and

shake around him, the way she’d done

the first time. He needed to be what sent

her there.

Bowen licked up the side of her neck

and bit down on her earlobe. “You came

back for me, Sera. You came back

because I mean something to you and

thank Christ for that.” His hand left the

wall to jerk her left leg up around his

waist, and they both moaned at the new

friction. “But there’s another reason you

came back and I’m fucking you with it

right now. Isn’t that right, beautiful? You

love what I put between your legs.

Admit it for me, part of the reason you

came back is because you know you

won’t get this anywhere else. Not like I

do it.”

Her fingernails dug into the back of

his neck; her thigh started to shake in his

hand. “Yes.
Yes
, I need it.”

“Nowhere else,” he growled against

her mouth. “Let’s hear it.”

“Nowhere else,” she gasped, her

pussy clenching around him so tight,

nothing could stop him from ramming

into her spasming flesh, over and over,

unable to hold back an ounce of his

strength. Electricity shot down his spine,

into his lower back, between his legs.

He momentarily panicked when his eyes

went blind because he couldn’t see her,

so he concentrated on her fingers riffling

through his hair, her clean scent.

Burying his face against her neck, he

pushed deep inside her and let the mind-

blowing orgasm drag him under. “Sera,

Sera,
Sera.
Feels so fucking good, baby,

take it. Take it all for me. See what you

do to me? You and that sweet pussy? I

can’t
breathe
.”

For long moments, he stayed like that,

crushing their bodies together as his

pulse returned to a semi-normal rhythm,

since it never completely steadied with

Sera

around.

Reality

came

back

gradually, like a Polaroid coming into

focus, but he was still afraid to move.

Afraid he would step back to find

himself

huddled

on

the

ground,

imagining her. “You okay, Ladybug?” he

mumbled and then held his breath,

waiting to hear her voice.

Her open mouth pressed a kiss to his

cheek. “I’m okay. I’m better than okay.”

He pulled back to take in the sight of

her flushed face. She looked as if she’d

been attacked, and even knowing he’d

put her in this state, even though she’d

wanted it, he still felt irrational worry.

“I wish I could tell you it won’t be like

this every time, but I can’t. You do

something to me, Sera. You change me

and once that happens…I need that

feeling too much to hold back.”

“Bowen.” She laid a finger over his

lips. “Let’s go home.”

Oh, God. Was it possible for a man’s

heart to explode in his chest? “I like you

saying that.”

Hands brushing, mouths seeking, they

pulled their clothing back into place.

Alarm pricked the back of his neck when

he realized they’d been vulnerable for—

how long? Jesus, anything could have

happened while he’d been lost in her.

He needed to be more careful. Hogan

was set to return early for the shipment

tomorrow, and the threat to Sera would

skyrocket.

Bowen would handle it. He
would
.

He’d keep her safe, protect her with his

life without a second thought. Could he

finally walk away from Brooklyn? Yes.

Yes.
In a heartbeat. As long as he had

her, anything was possible.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

Walking into Bowen’s apartment, Sera

felt
resolved
. For the first time in recent

memory, she’d made a decision based

o n
her
needs, not the needs of others.

Making the decision to throw herself

into his arms had been scary, until those

arms had closed around her and his

energy had wrapped her inside it. She

craved the need he felt for her. She

wanted
him to need her, because with

every second that passed, her own

attachment cemented itself. As soon as

everything was out in the open, no

secrets littering the ground in front of

them, the connection she felt to him

could only strengthen.

She wasn’t ready to think about what

her actions meant. What repercussions

they might have in regard to her future.

One that now included Bowen. Her

uncle, the serious problems presented by

what she’d done…those would need to

be dealt with. Soon. She hoped,
prayed
,

Bowen would want to help her solve

those problems. But not tonight. After