His cock, already hard, turned to stone—unyielding and heavy. The teeth of the zipper all but branded a painful pattern into his dick. Fire charred his veins, and he had no idea where he’d find the restraint to back down.
Shit, this was getting out of hand. He wanted her, but not on a sofa after sneaking away from a party like guilty teenagers. Not by pushing their clothes aside and fucking her with all haste and zero finesse. No, he wanted her on a bed, naked, mentally ready for the fact that he would take her tenderly and make her first experience sweet—before he started tying her to his bedposts and pushing her boundaries, one after the other.
Jon tore his mouth from hers, panting. “Believe me, Doc, I noticed.”
Lucia blinked up at him, speechless for a long moment, her breathing slightly heavy. “You never gave me any indication—”
“I was undercover, and your uncle sent me to be Nicki’s watchdog. The minute you hit Vegas, that order included you. He’d have killed me and ruined the investigation if I’d so much as looked at you too long. Trust me when I say I noticed you. And I wanted you.”
A becoming little flush crawled up her cheeks. A moment later, he saw the wheels in her head start to turn. Then her eyes narrowed, and she glared at him. “You’re just saying that to gain my cooperation. It’s convenient to want me when you need my help for your brother’s case.” She grabbed the picture frame and its contents, shoved it all back together with shaking hands, then sprang to her feet. “God, for a smart girl, I can be so stupid.”
As she darted for the door, Jon started after her in shock. “What the hell are you talking about? My desire for you has nothing to do with this case.”
“Right.” The sarcasm in her tone matched the way she yanked the door open. “You know what? I have a roomful of people who genuinely care for me and want me to be happy, and I’ve taken time from them to let you dupe me. I’m done. You know the way out.”
She thought he’d manufactured passion to gain her cooperation? As soon as he could, he’d show her just how wrong she was. “Stop.”
Lucia froze for a long moment, the door open in front of her as she glanced over her shoulder at him. Her delicate face was taut with anger, mouth pursed. But she’d heeded his command. Damn, that went straight to his cock.
“I need your help. That has nothing to do with how much I want you.”
“You gave up two years of your life for a mission. After that, pretending to want me to further your cause must be a piece of cake. I’m not opening myself up so that you can just leave again. Good-bye, Jon.” She marched into the hall and slammed the door behind her.
Anger and determination fired through Jon’s veins as he chased her into the hall, running around her to block her path to the stairs. “I will do anything to get my brother free. But I’m also going to prove that I truly want you. We’re going to follow these clues your father has left us—this week. You’re not going to run off to the Bahamas and let some total stranger take what I want.” He grabbed her arms. “What you want to give me.”
If anything, she got angrier. “Get out of my way.”
“No. Come with me.”
“Go to hell.”
“You’re leaving me no choice, Lucia…” Before she could question that statement, he bent and shoved his shoulder into her soft belly, then hoisted her up on his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked.
“Exactly what I promised.” He braced himself with one hand on the handrail. With the other, he palmed her upper thigh to balance her.
God, he couldn’t wait to get her naked and supine. He might not be the best man in the world for her virginal sensibilities, but he’d treat her damn better than any random asshole she’d pick up at a singles’ resort for a one-night stand. Together, they would follow whatever clues Nicholas had left. Jon hoped and prayed that the Mafia boss’s clues also proved that Stefan hadn’t killed that judge. Even if they didn’t, she would solve the riddle her father had left her, and he couldn’t let her walk into potential danger alone.
Lucia was screaming when he hit the bottom of the stairs on the first floor and emerged into the club. Suddenly, the music stopped, and he could feel every eye in the place on him.
“Jon?” Nicki approached, raising her brow at him.
“I’m taking your sister with me for a while. We have unfinished business.”
“Nicki, you cannot let him do this. It’s ridiculous! This is against my will. I’m going on vacation tomorrow with Ashley. We’ve paid for Erotics Anonymous, and—”
He’d heard enough of this speech. Jon ended her tirade with a slap to the ass.
“Damn you!” she snarled.
Her sister just smiled. “Check in when you two come up for air. Have fun!”
“You did not just condone this, Nicki!” Lucia shouted. “It’s kidnapping!”
“I think she did, Doc.” He grinned. He might get to help his brother and have the woman he’d wanted for too damn long.
“Ashley!” Lucia called out.
Her friend bopped over and bent, revealing a huge grin spread across her face. “Go have fun.”
“You’re okay with this, too?” Lucia sounded incredulous.
“Sure. I don’t need you to hold my hand at Erotics Anonymous. I know exactly what to do.” She wiggled her brows. “We’ll catch up after I get back.”
Jon searched the room, looking for anyone who might object. Nicki’s husband, Mark, was the only person he spied. “Got anything to say?”
“Be good to her. She deserves it.”
Jon nodded. “Absolutely.”
Lucia squirmed on his shoulder, kicking and grumbling as she tried to get away. He swatted her ass again and headed out of the club, into the hot Vegas night, and right for his rental car.
“You cannot just carry me out of this club and—just how do you intend to get me to New Jersey? The minute we hit the airport, I’ll scream to every security officer within a hundred-foot radius.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Doc. I’ve got a great plan B. In the meantime, you can spend some time discerning how to find the cryptovariable your dad left for you…and thinking about all the ways I’m going to touch you as soon as we find a bed.”
chapter three
Lucia crossed her arms over her chest and released a shuddering breath as she watched Jon flip a bunch of knobs and buttons in the little cockpit, powering the little passenger plane down. Icy terror slowly slid out of her bloodstream.
“You can remove your death grip on the armrests. It’s over.”
She looked down at her hands and realized they were white with tension and half numb. Letting go, she shook them out. “That scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m an experienced pilot, Lucia. I got you here in one piece.”
“I don’t like flying much, and I like little planes even less.”
“I didn’t intend to scare you. I’m never going to hurt you. You know that, right?” Jon lifted a brow at her, his dark eyes glittering. “I think you’re mostly pissed that I picked you up and carted you away from your birthday party.”
“I didn’t exactly consent.”
She’d figured that Jon had balls. A guy would have to in order to work undercover for the FBI in a Mafia sting for over two years. But to pick up a woman in front of her family and friends and all but announce that he intended to take her virginity? He had to be crazy.
“Sorry. I’m used to fighting criminals, who are rarely polite. My social skills must be rusty.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to go back to Vegas. My plane to the Bahamas leaves in the morning.”
“You’re staying with me, we’re going to solve this riddle, and I’m going to make sure you don’t once regret that or anything else we do this week. Are you hungry?”
“No.” She winced. God, she sounded petulant. Damn it, she didn’t like how much being near the man and hearing his authoritative voice heated her up, made everything between
her thighs throb. She should be furious with his high-handed tactics. And despite what he claimed, she feared that his “desire” was nothing more than a calculated gesture to gain her cooperation for his investigation. She needed to keep that in mind the next time he touched her.
“Yes, you are.” He turned to her in his pilot’s seat, jaw clenched. “Look, we have serious work to do, but I’m also going to make time for you. I want to make your first time tender and sweet—”
“You’re assuming I’m saying yes.”
He shrugged those massive shoulders. “Fair enough. When I have you under me and I’m kissing every inch of your body…well, if you’re not interested, feel free to just say ‘no.’ But if you keep lying to me, I’m going to paddle your ass until you learn to be honest.”
“You roll that way?” Her heart stuttered at the thought that he might be exactly the sort of man who could fulfill all the kinky fantasies she’d never told anyone.
Jon raised a brow. “If you’re asking whether I’m dominant, the answer is yes. Not every minute. Not every time I have sex. But generally, yes. Furthermore, I think you’re submissive, and we’re going to get on really well together.”
Submissive? Yes. She’d figured that out long ago. While she enjoyed all kinds of literature, Lucia had read more than her fair share of erotic romances in the last five years, most BDSM-themed. She already knew that she responded to the idea of a dominant man. But being spanked? She shivered. Yes, his purred threat aroused her. Would the reality excite her as much? Maybe. Either way, she felt compelled to push back. She might be submissive, but she wasn’t a doormat.
“Go to hell,” she said through clenched teeth. She’d try submitting someday, preferably to a man who wasn’t simply using her and her desires to further his own ends.
Jon laughed. “Now you’re just being bratty and asking to be punished. And I’m kind of looking forward to it. After years of considering you off-limits, I’m really happy to know that, soon, I’m going to introduce you to every pleasure my filthy mind can think of.”
The engine of the plane finally ramped down, and Lucia tugged off her seat belt, then darted out of the cockpit until she reached the cabin of the small passenger plane. She stood near the door. “Let me out. I’m taking a taxi to Newark and catching the next flight to the Bahamas.”
“Don’t you know every time you say that, it’s like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull’s face?” He followed her to the door and opened it, then pressed the lever for the hydraulic stairs to descend. “We’ve had this discussion. You know the answer. And regardless of what you told me, I know your stomach is rumbling. It’s nearly midnight here, so Celeste’s will be closed. We’ll be there when they open the doors for lunch, but until then I’ll find something to sate that hunger before I spend a few hours fulfilling the other.”
Hours? He assumed they were going to have sex tonight? She wanted to. Her pussy burned and pulsed at the thought of Jon being the first man inside her and giving her pleasure. She’d always wanted him. But if he was really just sleeping with her to help his brother, how pathetic would she be if she let him?
She whirled on him. “Just drop the pretense. You don’t have to butter me up. If it’s that damn important to you, then I’ll stay and see if anything my father left behind will help your brother. But don’t bother lying about—”
“Stop.” Jon grabbed her wrist and jerked her closer, then pressed her palm directly on his erection.
Thick. Long. Hard. Heat shimmered through her, almost flattened her. Lucia struggled to breathe. Her jaw dropped.
“That feel like I don’t want you, Doc?”
Oh my God…Finally finding the gumption, she jerked her hand away. Her palm burned. “Can’t guys breathe and get erect? I’m not flattered.”
Jon laughed, the deep, rich rumble of his voice pinging through her body. She was horrified to realize that her nipples had peaked at the sound. “Basic respiration doesn’t excite me, Doc. Sexy little professors with attitude do. Who sold you a bad bill of goods?”
“No one.” She marched down the steps, shaking all over and clutching the picture from her father. “I’m aware of my faults. You don’t need to pretend that they don’t exist.”
Jon didn’t say anything for a long minute. Beside her, he looked as if he was mulling her words over—and like they left a bitter taste in his mouth. “I’m not pretending. There’s not a damn thing wrong with you. Don’t think for a second that men don’t see or want you. Maybe you’ve been dealing with chicken shits who are threatened by your IQ. I don’t know. But I think you’re sexy, and I don’t want to hear you tear yourself down again. Are we clear?”
She blinked up at him, not even bothering to ask if he was serious. Clearly he was. He thought she was sexy? Really?
With a decisive nod, as if that settled the issue, he pulled out his phone and spoke low. She could barely hear him over the wind, but what little she did hear sounded like some code or spyspeak.
They walked through a deserted terminal, and Lucia was surprised to find herself at a small airport, clearly used only for private planes. Jon took her hand and dragged her through the little building. She begged a moment in the restroom and tried to calm her racing thoughts. As soon as she emerged, he dragged her to the front of the terminal. Magically, a sleek black Lincoln awaited them.
“That was fast.”
He shrugged. “It pays to have friends.”
Without another word, Jon opened her door, and she scooted into the plush interior. He climbed in behind her, planting himself right beside her, his hand on her thigh.
“Bocelli,” the driver greeted, his blue eyes shining in the rearview mirror.
“Wade.” Jon nodded. “Good place to stay in town? We’ll be here for a few days, I think.”
“I got just the thing. Sit back, I’ll have you there in twenty.” He drove into the dark night, making his way out of the little airport and onto a relatively deserted street.
“With room service?” Jon asked. “She hasn’t eaten yet.”
“Yeah. Kitchen might be closed, but I’ll hook you up.”
Jon leaned forward and slapped Wade’s shoulder. “You’re all right, man.”
“I’ll remember you said that.”
Laughing, Jon sat back and slung his arm around Lucia, angling her back against his wide chest and between his legs—and brushing his fingers over the swells of her cleavage. “Isn’t she pretty?”
She held her breath, wishing to hell her skin wasn’t tingling where he touched her. She tried to squirm away from his grazing fingertips, but he clamped his free hand around her thigh and tightened his arm around her shoulders, keeping her in place with a silent command. His fingers caressed her flesh, easing down to the edge of her bra and just beneath the lace. Her breath caught, and wide-eyed, she glanced at Wade, who watched in the rearview mirror. She was frozen except for her suddenly heavy breathing. What the hell was Jon doing?
“Gorgeous.” Wade’s voice sounded like black silk, low and smooth. “Natural breasts that large are a total turn-on, and her hips…” He hissed. “They were made for gripping during a long, hard fuck.”
Jon’s hand on her thigh began creeping up, shoving the hem of her dress up as he went. Her mouth fell open, and his fingertips brushing up her thigh left a trail of fire. What was he doing to her?
“Exactly. Anything about her unattractive?”
She tried to elbow Jon, but he sat too close to get in a hard blow.
“Not a damn thing. If you didn’t have your hands all over her and weren’t obviously staking some claim, I’d be asking the pretty thing to spend a little time with me.”
“Fuck off,” Jon volleyed back with a smile.
“Message received.” Wade laughed.
“Could you two not talk about me as if I’m not here?” Lucia asked them.
But deep down, she was pleased. This was his way of both telling and showing her that she was desirable. The knowledge mad
e her glow.
“We know you’re here, Doc.” With his grip, Jon nudged her thighs apart. His fingers crept up higher, so close she could feel the heat of his skin on the other side of her rapidly dampening panties. “I like you here.”
Wildly, Lucia wondered how much Wade could see in the rearview mirror. And why his eyes on the two of them turned her on. She swallowed hard.