His body tensed. She felt his muscles go rock hard beneath her hands, and Casey started to pull away. She—
His hands locked around her, holding her tightly against him. His mouth opened, and his tongue thrust past her lips. He kissed her with a ferocious, consuming need. Kissed her with a dark desperation.
Kissed her the way only he could.
Desire burned through her blood. She’d known only fear moments before, but the touch of his mouth against hers had ignited a firestorm inside her.
She wanted him.
And she was going to have him.
She’d spent years playing it safe in life—and what had that gotten her, exactly? She’d attracted the attention of another killer. She’d been targeted again. Maybe there was no safety. Maybe there was just the moment—the present. Maybe she should grab on tight to what she wanted and not let go.
She wanted him.
A moan built in her throat. His hands had slid down her back, and now they rested right over the curve of her hips. She wanted him to touch her, skin to skin. The barriers should be out of the way. They should both just let go.
And never look back.
But—
Josh slowly lifted his lips from hers. She heard the rasp of his breath and then he took a step away from her. Immediately, she missed his touch.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he said.
She touched her lips. Then her hand fell back to her side. “It’s no game.” She wasn’t going to lie or pretend or be coy. Why waste time? “I want you, Josh.”
“Casey...”
“You know I have trouble trusting the men in my life. But there is something about you.” She didn’t want to say that she was falling for him. It was too fast, too soon, but...
He’s getting to me. I know it.
Casey swallowed. “I’m not playing games. We don’t have time for games, and I don’t like them, anyway. I want you. And you want me.”
The darkness was around them, but all of her fear was gone.
“The question is,” Casey continued quietly, “what do we do about that desire?”
* * *
THE SPOTLIGHT HIT the other boat. They’d found him. Tucker tensed.
“Kurt Anderson!” Hayden called out. “We need you to step forward so that we can see you—and put your hands up!”
Up...just in case the guy had a weapon. Up...just in case they were confronting an armed, desperate man.
It took a moment, but Kurt Anderson appeared. His hair was disheveled, his face covered by the thick growth of a beard, and in his right hand he held a beer can. His tall body wobbled a bit as he stood on the boat.
“What the hell? Hayden?” Kurt squinted against the bright light. “What’s happening? Why are you out here?”
Tucker knew that Kurt and Hayden had once gone to school together. They’d been friends, a lifetime ago. Murder could change so much about a person.
“We’re out here because we need to talk to you.” Hayden’s voice carried easily. “Is anyone else on your vessel?”
“No...” But Kurt looked back, at the cabin entrance behind him. “Just me.”
Was the guy lying? “Mind if we take a look?” Tucker asked him. Even if the guy did mind, they’d be getting on that boat.
“Why would I care?” Kurt started to lower his hands.
“Keep them up, buddy,” Tucker ordered. The guy could have a knife hidden on him. A gun. Any weapon that he could pull in a moment’s notice, and Tucker wasn’t in the mood for an attack.
He and Hayden boarded the other vessel. As they approached Kurt—
“What the hell?” Hayden demanded. “How many beers have you had?”
The scent of alcohol clung to the man, and Tucker had to kick a rolling beer can out of his way. He glanced around and counted at least seven empty beer cars on the deck.
“Just a few,” Kurt said. His voice was slurred. “Makes it...easier, you know? Easier to forget...”
Hayden gave the man a pat down, then nodded toward Tucker. “He’s clean.”
“Damn right!” Kurt laughed. “Clean... Clean and my old man is dirty. A dirty killer. He killed and killed, and I just let it happen. Let it...happen...” He stumbled a bit.
Hayden righted the guy.
Tucker slipped below deck. He searched the boat and he saw...blood. A bloody shirt was tossed on the back of the small couch below deck. He didn’t want to touch the shirt. There was no way he wanted to be responsible for contaminating evidence. Right next to that shirt, he saw a knife with a long, flat blade. Blood had dried on the tip of the blade. Pulling his gun, he headed back up the small flight of stairs.
“Where did that blood come from?” Tucker asked Kurt.
Kurt swung his head toward him. “Do I know you?” The fellow squinted at Tucker. The spotlight from the coast guard vessel still illuminated the scene.
“I’m Special Agent Tucker Frost.” He stared at the suspect. “And, again, I’m asking you...where did the blood come from?”
Kurt didn’t answer.
“There’s a bloody shirt below deck,” Tucker explained to Hayden.
And Casey stabbed her attacker.
“What happened?” Hayden demanded, his voice sharp.
“I was cutting some tangled fishing line and the knife slipped. I cut myself. No big deal.” The last words came out together—fast, stumbling. Drunk. Nobigdeal.
It was a big deal. A very big deal.
“You know boating under the influence is against the law, don’t you, Kurt?” Hayden’s voice was hard.
“Not drunk. Just had...six. No, seven beers. Got to forget. Got to forget Christy. Makes it so much easier...”
“No, it just seems easier,” Tucker responded. “When the haze of booze clears away, it will be even harder.” He knew Hayden was going to arrest Kurt—the guy had given them the perfect reason to take him into the station. Once Kurt sobered up, they’d question him. They’d search the boat. They’d tear into his life.
And if he was guilty, he would pay.
He paced around the boat, heading back toward the motor. His nostrils flared. “You got yourself a leak, Kurt.” The stench of oil was strong.
“That’s why I stopped out here,” Kurt muttered. “Boat’s been giving me trouble. Every time I take it out... I told Chaz at the shop. Still not fixed...”
He gave the man a small smile. “I find myself very curious about your trips. Want to tell me...just where have you been going?”
Kurt blinked, and for the first time since they’d boarded his boat, worry flashed on his face. “What’s going on? Why—why’d you come all the way out here after me? I haven’t even had the chance to call in my Mayday yet.”
No, he hadn’t.
“We came looking for you,” Tucker said, watching him closely. “Because your father sent us to find you...”
Chapter Nine
He should keep his hands off her. Josh knew that he should keep his distance from Casey. So why was he so desperate to get closer to her?
He secured the penthouse door behind them. The alarms were set. The cameras rolling. They were safe for the night.
“I wish we’d gone to the beach house.” She stood a few feet away, gazing out at the darkness below her.
He shook his head, even though Casey couldn’t see the movement. “Too dark. You wouldn’t be able to see anything out there. You really want to re-create the scene, then we’ll do it first thing tomorrow. We’ll go back at dawn.”
She looked back at him, a sad smile on her full lips. “Because that’s when you found me.”
A scene he’d never forget.
“You should go get some rest. I know it’s been a long day for you.” He glanced down at his p
hone. On their way to the penthouse, he’d tried calling Tucker, wanting to tell him about the oil scent, but he’d just gotten the guy’s voice mail.
“Today wasn’t as bad as yesterday. I didn’t get attacked in my hotel room tonight. I consider that a win.” She paused. “But I did get rejected.”
His head snapped up.
That faint smile was still on her lips—a smile that didn’t reach her dark, gorgeous eyes. “I get it,” Casey added. “I’m not your type. I misread the situation. It won’t happen again. I apologize if I...made you uncomfortable.” She turned, obviously heading for the hallway—and her room. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
He should let her go. He should keep his mouth shut. He should—“You’re not the only one with trust issues.”
Casey stilled.
“You wanted to know my secrets? You wanted that fair exchange. Fine. Here goes.” Josh released a long breath. “I trusted the wrong person, too. With fatal consequences.”
Slowly, she turned back to face him. “Josh?”
“He was a man on my SEAL team. I thought he had my back. I thought he was a friend. In an instant, he turned on me—on us all. I lost two good men that day. And every day since, I’ve asked myself why I didn’t see the truth about him sooner.”
Her lips parted. “I’ve asked myself...why I didn’t see the truth about Benjamin.”
He understood her, and he knew—Casey understood him, too.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He didn’t want her pity but—when he looked into her eyes, he realized she wasn’t staring at him with pity. Just a kind of shared pain.
He’d never really thought about a future with anyone, but when he looked at Casey, he found himself imagining all kinds of things that he shouldn’t be thinking. “My job is to keep you safe.”
“I can hire a bodyguard for that. Tom was right on that point.”
He was better than any bodyguard out there. “I’m an FBI agent,” he tried again. “And you’re—” But he broke off because he was staring into her eyes and he couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to look away. Her gaze was so deep and rich, and her lips were red and full. He loved her mouth. Josh was pretty sure her mouth was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. That lower lip of hers was plumper than the top, and he kept having the urge to bite it.
He wanted his mouth all over her. He wanted to make sure that fear was the last emotion he would see in her gaze.
He. Wanted. Her.
So why was he fighting himself?
“I’m what, Josh?”
“You’re the woman I want too much.” She’d been honest with him. He’d give her the same in turn.
He heard her take a quick draw of breath. “How can you want someone too much?” Casey took a step toward him. Then another.
If she kept coming to him, if she got close enough to touch...
He’d touch. He’d take. He wouldn’t stop.
“I don’t think once would be enough for me.” He was trying to warn her. There was just something about Casey. From the moment he’d met her, Josh had been on high alert. Every muscle in his body had tensed. His focus had sharpened on her. “You’re looking to escape aren’t you? To get away from the darkness for a moment, but being with me won’t take you away from the darkness.” Too much darkness surrounded him. “I’m not the safe lover you want.”
Another step. Her scent reached him. Sweet. Sexy. Casey. “You’re an FBI agent. I think that probably makes you the safest lover I’ve ever had.”
Carrying the badge, working on the right side of the law...she didn’t get it. There were different kinds of safety. “I’d never hurt you.” And he knew, even as he spoke, that he was setting out the terms. Because it was going to happen. They were going to happen. “I’d never hurt you physically, you have my word on that. I’d put myself between you and a threat any day of the week.” He meant that. When he was with Casey, no threat would touch her. He’d make sure of it. And because of her past, he had to say, “You would never need to fear me.”
She took another step. If he lifted his hands, he’d be able to touch her. But he didn’t lift them, not yet. They needed to be very, very clear before they crossed this line. “There won’t be any going back. No pretending in the morning that this didn’t happen. Once won’t be enough...” It was what he’d said before because he already knew he would want more. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough of her. “I’m not an easy lover. But I’ll give you so much pleasure you can’t stand it.”
Her eyes gleamed. “Promises, promises...”
“Yes.” That was all he said.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth.
Josh wanted to be the one taking that bite.
“My turn,” Casey said. “Only fair, right?”
Absolutely.
“I’m not looking for easy. I’m looking for someone who wants me so much that he can’t hold back. That he won’t hold back. I want us to both get lost—so lost we forget to come up for air. I don’t want you treating me like a victim. I don’t want you pulling back when the light of dawn is here. I’ll never be anyone’s dirty little secret, and I don’t expect you to be mine, either. I want you—and I have, even before that crazy jerk abducted me. So this isn’t about fear or adrenaline or anything like that. I wanted to kiss you when we were on that motorcycle. I wanted to see where the desire would go.”
He knew exactly where it would go.
“So I guess...we have a deal?” She held out her hand and gave a little, self-conscious laugh. “This seems so odd. I mean, where’s the romance and—”
His fingers curled around hers. “No deal.”
Her eyes widened.
“Pleasure, sweetheart. What we have is a whole lot of pleasure.” And no regrets. He used his grip on her hand to pull her closer. He’d known what would happen if he got his hands on her, and now, he wouldn’t be letting her go.
His mouth took hers. A careful kiss, at first. Then he caught her lower lip between his teeth. He nibbled, he sucked and he gave in to the need he’d been feeling. Then he was kissing her, harder, deeper, letting go of his control. As she’d said...no holding back.
She gave a little moan in the back of her throat, and that husky sound just amped up his desire. He wanted to make her moan again. He wanted to make her scream. He wanted to make her go wild, as wild as he planned to get.
He pinned her against the door with his body. His hands caught hers and he curled his fingers around her wrists. He pushed her hands back against the wood as his mouth trailed down her neck. That little moan came again and he knew that he’d found her sweet spot. He licked and kissed, enjoying the way her body arched up against him. His arousal shoved against the front of his pants. His need was quick and fierce, but Josh was determined to take his time. To explore every inch of her. Some things shouldn’t be rushed. Some people should be savored.
Casey should be savored.
He pulled back so that he could stare into her eyes. The desire he saw there was like a punch straight to his gut. Did the woman have any idea what she was doing to him?
He let her hands go and she immediately reached for him. She grabbed his shirt and yanked and he was pretty sure buttons went flying. Josh blinked at her.
She smiled. The sexiest smile he’d ever seen.
“I told you.” Her voice was the softest temptation. “I didn’t do easy, either. Give me everything that you’ve got, Josh. I can handle it.”
No doubt.
Her fingers slid down his chest, skating over his abs and down to his stomach. She touched the button on his pants—
He caught her hand. “I get to take care of you first.”
She smiled. Again...he was lost.
Josh scooped Casey up into his arms. She was so light
. Her scent surrounded him as he carried her to the bedroom—not her room, but his. He put her on her feet near his bed, and then he stripped her. Carefully. He started with her T-shirt. He pulled it over her head, making sure not to so much as jar her injuries. Then she was clad in her bra and her jeans. She’d kicked off her shoes, he wasn’t sure where they were, and his fingers went to the snap of her jeans. In seconds, he was shoving those jeans down her legs, revealing the black panties that matched her bra. Sexy. So insanely sexy. Her breasts thrust against the cups of the bra. The panties barely shielded her secrets...
And he was about to explode.
Josh lowered her onto the bed and he followed her. His fingers slid over her, touching, stroking, driving her to a fever pitch. Then his mouth followed his fingers. He shoved the bra out of the way and kissed her breasts, loving her tight nipples. Sweeter than candy. He hadn’t even realized he had a sweet tooth, not until that moment. He was sure he’d always crave her taste now.
He reached between her legs, felt her sexy core. Her nails sank into his shirt—he was still dressed. He’d ditched his shoes, but he still wore his pants and his shirt hung open.
“Get rid of your clothes,” Casey said. “I want to feel you, all of you.”
He’d give her exactly what she wanted.
He shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it across the room. He stood at the edge of the bed, moving away from her just long enough to strip. She watched him, her gaze drifting over his body and he wondered what she saw... He had scars. Scars from bullet wounds he’d taken while protecting his country. Scars from attacks he’d survived while being in the FBI. His body was rough, hard, and she was soft and silky. She was sensual, his every fantasy—and he hadn’t even realized he’d been fantasizing about her. She was—
“You are so sexy,” she murmured. Her hand reached out to him. Then she was rising, moving to her knees and reaching for him. Her fingers slid over his chest and his muscles locked down. His arousal jerked toward her. Her fingers trailed over his nipples and then her head bent. She licked his nipple, she sucked, and her hair slid over his skin. His hands curled around her shoulders, the desire beat in his blood and then Josh tumbled her back on the bed.