“We’d all be dead.” Ryker sighed. “But we’re not. So lift your head back up and go check on your girl. If she’s somebody you care about, she’s strong enough to handle what you did. It’s that simple.”
Life was never that simple. But Denver couldn’t handle any more emotion. He was close to short-circuiting as it was. “All right. I’ll call in tonight after I start bidding on the auction.” The idea of bidding for a baby nauseated him. “And Ryker? Thanks.”
“Love you, brother.” Ryker clicked off.
Yeah. That was truth. Denver straightened up and wiped the snow off before clomping into the cabin. Noni was stretched out on the sofa in front of the fire, her wet hair splayed across the pillow, her eyes closed, and her breathing even. Good. She’d showered. He reached for a knitted blanket to place over her.
Her soft skin was pale against that black hair. He couldn’t help running a finger over her high cheekbone. When they’d been together in Alaska, a little kid had seen her coming out of a store. The kid’s eyes had widened, and he’d whispered to his mom that Pocahontas was there.
Noni had snorted.
But Denver had seen what the kid had seen. With her long dark hair and stunning eyes, there was something absolutely magical about her. Not just in the way she looked but in her smile. In the way she spoke and in the kindness that seemed to surround her.
He forced himself to turn away from her and grabbed his laptop to work over in the chair closer to the fire. He sat, and his entire body ached.
Sucking in air, he punched in the necessary keys and found the site. His fingers going stiff, he typed in a dollar amount to bid on a baby. Talia.
His stomach lurched, and he swallowed down bile.
Somebody instantly countered his bid.
He needed to throw up.
A tremble slid down his arm, and he clenched his fingers into a fist, opening and closing it. Then he breathed in and out, forcing himself to go cold and concentrate.
He bid again.
Chapter
15
Noni finished cleaning the kitchen after a quiet and very late dinner of sandwiches with a surprisingly good Shiraz. Denver’s brothers had somehow stocked the kitchen with staples right after purchasing the cabin. They had connections that were impressive. She’d slept for a while in the morning and then had watched Denver work the dark web as if he had done so a million times before.
As he bid on the baby throughout the day, the price kept going up. Somebody kept outbidding him.
Who wanted Talia that badly and why?
Noni tried to remain calm, but a scream kept trying to rise in her.
They’d been polite to each other all day, but he’d been focused, and she’d hustled around cleaning in a freaked-out frenzy. Where was that numbness from the night before? She couldn’t find it.
The wind whistled through the trees outside as the temperature dropped to nearly zero. She moved from the kitchen to stand near the fireplace. Denver sat on the sofa facing her with his laptop on his legs and his feet planted on the coffee table in front of the roaring fire. His broad shoulders took up an inordinate amount of space. In his dark shirt and faded jeans with bare feet, he brought back memories that had been etched in her heart.
“I didn’t realize it got so cold here,” she murmured, trying to ignore how quickly her body attuned to his.
He glanced up, and his blue eyes focused. “I don’t think it usually does. But the cloud cover moved away, so it’ll be chilly for the night.”
Good Lord, they were talking about the weather. Tension rumbled around them, competing with the crackling of the fire. She jerked her head toward the laptop. “How’s it going?”
Stress emphasized the lines at the sides of his mouth. “Good. Right now I’m the high bidder, but there are two other determined bidders.”
A lump settled in her throat, and she swallowed several times. Her heart rate picked up. “Well, why don’t we just bid really high? I mean, higher than they’d ever counter?” This whole thing made her want to puke. To think people were trying to buy Talia.
He studied her in that way he had, as if he were trying to see inside her. To see how much she could take. “We can’t be obvious. If we bid too high, that’ll raise suspicions, and I don’t know what will happen. The Kingdom Boys could just contact one of the other bidders directly and cut us out.”
What if they didn’t get to Talia? What if one of the other bidders actually won and got their illegal hands on that baby?
“Stop thinking like that,” Denver said quietly, his gaze softening. “You have to believe we’ll get her.”
He’d always been good at reading her facial expressions, not that she was holding anything back. “I don’t think I can make it until tomorrow evening,” she said, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. The poor baby. Was she warm? Fed? Feeling safe?
“You’ll make it.” He turned the laptop so she could see new pictures of Talia in a bright green outfit. “She’s okay.”
Noni nodded, her heart filling. Okay. That was good. She had to believe Talia was safe or she’d lose her mind.
Denver set the laptop on the side table and patted the seat next to him on the sofa. “Come talk to me.”
That low voice. So inviting. She moved toward him and sat, staring at the fire.
He slid an arm over her shoulders, casually and just to offer comfort. She tried to keep herself from leaning into him, but his warmth was too enticing. Barely biting back a soft sigh, she allowed him to take some of her weight.
“There you go,” he murmured, his gaze still on the fire.
The scent of the forest, wild and free, surrounded her. The forest was probably because he’d scouted outside. But that dark, elusive, all-male scent of pure wildness? Yeah. That was Denver Jones. Not once had she wanted to harness or tame him. But, man, she’d wanted to keep that scent around her. To keep him around her and with her. What he didn’t know was that she’d heard his conversation. The one in which he’d apologized to his brother for earlier mistakes.
Had he lived with that guilt his entire life? Deserved or not, that was a heavy burden.
“Why do you think you’re going to fail at taking down Dr. Madison?” she asked, closing her eyes and letting her head rest on his chest.
His breathing remained sure and steady beneath her cheek. “I won’t fail. It’s just…I don’t know that I’ll survive. Even if I live, I’m, ah, not sure.”
Noni’s eyelids opened. The fire popped a deep orange with dark blue hues. “Because of Madison.” Could he kill a woman in cold blood? Even that woman? “Can’t you turn her in to the authorities?”
His barked laugh lacked humor. “No. She has enough connections she’d be free and creating more soldiers in a lab in no time. There’s only one way to stop her.”
Shouldn’t those words scare her somehow? Noni tried to hold on to reality, but all she could feel was Denver. All she could sense was his emotion, his pain. Every cell in her body wanted to be mad at him and wanted to hold a grudge for his hurting her. But he’d come to her rescue, and now he was going to challenge a gang to save a baby he’d never met. One he had no connection to and probably would never know. What if he died? What if he survived and then died trying to go after that crazy doctor?
Would Noni have any regrets?
Yeah. If she never saw him again, which seemed a definite possibility, she’d regret not taking every moment she had with him and riding it through. Oh, he’d destroy her, and she knew it. But did she care? Really? There were worse ways to go, and maybe she’d somehow save him. A part of him. “My thoughts are going way too deep,” she whispered.
He chuckled, his body moving hers. “Life, eternity, ever after?” His voice wove around them, soothing over her skin.
“No. Here and now. Regrets and promises. Moments and reality.” Now she wasn’t speaking in complete sentences, either.
But he caught her meaning. She could tell because he stiffened, just slightly.
If she hadn’t been pressed against him, she never would’ve noticed the change.
“Not a good idea, baby,” he rumbled.
“I’m well aware,” she said slowly. “Who said every idea has to be a good one?” She was so tired. Tired of missing him, tired of being scared, tired of being lost. Life changed in a second, and she knew that firsthand. Right now she was in a cozy cabin with the badass of her dreams. “I’d give anything for one more minute with my parents. With Sharon. With the cat I lost when I was ten.” She’d give anything to escape reality for just a few moments.
Right or wrong, she needed him. More so, he needed her. She could feel it.
“I’ve hurt you enough,” he countered softly.
She moved, turning and straddling him, her thighs outside his hard ones. Atop him, facing him, was exactly where she wanted to be. “Maybe this time I’ll hurt you.”
His chin lifted, and his eyes darkened to a dangerous blue. Intensity, so sharp it hurt to see, swirled there. “You’ve already slayed me through, darlin’.”
Why were those words sweet? Because they came from the truth and somewhere deep inside him he didn’t try to conceal from her. Life sucked, and this hurt, but the truth held strength. Maybe it even held a promise, thinly veiled, of something good. Something possible. “I didn’t hurt you.”
“Leaving you hurt me. Losing myself in a bottle didn’t help, either.” He held himself perfectly still as if fighting himself.
A bottle? “You rarely drink.”
He breathed out. “I tried it, but even that didn’t erase you. Nothing could.”
Power flushed through her. No more fighting this—for either of them. She ran her palm down the side of his neck. “I love your neck.”
One of his eyebrows rose, and his upper lip twitched. “My neck?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, feeling the corded strength along his jugular. “It’s so tough. So male.”
He held himself still, his muscles barely undulating beneath his skin. As if he still tried to hold himself back, as if he tried to tether his control.
Oh, that wouldn’t do. She slid her hands up and into his thick hair, tightening her fingers in the strands.
“Noni—” he started.
“Shut up, Denver.” She leaned in and kissed him. His inward drawn breath spurred her on, and she tilted her head, increasing the pressure. Finally Denver. The taste of him, so familiar, exploded on her tongue. Wine and…Denver. She moaned and scooted closer, her core settling against the obvious bulge in his jeans.
The man lived with regrets from his past, and she lived with lessons from hers. This was a moment she’d never get back, and she was taking it.
He kissed her back, following her lead, his hands clenching the sofa on either side of them. Finally, she couldn’t breathe, so she broke free. They were both breathing heavily.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” His voice was glass in a tumbler, his gaze curiously hot.
“No,” she whispered, pressing her thighs against his and moaning at the delicious contact. The pulse between her legs demanded relief, forcing her to grab on to control with both hands to keep from rubbing where it hurt. “I’m trying to fuck you.”
The crude language obviously caught him hard. His head jerked, and his eyes flashed. “Noni.”
She’d never been coy and had no idea how to act like a damsel in distress. “I know what I want, and you want me just as bad.” This time she did rub her sex against his erection.
Red flushed dark across his rugged cheekbones. “This is a mistake.”
“Who cares?” Her nipples sharpened to points against her plain cotton bra. “I don’t care who you’ve been with this last year, and I don’t care who you’re with next year. Right now, tonight, you’re with me.”
His bizarre reflexes kicked in, and he instantly tangled a hand in her hair, forcing her head back. “I haven’t been with anybody. There isn’t anybody but you. Never will be.”
Her heart lurched. No, no, no. None of that. No emotion. “I haven’t been with anybody since you, either. So we’re due,” she whispered, trying to return to just this moment. Her head was captured by his hold, and she couldn’t move it an inch. The forced immobility shot liquid need through her entire body, forcing a primal hunger through every nerve. “Denver?”
Warning and lust crossed his face. With a low growl, he jerked her to him and took her mouth.
The carnal kiss erased every thought in her head, turning her into one long line of pulsing need. Too easily, he lifted her by the waist, setting her on her feet between his legs, even as he deepened the kiss. She wavered and grabbed his arms for support. He ripped her yoga pants down her legs and settled her back on his lap before she could take another breath.
Then he finally released her mouth. “I ain’t playin’, Noni.”
Neither was she. Grasping the hem of her T-shirt, she whipped it over her head. He instantly grasped her wrists behind her back, holding her in place, careful of the bandage near her elbow.
She gaped. “Denver?”
His smile was all determination. “Like I said.” Using his free hand, he pushed her panties to one side, exposing her. Cool air brushed her tender parts, and she moaned. Then he slid his knuckles over her slick folds, pressing gently and then easing a finger inside her. White-hot lightning burst pleasure through her, and she bit her lip to keep from begging.
How had she forgotten this part? Forgotten how easily he took control and made her feel so much? Too much? “Den—”
“Look how tight and wet you are, sweetheart. All for me,” he murmured, stroking inside her.
She moved her hips, jerking as he added another finger inside her. Stretching her. Her shoulders rolled in an effort to release her arms, but he held fast. The slight struggle only increased her need. Her hunger.
“I’ve missed you, Non. Missed this.” His fingers moved, sliding out and then back in. Deep and slow with perfect control.
Warning bells—finally—trilled inside her head, but it was way too late. She’d missed this. The feeling of vulnerability and helplessness as he took her places she’d never imagined.
“Ah, you’re remembering.” His knuckles tapped across her clit. She cried out, and he smiled. “This is where you don’t have to be in control. Don’t have decisions to make. Nothing is on your shoulders.” He leaned in, kissed across her jaw, and bit beneath her ear.
She jumped and gasped.
“In fact, you don’t get to be in control.” Leaning back, he studied her bra, his hand at her core cupping her. “Pretty.” Then his gaze caught hers and trapped it. “I’m gonna let go of your wrists. You keep them there, where I have them. Got it?”
Defiance, somehow, flared up inside her.
His eyelids half lowered, giving him the look of a predator. “You move, you get spanked. You really want that tonight?”
Wings beat through her abdomen. He’d spanked her once, and she’d orgasmed so hard that night she’d been in a daze for hours. But she didn’t want a daze. She wanted here and now and memories. “Not tonight,” she breathed, her voice shaking with need.
“Then, baby, do what I say.” He released her wrists, and she kept them in place. “Good girl.” His gaze dropped to her bra. The air around them, between them, ignited.
Her thigh muscles began to tremble, and when he released her sex, she whimpered in protest. Both his hands went to her bra, and he tore in it half. Nothing in her protested as the material was flung across the room. Cold air wisped across her bare nipples, sliding down to her clit, even with the heat pouring off him.
He leaned back, taking her in. “God, yes. Perfect.” Lust and hunger glittered bright in his blue eyes along with a primal possessiveness that should’ve given her pause. Instead, she drank it in. The man was staring at her as if he wanted to take her hard and keep her forever. Her fingers twitched behind her back, and she clenched them together to keep them in place. The control cost her, but the pleasure curving his lips made it
worthwhile.
“Lift,” he murmured.
She used her thighs to lift up, allowing him to jerk down his jeans and briefs, before falling back down, her bare skin against his rock-hard erection. “I want to touch you,” she breathed.
“No.” The word was ragged but the tone firm. “You still on the pill?” he asked.
She nodded, her nails digging into her palms.
“Good.” He grasped her hip, slightly lifting her. His other hand, with those dangerous fingers, spread her open.
God, it was too unbelievable. She closed her eyes, trusting he’d keep her safe. Then he slowly pushed her down on him, his hard shaft instantly seeking entry. Her flesh stretched, surrounding him as her body trembled. Pleasure rushed through her, edged with pain, mingling into a sensation so intense she could only feel. Her hands released, and one of his was instantly banded around her wrists, keeping them pressed against the small of her back.
Her eyelids flashed open.
Determination and lust stamped hard on his angled face. “Don’t. Move.”
She swallowed, her body vibrating, her breasts so heavy they ached.
Finally, her butt rested on his thighs. She tried to lift up, tried to move, tried to dispel some of the need…and he held her in place. She could do nothing but take what he was giving. Wait until he gave more. Even his gaze trapped her in place. The reality of his strength and her vulnerability uncoiled sparks inside her, starting an internal trembling.
“No.” He tapped her clit.
She arched against him, raw fire ripping through her.
“Not yet.” The fierce expression on his face commanded obedience. Somehow, shockingly, her impending orgasm paused. His fingers around her wrists were iron hard. His massive chest heaved as he caught his breath.
Good. He was as affected as she was. “Take off your shirt,” she said, trying to keep from begging for it. She wasn’t sure she was successful.
He yanked his shirt off and dropped it. Somewhere.
Smooth and hard, his chest made her salivate.