Chapter Ten

Tess felt much calmer by the time she arrived at the hospital. When she’d received Reid’s text that he was there, she’d been afraid he or one of the other guys had been injured or worse during the op. But he’d assured her he was fine, and she’d agreed to meet him here.

The automatic doors to the emergency department swooshed open before her. She rounded the corner and let out a relieved breath when she saw Reid standing with his back to her down the hallway, speaking to Khan and Hamilton, all of them still in their tactical uniforms.

The latter two glanced over at her, and when Reid turned around, the slight smile he flashed her filled her with warmth. He said something to the others, then headed her way, and she had to hold herself back from rushing up and throwing her arms around him.

She searched his eyes as he approached. “You okay?” she asked when he was a few steps from her. The anniversary of his friend’s suicide was coming up next weekend, and she knew it was on his mind a lot. Whatever had happened tonight might have exacerbated it.

“Yeah. Let’s go outside.” And to her surprise, he wrapped a proprietary arm around her shoulders as they headed back toward the main doors, all but staking his claim in front of whoever was watching. “Were you at base the whole time?”

She slid her arm around his waist, enjoying the flex of taut muscle beneath her palm. “Yes. We were on standby, in case we needed to insert another unit or extract some of you guys.” The night air was warm and without the humidity that made being outside in the daytime at this time of year so uncomfortable.

“You take a cab here?”

“No, a rental.” She fished the keys from her pocket and hit the keyfob to unlock it, blinking the lights on the SUV’s mirrors and taillights. “Want me to drop you back at base, or where you’re staying?” It was after two in the morning and he looked exhausted.

Reid turned her to face him and backed her gently up against the driver’s side door, taking her face in his hands. He held her gaze for a moment, but before she could ask him what had happened and whether he was okay, his mouth was on hers. Slow. Firm. Shockingly tender. Her insides melted and she slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders, savoring the hard planes of muscle before easing upward to slide into his short hair.

All too soon he stopped and lifted his head, leaving her heart reeling and her body heavy with arousal.

Tess licked her lips, tasting him. “So what happened out there?”

He stroked the fingers of one hand through her hair, seemed to hesitate before answering. “Ruiz wasn’t there. HRT took out three of his guys and arrested another. They found two female hostages. Then Khan and I found another one on our way back to our vehicle.”

The way he said the last part had her insides tensing.

“They’d…” He stopped, looked away.

“You can tell me.”

He exhaled a breath, focused on his fingers as he drew them through her hair. “Do you remember the story about a female reporter who was kidnapped a while back? Her family was killed during Sunday dinner, and she was taken.”

She remembered. “Victoria something.”

He nodded. “It was her.”

“Oh! Was she alright?”

“No, not even close. They’d chained her to the floor of a shed out back. When we found her in the woods, she was naked, with just this rusted metal collar and chain hanging from her neck. They fucking chained her there so she couldn’t get away, Tess.”

She winced, horrified. “Oh my God.”

He shook his head, almost in disbelief. “They beat the hell out of her, all over. So bad I didn’t recognize her. The damn collar had rubbed the skin off her neck, and her wrists and ankles were raw from where they’d tied her.”

Tess narrowed her eyes and shook her head in silent disgust. Animals.

“I don’t know what else they did to her, but I can imagine.” He drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. “At least I got the collar off her before the paramedics took over.”

She reached up to curl her fingers around his wrist, stroked her thumb over the inside of it. “You freed her.”

Reid’s gaze slid to hers, full of torment. “She freed herself, somehow.” He traced his fingers along her cheek, her jaw. “Hamilton stayed with her in the ambulance and while the medical team worked on her. The agency and FBI are hoping she’ll be able to give them something that will help them capture Ruiz. She said he was there a week or so ago. Apparently, they were getting ready to ship her to him in New Orleans so he could do what he wanted with her before selling her to a skin trafficker.”

God, it made Tess sick to think of what would have happened to her. “But she’s safe now.”

“Yeah.” His gaze dropped to where his fingers stroked over her chin. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Not that bad, and definitely not that up close. I kept thinking about you, and Autumn, and what I’d do if any man who…” He stopped, a muscle bunching in his jaw.

Tess turned her face to press a kiss into the center of his palm. “I understand.” That had to have been so hard, to see a woman treated with such sickening cruelty. The Veneno cartel and others like it were a cancer, metastasizing at a faster rate than the DEA or any other government agency could kill the diseased cells. Something more had to be done to end them and their reign of terror.

He dropped another gentle kiss on her mouth and eased back. “It’s late. You must be tired.”

Not as tired as him, she bet. “I’m okay. What time do you have to report back at base?”

“Oh-seven-hundred. Taggart decided to give us a few hours off before the post-action briefing. Hopefully by then we’ll have more intel and maybe a lead on Ruiz.”

She pulled the driver’s side door open. “Come on. I’ll drive you back.”

Reid slid into the front passenger seat and shut the door. Tess started the engine and reached for the gearshift to put it in reverse, but Reid grabbed her hand, making her look over at him questioningly. In the parking lot lights streaming through the windshield, his expression was somber. “I want to go back to your hotel with you.”

The emotion in his eyes wrenched her heart. “Okay.”

Thirteen minutes later they stepped out of the elevator on her floor. Twenty seconds after that, they were at her room. This time her hand was completely steady as she slipped the key card into the slot and unlocked the door. She knew what she wanted, and it was Reid.

She kicked off her shoes and turned to face him as he finished unlacing his last boot. Anticipation buzzed in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn’t afraid that this might be a mistake. She wanted him, and they had something special she intended to explore.

Tess met him as he was straightening, sliding both hands into his hair as she leaned up to kiss him. Reid let out a low groan and wrapped both arms around her, one about her hips and the other around her shoulders, lifting her easily off the ground as he started walking her backward. She wound her legs around his waist and held on tight as he carried her to the queen-size bed and laid her down on her back.

Pulling the sheets down beneath her, she reached for the hem of his tactical shirt but he stopped her with a low negative sound and stretched out on top of her. A moan bubbled out of her at the feel of his hard, hot body pressing her into the bed. She slid her hands down to grab the bottom of his shirt, impatient to feel his bare skin.

“No.” Reid blocked her hand.

Confused, she stilled and stared up at him.

Gazing down at her, he came up on his forearms, one hand smoothing the hair back from her face. His eyes were so intense, simmering with something she couldn’t name. “I just need to…” He seemed to struggle for the words, then gave up and leaned down to cover her mouth with his.

She’d expected him to unleash all the pent-up hunger and sexual tension inside him. Instead his fingers bunched into her hair, holding her gently in place as he made love to her mouth. And that’s exactly what it was.

Unsure what to do other than follow his cues, Tess sighed and let herself get lost in the feel and taste of him, her entire body relaxing and heating as arousal flowed like sun-warmed honey through her veins. He sucked at her lower lip, then the upper before easing his tongue into her mouth and caressing hers in a languid, erotic dance.

God, he knew how to kiss. Time was elastic, stretching and extending until she was floating in a haze of arousal and need.

Tess squirmed beneath him, this slow, sensual exploration driving her crazy. She let go of his head and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling upward. This time he lifted up enough to help her, and the low growl that came out of him when he saw the cobalt blue pushup bra she wore made her tingle all over. He slipped one hand beneath her to deftly undo the hooks, and she pulled it off, his hot stare devouring the sight of her naked breasts.

She’d just dropped the bra over the side of the bed and was reaching for him when he cupped her left breast in his hand, squeezing gently. She sucked in a quick breath and bit her lower lip as her nipple tightened to the point of pain. Reid’s expression was one of total absorption as he stared down at the tender flesh he cradled, fingers caressing her skin before he brushed his thumb over the straining peak.

Tess made an unintelligible sound and grabbed the back of his neck, wanting his mouth there.

He lifted his deep blue gaze to hers, his thumb drawing lazy circles around the taut bud, sending streamers of pleasure across her nerve endings. “I need to touch you. Stroke you all over. And I want you to just lie back and enjoy.”

Through the haze of arousal, it hit her. What was driving him to make this all about her.

This was because of tonight, and what he’d seen. How helpless he’d felt when Victoria Gomez had stumbled across their path in the woods. He couldn’t erase that memory or wipe it clean, but he could replace it with this—a man giving a woman pleasure and lavishing her with tenderness.

He didn’t just want this. He needed it.

Tess’s heart squeezed in understanding. She set a hand on the side of his face and held his gaze for a moment before nodding.

Reid closed his eyes and nipped gently at the heel of her hand before bending down to her breast. He rubbed his scruff against the tender skin, then flicked his tongue across her straining nipple.

Sparks of pleasure radiated outward, sizzling along her skin. She arched her back and closed her eyes, her heart thudding in her chest.

Those big, gorgeous hands began smoothing over her bare skin, starting with her neck and shoulders, pausing to tease her breasts before moving lower, tracing the shape of her ribcage and the indent of her waist, leaving trails of heat in their wake. She shivered and swallowed a moan when he undid the button at the top of her jeans and slid the zipper down, the slight metallic rasp sharp in the tension-laden quiet.

Lifting her hips, she allowed him to ease the denim over her hips and down her thighs, the anticipation building to a fever pitch. She was already wet and aching, more than ready for him.

Tossing her jeans aside, Reid rolled to his side, cupped one breast and leaned down to take the sensitive center between his lips.

“Ohh,” she moaned, lifting upward, her hand disappearing into his hair to hold him close. She shuddered as lightning raced through her body, each pull of his lips and stroke of his tongue intensifying the throb between her legs.

He kept tormenting her breasts, first one, then the other, his right hand gliding over her ribs and stomach to her upper thigh. Tess clenched her fingers in his hair and held her breath, dying for the moment when he finally made contact where she needed it the most.

Rather than giving it to her, he made her wait. He was totally focused, riveted as he mapped every one of her curves with his hands. A glide of his callused palm over the bare skin of her lower thighs made her shiver. The light graze of his fingertips over the sensitive skin of her inner thighs made her toes curl.

“Reid,” she finally whispered when she couldn’t stand the burn anymore.

He slid his left hand into her hair and covered her mouth with his, pushing his tongue between her lips just as his right hand slid between her legs to cup her slick center. Tess moaned and raised her hips, needing more pressure, more friction. His fingers glided over her folds, spreading the wetness upward until he swirled a fingertip over the top of her swollen clit.

Tess gasped and squirmed beneath him, trying to get closer. Reid made a soothing sound and sucked at her lower lip, then repeated the feather-light caress.

“Oh, God, I’m begging you—” Her words died in her throat as he increased the pressure for an instant, then slid his fingers down to push inside her. Something very close to a whimper escaped her lips. She dropped her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes as sparks exploded inside her.

“You’re so soft and beautiful,” he whispered against her chin, his teeth nipping gently while his fingers rubbed at the swelling spot inside her.

All she could do was grip his head with both hands as he dipped back down to suck her nipple. His fingers worked her gently, patiently, sliding over that beautiful glow inside her, and then settling his thumb on her clit.

Oh… Oh, God…

He made another low sound, his tongue flicking over her captive nipple as he sucked and drove her out of her damn mind with his hand. Her muscles were rigid, little tremors racing through her as she gasped for air. The sweet pleasure changed, transforming into something far more powerful, a dark, gathering wave of sensation growing inside her.

She whimpered as it loomed there, hovering just on the edge of the horizon.

“Wanna feel you come for me, darlin’,” he whispered against her breast. “Wanna hear you, feel you clench around my fingers.”

The words, the sensations, but most of all the single-minded focus behind them, shot her right to the edge. Her inner walls squeezed around his sliding fingers, the added pressure against the side of her clit making her eyes roll back.

“Oh, yeah,” he groaned between sucks. “Just like that, sweetheart. Let me make you fly.”

That’s exactly what it felt like. Flying. Except he was the one at the controls, not her. She was helpless to do anything but float higher and higher, carried along on the tide of sensation he created in her body. It was mind-blowing.

It was also a little terrifying.

Reid held her like that, suspended in ecstasy until finally, she was there.

Tess cried out as her orgasm hit, pulses of pleasure streaking through her entire body until they gradually faded away, leaving her gasping and spent.

He released her nipple and immediately claimed her mouth in a slow, loving kiss that made the backs of her eyes sting. How? How could she not fall for him after what he’d just done—and the way he’d just done it? She hadn’t been prepared for that kind of shattering emotional and physical intimacy. Reid made her feel like her soul was about to be torn in two.

She squeezed her eyes shut, then sucked in a breath when he eased his hand from between her legs. Opening her eyes, she blinked slowly, focusing on his gorgeous face.

“C’mere,” Reid murmured, sliding both arms beneath her and drawing her into his body, dragging the covers over them both as he did.

She cuddled into him as close as she could get, finally sliding her hands up under his shirt to rest her palms against the hot, smooth skin of his back. The bulge of his erection pressed against her lower abdomen through his tactical pants, and part of her felt guilty. He’d been so giving and attentive with her, he deserved the same. Especially after what he’d seen tonight.

He reached back to turn off the bedside lamp, plunging them into darkness. The quiet surrounded them, his strong arms enfolding her in a cocoon of security as his hands stroked languorously up and down her spine.

She was warm, sated and drowsy. She’d let herself drift for a few minutes, then give him the same comfort he’d given her. If he’d let her.

Her eyes snapped open sometime later when he shifted next to her in the darkness. Her heart jolted. Crap! She’d fallen asleep.

Tess raised her head, trying to see the bedside clock. “What time is it?” she mumbled.

“Six.”

Already?

“I gotta get back to the dorm and shower before we head in for the briefing.” He started to sit up.

She tossed the covers back and threw her legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll drive you.”

Strong hands grasped her shoulders and pressed her back against the bed. In the faint light coming through the gap at the bottom of the window blinds, Tess stared up at him. “Stay right where you are,” he said softly. “I’ll grab a cab.”

“But—”

He cut off her argument with a tender, melting kiss. “No buts.” He stroked a hand over her hair, his fingers combing through it lightly, a sensual tug against her scalp. God, the man could drug her with that move alone. “Get some more sleep.”

But you’re leaving. And I didn’t get to return the favor last night. She wanted to, a heady pulse of arousal spreading through her body at the thought. “Well what…” She bit back the rest of the words, not wanting to sound needy.

His lips curved upward. “I’ll call you as soon as I know what’s going on. It’s only a ninety-minute flight from here to Fort Worth. I plan to be on the first flight I can make.”

The building pressure in her chest eased, and she smiled back at him. “You haven’t even left yet, and I already miss you and can’t wait to see you again.”

He laughed softly. “That’s my plan, darlin’. Making you crazy for me.”

Oh, she really liked it when he called her that in his Mississippi drawl. “Well it’s working.” She was so hooked, it wasn’t even funny. Reaching up to slip a hand around his nape, she squeezed gently. “You be safe, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, you will. Now go back to sleep,” he whispered, dropping one last kiss on her lips and pulling the covers up over her.

Tess curled onto her side and watched while he laced up his boots, murmured goodbye when he paused at the door.

“See you soon,” he said, then slipped out into the hall.

The door closed and the lock clicked into place. Tess rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling, the heaviness in her chest growing with each imagined step he took down the hall. Falling for another man with a dangerous profession was probably asking for heartbreak, but it was too late for that to stop her now.

All she could do was keep going and see what happened, and pray that the combined weight of time, distance and his baggage wouldn’t crush her in the end.