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 phone. 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.
Can’t wait. Need her. Want her. Take her.
She gave a little laugh and his heart lurched. He grabbed the protection from his nightstand drawer before he went back to her. Her legs parted. She reached up to him—
No going back. No pretending this didn’t happen in the morning. She’d never forget what they did this night. Neither would he.
Josh drove into her. He sank deep, then stilled for a moment as he stared into her eyes. Her gaze had gone even darker. Her cheeks were a rosy pink. She lifted her hips.
“Give me more.”
He did. Josh withdrew, then thrust. His hips jerked against her. He lifted her up, then surged down, knowing he’d stroke across her most sensitive spot. She gave another moan, but that wasn’t enough for him. Not nearly enough. His fingers pushed between them. Even as he thrust, he found the spot he wanted. He caressed and stroked until she came apart for him.
He loved the sound of her scream.
Josh followed her, driving harder, his pace nearly frantic now. Again and again, he sank into her. The bed squeaked beneath them, his breath heaved from his lungs, and then the pleasure hit—crashing over him and obliterating everything else.
Only Casey.
Only Casey mattered.
*
HER EYES OPENED in the darkness. Casey’s heart was racing, and fear held her in a tight grip. She lifted up her hands, afraid that she’d find them tied together with rough rope.
But her hands were free. She was free.
She just wasn’t alone.
She could feel him against her body. They were still in his bed. She was still naked. Casey bet Josh was, too. They’d fallen asleep together. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d stayed with a lover.
Part of her wanted to slip away right then, to go back to her bedroom. Another part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was. But...
What had woken her?
Then she heard the sound again—a vibration that pulsed. Quietly. From the floor? She slipped from the bed, trying hard not to wake Josh. She pulled a sheet with her, curling it around her body. The lights were out, but now that she was at the side of the bed, she could see a glow on the floor.
Her phone? Yes, it was the phone that Tom had given her. Vibrating. Ringing. So low and quiet—she picked it up and her finger slid across the screen.
“Hello?” Her voice was hushed.
“Casey?” Tom demanded. “Casey, what’s wrong?”
Nothing. I’m just trying to be quiet so I don’t wake my lover. “This isn’t a good time.” What time was it? Had to be nearing midnight. Why was Tom calling her so late? She edged toward the bathroom, still keeping her voice whisper-soft. She opened the door, eased inside and then shut that door firmly behind her. She hadn’t woken Josh, at least, she didn’t think she had.
“You didn’t call me.”
What? Seriously?
“I was worried,” Tom continued, and he actually did sound worried. “I’m outside the sheriff’s station. They just brought in Kurt Anderson.”
Her heart jerked.
“They sneaked him in through the back door. They think no one knows what they’re doing, but after your little visit to the prison today, Katrina and I were on stakeout here. We got footage of him going into the station. Now I’m going to need you to go on-air in the morning—be here at dawn. We’ll get the sheriff to talk. You can get some quote from that FBI buddy of yours—”
“He’s not my buddy.” He was her lover. She could still feel his touch on her body.
“Whatever,” Tom growled. “Get him or Sheriff Black to give us a sound bite. Use Duvane to find out what Kurt Anderson is saying to the authorities. Is the guy guilty? Did they find evidence on him? You’re the star reporter—break this case like I know you can.”
It was one thing to report on the story. It was another thing to wake up, hands and feet tied, as a madman in a mask prepared to slice you with his knife. “I’m not using Josh.” She wanted to be clear on that. “It’s not happening.”
“Are you kidding me? Work that Casey Quinn charm on him—the way you always use it on those law enforcement guys. You can get him to tell you anything.”
She didn’t speak. Had she just heard a rustle of sound from the bedroom? Was Josh awake? Was he listening? I won’t use him.
“I get that you’re going through a lot.” His tone had changed. That was Tom. Always working the angles. Now he sounded sympathetic. “And if you can’t handle this story—if you’re too close now—I can bring someone else in.”
Ah, his ultimate threat—replace her. He’d tried that technique in the past. With her. With other reporters. That was the nature of the beast—in their business, there was always someone younger and hungrier waiting in the wings.
“I can do that,” he continued carefully, “but I don’t want to do it. I want you, Casey. You’re my star. You’re the one the public wants to see. Come back to me. Do this story like I know you can. I mean, seriously, this is the story of your career. You were a victim, so you’d be covering the case from an angle no one else could match. This would make us both.”
She heard a creak from behind the door. Her shoulders stiffened. “I have to go.”
“Casey.” Worry sharpened Tom’s tone. “Casey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s just the middle of the night, and I’m going back to bed.” It was easy to lie—to Tom, anyway.
“Be there at dawn. Katrina and I will be waiting for you at the station.”
He hung up.
She exhaled slowly and opened the door. She expected Josh to be standing right there—only he wasn’t. She inched forward, but Casey didn’t see him in bed, either. “Josh?”
The bedroom door was open. She put the phone down on the nightstand and slipped out of the bedroom. She padded down the hallway and found him in the den—standing in front of those big glass windows. He stared out at the darkness.
“Glad to know you aren’t using me.”
He had heard that part. “Eavesdropping at bathroom doors, huh?” She swallowed. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He turned toward her. She realized that she was still just wearing the sheet. She’d hurried after him and dragged it with her. Maybe she should have stopped to grab a robe or something.
He was wearing a pair of loose sweatpants. They hung low on his hips. A lamp was on near the sofa, spilling soft light into the room so that she could see him. His disheveled hair. She’d run her fingers through that hair. The line of dark stubble on his jaw. That stubble had rasped over her body. His powerful build. She’d touched every inch of him when they’d made love.
But he was standing there, his body stiff, his gaze locked on her. And something was just off.
“I can’t figure you out.”
She walked toward him and the thick carpeting swallowed her steps. “What’s to figure out?” His voice had been tense, and she hated that. Hadn’t they already covered the part where she said she wouldn’t use him?
“I think you’re a dangerous woman, Casey Quinn.”
“That’s only fair. I think you’re a dangerous man.”
His head inclined—in acknowledgment?
“That was Tom on the phone.” Though she was betting he’d already figured out the identity of her caller. “He said that Sheriff Black and Agent Frost brought Kurt Anderson into the station. They sneaked him in through the back door. I thought you’d want to know—”
“I know. Tucker texted me earlier. You were asleep next to me, so I didn’t wake you to tell you that they’d found him out on the water. They found him...and the boat he was on had an oil leak. Tucker smelled the oil all over the place.”
Her heart lurched in her chest. “It’s...him?”
He wasn’t touching her. “We don’t know that yet. The guy is drunk, way over the legal limit, so the sheriff brought him in for boating under the influence. That buys us time to question him, to thoroughly search the boat and to see just what secrets he’s been hiding.” His shoulders rolled back. “There’s more, though. The guy...he had a bloody knife in the cabin on the boat. He said he’d cut himself while trying to slice through a tangled fishing wire.”
“I stabbed my attacker.” But she’d kept the knife, so there shouldn’t be any bloody knife to find on Kurt’s boat. Unless...
Unless he’s already taken another victim.
Josh’s head inclined. “All the angles are being investigated, I promise you that. And at first light, I’m going out. Tucker has pulled up all the GPS data from the boat Kurt used. I’m going diving to check out all the stops he’s made. Just in case...” His words trailed away.
“In case there’s another victim out there?” In case he’d grabbed someone else after Casey had gotten away.
“Just in case,” he said flatly.
Her hands clenched around the sheet she wore, sinking into the material. “I’m guessing all of this is off the record?”
“This is for you to know...because you’ve got the biggest stake in this case. As far as the public and the press are concerned, the FBI and the local authorities are investigating a person of interest in the investigation. If we find evidence to conclusively link Kurt to the crime, we’ll immediately call a press conference.”
“You trust me to keep this quiet?”
He laughed, and the sound was a deep rumble. “Yeah, I actually do trust you, Casey.”
That made her feel...warm. Good. “I trust you, too.” As soon as the words slipped out, she felt her eyes widen. She hadn’t meant to say that, had she? No, no, it was just... She cleared her throat. “You’re FBI. Your whole bit is that you uphold the law and you keep the world safe. If I can’t trust you, then I really can’t trust anyone, can I?” Though wasn’t that the way she’d played it for years, never trusting anyone? Always worrying, always being afraid? And what had playing it safe really gotten her?
She’d still been attacked again.
But I got away. I fought back.
“You should go back to sleep,” Josh said, his voice still a dark rumble. “You’ve been through a lot, and you need to rest.”
That was one idea. Certainly. Rest. He seemed to like that idea because he pushed it to her a lot. She nodded and turned away from him. She could feel Josh’s gaze on her. Casey paced toward the couch, and then she turned off the light. Instantly, the room plunged into darkness.
“Casey?”
She let the sheet fall to the floor. “I don’t want to rest.” She turned back toward him. He still stood in front of that floor-to-ceiling window. He was a dark shadow and behind him, she could see the glittering stars. So many stars. “I want you.” Because she could feel them running out of time. If he and Tucker found evidence to tie Kurt Anderson to the crimes, it would be great—they’d lock the killer away.
And then she’d report on the story and fly back home.
Josh would tie up loose ends and he’d head off to tackle another case.
The thought made her feel lost, sad. And she didn’t want to face what was coming—not yet. Dawn would be there soon enough. She wanted to stay in the moment—with him. She wanted to hold the night close and pretend that nothing bad was waiting.
Just the moment. Just them.
She lifted her hands and pressed her body to him. Casey rose on her toes and her mouth brushed across his throat. She wasn’t the only one with a sensitive spot. His hands clamped around her hips as he gave a ragged groan.
“Casey...”
“It’s okay, being up here, near the windows...it’s dark inside and only the ocean is out there to see us.” She wanted him right there—then and there. She gave him a little nip and her hands slid down his chest. He was built—she loved his muscles. His strength and his heat. Loved the way he surrounded her and the way he made her feel.
She—
He lifted her up, holding her easily, and Casey gave a little laugh as her legs wrapped around his hips. His desire pressed against her. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. Right there. Right then. As if nothing else mattered.
In that moment, nothing else did.
He kissed her, and she savored him. Her breasts pressed to his chest, his hands curled around her hips, and he turned, not pressing her to the glass of the window, but instead pushing her back against the wall to the right. He held her there, using his easy strength, kissing her and driving her out of her mind.
They could have built passion up slowly—with the sensual foreplay he’d shown her before. But Casey wasn’t in the mood for slow. She wasn’t in the mood for anything but him.
“Now,” Casey whispered. “Right now.”
His hand eased between their bodies. He stroked her and had her gasping and arching toward him. His fingers slid into her. Casey’s eyes squeezed closed. He knew just how to touch her, exactly what she wanted, as if they’d been lovers for years instead of—
Just one night.
He caressed the center of her need—the spot that made her gasp again and press harder to him. His fingers filled her and her whole body shuddered as the first wave of release hit her.
“So beautiful,” he rasped.
Her breath heaved out of her chest.
He kissed her again, softly, and, still holding her tightly, he went back into the bedroom. He put her on the bed, and she heard the rustle as he grabbed for the protection. He returned to her seconds later, and she was the one to push him down so that he lay on the bed. Casey rose above him, her knees on either side of his hips. She lowered herself onto him, and he filled her so completely. When he was fully inside her, she stilled. In the darkness, she tried to see his eyes.
She wanted to see him.
But his fierce hold lifted her up, and she sank back down onto him. The passion swept through her and she could only move, faster, rougher, and her hands slammed against his chest. Nothing else mattered—just them. Just that moment.
Again and again, her body lifted and her hips pushed back down on him.
The pleasure hit her, a climax so intense that her whole body was engulfed by the release, and he was moving—tumbling her onto her back, thrusting deep and then exploding within her.
In the aftermath, the only sound was their ragged breathing.
And...
He kissed her.
*
IT WASN’T OVER. The cops and the FBI might think they were so smart, but they had no clue. They weren’t going to defeat him. He’d been too careful. There was no evidence, nothing to tie him to any of the crimes.
They didn’t have their killer. They wouldn’t have him.
They’d look ridiculous in front of the media. They’d turn up nothing.
And he would continue his hunt.
He knew exactly where Casey Quinn was hiding. Did she think that she was safe? That she’d gotten away from him? No, no, she’d just made him angrier.
It was time to finish what he’d started. This time, she wouldn’t slip away.
This time, she’d be the one who bled.
She wasn’t going to end this tale as a survivor. That wasn’t the way she got to escape. That wasn’t her final story.
She’d be a victim. A footnote. And he’d be the lead.