CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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Brody should have maintained a professional distance.
What the hell had he been thinking? And when had his dick started thinking for him?
He wasn’t thinking, and that was the problem. Something about Remy Kinkaid scrambled his brains and he tended to lose all sense of reason when he was in her company. This entire assignment was supposed to have been a simple babysitting job, but instead it was turning into much more…and she somehow made him want to come running to her aid.
Healing her wasn’t his job—protecting her was.
How many times had he told himself to be professional over the course of this week?
Only one week. Yet he couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t known her.
Remy had caught the sob in her chest at saying those four words—I want to live. They had come out of nowhere, but he believed they’d always been simmering just below the surface. There were times that integrity was brutal. This was one of those times. She’d tried to lower her head, but he was there to catch her chin and tilt her face up to embrace the truth head on.
“I want to live, Brody, but I’m so afraid to take that next step,” Remy whispered with raw honesty as her admission practically stole every ounce of energy from her body. Her delicate hands now rested against his chest as her blue eyes searched his for some strength. She needed to look no further, but was it possible that even he could fail her? “I’m afraid he could take what little I have left from me.”
“I won’t allow that to happen, Remy. He is no match for this team. We hold every card in the deck.”
Brody shouldn’t have made that promise. There was never a foolproof plan. There were no guarantees in life, yet with just the hint of hope for victory over their evil menace, she lit up in a manner that he’d only ever seen in photographs from before she’d lost her sister. What was it about her that had him wanting to save her? He was not one of those hero types. He was a man who had a predilection for Hawaiian shirts and the laid-back life they represented. He was a professional warrior. He wanted things simple. He went out of his way to make sure his life was uncomplicated. He didn’t do complex.
Apparently, he had been wrong about that conclusion.
Remy was the most convoluted woman he’d ever had the pleasure of babysitting.
“Trouble,” Brody murmured softly against her lips, not surprised at the shot of electricity. “We’re nothing but trouble for one another.”
Fire ran through him as if someone had injected lava into his veins. Only it wasn’t just anyone. It was his little bundle of trouble, and damn if she hadn’t lit the match herself.
He kissed her like they wouldn’t see another morning. No one could assure them they even had tomorrow, which was why he purposefully enjoyed every minute given to him with her. He’d done his best to maintain his distance, but this…animal attraction…was his undoing.
Brody had learned long ago that harboring regret was like carrying around a bag of bricks. All one needed to do was set them down to be rid of them. He had no time for regrets in this world. He planned to live in this moment and enjoy every second given to him, though he wasn’t so sure she would agree by the time the sun rose over the horizon tomorrow.
“Are you—”
“Sure?” Remy managed to get out over the small yet nervous laugh that escaped her lips. “No, I’m not sure I could be. Somehow that makes me want you all the more.”
Brody was relatively sure he’d just received a backhanded compliment of some sort, but he no longer wanted to decipher her multilayered cryptic message. He was operating on instinct now, and she was flooding his receiver with all the right pheromones. She’d captured his attention as she unwaveringly held his gaze while pulling him closer. Her blue eyes were shining with excitement and there was something more.
Arousal.
Desire.
Need.
Brody didn’t hesitate to lift Remy up so that her legs curled around his waist. He never once stopped kissing her as he took a few steps toward the only clear area on the table, setting her down and using one arm to clear the remaining stacks of reports out of their way.
Remy was already at work unfastening his shirt, but it was her warm lips trailing down his chest as each button was undone that had him enveloped in her web. He laid a hand gently on the back of her head as she explored his upper body. He wasn’t going to deny her when each touch from her was igniting another fireball of desire.
“We should go on up to the house,” Brody urged, his muscles tightening with each caress of her soft fingertips. Remy didn’t even seem to notice that it was taking every ounce of strength he had not to take her here and now. “You don’t deserve a quick—”
“Who said it was ever going to be quick?” Remy asked with a smile, pulling back only after she’d unfastened every button on his shirt. She leisurely separated both sides until the supple silk material fell off his shoulders, her eyes following every contour of his chest. She was playing with a vast supply of pure unadulterated sexual energy and it appeared she was well aware of that fact. “I have a feeling that you are much more talented than that, Mr. Novak.”
Brody yanked her forward, taking a hold of her hair within his firm grasp and tilting her head back so she could see for herself the state she’d put him in. He didn’t give her time to say anything as he crushed his lips against hers, taking everything she was willing to give him. He didn’t move on until they both needed to breathe, and only then did he follow the cord of her neck with his tongue. Her skin tasted almost as sweet as her mouth.
“Oh!”
Remy cried out when Brody nipped the delicate skin where her neck curved into her shoulder. Her sun-kissed flesh was a gorgeous copper tone, and it now glistened from his gentle kiss. The arousing sight made him want to see more.
Brody drew her shirt over her head, immediately noticing the slight blush that tinged her cheeks. It wasn’t from embarrassment. It was a rush of pure desire taking over and leaving her wanting for more.
“You are so beautiful,” Brody murmured, slipping a finger underneath the strap of her black bra. He slowly shifted the fabric until the half-inch elastic band was dangling against her arm. He did the same with the other side, fascinated by the sensual rise of her breasts. “You remind me of bright morning sunshine reflecting off the lake.”
Brody didn’t give Remy the chance to ask him why. He’d already drawn the silky material away from her nipples, the cooler air circulating around the room and causing her to sharply inhale as the sensitive tissue contracted. It could have also been the fact that he’d brushed his thumbs over each hardening nub. Either way, she’d tilted her head back to savor the concentrated twin stimulation. It was then he noticed that her fingers were wrapped tightly underneath the edge of the table.
“Don’t hang on to anything but me, Remy,” Brody urged with a whisper, leaning down and running his tongue over her left erect nipple before gently claiming the other tip. He softly suckled until her hands finally grasped his shoulders. “That’s right. Let go.”
“I need more,” Remy murmured, pulling him closer until he fit perfectly in between her legs. The bulge in his cargo shorts was more than noticeable. “I need you inside of me.”
“First comes the more.” Brody took his time as he continued to enjoy each part of her body that he exposed from undressing her. He didn’t stop until she was nude before him in all her glory. “Lean back, Remy. Let me give you so much more.”
*
Remy couldn’t stop the sharp ache that developed as Brody’s warm lips connected with her inner thigh. The long-ago boyfriends who she’d been with before her horrifying encounter hadn’t seemed interested in exchanging this type of attention. Now she eagerly anticipated what all the other women had talked about. She laid back against the cool table and the contrast of temperatures was exhilarating. Every part of her had come alive, just as she’d wanted and craved for years.
Why had she hidden from this type of intimacy?
The answer was just out of her reach, but she didn’t access it. She didn’t want to. His touch was more than enough for now.
Remy’s body continued to respond to the strokes of Brody’s tongue as he parted her folds with his fingers, electrifying those tight-knit bundles of nerves that only continued to flourish underneath his relentless ministrations. He was taking her away from reality and into another realm of existence. All those women had been absolutely correct. Electric energy unlike anything she’d ever experienced before consumed her, chasing away all her worries as all her neurons fired in rapid sequence.
This must be ecstasy.
She rested her heels on the edge of the table to give herself leverage for the thrust her body told her was about to come, but it was of no use. Nothing could have prepared her for the tidal wave of emotions as Brody gradually inserted his index finger into her, stirring a response she had no control over. His touch was as firm as the trade winds blowing in off the ocean, but her reaction was a strong as the opposing tides.
“Brody, please,” Remy cried out, arching her back as he bent his finger and firmly stroked that sweet spot until she had no choice but to burst into a million pieces.
Remy wasn’t certain how long it took her to come down from that fervent elevation, nor was she sure when she remembered to breathe. Her lungs finally expanded and she reached for Brody as if he were her last chance at a lifeline, though there was that niggling of doubt of the bond being taken from her.
She didn’t have to worry, and she sighed with satisfaction when she lifted her lashes to find his dark gaze searching hers for assurance that she was okay. She was more than okay.
“Hi,” Remy whispered, reaching up and running her fingers over the slight growth of whiskers he’d acquired during the day. It gave him the appearance of a rogue when he was anything but. He was becoming her foundation, and though that should be worrisome to her, she couldn’t bring herself to dwell on that concern at the moment. “That was…”
“Nothing compared to what comes next,” Brody assured her in a raspy voice that made it seem he was just as affected as she was by that experience. Maybe he was, and that made this occasion all the more special. His penetrating stare had her body responding, but it was his stirring words that had her heartbeat racing in anticipation. “Allow me to awaken you, Remy. Let me love you.”
Brody had taken a moment to don a condom, so all Remy had to do was wrap her legs around his waist. The table was the perfect height for what they had in mind. The sheer pleasure of having his member at her entrance was almost her undoing, so she reached up to him in hopes that he would understand her need to hold onto him. No words were needed as he recognized her request and leaned down to gently press his lips against hers.
This kiss was nothing like the zealous one beforehand, with a scorching blaze so hot that she hadn’t been sure she’d survive. This one was tender, sweet, and comforting as he ever so slowly thrust forward and didn’t stop until they were truly connected in every imaginable way. He filled her in a manner unlike any other had ever done before.
“You may be even more trouble than I thought,” Brody murmured, pulling her up with him as he stood. Never once did he pull out of her as he lifted her from the table and carefully walked her over to an overstuffed leather chair in the corner that she’d never seen him use. He turned and then situated both of them so that he was seated with her on top, knees on either side of his thighs. This position only caused him to be more fully seated inside of her…it was breathtaking. “I’m yours, trouble.”
Remy had always been an independent woman, so it didn’t bother her in the least to finally take what she’d wanted in the more figurative sense of the word. Living in the moment was something she’d forgotten how to do, but he was offering the ability to her on a silver platter. He was now fully inserted within her and stretching her to the point of a slight burn, but it was a penetrating sting she could savor.
There was no need for words as she rested her palms on his shoulders and used her knees to leverage herself upward. She lifted herself so that only his tip was at her entrance, purposefully taking her time descending and drawing out their combined pleasure. His eyes never left hers, leaving her more vulnerable than she would have ever thought possible.
Never once did Brody tell her to slow down or go faster, allowing her to set her own pace. She was aware of how he was controlling his need to take over by the pressure of his fingers on her waist. His inner battle somehow aroused her even more as she struggled to hold on herself, prolonging their ultimate release.
She didn’t want this to end. Somewhere inside of her was a fear she would never again get to experience this, but her body wouldn’t allow her to ignore its basic need.
She finally fell off that exhilarating precipice, taking him with her.
This was being alive.
This was living.
*
There was only one way to garner her attention.
Death.