Chapter Fifteen
“You’re overthinking it again,” Ky told her.
He had her pinned from behind, his arms bracketing her own, forcing them to lay flat against the side of her torso, unable to break free.
Gemma squirmed and shifted her weight several times to no avail. Ky’s grip was tighter than the Spanx she’d squeezed herself into last year when she’d attended the Daytime Emmy awards with Kandy. She was hot, thirsty, and pissed. A terrible combination on a routine day. Add in the stress, isolation, and worry about the next few days, and she was like a lit fuse, just waiting to burn down before igniting something.
“I can feel you vibrating with anger against me,” he said into her ear, his hot breath washing over her skin like an erotic caress. For a millisecond she forgot what she was supposed to do and just melted into how good it felt to have his body holding hers. Granted, it wasn’t a loving embrace, but all that hard muscle and coiled tension flat against her back was a blatant mix of sexual need and carnal arousal that had her toes curling in delight.
In the next second, Ky’s arms tightened and plastered hers even more securely down to her sides. “Come on, Gemma. Focus.”
Oh, I’ll focus, all right.
She turned her cheek and rubbed it against the scruff on his jaw. He’d forgone shaving that morning in the last minute prep work he’d wanted to get done with Rick. When she purred at the delicious feel of his prickly stubble and her butt ground against his pelvis, her movements had the desired effect: distracted, his grip loosened just a tad, but enough for her to do what she did next.
A single, deep inhalation with a rapid fire exhale was all it took to disengage his hold.
Pivoting on one unshod toe, she grabbed his wrists, swirled them upwards and moved behind him, his arms now slung from her hands above his head, and yanked backward.
She bent her knee behind one of his and pushed. When he lost his balance and went down on the assaulted knee, she forced his arms to bend backward at the elbows, allowing her to restrain his hands together.
“Ouch!”
Gemma grinned at the back of his head. “You said to focus.”
With his head shaking, she could feel his shoulders following suit. “You’re nothing if not resourceful.”
“I prefer the terms skilled and expert.”
Ky dipped his head back to look at her. Upside down he was still gorgeous, so Gemma gave in to temptation and bent to kiss him on the lips. In the next breath she was flipped over his head to lay flat and sprawled on the mat.
Ky shifted and climbed on top of her, covering her body with his, pinning her arms above her head. That little smirk on his mouth was equal parts maddening and lust-inducing.
Gemma decided to go with the arousing part. Before Ky could say a word, she lifted her legs and crossed them at the ankles around his waist, effectively putting the part of her that was on fire in direct contact with the part of him that was growing by the moment.
Ky bucked up, flattening his weight on his bent forearms. “Oh, no. I’m wise to your tricks now, woman. You’re not going to break my concentration again with your sexual charms.”
“I’m not trying to break your concentration.” She arched her back to bring them even closer in contact below the waist.
Ky hissed through barely open lips. “No?”
Her pulse tripled at the strain in his voice.
“Then what are you trying to do?”
“If you have to ask, I’m not doing it right.” She laughed up at him.
She pushed up even higher on the mat, her butt and half her back now suspended, held in place by just her shoulders. He still had her arms restrained over her head.
Suddenly, his brow cleared and twin commas appeared at the corners of his mouth. Slowly, he lowered his head. So damn slowly she thought she’d expire from old age before his mouth ever came in contact with hers.
Body on fire for this man, she met him halfway and sealed her lips to his in a kiss that went from zero to ninety in less than a full heartbeat. Ky freed her hands and immediately moved them down her length. He hooked one under her butt, allowing his groin full body contact with hers now, the other circled around her shoulder to lift her head to his.
Gemma’s hands went on a wild rampage, coursing over his body, scraping her nails under his sweaty, T-shirt clad chest, slipping below the waistband of his sweatpants to squeeze his butt. Their mouths never moved from one another, licking, nipping; exploring all their favorite hidden places.
Ky swore in Greek as his tongue danced down her jaw to stop and suck the notch at her shoulder.
“What does that mean?” she asked, licking her way to his ear, biting down on his lobe.
Ky groaned, tipped his head toward her mouth and panted. “Fuck!”
“Yes, please,” she said against his jaw.
The choking sound of his strangled laugh filled the garage.
He nuzzled her nose and said, “You’re gonna kill me.”
“But what a way to go.” She found his lips again, pushed them open and roamed free. “Are we done?” she asked against his mouth.
“Baby, we haven’t even started.”
Her thighs quivered at his savage growl. “No. No.” She laughed. “With the workout. Are we done fighting? ‘Cause I really want to be done fighting.”
Ky’s eyes dragged a molten hot trail across her face. A dark, seductive grin pulled at the corners of his mouth as he pushed back to his knees and then stood, pulling her up with him.
“Yeah. We’re done with this.” One hand crooked under her knees, the other under her shoulders, lifting her in his arms.
“Oh! What are you doing? I can walk.”
“I know.”
He carried her—Jesus, carried her!—through the breezeway into the kitchen and then up the stairs to the bigger bathroom. Gemma forgot all about protesting. She simply gave herself up to the amazing sensation of being carried effortlessly in Ky’s strong arms.
He sat her down on the big bathroom counter, and, after a quick, hard kiss, turned the shower on.
“How do you like it?” he asked, yanking his sweaty tee off with one hand and dropping it to the floor.
“Um, fast and hard?”
Fingers hooked under the waistband of his sweats, he stopped cold and stared at her with such darkening embers glowing in his eyes, Gemma’s nipples hardened.
Ky reached out and bracketed his hands on the counter at her hips. The heat from his body engulfed her. With his mouth a whisper from hers, his gaze holding her captive, he pressed his mouth to hers and said, “We can debate fast and hard over slow and bone melting later,” he licked her bottom lip, “but I meant how do you like your shower temp?”
Gemma’s nervous giggle echoed in the tiled room. “As hot as you can get it.” She reached out and dragged her finger from the notch at his throat, down over his sweat-drenched pecs, to stop at his waist.
“Good. I’ve been taking enough ice-cold showers lately to last me a lifetime.”
Why her pulse tripled in rate at those words she’d think about later…much later. For now, she continued her finger wandering until it came to rest on the pronounced bulge under his sweats.
“Take these off,” she said, swiping her fingers up and down the length of him.
His lips twisted at the corners. He bent close to her, his mouth hovering over hers. “You sure do love to give orders.”
She stretched up and took his lips in a quick, hard, promising kiss. “I love when they’re followed even better.”
Ky striped out of his pants, toeing them behind him and, before she cold blink, had her shirt over her head and on the floor joining his. The heat from the shower began to steam the room.
One flick of his fingers and her sports bra joined her shirt. Ky captured each of her nipples between his fingers and rolled them to hard, pointy peaks.
“God, that feels so good.” Gemma’s head fell back and connected with the clouding mirror.
“Ouch! It’s a good thing I have a hard head.” She rubbed a hand across the back of it and grinned.
Ky lifted her from the counter to stand her flatfooted, then slipped a hand inside her pants. “Come on, klutz. Let’s get you out of these and into the shower.”
“Now who’s being bossy?” She let him tug her yoga pants down to the floor, her breath hitching when, on his way back up, he took his time to lick her from calf to the top V of her thighs. With a groan she could only term wanting, she shifted her legs, opening for him, and said a silent prayer he’d get the hint.
Bless the man for being smart.
He nuzzled into her for access, his breath sailing over her swollen, throbbing skin, making her skin tingle all the way to the roots of her hair, before he dragged his tongue along the length of her heat.
“You’re wetter than any shower,” he said, standing. He took her hand and helped her into the tub.
“Oh, sweet Jesus, that feels good,” Gemma said when the pulsating water sluiced down her shoulders. She dipped her head back, wetting her hair, scooping her bangs off her face. “There’s nothing better than a hot, steamy shower after a workout.”
“I can think of one thing better.” Ky wound his hands around her waist and covered her body with his. The temperature of the heated water at her back was nothing compared to the furnace of the man wrapped around her front. When his lips took hers she couldn’t decide which was hotter: the water, him, or his kiss.
When his tongue pushed against her lips demanding entrance, she decided it was his kiss. Definitely. The man kissed her with a dedication and determination she could only equal to what she gave to her photography. He owned her lips, pure and simple. They were his to do with as he wanted, and Gemma wasn’t the least bit unnerved about giving up her control of them.
“You taste like sunshine,” he said, skimming her jaw. He pushed the wet hair back against her scalp, palmed her chin in his hands and changed the angle of the kiss, giving him deeper, fuller access.
Gemma felt the kiss all the way to her toes.
His hands roamed down her torso, lightly tickled her ribs and settled on her butt. He pulled her closer, his erection flattened against her belly, vibrating with need, engorged with desire. Gemma snaked a hand between their bodies and fisted him, squeezing with just enough pressure to make him shudder.
“And you feel like steel wrapped in velvet.” She moved her hand up and down, slowly, knowing full well what she was doing to him. She could feel his thighs shaking against her own. He hooked a leg around her calf, pressing his knee against her quaking mound, the coarse hairs on his thighs rubbing against her skin and shooting erotic prickles down her spine.
“I want you inside me,” she said.
Ky’s smile was wicked. “First things first.” He reached around her and grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the shower ledge. After squirting some into his hands he said, “Turn around.”
Without even the thought of a retort, Gemma did.
Ky massaged the liquid through her hair, his fingers circling and swirling along her scalp as he brought it into a full lather.
Gemma groaned and reached out to plant her hands on the tiled wall in front of her for balance. Her knees were so weak, and Ky’s hands felt so good, she wasn’t sure she could keep standing for any length of time. “You can’t imagine how good that feels,” she whispered.
The low, deep rumble of his chuckle almost made her come where she stood.
“Face me,” he said, with a subtle yank on her arm. When she turned around, he added, “You’re getting better at following orders.”
She opened one eye and regarded him through it. “I never have trouble following orders I want to obey. It’s the ones I don’t that get me into trouble.”
With a smile, Ky pushed her head back and helped rinse her hair. That done, he took the bar of soap into his hand and worked up a lather between his fingers. “Open your eyes, Gemma.”
She did.
“I want to watch your eyes when I do this.”
“Do what? Oh, sweet baby Jesus!” Her eyes slammed shut again the moment his soapy fingers circled on her puckered nipples.
“Open your eyes.”
That growl almost did her in. When she opened them to see him watching her face, his own so focused, intent, and—damn!—wild, her heart stopped beating for a second and then giddy-apped.
He rubbed and brushed the tips of his fingers around the mounds of her breasts, down along her ribcage and hips, swirling circles along each inch of skin he touched, lathering the soap to a luxurious mix of bubbles and cream. When he reached the dusting of downy hair on her mons, palmed it, and then slid a finger between her thighs, Gemma’s spine shook from her neck to her tailbone.
Afraid she truly would slip and, god forbid break something in the shower, she reached out and braced against his chest for support. “Ky!”
“Love the way my name sounds on your mouth.” He slid two soapy fingers fully inside her, pushing against her pelvis with his free hand.
Her eyes had a will of their own, because despite his growled commands, she couldn’t keep them open. Wave after wave broke within her from his touch. Gemma came so hard and so quick, she wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming sensations that shot through her. Ky held on fast, riding the climax with her, whispering words she didn’t understand in her ear.
When her brain started to function again, she opened her eyes.
Ky’s wet hair was plastered to his scalp, water droplets sliding down his cheeks to his jaw.
“Feel all clean now?” he asked with a self-satisfied smirk that had her wanting to punch him and kiss him at the same time.
“I feel something,” she said, letting her hands roam down to cup him, “but I wouldn’t exactly call it clean.”
A breath whistled through his teeth when she scraped her nails along the thick line of hardened skin connecting his balls with his penis.
“I think the word I’m looking for is,” she swirled her tongue around one of his wet nipples, rewarded when it hardened into a pebble, “dirty.”
His eyes went from a hazy, drowsy ocean green to the color of smoke, burning and feral. For the thousandth time since they’d met she wished she had her camera handy. To capture him like this, wild and raw and completely untamed, unguarded and free, would have been a once in a lifetime photograph.
The artist in Gemma was captivated by his undeniable masculinity. The woman in her was simply captivated. By him. Only by him.
Ky reached around her and shut the shower off.
“Hey! I didn’t wash you.”
“No need. I’m just going to get all sweaty again. And so are you.”
He picked her up allowing her legs to circle around his waist and stepped from the tub.
With a flick of his hand, he dragged a towel from the rack and threw it over her neck, sopping some of the water from her hair.
In two strides he crossed the room to the bed, tossed her down on it, and covered her body with his.
“Caveman, much?” Gemma laughed and slid her legs along the length of his, her toes scraping the muscles of his calves.
The corners of his eyes crinkled. “There’s something to be said for that.” He kissed her. “Stay put. Do not move. Under any circumstances but imminent death. Understand?”
Gemma wrinkled her nose. “Why? Where are you going?”
He took a deep breath in, his steady gaze never wavering from her. “Gemma?”
“Okay. Okay. This is me: staying put.”
After another fast kiss, he went back into the bathroom.
“What are you doing in there?” she called when the sound of a cabinet door slamming reverberated out to her.
He came back to the room with a look of total satisfaction on his face. Her gaze immediately flew to her camera, lying on the bedside table.
“Nothing.” He dropped something on the floor next to the bed and crawled over her again, pushing her knees apart with his own and settling between her legs.
“What did you throw on the floor?” Gemma squirmed to look down the side of the bed. Ky wasn’t having any part of her moving, though.
With possession oozing from every pore, he kept her flat on her back. “A little present from your buddy Rick.”
She squinted up at him. “A present? What?”
Right before he claimed her mouth he said, “Condoms.”
Gemma raised a hand to his mouth. “How did you know they were in there?”
He kissed her palm. Gemma’s heart went topsy-turvy. When he licked it, she felt the bed grow wet under her—and not from shower water.
“You asked me what he said right before he drove away. It was that he had a whole box of them in his bathroom and to feel free.”
Gemma’s body stiffened. “He said that? Feel free?”
“Yup.” He kissed his way across her jaw, to just where her neck met up with her ear. “And I intend to take him up on the offer. Now.” He pulled back and stared down at her, his mouth wet, his eyes moist with desire, and his lower body doing all kinds of lovely things against hers. “Are you done with the questions? Because I really want you to be done with the questions.”
She laughed out loud, charmed that he could turn her body to sensual mush with her words repeated back to her.
Her arms wound around his neck and she pulled his head down to hers. “Done.”
Kissing him and being kissed by him was an experience she couldn’t liken to anything else she’d ever done or dreamed about. The thought that he truly did possess her lips, her mind, her body, was true. With any other man, Gemma would have resisted giving up the most important part of her: her control. But with Ky, it wasn’t a consideration at all. She willingly, willfully, and gladly let him have every bit of her and had no regrets about it.
As his tongue and fingers did a wicked dance over her face, down her torso and belly to weave and claim the hottest and most wanting part of her, all Gemma could think was how happy she felt.
It wasn’t lost on her how ridiculous that sounded. Pursued by a crazy mobster hell-bent on finding and killing her; her normal, perfectly sculpted life in shambles; missing her sisters so much she ached. All those things should have given her pause. And they did. But wrapped in Ky’s arms, with him whispering words to her she longed to know the meaning of, all she could do was admit this man who’d come into her life for all the wrong reasons, had somehow managed to make her feel alive and vital for the first time she could remember.
So she did something she never thought she would: she simply enjoyed the moment and gave herself up to him.
His mouth, persistent and hard, continued its fevered pace on her.
“You need to start speaking in English. I want to know what you’re saying while you do that,” she chastised when he whispered against her thigh.
She could feel his smile against her skin right before he sucked at her inner folds.
“Oh, dear Lord!” Gemma arched, pushing herself closer into his mouth. “Forget it! Forget the words. Just keep…doing…that!”
* * *
How, how could a woman make him bleed with need, make him question every pledge he’d ever made to his job and country, make him want with such a powerful ache that he was defenseless against it, and still make him laugh?
Thank all that’s holy Bannerman had told him about the condoms. He and Gemma still would have wound up in this exact spot, but now that he could be assured of protecting her in every sense of the word, he could explore this thing between them without worry.
And there was something between them. It wasn’t just attraction, although that was powerful enough. No. In the span of time they’d been forced together and learned about one another, he knew it was much more than a sexual itch for either of them. Daily, hourly, Gemma came to trust him more and more, something everyone kept telling him she rarely did. If she could trust him with her life, she could trust him with her heart.
But right now he was happy she was trusting him with her body, because he really liked that.
He dipped his tongue inside her, deep, deeper, his breath catching when she almost arched off the bed to pull him even deeper. The words he murmured in the language of his ancestors told her what he was feeling. She might not understand them, but she certainly understood their intent.
“I think it’s better if I show you what they mean,” he told her, sitting back on his knees and reaching down to the floor.
She yanked the condom from his hand, tore the wrapper with her teeth and took it into her mouth. Ky almost embarrassed himself by letting go right then and there.
She shoved up on her elbows again, then pulled to her knees. With one cheeky slant of her eyes, she reached for him and then lowered her mouth. When she pulled up, the condom covered him.
When Ky let fly with his favorite oath, she sat back, grinned and said, “I know what that word means.”
The grin died on her lips in the next moment when he shoved her back down and laid over her body. Knowing he wouldn’t last long if he barreled through this, Ky recited an old geometry theorem in his head while he slowly, slowly slipped into her.
Her eyes went wide then slammed closed when she let out a groan that sailed right through him.
“Open your eyes,” he commanded. When she did, he ground out, “We’ll do it your way first.” He shoved into her, pulled out, than dove home again. The sound of their flesh slapping bounced around the room. “Hard and fast, because I can’t wait.” He drove faster. “But next time, Gemma,” his breath came in spurts and gasps now, his words distinct through each thrust, “next time we do it my way…slow and…mind-blowingly.” With one final thrust he emptied into her, calling her name as he did.