This time he couldn’t move slow, couldn’t take his time. He needed her with an intensity that shook him to his core. He pulled down her bra, spilling her breasts into his hands. He tore his mouth from hers. “I’ve got to have you, Anna honey. I don’t know if I can take it slow this time.”
“I don’t want it slow.” She trembled in his arms, a tremble of excitement.
With a groan, he lowered his head to capture one of her nipples. She moaned as he sucked it and then she gave a gasp when he lightly bit her nipple. At the same time he pinched her opposite nipple. She clenched her hands in his hair as repeated the act when he moved his mouth to the other one.
He raised his head and she let her fingers slide from his hair. He toed off his boots and pulled off his socks before she reached for his buttons.
She seemed almost frantic as she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it out of his jeans. He jerked it off and tossed it before he reached behind her and unzipped her skirt and let it slide down her thighs to the floor. He pushed her panties over her hips and let them drop, too, before taking off her bra and throwing it aside.
When she was naked, he pressed his body tightly to hers, loving the feel of her soft bare skin as he skimmed his palms over her flesh. “You feel so good in my arms,” he said while thinking,
and I’m never going to let you go.
She moved back a little and reached for his belt buckle. In moments she had it unbuckled and his zipper down, and was dragging his jeans and boxer briefs over his hips as she knelt before him. He stepped out of his jeans and was about to draw her back to her feet when she wrapped her fingers over his cock and slipped her mouth over it, taking him to the back of her throat.
His breath hissed through his teeth and he clenched his fists in her long dark hair. “Damn, Anna.” A rumble vibrated his chest, as if a caged animal was trying to break free from inside him.
She moaned and sucked him harder as if having her hair pulled while going down on him was erotic to her. Feeling as if he held power over her at the same time she held power over him was a heady experience.
“That’s so good. So damned good.” His heart beat faster as he felt an orgasm freight-training its way toward him. Her mouth was so warm and wet and she took him as deeply as she could.
He was so close to climaxing, so close to losing control, that he almost came in her mouth. Before he tumbled over the precipice, he pulled his cock out of her mouth and grasped her by the upper arms. He drew her to her feet, swept her up in his embrace, and laid her on the bed.
“Please.” She said the words urgently. “I want you inside me. Now.”
“I will be, honey.” It took him only a moment to fish a condom out of the wallet in his jeans pocket. He rolled it down his erection and he eased onto the bed, between her thighs. As much as he wanted to wait, he couldn’t, especially with her begging him to hurry.
He positioned his cock at the entrance to her core before driving into her.
She gasped and her eyes flew open, her lips forming an O, as if having forgotten how big he was. He watched her, like he had last night, to make sure there was no pain in her expression. When he saw nothing but pleasure, he started thrusting in and out of her hard and fast.
“Yes,” she said in a husky whisper. “Yes. More. Please.” She raised her hips up to meet his as he fucked her.
I’m making love to her. Love.
Her lips were parted, her eyes heavy-lidded, and a sheen of perspiration coated her skin. His orgasm was so close that it was all he could do to hold back. He wanted her to climax before he did, wanted her to feel pleasure before he allowed himself to come.
“Mike.” His name was a sultry gasp that rose up in her. “I—I’m so close.”
“That’s it, honey.” He ground his teeth as the intensity of her words almost caused him to climax. “I want you to come. Come right now.”
A cry escaped her as her body bucked and shuddered beneath him. Her core clenched around his cock and that sent him flying straight into one of the most powerful orgasms he’d ever felt. He thought last night’s had been unbelievable and yet this one shook him to his bones.
His cock throbbed as he thrust in and out of her until he couldn’t take it anymore. He pressed his groin tight against hers as he looked at her flushed face and stared into her deep brown eyes.
I love you,
came to his mind and it took everything he had not to say those words. It was too soon and he didn’t want to scare her away.
Instead, he pulled her into his arms and held her close, hoping that she could sense the depth of his caring through his actions.
Together they cuddled until their breathing slowed, and all he knew was that he never wanted to let her go.
Chapter 18
Anna thought she was going to go crazy during the hour plus drive from Sedona to Prescott. Mike seemed so relaxed and in such a great mood, even singing along with the radio, and she couldn’t bring herself to crush that mood for now.
After their night and morning together, how could she say, “The sex was great and I’m in love with you. By the way, I have been lying to you by omission this whole time. I’ve given Chad ammunition to chip away at your credibility and my family is here from Mexico illegally. Please don’t report them.”
Her stomach twisted, a sick feeling deep in her gut. She thought she might vomit from the spinning of her thoughts and the ugliness she was immersed in.
The beauty of making love with Mike, the amazing way he had shown her a depth of caring she didn’t deserve, was rapidly eating away at her.
Dear God, what am I supposed to do?
Mike coaxed her into conversation about the upcoming debate on Wednesday, and the event they had gone to yesterday. He had a knack of knowing what she didn’t want to talk about, however, at one point he said, “Something’s bothering you, Anna. Do you want to talk about it?”
She froze when he asked the question. This was the moment she should spill everything.
“Nothing.” The lie didn’t come easy, but it was all she could get out. “The event yesterday was long. I’m a little tired from it.”
She was certain he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t press her. As he drove, she looked out at the rain-washed high desert and tried to corral her thoughts. They pinged and bounced everywhere and she couldn’t seem to focus on any one thing.
When they finally reached Prescott, she breathed a sigh of relief. They reached her house with plenty of time for her to make the late morning mass. Her uncle’s truck was parked in front of the house. A black Cadillac was across the street, a vehicle she didn’t recognize as belonging to anyone who lived nearby. The neighbors must have company.
For a moment she was worried Mike would ask to go inside her home, but she circumvented it by saying, “I’d better hurry. We have to leave for church.”
He nodded. “Glad we got back in time for you to go.” He climbed out of the truck, went to the passenger side, and helped her out.
She bit the inside of her lower lip looked at him, feeling a whirlwind of emotions from love to need to sadness to guilt. The guilt obliterated everything else.
“I had a great time,” she said as she tried to come up with more to say. But all she managed was a lame, “Thank you.”
He cupped her face in his hands and brushed his lips over hers. “I’ll call you this evening.”
She nodded as he released her face before she turned and hurried up the sidewalk to the steps. Her heels clicked on the stone as she walked up them. When she reached her front door, she glanced over her shoulder to see him watching her. She managed a little wave before opening the door and let herself inside.
Tears threatened the backs of her eyes, but when her two young cousins rushed in, she put on a smile. They both hugged her and she squeezed them to her in return.
“Were you two good for your mom and dad?” she asked.
Five-year-old Josie nodded enthusiastically. “You wore that outfit yesterday.”
Before Anna could respond, Pablo said, “That man who came to church is here to see you. He’s in the kitchen with Mamá and Papá.”
A cold chill rolled over her skin and she remembered the Cadillac parked across the street.
Chad.
Chad walked into the living room from the kitchen. “Hi, Anna.”
Her features froze. “What are you doing here?”
He smirked. “I had a nice talk with your aunt and uncle. They’re very hospitable.”
Anna turned to the kids. “Tell your mom and dad that I’ll be back in just a moment and I’ll hurry and get ready for church.”
Josie nodded and darted from the living room to the kitchen. Pablo, on the other hand, looked from her to Chad and back.
He started to say something but Anna laid a hand on his shoulder. “Go on now.”
With a frown, he turned and walked into the kitchen.
Anna opened the front door. “We’ll talk out here.”
She didn’t wait for him and stepped out onto the porch. Anger combined with fear caused her body to tremble as he followed her out. She shut the door firmly behind them.
Chin raised, she folded her arms across her chest. “What are you doing here?” she repeated.
“Stopping by to see what you have for me.” The smirk hadn’t left his face. “Thought I’d say hello to Aunt Maria and Uncle Tito while I was waiting for you.”
“Stay away from my family.” She clenched her arms tighter against her chest. “Call me next time.”
A dangerous glint sparked in his eyes. “You are not the one who gets to say how I contact you.”
Her face flushed with heat and she ground her teeth. “I don’t have anything to tell you that would interest you.”
“Oh, I think you do have something that interests me considerably.” He casually looked at the street where Mike had dropped her off and returned his gaze to hers. “You’re fucking McBride.”
The heat in her face traveled across every inch of her body. She uncrossed her arms and fisted her hands at her sides. “I just told you that I have nothing on Mike.”
Chad narrowed his gaze. “You’d better or your aunt and uncle can kiss the American dream goodbye.” The heat in her body turned to ice. He started to leave but paused. “I expect something from you by Wednesday morning.”
He clearly wanted something on Mike for the debate that night.
She remained rigid as she stared after Chad and watched him walk out of her front yard, across the street, and to the Cadillac. He opened the door and climbed inside. She didn’t move until he’d driven out of sight.
Tears rushed forward and down her cheeks. She put her hand over her mouth to cover her sobs. Everything slammed into her at once and her knees almost buckled. She sat down hard on a bench beside the front door and buried her face in her hands.
* * * * *
Anna had managed to avoid Mike for the past two days by claiming to be sick, and that she hadn’t felt well enough to talk on the phone. But today was Wednesday and she needed to be at the debate tonight. She was counting on things being too busy to have to talk with him much.
It was early when she went into the campaign office. Angel was already there but Megan hadn’t come in yet.
“How are you feeling?” Angel asked when Anna walked in.
“Much better.” Anna still felt sick in her gut, but that wasn’t exactly something she could share with Angel. Anna felt guilty for lying to Angel and Mike about being ill.
Anna went to her desk and busied herself, avoiding talking to Angel as much as she could. Today was the day that Chad had demanded she hand him something on Mike.
Maybe she should have come in and tried to find something on him to give to Chad, but she hadn’t been able to get herself to do it. It made her sick to think about betraying Mike any more than she already had and at the same time she felt ill from the danger to her aunt and uncle.
She would just beg Chad for more time even though she had no intention of giving him any fuel against Mike. If she could put Chad off, maybe she’d be able to come up with some way out of this.
As she worked on last minute details on the debate, she came to a conclusion that she should have seriously considered days ago. She and her family needed to move somewhere they would be safe from Chad. Now she just needed to put him off.
A call came in on her cell phone at ten and she now recognized the number as Chad’s. When she answered, he said, “What do you have for me, Anna?”
“I’ve been sick with a cold.” She kept her voice low so that Angel wouldn’t hear. “This is my first day back in the office. I need more time to find something for you.”
“I told you today.” His voice sounded harsh.
“I’m sorry.” She swallowed, her mind racing. “Please give me another few days and I’ll get what you want.”
The long moment of silence that passed caused her stomach to twist. “All right,” he finally said. “Take all the time you need.”
He disconnected the call and Anna’s skin prickled. How had he gone from demanding information for today and then telling her to take all the time she needed? What was he up to?
Maybe nothing. She set her mobile phone on the desktop as her mind whirled. Her phone rang again, startling her. She glanced at the screen to see that it was Mike. She couldn’t talk to him now, not when she was feeling like she was going to crawl out of her skin, so she sent the call to voice mail.
She set about making sure all last minute preparations were ready for the debate tonight. She was determined to see Mike come through it with flying colors.
Chapter 19
Mike pulled his department SUV into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. For a long moment he stared at the town hall. Anna filled his thoughts and warmed him. He’d tried to call her but she hadn’t been feeling well. Her voice had sounded thick, and she’d said she was coming down with a cold. Angel said Anna had made it to work today, but the day had been so damned busy that Mike hadn’t had a chance to get over to the campaign office.
Despite his memories of his time spent with Anna, a deep feeling of unease had him off-balance. He wasn’t sure why he felt as if the other shoe was about to drop. Maybe it had to do with Reg Schmidt, maybe not.