Shadow Falling (The Scorpius Syndrome #2) (22 page)

One taste and one night . . . and she craved to have him again.

Was it the same for him? Was that why he was drinking so late and warning her off? Did he know they’d combust? While he’d claimed he’d never warn her off, he was trying to do just that with his crass words. Too bad he’d aroused her to the point she could barely move without moaning.

“What are you so afraid of?” she murmured.

He barked out a laugh and stood, deliberately setting the glass near the bottle. “We don’t have enough time to go through that list. Make a decision now.”

She could play coy and pretend she didn’t understand his meaning. There was a freedom in having already slept with him; the uncertainty of whether or not he wanted her was gone. The energy pouring off him should give her pause. Instead, it intrigued her.
He
intrigued her. “I have received your warning. Now come to bed. We’ll deal with the world tomorrow.”

He didn’t twitch, but a tension swelled from him to choke the room. He seemed to vibrate. Several seconds ticked by, and he reached for something on the table.

Ah. Condoms. What she’d been unable to see. He’d tossed condoms on the table. “You sure?” he asked.

“Yes. Make me say your name,” she said.

He reached the bed in long strides. “Scream my name,”
he whispered, lifting the covers and jerking her to her knees with one hand around her arm. “I said
scream
.”

Chilly air assailed her a second before his mouth descended and captured hers. It wasn’t a kiss. Not from the first touch could it be considered a kiss.

His lips were hard, his tongue demanding, his hold unrelenting. He tasted of whiskey and determined male, which should’ve sent warning bells blaring through her. Instead, the harder he pushed, the more he took, the hotter the stirring desire attacked her. Instead of the slow burn of the night before, fire bombarded her from within, sparking each nerve and shutting down her mind.

For the moment, she wasn’t a doctor or a lost soul or a crazy woman. She was all female being consumed by a primal male too far gone to stop.

That thought, that reality, forced her beyond desire to desperate need.

He ripped her shirt in two and dragged it off her without releasing her lips. Her breath caught, and he still didn’t grant her a reprieve, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth in a blatant claim. His palm flattened between her shoulder blades, pressing her bare flesh into his, holding her exactly where he wanted her.

Her nipples hardened against his chest, and she moaned into his mouth.

Even then, he didn’t halt the determined assault on her lips. She kissed him back, trying to keep up, finally just accepting what he was giving. So much and so hard. Her body shook with need, and she burrowed closer into his warmth, into his fierce strength. A thumb at her jaw forced her mouth wider, and he took more, his taste burned forever on her tongue.

Every instinct inside her wanted to struggle against his dominance, if for no other reason than to push him farther. She curled her nails into his torso and tried to pull away.

He
growled a warning that vibrated through her mouth and down her entire body, zinging erotic points on the way. The hand on her back moved up, and he threaded his fingers through her hair, jerking her head down, forcing her to arch her back. He followed her, his mouth still working hers, bending over her.

His knee landed on the bed and slid up, pressing between her bent legs. Minishocks licked through her abdomen.

She gasped into his mouth, helpless in his hold. He pressed harder, and her thighs naturally widened. He controlled her easily, his hand at her nape, his knee between her legs, bending her back. Her hand dropped from his chest to the bed, behind her butt, where she tried to find some sort of balance.

“Raze.” She spoke into his mouth.

He paused, his lips still over hers, his eyes right above hers. Awareness slowly cleared the lust from the blue.

Relief flowed through her.

The awareness turned to focus and then determination.

Her relief blew to bits. She blinked, and adrenaline, the fight-or-flight kind, spread through her to compete with desire. She couldn’t handle him in this state, and she knew it.

He lifted just enough to leave a millimeter between their mouths. “Too late, baby.”

She did a full-body shiver.

His lips tipped, his gaze knowing. Keeping her in the tenuous position, he slid his hand down her flanks, over her abdomen, and inside her panties.

Pleasure clawed through her.

He slid one finger inside her very wet folds. “Well, then.” Removing his hand, he tugged her back up on her knees. “Take ’em off, Vinnie.”

She pushed off the mattress and regained her balance while on her knees. “No,” she whispered, tilting her head to the side, keeping him squarely in her sights.

His
chin lifted.

She smiled, meeting his gaze directly.

Slowly, his eyes darkening, he shook his head. “Don’t do this. Take them off.”

Her nostrils flared. She was so far out of her head, she’d never make her way back. If the badass wanted her panties, he could take them. “Do it yourself.”

She never saw him move. One second, she was facing him so bravely. The next, the entire room tilted, and she swung around, landing on her hands and knees, her panties ripped off. A hard, very hard, smack echoed from his hand on her ass.

She cried out, half laughing, and tingles spread through her extremities. “Raze—”

The crinkle of a condom wrapper stopped her entire world. “Don’t. Move,” he ordered.

Her arms trembled from her wrists to her shoulders. He was behind her, and she couldn’t see anything but the dingy wall on the other side of the bed. Firm hands grabbed her hips.

She sucked in air.

He slid inside her, inch by inch, taking his time but not slowing down. Her body flexed around him, taking him in, pleasure with a hint of pain.

Finally, he pushed all the way inside, his groin flush against her ass. “Are you all right?” he whispered, his voice low and hoarse.

She closed her eyes as sensation after sensation bombarded her. Even overcome, even in this state, he paused to check on her. He would never convince her he wasn’t one of the good guys. “I’m fine,” she croaked.

“Good.” He manacled her nape and pushed. “Down.”

She tossed her head, sending her hair flying, but he didn’t relent. Finally, she lowered her cheek to the pillow. He released her neck and ran his palm down her back, delivering a stinging slap to her butt.

A surprised
laugh escaped her.

He chuckled. “Only you would laugh.”

Was it just her, or was that fondness in his gravelly voice? She clenched her sex around his dick.

He audibly sucked in air. “You wanna play, Doc?”

She craned her neck, cheek still on the pillow, and looked over her shoulder. “You up to it?” she asked.

His lids half-lowered, but those incredible blue eyes still glowed. His bronze face settled as if sculpted into harsh lines, while his full mouth quirked. His nostrils flared like any predator’s on a hunt. “Let’s find out.”

He brought both of his knees onto the bed and then shoved her forward with his hips before reaching around her thighs and spreading her knees farther apart. Her weight fell fully on her arms and face, and she tried to shove back.

One hard hand planted in the middle of her shoulder blades.

She. Couldn’t. Move.

Her thighs quivered, and more wetness spilled from her. The ache between her legs spiraled out, making her entire lower body clench in the need of a release. “Raze.”

“Say please,” he murmured.

She stilled.

“Now.”

She had to bite her lip to keep from begging. Tremors swept through her. “No.”

Smack.

This one centered right in the middle of her butt and spread warmth. She arched as much as she could and cried out. “Please.” The word came unbidden and from way beyond the moment.

He gripped her hips again and slid out, only to power right back in. God. It was too much. The man, unleashed, was way too much. His tempo and power increased, and she closed her eyes just to feel, her face burrowing into the
pillow. Hard and fast, he hammered inside her, bombarding her with a pleasure too sharp to be real.

Coils unfolded inside her, throwing sparks.

She held her breath.

The world detonated, flashing streaks behind her eyes. White-hot pleasure rode waves through her entire body, exploding out from deep inside, where his cock suddenly held still and jerked hard. The orgasm took her over, and a loud wail echoed through the apartment.

Finally, what seemed like a long time later, her body relaxed into mush.

He kissed her left shoulder and then withdrew. As his body left hers, she murmured a protest. Then her eyelids flashed open. “Did I just scream your name?” God. How loud had she been?

He returned from probably taking care of the condom and lay down, tugging her into his side. She reached down and pulled up the covers. “Um, did I yell?” she asked.

“Yes. It kind of sounded like my name,” he rumbled, placing an absent kiss on her forehead. “Go to sleep, baby.”

Nobody in her entire life had called her
baby
. It took a guy like him, one dangerous and deadly, to even think of trying it. As she struggled to think of a proper retort, her eyelids shut, and her breathing smoothed out. “Raze,” she murmured, crashing right into sleep.

Raze
watched the ceiling and held Vinnie as she slept, his mind troubled and his chest aching. God, she was something. Sweet and wild and brilliant . . . and fragile. So fuckin’ fragile, he had no right touching her. The woman wouldn’t survive in the Mercenary camp, so he had to find another way to save Maureen.

God. Maureen. What was happening to her right now? Raze had been assured no harm would come to her if he followed the plan, and he had to believe that fact, or he’d go crazy. Thus far, he’d played along, so Greyson had no reason to harm Moe.

Thunder rolled outside, and lightning zagged. Here Raze had thought the rainy season had ended. Well, one more night of collecting water was just another blessing.

He gingerly moved Vinnie off his arm and slid from the bed. She rolled over, still out cold. He swallowed and quickly dressed, arming himself with the two guns, three knives, and pack concealing a water-ski rope he’d hidden in a lower cupboard. He turned to take one last look at her. That light
hair splayed over the pillow, while her skin glowed with a translucent tint. She barely made a bump under the covers. He couldn’t watch her and mentally prepare himself for what he had to do, so he exited the apartment and jogged down the hallway to the old vestibule.

Jax Mercury stepped through the mess hall doorway, his hair ruffled, his eyes weary. “You on patrol?”

“Yes. Couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d scout.” Raze zipped up his leather jacket.

“Take a partner,” Jax ordered, moving past him and heading up the steps. “Remember what it feels like to work with people instead of alone. You’re still out of here tomorrow if you don’t come clean about everything.”

“Of course,” Raze said, waiting until the Vanguard leader had disappeared from sight. Hunching his shoulders, he shoved out into the drizzle and walked across puddles to the fence. A quick whistle from him—the correct one—and the gate opened. He nodded to the darkness and strode beyond the downed vehicles and tires to the scraggly weeds.

A brick apartment building stood silent and dark across the road. They had to figure out how to take it down. Rippers could easily be hiding inside, and a clear view for Vanguard would provide much more security.

They.
If he stayed, he wouldn’t be considered part of Vanguard.

Unless . . .

He kept to the shadows and soon left Vanguard territory. Abandoned shops and little stores lined his way, all with broken windows or busted doors. A noise near a former jewelry store caught his attention, and he paused, facing the door.

A fully grown male lion padded outside, its eyes glowing golden in the night.

Holy fuck. He’d heard Marvin roar late at night, but he’d never caught a glimpse of the massive beast. It was much
larger than he would’ve thought. Had Vanguard continued leaving him meat at night? God, Raze hoped so.

Marvin stared at him for a moment and then flicked his tail, turning toward Vanguard.

Raze let out his breath. He gave a shudder, then turned and hustled in the opposite direction from the lion. Within thirty minutes, he reached Luke’s Bar.

Ash was inside, sitting on the bar, waiting. “About fucking time. You’re late.”

Raze’s boots crunched shattered glass, irritation heating his breath. “Where’s Grey?”

“Busy. He couldn’t make it.” Ash blew a bubble with grape-scented gum. “I was hoping you’d bring the bitch.”

Muscles tightened down Raze’s back at the language. “I’m here for the fuckin’ plan.” He looked around and tried to listen for other breaths. “Who am I supposed to coordinate with?”