Authors: Rebecca Airies
Alex followed officers into Ash Floral company’s offices.
There had been someone standing outside Chelsea’s office yesterday while she
talked with Joy. He hadn’t gone past the room. He’d lingered near the door.
Before anyone noticed him, he’d turned and hurried back down the hall. Thanks
to Chelsea’s brother, they’d identified the man. Jeremy Deeks, a man who worked
in the building and according to the time clock, was supposed to be here.
The thought of Chelsea in the same building as the man who
stalked her sent a burst of fear through him. That feeling though magnified to
monstrous proportions when Caleb had called back saying that he couldn’t find
Chelsea. A little later, he’d revealed they’d lost track of Deeks as well.
“Spread out and begin searching. We need to find both of
them.” Gallagher directed officers to different parts of the building. “Alex,
you come with me. We’ll be searching, but Caleb is meeting us. Maybe he has
some idea where she could be.”
Alex wanted to tear the place apart, but the logical part of
his mind knew that ripping through the place wouldn’t help. It needed to be
searched. He tried to calm down, but his woman was in danger. That made
functioning as a Hunter harder than it had ever been before.
He saw Caleb striding down the hall toward them. Alex hoped
he’d found Chelsea. He didn’t care where or how, but he wanted her safe. Alex
put his hand on his belt and the dagger resting there.
The service weapon on his other side might come in handy.
That probably wouldn’t be needed though. His first inclination was to go to the
weapon that he’d used on countless hunts of tainted Aelfir. This man couldn’t
be sane.
“Have you found her yet?” Gallagher asked.
“No, we haven’t found anyone who’s seen her yet. I finally
thought maybe she got a message. Joy’s checking her email. They know each
other’s password.” Caleb said.
Caleb’s phone buzzed. He swiped his finger across it. His
face blanched as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone.
“What?” Alex leaned forward.
“She got a message from Joy to go to the greenhouse. Joy
didn’t send her anything. She’d been out at the field office until I called
her,” Caleb said.
Alex didn’t wait for the end of the explanation. He already
raced down the hallway. Gallagher sprinted right behind him.
Alex’s chest tightened as if a band wrapped around him,
contracting with every step. She had to be all right. Gallagher radioed for
backup. Alex rounded the corner and headed for the large metal door leading to
the greenhouse.
He hit it at full speed. It slammed open. He ran through and
scanned the room, looking for people. At first, he didn’t see anything, but
then he spotted debris on the floor. Almost without his notice, calmness swept
over him. The Hunter mindset took over. His focus centered on the danger and
finding person who caused it.
Movement to the right of that drew his gaze. He saw the
shoulders and bent head of a man. He’d seen the video of Jeremy Deeks. This man
had blond hair just like the man in the image.
Is this Jeremy the stalker?
When he found Jeremy,
Chelsea should be close by. He had to force his mind away from thoughts of what
the other man had done to her.
Alex couldn’t make a move yet. He eased around the end of
the long table full of potted plants. On the floor, beneath the man, Chelsea
lay unmoving. The man’s hands wrapped around her throat.
In a smooth movement, he pulled his dagger and threw. Even
as the blade flew through the air, Alex ran forward. The blade sliced into the
man’s shoulder. Jeremy Deeks jerked upright.
Alex hadn’t ever felt what Jeremy was going through, but
knew magic slammed through his body in searing waves. Jeremy’s hands jerked up
to the knife, trying to rip it out. Alex grabbed the man and ripped him off of
Chelsea. He gripped the dagger and pressed it in.
Although he knew it hurt the man more, he kept the magic
flowing. If the man could be saved, the pulsing magic given off by the blade
could help. It might burn away some of the taint within him. At the moment,
Alex didn’t care if the other man lived or died. His concern centered on
Chelsea.
“How is she, Gallagher?” He struggled to keep from looking
over at her. As much as he wanted to check on her, the man who’d attacked her
needed to be held.
Thankfully, the decision of the man’s fate wasn’t in his
hands. He wouldn’t be able to decide if the taint had been cleansed even after
he’d been treated. Coughing penetrated his focus on Jeremy. Relief swept
through him at that raspy sound.
“Come tend to your woman, Alex. I’ll hold onto him.”
Gallagher put his hand over the top of the hilt.
Alex left the man without a word. He moved over to Chelsea.
She’d rolled onto her side. He eased up beside her and carefully looked her
over for injuries. Dark blue already rose on her cheek and temple. She’d been
hit and strangled. He brushed his fingers across her hair, not wanting to touch
her face for fear he’d hurt her.
“Baby, we’ve got help coming for you. Where do you hurt?” He
leaned over her.
“Head hurts, can’t see.” She reached out. Her hand gripped
his arm.
“Can’t see at all or is it blurry or double vision?” His
eyes narrowed.
He peered at her eyes to check her pupils. He didn’t have a
light to check the reaction, but he did see them following his movement.
Did
she have a concussion or even worse?
“Blurry and double.” Her fingers tightened and she held onto
him.
“I hit him with a pot, but he didn’t even seem to feel it,”
she whispered.
Deeks probably hadn’t felt any pain when the madness took
over. Alex didn’t say that though. She didn’t need anything more to add to her
fear.
“They’re here, Alex. You need to let them take care of her.”
Gallagher tapped Alex’s shoulder. “Deeks is being taken to the hospital in a
separate bus. They’ve taken him out of here until she’s on her way. Your weapon
will be taken to the station as evidence. You’ll get it back.”
Alex nodded, not concerned about Deeks or his dagger. It
wouldn’t be any problem to take it to the Forge and get it re-imbued with
Aelfir fire magic. He worried more about Chelsea than his dagger. How badly had
Deeks hurt her?
The healers would focus on the internal injuries first.
Concern began to eat at him. He wished he could do something to help her. At
this moment, he’d give anything to take away her pain.
He eased back from her when the EMT’s pushed forward to
assess her. After a few moments, they put her on a stretcher. His hands
clenched when she groaned. He wanted to scoop her up and run, but knew that it
would hurt her even more than they were.
“Come with me, Alex?” Chelsea’s voice carried over the
noises of them strapping her onto the gurney.
“Gallagher would have to restrain me to keep me out of that
ambulance. He can take my report at the hospital. I’m not leaving you.” Alex
moved into her line of sight.
She relaxed back on the gurney and closed her eyes. He
followed the EMT’s out of the greenhouse and down the halls of the office
building. Once they got her in the ambulance and were on their way, Alex could
only sit, look at her and think. He could have lost her.
The “ifs” began to swarm through his mind.
If Joy hadn’t
found that email. If Caleb hadn’t identified Deeks from the picture. If they’d
been five minutes later.
Alex strode into his house. His eyes roamed over the kitchen
counters, noting the keys on the counter. Chelsea’s car was parked at the front
of his driveway. He’d half-expected the vehicle and her to be gone.
He didn’t want any distance from her. She’d mentioned it was
safe to go back to her house now. Although she hadn’t tried to leave yet, he
thought that she would soon. Especially now that she’d gone back to her normal
life.
It had been over a week. She’d walked out of the hospital
after a full day and night of observation. They were always cautious with head
wounds. She’d had a few lingering yellowing bruises on her face, but to him,
she’d looked gorgeous. Her smile and laugh had loosened the knot of fear in his
gut. He was still recovering from the scare.
Alex didn’t want her leaving. He liked her things around his
home. Even the assorted bottles and containers which somehow migrated from the
bathroom counter to his dresser. The scattered belongings kept accumulating,
like some sort of feminine territorial claim. He treasured those signs of
intimacy.
She was his woman and he loved her. He knew she loved him as
well. She simply hadn’t admitted it.
Is she ready to make that commitment?
She may not be prepared to take that step. On the other
hand, he couldn’t let her leave. He was pushing her, but he wanted to grab
their future.
Somehow, he had to get her to see they belonged together.
Tonight, he planned to start doing that. He wasn’t above using sex to get her
attention focused in the right direction.
He put the bag of food he’d bought from a local restaurant
on the counter. He hadn’t wanted to be distracted by anything, much less
cooking. Tonight, she was his only focus.
He looked around for Chelsea. At first, he didn’t see any
sign of her. He peeked into the living room. Intent on finding her, he searched
room by room. She had to be here somewhere.
He hoped she wasn’t packing. Even the thought of starting
tonight with an argument made him wince. The discussion might lead to one.
They’d definitely argue if he told her she wasn’t going anywhere.
He found her in their bedroom. She strolled out of the
bathroom. Her hair hung in wet ropes around her shoulders and a towel wrapped
around her body. A big smile curved her lips when she saw him.
“Hi, Alex, did you have a good day at work?” She strolled
over to the bed and a pile of clothes she’d left there.
Those weren’t the clothes she’d worn to work. She rifled
through the clothes coming up with a pair of panties bunched up in the shirt.
She grabbed them and pulled them on.
“Normal day, quiet, just the way we like it.” Alex smiled.
“You’re early. I hoped to surprise you tonight.” Chelsea
headed over to the dresser and grabbed her lipstick.
He blinked at her.
What surprise did she have in store
for him?
He hoped she hadn’t planned one last night before she intended to
go back to her home. He took a deep breath to quell his automatic negative
response that thought.
Time to get things in hand.
He had plans of his own.
Perhaps hers would go along with his, but he wasn’t waiting to find out.
“Well, baby, I have a few plans too. I brought dinner. We
can warm that up later. I’d like to talk now.” Alex smiled.
She blinked at him and frowned at him, her confusion
obvious. “Let me get some clothes on and I’ll meet you in the living room.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He nodded and left the
room.
He’d like to stay in the room and watch her dress, but knew
it would lead to touching. Without giving in to the temptation, he went into
the living room and dropped onto the couch. He wanted to try to talk about this
before moving to persuasion.
She strolled into the room wearing a pink top and black pair
of shorts. That delectable outfit wouldn’t make it easy to concentrate. The
neckline of that pink sleeveless shirt dipped down so low he wondered if her
nipples would show if she folded her arms across her chest. His cock hardened.
Damn, lust already distracted him and they hadn’t even begun to talk. He wanted
her, desperately.
She slid onto the cushion beside him. He took a deep breath.
She was so close. Maybe they’d get through the talk before he gave into the
temptation to peel her out of those clothes.
She drew her hand over his thigh. The fingers brushed over
the ridge of his cock. He exhaled roughly. He wasn’t going to last.
“Baby, we need to talk.” He grabbed her wrist, but before he
could pull it away, her fingers had tightened, giving his shaft a slight
squeeze.
“We can talk after.” She smiled. “I planned it that way.”
He ripped his eyes up, away from her hand. She planned it
that way. Sneaky little witch. He had plans, too, but his were going to have to
wait. Especially since she was working his zipper down. Caressing through
clothing was one thing, but if her fingers touched the skin of his cock, he
wouldn’t be backing away from her until they were panting and exhausted.
She seemed to know his limits, because she wasted no time
freeing his cock. Her hand wrapped around it, giving it a long slow stroke. He
stiffened. His grip on her wrist pressed her hand more firmly to his cock.
He threaded the fingers of his other hand through her hair.
With a tug, he urged her close for a kiss. Her mouth opened as his lips brushed
hers. He tried to give her a sweet, slow kiss. Although his mind screamed “fuck
her,” he wanted to give her a little romance and then make love to her.
Again, she seemed to have another idea. Her teeth nipped as
his mouth rubbed back and forth across hers. She pushed for more when he wanted
to excite her slowly.
He pulled back and looked down into her crystal green eyes.
They gleamed with hunger. She strained up to him. He stopped resisting. His
mouth covered hers, claiming it and her.
He released her wrist and drew his hand up to her breast. He
cupped the firm flesh through her shirt. The nipple hardened beneath his hand.
He rubbed his fingers back and forth across the peak.
She hummed softly against his lips. He wanted to draw more
of those sounds from her. His tongue stabbed deep into her mouth as his fingers
tugged at her nipple. His body shook with arousal as her fingers stroked over
his cock. The touch pushed his lust even higher. He didn’t know if he’d have
the patience to get her out of her clothes if she kept doing that.
“Take of your clothes, Chelsea. I want to see your pretty
breasts.” He reluctantly pulled her hand away from his cock. He’d come in her
hand if he waited much longer.
She pulled the top over her head. His mouth watered at the
sight of her reddened nipples. When she unbuttoned her shorts, his eyes
followed her movements. The black fabric parted revealing hot pink panties. She
stood and pushed both down her legs. In moments, she stood there naked.
He rose to his feet and eased her onto the couch, urging her
to lie down on the cushions. She relaxed back on the sofa. With rushed
movements, he stripped out of his clothes. He didn’t want anything between them
when he took her. His eyes feasted on her curvy, fit body. He widened her
thighs and knelt between them.
“I’m going to taste you first, Chelsea. I want you ready and
wet.” He ran his hands over her thighs.
“I’m already wet.” She drew her hand over her stomach and up
to her breast.
Fuck. She was going to kill him with remarks like those. He
took a deep breath, but it didn’t help ease the ache in his cock.
“Since you’re not squirming and moaning, you’re not ready.”
Alex leaned down and swiped his tongue over her thigh. He wasn’t going to be
satisfied until she was wild with desire.
She opened her mouth. Maybe she was going to say something.
He didn’t know. When his tongue swiped over the lips of her pussy, she moaned.
The sound enflamed him and pushed him to draw more from her.
His fingers brushed over the slick lips before parted her
folds. He stared at the slick pink flesh in front of him.
Gorgeous.
His
tongue swiped over her clit. She shivered. He loved how she tasted, so sweet
and vibrant. He licked his way downward, until he could thrust his tongue into
her. He lapped at her juices, relishing the way her inner muscles clenched at
his tongue.
“I love the way you taste.” He moved back up so that he
could tease that hard clit.
He lapped harder. Her hips rocked up into his touch. He
savored her cries and the slick moisture that eased from her pussy. Her hands
clenched in his hair, pulling him closer. He glanced up her body.
Her breasts rose and fell with her rapid, panting breaths. A
flush turned her skin a rosy pink. Her eyes were closed as she pressed back
against the cushion lifting into his touch.
He loved the way her body responded so eagerly for him. She
was so damn perfect for him. He had to have her now.
He gently untangled her fingers from his hair. He rose and
eased up her body. As he moved, he dropped kisses on her stomach, then the
reddened peaks of her breasts. He slipped on hand under her ass, lifting her as
his cock nudged against her mound. Her legs wrapped around his waist.
“You’re my woman.” He brushed his lips across hers.
“Yes, and you’re my man.” The words were mumbled against his
lips a moment before her hand cupped the back of his hand and pulled him close
for a kiss. Her other arm slipped around him, the palm flattening on his back.
The easy agreement cut through his last shred of control.
His cock pushed against her folds. Her slick juices coated his cock. The erotic
glide made them both moan. The head of his shaft prodded her entrance and then
slipped into the tight grip of her sheath.
He gritted his teeth against the urge to drive into her hard
and fast. Her hand tightened in his hair drawing a little of his attention away
from the ripple of her inner muscles.
“Alex, fuck me hard.” Her teeth nipped at his lip.
He rocked back. His hips lunged forward. Heated claws dug
deep into him as the urge to come ripped through him. He resisted. Her pleasure
first.
He ground against her, hoping that the added pressure would
send her over the edge. Her hips rolled upward to meet each thrust. Her sheath
gripped him as he pulled back. He pressed kisses over her cheek and down her
neck.
Her nails sank into his back as she arched up into him.
Sweat slicked their skin. He drove harder against her. She gasped. Her hips
bucked, canting so that he sank just a slight bit deeper into her.
“Alex!” She moaned his name.
Her pussy clenched around his cock. The spasmodic pulls
drove him thrust deeper. He surged into her. He lost all control. He lifted her
hips for each plunge. Fire slammed up his spine, bursting through his body as
he came. The pleasure raged and seared, leaving him shaking and weak from the
raw sensation.
His weight came down on her. She held him tight. Her hands
stroked over his shoulders and back. He drew in panting breaths as he raised
his head.
She stared at him. Satisfaction glowed in her eyes. He
dropped a kiss onto her lips. His muscles felt weak and shaky, but he tried to
will the strength back into them. He wanted to move this somewhere more
comfortable than the couch.
He stood, testing his legs for steadiness before he reached
down and scooped her into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her
head nestled against his chest. He glanced down and saw the smile curving her
lips. He wanted to see that sated smile every day of their lives.
He carried her into their bedroom. As he held her in his
arms, he pulled the blanket back. He lowered her onto the bed and slipped into
bed beside her. Everything else could wait. He was where he needed to be.
She turned onto her side. Her fingers trailed over his
chest. He drew in a breath and cupped her cheek. He wasn’t willing to let her
do all the touching.
“We should talk.” He took a deep breath. As much as he’d
like to savor the closeness, he wasn’t going to delay their discussion any
longer. Their relationship was too important.
“About your plan?” She glanced up at him. “What is it? What
did you want to discuss.”
He clasped her hand in his and held it. His stomach
tightened. He’d faced tainted and worse, but this made his mouth dry as a
desert sand dune. “Well, I… You’ve mentioned that it was safe for you to go
back to your house. I don’t want that to happen.”
She licked her lips. Her chest rose as she took a slow
breath. “I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t know if you wanted me to go. You may
have said that we were headed toward living together. I thought you might have
changed your mind after spending time with me.”
“Not a chance, baby.” Alex released her hand, but tugged her
closer. “I want everything. What do you want?”
“I want to live with you or you to live with me, whichever
house we decide is best for us. A family, children if we’re given that
blessing.” She put her palm against his and threaded her fingers through his.
“Our lives are entwined now.”
He tightened his fingers, reinforcing the connection of
their hands. “They’ll stay that way, baby. We’ll be so tangled together that
nothing can pull us apart.”