Page 72 of Under Fire

He loved her.

If he had been unsure about that before, he knew for certain now. Today had taught him a valuable lesson. You could be here today and gone tomorrow. The thought of them not sharing more time together, a future, was something he didn’t want to think about. That meant he would need to get his alpha woman on board.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the longing he felt in every part of his body. Especially his heart. And she returned the kiss with equal measure. And like he always thought, it was perfect. She put everything that was her into everything they did in the bedroom, and he knew that, in addition to her being his alpha woman, she was his forever lady.

When she broke off the kiss, she stared at him and whispered, “I need you to make love to me tonight like it might be our last time together.”

For her to say such a thing meant the thought of losing him today was just as sharp as it had been for him. He kissed her again as he eased in place on top of her. Then he tenderly and methodically touched and kissed every part of her. Needing this for himself as much as she thought she needed it too.

“Oh, Locke,” she whispered when his mouth captured a protruding nipple as his hand tested her wetness between her legs. “Do you have any idea what you do to me? How you make me feel?”

He lifted his head and gazed at her. “The same way you make me feel, Hollis.” He then sucked another nipple into his mouth, loving the feel of it against his tongue. When he used his hands to widen her legs, he hoped she knew what was coming next.

***

Hollis did know. And the moment he shifted positions, lowering his head to where his hands had been, she sucked in a deep breath when she felt his mouth and tongue greedily invade her, right between her legs. His tongue felt hot as he began licking her like she was the best thing he had ever tasted. She grabbed his head, not to push him away but to hold him right there, to let him do his business, because later she would do hers on him.

When sensations began rippling all through her, starting with the top of her head and flowing all the way down to her toes, she tightened her hold and began moving her hips against his mouth. It seemed the more she did, the greedier he became. It was the second orgasm that ripped into her that sealed the deal, making her scream at the top of her lungs.

Her body started trembling at the impact, and all she could do was hold on to him and fight for breath. It was only when the last spasm had left her that he eased up, covering her with his body and kissing her again.

When he released her mouth and stared into her eyes, she felt what she had wanted to deny. What she should deny but couldn’t. She loved him with every ounce of her being and knew, at that moment, that she always would.

He began easing inside her, and she loved the feeling of being skin-to-skin with him. Last week they decided a condom wasn’t needed since she was taking birth control injections and they were both healthy.

When he had gone as deep as he could, she wrapped her legs around him, wanting and needing the full Locke Dangerfield effect. Then he began thrusting into her, slow at first, then harder and faster. She was already crazy in love, and if that wasn’t enough, it was as if he intended to drive her insane with desire as well.

Each thrust inside her body ignited more passion and increased her need. Then when he increased the strokes, making them harder and harder, she tossed her head from side to side when she felt a turbulence of sensations take over her.

Hollis began shuddering and felt him doing the same. His thrusts became more powerful and went deeper. He pushed them into another orgasm, then another. She needed them. She needed him.

“Let’s come again, baby.”

And they did. She screamed his name at the same time he hollered hers. Danger. Locke was a risk she hadn’t wanted to take, but she had. They hadn’t made any promises. Hadn’t even discussed what the end of the case meant.

At that moment, none of that mattered. She was here with him now. Sharing his bed, his time, his attention, and his body. For her, that was enough.

And when he eased off her and drew her into his warm embrace, she pushed aside thoughts of the day he would leave to return to Oregon. That was a time in her life she refused to think about. Especially now.

CHAPTER 29

The Integrity Team worked independently, knowing that if they found new evidence, they would call a meeting. Irvin approved releasing the warehouse video to the team members. Hollis reviewed it several times, hoping to see something she’d missed while viewing it in Irvin’s office. So far, she had not.

It had been three days since someone tried bombing Locke and Prosecutor Irvin’s cars, and the incident was still making the news. Somehow Malik had heard about it and called her. She assured him that she was okay and that Locke was taking good care of her. Malik pointed out that she was changing since she had never admitted to anyone that she was being taken care of. For her, it had always been important to believe she could take care of herself. He said that he was glad that she was realizing that no man was an island.

“Good morning, Hollis.”

She glanced up and smiled. Locke was standing in her doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands. Leaning back in her chair, she thought no man should look this handsome in the morning. She had gotten out of bed, leaving him there, trying to recover. It really wasn’t her fault that she’d had more sexual energy than usual this morning and had worn him out before his day could get started.

“Good morning, Locke. You look rather well rested.”

He chuckled. “Only because I grabbed an additional hour of sleep before getting out of bed. What was this morning about? You completely rewrote the definition of desire.”

She could tell him that she was supplying herself with as many memories as she could before he walked out of her life, as the reason she had awakened wanting to make love for hours non-stop. But she decided not to. Instead, she said. “I guess it was one of those hormonal surges that women sometimes have.”

“I see,” he said, placing a cup of coffee on her desk. “I’m glad I was here to help.”

“I’m glad you were here, too.”