Wicked and Dangerous

his head from between her legs, his mouth wet with her juices. He flicked his tongue across his top lip, then the bottom one, so unbelievably sexy she felt a fresh wave of heat and need flood her body, melting her down. “Please, Scott. I can’t wait. Don’t make me wait. Just do it.”

•   •   •

AS LILY’S HUSKY words echoed through his head, Ryder suddenly flinched. He felt like a bucket of ice water had just been thrown in his face. Jesus. What the hell had he done?

“We have to stop,” he said in a low voice, knowing he had to get away from her. That instant. Before he took this someplace they couldn’t go.

“Stop?” She blinked, looking confused. Not to mention completely adorable, with her shirt tucked up under her chin and her face all flushed from her orgasms. “Now?”

Hell yes now. Before he lost what little control he still had left. “We can’t do this here. We’ve got to go, Lil.”

“Go?” she whispered, bracing herself on her elbows as he sat back on his heels and reached for his shirt. She watched him pull it on, then shook her head, sending the strawberry blond waves spilling over her shoulders. “I thought we were having sex. You said, ‘This is just sex.’”

His voice came out like a snarl. “We did.”

“Did what?”

“Have sex,” he muttered, careful not to look any lower than her face.

“Then did I miss something?” she asked slowly, starting to sound pissed. “Because I have a feeling I’d know if your dick was inside me. I seriously doubt that’s something that would go unnoticed, even if you weren’t huge. Which I could easily tell you are when you were grinding against me this morning!”

“You got oral sex,” he grated, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his mouth. “And you came twice. So why the hell are you complaining?”

Her eyes went wide, just before she suddenly scrambled away from him. She used the fall of her hair to hide her face as she quickly sorted out her panties and shorts. “Oral sex!” she muttered under her breath, lifting the cups of her bra before tugging down her shirt. “I can’t believe you!”

He glared at her as they moved back to their feet, his dick so hard he knew he was going to be in hell until they finally made it back to his place, where he could grab a freezing-cold shower. Not that it would help. Now that he knew how fucking sweet she tasted, and how hot and wet her tight little pussy could get for him, he doubted anything but a long, hard, bed-breaking fuck would sort him out. Which meant he was seriously screwed, because he needed to keep his goddamn hands, as well as his dick, off her. Not in her!

Shoving his hair back from his brow, he stepped closer and got right in her face. Well, over her face, since he was so much taller than she was. “What is your problem?” he demanded. “It’s not like I left you hanging. You came so hard you were screaming and damn near yanking my hair out!” Which he’d loved every second of, and wanted again. The sooner the better.

“Yes, your tongue is incredible and you made me come,” she seethed, her green eyes glittering with fire, hands fisted at her sides. “That’s not the point. The point is that I thought you were offering more. I thought I was getting the complete act, with you over me, holding me down, fucking my brains out!”

He scowled, determined not to let her know how much her words affected him. “Where the hell did you learn to talk like that?”

She looked ready to stomp her foot with frustration. “Like what? An adult? A woman? News flash, Scott: I grew up. A long time ago. You need to get your head out of your ass and realize I’m not that gangly seventeen-year-old you met all those years ago.”

“I know you’re not seventeen.” His hooded gaze did a swift pass down her body, before locking back on hers. “And you’re sure as hell not gangly.”

“Then stop treating me like I need a time-out.”

“I’m just trying to be . . . realistic.”

This time Lily was the one who made a sound like a growl. “God, you are so frustrating!” She fought the urge to kick him in the shin, figuring she’d end up breaking a toe in her sandals, and forced herself to turn around instead. She was standing at the end of the small hallway now, and the instant she faced the room she had to reach out and brace her hand against the wall. “Oh, shit.”

“Son of a bitch!” he snarled from just behind her, obviously staring over her head and getting his first look at her room as well. The next thing she knew he had her trapped between his back and the wall, protecting her with his tall body, a gleaming black 9mm gripped in his powerful hand. She blinked, shocked that she hadn’t realized he had the gun tucked into the back of his jeans. He kept her behind him as he edged toward the side of the closet, kicking it open with his foot, making sure no one was hiding inside. He did the same with the bathroom, snapping for her to stay plastered to his back as he checked behind the curtains and under the bed. Only when he was certain the room was clear did he turn around and glare down into her eyes, the scar on his face turning white with his anger. “I swear to God, Lily. You make me lose my fucking mind.” His deep voice was low and clipped. “I can’t believe I was eating you out on the goddamn floor when there’s a psycho killer on your ass!”

“You think it was Rado’s men who trashed the room?”

He didn’t answer the question, a muscle pulsing hard in his jaw as he looked away from her, taking in the destruction. The bed and pillows had been slashed, the pieces scattered all over the floor, along with the smashed drawers from the upturned dresser and nightstands. Whoever had done this wanted to scare her. It was textbook crime movie stuff, meant to incite panic and fear.

“Get what you need and do it quickly,” he said in a flat voice. “We need to get out of here.”

“Do you think they’re still here?”

“I think they’re probably watching the place. So we need to move. Now!” He slipped the gun into the back of his jeans again and grabbed the small, cheap duffel bag that she’d bought a few days ago, shoving her scattered clothes into it. She ran into the bathroom, grabbing the makeup she’d left on the counter, giving it to him to toss into the bag with her clothes. Then he threw the strap over his shoulder, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the door. “We’re heading to the Jeep from the side exit and you’re staying right behind me. Understood?”

She nodded at his back, trying to get control of her fear, knowing it wasn’t going to help anything.

His voice was hard and rough as he shot her a sharp look over his shoulder. “Tell me you understand, Lily.”

She huffed at his tone. “I understand. I’m not stupid.”

“Stupid, no,” he muttered, opening the door and carefully checking the corridor in both directions. “But you are definitely stubborn as hell.”

She bit her tongue, knowing better than to argue with him as she followed him to the side exit. He kept checking to make sure they were alone, and despite the potential danger, she felt safe because she was with him. He crouched down, quietly telling her to do the same, as they made their way into the full parking lot. They stayed behind one of the rows of cars as they headed toward the Jeep, the lot thankfully empty of other people. She’d just started to breathe a little easier, thinking they were going to make it, when two thugs came out of nowhere. One second she was behind Ryder, his strong hand wrapped around her wrist, and in the next he’d shoved her to the ground, ordering her to hide under the SUV they were in front of as he dropped her bag and faced off against the two dark-haired assholes.

She didn’t hide. She was too terrified for his safety to do more than crouch by the SUV’s bumper, ready to help him if she could, but worried that she’d only be in his way. It’d been so long since she’d seen him fight—she’d always loved to spy on his sparring sessions when she’d been younger—and she briefly wondered if it would be like she remembered . . . or if civilian living would have lessened his skill and intensity. But she’d been stupid to question his abilities for even that brief second. He wasn’t as good as he’d been, he was even better, his body moving with a powerful, lethal grace as he immediately went on the offensive. He smashed his elbow into one guy’s face, blood spurting from the man’s crushed nose as he flipped the thug over his shoulder and slammed his booted foot into the jaw of the other one. Then the guy with the gushing nose fired a wayward shot from the gun he’d yanked off his ankle, making her scream, but Ryder was in full control. He didn’t even have to pull his own weapon. He simply spun, grabbed the gun, and tore it from the man’s