Lockdown: A Veiled Alliance Story Page 9

  She smiled, breathing hard as he began to stroke faster, building heat and a delicious ache that obliterated any thought of twinges and pulled muscles in her body. “Doesn’t seem to take much. I hear your voice, catch a glimpse of your body, and I’m ready for it. Good thing we won’t be on the same team, or we’d be sneaking off every chance we got.”

  “We could make dates to meet in the locker room.”

  “The ladies’ room,” she said, leaning up to nip his chin. “Less traffic, I’m sure.”

  “We’d have to do it standing up.”

  “I could straddle you on the toilet.”

  “Now, that’s a romantic image.”

  “I don’t need romance. I need this,” she said, lifting her hips to meet his strokes. “God, harder, Billy.”

  With a quick kiss to her lips, he reached down and thrust his arms under her thighs, and then straightened, kneeling on the bed and dragging her hips upward. When he began to stroke again, she had a view she was sure would be burned forever in her memory—his powerful muscles rippling along his abdomen as his cock surged inside her, his biceps flexing as he jerked her forward and back.

  She watched the long column of his cock, slick and red, tunneling in and out, and wondered what he saw behind his half-lidded gaze. Whether her body pleased him half as much.

  And because she could never be shy with him, she drew his hard, feral gaze as she cupped her breasts, massaging them, plucking her nipples and then tugging them into short, pink stems that quivered each time he hit her with another sharp thrust.

  Then she skimmed her hands downward, over her belly, sliding down to massage her labia which were stretched tight around him, pulling them upward to expose her clit to his glittering gaze, then circling it with one fingertip until her back arched, her eyes slid closed, and she was moaning—a thin, high-pitched sound broken by the furious, frenzied strokes he delivered.

  His shout sounded above her, and he halted, his body jerking as warm spurts of come flooded her channel. He fell over her, resting on her body, his sweat coating her chest and belly as he shuddered against her.

  She wrapped her arms and legs around him and hugged him close, sliding kisses on his moist cheek and shoulder then snuggling her face into the corner of his neck.

  They lay like that, entwined, as close as two people could get, until he lifted his head. “You have to let go so I can slide out. I’m crushing you.”

  Gillian smiled, suddenly so tired she could barely keep her eyes opened. “I can’t move.”

  His hands reached behind him and unhooked her legs to slide them down. Then he rolled to his side, bringing her with him, their bodies still locked together. He lifted her thigh over his hip, and his hand lingered on her ass. “That was the sexiest thing I ever saw.”

  “Liked watching me touch myself?”

  “I think I’d like to watch you make yourself come.”

  “Really think you could and not take over?”

  “Good point. You might have to cuff me to the bed,” he admitted with a wry grin.

  “Then I’d be tempted to see how long it takes for me to make you come.”

  “Guess we might have to wait until we’re old and gray. Maybe by them I’ll have learned some patience.”

  “I don’t want you to change a thing.” She closed her eyes, and then opened one to peek at him. “You said—when we’re old and gray. Sounds like you think this might be a permanent thing.”

  “Did I skip the part where I asked you to marry me?”

  She stared at him with both eyes wide. “Really?”

  “Don’t sound so thrilled,” he said, irritably.

  “If you think about it, we haven’t known each other very long.”

  “I know I’m moving fast. But I want this thing nailed before we get to SA.”

  “Afraid I’ll change my mind? Or that I might not be as creeped out by Gabriel as I claim?”

  He shook his head, opening his mouth. And then gave her a sheepish look. “I don’t know.”

  Gillian shook her head. “Billy, I never wanted him. He did something to make me want him, every time.”

  “But he kept you aroused enough to be vulnerable to me. I was supposed to keep you primed. Happy in between.”

  She didn’t like hearing that said so bluntly, but she wasn’t a coward. Wasn’t prissy about sex or her own desires. “You did your job well,” she said between tight lips.

  “It wasn’t a job. Not after…not after I was here. Inside you. It sure as hell wasn’t work.”

  “And I didn’t feel dirty. Never felt used. Not by you, anyway.”

  Billy clamped a hand on her hip and brought her closer. “He won’t have you again.”

  She lifted one brow. “What if he or one like him needs a booster?”

  “They’ll have to suck their own goddamn cocks.”

  Her lips crimped, and then a laugh slipped out. “Not an image I wanted in my head. Can they do that?”

  “God, Gillian, I didn’t know you’d be this damn stubborn. Just say yes. I know you want to.”

  “How come you’re so sure?”

  “I’m here, aren’t I? You couldn’t let me walk out that door.”

  He had her there. Her gaze dropped beneath his. “You’re right. I couldn’t. When you started walking away, I felt like my heart was ripping out of me.”

  “Then it’s yes?”

  She shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Again, you’re not sounding enthusiastic,” he said, a growl edging his voice.

  “I’m not sure I like that you think marriage will ensure my vow to you.”

  “It doesn’t have a thing to do with that. I want a ring on your finger.”

  “A brand on my ass wouldn’t work better?”

  When his eyebrows lifted as though considering the thought seriously, she shoved his chest.

  He fell back, and she came over him, straddling his hips, his cock cramming deeper because he’d been lengthening inside her as they spoke. “I don’t need a brand or a ring to know who I belong to. The only cock sliding up inside me is yours.”

  “Then how about you marry me because you want to, because I love you and you love me?”

  She brought her knees against his sides and lifted fractionally, squeezing her inner muscles to pull at his cock as she came up. “I’ll think about it. Later.”

  His hands clamped around the tops of her hips and brought her down and held her there, unable to rise again.

  She squeezed again. “Let me go. I need to move.”

  “Not until you say yes.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know I will. Why bother to ask me in the first place?”

  “Dammit, Priest, do you always have to be such a hardass?”

  And because his cock was stretching, filling her and her body was juicing nicely, she said, “All right. Yes, yes, yes! Now let go!”

  Instead, he lifted her off him, and forced her to the bed on her belly. Just like before, he grabbed her ass and brought it toward him, shoving her legs open with his knees, and plunging deep inside her.

  “I wanted to go slow. Wanted you to fuck me this time, but see what you did?” he said, his voice tight with fury.

  She didn’t mind. And she wasn’t even the littlest bit scared. Not of his enormous power or the way he so easily mastered her body.

  Billy was hers. All hers. It only took a little male outrage to get him going. She’d remember that and use it every time she needed him to make it hard and quick.

  “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “Did what?” she gasped as he hit her with a sharp, jarring thrust.

  “Never mind. Can’t think anyway.”

  “Brain rushed south again?”

  “My cock’s thinking just fine.”

  She giggled and wiggled her ass, which only earned her another fast flurry of delicious thrusts. Her laughter grew, and she flung back her head, relishing every stroke.

  That’s when she saw him, his b
ody shimmering in the shadows near the bedroom door. Gabriel.

  She didn’t mention it to Billy and hoped the incubus had been there long enough to here all her complaints.

  Gabriel smiled and blew her kiss, and then faded away. So, she wasn’t all that mad at him. And maybe, someday, she wouldn’t pitch a fit when he needed to feed. She had all the love in the world laboring furiously behind her. Love enough to share.

  Lion in the Shadows

  New York Times and USA Today

  Bestselling Author

  DELILAH DEVLIN

  Chapter 1

  The earth shook, and the air stirred.

  Sounds other than the usual chirping of cave crickets and the incessant drip of water intruded on the sleeper’s dreams, echoing down the cavern. Voices, laughter, feet scraping over stone.

  The sleeper opened his eyes and found that, for once, the exercise wasn’t futile. A sliver of grayish light penetrated the gloom.

  He stretched, willing blood to quicken through his body, to heat and ease muscles that had remained dormant too long.

  Then a new scent—musky, warm-blooded, human—entered his tomb. He rolled to his feet.

  Then gathering his strength he roared up the cave wall.

  * * *

  Lani Kimmel drove over the cattle guard onto the gravel road that marked the beginning of rancher McKelvey’s property. She followed the ridgeline of the steep, oak and cedar-covered hill, bouncing in her seat despite her truck’s heavy-duty shocks. The tires churned in caliche, the fine sandstone gravel pinging on the wheel wells.

  She tried to keep her mind focused on the task of keeping her pickup on the rough road and away from the reason she climbed to the remote spot. But her stomach already burbled, her palms grew moist, and that little voice in the back of her mind—the one that sounded like her father’s—taunted her, What do you think you’re playin’ at, little girl? You aren’t strong enough.

  As she rounded a curve, a long line of parked vehicles forced her to pull onto the shoulder to continue forward. Further along, she passed an EMS unit, two county squad cars, and the trucks and SUVs belonging to other members of the volunteer fire department. Parking in a narrow space between two vehicles, she had her door open before the engine finished chugging to a halt. Heat blasted her, and she grabbed her volunteer’s baseball cap to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. Then she slid her duffel from behind her seat, kicked a booted heel against the door of her truck, and headed toward the mouth of the unnamed cave.

  She nodded to the EMS team crouched beside two boys huddled beneath blankets, shivering despite the late afternoon heat. Compassion could have swamped her, but she quickly tamped down the emotion. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn’t be able to get through the next few hours. Their buddy likely lay on the bottom of the cave floor, and it was her job to bring him up.

  Lani approached the group standing in front of a narrow black hole. Stones and gravel were already piled to the side as the men worked at widening the opening. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Has anybody looked inside yet?”

  Cale Witte, the captain of the volunteer fire department, turned and gave her a crooked smile that creased his suntanned face. “Glad you could make it, Lani. Did you bring your vertical pack?”

  Lani lifted her duffel. “Got it here, boss. So, we have a drop-off? Anyone hear from the kid inside?”

  He shook his head, his grave expression telling her he expected the worst. “Those skinny runts shimmied through that hole carrying ropes and Maglites,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Said they didn’t know there was another level until their friend dropped out of sight.”

  Lani swore under her breath.

  Cale spat a stream of chewing tobacco. “A couple of us crawled in. The entrance is blocked with loose-packed gravel and stone. It’s pretty unstable, but the cave opens wide once you’re through the mouth. About twenty feet inside, it bottoms out. We shined our lights around, but it was too deep to see much. We need to climb down.”

  “Well, that’s what I’m here for, huh?” Lani said, willing confidence into her voice.

  He nodded. “No one knows caves like you do—that’s a fact. You better have a look for yourself.”

  Randy Brandt, another member of the department, leaned on his shovel. “Think we’ve got this hole wide enough for your butt now?” His grin stretched across his handsome face.

  Not for the first time, Lani thought Randy’s lean, muscled frame and sun-tinted brown hair belonged in a firemen’s calendar. “Better put your back into it.” Lani gave him a teasing glance. “Gotta make room for that big head of yours, too.”

  The men chuckled.

  Lani took no offense. She’d long ago figured out she was one of the team when the men included her in the insults they traded. Besides, the banter helped drown out the voice that ate at her composure. The sooner she was in the cave—her world—the sooner she’d be in control.

  “How are you, Lani?”

  Lani stiffened at the low-pitched voice, rough as sandpaper. She didn’t turn. “Just fine, Sheriff,” she said, her own voice gruff as she forced the words past her frozen vocal chords. She’d known sooner or later their paths would cross in the line of duty but had hoped for more time to steel herself against the pain. “Give me a minute to get out my gear, and I’ll see about bringing up that boy.”

  His hand fell on her shoulder, and she finally turned to meet his gaze. No one else was close enough to see the heat in his angry glare. If anyone did look their way, all they’d note was his usual hard-edged mask. Only she could see the turmoil roiling in his eyes. Why was he making this so damn hard?

  “You’re not thinking of going down alone, are you?”

  “Probably.” She lifted her chin. “I do my best work in the dark, don’t I?” she said softly. No way could he miss the sarcasm in her voice.

  His expression didn’t change, but his hand tightened.

  Lani shrugged him off and stepped away. She slung her duffel to the ground, ignoring him and the slight tremor in her hands as she unzipped the bag. From the corner of her eye, however, she was aware of every breath he drew, of the tension that stretched his tan and black uniform taut across his shoulders, and of the strength of his tall, hard body.

  A body she knew too damn well. One she’d clung to in the darkness.

  Randy came up, squatted beside her, and reached inside the bag for webbing and a carabiner clip. “I’m gonna anchor the rope around that oak.” He pointed toward the tree just to the right of the cave entrance.

  Lani nodded and swallowed to ease the dryness in her mouth. “Be sure to make two loops around the base with the webbing.”

  “Think I don’t know what I’m doing? Maybe I should make it three since it’s your ass going down there.”

  She forced a grin and shoved at his shoulder. “Just make sure you don’t tie it off with a slip knot, rookie.”

  As Randy walked away, the sheriff’s long shadow fell across her gear. “The kid’s name’s Matt Costello. He’s sixteen.”

  Lani’s stomach tightened. “What the hell were those three doing out here on private property, anyway?” Determined not to let him rattle her further, she kept her gaze averted.

  “Having fun. Danny McKelvey hired them to move his cattle to the last stock pond he has with any water in it. They were wrangling livestock on this hill yesterday. Someone nearby was dynamiting—it shook the ground and opened up that cave.” His booted feet shifted in the sand. “Matt and his friends decided to make an adventure of exploring the cave today.”

  Lani drew out her vertical pack and stuffed a first aid kit inside. “Some adventure. Let’s hope Matt isn’t already dead.” Then she pulled out a long length of new kernmantle rope and threaded one end through the metal slats of her brake bar rack, leaving a tail to tie off the rope.

  “Lani…” His voice dropped—intimate, tight.

  She didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see the accu
sation in his dark eyes. “Can we leave this ’til later?” The pain of their last parting was still too raw.

  “Dammit, when will ‘later’ be?” he said, his voice hard-edged and bitter. “You don’t answer my calls.”

  “Later,” she said, the word sounding like a curse. She needed time and distance to remind herself why it had to be this way. His husky voice and warm, spicy scent tended to steal her resolve. If she closed her eyes, she could still remember how it felt to lie inside the circle of his strong arms—cherished, safe.

  “Fine, but I’m going inside the cave with you,” he ground out.

  She jerked up her head. “You hate caves. You won’t go ten feet without breaking into a cold sweat.”

  A flush colored his sharply defined cheekbones. The man didn’t like betraying his weaknesses any more than she did. “I won’t get in the way.”

  His tacit admission to his failing found a chink in her armor, but she hastily reminded herself she needed to push him away for his own good. “Well, I don’t need to worry I’ll have to rescue your ass, too.”

  His jaw tightened. “You’re a stubborn cuss, you know that?” He took a step toward her, forcing her to tilt her head to look up his long body. “I’ll only go as far as the drop-off. This case is my jurisdiction.”

  “But it’s not your rescue.” Angry at the flare of panic his intimidating stance produced, she bent and shoved the rope, carabiner clips, rope climbing devices, and a spare harness into her pack. It wasn’t his fault—the man hadn’t a clue how his large, rigid body affected her.

  Pretending indifference, she stood, stuffed gloves into her pocket, then unbuttoned her overshirt and let it drop to the ground. Any object or clothing that might get bunched up or caught in her rigging had to go. Next, she removed the leather belt from the loops of her uniform pants.

  The hiss of his indrawn breath brought an unwanted reminder of just how easily he could be aroused—by her.

  Worse, she was reminded how close to the surface her own unwanted desire remained. Sweat dampened her T-shirt, and it stuck to her skin. Her nipples tightened, visibly pushing against her sports bra.