Sweet Revenge

Chapter 13

The woman tasted like sunshine and spice, and Matt let himself get lost for a moment. It hurt that she didn’t trust him, but he understood.

He’d all but told her they’d never see each other again when he left town.

He wouldn’t trust him, either.

For now, they had this night, and he wanted to make sure she’d remember him.

Forever.

So he enjoyed himself, memorizing the way she moved, the small sounds of pleasure she made. His shoulders held her legs open as his mouth covered her.

She bucked, and he slid a hand over her hip to hold her in place. Her taste clouded his head, and he lost himself in the moment. Turning his head, he nipped her thigh, and slid one finger inside her to torture her G-spot. She gyrated against him, her muscles straining, small whimpers echoing on her sighs.

The sweet sounds roared his blood into the need to take. To possess and keep safe. Things he wanted to do so badly.

Her thighs tensed and trembled. She was so close.

She arched against him, her body going rigid, and he tightened his hold, refusing to let her go over.

A fleeting thought occurred to him that he could probably get the answers he sought right now. She was strung tight, and she’d give him what he wanted.

Something in him, a force he didn’t recognize, stopped him. He wouldn’t manipulate Laney like that. She wasn’t part of a mission, and his reasons for wanting to know were personal. He’d learned to care, and nothing would destroy that. Not even his need to know the truth.

“Say my name,” he murmured against her mound, his accent breaking free.

“Matt,” she gasped.

He sucked her swollen clit into his mouth.

She arched against him, crying out, her body undulating as she came. He prolonged her orgasm as long as possible, finally granting reprieve when she settled back against the bed with a sigh of relief.

Maneuvering up her body, he lowered his against her softness, pleasure filling him. “You’re stunning when you let go.”

She blinked several times, her eyes slowly focusing on him. “You’re just stunning.” Her legs spread farther apart. “I need you inside of me.”

The words slammed into his heart with surprising strength. “What the lady needs—” He grasped her hip and plunged inside her with one hard thrust. She arched, elongating her neck.

Heat surrounded him like a vice, and he dropped his forehead to hers, his muscles vibrating as he held himself in check. The softness of her skin, the sweetness of her taste, drove him wild. But he couldn’t hurt her—he’d never hurt her.

She dug her fingers into his butt. “Don’t hold back, Mattie. Let go.”

It was the nickname that did it. Only family called him that, and for one second, he let himself go. He pounded hard, closing his eyes, letting the heat of the moment catch him. The world narrowed in focus to one small woman. No outside sounds, no internal awareness of danger… nothing existed but Laney and passion.

The heaven he found by being inside her was so perfect it hurt. Maybe because the moment held the first hint of peace he’d tasted, or maybe because the good never lasted—at least not in his life.

Either way, when her internal walls rippled around him and she cried out his name, he thrust harder, faster, and fell into the storm. He came hard, grinding into her, his heart ramming against his ribs. His heart swelled until his ribs ached.

Finally, he slowed and slid a gentle kiss on her mouth. One he hoped conveyed more than a simple thank-you. She was real, and good, and feminine… and he’d never forget the time he’d spent with her. Once away, he’d remember her scent, her sounds, her skin. So soft and kind, she’d let him in for a brief time.

She sighed and then winced as he withdrew. Turning, she shoved her butt into his groin and was sleeping within a minute.

He grinned into the darkness and tucked her close. Taking a moment, he tuned in to the universe outside of the apartment, identifying people, animals, and vehicles. Nothing seemed threatening, so he allowed his mind to drift.

His woman sure fell asleep easily.

He jerked fully awake. His woman? Not only was the thought impossible, he wasn’t a caveman. But the feelings she evoked were raw and primal… and he wanted to keep her safe.

For an hour or so, he measured her heart rate and breathing. He’d learned to exist on little sleep, and genetically he was fairly certain the scientists had helped him along there. He should get up and contact his brothers, but instead chose to enjoy the sleeping woman in his arms.

So he knew the second her dreams turned frightening.

She twitched. He could hear her heart rate increase and her breath shallow into pants. She cried out in a small voice filled with terror. “Blood. God, make it stop. So much blood.”

“Laney, wake up. You’re safe.” He ran a palm down her side.

She screamed and lurched across the bed. Only his enhanced reflexes kept her from dropping to the floor. She struggled against him, fighting hard, nailing him in the thigh.

“Laney. Now.” He put the bite of a command in his voice, and she stilled. Then he flipped on the light and released her.

She sat in the middle of his bed, nude and fragile, her eyes opened wide, her breath panting out.

He waited until recognition filtered through her eyes before holding out an arm. “Come here.”

She immediately launched herself at him and tucked her head beneath his chin. The small whimper she gave as she tried to get inside his skin sliced his heart in two.

Slowly, he turned off the light and snuggled them both down beneath the bedclothes. He kept his voice calm when all he wanted to do was kill something. Whatever had frightened her so badly, he’d take down. “Bad dream?”

She snorted against him, holding him tight. “You could say that.”

He focused and relaxed as her heart rate returned to a normal level. “Want to talk about it?”

A long shudder shook her body. “No.”

“I get nightmares, too. It helps to talk about them.” He smoothed hair off her damp shoulder.

Her shrug was the only response he received.

He shut his eyes and exhaled slowly. Now wasn’t the time to push her. “Go back to sleep. I swear to God nothing will hurt you on my watch.”

As a vow, it was a good one. Apparently, she believed him, because soon she was back to sleep. This time peacefully.

He kept track of the world as she slept, wondering whose blood she’d seen in her dreams. Who had scared such a kind woman? If he managed to track down a way to save his brothers and himself, the very next mission would be to help Laney. Yeah, it was a big if. For the first time, he wondered if he would have a life after the next six weeks. Since he’d discovered Tasha, the coroner, was the surgeon he hunted, did they have a chance at surviving?

He allowed himself to drift off into a light sleep to recharge his energy. Since he slipped barely under, he failed to shield himself from the terrors of the past.

The dream took shape as a memory from five years previous, when he and all three of his brothers trained at headquarters. It was the first time all four of them had been in the same place at the same time, since their trainers always had one or two of them out on a mission, the threat of death hanging over the others.

He’d loped into a jog to make a squad leader’s meeting when a hard body slammed him into the cinder blocks. He turned and shoved a shoulder under his attacker’s chin, not surprised to see it was Emery.

Even as an adult, Emery was an asshole.

Emery fell back, a malicious smile on his smooth face. “I watched training earlier. Have to say, your brother is out of control.”

Matt growled and refused to rub his aching shoulder. He didn’t need to ask which brother Emery had watched. Ever since Audrey had dumped Nathan, he’d been out of control. Reckless and dangerous. “Worry about your own brothers. I’ll take care of mine.”

Emery’s dark brown eyes gleamed with an odd light. “Your loyalty makes you weak.”

“If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it to you.” Matt studied the man he’d known as a mean kid. Time to tip his hand a little to get information. “Don’t you want out of here? Want to find peace?”

Emery threw back his head and laughed. “Peace? Hell, no. Fighting, killing, being a machine? That’s who we are.” He eyed Matt, probably looking for an opening to strike. “Your weakness for Nathan will take you down. Soon.”

Ah. There was the opening Matt had been searching for all week. Something was up. He lunged and shoved Emery hard against the wall. “What do you know?”

“Nothing.” The lie held a dark tenor.

“Liar.” Matt shoved harder. There was only one reason all of his brothers would be in the same place at the same time. The commander had something planned. Something bad. Pure instinct told Matt it was about Nate, considering he was plunging off the deep end. “If anything happens to Nate, I’m taking you out,” he said quietly to Emery.

Emery pushed him. “You can try.”

Matt released him. Yeah, it was time to blow the place to hell and find freedom—now might be his only chance. “Don’t make me kill you, Emery.”

Emery smiled again. “Someday I’m going to bury you—after I get to your brothers and everything you ever cared about.”

Five years later, Matt forced himself to awaken. Without question, Emery would come after Laney if he knew about her. Matt’s heart thudded, and he took several deep breaths. He’d always wondered if he had made a mistake in allowing Emery to live when the compound blew. While the commander had been safely underground at the first hint of trouble, Emery had been vulnerable in one of the weight centers.

But Matt couldn’t kill him. Everyone deserved a shot at freedom. Hopefully Matt hadn’t made a mistake that would get one of his brothers, or now Laney, hurt.

He tucked her closer, allowing the scent of woman to calm him.

Dawn arrived with the cacophony of robins outside the window, and he let Laney sleep. The sounds of the carnival rose in force outside as early booths were set up. The bar didn’t open until later that morning, so there was no need to hurry.

She awoke and shoved hair away from her face. “Race you to the shower.”

He grinned and gave her a head start. Yeah, he wanted to push her for answers about her dream—hell, he wanted her to trust him. But that took time. Instead of pushing her, he washed her head to toe and enjoyed every single second. He tried for more, but she slapped his hands, saying they had to get down to the bar.

So he dried her and quickly yanked on jeans to pad through the apartment.

She threw on one of his old shirts and hustled toward the door. “I’ll go get dressed, and then we can head downstairs.” She frowned. “Where’s my bra?”

He turned his back to her and headed into the bedroom to fetch it from the top corner of the bookshelf. Apparently he’d thrown it rather hard. Returning to the room, he stopped short at the sight of her face.

She’d lost all color. Her pupils were dilated, and her hands shook around her shoes.

He stepped toward her. “What’s wrong?”

She stepped back. “Um, nothing. I mean… well… cramps. They hit hard. Really hard.” Her gaze dropped to his abs as she spoke.

How cute. She was embarrassed by cramps. He tossed her the bra. “No worries. I’ll meet you in a few minutes.”

She fumbled for the door, all but running out of the apartment.

He blinked, frowning. Now, that was confusing. With a shrug, he went to dig out a shirt to wear. It was time Laney Jacobs leveled with him.