by Kahlen Aymes
“You have to know what you mean to me,” he whispered urgently, softly licking and then roughly forcing his tongue inside to war with hers. She lifted her knees to curl around the side of his torso, and he slipped inside her tight, moist heat. “Beautiful, Angel. Ahhhhhggggh,” he groaned, pulling out almost completely to fill her again in a deep thrust.
Over and over, he repeated the action, pulling out slowly and thrusting in with a deeper force, letting her feel every inch of his length, the fullness of the head opening her up, and each ounce of his possession of her. She clenched around him, unsure if she wanted to prove to him he belonged to her just as much as she did him or whether it just felt too fucking good to stop the reaction of her body or her heart.
They kissed hungrily, their bodies moving in sync and with slow purpose, clinging to each other, pulling and grasping to get closer, even if it wasn’t possible. Alex stopped suddenly, fully embedded in her flesh, as he fought for control of his own release. Angel didn’t need words to know why he stopped or that he would begin the delicious dance again in a few seconds time.
Even if it was a dream, Alex made love to Angel until his body was pushed to its limits.
When she cried out his name and heaved against him as he made her come for the third time, her fingers raked painfully down his back. Alex let himself give in to his own release, his muscles tensed as he finally burst inside her and her name was forced from his lips like a prayer. The magnitude of it rushed over him in waves as Angel’s body closed around him, milking the fluid from his body and pulling it into her own.
Alex couldn’t stop kissing her, even as his body calmed and their breathing evened out. His fingers stroked her hair back from her temples, and his mouth worshiped hers— his lips slanting and sucking, giving and taking what he needed in return. Angel was just as unwilling to end the connection; her arms and legs still caged him in, her hips still heaving against his.
His heart exploded like a firework of light. His chest ached, his eyes burned, and his throat refused to allow him to swallow the tightness. The pain was enough that he thought it would kill him. The mixture of pleasure and pain was the most amazing, confusing, incredible feeling of his life.
He rolled over and gently pulled her with him, and she curled easily into his arms. His hand moved up to stroke down from the back of her head to smooth her hair down over her spine. Over and over, Alex soothed her, wondering if she were real, and if she was, would she be as fucked up by this as he was? Her little arms tightened around him, and her lips pressed into the pulse at the side of his neck.
Angel’s face turned into his neck as her shoulders started to shake, and he felt the hot sear of her tears run over his skin as she nodded against him. Her fingers curled around his neck as she gasped.
He sucked in a painful breath. “Oh, Angel. Jesus Christ, it hurts so fucking bad! It hurts… so fucking bad.”
7
Upon the Rising Sun
Alex started violently and sucked in a deep breath. He was lying sprawled diagonally across his king-sized bed, one leg hitched and both arms wrapped around two of the six pillows. “Angel?”
His eyes adjusted to the sunlight streaming through the cracks in the vertical blinds as he rolled over and scrubbed his face with both hands. “Angel?” He called again and sat up, the sheet all but falling away from his naked body while he looked around the room.
She wasn’t there.
He closed his eyes again as disappointment crashed into his conscious mind. It was all a dream. He told himself he should be thankful that he remembered every second of it: unlike most dreams when he was left with hazy remnants, unable to piece them together in the morning.
“Goddamn it!” He threw a pillow across the room, and it knocked his reading lamp off the small side table by a big leather chair. It landed in a loud crash of glass breaking against the wall.
His chest ached. He fell back and rolled over, burying his face in the pillows again, inhaling, in search of her scent. His fist pounded the headboard causing it to bounce back against the wall in another loud thud. “Angel!” he shouted into the empty room as his body uncoiled in defeat and sagged against the mattress; his blood was thick as molasses and heart working overtime as it struggled to pump it around his body with sickening, hollow thrums.
He felt unhinged by her absence, emptiness eating a tangible hole in him from the inside out. Alex hated feeling helpless, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to ease it. His chest burned with something horrible and completely and utterly breathtaking at the same time, and it filled him up to the point of bursting yet left him empty and consumed. She was present in every waking moment, haunted his dreams, and drove him to lose his preciously guarded control. The feeling was unbelievable and amazing, incredibly wonderful and agonizing as hell.
Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!
The sound had Alex bolting off the bed and rummaging through a drawer for something to wear. Banging began after a series of impatient buzzes, followed by his brother’s bellowing voice.
“Alex!”
Alex scrambled to don the black silk pajama pants before running down the hall into the great room and finally the entryway. “Alex! Are you here?”
“Yeah! Hold on!” he shouted back as he deactivated the security system and locks fell away. He finally pulled the door open. Cole stormed past his half-naked brother and into the apartment.
Alex’s heart tightened as fear flooded through him. “What is it, Cole? Is Angel okay?” he asked anxiously.
“Why in the hell haven’t you been answering your phone? The security desk can’t even let you know I’m here when I’ve been trying to call you for several hours!”
“Forget the phone,” Alex dismissed with an impatient wave of his hand. “Just tell me what the hell is going on!”
Cole paused, unsure how he would break the news without Alex going ballistic. He decided there wasn’t one and blurted it out. “On the way from the station last night, something happened.”
“Cole! What?” Alex’s lungs constricted painfully.
“Angel had a flat tire, and Sid and Wayne were watching her from about 200 yards back. While she waited for a tow truck, two men in a black van took a crowbar to her car and tried to take her away.” Cole registered the panic on Alex’s face and put up a hand to stop him from speaking. “She’s okay, she got away.”
“I’m going to kill that motherfucking bastard! Where is she now? Was she hurt?”
“Angel is at her place, and Bancroft is monitoring, along with one of the others. She was moving a little slow when I saw her, but from what Sid said, she ran from the scene like hell was on her heels. They threw her in the van, so yeah, she’s probably beat up a little. There’s no way of knowing for sure.”
“How in the hell did you let this happen?” Alex’s expression twisted with fury. “The two guards were with her, weren’t they?”
“They maintained their distance as instructed. When they radioed in, Bancroft decided that stepping in might compromise our cover. If she saw their faces, they couldn’t trail her anymore.”
Alex’s whole body tensed up. He’d never been so incensed and scared at the same time. “Her safety is first and foremost! I don’t give a fuck about anything else! If you need to hire different men, do it!”
“Alex, be reasonable! If you want her protected, we don’t have time to do that!” Alex began to pace in front of him like a caged animal. “Bancroft… Well, we both thought we might be able to catch the asshole in action. Both of the new guys are PIs and can make arrests. It was the right way to handle it. She’s okay! She got away on her own.”
“How?”
“When they intervened, she ran off. Sid tried to stop her, but then one of them pulled a gun.”
“If she’s hurt in any way, I will fucking kill Bancroft! I’ll kill him!” He took off down the hall, rushing into his room to search for his phone. “I ask for one thing. One fucking thing, Cole!” Alex shouted angrily ove
r his shoulder.
“Are you gonna kill me, too?” Cole’s voice followed but Alex ignored it as he pulled the sheet from the bed. The last time he remembered having his phone was right before he fell asleep. He’d thrown it on the bed beside him.
“I might,” he muttered as he finally found it lying on the floor on the far side of the bed, the battery lying next to it. Alex shoved the battery back in place and swore at the length of time it took to power up. “Why in the name of God didn’t you come and get me before this?”
“I thought you’d prefer if I found your girl, and what would you have done?”
Alex walked back into the other room, stopping dead. “You better not be telling me that you lost her.” His skin was on fire, and he was dangerously close to losing it, but his voice was cold as death. “Answer me, Cole!”
“Yes, okay! The men fought off the bad guys, Alex, but Wayne got shot in the process. Sid was able to call the ambulance and capture one of them, but he couldn’t keep Angel there. The guy with the gun fled the scene. I was worried he followed her, so I tried to find her. I called, but you didn’t answer. We knew locating Angel was the most important thing and what you’d want.”
Alex’s legs were shaking, refusing to take his weight, and he sank down onto the couch. “Angel’s okay? You’re sure?” His voice was quieter now.
“Sid said she kicked one of Swanson’s men in the head during the struggle. The guy they arrested has a black eye and a broken clavicle!” He chuckled, but Alex found nothing funny in the situation. Cole couldn’t help himself. It seemed absurd that such a small woman would kick the shit out of a man twice her size. Alex scowled and Cole continued, his hand moving up to try to disguise the smile still playing on his mouth. “That girl has balls of steel.”
The thought of Angel being alone and vulnerable, probably scared to death in the middle of the Chicago night, made Alex’s chest constrict. No matter if she appeared tough, he knew the vulnerability that lay beneath. “How do you know she’s safe?”
“I waited for her, and she returned home a couple of hours ago. Her Lexus was towed to the impound lot; it’s in pretty bad shape. I’m not sure if it’s worth saving.” He thought better of telling his brother that it took them three hours to find her. “What are you doing?”
Alex rested his elbows on his knees and dialed Angel’s number. “What does it look like I’m doing? I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Don’t let her know you know what happened, Alex. Our cover will be blown.”
Alex pressed send on the phone and lifted it to his ear. “Right now, I don’t give a flying fuck about your cover. I’ll protect her even if she hates me for it.”
“You do care, Alex.” Cole reached out and wrenched the phone from Alex’s hand and turned it off. “Think about it! Why are you keeping it a secret if she’d agree? I’ll just go knock on her door. Hi, I’m Alex’s brother, Cole. I’m here to follow you around!”
“Don’t be a smartass!” Alex yelled, jumping up to rush toward Cole. “Give. Me. The. Fucking. Phone!”
“Having her hate you is the last thing you want. You’re totally screwed over this, and I’m not sure how you’re gonna fix it but don’t fuck it up even more.”
“I need to see she’s okay with my own eyes!” Alex reached for the phone again, and Cole’s hand came down on his shoulder and squeezed.
“Man, you need to calm down. Bancroft and Sid are watching her, and she’ll probably be filing a police report today. Sid already did, as will Wayne when he is well enough, but they’re just gonna say they were passersby who stopped to help. We still don’t have proof Swanson is behind it, and we won’t unless the guy in custody cracks. We need to catch him red-handed. Give us more time to get this prick, Alex. His business is almost flushed.”
“It’s not enough anymore. I’ve never wanted anyone dead so much in my entire life, Cole. I can’t sit by and wait until Angel gets hurt or worse!”
Cole pushed Alex back down on the couch with both hands on his shoulders. “Alex! Who are you right now? Where is the cold, level-headed bastard I know and love?”
Alex shook his head. “Shut up! I can’t risk her safety.”
Cole sat down next to Alex. “Angel’s doing a damn good job of risking it on her own. For once, it’s not up to you.”
“Arrrghhhh!” Alex let out a frustrated yell. “She’s too reckless. Swanson all but admitted he was behind the security breach at the estate and that he was after her. He knows Avery Enterprises is taking his business down, too. He’s like a rabid dog now, fighting for his life.”
“He has nothing to gain, anyway,” Cole said, scratching his head. His dark hair was mussed and the plaid flannel shirt he wore over his jeans was wrinkled. “Unless… you’re willing to negotiate.”
Alex looked at Cole in disgust. Nothing would be gained by showing weakness. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“There are a couple more things you still need to know, Alex. Yesterday, Gant’s office dropped the case… but I guess that wasn’t enough for Swanson to lay off Angel.”
“Watch her twenty-four seven, Cole. Tell Bancroft I want a meeting, and I want more guards on Mom, Dad, Allison, and Josh. Oh, and Angel’s friend, Becca and her daughter, and Angel’s dad in Joplin, Missouri. No loopholes. Nothing left to chance. Understand?”
“Completely.”
“What else?” Alex asked.
“The guy who got arrested is Swanson’s nephew, the one who lives in Angel’s building, remember? He’ll probably get out on bail in a couple of hours.”
“Instruct the lobby security that he’s not allowed back in, and let the building management know that we are not accepting new tenants, even if there are some in process. Everything gets put on hold, immediately.”
“It’s illegal to prevent a tenant from entering an apartment he has a lease on, isn’t it?”
“Not when his victim lives in the building! Even if it becomes a legal quagmire, I’ll deal with it.”
“Dad said you’re supposed to go to London in a couple of weeks. Are you still going?”
“I don’t want to, but it’s my bargaining chip for Dad’s acceptance of all… this.” He ran both hands through his hair and sighed. “It’s unlikely this will all be resolved before that trip. Mark Swanson wants revenge. I could see it in his eyes. With the case out of court, it would be logical that he’d leave her alone, but in light of last night, that clearly isn’t his intention.”
“Right.” Cole agreed and nodded toward the door. “I’m gonna head back.”
Alex was already dialing Angel’s number when his brother left, but it went straight to voicemail.
This is Dr. Angeline Hemming. I’m not available…
With a deep breath he ended the call without leaving a message, unsure what his next step should be. Half of him wanted to confront that cocksucker, but the more dominant, logical half argued that doing so would only give the bastard a sick sense of satisfaction. He wouldn’t affirm the chink in his armor or that Swanson had succeeded in scaring the shit out of Angel. Alex ran a hand through his slightly overlong hair and walked back into his room. That was unacceptable.
Alex allowed himself a small smile; an image of Angel kicking the ass of one of the thugs almost medicated his anxiousness and discomposure over the whole event, but not quite.
His mind reeled, and his emotions only made matters worse. He needed to get his head in the game so he could get the business end in the can. When Swanson was no longer able to pay his lawyers, he’d be at the mercy of his mob connections or the public defender.
Alex huffed. Neither one would be much help to that sick motherfucker. Hardened criminals had more pressing concerns than to clean up what, in the grand scheme of their operations, was nothing more than a bothersome ripple. Alex felt certain of it, even if Cole and Bancroft hadn’t confirmed it yet.
He’d have to come clean with Angel after Swanson was bankrupt. She’d have no choice but to understa
nd that everything he kept from her and everything he’d done was for her own damn good. He breathed in deeply and looked up at the ceiling. He hoped.
He tried Angel’s cell again, but it went to voicemail once more, and even though Cole assured him that Bancroft was watching her and she was safe in her apartment, he was filled with trepidation. “Damn it!”
His second call was answered by a soft, sweet voice. “Hello?”`
“Allison, I need you to do me a favor.”
* * *
Monday morning, Angel walked out of the police station with Kenneth at her side, glad the last few grueling hours were finally over. Hearing that one of the men who stopped to help had been critically injured had left her shaken and overwhelmed. Should she have stayed?
“I think I should go by the hospital, say thank you.” Her body ached with every movement; the night before had been the most terrifying and beautiful one of her life. If it weren’t for the pain, for the police report, and the absence of her Lexus from the garage this morning, she wouldn’t have known if it was real or imagined.
“He’s in pretty bad shape from what Dave said; you should wait awhile,” Kenneth replied, referring to the police sergeant that had taken Angel’s statement. “At least there’s a tangible connection to Swanson now. His nephew lives in your building, for God’s sake!” He stopped her and took hold of her shoulders. “I’ll get the restraining order in place within the hour, honey. Don’t worry. He won’t be able to touch you.”
Angel swallowed and raised her eyes to his face. The day was bright and clear, but brisk; the sunlight behind him throwing Kenneth’s features into shadow. “Do you think a stupid restraining order will stop them? He’ll just send someone else. It won’t end until I get that prick to come after me himself. He’s such a coward!”
Kenneth took in Angel’s appearance. She was put together, but her demeanor was off—subdued, introspective, and distracted. It was so unlike her.
“Angel,” Kenneth said. His finger prodded her chin up. “It’s not worth it.”