Why not? he thought with a bitter laugh. Why not put everything out there? "Sex has never meant anything to me. It has always been a distraction. A pleasure. A means to an end. Until you. You make me feel things I've never felt before. I want to keep you around. I need to keep you around. I'm falling in love with you, Evie." Shitty phrasing. He wasn't falling. He'd already gone splat on the pavement.
No longer so brave, she backed away from him. "Blue."
"I've never said those words to another woman. Not even for a case. I can't lose you. And, Evie, I will be faithful, I swear to you. You will never have to worry about another woman. Not for any reason."
"Blue," she said again.
Going to turn him down?
Let's see if he could change her mind.
Moving faster than she could track, he picked her up and tossed her on the couch. She bounced up and down, and he fell on top of her, pinning her arms over her head.
*
"What do you think you're doing?" Evie demanded. This man had just rocked her entire world. I think I'm falling in love with you. He'd all but gotten down on his knee and offered her a ring, and she had no idea how to feel. Or deal.
What did she know of romantic love? Nothing!
Not how to give it, and certainly not how to receive it. Because receiving it would mean getting used to it. Needing it. Relying on it.
What would happen if it was taken away?
"I've relocated the battle," Blue said easily.
The battle over her right to stay on the case? Or . . . her heart? "As if turf really matters. You won't be winning."
"Let's find out." He smashed his lips into hers, his tongue thrusting hard, insisting on entrance, slamming past teeth, uncaring when she bit down to prove a point. Panting, he said, "I like it when you fight me."
Her, too. "Don't be nice about it. Fight back."
"Nice? No, not this time." He wasn't kind or caring as he stripped her of every piece of clothing. And he wasn't a gentleman as he stared at her breasts. He was a man possessed by raw, animal need. "Gorgeous. My mouth is watering for them." He lowered his head, and as the heat of his mouth enveloped her nipple he sucked, sucked hard, and she cried out, her hands tangling in his hair, tugging at the strands.
"Blue!"
He reached between her legs and worked her with his masterful fingers, thrusting in and out with savage force. "Let's find your sweet spot, baby."
He did something he'd never done before. He angled one of his fingers, almost hooking it, and a white-hot lance of pleasure shot through her. Her hips came off the couch and she clutched at him, gasping his name.
"Yeah," he said, clearly pleased with himself. "Right there."
"Yes!"
He rubbed her there, again and again, and the pleasure just kept coming. Soon she was writhing and moaning, trying to beg for more, but the words were utterly incoherent. He was edging her closer and closer to insanity, where nothing mattered but what he was doing to her . . . what he would do to her.
"You want me inside you," he rasped. He trailed kisses along her jaw, then her neck, then the curve of her breast. "Say it."
"Yes." A moan. "Want you. Please." As she spoke, she worked her hand between their bodies and clutched his massive erection. The tip was slick with evidence of his desire.
He didn't take the time to remove his clothing. Maybe he was worried she would change her mind. She wouldn't; she was too far gone. He simply ripped open his pants, pinned her hands over her head, and slammed home.
Release came instantly for her, and she screamed, filled, stretched, shuddering around him, barely able to breathe. Floating, flying away as he hammered inside her, again and again.
The delicious brutality never ended. His control was shredded. He showed no mercy, and she was glad. She wanted none. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began to meet him thrust for savage thrust. Though she would have thought it impossible, her own need began to build again. Hotter. Stronger.
She grabbed his head and forced him down for a kiss. It, too, was wicked and without control, their tongues mimicking the motions of their bodies. Around her, she heard lamps and vases falling, shattering. She heard furniture toppling over. And she didn't care.
"Blue!" She broke apart at the seams as she shot straight into another climax. Satisfaction hit next, leaving her boneless.
This time he followed her, thrusting so hard, he actually moved the couch, inch by inch, until it finally banged into the wall . . . and everything stilled, the storm over.
He collapsed on top of her. "Evie."
Took a moment for her mind to kick back into gear. What the hell had just happened?
That couldn't have been sex. It had been too raw. Too primal. Utterly consuming. Powerful. As if she'd done more than give her body, despite the lack of foreplay. As if she'd given pieces of her soul.
Was she falling in love, too?
He rested his head just over her thundering heartbeat. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice ragged.
"No."
"You were with me all the way?"
"I can't believe you have to ask."
He kissed the wild pulse at the base of her neck before rising to his elbows and peering down at her. His gorgeous lavender eyes were dark with contentment and determination.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
She traced the edge of his lips with a trembling fingertip. "Yes."
"Do you believe I'll be faithful to you? Not just for this case but for all others? No matter what I'm assigned."
All? All! Were they talking . . . forever? "I . . . think so."
Disappointment replaced the contentment. "For now, that's good enough. I will prove myself to you."
She closed her eyes. "It's not a matter of proving yourself, bluejay. It's a matter of believing you won't grow tired of me."
"I won't grow tired of you."
How confident he sounded. "All right. Okay. We can try a real relationship. But things have to stay the same. We have to keep it a secret."
"Evie--"
"No. I don't want to be the reason you and Michael break up."
"We won't break up. We'll fight and make up."
She heard the doubt in his tone. "Maybe. But I know him, and he'll say things that he'll never be able to take back. You'll be hurt, and I'll be mad."
His expression softened. "He's a spy, Evie. He taught me everything I know. He's going to find out sooner or later."
"But--"
"No buts. Right now I have a reason to sneak over. Very soon I won't. How are you going to explain my presence?" He wound a lock of her hair around his finger. "Because I'm not sleeping without you."
Falling faster . . .
"I don't want to sleep without you, either," she admitted. "But. Yes, there will be buts. We'll tell everyone sometime after the case, as planned. No reason to distract our only backup."
"Fine. Once John is found, I'll give you a week. A business week, just to be clear. You aren't taking the weekend, too."
"Two weeks."
"Three days."
"You still haven't learned to bargain!"
"Two days."
"One business week," she said on a sigh.
He kissed her. "Agreed. Now, can we commence with the snugging?"
"No. More loving." She wrapped her arms around him and nibbled her way across his jaw. Lazy pleasure, that's what this was, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it. The fire no longer raged, it simmered with promise of things to come. "Solo will flip, you know. He hates me."
"Now you're grasping," Blue said, flipping to his back and placing Evie on top of him.
Mmm. The new position opened up a whole new world for her to explore. "Doesn't matter," she said, flicking her tongue over one of his nipples. "It's still a valid reason to me."
His hands tangled in her hair. "Well, then, he just doesn't know you."
"He'll try to talk you out of seeing me." The other nipple received the same spa treatment.
"And I won't listen."
Gah! He had an answer for everything.
"Any other objections?" he said.
She kissed her way to his navel. "You are so frustrating, coming up with intelligent responses."
"And you are maddening." There was an edge to his voice . . . a hum of desire. "Clearly, we deserve each other. Now, stop messing around, princess. You've teased me enough."
"Poor Blue. Needing your woman again? Sorry, ducky, but I've only just begun."
"Too bad. I want you to suck me."
"I will . . . if you're a good boy."
"I haven't been a good boy a day in my life."
"There's a first time for everything. Now, shut up and let Pudding Pop do her thing."
Twenty-three
EVIE SAT UP WITH a gasp.
After her brush with death, Blue suspected she would have a nightmare and hadn't let himself fall asleep. He was glad.
"It's all right," he said, urging her to stretch out beside him. "I'm here."
Trusting him, she curled into his side. He kissed her forehead.
The sun wouldn't rise for another hour, and darkness clung to the bedroom. In this secret hideaway, he would keep her safe, even from her dreams.
"So, what are we going to do?" she asked. "Now that we've both been nailed as agents, I mean."
He traced his fingertips along her spine. "We're going to place all three of the Stars in a holding cell and beat them until someone reveals John's location."
"I like it. First, though, we have to catch them. And, Blue, I wasn't able to inject Tyson. It was mission fail, all the way. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. We'll track him another way. Who knows? He may be so cocky, he's still at the hotel, thinking he's secure."
"What if we beat them, and they still refuse to talk?"
A possibility. "I'll use compulsion. Daddy Star says he took a drug to counteract the ability, but it can't last forever." And if that failed, he'd think of something else.
"Well, it's too late--or early--to do anything now, and we're both in need of a recharge. So why don't you give Michael and Solo a call, update them on everything that's happened, and I'll draw us a bath."
"Deal."
She rolled from the bed and he picked up his cell phone. Solo answered on the first ring and Blue explained the situation. They agreed to meet in two hours.
"You sound shaken," the otherworlder said.
"Yeah."
"She means that much to you?"
In deference to Evie, he ignored the question. "Do me a solid and tell Michael what I told you."
"Sure."
Blue heard water pouring from the faucet in the bathroom and grinned. "I've got to go."
Naked, he strode to the doorway and crossed his arms. Evie was already lounging in the tub, honey-scented bubbles all around her. His body was conditioned to react to the fragrance and did so instantly, hardening.
"Someone can't get enough of me, I see," she said, and tsk-tsked.
"Someone doesn't deny it."
Pleasure flushed her cheeks. "How can he?" Her tone was droll. "His hard-on gives him away."
He barked out a laugh. The things that came out of her mouth . . . good enough to eat. "By the way, we're hosting a meeting in a few hours. Which means, my sweet little apple bottom, that there's just enough time for us to have our bathtub playdate and eat breakfast. Off of each other."
"I like the sound of that." Her smile was seductive as he climbed in behind her. But when he tried to draw her against his chest, she slipped away to press against the other side of the porcelain. "Uh, uh, uh. Playdates require games."
"What kind of games?" Hot water lapped at his skin, making him burn that much hotter for her.
"Let's start with Man Obey Woman and go from there."
He snorted. "That's how we're going to do this, huh, monkey bear? You boss me around, and I come to heel?"
"Isn't that what we've been doing all along?" The steam produced a moist sheen over her beautiful face. The ends of her hair were wet, curling upward, around her nipples. "I thought that was what we've been doing."
"Funny."
Grinning, she ran her hand through the bubbles. "We're going to play Q and A. I've got questions, you've got answers."
"Very well."
She tapped her chin, saying, "Where to start, where to start? Oh, I know. Have you ever been totally, madly, deeply in love? You told me you've never said the words, but have you ever felt the emotion?"
"Other than with myself?"
She leaned over to twist his nipple. "I was being serious."
"Ow! So was I." He pried her naughty fingers loose. "No." A pause. He remembered the sweatpants and boxers from his first days here and stiffened, thinking of her mooning over some faceless guy--who would soon die. "Have you?"
"No."
Well, then. Murder was off the day's agenda. "Then why do you own men's sweatpants and boxers?"
"Because they're comfortable."
"Not from a previous lover?"
"No. Like I would really wear someone's inferior clothing."
Darling little elitist. He loved it. "What else do you have for me?"
She nibbled on her bottom lip, and he wasn't sure he would like what came next. "You told me we didn't have to worry about kids. Why is that?"
Okay. That he could handle. "I am, for all intents and purposes, fixed."
Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "You had surgery? But what about your ability to heal?"
"I wasn't snipped like human males. A nifty little device was anchored inside my sac."
"It is reversible?"
"Yes. Why? Do you want kids?"
She shrugged. "Maybe one day."
His gaze lowered to her flat belly, and he thought about watching her grow big with his child. He went from wood to mega-wood in seconds.
Yeah. He liked the idea. "What's your next question?"
She thought for a moment. "What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for a woman?"
He reached through the water and latched onto her foot, lifting it to massage her arch. As she moaned in pleasure, he said, "I'm doing it right now."
"That's sad."
"Want me to stop?"
"Stop and I'll poison you with the shampoo, stuff your body in a garbage bag, and set you out on the curb for trash day."
Won't laugh. "That's quite a detailed murder plan."
"Well, I don't want to be caught, now, do I?"
He rolled his eyes and claimed her other foot. "All right, baby boo-boo. Getting serious now," he said, and she gulped. "You've been attracted to me since the moment you met me, haven't you? You've been carrying a torch for me all these years."
"Ha! I'm being completely serious when I tell you it was hate at first sight. After a double shot of lust."
He grinned. "Well, I was attracted to you."
"You were?" she squeaked.
He nodded. "Then you opened your mouth. 'Hate' is too mild a word for what I felt then."
She threw a handful of bubbles at him. "We've talked a bit about this, I know, but it hasn't changed. I'm not even close to your type. Look at these," she said, arching her back to cause her breasts to thrust up. "They're so small."
"I'm looking, and I'm thinking they're perfect."
"You're going to throw out your first lie? Over these?" She cupped them. "Maybe I'll get implants."
He went still. "I'm not lying, and you won't get implants."
"Maybe."
"If you do, I'll give the doctor who performs the surgery an implant of his own--my fist inside his chest. I will rip out his heart and drink his blood from his boots."
"You're serious," she said, gaping.
"Totally."
Grinning slowly, seductively, she crawled to him and straddled his waist. "That's a very sweet thing to say."
"Just being honest. And if you tell me you're okay with me getting a penile implant, I think I'll final
ly put you over my knee and spank you so hard."
She nipped his ear, her breath warm on his skin. "Darling, if you were any bigger, you'd tear me in two."
The endearment he loved. The compliment he savored.
The woman he adored.
He ran his hands over the perfect lobes of her ass. "Don't think I didn't notice the fact that you failed to protest the spanking."
"Sure, you can spank me . . . if I can spank you."
His own smile was slow. "Deal."
She arched a brow. "Not going to try one of your famous bargains?"
"Why would I? I'm getting what I want."
She laughed.
He loved when she laughed. "Okay, I have one more question before I forget I can use my mouth for talking." His fingers slid forward and wrapped around her inner thighs, closing in on her sex. "What do you think about tattoos? For or against?"
Shivering, she rasped, "Some are good, some are bad. Why?"
"I used to have a few, but the fire destroyed them, and I'd like to get new ones--but only if my snuggle doodle likes the idea." Two fingers inched higher. . . .
She licked her lips. "I remember now. You had those strange symbols around your navel."
Among other things. "And how did you know that, hmm? Did you use to stare at me, princess?"
She slid her hand down his stomach and curled her fingers around his shaft, drawing a moan from him. "One thing has never changed, Mr. Blue. You like to walk around without your shirt. But to answer your question, I'm now one hundred percent for new tattoos. On one condition."
He reached her center and drew his hands through her slick heat. "Yes?"
Her moan blended with his. "I get to pick one out."
At the moment, as her grip tightened on him, he would have let her do anything she wanted. "You want me to get a unicorn or a rainbow, don't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I want you to get 'Property of E.B.' right here." She ran her thumb from his base to his tip.
"Possessive, are we?"
Her eyelids drooped with carnal hunger. "Very much so."
He took her by the wrists and folded her arms behind her back. Holding her with one hand, he positioned himself at her core with the other. "Gonna make you so glad you said that, princess."
And he did.
*
Forty minutes before everyone was set to arrive, Evie thought. Another forty minutes with Blue.
She looked at the food she'd placed on the kitchen counter, thinking to cook breakfast, then looked at Blue. He sat at the table, watching her, fire crackling in his eyes.
Food--or Blue? There wasn't time for both. And there definitely wasn't time to eat the food off each other, as planned.