Protective Custody Read online

  She showed him the back deck, but he didn’t have the expected reaction. Instead of gaping at the beautiful view or the hot tub, he narrowed his gaze as it swept over the landscape.

  Drawing in a breath of pine-scented air, she took in the graceful oaks draped with ragged curtains of Spanish moss and the tall pines dotting the shore. The only sounds were the cries of birds and the whisper of the breeze. “No one knows we’re here, Will.” She sank onto a deck chair.

  “Let’s keep it that way. Don’t tell anyone.” He shot her a warning look, and she knew he was referring to Betsy.

  “I should call Gram. She’ll worry if she tries to reach me at the office and at home and can’t.” She reached into her purse for her cell, but Will closed his hand over her wrist. “Can you do that later?”

  She looked into his eyes and understood. He wanted some time for just the two of them. She dropped her phone into her bag. “Of course.”

  He pulled her up, held her to him. “If you’re up to it, I want to make love to you. Nearly losing you—” he shuddered a breath, “—it scared the shit out of me.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, felt the hard muscles along his sides and back. A ribbon of desire uncoiled inside her. He slid his hands over her hips, cupped her buttocks and forced her closer, close enough to press his erection against her stomach.

  “Inside. Now.” He opened the French doors and pointed into the house.

  She grabbed her purse and hurried in, her pulse racing. Will came up behind her, grasped her arm and spun her around to face him. His eyes, darker than sin, left no doubt as to his intentions. He yanked her bag from her hand and tossed it onto the couch. Then he circled his arms around her and roughly crushed her to his chest. “I want you,” he murmured next to her ear.

  His hot breath gusted on her neck and raised goose bumps that sprawled from her shoulders down her arms. Passion elevated her awareness. The air in the room crackled with erotic energy. He took her mouth and hungrily sucked on her tongue. She couldn’t get enough of his cinnamon taste, so familiar and sweet. He yanked at the hem of her shirt, freeing it from her pants. Then he slid his hands underneath, on her skin, where they belonged. His calloused fingers glided up her back and along her sides.

  The lush sensation made her temperature spike and her nipples peak. Will stepped toward her, forcing her to take a half step backward and brace herself against the wall. He lifted her shirt over her head and cast it away. He caught her breast in his hand, kneaded and massaged it, tweaked the pebbled point, still covered by her bra.

  Megan gave over to his control, a welcome break. Being the boss at the office, taking charge of Gram’s care, she was always the one who ran things. But not now. Never with Will.

  He pushed her bra straps off her shoulders, then peeled down the lace cups. He sucked on her nipple, sending the most delicious zing of pleasure through her body. Need quickened her blood. He scraped his teeth over her sensitive flesh and rounded her areola with his velvet tongue. Moisture pooled between her legs.

  Will unbuttoned her pants and lowered the zipper. Then he slipped a hand down her pants, inside her panties. She squirmed to dissipate the heat searing her sex. A savage yearning curled around her senses.

  He licked the valley between her breasts and kissed a sensual trail up to the hollow of her neck and across her shoulder. There was something so tender about his touch, almost reverent. It sparked a place inside her where her emotions lived. She’d never allowed another man in that deep.

  She let out a low moan as he slid a finger along her drenched folds, over her swollen nub. Her hips started rocking of their own accord, urging him deeper into her cream-slicked pussy. He rubbed over her cleft, just the way she loved, exactly how she needed it. Right from the start it had been as if he read her mind, instinctively knew how to please her.

  Like we were meant to be together.

  When his fingers slipped inside her, she gasped, overwhelmed by the intensity of her longing. She grasped his shoulders, afraid her legs wouldn’t support her much longer. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her slow and deep. The movement of his tongue mirrored that of his finger inside her.

  He stroked and caressed and tantalized, dragged her closer and closer to the edge. With his thumb, he rubbed over her clit until she detonated in a white-hot burst. Ecstasy consumed every cell in her body. The climax snatched her breath away and weakened her knees as delicious waves continued to roll through her.

  Will captured her gaze and held it as her pleasure pulsed on and on. The love in those green eyes both thrilled and frightened her.

  When her orgasm finally released her, she hung on to Will for support. He cupped her mound, then withdrew his hand and ran it over her back and up her side. She leaned against the wall and waited for her heart to slow its pace.

  Reaching to the large bulge in his pants, she traced the outline of Will’s hard-on. He shut his eyes and growled from deep inside his chest. He had always been such a generous lover. He never asked her to do anything for him, but rather, he seemed perfectly content to get her off.

  But she longed to share the intense gratification he gave so freely. She raked her nails over his denim-covered cock, earning a moan. Giving his chest a shove, she grinned. “Sit on the couch.”

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Please.”

  When he did, she followed and knelt in front of him. Meeting his stare, she grasped his belt buckle and opened it.

  Will’s sexy mouth curled in a wicked grin. “I should have put you in protective custody a long time ago.”

  “Is that what you call this?” She opened the snap on his fly, then eased the zipper lower.

  “I call it a slice of heaven.” He lifted his rear end off the cushion.

  She undid his jeans, lowered them to midthigh. His shaft tented his silky black boxer shorts. She slid a finger along the contours and smiled when Will’s breath hitched. “You like that, big boy?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  Giving him back some of the amazing pleasure he gave her meant everything to her. She grasped the waistband and carefully shucked his shorts to give herself full access to all of him. His erection sprang free. She splayed her fingers over his taut flesh and cupped his balls. Grasping the base, she teased her tongue over the crown, then retreated.

  Will gripped the armrest. She went back for another quick pass with her tongue. “Mmm.” She licked up a pearl of his seed that had gathered at the slit. His familiar salty taste stirred her desire. But more than her gratification, she yearned to treat him, to shower him in earthly delights. He’d done so much for her, even after she’d broken his heart.

  And broke my own in the process.

  She closed her mouth over the head and swirled her tongue around it. Will rewarded her with a satisfied gasp. He dragged his fingers along her scalp and grabbed fistfuls of her hair. She took him deeper, flicked her tongue along the shaft and scraped her teeth lightly over his skin.

  “Oh God, Megan. Yes.”

  She increased the pressure and slid his cock as far back inside her mouth as she could take it.

  Will cradled her cheek in his hand. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.

  “Come here,” he said softly. “Your beautiful face is all I want to see when I come.”

  Joyful warmth wrapped around her.

  Licking her lips, she stood, lowered her pants and kicked them away. Then she found her purse and rifled inside for a condom.

  Will shed the rest of his clothes too. He spread his shirt on the cushion, then sat on it. “Get on my lap, baby.”

  She handed him the condom and watched him sheathe himself. He extended a hand to her. When she took it, he pulled her onto his thighs so she straddled him. He met her stare, and her desire was mirrored in his eyes. But more than that, the depth of his love was evident.

  He grasped her upper arms and drew her against him. Erotic need ricocheted between them, searing her flesh. She rested her head o
n his shoulder and memorized the feel of his hands moving up and down her back, his manly scent. After a long moment she shifted away and subtly rocked her hips over him, sliding her wet sex along his length, inch by inch.

  He held her hips and lifted her onto his phallus. She held her breath as his cock pushed past her entrance and stretched its way inside her. Will gripped her buttocks and directed her movement.

  She took him deeper, a little at a time, never releasing his gaze. Sparks flared between them, hot and intense. She clenched around him, rode him slow, savoring every sensual nuance.

  His every touch felt warmer than the sun’s kiss. She fell into a blissfully hypnotic state where nothing could harm her and nothing could ever go wrong. She hooked her fingers together behind his neck.

  God help me. I love this man.

  Will’s hips pistoned faster. She arched against his driving thrusts, met his tempo. Her pleasure ramped up, and her universe shrank to this house, this room, this man.

  She bit back a gasp as she neared her precipice. So close, she threw her head back and surrendered to the rhapsody. Her whole body shuddered and shook at the sensations flooding through her. The shock waves gradually eased, but the euphoria remained.

  Will let out a long, low growl, so familiar and yet somehow more satisfying to hear every time. His face flushed with blood, and the muscles in his neck corded. She clenched around him, milking every drop of seed from him as he panted and gasped and, finally, stilled. Sticky with sweat, she leaned against him, settled her head on his shoulder and listened to his pounding heart.

  None of this was real. She couldn’t allow it to continue after they left here. But for now at least she’d pretend this blissful interlude was forever.

  Unfortunately the reason they were there was constantly on her mind. She rolled off him and met his stare. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.”

  “I have a question. Did you ever find anything out about the earring I found?”

  “I went to a few jewelry stores, but they all said it looked like a hand-crafted item, maybe something the woman bought at a craft fair.”

  He stroked a finger along her arm. “Anyone could have dropped that earring, Megan. You don’t know that it came from the victim.”

  “Maybe there’s a fingerprint on it.”

  His lips flattened. “Yeah, yours. And maybe mine. Besides, her fingerprints would have to be in AFIS for us to find her.”

  “AFIS?”

  “Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a huge database of fingerprints used by law enforcement agencies.”

  “Oh.” Her cell rang, and she started to go fetch her purse.

  Will closed his hand around her arm. “Ignore it.”

  “I can’t. I gave Betsy instructions not to call unless it was an emergency.” She shot off the couch and retrieved her phone. Too late. She checked her missed calls. The nursing home. They hardly ever called unless there was a problem. She dressed in a hurry.

  Sitting on an overstuffed chair, she dialed the number and asked to speak to Mrs. Brooks.

  Will headed into the bathroom.

  “Hello, Miss Jackson. I’m so sorry to disturb you.”

  The angst in the woman’s voice instantly heightened her fear. “Is something wrong?”

  “Well, we seem to have lost your grandmother, but I’m sure she’s just playing hide-and-go-seek with the staff.”

  All the air sucked out of Megan’s lungs. “Oh my God. How could this have happened?”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing. I know the staff will find her any moment, but I wanted to apprise you of the situation.”

  She held a hand to her chest and thought of what Gram had told her.

  “A big man. White, like your daddy. He had dark hair and broad shoulders. Told me he’d take me away if I wanted. On a real vacation, like Niagara Falls.”

  “I spoke to Patty yesterday after Gram told me a white man was going to take her on a trip. She said he climbed over the hedges to get to her.” Her mouth grew dry. What if that monster had Gram?

  The woman coughed loudly. “I’m sure that’s not it, Miss Jackson. We have excellent security here.”

  “Really? Then why can’t you tell me where my grandmother is?” Her heart thundered wildly as tension stormed through her.

  “We’re doing everything in our power—”

  “Have you called the police?”

  “I don’t think we’re at that point yet, but if she isn’t found soon, of course we’ll contact them.”

  Megan snapped her phone shut. She had to be there, had to help find Gram. She prayed the killer hadn’t snatched Gram away. If he hurt her, it would be all Megan’s fault.

  Tension tightened between her shoulders. She tossed her phone into her purse and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A monster headache was coming on fast.

  “What’s going on?” Will asked.

  “Gram is missing. I have to go there.”

  He looked at her as if she had two heads. “You’re in hiding here, baby. We can’t just leave when we feel like it.”

  She fisted her hands in frustration. “My grandmother is missing, Will. What do you expect me to do, sit here while she could be in grave danger?”

  His expression softened. “I’m sorry. You’re right. But can we take this slower? Tell me what’s happened. Who was on the phone?”

  She tried to stay calm as she recapped the call.

  When she’d finished, Will nodded. “Okay. But let’s wait awhile before we go there. Give them a chance to find her. It’s probably nothing. We used to get calls like that when I was a rookie at the SO. Nine times out of ten they found the person within an hour.”

  Didn’t he care at all? “She could be in that maniac’s hands right this very moment.”

  When her cell rang, she answered as she stared into Will’s eyes. He did care. She could see it in the lines etched on his face.

  “Miss Jackson? This is Mrs. Brooks again.”

  “Yes?” Megan held her breath.

  “Your grandmother is fine. She was in the garden all along.”

  She gave Will a thumbs-up. “Thank God. So she’s okay?”

  “Well, yes.”

  The hesitation in the other woman’s voice unnerved her. “You don’t sound sure.”

  “I think we should discuss her mental acuity with the doctor.”

  “I agree. Gram’s not been herself lately,” Megan said.

  “I’ll let him know when he makes rounds tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.” She shut her phone and held it, replaying the conversation in her head.

  “What is it?” Will placed a comforting hand on her knee.

  “I’m not sure. Something doesn’t feel right.” She leaned against his chest. When all this was over, she would spend more time with Gram. She owed it to her.

  Chapter Eight

  John Jarity woke in his desk chair. The remnants of a bottle of whiskey sat next to the computer, accusing him. His stomach and head ached. Shouldn’t have had so much on an empty stomach. Was that his head ringing?

  Shaking off sleep, he realized it was his cell. Harvey. “Pretty fucking early in the morning to be calling, bro.” He checked his watch. Five-forty. Midafternoon in Sri Lanka.

  “I figured you’d want to hear some good news.”

  He rubbed his eyes. “What you got?”

  “Three sisters. The mom wants a million rupees for all of them. I think we should do it.”

  John mentally calculated the exchange rate. About nine thousand bucks. And he could sell the two he didn’t want for fifty grand apiece. Less the three thousand for the paperwork to get the girls into the country, they’d still make a tidy profit. “Do it. Just make sure the documents are solid.”

  “I know how to do this, John. I’ve managed to get five others in, haven’t I?”

  If Harvey were here, he’d clock him for that sarcastic tone. But he needed his brother to get the women here without incident. “Okay. Call m
e when you clear customs in Miami.”

  “This is the last time. We make enough without taking this kind of chance.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” When he returned, Harvey would have to be taught a lesson. He snapped his phone shut, then rubbed his eyes. The sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen caught his attention. Gritting his teeth, he strode through the house and found Ruth Ann at the stove.

  The morning light wasn’t kind to her wrinkled face. Avoiding a direct stare, he crossed the room to the coffeemaker. “Morning.”

  “Did you work all night again? For heaven’s sake, John.”

  He sat at the table and inhaled his first cup. Ruth Ann set a plate of burned toast and practically raw eggs in front of him. Thank God Harvey was bringing him a girl. He needed her for more than just his carnal urges. His damn wife was inept at every household chore. After a few bites, he pushed up from the table.

  “Aren’t you going to finish your breakfast?”

  “Sorry, honey. Stomach’s upset. I have a few calls to make. Please don’t disturb me.” He ignored her indignant huffs as he left the room.

  Back in the study, he phoned someone who’d expressed an interest in one of his foreign ventures. “Rick, John Jarity here. I think I’ve found the answer to your problems.”

  ***

  Ed Dawkins checked his cell, and his pulse instantly sped up. It always did when Veronica phoned. She still made him crazy, both with love and with anguish. “Hiya, gorgeous.”

  “Eddie, that awful man called. We have to do something. He isn’t playing around.” The fear in her voice went straight to his gut.

  “Slow down, kitten. Tell me what you’re talking about.”

  “The guy from the casino. Mr. Morgan. He says if I know what’s good for me, I’ll pay the money like yesterday.”

  The jelly doughnut he’d just eaten roiled in his stomach. He pulled a bottle of antacid from his desk drawer. “Did you get his number? Maybe if I talk to him—”

  “No! He said he’d call me tomorrow. And I’d better have the money by then, or he’ll come down here to get it himself.” She started crying.