Protective Custody Read online

  Pumping into her harder, faster, deeper, he erupted in a mind-blowing rhapsody. Pleasure flared in every direction, singeing his flesh and filling his empty coffers with each blissful stroke. He shuddered and thrust into her a few more times before settling over her, completely satisfied and spent.

  I want to feel this way forever.

  She sighed contentedly. “Will…”

  “Hmm?”

  Say it.

  She ran her hands along his back. “I—That was amazing.”

  Please, say it.

  She shut her eyes.

  He kissed her neck. “Later we’ll take our time. Easy and slow.” If she wouldn’t put voice to it, then he would. “I love you.”

  Her hands stopped moving, and there was no mistaking the cool stiffness that settled over her. An invisible knife ripped through his gut.

  Chapter Six

  Megan’s heart caught in her throat as Will climbed off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. Of course she loved him, although she shouldn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. Why lead him on when this had to be only for tonight?

  The deck was stacked against them between Gram’s objections and Will’s parents’ displeasure with the relationship. His mother had made her feelings clear as water. She’d cornered Megan in the restroom of the country club the night Will introduced them.

  “My son might be infatuated with you, but let’s be candid. He will marry a woman from a well-heeled family similar to his own. After he gets his head on straight, he’ll join our family business. Whomever he marries will take on all the social responsibilities required of the job.”

  She’d raked her cold gaze over Megan. “I just don’t believe you have the breeding for that sort of role. Do you? And if you think you’re going to sink your claws into Will’s money, think again. I’d make sure his trust fund disappeared if he married someone like you. Got it?”

  Megan had been too stunned to respond.

  Gram had been just as unbending in her objections to their relationship. She’d lobbied hard for Megan to stop dating Will. How could she argue with Gram? The woman had raised Megan after her mother passed away, worked her fingers to the bone to put her through college. Gram feared that a white upper-crust sort of man would abandon Megan, just as Megan’s father had done to her mother.

  But Gram had never given Will a chance to prove he was nothing like her father. His family might be part of the country-club set but Will didn’t have a snobbish bone in his body.

  No, Gram would never accept Will. How could she disappoint the one person who’d always been there for her?

  “I’m sorry.” Will’s voice tore her out of the unpleasant memory. He slipped back into bed beside her and drew the covers up to his waist.

  “Hmm?” She smoothed her hand over his chest and marveled at the rock-hard contours of his torso.

  “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you.” He rolled onto his side and cupped her cheek. “You’d better rest up now. I’m not through with you yet.” He gave her a kiss that turned her into a puddle of estrogen.

  God help her, she did love him. With all her heart and soul. And she’d hurt him deeply by walking away. That knowledge pained her even more than being without him, which had been sheer torture.

  She settled her back against his chest.

  Savor this time with him. It won’t last.

  Within minutes Will’s rhythmic breathing punctuated the silence. But sleep refused to come for her. She tried to memorize every second spent in his arms, the piney scent of his cologne, the luxurious feel of his arm resting on her hip. She had no idea how long she lay there. Glancing at her darkened clock, frozen at five-thirty-five, she sighed. Hopefully Will’s friend would get the power back on tomorrow.

  At least a few hours had passed when Will finally woke. He didn’t say a word but moved his hand over her side and along her thigh. Sliding closer, he shifted his attention higher and kneaded her breast.

  Her desire flared. Will found her nipple and strummed it gently. He kissed the back of her shoulder with a familiar tenderness she’d thought she’d never experience again. Renewed need flooded her system, sending tingles from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  He trailed his tongue along her skin from her earlobe to behind her neck, down her spine. She shivered with pleasure. Then he turned her onto her back and brushed his lips over hers like a whisper of fine silk. Her pulse quickened when she tasted herself on his lips.

  “I want to take my time. Make love to you long and slow.” His quiet tone held passion. And restraint.

  The intensity she glimpsed in his eyes sent carnal yearning through her veins. And something else—fear. “I…I should shower first.” She pushed on his shoulders, but he refused to yield.

  “Why? Because you might smell like a woman?”

  His question unexpectedly heated her core.

  “I happen to love your scent. And your taste.” He dipped his mouth to her breast and sucked at the taut peak, tugged on it lightly with his teeth.

  Liquid desire spooled through her. She couldn’t bring herself to stop him, not when every cell in her body begged for more.

  Will glided his hand along her hip, then around her leg to her inner thigh. Her sex vibrated with longing. She let out a whimper and arched toward him, but he refused to rush. He kneaded and squeezed her leg, traced tiny circles on her skin. But every time he veered close to her entrance, he’d retreat, a cruel tease.

  He released her nipple, and for an instant, she thought he’d move his focus down to her pussy, but no. Using his tongue, he painted her other breast with light strokes, closer and closer to the hard, needy peak. She squirmed against the building pressure in her core.

  Will raked his teeth over her pebbled point, and she gasped at the lush sensation. If he didn’t touch her sex soon, she’d incinerate. “Please,” she cried.

  He stopped what he was doing and stared into her eyes. “Patience, baby. Relax and enjoy it.”

  But when he skimmed his fingers along the outsides of her sensitive lips, she couldn’t resist shifting her hips to cajole him closer. “Will, please. This is torture. You’re going to make me do it myself.”

  “Oh really? I don’t think so.” He dotted her cheeks with kisses, then rolled away and climbed off the bed.

  She huffed. “Where are you going?”

  He crossed the floor to her dresser and yanked open the top drawer.

  She propped herself up on her elbows and squinted to see in the barely lit room. “Hey. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Be quiet.”

  She swallowed back an objection. His bedroom surprises had always piqued her interest, and he’d never pulled one she didn’t enjoy.

  Only for tonight.

  She shoved the thought to the back of her mind.

  The drawer scraped shut, and her heart pounded with anticipation. He returned to the bed with some dark fabric in his hand. “Lie back.” He crawled over her and straddled her.

  “What?” Before she could react, he grabbed her right arm and pulled it out from under her. “Hey!”

  “Shh. Quiet.”

  She’d never admit how much she liked him ordering her around in the bedroom, and she’d never let him get away with it anywhere else, but for now she played along.

  He took her left wrist and joined it to the right above her head. Barely containing her building excitement, she pretended to struggle as he tied her hands with a scarf and fastened them to the bedpost. All part of the game. A heady mix of desire and shame warred inside her.

  He slid alongside her, then swiped his tongue along the dip between her breasts. “Now you’ll have to endure the long, slow fucking I had in mind.” He skimmed her sides and cupped her buttocks. “Guess I can do whatever I want now, hmm?” He twisted the lower part of her body and raised a hand as if he planned to spank her.

  Her breath caught in her throat. “Don’t you dare.”

&nbs
p; He lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands, do you?” Rubbing her hip, he shook his head. “Your beautiful body is all mine.” He bent low and kissed her backside. “Say it.”

  “All yours.” Her pulse quickened, and every nerve ending stood at attention. She bit her lip to hold back a sigh. How long would he torture her with this erotic teasing? Her sex ached for his touch.

  Grasping her waist, he settled her on her back and raked her with his heated gaze. “You look so delectable. I don’t know where to begin.” He kissed her belly, skimmed his tongue over her belly-button ring.

  “Want a suggestion?” She parted her legs and raised her hips.

  Sliding his hands lower, he forced her thighs together. “Patience. All in good time.” He chuckled at her groan as he moved to her feet. Grasping one of her ankles, he raised the leg, kissed her heel, then her instep and big toe. He repeated the process with the other foot. The lush sensations ribboned through her body, made her wriggle to keep from exploding.

  Getting to his knees, he spread her legs wide and wolf-whistled. “Damn, baby.” He moved between her thighs, and she was sure he’d finally give her what she wanted—some long-awaited attention for her pussy. He scooted closer, held his shaft at the root and angled it toward her. “Is this what you want?” His honeyed voice floated through the air and wrapped around her like chiffon.

  She nodded and licked her lips in anticipation.

  “But I haven’t teased you yet like I promised.”

  She yanked against her tether. “That’s no fair. You made me think—” She stopped speaking when she noticed his wicked grin. Holding back a giggle, she wrestled her right leg free and kicked toward his head. She managed a playful shot to his shoulder. “You’re mean.”

  He caught her right ankle and dotted it with kisses. “No, I’m not. I’m just obsessed with your pleasure.” His smile faded, and the glint in his eyes stole her breath away.

  The air around them grew heavier than smoke. A thick clog formed in her throat.

  How the hell am I going to walk away from him again?

  He set her legs down, then straddled her and rose to his knees. She studied his nearly hairless chest and six-pack abs. The man was nothing short of beautiful. Yet he wanted her.

  He ran his hands up her thighs, along her belly to her breasts. Delectable sensations spiraled through her as he squeezed and massaged. The notion that she was completely at his mercy set off sparks inside her.

  He planted one hand on the bed to steady himself as he leaned down to suck her earlobe into his mouth. Scraping it between his teeth, he made a torrid growl. As he shifted along her body, his erection skimmed over her belly. She longed to reach for his cock, to tease him as he did her. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back. She’d want it all.

  To touch it.

  Feel it inside her.

  The thick cream of her arousal slicked her sex. She squirmed against him, tried to move higher on the bed. Gliding her soaked pussy along his cock would ease some of the unbearable pressure building inside her.

  Sensing her hunger, Will abandoned her breast and centered his hand over her mound. She bit back a sigh as she rocked against him, silently begging him to fuck her.

  “Is that what you want? You want to come, baby?”

  So close to the edge she couldn’t form a single word, she nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”

  He pressed the heel of his hand to her cleft and rubbed her just right. She climbed the sweet slope to gratification, nearing the precipice. When he sucked her nipple, she fell over the edge and exploded in a rhapsody of bliss. An all-consuming orgasm shook her in ecstasy. She shuddered and gasped and moaned as waves of joy racked her body.

  When her peak had nearly ebbed, Will shifted lower. He licked her sensitive lips and her wet folds. She thrashed her hips, still reeling from her climax. Then he plucked her nub into his mouth and laved it gently. Renewed waves of rapture convulsed her entire body.

  She was vaguely aware of Will reaching to the nightstand and fiddled with a condom. Then his thick cock poked at her entrance. Unbearable delight curled around her senses. He eased his shaft inside her, only an inch or so. She hooked her legs behind him to pull him deeper. But he wouldn’t be rushed. His next stroke took him farther. And the next, farther still. Her intimate walls stretched to accommodate his size.

  He thrust again, harder this time. She arched against him, and they rediscovered the rhythm they used to know so well. His gaze hijacked hers, refused to let it go as he slid in and out. The intensity of his stare and the unbridled passion combined to create a tsunami of euphoria.

  His strokes heated her flesh, engaging all her senses in erotic pleasure. His eyes darkened, and the muscles on his neck and shoulders corded. His breath hitched before he released a low growl of satisfaction. She clenched her innermost muscles.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and gasped.

  “Oh God, Megan. That’s so fucking good.” He pumped into her with such savage strength that she knew what they had was meant to be. He made her feel like she was the only woman in the world, the only woman for him.

  He growled his release, clenched his jaw, then tunneled inside her faster. Finally he jerked a few last times, then stilled. She tightened her intimate muscles, massaging every last drop of seed from him. He settled on top of her, kissed her neck and shoulders and whispered her name against her skin. She closed her eyes. The only place she wanted to be was in Will’s arms.

  Megan blinked against the first rays of orange morning sunshine. Will stood over her, skimmed his finger over her cheek. “G’morning.”

  She glanced up into his eyes and smiled, completely in love. “Hi.” Then she remembered she shouldn’t love him.

  Fine lines extended from the corners of his mouth and eyes. Could he know she didn’t plan to have sex with him again? Make love. What they’d done felt like so much more than just sex.

  He pointed to the scarf that had bound her wrists. “I hope that wasn’t too uncomfortable.”

  She managed a shrug. “I didn’t mind.” Heat crawled up her neck and over her face. How was she supposed to think with Will naked and gorgeous? She rolled away, climbed off the bed and hurried to the bathroom. The longer she stayed there, the more difficult it would be to say goodbye. “I’m taking a shower.”

  “It’ll be cold with the power still out. Want me to come in there and keep you warm?”

  She pretended she hadn’t heard him. Why torture herself with more intimate pleasures that would haunt her dreams? She couldn’t continue to disregard Gram’s feelings.

  By the time she finished in the bathroom, Will was dressed and sitting in the chair in her bedroom. “I’m meeting the electrician here in an hour. Oh, your cell rang while you were in the shower. I hope you don’t mind, but I answered it.”

  She stiffened. Alarm bucked through her.

  Please, don’t let Gram have phoned.

  “Betsy wants you to call her about an appointment.”

  She blew out the breath she’d been holding. “Oh. Okay.”

  “You look almost as sexy in a towel as you do in nothing at all, by the way.” His wink sent unwanted heat sprawling over her skin. Shaking it off, she opened her top dresser drawer and grabbed underwear. Then she hurried into the closet to find something to wear. She threw on khakis, a navy blouse and a pair of beige kitten-heeled sandals.

  The moment she finished, she went to the foyer to retrieve her phone. Betsy answered on the second ring.

  “Southern State Vacation Rentals.”

  “Betsy, it’s me. I got a message that you called. What’s up?” She prayed her assistant wouldn’t mention that Will had answered her cell earlier.

  “Hey, boss. Guess someone had a good night.”

  Irritation prickled her skin. “Did you need me?”

  “Right. Hang on.” Papers rustled. “Okay. A prospective renter wants to see the Woodbury bungalow. Might want it for the rest of the month. His
name is Harry Jones.”

  “Thanks. Do I need to call him?” She cradled the phone against her shoulder as she tucked in her blouse.

  “Nope. He’ll meet you at the property at ten-thirty.”

  She glanced at her watch. “That’s only an hour and a half from now. I have to go see my grandmother this morning.” She mentally calculated how long the visit would take before replying, “No problem. I’ll be right over to get the key.”

  “I suppose your car is fixed?” Betsy asked.

  “Um, yes. Good as new.” She hung up, then returned to the bedroom.

  “Want me to go pick up some coffee?” Will stood and took a few steps toward her with outstretched arms.

  “No time, actually.” She moved out of his reach. “Betsy set up an appointment for me. So I have to go. Just turn the latch on the front door before you leave.”

  His brow furrowed slightly. “Yeah, I remember how to let myself out. It was getting in that always threw me.” He brushed past her and went into the bathroom.

  Hurting him wrenched her gut.

  This is for the best.

  “I’ll leave a check for the electrician. See you later. Thank you.” She raced from the room without waiting for him to say anything.

  Once safely inside her car, she leaned her head on the steering wheel and closed her eyes. Will would be better off with someone his family could embrace. Too damn bad she loved him. Anyway, she could never face Gram and admit she’d gone against her wishes.

  Merging onto the interstate, she tried to concentrate on the road, but her thoughts kept returning to Will and the amazing sex they’d had.

  His chiseled body and handsome face, those strong, possessive hands.

  Those incredibly talented fingers and that clever tongue.

  The memory brought a wave of desire that quickened her pulse. She turned up the air conditioner to combat the heat building around her. Shoving the salacious thoughts from her mind, she concentrated on putting on a carefree face so Gram wouldn’t worry. The woman had an uncanny ability to read her mind.

  She parked in the lot, then grabbed the box of candy she’d bought for Gram and headed inside.