Shadows and Silk Page 10

  Her head dropped back on his shoulder and she pushed against him, feeling his erection against the small of her back. His hands worked their way back up her body until he held the heaviness of her breasts in his hands.

  “You feel so good,” he whispered against her ear. “I always want you. Even when I’m away from you. You hold that power over me, Darcy.”

  “Then we shouldn’t waste the time we have,” she said, turning in his arms. Her nipples rubbed against his chest hair and he turned them so she was backed against the shower wall—his cock already probing as he pulled her leg up to surround his hip.

  “Not yet,” she moaned, shivering as he barely pushed inside of her. “It’s my turn.”

  The heat in his eyes had her licking her lips in anticipation, and she pushed him away, kissing him once on the lips before beginning her exploration. The first time they’d been together, he never gave her the chance to touch and explore, and the last time had been too fast and furious. But this was her time, and she wanted—no needed—to touch him in a way she’d always remember.

  She placed light kisses across his chest, circling his nipples with her tongue, and feeling the low growl of appreciation deep in his chest. And then she knelt slowly in front of him, nipping gently at the small indentations above his hipbones and licking a trail down his thigh.

  “God, Darcy,” he said, turning so the water hit his back. “You drive me crazy.”

  The laugh that came from inside her was deep and seductive—the call of a temptress. “I hope so,” she purred, rubbing her cheek against the length of his rigid cock.

  Her hand grasped him at the root, and he sucked in a breath as she licked over the head with small, fiery kisses, tasting the small drop of come that had gathered at the tip. She looked up at him—up the hard ridges of his abdomen to the muscular chest, past his clenched jaw, and into half-closed eyes that were almost black with desire.

  And while they were connected eye to eye, she opened her mouth and took him inside, circling her tongue over the head before relaxing her throat and taking him down as far as she could. She closed her eyes in pure bliss, and her nails scraped across his bunched thighs once before he took hold of her wrists and held them captive.

  She used her tongue as she took him down and sucked and swallowed, tightening the hold she had on him, going down as far as she could until he became too big for her mouth to fit around.

  “Just like that, baby,” he crooned. “It’s so good.”

  She tried to pull her hands away from his hold so she could touch him, but he wouldn’t release her. Her mouth slid off him and she looked up at him.

  “You never let me touch you,” she said, her voice raspy. “You always try to hold my hands down. Why do you do that? I need to touch you as much as you need to touch me.”

  Darcy watched as something came into his eyes that looked almost like fear, but he slowly loosened his grip from her wrists. There was something in his eyes that warned her she needed to take care of the power he was giving her, and she kept her gaze steady on him as she grasped his cock with one hand and held the tight sac below with the other.

  His eyes fluttered closed, and he seemed to give in to whatever struggle he’d been waging with himself, because his hands went to the shower wall and he threw his head back in surrender.

  Darcy felt her own juices running down her thighs as he gave her control, and she took him back in her mouth with a determination meant to blow his mind. Her tongue worked up and down the rigid shaft, sucking and slurping, one hand pumping as she massaged his balls with the other. Saltiness coated her tongue and she knew he couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Darcy, I can’t—” he trailed off, his hips pushing against her face of their own accord. “If you’re going to stop, now’s the time.”

  A lone groan came from her throat and vibrated around his cock, and she grasped his ass in both hands, opening her mouth wider as he fucked into her. His pleasure was what mattered most at that moment, and when his buttocks clenched against her hands and his cock seemed to swell in her mouth, she knew he’d reached that pleasure.

  Salty liquid shot down her throat, and she kept swallowing as spurt after spurt of semen filled her mouth. Her fingers stole between her thighs, pushing into the syrup that coated her pussy, and she moaned as her fingers flicked over the taut bud of her clit.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Brant said, pulling his cock from her mouth slowly, his whole body shuddering in the aftermath of his orgasm. “My turn. Though I’m not sure my legs are working properly.”

  Darcy would have laughed, but she was too close to the edge herself. Her fingers dipped inside her pussy as she felt the water go off in the shower, and then strong arms were lifting her from the floor.

  “I need you now,” she heard herself beg, too far gone to care about anything but release.

  “For once we’re going to make it to a bed,” he said, lifting her into his arms.

  He didn’t bother to dry them off, and he carried her straight into the bedroom, laying her on the white cloud of a bed that dominated the room. The sheets were soft and smooth as he came over her, and her legs parted automatically to pull him in.

  She was already wet and ready for him, and the push of his hot flesh against her entrance had her holding her breath as she stretched around him. His eyes held her captive as he kept pushing into her, and she watched as a bead of water dripped from his hair down to his cheek. The feel of him inside her was almost too much—she was too full—too stretched. But he didn’t give her a respite. He worked his way inside until she felt his testicles resting against her vaginal lips.

  Her lungs burned and she inhaled sharply, taking in the oxygen she’d been depriving herself. She felt him throb, hot and hard inside of her, and the fact that he’d just come hadn’t seemed to affect his desire for her. She lifted her hips and her legs, circling them around his lower back, and she felt him jerk inside of her as she clenched her internal muscles.

  “You’re not playing fair, baby. This will be over before we even get started.”

  “I’m about two seconds from coming, Brant Scott. I don’t have the patience for you to get more started than we already are.”

  He laughed softly, and she felt the rumble all the way between her legs. Her eyes fluttered closed as the sensation washed over her and she flexed around him again, determined to take the edge off.

  He pressed her hips to the mattress with his own, keeping her from being able to move, and he stroked his hands up her sides, trailing briefly across her breasts before he continued the path up her arms. She didn’t realize what he was doing until he held her hands above her head.

  Her eyes snapped open, and she tried to buck against him, but he was too strong.

  “I want my hands,” she panted as he started to move—one long stroke—before he held her hips captive again. “Give them to me now. I won’t be restrained by you. We either go into this as equals or not at all.”

  The struggle on his face was almost painful to see, but she held her ground. They were going to get to the bottom of this sooner or later. Sooner if she had her way about it.

  Brant’s hands clenched tighter around her wrists for the briefest of seconds, and he took that opportunity to pull almost all the way out—until the head of his cock was barely inside of her—and then he gave her another slow thrust that had her writhing with frustration and need.

  She was just about to demand he release her again when he rolled them across the bed, and she found herself sprawled on top of him. Her wet hair trailed over her shoulder and lay like ropes on his chest, and she slowly sat up, watching his eyes and some internal struggle the entire time.

  When they’d been together four years ago, she hadn’t paid much attention for his need to dominate her in the bedroom. Their first time had been a wild frenzy of lust. The second time just as crazed as the first, but even then he’d held her captive beneath him while he’d almost dared her to do something about it.
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br />   “Brant,” she said, shaking her head as she sat up. She was still impaled on him, and her breath caught as he seemed to go deeper inside of her, finding an internal place that hadn’t been explored yet. His stomach and chest muscles were rigid beneath her, and she moved to get off of him. Making love shouldn’t put a look of panic into your lover’s eyes.

  “No,” he said, holding her hips so she couldn’t move. “Ride me.”

  She shook her head again, but he wouldn’t be deterred. He pressed her down until she was seated to the hilt, and her head dropped back on her shoulders at the sensation of him filling her.

  “That’s it, baby. Just feel me. Milk me with that sweet pussy.” His hands relaxed against her hips and he moved them to her breasts, tweaking her nipples between his fingers as she began to ride.

  It wasn’t long until she was lost in the pleasure, until the heat suffused her and electrical currents were shooting up her spine. Her knees clutched his hips and her hands found purchase on his chest, and she rode up and down the thick length of his cock with nothing but that end goal of release in mind. She felt his fingers move to her clit, and one touch was all it took before she clamped around him. Liquid heat poured from her core and she shuddered and trembled above him as the climax claimed her.

  She would have crumpled to his chest, her muscles were so lax, but he sat up beneath her and his mouth clamped around her nipple.

  “Ahh,” she moaned as another spasm moved through her.

  His fingers would likely be imprinted on her skin, they were holding her hips so tight. His cock swelled inside of her and he slammed home one last time as she felt his come shooting deep inside of her, coating her walls with spurt after spurt of semen.

  “Darcy,” he cried out as he shuddered one last time. His arms came around her and she buried her face in his neck. Their hearts beat as one, and there were no words for the emotions rioting through her body.

  If he couldn’t see and feel the love she had for him, then it was hopeless, because she hadn’t been able to hold it inside once she’d seen that look of vulnerability cross his face. Tension seeped into the bliss of the aftermath, and she finally pulled away, gasping as their bodies disconnected, and she rolled to her side away from him.

  She expected him to get up and go to the other room. To put some physical space between them to go with the emotional distance that was sure to come, but she felt the bed dip beside her as he lay down. Her body was stiff as he put his arm around her and snuggled close, their bodies fitting together like spoons. It seemed like hours before he finally spoke, and she found herself disappointed that he wasn’t going to explain what had happened while they’d been making love.

  “We need to get up and moving,” he said. “A new situation has developed. Five girls were kidnapped early this morning by Ramos and his men. They’re being held for ransom, but there’s no telling what Ramos will do to them in the meantime. He likes to try out his drugs on his victims and give them to his men to share. We need to find them fast. Which means we need to get a first hand look at some of those glyphs and see if there’s something you might have missed in the photographs.”

  Darcy put her own problems out of her mind. She and Brant would have time to come to terms later, but those girls might already be out of chances.

  “Have they found any new glyphs that might lead to the girls?” she asked, scooting out of his arms and getting out of bed.

  She looked back at him and her heart fluttered in her chest. He was so beautiful. He lay without covers in the middle of the bed without any selfconsciousness at all, his body hard and muscled, his cock twitching against the sheets as she took her time looking him over. The sigh escaped before she could help it and she forced herself to go to the suitcases in the living area they had yet to unpack.

  A pair of olive green shorts and a matching halter were folded at the top of her suitcase, and she grabbed a lacy white thong from the selection of lingerie packed. She wouldn’t be able to wear a bra with the halter top, which was just as well, because it was too damned hot for extra layers.

  “Where are we going first?” she asked, pulling on her clothes and then pulling on thick socks and her hiking boots. She knew from experience that some of the ruins were an arduous hike. Her hair would be in the way while she was working, so she pinned it up in a knot on top of her head and watched Brant pull on khaki shorts and another loose button-up shirt.

  “Let’s drive into Chiapas,” he said. “That’s where the coordinates for the last victim were found, and it isn’t too far of a drive. We’ll be able to get back before dark, but we’ll take a driver for extra precaution.”

  Darcy didn’t like the fact that all of her clothing was too minimal to effectively hide a weapon, but she slipped her knife and the Sig Brant had acquired for her into her backpack along with a camera, her notebooks, and a couple of bottles of water. She watched Brant gather up a bunch of pictures Declan must have left, and he put them back into an envelope before hiding them in a hidden compartment in his suitcase.

  “That’s handy,” she said, wondering what else he had hidden in there.

  “Better to be safe than sorry. Who knows if any of the staff have ties to Ramos indirectly?”

  “I was actually wondering if you’d smuggled anything interesting into your suitcase,” she said, giving him a cheeky grin. “You know, maybe something you might not have wanted to go on the expense reports for my brother.”

  He arched a brow, and he took a minute to look her over—from where her nipples were plainly visible beneath her shirt to the smooth expanse of stomach that wasn’t quite covered. And then over the tiny shorts that barely covered more than some bathing suit bottoms. She was going to have to thank Jade in person, because as much as Brant might hate the thought of others seeing her so scantily clad, it was obvious he was enjoying it for himself.

  His lips twitched once before his eyes came back to hers. “I might have a trick or two up my sleeve. Maybe if you can stay out of trouble I’ll let you look in my secret compartment.”

  She laughed and gave her hips a little extra swing as she walked out the door. “Been there done that, sugar. Looks like you’ll have to step up your game.”

  Chapter Ten

  An hour later, Brant started to get a tingle in his gut that maybe things weren’t going to go according to plan.

  Their driver and bodyguard were the two agents who’d accompanied them on the flight into Mexico—named Smith and Huxley—and they were both armed to the teeth.

  Brant was starting to wish he’d brought along some more artillery himself. By the way that Smith was gripping the wheel in a white-knuckled grasp, Brant thought maybe his gut might be tingling too.

  He’d worked with Huxley before, and he knew that he and Declan were actually really good friends. In fact, Declan had been best man at Huxley’s wedding. But Brant had never seen Smith before, and working with someone new was a crapshoot. He had to trust that Declan wouldn’t have sent anything but his best to protect his sister.

  Darcy sat calmly beside him on the way into Chiapas, reading over her notes from the glyphs they’d discovered and re-examining the pictures. The drive had been straightforward—the highway turning into a one-lane dirt road the closer they got to the ruins where the glyphs had been discovered—but the place felt abandoned when there should have been tourists roaming the shops along the road or hiking their way up to the ruins. Granted, it was October, and high season was long past, but there still should have been someone.

  “I don’t like this,” he said as they pulled past a sign that said the ruins were closed to the public because of crumbling rock. A couple of temporary wooden barriers had been erected, but nothing that looked permanent.

  “That’s odd,” Darcy commented. “I’ve been to these ruins hundreds of times, and this is the first time I’ve seen them closed.”

  “The sign was placed there by the local police two days ago,” Smith said. “They didn’t give a reason other t
han safety issues, but they said it would reopen by the end of the week.”

  “Has the site been cleared by our guys?” Brant asked.

  “Shane’s SEAL Team was called away to the latest kidnapping site before they could do more than slip in and out to photograph the glyphs and send them to Dr. MacKenzie. Max wasn’t able to get any of his agents in either without rousing suspicion, so they’ve held back.”

  “So we’re on our own?” Brant asked.

  “We have a satellite shot, and there’s been no suspicious activity in the last two days. There are two undercover DEA agents in the village, but we’re only to signal them in case of emergency so their covers aren’t blown. Declan said to give him and Max about half an hour to come around from the opposite direction. They’ll be your cover from the back.”

  “Half an hour,” he said, blowing out a breath. “I hope we don’t need them sooner.”

  “Huxley and I will guard the front side, so you can protect Darcy while she’s studying the glyphs. Boss man says she’s your priority.”

  “I know what the hell my priorities are,” he growled. “But you’ll excuse me for being paranoid, especially since my neck’s been itching for the last forty-five minutes.”

  Brant tried reaching Declan on the satellite phone, but there was no answer, so he pulled his weapon and made sure a bullet was in the chamber. Darcy’s hand touched his knee and squeezed reassuringly, and he realized that she was more than just a priority. If anything happened to her he didn’t think he’d survive it.

  “I don’t even know how this all started,” Darcy said. “Declan just showed up on my doorstep with a picture one day and asked me what it said. Some of these ruins are in bad shape, and there are markings all around the area that date back centuries. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to discover for the untrained eye. I asked him where he got them from, but he never would give me a straight answer.”

  “It was safer that way,” Brant said. “Max had an agent who’d worked his way up in Ramos’s organization, and he fed us the information about the glyphs.”