Page 18 of Doc
“Someone colder.More distant.”
My hand cupped her breast, thumb brushing across her nipple as it hardened beneath my touch.“Tried to be.Tried to keep my distance.”
“I’m glad you failed.”Her hands slid to my belt, fingers fumbling with the buckle.
I lifted her from the counter, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carried her to the bedroom.Her files and notes still covered most of the bed.I cleared a space with one arm, laying her gently among the scattered papers, a dark irony not lost on me.The very danger that threatened her life had led her to my arms.
Her jeans and underwear dropped to the floor.I shed the rest of mine with military efficiency.Naked, she looked even smaller, more vulnerable, but the set of her jaw reminded me of her strength.This wasn’t a woman who needed saving -- she was a warrior in her own right, fighting for justice with every weapon at her disposal.
I covered her body with mine, skin against skin, the heat of her setting fire to parts of me I’d thought long frozen.Her hands explored me with curious fingers, tracing scars from my time in combat, learning the map of my body with gentle precision.
“You sure about this?”I asked, bracing myself above her, giving her one last chance to change her mind.
In answer, she reached between us, her small hand wrapping around my cock with unexpected boldness.“I’ve been sure since you handed me that coffee,” she drawled, her accent making the words sound like honey.
That was all the permission I needed.I entered her slowly, watching her face as she took me in, her lips parting on a soft gasp.The tight heat of her nearly undid me then and there.I held still, fighting for control, unwilling to rush this moment.
“Doc.”She lifted her hips to take me deeper.“Don’t hold back.Not now.”
Something in her voice -- a raw need that matched my own -- snapped the last of my restraint.I began to move, each thrust drawing soft cries from her lips, her pussy gripping me like she never wanted to let go.Her nails scored my back, pain and pleasure mingling until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.
We moved together with desperate intensity, all the fear and tension of the past few hours finding release in the rhythm of our bodies.I whispered her name against her skin, tasting the salt of her sweat, feeling her trembling beneath me as she climbed toward her peak.
When she came, her whole body tightened around me, her cry muffled against my shoulder.The feeling of her pulsing around my cock pushed me over the edge, my own release crashing through me with an intensity that left me shaking.
Afterward, we lay tangled together.Nova’s head rested on my chest, her breath warm against my skin as it slowly steadied.Her small hand traced lazy patterns across my stomach, occasionally pausing over a scar, silently asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
“You’re thinking too loud,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to my chest.
I stroked her hair, softer than I’d imagined during all those times I’d watched her tuck it behind her ear.“Force of habit.”
“About this?”she asked, gesturing vaguely to our naked bodies.
“About everything.The evidence.Bailey.The Blood Pagans.What it all means.”
She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with those intelligent hazel eyes.“And this?Us?What does this mean?”
I reached up to trace the line of her jaw, marveling at the softness of her skin beneath my rough fingers.“It means I can’t pretend to be just your bodyguard anymore.It means I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.Not because it’s my job, but because I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
She smiled then, a real one that reached her eyes and softened the worry lines etched there since the day I met her.“Good.”She leaned back against my chest.“Because I’m not letting you go either.”
As she drifted to sleep in my arms, I stared at the ceiling, listening to her steady breathing.For the first time in years, I felt something like peace, despite knowing that beyond these walls, danger was still hunting us.But for now, for this moment, Nova was safe in my arms.And I intended to keep her that way, no matter what it cost me.
The fact I’d just taken her without protection also weighed on me.We hadn’t discussed some rather important things, but it would have to wait.Right now, we had enough on our plates.
* * *
I woke to sunlight filtering through the cheap blinds, painting stripes across Nova’s bare shoulder.She slept curled toward me, her brown hair spilling across the pillow, one small hand tucked under her cheek.In sleep, the worry lines between her brows had smoothed out, making her look younger, vulnerable in a way she never allowed when awake.I watched the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, memorizing the pattern of freckles across her nose, the curve of her lips that had been so insistent against mine hours before.Reality waited just outside this room -- danger, evidence, a conspiracy that had already claimed lives -- but for these few stolen moments, I allowed myself to simply watch her sleep.
Last night felt like it belonged to another life -- intense, unexpected, necessary.By morning, I no longer knew where we stood.The woman sleeping beside me had slipped under my skin in ways I hadn’t anticipated when the President assigned me to watch her.I had crossed every boundary, and I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
Nova stirred, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks before she blinked awake.For a moment, confusion clouded her features, quickly replaced by recognition as her gaze found mine.
“Morning,” she murmured, her voice husky with sleep, that Southern lilt more pronounced.
“Morning,” I replied, suddenly aware of my own nakedness, of the intimacy of sharing this small bed surrounded by the evidence of her mother’s murder.Last night, in the heat of passion, it had seemed right.Now, it felt complicated.
She sat up, pulling the sheet around her like armor.“What time is it?”
