Drawing The Line (11 page)

“
Jason, please touch me.” Serenity bowed into his palms, sliding up his body to brace her hands over his head on the floor, but rather than removing her bra to give in to her need-soaked request, he skimmed the backs of his fingers over one lace-covered nipple in just a hint of a touch.

The sound that broke low in her throat made
him do it again by sheer, raw instinct.

“Damn, you are so hot like this.”
His breath whispered into the space between her breasts, and he cupped her to guide one tightly-drawn nipple into his mouth. The delicate lace still cradling her breasts provided even more friction, and he worked his tongue and fingers over one breast, then the other until they were both panting. Slipping from the reach of his mouth, Serenity lowered her body to fit into him side by side, bringing her lips back to his with a kiss that left his imagination wide-open and begging.

“Oh
, God. This is crazy,” she murmured, but her hand didn’t falter as it skated down the midline of his chest, and when her nimble fingers slid over his pants to wrap around his cock, all the air in the room vanished. Jason coasted a touch over the curve of her belly to find the heat at the juncture of her thighs, his every intention locked on stripping Serenity down and burying himself inside her until they both screamed.

But she was right. And
just because he’d decided to consciously chuck the rules didn’t mean she wouldn’t regret this later.

“Serenity.”
Jason pulled back, although his libido went all sorts of drill sergeant nasty about the loss of contact. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She looked up at him, her eyes glinting in the afternoon sunlight sneaking past the thick overhang of curtains covering the windows. “We’re being straight with each other, from here on in, right?”

He nodded. “Right.”

“A
re you sure
you
want to do this?”

It was the perfect chance t
o bow out, to resist, to put Serenity back on the other side of the professional barrier he’d cultivated since they’d arrived.

But the trouble was, Jason didn’t wan
t her there. He wanted her exactly where she was, with her right-out-there expressions and her ballsy convictions and the gorgeous way she was looking at him right this second.

He wanted Serenity
bad enough to break the rules.

“I’
m sure,” he said, and she turned him inside out with her next breath.

“Good. Because I want you, too. And I don’t want to wait.”

#

Serenity
led Jason down the hall to her room, her bed still rumpled from her toss-and-turn session from the night before. She turned to face him, and even though her heart pumped with nervously-edged anticipation, she didn’t pull back on her gaze.

Instead, she kissed him.

“God, Serenity. You feel incredible.” Jason laced his hands into her hair as he broke from her mouth, sliding kisses down her jaw and into the hollow behind her ear. She wrapped her arms around the tight angle of his shoulders, pulling him closer and suppressing a moan at his hard body on the soft rush of her sweater and partly exposed skin.

He nibbled and teased and tasted, traveling down the column of her neck, across her collarbone, circling slowly back up to her ear. Every pass of his mouth and flick of his tongue filled her need while daring her higher
, but when Jason closed his teeth over her earlobe with a gentle tug, the need outbalanced the gradual build for more. Serenity arched into him, the bow of her back greedy in its curve, absolutely certain she would unravel without him inside of her.

“
Jason, please. Take me to bed. I can’t wait,” she breathed, reaching low for the hem of his shirt. His hands dropped down to skim the length of her thighs, coasting over hot, faded denim as he returned them higher to still her fingers.

“And I can’t hurry.” Jason pulled back, his eyes glittering to a near-n
avy blue with want, but he stared into her all the same. “Let me look at you.”

“What?”
Serenity hitched, but only enough to put a few inches between them.

His
gaze never wavered. “I want to see you. All of you.”

Jason
cupped her face with strong hands, barely touching his lips to hers. This kiss had none of the raw demand of the ones from just moments ago, but the intensity captured her so fully, Serenity knew in that second she’d remember it even if she lived to be a thousand. He pulled back in a slow draw, spreading his hands over her while his eyes followed, brushing her shoulders to slide her sweater down her arms. The silky fabric whispered against her skin, and it had barely hit the floor before Jason repeated the process with her jeans.

“
You have a lot of really hot lingerie,” he said, his mischievous half-smile coming out with a dark edge that shot right between her thighs. Every cell in her body hummed with want, so loud and sinfully good that she stepped in to fulfill the desire.

“Take it off.”
Serenity turned her back to him, so close that the heat between their bodies became a bold suggestion, and she dropped her chin toward her heavy breasts. “If you want to see all of me, take it off.”

In one fluid motion, Jason’s arm was around her waist
, bracketing their bodies together from behind. His erection was rock-hard against the cradle where her hips met the small of her back, and he thrust once, then twice with intention that had her reaching out to grip the edge of the tall footboard in front of her. But then he complied, slipping her bra and panties from her body, and even though Serenity knew she should feel vulnerable being naked while he was fully clothed, she let him turn her around anyway.

Jason’s eyes raked over her in a slow sweep, and she felt every inch of his palpable gaze on her skin.

“You are…Jesus, you are beautiful.” Pulling her in tightly once again, he put his mouth on hers, with just enough pressure and cadence to make her desperate for more. With quick motions, she undressed him down to his boxer briefs, her eyes going wide as a thought sprang through her mind.

“Please tell me you live by the whole
be prepared
motto.”

He leaned in to kiss her neck, and she felt his smile against the crook of her shoulder. “That’s the Boy Scouts, not the police. But you don’t have to panic.” He slipped from the room for only the barest of seconds, returning from across the h
all with a condom. “Still sure?”

Serenity closed the space between them
, electricity sparking through her as she did away with the last article of clothing keeping them from skin on skin. “I trust you.”

Lowering his face while lifting her body, Jason picked her up and placed her on the bed, kissing her with everything from urgency to reverence. Her hands moved at will over his back and his hips, and when she reached between them to stroke his cock, he tensed and moaned all at once.

“We’re not going to be here long if you keep doing that.”

A wicked smile twisted over her mouth from way deep in her chest. “Oh yes we are. Because then we’ll be doing it twice.”

But then Jason swung from beside her to part her thighs with his leanly muscled body, and oh God, the ache in her core became an absolute command. Jason paused only to put on the condom, bracing himself on the threshold of her body, and Serenity let her knees fall wide. The heady scent of cedar and spicy coriander filled her senses, and she gasped as he rocked forward, slowly filling her body as well.

“Jason.” She whispered his name again and again, desire building in the single word with every inflection. He kissed her neck, twisting his fingers through her hair to reveal more skin, more want, more everything as he slid his tongue over her.

They moved in rhythm, slowly at first, but all too soon Serenity’s body demanded more. She lifted her hips, thrusting against him again and again until they were joined so completely, she couldn’t hold back. The heat in her belly uncoiled, low and bright, and her orgasm came on a wave of breath that begged him not to stop.

“Serenity.” Jason cut out her name, his voice all gravel and undiluted lust. Watching the spot where their bodies joined, he gripped her hips with a strength bordering on despair. Serenity met his every move, opening her eyes wide to watch his face as he whispered her name again, this time in release.

For an indeterminate amount of time, they lay together, their breath unwinding from rapid intakes to slower, near-silent draws. Jason dropped his forehead to hers, their lips close enough for contact but just short of actually touching, and just for that moment, lying there in his arms, Serenity felt like she’d found another place to belong.

#

Dawn broke over the tree line at the eastern edge of the safe house property, the soft purple and gray light announcing daybreak just like it had for the past week. The house remained quiet, as it had for the entire night before, with not even a hint that anything was less than safe and peaceful and totally sound.

             
Which was exactly how Serenity looked, curled up next to Jason and fast asleep.

             
After their impulsive afternoon between the sheets, he’d waited for the forbidden pang of his conscience to rear its ugly head and pick a fight with his libido. Sleeping with Serenity had been incredible, yes, but it was also the mother of all conflicts of interest. Easing up on his job for any reason—even a beautiful reason—just wasn’t on Jason’s agenda. First and foremost, he was a cop. He’d sworn when his father was killed seven years ago he would never put anything else above the force. Hell, he’d even made detective despite Violet’s strenuous urges to choose something safer. But being a cop was in his blood, and he owed it to his father to not let anything stand in the way of putting sadistic criminals like Brody behind bars.

             
Damn. Serenity really was beautiful.

             
As if she’d somehow zoned in on the unrest in his brain, Serenity shifted, the flutter of her dark lashes barely visible in the scant early morning light edging in around the curtains.

             
“Hey.” Her sleep-wrapped voice slid over him in a velvety glide, destination: the center of his lap, and he turned to face her without hesitation.

             
“It’s too early to be up. Go back to sleep,” he whispered, tracing the little divot of concern forming between her brows.

             
“You’re up.”

             
Guess her right-to-the-point moxie didn’t slack in the face of five AM. Not that he’d expected as much. “I’m not the one still recovering from a head injury.” The medical website had said it might take her weeks to get back on a normal sleep schedule. And tough as Serenity was, she wasn’t indestructible. 

“No, you’re the one dodging the subject. What’s bothering you?”
Her frown was visible even in the not-quite-there daylight, and Jason blanked his expression, buckling down over the urge to let his inner conflict have an outer heyday.

“Nothing. I
was about to try and go back to sleep myself.”

“You regret this, don’t
you.”

The words filled the space between them without accusation or heat, but his answer was automatic. “No. God, no.
” Jason wrapped a bare arm around her, and she fit against his chest all too easily. “It’s just…it could get complicated.”

“Would you get fired if someone found out?”
Serenity rested her head on his shoulder, and somehow, the shadowy cover combined with the warmth of her at his side made the conversation a whole lot easier.

“It’s unlikely, but I’d definitely get reassigned.” Hell, losing his position on the task force hadn’t really crossed his mind until now, but there was no denying it would be a given. Staying level to protect any witness was challenging enough. Keeping it cool to protect someone you cared about?

Apples to oranges had nothing on that. But even with the logical knowledge firmly in place, Jason’s instinct snapped down hard at the thought of leaving Serenity in someone else’s care. He was too far invested in this case to walk away now.

He was far too invested in
her
.

“But that’s only if someone finds out, right?” Serenity’s whisper was so straightforward, so completely level, that it knocked Jason back to reality with a nod.

“It is.”

He felt her deep breath against his body. “Listen, I don’t want to make this difficult, but I’m not going to lie. It might be impulsive, and yeah, a little crazy. But I meant it when I said I trust you.
I don’t know what might happen once we leave this safe house. But until we do, I want to be with you, Jason.”

Shock rattled through him, and the realization hit him with all the grace and speed of a freight train going downhill.

What he’d taken as seriousness and cynicism was really simple honesty, and Serenity was so sure of it that she was willing to back herself up no matter what the cost.

And as much as Jason owed it to his father to fulfill his promise on the job, he owed it to Ser
enity to return the favor of that honesty.