Exposure (10 page)

His hands fisted at his sides, a hard,
dangerous edge in his eyes. And she realized it wasn't anger she
sensed, but rage. Seething. Building. He did not like her plan, nor
would he look her in the eye. His steely glare was pinned to the
wall over her shoulder.

Having never seen him like this, she paused.
Noah could be intense at times, but she'd come to realize over the
past couple days that when he was like that, it was the artist in
him snapping pictures in his mind. Assessing the lighting. Lining
up a shot. It was his passion, and now she understood what had
always been niggling doubt before.

But this wasn't one of those times. The
severity of him was shocking. He didn't want to talk, so there was
no sense in pressuring him. There had to be other means to
vent.

"What do you normally do to work off your
frustration?"

Not one tense muscle moved, not even to look
at her. Except his semi-hard erection. That part of him thickened,
stood at attention. "I punch something in the gym. Or find another
continent to take photographs. Or…"

He seemed beyond the gym right now, and she
didn't think hopping a plane would be quick enough an escape. Her
heart started to pound. She knew better than to fear him. He'd
never strike out in anger, but damn if her skin wasn't flushing
hot. Bottled rage and tension and alpha sexiness. With no outlet
other than… "Or what?"

His gaze slowly slid to hers, and hell if he
didn't look point-five seconds from snapping. "Or I fuck
mindlessly."

Her girly parts clenched. Hard. "I vote for
option three."

He flinched, barely perceptible. She'd
shocked him. When he spoke, his voice was menacingly low and tight.
"I'm not in a safe frame of mind to do that."

"You said mindlessly."

Sucking in a harsh, ragged breath, he closed
his eyes. "Not doing this with you. I can't. You couldn't
handle--"

"Try me." She wanted to give him what he
needed. As one of the only people in his comfort zone, she didn't
know what had set him off, but she wanted to fix it. Had a sinking
suspicion she might be the only one who could.

His blazing eyes opened and pinned her in
place. He made a motion toward her and came up short, hands
fisting. Holding back. He studied her, long and steady. After too
many moments, he must've seen the determination and honesty in her,
because he let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Safeword," he ground out.

"What?"

"I need to know if I'm pushing you too far.
Give me a safeword."

Shaking her head, she looked heavenward,
wracking her brain. The tiles in his bathroom were a mossy-green
color. "Sage."

She didn't even have time to blink before he
was on her, pinning her between the shower wall and his hard body,
water raining down over them. His mouth crushed hers, seeking
entry. She opened and his tongue stroked hers, rough and demanding.
Power radiated off him in waves, and it was damn hot.

He cupped her breasts with callused hands,
slick with water. There was no finesse or coaxing from him, just
need. He broke away to press open-mouthed kisses to her shoulder.
She tilted her head for better access, shivering at the sensation.
Electricity shot down her body and up again. Her own desire amped,
needing him inside her.

She wrapped one leg around his hip, putting
his hard length between her slick folds. He growled and thrust,
hitting her clit, rubbing against her aching heat. Grabbing her
ass, he spread her cheeks and ran a finger down her crease to where
she throbbed, shoving a finger deep and curling it inside her.

"Fuck, you're so wet."

His hands left her and she whimpered at the
loss. Spinning her around, he pressed her face first against the
tile and molded his front to her back. Her breasts crushed against
the wall, his erection between her cheeks. She arched back, urging
more.

"What's your safeword, Raven?"

"Sage," she panted, unable to stand the
insanity anymore. Her palms flattened on the wet tile, fingers
curling.

His voice rasped her ear. "Use the word if
you need it, baby."

And then he pushed inside with one firm
thrust, filling her like she'd never been before. Relief released
the knot in her chest. She cried his name, begged for more.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked
her head back, closing his mouth on her throat. One arm banded
around her, fingers pinching her nipple, the other was between her
legs, stroking with the pad of his thumb. Strong thighs smashed
into hers from behind as his hips pistoned faster. The tip of him
nailed her deep, again and again, rioting her sensitive flesh with
maddening, sweet strokes.

Incoherent words tore from his mouth,
mumbled against her skin. "Too hard…never…been like…can't go…back."
His arms tightened as if he feared she'd leave. Or maybe reason was
beyond them now.

He stole her breath and she loved it. Her
core clenched, nerves tingling and muscles stiffening on the cusp
of orgasm. The explosion took her by surprise and her hands
slipped.

But he had her. Never let her fall and never
eased the punishing thrusts through her quaking. She may have
screamed his name a time or twenty, because he was all there was in
the moment and everything she ever dared to wish for.

Worry ticked in the back of her mind, but
she shoved it aside. Somehow he'd unraveled her fears and pushed
her past where she ever thought she could go. It had never been
like this before. Intense, connected. Freeing.

He went rigid, clutching her hair in his
fist and mouth wide on her neck. "Fuck, Raven." Spilling hot seed
inside her, he jerked. Shuddered. Stilled.

Panting, he pulled out, stumbled backward
and collapsed onto the stone bench with her in his lap. Grabbing
her legs, he swung them around so she was curled up sideways on his
thighs. His large hand rested on the back of her head, urging her
cheek to his chest and held it there. The other arm circled her
back in a vise. His chest rose and fell in rapid tangents as they
both struggled for air.

"Not what I expected," he whispered, as if
to himself.

His head hit the shower wall, but she didn't
look up for fear of what she'd see on his face. This time was
different. Something cracked inside him, inside her. A release of
demons or an acknowledgement of them. She didn't know, but the
change was an entity.

He stroked her wet hair. "Wasn't expecting
this, Raven."

She closed her eyes, certain she knew the
feeling.

R
aven looked up
when Nicole climbed the steps to her office. Not that she was
getting much work done anyhow, but the intrusion grated on her raw
nerves. She needed alone time, needed to think. It had been almost
a week since she'd moved in with Noah, having agreed to continue
on, and even though things were going swimmingly, she sometimes had
trouble breathing.

The intimacy of sharing space with him was
both jarring and comforting. They went from understanding each
other as friends to knowing the tiny details only lovers could
obtain.

He liked to sleep in the nude on his stomach
but, by morning, he was curled along her back with a possessive arm
around her. He hated the sound of teeth brushing and eggs cracking,
but loved the click of her heels on the hardwood floor of his
living room and the rustle of clothing when she undressed. He
listened to soulful jazz when trying to unwind, country when he was
happy, and cranked angry rock when attempting to drown out his
day.

After he arrived home from work, the first
thing he did was seek her out, a smile tugging at his lips. She
made dinner, he cleaned up, and they showered together afterward.
It was routine, just like she preferred, except for their
love-making. There he always found new ways to pleasure her, only
seeking his own after she was spent. He touched, and she let him.
She didn't know if it was because it was him or if she'd been wrong
in her needs all along.

Nicole sighed and slumped onto the chair in
front of Raven's desk. "Two things. First, this Max guy is driving
me batshit."

Max was Noah's bodyguard and, as of a few
days ago, had been pushed onto Raven, regardless of her objection.
Glued to her being, he drove her to and from work and wherever else
she went, such as the coffee shop for lunch. She had no idea why.
Noah wouldn't tell her, just said it was necessary. The dread
pitting her stomach eased when she realized he was probably just
taking precautions because of his mysterious past. Another thing he
refused to talk about.

They've killed people, Raven.

She shuddered at the reminder, still not
knowing what he'd meant.

"I can't do anything about Max." He was her
shadow until Noah said otherwise. She hated to admit it, but having
Max around brought a sense of security. She still hadn't shaken the
crazy feeling she was being watched. Which was probably Noah's
paranoia rubbing off.

"He just stands in the corner, watching.
It's creepy."

Raven grinned. "At least he's good looking."
She glanced at him through the glass wall and down on the show
floor. Built like a wrestler, his brown hair was cut short in a
buzz and he had a wide jaw. Long dark lashes complimented his brown
eyes. He always wore a suit, not a wrinkle to be found. By her best
guess, he was in his early forties.

"Word. Except I have no idea if he's
plotting a world takeover or stripping me naked. His expression
never changes."

Raven laughed. "Perhaps both. What's the
other thing? You said you had two reasons for coming in."

Nicole wrinkled her nose. "Vincent Soreno is
here to see you."

She barely resisted a shiver. She'd been
hoping the would-be photographer had gone back to the lower
forty-eight and not taken her suggestion to come back. "Send him
in." When Nicole got up to leave, she added, "And sit in on this
meeting, would you?"

By the end of the day, she was looking
forward to getting home. The fact that she thought of Noah's condo
as home she'd worry about later. Running through her day, she
glanced out the window as Max drove them down the dark, snowy
streets in a non-descript SUV.

Mr. Soreno might prove to be a problem.
There was some justification in that he gave Nicole the creeps,
too, but it offered Raven no comfort. A big, intimidating man, he'd
been upset when she told him the shots just weren't strong enough
to offer a showing at this time. Of course, he said he'd be
back.

Other than that one blip, her afternoon was
productive. She'd put the final touches on their opening for
Saturday and got a head start lining up dates for Noah's. Or
Hoan's. Whatever. She'd have to talk to him about it tonight.
Glancing at Max in the front seat, she wondered if he'd be
attending as their security. As far back as she could remember, Max
was always around, hovering in the shadows.

"How long have you been Noah's bodyguard,
Max?"

He glanced at her in the rearview. "Thirteen
years, ma'am."

Wow. Since before Noah moved to Alaska
freshman year. "You knew his parents?"

"Yes, ma'am. Good people. Shame about the
accident."

"It was." It had hit Noah hard and made her
face her own mortality. That one icy road could wipe it all away.
"Who guards Noah when you're with me?"

"We have a full security team. You've only
seen me, ma'am, because that's how Mr. Caldwell wants it."

She sighed. What wasn’t he telling her? If
it was serious enough to create an alter ego and lie to her, it had
to be noteworthy.

They've killed people, Raven.

She shivered. "Do you know why he's
insisting on my protection detail?"

He was silent a beat and changed lanes
before answering. "Yes, ma'am. And no, I won't tell you. That's
something to take up with Mr. Caldwell."

Except Noah wouldn't tell her anything. Then
again, she hadn't pushed very hard either. For all she knew, it was
his parents' old ghosts, someone who once threatened the former
senator and now Noah was playing it safe. What would be the harm in
telling her? He had to know she'd never do anything to risk or out
him.

"He cares about you a great deal,
ma'am."

She met his gaze in the rearview before
facing the window. Why that statement worried her more than a
security team was not something she cared to explore. There had
been love between her and Noah almost from the first day. Kindred
souls. Not romantic love, but just as enduring. This shift in their
friendship didn't change that. She suspected friendship wasn't what
Max meant.

"I care about him, too." She pressed her
forehead to the cool glass. "And Max?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please stop calling me ma'am."

She swore she heard him grin. "Yes, Miss
Crowne."

***

"
Y
ou told me the
conviction was in the bag." Noah tossed his keys on the table and
moved deeper into his condo. Two charter fishing trips after three
guys called in sick with the flu was not on the agenda today.
Neither was the impromptu phone conversation with his FBI contact,
who was pissing him the fuck off. "Three weeks ago, you assured me
it was finally done."

Noah rubbed the back of his neck. He never
would've taken steps with Raven if he hadn't been handed the
confirmation that the threat was all but gone. Then, out of
nowhere, the tables turned and he'd been on edge ever since. His
ulcers had ulcers. Those bastards could take her away from him in
one pull of a trigger.

James McCannon sighed wearily into the
phone. The flick of a lighter sounded, followed by the drag from a
cigarette. He answered on an exhale. "Look, Noah. We weren't
expecting Rizzoli to learn about where the evidence came from, nor
the hit he put on you."