Exposure (30 page)

She almost didn't need a fire with the way
he looked at her. Taking the blanket from him, she wrapped it
around her shoulders. "Where to, master?"

One corner of his mouth quirked. "Follow
me."

He instructed her to sit on the edge of a
boulder halfway down the incline, with her back to him and head
turned toward the camera. She hurried into position, teeth
chattering, and kicked her shoes off out of the way.

"Hold your breath."
Click, click,
click
. "Let the blanket slide off one shoulder. Good."
Click, click
. "Give me that look when you're up to no
good."

She raised her eyebrows in question.

He pulled the camera from his face. "Tell me
what you said in the car on the way back from the station."

She grinned, knowing she looked a little
impish. "You mean the part where I said you'd bend me over the
nearest surface?"

He was holding his breath, camera at his
face. "Yes," he grated. "Say it all. Again."

"I'd like you to bend me over the nearest
surface, Noah, and fuck me senseless. I'll beg for you to do it
harder--"

Click, click, click.

"--faster. I'll scream your name until
you'll feel--"

Click, click.

"--the vibration straight to your cock." She
held her breath, cheeks flaming both from the cold and heat.

Click, click, click, click, click,
click.

She must've had the "up to no good"
expression perfect, because he pulled the camera from his face and
adjusted his erection through his jeans.

"Over here now." He pointed to her right.
"This needs to be fast. Lay on your stomach, keeping the blanket
under you. I'll direct you from there."

Teeth chattering again, she shivered and did
as instructed. Cold wind skated over the bare skin of her back,
causing goosebumps.

"Fold your arms in front of you. Rest your
chin on them."
Click
. "Not right," he muttered. "Shove one
hand into your hair."
Click, click
. He growled, actually
growled, and looked over the lens at her as if trying to puzzle out
the problem.

Freezing, she sat up and wrapped the blanket
around her lower arms and torso, then flopped sideways with her
back to a boulder to block the wind. She probably looked like a
naughty nymph asleep in the snow from his angle.

Click, click, click, click, click,
click.

"Fuck me. That's perfect."
Click,
click
. "Stay just as you are, but look up at me."
Click,
click, click
. "Look sated, baby. I just screwed your brains out
and now you want to sleep."

Recalling the feeling well, she fainted a
smile in memory and did her best to do what he wanted. Holding her
breath, she looked at the lens.

Click, click, click
--"Fucking
perfect"--
Click, click
.

He edged closer and squat down in front of
her. "Two more minutes. Forgive me for this." He scooped up a
handful of snow and sprinkled it over the blanket and her exposed
shoulder. "Close your eyes."

She shivered and closed them. Cold, wet
flakes fell on her face, clinging to her lashes.

Snow crunched as he stepped back. "Keep 'em
closed, baby. One more minute. Look asleep. You're dreaming of
sweet nothings, sexy romps. Fun."

Holding her breath, she imagined his
expression when they saw the whale fin from the boat, how happy
he'd seemed. Picturing what she'd like to do to him inside the
sleeping bag by the fire, she held as still as possible.

Click, click, click, click, click, click,
click…

"Let out a very gentle exhale, baby."
Click, click, click, click
. "Got it. Hold this." He set the
camera on her belly and scooped her into his arms. Trudging up the
hill, he pulled her tight to his body to keep her warm. "You did so
great."

Setting her down in the sleeping bag inside
the cave, he reached for her discarded socks and slid them on her
feet. Too cold to do much more than watch, she shivered violently
when he stripped off his clothes and lay over her, zipping them
inside a cocoon.

Brushing his nose with hers, he whispered
against her mouth. "That was better than my fantasy, baby. That
position, you lying as if in a nocturnal state, was damn brilliant.
If you let me, people will look at that photo and wonder what made
you so sleepy, wonder what you're dreaming about. Or whom."

Between the fire, the thermo sleeping bag,
and Noah's body heat, she was warming up nicely. She relaxed as
desire kicked in. But first, she needed to clear the air.

She wrapped her arms around his back,
holding his gaze. "You can display the pictures you took today to
the public, if you like. Maybe at your opening in a couple weeks."
She relented because the photos obviously meant a lot to him. He
was proud, why deny him? "And…"

He kissed the corner of her mouth. "And
what, baby?"

"I'm sorry about freaking out. Don't sell
the island. Let's get through the trial and then we can build a
house."
Our house.
She waited for her heart to pound or the
air to constrict, but it never came.

God. He'd bought her an island. On a whim
and a prayer, he'd purchased a dream for a future together.

He swallowed, gazing down at her through
tender eyes and with wonder. "I love you." Leaning in, he kissed
her before she could respond, coaxing her to open for him.

There was no frenzy or rush in the kiss,
just sweet, deliberate torment. He made love to her mouth,
unhurried. Sliding his arms under her back, he crisscrossed them to
pull her closer, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other
splaying between her shoulder blades. Her hard, sensitive nipples
grazed his chest before they crushed between their bodies. He urged
her legs apart and nestled his hips between her thighs.

Breaking the kiss, he gazed down at her,
breath fanning her cheek. "I love you." Without breaking the gaze,
he shifted his hips and aligned himself at her opening.

When she closed her eyes at the blissful
contact, he demanded she open them. Rocking his hips forward, he
entered her with such slow, measured intensity that her throat
tightened.

"Feel me." When rooted to the hilt, he
shuddered out an uneven breath, pupils nearly swallowing his
irises. "I love you with everything in me, Raven. See me, feel me,
let me in."

Her breath caught in her throat as he rolled
his hips. There wasn't an inch where they didn't touch, where they
weren't connected. He held her to him tightly, rocked between her
thighs with gentle strokes, and stared at her as if searching for
all the dark corners where her fear was trapped. In and out, he
thrust. Unhurried.

"I love you," he rasped again, as if she
didn't know, as if she didn't believe him. "I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going to let you down. I love you."

Helpless to do anything but feel, she sank
deeper. Her chest swelled. Her eyes misted. It was as if he
intended their joining to be a contradiction and a negotiation. Not
a battle of wills or rush to the finish line, but…a mating. An
assault of her senses.

The thickness of his shaft gliding in and
out of her pulled a tremor from deep within. The way his hips
pinned her own was possessive and certain. His rough, callused hand
against the soft skin of her back was a delicious contrast. He held
the back of her head in place, not allowing her to look anywhere
but at him, forcing her to see the raw emotion she seemed to rip
out of him.

"Come out of the dark, baby. I love
you."

Pain pinched behind her ribs. Had it been
her depression holding her back all this time? Years, for so many
years, she'd fought. Only with Noah had hope seemed possible.
Happiness not so out of reach. Could he sense that? Did he know she
may never get there?

Tension coiled inside her, dangling her over
the edge of orgasm, but he pulled her back by stilling. Just as she
was about to break, to beg for him to let her plunge, he moved
inside her again, rebuilding. A slow climb that drove her past
reason.

When her walls clenched him a second time,
her body and mind needing the release only he could give, he
stilled again. She cried out in frustration, fought against his
adoring, tender hold. This was torture. Mean.

With patience, he grit his teeth and kept
that maddening, affectionate stare locked on her. "I love you."

Why did he keep saying that? She knew he
did. It was evident in every touch and embrace and glance. And she
could try until there was no breath left in her lungs to give it
back, but she wasn't there. He was the perfect man--alpha with a
deep fraternal nature, selfless in everything he did, protective,
devoted, kind, and trustworthy--but she was broken. In time, she'd
break him, too.

"Shh," he cooed, as if she'd said something
aloud or he could read her thoughts. "You just don't get it, baby.
I fucking love you."

"I know!" She couldn't take it anymore. Her
chest restricted. She tried to roll away and get up, but he
tightened his hold, keeping her under him. "Let me go."

"Not happening."

She shoved at his shoulders. He didn't
budge. "Noah, I'm trying. Stop pushing me. I'm trying."

He dropped his forehead to hers, ceasing her
frenzy. "I know you are, and I'll keep waiting as long as it
takes." He lifted his head, studying her. "I'm not telling you I
love you to upset you. I'm telling you because you don't know. I
think you're hearing me, but you're not listening." As his gaze
narrowed, his mouth opened like something had clicked into
place.

Instead of voicing whatever was on his mind,
he moved inside her and kissed her again with the same measured,
fevered pitch from before. "Last time for now, baby." He punctuated
each word with a deliberate thrust. "I--love--you."

Her body responded, inching toward the
explosion only he could give. She tried to lift her hips and meet
his thrusts, but he kept her pinned beneath him as he did all the
work. Giving her all the attention she usually fought against. With
single-minded focus, he pushed inside her body, her head, her
heart.

And this time, he didn't leave her dangling
over the edge. He shoved her. Then, he followed.

B
y the time they
made it back to the mainland, it was late afternoon and pitch
black. Stars fought for purchase with the Northern Lights in a
mesmeric display over the inky water. A bitter wind swept down the
mountains and across the ocean, but the brisk cold revived him.

Noah pocketed the keys and offered his hand
to help Raven out of the boat. His chest still ached from the
tender love-making, and from the way she'd fought him. He was
starting to think she might never get to the place where he was,
that place where he couldn't live without her, where love hurt so
good he couldn't breathe. After everything, she was still holding
back. Time might fix that, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Every
time he touched her, he wondered if it would be the last time.

When her feet hit the dock, she gasped and
took off for the end of the pier.

Max waited on shore and caught her with a
grunt. "Easy, Miss Crowne."

"I'm sorry." She patted his chest. "I didn't
mean to hurt you. How are you feeling?"

Max met Noah's gaze as he made his way
toward their bodyguard. "A little sore, but I'm cleared to
return."

Noah held out his hand to shake Max's. "Glad
to hear that."

Max nodded, sweeping his gaze over Raven as
if searching for injury, then stared out at the water. He cleared
his throat. "The Rizzoli verdict's in."

Every muscle tensed in Noah's body. His
stomach revolted. He hadn't heard they'd gone in for deliberation.
Last he checked, the defense was doing closing arguments.
"And?"

"It's after business hours, but because of
the publicity, they're bringing everyone back into court. Should be
live in an hour, at least." Max offered Raven a smile that didn't
reach his eyes. "McCannon and Hintz are meeting us back at the
condo. I said I'd wait for you and drive you home."

Noah nodded. "Let's go."

He had no concept of the drive home or of
any conversation along the way. The deafening roar through his ears
was stronger than the tide and he couldn't unwind the tension from
his shoulders or gut. Ten years. Ten long years. Most of his family
was dead, he'd been forced to put Aubrey in hiding, they'd come
after Raven, he had no damn life of his own, and his future now
depended on what twelve people would say.

In autopilot, he unlocked the condo door and
ushered Raven inside. Hintz stood behind the sofa, eyes glued to
the flat screen mounted to the wall. McCannon paced in front of the
balcony doors, his FBI badge and service revolver clipped to his
belt, reminding Noah just how fucked up his life had been. His
living room had two body guards, a federal agent and Raven. No
family, friends or displays of life on the walls. Because he hadn't
had a life.

"Anything yet?" Raven asked, looking at the
news channel footage of a quiet courtroom. Updates scrolled along
the bottom of the screen, replaying the same loop that the verdict
was in after six hours of deliberation.

Six hours. He'd been in hell a decade and
they'd taken six hours to render a verdict.

"Not yet." McCannon stopped pacing. "They're
reconvening now. It's been over an hour."

Raven sighed and met Noah's gaze. Frenetic
worry looked back at him through wide chocolate eyes. She shook her
head and went into the kitchen.

Noah took a seat on the couch and dropped
his head in his hands.

Some time later, Raven set a plate of
sandwiches and a bowl of pretzels on the coffee table. She handed
everyone a beer and sat next to him, hand on his thigh. His other
knee bounced incessantly.