Exposure (31 page)

"Sit down, guys." Raven held her beer up to
punctuate her point. "No one's on the clock tonight. Drink your
beer and try to relax."

As if unable to deny her, they each took a
spot. No one, however, relaxed. Including her.

Noah looked at Max. "Did someone notify the
team at Aubrey Castle?"

His bodyguard nodded, his thumb picking the
label on his beer. "Called while I was waiting for you at the dock.
They're keeping it from Miss Aubrey until you say otherwise."

McCannon leaned forward. "It's on." He
turned up the volume and tossed the remote aside.

The TV flashed images of spectators in the
courtroom as a voice-over recounted a summary of the proceedings.
They zeroed in on Rizzoli at the defendant table, along with his
attorneys. Rizzoli's mouth twisted as if put out to be there, and
his glassy eyes seemed more than a little confused. He'd dropped
weight and his skin was pale, sagging. If Noah didn't know the
prick and what he was capable of, he might feel sorry for him.

"All rise."

"Holy shit," Noah muttered, dropping his
head in his hands again. Every hair stood erect on his body.

Raven leaned closer and rubbed circles over
his back, which did little to ease the knots of tension.

He clenched his fists, glaring at Rizzoli's
craggy face as the judge read off the charges against him. "The
jury has reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honor," a male voice said off
screen.

Noah released a shallow breath and
froze.

Mutters filled the courtroom until the judge
banged her gavel.

Raven's soothing ministrations over his back
stilled as the judge called for the verdict.

"What say you?"

Everyone in the room leaned forward. Raven
clutched Noah's forearm in a death grip. Noah's lungs refused to
draw in air.

"We find the defendant, guilty."

A gale force wind expelled from Noah's
chest. He shook from the inside out. Tears burned in his throat,
behind his lids. He pulled Raven sideways into his lap and buried
his face in her neck. "Thank Christ. Thank fucking Christ."

Her arms banded around his neck. "It's
over," she whispered for his ears only. "It's going to be
okay."

He yanked her closer, unable to let her go
with the deluge of a shitstorm pounding him inside, needing her
solid warmth and the feel of her to ground him. Hell, he might be
leaving bruises.

McCannon shot to his feet and cheered. The
agent looked at Noah and nodded, relief as evident as his own. "I
told you we'd get justice for her. I'm just sorry it took so damn
long." He glanced back at the television and swallowed. "They might
appeal, but they won't win."

Noah returned his gaze to the TV, adjusting
Raven in his arms so she could see. "What are they doing?"

Max set his untouched beer on the table.
"The judge asked if either side objected to issuing sentencing now.
Neither did."

McCannon sat back down. "He'd better get
life, so help me."

After a half hour of legal crap, Rizzoli got
life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty years.
He was in his seventies, so the bastard would never breathe free
fucking air again.

McCannon stood and slapped Noah on the
shoulder. "We just need Soreno now. We'll get him."

Noah nodded, unable to speak.

After the FBI agent left, Hintz turned to
Noah. "We should beef up security until he's in custody."

Max nodded. "I agree."

Raven climbed off Noah's lap and resumed the
seat next to him, grabbing his hand to lace their fingers. "Do I
need to worry about my mom or Nicole?"

Max met Noah's gaze briefly before focusing
on Raven. "We've had security on them since the gallery shooting.
They don't know they're there. Just a precaution, but they'll be
safe."

Awhile later, Raven saw the bodyguards out
while Noah booted up the laptop to Skype Aubrey. His hands were
still shaking when his precious niece's face filled the screen. He
almost broke down, but reined the tears back.

"Hey, my love. I've got some news."

Raven leaned over his shoulder and waved to
Aubrey. Then she pressed a kiss to Noah's temple and left him to
relay the verdict to Aubrey, as if knowing he needed to do this
alone.

Through the years, he hadn't hidden the
truth from his niece or sugarcoated the danger. In doing that, she
wouldn't understand why Noah had done what he'd done and she
wouldn't grasp the magnitude of the threat. She had a right to
mourn and remember her parents, even if only by pictures or
stories.

He forced a smile of reassurance and gave
Aubrey the update. Then he logged off, poured two fingers of
whiskey, and stood by the balcony doors overlooking the mountains.
The burn felt good going down, heating his gut and spreading.

But the drink couldn't warm him the way
Raven could. He set the glass aside and strode into their bedroom
with the intention of having her naked and under him in three
seconds. He needed release, to lose himself inside her, and
remember there was something good waiting for him at the end of
this nightmare.

He stopped short in the doorway. Raven
must've had the same thought, because there she sat, on the end of
his bed, firelight dancing over her pale skin from the corner
hearth and not a stitch of clothing. Her hands were folded neatly
in her lap, reminding him of a sub awaiting pleasure. Dark hair
spilled over her shoulders and brushed the swell of her breasts.
Her rose-colored nipples pebbled, begging to be sucked.

Reaching down, he stroked his length through
his pants before shoving off the wall and shedding his clothes.
Slowly, he strode over and stood before her.

She met his gaze, biting her lip. "What do
you need tonight? Tell me."

His heart punched against his ribs. She
wanted to take care of him, his needs, before her own. But what he
needed tonight was to focus on her, on her pleasure, so he could
eradicate the other shit in his head. "You. Just need you,
baby."

She rose and set her palms on his chest,
raking her nails down his belly. Rising to her toes, she kissed his
neck. "You have me. Fill me completely, Noah, like only you
can."

His hands tangled in her hair. Fill her
completely? He had an idea for how, wanted to take her there so
badly he shook. She didn't mean anal play in her request, but she
never denied him. They sought pleasure together through many means,
and she'd been open to every one. The last time they'd used the
plug during sex he'd moved up a size to prepare her body for his.
And she came hard. But was she ready for
him
yet?

Holding her nape with one hand, he skimmed
his other down the length of her spine and between the cleft of her
cheeks, watching her eyes the whole time. He stopped at her tight
ring of muscle and kept the pad of his finger there.

Her dark eyes clouded with desire as she
breathed out a rasp. "You want me there?"

"Only if you're comfortable with the idea."
He leaned forward, kissing the shell of her ear. "You said to fill
you completely. I want to show you what that means." He used more
pressure against her hole, not penetrating, but massaging.

She whimpered deep in her throat like he'd
grown accustomed to her doing when she was too revved to speak. She
pushed back against his finger. Her hands grabbed his ass, nails
digging into his skin. His baby wanted him to fill her there.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He picked her up and set her in the middle
of the bed, then grabbed what he needed from the nightstand and
joined her. Leaving the items next to her hip, he rose over her and
kissed her. It took restraint not to plunder and seize. What he was
about to do, where he was going to take her, required time and
patience. If done right, the reward would be worth it, for both of
them.

She met him, deepening the kiss and arching
her back so that the rosy peaks of her nipples grazed his chest.
Her fingers clutched his hair, tugging in desperation. One of many
reasons why he loved her was her response to him, his touch. No man
before him had been allowed, and it left him humbled. Honored.

Kissing his way down her throat, he stopped
to suck her nipples on his descent. With every lash of his tongue
her breathing grew more shallow, needy. He settled between her
thighs and stared at her plump folds.

"Already so wet for me." He met her gaze and
flicked his tongue over her opening.

She bore down, thrusting toward him for
more. Her arms flew up over her head as her back bowed.

He barely resisted grinding his shaft
against the mattress. Instead, he reached for the generous-sized
vibrator he set next to her hip. "Spread your legs wider for
me."

She did without hesitation and watched his
movements as he rubbed the tip of the toy over her clit. She arched
up off the mattress, her cheeks flushing.

So beautiful she was in her response that he
couldn't wait. He pressed the vibrator to her opening, letting her
wetness coat the tip before inserting it deeper. Her breathing
soughed the farther inside he pushed, until it was fully
rooted.

"Beautiful, baby." He kissed her thigh.
"Does it feel good?" He twisted the toy inside her, earning a gasp.
Her perfect breasts rose and fell.

"Yes, but…" Her eyelids fell closed when he
twisted the toy again. She moaned.

"But what?" He leaned forward and took her
clit into his mouth, sucking hard.

She cried out until he released her. "I want
you inside me," she panted, cheeks crimson with desire.

He traced his thumb from the wetness around
her opening to the other entrance he intended to take soon. His
cock throbbed. "I will be. You said fill you completely,
remember?"

She pressed her palms to the headboard.
"Yes. Do it."

Reaching for the lube, he unsnapped the cap
and poured a generous amount onto his fingers. He coated her crease
and massaged the muscle with the pad of his fingertip, then gently
inserted a finger. She clenched it greedily, causing his lungs to
empty in response. So willing, so open to him. Withdrawing, he
inserted two this time and let her adjust for a moment before
spreading his fingers in a scissor.

Her breathing rasped in and out, her chest
rising and falling. He used his other hand to work her clit,
running circles around the hard little bud. Her eyes pinched
tighter and her lips parted.

"You like that?"

She ground her hips. "Yes. More."

He shook his head in awe and rose to his
knees. Grabbing his pillow, he slid it under her hips for a better
angle. She watched him through heavy eyes, not a trace of fear in
them. He swallowed hard and coated his shaft with lube, gaze
holding hers.

After he was positive he was slick enough
not to hurt her with penetration, he grabbed the underside of her
thighs and brought her knees to her chest. "Okay?" When she nodded,
his fisted his cock and rubbed it along her hole. He swallowed and
met her eyes. "You tell me to stop if it's too much."

She nodded.

Using his other hand, he swirled a finger
around her clit and then used the little button to turn on the
vibrator.

Her eyes widened in surprise before they
hazed with lust. The flush on her cheeks spread to her throat and
chest as she undulated against the pulsing.

While she was in the throes, he pressed the
crown of his cock inside her body until the head disappeared. He
wanted to close his eyes at the tight, hot sensation, but he needed
to watch her for signs of pain. After a moment, assured she was
fine, he pushed a little deeper until she'd taken half his shaft.
He paused, letting her adjust, shaking with the restraint.

Her eyes closed hard as her head flew back,
exposing the column of her throat. Her mouth open, she rasped in
air. She slowly rocked her hips with shallow ministrations, as if
seeking more. "I'm okay, Noah."

Nodding, he eased further. A bead of sweat
broke out on his forehead and dropped onto her belly. His chest
hurt with his held breath. When he was almost rooted inside, her
body offered resistance and he stopped.

"Reach up and fondle your breasts,
baby."

She did, palming them in her hands and
kneading the flesh. While she increased the pressure and pinched
her nipples, he used his thumb to circle her clit and bring her
pleasure with the discomfort. After seconds, her walls clenched
around his shaft and she started rocking her hips anew.

"Just a little more, baby. Can you take
it?"

"Yes," she moaned, swirling the peaks of her
breasts with faster strokes.

Slowly, he slid home and ground his teeth
against the urge to thrust hard.
So tight and hot.
It was
different than being inside the soft, giving flesh of her wet heat.
Like a band of compression, firm and searing. Not unpleasant in the
least, just different.

Needing to touch more of her, to feel her
petal-like skin against his, he leaned forward and kissed her. She
moaned into his mouth and jerked her hips, causing him to shift
inside her channel. He realized his pelvis was nudging the vibrator
and pulled away to look down at her.

"You okay, baby?" He forced himself not to
move. By his guestimation, using the vibrator to stimulate pleasure
would ease the initial uncomfortable stretching and burning until
her body grew accustomed.

Slowly, her eyes opened to reveal…hooded
lust. "It hurts a little, but it's good, too. You were right. I'm
so…full."

His chest ached as he cupped her cheek. He
kissed her again and withdrew from her body a fraction to come back
in a shallow thrust. When her moans and parted lips told him she
enjoyed that, he put his weight on his hands on either side of her
shoulders and offered another thrust. The position allowed him to
brush her clit and bump the vibrator all in one move.