Hell Bent (12 page)

This
was
home, this man was hers.  He’d always been hers from the very first minute she’d seen him.  Their souls were connected in some cosmic decree that she, as a mere mortal woman, couldn’t end. 

Opening her mouth, Cee Cee grazed her tongue over his lower lip and his fingers dug into her hips as he groaned.  Increasing the pressure of her mouth on his, she pressed her body harder into the rock solid column of his and slid her arms around his neck.  Cade finally opened his mouth, his sweet raspy tongue found hers and he really kissed her like he meant it. 

Like he used to…like she wanted—
needed
him to kiss her. 

Her body wilted under the scorching heat of his kiss and her hips settled against him and his solid length settled where it belonged.  Short, needy little breaths wisped past her lips as she ground her hips against his and he groaned again.  The sound zipped down her electrified body bringing moisture to sizzle at the top of her thighs. 

“I need you to fuck me, Cade,” she whispered against his mouth, in between short little passes over his lips, because she just couldn’t make herself stop.  Cade tensed, but with a growl, he kissed her deeper, sucked her tongue and dug his fingers into her ass, so deeply he had to be hitting bone.  He must’ve known her knees were too weak to hold her up. 

Cee Cee was shocked when, with an agonized groan, his hands suddenly released her and he pushed her away breathing hard.  His hot and wild eyes met hers, and he dragged in a ragged breath, as he ran a hand through his even wilder hair.  Her hands had done that, and she wanted to do more of it—in bed—right now.  But his eyes simmered, his breathing returned to normal and she knew it wasn’t going to happen. 

“I’ll have to take a rain check on that too, Brat.  I really do need to eat and get out of here.”  His eyes took a leisurely stroll down her body to her toes then moved back up but stopped at her rigid and aching nipples.  “As much as I appreciate the, ah, invitation, I can’t.”

“Can’t never could, darlin’,” Cee Cee said sexily, as she stepped up to him to put her hand on his face.  Her other hand found more intimate territory resting on his bulging fly.  She stroked him and his body tensed as he sucked in a sharp breath, his face flushed and his eyes glittered. 

“You have ten minutes…have an appetizer,” she coaxed, stroking his cheek so that his beard stubble abraded her palm like she wanted it to abrade other parts of her body.  She laid her cheek to his chest and rubbed against his skin which felt like smooth, hot silk covering the steel of his muscles.  Her tongue flicked out to see if it tasted as delicious as it felt.  When she weaved a path along the ridge of his collarbone, then traced it up to the strong column of his throat to his ear, he shivered. 

In a dizzying flash, she was turned and Cade lifted her to the counter.  His mouth covered hers and devoured her as his fingers fumbled with the zipper on her jeans.  Need clawed at her insides and she lifted her hips so he could yank her pants down to her knees with her panties.  His hands shook as he took out his pistol from the waist holster to lay it on the counter, before he unfastened his own jeans and shoved them down, freeing the most beautiful erection she’d seen in her life.  The only one she wanted to see, to feel inside her body.  She’d been trying for six years to replace this man, but now she knew why she couldn’t. 

He was irreplaceable. 

Cade Winters was her best friend and the best lover she’d ever had in her life.  Their talk reminded her of the talks they used to have.  Straight up, no holds barred.  Just like the sex between them.  Even though he was harder now, rougher around the edges, the way he’d treated that woman today at the shelter, the compassion he’d shown, told her he was still the same man inside.  Those rough edges were just a bonus and excited her even more. 

God, why had she been so stupid?

“Condom,” he growled, stepping out of his jeans to head for the bedroom.  Cee Cee shivered as a weird sense of relief flowed through her.

  “I want you in the bed,” he said as he strode back into the kitchen and stopped to push her jeans down her calves and drop them to the floor. 

Stepping between her knees, he grabbed her ass to pull her to him and Cee Cee latched on, wrapping her arms and legs around him.  He carried her into the bedroom and used his elbow to flick on the light switch.  Cade never had liked making love in the dark.  He wanted to see what he was doing, wanted her to see what he was doing to her, he’d always said.  Morning sex was his favorite kind, she remembered.  On Saturdays when they didn’t have class, he would spend all day making love to her until she told him they had to eat.

A smile curved her lips as a warm familiarity flowed through her.  That smile turned into a gasp when he tossed her onto the bed and stood beside it while he removed his shirt. 

“Take off your shirt, Cecelia, I want to see your breasts,” Cade said, his nostrils flared, eyes dilated, as he pinned them on her while he tossed his shirt on the floor.

His flat, clinical tone gave her pause.  Something was different, off here, but she couldn’t put her finger on whether it was him or just his rush to leave.  In the past, he’d take great pleasure in removing her shirt and bra himself, inch by agonizing inch until she finally begged him to take her into his mouth.  But he was a different man now, she reminded herself, as she reached behind her to unfasten her bra before tugging it and her shirt off.  And he’s in a hurry.

He grabbed his cock and made two long strokes and her eyes fell there, her mouth watered to taste him.  But they didn’t have time, she thought, looking up to find his eyes burning as they studied her breasts.  Her nipples puckered, and Cee Cee mewled.

“Scoot to the edge of the bed and turn around,” he commanded and she crawled over to him.  When she lifted to her knees to put her hands on his chest, she thought he’d touch her breasts, but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. 

“Turn around,” he grated, twisting her body to turn her away from him.  His hand landed in the center of her back to force her upper body to the mattress.  “You want a quick fuck? This is how it’s done and considering the mood I’m in, I’m the man for the job.”

Cade jerked her hips back against him and a violent tremor rocked her when the head of his cock penetrated her opening.  He bent over her, reached around and she moaned loudly when the warmth of his long fingers branded her clit. 

“Yesss…” she hissed as her fingers curled into her palms when he circled the raw nerves again and another tremor rocked her. 

He rounded the bud again and again, increased the pressure, played her body like a master until her inner muscles jerked, her folds quivered and moisture flowed down her body to soak her. Cee Cee lifted her ass toward him, an inch more of his rigid cock slipped inside of her and she heard his breath hitch.  His weight pressed into her and his hand trembled when his other hand moved to her breast to roll her nipple in time with his fingers on her clit.  

Pressure built inside her head, a long low wail worked up her body from her toes as blinding lights flashed before her eyes.  She slammed them shut, focused on those lights, the feel of him stretching her opening and the tension in her body ratcheted fast.  The wail forced past her lips, the lights merged and she drowned in the sweetest, most intense orgasm she’d had in six years.  Her body shook as she rode the waves, floated on them, soaked them up.

Suddenly, his fingers left her body when it still throbbed for more.  They dug into her shoulders and she didn’t even have time for a breath before with a growl and one forceful push of his hips, he was fully inside of her and her muscles quivered around him. 

“Oh, God…” she gasped, her body shaking both from the aftermath of her orgasm and the incredible effort of her body to accommodate him.

“You okay?” he asked gruffly, and his cock twitched inside her walls.  When she nodded, he withdrew a few inches then slid back inside and she groaned.

Each time he pulled out more, slammed back into her harder and her nails dug deeper into her palms, his fingers deeper into her shoulders.  When he picked up his pace his hands slid to her hips, and Cee Cee’s lungs finally quit working. She held her breath, dealt with the sensations which were coming to fast to process now.  Their bodies slapped together as he pounded into her time and again until his fingers dug into her hips painfully, he roared and it echoed in her skull as she felt his warmth pour into her. 

Without pause, he pulled out and walked to the bathroom, leaving Cee Cee feeling like a piece of driftwood in a raging sea, and rather used, as she collapsed on the bed.  She finally found her breath just as he came back out of the bathroom.

“Thanks for the fuck.  I do feel better now,” he grumbled, as he walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen. 

She managed to get out of the bed and stand, which was a feat, to make it to the kitchen and watch as he gathered up his clothes and put them on with jerky movements that told her he was angry about something.

Cee Cee was too overwhelmed with emotion and endorphins to know exactly what she was feeling.  “Why are you mad?”

He finished stomping his feet into his boots, then picked up his pistol and shoved it into the waistband of his jeans.  “When you figure that out, Brat, maybe we’ll try this again the right way.  You pushed and pushed until you got your way, so just be satisfied.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The cold hamburger Cade picked up at a fast food joint on his way to the Rooks mansion sat like a brick in his stomach on top of the equally cold, greasy fries.  Surveilling the high-end neighborhood, checking out the entrances and exits, areas of opportunity was a task that allowed him some cooling off time before he went inside.  He knew if he didn’t cool off, lose both the anger and endorphins that were buzzing through him, Ronnie would notice his state of agitation and ask questions he had no intention of answering.

And boy was he agitated.  Mostly, he was irritated, no pissed, at himself for giving in to her.  But a man was only so strong when a woman put her hand on his cock and all but begged him to fuck her.  Especially a woman that man used to be in love with.

Cecelia Logan, the woman who made that brazen move, wasn’t the woman he used to love though, and he needed to remember that.  She was forward, brassy—a sexual predator and definitely not his type. 

Cade liked confidence in a woman, it was sexy as hell, but Cecelia’s level of sexual confidence was overboard.  Desperate almost.  It reminded him of a woman who had no self-confidence so she found validation of her worth through using her body. 

In his line of work, Cade had known
a lot
of those kind of women.  They were the only type he could consort with and maintain his cover.  Women he could forget the next day, women who would forget about him.  Never in his life would he have expected Cecelia to turn out to be that way.  Her family was a good one, he almost considered them family himself, had been around them enough to know that they did not raise her to become that kind of woman.  He felt sure her mother and father—hell her
brother
—would drop dead on the spot if they knew.  He had no intention of telling them.  That was for her to work out with them.

I am a damned good fuck…

Another thing that fueled his anger was the fact he couldn’t get out of his mind where she’d gotten that confidence in her ability to enflame and please a man.  Men like that damned Navy SEAL she’d probably had sex with Friday night, the night before she had sex with Cade, had taught her those tricks or had at least given her a playground to test them out. 

Cade’s hamburger did a somersault in his stomach then plopped down on the fries again.  Cecelia had used him tonight, and he couldn’t say he liked it.  The tears and softness she’d shown during their talk, which he thought had produced a tenuous peace between them had only been the bait for her trap and he’d fallen right into it.

“Yes, you
are
a damned good fuck, Cecelia, but definitely not a mistake I’ll repeat,” Cade grumbled, as he rolled down his window and stabbed the button on the callbox at the gate. 

It was nearly one in the morning now, so everyone inside may be asleep, he thought, as he leaned out to press the button again.  If they were, that would give him some peace to do an interior security check. 

From his drive through the neighborhood, Cade decided they were moderately safe here with the exception of the ornamental bar fence that lined the back side of the property instead of the five-feet stucco variety that lined the other three sides.  And the guard shack at the entrance to the neighborhood, which gave the fancy subdivision the right to a claim of being a gated community, which was a joke.  The old guard who manned the shack barely looked up from the book he was reading before he pushed the button to allow Cade to come through the single thin board that barred his entrance. 

What gave him a little peace of mind were the two police cruisers he passed during his neighborhood inspection, one of which stopped him to ask for identification.  The police hadn’t deserted the women after they were dropped off here like he thought, they were at least making patrols.  But they needed more protection and in the morning he’d call Dave Logan to get it.

Cade leaned out and pressed the buzzer once more then sat back to study the gate.  Now that he really looked at the massive ornamental gate that barred his entrance to the driveway in the headlights, he realized it was probably aluminum like that back fence.  If they didn’t answer the call box, he could probably drive right through it.

He jumped when a loud click preceded the gate swinging inward.  Stunned that no one had at least asked who he was, he pulled through and idled his way up the driveway.  Lush trees thick with low-hanging branches lined either side of the driveway and not a single light broke through the darkness they created. 

A perfect fucking sniper hide. 

With the house lit like a Christmas tree on the outside but the grounds dark, anyone in a window or outside would be an easy mark.  When he pulled up to the front of the massive house Cade was even more stupefied when he saw a perfect target, his sister Veronica, standing on the wide, curved front stoop in a red satin house robe and slippers.

Throwing the truck into park and killing the engine, he reached back to grab his go bag and assault rifle from the back floorboard then flew out of the truck. 

“Would you like me to just shoot you now and put you out of my misery, Veronica?” he shouted.  “Save the men who are threatening you and myself a lot of trouble?”

“What the hell crawled up your butt?” she asked sleepily as she crossed her arms around her middle.  “And why are you so late?  I called Cecelia over an hour ago, and she said you’d just dropped her off.”

Just dropped her off?
  Just
finished
her off more likely.  His hamburger made another rotation in his gut and he tightened his abs as he walked toward the front entrance.

“Do you realize your life is in danger, Ronnie?  That the only reason I’m back in this godforsaken state is to protect you?” he asked as he stepped onto the first step.  “That by standing out here in this porch light you make a pretty damned easy shot for anyone who can hold a rifle?”

She waved a hand.  “They haven’t sent another threat to me in two months.”

“What do you call what they did to the front of that shelter?” he screeched, moving up another step.  “Do you think they were just saying hello?!?”

“They weren’t shooting at me,” she said defensively.

“They were shooting at the cause you represent!  They
were
shooting at you and will shoot anyone involved with it to stop you.”  He moved to the top stair, and pointed at the door.  “Get yourself inside, and don’t come out again unless I’m with you.  I need to walk the grounds.”

“But—it’s dark,” she said, her voice fearful.  “They’d shoot you too.”

“Yes, they would in a heartbeat.  But you know what?  That’s my line of work, so I’m willing to take that risk.  Get inside, Veronica.”

“You’re not bulletproof, Cade,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“No, but I’m careful and thanks to Uncle Sam I know what I’m doing.  Go inside and stay away from the windows, I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, with a huffed breath.

“Can’t you do it in the morning?” she persisted, not moving an inch.

He lunged up to the porch, grabbed her arm and turned her toward the front door.  She put on the brakes, but he pushed the door open then shoved her inside.  With a grunt, she rounded on him. 

“You are worse than Trace,” she said angrily.

“Just stay here and lock the door until I come back. Make
sure
you know it’s me before you open it,” he growled, as he slammed the door behind him hard enough that the side panel windows shook.

Because the grounds of the estate were so large, five acres if he guessed right, and there were so many nooks and crannies where a tango could set up, it took Cade almost two hours to clear them all.  The formal garden at the rear of the property was a perfect ambush spot with well-lit access to the back door and speedy egress over that back fence.

This place was the pillow-top mattress of soft targets. 

He definitely needed more eyes to secure it until he could get the women back to the more secure shelter.  It shocked the crap out of him to think that the shelter was more secure, but it was.  Probably because it was in a bad neighborhood, the back parking lot was surrounded by a six-foot razorwire topped fence.  That meant he’d have only one entrance to watch, so as soon as the repairs and safety modifications he wanted were completed, a high-tech video surveillance and alarm system, installing bulletproof glass in the windows they absolutely had to have, bricking up the ones they could do without, he was moving them back there. 

Cade was exhausted as he trudged up to the front door and knocked loudly.  When he saw Ronnie’s red hair flash in the side window as she pushed back the sheer curtain to peep out, he rolled his eyes.  The woman really had no sense of self-preservation.  Her husband must spend half of his time watching out for her.  The front door opened and he walked in, followed her through the entry into the living room, and stopped in his tracks.

“Why are there women sleeping down here on the floor?” he asked with a groan.  Well, they weren’t sleeping anymore, they were sitting up looking at him with tired, wary eyes.  “Weren’t there enough bedrooms?”

“Carlos called and said they’d raided another cantina last night and he needed a place for ten more women,” Ronnie said with a shrug. “I couldn’t turn them down or they’d have been put on a deportation hold and would be sleeping in a cell tonight.”

“Then Carlos should’ve sent some of his agents to protect them,” he growled, his eyes darting to the women and back.  There was no damned way he could protect all these women alone.  “How many women are here now?”

“He didn’t have any agents to spare, I asked—and eighteen now, plus us,” she replied, then smiled.  “But don’t worry, I saved you a bedroom.  Lou Ellen and I are sharing.”

“Is it upstairs?” Cade glanced at the wide curving stairway across the room that led to the second story and probably a third half-story if his exterior inspection of the outside of the house was right.

“Yeah, it is, so it’ll be quiet and you can sleep.  You look like you need it.”  The corner of her lips kicked up.  “You look like ten miles of bad road and your eyes are the roadmaps.”

“I can’t leave these women alone down here,” he said. 

If they were all on the second level, he might have been able to take the bedroom on the end nearest the stairs and cat nap a little, but not now.

“Get yourself some sleep, Rambo, I’ve got them covered,” a gruff female voice said from the top of the stairs and Cade’s eyes flew there to watch Lou Ellen make her way downstairs in a peacock blue, zebra-print robe and pearl-colored kitten-heeled house slippers with fuzz across the toes.  What he didn’t see was the forty-five at her side until she stepped onto the marble landing.

He really must be exhausted, because the absurdity of the sight punched him in the gut hard enough to force laughter up his throat.  It exploded past his lips and the sound echoed in his skull as it bounced off of the high ceilings to ricochet off of the marble floor.  Ronnie elbowed him, but he heard her chuckle too.  Titters came from the pallets in the center of the room then tuned into throaty giggles.  Cade was weak by the time he stopped laughing enough to catch his breath.

“What the hell do you need me for, Ron, when Dirty Mary is here?” Cade wheezed, as laughter tickled his insides again.  “I have no idea why I was worried about you.”

“Damn straight,” Lou Ellen agreed, as her heels clicked on the marble when she walked over to them, looking very regal and damned good for a woman who just rolled out of bed.

“What’s all the noise about?” a sleepy voice asked, and Cade sighed as he looked to the top of the stairs again to see a dark-haired woman standing on the landing rubbing her eyes.

“Allison just go back to bed, I’ve got this,” Lou Ellen said.

“The others are stirring too, so I better wake up Colleen to help me with breakfast,” she replied tiredly, as she walked down the stairs to join the group.

“It’s three in the morning, tell them to go back to bed,” Lou Ellen griped.

“I don’t speak Spanish,” Allison replied with a huffed breath.

“Well, I do, and I’m going up there to tell them everything is fine.” Ronnie yawned and rubbed her eyes, then pointed at Cade.  “We all need to go back to bed—i
ncluding
you.”

“I’m
not
going to sleep. I have plans and calls to make,” he shouted.  Every eye widened, and the women on the pallets flinched as their eyes dropped to his rifle.

Cade felt like he was stranded on an island in inhabited by only women in the middle of a sea of estrogen.  He wanted to yank out his pistol and shoot himself…or them.  But then he remembered that they’d had one helluva bad day, almost as bad as his. 

With a huffed sigh, he leaned his rifle against the wall and walked over to the women on the pallet who were now hugging each other and cowering in obvious fear.

“Everything is
fine
.” He realized he was speaking English and switched to Spanish.  “I’m here to protect you now, so please go back to sleep and don’t worry.” 

Their relief was tangible as their bodies wilted and they laid back down.  Ten down, ten more to go, he thought, as he strode back to Ronnie who was frowning at him.