Last Chance (39 page)

everything, she did trust him. Unwisely, perhaps. But there it was.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said softly. Then, still holding her wrists,

he told her, "Wrap your hands around this post. Don't let go. Okay?"

219

Christy Reece

Her heart thudding in excited anticipation, she wrapped her hands

around the post at the top of the bed.

"Close your eyes."

Again McKenna complied. And then she felt soft kisses, starting at

her forehead and moving over her closed eyes, her cheek, her chin. Moving

as lightly as a feather, he once again used his lips as a paintbrush. Going

lower, he stopped and softly kissed the savage bruises on her neck caused by

Damon's hands. Then he continued on. Heat bloomed, almost as if the sun

blazed down on her; her body turned into a burning mass of aroused nerves.

When he stopped at her breasts and instead of kisses laved first one nipple

and then the other with his hot, moist tongue, McKenna gasped and

squirmed.

Leaving her breasts still aching, still wanting, he traveled down her

torso. Stopping at her navel, he circled it again with his tongue, then pressed

his tongue deep. An incredible erotic charge flared through her. Groaning

with need, she opened her legs in invitation. The memory of how his tongue

felt inside her created a hot, throbbing desire that only Lucas could ease.

His head moved lower, but much too slowly for her; the anticipation

was almost more than she could bear. "Lucas, please..."

"I'll give you everything you ask, McKenna, I promise. But for now,

let me savor you."

Instead of putting his tongue in the hot center of her need, he softly

kissed the inside of her thighs and continued down her legs. At her feet, she

was surprised at the rasp of his tongue on the sole of her foot and the

answering erotic throb deep within her. A long, low groan emerged before

she could stop it. When he picked up her other foot and did the same,

McKenna was shocked to realize she was close to climax. No one had ever

taken such care, concentrated so intently on every part of her body, and

never would she have guessed that her feet had some sort of erogenous

sensor that was directly connected to her womb. Her body arched as he

laved the bottom of her foot, then took her toe inside his mouth and sucked.

Lightning flashed behind her closed lids and her body undulated, searching

for release that was barely a second away from exploding within her.

She was at the point of screaming when he pulled her toe from his

mouth and started up her other side, once more whispering those soft, mindstealing kisses. When he'd reached the top of her thighs again, McKenna

opened her legs wide. Embarrassment disappeared; inhibitions vanished. She

had to have his tongue inside her now.

"What, sweetheart? Tell me what you want."

Brutally blunt in every area of her life except intimacy up till now,

220

Christy Reece

McKenna didn't hesitate to voice her needs. "I need your tongue inside me,

licking at me, eating me."

"With pleasure." And he followed those words with action. Her eyes

still closed, she felt him move between her thighs. Cupping his hands under

her knees, he lifted her legs, pushed them up and out till she was totally

exposed, and then licked her once. McKenna exploded. Her soft cry of

fulfillment didn't stop him; he thrust into her over and over.

Unwilling to let go of the post, McKenna arched her body again and

again, meeting each tongue stroke. Tension filled her body, lights flared; she

arched up once more and came again.

She returned to earth to hear her own soft sobs of fulfillment. Lucas

was once more bestowing hot kisses all over her body.

Her hands aching to touch and hold him, she whispered, "I want to

touch you, Lucas."

"In a moment, love. I promise." And then his hot mouth was on her

breast again, licking her nipple, then her entire breast. He pulled away and

blew softly on her wet skin. McKenna cried out at the sensation. And then

he gave the other breast the same treatment.

Frustration, desire, and an urgent, aching need built toward a

crescendo inside her. Squirming, she gasped as his marauding tongue

continued a path down her body, leading her toward a total destruction of

her senses. She was to the point of either screaming at him to take her or

throwing him to the mattress, jumping on top of him, and burying him inside

her.

"Roll over for me, McKenna."

She shook her head in desperation. "I need you inside me."

"And you'll have me soon. Please, sweetheart?"

Everything stilled within her. A sob caught in her throat as a stunning

revelation swept through her. Lucas had never asked her for anything. The

impact of that one word stole her breath. How stupid she had been; how

unbelievably selfish she was. He had never asked her for anything. He had

done nothing but give. And she had taken and taken. The secretive things

he'd done were wrong and stupid, but he had done them because he cared.

And what had she done for him? What had she given him?

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Going against his wishes, she let go of the post and threw herself into

his arms. He closed them around her and just held her to him. His hard,

naked, beautiful body felt so wonderful against her...so right.

Between gasping sobs, she said, "I can't...believe how...stupid I've

been."

221

Christy Reece

"What? How have you been stupid?"

"All the things you did...you did them for me. I've never had anyone

care for me like that."

"But I screwed everything up."

Laughter blended with her tears. "Yes, you did, but you had the best

intentions. Thank you, Lucas." She pressed kisses all over his face, his chest.

"Aw, sweetheart, thank you."

She pulled him down onto the bed with her, and with all the love and

gratitude in her heart, McKenna opened her legs, and let passion take over.

Lucas gritted his teeth as he entered the hot, moist channel waiting for

him. He'd been close to explosion for half an hour, and he didn't know if he

could hold on another second. But he wanted to make this as wonderful and

memorable for McKenna as possible.

He had never been so focused on a woman's pleasure, on her arousal,

on her need. Sex had always been an enjoyable pastime. With McKenna, it

reached heights he hadn't known existed. Her sighs, gasps, and moans were

music to his ears and fired his blood more than any erotic play he'd ever

been involved in before. Pleasing McKenna meant more to him than

pleasing himself ever could.

Thrusting deep inside her, he watched the play of emotions run across

her face. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she did at this

moment. Leaning down, he covered her mouth with his, plunging his

tongue, mating with her mouth as he moved deep within her. Her inner

muscles worked at him, pulling, clenching, sucking him even deeper. He

didn't want to let go but knew he had no choice. Electricity zipped up his

spine, and with a long, low growl he buried himself to the hilt and exploded.

McKenna climaxed seconds later, her inner muscles pulling at him again;

Lucas ground his teeth as the sensation of a heated vise gripped him hard.

Breath rasping from his labored lungs, he rolled over, taking her with

him. She settled into his arms, her head on his chest. For several second he

just held her, absorbing her warmth, the wonderful strength of McKenna.

"Lucas?" she said softly.

"Yes?"

"Why did you do it?"

She didn't need to explain what
it
was. Denying the truth never

entered his head. "Because I couldn't stand the thought of you having to face

him again one day."

"But you could have stopped the photographs from being published."

"Yes, I could have."

"You didn't even try?"

222

Christy Reece

Lucas released a ragged breath. "I had them delayed. Hoped that my

investigators could find Hughes and I wouldn't have to use them. They came

up dry. The photos seemed the best way to lure him."

"Why?"

"The bastard needed to pay for what he did to you."

"But why was it so important to you?"

"Because, dammit...I love you, McKenna. Haven't you figured that out

yet?"

Releasing a soft sound between a sob and sigh, she propped her arm

on his chest. Leaning over him, she whispered, "Thank you, Lucas. I love

you, too."

Cupping her face in his hands, he drew her down and took her mouth,

thrusting his tongue in over and over again. Then, pulling back slightly, he

whispered, "Forever?"

"Yes. Forever." Her smile was sweet and sexy at the same time as she

settled back against his chest.

Lucas stared up at the dark ceiling of the hotel room. A desperation

he'd never felt before washed over him. McKenna was special. From the

beginning that had been apparent. What he hadn't expected was this

incredible vulnerability he felt with her. Control had been a part of his life

for so long; McKenna challenged that control. She had shared everything

with him; he had known that and had accepted it, admiring and appreciating

her honesty. What he hadn't expected or acknowledged was her need to

know everything about him.

Yet if the positions were reversed, would he not expect to have his

questions answered? McKenna was right--she had bared her soul. Could he

do anything less?

He loved her; she loved him. Loving meant sharing the deepest part of

yourself with someone else. Lucas had never understood that so completely

until now.

He drew a breath. He was about to speak of something he'd sworn an

oath never to divulge. His loyalty to the agency was strong, his love for his

country undying and deep. His love and loyalty for McKenna went realms

beyond.

"When I was a young man, no more than twelve, my father and I

would shoot skeet. It was a mindless, fun pastime. I was excellent and even

won a few awards as a teen. Yet I never expected it to be more than an

enjoyable activity. While I was at university, I belonged to a shooting club.

After practice one day, I was approached by two men who said they admired

my skills. We went for coffee. Had a long conversation that lasted into the

223

Christy Reece

night."

She rose up on her elbow. "These men were with the British

government?"

"One of them was; the other was American."

"That's unusual, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "IDC is an unusual organization."

"IDC?"

"International Deep Cover. It's composed of men and women from

fifteen different countries."

"What is its purpose?"

"Safety, security, freedom."

"Can you tell me what you did?"

"I can tell you a few things. Much of it was research, going deep

cover occasionally."

"And I guess your shooting skills came in handy?"

He blew out a sigh. "Yes, my shooting skills were in high demand.

When the agency had a need, I was usually the one they called. Brutal

dictators who thought nothing of massacring their own people, a suicide

bomber standing in the midst of a busy marketplace filled with women and

children, tribal leaders who perverted their beliefs to justify some sort of

sadistic ethnic cleansing...those and several more." He shrugged. "I was

damn good at it."

"And this is a government agency?"

"One agency, approved by all governments that participate."

"So I guess the secrecy comes from the need to be deep cover?"

"There's that, but there's also a philosophy held by many that

governments should only see to the welfare of their own. IDC bucks that

thinking by being able to work without those restrictions."

"How long were you with them?"

"It was supposed to be a ten-year commitment. At least, that's what I

had planned. It didn't work out that way."

"Your father died?"

"Yes."

"Do you miss it?"

"Every damn day."

She rose on her elbow again. "What do you miss?"

"The knowledge that I'm making a difference, saving lives." He

shrugged. "The usual things."

"And the adrenaline rush of danger?"

He smiled. Should've known McKenna would understand that

224

Christy Reece

mentality. "That too."

Sighing softly, she settled back into his arms. "I wish you had told

me."

"Looking back, I wish I had, too."

"I'm still furious about the photographs."

"I know." He closed his eyes. Everything needed to be revealed. Even

if it made her furious again, he had to tell her. "Remember the first time you

came to my home?"

"Yes."

"I knew that you were hiding from someone...that you were

frightened." He swallowed hard. Looking back on it now, it seemed so

damned devious and seedy. He'd never meant it to be. "I took your

fingerprints from the dishes and ran a trace on them."

She stiffened in his arms. He waited, knowing she was remembering

all the things that happened after that.

"So when I told you about my family...you already knew."