Moving Target (13 page)

"I'll have one of the Deputies outside order lunch and bring it up." He pulled his cell phone out of its holster. "It should be here by the time you're done."

Ani swallowed as she looked as his muscled form. Those broad shoulders and powerful chest tapering down to taut abs.

Once again a towel hung low around his lean hips.

When she glanced up she saw Daniel watching her. Was his hand trembling as he held the cell phone? His knuckles were white. He turned from her and began talking into the phone, speaking to one of the other Deputy Marshals and giving their order.

Heart pounding, she tugged the sheet loose, then wrapped it around her body as she eased from the bed. She tried not to look at Daniel but couldn't help darting a glance at him over her shoulder as she walked to the bathroom. He was staring after her and didn't avert his gaze. She took a deep breath and forced herself to face forward, slip into the bathroom, and shut the door behind her.

The moment she saw herself in the mirror she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Daniel had wanted to kiss
that
woman?

Her dark hair was tangled and wild around her face, which was bruised completely down one side. The bruise was warm to her touch when she lightly ran her fingertips along it. She winced.

Jeez, that hurts
.

She had a new scratch on her face to join the one she'd received when they were shot at in Tucson, when the car window had been blown out. A dark smudge crossed one cheek and her eyes were much redder than Daniel's.

She let the sheet drop to the tiled floor and peeled off her bra and panties. When she examined her body, she shook her head at the bruises on her shoulder and hip that were on the same side as her face. Then she turned to look at her legs at the scrapes and cuts. Lord, she did feel like Raggedy Ann. Make that Raggedy Ani.

She climbed into the shower and let the warm spray soothe her aching body and tried not to think about Daniel and how much she wanted him.

Daniel's throat was so dry it hurt as he watched Ani disappear into the bathroom, the door shutting tight behind her. He'd come so close to losing it and kissing her, taking her, bruises and stitches be damned. Being with her was driving him out of his everlovin' mind.

But he couldn't
not
be with her. He couldn't let her out of his sight. He couldn't trust her safety to anyone else.

He should, but he couldn't.

He wouldn't.

Daniel clenched his fists and ground his teeth.

Get a grip, Parker
.

Before Ani had woken from her nightmare, he'd been up a while. He'd used his cell phone to call one of the Deputies who was on duty downstairs and ask to have someone purchase clothing and supplies for the two of them. The only clothing they had was torn and bloody. He'd checked her pants and shirt for her size and gave the information to the Deputy.

In the meantime . . . Things were looking a little dangerous between them. Way dangerous.

He scrubbed his hand through his damp hair.
Christ
.

While Ani took her shower, his friend and fellow Inspector Marshal, Gary McNeal, had brought up their meal. After tugging on his bloodied jeans and drawing his Glock, Daniel had answered the door. He let his friend in, tucked the Glock in the back of his jeans, and took the tray of food to set on the room's table.

When Daniel had taken a leave after Judge Moore had been murdered, McNeal had paid him a visit. Daniel had known McNeal from their training days at FLETC, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia, and considered him a good friend.

McNeal had been the one who'd recommended Daniel to WITSEC. He had forced Daniel to mentally step through everything that happened in that courtroom. To face up to the fact that there was nothing he could have done to save the judge.

Still, Daniel couldn't quite let go.

McNeal was gone by the time Ani came out of the bathroom, steam rolling out in her wake. Her hair was wet, hanging to her shoulders, and her face fresh and clean.

A burst of anger shot through him again at the sight of the cuts and bruises on Ani's tender skin. They seemed to stand out even more now than they had before.

His gaze dropped from her face. She was wearing only a towel.

Things were just getting better and better.

"Looks good." Ani avoided his gaze and held her towel tight to her as she slipped into a chair on one side of the table. He adjusted his jeans as he sat. He was so hard he felt like his cock would shatter.

While they ate their sandwiches, the tension between them climbed so high that neither one of them spoke.

Except when their gazes met. Her blue eyes were large and expressive, telling him exactly what he didn't need to know right now.

She wanted him. She'd let him take her. Now.

His cock got harder by the moment. His balls ached and his body vibrated with need for Ani.

When she finished, Ani wiped her lips with her napkin, but she'd left a little mustard at one corner of her mouth.

"You missed some." He leaned forward and wiped the mustard from her mouth with his index finger. But he couldn't stop there. He traced her lower lip, gently brushing it as their eyes locked and held.

She parted her lips and took his finger into her mouth and lightly sucked, her eyes still focused on his. A wildfire sensation went straight to his groin. He imagined those beautiful lips surrounding his cock as he slowly pumped in and out of her mouth.

If he didn't cool off in a hurry, he wasn't going to be able to hold back any longer Ani sucked harder.

He jerked his finger from her mouth and got to his feet in a rush. Her gaze lowered to his waist and he looked down to see his erection outlined against his jeans.

Well, hell, there was no hiding how much he wanted her.

Ani pushed back her chair, stood, and came toward him, her gaze never leaving his.

He couldn't move if his life depended on it. When she was just inches from him, she paused. Tilted her chin.

And let her towel fall away from her body, leaving her naked.

Christ
.

She's beautiful
.

All other thoughts fled. Nothing mattered but Ani.

He found his hands moving toward her breasts in slow motion until his palms covered both of them. Perfect handfuls. As he massaged them, he barely heard her soft moans. She gripped his biceps in her hands, drawing him closer.

Such perfect breasts. He had to taste them. He lowered his head and cupped one breast so that it was raised, and he flicked his tongue over the hard nipple. A rumble rose in his chest as he nipped and sucked and licked. Ani's moans grew louder and she shuddered as he adjusted his hand to cup the other breast and began to pay the same close attention to it.

Every time he gently bit her then sucked, she moaned.

He was on another planet, another plane of existence. She smelled so good. Of the clean smell of shampoo and soap, and the scent of woman that he'd been aware of ever since she'd walked back into his life. A scent he remembered so clearly from a year ago, the last time he'd seen her. It had nearly driven him out of his mind with need for her even then.

Daniel raised his head from suckling on her nipples. His gaze landed on her mouth. How many times had he wanted to kiss those lips? He'd lost count. All he could think of was how badly he wanted to kiss her right now.

He lowered his head and he gently brushed his lips over hers. She moaned into his mouth, her lips parted and ready for his kiss.

He was a Deputy U.S. Marshal. An Inspector. Her bodyguard.

This was wrong.

No, this was right.

So right.

He slipped his fingers into her damp hair and grabbed her ass with his other hand. With his lips still a breath away from hers, he ground his jean-clad cock against her much softer skin. She felt so good against him. He had to be inside her.

"Daniel," she whispered, before she pressed her lips firmly against his.

He groaned and slid his tongue into her mouth. As her tongue moved with his, he closed his eyes. He savored her unique flavor mixed with the taste of the soda she'd been drinking.

God, how he needed her. He gripped her hair in his hand and brought her tighter to him. Their kiss became more urgent, more needy. He thrust his tongue in her mouth and imagined his cock pounding in and out of her pussy as he took her.

He was lost.

There was no turning back.

Ani could barely breathe as Daniel kissed her, and her heart thrummed hard enough her chest ached. She'd wanted him so badly for so long, while at the same not wanting him to see or touch the burn scars on her back.

What had possessed her to drop her towel—she didn't know. It had been wrong of her to push things this far, but she needed him too badly. And she was sure he needed her, too.

After coming so close to death yesterday, it was as if they needed to grasp onto the life that they had. That they could have lost. That they might never have known together. One day. One precious moment.

This kiss . . . God, could the man kiss. She found herself lost and wanted to stay lost with him forever.

Her knuckles ached from how tight she was holding on to his biceps. She loosened her grip, moved her palms up his chest, and slipped her arms around his neck so she could cling to him. It was all she could do to keep herself standing, her knees were so weak. His hair was slightly damp against her fingers and the clean scents of soap and shampoo surrounded her.

Daniel groaned and moved his moist lips from her mouth to her jawline. He kissed her all the way to her ear where he nipped at her earlobe and darted his tongue inside her ear.

Sounds she'd never heard herself make before rose up within her and spilled out of her lips in a soft, low moan. He held her tight to him, one of his hands still in her hair, his other gripping her ass. His cock rubbed her belly through his jeans, her breasts snug against his chest. She imagined him inside of her and that place between her thighs went on overdrive. She hadn't had sex for two years, since before the fire, and need made her even crazier for him.

Daniel drew away and slipped his fingers from her hair to brush the side of her face that was bruised. "How do you feel?"

"I've never, ever felt better than I do right here, with you, at this very moment." She reached up and caressed his forehead, below the big egg on his temple. "Maybe the question should be, how do
you
feel?"

He took her hand from where she was touching his temple and brought it down to his cock. A rush of electricity caused her to tingle from head to toe as she squeezed it through his jeans. "Does that answer your question?" he asked.

She bit her lower lip and released him as he stepped away, unfastened his torn jeans, and let them drop to the floor. He left them behind as he came back to her and she wrapped her fingers around his erection.

His cock felt satin-soft over its hard core. Ani rubbed her thumb over the thick head and felt the slickness of his precome.

Just touching him made her jittery with excitement.

He groaned and grasped her hand, and brought it back up so that her arms were around his neck again. "Maybe touching me isn't too good of an idea right now."

Was he stopping them? She swallowed. "Why not?"

"How long do you want me to last?" he asked as his lips hovered over hers.

A sigh of relief and pleasure rose up within her. "All day. Maybe all night, too."

"Hell, woman." He bumped his nose against hers. "You're going to wear me out."

"I'm going to try." She drew away and looked up into his eyes as her stomach pitched at her next thought. "Just one thing."

Daniel caught her chin in one of his hands. "What's that?"

"I . . ." She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling. "I don't want you to touch or see my burn scars. They're horrible."

He gripped her chin tight and his gaze was intense. "You have nothing to be embarrassed or self-conscious about."

Tears were building up in her eyes. "Yeah. I do."

"No. You don't." He kissed a tear that tracked her cheek, tasting the salt of it. "Everything about you is special to me. Got that?"

Did he mean it? She trusted him so much, why shouldn't she trust him in this? "Okay," she said.

He smiled and brushed his knuckles across a second tear. "I won't look until you're ready."

She nodded, warmth traveling through her. Maybe he'd seen them when she'd gone to bed last night, maybe he hadn't.

But she didn't want him to
really
look at her burn scars.

Daniel grasped her face in both hands and kissed her hard. She opened up to him, allowing him to slide his tongue in before she lightly sucked it. He tasted so wonderful.

He moved his lips from hers and kissed his way along the side of her neck to the hollow of her throat. "You taste so good," he said, echoing her thoughts.

Ani's belly flipped at the husky sound of his voice. She shuddered as he trailed his lips downward. She went completely still when his lips brushed the scar from the gunshot wound, but he didn't seem to notice as he gently kissed it.

He continued working his way to her breasts. A groan rose up from his chest and Ani matched him when he latched on to one of her nipples with his warm mouth.

The feel of his tongue on her bare nipples was indescribable. "Daniel," she whispered, and slipped her fingers into his hair.

"Mmmmm . . ." he murmured as he licked and sucked each of her nipples.

After a few moments, when she felt like she was completely on fire, Daniel rose up and looked at her. He massaged her shoulders with his palms. They felt work-roughened against her skin.

"You are the most special woman to me, Ani." He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. "You're beautiful.

You've always been beautiful to me."

More heat flushed through her and she bit her lower lip, but he teased her mouth open again with his tongue. She moaned and leaned into him as he kissed her.

Before she knew what he was doing, he picked her up by cupping her ass. He took her to one of the beds and sat her on the edge of it.