The Enforcer (Men Who Thrill Book 1) (5 page)

I wanted to do just that, so desperately, but she wasn’t my woman, and I didn’t have the freedom to take her as I wanted. So I settled for what I could and lightly cupped her face with my hand, letting my thumb stroke against the smooth skin of her face, so gentle and open in her repose. The tug of desire turned more poignant, and more painful. I still hadn’t figured out what had drawn me to her; I’d seen more beautiful women, sexier women, but no one, ever, had called to me as she did. And as I stared down at her, for the first time in a very long time, I wished I’d chosen a different path, one that would have allowed me to be with her, to be worthy of her.

And then she slowly opened her eyes, still soft with sleep as she raised them to mine, and smiled, the expression seeming to light her from inside out. I’d been wrong earlier. I’d never seen anything more beautiful than April coming awake under the soft glow of early dawn. And I knew she owned my heart.

Unable to stop myself, I lowered my head to hers, resting my lips on her forehead in the faintest whisper of a kiss, the contact with her sleep-warmed skin sending a shiver through me. I repeated the action, ghosting kisses across her cheeks, on the tip of her nose, and then finally on her lush mouth, which was soft and pliant as if she’d been waiting for this.

I lifted my head, and without a moment’s pause, she did the same, recreating the contact we’d lost and intensifying the kiss. She moved her lips over mine in a boldly demanding motion, tracing her tongue against the seam of my mouth. Her invitation was clear, and not just in the way she kissed me, but in the way she ran her hands up and down my flanks and in the way she shifted so that she was wedged underneath me. And, in the way she opened her thighs, the heat of her cunt scorching my lower stomach.

When, without breaking the kiss, she lifted her hips so that the hair that covered her mound abraded my skin and lowered her hips until her pussy touched my shaft, the heat and moisture that spilled from her core, it almost took my breath even though the feeling was muted by the cloth of my underwear. The frayed edges of my control snapped.

I broke our kiss and cupped her face in my hands, searching her gaze intently, needing to see what she was offering, and needing her to see what I would take. After several long moments, she nodded. I didn’t say anything at all. Instead, I stared down at her hungry for a moment before I leaned forward and kissed her collarbone and then licked my way down the rise of her full breasts, before I sucked her nipple into my mouth, bra and all, teasing the bud to a hard point with the tip of my tongue.

I gripped her other tit in my hand and stroked her nipple with my thumb, intensifying my efforts when she tangled her fingers in my short hair and then held my shoulders. I wanted to taste her, so I released her nipple and then grabbed the straps of her bra and pulled them down her shoulders. Already hard beyond imagining, my cock jumped and then began to throb against the confines of my boxers when her breasts were exposed to me.

The large fleshy orbs were topped with dark brown nipples that stood out, beckoning me. I gave in to my desire and pulled the tip of her beautiful tit into my mouth, sucking hard, taking as much of the flesh as I could. When I closed my teeth around it and nipped at the bud, she bucked up against me.

“Please,” she said again on a moan, tightening her hold on my broad shoulders.

The faint whine in her voice was the sweetest sound, and after one last rasp of my tongue against her nipple, I reached for my jacket, grateful when I found the small foil packet with relative ease. As I fumbled with the packet, she pushed my boxers down, releasing my cock. She stroked me with both hands, sliding a finger through the fluid that leaked from my slit.

I gripped both of her wrists in one of my hands and quickly donned the condom with the other. Then, her wrists still in mine, I pushed the head of my cock inside her, unable to suppress a moan at the first blast of heat and the feel of her pussy opening at my entry. I stayed there, my cockhead barely penetrating her, letting the pleasure wash over me.

“Please,” she cried out, reaching toward me even though I held her hands tight.

I pushed farther, moving an inch deeper, and then another, and then another and another, panting as her walls spread for me. When I was fully seated, I paused again and looked down at her, smiling faintly when she looked up at me, brown eyes filled with ecstasy that bordered on wonder.

Her eyes reflected what I felt. Wonder, comfort, pleasure so intense that it froze the air in my lungs. The sensations rushed through me, her tight cunt pressing around my cock, the press of her soft abdomen against mine, her nipples faintly scrubbing against my chest as she breathed in and out in heavy breaths, and then, once I released her, her hands roaming across my body as if she tried to touch all of me at once.

I rocked into her gently, and I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth against the pleasure that filled me. I pushed inside her again and then I pulled out of her completely before slamming home. I repeated the motion, pulling out and slamming home in slow, full thrusts. As I’d known they would be, her hips were the perfect cushion for my thrusts, the soft yet firm flesh bouncing against me with each thrust, her equally full thighs cradling me tightly when she wrapped her legs around my waist.

I tweaked her nipples and then moved down her body until I reached her clit, circling my thumb around the distended bud and then pressed down roughly, my cock twitching when she clamped her cunt around me, her slick pussy getting wetter with each thrust. She went stiff under me and then cried out, her fingers gripping my arms as she squeezed her thighs around me even more, pulling me closer to her and deeper inside her.

Her pussy pulsed around me as she cried out her orgasm, coming on a harsh sigh, her warm breath brushing against my ear. It was a simple action, one that shouldn’t have touched me so deeply, but one that sent me over the edge nonetheless. I came harder and longer than I ever had, blast after blast of cum shooting out of me and into the condom.

I thrust inside her as I came, and on my last push, she climaxed again with a low moan. I kissed and touched her through her climax and as we calmed I held her face and stared into her eyes, feeling a soul-deep completion that I’d never known.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

I moved from her reluctantly, lamenting the loss of our connection, but I stilled when she placed a tender kiss on my arm, the softness of her lips against my skin stirring renewed desire.

“May I make you breakfast?” she asked quietly.

I wanted nothing more than to spend every moment with her that I could. “I’d like that very much,” I said.

She stood, and I eyed her hungrily, my gaze roving over her, pausing on the smooth expanse of her back, the nip of her waist as it flared out to her wide, womanly hips. The early morning light cast her beautiful brown skin in a soft glow that made me want to reach for her again. I turned, not wanting to look away but worried that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if I didn’t.

I dressed quickly and followed her to the kitchen. We sat in comfortable silence as she moved around the kitchen with the same ease and grace that she did at the restaurant. A few moments later, she presented a plate full with fluffy eggs and crisp-looking french toast. I murmured my approval after the first bite, and a pleased expression stole over her face.

As much as I was enjoying sharing this meal, there was a matter I needed to address.

“Why are you there so late? And by yourself.” I said the last sternly and making no attempts to hide my displeasure with the fact that she worked alone.

“I usually have at least two people open and close, but I lost my best guy, and finding a replacement has been tough, so I’ve had to pick up the slack. And besides,” she smiled brightly, “I meet the most interesting people.”

I didn’t return the expression.

“It’s not safe. You need to have someone with you.”

A spark of anger ignited in her eyes.

“I’d prefer not to be lectured,” she said, voice hard.

“And I’d prefer you not be vulnerable,” I returned quickly.

The harshness of my words was rooted in fear. No place was safe, not at any time, not really, and she was tempting fate. If I hadn’t been there…I cut off that train of thought before I could take it too far. I
had
been there, and I was here now, and I need to focus on that, and not what could’ve been.

We stared at each other for several long moments, neither giving an inch. I appreciated the fight, but I was right and wouldn’t yield on the issue. Apparently she agreed, for she looked away after a few more beats.

“You’re right,” she said with a deep breath. “I was silly, somehow thought that I was protected or immune, but I guess that’s not the case. Which sucks, because I’ve never, ever been afraid there. Not even when I get the occasional crazy who rambles in. But now…” She trailed off, and I hated that her peace had been shattered.

But I was also a little grateful, a small selfish voice deep in my mind reminded me. If last night had never happened, this morning wouldn’t have either.

“You work at night too?” she asked suddenly.

“Yes.” I didn’t elaborate, and she seemed satisfied by the answer.

“I can tell. Most folks look tired, but not you. Always so focused and alert. How long have you worked nights?”

“Years. I’m used to it now, not sure if I could do anything else,” I said.

I hoped that my discomfort didn’t show, but I hadn’t even considered how to handle this conversation. Normal people, people like April, talked about their work, especially with those they spent time with. But I wasn’t normal, and I had no frame of reference for this type of interaction. I’d just have to be vague and hope that it worked.

“And you like it, what you do?”

“It has its benefits,” I said honestly. “And its drawbacks.”

“You do physical work right, work with your hands?” she asked.

“Usually. My job can be strenuous, but not always,” I said.

It wasn’t technically a lie, but I felt a great wave of shame.

“I could tell that too,” she said, smiling again. “You have that look about you, move so smoothly and comfortably. I can’t imagine you behind a desk all day, or night in this case,” she said.

I didn’t respond, but her smile remained as she glanced at me shyly, and I took the opportunity to change the subject.

“Don’t say it. It’s not necessary,” I said.

“I’m too transparent, but I don’t know what else to say. So thank you. I’m done now,” she said quickly raising her hands.

“Good. I have to go,” I said.

Her smiled dimmed the smallest bit, but she recovered quickly.

“Would you mind if I come by sometimes…?” It was my turn to fumble, and I trailed off, cursing myself for speaking the words. I needed to pull away, not get deeper involved. But there was no part of me that could fathom leaving April to wonder if I’d used her, no part of me that could abide the thought of not seeing her again.

“Of course. Please do,” she said, smiling even brighter, a faint hint of relief and excitement in her eyes.

“And you’ll do something about the night situation?”

She sobered, though this time I didn’t care. Her safety was paramount, and while I had plans of my own, she needed to take them herself as well.

“Yes. I have calls to make this morning. I’m shifting so that open and close has at least two people at all times. And I need to see a contractor about the door. It’s unlocked most of the time, but beefing things up can’t hurt.

I nodded my agreement with her plan and then stood, and she followed suit. I closed the two steps that separated us and then wrapped her in an embrace, one that I tried to keep gentle, though I feared the ferocity of my emotion bled through.

“Good-bye, April,” I said, and then I left.

Chapter Seven

I spent the day resting, working out, planning for the evening, and resolutely trying
not
to think of April. I failed at that task, miserably, and as the day progressed, I caught myself remembering the sensation of her skin against my hands, the soft little sighs she’d released as I’d stroked inside her, how gentle her eyes were when she smiled, how they’d glittered with pleasure.

Less than twelve hours and I already missed her, had to restrain myself from going to her. But somehow I resisted. I hadn’t decided yet what to do, needed to be sure, or less
unsure
before I saw her next.

And there was work to be done.

So I pushed memories of April and of the decision I had to make aside and focused on the task at hand.

The person I sought lazily strolled across the street, seeming at ease, without a care in the world. Poor bastard didn’t know what was coming, but maybe, I thought as I moved toward him, it was better that way. I slowed as I approached and pulled out my .25, and when I was three feet away, I popped three shots, two to his chest, one to his neck. He slid to the ground without a sound, shock etched on his features.

I slowed a little more, watched as the life drained from his eyes, and then sped up and walked away without turning back, though not fast enough that I’d attract attention. Killing him had been easy, probably too easy, and for the first time in years, I wondered what it said about me that other than the rush of excitement and pride at a job perfectly done, I felt nothing. And then my mind conjured a picture of April seeing me like this, the light in her eyes replaced with terror, her warmth and openness replaced with coldness and fear.

I tried to hold the picture in my mind, told myself that I needed to remember that she didn’t know me, that she never could, would reject me, or worse, if she did. But that didn’t work either. Even with the proverbial blood of some poor soul who’d gotten on the boss’s very bad side still fresh on my hands, even with full knowledge that this would not end well, I still longed for her, knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay away.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

My internal battle waged as I returned from the job, and the thoughts only abated when I met Shaughnessy at our designated spot.