Unfinished Business (25 page)

And when her eyes opened and her gaze met his, held it, he said, “Open yourself to me. Take me inside.” Then remembering the request she had made of him earlier, he needed to make that same appeal to her: “Make me yours.”

His breath caught when she reached down and gathered him in her hand, directed his throbbing hard shaft to her opening, which was slick and wet. And when she slowly guided him to the mark, letting the tip of him probe, stroke, and caress the bud of her desire, over and over again, his senses raged out of control.

“Christy . . .”

Reaching down and pulling her hands away, he proceeded to hold them above her head while he kissed her mouth furiously at the same time he eased his body into hers. She was tight, wet, and ready.

He pulled his mouth away, looked down, and met her gaze at the same time he entered her, hesitating when he found her too tight to go any further. He wanted her but didn’t want to hurt her.

“Do it, Alex,” she said, wrapping her legs around him just in case he changed his mind. “I’m your wife. I’m the woman who loves you more than life itself. Do it.”

“Christy.”

He said her name the moment his body thrust instinctively. He suddenly went still when he heard her cry of pain. He was about to pull out, but she tightened her legs around him. “No, don’t stop,” she whispered. “I’m OK. Honest.”

He looked down at her and saw her tears and he knew at that moment that he loved her more than he thought humanly possible. This beautiful twenty-four-year old woman hadn’t bowed to what everyone else was doing. She hadn’t let a man touch her this way until now. Until she was certain. She had saved herself for this moment. She had saved herself for him.

“You sure?” he asked, not wanting to cause her any more pain. He kept his lower body immobile, giving her time to adjust to the size of him.

“I’m positive,” she assured him, smoothing her hands over the hard muscles of his chest. She smiled at the heat she saw in his gaze.

He smiled back, and feeling the depth of himself in her hot, wet body he began to move, slowly, and felt her opening herself to him more, completely, compelling him to rock deep into her, mate with her, give her a special brand of body-to-body passion, soul-to-soul connection, and a heart-to-heart commitment.

And as they continued to make love, the process becoming as natural as breathing, he made her his, totally, irrevocably. He took everything she had to give and then gave her everything he had to share only with her, his wife, his lady, the heart of his desire.

His strokes were long. They were hard. He went in and pulled out, stroking her over and over again. Then she was shuddering again, heading for the cliff, and that same shudder touched his body, and he joined her as they both went over the edge and the world crashed down on them. Incredible sensations claimed their minds and bodies, spreading fire as explosions after explosions ripped around them.

He heard himself cry out her name. He heard her cry out his. This kind of pleasure had been a long time coming but had been worth the wait. His lips returned to hers, sealing their fate, interlocking their minds, and firmly bonding their marriage.

Love mingled with desire and passion and they knew what they were sharing was just the beginning.

 
The sun was rising in the sky when Christy slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was instinctively drawn to the man lying at her side, whose legs were intertwined with hers. Although his eyes were closed, she knew he wasn’t asleep.

She studied his features. Dark shadows from the shave he needed accentuated his chin and gave him a rugged look. He had worried about leaving marks on her body, but she had assured him that she considered any marks left behind as his brand.

Memories of what they had shared last night and during the wee hours of the early morning sent shivers invading her. She closed her eyes as she remembered the passion, the heat, and the sexual fulfillment. Everything had been just as she had dreamed so many times. He had been gentle, attentive, and his ardor had been simply breathtaking, carrying her to heights she had never journeyed before.

Suddenly she felt an electrical current spark the air and slowly opened her eyes to stare into his face. His eyes were opened and he was watching her. She felt her body respond automatically, spontaneously, to the darkness of his gaze. The heat of it sent blood simmering through her veins, and without him saying a word she knew what he wanted.

She slid over to him, filled with love and desire, and he pulled her closer to him. “Let’s capture the moment,” he whispered huskily as he encapsulated her mouth with a passionate hunger that she returned.

They had captured a lot of moments since last night. After making love to her that first time he had lovingly swept her into his arms and taken her into the connecting garden bathroom, where they shared the huge sunken Jacuzzi tub.

He had lathered her body in the warm bubbly water, massaged her sore limbs, and held her in his arms until the water had cooled. Then he had wrapped her in a towel and carried her back into the bedroom, where he had sat in the love seat and held her like she was the most precious thing to him. And while holding her, he had painstakingly explained how his father’s desertion had affected him, making him lose faith in love and its true meaning, and why he’d vowed never to lose control. But that thanks to her, love had new meaning for him. His words had touched her heart, and she’d vowed never to let him lose faith in love again.

She must have fallen asleep in his arms, because all she remembered after that was being kissed awake by him and making love again. Hours later when all he had to do was touch her and she would respond, he had swept her away on the wings of passion all over again.

Now it was a new day and she moaned his name as she melted into his kiss, was seeped into another existence where all her thoughts, desires, and wants were centered on him. The urgency of the kiss propelled her to arch more into the strong arms that gently and protectively held her, giving her all she desired and more. And when, without breaking the kiss, he reached out and filled his hands with her breasts, softly stroking the hardened tips, she released a groan of pure pleasure.

Then he broke off the kiss. “Look at me, sweetheart,” he murmured huskily.

She lifted her gaze to him and felt the heat of him flow through her. “Always know that I love you,” he said; the tremor in his voice was deep and vividly clear. She heard the love, the passion, and the sincere emotion in his words and her heart swelled.

She tilted her head back and nodded, her eyes steady on his. “And always know that I love you, too.”

He kissed her again, moving her under him, holding her hips and lifting her to him, joining their bodies in one smooth entry and establishing a rhythm that was intimately familiar. The movement of his tongue matched the tempo of their bodies, and each stroke promised an even deeper penetration. He filled her, withdrew, and filled her again, and she writhed beneath him, continuously moaning out his name. And then it happened, and gloriously so. Sensations tore through them, sending their senses escalating.

Alex sank deeper into the warmth of the woman he loved, giving her all and knowing she had a place in the deepest recess of his heart. They pleasured each other to the sweetest oblivion while locked together in a mindless state of endless release. All existence became nonexistent and when the final wave crushed down on them they went under, drowning uncontrollably in a sea of passion.

“I talked to your uncle yesterday before the ceremony.”

Christy forced her eyes open to look into Alex’s face. “Uncle Jake?”

“Yes.”

She rolled over on her stomach and propped her face up with the palms of her hands and lifted a curious brow. “Why?”

Alex reached out and gently stroked her bare back, loving the feel of her soft skin. “Rasheed felt that I should, and he was right. Considering everything, leaving this place may not be easy, and I wanted Jake to know where we were in case something goes wrong.”

Christy nodded. “Did you tell him we had to get married?”

He shook his head. “Yes, but I asked him not to mention it to anyone for now. I also asked that he be at the Honolulu airport when we got there.”

She flipped on her back. “I bet he has a lot of questions.”

Alex chuckled. “Yes, but Jake trusts me enough to know that when I’m ready, I’ll give him answers. And I asked that he not mention anything to your brothers, but now I think I’ll call him back and suggest that he bring them with him.” Alex leaned forward to trail a kiss across her cheek and down to the base of her throat.

Christy fought to keep her mind on their conversation; however, the sensations that were beginning to flow through her made it nearly impossible. “Why would you want to do that?” she whispered, barely able to get the question out.

“Because I think it’s time they knew the truth and we should be the ones to tell them.” His lips licked the corner of her mouth and slowly moved toward the lower portion of her ear.

Christy knew he was right, but she didn’t look forward to telling her brothers anything. She didn’t even want to think of how they might react.

Alex read her mind and his arms went tight around her. “We’re married, sweetheart, and no one, not even your brothers, will change that.”

She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips. “Thanks for not giving up on me, Alex.”

When she tried to pull back Alex didn’t let her. He pulled her closer and kissed her in a way that made her feel even more special.

A few hours later

Houston, Texas

“No disrespect, Jake, but what the hell do you mean, Christy’s in trouble? What’s going on?” Dex Madaris asked, firing the questions one behind the other.

Jake Madaris rubbed a hand down his face as he recalled the phone call he had received from Alex that morning. The call yesterday had asked Jake not to tell his nephews. Now it seemed that Alex had changed his mind and wanted them to know what was going on and wanted Jake to bring them to Honolulu with him.

Jake glanced at the three men. Why now of all times did his nephews have to be difficult? At least Dex and Clayton were. Justin, being Justin, had the calmness of a seasoned politician. Jake knew Justin was just as concerned as his brothers; however, in situations such as this, he took the role of a diplomat.

“I’m sure Jake will tell us if we calm down and give him the chance,” Justin said in a composed voice as he leaned in the door frame.

With three pairs of eyes on him Jake shrugged. “Right now I don’t have a lot to tell other than Christy flew to some island in the South Pacific chasing after a story. Alex called and—”

“Alex?” Clayton asked, his gaze going from intensity to confusion. “What does Alex have to do with this?”

“He’s the one who discovered Christy had gone to this island and he went after her.”

“I thought Alex was somewhere on vacation,” Dex piped in. He was just as confused as Clayton.

“He was, but apparently he got wind that the situation Christy was walking into was a FBI sting operation and went after her.”

“Thank God for that,” Justin said as relief shot through him.

“I bet Alex wasn’t on vacation like we assumed but was working somewhere undercover and found out about Christy that way,” Clayton said as his analytical mind went to work.

“So when do we leave?” Dex asked with a stormy look on his face. “If Alex called and asked that you bring us, then he might suspect trouble. I’ll give Trev and Trask a call, as well as Ashton and Sir Drake.”

Jake shook his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He knew it would be a waste of time to tell Dex there wasn’t a need to assemble what Jake considered a three-man hit squad. Trevor, Ashton, and Sir Drake were former members of the Marines Special Forces. It didn’t take much to give them an excuse to reenact those roles.

“Fine,” Jake said, looking at his watch. “We take off in less than an hour.”

“How are you holding up, Captain?”

Alex looked over at Christy and smiled. Her beauty took his breath away. Even now, when his concentration should be on operating the boat, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Her hair, gloriously wind tossed, hung loose around her shoulders. She had tried pinning it up, but that hadn’t worked. Personally, he liked it down. And early this morning when he had placed her atop him in bed, her hair had cascaded over his face when she leaned down to kiss him.

“I’d hold up a lot better if you come over here a moment,” he said huskily. He glanced out at the blue-green waters and thought he couldn’t wait until they got to Hawaii. But then he couldn’t forget the call he’d made to Jake before they’d set sail asking that he bring the Madaris brothers with him, which meant there wouldn’t be any private time for him and Christy. He glanced over at her again and decided he would make time.

Christy, who had been standing at the rail looking out over the beautiful Pacific Ocean, smiled as her gaze met Alex’s. The flapping of the waves against the boat, along with the sound of the motor running, was reassuring. They were on their way back to the States, and she was happy about it.

Turning, she walked over to where her husband was standing and wondered if there was any task the man could not do. Rasheed’s mini-yacht was a beauty, and Alex was handling the boat like a born sea captain. They had been on-board for over six hours, and according to Alex, the Kiribati island was less than a couple of hours away.

When she reached Alex he pulled her into his arms and they stood that way for the longest time with his arms holding her protectively and snugly in their embrace. Christy then turned in his arms to face him. “You know Mom is going to want to plan another wedding.”

Alex smiled. “That’s fine.”

“And Gramma Laverne might come up with some traditional reason why we’ll need to remain apart until after the wedding.”

Alex frowned. “Now that’s not fine. Baby, you and I are married and I have no intentions of spending one night anywhere without you. And just as soon as I can, I plan to take you shopping for a real wedding ring.”

She glanced down at her hand and smiled quickly. “I happen to like this one.” She looked up when she felt his body suddenly stiffen and saw the deep frown on his face. “What is it, Alex?”

His eyes were staring straight ahead. “Looks like we have company.”

Christy’s gaze followed the direction of his and she saw a boat that carried the flag of the Vanuatu government approaching them. A nervous jolt went through her body when she remembered Rasheed saying the Vanuatu authorities could be just as ruthless as the cutthroats they arrested.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Alex whispered in her ear. “For them to check out things is just a formality, and then we’ll be on our way.”

Christy nodded, hoping Alex was right. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a cotton blouse. Alex was wearing jeans, a pullover shirt, and a Houston Texans jacket. “But just in case, I want you to have this,” Alex said softly, slipping his small revolver into her hand.

He didn’t bother asking her if she knew how to use it, since it was a known fact that her brothers had taught her how to handle a gun at an early age. He used to think it was ludicrous when Dex would take a teenage Christy to the gun range with him on Saturday mornings, but now Alex was grateful that Dex had.

Alex smiled faintly when she lifted a questioning gaze to him. “I’m just taking every precaution,” he said quietly.

The two grizzled men whose vessel came alongside of theirs looked mean and spoke in rapid French. Christy stood close to Alex but began getting nervous when one of the men’s gazes kept coming back to her.

Alex noticed it, too, and placed an arm around Christy’s middle. He knew that thanks to Rasheed all their papers were in order and wondered why the men were hesitant about leaving. When the men suddenly stopped speaking French, a language Alex understood, and began conversing in Bislama, a language that he did not, his sense of danger kicked in. Some things went beyond language, and the two men’s attention to Christy was way too obvious. He eased her closer to him.

“If there’s nothing else, we need to be on our way,” Alex said in French, watching the two men cautiously. The larger of the two men nodded but instead of handing the papers back to Alex, tossed them over the boat into the water.

And then suddenly both men lunged for him, one with the blade of a knife. Alex quickly pushed Christy out of the way. One guy was knocked overboard when Alex gave him a sharp karate kick. But the man with the knife was harder to deal with. Alex wanted to believe this guy would be easy to take down, but his gut told him otherwise. And then the tussle began, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the other man, the one he had knocked overboard, was crawling back over the side of the boat, coming up behind Christy.