Keep Me Closer (A Dangerous Tides Novel) Read online

  She’d given Ryder the key fob to her Audi on Wednesday night, and he’d had two deputies go back over to the clinic to pick it up, then bring it back to the sheriff’s station. No way in hell would anyone mess with it there. And Alex had liked that it kept her from doing something reckless, like deciding she could drive herself home if he couldn’t be there to get her.

  It’d bothered him, even more than he’d thought it would, when he’d had to call Mike and ask him to play chauffeur. Of course, his brother had been only too happy to help out, and Alex had spent a good ten minutes lecturing him on how important it was that he spend less time flirting with her and more time making sure they weren’t followed. The last thing he wanted was Shepherd finding out where he lived, because it would mean having to move locations, and for some uncharacteristic reason that he didn’t completely understand, he actually liked having her under his roof.

  Under his body would be even better, but he figured he had better play it by ear and see how she acted when she saw him.

  The moment he stepped inside the condo, he heard soft music coming from his kitchen, and a grin twitched at the corner of his mouth just as the spicy scent of something Mexican filled his nostrils. His stomach rumbled with approval, while a different kind of heat spread through his system at the fact that Brit Cramer was in his kitchen, cooking for him again.

  A week ago, if someone had told him this would be happening, he would have laughed his ass off at them and said they were screwed up in the head. But now that he was living it, he’d have been lying if he’d said there wasn’t something incredibly satisfying about knowing he was going to walk into his kitchen and set eyes on her. He hated the danger she was in from Shepherd, and had bitched Ryder out over the phone the entire drive home for not making more progress in tracking the psychotic son of a bitch down. But that didn’t mean his pulse wasn’t quickening as he set his keys and gun on the end table in the living room, then made his way over to the kitchen archway.

  He’d already been sporting a semi, just from the thought of seeing her, but the instant she came into view, his damn dick shot as solid as a fucking rock. The lust and need and hunger hit him so hard, blasting through him like a shock wave, that he knew he didn’t have a chance in hell of fighting it.

  He stood in the archway, hands hanging loose at his sides as he leaned his shoulder against the wall, and simply drank in the sight of her, wanting it permanently inked into his brain like a tattoo. She had music playing on the radio, something jazzy and full of sax, while she swayed her hips to the rhythm and stirred something in a bowl on the counter. She’d changed when she’d gotten in, because she was now wearing a loose, short, simple cotton sundress, the deep blue color looking amazing with her hair and complexion, her slender feet adorable and bare, toenails painted a dark red.

  She obviously hadn’t heard him when he came in, and even though it probably made him a voyeur, Alex decided to just chill and enjoy the view. It was one of the sexiest damn things he’d ever seen, the natural sensuality of her movements as she lost herself in the music, and his already overheated body temp spiked even higher. He stripped his shirt off, letting it drop to the floor, and when he looked up, she was standing in the middle of the kitchen, her wavy red hair falling around her shoulders, her lips glossy and pink, her creamy skin flushed with color.

  And she was staring right at him, her beautiful eyes smoky and hot.

  Ah, hell. A fresh wave of need shot straight to his dick, and if he’d ever been this painfully stiff before, he’d blocked it from his memory. All the reasons that had kept flicking through his head that day about why this was such a bad idea—his past, his baggage, the intensity of their chemistry, not to mention her relationship with his family and the situation with Shepherd—started banging around again. But he didn’t give a shit. With a silent snarl, he told them all to go to hell, no longer giving a damn about what he should do. He just wanted to focus on what was going to happen. Right now. Because unless she told him no, he was going to be so deep in this woman she’d be tasting him at the back of her throat for days. He wanted his scent all over her. Inside of her. Wanted every man who looked at her to know that she’d been ridden long and hard and deep, and that he was the one who’d done it.

  He just hoped to fuck she didn’t say no.

  Please. Please just let me have this . . .

  Wondering if his heart was going to actually blast its way past his sternum, Alex felt her gaze move over his bare chest, and some of the tension in his gut relaxed. He might be shit when it came to dealing with women these days, but that wasn’t the look of a woman who wanted to tell him to fuck off. It was the look of a woman who wanted him to fuck her. And the shadow of caution in those beautiful eyes meant she wasn’t an idiot. She knew damn well what she was getting into with him. What he was willing to offer her, and what he wasn’t. Which meant they were free to indulge until she eventually decided to kick his ass to the curb.

  The key was to stay as detached as he could, so that he didn’t have to worry about what condition he’d be in when that time finally came. Because he didn’t have a choice. As gun-shy and wary as he was, he couldn’t turn away from her. Not anymore. With or without the Shepherd problem, he’d had a taste of her, and he needed another. He’d been hooked by the first sip of her lips, then he’d gone down on her, and her mouthwatering flavor had been more addictive than any of the alcohol he’d drowned himself in after his divorce.

  So, like the pathetic bastard he was, he was going to glut himself on her until he was forced to go cold turkey. And it might make him sound like a dick, but he wasn’t nearly as concerned about the condition she’d be in when they crashed and burned. Yeah, she hadn’t liked the dick move he’d made with Chloe, but he wasn’t stupid. The doc was as classy an act as they came, and he knew the odds were strong that he’d never really touch her on an emotional level. And that was fine. He just wanted to make sure that when she finally walked away, her body felt his presence all the way down in her bones.

  That he wasn’t going to be a part of her life that was too easily forgotten.

  The song on the radio ended, blending into something even sultrier, both of their chests rising and falling with a rhythm that matched the deep, sexual beat. She lowered her smoldering gaze to his boots, then slowly ran it up his body, taking her time, taking him in, and bit her lip when she got to his crotch, the denim of his jeans bulging as it tried to contain his erection. She lingered there for so long he started to sweat, his muscles twitching, and then she made her way up to his abs, and he thanked God for every grueling hour he spent working to keep his body in shape. In that moment, they were worth it, just to see the rich appreciation that made her hot gaze even hotter.

  Shoving a hand back through his short hair, he hissed, “Jesus, Brit.”

  She cocked her head a bit to the side, as if she didn’t know what to make of the raw edge in his voice. “Alex?”

  He gave a quick, hard shake of his head, and straightened away from the wall. “Don’t say anything, unless you need to tell me to get lost. Otherwise . . .” His breathing was getting deeper, making a harsh, rasping sound as it rushed past his lips. “Otherwise, just keep looking at me like that.”

  He braced himself for her to laugh in his face and tell him to take a hike. But he should have known not to try and predict what she would do. Instead, her eyes got a soft, molten look that made him want to roar. That made him want to throw her down on the nearest available surface and pound himself so deep inside her, it obliterated everything but the feel of her silky, curvy body. No past. No future. Just the mind-shattering feel of Brit Cramer’s deluxe little cunt wrapped around him, sucking him dry, hurtling him into paradise.

  “I want more. More of you.” His voice was low and hard-edged, the words scraping from his tight throat. “But I can’t . . . I can’t give you more than this.”

  She lowered her lashes, shielding wh
atever emotion must have just flashed in that smoky gaze. No woman liked to hear that she was just sex, even if she was too good for the guy. But the doc didn’t turn away from him. She took a quick breath, then lifted her lashes and looked right at him. “I didn’t ask for more.”

  “We’re good?”

  A small, nearly imperceptible nod. Then a whispered, “We’re good.”

  And that was all the fucking permission he needed.

  He didn’t remember crossing the space between them. He just knew that one second he was standing in the archway, and the next he had his hands on her. All over her. He ripped the dress open, tearing it down her shoulder on one side, taking the cup of her bra with it, and his mouth latched on to her breast as he gripped her ass, lifting her off the floor. He sucked hard, the pressure probably just shy of pain as he carried her out of the room, setting her down on the dining room table after he kicked a chair out of his way.

  He pulled back, his gaze roaming over every inch of her upper body, his mouth wanting to be everywhere at once as he ripped at the buttons on his jeans, in such a hurry he nearly tore one off. Shoving them over his hips with his boxers, he heaved a ragged groan of relief when his dick sprang free, swollen nearly to bursting and almost embarrassingly brutal-looking, with its thick veins and ruddy coloring, more than ready to bury itself in what was sure to be its newest favorite place. His damn fingers had been tingling all day whenever he thought about how sweet she felt inside. God only knew what she was going to do to his cock.

  Needing to see every beautiful inch of her naked and ready, Alex ripped the rest of her dress away, dropping the ruined pieces on the floor, then gave the same caveman treatment to her lacy panties. And, fuck, she was stunning. He was thankful as hell that she’d pulled the blinds over the sliding glass doors when she’d gotten in, because he didn’t think he would have had the strength to walk away from her to do it himself.

  “Wait!” she gasped, when he put his hands on the insides of her thighs and started to push them as wide as they’d go.

  “Why?” he ground out, thinking there was a good chance he might actually bawl like a fucking baby if she’d changed her mind. But her next words damn near made him come then and there.

  With her heavy-lidded gaze locked on his dick, she breathed out, “I want to touch it first.”

  He hissed a curse through his teeth, then groaned her name, wondering why everything felt so different with her. So . . . raw and exciting, when he’d thought he’d already experienced everything there was to experience when it came to sex.

  “Please,” she whispered, his damn heart nearly stopping as she reached out and grasped him with both hands, pulling the rigid shaft away from his body. “It’s gorgeous and I want to hold it for a moment.”

  Alex stared, jaw hanging, not sure how he felt about hearing a woman refer to his dick as being gorgeous. It was weird as hell, but then, it was also fucking hot. No denying that. He was so turned on he was creaming the plum-sized head, pre-cum leaking all over her feminine hands as she gripped him. She was petting him, tracing the thick veins with the delicate tip of her finger, then testing the girth to see if she could wrap her fingers around him, which she couldn’t. And, Christ, that only made him thicker, seeing how huge he looked in her delicate grip. Yeah, he knew his dick was bigger than a lot of women had seen, but he’d never had a woman who looked as if she so thoroughly appreciated the way he was built. Not just the size, but the whole fucking package. Literally.

  Of course, it didn’t mean shit in the long run. Hadn’t kept Judith from spreading her legs for his coworkers. But he was going to use every God-given inch to make this something that blew the doc’s mind. He wanted her ruined with it. Screaming and clawing and fucking begging him for more.

  Pulling her hands away from him, he growled, “I can’t wait, Doc. You can play with it later.”

  She exhaled deeply as she leaned back, propping herself on her elbows, the provocative position doing downright sinful things to the thrust of her breasts. If he weren’t on the verge of desperation to get inside her, he would have taken a moment to jack himself off all over those perfect, pink-tipped tits, making sure he got the thick little nipples nice and drenched.

  Whoa, man. Focus! Shaking his head, he reached down and grasped his dick, squeezing hard, hoping the pain might help him gain a measure of control. Pointing himself toward her, he slid the head through the slippery cream coating her smooth slit, wringing a curse from his lips. He hadn’t come inside a woman in so long, it was undoubtedly going to be a shitload of spunk that he shot inside her. And he wanted her feeling its heat. Wanted her soaked in it. But he wasn’t so much of a bastard that he would make the decision for her. So he made himself ask, “Do I need a condom?”

  “I’m on the pill. But . . .”

  “But what?”

  “Well, they’re not 100 percent.”

  “They’re close enough,” he grunted. “And I’m clean. It’s been years since I’ve done this without suiting up.”

  She’d been staring at him coating the head of his dick in her slippery juices, but his confession had her glancing up at him through her long, russet-colored lashes. “Then why now?”

  Bracing his free hand on the table beside her hip, Alex let go of his dick and sank two fingers inside her tender opening. His body shook, and he pressed his damp forehead against hers, his deep voice guttural with lust. “Because you have the hottest, juiciest, snuggest little cunt I’ve ever felt,” he told her, curving his fingers so that he could rub against the rough, sensitive spot deep inside her that made her breath hitch. “It’s perfect, Doc. Cushioned and tight and slick. I want to feel you on my skin. Want to feel you from the inside out more than I’ve ever wanted any goddamn thing in this world. And I swear I’m not feeding you a line. I mean every word.” Lifting his head so he could see her face, he asked, “So you with me? Or do I need to grab my wallet?”

  For a moment, she stared back at him as if to say this was total madness. But then her lips parted, and he heard her murmur, “No, I’m . . . I’m with you.”

  “Good.” He pulled his fingers back and aimed his cockhead right for her swollen, slippery vulva. “Because I’m about to fuck you so hard, I don’t think a rubber could have taken it.”

  Her breath caught as he pushed the first inch inside, and though he felt like he was burning with fever, she was even hotter. And so fucking tight. He started to work his hips in careful back and forth lunges, determined to get inside her sweet little body without hurting her. Each time he pulled back and then pushed back in, he gained a bit more of that fist-tight sheath, his mind blown from how snug and wet and fucking soft she felt. But there was still a hell of a long way to go.

  When she bit her lip and moaned, “God, Alex,” there was a genuine thread of panic in her voice, and he couldn’t help but want to soothe her.

  “Shh. Just let me in and relax. It’ll be okay. Better than okay.”

  She gave an adorable laugh that was choked. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one getting crammed full of a massive penis right now.”

  He lowered his forehead to hers again, his shoulders shaking. “Fuck, Brit, don’t do that. Don’t make me laugh.”

  “You don’t like laughing?”

  “Time and place, Doc. Time and place.”

  Before she could say anything else to make him lose it, he leaned down and used his teeth to pull down the other cup of her bra, exposing the firm, pale breast. Damn, she was beautiful. Needing to feel her against his tongue, he took the newly exposed, tight pink nipple into his mouth, sucking and tonguing it until he could feel her clenching pussy start to give way a bit for him. She was still mind-blowingly tight, but he was gaining ground now, pumping a little harder . . . a bit faster, and oh, fuck, it was going to feel so unreal when he was finally buried so deep he was hitting the end of her.

  “Here we g
o,” he groaned, lifting his head so that he could watch her face when it happened. “That’s it, Doc. All the way now.”

  * * *

  BRIT STARED INTO ALEX’S PALE GREEN EYES, AND LET OUT A THROATY cry as he finally slammed every thick inch of that amazing cock of his into her body. Her mouth fell open as wild, breathless sounds tore from her throat, the incredible sensation of holding all of him inside her almost too much to bear. Then he started to move, and it got even better. He held her hips and ground her against him on every downstroke, making her take every inch of him, until there wasn’t even a sliver of space between their bodies. They were wet and hot and slick, skin glistening with sweat, their groins slapping against each other as he pulled back and then slammed into her again, giving it to her so hard she cried out from the jarring shock of pleasure-pain. The table legs were screeching as they got shoved across the tiled floor, and she couldn’t do anything but hold on for dear life.

  Oh, God. Talk about backfiring. She thought she’d be able to dive into this experience with him and enjoy it for the pleasure, like a naïve little ninny traipsing through the flower fields of lust, tra-la-la and isn’t this nice, getting a bunch of lovely orgasms from the surly, but gorgeous Alex Hudson. Hah! She couldn’t have been more wrong. Oh, the pleasure was un-fucking-believable, but there was nothing casual about what was happening. She was clawing him, for God’s sake. Sinking her nails into his powerful shoulders, silently demanding he fuck her harder. Deeper. She was completely losing it, her usual inhibitions gone, and she couldn’t help but be a little freaked out.

  Then she was suddenly coming, convulsing around that thick, beautiful stalk that was powering in and out of her body, and she couldn’t do anything but throw her head back and scream, completely destroyed by the pleasure. Somewhere in the middle of her out-of-control orgasm, she must have lost all awareness of the outside world, completely consumed by what was happening inside her, because the next thing she knew she was no longer even lying on the table. At some point Alex had pulled her up into his arms as he straightened, because his hands were now under her ass, moving her sensitive pussy over his burgeoning cock as he braced his feet apart and worked her down on him over and over with a violent, brutal force that felt so good she had to lean down and sink her teeth into his muscular golden shoulder, and it shot him over the edge right along with her. With a savage shout, he slammed her against him in short, jarring thrusts, the tendons in his neck straining beneath his skin as his hot semen started blasting inside her, the blistering surges drenching her until she could feel herself overflowing.