Locked in Temptation Page 16

  When he did that wiggly thing with his tongue, zigzagging and making circuitous motions, her hips nearly shot off the bed. But he continued his firm hold on her as if he was determined to get every last drop of her juices. She wasn’t sure how that was possible when, thanks to him and his insatiable tongue, more was being produced.

  When she felt a jolt of sexual pleasure consume her, starting at the soles of her feet and traveling with resonant speed toward her center, she cried out, screaming his name. The booming sound seemed to ricochet off the walls before returning to her and making her buck against his mouth again.

  Still, he refused to let up. It felt as though his tongue was imprinting itself inside her. When he finally pulled his mouth away, she opened her eyes to stare at him. It took a while to focus, and when she did she stared deep into his eyes.

  “Your taste is spoiling me,” he said in a husky tone.

  She was too weak to tell him that his tongue was nearly killing her. “Now to take off my clothes,” he said, moving away from the bed. Although it was a struggle, she pushed up on her elbows to watch him. Dog-tired or not, there was no way she was not going to watch this.

  “Did I tell you how much I love your breasts?”

  “Umm.” She couldn’t remember if he had or not, and right now, seeing him remove his shirt was at the top of her agenda.

  Then he removed his shoes and socks. “I guess you intend to lie there and watch.”

  “Yes.” There was no need to lie about it.

  By now his hands had gone to the zipper of his jeans and when he slowly pulled it down, she could feel her breath getting lodged in her throat. And then, in what seemed like a deliberately slow movement, he dragged his jeans along with black briefs down a pair of masculine thighs. When his shaft was free, she blinked. OMG. Had it gotten even larger?

  “No.”

  Her gaze shifted up to his face for a quick second. “No what?”

  “It didn’t get any bigger.”

  She wondered how he’d known what she was thinking. “You sure?”

  He chuckled. “Positive. It’s just the angle from which you’re looking at it now.”

  “Oh.” She figured she’d take his word for it. It was his body. He ought to know.

  Joy could feel herself getting wet between the legs again just from staring at him. And as her gaze held tight, she saw his massive shaft expand before her eyes. Like before, it was jutting proudly from a dark thatch of curls. The head of it was enormous and engorged. The veins running along it seemed imposingly solid.

  She forced her gaze to take in the rest of him, appreciating the muscled legs, masculine thighs, tight abs and broad, hairy chest. Once again she admired the tattoo of a bald eagle in flight on his chest. She thought the same thing now that she had the last time. He was pure male perfection on legs.

  “Got your fill?”

  She shifted her gaze to his face. A very handsome face. “For now.”

  A smile spread across his lips. “Just as long as you know while you were watching me, I was watching you.”

  “Were you?” She lifted a brow. Had he been able to see how her womanly core had practically begun dripping with wetness? “I can see how wet and slick you are down there.”

  Joy felt her cheeks tint. She and Omar never had such intimate conversations in the bedroom. They had sex and then went to sleep. They definitely didn’t talk about it the way she and Stonewall were doing. Not even during the early days when they were supposedly madly in love.

  She watched as Stonewall rolled on a condom. He made it seem like second nature, and she figured he had to have done it a lot for it to be so easy for him.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded. Holding her gaze, he headed back toward the bed. Back to her, and she got heated with each and every step he took with his huge erection looking massive and firm and expanding even more. Lordy.

  When he reached the bed, he drew her up, letting her body slide against him. She felt a tingling sensation in her stomach when the tips of her breasts brushed against his hairy chest.

  “I want you now, Joy. I missed you so damn much.”

  His words, spoken in a deep, throaty voice, sent pleasurable shivers through her body. She would admit the truth to him, as well. “I missed you a lot, too. At night before going to sleep I cleared my mind of everything but you. Even without being here, you were my diversion. I woke up every morning well rested and ready to tackle another day. Thanks to you.”

  She saw the smug look that came onto his face. “Have I given you a big head?” she asked. It would be fitting if she had, since it would match the one between those masculine thighs of his.

  “No big head. But I do think you’re sweet.”

  She chuckled. “Sweet? I’m known to kick ass.”

  “Not tonight, Joy. Not tonight.”

  And he captured her mouth while at the same time sliding his hands to the center of her thighs. When he began stroking her there again, she clutched his strong arms. He was filling her with sensations all over again. She moaned deep in her throat.

  Without breaking contact he began lowering her to the bed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him when her back touched the bedspread. He was straddled over her body, and instinctively she widened her thighs.

  “I’m about to give you the ride of your life. By the time it’s over, you won’t question my stamina again.”

  His words made her recall she had done that. “Can’t you take a joke?”

  “Only if you can take this.” He’d moved in position between her legs and she felt him. The huge head of his shaft was there against her womanly mound. He began moving, sliding his head against her. And as if he was communicating with her folds, they seem to part for him.

  He pressed down and began sliding into her slowly and as before, her body stretched to accommodate his entry. Inch by delicious inch, her body continued to take him in. She breathed in deeply. And when he had gone as far as he possibly could, she clamped her inner muscles down on him at the same time she hooked her ankles to his back.

  He glanced down at her and when he did, she deliberately clamped down on him even more. “You trying to kill me?”

  “No. I’m trying to pleasure you,” she whispered.

  “We will pleasure each other,” he said, blowing a strand of hair from her face.

  His heated breath caressed her face, and for a moment she felt something that she shouldn’t have. Mainly the thought that she could get used to this. Him in her bed. Him inside her to the hilt. Him blowing a strand of hair from her face.

  He leaned down, and his tongue began stroking around her lips at the same time he began moving, coursing through her juices with deliberate, tempered strokes. When had she gotten this wet with a man? It was as if Stonewall had the ability to bring it on.

  She moaned when he escalated his pace. The feel of his shaft thrusting in and out of her thickened the air in her lungs. She heard him growl when he began moving faster, thrusting harder. The sound of the bedsprings echoed in the room and she moaned deeper as he pressed her further into the bed.

  He continued to pump hard into her, flexing his thighs with every thrust to go deeper, hitting a certain spot in her body. He was intent on angling just right, stroking her over and over again. Penetrating hard. Her ankles kept a tight lock on his back as he rode her just like he’d told her he would.

  Over and over. In and out. He kept going. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She knew the feeling because she couldn’t get enough of him, either. Then suddenly, something inside her snapped the same time it did within him.

  She gasped as her body spiraled out of control. With the quickness and precision of a jackhammer, he kept pounding into her, and her body braced to absorb each tantalizing stroke.

  “Stonewall!”
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  “Joy!”

  Together they were thrown into an abyss that had her gasping even more for breath as his penetration continued hard, fast and deep. The feel of his abs rubbing her stomach was too much and she could feel another orgasm hit right behind the last, making her come even harder than before.

  Shudders racked her body, and the last thing she remembered was him easing his body off hers and pulling her into his arms to hold her close.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  STONEWALL STARED DOWN at Joy while she slept, thinking just how peaceful and beautiful she looked. After taking a short nap, they’d gone another round of lovemaking. He glanced across the room at the clock. It was close to midnight. Did she want him to leave tonight? She hadn’t said.

  He felt totally drained, but not as much as the last time. He had no intention of letting her slip past him and get out the bed without him knowing it. She would wake up eventually. In the meantime, he liked lying here holding her, watching her and wondering how she had gotten under his skin in such big way and in such a short period of time.

  So, okay. Maybe it hadn’t been such a short period of time. It had taken six months for them to finally hook up, and they had kept in constant contact during that time. And now he had shared her bed twice and enjoyed each time immensely. Would there be another?

  He was less and less crazy about this being a diversion, especially since now he would have a lot more time on his hands. Thanks to Dak he had thirty days to do nothing. Of course his greedy-ass mind was considering one particular thing he wanted to do. The thought of making love to Joy every day of the week definitely topped the list.

  But that was probably wishful thinking on his part. He might have a lot of time on his hands, but she did not. She had bad guys to arrest, cases to solve and even more cases to solve. But that didn’t mean he intended to go another six months without this. The feel of her lying beside him. Her warmth penetrating his insides that could get so cold at times. Especially when he thought about how his life had been once.

  His grandfather always said even good could come from evil if you let it. Pop had been right. He couldn’t help but remember that each and every time he thought about Striker and Quasar. And then there was Sheppard. He owed him so much, he doubted he could ever repay him for helping him get his life back. For making him see he was a lot better than a cell at Glenworth.

  And now there was Joy. His Joy in the morning. Over the next thirty days he would not crowd her or get underfoot, but he intended to make sure she was taking care of herself. Getting the proper rest. Eating wholesome meals. The thought that he had thirty days to take care of her...

  But what if she didn’t want to be taken care of? What if she thought he was getting too serious? He knew she was a woman who liked her space, and thanks to the asshole she’d been engaged to, she probably had no intention of letting another man invade it. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t want to. It wasn’t his style to get emotionally attached to any woman.

  But now...

  He could see himself doing so with this one. He was already physically attached and that’s all she wanted. A diversion. Not a relationship. What if he were to change her mind? Did he really want to? And could he even if he wanted to?

  “You’re frowning again.”

  He glanced down at her. “You’re awake.”

  The beginning of a smile touched the corners of her lips. “Yes, but before you get any ideas, I need to go to the bathroom.”

  Concern furrowed his brow. “You okay? Do I need to run hot bathwater for you to soak for a while?”

  She reached up and patted his chin. “Relax, lover. I’m fine. I just have to go potty. I’ll be back.”

  Relief swept through him. “Okay.”

  He watched her ease out of bed and walk naked into the bathroom. She had a gorgeous body, and just the thought that he’d been inside her, had touched her all over, kissed her all over, tasted her skin both inside and out, made his boner even harder than before.

  Moments later she returned and eased back in bed beside him. He pulled her into his arms. “Glad you’re back. You were missed.”

  “I’m glad to be back,” she said, smiling at him. “When you arrived tonight I had been just about to text you. I thought you were still in Vermont.”

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “You did. Like I said, it was a pleasant surprise.”

  He shifted their bodies in bed so he could lie facing her. He enjoyed looking into her face. “So, why were you texting me? To let me know you were missing me?” He could hope.

  She chuckled and cuddled closer into his arms. “I always miss you, Stonewall.”

  He wondered if she really meant that. “That’s good to know. Is anything wrong?”

  She gazed up at him with what he thought were the most beautiful brown eyes. Then, of course, there were her lips that he just loved to death. As he stared into her eyes he saw something. Happiness? Excitement? Glee? “Okay, what is it? You got me curious.”

  She rose up in bed bubbling over with whatever it was. “I got promoted to lieutenant,” she said happily.

  Her words sank in, and he couldn’t help but smile. Share in her happiness and excitement. A huge smile touched his face. He was genuinely happy for her. “That’s great, Joy! Congratulations!”

  He pulled her down to him and captured her mouth. He had meant for it to be a little kiss, but the moment his tongue slid into her mouth and he tasted her, he couldn’t help but take it to the next level. Heat consumed him, and when she arched her body even closer to his, he deepened the kiss. It didn’t help matters that she was naked and her skin against his was driving him crazy. But he knew he had to end the kiss for now. It was her moment and not his.

  Breaking off the kiss, he fought to focus on the eyes staring back at him. “Hmm, Stonewall. I’d work on getting even more promotions if I got a congratulations kiss like that each and every time.”

  He held her gaze. “And you will.”

  She licked her lips and sighed. “Then I guess I’d better get to work on becoming chief of police.”

  Stonewall threw his head back and laughed. His Joy in the morning was priceless. She made him smile, laugh and feel good that he was here with her. “Tell me about your promotion,” he said, gathering her back into his arms.

  “Nothing changes other than I’ll have several people reporting to me. I will still keep my caseload, but depending on what paperwork I need to take care of, I can assign some of them out.”

  “But you won’t,” he said, thinking how well he’d gotten to know her. “You like working out in the field.”

  “Yes, I like handling investigations.”

  “Well, I am happy for you. You’re smart, intelligent and a hard worker.”

  She gave him a huge smile. “That’s the same thing Chief Harkins said.”

  “Then Chief Harkins is a smart man.”

  She nodded. “He’s also very astute. He knows about you, Stonewall.”

  Stonewall lifted a brow. “What do you mean, he knows about me?”

  * * *

  JOY HESITATED, DEBATING just what she should tell him and how much. But the discussion about him hadn’t been a bad one—in fact, it had been rather enlightening.

  “The night of that cabin fire, he suspected you and I had something going on. I guess the concern showed in my face when I saw you run into that burning cabin to save Striker and Margo.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute as she relived that night. The two of them hadn’t even gone out yet, but they’d forged a friendship, and seeing him put his life at risk had nearly done her in. Taken years off her life. At least, she’d felt that way at the time.

  “He asked about you and made me aware he’d known that I’d talked to you a lot during the Er
ickson case and probably shared things with you about it.”

  He nodded slowly. “And did you get in trouble because of it?” he asked her.

  She smiled up at him. “No, not at all. In fact, he was glad I had someone I could confide in and knew I wouldn’t have told you anything I shouldn’t have.”

  Joy then bit her lip nervously. She must have given something away, because Stonewall asked, “And what else did he say?”

  She sighed. “He thinks I spend too much time at the office. That I don’t have a life and he doesn’t think that’s a good example to set for my detectives. He knows there will be some cases that will require a lot of my time, but I get the feeling he wants me to do a better job managing my days.”

  “That might not be such a bad idea, Joy. You don’t want to get overworked, and I might be able to help you with that. At least for the next thirty days.”

  She frowned, looking up at him. “How?”

  “I’m on call with Dak for thirty days, but with the danger over, I doubt he will need me. So, I’ll be here if you need me for anything.”

  She didn’t have to ask what he was alluding to. He was volunteering to be her diversion on a more frequent basis if she needed him. But what would that mean? Seeing him more often than not. Did she want that? Could she handle it? After Omar she’d drawn the line. She enjoyed Stonewall’s company. She definitely enjoyed him in her bed, but she wasn’t ready for anything more permanent.

  For that reason, she said, “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be okay.” She paused. He deserved to know why she’d said that. “Nothing has changed about how I feel about my space, Stonewall.”

  There, she’d said it. Reiterated her feelings. She studied him, and she was glad he didn’t seem bothered by what she’d said. Why should he? He’d said during the last time they were together that he wasn’t looking for anything serious, either.

  “Yes, I know how you feel,” he said, gently stoking the side of her face. “I was just making an offer.”

  “I appreciate you doing so.”