Ripper (Tortured Heroes Book 5) Read online

“Wait.”

  “What?” She turned again and that brow was furrowed in my direction.

  “Do not enter a hallway or room until I go first.” Sam put her head in her hands and didn’t say a word.

  “Scully! We’re leaving.”

  “Okay.” Scully was busy coordinating the two places where we might find evidence. That was his mission. Mine was now Sam. And I took it very fucking seriously.

  I looked around the hall outside Sam’s apartment. It was secure.

  “Come on.” I put out a hand. I wanted her to walk slightly behind me and was going to be sure she did.

  She put her hand in mine and I tucked her in close as we moved forward. I could feel her body. This job might be the most difficult one I’d ever had. How was I going to keep my distance, but keep her at my side? I put that thought away and kept my eyes open. Whoever had fucked up her car and bedroom may still be around. Maybe half the fun was watching the havoc he’d caused. I drove and she sat on the questions she had and looked out the window. This all must be incredibly strange to her and I felt bad I had to rip her from her new home. But that’s what had to happen.

  We wound up in the Ampark Hotel in Grand City. It was the nicest the downtown had to offer. It was one of the taller buildings in the city.

  Sam raised an eyebrow when I checked us into one room. I would have preferred a suite to give her some privacy, but there weren’t any. The town was booked solid thanks to some convention.

  I opened the room and she tried to enter. I put my arm up.

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  “I fucking am.” I didn’t have a legitimate concern that there would be any danger in this random hotel room, but it was about training her. She needed to know not to leap then look for the time being. Every step of the way I was going to be there first. This was getting her pissed, no question, but it was the way it had to be.

  I looked around and she followed closing the door behind her.

  “Engage the lock.”

  “Yes, sir.” There was a tone, no question about it.

  “You don’t have to call me sir, but you do have to follow my orders.”

  I took two steps forward. Sam’s back was against the door, her hands pressed up against it. She held my eyes with hers.

  I reached up next to her and put one hand on the door, caging her in. I watched her breath lift her chest, her soft blouse peeked out from under the coat she wore.

  I lifted my other hand and tested the lock. She licked her lips and swallowed.

  I’m not sure what unleashed inside of me, but something did. My hands dove into the back of that lush hair and my mouth was on hers. In the next instant, her body was pressed against mine and I pressed her to the door.

  Her lips fit mine and I heard her moan more than breath as I ravaged her mouth with mine. Sam’s breasts pressed against my chest through her clothes. Fucking clothes. I wanted to rip them off her. She hitched her leg around mine and I pushed up the skirt that I’d been distracted by all day. I raked my fingers up her thigh and she wound her arms around my neck.

  I dragged my mouth down, down, to her neck, and sucked her skin into me. I was inhaling her, consuming her, devouring everything I could, any way I could.

  I popped a button or three down the front of the silky blouse she had on, and her breasts were there, gorgeous. I held one in my hand and felt her nipples straining. They were right there for me to taste.

  It was all I could do to stop. This wasn’t ethical. This wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. I froze. We had to stop. Now. What had I been doing? She swayed her hips into mine and I gently lowered her leg and pulled away.

  “What?” she said. Her breaths were fast and shallow. She’d been as swept away as I had been. She felt this heat and it wasn’t making hitting the brakes any easier.

  “I am. That was…” I didn’t finish either sentence.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Gone was the defiance she’d shown earlier. She was vulnerable, beautiful, and I’d seriously fucked up.

  “No, no. I did. I don’t know what got into me. That was inappropriate. Completely.” I stepped back again and looked down. I couldn’t stand to look at her lips, now a little swollen from mine. Her blouse showed just the soft tops of those gorgeous tits.

  I had to put a bit more space between us, or I would grab her again and throw her down on the bed. Job be damned.

  “It takes two to tango. I’m at fault too. Stress reliever or something.” Sam’s finger went up and touched her lower lip. I wanted to do the same, touch her lip, her face, touch her everywhere.

  “It won’t happen again. I’m going to get us a few things to eat from the lobby. I’ll give you about twenty minutes if that’s okay. Don’t open this door to anyone but me. No one.”

  “Okay, I like turkey…” She said as I quickly exited into the hall. I heard her lock the door.

  What the fuck hell Duvall? You seriously just lost your shit!

  I hadn’t done one out of control thing in the last decade. It had kept me alive. But I felt that control slipping every second I was near Sam Bosque.

  I also knew that the very reason I even knew her was because someone was trying to hurt her. That thought filled me with a rage that threatened my control almost as much as every inch of Sam Bosque did.

  Chapter Seven

  Sam

  As days went, this was not typical. I felt like I was now floating around Mars. Like the air was different, like gravity made no sense. Nothing was normal. I was confused as hell and I hated being confused.

  I was seconds away from being an animal up against the hotel door with the hottest, bossiest, strongest, most infuriating man I’d ever met. And I was all kinds of pissed off. I was pissed off that he kissed me and pissed off that he stopped.

  And now I was a prisoner in the Ampark Hotel. I absolutely wanted out of here. I didn’t want to look Agent Kyle Duvall in the eyes again after nearly getting naked without a please or thank you.

  Could I leave? What if I just bolted right now? I couldn’t go to my apartment— it was being swept by the FBI— and I couldn’t sleep on my office couch, thanks to the stalker who knew I worked there. I couldn’t even drive anywhere thanks to the paint on my damn car.

  I didn’t really believe I was the target of some sicko serial killer. No matter what the agents said I was in denial. I couldn’t fully embrace that it wasn’t a mistake. It was just too out there. Too ridiculous. But even so, I was stuck here, with Duvall, at least for now.

  I paced and then saw the mini-fridge. Please God, let there be something in there.

  I opened it to find a few mini-wine bottles and an assortment of beer. Wine it was. I cracked one open and drank it fast. My nerves were shot and I needed a little something. I felt the cold liquid do the trick almost immediately.

  Okay. I was okay. I may have had some weird shit happen, but I was in one piece.

  I took my coat off and hung it in the closet. Then I did a quick assessment in the bathroom. I was flushed and several buttons were gone from my blouse.

  Had he bitten them off? Ripped them? I wasn’t exactly sure. What I kept flashing to was the way every part of me responded to his lips on mine. The power he had over me overwhelmed my judgment. The hell of it was that I liked it. And I wanted more.

  Shit. Shit. Shit! So he was coming back and I was going to look like an idiot. It was going to be very clear that I’d had an epic meltdown of some type.

  That’s when I remembered my laptop. I may not have a change of clothes or a place to escape, but dammit, I was going to look like I had it together. That he hadn’t just rocked my world with that kiss.

  I picked up my laptop and set it on the little desk. I opened it and dove into emails, my schedule for tomorrow, anything to look busy and not like all I wanted was to kiss Kyle Duvall, to run my hands up under his t-shirt, and to let him finish what he started. No. I was going to look like I didn’t give a damn. Like I could take it or leave it. Like
I could take or leave him.

  The door opened and I stifled the urge to jump. I also forced myself to look up at him like doing so didn’t make my face hot. He walked in with food and he was the one avoiding my eyes. HA! I win.

  “Sandwiches, water, and a few cookies.” He said and placed the food next to my computer.

  “Thank you. You know I’ve got to work tomorrow. I can’t take a day off. I never take a day off and I have gyms to check out. Scouting to do.”

  “Fine. I’ll be along with you. Do your work.” He was ignoring me know and focusing on the food he’d brought. I didn’t want to eat, but the cookie seemed decent, so I grabbed that. Cookies and wine, dinner of champions.

  “You’re going to drive me around? I can’t have you hovering around my potential clients. That’ll spook them.”

  “I’ll do my best to be inconspicuous.”

  “That’s hilarious. You’re bigger than the heavyweights I rep.”

  “Sorry, but you’re not getting rid of me.”

  “Ugh.” I had no snappy answer.

  I stood up and hunted for the remote control. If I turned the television on then maybe I could continue to pretend like we hadn’t just attacked each other with our tongues.

  “Can we go back to my place tomorrow morning, before my meetings? I need to change.”

  “If Scully says so, we will be fine going back. This hotel is just for tonight.”

  “Good. I’m going to take a shower.” I stalked off and escaped to the bathroom. At the very least it gave me a moment on my own without having to look at Kyle Duvall. I had nothing to change into, but luckily the place had a nice robe. My shower was hot and every drop of warm water relaxed me. Inch by inch, the shower and the wine did their job, and when I emerged I was reasonably calm.

  I was wearing the robe, covered from neck to ankles. Completely covered, but naked under it. Whatever. What the hell else was I going to do? I hadn’t factored in Agent Duvall’s face when he saw me come out of the shower. Inadvertently I’d removed two layers of the clothing barrier between us and his eyes took in every inch of my new situation.

  Duvall was sitting at the desk now and my computer was still open. I walked over, pretending still like it was the most natural thing in the world, and leaned passed him. He stiffened in his chair. I reached behind him and flipped the lid of my computer down.

  “Wouldn’t want the FBI to see all my porn.” What the fuck? Where had that come from?

  I’d poked a hornet’s nest. On purpose. Because I wanted what came next.

  Kyle Duvall stood up and grabbed the collar of the robe in his fists. He pulled me to him and I felt the belt of the robe loosen. I was less than a second away from being completely nude. He leaned close and hesitated for a second. His knuckles were pressed against my skin. His eyes searched mine. And I nodded, yes.

  He yanked me roughly forward and planted his lips on mine. The belt was now barely keeping the robe together. There would be no stopping if I was naked. I didn’t want to stop. He shoved the robe down, over my shoulders and then rained kisses down on my neck and collar bone. His big hand cupped my breast as his other arm wound around me and grabbed my ass. It felt like every inch of me was on fire for him.

  I was naked from the waist up and he ravished my skin with his mouth, teeth, and the rough stubble of his chin. I could barely stand any longer as the heat rolled from my core. I needed to feel his skin. Something inside me released; the fear, the nerves of the last few days, I couldn’t describe exactly what. Kyle’s kisses answered a call in me I didn’t know I’d made.

  Then he did it. He ripped the sash of the robe free and shoved it aside.

  “Fuck.” He growled the word as he looked at my naked self. I felt his fingers slide down and then inside me and I cried out. This was more intense than I’d ever felt and we weren’t even making love yet. I moaned and gripped his shoulders then felt myself being lifted up and onto the bed in one motion.

  I yanked his t-shirt over his head and gasped. The sight of him was jaw dropping. Fucking gorgeous, in my eyes. I didn’t have long to feast my eyes as he was in motion, over me, my legs were around his hips. The fabric of his jeans felt rough against my skin. My body reached for his as he slid his hands and mouth over every inch of my skin.

  Before I knew it, he was right there, ready, but again he paused, and asked, “I have protection? If....” He let the sentence trail off.

  “Yes, please. Now.”

  As fast as that, Kyle Duvall was poised and ready, and I wasn’t going to wait any longer. I hunkered down, closer, reaching again for everything he could give me.

  “Oh God.” He said again in a lower voice than I’d heard him use before. It came from somewhere deep and as he opened me inch by inch, he held my head in his hands and my eyes with his.

  This wasn’t drunken, or a mistake made after a bad date. This was something else. This was something undeniable, but also almost frightening in its power. I felt thousands of little nerve endings pulsing with warmth. I lost all grip on where I was or what happened before this moment and let him rock me. And did he ever. His hips were powerful and I held tight to Kyle Duvall as both of us came, together, and fell apart all at once.

  I could barely breathe and he held me so tight that for a moment I thought I might lose my grip on consciousness for the second time that day.

  Agent Kyle Duvall seemed to need to hold me and, to my surprise, I needed to be held.

  Chapter Eight

  Kyle

  This was the best and worst I’d felt. Ever. I had no doubt that this woman was more important to me than anyone on the planet. It had happened instantly from the moment I’d seen her face, heard her speak, and watched her tough out some strange bullshit going on in her life. I had spent my entire adult life staying apart and disconnected from people while immersed in their lives all the same. All I wanted now was to be with Sam, protect Sam, learn about Sam.

  And it was terrible.

  Where was my professional detachment now when it was critical for, in my mind, the highest priority assignment I’d ever had? Gone. Totally fucking gone.

  I lay there with her enfolded in my arms. I kissed the top of her head. I felt her silky hair in my fingers and I wondered how I was going to save myself from being at her complete mercy.

  “How did you get into the FBI?”

  “I was a cop first, then law school, that’s how they recruited me.”

  “To do what?”

  “I was undercover most of my career.”

  “As what?” Her questions were whispered in the dark as our legs intertwined.

  “I was in a biker gang. My mission was to bust it up.”

  “Oh, wow. Do you ride a motorcycle still?”

  “I’ve had my fill for a while.”

  “So, that explains this.” She found the tats on my chest and placed her lip lightly on them. It fired the very fresh memory of what her lips tasted like on mine.

  “Yeah, they don’t mean much.”

  “Yes, they do. They were your war paint.” She crawled up and put her lips on mine. I should be gruff, pretend like I was just fucking her, like I did it all the time. But I didn’t have it in me. I’d pretended for years, to be a heartless, evil, bastard biker and I could not pretend that my heart and soul were not immediately and completely hers. Like I said, this was terrible.

  “I suppose.”

  “Did you have to commit crimes?” She kept asking questions that I wouldn’t have answered for anyone else. I didn’t talk about any of this with anyone.

  “I did.”

  “Did you like it? Your job?”

  “I don’t know if like is the word. I was good at it and I knew what I was doing was important. Sometimes to put people away, you have to become them.”

  “You’re not evil. I know that.”

  “You don’t know me at all.”

  “Yes, I do. I’m good at reading people.”

  “I see.”

  “No, y
ou don’t. You think you have to be tough around everyone all the time.”

  “Hmph.” I didn’t have an answer for that one. Though I supposed it was more of an observation than a question. I looked up at the ceiling. I looked away from her. She was getting too close to me. It was more than our bodies together and that was the real heart of it. This thing with her had the potential to destroy me. I had no doubt I was totally fucked.

  “You’re going to open up to me,” she said and I set my jaw against that idea.

  “You think so?”

  “Yep. I always get my way. Eventually.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said. I pulled her in tighter and she kissed me again.

  I had every reason to stop her. To scare the shit out of her so she’d run.

  But instead, I kissed her back, hard. I lifted her on top of me and felt her warmth. I slid my hands over her hips and guided her to exactly where I wanted her and watched her move. I wasn’t going to be able to push her away. I didn’t want to. So, I pulled her closer and hoped like hell I could kill the bastard who had her in his sites. Because Sam Bosque had rocked my fucking world. She’d changed it.

  And I wasn’t going back.

  We fucked, we talked, we ate, we showered, all together, all night, and then we fought.

  Sam Bosque wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch.

  I was driving her back to her place. Scully had given the all clear and her mouth had been non-stop on why I wasn’t going to go with her to work today.

  The apartment looked perfectly back to normal. There was no sign that we’d completely processed it. Her bed was stripped, though. That all went to the lab.

  She paused in her declarations of independence long enough to take in the scene. I watched her process it and literally decide not to let the previous night’s bloody message stick with her. She wasn’t wallowing, she was charging ahead. I loved her determination. And I also wanted to put a stop to it.

  I couldn’t stop watching as she shed her clothes from the day before and flung things around from dressers and boxes.