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see his control slipping. Sweat dripped from his forehead to land on her belly, and his neck muscles corded. Go, she invited. Eli let out the breath he was holding and withdrew. Then she knew nothing but the pounding of his hips on her inner thighs and the drag and thrust of his cock in her pussy. He bent forward, bracing his hands on either side of her. In this position his pelvis struck her clit. His lips covered a nipple and sucked it deep. She moaned at the dual sensations engaging her system. It didn t take long. A minute later, the beaded bud of her breast popped from his mouth and Eli stiffened above her. His hips shot forward, pushing her across the top so far her hair dangled off the other side. A couple more inches and it would be her head. Long spurts of his hot come drenched her pussy. He held her to him with a bruising grip on her hips as every last drop was wrung from him. Breathing heavy and still imbedded deep inside her, Eli collapsed onto her belly, his head beneath her chin. They lay there in silence until her tailbone protested the weight of his body and the wood beneath. Eli, she whispered and nudged him with a weak hand. Can t breathe here. Breathing is overrated, he mumbled into her breast. Well then, my ass hurts. Get up. She shoved but her noodly arms did nothing. Grr. Okay. Finally he stood, pulling out of her sheath at the same time. The action rasped her inner tissues, wrestling another round of pleasant tingles from her core. www.samhainpublishing.com 121 Annmarie McKenna He swatted her thigh and helped her to a sitting position. His gaze never left hers. Only a stupid, unfounded, lingering fear of his rejection kept her from blurting out, I love you, Eli. 122 www.samhainpublishing.com Checkmate Chapter Thirteen Do you recognize any of them, Ms. Taylor? Nikki s entire body shook uncontrollably. Even with Eli standing behind her, grounding her and smoothing his hands up and down her arms, a shiver dominated her senses. Nikki? Eli asked, leaning over to whisper in her ear. Her heart hammered, she could barely take a breath. Breathe, Nikki-Raine. She could smell the stench of the second one in line s breath, feel his calloused hand pressing against her mouth, his erection digging into her hip. His name was Marco. Push her between the cars, Marco, number four had said. Number five had to be the one who d been leaning against the van. The one with the raspy voice who d said, Hell yeah, I wish I had me some ass like that. Cold glass slammed into her cheek. Her keys stabbed into her chest. Where was everyone? Why was no one coming to help her? Nikki. Eli s near shout jerked her out of the memories she d lived with night after night in her dreams. Seeing them in the flesh brought it all back. She swallowed. Ms. Taylor? Nikki nodded. Yes. A tight, comforting squeeze on her shoulders followed her answer. Great. Can you tell me which ones? www.samhainpublishing.com 123 Annmarie McKenna She turned and looked at the detective. How many times had she spoken to him all those months ago? How many times had he practically begged her for more information? Some of those times he had made her feel more like a suspect than the victim. What happened? she asked. He shifted his stance to one foot, a manila folder clutched across his chest. After a deep breath he said, The same thing that happened to you, only this time, the victim died. How did you catch them? He breathed out heavily again and she wondered why he didn t want to tell her. She was the one going to help put them away, and had been their victim too, there wasn t any reason to not give her the details. A witness saw the victim running from them about a half hour before the crashEvidence on the victim s body. Nikki seethed. What was her name? Eli s thumbs rubbed tiny circles on the muscles she knew were hard as knots in her shoulders. He was careful to stay away from the wound. What? Clearly, the very easy question had flustered him. His cheeks puffed in and out and a dull red painted his cheeks. Anger suffused Nikki. What. Is. Her. Name? Well, I don t see how Nikki asked you an entirely reasonable question, Detective Starks. The detective s lips formed a thin line and his nostrils flared. Almost huffy, he flicked the folder open in front of him and peered at the papers inside. How can you not know her name? Nikki hissed. The thumbs moved to the base of her skull. She s not just a victim. She was a person, a woman, with a family. How can you help her if you don t even get that involved? Ms. Taylor, he defended himself, if I let myself get that involved I would take every case home with me. 124 www.samhainpublishing.com Checkmate She closed her eyes. Part of her knew he was right, but it still rankled that he seemed to have no remorse or care for the woman these three men had taken the life away from. As a cop it was his job to protect. In her opinion he couldn t do that well with such complete indifference. When she opened her eyes again, she didn t see any remorse on his face. He still didn t care. Her name. Claire Simmons. Nikki turned back to the very bored-looking lineup of six men standing opposite the one-way glass. Three of them had attacked her then left her to die in the carnage of twisted metal that had been her Jeep. They deserved everything they had coming to them, and she would gladly do her part to put them away. Two, four and five, she said. You re sure? Positive. It s been more than eight months, Ms. Taylor. Damn condescending man. Were you a woman in a past life, Detective? I fail to see how that s relevant. Were you a woman in a past life? If I were you, I d answer her. Eli s stark voice made the detective s jaw tic. Eli s warm hands moved down to cradle her waist. Nikki wanted to lean into him, let him take her weight. She didn t though. Any sign of weakness would let the detective think he d won. No, he gritted out. Then you ve never been attacked by a group of men, forced to submit to something vile and then run off the road and left to die, have you? He looked down at the ground. Have you? she asked again. No. www.samhainpublishing.com 125 Annmarie McKenna Then believe me when I say that you tend to remember things like facial features and smells and& and names. Penis sizes even. The way his hands felt smashed against your lips, or the pitch of his voice. You never forget the way number five laughed in the background like raping me would be the most fun thing to do in the world. Or how number two s name is Marco, because that s what his friends called him when they wanted him to push me between the cars. You never forget the rasp of a voice. Eli s hands had tensed immeasurably on her hips as she spoke, and a low growl emanated from his chest. The detective probably couldn t hear it but she was so in tune with Eli now, she could. His canines would most likely have descended in his mouth, growing longer and sharper in anticipation of a hunt. She d learned so much about him and loved him more than ever before. You ll probably never know the feeling of being trapped in a situation you can t get out of. You ll never face nightmares night after night of being attacked by three men twice your size. Trust me when I say, I m sure. He stared at her for a long moment. The dead quiet in the room suffocated her. Her head spun and she thought, if it weren t for Eli holding her up, she might sink to the floor. Fine. I ll have some paperwork for you to sign and then you can meet with the DA. He ll have some questions for you. Then he ll have to come out to the house. Nikki shouldn t be here any longer, Eli said over his shoulder as he took hold of her hand and led her to the door. The detective spluttered. But But nothing. I let her talk me into bringing her here thinking it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |