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  She shifted, her body heating. Again. The man looked like he wanted to eat her alive. “What’s our plan?” She had to stay on point.

  He shut the door, dropped the packs, and got into bed with her. “Sleep and then we need to find another safe place tomorrow. We haven’t found Richie and the baby, so staying close to the gang who tried to take us out is our best bet for now. I’ll question members in the hospital tomorrow.”

  “Is it Richie’s gang?” She hadn’t realized the gang was that big.

  “Affiliates and drug partners,” Denver said, reaching over and turning off his light. The room slid into darkness. “Go to sleep, Noni. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow.”

  Intimacy wound around them, and she snuggled down, her mind spinning. The shock of the night slapped her, and her eyes filled. Man, she couldn’t cry right now. God, she was scared and hurt and confused and just lost. She turned onto her side and let the tears fall, fighting so hard to stay quiet.

  He gently turned her, pulling her right into his furnace-hot body. “Let it out.”

  She let herself cry, her body shaking, her tears wetting his chest. “I was so scared,” she hiccupped.

  “I know. It was scary.” His big hand rubbed down her back and up, providing comfort. “You’re safe now.”

  But did he deal with this kind of thing all the time? The idea terrified her. At some point a bullet would hit him. Was this why he’d left her? Because he knew there was a bullet with his name on it out there somewhere? “You need to find a different line of work, Denver,” she muttered, sniffing and lifting her head.

  His blue gaze lasered through the darkness. “I can’t argue with that one, darlin’. I’m hoping to change, but I have two missions to complete first.”

  One was the baby. The other one dealt with Dr. Madison, whoever she was. “Then what?”

  He paused, his mouth close to her forehead. “I don’t know. The plan only goes that far.”

  It was like a fist to the chest. He didn’t think he’d survive the second mission. She hiccupped again. “We never really had a chance, did we?”

  He studied her, his dark gaze a sharp caress. Regret twisted his lip.

  There wasn’t an answer to give, and she knew it. But she needed him to say something. Anything. “Denver?”

  He lowered his head and brushed her mouth with his. Desire ripped through her, shocking in its intensity after the night she’d had. She breathed out but didn’t move back.

  A sound rumbled up from his chest that seemed male and tortured. Leaning in even more, he took her mouth.

  Hard.

  Chapter

  10

  Noni hadn’t backed away. He’d wanted to ease her fears, to calm her down, so he’d just touched his lips to hers. And she hadn’t backed away. She hadn’t moved, holding her breath, just like she had a year ago. The glimmer in her eyes was the same now as it had been then, intrigued and wary. It took him right back in time to the one moment he’d been truly happy.

  If he hadn’t been exhausted, if he hadn’t been furious at the attack, he would’ve listened to the inner voice that told him to roll over and go to sleep.

  But need and awareness bombarded him, and he reacted to the soft touch of her skin. To her scent, even now tempting him beneath the coconut smell of the borrowed shampoo. God, he’d missed her. He’d used a bottle of booze to mask his pain, and it had only dulled it. Living without her, believing he’d never see her again, had been like a physical ache that would never leave.

  Yet here she was. Right here and right now.

  So he swooped in and kissed her like he’d wanted to for the past day. Hard and fast and demanding. He took, and then he took more. She stiffened and then the tautness deserted her as she softened against him, submitting to his mouth.

  It had been that way before. The quiet sound of submission as she let him take, as she started kissing him back, demand on her tongue. Pure sweetness in her taste. The world burned hotter, and desperation tried to claw through him.

  But he controlled himself, thinking only of her. He gentled his kiss, giving pleasure. He remembered what she liked, what made her moan. This had to be about her.

  He licked along her lips and kissed down her neck, rolling her onto her back. He could take her out of her head and give her some peace, release the tension all but choking them. But this was for her pleasure. She was in shock, she was scared, and he couldn’t take advantage of that. He could give her relief, though, which would give him some.

  Being with her again was better than he’d dreamed. He didn’t deserve another chance; he knew that. But touching her felt right. For the first time since he’d left her, he felt whole again.

  His hands pushed up the camisole, and he palmed her breasts.

  She arched against him, crying out.

  He gently squeezed. Touching her again filled something inside him he hadn’t realized had been stone-cold empty. “Noni, you remember me, and you remember this.” He lightly tweaked her pretty nipples.

  She pushed harder into him and threw her head back on the pillow, pure bliss in her sigh. Yeah, she liked a little bite with her pleasure. He loved that about her. And it worked well, because he couldn’t let her tear out her stitches.

  “You don’t get to move, baby. Move, and I stop.” He settled on top of her, forcing her thighs apart. Then he rolled her nipples, and she caught her breath. Good. He had her attention. “Tell me you understand.”

  “I understand,” she breathed, her body relaxing against the bed. “The stitches are fine, Denver.”

  How well she knew him. He pushed the material up to her neck, baring her. “This isn’t about the stitches.” Then he took one nipple into his mouth. She tasted so damn good. Sweet and salty with a hint of coconut. Better than his fantasies for the past few months. He sucked hard, and she writhed against him.

  He smiled and released her taut nipple. “I said not to move.”

  The growl of frustration from her widened his smile. He moved to the other breast, licking and nipping, enjoying the trembling of her thighs on either side of his hips. He couldn’t help but press his aching cock against her core. Electricity burned him, pleasure cut him, nearly making his eyes roll back in his head.

  Her fingers curled over his shoulders, and she dragged her nails down his chest.

  The bite was soft but the impact deep. Need rioted through him. He grasped her hands and laid them carefully on the bed. “Keep still. No touching.” He had no clue what would tear the stitches, and he wasn’t sure he could stay in control if she touched him. He’d be inside her before he could blink, and that couldn’t happen. Not after the night they’d had and not until she knew what she wanted.

  “Denver, please,” she whispered.

  He licked beneath her breasts, sliding his other hand down to her shorts and pulling them down. Then he ticked his fingers across her panties, nipping her rib cage at the same time. She jumped against him and he chuckled. Then he maneuvered farther down, kissing her abdomen as it undulated beneath his mouth. Somebody had been working out. She’d been perfect before, but he could feel new muscles. Had she turned to exercise to rid her body of need…like he had? Had he filled her mind like she’d filled his?

  He snapped the sides of the panties in two.

  She jerked. “Denver! I have only two spare pairs.”

  Oops. He’d have to hit a store for her. “Sorry.” To distract her, he slid his fingers across her, feeling wetness and heat. Oh God, she was fucking perfect. She trembled again, holding her breath. He closed his eyes and sank two fingers deep into her warmth. Her body clenched around his fingers, and she was beyond tight.

  The helpless sound she made caught him around the heart and held fast. Her hands clenched on the sheets, but she didn’t try to touch him. “You’re being very good, Noni,” he murmured, sliding farther down and placing a kiss on the top of her mound.

  Her entire body shuddered beneath him.

  God, he’d missed her. H
e stretched his fingers inside her, and she gasped. The musky scent of her desire drugged him, and he let himself just feel. Just for the moment.

  He slid his fingers free, and she gave a moan of protest. Then he spread her open for him. “Look at me,” he said, his voice gritty.

  She tilted her head and looked down, those black eyes pools of need.

  Keeping her gaze, he dipped his head and licked her. She gasped and trembled. He did it again, and he could swear her eyes glassed over. The taste of her was better than any other on earth. Why had he wasted hours drinking bourbon when this treat was within his reach? How had he left her? The questions bombarded him, so he quelled them the only way he knew how.

  He tasted her again.

  She groaned and blinked rapidly, fighting something inside her head. “Denver.”

  He paused, letting his breath heat her clit. “Nothing happens you don’t want.” If she told him to stop, it’d kill him, but he’d do it. He pressed his tongue right on her clit and swirled it. “Let me make you feel good.”

  The taste of her was destroying him, and he didn’t care.

  Her head fell back on the pillow. “I missed you so much.”

  The words slammed into him, filling his chest. Filling all of him. He licked her again. “I missed you, too.”

  “Please don’t stop,” she whispered, her entire body rigid.

  He never wanted to stop. He focused on the prize, lashing her clit until she mewed like a little kitten. Waiting until she exhaled, he pressed two fingers back inside her, nearly chuckling when she gasped in air again. Then he bit her thigh. Not hard enough to bruise, but she’d wear his mark the next day. Too much satisfaction filled him at that thought.

  Then he lost himself again with her. Nipping and licking, twisting and touching. Her legs clamped to his shoulders, she stiffened, moaning his name.

  That sound. He’d never in his life forget the sound of his name on her lips. He sucked her clit into his mouth, and she detonated. Waves crashed through her, and her hands clamped onto his shoulders. He licked her until she came down with a soft whimper. Then he levered up, kissing his way to her neck.

  Her eyelids opened, her gaze lazy. “I missed that when you left.”

  “So did I,” he said, kissing her gently before turning her onto her good shoulder and away from him. Her sweetness and honesty flayed him through. “Sleep. Now.”

  His body rioted, but he’d find relief later by himself. For now, he’d offer comfort and warmth.

  “What about you?” she mumbled.

  This was more than he deserved. Holding her, keeping her safe—that was all he needed. “Sleep,” he whispered.

  * * *

  Noni blinked, her gaze hazy but her body calm. The man knew how to give a phenomenal orgasm. Denver bracketed her from behind, gently holding her, his erection a firm line against her butt. “Denver—”

  “No. You’ve had a hell of a night. Sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow.” His voice was firm and rough…need in every syllable. Sometimes he was such an asshole.

  “You did this before,” she mumbled. “Kept yourself apart and distant. Have you ever let anybody in?”

  “Just you,” he said quietly.

  But that wasn’t true. Not really. Everything inside her wanted to understand him. Wanted to really know him, even if it hurt unbearably when he left. “You promised me your story. The true one,” she said, her gaze on the dark of the room.

  “Now?” he asked.

  Snow fell outside the window, and the wind howled through the night. Intimacy cocooned them, and she snuggled closer into his heat. “Yes. Then I’ll go to sleep.”

  He sighed, his hand flattened over her abdomen. “I was a test-tube baby created in a lab by a psychopath named Dr. Madison, as were Heath and Ryker. She experimented and tried to make humans with extra abilities.”

  Noni snorted. “Denver. Come on.” She wanted his real story. Not a make-believe one. “Yeah, right. You’re bionic.”

  “No. Through a bunch of gene splicing I’ve never figured out, I have stronger senses, reflexes, and strength than the average person. Much stronger. As do Ryker and Heath.”

  She’d read a journal article about genetic manipulation while in a dentist’s waiting room a while back. “Really?” she whispered.

  “It’s true.” His voice didn’t waver. “I wish to hell it wasn’t, but it is. She and some ex-military guy created supersoldiers in a lab from donated genetic material. You’ve noticed my reflexes and senses. They’re amplified. Genetically.”

  That was true. How crazy? Genetic manipulation? It wasn’t that farfetched to consider these days. But what about the experiments? “How many kids did they create?”

  “I don’t know. Most they kept and trained to fight and kill, but she let the three of us go and then put us back together when we were adolescents at a home.”

  How was this possible? Noni shook her head. “Why?”

  “To study us. The bitch used us all as experiments. Jory, from the phone the other day, was one of the soldiers she kept and trained. He and his other brothers all escaped years ago, but she’s hunting us all.” Denver’s body stiffened.

  Noni reached out and placed her hand over his, waiting until he relaxed behind her.

  He continued. “I was supposedly taken by one of the soldiers, and she found me in Denver when I was eight.”

  So that was how he’d gotten the odd name. “And?” she prompted.

  “I was with a guy who acted like my uncle for a while, but even then I knew we weren’t really related. He apparently wanted to hurt Madison by taking me. The guy is probably dead now, and I don’t care.”

  How was any of this possible? Noni patted his hand. “How did his taking you hurt Madison?”

  Denver shuddered. “I’m not sure. She always said I was special, and I’ve always been afraid she did something really weird with my genes. Like she incorporated animal genes or something with mine when she was splicing and dicing. If anybody could, it’d be her.” He sounded almost bewildered.

  Noni snuggled closer into him, trying to offer comfort. He just sounded so…lost. But he needed to get it out. To share his pain. “What then?”

  “I ended up with Ryker and Heath at the home, and we bonded just like she thought we would,” Denver said.

  “I’m so sorry she manipulated you.”

  He pulled her closer, wrapping all around her. “The home sucked. Ned wasn’t the only monster in our childhood. The good ole sheriff liked to show up and use his nightstick as well. He and Dr. Madison were together and I guess still are—now they’re searching for us together. I already told you about us killing Cobb’s brother, and that’s why he’s after us.”

  “So it’s all about revenge.” What a horrible legacy.

  “Dr. Madison wants more than revenge. She wants us to train for her and, ah, donate genetic material for more supersoldiers.”

  That was incredibly screwed up. No wonder Denver was so closed off all the time. Her heart and the hurt from his leaving her started to unfold. To release. It was a miracle he could show kindness at all. “Is your childhood why you don’t like to talk much?”

  He shrugged. “The fake uncle punched me every time I opened my mouth, so I stopped opening it.”

  Pain for him ticked through her, and she made a sound of protest.

  He kissed her bare shoulder. “It’s okay. Then I learned how much you can see and hear when you’re not the one talking, so I kind of kept quiet. After a while, it became normal to remain quiet, so I didn’t bother to talk. Then my brothers picked up the slack and made it even easier.”

  She wiggled to get more comfortable and brushed against his erection. He groaned. “Sorry.”

  “No problem.” The hand on her abdomen heated all the way through to her back. “I’d like for you to, ah, meet my brothers sometime.”

  The offer shot through her with a thrill that stole her breath. Meet his family? God, she wanted that. But she had to remain c
alm and not freak out. She could feel his lips against her hair. “You love them.”

  “They’re my brothers,” Denver said simply.

  Sometimes the sweetness he kept deep down spilled out, and it slayed her. Her heart turned right over and rolled in everything that was Denver. How was she going to let him go again? He was finally opening up to her, but there was a sense of finality to his tone. “You really don’t think you’re going to beat Madison and Cobb, do you.” She’d said it as a statement because it was one.

  “Oh, I’ll beat them.” He nipped her shoulder and sent tingles down her body. “I just don’t know if I’ll walk away intact. But it’s time to take them down.”

  Ouch. Didn’t that sound dismal? “Is there any way I can help?” she asked. Besides praying her heart out for him.

  “No.”

  He didn’t even think about it, and much as she tried, she couldn’t drum up much anger. They’d just gone through a gang fight, and she hadn’t fired her weapon once. All she’d done was point it at a door and then fall over fences. “I wish things were different,” she whispered.

  “Me too.”

  “What if you win against them and live?” she asked, knowing it was a question she was stupid to ask. What did she want? Did she want a shot with him? A real one? She was just getting to really know him. What if he said this was still temporary? And hopefully she’d have a daughter to think about. Anybody she allowed into Talia’s life had to stay there.

  The door opened, and light from the hallway spilled in. Damn it.

  Detective Malloy stuck his head in. “Denver? We need to talk.”

  “I figured,” Denver said wryly, planting a harder kiss to Noni’s shoulder. “Go to sleep now.” Something rustled and then a zipper echoed. He loped out of the room just wearing ripped jeans, his back one long line of muscle. The blood brother tattoo, with its intricate and deadly looking lines, glowed darkly on his skin.

  Then he was gone.

  Chapter

  11