Actual Stop (Agent O’Connor #1)(17)

I prompted her when I could finally think again. “And?” I could barely make out my own voice over the distant humming in my ears.

“And what?” Her gasps were faster and shallower. Her other hand tried to assist me with what I was doing, but I pushed it away and pinned it against the bed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were waiting for me?” My voice may have come out as a hushed whisper. I may not have actually spoken at all. I was now completely caught up in her pleasure. My one hand took up the rocking motion of her hips, and the other moved to attend to her neglected breast.

Lucia’s free hand fisted in my hair, and she roughly pulled me to her. “Kiss me,” she demanded, even as she brought her mouth up to meet mine. Her lips were hot, possessive, and a moan escaped my throat as she nipped at me.

She was panting now, her body tense and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Low grunts and groans escaped her throat as she rode my hand and kissed me breathless. Her muscles began to tighten around my fingers. She was close.

Lucia tore her lips away from mine abruptly, and her eyes locked onto mine, holding me spellbound. The emotion laid bare in front of me honored yet terrified me. I opened my mouth to say something, to acknowledge the precious gift of her passion, but nothing came out.

A small smile ghosted over Lucia’s lips, and she caressed my cheek, her hips pumping furiously. Her other hand dug into my shoulder hard as I drove her to climax, and her grip became almost painful in the seconds before she tumbled over the edge. I knew I’d bruise, and I didn’t care. In that perfect moment, I’d have given her anything she asked for, no matter the cost.

Lucia shuddered and closed her eyes as she rode the waves of her orgasm. Her inner walls clamped around my fingers like they were trying to draw me all the way inside her, and my heart beat a matching rhythm. One lone tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and I kissed it away and settled down next to her. I sighed as I buried my face into her neck.

The throbbing of my own need was distant, barely a concern. As long as she was happy, so was I. Could I make her come again? I stroked her most sensitive spot once more with my thumb in an effort to find out. My lips and tongue fed at the hollow of her throat, savoring the taste of her.

Lucia let out a light laugh and grabbed at my wrist halfheartedly with one hand, silently urging me to stop. I did so reluctantly as I felt a soft kiss deposited on my temple.

“I knew you were trying to kill me,” she whispered.

“Didn’t work. Guess I better try again.” I maneuvered my hand up to cup her breast, but Lucia intercepted me before I’d reached my desired destination.

“Just give me a minute.”

“Take all the time you need.”

We lay together for a while, me half on top of her, limbs tangled haphazardly. Only the sound of our mingled breathing and the occasional contented murmur or sigh cut through the silence.

“So, why didn’t you tell me you were waiting for me?” I wanted to know.

“Hmm?” Lucia had been slowly relaxing by degrees, and she sounded pretty close to the edge of sleep.

“You said you’d been thinking about me all day.”

“Oh. Yeah. I had.” Her lips moved against my forehead.

A sharp tug of guilt bit at me. Apparently, I’d been so wrapped up in myself I’d completely missed the signs. I frowned and wallowed for a moment in self-loathing and disgust. “You should’ve told me. I’m sorry.”

Lucia lifted the shoulder I wasn’t occupying in a careless shrug. “’S okay. You were worried.” She patted my hip, and her fingers came into contact with the bare skin just above the waistband of my pants where my shirt had ridden up, making me tremble. “I was supposed to be distracting you.” Her tone suggested she wanted to be aggrieved by the recent turn of events, but she wasn’t quite able to muster up the required energy.

“Oh, honey, you did. Trust me.”

“Mmm. Not exactly what I had in mind.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not even a little bit.”

I smiled. “Then shut up.”

Lucia shivered and wrapped her arms around me tight. “Turnabout’s fair play.”

She yawned, and I could tell she was beat. I hated to admit it, but a tiny part of me was relieved. I hurriedly buried that emotion without examining the reasoning behind it. I stripped quickly and pulled the covers up over our naked bodies. Lucia turned on her side, and I snuggled in behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist. I kissed her shoulder.

“You’re in trouble,” she muttered sleepily.

“I know.”

“You just wait ’til I catch my breath.”

“I’ll count the seconds.”

“Paybacks are a bitch.”

I smiled. “So I’ve heard.”

Some of her muscles tensed as though she was trying to gather the strength to turn over, but they relaxed again almost immediately. She was simply too tired. I heard her sigh. “Gotta return the favor,” she mumbled.

I placed another kiss on the back of her neck and closed my eyes. “Tomorrow.”





Chapter Six


A very long while later, I lay silently in the dark bedroom listening to Lucia’s deep, even breathing, barely aware of the sounds of the occasional passing car on the streets below. It was official. I was the biggest * on the entire planet because, as I lay there attuned to the sounds of my lover sleeping soundly by my side, I couldn’t purge thoughts of Allison from my mind.