Kylie laughed, wondering if it was possible to protect herself from herself. The thought had its appeal at times. Right now, if she really had a protector, he would yank her off all of this hard-packed muscle and shake her silly until she came to her senses.
Even when Perry stood, still holding her in his arms, and walked down the hallway to her bedroom, thoughts warred in her mind over the ramifications of what she was about to do.
Damn it. She wouldn’t think about how long she’d gone without sex. There were offers every now and then. Offers easily tossed to the side. Nothing about Perry was easy, though. And one thing she knew would be true over anything else: fucking him wouldn’t make him easier to handle.
He entered her bedroom and adjusted her, allowing her to slide down his body until she stood in his arms, her breasts pressed hard against his muscular chest.
“Fucking you isn’t going to make you trust me any more than you do now.” He stared down at her with those penetrating green eyes while brown flecks floated around his pupils, giving him more sex appeal than a man should be allowed. “And I’m curious why you don’t trust me yet were willing to meet someone in a dark parking lot. Did you know the man in the Suburban?”
Kylie sucked in her lower lip, enjoying the power she held over Perry when his gaze dropped to her mouth. She fought the smile at the realization that he voiced her thoughts, but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what he’d done.
“I’m not going to discuss that with you.” She stepped backward, slipping out of his arms. “If you don’t drop it, you know where the door is,” she offered, refusing to allow the conversation to stray toward trust, or to admission of her personal life.
“Take off your clothes.” He moved next to her, sitting on her bed, and took off his shoes.
When she didn’t move, he grabbed her waist, those strong hands of his large enough that he easily wrapped his fingers around her. Then turning her to face him, he slipped his fingers under her vest and reached up to cup her breasts.
“I’m going to fuck you.”
“Do you ever lack confidence?” Her voice was raspy, the need inside her so strong she almost shook from it.
“Do you ever let your guard down?”
“Never.”
Perry pulled her to him, falling backward on the bed and bringing her down on top of him. “My God. I think you just told me the truth for the first time.”
“Fuck you, Perry.”
“Yes, you will.”
He displayed amazing skills when he removed her clothes, kissing her flesh as he exposed it. When he unzipped her jeans, she slipped out of her shoes, letting them fall to the floor with a gentle thud. He peeled the denim down her legs, rolling her to her back and bending forward, kissing her pelvic bone with soft, warm lips.
She was already dangerously close to the edge and grabbed his head, groaning her desires as his mouth moved lower.
“I think your brutal confidence is a cover-up for a desire to please,” she suggested, preferring they dissect his nature instead of hers.
She couldn’t tell if the dark gaze he gave her was a warning or he simply thought her comment preposterous. He didn’t stay focused on her face for long, though. His knuckles scraped the outsides of her legs as he pulled her jeans the rest of the way off her and tossed them to the floor.
“I don’t plan on covering up anything.” The corner of his mouth twitched, a movement she was learning meant he hid his smile from her.
“What is your plan then?” she asked, leaning on her elbows when he grabbed her legs.
When he lifted her legs, Kylie grabbed her bedspread and willingly opened for him. He crawled closer, releasing her so her ankles landed on his shoulders, and then brought his face to her, bending her in two.
“You’re the little detective. You figure it out.”
She hoped her expression looked hurt, but didn’t have time to worry about it when he nipped at her lip. His hands moved over her breasts, cupping and tugging and then capturing her nipples between his fingers. When he pinched, electrical shocks surged through her, igniting the heat smoldering between her legs.
“This doesn’t take any detective work,” she whispered against his lips. “You’re making your intentions very clear.”
“You would do well to look beyond the obvious,” he said, his voice a husky growl.
She blinked, trying to focus, but his face was too close. Those dark eyes glowed with charged energy matching the need surging inside her.
“What makes you think I’m not already doing that?”
Perry rose to his knees and grabbed her legs when she tried sliding them off him. Then yanking her toward him, he tugged hard enough that her hair dragged underneath her and her back burned against the covers. She grabbed his wrists, digging her nails into his flesh. His eyes darkened when she pinched his skin. Her heart raced as she stared into the thunderhead that brewed in his gaze.
“If you were, you wouldn’t be hiding the truth from me,” he growled, and pressed his swollen cock against her soaked entrance.
It was thick, throbbing, and sent her senses into an over-heated frenzy. He was playing dirty, demanding and manipulating while using the most dangerous weapon he possessed, his body. And she sensed he knew that.
“You’re looking for something that isn’t there,” she whispered, and shifted her ass against the bed.
Maybe his body was primed and ready to attack, but she had a few weapons of her own. Kylie knew desire when she saw it. He wanted her, and the game he played wasn’t a new one. She’d mastered it years ago.
“I’ve found what I’m looking for, for now,” he growled.
“For now?” she gasped, digging deeper into his wrists, which she couldn’t even get her fingers around.
“Are you on birth control?” He didn’t answer her question, and his changing the subject threw her a curve.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitating.
Perry continued staring at her, holding his position while his gaze seemed to focus deep into her soul.
“And I don’t have any diseases. Have you ever been tested to make sure you are clean?” She needed to stay alert. She would most definitely enjoy this, but letting her guard down for a moment would give him the upper hand.
“Yes,” he said, and sunk deep inside her with a smooth, aggressive thrust.
Perry hissed, gritting his teeth while his expression hardened with what she guessed was concentration. There wasn’t any doubt he fought to master the moment as much as she did.
He was huge, thicker than any man she’d been with before, and seemed to continue entering her, treading deeper and deeper. He would hit her belly button if he didn’t stop soon. At the same time, she felt her body soak his shaft, wave after wave of pleasure exploding as moisture suddenly coated her inner thighs.
“God damn,” she cried, coming in waves while he continued sinking deeper and deeper inside her. When she squeezed her eyes shut, warm lights erupted before her as she felt him split her in two.
“Can you take all of me, sweetheart?” he whispered, his voice rough.
Kylie let go of his arms and pushed herself off the bed, shoving against his chest. His expression changed immediately, growing alert.
“I’ll show you what I can take.” Her challenge was enough for him to allow her to push him back on her bed.
Then keeping him inside her while damn near being torn in two with the sensations that hit her hard as he pushed against muscles that hadn’t been touched in years, if ever, she mounted him.
“Show me, darling,” he growled, gripping her breasts.
Kylie got her balance and arched over him, sinking and taking all of him deep inside. She hissed, unable to stop as another orgasm hit her hard enough she would have fallen over if he didn’t keep her in place by cupping her breasts.
She barely got a rhythm going when another wave of desire peaked inside her.
“That’s it. Come hard for me,” he growled.
She stared down at him through blurred vision, pressing her hands against his chest. The solid beat of his heart and the warmth of his skin turned her on as much as the view of his bare chest. She rose and fell, taking all of him and then lifting herself off of him until he practically slipped out before descending again.
His chest was so solid, muscles defined beautifully under a smooth spread of dark, coarse chest hair. When she moved her hands, stroking the corded muscle and feeling it twitch under her fingers, he grabbed her hips and thrust.
“Crap,” she cried out, thankful she’d turned off the cameras. Even if they didn’t record video in here, the audio in the rest of the house would pick up her cries.
“Take it, baby. Take all of me.” He kept thrusting, taking over and driving deep and hard into her.
“Perry,” she yelled, scraping her nails over his flesh while her world exploded into warm shades of red and purples. Everything turned vibrant, heat rushing over her furiously while her heart pounded violently in her chest, matching the demanding beat of his against her hands.
She swore everything fell sideways, the room, her world, everything. Wave after wave tore her apart inside as she came harder than she ever had. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind. And at the same time he kept thrusting, taking her with him as he fucked her without mercy.
Every inch of him hardened. Kylie did her best to keep her eyes open, aching to watch the level of intensity that created a warm flush on his face and turned his body into steel. She couldn’t move, couldn’t stop him, couldn’t do anything but hold on and take everything he gave her. And as another wave hit her, she felt him swell, tighten, and a low growl erupted deep inside him.
“Kylie,” he roared, saying her name as though it was a demand.
He’d reached his limit, and if there was strength inside her to instruct him, order that he come for her, she would. But at that moment, watching him release, all she managed was staring in awe at the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on. She wasn’t sure whether it sucked or was a good thing that as he came the only thought surfacing in her fogged brain was that she knew without any doubt she would want this again.
Perry wrapped his arms around Kylie’s damp body, feeling her heart patter against his chest. Her nipples were hard pebbles brushing against his flesh, continuing to torture him, even after he’d emptied all he had inside her. She was so damn tight. Or maybe with it being so long since he’d fucked a woman, she simply felt like the perfect glove wrapped around his cock.
Minutes passed before he managed to move his hand and stroke her soft blonde hair. “I’m supposed to bring you over to my sister’s house on Wednesday for dinner.”
Kylie raised her head, giving him an odd look. If anything, her reaction made finishing the request easier. He moved, lifting her with him easily. She was a small woman, something he forgot with her dynamic personality.
“It’s not like you think.” He hated sliding out of her and the chill when he was no longer buried in her heat was even worse. “She wants to know you better since the girls are talking about you so much.”
It was the line he’d told his sister he’d use. And it was true. There wasn’t any point in telling Kylie that Megan loved playing matchmaker. Kylie’s silence and cautious expression satisfied him perfectly. She didn’t want a relationship any more than he did. Fucking her, keeping an eye on her, and making sure she didn’t pull another insane stunt was as far as he’d take this.
Although he’d be honest with himself, when he came over he didn’t think he’d take it this far. Something about Kylie made it impossible to leave her alone. She never admitted she left last night to meet someone off the Internet, but Perry wouldn’t be surprised if she refused to confess out of embarrassment from being caught doing something she knew wasn’t a smart move. Kylie was intelligent. He’d give her that. Whatever compelled her to do what she did last night, he prayed now that they’d fucked each other, she wouldn’t try doing it again.
“Give me her number and I’ll give her a call.” Kylie moved to the edge of the bed and put her feet on the floor, then combed her hair with her fingers.
Kylie would steamroll Megan in a second, something he wouldn’t allow to happen. “She wants you to come to dinner.”
“Then shouldn’t she invite me?” The defiance that sharpened her bright blue eyes added to her flushed expression.
Goddamn she was gorgeous. And she wore that well-fucked look so well. He knew he didn’t have sex with her just so he could use that as a tool to demand she listen to him. Kylie would challenge him at every corner, regardless of what kind of relationship they had. As impossible as it had been to keep his hands off her when he first arrived at her house, he knew it would be just as impossible to not have sex with her again. One thing he would be sure of, though. She wouldn’t go chasing after other men while she was fucking him.
He grabbed his jeans and then gripped her chin, tilting her head while caressing her moist, smooth flesh. “She is inviting you through me.” He made quick work of dressing and headed toward the hallway.
Kylie slipped into her clothes and was right behind him.
“Are there cameras inside the house, too?” It was quite an elaborate surveillance setup she had outside her house, which was a contradiction about her he intended to understand soon. For someone who was so cautious and protective of her home, it didn’t make sense she would agree to meet someone under such dangerous conditions.
Perry grabbed the door handle to the middle bedroom and was surprised when she dove at him, using more strength than he would guess she had to rip his hand off the handle. “What’s in there, darling?”
“If I wanted you to know, it wouldn’t be locked.”
He reached for her, but she took a step backward and then pointed toward her living room. “Move,” she instructed.
It was a damn shame he never followed orders that well. He grabbed the door handle again and tried turning it, acknowledging that it was locked.
“If you recorded us fucking, I have a right to know.”
“If you were worried about that, you should have asked before you fucked me.”
He turned the doorknob with a bit more force, fairly confident he could break it if he wanted. Not that he would, but something more than a thesis paper was hidden behind that door.
“Perry, don’t make me call nine-one-one.”
It was her tone that grabbed him more than her words. She meant it. She would humiliate him by calling Dispatch to keep him out of the room. Letting go of the door, he stalked down the hallway and out her front door, leaving it open behind him. Without turning around he knew she stood in the doorway. Her gaze pierced the back of his neck, making it prickle.
“I’ll be here at five on Wednesday to take you to my sister’s,” he called over his shoulder. By the time he climbed in and started his Jeep, Kylie’s front door was closed. “I’m going to learn what you’re up to, Kylie Dover,” he whispered into the darkness, and pulled away from her curb.
Checking his phone that he’d intentionally left in the car, he pushed the button to hear voice-mail messages. There were two new messages.
“Flynn, this is Bealey,” the first message began.
Officer Ron Bealey oversaw the Crime Analysis Department, his frazzled tone proof of the never-ending job he appeared to embrace. Bealey had been with the department long before Perry’s sister’s husband, David, joined the force.
“We’ve torn down that hard drive you sent over. There are no chat archives from any program showing she spoke with anyone by the name of Peter. Give me a call in the morning. We’ll have the hard drive ready to ship back over. Sorry to offer a dead end, man,” Bealey added, and hung up.
The automated voice asked whether Perry wanted to save or delete the message. He saved the message and listened as the second message began.
“Perry, what are you doing, bro? It’s Noah. Call me back when you can.”
The automated voice offered Perry his options. Glancing to see when the call came in and then what time it was now, he quickly dialed Noah Kayne’s number. It rang four times before a woman answered.
“Is Noah there?” Perry asked.
“Sure. Oh wait, you’re Perry,” she said, her soft voice suddenly sounding animated. “Noah, it’s Perry,” she called out. “He’ll be right here.”
Perry didn’t wait a minute before his old FBI friend came on the line.
“Screening your calls,” Noah teased when he came on the line.
“Got to keep out the riffraff.” Perry accelerated onto the interstate and headed toward his neighborhood. His friend sounded relaxed, happy, and shooting the shit with him for a few minutes helped lighten Perry’s mood. By the time he pulled into his driveway, he was laughing over an old joke. “One of these days I’m going to show up on your doorstep and set that woman right about you.”
“She’s head over heels for me, my friend. Nothing you can say will change her mind.”
“I thought you said she was intelligent.” Perry laughed easily when Noah defended Rain to the point where he announced she’d agreed to marry him. “And this convinces me that she’s right in the head?” Perry envied Noah’s happiness, though, and it hit him as odd that he did. “Congrats, man. I’ll be looking for my invite.”
“Invite, hell. You’re going to be my best man.”
“Well, hell. I’m honored. And more than willing to give you away.”
“The bride is given away, not the groom.”
“Damn shame,” Perry said, and headed inside and to his refrigerator. Pulling out a beer, he treaded through his dark house to his den and computer. “I tell you what, though. We’ve got a mess down here that hopefully I’ll have cleared up before the wedding. Have you set the date?”
“Rain hasn’t decided on a date yet. I’ll let you know when she tells me. Don’t be surprised if you and I get about a week’s notice. She seems to think that even though I’m the one who proposed, I might change my mind if I know the date too far in advance.”
“Don’t ask me to explain women to you,” Perry said, snorting and then taking a long drink of his beer. Relaxing in his chair, he remembered the quick change in Kylie’s attitude when he made a show of trying to get inside the middle bedroom. It was like cornering a nervous cat. He swore if he’d pushed her a moment longer, she would have pounced. Although if she attacked, it would have been round two of the lovemaking. Damn if that woman didn’t get turned on when he got rough. Thinking about it now got his dick hard all over again. “I’ve got a little vixen right now who is doing her best to make my life hell.”
“Sorry if she won’t put out. Can’t help you there,” Noah said, laughing. “But what is the mess you’ve got going on?”
Like always, any time either of them got knee-deep in bullshit, talking it out with each other usually helped. It did for Perry at least. He knew his friend couldn’t always discuss cases in depth when he was buried up to his balls in them. But there had been a time or two over the years when he’d unloaded probably more than he should have on Perry.
“Several teenage girls have come up missing. We had one the other day who appeared out of nowhere, raped and beaten damn near beyond recognition. She made it to the back of the grocery store before collapsing and dying. One of the employees there found her.”
“Shit. You got leads?”
“I got voice mail right before calling you back. They can’t find anything on her hard drive. Another girl who snuck out of her parents’ house to meet a guy and got intercepted by her father had been chatting with someone named Peter. I think he’s an online sexual predator right here in town. There’s a Web site that I found that had the girl we found today’s picture on it.”
“One of the porn sites you mentioned?” Noah was all business now. “You wanted me to help you figure out how to locate where the Web sites originate, right?”
“Yup. I got put on Kathleen Long’s case today, the girl we found behind the store. So hopefully I’ll get a bit more cooperation out of the department now.”
“What’s the Web site that had her picture on it?”
“Are you online now?” Perry moved his mouse, and his screen glowed to life in the dark den. Gulping down more beer, he quickly logged into his chat program and pulled up the Web site.
“I’m logging in now,” Noah told him.
Perry waited until he saw Noah appear on his buddy list and then sent the link to the Web site. At the same time, the site opened on the screen. The pictures were different than they’d been the last time Perry looked.
“Damn it, she’s not there anymore.”
“Big surprise, huh.”
“No shit. But I saved the page. Hold on.” Perry went to the saved file and then sent it to Noah. “Two girls have disappeared over the past six months. Another would have disappeared if her father hadn’t followed her and prevented it. We know all of them were talking to a boy who went by ‘Peter.’ He claims to be their age, but always says he lives in a town nearby. He lures them out of the house and that’s the last we hear of them. I can’t prove yet Kathleen Long, or this Web site, is connected to the other two girls. But my hunch is that they are.”
“Could be,” Noah said, sounding distracted. More than likely he was checking out the Web site. “What else do you got?”
“Not much. My nieces have been talking to a woman who is working on a thesis,” he began.
“Okay, and?” It didn’t take much for Noah to catch onto a vague line and know there was more to it.
“I’ve spent a bit of time with her.” He wasn’t sure why he said that, and paused, regrouping. He didn’t know how to explain Kylie. “She’s interviewing teenagers so she can write this college paper, but she won’t show me the paper and then last night I caught her trying to meet someone in a dark parking lot.”
“No shit?”
“I intervened and the guy took off, but then she took off, too. She’s got all this surveillance equipment rigged up around her house, and a room that she has locked and won’t let me in to see what is in there.”
“You think she is Peter?”
“No. Oh, hell no. But I think she’s a cop chaser and she’s going to get her ass hurt if she tries playing detective, especially with a case like this.”
Noah didn’t say anything. Perry worked around his thoughts, trying to put into words his gut reaction toward her.
“Dani loves her to the point she even talked to Megan about her. And Dani doesn’t open up about her life to any of us.”
“Dani is your niece, right?” Noah had met the girls briefly a few years ago, but Perry didn’t blame him for not being able to keep names straight.
“Yeah. No student wires her home like Kylie has. The security system she’s installed is more sophisticated than most people can afford.”
“Kylie Dover?” Noah asked.
“Yeah. Why? Do you know her?” It never crossed Perry’s mind that Kylie could possibly be more than a novice detective out to get herself off on some warped obsession with chasing bad guys. Now that he thought about it, if she was connected with some agency it would explain a hell of a lot, except for the part about her intense secretiveness.
“No. Not a Kylie Dover,” Noah said, sounding sincere enough to believe. “If she were an agent there would be no reason why she wouldn’t tell you.”
“True.” He stared at his beer bottle and then shifted his attention to his computer screen. “So what can you tell me about this Web site?”
“Rain is checking it out now. I don’t think she wants me drooling over all of the pictures.”
A wounded female voice in the background made Perry smile, although he wasn’t amused. Kylie would tell him if she was FBI or a private detective. There wouldn’t be any reason why she wouldn’t. Noah was right.
There was another reason she was protecting herself so thoroughly. Which meant that either she was a novice detective or whatever was in that bedroom had nothing to do with the case and she had another secret. It was becoming quite apparent he wasn’t going to let it drop until he knew the truth, which meant he needed to push the hot little blonde even harder. Fucking her harder sounded damn good as well.
“Perry, it looks as if you’ve got quite a scene going on down there. I’ll do some checking and should be able to get you a physical address on this Web site’s ISP tomorrow. You’re right about it being based in Kansas City.”
“I knew it. Send me the proof as soon as you’ve got it.”
“Will do. And keep me posted on your new conquest.”
“Conquest?”
“Whatever, man. I haven’t been FBI all these years to not recognize the tone in your voice. If you haven’t fucked her already, you’re planning on doing it soon.”
“Either way is none of your business.”
“Okay, so you already have.” Noah laughed in Perry’s ear, undaunted by Perry biting his head off.
Which was a mistake. Perry should know better after all these years. Chewing Noah’s ass got him going, and he was ready to spar. Perry leaned back in his chair, growling into the phone. Noah was one hell of a detective and always had been. The only way to keep information from him was to keep your mouth shut.
Another thing about Noah, though: he was loyal to a fault.
“If she were FBI, could you tell me?”
“Sure. As long as she wasn’t working undercover.”