Wicked Games Page 13

  Noah whirled around and took a giant step to the side of her bed. “Don’t even think it!” He stepped back, with one hand on his side and the other raking down his face. “Bri, she had a gun on you. She was pulling the trigger, and I was yelling for her to stop. She laughed – laughed! I pulled the trigger, barely a split second before she did. My bullet hit her and knocked her aim off. If I had been even one second later, she would’ve killed you. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  Leaning over the rail, he took her hands in his. “I love you, Bri. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

  Brianna pulled him to her and kissed him through her tears. “I love you, too, Noah.”

  Later that day, as Brianna was taking a nap, a light rap on the door alerted Noah. He looked up to see Bull walking in. “Hey, brother.”

  “Hey, Reap,” he said softly, as he looked at Brianna sleeping. “I wanted to see how she’s doing,” he hesitated before continuing, “And I need to apologize to her.”

  Noah placed his hand on Bull’s shoulder and nodded in understanding. They watched her sleep for a minute and she started to stir. She opened her eyes and looked from Noah to Bull, then back to Noah.

  “Something wrong?” Noah heard the slight elevation of fear in her voice.

  Bull answered, “No, no – well, on second thought, yes, I guess there is. Me. I’ve been wrong – about you and how I treated you, Brianna. I’m sorry. I should’ve at least heard you out. You deserved at least that, and I let you down. I promised I would always protect you, and I let you down.”

  Brianna considered his words, and Bull waited for her to order him out of her room and out of her life.

  “Sunny.”

  Bull looked confused. “What?”

  “My name is Sunny, to you.” And with that, she smiled at him. Bull was suddenly at the side of the bed, bending over to hug her.

  “Always,” he said, as he kissed her cheek. A silent understanding that his one word answer held a promise only a brother could make.

  Chapter 20

  “I will not accept no for an answer, young lady!” Evan Tate’s voiced boomed at Brianna. “The arrangements have already been made and that’s that.”

  Noah sat back in his recliner, smiling triumphantly. The whole family was on his side, and there was no way she was getting out of it.

  “OK, Daddy, you’re right,” Brianna casually replied.

  Evan sat up straighter, “What did you say? Don’t patronize me!”

  Brianna laughed, “I said ok! What more do you want?”

  “An iron-clad contract would do me just fine,” Noah chimed in, as Brianna gingerly sat in Noah’s lap and wrapped her arm around his neck.

  “Look, I learned my lesson. I won’t go snooping around in anyone else’s dangerous business anymore! I’m done with the whole investigative reporting thing. I’ll take the Public Relations position for Sterling Luxury Resorts and work for you, Daddy.” She kissed Noah’s cheek and added, “But I’m staying in Miami.”

  Evan agreed. “Fine, fine. We’re looking for prime real estate to build a Sterling Luxury Resort in Miami Beach. You’ll be able to garner us a lot of good PR, once we begin construction.”

  Diane had another motive for agreeing to it. “And maybe one day I’ll get some grandchildren from one of my daughters!” Brianna rolled her eyes.

  After Diane and Evan left, Noah set the alarm, picked Brianna up, and carried her to his bedroom, as he’d done every night since she was discharged from the hospital. It had been almost eight weeks since she was shot, and she was almost completely healed.

  She still had occasional soreness in her shoulder and ribs, but the doctors said that was completely normal. Noah had moved her back into his house and had worked mostly from his home office, so he could continue to help her recover.

  At first, Brianna really did need his help to climb the stairs. She felt safe and secure in his strong embrace. She was past the point of needing to be carried now, but Noah wouldn’t hear of it. Neanderthal, she thought and smiled, knowing that she secretly loved it, too.

  When she was discharged, she still had dizziness from her concussion, and her sore, cracked ribs kept her from moving easily. But after a couple of weeks of rest, the worst had subsided.

  Her first day home from the hospital, Noah put her in his bed, and she had slept there with him every night since. She remembered the first time they made love after her hospital discharge. She had initiated it, because he had been so hesitant. He was sure he would hurt her, but eventually she won him over. She smiled at the memory of that big, dangerous man giving in to her “torture tactics,” as he called them that night.

  She had been without him for too long. One night of making love, after three long years of being without him, wasn’t nearly enough. She knew he would object, only because he didn’t want to hurt her, so she planned her mission carefully.

  Once he had settled into bed and was drifting off to sleep, she silently moved until she was fully under the covers. She licked the underside of his shaft, along the vein from shaft to tip, then around his mushroom shaped head. He was already semi-hard when she first touched him, and he was fully erect within seconds.

  She felt his breathing increase with her touch and heard him moan when she took him fully in her mouth. Her hand gently cupped his balls as her fingers lightly stroked them, moving up his shaft as her mouth moved down. His hands came around to hold her head, and his hips began to thrust in time with her hand and mouth.

  He made a louder moan, then she heard his sleepy, husky voice, “Bri….ah….damn!” He threw the covers back and raised his head to look at her. She lifted her head and smiled at him like the Cheshire cat. Now that he couldn’t deny her what she wanted, she gingerly crawled on top of him and stroked him with her wet center.

  “Want me to stop?” She purred in his ear, already knowing the answer.

  His alpha-male growl reverberated to her core, exciting her even more. “Hell no, I don’t want you to stop!”

  She raised her hips up and positioned him at her entrance, as he gripped her hips with his huge hands. Slowly, she began to take him into her, relishing the feeling of him stretching her and filling her, as only he could. She moved slowly at first, rocking her hips and finding her rhythm, until she no longer felt the soreness of her injuries and only the pleasure he gave her. Sensing her need for more, he held tighter to her hips and thrust his up to meet hers. His thumb moved between them, massaging her clit, as she screamed his name.

  Sitting up and wrapping his arms around her, he turned her over to lie on her back while he supported his weight on his arms. He was still being so careful to not hurt her, and she was dying to feel his body against hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and gently tugged to pull him down to her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, lightly licking his tongue across her lips. She opened her mouth to invite him in, and he took full possession of it.

  Continuing his kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and to the taut bud of her nipple. His teeth grazed it as he licked, sucked, and kissed on one side before starting over again on the other side. Every touch heightened her arousal even more, and her moans urged him on. He worked his way down her stomach, kissing and licking every part of her until he reached her hot, wet core. Fully settled between her legs, his hands moved under her hips, pulling her knees over his shoulder and her center fully in line with his tongue.

  His dark head moved in to lick her from the bottom of her slit to the top of her clit, where he stopped to suck and tug on it. Her hands flew to his head, as she fisted his hair in her hands, keeping him in place. She felt his chuckle rumble through her from deep in his chest.

  He did it again and again until Brianna was coming apart in his hands. “That’s my girl. Let me taste you, baby. It’s been too long. Come for me, scream my name.” When his mouth met her again, he didn’t stop until she loudly screamed his name over and over.

  He moved to cover her body with his an
d kissed her fiercely. The taste of her arousal still on his tongue and lips, pushed her desire into a feverish state. Bending her knees, she lifted, and spread her legs to allow him full access. With one swift thrust, he was rocking inside her and muttering words of love and ecstasy.

  Sitting up on his knees, he put his hands on the back of her thighs and drove hard into her. In this position, he hit the pleasure spot with every thrust and felt her clamp down around him, as she came over and over. Her extra wetness was his undoing and with her last cry, he growled her name, as his own orgasm pumped into her.

  He rolled them both to the side to keep from hurting her, but without letting her go. They fell asleep, bodies still entwined, and he was still inside her.

  Still smiling at the memory of that night, she made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She was digging through the bathroom closet to find more cotton balls when she came across her backpack. With everything that had happened over the past several weeks, she had forgotten all about it. As she emptied the contents, she gasped and inhaled so sharply, she felt a pull in her healing ribs.

  Oh. My. God.

  Noah was hanging up from a call, as she walked back into the bedroom. “Who was that?”

  “That was Shadow. Seems our friend, Richard, has gotten a lot of his friends in trouble.”

  She stepped forward to Noah, touching his arm. “You?”

  Smiling, he answered, “No, not me - thanks to you and those documents! Shadow and his team have rounded up everyone they could identify from the trail Richard left. They will be going away for a very long time. Shadow told his superiors Steele Security worked with him on the wire you wore. Richard’s voice saying he intended to kill you also helped seal his fate.”

  He reached for her, pulled her close to him, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She locked her hands around his neck, as he drew her into a long, glorious kiss. His tongue tenderly stroked hers, and then he pulled away slightly to suck her bottom lip into his mouth, then gently scraping his teeth across it. He peppered her jaw with kisses and trailed down her neck. His hands found her lacy panties and pulled them down to the floor, as he open mouth kissed and licked her stomach on his way down.

  Rising slowly, his hands grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. He savored every inch of her, tasting her, as he took his time with her body.

  “Noah, I really need to tell you something.”

  “Brianna, I really need to show you something.”

  She was undone at the need in his voice and the wicked, half smile he gave her. He always made her weak in the knees. He quickly shed his boxers and stepped out of them, displaying his rock hard erection.. His fingers lightly trailed over her breasts, stopping to rub her nipples with his calloused fingers, before leaving a trail of fire over her stomach.

  Reaching her shorts, he quickly unbuttoned them, and pushed them to the floor. Then he hooked his thumbs in the sides of her panties and lowered them to the floor, kneeling before her as he went.

  He licked and sucked on her clit, as she fell back against the wall, her knees threatening to give out from underneath her. His fingers found their way to her center, caressing and pleasing her, and making her wetter. Her fingers on one hand ran through his hair while the other dug into his shoulder, as he brought her closer to the edge.

  She gasped when one of his thick fingers plunged deep into her, her knees bent, and her back arched, pulling him in deeper. She cried out when his second finger joined the first one, stretching and filling her, getting her ready for him.

  He stood before her and she locked her arms around his neck. He cupped her ass and pulled her up on him, as he pushed her back into the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as his mouth covered hers. Their kisses turned deep and intense. He grunted with deep need and drove his thick, hard shaft deep inside of her.

  He placed his hands on the wall, just under her hips, and continued to pound deep into her, over and over again with intense desire. “Look at me, baby.” She opened her eyes and felt the connection to him deep inside her chest, her love for him overflowing from her eyes.

  She relished every thrust and every feeling with him. Her hands roamed everywhere over his body, fingernails digging into his sinewy form with every orgasm that rippled through her. Her moans, screams, and utterances were driving him on even more. Unable to hold back any longer, as she climaxed again, he let go and let her body milk him dry.

  Through heavy panting and continued sweet kisses, he continued holding her against the wall, with her legs wrapped around his waist. “I love you so much, Bri, so fucking much. God, you just don’t know how much I love you and have missed you. I will tell you and show you every day. I never want to be without you again, not even for a day.”

  She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, “You are my life, Noah. I will never leave you again, no matter what. Whatever the future holds, we’ll face it together.”

  He carried her to the bed and carefully deposited her on her pillow before climbing over her to hold her in his arms again for the night. He pulled up closer to her, molding their bodies to fit each other, and softly asked. “What did you want to tell me?”

  “It can wait until tomorrow.” She wanted to tell him, but he already sounded half asleep, and she knew this would probably keep him up all night. Wrapped in his arms and his warmth, she drifted off to sleep, completely sated, and completely happy again.

  Chapter 21

  She stood looking in the bathroom mirror, “OK, Brianna. This is big. You’re going to walk downstairs and tell him. Just tell him.”

  She stared into her own eyes. “I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can. Quit being a coward.”

  Great, now my inner dialogue is coming out!

  While she still had the courage built up and before she could talk herself out of it, she walked towards Noah’s office.

  She called out, as she turned the corner to his office, “Noah, we really need to talk abou---,“ then she saw he had been totally engrossed in something he was working on.

  He didn’t look up when he said, “Uh…ok….just a sec.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Noah. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

  She turned to leave, but before she was even through the doorway, his arms came around her waist and gently stopped her. She hadn’t even heard him get up. How does he do that?

  “You never bother me, Bri,” he tenderly nuzzled her ear. He turned her around, and he sat on the back of the chair that was directly in front of his large desk. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

  “Noah, it can wait, really. You were deep in thought, and I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I know you’re busy.”

  “I’m never too busy for you. Ever. I made that mistake once, and it’ll never happen again.” His tone was resolute. She couldn’t stop the butterflies it gave her to know how sincere he was.

  She wiped her palms on her shorts, suddenly aware that they were sweating, and she was really nervous. Her eyes darted around the room, as she tried to think of how to tell him. He immediately noticed how she chewed on her bottom lip, a sure sign that she was nervous. He tried to remain calm, knowing they were at a good place in their relationship, but he was still set on alert at her demeanor.

  “Umm, look, I understand if you get mad at me when I tell you this. But I really didn’t do it on purpose.” The words were flying out so quickly, as if she had to spit them out fast, or hold them in forever. Her voice was pleading, and he knew she was scared…of him, of how he would react.

  He stood and took her hands in his and kept his tone gentle. She had been through enough, and he vowed he would never be the source of her insecurity again. “Bri, you never have to be scared of me – to talk to me, to tell me anything. Whatever it is, we’ll work through it together. OK?”

  She nodded and bit her lower lip again. He kept holding her hands, stroking the tops with his thumb to give her reassurance. She continued, “You see,
the thing is, with everything that’s happened…I didn’t even expect to see you, much less anything else…Then I got shot and was in the hospital.”

  Noah smiled reassuringly, “Bri, just tell me what’s going on. Let me help.”

  “I realized last night that I….um….haven’t…been….on…birth control.”

  “Since? When, exactly?” His face was the unreadable mask again and his thumbs stilled. His whole body went as hard as stone. Brianna felt like she would hyperventilate before she could answer him.

  Deep breath. Breathe! “Since that first night you caught me, and my bag was still at the hotel. And….Noah….um, I’m late.”

  He was silent. Too silent. And she was about to hit full panic mode. She trusted him fully, and she knew he would never hurt her. The issue was simply that she didn’t feel like he really trusted her yet. They were just getting their relationship back on track. This sort of thing has a tendency to make some men run away. Fast. And she didn’t know how she could survive losing him again.

  Since he still hadn’t spoken, she felt the need to fill in the silence. “Look, Noah. I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear. I may not even be pregnant. It could just be all the stress I’ve been under. I was going to the store this morning to get a pregnancy test, just to be sure, but…. Dammit, should I not have told you yet? I just didn’t want to keep it from you. I don’t want to keep anything from you. I didn’t want you to think I went behind your back, if I took the test without you. Maybe I should’ve made sure before I said anything?”

  I’m in full panic mode, and he’s just standing there! She knew she was rambling, but his lack of response was rattling her more than if he’d been mad about it.

  “Noah, say something – anything. Please. Are you mad? Do you want me to leave?” She looked down at her hands and chewed on her lip.

  “Woo-hooo!” Noah yelled, as he scooped her up in his arms and twirled her around. “We’re having a baby!” He was beaming, as he kissed her, when he sat her back down.