Closing The Gap (Dangerous Pasts, #1) (18 page)

“Is Ms. Harrison in the room?”

The host double checked his computer.  “Yes, Mr. Adams.  Her key unlocked the door around 4:00 PM and that is the last activity on the key card.  I hope you have a very productive conference and a wonderful stay with us.  Here’s my card with my personal information.  Call me immediately if you need anything at all.” 

Josh felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach.  Lake was in the suite, waiting for him.  Was this performance anxiety?  Strange thoughts took hold of him, notions he’d never experienced until this night.  He wanted a future with her.  The moment he’d gotten on the plane back to Chicago, he’d missed her.  No longer just fantasizing about having her in his bed, he also pictured her on his couch, in his kitchen, in his life and family. 
She’s the kind of woman that will haunt you.
  Damn his dad for being right on that one.  He’d need to bust out his best skills tonight so she would become addicted to him.  That would buy him some more time to get her to trust him.  Somehow, deep inside, he realized she would never fall in love with him until she trusted him enough to tell him what she held back, how she’d been hurt so deeply and by what.  He struggled to comprehend how a car accident had caused so much fear and emotional trauma.  Hopeful for a positive breakthrough later and heartened by the night on her patio, he knew her to be capable of becoming passionate under his touch despite any misgivings she may still be feeling.

As he stepped on to the elevator, Josh reflected on his life thus far and it hadn’t been pretty.  He wanted to stop anesthetizing himself with work, fame, booze and loose women.  He yearned for an excuse to settle down and give himself to someone who he could trust to hold his heart in her hands and keep it safe.  First things first, though.  He would kiss her senseless, then lick every inch of her until she screamed his name.

After he slid his key into the lock and opened the door, he stood still a moment and adjusted his eyes to the darkness as he searched every crevice. 
Where in the hell is she?
  The television music played on low volume.  Guests listened to the music of the dancing fountains outside through the set mounted on the wall.  The incremental performances were set to popular songs and perfectly timed but the outside speakers couldn’t normally be heard through the sound proof glass.  He checked the bed where he’d expected her, and then the tub.  None of the lights were on.  Panic started to rise high in his chest.  He gazed around the suite.  Then, he spotted her out of the corner of his right eye, curled up in the fetal position on the chaise lounge by the tall windows.

Holy mother of God, bathed in the soft light coming from the strip, she took his very breath away.  She wore some barely there bra and panties that were sheer black fabric trimmed in pink satin, the delicate fabric so translucent, at first glance, she appeared naked.  Her long hair fell straight, spilling over her shoulders to the velvet chaise, backlit by the illumination peeking through the window.  It wasn’t deliberate.  It couldn’t be.  There was no way she could truly fathom her effect on him.  How every inch was wound tight and aching.  Only for her.

He dropped his luggage off in the middle of the room along with his suit coat and knelt beside the chaise.  She smelled like cherries again and he inhaled a deep breath to take it in.  She’d remembered what he said that night in Myst about that scent turning him into a half-wit.  Now, after waiting an eternity to have her, he would be lucky if he could keep any of his wits about him.  Content to remain motionless and watch her, he drifted back to the living hell the past few weeks had been without her.  The evening they’d been interrupted out by the fire pit at her house by Chad, had been torture.  She’d been moments away from release and he would have gotten to see it, been the man who got it done.  It was happening tonight, come hell or high water.  A god damn fire drill couldn’t coax him out of this room until she came multiple times.  Thoughts of how he could pleasure her consumed his every thought.

Josh couldn’t think of just one word to describe her.  She cared about people and animals, more than herself.  Lake Harrison was a woman worthy of loving, worthy of marrying, worthy of
never
letting go.  A woman to be proud of.  For the first time in his entire life, Josh fell hard and fast before he’d even been naked.  He would have thought that base realization would scare the shit out of him.  F-E-A-R, Fuck Everything And Run.  Instead, he reveled in it.  Not one ounce of trepidation about this night, about her or their future, imposed upon this perfect moment and how he felt about her.

Not able to wait one second longer, he ran his index finger up her exposed left leg.  Her skin felt like the smoothest silk and he became hard just watching her breasts rise and fall the slightest sliver with her light breathing.  She looked magnificent in the little outfit she had on.  He looked forward to seeing her standing up in it.  Even more, he looked forward to peeling it off.  Her leg twitched as if she felt something but she settled again so he continued tracing over her hip and up to the side of her breast.  He followed the line of the pink piping to the front and dipped his finger into the space between that looked even more spectacular because she’d laid on her side.  Unable to help himself, he outlined the shape of her left nipple with a gentle touch.  It puckered through the sheer black fabric.  A small sigh escaped her lush lips and her eyelids started to flutter open.  When she saw him, her face lit up.

“You’re stunning.  Nice outfit.”

“I wanted to be beautiful for you.”

“You’re always beautiful for me.  It doesn’t matter how you look or what you’re wearing.  Your beauty runs deeper than that.”  He ran his hand down the length of her hair and let it fan through his fingers.  She contained a softness tonight.  That chronic uncertainty of herself and her desirability that made him want to give her pleasure with everything that he had and everything that he was.

“I’m so happy you’re finally here.  I’ve been missing you.” 

“Lake, I feel like I’m going to explode unless I can kiss you and press your body against mine.  Every day since I left Scottsdale, has been sheer hell.”  He raggedly spoke the words as he ran both his hands along her sides and guided her up from her prone position.  As he stood, he lifted her in his arms so she faced him.

“Wrap your legs around me.”

He helped her hook her legs on either side of his waist and drape her arms around his neck.  As he gazed deep into her expressive green eyes, he was thrilled to see no doubt there reflected back at him.  She’d placed her trust in him and it was the most priceless gift he’d ever received.  He dipped his head and captured her lips in a soft exploratory kiss that quickly began to escalate.  He didn’t even note he held her entire weight as he continued his perusal of her lips.  Josh nipped and sucked on the bottom one he loved so much.  As he placed his hands around her back so she wouldn’t slip, he strode towards the bedroom.  He stopped just short of the bed and looked down into her face.

“Lake, I cannot and will not wait one moment longer to have you.  You are going to come all over me, in every way possible.  I am not going to stop until that happens.”

B
uck Hoeff had never been more proud of himself.  As he walked out over the lush, green pasture, he reflected back on his recent actions.  The soles of his shoes sunk in to the spongy ground as he went.  Messing with the computer systems at the hospital had been the easy part.  Buck loved a virus.  The hospital would probably never get rid of the one he’d planted without replacing their entire mainframe.

Getting a fake driver’s license and past TSA had been even easier.  Thoughts flew through his head in rapid succession. 
I am so fucking smart and talented.  Shit, I should be president of this God damn screwed up country.
  His delusions of grandeur brought his personal excitement to a fever pitch.  If he
were
elected president and people knew how bad-ass he was, he wouldn’t have to keep his ridiculous nickname. 

Billy Stevens on the neighboring farm had chanted it when he’d been thrown off his first pony and hit the dirt hard. After he’d belly-flopped, his body splayed out on the ground with bruised pride and a broken arm, physical and emotional pain had coursed through his body.  The other kids responded to his trauma with laughter and teasing.  The name had stuck and everyone called him by it.  Even his parents did, although they’d named him Timothy.  His dad had told him to toughen up and stop acting like a sissy.  It had taken a few years but he’d gotten his revenge.  The Stevens black lab, Champ, lay mutilated and six feet under.  No one had ever been the wiser and assumed the dog had just wandered off.  It would be the first and last time anyone
ever
got one over on him.

His spies were doing an incredible job.  Thank God for that money he’d stolen from his mom’s bank account.  Dumb bitch, she had no clue about any of it.  She still thought the sun rose and set in his ass.  The money would take him far and get the job done fast and with precision.  The investigator had reported this morning she’d shacked up at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with some former hockey player.  Buck wasn’t concerned.  She’d open her big mouth eventually and that imbecile would knock her teeth right out of her head.  If any man could stand to look at her that long, he had shit for brains.

She could never just keep her fucking mouth shut, or her legs, like the slut she was.  He wanted to wring her delicate, long neck so bad his fingers twitched.  No worries, if Wayne Gretzky got in the way, he had to go too.  Maybe, he’d take him out just for fun.  Pissed off that any other man was having what was once his, Buck snarled into the sunlight.  First, he’d take out his kneecaps and then he’d shoot his dick off.  Years of target practice out on the farm had taught him well.  He could fire any weapon with accuracy and ease, even at long distances.

Incompetent whore, if she just could have kept that fucking whiny mouth shut.  But no, she had to run back to her cunt sister with her tail between her legs, just like a worthless dog that got its fool ass kicked for disobedience.  The months he’d spent in the hospital were nothing compared to the agony she would have to endure.  She must endure.  If she thought she’d suffered the last time, she had another thing coming.  This time, he’d detach her entire scalp from her skull.  The cock sucker fucking her might be tall but he was no match for Buck’s Glock G30.  That asshole would go down just as easy as a zebra tracked by a lion.  Maybe instead of his knees and groin, he’d give him a belly wound so he’d bleed out, slow and painful.  She’d have to watch of course, while Buck beat the shit out of her.  Then, he would finally kill her right where Mr. NHL could watch it all, unable to help her.  That would be fucking nirvana.

Just the thought of his impending actions placed him on top of the world.  He watched it in his mind’s eye and he ran the mental tape like his favorite movie, over and over again.  The image was so vibrant, Buck felt he could reach out and touch it.  Elated, he stopped.  God damn, this would be the greatest thing ever.  Buck smiled like he hadn’t in years, swayed to his right and shot the horse twice through the skull.

T
hankful the lights were off and just a slight shimmering from the strip peeked through the bedroom window, Lake flushed heat from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. 
Did he really just say he’d make me come multiple times tonight?  Is that even possible?
  She didn’t think so but his words thrilled her, his effort special.  Lovemaking had never been her strong suit.  She’d forever done everything wrong and suffered the consequences.  Her husband had treated her like she was cheap and dirty for any enjoyment she admitted and took delight in telling her she was a worthless cow that didn’t know how to please a man, or herself. Her best orgasms had always occurred with an electronic device, deep under the cover of night.  Now, here stood this gorgeous, sexy man who spoke words to her that she’d despaired of ever hearing.  Hadn’t even known she wanted to hear.  As she hoped she’d prove worthy of him and his blatant desire for her, she settled for the barest of admissions. Surely, that would prove safe.

“I feel so wanted when I’m with you.”

His reaction gave away his thoughts.  As Josh set her gently down on the king size bed so she rested lightly on her knees, he never broke contact with her body.  Lake’s lips parted on a sigh and he used that opportunity to tease his tongue back and forth along the seam of her mouth.  He deepened the kiss, exploring every crevice inside.  The man’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once.  Bemused, she would have sworn he was some type of circus performer.

Lake felt agitated and pulled in different directions by the alternating needs to touch his skin and ease the ache that drummed through her core.  Her hands roved his arms and shoulders, settling on his chest where she made quick work of dispatching with his buttons.  Once she peeled the shirt from his skin and flung it to the floor, she unhooked his belt and ripped it out of its loopholes.  He had already branded her with his touch.  She wanted to learn his body too.

As she reached for the button on his pants, Josh responded to her kinetic energy by holding her arms to her sides.  Frustrated, she struggled.  That would just not do.

“Please,” she moaned barely able to spit the words out.  “Josh, please, I want ...”

“Hmm ...?”  His tongue touched lightly at the visible pulse in her throat.  Her nipples were erect underneath the sheer fabric of her bra.  “What is it that you want, babe?”

“I want to touch you too.  Please, let go of my hands.”

“Not until you come once.  You’re wound so tight.  I’ll let go of your arms and you can touch me then.  If you touch me right now, I won’t be able to stop myself and I’ve fantasized about this moment for so many weeks.  There are things I have to do first.  I want to give you pleasure and I want to do all the things I’ve been thinking about before I become completely undone myself.”