Critical Density Read online

  “You look done in.”

  She sighed. “I feel totally drained.”

  “Sometimes stress can be the most tiring thing.”

  “I’m just so terrified they’ll be able to find me.”

  “Listen to me.” He cradled her face between his palms. “I know how you feel, but we are going to keep you safe. That’s a promise.”

  She desperately wanted to believe him.

  “Okay.” But the word was a whisper.

  “And now, I prescribe a nice hot shower to ease some of that tension that’s practically making you vibrate with nerves. How about if I wash you and massage you all over your body? Think that’ll help?”

  Just the mental image of that sent shivers over her skin.

  “Wow. All that? Absolutely. Whatever did I do to deserve it?”

  “You showed up in my life. Never thought stopping into a bar to kill time would turn out so great.” He brushed a light kiss over her lips. “Let’s get to that shower.”

  He swept her up in his arms and carried her into his room then into the en suite bathroom. She ran her tongue over her lips, savoring the faint taste of him there. She took a moment to look at the surroundings. Last night, she had barely paid attention to it, but now she took a good look. Talk about luxury. The tile was all ivory and soft gray, a soothing combination, with double sinks, steel and crystal light fixtures, and towel warmers against one wall. A large, fluffy white rug covered a good bit of the floor. And the shower was surely the largest she’d ever seen.

  Viper carefully removed her shoes before setting her on her feet and reaching in to turn on the shower. In slow motion, he eased her T-shirt up over her head, tossing it to the side and sprinkling kisses on the upper swell of her breasts as he removed her bra. At the sight of her rosy nipples, he sucked in a breath, then closed his lips over one pebbled tip. When he drew it into his mouth, she felt the tug clear to the center of her core. Her inner walls clenched, demanding to be filled. But he had already moved on to the other nipple, squeezing her breasts as he drew hard on the swollen bud.

  Hannah arched her back, leaning with her hands pressed against the vanity counter to balance herself. Viper unfastened her jeans and slowly drew them down her legs, lowering himself to his knees as he did so. One by one, he lifted each leg out of the garment, brushing soft kisses against the skin of her inner thighs and sending shivers down her spine. All that was left on her body was the tiny wisp of the bikini panties that had been part of Peyton’s shopping trip for her. She felt totally exposed and hot all over, hungry for every bit of Viper’s touch.

  From the moment she’d fallen into bed with him the first night—a totally rare experience for her—every inhibition she’d had had seemed to vaporize. She had no rhyme or reason for it, just that there was some kind of chemistry between the two of them that consumed her.

  Viper smoothed his thumbs over the tiny triangle of sheer fabric that covered her mound. Every touch, every caress, ratcheted up her heat. And when he pressed his lips to that soft curve of flesh and blew a tiny wisp of breath, she was shocked she didn’t come just standing there.

  “You have to take off your clothes, too,” she urged, barely hanging on to her control.

  “That’s the plan. But first this.”

  He dragged the tiny bikini panties down her legs and tossed them to the side. Then he ran his thumb between the lips of her sex, feeling how wet for him she was.

  “I need to tell you something.” He punctuated his words with little kisses that sent electric shivers racing through her.

  “What’s that?” She was getting to the point where she could barely form a thought and they’d hardly done anything yet.

  “Just so you know, I’m not a sex fiend. Not by any means. I don’t want to give you that impression, although maybe it’s too late. I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”

  “It’s only been two days,” she pointed out. “Maybe it will wear off.”

  “When it’s right, sometimes it only takes two minutes to know, and it never wears off.” He coasted his glance over her body and up to her face. “Hannah, I want you to know this whole thing between us shocked the hell out of me. But truth to tell? I think I’ve probably been waiting for you all my life. So we have a lot of time to make up for. Starting now.”

  “I thought we started the other night?”

  “Absolutely. But this is even better.”

  He gave a little pinch to her clit and she sucked in her breath then tried to push her hips toward him.

  “Like that, do you?” he teased.

  “Can’t you tell?”

  He placed an open-mouthed kiss on her sex. “Shower first,” he reminded her. “Let’s get the kinks out of your muscles and the knots out of your nerves. I promise you that you’ll love it.”

  Heat sizzled through her at his words. It was all happening so fast. What was she doing? She’d known this man for less than seventy-two hours, and here she was, once again wrapped up with him in erotic sex. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was supposed to be. Maybe that was why he’d been sitting at the counter in that Houston bar.

  He rose and shucked his clothing in seconds. When Hannah saw how his thick, swollen cock hung between his thighs, engorged with the blood pounding through the vein wrapped around it, her mouth actually watered.

  “Okay. In we go.”

  One corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile as he lifted her as if she weighed nothing and placed her in the shower. He stepped in after her and adjusted the rain head spray. The water was warm enough without being hot. It was soothing, and Viper manipulated the shower head so it sprinkled soft droplets all over her body.

  “Give me a minute,” he told her, as he quickly soaped himself up and rinsed off. “This is for you and I plan to give you my full attention.” When he was done, he brushed a kiss along her neck. “Just relax, Hannah. I’m going to make you feel so good.”

  The first thing he did was to take her mouth in a long, slow kiss, letting his tongue play with hers before he softly licked her lips. Then he braced her against the wall, poured body wash into his hand and began to spread it slowly over her body. His hands were like magic, stroking her skin and kneading her muscles that were tighter than she’d realized. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and just let herself feel.

  He massaged the body wash into her neck, down over her shoulders and arms, even paying attention to each of her fingers. Then more of the slick stuff, this time over the slope of her breasts, giving her nipples a light pinch before sliding his hands down over the slight curve of her stomach. Suddenly a different type of tension coursed through her. Deep inside, hunger and need rolled into a ball. The walls of her sex tightened and began a steady throb of need. She squeezed her thighs together to contain it, but the demand to feel Viper’s dick inside her just continued to grow.

  Suddenly he moved his hands away, making her cry out with need, and turned her so she faced the wall. Now he began the same slow, sensuous strokes, this time on her shoulders and back, easing his way down to her waist. When he rubbed his palms over the curve of her ass cheeks, she wanted to purr with satisfaction. But then he slipped two coated fingers into the crevice between those cheeks, and she realized satisfaction was a long way off. She wanted more. A lot more.

  Her breath caught in her throat as he slid those fingers up and down. No one had ever taken her there before. To her, that was the ultimate indication of trust, and she hadn’t ever trusted anyone that much. How was it that in just three short days she had connected so deeply with him, more than any other man she’d ever met? Any other person, for that matter. She’d never been a big believer in fate, but she had no other explanation for this.

  Then her mind stopped working as the tip of one finger gently probed her opening. Oh, god! Heat blazed through her, scorching her nerve endings. Without thinking about it, she pressed backwards against his touch, silently urging him for more.

  “Like that, do you?” His deep voice was
right next to her ear, his warm breath caressing it.

  “I… Uh…” His touch and the possibilities had robbed her of the power of speech.

  “No worries. Talking can be overrated. But this will be special, darlin’. When I take you here, it will mean no other man will ever touch you again. I think it will be our celebration when we get this mess cleaned up.”

  She wanted to cry when he took his hand away, but then he turned her around to face him. In another moment, his mouth had taken hers in a scorching kiss. His tongue swiped across her lips before thrusting inside. When he scraped his teeth over her tongue, every nerve in her body sent signals directly to her sex. She had to squeeze her thighs together to try to control the little spasms vibrating there.

  Viper gave her tongue one last little scrape before lifting his head. He went back to gently rubbing all her muscles, and when he reached her hips, he dropped to his knees and lifted one leg over his shoulder. The shower fell soft and light on them, not hard and intense as she was used to. She had to brace her hands against the wall as he stroked up the inside of one thigh and down the other, wanting to scream when he didn’t put his hands where she most desired them.

  Then, as if he’d read her mind, he separated the lips of her sex and took a long, slow lick of her flesh, dragging his tongue over her sensitive clit.

  “Oh, god!” The words fell from her mouth.

  Viper gave a long, low, rough laugh.

  “Not god, just a man hungry for every inch of your body.”

  He repeated the caress with his tongue, the leisurely swipe that made every nerve in the area scream for more. When he slid one finger inside her, she pushed herself down on it as hard as she could, grabbing Viper’s shoulders to brace herself. He stroked and stroked, slid one then two fingers in and out in a steady rhythm, then worked on her clit.

  She tried to rock herself back and forth on his fingers, but he managed to keep her from pushing down all the way so he could stroke and tease every area of her sex. Her moans must have told him she was so close, so he thrust three fingers inside her and increased the speed of his rhythm. He stretched the walls of her sex, scraping them with his knuckles each time he pulled back.

  She rode his hand, bracing herself by digging one heel into his back and pressing a hand against the shower wall. On and on he stroked, until she thought she would scream if he didn’t let her come. He kept her right at the edge for so long, she thought for sure she’d lose her mind any minute. He increased the speed just a little more, bit down on her clit and…

  And she exploded.

  Oh, god!

  The muscles of her sex spasmed so hard she squeezed the knuckles on Viper’s fingers and the tips of the fingers touched the mouth of her womb. And still she pushed down harder. Her fingernails were making imprints on his skin as she shuddered again and again.

  Light tremors still raced through her as he removed his hand and reached into the soap dish for a condom she hadn’t even seen him put there. In seconds, he had sheathed himself, then, with both hands beneath the cheeks of her ass, he lifted her enough to slowly lower her onto his cock. She was amazed at the strength in his arms, that he could hold her so steady as they joined completely.

  When he was fully seated, his thick shaft filling every inch of her, his hands cupping her ass to hold her in place, he began to move. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and moved with him, sliding easily into a rhythm that had quickly become familiar.

  In and out, thrusting deep, her inner walls milking him, they moved as if they’d been doing this forever. Everything fell away…the shower, her situation, the crisis about to boil over…as he drove into her hard, again and again. He would take her right to the brink, right to the edge of orgasm, then slow down and gradually build it up again until she thought she’d go crazy if she didn’t come soon. She lost all sense of everything except the two of them on a wild journey to orgasm. And when it happened, when it swept over them, they shuddered together in huge spasms, his dick pulsing in her sex.

  At last, when there was nothing left and the last tremor had faded, he lifted her enough that he could ease himself from the hot clasp of her body. When she lowered her legs and put her feet on the tile flooring, she was so weak she had to clutch Viper to hold herself steady. He braced her with one strong arm as he removed the condom and turned off the shower. Then he lifted her out, grabbed a towel from the heated rack and wrapped it around her, placing her on the bench at the counter.

  “Don’t move,” he said, as he quickly dried himself off.

  She wanted to tell him that she couldn’t have moved if he’d begged her, but her vocal cords seemed to be as relaxed and limp as the rest of her. Instead, she just sat there and watched him dry her off with an efficiency that she knew came from his years with the military.

  But there was nothing military about the way he slid the material over her breasts, between her thighs and down her back. Every place he touched ignited, making her grit her teeth and reach for control. How was this even possible? Was she turning into a sex maniac? Was she like one of these people who stayed on a perpetual diet but when given a box of chocolates just gorged themselves?

  When he’d finished touching every inch of bare skin, he brushed his lips over hers.

  “Be right back,” he told her then hurried from the bathroom.

  She didn’t even have the energy to ask him where he was going, but she was shocked alert in surprise when he returned carrying her hair dryer and brush. This big, macho, ex-military man was going to dry and brush her hair? It was on the top ten list of things she’d least expected. Apparently so, however, since he plugged in the dryer then began to slowly brush her hair.

  He bent to brush a kiss on her shoulder.

  “Let’s just hope I do this right. But, Hannah? I want to take care of you, and this is part of it.” He looked in the mirror and caught her gaze. “And no, I’ve never done this with any other woman. Never had the urge to. But somehow, from the minute you slid onto the bar stool next to me, I’ve had all kinds of new feelings, and not just about sex. I know it’s only been a couple of days and these are strange circumstances, but suddenly I understand what Blaze felt with Peyton. And I’ll try not to make any mistakes.”

  “Oh!” She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of the bristles against her scalp. “I thought I’d seen all your hidden talents.”

  “Darlin’, you’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg.” His grin was slow and sexy and full of erotic meaning.

  A shiver rippled down her back, and despite the incredible orgasm he’d just treated her to, the pulse at the heart of her sex kicked into life. For just a little while, she could forget the situation she was in. Lord! If she didn’t get a grip on herself, there’d be nothing left of her by the time they got this all sorted out.

  But what a way to go.

  She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the soothing sensation of the brush and the heat of the dryer. She only opened them when the motor shut off and the current of air disappeared. She was stunned when she looked in the mirror to see he hadn’t done a bad job at all.

  He grinned. “Can’t go to bed with wet hair.”

  She was so drained she could barely move. It was a good thing Viper picked her up and carried her to his bed. He pulled the covers back then laid her down on the smooth sheets. She lifted one eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

  “I’m not sleeping in my room?”

  “Not even for a minute.” He locked his gaze with hers. “You can keep your clothes and stuff in the other room if you want a place to have some privacy. But, Hannah? I want you in my bed every night.” He studied her face, the blue in his eyes darkening almost to navy. “Listen, I don’t want to force you into something that makes you uncomfortable.”

  A calm that had nothing to do with the incredible sex slid through her. “It doesn’t. I want to be with you, Viper. Is it too forward of me to say that? But are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a little break f
rom me?”

  “I don’t want or need one.” His mouth curved in a lazy smile. “I think you’ve hypnotized me, Hannah. I make it a habit never to spend the night with a woman, but with you? I want to be able to see you and touch you every minute, and not because you’re in danger. It’s a lot more than that. Something’s going on here, something that shocked the shit out of me, and in a way scares me to death. But I want it, so how about sliding over so I can crawl in here, too?”

  She moved over to make room for him. He stretched out on his side and adjusted her body so they were spooning. His long, thick cock, shockingly semi-hard again, nestled between the cheeks of her ass. She wondered if her own hormones would be able to resist the intimacy. Then she wondered why it mattered. Why she was fighting it? Her whole life was crap right now and yet, in the midst of it, here was this terrific guy. Maybe there’s a ray of hope after all.

  Chapter Eleven

  Diesel had not slept well and he was pissed. He resented the fuck out of his life being upended and his peace of mind destroyed. Well, he guessed that was what happened when he had to deal with fucking idiots. And Henry was the worst of them all. Him and his goddamn political career. Okay, so his ass was hanging over the edge of a bridge with rushing water below it. But that was the kind of game he was in and had been for years.

  “This is his chance to win the pot of gold,” the man sitting opposite him in his den said. “The one he’s been salivating for. If he gets it, we own him, and we can do anything we want.”

  The other man had given himself the code name of ‘Conductor’. They always used code names when the two of them were involved in conversations, even if no one else was around. It established a pattern and prevented their real names from slipping out of someone’s mouth at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

  “Like assassinate people?” Diesel snorted. “Somehow, when we planned all of this, it sounded so smooth and simple. I didn’t see complications like this.”