Page 132 of Delicate Escape

“Shepard.” His name was a plea.

His thumb traced my opening. “So beautiful. So ready.”

Then I felt him hovering over me, tip bumping against my entrance. “Perfect,” he breathed.

Shep slid inside.

His girth had me sucking in a breath, trying to adjust, but that flicker of pain only drove the pleasure higher.

Shep thrust in deeper, and thanks to the pillow, the angle of my hips had him hitting that perfect spot each time. My eyes watered beneath the scarf as my hands gripped the wooden slats harder.

My hips rose to meet Shep with as much movement as the bindings would allow. The fact that any motion was limited, and everything was so out of my control when that was something I’d held so tightly to, drove everything higher.

I lost myself in the buzz and heat. The sounds our bodies made. The feel of Shep’s power coursing through me. He thrust deeper, his speed picking up. My walls began to flutter around him, and he cursed.

His thumb found my clit, circling and finding the spot where I needed him the most. He pressed down, and I shattered with a force I’d never felt before. Weight pressing down, all around, as Shep powered into me, releasing on a shout. Wave after wave hit me as he rode out his orgasm.

Even as he slowed, my body shook with aftershocks. Tremors twitched through me as Shep’s mouth found mine, featherlight. The kiss was a soothing promise as his hands reached above, freeing mine.

He slid out of me, the absence of him sending a small whimper from my lips. The ties on my legs were gone in a flash, and then Shep’s body was curved around mine as he pulled the blindfold free.

The low lamplight felt bright after all the dark, and Shep pulled me against him, curling around me. He inhaled against my neck, breathing me in. “Was it more?”

My body melted against his. “It was everything.”

50

SHEP

“You’re whistling again.”

I stilled my finger on the nail gun, easing off.Hell.Ihadbeen whistling along to the tune ofWild Horses.

Anson chuckled. “I really thought after everything that happened yesterday, you’d be all snarls and demo. Nice to see I was wrong.”

I shot a nail into the two-by-four we were using to frame out the transition from the entryway to the living space. “Fuck off.”

That only made Anson laugh harder. “I gotta find out what drug Thea is injecting you with. We should bottle that shit. We’d be billionaires.”

I just shook my head and shot another nail. It wasn’t like either of us was hurting for cash. Anson had written a few books on the criminal mind that kept him flush, and business was booming for Colson Construction. So much so that I had a waiting list out almost a year.

Anson released the plank the moment I shot the final nail we needed. “How are you really?”

“Trying to keep my cool.” It wasn’t easy, though. Just knowingBrendan was walking around free as a bird ate at me. “Trace sent the official letter to Brendan’s lawyers this morning.”

Anson straightened, mulling that over. “How he reacts to that will tell us a lot. It’s possible he moves on in search of another target.”

As much as I wanted Brendan far away from Thea, I hated the idea of him doing this to another woman. “Dex making any progress at all?”

It was a dumb question. If Anson’s hacker had found anything monumental, he would’ve shared.

“He thinks he’s making progress on finding a way in. He’s got Brendan’s email, and if he can get him to click on a link, he’ll be able to gain access. I’m trying to come up with something that will make him bite.”

I studied Anson for a long moment. “You’re profiling him so you can hack him.”

One corner of his mouth kicked up. “I am.”

“Thank you.” My words had a rasp to them, carrying an emotion I didn’t have the ability to express. Becausethank youwasn’t nearly enough.