The Survivor (Eve Duncan #30)

“I just thought I’d warn you.” Maya shrugged. “Every now and then I have a tiny niggle of guilt stab me. But since you assure me that you can take care of yourself…” She looked back at Cade. “So everything starts tomorrow?”

“With your permission. It appears to be an area that needs to be reinforced, for a number of reasons,” he said mockingly. “Otherwise we’ll have a discussion and you can let me know when you—” He broke off as Tashi appeared in the doorway with an enormous apple dish that smelled delicious and a distinctly disapproving expression. “Ahh, something more important seems to have appeared on our horizon to distract us.” He got to his feet and was heading toward Tashi and Bailey. “Welcome.” He took the dish from Tashi. “It can’t be as wonderful as it smells. Come and sit down…”

Riley was in the shower two hours later when she heard the bedroom door in the other room open and close. She tensed and then called, “I don’t recall inviting you, Cade. Go away.”

“I thought you might say that, but I can’t do it.” She spotted his blurred figure only a few feet away outside the glass shower door. “I’ve decided it’s against my principles not to try.”

“Bullshit. It wasn’t against your principals to try to embarrass me in front of Maya. You knew exactly what you were doing.”

“I wasn’t being that obvious… She might not have noticed.”

“But you wanted her to.”

“At that point, I didn’t care one way or the other.” His voice was suddenly weary. “I was just tired of worrying about Maya, and Bailey, and all the other people on this damn island who were keeping me away from you. And I was thinking that tomorrow it was going to start all over again up in those mountains. If it’s as cold and snowy as I’ve heard, it will make it even more difficult.” He added softly, “And I was remembering how long it had been since I was inside you. I wanted you to remember it, too.”

His words were striking her like the pulsating rhythm of the shower against her body. She could make out his shadow outside the glass, so close, yet so far away… She could feel the heat of the water stroking her, and the muscles of her belly were clenching. “You made sure that I would,” she said thickly. “Bad timing, Cade.”

“Like I said, it had been too long. I was beginning to feel as if I was being shut out.”

“Heaven forbid that ever happen. You’re such a shy, introverted soul. Whatever would you do?”

“What I did,” he said simply. “Just a gentle nudge to remind you that you’re what’s important to me and anything else has to get in line. I thought that might be all you’d need if you felt the same. Do you?”

“I might.” She drew a deep breath. “When you’re not being an asshole. Okay, anytime, all the time. And why the hell are you still outside this shower? Get your clothes off and get in here!”

He chuckled. “I was being as sensitive as I could.” The shower door opened. “And I’ve had my clothes off since I came through that bedroom door.” Then he was with her under the spray, lifting her, pushing her against the shower wall as he sank deep within her.

She gasped as her hands slid around his neck and held on tight. He kept her pinned as he moved harder and then harder still. His hands clenched on her buttocks as he lifted her into every thrust. “More… I need… more.”

It was crazy. She couldn’t breathe. Fire. Electricity.

So deep, yet it wasn’t enough for him.

Or for her.

Her legs tightened around his hips as his teeth went to her nipples and pulled gently and then harder. “Good? Tell me you like it.” His hands parted her thighs, and he was rubbing her as his teeth pulled and sucked her breasts. “Tell me.”

She was so dizzy and full of him that she could barely speak. “I… like it.”

He bit harder.

The combination of sensations was incredible!

She cried out. “Okay, I love it, dammit.”

“Then let’s have more.” He lifted her, carrying her out of the shower to the bedroom. Then she was lying on her back on the bed as he pushed her legs up and used his hands on her. She moved back and forth, whimpering with need. But then he held her still as he sank slowly into her.

“I… want to… move,” she gasped.

“No, you don’t. Think… about it.” He was going very slowly, each movement only a flex and yet each flex was an excruciating tease as he went deeper and deeper. “You like this, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Her entire body was on fire, yet the hunger was all the more intense. She gasped as he flexed the tiniest bit again. “But if you don’t let me move, I think I’ll have to do something terrible to you—”

He chuckled. “I’m appropriately terrified.”

Then she screamed as Cade sank deep and began to stroke hard, deeper, harder. Lifting her to every thrust.

Deeper.