Before the Dawn(43)

His head cocked as his gaze met hers once more. "I'm going to touch you." 

He'd touched her plenty in the other bedroom. He'd-

He pressed a kiss to the three roses on her shoulder. "And I'm going to have you...in the light."

It was too bright. Too many lights. And he-

"Say my name."

"T-Tucker."

He kissed her, a deep, drugging kiss. One that wasn't as gentle as the ones that had come before. One that took and demanded. One that made her ache.

"Still wet for me?"

She was still turned on from the sex before. He rocked against her, and he kissed her again. Harder. The thick length of his arousal shoved against her.

Her breasts were tight, her nipples aching, and she shouldn't want him again this quickly, should she?

"Your eyes are closed."

They flew open. She stared at him.

"This time, I need you to see me. Every second of me."

He pulled back from her. Ditched his sweats but pulled a condom from the pocket. Staring straight at her, he rolled on that condom.

His cock was huge, thick and long, and she could still feel him inside of her.

She would be feeling him inside of her.

"Right here, Dawn. Right now." He came back to her. Lifted her up. Held her between his body and the window. "Keep your eyes on mine. Every minute. See me. Got it?"

She was seeing him right then. The flecks of gold hidden in the depths of his eyes. The passion on his face. The raw need.

He thrust into her.

"See me."

Their gazes held.

He withdrew, the length of his cock sliding along her sensitive skin.

"Because you're always what I've seen," he growled. "Only you."

She wouldn't look away from his eyes.

He thrust in, out, and he pinned her there with his body.

Her legs locked around his hips. Her hands clamped around his shoulders. This wasn't soft and tender. It was raw. Primitive.

Her breath came faster, her heart thundered and he drove into her again and again, pushing her ever closer to her release.

And when it came, the climax seemed to rip her apart.

"See me." He jerked inside of her and she saw the pleasure wash across his face. "Me."

* * *

DAWN HAD FALLEN ASLEEP. Tucker's arm was wrapped around her body. He was in her bed, and he'd made sure that when she slept, she went to sleep with her body pressed to his.

Over the years, he'd seen many expressions in Dawn's eyes. Once, she'd even looked at him with love in her gaze.

Love.

Trust.

Fear.

Hate.

That night, he'd seen desire again. She'd stared at him and wanted the man that she'd seen.

Maybe it hadn't been fair to give in to the desire they felt. He knew her emotions had been raw. The discovery of her friend Jinx had been brutal and she'd been desperate-probably looking for a way to escape the pain. A gentleman would have just given her comfort and walked away.


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His father had made sure he hadn't raised a gentleman. He'd raised monsters instead.

His fingers slid over her arm. The softest silk. Did she know that he'd checked on her over the years? When the need got too great and he'd just had to make sure that she was all right? He'd been so relieved when she went to see the shrink. When she started training to be a PI, he'd been proud.

When she'd started to date again, he'd been a jealous bastard. When she'd gotten engaged briefly to that boring jerk of an accountant, he'd drunk his way to the bottom of a bottle-or three.

No other woman had ever gotten to him the way that she did. Dawn was beneath his skin. Soul deep. And that had been the problem. His brother had realized just how hard he'd fallen for her, and he'd attacked Dawn because of that attachment. She'd been targeted, she'd been hurt...

Because of me.

That guilt still twisted deep within him.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, but Dawn didn't stir. After her day, the woman needed her sleep, and he needed to work because sleep sure as hell wasn't going to come easily for him. He slipped from the bed and padded into his room. A few moments later, he was booting up his laptop and pulling up the profile sketch that he'd created on their perp.

Organized killer. Meticulous. Closely followed the Iceman's exploits, possibly even received access to the case files that should not have been granted to a civilian. Because the cuts were too precise.

He kept typing his notes as his mind spun. He always worked best at night. Mostly because he had so much trouble sleeping. He'd been raised to sleep with one eye open because you never knew when an attack would come.

That same belief had followed him when he'd been a SEAL. Don't sleep too deep. You might not see the threat until it's too late.