Page 41 of Rogue Survivor
His laugh rumbles through me, and when his hands skim down my arms to rest on my hips, I glance at the door. Veronica’s right on the other side watching TV. “If Zephyr’s as good as Austin says she is, she’ll have everythin’ off her phone by noon tomorrow. Then, it’s only a matter of time before that asshole drug dealer shows up on a security camera.”
“How does that help?”
“Zephyr can match a face in under ten minutes. He won’t be able to hide for long.”
Turning, I frown when I catch sight of the lines of pain bracketing his lips. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been chewed up, spit out, and stepped on.”
“Fighting a migraine. Happens when I don’t sleep. That…or the halos.” He closes his eyes with a heavy sigh. “I took somethin’ before I left home. Should be fine in the morning.”
The knock at the door surprises us both, and I jerk out of his arms when Veronica calls, “Mom? Can you help me get ready for bed?”
“Coming, baby girl.” The few steps to the door feel like a mile. I don’t want to leave his side, but my daughter needs me, and she has to come first—even before me. I pause with my hand on the knob and glance back at Connor. His eyes are still closed, and he looks relaxed for the first time since he showed up at the hospital. I’m not waiting until “this is all over” to tell him how I feel. Or show him. I can’t. Life is too short.
Chapter Sixteen
Connor
Hardison and Elmoreshow up as Isabel slips out of Veronica’s room. “Shehatesthat cast with a passion she usually reserves for pop quizzes and her alarm clock.”
“Just wait until it starts to itch.” Scratching at my forearm, the memories so close to the surface I can taste them, I swallow hard when I find the thick scars from multiple surgeries. “I’ll bring her a pair of extra-long chopsticks tomorrow.”
Isabel narrows her eyes at me. “She’s not supposed to—”
Chuckling, I reach out to link our fingers. “Of course, she isn’t. But do you think that’s going to stop her? Might as well make it as easy and safe as possible.”
Elmore, whose first name I think might be Parker, starts a pot of coffee and leans against the counter, her arms crossed. “He’s right. I broke my leg a couple of years ago, and within a week, I was so desperate, I lost a ruler inside my cast. Had to snag it with a pair of knitting needles. The looks I got from the ladies at the craft store when I braced my crutches on the counter to pay for a pair of extra-long, skinny needles?” She snorts and rolls her eyes. “If I hadn’t been about to crawl out of my own skin, I would have died on the spot.”
“Y’all arenotmaking me feel better.”
“Consider it a rite of passage,” I say, tugging her against me. “At least the knee brace will be off in a couple of weeks. I’d be surprised if she needed the crutch more than another day or two.”
Some of the tension leaves Isabel’s body and she slides her fingers through one of my belt loops. It’s a surprisingly intimate gesture—like we’ve been together for years instead of days—and suddenly, I need to get her alone. Even if we can’tdoanything with Veronica in the next room, I still need her close. Preferably on top of me. In my arms. Kissing me.
“Knock if you need anything,” I say with a nod to Elmore.
“See you in the morning,” she replies, the light in her eyes telling me she knowsexactlywhy I don’t want anyone barging in. I don’t care. I need Isabel like I need oxygen, and tonight, I intend to tell her.
In our room,she sinks down onto the bed and rubs her hands up and down her thighs. “I’m so tired, but I have all this nervous energy.”
“I might be able to help with that,” I say, removing my boots, belt, and gun. “Stretch out on your stomach. I seem to remember you liked the last massage I gave you.”
“Oh, God.” She practically purrs when my hands stroke up from her waist all the way to her shoulders. Digging my fingers into the tight knots, I lean down and press a kiss to her neck and she shivers. “Do that again.”
“What? This?” Another kiss, this one closer to her ear. “Tasting you? It’s somethin’ I could get used to.”
A shudder runs through her entire body as her muscles loosen under my touch. Despite the tightness of my Wranglers, I straddle her, stifling my groan when my dick strains against my zipper. Working my hands lower, bold, slow strokes all the way down to her ass, I say a silent prayer she doesn’t ask me to stop.
With every knot I find, she moans, and I lean closer to score my teeth over the shell of her ear. “Might want to grab a pillow, darlin’. Wouldn’t want to wake Veronica.”
Isabel jerks, a little gasp escaping her lips before she takes one of the fluffy pillows and buries her face in it. The moans are quieter now, but the added buffer seems to free her from the tight control she has on her emotions, and her body comes alive.
As I work my fingers along her hips, she writhes, swiveling her lower body until I can’t take it anymore. Kneeling next to her, I roll her over, then cage her with my arms so my lips are only a few inches from hers. “I want you, darlin’.”
“So, take me.” The challenge in her gaze should be enough, and if we were in any other situation, I’d be stripping off her sweater and worshipping her breasts by now, but Isabel deserves so much more than a hurried fuck with the threat of interruption hanging over our heads.
She trails her hand down my chest, all the way to the button on my jeans. Flicking it open, a wicked grin curving her lips, she moves to the zipper.
“Do I have to beg? Because I will.”
