Fate’s Unseen Shadow (Cager #1)

Chapter 15

15

E lla stretched out underneath him. “I agree to the no-shirt rule if you do this to me.”

“Damn.” Damon pushed her breast up, wishing he could see her. He felt her tight tip peek out from between his fingers and rubbed his tongue across it, and she moaned. He laughed softly as he switched to the other side. “I think I’ll stay right here the rest of the night.” He licked that tip before drawing it firmly between his lips.

She arched her back. “Please tell me you have a condom.”

He returned to the other side, trying to think through the haze her breasts put him in. “I do have a condom, but it’s not for you.”

“For the next girl due in your bed?” she tossed back, seeming irritated.

That humored him. There would be no one else in his bed but her.

“No,” he replied, kissing the valley between her breasts and back up to her neck. He wrapped his hand around her throat, fingers tangling with her pearl necklace as he tilted her head up and away. “And this better be the only bed you’re in.” He nipped at her ear. “I don’t share,” he whispered.

She gave into his dominance with a soft sigh as her thighs widened.

The urge to make her his flooded through his blood. And when he kissed her again, hard strokes of his tongue against hers, he ratcheted down tight on his control. Hurting her wasn’t the issue. There was no way in hell he’d ever lose control physically. But mentally… He fought the urge to rip her shorts from her body and plunge so far into her heat that he got lost.

Damon reached between them. Sex wasn’t an option for tonight, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make sure she went to sleep satisfied.

“Then why are you saving the condom—oh!”

Over her shorts, he started caressing her. “Because I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

She groaned. “Tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Monday? When can I pencil you in?”

He laughed and then licked and sucked on her breast before answering. “I’m getting the hint you want me. Or is my ego reading into this incorrectly?” He continued petting her, rubbing back and forth. Only a few hours ago, he’d told himself to walk away. Now, he had Ella in his bed, begging for sex. A fantasy come true.

With a small smile he couldn’t wipe away, he trailed his kisses across her chest to her throat. “Tell me what you want, Ella,” he whispered, dragging his teeth along her earlobe.

Her breath hitched. “You.”

“Come on, baby. Give me more.” He never let up rubbing between her thighs, a steady pace that matched the subtle roll of her hips. “You can say it. What do you want me to do?”

Her throat moved as she swallowed. “I want you to touch me.”

“Like this?”

“More.”

Damon drew his fingers up her inner thigh before sliding them underneath her panties and dragging them back and forth over her clit. “Like this?”

She moaned, her head back, back arched.

“You seem to like this.” He circled his finger, each pass causing her body to jerk. “I can keep doing this until you scream my name.” He slipped two fingers down and into her heat. “Or I can see how you like this.”

“Yes.” She moved with his hand, her thighs widening, his dick getting unbelievably hard. She took her pleasure without an ounce of shyness, which he hadn’t expected. Not after the way she’d kissed him at the bar.

“Next time”—he swiped all thumb up again, rubbing her clit back and forth—“I plan on burying my head between these thighs and staying there until you scream my name.” He slipped down again and pumped three fingers in and out before returning to her clit. That was what she needed. Right there, in that one spot.

Her moans turned to pants.

“That’s it.” He buried his head against her neck. “Find it. Use me. Soak my fucking fingers.”

She cried out, the orgasm hitting. He slipped his fingers back into her warmth, feeling the steady contractions and dragging them out as long as he could. She fisted her hands in the pillow above her head, body arching.

The shadowed outline of her body against the small amount of light through the window treatments would be burned into his memory forever.

“God, you’re beautiful like this,” he said, hearing the disbelief in his voice.

Her body eased back into the mattress. She rolled her head to the side, kissing his temple. “I’m sweaty.”

“You are.” And ready for more, but that couldn’t happen. Not tonight. He released her hands, then propped up on his elbow. “But satisfied.”

“That I am.” Ella ungracefully patted his shoulder. “You’ve been around for a lot of firsts, Mr. Vargas.”

“Really?”

“First time that I didn’t have to use something battery-powered to finish. But I don’t think I can pack you in my suitcase. You’re not nearly as discreet as my vibrator.”

Damon chuckled. “No, I’m not. Give me a second.” He disappeared into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he opened the door, she was back in her T-shirt, waiting on him.

He returned to her side, then tugged at the hem of the shirt. “This is a disappointing development.”

“Well, if we aren’t having sex, I’m going to keep it on to avoid the temptation.”

“I can control myself.”

“I”—she kissed his cheek—“cannot.” She walked into the bathroom.

After another tour around the apartment, double-checking the locks, he met her back in the bedroom. She slipped out of her shorts before crawling into bed.

“I like the optional pants rule you added.” When he laid down, she rolled to him, using his arm as her pillow like she’d done before that entire episode. “Welcome back.”

She snuggled closer. “Thanks.” After a deep sigh and a long moment of silence, Ella lifted her head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Is it about having sex?”

“No. Very much the opposite. You mentioned before that you don’t carry a gun.”

That had come from left field. “Odd topic to jump to after what we did.”

“I was curious when you first said it. Why?”

Damon kissed the top of her head. “It’s not exactly a bedtime story, Ella.”

“Please?” She threw her leg across his thighs. “I’m not letting you up until you tell me.”

“I’m not trying to get up, but if you want to know, I can tell you.” Grabbing a hold of her thigh, he took a deep breath. “I don’t carry a gun because I never want to fire one again.” He adjusted his hand, anchoring himself. “The last time I fired one, I shot a man between the eyes.”

Her breath caught.

Damon waited for some verbal response, but none came. “It was our last mission—the one I mentioned where we lost two men. Xavier and I ended up as the last men standing. We were attacked. I did what I was trained to do. But before, when I killed someone, it was a killed-or-be-killed situation. I didn’t focus on them, the person. I know it sounds callous, and I don’t mean to make it sound like I don’t value life, but you’re on autopilot. Shoot combatants, clear the area, move.” He took a deep breath, the images replaying no matter how much he wished they wouldn’t. “But I killed more men that day than I can count, trying to fight my way out of the shit we’d known waited for us. We were initially separated, but I turned back for Xavier when I cleared my room. A man, screaming in a language I couldn’t speak, grabbed him from behind.”

Ella flattened her hand on his chest.

“The man kept screaming at me, that gun pressing harder and harder against Xavier’s temple.” He huffed. “And Xavier kept saying ‘do it’ over and over. Calm. I was at least forty yards away. I knew I was reliable up to thirty with my pistol. So forty…that’s a long distance to shoot quickly and under pressure with that man screaming and his head right beside Xavier’s. That’s a two-inch target to make sure I hit to kill. Zero room for error. And I talk about not worrying about what-if situations.” He scoffed. “The what-if in that is what if I miss and kill my best friend.”

She ducked her head, nuzzling against his shoulder. “But you didn’t.”

“No, I saved him. Shot the man right there.” And watched the life drain out of his eyes. “He was the last one. The four of us killed sixteen. And shooting that one man, watching him watch me kill him, switched something off inside. I wasn’t the same. I tell people I left because of the lack of trust, but I’m not sure I could have gone on another deployment.” He kissed the top of her head again. “Is that enough?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry you went through that. But I’m glad you were there for Xavier.” She yawned. “And I’m glad you’re here for me.”

He rolled over and wrapped her up, pulling her bottom tight to his lap. “Time to sleep.”

“Can I stay with you tomorrow?” She interlaced her fingers with his. “And the next?”

She fit.

God, she fit so well right here. The shocking realization of how quickly their relationship had fallen into place gave him a moment of pause.

“Or not,” she murmured.

He tightened his arm. “Yes. You’re going to stay with me tomorrow.”

“And the next?”

Closing his eyes, he pushed away the reluctance to get attached. “Until you decide to leave.”

With a heavy sigh, her body relaxed. “I won’t.” In only a few seconds, before he had a chance to ask what that meant, Ella fell asleep.

Sleep took a little longer to come for Damon, but finally, he drifted off with the feel of her in his arms and her soft scent in his head.

The unlocking of his front door woke him.

Damon tensed, ready to respond. But only one person had a key to every lock and would appear unannounced.

The bedroom door opened, and Xavier poked his head inside. He gave Damon a thumbs-up before closing the door again with a quiet click.

Something was up if Xavier had shown up like this. A job, most likely. If a lazy Sunday in bed with Ella wasn’t an option, then he’d make the most of his morning. And hers.

Xavier could wait.