Innocent Target (Redemption Harbor #4)

She was sure that he had, given that he’d worked for the FBI. Shifting up closer, she brushed her lips over his, only intending a chaste kiss, but he immediately deepened it, his tongue teasing her mouth open in the most dominating, possessive way.

And she melted into him, unable to resist this sexy, wonderful man who’d come to Redemption Harbor simply to protect her because of a file he’d read. She was coming to terms with what he did for a living, but she still wanted him.

Desperately. And she wasn’t sure what that said about her.

She started to climb onto him, straddling him, but found herself flat on her back underneath him instead. He made a sort of sexy growling sound as he plundered her mouth, his huge erection pressed against her belly.

Heat flooded between her thighs as she thought about what he would feel like pressing into her. She’d already heard him come, knew how intoxicating it was to see and hear a man like Axel lose control, and she wanted him to do it with her now. Wanted to know him in the most intimate way possible.

“Want to taste all of you,” Axel murmured against her lips, his voice thrilling. And his words?

She was about to combust from them. Hadley thought she said okay or tried to get an answer out even if he wasn’t really asking anything. But it came out as more of a strangled moan as he started lifting her shirt up, up, up.

She hadn’t bothered with a bra after her shower and now she was really, really grateful when his hands skimmed her bare breasts.

And froze.

Maybe he’d been expecting her to have one on. He only paused for a moment before he cupped them fully, teasing her already hard nipples as he continued kissing her. His assault on her mouth was delicious and overwhelming and she felt as if she’d never been truly kissed before. Or at least she’d never been kissed by someone like Axel.

Demanding and intense and so sexy he lit her on fire.

In another couple seconds her sweater was off and he was looking down at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. As if she was the only thing that mattered. It was impossible not to be affected.

“I want to make you come.” The words came out as a growl, but also a question.

Oh yeah, she was here for this. All night long. She nodded because she didn’t trust her voice.

Keeping his gaze pinned to hers, he slowly started tugging her pants down her legs, hooking his fingers into her panties as he went, pulling everything off at once. The house was heated and the room was perfectly comfortable, but being fully exposed to Axel like this now made her feel vulnerable.

Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was hard not to feel self-conscious as his scorching gaze swept over her from head to toe. Kneeling in between her spread legs, he said, “You’re so perfect.”

Just like that, all the tension inside her dissipated. She started to reach for him when he covered her body with his again. She arched into him, her sensitive breasts rubbing against the soft fabric of his shirt and hard muscle beneath.

When he reached between their bodies, gently cupping her mound, she moaned into his mouth. Slowly, he began teasing between her already slick folds, his movements unhurried and sensual.

As he slid a finger inside her, she bit his bottom lip harder than she’d intended. He liked it, if the sexy growl he made and the way he rolled his hips against her was any indication.

“Want to taste your come,” he whispered, a hint of wicked in his clear blue eyes as he started kissing a path across her chest, pausing at one breast.

He sucked a nipple into his mouth even as her brain was computing his words. Her past lover, as in singular, had been a college boyfriend. Everything had been rushed, and in hindsight, she realized it had been all about him. Now…she arched off the bed as Axel lightly pressed his teeth around her hardened nipple. It was all about her.

There was no pain, just the hint of it, which made her pleasure that much more pronounced. Combined with the way he was stroking inside her, all her nerve endings felt as if they were on overload.

It wasn’t going to take much to make her come. Not when he was playing her body so expertly. As he alternated between her breasts, teasing, kissing, and gently nipping, he kept stroking her, over and over.

Her inner walls tightened more and more with each stroke, as she pushed closer to the edge of release. Oh God, this felt so good. Too good. She could barely think and breathe as her muscles tightened convulsively around him.

The path he kissed down her stomach tingled with each kiss, as if he was marking her, claiming her. Maybe that was her imagination and right now she didn’t care.

She was so damn close.

By the time he knelt between her spread thighs, her legs were trembling. And when his tongue teased her clit, she nearly vaulted off the bed. At first he was gentle and soft, but he increased his pressure even as his strokes remained steady.

She dug her fingers into his short hair, holding on to him as he brought her so much pleasure she could hardly stand it. “Axel.” When she moaned out his name, he made a sexy growling sound, which reverberated through her clit.

Too. Much.

She didn’t just fall, she catapulted over the edge as pleasure shot out to her nerve endings, her clit pulsing with each stroke from his wicked, wicked tongue. Not feeling vulnerable anymore, she rolled her hips against his face as her orgasm punched through her, until she collapsed against the soft bed, a mass of nerves. Her breathing was erratic as she looked down her body at him.

His blue eyes were bright with hunger. For her.

She reached for him, wanting to feel him inside her. More than just his fingers. All of him. Every delicious inch.

He slid up her body, covering her again as she wrapped her legs around him.

“That was incredible,” she murmured.

He brushed his lips over hers once as he slid a hand down to grip her hip, his fingers flexing against her bare skin. The hold was possessive and gentle at the same time.

When she reached between their bodies, he stilled. “I…don’t have a condom.”

She didn’t either, but… “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean.”

“I am too but…I think we should wait.” He didn’t move off her and the lust in his eyes didn’t dim, but the set of his jaw was firm.

“Why?”

“I want to make sure you’re really ready for this. You’ve been through a lot recently. Hell, you’re still dealing with a lot. I…don’t want to be someone you regret.”

Her eyes widened at his words, at the raw vulnerability that sparked in his gaze. “I won’t regret this.” Of that she had no doubt.

He kissed her again, this time deeper, hungrier. “I…still want to wait.”

Sighing, she simply ran her fingers down his still-covered back. She really wished he was naked, but wasn’t going to push. Much. “So…how long do we have to wait?”

He let out a startled laugh before kissing her again.

And he didn’t actually answer. But that was okay. She had a feeling his control was razor thin now, especially given the erection she felt against her belly. If he was only worried about her having regrets, he didn’t need to.

Soon enough, she’d make sure he understood that.





Chapter 14





—The queen of awkward.—





Hadley eased the door to Axel’s bedroom open since he was still in the shower. She’d told him that she was headed back to her room to do the same, and even though he’d asked her to join him, she needed to clear her head a little bit. Especially since he was still all about his “no sex right now” thing. Getting into a shower with him while they were both naked? No, not good for her sanity.

As she stepped into the hallway, she froze when she saw her dad standing there, eyes wide.

Well, talk about awkward. Brooks had told her that he’d be coming back to Redemption Harbor a week early but he didn’t live in the main house and, well, she hadn’t expected him quite so early in the morning. Definitely not to be standing right outside Axel’s door.

“Hey, Dad,” she murmured and inwardly cursed when she felt her cheeks flush.

“Well, I was coming to talk to the man who saved you.” His voice was dry.