Sacrifice (5 page)

He should have stayed the fuck away
from her, just as he had intended. He shouldn’t have gone into her room and he
sure as hell shouldn’t have touched her. But he had. Helpless against the need
to taste her, to touch her. She was like a narcotic to his senses, wrapping
around him, a siren’s call of lust and heat that he was helpless to deny. He
craved her.

Jared couldn’t remember a time in his life when need had
struck him so hard, so imperatively. No other woman had ever affected him this
way; no other had ever tested the control he had fought to preserve over the
years.

A good woman is worth any
sacrifice, son.
The memory of his father’s words washed over him as he
stared into the darkened forest from the back porch.
She’ll soothe your soul
even as she makes you burn inside and out. That kind of woman is worth dying
for, but even more, she’s worth living for.

He knew his parents hadn’t had an
easy time of it together. Their relationship had been hampered by her parents,
and by Victor Raddington’s extreme sexuality.

Jared still remembered coming home
that first time when the knowledge hit him. He had been in college, nearly a
grown man and had returned home unexpectedly. He had walked in on something
that even now, simply because it was his parents, he wished he never had walked
in on.

He hunched his shoulders against
the uncomfortable memory. But the thought of it was enough that it brought
Kimberly to mind. How erotic it would be, holding her, watching as another man
touched her, fulfilling all her most sensual fantasies.

She was a highly sexual creature.
He had seen that at The Club, and the information he had learned later had only
reinforced that impression.

Her requests when it came to sexual
conduct with the club members were simple. She didn’t want foreplay, she didn’t
want to be kissed or held; she had only wanted to be fucked. And she had
enforced those demands herself. Because they made her weak. They made her want.
And Jared knew he made her want those things she could never have more than
others.

And now she was here. A part of his
home, of his life. He had no choice but to stay close to her, to protect her,
and to shield her from the plant Madison had placed within his home to watch
Kimberly and to report any sexual misconduct.

He shifted uncomfortably as he
leaned against the wide post, wishing he could ease the pressure in his jeans
just a bit. His erection was killing him. Walking away from Kimberly was the
hardest thing he had ever done in his life, but God help him, he was dying for
her.

“You can have me…like Sax…”
The
words whispered through his mind as his eyes closed in tormented desire.

Like Sax. He could have her anally.

Fury pulsed inside him as he
clenched his teeth against the need to have all of her. He wanted everything,
and the fact that he couldn’t fight the shield placed between them enraged him.

He could fight another man, or any
danger that raised its head to threaten her. He could seduce her, if it was
only her stubbornness, out-argue her if it was her anger holding them apart.
But it was something out of their control. Something that would destroy her if
he forced her to choose.

So he had to choose. Because he
couldn’t bear the pain he saw in her eyes, and the need he felt shuddering
through her body. He couldn’t still the need to hold her, to show her, if only
with his touch, the love he had for her. A love he knew would destroy him eventually,
because he couldn’t fully have her. Not now. Not ever.

“You’re not here to advise me on
this one, Dad,” he whispered as he stared into the mountains his father so
loved.

He missed the man whose advice he
had so come to rely on throughout his adult years. His death, five years
before, had left a hollow spot in his soul that echoed with regret in times
like this.

His father had raised him with
solid values, with a sense of family and honor, one he refused to break now.
Fact was fact. He couldn’t fully possess the woman he loved with every beat of
his heart, but he could give her a time without pressure, without demands. A
time to hold to their hearts in the long, lonely years that would come.

He lowered his head, his hands
gripping his forearms as he crossed them over his chest and nudged at the side
of the support post with the toe of his boot. There was nothing else he could
do.

“You know, it’s not real bright to
stand in full view like that when you could possibly have a terrorist or other
unknown assailant waiting to pop your ass.”

He grinned as Kimberly spoke from
the back door, her voice irritated and still shadowed with arousal. He wondered
if she knew how that husky little sound made him crazy to fuck her.

He turned, glancing back as she
stepped outside, watching him warily.

“Sorry, some days my control is not
what I would want it to be,” he grunted with an edge of self-mockery. “So much
for my Trojan status, huh?”

“The Trojans.” She shook her head
at the title that had been given to the eight men that Stanton’s wife had
identified as being part of the exclusive men’s club. “I imagine you’re more
like them than either of us wants to admit to right now. But it doesn’t change
the fact that you aren’t indestructible. You shouldn’t be out in the open like
this.”

“My neck’s not itching. I’m not
worried,” he told her, wondering at the pleasure that just the sight of her
brought him.

He wanted to see her clothed in
nothing but moonlight, reaching for him, her body shimmering with moisture, her
eyes glazed with need. His hunger for just that rocked him to the very core of
his being.

“Oh Lord, another man whose neck
itches,” she grumped. “I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my boss—they make
salves for that sort of thing.”

A surprised chuckle escaped his lips.
She was daring and sharp as hell. He loved that about her. He had missed her
blistering little retorts, her teasing laughter. He hadn’t realized how much
until now.

She moved closer to him, the scent
of her, clean and fresh, with just a hint of peaches enveloped him, making him
hunger to taste her again. He wanted to spread her legs wide and lick up all
the sweet cream her body had to give. To gorge himself on her passion, her
cries and her sweet release.

“Come here.” He pulled her into his
arms, ignoring her slight, indrawn breath at the intimacy of the act.

It was one of her taboos, he knew.
No cuddling, no foreplay. Those rules he could and would break.

He was surprised though, when after
a second’s stiffness, she relaxed against him, her hands settling cautiously at
his waist as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. His hands
smoothed down her back, fingers working at the muscles there, a smile tipping
his lips as they slowly eased.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.
“I don’t want to make this harder for either of us than it already is.”

He smiled against her hair. If he
got any harder he would burst right out of his jeans.

“Just let me hold you,” he finally
whispered deeply, responding to the need to feel her against him, the ache to
shelter her like a knife through his soul. “Just for a minute, Kimber. Let me
hold you.”

The night wrapped around them, quiet, soothing. The sound of the frogs in
the pasture pond, the hoot of a faraway owl, a whippoorwill in a tree in the
backyard. The night enveloped them, hid their fears, their hungers, and for
those few precious minutes, brought a measure of peace to them both.

He didn’t come to her bed that
night as she expected. Kimberly lay awake, long into the night, listening for
him, her body sensitized, ready, aching for him. She watched the connecting
door until her eyes finally closed in exhaustion and sleep claimed her as
restless dreams haunted her.

The next morning she sat
bleary-eyed and irritable over a cup of coffee, listening to Matthews and Adams
as they discussed the reports from the previous day. No sign of intruders, not
a whisper of danger. Other than a deer munching the grass in the backyard,
there was nothing to report.

“I’ll cover the inside today,”
Matthews said thoughtfully. “Adams will take the outside. I gather you’re stuck
with Mr. Dark and Gloomy Raddington,” he snickered at her.

Kimberly lifted her brow mockingly.
“Dark and Gloomy?” she asked him curiously.

“Yeah, he came down earlier for
breakfast looking like a thundercloud before retreating to his office. Barely
said two words to us.”

At least he spoke to them.

She lifted her shoulder as though
unconcerned. “Maybe he just doesn’t like company.”

Tim Adams snorted. “Maybe we’re the
wrong company. From what I saw last night, he liked you pretty well.”

She looked over at him slowly,
careful to keep her expression blank.

“Excuse me?” she said carefully,
her body tensing at the implied insult in his voice.

He stared back at her, his gaze
condemning.

“I saw you on the porch with him
last night,” he sneered. “Getting a little close and personal weren’t you?”

“Getting a little nosy aren’t you?”
she snapped back.

“I would say too nosy.” Jared’s
voice was dangerously soft as he walked into the room. “Should you have an opinion
on how close I am or am not, with my stepsister?” he asked the bodyguard softly
as he moved to the table.

Kimberly took one look at him and
came to her feet quickly.

“Geez, is there enough testosterone
in this room?” she growled irritably. “What the hell is with you guys?” She
turned back to Tim Adams. “What I do is none of your damned business. And you,”
she poked a finger in Jared’s chest demandingly, fighting to hold back a shiver
as those steel-cold gray eyes turned on her, “are not my keeper. I don’t need
anyone to defend my honor or whatever the hell you think it is you’re doing.”

This was just great. She was pretty
certain she knew who her father’s plant was. Tim Adams was as moralistic as
they came. His views on women and what they should or shouldn’t do was as rigid
as the Senator’s.

Jared’s expression didn’t change.
It remained hard as stone and more dangerous for it as his gaze turned back to
Adams.

“I’ll call your superior myself,”
he said flatly. “Until then, stay the hell out of my sight, or you’ll regret
it.” He snagged Kimberly’s wrist as her eyes widened in surprise. “And you, I
need to talk to.”

Before she could stop him, he was
pulling her along behind him, again. Dammit, she was getting tired of him
dragging her along like medieval chattel.

“Jared, has anyone ever told you
that you’re a pain in the ass?” she snarled as he propelled her into the study
and slammed the door behind them.

“Has anyone told you that you’d
test the patience of a saint?” he retorted shortly. “You should have let me
kill him. I would have enjoyed it.”

She rolled her eyes at his
bloodthirsty tone.

“He’s a moron. If you killed all of
them, there wouldn’t be any men left to continue the species,” she informed him
sarcastically. “What the hell is your problem anyway?”

“The bastard was sneaking around my
house all night,” he snarled. “If I had caught him listening at either of our
bedroom doors again I would have killed him.”

Surprise widened her eyes as she
stared back at him.

“Just what I need,” she sighed
roughly. “Ignore him. It won’t do any good to have him taken off the
assignment, because I suspect at least two of them were sent here deliberately
to watch me. It’s the Senator’s favorite sport, having me spied upon.”

His lip lifted derisively. “I won’t
give you my opinion on the Senator,” he bit out. “I can’t believe my mother
married that bastard.”

Kimberly had a hard time believing
it herself. Carolyn was a warm, caring person, besides being smart as hell. It
was one of the most unlikely matches that she had ever seen.

“Is that why you’re so pissed this
morning?” She moved over to the couch and sat down wearily. Damn, she needed a
few more hours sleep, or a pot of coffee to herself.

“I’m not pissed,” he informed her
rudely. “I’m pure mean mad. I don’t like people sneaking around my house
listening at doors, Kimberly. I’ll take him apart the next time I catch him.”

Kimberly sighed at his snarling
voice, her fingers smoothing back the stray curls that had fallen from her
thick braid.

“Take him apart then.” She shrugged
negligently. “It’s your house, not mine.”

He grunted at that, moving to stand
over her, staring down at her as his eyes went from cold steel to stormy gray.

“Take your hair down,” he ordered
softly. “Slowly.”

Her breath caught in her throat,
her womb clenched with instant arousal. A quick glance to his thighs showed
that he wasn’t in a bargaining mood. He was fully erect, his cock straining the
zipper of his jeans as he watched her.

“What about the ears at the doors?”
she asked him breathlessly.

“Let him listen,” he snapped. “I’m
not going to take your virginity, but I’ll be damned if I’ll leave that sweet
mouth of yours innocent much longer. Tell me, Kimberly, is it true you’ve never
been taken there? Never felt the hunger to have a hard cock straining between
your lips, pulsing with the need to fill your mouth?”

Oh God. Her mouth was watering with
the need now while her lips were drying with nervous excitement. She licked
over them quickly, her breath hitching as his eyes darkened at the movement.

“I haven’t.” She shook her head,
entranced by the shifting color of his eyes.

She never had. Had known no desire
for it, until now. Her hand gripped the cushion beneath her, her nails biting
into the fabric as the bulge inside his jeans seemed to get larger.

“I won’t follow your rules,” he
growled. “You’ll share my bed. I’ll touch you, hold you, kiss whenever I damned
well please. If you can’t handle that, Kimber, then you better get the hell off
my farm now. Because I’ll be damned if I’ll fight the need knowing how hot and
hungry you can get.”

She lost her breath. Sitting there,
staring up at him, fire exploded in her body, washing through her veins and
sending the juices spilling from her desperate pussy. She couldn’t contain the
whimpering moan that whispered past her lips, or the sudden, overwhelming urge
to experience every touch, every sensation he had painted on the canvas of her
imagination.

“Undo that fucking braid,” he
growled. “Now.”

The braid? She blinked up at him
for a second in confusion, her mind so entranced with pictures of them
entwined, his arms wrapped around her, his larger body shielding hers,
possessing her, that for a moment she wasn’t certain what he meant. Then she
blinked as it connected, her hands raising, pulling the length of her hair over
her shoulder as she pulled at the stretchy band holding the braid in place.

Within minutes her hair was spread
out over her shoulders, the long, fiery ringlets falling around her in wild
disarray.

“God, that’s so pretty,” he
whispered, his voice thick with longing as she pushed the mass over her
shoulder nervously.

“Now, stand up. I want to watch you
undress. All the way, Kimberly. Let me see that hot little body I’ve been dying
for.”

She could hear the raging hunger in
his voice; see the lust glittering in his darkened eyes. She rose slowly to her
feet, her hands going to the buttons of her blouse as she fought to stand
steady.

He towered over her. She had never
noticed that before, not really. How tall and broad he was, how much stronger
and heavier. He would cover her like a living blanket; shield her from even her
own fears.

“I’m scared,” she suddenly
whispered, though her fingers never paused as she finished with the buttons.
“I’ve never done this before, Jared.”

Not like this. Before, at The Club,
she had known the rules, known what was coming. She showed up, undressed and
prepared herself in the privacy of her room before donning a robe and heading
to the bar area. There, she would order a whisky over ice, down the liquid
courage and turn to whichever member awaited her.

There were few preliminaries before
she was bent over a table or pulled onto a hard, willing cock. There were no
kisses, no foreplay, no breathless anticipation.

His fingers paused as he unbuttoned
his own shirt. Stepping closer, his hands framed her face, his gaze holding
hers hostage as he whispered a kiss over her lips.

“I’m going to eat you up,” he
warned her sensually. “There won’t be a place on your body that doesn’t know my
kiss, or a single cell that isn’t crying for my touch. There’s no reason to be
scared, honey. No reason at all. All I’m going to do is love you.”