Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(43)
Author: Cynthia Eden

But she pushed against him. “Jasper, your shoulder, your wound…”

“I’ll hurt more if I can’t have you.” The need to take her again blazed through him. Death had been too close. He had to know that she was safe. Jasper wanted her body against his, and he wanted the pleasure to wipe away the fear that made him feel hollow inside.

And to think that some of his EOD buddies believed he was a man who didn’t understand fear.

I understand it now.

Jasper kissed his way down her neck and enjoyed the shiver that slid over her body. Her hands were being so careful on him, but a little pain wasn’t about to slow him down.

He led her to the bed. Kissed her, caressed the flesh that seemed to have been made just for his hands. Her ni**les were tight, pink and he laved them with his tongue. She liked that. He could hear her pleasure in the moan that slipped from her lips. Good. Because he sure liked tasting her.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said again. Her hands were hesitant on him. He glanced up at her. Desire was warm in her eyes, and her flush had deepened.

He caught her hands, pushed them back over her head. Held them there with his left hand. “You’d only hurt me if you turned me away.”

Her legs were open, parted slightly. He eased between her thighs and placed a kiss on her stomach.

“Jasper?”

His right hand caressed her flesh. He wanted her as aroused and eager as he was. Lust was a constant heat in his blood now, burning him from the inside out. But he wouldn’t take, no, he wanted to give the pleasure to her.

Needed to see the pleasure on her face.

He pushed his fingers into her, stroked the most sensitive part of her body. Her hips arched up toward him. Eager. Not as eager as he was, not yet.

His fingers thrust again. He released her wrists, bent and tasted her.

She gasped out his name and that was the moment he’d been waiting for. The moment when pleasure and need merged for her.

After quickly taking care of the protection, he positioned his aroused length at the entrance of her body. Met her gaze. Saw the desire.

The…trust?

Yes.

He drove into her as his control shattered. She met every thrust, rising up with her hips, wrapping her arms around him—but not touching his shoulder. His Veronica. Always so careful.

So perfect for him.

His thrusts grew harder. Deeper. Her sex tightened around him, and he knew another release was close for her. His own climax was bearing down on him. He kissed her, because he wanted to taste her pleasure.

Then she was tensing beneath him as the wave of release hit her. Her sex contracted around him, and his climax ripped through Jasper, sending pleasure pouring through his body as he held her tightly beneath him.

They hadn’t just had sex. He got that. He’d had sex with plenty of women over the years. The pleasure he took with her, the way he felt…

So much more.

He stared down into her eyes. He could hear the drumming of his heartbeat filling his ears. She was everything he wanted, and he’d been a blind fool not to realize it sooner.

“Veronica.”

She smiled up at him. “I didn’t think it could get better.” Her hand lifted. Traced a sensual path down his chest. “I was wrong.”

His lips took hers.

A knock sounded at the door. A knock that he was very, very glad hadn’t sounded about one minute sooner.

But Veronica’s eyes still widened in alarm and her cheeks stained more with that lovely red. “Oh, no, do you think—”

“I think you should stay exactly where you are. It’s just Logan or Sydney, coming with some extra clothes for you.” He’d forgotten all about them until that moment.

He rose from the bed, pulled the covers over her and bent to grab the clothes that he didn’t even remember ditching.

But Veronica was already hopping out of the bed. “I’m not staying here naked! What if they know—what if—”

Oh, they knew, all right. He was pretty sure that Logan understood the hungry looks he’d been shooting at Veronica.

Unless he was very, very bad at reading people, there’d been a whole lot of desire and longing looks passing between Gunner and Sydney for months.

His team understood lust.

As for him, he was starting to understand love.

He headed for the door. After he checked through the peephole, he pulled it open. Because he didn’t want to embarrass Veronica any more, he only opened the door a few inches.

Logan lifted a brow even as he also raised a small paper bag. “Some fresh clothes for your lady.” The guy’s voice was carefully expressionless.

Jasper tried to remember if he’d been…loud. Had he bellowed Veronica’s name?

Logan’s knowing look said, yep, he had. “Not a word to her,” Jasper growled. No one would insult Veronica.

Logan nodded. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” But then his face hardened. “Sydney just got a hit on the deputy’s cell phone. It turned on near Cale and Veronica’s ranch.”

The deputy must have doubled back. Maybe he was still looking for the evidence Veronica had taken from Reed’s computer, hoping that Veronica didn’t have it on her.

Too bad. The EOD has the files.

“We’re going hunting.” Logan cocked his head. “You in with us?”

Jasper looked over his shoulder at Veronica. She had belted the robe around her body again. She stared back at him with wide eyes.

“No,” he said slowly as he turned back to face Logan. “I’m staying with Veronica. I don’t want her alone.” Not until he was exactly sure what they were dealing with. Deputy Jimmy Jones had looked like a scared kid the few times Jasper had seen him.

Jimmy had been at the police station the night it was torched. Wyatt had said the kid was in the back, and the flames and explosions had first started back there. And when Wyatt went looking for him, Jimmy had been gone.

Gone because he’d been outside, killing witnesses?

It sure looked that way.

And Jimmy looked like a scared kid.

“I thought you might say that…. Wyatt’s inside the TH.” Temporary Headquarters. Jasper knew the lingo. Logan continued. “He and Gunner are going to stay behind with Cale. Veronica could go there with them. She could—”

“No,” Jasper said. He wasn’t leaving her.

“Yes,” Veronica responded at the same time. She grabbed the bag of clothes from Jasper’s hand and pulled the door open even wider. “If you need backup, then Jasper’s coming with you.”