Chapter 21

January 19th

4:00 P.M.

"No,"the tortured word fell from her lips as a wave of arousal so strong it took every ounce of her willpower not to strip off her clothes, strip Tate's pants off him, and sink down onto him, letting him soothe the burning ache tearing her apart.

Right now, Scarlett wasn't even sure she cared who gave her an orgasm, anything as long as for one second she wasn't consumed by need.

She'd take Ace, she'd take any of the guys on his team who she knew, although not well, she'd take one of the guys on Tate's team who were strangers.

If they were still there, she feared she'd even take Raul's men.

Anything as long as she calmed this beast inside her.

But this she didn"t want.

Scarlett would endure the rest of her life plagued by this horrendous clawing arousal if it meant that nobody else died in this room today.

When Tate reached for her, she scrambled back, out of reach, a shaky hand held up between them. "You have to go," she insisted.

"Not leaving you, sweetheart, so get that through your pretty head," Tate said. There was that stubborn look in his eyes, but there were other things there, too. Things she didn"t have the energy to figure out right now because all of her energy was being spent on not jumping either of the two men in the room.

Or taking matters into her own hands.

This time she wasn't tied up, and the temptation to throw out the window the fact that she had an audience and just put her hands between her legs and relieve a little of the pressure was strong.

"You have to, Tate," she begged. "He wants you all dead. Me and whoever came to rescue me. I … I"m stuck here … but you aren"t. Leave, please. I don't want you to die."

"What the hell? You think I want you to die?" he demanded. "I"m not leaving, Scarlett. So don't mention it again."

"Bubba's on his way," Ace announced, reminding her that the other man hadn"t left either. "Trust me, if anyone has a chance at disarming the bomb, it's him."

"If you can"t you have to promise me you'll leave in enough time," Scarlett pleaded. The last thing she wanted was to take her dying breath knowing anyone had died because of her.

"Scarlett," Tate warned.

Since arguing with Tate seemed pointless, she turned her attention to Ace. The man had a wife and kids, there was no way he was going to stay in this room and die along with her. "When you leave you have to take Tate with you."

His brown eyes narrowed, and he looked offended. "No one is leaving you, and no one is dying here today," Ace said like it was already a fact.

"But—"

"No buts, Scarlett. Now look at me, did he hurt you?" Tate asked.

It was hard to look at Tate and not grab his face and shove it between her legs, let his tongue work its magic, and bring her at least a couple of seconds of relief.

"N-no," she replied truthfully. All Raul had done was drug her, then he'd gotten a phone call and before he could carry through on the threats to let his men rape her to death, he had ordered someone to strap the bomb on her, told her she was going to die along with whoever was coming for her, and then left.

Almost like he was afraid to touch her, Tate's hand hesitated for a moment before his palm cupped her cheek, and his fingertips caressed her sweat-dotted brow.

If she wasn't so consumed by the drug she'd been given, Scarlett would have sworn it was relief in Tate's eyes.

But he'd made it clear he didn't care about her the same way she cared about him when he'd allowed her to get arrested.

A moan fell from her lips when the drug-induced arousal coursed through her system, and she shoved Tate's hand away, worried that his touch would lead her to do something she couldn't take back. It was one thing to crave Tate's touch when she was in her right mind, when she could assess the consequences and decide if her heart could take another battering. It was another right now when her mind could focus on only one thing.

"Don't, Tate," she whispered when he reached for her again. Another wave of fire burned through her body, and she moaned and pressed her legs together. Tomorrow, when the drug was out of her system, she'd be mortified to know she'd been moaning and squirming like this, with her eyes dark with desire and her cheeks flushed with arousal, in front of men she didn"t know well.

Ignoring her, he leaned over and scooped her up, shifting so he was sitting on the bed with her on his lap facing him. In this position, the thick ridge of his length nestled between her legs, pressing against her soaking-wet center. It felt so good that Scarlett moaned and rocked her hips for the moment, forgetting they had an audience.

"Tate, please," she begged, her fingers curling into his clothes so tight her hands ached. But not worse than the gnawing feeling low in her belly that screamed at her to do something about it.

"Shh, baby, I can"t, not like this, not when you can"t consent," he whispered against her ear as he drew her closer. His arms locked around her like steel bands, and he tucked her face against his neck. One hand rubbed circles on her back, and the other gripped her hip, keeping her close against him.

"I need it," she whispered back, hating how desperate she was, that she was begging for a man who didn"t want her, but that was how far gone she was.

"Oh, sweetheart, I know you do. But I won"t touch you while you hate me." His tone showed genuine regret, and it helped a little to know at least he had been conflicted about turning her in.

If lying would get him to touch her, then in this moment, Scarlett wasn't above it. "I don't hate you."

A chuckle rumbled through his chest. "Yeah, you do. You need to get an IV going, she's got drugs in her system we need to flush out," he said, presumably not to her since she couldn't do anything right now but sit here and writhe in blissful agony.

"Timer says we have ten minutes to get this thing off her," Ace said.

Right.

The bomb strapped to her chest.

Somehow, she'd forgotten about it.

That was how badly aroused she was, it was all she could think about.

Ten minutes wasn't long. Certainly not enough time for Bubba to figure out how the bomb was put together and what wires to cut to disarm it.

"You all have to leave," she said desperately. Earlier she had been prepared to die to prevent Raul from getting what he wanted. While she certainly didn"t want her life to end here and now, more than that, she didn"t want anyone else being taken out with her.

"Nah, honey, I got this." A comforting hand landed on her shoulder, giving a single squeeze before disappearing. Bubba sounded so confident, and she wanted to believe him so badly, but her skin was overheated, and need pulsed through her body with every beat of her heart that it was hard to believe anything could ever be all right again.

"I"m sorry for taking you back to Prey," Tate murmured as she felt his arms drop a little to her waist so Bubba could see the suicide vest.

If she was going to die, she didn"t want to do it holding onto a grudge. "It's okay," she mumbled wearily as someone took one of her arms and swabbed the inside of her elbow before starting up an IV. "Your job is important to you. I get that."

"That's why you thought I let you get arrested? To keep my job?" Tate sounded aghast, and when he pulled her back enough that he could look down at her there was shock on his face.

Scarlett shrugged. "Well … yeah. What other reason would there be?" As much as she hated it, she did get it. It just sucked to be her.

"Sweetheart, that's not why I did it. I thought it was the only place you would be safe from Raul and the mole. It killed me to do it, but I wasn't going to let you get hurt. I made sure Eagle organized for you not to be booked or processed, and to be kept away from everyone else. I think I drove all the guys crazy calling to check on you at least every hour."

"But … when I asked, the guard said nobody had come to see me or called to see if I was okay."

"I don't know why he told you that, Scarlett, but it's not true. Maybe he just didn"t know, or maybe he was lying on purpose, I have no idea, but I called. A lot," Tate said, his gaze complete sincerity.

"He did, and it did drive us all crazy," Rocco said from somewhere behind her.

"It made me sick to think it, but I was prepared to lose you if you hated me and couldn't forgive me, doing whatever it took to make sure you were alive was more important," Tate told her as he leaned down to touch a kiss to her forehead. "The world has to have you in it. My world has to have you in it."

More confused than ever, Scarlett didn"t have the energy to try to process everything. "How many minutes left?"

"Six," Bubba replied.

Because she was looking at him, she caught the disapproving frown Tate tossed Bubba's way before he urged her to lie against him again. "I want you to close your eyes and try to rest," Tate told her like she wasn't suffering from the mother of all arousals.

The fingers of the hand on her hip were so close to the part of her body that was weeping for touch, and with her tucked against his chest again, nobody could see the soft sweeps of his fingers against her center that at least held off the worst of the gnawing need.

For what felt like hours they sat like that. "How many minutes?"

"Two," Bubba replied.

"You have to go now, Tate, please."

"Not leaving you alone, sweetheart."

Lifting her head, she looked at Rocco. "You have to make him leave, please."

"I got this," Bubba insisted.

Tears began to tumble down her cheeks. Why wouldn't they leave her? Everyone in her life left. Her parents, her grandparents, her foster parents, her brother, only Tate and these guys were staying now even though they were risking their lives in the process.

"Why?" she whispered, looking at Tate as she sought the answer she so desperately needed to hear.

"Because you"re amazing, Scarlett, and so very worthy of love and devotion," Tate said as his lips whispered against hers.

Bubba suddenly squeezed her shoulder again. "All done," he announced.

"Huh? You did it?" Scarlett asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Told you I got this," he told her.

There was no time to be relieved that she wasn't going to get blown up because another wave of arousal flooded her system. Her entire body clenched as it tried to find some sort of relief, leaving her seconds away from stripping her clothes off and forcing Tate to have sex with her before she became the first person ever to die from lack of orgasm.

January 19th

4:12 P.M.

Reliefthat the bomb was disarmed was short-lived because the look on Scarlett's face said she had reached her limit.

Actually, Tate was surprised she'd been able to hold off for so long given the look of raw desperation on her face when he'd first walked into the room. Probably, the shock of the bomb, and her surprise at seeing him there had helped to distract her enough from the drug coursing through her system.

Now that it was gone, she looked like she could no longer control herself.

"Sedate her," he ordered Phantom who had set up the IV. Fluids would help to flush the drug out of Scarlett's system, but they weren"t going to work fast enough.

"No!" Panic laced the word and there was pure fear in Scarlett's wide brown eyes as she looked up at him.

"It's okay, sweetheart, you"re safe now. Let us sedate you, then when you wake up at the hospital, the drug will be gone, and you'll be okay."

"No, don't, Tate. I don't want to be drugged," she pleaded, the hands that had already been twisted in his clothes somehow seemed to tighten their grip.

It wasn't that he didn"t get her fear, the last two times she'd been drugged against her will, it was as she was being kidnapped, and she'd had to wake up and face torture and unimaginable terror. But this time was different, this time she'd wake up safe and free from the arousal currently tormenting her.

"Please, don't. You said you thought I was worthy, please, just help me."

A growl rumbled through him.

There was never a time when he didn"t want to touch Scarlett, to bring her pleasure, to watch her face as she fell apart.

But not like this.

What he'd said earlier was still true. Maybe she didn"t hate him, but she also wasn't sure about him either, and he didn"t want this between them. It felt too much like taking advantage because she was hardly in a place where she could give anything that could come close to being considered consent.

While she might want him to help ease the pain inside her, she didn"t really want him to touch her right now.

"Please," she whimpered, her hips thrusting forward, seeking anything that would bring her relief.

Another growl tore through him.

It felt like being trapped all over again with no good solution to keep the woman he was falling in love with safe.

"Everybody out," he ordered.

All six of the guys gave him wary looks, clearly not liking his decision, but he'd like to see what one of them would do if they were in his position and their woman was begging them to bring her some relief from her suffering.

Still, the guys left, and as soon as the door closed his hands framed Scarlett's face, making sure she was looking at him so he could see the truth in her eyes.

"Tell me this isn't taking advantage of you," he pleaded. "Tell me that you want my touch not just because I"m the only man here who you feel comfortable enough with to have touch you when you"re like this."

"Have you ever lied to me?" she asked.

Not the direction that he'd expected her to take this, but it was a question that was easy to answer. "I might not always have told you what I had planned, but the only outright lie I"ve ever told you was that day at the grocery store when I pretended I didn"t know you, and we both knew I was lying."

"Did you mean what you said before? When you said your world had to have me in it?" There was so much doubt in her eyes that it gutted him. She had never had someone in her life who had put her first. She was always bumped down the list, and it had made her doubt her own worth.

He'd never had anyone put him first either, but together they could find that place to belong that neither of them had had before.

Unconditional love wasn't the curse he had convinced himself it was, it was beautiful, special, and something to be treasured.

Just like the woman he held on his lap who wanted to trust him with something so personal that he couldn't not fall harder and faster.

"I meant it. With every fiber of my being, I meant it," he assured her.

Scarlett's hands circled his wrists and tugged gently, guiding his hand down between her legs. "I don't have all the answers right now, and there's so much we need to talk about, and that I need to figure out. But I know that there isn't anybody else I trust to do this, it's not taking advantage. I"m making the choice to have you touch me rather than being sedated."

Unable to turn her down after that, he nodded, slipping his hand inside her pants and past her panties to find her completely soaked. "Okay, baby, then you keep your eyes on me. You watch who's touching you and know you"re safe. Watch the man who is completely in awe of your strength and resilience, your bravery in not letting your fears control you, of still going after what you crave even though you know you might get hurt in the process."

A moan tumbled from her lips as he slid a finger inside her. Already he could feel her internal muscles quivering, the drug keeping her so close to an orgasm that it was nothing short of torture.

"There you go, sweetheart," he murmured, trailing a line of kisses down the slender column of her neck, as he slid another finger inside her, his thumb finding her bud and working it hard and fast. This wasn't the time to draw things out, to tease her, to bring her to the edge and then back up so he could build her higher and make her release that much better.

Right now, his girl needed him to bring her relief, and Tate wanted Scarlett to know that she could always come to him for anything, and he would find a way to make it happen.

"Watch me, sweetheart. I need you to know that it's me touching you, that you"re safe."

Her eyes latched onto his as he pumped his fingers in and out, his thumb never letting up on her bundle of nerves.

"Come now, Scarlett. I"m here, you"re safe, and I am never going to let anyone—including myself—hurt you ever again."

The words were the final thing she needed to push her over the edge, and her hands grabbed onto his shoulders as a powerful orgasm ripped through her. It seemed to go on and on, and he kept touching and stroking, drawing it out, hoping it was going to ease her raging need.

When tremors stopped rocking her body, he removed his hand and she slumped down against his chest, tucking her face against his neck. It was damp, with sweat or tears, he wasn't sure, but he liked that she was snuggling closer rather than pulling away.

More than he deserved considering the mess he kept making with her.

"Thank you," she whispered, words muffled as she pressed her face closer against him.

"You never have to thank me for giving you what you need, sweetheart." Tate touched a kiss to the top of her head and then began to rub circles on her back, hoping he might be able to soothe her into falling asleep. He had no idea how long the drug would last, or when it had been administered, but he prayed the worst was over.

They sat like that in silence for several minutes, a comfortable silence, and the feel of Scarlett's heart beating against his chest was the most amazing feeling in the world. Honestly, he could stay like this, holding her on his lap, forever.

A groan suddenly fell from Scarlett's lips, and he felt her entire body go tense. Before she even lifted her head and spoke, he knew what was happening. "Tate?—"

"It's okay, sweetheart, we have as long as you need." His hand went back into her pants, and he didn"t hesitate to slide his fingers straight back inside her, once again letting his thumb work over her bundle of nerves.

Scarlett held onto him as he once again brought her the release her body so badly needed, and as he watched her fall apart again, he realized how addicting it was to be able to give the person he cared about what they needed. No wonder his parents had become addicted to this feeling because there was nothing like it in the world.

His girl was always going to be his top priority, but there was room in that number one spot for any kids they might have. While it might be rusty from lack of use, his heart was big and there was a lot of space in there.

Space that was longing to be filled.

This was nowhere close to being over. Raul Castillo was still out there, still a threat, and they had yet to identify the mole, but from here on out, he and Scarlett were going to work this together as a team. Whatever it took to keep her safe was still a good motto, but her mental health was as important to him as her physical health.

Already once he'd promised not to do what he thought was best without discussing it with her and broken that promise. Not a mistake he would repeat.

Broken promises weren"t anything he wanted between them.

So, he was going to have to find a way to help Prey neutralize this threat to his girl and her team, because otherwise, the happy ever after he was just opening himself up to would be lost.