Deep Trouble: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) Read online

  “Detective Moreno works in intelligence, and she’s a good cop. But getting jurisdiction is easier said than done. She’s on it, though. Hard.”

  Devon had no doubt that Kellan would be a four-foot thorn in the woman’s side until she came up with a solution. “Copy. For now, I’ll keep moving toward your location.”

  “Thanks,” Kellan said, pulling in an audible breath over the phone line. “I really owe you, Dev.”

  “You owe me nothing, Walker. I’ll check back in at twenty-one-hundred your time. Call me if you get anything from Moreno.”

  Devon disconnected the call, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. Although he knew Kellan would have both hands full getting the X’s and O’s into place to get Fagan snatched up, Devon wasn’t concerned about whether or not his buddy would make that happen.

  What did worry him was that Kylie had now been in the bathroom for forty-five minutes, and despite the fact that there were no windows in the tiny room and he could hear her moving around, Devon had a bone-deep feeling she was far from all systems go.

  He pushed himself out of the creaky bedside chair. While he wasn’t exactly Mr. Congeniality, or even a nice guy for that matter, she’d been through a shit-slide of emotions in the last day. A quick hey-how-are-ya couldn’t hurt.

  But before Devon could make it halfway across the carpet, the bathroom door pushed open, and Kylie stepped silently over the threshold.

  “Hey. I was just coming to—”

  Devon’s words tripped to a halt in his throat. Kylie stood barely three steps away, wearing a thin white tank top and his borrowed sweatpants that she’d had to roll over her hips twice to even get them close to staying up. But her unconventional apparel wasn’t what had frozen him into place from lips to legs.

  “You cut your hair,” he finally managed, and Christ, nobody would ever accuse him of being suave. But come on. She’d gone into the bathroom with a long, hot pink and black ponytail and now she was sporting a head full of chin-length, caramel colored hair that looked just tousled enough to be hot as fuck.

  “Yeah, I…” Kylie broke off, taking a steady breath that outlined the press of her breasts against her tank top. “You were right. The pink was really obvious. I knew hiding it wasn’t going to work in the long run, and anyway, it’s just hair. So I cut it.”

  “It looks…” Do not say wildly sexy, do not say wildly sexy, do not say… “You know. Pretty.”

  Kylie’s laugh rode out on a soft puff of humorless breath, and man, she was a fighter. “I don’t know about all that, but I guess it’s not terrible. There were a few pieces in the back I couldn’t reach, though.”

  She extended the scissors in her hand just far enough to hammer home her request, and Devon’s chin snapped up in shock.

  “You want me to cut the rest of your hair?”

  “Well, yeah. It’ll be pretty obvious if I leave it like this, won’t it?” she asked, gesturing to the handful of thick strands still cascading down her back.

  Damn, she had a point. Still… “Cutting your hair is a little outside my wheelhouse, is all.”

  Okay, so the words were a massive fucking understatement. Devon could dismantle an AR-15 with one hand chained to a radiator, but cutting Kylie’s hair?

  Unless she handed over a pair of clippers and asked for a standard issue crew cut, he didn’t have clue one what to do.

  But Kylie just served him with a no-nonsense stare. “This whole thing is outside my wheelhouse, Devon. But I trust you with my life. My hair is kind of the least of our worries, don’t you think?”

  “You trust me with your life.” The words echoed in Devon’s ears as he repeated them, and her brows tugged downward.

  “Of course. I mean, I’m here with you right now, hiding from Fagan.”

  “Oh. Yeah, sure.” He took the scissors from her, suddenly needing something to focus on other than her wide-open honesty. Of course Devon had known she trusted him to a point. Her brother had sent him to keep her safe, and she damn well needed protecting—both truths that Kylie clearly couldn’t ignore. But trusting him because she was in over her head was a whole lot different than trusting him instinctively, and he only needed a glimpse at her bright blue stare to know that she meant what she’d said in spades.

  Kylie trusted him without question. Just as her brother had in Afghanistan.

  When he shouldn’t have.

  Hot, dust-choked air…sweat running down his back beneath his gear…turning to give Kellan the all clear…

  If you move, I will kill your friend.

  Devon cleared his throat, although the gesture did nothing to ease the tightness log-jamming his vocal cords. Sliding his thumb and forefinger through the scissor loops, he waited for Kylie to turn around before threading his opposite hand through her hair. She smelled sweet and clean, like flowers and fresh bedsheets, and even though he didn’t need to, Devon ran his fingers all the way to the ends of her hair twice, because that’s the sort of bastard he was.

  To his total surprise, Kylie melted into his touch.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice notched down to a throaty whisper that made his dick stir behind the fly of his jeans.

  Christ, he needed to concentrate. He angled the scissors over a strand of her hair, opening and closing them in a precise cut. “For what?”

  “For coming to the motel when Kellan called you. For keeping me from getting killed. For staying so calm when I’m not. Take your pick.”

  Devon was tempted to tell her all of that was part of the job, that he owed her brother a thousand favors that would get him shot at and chased across the country. That he wasn’t calm so much as he simply hadn’t allowed himself to feel anything for the last four years.

  But instead, he stuck with a gruff “You’re welcome,” making another cut with the scissors, then a few more still before adding, “You know, not staying calm in situations like these doesn’t mean you’re not tough. In fact, all that emotion is a good sign you’re normal.”

  Kylie’s shoulders tightened slightly, although her chin stayed on the level. “Yeah. I’m sure the pure-terror panic is really helpful in keeping me safe.”

  “It’s normal,” Devon reiterated. “Plus, you’re doing just fine. I’ve seen guys twice your size cry for their mommies at the slightest whiff of danger.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” He moved around to Kylie’s side, reaching for the last long lock of uncut hair. His fingers accidentally brushed the bare skin on her shoulder, just above the strap of her tank top, and damn, how could she be so soft when he was so loaded with rough edges?

  She turned her chin, looking up at him from over her shoulder. “Are all the emotions normal? Even the ones caused by the adrenaline, like you said?”

  The glint in her eyes did nothing to make his cock stand down, and Devon swallowed hard. Kylie was off-limits. Forbidden. Way too good for a guy like him.

  Also, quite possibly the most gorgeous woman he’d even seen in his life, who was currently looking at him with unmistakable hunger he wanted nothing more than to sate, again and again and again.

  “Kylie.” Fuck, even her name was like sin in his mouth. “What you’re feeling right now is—”

  “Want,” she said, the flush on her face looking as if it had damn little to do with being bashful. “I don’t care if it’s the adrenaline making me feel this way. The truth is, today could be the last day I’ve got.”

  “It’s not.”

  Although Devon met her stare with equal intensity, trying like hell to fight the heat tearing through his veins, Kylie still turned all the way around.

  “I want you anyway, Devon. Right now. Without regrets.”

  His heart slammed, his restraint waning fast. “We can’t.”

  “We can,” she whispered, her lips so close he could feel the hypnotic heat in her words. “All you have to do is say yes.”

  Kylie’s curves were the perfect contrast to the hard angles of his body, pressing against him in al
l the places he ached to be touched and licked and fucked, and in that split second of dark, greedy want, Devon knew he’d love every second of giving her what she’d asked for.

  Even if he hated himself for it later.

  He slanted his mouth over hers in a kiss so bruising and hot, he could taste the desire on her tongue. Kylie matched his need measure for measure, opening to let him in while taking back at the same time, searching and stroking with her lips, her tongue, her teeth.

  “Oh, God.” Kylie’s words collapsed on a moan, and Devon’s pulse ramped higher in his chest as she tipped her head back to give him better access to her neck.

  The heat in the lowest part of his belly became an outright demand. “You need to be sure,” he bit out, grabbing for the last thread of his already unraveling composure.

  She didn’t hesitate for a second. “I’ve been sure since I kissed you last night.”

  It was all Devon needed to hear. He loosened his grip on the scissors, tossing them far enough away to keep from being caught underfoot as he maneuvered Kylie backward to the bed. Splaying one palm wide over the paper-thin cotton covering her shoulder blades, he lowered her to the mattress, dividing the frame of her body with his hips.

  Good Christ, he wanted to rip every last stitch of clothing from her body and push his cock into her, hard and fast and five seconds ago. But as much as the basest part of his brain urged him to do exactly that, the fierce, needful expression shaping Kylie’s features made him pause.

  He might not be worthy of her outside this room, but he knew how to make her feel alive. For just a little while, Devon could keep her safe and help her forget. He could give her what she needed.

  And he meant to do it.

  Right now.

  Forcing himself to slower movements, he angled over Kylie’s body, bracketing her shoulders with both hands. For a second, all Devon did was take her in—the scant light from the bathroom creating gold-tipped shadows across the lines of her throat and collarbone, the soft cotton pressing against her chest as it pressed against his hammering heartbeat in turn. Years had passed, four of them, to be exact, since he’d taken his time with a woman.

  But just because he was taking his time with Kylie didn’t mean he’d make her wait to come.

  Shifting his body to one side, Devon surrendered his weight to the mattress while keeping one denim-covered leg between the heat of Kylie’s thighs.

  “Look at you.” He skimmed a hand from her shoulder to her hip, letting his gaze follow the path. Her stare dropped to his fingers, the shock of her acquiescence making his balls go tight with realization.

  Watching turned her on.

  Making certain she had a perfect line of sight to both his hands and his mouth, he slid his palms over the flat of her belly, reaching for the hem of Kylie’s shirt to tug the cotton over her head. She’d foregone a bra, making Devon send up a fervent prayer of thanks, even as he let out a soft swear at the sight of her breasts.

  “Jesus, Kylie.” He slid a thumb over one berry-colored nipple, his mouth starting to water as it tightened further under his ministrations. “You’re goddamn perfect.”

  Kylie wrapped her legs around his thigh, thrusting hard even though her eyes stayed focused on the hand cupped firmly beneath her breast. “Devon, please.”

  Her throaty whisper raked over him like a touch, and he answered her request without words. Devon parted his lips over her nipple, sucking the beaded peak all the way into his mouth, working her in time to her thrusts against his thigh. Pulling back just slightly, he eased his thumb past his lips, alternating soft swirls of his tongue with rougher-edged touches from his hand.

  “Oh. Oh God, don’t stop.”

  Kylie arched upward, her spine bowing up from the cool, white bedspread to fit more of her against his mouth. Devon slid his attention to her other breast, licking, sucking, daring her closer to the edge until her hips pistoned against him. Unable to hold back, he yanked the rest of her clothes from her body, wedging his jeans-clad leg back between her thighs.

  “Look,” he grated, the heat of her pussy driving him insane even through the layer of denim between them. “Look how fucking hot you are. How wet. How sexy.”

  Kylie’s eyes drifted from his mouth to the spot where his body rubbed mercilessly against her bare sex. The friction had left a damp spot at the top of Devon’s thigh, and he slid over her again, this time harder. Her stare darkened with building need, turning almost midnight blue in the dim light of the room, and it loosened something low and powerful in his chest. Keeping a steady rhythm between her legs, he returned his focus to her breasts, rolling one nipple between his fingers while slipping the other greedily back into his mouth.

  “Oh.” The high sound emerged from the back of her throat, turning Devon’s cock to solid steel, but rather than making him falter, her honeyed moans had him picking up the pace.

  “That’s it, baby. I’ve got you. Come undone for me.”

  Kylie’s body went still and tight, motionless for just an instant before she began to tremble beneath his hands and mouth. He rode her through every gasp and every lust-blown breath, only dialing back his touch when her body finally went loose against the mattress.

  “You’re a little overdressed for the occasion, don’t you think?” Kylie finally asked, her pointed glance still on the spot where her naked body came together with his clothed one.

  An odd sensation Devon couldn’t quite name turned over in his gut. “We don’t have to do this,” he said, but she simply pinned him with that sassy stare that made him want her all the more.

  “Let me ask you something.” She slid from beneath his body, kneeling against the comforter as she pulled him up to face her. Her hands dipped beneath the hem of his T-shirt, exploring the bare skin beneath it, and fuck, he couldn’t think when she did that.

  “Okay,” he managed, helpless against Kylie’s touch. Holy hell, there went his T-shirt.

  She licked her lips, kiss-swollen and flawless. “Do I strike you as the sort of person who does things without wanting to?”

  “No.” His answer flew out, as unchecked as it was honest.

  “Good. Because I’m not. I might be impulsive.” Kylie ran her fingers down the plane of his chest, her mouth curling into a wicked smile at the jump of his muscles when she went lower, then lower still. “But when I said I wanted this, I meant all of it.”

  She freed the top button on his jeans with a quick turn of her wrist, and Devon was lost. Kylie felt too damned good to refuse, with her hands making quick work of his clothes and her lips hot at his ear. Hooking her fingers into the waistband of his dark gray boxer briefs, she lowered the cotton until his cock sprang free.

  “Ah.” Devon’s breath burst from his lungs on a sharp exhale, but it didn’t stop Kylie from circling her fingers around him in a slow, sinful glide. Her hand rode his cock with just enough suggestion to make him crazy, squeezing from base to tip. His pulse beat a wild pattern against his throat as she teased. Stroked. Pumped. But the sensation was too much and not enough at the same time, and finally he pulled back with a curse.

  “I want to be inside you, Kylie.” As if to illustrate his point, Devon reached out, dusting a finger up her leg until he reached the sweet, slick spot at the junction of her thighs. She pressed her knees into the now-rumpled comforter and canted her hips into Devon’s touch as he slipped his finger inside the tight warmth of her pussy.

  Kylie’s moan of approval twined around his. “Give me a second,” she said, sliding from the bed to the bathroom. His confusion turned to relief when she returned a few heartbeats later with a condom between her fingers.

  “I might be impulsive,” she said, tearing open the packet and putting the condom on him with only a few easy touches. “But I’m not stupid. I keep them in my purse.”

  Devon made a mental note to sing the praises of preparedness later. After they’d exhausted both themselves and her entire stash of condoms. “Come here.”

  She pressed aga
inst him in reply, unabashedly naked. He gripped her waist, his hands wide and rough on her skin, and he laid her back on the mattress. Kylie parted her legs, knotting her arms around his rib cage to pull him close. The head of his cock brushed her sex, the wet heat sending a bolt of raw want sailing all the way through him, and Devon was done resisting. He thrust into her body, driving deep in one hard stroke.

  And then he lost his mind. Or maybe he found it, because truly, he’d never wanted to hold onto something so badly in his life.

  A moan slipped past Kylie’s parted lips. “Oh, God, Devon.”

  Her inner muscles squeezed around his cock, her hips beginning to move in a deliberate glide, and he was powerless to do anything but meet it. He pulled away, just slightly, before thrusting back between her legs, the sweet pressure of her pussy gripping him tight as she stretched to take him completely. But the want was too dark, the need too urgent, and within seconds, he’d foregone every slow, sensual thing he knew Kylie deserved in favor of fucking her, hard and fast and deep.

  But she was no wallflower. Kylie met every thrust with a moan, digging her fingers into his shoulders, fucking him back even faster. She was gorgeous and wild, her tawny hair tangled over her face, pale skin covered with the sexy sheen of her exertion as they pounded together over and again. Her core was so tight, so hot and slick around the heavy hardness of his cock that his control flickered, threatening to short out.

  Devon knelt between her legs, flattening his palms over the silk of her inner thighs to spread her wide. Kylie’s stare glittered between them, landing on the spot where his cock slid into her sex-slicked pussy, and he gave in to the dark, deep urge to make her come. Without breaking the rhythm of their hips, Devon moved one hand from her thigh, burying his thumb in her folds just above where they joined.

  Her nails curved into his wrists, the sting all pleasure. “Don’t stop,” she begged, her hips jerking upward to chase the movement of his fingers on her clit. “Please, just…”

  The rest broke from Kylie’s throat on a cry. Her back arched, her body bowstring tight with the power of her climax as she came apart beneath him.