EDGE OF NIGHT Read online

  “I’m ready now.” She gasped then sighed as he massaged her clit and the labia with firm, circular motions.

  “You’re sure wet enough,” he rasped. “All that sweet cream just for me. Only me.”

  “Yes-s-s,” Sian whispered. “Only for you. No one else has ever...” Her words trailed off as she groaned her pleasure at his touch.

  Kai pulled his hand from the sexual massage. “Look at me, baby.”

  Sian opened eyes she hadn’t even been aware were closed and watched as Kai sniffed then licked her essence from his fingers.

  “Yummy,” he muttered in a low gravelly tone that she’d begun to associate with Kai and sex. “You taste so good. I’m gonna love eating you alive. Later—for dessert.”

  Sian moaned at the thought of him licking her labia and clit just as he’d licked her fluids off his fingers.

  “Kai?” she whispered, sure that all her hunger and need for him was in her voice.

  “Patience, baby. Let me do all the work.” He pulled her upper leg so that it bent at the knee and lay forward of her bottom leg, then he levered himself into position, anchoring her body with one leg, as he entered her vaginal passage from behind. He pushed his way in with small gentle thrusts and retreats, each time conquering more ground. Once fully inside, he stopped.

  “God, you’re so tight and so hot.” He nuzzled her hair off her shoulder then nibbled on the exposed skin. “You taste like vanilla and spice.”

  Sian contracted her vaginal muscles.

  Kai groaned. “Baby, that is so good. Do it again.”

  She did, and he countered by reaching over her body and massaging her clit. Adding motion, he moved slowly at first, then faster.

  With each thrust, he grunted, and she answered with a guttural sound that she couldn’t ever remember making before. As the feelings Kai engendered escalated, her breathing became more and more irregular. Between gasps, she babbled. What she said, she didn’t know or even care. She only knew that this mountain was even higher than the last. She wasn’t sure she could stand that much pleasure. But she was willing to die in the effort.

  “Awww, God, baby, I’m coming.” He buried his face on her shoulder, then shouted his climax against her skin. As he did, he bit down gently.

  The combination of pleasure-pain was so intense that she let go of the light and welcomed the warm velvety darkness that ensued.

  Chapter Six

  Sian awoke to a room filled with the cashmere gray light of early morning. A glance toward the French doors leading to the deck off the master suite confirmed that the snow had not abated.

  They were safe for a while longer.

  Turning over, she groaned at the soreness in her body. But she wouldn’t give up even one ache or pain, because they’d all been acquired through a night filled with lovemaking beyond her dreams. Kai had pleasured her again and again until she’d fallen into a deep sleep from a surfeit of pleasure.

  She moved into the warm spot where Kai’s body had been until recently. The phone had rung and he’d taken the call in his office off the master suite. She could hear his voice, low and rumbling, so as not to disturb her rest. He was close and that was all she needed to complete her world.

  Last night when they’d taken a break from lovemaking to eat the supper she’d prepared, Kai had gone into his office to make the calls to set the trap for Tony Brucchi. She’d wandered into the very masculine domain and listened as he arranged for his team to get to the island as soon as the storm front had gone through, sometime later today or tonight. His next call had been to someone he trusted in the Justice Department. He’d informed that person that she was under his protection now. He also advised them that he would be using the Witness Protection Program’s leak to set up Tony Brucchi. He advised his contact to pay attention so that they could find the informant and plug the hole after the information had gone out as to Sian’s and his whereabouts.

  And then Kai had called Mario Brucchi and laid out in blow-by-blow details just how he would destroy the Brucchi empire, both legitimate and illegitimate, if the senior Brucchi didn’t withdraw all his family’s support for the out-of-control son. Brucchi senior had not given him an answer last night.

  Just listening to him as he made the calls to save her life, to give them a future, she’d realized just how dangerous her man could be. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d found such a fierce protector.

  “Sian?” Kai stood, gloriously naked, in the doorway to his office. A portable satellite phone was in his hand.

  His face was stern. His eyes were so dark that they were almost black. He was upset.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. The call. It must have been Brucchi senior. He wasn’t going for the deal.

  Kai and she were on their own against the largest crime family in the United States. Where could they hide? How could she endanger Kai this way? Sightless eyes glanced around the room as escape scenarios were rapidly examined and rejected in her chaotic mind.

  “Sian,” Kai whispered against her cheek. His arms gathered her to him.

  How had he gotten from the doorway to the bed and climbed in without her noticing it? She’d heard, felt, nothing. The people who’d named him the Ice Ghost had only gotten half of it right. He was not icy, but hot as he sheltered her in his radiant heat, warming her frozen core.

  “Baby, are you with me?” Kai’s concerned gaze examined her. “Do you hurt? Was last night too much for your ribs?”

  She shook her head, unable to voice her fears.

  He laid the phone to the side and took her face in his hands, then kissed her brow, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her mouth. Her stomach fluttered with remembered passion. Her womb ached for him. Only him.

  “Baby? I’m sorry, but Brucchi wants to talk to you,” Kai whispered against her lips. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want. The bastard won’t give me his answer until I at least ask you to speak with him.”

  She shuddered, closing her eyes. Tears streamed down her face. She was sure that she’d hear the words sentencing her to a life on the run. Why had this happened to her now? When she’d found her other half?

  He swore under his breath, words that Sian was sure cast all of Brucchi’s ancestors into the pits of hell. “Fuck him. I’ll destroy the bastard.” He picked up the phone.

  Sian reached out and stayed his hand. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Remember, he can’t hurt you.” Kai raised the hand lying on top of his and kissed her knuckles. “I promise he’ll never hurt you, no matter what he says. Do you trust me?”

  She reached for and stroked his jaw where a muscle throbbed. He was furious at the mobster and worried for her. His anger burned away her fears. This man would stand for her against the world. The least she could do was honor him with her faith. Her trust.

  “With my life, “ she vowed.

  “Aww, baby, you’re killing me.” He punctuated his words with tiny biting kisses on her lips. His eyes were moist. “So brave. So sweet. So trusting.”

  Kai pulled away, slowly, then growled, “Let’s do this.” He punched a button. “She’ll talk to you. Oh, and Brucchi, this will be on speaker phone.”

  “I expected nothing else, Axton.”

  Mario Brucchi’s accent was Jersey mixed with a dash of the old country. Sian had only met him once—at a meeting of his top executives of his more legitimate corporations.

  It had come out at Tony Brucchi’s first trial that ninety percent of the Brucchi empire was legitimate. The ten percent that wasn’t was concentrated in gambling, pornography, and prostitution, the so-called victimless crimes. The senior Brucchi laundered his money off-shore and not through his legitimate businesses. Or, he had until his son Tony had decided to clean the prostitution money through the large real estate development company where Sian was in-house counsel.

  Tony had killed her boss, Joe Calvecchio. Joe had figured out what Tony had been doing and confronted the younger Brucchi with the evidence. Calvecchio had be
en lured by the FBI to work undercover in order to feed them information about the inner workings of the Brucchi family.

  “Miss York?” Brucchi’s voice was low—and surprisingly gentle.

  “Yes.” She was relieved that her voice hadn’t cracked.

  “I wish to apologize for the hell my son has put you through.” Sian’s eyes widened and sought Kai. He shrugged. “The man you saw killed?”

  “Joe Calvecchio,” she whispered. “He was working for the FBI.”

  “He was my half-brother—from my mother’s second marriage. He was the baby in the family. I loved that boy. No matter that he turned to the Feds and lied to me to get the job.” He paused and sighed loudly. “In my grief, I neglected to take care of family business. I’m sorry that you were hurt by my laxity. My only excuse is that I and the family had decided to let the justice system take care of Tony. I didn’t want to make the hard decision.”

  He paused and again a deep sigh, possibly a sob, could be heard over the phone. “The witness tampering. I had nothing to do with that. I—we in the family—told Tony he had to take his punishment like a man. But he had some of his associates infect those jurors with deadly bacteria. I’ve taken care of the bastards who did that. It won’t happen again.”

  “Are you going to help us?” she whispered. Hope blossomed in her soul.

  “Yes,” Brucchi said bluntly. “I am. We in the family took a vote early this morning. Tony has been cast out. He is no longer my son. No longer a member of this family. Let your man do what he will. My family will not back Tony in any way. I have put the word out that anyone who does so has made themselves an enemy of the Brucchi family. It is the best I can do.”

  “Thank you.” Sian’s tears slipped down her cheeks. “I really liked Joe. He was a good man. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you, my dear. After what you have endured—and trust me, I do know what that has been—that you can offer me sympathy speaks to your gentle woman’s heart. Please know, the Brucchi family does not make war on women. Nor do we kill our own in such a dishonorable way. Tony knew this and still he crossed the line.”

  Sian handed the phone to Kai, not sure she could say another word.

  “Brucchi. Thank you. I’ll try to make it quick and painless,” Kai said.

  “That is good to hear. You and yours are safe from me and mine. May God be with you.” Brucchi paused, then said, “If for some reason you are not able to take care of the problem, we will.”

  “I understand.” Kai punched the button to disconnect the call.

  “Kai?” Sian moved closer to him. “I feel so sorry for him. To lose his brother and now his son.”

  “I know, baby. I know.” Kai gathered her to him, resting his chin on top of her head. “But I don’t feel sorry for the bastard who’s put you through all this.”

  “No, God forgive me, but I don’t either.” She rubbed her nose against his chest, inhaling his scent. A scent that had never failed to comfort her in all the months she’d known him. “So what now?”

  “We wait for my people to arrive at the end of the storm, then set out the cheese to bring the rat to us.”

  “So, we have some time alone yet?” She kissed the masculine nipple closest to her lips.

  “Yes,” he rasped as his hands found her breasts and tweaked her nipples in response. “How do you want to spend it?”

  “How do you think?”

  Kai smiled and laid her gently back against the pillows, pulling her body under his. “We’ll try this for starters.” His hardened penis sought for and found her moist opening, then surged inside in one forceful move.

  “Yes, let’s,” she murmured as she allowed her man to take her away to a place where only the two of them existed and nothing bad could reach them.

  Chapter Seven

  The team had arrived at dusk, just as the final flakes of snow had stopped falling. The storm was gone and the forecast was for clear, cold nights for the next three days.

  Kai’s gaze swept over his hand-picked team. Derek Trainer. Mandy Stevens. Both knew about his unusual abilities and would be working with him in and near the house—protecting Sian. Three other of his security agents, all ex-intelligence officers or special forces, would be out on the island at all the possible insertion points. Their jobs to provide intel and take out anyone accompanying Brucchi. With his hidden traps and other defenses, he shouldn’t need more than that to take out the younger Brucchi and whoever was stupid enough to come with him. All the people he employed at his security firm could handle an assignment like this with their eyes closed. It was how they’d been trained—as weapons.

  They were as ready as they ever would be. It was time to bait the trap.

  “May I speak to the marshal in charge, please?” Kai said bluntly into the portable satellite phone. He’d unscrambled the feed so that whoever in the WPP was listening could get a triangulation on his position. “I have information about Sian York’s whereabouts.”

  “This is Marshal Wheaton. Where is she, Axton?” The marshal sounded pissed off.

  “She’s with me.”

  “I’ll have your ass in jail for interfering with a government witness.”

  “No. You won’t.” Kai paused for effect, then mentioned one name. “Moira Patterson.”

  The silence on the other end of the line was almost deafening. Finally, Wheaton replied, “Okay, so you have high connections. Big fucking deal. Where’s Sian York? We need to bring her in. Tony Brucchi has people looking for her. Real badass types. We can’t ensure her safety in the hands of a civilian.”

  Kai chuckled. Wheaton had said “civilian” as if it were a dirty word.

  “Wheaton, you’ve almost gotten my woman killed several times over,” Kai stated bluntly. Wheaton’s sharp inhalation indicated that the “my woman” portion of the sentence had sunk in. “I think a civilian with my background—check it out yourself if you already haven’t—can do no worse than your department. I told Moira as much—and she agreed. She knows my work.”

  Kai paused to let Wheaton have time to process the insults. “Sian is with me in the U.P., on my private island. No one can get here without my knowing about it. She’ll testify, but I’ll be providing her protection from now on. Any questions?”

  “No.” Wheaton swore, something along the lines of “fucking, cocky bastard,” then disconnected.

  “Sounded like a poor loser, boss,” Derek said.

  “Sounded like an asshole,” Kai replied. His team laughed.

  Sian entered the room with a tray of coffee and some baked goods she’d thrown together. One of his men hurried to help her with the heavy tray. Her eyes sought Kai’s. She flashed him a radiant smile. Kai’s loins clenched at the memories of their marathon lovemaking. He now knew all her most intimate spots, but couldn’t wait for this to be over so he could reintroduce himself to them again—and again.

  Kai smiled as Sian offered refreshments to his people. His lady was a nurturer. God knew, in the last twenty-four hours she’d changed him from a lonely man with dark shadows in his soul to a man who felt complete as if he’d finally found the part he’d been missing all these years.

  They were yin and yang. Dark and light. Negative and positive. Starving man. Nurturing woman.

  If all went as planned, after today his woman would be safe with only one more name change in her life—to that of Sian Axton. That is, if she didn’t run from him, screaming in abject terror when she found out he was a freak.

  Kai didn’t want to tell her about his shadow self, but he couldn’t hide his true nature from her forever. They would be too intimate, and in times of extreme stress or threat, he transformed without conscious thought. His shadow self, though the dark side of his nature, had saved his hide too many times, in too many bad situations, so he couldn’t regret that part of himself. But someone as good as Sian might have a hard time with his dark side.

  Yes, she would have to be told. And he would have to find a way to make her rea
lize that he would never harm her. He couldn’t harm her. She was his soul mate. The only one in the world who could anchor him to the lighter side of life. With her at his side, he could be a better man.

  “So, what did Marshal Wheaton say?” Sian asked as she snuggled close to his side, tucking her hand in the back of his jeans.

  “You know that bastard?” Kai asked.

  He looked down at her. Her nose crinkled as if she’d smelled something bad.

  “Yeah. He was the one who always told me I had to move.” Sian shook her head. “Bearer of bad tidings and all that, I didn’t like him. He seemed to gloat.”

  “Could he be the leak?” Kai wondered aloud.

  “No. He was just a prick.”

  Kai laughed out loud. “Prick, baby? What language.”

  “Oh, I know all sorts of bad words.” She grinned at him. “But if you don’t like me saying them in English, you could teach me some of those Russian words you use all the time.” Her green gaze was lit with laughter.

  “We’ll discuss it later.” He tapped her nose with a gentle finger.

  “God, someone get a camera!” Mandy said, laughter coloring her words. “The Ice Ghost has been melted at last.”

  The men added their laughter to hers.

  “Heck, I wasn’t that bad, was I?” Kai asked, pretending to be wounded.

  “No,” Sian glared at them all, “you weren’t. I’ve always found you to be strong, calm, intelligent—and a gentleman.”

  “Kai, you’d better fix this one to you with all the ties you can,” Derek said, a broad smile on his face. “She’s obviously a keeper.”

  “I plan to.” Kai bent over and placed a kiss on Sian’s lips to the accompaniment of hoots and whistles from his people.

  * * * *

  The attack, when it came, was not how Kai had expected it to play out. He’d expected a frontal attack; the mob was not known for subtlety.

  “Kai!” Derek shouted, drawing Kai’s attention away from the monitors displaying feed from security cameras mounted around the house. “Jack reported in from the north that ten men made landfall in inflatable boats. Sam has ten on the east side. Dan is all clear on the west end of the island. He’s on the move to help Jack. And Sam is holding his own, but will need help—soon.”