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  “Bring your knees up to your chest.”

  Hands shaking, she did as he instructed.

  “Aedan, I’m not sure—”

  “Natalya, stop. You’re beautiful.” He lightly bit her ass cheek then turned his mouth back to her pussy, driving his tongue in and out of her passage as he cupped her breasts, squeezing her nipples between his fingers and thumbs.

  He moved his thumb back to her clit, circling it in slow movements that had her whole body tightening in anticipation. Suddenly he flicked her clit, and it was just what she needed to send her soaring.

  “Oh, oh!” she cried out, screaming as she fell over into bliss, her whole body shuddering with the force of the explosions rocking her.

  Hunger engulfed her as he rose and quickly stripped, revealing his finely-chiseled body. She watched him through heavy-lidded eyes, her body wanting more, craving him with a vengeance that had been growing over the years. He knelt beside her on the bed. Natalya brushed her hand over his hard chest down his stomach to his thick cock. She surrounded his shaft with her hand.

  “Harder,” he commanded. “Squeeze me.”

  Natalya tightened her hold as he rested back on his heels and groaned, throwing his head back. “God, you don’t know how amazing that feels. Your hands are like hot silk around my cock. Shit. Enough. Enough.”

  Aedan lightly pushed her onto her back then he paused, looking pained. “Damn, condoms. They’re in my room.”

  “We don’t need them. I mean, I’m on protection and I’m clean. I got tested after I left Diego, and I haven’t been with anyone since.”

  “I’m clean as well. Are you sure?”

  “I trust you.”

  He entered her slowly, pushing his way inside her bit by bit. Her pussy stretched, the pleasure of his penetration making her breath quicken.

  “You’re so tight,” he groaned.

  “It’s been a while.”

  “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Natalya,” he growled warningly, as he stopped to glare down at her. “Tell. Me. If. I. Hurt. You.”

  “I will. Now will you please fuck me?”

  He gave a laugh. “With pleasure.”

  As his movements grew faster, harder, Natalya wrapped her hands around his neck and her legs around his thighs, hanging on for dear life. Pleasure roared through her, stealing her breath, robbing her senses.

  “More, more,” she sobbed, as she gave over to the decadent ecstasy of having him inside her, surrounding her, taking her.

  “Baby, come with me.”

  “I-I—!” she screamed as she came, her body pressing up against his, trying to sink herself into him, to merge them together. Her pussy clenched around him as he came, shuddering against her, his low moan of ecstasy joining hers.

  She almost protested his withdrawal, not wanting to lose his closeness. Climbing off the bed without a word, he walked into the attached bathroom, returning a few moments later with a warm washcloth.

  “Widen your legs, baby,” he told her as he sat beside her.

  “Aedan,” she groaned with embarrassment.

  He raised an eyebrow, trying to look stern, but there was a slight grin on his lips. “Open up, open up and let me in,” he said in a deep voice.

  “You’d make an excellent big, bad wolf.”

  She parted her legs and he tenderly cleaned her. By the time he threw away the cloth, her body was starting to heat up again.

  Aedan grazed her nipple with the tip of his finger. “My, you are insatiable tonight.”

  “Oh, shut up,” she said without rancor. “You know you’re the sexiest man ever born. Wasn’t there an article that had that heading? Aedan Blake: the sexiest man to walk the Earth.”

  His cheeks grew red. “You read that?”

  “I read everything I could find about you. Even stuff I knew was completely made up.” She had tortured herself over the years with every scrap of information she could find.

  “You know a lot of that was exaggerated, right? Particularly the number of women I’ve been with.”

  “Really?” she asked, hating that part inside her that needed reassurance so desperately. “I always tried to pretend that I was happy for you, that I wanted you to find someone else. But at the same time, I was terrified that one day I’d see your engagement announced.”

  He cupped her face as he lay on his side, facing her. “I’ve never wanted to marry anyone but you, Natalya.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she blinked. Was there a chance she could get back what she’d thrown away? She certainly never thought she’d get this close to him again. Maybe there was a chance to repair what was between them. It would never be what it once was, but perhaps that was a good thing.

  Chapter Seven

  Natalya sat numbly on the sofa in Rogan’s living room, her gaze fixated on the large television across from her. A phone rang, and someone spoke quietly into it. Someone else coughed. A door opened and shut. She blocked out all these sounds as she concentrated on the news reporter, standing in front of Lake Medina.

  “It looks like the remains found in Lake Medina are in fact, human. The police divers have been searching Lake Medina for a small boy who was supposedly sighted near the lake yesterday morning.”

  “Do they think the remains are the little boy?” the newsreader asked.

  “No, initial reports we’ve received indicate that that these remains are most likely from an adult and have been there for years. Police are not releasing any more facts at this stage. Divers will continue searching, but it looks increasingly unlikely that they will find the missing boy. So far, there have been no missing persons reports matching the child’s description.”

  “Thank-you, Susie,” the newsreader said.

  Rogan turned off the television.

  “Mateo wasn’t there,” she said quietly.

  “No, it doesn’t appear that he was.” Tanner sat in an armchair next to her. “The police still have to finish checking the lake, but it looks like the woman who reported seeing Mateo there lied.”

  Aedan walked into the room and handed her a mug of hot chocolate. “Here, baby. Drink.”

  She took the mug but just held it between her hands, warming them.

  “What do we do now?” she asked. “I feel like I’ve been thrown completely off course. I’m so relieved that I can’t even seem to process it. But at the same time, it feels like we’re getting nowhere.”

  “My people haven’t stopped searching for Mateo. We’re following up every lead we have. Stanton is trying to track down your cousin. We will find something soon.”

  And if they didn’t? She was too scared to voice the words aloud in case that gave them strength.

  “Stanton just faxed through a sketch of the guy your cousin was seen with.” Levi brought it over to her.

  “Do you recognize him?” Tanner asked her.

  She stared down at the man, praying she’d know him. But his face meant nothing to her.

  Natalya shook her head, too upset to even speak. Rogan came up behind her, looking over her shoulder.

  “What about this?” Another piece of paper was shoved in front of her. “The witness saw part of a tattoo on his neck. This is our artist’s interpretation of what she remembered.”

  “It looks like…”

  “An ELO tattoo,” Rogan said grimly. “It’s a dragon’s head on a serpent’s body.”

  “The ELO were aligned with the Fuerte Cartel,” she explained to Tanner, Aedan, and Levi. “About two years ago they had a huge falling out. They’ve been at odds ever since. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was the only time I’ve ever seen Diego furious. I think some of his men died. Do you think the ELO could have had something to do with Mateo going missing?”

  “Could be their way of getting revenge,” Tanner guessed.

  “But how did they find us? I’m using my mother’s maiden name, Diego isn’t on Mateo’s birth certificate, and I never met anyone
associated with the ELO. Plus, it’s been two years since they fell out with the Fuerte Cartel, why come after us now?”

  “How they found you isn’t important. The fact that we have a lead is,” Rogan said. “It’s looking increasingly likely that Diego didn’t take Mateo.”

  Which wasn’t good. It had been the one thing keeping her sane—the thought that surely he wouldn’t hurt his own son. But the ELO wouldn’t care about Mateo.

  Panic clawed at her, threatening to overwhelm her. “I need to do something. I’m going crazy just waiting.” She clenched her hands together to stop herself from yelling. She was tired of crying and feeling useless. Her pain and her fear had to go somewhere, and it was morphing into a deep, burning rage. How dare someone take her baby? How dare they do this to her?

  When she found them…

  “I want them to pay.” She scanned the room. “When we find them, I want them to suffer like I’ve been suffering. I want them to feel just an ounce of the terror and fear I’m going through. Can you give me that?” She could hear the challenge in her voice as she glared at Tanner.

  He raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a long moment. “I’m sure something can be arranged. In the meantime, we just have to wait—”

  “I am sick of goddamn waiting!” she yelled. Everyone around her paused and stared. Yeah, that’s right. She had a temper. She’d been waiting, she’d been patient, but she’d reached the end of her limit. Thinking that Mateo was in that lake, that her baby was gone for good, was too much. It was more than someone should have to bear.

  “I can’t just sit here and wait! Give me something to do, or I’ll damn well get out there and start searching for him on my own.”

  Tanner glanced first at Aedan then Rogan, as though expecting them to step in.

  “Don’t look at them. Look at me. You’re trying to handle me and I don’t like it.”

  “Listen, I know it’s difficult for you—”

  “Do you? Really?” she snapped at him.

  His gaze grew glacial as he stared back at her. “Actually, I do.”

  Natalya froze. His voice was filled with pain. Had Tanner been through something traumatic? Shame filled her at the way she was acting.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just over being terrified and my next natural reaction is fury.”

  “I know. No need to apologize. That’s what I’m here for, to take the hits.” Tanner smiled wryly.

  She shook her head. “I shouldn’t be yelling at you, and I don’t want to make your job harder. You’re doing this wonderful thing for me and I’m acting like a total bitch. It’s just that I have to do something, or I’m going to go insane!”

  “Can you use a computer?” Samantha asked from behind her computer screen. It was the first time Natalya had heard her speak unless she was answering a direct question.

  “I’ve got some experience,” she answered dryly. “I worked in IT when I lived in San Antonio years ago.”

  “So you’re rusty,” Samantha replied. “I’ll put you on the easy stuff.”

  Calm. Breathe. Ignore her rudeness. You don’t need to rise to the bait.

  “Well? Stop moaning and get over here. I’ll show you what to do.”

  I did ask for something to do.

  Natalya rose, pausing as her cell phone rang. It was sitting on the bookshelf, charging. She raced over and snatched it up.

  “Unknown number.” She glanced around nervously. Could it be the kidnappers?

  “Put your phone on speaker,” Tanner decreed, waving his arm around to quieten everyone.

  Shaking, she placed the phone down and hit the speaker button.

  “Natalya!” Diego’s voice blasted on the phone, making her jolt. He was always so calm and disciplined. But the anger in his voice was clear. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Diego? Where are you? I’ve been trying to call you. Do you know where Mateo is?” She had to hold herself back from grabbing her phone and screaming at him.

  “That’s why I’m calling you!” he snapped back. “I just listened to your voicemail. I had that phone switched off. What the hell is going on? He’s missing?”

  She sat back in her seat, her legs turning to jelly. “So you truly don’t have him?” she whispered.

  “What? I can hardly hear you. Am I on speakerphone? Who’s there with you?”

  She grabbed the phone, switching it off speakerphone and moving over to the corner of the room. If Diego didn’t have Mateo, then this phone call was no one else’s business.

  Jealousy threatened to rear its ugly head. Aedan pushed it away. The way she’d shut him out, and was now hunched over her phone talking to her ex, pulled at his insecurities. But he could recognize that his judgment was clouded by his past. He took a deep breath, trying to ease the tightness in his gut.

  She peered over at him. He smiled at her reassuringly and some of the tension in her shoulders visibly dissipated. Maybe her relationship with Diego wasn’t something he could, or should, be involved in, but he could be there for her.

  But I can’t trust her. Not yet.

  Natalya watched as Aedan walked from the room. There had been a look on his face that worried her, but she didn’t have time now to figure it out.

  “Natalya?” Diego growled. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Someone took Mateo. I thought it was you.”

  “What?” There was genuine shock in his voice. “Why would you think it was me?”

  She told him everything, from her cousin spotting him by the day care to Stanton’s team taking the case pro bono. Diego was silent the whole time, just listening.

  “What leads do they have?”

  “There have been a few reports of a boy looking like Mateo, but nothing panned out. Someone reported seeing a little boy fall into Lake Medina, but we think she was paid to lie. Also, my cousin has taken off. We have a sketch of the man she was seen leaving with. His tattoo… Diego, it looks like he could be a member of the ELO.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Take a photo of the sketch and text it to me,” he demanded. “Listen, you can’t go to the cops, understand?”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Good. I’ve got to go. I have business to attend to.”

  “Wait!”

  “Yes?” he asked impatiently.

  “I…we…” she swallowed heavily. “We have to find him.”

  He laughed humorlessly. “He’s your son. It’s up to you to find him.”

  Even though he’d always been distant, she’d never thought he’d be so disinterested. So cruel.

  “But he was probably taken because of you.”

  “If that turns out to be the case, let me know. Otherwise, I’m out.”

  He hung up, and she just stood there for the longest time, listening to the dial tone.

  “Natalya? Natalya?”

  She blinked and saw Rogan standing in front of her, concern on his face. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t think so.” She peered around him. “Where’s Aedan?” She needed him. Desperately.

  You’re getting too dependent on him.

  “I’m not sure. Why don’t we go get a drink in my study?” He didn’t wait for a reply, just steered her out of the room, glaring at Tanner when he tried to intervene.

  Rogan settled her on a sofa in his office and poured out two glasses of whiskey. She took one gratefully, taking a large sip. It burned her throat, and she choked, spluttering.

  “Sorry,” she said hoarsely.

  “It’s better to sip than gulp,” he told her mildly.

  “Could you teach me that skill?”

  “How to sip whiskey?” he asked, looking startled.

  “No, how to get rid of someone with one look. It would have taken me ten minutes to get away from Tanner.”

  “That’s because you’re nice.”

  “What?” she asked, puzzled.

  “You’re nice. I’m not. You care about other people’
s feelings, about what they think about you. I don’t.”

  “You’re nicer than Diego.”

  “Was that a compliment or an insult?” he asked dryly.

  “I know you’re only helping me because of Aedan, but I want you to know that I will be forever grateful.”

  “I don’t need your gratitude,” Rogan replied dismissively.

  “But you do need something?” she asked, sensing he had something to ask her.

  “I need you to take Aedan back.”

  She stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?”

  “The only time I’ve seen him truly happy was when he was with you. I decided to help you because I want the two of you to get back together.”

  “I hurt him.”

  “So fix it.”

  “It’s not that easy,” she insisted. He no longer trusted her, and she didn’t know how to fix that.

  “Ahh, so that wasn’t the two of you I heard fucking earlier?” he asked.

  She sat back, unclenching her tightly-fisted hands. She took a deep breath in then let it slowly out.

  “Your control over your temper has improved over the years.”

  “I didn’t ever want to give Diego a reason to get angry at me or Mateo.”

  “Because you thought he might hit you?” His voice was a thundercloud, dark and threatening.

  “No, at least I don’t think so.” She sighed. “Have you ever felt like you’ve been close to someone for years, and yet you never really knew them?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “Well, that’s how I feel about Diego. I’m starting to see that I never knew him at all. Just like I never let myself get to know you.” Her fault. “Because I refused to. I was wrong.”

  “Maybe.” He glanced away. “You’re a good person. Good people shouldn’t be around me.”

  “Oh, stop being a martyr,” she told him grumpily.

  “Excuse me?” He gave her an are-you-insane look. Backing down probably would have been the wisest choice, but her son had been kidnapped, her ex was an asshole, and her lover was who knew where, she didn’t have time to pander to Rogan.