Page 60 of John’s Yearning

But when he suddenly felt her fingernails dig into his back, and her heels drive into his upper thighs to urge him deeper, he couldn’t resist any longer.

“You wanna come with me, darlin’?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, John, yes, please.”

Thrust for thrust he delivered, drove deeper and harder now, faster too. He could feel her respond, understood her body’s reaction so acutely that he knew how to adjust his angle, how to rub against her, how to touch her.

She didn’t have to tell him how close she was, because he could feel it, could sense it in the way her heart beat against her ribcage and her breath rushed out of her lungs. When she crested, he was right there with her, releasing his seed into her in hot, eager spurts as her interior muscles squeezed his cock like she wanted to milk him of every last drop.

Breathing heavily, he rolled to the side with her, then onto his back, so she came to lay on top of his chest. For a moment neither said anything, but this wasn’t the same silence that had descended upon them after their first encounter. This silence was different, companionable.

John stroked his hand over her hair and brushed several strands from her face. “Savannah?”

“Mmm?” She lifted her head and looked at him.

“I want you to know something.”

“Yes?”

“Whatever happens in the next few days, trust me when I tell you that everything I do will be so I can bring Buffy back to you. There may be things I have to do that you won’t like or that might scare you.”

“You mean like how you barged into the photographer’s place and scared her?”

“Things like that and worse. The work I do can be violent. But I promise you that I’ll never hurt you or Buffy. I’ll do everything to protect you and her. Even if that means I have to hurt other people.”

“Why are you saying that, John?” She lifted herself farther up. “Are you talking about killing somebody?”

He didn’t avoid her scrutinizing look. He wasn’t ashamed of the kind of actions his work sometimes demanded. “If it comes to killing whoever is behind this, I won’t hesitate.”

Savannah shivered visibly, while she appeared to contemplate his words. “Have you killed before?”

“When I had to protect those who relied on me. Does that disgust you?”

“No. I’m relieved. It means I won’t have to kill the bastard who’s behind this myself.”

John reached for her, put his hand to her nape and pulled her head to his. “You’re an amazing woman. So strong. So brave.”

He could love a woman like that.

26

It was around noon when John’s cell phone rang. He’d already showered and gotten dressed quietly, but had let Savannah sleep in. After all, she needed her rest—as had he—and there wasn’t much they could accomplish during daylight hours. He’d been about to snatch a bottle of blood and gulp it down in secret, before Savannah was awake to catch him at it, when the call came. He put the bottle back in the refrigerator and shut it, before answering his phone.

“Grayson?”

“Got some news, John,” Grayson started.

“Let me have it.”

“We got a location on the hacker. Name’s Otto Watson. We traced his IP address to a flat in Marin City. We’re picking him up now.”

“You’re what?”

“We’re going in.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Ryder, the twins, and I.”