He lowered his head and licked her most sensitive spot, at the same time rubbing his fingers around and around. Every now and then, he withdrew them only to fill her again. Her breathing quickened until she was panting. He could feel her muscles getting tighter and tighter. He kept his rhythm as steady as possible, driving her to the edge, forcing her over. More and more and more…

She cried out. At that exact moment, the convulsions began. He felt the rapid contractions against his fingers. He continued to lick her center, drawing out every part of her orgasm. She drew her knees back, exposing herself more, taking it all.

His own need was nearly unmanageable. His whole cock ached as his body desperately sought a way to find release. He ignored the pressure, the pain, the frantic desire until the last of her contractions had stilled. Then he sat up, shifted onto his knees and moved between her thighs.

Izzy opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Amazing,” she breathed. “You can’t top it, but give it your best shot.” She reached between them, taking him in her hands. “Oh, and for the record? I like it hard and fast.”

Magical words, Nick thought, doing his best not to lose it. Her fingers were slick and sure as they guided him inside. He braced himself for what it was going to be like, then had to call on every ounce of control he had left when he felt her slick heat. Worse, as he pushed inside, she gave a little shudder, as if starting to come again.

He would never survive that, he thought, clenching his teeth.

He withdrew, only to push in again. She shuddered again.

“More,” she whispered, raising her arms and grabbing hold of the pillow. “I’m right there. Just go for it.”

He bent over her and braced his hands by her shoulders. Her eyes were closed, her face flushed. He could see her tight nipples straining toward him. As he moved in her, they moved, bouncing slightly. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen, he thought, unable to stop staring at her. Then she raised her legs to wrap them around his hips and hold him inside her. The action was clear-she was ready.

He told himself he was good with direction. He pulled out and thrust in hard and fast, just going for it. By the third thrust, she was holding on to his upper arms and breathing hard. By the fifth, he was barely able to hold back and she was pumping her hips as hard as he was.

One more push and she was coming. He felt the contractions drawing him in. The inevitable began, the pulsing promise, the pressure that built until it had no choice but to explode.

IZZY STRETCHED OUT on the bed. Nick had pulled up the sheet and lay next to her. She could feel his body pressed against hers as his strong arms held her close.

“Impressive,” she murmured, still dealing with mini aftershocks. “Nice technique, an attention to detail. You’ve been trained by some very smart women.”

He chuckled. “How do you know it’s not innate ability?”

“Oh, please. No man is born knowing how to do that.

“And the thought of other women doesn’t bother you?”

“I don’t want them in bed with us, but I can still appreciate their efforts. Was it in college?”

“Yeah. My roommate helped transform me from a complete geek into a guy who could get the girl. At first I didn’t know what to do with them once I got them, but I’m a fast learner.”

“Yay, you.” She snuggled closer. “Can you sleep with me here?” Normally she didn’t like to spend the night. Hers was more of a get-to-the-good-part-and-leave attitude. But Nick had exhausted her and his bed was so comfortable. As was the man.

He kissed her nose. “There will be hell to pay if Aaron finds out you were here.”

“Because you picked me rather than him? He has a shiny new boyfriend.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll leave before he gets up.”

He rolled onto his back. She slipped her leg onto his and in the process, bumped into something very hard and manly.

Her eyes popped open. “Seriously?”

“Ignore it. It’ll go away.”

She reached down and felt his erection. Immediately her insides did a little shimmy of appreciation. It would take her all of thirty seconds to be ready again. There was something about Nick that worked for her in a big way.

“You know,” she said, sliding on top of him and lightly kissing him. “I was raised not to be wasteful.”

His hands found her breasts and teased her nipples. “Our own private brand of recycling?”

She slid back and pushed herself onto his arousal. “Just close your eyes and think of the environment.”

“I’d rather think of you.”

“Good answer.”

IZZY FELT LIKE a princess in a cartoon musical. She felt so good, she half expected little woodland creatures to show up and dress her the next morning after she crept back to her own room.

Her whole body hummed with satisfaction. She was achy and sore, in the best way possible. She and Nick had made love all night. It might be a couple of days before she was healed enough to go horseback riding, but that was a small price to pay for hours of incredible pleasure.

It wasn’t just the sex, she thought as she stepped into the shower. It was how he joked with her and got her sense of humor. Not everyone did. He was gentle and forceful, caring and stubborn. And the man had a mouth that could make her give up state secrets, assuming she had any.

She hummed her way through the morning, happily working with the horses and avoiding Aaron. She had a feeling he would take one look at her silly grin and know exactly what had happened. Not that she was keeping secrets, exactly. It was more that she wanted to hug the information close for a little while.

A little after ten, she heard familiar voices and went outside to find her sisters walking toward the barn.

“What’s up?” she called, not sure why they’d stopped by without calling first. “Is everything all right?”

The hesitation before either of them spoke burst her happy bubble. “What?”

“Jed’s being named in a prostitution ring,” Lexi said. “He’s going to be charged with importing underage girls and holding them as sex slaves.”

Izzy sank onto the bench by the door and cupped her head in her hands. “I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true,” Skye said. “The never-ending nightmare. Between this and the potential treason charges, Jed is going to lose everything. We’re talking to Dana later. She’s going to give us the names of a few attorneys.”

Izzy dropped her hands and straightened. “Why? Has he come after you again?”

“No, but we need to start protecting ourselves. We’re tired of reacting. We need to go after him.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Lexi added. “We’re taking the fight to him.”

“Not a good idea,” Izzy told them. “You’re out of your league.” She heard more footsteps and recognized them. “It’s Nick.”

“Then we’ll talk later,” Skye said.

“We can talk now. He knows most of what’s going on.”

“You told him?” Lexi sounded surprised.

“Jed was by a few days ago. He wanted to confirm I was still blind and make sure I understood how inconvenient that was for him. Sweet guy, our father. If he can’t use me, I don’t exist. Oh, and he made it clear I was never in the will. Which is hardly a surprise.”

Even she heard the bitterness in her voice, but before she could figure out what to say so her sisters didn’t worry, Nick had joined them.

“Ladies.”

“We’re talking about Garth,” Izzy said bluntly and told him the latest news. “It’s not that Jed is my favorite person, but these days I’m liking Garth even less. Do you have any ideas of what we could do?”

“Do you know what he wants?” Nick asked.

Izzy frowned. There was something strange about his voice. She couldn’t figure out what, but it was there. As if…But she couldn’t pin it down.

“Revenge,” Lexi said. “Obviously. But maybe there’s more. Maybe he wants the family annihilated. Maybe he wants everything. The business, the land, the house.”

“The house is available,” Skye said. “Dad’s moved out. He’s mostly staying in his condo in Dallas. I’m with Mitch, Lexi’s with Cruz and you’re here.”

Temporarily, Izzy thought. When she left the ranch, she didn’t know where she was going to go. A worry for another time, she reminded herself.

“If he hadn’t gone after Izzy, I would have considered letting him just take it all,” Lexi grumbled. “But he crossed the line when he hurt you.”

Izzy smiled at her. “Thanks for the support.” She turned toward Nick. “No brilliant ideas?”

“Not right now. I’ll get back to you.”

Something was wrong, she thought, still not sure what Nick was thinking. Was he upset that they were dragging him into their family business? Or was it something else? The next time they were alone, she was going to have to remember to ask.

CHAPTER TWELVE

NICK PACED THE LENGTH of Garth’s office. He’d stopped by to see his friend because he didn’t know what else to do.

“You have to stop this,” he said forcefully, turning back to stare at the one person he’d considered his family. The one person he trusted above all.

“Going after the Titans?” Garth leaned back in his chair and slowly shook his head. “Nick, don’t get involved in this. You’re helping Izzy. Make that enough.”

“You’re going after her family. A prostitution ring? What the fuck?”

Garth smiled. “Come on. You have to admire the inventiveness of it. That on top of the treason charges should keep Jed Titan in jail for a long time.”

“Did he do any of it?”

Garth shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it does. When did you become the asshole who did the wrong thing?”

Garth’s easy smile faded. “When I was fourteen and Jed threw me out onto the street. When I watched my mother nearly die and then lose herself because we didn’t have the money to get the surgery done in time.”

“Jed’s a bastard. I get it. But his daughters didn’t know about you. Why are you taking this out on them?”

“Because I can. Because anything that hurts the old man makes it a good day.”

Nick walked to the front of the desk and braced his hands against the hard surface. “It doesn’t hurt him. He doesn’t care about his daughters. I doubt he ever has. He came to see Izzy last week. He told her that because she was still blind, she was no use to him. That’s not even human. I understand he turned his back on you. I understand he has to pay, but the Titan women are innocent.”

“They’ve got you snowed.”

Nick read the truth in his eyes. He’d been avoiding it because he wanted his friend to be someone different. He didn’t know when Garth had changed-when he’d decided the end justified the means-but he had. Everything was different now.

Nick understood that he’d been living an illusion a long time. The friendship he’d counted on, that had shaped his life, was over.

He straightened. “I’m out of the company. I’ll be selling my shares over the next few weeks.” He pulled a letter out of his back pocket and dropped it on the blotter. “I’m resigning from the board of directors.”

Garth ignored the letter. “You’re going to choose a piece of ass over a guy you’ve known nearly twenty years?”

Nick moved like the wind. One second he was on the other side of the desk, the next he was spinning Garth’s chair toward him and wrapping his hand around the other man’s neck.

The skills were there, along with the strength. He’d learned how to protect himself with nothing but his body to use as a weapon and he’d learned every trick.

He stared into Garth’s dark eyes. “I won’t squeeze because of our shared past. Because until today, you were all the family I had. But don’t cross me. Don’t test me and don’t come after the Titan sisters again. Hang Jed Titan if you want. He’s yours, but they are not.”

He stepped back.

Garth stood. “So this is it?” he asked. “They matter more than what we’ve been through?” He pulled open his shirt, exposing the scars that matched Nick’s. “This never happened?”

“It happened,” Nick said slowly. “My regret for what you had to endure goes to the bone. But that doesn’t make what you’re doing here right. The Titan women aren’t up for grabs. Cross them and you cross me.”

Garth slowly rebuttoned his shirt. “Izzy doesn’t know, does she? That you know me. That we’ve been friends for years.”

“Let me guess. You’re going to tell her.” Nick didn’t know how to stop him. The truth-would she understand? Or would she blame him and walk away from all the progress she’d made just to punish him?

“Are you?” Garth asked.

“After she has the surgery.” He wanted to put it off as long as possible. He wanted to get her well first.