Unexpected Love

by KaLyn Cooper

  She playfully slapped his shoulder. “I don’t have a red bikini. In case you haven’t noticed, redheads don’t look good in red.” At the look of guilt on his face, she grinned. “It’s burgundy. That’s different than red.” Teasing him was so much fun. She’d never acted this way around any other man. Everything was different with Griffin.

  The relief on his face made her laugh. She leaned in and kissed him.

  “You know when you laugh, your pretty little pu—”

  “Don’t say that word. Ever.” She demanded. “I don’t like that word.” She knew her tone had turned to ice. Any heat between them was chilling quickly. She started to crawl off him but he grabbed her hips and held her in place.

  “No problem, sweetheart.” He slammed her against his chest and held her there so tight she couldn’t move. “I’ll never say that word again. I promise. Please don’t leave me, especially now.” His voice broke midsentence.

  Grace had no idea she could hurt him so, or control him. He was so big, so strong, so powerful, she’d almost feared him. Now, knowing her words and actions could hurt him made her fall a little bit in love with him. He’d shown her his vulnerability…and it was her.

  She kissed the side of his neck because it was the only thing she could reach. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to leave you shortly.”

  “I know.” He loosened his grip and lifted her chin with one finger. “Will you promise that when you come back we’ll go on another date?”

  She nodded her head. “I promise.”

  This time when he laid his lips on hers, the kiss was so tender she wanted to melt into him. Moments ago she’d felt his strength, and now understood he could control it with ease, but more than that he wanted to be gentle with her. He made her feel wanted for the first time in many, many years.

  Within minutes the kiss had turned frantically passionate. As he thrust his tongue into her mouth, she involuntarily rocked against his erection, stimulating her clit to the point that she needed him to touch her there.

  “I want you, one more time before I leave.” She started to unbuckle him and he placed his big hands over hers. “Are you sure you want to do this in the backseat of a car?”

  She giggled. “This isn’t exactly a Honda Civic and according to my high school best friend, Bonnie Chambers, it can be done in one of those. She swears her first son was conceived prom night in the backseat of Stephen Daly’s car.”

  “I’m well aware of how easy it is to have sex in the back of the limousine.” He noted with embarrassment.

  “I’ll just bet you are.” She finished unzipping him and freed his cock. Jubilance filled her as though she had accomplished some great task. And in some way, she had. “I’ve never had sex in a limousine. This is going to be a new experience for me.” It was all right knowing that he wouldn’t be sharing this first with her. Something inside reassured her that they would have many firsts together. How many women could say they’d been shot at that morning while running together then made love in a limousine that night? Very few, Grace was sure.

  While she stroked his rigid length, he ran both hands up her inner thighs. Pulling aside her soaked panties, he stroked her folds open. “I love how wet you are for me.”

  She ran her thumb over the tip of his cock and was rewarded with the drop that she spread over the entire head. “You’re wet for me, too.”

  She lifted up and started to guide him inside her.

  He grabbed her hips and held her suspended above him. “Wait a second, sweetheart. I need to grab a condom.”

  Grace had never liked the feel of latex inside her. She bit her bottom lip. Did she dare? “I know this probably isn’t the right time to ask this question, but are you guys at Guardian tested on a regular basis?”

  Griffin stared at her for a long moment before answering. “Grace, sweetheart, I have never had sex without a condom. But to answer your question, yes. Normally we’re once a year but after coming back off that last mission in the Middle East, Alex insisted we all be tested again. You know as well as I do, you can pick up all kinds of bad shit over there.”

  “To clarify, what you’re telling me is that you’re clean. Right?” Did she really want to go down this road? What if he wasn’t? What if he had something awful and contagious?

  “I am, but I’m always careful to protect whoever I’m with as well as myself.” He sounded extremely insistent.

  “I want to be your first…at something. I want to give you something special to think about while I’m gone.” She glanced away but forced her gaze back to him. “You know I’m on the pill because we have to control our periods, so there’s no chance I could get pregnant. Is it that you don’t trust me?”

  He released his hands. “I trust you with my life.”

  She reached down and stroked him once more, just to be sure their conversation hadn’t affected him. He was firm and as wet for her as she was for him. Working together, he pulled her panties to the side as she positioned him at her opening and took him in, one inch at a time. She felt the tip of his cock nudge the opening of her womb.

  Griffin grabbed her hips. “Don’t move.”

  She froze. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Fuck, no! You did everything absolutely right.” He closed his eyes slowly, as though savoring the moment. “I told you, I’ve never been inside a woman bareback.” His eyes flew open and his gaze met hers. “I never want to wear a condom again. You are so hot, and tight, and soft, all at the same time. It’s like sensation overload.”

  He lifted his hips and she could feel him bottom out. He grinned. “It’s as though your cervix is kissing the head of my penis.” His eyes rounded as he quickly asked, “Is it okay if I say those words?”

  She laughed. “Those clinical terms are perfectly fine with me.”

  “Sweetheart, you can move now. Actually, I’d appreciate it if you would.” He leaned forward and kissed her as she rose and dropped, loving the sensation of nothing between them.

  His breathing increased almost immediately and she knew it wouldn’t take him long. “Touch me,” she ordered. “I’m not getting there as fast as you.”

  “Anything you need.” He laid his hand flat on her belly as his thumb circled her clit. “I know that’s good for you. Every time I do this”—he passed his thumb underneath the sensitive bud—“you grip me as that though to say thank you.”

  He did it again and this time she felt her inner walls contract. “Keep that up, please.” She was practically begging.

  “Do you like it when I do this?” He pressed from the tip of her clit back over the sheath that hid it. “Not as much,” he noted and returned his thumb to the underside.

  Within a few strokes every muscle in her body had tightened.

  He slipped his hands under her dress and grasped her butt cheeks “I like the way these tighten as you pull up. It’s as though you don’t want to let me go.” He lowered his head and nuzzled between her breasts, his tongue searching for a nipple. Finding one, he cleverly used his nose to push aside the top of her dress. Capturing her nipple with his mouth, he sucked hard.

  Grace tried to hold in her cries of release, refusing to share the moment with the two Guardian men in the front seat. This was for her and Griffin alone. She memorized the way he lifted off the soft leather seat, shoving deeper into her, his own body shaking nearly as much as hers. She continued to move up and down trying to make it last for both of them.

  Then her muscles wouldn’t move. She collapsed, draping her boneless body over his. Semi-consciously she felt his head drop to her shoulder, her name whispered on a sigh.

  “Sir, Mr. Mitchell.”

  The intercom voice startled Grace and she jolted wide-awake.

  “Sir, you asked to be notified when we were five minutes out.”

  Holding her in place, Griffin moved forward to press the talk button on the intercom. “Thank you, gentlemen. Would you please notify Alex? I’ll have Grace call up to the condo so they can st
art hauling gear down.”

  “Will do. Security team out.”

  Griffin rubbed her back and kissed her temple. “Would you mind calling up to the condo—”

  “I heard,” she said while one handedly digging her phone from her purse. She quickly gave the information to Nita.

  “You want me to grab your go bags?” her friend asked.

  “Yes, please. I need to change.” Grace was really going to need to take a fast shower, but she certainly wasn’t about to tell anyone. “See you in a few.”

  She hung up and turned her attention to Griffin who had softened inside her. “That was…absolutely amazing.” She leaned in and kissed him lightly. “I really need to move.”

  Holding her hips in place, he pulled her face to his and gave her what she would remember as the most tender kiss she’d ever experienced. His lips were soft, completely undemanding, yet filled with such meaning. It was as though everything he couldn’t say was passed from his body to hers, lightly touching her soul, filling the space that she hadn’t known was empty.

  For some crazy reason, Grace felt like crying.

  “I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you would allow me to be inside your body completely unprotected. I’ve never had that level of trust from anyone in my life.” He grinned sheepishly. “You wanted a first. You got a big one.”

  Needing to lighten the conversation, she squeezed her vagina walls. “It was a big one. Now, not so much.”

  “Keep that up and it will be again sooner than you think,” he threatened. Then his eyebrows pinched together. “It’s a lot messier without a raincoat, isn’t it?”

  She grinned and nodded her head. “Sorry. I should’ve warned you. And since you’re on the bottom this time…” She let the sentence trail off.

  “Luckily there’s tissues.” He pulled several from the box built in along one side and handed them to her. “And if they can’t take care of the problem,” he popped open a side panel she’d never noticed before. Cleaning supplies stood in small bottles next to a roll of paper towels. He tore off a few sheets and started to clean himself up.

  All too soon they rolled to the front of the DuPont Circle condo. Nita and Lei Lu had their gear in the lobby ready to go.

  Grace leaned in and kissed Griffin. “This isn’t good-bye. I just need to—”

  Once again he placed a finger over her lips. “Go. Clock is ticking.” He opened the door and stepped out, offering his hand to assist her out of the car. He wove his fingers through hers and held it as they walked to the double glass doors of the condominium. With his free hand Griffin opened it for her, but didn’t follow her in. Instead he gave her one last squeeze and released her before grabbing one of the many black bags that filled the lobby.

  As she stepped into the elevator, Griffin was smiling and making small talk like he always did when he was guarding their team.

  Grace tossed the black dress into the bag that would be picked up by the cleaning service and taken to the dry cleaners. She quickly slid out of the sandals and placed them in the bottom of her closet. When she slipped out of her panties she smelled them. The mixture of her essence and Griffin’s. She inhaled deeply one more time as though to memorize the scent. She was being silly, but it felt right.

  Being with Griffin felt right.

  Leaving him after the best twenty-four hours of her life felt completely wrong.

  Chapter 13

  Griffin had kissed Grace good-bye in the backseat of the limousine where they had made love an hour before. Watching her leave was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in his entire life. She was coming to mean so much more to him than he ever imagined any woman would. He felt like he should be grabbing his bag and following her to the other side of the earth. He wanted to be there to protect her, back her up, but most of all, he just wanted to be with her.

  He knew he had to remain inside the vehicle while the women carried their own gear into the hangar. Ever since the bomb threat several months ago, security around their black airplane had tripled. Once the women were inside though, Griffin left the limo and got into the Guardian SUV with Alex. Neither said a word but both understood they would wait until the large black jet disappeared into the midnight sky.

  On the way off the base, Alex commanded the hands-free phone to call USSOCOM. After a few moments he was put through to General Lyon.

  “I wondered how long it would take for you to call me,” the commanding officer over all special operations stated without any greeting. “They’ve been in the air less than one minute.”

  “I watched them take off then decided I wanted to hear it from you. Please tell me they have backup this time.” Alex glanced at Griffin who shifted in his seat. He knew exactly how the man felt.

  “Alex, I promise you, that will never happen under my command.” The gruff of leather and creak of a chair came through the speakers. “Is this a secure line?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m calling on the phone issued by your command,” Alex reassured him.

  “I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to call me on your personal cell.” He let out a sigh, as though settling in to tell a story. “I have a DevGru team and a Delta team backing up the Ladies of Black Swan. One of those two will be given credit for taking out Khalid Junyard. Or they may be the ones actually killing the slippery fucker. He uses multiple doubles. We know one of his stepbrothers is impersonating him, and we think one of his cousins has also assumed his identity in Iraq.”

  A phone rang loudly in the background. “Hang on a minute, would you please, Alex. I’m not done talking to you, but I’ve got to take this.”

  Alex turned and merged into light traffic on the interstate headed north toward Guardian Security’s D.C. Center. Two minutes later, the general’s voice came back over the speakers. “Alex, you still with me?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m here.” Alex said.

  Griffin wondered for brief second who would have the balls enough to hang up on one of the most powerful men in the world?

  “Good, we were talking about Junyard’s doubles. We’re really won’t know for sure whether we got him or not until we test the DNA. Thank Christ someone was smart enough to collect blood samples from everyone in his class at Army Command and Staff College.”

  Alex interrupted, “You mean to tell me we trained him?”

  The general chuckled. “Yes. He spent a year at Fort Leavenworth with some of the brightest minds in the Army and left with a master’s degree in military science. In case you didn’t know, every year, as part of a goodwill program, we invite nations around the world to send their most promising military officers to the school. He attended as an Iraqi equivalent to lieutenant colonel. Did you know he was a graduate of the Citadel? We thought he was one of ours and he’d be a better choice than his bat shit crazy brother Nassar al Jamil.”

  “Are we sure Junyard issued the contract on Katlin and her team?”

  Griffin was glad Alex asked the question that was on his mind too. Why had the man turned against the United States, a country that had obviously educated him. He’d seen the freedoms people in the United States enjoyed, so why would he do this?

  “Hell, intel coming out of that part of the world changes direction hour to hour.” The general’s chair squeaked again. “But the latest is irrefutable. Junyard is seen in a promotional video offering $250,000 U.S. dollars for his brother’s killers. He rambled on and on about immorally loose Western ways and how women walk around nearly naked tempting all men, yet cry rape when a man does what he is meant to do. Then he is punished by the laws of the land, not protected by the laws of the Koran. He topped our list when he swore he would carry on his brother’s work and bring all Westerners to their knees in supplication to Allah. He threatens something even greater than 9/11. He has to be taken out.”

  “Understood and agreed.” Alex offered, “If you need us, you know where to find us. And, sir, thank you for looking after my girl.”

  The chair creaked again
. “Alex, I look after them all. I’d offer you a quick job in Venezuela, but I know you’d turn me down.”

  “Yes, sir, I would.” Then he added to clarify, “turn you down. I’m happy to back up the Ladies of Black Swan anytime you want, though.”

  “Understood. Lyon out.” The line went dead.

  Griffin let out a long sigh.

  Alex did the same then offered, “Welcome to my life. They're in good hands.” Griffin wasn’t sure if Alex was trying to reassure himself or him.

  “I plan to sleep at Guardian tonight and catch an early flight out in the morning back to Miami,” Griffin informed him.

  “Why don’t you hold off on that a couple days,” Alex suggested.

  After having breakfast in the penthouse apartment with Alex, he and Griffin walked into the office together.

  “Yes, sir. He just walked in. I’ll tell him right now.” Although Top Cooper was only fifteen years older than Alex, he looked closer to fifty-five than forty-five. Standing, he announced, “that was Chief McMullen. Your phone is going to ring within the next five minutes with a number you’re not going to recognize. Answer it. They just apprehended the shooters. It’s a political struggle as to who gets to interrogate them.”

  “I’d love to get my hands on them.” Griffin said to the other men. “Do you think they’d consider a neutral place to interrogate them?” Every Guardian Center had rooms that were most often used for holding federal skips: people who were to report to a federal court and had skipped out on their bail. Although bond enforcement was not one of Alex’s favorite lines of business, Griffin had two full-time men designated for that purpose. In Miami, it was very profitable. When the bond had been set for millions, ten percent was damn hard to turn down.

  “Ask them when they call you,” Top suggested. “Wouldn’t it be a shame if they fell down while they were under our protection?” They were all well aware that no charges could be brought against them, nor could the prisoner scream police brutality. Guardian Security was not the police.

  The phone rang. “Alex Wolf,” was the only greeting he gave. His boss signaled for him to come over and listen as he held the phone so Griffin could hear.