Red Hot Steamy Romance Boxed Set: A Steamy Military Romance Series Collection
Page 17
“That would be a negative. It was too dark and they stuck to the side of the house where your floodlight couldn’t reach them. And that damn tree of yours blocked me from seeing them take out our exit strategy. I did see a vehicle, though. Either black or navy blue.”
A cloud of uncertainty settled over Abigail’s expression. Reece’s heart clenched at the sudden change. Her shoulders slumped and her head dipped where he couldn’t see her eyes. God, it boiled his blood to see her like this. The woman he knew was confident and didn’t back down from anyone. Not even him when he was all worked up over some dumb shit. Anger poisoned his veins and he clenched his fist at his side. If her ex had anything to do with this he’d be the one needing a restraining order.
And if it wasn’t, when he got his hands on the son of a bitch that had put that look in her eyes, he would squeeze the life out of him and enjoy every second of it.
Reece shifted the curtain for a better look at the grounds below. He caught a glimpse of Caden as he moved over to Abigail and pulled her into his arms for reassurance. He felt pulled to join them. Instead, he shot a dark look at Caden over the top of her head that summed up the clusterfuck of a night in one second. And it wasn’t over by a long shot.
“How many?”
Caden signaled five then returned to holding Abigail close. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and she pulled back, her shoulders up and her chin held high. The smart, determined woman he knew now in control again.
He hadn’t missed the fact that when he and Caden had shown her affection, she hadn’t pulled back. He filed that away to analyze later. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted what Caden wanted. A chance to explore whatever it was that drew them both into the gravitational pull that was Abigail Torres. But something in him polarized her effect the minute he thought of any kind of happy future and he was damn tired of feeling as though he was adrift.
Caden joined him by the window. “It’s too damn quiet out there. We need to get a move on.” Reece pulled his cell out. “I’m calling in Dane. He’s close and on standby to—”
Glass shattered directly below them and Reece broke off mid-sentence. The wood flooring of the old country house shook with the force of another explosion. Only seconds passed before another explosion hit, this time toward the back of the house, followed by another somewhere close to their side of the house.
Reece strode across the room to the door. Smoke filtered up the stairs, trapping them to the top floor.
Reece shoved the curtains aside and threw open the large window. Thank God she had the room with the porch below. He pulled Abigail to his side while Caden eased out to set a perimeter. “We’re going out through here. Once we get across the roof, Caden will help you down. When we hit the ground, haul ass for the southwest treeline and don’t look back.”
Caden called back to them through the window in a low, rushed voice, “Clear to move. This place is like a damn tinderbox, people. Flames have already started on the support beams. Let’s double time it.” He turned to Abigail, lips hardened in a determined flat line.
She gave a sharp nod, then answered, “Ready.”
Chapter Four
“That’s my girl.”
Reece offered Abigail a hand. She tucked the revolver in the back of her waistband then grasped his extended hand for balance while she climbed out the window. They crossed the roof of the porch, keeping to the shadows, pausing every few feet to scope out the surroundings. He hoped whoever was attacking Abigail’s house was still keeping to the south side where they entered her property line, but he doubted it. They had a slim window of time to get Abigail to safety and they would not miss it.
Caden eased down the side with the help of lattice fixed to the side of the house. Abigail lowered herself with the help of Caden, and Reece followed.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, Caden threw up the sign to hold tight. Abigail paused and kneeled, following Caden’s example.
Reece leaned forward to speak low next to her ear, “Caden will clear the area around the side of the house. When he returns we’ll hoof it to the tree line. He’ll go first, you in the middle and I’ll bring up the rear. Are there any motion lights on this side of the house we need to know about?”
“Yes, once we get ten yards out from the side of the house, it will flick on.”
Shit. Might as well put a bull’s eye on their asses.
With his sidearm drawn, Caden peeled off and maneuvered around the side of the house. They needed to know how close the hostiles were to their position.
“Clear on this side. Let’s go.” Reece nodded at Caden and pulled Abigail to her feet. He held her gaze and put it out there in black and white. “Don’t stop. Don’t look back.”
“You might find I’m a good runner.” A hint of arrogance colored her words. Good—she’d need that confidence when the rounds started flying.
“We ready or are we going to stand here and chat all night?” Caden spoke up from his left.
“Go. Now.”
Abigail shot out, leaving Caden to catch up with her. He hightailed it right behind them, his own gun cocked and ready. The old wound on his thigh flared to life, but he buried the pain and pushed harder. Faster. They had to get Abigail to safety.
Just like Abigail said, the floodlight burst to life the second they hit the ten-yard marker. He threw a glance over his right shoulder. Two hostiles rounded the house. “Move. Move. Move.” Caden and Abigail picked up the pace.
The first round slammed into the ground by his feet followed by another, this way too fucking close to Abigail. He picked up his knees and pushed harder to cover her back. More shots rang out in rapid secession. Dirt kicked up and hit Abigail’s face, but she didn’t stop.
Twenty yards farther. Fifteen. Ten.
Caden and Abigail hit the tree line at a hard run. Ducking behind the first big tree, they came to a full stop that sent dirt and debris flying. Caden pulled Abigail between them, all three crouching to their knees barely out of reach of that damn floodlight. The two hostiles that had spotted them disappeared behind the house more than likely calling all their asshole friends over to join the shootout.
“Can’t you shoot that light out?” Gasping for air, Abigail flung her hand in the direction if the light.
Reece anchored her body between him and Caden. “No, sweetheart. Now it’s the only thing keeping them from following us. They know we’re armed.”
“Fuck,” Caden ground out. Keeping Abigail between them, he turned to face Reece. “You get that call out for extraction?”
“Affirmative. Before we left, I called Dane, told him to be on standby. All I had to do was let it ring. Let’s pull back and get some distance between us and them.”
“You know the ETA?”
Reece glanced at his watch. “About five minutes from now.”
Gunfire riddled their makeshift shield sending bits of bark flying through the air like tiny spiked projectiles.
Abigail tucked her shoulder and dove.
He fell on top of her with Caden returning fire. Rounds pierced the dense foliage and buried in the packed dirt and roots of the trees surrounding them. So far so lucky but they couldn’t take the chance with Abigail.
“Cover us.”
Caden nodded and shot off five more rounds to push back the hostiles.
Reece hauled Abigail up and they pushed deeper back into the woods, putting much-needed distance between their bullets and Abigail.
Reece tucked then behind a thicker tree than the first and covered Caden while he caught up with them.
Orange cinders burst into the air when a section of the porch caved under the strain. Several trees blocked their view, but it was still amazing and heart-wrenching. Embers danced along the air current and into the night sky. It reminded him of fireflies at the height of summer when he was a boy.
More flames licked a fiery trail up the north side of the house. At this rate, the entire thing would be nothing more than ashes within minutes.
She went limp against him and he wrapped his strong arms around her slight body like a shield.
“My home. I worked so hard to have a home and it’s all turning to ash, Reece.” She shook her head and then covered her mouth with her hands. Hot tears finally fell and the cold heart in his chest, the heart that broke for her earlier and now lay in tattered shreds for her pain and suffering, might as well be ashes too. The last time he’d loved his heart had been shoved back at him unwanted and abused.
But Abigail made him feel again and he physically ached for her loss as if they were his own.
He stroked a hand down her cheek. “But you’re okay, Abigail. Things and houses can be replaced unlike you, sweet angel.”
He wanted to tell her that she had become his world in the short five months they’d known her. That he dreamed about a shared life with her, and they would give her anything she desired. But could he risk that? Should he when she was so vulnerable.
“A precious gift like you can’t be replaced.” Caden echoed his words.
Gazing between both of us, life sparked in her eyes and it wasn’t the reflection of the flames. The tension in his chest eased when she leaned into Caden’s touch and then his.
Reece tamped his emotions down. They’d deal with his fucked-up issues and the fallout of losing Abigail’s house later. Right now, getting Abigail to safety was their priority.
“The hostiles have pulled back and I don’t want to stick around to find out why.”
Caden settled his hand on Abigail’s chin and turned her to face him. He placed a soft kiss to her lips and he watched as her body molded to Caden’s.
A smirk pulled at Reece’s lips.
Lucky son of a bitch. “Let’s move out. Stay between us, keep low, and stay quiet.”
Three minutes of thick brush and a few scratches later, they emerged near the main road where their extraction awaited them in an unmarked SUV.
Dane. Thank God. That man always came through.
They ushered Abigail in the back— him on one side while Caden took the other.
“We’re in. Let’s roll.” Reece reached forward and clamped a hand on Dane’s shoulder.
“Does anyone have some paper?” Abigail clasped his leg, then turned to Caden.
“What, sweetheart?”
“Paper, do you have paper? I caught the plate number on the parked van in my drive.”
“Shoot,” Dane called over his shoulder from the front seat, his finger poised over a paper bag or something.
“I only caught the first four digits. JHQ-1. Sorry. It’s all I could see.”
“That’s more than what we caught. Good work.”
She calmed and relaxed into the seat.
“What the hell happened out there, man? Anyone take a hit?” Dane inquired from the driver’s seat.
Reece scanned over Abigail and then looked at Caden. “Lucky this time, but I think Caden took out one or two.”
“Yeah, I took out one and blasted the kneecap off another, but I don’t think that will make them back off.”
“Not a chance. Caden, call the team, get the plane ready and add Abigail’s name to the FAA’s passenger list. I’ll call in the incident with the fire department and then message the sheriff a heads up. Dane, I’m telling him you’ll call him with a few more details once you drop us off.”
Caden shifted his weight to the side to pull his cell from his pants pocket. “Copy that.”
Reece caught Dane’s nod. “Any specific instructions?”
“Ask him to call me or Caden about an hour from now. We should be in the air and able to talk specifics then over a secure line.”
Abigail stirred and turned her gaze on him. Her eyes refocused on the here and now. “What plane?”
Reece angled his body toward Abigail’s. “The way I see it, whoever is behind this knows who you work for. They didn’t come in with an assault team to take out one defenseless lady living out in the country. They just wanted to scare you. And on that note, there’s something larger than your asshole ex-fiancé at play here. Something I’m not sure how you got involved in, but one thing is for damn sure. The men that came after you tonight are armed and dangerous enough to do some real damage, so going home with you in tow isn’t an option unless we want to have another meet and greet wild west style.”
“So what’s your plan? Throw me on a plane and whisk me off to the beach? It’s the middle of January.”
Reece let out a little of his frustration with a deep sigh. “Keeping you close is the only option. Where we go, you will go.” He caught the sudden flush in her cheeks and the white T-shirt that outlined her ample breasts also revealed her tight, puckered nipples at the mention of her staying close to them.
Like he said. She broadcasted her thoughts loud and clear. And that made his cock throb.
He brushed away a leaf that clung to the fringes of her ponytail and tossed it aside. “You’ll be safe where we are going. You can gather your thoughts and then—”
“—maybe you, Caden and I can have that talk you mentioned back in your office?”
“That sounds like a plan.” Caden moved in closer and whispered close to her ear and the shuddered that rain through her body told him everything he wanted to know. “I think you’ll love the place along the beach in the Mismaloya area a couple of miles north of Puerto Vallarta. It’s secure, private and you’ll be safe while we figure this out.”
Abigail’s eyebrows shot up at Caden’s words and her back stiffened against the soft leather seats. “To Mexico? We’re going to Mexico?”
Even in the darkened cab of the SUV he could see her teeth clamp down on her plump lower lip. The little tic had driven him freaking crazy from day one. He couldn’t focus when she did that.
Reece shifted his weight closer to her and lifted a hand to her face, gently tugging her lip free with his thumb. “I told you, the more you suck on that lip the more I want to devour you. Unless you want me to do that right here, right now you need to stop.” He dipped his voice low to where only she could hear him. He couldn’t tell, but he’d bet his last dollar that her pretty skin was flushed pink again. Her tongue darted out to pass seductively along the seam of her lips, and he broke.
He dipped his head and claimed her lips in a hard, searing kiss.
She groaned into his mouth, cupping his face with a gentle touch as she opened for him.
Velvety smooth and warm.
She had no idea how sexy she was or how much her little moans turned him the fuck on.
Reece broke the kiss reluctantly. “Claiming your virginity will be the single most wonderful thing we ever do. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll not have both of us between those cream, beautiful thighs.”
He crushed his lips to hers again and this time took control, devoured her taste, and didn’t break away until they both needed air.
“He’s right. You’re ours now, baby girl. Do you want two older men fucking your young, sweet tight pussy and perfect ass?”
She gasped at Caden’s rough, dirty talk but he could see it turned her on.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Reece took her hand in his larger one, caressing the back of her knuckles with the pad of his thumb, watching her expressive eyes.
He had a hard time thinking about a forever. Seduce her, show her what a real man feels like, and show her how beautiful a person she is he could do. When and if it came time to walk away, he would deal with when that time came.
He slipped a hand beneath her shirt and ran his fingers along her tender midriff. He skimmed higher until he came to the edge of her bra.
A combination of silk and lace. With his thumb he found her nipple and worked lazy circles over the tur
gid tip. He swallowed her moan with another kiss. This time slow and sensual. Her lips parted and he took the kiss deeper, gliding his tongue over hers.
She did the same.
If he wasn’t careful he’d rip off her jeans and slide her tight pussy down his pulsating cock right now as Caden worked her clit and sucked on those beautiful pink nipples he could see jutting out from under her thin shirt. Anyone who wanted to watch could.
But he’d never do that to their sweet Abigail.
Beneath his touch, her chest did a staccato jolt and she tightened her grip on his hand. It took all his hard-earned self-control to resist her allure, but he managed.
“But I can’t leave, Mr. Sterling. I don’t even have my passports. I have a job and what would everyone say when they find out I not only went home with you tonight but I’m now running off to Mexico?” She pulled the conversation back to a safer zone.
His friend wasn’t having it.
Caden leaned in close to Abagail, who went utterly still and studied him quietly. If Reece had to pinpoint the reason as to why it would because she was torn between wanting to kiss Caden, the audience be damned, or wait. He could almost see her mind turn over the options.
Caden took control and caressed her baby-fine cheek with the back of his fingers and Reece saw the second her softness registered on his friend’s face. He’d felt it too and had the same fucking reaction.
Their sweet secretary was a soft, gentle soul and neither war-hardened Marine deserved such a delicate creature.
“Sweetheart, I think you can drop the formality.” Caden wound his fingers through hers and spread his legs out so his thigh touched the length of Abigail’s. “Watching you kiss my best friend was the hottest fucking thing I’ve seen.”
Reece looked on as Caden guided her hand over the ridge of his dick. “But watching you fuck my friend and then take us both might be the end of me. Tell, do you want us like that?”
She whimpered a sexy little sound, her mouth rounded in surprise. Her head cocked to the side and she flicked her gaze to the front where Dane sat in silence in the driver’s seat.
“What exactly are you both asking for? A quick fling? A fun time south of the border? What?” Light from the streetlights highlighted the uncertainty that shimmered in her eyes as they barreled down the highway.