Rule Breaker (Project ROOT Book 1)

by Michele, Ryan

  The sound of pleasure he made at the back of his throat vibrated through her. Her head fell back on her shoulders. She cupped her breast and teased her nipple while swiveling her hips. God, he had a talented tongue.

  “Come on, sweetheart, wake up,” Asher murmured. “You taste so damn good.” He lapped at her slit again, before drawing her clit into his mouth.

  Rae’s eyes fluttered open. Disorientated, she glanced around the room first before looking down at Asher. How in the world? He lifted slightly and pressed a kiss to her belly. His chin glistened with her cream.

  “I’m hungry now. I thought I’d snack on you a bit.” Lust swirled in his eyes as he swiped at her slit again. “I’ve thought about you all night long. Knowing you’re in bed, naked, waiting for me. Do you realize how hard I’ve been? How many times I wanted to walk back in here, fuck you then get back to work?” He sucked her clit into his mouth and groaned. His tongue lashed at the tight bead before he released it and placed a kiss to the top of her mound. “Fuck, I need to feel your pussy wrapped around my cock. Feel you milk me until I fill you with every drop of my come.”

  “Asher,” she moaned, running her fingers through his hair.

  “Hang on.” He buried his face between her thighs and started over. His wicked tongue penetrated her, jabbing at the opening of her pussy, before circling her clit.

  She writhed below him. Her back bowed off the bed, and her mouth fell open. Sensations bombarded her body as she slowly assimilated the tingle in her limbs. She worked her hips, riding his face, trying to get him to use his mouth where she wanted. Instead, he held her down, dictating how she’d find her pleasure.

  “Mmm.” He opened her wider, continuing to devour her.

  When she glanced down at him, she noticed he was completely naked. His perfectly sculpted ass flexed as he rubbed against the sheets. She opened her mouth, and a grunt of pleasure fell from her. “Please.”

  He chuckled against her. The sound vibrated against her clit and she swore she saw stars. She jerked. Heat coiled in her belly. Asher slid a finger into her, then added a second as he retreated. He wiggled them, then dragged them along the sensitive spot of her pussy. She gasped, tugged on his hair.

  Her release shot through her, leaving her breathless and a bit lightheaded. She panted, laying her hand over her chest as she tried to gather her wits. “What in the world?”

  He chuckled, sitting up. “I told you be prepared.” Asher licked his fingers before reaching over to grab the foil package. “For now, until we’re sure.” He tore the packet open, then rolled the latex barrier over him. “Come here and ride me.”

  He held his hand out for Rae to take. “Are you sure?” She bit her bottom lip, as he lay on his back, staring at her.

  “Hell, yes.” He tugged her to him, coaxing her to take her position.

  She straddled him, and the tip of his erection teased her entrance. Slowly, she lowered herself over him. In this position, each inch stretched her more. The sweet burn only added to her arousal. She didn’t stop until she sat on his lap. He groaned. His eyes were closed and lips parted. She rippled around him at his erotic visage.

  He lifted her slightly, then lowered her. The sparks of electricity snapping through her intensified as she began to move. She rocked her body before rolling her hips. Each thrust brought her closer to her climax. She shuddered, riding him with leisurely strokes. She didn’t want to hurry this, even though, if Asher wanted to, he could flip them and fuck her like a desperate animal.

  She cupped her breasts, twisting her nipples. The twinge of pain added to the tingle of bliss in her lower belly. He gripped her hips, holding her still while he slammed into her over and over. The knot of pleasure growing inside her had her gasping and shaking. He mastered her body without trying, and damn if she didn’t love it.

  “Asher.”

  He pulled from her then turned her over so she was on her belly. Then, lifting her to her knees, he filled her in one stroke. They moaned. Her pussy rippled around him and clenched. Rae rocked back to him, keeping the incredible sensation flowing through them. Excitement bubbled up inside her, knowing his finger marks would remain long after they were finished. She reveled in the notion she could make him lose himself whenever they came together like this.

  Rough, demanding thrusts pulled her from her thoughts as Asher pressed kisses to the back of her shoulders. “Do you know how many times I thought about you in my bed, waiting for me?”

  When he took her to his room, she hadn’t been so sure about it. The thought of sharing a space with him had left her a little leery, even though he’d been so sure of the move. Now, she’d been glad she took him up on it. If he woke her like this all the time…

  “How many?” She gasped when he snapped his hips.

  “All night. I thought about you being naked. I thought about your sweet, snug pussy. I thought about the sounds you make when you come on my tongue. I thought how it would feel to sink balls deep inside you again.”

  He punctuated every statement with a thrust, then slowly withdrew, dragging his cock along the sensitized walls of her pussy. Her eyes rolled. Her body tensed. She loved every minute of this wicked ride. She grabbed his forearms for purchase, giving over to him.

  “Yeah, keep getting me wet, sweetheart. I love when you’re creamy.” He threaded his fingers with hers, then ran their joined hands down her stomach. Their tangled fingers manipulated her clit. Sparks of bliss slid down her spine, settling at the apex of her thighs.

  She clung to him as he took her higher and higher with each thrust. He drove her insane, while also keeping her on edge. The pleasure-pain of withholding her release only made their coupling more powerful. Rae countered his thrusts, finding her rhythm as the sounds they made grew more desperate.

  “Do it, Rae.” He groaned and bit down on the sensitive skin of her shoulder. “Come for me.” He increased the pressure on the hard bundle of nerves between her legs with each swipe.

  “Yes. Please.” She shuddered, bucking through her release. Flashes of color filled her vision as the most exquisite of orgasms washed over her. A smile pulled at her lips when he cursed and lost his pace somewhere in the jerky way he filled her.

  “Ah, yeah.” He thrust twice more, then stilled. His low groan sent a wave of satisfaction through her while he throbbed inside.

  “Is this going to be how you always wake me?” She held him close to her, coming down from the mutual high.

  “Hell, yes.” He placed a kiss on her neck before pulling from her. When he returned to the bed he gathered her in his arms. “I need a few hours downtime.”

  “I have to get ready to check on Gabby.” She made no attempt to move.

  “Might want to check on Callahan, too,” he mumbled.

  “Oh?” She lifted herself slightly. “What happened.”

  “Got shot in the ass,” he grumbled. “Idiot.”

  “I’m not going to ask.”

  “Good.” He snuggled her down to him and smiled. The content expression on his face had her chuckling silently. He reminded her of a child who fell asleep with their favorite toy.

  “No more than three hours.”

  “Okay.” She glanced at the clock and frowned. It was already seven in the morning. He hadn’t slept a wink.

  “Love you,” he mumbled. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

  Stunned, she didn’t say anything. What could she say? She didn’t know how she felt about him yet. They’d been through so much. They didn’t even know how to live a normal life together because of some fucked-up mission. A knock at the door saved her from the awkward moment. She untangled herself from a dead-to-the-world Asher.

  She grabbed her sleep shirt from the floor where Asher must have thrown it and put it on, then grabbed her pajama pants. The knock came again and she swore she’d kill whoever was on the other side of the door. He needed sleep, not to be woken by one of the guys. She pulled the door open and glared at Hanover. At least he has
enough sense to look sheepish.

  “What?”

  “I need Asher.” He grimaced. “Our detainees want to talk, but only to him.”

  “Well, your detainees need to sit and spin for a while. H—”

  “It’s okay, Rae.” Asher was already up. He donned his shirt and started for the door. “I appreciate you protecting me.” He bent to kiss her on the top of her head. “This is important.”

  “The hell it is. They can wait. You’ve been up twenty-four hours.” She crossed her arms.

  “I’ll catch a few hours as soon as I am done.” He kissed her again. “Come find me when you’re done checking on Gabby and Callahan.”

  “I’m not happy.” She frowned. The more time Asher stayed awake, the more likely he’d do something stupid, or miss something important.

  “I love it when you pout.” He grinned before heading down the hall with Hanover.

  * * * *

  “What’s the deal?” Asher hadn’t wanted to leave his bed, but when he heard Hanover, his curiosity had been piqued.

  “Not entirely sure. The head guy said he wanted to talk to whomever was in command. He had information for you.” Hanover shrugged. “Callahan is in the medical bay. Schoell is helping him out right now.”

  “Rae will check on him first. What about this box of shit O’Malley brought back?” They got into the elevator and headed for the holding cells.

  “It’s all kinds of paperwork. Off the book shit. Stuff I’m not even sure Congress knows about, let alone the military or any of the intelligence agencies. Fucking trade deals that makes the Iran-Contra scandal look like child’s play. One mentioned uranium-243.” Weapons grade. What the fuck were they still missing and who the fuck writes bills of lading for uranium?

  “Fuck.” He smothered a yawn. Damn, what he wouldn’t give for even an hour of sleep. “I have to call McNamara, too. We can’t let Lincoln know we figured his ass out.”

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his uncle’s number. When McNamara answered, Asher didn’t hesitate. “We got the evidence you need, but we need you to make sure Lincoln doesn’t find out we have his guys.”

  “Well, spit it out, boy.” His uncle’s harsh tone didn’t bother him one bit.

  “We have bills for jobs not on the books and all kinds of shit. I haven’t gone through it all yet. It just showed up after our little mission.” He paused before entering the holding area. “You should know there were enough explosives to level a square block.”

  “Son of a bitch. Good work. Sift through what you’ve found and get me a report ASAP. What about the men who were hired to blow the place?”

  “Going to talk to them now. The leader has requested an audience,” he replied.

  McNamara grunted. “Well, give him one. Maybe the asshole will hand you Lincoln on a platter.”

  He could wish. “I’ll let you know.”

  “Good work. We’re making progress.”

  He hit end on the call, then pocketed the phone. When he stepped into the cell where the three detainees sat, he frowned. They didn’t look like terrorists or even demo guys. They were kind of gaunt. Rough around the edges. Each wore the same wary expression.

  “Well, here I am. What do you want?” If they thought he’d go easy on them or treat them with kid gloves, they were in for a rude awakening.

  They exchanged looks before with the one with blond hair sat forward. “We’ll only speak on our terms.”

  “You must be under some illusion you have any say here,” Asher replied. “Either you’re going to talk or you’re not. It’s no skin off my teeth either way. But, you should know we have enough evidence to charge you as being an enemy of the state. Conspiracy to obstruct justice. Conspiracy to destroy evidence. Attempted destruction of government property. Attempted terrorist attack.” He continued to tick off a list of chargeable offenses and a few bullshit ones he knew probably wouldn’t stick.

  “Look,” the leader said. “We fucking get it. We messed the hell up.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me.”

  “Don’t do it, man. They won’t help us. They’d rather feed us to the fucking wolves than believe a word we’re saying,” the man sitting on the other side of the blond stated.

  “How about we start with something simple? I’m Commander Rainer, leader of R.O.O.T.”

  The blond licked his lips. “Calvin.” He pointed to the men on either side of him. “Paul and Wayne. It’s not what you think. We got the job two days ago. When it came down the pipe we jumped at the chance.”

  Asher narrowed his eyes. “What pipe?”

  “Government black site demolition.” The man glanced at him. “We take the cases no one else wants. It’s dangerous, dirty work. We get paid shit to do them, but it was an honest living until now.” He flexed his folded hands.

  Asher glanced at Hanover. “Do you know who asked for the assistance?”

  “That’s the thing. Whenever we do these jobs, we get a government referral number to get paid. This time, we got a cell phone with a number with a time to call. When I did, we were told we had forty-eight hours to get to Bogotá and destroy the building.”

  “What about the Semtex?”

  “Did you see the size of the building? We were told to bring it down and make sure it was leveled.” The guy shrugged. “Sometimes the government doesn’t want a trace left of them being there. You kind of learn not to ask questions.”

  “What I am about to tell you will come as a shock.” Hell, Calvin surprised him with his candor. He deserved the same respect in turn. “The job you took wasn’t on the books. It wasn’t sanctioned. In fact, you were going to blow up a building that housed evidence for a case we’re working on.”

  “Fuck!” Paul grumbled. “I knew it was too good to be true. We needed the money, got fucking greedy, and this is the shit that happens.”

  “Why do you need the money?” He cocked a brow. If they were supposed to be working government contracts, they should be bankrolling.

  “None of your business,” Paul answered. He could appreciate the kid wanting to protect the other two men. Said appreciation only went so far.

  “Easy, kid. If you want help, you have to work with me.” Asher held his hands up. If what they said could be corroborated, they’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time. “What about the guy who shot one of my men?”

  “Not with us,” Calvin answered. “The text we received said guards would be there. We were only to go in, set the charges where the client wanted them, and get out. Hell, we couldn’t even question the plan. The minute we did, it would be given to someone else.”

  “They wore Barclay uniforms,” Wayne added.

  Holy shit. He glanced at Hanover. Son of a bitch, Lincoln was trying to dot every I and cross every T. He shook his head. “Can we confirm?”

  “Dead body is in Puerto Rico being held for us. Callahan, O’Malley, and Schoell could tell you, though.”

  He grunted. “Sit tight. I have to investigate what you’ve told me. It might take a while. In the meantime, if you want to shower and eat something, I’ll make sure you’re allowed to do both.”

  The men nodded.

  He exited their cell and started for the elevator. “I want Rae to give them a once over. No more surprises. If they’re working for Lincoln, I’d hate to find out they killed themselves.”

  “On it.” Hanover switched on his comm set.

  “Also, find out if O’Malley found any of their phones. We can verify their story and then offer them immunity in exchange for testimony. I need you to also dig into their backgrounds. Financially, they should be set, but they’re acting like they haven’t eaten anything in weeks.”

  “Roger.” They split off at the elevator. He went to the thirteenth floor while Hanover went to medical to talk to Rae.

  When he stepped into C&C, O’Malley was ready for him. He handed Asher the phone and their wa
llets. “Thanks. Did you go through it yet?”

  “No. I thought you’d want to first.” He sat at the small conference table with Asher.

  “Did the guards you encountered at the building, beside the three civilians sent in for demolition, have Barclay uniforms on?”

  O’Malley frowned. “Yeah.”

  “Shit.” He scrubbed his face. “Okay. Let’s get through this shit before I talk to McNamara and tell him what we have.”

  Everything Calvin and Paul said lay on the table in black and white. Between their business license and being on the government list, to texts from someone telling them the building needed to be destroyed. He also noticed Lincoln had written a horrible memo for the company, blackballing them from priority missions. The fucking bastard is slick. He wondered if Calvin knew what had happened to his company. Probably not.

  “Did we find anything about the weaponized uranium?”

  “Dead lead,” O’Malley answered. “I’m not sure if it went somewhere or not.”

  Well, shit. His uncle still needed to know, though, just in case. “I need you to do me a favor. Go down to holding and grab the men. Put them in an apartment and station someone outside. They’re telling the truth.”

  O’Malley stared at him. “Bleeding damn heart.” He shook his head as he stood. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah, man. Good job. I’m proud of you.” He smacked his friend on the shoulder. “Get some sleep, too. One of us should rest.”

  “You,” he stated.

  “I will after I call McNamara.”

  Once O’Malley had left to take care of the men, he pulled his phone and called his uncle’s office. He had to do this officially now. Shit was about to hit the fan. When his secretary answered the phone, he greeted her. “Hey, Maddy. It’s Asher. I need to talk to Senator McNamara.”

  “Good morning, Asher.” Her cheery voice did nothing to ease him. “Let me connect you. He said you might be calling.”

  “Great, thank you.”

  “Better be good,” his uncle said when he answered.

  “It’s a cluster fuck,” he stated honestly. “I need a meeting. We have Lincoln dead to rights.”