Never Surrender: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family)

by Kaylea Cross

  She was so wet and swollen already, dying for him to stop tormenting her.

  Releasing her hip, he reached up both hands to play with her sensitive nipples, the warmth of his breath against her mound making her heart pound and her throat go dry. “Have you missed feeling my tongue between your legs, sweetheart?”

  “Yes,” she gasped out, not even bothering to deny it. Deployments were long and lonely. She’d touched herself many times while imagining it was his hands, his mouth on her skin instead. He made her so damn desperate, seemed to revel in destroying the control she prided herself on.

  His teeth flashed white as he grinned. “Then lie still and be a good girl while I make you come.”

  Oh God… Her hands clenched into fists, the breath leaving her in a pained groan when the heat of his mouth settled against her aching core. His lips covered her swollen folds, that warm, wicked tongue flicking, teasing.

  One strong hand locked on her right hip to hold her still as he crouched between her legs, his tongue driving her to the brink of madness. Soft, wet strokes around and against her swollen clit that made her tremble, then thrusting inside her to momentarily soothe the empty ache before withdrawing and repeating it all over again.

  Again. And again. Over and over, until she was nothing but a trembling mass of sensation.

  She lost track of time as she lay there, bound and helpless beneath him, while he teased and tasted her to the edge of orgasm. Her hands found the bottom of the wooden headboard. She clenched her fingers around it and held on tight, breathless and desperate for an end to the beautiful torture, little whimpers spilling from her.

  “Ryan, please…” she finally managed, panting, her heart thundering out of control.

  He looked up the length of her body at her, his dark eyes smoldering with a blend of satisfaction and need that shook her to the core. Slowly, deliberately, he flattened his tongue and licked up the length of her swollen sex, pausing to swirl around her clit.

  Her eyes slammed shut, all her muscles tensing as the release she craved suddenly came within reach.

  Then he was gone.

  Her eyes flew open, a disappointed gasp in her throat. Before she could utter a single protest he was fisting the length of his rigid cock as he moved between her legs.

  Face set in harsh lines of need, he braced one hand beside her face and settled the head of his erection against her slick folds. “You’re mine,” he rasped out, and something in his tone tugged at her heartstrings, made her wish her hands were free so she could hold him, reassure him that yes, she was and always would be his.

  The words she’d been about to speak died in her throat as pressure and heat filled her. He was so thick, so damn hard, filling every inch of her, taking away the empty ache. She moaned and set her feet flat on the bed to roll her hips. Ryan fisted one hand in her hair and bent to cover her mouth with his as he thrust deep.

  She cried out, his deep growl smothered by the kiss. She tasted herself on his tongue as he drove it between her lips, the erotic act pushing her arousal even higher. The hand in her hair held her head still, his weight pinning her to the mattress.

  Breathless, she wrapped her legs around his, increasing the friction between their bodies each time he moved. Every thrust and withdrawal dragged the length of his cock against the sweet ache inside her.

  Whimpering into his mouth, Candace gripped him tighter with her legs and pushed up harder, desperate for more. Ryan slipped his free hand between them and settled his thumb over her clit, giving her the exact friction she needed to send her soaring.

  The muscles in her thighs and belly shook as she rocked up and down in counterpoint to his thrusts, each one harder than the last. Ryan took her hard, pillaging her mouth and body as he drove them both up to the peak.

  She ripped her mouth free, her head tipping back on the pillow as she started to come, her needy cries echoing throughout the quiet room. He nipped her jaw, a low, shaky groan ripping free of his chest as he plunged in and out of her, then thrust deep and stiffened, his big body shuddering hard as he groaned her name.

  She lay there panting beneath his heavy weight, eyes closed as the world seemed to spin around her. After a few minutes she registered the rapid beat of his heart against her chest and the sticky sweat that glued them together. The quiet hum of the air conditioning unit gradually penetrated the ringing in her ears.

  She licked her lips. “Undo my hands so I can touch you.” She was starved to feel him under her hands, stroke him all over. He loved it as much as she did.

  He lifted up on one arm and reached past her to untie her wrists with three moves. The moment she was free, she wrapped her arms around his broad, damp back and hugged him as hard as she could. Maybe things weren’t as strained between them as she’d feared. She desperately wanted everything to get sorted out, to feel as close to him emotionally as she did physically in this moment, but not now, because she didn’t want to ruin it.

  “That was a memorable hello. Don’t think I’ll be forgetting it anytime soon,” she murmured, stroking his hair, his wide shoulders.

  His chuckle gusted against the side of her neck. “Good.” He sighed, his entire body relaxing in her embrace, and that show of trust from such a strong man turned her heart over.

  She kissed his temple. There were so many things they had to talk about, but they could wait a little while longer. They would get through the transition in her career, just like they’d gotten through everything else.

  “Tired?” she whispered.

  “Yeah.” He rolled them onto their sides, cradling the back of her head to keep her cheek to his chest while he wrapped his other arm around her hips, locking her to him. “Love you, Ace. Glad to be back home.”

  Something in his tone hinted that this deployment had been extra hard on him, and she got the feeling it wasn’t just because of their fight. It made her even more glad that she’d bitten her tongue while he’d been away. “Love you too.” She dragged the covers up over them and snuggled into his warm, hard body.

  Within minutes his breathing grew deep and even and his muscles twitched, telling her he was already asleep. Content as she was, a strange, bittersweet sadness filled her as she held him.

  She was nestled in her husband’s arms, his heart beating beneath her cheek, but as wonderful and intense as the sex they’d just shared had been, it hadn’t fully erased the hurt she felt. They only had a few days together before she was due back in D.C. and he returned to Bagram. Before that happened, she intended to bridge the emotional gap between them in the remaining time they had left together.

  Get out of your head and savor this. Savor him.

  Shoving the worry aside for now, she concentrated on the feel of Ryan next to her, telling herself it was stupid to feel lonely when he was holding her so close, his grip tight and protective.

  They would fix everything in the next day or two, and be stronger for it as a couple going forward. The important thing was that he was here safe in her arms, and far away from anything that could hurt him.

  Chapter Three

  When his phone rang, Eric woke from the light sleep he’d allowed himself to fall into. He snapped on the industrial-style lamp next to the drop-down bunk bolted into the concrete wall and squinted at the call display in the sudden brightness.

  It was Lyle, his second-in-command. They both used specially encrypted phones that were changed every other day, to limit the chance of detection.

  “Yeah,” he answered, scrubbing a hand over his thinning hair. It was long. Too long. He needed to trim it soon, as well as shave.

  The connection was muddled, something they were well used to by now, but Eric understood Lyle’s words perfectly. “I just got off a call with the guy in Colorado. He’s in.”

  A slow smile curved Eric’s mouth. He’d been trying to recruit the man for months now, another step in his efforts to build his network around the country. Right now his powerbase was Montana and it spilled over slightly into Wyoming an
d Idaho too, but that was all about to change soon. “Excellent. That’s good news.”

  “I didn’t want to wait until morning to tell you.”

  “Understood. What about tomorrow’s training exercise?”

  “We’ve reconnoitered the campsite and it’s still clear of any eyes and ears. Exercise is a go for oh-three-hundred. That gives us plenty of time to clear out before sunrise.”

  Good. “You’ve got the suppressors and night optic devices?”

  “Picked them up this morning from the manufacturer.”

  One of their members was a skilled gunsmith. A handy thing to have, because trying to buy that many suppressors would have raised too many red flags and brought heat Eric couldn’t afford. “How many members are attending the training?” More of an evaluation, really.

  Their membership had doubled in the last four months, and was now in the low hundreds. With the volatile political climate being the way it was, Eric expected that to keep growing at an exponential rate.

  Every single member had to be carefully screened first, of course, before being admitted into the organization. For security reasons, no one but Lyle and a handful of others had ever seen him. Eric preferred to work behind the scenes, recruiting and organizing. Only when the time was right would he reveal himself to his followers, who knew him only as The Captain.

  “Around forty or so for this exercise. We didn’t invite the entire Montana membership, to keep the numbers down in case anyone sees or hears anything.”

  “That’s fine. Make sure to sanitize the area after, the way we planned.” Standard operating procedure for his organization, to limit the amount of evidence left behind after a live-fire training exercise. Right now they had to be even more careful, so certain other measures were called for.

  “Of course. Darryl said he delivered another shipment of supplies to you this afternoon?”

  “He did. We’re set for another six months here, maybe longer if we ration it more carefully.” Eric glanced around the room he slept in.

  Utilitarian. Cold. Devoid of any pictures or memorabilia that would give anyone a clue to his life or background. Only his weapons, ammo, and stockpiles of supplies were down here. If any Feds did get suspicious, start sniffing around, and actually find this place, he wanted them to think he was just some crazy prepper, obsessed with readying for the end of the world or whatever.

  But he wasn’t crazy. Although he was prepared for the end of the world, in a sense.

  The end of the U.S. government was coming, sooner than anyone imagined. It would unleash a firestorm of chaos and anarchy, and he would be ready. When the flames of destruction finally died out, he’d be ready to take his place in the new, less corrupt and more just order that would rise from the ashes.

  The American people were tired of the broken system they were trapped in. Eric was going to help liberate them all.

  “I want an in-person report about the exercise once you’re done,” he told Lyle. “I need to know who’s ready.” The first planned attack was only weeks away, and he wasn’t moving the timeline back again. He’d take the best members, carefully screen and vet them, and choose a handful from their ranks to carry out the coming operation.

  “You got it, boss. See you in a few hours.”

  Eric ended the call and turned off the lamp before lying back down on his bunk. For more than three years he’d lived here pretty much alone, totally off the grid except for encrypted phone calls and when occasional travel was necessary to get where he needed to be.

  He never used the same fake ID twice, and always took a bodyguard with him when he left the safety of his headquarters. Couldn’t be too careful these days, not when the government was looking for him.

  It might be pitch dark in here but he didn’t need to see to navigate around as he slid off the bunk and made his way to his bank of computers. He knew every inch of this place by heart. All the nooks and crannies, the location of each weapon or food stockpile he had, every last secret the place had to offer. Just in case.

  Sacrifice was a necessary part of the path he’d embarked upon. His entire life was underground now, until he made his triumphant return to the surface when the right moment came.

  “Seriously, you don’t have to come down if you don’t want to. I know you’re still exhausted.”

  Ryan looked up at his wife, surprised.

  Candace shot him a sardonic look, hot as ever as she came out of the bathroom with her golden hair pinned up, wearing a black strapless cocktail dress and a pair of red high heels that gave him plenty of ideas about how they should spend the rest of the evening together—alone, with the ends of those sexy heels digging into his naked back.

  “And let’s be honest, we all know how much you dread being in the same room as my grandma anyway,” she added.

  Okay, something was definitely up. They’d been apart for months, with only a few weeks together after his previous deployment. He’d assumed she’d want to spend every moment they could together, but she’d just told him he didn’t have to come to dinner. What was up with that? “Something wrong?”

  “No.” She turned toward the mirror over the vanity to put on lipstick, and the tension in her shoulders, combined with the way she avoided eye contact with him, were dead giveaways.

  Something was bothering her. He tried to think of what she might be mad at him about, but came up blank, other than one particular phone conversation a few weeks back. She tended to hold onto things longer than him though. “What is it?”

  She sighed and set the lipstick down on the counter. “We’ll talk about it later, after dinner.”

  Oh, awesome. He barely refrained from muttering it under his breath. That remote tone, and those hated words meant whatever she had to say wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  He repressed a sigh. A moment ago he’d been looking forward to hot, kinky sex the minute they got back to the room, while she wore nothing but those high heels and a sensuous expression. Now he was bracing for a fight instead, and that sucked.

  Rather than push her and risk making things worse, he let it go for the moment, but this turn of events was a total letdown. “Fine.” He couldn’t keep the annoyance out of his tone. He hated it when she held onto stuff, had been looking forward to spending this week with her, which was why he’d pulled every damn string he could to get here today.

  His visit had gotten off to such a promising start, too. After she’d woken him up this morning with her mouth in the best way possible, Ryan had practically been in a coma ever since. He’d slept the entire day away, until she’d woken him a half hour ago at six-thirty. And not for sex, unfortunately, but to slap his bare ass, shove a granola bar and a banana at him, and order him into the shower because they had to meet everyone for dinner.

  “So, you sure you still want to come?” she asked.

  “Yes.” While it was true that he would give his right nut for sex, another few hours’ sleep, and the chance to avoid the crazy blue-haired woman who’d slapped his face off during their first introduction a little over a year and a half ago, he had limited time here with his wife.

  He wasn’t going to waste any of it, whether she was annoyed at him or not.

  “And just so you know, the old bird’s kinda growing on me.” Ruby had been shockingly well behaved during their wedding, so now that he’d made an “honest woman” out of Candace—Ruby’s words—he figured she wouldn’t try to hit him or anything tonight.

  “Sure she is,” Candace said dryly as they stepped out into the carpeted hallway outside their suite.

  “What did you do all day, anyway?” he asked to change the subject as he reached for her hand in an effort to put things back on an even footing between them again.

  He’d thought it strange that she’d let him sleep all day. Usually when they managed to be together she was as eager as him to spend every moment with each other. It bugged him that she’d been trying to avoid him and whatever confrontation was brewing.

  “Hung
out with Maya and Erin mostly. Sat around the pool and talked, had lunch. I came up to check on you after but you were still asleep and I didn’t wake you up because I could tell you needed the rest.”

  Her tone and expression weren’t annoyed, but she definitely had something on her mind. Had to be that phone call a couple weeks back. They’d bickered a little over something stupid, he couldn’t even remember what now, and she’d been kind of cool with him afterward.

  It had been his fault. He’d been dead tired after being out in the field for the better part of three days, and had been short with her. He’d apologized the next time they’d talked, but maybe she wasn’t over it yet.

  Downstairs he took her hand again as they exited their building and crossed the lawn via a flagstone path to the next one over.

  This resort was classy and for the filthy rich, so he was glad Ruby had pulled some strings behind the scenes and comped all their rooms, because a stay here would have cost them an obscene chunk of their military wages. Candace came from money and while it made him a little uncomfortable still, at least none of her family held it over his head.

  The lobby was busy with guests checking in, and others sitting around the large stone fireplace in the center of the room with coffee or happy hour drinks. Maya and Jackson were waiting there with Erin and Wade.

  He’d served overseas with Jackson but didn’t know Wade that well. Ryan liked the former spook well enough, though, and Wade was good to Erin, so he was glad he’d been able to make it here for their wedding.

  “Where are Cam and Dev?” he asked after doling out handshakes to the guys and hugs to the ladies. The PJ and his former army helo pilot wife, Devon, had already checked in when he’d arrived last night. Of all the Bagram guys coming to the wedding, Ryan was closest to Cam, because they’d served over there the longest. They’d gone through hell together a few times and lived to tell about it. There was nobody Ryan trusted more to have his back, except for his wife.