by J. L. Drake
She laughs, clinking her drink to mine. He might be married, but nothing matters with an ass like that.
“I wonder where his tan line ends.” I give her a devilish grin.
She shakes her head. “I have goggles, wanna go find out?”
“Yup!”
A shadow casts over Lynn, making me squint to see who’s interrupting our fun.
“Hello, ladies, my name is Jerry. I teach a scuba class with the resort.” Jerry grins with a large set of pearly whites and shows us his hotel ID. “Our first class starts in ten. Would you like to join?”
I glance at Lynn, who is downing her drink with a dirty grin.
“Yes, Jerry, that sounds like a great plan.”
Poor Diogo.
I didn’t even know I was grinning until my reality comes crashing around me, making my eyes pop open. I rub a spot over my heart, which hurts like hell when I think of our happy fake memories. I wonder if my father planned the whole trip, just to get me out of the media.
“I hate my past,” I bitch, shaking Lynn’s face from my thoughts.
“I’m glad I didn’t send Dell out here to check on the camera,” Cole says, standing in front of the open side and making me jump. His hands are tucked into his pockets as snowflakes hit then disappear when they meet the heat of his body through his sweater. He’s very sexy in his black sweater and jeans. “Is that even considered a bikini?”
I think about my suit rather than look at it. I guess its white strings may be a little skimpy, but I wasn’t planning on having company.
“You want to be left alone?”
I shake my head and take a slow sip of my wine, watching him intently. He yanks off his sweater, giving me a moment to gawk at his strong arms, chest, and back. I try to hide my body’s natural reaction to him, but it’s impossible. Pure lust rises to the surface whenever he’s around. His pants come off next and are set down carefully by his boots, his inner Army ways coming out. He settles in the water across from me, his legs stretched out on either side. Our eyes wander over one another, both knowing we’ve been physically attracted to each other from day one, so neither of us even pretends to look away.
I tip my glass of wine in his direction as if to ask if he wants some. He nods, holding out a hand for me to come to him, but first I lean back and pour more wine into my glass. Keeping low in the water, my eyes on his, I move toward him, stopping just in front of him but not quite touching.
He suddenly leans forward and grasps my hips, lifting me to straddle his lap. I squeak when the wine spills over my arms and down my chest, the cold liquid making me shiver. He bends down and drags his hot tongue across my skin, licking the wine from between my breasts, then along my collarbone and up to my earlobe where he nibbles lightly.
I try not to react, try to keep a clear head, but instead, I let out a sharp breath as my senses take a dive. Cole takes the glass from me, downing half of it while keeping those gorgeous dark eyes on mine. Then he comes in for a kiss, and that does it. I turn my head to the side. Suddenly, all I can picture is those lips on the blonde’s. He downs the rest of the wine and sets the glass aside.
The wind picks up, blowing snow in on us. I shift down and back, and so does he, so we’re both better protected from the storm, which is now becoming a blizzard. Cole pulls me back onto his lap where I meet a rather intense look. His fingers walk up my back, undoing the ties on the back of the suit. It springs forward as he lifts it over my head. My bottoms are removed just as fast, then he shifts and removes his.
He moves so his erection is between my aching thighs, with me just barely touching him, and waits, wanting me to make the first move. I hesitate while I battle it out with myself, and in the end, my lust wins, and I slowly slide down over top of him, making us both drop our heads back, sighing.
He wraps an arm around my waist, and the other grips my shoulder as I start to move very slowly. I can see his muscles flexing, trying hard to give me control. His jaw is set perfectly still as my breasts bounce in front of his mouth, his stubble teasing them as they brush by. The contrast of the cold air and the hot water is an intense sensation. Cole comes in for another kiss, but I turn my face away and continue at the same pace. He growls and grits his teeth, bucking his hips to get me to move faster, but I don’t. In fact, I move slower. Yes, I’m punishing him, but it’s hurting me too. I hate hurting. I hate even more that he’s the one who hurt me. I swallow past the growing lump, trying desperately to shove the feelings away.
“Enough of this shit.” He pulls me up, flips me over the side of the tub, and thrusts back in. He lies his front over my back, holding me down. “Stop punishing me,” he growls. “I only did what I had to do to get you back. I only kissed her, nothing more. I hated it, but I’d do it again if it means saving your life.” He pulls out then slams back in. “I know you’re dealing with a lot, but you better let me in. If you have something to say, then say it, but don’t,” he slams in again, making me cry out, “ever deny me your lips, Savannah.” He pounds in again, sending water spilling over the edge. He pulls out, making me whimper. “They are mine, just like this,” he palms my ass, “and this,” his fingers slip inside me, driving me wild. I grind my hips into him, wanting more. His other hand slips over my chest, making a point to stop over my heart. “All of it is mine, just like all of me is yours.” He leans back and grasps my hips with both hands, and nudges just the tip of him inside. “Will you kiss me when I’m done fucking you?”
I don’t answer. I’m so pent up I’m about to jump out and roll in the snow for some kind of relief.
“Savannah!”
“Yes!” I cry as he plows back in over and over. I don’t want it to end. He’s the only man who has ever made me feel every possible feeling at once, but at the same time feel each individually as well. It’s intoxicating. It’s erotic. It’s…it’s…it’s…I scream as every muscle clenches, sending me off toward the snowy night.
He shouts and grips my shoulders, his whole body shaking on top of mine. He pulls out, flips me over, and attacks my lips. He’s like a hungry animal and I’m his first meal in months. Within minutes he’s entering me again, but this time he has me straddling his lap, facing him. He does all the work since I’ve become like jelly, but it doesn’t take long for my senses to kick back in to match his rhythm.
“Cole,” I moan as he bites my neck and massages my breast. “I hate that you hurt me,” I confess, wanting to get it off my chest. “I hate that it was you who hurt me.” My rocking has picked up pace; I’m close now. I’m panting, and I can feel him struggling with having to stop to talk, wanting to keep going, so I grab his face and kiss him. I’m torn too, but right now I need this closeness. I love him.
This sets him off and he stands, holding me with him and sitting me on the highest seat, nearly out of the water, and hooks my legs over his shoulders. He hangs on to the side of the tub, getting in as deep as he possibly can. I clench around him, feeling full as he hits all the right places. My eyes roll up to the roof of the tent, seeing many colors dance around as I fall into a sea of passion. I couldn’t be happier. Only he can make me feel this way.
“No one else,” he grunts as he fills me with another hot burst of him.
We’re both completely spent by the time we finish. I sit wrapped in his arms, watching the white curtain, the snowflakes dancing in a beam of light from the house. You can barely see three feet in front of us now. Cole slowly kisses my neck like he can’t stop.
“Cole?” I whisper, not wanting to break this moment, but I need to, sadly. That nagging feeling is still there.
“Mmmm.” His chest vibrates.
“I-ah, umm…” Fuck.
“Tell me. It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Shit, I can’t. Ahhh…I chicken out, so I go with something else that has been on my mind. “What’s going to happen to my father?”
Cole sighs and holds me tighter. “It will take time, but he’ll make a mistake somewhere, and we’ll nail him.”
He pauses. “Do you want your father to go to jail?”
“Yes,” I say simply because any father who can willingly hand over his daughter to someone the way he did and kill Derek and shoot Paul…this man is not my father. He is someone else. “I’m struggling with Derek’s death.”
Cole turns my face around with his finger, and his look is serious. “You need to understand something, Savannah. What Derek did was wrong. That was his mistake, taking you there with no backup. It went totally against all he should have learned in his training. Whether or not he thought it was a good idea, it wasn’t. That’s why Derek would never have made it on the Blackstone team. He makes dangerous choices. His death is not on you.” His hands cup my face so I look into his eyes. “Believe me, what happened is on him. No one blames you.”
I nod in fear of saying anything. I hurt like hell on this topic. What Cole is saying makes sense. I just need time…time…I try to open my mouth and say the words to him, but I can’t.
“Who hired you to find me? I know my father didn’t.”
Cole cups some water, warming my shoulders. He doesn’t answer right away. I know he’s thinking about my question and his answer. “Sometimes when cases get as big as yours and are splashed all over the newspapers, we look into it ourselves without being asked to by the family. It didn’t take us long to see there was something fishy about your case. The more we looked into it, the more things weren’t adding up, so I put my men on it, and we tracked you down.”
“Wow,” I whisper, picturing the guys chasing leads.
“When I saw your picture,” he pauses, making me look up at him, “I couldn’t stop staring at it. You drew me. You are so beautiful, Savannah. We pulled every string, asked every favor, sneaked in places off the grid, just to find a clue that would lead us to you. And I may have done a few things I’m ashamed of, but I don’t care.” His finger hooks my chin and tilts it up, his eyes dark as night. “Baby, I’d play dirty for you any day.”
I smile and give him a soft kiss under his jaw. Threading his fingers through mine, I sag back into his lap, resting his hand over my stomach.
“I had no idea that you and I would have ended up here.” He squeezes me a little tighter, then leans down, brushing his lips over the shell of my ear. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, but I’ll never be sorry for tracking you down and falling in love with you.”
“You’re awfully quiet.” Keith peers at me from the driver’s seat. I made a lunch date with Sue today. I miss her and have only seen her once since I’ve been back. Keith had to go into town to pick up something from Christina’s store, so he offered to drive me.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“About…stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” he tries again.
I shake my head. Nosy bugger. “I just need to process some things.”
“I’m a great listener.” He grins. Keith has taken on the role of an older brother.
I don’t want to raise any red flags with Keith since he can read me like an open book, so I go another route. “Is Dell back to replace—?
“Rent?”
“Yes, to replace Derek?” He nods, peering over at me. “I thought so.”
“Dell has been waiting to work at Shadows for a long time. This will be his chance to see if he has what it takes. Plus, Logan is still looking into recruiting one of the men from the training session earlier in the month.”
Something nags at the back of my brain when he mentions the recruit but quickly fades away. I can’t quite bring it into focus. Keith parks the SUV in front of the UPS store, motioning for me to follow. “It’s okay, I’m fine staying here,” I say, smiling to reassure him.
Keith steps out and comes around to my side and opens the door. “Just because The American is in custody doesn’t mean all the danger is gone.” He helps me out. “Besides, I haven’t put my tracking chip in you yet.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re funny.” I follow him into the store, really not wanting to see Christina again. He holds the door open with a mischievous expression.
“Who says I’m kidding?”
Holy hell, this place is hot! It must be a hundred and ten in here. I yank open my jacket and start to laugh. Keith eyes me funny, then gets it.
“Yeah, now you know why we leave our jackets behind.” He rolls his eyes and points to the counter. “And now you’ll see who Victoria’s Secret’s biggest fan is.” Then I notice her, Christina, wearing one of the skimpiest dresses I’ve ever seen. She might as well be wearing a child’s shirt. Wow, I don’t think that could be classified as a dress. Getting a little closer, nope, that’s a silk nightgown. Her hair is cut in a pin-straight bob, a different style since I saw her last. She reminds me of a pinup girl with her red lips and heavy eye makeup.
She bats her eyes at Keith but scowls when she sees me. I don’t even bother to plaster a smile on my face. I’m not in the mood to play nice.
“Hello, Keith,” she coos, leaning her breasts over the counter. “I believe I have a package for you and the boys. I’ll go grab it.” Her hips sway as she heads out back.
“Yikes,” I whisper, making Keith crack up.
She returns a moment later with three large boxes. I have to give her credit, I’m really not sure how she manages to walk in her stiletto heels. She looks positively ridiculous, especially considering we are in the back mountains of Montana, and in a UPS shop, at that.
“Tell me, Keith, I thought Cole was coming by today.” And there it is. “Not that I don’t like seeing your handsome face.” She eyes me up. “I just need to speak with him.” Her freakishly red lips mold into a pout. Keith lifts the boxes and nods toward me, indicating the door, but I don’t move.
“He’s busy,” I answer, staring at her, “but I’ll let him know you said hello.”
She turns, crossing her arms and pumping up her fake breasts. “Actually, if you could tell him to stop by, that would be better.”
“Or I could relay the message to him,” I counter, trying to control my claws that are itching to pop those fake tits.
Her smile grows just a little as she reaches under the counter and pulls out an envelope. “Oh, okay, well, be a doll and give him this. I didn’t get a chance to when we were out at dinner the other night.”
I don’t move. I stay completely still. I’ve mastered this reaction as I’ve been blindsided enough times. Taking a step forward and reaching for the white envelope, I avoid touching her devil-red nails.
“Tell him thanks,” she bats her eyelashes at me, “and I’ll return his shirt to him just as soon as it gets back from the dry cleaners.”
“Claressia, right?” Hot anger is starting to surface, and I fight like hell to bury it.
“Saaavi…?” Keith calls out in a warning. “We’re going to be late.”
My nails are digging into my palms as I turn and walk out. Taking a deep, calming breath of cool air helps to ground me. I slip into autopilot and hop in the SUV. Keith is watching my face as he turns over the engine, adjusting the hot air to blast at me, but I turn it off, not wanting to thaw the icy barrier I’m building.
“You know it’s nothing. Christina is a bitch. She’s just—”
“Sue is waiting,” I remind him, fastening my seatbelt. He shuts up, thankfully, and we head down the icy road to Zack’s restaurant.
Brown is the color of the dirt. Ivory is like an elephant tusk. Taupe is the color of the stone in my ring. Cream is like the color of the seats, hunter green like the guys’ Army camo. “B-I-T-C-H!” I say in my head. It’s something Dr. Roberts told me to do when I get upset. Take the word that best fits the scenario, break it down into something else, and make it a better word. Let me tell you, it’s not working.
Sue greets me with a massive hug, even granting me a kiss on the cheek. God, I love this woman; she’s so warm and loving. Sometimes I swear I see a little bit of my mother in her.
“Are you sleeping all right?” she asks, mistaking my hurt
for lack of sleep. I nod and slip into the seat across from her and pluck up the menu. This is a big red flag for her that something is up with me, considering we’ve never ordered off the menu once since coming to Zack’s. He always insists we try the meal of the day, and we always do.
She waits until Keith gets settled at the bar before she turns her attention fully on me. Zack greets us with a glass of pinot grigio and informs us that they have Dijon salmon already in the skillet for us.
“Okay, spill it, Savi.” Sue stares me down, daring me to lie. I don’t, I can’t, not about this. I need her help.
“Under one condition.”
“What’s that?” She leans closer as I begin to let her inside my head and the madness that’s been eating me up inside, desperately needing release.
Cole
Cole pulls into Camp Green Water, where team Blackstone spent two weeks volunteering their services, and also where he is scouting a new recruit for the house. He makes his way over to the third big warehouse where the recruits are back for more training. These are the men who made the first cut. His boots squeak across the tile floor as he nods to the captain who’s blowing a whistle for the men to walk on the bottom of the pool with a brick in their hands. He blows it once, and the men drop to the bottom. Two staff sergeants are in the water with masks, ready to help if need be, and two follow up on top for a bird’s eye view.
“Colonel Logan.” Captain Anderson shakes his hand. “So, you’re here to take one of my men, are you?”
Cole smirks, knowing every man would love a chance to come play at Shadows. Their reputation excites anyone who’s a thrill junkie…so, most men. “I have a few in mind, but I only need one.”
Anderson watches as the men resurface at the opposite end. He blows the whistle again, getting them to return the same way they left. “I have three more rounds, then they’re all yours.”
“Sounds good,” Cole observes, keeping a close eye on the number that interests him, but then his attention is tugged to a different recruit. He moves down to the edge of the pool and watches the situation. One of the staff sergeants begins to make a move, but Cole holds up a hand, wanting to see what will happen.
