“Damn, I love you. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”
“I said I was.”
“Okay. So tell me about this wedding you’re planning.”
I welcomed the change of subject. On our walk back to the house I told him about everything we’d arranged. My mom had a women’s luncheon this weekend, which she’d offered to cancel, but I told her not to. Both, Colin and I wanted to get married as soon as possible but this weekend was seriously pushing it. We decided to do it in three weeks. That gave everyone enough time.
“You’re sure you’re all right with a small wedding and it being in the residence?” I asked as we approached the back deck.
“Absolutely. It’s perfect.”
“I was thinking, if they can, I’d like your parents to come before the wedding. I’d like all of us to meet and get to know each other before we walk down the aisle.”
“They’d like that. My mom’s already tried to get on a plane multiple times.”
“She has? Why didn’t she come?”
“I wanted you to get settled first. My mom can be, overwhelming.”
He was protecting me again. Just like he always did.
“Don’t be silly. Tell her to come. She can go with us to pick out my dress. Though, it’s going to be like a covert CIA operation trying to keep the media vultures from finding out.”
“Are you sure?” Colin’s face brightened.
I stepped closer and put my arms around his waist, careful not to hurt him. “I’m positive. I’m nervous, I want them to like me. And I’m bummed Keira can’t come. But we’ll send her the pictures. Hey! Maybe we can live stream it to her. Would she be able to watch from the ship?”
He didn’t say anything for a long while. But when he did, my heart was full. “Thank you for wanting to include my parents. My mom is going to love you, and I know it will mean a lot to her to go with you to find a dress. My dad is an old Irish man who is a sucker for a pretty lass. He’ll be wrapped around your finger in two seconds.”
“Does he have an accent? Will he call me lass?”
“He doesn’t have one, unless he’s trying to sweet-talk my mom. Growing up, we knew to leave the room when Dad broke out the Gaelic.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Sure, if they’re not your parents.”
“Tell me more about them,” I requested.
“I’d rather tell you about other stuff.”
I liked the sparkle in Colin’s eyes.
“Other stuff? What kind of other stuff?”
“The kind of stuff I can only whisper in your ear when I have you naked in bed.”
My core twitched, and I really hoped this was going where I thought it was.
“Hmm, I didn’t know there were such things one could whisper only while naked. Guess I need to get to the room and undress so I can hear them.”
I heard Colin’s chuckle behind me as I sprinted for the door. I liked the playful side of him. I also like the strong, protector side, too. And I hated to admit it, but even the brooding, irritated side of Colin—it was hot, too.
I was yanking my shirt over my head when I caught sight of Colin standing in the entrance of our bedroom. I tossed the bunched up fabric in his direction, but it fell short.
“Are you going to join me?”
“In a minute.”
“What are you waiting for?” I asked as I pulled off my slacks.
“Nothing.”
“Then why aren’t you undressing?”
“I’m enjoying watching you.”
“Well, I’d be enjoying myself if you’d at least take your shirt off.”
I was a little surprised when he pulled it over his head and smiled. I thought I’d have to ask him more than once. “Better?”
“Hmm. Not yet. I think the pants need to come off to make it even.” I motioned over my mostly undressed body. “I’m only in my underwear.”
His pants came off, but he remained where he was. I reached around and unclasped my bra, letting the straps fall down my arms. I reached for the elastic of my panties, and Colin finally moved. I involuntarily shivered when his hungry gaze met mine.
“I get the pleasure of removing those.”
I stood frozen in place, suddenly unsure what I was supposed to do next. He scooped me up and started toward the bed.
“Your ribs,” I admonished.
“Are fine.”
He gently laid me down, pushing my legs apart as he climbed between them. We were touching from hip to chest, Colin’s face rested in the crook of my neck, kissing the sensitive skin there.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t want to wait until after we’re married? It’s only three more weeks,” he teased, or at least I hoped he was teasing.
“Seriously?”
“Are you on birth control?” he continued to speak into my neck.
“No.” I tilted my head to the side giving him more room.
Crap. I hadn’t thought of birth control. I hadn’t been having sex so there’d never been a need.
He lifted his head, we were almost nose-to-nose, and I had to blink a few times to focus as he was so close.
“The choice is yours. We can use a condom if you want. I get tested for everything regularly through—”
“Shhh.” I placed a finger over his mouth. “I trust you. I don’t want anything between us.”
Colin’s lips twitched before he placed his mouth near my ear and blazed a wet path down the side of my neck, to my throat, and lower still, stopping at my breasts, kneading and massaging them before he sucked a nipple into his mouth.
“God that feels so good,” I moaned and arched into his touch.
He went to the other side, lavishing the other nipple with the same attention, before continuing his downward movement, nipping and kissing my stomach before stopping at the juncture of my thighs. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Hold on, sunshine, this is gonna be quick.”
“What is?” I asked through the lust induced fog.
“You coming in my mouth.”
With a long, slow swipe, he licked from my ass to my clit. I would’ve come off the bed if he hadn’t had one arm over my belly, anchoring me in place. His tongue swirled, sucked, and stabbed into my wet center. He was an absolute expert when it came to my body. He knew exactly what to do to drive me to the brink of insanity. The craziest part was, he could have me on the verge of orgasm quickly or draw it out and make me beg. He was in full control, I had no say in my body’s reaction to him.
“So good, Colin,” I groaned, not sure if I wanted to shove him away or plead with him to never move. My legs trembled, and the pressure built to nearly painful. The press of his tongue on my clit was all I needed to topple over.
“Oh, God!” I couldn’t stop the scream as pleasure tore through me.
Colin continued to play as my orgasm slowly faded, when he hummed with his lips still on my clit, my ass shot off the bed. “No more.”
Chuckling, he lifted his head from between my legs and the sexiest, wickedest smile I’d ever seen played on his wet lips.
“Damn, you taste good.” His tongue darted out, and he licked his bottom lip. Good God, that was hot.
He moved up my body, taking one of my legs with him. Settling in the cradle of my hips, he wrapped the leg around his back and fell forward on his elbow.
Face-to-face.
My world narrowed to only Colin. I swear my breath caught in my lungs and my mouth went dry.
“Sunshine,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
The head of his dick nudged my opening, and my eyes fluttered closed. A few moments later when he still hadn’t moved, I peeked at him through heavy lids.
“Colin. What are you waiting for?”
“You to look at me.” The pad of his thumb traced along my jaw to my ear and back. The touch so feather light, making it even harder to open my eyes. “I need to see you.”
“Promise you’ll never leave me.”
“Promise,” I rushed out.
“Never, Erin. I need you. I can’t ever go back, now that I know you exist, that a love like ours is real, and I’ve finally found you. I won’t survive if you leave me.”
I was having a hard time forming a response as he gently glided in and out of me. His thickness stretching me to the max. “I’ll love you every day, like we don’t have tomorrow. I promise.”
His hand on my cheek hadn’t stopped moving, and his eyes were still glued to mine. It was in that moment, while Colin made love to me, we became one. Bodies, hearts, and souls. I didn’t know where he finished and I started. I didn’t want to know. I wanted to be lost in him forever.
“Please don’t stop,” I begged.
He stopped talking but not moving; his unhurried strokes caught my body on fire. In and out, leisurely, deliberately driving me to the brink of insanity.
“Faster, Colin.”
“We have all night, there’s no rush.”
He continued with his slow pace, the only sounds in the room were his breath mingled with my moans. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed more.
“Harder,” I begged. “Please.”
“Hitch your leg up higher.” He didn’t wait for me to comply. His hand moved from my face and his fingers dug into the back of my thigh as he thrust into me hard.
“Oh, God.”
“You are so beautiful. Wrap your arms around me.”
“Holy—” My words were cut off, and my back arched. His hand moved from my leg to under my ass and he lifted.
“That’s it, baby, move your hips, grind into me.”
Colin’s words no longer made sense, my mind was mush, and instinct took over. I squeezed my leg around his waist, allowing me to move with him. He pounded away, and all I could do was try and keep up.
“Fuck. You feel so good.”
His mouth crashed to mine, and if I’d thought he’d dominated our kisses before, I’d been wrong. This was dominance, raw, carnal, pure. Everything felt right. My nails clawed his back and when he wrenched his lips from mine and threw his head back on a loud moan, my pussy fluttered. It was like the dam had broken, allowing all the pent-up passion we had for each other to unleash. Our world had narrowed to the clashing of teeth, groans, grunts, and the slapping of our bodies as we came together.
“Don’t let go, Erin. Don’t ever let go.”
“I won’t.”
I held onto him tighter, hoping he’d understand I needed him just as much as he needed me.
“I love you, baby.” His words were soft and gentle and in direct contradiction to his punishing thrusts.
“I love you.” I tilted my hips more, and my orgasm slammed into me. “I’ll never let you forget how much.”
“Erin. Look at me.”
When the daze started to fade, and his face came back into focus, I was mesmerized by his gaze. His eyes had gone soft, but all the muscles in his neck had tightened. His body shook, and with one last thrust he planted deep, and, finally, his head fell forward as he groaned his pleasure.
I waited until Colin lifted his head before I whispered, “Only you.”
His eyes drifted closed, and I knew he felt my words, just as much as I had when I’d said them.
Chapter 26
“I’m happy your mom is coming early. What time does her flight get in today?” Erin asked from the passenger seat.
“Her flight arrives at BWI at noon,” I reminded her.
“And you arranged a car to pick her up? She’s not offended we can’t get her ourselves?”
“Relax, sunshine. Everything is taken care of. And, no, she isn’t upset.”
“All right. I’m just nervous.”
Last night after we’d made love and before we made dinner, I called my parents. My mom was thrilled Erin wanted to include her. Ten minutes into the conversation, she asked to speak to Erin and the two of them spent nearly an hour on the phone while I cooked. By the time I got the phone back, my mom was in tears declaring Erin was perfect. I hadn’t heard most of what was said, but Erin must’ve agreed to give my mother the twenty million grandchildren she desired. My dad wasn’t coming for another two weeks. After he’d retired it took less than a year of him being home with my mom all day for him to decide sitting still wasn’t for him. He’s a volunteer fireman. He needed to give the station notice to take him off rotation.
“I don’t see how that’s possible. You and my mom talked forever. She already loves you.”
“But what if she gets here and sees what a pain in the ass I really am?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, pulling into the parking garage.
“Come on, Colin. It’s not like I live a normal life. Between the paparazzi always around doing their best to catch me doing or saying something stupid or the secret service hovering, what if your mom gets annoyed or thinks I’m too much trouble?”
Once I had the car stopped, I took my seat belt off and turned to face Erin. “Look at me, sunshine.” Her worried eyes came to mine. “She’s not going to get annoyed, not with you. My mom is a pint-sized momma bear. The only thing we should be concerned about is her giving some intrusive photographer a piece of her mind.”
“Okay.”
I knew she didn’t believe me, but this was one of those times no amount of talking was going to convince her I was right. She needed to see it for herself. I knew my mom would welcome her into the family with open arms.
“I’m sorry we had to come into the office today. I wanted nothing more than to laze in bed with you all day.”
Memories of last night flooded my mind when her cheeks pinkened. The first time we made love will forever be seared onto my heart. Knowing what she gave me, that I was the only man who would ever have her was insanely gratifying. Watching her fall apart under me was something I’ll never forget. But it was the second time, after dinner, when she pushed me onto the bed and had her way with me. That was a thing of beauty. She was confident and vocal. Just like everything else in Erin’s life, when she wanted something, nothing stopped her. She took and took, and I was willingly at her mercy.
“I wish we never had to leave the house. We could stay in a bubble and forget the outside world. But I actually have a lot of work to do. And I should start looking for a job.”
“You have a job.”
“You realize I don’t draw a salary from the charity, right? I donate it back monthly.”
“Do you enjoy the work?”
“You know I do. I love it.”
“Then why would you stop?”
“Because I need to make money.”
I took a moment to choose my words carefully. But the longer it took to think of a nice way to say what needed to be said, the more I realized there was no such way.
“I’m just gonna say this, and it may make me sound like an asshole, but I am who I am, and there’s no use hiding it. I don’t need you to contribute financially. Even if you had the means and made more money than me, I still wouldn’t take it. This is not an ‘I’m a man, you’re a woman’ thing. This is me, I provide, I protect, I do anything and everything to give you what you want. That’s my job.”
“And what’s mine, Colin?”
“To love me and support me.”
“That’s not a job. Those things are easy, they’re a given. You’re my husband. Of course, I’ll love and support you.”
“It won’t be as easy as you think. I’m bossy and—”
“I know who you are, Colin. But I’d like to feel like I bring some sort of value to our marriage.”
“I want you to listen to me very carefully, sunshine. You depositing money into an account doesn’t mean jackshit to me. Me coming home to you after a shit day, means something. You giving me a soft place to fall when a missio
n has gone to hell, means something. Knowing you’re by my side, means something. Us being a team, and you loving me, means the world to me. There is no dollar amount on the value you bring to my life or our marriage. If you want to continue to work at the charity, do it. If you want to go back to school, do it. If you want to be the CEO of a fortune 500, I’ll stand by you. If you want to stay home and learn to paint, sunshine, I’ll hang every masterpiece you create on the walls. Whatever decision you make, needs to be because it’s what makes you happy and not based on money.”
“If you change your mind and need me to work, you’ll tell me?”
“I won’t.”
“Promise me you’ll tell me.”
I didn’t like how uneasy she looked sitting next to me worrying her bottom lip. I had money, plenty of it, but if the day came we needed more I’d work five jobs before she’d ever have to take a job she didn’t want.
“I promise.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “You ready to go in?”
“No. Not until you lean over here and give me a kiss.”
Erin’s smile grew, and my heart jumped. Damn, but I loved seeing her happy and knowing I made her face shine like it was now, even better.
“Is this a fax?” I asked Zane, chuckling as I read the old school cover sheet. “I haven’t seen one of these in years.”
I’d spent the last two hours going over the SITREPS Tex had put together. Yesterday, my gut told me we were missing something big. Today, after going over everything again, it was screaming at me. Warren was a douchebag, thankfully, a dead one. His role and motivation were clear. I could even understand Camio Telecomm’s interest in the Angel program being reinstated. They needed the information it gathered. Partly for the news outlet they’d purchased, but mostly for the contract money to stay in business. I’ve seen men do some fucked up shit for less.
What I couldn’t figure out was the connection between Greenwold and Warren, beyond the obvious. Warren had to have had something big to hold over the man to make him flip and go along with terrorizing Erin. There was nothing during his time with the NSA that would suggest he’d turn. His record was spotless, not even a hint or rumor of impropriety. Michael Greenwold was well liked and respected. What the hell had changed?
Rescuing Erin (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Red Team Book 5) Page 18
