At first Sokolov played it nonplussed. He leaned forward and grabbed his glass of vodka, taking a sip. “You didn’t enjoy your military service?” he asked eventually.
“Parts of it, no. Parts of it, yes. Not everything in life is palatable, but those seemed to be the things I was best at.”
Sokolov turned to look at him. “I think you and I may well end up getting along.”
Cabe smiled. “I think so too.”
“I’m going to a private room to play momentarily. The buy-in is one hundred thousand dollars. Would this in any way interest you, Mr. Moss?”
Excitement and adrenaline combined in Cabe’s gut, and he reveled in the sensation. “I think it would.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Ames,” Cabe said as he pushed the door open to her apartment. For a moment, she wondered why she’d told him to just let himself in with the key he’d held since the day he’d moved her suitcases, but deep down, she liked that she could almost pretend this was normal. That it was Friday night and he’d just finished work for the day and was racing home to see her.
She should have told him not to come when he’d texted her to say he was on his way. Her feelings for him grew every time she was around him. When she saw the good and fair man he was. When she witnessed his usually measured responses. It made sense that the safest way to survive the op in one piece was to spend as little time with him as possible, even though her heart hated the idea. But she’d wanted to tell him how her meeting with Woods and Sokolov had gone. About the apology she’d received. How she was still an employee of the Lucky Seven Casino. To explain the hint she’d given him before hitting the private rooms, where she’d made a killing in tips, even though she’d been distracted by Sokolov and Cabe in the room next door.
“I’ll be right there,” she said, hurrying to apply body lotion to her arms. She’d needed the shower, finding great comfort in taking the mask of the casino off at the end of the day. She might be Amy Reynard during the working hours, but at night, tucked up in bed, she wanted to sleep as Amy Murray. Once she was finished, she slipped the peach satin robe over her shoulders, allowing herself to luxuriate in the feel of it against her skin.
It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to wear while talking to Cabe, but a part of her hated that they were in this mess, and her robe was the closest she could get to the feel of his fingers against her skin.
She walked down the hall to find him sitting on the stool, his back pressed up against the kitchen island, one foot on the bar of the stool, the other flat on the floor. His arms were crossed against his chest, making the sinful lines of his biceps pop. But the one thing more spectacular than his arms tonight was his smile. “Woods made things right with you?” he asked, offering his hand.
She shouldn’t take it, but somehow, in the safety of the apartment that wasn’t even her own, she found it impossible to resist. As soon as their fingers met, he tugged her closer until her thighs were brushing his knees as he pulled her between them.
Amy nodded. “He did,” she said, finding it hard to focus on the question at hand instead of the way the heat of his legs burned through her thin satin robe. “He apologized, offered me a cash settlement if I wanted to leave, but invited me to stay because I was good for the casino.”
Cabe’s other hand landed on her waist, then slid down her hip until his fingertips grazed her butt. She could see the moment Cabe realized she wasn’t wearing anything under the robe, his eyes going wide and flipping to hers.
“Sokolov was pretty quiet while we played,” Cabe said, his fingers stroking her skin through her robe.
Her pulse began to race, and there was a telltale tightening between her thighs. Would he slip his hand beneath the silk and slide his finger between her already wet folds? “What did he say?” she asked, trying to keep her voice normal.
“Small stuff. Boring stuff about his businesses. Why he prefers Vegas. How he hates Atlantic City. Nothing big.”
Excitement raced through her. Would he slide the robe off her shoulders and suck her nipple into his mouth? “But you made contact with him, which is good. Right?” she asked, but the word “right” came out on a hitch. She coughed to clear her throat. “That’s … you know … when you appeared with him the night you handled Woods, I was convinced this was over, but you were right. It was a good thing.”
Cabe wrapped his arms around her. “I’m right about all kinds of things, Ames,” he said as their chests pressed up together. His fingers began to curl the hem of her robe higher and higher until it was skimming the bottom of her ass. Certainly he could feel how hot her body was becoming. Surely there was the telltale flush of her chest that always happened when she got aroused. There was no way he couldn’t tell what he was doing to her body.
God, she knew she should step out of his arms, but like Icarus, there was no way she could stay away from her sun. From him.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and allowed them to drift down his arms, along the fluid lines of his muscles, along the length of the veins that stood proud on his forearms. A sigh escaped, and she turned her eyes to him.
“I should leave,” Cabe said before allowing his lips to brush her cheek, the corner of her lips. The whisper of his touch made her shiver. “Cold, Ames?” he asked gruffly.
Amy turned her head a fraction so her lips lined up with his. “I don’t think I can wait any longer,” she whispered.
Cabe pressed his forehead against hers. “You know, I think I can stand waiting, but I don’t think I can handle another false start. Be certain this isn’t what that is, please. I know this is difficult for you, and I respect that. I just don’t want to feel the way I did the other day when you asked me to leave. I’d rather wait until you are certain. I need to know you want me, not just something.”
Was it what this was? Was it a whole bunch of adrenaline and excitement from the op turning around leaving her needy and desperate for something to take the edge off? Or did she need something only Cabe could give her? Would she regret her decision tomorrow?
Something this good couldn’t be fleeting. Not wanting to wait a moment longer to start their relationship, she placed her hands on either side of his face, his rough stubble tickling her palms. “It’s not a false start, Cabe. It’s so hard to resist this. I don’t know how to stop it any more than you do,” she said honestly.
All rational thought escaped her as Cabe’s hand slid beneath her robe and cupped her butt, pulling her tight up against him, his erection pressing against her hip bone. All thoughts of implications unraveled as quickly as the sash of her robe did. One tug, and she was under Cabe’s spell completely.
“Thank god for that,” Cabe said as he moved his lips to hers.
It felt so right to be in his arms, to feel his lips against hers, that her heart raced. She couldn’t close her eyes, didn’t want to look away from him for a moment. As his tongue gently met hers, she ran her fingers into his hair and smiled at his groan.
His hands slipped inside the folds of her robe, sliding the peach silk off her shoulders. “I was lost the moment I realized you weren’t wearing anything under this,” Cabe murmured against her lips.
Amy did smile then. “I was lost the moment you realized it. All I could think about was what you were going to do about it.”
“Did I do this in those thoughts of yours?” he asked, fulfilling her fantasy of him sucking her nipple into his mouth. His tongue circled and laved, and she pressed his head firmly against her. “Oh, god, yes,” she cried out.
Cabe released her breast with a pop. “I’d hate to be predictable,” he said with a grin. He slid the gown down her forearms and let it slither to the ground and pool by her feet. For a moment, he leaned back against the counter and studied her, his eyes taking a lazy journey down her body. Seconds ticked by as he held her gaze, then studied her lips, her shoulders, her breasts, down the flat of her stomach to the juncture of her thighs.
A part of her wanted to cover her body, to
shield it from him as nerves crept in. But under his gaze, she could feel her body come alive. Nerve endings she didn’t know she had vibrated in excitement without a single touch.
“We’re going slow, Ames,” he said, gruffly, his eyes finding her again. “I rushed getting to know you last time, but tonight, I’m going to learn everything there is.” He reached for her wrist and she struggled to respond, her mouth too dry. Cabe placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist before sliding his lips along her skin to the crease of her elbow. The move tickled, and she squirmed, earning a stern look from Cabe. And dear mother of god, if that didn’t turn her on even more.
She was a smart woman, but damn, the idea of him looking at her like a hungry man stared at a steak dinner definitely flipped her switch.
Cabe continued his journey up her arm, kissing her shoulder, her clavicle, the sweet spot behind her ear. “You smell like flowers,” he said as he pressed his lips to her neck.
Shouldn’t she have words? Shouldn’t she be a more active participant in this? But her legs were only just holding her up, and her brain had turned to mush. She should—
“Ames,” Cabe said, cupping her cheek gently. “Stop thinking. Stop worrying. You are perfect. I’m not here for the woman you think you should be. I’m here for the woman you are. Okay?”
A weight lifted from her chest, one that should never have been there. “This all just feels like … more. I don’t know how to describe it.”
Cabe took her hands and placed them on the buttons on his shirt, undoing the first one to indicate he wanted her to do the rest. “I think ‘more’ is a good word to describe us.”
Amy took over the buttons, undoing them one at a time, savoring the reveal of Cabe’s fine body. A dusting of hair on his chest, and abs for days … her favorite combination. She tugged the hem from inside his jeans and began to unbuckle his belt under his steady gaze. When she unzipped his jeans, her knuckles running along his hard length, Cabe let out a soft grunt. The tip of his head was visible above the waistband of his navy boxer briefs.
Copying Cabe’s actions, she took his hand and kissed the inside of his wrist, making her way up to his neck. But instead of moving to his lips, she made her way down the lines of his chest, across his defined pecs, down the ridge between his abs, smiling as they flexed beneath her, until her lips hovered an inch from his erection. It glistened, his arousal as obvious as her own.
Her eyes moved to his, holding the anticipation for a moment before running her tongue along his tip. She didn’t touch him with her hands, didn’t move his briefs to reveal more of him. She simply ran her tongue along the narrow band of flesh that had been revealed.
She heard Cabe’s fist hit the counter. “Goddamn, Ames. I already liked that mouth of yours…”
“Well, if you want more of it, you’d better follow me,” she said as she headed toward the bedroom.
* * *
He wasn’t sure which part of her was going to be the death of him. The ass currently sashaying away from him? The eyes currently looking over her shoulder to see if he followed? Or the mouth that had just nearly rocked his world in 2.3 seconds? Either way, he was going to die a happy man.
He gave himself a second before he stood to follow her, not because he couldn’t wait to bury himself deep inside her, but because if he did, right now, after that perfect tongue had circled his dick all of four times, it’d be over faster than the time it took to go from zero to a hundred in his truck—6.3 seconds to be precise.
Amy turned into the bedroom, and Cabe took the time to kick off his boots and socks, pull off his shirt, and remove his belt. His mind was full of all the things he wanted to do to her, all the ways he wanted to experience this with her.
Barefoot, he walked to her room. When he got there, she was on the bed, lying on top of the duvet. He was relieved to see she hadn’t covered herself. The still-damp hair from her shower that had been up in a messy bun when he arrived was now down. “You ready for this, Ames?” he said, pulling a condom out of his wallet and throwing both items down on the bedside table.
“‘Ready’ doesn’t begin to describe how I feel right now,” she replied, her voice husky. She opened her legs slightly and slid her hand between them, her fingers exploring the places he wanted to be, her actions surprising the hell out of him.
Watching as she teased him, he slid his jeans and briefs down and kicked them off before crawling onto the bed between her thighs, pushing them wider. “That’s really fucking hot, but for the rest of tonight, this pussy is mine,” he said as he lifted her hand, sucking her fingers into his mouth. She tasted like heaven. Sweet. Tangy.
“Cabe,” she said, her eyes searching his. “I know you said slow, and explore, and I am so down with all that—eventually. But really, right now, I need you inside me. Can we do slow later?”
Cabe grinned and reached for the condom, sheathing himself. “Ames, we can do whatever you want.” He moved back a little and flipped her over. Amy squealed and then giggled, turning to look over her shoulder at him. Cabe couldn’t help but grin. This was the view that had been occupying his thoughts in the early hours of the morning. The curve of her ass, the flawless straight line of her back, all that hair available for him to grab a fistful. He ran a trail of kisses up her spine until he reached her ear. “I’m going to fuck you now, Ames. You might want to hold on to that headboard.”
Placing his knees either side of her thighs, he ran his hands over her ass, the perfect handful of smooth skin. Slowly, he ran a finger down the crack between her cheeks, farther until he could feel her wet heat. Using his other hand, he eased his cock toward her and, biting a gasp when he reached her entrance, pushed inside. In this position, she was so tight and so wet. He had no chance in hell of making it last. All he could hope for was that she was as ready for him as she had said. That she was as close to exploding as he was.
“Oh my … yes,” Amy groaned, pressing her face into her pillow and raising her ass off the bed an inch or two, just enough to give him the room he needed to sink deep inside.
This time they both groaned, and Cabe had a strange feeling wash over him. He couldn’t pin it down, but in Amy’s words, it felt like … more.
More than sex, more than just any woman, more than temporary.
Just “more.”
Cabe began to move, looking down at the place where he could watch himself stretch her, watch how his cock was becoming covered with her juices, watch the way goose bumps began to cover her skin. And damn, if that didn’t make him harder, make him needier. He leaned forward, covering her with his body. He fisted a handful of her hair, and Amy turned to look at him, her eyes wide.
God, had he ever felt this connected? This in someone, and not just physically, but emotionally? She didn’t speak, just gasped, those perfect lips in an equally perfect O. Yet he could swear her heard her. Begging him to take her, telling him how good she felt. And he hoped she could hear him too. Hear that this was everything. That this was “more.”
Amy moved beneath him, though he had her pinned between his legs, underneath his chest. The feeling of dominating her was dwarfed by the feeling that she was dominating him in every way there was.
“Cabe,” she whispered, those eyes of hers telling him everything he needed to know. She was there, right there with him. Her body told him the rest, the way she tightened around his cock in a way that just drove him crazy. A way that jacked him so hard and fast, he was about to fall over the edge.
But not without her.
The moment was too perfect to experience it alone.
He slid his hand beneath her, and finding her clit, already wet with her own excitement, began to circle it.
Amy cried out. The gasp was so pure and raw that he groaned in response. He pressed his lips to hers, connected in every way possible, and pounded into her. He rode her hard, desperately, his body giving name to the emotions building up inside him.
Cabe felt it the moment Amy began to come. Her body lost its rhyt
hm as she tightened around him, squeezing him so hard it felt as though an electric current was flowing straight down his spine.
“Cabe,” she whispered, as if that was all she had the energy for, and he thundered over the edge with her.
Gasping, he kept his weight on his hands and his lips to her temple. His dick pulsed in the moments after release, aftershocks of pleasure as his body stood down from what had been the best sex of his life.
He kissed the back of Amy’s neck in the silence that existed just beyond their heavy breathing.
Her hand slid down from the headboard and gripped his. He opened his hands and let their fingers join. It was a simple action, but in the half light of the bedroom, it was almost more intimate than what they’d just shared.
Cabe slid out of her and rolled onto his side so he faced her. Her features were soft, sweet. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers.
“That was definitely more,” she whispered.
He placed his arm across her waist. “Can’t argue with that, Ames.” She had a small scar under her chin, he noticed, and wondered what the story behind it was. Was it from work, or had she always had a risky streak and gotten it as a six-year-old?
Amy reached out and ran a finger along his jaw. It tickled, making him smile. “The day I saw you at the FBI office, you said you’d left the bar for a reason. A long story, you said. Can you tell me why?”
Cabe’s heart jolted as memories of Jess flooded in. But the shame he usually felt when he thought about her after sleeping with another woman wasn’t there. It felt unfair to discuss another woman while in Amy’s bed, but she’d asked. And he owed her an answer. He stalled for a moment, removing the condom and tying it up before dropping it on the floor.
“Two years ago, my fiancée was killed in action,” he said, waiting for the sting of loss that usually hit when he told the story of Jess. Tonight it didn’t come.
Amy eyes went wide and shined with unshed tears. “Oh, Cabe. I’m so sorry.”
Deep Cover--A Love Over Duty Novel Page 19
