For All to See (Bureau Series Book 1)

by Megan Mitcham

  “Tears dry and mascara washes. No worries.”

  She looked past him onto the horizon. Pink and yellow hues framed her beautiful, splotchy face. “Is it okay if we stay here tonight? I’m not ready to leave.”

  “I don’t suppose anyone can sneak up on us out here. I’ll let Dick know. But what are we going to eat? I’m starving.”

  “I’m shocked.” She smiled and stood. “I happen to keep a stocked freezer and fridge for my overnight excursions. How’s grilled cassava and white fish with grilled pineapple for dessert?”

  “Too good to be true. I’ll get the grill going.”

  They prepped, grilled, and ate in the serenity of the ocean. Madelyn took the plates below and swatted his hand for trying to help. He guessed she needed something to keep her busy.

  Nathan sampled his beer and glared at the final scrap of daylight. He had always had careful rule over his emotions. But now—with her life in danger and the killer free because of a technicality—he couldn't seem to rein them. And different scenarios of him taking the law into his own hands and ending Adrian Tau’s life seduced him.

  “What’s wrong?” Madelyn stood paralyzed half in and half out of the main hatch. Fear widened eyes overtook her face, which turned ghostly white.

  He turned his head in search of the cause of her concern. His rage transformed into self-loathing. She was scared of him.

  42

  Madelyn wouldn’t say she was scared of Nathan in that moment. Wary was what she’d call it, for her own comfort. She’d never seen his emotions turn so quickly or so brutally. Even without a word or a movement she could see that he was a mortal threat to any adversary.

  Scared or not she had to know what caused the shift. Mustering up an ounce of courage she spoke, “What’s wrong?”

  In a near-snarl he discharged his fear. “He’s out there. He’s getting ready to carry out his plan, for you, and the only thing I can do is wait.” His expression did not change as he continued. “It’s fast approaching. Whatever his plan is…he’ll do it soon.”

  Her fear was gone. His concern was real. He only hid it better than she did. Quickly, she ended the distance between them.

  “It will be fine. You and your team will stop him.” Then you can go back to your life and leave me in pieces.

  Nathan cussed under his breath. He pulled her close and tilted her chin up until their gazes met. His hand caressed the length of her face. “If anything happens to you... I don’t know what I would do.”

  Madelyn struggled to lighten the mood. His care and concern made her love him. It hurt like a mother, too. “Look, your work here will be done soon. You’ll be done with me one way or the other. And you’ll go back to Miami and get on with your life.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Then let me hold you while I can.”

  She dove into him and curled into the safety of his arms. The sun fell off the earth and darkness corrupted the exquisite beauty. The stars sparkled like glitter in the sky. Madelyn nudged the crook of his neck with her nose.

  The whiskers of his day-old beard grazed the skin of her forehead. The bulge of his deltoid nudged the back of her neck. The scent of him washed over her fears and distress.

  Her worries melted into desire. Yearning heat pooled in her mouth. She remembered his taste. It moved down, slowly simmering in her chest. Her breasts swelled to fine points. Lower still, it shifted, resting in the juncture of her thighs. And suddenly it wouldn't be contained.

  She took Nathan’s hand and led him down the ladder stairs of the galley. Before his feet hit the solid wood floor she lunged, attacking his mouth with hers. She pinned him against the wooden steps.

  Nathan ignited her passion and now he’d have to deal with the consequences. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she wouldn’t allow it. She clasped his hands, shoved them over his head, and held them there. Their tongues battled.

  Her lips explored his lips, his jaw line, the muscular ridges of his neck. She had to pace herself and make the most of the time she had with him. In an act of sheer will and determination, she planted her hands on his concrete chest and peeled herself off. Stepping back a few feet, she flashed him a devilish grin.

  Madelyn slipped her fingers into the edge of her shorts. Inch by inch, she worked the material down. Her hands run over her hips and back, and then over her ample cheeks. As she reached the curves of her thighs gravity did the rest. Nathan’s gaze scoured her body.

  She pressed her palms close to the silky skin above her breasts and pushed them over the cliffs of her shoulders. Madelyn savored his hungry eyes and took her time coasting the material down the length of her body. Bare and burning with desire, she stepped toward him.

  Her fingers inched under his shirt, and then glided over his rippled abdomen. She reached the ridge of his chest and pressed on, moving over the plateau and around the back to the muscles of his shoulders. She lifted the shirt up over his head. Her covetous eyes roved his dips and plane, and then snagged on his grin.

  “You like that?”

  “I like that you’re not afraid of your own sexuality. Or mine.” He grabbed the top of the railing and his biceps flexed.

  “Mine can be fun, but I like yours better”

  Madelyn curled her fingers into the edge of his jeans, and then released the button and zipper blocking her progress. She slipped her hand down his body. His erection filled her palm. Satin skin caressed her fingers. She stroked his steely length and massaged his tip, enjoying the feel of him for a while.

  A deep groan rumbled in his throat and pushed her over the edge. Her restraint snapped. All she wanted was to feel him inside her and all over her.

  With a yank his pants hit the floor. She climbed the ladder until the head of his dick lined up with her greedy flesh. Her thighs clamped around his torso. She arched back in search of his slick head, but found herself hoisted into the air. Her arms flailed. Then a sexy-as-sin view of his ass cheeks—dimples and all—filled her view.

  Nathan moved through the cabin into the bedroom. He tossed her onto the fluffy white linens. “You’ve had your fun. Now it’s my turn.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Fuck yeah. Look in your bag.”

  Madelyn’s heart zipped across her chest. She kept him in sight while she leaned to the shelf that ran the perimeter of the queen sized bed. Her zipper yawned and a slender black case came into view. Her heart ran circles until it got dizzy and fell over.

  “I’ve never used my toys in front of anyone.”

  “Don’t worry.” He plucked the case from her bag and evicted her Crave Duet. “You won’t be using it. I’ll be using it on you.”

  He braced a knee on the mattress and prowled toward her like a wolf. Her insides quivered. When he yanked her by the knees she shrieked and giggled. His thighs brushed the insides of hers.

  “You had a first with me. It’s only fair I get to have a first with you.”

  He held the silver end of the sleek device between his thumb and forefinger. Slowly he turned it this way and that, examining the narrow silicone prongs.

  “You’re taunting me.”

  “And you like it.”

  Boy did she. Her body tingled. The anticipation and his sadistic grin curled her toes.

  He pressed the on button. “Now, where to put this?”

  He settled the long, smooth edge at the bend of her knee. The whispered touch tickled, but still sent an easy course of need snapping up her leg. She rustled them against his firm, hairy legs. His eyes narrowed. His hand drifted, dragging the low vibration over her skin to just above her kneecap.

  The brunt of his lightly-haired chest pressed her into the mattress. His mouth clamped onto her nipple. She arched into him. The vibration rose up her leg.

  “Yes. Oh, Nathan. Yes.”

  A pop filled the room as he released her breast. “Hmmm, maybe it goes here?” He dragged the tip over her chest, in the valley, and then across her mound. The two prongs pressed in on either side of her d
istended nipple. Pleasure rippled through her body. She moaned shamelessly.

  He depressed a button on the other end and the pulse zipped to life. “Forgive me, but it’s my first time.”

  “Right,” she panted.

  “Really, it is.” He grinned and flicked her other nipple with his rough fingers. “Your collection had so much to choose from. I almost went with the small pointy things, but there were a few different sizes and I didn’t want them to get lost.”

  Her face heated about ten degrees. He’d found her plugs. Nathan slid the edge of the vibrator along her abdomen, and then flirted with the rim of her belly button. Her stomach danced.

  “Let’s face it, I know just what to do with your phallic shaped tools. But this one…” He pointed the end up like he could stab her with the fork end and ran the barest tip over the flushed lips of her pussy. Her head fell back onto the pillowed cover. She cried out through a wide mouth.

  When she was alone, this device got the job done sweetly, given a bit of time. With Nathan in the driver’s seat it rushed her to the precipice of orgasm before it had even touched her clit.

  “Yep,” he groaned against her ear. “This one is a mystery to me.” He kissed her lobe, and then sat up. His knees parted her legs and he kneeled between them. With firm hands, he spread her.

  The jut of his cock rose between her stretched legs. She pushed her hips off the bed to slick him with her wetness, to taunt him like he taunted her, but he only extorted her exposed flesh. The full length of the flat side zapped the top of her mons, and then expertly pushed down. He trapped her erect clit between the soft prongs. Her nerve ending sizzled and snapped.

  “So, I’ll just have to see what I can figure out,” he growled.

  Madelyn gripped the covers and braced for the impending orgasm. Her eyes closed against the onslaught of pleasure. So close. She rose higher and higher. The vibrations died. Her eyes popped open.

  “I found the off switch.” A smirk corrupted his face. “But don’t worry. I’m not done with you.”

  “I hope you’re never done with me.” She whimpered, but Nathan cut it off with the head of his dick. He swirled his bare silk in her cream. His smooth tip titillated. Her hips undulated, needing more.

  Nathan’s playfulness fell away, leaving him as exposed as she’d ever seen him. A crazy mixture of joy, fear, elation, and terror shown brightly on his features. She’d seen that look before, on her own face, when she thought about how much she loved him.

  No. The pheromones and hormones and Nathan’s sexy body beguiled her intellect. Madelyn closed her eyes. She tried to focus on the here and now, on his touch, on his attention. Tomorrow didn’t matter.

  “Madelyn, I’ll never be done with you.”

  Her heart caught, but she didn’t open her eyes. If she did and this turned out to be a dream, she’d cry.

  The head of his cock pressed inside her. She blinked him into view. His eyes were trained on her. They had more impact than a fatal gunshot. He held her gaze and pushed in the barest inch.

  “Nathan,” she gasped, “you forgot…” She tried to ease back and reach for her purse that held a full box of condoms.

  His hands barred her hips and her escape. “I don’t forget things like that.”

  She levered onto her elbows thinking she’d missed him rolling one on, but found his beautiful dick unsheathed, except for the bit nestled inside her body.

  “Tell me you don’t love me, that you don’t want this—us—to be more, and I’ll stop. I’ll put on a condom and finish what I started.”

  “I can’t,” she breathed.

  “Why not? It is because it feels too damn goo—“

  “Because I love you,” she blurted. “Because I can’t bear the thought of you leaving. Because I see a future with you, a future I never knew I wanted.”

  So this was what jumping out of an airplane felt like. The rush mingled with fear, but the freedom overpowered it all. No matter what happened, she couldn’t regret this.

  Nathan dropped the vibrator, leaned forward, and rested his forehead against hers. “I—”

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t say anything. I know it doesn't change anything for you. I didn’t even mean to say it, but… It’s how I feel. No matter what, I’m happy to know I can feel this way.”

  His dimple creased on unspoken words.

  Madelyn’s throat constricted. She wanted to hear him say he loved her more than anything. But she didn’t want to persuade it out of him. Or worse, she didn’t want to hear him let her off easily. Her feelings were out in the universe. What he did with them was his business.

  The brush of his lips over her eased the pain. His big palms cupped her face and she met his kiss with a tenderness that matched what he gave. Pressure of his teeth on her lower lip escalated the contact. He arched her head back and grazed his bite over her chin. She undulated beneath him.

  He rocked into her, pressing in and withdrawing with maddening patience. His hands locked around the back of her shoulders. Trapped beneath anyone else, panic would have seized her. Being trapped by Nathan’s sinewy body zinged her clit more than the vibrator could.

  She held fast to the bulge of his lats and let everything else go. The head of his dick kneaded her G spot. His width pressed into her already sensitive flesh. He ground her tender nub with each drive. But the barely fastened restraint tensing his muscles and the look of awe in his deep eyes set her free.

  Her scream ricocheted off the walls. His shout followed. But not from his climax. No, he unleashed his control. His pace ramped. His force doubled.

  “Fuck, Madelyn, I never thought I wanted to hear those words, but out of your mouth… You’ve unhinged me.”

  A fine sheen of sweat slicked his body. Madelyn braced her heels on his hard bottom and joined in the furor of their passion.

  Sweat dripped off his chin and onto her breasts. She surged against him over and over. The quiver of orgasm started in her toes. It shot up her legs and sang to every extremity. She cried out.

  Nathan pulled out and fisted his red cock. His neck strained. Awareness glazed with lust. He came hot on her belly and breasts. When he finished she pulled him down atop her, wanting him close forever.

  43

  The sweat beaded and dripped off of their bodies. Their lungs heaved air in and out. They moved together in steady rhythm.

  “I can’t believe you have the stamina for this after last night,” Nathan said.

  “If you can’t handle it, just say the word and we can stop.” Madelyn giggled and picked up the pace.

  A playful sting licked her bottom. She yelped. Then Nathan blew past her with that devious smile curving his cheeks. His long legs ate of the wet sand. Madelyn dodged the froth of a receding wave, and then—like a true sap—stretched her stride so her feet landed in the imprint of his tennis shoes.

  Deacon galloped alongside her. A comforting sense of normalcy lightened her steps. “We’ll be all right won’t we, bud?”

  He barked in answer and she took it as a, “Hell yes.”

  “Good,” she breathed.

  Before long the gym came into view. It struck her with all the heft of one of her stepfather’s fists. Her feet ground to a halt in the middle of the street. She rubbed a hand over her chest. Not so normal. Nichole wouldn’t be there.

  Nathan skidded to a stop and hurried to her side. “Hey, if you’re not ready, we can go back or just run. Though, I vote for going back. I really want to try those beads on yo—”

  She shoved his shoulder, but his tactic worked. A grin toyed with her mouth. He could have reiterated all the reasons he thought this gym excursion was a bad idea, which he’d done in earnest all morning. Instead, he helped soothe the ache. “You’re going to run out of playthings by tomorrow, if you keep it up.”

  “No way, the internet is an amazing place.” He winked and grabbed her hand. “So, what do you say?”

  Madel
yn turned his hand and spread out his fingers. She brushed her thumb over the rough bumps, and then placed a kiss in the center of his palm. “If I don’t go now, it’ll only get harder, and I won’t let him rule my life like that. So, let’s go work out.”

  He made a ridiculous version of a duck face.

  “Then,” she added, “when we take a shower, I’ll do that thing you like so much.”

  “I’ll follow you anywhere, sex goddess.”

  “Come on.” She entered the gym with a smile on her face.

  “Madelyn.” Amadi stood from the pretzel of a meditative position with grace a man his size shouldn’t possess. He crossed to her and bowed. “I’m happy to have you back.”

  “I’m glad to be here.” She bowed.

  “Nathan.” Amadi stuck out his hand. “Glad to see you’re alive. I though Madelyn would take you out the other night.”

  Her lover chuckled and slid her those devious eyes. A surge of embarrassment crept up her face because she could just hear him say, ‘The other night? She nearly killed me last night.’ Thankfully, he just shook Amadi’s hand.

  “So, are you going to get in the ring or take it easy today?” her coach asked.

  “Y’all get started. I’m going to take a look around,” Nathan said.

  “He’s not going to show his face around here,” Madelyn protested.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he answered.

  “Here’s the key.” Amadi tossed a small key ring to Nathan. “You can lock the back door, if that will help.”

  “I will. Thanks. Any other doors besides the front?” Nathan shoved the key into his pocket and she caught sight of the gun strapped to his waist.

  “No.” Amadi said.

  “All right.” Nathan looked at her. “I want you sweaty by the time I get back.” He winked, and then headed toward the back of the building. When her gaze finally left Nathan’s backside she looked at Amadi. One of his brows quirked toward the rafters.

  “Not a word from you,” she warned.