by Desiree Holt
She had taken several pictures for an article on competitive shooting she wanted to pitch to her editor. At their request she’d made sure that all the shots of the four men were from behind so no one saw their faces.
“We smoked them.” Beau lifted his beer bottle. “Sent them down in flames.” He took a long drink of the cool liquid.
“All in all,” Slade observed, “a good day.”
Trey lit one of the cigars Slade handed out and blew a perfect smoke ring in the air. “No less than I expected of us. If they’d creamed us, we’d never get over the embarrassment.”
Everyone was silent for a moment, just enjoying the quiet of the evening and the companionship, the remains of a celebratory barbecue Teo had prepared scattered on the tables. Kari had wondered how they’d all mesh, but she found the other women delightful. They’d formed a cohesive cheering section and during any lull in activity discovered they had a lot of things in common.
This was the first chance she’d had to observe Slade’s team and to see how he interacted with his men. She knew about Special Forces. Those men were alert at all times, ready for anything, focused on their mission. But here they were so relaxed and easygoing.
While Beau might look like a candidate for the cover of Surfer Magazine, Slade had told her he was the team’s sniper and beneath that let’s–have-fun attitude she could easily see a man on the alert, never quite relaxed, always aware of what was around him. Always reading other people’s signals. Trey was Beau’s spotter. While not quite as laid-back on the surface as Beau, he still carried the same comfortable attitude, unruffled by anything. She could also tell they were very much into the women they’d hooked up with, but still with an invisible wall around them. She was sure that letting down their guard was something they’d all been trained not to do. It was definitely the rock in the road as far as Slade was concerned. She was convinced he’d meant it when he’d said he wanted something permanent, but up until now he’d believed the life he led got in the way of that.
The only one she couldn’t get a good read on was Marc. She was surprised he’d joined them for dinner, based on what Slade had told her. When he’d lingered over drinks with them after the meal, she’d wondered if maybe this woman he’d spent a little time with at the party had pushed the right button. She wasn’t surprised at him suddenly standing up, and his next words made her think she was right about the woman.
“How about if we clean up this mess? I, uh, need to make a phone call.”
Everyone stared at him.
Slade found his voice first. “Phone call?”
“Yeah.” Marc almost growled the word. He stacked dishes, scraping the leavings into an empty bowl, and carried the pile into the house. “My mama always told me, don’t walk in empty-handed.”
The others just stared at him, slack-jawed.
Trey cleared his throat. “Well, all right then.”
At that the rest of them gathered up the remaining debris and took it inside. With all of them pitching in, they made short work of it. They were just finishing up when Marc came back into the kitchen, holding his cell phone, and pulled a cold beer from the fridge. He nodded to everyone before heading back outside.
The men looked at one another.
Trey cleared his throat. “I’m going to take that as a positive sign.”
“Me too,” Slade added.
“I hate to say anything and jinx it,” Beau said.
They finished the last of the cleanup and quietly wandered off to their own rooms.
“I don’t know about you,” Slade said, stripping off his clothes, “but I need a shower.”
“I can get on board with that.” Kari drank in the sight of his naked body. He could have been created by a sculptor, his muscles were so well defined and his body so well shaped. She was so mesmerized watching him she forgot to take off her own clothes.
Slade chuckled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, but one of us is very overdressed.”
“Oh! Um, yes.” She gave herself a mental shake. “Coming right up.”
The look he slanted at her was positively wicked. “It sure is.”
Get with the program, Kari.
She tried not to think of the fact this was the last night they’d be together for who knew how long.
As much as she’d enjoyed herself today, she’d been gripped by a fine tension she couldn’t shake. Tomorrow morning the four men would pack up, Teo would ferry them to the airport and they’d be gone for an indefinite amount of time. Where would they go? What would they do? Whatever it was, she knew it would be one hundred percent dangerous. She did her best to push the thought out of her mind, determined to enjoy every minute together they had left. She stepped beneath the warm spray of the showerhead, hoping the water would wash away the anxiety.
Slade worked the soap into a thick lather in his hands and with slow strokes began to spread it on her body. But the moment his fingers touched her skin, he paused.
“A little uptight tonight, are we? Jesus, Kari, you’re tight as a drum.” He nipped her earlobe. “Let me help you relax. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.” He licked the spot where he’d placed his teeth. “Let’s pretend I’m just going off on a business trip.”
She chuffed a laugh. “Which you are, only it’s a very dangerous business. I know you haven’t said much about it and I know you can’t. But, Slade, I watch television and read news online. I don’t want anything to happen to you again when we’ve just reconnected.”
“I don’t want that either. And I’m going to do my fucking best to make sure nothing happens. Now let me help you relax. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.”
She did, letting his touch soothe her.
He coasted his hands over her, feeling the swell of each breast beneath his palms. He gave each nipple a light pinch, smiling at her little gasp, palming her breasts and lightly pinching her nipples. He stood so close she could feel the hot, hard length of his erection pressing against her. She reached down to wrap her fingers around it, but he gripped her wrist and tugged it away.
“Not yet.” The words were so low they had a guttural sound. “I’m too close to the edge. Damn, Kari. I wanted to take it slow and easy tonight, make it last. But it seems all I have to do is look at you and I’m ready to blow.”
The realization that she had that effect on the very powerful, very sexy man made her even hotter than she was. He continued to stroke her with a light caress of his hands, following her curves, tracing every dip and swell, slipping between the swollen lips of her pussy. The tip of a finger brushed the sensitive tip of her clit, creating spasms in her inner walls and sending heat shooting to every part of her body.
“Turn around.” He breathed the words in her ear even as he guided her body to face the tiled wall. “Brace yourself with your hands.”
The pulsing in all her hot spots intensified, vibrating everywhere. The soapy caress of his hands was arousing enough in itself, but when he slid his fingers lightly between the cheeks of her ass, tracing the hot crevice, she thought she might lose it.
“Feel good, darlin’?” he murmured.
“Yes,” she whispered. “So good.”
“I’m going to do this again, you know. Just like that night in Chicago. But this time I want to build up to it. Pick the right moment.”
A shiver raced through her. She’d never forget the hot, hard length of him sliding into that warm, dark tunnel, stretching her tissues and igniting nerves she didn’t even know she had. Her sex throbbed and her inner muscles clenched with the memory of the feel of him inside her there and the unbelievable orgasm it had ignited.
By the time he’d lathered every inch of her body, the tension had eased and she was relaxed and aroused at the same time. She turned around and reached for the soap.
“My turn.”
Running her soapy hands over that hard-muscled body was an incredible, erotic experience. She found his hard nipples beneath the swirls of dark hair
and scraped her nails over them, drawing a hissing breath from Slade. She had to kneel to lather his legs, drawing her fingers up the inside of his thighs. When she wrapped her fingers around his cock and squeezed, he again moved her hand.
“Darlin’, there’s nothing I’d like better than to feel those fingers everywhere, especially stroking my dick, but my self-control is about at its limit. Time to get out of the shower.”
He dried them off in record time, scooped her up and carried her to the bed. It took mere seconds for him to sheath himself.
“Real quiet,” he whispered as he positioned himself over her and spread her thighs. “So quiet we can hear each other breathe. That’s it, just like that.”
Placing the head of his cock at her opening, he then drove into her in one hard, swift motion.
“Oh.” The word drifted from her lips like a soft breeze.
“Ssh. Quiet, remember?” He pressed his mouth to hers, the kiss hot and hungry. He kept his lips there as he plunged in and out of her, thrusting hard, filling every inch of her.
Kari wound her legs around him, pressing her body upward to his and rocking with him in an erotic rhythm that sent heat to every pore of her skin.
They exploded quickly, satisfying a need that consumed them, the joining of their bodies a silent symbol of what this had become. Afterward they lay there, still locked together, hearts thundering, drawing air into starving lungs, straining together to catch the last of the aftershocks. At last Slade eased from the clasp of her body, disposed of the condom and curled himself around her.
“I’d planned for this to last a little longer,” he murmured. “I’ve figured out that I need a minimum of two orgasms with you, one to take the edge off and one to take it slow.” He nipped her shoulder. “You just do it for me, Kari.”
“Mmm.” She snuggled back against him. “Same goes here.”
“Sleep now, darlin’. When I’m in some hot, dirty place and haven’t had a bath in a week, I want to remember this.”
“’Kay.” She drifted off with his body imprinted on hers.
She woke with a start, aware something was wrong. Different. The room was dark, the clock on her nightstand reading four-thirty. She didn’t know what had woken her but something told her not to get out of bed. She pulled the covers tight around her and lay there, rigid, waiting.
There. She heard it again, a sibilant sound like the whisper of fabric against fabric. Another sound, like someone breathing. She waited, hardly daring to breathe herself.
Where was her phone? Where had she left the damn phone?
Fingers touched her leg and circled her ankle with a very light touch. The scream bubbling up inside her started to burst free and—
“No!” Kari sat up in bed, hands pushing against air as if to ward someone off.
Slade was awake beside her in an instant, smoothing his hand over her back in a reassuring gesture.
“Ssh, ssh, ssh. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
“He’s here.” She thought she was screaming the words, but they came out as no more than a whisper. “He touched me.”
With great care he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him, stroking her arm with a light caress of his fingers.
“It’s okay,” he repeated. “Easy now. I’ve got you.”
She blinked, hard, realizing where she was, the nightmare disappearing like smoke. But the desperate feeling of fear remained. She leaned into Slade’s embrace, taking comfort from his warm, hard body. He continued to murmur soothing sounds to her and caress her with reassuring strokes until she finally began to relax.
“I-I’m sorry.” She couldn’t look at him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for.” He dusted her forehead with soft kisses then brushed one lightly over her lips.
At last her heart stopped beating in such an erratic rhythm and her pulse stopped pounding like a trip hammer.
“C-Could I have some water?” She whispered the words.
“Right away.” He eased from the bed, making sure the covers were in place, then hurried back with a drink from the bathroom. “Here, darlin’. Have a drink.”
She gulped the first few swallows then sipped a little before handing the glass back to him. He set it on the nightstand and slid into bed beside her again.
“You want to tell me about it?” He cradled her against him, his eyes warm as he studied her face.
What was he thinking? she wondered. That he’s sorry he got involved with me? That he’d like to get out of this as fast as possible? That I’m one hundred percent nuts?
“Just so you know, I’m not crazy.” She hiccuped a laugh.
“Kari, we all have bad dreams. My team, the work we do? It’s the stuff of nightmares we battle all the time.”
That made her feel a little better.
“Remember I told you about the time I was sure someone was in my bedroom?”
“I do.”
“Well, I dreamed it.” She wet her lips. “Again.”
She waited for him to tell her she was nuts, but instead he brushed a kiss over her forehead.
“If I recall, that wasn’t your imagination. And it would certainly give anyone nightmares.”
“You must think I’m crazy.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
He cupped her chin and tilted up her face. “No. Not even one bit. I think someone is going out of their way to scare the shit out of you.”
“I’ve been so sure he didn’t follow me here. Or find me.”
“And you may be right. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it since you told me all this.”
“And? I just need to get my act together, right?”
“Not at all.” He reached over and turned on the light. “Kari, you have a real problem here. Imagination doesn’t leave flowers or make hang-up calls. I hate that I have to head out of here tomorrow with this dangling in the wind. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone either, so I did a couple of things. Try to understand that I’m used to planning missions and covering all bases. I hope you won’t be pissed off at me.”
“So, I’m what…a mission?” Kari accepted the fact that being in charge was part of who he was, but she hoped he hadn’t done something stupid in his effort to protect her.
He lifted one of her hands and kissed the knuckles. “I called your boss yesterday. I—”
“You did what?” She yanked her hand away. “What the hell, Slade?” What would Kip think of him sticking his nose in her personal business? “I thought we weren’t doing the heavy personal stuff.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t do whatever it takes to keep you safe while I’m away. And see? That’s another thing? I should be here with you, protecting you, finding out who this asshole it, not wallowing in jungle mud or fighting bad guys a continent away.”
“You don’t need this on your mind when you’re on an op.”
He grabbed her hand again. “Hang in here with me, Kari. You have a stalker who frightened you so much you moved hundreds of miles away. Right?”
“Yes. Okay.” A tiny shiver of fear skated over her skin as memories of the situation came back to her.
“And he may have found a way to trace you. Am I correct again?”
The sense of panic became more intense as she remembered the call from Ross.
“Yes.” She whispered the word, as if saying it so softly might make the reality disappear.
“I can’t be here for however long I’m gone and I can’t just leave you out there alone.”
Kari frowned. “What do you mean, alone? Is someone moving in with me?”
Slade barked a laugh. “Over my dead body. But there are other things I can do.”
“Like what?”
“Kip is going to make sure you’re with people at all times. Even when you walk to the courthouse, he’ll take care that you don’t walk alone.”
“Damn, Slade.” She jerked her hand away. “He can’t turn his office upside down just for me!”
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Slade shrugged and grabbed her hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“He says it won’t be a problem. And he agrees with me that you shouldn’t be alone where someone could make a grab for you.”
“Oh, my God!” Her stomach knotted at the thought. “You think he would?”
“If he’s that obsessed with you, we can’t eliminate any possibilities. Please don’t fight me on this, okay? I can’t handle a mission if I’m worried about you.”
That more than anything made her give in to what he wanted. If the man who didn’t do relationships, who focused completely on his team and his missions, might be distracted by what was happening, it was the best indication that what they had between them was more than a passing fad. And the last thing she wanted was to affect his ability to focus.
“Okay.” She blew out a breath. “I have to agree that it makes me feel more secure.”
“Good. I also want you to wear a new watch I got you. I was planning to give it to you in the morning before we leave.”
Kari raised her eyebrows. “A watch? I have a watch.”
“Not like this.” He reached into the nightstand drawer and took out a small box, which he handed her. “I picked it up Thursday before heading back to the ranch. Go on. Open it up.”
To Kari, there didn’t appear to be anything unusual about the watch. It had a wide face, the silver case encrusted with tiny jewels that she hoped were decorative glass or paste and not diamonds. The wide strap was a soft-looking white leather. She lifted it free and turned it over and over in her hands, frowning.
“It’s a beautiful watch, Slade, but I already have one. And this better not be diamonds on the case. I don’t want you spending that kind of money on me.”
He gave a soft chuckle. “Kari, I could buy you ten diamond watches, but I figured you’d give me a hard time. No, they’re fakes. But the watch has some important features.”
Kari wrinkled her forehead as she studied the piece of jewelry. “Like what?”
“Like the fact it has a GPS locator installed, so at any moment in time I can tell exactly where you are.” He held up a hand. “And don’t give me any shit about it. It will make me feel a lot better to know where you are, just in case.”
