Undercover Lovers

by Chloe Cole

  “You still haven’t said why you had to.” He didn’t care how many deflections she threw out there or how pissed he was that she might actually be telling the truth now, after all this wasted time. He could play being calm better than most, especially knowing every second of that calm was keeping her off balance enough to stop lying to him. No matter what, he wasn’t letting her get away without answers. It had been more than a year of this. He deserved them and he damn well better get them.

  “Shana.” Trina began shrugging out of her coat, her coordination about as good as a three day old kitten’s.

  Impatient, Cade helped her push her jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the cushions behind her. Next he moved to the hem of her snug T-shirt. “She’s off with that Daniel guy you trust so much.”

  “Daniel is my former partner.” The knowing curve to her lips only partially soothed him. “I trust him with my life, not my body.”

  Which didn’t say anything about her heart, did it?

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like him. What does Carter’s wife have to do with anything?”

  “Shows what you know. Carter never married her, just told everyone that was her name. Once she became known as his property, no one was going to help her if she wanted to get away from him.” Trina bit back a hiss at lifting her arms to peel the shirt over her head. Her bra, a pretty blue cottony thing, seemed more functional than flirtatious. The straps angled behind her neck instead of looping over her shoulders. Probably best for carrying packs while on her bike. He wondered if the panties matched. Peek-a-Blue could be a wickedly satisfying game for the evening.

  “No one but you.”

  “And you,” she sighed. “You saved her life, Cade.”

  “I just drove her to a rendezvous point.” Because he’d trusted Trina when she’d shown him the bruised woman and young boy hiding in her bedroom closet.

  He was supposed to get Shana to file a report. To get her protection through the town’s services. Medical care. But then Trina reminded him of what he already knew. Shana couldn’t press charges. Nothing would happen and when Carter got his hands on her again, she wouldn’t come out of it alive. Carter didn’t abide betrayal, especially from women. So when Trina said she knew another way to get the woman to safety, he’d looked into those battered faces and made the decision to do whatever they needed, not what he was legally required to do. It wasn’t a decision he regretted.

  “She took something with her. Insurance, I guess, in case Frank found her. He’s desperate to find it, whatever it is and he’s been turning his informants inside out to find where she went. Someone in your department must have cracked.” Trina’s disgust gave way to her sigh of relief to have the constricting clothing off. In just her bra, she sank against the hard, coarse cushions as if they were silk pillows. Dark bruises marred her upper arms, clearly caused by the grip of men’s hands and smears of tiny blood vessels crushed under heavy pressure. An array of contusions spread over her ribs and chest, scratches lined the side of her neck. His gaze tracked one injury to the next, all the way down to her red, swollen knuckles, where purplish marks had begun to form on the scuffed joints. She’d put up the fight of her life tonight.

  And he hadn’t been there to help her.

  Fire licked in his belly. Rage ignited, like a dragon waking in the depths of him, sizzling away any doubts about her story or what had to be done.

  “Who?” He’d snap the necks of every single one of those malignant bastards. Every. Single. One.

  Heavy lashes lifted and her blue eyes peered at him from beneath them. She seemed to be taking in his rigid posture or maybe she could just feel the homicidal waves rolling off him. “Cade?”

  “Tell me who did this to you.”

  She sat up again, elbows on her knees. “Look at me.”

  “I am.” And seeing more and more reasons to simply end the bastards down the mountain.

  Her hands rose to cup his jaw, squaring her face right in his line of vision. “Look here. Look in my eyes. I’m here. I’m fine.”

  “You’re not—”

  “I’m fine. I’m alive and believe me, I gave as good as I got, if not better. You don’t need to go kill anyone.”

  “I’m not killing anyone. I’m just going to shoot them all several times each. If they die, that’s their fault.”

  Her lips quirked. “Not sure you’ll get that one past a court of law.”

  “Good thing they’ll never know about it then.” Frank Carter would disappear and all his men with him. No one on earth would miss them, either.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” She let him go, her hands fumbling between her breasts for half a second before the straining blue material popped open and she peeled it away like a flasher in Central Park.

  His brain stopped short.

  Full, round globes, just the right size for his hands, each one topped by pale pink tips, completely derailed his processes.

  Kill!

  No, Touch.

  Track them down.

  God, no, taste her.

  Take her.

  Take her.

  Take, take, take, take.

  “Now that we have that settled,” she growled, pulling the fabric closed again and grabbing for the shirt he’d dropped in his haste to reach for her. “Gimme the goddamn shirt.”

  Damn it, his hands were empty, his fucking sweatpants were strangling him and those fabulous breasts were covered under the folds of his own shirt. He glared at her. “That was cruel.”

  She smirked as she tightened her hold on the crisp cotton. “My tits, my rules.”

  Well, they’d just see what she said when she found out her ass belonged to him.

  “You ready to be rational about this?”

  “No.”

  She dragged her hands through that thick mane of hair. “Damn it, Cade—”

  “Fine. I’ll be rational.” But he wasn’t going to promise for how long.

  “No, you won’t. I can see it all over your face. I need you with me right now.” She reached down, undoing the button on her leather pants while her feet toed off her boots. After kicking them away, she stood, her hips lining right up with his face. The zipper came down too and with a few quick shimmies of her hips, so did her pants.

  Yup, the panties matched.

  What little of them there was. Blue cotton swathed between strong thighs, cupping the flesh he could almost taste. It connected to a string at the top that wrapped delicately around her hips, dipping slightly beneath the faint rise of her belly. He’d licked her there before. Sucked her flesh like ripe fruit all the way up to her breasts, her throat, her jaw.

  He looked up at her when she put her hand on his shoulder to maintain her balance as she kicked off the pants and stared down at him. Was it his imagination or did she sway toward him, the mound of her sex nearly brushing his lips?

  “I take it back. You’re not cruel. You’re evil.”

  “Of course I am.” Her wide grin was back, self-satisfied and tempting as hell. Why did this woman consider things like that a compliment? “I also taste like ripe strawberries, but you’re not interested in another taste, remember?”

  “No.” He rumbled the word slowly, his hand sliding up those long, long legs to grasp her hips, holding them right where he wanted. His thumbs hooked under the string waistband. It’d be so easy to snap them right off her. Or brush that scrap of fabric to the side and reacquaint her with the swirling strokes of his tongue over her clit. Between the dewy folds of her sweet sex. He knew the taste of her better than any flavor in the world. Some nights he swore he’d give anything to have her flavor in his mouth again. “You taste like honey. Dark, earthy honey.”

  A rich and heady flavor he’d remember for the rest of his life. The cream had been so abundant he got to lick it over and over again. Addictive enough that she’d had to pry him off after her third orgasm because he couldn’t get enough of her.

  He heard her shaky intake of breath. “I thought you didn
’t want to have sex with me anymore.”

  “Honey, all I ever want is to have sex with you.” He hadn’t let himself touch her again after their single, explosive encounter. Didn’t want to fall down that rabbit hole. Didn’t want to love her and lose her or lose the few pieces of himself he had left. But he’d lost her anyway and nothing else had mattered since.

  He guided her back into a sitting position on the couch. She was just confused enough not to argue with him. He couldn’t take his hands off her bare legs, though, smoothing them up and down her thighs, cupping the back of her knees before sliding back up. “Tell me what you’re going to tell me, Tee. Before I decide not to give a shit about anything but having you.”

  She should have pushed him away. She should have smacked him upside the head. Part of him hoped she would. If she’d done anything but what she did do, he might have had a prayer of coming out of this without breaking his own resolve.

  Instead, she licked her lips.

  And smiled.

  Chapter Four

  So that was what it sounded like when iron snapped in two.

  Trina gasped as Cade’s grip on the back of her knees tightened, the none-too-subtle yank on her body dragging her flush against his hips. But it was his almost roar that had her shuddering, her thighs opening to press herself that much closer to him. As soon as she felt the heat from his heavy erection against her through the thick fabric of his sweats, it was game over. Her legs clamped around him, unwilling to let him go. His mouth settled over hers, his tongue sliding between her parted lips, strangely gentle though still urgent. Her hands found his shoulders, one sliding up his nape to the thick, too long swirls of his hair. Kneading fingers enveloped her hips, tilting her against his cock, both of them moaning when they found the perfect angle. Her clit throbbed, wanting more.

  A second later, she was gasping for another reason. Hands under her ass, he lifted her as if she were made of air, stalking to the bed and grumbling the whole way.

  “Twenty minutes. I couldn’t last twenty damn minutes.”

  “Oh, baby, I’m sure you’ll last longer than that.” He’d ridden her for what felt like hours during that quickie on top of his car.

  “What? No, twenty minutes is as long as I could make it alone in a room with you before attacking you.” And that realization wasn’t slowing him down at all. Next thing she knew, her back was on soft sheets, her head on a soft pillow and his hands were already pulling her panties off like they were on fire.

  “Oh, hell, I’ve been trying to work out a way to fuck you blind since the last time. Why do you think I always keep condoms in my pockets? Ohmygod—”

  His gruff response was muffled by her...well, muff, if she was being honest. She made an indelicate noise, a cross between a giggle and holy shit! His huge hands had her legs not just open, but lifted until her knees were grazing the sheets every time she took a breath. His hot tongue lapped at her entrance, working slowly up to where her clit gave up throbbing his name in Morse code and instead now just blared its desperation to be touched. He must have heard it, too, because within seconds he wrapped his lips around it and sucked.

  She may have screamed.

  He definitely growled.

  Two of his fingers slid into her suddenly, stroking hard and fast in time with the flicks of his tongue and that was all it took. Her vision went white, her whole body arced like a bow and kaboom, she was shuddering, crying out for him like a well-trained pet.

  He eased her down, soothing her with savoring strokes of his tongue, using that circular soothing rub of his across the lowest part of her belly while she tried to breathe like a human being again.

  Damn it, she’d never come that fast in her life. She looked down at the man who didn’t have the decency to take his tongue out of her pussy before giving her a self-satisfied smile. She could practically hear him asking, Who’s evil now, huh?

  Oh, absolutely him. One orgasm and the edge of his hunger seemed to be satisfied. It wasn’t even his orgasm. Still panting, she had to grin to herself. Put the man in a life-threatening situation or drop him in a comedy club and nothing cracked his stoicism or reserve. Get him between her legs, however, and he turned into the commanding but patient, charming, impossible-to-resist lover she’d known was under there all the time.

  Giving her a long slow lick that seemed to roll her eyes up at exactly the same speed, he finally rested his chin on her smooth mound, his eyes glittering in the low light. “Tastes like you missed me. A lot.”

  Too much, but she wasn’t telling him that. “Not really. The washing machine at my place has an amazing spin cycle.”

  His eyes narrowed and she suddenly remembered he still had two fingers wedged deep inside her. The reminder was hard to miss. He stirred them, making sure to rub the front wall firmly, teasing that bundle of nerves only he had ever been able to find. Like some kind of laser-guided missile. “I guess you won’t mind if I say this is enough for me, then.”

  “What?” What happened to the guy who always wanted to have sex with her?

  “Getting you off is amazingly satisfying.”

  “Y-you just said you didn’t give a shit about anything but having me.” That didn’t come out like a whine, either. Not at all. No matter how smug the grin curving those too sexy lips of his was.

  Lips still wet with her juices.

  “I did have you.” His thumb slid up over her clit, massaging it in time with his strokes. “Maybe a nice hot drink was all I needed.”

  A strangled noise escaped her, getting louder still when he started strumming her instead. Her legs shook around him, which he watched with a male fascination she usually only saw over engines. Jerk. He was really going to make her do this. He’d just keep playing her, heightening her need—one handed!—until she gave him what he wanted. Damn egotistic, moronic, self-centered, ass-tastic fuck.

  “Fine!” she snapped, the desperation to have him growing exponentially now. “I missed you. Only you. No man could ever make me feel like you do. I’m ruined for all others. I renamed all my vibrators after you and none of them get me off like you can. Happy now?”

  His eyes glazed for a second. “All your vibrators?”

  “Cade, for the love of—shiiiiiiiiit!”

  He dove down again, capturing her sex in a hot, open-mouthed kiss that not only had her screeching but clawing at his head to keep him from stopping again or she’d have to kill him. Fingers and tongue working together against her—for her?—all she knew was that the man was determined to turn her brain to mush. And succeeding. Soooooo succeeding.

  Yet, it had been so long since he’d been over her, making her feel feminine and claimed, inside and out. When she’d been with him before, her body found a completeness she’d never known anywhere else. Even now, she didn’t feel a single one of her bruises or aches, just the yawning emptiness that even his thick fingers weren’t fulfilling. She needed more than this. More than orgasms that weren’t shared.

  “Get my pants! Get my pants now!”

  His head popped up again, this time wearing a frown. “That’s got to be the strangest thing I’ve heard a woman say before she comes.”

  She lifted her own head, blowing her hair out of her face, unsure how it had gotten there. Sure as hell not going to think about any other women he’d ever seen coming, either. “I want you, Cade. Not when you feel like it. Not when you think I’m ready. Right fucking now. To do that, we need the three condoms in my right leg pocket. Unless you have some closer?” Please say yes. Please, please, please…

  Cade actually rolled his eyes. “Sure thing. I keep ‘em right next to my bait box for random sex partners in the cabin no one but you knows about.”

  Trina fisted the collar of his T-shirt, pulling him over her until their faces were barely an inch apart. “Then get my pants, Evigan, or so help me, I’m going Lorena Bobbit on your ass.”

  “That wouldn’t remotely solve your problem, Tee.” How did he do this? The more he knew she wanted him,
the more leisurely he became, drawing out the pleasure until she was a whimpering puddle of desperate hormones. Which just made her want him more.

  She snarled. “Do I look like I care about solving anything?”

  His gaze actually traveled over her completely disheveled appearance before meeting her stare again as if he’d had to think about it. “But if I get the condoms, I’m going to fuck you.”

  “I know.” That was kind of the idea.

  “I haven’t sucked your nipples yet.” God, did he have to say that in his deep, sex-laden growl? With his spare hand slipping beneath the open shirt to pluck one of said nipples?

  “Since when do you got a problem with multi-tasking?” Because he seemed to be doing a bang up job at the moment. She could practically hear the twang of her entire body with each pluck and flick.

  “I’ve had to wait three months to get my hands on you again,” he ground out, for the first time since the couch showing his frustration. “All the while you’ve been chipping away at me. Picking. Trying to dig your way past my guard and you’re finally here, in my bed, and I don’t have a damn thing to feel guilty about. Do you really think I’m going to let you rush it?”

  Slow? With Cade? She’d be dead from dehydrated satisfaction before he even rolled the condom on. She whimpered at the thought.

  “Now I’m starting right here.” He added a third finger to his thrusting invasion, stretching her nearly to the thickness of him she remembered. “If I want to work my way down your legs or head up to your breasts, I will. If I want to flip you over and ride your ass all the way down to Mexico, I will. And you are going to calm the hell down and let us enjoy it.”

  “And if I just want you inside me?” she asked, interrupting what she was sure was going to turn into a tirade worthy of a Shakespearean troupe. “If I just want to feel you again? To not think about anything but how right it feels when you’re part of me?”

  His mild frown darkened into a scowl. Suspicion colored his chocolaty irises, feathering over his entire face. Oooh, the armor is chipping…