by Nana Malone
“Lyra, I'm—” She wasn't listening. She wrapped her lips around the head of my dick and sucked, her tongue playing with the underside just enough to make my knees buckle. I reached out and slid my hands into her hair. Holding her still. “Behave.”
Around the head of my dick, she grinned and then took all of me in, deep throating me, and I let out another extended curse. “Jesus fucking Christ. Lyra. Oh fuck. Fuck me.”
And then she owned me. She stroked from the base to tip and back again in slow rhythmic motion. And I could feel it again, the hum of my spine, blistering heat coming from me. “Lyra.”
She shook her head, letting me know she was continuing.
I wanted to be inside her.
“Lyra. I'm going to come.”
She only sucked harder. Worked her hand faster. Brought her other hand down to my balls and squeezed them gently.
“Fuck me, fuck, fuck, fuck.”
I tried to think of anything to stop a barreling orgasm from coming for me. Only by sheer force of will did I pull her away. Then I tipped her head back. “You are a naughty girl.”
“I was busy.”
“Oh, now I'm gonna get busy.”
I reached for my wallet and grabbed a condom before shuffling off my jeans. I was sheathed in seconds and threw her back on the couch, gently but forcefully enough that she knew I meant business. I grabbed her one leg and dangled it over the couch the way it had been when I'd had her on my tongue. And then I gripped at her inner thighs, opening her up just enough.
Her gaze was on me. Dark eyes intent, hot. Searing. “Marcus. Yes.”
I guided my dick to her, watching as I breached her entrance ever so slightly.
Her gaze on mine, mine on hers, we were locked, watching each other. And then I slammed home. Her screaming cry of, “Yes,” was what I wanted to hear. I pulled nearly all the way back out and then slid home again.
She gave me a low, moaning groan. “Yes. God, yes. Oh my God.” One of my thumbs gave a hard press to her clit over and over again in those tight, tight circles that she liked so much. She squeezed my dick with her inner muscles like a vice grip. But I didn't let up my retreat and slide. And before I knew it, she screamed my name, head thrown back, breasts tipped up, hips grinding on mine. Blistering, searing heat came from me, starting with my toes and traveling like a rocket throughout my body, so fast it surprised me, instantly blinding me in bright white light as I came. All I heard as unconsciousness nearly took me was my name on her lips. “My Marcus.”
Chapter 9
Marcus
Last night was a mistake.
A hot mistake.
A mistake none the less. I knew what it meant to me. But she’d made it clear that what happened last night was sex and nothing more as far as she was concerned. Once we found out what was going on at The Firm and made sure she was safe, she was determined to shut me out forever.
I shoved those thoughts aside. I had a mission. A plan to execute. And this was not a plan Lyra was going to like.
We had moved to a new temporary safe house last night. She was already on the mend. And even if she was in pain after last night, there was no way she was letting me know it. She had this way of blocking it out. I could see it now that I was aware of the signs. Her strength had always attracted me to her, even before I knew the depth of it.
I glanced over at her meditating on the living room rug.
Dangerous. I dragged my eyes back to my computer monitor where they needed to be, not on her arse. Though, bloody hell, what a spectacular arse it was. I couldn’t even believe that my feelings toward her had been tempered on our first two dates. But obviously, she wasn’t interested in moving forward, so I reminded myself for the tenth time that day not to be an idiot.
All morning, I'd been looking for a way into the Victus weapon sale. Lyra didn't know I had reached out to Rhodes yet. But unlike her team, mine could be trusted. Would she see it that way?
I wasn't sure how Maggie or Michael were going to deal with it, but we needed backup, and her friend Addie just wasn't enough. But at least I could spin it as trying to hunt down Victus by pretending I was using a civilian to get us in.
The house of cards you're building will topple.
Maybe, but I had to get Victus off her arse. I couldn't let it go. I couldn't walk away from her and hope that somehow she’d survive. I had to do something.
“Are you going to keep staring at my ass, or are you going to tell me what you're doing on the computer?”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from smirking.
“I'm doing both. Which would you like me to answer first? Your arse is spectacular. But you know that, which is why you turned your mat purposely so you could taunt me.”
“If you feel taunted, it's not my fault.”
“Are you sure? Because it feels like it is.”
“Okay, let's try a different route. What are you working on?”
“Right now, I'm trying to get us into that Victus bidding game for the weapon.”
She turned. The sports bra and leggings that she was wearing were simplistic, yet eye-catching. I’d told Addie to go for understated when she provided us supplies. But if this was understated, I was a goner. Little mesh cut-outs showed me just a hint of under-boob, just a strip of stomach, enough to make me salivate, but not enough to be too showy. It was like she was deliberately trying to torture me. “And? Can we get in?”
“I'm reaching out to a few contacts.”
She lifted her brow. “And by contacts, you mean your team?”
I could lie. I could tell her that no, of course not. I wouldn't endanger her life that way. But I was done lying. “Yes. My team isn't trying to get me killed.”
She ground her teeth. “I'm not working with Exodus.”
“You don't have to. I do suggest you work with me though, because I'm currently the only one trying to save your delectable arse.”
“You have your own reasons, I think.”
“I do. Besides, where my superiors are concerned, I’ve stated that I'm using a civilian. I'm not compromising you.”
Her brow pinched just slightly, letting me know that she was pondering this. Wondering why I was cutting her slack. “Why are you protecting me?”
“Again, if you don't know that by now, I can't help you.”
“Right. Fine. Are you able to do it? Get us into that meeting?”
I nodded. “Of course, I am. You're not going to like the cover though.”
“Oh God, why do I already regret agreeing to working together?”
“You have a healthy sense of self-preservation. But I'm all you’ve got, so suck it up. We have transport and a way into the auction. I'm going in as Klaus Rangoon, a German arms dealer. And you, my dear, will be my lover/bodyguard.”
Her brows lifted and her mouth twitched. “Does Klaus need a bodyguard?”
“Guard his body in all kinds of ways.”
“Who is Klaus anyway?”
“An arms dealer who actually did get in on the Victus bidding, but he's one of ours. He’s notoriously reclusive. There have been several different deals over the years where we've been able to use him.”
“That's not bad.”
“Thanks. I'll be sure to tell Michael and Maggie that.”
“Who are they?”
I nodded slightly. “Michael and Maggie are handlers. Michael runs this section of Exodus. Maggie is the number two. More like the brains and the heart, I guess.”
“Wow, okay. And why do you make that face when you say Maggie's name?”
I frowned. “I didn't make a face, did I? No face.”
“Yes, you made a face. It's almost like you don't want to say her name. Ah, is she an ex?”
I shook my head. “No, not an ex. Sometimes I think she wants to be, but it never happened.”
“Oh.” She furrowed her brow then. Her lips slightly pinched, and I recognized that face. The one that said she most certainly wanted to kill something.
“Relax. Maggie's fine. And after Simone, I wouldn't be with anyone at work.”
“Aren't you breaking that rule with me?”
“Technically, I don't work with you. And we are no longer a thing, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. Just once, I’d like to have a normal boyfriend. One who does not kill people for a living.”
I chuckled at that. “You'd be bored with that person. Someone who comes home every night for dinner at six. Attentive, boring, borrows the neighbor's lawn mower, wears a lot of khakis. Not for you, right?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Why would I go with the khakis? Maybe I want someone who has a little style.”
I glanced down at myself. “I can have style when I want.”
She's not talking about you specifically, knob. Besides, you know better.
I did. The danger of what she did, of what we did… I couldn't do that again. Besides, we'd both been clear that it was a one-time thing. Just a way to scratch an itch.
Shaking off those thoughts, I smirked and said, “So, what do you say, bodyguard? Have you thought of all the different ways that you can guard my body yet?”
She laughed at that. The sound was light and effervescent, almost enough to buoy the dark mood that was weighing us both down.
“God, you've been dying to bust that one out, haven't you?”
I grinned. “Okay, fine, I have. Come on, it's funny.”
“Yeah, sure. What are the details?”
“We are off to Latvia. Wheels up tonight.”
“What are we doing until tonight?” she asked with no hint of suggestion in her tone.
My gaze slid over her body. My body tightened thinking about all the different types of things that we could get up to before tonight. “We’ll get supplies, and you'll need new clothes.”
She frowned. “Addie already sent clothes.”
“No, if you're going to be my bodyguard, you'll need to dress the part.”
“Oh, let me guess, leather, black, slinky?”
“Well, slinky, yes. Leather, no. We're going to need to find you a ball gown that will conceal your weapon.”
She lifted a brow. “Oh, no. Please tell me we're not going shopping.”
I grinned at her. “Oh yes, we're going shopping.”
* * *
Lyra
The dress we picked for me was slinky. I knew that one wrong move and there might be a wardrobe malfunction. It was braless and had a slit so high my vajayjay was almost on full display for the world to see, no dinner required first. Although, I did feel sexy, and I had a thigh holster, so bonus. My diamond necklace doubled as a camera, and I had my hair pins that I could use to build a knife.
After the plane landed, we went to the hotel to get dressed. It took me a little bit to get ready. I stepped out into the room, waiting for Marcus to look up. He took so long, I cleared my throat. “Ahem.”
His gaze slid up from his monitor, to my face, down to my toes, and then slowly back up again.
But all he said was, “Good, you're dressed.”
I blinked at him. “What? Even I know I look good.”
He smirked. “No one's saying you don't look good. But we're strictly business, remember?”
“Ah, way to be a dick.”
“You were the one who wanted this.”
He stood, and I got the full picture. Jesus Christ, he had on tuxedo pants, a crisp white Tom Ford shirt, and his cuff links were silver and diamonds, intertwined. Understated, but still expensive as hell. He pushed his seat back and then reached for his jacket. Dear fucking Lord, he was… Wow. “Not bad.”
He grinned then. “Wow, you sure know how to one-up my praise. That was effusive.” He shook his head. “But, sure. I'll take it. Are you ready?”
I nodded. “Walk me through it again. No fuck-ups.”
He laughed. “I'm not the fuck up.”
“Well, to be fair, we haven't worked together before. So let's go through the plan one more time.”
He sighed. “Turn up at the event. Drink nothing. Eat nothing. Your rule.”
“You'd be surprised how many times I've been drugged.”
He blinked at that. “What?”
“The worst was this Ukrainian who liked to collect women for his harem. Granted, I knew what I was doing undercover, but still, it was awful. Shaking those drugs off, even with my training? It was hard to get my brain back online.”
“All right. Show up. IDs. You’ll have to hand over your weapons, but obviously you are well skilled at hand-to-hand. We'll go in, catch the players, get the photographs, and you’ll stay close to me, obviously. There shouldn't be anyone there who can identify you. We'll be fine. Trust me.”
“Trust you?”
He smirked. “My team will be there. As far as they're concerned, you're a civilian, so your safety is at the top of their list of things to do.”
“Forgive me if I can't trust people I don't know, all right?”
“You can trust me, though, right?”
I wanted to tell him that, no, I could not trust him. But I knew now that I could. Whether I liked it or not, he had saved my life. He had come into a situation that wasn't of his own making, and he'd kept me safe. I didn't want to think about it, but I might have died on my own against six agents. Life had turned out nasty. “Yeah, I trust you.”
“You and I are only there to tag them. Any players that we see. Everything else, we leave to my team.”
“We need that weapon.”
“My team will grab it.”
I shook my head. “No, if we see it, we have to take it.”
“We'll see if the opportunity presents itself, but our main job is to tag.”
I wasn't a fan of this plan. “No, I don't like it.”
“This is the plan we have. Suck it up, love.”
“Are you always this forceful? In charge? I like you less now.”
He grinned. “I'm pretty sure you like me more.”
I wanted to hit him. “Fine, are you ready?”
He swung his tux jacket on, double-checking if everything was in place. I smoothed out his lapels, and his gaze raked over mine as I did so. “Yeah, I guess I'm ready. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Lyra.”
“And I won't make anything happen to you. We're connected now.”
“We are. And just so you remember, we're taking the members of Victus alive.”
I blinked at him. “Oh, goddamn it. Did Addie tell you?”
His grin flashed. “I didn't really take you as one for bag-and-kill.”
“He was a human trafficker. You kill one guy, one time, and no one ever lets you forget.”
He was still chuckling as we walked out the door, and there was something about this feeling of belonging that I wanted to hold on to. I just hoped to Christ that I wasn't making a mistake by trusting him.
Chapter 10
Marcus
As it turned out, I didn't need to worry about Lyra. She was, as she’d said, very good at her job. She used some kind of pins or something to put her hair up, showcasing her elegantly long neck. But as she'd shown me on the elevator on the way up here, those pins, when locked together, formed an excellent knife.
“Wow.”
“Let's just say that female Valentine ops get patted down a lot for weapons.”
Her just saying that made me choke a little, and I asked the question automatically. “Have you ever been a Valentine op?”
Her eyes went wide. “No, not me. I lack the requisite skill set.”
I frowned at that, knowing that we’d been combustible together. “What does that mean?”
“I'm not sexy enough.”
All I could do was blink at her as we paced around the room that we'd been shown to wait in before entering the party. Her dress showcased her perfect arse, as well as her long, lithe legs. The heels alone… God, what I could do with her naked wearing just those heels. How was she not sexy?
“I'm sorry. I'm confused.”
I shook my head. “Jesus.”
“Oh, don't go feeling bad for them. Some operatives love it. The detachment, the lack of emotional connection, they can do it easily. I'm just not one of those people. And I think after a while, it also took its toll on Addie.”
“Right.”
She frowned. “Don't you have Valentine ops?”
I shook my head. “No, we don't. We don't require any of our female agents to, you know…” My voice trailed.
She lifted the corner of her lips. “Oh wow, don't tell Addie, I feel like she'd be rushing to join up on principle alone.”
“Is it a requirement at The Firm?”
She shook her head. “No, but if you're young, beautiful, and ooze that kind of sex appeal that Addie does, it becomes one of your top options. Addie never said that she felt she had to, but I get the impression that sometimes she did.”
“Let me guess, no male Valentine ops?”
She laughed then. “Actually, there are. Tyler was one of them.”
I ground my teeth. “Right. He was supposed to show you the ropes.”
“Yeah, and make me believe it. Anyway, it doesn't matter now.”
No, what mattered was I wanted to kill the guy.
The exterior of the building we were in had looked like some kind of Greek Villa on Mykonos. Brilliant white that shone like a diamond on the horizon. The holding room we’d initially been placed in was more of an office area. While elegant and modern, it was, by and large, understated.
A banging sound echoed from the door. When we opened it, a man so large he blocked any light coming through the door stood in front of us. I didn't like it, but Lyra stood in front of me, playing the part of my bodyguard. “What do you want?”
“Time for bidding. Follow me.”
He stepped aside, and I followed behind Lyra, enjoying the view. Her dress was nearly backless, covering just the top of her arse. Her heels made a click-clack sound on the marble floor as we walked. The further we went from the offices, the more opulent and gilded the furnishings became. There was more rare art, more brocade tapestries, as if suddenly we’d stepped into Versailles or something.
