Zero Trace

by Cara Carnes

  Awareness beaded across her skin as he claimed her mouth. He tasted of butterscotch, like the candies Ellie left on her desk. She severed the kiss long enough to strip his shirt off. Amusement flickered in his smirk when her gaze roamed his body.

  The man was spectacular. His muscles bunched and flexed beneath her hands as they wandered across the hardened ridges of his stomach. “Jesus, you’ve got like a twenty-pack.”

  “Hardly,” he said. “Keep touching me like this and it’ll be a brief run, Little Bit.”

  Heat coursed through her at the thought of an out-of-control Gage having his way with her.

  “Fuck. Your face, so damned expressive,” he growled.

  She lost all sense of time and place with the second kiss. The carnal foray of tongues worked in tandem with his deft hands as he stripped her clothes off and guided them toward the bed.

  Desire, stark and rampant, reflected in his dilated gaze when he looked down at her. She’d landed in only her bra and panties. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten this far with a man, but before she could voice her nervousness, Gage was on her.

  His thigh pressed between hers. He covered her with his body, the contact just enough to remind her he was there and taking control. The bra disappeared. Heat spread through her in tiny arrows shooting from where he cupped her breasts to down between her legs.

  She stroked, caressed, and groped every inch of him she could reach.

  Pleasure ignited within her as his hot mouth seared a trail down her throat to her breasts. He sucked and grazed his teeth along each nipple until the achy points resonated their protest through her entire body in a wave of need. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled to silently protest his trajectory.

  But Gage was on a mission—one that pushed Zoey into a new state of need and pleasure she’d never experienced with a man. He ran a finger beneath her panties along both hips as he trailed a line of kisses on her lower abdomen.

  Her breath seized as he slowly pulled the material down and exposed her sex.

  “Fucking beautiful,” he growled against her skin.

  “Gage, please. I need you.”

  “In a minute. I’ve been thinking about this a long time, Little Bit. I’m going to enjoy my first taste of you,” he whispered as he stroked her pussy. “So wet.”

  Any semblance of vocabulary escaped in a gasp when he licked her. The momentary shock was replaced with an achy throb where he’d just tasted her.

  “Gage, please,” she cried out. Now wasn’t the time to admit no one had ever done this to her. Or for her? With her? Her mind reeled as the contact returned, deeper and more commanding. He stroked and teased her with his fingers while he kissed and tasted.

  She bucked backward and away when he flicked along her clit. It felt as if a bomb was about to detonate inside her. She growled and gripped his head when he pinned her down between him and the bed.

  Stroke. Suck. Lick.

  Repeat.

  He plunged fingers into her wet pussy and pumped in the same slow, deliberate pattern until a tidal wave of pleasure assailed her. She imploded.

  No other words described the way her body seized, spiraling into an awareness centered around Gage and what he was doing.

  God. She’d gone blind. She couldn’t see.

  Then she opened her eyes as her senses returned, legs wrapped around Gage, hand in his hair. He kissed her gently, then rose above her and kissed her. The carnality of tasting herself on him was…

  Life altering.

  She peered up into his face and noted the smile on his face. In that moment she knew she was head over heels in love with Gage Sanderson—a man who would keep her safe no matter what she did. No matter what, she could always, always, be herself with him.

  “Fuck me, Sanderson.”

  He chuckled. “That sounded like an order.”

  “It was,” she said as she writhed against him. She reached for his belt. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since the plane.”

  A groan escaped him as he took her mouth again. His hand replaced hers between them. She hissed her annoyance when he separated from her, but she sat up in the bed and watched as he stripped off his pants and boxer briefs.

  She could spend an eternity looking at Gage.

  He was…

  Beautiful.

  She ran her hands across his wide chest and down his abdomen. She drew him closer and ran kisses along his ridged flesh as her hand wandered southward and wrapped around his thick, hard shaft.

  Zoey hadn’t ever found a man’s erection sexy, but Gage’s was. He was long, but the thickness was what made her pussy clench in anticipation. She reached down and slickened her hand with her arousal and peered up into his watchful gaze as she wrapped her wet hand around his shaft and pumped.

  “Jesus,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “Sexiest fucking thing I’ve seen.”

  He threaded his fingers in her hair as she flicked her tongue along the sensitive underside of the bulbous head. She licked pre-cum from the tip and then sucked him deeper into her mouth. One hand pumped his cock while the other explored his balls and thighs.

  “Enough,” he growled as he hauled her away.

  “I wasn’t done,” she clipped.

  “Neither am I,” he declared as he leaned down and gripped her upper thighs.

  Zoey squealed as she went airborne and landed in the center of the bed. She claimed his mouth and wrapped herself around him as he returned to the bed. She’d fantasized about this a long time.

  “I want to straddle you and watch as you slide into me,” she whispered against his lips.

  “Fuck, woman, you’re gonna kill me. I need inside you.” He held up a condom.

  Zoey’s pulse quickened. This was really happening. “Where did that come from?”

  “Magic,” he said with a smile as he ripped the packet open with his teeth. “How long’s it been, Zoey?”

  She blinked and forced her gaze away from the gorgeous cock she was about to enjoy.

  “Don’t ever play poker,” he said with a chuckle. He cupped her face until her gaze settled on his face. “How long’s it been?”

  “Been?”

  “Sex, sweetheart. Last time for me was a few months before you arrived.”

  “Oh.” Heat rose in her cheeks. “Longer than that.”

  “I know you’re shy about this shit, but this isn’t a one-time thing. This time I’m using a condom, but I don’t want anything between us next time. Are you on the pill?”

  Nothing between them. Zoey’s entire body seized at the thought. “I haven’t ever done it like that.” She drew her lower lip in and added, “I’m on the shot but am up for another. I’ll go tomorrow.”

  “How long has it been?” Gage asked gently.

  “A couple years, maybe three,” she said hesitantly. “Maybe four.”

  It’d been four and a half, but she wasn’t about to admit to anything that far out. He could change his mind.

  Nervousness kept her quiet as he rolled the condom onto his thick shaft. None of the awkwardness she typically experienced with men was there, though. She wasn’t worried about the fat around her belly or thighs. He wasn’t an idiot. He’d known who he was kissing.

  Gage drew her closer and nibbled her lips. The soft, slow glide of his lips across hers heightened her awareness. Deliberate, languid forays of his tongue into her mouth deepened her need. She gripped his arms, caressed his stomach. Anything she could touch as the molten, achy throb increased.

  “Take me, Zoey,” he whispered.

  She sat up and guided his hard cock slowly into her as she sank onto it. A moan escaped her as she halted long enough for her body to acclimate. Then she continued her slow, sensuous claiming of Gage Sanderson.

  Damn.

  Zoey kept her gaze locked on his even though every brain cell screamed at her to shut her eyes and protect herself from the potential fallout when he realized she was indeed a boring geek. Filled fully, she remained s
till a moment.

  She’d never ridden a man before. She trusted what felt right and moved. Most of the men she’d been with had been scrawny geeks who’d finished in a couple pumps and then rolled over to finish whatever game they’d been playing. She gripped his arms and groaned.

  “Gage. You feel so good.” She clenched his cock. “Please. Fuck me.”

  He flipped her faster than she’d expected. The action pushed him deeper inside as he positioned her legs to run up along his chest so her knees were near his shoulders. Pleasure ignited within her when he moved. Each thrust spiraled need and awareness through her entire body in a fusion of emotions and sensations that left her floating on a cloud of…

  Bliss.

  She clutched his forearms as he powered into her but growled her frustration. She wanted to touch him. Feel his skin against hers as he claimed her.

  “My Little Bit wants more,” he whispered with a teasing grin as he slowed and kissed her mouth.

  “Gage.” His name was a plea rolled within a confused declaration. She didn’t know what she wanted or needed, but he had the solution.

  He lowered her legs so he could wrap them around him. She sighed her contentment as he thrust into her, the movement slow, then hard and fast. Arms wrapped around him, she trailed kisses along his shoulders and neck and chest. Her fingernails scored a path down his back and to his ass.

  He growled when she gripped him there and met his thrusts. Labored breaths drifted between them as the scent of sex and sweat filled her nostrils. The flesh-on-flesh slam of his body against hers was a rhythm she wanted to memorize and experience again and again.

  The second orgasm struck with the same ferocious intensity as the first, a blinding seizure of all her senses. She clutched Gage as she cried out his name.

  “Zoey.” He growled her name loud and long as he came. She took his weight when he collapsed atop her.

  “Wow,” she whispered. “So that’s what it’s supposed to feel like.”

  Gage finger-combed her hair until he got it away from her face. Amusement glimmered in his gaze as he chuckled. “I guess so. No one’s ever driven me wild before.”

  She curled her toes and grinned. She’d driven him wild. Suddenly feeling like Wonder Woman, she snuggled into his arms and clung to the dregs of sated bliss floating within her.

  But the harsh realities of what awaited them trickled in. Wrapped within Gage’s strong arms, she surrendered to the dam of emotions she’d held at bay. One tear, then two.

  He rained kisses along her temple and forehead as he stroked her hair and whispered inaudible words. Just the rumble of his voice was enough to ground her as the hurricane-like forces of fear, guilt, grief, and anger took control.

  “We’ll find him,” he promised. “They’ll all be safe.”

  She sniffled and clung to each promise. It felt as though he’d crawled inside her soul and could now read her every thought. “I know. I hope we aren’t too late. I’m scared for Addy. For everyone, but really for her. It’s a huge risk.”

  “She had a hell of a life at the Hive before she came to The Arsenal. From what Mary and Vi have shared, her dick of a big brother would send her into far worse situations all the time.” Anger resonated in Gage’s voice.

  Zoey squeezed him tighter. “Her team wasn’t happy.”

  “They’ve had one another’s backs since her arrival. A couple were Hive operatives recruited by us.”

  “That’s gonna be hard for them.”

  “And me,” he admitted. “She’s asked me to lead them, said she wouldn’t trust them with anyone else.”

  Wow. The tears burning her gaze now had a new reason and purpose. What would go down would cut deep for everyone. Addy trusted Gage to lead her team.

  “Are you okay with leading them?” Zoey peered up at him as she traced an invisible path along his stomach.

  “We’ve worked together before,” he said.

  “That’s not what I was asking,” she whispered.

  Gage sighed as she rested her head near the crook of his arm. He stroked her body in slow, methodical swipes meant to lull her to sleep. But she was wound up with worrying about lots of things—most especially the silent man holding her tight.

  “My man Hammer was a hothead, always quick to react. It was an ingrained instinct no training was going to condition out of him,” Gage said. “He was communications and tactical.”

  “He was the ring leader,” she guessed. “He instigated everything with your former team.”

  “He’d grown up hiding, sneaking around to avoid rousing suspicion. He’d gotten busted for burglary and opted for service rather than doing time,” Gage said. “I should’ve watched him closer.”

  “I’ve seen lots of footage from over there. Mary and Vi let me run through a lot of what they had so I could learn. Understand a bit more.” She kissed the skin near his nipple. “With a war going on around you, there’s no way you could’ve seen something like that if they were intent on hiding it.”

  “He was the best damn tactician I’d ever worked with. That’s the only reason I picked him. The others were greener than most, fresh into the field and anxious to make a difference. I thought that’d be an asset.”

  “But he preyed on it.”

  “I still remember that day like it just happened. I wake with the smell of their blood in my nose and its slickness on my skin. And the pain. It rips me from the inside,” he whispered.

  Zoey wished she could snag Doctor Who’s Tardis, go back there, and kill those bastards herself. She didn’t offer any words because what the heck could she say to make a pain like that go away? Sorry? Yeah, that’d really do a fuck load of good.

  She hoped the assholes were rotting in hell.

  “Easy there, Little Bit.” Amusement rumbled in his voice.

  “Huh?” She glanced up.

  “Your sexy body is vibrating with anger. At least I’m assuming that’s why you’re squeezing the life out of me.”

  “Whoops.” She loosened her grip a bit, but not much. “They aren’t messing with your head tonight, Sanderson. You’re mine.”

  “They never fuck with me when you’re around, Zoey. I’m thinking you terrify the shit out of them like Jud does you.”

  She smiled as she rested her head on Gage’s chest again. For him she could channel her inner Jud. For him she could do anything.

  A low growl sounded from under the bed. Dobby wasn’t a fan of the new sleeping arrangements, but she’d get him situated with them next time. She smiled. There’d most certainly be a next time.

  15

  Jud and Kristof had coordinated Addy’s kidnapping with a ruthless proficiency that left Gage’s skin crawling. He sat in a cafe across the street from Addy and her team as they walked out of the two-story townhome they’d been searching for clues about Jade’s disappearance.

  Street cameras, onlookers, and anyone else viewing the unfolding scene would’ve seen a group exiting the building with the beautiful redhead in the lead as a van barreled around the corner. Gunfire erupted and sent the area into chaos.

  Two members of Addy’s team were clipped, either by accident or precision that left Gage even more leery of the bastard they’d entrusted her with.

  By the time it was all done, it’d taken less than two minutes for Kristof’s crew to kidnap one of the most skilled operatives in the business.

  An hour later, Gage sat across from the emotionally charged crew the woman had entrusted him with. None of the men wanted anything to do with him. They vibrated with a need to kick someone’s ass. He felt the same damn way, but they wouldn’t give a damn. He was Arsenal, but as far as the five men with him were concerned, he was an outsider.

  It’d been too damn long since he’d had that bond with a team, one that went so deep it sank into your marrow and became part of your soul. He’d thought he shared that with the men who’d betrayed him. Maybe not.

  There was no way in hell the men gathered with him would ever betray Add
y. Thunder, Cracker, Johnny, Shep, and Beast. Gage had memorized their names and records after Zoey went to sleep. Then she’d woken up and quizzed him and offered her insights into the five operatives.

  Thunder was ordnance and had started off in the service. Cracker was a behemoth of a man who was the tank of close-quarters combat. Zoey said he could crack anyone’s bones in half without even trying.

  Johnny was the sniper, Johnny B Goode. Addy bragged he was almost as good a shot as Kamren. The man had spent a lot of time with Dallas’s woman since her arrival and had picked up a few tricks while imparting some of his in exchange.

  Shep was the scout of the group and a good medic. Recon and surveillance were his specialties. Addy’s notes indicated he could ghost his way into and out of anywhere. It was a skill Gage had spent a long time refining during his military career.

  Then there was Beast. The man glared from across the way. Twice as broad as Cracker and in the same foul mood, he’d spent the entire plane ride cracking his knuckles and growling.

  As Little Bit would say, good times.

  “Talk to them,” Zoey ordered via the com Gage wore.

  They didn’t want conversation. They wanted to pulverize his ass for letting this plan play out.

  “They’re pissed, but they’re terrified. The glue of their unit was taken off the street, and they let it happen. They lost their heart back there. Now all they are is a bunch of flailing limbs waiting for you to get off your ass and stitch them back together.” Zoey breathed. “Yeesh. It’s not that hard to see.”

  “She yammering in your ear again?” Beast asked.

  “Yeah, it’s her favorite hobby. I’ve started switching coms from the left to the right ear halfway through missions so I go deaf in both equally,” he said with a smirk. Everyone knew he was full of shit.

  Zoey gasped in the com, but the men around him chuckled.

  “Addy usually makes us take turns wearing it,” Johnny said. The light glinted off the nose ring he wore. He turned the ring on his pinky around so the skull faced up. “She’s not like Quillery or Edge.”