by Wade, Maddie
“I like it when you do that,” she replied as he nibbled the spot behind her ear.
“So fucking beautiful.”
“Cal,” she said his name as the heat from his sweet words hit her.
“Don’t know what I did to deserve you, Gracie, but I won’t ever let you go.” The words were uttered against her open lips.
She chuckled. “That would sound like a creepy stalker threat from anyone else but from you it’s all I want to hear.”
“I love you, Gracie.”
The words were simple—three little words that she had thought she didn’t need but hearing them opened a floodgate of emotion in her that was almost overwhelming. This sweet sexy kind man loved her and for the first time ever she believed it. There was no doubt to poison or tarnish it. It was merely the most breath-taking feeling she had ever experienced.
“I love you too, honey.”
The rest of her words were stolen by his mouth on hers, a soft drugging kiss that made the world recede until only they existed. His tongue coaxed and teased a million sensations from her body until all she wanted was him. He was everywhere, surrounding her in a net of safety and love, passion and joy that she never wanted to end.
Blake pulled away with a groan. “I need to go and make that call.” He leaned his forehead against her shoulder as they both tried to calm their racing bodies. “Can’t wait until this is over so I can spend a week in bed making love and fucking you until you can’t see straight.”
The words shot straight to her clit. Her nipples peaked and her body ached, forcing a moan from her. “You’re killing me, Blake.”
“Only what you do to me every time I look at you, Grace.” Blake pushed off the bed and moved to the door as she sat still. She didn’t trust herself not to drag him back to bed and climb him like a tree if she moved.
He stopped and turned. “Check in with your mom and I’ll be back once I made this call, hopefully with a plan.”
Pax watched the door close before lying back on the bed a goofy smile creasing her face. She was in love for probably the first time and it felt better than she had ever imagined. Even with everything that was happening she couldn’t feel too sad. Maybe that made her selfish.
People had lost their lives, more were on the verge of being ruined if Sana and whoever was behind the criminal trials wasn’t stopped, and that was without her family drama, but she didn’t let it faze her. She knew if Calvin Blake was beside her, she could handle whatever she faced because he loved her. With that happy thought in her head she picked up her cell and called her mom.
Chapter Twenty-Three
He felt like a complete asshole as he left Pax in the room they were sharing. He had used his declaration of love to distract her from the course she was on. It didn’t matter that he had meant every fucking word. He did love her more than he could have imagined possible, but he also knew the words would move her focus from the fact that a third party had entered the game.
A third party that was very likely his teammate. Never in his life had he treated a woman with such disrespect, and she had no clue he’d done it. If she ever figured it out, she would roast his balls on a BBQ, and he would deserve it. When this was over, he would make it up to her. Even if she didn’t know what he had done, he would relive the first time he’d told the woman he wanted to spend his life with that he loved her and feel dirty.
He found Waggs in the garden with Decker talking to Mrs Reid.
The three looked up when he approached, Mrs Reid wearing a wide friendly smile. “Blake would you like something to eat?”
“No, thank you, Mrs Reid, but thanks for asking.”
“What about that lovely girlfriend of yours?”
Blake considered saying no not wanting to burden the exhausted woman, but he wanted to talk to Waggs and Decker in private. “That would be great if it’s not too much trouble?”
She stood with a radiant smile on her face. “Nonsense, it is no trouble at all.”
He waited for the door to close before he turned back to the two men watching him. “Where’s Reid?”
Neither man spoke for a second and Blake could feel Decker profiling him. “He went to meet a friend for a drink. Apparently, the guy wanted a favour. Why?”
“No reason,” Blake hedged knowing that he wasn’t fooling anyone with his reply.
“Any thoughts about Sally Nixon?” Decker asked.
Blake was surprised that he let the bullshit he was feeding them slide. “Somebody didn’t want us talking to her about Sana is my guess, which tells us we’re on the right path.”
Waggs nodded. “Agreed.”
“Anything from the employees?”
“A few rumours about financial problems but nothing that any other company doesn’t deal with. One interesting thing though. One of the older lab assistants that used to work with Robert Paxton before he hung up his lab coat and became a suit, said that before Robert and Henrietta got engaged there was some big hoo-ha about her leaving another man at the altar. Care to guess who it was?” Waggs raised his eyebrows at Blake.
“Clark Baker by any chance?”
“Bingo! Apparently, it was a big society wedding, but Henrietta met Robert and called it off just weeks before. From what I can tell there was a huge fallout from it.”
“Which begs the question. How did he end up on the board of Sana?” Decker asked.
“Can you do some more digging on that angle? I have to make a call.” Blake stood and wanting complete privacy, walked to the car and waited impatiently for the call to connect and Jack to pick up.
“Good of you to call.”
Blake ignored the sarcasm from his boss. “I need an update on the other two targets.”
He heard Jack sigh and had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what his boss had to say.
“I was going to call you after I got off the phone with Will. Gunner has requested leave for his aunt’s funeral which has been confirmed as genuine by Will, but it means he’s away for two days at least as it’s happening on the Isle of Jersey. Mitch has gone completely dark. He left here last night after training and hasn’t been located this morning. We’ve tried his cell and tracker, but both are switched off.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic. So the three men suspected of being the mole are all unaccounted for at this point.”
“Where’s Reid?”
“He went to visit a friend which is convenient because Pax and I were just shot at on the highway and I don’t think it has anything to do with this case.”
“Things are moving fast and whoever it is feels cornered,” Jack mused aloud.
“I agree, but who is it? Can you ask Will to check the CCTV on the I-10 close to Loma Linda? Also have him see if he can track Reid’s movements for the past few hours?”
“You really think it’s Reid?” Jack asked sounding deflated.
“I’m hard pushed to believe it’s any of them. I just can’t reconcile it with the men I know. But the fact is, we know it is one of them. With Reid’s sister being so sick he’s a prime target.”
“I fucking hate this,” Jack growled.
“Me too and I hate lying to Pax.”
Silence met his words on the other end of the phone. “This can’t get out until it’s confirmed and then only to those that I deem necessary. Your girlfriend is not necessary, and might I remind you, she works for Zenobi.”
Blake clenched his jaw. “No reminder necessary. I’ll do my job and keep my secrets and for the record, Jack, if you ever infer that my loyalty is in question again then you can shove your job up your ass.” With that he hung up knowing that if he stayed on the line any longer, he would say something he would regret to a man he respected.
Blake punched the steering wheel hard letting his frustration course through him. He was angry at Jack for questioning him and yet here he was questioning Reid, Mitch, and Gunner. Three fine men with impeccable records of service to their countries and Eidolon. He was a hypocrite—to them as well as Grace
now.
His eyes moved to the entrance of the street and he watched through the shattered glass of the still intact windshield as Reid’s truck pulled up in front of him. Blake watched Reid exit the vehicle and glance in his direction before giving the glass a hard stare. Blake tried to read the look on his face, but it was almost impossible. Reid, like the rest of the team, was a master at controlling his emotions.
Blake was unsure what to do. Did he confront his friend or wait for the call from Will? Assessing a threat was one of his skills and yet he was compromised in this instance by the fact he didn’t want Reid to be a threat.
Blake stepped from the car deciding to play it by ear.
Reid eyed him as if picking up on the vibe he was giving off. He lifted his chin to Blake’s car. “What the fuck happened?”
Blake moved towards him, making sure his gait was relaxed. “Some fucker shot at us on the way back from seeing Sally Nixon, and by seeing, I mean seeing her dead body on her kitchen floor.”
Reid shook his head. “Fuck, man, this is getting serious. Do you have any leads?”
Blake shook his head. “Not really.”
They remained silent as they walked towards the house when Reid stopped short and turned to him “We good man?”
Reid was a quick study and Blake wasn’t surprised that he was feeling the vibe Blake was throwing off. Blake angled his head to look at the man. “Where you been?”
He saw Reid’s shoulders lock, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he clenched it. “Am I a suspect?” he asked incredulously.
Blake stayed silent giving him some rope and seeing how he would react.
“You have to be fucking kidding me? I offer you my home, give you access to my family, and you think what? That I’m behind this shooting?”
Blake had to concede he did have a point. Why would the mole make himself so vulnerable? The answer was he wouldn’t unless he was playing a colossal bluff. Blake dismissed that idea. Reid loved his sisters and mom. There was no way he would drag them into anything shady.
Blake sighed and shook his head. “No, but it would have been good if we’d able to contact you.”
“I had a call from a friend who needs some help with something. I would have called but didn’t think about it to be honest. We’ve never been a team that needed to account for our every movement.” Reid was still suspicious and rightly so. Things were changing and not for the better.
“Just give me a heads up next time,” Blake said and began to walk away but stopped when Reid called his name
“You never answered my question? We good?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Blake lied again and wished he had never agreed to this. Jack should have gotten an outsider in to do this. They should not be investigating each other.
Exhaustion pulled at him, he needed to sleep and rest his aching leg but with people dying it was imperative they tie this up and soon. He entered the room he was sharing with Pax and heard the shower running. His body reacted instantly to the thought of Gracie naked with water running down her perfect silky skin.
Stripping off, he walked into the bathroom to find she was singing softly as she lifted her arms to her head and massaged the shampoo into her lush mountain of hair then rinsed it out. Her body arched against the glass was like an erotic fantasy come to life.
Wasting no more time, he opened the door a grin etched into his face as she squeaked and spun to him in surprise.
“Shit, you scared me. Don’t you know it’s bad manners to creep up on a girl?”
Blake hooked her around the waist with his arm and hauled her closer, so she was hip to toe with him his erection pressed against her belly. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders as her hard nipples grazed his chest. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not.” His laugh echoed in the small space.
He raked his eyes over her face before allowing himself to look lower. She was perfect in every way. Even her stubborn streak was perfect. He needed to lose himself in her body and forget the shitstorm that raged outside this room. Forget about the case, her family, the mole. All of it.
“Blake?” she asked picking up on his feeling of discord. This was how he should have told her he loved her, not as a way to distract her.
“I love you so much, Gracie.” He didn’t let her respond but dipped his head taking her mouth in a possessive kiss. She immediately opened for him, her arms coming around his neck as she rubbed her body against him. He trailed hot open-mouthed kisses down her throat his hands going to the full curves of her ass. “Fucking perfection.”
“I need you, Cal.”
Blake loved it when she used his real name and he needed her as much as she needed him. He wanted to feel her skin-on-skin though, without the barrier of latex between them. He never went un-gloved but with Pax he wanted it all. He lifted her leg and wrapped it around his hip as she rubbed her pussy against his aching cock, the hot water adding the sensations he was feeling. “I’m clean, baby.”
She seemed to know instantly what he was asking. “Me too. Roz insists we get medicals every six months.”
Thank fucking Christ.
Wasting no time he slammed into her, the soft folds of her sweet pussy hugging him tightly. He closed his eyes as he let the feeling of being inside her with no barrier wash through him. The desire to fuck her hard and fast ripped at his control as he resisted the urge to slam into her again and again.
“Fuck me, Cal,” she urged, her voice husky with need as he backed her up against the shower wall and did as she asked. He fucked her hard, driving them both higher and higher towards the pinnacle of release.
His mouth was on her everywhere as she arched herself into each thrust of his hips. His thumb pressed against her clit and it was enough to push her over the edge. He caught her scream of release with his mouth, swallowing the sound as he joined her shooting jets of come into her body as she spasmed around him, her walls draining the last of his release from him.
His eyes moved to hers and he could see the profound impact their lovemaking had on her. He knew, he had the same look in his eyes. He held her gaze, the green flecks in her hazel eyes flashing holding him transfixed.
“I fucking love you too, Cal,” she whispered softly. He felt connected to her on a cellular level with his cock still inside her.
“I love you, Gracie,” he said as he kissed her softly exploring her mouth slowly and feeling his dick twitch again. Not even soft and with his come dripping from her, he wanted her, and he knew he would never stop wanting this woman. She was the one he would grow old with, who would carry his babies one day.
He grinned against her lips as he withdrew and lowered her leg before reaching for the shampoo. “Let’s get cleaned off and close this case. I’m ready for us to go home.”
Pax nodded and then frowned. “Me too. I hope Evelyn is watering my garden. I don’t want my hanging baskets to wilt.”
Blake threw his head back and laughed as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair and watched her step out and throw him a mock scowl.
“What? I love my baskets.”
“Only you would finish the most soul-altering lovemaking I’ve ever experienced in my life worrying about flowers and hanging baskets.”
He saw her face soften at his words before she smiled. “Love you, baby.”
Yes, that was how you told someone you loved them, and for the first time in the last twenty-four hours, Blake felt calm again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The ringing of her phone as she was drying her hair pulled Pax from the comfort and contentment that had wrapped around her since leaving Blake in the shower. What they had shared had been beyond anything she had ever felt in the past, like the last shred of doubt had been wiped from her mind. He was her future and she’d felt giddy when he’d said he wanted them to go home. She wanted that so badly. She couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them both.
Picking up her phone she saw her mother’s
name on the screen. She had left a message earlier when she hadn’t picked up and then called the hospital who’d said her father was doing well and recovering better than they had hoped. Relief had been swift, she had things she needed to say to her father and now she would have the opportunity.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Hello, Grace.”
“I called earlier to check on Dad and ended up calling the hospital when I couldn’t get hold of you. They gave me an update.”
“He’s doing well. They think he’ll be home in a week all being well.”
Pax could hear the smile in her mom’s voice and the sound made her melancholy. Her mother hadn’t sounded that way since she was a young child and she hadn’t realised until she heard the sound how much she missed it. “That’s great news. Are you still at the hospital?”
“No. I came home to change and make sure the staff were organising the downstairs bedroom for your father. I’ll go back in tomorrow now.”
Pax hardly recognised this woman. She was showing an interest in her father she had thought long forgotten and it made her happy. “Okay, Mom. Well, I might see you tomorrow then.”
“Yes, okay, dear.”
Pax hung up with a smile on her lips just as Blake walked out the bathroom with a towel wrapped low on his hips. Pax let her eyes travel over his fine form.
“Hey, babe, my eyes are up here,” he said, with a smirk as her eyes jumped to him with guilt. Pax squinted her eyes and poked out her tongue. “Who was on the phone?”
“My mom. She was returning my call.”
Blake dragged the smaller towel from around his shoulders and roughly dried his hair as he asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yes, she was organising some stuff at home. My dad is doing well, and they expect to discharge him next week all being well.” Something in the way Blake went still sent her Spidey senses going. “Blake?”
He sat down on the bed beside her. “Did you know your mum used to date Clark Baker?”
Pax cocked her head and thought for a second. “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. Our families have known each other forever. He was like a son to my grandfather.”
