Silver Fire (Guardians)

by Victoria Paige

  Oh my god. Her sex spasmed at his words, a warmth pooling between her legs. This man can talk you into an orgasm.

  Smiling at her, he brushed her lips with his and trailed it down to her ear and whispered, “You’re wet for me, aren’t you?”

  Sophie tried to control her trembling but couldn’t, and then she was immediately clenched against a hard chest as Derek’s mouth claimed hers, plundering her lips ruthlessly. His tongue tangled with hers as he molded her body to his. He broke the kiss too soon, and Sophie whimpered in protest. He chuckled softly before burying his face in the curve of her neck. “Jesus, I gotta go. I don’t think I can control myself around you right now.”

  “Well I’m sure one of your three women can help you out,” Sophie said.

  Instead of getting mad, Derek grinned, that grin that made him look so boyish and charming. “Jealous, sweetie?”

  “No!”

  “I’ve informed all my women that I am currently unavailable.”

  “You’re an arrogant reprobate.”

  “Dream of me, Angel.” Derek kissed the top of her head affectionately and walked away. Sophie was left wanting more of him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Derek let himself into his condo and threw his keys on the kitchen counter. He walked over to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed a beer, and popped it open on the edge of the counter. His housekeeper always frowned at him whenever he did that. It was barely 9:30 p.m. on a Tuesday evening and he rarely was home so early. He did not entertain women until 11:00 p.m. and he was usually at the bar having a few drinks with Jack or Maia, sometimes with both of them. They formed an odd trio ever since both of his friends had hooked up and gotten married. They never made him feel like a third wheel, although sometimes his man Jack had problems knowing the boundaries defining public displays of affection.

  He had never seen his friend this gung-ho over any woman, and watching this unfold was making him hesitant about pursuing a particular blonde-haired angel. Derek had been tempted to settle down before, but never was the urge as strong as with Sophie. He tried to talk himself out of showing up at the bungalow after Stephen had given him what sounded like the brush-off from her. But did he stay away? No. He had been irritated as hell. He also felt more determined. Which was saying a lot because Derek Lockwood never put much effort in pursuing a woman. His usual female acquaintances were women he met at the numerous social functions he attended in Washington DC and New Park. Usually, they were high-powered lawyers or lobbyists, too busy to have relationships. Sometimes they were daughters of politicians and socialites such as Layla Robinson. Layla had not been happy when Derek cut short their arrangement. They had been regular partners on and off in the last few years. Sometimes Layla would bring a friend and they would have threesomes, but recently she had become more possessive and kept showing up by herself. His other current partners were students at Georgetown University finishing up their Master’s degrees in foreign service/economics. He met them at a bar the week before.

  Derek shook his head as he evaluated his long life of promiscuity. His last girlfriend was in high school. He spent two years in college fucking his way through the sororities before he dropped out and joined the Army. He had witnessed many of his friends get cheated on by their wives or girlfriends while they were away fighting for their country. Derek was already in Army Special Forces when his squadron team leader and best friend, Harry, saved the lives of his men by using his body to absorb the blast of a grenade. It was the ultimate act of valor and at first Derek could not comprehend why Harry had sacrificed himself. He had a family. But responsibility toward his men, coupled with the grit of being a true leader, led to that fateful split second decision—all, except Harry, had survived. Harry left behind a daughter and a pregnant wife. The experience left an indelible mark on Derek’s consciousness.

  Derek left Special Forces when he was twenty-nine, and had gone directly to work for AGS as a tactical analyst at their datacenter. He’d met Jack through a mutual friend who requested the use of their intel on the Colombian drug cartel that had been targeting families of Ex-Navy SEALS. Zero traveling enabled him to finish his business degree. It was not long after that he had started missing the thrill of the mission and asked to be put in tactical operations where he had frequently worked with Maia. The two also became great friends.

  Four years before, Jack had asked Derek to become a business partner at MDI to function as the main liaison with the design engineers. He worked at MDI ever since but still contracted with AGS on some of their assignments.

  Derek had no close family. His mother died when he was ten, his dad passed away when he was twenty-four. He was not close to any of his relatives and after he joined AGS he decided it was better not to cultivate any close familial or romantic relationships. Their missions were frequently dangerous, and the threat of blowback was very real. But Derek loved women and sex, he had experimented in all types of sexual deviances and kinks and for the longest time he had been satisfied. But lately he’d been feeling this void, and each sexual encounter had left him wanting for more. But whenever he was in the presence of Sophie, he felt whole and contented. He hadn’t even had sex with her! His brain was scrambled. She was not his type. At all. Derek preferred brunettes. He wanted them voluptuous both in chest and ass. Sophie was none of those. She was blonde, she was too tall, her breasts were small. Her ass was almost non-existent and yet—and yet, something in his chest twisted whenever she was near, and his damned cock responded quickly to her nearness and scent. Whenever he recalled the night she watched him have sex, he wanted to storm over to wherever she was, strip her naked, bend her over a desk, lay her on a bed or lift her against a wall and plunge himself deep inside her. He didn’t care if it was in her lab, in the bungalow or here at his condo. He wanted to fuck her; to mark her as his.

  And she was damned complicated. The death threats against her he could handle, he could protect her if only she would let him. It was that other issue that was driving him crazy. She responded to him and yet was repulsed by him. What if she could never get over the man who had taken her innocence and her heart?

  Fucking hell. Chugging down his beer, he got up to get another one.

  ***

  In another part of New Park City.

  A dark-skinned man made his way through the dank alleyways between run-down apartment buildings in the Cloverleaf district that abutted the warehouse district of New Park City. The area had been in steady decline in the last decade and gangs and other low-life criminals had moved into the area. He went inside one building and made his way up the rickety stairs until he reached the eighth and last floor. He headed straight to the last room and knocked in code.

  The door cracked open and the eyes of a large black man appraised him before letting him in.

  “I have not found her,” Paki told the man who let him in.

  The big man, Tebogo cursed in Afrikaans and said, “We know she’s alive. Tony saw her outside her house after the fire. She’s alive, breathing and walking. She left with her reporter friend but never returned with her.”

  “We have eyes at the research center. Several tinted SUVs go through there every day, and we’re not sure if she is in one of them.”

  Tebogo stared at Paki for a moment before exhaling harshly. “Make the deal with our contact. The information is going to cost us money we cannot afford right now, but we have no choice.”

  Paki nodded, turned around and left.

  ***

  “Make it happen,” Sophie told Braden in an unrelenting tone. “I AM having dinner with Christopher Blackstone tonight.”

  Braden had given her a noncommittal answer last night when she informed him of her dinner plans with Christopher Blackstone.

  “Things are still too hot. It’s not a good idea,” the Guardian replied levelly.

  “I pay the AGS good money.” God, she felt like a bitch, but she could not let whoever wanted her dead win. And cowering like a rat in a hole was letting t
hem win. She also needed to grill Christopher on what he knew. That was why she was bringing Beth; if anyone could get anything out of him, it would be her. Sophie stood up, indicating the end of their conversation. “Call Christopher and work out the arrangements. Make it happen, Braden.”

  She headed into her laboratory and called Beth.

  “Anything?”

  “My sources indicate that Blackstone International is paying a South African mercenary group protection money against a network of extremists who are disrupting their mining operations in several locations in Africa,” Beth reported.

  “Are you saying a terrorist group from Africa is behind the attack on my house?

  “Abu-Haxa Brotherhood has its roots in Somalia, but they have cells everywhere on the African continent. Now depending on who you ask, they’re either the good or the bad guys.”

  “It does not compute,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “Zefinium mining is only one percent of Blackstone’s mining business. The majority of it is uranium and diamonds. Why not go after whoever is behind the bigger slice of the pie?”

  “You have a point.”

  “Do you know which mercenary group this is?”

  “Negative.”

  “Keep digging. See you tonight.”

  After Sophie hung up, she called Stephen into her office.

  “What did the structural engineers say?”

  “Good news, sweetie. They said the main foundation is intact. If you get a good contractor, they’ll be able to preserve most of the original structure,” Stephen said.

  “Excellent!”

  “The interior will have to be gutted because of the water damage, and some outside walls might have to be knocked out, but most of the structures with historic value can be repaired with minor cosmetic finish. I have already narrowed down the list of builders for you.”

  Sophie smiled, relief overwhelming her. It would be agonizing to lose the last memory she had of her beloved grandmother.

  “What would I do without you, Stephen?”

  “You would do just fine, my brilliant girl. Now if only you would relax and try to have some fun.”

  “We’re going out to dinner tonight, aren’t we?”

  Stephen rolled his eyes. “Dinner with Christopher Blackstone is hardly relaxing. You two would drone on about business and the latest technology. Add Beth into the mix and you’ve got intrigue and politics too.” Her friend leaned in conspiratorially. “I’m talking about Derek Lockwood.”

  Sophie stiffened. “What about him?”

  “He’s been calling all morning wanting to talk to you, but you were busy in the laboratory playing catch-up.”

  “I missed a whole day of work yesterday. If they want me to be on track for our meeting this Friday maybe he should leave me alone.”

  Stephen held up his new phone, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, all right, call him back.”

  Smiling triumphantly, Stephen scrolled through his recent call list and hit a number, ignoring the daggered looks she was sending his way.

  “Hello, Derek? I got her here.”

  Sophie took the phone and childishly stuck out her tongue at Stephen. “Hey.”

  “Hi, Angel,” Derek said softly.

  “Stephen said you called this morning. We’re on track for the meeting Friday morning, there should be no delay—”

  “I want to see you tonight,” Derek cut in abruptly, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

  “I have plans tonight.”

  “What? Watching American Idol on TV?”

  “Ha—ha. Very funny. No, I’m having dinner with Christopher Blackstone.”

  Silence.

  Sophie refused to explain herself. She could feel the waves of fury reaching out to her through the phone line.

  “And Connelly is letting you do this?”

  “I told him to make it happen. I pay the AGS enough.”

  “You are behaving like a spoiled princess.”

  “Listen, Lockwood, you do not get to judge me, you barely know me. And you know what? I really don’t want to know you.”

  With that Sophie hung up. The phone immediately started ringing again as she stalked over to Stephen’s office.

  “Do not answer any call from Lockwood, I am not taking it.”

  “What is going on?” Stephen took the phone from her and turned it off. “Tell me, sweetie.”

  Sophie sank into the chair in front of his desk, shook her head and buried her face in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. “He...he confuses me. He annoys me, but I want to kiss him. I don’t know how to behave around him, Stephen and it’s...it’s unnerving.”

  “Um, sorry, sweet girl, but that’s what you call infatuation and attraction.”

  “He infuriates me!”

  Stephen shrugged. “Foreplay.”

  “Foreplay?” Sophie cried. “What planet are you on?”

  “Same as you are,” Stephen said dryly. “Listen, sweetie. You are fighting this too hard. I get you are afraid given Derek’s reputation. But you’ve proven you can function in a relationship. You’ve dated David for three weeks with a bit of fooling around. Now, with Derek, things might, ah, go a bit faster.”

  Sophie felt her cheeks burning. Her friend grinned at her. “In fact sweetie, I think it might go from 0 to 60 very quickly.”

  “I can’t, you know I can’t.” Sophie stood up. She was having difficulty breathing. “Oh god, what if I freeze, what if I scream.”

  Stephen came around his desk, put both hands on her shoulders and said, “Honey, you need to get out of your comfort zone otherwise you’re never going to clear those cobwebs out of your girly part. If you don’t wanna do it, just say no. For all his reputation, I believe Derek is quite honorable when a woman says no. But then you’ll be crazy if you did.”

  “I still can’t talk to him right now.”

  “Fine. I’ll screen your calls. But get a phone of your own soon. You know I have a weakness for those MDI boys.”

  Sophie went back to the lab and was busy for most of the afternoon catching up work with Jan and Polly. When she walked back to her office, Derek was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed behind his head, his feet propped up on her table.

  “All done, Angel?” His eyes were hooded, and his voice had a sexy lazy drawl.

  “You just can’t come in here.” Sophie glared at him. “Why would Braden and Thalia let you in here?”

  “They are protecting you against people who want to kill you,” Derek said as he straightened and got up from her chair. He stalked toward her, and Sophie felt herself backing away slowly. She was oddly excited. Reaching her, he pulled her toward him with one hand and used his other to slam the door behind her. Shifting hands that held her, he leaned in, his hard chest brushing against her breasts as he reached out and fiddled with the blinds, shutting the room from prying eyes. His eyes bored into hers. “I want to fuck you.”

  As Sophie gasped, Derek took that opportunity to kiss her. Pressing her body against the door, he wasted no time relieving her of her lab coat, his fingers deftly working on the pearl buttons of her blouse. His kiss was urgent and demanding. She sensed his need for her.

  With great reluctance, Sophie pulled her lips away from him but that was all he allowed her, an immovable wall of muscle when she tried to push him away. “What are you doing?”

  “Why did you hang up on me?”

  There it was. For all his relaxed demeanor earlier, he was annoyed.

  “You called me a spoiled princess.”

  “Don’t hang up on me again.” His voice had changed; there was a steely edge to it. “We talk about it. Like adults. If you are pissed at me, you talk to me, you do not run away, you do not hide behind Stephen or Beth. Grow. Up.”

  “You’re doing it again,” Sophie hissed.

  His chocolate eyes warmed and Sophie was lost in them. “What Angel? Making you want me?” His hand went up and brushed the skin above the edge of her bra. He groaned and
kissed her again, more gentle this time, coaxing her to respond, his tongue tracing her lips before darting between them to flick hers. One hand slipped inside her bra to cup her breast, while the other slipped behind her back and unhooked her bra. His lips left hers and slowly trailed kisses down her neck before claiming one breast, lazily circling a nipple before sucking it into his mouth.

  “Oh god,” Sophie moaned, her fingers wildly tangling in the strands of his dark blond hair. Derek emitted a guttural sound before quickly spinning her around and before Sophie knew it, she was lying across the desk, her hips on the edge, her pencil skirt pushed up to her waist and her thighs were spread wide. Derek wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed the length of his hard erection against her pulsing core. He covered her body with his, burying his face in her neck.

  “No, don’t,” Sophie breathed. She was on the verge of panic, but was also lost in the blaze of her own desire.

  “Shhh, I won’t. Just let me feel you this way,” Derek whispered thickly in her ear. He began to rock gently against her, one hand under her right thigh, stroking the underside, the other hand cradling her head to receive the demand of his lips. He tasted her lips and then her breasts, driving her mindless with the need for release, but she was afraid to ask for it. She wanted something to fill her. Him.

  “I want...I want...”

  “You want me where, Angel?” Derek purred against her lips, his crotch grinding maddeningly against hers.

  “I don’t know...Please...”

  The hand on her thigh moved between them, and Sophie felt his fingers brushing against the moistness through her silk underwear before nudging it aside and slipping within. She was close, wound so tight, she felt his thumb flick her swollen clit, she mewled softly and continued to writhe beneath him. One long finger spread her delicate folds and prodded her at the entrance and that’s when she froze. Again. Her body was caught between the need to reject and the need to give in. She broke out in a cold sweat. Derek felt her pulling back into herself and withdrew his hand.