Undercover Agent

by Slade, Heather

  “I don’t want to go back to Boston with you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “When is he returning?” I asked.

  Lynx tilted his head. “Who?”

  “The helicopter pilot.”

  “She won’t return until she hears from me.”

  “I suppose that was sexist of me, but what I’m about to say is even worse.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Is she pretty?”

  “Here we are,” said my father, approaching with our drinks.

  Lynx brought his glass to mine. “You have nothing to worry about, Emerson, no one on earth is as pretty as you are.”

  —:—

  Before I knew it, it was after nine o’clock, and the four of us were still seated at the dining room table. My father entertained us with stories about his time with the state department while my mother kept the food and drinks flowing. When I finished my third margarita, I placed a napkin over my glass.

  “Mom, stop,” I whined when she moved it and filled my glass anyway.

  “Lynx told me you aren’t going back to the city tonight, so you can have another.”

  “What about you?” I asked him, pointing to the time and wondering if he was feeling as tipsy as I was. Actually, I was flat-out drunk.

  “He’s staying,” my mother answered for him while pouring him another round.

  I looked over at my father, who shrugged.

  “Oh my God,” I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. “I’m sorry about this.”

  Lynx put his hand on my arm. “Don’t be.”

  When I looked into his eyes, all I could think about was dragging him upstairs and into my bedroom. I didn’t even care that my parents would be in the same house. I wanted him to do what he’d done three years ago, and fuck me senseless.

  He leaned forward so his mouth was close to my ear. “I’ll go, if that’s what you want,” he whispered.

  I leaned into him without thinking. “No, that isn’t what I want at all.”

  “Leave all this, I’ll clean up in the morning,” I heard my mother say as she pulled my dad out of his chair. “Come on, Rick, time for bed.”

  “But you just poured me another drink, why am I going to bed?” We could hear my father’s protest as she led him up the stairs.

  “I made up the room downstairs for you,” my mom shouted from the top of the stairs. “Good night! Sweet dreams!”

  I put my head back in my hands. “I feel like a teenager, except in an alternate universe where my parents are encouraging me to have sex in the downstairs guest room.”

  “Really? They’re encouraging us to have sex?” Lynx raised his eyebrows. “I love your parents.” He stood and held his hand out to me.

  “Lynx…”

  “Come with me,” he murmured, pulling me from my chair, but more gently than my mom had with my dad.

  Since he didn’t know where the stairs were that led to the lower level of the house, I was interested to see where he’d go. We went out to the screened-in side of the back porch and over to the daybed that hung by ropes from the ceiling.

  “Looks sturdy enough,” he said, sitting down and pulling me with him.

  “When my dad put it up, he made my brother and all his friends get on it to prove to my mom it was safe for the two of them to sleep on.”

  “Do they?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. I would if I were them.”

  “Let’s do it, then.” Lynx scooted up the bed so his head rested on the pillow and held out his hand for me to join him.

  “Lynx…what…I mean…what are we doing?”

  “Just lie next to me.”

  I scooted up like he had, and when he held his arms open, I snuggled up to him.

  “Lynx?”

  “Shh. Let’s just enjoy the peacefulness of this place for a bit.”

  I loved the night sounds of Cape Cod Bay. Crickets and cicadas chirped, and every once in a while, an owl would hoot.

  This house had been in our family for generations. My great-great-grandparents built it, and then each of their heirs had added their own touches to it. Growing up, I’d been the envy of all my friends who had to spend their summers in the heat and humidity of the city. I was never popular until a new batch of kids found out about the house down the Cape.

  “What are you thinking about?” Lynx asked.

  I shifted to roll my shoulders. “Spending summers here when I was growing up.”

  “Why does that make you tense?”

  I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Your body speaks to me.”

  “It does, does it?”

  “It has since the moment we met.”

  Whether it was true or a line, I loved the way it sounded.

  “Tell me the good part of spending summers here.”

  “So much. Watching the sunrise and sunsets from Nobscusset Point, all the lighthouses, eating littlenecks and cherrystones all summer. Laughing to the point my stomach hurt all the time.”

  “Sounds wonderful. Tell me more.”

  “Four-wheeling on Nauset Beach, lobster instead of turkey on Thanksgiving. That isn’t a summer memory, but it’s still a good one.” I realized that I was smiling and the tension had left my shoulders. “Dad used to take us out on the boat on the Fourth of July because he said the best view was from the water. Ricky would always bring friends along…Ricky was my brother.”

  “Your father’s namesake.”

  “He was actually Richard Jefferson Charles the fifth. So several namesakes.”

  “Sounds like nobility.”

  “We hail from a long line of New Englanders. This house has been in our family for four generations. I guess that makes us Cape Codder nobility. What about you? Any noblemen in your family?”

  “Would you hold it against me if I said there weren’t?”

  “Of course not.”

  He sighed. “There isn’t much to tell, really.”

  I raised my head so I could see Lynx’s face. “Do you have any brothers or sisters other than Keon?”

  “He’s my sole sibling.”

  Given his entire demeanor changed, I hesitated to ask anything else. If he didn’t want to talk about his family, I would be the last one to push. I almost never talked about my brother.

  “When I was eighteen, my parents were killed in an automobile accident. Keon was with them.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “He spent several weeks in hospital. Enough that he had to repeat year eight.”

  “So he was thirteen at the time of the accident?”

  Lynx nodded. “My plans to go to university were temporarily dashed…”

  “You took care of him.”

  “Yes, I did, not that the bloody wanker appreciated it.” Lynx smiled.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I understand he’s taking up permanent residence in Texas.”

  “Texas?”

  “My little brother has always fancied himself a bit of a cowboy. Never mind that he’d only ridden English until he was in his mid-twenties.” He shook his head.

  “What made you go SIS?”

  “At the time, a degree wasn’t required—still isn’t necessarily, but more and more applicants have one. I was twenty-three when I finally sent Keon off, and had little idea what I wanted to do with my life. SIS ended up being a good fit for me.” Lynx stroked my cheek with his fingertip. “I did eventually earn my degree. More than one, actually.”

  I wanted to ask what they were, but given my educational background, I didn’t want Lynx to think I was being competitive.

  “That night we spent together…I want you to know, it meant something to me.”

  “Lynx, you don’t have to—”

  He studied my face. “It meant something, Emerson.”

  It meant something to me too, and if my brother hadn’t died, I probably would’ve wanted to see Lynx again, not that the
desire would’ve been reciprocated.

  “I lied to you,” he blurted.

  Oh, God, was he married? Or worse? Although what could be worse? “When?”

  “When I told you I didn’t look for you.”

  “Lynx, really, you don’t have to make me feel better about it. I was a grown up then, well sort of, but I am a grown up now.”

  “I went down to the front desk, and they told me you’d checked out. I have to admit I was quite worried. One of the conference organizers was standing nearby and overheard me. I suppose the look of utter devastation on my face was reason enough for her to take pity on me.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Yes, I am. She told me you’d withdrawn due to a family emergency. I wanted to wring her neck when she gave me your contact information. Major security and privacy breach, that was.”

  “But you didn’t contact me.”

  “No, once I found out about your brother’s passing, I decided it would be best if I didn’t.”

  “So…you knew?”

  “Yes, Emerson. I knew. And while I could’ve used my position with MI6 to find out more, my conscience prevented me from doing so. I assumed that if you’d wanted me to know how to find you, you would’ve left a note or a message or something.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. Part of me was too shocked to believe him, but why would he make up such an elaborate story just to make me feel better?

  “You never told me why you left before sunrise, Emerson.”

  And I didn’t want to now. I felt just as embarrassed as I had three years ago. “You were my first…my only…one-night stand. I wasn’t sure of the…etiquette.”

  “I see. So you chose the walk of shame rather than allowing me to order you a proper breakfast.”

  Lynx was smiling, but in my mind, it had worked out for the best. “I wasn’t in my room very long before my father called.”

  He nodded as if he understood.

  “I’m sorry you wasted a trip out here. The helicopter ride probably cost a fortune.”

  “I’ve no idea about the cost. However, you are in my arms, Emerson, I’d hardly call that a waste.”

  “Lynx…”

  “Emerson…”

  “Wait,” I said when he brought his lips to mine and was about to kiss me.

  “Please, I beg you, don’t say another word about Saint.”

  “I have to.”

  He groaned, rolled to his back, and covered his eyes with his forearm. “What?”

  “More than once, you alluded to, even mentioned, my relationship with Tommy.”

  “Yes?” he grunted.

  “I wasn’t in a relationship with him. We weren’t seeing each other.”

  He rose up, turned to his side, and rested his head on his hand. “He said you were.”

  “Pretty sure I’d know.”

  I stood, and Lynx sat all the way up, looking out at the bay. “You said when he kissed you…”

  “Once, Lynx. Tommy kissed me once.”

  17

  Lynx

  “Once?”

  Why had Saint told me he and Emerson were seeing each other if they’d only kissed once? It didn’t make sense. What Angel told me didn’t make sense either, unless I’d somehow misunderstood.

  I rolled from the bed and wrapped my arm around Emerson’s waist, turning her so I could look into her eyes. She wouldn’t lie; she had no reason to. And even if she had reason, something told me the woman in my arms would never be dishonest.

  My mind raced with the number of times Emerson had referred to Tommy, and whether she’d said anything that would’ve confirmed what Saint told me. Other than telling me how stunned she was when he’d kissed her, I couldn’t recall anything else.

  “I’m not saying that I expect us to pick up where we left off.” Even in the dim light, I could see her cheeks flush the prettiest pink with her words. “I just wanted you to know that Tommy and I weren’t…together.”

  I cupped the back of her neck with my hand and brought my forehead to hers. “You said something about not picking up where we left off, but I think we should.”

  “We should?”

  I nodded. “If I recall correctly, I was about to kiss you.” I captured her lips with mine and kissed her like I’d wanted to every minute since the last time I had.

  Knowing there was nothing between her and Saint, made me want to rip through every other barrier there was between us—namely clothing.

  I nuzzled her neck, breathing in the scent of her. It was the same as I remembered, only now there was an added layer of a day spent by the sea. She smelled divine, and soon instead of merely nuzzling the soft skin of her graceful neck, I kissed it.

  When she shuddered in my arms, I wanted to make it happen again and again—all night long.

  I captured her lips with mine and devoured her mouth in a frenzy of unmitigated desire. I couldn’t rein myself in even if I wanted to.

  “Say it,” she whispered.

  “Say what, my darling?”

  “Say what you said that night, in the elevator.”

  I reached around her and cupped her gorgeous, heart-shaped arse with my hands, lifting her so her legs wrapped around me. I looked into her eyes and said the words she asked me to.

  “Emerson, I’m going to fuck you senseless.”

  She brought her lips to mine and kissed me so hard I could taste the tangy copper hint of blood, but I didn’t care. It only drove me to devour her more.

  I lined my cock up with her pussy and rubbed against her. Her shorts were so thin, I could feel her wetness and her heat. She unwound her legs from my waist, and I eased her onto the daybed.

  “Lynx,” she whispered, pulling me down with her. But I couldn’t take her. Not yet.

  “Come,” I said.

  When she stood, I grabbed the blanket from the daybed and took her hand, pulling her toward the beach.

  “This way,” she said, and I followed her instead. When she stopped, I laid the blanket on the sand and then pulled her into my arms.

  I kissed her again, deeper, harder, pulling her body as close to mine as I could. When she tried to pull away from me, I wove my fingers in her hair.

  “Ouch!” she yelped, covering my hand with hers.

  “Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

  “Kiss me again and make it all better,” she said, bringing her lips back to mine.

  “I have a better idea.” I unfastened the button on her shorts and knelt in front of her, pulling them along with her panties down with me until they were around her knees and I was on mine.

  “Thank fucking God,” I murmured, piercing her slit with the hard tip of my tongue. “Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined you this way. Bare, like you were that night.”

  I rubbed my face against her bare pussy and then leaned back on my heels and looked up into her beautiful blue eyes. “Take off your t-shirt.”

  She pulled it over her head and tossed it on the blanket.

  “Now your bra.”

  She reached around and unfastened it, letting it slip from her arms. I knelt up, burying my face between her tits, teasing each nipple between my fingers. I pulled until she gasped and then buried my mouth in her pussy. Her fingers threaded in my hair, holding me to her clit. I sucked hard and thrust two fingers into her drenched heat. Her essence coated my face as she screamed out her release.

  Her knees gave, and I caught her in my arms, spilling us both onto the blanket.

  “You are really good at that,” she moaned, looking up at me with the most gorgeous smile. I leaned forward and kissed her lips, then her cheek, down her neck, and to the nipples I’d brutalized with my fingers.

  “Oh, no,” she said when I reached her belly button.

  “Emerson,” I groaned when she pushed me onto my back, unfastened my trousers, reached inside, and wrapped her hand around my girth. Her thumb brushed against the tip, spreading the moisture she found there around the crown.

  “I can’t
wait,” I said, moving her hand away as I took off the rest of my clothes. I pulled out my wallet, praying that there was a condom tucked inside. “Thank God,” I muttered, ripping the package open with my teeth. I sheathed myself, spread her legs, and lined myself up at her entrance.

  “Please,” she whispered, and it almost undid me. I thrust inside of her, burying myself as deep as I could.

  “Fuck,” I moaned, holding myself above her. “Just like I remembered.” I steeled myself against coming too soon and began moving again, slowly. “So tight…so hot…so incredible.” I sped up my thrusts and captured her lips with mine.

  When her nails dug into my back, I moved harder, faster, fucking her so deep. “So right,” I said out loud, slamming into her hard, again and again, until I roared my release.

  I thought back to our one night together, remembering how we took pleasure in each other’s bodies again and again.

  I removed the condom, tied it closed, and dropped it near my clothes. I wrapped my arm around her and drew her close. “Emerson,” I said as though it were a prayer.

  Her head rested on my chest, and she trailed her fingertips over my skin. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to be inside of her again, especially when her hand drifted lower. “I need you again,” I told her when her hand stroked my already steel-hard cock.

  “Lynx…I…you know…”

  I bent my neck so I could see her face. “What do I know?”

  “I am on birth control.”

  I smiled, in fact, I laughed, remembering how insatiable we both were that night. “I can’t get enough of you,” I growled, pulling her so she was on top of me.

  “I can’t get enough of you either.”

  “Take what you need, Emerson,” I said, staring into her eyes as she lowered herself until her warmth wrapped around me. I recalled wondering if her pussy would be as magical as I remembered, and it wasn’t. It was better. It was heaven.

  When the sun peeked over the horizon, we dressed, and I carried my beautiful, sleepy Emerson back to the house, lowering her body onto the daybed. She rolled over, and I covered her with the blanket.

  I sat next to her, stroking her hair, wishing I didn’t have to think about what might happen later today, or tomorrow, or the day after that.