Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11)

by Liliana Hart

  The footprints went a good distance down the beach, but there was only one set. The closest neighbor was almost a mile down the beach—the Lockwood’s had complete privacy in their little stretch of paradise. No trash littered the ground and the sand was pristine.

  His walk had turned into a run by the time he came upon the outcropping of rocks. The footprints disappeared right at the smallest boulder, signifying she’d started climbing at that point. And then he heard the moan and his heartbeat went into overdrive. His first thought was that she’d fallen and hit her head on the rocks. His second thought was that someone had been hiding on the other side and attacked her.

  He climbed the rocks, staying to the outer edge, thinking he’d have the advantage by attacking the culprit from above. The moan sounded again and he took the .38 from his ankle holster and waited patiently.

  There was a small crag in the rocks—not large enough for a child to fit through, but large enough to see through—so he hunkered down for a better view and to assess the situation. What he saw was nothing his imagination could’ve conjured in his wildest dreams. It was a hell of a hiding place. Or a hell of a place to be ambushed.

  A small lagoon was nestled inside the rock formation, completely invisible to the outside world unless you were perched above like he was. A natural waterfall rushed down the rocks and into a crystal clear pool. It couldn’t have been deep, maybe a few feet, because he could see all the way to the bottom.

  Palm trees and other leafy plants jutted up around the water. And there was Evangeline, naked as a baby and sunning on a large beach towel.

  “Jesus,” he whispered. Her bathing suit was draped over a log and her body was slicked with oil. The site of her lush body was enough to bring a man to his knees. She was curvy in all the right places, breasts that were more than a handful and hips he could sink into. But the toned muscles in her thighs and abdomen and arms made it obvious she put in the time on her health. He’d kept tabs on her long enough to know she hit the gym regularly and had experimented with various martial arts and MMA classes.

  She was pale, her skin smooth and unblemished, and he worried she’d burn if she stayed out too long. But she’d obviously lost track of her surroundings. She moaned again and he watched with fascination as her fingers buried between the slick folds of her pussy.

  He’d had a lot of years to imagine what Evangeline would look like naked, but damned if his fantasies hadn’t fallen short of the reality. She was quite simply beautiful. And it was a travesty she spent more time hiding herself away. Though come to think of it, maybe that was for the best. She’d cause a riot if she drew too much attention to herself.

  Cal realized he’d been holding his breath and let it out slowly, leaning against the rocks more comfortably. His body was an inferno, his cock iron hard and aching. He unbuckled his belt and undid the clasp of his slacks, freeing himself from bondage, and his hand grasped his erection tightly.

  She moaned again and this time he had to fight back the urge to join her. She arched her back, and her full, rounded breasts were fully displayed. Her nipples were small and dusky brown, and he wanted nothing more than to take one between his teeth, to suckle it until she writhed with pleasure. Her feet were planted flat on the towel and her knees splayed so she was completely open to him.

  Fuck, she was waxed completely bare. His favorite.

  Her hips moved involuntarily and he stroked his cock in sync with her thrusts. She slid two fingers inside and he could practically feel the grasp of that tight pussy creaming around his cock.

  She closed her eyes in pleasure and bit her bottom lip, her hips coming off the towel completely as her fingers moved faster. Her other hand slid up her stomach and cupped her breast, tweaking the nipple between her fingers as she came closer and closer to release.

  Pre-cum seeped from the tip of his cock and his hand moved faster, squeezing and stroking, imagining plunging into her over and over again, filling her with his seed. She was so wet. He could see the sweet cream of her desire from where he sat, and he vowed he’d taste it before too much longer.

  And then he heard the sweetest sound. His name coming from her lips.

  “God, Cal,” she moaned, thrumming her clit rapidly.

  Her hips lifted completely off the towel and he sucked in a breath as the come boiled in his balls. Her body trembled as she flicked her swollen clit and then she let out a long, low moan of ecstasy and her body visibly shuddered.

  He bit his lip to keep from yelling out in triumph as semen spurted from his dick, landing like hot ropes against the rocks. His body relaxed, exhausted and he carefully tucked himself away and zipped his pants. He’d never in his life come that hard before—not inside any lover he’d ever had—not even with his wife. He could only imagine what it would be like once he actually got inside Evangeline. He might not survive it.

  Cal hurried back down the rocks, his legs shaky, and decided to let her hear him approaching this time. They had things to talk about. Because they’d be sharing a bed by night. How else would he keep her safe during the darkest hours?

  CHAPTER TEN

  * * *

  Cal was driving her crazy. And he was doing it on purpose. The sadistic bastard.

  He’d set up shop in the kitchen. His computers were lined up like soldiers on the big breakfast table and he sat at the keyboard like a king, his fingers moving from one to the other as naturally as some people might breathe.

  She knew what it felt like. Knew the rush of power that one tiny command could bring. And there he sat, looking far sexier than he had any right to and just as dangerous. His hair was tousled and a little long around the collar and after his jaunt down the beach in the sand he’d changed into a pair of loose fitting lounge pants and a white t-shirt that hugged his biceps and chest like a second skin. His forearms were strong, the muscles there prominent, and she wanted to get a closer look at the tattoos that ran almost to his elbows.

  Cal was built like a boxer, with well-defined muscles, and an athletic build that made her want to rip off his clothes every time he walked into a room. He was a tactile marvel, and she could only imagine spending hours touching and kissing every dip and hollow from head to toe and all the good places in between. It was the kind of body a woman could sink her teeth into. A body she could ride well into the night until she collapsed with exhaustion.

  Her mouth went dry and her skin was overheated, so she went to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water.

  She’d never had an overly sexual appetite, but for some reason all bets were off with Cal. She’d matured through her teen years and felt those first stirrings of desire because of Cal. The sexual awakening that had slammed into her had taken her completely off guard. She’d wanted him, even then, and because she knew that knowledge was power she read everything she could get her hands on about sex. Manuals, romance novels, and how-to guides on any and every kind of sex. Her only thought was to be ready whenever he finally noticed her. She’d wanted to please him. To be the kind of lover a man would never want to leave.

  But after their last encounter she’d completely shut down those urges. Her sexual appetite had disappeared, until she felt nothing. No connection or attraction to anyone. A void had moved in where the seeds of love had started, until she was hollow.

  Except for one time.

  She’d made herself seek out a connection—a rash decision that stemmed from hurt and anger. A fast and frantic coupling to try and replace what had been lost. Or never really started. The day Cal had gotten married had been the second worst day of her life.

  She’d ended up losing her virginity to a TA in one of her computer science classes. There’d been something about him that reminded her of Cal. Maybe his build or the way he’d walked or quirked his head to the side when he was thinking. But there was enough that she could pretend. She’d used him shamelessly, but still she felt nothing once the act had been completed.

  The experience hadn’t been worth a repeat, so she’d de
cided to block the emptiness. It was better to feel nothing than to feel too much. And maybe she was one of those people who weren’t meant to love or be loved. And relationships required trust. She wasn’t sure she had the capability to trust anyone. She had no desire to get caught up in a game of mistrust and untruths, and the best way to avoid that problem was to not put herself in the situation.

  Cal’s betrayal—or what she’d seen as his betrayal—had devastated her. He’d thought he’d been doing to the right thing. And he had been, the best way he knew how. He’d treated her like a child when she’d wanted him to see her as a woman. As his equal. His mate.

  Now all of a sudden, ten years later, those same sexual urges that had formed when she was young were back in full force. She didn’t like the fact that her body didn’t seem to care that she didn’t trust him. The body and the mind didn’t always agree, and this time the urges of her body were stronger than her mind. She wanted him. And she’d learned to separate her emotions before. She could take what she wanted to satisfy her body and walk away with her whole heart.

  “Looks like you got a little sun today,” he said, looking over from his screen.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks and she took another long drink of water. After their little makeout session on the kitchen island she’d had to give herself relief somehow. She’d been so hot she thought she’d combust. All she could think about was escaping so she could finish off what he’d started. Thank God he hadn’t found her a few minutes earlier. She’d had to scramble to get her bathing suit on and get covered up before his head peaked over the outcropping of rocks where she’d been sunbathing.

  And then he’d proceeded to read her the riot act for leaving the house without telling him when he’d given her explicit instructions. That had pretty much dumped a bucket of cold water over all the lingering tingles running through her body.

  She hadn’t been taking the threat seriously. She’d thought for sure whoever was after her would lose interest once they saw how well protected she was and who her father was. A person would have to be crazy to walk straight into the Lion’s Den. Crazy or a professional. Lucky her.

  Once Cal had put the fear of God into her and filled her in on Victor Taber, she’d retreated back to the house and closed herself off in the library to read for the rest of the day. She could already tell she wasn’t going to be good at taking a vacation. It hadn’t even been twenty-hours into her confinement and already she was bored.

  She wondered when Cal had become so straight-laced. The Cal she knew and remembered had pretty much said to hell with the rules and gone his own way. He’d been wild as the wind growing up and into adulthood. He’d had no fear and a balls to the wall attitude when it came to anything. And he probably wasn’t the best influence on an impressionable young girl. But she’d been drawn to his wildness. Because she saw the same thing in herself.

  Maybe things had changed after his wife had been killed. He’d still been with the CIA, and from what her father had told her, Julie had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing Cal could’ve done to stop it.

  “Are you going to hide behind that water bottle all night or do you want to come see what I’m doing?”

  “I believe me standing over there violates my probation.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said. “I can fill you in on what I’ve found. It was actually pretty simple, though the Pentagon has changed some of their security since the last time I was in there.”

  She wanted to tell him she knew, but pressed her lips together tighter.

  “Senator Biddle and the Defense committee were taking bids from government contractors for a new missile. It would appear on the surface to be business as usual. Contractors would send their bids to the committee, and then the committee would award the job to whoever met their needs or could implement the best design.

  “But it didn’t take long to realize that the initial proposal to the committee wasn’t what would really be delivered. We’re talking stealth drones with the capacity to carry a nuclear weapon with enough power to wipe out a country the size of Great Britain. And the contract itself is worth billions of dollars.”

  “That’s more than enough to kill for.” She fought the urge to move closer and read over his shoulder. “Who are the players?”

  “Taber made a successful hit on John Amir, the head designer at AeroNaut earlier today, so process of elimination puts them out of the race. The loss of one man won’t hurt them in the long run, but the designs submitted were Amir’s work. It would take them out of the running for this contract.

  “Then there’s Boulder Corp. They’re a few hours south of here, not far from Cape Canaveral. Biddle had notes on their submitted designs, but nothing that would give the information we need. Biddle and a guy named Ted Thomas were supposed to meet the day after Biddle was murdered to go over the contracts. Boulder’s strength is in the aircraft. Not necessarily the missile, but I haven’t found any sketches or design notes yet.

  “And then there’s DyniCorp.”

  She remembered the dinner she’d backed out of with her father and the bachelors of DyniCorp.

  “They’ve been a powerhouse in the industry the last five years. The company was built slowly, taking on smaller projects that could be done really well instead of biting off more than they could chew. Their reputation is solid.”

  “That doesn’t mean they don’t need the money. There’s not a lot of people who wouldn’t risk their reputation for a billion dollar contract. Especially if they felt they’d never get caught.”

  “No, you’re right,” he said. “I haven’t started digging into financials yet. I’ll have to start a second search on that tomorrow.”

  “Something about that bothers you.”

  “MacKenzie Security holds a large percentage of shares in the company. Declan is going to be pissed.”

  “I like how you don’t assume that he could be as involved in this as anyone. Seems naïve on your part.”

  He laughed and leaned back in the chair so it stood on two legs. “Believe me, if you knew Declan MacKenzie as well as I do you wouldn’t question it either. You find out a lot about a person’s character when shit hits the fan and they’re responsible for watching your back. Dec is the most solid guy I know. He doesn’t flinch, and he sure as hell doesn’t compromise his principles.”

  “Whatever you want to do,” she shrugged. “It’s only my life on the line after all.”

  She didn’t know Declan MacKenzie—or any of the MacKenzies for that matter—very well. She’d met some of them in passing over the years at dinner parties or political events, but that’s as far as the relationships had gone.

  “I’d never put your life at risk, Evie. You’ve got to trust me on that one. Keeping you alive is the most important job I have, even more than finding out who’s behind this. If it came to the point where I had to choose your safety or bring down a company that could potentially ruin my career and what Declan MacKenzie has built, guess which I’d choose.”

  She went perfectly still, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to think that she was that important to him—that he’d risk everything for her safety. Promises of that magnitude were easily broken when push came to shove. Her father had always told her to look out for herself first, because no one else ever would. She had to assume he’d given the same advice to Cal.

  “I’m still gathering information at this point, waiting for my program to break down the security at Langley. Biddle met with Deputy Director Frank Reed the morning of his death in Reed’s office. All of those meetings are monitored and recorded. I’m trying to get access to the video.”

  Cal rubbed his eyes and then ran a hand through his hair. The urge to walk over and straddle his lap was huge, and she deliberately moved behind the island to give herself some more space. Her brain and her body were going to have to have a serious conversation soon.

  “I could use the help, Evie. This wou
ld go a lot faster if we were each working on it.”

  The laugh that escaped her throat was brittle with emotion. “You know, Cal, through all the years we’ve known each other, I never realized you have that kind of cruelty in you. So what? I sit down at the computer to help and then all of a sudden you decide to turn me in for what happened a decade ago. I don’t trust you.”

  “Says the woman who was writhing beneath me only a few hours ago.”

  “Trusting and fucking are two very different things. You don’t have to have one to get the other. And there’s nothing wrong with me wanting to sleep with you. It’s just pleasure. And we might as well do something if we’re going to be stuck here together.”

  He looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Jesus, Evie. That may be one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard. You’re not really that hard. Why are you trying to pretend you are?”

  “My feelings are my own. I don’t owe you anything else. But my future—what there is or isn’t of it—is in your hands. So you can see why I’d pass on your very tempting offer to entrap myself.”

  “You really think I’d do that to you?” She was surprised by the current of anger in his voice and the hardness that came into his eyes.

  “I wouldn’t trust you to do any differently. Better to be safe than sorry.”

  He stood up abruptly, the chair skidding back across the floor, and he came toward her slowly, stalking her like a cat would its prey. He stopped several feet in front of her and she wanted to flinch at the hurt and anger in his face. But that’s what he wanted her to see. Cal had spent too long in covert ops. He was a consummate actor.

  “Are you afraid of me?” he asked.

  She wasn’t. Had never been afraid of him. And that put her at ease. She hadn’t realized how stiff she was.