Beautiful Vengeance

by Kaylea Cross

  His mouth trailed hot, nipping kisses down her chin to her chest, closing around her nipple at the exact moment he slid two fingers into her. Kiyomi cried out and bucked into his hand, holding his head to her. She was quivering, pulled taut like a bowstring in the hands of a master archer, and only Marcus could send her flying. But she was so close now, and when she came she wanted him inside her.

  She pushed at his shoulders. He stopped instantly and raised his head, concern in his dark eyes. She grabbed his face in both hands to kiss him, telling him without words that she was more than okay, that she was loving everything he did to her.

  “Want you inside me,” she gasped out, then grabbed for her robe lying discarded on the far edge of the bed and took the condom from the pocket. They didn’t need one, but explaining why might kill the mood so she’d brought it with her anyway.

  Marcus eased his hand from between her legs but dipped down to torment a breast as she tried to sit up and see all of him. She nipped at the side of his neck, her whole body humming with anticipation. He’d gone so long without any kind of intimate contact. She wanted to get him as worked up as she was, give him all the pleasure she could.

  His fingers speared into her hair as she kissed her way across his chest, pausing to tease his nipples, earning a hitch in his breathing when her hands eased over his belly and hips. He was fully erect, his cock standing proud against his belly. She curled her fingers around him, reveled in the low growl he made, and stroked him.

  She followed the cues he gave her, adjusting her pressure and speed, but when she would have slid to her knees and taken him in her mouth, he stopped her.

  Face taut with pleasure, his chest rising and falling, he took the condom from her, rolled it on with an economical motion and pressed her down flat on her back. Settling between her legs, he rocked his hips slowly, dragging the hot length of his erection over her swollen clit while he covered her mouth with his.

  With a murmur of pleasure she wound her legs around his calves, pushing up to meet his lazy thrusts as she sucked at his tongue. Her entire body was suffused with warmth, desire pulsing in her core.

  Marcus raised his head to stare down at her, eyes blazing, breathing fast. She set a hand on the side of his face, overcome with need and the trust she had in him. Holding his gaze, she shifted beneath him, one hand sinking into his muscled ass as she pulled him forward.

  With a low groan he came up on an elbow to reach his free hand between them, found her clit and caressed it while the head of his cock lodged thick and hard just inside her. Instant pleasure suffused her, melting her bones like chocolate left out in the sun. Her eyes fluttered shut, a lovely floating sensation filling her.

  She allowed her body to surrender to it, let herself drift on the tide. This was Marcus touching her. His weight pressing her into the bedding. And it changed everything.

  His muscles bunched beneath her fingers, then he slowly thrust inside her. The fullness, the incredible heat magnified the pleasure. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to control her reaction, helpless as his every movement pushed her closer to the edge. All she could do was cling to him and trust him not to stop as he stroked her inside and out, hitting all her sweet spots at once.

  Release rushed at her, taking her off guard. She shoved aside the need to distance herself from it, focusing on the feel of him, his scent. “Marcus…”

  He lowered his head, brushed a tender kiss across her mouth. “Aye, love.” His voice was deep, almost guttural, and though she couldn’t open her eyes she could feel him watching her. Watching over her as he took her to the edge.

  That image seared itself into her brain. She held onto it, to the way it intensified the sensation, and then she soared into oblivion, her cries drowning out the thud of her pulse in her ears.

  MARCUS FOUGHT FOR breath, gritted his teeth at the need to plunge harder, faster, the need to come burning like fire at the base of his spine. Sweet Jesus, the look on her face just now, the feel of her clenching around him and the way she’d let go so completely in his arms, destroyed him.

  She relaxed into the bed with a soft moan, her eyelids fluttering open. Her cheeks were flushed, those liquid dark eyes drowsy with pleasure, and the sated smile she gave him had his heart trying to punch out of his chest.

  Leaning up to kiss him once, she unwound her legs from around him and pushed at his shoulders. “I want to watch you,” she whispered.

  He feared he wouldn’t last as he withdrew and allowed her to settle him on his back. She pushed her hair over one shoulder and swung a leg across his body to straddle him.

  Marcus didn’t know where to look first. He settled his hands on her hips, his muscles tight as tripwires as she leaned forward to tease his mouth with hers. He slid his hand into the cool silk of her hair, groaned into her mouth as she wriggled into place, closing a fist around him to bring him into position.

  Then she sat back up, her eyes gleaming with pure female intent. He grabbed hold of her hips again, held his breath and bit back a throttled shout as she eased down on him, taking him deep inside her.

  Pleasure ripped into him, brutal and swift. He didn’t remember closing his eyes, but then he was forcing them open, unwilling to miss a second as her teeth sank into her plump lower lip and she began to move. A slow, sinuous motion that was like some insanely erotic dance.

  She swayed and undulated, pumping up and down his aching cock while the firelight kissed her smooth, golden skin. Her breasts bobbed with each movement, taut, dark coral nipples topping each one. Her belly was flat, the delicious outline of her abs flexing, and the soft, bare mound between her legs was so damn hot—

  She planted her hands on his pecs, that inky dark stare locked with his as she rode him.

  Christ, she was the sexiest, most incredibly beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life, and the pleasure she was giving him already had him sweating and panting for breath. She’d wanted to watch him, and Jesus it was incredible, a soul-deep connection solidifying between them as he struggled to hold her gaze.

  Each time she sank down on him she squeezed, pushing him closer to release. Unable to stay still, needing to touch her, he released one hip to cradle her breast in his hand, rolling the nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

  “I’m close,” he ground out.

  She hummed and pushed him flat, dark eyes gleaming. “Let me watch you come.”

  Helpless to resist, he seized her hips, his last sight of her before his eyes slammed shut burned into his mind for all eternity. The slick sound of her sliding up and down his cock, the feel of her so tight and warm and wet, were too much.

  His fingers bit into her backside, a cry of surrender wrenching from his throat as the orgasm hit. He held her fast, bucked up into her, holding as deep as he could get while the pulses tore through him. When at last they began to fade, he slumped back against the pillow, his entire body lax and the blood rushing in his ears.

  Kiyomi eased off him for a moment, then stretched out over top of him and blanketed him with her weight. He groaned and wrapped his arms around her back, cradling her to him. She was so small and soft, the scars between her shoulder blades and the Valkyrie mark on her left hip aberrations he couldn’t wait to avenge.

  Tomorrow he could begin to do something about it. Tonight, he didn’t want anything to come between him and the incredible woman in his arms.

  After a while he turned her onto her side and snuggled up behind her, one arm banded around her ribcage as he drew the covers over them. The fire had burned low in the grate. Karas was fast asleep in front of it. Marcus kissed the top of Kiyomi’s head, filled with a tenderness and contentment he’d never experienced before.

  Cuddled up tight together, they both fell asleep. He awakened to darkness sometime later when Kiyomi jerked against him. She twitched, a low sound coming from her that he recognized all too well.

  He drew her tighter into the curve of his body and hugged her close. She gasped and went rigid, her heart thudding w
ildly against his palm. “You’re okay. It was just a dream,” he murmured.

  She pushed away from him and sat up, her back to him as she exhaled and ran a hand through her hair.

  Marcus reached out to curl a hand around her hip, his thumb rubbing gently over a dimple at the base of her spine. “Okay now?”

  Another exhalation. “Yes.” She turned toward him and lay back down, immediately flattening herself to the front of him.

  Marcus wrapped his arms around her, one hand cradling the back of her head. Her skin was damp with sweat. “Was it the same one?”

  Her hair caught in his beard as she nodded, her breath warm against the front of his throat. “It’s always the same. Always him.”

  Rahman.

  “I’m always helpless.” She cuddled closer yet, wedging a leg between his.

  “You’re not helpless anymore. And you never will be again.” He hugged her tight. “Because we’re going to get him.”

  She didn’t answer, her body still tense. Then, after a minute, “I need you to promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “I can’t go through that again. So if something goes wrong, if he captures me and you can’t get to me—”

  Denial burst inside him, fierce and strong. “He’s not going to get his hands on you ever again.”

  “But if he ever did, and you couldn’t save me. I need you to promise that you’d kill me rather than let him take me again.”

  Marcus’s heart seized, his entire body going rigid as cold swept through him like an arctic blast. “Jesus Christ, don’t talk like that.”

  She pulled back a few inches to look into his face, and there was just enough light from the glowing coals in the grate to make out her deadly serious expression. “Marcus. Promise me. Please. I need you to promise me.”

  He would do anything to protect this woman. He would kill to keep her safe. But take her life to do the same? It was unthinkable. Horrifying.

  “Please,” she whispered, her voice ragged, eyes tormented.

  He wanted to say no. That he would never harm her under any circumstance. That it would kill him to fulfill her request.

  But her demons ran deep, and they were headed to enemy territory tomorrow to take on the man responsible for all her suffering. He never wanted her to suffer again.

  So if the worst did come true and Rahman managed to capture her…if Marcus had her in his sights…if he had a clear shot and it was the only way to spare her more terror and pain…

  It was something he wished he could have done for his troopers. If it ever became necessary, he owed Kiyomi that final act of mercy.

  “Aye,” he finally said, shaken even though he knew it would never come to that. They had an entire team going after Rahman. Marcus would make sure she was safe.

  Kiyomi sighed and snuggled up to his chest once more. “Thank you,” she whispered, her fingers drifting lightly over his back.

  Marcus squeezed his eyes shut and gathered her close to banish all the ghosts between them. “Sleep now.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Fayez hurried from his vehicle into yet another safe house—the third one he’d been moved to in the last twenty-four hours. His security team wasn’t taking any chances with his safety. If not for the last-minute tip the previous night, he would have been in that camp during the British assault and either be trapped in a cell or dead right now.

  “Sir. In here.” His head bodyguard came out of the back room he’d just checked, holstering his weapon.

  Fayez moved straight into it and stood in the middle of the floor as the door shut behind him. The metallic clang of it reminded him of a prison cell door closing. Fitting, since until the threat against him died down, he would be more prisoner than free man.

  Someone had sold him out. And someone had saved him with that anonymous tip. Both needed to be found and dealt with accordingly.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw the number, his pulse jumped. Only one person had ever called him from that area code. It had to be her. He’d tried to find her, to no avail. It was like she’d simply vanished.

  He activated a customized app that would record the conversation before answering in English. “Hello?”

  “So you managed to dodge another bullet last night, did you?” the female voice said. His people had previously traced her calls and only found a general location—somewhere in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Never anything more specific, and no one knew who she was, referring to her only by her moniker. The Architect.

  A mix of relief and excitement shot through him. It was definitely her. “Yes. And I’m guessing this call means I have you to thank for that?”

  “Maybe.”

  No maybe about it. “Why did you do it?”

  “Because you and I have a business transaction that still hasn’t been completed.”

  Kiyomi.

  He paced the room, restless as a caged tiger. He hated being penned up like an animal. “Do you have any news on her?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

  He stopped walking, his entire body drawing tight as a cable. “Tell me.” His heart thudded in his ears as he awaited her answer.

  “I’ve just received an alert that she was spotted crossing the Turkish border into Syria. Facial recognition puts it at a ninety-two-percent certainty that it’s her.”

  A wave of heat suffused him. “When?”

  “Four hours ago.”

  If it was true, Kiyomi could be anywhere by now. “Was she alone?”

  “Yes.”

  Mind whirling, he resumed pacing again. “What is she doing here?”

  “What do you think?”

  A slow, savage smile spread across his face. “She’s come back for me.”

  “To kill you.”

  He smothered a laugh. A single woman against him and his security team? He didn’t care if she was a Valkyrie. “She’s welcome to try.” The idea made all kinds of fantasies spin in his head. Her naked, on her knees in front of him.

  He pulled in a calming breath, willing his heart rate to slow down. His security was the best in the business and he paid them well. They were loyal, motivated, and skilled. She would never get past them.

  “I’ll get her.” His groin tightened at the thought. He had a vast network of contacts and other resources to help him locate and capture her. “If she comes anywhere near Damascus, I’ll know.” And then she’ll be mine.

  “My original terms still stand. And may I remind you, she was to be delivered to me undamaged. The way you treated her the last time you had her was untenable.”

  She’d used that word before, so he’d looked it up. It meant indefensible, not to be tolerated. Well, fuck her.

  “She’s not for sale this time.” The words burst out of him in a low growl. The Architect had never told him why she wanted Kiyomi in the first place, but that had been before, and there was a reason she wasn’t going after Kiyomi herself. Was she under surveillance and couldn’t risk detection?

  He didn’t give a shit. Kiyomi was his, and when he got her, he would do whatever he wanted with her.

  “No?” The sly, almost bored edge to her tone sent a sliver of warning through him as she continued. “Did you wonder how I knew about the raid on the camp last night? Or that you were heading there? Because I know everything about you, Fayez. Including your exact location right now.”

  He paled when she recited the exact coordinates and address of the safehouse he was in right now. The slippery bitch was watching him via satellite or drone, it was the only way she could know where he was.

  “But as long as you give me what I want, I’m no threat to you,” she went on. “I’ll even up the price on her from three million to four. Wired to your offshore account the moment I have her safely in my possession. Without any further damage this time.”

  A hot rush of anger and outrage blasted through him. He reined it back with effort. She was forcing his hand. He’d killed people for less. He had no
choice but to capitulate, since she currently held the upper hand in their negotiations. “I’ll sell her to you, but she won’t be untouched. Not after what she did to me.”

  “You maim her, you get zero money. I’ll take her from you and then kill you myself.”

  The threat would have made him scoff until ten seconds ago when she’d told him where he was standing in the safehouse. Who the hell was this woman, and how did she have access to that sort of technology? Why did she need him to capture Kiyomi?

  Because she knows Kiyomi will come to you. And when she does, the Architect will be waiting to take her.

  Fury exploded in his gut. The Architect would no doubt have a team on the way. They might already be here. He needed to move again, but not until he had Kiyomi. No one was taking her from him.

  “Five million,” he finally snapped, “and I’ll try not to disfigure her.” Much.

  A few seconds of silence passed. “Done.”

  Yes. They were. “I’ll be in touch when I have her. Unless you plan to…architect something else?” He said it just to piss her off, because he wasn’t supposed to use her moniker in any communications that could be monitored. Tough shit. She had as much at stake here as he did.

  “Oh, don’t worry. If you find her, I’ll know long before you call.”

  He disconnected and shoved the phone back into his pocket, his entire body amped up with restless energy and frustration. After all this time, Kiyomi was finally close, and might be coming right to him.

  Unbidden, an image of her in that ruby-red gown filled his mind. The first time he’d ever laid eyes on her, in that hotel lobby. Their eyes had met across the room and in that instant he’d felt something shift inside him.

  That old cliché about the world falling away was true, because he’d experienced it that night. He’d abandoned his security and the man he was making a multi-million-dollar business deal with just to go over and introduce himself.

  She’d been arresting. Alluring. Intelligent. Demure and submissive. And her lack of inhibitions in bed still left him hard and aching whenever he remembered it.