Her Covert Protector (Rogue Protectors Book 4)

by Victoria Paige

  Her moan was music to his ears. She was sopping wet, but the slickness wasn’t from water. He lashed, ate, and sucked down every bit of her sweetness. But her pussy was a gift that kept on giving, and he continued to feast on each drop that fell on his tongue.

  “John, I want more …” she moaned. “I need your cock.”

  Jesus, she was as dirty-mouthed as he was, and he loved it.

  He gave her pussy one final lick, before he crawled up her body, relishing the way her legs cradled his hips. “You want more of this, babe?”

  She grinned up at him. Her blond hair spread like a cloud on the pillows, the moon casting its beams through the blinds, bathing her in a heavenly light.

  John’s breath caught, as the inkling of the word love played on his tongue.

  “You’re gorgeous like this.” He slowly pushed into her, the squeeze of her inner muscles making him groan in pleasure. “Damn, I could stay buried like this in you forever.”

  Nadia’s laugh was cut short when he thrust. “You feel so good,” she moaned. “Why did I fight this for three days again?”

  “Not complaining.” He kissed the tip of her nose as he continued to rock into her. “The wait was worth it. I wanted you to be sure this is what you wanted.”

  A delicate brow arched. “I do like your bossiness. I find it sexy.”

  He grinned wickedly. “In that case—”

  “Still,” she paused and arched her back which sent him deeper. Jesus, this woman was his perfect fit. There was no place else he wanted to be. Staying deep in Nadia like this, he could die a happy man, except he wanted more.

  For-fucking-ever.

  “Still, I appreciate you dialing back your bulldozerness,” she said and then chuckled. “And no that’s not a word, but I think John Garrison is a synonym.”

  “Smartass.” He captured her lips as he continued to take her at a leisurely pace.

  When he came, it was not as explosive as the first, but it sent him spiraling into a web of contentment. He slowly pulled out of her and tucked her to his side, feeling her fingers splay on his chest, tracing random circles. His eyes drooped.

  “John?”

  “Hmm …”

  “You didn’t fuck up.”

  He exhaled heavily. “Nadia—”

  “You didn’t fuck up,” she repeated. “If you did, Kelso and Gabby would have reamed your ass. What we have between us is too new, but we’ll figure things out.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “No more field ops for you.”

  She pinched his torso. “We’ll see about that.”

  He chuckled. “Looks like I’ve created a monster. What happened to not pulling you into my shit anymore?”

  “I think this is more mine than yours.”

  “All right, but I don’t want you near any perverts again.”

  “I really could have taken that man down.”

  His arms tightened around her. “Still hated it, babe.”

  She fell quiet after that. If John were honest, he loved working that op with Nadia except that hairy part where she nearly got mauled by that bastard. He doubted this would be the last time they would be working together given he was thinking of putting down roots here.

  But she was right. They were a work in progress.

  He welcomed the sands of sleep sucking him in, and he welcomed it more because he was wrapped around the woman who’d become the most important part of his life.

  24

  In the two weeks that followed, Nadia and John fell into a routine. Adjusting to each other wasn’t as impossible as she first thought. John seemed to adjust well to her family of nosy neighbors although they continued to have some sort of competition in her care and feeding. It was amusing to watch until she had to jump in to referee.

  John and Dugal would always tell her, though, that they were men just being men.

  John surprisingly found the time to sneak in episodes of Hodgetown and declared he had finished season three. Perfect, too, because that day was Halloween and Nadia couldn’t wait to see him in the costume she ordered for him and that arrived a few days prior. She was hosting a Halloween party that night at her apartment and she invited the CTTF crew. The food and drinks were going to be prepared at her apartment and the guests could spill out onto the rooftop.

  Halloween was one of her favorite days of the year. Was it because she could get to be someone else without guilt? She thought back to what her father said about being happy in her own skin. She was beginning to appreciate what he meant. She’d stopped wearing the spectacles she didn’t need and was thinking of letting her hair grow back into its reddish blond roots from the platinum she’d been favoring.

  As for the investigation, she usually worked from her apartment with Bristow, staying clear of the Nerd Lab since anyone could just walk in when they were accessing a site that was for CIA eyes only. Nadia was feeling very special.

  But she was getting frustrated at the lack of progress of the investigation in finding the Crown-Key.

  There hadn’t been any big cyberattacks like the traffic light incident, but no one was breathing a sigh of relief yet with the device still missing.

  Kelso’s theory was the device had already been sold to an arms dealer or a rogue state. The traffic light incident was a display of what it could do. Whether Evan Wagner’s involvement was simply to provide Club Sochi as a venue to conceal the transaction remained to be investigated.

  However, digging into Primeflix business yielded interesting information regarding their financials or, rather, that of one particular board member. Evan Wagner owned an investment company, and they’d scrutinized all his business dealings. They all seemed legit, but further investigation led to an incongruent line of business. Why would a gas station chain in Ukraine invest millions of dollars in the media giant? In recent years, speculations abounded that Primeflix was partly mob-owned and was used to launder money, not only in its operations, but also through production companies it did business with. And maybe that was why Wagner had a hard-on for Hodgetown because its production company, Revenant Films, refused to play.

  As for Dmitry Vovk, several of the CIA’s European assets had confirmed his very public appearances from Kiev all the way to Paris while chatter with the Argonayts all but died. No more messages came from Anonymous_754. Nadia continued to send her messages in their secure chat room, telling Sally that CTTF could help her if she was under duress. She even gave Sally her own task force cell number to call. But there was only complete silence.

  The clanging of a pan brought her attention back to the present. Dugal and John were arguing in the kitchen over oatmeal.

  Over oatmeal.

  This was a roll-your-eyes moment and it was amusing to witness.

  “You do realize there’s the microwave kind.” John was being a smartass again.

  “Bite your tongue, man,” Dugal boomed. “There’s nothing like Scottish porridge to make sure you have a healthy bairn.”

  “Right now he—or she—is the size of a vanilla bean,” Nadia called from the living room. “That’s a speck.”

  “You want big, healthy boys or girls, then you want to feed them porridge. The right kind.”

  “There’s a wrong kind?”

  Oh, John, shut up.

  Dugal told him, “Scottish porridge is made from stone-ground oats. It makes creamy oatmeal, not the gummy kind you Americans like to eat.”

  And so their argument went, but finally, after half an hour, Dugal finished giving his porridge lesson to John and they were finally sitting down to eat except for the big Scot who headed to the backdoor to leave. Had John pissed him off that much?

  “Are you not joining us, Dugal?” Nadia stared at the big pot in front of them.

  “Nay, I have to go to the butcher shop early, so I can come home and get your roast started.”

  “Aww, thanks for doing this!” she beamed. Dugal and her dad were helping out with the party.

  “No problem, lass.” An
d he waved off. Dugal, even at his age, was a big Hallowed Eve fan. Halloween, after all, had its roots in Samhain, a popular Gaelic festival.

  “Hmm,” John said beside her. He had a serious look on his face as he tasted the creamy gruel topped with blueberries and walnut pieces. He chewed slowly and appeared to roll it on his tongue and then, “Damn, this is really good.”

  “See? You might learn a thing or two about good food,” she said.

  “Yeah, not a bad idea to learn this homemade shit.” His eyes warmed as he looked at her. “I want our kid to be healthy.” He glanced at his watch. “Speaking of which, we have an hour before we make our appointment.” He gave a shake of his head. “Only you would think it’s a good idea to schedule our first-prenatal visit on Halloween.”

  Nadia grinned. Proof that the holiday was her favorite day.

  When your baby daddy was a spook, there was no waiting room. They arrived at a nondescript, three-story, gray building. From the outside it looked like an abandoned building. He drove the Escalade around to an underground parking structure that was sealed off by folding gates. He tapped his watch to a scanner and it raised on its tracks.

  When they went underground, Nadia was surprised to see an almost-packed parking lot.

  “What’s this place?”

  “It’s a division of the agency. Medical research. But some operatives have their surgeries and medical procedures here.”

  “I guess it’s understandable with your line of work and wanting to keep anonymity.”

  “Yeah. Most of the medical staff work at regular hospitals.”

  “Like Hank?”

  “Yeah. Bristow was a plant in the hospital system, but after the Ebola bioweapon, I needed him more in the field.”

  “Gotcha.”

  John parked their vehicle and went straight into an elevator, taking them up to the third floor. When the doors slid open, she was relieved to see the modern interior and not a hole-in-the wall clinic. She knew with John’s protectiveness, giving her the best care was a priority. She found comfort in that.

  A woman in scrubs at the reception area smiled when she saw John.

  “You’re here for Dr. Fern Ryan.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Taylor.” The woman held out a tablet. “Just register here.”

  John signed the electronic log, and they were immediately accompanied down a brightly lit hallway. Unmarked rooms dotted both sides.

  Taylor opened the door to the last room on the right. “I’ll let Dr. Ryan know you’re here.”

  Nadia sat in a chair, while John remained standing.

  “Where’s everyone?” she asked.

  “First and second floor mostly. I was surprised we were directed to the third.” His grin was lopsided.

  “Must be a special occasion when John Garrison requests a prenatal.”

  He chuckled. “Fern was shocked for sure when I asked her. This is only for the first visit. She’s going to recommend someone she trusts in the area at the end of this appointment.”

  “Wait. She’s not from here?”

  “She’s based at Langley.”

  “You had her fly across the country for this?”

  “She owes me one.”

  “How high-maintenance an operative are you?”

  The door opened and a woman in her sixties with silver hair rolled in a severe bun stepped in. “Very.” She quipped and extended her hand. “Hi, Nadia, I’m Dr. Ryan.” Her gray eyes flicked to the man beside her. “John.”

  “Fern.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was weird seeing him this familiar with someone, but it also added a point to the humanity column. The life of a CIA officer must be lonely, but she was glad it seemed there were people that John felt close enough to request this cross-country favor. Nadia wanted her people to be his too.

  “I told John that I can’t continue to be your obstetrician for obvious reasons, but don’t worry. I’ve been the first line of consultation many times with nervous super spies becoming parents for the first time.”

  Nadia gave a snort of laughter. John grunted.

  “It’s a hard transition, from trusting only a few people inside the CIA, to having to deal with institutions outside the agency. But as I told a few of John’s colleagues, the CIA medical facilities specialize in emergency response. We leave the prenatal and children’s wellbeing to the experts.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “We’re not going to do an ultrasound. It’s too early and it will only do more harm than good, psychologically. I presumed you’d done an over-the-counter pregnancy test?”

  “Yes, I took two over two weeks ago and then another one, hmm, last Saturday and …” Nadia grinned. “I’m still pregnant.”

  John frowned at her. “You didn’t tell me you did that.”

  “I didn’t want to sound paranoid. And I didn’t want to waste an appointment just in case I’m not pregnant, especially since I insisted on Halloween.”

  “Please don’t hide anything from me in the future,” his voice was so gentle, it warmed all over.

  “Oh my,” Dr. Ryan said, grinning. “I’ll tell you one thing, whatever you’re doing to this man, continue it.”

  John scowled, “Fern—”

  “Do you know how many times I had to treat him, or one of his crew, and his abrupt, get-it-over-with attitude?”

  “Believe me, I know.” She beat back a smile. “That was one of the problems I had with him.”

  “And I’m standing right here,” John said dryly.

  Nadia and the doctor shared another laugh, and then Fern put her serious face on and started asking questions about her medical history.

  The blood test she ordered confirmed that she was, indeed, pregnant, and, even if they were clear when conception may have happened, they officially dated her pregnancy to the last date of her menstrual cycle which would put her roughly around six weeks.

  “Is it strange that I’m not feeling any symptoms?”

  “You’re one of the lucky ones.”

  “And, ah, Fern,” John put a finger over his mouth as if he wasn’t sure of what to say, and his face was unusually ruddy. “I… have a question.”

  “Is this about sexual intercourse?” The doctor’s eyes twinkled. Obviously, she was used to this question.

  “Yeah.”

  “John!” Nadia exclaimed and her own face was suddenly flushed with embarrassment. They’d had this chat. Nadia already knew from her friends that sex wasn’t a problem, which was why she wasn’t worried when they had that vigorous sex after the nightclub op. Apparently John did his research on that, too, so why was he asking this now?

  “We’ve been having lots of it and … I read somewhere that it was fine.”

  The doctor grinned. “It is perfectly fine.” She winked at Nadia. “I don’t see anything in her medical history to preclude sex.”

  “Thanks, doc.” John winked at Nadia.

  That time she did roll her eyes.

  Dr. Ryan gave an amused shake of her head. “I’ve sent your info to Dr. Stephanie Stahl, and, yes, it’s because John requested a female doctor.”

  “For obvious reasons,” he said.

  Oh, her caveman.

  After their doctor’s appointment, John dropped her off at the Nerd Lab and went off to do what super spies did when they were not attending prenatal checkups. It still felt surreal when she thought of their relationship. He’d always been the man of mystery in their little group ever since Gabby and Declan got back together. When their division spun off into CTTF to address terrorist threats in LA that could have nationwide consequences, John became a fixture … well, a fixture in the background.

  The sliding doors to her lab swooshed open. “Hey.”

  It was Levi.

  Her brows furrowed. “Where’s John?”

  “He got held up a bit.”

  “Oh, no, no, he wouldn’t dare.” Nadia grabbed her phone and called him. It went directly to voice mail. He sent her to
voicemail! The nerve! “John Garrison,” she fumed. “You’re not getting out of wearing the Locke Demon costume.”

  She ended the call and chucked the phone into her backpack and gathered the rest of her things. Levi was trying so hard not to laugh, but she shot him a glare just the same. On the ride home, she typed and erased messages to John, trying not to come off as a needy, pregnant woman.

  Argh.

  “He had something significant come up. It appears Dmitry Vovk boarded a plane for the U.S. again.”

  “He could have answered his phone or sent me a text.” She blew on imaginary bangs. “He knew how important this was to me.”

  “Maybe he’s a coward,” Levi said, glancing at her briefly. “He didn’t want to hear the disappointment in your voice.”

  Nadia sighed. “It’s better than ignoring me, leaving me in limbo.”

  The other man chuckled. “He’s got a long way to go to be trained.”

  “Is that so?” she grinned. “Is that what Kelly did to you?”

  “Believe me, John is smarter than I am navigating this shit. My only excuse? I’m younger.”

  Nadia grinned and stared out the window. They were at the neighborhood road now. Some kids and teenagers were already strolling on the sidewalks. The kids were about to be let loose. The police vehicle patrolling their apartment complex was parked in front of the main entrance.

  “You can drop me right ahead.”

  “Nope. I’m coming up with you.”

  She frowned. This was the first time she’d come home without John since Maxim’s ambush. She looked up ahead and saw another two cops stationed at the entrance to the complex, and then another patrol up ahead in addition to the one assigned to watch the SkyeLark apartments.

  “Look, your girls are waiting for you, right?”

  A muscle ticked at his jaw. “They understand daddy has a job to do.”

  “And you weren’t supposed to be doing this. John was. Your girls are going to be disappointed,” Nadia added. She was getting pissed at John for putting Levi up to this. “And Kelly, too, because I’m sure she’s going to make your daughters rock.”