by Dawn Ryder
The pack turned on Thais.
Her team finally came to her rescue, surging in front of her as she turned and headed for any avenue of escape.
Dunn surfaced from the back of the room, reaching out to grasp her wrist and pull her through a door that one of his people stepped into to shield their escape. He took command of her and she found herself trusting in his grasp.
Another pair of security men parted to allow them to enter an elevator; the men smoothly slipped back to fill the doorway as Dunn pulled her into the car and punched in a floor number.
Thais drew in a deep breath as the elevator jerked and started moving upward.
But it drew Dunn’s scent into her senses.
She knew it on a level she hadn’t realized anyone might register on. Somewhere deep inside herself where she’d convinced herself no one else had the means to touch her.
And he still had hold of her wrist. Her heart was accelerating. His thumb moved, brushing over the delicate skin of her inner wrist. She felt him press against the spot where she knew he could feel her pulse.
She could pull away.
But you don’t want to …
“You want me to notice,” he said softly, turning his head so he was watching her. “Don’t you, Thais?”
It wasn’t really a question.
No, it was far more of a statement of fact. She felt herself shuddering in response, and his grip tightened again as he noted the reaction.
“I shouldn’t.” The admission crossed her lips as the doors opened.
“It’s not going to be that easy, Thais.” He strode forward, leaving her against the back of the elevator. He turned, catching her with his emerald gaze as he offered her his hand. “I’m not going to be alone in this.”
The challenge was there between them. His hand opened as he stood in the open doorway, keeping the doors from sliding shut.
She put her hand into his. Her impulses flattened her thoughts as she jumped toward him, unwilling to deny herself the opportunity to indulge.
Dunn pulled her into the hallway, wrapping his arm around her and turning her back to the wall. He pinned her there, threading his fingers into her hair to capture her completely. Her breath caught as he tilted her head up so he could claim her lips.
“Ummm…” The soft sound escaped from her as she kissed him back. There was no way she was going to deny herself the moment; honestly, she couldn’t have even if there were a valid reason for her to do so.
There was only Dunn and the moment she hadn’t expected to come her way.
They were stealing time.
Grabbing a handful of happiness before it was jerked out of reach once more by circumstance and harsh reality.
The elevator door chimed. Dunn grunted as he pushed away from her, turning and pulling her behind him in a swift motion that saw her stepping away from the wall before the elevator doors fully opened.
She caught sight of his man Kent in the hallway but it was brief as Dunn slid a keycard through a door lock and opened the door to a penthouse suite.
Thais didn’t wait for the door to shut.
Her heart was pounding and she just didn’t want to slow down.
No, she wanted to indulge.
Dunn was shrugging out of his suit jacket. She pushed him back against the wall before he got his arms free.
“Stay right there,” she ordered him.
His eyes narrowed.
Thais fingered the fabric of her dress, pulling it up to give him a flash of her thighs. “It might be worth your while to let me call the shots, Dunn.”
He stopped rotating his shoulders to dislodge his jacket, one corner of his lips rising as he watched her raise her dress higher, until the hem was just shy of her mons.
His eyes narrowed as she held position. “Sure you want to tease me?”
There was a promise in his tone that set off a throbbing in her clit. He wasn’t tame. She’d deduced that the first time she met him. No woman would ever domesticate him.
And a smart one would even think twice about how much better off she’d be to leave just the way he was.
The jacket dropped to the floor. She watched the way he brought his arms forward, the look in his eyes sending a little zip of heat through her.
She smiled.
You’re becoming addicted to the way he makes you feel …
Maybe, but she wasn’t at all interested in contemplating the idea at the moment. She backed up, letting the dress fall back down.
It earned her a raised eyebrow. She felt her lips rising into a smile. It was another one of those … honest … emotional responses he seemed to have an exclusive ability to unlock inside her.
She turned and picked up her feet. Running across the polished floors. She heard him give chase, felt a jolt of anticipation go through her as she caught the sound of his footfalls behind her.
She let out a squeal as he captured her. Lifting her off her feet as he closed his arms around her.
“Are you mine to do with what I please?” he asked next to her ear.
“Maybe I was just trying to bait you,” she answered as he lifted her high and dropped her onto one of the sofas from behind it.
He remained standing. She bounced once before Dunn caught the sides of her dress and pulled the soft fabric up her body. “I like the idea of having you at my mercy better.”
He tossed her dress aside, a grunt of male satisfaction coming from him. Thais flipped over onto her knees and flattened her hand over the bulge of his cock.
“So sure about that…” She clicked her tongue as she rubbed him gently. “I still say you would enjoy being toyed with.”
And she wasn’t planning on waiting for him to agree.
No, she opened his belt, feeling her senses tighten. Arousal went through her, only now it was something that captured her attention completely. She wasn’t applying a skill.
No, she was engaged completely.
And she wanted Dunn just as helpless as she was against the need rising between them.
“Agreed,” he offered as she opened his pants.
Thais didn’t rush. She enjoyed the way peeling back the fabric from his skin unleashed his scent. Recognition flickered inside her brain where she didn’t have any control over the way her body responded to it.
Her nipples tingled as they drew into hard little points.
Her clit was throbbing.
She ignored it as she drew his cock into the open. His breath caught as she stroked it. Using just the tips of her fingers, she teased him with several up and down motions.
“I give as good as I get, Thais…,” he warned her in a husky voice.
She reached lower and cupped his balls. Applying just enough pressure to make his lips thin with male pleasure.
“You don’t want me to rush, any more than I want to have this moment finished.”
His eyes had narrowed but he opened them as her words hit him. For a moment, she was staring into his emerald eyes, fixated by the emotion glittering in them. He reached down and caught the back of her head, twisting her hair just enough to make her realize he had the strength to hold her.
But she was claiming him at the moment.
She lowered her gaze to his cock, closing her fingers around his flesh as she leaned forward and allowed her breath to touch the slit on the head of it.
His grip tightened, delighting her. There was something about knowing he was just as susceptible to her as she was to him.
Soul mates …
She should have shied away from the concept but the truth was, she was sinking into the moment and the only real focus she had was drawing more responses from him.
She opened her mouth and licked him.
She heard the way he sucked his breath through his teeth. Felt the way he pushed his hips toward her. He wanted more. Craved the connection as much as she did. Thais didn’t plan on disappointing him. She worked her hands along the length of his shaft. Tightening her fingers around his girth and p
umping him as she teased the head of his cock with her tongue.
He groaned.
She’d often used such sounds as a way of gauging just when her subject was ready to spill information.
Tonight, she wanted to do anything but think.
Instead, Thais opened her mouth and closed her lips around the head of his cock. He drew in another harsh breath as she teased the crown with her tongue. She caught the first hints of his come, rising up into the slit on the head of his staff.
“Christ,” he growled as she licked the slit again and sucked harder.
He was pushing his hips toward her. His flesh hardening even more as she worked her hands along the portion of his cock that she couldn’t get into her mouth. She was pushing the limit, working harder on him in an effort to shove him over the edge. Was it about victory? Maybe. But not the sort she’d ever craved before. This time, she wanted to know she’d managed to satisfy him.
Dunn denied her though.
He pulled away, stepping back so his cock left her mouth.
“I have other plans for this hard-on, Thais.” He yanked his tie off and tossed it aside as he attacked the buttons on his cuffs and shirt. “And they involve you moaning along with me.”
His eyes glittered with promise as he shed his clothing. He leaned over and cupped the back of her head when he finished, leaning over to kiss her.
It was a hard kiss and one she returned with equal passion. A little sound of delight escaped her lips as she rose up on her knees to kiss him back.
Dunn slid his hands over her shoulders before stroking along her shoulder blades and finding the clasp of her bra. A little pressure around her chest and then he was pulling the garment up her arms.
The look on his face was mesmerizing.
Lust was there but something else was, too, that thing she’d tried to convince herself didn’t really exist in the world.
It was there in Dunn though, and she reached for him, pulling him back down so she could kiss him again. So simple a thing, a kiss, and yet, she could have spent endless time doing it with him. Dunn didn’t deprive her, either. He clasped her tightly, cradling the back of her head as he moved his mouth over hers.
But her body was only going to wait so long for what it craved.
Dunn broke away from her, his face strained with hunger. She slipped back down onto the sofa as he came around the edge.
He was coming for her.
She watched the intent on his face, felt the way the look in his eyes pinned her in place.
He caught the sides of her last garment and tugged her panties down her legs before he pushed her back onto the surface of the sofa.
“Payback time…,” he muttered as he pressed her knees wide.
He was taking control.
Demanding it.
She shifted, rolling to one side only to feel him pressing down on her. He framed her face with his hands, making their gazes meet.
“Give me control, Thais,” he rasped at her. “Be my lover.”
Lover …
The word took on its true meaning when she applied it to him.
“I’m not sure I know how.” It was an admission. One that slipped across her lips while he was watching her.
His eyes narrowed, his lips thinning. He tapped her mouth with one fingertip. “Just … stay … right there.”
His tone was coated in thick intent. She caught a glitter of determination in his eyes before he was kissing his way down her body. Lifted her arms up and pressing them above her head before he stroked her, down her face and neck until he was kneading her breasts.
“You need to eat more,” he muttered as he teased her nipples.
“Said no man ever…,” she groused, lifting her eyelids to shoot him a stare.
Dunn stared right back at her. “I just did…”
But he wasn’t interested in talking any more than she was. He moved down her body, pausing to kiss her belly before he was spreading her slit wide and applying his mouth to her clit.
She gasped, twisting because of the intensity of the contact. She heard him chuckle, felt the vibration against her flesh and let out a gasp.
“Ummm…,” he muttered in response. “You like that…”
There was smug victory in his tone but whatever she might have thought about it died as he returned to driving her insane with his mouth. It took her to the edge, where climax was just a single breath away. She resisted, however, lifting her hips as she tried to break the connection, just enough so she wouldn’t reach that peak.
She didn’t want the moment to be over.
Dunn insisted though. Following her and sucking harder as he pressed two thick fingers up inside her passage.
Thais cried out, arching up as climax broke through her. Twisting and wringing her for moments that felt endless. The pleasure was deep, washing away the need that had been pulsing inside of her.
Dunn eased away, stroking her inner thighs as he watched her struggle to draw in enough breath to keep from just passing out.
He was pleased with himself.
She caught the satisfied grin on his lips as she succeeded in opening her eyes and focusing on him. It spurred her up and off her back. She was straddling him and pushing his back against the padded surface of the sofa before she thought anything through.
It wasn’t a time for thinking.
No, she lifted up and felt the head of his cock slipping into the wet folds of her body. His expression tightened with need as he bared his teeth at her.
“My turn…,” she offered as she lowered herself onto his length.
“Knock yourself out…,” he answered as he cupped her hips and pressed her down once she’d lifted up again.
“The plan”—she pressed down again—“is to knock you out.”
To push him past his limits. It was burning inside her as she rode him but he wasn’t going to allow her to be in command. He slid his hand across her belly, seeking out her clit as she gasped and increased her pace.
He teased her clit, awakening the need he’d already satisfied once.
Her heart was pounding, her skin coated in perspiration as they tried to push one another over the edge. He was right there with her, rising up to meet her, filling her with hard thrusts as he rubbed her clit. Thais felt her body tightening. Need was a roaring inferno inside them both and in those last movements, she realized she’d never felt so connected to another soul in her life.
She cried out again, the sound proof of just how completely she’d lost control.
But Dunn let out a growl as well, his cock jerking inside her as he griped her hips to hold her in place as he emptied himself.
She clamped her thighs around him, clinging to him as the only solid thing in her universe.
* * *
Carl blinked and then sat down hard as he stared at the large flat-screen television with Miranda displayed on it in live time. He rubbed his hand over his face before looking back at Eric. “I suppose … that isn’t a bad thing. Pullman knew too much.”
Carl was thinking.
Or maybe it was a little more precise to say, Carl’s brain was spinning. Eric was growing accustomed to the signs of his boss’s growing agitation. The way Carl drummed his fingers on the desktop, the way his lips moved, like he was thinking too fast for his thoughts to form into actual words.
“Maybe … I’m going about this the wrong way.” Carl managed to get some of his thoughts into words. He was tapping the desktop and suddenly flattened his hand. “You’re right, Eric. Miranda is voter candy.”
Eric stiffened. He knew the tone Carl was using and it wasn’t one of accepting what fate was willing to give them.
“We need Miranda on our side,” Carl said as he stood.
“How do you propose to accomplish that?” Eric asked.
Carl was plotting. Eric watched the way he tapped his fingertips against one another as he concentrated.
“Dunn Bateson was at the press conference,” Carl stated. He looked
up at Eric. “Didn’t the FBI raid his house looking for Thais Sinclair?”
Eric nodded. He was using a remote to back up the footage of the medal ceremony. He hit the pause button as Dunn Bateson filled the screen.
“What’s the connection?” Carl asked.
Eric turned and went toward his laptop. The office filled with the sound of his tapping as he hacked into the FBI network. Carl came over and waited until Eric had the report of the raid on screen.
“Miranda is his mother?” Carl exclaimed. He rocked back on his heels and laughed. “That’s rich! I knew Miranda was just as dirty as the rest of us!”
Carl was rubbing his hands together as he paced across the office. He wasn’t just happy … no, Eric would call it down right gleeful.
“You can’t use that against her in a press conference,” Eric advised.
Carl froze and turned to peg him with a hard look.
“Times have changed,” Eric explained. “The public might just be sympathetic toward a young girl who wasn’t allowed to marry the man she loved in favor of a high-society match arranged by her parents.”
Carl surprised him by nodding agreement.
“Times haven’t changed enough,” Carl groused. “Otherwise I could be openly gay.”
Carl resumed pacing and plotting. Eric looked at the footage from the press conference again.
“Stop … go back…,” Carl said, directing him.
Eric used the controller to back the footage up.
“There … there!” Carl exclaimed.
Eric put the footage on slow motion. Dunn and Thais were at the back of the frame leaving together. Eric dropped the remote and went back to his laptop. He hacked into the hotel security cameras and searched the lobby frames until he found Dunn and Thais going into the elevator together.
Carl let out a snort as he saw the way Dunn clasped her wrist. “Looks like the FBI was on to something. Bateson has a thing for that Agent Sinclair.”
“Bateson would have the sort of resources necessary to break someone out of Homeland,” Eric added.
“Resources he’s using to undermine my efforts,” Carl said as he took to pacing once more. Eric allowed him to think. It was a solid fact that Miranda could do a lot for their numbers among the voters. Eric hadn’t signed on just to lose in the last few months.
