Finding Trust (Centre Games)

by Natalie Gayle

  “Wow, mate, tone it back. I could feel the rage from a hundred metres away.”

  “He pushed too far this time, Rory.” Brayden’s voice was cold and hard; anger was rolling off him in waves.

  Rory held up both hands in the universal sign of surrender. “Hope you’re not looking for someone to continue arguing with? Because I agree with everything you said.”

  Brayden nodded his head in a jerky fashion. Rage still flowed out of him.

  They walked along for a few more seconds in silence. Brayden was doing his best to let go of the anger.

  Rory let him be for a few seconds before asking, “So, do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really; you heard everything, anyway.”

  “We all did. And as far as I know, everyone feels the same as you. I noticed Dylan headed up behind the house with his mobile right after you finished with the boss. So I’m guessing he put in a call to Rheeba. You know how close they are. She will have alerted everyone else.”

  Brayden calmed a bit and let out a huge sigh. “Shit. Sometimes I’m not sure whether the grapevine is a good or a bad thing. At least I don’t have to bother telling everyone the story.”

  “Maybe we should call our lack of privacy a biological side effect,” Rory joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “It’s as good a term as any,” Brayden agreed.

  They walked on a little farther in silence. Brayden huffed out a long breath that sounded more like a growl. “I can’t remember ever feeling this angry.”

  “I can tell, mate. We all heard the conversation and the boss was out of line. He wasn’t interested in hearing your perspective at all. Sometimes I think the boss forgets that we’re fundamentally human with enhanced senses due to our animal DNA. Not the other way around. He also forgets that we all do this voluntarily and that even though we probably have as much training as any military operator, we aren’t fucking military.” Rory really emphasised the aren’t fucking military part.

  It was a sore point with them all. The boss ran the Centre as if it were another branch of the military and maybe it was to some degree, but none of the team members were indentured to the Centre.

  They’d all chosen to work for the Centre because it seemed the obvious thing to do once the truth had been revealed to them, in their late teens. Their individual uniqueness and the reality that they all had altered DNA was what drew them together. It was the epitome of the “blood’s thicker than water” analogy. They may not be true blood relatives. But their altered DNA makeup made them uniquely connected.

  “So what do you think he’ll do?” Brayden didn’t really want to talk but he knew he had to or else he’d lose it.

  “I think he’ll suck it up and figure out a way around it. He won’t like it. The boss hates change, but he’ll do it. You didn’t give him any weasel room. He tried to keep the upper hand but you made it abundantly clear where your head’s at. That’s when he knew you had him.” Rory succinctly recapped the pertinent points of the conversation. Who needed a secretary to take notes when all his team members could hear for themselves?

  “You don’t think I’m being a bit selfish? I feel like an absolute prick for creating waves in the team.” A very small corner of his being was concerned he’d pushed too far and his teammates would suffer as a result. This concerned him.

  Rory playfully clipped Bray across the back of the head. “Yeah, you’re such a selfish bastard. Can’t believe I’m still mates with you.” Rory’s sarcasm was exactly the elixir Bray needed. It was why he’d sought him out. Rory just had a way of making everyone feel better.

  “Thanks. I think.”

  Rory reverted back to his rarely seen quiet and thoughtful persona. “Seriously, mate. It’s been brewing for a while. You probably don’t know but Aaron had a thing going with a girl a few months back when he was working that job down south. It was starting to look serious and then something happened and he backed away. I really thought this awakening, shall we call it, would have happened sooner. Boss has forgotten that we aren’t machines. I think now that you’ve blasted a hole in the foundations, the floodgates are open.” He paused and grinned at Brayden. “And mark my words, there will be a flood.”

  “Shit, I’m not looking to create World War Three here. Nor am I looking to create chaos amongst the team.” Concern returned again to Brayden’s voice.

  “We all know that. But you’ve had the guts to stand up and say you’re not prepared to put up with the status quo any longer. You’ve given us all the opportunity to broaden our horizons. If anything, I think it’ll be good for us. The alternative just wasn’t feasible.”

  Bray paused his stride, not at all sure what Rory was getting at. “Sorry, must have missed something there, mate.” A clearly puzzled look swept across his face.

  “I mean I think the boss actually thought we’d all just eventually pair off inside the Centre. Somehow we’d just couple up and create more little super humans. I have to say I love the girls but as sisters. The whole idea of anything more just makes my dick go limp. I mean, fuck, I think it could even be classified as incest.”

  Bray chuckled at the mental image Rory painted. “Can you imagine—no, I can’t even go there. Just going to scar me mentally for life,” Brayden agreed.

  “See what I mean? Boss has just been really shortsighted over the years. I can’t believe he even thought us all being together was an option. Maybe he just hadn’t really ever given it any thought?”

  “Who knows? But I guess I gave him a bit to think about before.” They both had a quiet chuckle at that.

  “Oh, yeah. Your parting comment was the absolute best. I was just about pissing myself laughing. But you have to tell me what his face looked like? I’d have paid serious money to see that.”

  Brayden really laughed now. Nobody was better to hang out with when you felt like shit than Rory.

  ***

  Rihanna rolled over in her sleep and Brayden spooned into her back. He’d just come to bed. It was very late, or very early depending on how you chose to look at it. They’d all been out in the Sit Room going over threat assessments, action plans, and logistics. All of the usual stuff before the final push on an assignment.

  Jazz and Rihanna had gone to bed a few hours ago. The girls were both still exhausted emotionally from the shock of Andy’s involvement. Jazz was cut up about it something fierce. She was putting on a brave face but everyone could see through it. Jazz blamed herself. She blamed herself for putting Rihanna at risk, for not seeing through Andy. Who was he kidding? Jazz blamed herself for everything.

  He nudged his body in even tighter to Minky’s. God, it felt good to be able to just hold her in his arms. It had turned out to be a shit of a day. He hated arguing with people. It just wasn’t his thing.

  However, there was no way he was letting the boss take this from him. Tom Anderson may have chosen the solitary path that some military guys chose, but this last week had shown him another. One he much preferred. One that had Rihanna in his bed, and close to him always.

  The night was hot and she wriggled in his arms, nudging his hips back with her curvy butt, probably objecting to the sudden increase in heat against her back. He reluctantly edged slightly away from her and immediately felt the light breeze hit the perspiration that the contact had created.

  “Mmmm, where’re you going?” she mumbled in a sleepy, sexy voice.

  Brayden leaned in close and whispered across her ear, “Nowhere, baby, just thought you must have been hot.”

  She shivered in response to his words and his cock immediately went from being interested to full-on ready for action. Rihanna wriggled her butt against him again, making it very clear what she was hot for.

  To test her interest even further, he slid his right hand up from her hip and ran the tip of his index finger over her nipple. It immediately pebbled into a taut little nub, and she gasped at the sensation.

  He’d come to realise he loved taking her when she was like this. Sti
ll sleepy, her brain a little foggy, all her barriers down. This was Rihanna at her barest. No barriers up, no sense of self-consciousness. Just raw need. He continued to tease her nipple and then stopped—testing her.

  “Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

  He chuckled quietly to himself. Just as he thought; she was all hot and needy.

  Rihanna wriggled her butt insistently against him. His cock was wondering what the holdup was, but he wanted to tease her a little more first.

  Her skin was silky smooth under his palm as he reached down and cupped her mound. She’d finally got the message a few days ago that clothing in his bed wasn’t optional. It was a definite no. It only got in the way.

  His tongue flicked out and traced the shell of her ear. His fingers slowly stroked through the hot wetness of her feminine lips. He sucked the lobe of her ear as he slid his middle finger deep inside her.

  “Mmmm, baby, you’re so hot and wet for me. I love it,” he whispered to her. All the while, he continued to tease her with his fingers. In and out, caressing that bundle of nerves inside her that loved to be stroked.

  Her breath had quickened to short little pants. She was close. Very close. He knew a couple of tickles to her clit and she’d come apart. Not yet.

  He wanted her hotter, even needier.

  Brayden stilled his hand at her mound. This left her clenching her internal muscles around his finger. He trailed his tongue down the curve of her neck, over the slope of her shoulder to find the pebbled peak of her nipple.

  He swiped his tongue over it once and then twice. She moaned in response.

  Something about the sounds she made just made him so horny for her. It just about had him losing his load before she’d even touched him. He pushed his own needs to the back of his mind and focused on driving her even higher.

  He sucked her nipple into his mouth, grazing his teeth over the sensitive flesh.

  She whimpered; the sound she made bordered on pain.

  He went back to his gentle sucking and laved the flat of his tongue over her. It was all about maintaining the momentum but not letting her climbing higher, just yet.

  She wriggled more aggressively in his arms, trying to encourage him.

  “What do you want, baby?” he managed around the nipple in his mouth.

  “I need to come, now,” she panted between gritted teeth.

  “Soon,” he promised.

  She reached behind her and tried to close her hand around his length. He immediately hiked his hips back away from her hand. It was about her at the moment. Not him. He wouldn’t let her distract his attention.

  There was no bigger turn-on for him than to have her mindless in his arms, coming apart in ecstasy. That’s how he wanted her now. He wanted to see her stripped to her barest responses.

  He dropped back away from her and gently pushed her body back against the bed. He trailed his fingers lightly over her skin from shoulder to hip. His touch left a wave of goose bumps in its wake and she thrust her hips towards the ceiling at the overload of sensations.

  “Brayden,” she gasped between breaths.

  “Mmmm, baby, soon.”

  He moved his big body effortlessly over her and she immediately raised her knees and dropped them to the side in anticipation of his entry. He thrust his hips forward, purposely not entering her, letting himself slip through her folds a few times, covering his length in her hot, silky feminine dew.

  Her arms clasped him tight around his shoulders and she dug her fingernails in to the point of pain.

  He rose to a kneeling position and thrust his hips towards her face. His long, thick erection demanded her lush mouth around it. She opened her lips and he felt the hot velvet of her tongue on the underside of his cock as he pushed into her mouth once, and then twice. She’d closed her lips tightly around him, about to increase her suction of him when he pulled back, depriving her of that as well.

  He slid down her body, frustrating her more, but exciting her further at the same time. She was anticipating his mouth all over her pussy and that just made her needier.

  His broad shoulders nudged her legs wider apart. He wanted her totally open to him. The full moon and the open shutters of the French doors provided just enough light so he could clearly see her swollen folds covered in her silvery dew. His veranda was a secluded area of the house, so he wasn’t concerned about providing a show for anyone else.

  It was too tempting—he had to taste.

  He took a long delicious lick, from her channel up and over her clit. She tasted amazing. It was hot, sweet, spicy, and something oh so Rihanna all at once. His senses felt as if they were on overload.

  Her scent had been distracting him all night. She’d wanted him while they ate, while they worked. Only her scent had given her away. To the outward eye, she seemed completely unaffected, controlled. What she didn’t know was that he and every member of his team knew just how badly she wanted him. Needed him. She had no idea how sexy she was.

  “Please, Bray, again,” she whimpered.

  He continued his teasing with his tongue. Long firm swipes from bottom to top. Then top to bottom. Enough pressure to have her on the edge and climbing higher, but not enough to set her free.

  He snaked his hand up her body and settled his fingers once again over her distended right nipple. He had a hunch that it was slightly more sensitive. He made a mental note to explore that further sometime and test his theory.

  His fingers pinched lightly at her nipple as he elongated his tongue and stabbed it into her channel. She tensed, and held her breath. She was almost there.

  He could deny her no longer. He slid two fingers deeply into her channel and lightly flicked his tongue over her clit. The light touch after the flat tongue swipes was enough.

  She let go.

  Spasms of ecstasy racked through her body. Her inner muscles squeezed tightly, trying to hold on to something in the free fall.

  God, she was beautiful like this. Even more beautiful with her face etched in ecstasy. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. Without her being near, just being Rihanna. Without her coming apart regularly for him.

  He knew without doubt—he loved her.

  Her spasms and whimpering went on.

  He drew her into his arms, cradling her head against his chest. His physical need for her at the moment was off the charts. Only to be topped by his need to have her know of his love for her.

  “I love you, Rihanna,” he whispered into her hair.

  He’d fulfilled that need, now for the other. Hope she wasn’t feeling sleepy.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Right, so we’re agreed that the two main targets are the horses brought in for the sale and the spectators.” Tom’s voice was strong and full of control as he addressed them all sitting around the dining-slash-boardroom table.

  “I think so,” agreed her father. He was sitting to Tom’s left and had been attentive throughout the whole meeting.

  Rihanna was finding it hard to concentrate. Her mind kept slipping back to last night. In bed, in Brayden’s arms. It had been incredible. She’d never felt so wanton, so desired, so loved. God, she was getting hot all over again just thinking about it.

  He’d said it. He loved her. She’d still been enveloped in one of the sweetest, most intense orgasms of her life. She truly didn’t know it could be that good. It just seemed to get better and better between them.

  “What about the horses that come in each day for the race meetings? Why are they less of a target than those that are involved in the sale?”

  Her brain registered that she’d heard Rory ask the question but she hadn’t really thought about it. Her father would field it.

  “Do you agree, Rihanna?” her father asked.

  Her head spun towards her father, clearly having no idea what she was supposed to be agreeing or disagreeing to.

  “Um, sorry I missed that. Could you repeat the question?” How embarrassing to be caught daydreaming. She risked a glance at Bra
yden across the table and the twinkle in his eyes and the almost imperceptible smirk let her know that he knew exactly where she’d been.

  “Dr Mason commented on Rory’s question regarding horse movement. He asked if you agreed that the horses coming in and out for the races would be less of a target than those involved in the sales.” Tom didn’t even bother to hide his annoyance at having to go over this again.

  Shit, she needed to get her head together and now.

  “Well, I have to agree. I believe the horses coming in for a race then leaving pose a lower risk of contamination than the horses there for the sale. The main reason being, that the horses in for races are almost constantly attended by a strapper. This means that the likelihood of anyone getting the opportunity to infect them is lower. Not extinguished but lower. I think it’s also important that we make sure we have increased surveillance on the paperwork for the entry and exit of those horses. We really need to know where they’ve come from and where they’re going to, if we should detect any exposures. In the event that there is some sort of incident, all those horses will need to be tested and the properties on which they reside quarantined, until we can confirm the infection status.”

  She noticed her father nodding strongly in agreement with her statement. There, she’d not only answered the question but also raised some other solid points for thought. Not bad for someone that was finding it oh so hard to concentrate.

  Rihanna felt a nudge to her right leg and turned her eyes to catch Jazz giving her a “well-done” grin. Brayden also slightly nodded his head in support.

  Her father shifted in his seat, drawing attention to himself. “Actually Tom, I’m less and less comfortable with this whole thing the more I think about it. We really need to advise the Racing Board and let them know of the possible threat. We’re talking about the potential to cripple a whole industry. Hell, they’re still feeling the effects of equine influenza and that was years ago.”

  “We’ve been over this before, Peter. We can’t go telling them about the threat at the moment; it is nothing more than a strong hunch. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get anything further out of the Chinese.”