by Paige Tyler
She smiled and reached for his belt. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Chuckling, Nash stood to shove down his jeans. Bristol blinked. Damn, she’d never seen a man so perfect. Long muscular legs, abs and pecs that seemed to be carved from stone, and biceps and shoulders that made her mouth water with a crazy urge to nip and nibble them.
She leaned back on the bed and watched as he skimmed down his tight underwear, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of his shaft. Yeah, that part of him was perfect, too. Long, thick, and best of all, hard.
It almost made her giddy to think she was the reason he was so excited.
She kicked off her shoes and grabbed the bottom of her top, eager to get out of her clothes now that he was naked, but Nash’s voice stopped her.
“I probably don’t need to say this, but there are people downstairs. Keep that in mind later when you feel the urge to scream.”
She lifted a brow. “You think that’s a possibility?”
He reached out and grabbed her ankles, dragging her toward the edge of the bed and making her laugh. “You’ll want to scream. I can guarantee that.”
Her jeans ended up in a heap on the floor, quickly followed by her shirt, bra, and panties. When she was completely naked, Nash stood taking her all in like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The expression on his face, half awe, half smoldering heat was almost enough to make her blush.
Nash offered his hand and she took it, letting him pull her off the bed and to her feet. She immediately melted into his arms, luxuriating in the feel of his hard, muscular body pressing against her softer curves. Bristol dropped a hand down to wrap around his erection, caressing softly as his fingers found their way into her hair and his mouth came down to capture hers.
Bristol lost herself in the moment, surrendering to the sensations of his warm mouth stealing her breath, his strong hand sliding down her back to cup her butt, his cock throbbing in her hand.
She could stay right there forever.
But Nash obviously had other ideas. Slowly pulling away, he turned her around until she was facing away from him. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her to him so that his erection was nestled firmly against her ass.
She leaned back into him, grinding her bottom a little as he pressed a hot kiss to the curve of her neck. Nash’s right hand glided down her stomach and she instinctively spread her legs a little, biting her lower lip when his fingers skimmed her wet folds.
Nash seemed to be deliberately trying to tease her because he skillfully avoided her clit as he repeatedly slid his middle finger deep inside then out. Her legs quivered, and if she hadn’t been holding onto his arm around her middle she probably would have melted into a puddle on the floor.
When he finally got around to caressing her clit, her body spasmed like she’d touched a live wire. The tingling between her legs gradually got more intense, a sure indication she was going to come soon. She took a deep breath in anticipation and reminded herself not to scream.
Then Nash took his finger away, and she almost did scream, this time in frustration. She groaned in protest, but he shushed her, his breath tickling her ear as he cupped her breasts and played with her nipples. Since it felt so amazing, she couldn’t really complain. That said, she still wanted to shout for joy when he once more slid his hand between her legs to finger her again. She rotated her hips in time with his movements, loving the feel of his hardness against her ass almost as much as his touch on her clit.
When her breath began to come in quick pants and her body started to tense up, she was half afraid he was going to pull his hand away, but he only squeezed her tighter and quickened his movements, drawing the climax from her in a rush that made her whole body shake. She clenched the arm wrapped around her and bit her lip again, trying desperately not to cry out.
Nash whispered in her ear the whole time she was coming, though she couldn’t make out any of it. All she could do was moan.
Bristol wasn’t sure how long her orgasm lasted. Nash was an expert at teasing the pleasure out of her long after she thought it was over. She didn’t even realize he’d picked her up in his arms and set her down on the edge of the bed until he stepped between her spread legs. She wrapped them around him, tugging him closer.
“No more teasing,” she whispered as he rubbed the thick head of his shaft up and down her slick folds.
Gaze locked on hers, he grasped her hips, then slowly eased into her. Even though she was more than ready for him, she still gasped when he filled her. No man she’d ever been with had ever felt this perfect.
As he thrust, Nash ran his hands over her hips and up her tummy to cup her breasts. He lingered there, playing with her nipples as he pushed her closer and closer to another orgasm. While Bristol was definitely a fan of the slow and gentle approach, she needed all of him—now.
“Harder,” she whispered.
He immediately slid his hands down to grasp her hips again, pumping into her faster. “Like this?”
All she could do was moan in reply. She knew she should be quiet, but that wasn’t going to be possible. Not with Nash doing incredible things to her body like this.
Her climax built higher and higher with every thrust. As the wave crested, Nash leaned forward to cover her mouth with his, stealing her breath way. She wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, coming hard and feeling him come with her. It was the most glorious thing she’d ever felt.
When she floated down from her orgasmic high, Bristol realized Nash had slid her farther across the bed, making room so he could join her. He was still carefully resting his weight between her legs, his cock buried deep inside her.
“That was incredible,” she whispered as he leaned forward to give her another kiss, this one softer and more tender. “I hope I wasn’t too loud.”
He chuckled, leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw and down her neck. “You weren’t. But we just started so I still have a few more chances to make you scream.”
Heat pooled between her thighs as he moved his mouth lower, capturing one of her very sensitive nipples between his lips and doing things to it that made her think Nash was going to make good on his promise.
* * * * *
Nash was in the kitchen making coffee when Shaw’s phone rang. Nash quickly dug it out of his pocket and thumbed the green button. He loved spending time with Bristol, but after fourteen hours of sitting around on his hands waiting, he was getting a little antsy. He was a Navy SEAL. Doing nothing wasn’t in his DNA.
“Cantrell,” he said.
“It’s me.” On the other end of the line, Roman’s voice was weak, his breathing labored. Damn, the senior CIA agent didn’t sound good at all. “Are you someplace where you can talk?”
“Yeah. Hang on while I put you on speaker so Dalton can hear.”
Nash strode into the living room where Dalton was in the middle of telling Bristol and Josefina a story of one of his many escapades.
“You’re on speaker, Roman,” Nash said. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
There was a wet sounding cough. “I’ve been better. Where’s Shaw? This is his phone.”
“He’s okay. Took one in the leg.” Even though he was in bad shape, Roman was still more worried about his people than himself. That said something about a man. “Don’t worry about him. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you. Is Santiago with you?”
“Santiago’s dead.” Roman let out another cough. “I don’t know what happened. Munoz must have made us somehow. Leon was supposed to take us to the port to get the missiles, but we’d barely gone more than a mile or two from the villa when he pulled over at an abandoned house with blue stucco walls and lots of old thatching on the roof. He and the other guy with him shot Santiago and me without ever saying a word. I thought I was going to buy it, too, but I guess not.”
Shit. That meant Roman had been unconscious for nearly an entire day. It was a miracle he’d woken up. There was no telling how much longe
r the man could hang on without medical treatment, though. Which meant he had to get there fast. Unfortunately, Nash wasn’t sure if they’d be able to take Roman to a hospital. A gunshot would bring the police as fast there as in the States. But here, Munoz owned a lot of the cops.
“I know where he is,” Bristol whispered. “It’s about five miles from here. You can’t miss it.”
Nash nodded. “Roman, you hang tight. We know where you are and we’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Roman’s laugh ended in a fit of coughing. “I’ll be here. Not like I’m going anywhere.”
Hanging up, Nash looked at Josefina. “Could I borrow your car?”
Even in the dark, that red Hummer would stick out like a sore thumb.
The woman nodded. “Of course. I’ll get the keys.”
“Let me grab my shoes,” Bristol said, starting for the stairs.
Nash caught her arm. “I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Shaw.”
She frowned. “Don’t even try it. You don’t want me to go because you think it might be dangerous.”
“You’re right. I don’t.” He sighed. “We could run into your father’s men out there and I won’t be able to focus on fighting them if you’re there because I’ll be too worried about you.”
Fear flashed in Bristol’s eyes. She grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. “Don’t you think I’ll be worried about you, too?”
Nash opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. It suddenly dawned on him that he’d never had anyone worry about him before. Sure, his family did, but that was different. This was the woman he was falling for. It probably shouldn’t have made any difference, but it did.
A few feet away, Dalton looking at him expectantly, knowing like Nash did that they didn’t have time to waste.
“I know you’re going to worry about me, Bristol,” he said softly. “But I’m a SEAL. This is what I do. Not just here and now, but for the foreseeable future. I want us to be together, but that’s something you need to accept. I’m going to be careful, and I have Dalton there to watch my back, but I need to go do this. And you need to let me.”
She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, but then nodded and looked away, blinking back tears she probably thought he couldn’t see. “How are you going to find the house in the dark without me?”
He cupped her cheek, gently turning her face to his. “You said we wouldn’t be able to miss it, remember? But in case that was an exaggeration, maybe you could draw me a quick map?”
Bristol took a deep breath, then nodded again. “Okay. But you have to promise me that you’ll be careful.”
“I will.” Nash kissed her gently on the lips. “I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE’S GOING TO be fine.” Dalton said as he drove the borrowed pickup truck along the coastal road as fast as he could without attracting too much attention. “There’s no way in hell Munoz would ever figure out she’s at Josefina place.”
“I know,” Nash said, telling himself the twist he felt in his gut didn’t mean anything. That he was worrying for no reason. “I’d just feel a lot better if Shaw was a bit more mobile. You left him your pistol, but it’s not like he can do regular perimeter checks or anything like that.”
“He won’t have to. Especially if we find Roman and get back to the house quickly.”
Nash hoped that was true. “You heard the way Roman sounded on the phone. You think there’s even a chance he’s still alive by the time we find him?”
Dalton shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
A few minutes later, they made a left turn and Nash spotted the cluster of palm trees near the edge of the road that Bristol described.
“The turn off should be coming up on the right,” he told Dalton.
Thanks to Bristol’s map, it wasn’t difficult to find the abandoned house in the dark, even though it was well back from the road and half hidden by shrubs. Dalton turned off the engine and killed the lights, coasting to a stop halfway up the driveway to the house. Grabbing his weapon, Nash opened his door and got out, falling into step beside Dalton.
Nash flipped the selector on his assault weapon off safe and scanned the overgrown yard as he walked. The house was a big two-story structure with single story wings extending out to either side and most of the windows broken out. Other than the whisper of the palm trees swaying in the night breeze, it was as quiet as a tomb. Luckily, the sliver of moon high in the sky provided enough light to see, though if Roman was around there somewhere, he wasn’t making his presence known. Then again, the guy might not even be conscious.
Nash motioned to Dalton to take lead around the right side of the house, following about twenty feet back to cover his teammate, while keeping most of his attention on the heavy brush that encircled nearly the entire back of the property. He didn’t think there was anyone hiding back there, but his instincts and training made him wary of any place he couldn’t see.
They were halfway across the back of the house and still no sight or sound of Roman. Dalton threw him a glance, and Nash knew exactly what his buddy was thinking.
Was the CIA agent still alive?
“Roman?” Nash called.
He hated the idea of announcing their presence, but he didn’t have a choice.
Nash stopped, straining to hear something—anything—that might give them hope. A few feet ahead of him, Dalton did the same. After a full minute, Nash was ready to give up, but then he heard a soft cough coming from the back left corner of the house near the covered patio area. Dalton must have heard it, too because he immediately turned and headed that way.
“Hold on, Roman!” Nash jogged to catch up with Dalton. “We’re coming.”
They were twenty feet away from the patio when Nash caught a flash of moment out of the corner of his eye. He whipped around to see moonlight glinting off metal behind one of the broken windows on the second floor.
“Ambush left!” he shouted, launching himself forward and to the right, knowing Dalton would do the same without asking questions
Automatic weapon fire pierced the night, echoing in the darkness. A split second later, more rounds came from the bushes along the back of the property.
Nash hit the ground rolling as bullets tore up the ground around him. He got under the patio cover seconds before the rounds ripped into the dirt he’d been hugging. He jumped to his feet, ready to return fire toward the second floor as Dalton focused on whoever was shooting at them from the rear of the property when a shadowy figure came out from behind a built-in barbecue pit on the far side of the patio.
Nash whipped around, almost firing in that direction, but stopped when the man stepped forward into a beam of moonlight coming through the vine-covered pergola. Relief coursed through Nash even as bullets continued to rain down all around them.
“Roman. How the hell are you still alive?”
Nash started toward the injured CIA agent when he caught the hard look in his eyes. That was when he caught sight of the pistol in Roman’s hand.
Alarms bells went off, and Nash’s stomach clenched as he realized they’d been tricked. Cursing, he pulled the trigger on the compact submachine gun in his hand. Roman must have anticipated the move because he ducked behind the barbecue pit. That was more than enough time for Nash to bail.
“Dalton, go!” he yelled as he raced toward the French doors standing between him and the interior of the house. He got there first, smashing through the wood and glass, rolling as he hit the tile floor beyond. Dalton came in right behind him, and they both scrambled for cover. Dalton slid behind a heavy island in the center of the kitchen while Nash took cover near the wall beside the doors. Bullets smacked into the tile floors, ricocheting off the walls, bits of plaster and clay going everywhere.
“There are two upstairs,” he told Dalton.
“Yup.” Dalton calmly dropped the magazine on his carbine and checked to see how many rounds he had left. “I’m guessing t
hey’ll be coming down to visit soon. You deal with the ones outside. I’ll handle the ones inside.”
Nash nodded, peeking around the door frame. Roman was out there with two other men. One of them Gerard Santiago.
Son of a bitch.
“You know Roman betrayed us, right?” he asked Dalton. “This whole thing was a trap from the get go.”
Dalton snorted. “Yeah, I kind of figured that out. But you have to admit, he sounded convincing as hell on the phone. Don’t feel bad about buying his bullshit. I did, too.”
Getting up, Dalton darted down a hallway that looked like it headed toward the back of the house and hopefully the stairs.
Nash caught sight of Santiago and one of Munoz’s men moving to the right while Roman stayed where he was. No doubt the asshole was planning to distract Nash while the other two men slipped into the house and tried to take him out from behind.
“You should have taken Munoz up on that offer,” Roman shouted. “You could be sitting on a briefcase full of money right now instead of heading for a shallow grave.”
“One briefcase of cash. Is that all it took for you to sell out your country?” Nash yelled back.
He was only paying partial attention to the CIA agent. Most of his focus was on the sound of footsteps on broken glass on the right side of the house. Those two idiots probably thought they were being stealthy. They weren’t.
“Hell, yeah!” Roman laughed. “I’ve been living undercover like a criminal getting shot at, knifed, and beaten up for the better part of twenty-five years, and for what? That one briefcase is more money than I’ll see in my life.”
“And what did you and Santiago have to do to earn all that money besides rat Dalton and me out?” Nash demanded.
The footsteps were coming closer. This little ambush was going to be over with in the next few seconds, one way or the other.
“Giving you two up was a freebie,” Roman said. His voice was closer now. Probably so he could charge in the moment the shooting started. “What Munoz really wanted was access to the CIA and ATF. With us feeding him intel from the inside, he figured it would be easy to stay one step ahead of the people coming after him.”
