Rogue (Phoenix Rising)

by Brynley Blake

  He leans across the seat and kisses me. It’s a kiss filled with promise—the promise of a lifetime of love and laughter and sharing the good and the bad, of traveling the sometimes-bumpy road of life with him by my side, and the certainty that together we can face anything.

  Then he realizes I can’t put my arms around him. “I’ve got to figure out how to get you out of those cable ties.” He raises his eyebrows, shooting me a grin that has depravity written all over it. “Unless you want to have a little kinky fun in the woods.”

  I laugh. And sex. My God, I will never get tired of the wicked and lustful way he makes me feel, and the way he commands my body.

  “That’s tempting. But if the guy from the hotel finds us, I don’t want to be naked and tied to a tree. Or whatever diabolical thing you think up.”

  “What guy? You told me your friend Walker had kidnapped you.”

  “He did. But he went downstairs to get me something to eat and when someone knocked at the door, I assumed it was him and I opened it. But it wasn’t him. It was the guy in the suit that you attacked on the street outside the hotel.”

  “El Gato said he hadn’t sent anyone after you since Costa Rica and promised he wouldn’t.” Noah bites out the words, clearly furious.

  “It was an American. He reminded me of a Navy SEAL, but there was something kind of cold and dead about him.” I shiver at the memory. “And he definitely wasn’t there to protect me. The gun he held to my ribs was loaded and real.”

  Noah has a look of intense concentration on his face, and I wait patiently while he sorts through the facts in his head. I’ve never known anyone who can process information at quite the same level that he can.

  “He had highly advanced military training,” he muses thoughtfully. “It all made sense when you told me it was Walker. But why would an American-trained soldier try to kidnap you? Or possibly want to kill you?”

  “I don’t know. It has to have something to do with Liam’s list. The guy on the boat, the incident at the cave. We have to talk to Walker. He can help us.”

  Noah looks at me consideringly. “You trust him?”

  “With my life.”

  “It may come down to that.” He sighs heavily. “There’s something more going on here that I don’t fully understand, but I intend to get to the bottom of it. I want to find the guns so I can walk away from all of this and start my life over with you. If he can help us put an end to this, and help me keep you safe until then, let’s talk to him.”

  An hour later, a Jeep roars through the brush and comes to a stop. Walker gets out. He looks like some gorgeous, mulatto-skinned Rambo in camo pants and a tank top that reveals his ripped arms and torso, with an AK-47 strapped to his leg. Although I’d told him on the phone that he had to trust me that Noah wasn’t who he thought he was, and that we needed his help, he clearly isn’t ready to rely on my word.

  Noah approaches him and holds out his hand. Walker reluctantly takes it.

  “I love her.” The simplicity of Noah’s admission slays me. “I will do anything to keep her safe. Including trusting you.”

  I can see Walker soften a little, although he doesn’t give Noah any quarter.

  “Why is she still bound?” he barks.

  “I don’t have anything to cut the ties with. I was hoping you would.”

  Walker walks over to me. With his back to Noah, he lifts my hands and slices through the cable ties with the knife he pulls from his boot. You okay? He mouths the words so Noah can’t hear him, giving me the opportunity to tell him if Noah is keeping me against my will. I nod.

  “I love him, Walker. He loves me. He’s not who you think he is. Please just listen, okay?”

  He hesitates, and then nods curtly. Turning back to Noah, he says, “I’m listening, but this had better be good. If I think you have anything but McKenzie’s best interests at heart, I’ll kill you.”

  Noah nods. “Fair enough.”

  Having reached some sort of completely fucked-up understanding, Walker listens without interrupting as Noah tells him everything he’s told me, ending with how he was assigned to find me to determine what on Liam’s list might lead him to the stash of guns, but that he ended up falling for me instead.

  “So, what do you want to do now?” Walker asks when Noah is finished.

  “Most importantly, I want to keep McKenzie alive and safe. But I’m afraid as long as the guns are missing, she’s in danger. Someone else definitely wants the list, and they may want her dead, as well.”

  “What about her brother?” Walker asks sharply. “If you brokered the deal with Liam, you have everything you need to convict him.”

  I turn to Noah, stricken. With everything else we’ve talked about, I somehow forgot that the reason he’s even here is because he’s investigating my brother’s criminal activity. No matter how much I love him—and I do love him more than I ever dreamed imaginable—I can’t be with a man who is trying to destroy my brother’s good name. It’s all I have left of him.

  Noah returns my gaze steadily. “I’ll work with the government to see what they want to do once the weapons are recovered. Maybe they’ll want to mark them and have me deliver them to El Gato so they can ultimately track them to him and arrest him. Maybe they’ll return them to the Iraqi government and I’ll quietly extricate myself from El Gato’s regime. But Liam’s dead. There’s no need to implicate him. His secrets can die with him.”

  “Thank you.” I can’t keep the tears from falling, and Noah wipes them away tenderly with the pad of his thumb. I reach up and grab his hand, moving his thumb to my mouth.

  Walker clears his throat, and both Noah and I start. Noah lowers his hand, but he keeps our fingers entwined.

  “What can I do to help?” Walker’s tone is brisk and authoritative, and I’m glad he’s on our side.

  “We need to find the guns, and the sooner the better,” Noah says. “I think Liam’s bucket list holds the key to where they are, but I haven’t figured out how. Someone seems to think McKenzie knows. If she does, she doesn’t know what it is. Maybe there will be something that triggers her memory, but until that happens, we’ve got to follow everything on the list, because we don’t know what’s important and what’s not.

  “That’s where you can help.” Noah nods at Walker. “Liam added diving in Malaysia to the list right before he died. There may be a clue there. There are some other things on his list that have to happen on this side of the world, but there’s a handful of clues to follow in the states. If you can look into his bucket list items back home while Kenzie and I finish the ones here, we’ll save some valuable time.”

  Walker strokes his chin thoughtfully. “That could work. I’m on leave for the next six weeks.”

  “I’m actually starting to think the most important evidence is there, not here,” Noah confesses.

  “What do you mean?” I can’t hide my surprise. Noah hasn’t said anything to me about that.

  Noah directs his comment to Walker. “The aid worker that your team rescued when Liam died. Did you know he was killed in a freak car accident a few weeks after he got back to the states?”

  I stare at Noah, shocked by the news. Walker frowns. “I did not know that. What do you think he knew?”

  “He didn’t know anything,” I volunteer. “I met him after Liam died.” Both men turn and gape at me. “He sent me his condolences when he heard about Liam, and he told me who he was and invited me to come visit him if I was ever in California so he could thank me personally for Liam saving his life. He was one of the last people who’d seen Liam alive. I went to see him.”

  “What did you talk about?” I know Walker far too well to buy into his casual tone.

  “Not much really. He told me about his humanitarian work, and how he’d been captured by Al Qaeda. He told me how brave Liam was. He was a sweet man. He gave me a necklace.”

  “What kind of necklace?” Noah is staring at me intently.

  I shrug. “It was silver, with some kind
of emblem on it. He told me it stood for valor.”

  “Where is it?” Walker snaps.

  “At home. Why?”

  “It’s got to mean something,” Noah says.

  The two men exchange a glance, and a look of complete understanding passes between them. Walker nods, as if they have just mapped out a plan, although neither one of them has said a word.

  “You two stay here and carry on with business as usual,” he says. “We don’t want anyone to suspect we’re onto another trail. Meanwhile, I’ll go back home, visit the aid worker’s family, and see what I can find out. I’d like to see the necklace. Is it at your apartment?”

  I nod. “There’s also a copy of Liam’s bucket list there that you can take. I keep the original one on me, because it makes me feel closer to Liam, but I didn’t want to risk losing it and not having a copy. Gemma’s in New York for a bridal show until next weekend, but there’s a key buried in the pot of rosemary by the back door. The necklace is in a waffle box in the freezer with the rest of my jewelry.”

  Both men stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What? I read somewhere that you should keep your jewelry somewhere a thief would never think to look.”

  Noah leans over and kisses my nose. Turning to Walker, he says, “How could I not love her?”

  Walker smiles, and it completely transforms the hard planes of his face. “Get a room,” he groans, but his eyes are warm and I can tell he likes Noah.

  “Already taken care of,” Noah says, and my pulse quickens at the thought of the night ahead of us on Sipadan.

  “I can send another SEAL to keep watch from a distance, just in case. A little extra security couldn’t hurt.” It’s a statement, but Walker looks to Noah for confirmation.

  Noah nods. “That’s a good idea. I don’t want to take any chances on anything happening to her.”

  “Agreed. We’ll keep in touch. We should have an informal code name to refer to.” Walker pauses, thinking. “The mission that Liam died in was called Operation Phoenix. Maybe something similar…”

  “Phoenix Rising,” Noah says definitively. “I’d like to think that once we find the guns, I’ll be able to start a new life.” He pulls me to him possessively.

  “Perfect.” Walker levels a look at Noah. “Keep her safe.”

  “I will.” He takes my hand, lacing our fingers together, and I feel like anything is possible with him by my side.

  …

  “So, what happens now?”

  We’d checked into one of the water bungalows at the floating resort on Sipadan an hour ago, and after eating a delicious dinner of grilled mahi-mahi, roasted potatoes, and steamed vegetables at the elegant restaurant, we’re back in our room, a luxuriously appointed private villa surrounded by the bluest water I’ve ever seen. If the Philippines are the Garden of Eden, Malaysia is heaven.

  “Tonight, we enjoy each other,” he says, his eyes glittering.

  A little shiver of delicious anticipation dances up my spine as he takes a step closer, invading my space and igniting my senses. “Tomorrow and the next day at least, we’ll dive.” His fingers are in my hair, his hands cupping my face tenderly. “After that we’ll head to Alaska, or maybe Finland, to see the northern lights, and I’ll make love to you under the mysterious green glow as it plays across your skin like it’s some sort of mystical magician’s canvas.” His lips brush across my forehead, and I sigh. “Hopefully by then, Walker will have tracked down the leads in the States. We’ll find the guns, I’ll finish the job with El Gato, and then I’m going to devote every day for the rest of my life to loving you.” His voice is low and guttural, and as he talks, he punctuates each of the things we’re going to do with a kiss, ending at my mouth.

  “Oh yeah?” I try to sound casual, but my heart is thumping a happy rhythm, and I’m sure the joy I feel is evident in my smile. There is no one I would rather spend my life with than this incredible man who has touched every particle of me with his amazing love and made me more than I ever dreamed I could be.

  “Yeah,” he says, his thumbs rubbing across my cheeks. “After that, maybe I’ll talk my buddy into selling me the Kairos, and we’ll spend our days sailing the world by day and making love under the stars by night. It’s already special to me because of the time I’ve spent on it with you, and with a name like that, it’s the perfect boat for us.”

  I look up at him curiously. “What do you mean?” I’d assumed the boat was named after someone, or was some sort of nautical term.

  “Kairos is a Greek word that doesn’t really have a counterpart in English. The ancient Greeks had two words for time, Chronos and Kairos. While Chronos refers to chronological time, Kairos signifies a period or season, a moment of indeterminate time in which an event of significance happens. It’s that delicate and crucial moment, that brief and momentary rightness of time and place that creates the perfect atmosphere for action, words, and movement.” He presses his lips softly to mine. “The universe granted me a second chance and led me to you. In that one defining moment in Las Vegas, the opening appeared and you were there, waiting for me, and I stepped through and claimed what was mine. You were meant for me, sweetheart. Our love is beyond the confines of time and space.”

  “That is beautiful.” I have never loved a word, or a man, more. “But how does a Navy SEAL know so much about the Greek language?”

  “I got my degree in Ancient and Modern Greek Language and Mythology,” he admits almost sheepishly. “It fascinates me, and it was my way of saying fuck you to my dad for making me go to college before joining the Navy SEALs. I always knew I wanted to be a SEAL, but maybe one day when I’m too old to chase bad guys, I’ll become a college professor.”

  Noah never fails to surprise me, and I smile at the thought of my gorgeous, dangerous-looking hero teaching classical mythology. There will never be a dull moment with him.

  “Really…” I trail my finger seductively down his chest. “I’ve always had this professor/schoolgirl fantasy.”

  “Is that right, Miss Prescott?” He smiles, but his eyes have darkened, and the way he’s looking at me is doing funny things to my insides. “It’s a good thing you came by after class, then, to accept your punishment.”

  “What am I being punished for?” I’m trying to pull off cocky, but my breath is short and ragged, and I’m pretty sure it’s not working.

  “Whatever the hell I want. Not that I need a reason.” His voice is husky and laced with sin. “For blatantly disobeying me in the cave, for starters. And doubting your worth. I’m looking forward to punishing you for that. And then there’s the fact that you’re downright distracting.” His hands are under my shirt, skimming over my stomach. He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear and leans closer so I can feel his warm breath as he whispers in my ear, “I can’t think about anything but making you squirm, feeling your skin, tasting your sweetness.”

  “Oh,” I whisper.

  Abruptly, he hauls me over to a beautifully carved wood desk and clears it with one sweep of his hand. The assortment of diving brochures and a pad of paper scatter across the floor.

  “Bend over the desk.” The command is sharp, and I scramble to obey, arranging my body, suddenly taut with desire, across the smooth surface. I’d worn the sundress again, and he flips it up unceremoniously and lowers my panties, exposing my bare bottom. He nudges my feet apart so my legs are spread wide and the cool ocean breeze from the open window whispers across my bare sex.

  “Mmmm.” He hums his approval as his hand caresses my ass, and I quiver with the heady sense of anticipation. I love Noah when he bares his heart and soul to me, but I also love it when he takes over, when he’s forceful and authoritative—the master of my body who demands nothing less from me than everything.

  He smacks my ass with his hand, and I jump. He spanks me again on the other cheek, with a quick upward glance. He continues, slowly but methodically, and before long I’m squirming, but his strong hand firmly pressed against the small of my back keeps me i
n place.

  His fingers find my pussy, which is dripping wet, and he spreads the obvious evidence of my desire along my inner thighs, making sure I acknowledge the effect he has on me. Then he touches my clit, stroking it softly, and everything inside of me is throbbing.

  “Have you learned your lesson, Miss Prescott? Are you going to quit distracting me?”

  “Hell, no,” I retort.

  His finger exerts just enough pressure on my clit to drive me insane without pushing me over the edge. He relentlessly teases my clit until it’s pulsing with need, and I’m overwhelmed with the monumentally intense need to come.

  He stops, and I whimper with disappointment. I feel his chest against my back as he presses his body against mine. “This is your first lesson,” he says, his breath hot against my ear. “When you give yourself to me, there are always two sides. Fire and ice, darkness and light, permission and denial, pleasure and pain. You can’t fully appreciate one until you’ve experienced the other.”

  With his fingers fisted in my hair, he drags me up so that I’m standing, my lust-filled eyes locking with his. He quirks an eyebrow. “Shall we continue?”

  In response, I launch myself at him, hungry for the taste of him, desperate for his mouth on mine, claiming me. He kisses me with beautiful brutality, as greedy for me as I am for him.

  After a moment, he takes a step back, gazing at me with an unfathomable look in his eyes that touches something deep inside my heart. “Will you strip for me now, baby?”

  His words throw me back to that day not so long ago when I told him I couldn’t, when I was afraid to expose myself to him. He remembers, too; I can see it in his eyes, and I know what he’s asking. This time there’s no command, just a question. Will I trust him with everything? He has unmasked himself fully to me, and he wants the same from me. He wants full custody of the most vulnerable parts of me.

  With my eyes never leaving his face, I let my panties fall all the way to the floor and I step out of them deliberately. Then, grasping the hem of the dress, I slowly pull it over my head and let it fall from my fingertips so that I’m standing unashamed and completely naked in front of him, fully exposed.