One Shot [IAD Agency 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Laurie Roma

  Jesus, the sight of the tears shimmering in her eyes was breaking him. Julian wanted to reach out to her, wanting, needing to touch her. To shelter her when no one else had. Damn her parents. Damn everyone who ever let this woman, his woman hurt. “Tara, baby…”

  “No, you wanted to know, so here it is. I’ll tell you the real reason why I was fucking terrified to sleep the night with you. It’s because I was scared shitless that I would hurt you if you touch me while I was sleeping. I have never, ever been able to sleep with people around because I feel vulnerable. I’m fucking sorry that I haven’t made this easy for you, but I’ve been trying.”

  The hot tears that she had struggled to hold back overflowed and began streaming down her face. “I don’t fit in your world. Don’t you get it? I don’t know how to be normal. This is me in all my fucked-up glory. And if you can’t handle that, can’t understand that I have some dark fucking places I don’t like to pick at, well, then I can’t be the woman you want and this is just going to end up hurting us both.”

  Tara let out a bitter laugh. “If we got married you would never have any reason to doubt my love or my loyalty. And I do love you, you bastard. Damn you. Damn you, I haven’t cried since Sharif tortured me. You think this is just the job? That I’m just working you for the job? Well, fuck you. Fuck us both.”

  Shock had left him speechless.

  Neither of them moved a muscle as they stared at each other like two combatants, emotionally torn to pieces.

  Julian couldn’t help it when emotions clouded his own eyes. “Tara, I didn’t know. Baby, how could I have known? Do you think I wouldn’t love you if I knew all that? Well, you’re wrong. I love you more right now than I can even tell you. I don’t want you to change. I love you. I realize now that I shouldn’t have pushed you, but I needed to make you see how much I wanted you in my life. Needed to know that I meant something to you. I didn’t understand.”

  When he reached out to her and she didn’t hit him, he took that as a good sign. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and stared down at her with all the love he felt for her there in his eyes. “I love you, Tara. And with everything I learn about you, I love you more. I don’t doubt your love or your loyalty. But I didn’t know if you really loved me and that’s what was killing me. God, Tara! I’ve never been in love like this before. Do you think I know what the hell I’m doing? Because I don’t. We can take things slow, I’ll stop pushing, but please, please tell me you’ll give us a chance and let me in.”

  Tara reached up and touched the wet trail of tears on his face. She had to force the words out since her throat had closed up. “I know I’m not the easiest person to understand…but I do love you. I just don’t know if I can be what you want. Don’t cry for me, Julian. Please…”

  “Haven’t you been listening?” He roughly pulled her into his arms. “I love you. I don’t want you to be anything but what you are. Say you’re mine and I’m yours right back, baby. Everything I’ve got to give is yours, you just have to let me. I don’t cry, I never cry either, but don’t tell me not to feel for what you have been through. I’m your partner, your friend, your lover and going to be your damn husband someday. I love you.” He pressed his lips against her and poured out his love for her as he used a sort of ruthless tenderness to battle back the nightmares of the past.

  Tara sighed as she wrapped her arms around him again. Tongues dueled in a pleasure play of passion until she pulled back, breathing hard. “Show me. Show me you love me and let me show you.”

  Julian picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her down the hallway. “I want to make love to you in our bedroom.”

  “Yes.”

  When they made it to the bedroom, he laid her down gently on the bed. She sat up, eyes never leaving his, and began pulling at her clothes. Julian pulled off the T-shirt he had just put on and felt his skin sizzle as her gaze heated. He unzipped his pants and shoved them down, along with his boxers. His cock sprang free, already hard and throbbing as he watched her kick away her pants so she lay on his bed naked, with glowing skin.

  Julian knew that he would never get enough of her, of looking at her soft skin, her tight nipples puckering around the piercings and that sweet little pussy that was all his. She reached up to him but he took her hands in his, shaking his head.

  “Just lie back and let me love you this time. Let me show you how much I love you, Tara.”

  Her hands dropped back to her sides and for the first time, Julian saw an uncertainty in Tara’s eyes that had him feeling like the strongest man alive. She was pushing aside her natural need to take control, letting him call the shots. It was a heady feeling, to know the woman she was would do that for him, because he needed it. That one single action told him of her love more than anything she could have said.

  “Spread those beautiful legs for me, baby. Let me see my little pussy. Open for me so I can show you how much I love you,” Julian whispered, his voice rough with emotion.

  Tara hesitated for a moment before she spread her legs wide, showing him her glistening flesh, the silken folds of her pussy wet with her cream. Julian kneeled on the bed between her thighs, and trailed a finger softly over her slit, up to her tight clit in a whisper of a touch. Her soft moan made him smile and he had to grip his cock hard with his other hand to keep him from coming.

  “Look at this pretty little pussy. Look at how wet you are, baby. Is this all for me? Christ, I could just look at you all night. I want to be inside you right now. I’m about to come and I haven’t even pushed inside you yet. Do you see what you do to me? All day when you were gone I thought of having you here, in our bed, and I wanted…”

  Tara flexed her legs in an effort not to move them from where she had them propped up, knees raised so he was sitting in between them. Her gaze strayed down the thick cock he held in his hand and he squeezed it. He recovered fast. She knew that from experience. Before he made love to her there was something she wanted.

  “Will you do something for me?”

  “Anything.”

  Her heart melted at that simple answer. She smiled up at him and rubbed a hand lightly over her stomach. “Will you let me watch you? I want to see you jerk yourself off.”

  Julian’s cock jerked in his hand at her words. He had never done that with a lover before. Something about it had seemed too personal, too intimate to share with just any lover.

  But Tara was so much more.

  “Will you do it, too?”

  Tara smiled as she nodded her head and watched the dark lust flare in his eyes. She moved her fingers down from her stomach and began tracing circles around her distended clit, watching as Julian began to stroke his shaft with his large hand.

  “Is this what you want to see? You like knowing that this is what I did every day since I met you when I didn’t have you here with me?”

  “Did you?”

  “Fuck yes, I jerked myself off in the shower more times than I can count. God, baby…seeing you stroking your clit like that makes me want to suck it.”

  The muscles of Tara’s pussy clenched. She felt her cream sliding out of her hot hole so it trickled down the crack of her ass to the sheet below.

  “God, you’re soaked. All that sweet pussy juice is going to waste like this, baby,” Julian groaned as his hand sped up. His other hand clenched into a tight fist on his thigh. “I’m not going to last much longer.”

  “Me either,” Tara panted. She raised her other hand and placed it onto her flat stomach. “Come here. I want you to shoot your cum right here, on me.”

  “Damn, baby, that’s so hot,” Julian groaned. “You want me to come on you?”

  “Yes!” Tara cried out as she flattened her hand and slapped her clit with her fingers. She felt the heat rush to that tight little nub and her cream gushed from her pussy.

  Julian groaned as his balls drew tight. He used his hand to hold his cock down, pointed at Tara’s stomach as the cum began to pulse out of the tip in
a steady stream of milky-white liquid. He clenched his fist tight around the head of his cock, jerking on it with short, rough movements until he finished with his release.

  There was something so erotic in seeing his cum splattered on her like a brand, a mark of ownership that she was his alone. He felt his still-hard shaft jerk to full attention as Tara began rubbing his seed into her skin.

  “Help me. Rub it into me.”

  Julian put his hands on her wet stomach and ran his hands up over her breast, kneading and rubbing until all the liquid was gone. “That was so fucking sexy.”

  She smiled at him. “I read about that somewhere and never found someone I wanted to try it with…until you.”

  He lowered his body over her, nudging her thighs wider, aligning their bodies and placing the head of his cock against her. He kissed her lightly as he ran his cockhead up and down her slit several times, teasing her. “Do you want me, baby? Tell me you want me.”

  “I want you, Julian. Please, please…” Tara panted, eyes bright with need.

  He surged forward, shoving the entire length of his cock deep inside her. He captured her scream with his mouth, stroking his tongue deep as he began to move inside her.

  Tara’s hips bucked against him. She turned her head to the side to cry out, chanting, “More, more.”

  Julian pulled her head back so his mouth came down on hers again. He savored her flavor, needed her taste like an addict. He trailed his mouth down her throat. His tongue danced lightly across her neck, sucking and biting then rising back to cover her gasping lips. Hands came down under her ass, squeezing tightly, lifting her upward, and holding her steady for his thrusts. His hips started a hard rhythm, hammering her with his cock as she writhed in ecstasy.

  White-hot pleasure whipped through her veins, setting her on fire.

  Tara felt the walls she had built surrounding her heart collapse into a pile of dust. She was open to him, completely, utterly open to him…her soul bare. Knowing she loved him, knowing that she gave him her heart made her vulnerable, gave him power over her. But wasn’t that what love was? Giving someone your heart and trusting them to keep it safe?

  Looking into his eyes, Tara saw promises there inside those brilliant blue depths.

  He would keep her heart safe and cherish her love.

  He would protect her soul.

  And she would do the same.

  “I see love,” Tara whispered, her heart filling with joy.

  Julian’s smile was tender. “Yes, you do. And I do, too.”

  Their mouths met again, feeding off each other as Julian reached down, pulling her thighs wider so his cock could go even deeper. Tara clasped her legs high around his waist so she was opened to him, his dick piercing her womb with every thrust. “Julian…harder…please, more…”

  “Fuck yes, baby.”

  Gentleness was forgotten and need took over.

  Their lovemaking was wild and set them free.

  “I love you. Tell me how much you want it, how much you want me. Tell me you love me.” He growled.

  Demanding.

  Pleading.

  “I love you. Fuck, I love you so much. Come, come inside of me, Julian.” She screamed as passion erupted inside of her. He groaned, slamming himself all the way inside her as his hot seed spurted out of the head of his cock, filling her with his very essence.

  Julian collapsed on top of her and rubbed his head into the side of her neck. “I love you, baby. I love you so much. I didn’t know a love like this existed before you.”

  Tara let out a contented sigh. “I love you, too, Julian. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it…to give it to you.”

  Julian shifted so they were both on their sides, facing each other. “Don’t apologize for needing time. You don’t pull punches, you never do. That’s why it means more for me to hear it. I know that you mean it when you say you love me. No matter how long it took us to get here, we have a lifetime to look forward to now.”

  Tara snuggled into him and closed her eyes as his arms wrapped around her. “I’m a lucky woman that you know me so well. Let’s take a little nap before we get up and eat, okay? I’ll fill you in about what happened over dinner.”

  “All right.”

  “Oh and, Julian? Now that I love you, it’s only fair to warn you. You have my heart. Break it and I’ll break your balls.”

  Julian chuckled as he pulled her tighter into his embrace and closed his eyes.

  “That’s my woman.”

  He fell asleep with a grin on his face.

  * * * *

  Tara and Julian woke up from their nap, took a shower with a quick bout of shower sex, then sat down to eat an enormous meal of steak, baked potatoes, and lobster mac and cheese. Over their meal, Tara filled Julian in on what had happened on their op and the threat that was still at issue. With little to no recourse left to them, they would continue to try to track down Hassan Sharif before he used the biological weapon.

  After they ate, they checked in with the rest of her team and HQ via link. Everyone was pretty much in a piss-poor mood and since there were no answers presently, the meeting ended quickly.

  Whatever the team said, Tara knew that Sharif Hassan wouldn’t leave Las Vegas knowing that she was there. By now he must have heard the news of her and Julian’s engagement. Her bet was that he was coming for her at the New Year’s gala.

  He would come for her…for revenge.

  When Jason MacBain and his men had rescued Tara and Lucian, they had destroyed his stronghold and a stockpile of weapons and other items, setting Hassan back years. Tara had sought her own revenge, hunting him down, but the terrorist had gone into hiding. Soon, Tara would get her vengeance and end the threat he posed to the safety of the United States.

  Hours later, in the dim glowing lights from the Vegas Strip, Julian stared down at Tara’s sleeping form for long minutes, unable to sleep.

  This woman had become his life.

  He gently reached down to touch her cheek and saw her eyes snap open, clear and ready. A part of him was saddened by the way she needed to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice, but another was proud of her reactions, and comforted knowing that those instincts would keep her safe for him.

  She was his woman…

  His fierce warrior…

  His world.

  The feel of her skin made Julian ache with need. He leaned down to inhale her scent, lips brushing softly over the pulse of life at her neck. He felt the steady beat speed up at his touch and loved it.

  “I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “I’m not,” she smiled at him under heavy-lidded eyes.

  His tongue trailed down so his mouth could close over her lush breast. “You knew it was me,” Julian said against her skin.

  Tara’s hands paused where they were tangled in his hair. “I guess I did. Looks like I do trust you.”

  His fingers played over her soft skin. Reaching down, he parted her thighs and slowly stroked her desire with clever fingers. He shifted over her. Lowering his body on top of hers, he fed off her pert nipple pulling at the metal bar.

  She shifted, legs opening wide in welcome, trying to draw his closer. A soft purr escaped her lips and without saying a word he entered her, pushing deep.

  “I’m glad. I need you. I can’t stop this need. More and more. I need more.”

  “I’ll give you whatever you need.”

  And she did. Her perfect body, soft from sleep, opened for him, welcoming him. In the quiet of the night, they touched, they tasted, they loved.

  Julian thrust his hips, grinding against her to increase her pleasure. He felt drunk with love, with the feeling of completeness that she gave him.

  “Every time you wake, know that I will be here, keeping you safe. You are safe with me. Your body and your heart.” Tears shimmered in her eyes as he stared down into them. “No, baby, no…”

  “It’s okay. It’s so right…Don’t you feel it? It’s perfect. With you, with us…This is
perfect.”

  “Yes.”

  He continued to love her slowly, deeply.

  And when release came, they fell off the edge together and fell back to sleep, tangled in each other’s arms.

  Chapter Twenty

  Dressing up and having to make small talk with strangers made her edgy.

  The opulent ballroom of the Palace Hotel was definitely a posh place to hold a party and Tara let out a resigned sigh. At least the food was good. Considering that a plate at this event cost a thousand a pop, it damn well should be.

  People danced, laughed, and mingled inside the large room. Julian had made sure that this was a closed event, invited guests only to lockout the press. That made Tara feel a little bit better, considering that she was now the fiancée of one of the richest men in the world. People wanted pictures of her and she’d rather have a root canal than pose for the paparazzi.

  Just thinking about that made her stomach queasy.

  Tara watched as people mingled with vague disinterest. It seemed like the more money people had, the bigger deal they had to make about giving it away to charity, making sure that everyone knew that they were doing something good. She realized that no matter how much money Julian had, he wasn’t one of these pompous assholes that were preening for attention.

  Thank god for that.

  Tara pretended to sip from the glass of the champagne in her hand as she scanned the room. Lucian was working the crowd, at ease in any setting while Adrian flirted with some actress whose IQ probably matched her bra size. Brett and Mikayla danced together, talking intensely about something as Slade blended in as much as he could, checking in with the security staff around the room.

  Appearances were deceiving, though. Each of the IAD team was on guard. They were working and nothing would stop them from taking Hassan Sharif down if he showed his face.

  “Brother, give it up. Those tits ain’t real,” Rock said over their comms.

  Adrian sighed as the blonde actress sashayed away. “Yeah, I know, but boy, were they man-made beauties. If I had to put on this monkey suit I should at least be able to flirt with some of the pretties.”