Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5

by Samantha A. Cole

  He kissed her like a man drowning in desperation. Hunger rose within him. His belly was full from their dinner, but the feast he now wanted was something altogether different. Skimming his hands down her body, he gathered up the fabric of her dress and drew it upward, bunching it at her waist. His hands reversed direction again and when they hit nothing but soft skin and lace, he withdrew from her mouth and glanced down. Holy fuck! “Woman, thigh-high stockings are my all-time favorite thing a woman can wear and you look fucking gorgeous in them.”

  Dropping to his knees, he reverently kissed along the lacy edges of the sheers. Placing a hand behind one of her knees, he urged her to bend it and put her leg over his shoulder. He licked and nibbled on the silky skin just above the stockings on the now exposed inside of her thigh. Her hands went to his hair again, holding him in place as he worked his way up to her satin covered pussy. A wet spot on the navy panties told him she was as turned on as he was. He tongued the spot, tasting her, and making her even wetter. Grabbing the lacy strings of the bikini on both her hips, he glanced up at her. “I hope these aren’t your favorites. If they are, I’ll replace them.” Not waiting for an answer, he tore them from her body.

  Fuck! Another pleasant surprise. She was waxed bare—completely. Damn, the woman just kept pushing all the right buttons. He hoped like hell he hadn’t hit his head and was dreaming all this as he lay in a coma, because that would really suck.

  Letting her leave the stockings and shoes on, he clutched her ass cheeks and held her still as he licked the soft folds of her pussy. Never had a feast tasted so incredible. He could eat her for hours and never be full. Encouraged by her moans and gasps, he plunged his tongue into her as far as it could go several times before moving to her clit. Its hood was pulled back, revealing the little pearl, and he sucked on it. Using his tongue and teeth, he tortured the bud until her breathing increased and her legs began to shake. “Cum for me, baby. I want to hear you scream.”

  And she did as he thrust his tongue back into her hot, wet pussy. Her legs shook almost violently and he held her hips to keep her from falling. The hands in his hair clenched to the point of pain in his scalp, but it didn’t bother him. It was a testament to the fact they were alive. As her waves of ecstasy ebbed, he eased his assault. When her foot dropped to the floor again, he stood, grinning and licking the evidence of her orgasm from his lips and chin. She watched the movement, then leaned forward and used her tongue to help clean him up. Damn, that was fucking hot!

  Her fingers fiddled with the buttons of his shirt until, in exasperation, she yanked the two edges, sending the little fasteners flying across the room. She shoved the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. Her frenzy fed his. Pulling her dress over her head, he dropped it and then popped the front snap of her bra. Her breasts were round, perky, and beautiful. Taking her mouth again, he flipped his thumbs over her nipples, as her hands dropped to his belt. Within seconds she had it undone, along with the button and zipper of his pants, pushing them down past his knees with his boxer briefs. He toed off his shoes, and using his feet to push the material down further on his legs, managed to leave his clothing in a heap on the floor without ever taking his hands from her tits. Bending slightly, he picked her up, turned and backed her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his hips, with the feel of her high heels on his ass only making him harder. The tip of his cock found her wet warmth and his only thought was to get inside her. He shifted to line up with her slit and thrust forward without ceremony as her body yielded to him.

  Harper cried out as he began to pump his hips. “Yes! Oh, shit, yes! Harder! Pleeeease, harder!”

  The drag of his cock along her walls felt incredible. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he impaled her over and over again. This time was going to be fast and furious, but he was more than willing to go two or three rounds with her. Slow could come later. For now, he was sprinting toward the finish line. Something niggled in his brain as a tingling started in the base of his spine. Something was wrong. What…

  Fuck! He withdrew from her body so fast he almost dropped her, and she yelped. Unable to stop, he came all over her abdomen. “Fuck! Shit, Harper. I didn’t…I didn’t use a fucking condom…I’m sorry…Shit! I-I don’t know if I pulled out…in time.”

  “It’s okay...shhh.” Calm hands went to his cheeks and she looked him in the eye. “It’s okay. I’m on the pill. Have been for years.”

  He dropped his head to her shoulder, his lungs heaving for oxygen. “Thank God. I’m clean…I’ve always used them…I’m sorry….I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Neither was I. I was too busy feeling.”

  Bending his knees, he picked her up again, ignoring the mess between them, and carried her out of the kitchen toward his bedroom.

  “Marco, what are you doing? Put me down,” she giggled.

  “Uh-uh, sweetheart. You didn’t get to cum when I did that time, and I’m not satisfied with only one orgasm from you. I hope you’re not too tired because it’s going to be a long night.”

  * * *

  Present

  Pulling up to the interior gate of the Trident compound, Marco rolled down his window and placed his hand on the security scanner a few minutes before noon. After the machine beeped, the chain link barrier slid open. He parked his truck next to Brody’s and got out, slamming the door behind him as his best friend exited the building housing the offices.

  The geek had returned from the hospital about two hours ago. “What are you doing here? I figured you’d still be with Harper.”

  Tucking his keys in his front pocket, Marco shrugged. “With the newbies, there were plenty of guards to watch her, so Devon told me to get lost for a while. Her mother showed up with the baby, and from the looks I was getting, the woman wanted to grab the first scalpel she saw to stab me. Between her, and Harper being allowed to go back to sleep for a few hours, I took a break. I’ll go back later.” He eyed a nearby vehicle. Although he hadn’t seen it in a while, he knew exactly who the sleek, black Dodge Challenger belonged to. “What’s Carter doing here?”

  “Drove in about an hour ago. He’s crashing upstairs for the night before heading out to parts unknown again.”

  The U.S. black ops agent was known for showing up unannounced and disappearing again just as quietly. The man, who only went by one name, was also a Dom, so when he was in town, it was a sure bet he would be stopping by The Covenant for some down time. The spare bedrooms above the offices were always available to him, but their friend’s sudden appearance was the last thing Marco cared about at the moment. “Has anyone heard from Murdock?”

  Brody leaned against the bed of his Ford F-150 and crossed his arms. “Boss-man just got off the phone with him. Nothing new. Doc Dunbar is contacting her people at Friends of Patty, to see if any of the wife-beaters could have decided to go after Harper. From what I understand, she’d represented some of the women in court proceedings before they decided to disappear for good, so it’s not that big of a stretch.”

  “Fucking great. The suspect pool just multiplied.”

  “Yup. So…” The big geek paused and seemed to weigh his words. “Um…did you get a chance to talk to Harper about Mara without ticking her off again?”

  “No.” He kicked a pebble on the ground in front of him. “After she finished puking, they drew some more blood then took her down for another CT-scan. Everything came back negative or normal, so it’s just a side effect of the concussion.”

  “I’m sure your pissing match didn’t help.” There was that pause again. “So, what are you going to do? I mean, there are worse things in life than marrying a woman who’s as smoking hot as Harper.”

  His anger and frustration over the situation growing again, Marco growled. “Who said anything about getting fucking married?”

  “You’re obviously Mara’s father and, if I were you, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind going home to Harper in my bed every night. Hell, I even hit on her a couple of times.” He shrugged unapolog
etically at Marco’s angry glare. “What? I’d have to be dead not to. Tell me you never thought of us topping her together.”

  “Fuck you.” He didn’t care that Brody and he had shared many women over the years. The thought of Harper in any other man’s arms, even his best friend’s, made his blood boil, even though he had no claim over her. “And I’m not marrying anybody. No fucking way!”

  “You asshole,” Brody snarled, pushing off the truck and pointing his finger at him. “You better man-up and do the right fucking thing.”

  Tossing his hands up to the side, Marco stared at his friend. His voice got louder with every word. “What? Get fucking married, just because she had my kid? I refuse to be trapped in a fucking marriage because of a fucking mistake! Stay the fuck out of this, Brody…I’ll support the brat financially, but that’s fucking it!”

  “You son-of-a…”

  He didn’t hear the rest as his jaw exploded in pain when Brody’s fist connected with a right hook. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he’d known they’d been the wrong things to say. The anger that had flared in the other man’s eyes was something Marco had only seen there while in combat. But he was just as pissed off, and beating the hell out of somebody, even if it was his best friend, was something he needed right now. Bending at the waist, he caught Brody in the gut with his shoulder and the two of them hit the pavement—hard.

  While they were the same height, the geek had about ten or fifteen more pounds on Marco and used every one of them to his advantage. The two men had sparred in the gym and given each other bloody lips and bruised ribs on the basketball court many times over the years, but this was the first time they’d ever hit each other in anger. Grunts, growls, and curses were aplenty as they both wrestled, punched, and jabbed. And blood flowed. Using a tactical maneuver, Brody ended up behind him, wrapping his arm around Marco’s throat and squeezing. Turning his head into the crook of the elbow, Marco was able to use that bit of extra space to continue getting air into his lungs as he tried to dislodge himself. Thrusting his elbow back, he connected with hard flesh and heard a satisfying grunt, but the bastard wouldn’t let go of him. Reaching up over his shoulder, he managed to get a hand under Brody’s chin and pushed upward. In response, his opponent rolled to the side, trying to pin the free arm to the ground.

  Assorted shouts and barking reached Marco’s ears and suddenly he was free. But not for long as Ian and Murray, the day guard, hauled his ass up and held him back from lunging at Brody again. The geek was being restrained as well, by Carter and Boomer, but from the look on his face, he was ready to start round two. Well, fucking bring it on!

  “Fucking knock it off, assholes,” Ian roared. “Now!”

  After a few meager attempts to break free, both men reluctantly backed off, knowing there was no way their friends were going to let them get near each other again—at least not until they’d both cooled off. Even Beau was standing between the two of them, and the trained guard dog’s incessant barking was cut off by a curt command from Ian. Marco’s lungs heaved for oxygen as his best friend glared at him while wiping the blood from the side of his mouth with his fist. Brody shrugged out of Carter and Boomer’s grip.

  “I’m good. I’m done,” he growled at them before pointing a finger at Marco again. “You better do the right fucking thing man, because if you don’t, I will.”

  “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” he spat. His jaw was throbbing in pain.

  “It means, fuck-wad, if you don’t man-up and start acting like a father to Mara…a real fucking father…then I will!”

  Marco scowled at Brody’s retreating back as the man headed toward his truck, jumped in, and peeled out of the parking lot. Wisely, Ian, Boomer, and Murray backed off, but Carter surprised him by stepping forward, ignoring Marco’s angry stare. Evidently, someone had filled the guy in. “He’s right, dude. I know you’re still in shock, but think about this long and hard before you walk out of that kid’s life, because when you’re old and grey…that walk might just come back to bite you in the ass. And then it’ll be too late.”

  Minutes later, Marco was standing all alone in the lot, licking his wounds, and wondering what the fuck had just happened. Hell, even the usually friendly Beau was snubbing him, having returned to the offices with the others. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone in the world. Fuck!

  CHAPTER 6

  Five hours later, covered in sweat, Marco pounded on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling in one of his spare bedrooms. It had become Nina’s bedroom when she’d moved in with him six months before her death. After her passing, it had taken him weeks before he could enter the room again, even though she had given away most of her possessions after finding out her cancer was terminal. The hospice bed was long gone, so aside from a few pieces of furniture and pictures on the wall, it had been relatively empty. A few months ago, he’d opened the door one day and decided to do something with the room. He already had an office across the hall, so a home gym seemed like the perfect solution.

  He’d taped his bruised knuckles from his earlier fight with Brody to prevent the abrasions from bleeding all over the leather covered bag. They were sore, but he ignored the pain, channeling it back into his punches. Alternating between jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts, followed by some knee and feet kicks, he punished the bag for its fictional crimes against humanity.

  Shit! He’d actually had a knock-down, drag-out, fist fight with his best friend. What the hell had gotten into him? He couldn’t blame Brody for decking him. As he thought back to the words he’d spit out seconds before the geek’s fist connected with his chin, he deserved every punch thrown at him and more. His reaction to the whole fucked up situation was…well, fucked up.

  After landing a one-two combination harder than necessary, he finally hugged the bag in exhaustion. A shower, followed by something to eat, and he’d head back to the hospital. It was time for Harper and him to have a serious talk. From there, he’d figure out what to do next, but in the meantime, he would do everything he could to keep her and their daughter safe. Their daughter…jeez.

  He’d just opened a nearby cabinet to get a towel when the beep-beep-beep of his security system went off. Grabbing for the pistol he kept hidden on the top shelf, he prepared to confront the intruder, but then heaved a sigh of relief when he heard a familiar voice bellow, “Don’t fucking shoot me. I’m just here for the food.”

  Leaving the weapon where it was, he stepped out into the living room, wiping his dripping face with a towel, to find Carter in the adjoining dining area. The guy was sorting through several bags of takeout from Donovan’s Pub, which were sitting on the table next to a six-pack of beer. The remark about the food was a long standing joke between the team and the operative after he had run into Devon, unexpectedly, at a swanky hotel in Rio de Janeiro while on a mission many years ago. But the quip was usually stated in the negative sense, though, and meant he couldn’t talk about his current classified assignment. Apparently, right now, he was in the mood to talk. Great. Just what Marco fucking needed.

  The superspy glanced up and smirked. “Figured you could use a good burger and a beer or two. Jenn threw in a slice of carrot cake, too, just for you.”

  He grabbed the nearby remote and turned on the TV to ESPN with the volume on low. “That’s ‘cause she likes me best.”

  “Not.” Carter snorted as Marco headed to the kitchen for some napkins and ketchup. “She likes me best. She packed up some fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies for me. The big ones I like that come with the vanilla ice cream, which she also gave me a container of.”

  “We’ll call it a tie then.” Returning to the table, he took the takeout container Carter pushed his way and sat down.

  “God help us when that girl falls in love. You single guys will starve to death. Thankfully, I know how to cook.”

  Marco added some ketchup to his burger and fries before handing the bottle over. “By the way, the door was locked with t
he system armed, and you’ve only been here once before that I can remember. How the hell…” He stopped and rolled his eyes, knowing the man could probably get into Fort Knox if he wanted to. “Fuck, never mind. Stupid question.”

  “Yup, it is. Dig in.”

  After a few minutes of eating in silence, Carter grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. “So, talk to me, my friend.”

  “Don’t want to,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

  “Then I’ll talk. You just sit there, stuffing your face, and listen. I know enough about your background to know we aren’t that different. But where you were raised by family members, whether they were there for you or not, I got bounced around in foster homes for years.”

  Stunned, Marco paused with his beer halfway to his lips. He’d been friends with the man sitting across from him for about seven years, but he knew very little about him beyond their professional and BDSM worlds. Being a black operative for the U.S. government, Carter had always kept his background and personal life outside of Tampa as secret as his classified missions.

  Ignoring his friend’s look of surprise, Carter took a swig of his beer before continuing. “Do you remember what it was like back then, when you still had hopes and dreams of being part of a normal family—mother, father, siblings—in a house with a dog and a white picket fence? And don’t deny it, because every kid with a crummy childhood like ours has that dream until they find out there’s no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny.”

  Placing his beer back on the table, Marco nodded. “Yeah, I remember. But like most orphans too old or not eligible for adoption, I found out it was a pipe dream.”

  “But even though you were technically an orphan, you still had someone. You had Nina. I only met her a few times, but she was sweet and funny…and obviously got the good looks in the family—which you missed out on.”

  Marco snorted, but let the insult slide.