Ultimate Prey (Book 3 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series)

by Kristine Mason

  “It’s not an excuse. I wanted to have sex with you, but you didn’t sound thrilled about the idea, so…sorry, I’d rather sleep on the couch than—”

  “You’re right.” He pulled her closer. “I don’t want to just have sex, I want to make love.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked several times before looking away.

  He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. “Too soon?” he asked, wishing he could take the words back. He didn’t love Lola, but the possibility was there. The two of them…he’d never been more in sync with a woman. On paper, they didn’t work. But up close and personal?

  He loved the way she thought, loved that he didn’t have to hold back around her and could say what was on his mind, tell her about his past knowing, on an instinctive level, that her judgment, or lack thereof, was genuine. Hell, given the chance, he could easily fall for her. Only they didn’t have a chance in hell. Careers and distances, family roots and community ties wouldn’t allow it. But they had now.

  He brushed a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, especially after everything that happened tonight. Take my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “You didn’t upset me,” she said, fisting the front of her shirt. “I’m upset with myself. Tonight, before all hell broke loose, I sat in the guest room looking out at the yard thinking about how we could spend the next couple of days together before I had to return to Chicago. Then I thought that maybe I could use my vacation time and come back in December for a couple of weeks. But even as I came up with ways to spend more time with you, I tried to talk myself out of liking you as much as I do.” She met his gaze, her eyes both imploring and grave. “Do you leave toenail clippings on the bathroom floor or pick your nose?”

  “What?” he asked. She had a good sense of humor, but he wasn’t sure if she was joking.

  “Or maybe you chew with your mouth open or leave dirty clothes on the floor.” She wrinkled her nose. “Do you leave toothpaste loogies in the bathroom sink?”

  He chuckled and speared his fingers through her wet hair. “You’re trying to find reasons to not like me by making me out to be gross. And loogies in the sink are definitely gross.” He grinned. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m perfect and don’t do any of the above.”

  “Damn,” she said without disappointment, but with a small, mischievous smile. “You do have a snake, though.”

  “That’ll be gone in a couple of months.” He gave her hair a slight tug, his heart rate picking up speed. Like him, she wasn’t ready to go their separate ways. Only, the more time they spent together, the harder it would be for him when she left. A two-week vacation wasn’t a long time, but he’d known her for barely two days and could already picture waking up next to her, falling asleep with her…sharing his life with her. Damn. He should sleep on the couch and tell her not to bother coming back in December. He should pull some sort of dick-move that would force her to end this before they became too involved, before he cared too much. “Are you seriously thinking of coming back next month?” he asked anyway, hoping she’d meant it because, damn it, he wanted to see her again.

  “Only if you want me to,” she said with a hint of uncertainty.

  Lola was a strong, confident woman. In the short time they’d been together, he’d watched a shift in her. She’d gone from insecure to self-assured. Tonight, at the rental, she’d taken over, hadn’t let the stress weigh her down and, instead, had taken control of the situation. Only, when it came to him—them—her confidence wavered. With him, she should never question or doubt herself.

  “Haven’t I made it clear what I want?” He released her hair, settled his hands on her hips, then edged her close to the bed. “And you better not say sex.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “You do like kissing.”

  Tempted to rip the towel from her body and show her everything he liked, he tightened his grip on her hips instead. “And I liked being with you before we kissed. Christ, Lola. Tonight, when we split up and I heard the first gunshot coming from the backyard, and I knew you were there…it scared the hell out of me. As I ran to find you, I kept thinking, Lola can handle herself. But when I heard that second shot, the only thing I could think about was getting to you and making sure you were good.” He cupped her face again. “I liked you before we kissed. I did lie about one thing…the first tripwire. I told you I would have shielded anyone, and that I was running on instinct. That was the truth, to some extent. In all honesty, even then I knew you were going to be a problem I couldn’t solve.”

  She arched a brow and stiffened.

  “Don’t.” He kissed her forehead, then let out a breath. “I meant…I knew then I was going to have a hard time forgetting you.”

  “And now?” she asked, twining her arms around his neck and running her fingers through his hair.

  “I can’t forget you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “I can’t stop thinking about you and what we could have. But I don’t know how to make us work.”

  Her breath hitched. “Neither do I,” she said. “We have now, along with the next few days and a couple of weeks in December.”

  He wanted more.

  “It’s not the best answer, but it’s the only one I have,” she continued, then slid a hand from his hair to between their bodies and tugged off her towel. “Right now, I don’t want to think about leaving, I want to make love and never forget why I need to come back to you.”

  He touched her bare shoulders and eased her onto the mattress. Resting a knee on the bed and bracing his arms along either side of her, he leaned in and captured her lips in a lingering kiss. “I need you to come back to me,” he murmured, then kissed her again.

  Taking his time, he deepened the kiss. Slow and in no way comparing to the need rushing through him, he swept his tongue along hers, then drew back and placed open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and neck before returning to her lips. He teased her and tormented himself. He wanted to take and possess. If he hadn’t been fully clothed, he’d already be inside her, but he needed to make the moment last and show her how much he valued her as a friend and lover.

  She snaked her hand through his hair, tried forcing his mouth to stay with hers, nipped his lower lip when he refused, which drove him insane with raw desire. When she ran a hand over his rear, then along his erection, he groaned against her mouth before pulling away. He took her wrists and pinned them over her head, then kissed a path to her breasts. He teased her nipple, brushing his lips, then his tongue, along the taut peak before drawing it into his mouth.

  She tugged and tried to free herself, raised both feet onto the mattress, which caused her legs to spread wider. Anxious to taste her, he let go of her wrists, dragged his mouth down her slim waist and cupped her breasts with his hands. When he reached her sex, he teased her nipples with his fingertips, and slowly swept his tongue along her labia.

  With a low moan, she rose onto her elbows and pushed a hand through his hair. He looked up, stared into her eyes and ran his tongue along her folds before drawing the soft skin between his lips.

  “More,” she murmured, and gently pressed his head and raised her pelvis.

  After wrapping his arm under, and then around her right thigh, he spread her lips, exposing her completely. “Like this?” he asked, then penetrated her folds with his tongue. “Or like this?” He drew her clit between his lips and pressed two fingers into her heat.

  “Yes,” she hissed, gripping his head with both hands, and pressing her knees together, caging him between her thighs. Which worked for him. He loved tasting her. Loved the way she let him know what she wanted and liked, loved her gasps, pants and moans.

  Eager to taste her orgasm and sink himself into her wetness, he pumped his fingers between her folds and flicked his tongue over her clit. Again and again, until her entire body tensed and she let out a harsh groan.

  He kissed her trembling inner thigh, then quickly stood. As he pulled his t-
shirt over his head, Lola slipped her fingers inside the slack waistband of his old pair of sweat shorts, and pressed her mouth, then her tongue along his stomach. He sucked in a breath, when she looked up at him and tugged his shorts and boxers down, releasing his erection.

  She looked so damned sexy. Her golden-brown eyes bright, her cheeks flush, her dark, damp hair spilling around her shoulders. Then she bent and ran her tongue from his sac, along his length, then to the tip. His knees buckled slightly when she took him into her mouth. He speared his hand through her hair, gripped the thick, silky strands and wrapped them around his hand.

  With her taste still lingering on his tongue, he watched her and once again wished their time together wasn’t limited. He more than liked her. What worried him was that she would go home, become too busy with work or fall back into her regular routine, and end up with tangible excuses to not take that vacation next month. As she stroked him, took him deep into her throat, he forced himself not to think about what could happen and kept his mind on the here and now.

  And right now, if she didn’t stop doing that sexy drag of her tongue along his dick, he wasn’t going to last much longer. He gently tugged at her hair, slipped himself from her mouth, then, stroking his slick length, took a step back.

  “Lie down.” She did, but kept herself semi-upright with her elbows. He ran his free hand along her inner thigh. “I don’t have a condom.”

  “You didn’t last night, either,” she said, her voice husky, sexy as she cocked her head. Then, poised on one elbow, she reached between her thighs and spread her lips. “Do what you did in the shower, we’ll buy condoms tomorrow. Come here. I need you.”

  Not want. Damn. One little word made a huge difference. Before he went down that road and over-thought what was happening between them more than he already had, he moved to the edge of the bed. He rested his knee on the mattress and, holding the base of his erection, pressed the tip against her heat.

  “I need…” He couldn’t formulate any other words as he sank inside her. She was so tight, so wet…

  “What?” she asked, twining her arms around his neck and bringing them chest to breast.

  “You.” He captured her lips, and caught up on the friction, the way her sex gripped him, he moved over her. Took his time, thrusting slow and steady, drawing out the pleasure. Although he’d told himself to go slow, to make love to her, to let her know she wasn’t a quick lay, the need to move faster, to give them both the release they craved was there. Every muscle in his body tensed and he tried his damnedest stay in control.

  Then she grabbed his ass with one hand and his jaw in the other. “This isn’t just sex,” she said, meeting his gaze. “Give us what we both need.”

  He pressed himself until he was completely inside her, and didn’t move. “I’m trying so damned hard to show you that you’re special.” He grazed his lips along hers. “So special to me.”

  She nipped his lower lip, then curled her tongue along his. “You already have.”

  Emotion, passion, desire…whatever the hell it was, took over and, without finesse, he crushed his mouth against hers and pumped his hips. Sank himself into her heat over and over. Part of him wanted to change positions, to pleasure her at another angle, but with the way she’d pressed her nails into his ass, he saw no reason to do anything but love her body. Her pleasure was his only concern.

  “Harder,” she whispered, her voice ragged as she dragged her other hand over his chest, then down his abs.

  His stomach tightened. He did as she asked, drove himself deeper, harder. And when she reached between their joined bodies and touched herself, the sight was so damned sexy, it took everything in him to maintain control. He wanted to come, but he wanted to feel her orgasm first.

  “Like that,” she groaned. “Don’t you dare stop.”

  He raised her leg over her shoulder and rocked his hips faster. “I won’t. Not until you come.”

  She reached up and drew his head close to hers. Her breath fanned across his mouth, just before she grazed her tongue along lips. He captured it with his own, then mimicked every thrust, made love to her mouth until that first tremor of his own release tightened his sac, his body.

  “Come for me,” he murmured against her mouth, knocked her hand away and rubbed her clit.

  She wound her arms around his neck, pressed her pelvis forward and matched each rock of his hips until she let out a harsh groan. Her sex gripped him. She stilled, then arched her back.

  As his own orgasm tore through him, he quickly pulled out and let himself go. Then shuddered when she wrapped her hand around his length and stroked him. As the last tremors wracked his body, he hovered over her, breathing hard. Unable to resist, he kissed her before reaching for her discarded towel. After he cleaned her stomach, he pulled the comforter over her, then reached for his boxers.

  “Leave them off and come to bed.” She scooted over, then flipped back the blankets. “I loved sleeping naked against you last night.”

  He had, too. “Need anything else before I turn off the light?”

  “Just you.”

  Sadie chose that moment to come into the room. Instead of jumping on the bed like usual, she curled up on the dog bed in the corner, then closed her eyes. Apparently Sadie liked Lola as much as he did. She didn’t give up her side of the bed for just anyone.

  He turned off the light, then lay next to Lola. She shifted, her soft, warm body fitting perfectly against him as she used his chest as a pillow. “Ryan?” She caressed his chest, her touch feather light. “I can’t believe we met only two days ago.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I know. It’s crazy.”

  “There’s so much I don’t know about you, but I still feel like I know you…does that make sense?”

  “It does.” He rubbed her arm. “Do you still want to go fishing tomorrow afternoon after everyone leaves? While I teach you how to fish and drive a boat, we can play twenty questions.”

  “I’d love to.” She smiled against his chest. “Don’t be surprised if I bring a list with me, and if there are more than twenty questions.”

  As he gave her a final kiss good night, a bunch of his own questions came to mind, but only one mattered…

  How was he going to let her walk away?

  Ian and Cami’s Rental House, Everglade City, Florida

  Saturday, 10:38 a.m. Eastern Standard Time

  Ian carefully sat in the leather office chair and waited as Lola closed the door to the den. Once she took a seat across from him, she stared at him with curiosity and interest.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked. “Mom said you slept well last night.”

  “Sore, but good.”

  Knowing Steven could no longer hurt Cami or his agents, and that they had erased all evidence tying Steven back to CORE, had helped. Sharing his plans with Cami and gaining her approval had been what allowed him to drift off to sleep.

  In all the years CORE had been in business, he’d never sought approval from anyone, and had run his agency on his terms. After talking with Cami, he had realized he’d been short sighted. His fiancée had given him suggestions he hadn’t considered, which made him wonder how his company might have evolved had he opened his mind to ideas and recommendations from his agents. Since he couldn’t turn back the clock, he recognized that, as he moved his company forward, it would be to his benefit to include his agents on future decisions. Which was why, earlier this morning, he’d asked Dante, John and Hudson to join him during a Skype call with Rachel and Owen. He valued them and their opinion.

  She looked to the clock on the desk. “Are we waiting for the others to join us?”

  “No. I want to talk to you alone.”

  She gripped the armrests tight enough her knuckles whitened. “What about?” she asked, her tone defensive. “Did I do something wrong? I know I took over a bit last night, but—”

  “Lola, relax. I’m very pleased with how you reacted yesterday. You were levelheaded, and took care of w
hat needed to be done. You did good.”

  She eased her grip on the armrests, then settled her hands in her lap. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “So what do you want to talk about?”

  “You and your future with CORE.”

  Her smile fell. “I’m sorry I threatened to resign. I know you had my best interest in mind. It was…childish on my part.”

  He shrugged. “No. You were fighting for the chance to finish the mission you’d started. I can appreciate that, and I regret the way I’ve been keeping your wings clipped.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Before I hired you, I made a deal with your mom. I honestly didn’t think you had what it took to work for me. Let’s face it, your resume isn’t very strong and you couldn’t hold a job for more than ten months.”

  “I see,” she said, her jaw tightening as she looked to the area rug.

  “No. I’m the one who didn’t see your potential.” He shook his head and let out a deep breath. “Or maybe I did, but was worried that if I used you in the capacity I wanted, I might lose your mom. The day you ended up hospitalized after going up against five men, part of me wanted to take you and mold you into the agent I knew you could be. Only the selfish part of me wanted to keep you caged. You’d walked away from those men, but if you hadn’t, I would have had to live with the guilt and…I probably would have lost Cami.”

  “She’s a little overprotective.”

  He held his thumb and index finger an inch apart. “Just a little,” he said with a grin. “But your mom knows you’re more than capable of doing your job. I do too, only I also see a leader…and an opportunity.”

  Her eyes brightened with excitement. “Thank you, Ian. I’ll be honest, until a couple of days ago, I wasn’t sure I belonged at CORE. I didn’t feel like a belonged, or that the other agents thought I was good enough to work with them.”