The Omega Team: Ethan's Promise (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Men of Mercy Book 7)

by Lindsay Cross

  The little witch that she was, Kate wriggled even more and flipped him over onto his back and the result was Ethan buried even deeper inside her body. Kate trailed a finger down his chest and then lifted her hips and slowly lowered herself back down, wringing a long low moan from his lips.

  “This is exactly where I want to be.”

  She sat atop him, naked and sweaty and so beautiful it stole his breath. Their gazes collided and held. Transfixed, he slowly pulled her to him for a long, passionate kiss.

  He thrust his tongue between her lips, their flesh sliding against each other with friction that sent sparks to flame his need to hold her to him, to take her over and over. Ethan had never felt this way with a woman before, but with Kate he did. He wanted to tie her to his bed and never let her go.

  When her lips lifted from his and she sat back to slowly grind her hips in a slow sensual circle on top of him, Ethan felt his hands shake and realized she’d completely shattered the walls around his emotions, pushing him past the point of thinking of her as someone who would tie him down and instead he wanted to tie himself to her.

  Kate leaned down to him, her hard nipples brushing his chest, and whispered, “Now, let me show you what I wanted to finish earlier.”

  She took him, her movements slow, every inch of skin sliding on skin magnified. She rode him like that, lazy and sensual, and Ethan was in awe.

  When they finally finished, he got rid of the condom and eased back in bed. Then he wrapped an arm around her and held her on top of his chest. Kate fell asleep almost instantly, her warm, even breaths tickling across his skin. Ethan squeezed her tighter to him as he shut his eyes, allowing sleep to take hold. His last thought before he drifted into unconsciousness was that he was never letting her go. He’d have to make it work somehow, but Kate was his.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Kate shifted uncomfortably in the back of the stretch limo, the hot pink Capri’s and robin’s egg blue flowing blouse she was wearing as uncomfortable as a coffin full of spikes. Celine, on the other hand, wore her stunning dress like it was a second skin; every time she shifted and moved, the flowing material swayed as if sensing her mood.

  “Aaron’s jaw is going to drop when he sees you in that dress,” Kate said with not a trace of jealousy. She’d always known she wasn’t a classic beauty and had no problem complementing others who were, especially when they were as kind as Celine.

  Celine dug in her purse to pull out a compact. “You think he’ll notice the eyelashes? It took me a full hour to apply these this morning.”

  “If he doesn’t, he’s blind.”

  “You’re one to talk, missy. I believe I created a masterpiece with you. And I’m just a little bit jealous since you barely need mascara with those thick, natural lashes.” Celine made a frown and shook her head before shoving her compact back into its small matching handbag.

  Kate reached into her handbag, but not for a compact mirror. She wasn’t concerned with her looks. She wanted to feel the reassuring hard steel of her handgun tucked away safely, locked and loaded. They were sitting on the tarmac at the airport, waiting for the arrival of ‘the little bird,’ which is what they decided Caroline Cotter’s code name would be.

  Kate and Celine were to stay inside the limousine with the senator’s daughter, with an escort in front of and behind them just in case. After going over all the maps with Holden, they determined their weakest points of attack occurred on the road exactly one mile from the airport.

  Kate tensed when she heard the roar of a jet engine. “Are you ready for this?”

  For the first time that morning, Celine shifted uncomfortably. “I can do hair and make you look good, but when bullets start flying, I’m hitting the ground, girl. That’s all you.”

  Kate nodded. “Stay close to me and Caroline and you’ll be fine.”

  “The private jet landing right now is holding what’s more than likely to be a swell princess who thinks she’s better than everyone else?”

  “Yep.”

  Celine reached into the bucket of ice along the side of the stretch limo and grabbed the bottle of champagne nestled there cooling for the little bird. “And why the hell are we waiting on her to open this?”

  “Because the senator said if we don’t make sure his daughter is completely happy and safe he’s not going to pay us,” Kate said with a smirk.

  Celine stuck her tongue out, and shoved the bottle back into the ice. “You sure do know how to ruin a girl’s fun.”

  “Just wait another ten minutes. They’ve already parked the jet. The little bird will be on board shortly and then you can satisfy your alcoholic tendencies.”

  “Just wait, when all this is over, I’m taking you out. You have no idea.”

  Kate caught a shadow of movement to her left, locked eyes on the familiar trim hard waist of Ethan and instantly went on alert. Their sex had been hot. Not just hot, like melt the bed and set the plantation on fire kind of hot.

  How was she going to let him go when this was all over? He lived in Mercy, Mississippi, and now – now Kate was a nomad. A soldier for hire. What kind of relationship could she ever hope to have?

  Ethan opened the door and leaned in, one massive arm propped on top of the limo. He was clothed head to toe in black. T-shirt, tactical pants and boots – a look she knew he’d have to trade out later tonight for a tuxedo at the wedding. Didn’t matter. No matter what he wore he was completely and utterly devastating.

  Her heart did that little flutter thing when he was around, but this one felt good, really, really good. And then he gave her a wide grin and she realized he’d shaved. She’d been so focused on her internal turmoil she hadn’t even noticed the smooth cheeks and neatly pulled back hair.

  “Close your mouth, sweetheart, you’re drooling.” Ethan said with a wink.

  Celine chimed in, “Yeah, right before I saw you this morning he came in for a cleanup, and I informed him the grunge look was so nineties.”

  “What do you think?” Ethan gave her a flirty look, but the sincerity in his gaze made her realize her answer was important.

  “I think…I think…” Kate stuttered, enthralled by the masculine angular jawline and lips that looked even more sculpted now.

  “She likes it,” Ethan said to Celine.

  “Hey, what can I say? I’m good.” Celine shrugged.

  “I think you’re in trouble.” Kate frowned and pursed her lips at Ethan.

  “What for? I thought you’d like it?”

  “Because this whole week you gave me beard burn. I thought you were trying to cover up a terrible scar or something.” Secretly, she enjoyed the abrasive feeling of his beard against her cheeks when he kissed her and against the other more sensitive parts of her body. But the thought of his smooth face gliding against her bare skin… Chill bumps spread across her arms. Kate croaked a finger at him. “Come here.”

  He complied without hesitation, something she was enjoying more and more. Unlike the men she’d known in the CIA, Ethan hid absolutely nothing from her. She never had to second-guess herself or wonder if he was secretly shaking his head at something she’d done.

  He squeezed into the limo, bracing a hand on the console to lean across. Kate placed a palm on each cheek, savoring the satiny feel of freshly shaved skin and captured his mouth for a smooth, silky kiss.

  Ethan let her have her way, meeting her halfway but not taking control, and another part of the armor around her heart cracked.

  Kate pulled back, breathless and enjoying the fact he was breathing just as hard as she was.

  “What was that for?” he all but whispered.

  “I wanted to test it out.”

  “And?”

  “I’ll make sure to buy you a new razor every week.”

  The sound of his rich, full laughter filled the cab of the limo leaving Kate grinning like a complete idiot when he pulled back out and stood up.

  Ethan rapped on the hood. “The little bird is embarking. Hold tight. I’ll br
ing her to you.”

  “Oh, girl, you got it bad. Real bad.” Celine shook her head but the effect was devastated by her goofy grin.

  Kate didn’t bother to deny it. Ethan Slade had taken a jackhammer to her defenses and laid them out flat.

  And she wanted to enjoy it for as long as she could.

  “Kate, Celine, meet Caroline Cotter.” Ethan stepped to the side and helped what had to be one of the most petite blonde’s she’d ever seen into the limo. “Caroline, Kate is your bodyguard; Celine is your stylist.”

  Caroline gave a regal nod. “Thank you, sir, and you, ladies, for all your help. I hope I won’t be too much trouble for you.”

  Ethan gave a small smile, the corners of his mouth barely turning up. “It’s our pleasure, ma’am. Let us know if you need anything at all. I’ll be in the vehicle behind you, and we have another vehicle in front.” Ethan gently closed the door and in the silence that followed, crickets could be heard from miles away.

  Celine extended her hand. “I’m Celine. I’ll be doing your hair and makeup.”

  She gave a pointed stare at Kate, jump-starting her brain. “And I’m Kate, one of your bodyguards.”

  After completing the greeting, Caroline withdrew her hands back to her lap and folded them gently, one on top of the other.

  Celine stared pointedly at the champagne and arched a brow in Kate’s direction. Kate shook her head, no. They both needed to wait on Caroline’s lead.

  The driver cranked the limo, turned in a wide arc and headed back out to the highway. Another solid minute stretched out in unbearable silence.

  Celine started drumming her fingers on the armrest and Kate propped her elbow on the window and stared out. Her mind immediately went back to Ethan and the way his hands had felt exploring her body. Tonight, after the wedding, she was planning a big surprise for him. He’d made her lose control completely last night until she was just a mindless creature at his beck and call, something she enjoyed thoroughly, but she was going to turn the tables. Tonight, she’d make Ethan Slade beg.

  “I can’t take it. Someone open that bottle of champagne before I crack.”

  Kate whipped around and stared at Caroline in shock. “Ma’am?”

  Caroline ruthlessly twisted the hem of a shirt that probably cost more than most people make in a month. “I need a drink, Agent Kate, is that permitted? Or did my dad instruct you not to let me have alcohol before the wedding?”

  Celine burst out laughing and yanked the chilled bottle from the ice. She had the foil off in a split-second. “No, we’ve just been waiting on you to give us permission.”

  “Well, ladies, if I have any hope of making it through this without puking from nerves, we’re going to need at least another bottle, and something a lot stronger than champagne.”

  Celine poured a glass and handed it off to Caroline first who eagerly accepted it. She then extended one to Kate. “No thank you.” She had to keep a clear head and a sharp eye. Besides, she didn’t really care for alcohol. It dulled the senses in general and slowed the thinking process. Overall it was just a sloppy messy thing to partake of.

  “More for us.” Celine poured more in her glass and shoved the half empty bottle back into its ice bucket. “Caroline, do you want to talk about it?”

  Caroline shoulders deflated, like someone stuck a pin in her balloon and all the air slowly seeped out. “I’m sure you’ve already guessed this is an alliance, a business merger, not a real marriage.”

  Kate resisted the urge to let her mouth fall open, but Celine had no such compunction. “You poor girl. Call it off. You don’t have to marry someone you don’t want to; this is the 21st century for chrissake.”

  “If only it were that easy. My father’s plans are much higher than his current senator seat; he intends to be head of his own committee, and maybe even eventually run for president, and having me marry a one-star general climbing in the ranks with the Purple Heart for valor is a big piece of his golden ticket.”

  “Then you need to find yourself an ex-convict with five kids out on parole. Make sure he lives in a trailer park too. That’ll teach your dad not to interfere in your life like that.”

  Kate whipped around to face Celine with wide eyes. “Celine!”

  “What? I taught my parents the hard way when I was still a teenager that when they try to force me to do things, the consequences are much worse.”

  “And I’m sure you spent your teenage years grounded and locked in your room because of it, right?” Kate knew she would have, but back then she’d still been under the heavy influence of her mother, a mindless yes ma’am, no ma’am, perfect child.

  Celine waggled her finger in the air. “That’s what bedroom windows are for. I spent more nights sneaking out of my house then I can count.”

  Caroline gasped and placed her fingers over her mouth, the look of horror on her face like she spotted the creature from the lagoon. “You didn’t?”

  “You bet I did.” Celine refilled her glass and topped off Caroline’s. “I wasn’t doing anything bad, just making out with my boyfriend. I had a good head on my shoulders, just wasn’t much on being controlled.”

  Caroline sighed, “Yeah, well since I can remember, I’ve had a bodyguard or Secret Service. Then it was all-girls boarding school and private tutors. If I stepped one foot outside of the house without clearance from my dad, he would’ve called in the whole secret service.”

  “That seems a bit drastic.”

  “Not for Senator Cotter it’s not.” Small angry lines formed around Caroline’s mouth, but Kate saw something else there—understanding.

  “Surely you don’t condone him keeping you prisoner your whole life?” Kate asked.

  “I really can’t be mad at him. He’s had his reasons.”

  “Like what?” Celine asked, leaning in closer to Caroline.

  “Like the fact I had a twin sister who was kidnapped from the hospital at birth.”

  The silence filling the cab could have taken down an entire city under its weight. Shock seemed to shackle her in place. Kate had to work to get her brain to function. “You had a sister?”

  Caroline’s lips twisted into a sad smile. “I had a sister for all of a couple of hours. A few weeks after the disappearance, police found her baby blanket and one of her socks at the edge of the river that ran through our hometown. Video surveillance caught the woman who stole her leaving hospital. They never found their bodies but dad said there’d been a storm and the river could have carried them really far.”

  Kate reached across and gently touched the younger girl’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

  Caroline nodded, “Thank you.”

  Kate continued, “But I still wouldn’t let my father force me into a marriage I didn’t want.”

  “Have you met my father, the senator?”

  “No, I haven’t,” Kate said.

  “When you do, you try telling him no and let me know how that works out for you.”

  Kate eyes widened as realization dawned. Senator Cotter was Georgia Elise. And this is exactly what would’ve happened to Kate if she’d stayed home and done everything her mother asked.

  Suddenly, dealing with the macho sexism at work didn’t really seem quite so bad. “I may lose my job, but you say the word and I’ll get you out of here. I have friends, I can fly you wherever you want and no one will ever know.”

  “Yeah! An adventure! Count me in – wait I need to know where we’re going to have to pack.” Celine squealed clapping her hands together like an excited little girl.

  “As much as I resent him for being so overprotective,” Caroline said.

  Celine snorted and rolled her eyes, “That’s like saying lifetime in prison is a voluntary vacation.”

  Caroline straightened and glared at Celine, “Like I was saying, my father has his reasons and I understand them. And if I was going to speak up I should’ve had the guts to do it in the first place. I can’t call off the wedding now and make him a national embarra
ssment.”

  “So you’d rather spend the rest of your life with a man you don’t even know? What if he’s abusive? What if he’s mean?” Celine asked.

  “The way these unions typically work, we probably won’t even stay in the same house. I can still live my own life and he can live his.”

  “And your daddy can trot out his perfect family for the cameras when he needs you.” Kate finished quietly.

  Caroline downed her glass and held out her hand for more. “That’s about right. Now let’s quit having a Caroline pity party and help me get drunk so I can make it through the ceremony without puking.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Ethan and Aaron flanked Caroline’s closed bedroom door. The girls had gone in hours ago and not come out, except for the occasional burst of laughter Aaron and Ethan were left to stand guard alone on the day of Caroline’s wedding.

  The nights with Kate had been indescribable. Hands-down, the most incredible sex he’d ever had. When Kate had lured him into the bedroom, he’d followed like the mouse after the Pied Piper. She’d pushed him down on the bed, and then she’d taken charge and Ethan had lost control.

  On top, Kate took command and Ethan hadn’t had to think or do anything but feel her soft hands and mouth on his body, driving him over the edge repeatedly until he passed out. Ethan woke late this morning to an empty bed and promised himself tonight, after the wedding, he’d pay her back double time. But even he admitted it to himself that it wasn’t just sex, it wasn’t just her body, her beautiful face, or soft skin that held him captive. Her quick wit and razor sharp tongue kept him on edge, and even though she struggled in the career she chosen, she never backed down and because of that, because she was a fighter like him, he loved her.

  Love? Love someone else? The hallway seemed to tilt beneath his feet and Ethan expelled a breath as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

  Aaron shot him a questioning glance. “You okay? They tie that penguin suit a little too tight?”