“Nice? Huh. Not a word I’ve heard to describe Chief before.” His quiet whispers were interspersed between delicious feathery kisses. His hands traveled down and cupped her ass pulling her closer to his apparent desire. He nibbled on her ear. “What were you talking about?”
The feel of his body against hers and the heat from his hands and lips enveloped her. Damn, did he ask a question? “Hmmm? Oh…God, you feel good. Ahh, we were talking about you…I mean…oh…your work.”
He chuckled as he moved to nip and kiss her jaw, slowly making his way to her lips. “Oh? That’s not what I heard.”
He lifted his lips over hers hovering above them as he whispered, “Is it true? All I have to do is ask a woman like you?”
Her eyes opened and stared into his. Yes. “Maybe.”
He smiled and lowered his lips slowly towards hers. He swept over her lips softly exhaling as he teased her, pulling away before he kissed her. His arms tightened around her almost crushing her to him. “I won’t ask. I can’t. You know I can’t give you forever. This is for now, this moment in time only. But I find at this moment I want to take your breath away.”
He finally lowered his lips and captured hers with a warm press of lips. He tasted of morning coffee and an indefinable flavor only Joseph possessed. Memories of long summer nights spent testing and teasing each other flooded her senses as it had happened only yesterday. Ember lifted to her toes, pressing her body close in an answer to his demanding call. Immediate need flared inside her just as it had when she was in high school. The knowledge that today her need would be filled roused the ache no other man had ever fueled.
He smiled and lifted his hand to her face, stroking her bottom lip with his thumb. “Let’s go into the bedroom baby. I don’t think we need Chief to walk in on us.”
“Joey, you shouldn’t. You need to rest and let those wounds heal.” God, it cost her to say that. She wanted him, but the physician in her raised its hackles and screamed in disbelief at what the wanton woman in her was considering.
Taking her hand, he led her into the bedroom and shut the door. Crossing to the bed, he pulled her closer. He slowly unbuttoned her shirt as he kissed her neck, his voice low and thick, “I’ve slept for over twenty-four hours. My wounds are better and I’ll be damned if they’re going to stop me from making love to you. Tell me you want this. You want this moment in time.”
Her hands traveled over his shoulders and chest feeling his muscles ripple under her touch. “I want you, I need... But...”
“No buts. No future. Just us. Now.” He covered her mouth with his as he dropped her shirt from her shoulders. His kiss pulled her dizzyingly higher as he unsnapped and pulled off her bra. She clung to his arms as he unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them over her hips dropping the material to the floor. Holding her tightly, he continued to kiss her as he laid her under him on the bed. He broke the kiss and stood as he pulled her jeans off and then his.
Her eyes traveled his body and his obvious arousal. As a doctor, she’d seen hundreds of naked men. But damn this man’s sexual equipment was the finest she’d ever seen. “Mr. King as a health care professional I would be remiss if I did not remark on the distinct attributes of your spectacularly endowed physique. You’ve grown into a fine specimen of a man.”
He chuckled and lowered over her. “Dr. Harris as a man who appreciates true beauty, I would be remiss if I did not tell you I have never seen…touched…or kissed…a more beautiful woman.” He punctuated each word with a kiss as his lips slid from hers, to her neck, to the top of her breasts. His thumb rubbed the top of one nipple as his lips covered the other. His teeth nipped and tugged her tender flesh. She gasped and arched her back toward him to encourage the exploration of his mouth. He transferred his attentions to her other breast and lowered his hand seeking her center.
Ember stilled as he touched her. This wasn’t what he had described wanting, but God it was so good. Joseph lifted his head and kissed her neck softly. “You’re so beautiful. I’ve wanted you for so damn long. Just us, baby. You and me. Right now. So good.”
His hand continued to explore, opening her. He covered her lips with his and immediately deepened the kiss matching his hard finger strokes with the invasion of his tongue. Her body tensed, arched to his touch as she moaned under him. His mouth on hers consumed her sounds of need and desire.
The degree of the growing tightness in her catapulted from intense to inescapable. His fingers speared her as his thumb continued to stroke her clit, driving her towards orgasm. Never before had anyone set off the unmatched heat raging in her body—not like this. Where his hands and body touched her skin, intense feelings ignited. Her body tightened and convulsed under his hand as waves of deep pulling sensations drove through her core and exploded within her. Her cries consumed by his lips rent the quiet of the room. He pushed into her relentlessly with his fingers and rode out her orgasm never leaving their kiss. Joseph slowed his hand and the fervor of their kiss as her body calmed. Tremors shook her. Apparently, lingering aftershocks were a byproduct of phenomenal sex. God, who knew? A deeply sated grin covered her face when he finally pulled from the kiss. She watched him as her expression registered. He lifted himself over her and moved his knee between her legs.
“You look so damn sexy.”
Sweet baby Jesus, his deep baritone whisper set off another aftershock. “Mmmm…Feeling so good right now, Joey.”
“Baby I’m about to rock your world.”
“Promises, promises.” She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him back down to kiss him. She loved the way he tasted—the dark, bitter flavor of coffee accented the wonderful essence of the man he had become. His hips settled between her legs and he nudged the head of his thick cock against her.
“For the love of God, tell me you’re on the pill.” He groaned his words against her lips.
“We’re protected, and if you tell me you’re clean, I’ll trust you.”
He nodded against her neck. “I’m clean.”
Her body arched towards him, encouraging, begging him to continue. He slowly pushed forward, just barely entering. He lifted his chest away from her but took the bud of her nipple into his mouth. Slowly he increased the pressure of his bite on her breast until her body pulled away. The pain radiated from where his teeth clenched and yet he didn’t stop.
With his teeth still around her nipple, he growled, “Brace, baby.” His cock split her in one monumental thrust, wrenching a gasping cry from her. Her body lunged trying to escape his penetrating thickness. He fingers bit into her shoulders and held her onto his cock. “Stop, baby girl. You’re going to take me now. Good girl, now look at me.” His words bit into her over-stimulated brain. She pulled another ragged breath and tried to move away again. His size was too much. The discomfort was almost unbearable.
“Ember, stop pulling away.” He pinned her mouth with his and punished her with the press of his lips against hers. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. And then he moved. Oh God, a moan ripped from the fabric of her soul as he slid out of her only to slam back into her recesses. She couldn’t explain the sensations. The pain was intense and yet…she wanted…no…needed more? Over and over, his cock impaled her as his mouth held her, silencing her cries. His arms pulled her to him as his shaft drilled into her. His kiss refused her the oxygen she needed and she desperately pulled air through her nose.
Finally, he lifted his head. Instinctively she drew large gulps of air into her lungs.
“That’s right. Breathe, baby girl. You feel so good, so fucking tight.”
He lifted onto his knees and pulled her legs over his thighs. Joseph grasped her hips, curling his fingers into her flesh and moved, driving in and out of her at various angles but always with a mind-numbing force. He drove his shaft into her impaling her with an assault like none she had known before. Ember couldn’t stop the cries his forceful mating drew from her. She tried, God knew she tried, but the sensations were too much.
“Fu
ck yes, let me hear it. I love the way you sound when I’m taking you.”
Ember saw the excitement in his eyes. The same passion she loved and wanted but he’d refused to give when they were younger. Yes, she wanted this. She wanted him to take her just like this. Why? Her body once again tightened as the deep pulling of her core clenched around his cock. Each slam drove her closer to release. She bucked against him before she screamed, claiming her own ecstasy.
He buried himself painfully deep. “Oh fuck! Jesus, Ember!
She barely registered his cry joining hers, shattering the silence of the house.
Joseph lowered his spent body on top of her. Shared perspiration formed a slick layer between them. Panting in an effort to catch her breath, she stroked his shoulder, careful to avoid his tender wounds.
He rolled onto his uninjured side pulling her with him, still buried deep within her.
His hand grasped her by the nape and his thumb and stroked the pounding pulse point at the base of her neck. The tender touch struck her as the complete antithesis to his treatment a few moments ago.
“Holy hell, Ember, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Her answering chuckle muffled in his chest. “Yeah, that was phenomenal sex.”
“Not bad for a kink novice. You, baby girl, have exceeded my expectations. I’ll have to push the envelope next time.” He grunted and slapped her ass, gripping it tightly, pulling her closer.
“Next time? So you’re keeping me around?”
“Oh, hell yeah, I’m not letting you go.”
She purred and moved closer to him, relaxing. “Hmm…you better be careful, Mr. King. I may mistake that comment for an offer of a relationship.”
He leaned over and kissed her, running his fingers through her curls. His grip tightened holding her immobile. “If things weren’t as they are now, I would be more than alright with that, Dr. Harris. But this is for now. I don’t have a future to give you.”
“I know, Joey. I accept your stipulation that this won’t last.” She lowered her eyes as her hand traveled down his bulging muscled arm. “Do you realize it took us almost sixteen years to make love to each other?”
He leaned forward and traced her jaw with his tongue before he whispered against her lips, “You were worth the wait.” Pushing her onto her back, he pinned both of her arms over her head with one arm. “But I’m done waiting.”
*
Joseph walked out of the bedroom hours later. Starving, thirsty and for the moment, sexually sated, he wandered into the kitchen. Those feelings were a hell of a combination and one he could do over and over again. Yeah and you did do her over and over again, didn’t you, King? Shaking off the lingering thoughts of sex, he turned to the mission at hand. Food and drink first, then he needed to call Jacob.
Yeah, right. His mind wandered back to the woman lying in his bed. He left Ember asleep in the bed after a marathon session of the best sex he’d ever had. Damned if that woman wasn’t everything a man needed. Soft, giving, caring, smart, sexy and if today was any indication—insatiable. Even with the fatigue, stiffness and the nagging pain of the injuries, he felt better than he had in months. He took several cookies from an open pack on the counter and picked up the satellite phone hitting redial. Jacob answered immediately.
“Alpha.”
His mouth full of cookies, Joseph asked, “Were the documents what you anticipated?”
“Joseph?”
“Yeah. Well, were they?” He shoved another cookie in his mouth, walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a half-gallon jug of milk.
“The documents are exactly what were indicated. The Morales Cartel has some extremely influential people on their payroll. The FBI has launched a joint task force with Homeland Security. They anticipate several of the higher ranking people will talk if they’re promised immunity and protection.”
Joseph drank a quarter of the milk straight from the container as he listened. “What is the word on the hit?” He stuffed two more cookies in his mouth.
Jacob paused. “Jared is working it, but it seems the order came from Morales himself. Even though we have the documents, Morales wants the woman who was able to escape his reach. According to intelligence, one has taken the assignment. All others have pulled off.”
Joseph put the cookie he was about to eat down and tensed. “Who?”
“The identity has not been confirmed by secondary sources.”
Joseph paced around the kitchen’s granite topped island and growled, “Damn it, Jacob, who?”
“Indications are the Scorpion has taken the contract.”
His gut clenched at the revelation. The Scorpion was a ruthless assassin who skillfully used various methods to complete his missions. Meaning he couldn’t anticipate how the killer would do the job. Joseph’s voice became ice cold as he quietly responded, “That Spaniard doesn’t work in the States.”
“True, and as I said, it hasn’t been confirmed, but then again you don’t work in the States either.”
Joseph pulled his hand through his hair and sighed. “He’s an international level professional.”
“Yeah, he’s good, but we both know you’re better. I’ve talked with Gabriel. From what he can find, there may be a family connection between the assassin and Morales. The Scorpion and the leadership of the Morales Cartel have been coded for assassination and targeted through the appropriate channels. We have a green light to take them out. When we get proper intelligence, I’ll send a team in.”
Joseph glanced behind him to make sure Ember wasn’t listening. “Like hell you will. If they’re coded, that makes them mine. Don’t you dare send in a team. They’ll be slaughtered.”
Jacob paused. “Then I’ll send in another shadow operative. I’m not allowing you to go, Joseph. Ember told me about your injuries. You’re on medical hold until I get you cleared. You don’t have permission to work this case.”
“Damn it to fucking hell and back! See, this is why I didn’t write it up. I knew you would pull me out. I’m only going to say this once little brother so get it through your head, now. I. Was. Not. Compromised. I didn’t break and the fucker that messed me up is dead. I’m fine now so what’s your fucking beef?”
Joseph swiped his hand through his hair again in frustration. “This conversation is why I didn’t think it was necessary to report in. Quite frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck if you give me permission to work this or not. Morales and his hit man are threats to Ember and neither she nor I will be free until said threat is eliminated. You and I both know I’m the only one capable of doing this without additional loss of life on our side.”
“Ember said you were going through opioid withdrawal.”
“The operative terminology there is ‘was.’ Yeah, I took pain killers. I ate them like fire consumes gasoline. I stopped the day I landed back in the States. I don’t know if I was addicted, but I’d built up one hell of a tolerance. Believe me, it was not fun getting off them. But I’m drug-free now and I don’t feel any dependency.”
“Yeah? Are you still in pain?”
“No more than usual, little man.”
“If you’re allowed to take this case, and that is one hell of a big if, it could take months to conclude. How can you protect Ember from the Scorpion if you’re tracking Morales?”
Joseph’s mind had already calculated the first moves of a chess game he knew only too well. He spoke slowly and clearly as his eyes scanned the hills behind his house. “The Scorpion will make his move on her here. It’s what I’d do.”
“How can he find you? You’re off the grid.”
Joseph sighed. “The two I took out called in a possible sighting. When that duo of dipshit didn’t report in last night or … the night before…anyway, when they didn’t report in, we gave away the general location. Would you like to guess how many satellite telephones there are in the Tri-state area?
Jacob sighed heavily into the phone. Joseph didn’t have to tell his brother they’d handed their
position over on a silver platter every time they powered on the damn satphone. The Scorpion would pinpoint the location of the calls, eliminate the locally-issued numbers and be on his way. The assassin was one of the elite—not one of the minor league operatives who wouldn’t know how to track a satphone. He’d use the signal like a GPS.
“Two days?” Jacob’s question pulled Joseph back to the conversation.
“Maybe, but I doubt we have any longer.”
“For fuck’s sake old man, take Ember and get out, head to the airport at Rapid City. We will move you out to a secure location.”
A dry, resigned chuckle floated across the room. “Jacob, if I don’t take him out now, he’ll track us. He’ll be relentless. I know because that’s what I’d do. He wants her. It’s a vendetta now. She’s his focus. The silver lining? He doesn’t know who I am. That is our only advantage. Once I take out the Scorpion, Guardian can protect Ember and I’ll go after Morales.”
His voice lowered as he closed his eyes. “I’m going to need Chief for a couple days. The two buttheads who reported me passed on a general description. Chief’s build is similar—a big guy with black hair. I need Chief here, close to Em, to protect her while I do what I need to do. When I go after that son of a bitch Morales, Guardian needs to get her to another location.”
There was silence at the other end of the line. Finally, Jacob spoke, “We can take her to…”
“I don’t want to know where you take her. I won’t be coming back for her. After I finish this, I’m walking away. No more shadows. No more missions. I’m out of it. All of it.”
Severed throats, sleeping in the filth and cold or enduring days of scorching heat and thirst, living on pain pills only to detox yet again—this had become his world. He couldn’t believe it, but he’d reached the end. Fuck. Two days with Ember and he’d crash landed. Nothing felt good. Nothing felt right. He wanted out. He wanted to be out and be safe. With Ember. Fuck.
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