by Cara Carnes
“I’m better now that you’re back,” she admitted. “Your book is so good. Better than anything I’ve read in a long time. I’m not quite finished. Putting it down was almost impossible. The world felt so real. Raw.”
“Our boy’s good at using real-life experience,” Doug said. “We keep telling him he needs to do something with them.”
“There’s more?” Her eyes widened. “I want to read them all.”
Ram smiled and rubbed the stray pasta sauce off the corner of her mouth. “Whenever you want.”
Awareness arced between them, beading along his skin. She caressed the back of his hand, which was still on her cheek. He couldn’t resist touching her, enjoying the slight shiver of anticipation that dilated her pupils.
“I never thought frozen lasagna would taste this good,” Pierce admitted.
“That’s because it was something Momma Mason and Ellie made,” Ram said, forcing his attention away from the beautiful woman overpowering his control so easily. “They spent a couple days making enough of them for all the teams.”
“How the hell did we not know that?” Doug asked.
Ram shrugged. “I saw them working in the mess hall a few days ago, right before Bree came home.”
“Damn. I love those women,” Pierce said, patting his belly. “Too bad there wasn’t dessert, too.”
“Oh!” Bree popped up from her seat and went over to the nearest counter. She returned with a large, sealed container. “Grams, Ellie, and Momma Mason baked earlier. Grams wanted to show off her cookie recipes. Prepare to be amazed.”
She opened the container and set it in the middle of the table. “For after you finish eating dinner.”
Doug and Pierce both leaned forward and inhaled.
“Smells like heaven,” Doug said. “We should’ve dragged Spade out here. Now I feel bad.”
“We’ll pack him a dinner. There’s lots of everything left,” Pierce replied. “Though, he may not get any cookies.”
“There’s plenty to share. It’s not like Grams wouldn’t love a reason to make more,” Bree argued.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their meal, then dove into the cookies like vultures. Though they were all delicious, the caramel walnut ones were his favorite. Bree swiped a napkin across his lips and grinned.
“You’re a messy eater.”
“Just in a hurry,” he whispered. “The sooner I finish eating, the sooner I can have my real dessert.”
“Oh yeah?” She kissed his lips. “And what is that?”
He pulled her closer and nibbled on her earlobe. “You. Every beautiful inch of you.”
Bree squeezed his shoulder. “Only if you’re my dessert.”
“I’ll grab a couple containers,” Doug said as he stood. “Pierce and I’ll get Spade fed and hang with him. You two don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“But if you do, name it after me,” Pierce teased with a wink.
Amusement rolled from Ram as Bree’s face turned red. “You two are terrible.”
“That’s why you love us. We’re bratty big brothers.” Doug kissed the top of her head. “We’ll see you in the morning, B.”
“You don’t have to leave,” she argued.
“He’s right,” Pierce replied. “We need to check in with Spade. Our boy needs time with you more than he does us right now. We’ll hang tomorrow night.”
Ram had never been more thankful in his life. He offered both men a chin lift after they’d put together two to-go plates and wrapped half a dozen cookies up in paper towels. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The door shut a few moments later. Silence descended. Bree licked her lips.
“Well, that was awkward. They totally know we’re going to do it,” she whispered.
“Nothing awkward about me spending time with a woman who means more to me than anything else,” he whispered. “Now. About that dessert.”
Anticipation and nervousness battled within Bree as Ram drew her into his arms. She peered into his warm, expressive eyes and rested her hands on his chest. “I should probably warn you that I’ve never been very good at this.”
“I have a hard time believing that.” He feathered a kiss on her lips. “There’s no reason to be scared, sweetheart. It’s just you and me. We’ll stop whenever you want to, and there’s nothing you could do or say that’ll change how I feel about you.”
His assurance eased some of the worry. It’d been a long time since she felt so safe with anyone, which was why she’d been nervous. What if she did something weird he didn’t like? Damn, what if she sucked in bed?
He threaded his fingers through her hair and claimed her mouth. She followed his lead and sank into the kiss. All the worries drifted away as he teased her tongue with his. A soft moan escaped her when he nipped her lower lip.
A shiver ran along her back and arms where he touched her. She grasped his head and deepened the kiss. Surrendering to the need Ram built up in her was almost easier than breathing.
Hot skin greeted her wandering hands when they slid beneath his T-shirt. He tugged her shirt from her pants and caressed the bare skin beneath. She whimpered when the kiss ended.
“We have all night, sweetheart,” he whispered against her ear. “I want to taste and explore every inch of your beautiful body.”
Yes, please.
She drew his T-shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Glancing around the living room, she whispered, “Should we go to a bedroom?”
He grinned and picked her up. She laughed as he carried her to the back bedroom. A lamp on the nightstand cast the bed in a soft light. “When did you have time to turn that on?”
“I didn’t,” he answered honestly. “I’m thinking we have Pierce to think for that.”
She kissed his throat. “That should embarrass me. But I want you too bad to care.”
He set her on the bed and reached for her blouse. Lifting her arms, she swallowed as he stripped the material from her in a slow, sensual glide of his fingers along her sides. Laughter tumbled from her when he paused to tickle her.
“No tickling,” she warned.
“We are having a tickle war soon, sweetheart. Nothing makes me happier than when you laugh.” He kissed along the seam of her bra. “Not tonight, though.”
Ram kissed and caressed her body, working his way from her neck to her breasts. A sensuous haze rolled in as they kissed and touched one another. So lost within the sensations, she missed him removing her bra until he cupped and kissed the swell of her breasts.
“A perfect fit,” he mumbled as his gaze settled on where they were connected. “Almost like you were made just for me.”
She moaned when he sucked a hardened nipple into his mouth while he rolled the other one between his fingertips. His attention shifted downward as he undid her pants.
“Play with those gorgeous tits for me,” he ordered. “I want to watch you tease yourself while I taste you.”
She shivered.
“Been wanting a taste of you for a long time, Bree,” he whispered against her stomach as he pulled her pants down.
She lifted her ass off the bed to help. A groan sounded as her lower body shifted closer to Ram. “Oops.”
“You’re a little minx.” He pulled back and removed the rest of her clothes, then stood and stripped down.
She’d seen men naked before, but none compared to Ram. His tall, lean body was corded with muscles her fingers itched to touch. Her gaze drifted to his thick, hard cock.
“You’re killing me,” Ram said as he settled between her legs. “Tits, sweetheart. Show me how you like them teased.”
Bree closed her eyes and ran her hands along her breasts. Self-gratification hadn’t ever been something she did often, but knowing Ram was watching incited her desire. She loved knowing he was watching.
He kissed her pussy then ran his fingers along her. “So wet for me already.”
Pleasure ignited within her as he focused entirely on her
. She peered down at him through half-hooded eyes as she played with her nipples, pinching them occasionally. His heated gaze locked with hers as he flicked his tongue across her clit.
“Ram.” She cried his name out as she orgasmed.
Ram plunged two fingers into her and fucked her pussy. “You’re tight. I can’t wait to feel you grip my dick when I’m inside you.”
“Please.” She gasped when he teased her clit again. “I’m on the pill. I’m clean and haven’t…” She swallowed. “It’s been a long time.”
“For me, too. I couldn’t fuck anyone else when you’re the only one I’ve wanted.” He cupped her face and kissed her.
She gripped his shoulders and whimpered against his mouth. “Please, Ram. Fuck me. I can’t go slow. Not this time.”
“We have all night,” he promised. “We’ll get our slow. Guide me in. I want to feel your hand gripping me.”
Bree ran her hands down his muscular torso, pausing to admire the washboard abs. By the time she wrapped her fingers around this thick cock, her breathing had turned labored. He shifted forward, and she moaned as she guided him to her entrance.
He clasped her wrist and drew her hand away. Then he thrust. She moaned and writhed upward. Their mouths collided in a carnal kiss as he fucked her. The deep, powerful movements quickened.
Bree clung to the sensations and the molten look on his handsome face when he looked down at her. “Ram.”
“Let go, sweetheart,” he whispered against her mouth. “I want to feel you come around my dick, and I’m not going to last long. Not this time. I’ve needed you too long.”
The honesty within his gravelly voice undid her. She cried out and sank her nails into his back as her entire body spasmed. Legs wrapped around him, she shifted her grip to his ass.
He groaned moments later as he surrendered to his own release.
His weight atop her felt perfect. She wrapped herself around him and held on. “Stay here like this. Just for a minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he whispered against her neck. “You okay?”
“I’ve never been better.” The admission tumbled from her easily. There was nothing she couldn’t share with him. “Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me for anything, especially what we just did. You’re a treasure, one I’ll do anything to protect because I’m not giving you up as long as you want me.”
“Good.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve had a lot of naughty fantasies about you. I fully intend to make every one of them a reality.”
He grinned as he shifted them to where she nestled against his side. “I’m looking forward to every single one of them.”
17
Ram scowled at Doug and Pierce as they entered the whiteboard room. Bree shook her head.
“At least it was us and not boss man,” Pierce commented. “Besides, it’s almost morning anyway.”
It was, but that didn’t mean leaving the bed he’d been enjoying very much with Bree was any easier. They’d spent hours making love and talking. Whatever had cut that short had better be worth it.
“We have some answers about what happened with the Melanie debacle,” Vi said. Ram’s gaze swept the room. Only his team and Operations were there.
“A new operative assigned for training with Medina’s team didn’t abide by the rules,” Mary said. “We vetted him, and he was clean. We believe he still is, but his recent choices prove he’s not Arsenal quality. He had a cell phone, one he failed to turn in to us.”
Fuck. All operatives were required to use Arsenal-issued phones for a reason. They weren’t trackable and HERA shadowed all activity, which kept everyone at the compound safe.
“What the fuck?” Doug asked. “Why? Is he dirty?”
“No, just very naive and stupid,” Zoey muttered. She sighed heavily as images flashed on the screens. “The short story is that he met a woman via an online dating service shortly after starting his training here. That relationship deepened. He chose to keep a burner phone we weren’t aware of because he didn’t want to lose contact with her or have us ‘in his business.’ Once Medina got custody of the phone, we were able to uncover her real identity as an operative.”
“She used to be with SAS, which is how HERA confirmed her,” Mary said. “We believe she’s with Knightwind now, but not Gavin’s faction of it.”
“The other group,” Gage muttered. “How did they figure out he was part of this operation?”
“That’s where the stupid comes out of our former operative Greene,” Zoey said. “He believed she was a flight attendant and traveled throughout the country. She used that as an excuse to keep track of his movements. She’d meet him at hotels near wherever he was while he was training with Medina’s team.”
“Fuck. That could’ve exposed the underground,” Doug said.
“That still doesn’t explain her knowing he was part of the team on Melanie,” Ram said.
“That’s where the Homeland mole comes in,” Mary said. “We’ve confirmed two individuals who became aware of our sting operation. They both accessed satellite surveillance of the area during our operation. Homeland has taken them into custody and questioned them. One of them admitted he was asked by a ‘friend’ of his in Knightwind to watch the operation.”
“Why would he agree?” Gage asked.
“Because he’s stupid and greedy,” Vi said. “They offered him a position with the organization. He’s wanted to move to Europe for a while, apparently. They used that to con him into helping in exchange for a new, higher paying gig with them.”
“Damn.” Ram crossed his arms. “So Knightwind knew Melanie was missing. Both sides knew.”
“Yes. That’s what we suspect,” Mary said. “They have assets in play in a lot of government offices. When we contacted Homeland, they likely got wind of it and moved in. We reviewed the satellite surveillance from the area around Bob’s house at the time we breached. It very clearly showed the handoff of a female to someone.”
“And that was enough for them to move in because their asset they had on Greene already knew he was in the area,” Pierce said.
“His movements were being tracked,” Vi confirmed. “The group that hit you at the airstrip was not with Alex. We believe they are working with the other faction of Knightwind, the one in charge of Facility Six. They were the only ones who would’ve known Melanie was in play at all, except for Gavin.”
“Whose movements and cell phone activities are being monitored,” Ram said.
“Yes. In short, we had a noob who screwed up and we didn’t catch it in time,” Mary admitted. “We’ll seam up those issues to prevent it from happening again. The other short falling was ours. We made the call to keep her in the area because there wasn’t adequate time to move her elsewhere. That was clearly a mistake.”
“One you were worried about, so you did the right thing by sending us in,” Gage said. “No one can be perfect. You had a gut feeling that something could go wrong. We handled it.”
“He’s right,” Ram said. “There are a lot of moving pieces to the massive puzzle right now. Something was bound to happen. Besides, this wasn’t entirely on us. Homeland shouldn’t have expanded their involvement without letting you vet everyone involved.”
“True,” Vi said. “We’ve been assured that won’t happen again. As a matter of fact, we have a new dedicated contact who will be working with us.”
“He’s Bob’s replacement for the time being,” Mary said. “With the president’s sincerest apologies that Homeland’s failure to abide by our requests could’ve potentially ended very badly. It will not happen again.”
Ram was glad they’d looked into what happened so quickly. Exhaustion filled their faces. None of them had rested yet.
“HERA is currently running all of our operatives. We’ll be doing that on a weekly basis from now on, in addition to random searches of everyone,” Zoey said. “Jesse’s speaking with his brothers about that right now. And no more noobs t
raining with teams assigned to the underground. We can’t take that risk ever again.”
Ram agreed wholeheartedly. Too many people relied on the safety Zoey’s network provided.
“Come on. Let’s go get some breakfast with your woman.” Doug slapped Ram’s back. “I’m thinking you two worked up quite an appetite.”
Zoey’s eyes widened.
“Asshole,” Ram muttered as he stood. Though, he had a point. Breakfast with Bree sounded perfect.
Early morning in the mess hall was an experience. Bree couldn’t smother the grin on her face if she tried. Fortunately, there was no reason to. Ram chuckled beside her as Doug and Pierce arm wrestled for the last bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast taco.
“Should we tell them Nolan and his team are making more?” Ram whispered in her ear.
“Nah, let them burn off their energy.” She bit into her potato and bacon taco. “Besides, they’re egg-loving freaks.”
“What’s this?” Doug halted the battle. “You don’t like eggs?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I just don’t get the hype. I mean, I’ll eat them, but not all the time. It must be a Southern thing.”
“You’re a strange one,” Pierce commented as he shoved the taco toward Doug. He snatched one from Ram’s plate. “I’d ask how your night went after we left, but I’m not a fan of TMI and that thousand-watt smile tells us all we need to know. I’m happy you two are finally not hovering around one another anymore. I was about to lock you two into a detainment room.”
Ram tossed the pepper shaker at Pierce. “Shut it.”
Heat rose in Bree’s cheeks. “I can’t help it if he’s irresistible. Besides, I’m probably the only one who could deal with his two BFFs. You’re the crazy ones.”
The two men grinned. People started filing in and taking seats at the long table. A rightness filled Bree as all her friends gathered and ate their meals. The comfortable silence settled some of the unease rising within her.
Last night with Ram had been perfect, everything she’d imagined yet so much more. They’d whispered secrets to one another in the dark until she’d fallen asleep in his arms. The urge to purge the world of any asshole who’d hurt him in the past rode her hard. She wanted to end them all now more than ever, but it’d wait.
