by Lori Ryan
He let go of the fabric now, loosening his hold on her arms as he brought his hand down and added his fingers, bringing the pleasure between her legs to a fevered pitch.
She pulled her arms up and wrapped them around his shoulders then up the back of his neck, running her fingers through that unruly hair.
She gripped him tightly as she writhed beneath him. She wanted their bodies together, closer than this, as close as they could be. But he didn’t stop and she couldn’t stop the plea escaping her lips as she orgasmed, muscles clenching around his fingers.
The orgasm crashed through her, wave after wave of sheer pleasure made all the more powerful because of the emotion she now knew they shared. Her love wasn’t one-sided.
And as he drew out the bliss of her orgasm she let herself believe that maybe this time they could make forever happen.
Heath knew he would never tire of seeing Eleanor fall apart in his arms. She was flushed and beautiful laying spread out for him.
She tugged at his shoulders, pulling him up. “I want you inside me, Heath. I need to feel you inside me.”
He stilled as he realized he didn’t have a condom with him. “I don’t have protection.”
She smiled and there was a wicked teasing to the light in her eyes. “Haven’t I told you that you don’t need to protect me? I’ve got condoms in the drawer.”
He growled and opened her bedside drawer while she laughed.
When he came back to her, he hovered above her, sharp gaze drawing her eyes to his, capturing them and holding her there. She had to hear him. Had to know he meant every word of what he was about to say. “I will always protect you, Nori. Always. You’d better get used to that because I love you. I’m in this for good and you might not love the way I show that love all the time. I’ll be overbearing and bossy when it comes to keeping you safe. I’ll be a jealous ass when we’re out in public. I’ll tell you I love you all the time and demand the same from you.”
She tilted her head back and laughed. “I think I can handle you, big guy.”
God he wanted to hear that sound forever. “I love making you laugh almost as much as I love making you come.”
She blushed.
“And blush,” he added. He could do that forever, too, he thought.
He stretched out beside her, watching her long lithe legs as she turned and reached for the condoms.
It was so damned wrong that he felt jealous of whoever she’d bought them for, but felt better when she had to tear open the box to get one out. At least she’d never used them with the other guy.
When she handed him a condom from the package he took it but put it aside. He wanted to lay with her, touching her, feeling what it was like to be with her again, reveling in just being with her.
But she put her hands on him, running them down his chest. And then her mouth joined her hands and he was lost.
“Nori,” he groaned.
She moved her mouth across his skin, her tongue fluttering out to tease him, making him think he might lose control before he even got inside her.
What the hell was that about? He had always been able to control himself, but fuck if she didn’t make him feel like he was anything but in charge of his body.
She lowered herself and he knew seconds before she did it that she was going to take him into her mouth. His cock was already so goddamn hard he didn’t think he could take it, and when she slid her hot mouth over him, his whole body jerked.
He looked down and found her looking up at him as she sucked. The image was more than he could handle. He pulled her over and flipped them so he was on top of her. She laughed but it was breathless and he knew the teasing had gotten to her just as much as it got to him.
He had a condom open and on him in seconds flat and then he was burying himself in the warm heat of her body.
He stopped, holding perfectly still inside of her as he rested his forehead on hers. “I just need a minute.”
She whimpered and moved her hips and it was all he could do to grit his teeth and hold on, making sure he didn’t come before she did.
He put a hand to her hip holding her still. “Don’t move, Nori.”
She laughed now, low and sexy and so damned amazing.
He moved his hand to find her clit between them and teased, feeling her muscles tighten around him.
“Oh God, Heath, please. Please, I need more.”
He let go, moving then as he drove into her and he felt her orgasm take hold of her just as he began to come. It was embarrassing how little control he had with her, but he couldn’t stop himself as he pounded into her and she cried out, gripping his shoulders and urging him on.
When they lay sated together afterward, he kissed her temple and closed his eyes, sinking into her hold. Being apart from her had been too hard and it was something he’d never do again if he could help it.
Chapter 41
Two weeks later, Heath was still pulling extra duty and he had two more months of reduced pay to look forward to, but he’d been lucky. Roe had handled his violation locally instead of letting it be handled up the chain of command.
And extra duty and lost pay were fine by him. Eleanor would be arriving later tonight for the weekend and he couldn’t wait to see her again. Their last visit in DC had been too damned short.
For now, he was sitting in The Ugly Mug, a bar next to the firing range owned by BF, a former airman who made sure the beer prices were cheap and the jukebox was always working. It was the kind of place that had three spots outside reserved for combat injured veterans. That pretty much said it all as far as Heath and his team were concerned. It was their kind of place.
From what Heath had seen, BF’s manager, Kelle, was the one who kept everything running smoothly at the bar while BF ran the firing range.
“Woof, what time is Eleanor getting in?” Jangles asked, taking a handful of corn nuts out of the bowl on the table they’d commandeered at the back of the room. It was in a dark corner and they liked it that way. People tended to leave them alone more if they couldn’t see them as much.
Heath couldn’t stop the grin that spread over his face. “Three hours.” Which meant he’d be heading to the airport in one to be sure he didn’t miss her. It was overkill, but that’s how he rolled where she was concerned. He was coming to accept that.
“Lucky bastard,” Zip said, his usual smile in place to soften the words.
Heath only grinned wider. He was a lucky bastard. He’d almost been stupid enough to let her go. Thank God he hadn’t.
He saw Trigger and Lefty walk in, their women on their arms. Heath had been so fucking jealous of them only a month ago and now he only smiled wider at the sight of them so fucking happy.
He and his team had spent months with Lefty’s woman, Kinley, protecting her while she testified against a serial killer. She’d been so damned strong through all of that and it made him happy to see her back with Lefty with all of that behind her.
She reminded him of his Nori with her strength and tenacity. He checked his watch again. Not time yet, but soon. He didn’t know how Lefty had waited seven months to be with Kinley.
Kinley tugged Lefty’s arm toward where Heath and his team sat and Trigger and Gillian followed. Gillian was an event planner who was in the wrong place at the wrong time on a hijacked airplane but she stayed strong through all of it and ended up helping to trip up the terrorists and take them down.
As they all stood to greet the newcomers, Heath realized it took a really strong woman to be with them. He hoped the other guys on his team found that soon. It was sappy and cheesy as fuck, but he didn’t care. He wanted them to find the kind of love he had for Eleanor. The kind of woman who was strong enough to return that love.
Merlin was headed their way. The look on his face had Heath looking up. Grim didn’t begin to describe it.
Fuck, if they were about to be deployed, he’d have to cancel with Eleanor and she had already boarded her flight. That was the life she’d signed on for,
but he still hated for it to happen so soon after they’d finally figured out how much they wanted to be together.
“What’s up?” Jangles asked as they all turned to Merlin.
Merlin waited until Trigger, Lefty, Gillian, and Kinley had moved away to a table and then leaned in, speaking low enough that they wouldn’t be overheard.
“We just got word.” He looked to Zip. “Someone’s been trying to track you in some dark places. The analysts think it might be Demir.”
Shit. Demir had to know it was their group that was responsible for the raid on the bunker, but during debrief Zip had told them his mask had come partially off when they freed the hostages. They were hoping nothing would come of it, but if Demir had locked in on Zip to blame for his son’s death and was trying to hunt him down, that was some bad shit.
“We got your back,” Jangles said to Zip and the rest of the group nodded. It went without saying, but they all wanted him to know anyway.
The doctors and nurses had been able to explain a lot of why Demir had been acting the way he had.
He hadn’t kidnapped the medical staff simply because the opportunity to grab them presented itself when they crossed his path during a mission with a medical charity.
He had taken them because his son was sick. From what they’d been told, there was very little possibility of a cure for the type of leukemia that had plagued the young boy. Demir had been told it was unlikely the ten-year-old would survive to see eleven but he’d been desperate to save him no matter the cost.
He had been forcing the doctors to try a controversial experimental method of treatment that none of the doctors and nurses thought would help.
The theory was that Demir had very much wanted to come to an agreement of support with the US government but he was trying to delay discussing the hostages because he was convinced they could help his son. The doctors had shown Demir improvements in the boy’s bloodwork, and the improvements had been real.
Unfortunately, the doctors had known they wouldn’t last. It was typical of someone with his condition to appear to be doing better just before death. But the doctors and nurses had known if they were still Demir’s prisoners when his son died, it would end poorly for them.
So they’d used the improvement to convince Demir he could release them and were banking on the hope he would do so before his son’s condition took a turn for the worse.
Merlin looked to Zip. “He’s right. We’ve got your back. The analysts are monitoring the situation. They’ll let us know if they find out anything more. In the meantime, your info is locked down. Whether it’s Demir or someone else looking for you, they won’t find you.”
Zip nodded, fixing a smile to his face, but for once Heath wondered if it was genuine or not. He knew Zip had been beating himself up over the mistake and finding out that having his face exposed like that might actually lead to trouble had to be hard on the guy.
Heath raised their empty pitcher to one of the bartenders, Jake, signaling for a refill. Then he pulled some bills from his pocket and placed them on the table.
“This round’s on me, guys.”
“You heading out?” Merlin asked.
Heath nodded. It hadn’t been an hour yet and he’d end up with a ton of time to kill at the airport, but maybe he’d stop and get Eleanor some flowers. He was too damned eager to see her to sit there any longer.
Duff grunted. “Say hey to Eleanor for us.”
Heath grinned. Sure, he could do that. Maybe after he’d said hey to her himself a few times.
Eleanor saw him when she was halfway down the escalator and wondered if her heart would always do that little flippy thing for him. He stood looking up at her, more handsome in dark jeans and a button-down shirt than any man had a right to look.
Then she saw he was holding a small bundle in his arms. She couldn’t make out what it was until she drew close and he pulled the little ball of fur from the crook of his shoulder and held it out toward her.
“Isn’t he adorable?” he asked.
Eleanor laughed. The puppy was small. Maybe only a few pounds, but the chocolate brown and tan fur sticking out in tufts was making up for the lack of mass.
He held up the dog. “He’s probably got some yorkie in him, or maybe silky.”
She reached out and pulled him to her. “You know we would be the worst dog owners on the planet. We’re each called away from home at a moment’s notice and we work long hours when we are home.”
“I know,” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her, stealing her breath for a moment with the heat of it.
When he pulled back he shrugged. “I went to buy you flowers and I found this little guy in the parking lot so I brought him instead. I was thinking I might see if the guy who owns the bar we hang out in wants him. BF could use a pet.”
She tilted her head at the dog. “Didn’t you say Ris and Nan are retiring soon? Maybe one of them can take him?”
Heath shook his head grinning. “I think your idea of retirement for a Delta is different than ours.”
His buddies would be working for HALO Security, a private security and protection company that, last he heard, had started taking a lot of kidnap rescue jobs. They wouldn’t have quite the danger and workload of a DELTA team, but they weren’t going to be sitting behind a desk.
Eleanor snuggled the dog closer as Heath took her bag off her shoulder and carried it for her, slinging one arm around her as they walked.
“He’s so cute,” she purred.
Heath laughed. “You totally want him.”
“I do,” she said. “I could send him to doggy daycare during the day and when I come to visit you here, he could ride with me. He’d certainly fit under the seat.”
“Doggy daycare?” He laughed harder.
She swatted at him. “It’s a thing.”
When they made it to his car, he got her settled in and then ran around to the driver’s seat. He put one hand on her leg as he drove. The little dog snuggled in her lap and put a paw over Heath’s hand.
Damn, he could get used to this. It sucked they had to be in two separate states for now, but he wouldn’t ask her to give up her career for him. They would make it work.
“I have news,” she said, running her hands over the puppy’s small head.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Your team is going to get word of this tomorrow, so I’m not telling you anything that won’t be shared with you or that’s above your clearance,” she started.
He looked over at her but then back out at the road as he navigated the airport traffic.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“They’ve made an arrest at State.” He could tell from the sadness in her tone that this was hitting her hard and he tightened the hand on her leg.
“Who was it?” he asked, knowing she was talking about the person who leaked information on her itinerary.
“Deputy Director Hughes. He didn’t sell the information, but he wanted the talks to fail. They found texts on his personal phone. His belief that we needed to go back to the days of never negotiating with hostage takers was strong and he thought if he could sabotage the talks, people would start to see things his way.”
Heath cursed as his hands clenched the wheel. He wanted to tear the man’s entrails from his body and watch while he bled out. His personal mission to change policy had put Nori in danger. Hell, he’d done more than that. He’d gotten her shot.
“What did he do?”
Eleanor continued to pet the puppy as it lolled in her lap. She was handling this better than he was.
“He let the information about my flight slip to someone he knew would sell it to people who might want to stop the talks. Ironically, he was also the one who made sure your team was sent there to protect me. I think he thought he could keep me safe and make sure it was nothing more than a close call. He was hoping that would be enough to stop the talks. I guess he didn’t bank on them putting a tracker on me and keeping up their efforts after
the fact.”
“Do they know who the information was sold to? Who was behind all the attempts to stop the talks?”
“It was Barrera. At least the first few attempts were Barrera. Some of the analysts think the attack when we left the compound that day might have been Demir himself, trying to slow down the talks to give his son more time before he had to give up the doctors.”
“What do you think?” Heath asked. He trusted her gut on that more than analysts who weren’t face to face with Demir.
“I think it’s entirely possible. Demir was torn right from the start. That’s what made him so hard to read during the negotiations. I think he truly believed in his cause and what he was trying to do for his country. But his family is also enormously important to him. Family is everything for a man like Demir. He wanted to save his son, but he also wanted the talks to work for his cause. In the end, he didn’t save either of them.”
“He still has his army and more supporters than most groups in his position. He’s still got a real shot at taking over the country and ousting the King.”
Eleanor nodded. “He does. I don’t think the US can trust him, but he’d probably be better for the people of Kazarus than the current regime.”
Heath didn’t like the sorrow in her voice so he brought the conversation back around to something that would make her smile. “What are we naming our new puppy?” It was clear she was keeping the little stray.
She studied the puppy. “Maybe Bruno.”
Heath tipped his head back and laughed. “That’s a lot of name for such a small fry.”
She only smiled back at him.
Heath looked at the dog, dividing his attention between the dog and the road. “Maybe Norbert. Or Squeak.”
She drew the dog up to her chest. “Quiet. If you keep that up, he’ll figure out he’s tiny.” She wrinkled her nose. “He needs a bath.”
