by Amelia Jade
Kim was louder now, most of her cries wordless sounds of pleasure as he fucked her from behind. She alternated between burying her head in the pillows and looking back at him, jaw hanging open, eyes wide as he brought her to another orgasm.
He couldn’t take much more. The images of his mate were just too much, the intimacy of it all overwhelming his restraint. Somehow Kim seemed to sense this, because she pushed him off her just long enough so that she could flip onto her back.
Eyes locked on one another, he lowered himself into her once more. Growing more confident, Kim grabbed his neck with one hand and pulled him down to her level so she could kiss him. He didn’t miss that at the same time she pushed her other hand between her legs to play with herself.
The instant that happened everything became a blur. Kim stiffened under him, her mouth frozen open as he slid as deep into her as he could, his entire body quivering as he neared release.
“Do it,” she suddenly whispered in his ear. “I’m so close. Together.”
Any restraint Pyne had left fled at that single, powerful word. A wordless groan bubbled up from his throat as his cock throbbed, exploding deep inside her. With his first pulse Kim started to tremble and cry out, writhing underneath him as they came together, an incredible experience that left him drained and exhausted, despite his normally superhuman stamina.
“Wow,” he said at last, copying her from earlier. “Okay.”
Despite everything that had just happened, something about that struck Kim just right and she dissolved into a fit of giggles underneath him.
It was the absolute cutest, most wonderful, adorable thing he’d ever seen. And now he was going to have a lifetime of experiencing it.
A dragon’s lifetime.
Chapter Twelve
Kim
She stirred unwilling.
“Just one more hour of sleep.” Without looking, she pulled herself deeper into Pyne’s embrace. Muscles upon muscles pressed against her and she grinned, remembering how differently they’d pressed against her the night before.
“Time to get up,” he purred in her ear.
“I thought when you grew up you got to decide if you wanted to sleep in or not,” she grumbled, reluctantly letting her eyelids peel upward. “Oh my,” she said, the first sight that greeted her being one of his nipples nearly poking her. She’d smushed herself right into his chest.
“Something wrong?”
“No,” she said just a bit too hurriedly, readjusting her head and giving him a nice long lick before he could figure it out.
“Ack!” he yelped, pulling away from her so abruptly the bed bounced under his weight.
It also bounced all the other objects on the bed, which included one Kim Phrasier. She was flung an inch or two in the air unexpectedly, and her cry followed his as she landed and rolled into the groove next to him.
“See what you did?” he growled playfully, reaching into her armpit to tickle her for a brief second while she shrieked.
“I’m up! I’m up! I promise, I’m up. Stop your inhumane torture already. I give.”
He stopped tickling and pulled her back in close to him so he could kiss her. “Good morning.”
“Pyne,” she whispered, kissing him back properly before pulling back. “You need to know something. And I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I have to say it.”
“Uh, okay?”
“You have morning breath. Bad. I hate that I’m saying it, because I’m grateful in a way that it smells like what it smells, but can you go wash your face?”
Pyne roared with laughter, knowing full well exactly what she meant by that. “Sure thing.”
He got up and padded into the little washroom, and a moment later running water sounded. Kim relaxed back into the bed with a languid sigh, unable to contain the smile that had been threatening. It spread far and wide, until her cheeks hurt.
This was something she could get used to. It was so wrong, and there was every chance that this was the first and last time it would happen before she was shipped home in chains, but it had been worth every moment. Rolling over she looked at the clock. Dammit, he was right. It was time for her to get up.
Grabbing her cell phone, she looked at the emails and messages waiting for her. One in particular turned the room frigid, sapping all warmth and enjoyment from it, and from her.
“Pyne,” she said unsteadily.
The water shut off and he was at her side far too quickly. “What’s wrong?”
Wordlessly she held up the phone, trying to puzzle out how he’d gotten out of there so fast. His hands were still wet, and it was a small room, but she’d barely finished speaking before he was at her side.
“That bastard,” Pyne growled, his fingers clenching around the phone until it started to groan under the pressure.
“Hey, I need that,” she said, peeling his fingers back to retrieve the device.
On the screen were just two words: Tick Tock.
Morgan was taunting them. Taunting her.
“Phone please,” Pyne said after a minute, his breathing calmed and his muscles no longer ripping the seams of his shirt.
She handed it back to him and watched as he dialed the number.
“Morgan. It’s Pyne. I agree. But we’re not doing this over the phone. I need the physical copy of those photos, and there will be a clause written into the transfer of the shares that states it is invalid if those photos are ever used. You’re going to sign this somewhere I can watch. Understand?”
She couldn’t hear the reply, but she glowed on the inside as Pyne took command, protecting her like he’d said he would. She believed him when he said he was going to fix this. If anyone could, it would be him.
“Six hours.” He hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed, looking at her. “Put some of your new clothes on. It’s time you met the people who are going to help us derail this bastard’s plans.”
***
Dressed in a comfortable black T-shirt and jeans that fit, Kim walked alongside Pyne, trying her best not to slow their pace too much. While she’d gotten dressed he’d made some calls, and now they were on their way to meet these mysterious people. She’d never seen him quite so…so…authoritative, she supposed was the best word.
He had the situation by the ropes and he was like the juggernaut, unyielding and unstoppable as he put together a plan to deal with Morgan. So far he’d not shared the details with her, but she knew he would in time. When everything was set.
Stepping through the door into a conference room, she paused. Her eyes flicked around the six men and one woman already seated. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped aside so Pyne could enter, evaluating the table’s occupants. There were two distinct groups. The woman and one of the men sat together, both of them in military dress.
Unless she was mistaken, however, the woman was actually with the man next to her. Focusing on him, she felt her eyes bug out.
“Uh, Pyne…” she looked at the giant behind her. Then the giant sitting at the table. Then back again. “Umm.”
“Oh yes. I have a twin brother. Kim, meet Rokk. That’s his, uh, partner, Linny.”
The woman smiled, while Kim continued to stare in shock, the surprise of it all concealing the stutter as Pyne sought out the correct word.
“A twin,” she said in a small voice, looking around the rest of the table and suddenly feeling small. Other than the male in military gear, they were all huge, just like Pyne and Rokk.
“Extended family?” she guessed, looking at the quartet.
“In a way,” said a beast of a man with icy white hair and eyes the color of brilliant summer skies. A playful smile came and then went. “In a way.”
“That’s Caine,” Pyne said by way of introduction. “The one next to him is Cowl.”
“You two are brothers,” she observed somewhat sarcastically, the slightly smaller man having almost the same hair and eye color, and the very pale complexion.
>
“Got it in one,” Caine said with an easy grin.
My God. They’re all so stunning and easy on the eyes. Not as good-looking as Pyne, but close, in their own unique ways. What kind of genetic lottery did they all win?
“Here, have a seat,” Pyne said, pulling out a folding chair for her. “Let’s plan. These are the people who are going to help us bring Morgan down, one way or another.”
There was a threat of violence in his voice, but she didn’t stop him. Morgan needed to be stopped, and soon.
She pondered the complete turnaround with Pyne in regard to dealing with Morgan’s return. At first he’d been almost careless, acting as if nothing could happen or go wrong. Now, however, he was giving it not only his fullest attention, but he was calling in favors and seemingly stopping at nothing to bring the man to justice.
For a while she’d been concerned that maybe he didn’t care, that he was just happy to see her and wanted to focus on that and damn the situation that had brought her there. Now though it was obvious that he cared and was working hard.
It surprised her to realize that she hadn’t always believed that he cared. Well, he did lie about being a federal agent, among other things. Maybe he’d been lying about other things?
Maybe. She was pretty positive about her reading on him now though. After the night they’d just shared, she’d learned things about him from the way he acted that were almost impossible to fake. He was genuine. She no longer feared that. Even if she still had no idea what he was doing all the way out here on an American military base.
But looking around the table at the six statuesque men who all exuded the same traits and aura as Pyne, she knew that it lay in the connection between them. There was something going on there, though she suspected it was probably classified D1, which meant she’d never know.
“This, by the way, is Major Adam von Kemp and his aide Linny,” Pyne said with a gesture at the two in military gear. “The major is the commander of the base.”
“Oh. It’s nice to meet you, sir,” she said, standing to attention and saluting. “Thank you for the hospitality.”
He returned the salute casually without rising and gestured for her to return to her seat. “You are welcome, Miss Phrasier. I’m sorry I don’t know your rank.”
“Lieutenant,” she supplied.
“Lieutenant Phrasier. I’ve heard about you from Pyne, and you are most welcome here. Now, shall we get down to the details of how we’re going to nab this sonofabitch and ship him back to where he came from?”
Chapter Thirteen
Kim
They were standing in the middle of the road.
“How did you get him to agree to this?” she asked, amused by the irony of it all.
Pyne stopped his pacing and returned to her side. “His car is still here. It provides a convenient way for him to leave. He thinks he has nothing to fear because he has the leverage. I felt it best to let him continue to feed off that fantasy. It will make him more confident than he has any right to be.”
“Still, to be so close to the base? He must suspect a trap, don’t you think?”
She was nervous about the idea that had been proposed. It seemed to be rather complicated and prone to error.
“It’s entirely possible. Which is why we’ll have to keep him from suspecting anything until it’s ready to be sprung. That’s why the others are so far away, so that he won’t notice them upon approach. We have to buy the time for them to get into position to help us out.”
She shook her head. “Why didn’t you just bring a gun? I’m trained as well. We conceal the guns, he comes out of hiding, we grab them, point them, end of story.”
“It won’t work.”
His tone brooked no argument, but Kim suddenly felt stubborn. How could he be so damn sure about that? Even during the meeting every idea she’d suggested that went by the book of how to execute this sort of plan had been pushed aside. Politely, yes, but firmly. Nobody had been willing to entertain her thoughts on how to do this rationally. Instead they’d come up with this ridiculously complex entrapment that she still couldn’t see how it would actually work.
“This is crazy. Why wouldn’t that have worked? Instead we’re just supposed to rely on these other guys knowing when to approach and how to get here. Then what? We’re just going to take him in non-violently?”
“That’s the hope.”
“You’re living in the clouds, Pyne,” she said. “It’s crazy. I think. I don’t even know all the details. You all talk about so many things cryptically that I don’t get.”
“I’m sorry about that, it’s just—”
“D1 classification, I know, I know.” She made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. “I almost just wish you’d planned it out with me. That might have been less frustrating.”
Pyne glanced at her with compassion in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Kim. I didn’t realize it would be so hard for you. I just wanted to ensure that you felt included. That you were a part of it, so that you didn’t feel I’d left you out.”
“You did the right thing,” she assured him, leaning on his shoulder. “Trust me. I would have been more upset if you’d excluded me. I’m just a naturally curious person with a security level a few floors too low.”
He laughed, her head bouncing gently on his shoulder with the movement. “You are just delightful, Kimberly Phrasier. Just delightful. I am very happy you’ve come back into my life.”
“It certainly has been interesting,” she agreed, not moving her head as a pointed reminder of the closeness that had developed between them. “Even if a little unexpected, right?”
Pyne didn’t immediately respond.
“It was unexpected, wasn’t it?”
“I certainly never expected you to come sneaking onto the base,” he admitted slowly.
That was an interesting way of responding. “Pyne? Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.” He stared looking straight ahead, acting very weird.”
“Were you thinking about me at all recently? Before I showed up?”
His lips twitched. “You mean like a random thought about someone from the past that came up completely out of context in my normal day to day life, after not having thought of them much for a while?”
She gasped. “Exactly like that.”
“Then no.”
Kim straightened, studying his face. “What? What do you mean no?”
He did look at her now, his eyes twinkling a lovely royal blue in the afternoon light. “It wasn’t a random thought, nor was it out of context.” His face closed off slowly. “I’ll explain more later. I can see the questions in your eyes. I didn’t want to lie to you, but you’ll have to trust me for a little bit longer, okay? I promise I’ll tell you everything, and it’ll all make sense. We’re just not there yet.”
We? We’re not there yet? What the hell did that mean, she wondered? Her brain recalled the feeling in her gut when she’d seen Morgan in the airport. The pull of fate, as she’d termed it. Had Pyne experienced something similar, but in regard to her? That seemed rather farfetched.
Then there was the issue of trust. He was asking her to trust him, but she knew next to nothing about him other than his personality. That spoke volumes of course, but she needed to know more. Who did he work for? What did he do? And why the hell was he on some secret mission to America fighting against something he wouldn’t explain? There was a secret there that she would need to know before she could completely trust him.
“I wish we had more time,” she told him.
“More time for what? To set things up? It’s all in place and ready to go. You’ll have to trust me on that one.”
She smiled at him, rubbed his arm, feeling his taut bicep. “No, not for that. For us. Before I have to go back home.”
Pyne was silent, thoughtful. She could see his brain working. His eyebrows twitched, his eyes moved around, not focusing on any
thing he was seeing, and he chewed on his lower lip for a moment. “Maybe.”
“Maybe what? I screwed up by coming here unannounced like this, Pyne. There’s no getting around that. I have to go back. I’m going to be in huge trouble, and the only thing that’s going to help save me is if I go back with Morgan in tow.” She slapped her thigh. “I wish I knew why I didn’t think this through more.”
Pyne kissed her forehead. “I know why. As do you.”
“I do?”
“Yes. This guy almost killed you once. He robbed you of six years of life. It’s time he was brought to justice. You have my full support for that. I’ll do whatever it takes.” By the time he finished he was growling, as a figure had come in to sight up the road. “Speaking of…”
They pulled apart. Kim did her best to resist the urge to panic, not wanting to give Morgan any more ammunition to use against her, or ways into her head. Fighting back the sudden hammering of her heart, she fell back into her agent persona.
Legs spread, weight distributed evenly. Hands at her side, not fidgeting. Eyes straight ahead, focused on the target. Unwavering. Deadly calm.
“Well, if it isn’t the pretty couple,” Morgan called out, clapping his hands in front of him with weak floppy wrists. It was unnerving.
“Is he sane?” she whispered.
“I’m perfectly sane!” he replied, now no more than thirty feet away.
How the hell had he heard her? She stared across at him now. He was a lot like Pyne. Tall. Broad shoulders. Rugged good looks, though the beard he was trying to grow now didn’t suit him. It just made his scar look even worse.
“I must admit, your choice of meeting spot is quite ironic,” Morgan observed, patting the roof of the car he’d abandoned there days earlier. “I was quite amused. Now, do you have the necessary documents?”
“They’re on my laptop,” Pyne growled, pulling open the black bag sitting on the trunk and opening it up. “Everything is electronic these days.”
