Intense - Aspen Drake & Emily Cain

by Special Forces - Operation Alpha

Heat moved up my neck and cheeks. “Why?”

  “They remind me of the forest. They’re organic and bright. They pull you in.”

  My entire body melted. The walls I’d built long ago came down around me. The resistance in my heart was getting weaker by the second, and my body craved his. I didn’t want him in just a sexual way anymore. I wanted all of him—every night. He was powerful and strong, but he used his strength for good and not evil. He cared about helpless people. He carried the power of the gods but used it in the right way. Because of him, the world was a safer place.

  I was safe.

  A bond had formed between us, more powerful than a simple friendship. It grew in my heart until it spread to every inch of my body. It became an absolute truth and couldn’t be denied.

  I wanted Parker in my bed. I wanted our writhing bodies to collect sweat and rub against each other. I wanted to feel him inside me. I wanted his lips all over me.

  But I didn’t want him to leave the following morning.

  I didn’t want meaningless sex. I wanted everything he possessed. His good heart, his beautiful mind, and his pure integrity.

  Turning my gaze away so I wouldn’t kiss him or invite him to kiss me, I shut down my needs and kept my distance. “Parker?”

  “Sweetheart?”

  He’d never called me that before. I heard the word but skipped over it. “Why is a relationship off the table?”

  His arm tensed underneath my fingers, but he didn’t pull away. “With my job, a relationship would never lead anywhere. I can’t have a wife and kids, or a house in the suburbs. So, I don’t bother.”

  “But if you could, that’s something you would want?” There was hope.

  He looked away but relaxed. “Maybe. Most of the guys I work with have wives and kids and that’s why I’m here and they aren’t.”

  “So, you’d have to quit?”

  He smiled but it wasn’t genuine. “Well, I’m sure some things would change.”

  “How about we just start with tonight?” I pressed my lips against his finally giving in to the need that had been clawing at me since I met him.

  I didn’t know what to expect, and then his lips became more pliable as he gave into the need that had been building between us. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I’d want more, but I was willing to take what I could get from Parker.

  And what I wanted was his body.

  Parker’s mouth captured mine more forcefully as he wrapped an arm around me and lifted me off the ground. His muscles were hard beneath his clothes, and my need to feel his hot flesh against mine was making me desperate.

  We were entangled in each other, a jumble of arms, legs and lips wrapped up in each other. Parker carried me to my bed, gently placing me in the center before he stood up. My lips longed for him the second we were separated, but I was quickly distracted as I watched him remove his shirt. Chiseled muscles took my breath away even before he began to remove his pants.

  I shook my head to stop gawking at him when I caught his smirk. Instead, I focused on myself, pulling off my shirt so he could get a glimpse of me. Now his attention was on me, as if I was a foreign object full of curiosities. Turned on by his interest in me, I unbuttoned my jeans and slipped my fingers under the waistband to remove them.

  Parker leaned forward, catching my lips once again in a passionate kiss. As his kiss deepened, his fingers took the place of mine, and he pulled off both my pants and my panties, exposing my wet center. Parker’s mouth released me, but he didn’t go far. His soft lips traced a path of warm kisses down my neck and over my breasts.

  Dragging his tongue in a lazy pattern, he kissed across my sensitive curves, teasing me to the point of agony. Just when I thought I couldn’t handle another second of his wonderful torture, his tongue started toward my stomach and he gently pushed me back, forcing me to lie down on the bed.

  That’s when the fluttering in my stomach became a swarm of anxious energy. Parker didn’t hesitate, tracing a wet line of heat from my belly button down to the edge of my wet opening. He lightly flicked my clit, sending chills up my spine. I squirmed slightly and moaned as he licked my nub more forcefully.

  “Yes, Parker. Like that.” The sensation of his touch was amazing and even more than I dreamed it would feel like. I was dripping wet for him and each caress of his tongue caused my pussy to lubricate even more for him. “Please.”

  His finger probed my folds, and I instinctively grasped the comforter, balling it up in my fists. His tongue continued to circle and tease my clit until I was bucking off the mattress, desperate for release. The feeling only intensified when his finger breached my opening and he slid inside, sending my body into a universe where nothing makes sense except for the pleasure completely enveloping me.

  The first wave of my orgasm caught me off guard as my core exploded from the pressure that had been building within me. Without worrying about manners, I gripped the top of his head and held his mouth firmly in place.

  “God, Parker.” I grinded against his tongue, riding the wave of pleasure coursing through me. Each burst of energy shot up and down my spine until I slowly began to recover from the high.

  When I was finally able to open my eyes, Parker had a satisfied grin on his face. Of course, it only made him look even sexier than his normal expression.

  “Your turn.” I grinned and pushed him off my chest.

  “If you insist.” Parker stood up and positioned himself above me before lining up his massive cock to my opening.

  I nodded, keeping my eyes locked with his as he gently pushed inside my tight hole. It had been a few months since I got laid and never by someone as thick as Parker. I hissed at the sudden sting then pushed up so more of him would slide inside me. I wanted all of him, and I wanted him fast.

  “Slow down, baby.” He gently pulled out to the tip then slowly pushed back in. “I want this to last.”

  I knew he was talking about sex, but my mind was already drifting to other things. I wanted this moment to last, but more importantly, I wanted whatever was happening between me and Parker to last. Parker started rocking against me as he set a gentle rhythm for several minutes while my body adjusted, molding to fit his thick cock perfectly.

  I tried to stay present, enjoying every second of the moment without putting too much pressure on our future. But it was a futile effort. I was already starting to fall…

  “I do too, Parker.” I lifted my ass off the bed and met him halfway. “I do too.”

  We walked into his office then headed to the staircase in the corner.

  “There’s a lower level?” How had I not noticed that before?

  “Yeah.” He grabbed a few weapons then went down the stairs without waiting for me.

  I followed him until we stepped into a personal gym. The lower level of the compound was much bigger than the upper. It reached all the way underneath the house. “How was this built?”

  “With a lot of money.” He stepped onto a large mat in the center of the room. “Come here.”

  He asked if I wanted to train with him today, but so far, I just felt bossed around. “Why?”

  He huffed in annoyance. “Just do what I say.”

  “Ha. Good luck with that.”

  He stood in front of me with a padded glove on his hand. “Give me your hardest punch.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean?” he demanded. “I invited you here to train. What did you think we were going to do?”

  I put my hands on my hips defiantly. “Punching a glove isn’t training.”

  He glared at me, but it wasn’t in a threatening way like I’d seen before. “Make a fist.”

  I followed his instruction even though I had to ignore my naturally rebellious instinct to do it.

  He gazed at my fist with an expert eye. “Good. Now give me your best shot.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Now, he really glared at me.

  “Okay, fine.” I took the defensive stan
ce my father taught me, and using my entire body, I threw the hardest punch I could.

  Parker moved back slightly with the hit, and a smile formed on his lips. “Excellent.” He ripped the glove off and tossed it aside.

  “What? That’s it?” What kind of training is this?

  “I’m going to throw a swing. I want you to block it.”

  “Okay…”

  He raised his fists to his chest, and without warning, he made his move.

  I blocked the strike with my forearm and pushed it aside.

  He dropped his stance and smiled again. “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  Parker was in his own world. “Now, I want you to evade.”

  “Evade?”

  Like a snake, he pounced on me. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around, my back to his chest. With his grip tight like a python, he held me in place. “Get out of this.” One arm was across my neck. If he put pressure on it, he could choke me out if he wanted to. “You have five seconds or you’re dead.”

  I stomped on his foot with my heel, threw my head back, and then twisted his arm until his body pivoted away. As soon as I had some space, I kicked him in the back of the knee and he fell to the mat.

  “Perfect.” For just getting his ass kicked, he was awfully cheery. “That was great.”

  Was he training me or just trying to figure out what I could do?

  He grabbed a long stick from the corner then began spinning it like a professional. Before I could ask what he was doing, he lunged at me and tried to trip me with the rod.

  Instinctively, I jumped over it.

  He spun around and aimed it right at my ribs.

  I ducked again and felt the air move over my head.

  Then he made a quick maneuver and slammed the stick down right on me.

  I grabbed it then thrust my knee up, breaking the wood in the center. It split into two pieces.

  Parker stood there, amazed.

  “Why are you testing me? This is boring.” I stood with my hands on my hips. “When normal people hang out, they go eat or something.”

  He grabbed the two pieces off the ground and tossed them aside. “How long have you been training?”

  I shrugged. “My whole life. Dad was always teaching me new things.”

  “Is there something specific you’re good at?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t really had to use it.” And I hoped I never would.

  With thoughtful eyes, he studied me. “Is there anything you aren’t good at?”

  “Of course not.” I smirked.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me, thinking. “Are you a good shooter?”

  “Duh.” I was an excellent shot.

  “How good?”

  “I never miss. That’s how good.”

  He walked away and grabbed an AK-47. He set it on the table and waved toward it. “It’s not loaded. Dismantle it.”

  “Why?”

  He hit a button on the side of his watch. “Just do it.”

  I rolled my eyes and did as he asked. After I stripped the gun down to the basic pieces, I left them on the table.

  He tapped the table. “Now, put it back together.”

  “What?”

  His eyes remained glued to his watch. “You’re wasting time.”

  “So?”

  “Sweetheart, just do it.”

  He called me sweetheart, and that’s what made me do it. I liked it. I put the gun back together in record time.

  “Good.” He walked to the shooting range on the other side of the huge room. “I want to see if you’re as good as you say.”

  “You want me to shoot you? I can do that.”

  He chuckled before he handed me a pistol. Then he hit a few buttons on the computer next to the shooting range. “Stand here.” He grabbed my elbow and pulled me to the right spot. “I want you to shoot the targets.”

  “Where are they?” It was just a concrete wall.

  “You’ll see in a second.” He put ear muffs over my head and then put a pair on himself.

  Paper targets emerged, and instinctively, I began to fire. I hit each one in the chest. One of my bullets strayed and penetrated outside the center. But I hit most of them where I aimed. Each target was moving fast, so I didn’t have time to think before I reacted. There had to be at least fifty of targets, and sometimes they appeared two at a time from different directions.

  When the simulation was over, the computer listed my score. My accuracy was ninety-five percent. I hadn’t practiced in a while, so I was surprised it was that high.

  Parker removed his ear protection, and I did the same. He stared at me with new eyes. “You’re one badass chick, you know that?”

  My cheeks immediately reddened. “Uh, thanks.”

  “Your father taught you all that?”

  “Yeah.”

  He nodded but didn’t make a further comment.

  “Why are you testing me?”

  “Just curious.”

  “Why are you curious?” What did it matter to him if I knew how to fire a gun or get out of a chokehold?

  He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me that look that said he wouldn’t answer.

  I turned on the safety before I set the pistol on the counter.

  “Do you want to be better?”

  “Better than what?”

  He looked at me incredulously. “Be a better shot than you are now?”

  I hadn’t given it much thought. I didn’t have a problem with my skill level. After all, I hardly used it. “I don’t see the point.”

  “Being able to defend yourself is important, don’t you think?”

  “Of course. And I can defend myself.”

  He gave me a challenging look. “What if I were your opponent? Do you think you would win?”

  I sized him up and felt the doubt in my heart. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen you in action.”

  “I’m the best of the best. But you already knew that.” He winked.

  I shrugged. “I have a good chance.”

  “When they kidnapped your father, you didn’t hesitate. You jumped into your car and followed them. When they shook you off their tail, you still tracked them down. You had no idea what you were up against but that didn’t stop you. That kind of bravery is unusual, to say the least. Most people say they would do the same thing for their family, but when the moment comes, they don’t. But you did.”

  Blood pounded in my ears. I felt hot and cold at the same time.

  “You followed a group of strangers into that garage and approached them head-on. You were outnumbered but that didn’t stop you. And when you were confronted, you took down two men without even using your gun. The biggest amazement of all…you were terrified but never once showed your fear.”

  He was giving me compliments that made me feel warm inside, but I felt like his praise was misplaced. “My actions were stupid. I wasn’t thinking, and I made very poor decisions. Your guys could have killed me if they wanted to.”

  “And you knew that, but that didn’t stop you.”

  “It’s my family.” I shifted my weight, inching closer to him. “Of course I would do anything.”

  “That shows courage. A lot of courage.” His arms were still across his chest as he examined me. “You’re selfless and loyal. He needed your help, and you went to his aid without caring about your own safety. That’s the definition of a hero, Sierra.”

  I released a quick laugh. “I’m not a hero. I failed, remember?”

  “You took his place. You thought I was going to rape and torture you, but you still tucked your chin and did it. No one else would have done that. And I mean, no one.”

  “He would have done the same for me…” I said quietly, hating that I doubted if that were true.

  Parker didn’t correct me, but the truth was in his eyes. “My agency would love to have you on our team.”

  My jaw dropped. “Wha…? What?” Did he just offer me a job? That co
uldn’t be right. “Huh?”

  “You have the skills. But, more importantly, you have the heart. That’s what we’re looking for.”

  “I don’t…” Words failed me.

  “You don’t have to answer me right now. I’m just putting it on the table for your consideration. If you say no, I’ll never bring it up again. But the offer stands.”

  Was this real?

  Could I really be an agent or whatever he called himself?

  Parker continued to watch me. “You’re overwhelmed. I’ll give you some space.” He stepped back then walked around me.

  I remained glued to the spot. My eyes drifted to the targets hanging from the ceiling. Bullet holes pierced through the paper and I imagined them being real people. The room suddenly grew quiet, and I could still smell the smoke from the gun.

  Parker’s offer kept circling in my mind. Was I actually considering it? Back home, I’d always felt out of place, like I wasn’t meant for a normal life. But never once had I thought about a profession that involved killing people.

  Chapter 10

  Parker kept his distance for the following few days. He was constantly in his office, and he didn’t even come out for food. Jana walked across the lawn and delivered his meals before she returned to the house.

  I wasn’t avoiding him, but I wasn’t sure what to say to him. Things had been going so well, and then he dropped a bomb on me. I still hadn’t shaken off the shock. When I reflected on my life up to this point, it always felt hollow. I was never passionate about anything.

  But I could be passionate about this.

  The idea of helping people and making a living at it sounded too good to be true. It would be an honor to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. The fact that Parker committed his life to liberating slaves without accepting a dime for it…was the most inspirational thing I’d ever heard.

  Of course, I wanted to be a part of it.

  I hadn’t seen Parker at dinner, but I knew he was home because I heard his voice downstairs.

  “How was work?” Jana asked. She obviously knew what he did for a living but she didn’t seem bothered by it.

  “Good,” he answered. “I got a lot done.”