When Day Breaks

by Maya Banks

  He rolled suddenly, reversing their positions so she was beneath him. He stared down at her, his eyes glittering with molten desire.

  “Then you’ll like this a whole lot better,” he said, just as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  Oh yeah. She did like it a whole lot better now that he was kissing her. Sealing their love with more than just the words. He was fulfilling the promise of so much that the word entailed with his body. His tongue. His gentle hands as he caressed the length of her body.

  He seemed impatient with her pajamas. Sliding his hands underneath her top as if desperate for the feel of her skin. She arched like a cat into each touch, purring her delight as he inched her top higher until finally he ordered her to put her arms up so he could hastily yank the material free of her body for good.

  Willingly, she complied, and then he went to work on her bottoms, pulling them down in mere seconds, tugging them from her ankles before sending them sailing in the opposite direction her top had landed.

  Then he chuckled softly as he stared down at her completely naked body from his position on his knees at her feet.

  “You cheated,” he accused. “You set me up, planned for this. No underwear? How daring, sweet, innocent Eden. You may have the face and the heart of an angel, but you have the soul of a wicked temptress. Swear to God, you’ll be the death of me yet.”

  She merely grinned, then arched her body invitingly. “You just going to sit there and list all my faults or are you actually going to do something with me now that you have me naked and in bed?” She stared pointedly at his still-dressed body. “Seems to me you have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “I can sure as hell fix that,” he muttered, already reaching to strip his T-shirt off, his muscles rippling with the effort.

  She held her breath when his hands immediately dropped to his boxers. His cock was bulging the material outward and if he moved an inch in either direction, his erection would spring free through the opening in the crotch.

  He shoved downward and she sighed at the beauty of his male physique as he leaned back on the bed so he could work the underwear free and toss it aside. She hadn’t lied or plied him with insincere compliments. He was absolutely beautiful to her.

  Yes, scars crisscrossed his body. No area had been left undamaged by his captors when he’d existed in hell. But to her they were a testament of his honor, of his will to live despite impossible odds. That they hadn’t been able to break him. How many men could say the same? How many men would even survive, much less survive with their sanity intact? And yet he continued on, still holding a job that put his life on the line on every single mission his team went on.

  A movie title floated through her mind—it was silly, but she was so absorbed in her study of him and her thoughts, her admiration, that she couldn’t help but think of the words Uncommon Valor. It suited him, and all his teammates, to a T. But especially Swanny. Her man. The man she loved and God, he loved her too!

  It was as though it were only just sinking in that he returned her feelings. Her love. A giddy rush invaded her veins, making her bold and yanking her from her perusal of his beautiful body. She leaned up, reaching for him, pushing herself up to her knees so that he was turned to the side, his feet on the floor where he’d only moments before stepped from his boxers. She framed his face, pulling him in to meet her kiss.

  Hot, lush, she kissed him with wild abandon she would never have believed herself capable of. She poured every ounce of emotion, the depth of her love, into her kiss.

  He wrapped his arms around her and fell with her, her back landing with a thud on the soft mattress, his mouth still fused to hers. She let out a soft moan when he slid his mouth down the line of her jaw to her ear, where he licked and toyed with the lobe before sucking it firmly between his teeth.

  The rhythmic suckling motion only heightened her anticipation for when he’d do the same to her breasts. And to her clitoris. An all-over body shiver quaked through her in remembrance of his mouth on her most sensitive flesh, how expertly he’d brought her mind-blowing ecstasy.

  Whoa, she was getting way ahead of herself here. Stay in the moment, Eden. Savor every second. Don’t let it be over too quickly. This was a night she’d never forget as long as she lived. The night Swanny told her he loved her and then showed her his love in the most tangible way a man could show his woman his feelings.

  “You with me?” Swanny asked gruffly, his head just above hers as he stared down into her eyes.

  She cursed herself for getting so carried away with her internal reflection, because now Swanny held a look of hesitation, as though he worried he wasn’t pleasing her. That she’d drifted away from the here and now.

  She reached up to touch his scarred cheek and gently caressed it. “I was just savoring the moment and thinking how I’d never forget this night as long as I lived because it’s the night you told me you loved me and now we’re making beautiful love. So yeah, I’m with you. I’m so with you. Never without you. Even when you aren’t right there by my side . . . At the shoots when we have to be apart, even though I know you’re just a short distance away, I’m still thinking about you. Wishing you were touching me. Just holding my hand or wrapping your arm around me. All those sultry sexy looks I had to give the camera? They were all for you. I imagined you making love to me, me inviting you to make love to me, and poured every single emotion I felt for you into what the camera captured.”

  “Jesus, Eden,” he muttered, just before his mouth crashed down on hers again.

  When he came up for air and they were both sucking huge breaths into their starving lungs, he stared down at her, his eyes boring intently into hers.

  “You can’t know what that means to me. You can’t possibly know because there is no way in hell I can ever put into words what it means. There aren’t enough words in any language to describe what you mean to me.”

  “Just show me,” she said simply. “Our bodies communicate much better without words.”

  Without responding, he lowered his head to her breasts and flicked his tongue out, teasing one nipple into rigidity. He circled the puckered ridge, leaving a warm, damp trail before nipping ever so gently at it.

  She bowed upward, her gasp of pleasure whistling past her lips. Her body undulated, greedy, wanting more, but he didn’t respond to her silent demands. Patiently he teased and pleasured one breast before finally moving to the other to give it equal treatment. Eden was a writhing mess, nearly out of her head with desire for him to take her. To possess her. Own her. Cement the declaration of their love with the joining of their bodies.

  He pressed a gentle kiss between her breasts and then kissed a line to her navel, where he circled it teasingly with his tongue before going lower and lower still.

  Eden was always careful to keep her bikini area waxed. She often modeled swimwear or lingerie. She’d always considered it part and parcel of the job and had never been concerned about upkeep when it came to a man. But now she was glad she was neatly trimmed as Swanny nuzzled through the soft tuft of curls that formed a small triangle at her groin.

  With gentle fingers, he parted her folds and then swiped his tongue from her entrance all the way up to her clitoris. She nearly came on the spot.

  “Swanny!” she panted. “You have to stop. I’m going to come and I want you with me. Especially tonight. It has to be together tonight.”

  He lifted his head, his eyes filled with so much warmth and understanding. “We’ll go together, honey. I guarantee it. I just want to make sure you’re with me and prepared fully for me.”

  “I’m so ready.”

  The words were nearly a groan. Her body was strung tight, seemingly pulled in opposite directions as the tension increased, her orgasm building and swelling until she felt completely out of control.

  As if sensing she was hanging just off the edge, Swanny rose up over her, his big body covering hers, his heat scorching against her skin. He nudged her thighs wider apart and then he slid his hands
down, burrowing between her body and the mattress so he could cup her behind, lifting her as he pushed inside her.

  The angle he held her at made it possible for him to slide all the way into her. They both let out strangled sounds and she realized he was just as precariously close to release as she was.

  She slid her hands up his muscled arms to his broad shoulders and then stroked and caressed his back as he lay there above her, his face creased with strain as he held himself still inside her.

  “It’s okay, Swanny,” she whispered. “I’m there. Don’t hold back. Don’t worry that this isn’t perfect. Perfection isn’t marked by time or length of a special moment. It’s marked by the effort made. Take us both over. I’m ready.”

  He let out a loud groan and then lowered his head so their foreheads touched, their mouths a mere inch apart, their breaths mingling. There was something decidedly intimate about them simply being. The gesture was warm and affectionate and spoke far more words than could ever be said.

  “You ready?” he whispered, adopting the same tone she had.

  “Yeah,” she whispered back, her eyelashes fluttering as their gazes molded together from being such a short distance apart.

  He shifted, withdrew and then thrust forward. Deep. Hard. Like iron coated in velvet. Her breath hitched and her fingers dug into his shoulders, anchoring herself for the impending storm. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the magnetic pull of ultimate release.

  Each time he thrust forward, he hit just the right spot in the inside and out. Her clitoris was straining and every brush of his groin over the hypersensitive flesh was like experiencing an electrical surge.

  “Please,” she begged.

  “Never have to beg,” Swanny vowed. “I’d give you the world at your feet if you wanted it. Anything that is in my power to give you will always be yours.”

  He kissed her, sealing his vow, his body moving hotly over hers. Limbs tangled, hearts entwined, they both climbed and fell at the same time, spiraling into the vortex of dizzying ecstasy. Eden was only aware of Swanny. Swanny who loved her. Swanny who would protect her with his life.

  He settled over her like the warmest of blankets, his chest heaving, an exact match to her own. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, effectively putting her stamp, her claim, to this gorgeous—inside and out—specimen of a delicious alpha male.

  No one could possibly be more satisfied or happier than she was right now. There was no feeling in the world to match this sense of completion. The future looked so incredibly bright. Nothing was impossible. She and Swanny would find a way to stay together. It was a vow she made to herself, one she fully intended to see through.

  CHAPTER 31

  SAM Kelly immediately answered the secure phone, anxious to get a report from Steele or Rio. After what had happened in Paris, Sam was more determined than ever to use any and all resources he had at his disposal to rid Eden of the threat to her.

  “Sam,” he said shortly.

  “This is Steele,” Steele said curtly. “Someone got to Sanchez before we did and Jesus, it’s a bloody massacre. Everyone is dead. Sanchez, his men. The place is trashed. It’s a complete clusterfuck.”

  “Goddamn Hancock!” Sam swore. “I should have seen this coming after he reared his head in Paris and promptly disappeared and fell off the radar. I’m one hundred percent sure he’s behind this. He has close ties to Eden and her family, and it’s just like him to take matters into his hands and take out any threat to what he considers his family.”

  “Well, he fucked us on getting intel,” Steele said, obviously as pissed as Sam was. “I’m having my team go through the pieces to see what, if anything, we can learn, but I have a feeling Hancock took anything pertinent to our investigation. What do you want us to do now, boss man?”

  “Complete your sweep,” Sam replied tersely. “I’ll call Rio up and tell him to stand down. I’ll report in with Nathan and Joe. Tell them the developments. If Sanchez hired an assassin, he’ll quickly discover that he’s not going to get paid, so I think they can breathe a little easier. I’ll tell them to continue their security until the shoot is over but that they can relax a little. It should take a lot of pressure off Eden as she winds this down.”

  “Will do,” Steele said. “We’ll let you know if we discover anything, and then we’re pulling out and heading home unless you need us for something else.”

  “Things are quiet right now,” Sam replied. “All we have going on right now is Eden’s protection, but I’ll let you know if things change. I know you’re anxious to get back to Maren and Olivia.”

  There was a pause before Steele gruffly responded, “Yeah, I am. But we’ll get the job done and report in with anything we find.”

  Sam disconnected and then sucked in a deep breath. Fucking Hancock. At times it seemed they couldn’t move for tripping over him. He always popped in from nowhere and they never knew what side he lined up on, despite the fact that he’d saved Maren, Steele’s wife, at much risk to himself.

  He shook his head. Who knew Hancock had actual human ties to anyone? He was more machine than man. The news that he considered Eden and her father and brothers “family” had been a shocker because Hancock was most certainly a lone wolf. Always going his own way and answering to no one. He was definitely a wild card. Someone Sam was always wary of, no matter the circumstances.

  He didn’t trust Hancock as far as he could throw him, no matter that he’d actually been helpful to KGI’s cause in the past. And Sam wasn’t deluded enough to think that Hancock helped out of the goodness of his heart. The man always had his reasons for every move he made.

  With a shake of his head, he called Joe and relayed the news to him. After listening to Joe mutter the same curses Sam had uttered himself upon receiving the news, they hung up, with Sam issuing the warning that although they could relax, they were not to stand completely down and to treat the situation as if there were still an existing threat to Eden.

  They had only a short time left before Eden wrapped up and would be returning home. At that point, KGI could sign off, collect their paycheck and put another successful mission down in the books.

  CHAPTER 32

  EDEN hummed as she dressed for the launch party. With the relieving news that the threat to her had been eliminated, she felt lighter and carefree. She was in love. Even better, Swanny loved her. Nothing seemed insurmountable in light of those events.

  She hadn’t asked for details. Didn’t want them. And to Swanny’s credit he didn’t give her anything more than, “The threat to you has been taken care of.”

  She trusted Swanny, and she trusted his team and organization, for that matter. She knew that while Swanny’s team had been front and center, KGI had been working behind the scenes to get to the bottom of the whole mess. So if they said everything was good, then she believed them.

  Swanny, much to his consternation, had been shooed from her room so she could dress for the launch party. He and his team waited for her in the lobby. She wanted to surprise Swanny by wearing the necklace he’d given her. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face and love warming his eyes when he realized she was wearing his gift.

  No, it didn’t exactly meet the standards of the designer dress she was wearing, but she didn’t give one damn. She loved the necklace and she was wearing it, choosing it over the many jewels designers would kill for her to wear for the event.

  She had just finished securing the clasp when she heard her hotel door open. Frowning, she stuck her head out the bedroom door, her hand covering her chest where the necklace pendent rested, prepared to reprimand Swanny and tell him to get his ass back down to the lobby, but it was maid service pushing her cart inside.

  Smiling, Eden walked farther into the living area. “There’s nothing I need. In fact, I’m just about to leave if you want to give me five minutes and then come back.”

  Even as she said it, a prickle slithered down her spine because she remembered that Joe had arranged for the
m not to have maid service during their stay. Swanny always picked up linens, towels and other necessities straight from the front desk. For that matter, no one was allowed on her floor.

  But perhaps now that a threat no longer existed they had relaxed their restrictions. She’d have to ask Swanny about it when she met him downstairs.

  “It is no problem, miss,” the maid said in a heavily accented voice. “I just leave you new towels and give you turn-down service so when you return everything is perfect, yes?”

  As the maid spoke, she closed the distance between herself and Eden, a warm smile on her face. She had darker skin, but Eden couldn’t place the accent. It sounded more Central American than Mexican. It definitely wasn’t French, but then many immigrants to France came from all over the world and took jobs in hotels and restaurants.

  “That’s fine,” Eden said faintly.

  She started to step around the maid to collect her clutch and head to the elevator when suddenly the woman moved with speed that astonished Eden. Then Eden felt a prick in her arm and she stared aghast at the woman just before the room sort of fizzled around her and grew fuzzy.

  She opened her mouth to scream for help but found herself incapable of saying anything at all, much less screaming.

  The maid grabbed her arm and jammed the barrel of a pistol into her side, her expression menacing as it yawned and blurred in and out of Eden’s vision. God, she had to get herself together. Make herself overcome the effects of the drug. This time she had only herself to rely on to get out of trouble. And there was no way in hell she was going to let Swanny down.

  “Now you listen to me,” the maid said, all traces of her accent gone. “You’re coming with me and we’re going out the side maintenance entrance and if you make one wrong move, make a single sound, I’ll kill you where you stand. Nod if you understand.”

  It took considerable effort for Eden to nod. The drugs had her impaired enough, but terror paralyzed the rest of her.

  She stumbled as the maid started forward, her grip painfully tight on Eden’s arm and the gun digging into her side, most assuredly bruising the skin.

  The maid all but dragged her toward the elevator and then pressed the button for the subfloor, one level beneath the lobby, that was restricted to employees only. The maid inserted a card that identified her as a hotel employee and the elevator descended to the basement level.

  To Eden’s utter horror, when the maid yanked her from the elevator, she nearly tripped over the body of another maid. There was an obvious gunshot wound to her forehead, right between the eyes, and the woman’s head lolled to the side, eyes open and glassy with death.

  Eden’s stomach lurched and the world went even dizzier around her, the drugs rendering her incapable of doing anything but being meekly led to the exit. The maid threw open the door, did a quick survey of the alleyway and then shoved Eden into the backseat of a small Peugeot. She leaned in over Eden and quickly taped her mouth shut and then roughly turned her on her side, jerking her arms behind her and cuffing them together.

  It all took but a few seconds, but time had yawned for Eden and everything was moving in slow motion, terror and helplessness filling her as she realized she was being kidnapped. The woman, whoever she was, had already killed at least one person to gain access to the hotel. It was obvious killing meant nothing to her and now she held Eden’s life in her hands.

  Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as the car eased out of the alleyway and into Paris traffic. She was certain this woman meant her to die. But where was she taking her? And why?

  Swanny, her father and her brothers flashed through her hazy consciousness. She’d never see them again. Worse, they’d likely never know what happened to her. Tears slipped from her eyes, hot against her chilled skin. She wept for all she’d lost and for the pain her disappearance would cause Swanny and her family.

  And then she prayed that Swanny and his team would somehow, some way, miraculously find a way to rescue her before it was too late. Swanny hadn’t given up when faced with the unthinkable. He’d survived months of torture and degradation and come out the victor, never giving the animals who tried their best to break him the satisfaction of doing so.

  She drew on his strength now, the memory of all he’d endured. He deserved someone of the same caliber, the same never-quit attitude and the determination to come out the victor.

  She gathered those things to her, holding them tightly, letting them—and Swanny—burn brightly in her mind. Because something in the deepest part of her soul realized that she was going to need to tap reserves she wasn’t sure she possessed. But damn if she was going down without a fight.

  CHAPTER 33

  SWANNY was waiting impatiently in the lobby with his teammates, checking his watch and muttering under his breath. He didn’t like leaving Eden, no matter that the threat to her had been eliminated. His gut wasn’t quiet. It was going off like a mofo.

  Deciding to fuck it and risk her disappointment since she wanted to surprise him, he turned to stride toward the elevator just to ease his screaming gut when Hancock stormed through the entrance to the hotel, his features creased with rage and . . . worry.

  It was the worry that stopped Swanny in his tracks, because nothing worried Hancock. The guy was an automaton and he only had one expression. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. When he’d come to Eden’s room, it was as if an alien had temporarily taken over his body because the man had actually shown emotion and tenderness with Eden. There was obvious affection between the two, and Swanny still couldn’t get over the fact that Hancock considered Eden and her family his own family. And he called her cupcake. For the love of God . . .

  “Where the fuck is Eden?” Hancock demanded.

  Typical no greeting, no pleasantries. That wasn’t Hancock’s way and, well, it wasn’t Swanny’s either. They both got straight to business without meaningless chitchat getting in the way.

  “She’s in her room finishing dressing for tonight’s launch party,” Swanny supplied. “She should be down any minute.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Hancock swore. “You left her unguarded even for a few minutes? What the hell kind of operation are you running here? I have intel you need immediately.”