Protective Operation

by Danica Winters

She leaned into him and ran her lips over the places her fingers had caressed. Her hot breath made goose bumps rise on his skin. Yes. He wanted this. He wanted her. He wanted it all.

  He reached up and pushed her hair back from her face so he could watch her as she kissed him. She glanced up at him as she pulled his nipple into her mouth and traced her teeth against it, making it spark to life with this little taste of agony.

  As she kissed him, his body responded, pressing almost painfully against the harsh fabric of his tac pants. He throbbed as she moved to his other nipple and pushed his shirt from his shoulders.

  Her fingers trailed downward, finding the waist of his pants, but she stopped there and let her fingers linger.

  It had been so long since he had been touched the way that she was touching him that he was forced to look away, at the awful mirrors. But they were no help. Instead, surrounding him was her—everywhere and from every angle. He was forced to shut his eyes, but that too only intensified the sensations of her lips on his skin.

  * * *

  SHAYE LOOKED UP at him as he gently stepped back from her grasp. What was happening? Didn’t he like what she was doing to him?

  Licking the flavor of his sweat from her lips, she smiled. Though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer—out of fear that he was overthinking everything that was happening between them—she asked, “What’s wrong?” She paused for a moment. “Is it okay that I’m kissing you?”

  He took her hands in his. As she stood upright, he used their entwined hands to move a piece of hair from her face—it was almost as though he feared letting her go even for a second, and that little gesture softened the blow of his retreat.

  “It’s more than okay,” he said, sounding breathless. “I love that you are kissing me.”

  “Then why do you want me to stop?” she asked, the hurt flecking her voice.

  “Oh, I don’t. I just...” He glanced down and then his cheeks reddened.

  “Oh,” she said, checking her giggle before it could escape her. She didn’t want him to think she was laughing at him, not at all... If anything, she was thrilled that she could elicit such a strong response. “We can take things a bit slower.”

  He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m sorry... You just caught me a bit off-guard. I was expecting a run,” he said, motioning in the direction of the treadmills.

  “We can still use the treadmill if you want.” She gave him a toying glance.

  Had he really brought her down here just to work out? The way he had sounded in the kitchen with her, he’d been so playful and charming, it hadn’t occurred to her that it had been anything other than a ploy for them to be alone. Had it just been wishful thinking on her part?

  Ever since they had shared the kiss, she had been envisioning something more with him, and then chastising herself. But standing here, now, her body aching for him to draw nearer to her again, she didn’t want to overthink it. She just wanted him to kiss her as she had kissed him, to make him beg her for release...and sate her every desire.

  If hellfire was going to rain down on them, the least she could do was take each day as it came—and that meant finally listening to the desire that careened through her, awakening every part of her body. This was their moment. Alone. Together. And it was their time to give in to their needs.

  There was no going back. Body and soul, she was ready to give herself to him.

  She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her against his awakened body.

  “I want you, Shaye. I’ve wanted you for so long,” he whispered, closing his eyes and dropping his head to hers so their foreheads touched. “You are the reason I look forward to waking up each morning. And when you came here, to me... I’ve never been happier.”

  She was shocked to hear him speak so candidly. Chad had never opened up like this to her before. Her already softened heart melted completely.

  Yes. This.

  She leaned up and kissed him, taking in the dill flavor of his lips.

  “Mmm, pickles,” she said, without taking her lips from his.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” he said with a laugh. “I could eat you up.”

  “Here’s hoping,” she said, pulling out of his arms and moving coyly away from him. She started to jog, beckoning him to the chase. “But I’m not an easy girl to have. If you want me, you have to catch me first.”

  He threw his head back in a laugh, giving her a moment to put distance between them before he gave chase.

  He looked at her with hunger in his eyes, and she was certain that the moment he caught her, there would be no time for second thoughts or removal of nonvital clothes. She loved that primal yearning.

  For a moment, she was the master and he was her plaything...but that control wouldn’t last for long.

  She stepped behind a big black machine with long armlike attachments. Moving fast, she stripped off her pants, exposing her lacy purple-and-black panties, and she threw them into the middle of the room. “How badly do you want me?”

  He grumbled, the sound nearly a growl as he stepped toward her. As he reached her pants, he stopped and removed his shirt and dropped it on top.

  His muscles...oh, his muscles. He had a faint line of blond hair that ran over his pecks and down past his navel, then disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants. His skin was tan, but markedly lighter than hers—his was closer to the color of honey. She licked her lips at the thought of his salty kiss and the sweet flavor of his nipples as she had sucked them into her mouth.

  She darted down the aisle, moving three rows back. He grumbled again, the sound more fervent with desire. Pulling off her plum-colored top, she threw it away from the machine, and as she moved her warm skin brushed against the cold black metal, making her gasp.

  Until now, she hadn’t realized how electrified her senses had become after being charged by his touch...and his kiss.

  He stopped moving as she stepped out from behind the machine in only her bra and panties. She covered her body with one arm and raised her other hand to her lips, making a sexy pose.

  Even from a few feet away, she could hear him suck in his breath.

  Good. Exactly the reaction I wanted.

  “Shaye... My... You...” he said, stumbling over his words. “You are so freaking beautiful.”

  She smiled over at him, sliding behind the last machine—the treadmill—that sat nearest the wall. He moved slowly toward her, like she was a spooked filly and any moment she could bolt. But as he neared, she only stepped back until she was nearly touching the mirrored wall behind her.

  He reached up, tracing the edge of her bra with the littlest bit of his fingertip. Her skin flamed as he barely grazed her skin. Her body quaked as he took her fullness into the cup of his hand and he kissed her. He pressed against her, bumping her warm, nearly naked body up against the cold mirror. She gasped at the chill and the fire of his touch and the power of his kiss.

  He reached down and touched her over the thin fabric of her panties, running circles over the fabric with his fingers until she nearly couldn’t stand.

  “Please...” It was all she could think...or say.

  He scooped her up and she wrapped her legs around him. Opening up only his zipper, he pushed aside her panties and teased himself into her, slowly at first. As she opened to him, he drove deeper and deeper inside her.

  They moved together, finding a natural rhythm. The mirror on the wall behind her bumped as they made love and the sound only made her more turned-on. This was their symphony, the cadence of their union.

  Though she wasn’t ready, her body betrayed her with a quiver. She exploded around him, collapsing against his body as she gave into the all-powerful ecstasy of their love.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She lay on the treadmill, looking up at him. Her face was covered in
a thin sheen of sweat and she was breathing hard.

  “I didn’t know my body could do that,” she said, tracing her fingers over the dark hair a few inches below her belly button.

  He sat up on his elbow beside her. “I’m glad we can explore new worlds together,” he said, leaning down and kissing the skin of her breast.

  Three times. It was a new record for him pleasing a woman, but he wasn’t about to admit that to her. As he looked down on her beautiful, naked body, he considered going for number four, but his body ached in all the wrong ways.

  If he was going to have her again, he would need time to recover and likely so would she. Besides, some things were even better the second time—or the fourth.

  He stood up, his knees and hips spent from their adventure. Holding out his hand, he helped her to standing and she staggered a bit.

  “I’m not going to lie,” she said “I’m glad to get off the belt.” She turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her back and down her round butt was speckled with the waffle pattern of the treadmill’s belt.

  “Oh, babe, I’m sorry.” He ran his hand down the texture of her back.

  She gave him a wide smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not. Besides, that was exactly the workout that I needed.”

  He laughed, the sound reverberating throughout the mirrored room.

  “And,” she said, pointing at the mirror behind him, “I had one heck of a view. When I get my own house, I’m going to have to look in to a room just like this.”

  “But at least with a couch,” he said, pointing down at his knees. They were angry and raw thanks to the nonstick floor that ran throughout the room.

  “Oh, you think you would be invited to my house?” she teased.

  “Well, I doubt that anyone can please you like I do,” he said, more than aware that what they had just done was the best sexual experience in his entire life. He could happily live and die between her thighs.

  She gave him a satisfied smile. “You know, if we had a bit more time I would kiss those knees for you, but I think it may lead to number four. I’m not sure my body could take any more. I fear that I would never be able to walk again.”

  “I would be more than happy to carry you around like the princess you are,” he said, giving her buns a little squeeze that made her squeal.

  She turned away from him and grabbed her panties and bra, then started to get dressed. “As tempting as that is, I think we probably need to check in with your family and see if anyone has found out anything about the baby yet. I’m worried about him.”

  And just like that, the lust-filled spell that had come over him disappeared and he was swept back into the gaping maw of reality.

  As she slipped on the shirt that Mindy had given her, she looked over at him. “It’s going to be okay, Chad. I know you’re worried, too.”

  She must have seen the concern wash over him. “I just want to go back to a normal life—stop hiding out. You know what I mean?”

  Though they had just spent the last hours making love in several positions, his words seemed to feel almost as intimate. He hadn’t really talked in a long time.

  She picked up his clothes and walked over to him. “Lift up your arms,” she said, slipping on the tac T-shirt as she spoke. “I know this may sound cynical, but this—all this upheaval is life. It may not be for everyone, but it’s ours. And as crazy and manic as it is, for me it’s easy to lose sight of what is important and the things that really matter. But one thing I’ve come to love about you is that you always put the focus on your family and your group.”

  She must have meant love in the platonic sense, but as she spoke, he tried to not overanalyze.

  “We try, but we have our issues.”

  “What family doesn’t?” She gave him a look that made it clear she was talking about her own.

  She picked up his pants and helped him to step into them. It felt strange, her helping him dress, but at the same time, he loved it—the closeness. There was a sense of intimacy in her actions that made his heart burn in his chest. Whether she meant platonic or not, he loved her with a ferocity he had never known before.

  He reached down and zipped his pants, but as he did his hand brushed against hers. He entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her hands behind his back, and then he took her in his arms. “Shaye,” he said, taking in the soft sweet scent of sweat wafting up from her hair. “I want you to know... I care for my family, and I always will be there for them. But you are even more important to me.”

  She pulled him tighter and buried her face in his chest, and though she said nothing he could feel that she felt the same.

  “Shaye, I—”

  There was a knock on the door. Stopping him just as he was about to say the one word he feared above all others—love.

  Son of a...

  She pulled herself from his arms, almost as if she feared that someone would see them. His arms had never been emptier.

  “What’s up?” he asked, sounding annoyed even to his own ears. He grabbed his flannel and slipped it on over his T-shirt as he walked toward the door.

  The place where Shaye had buried her face was still warm.

  “I need a break,” Trevor said, his voice sounding worn and ragged as he spoke.

  Chad rushed to the door and flung it open. Trevor’s eyes were dark, and as tired as he had sounded, he looked a thousand times worse. His hair was disheveled and there was a line of white, dried sweat around the neck of his dark shirt.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  Trevor motioned for them to follow him. They rushed down the hall toward the panic room. The door stood open, and as they approached, he recognized the two men who had followed them in the Suburban. The man nearest to him, the one with red hair, looked to be asleep with his chin pressed down against his chest while the other man, who had a wide nose and prognathic mouth, sneered at them as they walked in. He was missing his two front teeth, and the gums that had once held them were swollen and bruised. The room stank of dirty bodies and bile, and the stench assaulted his senses.

  “Not surprised you can’t handle us,” the man slurred at Trevor. “They told me that your clan was nothing but a bunch of pansies.” He spat a mouthful of blood on the floor.

  Shaye sucked in a breath behind Chad, drawing his attention. Taking her gently by the arm, he walked out of the room as he gave Trevor a look of warning.

  She was tough and had seen worse, but she didn’t need to get wrapped up in what could be a bloody interrogation. He glanced back at the redheaded man. He couldn’t tell whether he was dead or alive.

  His thoughts moved to Trish. Seeing pictures of her lying dead on the warehouse floor. She looked at peace as the life had leaked out of her body and poured on the concrete. A lump formed in his throat.

  There was so much death in his life. Around every turn, someone died. And it wasn’t just him, but everyone in his family. It was like anyone who came into their lives was doomed to a rapid and violent death.

  Shaye was watching him, and as she blinked, his thoughts flashed to her lying on the floor instead of Trish.

  He wasn’t sure if it was some kind of premonition or just his own fears that put the image in his mind, but he couldn’t risk it. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he lost the woman he loved.

  It was better if she got the hell out of this wretched place. It would break him to be apart from her, but for her own well-being he had to do what was right. He loved her. And loving someone meant putting their needs before his own.

  Trevor gently closed the door behind them as Chad took Shaye into the hall and out of the room.

  As much as he loved her, and because he loved her, this had to be done.

  “Shaye—” he began.

  “Don’t worry about that,” she said, interrupting him. “I have seen worse.”

  Thi
s wasn’t about what she had and hadn’t experienced in her life. This was about what he didn’t want her to ever experience again.

  “Shaye,” he said, looking down at the place on her arm where he was touching her. He stared at the dark hair on her arms. It was the same shade as that on her head but a touch lighter than what he had just seen in the gym—hair he would probably never see again. “I think you should go back to your father.”

  “What?” she sounded flabbergasted, and she pulled her arm from his grasp and took two large steps away from him. “After what we just did, I...” She threw her hands up in the air. “You are being ridiculous.”

  Though he was sure that he appeared that way, he knew he wasn’t. It was ripping out his heart to say the words he had to say to her. Undoubtedly, when she left, his entire being would shrivel away to nothing, but he had to protect her in the only way he knew how—by pushing her away.

  If she stayed here, it was really only a matter of time until she got hurt...or killed.

  He could feel time and their enemies pressing down on him, and loving her meant putting her before anything and everyone else, even himself.

  “Your father sent a man to get you because he knows how close you are to getting hurt because of me.”

  “And you think this, what you are saying to me right now, doesn’t hurt?”

  “I’m trying to do what’s best.” He jabbed his finger toward the closed door behind him. “These men are just two of hundreds who want to kill me...my family. No doubt, there are teams of people looking for these guys or working for the same people. You and I both know that no matter where I go, or what I do, my shelf life is going to be limited.”

  “That’s a lie and you know it. We are safe here.” But as she spoke there was a certain amount of acknowledgment in her tone that told him that she knew he was right.

  “Go home, Shaye. Your father and his army are far more capable of keeping you safe right now.”

  “My father... I would rather die here then spend another second with that man. I wrote him off. He’s dead to me.” She pressed her back against the wall and he could see tears in her eyes. “He wants to kill...” She paused, unable to continue.