by Anna Lewis
When Reilly came back to herself, Maksim was still inside her, breathing hard and propping himself up over her with his arms. She could feel the flush suffusing her pale face as she looked up into his dark gaze, her own eyes bright with satisfaction. Mack drew his cock out of her, then shifted his weight to lie down next to her on the couch. A little echo of the orgasm twitched through Reilly’s body, and she sighed happily.
“Was that what you needed?” Maksim murmured in her ear.
Reilly didn't answer; she just wriggled her back against his chest until she was comfortable and closed her eyes. She wasn't tired, but she liked the warmth of him, the obdurate strength of him, and at that moment, she felt like her worries were far away. After a few minutes, Maksim's breathing became slow and regular, and she knew he was asleep. She smiled. Yes, she thought to herself. Yes, this was what I needed.
Noon Saturday: Breach Day plus one
Maksim and Reilly were eating lunch when Abdul came back in the mini-gunship. He brought the aircraft to a gentle landing in a clearing not far from the hidden trailer, and it didn’t take him long to meet Mack and Reilly inside. Reilly noticed with a pang in her heart that the slender pilot was alone. She stood up from the couch as he entered the little trailer and smiled. “I don’t think I got the chance to thank you for flying us out of there.” She held out her hand. “Reilly McAllister.”
Abdul took her hand and shook it, his expression neutral. “It was nothing,” he said in a light, melodic accent. “I owed Sokolov a favor.”
“Did you find them?” Maksim asked quietly, from the sofa.
Abdul shook his head. “No. There was no trace. Most of my neighbors are gone as well. It is possible they all got out together, though I do not know where they or my family would have gone.” He forced a slight smile onto his angular face. “There is still hope.”
Maksim nodded gravely. “I'll help you find them, one way or another. You have my word. But what of the government. Is the military doing anything? We haven't heard much on the radio other than various canned emergency messages.”
Abdul shrugged. “It is chaos out there, my friend. Utter chaos. It is hard to tell if the military is able to do anything at all. The sky is full of smoke. I don’t think I passed a single city that was not burning.” He bowed his head for a moment, and Reilly could see the exhaustion lines etched into his face. Then he took a deep breath and continued. “Some of my friends with M&J Engineering have been in touch, however, and they say that the eggheads at their lab in Detroit have some ideas about what this disaster might be.”
Reilly jumped at the name of the company. M&J Engineering was the rival high-tech research and development firm to her employer, NextGen Solutions. She thought about a thirty-foot tall red-scaled demon crashing through the side of the NextGen corporate tower. Okay, she amended. My former employer. At this point, company loyalty didn’t mean a damn thing. “They’re working on a solution to this?”
Abdul held up his hands. “I have no idea. It was only a rumor.”
Reilly turned to meet Mack’s eyes. “Then we need to go there. I have the hard-drive with my team’s data—” she paused, frowning. “Assuming it was still in my pocket when you took my clothes to wash.”
Maksim nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “It's in the laundry closet on a shelf. Safe and sound.”
Reilly breathed out a sigh of relief. At least something had gone remotely right. She turned back to Abdul. “Can you take us to the MJE site?”
Abdul’s expression hardened. “While I was happy to do a favor for Maksim, I do not know you. I only came back here at all because I said that I would. I am going to take my bird and go find my family. You can find some other way to clean up your—”
“Abdul,” Maksim interjected, his tone mild. “We will come with you to find your family. Once they are safe, we would take it as a kindness if you would drop us off in Detroit. Family comes first. But getting us to Detroit is a good idea, and it could help resolve all of this.” Reilly sat back down on the couch, trying not to let her anger and shame show in her face. She could tell by the heat in her cheeks that she was failing.
Abdul flicked a glance from Maksim to Reilly, shrewd brown eyes catching on some detail that he hadn’t noticed when he’d come inside. The corner of his mouth twitched. His expression softened by a degree. He sighed, and all the exhaustion of the last day made him sag forward a little. “Thank you. Both of you. I am sorry for my temper. It was a long flight.”
Maksim nodded. “Go get some rest. We can plan things out in the morning.” Abdul nodded and shuffled off for one of the bedrooms on the far side of the trailer home.
Reilly sighed. “Even if a solution is found right away, nothing is going to be the same again, is it?”
Maksim shook his head. “No. It won’t be the same.” But then his mouth crooked up in a little grin and he said, “But it’s never the same no matter what we do. You can’t beat yourself up over what was. You can’t get lost worrying about ‘what if’.” He wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You can only worry about what you have now, and what you’re going to do next.” Seeing the bleak look on Reilly’s face, Maksim reached up with one hand and gently turned her face so that she met his eyes. “You have the data. The MJE guys have their ideas.” He gestured to his outstretched right arm, to the hidden bundles of synthetic metal muscle within. “You have a damaged world, but it isn’t broken completely. And I’m living proof that sometimes damaged things come back stronger.” He smiled, and Reilly couldn’t help but smile with him. His grin was contagious. “So, Reilly, what are you going to do next?”
Reilly thought about it. She thought about her team, lost when the portal collapsed. She thought about Washington, D.C., torn and tattered by the disaster. She thought about the red-scaled titan and his taunts. And instead of the fear that she had expected to come with those thoughts, she found that she felt only a sense of grim determination. “Maksim,” she said, her voice fierce, her verdant eyes alight, “I’m going to slam shut that fucking Door.”
The mercenary only smiled. “Damn right you are.”
THE END
= Bonus Book 9 of 11 =
Two Hot To Handle -
Billionaire Menage
Thump, thump, thump.
Lori’s heart thundered violently in her chest as her high heels clip clopped along the very exciting, unfamiliar sidewalk. After spending her entire life in the small town that she grew up in, and the last five of those being practically restricted to the same four walls, the freedom that this one walk gave her left her dizzy and excitable.
New York… She was in New York City. It was like a dream come true and she could barely believe it.
Okay, so her apartment wasn’t exactly one from a dream since she had to leave quickly and didn’t bring too much cash with her, and she knew that she’d have to get a job soon enough to support herself while she was here–after all, the last thing she wanted to do after finally making her daring escape was return with her tail between her legs–but just for tonight she needed to have some fun. She was twenty-four years old and she’d never been to a nightclub before, so that was her first port of call.
“Hey, sexy!” a drunk guy standing outside a bar with a cigarette between his teeth called out to her. “Want to come for a drink?”
Lori didn’t answer, she dipped her head and moved faster, but there was a smile playing on her lips all the same. Her first ever cat call! Sure, it came from some sleaze bag, but didn’t they always? And she actually felt like she deserved it tonight, she’d made such an effort for her first ever night out. She tied her long mousy blonde hair up into a sleek pony tail, she’d dusted some smoky eye make-up on, plastered her lips in a bright red that matched the skin tight, bodycon dress that she had on. She didn’t have any friends to tell her that she looked good, but when she slipped on the nude high heels and she examined her reflection in the mirror, she could see it. For the very first time.<
br />
Too much of her life had been spent covering up as much of her skin as possible, but no more. She didn’t even want to give the past another thought, it was long behind her now. Sure, she was sad to leave with things so fraught with her mom, but she hadn’t been given a choice.
At least now she was free.
Finally, she picked a queue outside a club that didn’t look too threatening and she joined it. It felt awkward for her to be by herself when everyone else had friends to talk to, but every time a sadness welled up in her chest, Lori reminded herself where she’d come from and all didn’t seem too bad. Friends would come, maybe even tonight, that wasn’t a permanent issue. This was all a good thing, and that was all that mattered.
“Ma’am.” Lori jumped as a large hand attached to a bouncer wrapped around her arm. Instantly bile rose in her throat and an ice-cold panic jabbed into her heart. “You can skip the queue, please come with me.”
“Wh…why?” she stammered, unable to stop herself from freaking out.
“The club owner wants to speak with you.”
“Oooo!” As the crowd jeered, Lori’s face flamed a bright red. Maybe she was inexperienced but this seemed out of the ordinary even to her. Still she went, she felt like she’d draw more attention to herself if she didn’t.
The bouncer lifted the curtain to what was labelled as the ‘VIP section’ and indicated for Lori to go inside. Anxiety burst in her stomach like fireworks but she stepped forward anyway. Maybe she was being tricked, maybe she was dreaming, either way she wanted to know more.
“Well, hello there, beautiful blonde from the queue outside,” a chocolaty male voice called out to her.
Lori’s head snapped towards him and instantly her pulse rate kicked up another notch. A hot storm circled her belly at the sight of him. He was tall, with chiseled cheekbones and piercing green eyes, and he had an infectious smile that made her grin without her even realizing it. His broad body sent jolts of electricity shooting through her, which almost knocked Lori off her feet. She had never felt such an instant excitement at the sight of someone before.
“Erm, me?” she replied, almost too quietly for him to hear.
“Yes you, that’s why I invited you into this section of the club.”
Lori looked around, enjoying the luxurious golds and purples of the décor. Someone had gone all out to make this as glamorous as possible. This was much more high-end than Lori had been expecting.
“I’m Andrew.” He stuck out his hand to her and she tentatively shook it. The firmness of his grip highlighted the muscles in his arm even more. Lori had to gulp down before she did something silly out of shyness. “I own this club. It’s the best in the city.”
“I…I’m Lori.” Stuff the coyness, Lori needed to be strong. Her weakness had gotten her into a mess before, and she didn’t want that again. That was the sole reason that she’d escaped! She held her chin up high and forced her eyes to meet his in a defiant stare. “And I’m new to the city, so I haven’t got anything to compare it to.”
“And what do you think?” Still he was holding her hand. Why hadn’t he let her go yet?
“It’s okay.” She shrugged and acted blasé. “Maybe a drink would help…”
“At your service.”
As Andrew raced off to the bar, Lori took a seat with a giant grin spread across her cheeks. New York was the right place to come, she could be whoever she wanted to be here and it seemed that she’d started off on the right foot. She was in the VIP section of a club with a man who made her feel all funny on the inside. He owned the place but he was at the bar getting her a drink.
It didn’t get much better than that!
***
“So, Lori.” The way that her name rolled off his tongue instantly made her think of sex. Her cheeks flamed and she squeezed her thighs tighter together wondering what the hell was wrong with her. “Tell me more about yourself.”
Urgh, that question…it was the one that she wasn’t prepared to answer. She didn’t want to lie, she wasn’t any good at being untruthful, so maybe it was easier to say nothing. Be vague.
“What do you need to know? I’m here in New York, starting over.” She sipped her drink pointedly. “That’s all that matters.”
“Where are you from? Is your accent Southern?”
“Maybe.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, the alcohol was making her feel braver than before. “Maybe not.”
“Hmmm…” Andrew slid back further in his seat and examined her closely. Lori could tell by the dark desire in the back of his eyes that he actually liked the mystery of her a bit so at least she was safe in the knowledge that she could play on it more. Make it a game, that could be fun. “Right, Lori. I can see that you’re going to be a tough cookie to crack.”
“Maybe.” That was becoming her mantra, but she didn’t know what else to say. “We’ll see how the night goes on.”
“That’s fine.” He held up his hands in a defeated gesture. “Don’t talk, I don’t mind. Instead, let’s go for a dance.”
Panic jolted her. Dancing was another topic that scared the shit out of Lori. It was one of the many things that caused desperate issues in her old life. In school she wanted to be a dancer, she loved to move her body to the beat. She adored expressing herself using her body, but that was stripped from her. She hadn’t danced in years.
“Oh…I don’t know if I can…” Her heart pumped ice cold blood around her body. Yes, she came to New York for a fresh start, to get back to herself, but this was one step too far. She didn’t expect to go so far so soon.
But Andrew wasn’t about to take no for an answer. He wrapped his fingers through hers and moved towards the stairs. Lori wanted to pull back, she wanted to run, but there was a large part of her that adored the attention from Andrew and she was scared of letting him go.
The safety of the VIP section of the club fell away as they moved through the throngs of sweaty bodies on the dance floor. With lots of people surrounding them, it was easier for Lori to feel less self-conscious. There wasn’t so much focus on her.
Except for Andrew. He was staring hungrily at her like she was something to be devoured.
He moved with ease and confidence, treating the music like it was something to be conquered. Andrew dominated the dance floor, he controlled every inch of it, which again sent Lori’s mind unexpectedly back to sex. She could just see him being as dominating in the bedroom, but in a thrilling way that she wanted to experience.
She started by slowly rolling her hips and the incredible sensations that had flooding her body freed her all over again. Then Lori lifted her hands above her head and she really let loose. What was the point of being self-conscious when no one but Andrew was staring at her, and the look he was giving her actually made her feel sexy for the first time in her life.
“Damn girl, you can really move.” Andrew sidled closer to her, getting right up in her personal space. “Where did you learn to dance?”
Lori didn’t answer because she was all of a sudden acutely aware of his body. Andrew felt hot, he felt thick and muscular, she wanted to wrap her arms around him.
Do it! Her brain screamed. Touch him.
But she didn’t. She couldn’t. The second she took that step this turned from a fantasy into a reality. Much as she wanted to brave that step she didn’t know if she was ready for it.
As it turned out, Lori didn’t need to, because Andrew leaned forward and he cupped her cheeks in his hands so he could stare right at her. His tongue flicked out past his lips to moisten them and as that happened Lori felt the ground vanish from beneath her. This was so unexpected, so much, the moment was so intense that the she could almost hear every wing flap of the butterflies in her stomach.
“You...” He leaned closer. “Are...” Lori braced herself. “Beautiful.”
And with that his soft lips crashed into hers and fireworks burst out all over her body. Andrew held her face still as his mouth moved with hers, which made the rest of the
world melt away. As he nibbled on the bottom of her lip and his tongue darted into hers Lori realized that this was probably how it was supposed to feel to be touched, to be kissed.
Her body buzzed, her head spun, she never wanted Andrew to let her go. In his arms she felt different, better…
But of course, eventually he had to pull away. If he didn’t it would become very indecent, and as much as this was fun, Lori didn’t feel like stripping down in public was the best way to start her brand-new life.
“I need your number,” Andrew growled against her cheek. His breath tickled her, which set her entire body on edge. “I already know that you are someone that I’m going to want to see again.”
She probably shouldn’t, Lori knew that it was wise to settle in her new city before putting down any roots, but she also knew that she was going to. This feeling that Andrew had coursing through her veins felt utterly addictive. She was intoxicated by him, and she wanted more.
“Sure, here’s my phone. Put your number in and I’ll call you.”
***
‘Ooh, what I wouldn’t give to see a bright red gossamer thin camisole covering that hot body of yours…’
“You okay?”
Lori shoved her phone quickly back into her pocket and she looked up to smile at her new friend, Rose. “Yeah, good. You?”
“Not looking forward to work, but you know how it is.” Rose pulled the ugly pink waitress uniform over her clothes. “I’m sure you feel the same.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lori didn’t like to say that actually she enjoyed the job. Okay, so the diner was crap, and the hours sucked, but she was being independent for the very first time in her life. This job was hers, she’d gotten it by herself, she was proud of it. “Hopefully it won’t be too busy today.”
“Your phone is still beeping.”