by Katie Reus
Her inner walls started clenching around him in the same way they’d done around his fingers and she realized she might climax again. It seemed impossible but her entire body was over-sensitized and primed.
His neck muscles pulled tight as his thrusts grew faster and more unsteady. Taking her by surprise, he reached between their bodies and began rubbing her clit again. She let out a gasp and arched up. His mouth descended on one of her breasts again and she couldn’t have stopped the tidal wave of sensation if she’d wanted to. Which she didn’t.
Another orgasm crashed into her, flooding all her senses as Levi groaned against her sensitive flesh.
Grabbing her hip with one hand, his thrusts grew faster as he buried his face against her neck. She held on tight, wrapping her arms hard around him as he lost himself inside her in long, hot strokes.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed as they lay there. She stroked her hand up and down his spine as he nuzzled her neck in the sweetest way. It seemed so out of character for Levi but she loved this side to him. Loved that he allowed himself to be vulnerable at least in bed. Maybe it was just her imagination but she didn’t think so. This, right here with him, turned her heart over.
Eventually he pulled back, his eyes glinting with an emotion she couldn’t define.
“Is it always like that?” she rasped out, physically and emotionally spent.
He shook his head, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “Next time it’ll be longer.” That wasn’t what she meant so she pinched his side and earned a grin from him. “No, it’s not always that intense. Give me a sec,” he said as he withdrew from her.
Frowning, she watched as he hurried to the adjoining bathroom. The way his ass muscles flexed made every feminine part of her flare to life again, even though she should be completely sated.
When he came back with a washcloth she realized what he was doing and her heart melted. He stretched out on the bed next to her. Wordlessly he cleaned between her legs in gentle strokes, the action almost more intimate than everything else they’d shared.
“How do you feel?” he murmured.
“Amazing.” The answer was immediate and honest.
With a half smile he kissed her forehead, nose, then mouth. It was sweet and almost-but-not-quite chaste. “I should have done the gentlemanly thing and said I couldn’t take your virginity,” he murmured though there was no conviction in his voice.
She snorted indelicately. “Well, thank God you’re not a gentleman. And you didn’t take anything, dummy.”
His eyebrows rose. “Dummy?”
“Yeah. Don’t say dumb stuff after wonderful sex. I can’t believe that’s what I’ve been missing out on.” Though something told her that had more to do with her and Levi’s combustible chemistry than anything else.
His grin widened as he brushed his lips against hers again. “It’ll be even better the next time.”
She wasn’t sure there’d be a next time but for now, she could pretend because she desperately wanted to believe that there would be. Even if she knew better. Stretching out next to him, she curled against him, savoring his strength and warmth.
He rubbed a hand down her back. “So . . . I know what you said earlier and you don’t have to answer, but how is it you were still a virgin? Honestly? Have you looked in the fucking mirror,” he murmured, his words light.
A small laugh escaped. “It’s not one thing or a single reason. I . . .” Keeping her head on his chest, she traced her finger over one pec. “Sex involves trust. At least for me.”
His body went impossibly still. “So you trust me?”
She couldn’t answer that without lying so she went for mostly honest. “I trust you with my body.” Because the truth was, she didn’t think he’d betray her in the sense that it was intentional. But she also knew that his internal anger might be triggered and he could make poor decisions—which could inadvertently hurt a bunch of innocent people. She rushed on before he could respond. “When I was first recruited I was young and had no interest in sex. I was also . . . in counseling for a while, thanks to Wesley.”
“Really?”
Nodding, she pushed away from him slightly and propped her head up in her palm, her elbow on the bed, but kept her body curled against his. “Yeah, not because of sex stuff or anything, just because I freaking needed someone to talk to. By the time I was old enough to even think about the opposite sex, Wesley watched me like a hawk. He was a little ridiculous.” He’d been the definition of the overprotective father figure. Something she was actually grateful for. Her own parents had been wonderful and though no one could ever replace them, Wesley didn’t need to. He was family to her now.
Levi’s mouth curved up. “Good.”
She blinked at his possessive tone, then smiled. “Anyway, I did manage to fool around a little with a couple of guys going through training but no one ever really . . . rang my bell, I guess.”
“No one?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Well, not until I was about twenty. I started dating this guy. Actually dating. It was really nice; made me feel normal I think on some level. He was a few years older, smart, had military experience and we were going through a lot of the same intense programs together. He was really good.”
When she saw Levi frowning, she tweaked one of his nipples. “Get that look off your face. He was a super douche, just let me get to that part.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips as he slid a hand up over her bare hip to settle higher on her waist. “Am I going to want to kill super douche?”
She snorted. “He’s not worth it—trust me. You know how hindsight can be a bitch?” When he nodded she continued. “I won’t bore you with the details but it bothered him how good I was. It just never occurred to me to, well, not be who I am. To give you an example, at the range I was almost always the top shooter. And I tested better than almost everyone. That’s mainly because of my eidetic memory but I also tend to think outside the box, try to look at every angle.”
“And he couldn’t take it?”
She shook her head. “Nope. And the thing was, he had a lot of strengths, was way better than me and anyone in our group setting up tactical offense situations. But, long story short he tried to sabotage one of my simulated ops to make me look bad. I didn’t know it at the time but Wesley did. Or he suspected anyway. The second time he tried something shitty, Wesley kicked him out of the program.”
Levi’s eyebrows rose. “Whatever happened to him?”
She shrugged. “He works for the FBI I think. Don’t know and really don’t care. After that ‘lovely’ experience, I didn’t bother with relationships. I was too busy anyway. So there you have it.”
Half smiling, he cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth down to his. When he brushed his lips over hers, she felt her entire body heat up again. She knew this time between them wasn’t going to last long so she was taking full advantage of the sexy, strong man next to her.
Chapter 18
FUBAR: military slang for “fucked up beyond all repair.”
Selene stared at the phone in her hand. The burner phone she’d used to call Wesley earlier. Levi had left it just lying in the tote bag, a clear sign that he completely trusted her. Which just made her feel even crappier.
She needed to call Wesley now, to let him know where she thought Tasev’s place might be. The sooner she told him, the sooner he could get a team into action. Hell, she just needed her own laptop and she should be able to narrow it down using her custom-made programs. They had to save Schmidt. There was no other option but for her to do this and she refused to let innocent people die because she couldn’t get it together.
Levi was in the shower and even though the thought of joining him was more than appealing she’d begged off, telling him she was hungry.
Just do it, she ordered herself. She hated that it felt like a betrayal to him but her duty had to come before her feelings for Levi. They needed to save Schmidt and get that damn antitox
in.
“What are you doing?” Levi’s voice made her jump a fraction and turn from where she stood at the kitchen counter. His jaw was tight, his expression hard.
Holding the phone and battery in one hand, it was pretty damn obvious. “I have to call him,” she said, not needing to specify who.
Levi just stood there, completely naked but his hair wasn’t wet. Crap, he hadn’t even gotten in the shower yet. She could hear the water running so maybe he’d forgotten something—or maybe he’d just been checking on her because he didn’t trust her.
“Towel,” he growled, as if reading her mind. “So what was that in the bedroom? You wait until I’m distracted so you can call Burkhart? Why not just wait until I was asleep?” His words were harsh, demanding, and he sounded almost hurt.
Which destroyed her. “It wasn’t like that and you know it.” It hurt that he could even think that.
That dark gaze burned right through her. “I know that minutes after we fucked you’re out here ready to sell me out.” His voice shook with barely controlled rage, each word dripping with anger. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his fists clenched into tight balls at his side.
“I’m not selling you out! What the hell do you expect me to do, Levi? I can’t hold off any longer.” Too many lives were hanging in the balance. How the hell could she get up every morning and look in the mirror if she knew she’d let people die?
“So you know where Tasev’s house is?”
She shrugged. “Not exactly but I have a good idea.”
“Were you going to be here when they took me in? Or were you going to run so you wouldn’t have to watch?” he snarled.
Hurt stabbed through her as she shook her head. “Don’t do that. You know I’m not betraying you. That’s not what this is about.” But it hurt like hell that’s what he assumed she was doing.
His jaw tightened as he watched her for a long moment. She wanted him to say something, anything, but he finally turned and strode from the room. A moment later the door to the bathroom slammed with such force she jumped.
She wanted to go after him and plead her case but knew it was pointless. She’d known this would happen eventually; she just hadn’t expected it to hurt so damn much. Her chest ached, as if she’d just lost something priceless and knew she’d never get it back. Throat tight, she hurried to the bedroom and tugged on her pants. She was wearing the T-shirt Levi had discarded and even though it was stupid, she kept it on. She liked the way he smelled and this was the last damn time she’d see him so she wanted to hold on to that bit of him as long as she could. After slipping on her sneakers she left everything else but took the phone.
It was all she needed anyway. Outside in the driveway she put the battery back in the phone and made the call. She knew Levi would be leaving in the next sixty seconds and she wasn’t going to stick around for an all-out confrontation. Deep down she wondered if he even cared enough about her to have one.
Wesley picked up on the first ring. “We just got another tip. Tasev’s gonna hit five cities tomorrow morning.”
A burst of adrenaline shot through her like a cannonball. In that moment she was thankful she’d decided to contact Wesley. Everything else took a backseat to saving so many lives. She just hoped Wesley could send someone to pick her up pronto. If not, she was stealing a car. “I think I can locate his base. I just need my laptop—and some clothes.” She raced down the sidewalk, heading back toward the park she and Levi had come from earlier. It would be a good point of pickup even though she had a feeling Wesley already knew where they were. And if he didn’t, she didn’t want to give him the exact location for Levi. Didn’t matter that Levi was probably already on foot, booking it to God only knew where.
“Ortiz is on his way to get you. He’s got everything you’ll need. Where’s Levi?”
“Not with me.”
“He hurt you?” he demanded.
She snorted. It was almost unfathomable that Levi could hurt any woman, something Wesley knew. “No. How far out is Ortiz?”
“Hold on . . . Tracking your phone now and you should see him in just a sec. Dark SUV.”
As she turned left down another quiet residential street the lights from an SUV parked by a curb flashed on and off once. “I see him. What are you going to do about Levi?” she asked, knowing Wesley wouldn’t just leave him alone. Her boss might have been willing to let him go a year ago but Levi was back in Wesley’s orbit again. “You clearly knew where I was. Has Ortiz been waiting here long or did he just arrive? How’d you find us?” She hurled questions at Wesley, needing answers even though she’d already guessed the last one. He’d likely triangulated the cell before she ended the call to him in the park, then tracked them with a drone.
“Ortiz just got there and he was coming to get you. And how do you think I found you? Drone.”
“You still didn’t answer my question about Levi.”
“I’ve got someone on it. Don’t worry.” His tone warned her not to push it but she didn’t care.
“Don’t hurt him.” There was a threatening edge to her words she hadn’t meant to let slip out. Wesley didn’t miss a thing.
There was a long moment of silence on the other end. “Hurting Levi is the last thing I want to do.”
It wasn’t the assurance she’d been looking for, but the truth was, if Wesley sent someone after Levi he wouldn’t be there anyway. Hell, he’d probably already left that house seconds after her. Maybe he’d figured out where Tasev was or maybe he’d try to follow her. Still . . . “Wesley, I’m serious.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “He won’t be hurt. I swear.”
That was all she could ask for. “Thank you.” She slid into the front seat of the SUV and nodded once at Ortiz, who immediately pulled away from the curb. Her computer was sitting on the center console. Someone must have grabbed it from the safe house. “Give me a couple of minutes to narrow down the location and I’ll call you back.”
Wesley didn’t respond, just disconnected, which was pretty typical when they were in an op like this.
She flipped open her razor-thin laptop and turned it on. “You bring me clothes?” she asked Ortiz, already turning around in the seat to look.
“Clothes, shoes, a vest. It’s nice to see you too, by the way.” There was a teasing note in Ortiz’s voice.
Despite her dark mood she half smiled as she grabbed the long black T-shirt and black rubber-soled shoes that reminded her of diving shoes. Instead of trying to change in the front she jumped in the back and used the space to start stripping. Now wasn’t the time to worry about modesty and Ortiz was a professional. The classically handsome man might look like he should be on a movie set, but he was rough around the edges like everyone else who worked for Wesley. Last thing he’d be distracted by right now was a half-naked woman in the backseat.
“Where to?” he asked as she started changing. He’d brought her what they all considered operational clothes. Which meant Wesley had already planned for her to go in on this op. Good. There was no way she was sitting on the sidelines. She’d noticed that Ortiz was also dressed in black from head to toe and strapped down with weapons.
“Tahiti Beach neighborhood. I’m pretty sure Tasev is there,” she said as she slid back into the front seat and pulled her laptop into her lap.
Ortiz had grown up in Miami so she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t bother inputting the area into the SUV’s GPS.
“What kind of weapons did you bring for me?” she asked as she started opening the programs she’d need.
“A SIG and your KA-BAR. Got an MP5 if you need. They’re all in the back.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t bother with small talk as she worked and Ortiz didn’t try to make conversation either. Not that she’d expected him to. They’d worked together before and he was effective. She wondered if he knew anything about Wesley’s plans concerning Levi but resisted the urge to ask. She wasn’t sure what her boss had told everyone about Levi’s involvement and figured
it was better to remain quiet on the subject.
They weren’t very far from the exclusive neighborhood, which was good. As they neared the turnoff, she looked up as a thought occurred to her. “How are we getting in?” There had been a guard at the gate for Shah’s party. Something she should have thought of earlier. Which said a lot about where her head was. She mentally shook herself. She had to keep her head on straight or risk getting killed.
“Don’t worry about it.”
She wanted to ask, but didn’t. Instead she focused on the map on her screen. Mentally calculating the distance from the guard gate to how far she and Levi had traveled once entering the neighborhood she was able to narrow it down to one of two houses. As they pulled up to the gate, Selene started to shut her computer screen but stopped when she saw Dax step out from the small guard building.
The former Delta Operative just grinned at them and waved them through.
“How’d Wesley get him in place so fast?” She hadn’t even told him about Tahiti Beach neighborhood.
“He’s been alternating operators out since Shah’s party. Wanted to keep an eye on who comes and goes. Nothing to do with Tasev. This is just Dax’s shift.”
“Clearly no one’s seen Tasev.”
Ortiz shook his head. “Or any of his known associates.”
“He could be traveling via boat,” she said, thinking of the layout of the neighborhood and wondering if this was even the location at all. Her gut told her it was.
“Or not leaving his place at all,” Ortiz muttered.
“Yeah. Head here.” She pointed to the house on the screen, letting him see the layout.
Ortiz nodded and kept to his slow speed. It was close to two in the morning and most of these homes had walls or hedges for privacy so she wasn’t worried about anyone seeing them.
As they neared the house, she tapped her earpiece and called Wesley.
He answered on the first ring. “Yeah.”
“I need someone to run an address for me.” Something she could easily do herself, but she didn’t want to waste the time when they had a team of people. She wanted to know who owned the home. It definitely wouldn’t be in Tasev’s name, but if it was owned by a shell corporation or something shady, it would be a good sign that they were on the right track.