by Lisa Hughey
Ava’s eyes fluttered closed as she lay like a goddess opened purely for his pleasure. And only his. The weird and uncomfortable feelings spread over him blanketing his passion in some otherworldly sensation.
Which was ridiculous.
This was just sex.
With that thought, he slammed back inside her her slick channel. Ava grunted. At first he thought he’d hurt her, until she demanded, “Again.”
Con stared into the mysterious depths of her dark eyes as he plunged inside her. She stared right back, kept them connected, and that sense of coming home speared through him with lightning force.
Con powered in and out of Ava. She lifted her hips to meet each thrust with abandon. Her breasts bounced each time they came together and Ava was making little erotic noises as her body tightened around his. He could feel the muscles of her sex gripping him with a fierce intensity. His orgasm gathered at the base of his spine, as his cock hardened even further and he felt almost as if he didn’t let go soon, the top of his head would blow off.
Madre de Dios. Connor hit every erogenous zone she’d ever had or thought she had. With every slam, the head of his cock massaged her g-spot, the root rubbed her clit, and with each hard foray his cock head hit her cervix. She was overwhelmed, over-stimulated, her body shaking with the need to come.
Suddenly he swelled impossibly larger until she thought she was being rent in two by the erotic intrusion of his hard, thick length.
His fingers tightened on hers, and with a hoarse shout, he spurt inside her. The force of his orgasm triggered hers and Ava bowed up from the desk as her womb contracted almost painfully around his throbbing cock. Stars exploded behind her closed eyelids, and her limbs trembled forcefully as she came long and hard.
Connor continued to thrust in and out, his orgasm battered her sensitive walls and triggered another mini-orgasm. Her head swam as she was bombarded by sensory details. The hairy roughness of his thighs against the back of hers, the way she was spread wide against the invasion of his hips, the hot wet suction of his mouth as he bowed over her and lapped at her over-sensitized nipple.
Ava jerked at the sensual contact and her womb contracted again and again. Her orgasm seemed to last forever.
Connor kissed a path up the center of her breastbone, where her heart beat frenetically. He was still buried balls deep in her, his heart thud against her chest, his pectorals pressed against her breasts, as he brushed a tender kiss across her lips.
For some reason, the sweet gesture made her want to cry.
When was the last time she’d been touched with tenderness by a lover? Never. With all the inherent affection of his soft gesture, he’d touched some soft spot deep inside her that longed for the affection of a man.
Her former attempts at sex had been fumbled, furtive encounters in messy apartments and cluttered dorm rooms. Not impersonal but she’d never really connected with her partner. Not the way she’d wanted to.
But was this any better?
She felt connected but that feeling was a lie, brought on by endorphins and the lingering euphoria from an epic orgasm. As far as she knew, before today he’d barely even noticed her. So whatever weird connection she thought she felt, it was all in her head. A ridiculous fantasy she’d nurtured over the last year. Yearning from behind her desk as he went about his days never really seeing her.
The sensual cocoon that surrounded them was ripped apart by her doubts, and reality hit her in the face. She was lying on top of her boss desk, for God’s sake. Her running shorts were wrapped around one ankle and she still had her Nike’s on. Connor’s pants hadn’t made it any further down than his thighs. A deep mortified flush spread throughout her.
What had she just done?
Six
Con was wrecked.
He slumped over Ava, completely undone by their explosive sex. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he took stock. His pants were barely mid-thigh. His t-shirt and her shirt were somewhere behind him probably on the floor. And as he looked down at Ava, sprawled on Jack’s desk, a grin spread over his face.
Jack was going to be sorry he’d said anything.
She stiffened beneath him.
“I’m not laughing at you,” Connor said quickly. Shit. He didn’t want her upset. But her face settled into an unhappy mask.
Trying to placate her, he seriously put his foot in it. “I was laughing at Jack.”
Her entire body froze.
That just made it worse. “Crap. That didn’t come out right.”
“Madre de Dios.” Her deep black eyes widened, framed by thick black lashes and shimmering with an abundance of regret. Ava shoved at his shoulders. “We’ve got to….”
As if she finally realized that the seal was broken and protesting was futile she slumped back down on the desk, and covered her face with her forearm. “What have I done?” came out muffled and just the slightest bit panicked.
“Come on now, it isn’t that bad.”
“Yes, not for you. You won’t lose your job over this.”
A shamed sensation spread through him as her words registered. Would he ever fucking live down his behavior from his past? Connor jerked his pants up with an angry yank. He couldn’t even get away from his former reputation with a woman who hadn’t known him then.
“That’s what you think of me?” Connor straightened, pulled his cock from her clearly now unwilling body. He disposed of the condom in the wastebasket under the desk. “Nice.”
“No. I don’t know.” Ava crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her breasts from his angry gaze. She flushed a deep red, and awkwardly twirled her hand. “Could you….”
“I’ve already seen your charms,” he said snidely as he zipped his pants and then reached for her spandex running top. He tossed it to her without meeting her gaze. What had he done in the past year that would make her think that he would do that? The ache in his chest intensified.
So much for that sense of coming home. If this was home, he was getting kicked to the curb before he could get comfortable. Like always.
“I’m sorry.” She said miserably, “It’s just, I love this job.”
“I know. And fuck you very much for thinking I would even consider jeopardizing that.”
Ava dressed frantically, but she didn’t say another word. She tugged her shorts up and adjusted her breasts as misery spread through her. She was clearly incapable of saying the right thing.
She twisted, trying to straighten the shelf bra in her top and put herself back together. As she turned back around, she bumped the old fashioned black phone that sat next to the blotter.
Ava’s breath caught in her chest. She’d clearly hurt his feelings. Which seemed odd and surprising. In all her fantasies she hadn’t ever once considered that he had feelings. He was always so controlled and calm. With his mussed hair and rumpled t-shirt clutched in his fist, he looked nothing like his normal, relaxed, composed self. His face was a mask of stillness but underneath that blank facade he was upset. And she was the one who upset him.
The temptation to soothe him was strong but Ava couldn’t dwell on that right now. “We have a problem.”
“I’d say we have more than one.”
Ava was trying to smooth her hair into something that didn’t look like she’d just had sex on her boss’s desk. But really what was the point? “Riley never checked in.”
“Fuck.” Connor threaded his fingers through his hair and tugged. His bicep bulged and the muscles in his six pack rippled. “What the hell is going on?” he whispered.
Guilt crossed his face before he turned away from her. Ava watched as the muscles in his back tensed and turned to stone as he tugged his t-shirt over his head.
Con faced the window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The sun had long since set, and the moon had risen early so that shadows and light rippled over the myriad of waves. So great, while he was getting it on with a woman who clearly had a really shitty opinion of him, his brother Riley was out there, somew
here in the Philippines and had missed his check in. One miss wasn’t the end of the world, but taken with everything else going on, Con struggled not to worry. And he needed to figure out what the hell was happening on every front.
Another wave of guilt rolled over him. Jack had entrusted GHR and Stone Consulting to him just this morning and since then, things had literally started going to hell. He’d managed to fuck everything up. Way to prove yourself, Con.
“Are you okay?” Ava’s fingertips brushed tentatively across his tense, tight delts.
“I’m just great,” he lied. He wished she’d just…leave.
“Umm, is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, just go on home.” Con rubbed his hand through his overly long blond hair. Since he’d left the army he’d let it grow. Now it flopped over his forehead and curled around his ears.
“Oh, okay.”
He could see her reflection in the large picture window. The glass was coated with a reflective covering so that they could see out but no one could see in, which was good, otherwise someone would have gotten quite the show with his bare ass hanging out and her running shoes digging into his butt as he’d pounded in and out of her.
Her hand hovered over his shoulder, as if she wanted to comfort him or touch him again. But he didn’t touch people and people didn’t touch him. He was far more comfortable around computers and motherboards. A fact very distinctly driven home by the fact that she thought he was the kind of guy who would get her fired for having sex with him.
Yeah, touching people didn’t seem to go all that well for Con.
“By the way, if anyone loses their job, it will be me.” Con huffed out a mirthless laugh.
“What?”
Way to go, Con. He mentally patted himself on the back. His first real chance to to prove to Jack that he was responsible, that he belonged. And he’d blown it. Deeds not words. They’d been hacked. Jack’s assistant had been followed. Riley had missed his check in. And Con had jumped said assistant on Jack’s very sturdy desk.
He hadn’t done anything to stop the first three, and actively participated in the last one.
Deeds.
He needed to get his head back into whatever was happening at the company and get it out of fucking Ava Sanchez. Literally. “Never mind.”
She rubbed her fingers over her biceps as if warding off a chill. Her eyebrows quirked in a tiny frown that disappeared before Con could even register that she was worried about something. Her job. She was worried about her job.
“I promise you, you won’t lose your job.”
“What?” she blinked absently as if her thoughts were on another continent. “Oh, I believe you.”
“Okay. Good. Fine.”
But if she believed him then what was bothering her?
“Do you need anything else from me tonight?” Her tone was polite, distant. Ava had her head turned slightly to the side, gaze averted as if they hadn’t just done the nasty in Jack’s office, on Jack’s desk. Back to the way she’d treated him in the past. Looking at him without quite looking at him.
“No. We’re good.” Con went through what Jack had requested of him. Which meant taking control of everything out of control. He could spend the night here and continue to try to trace the hack. Riley was next on the list. “Are you supposed to come back for another check in with Riley?”
She paled. “I have to come back tomorrow at the same time.”
“Is there a backup time if he misses check in number one?”
“No.” She still wasn’t looking at him. Awesome.
Con thought about what Riley was doing in the Philippines. Delivering books and school supplies in the Sulu Province, on the island of Sulu near Jolo. An area known for harboring MNLF, the Moro National Liberation Front, rebels. On the surface, his mission was humanitarian and feel good. But Con assumed there was more to Riley’s trip than philanthropy. Currently there was a peace accord in place, but what if the government was looking for extra information on the MNLF to make sure they were on board with the treaty and really willing to maintain peace?
Could the rebels, or terrorists depending on your viewpoint, have caught on to Riley’s other purpose on the island?
“What protocol is in place if he misses another one?”
“First miss is a warning.” Ava shook her head, her ebony hair curled around her face, swung against her soft, rounded cheek, and a single strand caught on her mouth. Con battled the urge to brush the silky black lock away with his thumb and then follow it up with his mouth.
Shit. She’d distracted him again. Of course, it was all his fault. Maybe he wasn’t as reformed as he thought.
“Second miss puts the company on standby,” Ava said slowly.
Standby. Con wondered if he needed to contact Shane and put the plane on standby. Shane. He needed to try to call Shane and Jack again.
“Third miss, company extraction,” Ava finished. “But of course no one’s ever missed three checkins. At least, not since I’ve been here.”
Extraction. Con mentally started compiling lists of what he’d need if Riley and his counterpart from Tools for Schools needed rescuing. Con wouldn’t be able to do it alone. His stomach curdled at the possibility that he’d need to ask Jess for help. He’d do it. Deeds, not words. Con strengthened his resolve. “Okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be here for tomorrow’s check in.”
“But—”
Connor interrupted. “See you next week. Have a nice Thanksgiving.” He forced the impersonal words out through stiff lips. He shoved down the awkward feelings. “Let me walk you to your car.”
“No thanks,” Ava replied. She held her body tight as she grabbed her purse and the hanging bag with her suit, her sexy, shiny pumps dangled from the opening at the top.
Remorse hit him hard.
He didn’t want her to leave this way. Everything about the last few hours was crazy, impulsive, and intense.
He got that she was done with him. But, he still wasn’t going to let her walk to her car in the dark. Monterey wasn’t exactly a hotbed of crime. And for a former soldier, the crime here was no problem. However, Shelley had raised him right and there was no way he was letting Ava walk to her car alone.
But since she had refused his offer, Con followed quietly behind her. He’d make sure she got in her car safely and then he’d go back to work. See if there were any way to trace the breach and continue to dig deeper on Jose Fernandez.
Ava took the stairs down to the underground parking garage and Con followed silently behind her. When she reached the landing, she whirled around and crouched into a fighting stance. She relaxed as she realized it was only Con and shot him a dark look without verbally acknowledging his presence.
Ava turned back around and continued down the stairs, and if body language could talk, she was saying, asshole. Except after the slightest of pauses, her shoulders softened and her hands unclenched and he realized that she’d been tense and worried until she discovered that he had her back.
Con stood in the half open door to the parking garage and carefully, conscientiously watched her walk to her car.
Her running shoes made little sound, only a slight swish and the minute squeak of her left shoe, on the slick concrete floor of the parking garage as she strode to an older model Honda Civic that had seen better days. Con leaned against the door frame and listened to the slight shush of her legs against each other and the muted rush of cars on the road above them. They were the only ones in the parking garage this late on a Friday.
She was almost to her car when Con registered another sound in the garage. The slight scuff of a hard heel was distinct in the sequestered silence. And then Con could see the man moving stealthily toward Ava. Con was blocked by the partially open door so he didn’t think the guy had seen him yet. With only a moment to react, Con began to run.
Ava felt a whoosh of air behind her and whirled around to confront Connor. “Will you stop—”
Sheer terror car
omed through her. It wasn’t Connor. A man, clothed all in black, a nude-colored ski mask over his face, rushed her.
Ava screamed, dropped her stuff, leaned back on her left leg and kicked out with her right. All those sessions with a trainer paid off, and she managed to get a few debilitating kicks and blows in.
But then the man dodged her kick, wrapped his arms around her and shoved a cloth against her nose. “Buenos noches, puta,” he growled and those were the last words she registered as a sickly, sweet smell overpowered her.
Seven
Connor’s heart literally skipped a beat when he saw Ava slump in her attacker’s arms. He pumped his arms and sprinted toward them. He cursed the fact that he’d already locked his weapon in his office safe, although even if he’d had it, he couldn’t risk shooting for fear he’d hit Ava.
A car screeched around the corner and stopped in front of the pair.
Connor put on a burst of speed. No way was he going to let them put Ava into that car. In a split second, he assessed his options. Slide across the hood then be impeded by driver’s door, or run around the rear of the car and hope he could get there before they could finish getting Ava into the backseat.
As the driver gunned the engine, Connor made his decision and raced toward the open back door.
The first guy was trying desperately to get Ava in the back seat of the car but he was hampered by the dead weight of her body. Fuck! Connor prayed that she was only knocked out, not actually dead. Otherwise why take her?
Thug one was bent over Ava and halfway into the car, his back unprotected. Con punched her kidnapper in the kidney with three sharp jabs. The guy whirled around too quickly and had to overcorrect. Con shot a one-two punch at the guy’s jaw, and his head snapped back as he staggered against the open car door. Con undercut into a large but hard belly while the guy feebly tried to protect his body.
The driver, thug two, had turned around to see what the problem was. Con split his attention between the two kidnappers. Thug two’s eyes were wild behind the nude ski mask as he gunned the engine. But he didn’t take off. Thank God. Because even though Ava’s torso lay safely on the back seat, her legs still hung outside the car.