by TL Reeve
“You fall into your memories. Into your duties. You do not live. You exist.”
Well, crap, when he put it in those terms, he hit the nail right on the head. “I suppose I do. It’s not on purpose. It’s easier.”
“But not wiser.” He flipped their position with ease, so she straddled his lap. Suān ní gripped her hips, guiding her over him.
Fallon wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. “Perhaps not.”
“You are a tiger. Fierce and loyal. Be my tiger. Show your claws.” He kissed her. “In a good way.”
She laughed then cried out, burying her face in his neck as their pace quickened. If someone would have told her a year ago, this would be her life, she'd have laughed in their face and walked away. Being in Suān ní's arms however, she couldn't imagine being anywhere else. She licked and nibbled on his flesh, the salty taste of sweat popped across her taste buds along with the wild hint of his gargoyle. She expected him to taste like concrete or ceramic, instead, he was feline through and through, and she couldn't get enough of him.
She sank into the sensations bombarding her body until she was flying. She arched in his hold, his dick rubbing all the right spots within her until her orgasm ripped through her, leaving breathless and stunned. The frantic sounds Suān ní made below her, extended her pleasure and when he peaked, she tumbled with him once more. She shouldn’t be this happy. She shouldn’t feel this alive. Instead of slinking back into her hole though, she allowed herself to be without worry or fear.
She kind of liked it. “Thank you, Suān ní.”
“It is my pleasure, mistress.”
While she'd been in the shower, Warren called to let them know they were going hunting. Nervous energy began to build in Fallon's stomach as she got ready to leave. It was one thing to learn and train, it was another to put those new skills to the test. She also couldn't ask anyone what to expect, because each mission was different as was each experience on said mission.
While she slipped into the all-black tactical garb Warren brought her, Suān ní brought their go-bags to the vehicle making it one last thing she had to remember. As she pulled the black tactical sweater over her head a knock came at the door connecting hers to Warren's room. She snorted to herself. He must have forgotten his key. For a protector, he could be a bit absent-minded. Of course, it could have something to do with the incredible sex they had before and during their shower.
“What did you do, forget your key?” She pulled open the door without hesitation.
“Not in the slightest.” Grainger stood before her in all black. His hazel eyes swirled with intent. He lifted his head and inhaled. For a brief second embarrassment at being caught flared to life, but she squashed it before it grew out of control.
“You've had sex. Naughty girl.” He cornered Fallon in her room, blocking her ability to leave. The scent of wisteria and danger swirled around her. Confused, she stared at him, unsure why he was there. This man didn't like her. He hated her guts and told her so daily. Okay, maybe not told her, told her, but he let her know by his douchey vibe. For a year now, they’d been part of a bigger team and no matter what she’d done to mend the rift between them, he balked at it.
He called her irredeemable.
“What do you want?” She lifted her chin in defiance hoping he wouldn’t see the tremble in her hands or see the erratic beat of her heart. Why did it matter what she'd done with her familiar? It wasn't as if any of the others cared about her.
He laughed. The threatening rumble left her feeling trapped and aroused. “What do I want?” Grainger shook his head. “I want all of this to be over. I want to be done with you. Unfortunately, I’ll never be free of you. It pisses me off and makes me rock hard all at the same time. I can’t keep denying the truth, Fú zé.”
She made a promise to Kalkin she’d see this job through. She couldn’t leave. Besides, she’d become friends with Warren and Abraham. “Not happening.” Fallon pressed her palm to his chest and shoved.
Grainger didn’t move. A low, vicious growl tore through him, sending sensual pulses of fear skirting along her flesh. “I will end up devouring you before this mission is over.”
Fallon arched a brow. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
“I could drink you dry. No one would hear us.” He leaned in, lowing her voice to a whisper. “No one would come to your rescue.”
“Suān ní would.” Her voice wobbled. “He’d know an—”
“He’d be dead too.” Grainger ran his tongue along her neck and a shiver of need raced down her spine. “Mmm, so sweet. Your blood smells like a sugary treat. You’re getting off on this, aren’t you?”
“So are you,” she spat, rubbing her palm against his groin. “Admit it, Grainger, you want me, is the last thing you ever expected. Now, we’re on this mission and you can’t help yourself. However, you don’t know how to get me. Or if you did, you don’t know what you’d do with me because you hate me so much.”
Fallon didn’t know where the words she spoke came from other than she knew it was the truth. Her and Grainger were like oil and water. They repelled each other and yet, as much as she hated him and she suspected he hated her, there was a connection. It’d been something her and Suān ní talked about at length the first night they’d had sex when he told her what he expected would happen. Getting there, she figured, would take work and probably years. She hadn’t been expecting this.
He wrapped his hand around her throat, snatching her attention as he snarled, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The little war between them and the one he’d fought daily whenever she'd been around, was getting to him. His threadbare control was at its limits and yet, instead of backing down, she faced his challenge head-on. She goaded him every time she got the chance and today was no different. Fallon licked her bottom lip. “You should know Suān ní and I had sex. In the shower and last night.”
Grainger roared in outrage then slammed his lips down on hers. Fallon’s heart pounded. Her breath came in soft pants. She shook from the adrenaline and anticipation flowing through her veins. Yes, this was what they both needed. This was what she’d yearned for and he’d been reluctant to give, because he’d seen her as a petty thief, and she’d saw him as a pompous agent. His tongue tangled with hers, drawing a whine of desperation from her.
She burned for him.
She needed more from him.
Fallon pulled his shirt from the hem of his jeans while he slashed at her sweater with his clawed fingertips, tearing it to ribbons. They were literal and figurative beasts, doused in pheromones, craving one another. The sensation of spiraling out of control should have given her pause, instead, she shoved it aside. Finally, she’d see the prim and proper Grainger Wilcox become disheveled and unhinged.
Pounding shook the door behind them before it slammed open, shattering as it hit the wall. Grainger ripped himself from Fallon and hissed. The spell woven around them, broken, by the intruders shoving into the room. Suān ní was there beside Warren and Abraham, all of them wearing the exact expression of fear and worry.
Embarrassment filled her. Fallon needed a moment to gather her tattered wits as well as her tattered garment. “Great, now we’re going to have to explain to the hotel, why the door’s broken.” Squaring her shoulders—like she hadn't been seconds from having sex with Grainger—she stepped around the men who'd entered her suit and headed for her bathroom. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for our little stakeout tonight.”
As she closed the door behind her, she heard Warren ask, “What the fuck happened in here?”
By the time she exited the bathroom, Grainger had gathered himself as well and showed no signs of the vampire who'd tried to fuck her before the others busted down the door. She, on the other hand, was a ball of nervous, aroused energy topped with excitement. The mission was serious and sure she needed to also pay attention to her superior teammates, but she also had a rush of needing to prove herself, l
ike they'd chosen the right person. Maybe it had something to do with what Suān ní said, or maybe it was her finally taking her life by the tail and dealing with shit instead of pushing it aside. Either way, she was ready.
“I’m excited.” Fallon rubbed her hands together. “What are we doing first?” She stepped out into the night air and inhaled. The scent of small game along with fresh earth, palm fronds, and each man surrounding her, filled her senses.
“So, we’re not going to talk about what happened in the hotel room?” Abraham hitched his thumb over his shoulder.
Not unless they had to. “Do we?” She glanced at Grainger who wouldn't meet her gaze.
“You two were sucking face. Hard.” Warren pressed the fob in his hand, unlocking the doors. “Seems a little out of character for both of you.”
She shrugged. “Ask him. He started it.”
Grainger frowned. “It was a mistake.”
“Harsh,” Abraham grumbled. “You are such a dick.”
Fallon agreed.
“We all agreed,” Warren said. “If he wants to fuck things up and get left behind, so be it. We won’t interfere in his self-destruction.”
“Uh...” Had she missed something? She glanced at Suān ní who'd worn the same perplexed expression as she did. “What's going on?”
“Nothing.” Grainger got into the vehicle. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”
“So, it was a mistake meaning getting caught or?” Fallon shoved in beside Grainger while Suān ní retreated into her shadow.
“Yes.” Grainger stared at her. “To all of it.”
“Huh, interesting.” Fallon turned her attention to Warren when he got in behind the wheel. If he didn’t want to talk about it, neither would she. Hot and cold Grainger confused her. “What’s the plan for tonight?”
“Recon.” He started the SUV and backed out of the space. “Not the most exciting part of the job but it has to be done.”
Grainger stared out the window as they drove through the night, heading to their destination. It became quite obvious after monitoring the deep web since they arrived in Tampa, they wouldn’t find their answers there. Nor would they find them, following a paper trail to fake accounts, both email and financial from the file Gabriel and Natalie collected. Tonight, they’d watch the comings and goings from a warehouse they’d found out about during the initial investigation of Aurin and Bain deaths. The place seemed about right for what they needed, but again, they wouldn’t know for sure until they saw it. Fallon’s job would be to infiltrate it. Her attitude, lack of discipline, along with her smug behavior would be perfect to get an in, with whoever owned the market. Yet, Grainger also worried about her safety.
“Your aunt—” Grainger winced at his tone. “I heard it didn’t go well.”
“Nope.” Fallon looked at him, she sat forward, staring out the front windshield. “Shouldn’t have surprised me anyway. I mean, she dumped us in Window Rock, right?”
“I guess.” He didn't like Fallon's flat tone like she wasn't angry anymore or resentful. She accepted it and he hated it.
She retrieved a black band from her wrist and pulled her long black hair up into a high ponytail. “Should have done that sooner.” She turned her head to look at Grainger. “You don’t have to make small talk, it’s okay.”
Abraham and occasionally Warren watched Fallon like two lovesick pups and she seemed oblivious to it. He suspected, if he wasn’t so pissed off at himself, he’d be in the same boat as his teammates. “I was curious, is all.”
“You’ll see when we get there. It’s hard to explain it.” She cleared her throat. “Where are we going, exactly?”
“There’s a bluff that overlooks the warehouse, we’re going to position ourselves there and do a little recon. From there, we’ll make a plan on how to get you in and out without anyone noticing,” Abraham said.
“We can’t go in there without this information,” Warren added. “It’s also to cover you too. Entrances and exits are the number one thing for you. If you have to run, you can’t wander around trying to find your way out.”
“Makes sense,” she replied. “Tonight, we learn the layout. Tomorrow we go over our script. Sounds easy.”
“All plans sound easy until something happens,” Grainger muttered. “That’s why we train so hard.”
“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath.
Warren laughed as he pulled over to a little grove off the interstate and parked their vehicle on a dirt road. From the highway, no one would see them, it was the perfect place to hide. “The place we're going to be heading to is approximately a half-mile to the north. Our cover is simple if anyone should stop you. Abraham is your boyfriend, Warren and myself are his best friends and we’re hanging out.”
“Original,” Fallon said.
“It’s straightforward, which means anyone who asks will find it realistic. Unless you have a better idea?” Grainger cocked a brow.
“Go with the plan,” Warren urged. “You’ve got nothing to lose.”
Once Fallon, Grainger, and Abraham got out of the vehicle and shut their doors, Warren locked it with the key fob before slipping them into his front jean pocket. “It’d go a long way if you’d hold Abraham’s hand, and chill the heck out. Anger makes you lose your focus and only gets you in trouble.” Warren tapped her nose and grinned.
“I’m tweaking your stupid cover story. I’ll go along with Abraham being my boyfriend. I’ll hold his hand. But you,” she pointed at Grainger. “You are the friend who hates the new girlfriend. You know the one who is jealous of his friend’s budding relationship, so he’s an overall jerk to the girl.”
“Whatever,” Grainger replied, unwilling to get into an argument with her about what they were doing or why. As the leader of the team, she needed to learn to follow directions and orders, starting now. Not whenever the heck she felt like it.
Abraham walked over to Fallon. He took her hand in his and gave a gentle tug, urging her to walk with him through the field of tall grass beside them. He wrestled for his control as he stared after his friend and his beloved. None of it made sense, even when he’d been in the hotel room about to do the one thing, he promised he wouldn’t do with her, could he grasp why he’d been so angry and so turned on by the thought of her having sex with Suān ní. Nor could he make heads or tails of the idea of sharing her with Warren and Abraham. About the only thing it did was give him a major headache.
The followed the path to a cliff area not far from where they started out, below them should be the warehouse. It was off the beaten path and unless someone drove truck, no one would know the building was there. According to the information Grainger had gleaned, the place used to be a sheetrock mill. Across from the building was a small retention pond now empty from lack of use. Sprigs of trees and bushes grew in the area, giving another bit of cover to the site. The beep of a forklift grabbed his attention as he glanced over the side of the ridge. Boxes of who knew what, were stacked on the lift forks and were being placed into a truck waiting at the dock.
Inside the faint light illuminated the area, casting shadows on the walls. There weren't main windows or entrances either. Two roll-up doors on the back where the trucks were and two on the side. The rest of the area was dark.
“Might as well get settled in,” Warren said, drawing Grainger’s attention. “We’re in for a long night.”
“Where should I go?” Grainger didn’t like Fallon’s unsure tone or the tremble in her voice.
“How about we go for a walk and do some lookout work?” Abraham grasped her hand with his. “It'll be easier if something happens.”
“Comms check.” Warren pressed the one to his throat. “Can everyone hear me?”
“Clear as a bell,” Abraham replied. “We’re good to go then.”
“Give us an hour and then we’ll switch out. With two sets of eyes on the place, we’ll have a better understanding of what goes on here.” Warren took up position near a large tree while
Grainger climbed up into it.
“Okay, well, holler if you need us,” Fallon stated.
“They will,” Abraham assured her. “Come on, there’s some stuff I want to talk to you about anyway.”
Grainger shook his head. Before this was all over, they’d have Fallon twisted in knots, not knowing which was up. The thought of it pleased him and angered him. Damn it, if I don’t get myself under control soon, I’m going to mess everything up. Then what will I do? He let out a rough breath and stared out over the warehouse, at least for an hour he’d have something mindless to do.
Chapter 6
Fallon glanced at her watch and sighed. Laying in the field of tall grass watching the comings and goings of the warehouse out in the middle of nowhere, left much to be desired. They'd never get the information they needed unless they entered the building. As it was, the place was falling apart. A strong storm could blow the building over and she had a feeling it'd been how they—whoever the baddies were, wanted it to appear.
Who’d come to an abandoned mill? Who’d believe there was a black-market business being run out of the dilapidated place? No one. Unless they had a reason.
She glanced over at Grainger. He lay flat on his belly, high-tech binoculars pressed to his eyes. She needled him earlier. Pushed him to see how far she could go before he’d bite back. She didn’t understand the reasons for it, or why she did it, but every time he opened his mouth, he drove her insane. Just thinking about his smug grin or the way he seemed so matter of fact, had her claws extending.
He got under her skin, questioned everything about her, then hung her mom and dad over her head as though she didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for what happened to them. Then he kissed her. Got all up in her business, made her hot and bothered to the point she would have given over to whatever he had in store for her, and they were interrupted. In the back of her mind, she wondered what she'd have done if they'd been naked. Would she have had sex with the evil vampire, or could she have resisted Grainger? She frowned. Not likely. He got her all hot and bothered. Twisted her insides. Grainger left her more often than not frustrated by her lack of self-control, whether it was her mouth or her body.