He dropped his mouth to her ear. “You’re so soft and beautiful. I could spend hours exploring your gorgeous body. And once we put our troubles behind us, I will do just that. For now, I’ll settle for making you come.”
“Yes.” She wanted to come by a hand not her own. It had been so long.
Booker worked her zipper and slipped his hand into her panties. “Dios mio. You’re so wet.”
Ellie shook and groaned as his thick finger slid between the lips of her sex. Her hips jerked as his finger whispered over her clit, then slid down to circle her entrance. Up and back. Up and back.
Tension coiled in her belly.
Not enough.
She turned her head, searching for his face. Seeming to know what she needed, his mouth covered hers. Their tongues tangled as his fingers played with her sex.
“Slide your jeans down, baby,” he muttered against her mouth. “Give me room to work.”
She lifted her hips to follow his command and gasped as his finger slid inside her. “How am I supposed to do that with your hand down my pants?”
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Couldn’t resist.” He pulled his hand away. “Go ahead.”
His gaze lowered as she hooked her thumbs under the waistband of her jeans. She shoved them, along with her panties, down and worked one leg free. She rolled to face him. She threw a leg over his hip, opening herself up for whatever he wanted to do to her.
He didn’t waste time. He reached between their bodies and pushed his finger back inside her. He pumped once and added another finger.
Ellie captured his mouth in a kiss so fierce it left them both panting.
Booker added a third finger and she hissed at the stretch. She rocked her hips and focused on relaxing around him.
“That’s it, Ellie. Work yourself on my fingers. Christ, you’re perfect. You make me forget everything except how badly I want to be inside you.”
Yes, yes, yes!
“Do it. I want you there.”
His thumb pressed against her clit and she shattered. Her body shook and clamped around the fingers that continued to move within her as liquid fire traveled through her veins. The room spun, but Booker’s hold on her kept her from floating away.
He kissed her cheek, her nose, her eyelids. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. Mi querida. I’ve missed you.”
Ellie trailed her hands down his chest. She curled her fingers around the waistband of his jeans. “We’re not done.”
His sigh was tortured. “We are for now. I don’t have a condom. I didn’t exactly plan for this to happen.”
“You don’t need one. I’m clean and protected. Unless…”
His jaw twitched. “I’m clean, but I’m still not going to fuck you.”
She cupped his erection through his jeans and squeezed. “Are you sure about that?”
He caught her wrist. “You’re not helping.”
She squeezed him again, drawing a groan from his throat. “Good. I’m not trying to help unless it’s to get you unzipped. Please, Booker. You need to come and I need you to be inside me when you do. Please.”
“Damn you.” Booker tore at the fastening on his jeans. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go down.”
Ellie couldn’t hide the smile that spread her lips.
#
Booker glanced at the door.
He shouldn’t be doing this. He should tuck his aching dick back into his pants and get off the bed.
There were two good reasons he didn’t. The first was the confidence he had that they were safe for the night. They hadn’t been followed and no one knew where they had stopped, not even Brandon.
The second reason was the wet, pink flesh waiting to be filled and the sound of his Ellie’s pleas that he get on with it.
Watching her come had ranked in the top five of the greatest things he’d ever seen. He would be hard pressed to decide on the other four, but sure as shit each one involved his gorgeous wife. Yeah, wife. Fuck what the law said. He didn’t need a piece of paper to know he would love this woman his entire life.
I didn’t want out.
Ellie hadn’t wanted the divorce. He hadn’t wanted the divorce.
Hope blossomed within his chest, fragile and delicate and groggy from sleep.
Twelve years was a long time. They would have to get to know each other again, which was a ridiculous thought when he was about to fuck the daylights out of her.
One thing at a time. There was no rush.
“Booker? Is everything okay?”
Ellie rolled onto her back. She opened her legs and dropped her knees to the sides. She teased a finger over the bare, wet lips of her pussy.
Okay, maybe there was a little rush.
“Yeah, baby. Everything’s good.” And because he couldn’t resist, he shoved her hand out of the way. He bent and swiped the flat of his tongue through her slit.
She gasped and the upper half of her body jerked up from the bed. “Oh my god.”
“Sweet Jesus, you taste like the sweetest fucking candy.” He took another taste. Fuck. So good. If he didn’t stop now, he’d spend the next hour feasting between her legs.
Soon, he promised.
“Come to the edge of the bed, Ells.” He shoved his jeans and underwear down to his thighs and fisted his engorged cock. “This is going to be fast and furious.”
He was confident, not stupid. Until the threat was identified and eliminated there was always a risk, and he didn’t want to get caught with his pants down—literally.
Her eyes widened as she watched him stroke. Her rapt attention made it impossible for him to form words so he tapped her leg to get her moving.
She scrambled to the edge of the bed, jeans and panties still hanging off one leg. His were around his thighs. Her tank top and bra were rucked up over her breasts and he still had on his T-shirt. He was a fucking animal taking her this way. She deserved so much more than a quick fuck in a motel room.
“Stop thinking so hard. I don’t care about anything except you being inside me. And maybe that you lose the shirt.” Ellie bit her lip and stared at his chest. “Yeah, take that off so I can see your tattoo.”
Booker reached back and pulled the shirt over his head. He tossed it onto the bed. He fell over her, catching himself with a hand on the bed in time to prevent landing on her.
Her fingers danced over the eagle on his chest. “It’s gorgeous. When did you get it?”
Booker ran his fisted cock up and down her sex, coating his head with her arousal. “Six years ago.”
She shuddered when he hit her clit, causing her tits to jiggle. Yeah. He wasn’t going to last five seconds once he got inside her.
She traced one of the loose feathers inked on his chest. She trailed to the ones on his biceps and explored those too. “Is there a significance to the feathers?”
He licked his fingers and shoved them between her legs. Not that she needed the extra moisture. She was slick and ready for him. He lined up with her entrance, pressed in.
“One for every man lost from my battalion,” he told her through his teeth. God, she was hot. And tight. Even as wet as she was, he couldn’t slam home without hurting her.
Her breath hitched. “There are so many,” she whispered.
“Can we talk about my tat later, Ells?” Fuck. “I need you to relax. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re not hurting me. You promised me fast and furious.” She wrapped her legs around his ass. “Give me that.”
If his woman wanted fast and furious…
Using quick, short strokes, he worked his way into her. Once she’d taken most of him, he reared back and slammed home. Home.
“You okay?”
“Perfect.” She reached down and touched him where they were joined, making him see stars.
“Damn right, you are.”
He kissed her hard and straightened. He slipped his arms under her knees and tugged her tighter against him. She was so tight, so hot a
round him, he nearly lost his mind.
Over and over he drove into her. His Ellie. His wife was in his arms once again, and this time, he refused to fuck it up.
She cried out a second before her body clamped around him like a vice. A garbled noise tore from his own throat as he came hard enough to blur his vision.
Sweaty and panting, Booker released her legs, chuckling when they dropped like wet noodles. Bracing himself on his hands, he leaned down and kissed her.
She smiled. “Please tell me we can do that again.”
Booker laughed, his chest feeling lighter than it had in years. “Anytime you want, querida. Any. Time.”
Chapter Eight
“How do you do this all day long?” Booker complained. “Dios mio. I’m gonna need a gallon of coffee to get through the next batch.”
Ellie laughed, her fingers flying over the keyboard as Owen Jennings’ voice filled the cab of the truck. She’d been working on and off for most of the day, thanks to Alec Martin’s technological expertise and Noah’s secure wifi device. Booker wanted to listen to the files anyway, so Ellie had decided to kill two birds with one stone. Regardless of what they found—which so far had been nothing unusual—she needed the income from transcribing the audio files.
Alec had worked his magic and downloaded the software to the laptop Booker said belonged to Noah, a former Marine who had served with him along with Roman, Sully, Ketcher, Brandon, and Adam. She couldn’t remember their last names, but Booker had told her all about the guys and how Ketcher’s girlfriend Regan dubbed them the deadly seven.
The nickname made Ellie nervous. It implied Booker had skills she couldn’t conceive. That the generous, loving man she had been married to was now a deadly force to be reckoned with.
He hadn’t answered her about killing the man who had hit him on the head, but Ellie suddenly had no doubt the man had died by Booker’s hands. The same hands that had given her pleasure last night.
The dichotomy between the two sides of him was staggering and she was struggling to wrap her head around it.
“What’s the deal with this guy, anyway?” Booker asked.
Ellie stopped the recording. She’d missed the last couple of minutes anyway and would have to go over it again. “What do you mean?”
“When did you start working for him?”
“Ten years ago.”
“Have you always worked from home?”
“No. I was Owen’s administrative assistant for the first two years.”
“What happened during year three?”
Ellie automatically reached for the locket around her neck. She thumbed the warm metal.
“My mom got sick. ALS.” Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease with no cure.
The initial prognosis hadn’t been good. Five years, max, they’d said. Her mom had survived for eight.
When it became obvious her mom would need a full-time caregiver, Ellie gave up her apartment and moved back home. By then her mom had bought a modest house in a quiet Austin suburb. Ellie still lived there, but the house had become part of her mother’s estate after she died. Her mom didn’t have insurance of any kind and medical expenses had driven up the debt. At this point, Ellie wasn’t sure if she would get to keep the house. “She died six months ago.”
“Oh, baby,” Booker took her hand and raised it to his lips. The gentle kiss he placed on her knuckles melted her heart. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Ellie hadn’t spoken to anyone about the years of taking care of her mother. Before she knew it, words were flowing out of her mouth.
“You knew my mom. She provided enough to keep the authorities from taking me away, but she wasn’t big on affection and time. We were never close and her illness made her bitter. The first few years were the worst. She hated everything and everyone. She complained about the doctors and nurses. I couldn’t do anything right. She threw things. She lashed out and yelled constantly.”
Ellie hated herself for it, but it was almost a relief when her mom deteriorated to the point she couldn’t use her arms or voice box anymore.
“Why didn’t you put her in a facility tailored to the kind of care she needed?”
“She was all I had. I might not have had a perfect childhood, but it could’ve been worse. I couldn’t turn my back on her. She provided for me when she didn’t have to.”
“The fuck she didn’t. Ells. She was your parent. That’s the very definition of have to.”
“I agree with you, but my father didn’t see it that way. He took off and never looked back. My mom could’ve done that, too, but she didn’t. And it wasn’t all bad. She made an effort to be there for me after you and I got married. She helped me decorate the house after you deployed. It wasn’t much, and she never stayed for more than an hour or two, but it was more than she’d done in the past.”
Ellie swallowed hard, hoping she hadn’t disrupted the peaceful ease between them by bringing up the past.
Booker squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’m glad she was there for you, if only to rearrange furniture. A lot of the guys used to talk about how hard deployment was on the wives and families. I should’ve made sure my parents were there for you.”
“If I remember correctly, they had their hands full with Annabel.” Booker’s younger sister had been a terror after he joined the military.
“Anna’s poorly timed rebellion was no excuse. I should’ve paid more attention. Been more sensitive to what you were going through. I am sorry, Ells.”
“Thank you, but you don’t need to keep apologizing. I forgave you last night.”
He shot her a wink. “And again in the shower this morning.”
Her thighs clenched at the reminder and she shot him a look. Had it only been a day and a half since he’d come back into her life? It felt as though they’d never been apart.
“Annnyway,” she said. “We were talking about Owen and why I started working from home. Mom had no income, so I had to keep my job. I explained the situation and Owen was happy to accommodate. I took over all of the transcription duties for the office, since that was the only task the firm needed that I could do remotely. It wasn’t easy, but eventually I adjusted to living on little sleep.”
Even now she had trouble sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a time.
“Owen was very patient during those first months while I found my way. He’s been good to me, all things considered.”
“All what things considered?”
Ellie shrugged, not sure where to begin. She had struggled to transition into a world where there was no one to care for but herself. For a few weeks, she hadn’t tried. She stuck to the same routine, using the time she would’ve spent caring for her mom to rid the house of her mom’s illness. She returned medical equipment and tossed leftover supplies. She cleaned. Rearranged rooms. All the while dealing with the legalities that came with the loss of a loved one.
Legalities Owen had offered to help her through. Owen had been more than her boss. He encouraged her to get out of the house. He took her out for coffee. He’d been a friend. A confidante.
Until everything changed.
“After Mom died, I didn’t know what to do. There were so many debts. Owen offered to handle all of the legal aspects of Mom’s estate, and I said yes. I knew Owen felt more for me than I did for him, but it was innocent, you know?”
“How innocent?”
“For years, he didn’t proposition me or do anything to make me uncomfortable. He was … friendly. He checked up on me. He tried to help with Mom, but that’s where I drew the line. He was my boss, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to have someone who cared.”
Booker kept his gaze on the highway. A muscle in his cheek twitched. “And then what happened?”
“About a month after Mom died, Owen changed. He became more demanding, more possessive. He wanted to know where I was and who I was with. He started making declarations and referring to our lives together. I hum
ored him to a point, because I need my job, but I immediately began searching for new employment.”
“Humored him how?”
Booker’s calm, quiet tone made her shiver. Instinct told her to tread lightly.
“I went to dinner with him on occasion. I answered his questions about my schedule, because I didn’t see the point in not. I didn’t balk if he put his hand on my lower back and guided me through a restaurant. But that’s as far as it went. Whenever he tried to kiss me or pull me into a hug, I resisted. In the last few weeks, his insistence has grown to an uncomfortable level.”
“You think he will stop taking no for an answer.”
It wasn’t a question, but Ellie answered anyway. “That’s my fear, yes. He’s arrogant. I have no doubt he believes he will have me whether I want him or not.”
“You think he would rape you? A man with lofty political aspirations?”
“He’s also a highly intelligent, well-respected attorney with a list of powerful clients. I’m just a typist. Do you think anyone would take my word over his?” Ellie shoved her fingers through her hair. “I want to believe he wouldn’t hurt me, but I just don’t know.”
“He’s not going to hurt you, Ells. I promise you that. And no matter what we find on those flash drives, you might as well go on and give notice. You’re done working for that prick.”
She sighed. “It’s not that simple.”
“The hell it isn’t.”
Ellie turned in her seat to face him. “I’m going to quit—”
“Good.”
“—But not before I find another job.”
“Ellie—”
She put a hand up, cutting him off. It had been bothering her since last night and she had to get this off her chest.
“I don’t know what’s going on between us, but at some point soon I’ll have to go back to Austin. I have responsibilities and I need to work. And there’s my mom’s estate to consider. Like it or not, Owen is the gatekeeper of information until I can make other arrangements. If I end up losing the house, I’ll have to pack everything and figure out where I’m going to live.”
The details were overwhelming. She took a deep breath. “I will quit. I will. But like I said, it’s complicated.”
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