“I have connections—connections that I trust. They’re going to put you some place safe while you help them.”
“What about Carissa?”
“The two of you won’t be seeing each other for a while. But it’s time for you to step up to the plate and do the right thing. Make her proud.”
Ronald nodded. “She took something from my office. If she still has it then she can help take a sizable chunk out of their organization. It won’t completely shut them down. They’re too big for that, but it would at least crumble their fortress a little.”
Preston nodded. He had already talked with Alex so he knew there was something of importance that they needed to get Carissa back to find, but he wasn’t going to tell Ronald that he knew that already. There was no need to completely show his cards, not when he still didn’t fully trust the man in front of him.
Chapter Five
“We’ve been here long enough. We have to get ready to leave.” They had been there two and a half weeks and counting. He didn’t want to chance staying there for another week. It was time to get moving. Preston had their next location set and secured now, they needed to move. When he didn’t receive a reply from Carissa he looked up to find her standing there watching him.
Alex looked over the sexy curves of the woman in front of him. This much one-on-one time with her had stretched his restraint to the limits. She was getting around much better than before, and on many occasions she had graced his ears with her laugh. She had the most intoxicatingly beautiful laugh he had heard in a long time. While he wouldn’t profess love for the sexy vixen, he would profess lust. He was lusting after her with a vengeance.
Julian had bought a few clothing items for her before he left, a few summer sundresses to get her by, which she had worn the past couple weeks. But he had also bought the sexiest pair of form fitting, hip-hugging white pants and simple yellow button down that clung to her body in all the right places. Did she have to, out of all the days to wear that outfit, wear it today? Did she have to entice him with every move of her body, every hint of laughter in her voice, or every whispered word that she thought he hadn’t heard? Looking at her standing there in that body flattering outfit was setting him on fire. He had held out this long, but by God he couldn’t hold out any longer. He needed to taste her, touch her, feel her.
Alex pulled Carissa flush against his body, her soft feminine curves melded with his hard angles in a way that increased his need to claim her. Forget the danger, the right and wrong of taking her when she was emotionally torn between the battle of loyalty to her country and loyalty to her father. He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t push himself away from her. He needed to claim her and possess her completely.
He dipped his head, not asking permission, not seeking to seduce her slowly; he claimed her mouth with his, using his tongue to part her lips and there he devoured her. His tongue dueled with hers for domination. It wasn’t enough, it would never be enough. He slipped his fingers into her hair and grasped tight, gently pulling her head back and exposing her to more of his hungry assault. He kissed her passionately, with a fury of a man possessed by uncontrollable desire.
The fires raging within him made him ache with need for release. Right now this was a woman he planned to conquer completely.
His mouth left hers as he trailed succulent kisses over her neck. “Alex,” she moaned as he sucked and kissed and licked at her skin. It wasn’t enough. He needed more, he needed all of her.
He gripped her blouse, ripping it from her body. There was no room for finesses in his touch because he had no control left. He had been watching her move, watching her sleep, watching her breathe and every second of every day had turned his flame higher.
He tore at the buttons on her pants and tugged them down her legs, taking her panties with them. Her moans were setting him on fire. “Step out of them,” he growled and she unsteadily complied. His lips trailed passionate sucking kisses up her thighs and a low growl escaped him as he saw the wound he had wrapped.
“Don’t stop,” she begged.
He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. His need for her was too great. He placed a kiss to her sex, sliding his tongue up her folds and she screamed out his name. Her fingers went to his head as if she were looking for hair she could grab and hold on to. He kept his hair cut low, lower than he wore it in his military days so there wasn’t anything to grab. Her tiny fingers felt so good against his scalp that it edged him on. He licked slowly, methodically, tasting her wetness and listening to her moans of desire.
“Oh God! Alex, please, more!”
He was not going to make her come like this. When she came it was going to be around his shaft, milking him for every drop he had in him. He kissed her stomach, his tongue playing in her taught belly button. He could feel the muscles of her stomach quivering beneath his kisses as his hands gripped her behind and held on tight, squeezing, shaping, molding them as he worked his kisses back up her body.
He didn’t stop until he came to her breasts. The taught nipples called to him and he couldn’t resist acquainting his mouth with her soft flesh. He took one breast in hand and squeezed it as he brought his mouth to it and placed an open mouth succulent kiss on it. He growled low from within him. Just listening to her moans was going to make him come.
He managed the button and zipper on ht is own pants while he sucked on her tender flesh. He pushed his pants down swiftly, letting them pool around his thighs and then he lifted her to his waist. He crushed her mouth with his conquering it while at the same time pushing into her and conquering the rest of her body, claiming it, claiming her.
She held on to him, caressing his shoulders as she kissed him back with desire and need. He wanted complete control—needed it. He pried her hands a loose from his shoulders and he took her wrist in one big hand before pushing her arms above her head and holding them there. She made a muffled moan, but he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t hold back. He rotated his hips, pushing deeper inside of her, thrusting to the hilt as he felt her muscles clenching and squeezing for more of him.
“Alex!” She cried as he thrust into her harder. Her back pushed against the wall as she tried to widen her legs for him.
“Come for me, baby,” he mumbled in her ear. She was so close he could feel her dripping wet around him and he wanted all of her. “Come for me now.” He pushed into her harder, faster, deeper and she came. Her cries of pleasure were loud just as he wanted them to be. She called out his name and begged him for more as he continued to take her body until he released the force of his orgasm inside her.
When they were both spent he could do nothing more than rest against her. Her body held up between the wall and the weight of his big body resting against her.
He felt her shaking hands embrace his shoulders once again and then her arms wrap around him as her head fell against his shoulder.
“Alex,” she whispered. “You feel so perfect. Like we were meant to be like this.”
“Maybe we were,” he admitted. It wasn’t just a lust induced haze. He really meant his words. She felt right; this felt right. He couldn’t be sure. His track record with women being faithful and honest hadn’t been that great, but Carissa seemed honest to him, and he would say she was probably faithful. Maybe this was right; for how long he didn’t know, but for right now it felt right.
“I thought it would hurt more.”
“I hurt you?” His head sprung up fast and hers followed. God, if he had hurt her…if he had gone so caveman Neanderthal on her that he hurt her, he wouldn’t forgive himself that. Being aroused to the burning point was no excuse for being too rough.
“My arm,” she reminded him. “I guess it’s more movable than I thought. Or maybe I was having so much pleasure that I didn’t notice the pain.”
He had forgotten about the fact that a bullet had pierced her arm. He should have remembered that, but he was so far gone that the only thing he was worried about being cautious of was her leg. If he hadn’t been stari
ng at the bandage wrapped around her slender thigh he wouldn’t have remembered that one either. “I’m sorry,” he shook his head. “You’ve been moving around so well I think I forgot about your injuries. You’re healing faster than I thought you would, but I shouldn’t have held your hands over your head like that.”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” she admonished him. “I liked it. Maybe once I’m completely healed we can do that again sometime.”
“Be careful what you give me permission for, Carissa. I just might bring more than you can handle.”
“I’m sure I can handle you just fine,” she kissed his lips softly.
He didn’t want to move, but they had to. They were driving to their next location and getting across the bridge was going to take time; then he had to work his way up through the state of Florida. He could stick to I-95 once he hit it and take it straight up. It would be faster than the toll roads; it would keep them less visible to the cameras as well. Then, once he cleared the state he would make his way to New Mexico.
He pulled out of her and lowered her gently to the floor. “My legs are still shaking,” she laughed flirtatiously. He was glad he had done that to her. He looked forward to doing it again—soon, real soon. He fixed his clothes on his body before helping her with her clothes.
“You tore my shirt,” she scowled at him, but the glint of humor in her eyes told him she didn’t care much.
“Pick another one,” he winked at her. He knew for a fact that Julian had bought two shirts and one tank top. He was sure Carissa could find something to replace the shirt he damaged.
“I’ll get right on top of that.” Her voice was low and laced with sexual innuendo. He surely would like for her to get right on top of something else. He had just had her and already he wanted more of her. She could be dangerous to a man’s productivity.
“I’ll load our transport. We need to get going as soon as possible.”
“Alex,” she stopped before rounding the corner to her room. She didn’t turn around to look at him.
“What is it?”
“Would you…would you think less of me if I told you I’m scared?”
He heard her voice tremble. How could she possibly think that? She had just gone through so much and survived; he couldn’t think less of her. “No,” he finally said. “You’re a fighter, Carissa. But sometimes even fighters get scared. You’re not alone in this. We’re not alone in this.” She had to know he wasn’t walking away and that she had more people than just him ready to fight for her. The entire team was on board—except Julian. Julian was taking some heat for his extracurricular activities. The Air Force had ordered him back to base. He was too close to retirement to risk losing it now. They all understood that he needed to leave and that he might not be available for the next several missions. Usually Preston could smooth things over with the higher ups, but things seemed to be shifting thanks to some political battles and everybody was starting to tread with a high level of caution. For now, Julian would have to take a break. Since their mission now was homebound and they could secure the plane more easily Preston could assign any one of the guys for anywhere they needed to go—except for him. He didn’t know how to fly, not that Jet hadn’t been offering to teach him lately. Maybe he should learn. Maybe he should get his pilot’s license so he could help out in certain situations. Maybe once this assignment was over he would consider getting started. Right now he couldn’t entertain the thought. This was too important to have his attention split in three different directions.
He was focused on keeping her safe, but at the same time he couldn’t deny that her body was tempting him in ways no other woman had tempted him. Micah was more of the rescue and date kind of guy. Alex never thought that would be him, but for some reason, with this woman, he was seriously entertaining the idea. He wouldn’t let his lustful thoughts interfere with his job—at least that’s what he told himself. In reality it already had. He should have put her stuff in the car and been on the road the second she emerged from the bedroom, but instead he decided to take her like a caveman against the wall. They had lost time they couldn’t get back, but he wouldn’t apologize for that. He enjoyed every second of it, but now it was time to focus on the mission—as much as he could anyway. That woman was temptation on legs and there was no way he could completely ignore that.
Hours of driving seemed to be taking a toll on her, but not him. She needed to get out and stretch her legs, but he needed to keep her out of sight so when he stopped at gas stations she stayed in the car with the deeply tinted windows. They couldn’t stop for meals because he couldn’t chance somebody seeing her, recognizing her and letting word of her whereabouts get out; plus, the numerous cameras all over the place posed a risk of catching her on tape.
When it started to get dark he booked a motel room for the night being sure to pay cash for the room. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a place to rest for the night and he needed that. He had done all the driving, not because she hadn’t offered, but because he wouldn’t let her drive.
“Do you like small cars?” She stretched from side to side trying to relieve some of the tension in her body.
“I like sports cars,” he admitted. “That thing is not exactly what I would call the perfect man-car, but it serves the purpose so I can’t complain.” The point was to be as inconspicuous as possible; an older model standard car was definitely a good choice to meet that goal.
“You like to go fast.” She tried to analyze him. He wasn’t sure he liked her trying to analyze him, but he would suppose maybe he had been doing it to her since the moment he rescued her.
“I like to be in control,” his voice was huskier than it should have been. “Of the vehicle, the road, and other things;” he grinned.
“Ah, I see. You’re a dom.”
“And what do you know about that?”
“I’m not two,” she rolled her eyes at him. “I read things too.”
He laughed. “Seriously,” he sat down on the edge of the bed and took in her shapely body. “I’m not a dom to the true sense of the word. I’m all about equal playtime in the bedroom, but I won’t deny that I like to take the helm.”
She chuckled. “Good to know. I don’t mind handing over control to a man who knows what he’s doing—in the bedroom that is, nowhere else; and only sometimes, not all the time.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. She ran her own company, of course she liked being in control of things. “Glad we can agree on that.” He winked at her. “Go get your shower and get some rest.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to keep watch.”
“Sure you don’t want to join me in the shower? Nobody knows we’re here.”
Any other time under any other circumstances and his answer would be yes, but right now was not the time. “Being cautious is better than being dead. You hit the shower first and then I’ll go in and take mine.” He planned to leave the door open so he could hear any suspicious noises and be ready to defend if need be. His gun would be with him in close reach because he wouldn’t take a chance of being caught without it. A five minute shower, at best, was all he would have time for.
“Okay, then I’ll be quick about it so you can go and then get some rest. You drove the entire way here and I know you must be tired.”
He was actually, and being tired could lead to stupid mistakes—mistakes he couldn’t afford to make. The one thing he could say this motel had going for it was that even though it was old and battered it was still clean. He wasn’t worried about taking any bugs or diseases away from this place with him. Still, she was probably used to better. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you in a five star hotel.”
She shrugged. “This isn’t so bad. I went to Florida with a friend of mine before she died and the motel had roaches crawling in the bed. Now that is just the height of gross. We slept in the car that night and then had to find somewhere else to camp after that. It was Spring Break and all the places were full. Of cour
se for a few sexual favors we could have had bunk privileges, but that wasn’t our thing. We ended up finding places to leave the car so we could sleep in it. I thought for sure we would get arrested for some unknown on the books law about sleeping in the car in a public place or something, but we survived.”
“Why didn’t you just go farther north to find a hotel?”
She shrugged. “Young and stupid,” she laughed. “Jojolena was in college and she really wanted the Spring Break experience and that included staying in the heart of Daytona Beach for all the festivities.”
“You weren’t in college?”
“I was finished. She got held back a year in school, and she started a year late because of her birth date, so I finished high school before her and college before her. It was rather sad when she died, but that was a long time ago.”
“How did she die?”
“Car accident. The girl was too into multitasking while she would drive. She was trying to fidget with a map and her attention wasn’t on the road…she ran into a fuel truck.” She sighed. “Horrific way to die don’t you think?”
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