Leaning into his hand, she closed her eyes as the warmth of his palm caressed her face. She felt his other hand come to rest on her waist, gently pulling in so that her body leaned against him. And she made the choice to fall.
* * *
Patrick lifted Evie back into his arms, feeling her legs wrap around his waist. Remembering the way she had greeted him at the door already had his dick hard and ready. Her warm center, now once more pressing against his erection, only made it sweeter this time. Walking toward her bedroom, he let her body slide down his slowly once reaching the bed. Pressed tightly against him, their gazes held for a moment, then her eyes lowered to his shirt, still mostly unbuttoned, and her fingers moved to complete the task.
Pushing the material off his shoulders, she let the shirt hit the floor. Her eyes followed its path and she looked up, concern in her eyes. “Should I…um…hang it up?”
Chuckling, he shook his head, cupping both of her cheeks in his hands. “I think it’s fine if it gets wrinkled. There’s no regulation that says my shirt can’t lie on the floor…especially when it’s gonna be joined by your clothes in about two seconds.”
Her eyes dilated with lust as she lowered her gaze to his muscular chest, prominently displayed in the tight t-shirt. Her fingers traced his abdomen through the material before pulling it from his pants as well. Bunching it up in her hands, she raised it up to his chin before he reached back and snagged it over his head, tossing it onto the floor.
Oh my, God, she thought, seeing his naked chest up close. Seeing it from a distance at the pool had been eye-catching, but this? Her breath whooshed out as her fingers trailed along the ridges of his chest and abdomen. She recognized his dog tags, but it was the silver medallion hanging around his neck that had her curious. Lifting it in her fingers, she read the inscription. St. Patrick.
“My Gramps gave that to me when I graduated from college.”
“It’s lovely,” she admitted, turning the pendant over in her hand.
“St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Engineers.”
At that, her gaze jumped from the emblem to his eyes. “That would make him my Patron Saint as well,” she smiled.
“Gramps taught me that it takes time, patience, and care to build something, and then to protect what I built. He said that I’d be good at that.” Patrick hesitated for a moment, saw her smile and continued, “He also said the same thing would work for people as well as machines.”
“Is that what we’re doing now?” she whispered.
His answer was sealing his lips over hers. Plunging his tongue into her sweetness, he stoked the flames roaring back to life.
Her fingers moved down to his belt, making quick work of it until his hand stilled her motion. He reached down, pulling her t-shirt up, forcing her hands to lift into the air as the garment slid off her body. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of her yoga pants, he slid them down, snagging her panties along the way, as she unhooked her bra and added it to the ever-growing pile of clothes on the floor.
Standing completely naked, she was self-conscious for only a second before seeing the unmasked look of approval and lust on his face. Grinning, she backed up to the bed and sat on the edge. Lifting her feet to the mattress, she scooted herself backward until she was in the center.
Lust now rushing through his body, Patrick toed off his shoes and then jerked off his pants and boxers. Leaning forward as he placed his hands on the mattress, his cock stood at attention, already leaning toward her with a mind of its own. Gotta wait, boy. Gotta take this slow and make it perfect for her.
Crawling over her body, he laid down beside her, his gaze roaming over her perfection from her smooth skin, over her full breasts, down to the treasure at the apex of her thighs. He trailed his hand over her body, feeling the silky smooth skin beneath his calloused fingertips. Her body responded to his touch and he grinned as her hips lifted naturally toward his hand as it slid between her legs.
Leaning over, he left a trail of kisses from her lips to the pulse at the base of her neck, and then down to her luscious breasts. Latching on to one nipple, he licked, tongued, sucked, and nipped at the swollen, sensitive bud.
Evie’s hands grabbed the back of his head and she wished his hair, cut in the traditional short military haircut, was longer so she could grasp it in her fingers. Instead, she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, encouraging him to continue his delicious torture.
Still sucking, he moved one hand down over her slightly rounded belly, to her slick folds. Slowly inserting one digit into her tight channel, he fingered her gently. Crooking deep inside, he knew he had hit the spot he wanted to find as her moans increased. Pulling a taut nipple into his mouth, he sucked hard, giving it a nip before soothing with his tongue.
Evie wanted to throw her head back but forced herself to continue to watch the man hovering over her, making her body sing. She felt every nerve. Every tingle. Every caress and suckle. And thought she would scream with need. Her body taut, she almost lifted from the bed as his thumb circled her clit. The pressure built until with one last tweak of his finger, she burst with electricity pulsating in all directions. He sucked her nipple as her head fell back against the pillow, a moan filling the spinning room.
He felt her inner walls clench, watched her gasp as her body shook with her orgasm and realized he had never seen anything as beautiful as a woman he cared about being pleasured.
Barely able to lift her head, she smiled as he placed his fingers into his mouth, wet with her juices, and sucked them. He moved back up over her body, his lips capturing hers once more. Tasting her essence on his tongue, she felt her womb clench once again and her hips rose in silent invitation.
Smiling, he brushed her damp hair away from her face, leaving a trail of wet kisses from her forehead down along her jaw, her lips captured. Owning the kiss, he plundered, sucked, tasted, taking her breath.
“I need you…now!” she managed to gasp, opening her legs wider.
“Anything for you, baby,” he promised. Rolling to the side, he grabbed a condom that he had tossed to the pillow just before getting onto the bed. Rolling it on, he slid back over her body. With her legs spread for him, he stared down at her glistening sex and seated himself at her entrance.
He wanted to go slow, to savor every feeling, but one look at her lust-filled eyes, and the feel of her soft body underneath his, he lost all resolve. Plunging his erection to the hilt, he stopped as her sudden gasp met his ears. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” he panted, starting to pull out.
“No, no, keep going,” she begged. Evie was no virgin, although her experience was rather limited and it had been a while. And no one was ever this size! The feel of his girth against her tight walls created the perfect friction. God, Yes! her mind screamed, as her hands and legs clasped him tightly to her body, holding as though he would disappear.
He thrust slowly, allowing the moisture to slick her inner walls, easing the passage. As her core began to accept his aching cock, he pumped faster. Feeling her relax slightly underneath him he kissed her, his tongue moving in unison with his dick. Her moans filled his mouth as he moved faster and faster with ease.
Feeling his balls tighten, he slipped his hand down between them, resting his weight on his other bent arm.
All thoughts flew from her mind as the feeling of this man on top of her, joined with her as one, consumed her. The feeling of friction deep inside had every nerve tingling again, and she desperately wanted the sweet bliss she knew was coming. Tighter and tighter she coiled.
Moving his mouth down to suck on her nipple while his fingers clamped down on her swollen clit was all it took to take her over the edge. With her fingernails digging into his back he watched as she screamed out his name, her tight pussy walls clamping down on his dick. He had never liked a woman’s fingernail marks on his back before, not wanting any woman to have a claim once they parted, but this? Fuckin’ yeah. He wanted to wear her marks for all to see, as he looked down at the love
bite he had given her earlier. Both marked. For each other.
With only a few more thrusts he threw his head back, a grimace on his face as his neck corded with the force of his orgasm. Deeper and deeper. Finally, with every drop wrung out, he collapsed to the side, twisting with her in his arms, keeping her tightly in his embrace.
The lust momentarily spent, Patrick’s mind rolled her earlier words over and over. She’d been talking about something at work. Thinking about quitting. Damn, I was so overcome when she came on to me, we never finished talking about what happened.
Her body limp next to his, he glanced down at her face. She looked…well satisfied, he thought, puffing his masculine pride. Her eyes were closed, thick lashes resting on her cheeks. Her well-kissed lips, plump and moist, and opened ever so slightly as her breathing evened. Hating to ruin the moment, he knew something had occurred besides the heart-to-heart phone conversation with her mother. “Evie?”
“Mmmmm,” she replied, her body sated and boneless.
He lifted her chin with his fingers so her eyes met his. “You mentioned something about today and wanting to quit. Did something happen at work?”
She gazed over his shoulder for a moment before sliding her eyes back to his. “I was threatened at work toda—”
“What the fuck?” he shouted, jerking hard while pulling her body in closer.
“No, no, not like that,” she hastened to say. “I mean my job was threatened.”
His fury abated only by a smidgen and he growled, “Evie, I need you to tell me everything.”
Huffing, she said, “You’re not making this easy. I was talking earlier about feelings and you’re getting all alpha macho.” Seeing the unchanging expression on his face, she plunged ahead and explained the morning’s meeting with Gary and Saul. “So essentially, my trying to do something good has now made them re-evaluate whether or not they want me there as an engineer.”
Patrick’s anger had not diminished during her explanation. GMS’ management had him seeing red, but he knew she was continuing to struggle with her emotions so he kept his fury under control. At least until I get a chance to find these assholes!
Chapter 12
Two days later, Evie waited nervously for her guests to arrive. Patrick had sent her address to Monty and the group arriving from Virginia were expected at any moment. Patrick came into the living room, saw her rearranging the magazines on the end table and walked over, placing his large hand on hers.
“Baby, it’s gonna be—”
She jumped as the doorbell rang. Casting an uneasy glance his way, she offered a tremulous smile.
Squeezing her hands, they walked to the door together. The room filled with the three large men who entered, along with Patrick’s beautiful sister. It did not take long for Evie to wonder why she had ever been concerned.
Angel rushed to sweep Evie into a huge hug, warm and sincere. “I’m so glad to meet someone who’s so perfect for my brother. He’s told us so much about you!”
Evie’s eyes widened as she peered over Angel’s shoulder to Patrick and was met with his wide grin. Pulling back, she took in the fun appearance of his sister. Her long blonde hair was streaked with pink, purple, and teal stripes. She looked like a cupcake—exactly as he had described.
Angel’s fiancé, Monty, introduced himself with a smile before throwing his arm around Angel. Marc, introduced as the pilot, was even larger than Patrick, and with his rugged handsomeness and thick beard, looked like he would be more at home in a cabin in the mountains. Then came Cam, an even larger Hispanic man, with an easy smile.
As the group moved into the living room, the doorbell sounded again. Opening the door, Evie was greeted by Dude and his wife Cheyenne, a soft-spoken, brunette beauty. She and Patrick had met them for dinner the evening before and Patrick invited them over for the planning. Hugging them both, she watched as Dude immediately integrated with the other men as if he had known them for years. She turned toward the women, introducing Cheyenne to Angel.
The five men sat down and began planning their evening activities. Evie wanted to hear what they were saying but felt her hostess duties included getting lunch ready for everyone.
Angel grinned and patted her shoulder. “I’ll grab the drinks while you listen. Just tell me what to set out and you can stay.”
Cheyenne agreed, saying, “Angel and I’ll take care of everything. You go on in.”
Shooting them a grateful look, she responded, “The chicken salad and roast beef slices are in the refrigerator. I was going to set them out with the potato salad, chips, and slaw.”
“Got it, sweetie,” Angel grinned and headed into the kitchen, arm in arm with Cheyenne.
Evie listened carefully to what the men were saying, but it soon became evident that she had no clue what they planned. Military terms were being bandied about, but she discerned that Patrick and the others would be breaking into the warehouse that evening and gathering information from the computers, in the hope that it would lead them back to the culprit at GMS.
Her stomach clenched at the thought and a gasp escaped before she could control her breathing. The men’s gazes all jumped to her in concern.
“Babe—” Patrick said, starting to stand.
“No, no,” she said quickly, holding her hand up. Looking at the men, she blushed. “I’m sorry. It just really hit me that this is happening.” Seeing their questioning expressions, she hastened to explain. “I’ve been in the middle of this mess for weeks now and just recently…” her eyes cut to Patrick’s, “had my job threatened if I don’t stop trying to find out what happened—”
“What the fuck?” Cam growled, leaning forward in his seat, his eyes piercing hers.
Dude cast his gaze between Evie and Patrick, a glower on his face matching the other men’s.
Giving a little shrug, she looked back over at Patrick, seeing his warm expression on her. “Let’s just say that it gave me a lot to think about.”
Monty spoke up, “Patrick, Evie. We can stop this right now. We don’t have to do anything. No problem, no worries. None of us want you to lose your job over this.”
Smiling at his sincerity, she shook her head. “No, I want you here. I thought about it and I’m not afraid of losing my job. In fact, if that’s the kind of place GMS is, then it makes me question whether I want to continue my employment there anyway.” Looking at each person in the room, almost giving in to a nervous giggle at the sight of the four large men settled in her small living room, “All I meant was just that it hit me how real this is. But please, continue. I want to get to the bottom of this.”
With a grin toward Patrick and catching his wink, she moved to the kitchen to help Angel and Cheyenne. “I should apologize,” she said, “leaving you in my kitchen to fix lunch.”
Laughing, Angel replied, “Oh, sweetie, I’ve been where you are! I was threatened a few months ago and believe me, Monty would have moved heaven and earth to get to the bottom of it. He and all the Saints.”
“Same here,” Cheyenne admitted, with a smile. “They’re just like Dude and his SEAL brothers.”
“Sounds like an interesting group of men,” Evie said thoughtfully.
“None better,” Angel enthused. “And Patrick will fit right in with the Saints. Dedicated, inquisitive, intelligent, and throw in a bit of an alpha when it comes to his woman!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say I’m his woman—”
“Evie, you don’t know it yet, but you already are!”
Her eyes jumped to Angel’s and Evie bit the corner of her lip. “I confess, I didn’t want to have anything to do with him when I found out he was in the military, and then again when he said he was moving to Virginia.”
Angel’s gaze softened and she turned from her task, setting down the bowl she had been carrying. “I’m sure that was hard. Afterall, your life is here. Have you thought about what you want to do? Try a long-distance relationship?”
Shaking her head, Evie said, “I don’t think that wou
ld work, do you? I mean, we’re talking about California and Virginia…opposite sides of the country.” Glancing back into the living room, she watched as Patrick enthusiastically planned the mission with the others. “I could never hold him back from this,” she admitted. Turning back to Angel, she said, “I guess I’ll just have to figure out exactly what I’ll do. But I know one thing,” she grinned, “I’m crazy about your brother.”
Smiling, the women finished the simple lunch and took it into the living room, listening as the men continued to plan.
* * *
That night, dressed all in black with a cap pulled over his blond hair, Patrick got his first up-close view of Cam’s breaking and entering skills and was amazed. Damn the man is good! Missions in the Special Forces often involved the same skills, but from what he understood, Cam’s were developed as a youth in a gang in El Paso, Texas. Grinning, he quietly followed the big man as they made their way down the back alleys of the dock warehouses. He watched as Cam easily by-passed the security system, with Luke’s assistance from back in Virginia and Marc’s technical skills as well.
Walking through the barely-lit halls, they quickly entered offices and hooked up their specialized thumb drives to the computers, allowing Luke to essentially be able to read anything that had been placed on the hard drives.
While Monty and Cam worked with the computers, Marc and Patrick did a search of the large warehouse. Moving amongst the tall wooden crates, they found nothing out of the ordinary. Patrick stood for a moment and whispered, “You know, if this warehouse company were part of the black market, they’d be using more than one distributor.” With his hand resting on one of the crates, he said, “I wonder what’s in these?”
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Love (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Saints Protection & Investigations Book 7) Page 9