by KyAnn Waters
She stopped running and turned toward him. “Yes, but where are we going?”
“Southeast.” They needed to continue moving away from the Evenson compound. “We’re about twenty miles from the coast. I think we should stay in the shelter of the trees until first light, and then make our way out. Once in the open, we’re going to need to stay low. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out where we’re going.”
“Then why not hurry, get the hell out of here, and hide in the nearest beach community until Frank can send someone for us?”
“Because I think our best option is to seek shelter out here.”
Tory put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “Well, this isn’t a dictatorship. I’m heading for the coast. I think using the canopy of night as cover makes more sense.”
“Look, I know you’re scared.”
She snorted and clawed her hair from her face. “I was scared in the house, and when we were being chased by dogs and bad guys across the yard. I don’t hear dogs baking now. Whoever was shooting at us, for now, is not on our tail. I’m not scared. I’m planning. We should use the few tools we have at our disposal. The gun and my shoe spikes aren’t going to protect us from the creepy, crawling things out here. This is Louisiana, Quinn. They have alligators in Louisiana.” She narrowed her eyes. “And don’t call me princess. It’s hot and humid. I’m dirty, tired, and pissed. Yesterday I was at my beach house, and today, I’m in a marsh.”
“Cinderella undercover.”
She choked and spit a bug from her mouth. “Keep up if you can, but I’m getting the hell out of here.”
* * * *
She didn’t know if he would follow her. God, she hoped he followed her as she stumbled along. The quarter moon peeked between the trees, but certainly didn’t light her way. She simply took direction from the night sky.
A screech echoed through the scrub. Whack! She smacked her arm, squishing a mosquito. Stay in the thicket? Because of all the bugs, she was ready to run to the coast. She tracked through the pungent-smelling peat.
“That jump from the balcony was impressive.”
Enough minutes had passed that she startled at the sound of his voice. “The motivation was strong. I’m glad the mission was successful.” She watched her step as she walked along dryer, mossy ground.
He snorted. “We’ll see when we get back to D.C.”
She nodded and stepped over a branch. “It was harried there for a minute.” Would he comment about what had happened between them? She desperately wanted to know if she meant anything to him. At the same time, she didn’t want to hear she was just part of the assignment.
And if he still had feelings for her, how come he’d left?
“What are you thinking about?” The deep timbre of his voice seeped into her psyche and sought the part of her heart that she thought she’d hardened to him. But like the soft peat beneath her feet, she could feel herself sinking deeper.
“I’m wondering why you left me. I know you weren’t happy to see me today. I wonder what I did to chase you away, and if you couldn’t get away from me fast enough, why didn’t you pretend in Rick’s bedroom? You didn’t have to fuck me to make the scene believable.” She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t lie to his face, but she’d wanted their encounter to be more than part of the assignment. “I didn’t enjoy being your escort.” It was the closest she could go to the truth. She enjoyed being his partner…his lover.
He didn’t answer, so she stopped walking and turned to him.
“I’m an ass. I never should’ve left the way I did.” He closed the space between them. “I swear, when I left that morning, I had every intention of returning.”
Her heart pounded. Not just because of his proximity, which always caused a flutter in her chest, but because she was finally hearing an explanation as to why he’d broken her heart.
He growled and ran his hands through his hair. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Man up, Quinn. You’re Echelon Shield elite. You’re always called to do the unpleasant.”
“Nothing about us has ever come close to unpleasant.” He was on her in a flash, his hands in her hair, mouth on hers. His kiss was punishing in intensity, and his desire sucked the air from her lungs. He pushed her back against the thick, moist bark of a tree and thrust his hand into the plunging neckline of her dress. His rough palm rasped against her nipple.
“Is this what you want?” His heated breath warmed her skin. Then his hot tongue licked her neck, sucked her flesh, and gently bit.
“Yes, damn you.” She yanked his hair, forcing his mouth back to hers as she cupped his stiffening cock with her other hand. She kissed him wildly, forcing her tongue into Jaron’s mouth, demanding an answering response just as heated as hers.
Jaron moaned, delving between her lips.
“I want you to want me as much as I want you.” She lowered the zipper on his trousers and slipped her hand between the stiff material and his velvet skin. Then she inched lower, tunneling her fingers into the silken hairs around his cock until she grasped his thick shaft in her fist.
Jaron ripped his mouth from hers and drew a ragged breath, hissing through clenched teeth as he exhaled. The fly of his trousers gaped, freeing his erection. Smooth skin stretched tight over a solid iron rod. Moisture seeped from the broad, swollen crown. She dragged her thumb over the slit, spreading his hot juices around the pulsing, gleaming head.
Grasping the hem of her dress, he yanked it up. His fingers delved into the front of her panties. He cupped her mound, parted her soaked inner folds with the blunt edge of his finger, and then slid deep into her weeping pussy.
“Never question how much I want you. Fuck, Victoria, all I think about is you.” He thrust a second finger inside her and scissored them, stretching her channel. A gush of cream flooded his hand. She couldn’t help responding to him. He knew her too well, knew how to touch her, and how to fuck her. He pulled his fingers from her body. She tugged on the edge of her panties and pushed them to the side. Once exposed, she wrapped one foot around Jaron’s calf. Arching her hips, she rubbed her pussy against his shaft.
Jaron placed his hands under her thighs and lifted. She locked her ankles behind his back. Bracing her against the tree, he grabbed his cock and poised the head at the entrance of her channel. “I haven’t been with anyone else.”
She widened her eyes and stared into the darkened depths of his. “Why?”
“I fucked up.”
“Echelon ops don’t fuck up.”
“I never should have left that morning.” He drove home, stuffing her full of his shaft. “Never should have left you.” He retracted, and then plunged again. “I should have told Amine I loved you.”
Her nails dug into his shoulders, leaving half moons in his bronzed flesh. She didn’t understand. What did Amine have to do with them? Tears burned behind her eyes. She snapped them closed. Jaron had loved her. The question was how did he feel now?
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his. Parting them, she filled his mouth with her tongue, mimicking the thrust of his cock as he stretched her channel. Expressing all she felt for him, she poured her soul into the kiss.
Cupping her buttocks, his fingers kneaded her flesh, sliding under the string of her thong, lifting her higher and bringing her down on his rod. Muscles bunched in his corded arms. His trousers hung loose around his thighs as he squatted and arched higher. His cock slammed unbelievably deeper. Again and again. Veins popped on Jaron’s forehead and on his arms. His shoulders stiffened beneath her fingers. However, his strength didn’t wane. He held her steady and pounded into her in fast, full strokes.
Small tremors built. Walls rippled, and her orgasm washed over her. She cried out. “Yes. Oh, you feel so good. Fuck me, Jaron. Just fuck me.” Waves of pleasure contracted her core, clamoring for Jaron, and holding him tight.
His neck stretched, jaw clenched, and he came. Slick pressure gripped him in her sheath and sucked him deeper. He’d
always been an amazing lover. His body fit hers perfectly. After their night of espionage and danger, the heightened awareness of what she held in her arms crashed through her mind. He’d walked away once. She wouldn’t lose him again.
The storm of their joining ebbed. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’ve missed you.” He dipped his head and caught her small sigh of pleasure with his lips.
Victoria curled her fingers into his hair and held him close. She placed tender kisses on his lips, the tip of his nose, and his closed eyes. “You can put me down now.” She smiled and slid down his body until her feet touched the ground. “We should get going if we want to make the coast before first light.”
Jaron chuckled and swatted her buttocks. “As always, the tenacious Victoria Rosso is determined to have her way.”
She groaned, righted her panties, and tugged down her dress. “Mosquito bites on the butt would be a real pain in the ass.” She laughed at her joke.
Jaron shook his head. “Let’s go.”
Energized from the crazy sex against the tree, Victoria nearly jogged in a southeast direction. With every step, the comforting sounds of Jaron running alongside her eased her concerns. Lowlands were nesting grounds for alligators, snakes, spiders, and a dozen other creatures. It seemed they’d avoided the dangers of Maxwell Evenson, but traded up for the dark and dangerous marsh.
“How’re you doing?” he asked.
“Good. How far do you think we’ve gone?”
Jaron glanced at his watch. “We’ve been moving steadily for about ninety minutes.” She knew he could’ve covered twice the distance if he were on his own. His SEAL training prepared him for just this scenario. Victoria, on the other hand, worked in high heels and lipstick. “Five miles, maybe a little farther.”
She groaned. “And you said we’re twenty miles from the coast.”
He winked. “Now I’d say less than fifteen.”
She set a better pace for endurance. “We should’ve eaten dinner before we moved on the plan.”
“We didn’t have a plan.”
She pushed a vine out of the way and ducked under a branch. “That, too, wouldn’t be my fault.”
Jaron followed behind her. “Of course not. I specifically said to stay at the party and mingle.”
Okay, so he had a point on that. But the end result was the same. They’d accomplished the assignment. Her stomach growled, and Jaron laughed.
Chapter Four
Jaron and Victoria walked for hours, listening to the night sounds, with, thankfully, the light of a full moon and without company from Evenson’s security team. Jaron had to give Victoria credit. At this point, she had the better plan. They’d left the darkest part of the thicket about fifteen minutes before. The ground was rocky, and the cooler breeze of the ocean stirred the fronds of the tall palm trees.
Coastal communities dotted the Louisiana shoreline. However, he hadn’t seen any indication they were nearing a populated area. Then the tree line parted. In the distance, the roar of surf crashed against the shore. Under the cover of darkness, he hadn’t realized how close they were to the beach.
“Jaron, there’s no one around.”
Shells bit into the bottom of his sore feet. High tide had receded into the ocean, leaving piles of kelp and splinters of woods. No lights were visible up or down the bay’s shoreline.
“We need to keep moving. We’ll stay in the shelter of the trees.” Maxwell would have his helicopter searching up and down the coastal inlets. While they had the night, they’d be safe. An hour from now, predawn glow would reflect off the water and they’d be open targets. He couldn’t let that happen.
His throat was parched, and his stomach rumbled. He appreciated that Victoria hadn’t complained. She’d stayed focused. They hadn’t made record time. But under the circumstances—barefoot, hungry, dirty, and scared as hell—she was amazing.
“We need to find a phone.”
“Agreed.” He fell into step beside her.
“Really? Wow, I think this is a first. No argument.” She laughed and skipped ahead a few paces. The moist ocean air and the pounding surf lightened his mood and, obviously, Victoria’s, too.
“Won’t happen often, so enjoy it.”
Her mouth dropped. “Are you saying I only have moments of brilliance?”
“Never.” He caught up with her and pulled her into his arms. “I think you are brilliant. Just don’t let it go to your head.”
She averted his eyes and plucked at the filthy fabric of his shirt. “You’re messing with my head.” She lifted her face. “I can’t do this again.”
He smirked and trailed his hands to her heart-shaped ass. “Not do me again?”
She swatted his hands and stepped out of his arms. “When I said I can’t do this again, I wasn’t implying sex.”
He huffed.
“Apparently I’m unable to say no to you. This time I am implying sex.” She wiped a damp tendril of hair from her cheek. “I can’t believe in us and then too late, discover it’s just me.”
“Victoria—”
“No, I think we’ve said enough for now. We need to get the hell out of here and finish this mission. A lot has happened in the last twenty-four hours. We both need time to think.”
“I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. Trust me. This is another one of my moments of brilliance. Right now, until we get back to D.C—to ES—we’re still on assignment.”
This was his fault. He’d fucked up when he’d left. Amine had been worried about her future, about Jaron’s commitment to a relationship when contentment had never been easy for him. Echelon Shield gave him an outlet. He didn’t exist within the conformity of acceptable society, although he didn’t fit the definition of mercenary, either.
The months he’d been Victoria’s lover were the most normal months of his life. Normal for him was undercover assignments infiltrating the lairs of the scourge of society—drugs and gun runners, terrorists, and assassins. She was the only beauty in his life. And he’d been able to share the ugly parts of his life with her. She understood him, understood his work with ES because she followed the same path.
He slipped his hand into hers and started walking. “That morning Frank called me in. He had the helicopter standing by. Said I’d be home before you woke.”
Chances were that Victoria would feel betrayed by Frank’s interference. Frank hadn’t been trying to hurt her, but protect her from a life that would mimic the nightmare she’d experienced as a child. Her mother died in a car accident when she was an infant, and her father had been career military…until he and Frank had decided there was a time for vigilantly justice and the military didn’t provide the means for them to run their own operations.
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
He squeezed her hand. “Because Frank painted a picture of us that I wasn’t ready for.”
“Damn you! That’s bullshit, and I don’t buy it. You’re the elite, Jaron Quinn. You’re supposed to be ready for anything. I’m a grown woman, an Echelon op, and capable of deciding whom I sleep with. And if there was any future picture—and that’s a big if—why would Frank interfere?” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m sure in your brilliant reasoning, you can think of something.”
“Because he loves you.”
“No shit. I’m practically his daughter.”
“But I never told him that I love you!”
A puff of sand exploded near Victoria’s foot. “What the hell was that?”
“Get down!” Jaron plowed into her, taking her to the ground and rolling several feet. “Gunfire.” He yanked his weapon from his pocket and clicked off the safety.
Digging his elbows into the ground, keeping his body as flat as possible, he clambered to gain a better visual. Another bullet exploded into the sand. Shit, that was close—too close.
He couldn’t get a shot off. In the distance, the target moved from tree to tree.
“I see only one.” Victoria took
position beside him.
“The odds won’t be in our favor for long. I can’t get a good shot off from here, and I don’t have enough ammo to risk a miss.”
“Then we run.” Victoria backed away from their position, moving deeper into the trees.
Jaron waited until the target exposed himself, then he squeezed off a shot. The man dodged behind a tree, and Jaron took off like the hounds off hell were at his heels.
Twigs snapped beneath his feet. Like Victoria, he ran as if his life depended upon it—because it did, and so did hers.
They rounded a bend, and Victoria gasped. A small cottage sat nestled in the trees, overlooking the gulf waters.
“We can’t go in.”
ES policy stated to never risk civilians. Dim light filtered through the curtains, and bright-colored beach towels hung over the porch railing.
“Look.” Jaron pointed to the water’s edge. A small sailboat was tethered to a private dock. He could sail them to safety if they made the fifty-yard sprint to the moorings. They’d be easy targets in the open. Not to mention gunfire would bring the civilians out of the house.
Victoria bent at the waist and gulped air. “I don’t see an alternative.”
Jaron crouched close to the ground. “We wait here. We’re dead out in the open.” He checked the clip in his gun. “We’ve got one chance. I’ll take out the target. We run like hell to the boat.”
With Evenson’s henchman, they’d be lucky to reach the dock.
Adrenaline pumped though his veins. Sweat beaded on his brow and upper lip. The gun was steady in his hand, his finger on the trigger. He focused and became one with his surroundings. The breeze off the ocean whispered through the grass. Gulls squawked as they hovered above the roaring surf rolling in and crashing against the spongy shore. Moonlight rippled off the dark blue waters. Inhale through the nose, exhale. He relaxed and allowed his eyes to adjust to the natural movement around him, waiting for the target to reveal himself.
Victoria crouched beside him. Her even breathing matched his. She put her hand on the tree, leaned forward, and narrowed her eyes. He followed her gaze. Gotcha!