Seek and Destroy (TREX, #5)

by Allie K. Adams

  He sensed the same restraint in her response. They both knew this kiss would be their last. It felt bittersweet and made his chest pinch, robbing him of air. A rawness closed on his throat some would mistake to be emotion. He knew better. Aside from the funerals he’d had to attend for his fallen TREX brothers, he hadn’t so much as shed an emotional tear since the day he realized his marriage had been a sham.

  The rawness increased, arguing with him. Hell of a time to have a relapse and allow emotion back into his life. Pushing it down deep into the black pit of his soul where it belonged, he refocused on Charis and their amazing connection.

  Gently he nipped her lower lip where his tongue traced her. She flicked her tongue against the inside of his upper lip. Their lips barely brushed together. The heat and moisture from their breath mixed and ignited, sending a charge out into the air. The skin on his neck prickled against the heat.

  They broke the kiss and stood back from each other. That had to be the most erotic kiss he’d ever had the pleasure to participate in. From the baffled look on her face, she had the same mixture of emotions coursing through her.

  She shook her finger at him with one hand while adjusting her glasses with the other, a spark of a smile curling her sensual lips. “We need to behave. No more kissing. We talked about this.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her. But damn how he loved to kiss her. Yes, they’d talked about it and had to stay away from each other for the sake of the mission. But seeing her now made that promise impossible to keep. It was like putting a starving man in a room full of food and then telling him to look but not touch. Yeah, right. The man would not only have his fill, he’d never want to leave.

  “I’m hungry,” Charis stated, changing the subject. Thank God. “How about you?”

  Oh, he was hungry. The only thing he needed stood directly in front of him, staring at him with equally hungry blue eyes. And he couldn’t have her. They’d agreed this was the best, the only option. He stepped back to let her pass.

  “Chris should be here any minute with pizza.” With her brother under the same roof, it guaranteed they’d behave themselves, considering the way he reacted the last time he was here.

  “You called Chris back? Why not go out and get it yourself?”

  “Besides the fact I have no idea where anything is, my orders are to never leave your side.”

  “Your orders? That’s the only reason?” He didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes.

  “That’s not the only reason and you know it. Stop pouting. I’m still here, aren’t I?” With the threat of Surreal tapping into anything with a computer chip, he’d be damned if he left her side for a minute. No, not until this nightmare ended. And then? Hell, he didn’t know.

  Would he leave her? Could he leave her?

  It was a question he knew he’d have to answer when the time came. He’d lived just fine without the comforts of a woman. Well, of a permanent woman. He’d been perfectly content with the not-so-permanent ones.

  Until he’d met Charis McKoy. Tasted her. Loved her.

  She walked around her kitchen looking for something to eat. She opened, searched, and then closed the fridge before moving to the cupboards. He loved her heart-shaped ass, loved how she didn’t have a clue what a sweet body she had. Even after he’d told her time and again, showed her time and again, how much he loved her body, she still felt uncomfortable when her scars were exposed.

  He’d just have to change that. After time, she’d love her scars as much as he did. He eyed her right leg. Even though he couldn’t see it through her sweats, he’d already memorized every inch of her. They’d done a hell of a job covering up her injuries. The lines barely puckered, were hardly noticeable. She didn’t even walk with a limp. He should know, having watched her every move since Hawaii. “How’s everything going back there? Any hits?”

  She shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. But, on the positive side, we aren’t getting any false positives from my new algorithm. I’ve got the volume up on the alarms. If he hits, I’ll hear it out here. But, I don’t think he’ll move, not for another day.”

  “But we still have five days.”

  “If he sticks to his old MO. At this point I’m not putting too much faith in that.”

  He agreed with a nod. “So, you think he’ll strike early again?”

  She stopped her search for food and stood straight, her gaze fixated on the wall, her back to him. She seemed lost in thought. After several seconds, she shook her head and went back to her search. “I do. I think he knew we tipped them off at Riverside.”

  It made sense. Surreal had already tapped into all the feeds. That much they knew for sure. And David already knew the fucker detonated the device after the fire alarm. The guilt of his decision still made it hard to breathe. If he had just let them run full evac, maybe Surreal wouldn’t have noticed, at least not as soon as he did.

  “I went back and pulled the tap on the alarm before the explosion,” she went on, still wandering her small kitchen, careful to not look at him. He found the avoidance alarmingly cute, and took a hell of a lot of restraint. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I noticed a foreign IP address tapped into the feed, so I traced it through their system.”

  “And?”

  She glanced his way and then quickly looked away. “There were two cameras in the server room that had the same foreign IP address attached.”

  He clenched his jaw. “Meaning?”

  “He watched the entire thing,” she answered, her tone sad and still. “That’s how he got ahead of us. It wasn’t the fire alarm that set him off. It was the fact that we found him before he could blow the building.”

  David held frozen as his pulse thumped in his ears. If Surreal saw the full evac, the people escaping the building, throwing the fire alarm didn’t make a shit bit of difference. Why didn’t that make him feel any better? They were still too fucking late.

  “He hit their security feed with his base IP.” Her shoulders rose and lowered with her breathing as she finally turned and looked at him. “He’s in the foothills of the Cascades. That’s as close as I could get before the IP disappeared. He must have realized he broke in with his base IP and destroyed it.”

  That got his attention. “He’s in Washington State?”

  She nodded. “I’ve already contacted HQ. SD Weber has the SAR division on it. Kat Allen is heading up the search.”

  Good. That’s good. Kat was the best search and rescue coordinator in all of TREX. But it still pissed him off that she didn’t say anything to him. He’s the SAC on this find, for Christ’s sake. He should have made the call to HQ, not Charis. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just did.”

  “Charis.” He looked at her.

  She conceded with a sigh. “Because I can’t talk to you without wanting to stick my tongue down your throat. I can’t control myself around you, David. That’s why I, uh, I also, uh…”

  He didn’t like the way she wouldn’t look at him now. Before, it was cute. Now, it had his suspicions in overdrive. “What did you do?”

  “I asked for a new SAC.”

  His entire body clenched as the light in the room dimmed. Son of a fuck. So, it came to this, to them sharing an incredible week together, and then walking away. They’d be nothing more than awkward acquaintances, if that. He would not let this affect him. This was the right thing to do. They had to separate for the sake of the mission. For the sake of them both. “I understand.”

  “Weber said he’s sending Allen in to relieve you.”

  “He’s good,” David admitted, swallowing several times to push the lump in his throat back down to his stomach. Spencer Allen was also married, crazy about his wife, and had a cute as shit little boy. He’d keep his head about him as he protected Charis.

  “Are you mad?”

  “Relieved.” At least one of them had enough sense to do the right thing.

  “Relieved,” she repeated in a hollow laugh. “You’re relieved we
’ll be separated?” Grabbing the teapot off the stove, she weighed it in her hand. It still had water in it so she set it back and flipped the switch to ignite the burner.

  He took a step closer, his protective instincts kicking in. The last time she attempted anything in the kitchen resulted in her getting hurt. “For the rest of this mission, yes.”

  She stilled. “And then?”

  “And then what?” What the hell did she expect from him? He’d proved to her over and over how he felt about her. What else did she want? He’d never spent an entire night exploring his lover’s body and had never wanted to.

  Until Charis.

  They’d learned so much about each other that night. How the other liked to be touched, the ways to draw reactions out of each other that made them blind with passion and then weak with gratification.

  He’d told her the truth about Brenda. He’d never uttered a word about his failed marriage to another soul until that night. When she’d told him about the other men in her life, he knew she’d been holding back. She didn’t have to tell him, he already knew.

  Her other lovers were selfish asses.

  Based on her meltdown when he’d seen the scarred flesh of her midsection, any other asshole that’d seen it must have scarred her emotionally. No doubt they made her feel ugly, and probably told her to stay covered up.

  What bullshit. She had an incredible body, scars included. They were a part of her, and he loved them. He loved her. Her heart. Her fire. Her...everything. A woman like Charis McKoy came as a package deal. He wouldn’t want her any other way. With a flick of a glance her way, his heart liquefied and he knew he’d never be able to walk away from her.

  Her dark curls were frizzed and all over the place. Not a hint of makeup on her pretty face. In baggy sweats and an even baggier sweatshirt, no sleep, shuffling around in her slippers, she looked a wreck. Yet he’d never seen her look more beautiful, more natural.

  She darted a quick glance at him, gave him a weird look, and then grabbed down a mug out of the cupboard. After unwrapping a teabag and dropping it into the mug, she threw him another glance. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  “Is it a crime to admire a beautiful woman?”

  “It is in our situation.”

  “And what kind of situation would that be?”

  She rolled her eyes at him over her shoulder. “Pah-lease.”

  David stepped out of the hall and into the kitchen. Moving deftly, he came up behind her. Resting his lips just above her ear, he whispered, “Please, what?”

  He startled her, which was exactly what he intended. She jumped and swung around, directly into his arms. He removed her glasses and set them off to the side. Ignoring his pledge to stay the hell away, he touched her cheek with his palm. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her lower lip as he cupped her face when he brought up his other hand. She closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly, let out a ragged breath.

  He traced the lining of her jaw with the fingers of his other hand, swallowing hard to wet his suddenly parched throat. He loved her bone structure. Her high cheekbones were amazing. The pout of her lower lip, which definitely seemed to be enjoying the feel of his thumb caressing it, beckoned him to kiss her. Her cheeks heated in his hands as the color grew. She let out another ragged breath. It was warm against his thumb. He licked his lips and drew in her scent. Intoxicating.

  “David,” she rasped as another ragged breath escaped her lips. Even through her sweatshirt he saw her nipples pucker in response. She hummed in the back of her throat, urging him even closer to lifting her up and plunging his cock so deep inside her they’d both reach their limit faster than they did in the elevator. “You promised.”

  “You said no more kissing,” he responded. It came out strained, gravelly. “You never said anything about touching. Do you want me to stop?”

  Shuddering, she licked her lips, the end of her tongue flicking against the pad of his thumb. “No harm in touching, right?”

  “Talk to me,” he demanded huskily. “Tell me what you want me to do, Charis. Because, God as my witness, I’ll do anything for you. I can’t get you out of my mind, my senses. You’re in my blood.” He inched closer to her, felt her breath against his lips. It sent a tense shudder ripping through him.

  “Oh David,” she whimpered. “Tell me more.”

  “When we’re apart, I can still sense you. I can still taste you on my lips. And when I’m with you,” he whispered softly. “I can’t think straight. I’m like a starved man, hungry for you. Starving for you.”

  “David,” she squeaked, lifting her chin higher. Their lips were only a tissue paper apart. Their breath mixed, and he smelled the coffee on her breath.

  “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.” He licked his lips, his tongue stretching out, touching hers.

  “I want—” She stopped with a sharp hiss when his thumb left her lip and scraped across one of her hardened buds. She shuddered. The rate of her breathing kicked up a notch. “I wish I didn’t need you so badly.”

  So did he. He wanted to quit this erotic game they played. He wanted to quit her. Instead of listening to the voice of reason, he shut it off entirely.

  “I need to touch you,” he admitted, his lips barely brushing hers in a hint of a kiss. “To taste you. Before my next breath, I need to feel you.”

  Charis closed her eyes and visibly swallowed. His heart stopped, his breathing stopped, his entire world stopped as he waited for her answer. She swallowed again.

  “I’m here, baby. I’m right here. Tell me what you want.”

  “I want your mouth on me. I want to feel you taste me, feed off me. Make me come, David. Fuck this nightmare away if only for five minutes.”

  He’d never heard such bold words fall from her lips. Holy Jesus that was sexy as hell. His cock jumped in agreement. The rest of the world disappeared and only man and woman existed. He reached for her to take her to the bedroom.

  When she didn’t follow, he paused and turned toward her. His entire body tensed. Did she change her mind?

  With that coy little smile he loved so much, she hopped on the kitchen counter, yet left her sweats in a pile on the floor of the kitchen. As she spread her thighs, exposing herself to him, he fell to his knees in front of her. He couldn’t speak. He could only sink toward her, closing the gap between his mouth and her sweet, wet sex.

  He brushed his lips across her coarse hairs, kissing her and loving the feel of the heat she generated warming his face. He attacked, assaulting her clit and sucking it between his teeth. Her juices flowed, soaking his tongue. Drinking hungrily, he consumed every bit of her syrup.

  Dear Jesus, he wanted to slow down, to completely devour every last inch of her, but Chris was due back any minute. Add that knowledge to the fact she had him close to coming right there before he had a chance to bury himself into her slick heat and he increased the pace. With an urgent thrust, he inserted a finger into her hot channel.

  She cried out in a series of whimpers. “Oh, David!”

  “Talk to me,” he begged. “Describe how you’re feeling.” He teased and licked, kissed and nibbled until she shook as her impending climax continued to build. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled him into her. “Talk to me, baby. Let me know how this makes you feel.”

  “I can feel your tongue flick-ah! Just like that.”

  He flicked again and she convulsed. “Do you like that?”

  “Again!”

  Circling her tight pleasure point, licking madly to drive her over the edge, he then inserted a second finger. She shuddered. “Tell me when you come, Charis.”

  “I’m so close,” she panted. “I can’t—Oh. I’m coming, David. I’m—” She cried out, throwing her head back and releasing a primitive scream. The carnal sound accompanied the flood of her juices as her muscles clenched his fingers over and over. He greedily took it all, every ounce of her.

  “Take me,” she pleaded. “Fuck me, David.”

  Holy s
hit, he loved hearing her talk to him like that. Polite, demure Charis turned into something primal when they had sex. It made him hasty to sink into her before he lost all control.

  Shoving his pants around his knees, he then pulled her so her hips rested on the edge of the counter. He thrust so deep inside her that her pelvic bone pushed against his. He withdrew completely and sank back in to have her sheath him even further. Her tight muscles fisted him, holding him there.

  He wanted this to go on for hours, days even. But considering Chris’s reaction the last time he’d walked in on them, they’d have to finish fast. He buried himself again, grinding his hips to draw another shuddering moan out of her. He grabbed her ass and moved her closer, driving back inside, wanting more penetration.

  The counter was in the way. It didn’t allow him to give her the angle she loved. Lifting her up, he carried her over to the kitchen wall and used it as leverage.

  “More!” she demanded.

  He plunged deeper, his rhythm increasing. Harder, faster. Deeper still.

  “I’m going to—” She cried out in tune with the teapot as she came. It screeched. Charis screamed.

  Her walls tightened so hard it pulled his orgasm from him. He stiffened and hollered her name as he jutted his life deep inside her. Surge after surge he continued to come, to experience the most powerful, intense orgasm he’d ever had. It was never ending. His knees buckled as his body gave into the unbelievable, consuming ecstasy. He slammed a hand up against the wall to stop himself from collapsing. It knocked two of her cute little decorations down.

  “Charis, my baby. You’re mine. All mine.” Their bodies pulsed and kicked as they rode their climaxes as long as possible. The screeching teapot sang along with them as if in celebration to their joining.

  “I’m all yours, David. I always have been.”

  Finally, the waves ebbed. They stood there paralyzed, leaning against the wall for support, trying to catch their breath. He lowered her and kissed her so deeply, plunging his tongue into her mouth. He couldn’t breathe, yet didn’t want to come up for air.

  The sound of a car door broke them apart. Charis looked into his eyes. “That would be Chris.”