Exhausted, he rolled over, taking her with him. Tucking her against his side, he kissed her sweaty forehead.
Carlos acknowledged the sense of peace that filtered through him. A sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. He knew it was all due to the person lying in his arms. “Thank you,” he whispered, before he welcomed sleep’s embrace.
Chapter Eight
Feather light kisses trailed down her spine as a hand crept up to cup her breast. If this was how she was going to be woken up every morning, there’d be no argument coming from her. It sure as hell beat the buzzing of an alarm clock.
“I could get used to this,” she stretched and mumbled at the same time. The hand caressing her breast stop and the long male body behind her froze.
Shit, probably not what he wanted to hear.
She rolled over and faced him. “Hey, I know it’s not going to happen, but I’m going to enjoy this morning’s wake up call, okay?”
Indecision had his eyes narrowing, as though he wanted to believe her but wasn’t sure he actually did. Erin wanted to make the most of the morning. A feeling began to grow inside her that when she walked out of the hotel today, Carlos wouldn’t be standing to the side, waiting for her, regardless of the fact he’d told her he wasn’t needed back at base for a couple days. It hadn’t taken long for her to get used to having him close by, even though she’d initially hated the idea.
Taking matters into her own hands she reached down and stroked his hard cock, which was resting against her thigh.
“One last time,” she whispered against his lips. “Make it one to remember.”
She didn’t care if she sounded desperate, as she kissed him, her hands increasing their motion along his hard length. With each upward motion, the tension seemed to ease out of him. She knew she’d won him over when he gripped her hand and covered her body with his.
Never would she ever forget the feeling of the weight of his body lying against hers. Whenever she and Bryan had slept together, which wasn’t as often as he wanted but was plenty enough for her, all she’d wanted to do was push him off her. She’d never suffered from claustrophobia when she’d slept with a guy. Bryan was the exception to the rule.
Thoughts of Bryan and their disastrous sex life disappeared from her mind the second Carlos entered her body. When they’d been exploring their sex life as teenagers, they’d fumbled around each other the first couple of times. It had been amazing for her, then, but it was out of the world amazing now.
She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the bliss her body was feeling as Carlos worked himself in and out of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, gripping him tighter as her orgasm spiraled through her.
Yeah her vibrator wasn’t going to give her the same release as being with Carlos did.
The sound of their ragged breathing echoed around her bedroom as they came down from the heights. Her limbs were so loose, standing and walking to the shower seemed impossible.
For the first time in her life she wished she didn’t have to go to work. Unfortunately, her position didn’t allow her the luxury of calling in sick.
“I need to move,” she said.
“Yeah, I suppose you do.” Carlos responded, but he tightened his grip on her. Did he not want to let her go? Was it as hard for him to let go as it was for her to pull away?
One last kiss and then she’d get out of bed.
One kiss led to Carlos following her into the shower, which led to some amazing shower sex. Now here they were walking toward her hotel. Their fingers entwined and with each step they took, their paced slowed.
When they reached the art deco building Carlos tugged her toward him. She rested her hands against his hard chest. She’d run her tongue over every little rise and fall of his six pack.
“Will I see you tonight?” she asked, cringing at the pleading tone she tried hard to hide.
“Yeah. My flight is first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Dinner out somewhere?”
He shrugged as if he didn’t care, but she knew differently. They have may have spent a decade and half apart, but some things didn’t change. When Carlos was acting like he didn’t care, it meant he cared an awful lot.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll see you at six.” She leaned up on her tiptoe and kissed him on the lips. Even though the temptation to linger was strong, she didn’t give into it.
She swiveled on her heel and strode into the hotel, smiling at the staff, even though inside she was trying very hard not to let the tears fall.
Tomorrow morning was going to be a bitch.
Carlos watched the door of the hotel slide shut, closing off his view of Erin. He blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders in an attempt to release some of his tension. Sadly, he was beginning to believe the tension was going to be a bed partner for a long while. Not the type of bed partner he wanted, but it was one he would have to put up with.
Eventually the longing and need for Erin would fade away, like it had done when he’d first walked away from her.
And ISIS will stop bombing innocents.
He shook his head and crossed the road to sit at the café so he could watch Erin’s building.
“Hey there, Carlos. You want your usual?” Mac, the young barista behind the counter called out to him. The guy was the epitome of a millennial, long hair pulled back into a messy man-bun, scruff outlining his chin. Every time he looked at the guy, Carlos’s hand went to his own beard. His was neater than Mac’s, and nowhere near as long.
“Thanks, that would be great. I’ll have a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich, too.”
Because he’d joined Erin in the shower, he hadn’t had time to get something to eat. As he sat, he let his mind wander to the previous evening and morning. He wouldn’t change any second of it, even knowing that come tomorrow, he’d be walking away from her—again.
“Here you go.” Mac placed his drink and sandwich on the table.
“Thanks.” Carlos expected the other man to walk away, but he hovered by the table. “You need something else, Mac?”
“Look, I don’t know if this will make sense to you, but...”
Carlos’s left palm started itching. “I’m sure it will.”
Mac’s shoulders relaxed at his words. “Well there was this guy in here asking about you, which I found weird, because prior to this week you’ve never shown up here before. Anyway, he asked if you still came in.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said yes. He left after that. But anyway, I thought I’d mention it.”
Carlos held out his hand and Mac shook it. “Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.”
Mac went back to his position behind the counter and Carlos picked up his coffee, inhaling deeply and letting the fragrant scent consume him.
He hadn’t exactly been covert in his movements, and he knew Bryan had seen him in here on occasion. The fact he was asking if Carlos still came in was a clear indication that Bryan was biding his time, waiting until Carlos was gone enabling Bryan to make his move on Erin.
Fuck.
This was the last thing he needed with his flight out tomorrow. How the hell was he going to keep Erin safe if he wasn’t watching her? Oh, he knew he couldn’t continually watch her. He had a job to do, a team who relied on him. He wasn’t going to let them down.
Giving Erin’s building another look, he was relieved to see that nobody appeared to be loitering around the entrance. Could he talk to the doorman, show him a picture of Bryan and tell the guy not to let the scumbag in?
He was pretty sure the staff of the hotel loved Erin and would do anything for her. He’d seen how they all treated her on the odd occasion he’d walked her to her office. But to ask the favor would be letting the staff in on Erin’s private life. A fact he knew she wouldn’t appreciate.
Maybe Tex could help him out. Although it was a lot to ask of the guy. Carlos knew Tex did a lot of stuff for the military, which included watching a couple of tea
ms. Or maybe he could get Ash to help out. Maybe he had a former PI contact who could watch Erin.
But even getting her protected was really only a band-aid solution. The only sure way to keep Erin safe was if Bryan was put behind bars again. This time without the possibility of his gang of lawyers bailing him out again.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and hit Tex’s number. The phone went to voicemail. “Hey Tex, it’s Italy. I need to speak to you about my situation. Call me when you get a chance.”
Next, he called, Ash, his former teammate.
“Riley Ashland.”
“Ash, Italy here.”
“Italy, how are you? How much longer are you in the big apple?”
Carlos had felt bad about upping and leaving Ash’s place after not even spending one night there. He shouldn’t have worried. His former teammate had had no issues with Carlos staying at Erin’s place once he knew she was being harassed by Bryan. “I fly out tomorrow morning at seven.”
“Nice and early.”
“Tell me about it. But I need to get back for a meeting tomorrow with the Commander.” Carlos had a feeling they were about to be given orders.
“Do you think you’ll be headed to Portugal?”
It wasn’t a surprise Ash asked about Portugal, considering it was all over the news. A bomb had gone off in the plaza in the center of Lisbon, killing four and injuring many others. ISIS had claimed responsibility. No doubt another team was already over there, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they were going to be sent to provide back up or for a separate mission related to the people involved.
“I’m guessing that’s likely. Listen, I need to know if you had any luck on getting some information I could use on Bryan Tosconi.”
“Why?”
“I know he’s just waiting for me to leave before he makes his next move on Erin. I need him out of the picture, pronto.”
“Well, even if I did, it’s going to be impossible to get him out of the picture by tomorrow.”
Carlos sighed and ran a hand though his short hair. “Yeah, I know. Even if I can’t get it done tomorrow, I’d still like to know there’s something I can do.” He relayed some information he’d kept from his friend. “He hit her, man. He’s going to do it again, I know.”
“Asshole. No one hits women.”
“I could think of another name for him, but yeah, we protect women, not hit them.” It sounded archaic to his ears, and he didn’t mean that women were helpless. He had no doubt Erin could look after herself, but when it came to dealing with an angry man and his fists, usually no matter how savvy or smart a woman was, fists usually won out. And Bryan was bigger than Erin.
“Leave it with me, Italy. I’ll see what I can find out. Plus I’ll get someone to watch over Erin until we have this fucker behind bars.”
His friend had answered the question he hadn’t wanted to ask. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
They disconnected and Carlos sat back to sip his lukewarm coffee. It should make him feel better knowing Erin was going to be watched while he was away. Somehow it didn’t though. There was still a part of him that didn’t trust Bryan not to work out a way to evade whoever was watching Erin. The guard wasn’t going to be sleeping in her house like Carlos had been.
No matter what he felt, come tomorrow morning he had to be on a plane to go back to his job and life. Only now he knew he’d be leaving a piece of himself here with Erin.
Chapter Nine
Having a bodyguard follow her every move seemed excessive to Erin. She’d argued with Carlos the last night they were together about it, telling him she didn’t need anyone guarding her every damn minute every day of the week. She could look after herself, had been doing that a long time. Carlos had insisted that because Bryan was still lurking around, even though they hadn’t seen him since the first night Carlos had followed her home, she needed to be protected.
The only good thing that came out of the argument was that they’d had incredible angry/make-up sex. A shiver of excitement shot through her body, pooling at the juncture between her thighs. She’d lost count of the orgasms he’d given her. Sleep had proved to be overrated that night and, for the first time in her career, she’d closed her door at lunchtime and had a nap.
Now Carlos was away in God knows where, doing God knows what, and she sat in her office trying to concentrate on work when all she wanted to do was speak to him.
Shit, she had it bad.
Her office phone rang and she grabbed it like a drowning person latching onto a life preserver. “Good morning, Erin Furlan speaking, how can I help you?”
Static. That’s all she heard. Static. Fear gripped her. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Honey?”
“Carlos? Is that you?” Her heartbeat kicked up a notch and relief swept through her—it wasn’t Bryan. From their conversations, she’d never expected he would call her. She was sure he said during missions he couldn’t contact anyone.
Panic set in.
Was he hurt?
Was he in a situation where the likelihood of him returning was impossible?
Was this the last conversation they were ever going to have?
Erin pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Those kinds of ruminations weren’t going to help her or help Carlos.
“Yeah, E, it’s me. I wanted to let you know that I’m on my way back to the States. Can you come to Virginia for the weekend?”
Okay, this wasn’t what she’d been expecting when she’d picked up the phone. But she would be lying to herself if she wasn’t excited at the prospect of seeing Carlos.
“Yes. Yes, I can.”
Static sounded the line again and Erin wasn’t sure he heard her response.
“…bring … if you want.”
“What? You’re breaking up.”
“Sorry, honey, I’m on the plane and it’s noisy as fuck. I said I’ll email you my address and bring Antonia if you want.”
Bring Antonia? Why would I do that?
“Why? I can travel by myself you know. I did tell you I lived in France for three years and travelled all around Europe, by myself.” The last thing she wanted was to be angry at the guy she hadn’t seen or heard from in three weeks, but, dammit, his words annoyed the hell out of her. Plus, if he wanted her to bring Antonia, did that mean he didn’t want to spend all the time they had together in bed? That was what she wanted to do.
He chuckled and her anger melted. She remembered what that chuckle felt like against her breast. As if her breasts remembered to, they hardened against her bra. “I know you can travel by yourself. Look, you don’t have to bring her. I just thought you might like to.”
“Oh no, you don’t get off that easily Carlos Porcelli. There is a definite reason why you wanted me to ask Antonia, and if you don’t tell me, then I won’t come down, and you and your right hand can become very friendly over the weekend.”
“Now that’s just cruel, E.”
“Cruel or not that could be your weekend. So spill, Porcelli.”
“Fine. One of the guys saw the picture you sent me of the two of you together. He wants to meet her.”
“Is he a good guy?”
“Who, Joker? Yeah he’s a riot.”
“Joker? His name is Joker?” No way was she going to set up her friend with a guy whose name was the same as an evil guy from a comic book series.
“No, that’s his nickname. I want to see you, Erin. I missed you.”
The last part was said so quietly she had to strain to hear it. “I missed you, too. And yes I’ll come and bring Antonia. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me either. I’ll email you some details. Be careful, E.”
The line cut out before she had a chance to respond. Thank goodness the call ended when it had. She had been on the verge telling Carlos she loved him.
Oh God, I love him.
I love him.
No, she couldn’t. But it was true. She did. Had always loved him.
/> Oh boy, I am in so much trouble. During their week together, Carlos had told her how hard it was to have a relationship with someone. The lack of communication while he was away. The not knowing was the reason so many couples didn’t make it.
Could she do it? Could she be in a loving relationship with Carlos and know that every time he went away he may not return to her?
Yes. Unequivocally yes.
If she only had six months with him, then it would be worth it. Over the last sixteen years she hadn’t had a serious relationship, until she’d gotten involved with Bryan. She would’ve ended that relationship if she hadn’t been so worried he would send some mob goons after her.
The only question was, how did Carlos feel about her?
He cared she knew that. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have stuck around to guard her. Or arrange for someone to watch her while he was away. And not five minutes ago he’d told her he missed her.
Those things didn’t add up to him loving her. She knew he hadn’t seen his parents often after he’d been enlisted. A fact she knew broke his mother’s heart. Did Carlos think by keeping his distance between him and those he loved, he was protecting them?
How wrong he was, and she was going to show him. She was going to show him that it was okay to love someone. Loving a person gave you strength. Love didn’t diminish you.
While keeping her feelings hidden from him could prove difficult, she was going to do her best to convince him that letting her back into his life on a permanent basis, though risky, was the best type of risk he could take. As a Navy SEAL, didn’t he take risks every day? The question was, was Carlos brave enough to risk his own heart? She planned to let him know it was the best risk he could take.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Guarding Erin (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 7