by Eve Langlais
“Doesn’t matter when they got here. They’re here now, and we’ll have to be careful.”
“You think they’re behind the plot to kill Darren.”
“Maybe. But that’s not the biggest problem. I’m more worried that Darren still has a thing for Francesca.”
“So?” The client’s love life wasn’t her problem unless this Stefanov fellow took exception. Then she’d have to protect Darren. “If her new boyfriend objects, I’ll handle it.”
“I don’t think you understand. They can’t get back together.”
“Are you going to stand in the way of true love?” she asked, savoring freshly squeezed orange juice without the aftertaste that came from a store-bought carton.
“I won’t see him hurt again.”
At that, she eyed him and said, “If you don’t want him to come to harm, then you should do your job instead of feeding me. Get back to work.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
How many times had Kacy said the same thing? “You’re very insubordinate for an ex-military guy.”
A crooked smile pulled his lips. “Yes, I am. Guess all those years of taking orders left me with a need to mouth off. You gonna punish me for it?”
What she wanted to do was kiss him, and have him touch her again.
Instead of quelling her hunger for him, their brief interlude had only made it worse. Her body came alive around him, all her senses attuned to his presence.
How could she fight this insane attraction?
Maybe she shouldn’t.
She didn’t know who was more surprised, her or him, when her lips mashed against his.
He certainly did not object. Instead of shoving her away, his arms wrapped tightly around her, cradling her against his thick bulk. But the fact that he proved so much bigger than her didn’t cause any panic. For once, she could relax in a man’s embrace and feel safe. Marcus wouldn’t hurt her. On the contrary, he made her feel all too good.
His mouth caressed hers with sweet fervency as he took over the embrace. Engulfed her senses in hot passion.
He distracted her, and she didn’t care.
A part of her insisted on a token protest. “This is wrong,” she said in between nips of his lower lip.
“Feels right to me,” he said, the low rumble of his words vibrating against her mouth.
He did have a point. It did feel right, and she didn’t want to stop. Yet, the feeling of him sliding against her bare thigh, his skin slick and…scaly?
She shoved away from him and yelled, “I think there’s a snake in the bed.”
“Is the name-calling supposed to be foreplay?” he asked. Only to jump up as he noticed the moving bulge under the covers.
Marcus whipped off the comforter as Kacy tucked her legs to her chest. The sinuous yellow snake that had decided to join the party hissed at them.
“How the fuck did that get in here?” he asked.
Any number of ways. The question was, had it come on its own, or had someone placed it there?
Want to bet it carried poison in its fangs?
Oddly enough, while Kacy cringed at the forked tongue, Marcus seemed unbothered. His hand darted, fast enough to snare the snake just behind its jawline. He held it up and dangled its long body. “I have to say, this is the first time I’ve been cock blocked by a snake bigger than mine.”
“Are you seriously making a sex joke?” she snapped, inwardly shuddering at the realization that the viper had touched her.
“I wouldn’t joke about something so dire as missing out on a chance to make out with you, little pint.”
Hiss. The forked tongue waggled.
She cringed. “Get that thing out of here.”
“If you insist. Come on, pretty girl, let’s get you back outside.”
Pretty girl? Was the man insane? Deadly vipers were only attractive as purses. Not that Kacy owned the real thing. Her only claim to snakeskin was a knock-off pair of boots that she’d needed for some undercover western thing she’d worked a few years back.
With Marcus taking care of the snake, she hopped out of the bed, knife in hand, gun in the other. Using the tip of the blade, she tugged the sheet completely off the bed, checking for more surprises.
She crouched down to peek under the bed, as well. Nothing scurried or hissed.
Still, though, she couldn’t relax. She kept both weapons with her going into the bathroom. The gun sat on top of the vanity; the knife joined her in the shower.
Yet she didn’t throw it when she heard Marcus rumble, “The snake is gone.”
Maybe, but a more dangerous threat lurked just outside the shower stall.
“You should go back to the main house and check for Darren.”
“He won’t be done yet. I’ll inspect the rest of the place for critters while I wait for you.”
He left. She even peeked to make sure. However, knowing Marcus roamed nearby did something to her. Did something to her naked and slick body.
Her skin tingled, and between her legs, her sex throbbed. It still remembered how Marcus had made her feel.
Remembered the touch of his fingers.
The taste of his mouth.
Her hands couldn’t help but stroke her skin as she lathered with the soap, sliding with sensual languor over her sensitized body. Slipping over her hard nipples, wishing his more callused hands were here to pinch them.
She couldn’t help but slide a hand between her legs, finding her clit swollen and sensitive. She rubbed it, remembering Marcus and the bliss.
She must have made some noise, emitted some kind of indication of her actions, because, suddenly, Marcus was there, wearing only his briefs, his shirt and pants stripped, kneeling before her in the shower.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Giving you what you need.” His big hands clasped her by the hips, and he pried apart her thighs so he could push his face between them.
She might have argued more, but at the first lash of his tongue against her clit, she grabbed him by the hair and bucked.
He licked her, sliding his tongue across her sex, slipping it between her nether lips to probe deeper.
Dear God, it felt good. She fell against the cold tile of the shower wall held up by his strength, awash in pleasure as he licked her and stroked her and bit down on her clit.
She cried out as bliss made her shudder, her orgasm coiling within, close—so close.
And then he stopped and stood. Stood and shadowed her, and she thought he would punish her, walk away at the peak of her pleasure like she’d done to him.
She could see now how cruel that was.
But Marcus wouldn’t hurt her, not even for revenge. Instead, he had a simple request. “Touch me. Please.”
She couldn’t say no. She couldn’t not act. She slid her hand inside his wet briefs, even as his hand slipped between their bodies to continue stroking her. His free hand cupped and squeezed her breast, and his mouth meshed with hers, the taste of her still on his lips.
All of that only served to heighten her pleasure, but what truly made her tremble and gasp was the sheer size and steel strength of his cock.
Long, so long, and thick, much thicker than her one hand could grasp. She caressed him, pulling his shaft free from his briefs, tucking it upwards and stroking it as he played with her.
The two of them, mouths meshed, hands working, pleasure building.
When he penetrated her with one finger, she clutched him tight. At the stretching of a second finger, pumping in and out, her grip turned deadly, and he caught her cry as her orgasm hit, but she wasn’t alone in coming.
His hips bucked as he came, too, hot and spurting against her belly while her juices creamed his fingers.
It left both of them spent. Silent.
They didn’t say a word as they rinsed off the evidence of their pleasure. They did so quickly and efficiently. She took the towel he handed her without meeting his gaze.
She wasn’t sure wh
at she’d see if she did. And what would he spot in her eyes?
Marcus kept making her forget why she was here. Kept making her feel like a woman. Kept making her break all her rules.
For once in her life, she didn’t care. She’d never experienced this kind of passion. Never felt so sensual and alive.
If asked, she couldn’t have said where this thing with Marcus was going. What she did know was that she couldn’t ignore what burgeoned between them anymore. Couldn’t ignore her feelings.
I’m falling for him.
Hard.
And, hopefully, it wouldn’t get the client killed.
Chapter Nineteen
As he kept pace with Kacy on their walk to the main house, Marcus could see the gears turning in her head. Could see those thoughts weren’t really about Darren and the danger, but him.
She’s thinking about me.
It wasn’t arrogance that made him think that but rather her actions, such as how she barely said two words to him and wouldn’t meet his gaze. Not out of regret. Her body language wasn’t aloof or rigid. It appeared more as if their second bout of lovemaking in the shower had softened her.
And she didn’t know how to handle it. Or how to handle him.
Neither did Marcus.
It had never been his intention to invade her privacy in the shower. When she’d left the bedroom, he’d actually searched the place top to bottom. Finding the snake had frightened him. What if he’d not arrived in time and Kacy had been bitten?
She could have died. With that scary thought in mind, he’d searched every nook and cranny and noticed Kacy taking longer than expected in the shower. So long he went to listen and see if she needed help.
What he heard were her soft moans.
As she pleasured herself.
Without him.
But because of him.
Usually, a man should wait for invitation. A man didn’t just strip down to his briefs and join a lady in her shower.
But usually didn’t apply with Kacy. With her, nothing happened as expected, and when it came to her siren call, he couldn’t resist.
Couldn’t stop himself from stepping into that shower, dropping to his knees before her perfect body, and worshipping her.
She’d let him. Let him taste her sweet perfection, and she’d touched him in return. They’d shared a moment together that neither could put into words but both definitely felt.
At some point, they’d have to talk about it. Figure out what it meant.
For now, though, he let her mull it over, as he kept an eye on her while they walked, her looking feminine in the long and loose gown that started as a halter on the top then fell in a skirt that hit her ankles. It effectively hid the scratches that she’d yet to explain and the gun she’d holstered to one thigh, while the other held a knife.
He wondered how she’d get to them quickly in an emergency. It was probably wrong to have a boner imagining her whipping up her skirt to pull one free.
“When we get to the terrace, remember to stand away from me a few feet. We hate each other, remember?” she murmured as they crossed the bridge over the lazy river.
“I hate that we can’t lie in bed all day naked,” he replied. Probably the wrong answer, but he said it anyway.
She shot him an open-mouthed glance over her bare shoulder, her cheeks pink. “Marcus!”
“I can’t wait until you scream that when I’m balls deep.” Again, not the most appropriate thing to say, but she licked her lips, and her reply emerged husky.
“Who says I’ll be screaming first?”
With that sassy reply, she faced forward again, and her hips swished.
Damn.
How he loved her attitude.
What?
He paused, letting her get ahead as he realized that not only did he care for her and lust for her, but dammit, despite the brevity of their knowing each other, he was pretty sure he’d fallen in love.
Yes, love.
For those that claimed love took time, he said bullshit. As a military guy, he knew all too well the shortness of life. Not knowing what tomorrow might bring meant living for the moment. While he’d never thought himself in love before, he had experienced enough to know that what he felt with Kacy was different and special.
I’m in love.
But he couldn’t let it show. He could just imagine what would happen if he declared it to little pint. He might get to experience her skill with a knife up close.
But what a way to die.
As Kacy climbed the steps to the terrace to mingle with the milling guests, he realized just how hard the next few days would be. This new thing burgeoning between them would have to be put on a side burner. In order for Kacy to protect Darren, hell in order for him to protect Darren, they both had to do their jobs and not each other.
At least, in public.
Once they put Darren to bed…
He couldn’t let that fantasy occupy him, not knowing that, somewhere amongst these guests, someone had hired killers to take out his boss.
Who, though? Who among these rich and entitled pricks thought he or she could kill the one man Marcus loved more than himself?
Once I find you… They wouldn’t live long enough to leave this island.
Or had he already found the culprit? Despite her arguments, he couldn’t help but wonder if Francesca were involved. If not her, then perhaps her new boyfriend. It would explain a lot.
Except for the fact that the contract wanted to kill academy folk, not Darren directly.
Didn’t matter. Marcus should do Darren a favor and kill the faithless bitch.
Francesca didn’t appear to be on the terrace with the other guests. Marcus wondered if she’d joined Darren and Stefanov in their meeting.
He hoped not. Darren needed to stay away from her lest he fall into her trap again.
Hands tucked behind his back, Marcus wasn’t the only one observing the gathering. Other security guys also stood on the periphery while their patrons conversed. It seemed all of them had tightened their security since their arrival. Had the others suffered an incident like the one they’d had with the snake?
He highly doubted the reptile had gotten into that cabana on its own.
Gradually, the people on the terrace divided. Those who were brought as dates congregated around one table, including Kacy, who seemed to have hit it off with the redhead who’d come on the arm of the British fellow.
On the other side of the large patio area slabbed in white stone, gathered around another table, were the men of the group plus the old lady. Marcus noted that her boy toy appeared missing.
Marcus couldn’t help but stare at the latter group. The true power brokers.
What did they discuss?
Marcus wasn’t close enough to hear. None of them were. But they seemed intent, their expressions not holding any of the fake humor and false smiles of polite conversation.
On the other side, the laughter rang out often as the women chatted. Some genuine, some fake, the arm candy banding together and pretending they had fun.
Movement caught his eye as Darren emerged from the hallway, alone. His brisk steps made a beeline toward the power group.
A subtle turn of her head indicated that Kacy had noticed his arrival. Marcus noted how she shifted to keep Darren in view, and probably the area directly around him. Knowing she watched low, he aimed his gaze high. Snipers preferred height. Now, if only he could see without squinting. Even with his dark shades, the sun proved too bright.
The powwow between the men and the old broad lasted until after the noon hour, when they broke to eat before, once again, huddling under the gazebo that provided shade. Meanwhile, Marcus had to move as the sun shifted and tried to bake his skin.
The majority of the women stripped down and dove into the pool. Lounging like mermaids and sipping cocktails brought in an endless supply. Only Kacy and the redhead remained sitting at the table, heads bent together, talking low and in earnest.
Bored, Marcus began to pace. More and more, the idea that someone would attack in broad daylight while they were all gathered seemed crazy. And yet he couldn’t help a sense of unease, that feeling in his gut, the one he used to get before battle that said, “Get ready.”
When a flash of light twinkled from atop the rooftop of the tower, a familiar glint he recognized from his sniping days, he moved—moved toward Kacy, not Darren, instinct causing him to throw his bulk in front of her.
Pain seared his bicep as a bullet tore through his skin. People screamed as the sharp retort of a rifle firing filled the air.
Bodies moved, the bodyguards throwing themselves in front of their clients. Marcus ignored the chaos and the seeping blood on his arm to whirl and check on Kacy, still using his bulk as a shield.
“Protect Darren,” she snapped, the words sharp, but her expression ashen.
“They’re shooting at you,” was his reply before he grabbed her and took her to the ground a second before another bullet fired, hitting the chair dead center.
Amidst the screams and clatter of furniture getting tossed, Marcus covered Kacy as they scuttled for the shadows.
But no more shots followed them, and Darren, under the cover of the veranda that spanned the length of the terrace, soon joined them.
“Are you both okay?” he asked, dropping to his knees.
“We’re fine.”
“No, we’re not,” Kacy said with a glare. “Marcus was shot.”
“Better me than you.”
Marcus should have known Kacy would make him pay for being chivalrous.
Chapter Twenty
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Kacy snarled as she poured a disinfectant on his arm. On the hole in his arm, she should specify. A hole he’d gotten protecting her.
“Ow. What the hell are you doing? Dousing me in acid?” He scowled at her.
She glared back. He’d gotten hurt.
Taking a bullet meant for her.
The jerk.
Now, he’d suffer the consequences.
“It’s peroxide, you big wuss. Suck it up. If you’re going to act as a shield, then you should expect a little pain.”