Dangerous Protector (Aegis Group Book 5)

by Sidney Bristol

  “Having fun?” Marco leaned back, taking in the sight of Fiona’s flushed face, the sun on her skin, the dazzling smile. She was something else out here. Freer.

  “Best weekend hookup ever.” She popped the top on her soda and drank deeply, lashes casting crescent shadows on her cheeks.

  He grimaced.

  Hookup.

  Right.

  That’s what they were.

  The carefree mood withered. For a few hours out on the rocks they’d lost themselves. He loved it out here. There was a freedom that didn’t exist anywhere else. And she felt it, too. But nothing could loosen the weight of guilt from around his shoulders. Not until Ghost undid the whole fucking nightmare.

  Marco pulled out the sliced strawberries, the little sandwiches and snacks. Most of it was leftovers from last night that could be eaten chilled. A little fancier than what he’d have packed for himself, and unless he was mistaken, there were a few things his mother had included with probably the wrong idea. Like the strawberries and cream. This, the whole spread, was for Fiona. Because his mother had liked her. Because he was the last child who hadn’t gotten married, divorced or procreated.

  Shit.

  He should have looked through the fucking cooler before they left. This, the whole thing, was packed for a romantic picnic. Not a rock crawl.

  Fiona didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she was being obtuse on purpose. He shouldn’t be irritated by the hookup label. That’s what he’d made them in her eyes. Still, he didn’t have to like it.

  “Have you heard from your friend today?” She bit off one of the strawberries, a little of the juice dribbling down her chin.

  Marco wanted to lick it off, paint her lips with the cream and make her lick that off his mouth after he finished kissing her. If things weren’t complicated, if this were just a weekend hookup he would. But it wasn’t. As she was reminding him.

  “No, but there’s not much cell reception out here.” He pulled out his phone and held it up. There was the tiniest bit of signal—and a text.

  He clicked it and scrolled through Ghost’s dry details.

  Scott had been to the house. He knew the cameras were gone. Ghost had watched him via a camera he’d set up in Fiona’s house.

  That was going to have to come out before he took her home, without question.

  The rest of it…was not good.

  “What’s wrong?” Fiona leaned toward him.

  He had to tell her some of the message. Where to start? How much truth should she know? What lies should he feed her? This covert shit was Ghost’s world, not Marco’s, but he’d made it his the day he went to Ghost to call in on all those favors.

  “Marco? You’re scaring me with that look.”

  “Sorry.” He pocketed his phone and bit off half a sandwich triangle. Where to begin?

  “Is it work? Your family?” She paused. “Me?”

  “I don’t want to alarm you…”

  “If you have to say that, then I’m scared.” She sat up straight, face pale.

  “Scott was in your condo last night. He appears to have made a key, and he has the code to your security system.” There. That was a truth, a whole truth and no lie whatsoever.

  “What?”

  “I suggest changing the code—”

  “I have changed it.”

  Which meant Scott had tampered with the system before the break-up.

  “Oh my—oh my God. Seriously?”

  “Yes. My guy went in, took out the surveillance equipment that was there and set up one—single—camera by the TV, just to see if anyone came looking for the stuff, and he got Scott on tape. He came in through a door in the kitchen.”

  “The garage. Through the utility room. Oh my God.” She cupped her cheeks, eyes wide. “This whole time…he could have been in my house? While I was sleeping? When I was at work?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry, Fiona.”

  “No—thank you. I’d have—oh my God—I would have never have known if it weren’t for you.” The way she looked at him, like he was some sort of hero, sucked. He wasn’t a hero. He was worse than the thief she feared, because he was doing this song and dance to her face. “Was that it? What about the transmitter and the data and… Who is he working for? Why?”

  “My guy’s working on that, still. Whatever they want, it’s worth breaking a lot of laws over. Makes me wonder…” It made Marco wonder if Good Global and Scott weren’t considering taking care of, not only the equipment at her house, but Fiona as well.

  “I’ve got to call the security company. Get someone out there.” She patted her pockets.

  “Not yet. Just let my guy do his thing.”

  “Can you make sure to tell him thank you for me? I really can’t believe all of this. And if it weren’t for you guys…” She shook her head.

  If it wasn’t for Marco and Ghost she’d have had a bad confrontation with Scott. Then if she were lucky, the problem would disappear. Now that they were involved… He didn’t know where or how this was going to end.

  Lila cursed and closed her eyes.

  Their contact within NueEnergy wanted more money. And why not? Until now all he’d done was pass a few memos their way. Nothing major. Now he was rerouting a system-wide alert and damming up the data leak, giving her a head start on covering their asses.

  She had until Monday.

  Monday the heads of NueEnergy would find out they’d been hacked and were hemorrhaging so much data that Lila’s team hadn’t yet been able to comb through all of it. They’d touched maybe a single percentage of the mountain of intel they had on NueEnergy, when what they really needed was an interpreter. Someone who knew the ins and outs of the company and could give up their secrets.

  As far as green energy went, they all had the same costs, the same problems. And yet, somehow, someway, NueEnergy made more profit per kilowatt than any other company. It was...unheard of. Impossible. And yet they were doing it.

  Lila sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  She’d never given a rat’s ass about the green initiative before Good Global had hired her from the CIA to manage an espionage issue. When she’d produced results, they’d asked her to take this on. Ferreting out the competition’s secrets. In the case of NueEnergy, they wanted the plans to the new wind turbine design and a little insider intel on how the heck they were making such a big profit. After a lifetime working in covert intelligence this should have been a cakewalk. But it wasn’t. This was one step away from a complete disaster. She’d sunk three years into these efforts and gotten nothing. Nothing she could pin to the wall. It was driving her crazy. Noone—nothing—was this secure.

  All she cared about was doing her job well, and at this rate she’d be doing her job until the day she died if she didn’t find a cipher. She needed someone, a person who could spell it all out for them. The answers had to be in the data—if they knew how to look at it. And that meant Scott had to become more useful, because his prices were lower than their NueEnergy contact. Besides, she wasn’t entirely convinced the contact wasn’t a witless lackey anyway. He could be taking them for everything he could and know nothing.

  No, Scott was going to have to become more useful before whoever was keeping an eye on Fiona closed in.

  Fiona flopped across Marco’s bed, deliciously exhausted. Who would have guessed that just driving an ATV would be such hard work?

  She grabbed her phone charger and held her breath.

  Marco had pulled her out at one point to hike up a bit of rock and she’d dropped her phone, face down, on the rock. The screen was busted, cracks spider-webbing across it like a work of art. She’d been able to use it, snapping a few pictures here and there of Marco and the view before her battery had died.

  Usually something like this would be the worst thing ever. After the day she’d had, the news about Scott notwithstanding, it’d been…amazing. The drive, the impossible rock crawls, it was the experience of a lifetime.

  The home screen popped u
p and, one after another, text messages popped in.

  Scott.

  All of them.

  She considered ignoring them, but curiosity got the better of her.

  Where’s my phone charger?

  I need my battery pack charger back.

  Where the duck are you? I need the portable charger pack.

  She rolled her eyes.

  The shiny, orange portable phone charger he’d given her? The gift he’d handed over to her during a dinner? He’d complained too often about her habit of letting her phone die. It wasn’t like anyone besides him ever called her. At the time, she’d been touched by the gesture, taking it as a sign of his interest in her. Wanting to talk to her. When in reality he’d probably wanted her to have it in her purse for his use. Hell, he’d used it a lot more than she ever had.

  The nerve.

  “What are you doing?”

  10.

  Fiona started at the sound of his voice, so close, and she hadn’t even heard him come upstairs.

  Marco grasped the back of her jeans and he hauled her across the bed. She yelped, dropping the phone onto the hard wood, and clung to the sheets.

  “Shit.” He froze.

  No!

  “I have to get a new one anyway.” Her nipples had gone hard, her body tingling with anticipation.

  He flipped her over, his hold on her…warm. Familiar. Intent. She found it hard to breathe. He’d been friendly during the day, but he hadn’t once kissed her. Touched her. She’d almost wondered if he was done with her like that.

  Marco braced his weight on his hands at either side of her shoulders. His knee pressed between her thighs. He lowered his face to hers, his lips skimming her cheek, the corner of her mouth.

  “Get naked now.” His voice was a growl she felt in her nipples and lower.

  He pushed up, watching her from half-hooded eyes. His hands dropped to his belt, unfastening it and toeing out of his boots.

  She sat up and pulled her shirt off, watching him watch her.

  Before they’d clawed their way into each other’s pants with passion that couldn’t be contained. She’d felt alive. Excited. This wasn’t the same. But still, he wanted her and that was better than nothing. Even if this was temporary, she’d always have the memories. What it’d felt like to have this big, bad biker guy want her.

  She stood and stripped out of her jeans. There was no way to be sexy about it. They were just getting undressed.

  Marco kicked out of his jeans and tossed his shirt off until all he had on were his boxers. He turned and walked away from her, into the bathroom.

  Really?

  Maybe that was where he kept his condoms? They had used the last of hers.

  Fiona stood there in her bra and panties, unsure of her next move.

  Has she imagined the desire in his gaze? Was she reading into things too much? Did she have the wrong idea?

  Marco emerged with two towels in hand and no boxers.

  “If you don’t get out of those panties now, I’m cutting them off.” He tossed the towel at her.

  She gulped and caught the fluffy towel. For some reason cutting her out of her clothes kind of sounded…fun.

  “Have it your way.” Marco grabbed a slim pocket knife from his night stand and flicked it open.

  “No!” she held out her hand. Okay, the idea and the reality were two very different things.

  “Nope. You had your chance. Come here.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward him.

  She stared at the knife and twisted her wrist in his grasp. Or tried to. He held her with no effort whatsoever, underscoring the reality that Marco could do with her as he wished. A fact she seemed to have forgotten from their first night together.

  “No, no, no!” She dipped her shoulder, twisting away, but it was too late, he already had the blade under her bra strap.

  “I’d suggest looking away. Don’t want to pop you in the face.

  “Marco, no.” She watched as he slid the blade’s edge across the elastic. It cut through one layer of the folded over elastic as if it were butter. Dear lord. “Don’t do it.”

  She cringed and closed her eyes.

  The strap fell away. Her shoulder was bare.

  Marco turned her until her back was to his chest and this time she watched him slide the dangerously sharp blade under the strap and slice it away. It didn’t hurt, but…he could if he wanted to.

  “It’d be a lot easier if you’d just do what I told you to.”

  She’d never been very good at following orders. That’s what’d gotten her in trouble in the beginning.

  He slid the dull side up her sternum, the point between her breasts and bra. She sucked in a breath and watched him gently slid the blade back and forth. He could hurt her. If he wanted to. Instead, for some crazy reason, he wanted to strip her bare in this primitive show. She pressed her thighs together and locked her knees.

  Damn him.

  It was working.

  She’d been so focused on the blade her body had softened, reacting to his touch, the way he held her. Her panties were soaked and her nipples hard. No doubt about that.

  He forced the blade trough the last bit of fabric and her bra fell to the ground.

  “See what you made me do?” There was a chuckle deep in his voice. Suppressed.

  “Right. Because I could ever make you do anything.”

  He hummed and ran the dull side of the blade down her stomach. She leaned back against him. At this point the panties were going one way or another, so why fight it?

  Marco slid the point of the blade under the waistband at her left hip and drove the sharpened end through the thin fabric. It sliced through easier than her bra, leaving only the hem at her thigh holding it together. For a moment.

  She’d never thought a pocket knife was sexy, not until Marco and not until now.

  Fiona swallowed, hardly remembering to breathe as he flicked his wrist and finished the job. Her panties and bra lay in shreds on the floor.

  Marco very carefully closed the pocket knife with her in the circle of his arms.

  “Hot tub should be warm by now.” He patted her ass and turned away.

  What?

  After all that, and he wanted to get in the damn hot tub?

  Was he for real?

  “Seriously?” She turned and watched the globes of his ass flex while he walked away, his towel crammed under his arm.

  “You coming, or do I have to carry you?”

  Given how last time he’d carried her went, she considered it for all of point-two seconds.

  Fiona wrapped the towel around herself. The sun hadn’t set yet and his family was within shouting distance, a fact she really should try to remember.

  She followed behind Marco, tip-toeing across the porch. He was already sitting in the frothing, bubbling water, clear up to his shoulders, hair damp. There was a convenient set of steps and a few pegs to hold towels.

  Marco sat back and crossed his hands behind his head.

  The look on his face said this whole thing was done to plan.

  Bastard.

  He’d meant to tease her and then leave.

  What the hell was he up to?

  She released the towel after a quick glance around to ensure they didn’t have an audience and hung it on the peg next to his. She could have easily worn her bra and panties into the tub, which was probably a fact he was more than aware of. Which meant he’d wanted to push her, get her out here naked. And for what?

  Well, she wasn’t going to give him more of a show than was necessary.

  Fiona turned sideways to step in and quickly sank to the opposite side, neck deep.

  Marco grinned at her, still further proof he was a bastard.

  “See? It’s nice out here.” He tipped his chin back and closed his eyes.

  She wasn’t going to agree with him. Just wasn’t happening.

  “Wish I had my phone to take a picture, but someone made me drop it.” She glared at Marco.

/>   “Hey, not my fault your grip needs some work.”

  “My grip?” She really wanted to make him eat his words.

  She slowly, carefully slid around the bench until she was adjacent to him. The churning water made it hard to see, but she could guess where her target was just by the way he was sitting all slouched down like that.

  Fiona stretched out her arm until her fingers brushed Marco’s stomach. The muscles under her touch jumped, but he otherwise didn’t move. He wanted to be the stone man? She’d give him a helping hand.

  Her grip.

  She drifted lower until her fingers found his cock. As of yet, she hadn’t touched him, not like this. Their coupling had been too fast, too urgent to allow for her exploration of his body. She wrapped her hand around him and swallowed. He wasn’t even hard yet. No wonder she’d been sore.

  Marco didn’t so much as crack an eye at her. Was this simply expected? Or was he waiting to see what she’d do? Well, she had plans.

  Fiona squeezed, just a little bit, and stroked, running her fingers along his length, feeling his size. He shifted his hips a bit closer. Permission? Or interest?

  She’d get him hard and then leave. Go back inside. See how much he liked it.

  Marco’s cock twitched in her hand. It wasn’t her imagination. His penis stiffened in her hold. She leaned forward and used both hands, one on his erection, the other cupping his balls. She glanced at his face. His lips were parted, and was that a little grunt she’d just heard?

  Teasing Marco was likely asking for trouble, but he couldn’t just tell her to strip, tease her, and then leave. She wasn’t going to stand for that.

  He thrust his hips up off the bench and into her grasp. One hand closed around hers, showing her how to stroke him. Her breath caught a little at that. If there was one thing she appreciated about him, it was his uninhibited manner toward sex. He took what he wanted, and there was nothing wrong with that. Well, she was taking what she wanted inside.