“Are you going to . . .” She turned to look back at the unconscious Sasha. It would simplify so many things if he just killed her, but as soon as she had the thought, she choked. This woman hadn’t tried to kill her, but she intended to interrogate her through a means that frightened her.
“I don’t like to kill women,” he said as he started to take their things from their car and load it into this one. “She’ll be out for a while and will have the fun of dealing with the elements. That’ll give us enough time to cross the border and get on a plane to Brazil.” He came and took the rifle from her. “We’ve got to get on the move again. We don’t have time to dwell on this. The longer we stall, the less time we have between us and the other car that was following us.”
He paused, eyeing the car they had been in, and leveled his pistol at the tires, shooting all of them out. “Wouldn’t be a good idea to play fair in this game, though.”
She jumped then nodded, unable to argue, and began to help him load their things into the new car. They left the unconscious operative in the sand, and hopefully, out of the game completely.
Chapter 14
The drive to the border was short and Scott had to swallow his impatience and tied up nerves as the guard eyed their documents critically. There was the urge to growl and demand for him to hurry.
But, he didn’t want to raise any suspicion or give them a reason to look too closely at what was their car. Not with a car that had an obvious bullet hole in the windshield or passports and IDs that were fake. They declared nothing, just going on a little honeymoon adventure!
The guard took the time to stamp their passports before passing back any of their documents. He didn’t say a word about the bullet hole and sent them on their way. “Thank you,” Scott said with an air of decorum that he didn’t feel, but it seemed necessary to be polite.
“The last stretch to freedom. Almost safe.” He turned to Jovana, seeing her discomfort. “Just two hours to a private airport. Then we’ll be in Brazil and able to take time for other things.” He tried to grin, but he was still keyed up from the encounter with the Russians in the desert. Really, he would give anything to just be able to sink into her embrace and thrust into her heat after all of that.
“Be normal?’ she asked curiously.
“I don’t know about you.” He couldn’t help but grin and managed it this time. “But after all that, I have the worst case of blue balls. I can’t wait for a chance to bend you over and celebrate the fact that we’re both still alive.” He laughed a little. “Really, that was some good shooting and spotting there. It could’ve been a whole lot hairier.”
She snorted, and he could see she was unimpressed with his poor attempts at being romantic. Was he being romantic? “Sex is what you are looking forward to?”
“Not sex,” he corrected, reaching over to grasp her hand. “The fact that both of us have managed to get out of the country and are on our way to freedom. Real freedom. I want to celebrate being alive.” He began drawing patterns on her wrist with his thumb. “To take time to learn all that I can about Jovana and explore every inch of her that I can. To find out what makes her tick, what makes her happy.”
She chuckled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “And sex. You want that, too, without the worry of someone coming in to kill us.” She gave his cheek a pinch afterward. “You do not fool me.”
“I want you,” he assured her. “Every bit of you, not just the parts that are fun and I enjoy.” He started to relax as he put more distance between them and the border. He was so content in the false sense that they were now safe that he didn’t notice the dark sedan creeping behind them. As far as he was aware, they were safe and had taken care of the real enemy. However, those hadn’t been trying to kill them and weren’t as deadly as the other pursuer.
Chapter 15
“Every step,” he said to her as they boarded the little plane, “goes from being us versus them to just you and me.” He seemed to be thrilled at the prospect of less danger. Going from a hard-edged warrior to a man who wanted to do nothing more than curl up around her. He doted on her and held her hand in a way that was less meant for comfort and more so meant to appear as a man in love.
It eased her fears as they made their way to their seats. She buckled herself in as he stowed their little belongings into the overhead storage. Somehow, they managed to get on board without being searched. She wasn’t sure how he managed that, but it was something he had to have done. “After Brazil, what is the plan?”
“I think finding a nice private beach.” He sat down next to her, leaning in close to whisper to her. He had a sexy grin pulling at his lips. “And finding all sorts of interesting places that sand can get in and whether sex on the beach should be just a drink.”
That drew a laugh from her. This banter amused her. He didn’t seem to have to make much effort to draw laughter from her. “You are back to sex again.”
“You enjoyed it before.” He shrugged and leaned back into his seat, buckling up and preparing for take-off. He had a slight pout now, as if she were being serious and could somehow resist his sexual appeal.
“Oh, I did enjoy it.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I am sure I will enjoy it when we are able to celebrate that we are getting away with our lives. But after all of that . . .” She looked up at him because she had her doubts. “After that, will we be safe? Are we safe now in the air?”
He frowned lightly, resting his cheek against her hair and taking up her hand. She thought he seemed to enjoy holding it quite a bit. “Not totally,” he admitted as he seemed to distract himself with the lines of her palm.
“To some degree, we’ll be hunted for a long time. Unless we can manage to find asylum somewhere. Russia would be the place to go for that because they like putting pressure on our government, but it would come at a cost.” He sighed and relaxed against her. “I don’t think I would want you to pay it, much less risk the chance of them deciding to turn you in as a bargaining chip instead. I know I don’t like the idea.” He brought her hand to his mouth and placed a light kiss against her palm.
“I would rather us not take that chance to begin with,” she said lightly without even bothering to consider it as an option. “I had no desire to give them information the first time I was seduced into it. I am sure that I have no information I want to give them this time around. I cannot imagine what they think I have that would be useful.”
“How did that happen?” He sounded curious as he continued to entertain himself with mapping out her hand. His fingers seemed to take measurement of each her fingers. She was so distracted she wasn’t even aware of what he was doing.
“A date gone wrong. I assumed that it was a date but it was not,” she said lightly as she thought back to it. There was no reason to make a joke of what had led her to being in this situation. But when the attractive man first approached her, she couldn’t turn him down when he invited her out.
“I was drugged with something that caused me to answer questions without wanting to.” She frowned as she considered it. “There are drugs like GHB or Rohypnol that can influence the exposed person’s inhibitions.” She didn’t look at him, not prepared for his judgement. “I have no recollection of what I was asked. I experienced days of nausea and extreme holes in my memory. I feared that I had been raped, so I went to the hospital to find that he had not raped my body, just my mind.”
“It’s possible that’s what was used,” he murmured, and she felt his lips brush her temple, trying to offer her comfort.
“My going to the hospital had alerted my superiors, and it became apparent that my lifestyle choices had made me a liability.” She stared ahead at the seat in front of her. Her stomach lurched as the plane began to roll along the runway.
“I suppose if it had not happened, there would be little chance of me meeting you again.” She frowned as she considered it. “I suppose there is something to the situation that has made this bearable.”
He laughed, try
ing to ease the mood, it seemed, and cupped her cheek. “That’s a silver lining I can get behind.” He turned her so he could catch her mouth. They kissed to the point where she was ready to climb into his lap and seek comfort and pleasure in his embrace.
“What do you want to happen from here?” he asked, and she saw uncertainty in his gaze now. Surely, this strong, handsome man could tell where this would go. Why did he look afraid now?
She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. “To be safe.” She reached forward to curl her fingers through his short hair. “To find peace where the two of us can focus on each other without danger.”
“I want that.” He sighed and pressed his brow to hers. “I want that more than anything right now.”
“Perhaps we can find that,” she murmured. “Perhaps Brazil will be where we can safely hide and focus on learning more about one another.”
“Whatever happens,” he assured her, “I will be right beside you to keep you safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Just having you beside me is enough for me to feel safe,” she breathed, wishing that they were anywhere but on a plane for the next four hours. They were safe up in the air. They had left all of their enemies at the United States border. Or so she hoped.
Chapter 16
As the plane landed at a private little strip just outside Rio, Scott felt less like a hardened agent and more like a doting boyfriend. An eager lover. Well, they were the Millers now. Stephen and Laura. That meant they were married. He could pretend that he was her husband. That was a step above boyfriend. They could be open with their displays of affection.
When it came to renting a car, he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself. He kept a hand on her far hip. He wanted to touch her, to keep a hand on her, to never let her go. Having his hands on her seemed to cement the thought in his mind that she was safe.
The bitch in the desert had fired a shot at Jovana, though she didn’t seem to be aware just who it was she was shooting at. There had been a real fear that she had been struck. He wouldn’t forget the feeling of his heart stopping when the cloud of sand kicked up where he had left her. He still hadn’t had a good chance to take the time to reassure himself that she was fine.
It was a need he wasn’t aware that he had, but it kept his hands on her. She didn’t protest. She didn’t try to shake him off. She let him squeeze her hips and rub her shoulders.
When he wrapped his arms around her shoulders at the car rental counter and buried his nose in her hair, she leaned back into him. “I hope you two enjoy your honeymoon,” the clerk said politely as she gave them the keys and rental agreement, assuming that was what they were doing by the way he was acting.
He didn’t even try to correct her. It was enough to make him giddy. Would this be what it felt like if they were to get married?
He tugged her to their rental car and loaded the few things into the trunk. He had an address to where they would be staying, though he had no idea what the state of it would be like. He had spent time in shady places over the years, and while it hadn’t really bothered him before, the thought of staying in a shack with Jovana wasn’t something he wanted to do.
For the first time, he wanted to treat her to a four-star hotel. He wanted to shower her with extravagance. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good idea to do that, but he still had the desire to take her in something other than a musty old motel room.
Fortunately, he was surprised when they rolled up onto a picturesque villa that looked as if it sat on a private beach. It was open and airy, and there was a small pool that overlooked the rainforest. It seemed like a cocoon from the outside world. Who would think to look for them here? It looked as if it was the perfect place to hide away, and they could enjoy the feel of freedom even if it was fleeting.
Jovana led the way through the villa. It was small but more than enough room for just the two of them. It was lavishly decorated, and the motel rooms he frequented didn’t hold a flame to this place. He opened every door to let the air in. It was hot, and the fresh air seemed to offer him more comfort, like all the problems had been left behind. She stopped by the pool in awe. “This is gorgeous.”
“It is,” he agreed, lingering behind her. They were alone in a secluded place, a piece of the world that could be theirs. It was almost painful to not touch her.
“It’s a pity we do not have swimsuits with us.” She sighed as if it were reason enough to not get in the clear water.
“You need a swimsuit?” he asked, and he stepped away, taking his time to tug his shirt off. “It’s just me and you,” he said as he dropped his shirt. He unbuttoned his jeans then pushed them down with his boxers. He hadn’t been joking about the blue balls. He hung at half-mast and the idea of being in the pool with her was enough to get the blood rushing from his head. “You’re not afraid of skinny dipping, are you?”
She watched him step into the pool, taking in the wall of muscle that he was and the sight that was his bare ass. He could feel her eyes on him, and he made no attempt to cover himself. He turned around and backed into deeper water, giving her a good look at his hard cock.
It had been a while since they had been able to enjoy each other. It seemed like the perfect time and the perfect chance. No one was around, and there was no danger to interrupt them. He wanted her so fucking much.
He watched her arms fold over her chest and he knew her gaze was going along the view he created. Not that he was cocky about his appearance. So far, though, Jovana had enjoyed his physique and hadn’t made any complaints. From the look on her face, she seemed to appreciate his appearance like he did hers. “You gonna get in or are you just going to enjoy the view?”
“Well . . .” She shrugged lightly, trying to look nonchalant as she appreciated him. “It is a nice view.”
“Get in,” he growled at her as he prowled back to the edge of the pool. “Or I’m gonna have to come get you and get you all wet.”
“Oh.” She started to pull her clothing off slowly. “You need to make little effort to get me wet, Scott.” As more of her sleek curves became exposed, she moved slower, teasing him with a view of her nude form.
“Get in,” he said lightly. “And I’ll be sure to take advantage of that and make you scream loud enough to bother the birds.” She didn’t hesitate after that. She stepped into the pool and went to him. He tugged her so that she was flush against him, and the pool became more about enjoying the feel of her and less about swimming.
Chapter 17
They spent the majority of the first day in Brazil in the pool. He had immediately taken advantage of skinny dipping by pushing her to the edge of the pool and sliding into her, finding little resistance. It had been more than a day since they had been able to be so close. The days they had spent in the little motel room making love didn’t seem to hold a flame to what he had made her feel now.
“Turn around,” he growled in her ear. Something about the way he spoke seemed to promise just how good he was about to make her feel.
It took little motivation for her to do as he asked. She had begun the contraceptives as soon as he had given them to her while they were still in Santa Fe. He slid into her bare and they both moaned. He took her from behind in the pool and they faced away from one another. She was wrapped around him in a fashion that she didn’t think she would change. This was a clear difference that she was going to enjoy each time they made love.
His hands gripped hers as he thrust into her, the water splashing up over the edge he had her pressed against. “This,” he hissed in her ear. “This is what I want. This feeling you’re making me have.” His hips picked up with the force he used to thrust into her. “Every day, I want this.” His mouth pressed against her ear, and she felt his hard chest pressed into her back. “Every day, with you.”
“Every day,” she echoed, so close to exploding around him.
His breathing hitched and his thrusts began to lose the rhythm he had built. His mouth was at her ear, his
tongue coiling over it and brushing against the shell. She tilted her head back to rest on his shoulder, moaning her encouragement.
She felt him quaking, and the stutter to his thrusts shift into something jerkier. He was losing control, and it was clear just how close he was. “I love you,” he gasped. “God, I love you.” His arms came around her and she felt him erupt inside her.
His words and the hot liquid he spilled within her had her gasping, her hands clinging to the cement that surrounded the pool. She cried out and pressed back into him, though the words echoed in her mind, seemingly on repeat. He loved her. He just admitted to loving her.
Her breath hitched. Did he realize what he had said? Did he know? Would he be upset? There had been so much that happened that surely, it was the stress of their situation that brought him to say that.
His voice cracked slightly. He knew what he’d said. “Withhold sex long enough, and I go admitting embarrassing shit.”
“I did not withhold it. There was not time before where we could have it,” She gasped and leaned back against him, her muscles still trembling. “Do you regret it?”
“No, you didn’t,” he agreed, and he grunted when he pulled out of her. It was a loss she felt. “And no, I don’t.” He turned her around in the pool so they faced one another. “It might have been something I felt or just said in the heat of the moment.” She met his gaze. His brows were drawn together and his face was flushed as he seemed to consider his words.
She wasn’t sure if the flush was due to their just having sex or his embarrassment. “You struck a chord with me since I first saw you in Kosovo. You have lived with me in my heart and in my head for years.” He cupped her face in his hands. “When I saw you again, I thought I was going to go through with my duty. I thought I was going to kill you because of an order, but as soon as I touched you, as soon as I looked in your eyes again, I knew I couldn’t. You’ve meant too much to me for so long. I couldn’t just kill all of that because of an order.”
Her Protection: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 2) Page 27