by Maddie Wade
Autumn’s legs began to shake, her hand landing on his head, as the other gripped the silk pillow and held it to her mouth to silence her scream of release. Arching her back, she splintered in ecstasy, shards of bright light blinking in her vision as her climax thundered through her body, every nerve pulsing with pleasure such as she’d never known before.
She felt the pillow pulled from her face as a now naked Mitch stood magnificently between her legs, his sheathed cock in his hand as he pumped the thick shaft.
“I could live on the taste of you on my lips.” His erotic words had her body throbbing with arousal again, her muscles languid from it. “You’re like a dream I can hardly believe is real, but here you are spread out like a banquet, and I want to taste every inch of your skin.”
Autumn held hands up to him, Mitch complied, resting his weight on her, his hands either side of her head, hips cradled between her thighs. The heat of his erection twitched against her entrance.
“I want to feel you inside me.”
Her mouth found his and Mitch kissed her as he slid inside her, the burn of the stretch mixing with desire, heightening her senses. When he was entirely inside her, he kissed her tenderly, before his hips began to move, his cock pumping inside her as she wrapped her legs around his back, locking him to her. Rocking up to meet every pump of his hips, her moans fought with the sound of slapping flesh, his scent surrounding her adding to her desire.
Mitch pulled away, the feral look in his eyes only making her wetter, her nails digging into the strength of his shoulders as she buried her head in his neck and bit down, her climax taking her over the edge.
Mitch shook as his pelvis slammed into her, and she tightened around him as he swelled and pulsed, releasing his seed into the latex between them as his climax barrelled through him and he sought her mouth.
Her eyes opened, and he was watching her with a possessive look in his eyes as he stroked her cheek with his thumb.
“You’re mine.”
Autumn shivered at his words, feeling claimed in a way her husband had never made her feel. Mitch owned her body and mind, and the thought was both terrifying and exhilarating.
As he withdrew from her she winced at the movement, her body aching in places she’d forgotten she had.
Mitch froze, his brow dipping in concern. “Did I hurt you?”
Autumn shook her head. “No, I’m just not used to it.”
Mitch nodded, his eyes devouring her as she lay shamelessly naked on the mint green silk bedding. His finger skimmed her hip as he stepped away from the bed, the hair on his legs tickling her skin.
Autumn stared as he prowled to the bathroom, his fine ass making her spent body awaken with renewed energy. The front was no less spectacular as he ambled towards her, his cock still half erect. He was a magnificent specimen, and she found herself smiling that she could call him hers.
“What you grinning at?” He climbed on the bed beside her, lying on his side, his head resting in his hand, his elbow propped and laid his palm on her belly, his eyes intent.
“Just how sexy you are.”
“Oh yeah?”
Autumn pushed up, rolling so he was on his back, Mitch letting her take control. Her breasts pressed into the hair on his chest smattered with hints of grey, only making him sexier in her eyes. Her hands moved over his belly, following the trail of hair towards his cock which lay semi-erect against his muscular thigh.
“I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but I’m not a teenager anymore. Two in a row is a bit of an ask.” His chuckle made her belly squirm, the feel of his body under her hands, causing her clit to pulse.
“Is that a challenge?” Her voice was a purr she couldn’t remember hearing before, a seductive tone only for him.
“If you want it to be.”
Autumn laughed a throaty sound and saw his dick twitch as she kissed her way down his belly and took the tip of him into her mouth. His deep hiss of pleasure, the feel of his rough hand stroking the curve of her ass before sliding into the wetness at her centre, made her take more of his already hard cock into her mouth. Hollowing her cheeks, she sucked, taking him deeper as he pumped his fingers into her.
Soon she tasted the evidence of his desire sharp on her tongue and knew she wanted it all. Her hands caressed his balls as she hummed around his cock, making him jerk his hips.
“Fuck me, Autumn, that’s so good.”
Smiling around his dick, she redoubled her efforts as Mitch hooked his fingers inside her, rubbing his thumb over her clit, in circular motions until they were both writhing.
“Autumn.”
His warning threw her over the edge, and she climaxed around his fingers as she swallowed his length, the first jets of his seed hitting her throat. Letting his cock fall from her lips, Autumn collapsed on his belly.
“I think I died and went to heaven.”
Autumn shot him a glare. “No dying. I only just found you.”
Mitch held his arms out to her and she crawled up him, cuddling into his body in the space he left for her.
Draping his arm over her hip, he pulled her tighter against him. “I’m not going anywhere, Autumn. I never had a reason like you and Maggie to live for before, and I was careful, but now I’ll do whatever it takes to makes sure you and she are safe and that I always come home to you.”
The three little words hung on her tongue, but she bit them back, not wanting it to feel like a cliché after they’d just made love. Yet in her heart, she knew she loved this man with everything in her and his words, although not love, made her think he felt the same. She trusted him to keep her heart and that of her precious baby girl safe.
Chapter Eighteen
Mitch woke early and glanced at the beauty beside him. He wanted to roll over and wake her with his mouth, but he could hear Maggie cooing to herself in the other room. Sliding out from under the arm that was slung possessively over his belly, he leaned in to kiss her bare shoulder. Autumn lay on her front, the sheet pooled around her hips, the expanse of sexy flesh teasing him.
He rubbed a hand over his face then slid his legs into jeans and donned a tee before padding into the room where Maggie had slept. He looked down at her and grinned as she shoved her foot in her mouth.
“How about we get you some breakfast, gorgeous.” He reached in and scooped her up, feeling the weight of a very wet nappy. “Perhaps we should get you dressed first.”
He’d done this a few times under Autumn’s careful tutelage, and after finding everything he needed got Maggie dressed in the cutest little denim pinafore dress.
With a glance at Autumn, he wondered about leaving a note, but she’d know he had Maggie and that he’d bring coffee back for her. Taking the stairs, he followed the noise to the large kitchen where Mimi and Alex were making breakfast.
“Morning!” Mimi greeted with a smile.
Alex cast his eye over him and then smirked a knowing grin.
“Mimi, Alex, good morning.”
“Did you sleep well?” she asked as she flipped a piece of bacon while Alex poured blueberry syrup that he’d probably whipped up into a large, crystal bowl.
“We slept great, but I thought I’d give Autumn a lie-in. She doesn’t get a lot of rest.”
“Sleep is vital but don’t forget to give the girl some fun too. My David—”
“Wow, Mum. Stop talking.” Nate came up behind her and kissed her cheek, giving him and Alex an eye roll.
“I was only saying,” Mimi said a little affronted.
“Yeah, well, don’t. We all know I was an immaculate conception, and let’s leave it at that okay?”
Mimi laughed. “You kids today.”
Maggie began to fuss as her hunger took over.
“Is there any baby cereal or something I can feed her? She’s just started weaning.”
“Yes, we have some Rusk, let me get it.”
Mimi showed him the box, and he nodded.
Thirty minutes later, he was wearing more Rusk than Magg
ie had eaten, but she was happy, and he’d managed to shove a few bites of bacon and pancakes in his mouth.
Jack walked in with Zack and Will and looked at him and Alex before nodding towards the hall. “Can I have a word, please?”
Mitch looked at Mimi who was now chatting with Bebe and Meg. “Can you watch Maggie for just a second?”
“Yes, of course, go on.”
Mitch pushed back from the table, and he and Alex followed the others into Zack’s office. The room was old and elegant, furnished with a dark walnut desk that was centuries in age, hand-carved bookshelves, and leather couches in dark brown with brass buttons. It screamed old money which it was because Zack was too. Born to the landed gentry, he should’ve been a politician or a lawyer, but Zack had wanted to serve and had worked hard to make the elite 22 SAS. He was a good man and a great friend, but Mitch’s belly dipped at the look in Jack’s eye.
“What happened?”
Mitch took a seat on the couch beside Alex, and Will moved to the desk and opened his laptop. Mitch thought it was surgically attached to him, he took it everywhere and he always had a packet of red candy laces on him. Zack was leaning against the bookshelf, his arms crossed, face expressionless as he waited for Jack to begin.
Mitch watched Jack closely as he leaned against the desk, trying to ascertain from his demeanour if the news was bad, but as usual, Jack gave nothing away.
“Lopez found transactions last night that link back to Harold Charles. He’s buying up stock of pralidoxime chloride.”
Mitch’s lips pulled into an angry sneer as he realised what was going on. “That’s one of the antidotes for Tabun, right?”
Jack nodded solemnly. “Yeah, the transactions are buried pretty deep within shell companies, but it looks like Harold and Verena haven’t fallen out as badly as they would have us believe. We found emails between them suggesting that the family dynamic is far from hostile.”
“Are we are working on the assumption that they’re creating a chemical weapon similar to Tabun and also cashing in on the other end by making the antidote?” Mitch’s good mood vanished into thin air as he spoke, the strands unravelling in his head.
“That’s my take from it, and the public falling out was a front so we didn’t automatically link them.”
Alex inclined his head. “How buried are these transactions?”
“Very. It took a lot of digging to find them, but you know Lopez when he gets his teeth into something.”
“It’s a geek thing,” Will said with a shrug.
“We need to get in that warehouse and find out what the fuck is going on.” Alex stood and walked to Will. “Pull up the aerial shots of the farm.”
Mitch stood and walked over to the desk behind Alex as he pointed at two areas on the screen. “We could go in here and here and do a brute force entry.”
“I’d prefer a quick recon. We don’t want to tip them off to what we know just yet, or it could accelerate their plans.”
Alex and Jack often threw ideas around like this, and neither was worried about disagreeing because the end game was always the same.
Jack looked at Alex and then him. “What are your thoughts, Mitch? You know Linton Allen, what would he do?”
Mitch shook his head. “Hard to say. The kid I knew isn’t the man we’re hunting. If he’s as clever as I think, then he’ll be expecting us to find this unless he doesn’t know about it. Remember, we don’t know how far his and the Cobras’ involvement goes. If it were me, I’d bring Hench, Midas, and Anton in, and have Deck question them.” Mitch tried to think like Linton, but it was almost impossible. Even the gang he’d so briefly been involved with had evolved into a million-pound operation now.
“We should hit the warehouse at the same time. I agree with Alex on the brute force, but instead of hitting one area hard, hit the Onyx Cobras’ base and the warehouse. That way, they won’t have time to warn anyone.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jack agreed. “Let’s get back to Eidolon and put a plan together.”
This was why Mitch had agreed to this job when Jack approached him six years ago. The red tape on the force meant it was a dictatorship. Even though there was no mistaking Jack was the boss at Eidolon, he involved them and listened to them as a team leader should. The salary hadn’t hurt either. He was never going to retire comfortably on a police pension, but although the risk was tenfold, so was the pay. He’d never regretted it, not for a second and Jack picking him out of all the excellent armed response and sniper units in the UK was a huge honour.
“Let us know if you need any extra hands.” Zack headed for the door. “Until then, I have to help Ava restore order so I don’t end up on the sofa.”
Will laughed. “Yeah, like that’s ever happened.”
“First time for everything and she’s feeling delicate this morning.” Zack lifted his brows and ducked out with a snicker.
“I should get back to Autumn and give her an update before I take her home.”
“Meet me at Eidolon in two hours,” Jack stated.
“Yeah, sure thing.”
Picking up Maggie, who was looking less like she’d fought a battle with her breakfast and lost and more like the angel she was, Mitch took the stairs back to his suite and gently slipped inside.
Autumn was walking out of the bathroom with a towel around her wet body as they came in, her face lighting up at the sight of them. He felt his body harden with desire for her as she scooped Maggie from his arms, and kissed her face, before lifting and hooking an arm around his neck planting her mouth over his for a slow kiss.
“Hmm, now that’s what I call a greeting.” He held her hips in his hands, knowing she was naked beneath the towel and wanting nothing more than to feel her soft skin against his own.
“I missed you this morning.” Her lips twitched with a sultry promise that was hard to ignore.
Lifting his hand, he caressed her cheek. “I thought you might be tired after last night and would appreciate the extra sleep.”
“I am, and I did, thank you. I still missed you, though.”
Her words made his chest ache in such a way that he wanted to wrap her in his arms and show her his gratitude. “Are you sore?”
Autumn wrinkled her nose as she walked to the bed and set Maggie down. “A little but nothing I can’t handle.”
“Good, then I can show you how much your words mean to me later tonight.”
His lips twitched as she dropped her head before looking at him through her lashes. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on, and she didn’t seem to have a clue. Her husband must have been gone in the head to have risked losing a woman like Autumn. Mitch would be eternally grateful that he had though because now he’d show her how she should be treated for the rest of her life if she let him.
He steadied Maggie, who was rolling on the bed with her feet in the air as Autumn grabbed clothes from her overnight bag. It was hard to concentrate when her sexy ass was bent over, but he needed to tell her about Rion and the other developments.
“I have some news.”
Autumn straightened her back snapping rigid at the tone he used. She walked to him the pulse beating wildly in her neck and not from desire this time. “Tell me.” Her hands gripped his shoulders as she stood between his thighs in only her underwear, and he regretted not waiting until she’d dressed.
Instead of touching her how he wanted, he placed his hands on the outside of her silky thighs. “Hench and Midas, Linton’s men visited your family and put a picture of them together on the dark web for us to find.”
She didn’t freak or become hysterical. “Did they hurt them?” Her words came out on a shaky breath, and he knew it was hard for her despite her composure.
“They’re fine. It was a warning.” He told her about the rest, and she agreed with the assessment they’d made.
“Will my family be safe once Linton finds out you took his men?”
“We have a man watching Linton and two men watching
your family. They aren’t Eidolon, but they do some work for us now and again. They’re good guys. In fact, they’re brothers who served with Jack.”
“So they know what they’re doing?”
“Yes, Autumn, they’re highly skilled men.”
Autumn nodded. “Okay.”
“Get dressed, honey. Much as I want to sit here and enjoy the view for the rest of the day I have to go into work.” Autumn grinned as she spun on her heel and gave him a beautiful view of her butt. “Woman, don’t play with me.”
“Or what?” she asked in a playful tone which he loved to hear.
He grabbed her around her waist, making her squeal as his hands tickled her ribs. “Or payback will be a bitch.” He tickled her again, and she danced around, trying to avoid him before she wrapped her arms around him instead.
“I submit.”
“Music to my ears, baby.” He kissed her hard and fast before stepping away. “Get yourself dressed.”
Mitch dropped Autumn and Maggie off and made sure they were secure in her apartment with everything they needed before he headed in to work. Bebe and Astrid were there, and those two were as dangerous as any man, in fact, more than most men. He knew they’d protect Autumn and Maggie with their dying breath.
It wouldn’t come to that, he’d seen his future last night, and it was beautiful. He wouldn’t allow either of their pasts to spoil that. It was time to put Linton Allen where he belonged. It made his heart heavy when he thought of the boy he’d known, the younger brother to his best friend who’d looked up to him. He’d always feel some small shard of the blame for what he’d become. Linton could have been anything he wanted with his brilliant mind, but the opportunities weren’t the same for kids like them. He’d been lucky, his mum had moved heaven and earth to get him out, but Linton hadn’t had that.
He’d taken the wrong path, but to him, it may have seemed like the only path. That he’d made a success of even that showed what he could’ve become if life and grief hadn’t stolen the sweet boy and replaced it with cold evil. Mitch had read the file on Linton as he was now and he couldn’t see even a hint of the boy he’d been. Devon would be heartbroken to know what his baby brother had become. He’d joined the Cobras to protect his family, and ultimately it had cost them both. Now Mitch had to face that and put right the wrongs he’d had a part in to save his budding family.