Code Name: Ghost

by Natasza Waters

  She swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering the note she had given him months ago. She was sure he’d thrown it out. Darting a glance across the lawn, she saw him coming toward her in all his daunting glory and the women were gone. “I can’t compete with them,” she admitted, “I should go.”

  “Race is already over.” A small rustle of branches told her the Lieutenant had pulled back into the brush line.

  She stared at the ground, not having the nerve to look at him as Thane knelt down in front of her. His fingers slowly wove between hers. She waited for him to say something, but instead he reached for her other hand, and pulled her up and against his chest.

  A flock of birds took off in her heart as his palm gently roamed down her back. He leaned in and breathed in her ear, his words separating her blood and making it boil. “You’re not going to get lazy on me now, are you? We have work to do.”

  She didn’t know where she found the courage, but she looked up into his eyes, very aware her breasts were pinned to his chest, and her breath came in short little gasps. No man’s eyes had ever stopped her heart, but his did, all the time.

  “You’re so beautiful to me,” he murmured as if he didn’t even realize he was saying it out loud.

  “You lied to me.”

  “I’ve never lied to you, Kayla.” Before she could argue his lips fell on hers in an attack, dropping any defense she thought about mustering. Streaks of heat scorched through her, and sparked between her thighs. He curled her closer as his kiss became hungrier. Every second that ticked by, she lost more of her control, meeting his attack and pushing it one notch higher. Both his hands buried themselves into her hair, and he tempted her mouth to open until his tongue met hers.

  “I’m dreaming,” she said, her eyes closed feeling the tingle of his kiss on her mouth even though he’d pulled away.

  Resting his lips against her ear, the tip of his tongue followed the arc with a moist sweep. “All my dreams are about you.” He tipped her chin to look at him. “Please tell me between the nightmares, I’m in yours.”

  Did she want to become another plaque on his wall? If she allowed her emotions to lead the way, he’d rush in and destroy all her defenses. “They have to remain as dreams.”

  “I don’t want to ache with need for you any more, Kayla. I need to know you to trust me.”

  His mouth powered down on hers with a ferocity that knocked her reason off its feet.

  * * * *

  Thane knew he had an audience, but it didn’t stop the gates from crashing down under the weight of his need for her. He thought he knew the man inside him, and he only meant to kiss her once—gently, but he kept kissing her. Desire shackled him until there was no room to move.

  He’d wasted enough time. She was the only option. His decision was final. He wanted her, and God help anything that got in his way, and that included both their pasts.

  Night had fallen on them quickly, but he only realized it when she pulled away from him. “I want you, Kayla, but I guess that’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

  She looked at him with an expression of shock, and maybe even a little fear. “Are you kidding, they, they’re…” she started to sputter.

  “Nothing, compared to you,” he finished, at the same time guiding her away from the trees.

  “Stop it. Are you really going to stand there and try and tell me those women just popped up and you haven’t been with them?”

  A small laugh escaped him. “I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t try to get you out of my head, but it never worked. Every woman paled once you walked into my life.”

  “I’m leaving. We can practice tomorrow. You can call your girlfriends back.”

  He nodded. “Practice is over,” he agreed, “we’re moving forward.”

  No matter how much stress she endured, her voice always remained steady, but it wasn’t now. “Are you going to let go of me?”

  “Never. I want you to surrender—to me.” Drawing her close, he kissed her again, wanting to remove any stitch of uncertainty in her mind. He continued to back up toward the pool. When they reached the patio, his hands slipped to the hem of her shirt, and his fingers brushed against her soft skin, catching the fabric and sliding it over her head.

  “I…” she breathed.

  “You are intoxicating,” he said, dropping her shirt to the patio tiles. His hands swept across the lace of her bra, and she stilled like a frightened deer. “Kayla—” His eyes darted to hers. “Baby, I’m not going to stop this time unless you tell me to.” Her body only shifted a little, but the movement was toward him, not away. The catch between her beautiful breasts drew his fingers, and without taking his eyes from hers, he released it. The lace fell away with a light sweep of his hand, and he gently circled then rolled her nipples. His breath caught, seeing her lashes flutter closed and her lips separate as if she needed more air.

  The pull to make love to her, to feel every part of her fired him to keep going. Desire took the helm, and he gently squeezed the flesh between his lips, sucking it into his mouth, flicking the sensitive point. Her gasp of pleasure hardened him, and he ran his teeth over the tip in response. “I surrender,” he breathed, running his moist tongue across her pebbled peak.

  When her hands slid down his chest, he didn’t waste time and tore his shirt over his head. Feeling her skin, warm and soft against his was all he’d dreamed about. “You drive every reasonable thought out of my mind, Kayla. Now, I want to push everything out of yours, except me.” Sitting down on the lounger, he drew her toward him. Following the deep curve of her waist down to her full hips made his chest rise and fall with heavy breaths. Catching her pants in his fingers, he followed the swerve of her thighs, slipping them down her legs.

  He had to hear her say it. “Do you still want me?” What if he’d held her away too long, and she’d come to her senses while he lost his? Gently, he caressed her belly with light kisses waiting for her answer, his heart raging. When she didn’t, he slowly turned his gaze to her, and his pulse raced thinking she was going to pull away.

  “I…was drunk that night in Arizona, Commander. I shouldn’t have…”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing the palm. “Yes, you should have, and so should have I.” He had to tell her the truth in order to earn hers. “Kayla—I’ll never forget that night. When you stood in front of me you looked at me as if you’d never laid eyes on a man before.” He remembered how her fingers reached out to cover the end of his swollen head with her sweet silk. She’d done it with such innocence and purity. Knowing what she had been through, he now understood how important that moment had been. It was trust she’d offered with her touch. “It was the most erotic moment of my life. But if I’d moved, I would have hurt you, my lust was so out of control. I had to stop myself, but I’ve never stopped wanting you.”

  “Misdirection?” she whispered.

  “None.” He had control now, and little by little he payed out the rope of desire for her. “Kayla, I want to taste every beautiful part of you. Tell me I didn’t wait too long.” He licked his way down to the heat between her legs. A small tremble fluttered beneath her skin. His erection jerked when he lapped at the stream of silk glistening between her thighs, and followed it up to her sweet sex. God, she was wet, and he knew his dreams were about to come true, if only she’d give them both a second chance.

  Her hand came down on his shoulder and like a cat, with a slow seductive crawl, one leg stretched across him to straddle the lounger. Her answer—clear, and his desire went off like a illumination flare. Capturing her ass, he pressed his mouth against her flesh, tasting her. A small cry escaped her throat, but she tried to swallow it.

  “Uh-huh,” he ordered gently. “Don’t hold yourself back, sweetheart. I want you to feel the heat.” He teased the very tip of her, and her fingers clenched his shoulders. “Baby, I want you to lose yourself in my hands,” he whispered, wanting to be in total command of her pleasure. The smell of her made his t
ongue lash out hungrily, and he sucked her firm nub with sharp little pulls and followed with long, lazy circles. With the sensual play, her hips began to sway in answer to him. His hand snaked up her leg, and gently he plunged into her channel, teasing the points he knew would make her lose reason, stroking her moist sex with his thumb at the same time. Her body shuddered with every pass, and a cry of pleasure.

  Pulling his zipper open, he released himself. Gently, he slid his fingers through her wetness, and then stroked her silk along the length of his shaft. Her entire body vibrated watching him. “Ah, you like to watch,” he growled, and buried his face between her thighs, sucking her juices onto his tongue, building his need with every delicious taste of her flesh and with his touch.

  She pulled away from his mouth. “Thane,” she breathed.

  “Let go, Kayla. I want you to remember every beautiful thing I do to you.” Her passion spiraled with the figure eights he drew around her silky folds. Inching down the lounger, he filled his palms with her ass and pulled her swollen sex over his mouth. Circling the rim of her channel, his seduction bloomed and he buried his tongue deep inside her. Her cries grew louder, and it was like pouring the coals into his already fevered attack. “Come for me, baby.” He flattened his tongue and lapped her entire sex, thrusting his tongue into the velvety canal with every pass.

  “Oh, God, Thane.”

  Her body shook in his hands, her restraint breaking. God help him, she was hot. “Don’t hold it back, baby.” He’d dreamed of this from the second he’d seen her. Holding her now was still a dream, and he wanted to reach every bit of darkness inside her, every betrayal and wash it away with his touch.

  “Thane,” she gasped, her breath catching in her throat.

  He groaned, his erection hardened past reason. Flicking his tongue with extra pressure, he pushed her to the edge. She cried out as her body seized and her nails dug into him, the orgasm erupting inside her.

  Oh, yeah. His heart thundered in his chest as he suckled her, slowing down, matching the jolts of her body as ecstasy released her from its grip. Holding her hips lightly, he waited until he knew she had experienced all of it, then pulled her down to sit on his stomach. He leaned in, resting his head in the valley between her lovely breasts. Listening to the heavy, deep pulse of her heart beating against his cheek centered him.

  “Thane.” Her sexy voice sent a snake of excitement coiling through him. “I could never make you feel that good,” and his hunger hit a new high when her soft lips found his and for the very first time she kissed him.

  His tongue met hers, soft and wet, and he probed, lingering, enjoying every arousing second. Lying back, he tried to calm himself, looking up at the stars with her cheek against his chest. “I have never wanted a woman more than I want you.” She leaned over, fluttering a trail of butterfly kisses down his taut stomach. Deep gusts of air left his lungs as he ran his fingers through the loose, soft waves of her hair. Raising his hips, he helped her rid him of his pants.

  “Kayla?” he whispered. She looked into his eyes, her vulnerability so easy to see. The men who used her body were predators not lovers. Lapierre jumped into his mind, but he crushed him after a split second of thankfulness for saving her life. “I’ve held you in my arms so many times, and I’ve cherished every time.”

  Honesty always shone in her eyes, as did all her emotions. He could read every expression after months of watching her so closely. It had been hell keeping his hunger for her at bay, but there was no retreating now. His mouth roamed across her curves, savoring every one. “Kayla, make love to me.” He gave her control and the heat in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She snaked her body down his, and her wetness stroked the tip of his head making his entire soul shake with anticipation.

  She caressed his shaft, enveloping him in her moist fold, her sweet silk covered his head twisting everything inside him into uncontrollable need. “You feel amazing, Kayla—” He palmed her cheeks, gazing into her eyes. “Make us one,” he whispered on her lips. Her silk drizzled down her thighs and against his, and then he was where he wanted to be, her velvet channel flowed over him.

  With the first stroke, he grasped her hips. “Lord help me,” he groaned, trying to control himself. He possessed her lips with a ferocious attack and she took him inside her, to the hilt—grinding her hips against his. With long, delicious strokes, she began to ride him, and the heat boiled over inside him. A penetrating moan of pleasure thrust itself from his throat. The instinctive yearning to fill her with his warm seed swarmed inside him.

  “Sweetheart,” he breathed out trying to relax, but the rush of blood and the burning desire to bury himself deep and fast took over. Her muscles tightened around him, sending an erotic call for him to answer. “Baby, ah shit, you feel good,” he hissed.

  The heat inside him turned into one beautiful pulse, ripping through him. His fingers came down on her sensitive flesh and he circled it. Her body arched back and she undulated her hips like no woman had ever done to him before. Her beauty unfolded before his very eyes, the real Kayla, open, free. When her muscles spasmed hard, clutching his shaft tightly, it felt like lips gripping him with sweet acceptance.

  “My beautiful mermaid.” A roar escaped his throat as heat ate him up.

  She pushed him deep inside her and like a wave breaking on the shore, she broke against him. “Thane,” she cried out, molding her body to his, quaking with another release.

  Hearing her cry out his name made him penetrate her with quick deep, thrusts. Her muscles sucked on his swollen shaft. Pulling her tight against him, a flash of heat tore through him. His body exploded, his warm seed jettisoning inside her. He hung onto her with a fierce longing as she rode him, her body still quaking in his arms. Every movement made him shudder.

  He clutched her in his arms like he was hanging on to life itself. “Kayla,” he whispered into her hair. The sounds of the night returned as did his senses, and he kissed her deeply. Goddamn, he had a condom in his wallet, and the realization hit him hard. His mind stilled on an image. He saw Kayla in his arms, and he saw children, but he didn’t just see them. He wanted them. The whole crazy, loud, messy insanity of a family. Be damned the risk. He didn’t have a future without the woman in his arms.

  His hands rose to her cheeks and he brushed her lips, a grin twisting his own. “If that doesn’t drive the Blood Shark to the end of his chain, nothing will.”

  Kayla’s jaw clenched tight. She yanked herself from his arms, and whisked her clothes from the ground. “Yeah, that should bring him around,” she said, taking every ounce of emotion from her voice.

  He sat up straight, his brow rippling. “Kayla—what?” Stunned, he watched her march toward his house. “What the hell?” he muttered, looking around the tree line. Half a moon glowed and gave enough light to see dark outlines, but not definition.

  “Commander—” Mace said drawing out the title.

  “What?” he snapped, remembering his entire team had just shared their most intimate moment.

  Mace cleared his throat. “Sir, you realize what you just said, right?”

  He grabbed his pants and yanked them onto his legs. He paused and then pushed himself to his feet. “Report, Lieutenant Cobbs, anything?”

  “Nothing, Commander, if he’s lurking he’s just observing.”

  “Then you’re relieved for the night. Get some sleep, men.” Only the rustle of foliage in his earpiece gave away his teams extraction, but he caught no movement with his eyes.

  As he walked toward the house, he heard Cobbs. “Thane…”

  “Stand down, Pat, I’ll watch her.”

  “Listen, old friend, you know you have to fix this, right?”

  “Fix what?” he growled, but the guilt already bit into his guts. He realized once Mace had prompted him, what his words must have sounded like to her. That’s not what he had meant to say.

  Silence returned, and then a sigh followed. “Are you bringing her in tomorrow morning?”

 
; “I think I will. She needs to work. It’ll make her feel more at ease. She needs normal right now. She’s scared, although she hides it better than most men.”

  “Maybe that’s because she feels alone, even with us around her. She’s lived through a lot already, and now she has to face this.”

  Cobbs knew him better than anyone did, so he didn’t take offense with his next words.

  “She’s not just a regular woman. Kayla is missing in action, Thane. No one can go through that many years of abuse and not be affected. You’re either going all the way or you’re going to walk away. Don’t hurt her worse than she already is.”

  He pushed the back door open, locked it behind him and scanned the empty room. Leaning against the door, he swayed his head in resignation. “I know, Pat. Why the hell do I always say the wrong thing to her? And that was the worst thing I could have said, wasn’t it?”

  “Yup. See ya tomorrow, Ghost.”

  “Send Marg my love, okay?”

  “You know I will. She worries about you, too. She says she’ll keep doing it until someone relieves her of duty, and she hopes it’s Kayla.”

  His brow wrinkled with doubt. “I just blew my only chance tonight with the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. How the hell could I have screwed that up?” He walked down the hall and checked the bathroom.

  “See, I always knew there was hope for you, Ghost, but the beauty of women is they’ll usually forgive us for saying stupid shit.”

  His shoulders rose with a laugh. “Night, Pat.”

  “Roger, out.”

  “Kayla?” Eyes everywhere, and with a hurried step he searched the darkened house. “Kayla?” He tugged on the garage door, still locked. “Kayla, answer me.”

  A door slammed shut down the hallway. That’s not a good sign. Standing in front of the closed guest room door, he took a deep breath. Kayla was pissed. “Kayla, I—”

  “Take a hike,” shot through the door.