Above All Else: A Bad Boy Military Romance (Easy Team Book 2)

by Gemma Hart

  Or at least, I thought that’s what he was saying. He spoke only German.

  With how disoriented I was, I nearly fell out of my seat when Marco replied in fluent German, nodding along with the foreman’s assessments.

  I couldn’t believe it. The notorious mob hitman was fluent in German? Well, color me surprised.

  After re-establishing Marco’s ownership in the business, we went directly to a “friend.” At least that was how Marco phrased him, quotation marks included. It clear this a friend who was only around when necessity called for him.

  We found him in a small apartment building near a string of factories. He was living and working out of an impromptu loft, meaning it looked like several of the conjoining abandoned apartments had had their walls knocked in, creating one giant loft.

  That was where we found Zeke.

  Zeke knew computers. That was all he told me.

  “I do computers, yeah? I help with computers and things,” he said vaguely with a faint German accent. Tall and skinny with a thin moustache and large glasses, he looked like a mouse on toothpick legs. He was constantly moving around, unable to stand still for one minute.

  I looked over at Marco in confusion. What could we possibly need from Zeke?

  Marco handed the mousy man a piece of paper. “Get me in there,” he said.

  Zeke looked at the paper and nodded, his eyes brightening at the challenge.

  Quickly he zoomed towards one of his many computers. The whole loft was filled with computers in different stages of disassemblement. There were some with flickering screens and some with cracked screens. There were a few playing movies and TV shows. In fact, one of the computers in the far corner was playing Cinderella dubbed in Spanish.

  But Zeke was only focused on the computer he was currently using in the kitchen. For the first time since I had met him, he was standing still, completely focused in on what he was doing.

  Marco and I stood in silence for about fifteen minutes as he worked. I still wasn’t quite sure what we were trying to do here.

  “Okay!” Zeke said abruptly and loudly, making me jerk back in surprise. “Know which account?”

  Marco put a hand on my lower back and guided me towards the computer. “Do you remember where the funds for Erlösung were? We need to get them out now before the FBI cease everything.”

  I looked at the computer screen and realized we were looking at the inner gates of the Desmond empire’s funds. The same screens I had been looking at from within the Desmond compound was now here in Zeke’s dilapidated loft.

  He was a hacker.

  And he had hacked his way into the accounts for us. And as someone who had spent weeks and weeks studying these accounts, I knew exactly where to look. I reached over and clicked and pulled out a few files. I typed in access codes that I had memorized and opened more accounts. I made sure to grab every single last piece that belonged to Marco. He had poured his literal blood, sweat, and tears into this and I was going to make sure he got every last cent.

  “There,” I finally. “That should be all of it.”

  Zeke stared at me through his large coke bottle glasses. “She’s good, yeah?” he said, nodding at Marco.

  A slow grin took over Marco’s face as relief, happiness, and love lit his eyes. He was free of the Desmond Family. He had finally made it.

  “She’s good,” he echoed back.

  I looked up at Marco. “I could do more. I know where a lot of the more obscure funds are. I could grab those as well. They’ll be harder to notice when missing.”

  Marco shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ve purposely made sure to limit my holdings to the bare minimum. The less I have at stake in the Family, the less I can be charged with or held responsible for.” He looked down at me and grinned. “Not that I have any plans on getting myself caught and charged, of course. But you can never be too safe.”

  So that was why Roy had wanted me to change over some of the holdings into Marco’s name! He had wanted Marco to have the second highest holdings within the Desmond Mafia so that when he took the fall, he could almost be considered and charged as someone equivalent to the head of the Family. That would take off a huge amount of heat off of Roy’s back.

  Yet again, another example of Roy Desmond’s fine parenting skills.

  Thank god the man was dead.

  Finally, having funds properly reallocated back to him and confirming his plants were good and steady, Marco bade Zeke farewell and sgrabbed me and two fake passports and flew us to France.

  “How long have you had all this planned out?” I asked.

  It was incredible how much detail he had put into everything. He had literally thought of every contingency. Sure, we had had to keep a low profile since we didn’t know if Interpol had been alerted yet but because of Marco’s planning, we were still relatively comfortable.

  “For awhile,” he said. I had noticed a change in him. He was slowly starting to believe that his moment of freedom had finally come. And I knew that for him, just like it was for me, it was all the sweeter because we had each other.

  Then in France, we had met Jamie who was on holiday from school.

  And for the next few days, I had what could only be described as the most magical week in Paris. I felt like for the first time in a long time, I was part of a family again. We visited the sights and ate the incredible food. Jamie teased and joked while Marco sighed and pretended to be tired of his brother’s antics.

  I lifted my wine glass, trying to hide my yawn beneath it. But it fooled no one.

  “Looks like Halle’s ready for bed,” Jamie said, nudging Marco.

  I smiled sleepily. “I guess I am. All the wine and cheese, I guess,” I said wrinkling my nose at him again.

  Jamie laughed. “Hey if you’re tired, you can take a seat here and I’ll push!”

  Jamie’s blue eyes twinkled with good humor.

  “How about you stay in your seat and try to be quiet for five minutes,” Marco said, unable to help himself from grinning at his brother. “You’ve been yammering on for the last hour all by yourself.”

  “Some say I’m a gifted conversationalist,” Jamie sniffed in mock offense.

  “And others would say you’re taking advantage of the deaf,” Marco returned.

  I snorted in my wine glass, spurting wine all over.

  “Oh so you’ll snort wine but you won’t eat some stinky cheese?” Jamie said, raising a brow.

  I burst out laughing, raising a hand in defeat. “Alright, alright! I concede. You are all superior to me!”

  And with much ribbing, we slowly headed back towards our beautiful and quaint hotel, the city lights twinkling above us.

  With Jamie safely seen back to his room, Marco and I retired to our own. I threw myself on our plush bed. Marco had planned very carefully. Through his detailed planning and maneuvering, we could live happily and comfortably in Europe for the rest of our lives.

  Our lives.

  I looked over and saw Marco standing at the edge of the bed, admiring me. We were together and we had the rest of our lives to enjoy that fact. I smiled at him.

  “This still feels like a dream,” I said.

  The corner of his lips curled. “I know,” he agreed. He leaned down on the bed, lying next to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me even more snugly against him. “But it’s the absolute best dream.”

  I raised my head and stared up at the man that I loved. I couldn’t have agreed more.

  The absolute best.

  And the dream only got better as Marco’s lips descended on mine. In a slow, pulsing kiss, he pulled my lips into him. His tongue swept and explored the inside of me. He took away my breath, literally. He kissed me deeply, warmly, powerfully. It was a kiss that let me know that I was his and he was mine and that was all there was in this universe.

  Without hurry, we undressed each other, letting our hands slide over each other’s body in a sensuous study. It was as if knowing that we were no
w free and safe, we could truly take the time to linger and tease each other.

  Marco lowered his head, kissing his way down my neck and chest towards my breasts. He squeezed each full mound, giving the nipples short, sharp bites that sent electric bolts straight to my pussy. I moaned and arched, wanting more.

  His large hand slid down the length of me till his fingers met my wet warmth. Without hesitation, he gave my swollen folds a good hard stroke. I gave a guttural groan, so hungry for his touch. His fingers teased and tormented me. He circled my clit and stroked my sensitive cleft. He brought me again and again to the peak of release only to pull back and enjoy my whining cries.

  Finally, I reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. As our tongues met and slid against each other, I flipped myself over till I was leaning over him.

  “Two can play at that game,” I said firmly.

  Marco’s eyes glinted in amusement like two dark obsidian opals.

  I wedged myself between his legs and lowered my mouth onto his thick and ready cock. I swirled my tongue around the sensitive head, feeling him twitch against me.

  In one smooth motion, I mouthed him completely, taking in as much of him as possible.

  “Oh fuck,” he groaned, making me wriggle in pleasure. He wasn’t the only one who could tease. And I would show him that.

  I gave long lingering swiped down the underside of his cock, making sure to wrap a hand around the base and continue a movement of friction. I mouthed and teased and licked and swirled all over him till his thighs felt like steel beams.

  Finally a powerful arm grabbed me around the waist and threw me back onto the bed. “That was not a proportionate response,” he said, his face darkened with powerful lust and arousal. “You were a lot worse than I was.”

  I grinned, unrepentant. “Was I?” I asked innocently.

  His eyes darkened. “You’ll be paying for that,” he promised.

  And I did. In one powerful thrust, he filled me with his thick and throbbing cock, making me arch back in utter satisfaction. With powerful motions, he plunged into me, every stroke deeper and harder than the last.

  I felt every inch of him sliding and stretching into me. Wave after wave of pleasure exploded over me, leaving me twitching and shaking for release. Marco leaned down and roughly crushed his lips to mine as he thrust in hard again, hitting me just where I needed it.

  My scream of release was muffled against his lips as I cried and cried out in the racking pleasures of my body. Nerve endings fired from all ends as heavy doses of ecstasy bloomed within me.

  Marco continued to thrust into me as my pussy milked every last tremor. Finally his own roar of satisfaction accompanied mine as he found his release.

  Pulling me into his arms and gathering me close, we collapsed together in bed.

  Our panting breaths and pulsing hearts beat as one. I felt Marco press his lips to the back of my head.

  “Consider that a lesson,” he said, out of breath.

  I grinned and turned around in his arms so I could face him. “The first of many, I hope?”

  “The first of forever,” he assured me.

  And we fell asleep, warm and safe in each other’s embrace.

  The End

  Find out what happens next to Marco and Halle in their whirlwind and dangerous romance in the follow up sequel:

  RISKY TEMPTATION

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