by Leslie North
“This.” Her fingertips grazed the head of his cock, causing him to moan low in his throat. Velvet with a hint of moisture. Oh, yeah. He wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. It was there in the flush atop his cheekbones, there in his dilated pupils, there in his panting breath and parted lips. She slid slowly down his front until her feet hit the floor, then knelt before him, taking her time undoing his pants, her gaze locked with his as she freed his arousal and wrapped an eager hand around his length. “And this. I want to taste you.”
At the first swipe of her tongue over his sensitive head, Loki squeezed his eyes shut and fisted his hands against the slippery shower wall. At the second lick, his tense thighs quivered. By the time she took him into her mouth and tasted his salty flavor for the first time, Loki wasn’t the only one trembling with need. She wanted him so badly, she couldn’t stop herself from slipping her fingers between her legs and stroking her swollen clit. Her slick folds pounded in time with her pulse and if she didn’t get him inside her soon, it would all be over too fast. And she wanted this to last forever.
After a few moments Loki placed his hand on her shoulders and drew her away from him to stand before him once more. “I’m sorry, darling. But I need to be inside you. Please.”
“Yes. I want that too.”
Never one to scrimp on amenities, Natasha had a full dispenser of condoms on the wall just outside the shower. Loki reached out and grabbed one without ever losing contact with M. He kissed her deeply as he kicked off his pants then slicked on the condom, his fingers between her legs, caressing her, preparing her.
“Ready?” he asked, picking her up again.
“God yes,” M said, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Do it.”
That was all the encouragement he needed. He entered her in one long stroke, burying himself balls deep inside her. She felt so full and stretched, yet she wanted more of him, so much more. She wanted everything.
He pulled out nearly to his tip then drove back into her, taking his time, his eyes closed and head thrown back, the ultimate picture of masculine abandon. M didn’t think she’d ever seen a more gorgeous picture in her life. She clasped her hands in his hair, kissing his cheek, his ear, his neck, anywhere she could reach as he thrust into her just right, hitting that bundle of nerves inside her that sent off fireworks throughout her blood.
“You feel amazing,” he whispered into her chest before taking one of her nipples into the wet heat of his mouth. She cried out and arched hard against him, pulling him closer, closer. He slipped a hand between them to stroke her clit and she soon teetered on the edge of oblivion.
“I’m going to cum,” she said, straining toward release. “Please.”
“Yes!” He drove hard into her once, twice, then the world around her shattered into billions of iridescent shards of pleasure, her body contracting hard around him and driving him over the edge as well. Loki’s body went stiff and he dropped his head forward, his face buried in the side of her neck as he murmured sweet nothings into her skin.
Long moments later, he slowly lowered her to the ground, her legs shaky and weak with satisfaction as the water cooled around them. She shivered and he turned off the shower, reaching outside to dispose of the condom then grab a thick towel to wrap around her.
“You were amazing,” Loki said, kissing her forehead. “Truly amazing.”
M smiled up at him, exhausted and sated. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”
He laughed then picked her up and carried her out into the room and tossed her on the bed, using her towel to dry himself before shutting off the lights then joining her between the sheets. “How about a nap before we try that again?”
“Sounds good.” She snuggled against him in the dark, feeling safe and secure for the first time in years, even though in the back of her mind she knew it wasn’t true. This had been a one-time event, a shared need for release and connection. Tomorrow they’d be back to the same old same old. Still, she waited until his breath evened out into the patterns of sleep before whispering, “Sounds perfect.”
9
Loki stood outside the Stripes club the next night, M by his side, and watched the parade of patrons going in and out from the shadows. The day had been interesting, to say the least. Waking up with M in his arms was a great way to start the day, her soft breath ghosting his skin, her warm curves pressed tight to his side. But then she’d gotten up and things had gotten weird between them and everything had gone downhill from there.
He couldn’t honestly say he regretted sleeping with her last night. That would be a lie. Truth was the sex had been incredible. He’d never had a partner so attuned to him and who responded so beautifully to his touch. Making love to M had been hot and exciting and sweet in a way he hadn’t expected. When he’d first opened his eyes in the darkness of the apartment and looked down on her head resting on his chest, he’d felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, to keep her close, to share his life with her—good and bad. Which was ridiculous. Guys like him didn’t have relationships. He worked far too much to be tied down. His jobs were dangerous and required him to travel at a moment’s notice to anywhere in the world. That was hardly conducive to settling in with a wife and kids in the suburbs.
M’s different, his brain argued, playing devil’s advocate. She’s like you. She understands.
And wasn’t that just a blessing and a curse.
She understood the demands of working undercover because she had the same crazy lifestyle. Hardly the best foundation for creating lasting coupledom bliss.
“We going to stand out here all night or are we actually going inside?” M said, her tone annoyed. She’d been pleasantly cool to him since this morning, never once mentioning what they’d shared last night. Loki, being a gentleman, wasn’t going to bring it up either. If she wanted to discuss it, then he’d talk. That was the right thing to do.
That’s what he was telling himself anyway.
“Right. Let’s go.” He stepped out of the shadows and headed for the entrance to the club. He’d heard of this place from some of his ex-Navy buddies, but he’d never visited himself. Always too busy. He held the door for M then walked in after her, stopped just across the threshold to let his eyes adjust to the dimmer light.
Stripes Club was a typical military hangout, with memorabilia from all the military branches and various locations of deployment decorating the walls. Neon signs hissed and buzzed from between flat screen TVs flickering with sporting events. A wooden bar ran along one side of the room, with a mirror and shelves of liquor behind it, and booths and tables filled the rest of the space.
There looked to be maybe sixty people in the place, and from what Loki could tell they were having some kind of themed night—if the silly party hats all the patrons were wearing were any indication. As he and M stepped into the club, a momentary hush fell over the assembled and they all turned to look at the new arrivals before resuming their previous activities.
“Let’s start at the bar and see if we can find this Fritz.” M took off across the room, leaving Loki little choice but to follow her. Maybe not saying anything to her about last night had been a mistake. Maybe he should’ve brought it up, just to let her know that he was okay with it all and that he wasn’t expecting more. They reached the bar and squeezed in between two groups of army recruits, based on their uniforms. The place was hopping, leaving few places to sit or stand. The bartender was overworked and currently helping a customer at the other end of the bar.
Loki leaned closer to M and laid his hand on her arm. “Hey, listen. About last night.”
If looks could kill, the affronted stare M gave him would’ve been lethal.
And maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut after all.
“This is not the time,” she said, lips tightening. “Besides, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Oh, okay.” He dropped his hand and inhaled slowly. “Sure. Whatever. I just thought—”
“Stop it. Don’t think about
it anymore. It was a one-time thing and fabulous, but it’s done. Got it?”
His mind snagged on her words, short-circuiting his original response. “You thought it was fabulous?”
M whipped around to face him, her gaze flickering from his eyes to his lips then back again, and damn if he didn’t feel that intense perusal straight in his groin. She opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance.
“What can I get you folks?” the bartender said, his voice harried.
Loki switched gears fast and flashed his trademark trust-me smile. “We’re looking for someone. A guy named Fritz?”
“That’s me,” the bartender said, his dark eyes narrowing. “Do I know you?”
“No, but I think you’re familiar with a friend of ours,” Loki said, lowering his tone. “Todd Martin? Or you may know him as Todavi Marcogonoff.”
The burly bartender’s face paled beneath his shaggy brown beard. His gaze darted around as if looking for an escape route, but there was none to be found. With the crowds and M and Loki so close, they’d have him pinned to the floor or the wall before he took steps.
M reached over and took his wrist, locking him in place. “Tell us what you know and nobody has to get hurt. We just want information about his last drop. What he was trying to sell? Whose intel was involved?”
“Uh, I can’t tell you that.” He tried to back up, but M’s grip kept him where he was. “They’ll kill me.”
“We will too, if you don’t share.” Loki discreetly opened the front of his leather jacket to show the gun holstered at his waist. “Hey. I don’t want to hurt you. It goes against my SEAL code of ethics. But then so does treason. You see my dilemma, yeah?”
“I don’t give a shit about ethics,” M said, her smile turning sinister. “And I’m in the mood to kick some ass tonight. Burn off some frustrations.” She glanced at Loki as she said this last part and fuck if his traitorous cock didn’t twitch like a whore for her again. Man, he had it bad. So bad, and yet so good. “How about you take a break and we go discuss our options in the back room, eh?”
Fritz swallowed hard, the resignation in his eyes stating he knew there was no way out of this. He gave a brief nod then flagged down one of the servers to fill in for him behind the bar while he went in back to grab some new stock.
The trio made their way to the end of the bar, M never breaking her hold on the guy’s arm and Loki playing lookout, in case one of the patrons decided to take offense to them roughing up their bartender. No one seemed to notice, though, as they disappeared into the stock room with Fritz. Loki locked the door behind them then crossed his arms.
“I swear I don’t know what the hell Martin’s got on those disks he gives me to pass on. I just do like he says and he promises to leave my family alone.” Fritz caved like a wet paper bag once M advanced on him and bent his fingers backward almost to the point of breaking. “Please, you have to believe me. I could tell he was Russian by his accent, but I didn’t know he was KGB. I swear.”
M pushed harder on his fingers and Fritz yelped in distress.
Loki exhaled slowly, then began to pace the tiny space, one bare bulb hanging down in the center of the room. Shelves of stock lined the walls and the air smelled of liquor and dust. He kept his gaze locked on Fritz. “When did he last come here to make a drop?”
“Yesterday,” Fritz said, wincing and panting as M held his fingers firm in their awkward position. “Yesterday morning, about ten a.m. He gave me two hard-drives to send to the normal address we always use.”
“And where’s that?” M kicked him hard in the shin. “I don’t like this, Loki. He’s spilling his guts too easily. I think he’s lying.”
“I’m not lying!” Fritz pleaded. “I swear I’m not. I’m glad you guys came in here tonight. I’ve wanted to go to the authorities with this since it started, or maybe tell some of the military guys in here what’s going on, but I can’t. Martin said he’d kill my wife and my kids, man.” Tears choked Fritz’s throat, thickening his voice. “My daughter just turned two, for Christ’s sake. And my son’s in fifth grade. Jesus, what the hell was I supposed to do? Martin had pics of them. He said he’d had them followed for weeks. He knew their schedules, when they came home from school. He was going to kill them all if I didn’t do exactly what he said.”
Loki’s heart broke for the guy. The KGB were assholes who would do just about anything to get what they wanted. He had no doubt that Todd Martin would’ve followed through on his threats to kill Fritz’s family at the first sign of betrayal. Which gave him the leverage he needed. “Where are those disks now? Did you mail them yet?”
“No, not yet. We’ve been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to post them.” Fritz stared up at him from where he kneeled on the floor, his dark gaze beseeching. “Why?”
“Give them to us,” Loki said, stopping in front of Fritz so he towered over him and left the other man in shadows. “Give us the disks and I swear I’ll protect your family. But only if you tell us what we need to know.”
Fritz squinted, swallowed hard. “How can I trust you? Martin’s working with the fucking KGB, man.”
“I’ve got my resources.” Namely Cam and Hunter, back at Norse Security. Cam could hack anything with a microchip and Hunter was the biggest badass on the Eastern Seaboard. He also had a shitload of contacts from their SEAL days and could call in a few favors with the US Marshals’ office. Those guys owed them anyway. “You give us those disks and I’ll get you and your family out of town tonight. Martin won’t find you. He won’t even know you’re gone.”
M watched him warily. “You can do that shit? Who the hell are you anyway?”
“I’m the man who’s going to catch Todd Martin and nail his ass to the wall, that’s who.”
Fritz seemed to consider this for a moment, then asked, “What about this club?”
“Close it for a while, or take a vacation.” M gave another tug on his fingers and Fritz hissed in pain. “Last chance, dumbass. Accept our offer or don’t. Either way we get the disks.”
“Fine!” Fritz slumped over, defeated. “Fine. But we get my family first before I hand over the disks.”
“No.” Loki already had his phone out and was busy dialing Cam’s number. “I’ll get everything set up, you give us the disks, then we collect your family.”
Cam was his usual efficient self, fingers clacking at superhuman speed as he talked to Loki on the phone. “Yep. I’m in the Marshals’ database,” he said. “Good thing I hacked into that hospital system now, yeah? Who’s sorry now?” He snorted. Loki had given the guy major shit the week before for “accidentally” gaining access to a bunch of confidential patient records during a different mission. Now, though, it seemed it was good, since Fritz and his wife’s info, along with his children’s birth records, were among the files stolen. “Let me just input their data and… bam! Done. Hunter, you talked to your buddy yet?” Cam yelled offline.
“Done,” Hunter said, chiming in on speaker phone on Cam’s end. “These guys aren’t pleased with us fucking around in their system though. Said we owe them big time.”
“Bullshit,” Loki said, frowning. “After the way we saved their butts that time in Phoenix, they owe us this favor and about twenty more. But thanks for getting it set up. Talk to you guys soon.”
He ended the call then turned back to Fritz, who was still kneeling on the floor and cradling his sore hand against his chest. Given the amount of force M had applied, nothing was broken, but it would still be about a week before the guy regained full range of motion in those fingers.
She stood behind Fritz, a hand on each of his shoulders to prevent him from moving. “We ready?”
“Ready.” Loki hiked his chin and M yanked Fritz to his feet. “Give us the disks.”
“They’re in that box over there, behind the merlot,” Fritz said, indicating one of the shelves along the wall.
Loki checked and sure enough there were two solid steel hard drives in an old, weathered shoe box be
hind the cheap wine. He held up the box and frowned. “Bit old school, isn’t it?”
“Hey, I just send what he tells me. I don’t ask questions.”
“What address do these go to?” Loki put the lid back on the box and tucked it under his arm. He’d need to get these over to Cam ASAP for analysis. “Tell me or the deal’s off.”
“Ain’t no address.” Fritz cursed as M continued to restrain the man. “It’s a P.O. Box.”
He rattled off the info and Loki typed it into the notes on his phone. Not exactly a stellar lead, but more than they’d had when they’d walked into this place. He shoved his phone back into his pocket then cocked his head toward M. “Let’s get him outside where the Marshals can pick him up. They should be on their way now.”
“Shit. Already?” Fritz’s eyes widened. “What do I tell my wife? My kids? What about all our stuff? Our lives here?”
“Those things are over. You go now, tonight, or you don’t go at all.” Loki walked over to the door and unlocked it, then turned back. “You should be thanking me for your new life. You have a second chance here, Fritz. Don’t fuck it up.”
10
Later, after they’d handed off the bartender and his family to the Marshalls, M and Loki were back at her apartment and sparring in the gym. Hard to believe, but it seemed about the only time they got along was when they were fighting.
Not exactly the ideal relationship she’d dreamed about as a girl.
M shoved the silly thoughts from her head. She wasn’t here to have a relationship with Loki. She was here to work and to get her coveted promotion. That was it. No matter how good the sex had been, no matter how nice it had been to wake up in his arms and see him looking down at her with that sappy expression of… No. She wasn’t going to call it love. Loki didn’t love her, any more than she loved him. They barely knew each other. Hell, half the time they couldn’t even stand each other. But still, there’d been something there, in that look. Affection, admiration. Yearning.