by Desiree Holt
"It'll be all right," he told her. "I promise." He'd given her a sketchy explanation of his family situation on the drive from Austin, not sugarcoating his own behavior. Not a conversation guaranteed to make either of them feel at ease. Especially the part about Linda, which he'd glossed over. But with no other good options available, he was determined to make the best of the situation to keep Anya safe. And hope after ten years he and Rafe could figure out how to be brothers again. 56
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Anya tightened her fingers around his as he led her to the porch. He waited for Rafe to make the first move but surprisingly it was Linda who took the lead. Leaving her husband's side, she hurried down the steps to Gus, gave him a brief hug, then turned to Anya.
"I am so happy to meet you," she said in her soft voice. "I just wish it could have been under different circumstance. Welcome to our home."
"Thank you." Anya's voice was equally soft and more subdued. "I'm sorry we're barging in like this."
Linda smiled, the smile that had once warmed Gus' heart and then ripped it apart. Now it was just...a smile. She linked her arm through Anya's and tugged her away from Gus.
"Come into the house. You must be a wreck. I have coffee and tea so just tell me which one you prefer." She guided Anya up the porch steps and into the house, keeping up her soft chatter. Making Anya feel not so out of place. Gus and Rafe stood in the parking area looking at each other. Taking their measure. Letting the past wash over them...and hopefully away.
Gus cleared his throat. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you letting us come here."
For a moment Rafe didn't say anything. Then he stepped forward and clasped his brother in a bear hug.
"Welcome home, Gus. It's about damn time."
Gus couldn't say anything. His throat was too clogged with emotion. He just stood there hanging onto his brother.
"I wasn't sure," he began, then stopped. "I didn't know if you..."
Rafe clasped his shoulders. "Family is family, Gus. We've let this thing go on for too long. I guess because you and I are both very stubborn assholes. Too bad it took something like this to break it all down."
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"My bad," Gus said roughly. "All on my head."
"It doesn't matter. You're here now and we're going to do whatever we can to help."
"I thought you said Linda was going to her folks' with the kids? And by the way, how many kids do you have? I'm ashamed to say I don't even know."
Rafe laughed. "Let me tell you, that is one stubborn woman. Said she wasn't about to be shuttled off. Besides, she thought it might help having another female here."
Gus' throat tightened up again. "Thanks," was all he could manage. He'd had no right to expect anything from these two people yet they opened their home as if the past had never happened.
"And we've got two--Jared who's eight and Elissa who's six. Hope you get to meet them when this is all over."
"Count on it."
"Why don't you come inside," Rafe said at last. "You can tell me about the trouble dogging your heels. I assume it has something to do with the beautiful woman who's put that She's mine forever look in your eyes."
Anya and Linda were already seated at the kitchen table when the men entered the house. Gus looked quickly at Anya to make sure she was okay, and was relieved to see her in conversation with Linda. The blonde woman looked up as they walked in, smiled at Rafe with a look of great love in her eyes and winked at Gus. When they all had full mugs of coffee, Gus explained the situation to Rafe and Linda in great detail. He left out nothing, especially the episode at the safe house that had sent them running.
"They won't be able to get at you here," Rafe promised. "But what are you going to do about the scumbag, Virgil Branson? If I know you, you won't be happy just to sit around and wait for someone else to make things happen. Especially if you can't trust your own people."
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"The last thing I can afford to do is sit on my hands," Gus said. "As soon as we get our things inside and Anya's settled, I'm going to make some calls. Work my snitches."
"I'll take care of Anya," Linda said. "I've got the big guest room at the top of the stairs ready for you. Bring in whatever you need and go to work. Anya and I can take our coffee out on the back porch." She looked at Anya. "I could sure use some girl time for a change."
Gus stood up and slipped his hands beneath Anya's elbow, guiding her up from the chair. Ignoring the others at the table, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
"It'll be okay," he assured her. "We're safe here. You're safe, and that's the most important thing to me." He pulled her tight against him for a moment, pressing her body against his in a quick, hard hug. "Go on with Linda now. I'm going to make some calls."
When the women were settled on the back porch Gus sat down in his chair again and pulled his cell phone from the holster on his belt. Rafe was watching him from across the table with an unreadable expression.
Gus frowned. "What?"
"She's lovely, Gus. And the way you look at her? You never, ever looked at Linda like that."
Gus dipped his head. "Yeah, about that..."
"Nothing to say." Rafe clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got with Anya what Linda and I have. Enough said, okay?"
Gus nodded. "Okay." And just like that, surprisingly, it really was. Rafe finished his coffee and left to head toward the barn. Gus began to dial numbers from memory, hoping to reach someone who could give him a clue to where Virgil Branson was holed up and who was helping him pull strings. By the time he finished gathering in information from his contacts, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had grown to enormous proportions.
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He was glad Linda was keeping Anya occupied because he needed to get a grip on himself before sharing any information with her. Even then he'd have to be very careful what he told her. He knew she was barely holding herself together and some of what he'd learned could shatter her fragile self-control.
"You look like you bit into a sour apple," Rafe said, coming into the kitchen through the back door. "Want to talk about it?"
Gus nodded. "Yes and no. I'd really like to take Anya and run to someplace where no one can find us. The problem with that is we'd always be running while Branson's still on the loose." Rafe dropped down into the chair opposite him.
"Okay. Let's hear what you've got. Maybe between us we can come up with a plan."
Again Gus felt a wave of emotion sweep over him and a surge of gratitude that his brother and sister-in-law had pushed aside the past and welcomed him the way they did.
"I'm finding out we only scratched the surface of Virgil Branson's operation," he began. "We shut him down in Texas and cut off his ties to Mexico, but apparently he operates out of other cities, too. He's stayed under the FBI radar because someone's been helping him all this time. Someone on the inside." The words left a sour taste in his mouth.
"And is that someone helping to hide him? To get Anya?"
Gus nodded. "That's what my key snitch is telling me. And he's so scared of what could happen to him I had to pry every word out of him. He told me not to call him again, said he could end up buried in a federal prison for good."
"Do you really think it's your boss, like Jimmy said?" Rafe wanted to know.
"It's the most logical answer. He could easily have engineered the prison escape and provided Branson with a hiding place, resources, whatever. And a lead to where Anya is."
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"So what now?"
"I'm going to call Jimmy. See what he's found out and see if we can put together some kind of plan, to locate Branson and identify the rogue agent."
"Let us know what we can do, okay?"
"You're doing it," Gus told him. "Just by having us here."
Linda served chili and cornbread for lunch, then Rafe went back outside to work with the cattle,
Linda said she was going into the office in the barn to work on the ranch books and Gus took a rattled Anya upstairs to lie down. He'd called Jimmy, who said he'd dig even harder. He thought maybe he could break into Dean Barton's personal files and see what he could find and Gus should call him back later. By then they might be able to put a real plan together.
"I'm so scared," Anya said, burrowing into his arms. "I just want this all to be over."
"Me, too, darlin'." Gus rubbed her back and shoulders. "But if Jimmy can dig up the information on Barton we need, it will be."
"And if he can't?"
"If it's there, Jimmy will find it. And I know it's there." He tilted her head back.
"My snitches at least know Virgil's still in San Antonio. Someone's hiding him and probably helping him relocate and get his 'business' up and running again."
"Your brother and sister-in-law are wonderful to let us come here." She frowned up at him. "She's the one you were in love with, right?"
He brushed his lips against hers. "What I felt for Linda wasn't love. It was youthful lust." He gently licked the outside of her lips. "What I feel for you is love. In case you didn't know that."
"You love me?" Tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
"You bet. I should have told you long before this." He used his thumbs to brush away the tears. "When we get out of this, we're going to make some definite plans."
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"Don't you mean if?"
"No, I said when and that's what I mean. Now. Linda suggested you might want to lie down and rest and I told her I'd see that you did. So let's not make a liar out of me."
He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the king-sized bed. Ripping the covers back with one hand, he sat her on the edge and began to undress her with infinite care.
Anya shivered as he peeled away her clothing. "Gus, Linda and Rafe are just downstairs. We can't do this now."
"Darlin', I promise you that even with a ranch to run, when the kids are out of the house Linda and Rafe take full advantage of it. They'd probably be disappointed in me if I didn't take this opportunity to make you feel better. Besides, they're busy with their own work right now."
"But they'll hear..."
He touched a finger to her lips. "Not if we're real, real quiet."
She couldn't say no. Just like this morning Anya needed the touch of his hands and mouth, the feel of his cock inside her to chase away the demons. And he'd said he loved her! She was sure her heart would crack it was so full. She'd known he had feelings for her. In the six months they'd been living together it was hard to miss that. But love?
She'd barely allowed herself to hope that a man like Gus would feel that for a woman like her.
"Stop thinking so much," he teased. "If you're thinking I'm not doing my job right."
He knelt down to pull off her jeans and panties.
She clasped her hands behind his neck. "I was just thinking that... I mean, that you... That is..."
"Whatever dumb thing is dancing through your mind just knock it aside. I love you, Anya. You're exactly what I want. So hold onto that thought."
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He canted his head downward to run his tongue across the upper swell of her breasts. Her nipples hardened at once in response. He continued to trace lines across her flesh, not touching her anywhere else, his hands braced on either side of her. Anya moaned and arched herself toward him.
"Hold your breasts for me," he rasped. "Take them in your palms. Yeah, like that. Squeeze them for me."
Sparks jolted through her, straight to her pussy. She moaned when Gus moved his tongue to flick against each nipple in turn. The fact that he still had his clothes on while she sat there naked aroused her even more. She squirmed on the bed as the pulse in her cunt increased its tempo.
Gus seemed to take forever laving her breasts and her nipples before trailing his tongue down past her navel. But instead of squatting lower to reach her pussy, he stood up. When she lifted her eyes to meet his she saw desire burning in them, amber flames flickering in the warm, dark brown pools.
Very slowly he removed his clothes, tossing them to the side one piece at a time, kicking off his shoes and finally pulling down his boxers and stepping out of them. His cock sprang free as if just waiting for the opportunity. Its hard thickness pointed at her, the velvety head dark plum, a tiny bud of fluid sitting at the eye like a star on a crown. Anya was still holding her breasts, waiting for Gus to tell her what to do next. She'd discovered it excited her to have him do that.
"Lean forward and lick me," he said. "Just the head. Don't use your hands, only your tongue."
She did as he asked, bending forward and swiping her tongue over the head, capturing the bead of liquid begging her to take it. Gus' big body shuddered at the first lash of her tongue.
"Jesus, that feels so good. Do it again, darlin'. Just like that."
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He stood with his feet apart, the heavy sac with his balls resting against his muscular thighs. Each time she swept the flat of her tongue over him his cock flexed. Anya knew she was getting wetter and wetter and Gus wasn't even touching her now. Without warning he backed away, Anya gasped, her hands tightening on her breasts. Gus moved closer to her and pushed her gently back on the bed. Bending her knees and spreading her legs. Then he knelt on the floor in front of her and spread the lips of her pussy.
"You know," he said in a husky voice, "when we get back home I'm going to shave off these beautiful curls. I want to see your beautiful cunt naked for me. I want to rub my cock all over it and feel nothing but bare skin. Would you like that?"
Like that? Could he not see more liquid seeping from her?
"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted. "I want that."
And she did. That and more. All these months Gus had coaxed her to enjoy her sexuality. To put the past behind her and think only of the two of them. And she'd been doing it. Now, even in the midst of this crisis, it occurred to her that nothing this man could suggest would turn her off. She wanted it all with him. I want it all.
"And that's what you'll get, believe me."
Oh, god, had she said it aloud?
But in the next moment she even forgot how to speak as Gus lowered his mouth to her, blew a stream of warm air into her pussy and licked her slit the entire length. She moaned again, riding the crest of the heat that shot through her. Her hands fisted in the bedclothes and her heels dug into the mattress.
"Touch yourself, Anya. Touch your clit for me. Rub it while I fuck you with my tongue."
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The flare of arousal that flooded her shocked her in its intensity. She slid one hand down over her tummy to find her clit beneath the nest of curls and pinched it between two fingers.
"Rub it, Anya. Hard. Do it."
As she complied Gus thrust his tongue inside her and fluttered it against her slick walls. Then he began the slow, steady, in and out movement that drove her crazy. The faster she moved her fingers the faster he drove his tongue. The climax took root low in her belly, spreading upward and outward, consuming her with a carnal heat. His hands slipped down to cup the cheeks of her ass, rubbing them and gently pinching them. One lean finger slipped into her cunt with his tongue, retreated coated with her juices, and pressed into her anus.
Anya nearly convulsed at the icy hot sensations that rolled over her. Ohgodohgodohgod.
"Don't stop," she begged, fearing he would stop in the middle as he'd done before. But this time Gus rode her to the finish, her hand, his tongue, his fingers creating such powerful feelings inside her that she erupted in a totally uncontrolled explosion. She convulsed, hips thrusting at Gus' mouth, her hand rubbing, rubbing, rubbing to draw out the spasms. She bucked and arched, hips coming off the bed, while Gus'
wicked tongue and fingers played her like a finely tuned instrument. When at last the spasms died away, Gus rose, bent to suck o
n each hardened nipple, nipping lightly with the edge of his teeth, before flipping her over. A wave of eroticism gripped Anya. Was he going to do it now? Would this be the time he fucked her in the ass? She wiggled her hips, trying to urge him to it. But after he'd ripped open the packet with the condom in it and rolled the latex onto his thick cock, and pulled her to her knees, he pressed the head of his shaft instead against her vaginal opening. One roll of his hips and he was seated fully, his balls slapping against the backs of her thighs.
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The moment the head of his cock bumped the mouth of her womb, another climax began to build inside her. Gus gripped her hips, his fingers holding her in place as he drove into her again and again. His fingers tightened, his body tensed, and as her own orgasm crested Gus groaned her name, his release spurting into the condom, pulsing against the grip of her vaginal walls.
They both collapsed forward, gasping for air, hearts thundering. Gus wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the nape of her neck, murmuring her name over and over again. At last he withdrew from her, disposed of the condom and climbed into bed with her, turning them both so their heads were on the pillows.
"I have to make some more phone calls," he murmured as he kissed her cheek. But I want you to take a good nap. I'll wake you long before dinner."
"What about you? You hardly got any sleep last night, either."
"I'm good. I want to spend some time with Rafe while I can, too."
"Don't leave me yet, okay?" She molded herself to his body.
"Not until you're asleep, Anya. Close your eyes. I'm right here."
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Chapter Six
Once he was sure Anya was sleeping, Gus showered and pulled his clothes back on, then headed downstairs. Linda and Rafe were still busy with their own activities, so he poured himself a fresh mug of coffee and sat down to think about who else he could call. No one could call him, since he was using throwaway phones and disposing of them after a few hours, just in case.
It both sickened and saddened him to think that his boss, for whom he'd always had the greatest respect, might be in bed with Virgil Branson in his dirty business. If that was true, he'd certainly fooled a lot of people. But mentally running through the list of agents in the San Antonio field office, there didn't seem to be a lot of other options. He knew it had to be someone in a position to have access to all the information and to the location of witnesses but shit! Dean Barton?