by Dawn Ryder
“You’re driving me insane…,” she muttered. Her admission drew a grunt from him.
“I know the feeling well,” he offered, cupping her breast in his hand so he could lock gazes with her before she let her eyelids slide shut in favor of just immersing herself in the sensation of the moment.
She wanted to keep her eyes closed.
But it was cowardly of her.
The sting of that knowledge was too much to bear, or maybe it was the way his hand went still that she just couldn’t tolerate. Either way, Thais opened her eyes.
“Should I let it be that easy for you, Thais?” His hand moved once more on her breast.
Somehow, she’d forgotten just how intense it felt to have her breasts kneaded.
Her clit was throbbing now. The little bundle of nerve endings eager for the next step.
“Let you close your eyes…,” Dunn continued as he stroked her, drawing his hand down from her breast. Across her abdomen. “And steal the moment of surrender from me?”
“I’m not surrendering,” she argued. Her pride flared up, burning enough of her lust away for her to contemplate rolling across the surface of the marble to make an escape.
“You will,” he promised her.
A moment later he was giving her the hard kiss she’d tried to take. His mouth claiming hers as he pressed her down onto the marble. His strength was what she craved. Thais met him in the middle, kissing him back just as hard. She reached for him, drawing her fingernails down his back.
His chest rumbled with a growl, and she answered with a sound that was something between a purr and a howl. Communication between them was transforming into emotions and reactions. Words fell away as Dunn lost control over his instincts.
He pushed himself up, reaching down to free his cock. Thais watched with eager anticipation, opening her thighs because nothing else mattered at that moment except having him satisfy the need clawing at her insides.
The first thrust was hard.
But that was exactly how she wanted him.
She clasped him between her thighs, raising her hips for the next thrust, opening her eyes when he pressed her thighs open so he controlled their pace.
His eyes were full of the need to dominate. She might have said she’d seen it before but there was a stark difference. Dunn was intent on making sure she climaxed.
He slowed down, thrusting deeply into her and pausing before withdrawing. The muscles along his neck were corded with the effort.
She might have watched him longer but her body was too insistent. She needed to be pushed over the edge into climax. He knew it and she might have taken issue with it, if she’d been able to form any real thoughts.
But she couldn’t. There was only the building tempo of the moment. Her eyes slid shut as he drew a hand down the inside of her thigh so he could rub her clit.
She gasped, letting out a harsh cry. Control vanished in a second as she began to twist and clench with orgasm. Dunn thrust deep, filling her as her body tightened around his length. She surged upward, straining toward him as she clawed at the marble beneath her back.
“Christ…,” he growled, thrusting into her with short, hard motions. His tone was hoarse as he lost control, his cock spurting inside her while he growled.
When it was done, she was too spent to think.
Okay, she just didn’t want to deal with things like logic or rational thinking. Not when she felt so relaxed, so very satisfied. So safe.
How fucking long had it been?
She didn’t know.
And later would be soon enough to think the matter through.
* * *
She shouldn’t have let him kiss her.
Ha! You mean you shouldn’t have kissed him back like you did …
Thais hadn’t even opened her eyes yet when her brain snapped on. There were plenty of times she enjoyed the way her brain engaged in a lightning-fast flash.
There had been times when being clear-witted the moment she awoke meant the difference between life and death.
Today, though, she admitted to longing for just a little brain fog.
It was a weak, emotional need.
She knew it and, still, there was a hint of hesitation in her as she enjoyed the feeling of the clean sheets around her bare body. They were high-quality ones, bamboo if she didn’t miss her guess, and there wasn’t even a hint of mustiness.
Dunn’s staff performed their duties well.
Thais took in the room but she’d already guessed she was alone.
Are you disappointed?
She let out a little hiss on her way into the bathroom. Normally a shower helped her clear her head and get her emotions straightened out.
No such luck today.
Dunn was firmly rooted in her thoughts as she rubbed a towel through her hair and went looking for some clothing. Her clothes were lying across the foot of the bed when she emerged from the bathroom, proving Dunn was awake and aware of what she was doing.
He was anticipating her and making sure she knew he understood her.
So tempting …
The idea of letting him close was mesmerizing, teasing her with the idea of not being alone.
The scent of fresh coffee drifted in while she was dressing. As an enticement to wake up next to him more often, it was hard to resist.
But like anything, there was a price. Today it would be dealing with Dunn. Or perhaps more precisely, facing her impulsive actions.
What’s the big deal? It wasn’t her first one-night stand.
You know it was a lapse in self-control …
One she wasn’t entirely repentant over. Thais let out a little huff of defeat and went looking for the coffee. It wasn’t the first time she’d been disappointed in herself. The important thing would be to learn from her mistake.
The problem was, Dunn was waiting for her. She felt his gaze touch on her as she emerged from the bedroom. His emerald eyes were glittering with anticipation and she realized she felt the same emotion rippling through her system.
He was such a live wire.
And you like grabbing it with both hands too much …
That was the sort of thing that could kill her.
“You should have woken me,” she muttered after her first sip of coffee.
One of his dark eyebrows lifted. There was a distinctly suggestive look on his face as his lips rose into a cocky grin.
“Don’t go there,” she warned him. “You want to be considered a teammate? Keep your mind on business.”
“I want a hell of a lot more,” Dunn said, stepping up to the challenge she was laying down. “You do, too.”
She took too big a sip of coffee and felt it burn her tongue. “Let’s get back on topic. The FBI isn’t going to drop their interest in you until I’m back in custody.” She started to draw off another sip of coffee but stopped. “How did you convince them to not arrest you last night?”
Dunn ventured closer, invading her space. He knew exactly what he was doing, too. She witnessed the awareness in his eyes. It was over the top the way she seemed to know what he was thinking. Or maybe she was just stressed out and imagining things.
He picked up the coffeepot and refilled his mug. “They had no clear evidence.” He shot her a look she’d seen before. It was full of confidence and sent a tingle down her spine because a lot of men put up a good show of making it appear they knew what they were doing.
Dunn was a genuine badass.
It wasn’t something a guy could convince you of, it was just a truth or not. Dunn didn’t give a rat’s ass for what the FBI thought they knew. The previous night’s raid wasn’t stressing him out. If anything, he was buzzed on the event and hungry to finish the fight they’d started. Not because he wanted to prove himself innocent.
No, Dunn just loved a good rumble.
“They will be back,” Thais stated.
Dunn grunted and settled back against the marble-topped island. “Not until they get more than circumstantial
evidence linking me to the city you escaped from. You and I have never dated. My lawyer is having a field day with their warrant.”
“They must have seen the work room upstairs,” Thais countered. “They know you’re working on this case. As far as the rest of the world knows, I’m the only reason you’d do something like that.”
Dunn’s lips curved up, splitting to flash his teeth at her. “Which is why I told them Miranda is my mother. My departure point became irrelevant the moment I divulged that information.”
Thais froze. “You did … what?”
“Told them the truth.” Dunn set his coffee down. “Isn’t that what a good little civilian should do when a federal agent asks him questions?”
Thais was stunned. She realized she agreed with him, silently applauding the way he’d told the world to go fuck off with the truth after years of hiding.
* * *
“You get it, Thais,” he whispered softly. “The fledgling business Miranda’s parents might have crushed back when I was born is now full-grown and thriving.” He shot her a look full of intent. “I won’t be intimidated and I won’t let anyone hurt my mother.”
“I don’t enjoy arguing with you, Dunn.”
He tilted his head to one side and raised one eyebrow. Thais ended up losing the battle to flash a smile at him.
Damn … why was it so easy to respond to him? She’d been fine. Just fine in her life. There hadn’t been a glaring deficiency. At least, she hadn’t felt one until Dunn was close enough for her to realize how much she wanted more.
“We need a plan.” She was grasping at straws. Looking to hide inside her work. Dunn’s eyes narrowed, proving he knew exactly what she was doing, but he nodded.
“We have two options for exit from this bunker,” he set his coffee down and turned to look at a tablet that was lying on the breakfast bar.
Thais joined him, feeling a jolt of awareness shake her as she drew in the scent of his skin. She focused on the screen and the display of the cabin blueprints.
“There’s no point in going anywhere unless we have a plan,” he muttered. “We’ll have less resources once we leave.”
“The FBI will crack your Internet at some point,” she answered. “They’ll find this bunker. I need to be gone before it happens.”
She pushed away from the breakfast bar.
“Kent is arranging transportation,” Dunn answered.
“You’re not going with me, Dunn,” she informed him softly.
He turned to face her. “The hell I’m not.”
He wasn’t going to budge. Thais saw the determination etched into his expression. Her options weren’t many when it came to making him do things her way, either. On the wrong side of the law, she didn’t have her badge or team to help her make him comply.
The only way to separate from him was to solve the case.
“Ricky Sullivan,” she said.
Dunn’s brows lowered. “The contract killer? I thought he was dead after that shoot-out at Bram’s wedding.”
Thais shook her head. “Kagan kept him on ice. Pulled him in on a case a few months ago in exchange for a valid passport.”
She was crossing lines. Spilling information that was classified.
“So why are you sharing this with me?” Dunn demanded. “I’m a civilian … right?”
“I understand wanting to protect your blood.” Maybe she could never have admitted it out loud if they weren’t in a sealed bunker. Thais didn’t dwell on the circumstance. An effective agent was also one who used the resources at hand.
“Ricky Sullivan was a hitman,” Thais continued. “One who was first brought in by Tyler Martin, when he was working for Carl Davis.”
Dunn’s lips thinned. “So it would stand to reason he might know who Carl hired to kill my mother.”
“If Kagan gave him a valid passport, he might tell me where to find him,” Thais said.
“Your section leader might also inform the FBI where you are if you contact him,” Dunn insisted.
“I can be long gone from here,” she said.
Dunn’s expression became unreadable. A moment later he was closing the distance between them. She might have fallen back and maybe she did actually recoil from the sheer force of his approach. Honestly, she wasn’t sure because he caught her in the midst of a riot of reactions to his presence.
“I think you need to remember why we should stay together, Thais.”
Dunn didn’t give her time to argue. He lowered his head, tilting it so he could fit his mouth against hers. His fingers were threaded through her hair once more but the hold on her head wasn’t what bound her to him.
No, it was her craving for him.
She was twisting up against him. Gasping as his mouth took hers in a hard kiss that stripped aside all her reasoning. His shirt irritated her because it was a barrier between them. She wanted skin.
His skin.
Against her own.
It was blunt and sexual and yet, there was a deeper need combining with the hunger urging her to kiss him back. A desperation to get just another taste of the thing she was planning on denying herself.
He lifted his head, giving her a view of the way his eyes glittered with need. She tried to lift up onto her toes and kiss him again, just shut out the rest of the world and take refuge in impulses.
Dunn held her head, refusing to allow her to move toward him.
“Tell me you want me to be your lover,” he ordered her in a raspy tone.
“Lover?” She wasn’t a stranger to making sure she sounded breathless, but today, she realized it was genuine. “Do you even know what that means? Because I’m not sure I do.”
Something crossed his eyes. A ripple of acceptance she realized she shared with him. They were both masters of hiding their true identities from the world.
The hold on her hair eased before he was rubbing her scalp and slipping his hand along the side of her face.
“I think I’d like to learn,” he admitted.
“Maybe,” she agreed. “But your mother needs our attention now.”
She felt his body tense. It was a feeling she shared, a plea from her flesh to reject anything that meant they wouldn’t be returning to the bedroom to satisfy their hunger for each other.
He let out a harsh breath before leaning down and kissing her again. This time, it was in farewell. Which made it sweeter somehow. She reached for him, twisting her hands into his hair as she lifted up onto her toes so she could kiss him in return. For a moment, the world dissipated beyond where their mouths met. There was only the taste of him and her need for more of it.
But he set her back, pulling away from her as she dug deep for the strength to release him.
It was by far one of the hardest things she’d ever demanded of herself.
“I’m going to make an appearance above,” Dunn informed her. “Eat. I’ll be back to join you.”
There was no point in trying to talk him out of it.
You’d have been disappointed if he let you …
Still, it was her duty to protect and serve. She’d made her badge the foundation of her life. So many other personal desires had fallen aside in her dedication.
Dunn would only be the newest one.
At least, that was what she told herself as she watched him disappear behind the door he’d closed her behind the night before.
To protect her …
Thais felt her resolve strengthen. She turned and headed for one of the passageways. It was time to repay the favor and protect Dunn. From himself, yes, but they were both guilty of being willing to stand firm in the face of adversity.
She was a Shadow Ops agent and it was her duty to protect Miranda. Even if it meant her life.
* * *
Ricky Sullivan was a hard man.
His life hadn’t been close to a fairy tale, and he’d learned to give as good as he got in the struggle to survive.
But now?
He stepped outside and took the time to fi
ll his lungs with a deep breath, one he savored, allowing his eyes to close as he just took in the way the air smelled.
Ireland.
He’d left it with anger on his lips for the injustice done to his father and the hardships his mother had endured as she raised Ricky alone.
But somewhere along the path he’d taken, between extortion, murder, and double crosses, he’d found himself longing for the home country.
By a twist of fate, he was back in Ireland and dangerously close to calling it home. In the distance, a church bell was ringing. He watched as people made their way toward the stone church that was linked to a different era and yet somehow still managed to be a draw to the modern-day man.
At least some of them anyway.
“Come on, Cat…”
Three girls were hurrying down the side of the path. The older one catching his eye as her younger sister verbalized her impatience.
“We’re going to be late…”
Cat offered him a shy grin before she picked up her pace. Just a little flirting with a stranger, and yet Ricky felt himself transfixed by the girl.
She had a nice backside.
Ricky grinned and moved a little further across his yard so he could see her. Cat turned her head and caught him coming closer to take a better look at her. There was a glitter of amusement in her eyes as she tilted her head to one side and contemplated him. He reached up and offered her a mocking two-finger salute. Her sister finally turned to see what was holding up Cat. Her sibling sent Ricky a narrow-eyed look before grabbing her sister by the hand and pulling her toward the church.
His mother would have liked him to settle down with a good girl. Maybe he would and just maybe he’d remember to be thankful to Kagan for giving Ricky the opportunity to earn back his passport.
Money. Well, money Ricky knew how to earn on his own. Not always legally though, and that little fact had landed him in a bit of red tape over in America.
Not that it mattered now.
Nope.
Ricky turned around and went to log in to his computer system. The money he’d salted away over the years of working on the black market was there and he was going to grow it. Maybe open himself a little fight club. He scanned the notices up on a site where hitmen sometimes found their jobs and felt his eyes narrow as he found one for him. An old code name only a few of his closest fellow hitmen would know.