by Marie Harte
“Fine.” He gladly covered her up, not sure he’d have been able to take much more of her body. “Five months ago, someone leaves a baby on Noel’s doorstep in Bainbridge Island—where no one but Big Joe, his handler, knows he lives. He thinks the woman is mistaken. Putting the kid’s time of conception at the time the three of us were in Mexico on an op, Noel calls me and Deacon in.”
She nodded. “Then someone targets Noel. They try to kidnap his new girlfriend, but he protects her. Then an undercover plant, who’s been in place for years, tries to kill them both. That means time and planning went into this.”
Hammer growled, “Then you come in. Big Joe calls and tells us he’s got a nurse on hand. But you’re not a nurse, are you?”
“You know I’m not. Big Joe wanted backup for you guys. I do have medical training, so technically I was nursing Noel. But I’m really a contractor.” She paused. “One who got the best of you twice.”
“A smart woman wouldn’t bring that up when she’s naked and tied up. But hey, maybe you’re hoping I’ll take out my aggression on you in other ways.” He raised his brows.
She blushed again. Damn it. “Have I said I hate you?”
“The flipside of love.” He smirked. “But you’re distracting me. To get back to our timeline, Noel and Addy survive. Deacon becomes the next target. And surprise surprise, you return to drug me, tie me up, lure Deacon’s new girlfriend to her death—”
“Not even close. I was playing Burleigh, but I needed Solene to prove I was on the up and up. I armed her, you know. With my own knife. She killed Burleigh thanks to me.”
“Jesus, Vi. She was a civilian.”
“So? She’s a woman who kicks ass. She saved Deacon.”
“She shouldn’t have had to,” he snapped. “I was protecting her until you took me out. And to make matters worse, you shot at me!”
“Idiot. I did not. First of all, I got shot!” He’d noticed the wound in her shoulder and thought it looked newer than the others on her hip and upper thigh. “I fired at the asshole aiming a gun your way. You’re welcome.”
“Oh sure. I believe that.”
“And as for drugging you,” she continued over him, “I had to. Burleigh had plans to kill you the second you slipped outside the daycare to follow Solene home.”
He blinked. “What?”
She sighed. “He wired your car. If the bomb didn’t kill you, the team sent to clean up would have.”
“We found no bomb.”
“Because I disabled it. They had no idea because you never drove off after Solene. Not until after Burleigh was already engaged with Deacon.”
He didn’t know whether or not to believe her.
“Deacon got shot,” she said bluntly. “I couldn’t help that. I thought he’d defend himself better than he did.”
“Oh, so now it’s Deacon’s fault he trusted you?” Hammer stared, incensed.
“What are you talking about?” She looked genuinely confused.
“Weren’t you feeding Burleigh information?”
She snorted. “Bad information. I never told him where you were or what you had planned. Only that I’d get Solene to him. And I did. Unfortunately, he must have seen through me. I told him I’d killed Meridia, but Meridia actually died on another job. Maybe he knew that. Or his boss knew I was playing them from the start. That code he gave me went nowhere. It’s like I went through all that for nothing.”
Hammer watched her. “You also said Big Joe was barely clinging to life.” Hammer’s handler meant the world to him.
“And you know that was a lie.” She glared at him. “Honestly, how are you adding all this up and still getting the wrong answer?”
“I’m not. I just don’t understand why you never told us the truth. We could have helped each other.” He paused. “We still can.”
“Then how about you talk to me? Tell me what you know.”
“In a minute.” He thought hard. “The last three months, what have you been doing?”
“Not much good,” she admitted. “I’ve been using myself as bait, but the teams the bad guy is sending suck. None of them know anything. It’s like he’s trying to tire me, hoping a lucky shot takes me down.”
“Down but not out?”
“No.” She frowned. “I don’t think the big boss wants me dead. Just incapacitated. I can’t tell you why I think that, it’s just a sense I get.”
“And this guy has something to do with Angel.”
“Nothing else makes sense.”
He thought about all they’d shared and not shared. A glance at his phone showed he needed to check in with Noel and fill him in on what progress he’d made. Then he realized the date.
And laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Vi asked, looking beautiful in bed, her damp hair starting to curl as it dried. The woman still soft and warm. Still naked and tied up.
That erection he’d been working on losing returned as if it had never left.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“You still feeling those effects, Vi? Your nipples hard? Your pussy wet?”
“Dick.”
“I’m feeling them.”
She looked wary. “You said you weren’t drugged.”
“Oh, it’s not the drug. It’s Cupid.” He chuckled at her bewilderment. “Today’s February 14th. Damn, but it’s Valentine’s Day. A day for lovers.” He tugged down the covers and watched a beautiful red blush creep over her cheeks and down. “How about you?”
“I’m not into hearts and flowers.”
He looked into her eyes and wanted to kiss her. So badly. “How about a kiss, baby?”
Vi blinked. “Are you sure you aren’t feeling weird? Because I am.”
“Yeah? Well I hate to break it to you, but the only drug I gave you knocked you out cold. That and I gave you good food. Those hard nipples and wet pussy aren’t because of some manufactured aphrodisiac.” He loved the anger that flashed in her eyes. “You want me, Violet. That weird feeling is called desire. Now what do you think we should do about it?”
* * *
Vi wanted to roast him over hot coals. Filet him, then roast him all over again. That bastard. Jackass. Dickhead. Fucking… Fucking hot piece of ass. Damn, but knowing he’d tied her up, played her, and still had the power to do whatever he wanted to with her was really making her want him. With a lust that just about killed her.
Vi prized strength and intelligence. Hammer, unfortunately, had too much of both to be manageable. He was also too much her type.
She even liked the smug satisfaction she could see on his face. Too rough-hewn to be called classically handsome, his features nevertheless attracted a second and third look. Hammer was all man.
And that erection had yet to abate. No way she intended to pass up this opportunity.
“I’m all tied up and helpless.” She thrust her breasts toward him, saw his gaze darken, and smiled.
“You’ve never been helpless a day in your life,” he growled, though he didn’t look away.
“So, am I cold or aroused? You tell me.” She angled her hips toward him. “A hand between my legs would tell you a lot.”
He shot a glance at her face. “You begging me to touch you, Vi?”
“Begging? Please.” She saw him grin and felt on fire to have him. “But that bar in your pants keeps getting bigger. You planning on using it?”
He studied her and removed his shirt. The sight of his huge muscles, the stark lines of power and control, had her close to panting. “You want me.”
“So?”
His grin turned mean. “I think maybe you like being tied up.”
“Again, so?”
He kicked off the rest of his clothes, standing naked and proud before her. Slowly, he kicked the covers to the floor. “So, Nurse Ratched, you want me to fuck you hard or soft? Fast or slow? Because that’s the only decision you get to make after you tell me yes.” He paused and glared at her. “I don’t get off
on rape. Never have, never will. You say yes, that’s consent, baby. So, what’s it gonna be?”
“I want to come. And I want it hard. Now do I have to sign a written contract, or can we do this?” She was starting to feel a little foolish. The man had her tied up and naked. She’d told him she wanted him. How much of an invitation did he need?
That slow smile, filled with menace, had her rethinking her words.
And then she couldn’t think at all.
Four
Hammer had his head buried between Vi’s legs, lapping her up with hunger because he couldn’t get enough. At first, she’d watched him descend toward her, her eyes half-closed, filled with lust. Her lips had parted, and she’d licked them, no doubt thinking he’d kiss her first.
But what he wanted he hadn’t yet tasted. So, he skipped straight to dessert.
She cried out, grinding against his mouth. He gave her no mercy. For so long he’d been dreaming about this, about making her lose all control. But now it was so much better. She lay helpless, pliant and needy while he feasted.
“God, Hammer. I’m so close.” She sucked in a breath as he slid a thick finger inside her, and he wondered if he’d end up coming against the sheets.
He lifted his head and stared up at her, loving how she watched him. “I don’t have any condoms.” Business protocol dictated that contractors have regular checkups and use birth control. He adhered to a strict policy of protecting himself at all times. But with Vi, he wanted it all.
“I don’t have any either. And I don’t care.”
He waited a moment, loving that she squirmed under him. He pulled his finger back then slid it deeper inside her, watching her eyelids flutter shut.
“Oh, God.”
“I’m going to come inside you,” he stated, waiting for her to respond.
“Fuck, then do it. Now.”
He didn’t need to hear any more. “Now? Why the hurry, baby?” He removed his finger and put his mouth over her, sliding his tongue inside her. She keened, and he drew on her clit once more before he pulled away again, teasing her. “Besides, we have all the time in the world. I’m not planning to be done with you until you’re full of me. Everywhere.” He smiled at the glare she shot him.
Then he put his mouth back over her and didn’t stop until she cried out and came.
Unwilling to wait a second more, he mounted her, positioned himself at her entrance, and thrust. The feeling of being sucked deeper, her sex clenching him as she continued to come, spurred him to let go. He fucked her like a man possessed, driving deeper and deeper while she moaned and struggled to get closer.
“Hammer, oh yes, please,” she begged, the sound a sweet music that stirred him to move faster.
And then he couldn’t think as his body took over, and he drove as deep as he could and seized, jerking inside her as a monstrous orgasm stole his control.
He came so hard he saw black, and when he could function once more, realized he’d had mind-blowing sex with a woman who could kill him six ways to Sunday.
And he wanted to do it again.
He held himself over her on shaky arms, conscious he’d made a mess inside her and that she remained tied up. His to possess.
He looked down to see her staring up at him, her eyes cloudy with passion, her lips ripe, curled in a smile.
He’d never seen a more arresting sight in his entire life.
“You are so big inside me,” she murmured.
He rotated his hips, and they both hissed with pleasure. “Fuck. I came a lot,” he admitted and gave in to the urge to kiss her.
He wondered if she tasted herself on his lips, if she liked it as much as he did. But then they were kissing, and her tongue was in his mouth. At first languid, then with an insistent sweep.
His little killer was getting her second wind. And damn if his dick didn’t agree with her.
Snug in her wet warmth, he kept still, feeling the need to come again. But this time he intended to make things last. To take his time and drive her wild.
* * *
When Hammer drew back, Vi took a breath, unsure about anything except how much she wanted this moment to never end. She’d had sex before, but it had never been so good so fast with someone. The physical pleasure outweighed everything else, a surcease from all the tension she’d been carrying for so long.
She ignored the twinge of heartstrings and the need to emotionally connect. Instead, she focused on the physical and that huge dick inside her, growing hard once more.
“You like me tied up,” she whispered, enthralled at being his focus.
When Hammer concentrated, it was like a laser beam centered on his target and burned. He stared at her like he owned her. As she flexed her wrists, wishing she could touch him, she noted again his mean smile.
“I do,” he said, and for a moment she’d forgotten the question, because he started moving inside her once more. “I love fucking you. I thought about you a lot for months. Wondering what I’d do once I caught you.” He lowered himself to his elbows, putting more weight on her but by no means crushing her.
Then he drew one hand up her torso, cupping her breast. First one, then the other. He watched her, pleased about something. He rubbed her nipples until she did think she might beg him to fuck her. Or had she already?
“Sensitive, hmm?” He didn’t give her time to answer before he took one nipple between his lips and sucked.
“Oh, yes,” she hissed, trying to get as close to his mouth as she could.
He chuckled and continued to thrust in and out, too slowly, too tenderly, and sucked and teethed until she could only feel.
So desperate to have him, she lay supplicant, in another space altogether. The ecstasy from having him dominate her was so damn good.
“Oh yeah, that’s it. Feel me, baby.” He thrust harder, and she started the rise to climax. But then he eased back.
“No, don’t stop,” she complained and blinked up into dark eyes.
“You don’t tell me what to do, not now.” He kissed her, and a sparkle of something new lit his eyes. He put a hand at her throat and started to squeeze.
She couldn’t help herself. Violet came so hard she screamed.
He swore but didn’t remove his hand, nor did he put any more pressure there. Just knowing he could snapped something wonderful in her brain, and she went liquid around that thick wedge of flesh inside her.
“Damn it. You’re not in charge,” he snarled at her as he withdrew.
But she’d already come, and the pleasure made her giddy.
“You’re like a drug,” she told him. And I’m afraid I’m getting addicted.
This was why she should never have let him get within three feet of her again. She’d been attracted from the start, and this chemistry between them was off the charts. She’d never had such an intense orgasm in her life.
“Oh, sweetheart. We’re definitely not done,” Hammer breathed, and she felt his cock brush her belly. “Now it’s time to give me what I want.”
She gave him a lazy smile but didn’t trust the expression on his face.
“Hammer?”
“You trust me, Vi?”
“Hell, no.”
He laughed. “About us in bed, I mean.”
She wished she could say no, but he’d trussed her up in bed and she’d had two massively intense orgasms. Unless she was just a glutton for punishment. “Sadly, I think I do.”
“But not all the way,” he said. “You aren’t quite sure about me, and that gets you hot.”
She felt like an idiot, knowing he was right. But that seemed to spark something in him.
“I’m so glad you feel that way.” He bit his lower lip, and she arched her head off the pillow to kiss him.
He followed her down, kissing her senseless. As he did, he moved. She felt him between her legs again, but he’d angled her hips higher, a pillow underneath her butt. His shaft brushed lower, then slid between her ass cheeks.
“Oh, no.” She hadn�
�t done anal in years, and even then, it had only been okay, not great.
But the excitement on his face made her want to try again. “Oh yes,” he said and pushed at her anus. “Remember, I’m in charge. I won’t hurt you.” He prodded past that tight ring, his dick slick from their shared passion. “Much,” he added with a mean grin. But he waited, watching her.
She tingled, on fire to feel him inside her again. “Fine. But I won’t like it.”
“No, you’ll love it.” And then he was sliding deeper, the nerves inside her firing, revving her with a new feeling of fullness when he stopped moving.
“God, you feel so fuckin’ good.” He stared down at her and began to pump, his eyes bright, sweat beading on his forehead. “I need to fill you up, Vi. Show you who you belong to.”
She pulled at her wrists and pushed up as far as her ankle restraints would allow, feeling even fuller while he moved faster, her struggle exciting him. Exciting her. “Damn it, Hammer. You’re up my ass.” She moaned. “And you’re too big.”
“You like it, but you don’t want to. Such a naughty girl,” he rasped, watching her struggle not to come again. But he read her too well. “No, baby. You come with me.”
He slid a hand between them and fingered her clit. It took embarrassingly little time before she cried out and came on a long moan.
Hammer gave her two more deep pumps and stilled, jetting into her with soft grunts, his big body taut as he emptied once more.
When both of them had been spent, he withdrew and laid with her on the bed, a mess beneath them she couldn’t have cared less about.
“Well, hell.” He blew out a breath. “Guess you’re gonna have to get clean again. Might as well save water and shower together.”
“Screw the shower. Let’s hit the bath.”
* * *
Which was how Hammer found himself cradling Vi in the large bathtub an hour later. Between stripping the sheets, calling for new ones, and putting them on themselves, they’d wasted some time. Then waiting for the large tub to fill and grow to the right temperature.
And all the while his brain had for once shut clean off about the future. Awash in the now, he floated on a wave of bliss, his body spent and his soul at peace as it hadn’t been in too long to remember.