by April Zyon
With a low groan, he rolled them slightly to their sides, his arms keeping her pressed close to his body. His free hand moved to tip her chin up, his lips pressing gently to hers. “Forever mine,” he said quietly, still breathing hard. “Never letting you go, Athena.”
“Good, because I’m never letting you go either.” She rubbed her cheek to his neck and closed her eyes. “This is everything that I had ever dreamed of.” It had hurt just a bit, but honestly not as much as she had expected. The pain was nearly non-existent, but the pleasure had been intense and all-encompassing.
He held her close for a few more moments before drawing away. “Shh, I’ll be right back,” he said against her cheek when she protested. Athena watched him go into the bathroom, and waited on his return. He came back with a washcloth in hand that he used to wipe her down with before he pressed it to her pussy. “You’re going to be sore come morning. Good thing you’re planning on taking a few days off, with the exception of your young lady’s appointment, of course.”
“Yes, this is a very good thing. And yes, that’s one appointment that I can’t miss. Sorry, but she’s important.” And she knew that if the young woman was important to her, it was important to him. “Just know that no matter where I go or what I do, I will always return to you.”
“I know that, sweetheart. She needs you, Athena. That is more than good enough for me. You’ll see her, and then we can cozy up here for a while and get to know one another even better. Plus, it’ll give us time to go shopping somewhere other than busybody central otherwise known as Massey.”
“That’s a very good point. We don’t want them to know just what kind of goodies we will buy because it’s none of their damn business what we get. What we do in the bedroom is ours and ours alone, right?”
“Damn straight,” he said. He got of the bed to take the cloth back into the bathroom, returning a moment later. “All right, time for you to get some sleep.” Climbing into the bed, he tugged the blankets up around them both before wrapping her in his arms.
Athena relaxed against Martin and smiled. “I love you,” she whispered softly, and then drifted off into sleep. This was what she had been missing for so very long. Him.
Chapter Seven
After her visit with her young patient, Athena was filling out paperwork. She didn’t have to, but she had wanted to put her impressions and her thoughts down on paper before she couldn’t. She needed to put everything together so that she could have unbiased observations instead of her personal life pushing in and casting shadows on what she was writing. Once that was done, she closed the folder and leaned back in her chair.
Looking at the clock, she smiled. “Come on, Martin. Where are you, baby?” He had given her a bit of space so that she could meet with her young patient and she was happy for that.
A knock on her door came at the same moment her cell rang. The door eased open to reveal Martin with two cups in hand and a bag. He tipped his chin toward her with a smile as he stepped into the room, and closed the door with his boot heel. “You planning on answering that?” he asked when her phone rang a third time.
“Oh yeah.” Lifting her cell, she put it on speaker. She had nothing to hide after all. “Dr. Rhodes. Can I help you?” she asked, and winked at Martin, taking the coffee from him and mouthing a thank you to him.
He pressed a kiss to her lips before retreating. At the same moment, from her phone came a voice she’d hoped never to hear again. “You haven’t done what you were asked, Dr. Rhodes. Do I need to arrange for trouble to find your father? I’d so hate to see anything befall him, but you were told the consequences. Perhaps you didn’t believe me.”
Athena looked at Martin with wide eyes. “Don’t you dare,” she said. “You leave him out of this.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not your dog to order around and you will not threaten him again. I’m not going to be such a pushover as this.”
“No, doctor, what you are is a woman in a very tenuous position. You will make the calls as you were directed or I will send your father back to you piece by piece. I am not making idle threats. So do not test me. Or the person we go after once I’ve finished with your father will be your long-lost lover. I was rather surprised to find out you two knew one another from so long ago. Enjoy it while you can, if you do not do exactly as you’ve been told. Have I made myself sufficiently clear to you?”
Martin was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his head tipped to the side. He had an odd expression on his face, like he was listening intently.
“What you have made is yourself look like an idiot. I have no long-lost lover.” She was watching Martin carefully. She wasn’t sure what to say to this man who was calling her. She had no idea how to deal with people like him. “I am not your lackey nor am I your lapdog. You will be served better to simply walk away from me now.” She was pale, she could feel it in the way that her cheeks were chilled. She shook and took deep breaths.
“You will regret that decision. I will give your father your regards when I meet with him. Oh, and I’d give Martin Carver a goodbye kiss if I were you. You’ll never know when he’s next on my list.” The phone went dead then.
Martin was on his feet, his own phone pressed to his ear as he paced around her office. “Thanks,” he said a moment later, and pocketed the phone again. He came straight to her, pulling her up from the chair, and into his arms. “I’m right here, sweetheart.”
Athena held onto him and looked up at him after a time. “How did he know that you were here with me?” She was panicking. “Did I do wrong? Should I have done what they are trying to force me to do? Oh God, please?” She trembled as she clung to him.
“Shh,” he whispered. Stroking her hair gently, he rocked her back and forth. “They got a trace on the call. It’s only a general area, but it’s closer than we knew before. The agents are with your father. He was still unaware of everything when they reported in earlier today, and no alarms have been raised. Whoever this person is won’t be getting near your dad. At least not without raising a serious stink that will raise many red flags and have an international incident brewing in the wake. Call your father. You need to hear his voice even if it’s only for a moment. But use my cell, it can’t be bugged or traced like yours can.”
She nodded and accepted the phone from him. “Thank you.” She dialed her father’s number and spoke to him. After a short conversation, she passed the phone back to Martin. She was shaking a great deal. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers, and then with just the smallest of tugs from him, was pulled into his arms. This was what she needed. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly and just cried. God, for the barest of moments, she had forgotten that her life and her father’s life were in danger.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re going to be just fine,” he said, rubbing her back. When the tears began to let up, he settled into her chair, pulling her into his lap so she could curl up against him. He kept her in a tight hold the entire time they sat there, the sun starting to sink into the horizon by the time she finally lifted her head up.
At last, she pulled back from him and took a deep breath. “I want to go home, please,” she said softly. “Can we just order in pizza or something? I feel like hiding away for a short bit. I know that’s cowardly, but it’s truly what I would like.”
“Why don’t you call it in now? We can pick it up on the way so we don’t need to worry about tipping anyone. Or even about getting dressed if we don’t want to.” Pressing a kiss to her lips, he gave her another squeeze. “And make sure you order some of the cheese sticks too, with extra sauce on the side.”
“Oh yes, I love the cheese sticks.” She loved the buttery garlic of it. “Should I use my phone or yours to order the pizza? I only ask because part of me wants to toss my bloody phone out the window and forget about it.”
“Use mine,” he said, digging it out of his pocket once more. “We need to keep yours for when they call again. And they will call again. Especially when they can�
��t get to your father. Maybe they’ll turn all their attention on me instead. Be a nice change, then we’ll know we can lure them right in toward a target that can kick their asses in return.”
“I don’t want you hurt, though,” Athena said with a frown. “I don’t like the thought that you want them to come after you. That bothers me a great deal. I would rather that they hurt me instead of you.”
“Not going to happen. They come anywhere near you, I’ll do more than just kick their asses. Besides, we want them to come after me. It’s a better plan, easier to defend, and I will have several men supporting us. On top of my brothers, who are always more than willing to kick a little ass. Trust me, Athena. Not just in the bedroom, but in all things. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it for nearly ten years now. This is what I do. Present a target that appears to be one thing, make them believe I’m something else, but in reality, I’m much more dangerous than they will ever suspect.”
“I’ve always known that you could be a danger. I’ve always known that you could truly rock someone’s world, and not just in the bedroom,” she said with a grin. “And I do trust you, Martin. I will always trust you in all aspects of our life.”
“Then trust me to know what I’m doing. I may not always know what I’m doing, but in this instant, I do. I’m also not going to let anything happen to you—trust in that. Or your dad either, promise. We have to put these guys in an impossible situation where they need to focus on a seemingly easy target—me. Your dad is under heavy guard. They’ll lose a lot of men if they attempt to go after him, which forces them to go to plan B. And if they come over here, onto our turf, we’ll show them just how big of a mistake they made targeting you.”
Athena nodded. “This is true. We are, after all, in Texas. We are on our home turf. This is where we know everyone and they know us. We both grew up here in this land. I will fight for you as well. I love you, and that’s why I know that you will fight for me too.”
He stared at her for a long time. Long enough for her to realize what she’d said. Before she could backpedal, try and cover it up maybe, he kissed her hard. “I love you, too, Athena Rhodes. I’ve been trying to figure out the best time to tell you, but this works well. On another note, you are damn well going to stay all nice and protected if this comes down to a battle. I will never, ever risk your life. Ever.”
She was blushing hard and nodded. “I hadn’t meant to tell you that yet,” she admitted. “It’s not that I don’t love you, because I do, but I wasn’t sure just how you would think about me telling you that. As for a battle?” She shook her head and smiled. “If it comes down to a fight, I’m going to fight right alongside of you. This is our life together, and because I want this life with you, I will fight for it.”
“Good God, you are stubborn woman.” Growling at her, he kissed her hard. “Call in our order, and tell them we will be there in twenty minutes. Extra cheese sticks are needed, I think. And don’t forget the extra sauce,” he muttered, giving her another squeeze.
“Will do.” She could only grin. He was right, she was exceptionally stubborn, but when it came to fighting for the right to love him, she would be as stubborn as the day was long. It was how things should be when you were with the one you loved. Period. Taking his phone, she placed their order and then leaned back against him once more. “Since the pizza place is only ten minutes from here, what do you say about us kissing and snuggling for a bit?”
“I think you can convince me. You know,” he said, turning them in her chair back and forth a little. “One of these days, when we don’t have a bunch of mobsters on your cute little ass, I think we should christen your office. Make sure you have a lot of really good memories in this place.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Athena said with a nod. “In fact, I really believe that we should do that now. I can easily call the pizza place and put our order off another ten minutes. I know that means that we will only be able to have a quickie, but I’m so good with that.”
“Unless you have a condom in your desk, that’s not happening. All the ones I bought are back at the house, babe. Though I could lay you out on your desk and give you one hell of an orgasm. I’ve been wanting to lick that pretty pink pussy of yours since I first got a look at it.”
She felt her pussy leaking with desire at his words. “Yes. I want that,” she said without even thinking about it. “I want to have you licking my pussy, your tongue over my clit, your fingers inside of my honeypot just for you. I want to have every single second that I can with you. As for the condoms, no, I don’t have any with me.” God, she wished she did, because she would love to have him deep inside of her before they left. “Just know that I will likely attack you as soon as we get home.”
“Deal. Pizza’s not horrible if it’s a little on the cooler side. The only food you can get away with that with.” Lifting her off his lap, he put her on the edge of her desk. “Get rid of your panties, put your feet up on the arms of your chair, and let me see that sweet little pussy of yours.”
“I didn’t put panties on today,” she told him as she moved to put her feet on the chair arms. “I don’t think that I will ever wear panties again when you are with me. In fact, I think I will start to wear long skirts and no panties from this moment forward. What do you think of this?” She leaned back on the desk, pushing her pen holder to the side as she spoke.
“The best fucking idea I’ve heard from you today so far. You could wear short skirts, too, you know, as long as they aren’t too short. I’d hate to have to beat up some old man for seeing what belongs to me.” He wheeled the chair in closer to her, his hands sliding over her inner thighs to press her legs open further.
“All of me belongs to you,” she whispered, and then moaned the moment he put her legs over his shoulders and began to feast upon her wet pussy. She sobbed out and grabbed the edge of the desk as he began to work her pussy with his mouth.
Flicking his tongue over her clit, he lifted his head enough to lick his lips, his gaze meeting hers. “You taste divine,” he told her. Giving her inner thigh a nip, he went back to licking her pussy. Martin thrust his tongue into her sheath, lapping at her folds, and nipped at her clit gently.
“And you are a maestro.” He worked her body, playing her like an instrument. She loved every single part of this with him. “Oh God, yes.” She moaned. “You are ever so clever with your mouth. I appreciate it so much.”
She felt his laugh when he sucked on her clit hard. He flicked it with the tip of his tongue before lightly biting down on the sensitive nub. He pressed his fingers into her body, stroking her slowly as he began to hum softly.
Athena braced a foot on his shoulder and lifted herself to meet his mouth with her body. She couldn’t speak. Hell, she could barely think. All she could do was feel. She moved along with him, her body aching to be near his and wanting far more from him.
Another finger pressed into her body, curling to press over the bundle of nerves. He wiggled his fingertips, but didn’t thrust any more. He sucked harder, nibbling lightly, and put another finger to her anus to rub at the tight bud.
“God, yes!” She cried out and moved against him. “Please.” She was gasping, panting, and in desperate need. “No condom needed should you fuck me there.” God, she couldn’t believe she was saying that, but she needed him to be a part of her right now. She needed him to fuck her.
“You’re not ready to take me yet. Soon, though,” he promised. His mouth landed on her clit again, his tongue flicking the tight nub like he was lashing it. Martin pressed his finger a little harder to her anus, slipping it through that first ring of muscle and gently wiggling it around.
“Oh yes.” She moaned and pushed back against him time and time again. This was exactly what she had wanted and needed for him to do to her. “Perfect.” She sobbed as she came apart under him.
His finger slipped in deeper, causing a slight burn in her ass. He wasn’t pressing it, she was taking it in as she wanted. Mart
in pulled his fingers from her pussy, his tongue moving to lap at her while he put his fingers on her clit to tug and pinch the nub.
“There.” She whimpered. “Oh God, please.” She was thrashing against him, her feet braced on his shoulders while she rode his tongue and finger. “More, please. So close.” She was almost there, so close she could almost taste it.
Pinching her clit tight, he thrust his tongue deep into her pussy. His other finger slipped deeper into her ass and curled ever so slightly. He began to hum again, flicking his tongue in and out of her.
Athena saw stars. She felt the world tilting, and then the dam inside of her broke. She screamed, coming so hard that she was sure she would pass out. She felt faint, but her orgasm had been so complete and so true that nothing else would have come close to comparing.
He finished lapping up her cream, cleaning her off, and then lifted his head. Licking his lips, he eased his finger from her ass and stood to lean over her. He pressed a kiss to her lips, her taste on his mouth as he nipped at her. “I love how you come, so free and so open.”
She licked at his lips, nipping him with her teeth. She grinned. “It’s because I’m with the man that I love. It’s because I have you with me. I’m sure that had I been with anyone else, I wouldn’t be this free.” Which was the truth. She was able to do this because it was him. It was Martin Carver, the man she had been in love with all of her life.
He kissed her again, his hand rubbing her mound lightly. “No talking about being with another man when you’re with me, sweetheart. Unless you are trying to make me jealous. In which case, it’s working.”
She laughed at that and then pulled him closer. “Martin, my sweet and lovable man, you are the one and only man that I’ve ever been with. You are the only man that I have ever wanted to be with. I love you, only you. Why would I want anyone else when I have you as mine?”