He brushed his lips against the skin on the side of her neck so gently that she thought she was imagining it. “Show you what, sweet Louisa?”
“Show me how good sex can be. How good making love can be. How good it can be to…” Damn. Just say it. “How good it can be to just fuck and really mean it.”
Six groaned and wrapped his hands around her gently, pulling her back against his chest, against the erection she could feel pressed up firmly against her butt. His hands trailed her curves and his thumbs brushed softly over her nipples, making her knees shake as he planted soft kisses along her jaw.
“I’m not supposed to do this, Lou,” he whispered against her ear before he playfully nipped her earlobe. “But for some reason I can’t stop myself.” A hand slid down over her underwear and between her legs, and he pressed the heel of his hand against her clit. “I know you like pressure here, but what else do you like, Lou?”
She was sure she should be concerned by the fact they were standing in his kitchen with his hands between her legs, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She wanted whatever Six was willing to give her, and she’d stand there as long as it took.
“Would you laugh if I told you I don’t know?” she said truthfully. Because she didn’t. “I didn’t know until this morning it could feel this good.”
Six groaned into her hair. “Do you have any idea how hard that gets me? Knowing that I’m the first to turn you on like this?” He slid his hand into her shorts. “Hell, Lou. You’re so wet already. I could tell this morning that you were turned on because I could feel how wet you were through your underwear. This feels even better.”
Louisa bucked against him as he slowly slid a finger into her, pinning her to him. She pressed her palms down into the counter, needing to keep her balance. “Oh, God. Six,” she cried out.
Sensations and feelings bombarded her as she rode his finger. When he added a second finger, it felt as though she was going to die, but not before she had an orgasm brought on by someone other than herself. She caught sight of herself in the window, her reflection revealing a woman she barely knew. One who looked … sexual. It was the only word she could think of.
“Fuck,” Six gasped and removed his finger.
She cried out at the loss.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m not going anywhere, except down.” He tugged her shorts down her legs and his knees hit the floor as he encouraged her to step out of them. “Grip the counter, step those legs toward me and arch your back.”
Louisa did as he said but stole a look over her shoulder just in time to see him grip her ass and bury his face between her thighs. “Oh, God,” she cried out as he took her clit into his mouth to suck and lick it.
Without thinking, she rose onto her toes, widened her stance. Anything to give him more access.
“You taste so good, Lou,” Six murmured as he slid a finger into her. “I can’t wait to feel you come on my tongue.”
She wanted to tell him he wouldn’t have to wait long. Wanted to tell him to stand up and slide into her. To come with her. But she couldn’t. Pressure started to build inside which burst forth like freaking fireworks, taking away her ability to do anything other than cry out as she came even more intensely than she had that morning.
Over and over as Six’s tongue stroked deep inside her, making it impossible to stand or do anything else except slump forward until her head rested on her hands.
* * *
Feeling Louisa let go with such abandon had to be the hottest thing to happen to him since his return. The shock in her voice as she came told him she found the experience to be just as much of a surprise to her as it was to him. Being able to deliver the goods for her made his heart soar and his cock throb.
He should just end it there. Remember the rules and help her step back into those ass-hugging shorts that had driven him wild in the first place. Be the good operative he was meant to be. But breaking rules was what he did best, and there was no way he wasn’t sliding deep into Louisa tonight, no matter how much it would piss off his friends.
Her legs shook, and he gripped her hips to help her stay upright as he continued to stroke her with his tongue. No, he couldn’t stop, not when she’d already let him taste the most private part of her. He loved going down on a woman, loved the intimacy it created. With one more kiss, he stood and turned her to face him. Beautiful brown eyes, wide with shock, looked up at him without the security of her bangs, and he wanted her to always look at him this way. Unable to resist, he pressed his lips to hers and groaned as she melted against him.
Louisa threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing her in line with his cock, which was desperate for release. Part of him wanted to just hitch her onto the counter and drive straight into her, but instead, he carried her back to his bedroom and laid her on the bed.
“Lou, baby. I can walk away right now. My cock might never forgive me, but I can. Give this another five and I am going to be so in you, there’ll be no stopping until we both come. It’s a bad idea, but tell me you want this. Make the decision for us, Lou, because I want you so much it hurts.”
It was true. Every word. It was no secret that he’d slept with his fair share of women, but holy hell, did he want Louisa.
She sat up on the bed and lifted her cami up over her head, revealing those perfectly pert breasts. “I want you, Six. I don’t know how much clearer I can make it. I’m not a virgin, I just…”
“Just what?” he asked as he dropped his boxer briefs to the floor and then grabbed a condom from the bedside table. Her eyes went straight to his cock, and it did his ego good to see the way they widened as she took him in. He slipped the condom on and used her silence to crawl over her, resting his weight on his arms on either side of her head.
“I just never saw stars like I do with you.”
He pushed her bangs to the side and stared deeply into her eyes. Cautiously, Louisa placed her hand on his cheek in a move that was both sweet and teasing. He wanted her to see the whole universe.
“This makes things complicated, Lou.”
“Weren’t they already complicated?” she asked.
He kissed the tip of her nose, a move that made her smile and his heart trip in his chest. Then he made his way along her ribs and sucked her nipples on the way for good measure. They were so responsive as they hardened to his tongue’s demands. Six crawled between her legs, where he could see the wetness from her first orgasm, and groaned as he crawled back up her body. “I’ve thought about this a thousand times today,” he said, gripping his cock and sliding the first scalding inch into her. “You feel so good, Lou.”
Louisa gasped beneath him, and he pressed his lips to hers, stealing her breath away. Her hands traced down his back and cupped his ass, and he loved the way she encouraged him deeper. Usually, he’d just dive in. Literally. But he wanted to know that Lou was with him every step of the mind-blowing way.
He eased out and slid in deeper. Fuck. Tight and wet. Could she be any more perfect? He gripped her leg behind the knee and slid her thigh along his as he pressed in deeper.
“Oh, God. Please, Six.” Her voice was breathy and low, her eyes closed as she arched her back and let her head fall farther into the pillow.
He’d move heaven and holy hell to give her what she needed as he slid out of her and pushed back deep inside her welcoming warmth. Once safely tucked back inside, he rolled them so he was on his back and his girl was astraddle him. His girl. It sounded good. And he was done pretending that he wasn’t developing feelings for her as she giggled at his maneuver.
“I love it when you laugh,” he said as Louisa rose up on her knees and lowered back down on him.
“Touch me, Six. Devour me. Show me everything.”
He put his thumb to her lips. “Suck me,” he said, and she opened her mouth, giving him access. Her tongue teased him, flicked around him, getting him good and wet. God, it felt good. Made all the better th
at from down here, she couldn’t hide behind her bangs and he could see how hooded her eyes got as she continued to ride him. He usually liked to dominate. Unleash all his sexual frustrations and desires for a woman’s body. But Louisa deserved something more giving, more … loving. He banked the thought and withdrew his thumb from the hot confines of her mouth. One day he’d ask her to suck his cock with that mouth of hers.
Lou pressed her hands onto his chest like she had that morning, but she looked to the point where they were joined and gasped. Yeah, it was hot to watch the way he disappeared inside her, and he loved that she enjoyed it too.
The view of her riding him was something else. He placed his thumb to her clit and rubbed as she raised herself to her knees and sat down hard on him. He could tell when the movements began to change from sexual enjoyment to pure desperation. Louisa’s rhythm became jerky. Her hips rolled forward as she lowered on him, making sure her clit was getting the pressure she needed, and his abs tightened in response. There was nothing hotter than a woman getting off on his cock, but somehow, knowing it was Louisa had him harder than granite.
Telltale shivers began down his spine. She was going to ride him until he came deep inside her, but he needed to take control. He flipped them again so that she ended up beneath him.
“Wrap your legs around me, Lou,” he instructed and groaned as she did, sending him deeper and deeper into her. His pace increased, slamming into her. He wanted to ask if it was too hard. He wanted to ask if she felt the honesty of it. But his breath was stuck in his lungs and showed no sign of being released anytime soon.
“Six,” she gasped. “I’m so close. I can’t … I don’t…”
He pressed his lips to hers in a soft wet kiss that attempted to tell her just where his feelings were and just how close to coming inside her he was. But all he could do was take. Take everything she was offering as she grabbed his ass, digging her fingertips in hard. As she gasped against his lips. As he breathed in her air. As she began to shake against him and tighten around his cock.
“Oh my God. Yes, Six. Please,” she cried as she threw her head back against the pillow.
The sight and feel of her coming was his undoing. His own orgasm began to rip through him as she pressed against him, burying her head into his shoulder. Unable to help himself, he pulled her close as he braced his knees and pounded into her, finally giving in to his own release.
* * *
For the second morning running, Six woke up with Louisa wrapped up in his arms, and for the second morning in a row, he savored the way she felt there. Only this time, the immediate awareness of who it was made it feel even better. Perhaps it was the fact that she wasn’t some temporary distraction. He mentally shook his head. She most definitely wasn’t that.
There had been no nightmares. Just a wonderful night of sex and sleep.
Her skin was soft and warm under his fingertips, but he remembered how goose bumps had formed as he’d kissed his way along her ribs. Those curves currently pressed up against him tighter than his neoprene diving suit, snug in all the right places, had moved poetically against him. He ran his hand up and down her spine and wondered how she’d react if he grabbed an ice cube and ran it down the arch of her back. Gently, Six trailed his hand over the curve of her ass.
Reluctantly, Six opened his eyes and looked toward the window. The sight of all the crap on his bedside table made him smile. Louisa was a post-sex munchies kind of girl, and for a woman who ate all clean and healthy, she’d devoured brownies after their first round and a large bag of barbecue-flavored chips after their second. It was a blessing that she’d fallen asleep before a third round because he was all out of snacks.
God, the look on her face when she’d come apart was something else. His cock tightened at the memory, eager for a repeat performance. Sex had always been the go-to way to relieve stress, but something about sex with Louisa had relaxed muscles he hadn’t even realized were tight. He felt loose and limber and ready to take on the world.
The sound of a vehicle pulling onto the driveway crushed the idea of taking his thoughts and hard-on any further, reminding him that she was in trouble and needed a lot more than just his cock to be okay. She needed his protection and his company. She needed his control and for him to take his responsibility seriously. His partners were going to be pissed. Part of him wanted the chance to talk to Lou before they got here to decide how they were going to play it. For a moment he considered asking her to lie, to hide who they were together and what they were getting into. But lies and secrets didn’t seem like the best way to start a new relationship. She wasn’t something he was ashamed of. Yet confessing his feelings about something so new and demonstrating his abject lack of control flew in the face of everything he was trying to build. He shouldn’t even be having this conversation with himself because he shouldn’t have touched her. He should’ve honored the promise he’d made to Cabe—or more important, the one he had made to himself.
Delicately, he untangled his arms from around her and moved out of bed. He slipped on some shorts, ran his hand through his hair, grabbed his SIG from the bedside table, and walked barefoot to the front window, relieved to see Cabe’s truck, before going to the front door.
“Come on, Viking. I ain’t got all day. Get your pretty ass over here.”
Six pulled the door open.
“Louisa’s payment cleared, so all systems are go,” Cabe said, walking into the house with a weapons case.
Mac followed close behind. “Figured you might want to double down on protection.” He jerked his chin toward the gray metal box.
More reinforcements were a great idea, although he had a collection of his own in his gun safe. Job one was to teach Louisa how to fire one of them and get her a permit so she could have a gun in her home. A friend of his had some hard-core acreage about forty minutes east. The middle of nowhere would be safe enough to teach her the art of firing a weapon. But that would take time they didn’t have right now, so they’d have to manage with a quick primer on how to load, aim, and fire safely enough in the event of another break-in. “Thanks, bro. You guys had coffee yet?”
“Nah. Would love some. Louisa around?” Cabe asked as he followed Six to the kitchen.
Six tilted his head in the direction of the bedrooms, careful not to indicate one room or the other. “Still sleeping,” he said, pulling the coffee out of the cupboard.
“Look, man,” Mac said, grabbing three mugs. “About yesterday. I know it seemed harsh, but we can’t run this place like a charity. We aren’t the Equalizer.”
It pissed Six off that Mac was right. “What if Delaney were in trouble?” Six asked anyway, referring to Brock’s younger sister and the only woman Mac had ever loved as far as Six could tell. “Would we charge her?”
“Fuck you. That’s a low blow and you know it. Delaney would be different. We’d look out for her because of Brock. She’s family. You’ve known Louisa what? A week.”
Six shook his head. It was impossible to explain his feelings to Mac when he couldn’t even explain them to himself. “Never mind. How is Delaney? Do you know?”
Brock’s death while they were in college had left them all with scars, the emotional kind. And Mac carried the brunt of them. Even though the findings had cleared Mac of any wrongdoing, he still blamed himself. Mac had attempted to stay close to Brock’s family, the only way for him to absolve himself of the guilt he carried from Brock’s death, but neither Delaney nor her mom had spoken to him in years.
“Still doing some crazy-ass investigative journalism. I find out like the rest of you do when her stories hit the headlines.”
“That’s so Delaney, though,” Cabe said. “Heck, we all know Brock intended to enlist after graduation. Maybe in her own way she’s continuing Brock’s need to serve his country or something.”
Six nodded. While she hadn’t enlisted, her form of journalism—tracking down the world’s most wanted and feared—helped keep the country safe.
The
coffeepot began to splutter, and Six poured them all a cup. “I had some feelers out overnight and was just going to check on them,” he said, grabbing his laptop. They walked to the dining room and sat down.
“You still make god-awful coffee,” Cabe said with a shudder.
“And you’ve nuked your taste buds with all those extra-hot wings you eat, man.” The team joked that Cabe had an asbestos mouth. The guy would eat anything claiming to be hotter than Hades. That said, it was unusual coffee, a Moroccan blend that he’d gotten a taste for while doing work-up exercises off the coast of Morocco and which he now ordered online. It was strong as shit. Funny, Lou had drunk it without so much as a comment.
“Ivan seems to have gone to ground. No sign of him at the lab or his home,” Mac said. “Buddha went in last night and placed a camera that covers his driveway and door so we can watch it without being there. We do much more, though, and we’re gonna need to be more transparent with the police. You know that, right?”
“I know. But we have resources they don’t. They’ve got the plates of the car, our statements … They have everything we have so far, so let’s see how fast they work. We find anything, and we hand it over. We should have an eye on his finances today,” Six said, opening his laptop. “Do you think we should be watching the old man?” His gut wasn’t giving him clear direction on Vasilii yet.
“Was wondering about that myself,” Cabe replied. “He might lead us to Ivan. Let’s see what today turns up.”
Six scanned his email. His friend at vehicle licensing had come through. “We got an address for the van from the first attempt. Let’s check it out this morning.”
Louisa walked into the kitchen wearing the shorts and cami she’d bought, no bra, which of course Cabe noticed with a swift double take. Asshole. She looked over to them but quickly looked away and grabbed Six’s hoodie that was on the table, yanking it over her head. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment and Six felt shitty for not warning her they had company. On the other hand, she probably had no clue how utterly delicious she looked in his clothes. Quickly, she made her way over to the fridge. “Did you guys eat?” she asked.
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