by Maggie Marr
“I’m going to Greystone.”
“How long?”
“At least twenty-four hours, maybe longer.”
Her head jerked back as though his words had hit her. “They’re pulling you without asking me?”
“This is a security matter. You’ll have Hudson, Jax, and Remi—”
“I don’t want Hudson and Jax and Remi,” Natalie interrupted. She moved closer to him, too close. Her brow furrowed and her lips tightened. She lowered her voice. “I want you.”
The muscles in his body tightened. His cock hardened. His response to her body was instant.
He kept his hands at his sides and fought the urge to reach out and pull her body to him. “They’re great agents. You’ll be safe.”
“They’re not you,” she whispered. “This isn’t about safety or security—this is about us.” She placed her water bottle on the counter. “I want us to be together. Isn’t it time we tell them?” Her hip brushed his body. “I want you here. I need you in my life.”
Beck’s heart stutter-stepped. Need. Need was dangerous and powerful. He felt the same sort of pull toward Natalie. He needed her like his lungs needed oxygen. He wanted to scoop her up into his arms, pull her close, kiss her, hold her, and press his body to hers.
She lifted her eyebrow. “I’m going to take a shower.” She tilted her head. Unspoken words danced across the expression on her face. “Before I do, I need some help getting a box down in my room.”
There was no box. There were also no cameras in Natalie’s room or bathroom. The only private place they could escape to together. Bold. Brazen. They hadn’t been fooling around during the daytime. Too dangerous, too obvious. They only indulged their need for each other once darkness fell.
“Will you help me—” Her mouth curled into a wicked smile. “—with my box?”
He could barely answer without laughing. “I’ll help you with your box anytime.”
Beck followed Natalie up the stairs and into her room. Sparks flew between them as though she were flint and he a hammer. In her bathroom she flipped on the showerheads and turned to him. Slowly and deliberately she peeled her sports bra over her flesh. Her pert nipples that tasted like spun sugar popped out of the fabric. Heat simmered between them, building into a fire. She bent forward and took off her tiny shorts.
Oh God yes.
She stood naked before him. Her body ready for him.
She pulled his shirt over his head and then stripped him of his jeans. Naked, she pressed her body to his and his mouth took her lips in a greedy and hot kiss. Natalie opened the glass door to the marble shower, and together they walked under the four showerheads that pelted them with hot beads of water.
“Don’t leave me.” Her hand grasped his cock. “Don’t go to Greystone.”
His belly tightened and pleasure rolled through him. She knelt in front of him and her tongue flicked out, licking over the round tip. She parted her lips and pulled him into her mouth.
His knees nearly buckled from the pleasure, and he leaned over her and pressed his palms to the cool marble of the shower wall. Natalie slid her mouth to the base of his shaft. He placed one hand on her thick black hair, now damp with moisture. Her lips trailed up from the base to the tip of his shaft and then plunged back down, suctioning him with her lips.
Heat built in his balls. She pulled her head back, sucking hard and fast, and then plunged forward. Natalie slid her hands between his legs and cupped his balls. A firm squeeze with her hands and she sucked harder and moved faster, her mouth becoming more insistent as his desire built. Her tongue circled the tip of his cock. Faster and faster she slid down to the base and then back up, her hands squeezing and stroking as her mouth sucked.
“Baby, please.” He grasped her shoulders, trying to pull her up to him. His come was hot and ready to explode from his cock. Natalie brushed him away and continued to suck. Fuck. His control disappeared. His back tightened and a tingle threaded up his legs. His balls drew closer to his body. Her mouth pulled harder and faster and her hand grasped his cock. Heat ripped from his balls, down his shaft, and exploded into Natalie’s mouth, her lips and tongue milking and stroking, and she was swallowing around his flesh. Drawing out every bit of come from his body.
His muscles tightened. A roar ripped from his throat and out his mouth. Both palms pressed to the cool marble. His head dropped forward. Water pelted him. He couldn’t move. Her mouth slowly released him with a final stroke of her tongue over the head of his cock. A tremble ripped through his body.
She looked up at him and a small smile curled around her lips. The heat, the wet, the steam—fuck, but he wanted her. He pulled her to standing and pressed his mouth to hers, the salty taste of his own come on her lips. In an instant he was hard again. He pressed his fingertip to her clit and her body melted in his arms. Her head fell back and pants of air came from her mouth as he circled his finger over her swollen nub.
“Please, I want you, please, Beck.”
He turned her toward the shower wall and pressed her palms to the wall. His arm snaked around her waist and one hand reached between her legs and continued to rub her clit. His knee opened her legs. The head of his cock pressed to the edge of her folds. That thick, lush ass undulating against his hard cock.
“I’m going to fuck you,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m going to fuck you until you yell my name.”
“Yes,” she moaned.
He edged the head of his cock into the tight ring of muscles.
A long moan escaped her mouth.
He pressed upward, his cock nudging deeper into her folds, the ring of muscle slipping over the head while his finger continued to massage her clit. Beck’s lips against the back of her neck and pussy tightened around his shaft.
“You have the best ass.” He smacked the taut, round flesh now pressed against his belly.
“Fuck yes, Beck, oh my God, fuck yes.” The sound of her voice, a plea, a need, a want. Her body tightened around his shaft and his throbbing cock pulsed deep inside her.
“Please, oh my God, Beck, please.”
“Louder.” His voice a rough whisper in her ear.
“Please!” she wailed.
With the sound of Natalie’s voice, he thrust up hard and fast, his cock throbbing deep inside her body. Forward and back, flesh slapping against flesh.
His head fell forward and her head fell back, her lips now close to his ear. “Oh, my God, Beck, I love you.”
His come burst from his balls and shot deep into her, and his ears rang with the promise of Natalie’s words.
Chapter Sixteen
“He’s sleeping with her.”
“You’re certain?” Estrella tilted her head, and Remi couldn’t see the scarred side of her face. She sat behind her desk, in profile to Remi.
“The attraction between them is obvious.”
“Is he aware of why we chose him?”
“You mean other than the obvious qualifications of him being a superb operative with a near-perfect record?”
Estrella clasped her hands in her lap. “The real reasons.”
“He doesn’t remember his last mission. Why he was sent, what he saw . . . who was killed.”
“Then he doesn’t remember who he was meant to kill either.” Her gaze narrowed and she lifted her head. Her chin fixed with a solemn strength. “We’re close, Remi. We get closer each day. Palook can’t hide forever. He can’t stay away.” She turned her head. Estrella’s entire face now lay bare to his gaze. Her scars, her torture, her pain, all at the hands of a madman. “He wants to finish what he started. He wants this finished.” Estrella’s fingertips brushed over the ragged scar that sagged across her cheek. “And then he wants me dead.”
A chill curled down Remi’s spine. To deny Estrella’s words was to lie. Fatigue lived deep in his bones. He’d worked beside Estrella for more than a decade . . . since the day he’d arrived in the hospital and seen her entire face wrapped in bandages and gauze. She hadn’t been able t
o speak and then refused to speak for months after her release. Since then, Remi’d pursued Palook from country to country, and each time he escaped Remi’s grasp. Estrella used every resource at her disposal to hunt Palook down.
“He’s not in Argentina,” Remi said. “After the incident with Beck, the location got too hot. My sources say Thailand.”
“A likely place with the sex trade. Any dead bodies piling up?’
“Not with his trademark, not yet.”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s a sex worker or a socialite, no one deserves this.” Estrella’s gaze locked with Remi. “No one.”
He nodded. Estrella’s pain at the psycho’s hands had changed her—how could it not? She was doggedly determined to find him, to stop him, and to stop what seemed were now a group of psychotic followers. Remi admired her grim and determined perseverance, but Estrella’s passion to find Palook consumed her days and was starting to cloud any possibility of a future.
“Beck will be here tomorrow?”
“I told him twenty-four hours at Greystone,” Remi said. “You taking him off?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“The situation becomes more dangerous with his emotional attachment and hers—”
“Or their emotions for each other cause them to connect at a deeper level and she takes fewer risks and he’s even more cautious.”
“Big gamble.”
“And here I thought you were a romantic.” The right side of Estrella’s mouth curled into a small smile.
Heat whispered through Remi.
“If I leave him in the field,” Estrella continued, “I may get more information on Palook.”
“That’s a large risk to take for a personal gain.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Not completely personal. Beck’s last mission put him close to Palook, and it’s possible that he or one of his acolytes is after Natalie.” Estrella stroked the spot between Pearl’s ears. “Is Beck so compromised that he can’t function as her guard?”
“He’s emotionally involved and possibly in love.” Remi paused and looked into Estrella’s eyes, willing her to acknowledge his feelings for her. “Is that compromised?” He skated around a question more personal than the one about Beck and Natalie.
Estrella’s eyes widened and her lips opened to answer, but instead of the response Remi desired, she tore her gaze from him. He wouldn’t get her response to his unspoken question now.
“He’s a solid operative,” Remi continued. “I’m certain he’s saving his confession about their affair for you.”
“Beck’s a smart man. You’re much more heartless.” Estrella turned the bracelet on her wrist, not looking at Remi. “I still believe in love. Do you?”
She was goading him. He grew tired of this game. She kept him hanging on the edge. She shared just enough of her heart, her feelings, to keep his hope alive that one day she might be ready to love.
“I believe in love, Estrella. I always have.”
Heat passed between them. A moment. He desired her, all of her, but she wouldn’t let him have her or touch her. She allowed him only the role of the man who ran Greystone for her. She might never let anyone get that close to her, not after what Palook had done to her and her lover.
Estrella stood and walked toward the window, Pearl at her side. “We’ll see what Beck tells me tomorrow. I’m not as convinced as you that love is a liability. Even after all I’ve been through, I still have to believe that love is stronger than fear. That love helps more than it hurts.”
“He needs to be aware of the reality of the situation. Love can cause you to overprotect. To try and take care of every possibility, to overstretch—”
“Are we still discussing Beck?” Estrella asked, her voice soft. She stared out the window, almost as though she were afraid to meet Remi’s gaze. Afraid of the emotion he might witness in her eyes. “Who are we speaking about, Remi? You? You seem painfully aware of what falling in love with someone you work with might do. Have you fallen for one of the operatives? Perhaps Fallon or—”
Pain speared his chest. Was she this unaware or just obtuse? Did she need to pretend, to protect her own heart, that their attraction for each other wasn’t obvious?
“They’re like children, Estrella. Most are half our age. I only have time to mind them, not love them.” Again words that he chose to keep unspoken hung in the air. He’d make time to love Estrella if she’d let him. If she’d only allow him to dedicate his life to her, hadn’t he already proved his commitment, his truth, his steadfast heart? What did he have but Greystone? Maybe his work and his mission were enough. Maybe wanting Estrella was too greedy.
Remi stood. The brief was over. Their meeting finished. He turned toward the door.
“Remi?”
He glanced at her. Was that longing in her eyes? Need? Want? Or was that only—
“Thank you. I can’t thank you enough for all you do for the agency, for Greystone . . . for me.”
His gaze softened. He wanted to do more, be more for Estrella. “You’re welcome.” Remi slowly turned to the door. Sometimes wants and desires and needs were best left unsaid.
***
“So which one? The red, the black, or the blue?” Stacia stood in front of a rack filled with gowns, and she held a red dress in her right hand and a black dress in the left. Natalie stood in front of a giant three-way mirror, examining the navy blue gown she wore.
Natalie tapped her fingertip to her lips. “Maybe the coral?”
Stacia spun toward the rack. “Ooooh, that’s a good choice. I love what coral does to your skin tone and your hair. We could accessorize with turquoise and gold.” Stacia hung the two dresses on the rack. “Let’s try it.” She pulled the coral gown from the hanger. “Turn around.” Natalie spun her back toward Stacia, who slid the zipper down.
“Stacia,” Natalie whispered.
“Yeah,”
“I need—”
“Wait, why are we whispering?”
Natalie looked over her shoulder and jerked her head toward the bedroom door.
“Oh, right, ears everywhere. Top secret, eh?”
“I need your help. I need get out of the house.”
The zipper slid down. “No problem. We can take my car. Why is this a secret?”
Natalie stepped from the gown and handed it to Stacia. “Because I need to go out without one of those guys with me.”
“Beck’s been gone less than five hours and you’re already trying to ditch one of the new guys?
“Just for a couple hours. Okay? I have something I need to do and I need to do it alone.”
“Is that something named Rico?” Stacia raised an eyebrow and held out the coral dress.
Natalie grasped Stacia’s shoulder for balance and stepped into the gown. “I have to go somewhere and I need you to cover for me. Will you do it or not?” Natalie pulled the gown up over her shoulders and turned her back to Stacia for a zip-up.
“You know I will.” A defeated tone in Stacia’s voice. “That’s the thing about being a best friend—sometimes you have to do shit you don’t want to because it’s your friend.” Natalie turned toward the mirror. “Oooh, you like?” Stacia asked. “Because I love love love. Makes your eyes pop. I think this is the one for the premiere.”
Natalie turned to the left and then the right. The color did great things for her and she could nearly guarantee no one else would have on this color. She lifted her hair from her neck. “Up or down?” She glanced in the mirror at the reflection of Stacia.
“Nat, I don’t think you ditching your security to meet Rico is a good idea. Just wait and take Beck with you.”
Heat flooded Natalie’s face. She bit her bottom lip and took a long deep breath.
“Oh no.” Stacia shook her head and closed the distance between them. “No, no, no. You did not! And didn’t even tell me? How long?”
Natalie pressed her lips into a line and glanced at Stacia.
“Oh, hell no. How. Long.”
/> “Since my mom’s house?”
“What the hell?
“You’ve were working in London and I haven’t seen you that much and—”
“Girl, I was only in London for two weeks! I’m your best friend. You do not keep this shit away from your best friend, unless . . .” Stacia’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You’re in love,” she whispered.
Natalie’s cheeks turned a bright red, and she pressed her lips tight and stared at Stacia’s reflection in the mirror.
“Oh my God, you are in love. If you weren’t you’d be squawking at me. Oh. My.” Stacia’s fingertips covered her mouth. “Is he in love too?”
Was Beck in love? “I don’t know. Maybe? He hasn’t said anything . . . we haven’t really discussed us . . . or the future or—”
“Imagine that, Mr. Tall, Beautiful, and Military didn’t discuss his feelings or the future? The strong, silent type. At least he’s the strong, silent, and caring type.” Stacia hung up a dress that lay on Natalie’s bed. “You should take Beck with you. I don’t like the idea of you seeing Rico alone.”
“He needs closure. I’m completely over him.”
“I’m not worried about you sleeping with him, bae, I’m worried about him or some random he hangs out with hurting you. What if something really bad happens?”
“It’s two hours. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Famous last words.” Stacia crossed her arms over her chest. “If I’m doing this, I need details on where you are and how long until you come back. The only way I’ll do this is if I know exactly what time you’re meant to show up after you see Rico.”
“I’ll text you everything.” Stacia didn’t look convinced, but Natalie knew that she’d help.
“Fine.” Her face took on a grimace. “What next?”
“Shoes!” Natalie pulled up her dress. “You know the shoes are always my favorite part.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Dude, you must have fucked up big to be back at the Grey mid-mission.” King pulled a chair back from the conference room table and dropped into the seat beside Beck. “What’d you do? Fuck your client?” A slick grin crawled over King’s face and he leaned back in his chair. He shot a smug look at the agents gathering around the table for the afternoon meeting.