by Katie Reus
“Oh, God.”
“Oh, Brooks,” he growled against her slick folds.
She gave a short laugh that quickly turned into a groan. “Brooks.”
Over and over he thrust while teasing her clit, pushing her closer and closer until she arched off the bed, her back going bowstring tight as her orgasm slammed through her. He kept stroking, wanting to wring every possible ounce of pleasure out of her.
When she fell limp against the bed, gently sliding her fingers through his hair, he lifted his head. There was enough light streaming in from the bathroom that he could see every nuance of her expression.
Her eyes were heavy-lidded as she reached for him, the welcome of her open arms all he wanted. “Darcy,” he murmured, moving until his body covered hers.
“Kiss me.” A soft demand as she shoved at his boxers.
He quickly divested himself of them and then his mouth was on hers, giving her exactly what she wanted. What they both did. This woman owned him. Completely.
Reaching between her legs, though he knew she was slick he groaned against her mouth as he felt it. Hell, he still tasted it, knew she was tasting her own pleasure now. Sometimes she could be reserved but she didn’t back away from anything in the bedroom. She’d given him her trust almost from the beginning. He’d had to work for it, but once they’d gotten there, she’d been all in.
“In me now.”
Gladly. Poised at her entrance, he looked down at her for a long moment, splayed out, an offering for him to plunder. And treasure. Forever.
Thrusting once, he stopped only when he was buried fully inside her. She was tighter than he remembered, her inner walls clenching around him like a vise.
She raked her fingers over his chest, digging into his skin as he leaned down over her. Her muscles pulsed around him and his balls pulled up tight as he held back.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, and the raw vulnerability in her expression and her voice ripped him open.
“I’ve missed you too.” Slowly, he pulled back, hissing in a breath as her inner walls gripped him tight.
When she rolled her hips against his, arching into him, he lost all sense of thought and control. She met him stroke for stroke as he thrust inside her over and over. He lost track of time as their mouths and bodies tangled with each other.
And when he flipped her onto her knees, she pushed her ass back into him as she clutched at the sheets. This had always been one of her favorite positions.
He brought his palm down on her ass once before smoothing a hand over the sting. Then he was inside her again and time had no meaning as he thrust over and over. He wouldn’t take long now and by the way her inner walls were pulsing around him, she wouldn’t either.
It took all his restraint not to come right away but he wanted her to get off again. Needed it with a desperation he understood full well. She was his to take care of.
Reaching around her body, he cupped her mound, sliding his middle finger over her clit. She bucked against him, her inner walls clenching even harder and faster. Oh yeah, she was close.
Moments later she surged into orgasm again, crying out his name as her muscles stroked him harder and harder until he fell over that cliff too. Lightheaded with desire, he continued thrusting inside her, consumed by her as they both found release. Pleasure surged out to all his nerves in a wave of sensation until he was fully sated and barely breathing.
When he came down from his high, he collapsed on the bed, careful not to crush her. Instead he rolled to the side and tugged her into his arms.
She buried her face against his chest and inhaled deeply. When she pulled back she said, “Can’t believe you tried to fight that.”
“I had reasons.” He dropped a kiss on her lips, grateful that it was his right again. God, he’d missed her lips.
“Dumb reasons.”
He laughed lightly at her haughty tone. “I was trying to do the right thing.”
“Well, let me tell you, that was definitely the right thing.” She threw a leg over his hip and wrapped her arm around him so they were chest to chest, skin to skin. “And I hope we do it again tonight.”
“Are you too sore?” He gently traced his fingers over the light bruising on her throat. It was faint and might not develop into more.
“No… Maybe. We’ll see,” she finally murmured, her lips curving up in a sweet, satisfied smile.
He just held her tighter, resting his chin against the top of her forehead. An icy wind whipped outside against the window but they were safe and warm inside, exactly where he wanted to be. Tomorrow he was sure they’d have shit to deal with. But for now, he was going to savor this quiet moment with the woman he loved.
* * *
Gage tensed as he saw someone approaching the back of his truck… Wait, was that Nova in the rearview mirror? He glanced at his cell phone when it started blaring the song “Girl on Fire.” “What the hell?” he muttered to himself, even as he realized that Nova must have changed the ring tone. That was what he got for giving her his code. “Hey, Nova,” he said, glancing in the side mirror now. Yep, that was her.
That damn protectiveness swept through him as he realized the time. It was close to midnight. She wouldn’t be here this late unless there was an emergency.
“Hey, jerk face. I’m about to knock on the passenger door of your truck. Don’t shoot me.” She ended the call.
A second later Nova, bundled up as if it was a snowpocalypse and holding two steaming to-go cups of something, knocked on the window. He quickly unlocked the doors and she slid inside. “What the hell are you doing here?” The question came out harsher than he’d intended.
“Well hello to you too, jerk face.” She handed him one of the cups, then the other. “Hold mine,” she said as she unwrapped her scarf and pulled a sparkly cap with blue snowflakes off her head. Her long, dark hair tumbled around her face and shoulders in waves he fantasized about wrapping around his fists as he tasted that sassy mouth.
“Why do you keep calling me jerk face? And seriously, why are you here?” Not that he was complaining. And it was pretty clear there wasn’t an emergency or she would have said so already.
“I think you can figure out why you’re a jerk face.” She lifted one of her dark eyebrows as she held out a hand. He gave her the cup. “And I’m here to keep you company. I heard you got stuck on security duty tonight.”
“That’s not part of your work description,” he snapped, then felt like that jerk face that she kept calling him.
The hurt that flickered in her gaze stabbed him right in the chest.
“Sorry, I’m just tired and testy. I’m glad you’re here.” More than he would admit. But he was surprised to see her.
She let out a little sniff, but he knew he was forgiven when she smiled at him. “So have you seen anything exciting?”
“No. Just a couple neighbors bringing their dogs out to pee. So…what’s up with the jerk face comments?”
“Seriously? You can’t figure that out, Mr. Smarty-Pants?”
“Is it because I didn’t want you going to the school for the faux interview?”
“Ding, ding, ding.” She rolled her eyes. “What was that about anyway?”
He lifted a shoulder. “It didn’t seem necessary.” God, she smelled so good, like vanilla cookies. And in the interior of his truck, it seemed amplified, wrapping around him and making him crazy. “What is this?” he asked, lifting the cup.
“Taste it and find out.”
He narrowed his gaze at her but did as she said. It was a latte, his favorite. “Thank you.”
She shrugged and took a sip of her own drink. “So, you didn’t actually answer my question. I know you guys didn’t end up needing to go to the schools anyway because of the FBI, but why didn’t you want me going? It wasn’t dangerous.”
“Just in case it was dangerous, I didn’t want you involved.” It was the truth, and he found that he didn’t like the thought of lying to her.
“I don’t know if I should be mad or not.”
“Why would you be mad?”
“You wouldn’t tell Skye not to go.”
“I wouldn’t tell her not to do anything.” He valued his balls too much.
Nova laughed, the sound throaty and sensual. “Okay, fair enough. Bad example. Are you sure that wasn’t some sexist thing with you not wanting me to go?”
“No. I mean yes, I’m sure it wasn’t.” Maybe it was, a little bit, but he felt too damn protective of her. And he didn’t want her in any dangerous situation, end of discussion.
She let out a little hmm sound, but didn’t push him any further.
“How many of my ring tones did you change?”
She grinned. “Guess you’re going to have to find out.”
Laughing, he took another sip of the drink and glanced across the street. Brooks had turned on the exterior lights and Darcy had a security system. A good one too, courtesy of Brooks. He’d had the thing installed when they’d been together. And Gage was monitoring it when she was gone. He had an alert system set up to send his phone a message if any door or window in her house was opened while she wasn’t there. Gage seriously doubted that Polzin would be stupid enough to come after her tonight, especially when Markov would be looking for him, but they were still taking all precautions.
“So have you heard any news from Leighton’s Fed friend?”
“No. But they’ve got security set up at all the schools.”
“Good. I got a call from Skye earlier. Sounds like she and Colt will be headed back tomorrow or Saturday.”
Gage simply nodded. Skye had called him too. It turned out that their easy job wasn’t as easy as they’d planned, but they were wrapping things up. He was glad. The office wasn’t the same without the two of them.
“You think anything is going on with Leighton and his Fed friend?” Nova’s question surprised him.
He turned to look at her. “Why?”
She simply shrugged. “Just curious.”
“I’m not sure.” Leighton had seemed at ease with the woman, but Gage hadn’t been able to tell if there had been anything romantic between the two of them. Ever since getting out of the Marines, Leighton had been quiet, withdrawn. But when he’d been around Hazel, he’d come out of that self-induced shell, and Gage had seen a glimmer of the man he’d once been. But that didn’t mean there was anything romantic between him and the special agent.
Nova simply made another hmm sound and Gage didn’t push her. He didn’t think she was interested in Leighton, and if she was, he sure as hell didn’t want to know. He didn’t need to analyze why he even cared.
Gage knew damn well why he did.
Chapter 18
—A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.—
“How was sleeping here last night?” Darcy asked her sister. It was the first time they’d had a chance to talk about anything non-rehearsal-dinner-related all day, and the dinner was finally winding down. At least she’d heard from her mechanic that her brakes showed signs of natural erosion. It made her feel a little better, but overall not so much. Especially since Brooks wasn’t impressed by the news at all.
“Who cares about that? How are you doing? You’ve been like a busy little bee all night.” Her sister made a buzzing sound.
Darcy laughed lightly and smoothed a hand down the taffeta of her navy blue dress. For some reason, the color seemed to make her green eyes a little darker. And she was vain enough to admit that she knew it looked good on her and had worn it for Brooks. “I’m fine. Promise.”
“Have the police contacted you?”
She shook her head. “No, not that I really expected them to.” They would only contact her if they’d found something. And in the last week she’d filed three reports. One for the mugging, one for the weird issue with her car—which appeared not to be sabotaged after all, allegedly—and one because of Polzin’s assault. If she never had to see another cop again that would be fine with her. Semyon had told her not to worry, that Oleg would turn up, but according to Brooks—and his team’s eavesdropping—even Gage hadn’t been able to find the man and Semyon truly didn’t know where Oleg was. That scared her.
Her sister bit down on her bottom lip.
“None of that. You’re getting married tomorrow. Then you’re going on your honeymoon.” And for that, Darcy was very grateful. If anything did happen with Peter’s father, she wanted her sister and Peter out of town. And from what Brooks and the Feds seemed to think, Peter wasn’t remotely involved in whatever his father was. Darcy prayed it was true.
“I’m allowed to worry about my big sister.” Suddenly Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “I really wish Mom was here.”
“I do too. But if you cry, I’m going to cry too.” Tears started to prick her eyes. “And then my makeup is going to get all messed up.”
Emma started laughing, just like Darcy intended. “I don’t know if I’ve properly thanked you—”
“Just stop right there. You don’t have to thank me for anything.”
“Except that I do. You’ve gone above and beyond what a wedding planner would do, let alone a big sister. And I don’t just mean for this wedding. You’re the best friend I ever could have imagined or hoped for, and I’m lucky enough to call you my family.”
Oh, hell. Now Darcy did let a few tears fall. Not that she had a choice. Emotion swept through her at Emma’s words and she swiped at her cheeks. “Well everything you said, right back at you. And get this all out now because there will be no more tears tomorrow.”
Emma laughed again, and this time it was watery. “Uh oh,” she murmured, looking past Darcy.
She turned to see both Peter and Brooks heading for them with worried expressions on their faces. For a moment, she thought something was wrong until Brooks reached them and said, “Are you okay?” with panic in his voice.
At the same time, Peter said to Emma, “What’s wrong?”
Emma snorted. “Nothing.”
“But you’re crying.” Brooks looked between the two of them, concern in every line of his serious expression.
Darcy stepped closer to him and wrapped her arm around his middle. She was so damn grateful he’d come tonight. She couldn’t have kept him away anyway, not with the threat of Polzin, but it had been nice to have him at her side. Who was she kidding? It was nice to have him in her life again. Though nice was such a lame word. Especially after what they’d shared together last night. “These are just sister-related tears. Nothing to be alarmed about.”
Peter didn’t look convinced as he wrapped his arm around Emma’s shoulders. “I’d like to say goodbye to a few people even though we’ll see them tomorrow.”
Emma nodded and looked at Darcy. “We’re going to be staying here again tonight.”
“I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning. All the dresses are ready and—”
“You don’t need to go over everything,” Emma said, laughing. “I was just going to say that the offer to stay here is still open. Even though I know you won’t take it,” she said, looking at Brooks.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Darcy said. There was no way in hell she would stay here. When her sister was out of earshot, she turned to Brooks. She felt safe with him here watching over her. “There are just a few things I need to take care of and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“No rush.” He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and stepped back. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
It was a central enough location to meet. As he walked away, she scanned the room. The linens that had been used tonight would be removed from the tables and replaced with fresh ones in the morning. But they would be keeping most of the table settings and adding even more tables to accommodate how many people would be there.
She spotted Semyon talking to a man she didn’t recognize from the rehearsal dinner. And she knew everyone who had been there, at least by face.
Standing near one of the open Fren
ch doors, the man had on a long peacoat and his hands were in his pockets as he spoke quietly with Semyon. It was hard to read Semyon’s expression. He didn’t look angry, but his shoulders were tight, his body language tense.
She was curious who the man was, but had too much to deal with right now. As she turned away, she saw Brooks near one of the other doorways, his phone in his hand. He was looking at the screen, but for some reason she was under the impression he was taking a picture of Semyon. Or maybe it was the other man. She made a mental note to ask him about it later as Mr. Singh approached her, a smile on his face.
It was time to start wrapping things up tonight. Because as soon as she was done, she was headed back to her place with Brooks. That thought made her smile. No matter what else was going on, she was still reeling from what had happened between them last night.
They hadn’t exactly spelled out what they were as of now, but it wasn’t casual. She wasn’t certain she wanted to put a label on them just yet. They still had a lot of catching up to do. Not to mention this whole mess with Semyon, Polzin and the FBI.
Her life had turned upside down in a matter of days, but no matter what, she was so glad that Brooks was back in it.
* * *
Semyon did his best to hide his frustration at Kuznetsov’s appearance at his son’s rehearsal dinner. “Do you really want to have this conversation here?” he asked quietly, aware of Darcy talking to the caterer and a few others still lingering nearby. The majority of the wedding party would be staying here for the night, with the exception of Darcy. But he understood that she preferred to be with her boyfriend.
“When I heard Oleg had gone missing, I thought I should check in with you directly.” Kuznetsov was impossible to read, but Semyon knew that if the other man was aware of what he had planned, he would be dead. There would be no conversation like this.
“It’s under control.”
“Under control, like talking to the police?” His accent was thicker as he spat the last word.
Semyon motioned toward the open French door, preferring to take the rest of this conversation outside. Once they were out on the lanai, he switched to Russian. “I had no choice but to go to the police station. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law’s sister has a wealthy, powerful boyfriend. She would have told him, had I insisted she not go to the police. It would have seemed strange.”