Protecting Terra (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Desiree Holt

  “Any word from Hal yet on identifying this guy?”

  “Not a word. That means he’s not on anyone’s radar, at least on first pass.”

  Terra was getting a bad feeling about this. Very bad. “You know the savviest computer hackers come from Eastern Europe. Right? They’re a more sophisticated and clandestine threat than the Asians. Also, Russia and Croatia are friendly, and Russia has been in the news for the past few years with speculation they invade our Internet to meddle in our elections.”

  “No shit. And that scares the crap out of me.” He stared into his coffee mug for a moment. “What if the Croats and the Sons of Allah are working together to take over this country? The jihadists would make physical attack coordinated with a takedown and invasion of our Internet? Do you know what a disaster that would be? We’d be powerless. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people would be killed. Our businesses electronically destroyed. Control of the country in the hands of these terrorists.”

  A sick feeling rolled through Terra. “We have to let Hal know right away. This could change everything. Now we’re looking at more than a new terrorist cell.”

  “If you’re right,” Griff told her, “and there are more international elements mixed into this, we have a problem we haven’t begun to imagine.”

  “The savviest computer hackers are from Eastern Europe,” she agreed, “and many of them have a criminal background. You think whoever this is might fit into that category?”

  “I don’t know, but this has gotten a lot more complicated. I’m calling Hal.” He took out his cell. “I don’t want to put it on speaker in case someone is doing their best to hear through these walls. Get closer to me so I can hold the phone for both of us.”

  She pushed her chair so it nudged up against his. After he dialed, he held the phone so both of them could listen. Hal’s gravelly voice answered on the second ring.

  “I’m guessing there’s a problem, or you wouldn’t be calling.”

  “I’ll get right to the point.”

  Griffin repeated the same details he’d given to Terra, adding her comments about Croatian computer savvy.

  “We have a problem,” Hal told them after a pause. “If your assumptions are right, both of you, this thing has escalated up the food chain. The possibilities could be devastating.”

  “That’s what we figured,” Griffin said.

  “What concerns me is why this guy showed up out of nowhere. If Jennings wasn’t expecting him, then something’s changed. I have to get other people involved in this. It’s about to escalate way over my head. And you two need to keep doing your thing, only more so.”

  “Got it.”

  “Let’s set a time for our next phone call. The people upstairs may want to talk to you. In any event, I may have additional instructions for both of you. How about tomorrow night at the same time. Are you in a safe place to take the call?”

  Griffin answered before Terra could say a word. “Yes. Just let us know what time.”

  “I’ll text both of you when I know. Meanwhile, keep your eyes on Jennings as much as you can.”

  Hal hung up, and Griffin put the phone on the table.

  “What do we do about the nights?” Terra asked. “Although they may not be a problem. His routine has been the same since we got here. He never leaves the place unless he has an event in town and then he usually has someone with him. He’s too smart to vary it when dozens of eyes are always on him.”

  “True. And sneaking someone into the resort, if that’s in fact what he’s doing, would look suspicious if he did it at night. He’s doing something we haven’t been able to figure out yet. I wish I knew what today’s visitor was about. Jennings definitely didn’t want to leave with him.”

  “And again, where the hell did they go? Like we said earlier, Bangor’s twenty-five minutes away. I don’t think they’d have gone to Castile. Not as many places to be inconspicuous.”

  “Maybe they had something to discuss away from prying eyes and ears. Anyway, I’ll call you in the morning before we get started on our daily schedules.”

  Terra realized with startling suddenness that they hadn’t moved since the phone call ended. They were still sitting so close together she could count every one of his eyelashes. Heat flared in his eyes, so intense it almost scorched her skin.

  Get away. Move away.

  But she was frozen in place.

  He only had to move a millionth of an inch to press his mouth to hers in a hard, scorching kiss. The touch was electric. Scorching. He thrust his tongue between her lips, sliding it over her smaller one like a sweep of fire. Instantly her body went up in flames, her nipples hardening into painful peaks. Between her thighs, in the instant, hot wetness of her sex, a pulse throbbed so hard she felt it throughout her entire body.

  Terra wound her fingers into his hair, holding on for dear life as the kiss went on and on and on. She realized it was only the lack of air, the loss of ability to breathe, that ended it. And truthfully, she didn’t care. If she was going to die, this kiss was worth it.

  Still cradling her head between his strong hands, Griffin moved his head away from hers a fraction. He stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs.

  “This is such a bad idea. I can’t even begin to list all the reasons why.”

  “Yes.” She whispered the words. “It is.”

  Bad didn’t begin to describe it. Everything else aside, she wasn’t even sure if she liked him. But one look, one touch, and her body was on fire.

  “So we should stop.”

  “Right.”

  “But at this very moment?” The look in his eyes scorched her to the soles of her feet. “I don’t fucking care if we’re even talking to each other. In fact, the less talking, the better. I want you the way I did the other night. I want to strip every piece of clothing from your body, lick you all over, and fuck you with my mouth, my hands, my cock. If that’s not what you want, you’d better kick my ass out right now.”

  In seconds, Terra had become so aroused she could hardly think. Without even stopping to wonder if she’d regret it, she shoved her arms up between them, slid them around his neck, and pulled his face so close they were breathing the same inch of air. She took a scant minute to lick his lips, the taste so delicious she had to do it again. Then she mimicked what he’d done to her, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and licking every surface she could touch.

  Griffin wound his fingers into her hair, gripping her head as he tangled his tongue with hers. She was ravenous for his taste, licking all of the slick surfaces. His taste was masculine. That was the only word she could think of. It invaded every inch of her body, making her breasts ache for his touch, her nipples harden for his mouth, and the pulse in the walls of her sex pound with insistent need.

  With their mouths still fused together, he managed to get them up and out of their chairs. Terra wrapped her legs around his waist, positioning herself so she could feel his erection even through his jeans and her clothing. She thought they’d be headed for the bedroom, but instead he pushed her up against the living room wall and stripped off her sweatpants. Before she could draw another breath, he had his jeans unfastened and pushed down far enough to free his swollen, rigid cock. He managed to dig a condom out of his pocket and pull it on with one hand. With the other he lifted one of her legs and pulled it over his hip, spreading her wide.

  “I’m sorry.” His voice sounded strangled. “I can’t wait.”

  She clutched his upper arms for balance as he reached down to find her sex and rubbed his fingers over her hot flesh. The friction on her clit made her inner muscles spasm, hungry to wrap around something. His cock. Yes, his cock.

  Using the wall to support her, he wrapped his fingers around his hot erection and slid it into her with one hard thrust.

  “Jesus!” He whispered the word. “You are so fucking tight.”

  He filled her completely, stretching her soft flesh. She sucked in a breath at the tight feel of it. Griffin took a deep breath,
let it out very slowly, and began to drive in and out of her. His cock was so thick and hard, their bodies positioned in such a way that every time he withdrew and thrust, his erection rubbed her clit, driving her even more insane.

  “More,” she groaned, yet how could she take more than he was giving her?

  “You got it,” he growled.

  He picked up the pace, sliding his hands beneath her top to mold them to her breasts. As he pounded into her over and over, he pinched and tweaked her nipples, tugging on them hard. It seemed barely seconds had passed before she felt the familiar signs of an orgasm rolling up from deep inside her. She dug her fingers into his arms and bit his neck as he drove into her one last time.

  They exploded in a cataclysmic release, her inner walls clutching and spasming, milking him again and again. It seemed to continue forever until the last pulsing sensation faded. Terra’s bones felt like melted wax, and she struggled to draw a breath. Griffin rested his head on her shoulder as tried to settle his heartbeat.

  Eventually he yanked his jeans up as far as he could, placed his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass and maneuvered them, still connected, into her bedroom. It was easy to find. The apartment was small, and the door to the room was open. Flicking the light on, he yanked back the covers on the bed and lowered both of them. She lay for a moment, catching her breath. The orgasm might have been swift, but it was so intense every bone still felt like melted wax.

  She smiled up at him. “I think one of us is overdressed. So, I guess you have two choices. Pull your pants back up or take everything off.”

  “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving. Don’t move. Stay. Right. There.”

  He eased from her body and headed into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Then he was back, standing beside the bed, looking down at her with such intense hunger in his eyes her entire body heated. Again. Never breaking eye contact, he yanked his sweater over his head and dropped it on the floor. Toed off his boots. Yanked down his jeans and shorts in one fluid movement and discarded them along with his socks.

  Terra ran her gaze over every inch of him. Broad shoulders and defined abs tapered down to a flat abdomen and farther down yet, a thick nest of dark hair surrounded a large cock that was unbelievably still semi-hard. The head was a rich purple, and a heavy vein surrounded the length. Beneath it his balls were encased in a sac that rested against his thighs. In their hot night of unfettered sex, the room had been dim so she hadn’t gotten a close look at his goods. Now, she couldn’t stop staring.

  “Glad you like it.” Griffin’s voice was rough and edgy. “I plan to make sure you see and touch it a lot. And by the way, one of us is overdressed.”

  He grabbed the hem of her sweatshirt and yanked it over her head. Terra saw his cock pulse as he took in every inch of her naked body, his gaze traveling her body with deliberate slowness. She squeezed her thighs together to control the throbbing in the walls of her sex. Griffin stood eating her up with his eyes for so long she wondered if he was ever going to move. Then he knelt between her spread thighs, moving her legs to rest on his shoulders, opening her up to his touch and exploration.

  His thumbs pressing against the lips of her sex to expose her sent charges of electrical current through her. Then he drew a circle around her opening with the tip of his tongue, and she had to clench her fists to keep from crying out. His touch was electric, igniting every nerve in her body. He continued rimming her in lazy circles until she thought she might lose her mind. Digging her heels into his shoulders, she tried to press herself closer to his mouth, but all it did was elicit a slow, hot laugh from him.

  “Getting a little anxious there? I thought I took the edge off before so I could spend all the time I wanted doing this.”

  She moaned. “God.”

  “Hang on,” he growled. “Let me take you on a long ride.”

  Oh god! She wasn’t sure if she could stand it. Then her brain shut down as he went to work on her again, licking and tasting, thrusting it inside her wet channel and dragging it out slowly so he hit the sweet spot every time.

  Terra closed her eyes as waves of sensation swept through her. Nothing existed except this man and his very educated mouth, which he was using to its fullest. He alternated circling it around her opening with pushing it inside her, fucking her with it but each time only enough to drive her crazier. And no matter how she pressed her heels into his back to draw him closer and hold her in place, it never worked.

  Her body was on fire now, demanding release, yet he kept holding it out of reach. Clever man. He knew how long to tease before pulling back. How long he could tease and torment and drive her nuts. Everything else faded away as her body screamed for relief.

  “Please,” she begged.

  Griffin hummed his satisfaction but then took her ultra-sensitive clit between thumb and forefinger, pinched it hard, and drove his tongue hard inside her body. She convulsed, her inner walls grabbing his flesh and milking it even as he dragged it in and out of her body. The more he pinched, the harder she came, her body jerking with each spasm until the last of them subsided.

  She lay there, waiting for the rhythm of her heart to ease back and her breathing to slow and steady. She’d expected Griff to move from her body while that happened, but he never left his position. Never stopped licking her in slow, delicious swipes, never stopped stroking her clit.

  At last she pushed herself up on her elbow and studied his face nestled between her thighs. He smiled, but it was an expression of a predator.

  “Catch your breath.” He turned his head and gently bit the inside of one thigh. “We’re just getting started.”

  “Are we, now.” Images from the other night zipped through her brain, trailing erotic memories.

  Griffin rose from his kneeling position, leaned over her limp body ,and bracketed her face in his palms.

  “Yes. We are.”

  He brushed his lips over hers before thrusting inside her mouth. She could taste her own essence on his mouth. As he’d done with the earlier kiss that ignited this stick of dynamite, he licked every inch of the inner surface of her mouth, gliding his tongue over hers. She could taste the erotic flavor of her own liquid. Without thinking about it, she wound her legs around his hips and pulled him close to her. He smelled so good, the pine scent of the outdoors still clinging to him and seeping into her senses. His heat seared into her, and the pressure of his thick, hard shaft woke up her body, coaxing a response from her that shocked her by its strength. She could have sworn was still drained by an it her last orgasm.

  Without realizing it, she tightened her legs around his hips, pressing him to her even more tightly. Griffin shifted them until his very hard shaft was pressing between the slick walls of her core. With slow, measured movements, mouths still locked in that erotic kiss, he began to rub back and forth. She was devoured by his kiss that went on and on, and the friction of his body against her clit sent vibrations through every inch of her sex.

  When he broke the kiss at last, she drew in a deep breath, pulling air into her lungs. Every sensor in her body was again on high alert. Before she even realized what he was doing, Griffin straddled her, cupped her breasts in his big, calloused hands, and bent to take one nipple into his mouth. When he tugged on it, closing his teeth over it, she felt an arrow of heat flash straight to her core. She arched up to him, as much as she could, the pressure of his swollen shaft against her body turning up her thermostat.

  Before Griff, she’d never known exactly how sensitive her breasts were, but he had a talent with them all his own. He used his mouth and his tongue and his teeth on them, grazing her nipples while he squeezed the mounds with his fingers. Sucking on them, licking them. At the same time he rubbed his dick on her mound, the lips of her sex open only enough that he could keep abrading her clit.

  This time the orgasm came out of nowhere, streaking through her body and shaking her as if a tropical wind had caught her. Her inner muscles spasmed over and over and over until she wondered if sh
e could take any more. When the last tremor died away, she collapsed back on the pillow, trying to catch her breath, feeling her heartbeat thud erratically.

  When she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw Griffin staring at her. His lips were curved in a hungry smile, heat and hunger still flaring in his dark-brown eyes.

  “I’ve never met anyone like you.” His voice was rough, edgy. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad. It’s against all common sense for us to be involved in any way, yet I can’t seem to help myself.”

  Terra swallowed then wet her lips as she searched for words.

  “I guess I’m in the same place. I don’t…I can’t…”

  “Don’t say a word. Let’s not spoil this. I’m nowhere near ready to leave.”

  “Good. Because I’m nowhere near ready to let you. And besides, I think it’s your turn.”

  Chapter 5

  When his cell phone went off, Griffin groaned and reached for it. He wanted to throw the damn thing across the room. He looked at the time on the screen. Six thirty. Shit. Fucking shit. He hadn’t left Terra’s until four thirty in the morning, managing to get to the dormitory-type building where the lower-tier workers were housed. Not only was his brain in pieces, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to use his dick again. What was it about that woman that made him throw all his good sense out the window? All he had to do was look at her—not even touch her!—and he instantly wanted to fuck her brains out in sixteen different ways.

  He’d never been like this before, not even when he was a horny teenager. He’d had more than his share of women in his adult life—maybe even a few other people’s share—and none of them had ever, ever affected him this way. He for shit’s sake did not do relationships of any kind. He wasn’t wired that way. His life had been dedicated to the SEALs and now to DHS. Women always knew the score with him. Short term, the way he liked it.

  But with Terra? God damn! She was like a drug he couldn’t get out of his system. Thank god he could at least focus on his job. He could give credit to twelve years of SEAL training for that. Double thanks that Terra Oenning was also very sharp, very smart, and disciplined where the job was concerned. He’d checked her track record when Hal Winters had paired them up and been very impressed with what he’d found.