The next few days were full of preparation for the upcoming shipment along with quieter maneuverings concerning the eventual raid of Dimitri’s safe house. Nate was in and out of the house at all hours, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince him to take me with him on his trips. He guaranteed me that the types of men he was meeting with weren’t the sort that I would want to rub elbows with. I let him get away with it, because I had a much bigger ask on my mind.

“What are in the boxes that got delivered to the house earlier?” He walked up behind me and kissed my cheek before sitting down to breakfast.

“That’s all the stuff I ordered for my room.”

He draped his napkin across his lap. “We may as well send it all back since you’ll be staying with me from now on.”

I forked a piece of pancake. “Don’t be so sure. Your decor could use a major update. Everything is so bachelor. The dark bedding, the mismatched rugs, the heavy drapes, the enormous closet that’s half full of weapons. I could go on.”

Nate smacked his hand on the table, faux surprise painting his features. “Well I never!”

I smiled with my mouth half full. “I’m just speaking truth to power over here.”

He sipped his coffee. “Honestly, I couldn’t care less if you decorated the walls with My Little Pony as long as you’re in my bed every night.” Scooting his chair back, he motioned me over. “Come here.”

My cheeks warmed as I rose and crawled into his lap. He snagged a piece of bacon from his plate and pressed it against my tongue. I chewed and swallowed as he claimed a piece of bacon for himself.

Opal hurried in with two fresh glasses of orange juice. “I can help you with those boxes after I’m done preparing lunch. I’m curious to see what kind of household items are in fashion these days. This house has been occupied for decades, but the decor has remained the same for most of that time. It’ll be nice to have some more modern things.” She smiled at me and freshened up Nate’s coffee.

“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.” I shifted on Nate’s lap as his erection pressed against my ass.

Opal hustled off to the kitchen through the swinging wooden door.

I smacked Nate on the arm. “Didn’t you get enough this morning?” A slight ache between my thighs reminded me of how it felt to wake up with him inside me.

“Enough isn’t a thing with you. I’ll never get enough. You may as well get used to it. Besides, I already warned you that I’m a beast in the morning.”

I ran my tongue along his lip and savored the saltiness from the bacon and the unmistakable taste of him. “What’s on the menu for today?”

He sighed. “I’m meeting with Peter and David right after breakfast, then we’re going to go over our game plan for tonight, then we need to make contact with our supplier and double check that the airport is secure. After that, we need to survey the spots along the river where the fake delivery is taking place so that we can get our men in position right when the sun goes down.”

Nerves fluttered in my stomach, but I wouldn’t turn back. If he truly wanted me to be his queen, then he would understand my request and, hopefully, grant it.

“What is it?” he asked, his gaze narrowing.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re doing that thing where you hook your ankles together and bounce your knees against each other. It means that you want something. Usually badly. It’s a tell you’ve had since I first met you.”

I glanced down and found my ankles pressed against each other and my knees bouncing. Forcing them to stay still, I took a deep breath. “I want to go with you tonight—”

“Absolutely not. This isn’t even—”

“Wait!” I slapped my hand over his mouth, but his frown still marred his eyes. “Let me explain.” I pressed my palm tighter against his lips. “Will you let me explain?”

He gave me a curt nod, and I dropped my hand.

“I know you’re going to say it’s dangerous. I know you’re going to say that I should stay here and let you handle it. But I want to stay with you. When we’re separated, bad things happen. And maybe I can help. Staying here and sitting on my hands helps nobody. Maybe if I’d been with you that first night when you were attacked on the waterfront, I could’ve saved lives.” I dropped my gaze and stared at my fingers as they nervously wrestled each other. “Maybe I could’ve saved Will.”

“Sabrina.” He ran his hand through my hair. “Will’s death wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could to save him. Even if you had been there, he was hit too hard. Nothing could have brought him back from that. And if you had been there, I would have been worried the entire time that something would happen to you. I wouldn’t have been able to think straight, and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to act when I needed to save lives and to fight off the Russians. Keeping you safe is a priority. You aren’t a trained fighter. You’d be a sitting duck, one that Dmitri wouldn’t hesitate to take.”

I wanted to argue with him, to dispute what he’d said. But deep down I knew he was right. I’d only been training with David for a few days, and that was just for defense. Even so, the facts didn’t change how I felt. I always wanted to be at Nate’s side, whether that was here at the house or out in the thick of things.

“What if I just stay in the car? Or wear a vest?”

“You know that’s not enough. We need to train you with guns and other weapons. I have no doubt that you will learn how to be an asset on the combat side of things.” He gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Even though I tried my damnedest to keep you away from this life. We see how that worked out.”

I brushed the tip of my nose against his. “It’s not my fault you’re a softy and always give me what I want.”

“You and that sassy mouth.” He ran his hand down to my ass and squeezed. “I like that you want to come. I really do. But you’re not ready. And I need my head in the game at all times until the Russians are done and dusted.”

He was right, and I hated that he was right. But I could still help out. I wriggled my ass against his erection. If I couldn’t go with him to the battlefield, I would give him something that would guarantee he would do everything in his power to return home to me. Leaning close to his ear, I whispered, “Tell me how badly you want to fuck my ass.”

He gripped me tighter and yanked me against his chest. “You’re such a bad girl.”

A knock on the dining room door caught our attention.

Peter strode in. “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for the meeting.”

Nate groaned. “Right now?”

I nibbled his ear. “Since you’re going to be out of the house all day, this is a limited time offer.”

Nate shot up from his seat and tossed me over his shoulder. I squeaked as he marched through the dining room.

“Whoa.” Peter held his hands up. “The meeting—”

“Can wait,” Nate finished for him. He carried me past Peter, and I gave a little wave as Nate powered me up the stairs, to our room, and tossed me onto the bed.

“Strip.” His voice was low and edged with gravel as he hastily removed his clothes.

I took my time peeling off my t-shirt, shorts, and underwear.

“You are such a naughty little tease.” Nate opened the bottom drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a small black box.

“What’s that?” I pressed my thighs together as I took in his beautiful form.

“You aren’t the only one with a talent for ordering things off the Internet.” He opened the box and pulled out a small bottle of lube and a pink vibrator.

Curiosity tickled me in all the right places as I watched him set the items on the nightstand.

“Spread your legs.”

I obeyed, wanting everything from him all at once.

He got on his knees and pressed his mouth to my pussy. His tongue eased along me, each stroke tantalizing and perfect. He reached for the vibrator and clicked it on. The low hum made promises, and the little device delivered as soon as he touched it to my clit.

My back arched, and I moaned low in my throat as the new sensation washed over me.

Nate glanced up, his eyes warm in the morning sunlight. “What? They don’t have vibrators at boarding school?”

“No way. Your roommate would hear.” I could barely get the words out, the vibration against my clit frying my brain.

“So you’re only used to this?” He slid two fingers inside me.

I nodded over and over again. “Uh huh.”

He pulsed his fingers in and out and drove me crazy with the vibrator. When my legs began to shake, he eased off and slid his fingers to my asshole, rubbing the sensitive skin and spreading my wetness.

“Over.” He grabbed my hip and rolled me to my stomach, then pulled me to my knees. Reaching around, he pressed the vibrator to my clit again, and I buried my face in the sheets.

Before long, a wet sensation had me staring back at Nate. He was pouring lube on my ass and spreading it with his fingers. I was so close to coming, but then he pulled the vibrator away and made me wait. It was maddening. Over and over, I was almost there only to be denied. But his teasing seemed to have a purpose, because he eased his finger into my asshole, then added another as his delicious torture continued. When he added a third finger, I didn’t know if I could take it. But his use of the vibrator told me I could. The vibrator told me I wanted more. I agreed with it, rocking my hips against the little device and working his fingers.

But then he pulled it away again, and his fingers disappeared too. More lube and then the vibrator thankfully returned. Something much thicker than a finger pressed against my asshole, and I froze.

“Don’t go tense on me. Just let yourself go.” He circled the vibrator on my clit, convincing me that he was right.

I relaxed as he pushed his head against me. The tight ring of muscles rebelled at first, but he didn’t give up. As long as he kept that vibrator right where it was, I’d let him do anything to me. With increased pressure, he slipped inside.

I moaned into the mattress and stilled at the slight sting from the intrusion.

He rubbed my ass. “Such a good girl with such a tight little asshole.” Easing in farther, he repositioned his knees between mine and pulled back a little bit, then moved deeper than he’d ever been.

The sensation was strange but erotic. I couldn’t deny that I wanted more, and he gave it to me. He pulled back again and slid tight inside me. But he pulled the vibrator away.

I protested by slamming my hands on the mattress, but he didn’t return it.

“I can’t keep looking at your ass taking my cock. If I do, I’ll shoot faster than a teenager with a warm sock.”

Turning my head so that my cheek rested against the mattress, I said, “Then stop looking, but don’t you dare stop with the vibrator.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He pressed it against me, and I jolted.

I ground my pussy against that little humming spark of sex as Nate pulsed his cock in my ass. It was so wrong but so good. His fingers trailed along my lower back, his grunts growing more desperate with each thrust. I was so full, his cock eliciting tickling and tight sensations all along the inside of me.

Then something magical happened. He clicked another button on the vibrator and it moved faster. I clutched the sheets so hard my knuckles hurt, and his throaty groan was the beginning of my end.

“I’m coming.” Did the words pass my lips? Were they just in my mind? I didn’t care. I was diving off the top of orgasm mountain, floating through the rainbow of bliss, and splashing down in the crystal clear waters of holy-shit-I’m-in-heaven.

“Fuuuuuuck.” Nate shoved forward roughly, but I didn’t care. My orgasm had sent me somewhere far away, somewhere I wasn’t sure I wanted to come back from.

He pulled out, and warm spurts of come splashed my ass. I’d been moaning for so long that I lost my breath.

When every last bit of euphoria had turned into sated exhaustion, I shied away from the vibrator. “Too much.” My voice was muffled in the sheets.

He clicked it off and tossed it on the bed then fell on his side next to me. My ass was still in the air, still covered in his seed, but I didn’t care.

“You’re gonna kill me one day. You and that sassy mouth. But if I die with my dick inside you, I’ll die a happy man.”

“That was so romantic.” I tried to roll my eyes but they just shut. Too worn out.

He stroked his hand down my arm. “Yeah, I thought so too. I may sell that to a greeting card company. Maybe copyright it.”

He never failed to make me smile, even when he was being ridiculous. Maybe especially when he was being ridiculous.

“I love you.”

“You let me fuck your ass. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.” He rose and went to the bathroom, returning to clean me up and lay next to me.

My mind began to come back, all the worries and cares settling on me like a weight. I can only imagine how heavily it all sat on Nate’s shoulders. The air shifted in the room, as if my worries sucked the oxygen away.

He wrapped his arm around me. “I’m coming back, you know.”

“I know.”

“You’re a worrier. I get that. But I need you to trust me.” He dropped a tender kiss on my lips. “Can you do that?”

“Of course. I trust you with my life, my future, my everything.”

“That’s my girl.” He rose and began dressing. “I’m going to leave David with you tonight. More for my peace of mind than anything else.”

“He’s not going to like that.” I sighed as Nate covered his fine ass with his boxers. “Last time he was stuck with me, he paced the entire time and grumbled about drawing the short straw and having to be the babysitter.”

Nate laughed. “That sounds like him.”

I snuggled into the sheets. “Maybe this time I’ll try to sneak up on him and take his knee out.”

“That would teach him a lesson.” Nate sat next to me on the bed and leaned over, smoothing his palm down my cheek. “Spend the day planning what you want to do with our room. My only rules are no pink and don’t touch my guns. I’ll have Peter get someone to design a new safe for them so you can have that closet space all to yourself.”

“You sure know the way to a girl’s heart.”

He gave me one long, luxurious kiss, then stood and strode to the door. “Yeah, apparently, it’s through her ass.”

I threw a pillow at him, but he darted out the door before it made contact.