The regret and guilt her words induced were a strange feeling for him.
Did he trust her?
He was getting there.
But this time, it wasn’t only about pregnancy or trusting her. He hadn’t been celibate, and even using a condom… What if some nasty shit got through? He needed to be tested again before he would risk her health.
Marie was looking up at him expectantly, imploring him with those expressive eyes.
He lifted her off her knees and set her in his lap, those soft knees and thighs rubbing against his sides. “Hold me,” he said. Plain and simple. When a light lit in her eyes, he knew she understood. Her hand came around him as his cock stood straight up against her belly. The juncture of her thighs brushed his balls, and she squeezed and massaged him.
He never took his eyes from her face, wanted to feel every sensation with the look in her eyes.
When he gripped her calves, his hips gave in to the urge to thrust. “Ah, Marie.”
He couldn’t breathe, lost track of her face when his eyes slid shut, and he rocked his pelvis up against her. When she leaned over him, silently begging him to take her into his mouth, he nipped at her breast and then sucked.
Her groan of ecstasy sent him over the edge. Faster, faster, faster…he thrust against her until release, as every muscle tensed, and he could do no more than hold on.
***
Her head rested against his shoulder, her fingers played softly against his shoulder, and she sighed. She placed a kiss on his pec, her body pliant, completely drained by the aftereffects of what they’d done.
He wanted to go back to yesterday, go back to two days ago. He wanted to forget she’d betrayed him as soon as his back was turned. He wrapped his arms around her cooling skin and lifted her into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
He looked down into her face and kissed her soft, supple lips. Her hold tightened around him, and he walked forward, taking her to the water’s edge…and then he jumped feet first into the pool.
She screeched, the sound echoing off the rock enclosure until it was cut off when they dipped below the surface. She grabbed his leg, caught his arm, and almost took hold of his dick in her efforts to escape the cold water. He grinned as, seconds later, she pulled herself out of the water. “Holy shit, Malcolm.”
Scrambling for her clothes, he got a nice view of her rear before she pulled her skirt over her wet legs and her shirt came down over her pretty head and sweet little rack.
“At least you’re clean.”
“I wasn’t dirty!” she exclaimed, her teeth chattering. “And how the hell are you still in there? God, it’s freezing.”
He took one stroke to the edge and pulled himself out of the pool.
“You were covered in me. We both were,” he said, lifting a brow. “And long years of special ops training.”
“You weren’t a SEAL.”
“No, but in the early days with Hawk, we all went through the same kind of rigors. Only way to stay at the top of our game. I already didn’t like to shoot and wasn’t a good shot, so I worked my ass off to make sure I rated higher in the other objectives.”
No matter what happened next, he had to believe they could work something out. He’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her.
Her gaze fell to his waistline. “Not overcompensating, though.”
He laughed and spanked her rear as he went to his own pile of clothing. “Let’s head back up and get some sleep. Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
They went up the way they’d come down. At the door, he could see how Dimitru hadn’t found the entrance. She must have set the lock their first time down. It wasn’t new. He could probably help her install something more high-tech, but it had done the job and sealed them down here with no trace from the house side, so they could get away.
“Clever,” he said. “Your uncle’s been worried. Ever since your parents died.”
“Yes.”
He pushed the door open, and the light slashed through his cornea, blinding him.
“About time you two came out of the closet,” John said with a laugh. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was heading for the master.
Malcolm had planned to take the master, whether Marie joined him or not. Now he was pretty sure she would join him, but all they had was the twin in her room.
“I didn’t think John and Emily were sleeping together.” Marie’s voice was filled with the same regret he was feeling.
“Fuck if I know. He’s probably taking the floor.”
Marie bit at her lip. “We could ask to trade rooms.”
Frowning, he quickly looked at her and saw the bandage on her arm, reminding him she’d been in the hospital hours ago. He reached a hand out to her and drew her in. “Come on. We can handle it. Let’s get some sleep.”
As she changed into a pair of sweats, he slipped into bed in a pair of boxers. He kept his back to the wall, his face to the door. Seconds later, she joined him and then curled up in front of him.
“This is weird,” she whispered.
“How?” he asked, wanting to know what was going through her head almost as much as he wanted to touch her again. Maybe even to run his fingers over her hair, brush it back, and trace a line from the mole on her cheek—
And then he got it. “Yeah, this is weird. I think I want to fucking snuggle you, Marie.”
She snorted a laugh and then lay silent for so long that he thought she’d gone to sleep, but she reached over her shoulder, took his hand, and wrapped it around her waist. “I like you too, Malcolm.”
Maybe it was their release underground or perhaps he really had lost some of his game, but the next thing he knew, someone was pounding on their door.
John swung the door open and grinned. “Rise and shine, lovebirds! We’ve got great things planned for today.”
Light from the window poured into the room, and Malcolm grabbed his pillow and put it over his head. Marie was still in the same place, curled up in front of him. She stretched, tangling her legs with his. He groaned and shook her to wake her. “Come on, Marie. Time to get up.”
She hummed, turned over, then sucked in a breath. “Holy crap. What time is it? Did we oversleep? Weren’t you supposed to take a shift on watch? What the hell happened?”
She clutched her length of hair and held it off her neck at the top of her head. The ponytail she made fell down her back.
Getting up, he tugged on it. “They covered for us. You needed the sleep.”
“Food’s ready.” Emily smiled as she walked by, a bag over her shoulder. She was way too chipper to not be having sex. John’s gaze followed the tall blonde as she went down the stairs.
Then he looked to Malcolm and shrugged. “See ya downstairs.”
Malcolm ran a hand over his chest and scratched.
“I’m going to shower real quick.” Marie grabbed her bag and ran for the shared bathroom, leaving him alone with thoughts of how the hell on earth he’d slept through his alarm, slept like a fucking baby with her next to him.
He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened with a woman.
In the last ten years, never.