CHAPTER TEN
Looking across the table, Stazi felt her heart trip over itself as she studied Hank. They were at a corner table in the North Pond Restaurant, enjoying their wine as they looked out over the water. Just beyond the pond, they could see the Chicago skyline light up as the sun began to set, and the warm wood interior glowed as the last rays of sun filled the room.
The building that housed the restaurant had been originally erected as a warming structure for ice skaters and had been recently redesigned in the Arts and Crafts tradition, making it one of the most romantic places in the city.
And she was feeling all kinds of sappy romantic feelings for the man sitting next to her. Not only was he handsome beyond belief but also a warrior. Hank Coleman was cut from a different cloth, because he not only wanted to face the enemy, but welcomed it. When Lucky had described him as a cool operator, she hadn’t been kidding.
From the moment they entered Firtash’s home, he was nothing but relaxed and at ease. It was as though he relished the opportunity to face the oligarch down, which was about the opposite of how she’d felt. All she’d managed to do was hold Hank’s hand and answer questions with three-word answers, and as far as she could tell, it was going to be her first and last superspy experience. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t all that effective this afternoon.”
Hank tightened his hold on her hand and shook his head. “Honey, you were perfect. You did the impossible by getting us inside the man’s home, and that’s something the government has never been able to accomplish. I thought you were amazing.”
Straightening the napkin in her lap, she shrugged. “In my mind, I’m very daring and fearless. In reality, all I did was grip your hand and utter a few responses. I was completely useless.”
Hank lifted her chin and grinned. “I disagree.”
“I think I should stick to my career and leave the missions to you and Sam.”
“I’m not going to disagree with you. The thought of you being anywhere near that group of criminals has me ten kinds of crazy, and don’t get me started on the way Dmitry was looking at you. The whole thing tested my control in ways that I didn’t enjoy.” Lifting his glass, he drained it. “The man has a fascination with you and it’s more than you just being beautiful, smart, and engaging. It’s darker, and I can’t quite puzzle out the meaning yet, but I will. It was more than the usual lust a man would naturally have for you and I need to know what that means.”
“Nothing good, that’s for sure. I really paid attention to it this time and there is no denying that he wants or needs something from me that I’m in no way prepared to give.”
“Damn right! What we did today will never happen again and I have no plans to allow him to ever be within a foot of you.”
“At least we accomplished something. Do we know yet if they’ve gotten anything they can use?”
“Lucky texted and told me that we struck gold. She and Sam are disseminating the information coming in from the audio devices. I was lucky enough to leave behind all eight of my surveillance discs, so God willing, what we did today will bear fruit for a long time to come.”
“I hope so.”
The waiter approached and handed them dessert menus. “I will leave these and come back in a few moments.”
“Thank you,” Hank responded. He studied the menu. “Should we share?”
Glancing at it, she shook her head. “I think we should get two things. This menu is amazing.”
“Okay, you pick.”
Running her fingers down the options, she grinned. “I choose the coconut mousse pistachio cake with roasted pineapple, pistachio ice cream, banana brûlée and salted caramel. You have to pick the other one.”
“All right.” He studied the menu for another moment and when the waiter approached, he ordered what Stazi wanted as well as the dark chocolate and peanut butter napoleon with potato chip ice cream, puffed rice, marshmallow, nibs, and nuts. “We’d also like to have a bottle of champagne.”
When the waiter departed, Stazi shook her head. “We’re being so decadent.”
“Honey, you only turn thirty once and we’re celebrating.”
“Thank you. It’s very generous of you to make my birthday so special.”
“Are you kidding?” Slinging his arm over her shoulder, he smiled. “If I had more than a day’s notice, I could’ve done a lot more. I guess we’ll have to celebrate in Rome.”
“Speaking of Italy…”
“Nope, don’t say it, Stazi. I’m going and we’ll enjoy ourselves. I haven’t had a vacation since I started the company and I’m treating this time away as the opportunity to not only make sure you’re safe, but enjoy some much-needed downtime.”
The champagne was delivered and soon they had two glasses of bubbly in their hands. Holding her glass up, she proposed a toast. “Thank you for helping me celebrate.” When they clinked glasses, she hoped he was going to be ready for the celebration she had planned for later, and prayed she was going to enter her thirtieth-first year with stars in her eyes.
***
Hank sat on the couch and flipped through channels as he tried to find something that would distract him enough not to jump Stazi the moment she walked out of the bathroom. The control he’d always kept over his mind and body was being seriously threatened by one very small woman. When he’d discovered how much danger Stazi was in and assigned himself as her bodyguard, he’d promised himself that he would in no way take advantage of the situation.
If the two of them were going to be together, then he wanted it to be mutual. Not something born out of convenience or proximity. But five days of living together was testing his resolve about maintaining good intentions. He was on the freaking edge and he prayed that Stazi wouldn’t do anything to make it more difficult. From the moment he’d picked her up at work, she’d been teasing and flirting with him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
It could be nothing more than her way of dealing with a stressful situation, but…it could be a sign of her developing attraction. Which was a thought that did not need to be floating around in his head. The door to the bathroom opened and he heard Stazi walk in his direction.
“Hank.”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Can I tell you what I want for my birthday now?”
“Uh, sure.” Turning slowly, he wondered why she was asking for her present a day early. As she walked slowly in his direction, he swallowed loudly. She wore a thin cotton robe, and the low light that illuminated the room suggested that’s all she had on. Pressing the off button on the remote, he sat up. Please let this be what I think it is, he prayed.
“I would like to have you as my birthday present.” Twisting her fingers together, she gave him a nervous smile. “Without any clothes on.”
Holding out his hand, he grinned. “Come here.” He saw her momentary hesitation and then stood. When her hand flew up to stop him, he sat back down. However she wanted this to play out was fine with him. He unknotted her clasped hands and held them as they looked at one another, not knowing what would happen next. He said, “This feels like it may be more of a present for me than for you.”
“Not if you do it right,” she said as she took a step forward and pressed their lips together.
Relief surged through his body as he snaked his greedy tongue into her mouth. Hearing her groan and feeling the sound reverberate through his body let him know that she quite possibly might’ve been thinking about this as much as he had. A roar of desire filled his head as he released her lips. “I’ve been praying for this moment since I held you against me on the museum stairs.”
Stazi took a step closer, stood between his legs, and ran her hand over his shoulder. “Really?”
He decided to answer with actions and not words, so he untied her robe and pushed it off her shoulders. Sweeping his hands across her skin, he felt the breath hitch in his chest. “Fucking perfect,” he murmured. He stood quickly, hoisted her over his shoulder, and carried her into the bedroom. “I need you sprawled out on a bed so I can taste every inch of your body.”
“Hank, you could’ve let me walk.”
“This was faster,” he ground out. He tipped her onto the bed and her chestnut hair splayed around her. “So beautiful,” he commented as he grabbed her by the legs and parted her firm thighs. “Need to taste you…Staz.” Not giving her a minute to respond, he needed to know if he could make her want him half as much as he wanted her. Flicking his tongue against her clit once, then twice, he felt her hips surge, and grinned. “Just the beginning,” he murmured before curling his hand around her hip. He licked her from her clit to the source of her wetness and enjoyed her sweet taste.
Stazi cried out and lifted her hips off the bed, so he firmed his grip and then pushed two fingers into her while circling her clit with his tongue. She let out small whimpers and incoherent sounds. Her juices coated his tongue and fingers and he knew the taste of this woman was addictive. Her breaths grew sharp and her body began to shudder. Hearing her shout his name as she climaxed gave him a kind of satisfaction that he hadn’t known existed.
Her pleasure was his. He’d done this to her and he felt like a king. Her panting slowed and she reached out and took his hand. “I love seeing you fall apart,” he said.
“Oh, my God.” Her arm flopped onto her chest and she laughed. “The best present ever.”
“Honey, we have barely gotten started.” When she smiled and rolled to her side, he let out a chuckle.
“Well, can we start with you taking off your shorts?”
Without answering, he lifted his hips and got rid of his shorts instantly. Watching her eyes scrape across his body had his aching cock bobbing in her direction. “Better?”
“I…” Her fingers wrapped around his rock-hard cock and she licked her lips. “Have no words.” She dragged her hand over the crown and then bent down, licking off the drops of pre-come. “Salty.”
Moving out of her reach, he shook his head. “Oh, no, you don’t.” He reached over to the side table, opened the drawer, and pulled out a condom. He’d emptied a box in there earlier in the week in the hope that they would eventually need them. “I’m going to come inside you the first time.”
“Okay.” She shrugged and gave him a naughty smile as she straddled him. Taking the condom out of his hand, she sheathed his cock.
Watching her sink inch by inch and seeing himself disappear inside her body, he squeezed his hands into fists to stop himself from grabbing her hips and slamming himself into her welcoming heat. “So good,” he said as he watched Stazi’s head tip back. Using her hands on his chest, she sank down a little more.
“There might be more of you than there is of me,” she whispered as she wiggled her hips.
How in the world was he supposed to lie there and take the maddening pleasure she was torturing him with?
It was too much.
“We’re a perfect fit,” he replied. Stazi’s hair fell around her shoulders and he reached up to push it over her back so that nothing would interrupt his view of her high, tight breasts. Leaning up, he took a swollen pink nipple in his mouth and ran his tongue over her skin gently.
Quivering, she let out a moan and crashed down on him as far as she could go. “So good,” she whispered. “So, so deep.”
No one had fit him as perfectly as this woman. She was better than he imagined, and her body fit so tightly around him that he had no choice but to flip her over before she could ride him. Needing to set the pace, he pushed in further. “Let me in,” he growled. The moment her body softened and she accepted him fully, he pulled out and then slid back in. As much as he’d thought about this moment, he never could’ve imagined that she would feel as good as she did. Each time he pushed in, he didn’t expect her to be tight and so delicious. But he’d been wrong. Stazi was exceeding every single one his fantasies.
“More,” she said as her hands wrapped around his upper arms.
“Yes…” Dropping his head to her neck, he thrust in deeply. Wanting to go further, deeper, and faster.
The need to mark her, own her, and fucking climb inside her roared loudly in his head. Every inappropriate image buried deep in his brain had escaped and come to life as he lifted her legs higher so he could get as close as he could. Watching her face, he saw her mouth open slightly, and he knew the change in angle ratcheted up the pleasure. Moving his head, he kissed her, and she greedily accepted his tongue.
There was a knowingness between them, a familiarity that was unnerving but totally welcome. His orgasm was roaring down his spine and he started thrusting deeper and deeper, nailing her to the bed, wanting to make it good for her and have her feel surrounded by him. “More,” he growled as he sat back on his knees, pulling her onto his thighs.
Stazi’s small hands gripped his shoulders as she squeezed harder, creating a friction that heated his blood. Her smile only made him want more. “Closer.” He pulled her up so they were face-to-face, and he moved her legs around his waist.
“Now?” she said before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing their mouths together.
The kiss was perfectly intimate and connected them beyond their physical intimacy.
Tearing his mouth away, he replied, “Yes.” He lifted her hips, pressed her firmly down on his cock and set a steady rhythm that ensured she was filled completely. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as she yelled his name. Her pulsating muscles drew him in. With two short stabs of his hips, he poured himself into her, watching her orgasm seep away as his took over.
Clinging to her, he held her tightly and waited for some semblance of cognitive function to return. He felt her go limp as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Happy birthday, honey. Is that what you had in mind?’
“I couldn’t have imagined that in my wildest dreams. You are amazing and as soon as I can move, I want to try it again. Just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”
He raised himself and moved them further up the bed. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready.” Lying on his back with Stazi draped over him made him happier than he’d ever been in his life. As far as he was concerned, they could live the rest of their days just like this…sweaty, satisfied, and naked in bed. All he had to do was convince her it was a good idea, and based on the last forty minutes, he felt confident he might have a shot.