Outskirts of Madrid, Spain

2230 CET

A few minutes later, Mick abruptly jerked the wheel to the side and pulled the car onto the shoulder of the dark country road they were traveling on. She was giving him shit for something he really couldn’t control, and he was on edge. Not the kind of edge he could fight his way out of. She’d been needling him since they met. Not because of any one thing she’d done, but because of… Hell, he didn’t know.

“What are you doing?”

“Giving you a chance to get it out,” he said.

“Get what out?”

“The anger, the rage, the whatever it is you’re feeling,” he said. “You don’t want to be on a plane, trapped in the air for more than nine hours with that kind of emotional turmoil.”

“I told you I don’t want to punch you,” she said.

“Fine, but we’re not going another kilometer until you do something. Scream, kick something, run across the field,” he said. He knew that taking bottled rage with her was only going to make her unstable, and he needed everyone calm. Everyone on the same page.

“What if I said I needed sex,” she said.

Her words brushed over his senses like a warm breeze on a summer’s day. His blood felt like it flowed heavier in his veins, and he shifted his legs as his erection grew. He wanted her. He had since they’d been alone in that room with large, made-for-sex bed. He’d walked away from her once…hell, twice really, and he wasn’t sure he could do it again.

“Do you?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but his voice came out guttural. He heard the need that was pulsing through him with each beat of his heart.

She bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m not that kind of person. I just said it to see I could get a rise out of you.”

“Did you?” he asked. It had seemed to him that there had been an element of truth in her words.

She tipped her head to the side, studying him. He reached under the seat and used the mechanism to shift it back. Then took her hand in his, placing it over the hard ridge of his erection.

She flexed her fingers. Stroked her hand over him and then made a sharp, impatient sound in her throat as she undid her seatbelt and climbed into his lap. “This isn’t going to help anything.”

He really didn’t care. He put his hands on her waist as she framed his face with her hands, tipping his head back as her mouth found his. Her lips were soft, but sure, as they moved over his. She sucked his lower lip between her teeth and rubbed her tongue over it. He moved his hands lower to cup her butt as she opened her mouth over his.

He plunged his tongue deep into her mouth as he found the hem of her shirt and pushed one of his hands under it. He felt the smooth skin of her back as she arched on his lap, her center rubbing over his erection.

She moaned.

He groaned.

He wanted more. He wanted to take her hard and fast. He kept his hands under her shirt, instead moving them up her body until he reached the band of her bra. He traced the seam of fabric where it met her flesh around to the front of her body until he felt the full globe of her right breast. He cupped it and ran his finger along the fabric until he dipped it into the cup of the bra and rubbed it over her nipple.

He felt it harden and she pulled her mouth from his and threw her head back, her hair falling away from her neck, revealing the graceful length of it. He tangled his free hand in her hair, holding her head back as he brought his mouth to her neck. She was arched on his lap, her eyes half-closed, and he had never wanted a woman more.

He dropped nibbling kisses along the length of her neck to the base, where her pulse beat strongly. He tongued that spot and then sucked on it as she moaned, rocking against his shaft. His hips jerked forward and he knew this was going further than he intended, but he wasn’t about to stop.

Kaylee needed this from him. And he wanted her before she betrayed him—if she did. Life had taught him that the more he wanted or needed something, the more likely it was to screw the shit out of him. And he wanted to have some memory of Kaylee before things went to shit.

If they did.

Kaylee…she was different. Damn, but she tasted better than anything he’d ever had before.

He shoved her t-shirt up and over her head and tossed it onto the passenger seat of the car. She tugged at his shirt and he shifted up from the back of the seat so she could pull it up his chest. It got stuck there as her hands kneaded his chest muscles. He dropped a trail of kisses down her neck to her upper chest. That floral scent he’d noticed earlier was stronger here between her breasts.

He pulled her closer with an arm along her spine and pressed his nose between her breasts, breathing deeply.

“You smell good.”

She let out a laugh. “Thanks. You feel good.”

“Good.”

He turned his head to the side and found her nipple through the fabric of her unpadded bra. He sucked it into his mouth as she drew her nails in random patterns on his chest. He felt himself harden even more, thrusting his hips upward as she rocked against him.

He reached between them, unfastening the button of her jeans and lowering the zipper. He pushed both hands into the opening, spreading his fingers as he reached around her and encountered naked skin. He’d felt the waistband of her thong and he followed the fabric down her backside. He grabbed her full cheeks and pulled her down on his cock. Rubbing himself against her as he rocked her hips back and forth.

She leaned forward, bracing her arms on the back of his seat as he moved his mouth to her other nipple. He felt her hand on his shoulder, then she tugged his shirt up, drew it over his head and tossed it away.

She looked down into his eyes, and the only light that he had to see her was from the dashboard and the faint illumination of the waning moon. She seemed to be searching for something in his expression, but he wasn’t good at emotion, and he knew that if he didn’t want this to end he had to do something.

He took one hand from her backside and brought it up to her face. Ran his finger along the edge of her jaw and then pushed his hand carefully along the side of her head, tangling his fingers in her thick, silky hair, drawing her forward until their mouths met again. This time he took control of the kiss.

Took his time thrusting and tangling his tongue with hers. He held her as if she were precious to him. Someone he was never going to let go—because he knew this was the only time he’d hold her this way.

Even if she wasn’t working both sides on this, even if she turned out to be the kind of woman he thought she was, she wasn’t going to be his. He wasn’t a forever kind of guy. He was the guy women came to for a hard ride and some protection. That was it.

That was all he had to offer, and until this moment, until this woman, he’d never realized that he could want more. Want to be more. And because words weren’t easy for him, he tried to tell her with his mouth. With his kiss.

He felt her hands moving down his chest. Noticed when she encountered the bandage from his knife wound. She lifted her head and looked down at him. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

He just nodded. She was never going to understand that wasn’t really an injury. He had bigger scars from his dad’s belt than that little punk had given him today.

She traced the bandage and then shifted around awkwardly, bumping into the steering wheel.

“Are we doing this?” he asked.

“Sex?”

He nodded.

“Yes.”

He turned off the car and opened the door. The road they were on was a two-lane country road with no traffic on it, so he wasn’t too concerned with anyone coming by. He lifted her off his lap and onto her feet next to the car. She stood there in just her bra with her jeans open, her lips swollen from his kisses, watching him.

He undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the car next to her. He lifted her into his arms as he kicked the car door closed and he carried her to the base of one of the many trees that lined the road. He put her on her feet, pulled her into the curve of his body and then walked her back until the trunk of the tree was at her back. He pushed his hand into the opening of her jeans and cupped her intimate secrets in his palm. He rubbed his finger over her.

Her hands grabbed his waist as she parted her legs, and he shifted his hand around until he could push his fingers under the fabric of her thong. She was neatly trimmed and felt soft against his hand, as he rubbed his finger up and down her body. Until he parted her with two fingers and touched the center of her pleasure.

Her fingernails bit into his ribs as he stroked her, and he leaned over her, lowering his head to kiss her. Pushing his tongue into her mouth with the same rhythm he was using on her clitoris. She shifted against him, her hips moving as she tried to increase the pressure against her body.

But he kept his touch light. He wanted this to last…well, as long as his control did.

He wanted to draw this out for as long as he could.

He lifted his mouth from hers and looked down at her. They were so hidden in the evening shadows that all he could make out was the pale creaminess of her skin. He hardened even more as he saw his hand buried in the front of her jeans.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He felt…too much.

She moaned—the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long time. He leaned down to capture in her mouth but she tipped her head to the side, her silky hair brushing over his shoulder. He turned his head, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head. She gripped his shoulders and moved on him, rubbing her center over his erection.

He held her for a long moment before he skimmed his hands down her torso and back up to her breasts. He reached behind her to undo her bra and the fabric loosened before she shrugged it down her arms.

He scraped his fingernail over her nipple. Gooseflesh spread down her chest. Her breasts were full, nipples distended and begging for his mouth. He lowered his head and suckled.

He held her still with a hand on the small of her back, buried his other hand in her hair and arched her over his arm. Both of her breasts were thrust up at him.

She made the aching loneliness that had always been a part of him disappear—even if just for a few moments. Something that he’d never felt during sex before. Nothing compared to the way she made him feel.

Her eyes were closed, her hips moving subtly against him, and when he blew on her nipple she shivered. He enjoyed her reaction to his mouth.

He leaned down and licked the valley between her breasts, imagining burying his head there and sleeping with her in his arms.

He bit carefully at the creamy skin of her chest, focusing on sex again. On taking her. Suckling at her skin so that he’d leave his mark. He wanted her to remember him and how hot they’d been for each other when she was back to her normal life.

He kept kissing and rubbing her nipples until her hands clenched in his hair and she rocked her hips harder against his length. He lifted his hips, thrusting up against her as he bit down carefully on her. She cried out his name and he hurriedly covered her mouth with his, wanting to feel every bit of her passion.

Rocking her until the storm passed and she quieted in his arms, he held her close, her bare breasts brushing against his chest. He was so hard he thought he’d die if he didn’t get inside her.

He glanced down at her and saw she was watching him. The fire in her eyes made his entire body tighten with anticipation.

Her hands slid down his back before reaching between his legs to his hard-on. She gripped him through his underwear and caressed him. He felt that touch tingling along the back of his spine and he knew he was getting to the point where he wasn’t going to be able to stop.

She shoved his underwear down, he reached down to help her and then felt her fingers against his shaft. He thrust into her grip. He pulled his hand from her pants and shoved her jeans and underwear down her legs. They got caught on her shoes and she laughed.

His training refused to let him have sex without asking about her history. But that could break the mood. He had a condom in his pocket in the small wallet that he carried his sewing kit and Swiss Army card in. He reached for it and as he pulled it out she put her hand on his.

“You really are ready for anything.”

He wondered if that put her off. It was just that life had taught him to take his pleasure where he could find it.

“I just don’t like surprises,” he said. “And that kiss in the flat left me hungry for you.”

“I’m glad,” she said, taking the condom from his hand and putting it on him. “I’ve never wanted any man the way I want you.”

She toed off her shoes and bent down to step out of her jeans and underwear. Then she stood back up. He realized once again how much bigger he was than her. Her head only reached the top of his shoulder. Protecting her had never seemed more important than at this moment, when he realize how small she really was.

She was petite and vulnerable in a way that she’d never want to admit to the world, but he saw it, saw her, and vowed he’d protect her.

She reached between his legs and fondled him. Cupping him in her hands as he shuddered. He needed to be inside her now. He shifted and lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Her hands fluttered between them and their eyes met.

He held her hips steady and entered her slowly, until he was fully seated. Her eyes widened with each inch he gave her. She clutched at his hips as he started thrusting. Holding him to her, eyes half-closed and her head tipped back.

She started to tighten around him, her hips moving faster, demanding more, but he kept the pace slow, steady. Wanting her to come before he did.

She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and he turned so that his back was against the trunk of the tree. He leaned down, catching the tip of her nipple in his mouth, sucking it deep as he reached between their bodies with one hand and found her pleasure point. Rubbing it as he thrust up inside her.

Her hands in his hair clenched tight as she threw her head back and her climax ripped through her. He varied his thrusts, finding a rhythm that would draw out the tension at the base of his spine. Something that would extend his time in her body, wrapped in her arms forever. But she scraped her nails down his chest and rubbed the tips of her breasts against his chest as she tangled her hands in his hair and tightened herself around his thrusting erection. His blood roared in his ears as he felt his whole being centered on Kaylee. The soft moaning sounds she made, the scent of her magnolia perfume, and the feel of her hands on his skin.

He called her name as he came. He held her in the shadows of the tree and hoped that he hadn’t just made a huge mistake. He wanted to hold her like this forever. To never let her go. She’d brought him completely out of himself and into a spot he’d never thought he’d be. A place of vulnerability that he’d hoped to never find.

He held her for as long as he could. She undid her legs from around his waist and he set her away from him. Turning to deal with the condom, he heard her moving behind him, putting her clothes back on.

“One. You almost here?” Linc’s voice came over the earpiece.

He looked at Kaylee, realizing he’d come pretty close to compromising the entire mission, and for the first time, that didn’t seem to matter as much as it should have. He double-tapped his earpiece. “Yeah, just taking time to make sure we weren’t followed.”

He muted the mic again and looked over at her. “Are you okay?

“Well, I don’t feel like punching anyone anymore,” she said.

She walked back to the car and he followed her. They both got back in and he had a feeling that he’d missed something important with Kaylee, but had no idea what it was.