Vince wanted nothing more than to sink inside Charlie and not come out, but he knew the possibility of her letting him do that was about nil. He sat her on the edge of the bed and stepped away from her wandering hands.
“Are you afraid of little ol’ me?” Charlie leaned back, giving him a superb view of her breasts.
“Without a fucking doubt.” He swallowed a chuckle.
A handful each, her breasts tipped upward, ripe berry-red nipples still puckered from his mouth. Vince hastily discarded his pants and kicked them away. His cock, already hard from their time in the bathroom, throbbed.
Vince wrapped an arm around her waist and gently eased them both onto the center of the bed. He wanted to take his time, but he didn’t know if it was possible, especially when her nimble fingers dug into his back.
“Vince.” Charlie rotated her hips. Both the brush of her wet mound and the sound of his name made him suck in a hiss.
“Fuck, baby. I don’t have any condoms in here.”
She groaned, but didn’t stop her gentle swivel. Each rocking motion slid his cock through her folds until it brushed against her hardened clit. “Where do you have them?”
He gritted his teeth and dropped his forehead onto the mattress, just above her shoulder. “In my bag. In the main room. With Eric.”
At her sudden silence, Vince picked up his head. Charlie bit her lower lip, deep in thought.
“How are you with condoms normally?” she asked, contemplative.
Meeting her gaze, Vince damn near held his breath. “Religious—I’ve never gone without. And you see everyone’s health screening, so you know I’m clean.”
“Me too. And I’m a huge fan of the shot, so we’re covered on that end.”
Vince traced his thumb over her lower lip. “Fucking-A, babe. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Charlie rolled her hips again. This time, the tip of his cock hit just right, and he slipped inside her tight sheath, one inch at first. After another hip swivel, a second inch. Vince stayed still, afraid of shooting his load too soon.
“Make love to me, Navy.” Lifting up, she ran her mouth over his, alternating between playful nips and gentle licks…and squeezed his ass.
Goddamn it, that’s what he wanted to do. This wasn’t about sex. It wasn’t about a quick release or even savoring the moment to replay it for later. The words tightening his chest wouldn’t come out, but damn it if he couldn’t enact them.
He kissed her, timing the thrust of his tongue with the slow pump of his hips. He threw into the kiss what he did with his body, going deeper until he could practically feel every inch of her wrapped around him.
Sliding his hand beneath her ass, Vince pulled back to the rim of her opening and slowly thrust again. Beneath him, Charlie squirmed and moaned, rubbing against him seductively. He rolled them over until their positions were reversed.
“Dance for me.” Vince gripped her hips and encouraged her to take over the movement.
“Are you handing me the control?” she teased. A dark fire lit up in her eyes.
“You’ve had the control since day one, babe.”
In this position, her bodyweight pushed her down on his cock until she hit the base of his balls. Vince lay on his back, enjoying the sight of her undulating body. Despite her petite size, power coiled in her slender muscles as she used her legs and hips to rock back and forth. She was a formidable woman, someone to contend with, no matter your sex or size.
She was also fucking beautiful. Inside and out. Power. Femininity. Delicateness. Strength. All wrapped into one heart-stopping package.
Charlie braced her hands on his chest as she rocked. Vince took them, entwining their fingers. It was a simple, intimate gesture that started the cascade of flutters wrapping around his cock.
“Vince.” She groaned.
“Take what you need. You’re in control here.”
Charlie’s pussy gripped him like glove. Her eyes locked on his. “With me. Together.”
Once. Twice. Vince thrust into her each time she let her body fall. Wrapping his hand behind her neck, he brought her mouth to his and stopped holding back. He pulled out and thrust back to the hilt.
“Oh my God.” Charlie gasped, her body erupting. Her heady moans detonated his balls, and he filled her body with his release.
Vince wasn’t lying when he said she was the one in control, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. She made him forget. She made him feel things he hadn’t thought he could, and didn’t think he had the right to feel again. She made him realize there were right times to live on the edge.
She made him feel everything.
* * *
Charlie stretched, extending her arms above her head and groaned when the muscles protested the move with a dull ache. That’s when she realized she was alone, Vince’s side of the bed still warm. Her head filled with conflicting emotions, the most prominent being guilt.
Only God and Anthony knew what was happening to Tina and the others, and she’d taken a time-out, soaking up whatever new feelings had come to the surface between her and Vince. Even after replaying their conversation, she wasn’t sure where they stood, only knowing for certain it was uncharted territory.
Charlie had shimmied into a fresh pair of cargo pants and pulled a tank over her head when the door carefully opened and Vince filled the space. He propped his shoulder on the jamb and studied her carefully. “I was about to get you. You good?”
She figured he meant with them…with what’d happened and the door it had opened. Taking her time, she slunk across the room, letting his eyes drink her in until she was close enough to touch. Sliding her hands up the wall of his chest, Charlie didn’t balk when Vince’s arm banded possessively around her waist.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She flashed him a surprisingly relaxed smile. “But I guess we’re going to have to have another talk, since our last one ended with us naked.”
A grin twitched his lips, but his nod was all seriousness. “If things go the way I want them to, we’re going to end up naked a hell of a lot. But yeah, we’re going to have to fit that talk in too.”
From the main room, Eric’s voice called excitedly, “Guys! Stone has something! You need to get in here!”
Eric was already putting their boss on speaker when they got there. “You’re linked up to everyone, man,” Eric told Stone. “Go for it.”
“There’s activity happening at the docks.” Stone’s voice filtered through the computer speakers. “I don’t know if you can see from the way the surveillance cam’s pointing, but we have a handful of white box trucks rumbling through, all headed toward dock seven.”
“That’s Arturo’s dock.” Charlie scanned the video feed, which showed her uncle’s boat, dimly lit against the night, but not much else. “Are they headed toward the Leslie?”
“Stand by. Callahan’s trying to get in a different position.”
Charlie waited with bated breath for the former Marine to tell them what they’d found. Vince’s hand landed on her shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze as time ticked by.
“That’s an affirmative,” Logan’s voice informed. “But I don’t see any girls, or Torres.”
“What the fuck do you see, because from our angle, it looks like not a damn thing.” Vince leaned closer to the screen, trying to make out the dark images.
“Because the camera’s not focused on the freighter ship itself. But let me tell you, the guards on this heap of metal are packing some serious fucking heat. Didn’t know you need fucking AKs for guarding alcohol and shit.”
Finally, the surveillance camera picked up movement. Charlie tapped the screen, directing Eric. “Right there. Zoom in on the guy standing off to the right.”
Eric zoomed—and bingo.
“That’s Anthony.” Charlie identified her uncle’s second-in-command, looking too much at ease for a man being hunted. “He’s going to make a run for it, and using Arturo’s boat. If he gets out into international waters, or worse, in Cuba’s, it’s over. Getting Tina and the girls back will be next to impossible.”
“We’re not letting that happen,” Stone announced, followed by a long cadence of affirmatives. “We’re rendezvousing dockside in less than thirty minutes. I don’t care where everyone happens to be at the moment, or what you have to do to make it happen, but do it. This bastard’s not slinking away like a fucking eel. Eric, you can be our eyes, right?”
Eric’s mouth dropped before he glanced at Charlie, panicked. She offered him a supportive wink. “You got this, Eric. We just need someone to shine a light in the general vicinity. We’ll do the rest.”
Eric gulped. “Okay. Yeah. I can do it. No problem.”
“Good,” Stone added. “Let’s get on the fucking ball. Everyone bring in all the artillery you have with you. We’re not going into this packing light.”
Everyone signed off.
Charlie turned to do what Stone said, and found her Glock being extended in her direction. Vince chuckled. “Please. I know Gregor’s the first thing you reach for.”
She took it and inspected the magazine clip before slipping it into a harness and buckling it into place. “What does it say that you can read me so well?”
“That we’re made for each other.” Vince took her mouth in a fierce kiss, only stopping at Eric’s uncomfortable throat-clearing. “But I am going to ask one thing of you.”
“And what’s that?”
“I need you to be really fucking careful. Super alert. No hesitation. React on instinct. Watch your ass.”
“Only if you watch it, too.”
Vince dropped a kiss on her jaw. “There’s no ass I’d rather watch more, English. Let’s go fuck up some bad guys.”
* * *
Vince and the team—plus Brock Torres—stood a block away from the docks and huddled over the blueprints for Arturo’s ship, the Leslie. Like a typical freighter, it had a large underbelly and copious places for storage—and hiding human cargo. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t have their head in the game.
First operational goal: Remove the hostages without detection.
The second: Drag Anthony Torres off that ship by his dick and hand him over to the authorities. Vince didn’t much care if his dick stayed attached to his body, so long as the bastard wasn’t able to fuck with Charlie ever again.
Stone finished his conversation with the feds and, after shutting off his walkie, turned toward the group. “We got the go-ahead. DHS is waiting in the wings, and Miami PD’s cleared the perimeter, making sure no one stumbles into the hot zone. It’s our op—free and clear. So let’s do a rundown. Teams.”
Logan smacked his finger on the map, identifying his nesting perch on the dock. “I’m taking an eagle-eye position from this set of stacked cars. If any of you get into trouble, haul ass to this side of the ship, and I’ll give you a helping hand—or a buzz cut.”
“Next,” Stone called out.
Rafe nodded toward Brock. “Torres and I are entering the vessel’s port side via the dock.”
“And Chase and I are frogman-ing our way onto the starboard side.” Vince slid his palm over his wet suit–covered chest, and joked. “Figured we’re already dressed for the job. Why the fuck not?”
“Hooyah!” Chase called out.
The former SEAL leaned in for a fist bump, and the scatter of chuckles breaking out among the team sent Charlie into an eye roll. “I swear, if I start sprouting chin hairs because of hanging around you Neanderthals, there will be hell to pay.”
Logan winked. “You’d be drop-dead gorgeous even if you were part Yeti, darlin’.”
The Marine’s attention shifted toward Vince, and he laughed, obviously having enjoyed what he’d seen on his face.
“And you, Charlie?” Stone brought everyone’s attention back to the op.
Charlie’s arm brushed over Vince’s as she pointed to her entry point. “Stone and I are hitting the anchor, then moving inward toward the center of the ship via this hatch.”
“Exactly.” Stone’s stern tone demanded everyone’s unwavering attention. “Remember, we’re not here to rack up a body count. If it can be avoided, avoid it. If you stumble into Torres”—he tossed a glance at Brock—“the other Torres, bring the bastard in, but only if you stumble on his sorry ass. You hear me? Our headlining goal is to find the hostages. Once that’s done, I’ll consider an alternative op to hunt the bastard down. Am I clear? Good. Let’s Alpha up.”
“Alpha up,” everyone chimed before scattering, each of them running through their final weapons check.
Vince caught Charlie’s elbow just as she finished tucking her throwing knives into place against her thigh, and nodded to the side. “A minute?”
Charlie gave him a wary look as she followed him away from prying eyes and ears. “You should probably think very carefully about what you’re about to say.”
Vince snort-laughed. “I always have to think carefully about what I’m going to say around you, but not this time. You remember what I asked you to do back at the hotel?”
An evil glint made her brown eyes sparkle. “You told me many things at the hotel. You may have to refresh my memory.”
“Watch your ass. Stay alert. And let your instinct guide your hand.” Vince knew it was important to Charlie to keep their private business private, but resisting the pull to draw her into a kiss was damn fucking hard.
Charlie didn’t seem to care. She grabbed his black Kevlar and pulled him into a fierce kiss. One hand around her waist, he kept her against him and ignored the catcalls around them as he let her set the pace—and it was a wild one, just short of indecent. When she finally ripped her mouth away, his chest ached from lack of oxygen.
“Holy shit, woman.” Vince panted against her mouth.
“And I need you to watch your ass too. If you get it shot, I’ll put a second bullet in the other cheek. Got me?” Charlie’s heated brown eyes soaked him in. No smile. No joking. Her seriousness sobered him pretty damn quick.
“Yeah, I got you.” Vince nodded, watching as Charlie strutted away toward Stone, as if she hadn’t declared to God and their team what they’d been up to here in Miami. Following the sway of Charlie’s hips, Vince’s gaze collided with two shit-eating smirks.
“What the hell are you two looking at?” Vince barked at Logan and Chase.
Logan shook his head, looking equal parts amused and disturbed. “You guys are dropping like flies at a fucking horse show. First Rafe, then Trey…now you. You, man. If Stone thinks he’s sending me on an operation that’s not at some fucking monastery with a horde of men in robes, then I’m not taking it. Shit happens when you go off on your own.”
With a laugh, Chase slapped him on the back. “You’re just sad that you’re our resident Romeo and haven’t found a love connection.”
“I have a lot of connections. That’s what I do. I connect and move on.”
“Your dick’s connections aren’t exactly what I meant, man.” Laughing, Chase slapped Logan on the back as he took position on the edge of the pier, next to Vince. “Ready to swim?”
“Alpha up,” Vince agreed, dropping his respirator into place.
His eye caught Charlie’s a few yards away. Looking badass holding an assault rifle, and ready for anything, she flashed him a saucy wink, which he reciprocated with a faint nod—and then he dropped his big ass into the fucking ocean.