Chapter One
“Granddad?” Kelly Monroe finished checking the air pressure on her truck tires and called out to her grandfather standing by the hangar. The vacation in Key West had been great, and the visit here in Maryland even better. But now it was time to get home and back to work. Maine was still many long hours on the road away.
Harry Monroe disconnected the call he was taking, shoved his cell phone in his pocket, and jogged slowly over to the truck. At seventy he was still fit, and jogging didn’t even wind him. “I sure wish you’d stay longer,” he told her. “I don’t get to see you nearly enough.”
“I’d try to coax you up to Maine, but I know being in charge of the Phoenix Agency airfield and running security on their aircraft doesn’t leave you much time for visiting.”
He had told her about Phoenix, a top security agency that took on jobs for both the government and private industry. It was based in Maryland and headed by former Force Recon Marine Dan Romeo and his four partners, each of whom brought a special area of expertise to the business. Harry had been recommended to them by Dan’s former commanding officer in the marines, and it had given her grandfather, a retired sergeant, a new lease on life.
“They could spare me for a few days,” he protested.
She grinned at him. “We’ll see. You were there for me when Mom and Dad were killed, but I wasn’t a kid, Granddad. And you needed to do something besides rock and read. I’m glad you have this.”
“Me, too,” he chuckled. “And the guys are very good to me.”
“As well they should be.”
“You should stay the night,” he told her. “It’s late in the day. Too late to be starting out.”
“We’ll camp out about halfway there. No problem.”
“It’s a problem to me,” he grumbled.
“I promise we’ll be fine.” She turned to a large dog sitting quietly by the hangar, watching them intently. “Hey, Xena. Come on, girl. We’ve got to get going.”
The huge black-and-white dog just sat where she was, head cocked, looking at them. Kelly had bought the Caucasian Ovcharka from a breeder nine years ago as a gift to herself on her twenty-first birthday. Xena was unlike any other dog she’d ever seen, with deep-set, dark eyes and ears densely covered with fur. Her shoulders were slightly raised from the back, and her tail had a heavy feathering of fur. With long forelimbs and large heavy paws, she looked exactly like what she was—a guard dog. And she guarded Kelly well in many ways.
“Come on,” Kelly called again. “Quit stalling.”
“I think she wants to stay,” Harry said.
“Oh, honestly.”
She started toward Xena at a slow trot, motioning to the dog as she moved. She hadn’t taken ten steps before the one-hundred-thirty-pound canine flew through the air like a shot and landed directly in front of her.
Kelly pulled up short. “What the heck?”
“You nearly tripped over that hose you didn’t see,” Harry pointed out.
“Is that it, girl?” Kelly knelt and threaded her fingers through Xena’s fur. “Were you taking care of me again?” She fixed her gaze on the dog’s. “Yes, you’re right. I need to pay more attention.”
“I swear.” Harry scratched his head. “You and that dog read each other’s minds. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Don’t joke. Ovcharkas are known for certain psychic abilities. Xena’s have saved my butt more than once.”
“You were always like that with animals. Knowing what was wrong with them. What they wanted. Having silent conversations with them. But with Xena?” He shook his head. “It’s the weirdest thing. That’s just something else.”
“She’ll take good care of me on the way home, too. Don’t you worry.” Kelly kissed the dog’s black nose. “Come on, girl. Into the truck. Time to hit the road.”
“Don’t you even want to meet any of the guys? They always ask about you. The one time you show up, they’re all busy with something.”
“Next time,” she told him. “I promise we’ll stay a little longer.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But he said it affectionately.
*****
Eric “Rick” Latrobe was bone-weary. He’d barely slept in forty-eight hours, his head throbbed, and his eyes felt as if someone had rubbed grit into them. The noise of the helicopter wasn’t helping his headache, either. In spite of Mike D’Antoni’s superlative skills, the ride from the airfield where the cargo plane had dropped him off was bumpy and only added to his general pissed-off feeling.
More than anything he wanted a hot shower, a cold beer, and a clean bed. But he knew that none of those things would be forthcoming anytime soon. Before he could even think about going home he needed a sit-down with his partners and a no-holds-barred conversation.
He hadn’t wanted to get involved in the whole Iraq business to begin with. Phoenix was busy enough as it was, with plenty of contracts to juggle. But Grainger Caldwell had gotten some lucrative pieces of the pie to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure, the company was a high-dollar client, and Charlie Grainger wanted—no, demanded—that Phoenix game-plan the security they’d need, train the people who’d work the security details, and set it all up.
One of the biggest headaches was recruiting the right people. For many of them, Phoenix was able to import from the States, especially those who filled specific requirements. The others came from local cities like Baghdad. Rick thanked God every day that one of the languages he was trained in was Arabic. Otherwise he’d have had more than the wool pulled over his eyes.
But even so, he’d already made a mental note to tell Charlie they needed to cut back on the use of the locals. Communication was only part of the problem. Too many of these people were thugs looking for either a free ride or an excuse to shoot someone. That wasn’t what Rick needed, not when he was supposed to train people to protect the construction workers and the staff who had been sent there.
And now they had to figure out what was going wrong with the setup. Why little things, like small thefts, were happening that shouldn’t. In a week’s time he was shepherding a Hercules C-130J full of heavy arms and Humvees over to the Grainger Caldwell setup, and he couldn’t afford to have any screw-ups.
It was bad enough that a deep-cover contact had passed along information that a tribe of people in the north were quietly gathering resources to reclaim their land and power. And planning to eliminate all the coalition forces that got in their way. This meant great danger for Grainger Caldwell’s contracts, as some of their projects were scheduled for that area. Rick’s contact hinted that the recent small thefts might be nothing more than a test of the security at the GC compound.
Damn! As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already.
He’d told his contact he’d be back in about a week and made arrangements to meet with him again. These meetings had to be carefully planned. If the man’s associates had any idea he was feeding information to an American, he’d be killed in a slow and painful way and his family destroyed. He wouldn’t even let Rick see his face, always wearing a hood pulled over it.
Not to mention the fact that on the long trip back, Rick had been trying to dig out of his mind some shadowy fact that insisted in hiding away from him. Something someone had said. Or something he’d seen. The harder he tried, the more elusive it became.
“Welcome back to Maryland,” Mike told him as he set the bird on the ground. “Next stop, the office where everyone’s waiting. I guess we need to see how we can pull our irons out of the fire and handle this operation properly.”
“You got that right, Ace.” Rick unstrapped himself and pushed open the door to the helo’s cabin. As he hopped down to the ground, his eye was caught by a blue pickup truck at the far end of the area. “Who the hell is here? Harry knows we don’t allow strangers onto the property.”
Rick’s eyes swept over the field, looking for anything else out of sync. The site, with its three large hangars, was home to the two helicopters and three private jets Phoenix Agency owned. When the agency had started out, they’d had one helicopter, one plane, and one hangar—a converted Discount Records warehouse. They had since added the additional equipment and built two more hangars, created to look just like more warehouse space. The nature of their work made them prime targets for every kind of nut, so they had no desire to advertise what was in the massive field surrounded by the high chain-link fence. They had a state-of-the-art security system, and no one came or went unless they had agency approval.
“Relax.” Mike finished shutting down the machine and doing his post-flight cabin check. “That’s Harry’s granddaughter. She’s been visiting for a few days on her way back from Florida. He wanted to show her around, and I gave the okay.”
Then Rick took a good look at the female standing beside the truck, and his heart nearly stopped. Holy hell! Why didn’t Harry tell them he had a granddaughter who was every man’s dream? She was tall and slim, with long red hair the color of burnished sunlight. She was in earnest conversation with Harry, their caretaker-cum-maintenance man. As she talked she gestured so gracefully with her hands she could have been an artist sketching a picture in the air. Rick could take or leave his women, but this one, with just one look, reached a place inside him he’d had closed off forever.
Then he blinked as the object in the back of the pickup came into better view. “What the hell is that in her truck bed? A horse?”
Mike chuckled. “Close. It’s a Caucasian Ovcharka. A dog.”
Rick stared. The dog looked to be half as tall as he was, with a large head and mostly black fur. Only part of its hindquarters and its forelegs were whitish gray. Its jaws looked as if they could clamp onto a small animal with no problem.
“Isn’t he a little much for her to handle?”
“She, you chauvinist. The dog’s a female. I understand the males weigh a good twenty pounds more.”
“So doesn’t she overpower her?”
“Nah. They follow hand signals and voice commands almost like a “Nice to meet you. You know, those dogs are rumored to have Psi abilities.”
“No kidding. A psychic animal? Well, I don’t discount anything these days. Maybe we should look into working with them.”
“Talk to Mia and Faith. That’s their department,” Mike reminded him. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
Rick hitched the strap of his duffel over his shoulder and followed Mike to where Harry and the woman were standing. Up close she was even more striking. Her hair was wound into a thick braid that fell halfway down her back. Curls escaping at the sides framed a classic face with alabaster skin, a tiny spray of freckles on her nose and eyes that flashed like emeralds in the sunlight.
She turned in his direction as he walked up to her and the smile she flashed nearly brought him to his knees. This was Harry’s granddaughter? Good thing he was so tired or he’d be in big trouble here.
“Hey, guys,” Harry greeted them. “Honey, you’ve met Mike. This is Rick Latrobe, one of the other partners. Rick, this is my granddaughter, Kelly Monroe.”
She held out a slim hand. When Rick wrapped his larger one around it flashes of heat shot through his body like flames dancing through his blood. Good god. What was going on here? Maybe he’d been without a woman too long.
“Nice to meet you.” Her voice was low and soft, the kind that made his body vibrate. She nodded at the dog, who looked even larger up close. Her eyes were fixed on Rick like twin lasers. “This is Xena. She doesn’t take too well to strangers, I’m afraid.”
Her voice was low and soft, the kind that made his body vibrate. She nodded at the dog that looked even larger up close. Her eyes were fixed on Rick like twin lasers. “This is Xena. She doesn’t take too well to strangers, I’m afraid.”
But the dog, standing motionless in the truck bed, suddenly leaped to the ground and sat at Rick’s feet, almost knocking him over. She looked up, her eyes telegraphing some kind of message.
Kelly frowned. “That’s strange. She’s never done that before. She almost never goes near anyone but me.”
Rick reached out a tentative hand to pet the dog.
“Be careful,” Kelly warned.
But the animal sat without moving, accepting the caress. Her eyes never moved from Rick’s face.
Kelly did her best to control her shock at Xena’s actions. The dog never, never ever, did this with anyone but her. Then again, Kelly knew how Xena felt. She had an uncontrollable urge to throw herself at Rick Latrobe’s feet, too. Why didn’t her grandfather tell her all these men were so good-looking?
She looked at the dog and frowned. “Xena? What’s going on here, girl?”
“Maybe I do better with animals than I do with people,” Rick joked. “She’s magnificent, by the way.”
“Thank you.” She snapped her fingers once. “Xena. Truck. Now.” For emphasis, she opened the passenger door and gestured emphatically.
The dog looked up at Rick, then at Kelly, and almost reluctantly stood up and began to amble toward the truck. As she passed Kelly she shifted her weight and nudged her owner with her massive hindquarters. Kelly pitched forward toward Rick, saved from falling only by six feet two inches of hard, muscular body and a pair of strong arms catching her. She found herself pressed against his chest, and when she looked up he was grinning at her. Ohmigod! His face was etched with heavy lines of fatigue, but his penetrating electric-blue eyes danced with mischief.
“Nothing to spice up the day like having a beautiful woman fall into your arms.” He winked at her.
For a moment she was tempted to wrap her arms around him and press herself even closer. Her nipples hardened instantly, and every nerve in her body woke up. Then reality hit, heat flamed her cheeks, and she pushed herself away.
“I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s come over that dog.” She turned her head toward Xena, who was sitting beside her now. Kelly could have sworn the dog was grinning.
“Please. Don’t apologize.” Rick smiled again, and a dimple winked at the corner of his mouth. “The pleasure was all mine.”
Kelly labored to maintain some semblance of dignity. Looking into Xena’s eyes, she was sure she could hear the dog’s thoughts. You need a man, and this one’s A-plus. It’s my job to help it along.
She wiped a hand over her face. Impossible. She and Xena got into each other’s minds, but this was beyond ridiculous. She snapped her fingers and pointed. “Xena. Truck. Now.”
She swore the dog sighed as she lifted herself, then obediently jumped into the cab and took her place on the passenger seat.
“I apologize again,” she told Rick, then turned to Mike, who couldn’t quite keep the smile off his face or the laughter out of his eyes. “And you, too, Mike. I think it’s time I got out of here.”
Harry took off his cap and scratched his head. “That’s the damnedest thing. That dog won’t even come to me, but she sure took a shine to you, Rick.” He slapped his cap back on and gave his granddaughter a hug. “Well, honey, I guess you gotta get going, and I know these guys have to head for their office. Mike, the SUV’s all gassed up. Take it easy on Rick. He looks like he’s been run over a few times.”
“I feel like it, too,” Rick told him. He turned those sizzling blue eyes on Kelly once more, and she had to clench her fists to keep from jumping into his arms again. “Do you live around here?”
She shook her head. “In Maine. Tip edge of the States. I was visiting a friend in Key West and stopped to see Granddad on the way home.”
“Maine?” He and Mike exchanged a look. “You’ve got a long drive ahead of you. You sure you should be starting out this late in the day?”
“I’m trying to talk her into staying overnight,” Harry said, “but she’s as stubborn as her daddy was.”
“Staying over sounds good,” Rick said. “We could have dinner.”
Kelly stared at him. He looked as astounded at giving the invitation as she felt receiving it. “Excuse me?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, your dog seems to like me a lot. And you said that’s unusual. Maybe we could talk about it over dinner. You know. The dog.”
She looked at her grandfather for help, but he was just grinning, along with the man standing next to Rick. Common sense told her to get in her truck and take off, but those piercing blue eyes seemed to have a direct line to her nipples and her womb. Heat bloomed between her thighs and rushed along the fair skin of her cheeks.
What’s going on? I don’t ever react this way. To anyone.
Maybe you should, her inner devil whispered back. He’s damn good-looking, and I’ll bet he’d be hell in bed.
Kelly brushed at her face with her hand, hoping to wipe away any visible trace of what she was thinking.
“I don’t dribble my food or chew with my mouth open,” Rick joked. “And I actually clean up pretty good.”
“Go on, Kelly,” Harry urged. “Have a night out for a change.”
“All right.” She couldn’t believe she was saying that. “Thank you.”
“You can stay in my guestroom,” her grandfather put in. “Rick, you know where I live, right?”
Rick nodded. “We have some work to do at the office right now, but I’ll pick you up at seven. That okay?”
“Yes. But I should tell you I’m not prepared for anything fancy. I don’t have anything with me to wear besides jeans.”
“Jeans it is.” He winked. “See you at seven.”
She watched them climb into the big SUV and drive through the gate.
“Well, Xena, you picked a winner.” She ruffled the dog’s ears. “But how come you didn’t stop me from breaking my ‘no date’ rule? If I get into trouble it’s your fault.”
She’d taken herself out of the social circle after too many abortive tries at a relationship with men who didn’t play well with strong women. They were either intimidated or challenged. Somehow she didn’t think Rick Latrobe would be either one.
But training guard and security dogs was more than a full-time job and one that left little or no time for relationships. Her business was thriving. That’s what she needed to focus on.
Sighing, she turned back to Harry. “Okay, Granddad. I hope we both don’t live to regret this.”
*****
Rick leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. Holy Hannah. Every cell in his body had stood at attention when he’d felt Kelly Monroe’s softness against him, her breasts pressing into his chest. He could have lost himself in those eyes, emerald green with licks of golden fire in them. And hair that he wanted to tug loose and run his fingers through.
Dinner, you idiot? With all you’ve got going on?
“Harry’s granddaughter’s a real dish, isn’t she?” Mike had trouble keeping the laughter out of his voice. “Lucky you, having her fall into your arms.”
Rick grunted. “Yeah, right. Why the hell did you let me make a date with her? Right now, the last thing I should have on my mind is a date.”
“Give yourself a break. You look like you could use one. Too long without any downtime at all and you lose your edge. And that means danger.”
“I know, I know. But we’ve got big problems, Michael. And I sense more coming.”
Rick tried to gather his thoughts in preparation for briefing his partners about the mess they were all in. Even so, he couldn’t wipe away the image of the slender redhead and her unusual dog. And the promise of the evening ahead.
At the office, his partners were waiting for him, their eyes filled with questions. He’d sent a couple of brief messages before leaving Iraq; now they wanted details. But after an hour, the five men who formed the partnership of Phoenix didn’t seem to be any further ahead than when they’d started.
“So the weapons are just disappearing?” Dan Romeo, CEO of the agency, asked for perhaps the tenth time.
“Jesus, Dan.” Rick dry-washed his face. “How many different ways do you want me to answer you? Yes, they keep disappearing in small amounts. As if someone thinks we won’t notice. Either that, or they’re testing our reaction and waiting to see what we’ll do.”
“And Jordan insists it’s kids pilfering them, right?”
Greg Jordan was the man Phoenix had hired to ramrod their operation in Iraq. Mike D’Antoni, another partner, had served with him and recommended him as someone who could keep a tight rein on the security operations they’d set up for Grainger Caldwell. The problem seemed to be that small amounts of arms shipped over for the security force were disappearing on a regular basis, and no one seemed to know how or when.
Dan looked at Mike. “Maybe this guy’s not as good as you thought, Mikey.”
D’Antoni glared at him. “You don’t think I’ve asked myself that a hundred times since Rick called about this mess? But I’m telling you, I checked him out six ways from Sunday. If there’s anything wrong, he’s better at hiding it than we are at finding it out.”
“How many guards does he have in the warehouse?” Dan asked.
“He says three at all times.” Rick rubbed his face again. “And that was the drill while I was there. I spot-checked it several times.”
“Don’t forget, half the security force they hired over there is Iraqi.” Dan shook his head. “Who knows how many rotten apples there are in the barrel.”
“We’ve had some help picking and choosing, but what can I say? This thing was a mess from day one.”
Mark Halloran drummed his fingers on the table. “Well, you babysat this load and spent five days there training their guys in new procedures. Where do you think we stand?”
Rick stood up, stretched his cramped muscles, and went to the sideboard to refill his coffee mug. He was still plagued by whatever it was that he kept trying to remember but couldn’t get a hold on.
“You have to picture the situation,” he explained. “Grainger Caldwell is working out of a trailer at BGW—Baghdad International Airport. They commandeered one of the hangars to stash all their equipment, including the construction machinery. Their guys— security and construction workers—live in a building they threw up in five minutes right next to the hangar. Security works in shifts at the hangar and at the construction sites. But they aren’t the only ones at BGW.”
“I know, I know.” Dan was doodling on the pad in front of him. “We knew going in that almost everyone with a piece of the pie in Iraq would be headquartered there. Are you saying you think some of them are stealing the arms?”
Rick shrugged. “I’m not saying anything except the next shipment going over there is the big one. I’ve given these guys as much training as I can. Now it’s up to Jordan to implement it. And they definitely need what we’re sending them.”
“Including the three Humvees with the roofs cut out for the gunner,” Mark reminded everyone.
“Here’s what I think.” Rick looked at everyone in the room. “I think something’s going on and that we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg. We drew straws and I got to honcho this gig, so whatever goes wrong is in my lap. We’ve got a C-130J chartered to take the load over. I’m going with it because my internal radar is sending me funny signals.”
And also because of my contact, who warned me that pilfering might be a problem.
“Who’s flying?” Troy Arsenault, the fifth member of the team, wanted to know.
“I took care of the charter,” Mike answered. “Ed and I will be in the cockpit.”
Ed was Dan’s brother and the team’s other pilot.
“Do you think you’ll need a medic?” That was one of Troy’s many contributions to the agency.
“Jesus.” Rick shook his head. “I hope not.”
“All right.” Dan pushed the pad of paper away from him. “But let’s keep the departure and arrival schedules strictly under wraps. That way we have no leaks. Call Jordan on the satellite phone and give him a five-day window. Then decide when you want to go.”
The one thing Rick hadn’t mentioned was something he’d spotted on Greg Jordan’s desk that lurked in the back of his mind, hiding. He couldn’t remember what it was, only that it had set off alarm bells. But when he wanted to ask Jordan about it, whatever it was had disappeared. Now for the life of him he couldn’t call it up, and it was driving him nuts.
“All right.” He drained the last of his coffee. “I’ll get on it first thing in the morning. And Dan? In the next couple of days, I want to talk to Faith and Mia about a very interesting dog.”
*****
Dinner was far more enjoyable than Kelly had expected. Rick Latrobe was easy to be with, easy to talk to, and the food at the casual restaurant was excellent. But she caught herself staring frequently at the man sitting across from her.
At least six two, his muscular frame was evident in the jeans and T-shirt he wore. Tiny spikes of golden hair, lighter than the sun-streaked blond mane that covered his head, peeked over the neckline of the shirt. And those eyes. Even rimmed with fatigue they were the most startling blue she’d ever seen.
Idly she wondered what he’d look like completely naked. Would his muscles be as sculpted as they hinted they’d be? Would the soft golden hair cover his body? And what would his—
Stop that!
She almost hated to see it end, a rare feeling for her. When they walked out to his truck in the parking lot, it seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to link his fingers through hers. What wasn’t natural was a repeat of the electricity zinging between them and the heat flushing through her body.
Kelly had a healthy appetite for sex that she hadn’t allowed herself to indulge for far too long. She had an unshakable feeling that this man could satisfy everything on her personal menu, but it would be dangerous to give in to the tug between them. She’d keep to her own side of the truck cab on the way back, shake hands, thank him, and get the hell inside Granddad’s house before she gave in to the heat throbbing everywhere in her body.
But Rick Latrobe apparently had other ideas. When he unlocked the truck, instead of opening the passenger door for her he pulled her into his arms, and his mouth descended on hers.
She’d expected a hard, predatory kiss, one she could have stiffened herself against. Refused. But Rick’s lips were soft against hers, brushing lightly, his tongue tracing the outline of her mouth. Teasing at the corners. Tracing the seam. His arms around her were gentle but firm, almost coaxing. Only there was nothing coaxing about the thick, hard ridge of his cock pressing into her through the layers of their clothing.
One hand slid up to cup her head, while the other wandered to her hip, pressing her body even closer to his. Heat flashed through her, a sizzle that hardened her nipples and made the walls of her sex quiver. Her thighs trembled, and icy shivers skittered over her skin. Lordy! Kelly couldn’t ever remember a man having this effect on her before. Or this quickly.
His tongue was like a flame, burning her everywhere it touched. It danced wickedly inside her mouth, coaxing her own tongue to dance with his. She couldn’t help herself. She tasted him, twined with him, pressed herself so hard against him she was sure the imprint of his cock would be burned onto her body.
“Come home with me,” he breathed into her mouth. “Stay the night with me, Kelly, please.”
“Yes. O-okay.”
Was that really her talking?
“What about Xena? Do you have to get her?” One corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “Because I’m afraid if I take you back to Harry’s, you’ll change your mind.”
“I-I can call and tell him what to do. She really doesn’t interact with anyone except me.”
“And me,” he reminded her, his hand warming her breast.
“And you,” she agreed. “Maybe that’s why I said yes.”
She had a vague impression of space both inside and out at Rick’s house—high ceilings inside and lots of trees outside. But the images were a faint blur. They were so hungry for each other they were shedding their clothes as soon as they stepped inside from the garage.
When they were both naked, Rick lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom, tearing back the covers on the biggest bed she’d ever seen. He set her on her feet, knelt, and gently parted her labia. With great care he placed an open-mouthed kiss on her clit, sucking it into his mouth. Instantly heat shot through her, and lust curled low in her belly. His tongue was rough silk against her sensitive skin, lapping at her with slow, long strokes, then flicking her clit with the tip. Her legs were so rubbery Kelly had to grip Rick’s broad, muscular shoulders to brace herself, or she’d surely have fallen.
He parted her lips, rubbing his thumbs along their swollen surface before tracing a line with his tongue along every inch of the pink inner flesh. Little whimpers burst from her mouth as he licked her over and over before turning his attention again to her throbbing clit. She was so aroused, so ready, when he nipped the bundle of nerves lightly with his teeth, she climaxed, shivering as the spasms rippled through her.
Rick slipped two long, lean fingers into her, curling them slightly so the tips scraped along her sweet spot, then drove them in and out of her while she clenched around his touch. Her hips jerked, and the whimpers turned to moans as he continued to fuck her with his hand.
The last tiny convulsion had barely died away when he lifted her to the bed, arranged her on her back with her knees bent and thrust his finger into her again.
Icy heat danced over her skin and through her veins, a sensation more erotic than anything she’d ever felt before. She wanted to just give herself up to it and beg him never to stop.
She nearly screamed with pleasure as a second finger joined the first, moving inside her dark tunnel to stretch her. Whatever nerves he was teasing were playing havoc with her body.
He slid his fingers from the grasp of her body and placed a kiss on each cheek of her ass. Then he moved up on the bed, reached into the nightstand drawer for a condom. Then, straddling her chest, keeping most of his weight on his knees, he took his cock in one hand and rested the head of it on her lips.
She opened her mouth and licked it, then closed her lips over it.
“Jesus!” He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “You don’t know how much I want to watch you suck my cock, but I’m too close to the edge. Something for our to-do list next time. And trust me, there will be a next time.”
Shifting his position, he rolled the condom onto his shaft, lifted her to him, and drove into her with one hard thrust of his hips.
Kelly gripped his arms and wrapped her legs around him, digging her heels into the small of his back. Holy God, he was huge inside her, filling every tiny crevice of her overstimulated sex. She closed her eyes, letting sensations sweep over her.
Rick’s mouth found hers, his firm lips warm and smooth, his tongue pushing its way inside. He moved once, his tongue and his cock in synchronized motion, and another small climax ripped through her. He held himself still inside her, fucking her mouth with his tongue until the little spasms died away.
Then he moved. Strong, steady thrusts at first, then harder and harder. He tilted his body forward so with each roll of his hips he rubbed against her clit. Kelly couldn’t do anything except hang on for the ride, swamped by sensory overload.
Then he was moving faster, harder, stronger, in and out, back and forth. He swelled inside her, stretching her even more and bringing every tiny nerve into play. She couldn’t believe it when she felt the rolling tide of another orgasm rushing up inside her.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
She opened her eyes, and his gaze locked onto hers.
“You’re insatiable,” she panted.
“Now, Kelly.” His voice was ragged. “Come with me now.”
One last hard thrust, and they both tumbled over the edge. She trembled violently in his arms, his own body shaking with spasms, his eyes still boring into hers. She cartwheeled, falling through a shower of fireworks exploding all around her. Rick’s cock pulsed inside her, spurting hot and thick into the latex glove.
At last, spent, she let her legs fall away, and her arms unwound from his neck. Rick slid gently from her body, disposed of the condom, and slipped back into bed beside her, pulled her against his big, warm body.
“Stay with me, Kelly,” he urged. “Will Xena be all right?”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured. “Remember, I called Granddad on the way over here and asked him to take care of her if I didn’t make it home.”
“He’ll probably be ready to string me up by my balls,” Rick grumbled, tightening his arms around her.
“Don’t worry. I’m a big girl, and besides, he likes all of you.”
“Let’s hope he still likes me tomorrow morning.”
Twice during the night he woke her to make slow, delicious love, tasting and touching every inch and crevice of her body. The first time he pulled her to her knees and nudged her to bend her head over his erect cock.
“I can’t wait until next time,” he groaned, his voice taut with need.
Tucking her hair behind one ear, she cupped his balls in one hand while she lowered her mouth over his thick shaft. She reveled in the male taste of him, in the silken skin over a steel core. In the velvety head that she licked again and again until Rick moaned with frustration.
“Enough,” he cried. “Take me inside your mouth.”
He filled her mouth completely, the head bumping against the roof until she adjusted the angle and let it slide toward the back of her throat.
He insinuated one hand between her thighs. As she sucked and pulled on his erection, he stroked her and manipulated her clit, pulling and tugging on it and flicking the tip with a fingernail. She clenched herself around him as her head moved up and down. Her entire body shimmered with erotic heat and a hunger that didn’t seem to go away.
She knew the moment he was ready. His thighs tensed, and his balls tightened. He rubbed her clit harder, rubbed and pulled, and as he spurted thick semen into her mouth, he thrust three fingers inside her already spasming sex. She clenched the base of his cock in her fingers, pressing her lips around him as he came and came and came.
Exhausted, she crawled back up to collapse beside him and doze, until he woke her again.
*****
It was morning. His alarm had buzzed them awake at six. While she’d showered and dressed, Rick had pushed himself out of bed and made coffee.
“You make me hungry.” He looked at her over the rim of his mug with eyes that were hot and devouring.
“I’m nothing special,” she said nonchalantly.
“Now there’s where you’re wrong, pretty girl. Very wrong.”
She sipped the hot brew. “I take it you have an early schedule today.”
“Yes. Sorry to get you up so early.”
“No. No problem. I want to get started on the road, anyway. I’ve got a long drive.”
He refilled his mug from the carafe on the burner. “You planning to make it in one day?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll see how the traffic is.” She grinned. “And if I can stay awake. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
“All for a good cause,” he smiled. Then his face sobered. “Listen, Kelly—”
She held up a hand. “I don’t need a speech, Rick. I’m a big girl. We had a great night, but I know what kind of life you lead. What the demands are.”
He took her mug from her fingers and set it on the counter beside his own. “Actually, Miss Know-it-all, I was going to say I want to see you again.” He pulled her close against him. “It was more than just a roll in the hay, Kelly. And don’t deny you felt the same way. We connected immediately.”
“Xena,” she said in a low voice. “She linked us.”
He frowned. “I don’t know if I totally buy that, but something worked. That’s for sure. Listen. I do have to make a quick trip overseas, but I want to see you again as soon as I get back. Can we make that happen?”
“I think so. I’d have to make arrangements, but nothing is impossible. Will you call me when you get back?”
“Of course.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and extracted a business card. One side said THE PHOENIX AGENCY and had a phone number. Rick turned it over and wrote on the back. “My cell phone. Either of these two numbers can reach me 24/7.”
Kelly laughed. “I’m not going to call you in the middle of an assignment.”
“Just keep the card close, okay?”
“All right.” Her face sobered. “Keep safe, Rick.”
“I will. I have something good to come back to.”