There was a point in time when a man had to decide what to do with a situation – if he was going to forge on or stay in the same place.
After D.C. I’d made a decision that I was going to see where things went between Athena and I.
Liam had a lot to do with it, but a huge chunk of it stemmed from my feelings towards my detail. I was aware that she grew on me, I just didn’t know how much she affected me until I saw how she’d looked in the arms of another man.
I detested, hated every fucking minute of it.
I’d seen them together, Athena and Denton. Now they were nothing more than friends. At least that’s what Athena thought, but it was hard to believe since every time I saw Denton, he was always trying to attach his hip to hers. Not so long ago, they were attending a frat party together and it was the night I had told her about her father’s situation, leading us to now.
One thing I learned as a soldier was to never underestimate the enemy. While Denton wasn’t an enemy, he was a man who wanted Athena and he was showing mettle in fighting for her. He’d invited her to attend an event where not only she looked beautiful, but she’d also met his mother.
When a man introduces a woman to his mother, he’s showing his intentions towards the woman – that he wants to get serious with her.
Athena didn’t have a wire attached to her body for surveillance so I couldn’t really hear what was being discussed between her and Denton, but it sure looked like they were pretty cozy.
“Dude, you’re gonna deflagrate anytime now.” Liam’s voice was on my earpiece. His post was on the west side of the building.
“Shut up.” He was right, I could explode right now. Watching Athena hold his hand and enjoy the evening with Denton was a straight shot to my chest, and I was trying to ignore the stinging sensation afterwards.
“If I shutted up every time you said so, I’d be a fucking mute.” The Brooklyn accent was highly detectable.
“Shutted’s not a word.” A dismissive snort escaped my mouth. During our long missions, Liam was the comedian on board. The shit that spewed out of his mouth made me and the rest of the team forget that we were in the middle of enemy territory.
He tsked, “Who says?”
“The dictionary, dumb shit.” I spat out the words, this right here was why we were friends.
“Past tenses should end in ‘ed’. The dictionary’s the dumb shit. Can’t even figure out what present and past verbage is.” And that right there was why we were brothers.
A group of reporters passed by, they were tracking the celebrities walking the red carpet. I knew most of them and they all looked beautiful. But there was some sort of plasticity to them. Something that turned me off. Sure they were attractive, but you could spot the silicone from a hundred yards away.
None of them appealed to me like the au naturel woman wearing the sleek navy gown that hugged all her curves. She did put some makeup on for tonight, but ninety-nine percent of the time, her freckles were on display and I found them to be the sexiest beauty marks.
Air escaped my lungs when I saw her in her dorm and I wanted to carry her back to my place the minute my brain started functioning again. But I knew she had promised Denton that she was going to be in his arms tonight and though it grated on my nerves, a promise had to be kept.
I wasn’t a proponent of jealousy, but I wasn’t immune to it.
Every time he touched her hand (I didn’t have x-ray vision but Tony had gifted me with contact lenses that could zoom in and out of focus at an acceptable range) I wanted to tear his fingers off one by one.
When his hands lingered on her lower back, I imagined myself in the middle of an ocean, where I fucking walked on water and it was what gave me a semblance of calm.
And every time she smiled at him, I wanted to smash a brick, or a wall, or Denton’s face.
Control was what made me a good leader, but control was also an elusive force right now. One day I’d find my current predicament funny but right now, it fucking sucked.
Tony’s number flashed on my phone, I tapped the screen and answered through my headpiece. Liam and I were dressed in suits so we could mix in with the crowd. A gathering like this would have a bunch of private security around which would make our presence inconspicuous.
“Webb here,” I said, my voice coming clear through the fiber optics.
“Sir, I got fresh news for you.”
I patched Liam through the call. “Liam’s listening as well.”
“Watcha got for us, Agent Dinozzo?” Liam asked. Tony’s last name was Sanchez, but his chest puffed every time Liam called him by the character name of the Special Field Agent for the show NCIS. He wasn’t a Michael Weatherly fan, but Tony had said that he liked Agent Dinozzo’s talent with the women so he was more than okay with being likened to the fictional character.
“I’m decoding these international feeds and I just have a feeling that someone is blocking the IP addresses.”
“They know we know that she’s being tailed.” This wasn’t anything new. The second I put my hands on Abel, it was only a matter of time before the rest of her stalkers would catch on.
“Yeah...” Tony’s voice sounded unsure. “But all the emails to Dr. Bridges were being sent from Colombia.”
Nothing unusual there either.
“Now they’re encrypted and I’ve been able to decrypt them because I’m a genius.” No shortage of Dinozzo’s character traits there. “But I’m getting confused as to why they’re now being sent from Miami.”
Miami.
A cold chill shot through my spine.
“Maybe they have a firewall that deflects the emails and reroutes them to originate from another IP address. It’s not that uncommon, but why would anyone waste their time covering their tracks when they already know that we’re aware of their communication with Dr. Bridges?”
Liam’s voice broke the line, “Because the person sending the email’s not in Colombia anymore.”
Exactly.
“Where is Joseph – Dr. Bridges – right now?”
Liam and I heard the tapping on the computer and a millisecond later, “Shi-, sorry, Dr. Bridges is in Florida right now.”
My voice didn’t hide the urgency, “Patch me through to his detail right this minute, Tony.”
I could protect Athena with everything I have, but if there was one thing I couldn’t do – it was to shield her from shattering if any harm came to father. And that was a gamble I wasn’t willing to take.
“Did you have fun tonight?” My question was moot, but it had to be asked.
The glow in her face wasn’t manufactured, it was there because she had a good time at the party and I had to admit, Denton might have feelings for her, but at the end of the night, he’d dropped her off at her dorm and shook my hand.
For what? I had no clue, but I had so things on my mind that I didn’t even bother to question it.
The fact that Athena was now back, safe in my home, capped off a shitty evening.
Her hazel eyes twinkled under the dim lights of the living room, she was still wearing the gown that I wanted to tear off of her body. “I did. Denton’s the perfect escort and his mom’s a spectacular woman.”
I nodded my head, “The governor’s got a good rep. She’s an honest public servant.” In a year she’d be running for a second term and there wasn’t any doubt that she’d be re-elected. Her nose was clean and the improvements she’d done for the State were tremendous.
“How about you? Did you have fun checking out the celebrities?” Her tone was light and on another woman, I’d think that she was concealing jealousy, but Athena wasn’t like that. What I saw was what I got.
“I did.” I was sitting on the couch and she was stepping out of her heels. “Everyone looked their best, but I got my eye on this woman so…the rest just kinda faded into the background.”
“Oh yeah?” The hitch in her voice caused a tightening inside my dress pants.
“Yeah,” I said, and gestured with my right hand. “Sit with me for a minute.”
Slowly she walked to my right. I reached for her arm and gently persuaded her to sit on top of me.
Her right brow raised, but she complied.
When she was fully seated on top of my legs, I let my fingers slowly travel from her fingertips to the shoulders exposed by her gown.
“You didn’t save a dance for me tonight.” A light reprimand synced with a pinch on her soft, creamy-white neckline.
“I didn’t even dance.” She didn’t. She conversed with a lot of people, ate, drank two glasses of champagne, went to the restroom twice, clapped a lot when the governor gave her speech, and called it a night.
“You wanna dance now?” I could no longer hide the growing arousal in my pants. Her dress was thick, but give me few minutes, and my boner would definitely be felt. By her.
“No.” No hesitations just pure resolve.
“What do you want to do?” This time I wasn’t holding anything back. After tonight, if she wanted to be mine, she would be. The tender caresses I was bestowing on her caused the fine, golden (under this light) hair on her arms to stand up.
Her small hand touched my lips, “You. I want to kiss you.”
“Show me.”
“I want to kiss you everywhere.” There wasn’t a hint of guise. She was as pure as they came and as beautiful as she looked tonight, nothing could compare to the resplendent blush that crept up her neck when she’d uttered her wish.
And I wasn’t going to be in her way. Not anymore. “Then kiss me. Everywhere.”
A shy smile ghosted those pink lips.
“But after you kiss me everywhere. I get to kiss you everywhere, too.” My hands itched to touch her everywhere, but I’d learned that restraint led the way to magnificence.
A gasp escaped her lips when my fingers dipped down her cleavage.
“Webb…” Her tongue took a dip into my mouth and all the raspberries in the world couldn’t compare to her sweet taste.
She clasped her hands behind my head, and gently, slowly, she kissed me. A kiss wasn’t supposed to be hot. It was supposed to be a mere preview of what was to come. But when her mouth touched mine, there wasn’t a thread that I wouldn’t cut loose to keep her from exploring. Tentatively, her tongue moved around my chin and her light licks close to my earlobe made me want to pound her into submission.
A harsh breath came out my mouth and with my words barely comprehensible, I asked, “May I?”
With an imperceptible nod of her head, her lips continued to trek to my ears as my left hand moved to the back of her dress.
Slowly –
Oh so very slowly, I lowered the zipper.
Her back straightened for a second then her lips stopped their movement.
Her voice had a soft break, “I’m not perfect.”
I moved her so she was now sitting up straight, cupping her cheek, willing her to look at me, “Neither am I. But to me, you’re the closest thing to perfection I’ve ever seen. I like you, Athena, and I’m willing to wait if you’re uncomfortable with any of this. I want you be honest with me and be at ease. You understand?”
“You didn’t let me finish, you silly man.” A light laugh grace her dainty features. “I was going to say that I’m not perfect, but I’m okay with not being perfect.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle because this, this was the kind of woman she was. Beautiful, yes. Charming, yes. Graceful, aye. And accepting…of everything. That was a big hell yes.
Nothing could diminish her zest for life and if it wasn’t the sexiest thing in the world, then I’m a goddamned idiot for not recognizing it.
“Lower my dress, handsome, and I’ll show you how imperfect I am.” It wasn’t self-loathing in her voice. Just the opposite. It was pride.
I lowered the shoulder strap that accentuated her petal soft skin and let my fingers graze over her rose-tipped nipples encased by creamy soft breasts, “You’re wrong, Athena.”
Her neck arched as I slowly lowered my head to nip at her offering, “You’re so fucking perfect.”
I devoured the taste of her, sweet, salty, and so her, her nipples continued to harden inside my mouth as I lavished them with the attention that they deserved. I could last an eternity doing that and I’d be fine. She had so much to give.
“Webb…” Her moans interrupted my worshipping of her glorious breasts.
“You’re not wearing a bra.” It was all good with me, but the thought of another man being so close to her when she didn’t have chest armor had me clenching my jaw.
She grabbed my head, forcing me to look at her, gone was the daintiness, this Amazonian woman was in full force. “My dress wouldn’t allow it. I don’t even know why it’d be an issue right now.”
Of all the times to argue, now wasn’t a good time, my dick would not forgive me if I messed this up. “You were with Denton the whole night, and you weren’t wearing a bra.”
Even my own ears wanted to disown me, I sounded like a petulant third grader who didn’t get his way.
Shit.
Fuck.
How the fucking shit do I get out of this mess?
“That’s true.” Her cheeks were reddened from the stubble on my chin and if her eyes could throw darts, I would be filled with holes right now. “I was with Denton. Whose arms stayed above my cleavage. Whose fingers never once touched my breasts. Now. What’s the problem here?”
Did I ever wonder if she’d be able to keep up with me?
Maybe. At one time.
Now, no more wondering. She’d definitely put me in my place.
“I’m sorry.” I bowed my head, my lips touching the soft nook between her shoulder blade and her neck. “I’m just being jealous.”
Her shoulders shook and I knew that I’d been given a reprieve. Thank fuck.
“You have nothing to be jealous about. You should know by now, I’m all yours.”
“You’re all mine.” Was that a growl that left my mouth?
“Yours, handsome. All yours. Only yours.” The certainty that she exuded wasn’t something I’d question because while she was mine, I was hers too.
It was about time that I proved to her that I was hers. Only hers.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, my hands roaming across her soft body.
Her naked, glorious body.
And cue my morning wood.
She stretched her arms above her head and I held on to her breasts.
What? I didn’t want them to be stretched.
They were fine, more than fine in their natural state. Stretching would do them harm.
“Great. Fantastic.” She turned towards me and I inhaled the fruity scent of her hair, calming, intoxicating.
“How sore are you?” I was her first and it had taken her a few minutes to accommodate to me even though I’d made sure that she’d come twice and had become well-lubricated.
“Why?”
My cock had no action in months and her pussy, well, never. I was aching for another round, but I had to give her time to get used to me.
“Just askin’.” Adjusting my boxers, I pressed on her side, “I could run another hot bath for you.”
“I feel something poking me on my side, your bed is really…thorny.” I couldn’t see her eyes because the dark curtains in my room blocked out the sun, but from her voice, I could tell she was trying to pull one on me.
“That thorn wants another in.” Christ, I’d become a sappy bastard.
“In what?”
The feigned innocence was my downfall. I was sure of it.
I pushed against the side of her leg, my hands reaching to tweak the nipples that were now calling for my mouth.
“In your pussy.” I didn’t mince words with Athena; she knew what she was getting before she’d lain in my bed and she wouldn’t want me to apologize for it.
“Again?”
“What do you mean again? It’s been four hours. I need my sustenance.” I had come in her mouth then because as much as I wanted to finish inside her pussy, when she winced after I thrusted inside of her, I knew I had to give her a break.
“You’re so needy.” The mocking complaint was enough to get me going; I pinched her right nipple and she yelped.
“You complaining, beautiful?”
Her hands reached down to feel me through my boxers and when she pulled on them, wanting them off, I shucked them without a second invitation.
“I’m not sore…” Her words husky, thick with lust, and I realized that this was what I wanted to wake up to every morning. “Thanks for being considerate, but I also want you inside of me.”
I’d gladly grant her wish.
I reached for a condom from my bedside table while she gave little bites on my chest with her teeth. Last night was for her, I’d lasted as long as I could so she would have her fill. But now, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to last a minute longer without coming inside of her.
My fingers reached for the increasing dampness between her legs, coaxing her primal reactions to my thumb encircling her clit, wanting her to give me more. And more. She wasn’t this random chick I’d met at a bar, she wasn’t a woman with the mutual benefit of sex, nor was she a person who I only wanted to fuck.
I liked fucking…but with her, the way her pussy was clenching my fingers, I wanted, needed, asked her for more. She unleashed this primal reaction, the animalistic call to be her only one, or I would pound the man to death, if there was any, that she’d be in a relationship with after me.
I entered her slowly, “You’re so fucking tight.”
“More,” she gasped, her hair falling on my shoulders as she pitched her head forward, her legs clamping down on my ass.
I gave her more and she took it.
My hips continued to pump and I took on a rhythm that was nowhere near gentle. Her hushed moans, “Oh, oooh, oohhh that feels oohh…” encouraged me to keep going. My mouth found her nipples and I alternated my hands between massaging them and giving them full suction with my lips.
She felt incredible underneath me and the sensations I was feeling were coming from the middle of my chest to the tip of my cock, “Fuuuccck you feel good.”
Her center clenched and the words spilled out of her mouth, “I’m coming!”
One.
Two,
Three more thrusts and I spilled myself inside the condom.
My arms reached around her shoulder, then I pulled the top half of my body up, ensuring that I wasn’t too heavy for her.
She hummed with satisfaction while I stroked her chin.
I’d made peace with my past, but my past had declared war on the father of the woman beneath me, and with the last breath inside of me, I would protect her.
Because she was my detail, her father enlisted me to keep her safe.
And also because there was no denying it –
My heart couldn’t hide the truth anymore –
That I loved her.
And I would give her, anything she wanted and everything I had.