Fatal Courage: Shadow Force International, Book 3 (Shadow Force International Romantic Suspense Series) (20 page)

Except his fingers had a mind of their own. They snuck out and gently traced the small bumps of her vertebrae.

She shivered under his touch. “He did it, didn’t he? Elliot killed Al-Safari and is now trying to clean up loose ends. He lied to me.”

The raw pain in her voice nearly undid him. “We don’t know for sure, and honestly, the deeper we get in this shit pile, the more I believe Elliot may be innocent.”

Ruby straightened up and looked at him. “You don’t have to say that.”

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m serious, Ruby.”

She leaned into his hand, letting him cup her face. “Why are you so nice to me when I’ve been nothing but a bitch to you?”

“Because…”

He almost said it. Almost admitted how much he needed her.

But then she uncrossed the towel, laying it open for him to see all of her luscious body.

Jax’s brain went blank.

Chapter Fourteen

_____________________

______________________________________________________

M
ISSION
F
IRST
A
ND
always
.

Her mission at this moment was to get Jax out of his clothes.

Bed.

Naked.

Time on their hands.

What else was there to do?

Don’t think. Just act.

That was so wrong. They were so screwed up. One minute, his fingers were bringing her to orgasm, the next, he was walking away from her. He didn’t know whether to fuck her or hate her.

Wasn’t that a pickle. She didn’t know whether to love him or walk away from him.

The way he was staring suggested that dropping her towel had at least made the decision easier for him.

For her too.

No predicting the future
. This might be the last time she’d ever have him alone, and she was damn sure going to take advantage. She didn’t want to think, analyze, or confess to any more sins.

She wanted him inside of her.

He hadn’t moved though. Not a lick. No touching, no grabbing her and kissing her.

He just stared.

The rush from surviving the tornado refused to wear off.
Maybe it isn’t the brush with death.

Maybe it was the act of living she was about to do with the hero in front of her.

“Jax?” she said. “You still with me?”

His attention was focused on her lips. “Hell, yes.”

Still, he didn’t move. Didn’t say anything else.

“You do understand why I’m sitting here naked, right?”

“Oh, I understand.”

Was he still pissed about the M5 revelation? “I get the feeling you’re not interested.”

“I’m very interested.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Who said there was a problem?”

“You’re not touching me.”

“That’s a problem?”

Well, duh. “Don’t play dumb.”

A smirk broke his serious countenance. “I’m looking.”

Ruby had rarely been self-conscious of her body as an adult. Jax’s intense scrutiny, however, made her edgy. She glanced down at her naked self, sucked in her belly. “Do you see anything you like?”

He moved closer, still not touching but definitely close enough to invade her personal space.

Closing her eyes, she waited for his kiss.

It didn’t come.

She opened her eyes and found him staring at her lips again. “You wouldn’t be teasing me, would you?” she asked, slightly breathless.

His dark eyes came up to meet hers. Satisfaction laced his voice. “Would I do that?”

Bastard. He would
so
do that.

Two could play that game.

Closing the inch of space between them, she didn’t kiss him, but licked his lips with a slow sweep of her tongue. Then she turned her head and arched her neck, waiting for him to let go of his perfect control.

Her waiting drew out until, exasperated, she looked at him again.

His eyes were lit with desire, possession. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I want to look at you. Just look for a minute.”

Her nipples puckered. She blinked. Fought to hold herself completely still.

His gaze dropped, a languid glide, not missing an inch of her skin right down to her toes. That hot gaze slid back up, tracing every part of her.

She wanted to moan. It was like she could feel his touch even though he hadn’t laid a finger on her.

When he met her eyes again, he smiled. His fingers came up, grazed her jawline. Taking her chin in hand, he turned her head away, exposing her neck once more.

“Is this what you want, sweetheart?” His lips touched her first, grazing the side of her neck.

A heady desire pulsed under her skin. She closed her eyes, heart hammering. “Yes.”

“And this?” His tongue licked under her ear, traced its way down the side of her neck to her collarbone. His beard tickled her throat.

“Oh, yes.”

One arm went around her waist, forcing her to arch back and give him access to her breast. No problem there.

As he sucked at her breast, she removed his shirt. When he switched to her other breast, she worked on his belt buckle.

Teamwork.
Fucking A
.

He was glorious. Muscled, strong, sexy as hell. She wanted him. All of him.

Between them, they got his pants off and he stood before her, heavy and thick. She slid off the bed and went to her knees, needing to taste him.

She knew his taste, knew the groan he made. He only let her have a few strokes before he pulled her back and tossed her onto the bed.

A small cry left her lips. He stalked towards her, sank his hands in her hair and tipped her head up for a kiss.

Rough, deep, needy. It stole her breath and made her weak. She fell back onto the covers and waited for him to take her.

Instead, he grabbed her hips, flipped her over, and set her on her hands and knees.

His hands kneaded her ass, slipped down her thighs, came back up to her hips. “Move for me,” he murmured.

They both liked things a little rough. “Make me,” she said.

Smack
. The sting of his playful swat caused pleasure to whip through her. She jutted her hips up and did a slow side-to-side shake.

“That’s what I like.” He moved closer, his erection brushing the inside of her thigh.

She spread her knees wider, giving him the access he wanted. Reaching between them, she grabbed his heavy erection. “And this is what I like,” she purred, guiding him to her entrance.

She was wet for him, her lust demanding. Her legs trembled as she pulled him to her. He reached for her breasts, his big hands tugging on them, his fingers flicking over her taut nipples.

His cock pushed against her core and a moan slipped from her lips. She shifted back, encouraging him to drive himself home.

Take me.

Hard.

Fast.

The way they both liked it.

Once again, he held back, teasing her with the end of his hardness, but not breaching the walls. Dipping in only a little and then pulling back.

“Give me what I want,” she pleaded, bracing her hands against the bed.

His chuckle surrounded her, his hands coming back to lock onto her hips. “Is this what you want?”

His cock pushed between her legs, into her folds, going deep this time. He was so big, so thick, he stretched her to the max and Ruby cried out.

So good. He felt so damn good.

“Yes.” She started moving against him. “More.”

He thrust deeper. Faster. Fingers found her sensitive spot between her folds and rubbed a sweet rhythm. He filled her to the brim, stretching every inch of her.

The bed slammed into the wall, over and over again. A stuffed duck fell from a nearby shelf and hit the floor. He kept thrusting, her name a chant on his lips.

She thrust back, her sex clamping down on him. The sound of their bodies slapping together filled the room, keeping time with the headboard. He spanked her bottom again. “Give me what I want now, Ruby.”

Pleasure rose and spiraled out of control. Her climax hit and she gripped the bed sheets, his name ripping from her throat.

His climax followed, arching his back as he exploded inside of her.

The bed stopped banging. Ruby let herself fall into the sheets, her limbs weightless.

A moment later, Jax shifted them around, crawling into the bed and cuddling her to him.

He held her tight, and she held him back.

Mission accomplished
.

S
O
T
HE
D
AY
could, in fact, get even weirder.

Thank God Ruby was hidden under the covers, but holy hell, she hadn’t realized they had company and her mouth was doing things to Jax that made his eyes roll up in his head.

Beatrice stood in the doorway, one eyebrow lifted. Behind her Trace Hunter stood guard, a smirk on his face as his eyes looked everywhere but at Jax.

“Um, Ruby,” Jax murmured, patting the top of her head—at least he thought is was her head. “Stop.”

Jesus, he didn’t want her to stop. Never, ever. But getting caught by his boss during a blow job? And the person servicing him was a client?

Shit. Fuck. Damn. There weren’t enough swear words, even in his extensive dictionary, to cover this moment.

The heat of Ruby’s mouth left him and the comforter jiggled with her laughter. “Stop? Since when have you ever asked me to stop while I’m—”

Jax cut her off by stuffing some fabric into her pie hole and clearing his throat loudly. “
We have company
.”

Beatrice crossed her arms. “Need I remind you,” she tapped a slender finger against her bicep, “Policy 6-3B states Rock Star Security agents do not sleep with clients. Care to explain…”—she waved a hand at him and the lump under the comforter—“this?”

Ruby was spitting as she threw back the covers. “What in the world?”

She now sat on top of Jax, hair mussed, lips swollen from his kisses, and looking absofuckinglutely beautiful.

And very, very naked.

Totally exposed for everyone to see.

That got Hunter’s attention and the guy had to jam a fist against his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

Jax smiled ruefully at Ruby and adjusted the comforter to cover her as best as he could. He pointed over her shoulder to their guests in the doorway. “Ruby, meet my boss, Beatrice Reese.”

As Ruby’s eyes went wide, she whirled, scrambling off of him and giving a startled cry. Her usual gracefulness deserted her as she grabbed at the comforter, losing her balance and, before Jax could catch her, tumbling over the side of the bed.

Taking the whole damn comforter with her.

Well, hello there. His massive woody stood at full mast, waving at his audience.

Hunter couldn’t hold back anymore. His sharp laughter echoed in the room as Beatrice quickly shifted her attention off Jax and over to Ruby who was tangled in the covers so badly, she couldn’t quite get to her feet.

Jax rolled off the bed, reached down and pulled Ruby and the comforter off the floor, effectively righting Ruby and hiding his erection.

“Boss,” Jax said, giving Beatrice his best
please don’t kill me
grin as he squeezed Ruby’s shoulders. “This is Agent Ruby McKellen.”

Ruby brushed hair from her eyes and offered a fragile smile as she stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Beatrice’s blue eyes scanned both of them, irritation radiating off of her.

Not good. She rarely showed anger, but her current hormonal, very pregnant self was sending off enough disappointment and displeasure, the Pope could probably feel it all the way over in Rome.

“You have five minutes to clean yourselves up and meet me downstairs,” she ground out. Turning on her heel, she blew past a still-laughing Hunter.

Once Jax was sure his boss was out of earshot, he hissed at the man. “You brought Beatrice?”

“
Brought
her? Hell, no. I tried to get her to stay in DC,” Hunter said. “She shouldn’t be flying, and she sure as hell shouldn’t be stressed out about you. But she is, and she’s here, so focus on getting her back to DC before that baby comes and Callan Reese shoots us both.”

“Oh, my God,” Ruby murmured, still trying to get her feet untangled from the covers. “I can’t believe she just walked in on us like that.”

Hunter zeroed in on a mallard duck near the doorway, screwing up his face as he turned the thing so it wasn’t staring at him. “She couldn’t raise you on your cell,” he said to Jax. “The owner of this place told us you hadn’t come out of the room since you got here, not even to eat. Beatrice was worried.”