Storm Warning (Security Specialists International Book 4) (18 page)

Ace came around to stand by her side of the bed and offered a hand. She took it and let him help her up. His hands went to the shirt she wore and paused.

Again he gave her time to make the decision to take the next step. Her body wanted him, so there was no decision to make. She couldn’t take a shower and have him finger her to orgasm in her clothes, and she really wanted him to give her relief.

DJ let out a breath, covered his hands, and helped him pull the shirt over her head. She shimmied out of the tight ski leggings herself. She stood less than a foot away from him and watched as his gaze burned as he took her body in from head to toe—as a sensual smile curved the lips she loved to kiss.

“Beautiful … you are so beautiful. Want to help me get rid of my shorts the rest of the way?”

DJ nodded. Ace brought her hands to his boxer briefs and together they pulled them down over his hips. She took a step back and eyed his nudity. She hummed in the back of her throat. Everything about his leanly muscled body shot sparks of awareness over hers. From his perfectly formed chest and abs with the light smattering of golden-brown hair to his long legs. He even had nice feet. He could be a cover model for
Fitness Monthly
.

As DJ did a return trip up his body, his penis stood at attention once again and seemed to reach for her.

“Ignore my cock. It has a mind of its own where you’re concerned.” He reached for her hand. “The way I feel right now, I’ll probably spontaneously combust while getting you off. No touching needed.”

“Really?” She intertwined her fingers with his and let him tug her toward the bathroom. He did that a lot—held hands with her even when they’d cuddled on the Lodge’s great room couches and watched TV, he’d take one of her hands in his and hold or massage it. She liked the fact he seemed to need to claim even that small part of her.

“Yeah.” He let go of her hand and reached in and turned on the shower. “My blood pressure went up merely seeing you naked. If this keeps up, I might have that heart attack I barely avoided when you helped me get off.”

“Buck up, Ace.” DJ snorted delicately. “You’re much stronger than that.”

“Don’t know.” He leaned over and held her head still for a kiss, a brushing of lips that had her hungering for more. She’d begun to crave the deep, eating kisses he’d given her over the last week. “You should be classified as lethal.”

She loved that they could be together like this—him teasing her, her teasing back. She was one hundred percent comfortable with him. Even with last night’s and this morning’s sex play, the nudity, and the promise of more of both in the shower, she wasn’t afraid. Though she would admit to being a bit nervous of the unknown. Yet, with Ace as her guide, she expected it would all be wonderful.

I am one lucky woman.

“DJ, look at me.” She met his light blue gaze. “If you have a problem with anything, you call a halt.”

“I will. I’m all right … really … just a little anxious.” She rubbed a hand up and down his firmly muscled arm. “But I do need you … only you.”

His smile promised pleasure. “Then let’s see if I can make you scream.”

Ace scooped her into his arms.

She squealed and then laughed. “Put me down. I’m too heavy.”

“Don’t disrespect your man’s strength, woman.” He gently set her on her feet in front of one of the body jets and under one of the rain shower heads. With a wide grin on his face, he flexed his muscles for her.

Giggling, she placed a hand on one of his biceps and squeezed. “Nice guns. Glad to see my man is up for the job of lugging me around.”

He leaned over and lightly bit her lower lip. “Let’s see what else I can get up to. Turn around and lean back against me.”

DJ turned and allowed Ace to pull her against his wet and warm body. His cock twitched against her upper buttocks. She laughed.

“What’s funny?” Ace nipped her ear lobe.

“Your cock tickled me.”

“My cock, like his master, adores you and wants to be as close as he can get to you,” he growled. He placed an arm around her torso right under her breasts and the other, lower down around her hips. “Now, I’m gonna play with your breasts and your pussy. All you have to do is let me take your weight and feel. If I hurt you or—”

DJ took the hand near her breast and placed it over her nipple and then took his other hand and pressed it to her aching pussy. “I’ll tell you if I get scared … but I won’t. The only man in this shower is you. I want you to take this neediness away and give me my first orgasm.”

“Thank you for your trust.” He nibbled along her shoulder and an almost electrical sensation swept across her skin and raced to her clit at the speed of light.

Who knew her whole shoulder was an erogenous zone? But then everywhere Ace touched her seemed to light a fire in her belly and set her skin ablaze. Her body had been ready for this next stage since their time in the cave. It had simply taken her head awhile to get in the game.

After the shoulder nibbling, Ace started teasing her. A sweep of a thumb over her nipple. A tracing of a finger around and around her labia, always avoiding her clit which seemed to swell and throb more with each pass. Every touch made her tremble. After a minute or so, she felt the urge to move to meet his touches.

When he withdrew his fingers from her highly sensitized areas, she moaned, “Ace…”

“Did I hurt you?” His breath warmed her ear and made her shiver delicately.

“No…” He was taking it slow, gradually teasing a response from her as promised, but she wanted—“More. Ace, I need more.”

“Like this?” He licked the side of her neck as he took a tightly budded nipple between his finger and thumb and pinched it.

The sensation rocketed straight to her core. He pressed a finger on the clitoral hood and wiggled it. She arched as a shot of molten pleasure had her squeezing her inner muscles. She sensed an orgasm was close, but still tantalizingly out of reach. “Oh my gawd. Do that again.”

He did.

This time, the sensation was even stronger. Her insides clutched at … nothing. She needed something, anything, solid to help her over the edge. But she wasn’t ready to accept his penis … yet.

Still, she ached and wanted—“More I need more.” She panted the words and then turned her face to his, seeking his kiss, his tongue. At least her mouth wouldn’t be empty.

Ace growled, “Oh fuck yeah.” He took her mouth in a ravenous kiss as he increased the stimulation on her nipple, alternating between fondling and pinching. He plucked at her clit which seemed to have increased its size threefold.

DJ sucked on his tongue and moaned. She was drowning in the pleasure of Ace’s taste, his scent, his touch. The sensory overload pushed her to an even higher peak, but still her body strove for a release that was always slightly out of reach.

She broke away from their kiss and groaned. “I can’t … need …”

“I know what you need.” He pulled his fingers away from her clit.

She cried out “no” and reached for his hand, meaning to pull it back to where the promise of pleasure lay.

He hugged her. “Shh … trust me.”

DJ watched through a pleasure-induced haze as Ace adjusted the body jet and then turned her body, her clit, to meet the pulsing stream. When he added his fingers back to the mix, she went to her toes and braced her head back against his shoulder. “Ahhh, so good. Please … please…”

“Let go, sugar,” he whispered against her cheek. “I’ve got you.”

He spread her pussy lips and exposed her clit directly to the pulsating rhythm of the water and added extra pressure to the side of her swollen bud with a finger. She inhaled and, for several seconds, hung on a precipice, then fell. “Ace! F-f-fuck. Oh gawd, oh gawd … so good. Ahh. Fuck. Ace…”

As the pleasure swept over her like a training thunderstorm, she lost the ability to do anything but moan and feel. Her body shuddered out-of-control, and Ace anchored her in his strong arms. Her knees turned to jelly, and Ace didn’t let her fall. As the torrent of pleasure began to wane, Ace fed the tempest anew with his fingers on her pussy, with biting, nibbling kisses along her shoulder and then up her arched neck.

When the water and touch on her pussy had become too much, Ace sensed it and turned her away from the jet to face him. Pulling her close, he urged her head onto his shoulder and petted her back, helping her come down.

“That was…” No words could really describe what it had been like, how it made her feel, or even what it meant to her, so she settled for. “…amazing.”

“Good.” He rubbed his cheek over hers. “This might sound abrupt—but I want you to move in with me. I promise not to push you any faster on the sexual front, but I want to be with you as much as possible. I want to sleep next to you every night and wake up to you every morning. I want to give you
amazing
every damn day until you’re ready for more.”

“Move in?” DJ managed to squeak out.

Just the thought of being with Ace everyday as they’d been last night and this morning made her deliriously happy. The weeks since she’d met him had been some of the happiest of her life. To take that joy to the next level, to live together as a couple—something she’d never even thought a possibility before—well, she really wanted it, but—“What about my momma … and the others? What will they think?”

“Nothing. We’re adults.” He hugged her tighter. “Besides, you already know my sister and the others won’t be shocked—and Nancy likes me.”

“Yeah, she does.” DJ snickered. “If I move in with you, she’ll start planning a wedding and knitting baby blankets.”

“Fine with me.” Ace began to wash her body as if he’d done it every day..

She let him care for her, drying her off and running a comb through her hair, and thought about his easy acquiescence to the idea of marriage and babies. Oddly enough, she wasn’t freaked out, but she also wasn’t ready to commit to either—just yet.

The cautious, cynical side of her nature, forged in the crucible of the night she was raped and tens years of flying into war zones, raised its ugly head and reminded her things could change for the worst in an instant. Living together for a while was a smart idea.

“You’ve been really quiet. If you aren’t ready to move…”

She cut off his words with a kiss. “I’m moving in.”

Ace’s smile was brilliant as he returned the kiss. “Good. Let’s finish getting dressed and then go grab some breakfast at the Lodge.” He nibbled a trail along her jaw and to her ear lobe. “I don’t know about you, but I seemed to have worked up an appetite.”

Morning, February 16th, the Lodge

DJ felt a tad bit self-conscious walking into the Lodge kitchen with Ace. But no one said a thing, not even her mother. Though there was a gleam in her eyes that portended a future conversation.

“Sugar, you sit here.” Ace pulled out a chair at the large round nook table and seated her. “I’ll bring you some food. What do you want?” He rubbed a hand over her shoulder and then massaged the back of her neck with his thumb as he waited for her answer.

Sensual awareness prickled over her skin still sensitized from the orgasm he’d given her with the same hand a mere hour ago. No man had ever paid such solicitous attention to her. She’d definitely been around all the wrong sorts of men to this point in her life. The way Ace treated her made her feel feminine and truly desired, even as he still respected her intelligence and strengths. He was proving to be a keeper with every second that passed.

But am I woman enough to seal the deal?

Only time would tell. Ace was being gentle with her now, but what if she couldn’t ever—

“DJ,” Ace whispered. “Why did you just tense up?”

She shifted in her chair to face him. Ignoring the sudden silence in the room, and she was sure the intent looks of the occupants, she grabbed his hand, pulled him closer, and then whispered, “Please be patient with me … I’m a fricking hot mess because of—”

Ace brought her hand to his lips and kissed the backs of her fingers. “I’m not going anywhere. When I see something I want, I can wait. And, Dahlia Jane, I want you very much. Believe that.”

“I’ll try.” She managed not to sob as relief overtook her.

“Don’t try—do.” He kissed her forehead. “Now, what would you like to eat?”

“Eggs. Bacon. Whole wheat toast.” Climaxing seemed to have made her very hungry.

“You got it.” He squeezed her hand. “Pour me some orange juice, please. I’ll be right back.”

Glad to have something to do, she pulled the pitcher of juice toward her and carefully poured two glasses and managed not to spill a drop even though her hand trembled.

Trembled? Her hand never shook. She could be in the middle of a war zone, flying her Hawk into surface-to-air fire, and her hand never faltered on the cyclic stick. But then, when she flew, she was in known territory and total control.

Being with Ace had her exploring a new world. Emotions she’d locked down and encased in ice were now loose. She felt a tad bit lost and out-of-control. The feelings were scary and exhilarating.

“DJ.”

DJ turned toward Callie who sported a big smile. “Good morning, Callie. You look beautiful.”

Not that the woman could ever look ugly. But between the morning sickness from hell and missing her husband, she had looked pale and tired since DJ had met her.

“I’m feeling beautiful, because I’m happy,” Callie said. “My nausea seems to have disappeared overnight, and Risto is returning to Sanctuary today. He’s missed me so much he’s finally agreed to let me go back to Michigan with him.”

Callie’s husband had been worried about leaving his pregnant wife alone at SSI-East and a target for SSI’s enemies. From the way Callie handled a gun, DJ thought the man was wildly over-protective. Yet all the SSI operatives with spouses were like that, even Ace was super-protective in his own way. Surprisingly, it didn’t bug her as much as it might have with some other man.

“I know that was bothering you. I’m happy for you.” She smiled at Callie.

“Here’s your food, sugar.”

DJ turned to look at Ace who placed her plate in front of her and then sat. She realized that even in the short time of knowing him, she’d miss him if they were apart for too long.

He wants me to live with him
.

Just the thought filled her with delight and hope for the future. With Ace, she might have a chance at a normal family life, something she’d never even thought possible.

DJ wasn’t ready to share her burgeoning feelings with anyone yet. But it looked as if that train had already left the station. She noted Callie looking from her to Ace and then back again. Callie’s expression was one of happy approval.

“Um, Paul and Loren are stationed at SSI-East, right?” DJ asked no one in particular, hoping to shift attention away from her and Ace’s new closeness.

It was Keely walking in with baby Riley and Ren who answered, “Yep. My Navy SEAL brothers wanted to be near water.” Keely visibly shuddered. “Upper Peninsula Michigan has some damn cold water, even in the summer. Though Risto’s island in the Cisco Chain of Lakes is beautiful. His grandfather was a famous architect, and the house he built there is amazing.”

“You’ve been there?” DJ kept the new conversational thread going.

“Yep.” Keely smiled across the table at her brother. “Tweetie and I helped Risto, who’s no computer slacker, install a smaller version of the Bat Cave and then wired his island for the same 3-D security measures. This summer, we plan to help Big Earl wire his properties in Osprey’s Point, the town closest to the island.”

“You’ll go with me, of course,” Ace said, turning toward DJ. “You can hang with Callie and Tessa, Earl’s wife. Earl has a helicopter I’m sure he’ll let you fly.”

Okay, so Ace wasn’t going to let her, or anyone else, ignore the two-hundred-pound elephant in the room, also known as their more intimate relationship. He was sharing in actions and words they were a “couple”—and sharing it with the people closest to them.

Contentment swelled within her heart and soul. Tears of happiness welled in her eyes. She concentrated on buttering her toast as she struggled to regain control of her roller-coaster emotions.

“That sounds like fun.” DJ swallowed hard and attempted to match Ace’s nonchalant, forthrightness about their relationship. “Callie, wasn’t Tessa the model you did those perfume ads with?” Callie had brought it up on the shopping trip when DJ was buying perfume. “You were light and she was dark.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Callie said. “Tessa met Earl at my wedding to Risto. I’ll give you all the details later. But let’s just say, they’re perfect for one another. She’s like another sister to me—just like Keely, Elana, Lacey, and you are.”

“Really?” DJ couldn’t help it. The happy tears she’d managed to control earlier began to fall. And there wasn’t a dang thing she could do about it.

Ace placed his arm around her shoulders and tugged her, chair and all, closer to him. He handed her a napkin.“Blow.”

She took the napkin and wiped her eyes, then blew her nose.

“I’ll take that.” Her mother stood on her other side. DJ handed the balled up tissue to her and whispered thanks. “I like him, baby girl.”

“Me, too.” DJ sniffed.

Her mother kissed her cheek, then patted Ace’s shoulder before heading back to the kitchen where Scotty hugged her and then kissed her cheek. She looked so happy and relaxed in Scotty’s arms, more so than DJ had ever seen her. The tears DJ had managed to halt began to fall again, but now they were tears of happiness for her mother.

DJ hid her face in Ace’s shoulder. She hadn’t realized until that moment exactly how much her mother had been worried about her, how much damage Sean, his father, and her own father had caused them both, and how heavy the burden of fear and hate had been all these years.

“DJ, you’re killing me here.” Ace rubbed his cheek over the top of her head. “You want to leave? Or, do you think you could try to eat something?”

She pulled away from his hold. He seemed reluctant to let her go, but he did. His concerned expression almost had her crying even more.

Enough with the water works, Dahlia Jane. You’re worrying your man.

“I’m fine. Just hungry.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and gave him a smile, then chanced a glance around the table. Ren, Keely, and Callie looked at her with a mixture of concern and affection. “Hey, guys. I’m okay … really. Seems I’m catching up on all the crying I haven’t done in the last ten years. Just ignore me.”

The last time she’d really let go was the day after she’d been raped. It was that same day she’d vowed never to let anyone close enough to hurt her again.

“Then it’s about time to let it all go,” Ren said in a matter of fact tone. “Although I relate to Tweeter’s feelings. I can’t handle it when Keely or Riley cries. I want to fix whatever caused their unhappiness—or kill someone.”

DJ chuckled when Ace growled out an “amen.” She shoulder-bumped him. “Thanks, Ace. I’d feel the same way if someone hurt you and made you sad.”

“I know you would. You’re a warrior—my warrior.” He tucked a curl behind her ear, then trailed his finger down the side of her neck. She felt the touch all the way to her clit. The man packed a sexual punch.

Ren cleared his throat. “DJ, you need to be at the planning meeting for an op we’ve been hired to do. Tweeter convinced me you’re mission-ready. Although, it didn’t take much persuasion.” He winked. “We’re waiting on Risto and Conn Redmond to arrive, then we’ll start the briefing.”

DJ turned toward Ace. “Really?”

He nodded. “You’re perfect for this op. You’ll see why when Keely presents it to the rest of the team. Trust me?”

“Of course I do.” A warm glow suffused her body. He’d gone to bat for her.

Since she didn’t know yet what the mission entailed, and it was obvious Ren wasn’t going to let anything leak while her mother was in the vicinity, she asked the next most obvious question, “Who’s Conn?”

Callie answered, a big smile on her face. “Conn is SSI’s main contract operative based in South America. He also runs a safe house in Cartagena used by SSI operatives and various other intelligence agency assets. He was a godsend to Risto and me when I had to call on SSI to help me get out of Colombia safely.”

DJ had heard some of Callie’s story on the shopping trip, but hadn’t caught the man’s name. “He’s a former Marine, right?”

“Yes,” Ren said. “I worked with a lot of Marines when I was a Navy SEAL. I’m always open to hiring a former Marine, and Keely’s dad and brothers send a lot of them my way.”

“Plus, your brother’s a former Marine,” Keely pointed out.

Ren snorted. “Well, I couldn’t help it that the Navy didn’t want him.”

“I’m so telling Trey you said that,” Keely teased.

“It’s nothing I haven’t said to his face, sprite.” Ren tipped Keely’s face up for a kiss that appeared to involve a lot of tongue. Riley, sitting on his mother’s lap, patted both their faces as if he wanted in on the action. His parents broke off their kiss and began peppering their adorable son with lots of loud smacking smooches.

Something warm unfurled inside her heart. She wanted that kind of love in her life—but only with the man sitting beside her. She turned and found Ace staring at her with an expression of such longing that she knew he was thinking along the same lines.

“It’ll happen,” he murmured in her ear. “One day at a time. We’ll get there.”

She turned her face and brushed her lips over his. He inhaled sharply then took her mouth in a searing kiss. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been kissing when her mother stood over them and said, “Eat, children. Food’s getting cold.”

They broke apart and in unison said “Yes, ma’am,” then began to laugh as they turned to their food. Cold food had never tasted so good in her whole life.

****

The planning op took place in the library, a room DJ had used a lot since moving to Sanctuary. The decor was warm and cozy with the smell of lots and lots of books. The floor-to-ceiling shelves on three walls were filled with all sorts of books. She loved to pick one at random and then sit in a leather chair facing the fourth wall which was made entirely of glass and overlooked the mountain valley. She’d read until life intruded.

Today, the normally quiet-as-a-tomb setting was filled with the buzz of people. Ren and Keely sat on one of the leather couches placed perpendicular to the fireplace, which broke up one wall of bookshelves. Next to them was Ren’s brother Trey; he held his nephew Riley who’d fallen asleep after his breakfast. On the sofa facing them sat Quinn Jones, Ren’s right-hand man, and his wife Lacey plus Price Teague.

Tweeter led DJ to a club chair facing the fireplace then seated himself on the chair’s arm. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently rubbed as if he could sense her nervousness at her first mission planning session.

“We’re still waiting on Callie, Risto, and Conn.” Ren laughed. “That might take awhile. Risto dragged Callie off somewhere to interrogate her about her health and well-being. Conn is grabbing a quick breakfast. So feel free to get a drink from the table Scotty and Nancy set up for us.”

“Do you want something?” Ace gave her a smile that she’d come to recognize was meant for her alone—it was intimate and loving.

“A diet cola, please.” She smiled back.

“Be right back. Save my spot.” He tapped the arm of the chair.

She watched him walk toward the window wall where a sideboard looked to have every kind of cold and hot beverage one could want plus cookies and muffins. Her breathing hitched and her heart fluttered as she realized this man was hers. Now, all she had to do was kick her past in the butt and conquer her remaining fears.

A mechanical sound drew her attention. The painting over the fireplace disappeared and a large video monitor appeared. Audio-visual? Well then, they must already have some intel to share since they had visuals. She wondered what kind of contract job they’d send Ace on. She hoped it was a soft, eyes-on-the-ground intel mission and not in the middle of a war zone. If it was the latter, she was happy she’d be there to cover his so-fine ass. She had a vested interest in Ace—apart from being his SSI teammate—in keeping him alive and healthy.

Chatter at the entrance to the library had her turning her head toward the sound. Callie entered the room clasped against a tall, superbly fit, dark-haired man who had danger and Marine written all over him. While he rubbed the slight baby bump she sported, Risto looked at his wife as if she were crucial to his very existence.

Next to them was a tall, tough-looking, shaggy-haired blond male. His dark tan set off light eyes that were framed in long, dark lashes. He was a little bit taller than Risto and looked as if he could hold his own in a fight. He also carried himself like a Marine. This had to be Conn Redmond.