A Love For Always (17 page)

“Nonsense. They’re as redneck as they come and look nothing like the Yakuza.”

“We’re not dealing with the Yakuza, Nana,” Sylvie said. “The ACS is . . . well . . . we think another entity is involved—an enemy of Dad’s. We’re not really sure what we’re dealing with, are we, Nate?”

“We’ll soon find out,” Nate said. “Ed is chasing down some leads. I might give Cat a call tomorrow. They’re out of town for the weekend, and Travis, I heard, confiscated Cat’s laptop for the duration. I think he wants her to unplug for a while.”

“That’s the only way he could be sure she’d stay out of trouble.” Porter chuckled; Nate joined in.

“You would love Cat,” Nate said. “You never met her as Sarah, did you?”

Sylvie shook her head. “Nope. Several times I was going to go on vacation with you to Virginia Beach, but something always came up either for me or you.”

The chatter around the table shifted back to Nana and her stories about the farm. Sylvie didn’t know how to broach the subject of the GDE injector Hiroshi had given her. Her grandma would treat it as tainted goods even if it was going to save her life.

*****

“The admiral’s coming back later tonight?”

“Yes. He wasn’t planning to stay on as security,” Nate said, closing the door as Porter’s SUV left his driveway. The other two women and Sam had retired to the guesthouse. “He was supposed to leave for a two-week vacation to Montana. He has a cabin up there.” Probably another safe house.

“Does he hunt?”

“Fish,” Nate said. Porter hunted other shit, specifically terrorists bent on wreaking death and destruction based on twisted ideals or greed.
 

“Surely you and Sam are good to keep us safe, right?” Sylvie asked. “I would hate for him to miss his vacation.”

“A one to one ratio is good,” Nate said, then he sighed. “You and I know the reason why the admiral decided to cancel his vacation plans.” He put his arms around her and marched her to their bedroom. She looked ready to fall on her feet. Nate led her to the bed and sat her down. Then he crouched in front of her and started taking off her shoes.

“I can do that,” Sylvie protested.

“I know,” Nate replied, but continued yanking off her sneakers and socks. He stood, went to his closet, and pulled one of his shirts out.

“My pajamas are in the other room—”

“And your shit should already be in here—”

“You know, you should stop calling things ‘shit’ when you’re pissed.”

“I’m not pissed; I’m irritated, annoyed—”

Sylvie raised a brow.

“Ah … fuck, yeah, I’m pissed,” he finally admitted.

“Because my things are not in your room?”

“Don’t you remember our almost discussion before Nana came in with the cookies?”

Her answer was muffled when he pulled her shirt over her head.
 

“. . .
 
capable of dressing myself.” She gave up speaking when he immediately put his own shirt over her head. It was either that or knock her on her back and fuck her. When her head reappeared, she was glaring at him. “Seriously, Nate . . . what—?”

He made quick work of her jeans, tempted to pull her panties with it, but with the extremely possessive way he was feeling at the moment, it probably wasn’t the right mood to match her weary one. He’d want to pound into her hard.
Fuck
. She didn’t need him piling on his own bullshit.
 

“Look.” Nate crouched in front of her once more. “I need one thing from you right now. I want you to give me a fair chance of proving I’m capable of commitment. I know my track record doesn’t help my case. It also didn’t help that you had front row seats to my . . .
 
er . . .
 
relationships—”

“Pseudo relationships,” Sylvie corrected him.

 
“Yeah, okay, whatever you call it,” Nate said, tamping down another surge of irritation.
 
“But I had to show you damn hard that I could be your friend so I could stay in your life.”

“Nana said you were waiting for the right time,” Sylvie said quietly.

“I was,” Nate replied. “Although it wasn’t until I quit the job that I could truly believe in a future with you, Sylvs. You have to understand I couldn’t begin to hope for a life with you as long as I did what I did.”
 
Five years he had spent in Afghanistan and Pakistan, tracking terrorist camps, wiping them out and denying them alternative haven by cultivating the trust of the locals. That was how he’d met Cade Bowen. The DEA (FAST) was tasked to curtail opium production in the country because its sales were used to fund terrorism. That was a whole other story. “A distraction could prove fatal.” He exhaled heavily. “I had to remind myself you were better off with me as your friend.” He’d been conflicted every time he’d seen her, knowing he’d be leaving again and not knowing if he’d come back alive. Those times when he’d let his guard down, it killed him to think he’d never see her again, but lives depended on him being focused on the mission. Before he’d met Sylvie, he’d been prepared to live and die as a CIA operative. However, after the first six months he didn’t see her, a plan began to form in his head. He remained committed to the agency’s objective, but he began laying the foundation for his exit strategy from the CIA.

“I worried every time you’d leave,” Sylvie murmured.

“I hated leaving you.”

She nodded, a ghost of a smile played on her lips. “I know we agreed not to talk about your job or the ‘other you,’ but the beard and tan you kept the entire time led me to believe you were undercover somewhere in the Middle East.”

“Can’t confirm or deny.” Nate rubbed his fingers over his day-old stubble. “Miss the beard?”

“Nah,” Sylvie said. “I prefer this scruff on your jaw. I don’t want to see your beautiful face covered up by facial hair.”

Sylvie really needed lessons in stroking the male ego. “Firecracker, don’t call a man beautiful; it’s insulting.”

She leaned in and playfully nipped the side of his jaw. “What do you want me to call you? Sexy? Ruggedly handsome? Hot stuff?”

Nate did a mental eye roll. “None of the above.” He reached out, spun her around and gave her ass a smack before gently pushing her toward the bathroom. “Get ready for bed.”

Sylvie scowled at him. “You know, that’s becoming a habit. I’m not into the whole ‘Master/Slave, behave or I’ll spank you over my knee kind of kink.’ So if that’s what you want, you can forget it.”

There was a sparkle in her eyes. That was how he knew she was teasing. Sort of.
 

“No. I’m not into any kinky shit,” Nate shot back. At Sylvie’s arched brow, he added, “I’m into hard fucking. You up for that?”

Her lips parted. “Now?”

Nate yanked his shirt over his head. Tossing it on the floor, he undid his buckle and started unbuttoning his jeans, gratified to see her eyes track down his abs when he exposed the “vee” leading to his dick. He smirked as he remembered Sylvie calling it the happy trail that made smart girls stupid.

He closed the distance between them and took her hands in his. “No, Sylvie. You’re in no shape for the fucking I have in mind.”

She stared up at him, a blush suffusing her cheeks. “What kind of fucking do you have in mind?”

“Woman, you test my self-control,” he growled. One hand dragged through her hair while the other snaked under the hem of the shirt she was wearing and palmed her between her thighs. “I want to sink my tongue into this pussy and feel you come on my mouth. Then I want to wrap your legs around me and pound the shit out of you up against that very wall.” Nate nodded to a spot behind her. He shifted his hands to cup her face. “But that’s not what you need right now.”

Sylvie inhaled raggedly. “What do I need, Nate?”

“You need to feel safe,” he said. “I’m going to wrap myself around you, so you’ll feel secure, and, hopefully, won’t have any nightmares. Tomorrow is a going to be another rough day for you, firecracker. Decisions need to be made.” She would have to face the destruction in her restaurant.

The little minx trailed her fingers down his torso and hovered above the waistband of his boxer shorts.
 

“What if I needed you inside me to relieve the tension?” she whispered.

Nate swallowed hard as his dick responded happily to her question. Sylvie grinned up at him as her fingers stroked his rapidly growing wood. He reluctantly gripped her wrist and removed the temptation before he lost his honorable intentions. “Nice try, babe, but I bet the moment you finish your nightly ritual and your head hits the pillow, you’ll be out like a light.” At her little pout he added, “Tell you what, focus on resting tonight, and I’ll wake you up in the most pleasurable way.”

“That’s blackmail.” Her words were lost in a yawn. She was fading fast and Nate didn’t think she’d be catching another wind.
 

“Come on, Sylvs, before you face-plant on the floor.” He nudged her gently toward the bathroom again even as she grumbled at him. Nate was pretty sure Sylvie would have a restful sleep. The question was, would he?

As expected, he slept fitfully while Sylvie had no problem falling right into slumber. He’d been content to just hold her, his heart seemingly expanding past his chest cavity. He had loved her for a long time, he knew this all along. Verbalizing this sentiment to her was an altogether different matter. He had faced down terrorists with no fear, and yet telling Sylvie he was in love with her somehow terrified him. Nate hated feeling vulnerable, but he had fought against his feelings for so long.
 
Adjusting his arms around her to restore circulation to those limbs, he hugged her tighter, sinking his nose in her hair. Light notes of vanilla and a sensual floral musk tickled his face. He raised his head briefly to check the clock on the night table. The alarm would go off in the next thirty minutes. She had seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, and it was time to make good on his promise. His dick quickly hardened against the softness of her ass. He rocked lightly against her.
Fuck that feels so good.
It would be easy to just slip inside her. Her shirt—his shirt—was already bunched around her waist and he was commando under his pajama bottoms. He humped her one more time. Sylvie mumbled and scooted away from him. She was on her left side, her right leg cocked at an angle providing him easy access.

Nate grinned. He would work her up from behind. Propping up on an elbow, he reached between her thighs and slipped around the edge of her panties. He caught his groan before it escaped him. She was moist and hot, but not quite wet enough to take him. His fingers slid up and down her slit, the trimmed curls reminding him of how delicious her near bare pussy looked.
 
Her legs started squirming, trapping his hand between her thighs, but after a few seconds she rolled on her back.

“Nate?” she whispered.

“Shh . . . I promised you a pleasurable wake-up call, didn’t I?” He chuckled huskily. He threaded her panties slowly down her legs, marveling at how arousing this simple act of removing a scrap of cotton could be. He shifted quickly between her thighs, spreading them wide and momentarily admiring the shadowed cleft. “Beautiful,” he mumbled and moved his face closer. He inhaled her seductive scent. The fragrance of citrus soap mixing with her own heady musk sent his senses reeling.
 

“Yes . . . oooh, Nate.” Her needy voice threatened to sever his tenuous rein on his monstrous need. And the monster of need craved to taste her. His mouth was on her, lapping wetly over the trove of sensitized flesh. Spreading her folds with his fingers, his tongue followed suit, avidly licking every drop of arousal that flowed from her pussy. He couldn’t get enough. He tunneled his tongue into her opening, setting her off, her hips bucking wildly as a renewed gush of moist heat flooded his mouth. He ate hungrily, savoring her taste and the feeling of her pulsing against his mouth. He worked a finger inside her, curving it upward at the same time lowering his mouth, sucking on her clit. She moaned his name and writhed. Her hands tried to push his head away, but he held on fast, wringing out every second of her orgasm.
 

When her legs relaxed, Nate kissed his way up her body, shoving the shirt above her breasts. Pre-cum already dripped from his cock, but her tits needed his attention. He didn’t have a preference for big or small tits; it was how the nipple rolled on his tongue that drove him nuts. And Sylvie’s dusky ones hardened to such amazing peaks, he loved latching onto them. This time was no different. He took his time sucking on each of her nipples, drawing them taut and then circling with his tongue, all the while sliding his erection along the seam of her pussy.
 

“I’m close again,” Sylvie gasped, digging her nails into his back. Nate leaned over to grab the condom on the nightstand and sat back on his haunches, rolling on the protection. He bent forward and gripped Sylvie under her arms, surprising her when he lifted her. His mouth crashed down on hers, swallowing her gasp as he impaled her down his length. He kissed her harder as he slid her up and down on his cock. Their movements were jarring at first as Sylvie tried to match his rhythm.
 

“Give over, babe,” Nate growled, but Sylvie only glared at him and continued rocking her hips. Finally their frantic coupling synchronized and she undulated against him as he pulled her ass toward him. Spasms from her pussy heralded her oncoming orgasm; pressure radiating from his lower spine warned him of his own. Nate shifted his hand supporting her back to her ass so both of his hands were now powering her down on him.

“Hold on tight, babe,” he grunted against her lips. “You’re about to get fucked harder.” He tipped her back on the bed and pushed her thighs wide with knees almost up to her ears.
 

“Nate! I’m coming!”
 

With his shoulder pressed against her thighs, he locked her in. She wasn’t going anywhere as he pumped deep inside her. Her tight channel pulsed around him in wet, hot ripples. Delaying his release was agony, but the glorious sight of Sylvie in the throes of orgasm was worth it. “Nate, too much! Stop.”