Always Been Mine (17 page)

“You okay?” he whispered.

Beatrice kissed him right at the sexy hollow of his pelvis; his still erect cock jerked in response. “Never better.”
 

“Sorry I didn’t warn you.”

“I know when you’re about to come, Gabe.”
 

He smirked. “I guess we went straight to dessert.”

“Yes, we did. Now I’m hungry for real food.” Beatrice pushed away from him, but he caught her hand.

“Babe.” His eyes searched hers as if gauging her mood. “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

Beatrice paused. She had made excuses about sleeping in the same bed because it was too intimate, too fast. She realized she didn’t have the same reservations she had two weeks ago when he had come home from the hospital.

She met his steady gaze. “I would love that.”

*****

Frank Wilkes jogged leisurely along the length of the National Mall. There was a thin crowd of tourists who braved the nippy mid-January morning. He stopped by a bench and checked his shoelaces. A man in a trench coat approached the bench and sat a respectable distance away and flicked open a newspaper.

“Any news?” Wilkes asked the man.

“Not a peep from Benjamin Porter in almost two months.”

“He hasn’t made contact with his daughter?”

“Not from what I can glean.”
 

“This troubles me greatly. Someone’s been poking around in our Colombian operation, asking questions. We’ve already gotten rid of the senator’s uncle, and I’ve increased encryption around our project. I was hoping with Ryker’s death, they would lower their guard,” Wilkes replied, straightening up and jogging in place. “How’s our friend Sullivan?”

The man turned the pages on the paper. “He’s recovered enough to be guarding Ms. Porter again.”

Wilkes sighed. “I never intended to use her as a pawn. That was all on Ryker. However, I’m not above giving the admiral some incentive to come out of hiding. Will Sullivan be a problem when we execute Plan B?”

“I’ve thrown in enough issues to redirect everyone’s attention to Senator Mendoza. With Ryker dead and with not one attempt on either Ms. Porter or Sullivan in the last six weeks, I can say it won’t be too long before we’ll have a clear shot at her.”

“Good. Do what you have to do, Zach.” Wilkes drew his hoodie closer and took off on a brisk run.

CHAPTER TEN

There was much chatter and ribbing in the brainstorming session at the BSI conference room. It was packed with security personnel; most of BSI’s team leads were present as well as their field agents. Beatrice just finished her presentation of job forecasts for the current fiscal year. She was fabulous. Gabe could get a hard-on just listening to her talk about threat matrixes, security protocols, and ambush preparedness. There was a lot of hooting when she told the story of how she busted the balls of a rival security consultant who tried to steal her client. He had a disgruntled feeling that half the men in the room were having the same lascivious thoughts as he was and that made him want to break something.

Beatrice curtsied dramatically after her presentation. As she made her way to the back of the room—back to him—she was waylaid by more than one man too many. Handshakes were fine, but it was the bear hugs that hazed Gabe’s vision in red. There was one particular son of a bitch who was copping a feel; even he could tell by Beatrice’s tight smile that she didn’t like it. She firmly removed the man’s hand from her ass and patted the guy’s cheek.

Fuck it. Scene or not, he was dragging her out of there. As he moved forward, he caught Reece’s eyes on him, expression unreadable. Gabe ignored him and noticed Beatrice was about to pass Reece when the asshole pulled her on his lap. Beatrice laughed, while Nate chuckled.
 

A frisson of jealousy burned through his veins because, unlike the other hugs, Beatrice seemed perfectly comfortable on Nate’s lap, as if it was something natural that always happened between them. It felt like an eternity before he reached the pair, probably because Gabe had been imagining several ways to tear the other man apart.
 

His displeasure must have been evident because Beatrice’s laughter died when her eyes fell upon him.
 

“Gabe?”

“Let’s go.” His demand brooked no argument. He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of Nate’s lap.

There was a beginning of a smirk on the other man’s face.

Gabe leaned in so he could rasp in his ear. “Keep your hands off her if you don’t want to lose any fingers.”

 
“Gabe,” Beatrice berated in a harsh whisper. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Nate’s mouth curved into a grin, but his eyes were hostile.

The jerk did it deliberately to get a rise out of him. Asshole.

The room had gone quiet, all eyes on the three of them.

Beatrice jerked her hand out of his grasp and walked over to Travis who was regarding the scene with amusement. She said a few words to the BSI boss and left the room without a backward glance at Gabe.

Everyone was now staring at him. Gabe had taken a lot from her. His pride had taken a beating. He’d been cautious with her because he destroyed her three years ago. He had a lot to atone for, but this was humiliating. He was put in his place. He was a bodyguard, not her man.
 

A bodyguard would follow her without question. Fists clenched at his sides, head slightly bowed, he stalked after her.
 

*****

The door to her condominium slammed open and Beatrice walked straight to the kitchen to get a glass of wine. She was pissed, seething actually, at Gabe’s unreasonable jealousy. The trip to her condo was planned since she had to pick up some more clothes, but she had a strong desire to remain behind and let Gabe go home and stew by himself.

The man in question prowled right behind her, anger evident in every line of his body.

“You had no cause to confront Nate!” Beatrice had been repeating the statement like a mantra since the encounter in the BSI conference room.

“You never answered my question,” Gabe said coldly. “Do you always let his hands get all over you?”

“It’s Nate,” Beatrice screeched in frustration. “Nate is affectionate. He is never inappropriate.”

“He pulled you on his lap; that’s as inappropriate as it gets,” Gabe shot back. “I’ve let the hugs pass a couple of times, but I have my limits. I merely told him if he didn’t want to lose his fingers, he should keep his hands off you.”

“That was embarrassing.”

“No, I’m merely establishing that I’m not the type of man to stand by while another man gets your ass on his lap. Reece understood. He gave me the stink-eye, but did you hear him say anything?”

Beatrice’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. Back up. You’ve let it pass a couple of times? So now because I’ve taken you back, you think you can start acting like a Neanderthal as if you own me? What’s this? Lull me into false complacency? Get your hooks into me and then start acting like a jerk not only to me but to my friends?”

His face hardened perceptively. “I wasn’t being a jerk at all. You need to be able to tell the difference when your man is being a jerk or when he’s giving a damn. Because, babe, if I’m not reacting when other men have their paws on you, you should be worried.”

He was right, but Beatrice still had her jaw set stubbornly, her arms crossed over her chest. Gabe stepped into her space, his arms circling around her and pressing fully into her. His mouth lowered to her ear. “You’ve given me an in, babe. I’m not getting out. So you can scream and protest as much as you want. Tongue-fucking you and you sucking me off ain’t enough anymore. I’ve given you plenty of time to get used to being back with me.”

“What are you saying?”
 

Gabe backed her against the center island and spun her around, bending her over the edge. Beatrice felt her heart pound against her breastbone in . . . anticipation? There was a twitch between her legs and her panties were already damp. Gabe’s crotch hit her ass—he was already hard.
 

“Gabe,” she hissed weakly in protest.

“Shut up!” He growled in her ear as he bent over her. His hands shoved her skirt up. She got wetter. “That attitude is sexy, and it makes me hard as hell. But it’s only because I can’t wait to fuck it out of you.” His hands fisted her panties and ripped them off.

Beatrice tried to lever up. “Gabe, damn it, that’s an expensive—” He pushed her down and started rubbing his erection against her.

“I’ll buy you more,” he groaned. He worked his fingers inside her and started stroking in and out. Beatrice writhed underneath him, her climax building as his fingers hammered inside her. She was on the brink when she vaguely felt his hand between them working his fly.

She felt the blunt head of his cock at her slick entrance. Without another warning, Gabe slammed his cock deep inside her. She moaned as he filled and stretched her to her limit.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he whispered raggedly, still holding her down with his upper body while flexing his hips and thrusting his cock inside her like a battering ram. He relentlessly pounded her into the kitchen island. She was reaching a new height with this joining, not having felt this connection the past two times they’d had sex. This time it was with the security of commitment, and this warmed her over until he pulled out.

His weight left her and she was flipped around, her legs hit his shoulders and his mouth was on her, feasting on her pussy. The wildness of how he devoured her had her exploding in unending pulsating sensations. She must have screamed or cried; she didn’t know anymore.

Just when she thought she was cresting on her pleasure, he lifted her and before she knew it, her back crashed against the wall and he was deep inside her once again. Hammering her hard, his cock was driving deep into her womb; she felt some pain mixed with pleasure.
 

“Am I hurting you?” Gabe grunted, not letting up on the pistoning of his hips.
 

Does it hurt?
 

“Beatrice?” The intensity in his eyes seared into hers.
 

She moaned low; she wanted everything, the pleasure, the pain. All of it. “Harder, Gabe. Make me yours.”

Her words snapped whatever control he had. She heard a growl, almost inhuman in its utterance, as he canted his hips, shifted her in his arms and pounded deeper. They were banging hard against the wall; she’d probably have bruises on her back tomorrow, but it felt too delicious to care about that right now.
 

“Oh, God, harder!” she cried when it hit her. The incandescent release shook her entire body, curling her toes as she arched away from him. Her pussy closed down on him and clenched his cock in a silken fist.

“Fuuuuuuck!” Gabe roared, turning rigid with his climax, his fingers gripping her tighter. His face hit the curve of her throat; rivulets of sweat hit her as a warmth cloaked her body. They sank to the floor together with her cradled on his lap. She realized, save for her missing underwear, they were still fully clothed.

“That . . . was good,” Beatrice murmured. Gabe had been nuzzling her neck, nipping her skin playfully.
 

He lifted his head and stared down at her. “Good? If you’d screamed any louder, you would need new windows. Fucking incredible was what that was.”

Beatrice giggled. God, she had been a giggling ninny lately. She buried her face in his chest as she inhaled the pure masculine scent of him.
 

“I didn’t use a condom,” Gabe said.

“I’m protected and I’m clean.”

“That’s good.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Not sure what you mean.”

“It means we’re skipping condoms from now on,” Gabe said. “That’s what I mean.”

“You’re getting bossy, mister.” Beatrice poked a finger at his chest.

“Time to lay down the law, babe.”

“Excuse me?” Beatrice retorted.
 

Gabe eyed her intently. “I feel a discussion coming. I’d like to get off this floor because my ass is killing me.”

Beatrice slid off him, and with her skirt hitched up, crawling on all fours to get up, her bare ass was like waving a red flag at a bull.

She was attacked from behind, her hips yanked back, Gabe behind her already working his stiff cock into her. He bent over her and whispered, “Discussions can wait, my dick can’t.”

He fucked her hard on the floor.

*****

Gabe sat back against the headboard, his eyes lazily following Beatrice around while she packed some clothes in her suitcase. He’d finally fucked her in every sense of the word. They had been circling around the sex thing for weeks now—had been doing oral the past two weeks—both of them wary to take it further to the next step because the two times they had fucked ended up disastrously. For his part, he was afraid that if she rejected him after the third time, they would be done. He patiently renewed their friendship, their need for each other—and yes, she was right, he wanted to get his hooks into her because hers had always been deeply embedded in him. So deeply interlaced in the fiber of who he was there was no way for him to simply yank her out of his system because she was knit tight in every cell of him.

Still, it wasn’t enough. He was a possessive son of a bitch, and he wanted more. The fates must be laughing down on him because he had to go and fall in love with possibly the most stubborn and independent woman on the planet.

“Move in with me,” he stated simply.

“What?”

“Move in with me, Beatrice. You know that’s where we’re heading.” Gabe shrugged. “So, just move in with me.”

“Gabe, you know how excited I was when I scored this condo?” Beatrice unloaded her dirty clothes from the suitcase to the laundry bag. “Prime location in Washington DC.”

“I bet the annual fees are a killer,” Gabe muttered.

“Beats renting office space,” Beatrice said. “Now that you’re feeling better, maybe I should—”

“Stop right there,” Gabe snapped. He got up from his relaxed perch on the bed and walked toward her. “You’re doing it again. Backpedaling. What the fuck do I need to do, huh, Beatrice? Why are you afraid to get close to me?”