Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11) (14 page)

“You can’t have some trust and not all, Evie.” He opened her thighs, moving between them until she felt the thick ridge of his cock pressing against her pussy. “Do you see what I’m saying? Do you feel it? Your body and your heart are light years ahead of your mind in this instance.”

“Cal,” she said, closing her eyes. She understood what he was saying now. What that kind of intimacy meant. And why he’d been trying so hard to avoid it for the last couple of days.

Now it was too late.

She could never make things go back to the way they were before. When she’d been so caught up in her own world that she hadn’t realized the answers to all her struggles were right in front of her face.

He pushed against her, the muscles tender and still quivering from her previous orgasm. But just like that he brought her back to the summit. Her body tightened and her nails dug into his back. And the he pulled back and began working inside her again, this time pushing all the way to the hilt.

Their bodies were slicked with sweat and their hips moved together in a dance as old as time. A look of intense concentration was on his face as he focused on her pleasure.

“Come on, sugar. Let go. I’m going to come.”

And then he pushed into her again, hitting a spot that made her see stars, and the orgasm exploded around him. Her pussy rippled and milked him until he couldn’t hold back any longer. And then he joined her, his balls tightened and thick spurts of semen jetted inside her.

When the tremors began to subside, he lowered his weight against her, kissing her softly on the mouth. “Do you see now?” he asked. “Do you see why things can never be the same?”

She tightened her grip on his shoulders and nodded.

“Good.”

He rolled them to the side and then she fell asleep, comforted by his touch.

C
al had told her that Jade and Max Devlin would be staying with them for extra security. She’d never met either of them, but she liked them immediately.

Her first thought was that they were too striking of a couple to do the jobs they did. Max was tall and polished, with movie star good looks, and he had the look about him of a man who’d grown up with privilege. His hair was blonde and his eyes blue, and he had an infectious good humor in his smile. As if he knew a secret everyone else didn’t. He wore a gray t-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants and loafers with no socks. They were a couple on vacation as far as the outside world was concerned.

“Shitty vacation weather,” he said. Lets go to Italy next time. This time of year is beautiful.” He shook her hand and leaned in for an easy hug—as if they’d known each other forever instead of a couple of minutes.

“I’ll make sure to witness a murder there next time,” she said, answering his smile.

“There you go.” He winked at her and introduced his wife. “This is Jade. Don’t play poker with her. She counts cards.”

Jade rolled her eyes and Evangeline stuck out her hand to greet her. “Don’t worry. So do I. It makes things more interesting.”

“Ha! My kind of girl,” Jade said.

She was a tall woman, close to six feet, and she looked like a complete and utter badass. That’s all Evangeline could think as she looked her over. Her skin was dark and flawless, her hair short as a boy’s and wispy around her face. Her cheekbones were sharp and her chin pointed, and she had the most beautiful green eyes Evie had ever seen. The linen slacks she wore emphasized long legs and the silky tank she wore showed off a set of arms she’d kill for.

It was obvious the couple had a great affection for each other. They looked like a normal couple, but she knew they were highly trained agents and never to be underestimated.

She wondered what it would be like to have a partner like that in every sense of the word—in marriage, as parents, and in work. It obviously suited them both because their thoughts and actions were in sync as they walked around the house, cataloguing entrance and exit points and looking for signs of weakness.

“We’ll try not to invade your privacy too much,” Jade said. “We’re just here to be an extra set of eyes. Which is going to be damned hard with all this rain. It provides an excellent cover for someone wanting to get close to the house. How’s the security system?”

“It’s shit,” Cal said.

“Geez, tell us how you really feel, Cal,” Evie said.

“Just telling the truth, sugar. Your dad didn’t have the kind of security in mind that we need when he bought the place for your mom. It has a standard alarm system and exterior cameras. But they’ve been spotty at best since the rain started. The wind knocks them out of alignment, and it’s a pain in the ass to go out and move them back into place. Basically, we’re working blind except for the lookout agents.

“Ahh, to be a peon again and get all the exciting assignments,” Max said with a grin. “Those were the days.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Cal said, his mouth quirked in good humor. “I was never a peon.”

“Boys,” Jade said. “There will be no dick swinging today. I’ve had my fill already.” She winked at Evie and hitched her bag up over her shoulder.

“Jesus, Jade,” Max said, smacking her lightly on the ass. “I didn’t realize you were going to give the details of our sex life. I thought what we did on the plane here was just between us.”

Jade gasped and punched him on the shoulder. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Good grief. If you want what happened on the plane to ever happen again you’d better shut up.”

“So bossy,” he said. “I like that.”

“Should Evie and I give you guys some privacy,” Cal asked. “Y’all are making me uncomfortable. I feel like a voyeur.”

“Funny you should mention that, Cal,” Evie said, getting in on the spirit of things. “Wish you would of thought of that the other day while you were climbing those rocks.”

Cal arched a brow. “Payback is sweet, Evie. Remember that.”

In all honesty, she was looking forward to as much payback as her body could handle.

Three hours later they got the break they’d been waiting for.

Cal’s cell phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but that wasn’t uncommon. Agents used safe cells for the majority of the time.

“Colter,” he said.

“Sir, this is Agent James. My partner and I are at a little restaurant called Rosa’s, and in walks Taber plain as day. He’s got a corner table with his back to the wall. Do you want us to detain him?”

“You and your partner hang tight. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Don’t take your eyes off him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cal disconnected and looked at Max. “Taber is at a restaurant called Rosa’s having lunch. It’s about a ten minute drive from here.”

Jade looked at Max and said, “You and Cal go. I’ll stay here with Evangeline. We’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will. We’ll send extra backup to watch the house.” Max opened his duffle bag and pulled out an extra magazine to stick in his pocket and then he grabbed a sheathed knife and strapped it to his ankle.

Evie didn’t know why the separation made her so anxious. She’d gotten used to having Cal as her primary protector. And it wasn’t that she didn’t think Jade could do a good job. She was just different.

Cal came up to her and pulled her into his arms, not caring that Jade and Max were both eyeing them curiously. He laid a gentle kiss on her forehead and then another on her lips, letting it deepen for only a moment before pulling back.

“Don’t take chances. I know you can protect yourself. But let Jade do her job.”

“We’ll be fine. Go get this son of a bitch so we can enjoy a real vacation.”

Cal winked, gave her another hard kiss, and then headed toward the couch. He pulled up the center cushion and grabbed the extra weapon hidden there along with the magazine.

“We’ll call when we’re on our way back. Hit the panic button on your phone if you need us before then.”

And then they were gone and she and Jade were alone.

“S
o she’s the one, huh?” Max asked as they drove to the designated restaurant.

The edges of the streets were full of water, and it spewed up the side of the Jeep as they sped down the road. Visibility wasn’t great, and he had to slam on his brakes at the last second when he realized the stoplight was red.

“She’s the one. Now I just have to convince Declan to give her a job.” That was going to be sticky territory. Because he was going to have to give information without giving
too
much information.

“Declan’s libel to shut down the whole damned operation if his agents keep getting married. It’s a running joke in the agency that he should renaming it MacKenzie Matchmaking Services. As you can imagine, Dec wasn’t amused.”

The thought made Cal grin and he accelerated through the light. “I’ve been waiting a long time to have her. I don’t give a damn what Declan thinks.”

“Hey, brother. I hear ya. I know what it is to wait and think that she’ll never be yours. Patience pays off. But not too much patience. Sometimes bullheaded women need a strong kick in the ass.”

“I’ll make sure to tell her it was your idea when she decides to kick
my
ass instead.”

“Life’s a crap shoot, my friend. Might as well have fun where you can.”

Jade and Evie passed the time with a deck of cards. It made things a lot more interesting when both players cheated. And cheated well.

Jade’s phone rang and she answered automatically. “Devlin,” she said.

“This is Agent James again. Your husband and Agent Colter relieved us at the restaurant. We’re to be your backup at the house. Our ETA is about two minutes.”

“Roger that, James. See you then.”

“As long as I can get out of this blasted rain I’m up for anything.”

She laughed and said, “As long as you have a canoe to get to the front door I promise it’s dry inside.”

“Are they finished already?” Evie asked.

“Replacement agents.” She put her cards face down on the table and got up. Her gun had been sitting on the table next to her phone, so she picked it up and held it down at her side. “They’re on their way now. I want you to stand behind the door. We don’t want to give anyone a clear shot at you, just in case.”

“Just in case is fine with me.” Evie followed her to the front door and stood in the corner behind the door so she’d be hidden when it opened.

It wasn’t very long before the doorbell rang and Jade’s phone buzzed at the same time. “That’s them.” She looked through the peephole. “There’s two of them. Whew it’s coming down out there.”

“Let them in. Maybe one of them can cook. I bet Cal and Max eat while they’re at Rosa’s.”

“Good point.” Jade opened the door with her left hand, her gun in her right, and kept Evangeline blocked with her body. “You have identification?” she asked them.

“Sure thing,” one of them answered.

A shot fired and Jade’s body stumbled back. She returned fire and simultaneously kicked at the door to close it as she fell. Quick on her feet, Evangeline added her weight and pushed the door closed on the men, flipping the deadbolt.

“Jesus, Jade,” she said dropping down by the woman, blood soaking her shirt.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She rolled to her hands and knees and stumbled to her feet. “Get moving. Go!”

Evie grabbed her around the waist, leaving her gun hand free, and they took off for the back of the house and the beach. All she could do was pray for the rain to come harder, so visibility was difficult. Of course, that was a two-edged sword. They wouldn’t be able to see Taber either.

Jade had her phone in her hand and punched the panic button, alerting all the agents in the area they were in danger.

“What the hell?” Evie asked. “I thought Taber worked alone?”

“He does. He either paid someone to knock on the door so we wouldn’t be suspicious, or he’s taken on a partner for this job. I didn’t recognize the man with him and Taber had his raincoat over his head, so I didn’t see his face before it was too late. He got a quick shot off before I even had a chance to process the situation.”

“We’ve got to make it to the cove. Unless he knows specifically where it is he’ll never find it.”