Distinguished Service & Every Move You Make (Uniformly Hot!) (9 page)

15

T
OMORROW
AFTERNOON
’
S
RALLY
was going to be far more dangerous.

Mace didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. If his radar had been tweaked while walking the route on the first go-round, this time alarm bells were going off.

He told Darius about his concerns over the phone. His friend was still in Oregon working the kidnapping case.

“He refuses to cancel,” Dari said finally.

“Well, then, we’re just going to have to do the best we can to protect him. So long as you’ve outlined the risks and made your recommendations, that’s the only course of action to take.”

“We could pull out.”

Silence.

Mace knew it was a radical solution that wasn’t really a solution at all.

“Then we wouldn’t get paid.”

“I feel that strongly about this.”

“I know you do.”

He paced the length of the conference room then back again, the men around him giving him a wide berth.

Forget that the perpetrator from yesterday’s rally had yet to be caught; there were warning signs that tomorrow’s event would leave Norman even more vulnerable.

First off, the venue was larger, harder to protect, not to mention the turnout was predicted to be quadruple, possibly more given the publicity received.

Second, well, the gunman had gotten a taste of fame himself. Who was to say he wouldn’t make the next attempt bigger? Bolder?

A normal man might be scared off.

But they were dealing with someone who was far from normal here. Someone driven, someone insane enough to make the first attempt might be doubly motivated to make a second.

He took a deep breath and stopped pacing.

“Okay. I just needed to say the words,” he said to Dari.

“Yeah, I know. And they would have been the same words I’d say if our roles were reversed.”

“Yeah.”

He doubted that, but he was grateful to his friend for saying it.

A few moments later they disconnected and Mace turned to face the guys. They had their work cut out for them.

But he had every confidence they could do it.

“Okay, let’s get down to it…”

* * *

G
ENEVA
’
S
CELL
PHONE
CHIMED
. She rolled over in bed and squinted at the clock: it was just after five-thirty. Who would be texting her that early? Probably Trudy. She likely needed her to fill in again at the diner this morning.

She groaned and reached for her cell phone. She’d worked the dinner shift last night and with a football game running into overtime, they were kept busy until well into the night. She didn’t get home until after eleven and while she’d made really good tips, she felt like she’d gotten maybe two hours of solid sleep.

She accessed the text and experienced an instant infusion of adrenaline.

It was Mace.

“I’ve got an hour to spare. Do you want coffee?”

Geneva tossed off the blankets even as she began texting back. “Where are you?”

“Outside your place.”

She hurried to the window, instantly catching sight of him where he leaned against her car holding up two cups of extra-large coffee in white foam cups.

“I’ll buzz you in.”

She looked down at her faded flannels, grabbed jeans and a sweater, then hurried to press the buzzer to let him into the building. Then she opened the apartment door even as she dashed for the bathroom. She’d gotten on her jeans and was putting on her sweater when she heard, “Hello?”

She cracked the door. “Make yourself at home. I just need five.”

She closed the door again then ran the water, washing up and upgrading herself to mildly presentable. Once finished, she stood staring at her reflection. What was she doing?

She found herself smiling. She didn’t care. Right then, the only thing that mattered was that she had fifty-five minutes left to spend with Mace.

She emerged from the bathroom to find him standing in front of the living room window staring outside, sipping coffee. He looked so damned good in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, his dark hair combed and neat. She, on the other hand, felt like a field mouse who’d just emerged from a dusty hole.

He sensed her presence and turned to face her, that grin of his lighting his face. “Hi.”

“Hi yourself.” She cleared her throat.

He put his coffee down and stepped closer, folding her into his arms. “I hope you don’t mind my stopping by so early unannounced.”

“No, no.” She found she had a hard time breathing with him so close. “Not at all.”

He smiled down at her then leaned in for a kiss. “Good, because I have another request to make.”

Sleep still clung to the fringes of Geneva’s consciousness, emphasizing her wholehearted response to his kiss. “Oh?” she somehow managed to say, even as her thighs vibrated as if he were licking them instead of her lips.

“I want to spend every moment possible of the next hour inside of you…”

* * *

M
ACE
WASN
’
T
SURE
what had made him say the words. One minute he’d been on his way back to Denver following a long night and an even longer day ahead of him. The next he was pulling Geneva close and her sleep-enhanced scent made his need level surge.

She blinked liquid hazel eyes up to stare at him and he chuckled softly, trailing his fingertips over her jawline before leaning in to kiss her even more deeply.

She felt so good. Better than anyone had a right to. Holding her in his arms made him feel all-powerful yet grounded, hot as hell yet cool as could be.

And it made him want her with an intensity he was loathe to ignore.

He drew back and looked at her, waiting for her response.

He heard her swallow thickly. “I’m sorry. Was I supposed to say something?” she whispered.

He groaned and led her to her bedroom, drawing her close the instant they were inside. He kissed her then pulled off her sweater as she undid the first few buttons on his shirt and tugged it the rest of the way off. Within moments, they were stripped and breathless.

She turned, rubbing her bare bottom against him, then reached an arm back and positioned her head so she could kiss him over her shoulder.

Dear God, but she was sexier than any woman he’d ever known.

He curved his hands around and cupped her breasts.

She caught them in her hands. “Gently,” she whispered.

He lightened his touch, kissing her more tenderly. Her quickening of breath told him she approved.

He snaked his right hand down lower, over her abdomen, lower still…until his fingers rested against the springy hair between her thighs.

Geneva made a small sound in the back of her throat then caught his hand. But rather than move it away as he was afraid she might, she budged it the rest of the way down until his fingers pressed against her dampness. Then she grasped his wrist as if to steady herself as he stroked her.

So hot, so wet…

He moved his fingertips back and forth and forth and back, lightly pinching her clit. At her gasp, he slid his middle finger between her silken folds, moving deep within her.

She went limp in his arms. He gently moved her toward the bed. She reached out until her left hand rested against the mattress, bending slightly, even as she continued kissing him over her shoulder. He increased the frequency of his thrusts, taking pleasure in the way she bore down against him. He lowered his other hand and stroked her outside even as he did inside.

“I…want…to…feel…you…” she rasped.

“You will, baby, you will.” He thrust deeper. “Come for me now…”

She moaned, her hips rocking against him.

Geneva’s mouth opened against his in a gasp. He breathed it in and kissed her deeply, feeling her slick muscles contract around his fingers. He continued stroking and caressing her, drawing out her crisis, supporting her weight as she surrendered to the sensations rolling through her.

“Please…” she whispered, kissing him languidly.

He didn’t need any more encouragement. His penis was so erect it was nearly painful. Watching, bringing her to climax, had turned him on more than sex.

He sheathed himself then pressed against her soaked flesh. She kissed him, replacing his hand with hers, then took him in.

He nearly groaned aloud at the feel of her surrounding him, tight, still shivering. She reached her other hand out until she leaned completely against the bed. The sexy sight of her back, her hips, her rounded bottom made his erection pulse harder. He smoothed his hands down her spine then grasped her hips, holding her still as he surged into her. Her low moan echoed what he was feeling as he thrust again, then again.

“Yes, oh, yes…”

Each stroke brought him closer to her…closer to orgasm…closer to a euphoria that left him wondering with awe at its complexity and simplicity.

He slowed, afraid of coming too fast. Geneva bore back against him, shifting her hips hungrily. He reached around, finding her damp curls, and rubbed her lazily. She caught his wrist. Not to pull him away, it seemed, but to hold him there as her body stilled, her back arched.

Mace groaned and surged into her again, reaching for an unnamable something he needed more than he’d ever needed anything.

Then, suddenly, it was upon him…

His entire body stiffened, his blood roaring past his ears, through his body, making him feel totally, gloriously alive.

Geneva moaned.

Somehow, he found the will to thrust into her again, and again, harder, tilting his hips to change the angle of his stroke.

She went still and her breathing seemed to stop.

Mace grasped her hips tightly, moving in, pulling out…

Reaching out his hand and taking her with him as he toppled over the edge into sheer bliss…

16

G
ENEVA
LAY
BONELESS
in bed, her hand resting against Mace’s thigh next to her. They’d both ended up there, and somehow she’d managed to cover them both, but beyond that, she could do little more than marvel at the music pulsing through her body and focus on trying to breathe again.

She sighed and curved against Mace, who seemed to be wearing the same expression she probably did as he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

“You okay?” she whispered, kissing his shoulder.

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah.” He grinned down at her then kissed the top of her head, rubbing his hand against her tangled hair. “I’m… I don’t know how I feel…”

She sighed again and closed her eyes. “Yeah. Me, too.”

They both chuckled then fell silent again.

She couldn’t be sure if the spontaneous element of their lovemaking was behind her elevated reaction, but whatever it was, she wanted to do it again.

And again and again and again…

She guessed Mace would be in complete agreement.

“You need to be in Denver again?”

He nodded, his hand running lazy circles along her back. “Yeah.”

“Oh, okay. By the way, I thought you should know, your mother called me last night…”

* * *

M
ACE
WENT
TOTALLY
and utterly still in abject terror.

“What?”

He was incapable of any other verbal response. Only that one word.

Geneva gave a quiet laugh. “No worries. She just wanted to tell me how much she enjoyed meeting me.”

Had his mom ever called Janine? He couldn’t recall. In fact, in that one moment, he couldn’t recall much of anything. His mind was frozen on the image of his mother calling Geneva…and Geneva picking up.

“I haven’t even heard from my mother,” he said.

Geneva shifted slightly. “Maybe because she thinks she’s bothering you whenever she calls.”

He tucked his chin against his chest so he could look down at her. “Is that what she said?”

“In so many words…yes. She did.”

That was odd. He’d never considered that his mother might feel awkward about calling him.

“What else did she say?”

Geneva snuggled a little closer to him, putting her wet sex in direct contact with his thigh. He grew instantly hard.

What had they been talking about?

Oh, yeah. His mother.

“That’s between me and your mother,” she said in answer to his question.

He grimaced. “I can only imagine.”

She shifted again, this time to prop herself up on one elbow so she could look at him. “Can you?”

“Mmm.” The way she kept moving her sex against him was driving him to distraction.

“I’m not entirely sure you can.”

“One word: Marcus.”

She seemed to consider him for a long moment. “Not in the sense you’re thinking.”

He blinked.

“Let’s just say I think there’s a whole lot going unsaid between you two.”

“Oh, I think everything’s been said. And then some.”

“Do you? Well, then I’m not sure which of you is more stubborn.”

He raised his brows. “And you’re an expert on my mother and me because…?”

She visibly winced then smiled. “I don’t consider myself an expert on anything,” she said quietly. “But I am a good listener.”

“Most people hear what they want to.”

Mace didn’t particularly care for the words coming out of his mouth, but Geneva had touched on a sore spot…and refused to stop.

“Even if that’s the case, I didn’t have to listen to hear what she had to say.”

Poke…poke…

“The day Marcus died…”

There it was.

“Your parents feel like they lost two sons, not one.”

Mace experienced a sensation similar to a boulder being dropped onto his chest.

“I can see you’re surprised.”

“I’m also horny.”

She nudged him with her closed fist against his chest. “That goes without saying.”

He glanced at the clock then rolled her over so she was under him, her thighs spread wide. “I’ve got twenty minutes. Do you really want to spend them talking?”

He watched her gaze roll over his features then back up to his eyes. She smiled and slid her feet around his calves and arched her back. “Oh, I think I’ve said all I need to. For now…”

Good.

He kissed her deeply even as he reached for another condom. This time when he made her come, he wanted it to be so hard she couldn’t utter a word until sometime tomorrow…

* * *

G
ENEVA
LAY
BACK
against the sheets, listening as her apartment door closed behind Mace. Every inch of her felt so vibrant, alive. She pressed her face into her pillow and breathed deeply, taking in his scent even as she ran her hands over her still-vibrating body.

What he did to her…

Her breasts trembled, her belly quaked and her thighs were saturated with the proof of her need for him.

Oh, how she would love for his semen to be there…

She shivered at the thought even as she lazily touched herself.

He’d loved her so thoroughly, you would think she’d be satisfied. Instead, she wanted more. Oh, so much more.

She couldn’t remember ever feeling this…sexual before. Uninhibited. Needy.

She stroked her swollen flesh then inserted her fingertip inside, moaning as she recalled how he’d touched her just a short time ago.

Mmm…

Her cell phone rang.

She slowly reached for it.

It was Mace.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She smiled. “Touching myself.”

“Grr… That’s my job.”

“Yes, well, since you’re not here to do it…”

There was silence for a few minutes while she continued stroking herself. Then he said, “I miss you already.”

Geneva clutched the phone against her shoulder and closed her eyes before responding. “Miss you more.”

She put the cell phone back on the night table then rolled over, bunching the sheets between her thighs and stretching languidly.

More…

She definitely wanted much, much more…

Was Mace ready, willing and able to give it to her?

She didn’t know.

What was clear was how incredible things could be if he was.

Her cell phone chimed.

She saw a text message.

I Love You.

She blinked at the words. Then read them again.

Was it possible?

She was about to write back when another chimed in.

Sleep well. Talk to you later.

She responded with a smile then held the phone close to her again.

When she awakened a couple of hours later, she was still holding it there…