Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protection Crisis (Kindle Worlds Novella) (6 page)

Waking up with Chloe draped across my chest was an experience meant to be savored. Unfortunately, the incessant beeping of my phone was making it damn difficult for me to enjoy the feel of her soft curves. When it buzzed again, the sixth time in as many minutes, I shifted her to my side and reached for my phone.

“Fuck,” I groaned. Half the messages were from Blaine and the others were from Tex. They both pretty much had the same thing to say—instructing me to do an internet search of Chloe’s name and take a look at the newest results. I did as they asked, and several images popped up on my feed. Clicking on the first one, I quickly realized why this was important enough for both of them to text me multiple times at the ass crack of dawn. The pictures were of Chloe and me, my hand resting on the small of her back as we walked over to meet Blaine and Delia near their car in the shooting range parking lot.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe murmured sleepily.

“You need to get up, baby.” I hated to do it, but if our location had been compromised, I wanted to get her out of here, pronto. One of those photos was posted a few hours ago, which meant there was no time to waste.

She jolted up in bed. “Did he find us?”

“He didn’t need to,” I rumbled. “The paparazzi did.”

She leaned against my back, her breasts pushed against me, to peer over my shoulder at my phone. “Nah, it doesn’t look like a professional took this one. I bet someone recognized me, snapped a quick picture with their phone and realized they could make a quick buck by selling it.”

Her lack of privacy pissed me off. “Does shit like this happen a lot?”

She sat back down and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Often enough that it takes some getting used to. It scared the crap out of me the first time it happened. I was out of creamer and ran to the grocery store to grab some. I was only going to be inside for a couple minutes, tops. I didn’t worry about what I was wearing and tossed a baseball cap on my head since my hair was a mess. I needed that caffeine so desperately, I wasn’t thinking straight. Or at least that’s what my agent told me when he called to ream me out for letting someone grab a horrible photo of me.”

“Your agent sounds like an ass.” Her agent worked for her, he should be helping to protect her instead of yelling at her.

“That’s because he kind of is an ass,” she sighed. “But he’s the best in the business, and I can’t exactly argue with his level of success.”

“You should give yourself more credit.” I dropped a soft kiss on her lips before leaving the bed to begin gathering our things. “From what I read, it sounded to me like you landed your first movie role all on your own. Getting you others after your award winning performance couldn’t have been too hard.”

“From what you read?”

I turned to find her staring at me with a smug grin tilting the corners of her plush lips. She looked so damn happy about my slip-up that I decided to go for broke and give her more.

“It might, just maybe, be true that I’ve read every article in every magazine ever printed about you.”

“You must have done a lot of research after your grandfather asked you to help me.”

I could have let her believe his request was the reason, but I didn’t want any lies between us. I walked over to the bed, cradled her face in my hands, and then I laid it out there for her. “It was months before then, Chloe. I saw your face staring up at me from the cover of a magazine and that was it for me—I was fascinated.”

“You always seem to know the perfect thing to say.”

“Only with you.”

“Lucky me,” she sighed. “But it’s only fair to warn you that if you keep it up, I’m bound to be equally as captivated by you.”

“Fuck yeah, I’ll keep it up.”

“You may want to rethink your promise in about five minutes,” she warned.

“Why’s that?”

“Because after I use the bathroom, I need to call my agent. He’s probably already going bonkers since he hasn’t heard from me in what he’s going to say is forever. The second that photo hit the internet, he would have been alerted,” she explained. “Which means he will have tried calling me at least a dozen times already this morning.”

“Nothing your agent says over the phone is going to change my mind about you.”

“How about what he says or does when you meet him? I can guarantee he’s going to want to see me today.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought and wandered into the bathroom. She was still muttering to herself when she walked out after she was done. “You do realize he’s going to insist I bring you with me, right?”

“You’re cute when you worry,” I chuckled, yanking her off balance and into my arms. “Your agent doesn’t have to insist on shit because you aren’t going anywhere without me. If he wants to see you, I’m there. You need to go to the store? I’ll be with you. Until your stalker is caught, there’s no Chloe without Kael right there next to her.”
After he’s caught too, if I have my way.

It was a good thing I’d made it clear to Chloe that my presence at her side was nonnegotiable. Three hours later, we sat together in her agent’s office watching him throw a conniption fit about the photos of us. It had started with a litany of all the things that were wrong with how Chloe looked.

“Your hair was up in a ponytail,” Drew chided, pacing back and forth in front of his desk. “Which wouldn’t have been completely horrible if you’d bothered with make-up or a decent outfit.”

Chloe’s fingers stroked my palm as I stiffened in anger. She was fucking gorgeous with or without the make-up and in anything she wore.

“I was dressed appropriately for a shooting range,” she pointed out in a much more reasonable tone than I would have used. “If I’d dressed up, then they would have just printed a story about me being high maintenance.”

“That’s another thing,” Drew snapped. “Why in the world were you at shooting range of all places? It hardly fits the image I’ve cultivated for you. If we were trying to land you a role in the next Bruckheimer movie, it might make sense. But you’re not exactly built for action.”

An angry rumble crept up my throat at his criticism of Chloe.

“Now him?” Drew said, waving at me. “He’d be perfect for action, but you’re carving a niche for yourself in romantic comedy and we don’t want to give the public any reason to see you differently. Not when the studio has millions on the line for this next release.”

“Fuck the public’s perception of her,” I growled. “Keeping her alive is what’s important.”

“Oh,” Drew said as though the light bulb had finally gone off, calming down as he walked around his desk and dropped into his chair. “Is that what all the fuss has been about? Your little stalker problem?”

“Yes, Drew. All the fuss, as you put it, is because of my stalker.”

“You’re overreacting. A stalker is a sign you’ve really made it. Most of my big clients have had to deal with one or two of them. I’m sure the police have it under control. You didn’t need to go off and hire a bodyguard, or whatever he is.” He shot me a hard look. “You certainly shouldn’t have hired anyone without consulting me first.”

I rose from my chair, pressed my fists on his desk and leaned over until we were face-to-face. “First of all, she’s not overreacting. I’ve read the police reports, and this guy isn’t harmless. If you don’t believe me, you can call Detective Lancaster and ask him yourself. Secondly, the police, who you seem to think have it all under control, told Chloe to hire a bodyguard. As her agent, you damn well should have already known this, and you should have been all over the studio when they dropped her protection after they were done with her.”

“It wasn’t like that at all,” he blustered.

“I’m not done, Drew.” I leaned in even farther. “I’m saying this last so you don’t forget it. I’m not Chloe’s bodyguard. She didn’t hire me, and you sure as fuck can’t fire me. I’m her boyfriend.  I’m here for the long haul, so you’d better get used to having me around.”

“You’re really serious about this… this relationship?” he sputtered at Chloe when I moved back to my seat.

“You heard the man.” Chloe shrugged her shoulders like she didn’t have any say in it. “He’s my boyfriend and he isn’t going anywhere.”

I probably should have been angry with Kael for the way he’d taken over the meeting with my agent this morning. Or worried about how my stalker would react to the stories about Kael and I. The photos were everywhere, and there was a lot of speculation about my new relationship.

The sight of the boards covering my back door should have freaked me out. The thirty minutes it took Kael to do a thorough search of the property surrounding my home should have been enough to make me want to leave. I should’ve been focused on what my stalker’s next move would be. Instead, I couldn’t think about anything other than the man standing in front of me and what he’d told me last night.

“It’s the cold light of day.”

I pulled my shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor.

“It’s been hours since you gave me an orgasm.”

I undid the snap on my pants, pulled down the zipper and stepped out of them after they slid down my legs.

“You told my agent you’re my boyfriend.”

I walked towards him, in nothing but my bra and panties, and rose on my tiptoes with my head tilted up when I was a couple inches away from him.

”Don’t you think it’s about time we had sex?” I whispered against his lips.

My challenge broke his control.

“It’s past time.”

He tossed me over his shoulder, stalked towards the control panel for my security system and armed it after making sure all the door and window chimes were on. Then he stalked up the stairs, one hand over my butt to hold me in place. He headed straight for my room, shouldering the door open, and dropped me onto the mattress. Lowering his head until his face was centimeters from mine, he growled, “There will be no going back from this for you and me. If you give yourself to me, I’m taking you. You’ll be mine, and I won’t be letting you go.”

“I’m right here for you to take.”

His eyes flared, and then he covered my mouth with his, plunging his tongue inside. My arms crept around his neck, and I slanted my head to give him better access to my mouth. He deepened the kiss, in complete control as he devoured my mouth. When his hands slid under me to palm the cheeks of my butt and lift me towards his hardness, I moaned.

“Seeing you spread out for me like this, I almost don’t know where I want to start first.”

“Anywhere,” I suggested. “Everywhere.”

“You liked having my mouth on your tits yesterday.” My nipples pebbled as his gaze dropped to them. “And I enjoyed the fuck out of tasting them.”

One of his hands slid up my spine, and with a flick of his fingers my bra clasp was undone. He drew the straps down my arms and tossed it over his shoulder. His hand came back down to my chest, underneath my tit to lift it towards his mouth. Feeling his hot breath against my skin, I arched my back and he sucked on my nipple. The tug of his lips sent shocks straight to my core.

His left hand released my butt to come up and pluck at my other nipple. He alternated between my breasts, using his fingers and mouth to drive me crazy. It felt so good, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d made me come without going any further, which is why I whimpered in protest when he pulled away. My complaint died in my throat as I watched him tear his shirt over his head. I licked my lips thinking about tracing the six-pack of muscles and the v leading into his waistband.

“The things I’m going to want you to do with that tongue,” he murmured as he unzipped his pants.

He shoved his boxers and jeans down, wrapping his fingers around his dick and pumping it a few times. It was long and thick, the skin stretched and looked almost purple, with a drop of pre-come beaded at the tip.

“I saw you stroke yourself just like that in the shower, at the motel the first night.”

I thought my admission would shock him, but I was the one in for a surprise.

“I know,” he rasped. “Knowing you were watching me as I jacked off made me come so hard.”

“I want to see you do it again.”

“Not tonight,” he groaned. “It’s going to be difficult enough to last. I’m too damn close to the edge as it is already, and I want to taste you before I sink inside. That’ll be almost more than I can bear.”

His gaze dropped to my panties, and his tongue swept across his bottom lip. I lifted my hips so he could slide my underwear down, and widened my legs when he wedged his shoulders between them. With two fingers, he spread me open and lowered his mouth to lick me from top to bottom. My fingers clenched his scalp while my hips bucked against his mouth. He alternated between soft licks and plunging his tongue inside me. The pleasure became too much, and I dug my heels into the mattress as my body tightened.

“Yes, Kael! Yes!” I screamed when he slid a finger inside me and I splintered apart.

“So fucking gorgeous,” he rasped in my ear, surging up to his knees with his dick pressed against my entrance. “Tell me I can have you.”

“You already have me. Take what’s yours, Kael.”

“I was clean during my last physical and haven’t been with anyone since way before then.”

“It was only the one time for me, back in college,” I admitted shyly. “And I’m on the pill.”

“Fuck, baby. I’m going to make this so good for you. I swear.”

He raised my legs over his shoulders and drove inside with one powerful thrust.

“Damn!” he shouted. “You’re so tight.”

If he hadn’t made me come first, surging inside while I was still drenched and soft from my orgasm, it would have been a painful fit. But with his finger rubbing my clit and his dick hurtling in and out of me, I only felt pleasure. He had me heading towards another orgasm before I’d barely come down from the first climax.

“One more, baby. Give me one more so I can come with you.”

“I’m so close,” I whimpered. He circled his hips and let my legs drop from his shoulders, his fingers digging into my hips as he pounded into me. I met him thrust for thrust, my knees clenched into his sides. His head fell to my chest, and I arched upwards. His lips wrapped around my nipple, and he bit down, triggering my orgasm. I clung to him as I shuddered, his hips pumping until I felt him tense up and groan in satisfaction.

“So fucking perfect, Chloe,” he grunted, twisting to his side so he didn’t land on me when he dropped onto the mattress.

“Not too shabby for a couple of people who’ve abstained for so long. I would’ve thought we’d be out of practice,” I joked, and then started babbling when I realized what I’d just said. “Not that I was ever in practice so to speak. Because I wasn’t. Quite the opposite in fact. Okay, I think I’m just going to shut up now.”

His whole body shook with laughter. “Fuck, you’re funny.”

“I’m happy to know my lameness amuses you,” I said drily, slapping his chest lightly.

He rolled me onto my back and hovered over me, his arms braced on either side of my head. “You’re a movie star, Chloe. It’s the complete opposite of lame. We both know you could have slept with hundreds of guys if you’d wanted to, and I’m pleased as fuck to know there was only one guy before me.”

I smiled up at him. “And I’m pretty darn happy to know it’s been a long time for you, too. You were a Navy SEAL. We both know you could have slept with basically any woman you wanted with one crook of your finger at them in a bar.”

“I didn’t know it then, but I’m pretty sure I was saving up all my energy so I’d be able to fuck you as often as I want.”

He ground his hips against me, already hard again.

“Now sounds like a good time to me.”

Lucky for me, it did for him too.