Taking the Bait: An ARC Operatives Romance (4 page)

“Okay, fine. Then… whatever. Let’s just, get some sleep or something, and we’ll deal with Balfour and Rykov in the morning,” she walked to the bedroom door, but he caught her by the arm and looked down at her with burning eyes.

“Promise me you do not even think to go back down there, or anywhere, without myself or Balfour.” It wasn’t a question, and his fingers trembled on her arm. Something, or someone, had scared him badly, bad enough that he was willing to risk Rykov’s ire and a Balfour-is-Disappointed-in-You face for her safety. She swallowed, throat dry. It was obvious she was taking too long to answer, because he shook her arm a little. “Daria, promise me.”

“I promise,” she said, patting her hand against the one wrapped around her arm. “Now, let go, and let me sleep. Okay?” He nodded and dropped his hand. She paused for a moment and reached up to brush a kiss over his cheek. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Balfour’d have my ass anyway for going out without my partner.” With that she left him to his thoughts and pulled the bedroom door just to but not quite closed, and got ready for bed. She didn’t want to think about what had passed between them, or the feel and warmth of Nicolai’s body against hers. Not right then, when adrenaline was still running hot through her veins. When she finally curled up under the sheets, she turned out the light and called to him. “Goodnight Nicolai.”

She didn’t hear anything back, and oddly she was surprised.

Chapter Three

Hours later, she sat up in the dark, sheets tumbling off of her in the silence of the room. Something had woken her, and her heart thudded in her chest. A shadow passed over the bedroom door, now open wide, and she gulped in a breath of air. Her hand snaked under her pillow to grab the taser that was stashed there.

“Nico, honey,” she murmured, as if he was right beside her in bed like they’d practiced in case of just this sort of infiltration, and she turned. To her surprise he was actually there and not on the couch, a solid warm lump under the blankets beside her. That made her heart beat even harder. If he was there then who was moving through the suite of rooms? Her throat was tight and she knew that there was definitely somebody else with them. It wasn't one of their fellow operatives, or they would have announced themselves.

“Mmm,” he said apparently just waking up. She’d ask him about why he’d crawled into bed with her later. Later, after their strange night-time visitor had been dealt with. “Are you alright?” his voice was sleep husky, and he shifted under the sheets, rolling into her as she slithered down on her back. He was the escape, the
escape
, she had to keep thinking of that, had to remember that, even as her breathing was unsteady and her heart was going and
holy fuck there is someone in the room with us
. Her brain wouldn’t shut up.

“
Mila
,” he asked in a low voice, and then he was rolling on top of her, his leg shifting between hers. She felt his muscles tense when the thick muscle of his thigh encountered bare skin, she hadn’t worn panties to bed, just a thin tank-top, and his flesh was pressed directly into her cunt. If she hadn’t been terrified for her life she would have probably been mortified. Then he sighed, a lusty half-moan. “It is late, darling.”

She felt him shifting over her, and could feel the heavy warmth of his cock through his boxers as he lay on top of her. His hand curled under hers and grabbed the taser from her in a slow, even motion. She felt a flood of relief, his augmentation made him stronger and more adept at close combat, and in their pairing he was the fighter. With his reflexes, she preferred him having a grip on the only weapon at their disposal. “Surely you are not interested in-” He bent his head and kissed along her neck, up her jaw to her ear. She shuddered at the pre-arranged sign to make noise, and moaned loudly as he whispered in her ear that he
had her
, that she was
safe
.

Whoever had infiltrated the room had managed to get past, or evade detection by their team. As far as she could tell, they were still in the outer room of the suite, and maybe if… if she and Nicolai started… maybe they’d leave. His teeth grazed the lobe of her ear, another sign worked out far in advance, although she’d never expected to have to use it.

“You’ve been working so much, I’ve missed you, it feels like you never sleep these days, your eyes on your work all the time and not on me,” she whispered loudly, the pre-arranged words for
I didn’t get a good look at them
.

“But I must work, Daria, love, to keep you comfortable, in this life I have always wanted to give you. I only want to see you well rested.”
Stay still and I will take care of this.
His hands were moving under the blankets, one cupping the side of her breast, the other wrapped firmly around the taser. In this scenario, where there was an intruder in their suite, Rykov had explained, Nicolai would cover over Daria, and they would…
get loud
, as it were, to signal to the surveillance team that something was not right. It was either that, or have video and audio surveillance in the room, and Daria didn’t like her co-workers well enough to give them a glimpse of her naked.

Well she was paying the price for her earlier modesty, having Nicolai on top of her when she was basically nude. If she survived the night, she’d never live this down with him. His fingers ghosted over her nipple through the thin jersey of her top and she gasped. He pinched it, rolling it between his thumb and index until it hardened, and her back arched ever so slightly off the bed. Adrenaline and panic were making her tremble, as he noisily kissed down her neck and bit at her other breast through the cotton. Rykov had told her this could happen, it might happen that operatives would be required to get intimate with each other to continue the illusion of a relationship and not blow cover, but it was rare, so damn rare, and fuck, no one should have gotten this far past the team-

“Nico,” she cursed almost silently as he mouthed at her breast, her breath coming hard and fast. She could feel how tense he was, his hand still wrapped around the taser, ready to shoot it, even as his hips had started rolling into hers, pressing his thigh firmly into her pussy and spreading dull warmth that went rushing up her stomach. Daria let a moan escape her, louder than she’d normally be with a lover.

“You love that, do you not?” he asked into the valley between her breasts. “I love it, I love the way you feel under me. Tonight? I saw them, all of them, looking at you, my wife,
mine
. As if any of them could have you. You are so beautiful.” As he spoke he moved down her body, rocking his hips steadily into hers at an even rhythm. She was heating up, and she blamed the growing wetness between her thighs on sweat, and not on the muted pleasure that rolled through her every time he bore down on her clit with his body. He kissed the curve of her stomach and looked up at her, she could just see the outline of his face, his eyes wide and glittering. A helpless, thoroughly turned on, noise ripped out of her throat as he watched her, his free hand skirting over her hip and tracing down where their thighs pressed together.

In the outer room, she heard the door click, and saw a flash of light as their intruder made quick tracks into the hallway, shutting the door behind them silently. Immediately Nicolai rolled off of her, and she heard him more than saw him as he zipped through the suite, before arriving back at her bedside.

“Clear,” he said to her, lifting his wrist to his mouth and tapping the intercom button on his watch. “Balfour, Rykov, the intruder is gone. Front door. Suite is secure. You will have him, yes? He will take the employee stairs, I am sure. I have Daria.” He looked down at her and dropped his wrist from his mouth. Her chest heaved hard and she thought for a moment she might vomit, terrified and turned on and confused as fuck.

“What the hell was that,” she whispered, pulling her knees to her chest under the blanket and wrapping her arms around them. She happily ignored the throbbing need that was still churning between her thighs.
Not the time, Daria,
she thought.

“I think Mr. Bouvier did not believe our newlywed story and thought to have someone investigate us, but I think we held our cover well,” Nicolai said ruefully, sinking down on the bed beside her feet and putting his head in his hands. “I am sorry… I did not mean to, to touch you like-”

“It’s fine, it was one of the pla- I mean, we knew it might come down to that,” she said, gulping down a breath. She was grateful it was dark in the room, so he couldn’t see how red her cheeks were, or how she was staring at him through her downcast lashes. Her whole body throbbed, especially between her thighs, and she could still feel the way his hand had been warm on her and the solid bulk of his trunk pinned her down to the sheets. Mortifyingly, she wanted more.

“I will check in with the team, and then go back to the couch. You should sleep Daria,” he moved to get up, and out of impulse she rose on her knees, rolling forward as the blankets cleared her thighs. Her top skimmed just the edge of her hip, a few inches below her navel and she could see him trying to evade looking at her
down there
.

“Don’t go,” she managed to say, tongue fumbling in her mouth. He exhaled sharply.

“Daria, it isn’t… I did not mean to…”

“Shut up,” she whispered, and then grabbed his wrist, her other hand going to his shoulder, and she pushed him back on the bed. Pure desperate want was running through her veins,
I’m alive I’m alivei’malivei’malive
, and he flopped down backwards as she crawled over him, her thighs parting so she could straddle his hips. “Just shut up, God, you
never talk
this much, so please don’t start now... and I just… I want…” She pulled his hand down, between her thighs and pressed it against her wet heat. He made a short, cut-off noise in the back of his throat as his fingers split her folds open and stroked over the slick skin he found. A shudder slammed through her and she rolled her hips down against him to get
more
. She found his mouth with hers, and apparently all it took was a little tongue and Nicolai was apparently convinced she meant business.

With a growl she never expected to hear from him, he rolled her over, underneath him, shifting her until they were sprawled across the bed. His fingers never left her pussy, slow, perfect strokes from her entrance to her clit that had her squirming with the indirect, non-specific heat of it. His lips were hungry on hers, drinking her in with each breath until his thumb brushed over her clit and then
vibrated
. She cried out, arching under him as warm sparks exploded between her thighs and he pulled away for a moment.”

“Daria?”

“Holy fuck. Holy
fuck
.”

“Did you-”

“Don’t you fucking stop, seriously. You’re good, but not that good. I am so
not
done with you.” Her fingers wrapped in his hair, knotting in the thick dark strands and she yanked him down to kiss her again. She was prepared this time, as his thumb descended over her clit, and she merely whimpered happily into his mouth as her thighs tensed up. It was warm, perfect, better than her magic wand even, because it was so specific, pin-pointed exactly where she wanted it, and
ohgodi’malive
, she was clawing at him in minutes, her thighs shifting to hug his hips as she cried out into his mouth with a gasp and a mewl. He was all over her, everywhere, warm, hot,
so good
, and her whole body flushed and tensed as he kept at it, kept tormenting her right through to the last stuttering second of her orgasm. She collapsed under him, limbs falling limply to the bed. His thumb stilled on her, and then he covered her throbbing flesh with his palm, cupping her tenderly. When normally any further stimulation would have had her shrinking away, it was soothing. He didn’t move, so still and quiet as he watched her.

Finally she licked her dry lips and coughed out a laugh.

“Well now I know why you’re so popular around the water cooler,” she muttered, and then pushed at his chest, a slow blossom of shame unfurling in her chest. Hell, she’d just used her partner like a damn sex toy… color was burning in her cheeks as he pulled off of her silently. She sat up, yanking her tank top down over her thighs. “I... Nicolai, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” He was quiet, stock-still, watching her in the dark. She licked her lips again and sighed.

“I have wanted you for a year,” he said in the dark, and the words took her breath. “I… have watched you, I have wanted…” He was reaching for her, she realized, and then he was on her, arms curving around her back as he held onto her tight. He was shivering- he was
shivering
against her, her hands stroking on the bare skin of his back. She pressed a kiss to the side of his face and he made a choking noise. “Is this the only time you have wanted me,
Mila
, when it is dangerous and I’m the only one here to save you?”

His words were like knives to her chest and she breathed out heavily before shaking her head, pressing more kisses to the side of his face.

“No, no, I just, you nearly
died
when I first saw you after that explosion, and you never flirted with me, not like you did with everyone- oh.” She bit her lip as his arms tightened on her and she realized why he’d never hit on her like he had everyone else. Damn. She closed her eyes. “I’m an idiot.”

“Never, no you are not, Daria, you are not ever an idiot.” His fingers slipped under the back hem of her shirt and then his palms were skimming up her spine, leaving white hot lines in their wake. She shuddered and slipped backwards onto the bed as he followed her down. He murmured over and over that she was
not
, she was
not, never,
no Daria, not you
, into her skin as together they got her out of her top. He exhaled noisily when his chest pressed into hers, his fingers tangling in her long curls. She slid her thigh along his hip and anchored it in the dip of his waist, feeling the definite outline of his very erect cock pressing into her centre. He was… sizeable, from what she could tell, and it’d been awhile, even though she was still wet from her earlier orgasm, she wasn’t exactly sure…

He lifted his hips off of hers, and scooted his boxers down. She shifted her other leg out of the way, knee bending as his torso lowered again on hers. He moaned when the underside of his cock, thick and heavy, stroked along her wet slit. She pressed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes, just letting him guide himself. If he’d been thinking about her for a
year
, he’d damn well deserved to take her at his own pace.

“Daria, are you-”

“Talking too much Nicolai,” she cut him off and cupped the side of his face, thumb stroking over his lower lip as he watched her face in the darkened room. “Gotta be quite. Don’t want the crew to think we’re being attacked again.” His lip quirked up under her touch and she felt the brush of his knuckles over her folds, and then the blunt heat of the head of his cock pressing into her entrance. She moaned quietly when he twisted his wrist, circling around her entrance before plunging in.