“Doesn’t trust me.” Gabe gripped her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “And you shouldn’t trust a thing out of that man’s mouth. He’s more sophisticated and better dressed, but he rates right on level with Cocodrilo. Don’t let him blind you to that.”
“But…but he said he knows how to find Bryson.”
“That’s what he says. Is it true?” As tears filled her eyes, he let go of her shoulders to cup her face and brush them away.
“It could be,” she whispered.
He sighed. “Audrey, don’t cry. We’ll find out what game Mena’s playing during dinner. Until then, let’s get some rest.”
Because he needed time to strategize. A group of recon marines spent two months quietly scoping out Mena’s home last year, and the DOD built a replica of the house and outbuildings in Virginia to run invasion scenarios with, so he knew the floor plan of this estate. Knew all the weak spots in the security system. Liam Miller, the British mercenary hired by Mena to oversee security, was good at what he did, no doubt about it. But Gabe and the SEALs were better, and if there had been no accident, if Operation Black Boa had gone down as planned, Mena would be sitting in an international prison right now awaiting trial. Not that he deserved a trial.
Gabe led Audrey over to the bed. She looked wrecked, exhaustion bruising her eyes with dark circles. Had she slept at all while he was unconscious? He’d bet not.
Truthfully, unconsciousness didn’t count for sleep, either, and his own energy levels were also in the danger zone. He knew the fuzzy, disjointed feeling well, knew if he didn’t catch a couple hours of sleep he’d crash out and be of no use to anyone.
“This is all so messed up,” Audrey murmured, snuggling into the big bed on her belly, arms wrapped tight around a pillow.
“It is.” He tucked the blanket around her. “SEALs refer to situations like this as fubar. Fucked up beyond all recognition.”
Her lips curved in a hint of a smile, but it didn’t last long. “I’m not going to sleep.” Even as the words left her, she yawned.
“Try.”
She yawned again. Now that she was horizontal, she was fading fast and fighting it. “I shouldn’t have convinced you to stay here.”
Gabe thought about telling her that despite what Mena had said, the drug kingpin wasn’t going to let them leave until he was good and ready for them to go. Their surroundings were more comfortable, but substituting a castle for a prison doesn’t change the fact it’s still a prison.
Instead, he brushed back a lock of her hair. “Sleep.”
“Hmm.” Her eyes fluttered shut and a second later, she was gone.
Wishing he were that pillow she cuddled so close and cursing himself for the unprofessionalism of that thought, he sat on the edge of the mattress and watched her for a long time. Her braid had loosened, spilling pale golden brown hair over the paler gold blankets. Her eyes moved restlessly behind their lids, and every once in a while she made a small sound of protest and hugged the pillow tighter. He reached out, traced the curve of her cheek with one finger, and she settled again with a soft sigh.
Ah, hell.
He started to remove the pillow from her grip and caught a whiff of himself. Whew. He couldn’t subject her to that stench. Shower first, then sleep—with Audrey tucked safely in his arms for a couple hours.
Sleeping together like that wasn’t unprofessional, right?
Chapter Fourteen
When the bed sank and Gabe’s muscular arm slid under her, Audrey woke. His skin was still warm and dewy from a shower, and he’d shaved. His hard jaw felt baby smooth as he nuzzled her ear. He pulled her close, his natural male spice and some kind of flowery soap scent enveloping her. Yum. She wanted to bury her nose in his shoulder and breathe in nothing else, but that would require moving, and she was quite comfortable now that he was in bed with her.
Except for the blooming ache between her thighs.
She smiled without opening her eyes. “You smell like a garden.”
He grunted. “It’s the shampoo. Some girly designer shit. I had no choice.”
And he sounded really unhappy about that. Audrey stifled a laugh in the pillow, sure he wouldn’t appreciate it. “It’s nice.”
“I’ll be sure to order a bottle,” he said, deadpan.
She huffed out a breath in exasperation. “Do you ever get sick of being so sarcastic?”
“Do you ever get sick of being so contrary?”
She elbowed him in the gut—and, ow! About like jamming her elbow into a block of stone. But she still heard a satisfactory
umph
in reply. “I am
not
contrary.”
“Bullshit.”
“Hey!” She moved to elbow him again, but he caught it and in one deft move had her on her back, pinned to the mattress with a big hand on each arm and one thick leg locked over both of hers.
With his pelvis pressed to her hip, she’d have to be a dolt not to recognize the bulge she felt there as anything less than carnal male interest. About freaking time. Despite their increasingly dicey situation, or perhaps because of it, she’d been dying for an opportunity to get her hands on him again. And this time, he wasn’t going to talk her out of doing what she wanted to do to him.
“Stop. Hitting. Me,” he said through his teeth.
Why? He needed to get hit every once in a while to remind him he was no superhero. But saying that aloud wouldn’t improve her chances of getting him naked in the next five minutes, so she gave her most innocent smile instead. “Okay. How about I do this?”
With her arm still in his grip she couldn’t move her hand far, but managed to wiggle it close enough to his crotch to cup him through his jeans. Pity he’d put the things back on after his shower.
No, on second thought, it wasn’t. Now she’d have the great pleasure of stripping them off him.
The way he reacted to her touch, you’d think she prodded his family jewels with a branding iron. He jerked away and rolled to a sitting position on the side of the bed, his back to her. And what an amazing back, a perfect V of muscle that made her mouth water. She wondered if he’d flee in terror if she licked her way down the indentation of his spine.
Hmm. Only one way to find out.
Audrey crawled across the bed and placed an open-mouthed kiss on the back of his neck. On a groan, his head dropped forward. She took that as encouragement and experimentally ran her tongue along his spine, pausing long enough to give him a love bite on the elaborate tattoo covering his shoulder blade.
“Audrey, Jesus. Stop. We can’t—”
“That’s not what you said last night. Or this morning.”
“I was trying to comfort you, give you something to focus on besides the guerillas and what they might do to us. That’s all.”
Oh, that hurt. But only for a second, because no way would he respond like this if that really was all.
“Liar.” She shook her head and scooted off the bed to kneel on the floor in front of him. He gritted his teeth so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek and the fingers of one hand kept clenching and unclenching.
Good. She wanted him riled up. She wanted him to lose control. She just plain old wanted him. And she knew he wanted her, because the evidence was right there in that massive erection. So why did he keep fighting it, the stupid man?
She reached for the fly of his jeans, but he caught her wrist. “It’s not right.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” She swatted his hand away and made fast work of the buttons.
Hallelujah, he’d gone commando underneath the jeans and she freed his erection. A bead of moisture appeared on the flared head of his penis.
And he claimed to not want this. Riiight.
Leaning over, she licked the drop away and grinned at the shudder that wracked his big body.
“Audrey…” His voice came out hoarse and he tried clearing his throat twice before continuing, “This is not professional. I won’t take advantage of—”
“Looks to me I’m the one taking advantage right now.” She blew on his glans, savoring the way his fingers tangled in her hair and the way his hand trembled. She could almost hear his mind frantically working to come up with a good reason to stop.
“We need to sleep,” he said.
“This won’t take long.” To prove her point, she tongued him from base to tip and felt every muscle in his body go rigid. He let out a ragged groan and hauled her up by the shoulders to kiss her hard. His tongue invaded her mouth, the kiss stealing her breath.
Yes. She had him. Finally.
But then, panting, he ripped his mouth from hers. “No, goddammit. We’re not doing this here. For all we know, Mena could have cameras—”
Oh no, he wasn’t pulling back now.
“So we’ll give him a show.” She straddled his lap and pulled her dress over her head. He wasn’t the only one going commando under his clothes and his gaze latched onto her naked breasts. He moistened his lips as if he wanted to bend over and taste her, so she threaded her fingers into his hair and urged his head down.
Oh, yes. He used his teeth to tug her nipple to a point and groaned in a half-desperate sound. Shocks of pleasure zinged from her breasts to the spot she really wanted him to kiss, the spot that already wept for him. But, dammit, she couldn’t enjoy it yet, because the stubborn man had at least one hand still clutched on those reins of his control and was already starting to pull away from her again.
“C’mon, Gabriel.” Audrey repositioned her body to rub against his length as she rocked her hips, teasing him with her heat, her wet desire. Leaning forward, she nipped his earlobe. “Walk on the wild side with me.”
Ah-ha. That did it.
Gabe caught her mouth again in a hot, hungry kiss and stood, his fingers digging into her rear as she wrapped her legs tight around his middle. He had such big, masculine hands. They felt delicious on her flesh. She wanted them touching her everywhere.
He turned and dumped her on the mattress. She bounced and laughed until—
God, that expression on his face. He stood beside the bed, breathing hard, his lips swollen from their kiss, his hooded eyes drinking her in like he wanted to devour every inch of her.
Yes, yes, yes
, she wanted to shout, but her breath stalled in her lungs. She shifted on the bed, letting her knees drop apart, allowing him to look his fill. And he did, studying her with a hot intensity that she’d never seen on another man’s face before. If she were a match, his gaze alone would have set her aflame.
“Gabe,” she whispered. His golden eyes flicked up to meet hers. She held out her arms. “Please. I want you.”
Something stirred behind his eyes as he shirked his clothes in seconds and sank into a crouch at her feet. Reverence. Desire. Maybe a little fear.
She still wore her sandals and he kissed her toes as he unbuckled each and tossed them aside. Then he kissed his way up her body until they were nose-to-nose and she squirmed for more.
There. He was right there at her entrance and still resisting, damn him. She hooked her legs over his hips and urged him closer, dug her heels into his butt and lifted herself so that he had no choice but to fill her. Hard. Again and again and again…
“Audrey,” he breathed and gripped her hips, lifting her into his thrusts. “You’re—so hot. You’re—God, baby, are you coming for me?”
She was. Her head bumped the headboard with each powerful thrust and she was flying apart underneath him. She had to clamp her teeth onto his shoulder to keep from screaming and letting everyone in the estate know exactly how incredible he felt inside of her.
“Christ.” Gabe stopped moving to stare at her. “You’re like nitro. One touch and boom.”
She let go of his shoulder, soothing the bite with her tongue before grinning up into his eyes. “Yeah, I’m a two pump chump.”
He laughed. A real laugh, loud and rolling, the first she’d ever heard from him. “I love it,” he said and kissed her hard.
Then he moved again. Started slow, a long glide in and a delicious slide out, until she was panting, so close on the verge of another orgasm her fingers and toes tingled and she begged for harder, faster…
He flung her into a whirlwind of sensuality she’d never imagined and she soared, basking in the bliss of another release. Oh God, the man had to be an angel, because she was in heaven.
When she floated back to herself a moment later, she opened her eyes and there he was, her angel warrior, still surging over her. Sweat rolled down his temple and his jaw clenched. With one final deep thrust, his head fell back and his mouth opened on a ragged moan as he shuddered with his orgasm. Just as she’d once mused, he was beautiful when he let go and lost control like that.
Gabe collapsed on top of her, but only for a second. She didn’t mind his weight, but protective man that he was, he was probably afraid of squishing her. He rolled to his back, switching their positions. His eyes closed, his breathing settled into a nice, even rhythm, but Audrey knew he wasn’t asleep. His fingers stroked up and down her arm in the lightest of caresses.
Silence descended, but it wasn’t at all uncomfortable. Amazing that she didn’t feel the need to fill it with cooed oh-it-was-so-goods and other inane ego stroking. Gabe was a man comfortable with his body, comfortable with a woman’s body, and comfortable with sex, and he knew all too well he’d done it right.
Boy, had he ever done it right.
Audrey smiled to herself and propped her weight on one elbow to study him. His body fascinated her now more than ever. Wide, heavy arms and shoulders, and an honest-to-goodness eight pack with ridges between each muscle group that arrowed into a sharp V at his hips. His nipples were like copper pennies, his navel such a shallow innie that it was almost an outie. And how adorable was that?
With a smattering of dark hair, his chest was the most defined she’d ever seen, but he still wasn’t body-builder bulky. Maybe he wore all that muscle so well because of his height.
A set of dog tags rested on a ball chain between his pecs. Audrey had felt them, cool against her skin, when he was on top, had seen them swinging when he propped himself up on his big arms to thrust deeper. Now she picked them up to read the engraving.
BRISTOW, GABRIEL M
938867004USN A NEG
NORELPREF
“These look new,” she said. No scuffs or dings, still shiny. She didn’t doubt that Gabe, meticulous man that he was, would keep them in mint condition. Still, it seemed like they’d be a little beat up if he’d had them since he was seventeen. “Are these new?”
“Hm?” Gabe looked up, spotted the dog tags dangling between her fingers, dropped his head back to the pillow and shut his eyes again. “No. I just didn’t start wearing them until last year.”
“Why not?”
“Wearing them on ops was more of a risk than not. Last thing I wanted was to let the enemy know I was a SEAL. And now…” He opened his eyes again and took the tags from her, rubbing his thumb over his name. “I can’t seem to take them off.”
She smiled at the pensive note in his voice and thought about the tattoo on his shoulder. Two battle-dressed skulls faced off while an eagle carrying a trident wrapped in an American flag flew over the design. Across the bottom stretched a banner with the famous SEAL motto:
The only easy day was yesterday.
She bet he got that tattoo around the time he started wearing his dog tags. “You miss the Navy, huh?”
He stayed silent for so long, she didn’t expect an answer. Then he surprised her with, “I really do, Audrey. It’s where I belong. Not here, working as a private contractor.”
She so didn’t agree, but decided to keep her protests to herself. For now. “What does the M stand for?” she asked instead, rubbing her thumb over his name.
“Matthew.”
“Named for an archangel and a saint,” she mused. “My mama would have loved that. The only reason I didn’t end up Mary Something-or-Other is because Daddy was a huge Audrey Hepburn fan. Are your parents very religious people?”
He grunted. “They like to appear that way. Truth is, we never went to church.”
Audrey nodded and pointed to the last line on the tag. “Hence your lack of religious preference?”
“Yup.”
“My mother was extremely religious,” she said and weaved the chain between her fingers. “She raised me to be, too, but…well, I’ve never really fit into the mold my parents cast for me.”
“I don’t think any children do,” Gabe said, again surprising her. Who’d have thought him such an insightful man? His voice softened. “Parents need to be able to accept their children for who they are or not become parents at all.”
Ah, she got it now. He was thinking of his brother. Knowing what she knew of his father, Raffi’s coming out of the closet must have been a hellish event in the Bristow household. She imagined young Gabe torn between the love he had for his baby brother and the loyalty he felt toward his tyrant of a father—and fell hopelessly in love with him because he’d chosen Raffi.
Not that she’d had very far to fall.
She replaced the dog tags and soothed a hand down his chest. “You’d make an excellent father, you know.” When every muscle in his body went tight underneath her, she laughed. “Just an observation, sailor.”
“Jesus Christ, Aud. That’s seriously not great post-sex conversation.” He groaned and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “And we didn’t use anything. Fuck!”
“Yes, that’s what we did.”
He shifted to face her, his gaze a little bit wild. “I didn’t… I never… Are you…?”
Stuttering. The big bad SEAL was stuttering! Audrey thought about goading him on, but he looked so genuinely distressed that she didn’t have the heart.