Blue Knight (15 page)

“I always having something along those lines with me,” she said with a smile. “But not for the nonexistent men in my life. I buy them for me.”

“God, you’re a buried treasure under those suits of yours.” He pressed his hands around her waist. “My fingers almost meet,” he murmured. Then he picked her up, his arms flexing. “Put your legs around my waist,” he told her.

She wrapped her legs around him, her heels coming to rest against his tight ass. It pressed her pussy against his pelvis and the hard shaft of his cock and she gasped. Her pussy crawled with delight, sending a shudder through her.

He dipped his head and slipped the tip of her breast into his mouth and sucked on it.

She arched back, clutching at him, suppressing the moan that wanted to escape. His cock was pressing against her clit and her movements were making him rub against her, making the excitement climb.

As he rolled her nipple in his mouth, sucking and nipping on it, she writhed in his grip. She was growing wet and ready for him and she wanted him inside her with a keen sense of desperation.

She lifted herself just enough to find the head of his cock and work it inside her.

Daniel gasped. “Jesus, Olivia!” He carried her bed and lowered her onto it. Her legs were still wrapped around his hips, but he spread her thighs with his elbows while still holding into her waist. “That’s better,” he muttered and thrust into her so that the full length of his cock was buried inside her.

Her pussy gripped him, the walls rippling around him. She could feel his testicles slapping against her ass, as his shaft speared her.

“Harder,” she demanded.

His hand slid under her hips, lifting her, propping her up. Opening her up to him. It made her legs fall away from his hips. She gasped a little. She had been opened up and exposed in a way she’d never quite experienced.

Daniel thrust himself into her and she moaned as the depth and unusual angle stroked her in ways she’d never felt before.

His other hand covered her mons and his thumb dipped into her cleft, finding the soaked, moist mound of her clit. He stroked it with devastating expertise.

She bucked, her hips undulating, unable to help herself but his hand under her hips anchored her. His cock ground into her and his thumb pleasured her.

She gasped at the double torment, her body pinned and squirming, as her pleasure spiraled. He fucked her with relentless expertise, reading her every movement, adjusting his touch, his strokes, until she was moaning and crying, breathless with the building orgasm. Olivia was almost frightened by the power of the coming climax. It felt like it might rip the top of her head off.

“Come for me,” Daniel coaxed. “Come with me.” His cock was pistoning into her. She could feel the swell of it, the promise of his own climax beating in it and in the way he was moving, his hips shifting.

Her climax arrived and tore through her almost violently. She could feel Daniel’s hand on her mouth, but didn’t care. The pleasure was like silvery spikes and fireworks, showering over her, made indecently better by Daniel’s cock filling her spasming, clenching pussy as she came.

She became aware of Daniel’s own hard, hot climax. His seed spilling into her as he fell almost on top of her and buried the sound of his guttural cry in her neck, his fingers clenching the covers.

Her heartbeat was still returning to normal when he picked her up and placed her on the bed properly and lay down next to her. She could hear it echoing in her head.

He kissed her temple. “Not that I want to give you anything more to fear…but I seemed to have forgotten to use a condom,” he said softly. “A first for me.”

“My fault,” she whispered. “Too anxious to have you in me.” She rolled onto her side and switched on the bedside lamp to look him in the eye. His hair was disheveled where he had fallen against the bed. There was sweat on his brow.

“You’ve never failed to use a condom, ever?”

He was watching her, his expression wary. “Never.”

“I don’t think it’s an issue, then. I’m on the Pill and the last time I had a lover was so long ago, it rules out any sort of communicable disease.”

Something flickered across his face and was gone, too quickly for her to catch.

“What?” she asked.

He shrugged, making it look casual. “You’re a mass of contradictions. I would have bet you had a long string of lovers. Constantly.”

He looked away.

Olivia sat up, astonished at the insight his glance away had given her. “You’re jealous.”

“Of nonexistent lovers?” He laughed.

“Exactly. You’re jealous of every lover I might have had.”

Daniel shook his head. “You’re being ridiculous. I don’t even know you all that well.” He sat upright with a jerk, a furrow between his brows.

Olivia nodded her head. “You’re right,” she agreed carefully. “You don’t know me.” She plucked at the bed cover. “Are you staying the night?”

“And she changes the subject,” Daniel muttered.

She smiled. “It seemed better to,” she said apologetically.

“Very well, then. Let’s change the subject to something that is at least not trivial.” He picked up her hand. “You must be very, very careful around Serrano now. He’s got you in his sights. Not just as one of the herd. He’s got you picked out. He thinks you’re special and he wants you.”

She swallowed. The fear was suddenly back, blooming as large and as big as it had been before Daniel had arrived. “What do you mean, he wants me? You mean sexually?”

Daniel frowned. “He saw you defy him tonight. He likes a challenge. He likes breaking people. He wants to break you because he saw how strong you are. If that includes using sex, I think he’d use it.”

She shuddered.

“He’s working on Ernesto because that’s the weak link that will give him what he wants the fastest. But you he’ll work on just because you’d be fun.” His hand tightened. “He just needs an excuse. Any excuse at all to drag you away and question you.”

She pulled her hand away from him. “Bullshit,” she said distinctly, feeling anger rise inside her. Where did the anger come from? She had no idea. It was just there, big and large and hot. She threw herself from the bed. She would not accept this. Nuh-uh. No way.

Because it was just too frightening. That was why.

She stalked over to the window and stood at the edge of the glow that spilled in from the outside, knowing that no one would be able to see her from out there if she did not step into that light.

Ibarra was quantifiable. Predictable. For weeks, they had been able to move around inside Ibarra’s rules and survive. They had been able to live within the lines Ibarra had drawn.

Now Serrano had come along and suddenly everything had changed and…and…

“We aren’t going to get out of this, are we?” Olivia whispered, looking out at the chain link fence and floodlights. “Serrano could send for me tonight, play his little games and throw my body out to sea for the sharks to feed off and no one will know the difference. If the UN hasn’t jumped up and down now, they’re not going to know any better later.”

“If you’re waiting for the UN to come in and rescue you, then no, you’re not going to get out of it,” Daniel said from behind her.

She shuddered. He’d only voiced what she had been thinking, but it was hard to hear.

She fought hard to not let the tears break.

“Then who?” she asked. “Does anyone give a damn? Does anyone even know we’re here?”

“The UN does,” Daniel replied. “They just can’t afford to acknowledge that fact. It gives Serrano leverage with the UN if they do. Serrano is too unstable to deal with openly like that.”

“So we’re ghosts to our own people,” Olivia said bitterly. She turned to look at Daniel. He still sat on the bed, cross-legged now. Patient. “How is it that you know so much about Serrano and the Vistarian and UN politics involved here? I thought you were just a businessman who got caught up in all this by accident?”

He slipped off the bed and came to stand beside her at the window. In the white, unforgiving glow from the floodlights, he seemed to gleam. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of the knuckles.

She frowned. She had seen that gesture dozens of times before, but when? Somewhere in the recent past. It niggled at her memory.

“I must tell you something, Olivia.”

Her heart began to race. It was his tone. His face. She could feel it there. Large and scary.

“Must you?” she whispered. “If we are all doomed, must you tell me now?”

He nodded. “It will change everything,” he said.

“Will it change….” She could barely speak the words, but she pushed them out. “Will it change how I feel about you?”

His hand tightened about her fingers. “It might, sweet Olivia. It might. But it’s better that you know now.”

She could feel a fine trembling settling into her bones. “Tell me,” she said.

He looked at her, then glanced away, toward the window. He pushed out a breath. “I have never done this before,” he said and touched her cheek. She realized that his hand was shaking.

She caught it in hers and held it. “Tell me.”

He drew in a deep breath. “My name is not really Daniel Castle, as they’ll find it registered with the UN. I’m not British.”

Olivia knew. She already knew. The kiss on the back of the hand. She moaned softly. But Daniel kept talking anyway.

“I’m Vistarian, Olivia. My real name is Daniel Alejandro Castellano y Medina. I’m a Major in the Vistarian Army and I’m a Loyalist. I’m also a member of the Intelligence Unit, working under deep cover.”

“Espionage.” She sighed. “You’re a spy.”

“If you want to be that melodramatic about it,” he said softly. “But one fact the movies did have right. I can be shot for treason for telling you what I just told you. I’ve broken every oath I gave when I signed up by telling you my true identity. You’re American, not Vistarian.”

“Then why tell me at all?”

“Because Serrano is questioning Ernesto and I think Ernesto knows I’m not British and not a businessman. Those two doubts, if he gives them to Serrano, will be enough for Serrano to come after me.” Daniel squeezed her hand a little. “The revolution is still technically in effect. If Serrano finds out I’m Vistarian and with the Loyalists, he can shoot me on the spot without benefit of a trial and no one can say a word against him.”

“If he finds out you’re an agent it would go even worse for you, wouldn’t it?” Olivia added.

“There’s worse than dying?” Daniel said lightly.

“We both know there is.” She slid her hand around the back of his neck. “But that isn’t why you told me.”

His short silence was an agreement but he still made an attempt to deny it. “You don’t find the idea that you are not Serrano’s sole target a comfort?”

“You told me because you wanted to assure me in some small way that even if the UN could not take care of us—me—that you would try to, that you have the skills to do it.”

Daniel laughed. “I would not dare try such a gallant gesture with a woman as independent as you. You would cut off my balls for me.”

“But you did, anyway. You didn’t start to tell me the truth about yourself until I said that there was no one who would help us here.” She pressed her lips against his. “Please tell me you are not planning to do something stupid and heroic to try to save us all. To save me? Are your loyalist friends in Acapulco aware of us all here?”

His arms came around her and his hand buried in her hair. “They don’t even know I am here,” His lips pressed against her cheek. “I got my orders directly from General Blanco and he died by car bomb assassination, four weeks ago. I am as stranded here as you are, my sweet, long-legged one.”

* * * * *

Calli stepped into the semi-dark bedroom and felt a tiny spurt of anger when she saw Nick standing at the window, staring out. He’d turned off all the lights except for the lamp on the side table and opened all the windows so that the sea breeze was washing through the frames. His dark red hair was lifting a little in the wind coming off the sea.

“You really are here,” she said. “I didn’t believe it when Minnie said you were.”

Nick turned his head a little, his eyes narrowed. “I should be somewhere else, oh great Chief of Staff?”

“You don’t have any formal appointments. We both know that. But if you’re not going to join us on the verandah, there’s mounds of paperwork in your tray.” Calli stopped two paces away from him which was far enough that he couldn’t reach for her without effort. She would have preferred to have done this anywhere but the bedroom, but he’d chosen the location by hiding out here. She mentally rolled up her sleeves. Nick at his most stubborn took all her energy, strength and ingenuity to deal with.

“You about done sulking?” she asked sweetly. It was a direct attack. Pussyfooting around with Nick, trying to use any strategy at all, was a waste of time. He was a master strategist and would spot a scheme in a heartbeat and outmaneuver her. So she was going straight for the emotional button instead.

She knew exactly why Nick was hiding away in their bedroom at eight in the evening when the rest of the family were gathered on the verandah. After eating with the generals, staff and personnel as usual, they had retired to the family verandah just as the sun had set tonight. It had become almost traditional.

The tiny verandah on the front of the house on the third floor was now reserved for family members and a few trusted people they chose to allow to join them in the evenings. It wasn’t a matter of privilege, but sanity-saving. They needed somewhere private where they could unwind and be themselves, to truly relax. That tiny strip of concrete and bamboo matting became a haven of escape each evening when they did not have formal appointments.

Tonight after supper, Josh had cleared his throat and announced diffidently that he was going back to the States, to rejoin his wife Beryl and take up his desk job at the corporate office of the mining company he represented.

A tense, long moment of stunned silence greeted his announcement. Everyone on the verandah seemed frozen in the positions they had been in when he had finished speaking. Glasses were lifted halfway to mouths.