Finding Trust (Centre Games) (10 page)

She slowly turned her head and looked him dead on. He braced, waiting for it.

“So this thing between us, how do I know it’s real and not just something that you enjoy as a benefit of the job?”

Her question was reasonable but still stung like hell. He asked himself whether he would be thinking something similar if he was in her position and the only honest answer he could come up with was yes.

“I guess the answer is that you don’t know.” Rihanna snapped back so fast he could have sworn he’d hit her physically with his words. Guess she wasn’t expecting him to be honest, he almost laughed to himself.

“I think that you are getting an idea of what I’m about. It seems you trust me. So I’m asking you to believe me when I say that this connection we have is unique for me as well.” She looked at him long and hard, her eyes assessing as if to see whether he would give any indication that he was being anything less than truthful. He didn’t flinch as he looked her straight in the eye.

Her face broke into a smile that warmed him from head to toe. She wanted to believe him and thought he was telling the truth.

He held out his arms and she moved into the protective circle within. Rihanna rested her head on his shoulder and just enjoyed the closeness and the warmth of his embrace. After a long moment, he turned his head, seeking her mouth with his lips.

It was a leisurely exploration for both of them. His lips encouraged her to explore his mouth further. He slid his hand into her hair to gently pull her head back so he could deepen the touch.

The sensual haze of his touch was broken by the vibrating of his phone on the nearby glass table top. Brayden pulled away reluctantly and moved from the frothing water.

“It might be my team,” he said over his shoulder, one hand reaching for a towel and the other grabbing the phone.

Rihanna held her breath, not knowing what to feel. One second, she was kissing Bray as if her life depended on it—all thoughts on him. The next, her mind was shot back to the potential news that a phone call could mean. Would it be good news, bad news, or none at all? Her stomach decided on a gut-wrenching fear and the blood began to pound in her ears. Goose bumps had broken out all over her skin, even though the temperature was a balmy thirty degrees Celsius and the water was pleasantly heated.

He’d turned away from her and moved towards the house, instinctively looking for privacy to take the call. Her mind immediately jumped to worst-case scenarios.

“Hey, Stud—what took you so long?” the Rat Brat asked.

“Just taking a little afternoon dip, while we wait to hear from you lot.” He listened to her amused chuckling on the other end. The message couldn’t be too bad if the Brat could keep up her easy teasing.

“I bet,” she said, sounding completely unconvinced.

“What’s the status?”

“Good news—operation went successfully. They guys caught the tangos by surprise and it all went pretty smoothly.”

“Define pretty smoothly?” he asked suspiciously. Any day you walked away instead of being carried in his business was classified as an astounding success.

“The target has a few cuts and bruises and was fairly dehydrated. Nothing a good night’s sleep and a couple of bags of fluid won’t fix.”

“And?”

“Two tangos were eliminated but at least six others were identified as being part of the operation.”

“Great. Seems bigger than we thought,” he added sarcastically. “Do we know who they are yet?”

“The guys are running checks now with the information we have taken off the bodies and from the facility. First impression is East European, but something seems off with that. We’re going to dig deeper.”

“Fuck—that seriously sucks canine testicles,” he said, much louder than he had intended. Bloody East Europeans had a passion for viruses and chemistry. Why the hell couldn’t they leave biology and science alone? Same old, same old. Global domination and mountains of cash.

“Yeah, it does. That’s why the boss man has told me to get you to stay put tonight and he’ll give you an update on the game plan at oh eight hundred tomorrow.”

“She’ll want to see her father as soon as possible.”

“That’s a big negative. Boss says that the risk is too great for them to be together. So you do your thing and we’ve assigned another protective duty team here. Boss wants you guys as far from the action and each other as possible.”

The confirmation of an increased number of tangos had no doubt altered the original thinking on this mission. Common sense and training told him that putting all their eggs in one basket would be dangerous but it also made it essential that he kept her safe. He couldn’t bear if anything happened to her on his watch.

“She’s going to want to talk to him.”

“He’s sedated at the moment and the medical crew are working on the hydration. He should be fine in the morning for a call.”

“Okay—we’ll talk then.”

“Catch you then, Stud. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” He ended the call to her tinkling laughter in his ear.

He turned around and must have had a grin on his face because
Rihanna’s terrified gaze immediately softened.

“Tell me—did they get him?” she cautiously enquired, almost too scared to ask the question in case the answer was not to her liking.

“Yep, they got him all safe and sound.”

She let out a huge breath and dragged herself dripping from the spa and basically threw herself at him.

He caught her weight easily and pulled her to him in a deliciously hot embrace. He just held her there and let her take in the good news. She was shaking with relief. A few seconds later, he realised it was not shaking but soft sobs of relief. He gently took her chin in his palm and wiped away the tears with the other.

“When can I see him?” she half sobbed.

He hesitated and Rihanna immediately jumped all over him with words.

“What’s wrong with him? Tell me now,” she demanded.

“He has a few cuts and bruises and is a bit dehydrated. The medicos are running fluids now and patching him up.”

“I want to talk to him now,” she demanded.

“You can’t. They have him sedated at the moment,” he said.

He saw the shock immediately return to her face again.

“Minky, he’s going to be fine. You can talk to him in the morning.” His words were calming and reassured her.

“You positive he’s okay?” She pressed on, still a little hesitant to believe that everything was really alright.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Rheeba said he’s just exhausted, so no doubt they decided to give him a good night’s sleep while his body rehydrates.”

She nodded reluctantly, accepting his explanation. “So where does that leave us?”

“My orders are that we stay here at least for tonight. I’ll get another briefing and further instructions at oh eight hundred.”

She was still struggling to assimilate how easily he seemed to accept others telling him what to do.

“So what do we do now?” she asked, feeling restless with pent-up energy, the rush at the relief coming from hearing her father was safe.

“I suggest that we grab something to eat and try to have a relaxing evening.” He raised his eyebrows as he made the final suggestion. “Maybe go to bed early?” His gesture left little doubt in Rihanna’s mind as to what Brayden’s idea of relaxing would entail.

“Surely you must be really tired after last night and the day you’ve had?” His voice held a promising tease and was not without a hint of sarcasm to ensure that her mind and body were very clear on where his timetable was heading.

And she had to secretly admit that she liked the idea…very much.

“Yep, very tired.”

Chapter Six

It seemed that the air had taken on even more electricity since their discussion in the spa. The anticipation was building and building. Rihanna was lazing comfortably along the cool leather of the big lounge adjoining the kitchen. From where she sat, she had a clear view of Brayden’s amazing body. He was finishing up the kitchen chores. They had shared a delicious meal of crisp salad and chicken satays cooked over the BBQ grill that took place of pride on the veranda. The perfect summer meal for the balmy Queensland heat.

His loose singlet provided plenty of opportunities for Rihanna to openly stare at his gorgeous full shoulders and sculptured biceps. The man was seriously built. Her eyes kept straying farther south to the tight, rounded globes of his butt and the unmistakable bulge in the front of his shorts. Yeah, he was feeling the anticipation—or was it pain?—just as much as she was.

He finally finished his cleaning and arranging. Instinct and observation told her Brayden was a tidy person but tonight she thought he was taking it to a whole new level. Was he as nervous as she was?

It had been such a long time since she had been with a man. And never one as virile and confident about his world as Bray. A montage of studious, conservative boyfriends ran through her head. They all appeared in muted shades of grey. Many she hadn’t even been intimate with; there simply hadn’t been any chemistry.

She’d certainly never spent any time with a guy like Brayden, who was so vivid on every level. If the others were grey, he was a rainbow of bold colours. What experience did she have with a guy like him? The answer was simple: NONE. All her insecurities came leaping back. What if he thought she was disappointing? After all, what could he possibly want with a vet who spent most of her time talking to animals or researching viruses?

Lost in her own thoughts, she missed the fact that Brayden was now crossing the room and moving towards her. She couldn’t help but notice the almost animalistic way he stalked towards her. It was clear in his focus and intent. He was coming for her, ready or not!

She took a deep breath and held out her hand to him when he reached for her.

***

Brayden had taken his time and meticulously cleaned up after their meal. Sure he was tidy but far from a paranoid neat freak, which he probably seemed to be. He had his reasons for taking his time. Rihanna needed to feel something other than the fear and detachment that had rocked her world over the last twenty-four hours. He could tell from sneaking sly glances out of the corner of his eye that she was nearly twitching with anticipation. At least when she was thinking about what was to come between them, she wasn’t stressing over the events of the last day.

He wanted her to anticipate his touch, his caress, his passion, and his connection to her. He was sure there was something special between them. He just needed to convince her that what it was was real and not a by-product of the situation. Without a doubt, Minky was interested but if he was to guess, she was shy about her sexuality.

While he cleaned, he swore he could feel her eyes caressing his shoulders and arms. Yeah, she was just as aware as he was. The only difference was he was open and up front. Taking the lead would be no hardship for him.

Well, he had prolonged the inevitable long enough. It was time to take this to the next level. His hard erection almost cheered in encouragement. With a clear scene in mind, he walked directly to the lounge and stretched his hand out to her. She took it with only the slightest hesitation.

Brayden pulled her gently to her feet and she immediately found herself in the circle of his strong arms. He gave her a reassuring hug and nuzzled her ear and neck, placing tiny feather like kisses against her highly sensitised skin. Before she internally combusted on the spot, he slightly drew away and turned to walk down the hall with his arm around her shoulders.

He paused briefly at the double doors announcing the entrance to his private sanctuary. He dropped a kiss on her nose, turned the handle and pulled her through the doorway. Rihanna dropped his hand and stepped from him.

She turned a full circle, taking in the masculine decor and furnishings. The room screamed Brayden. A bed so large that it had to have been custom-made stood against the back wall of the room. Made of a beautiful rich red timber, it had intricately carved posts on each corner. The duvet was a series of abstracted swirls ranging in just about every colour of green and blue. It shouldn’t have worked but somehow it did. It looked cool, inviting, and decadent, much like its owner.

Her gaze swept to the French doors running along the side of the bed. Obviously there was some sort of balcony out there. Further round her perusal, she found yet another panorama of the magnificent Gold Coast lights twinkling through the slats of the timber plantation shutters. Wow, he could lie in bed and see all this. What a view. So near yet so far.

Without really thinking about it, she was drawn to the French doors. She opened them and discovered a half-enclosed veranda that was incredibly cosy and boasted a plush-looking day bed; the blue and green theme was continued out here with a pile of plush cushions and light cotton throw rugs.

Beside the bed was a beautiful honey wooded acoustic guitar. She turned to him as if trying to assimilate him into the picture. He helped out by walking over, picking up the guitar and stretching out his long legs on the bed. She wandered over and curled up at his feet; needing to touch him, she lightly gripped his ankles. He began to strum a familiar song. After a few bars of being mesmerised by his nibble fingers, she recognised the anthem he had been playing when she first became so absolutely aware of Bray.

She heard the silent song lyrics in her head. “Take me baby, make me yours tonight.” Without thinking, she started to quietly sing along to the catchy rhythm. Embarrassment flushed through her when she realised she’d been singing aloud to a “rock God.” Rather than make her feel more awkward, Bray joined her, matching his voice to hers.

His eyes caught and held hers as his hands continued their dance across the strings.

The song came to an end and he shifted to put the guitar against the wall beside the bed. His gaze never left hers. Without any more pause for thought, he moved across the bed and urged her back into the pile of cushions and pillows. He lowered his body over hers and sought her lips in a scorching kiss.

The waiting and anticipation was over.

The song that he now thought of as “theirs” had been the perfect introduction to the night he had planned. He had actually forgotten he’d left his guitar out there a couple of days ago. He’d been working on a couple of new pieces late the other night. So much could happen in a few short hours.

Rihanna sighed and reached behind his head, with her arms locking her to him even tighter. Their bodies fit together just right. She wriggled her lower body unconsciously, settling his weight on her more comfortably. Brayden groaned in response. She ran her fingers through his thick hair and he felt the delicious tingles all through his scalp and down his spine. His already painful erection grew even more.

His mouth never broke the contact of their kiss; his tongue had taken up residence in her mouth and was settling in for a long overdue stay. The feel of her warm skin beneath his hands was too tempting.

Soon, he was easing her T-shirt up and over her head. What was underneath caused him to take a deep breath, desperately trying to regain some semblance of control. He broke the kiss in order to let his eyes feast on his new discovery.

Rihanna was wearing a lacy white bra that complimented her lightly tanned skin perfectly. Her rosy pink nipples were pushing up against the floral pattern of the lace in delicious-looking little buds.

“Mmmm, sweetheart, I hope you realise you’re totally gorgeous,” he whispered into her ear between placing tingling kisses over her mouth and across the silky skin of her jaw and throat. His voice was warm and rich and set off another round of tingles through her already charged body as it tickled the shell of her ear.

Her response was only to moan her pleasure and move her head to the side to give him further room to explore. His mouth slipped down the slope of her neck. His tongue paused to lap and place kisses at spots that clearly grabbed his attention.

At last, he seemed to settle and focus on the hard peak of her right breast. Without further delay, he flicked his tongue over her pebbled nipple through the lace of the bra. The friction of the lace moving against her sensitised skin sent a rocket of need straight to her centre. She arched her back, pushing her breast further into his mouth, seeking more of the incredible sensation. He obliged by closing his lips and pulling her nipple into his mouth with slow, torturous suction.

Rihanna groaned at the sensation of his mouth ravaging her breasts through the delicate cage of her bra. She felt his hand slide around to the centre of her back, seeking the hooks to release her breasts for his undivided pleasure. Every slide and touch of his fingers was becoming more and more painful. The need for the ultimate release fast built within her.

The loose singlet Brayden was wearing gave her plenty of access for her hands to wander the hard muscles of his shoulders and back. But still she needed more. His kisses and suckles at her breasts were drugging, removing all logical thought except to seek more and more from him.

Finally she managed a choked, “Get this off,” as she half dragged his singlet over his head. Reluctant to break the contact with her, Brayden sat up and whipped the singlet the rest of the way off.

He reached for the loose elastic waistband of her comfy shorts and paused to look her in the eye. He raised his eyebrows in silent question. Rather than be embarrassed as she would have guessed, she found herself urging him on with a nod, not sure at all what to say.

She tentatively reached down and tried to help slide her shorts off. He brushed her hands away.

“Let me…I want to see all of you.”

She complied and let his hand ease the soft material down her legs. The shorts revealed a pair of very cute white satin bikini panties with a little white bow in the middle.

The little white bow caught his attention, and he smiled mischievously before leaning forward to place a well-aimed kiss on her abdomen just above the bow. The kiss became a tickling lick and she squirmed in surprise as he drew lazy circles on her belly with his clever tongue.

When she could stand no more of his delicious torment, she ran her fingers through his thick hair and gave him a firm yank. He all but growled in the back of his throat at having his attentions interrupted.

“That seriously tickles,” she gasped between giggles and squirms.

Her toned stomach was bouncing up and down, trying to escape the exquisite torment. He thrust forward with his body, pressing her hips further into the bed to still her wriggling.

Brayden then moved his attentions up to her lush breasts. Her erect nipples all but begged for his attention. He obliged by licking his tongue slowly around the areola of her left breast, moving in tighter circles towards the hard centre. She gasped and arched her back to press tighter into the incredible sensation as he closed his mouth over the entire nipple and sucked.

After what seemed like forever, she lightly pushed him on the shoulders. He opened his eyes in question to her. She subtly moved her right breast closer to his mouth, indicating her right side was getting incredibly jealous. He caught the message and moved his ministrations sideways, laughing softly around her nipple. Even that set off more fireworks. She so needed him.

Her hands wrapped tighter around his back as he continued his exquisite torture. She slid them down to his hips and urged him closer, bringing his hard length directly in contact with her heated mound. He finally broke contact and moved away from her, sweeping her up and into his arms in one swift movement. He strode through the French doors and deposited her firmly in the middle of his bed.

“What was wrong with the day bed?” she wondered, a little disappointed.

“Not enough room for what I want to do to you,” he stated bluntly.

Somehow, the day bed seemed a little less intimidating than his huge bed. The light on the veranda was more muted and shadowy and she immediately began to feel the self-consciousness return. Brayden moved to the bedside table and adjusted the dimmer switch on the lamps beside the bed. The room immediately took on a soft, warmer, less intimidating feel.

She squirmed up farther to rest her head on the pillows, self-consciously trying to sink into the protection of the bed covers.

Bray could wait no longer. With nimble fingers, he removed his shorts and underwear in a long swipe. He moved possessively towards the bed, desperate to return to the incredible heat of her body.

Nervousness forgotten, his return to the bed was so swift that Rihanna whined in disappointment at not being able to take in the view of him in all his naked glory.

She was quickly sighing again when the full weight of him pushed her into the plush quilt cover.

He paused, resting on one extended arm, and stroked a loose length of hair from her face. Brayden looked into her eyes and said, “You’re so beautiful, Rihanna. I want you so much I ache.”

Any last resistance to him crumbled as she reached to draw him near again. He resisted and slid his right hand to her left hip and started to work the side of her panties down.