Exchange of Fire (20 page)

“Fuck,” Talon hissed. “We figured he’d done it. Bastard.”

“I may have a way to take my uncle down,”
Ted said slowly, as if it hurt him to say the words.
“I’ll need your help and protection, though.”

Grady flipped onto his back, the leather couch in his office enveloping him like a glove. The lack of a full night’s sleep pulled him deeper into the dream.

Sandra swirled a finger over the fabric of his polo. His nipple hardened at her touch.

He gripped the Range Rover’s steering wheel.

She trailed her fingers down his abs and lightly grazed the jeans covering his hardening cock.

He sucked in a breath. “This isn’t safe. I can’t concentrate on driving when you do that.”

“Hmmm,” she whispered in his ear, giving the lobe a flick with her tongue. “Then you’re really going to have a difficult time with this next part.”

She reached under his untucked polo and pulled the leather strap of his belt out of the buckle.

Oh man, did he want this at the same time he knew he should wait. Sunlight filtered through the trees, revealing no other car or house in sight. Complete privacy on their journey to WhoTheFuckCaresville. He cleared his throat and shifted in the seat trying to relieve the throbbing of his dick against his jeans.

His breathing shallowed when she unzipped and spread his pants.

“Lift your hips,” she whispered, running a finger along the ridge of his cock through his briefs.

His brain shouted they should stop, but he could no longer follow the commands in his big head; the little one now had full control. Besides, he loved the challenge of keeping the SUV on the road while experiencing bliss.

The second he lifted, she pushed the jeans down until they were off the seat. He slumped and gave the SUV some gas, realizing they had slowed to a crawl.

She leaned in and placed the tip of her tongue on the edge of his ear, giving the lobe soft licks as she scraped the edges of her fingernails lightly up his thigh.

Holy Jesus, did that feel good.

Her hand continued upward until she grazed his cock, now straining against his briefs. He gunned the Range Rover forward. Not very subtle, letting her know how much he enjoyed the touch.

She chuckled against his ear.

“Turn,” he strained. “Need to turn left.”

“Go ahead,” she whispered breathily.

His dick jerked under her palm and he managed to make the turn.

Tingles radiated along his abdomen when she ran a finger underneath the elastic band of his briefs and swiped against his bulging head.

He sucked in air through his teeth.

She ducked under his ridged arm and he lifted his hips. She carefully yanked the underwear down, springing his cock free until it rested against his green polo.

“Nice,” she murmured, clenching the bottom of his shaft and stroking his sac.

“Hell yeah,” he whispered, and the truck slowed as he spread his thighs and jutted his hips up. She rolled the sac in her palm and stroked him.

The truck swerved, then shot forward.

“Christ,” he strangled, readjusting his grip on the steering wheel.

Sandra lowered her head and traced the tip of her tongue over the bulging vein running from his sac up to the tip.
Hell. Fucking. Yeah.

Just when he wondered if it could get better, she opened her mouth and sucked on the head.

“Christ. Fuck,” he yelled, and the SUV lurched forward, then slowed.

She widened her mouth and took more of him in, pressing her tongue along the vein as she continued to move lower.

“Oh, God. You’re so hot,” he whispered, raising his hips off the seat, pushing his cock deeper into her mouth. After a pause, she slowly dragged her mouth up, using her teeth to lightly scrape against his skin.

The SUV’s speed increased.

Wrapping her hand around his balls, she rolled them in her palm while dipping her head back down his length again. Then lightly scraped on her way back up, sucking on his throbbing head.

He gripped her polo and yanked it up, then unfastened her bra.

She gripped him at the bottom and licked his whole length over and over like a Tootsie Pop.

The truck slowed as he swirled a hand over her back, his circles increasing until his fingers encompassed her side.

She continued to slide her mouth up and down, increasing the pressure with each stroke. Then her tongue flicked over his small opening before she swallowed him down again.

He stopped the truck in the middle of the deserted road and put it in park. He dove his hand under her and latched on to a nipple. She increased her rhythm and groaned against him.

“Oh, God. Do that again,” he whispered hoarsely, and tweaked her breast.

She groaned and his cock jerked. She slid her hand under his sac and stroked the ridge behind it.

“Hell, yeah.” He lifted his hips. Black spots danced on the edges of his vision. “I’m not going to last much longer.”

In answer, she increased her pace, pressing on the sensitive spot.

He moaned, cupping his free hand on the back of her head and flicking her nipple with the other.

The tingle of the pending orgasm built at the base of his spine.

As if sensing how close he was, she sucked harder, lowering and raising her mouth over his dick.

The intense blaze grew to the point he couldn’t control it. He threw his head back onto the seat and tried to pull air in between his teeth.

“Fuck.” He pressed on her head. “Oh, God.”

She was like a goddess, drawing him in and out, using her tongue and pressure to push him over the edge.

“Oh.” His breath caught. “I can’t hold back,” he gasped, every muscle in his body tightening.

“I love you so much” ripped out of him as the first pulse of his orgasm erupted.

***

Sandra glanced up toward the mountainous area where she estimated Romeo had set up camp and waved before skulking forward. If Cappy woke up from his power nap and discovered she had risked her life coming to Gradwick, he’d have her ass. But she had to talk to Grady.

Magician’s words floated in her head, mostly in a jumble, but the overall message was clear. And one she couldn’t ignore.
Team approves. Win him back.

She jumped in the shadows and ran around the go-kart tracks. Rounding the corner, she let out a sigh of relief. Grady’s Range Rover still sat in his usual spot near the back door.

Her burner phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and hurried to the employee entrance.

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing?”
Romeo asked.

“I have to talk to him.” Her voice caught at the end.

“This is the stupidest thing you’ve done in the past few hours.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Cappy know you’re here?”

She had purposefully worn her Gradwick polo shirt in hopes of blending in with—ah, perfect. A maintenance man opened the back door.

She scooted forward and grabbed the handle.

The guy blinked surprised eyes at her until she smiled wide and said, “Thanks for holding the door.”

“Uh, no problem, ma’am.” He stumbled out of the entrance and she darted inside.

“Gotta go,” she whispered into the phone, and hung up.

Not wanting to risk a run-in with any of the staff, she kept her head down and hustled through the Arcade, past the central eatery, and into the Employees Only hallway. So far so good.

Her heart thundered in her chest, and she rubbed moistened palms against her jeans. What the hell was she going to say? She had a few things she needed to tell him, but drew a blank on how to start.

Damn. She gripped the pendant on her necklace and prayed for strength, courage, and wisdom. She could use all the help she could get.

She scurried past Security and paused outside Grady’s door. No sound seemed to be coming from inside. Good enough.

She turned the handle.

***

Grady heard the door open and groaned. His heart hadn’t stopped pounding since he’d woken up from the most erotic yet terrifying dream.
I love you so much!
still rattled in his brain. He loved her? Son of a bitch. When had that happened? His pulse raced, and his dick felt like it was bending in half in his jeans.

He needed to get rid of whoever had entered so he could get himself under control.

The rustling of clothing let him know the person had approached the couch. He pulled the pillow off his face and lifted his head. His blood froze, and too many emotions at once skittered down his spine.

Stalling to give his limbic system a second to calm down, he swung his legs to the floor. “How the hell did you get in here?”

Sandra paused, a flash of uncertainty stealing over her beautiful face. “Did you already forget my former occupation?”

“Trying to, but obviously not succeeding.” He swiped a hand over his eyes, then tunneled it into his hair. He couldn’t look at her yet. Everything inside hurt just hearing her sweet voice. “Is breaking and entering another one of your specialties?”

Her breath caught. “Infiltration’s more Talon’s area of expertise, but I’m very adept when I need to be.”

Unexplainable rage tripped through his system and he finally met her eyes—her puffy eyes. Whatever. “Talon,” he sneered. “Is your lapdog with you?”

Her eyebrows shot up, and she peered at him as if he was one fry short of a Happy Meal. “Lapdog? He’s back at the house. Why do you call him my lapdog?”

“As if you don’t know.” At the sound of Talon’s name, his cock had deflated, allowing him to finally stand. “Come on. You’re not
that
clueless.” He motioned to encompass her whole gorgeous body. “A woman of your training and acting ability? You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

The puzzled expression deepened, her lips pursing with the action.

Bits of his dream filtered into his head, and he forced himself to stare at something other than her mouth. “Whatever. Why are you here? In one of Gradwick’s polos, no less. I thought I made it very clear you’re not welcome anymore.”

Her face reddened and a sheen of tears moistened her eyes.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t fall for it,
he kept repeating, trying to harden his heart. It still thumped in pain anyway.

The three-headed spiral dragon winked under the fluorescent lights, helping to remind him that he didn’t know her at all.

She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I came to apologize.”

He held up a hand, willing it to remain steady and not reveal the trembling inside. “I don’t want to hear it. Nothing you say is going to convince me to forgive you.”

Pain lanced across her features, and her hazel eyes appeared more vivid behind the watery tears. “It wasn’t all an act, you know,” she whispered, holding his gaze.

Grady couldn’t stop the sarcastic laugh. “Could that be any more cliché? You expect me to fall for one of the oldest stories? Do you have so little respect for me?”

He paced away from her, trying to control his raging emotions. One minute he wanted to sweep her in his arms and kiss her senseless; the next, he wanted to lash out and hurt her as badly as she had him.

“Scoff all you want.” She followed his steps.

He couldn’t take being so close to her. Addicting feminine scents like shampoo, regardless of the brand, wafting from her hair and the smell of soap on her soft skin drilled into his head, causing his shattered heart to long for her return.
No. Have some respect for yourself.
He moved away.

“I may be a cliché,” she continued, the tears now tracking down her cheeks, “and I admit I withheld the truth about my past, but I was trying to keep you safe.”

Grady clenched his hands together. “Does this look like I’m safe? Even though it’s almost closing time, there’re supposed to be hundreds of people out there, celebrating the holiday. Do you hear laughter? Kids squealing? Anything at all?”

Her eyes studied the carpet.

“And what about that nonsense in town earlier?”

Her gaze whipped up to his.

“I got questioned by the police for that. They were looking for details to help them understand why two
FBI special agents
would suddenly appear in town, putting you in their custody because of a drug dealer. What the fuck, Sandra?” He gripped his hips. “Does that sound like you ‘kept me safe’?”

She covered her mouth. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I never even thought about the police coming to you.”

He unclenched his jaw. “Yeah, well, they did.” He held her gaze, hoping to make her sweat and worry about what he told them. He finally said, “Don’t worry, I played dumb.”

Her head snapped back like he’d slapped her. “Not once in all of this did I ever doubt your trustworthiness. I
knew
you would keep my secrets, despite how you felt about them.”

Damn it. Why did her avid belief in his character feel so fucking good? He needed to head this train off before he jumped on board and begged her to give him a chance. To allow him to get to know the real her.

“Grady, I know you think I targeted you by randomly picking you out of a magazine, but that’s not true.”

“So you didn’t find me that way?”

“Yes, but it was a miracle that even had me reading that issue. I mean, what’s the possibility that the only English-language magazine a small-town drugstore in Mexico carried would be
Civilian Life
? An older issue, at that.
Your
issue. Fate. That’s the only explanation I have. I was meant to read your article and run here. To you.”

Whatever. “I’m surprised you’re still here,” he said coldly, crossing his arms.

She winced, averting her gaze.

“Weren’t you about to run when I stopped you in the park?”

She lifted her chin, her blurry eyes snapping with a bit of her old fire. Shit, why did he have to notice how much that fire still turned him on?

“I already explained to you how I thought my leaving would draw the assassin away.”

This was getting him nowhere but dizzy with all his conflicting emotions. This conversation was too much, too soon. “I’ve got a ton of things to do before I leave for the night. Should I ask Gibson to escort you out?”

Regret and pain crossed her face. “That’s not necessary. I just wanted to apologize.”

“Noted.”

She stared at him, her eyes raking him from top to bottom. Too many expressions and flashes passed for him to begin to label them. She pivoted on her heel and strode out the door, her head held high as she pulled his door firmly shut.