AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled and pulled back his hand. “My sister calls it the ‘Tessa effect.’ She says my wife’s cheerful personality has dulled some of my grumpiness.” He tossed a hand through his hair as if uncomfortable he’d even admitted that. Or maybe shocked. Made two of us. “Griffin told me you left those two men alive back in Lithuania despite wanting to kill them. Diana having some type of effect on you, too?”
When I’d gone to pull the trigger in that shed, Diana’s sad blue eyes came into my head, and I’d been unable to take their lives. “Maybe a wild animal will take them out.” Circle of life and all. “If not, I’ll send in a tip to the local police tomorrow.” I was the one going soft, damnit.
He angled his head toward the door. “Does she know you didn’t kill them?”
“She doesn’t need to know.” I had to place some space between myself and Diana before I put my mouth on hers again. The next time, I wouldn’t be able to stop at that.
“If you say so,” he said reluctantly, fortunately letting go of whatever was on his mind. I needed the hard-ass operator back, not a man in touch with his feelings.
“Let’s just go inside.” I pulled the door open with more force than necessary and waited for him to walk ahead.
We went down the hall, following the chatter to find everyone inside an old office. Rows of desks and nothing else there aside from our equipment.
“I think we’ve been at a few parties together before.” Sydney was in the process of shaking Diana’s hand. “I’m Sydney Archer.”
Diana’s eyes narrowed on her as if trying to place her from her past. “Ohhh, of the Archer billionaires?” She let go of Sydney’s hand. “Sorry, I usually spent my parents’ parties with my headphones on or my nose in a book. Or both.” An embarrassed little blush worked up her throat into her cheeks. “Not much of a social butterfly.”
I hung back near the door of the room, too mesmerized by this woman to budge. It was for her own good, and everyone else’s in that room, that I didn’t move another muscle. The irrational part of my brain wanted to go to her. Take her from the room. Take her away from there altogether and hide her away myself. But this wasn’t about us, and I needed to get my shit together and my emotions needed to stay the fuck out of the plan.
“It’s such a small world, though,” Diana noted with a little shrug as Sydney tipped her head to Gray. “Were you ever Sydney Maverick? I feel like . . .” Diana let her words trail off, and Sydney nodded.
“By marriage, yes.” Sydney picked up a laptop, and started for a desk but then stopped. “Wait, that’s right. My ex is friends with your father, and my dad’s close with your old man as well.”
“Really is a small world,” Oliver piped up, stepping forward to offer his hand. “So small these two even once dated,” he added while pointing to Sydney and Gray. Sydney subtly flipped him the bird. “That’s a Mya thing to do, not you,” he joked, then offered his name.
“Sydney’s now married to my brother-in-law, Beckett, though,” Jesse said, then introduced himself next.
“So, this is really a family, not just a team?” Diana knelt alongside Dallas as he wagged his tail, waiting for attention from his new favorite person.
I’d definitely been replaced. Couldn’t even blame him. She was far more easy on the eyes than my rugged-ass self, not to mention much sweeter.
“Family,” Mya said under her breath. “Yeah, you could say that.” She gave her a bright smile while teasingly elbowing Oliver to the side to get to Diana. “Oliver already gave you my name with his little jab, but I’ll follow up with the formal intros. I’m Mya.”
Diana smiled, remaining crouched while stretching out her arm to shake Mya’s hand. When her sleeve shifted, I glimpsed Diana’s tattoo, triggering a memory or two from my past. Like that Easter weekend.
“So, let’s see.” Mya looked around the crowded room of operators shuffling about, prepping equipment. “You know everyone now but Mason and Jack. Mason’s outside, but where’d Jack go? He’s our other comedian on the team. If you couldn’t tell, Oliver likes to think he’s one, too.”
Oliver rolled his eyes, and Mya smacked the air in his direction.
“Jack went to call his wife,” Griffin shared on his way over to me. “Here,” he quietly said. “A burner for when you’re ready.”
I wasn’t remotely close to being ready for that part of the plan, but I’d be damned if I’d let anyone else do what had to be done. I pocketed the phone and pushed away from where I’d been leaning into the doorframe. My slight change in position sent Dallas scrambling to all fours in preparation for orders. I had none to give him right now, other than to keep doing what he was doing, which was relaxing Diana, so I gave him a signal to stand down, and he relaxed back alongside her.
“Jesse and Griffin, why don’t you join Mason outside to keep guard,” Gray said as I checked the time. Two more hours until Bravo extracted Diana.
“I’ll take overwatch. Be on the roof.” Griffin picked up the case that held his preferred long gun, gave me a nod, then left the room with Jesse.
Diana stood tall, removing the headphones from around her neck, and set them and the MP3 player on a nearby desk.
I tracked her every movement like a man obsessed, watching as her deft fingers twisted her hair into a side braid. Mya wordlessly removed a rubber band she had on her wrist, her gaze flicking my way for a brief moment, before offering it to Diana.
The tempting goddess ignored the old desk chairs strewn about, opting to head back to Dallas, kneeling next to him. Dallas lowered his head to her lap, and she casually stroked his fur. Images of my head in her lap morphed into visions of her stroking my cock, the visuals clearly and frustratingly following the words in my thoughts. I shook my head to clear it, moving my eyes from her hand, following the graceful line of her arm up to her shoulder and across her chest.
She didn’t have the vest or chest plate on anymore, and her bra was clearly too thin. I could make out her nipples poking through the silk. I rotated my neck, desperately in need of tension relief, and knowing the only way I’d achieve it was by plunging my cock into Diana.
Jack joined us just before I became completely unhinged, saving me from tossing Diana over my shoulder and carrying her away.
After a quick introduction, I sent Jack to the roof with Griffin. Despite being at a CIA safe house, the last thing I felt right now was safe, not with Diana there.
