“Mm-hm,” I manage, warmth settling low in my belly.
“Lie back.”
I breathe in the cave’s earthy, fresh scent as he pulls off my underwear, then moves over me to slide my bra straps off my shoulders until my breasts are freed.
“I know I need to work on telling you how much I love you.” He murmurs against my skin, the warmth of his breath making my nipple harden. “But I’ve never had a hard time showing you.”
I sigh softly, my nails grazing lightly over his scalp as I rake my hand through his thick hair. He takes his time, teasing my nipples with his mouth until I’m frantic with need.
My back arches off the ground and I try to push his head lower. A short breath that’s half groan brushes over my skin.
Finally, his mouth moves to my stomach, the brush of his stubble giving me goose bumps. When he gets to his knees between my legs, a few seconds of frustrating silence pass. He’s just looking at me, need coursing through me like an electric hum.
“Spread that pussy for me,” he rumbles. “Show me what only I get to see.”
A little moan of desperation slips out of me as I comply, parting my legs as wide as I can.
Finally, he moves.
“You’re so beautiful, B. I waited my whole life to feel this way.”
He runs his tongue over my clit and I cry out, my back arching up even farther. He has me so wound up that I’m already on the edge.
“I only want one thing,” he says gruffly. “Say my name when you come.”
When he puts his mouth on me, it only takes a few seconds. He knows exactly how to draw it out, sucking my clit with just the right amount of pressure. Pleasure courses through me as I yell his name, breathless when my back drops to the ground and I whimper.
I’m boneless when I pull my underwear back on a few minutes later and we jump through the waterfall. When my head breaks through the surface of the water, Marcus is swimming toward the shore, moving faster than I’ve ever seen him go in the water.
“The radio,” he calls over his shoulder.
It’s in his pants. Nova told him she would only call if there was a true emergency. I swim as fast as I can. The radio is in Marcus’s hand when I get out of the water.
“We’re on the way,” he says into it.
“What is it?” I ask, frantically grabbing my shirt.
“It’s McClain.”
16
“That last assignment was an insult to my skill set, but I dropped you know what you know where. Can I do something a little more interesting next time?” - Decoded message from ILF undercover operative Nightingale to ILF handler Hiro Tanaka
Marcus
We run the entire way, Nova’s somber expression when we meet her at the Sub entrance making my chest constrict.
“I’m sorry,” she says to me. “Ellison wanted me to call you. She said he doesn’t have much time.”
“You did the right thing.” I look over my shoulder at Briar and say, “Let’s go see him.”
She hesitates. “You and Ellison have known him a lot longer. I’m not sure I belong there.”
“You belong wherever I am. Come on.”
I lead the way into the Sub, my thoughts jumbled. My anger toward Randall McClain is easy. He earned it many times over. It’s the other feelings that are more complex.
“Hey.” Briar stops me outside the room Ellison has McClain in. “Are you sure you should do this? We’re underground right now, and if you lose control?—”
