Page 44 of Russian Rescue

I smiled as I watched her resolve falter while I did the circles that I knew drove her wild.

“Great. Yep. We’ll, uh, see you later today. Yep. Okay. Bye.”

She hit the call end button and dropped the phone on the mattress. While spreading her legs wider to give me full access, she grabbed ahold of my hair as I rubbed my fingers against her until her grip on me tightened when I felt her body release once again.

“Holy shit,” she breathed as she melted into the mattress.

“Mmmhmm,” I answered proudly. “I know you’re an excellent actress, but you’re not good enough to pull off that kind of performance. I’m good. Admit it.”

“Yeah. I give in. You’re good. Too good. I’m going to miss this.”

I furrowed my brow. “Miss this? As in, this is just a one-time thing?”

“Yeah.” She sat up on her elbows. “It can’t be anything more.”

The breath drained from my lungs like I’d been punched in the gut. Thinking I’d gotten to be with Piper in a way I’d never dreamed could be real only to have it taken away would have killed me. But then I remembered the woman underneath the tough exterior. The walls that she’d built around herself that I’d bulldozed down last night. She was struggling to put them back up again.

And hard as she tried, I wouldn’t let her.

Now that I recognized the obstacles standing between us, I wouldn’t stop until I made sure she knew they didn’t actually exist. She’d thought last night she’d scare me away with her admission, but instead, it only made me adore her more. Both of those obstacles, her fragile heart and her life of taking out perverts, couldn’t stand in our way. My destiny was always to be at her side, and eventually, she’d see it too.

Rolling my eyes, I gave an exaggerated nod. “Yep. Just sex. Sure it was. You keep telling yourself that until you’re ready to accept it was more.”

“It was just sex. It has to be.”

“Yep. Just sex. Sure, pumpkin.” I kissed her head while she huffed. “Take your time to come to grips that you’re madly in love with me. I’ll wait.”

“Madly in lo... what? No. And if you ever call me pumpkin again, I will cut your tongue out and stick it in a Jack-o’-lantern for Halloween.”

“Can it be like a Gene Simmons Jack-o’-lantern? That would actually be pretty awesome. I’d be cool with that.”

I stuck out my tongue, and she swatted at it. “I’ll do it. I’ll take that thing right out of your mouth.”

I pressed a kiss to her stomach and stood up, noticing the way her pupils dilated as she soaked in the sight of my naked body. “No, you won’t, pumpkin. You love what I can do with it too much.”

Her eyes went big as her mouth fell open.

“Want breakfast? I’m cooking. Naked.” I winked. “We’re gonna need to replenish all our energy after what we did last night so we’re ready to get my sister back. And I’m not sitting this one out. My stealth ops ass is going to be on a computer running as Overwatch. My nice stealth ops ass.”

I walked out of the bedroom, making no effort to cover my naked ass. I smiled as I turned the corner, still feeling her gaze burning through me.

Just sex my ass.

***

I peered out the window of the cabin, waiting for the car to pull up. A kid at Christmas was nothing compared to the excitement I felt knowing I’d soon see Marcus and Knox in person. The first time I’d met them, I’d felt like a little leaguer getting dropped into a room with his baseball idols. They were such badasses, and I’d been a nervous wreck knowing that two of the deadliest men on the planet sat at a table with me.

But soon, my admiration of them turned into friendship, and even though I sometimes still felt like the freshman geek hanging out with the high school football heroes, they never once made me feel like I didn’t belong. They made me feel like a friend... like family.

“Would you calm down? Jesus. Why are you acting like a whacko?” Piper asked from her place where she reclined on the couch.

“Because it’s been years since I’ve seen them. I’m just excited. Sorry.”

“You’ve been hanging around with them for a decade, Wes.”

“Yeah, but over the computer. Not in real life. It’s different.”

She rolled her eyes and let her head flop back on the couch. A few moments later, tires ground on the gravel driveway. Piper sat up and pulled the small pistol from her waistband, hurrying to the window and pressing up against it.