Contracted Defense Read online

  When she didn’t immediately deny him, he raised his eyebrows and reached for the crushed red pepper. Deliberately, he moved the tiny container to another table. Then he continued with his meal.

  She should tell him no. They were in the middle of their mission, and she’d been the one to set the expectation from the start that they would be completely professional. Yet this, this play, made the work more of a challenge. It helped her step back and gain perspective on the problems they were encountering in the project. He was keeping her from being sucked so deep into the work that she didn’t recognize how to interact with people anymore. He was a magnet.

  Allowing this to go on wasn’t the professional thing to do, or even the smartest thing. It was unconventional.

  They’d agreed together to throw off any watchers with the unexpected.

  Anyone who’d worked with Victoria in the past, known her, been with her, would never expect this.

  Beyond what people might think, she took in Adam sitting opposite her, fresh and full of the life she’d been too burned-out to grasp. It was so very tempting to allow herself to be swept away in his energy.

  This once, this mission, she’d follow his lead. It might show her a way to go about things she’d never risked exploring. Even if it ended badly, she was certain experiencing Adam would be well worth the adventure.

  * * *

  Adam pulled their kayaks onto the small pier on Roland’s property and used a hose attached to the small boathouse to rinse them both down with freshwater. Victoria stood clear, her gaze scanning the surrounding area.

  She’d been quiet on the paddle back from town. He hadn’t minded the silence, but the heat in her gaze had kept his attention riveted to her the entire trip back. Now, he was splitting his attention three ways: the task at hand, the area around them, and her.

  “Lizzy is still covering watch on the main house,” Victoria offered in a low voice.

  He nodded. It was probably habit as much as anything for him not to talk much near open water. Sound carried easier over the surface and the bay had been calm today. There might be only seabirds and the brave sea otter to hear them at the water’s edge, but he’d rather not take chances.

  Finished rinsing the kayaks, he took hold of one. She bent and took the other end of it. The kayaks weren’t heavy but they were awkward, and it made the job easier with the two of them. In a few minutes, both kayaks were inside the boathouse, resting on racks.

  “We made good time.” He’d let the door close on them as they’d come in with the second kayak, and the boathouse was dim with only the afternoon light from a small window.

  “We’re back early.” She agreed.

  He watched her as she checked the rack again, ostensibly to be sure the kayak was securely placed. “So we’ve got some time to dally.”

  She paused, turned to fix him with a long look. In those few moments, she seemed to make a decision. “We do.”

  Her answer sparked a flame inside him, and it burned through him like a fire out of control. “Not the answer I expected to hear, Queenie, but I am very glad you said it.”

  “That so?” She didn’t come to him. Instead, she drew back further into the shadows of the boathouse. “I’m surprising myself too. Is that a good thing?”

  “I think it is.” He followed her, giving her time to change her mind if she needed to.

  But she was a decisive kind of woman. Her gaze never left his as she bent and untied her boots, pulling them off one at a time. She undid her pants next, sliding them over her hips and down her long legs.

  His mouth went dry. The sight of those shapely thighs was enough to drop him to his knees and he didn’t resist the impulse. He pressed his hands into the wall on either side of her and looked up the length of her body into her clear blue gaze again. “I’m about to worship you.”

  Rose flushed at her cheeks. “You’re crazy.”

  He grinned. “I’m eager.”

  She didn’t answer, only placed her hands over his on the wall.

  He buried his face into the hollow of her hip, breathing in the spicy scent of her with the hint of sweet. He caught the light musk of her arousal too. Hard to miss considering his position. The hard wood floor of the boathouse was unforgiving, but for this, he’d endure.

  He nudged her shirt up to give himself access to skin and kissed her hip. Soft, smooth, he tasted her skin and dragged a few hot kisses along the outside of her hip before kissing his way between her legs.

  “You wear some pretty, pretty panties.” He nipped at the lace-and-satin bit of fabric keeping him from her.

  “I like feeling pretty.” Her words came breathy.

  He slipped his hands out from under hers, unable to hold off from exploring her any longer. “Let’s give you more to feel.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time.” Her protest sounded halfhearted though.

  He shook his head slowly, brushing the front of her panties with every pass. “We have enough. You’re wet for me, Queenie. This won’t take long for either of us, but it’s going to be good. Trust me.”

  He was greedy though, because he was indulging himself too. He coasted his hands up her legs from her calves upward behind her knees and along the backs of her thighs. Pausing, he gripped her thighs just under her butt and pressed his mouth against her panties again.

  A quiet sound escaped her throat, a needy whimper.

  He didn’t need another encouragement. He turned and pressed one shoulder between her legs, encouraging her into a wider stance. She gave him the access he wanted, pressing back against the wall and reaching out with one hand to grasp the rack for balance.

  “Hold on,” he advised. Then he pulled the bit of fabric aside with his thumb and tasted her. Her entire body trembled, and he steadied her with his right shoulder, keeping his left hand on the inside of her thigh to continue to hold the fabric of her panties.

  She tasted so good. He started with long licks, making sure to flick her clit at the end of each one. When she squirmed in his hold, he fastened his mouth over her clit and sucked until she choked back a cry.

  Still trying to be quiet, which was good. But she could take a challenge.

  He suckled and licked more, circling her clit with the tip of his tongue. She writhed against the wall and tilted her hips. He grazed her with his teeth ever so gently, then darted his tongue inside her.

  Her breath was coming in short pants. “If you don’t come inside me, I’m going to kill you.”

  He thrust his tongue inside her again.

  She was holding on to the wall and the boat rack for dear life.

  He backed away, and she gasped, her eyes flying wide open. He caught and held her gaze as he stood in front of her and undid his pants. Taking a condom out of his pocket, he thanked the universe that he was an optimistic man, and opened it. Having her watch him put the condom on was maybe one of the hottest moments he could remember. It was about to get way better. “You only ever have to ask.”

  Her gaze fell to his freed cock, hard and erect, then rose back up to meet his. “Please.”

  He lunged for her. They met in a kiss that was more than heat, it was a carnal clash of teeth and tongues. They fed at each other’s mouths as he ground his hips into hers. He pressed the length of his cock against her until his condom-covered shaft was probably wet with her need.

  He bent his knees and caught her behind her thighs, lifting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he cupped his hands under her butt to support her. He nudged at her entrance and slid inside fast, no hesitation. She gasped.

  He froze. “Does it hurt?”

  She grabbed his shoulder with one hand, the other still holding on to the boat rack, shaking her head. “Good. So good. I want this, now. Hard. Please, Adam.”

  He lost his mind at the sound of
his name on her lips.

  He lifted her and slammed her down on his cock, letting gravity help. Her heat wrapped around him, tight. He groaned into her chest. Leaning them both into the wall, he thrust into her again and again, slow then picking up the pace. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, encouraging him. Every stroke shoved him closer to the edge, and he gritted his teeth, loving every second of it. He was going to last, damn it. He was going to bring her with him.

  He gripped her butt harder, tilted his head up and caught her mouth in a drowning kiss, as he kept thrusting inside her. She groaned into his mouth, her thighs squeezing his hips. Faster. Harder. Stars shot across the back of his eyes as he lost himself inside her, and she came with him, her core squeezing him as she shuddered in his arms.

  They were both breathing in ragged gasps as he let them down slowly to the floor. Trembling from the intensity of what they’d just done, he pressed his forehead to hers.

  Victoria Ash. She was an incredible woman. He couldn’t get enough of her, the taste of her, the feel of being inside her, but most especially the sound of her voice saying his name. She had his heart and she had no idea.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Wasn’t expecting to see you out here.”

  Victoria held up a finger in a motion for Jay to wait while she touched the app on her smartphone, then began walking. This would be the first of many brisk walks up and down the property. She wasn’t looking to retrace any of the current patrol routes. Instead, she wanted to clock the time it would take to cross more direct distances. “Oh, we’re on-site today and moving forward with the next stage in the implementation.”

  Jay came up beside her, remaining a fraction behind and to one side. Some might consider it an attempt to stay out of her way. For some reason, she felt more like it was a passive-aggressive move, the way another car might hover in your blind spot on a highway. “You two took off earlier in the day. Roland seemed upset.”

  The man was fishing for gossip, perhaps, or simply taking the opportunity to speak to her alone. She couldn’t decide so she shrugged. “We let him know before we left. There was coverage in our absence.”

  “Well, yeah.” Jay laughed. “We were on-site. We’re always here.”

  Actually, Lizzy had come to drop off extra clothes and a few requested items from the Safeguard caches. She’d found herself a comfortable vantage point on the main house and maintained surveillance from a distance. Lizzy was an excellent sniper and more than capable of providing coverage on the property and their client without ever having to come any closer. Victoria and Adam had put their trust in Lizzy to take out any threat perceived, not the on-site security team.

  “You don’t have time off?” Victoria attempted to sound politely concerned. Sweet wasn’t her usual conversation style.

  “Oh.” Jay coughed. “We do. What I meant was someone is always here.”

  Victoria nodded. “Of course. I’m very impressed with Dante’s process and procedures here. He maximizes the effectiveness of a small team.”

  “Him? He didn’t do it by himself.” Temper colored Jay’s words.

  Quick to anger, this man. She wondered why she was so tempted to goad him. Considering, she noted the timer on her phone, then turned to head back up to the main house via another approach.

  “What, do you need to get steps in on your fitness tracker or something?” Jay continued to trail her, sounding irritable about the choice.

  “It’s good to know the terrain, even if it is just grass.” Victoria decided to be cheerful in the face of his irritability. “Walking in the day is one thing, but there are times when I need to know what the ground feels like under my feet.”

  He laughed. “You tend to trip a lot?”

  “Sure.” Simple enough to give him the answer he wanted.

  They walked together for a few minutes in silence. Once she reached the house, she glanced up. If she could see the security cameras placed at the topmost point of the house, then they could see her. Happily, she couldn’t hear the drones Adam was operating high overhead. Thus far, he’d kept them out of her field of view as she’d been walking. Jay hadn’t mentioned them. She decided to take off in another direction, headed for the front gate this time.

  “Adam should be doing the legwork for you.” Jay clicked his tongue in an admonishing way.

  “Why?” She genuinely wanted to hear his answer. After all, most people who made ridiculous statements like that realized how condescending they sounded once the words left their mouth.

  “Well, he was a rifleman, he should be out here on the terrain.” Jay bit off the term Adam used to refer to his time as a Marine. “Maybe he went soft over the last couple of years, flat on his back on some island getaway.”

  Victoria snorted. “It was my understanding he was in New Zealand, not the Polynesian Islands.”

  “Might as well be the same thing.” Jay waved away the distinction. “New Zealand is like, basically an island of Australia, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Both Aussies and Kiwis would beg to differ.” Victoria noted Ray and Brian in the distance, on their patrol of the perimeter. Jay didn’t particularly have a reason to be out here either, unless Dante had sent him to see what she was up to.

  “Who? Oh, you mean Australians. Yeah. Kiwi though? Isn’t that a fuzzy fruit?”

  She smiled, truly entertained. “It’s a bird too.”

  The man couldn’t truly be so obtuse about New Zealand and their international nickname. Or maybe she was the one being unnecessarily clever. He was definitely bringing out the edge in her personality.

  “My point is, I wouldn’t be surprised if Adam did nothing but sit on his ass, wherever he went.” Jay spit onto the asphalt of the drive, even though they were walking parallel to it on the grass. “After the clusterfuck of our last mission, he had to go hide and lick his wounds.”

  She’d been curious about the last mission. But then, there were a lot of soldiers who’d left active duty with a history of operations gone wrong on the record. She hadn’t been surprised by it. Instead, she’d been more interested in the aftermath. The way Jay was going back to it on his first opportunity to have a conversation with her was a part of why.

  It wasn’t always about what happened. It was about what people would do to deal with it later.

  “Did he tell you?” Jay persisted in poking at the sleeping-dragon topic.

  “I’ve reviewed his personnel files and we’ve spoken of it to a certain extent.” She enunciated carefully, left a pause for him to fill in the silence that followed.

  “He sold out his teammates,” Jay growled. “He came out of the debrief better than some of us. He had an honorable discharge and recommendations on his record. He wasn’t the lead on that mission, but they acted like he was the one to get us out of there alive.”

  Twisted truth. It had to be. People like Jay couldn’t resist telling the past through the filter of their own bias. Still, she didn’t like the implication to Adam’s character.

  She had to keep her mind open to the possibility that there was a grain of truth that reflected on Adam’s character.

  “I heard the team made some bad decisions.” Offering the small bit Adam had shared with her was more of a prompt than anything else.

  “Ha!” Jay’s laugh was nasty. “The decisions were the right ones if we’d executed on them immediately. Timing is everything. He was a chickenshit and his delay cost us lives. I was the one who pushed us forward. I’m the reason we came through that.”

  No one wanted to admit to having frozen in combat. It was an important thing to know about her partner if he might do it again. The question was whether that was actually what had happened or if Jay remembered wrong.

  Victoria reached the front gate and glanced at her timer. Turning, she considered what path to take next. She’d ha
d several mapped out, and she’d been walking them at random as she clocked the distances.

  “Look.” Jay made a play to get her attention again. “You’re Safeguard. Badass contract group. You’re supposed to be all elite about the pros you hire. I’m telling you he doesn’t deserve his service record, not when the rest of us got screwed up the ass for doing the right thing at the time. Anyone can question the decisions made in the field, but Adam should’ve stayed with us. He shouldn’t have gone off plan. It was his fault our mission failed. And he has a history of making changes to the mission plan on the fly. You want that with all your careful planning? He doesn’t deserve to be working with Safeguard.”

  Jay turned on his heel and stalked off, headed for the small security building to one side of the main house.

  Victoria watched him walk away and considered what she’d learned about Jay and what she needed to find out about Adam.

  * * *

  Adam directed the drone to skirt around the trees along the perimeter of the property before landing it at the small area he’d cleared earlier in the day by the waterside. Well, he’d been able to track Victoria’s movements the entire time without any signals from her to indicate she’d spotted the drone. Testing the drone flight paths in parallel with the manual distance measures had been a success.

  A groan rose up from the vicinity of his feet. Glancing down, he saw Tegan had rolled over onto his back, legs splayed in his sleep. The dog had come in to nap as soon as Adam had begun his drone run. It was kind of nice to have the company. He was somewhat surprised, actually, that Tegan hadn’t woken when Adam had cursed over Jay following Victoria around during their testing.

  She could take care of herself. He had no doubts there. But Jay’s behavior had been creepy, clinging. The status of what was between Victoria and Adam remained undefined, and he wasn’t the type to need labels, but seeing Jay piss all over her had tested Adam’s self-control.

  Speaking of piss. Adam looked down at the sleeping corgi. “When was the last time someone let you out to do your business?” It might be a good time for a break, time to stretch his legs, and maybe rejoin Victoria. “Gotta go potty?”