Rescuing Melissa (ALPHA TEAM: Guardian Hostage Rescue Specialists)

34. Card Key

THIRTY-FOUR

Card Key

CJ

Ten agonizing minutes later, Mac pulled up to the hotel. CJ grabbed his duffle and launched out of his seat. From the corner of his eye, he spotted keys flying as Mac tossed them to a valet.

He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Melissa while he was gone. Jenny followed, easily keeping pace with him and Mac as they sprinted through the lobby.

Please God, let her be all right.

Jenny arrived at the elevators first and jabbed at the call bell. The wonder of wonders, the metal doors opened. He breathed a sigh of relief, but nothing could ease the lump of anguish sitting in his gut.

Prayers are for pussies.That was a saying his alcoholic father had beat into his young body until the message imprinted itself in his bones. Still, he wasn’t beyond asking God for a favor this once.

“What floor?” Jenny’s finger hovered over the columns of buttons.

He reached around her and pushed the button marked eighteen. Jenny took a step back, saying nothing, her placid expression conveyed much. She exchanged a glance with Mac, an entire conversation flowing between them in that one look. He’d never met operatives who moved with the same unified purpose as they did. Those two had an eerie connection.

As they neared their destination, Jenny pulled out her Glock. She gave Mac a questioning look, and he responded with a jerk of his chin to the left. CJ readied his gun then cursed, realizing he needed the room key buried in his wallet. He holstered his weapon, dropped the duffle, and dug the card key out from among his credit cards.

The doors to the elevator opened, agonizingly slow, and he squeezed through the widening crack the moment his shoulders fit through the opening. He was off at a sprint, card key in hand and weapon ready. Jenny and Mac jogged behind him. He pulled up to Melissa’s room and slid the card through the reader.

The light flashed red. He cursed and reran it through the reader.

Red.

“Fuck!”

On the third try, the light blinked green and the lock disengaged. He rushed through the doorway, sweeping the room, gun level, and steady.

“Melissa?” He called her name in a steady, but low tone.

No answer.

Jenny and Mac had his back. Mac closed the door and gestured to the bedroom. He dropped CJ’s duffle bag on the floor. Jenny stepped to the bedroom door and covered him while he turned the knob. He put his palm to the door and pushed it open, sweeping his weapon left then right.

Melissa’s suitcase lay in the middle of the floor, zipper open and clothes strewn everywhere.

No Melissa.

His heart rate jumped as he took in the neatly made bed and the disaster on the floor. Had she been taken? Had she been foolish enough to let the maids in? After his strict instructions that no one was to enter?

The light patter of falling water hit his ears. He tilted his head back and cursed.

“What?” Jenny’s whisper brought his attention back to business.

“She’s taking a fucking shower.”

Jenny lowered her gun. “And that’s a problem why?”

He gritted his teeth and ground out the words. “Because I told her not to, that’s why.”

Behind them, Mac cleared his throat. “Might I remind you we have yet to confirm she is inside the bathroom? Are you going to chat all day long, or are we going to clearallthe rooms?”

“I’ll do it,” CJ said.

Jenny shook her head. “Like hell you’re walking in on a woman taking a shower. I’ve got this.”

He put out a hand to stop Jenny.

The look she gave suggested he had a fight on his hands, but he would be the only one stepping through that door. What if Melissa had fallen again? His heart pinched, remembering her crumpled body sprawled on the shower floor.

“No way.” Jenny made to step around him.

He pivoted and pinned her to the wall, holding her in place with his hand wrapped around her throat. “I said I’d deal with it.”

“You think because you fucked her, she’s yours? Get your head out of your ass.” Jenny grasped his wrist. If he’d been anyone else, she would have incapacitated him by now. Instead, she allowed him to hold her against the wall.

“Jenny.” Mac gave a warning.

“I didn’t fuck her,” CJ ground out.At least not yet.He had bought a pack of condoms. One was nestled within the leather folds of his wallet.

Jenny pulled his hand away from her throat. “Then what the hell is wrong with you?”

He had no answer.

Mac stepped around the two of them and entered the bathroom.

Before CJ could stop him, a high-pitched screech sounded against the tiled walls.

“What the hell! Get out! Get out!”

Mac backtracked out of the bathroom, his gun held up, and a grin splitting his face. “Lady’s alive, and might I say—”

CJ leveled a finger at his friend. “Don’t you dare say a word.” He rushed around Mac’s massive frame. “Melissa, it’s okay. It’s me.”

“CJ?”

Steam saturated his shirt between one step and the next. The mirrors were fogged over. She sat on the shower enclosure floor, curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest. Worried she’d fallen again, he threw open the shower door and stepped inside. Water soaked his clothes for the second time in less than 24 hours.

He crouched down. “Are you okay? Did you fall?”

Melissa turned red-rimmed eyes on him. “I’m fine. I was just trying to relax.”

It wasn’t until he was pulled back by the scruff of his neck that he moved.

“Out, asshole,” Jenny said. “Get the fuck out.” She threw him into the bedroom and slammed the bathroom door on him and Mac.

Mac sat on the bed and wheezed with laughter. “That’ll teach you to put Jenny in a chokehold. Shit, even I wouldn’t do that.”

Melissa’s frustration sounded from behind the closed door. It was too muffled for him to make out the words, but her emotion carried well enough.

He started toward the door, but Mac’s cautionary tone pulled him back. “I wouldn’t do that. Your girl’s safe. Let’s wait in the other room.”

He shook out his wet clothes. “I fucked that up.”

“Pretty much.”

“She didn’t listen. She didn’t follow my orders.”

“She’s not your team.” Mac tugged CJ toward the living area of the suite. “You and I, we need to talk.”

“I’m good.”

“Are you? The way you went after Jenny? Do we have a problem?”

“I said I’m good.”

“Really? Because from here, it looks as though your feelings for the lady are becoming a liability.” Mac shook his head. “Shit, did you have to pick the wife of the man who killed your sister?”

A gasp sounded from behind them. “What?”

CJ spun around and watched as all the color drained from Melissa’s face. One of the white, fluffy robes wrapped her body, and now her complexion matched the robe.

“Is that true?” Her hand pressed against her mouth, and tears sprung from her eyes.

“Please, you don’t understand.” He took two staggering steps toward her, but she backed away, holding up her hands.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Shit, CJ,” Jenny muttered. “You didn’t tell her?”

Melissa slammed the door to the bedroom, and the lock turned into place.

Mac took several steps backward. “Sorry, I didn’t see her standing there.”

“Why haven’t you told her?” The recrimination in Jenny’s voice made CJ’s stomach sour.

“I was going to; it just hadn’t come up yet. Inserting ‘your ex-husband murdered my baby sister’into a conversation isn’t easy.”

“Don’t you think that might have been the first thing you should have mentioned before you slept with her?” Jenny lacked a few inches on him, and yet, with her arms crossed over her chest and head tilted back, she managed to look down her nose at him.

He felt like a five-year-old getting scolded by his mother.

He shrugged. “There was never a good time.”

She stepped past him and tugged on Mac’s shirtsleeve pulling him toward the door. “Because you were too busy shoving your tongue down her throat. Mac and I will be in the bar. Patch things up with yourgirlfriend, then meet us downstairs. I don’t care about your personal love life, or how you made a mess of it in less than a day, but we have work to do and two cases to solve. Get your ass focused.”

“Jenny, that’s uncalled for—” Mac shut his mouth when Jenny pressed a finger to his chest.

“You stay out of it.” Her finger lifted to point accusingly at CJ. “His personal love-fest has sidetracked our investigation.”

“There’s no love-fest, Jenny, and I’ve been on point. Besides, you’re in charge of the investigation. And you just said it…we have two cases; recovering Henrietta Jones and protecting Melissa Evans. Until the rest of Delta team arrives, Melissa is my responsibility. The Henrietta Jones’ case is yours.”

“We’re getting the girls at noon.” She pressed her fingertip against his sternum, grinding it into his breastbone.

“Agreed.” He pinched her wrist until she backed down and then glanced at his watch. Just past nine, he had a few hours to fix this mess with Melissa.

Jenny and Mac exited the hotel suite, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the locked door to the bedroom.

He rummaged in his duffle and drew out a pair of jeans and an old shirt with a picture of Goofy on it. Not that he was a fan of the Magic Kingdom, but it would be perfect for the girls. The shirt was one of the few clean ones when he’d packed his bag. Upside? He’d appear less threatening to Henrietta’s little girls when he talked to them.

After dressing, he rapped on the door to the bedroom. “Melissa, I’m sorry.” Always best to begin with an apology.

Her soft cries stopped, which he took as a good sign.

“Mac and Jenny left. Can we talk?”

“Is it true?” The lock turned, and she opened the door. Her eyes carried so much pain. They made his heart ache. He reached out to touch her cheek but hesitated when she flinched. Avoiding him, she crossed the room and perched on the edge of the couch. “The execution brought you to town.” She didn’t phrase it as a question, but more as a statement.

He nodded.

Her eyes lowered. “I’m so sorry.” Her cheeks flushed. “I…I didn’t know what he was doing all those years.”

He hated the guilt transforming her face into a mask of grief. She seemed so calm, almost resigned to believing the worst about herself when she’d done nothing wrong.

“Melissa, it isn’t your fault. And as for you and me—”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She tried to meet his eyes, but her gaze skittered away as if she could no longer stand looking at him or have him look at her.

He needed to say something. He’d been quiet too long, and it wasn’t safe to leave her questions unanswered. He closed the distance and took her hands in his, but she tugged out of his grip.

“Because I was more concerned about you. Jenny’s right about one thing. My head’s not in the game. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met. It scares me. I’ve never felt like this before, but there’s something between us, a connection I want to explore. As for my sister, what happened to her has nothing to do with you or my feelings for you.” He scratched his head. “Hell, you stole my heart the moment I held you in my arms.”

“How can you bear to look at me?” She pulled at her hair. “Let alone…” Her hand covered her mouth, and a sob choked in her throat.

“Stop,” he demanded. “When I look at you, I can’t help but smile. When I touch you, I can’t help but pull you close to me. I can’t get enough of you, and as for last night, I want more of that. I can’t wait to slip inside of you. I don’t see Patterson’s wife when I look at you. I see an amazing, resilient, and beautiful woman I want to spend all my time with.”

Her eyes widened.

He wasn’t letting something she had no control over steal whatever had begun between them, not when he ached to fill her with happiness. He pulled her to her feet and gathered her into his arms, smoothing and straightening her wet hair.

“How can you not be disgusted by the thought of me?” Her hand came between them, and a sob wracked her body.

“As I said, whatever this is between us, it’s real.” He pointed to his chest. “I feel you in here. I’m not disgusted. I’m fucking entranced.” The pain threading through her words appalled him. That one man could wreak so much havoc on so many lives made him sick to his stomach.

What to do? Holding her seemed to help, but the more her body pressed against his, the more aroused he became. And while he’d love nothing more than to take her to bed and finish what they’d started the night before, now did not seem like the best time.

He held her face in his hands and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Everyone comes with a past. It doesn’t mean we have to live there. I didn’t know who you were when we met. I didn’t know until the day I drove you home from the hospital. You’d already marked my heart. And I know two things with complete conviction.”

Her teary eyes regarded him.

“I can never bring my sister back, and I believe you had nothing to do with your ex-husband’s crimes. Maybe it’s time you believe it, too.”

The uncertainty and self-doubt in her expression softened. Between one breath and the next, she smiled. That one small act transformed her face into something achingly beautiful.

He cupped her chin to kiss her, running his fingers along the curve of her jaw until they tangled in the wet mess of her hair. Her lips were pink and begged for a kiss, and he couldn’t get enough of her taste. Without rushing the moment, he let his focus drift and reveled in the glide of his lips over hers. A deep groan rumbled in his chest as a sharp ache settled in his balls.

“I want you, and I know you feel the same about me.” He loved the way her body responded to his touch.

His pulse went ballistic as she dug her fingers into his waist. Her entire body trembled before him. He ended the kiss sooner than he would have liked and dipped his head to nuzzle at her throat. He glanced down at her robe. The soft fabric gaped, revealing the swell of her perfect breasts.

Lifting her chin, he forced her to look him in the eye. “Never doubt what we’ve shared is real. This thing between us belongs to us, not to anyone else, not to our pasts and definitely not to him.”

“But he—”

“Did terrible things to innocent women. I came to bury my anger and find peace for my sister. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d stumble across an amazing woman.”

“Nothing is amazing about me.”

“Do you need me to show you what I see when I look at you? How you make me feel? How my body comes alive with your smile or the light twinkling in your eyes?” He placed her palm against his chest. “Do you feel that?” His heart slammed against the cage of his chest, desperate to touch her.

She gave a small laugh and nudged her hip against the hardness of his erection straining behind the fabric of his jeans.

“I feel it, too.” She released the sash of her robe, letting the fabric fall in a puddle at her feet. His breathing hitched. The air disturbed by nothing other than the heat of her gaze and his determination not to fuck up. “Speaking of which.” She teased him with a smile. “I owe you something.”

He groaned with his need, wanting to sink into her lovely heat and make her scream his name. She swiveled her hips, the movement hardening his cock until it ached. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned her head against his chest, breathing out a deep sigh. Without another word, she grabbed his hand and led him toward the bedroom.

He almost stopped her, his mind drifting to how much trouble he would be in with Jenny—hell, with Sam—but she drew him into the dimly lit bedroom, naked and determined.

And technically, he had a few hours to kill.

There was no way in hell he would stop whatever was happening next.

When she reached the bed, she turned to face him. Undoing the buckle of his belt, she lowered the zipper, reached in, and pulled out his cock. He moaned as her hand wrapped around him, then hitched a breath when she fisted the shaft. The slow, agonizing twist had him rising to the balls of his feet.

“Sweet Jesus.” He kissed her, exploring her mouth and the angles of her perfect face. She kept her hand on his cock, moving from root to tip with tentative fingers becoming much more confident the longer he kissed her.

He ran a hand over her skin, tracing the satiny swell of her breasts, and used his thumb to draw circles around her nipple until the flesh pebbled into a tight bud.

It was time to slow things down.

She moaned when he flicked her nipple. He palmed her belly and then sought the heat between her legs, where he found her wet and ready.

Maybe slow had been a bad idea.

He pushed his jeans down. Kicking his shoes off, his socks joined his jeans in a pile on the floor. He stopped kissing her and took a moment to admire her nakedness.

“Is this what you want?”

“Yes.” Her breathy reply sent blood surging to his cock.

He lowered his mouth to take hers in a long, lingering kiss, lifting her off her feet to lay her out on the bed.

She scooted up, and he crawled over her, their lips never once separating. She canted her hips upward, positioning herself so his cock met the hot, wet flesh of her pussy.

Her fingernails scraped his back, desperate for more contact, and when he shifted over her, his cock almost slipped in.

She froze and whispered. “Did you get any condoms?”

Thank fuck he had. He retrieved one from his wallet, sheathing himself with a rip of foil and slide of protection. Then he dragged himself back up the bed, stopping to inhale her intoxicating scent and taste her essence.

“I’m going to erase that bastard from your memories.” He kissed down the length of her body.

“What man?” She cried out the moment his tongue found her clit.

He closed his mouth around the tender nub, drawing her deep into his mouth, flicking the sensitive tissue with his tongue in short bursts until she writhed beneath him and begged for more. Her fingers dug into his scalp, desperate and needy, and he gave her exactly what she needed. He didn’t stop until she came apart on his face.

“I need to be inside of you.” He shifted, moving back over her body. “Now.”

While she quivered with the aftershocks of her orgasm, he fisted his cock and pressed just the tip against her folds. Their eyes met, and he held her with a fierce stare. The moment she gave the briefest of nods, he plunged deep into her with one long thrust, not content to move slowly anymore.

She gasped as he filled her. Her warmth clenched around his cock. This was Nirvana, wrapped in the heat of this amazingly beautiful woman. He never wanted to leave, but he needed to move. Hunger for her sweet heat propelled him.

His heart beat with a solid thump, and he tried not to crush her with his weight. Slow and steady, he pulled out. She matched him with a rock of her hips. The sensation went straight to his cock, the feeling so overwhelming he thought he’d lose control and embarrass himself right then. But he gritted his teeth, and balanced on the edge of consuming pleasure, determined she would come again before he was spent.

“You feel so fucking good,” he said. “So fucking good.”

Already, that telltale tingle began at the base of his spine and traveled to his balls. He held his pleasure back, never wanting this moment to end.

“Oh, my God.” She arched her neck. “CJ, faster, please.” She dug her fingers into his shoulder. “Oh, my fucking God!”

Her tits bounced with each thrust and shook every time he pulled out. She begged him to move. Faster! Harder! And he wanted to howl a primal yell to the world. This was him making her feel this way.

Making her beg for more and scream with pleasure.

He moved faster, gauging her response, afraid he might hurt her, but she urged him on. To go deeper. Push harder. Move faster.

He lifted, thrusting with his hips and using as much force as he could leverage, pounding in and out, dragging his cock against the velvety warmth of her walls.

The tingle at his spine grew, and his balls drew up. He bent his head down, sucking at the soft spot on the side of her throat. Her sweet, salty essence drove him wild, and he pulled hard at her skin, marking her as his.

Her body shuddered beneath him, her pussy clenching against his cock in long tight pulls with the sweep of another orgasm. She cried out his name. Over and over again, she screamed.

His name on her lips.

Heaven.

Her cries triggered his release, his balls tightening, clenching, then pumping his essence with the force of his orgasm.

His breaths came as ragged pants, and he collapsed on top of her, his arms giving out. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come so hard, or when sex had felt so damn good. In her arms, he felt content. He pressed a soft kiss against her ear.

“Fuck, that was amazing.” Perhaps not the most romantic words, but they were true.

She wrapped her ankles around his hips, drawing his cock deep into her heat.

“I never want to leave this bed,” she whispered.

He agreed. He’d never felt so good.

It had been too long since he’d felt anything close to what he experienced in Melissa’s arms. It didn’t matter who she had once been married to. At this moment, and every moment from here on out, she belonged to him.

The angry tone of his cell phone interrupted them.

“Damn!” He’d ignore it if he could, but he knew who was calling. He rolled off Melissa and found his pants on the floor. Reaching into the pocket, he retrieved his phone and glanced at the text.

Jenny: Change in plans. Need you now.

Melissa laughed. “I guess this means you can’t stay?”

He growled.

She rolled onto her side while he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

“What do you do for a living? You said you were a paramedic, but I’m sensing there’s more to it.”

He was done with not telling her the truth, and he was proud of his job. He got to save lives…most of the time. Not every job came with a happy ending. “I’m a Guardian.”

“What does that mean?”

“The Guardians are hostage rescue specialists. We consult with the FBI when they have difficult cases, and we work for private clients when needed.”

“What does that have to do with my husband?” She seemed confused.

“Nothing, actually. I came for his execution, but you know what happened with that. Then a woman was kidnapped. Her husband is well respected, and the Police Chief reached out to my boss to look into it.” He understood her confusion and left the bed with great reluctance. Walking into the bathroom, he discarded the condom. “My company was hired to investigate the kidnapping of a woman named Henrietta Jones. Since I was already here on personal business when the case was assigned, it was assigned to my team.”

“Do you think Scott kidnapped this woman?”

“Henrietta doesn’t fit his type, but it did happen the day after his escape. We can’t rule him out, but I think they’re unrelated. He didn’t have time to take her and…” He hesitated to bring up the poor girl killed in Melissa’s house.

“Kill that other girl.” She finished his thought and wiped at a tear.

He walked to the foot of the bed and retrieved his clothes, dressing slowly while savoring Melissa’s still naked form. He’d never get enough of her beauty, or how she felt wrapped around his cock.

“Is that why Jenny was mad at you?” Her brows knitted into a pensive expression. “You should be working that case instead of protecting me?”

“Yes and no. Guardian HRS is protecting you, which means I’m protecting you. The local cops are spread too thin with the storm damage. Jenny is taking the lead on Henrietta’s kidnapping, but I’m helping her out. And I have to go. I have a meeting at noon. In the meantime, the rest of Delta team is inbound to protect you.” He lifted the phone. “Something happened, and Jenny needs me now.”

“Delta team…sounds very military.”

“Most of us are ex-military, in some form or another.”

“Impressive. So I’m both work and pleasure?” Her impish grin made him smile.

“You most definitely are.” He threaded his belt through the buckle and crawled on top of her. Staring down into her innocent eyes, he couldn’t help but smile. “For the record,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re worth it.”

“I wish you didn’t need to go.” She rolled to her side, much of her stiffness seeming to be gone.

“Me too.”

“We should talk when you get back.”

“We will. Now, promise to lock the outer door. Use the swinging latch and stay in the bedroom with this door locked too. Prop a chair under the doorknob. Don’t answer the door. Let no one inside. Your security detail will be here in less than an hour.”

“When will you be back?” She tapped him on the nose with her finger.

“Later tonight.” He would bring her flowers, order a romantic dinner, light some candles, and take his time to explore her body the way she deserved.

He kissed her, his heart solid and whole. “I can’t wait to see you when I get back.”

She stretched her hands over her head. “I’ll be waiting for you right here.”

“Dammit woman, you’re going to be the death of me.” He reached down to adjust his growing erection.

“Hopefully in the best possible way. Be safe out there, CJ.”

“I will.” And with that, he left a naked woman in bed who had somehow grabbed a hold of his heart. There was far more than sex going on between them, and he agreed. When he got back, they would talk. Melissa didn’t know it yet, but he wasn’t letting her go.