Chapter Thirty-Nine
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B ristol was just as desperate as he was, making hungry, needy sounds as she stroked her tongue along his. He slid his hands under her ass and lifted her. Her legs wound around him as he started up the stairs, still kissing her with all the bottled-up longing, fear, and frustration he’d felt since the moment he’d learned she’d been taken.
Her bedroom was on the next floor. He carried her straight to the bed, laid her on it, and came down on top of her. Pulled her robe apart while she shoved at his shirt. In seconds, he had her naked.
He caught her hands, held them down at her sides while he feasted on her smooth, creamy skin. The blended scent of her soap and arousal went straight to his head. He sucked on her nipples, waited until she was whimpering and writhing before moving down her belly. Using his shoulders, he pushed her thighs wide to reveal the pretty, flushed folds between them.
He put his mouth to her, making love to her with his tongue. Teasing and tasting, swirling and stroking while she panted and rocked against his mouth.
“Please get inside me,” she demanded in a breathless voice.
He growled against her wet center. Giving her one last slow caress with his tongue that brought her hips off the bed, he let go of her hands and quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes.
Bristol surprised him by grabbing his shoulders and pushing hard as she took control. He rolled onto his back, his heart trying to punch through his ribcage at the sight of her straddling him. Her eyes glittered hungrily, cheeks flushed. Her dark hair spilled down her back, her round breasts thrust upward, nipples pink and tight from his mouth. His gaze settled on the dark hair between her legs as she fisted his aching length with one hand and eased her core down onto him.
They both gasped at the contact. TJ seized her hips in his hands, torn between wanting to make this last and wanting to take over. It was clear she needed to be in control right now. Bristol rocked forward, a throaty moan spilling from her throat while she rode him slow and easy. So mind-blowingly sexy he could barely breathe.
Sweat broke out on his skin, his heart beating out of control. The insane intensity of the pleasure as she engulfed him made it hard to breathe. Her slick walls stroked him with each undulation of her hips. The erotic enjoyment on her face, the way her fingers slipped down to find the swollen knot of her clit...
“TJ,” she whispered, eyes half-closed as a shiver ran through her.
Oh, Christ. “Take it,” he told her, his voice almost a growl.
He watched the pleasure wash over her beautiful face, knew that image would be burned into his mind for eternity as she shattered, her cries of fulfilment the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
Somehow, he held on as she clenched around him, breathing hard and fast, the muscles in his thighs and belly twitching with the need for release.
Bristol shuddered one last time and relaxed above him with a thoroughly satisfied sigh, then opened sated, storm-blue eyes to gaze down at him. She sat up taller, clamping down on him and moving her hips in a way that made him see stars.
“I’m close,” he managed to get out.
“Good,” she murmured, lifting her arms to draw her hair up behind her head, giving him the hottest view of his life. “Because I want to watch your face while I make you come.”
He sucked in a breath. Four more sinfully erotic moves of her hips, and he was gone.
He dug his fingers into her hips, holding on for dear life as the most intense orgasm of his life ripped through him. Breathing erratically, he sank down into the bed and unlocked his fingers from her hips. That was the second near-death experience he’d had today.
“Be back in a sec,” she whispered, sliding off him and disappearing into the en suite he hadn’t even noticed before. She came back out a minute later with a cloth for him to clean up with, then crawled back on top of him, a warm, naked, weighted blanket.
He growled and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. His possessive side was going crazy. She was his. He didn’t want to let her go. “I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know earlier.”
She lifted her head from his chest to look down at him. “About your cover, or that you were alive?”
“Both.” He slid a slow hand up and down her spine, enjoying the feel of her silky soft skin. Then he rolled her to her side, caught her hands gently and examined them. Her wrists had faint red marks around them, and some of the pads of her fingers had raw spots. He kissed each one. “He didn’t hurt you?”
“No, he just terrified me. Who was he?”
He lowered her hands but kept hold of one. “A cartel enforcer.”
“Did he get shot?”
“Yes.”
“Did he die?”
“Almost.” He took a deep breath, wondering how to tell her the rest. But he needed to. “His name’s Nico Angelopoulos.”
Her gaze sharpened. “And you...recognize it?” Her perception was dead on.
He gave a slow nod. “We were actually roommates for a while during initial DEA training.”
Her eyes widened. “You know him? He was an agent?”
“He dropped out a few months into training. I never knew why, until tonight.” He told her about Nico’s wife and the theory about his motivation. “He told me he would never have hurt you.”
“He told me that, too, but I didn’t believe him,” she muttered. “Is he... What’s going to happen to him?”
“I don’t know.” There was still a chance he could die from blood loss or infection. If he made it, the FBI and DEA were going to have to duke it out for jurisdiction. After that, he was looking at a life sentence, possibly in a Supermax facility.
Unless he turned over enough evidence for them to make a solid case against the cartel. Then they might give him a sweet deal and relocate him in WITSEC.
“What about the guy who shot him?” Bristol asked.
“The local cartel lieutenant the agency’s been trying to bust for the past two years. Jordan Leandro.”
A shadow of fear moved through her eyes. “Did they catch him?”
“No. He escaped in a submarine.”
“What?” Her eyes flashed with outrage. “How could he have done that in this storm?”
“They’re trying to find out. But between the intel I got from the CI today, and whatever Nico knows, hopefully it’ll be enough to nail him.”
“Let’s hope.” She laid her head back down on his chest. Sighed. “I’m gonna have nightmares for weeks about hearing those shots, seeing the blood, and then you drowning in the water. I threw a life ring at you. Not that it did much good.” She shivered.
TJ tightened his arms around her. “Heard you called the Coast Guard. And fired a flare gun too.”
“I did. Pretty proud of myself for that, actually.”
“You should be. I’m damned proud of you too.”
She snuggled in closer. “Travis and Brandon pulled me from the boat.”
“I heard that too.” He combed his fingers through her hair, tried to shut out the image of her scared and tied up and alone on that burning boat in the middle of the storm, thinking he was dead. “I’m so damned sorry, Bristol. For everything.”
She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his chest. “I know. I forgive you.”
Just like that. No hesitation. God, he didn’t deserve her or her soft heart.
Then she sniffed, and her shoulders jerked.
“Hey.” He cupped her jaw, tried to tip her face up to his, but she curled tighter into him.
“Don’t you dare t-tell me not to c-cry,” she blurted. “Cry if I want to.”
Yeah, she could. And at least he could hold her through this storm.
When her tears finally faded, he reached down for the throw blanket on the end of her bed and spread it over her, kissed the top of her head. “You need anything?”
“Just you,” she whispered, and his heart squeezed painfully. “God, how can I feel this way when I barely even know you?”
“You do know me.” All the most important things.
“No, I don’t.”
He traced a finger down her cheek. “You know I’d die for you.”
Shock flickered across her face. “Don’t say that,” she whispered, looking aghast.
“Why not? It’s true. Also, I love your fire and your quick mind. I love your bravery. I love your big, tender heart that scares the shit out of me.”
“Why does it scare you?”
“Because I don’t want you to get hurt.” He loved pretty much everything about her he’d seen so far. Was pretty sure he was more than halfway in love with her already, as unreal as that sounded. “Your body is hideous though. Utterly disgusting.” He squeezed her sweet, round ass.
Bristol snort-laughed and gave him a mock glare, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. “So you do have a sense of humor after all.”
“Yeah. It’s rusty,” he admitted, “but it’s still in there somewhere. Maybe you can help polish it up a bit.”
“Hmm, maybe. I wonder what other mysteries I can uncover?”
“Like what?”
“Your favorite foods, and music, and what you like to do for fun. Plus a million other more important things that make you, you.”
“Some of that’s pretty deep. Finding all that out might take a while.”
“It could, depending on how difficult you are.”
He suppressed a grin. “Could take days. Weeks. Months. Longer, even.”
“Let’s hope not that long.” She looked up at him. Went still. “But that would mean you’d need to stick around long enough to give me the chance.” Her eyes searched his.
“Yeah. That’s the plan. As long as you want me to.” After what she’d gone through, he wouldn’t blame her if she wanted him to go. But he desperately hoped she would give him a chance.
“Really?” The hope on her face squeezed his heart.
“Yeah, really. Because I want to get to know you too. Every single thing that makes Bristol Moreau tick. For instance, why you don’t seem to curse.”
“I do, sometimes. I think Jordan Leandro is a fucking asshole, for instance.”
A laugh burst out of him. He hugged her close, unable to stop chuckling. “God, you’re precious.” And adorable. And sweet, and brave, and loyal. And kind. So damned kind he wanted to make it his mission to protect her from the rest of the world.
“And to be honest, I’m not so keen on your old buddy Nico, either,” she continued as he chuckled more. “Even if he does love his wife enough to commit heinous murders for a cartel.” She sniffed, then her lips curved in a tender smile that had his whole chest tightening. “I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but you’re even more gorgeous when you smile.”
What was this woman trying to do to him? She was already wound tight around his heart. “I haven’t had much to smile about until you came along.”
“Good to know I amuse you. Would hate for you to get bored this early on.”
“Oh, I don’t think boredom’ll be an issue.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She was quiet a moment. “So, what happens now?”
He kept stroking her hair. “It’ll be a few weeks before I can clear everything up on my end with the investigation and the agency. But I already told them I’m done with undercover.”
“You did?” She sounded surprised and relieved.
“Yeah. To be honest, I’m not sure I want to go back at all.” This assignment had taken a huge toll on him. He was exhausted and ready to make a big change.
“That’s understandable.”
“Maybe I’ll apply at CPS. I hear it’s an okay company.”
“I heard that too.”
“Cassie would love to work with me.”
Bristol chuckled. “I think you’d grow on her over time. And Crimson Point’s a great place to live.”
“Oh, completely. Super safe. Absolutely no drug lords or traffickers or hitmen of any kind for hundreds of miles.”
“None. Well, not after today.”
He grinned, then sobered. It felt like he’d just been given a second chance at life. He didn’t want to waste a day of it. And he wanted to spend it with her. “Come away with me for a while.”
“Where?”
“Wherever you want, just as soon as I can get everything wrapped up. The agency owes me a shitload of vacation time.”
She made a thoughtful sound, drawing a pattern on his chest with one fingertip. “I’ve always wanted to go to Europe.”
A familiar ring tone broke the cozy little bubble they’d been in. He groaned. “I gotta answer that.”
“Yeah, answer.” She eased away.
He dragged his jeans off the floor, fished out his phone. It was Diana. “Hey,” he said.
“Sorry to call, so I’ll get right to it. Leandro’s dead.”
Whoa. He sat up, swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “How?”
“Looks like he intentionally overdosed on pain meds after emergency surgery at a private clinic in Bellevue, just outside Seattle. Oh, and also your old pal Nico is gone.”
He frowned. “Gone?”
“Missing. His wife too.”
“What?” That wasn’t possible. Nico had barely survived the surgery, and Liana was wheelchair bound. “What the hell happened?”
“We don’t know for sure, but he somehow dragged his half-dead self off the recovery room bed and out of the hospital without anyone noticing. Maybe she put him on her lap and wheeled him the hell out the back door, I don’t know. But we can’t find them, and neither can the cops or FBI. Anyway, that’s the update. Now I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow.”
TJ lowered the phone to his lap, stunned. Bristol shuffled over behind him to wrap her arms around his chest, her warm body pressed against his back in silent comfort. He laid a hand on her forearm.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” she whispered.
He told her.
“Wow,” she said softly. “Do you have to go in? Help them find him?”
“No. I’m staying here, with you.” He turned, pulled her around and into his lap, cuddling her close. He felt so at peace with her like this.
“You okay?” she murmured, one hand rubbing between his shoulder blades.
“Yeah.” He was silent for a long moment, trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
Where would Nico go? He’d only been concerned about his wife when he’d come out of the anesthesia. It was possible he was still high on meds, but Nico was damned smart, and it had almost seemed like he’d been speaking to him in some sort of code in the recovery room.
Gotta get her help there, he’d said while staring at that cabinet on the wall with the red—
Oh, man. Oh, of course .
“Europe, huh?” he murmured against Bristol’s hair, already looking forward to exploring it with her. “How do you feel about starting in Switzerland?”