15. Vaughn
15
VAUGHN
T he silvery light of dawn glowed around the edges of the curtains. Dew dripped rhythmically from the roof, and a sparrow sang its early morning tune.
Waking up in my cabin had always brought me peace, but nothing like opening my eyes and finding Hope naked and wrapped in my arms. We lay on our sides, Hope’s cheek resting on my bicep, and my palm splayed on her sternum, holding her close. One of my legs was hooked over hers, and my morning wood pressed firmly against her rear. The sheets smelled of sex.
A small smile tugged on my lips. Fuck me, but if I could wake up this way for the rest of my life, I’d die a happy man.
This woman, she was mine, body and soul. And I was hers, too, for as long as she’d have me. My feelings for Hope had hit me fast, like a runaway train picking up speed as it thundered along the tracks, hurtling toward…well, our final destination remained unknown.
All I knew was I wanted to be the person Hope shared her troubles with and the person she ran to first when she received happy news. I wanted to be the person who encouraged her to be her best and picked her up when she was at her lowest. I wanted to be the one who made her smile, made her laugh. The one she told all her dreams and fears to. I wanted to take care of her, to protect her. Not because she couldn’t do those things for herself, but because she was mine to care for and protect. The ferocity with which I wanted these things terrified me. I still felt like the luckiest son of a bitch on earth.
My chest tightened as I gazed upon Hope sleeping soundly in my embrace. Only a few hours ago, I’d woken her in the darkness, my dick so hard it ached, needing her yet again. After rousing her with a kiss, I’d rolled her onto her back, positioned myself between her lush thighs, and entered her without a single word uttered between us. Hope’s sweet moans had filled the quiet room until her pussy had pulsed around me and I’d spilled myself inside her.
I dug my nose into her unruly hair and inhaled. She smelled like both of us, and it was fucking perfect. I had never imagined that the feel of another person’s skin against my scars could bring me such comfort. Such bone-deep contentment.
Gently, I pulled the covers away, revealing Hope’s breasts, her pert nipples, and the soft curves of her hips and belly. She stirred as the cool air kissed her skin and wriggled back against the warmth of my chest.
I’d give her my body heat. Hell, I’d give her a home. I’d give her a family. I’d give my life for her if it came to it. I’d give this woman everything .
I brushed Hope’s hair aside and kissed her neck, then let my hand shift to her supple breast and squeeze the overflowing handful. Goddamn, I loved her tits. I loved her round ass, her thick thighs, and the swell of her belly. I loved that her body was different from mine in every womanly way possible. And I loved that she wasn’t shy about it. She owned her beauty like the queen she was.
Hope stretched like a cat, arching her spine and digging her ass against my hard-on. “Good morning,” she said groggily. I had to agree. It was a very fucking good morning, indeed. “What time is it?”
“Just after five.” I pressed light kisses to her shoulder, needing to taste her, to scent her.
“Ugh.” She flung a hand over her eyes. “It’s so early.”
“Brandon messaged. I have to meet him at six to start prepping for the op.”
We had a lot to do before the rest of the team rolled in. We’d usually take a week to prepare for a mission like this. If we weren’t such an organized unit used to responding to situations quickly, we’d never be able to pull this all together on such short notice.
Hope rolled to face me, looping her arm around my waist and pressing her nose into the crook of my neck. “Less than an hour? That’s all we have?”
“I’m sorry.” I kissed her forehead. “I’m going to be busy today. It’s probably best if you stay here.”
Hope sighed, and her warm breath tickled my throat. Her fingertips traced lazy patterns along the outline of a skull on my pec. “How did you manage to sit for your tattoos without, you know, panicking?”
Which was a nice way of asking how I’d let a person stick a million needles into my skin without tearing them limb from limb.
“By taking enough Ambien and Xanax to numb an elephant.”
And with Brandon seated nearby just in case I became…problematic. He’d spent days on his laptop while I lay in a chair getting inked from neck to ankle. There’d been three artists working on me at one point. I’d needed the tattoos finished as fast as possible.
Hope left her hand on my chest and rested her chin on top of it to look me in the eyes. “Have you thought about taking medication to help with your anxiety? ”
I ran my fingers through her hair and repeated the motion because it soothed me. “I tried. They screw around with my balance and make it hard to concentrate. If I take them, I can’t do my job.”
My role within our unit had given me purpose and pulled me from the self-destructive behaviors I’d fallen into after my capture. I’d done a lot of dumb shit south of the border while trying to distract myself from my problems. If Brandon hadn’t offered me a job with the team, I’d probably be dead.
“Do you believe in fate?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Hope shrugged. “If it’s real, it hasn’t been kind to either of us so far.”
“That’s true. But don’t you think it’s strange we ended up together? You, the daughter of Mexico’s most notorious cartel boss, and me, your father’s sworn enemy.”
Hope’s lips twitched. “Star-crossed lovers?”
“Romeo and Juliet? Nah.” I scoffed. “Their ending was fucked-up.”
I swallowed against the uncomfortable tightness in my throat. We didn’t know what our ending would be yet. Arguably, it could go a hell of a lot worse than any Shakespearean script.
I moistened my lips. “I can’t help but feel like certain people come into our lives when we really need them.” Brandon, Sage, and now Hope. I gazed into her amber eyes. “What if fate caused our paths to cross? Maybe you were meant to find me so I could help free you from your father and bring down his cartel. And I think I was meant to find you so you could help heal me.”
“I’m not sure if divine forces pushed us together, but if they did, I’m eternally grateful.”
“The op.” I toyed with Hope’s hair, staring at my fingers as they weaved through her tresses. I didn’t want to talk about the mission. Didn’t want to drive myself crazy thinking about all the risks, but I couldn’t help it. “What happens if something goes wrong and I can’t get you back?”
She placed a warm palm against my cheek. “If you can’t get to me, then I’ll find a way back to you. I promise.”
I pulled Hope on top of me until she straddled my hips, and my cock was a hard rod between us, begging for attention. Christ, was I ever soft around her?
“Need to have you one more time.” Before we go. I grasped her soft waist, rolling her against me. “Are you sore?” We’d fucked a lot in the last few days, and Hope was new to this. I needed to remember to take better care of her.
She froze. “The truth?”
I frowned. “Always.”
“My pussy feels like it needs an ice pack, but I still want you.”
And why did I like that? A twisted part of me wanted Hope to feel the ache between her thighs so that when we parted ways for the op, she couldn’t help but think about our time in this bedroom.
“I’ll try to be gentle,” I said.
Hope snorted. “No, you won’t.”
“I know, but I can’t help myself. When I’m inside you, I lose my mind.”
“I love it when you’re wild and unhinged for me.” Hope reached down and took hold of my cock. I couldn’t look away as she fed it inside her, inch by inch.
A rough breath escaped me when she took me all the way in, her pelvis flush with mine. Goddamn. I’d never tire of watching her do that.
Hope dropped her head back and let out a low moan. “None of my toys compare to the real thing.”
“So”—I raised one brow—“I guess we can throw them all away. ”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “Toys are your friend, Vaughn. Not the enemy.”
“Don’t worry, Gatita. I’m not jealous of your collection. Maybe one day you can give me a demonstration of how you like to use them.” My dick throbbed inside her as I fantasized about that incredible show. Hope’s nightstand drawer of sin suddenly seemed even more appealing.
She aimed an impish smile at me and winked. It was the only warning I had before she braced her palms on my torso and began riding me.
Except, holy hell. She’d never moved like this before, circling, grinding, then circling some more. What sorcery was this?
I growled and pinched my eyes shut, trying to talk my overzealous dick down from shooting its load with embarrassing speed. Staring at Hope’s gorgeous body while she used me as her real-life sex toy was too much.
“Woman, what are you doing to me?” I peeled one lid open, catching the small crease of concentration in her brow.
“I remembered a TikTok I saw a while back where this woman said if you’re new to being on top, try spelling the word coconut with your hips.”
“What?” I could hardly think straight with my brain short-circuiting.
“Wait. I’ll start again. C-O-C ?—”
“Hope, stop.” I grasped her hips firmly, but she kept going.
She fisted her hands in her hair and lifted her long tresses from her neck, drawing my eyes to her tits. “O-N ? —”
I flipped her fast, pinning her beneath me. “If you finish spelling nut , that’s exactly what’ll happen, and I’m not done with you yet.”
She bit her lip, trying and failing to hold in her smug satisfaction .
I narrowed my eyes. “You little minx. I’m gonna make you pay for that.”
“Oh no,” she said with mock innocence and pouty lips. “Please don’t punish me with that big dick of yours.”
Fuck me. I really had met my match.
But I’d have to punish Hope later. Right now, something inside me called for a deeper connection between us. With the op drawing nearer, I wanted this moment to mean something. Dammit, I must be broken, because I had the urge to be gentle. Did I even know how to do that?
I kissed her and moved inside her slowly, savoring the sensation of her skin against mine and the way her warm, tight pussy welcomed me. Maybe this torturous pace was punishment enough for both of us.
I released Hope’s lips so I could take in her striking features and commit them to memory.
I took her face in my hands and stared into amber eyes that never failed to make my heart beat faster. “You come back to me no matter what, understand? If you only ever obey one of my orders for the rest of your life, let it be this one. Please.”
Hope’s brow furrowed, but she nodded.
It was a foolish request to make. Neither of us was in complete control of what might happen on this op. The plan was sound. Our team was possibly the most skilled of any on the planet. None of it guaranteed a safe outcome.
“More, Vaughn. Harder,” Hope demanded. “Make me forget about everything else.”
As if I could deny her anything she asked of me. And dammit, I needed to lose myself in her, too. So I reared back and thrust inside, pushing her up the bed as I drove in again and again. Her fingernails dug into my back, urging me on.
And when Hope cried out and her warm walls pulsed around me, I came with her name on my lips, her breath in my lungs, and the gut-wrenching knowledge that this might be the last moment we shared like this.