Chapter 23
August 14 th
12:22 P.M.
“Cole.” Susanna laughed, swatting at him as he backed her up against the wall and nuzzled the hollow of her neck where her pulse fluttered. A spot he already knew from experience needed only a few kisses before she melted for him.
“Hmm?” he asked, teasing the spot with the tip of his tongue and loving the way she arched her neck, silently begging for more.
More he was happy to give her.
It had been ten days since Vinny Vitoli killed himself, ten days since he finally got to make this amazing woman his, and he became more besotted with her with each passing hour.
This last week and a half had been as rough as it had been amazing. There’d been nightmares and a couple of panic attacks, and there had been moments when Susanna’s instincts had kicked in and she’d tried to push him away, but he hadn't let her, and he was so proud of her for fighting as hard as she could to battle against her own deeply rooted fears and insecurities.
They’d kept to themselves, not even leaving her apartment other than for him to pop next door to his own place to grab some clothes and toiletries. Holding her during the nights and getting to know her better during the days had been amazing. She’d shared more of her father’s torturous games, and he’d told her what life was like for him and his siblings before their parents’ deaths and after.
Normally, he waited for Susanna’s express permission before doing anything more than dropping a chaste kiss to her lips, conscious of the fact that it was only weeks since she’d been raped. But she seemed okay with his touch, and this was the first time he was the one to initiate anything.
“Mmm,” she moaned as he nibbled on her sensitive skin. “You know you shouldn’t be starting something you won't have time to finish. Your family is going to be here in less than ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes is plenty of time,” he assured her as his hand shoved up the skirt of her dress and skimmed across her already wet center through her panties. His thumb pressed against her entrance, and he hummed against her skin. “See, you're already soaked. Ten minutes is more than enough to get you off.”
Knowing exactly how to touch her to bring her an orgasm that would leave her breathless, he delved inside her panties and plunged two fingers right in. She moaned and her hips began to rock as he pressed the heel of his hand against her bud. His girl was so sensitive that it never took him long to make her come. Over the last ten days, he’d found he enjoyed getting her off quickly every bit as much as he enjoyed dragging it out, edging her a little.
So long as she was screaming his name it was all good.
Shifting his hand so he could use his thumb to work her bundle of nerves, he soon had her squirming, begging, and rocking against his fingers, meeting him thrust for thrust.
“More,” she panted, and he could feel how close she was.
Bringing his other finger around, he pinched her bud between it and his thumb, and she detonated, her internal muscles squeezing his fingers as he continued to work her through the orgasm, making it last as long as he could.
“Perfection.” He smiled as he pulled his hand out of her panties and brought his fingers to his lips, sucking them clean and making Susanna blush.
Just as her hand reached out to cup the bulge in his jeans, there was a knock on the door. “Told you we had hardly any time,” she rebuked him.
“Got you off, didn't I?”
“Yeah, you got me off, but I didn't get you off.”
“It’ll keep till later,” he told her as she righted her skirt.
There wasn't a chance in hell his brothers wouldn't know exactly what he’d been up to the second they saw the blush on Susanna’s cheeks, even if he did his best to hide his bulge. Which he did, counting to fifty before opening the door and trying to think of the most mundane things to deflate himself.
“Really,” Cade snapped when he finally let his siblings in. “You had to be doing that while my kid is out here.”
“Relax,” Gabriella told her boss. “She has no idea what they were doing.”
“What were you doing, Uncle Cole?” Essie piped up, looking at him with curious gray eyes.
“They were just playing,” Gabriella told the little girl. “Now let’s go put the ice cream in the freezer before it melts. You always make such a big deal out of everything,” she muttered to Cade as she followed the easily distracted child off to the kitchen.
Cade rolled his eyes at his nanny’s back but swatted Cole on the head as he walked inside. “Don’t be making out with your girlfriend while my four-year-old is on the other side of the door.”
“Maybe if you made out with someone you’d be less of a grump,” he shot back.
“As if I’ve got time for making out with girls,” Cade said with a glare.
“Yeah, because it would take so much time to notice what's right in front of you,” Cooper muttered as he and Willow breezed past. Willow choked on a giggle as she hurried over to hug Susanna.
“How are you doing?” Willow asked Susanna.
“I'm … okay,” Susanna replied, returning the hug.
Once everyone was inside, Cole locked back up. The weight of knowing there were still three dangerous men out there who would go to any lengths to shut him and his family up was a terrible way to live. He didn't want anyone else getting hurt, and he certainly didn't want Susanna getting hurt again.
“How you doing, squirt?” he asked Cassandra. His sister’s usually bright eyes were dull, and she looked pale and thinner than the last time he’d seen her. While he felt guilty that he hadn't been able to be there as much for his sister as he would have liked, he’d kept in contact with her via calls and texts every day and he knew he’d been where he needed to be. Cassandra had a whole family to support her, Susanna had only him.
Well, she had.
But now she had all of them.
“Still in shock I think,” Cassandra replied. “Learning Dad wasn't my biological dad, and that all of this, including what happened to Mom and our stepdad is all because of me is?—”
“Untrue,” Jax said, cutting her off.
“None of this is because of you,” Jake reminded her.
“Not your fault they raped Mom and she got pregnant,” Cooper told her firmly.
“If she hadn't gotten pregnant, there wouldn't have been any proof. Then Dad’s team wouldn't have been set up, Mom and Jared wouldn't have been arrested and killed, and we all wouldn't be in danger right now. I'm the problem because I'm the proof,” Cassandra said bleakly. “I was going to wait until after lunch, but I'm just going to say it now. I talked with Eagle, and he suggested I stay with Delta Team until we find out who else was involved and deal with them. I’m good with that idea.”
The announcement caught them all by surprise, but Cole couldn’t say he was against it. Neither was anyone else by the looks of it.
Cassandra was the proof, and they couldn’t risk her getting hurt.
Being with Delta Team with their scarily unnatural abilities meant nobody would stand a chance in Hell at getting their hands on her.
Knowing she was safe would also mean they could spend more time hunting for answers and less worrying about protecting her. They already had Willow and now Susanna to protect, so Cassandra being taken care of would lessen the load a little. In fact …
“Don’t even think about it. I'm not going to hide out with this Delta Team, whoever they are,” Susanna told him as she came up to his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Me either,” Willow piped up, shooting Cooper a glare that said they’d already argued about her safety.
“I’m going to Asia,” Connor suddenly blurted out.
“Huh?” Jax asked, shooting him a confused look.
Connor sighed and dragged his fingers through his messy brown locks. “Going to Asia. Specifically, Cambodia.”
“What the hell are going to Cambodia for?” Cade demanded.
“Daddy, that’s a bad word,” Essie piped up before Gabriella could hush her.
“Because that’s where Becca is,” Connor said simply. “With everything going on, learning what was done to Mom, and that Cassandra was conceived as a result, I just … I have to go to her. I can't explain it. I left her when she needed me the most and I have to find a way to make things right.”
Will Connor Charleston be able to make amends with his ex or will he just bring danger to her door? Find out in the third book in the action packed and emotionally charged Prey Security: Charlie Team series!
Tactical Lies (Prey Security: Charlie Team #3)