29. Sterling
29
STERLING
T he op didn’t go as planned. A small lead turned into an ambush. Getting shot at. Nearly dying. Our retreat.
Neither Shepard nor I were hit, but that was closer than I like.
Although we did confirm our suspect as one of the bigger arms dealers, it’s not enough of a win to make it worth the trip. But at least we didn’t come out with nothing.
Shepard is abnormally quiet on the ride home.
I bet he’s equally considering what this is all for when we could have been with Sloane today instead of on this operation.
It’s a fear I had long ago that resurfaces now, a pang in my chest that worries about this case being over and having to let Sloane go off on her own again. If that’s what she wants.
It’s quickly becoming something I do not want. Not at all. Having my house full again is too nice.
My thoughts don’t wind on much further. By the time we return to my house, I’m wired and desperately want to hold onto Sloane.
This feeling is scarier than I remember. But I was young then, kissing thirty when I lost Mari and Hannah.
And here I am, pining after someone barely into her twenties. My gut says not to be stubborn about the age difference, says not to keep my distance. It’ll be my own downfall if I ignore my gut.
I’ve lived with the knowledge that I can’t go through it again.
I open the door and step in, and Sloane rushes in, launching herself at me. I wrap myself around her, getting my wish to hold on to her for as long as I can manage. She doesn’t try to push me away one inch, and I soak it in. The soft heat of her, the honeysuckle scent, the way her fingers dig into my back.
I find myself hoping that she’s missed me, too. That’s what this feels like.
When she finally stirs and pulls back to look me over, the worry in her features has my heart taking that leap again.
“You’re okay? Both of you? What happened? We haven’t heard from you all day.” Sloane grips my arms and peers around me to see Shepard is in one piece, too, before she looks into my eyes, reiterating her questions with a few blinks.
“We’re fine,” I tell her, trying to wrangle myself as she steps to Shep and hugs him with nearly the same ferocity. He lifts her off her feet, comes in, and closes the door with her toes dangling above the hardwood floors.
She grunts but says, “I need more than that.”
I bite back a smile. “We confirmed it’s one of the big arms dealers this country has been tracking for years.”
“So you know who they are?”
“No. Not exactly. We’ve just narrowed it down from every possibility to a handful of them.”
Sloane finds her feet again, ushering us both inside the home. “What else?”
I shake my head. “Not much else, unfortunately.”
Hastings meets my gaze as I glance away. He knows already. I don’t want to tell her that we were under fire. She’ll blame herself when none of this is her fault.
That critical gaze of hers narrows at me. One of the few people in the world who doesn’t buckle under mine, and it’s this young woman who’s too smart for her own good. She has gone through too much in her young life.
I can’t resist reaching out to touch her again, brushing my knuckles across her cheek and cupping the side of her head.
“How can I help?” Clever girl. She’s learning how to read me too well, adapting to us.
I sweep her against me again, and she holds on, rocking me in a hug that’s meant purely for comfort. “You’re already doing it.”
Her hands stroke over my back and sides, and it’s enough to make me want to curl around her in bed, do dirty things to her, and fall asleep without ever letting her out of my arms.
It’s not realistic, but I can have most of it.
“Did you want me to do what I do upstairs? Where there’s a bed?” Sloane’s words are muffled by my shoulder.
I softly laugh into her hair. “Yes. I do.”
She laughs, too, pulling back enough to tip her head and give me access to her mouth. I will never turn down the offer of a kiss.
Even though my body is tired and sore from the day’s work, I lift her in my arms, her legs going around my waist before I climb the stairs with her.
No need to check whether the guys are following. They’d be stupid not to.
In my bedroom, I slowly lower her to the edge of the bed, unwilling to release her kiss until I’ve properly shown her how much I want her. Need her. Need this. Need every big or little thing she’s willing to give me.
Sloane is panting for breath when I finally release her. Her eyes are glazed over with desire. Her touch smooths over my cheek, back down to my chin, across my bottom lip.
I reach for the bottom of her oversized sweatshirt. Does she wear this thing to tease me? It’s the same one she had on when she climbed into my lap and seduced me. One of the sexiest moments of my adult life.
One of the more intense. She’s able to overwhelm me so completely with emotions.
And frankly, seeing her swim in that giant sweater is a fucking turn on. Skintight is overrated. This thing is perfect for me to slip my hands under to touch her.
It’s even easier to strip it off her.
Sloane isn’t even wearing an undershirt—the bra is small and barely holding her in.
I tip my forehead against hers. “You…”
Her grin lights her up. “Me?”
“So goddamn sexy.” My hand sinks back into her hair as I kiss her soundly, dragging her up the mattress until I’m hovering over her.
Fingers tug at the back of my shirt, drawing it up under my arms until I retreat to strip it free. Those small hands and slim fingers find my skin, zapping me with need, cranking it up until I’m so full of it that I can no longer restrain myself.
I drop my mouth to her chest, spreading kisses down between her breasts until I suck one into my mouth through her cotton bra. Her back bows, pressing her up into me.
Fuck, I love how she reacts to me.
My hands slide under her back to unlatch her bra and peel it off her skin, marveling in its creamy white glow. Those rosy nipples are hard and begging for attention.
I take the other in my mouth, sucking hard until she whimpers and rubs her thighs together.
Kissing my way down her stomach, I hook my fingers in the waistband of her shorts and slide them off her hips and legs before tossing them aside. I spread her thighs and settle between them, teasing her with my kisses along her hip bones until I reach her sweet pussy.
Licking from the base of her to her clit, I revel in the shiver that consumes her. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she suppresses a noise. My vision wavers as I devour her, single-minded in my goal to make her come.
I need it as badly as I need to breathe, enjoying every rotation of her hips, every squirm and shudder and gasp that I earn from her. She’s brilliant and responsive, and I could do this all night.
“Fuck,” Hastings whispers behind me, and I wonder how she looks from his view.
When I feel her contract, closing in on her orgasm, I pull back enough to tease her, to let her drop a little before I dive back in. We cycle like that a few more times until everyone in the room is breathing heavily.
After a long stretch, I finally let her come. I lap it up until she’s quivering and limp. Those soft noises are both needy and overwhelmed.
And we both know this is only the start. She’s got much more headed her way before the night is over.
I crawl over her again, and her knees press into my waist, hands finding my chest the moment I’m within reach. She curls one around the back of my neck and tugs me closer.
Her kiss makes my hard cock ache even more. While she catches her breath, I unzip myself, unleashed and more than ready to slide into her wet heat. She takes me so nicely, mouth falling open as I nudge and prod her until I hit a spot that curls her toes.
Holding her in place, I don’t change a thing until she’s fluttering around me. God, this woman is a blessing. Her cry is soft when she jerks in my grip, coming around my cock.
I readjust her, pressing our bodies together as I thrust with renewed force.
Sloane simply strengthens her grip on my shoulders as I take her. As I worship her body and the way she’s turned me into this needy beast, one that can think of little else other than the pleasure I’m able to coax out of her.
A true test to my stamina, I’m not sure how Sloane is able to take as much as we give her, how she’s always willing to give us more even when she’s exhausted.
I can already tell tonight will push our boundaries.
Because I don’t want to let an inch of her go.