Chapter 11
Ace was so caught up in his need to hold this woman that all the years melted away, and it was as if they’d never been apart.
She fit him. No other woman had ever come close.
When all the buttons were free, he pushed the blouse over her shoulders, and it floated to the floor.
She reached for his jacket and pushed it over his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, then worked the buttons on his shirt, her fingers fumbling.
His body on fire, Ace couldn’t get naked fast enough. He took over and ripped through the remaining buttons, shucked the shirt and then unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers. He toed off his boots and stepped free of the pants, kicking them to the side. Lastly, he unstrapped the ceramic knife, leaving it lying on the tile.
While he shed his clothes, Jasmine slipped out of her pants, panties, bra and knife sheath.
As they stood before each other naked, Ace drank in her beauty. He reached for her at the same time she reached for him. They came together like sparks to tinder, igniting a bonfire of desire.
He crushed her to him, claiming her lips, feasting on her like a man wolfing down his last meal.
Her calf circled his leg, and her sex pressed against his thigh, hot and wet.
Ace bent and hooked his hands beneath Jasmine’s buttocks and lifted her.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, her ankles locking behind his back.
As he kissed her again, he stepped into the shower, the warm water drenching them. He pressed her back to the tile and slid into her, pulling out almost as soon as he entered.
“What?” she gasped.
“I forgot.”
“What?” she demanded, her voice breathy, her breathing ragged.
“Protection.”
She shook her head. “Do you have some?”
“In my wallet,” he said.
She leaned her head back, drawing in a deep breath. “Put me down.”
His fingers tightened on her buttocks. He didn’t want to let go. Deep down, he felt that if he did, he’d wake up from this incredible dream to discover none of it had happened.
Jasmine cupped his cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.” She brushed her lips across his. “Just hurry back.”
He lowered her feet to the ground and stepped out of the shower. Dripping water across the floor, he dove for the pants he’d kicked to the side moments earlier. Ace dug through his back pockets to find his wallet, yanked it out and flipped it open. He riffled through the pockets, cursing. Surely, he had at least one condom.
He”d about given up hope when he dug behind his driver’s license, the tips of his fingers encountering a cool, plastic package. When he pulled it out, he nearly shouted for joy.
He tossed his trousers aside, stepped back into the shower and gathered Jasmine into his arms. Ace buried his face in her wet hair, holding her body close to his, desire burning from every point of contact with her, from her breasts to her hips and lower to her thighs against his.
“See?” she whispered in his ear. “I’m still here.”
He laughed. “I thought this couldn’t possibly be happening. You were part of my dreams.”
“And if you let go of me, I’d disappear?” She nodded. “I felt the same, holding my breath until you came back to me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now, where were we?”
He handed the packet to her. “Protection.”
She snorted. “I’ll take that.” She plucked it from his fingers and laid it in the soap dish.
Ace frowned.
Jasmine smiled. “We’ll get back to that in a minute. It’s been a long time. I want to remember everything about you.” She leaned into him and kissed him, pushing her tongue past his teeth to stroke his.
She tasted so damned good that Ace clutched the back of her head, deepening and prolonging the kiss until he had to break away to drag air back into his lungs.
Her lips moved from his mouth to his chin and down the length of his neck.
When she didn’t stop there, he leaned his head back, letting the shower spray pepper his face with droplets, the water running down over her head and chest.
Her lips pressed kisses over his collarbone and lower to claim one of his nipples. She flicked one tip with her tongue and sucked it hard before moving to the other, her arms circling his back. As she flicked the nipple with her tongue, her hands roamed lower to cup his ass.
She pulled him into her, his cock pressing into her belly.
Every touch, every nip, everywhere her hands slid, further enflamed his desire. He wanted her so badly, it hurt. She prolonged the sweet agony, moving even lower.
With water streaming over her shoulders, she knelt in front of him and wrapped her hands around his length, caressing him from the tip of his cock to the base, then fondling his balls.
He laced his fingers into her hair, wanting to bring her closer but resisting, letting her set the pace. The last thing he wanted was to scare her.
But oh, he wanted to drive into her so deeply. To feel her channel convulse around him, slick and tight.
With her hands around his dick, he could almost feel that sweet friction.
Then she took him into her mouth, wrapped her hands around his ass and brought him all the way in until he bumped into the back of her throat.
The air left his lungs.
Her tongue swirled around him, licking and flicking in frenetic movements as if she were every bit as excited as he was. She pushed him backward, almost to the tip of his dick and pulled him back into her mouth, fast and hard. Then she shoved him out and back in again, moving him in and out at a steadily increasing pace.
Unable to hold back, he took over, pumping into her mouth again and again, holding her hair, thrusting until he teetered on the very edge.
When he tried to pull free, she clasped his buttocks and kept him deep, holding him close, refusing to set him free.
He held on as long as he could, then he had to let go, coming in her mouth. She didn’t back away, taking all of him, her fingers digging into his flesh.
His cock pulsed his release as he rode the sensations for as long as they lasted.
Jasmine rose from her knees, dragging her breasts up his body. When she kissed him, he could taste himself on her tongue.
Then she stepped back, reached for the packet and tore it open. With deft movements, she rolled it over his still-engorged shaft.
Though he’d come, he was nowhere near done making love to her. He gripped her behind her thighs, lifted her and pressed her against the tile.
She wrapped her legs around him and lowered herself over him.
“You’re so tight,” he murmured. “Go slow. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” she breathed. “I want you. All of you. Inside me. Now.” She seated herself fully on him and drew in a long, shaky breath. “So good.”
“Oh, yeah. So fucking good.” He held her there for a moment. “But it’s my turn to do you.”
When he tried to lift her off, her legs tightened around him. “Stay,” she said.
“I want you to come. To feel what you made me feel.” He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, still holding her, his cock buried inside her.
As he moved through the bathroom, she snagged a towel and wrapped it around his back.
They were still dripping wet when he carried her into the bedroom.
“As much as I want to stay inside you,” he whispered against her neck, “I want to see you orgasm, to see you come apart as I touch you there.”
He lifted her off him and stood her on the floor. Taking the towel from her hands, he dried her body, moving slowly, touching her everywhere until she squirmed and stole the towel from him.
She dried his body, taking her time when she came to his rock-hard cock.
He finally ripped the towel from her hands and flung it across the room. Then he walked her backward until the backs of her legs bumped into the bed.
Ace kissed her and eased her back until she lay across the mattress, her legs draped over the side. Nudging her knees apart, he stepped between them and leaned over her. “I want all of you, Jasmine.” He kissed her again, his mouth moving over hers briefly before he moved lower, trailing his lips and tongue across her chin and down her neck to the pulse beating wildly at the base.
Her hands went to his shoulders, her fingers digging in as he claimed one of her nipples. He sucked it into his mouth and rolled it between his teeth until it puckered into a hard little button.
He moved to the other, flicking the tip until she groaned and pulled him closer. He sucked that tit into his mouth and pulled hard.
Her back arched, her breast pressing into him.
He left that beaded nipple and worked his way down her torso. His hands led the way, tracing the line of her waist, the curve of her hips and finding the apex of her thighs. His mouth followed.
Ace traced his thumbs through the tuft of curls and parted her folds. He dove in, flicking her clit with the tip of his tongue.
Jasmine moaned, her hands clutching his scalp, pulling him closer, urging him to take more.
He did. Swirling that nubbin of tightly-packed nerves, he worked her there until she sucked in a breath, her hips bucking beneath him.
Her back arched off the mattress, and her knees tightened around his ears as her body trembled with her release. Her hips rocked in tight little movements, taking the wave all the way to the end.
When she finally fell back against the bed, she drew a shaky breath and let it out in a rush. “You shatter me,” she said softly.
Ace chuckled and rose to his feet. “It’s not over yet.”
Her eyes flared, and she quickly scooted back onto the bed, her knees falling to the sides, leaving her open to him.
He climbed up over her and bent to take her lips in a gentle caress that grew more demanding as he slid inside her.
Her pussy was slick and tight around him.
He eased in, letting her adjust to his girth.
Jasmine’s legs wrapped around him, her heels digging into his ass as she pulled him in, sheathing him all the way to the hilt.
Once there, he reveled in the sensations, drinking them in, savoring everything about being inside this woman.
Then he moved out.
Her heels dug in, bringing him back to her.
He moved out again and returned quickly. Soon, he was pumping in and out of her.
Her feet dropped to the mattress, her heels digging in. She rose to meet his thrusts, her fingers curling into the flesh of his hips.
Ace’s body tensed as he raced to the top. With one more thrust, he shot over the edge.
He buried himself inside her and dropped down, gathering her close, his cock pulsing.
Her arms wrapped around him, and her lips brushed his neck. “I missed you,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
“I missed you,” he said and kissed her hard. It was as if he’d come home.
For a long moment, he lay there, soaking in that feeling and everything about her. Then he rolled onto his side, taking her with him.
He held her in his arms, afraid to let go. Afraid she’d disappear again. But they were in Fearghas’s apartment. The Greek crime ring was searching for them.
Ace sighed. “We’d better get dressed.”
She nodded. “Fearghas should be back soon.”
Ace kissed her again. “Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose you again.”
She cupped his cheek. “I feel the same.”
“Then let’s make that trade and get Eli back. We’ll figure out where to go from there.”
She nodded.
Ace rolled out of bed and held out a hand. “I’m going to rinse off. Would you like to join me?”
She laid her hand in his, and he pulled her into his arms. Then he scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom.
They rinsed quickly and dried off. Jasmine retrieved her bra from the bathroom floor and hooked it in place. She secured the ceramic knife in its sheath around her ankle.
Ace strapped his knife around his ankle.
Then, wrapped in towels, they hurried to Fearghas’s closet for clothes.
Ace found trousers that fit a little loosely around his middle and a pullover polo shirt.
“His lady friend had good taste in clothes,” Jasmine said, pulling a black, form-fitting, ribbed-knit shirt over her head, smoothing it down her body. She stepped into a pair of gray trousers, buttoned and zipped. “I much prefer wearing underwear, but I’ll have to do without for now.”
Ace grinned. “I’ll imagine you naked beneath the borrowed clothes.”
Jasmine’s lips twisted and a thrill of lust made her core heat all over again. As much as she’d love to stay in bed all day with Ace, her son took precedence.
She tugged at the waistband of the trousers. “They’re a little snug, but they’ll work.” She dug out a pair of running shoes and tried them on. “I need to meet Fearghas’s lady friend. We’re almost the same size, though I think she’s a bit taller.” Her lips twisting in a wry grin, she stared down at the hem of the trousers that would drag a little on the ground.
Ace had put on socks he’d found in one of Fearghas’s drawers and pulled on his boots. He straightened and shook his head. “We’re getting dressed when we should be resting.”
Jasmine squared her shoulders. “We can rest fully dressed. We can’t run easily, half-clothed and without shoes.”
“Good point.” He led the way out of Fearghas’s bedroom. A light blinked on, catching his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned toward the set of monitors on the wall. The external camera displayed a man on a motorcycle speeding toward the garage.
“Fearghas’s back,” Jasmine said as she came to stand beside him.
The man on the motorcycle skidded sideways to a stop. As soon as the door was high enough, he raced in.
By then, the monitor showcasing the garage interior had blinked on. Fearghas leaped off the bike and ran for the staircase. At the base of the rusty stairs, he smacked his palm on the wall. The garage door rolled downward. Fearghas ran up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.
Ace’s pulse kicked into high gear. “He’s in a hurry.”
“I can see why,” Jasmine pointed at the external screen.
An SUV screeched to a halt in front of the garage. Men leaped out carrying rifles and machine guns.
“Get to the escape hatch,” Ace said, his voice tight, his pulse now hammering through his veins. “I’m going to let Fearghas in.”
When Jasmine hesitated, Ace said, “Go!”
She jumped and ran out of Fearghas’s bedroom and into the guest room.
As Ace raced across the living room, he heard pounding on the garage door below. He waved his hand over the light beside the sliding door panel, and it slid open.
Fearghas dove through. “We have to go.” He waved his hand over the light, and the door slid closed.
Ace spun and ran toward the guest bedroom.
The attic stairs were down.
Jasmine leaned down from above, the satchel looped across her body. “Hurry!”
Ace clambered up the stairs. Once at the top, he looked back. Fearghas wasn’t behind him.
A couple of moments later, Fearghas appeared, carrying a backpack. He started up the stairs.
As he neared the top, Ace held out his hand.
Fearghas grabbed it, and Ace yanked him up into the attic.
Fearghas leaned down, snagged a rope beside the stairs and pulled them up.
Jasmine was already at the door on the far side of the attic. She pushed it open and stepped out into the night.
A large crash sounded below.
Fearghas muttered a curse. “They’ve breached the garage. It’ll take them a minute to get into the apartment.” He pushed past Ace and ran for the attic door.
Ace raced after him.
Outside on the roof, Jasmine met them near the attic door. “They’re coming around the sides,” she whispered. “Going down this trellis isn’t possible.”
Fearghas nodded and crept toward the edge of the building.
Ace and Jasmine joined him, and they peered into the shadows between the buildings.
“Clear,” Fearghas said quietly. He backed up several steps. Then he ran toward the edge and leaped to the next building, landing easily on the other side.
Ace touched Jasmine’s arm. “Go.”
She nodded, backed up a few steps and leaped over the edge. When she landed, she stumbled. Fearghas caught her and held her until she had her feet fully under her.
As soon as Jasmine was out of the way, Ace launched himself over the edge, landing easily beside the others.
Fearghas took off, running across the roof, and leaped onto the next roof.
Jasmine followed.
They ran across one...two...three rooftops. As they landed on the fourth building, the thumping sound of rotor blades filled the air.
A helicopter swept down from the sky, hovered over the rooftop, then descended to land lightly there.
Ace pulled Jasmine back, ready to jump back to the third building.
Jasmine dug her heels in and brought him to a stop, pointing toward Fearghas.
The man waved for them to follow, ran for the helicopter and leaped into the side door.
Jasmine and Ace ran after him and dove in.
As soon as they were all on board, the helicopter lifted off the roof and soared into the air.
Ace glanced out the open door. The men who’d crashed into Fearghas’s garage ran out into the streets, aiming their weapons toward the sky, but the helicopter quickly moved out of range.
Fearghas settled into the copilot’s seat and settled a headset over his ears.
Ace found two more headsets, handed one to Jasmine and slipped the other over his ears.
A familiar, heavily accented voice filled his ears. “Welcome to Air Dmytro. Buckle your seatbelts. We are headed for the islands.”
Jasmine laughed. “Dmytro?”
“Tak, kokhannya moye,” he said. Yes, my love.
“How did you know to pick us up?” she asked.
He leaned his head toward Fearghas and spoke in accented English. “I was just powering up my bird when I got information about Louis Bertolli. I was about to text you when I received a distress text from my friend, Fearghas.” He shrugged. “Of course, I came immediately.”
Ace laughed. “Is there anyone you don’t know?”
“A few,” Dmytro said.
“Thank you, my friend,” Jasmine said. “That was close. What about Louis Bertolli?”
“He is an Italian national who inherited millions of euros from his mother’s family estate. My source says he is at his summer home on the island of Corfu.”
“And Eli?” Jasmine reached for Ace’s hand. “Does he have my son?”
Ace squeezed Jasmine’s hand gently as he held his breath, waiting for Dmytro’s answer.
The Ukrainian nodded. “He has a small boy with him.”
Ace released the breath he’d been holding, his gaze on Jasmine.
Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her face. “Is he okay?” she asked, choking on her words.
“He told his staff the boy is his nephew, staying with him while his parents are on vacation. They are treating him like family.”
Jasmine brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Good. Now that we know where he is, we can get him back.”
“One problem,” Dmytro said.
Jasmine tensed. “What is it?”
Ace’s gaze went to the back of Dmytro’s head, his heart pinching hard in his chest.
“We are not the only ones who know where Bertolli is.” Dmytro paused. “Athanasios Demopoulos flies there now in his private jet. It can take him there in one hour. It will take us three hours in Air Dmytro.”