Chapter 38 Geneva
GENEVA
THE VIEW FROM THE HOTEL BALCONY IN MIAMI IS ALL sun-drenched skyline and endless blue water, but I barely notice it. I’m too focused on the man sprawled in the chair across from me, a whiskey glass balanced between his fingers, his eyes razor-sharp despite the casual slouch of his posture.
Ghost watches me as he talks, his voice low, steady, laying out the plan like he’s reciting street directions. Not how we’re going to hunt down and eliminate Luis Dominguez.
“He’s a ‘cleaner,’” Ghost says, swirling the liquid in his glass. “He doesn’t make messes. He gets rid of them.”
I lean back against the cushioned chair, my fingers tracing the condensation on my glass. “So what are we going to do?”
Ghost smiles. “We follow the mess.”
“Explain.”
He sets his glass down, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
“Whenever there’s a high-profile hit, Dominguez is the one sweeping in after, making sure the bodies aren’t found and no evidence is left behind.
If he’s in Miami, it’s because he’s here to clean up something big.
However, Dominguez is a trained assassin, so don’t underestimate him. ”
I frown, tugging at the hem of my shirt. Well, Ghost’s shirt. “How do you know?”
“I’ve been tracking him for months.” Ghost taps his fingers against his thigh, an absent motion that signals the anticipation simmering beneath his calm exterior.
“I’ve learned his patterns and habits, as well as his point of contact.
Which happens to be mine as well. So I know exactly who’s getting erased. ”
I grip my glass a little tighter. “Who?”
“A politician. Mid-level, but with enough dirt to be a problem for someone powerful.” Ghost waves a hand in dismissal as though the loss of life is a mere inconvenience. “My contact says he’s nervous and asking too many questions. Now he’s just another liability being taken off the board.”
“Who’s your contact?”
Ghost purses his lips. “Let’s just say that I have ‘leverage’ with the local crime syndicate. They were quite agreeable after hearing that I brought the Malone family to their knees.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to know. But getting back to Dominguez… Do you know when all of this is happening?”
Ghost scoffs. “Not just when but where. We need to wait for confirmation from my contact. Once Dominguez is on-site, we’ll move. He’ll be working alone without distractions, and that means no backup.”
I nod. “It works in our favor.”
“Exactly.” His lips curve into something lethal. “We’ll be inside before Dominguez even steps through the door. The only thing getting cleaned up tonight is him.”
A ripple of satisfaction flows through me. It’s different from Carter, different from the last time we hunted one of these bastards. No cat-and-mouse, no waiting for the enemy to strike.
We’re ahead this time.
“What are we going to do while we wait?” I ask.
Ghost smiles at me in a way that has my cheeks flushing. “We could have sex. Endorphins are good for you. Or we could discuss how you plan on killing Dominguez.”
“Oh?”
“Do you want to use a knife again or a different weapon?”
I bite my lip in thought.
“You better stop that,” he says, his voice rougher now, strained.
My pulse skitters, heat pooling low in my stomach. Suddenly the shirt and panties I’m wearing aren’t enough of a barrier for Ghost’s searing gaze. “Stop what?”
His grip tightens on his thigh. “Testing me.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’m going to fuck you.”
I still haven’t recovered from the last time. “Hmm.”
Ghost exhales through his nose like he’s trying to keep control. Then, before I can react, he’s out of his chair, moving toward me with predatory intent.
I barely have time to inhale before his hands are on me, fingers curling around my wrists, yanking me up before dragging me down on his lap. His grip is firm, his fingers digging into my hips as he settles me over him, aligning our bodies in a way that makes my breathing thin.
“You think I won’t fuck you so hard, you can’t walk?” he murmurs. “You think I won’t fuck that pussy until it’s so swollen, you can’t move without feeling what I did to you?”
“I think you could, but we don’t have time.”
His smirk widens, dark amusement flashing in his eyes. “You really want to test that theory, Doc? I can do hard and fast.”
I shift against him, the friction sending a spark of electricity through my veins. His entire body stiffens beneath me, like he’s holding himself back by sheer will alone.
For a moment, we just sit there, caught in the charged silence, the unspoken challenge hanging heavily between us. My breathing is uneven, my skin flushed, and Ghost… fuck, he looks like he’s seconds away from losing control and slipping into complete insanity.
Then his hand glides up my spine to grip the back of my neck as he pulls me down, his lips skimming mine. “I love you,” he whispers. “God, I love fucking you. I love touching you. I love the sound of your voice. Just looking at you kills me.”
I briefly close my eyes, fingers fisting in his hair, my body responding even as my mind locks up to protect me. He doesn’t just say things. When Ghost speaks, it’s absolute.
“You don’t have to say it back,” he whispers, dragging his lips along my jaw, the sensuality of his voice making me squirm. “But you will.”
“How do you know?”
His mouth curves against my skin. “I know you, Geneva.” He drags his hands up my back, pulling me closer, forcing me to feel all of him. “I see it every time you look at me. I feel it every time I’m inside you.”
A breathy sound escapes me, something between a whimper and a plea. After all this time, it’s still disconcerting how well he reads me.
“You love me,” he says. “You’re just too scared to say it.”
I avert my gaze. “Whatever.”
His fingers tighten in my hair, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Say it.”
I can’t.
I shake my head.
And his control snaps.
The kiss is brutal. His hands grip me painfully as he takes what he wants, what we both want. His teeth graze my lower lip before he soothes the sting with his tongue, swallowing my soft moan.
I melt into him, desperate for more friction, and he groans against my lips. The sound is raw, guttural, and it makes me crazy for him.
He drags his palms over my curves, kneading the flesh of my thighs and then my ass. “I can’t get enough of you,” he murmurs against my neck. “Never.”
Ghost slips his fingers under the thin band of my panties. And then yanks them aside, not bothering with gentleness, not now, not when he’s this far gone. The air hits me, cool against overheated skin, and I gasp, my pulse hammering as he reaches down to free himself.
“You’re going to look so pretty full of my cock,” he says, voice low, and his eyes drinking me in like I’m the only thing keeping him alive. “You like ruining me, don’t you, baby?”
I rock my hips, needing him, and the tip of him glides through my slickness, stealing my breath. His head falls back for half a second, jaw tight, fighting for control he’s already lost.
“God, you’re wet. So fucking ready for me.” His hand tightens on my hip, guiding me, positioning me. His cock nudges against my pussy, hot and thick, and his voice drops to a broken whisper. “Take me, Geneva. Fucking take me.”
And when I sink onto him, slowly at first, feeling every inch stretch and fill, I swear I feel him shudder beneath me like he’s the one being undone.
“Say it,” he demands.
I shake my head, gasping when he rolls his hips up against me. He’s relentless, wrecking not just my body and mind. But my heart as well.
“No,” I breathe, though my voice betrays me, shaky and thin.
“Now.”
He dips his hand between us, teasing my clit, making my eyes roll back. He takes full advantage of my submission, his other hand tangling in my hair, keeping me immobile so he can watch my face.
“You love me,” he whispers. “Why won’t you just fucking say it?”
“Shut up.”
“I could make you.” His voice is silk and sin, a dark promise wrapped in pleasure. “I could force the words from you. Fuck them right out of you.”
A shudder rips through me, my body traitorously reacting to the threat. And Ghost notices. His mouth curls into something wicked against my skin.
“But I won’t,” he murmurs, his touch slowing, tormenting, building me up and tearing me down at the same time. “Because when you say it, Doc, I want it to fucking break you.”
“Why?”
“Because then you’ll finally understand the power you have over me.”
His fingers grip my hips, holding me steady as he thrusts up, dragging a ragged gasp from my lips. His mouth is everywhere—my neck, my jaw, the sensitive skin beneath my ear, kissing, biting, claiming.
“You love me,” he whispers against my skin, his hands slipping under me, tilting my hips just right before he pushes into me again, deeper this time, making me arch, making me tremble.
My hands clutch at his shoulders, my nails digging into the solid muscle of his back, needing something to hold on to as he pulls me under.
With strong hands, he guides me, forces me to take everything he gives, meeting me thrust for thrust, harder, deeper, until all I can do is gasp, moan, and feel.
I whimper, my head tipping back, exposing my throat, surrendering without meaning to. Ghost takes it, his lips dragging along my pulse, his teeth scraping my skin just enough to make my whole body tighten.
His hand slips between us, his touch devastating, merciless, and I shatter around him, my body tightening, clenching, taking him deeper as a scream pours from my lips.
Ghost curses, his fingers marking my skin as he follows me over, burying himself inside me, groaning my name like it’s the only thing keeping him tethered to this world.
For a moment, there’s nothing but our breathing, rough and uneven, our bodies still locked together, slick with sweat and satisfaction. Then Ghost exhales, his grip softening, his fingers tracing the length of my spine, slow and lazy.
“So have you decided?”
I scrunch my forehead in confusion. “Decided what?”
“Do you want to use a gun or a knife again?”
The thought of putting a bullet between Dominguez’s eyes has appeal. It’s clean, efficient. But a knife? That’s personal. That’s justice. That’s him knowing exactly who I am and what he’s done before he takes his last breath.
I meet Ghost’s gaze, my voice steady. “Knife.”
His smirk deepens, full of approval. “It’s different up close. You feel everything. The resistance, the heat, the pulse fading under your hand. There’s no distance between you and the kill.”
I don’t look away. “I remember. That’s why I’m choosing it again.”
“Nice choice, Doc.”
I barely have a second to process the satisfaction in his voice before I feel it. The slow, unmistakable thickening inside me.
My eyes widen as I shift against him, still oversensitive, still ruined from the way he just fucked me.
“Ghost…” My voice is somewhere between a question and a moan.
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t let me go. Just watches me, his gaze challenging, his hands tightening on my hips like he already knows what I’m about to say.
I blink at him, stunned. “Are you…?”
Ghost smirks, confident and unapologetic. “What? You think you can sit here, talking about gutting a man, and I won’t get hard?”
Heat burns my cheeks, but it’s nothing compared to the way my pulse flares. Because he’s still inside me, still thickening, still hardening, even though we just had sex.
I make a strangled sound, somewhere between disbelief and excitement. “It’s only been a few minutes—”
Ghost hums, lifting his hips to remind me exactly how swollen I am. “Yeah, and?”
I suck in a breath, my body betraying me as pleasure ripples through me all over again. He leans in, his voice dark and full of amusement.
“Don’t look so surprised.” He adjusts his hold on me, his thumbs now brushing the undersides of my breasts. “You know what you do to me. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d never get enough of you.”
I swallow hard, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he’s ready again, and that I’m already aching for more. But then his lips graze my ear, his next words sending a shiver straight down my spine.
“Now, be a good girl and ride me while you tell me exactly how you’re going to kill him.”