I looked right up at him and asked, "What do you have in mind?"
"I might not be able to fuck you like I want, but did they say anything about me making you cum?" he asked.
I realized where he was going with that, and I smiled. "No, no they did not. They just said no rough intercourse or penetration," I admitted. Those were the express orders of my doctor. It made me blush at the time, but I understood why it was necessary.
Finding a way around it seemed almost as necessary, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I grinned like a cat with cream when he suggested what he did.
Or when he picked me the fuck up and hoisted me onto his cold stainless steel table.
I imagined this was the place he used to clean and care for his weapons. The cool sterility of it made me shiver, but only part of that was from the environment.
The rest was from the excitement of getting what I wanted, too.
He let me be greedy and selfish. He let me have feelings. Hell, he let me exist just as I was.
I was so grateful for that and for him.
But I was more enchanted by the way he gripped my shirt and pulled it up over my head, exposing me to the chill of the room.
"You're going to strip me down?" I asked as I looked at him. He'd already taken off his shirt and jacket, and now he was working on me.
"That's the plan," he said, his accent thick as he whispered it into my ear. His arms were around me, and my bra was gone in a quick moment.
Damn, he was good at that.
He laid me down on that table and slid his hands into the waistband of my skirt and pulled it off my hips. Fuck. I was in nothing but my panties, and he seemed rather pleased with himself.
"I like what I see," he said as he bent down and kissed the hipbone just above my panty line. "Hell, I might even say that I love it."
Love. There it was. The word I was looking for, the one that I'd given freely but had not been given back in return.
"What else would you say that you love?" I asked sweetly.
"You. I love you, Willow. I've loved you since before I walked out of your life, and I loved you the minute you walked back into mine. It's crazy. We're crazy together. But I love you."
Damn. It was enough to send me right to the fucking moon. I felt so high. That is, until I felt his fingers sliding along the inside of my thigh. That brought me right back to reality.
A painful reality that could only be made right by Zachary Murdock.
Fuck. As soon as he touched me, I went straight to heaven. He was gentle, teasing, as he slid his fingers up along my slit, and then he was gone. Pulling those panties off and leaving me wanting.
He did it on purpose. I knew he did.
He loved to tease.
Once my panties were off, I knew exactly what was going to happen next and I was prepared for it. For him. Until his mouth actually descended on me and I was consumed by his touch. By the warmth and wet of his tongue against my sweetest of spots.
He licked me furiously, his tongue finding my little nub like the expert that he was.
Goddamn, I thanked him for it. It was so nice to be wanted and needed for exactly who and what I was.
I let out a soft moan as I felt myself building, the swell of pleasure ready to peak and then flow from me. I loved this moment and I didn't want it to end. Not for anything.
But when he increased his pace, he sent me over the edge. I arched my back and the orgasm came. Soft and sweet and just like everything I ever wanted to feel. It was absolutely perfect.
I cried out as he crawled up my body and then stood, scooping me up into his arms and transporting me across the house. There was something so magical about being picked up like that. About being held in his arms.
It made me feel like I was just a completely different person when he was with me.
Like I mattered. Like I was important.
"I love you, Willow," he said as he laid me down in the bed and curled in next to me.
I loved him too. Completely and totally.
Chapter Eighteen
Zach
I could stare at her forever as she slept. At least, that was what it felt like. I knew just from watching the way she turned, the relaxed look on her face, that she was sleeping well. Hell, I'd slept well every time she was next to me. It was like the nightmares weren't just gone, they never existed.
I didn't have to worry about them anymore when she was around. Having her in my life was just that good.
I'd do my fucking best not screw that up, but right now I had to concentrate on work. I'd been ignoring it all night, and the fact remained that we had a name.
It was a scary as fuck name. One I didn't really want to deal with, one I didn't want to know about. But we had it, and I'd signed on for this job.
It was my duty and my responsibility. Still, American gangs and organized crime was very different than anything I'd dealt with in the Army overseas. I knew how to deal with crime in Kandahar, but this was entirely different.
And it was why I relied on Glitch so heavily. I slid out of the bed and got dressed real quick, taking a moment to stare at my beautiful angel before I turned and walked out of the house.
I had shit to deal with and I couldn't do it here. I climbed into my car and turned on the ignition. It felt good to be behind the wheel, and I tore out of my driveway. I'd take the long way up to the ‘office' this morning. I wanted to enjoy this feeling a little bit longer.
I was still caught up in the feeling of last night, from when she told me she loved me until I made her toes curl with pleasure.
Yeah, the rest of the world might be shit, but that was pretty damn awesome. She was exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it, and I didn't lose sight of that.
***
"What's going on Glitch?" I asked as I walked into the underground of the warehouse.
He had at least five computers up and running and he was spinning back and forth to them, using his rolling chair to scoot him along as he checked on what I assumed was different programs.
"A lot of shit, actually. While you were out gallivanting or whatever it is you do, I was here. Working."
"No one said you couldn't leave," I reminded him. But that wasn't Glitch. He lived for his job. Hell, he loved that aspect of it. It was why I made sure we had enough space to put in a bedroom; the man almost always found a little spot and he holed up there.
"You get any leads on the third mystery person?" I asked.
"No, but I've been tracking Miles. Using different servers to bounce and ping off of. I don't think he's noticed but if he does, he won't be able to track it back."
"When did you last sleep?" I asked. He droned on about his methods for a good three minutes before he realized I said anything. When he did, he blinked then looked at me. "I don't know."
"Point me to the research then go lay on the cot for a minimum of forty-five minutes." It was our regular routine. I was good at understanding Glitch. He was good at understanding me. Together we made one hell of a team.
"He's in Atlanta now. Probably going to be heading off from work shortly." Glitch flicked his hand up and waved it away as he walked off towards his room.
I just shook my head and dove into the documents.
Glitch was a master at finding anything, everything, about a person that could possibly found. Normally, it took a few minutes for him, but this guy? It looked like he'd been working since last night, but I was still impressed.
Miles Landis wasn't an easy guy to track down. I wasn't familiar with the name, but I was familiar with the circle he ran with. Several of the men had hired us for overseas operations in the past, and so it was no wonder Glitch recognized his name immediately.
They were more than wealthy, they were basically American gods. Nothing I wanted to get tangled up with.
But someone like Leo Chance had different odds. I was merely one of his soldiers. A pawn. And if he wanted to tangle with those men, then he had every right and I would follow him into the depth.
But a man like Miles Landis was going to be a worthy opponent. And we weren't even considering the unknown component.
"Were you able to get results on the other DNA sample?" I asked as I called out to Glitch.
"What do you think, man? Of course I did. But the fucking results just weren't there." Glitch was already half asleep, and I just chuckled.
I had to get ahold of the crew anyway. I'd hired everyone I'd trusted and fired anyone I didn't know for Leo's security over the past few weeks. It was essential, especially once he'd given me orders to take care of personnel decisions. Every single person beside me was one I'd been with in battle. One I trusted. In order to initiate a meeting with this fool, we were going to have to make sure we had everything assembled.