Gone Page 9

  Always. He didn’t even have to say it.

  “We will.” Eric echoed his words with resounding emphasis. “Let me get this started.”

  As Jack stood and started to undress he watched Eric press her legs apart and lower his head between her thighs and press his mouth against her sex, and she jerked in reaction.

  It was damned arousing, actually.

  Quite frankly, he was in reality, besides what complicated things he did for the military, a farm boy. He liked everything, even sex, simple and straightforward. It felt good if done right, and all parties involved should emerge from the experience with the same mindset if you accomplished a mission successfully. Or at least that was his philosophy.

  And apparently Eric knew how to administer oral sex effectually, because Nicole made a strangled sound and threaded her fingers through his hair.

  Jack couldn’t get out of his clothes fast enough—and he would have sworn he was way past the age when voyeurism appealed to him.

  Wrong. Double wrong.

  Apparently it was different if Nicole was in the equation.

  She moaned, his cock responded, and a light sweat broke out over his skin. Her body glistened as she arched, and her breasts—not too big, not too small, but perfectly formed, in his humble opinion—were highlighted by the dying sunlight coming in the window.

  Jack reached down and stroked his erection, his breath going out. Intellectually, he understood men were possessive of women for myriad reasons, and he was too, but this was somehow…different.

  Way different.

  She started to come. No one knew better the sound of that short cry before she opened her legs wider and let it happen—except maybe Eric—and when Eric rose up once her body stopped shaking, he upped the ante by murmuring, “I love you, Nikki.”

  Jack sat down on the side of the bed when Eric stood up and ripped off his shirt. He smiled at her and ruefully pointed at his rampant erection. “That was obviously pretty hot. You see? No problem with the two of us.”

  “Don’t let me think,” she said in a voice that sent his libido into a gear it had never seen before. “Hurry.”

  He’d never done anything halfway in his life. Jack slid on top of her and positioned himself between her legs, all the while holding her gaze. “Like this?”

  There was no question he didn’t enter her as gently as he could have, but she was already aroused, and Nicole didn’t necessarily like her sex to be subdued and ladylike. In response to his thrust her nails bit into his shoulders and she nipped at his throat, from the pain maybe even drawing blood. Fine with him. He liked it a little raw now and then, just like he wanted it slow and tender when it suited his mood.

  At the moment he just wanted her. The wet heat of her body, the grip of her hands in unspoken encouragement, the warmth of her breath in his ear…

  “Fuck me back,” he urged, reaching back to wrap her left leg around his waist. “I like it when you get wild.”

  “Watch it, Templeton,” she said in a throaty voice. “Maybe you can’t handle me.”

  He started to move. First a long slow withdrawal and another measured stroke back, male into female. Balancing on one arm, he cupped her breast. “Hmm, I think I can. I sure have before.”

  “Don’t try to prove a point.” Lacy lashes drifted down over her amazing eyes.

  He squeezed. Just a little. To prove his point. “I wasn’t,” he lied, pleasure rippling through every nerve ending. He sure as hell was bigger physically and could handle her in any way he wanted, but he wouldn’t unless she wanted it, and she knew that.

  If he was honest with himself, that sort of trust humbled him. He’d seen a lot of the big, bad world.

  That was why he needed Eric. He turned his head and looked at his best friend right now watching them from the side of the bed. “I want him to take care of you.”

  “Because you’ll leave again?”

  No way he was answering that one. “Tell me it feels good to have me inside you.” He deliberately lowered his voice to a whisper. “Be as graphic as you like.”

  “You want me to talk dirty to you?” Nicole laughed in refusal and shook her head, her hair moving against the white sheets.

  But she liked the idea of it, he could tell.

  He pushed deep. Dammit, he was going to lose control at any time…

  “Try it,” he urged, brushing her cheek with the backs of his fingers, his eyes half-closed because the pleasure was intense.

  “God, you feel…big.”

  That almost did it. His testicles tightened, and Jack had to consciously slow in his rhythmic movement. What had he asked her? Oh yeah, he remembered now. With effort, he said, “A pretty good first attempt. Go on.”

  “Faster.” Nicole could barely get out the word and her inner muscles tightened.

  Jack held her gaze deliberately as he moved between her legs, the friction of his penetration and withdrawal so distracting she could barely put together a coherent thought.

  “You enjoy Eric watching us, don’t you?” He cupped her ass and lifted her into his next thrust. “Not because you think he’s jealous, but because he really, really wants you too.”

  He did. She knew he was there, next to her. She’d felt the dip of the mattress the moment he’d joined them on the bed.

  She did find it arousing to know he was right there, and she’d have to examine that later, when she wasn’t on the verge of a second earth-shattering climax…

  It happened. The world stopped rotating on its axis, it imploded and disappeared and she was flung into outer space.

  “Oh hell.” Jack groaned, but she barely heard it, only aware in an abstract way that his muscles had locked into knots and he’d gone rigid until he dropped his head and touched his forehead to hers with a low, telling exhale.

  Then he opened his eyes and gave her that cheeky grin only he could pull off. Wavy dark hair framed his face, and he negligently propped himself on his elbows. He kissed her temple. “You push me over the edge pretty fast,” he murmured. “You always have.”

  Her body was still pulsing, but she did manage enough cognitive process to realize that Eric’s fingers were gently touching her bare hip in slow rotating circles. Jack withdrew and rolled to his back and curved his arm above his head with a low sigh.

  Naked in bed with two naked men.

  Her mind processed that with a mixture of reluctance and reality. She should be outraged at her own behavior, but some part of her found it exciting.

  She loved them both.

  They both loved her.

  But…

  “Hey,” Eric said softly, reading her thoughts accurately. “This isn’t about sex and you know it, Nikki. This is about life. Yours. Ours.” He feathered his lips across her shoulder. “When you get that look on your face, I agree with Jack. You are thinking about it too much.”

  “How can I not think about it?”

  He adjusted his position, taking her into his arms. His expression was serious, but that was Eric. Infinitely more diplomatic and sensitive than Jack but just as masculine. “Everyone lives their life in a different way,” he murmured against her lips, nudging her legs apart. “No one has the same house, the same kids, the same lifestyle…that’s a myth.”

  Slowly he pushed inside her. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t already slick and ready, so his entry was an easy glide and he held her gaze as it happened, his hazel eyes vivid in the fading light. “I want you,” he told her. “And I have since the moment I met you, which made me a traitor to Jack, and I hated it. This way, we can have it all. Remember our first night together?”

  “Of course.” She did. He’d been so careful, considerate, trying to make sure it was what she wanted, every touch measured and controlled until she’d pointed out she wasn’t made of glass.

  His mouth traveled down her throat and then over the curve of her breast. “You love this, don’t deny it.” He suckled her nipple and though she was sated and languid, she couldn’t suppress a gasp
as the reaction rippled through her already sensitized body. Her hands went to his shoulders and she arched.

  “She does,” Jack murmured, tickling the inside of her knee. “Way hot.”

  “I’d go slow, but you don’t want it that way.” Eric began to move in fast, deep thrusts. “And I aim to please.”

  Jack gave a small laugh.

  It didn’t take long, but then again, both her lovers had done their best to make sure it wouldn’t. Nicole pulled Eric down for a passionate kiss the moment it happened, feeling his loss of restraint with a sense of satisfaction that wasn’t just sexual as he shuddered in her arms and made an inarticulate sound of pleasure as he ejaculated.

  He rarely lost it that way, always patiently waiting for her to climax first, and she felt elation that he’d not been able to control it.

  Maybe this could work.

  Surprisingly, she didn’t feel nearly as uncomfortable with herself as she probably should. Eric was Eric, and Jack was Jack.

  “Nikki.” Eric gathered her close in the aftermath, his arms warm and strong. “That was… Hmm, you choose the word.”

  She smoothed a hand down his back. “Fantastic?”

  “We’ll work this out just fine.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

  “It can’t be that simple.”

  “Never said it would be.” His expression was amused. “Simple I can’t promise.”

  “Jack—”

  “Is somehow asleep in like five seconds. He’s watching us, and then peace out.” Eric’s mouth nuzzled her neck. “I am sure he needs it. I think you wore him out. Please tell me he doesn’t snore.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “You roomed with him in college. Don’t you know the answer to that question?”

  “Yeah. He does snore. Damn.”

  She poked Eric in the chest. “I hate to tell you, uhm, you might snore a little too.”

  His grin was wicked Eric, not executive Eric. “I hate to tell you, princess, you might occasionally make a sound or two yourself in your sleep.”

  “I do not!”

  “Neither one of us mind.” His hand stroked her inner thigh. “Trust me on that one.”

  She took a moment, weighing her words. “I can’t tell you that this will work. Tonight was great but—”

  “There’s no need to rush into anything. That’s the point.” His eyes were serious. “My plans didn’t involve this either, but you know, I’m holding you in my arms right at this moment. I think I’ll just roll with that.”

  At that moment, Jack’s phone began to beep, and they looked over as he came out of a sound sleep without a missed breath, grabbed it and said curtly, “Templeton.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Peter pulled the car around and got out to open the passenger door. Kathy looked at him for a moment before she got in. “This is really necessary?”

  “I can’t effectively do my job if I am worried about you and our child.”

  That was the truth. She heard it in his voice. For a week they’d had a normal life. One week. She’d made his favorite dinners and they’d watched movies together and later made love, though he’d been a little too gentle until she informed him it was fine, her doctor had said so, and his control had loosened a fraction.

  One week of normalcy, but that appeared to be over.

  His cool control was fully in place now, but it was hardly sexual at the moment. This was the colonel in action.

  He’d started the car from his remote after making her go to the basement in case there was an explosion. The threat was real. Peter was a lot of things, some of them imperfect, but he was very good at his job, and his enemies knew it.

  There was no question he didn’t understand how much she wanted this to work. When they’d first separated she’d missed him incredibly, but it wasn’t much different than their regular life.

  She’d missed him anyway.

  This second chance was not going exactly as she expected. “So where are you taking me?”

  “Hotel. For now I’m not even going to tell the US Marshall Service where it is.”

  Even with his supportive hand she hardly made a graceful entry into the car. As the pregnancy progressed, she found sitting down and standing up were the two most difficult things. Peter, on the other hand, slid in with athletic ease, and despite what she sensed was an underlying urgency, backed out slowly and drove down the tree-lined street at exactly the speed limit. It was dark and quiet.

  Then he took her to the airport.

  When he turned onto the expressway, she felt a twinge of alarm. “Please do not tell me I have to fly anywhere, Peter.”

  Her husband shook his head, his face set. “No. I just want a little insurance.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m going to park this car in long-term parking and go into the airport and rent one. I checked it over for GPS devices, but technology seems to evolve every day and I can’t take the risk someone could track you to the hotel.”

  Kathy had to admit a small chill went through her. She rested her hand on the swell of her stomach. The baby at that moment chose to give a resounding kick. “This is real spy stuff, then?”

  “The threat is real, yes. And I’m not a spy, I am an officer in the Armed Forces of the United States, sworn to protect my country, and I sure as hell am going to protect my family. Our intelligence is the best in the world and I’ve been informed that there is going to be possible retaliation for something that happened recently that I’m afraid I can’t discuss with anyone who doesn’t have a certain level of security clearance.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say: even if it is your wife? But it wasn’t as if she didn’t already know the answer to that question.

  “Okay.”

  He glanced over. “I know this is inconvenient.”

  That wrung a laugh. “From the very beginning being a military wife has been ‘inconvenient’, as you put it, but I knew what I was getting into when I married you.” Then she modified that statement. “I knew you were a very brilliant man who would do well in his career. I am not sure I was aware how well or how far you would rise so fast. It amazes me how easily you shoulder responsibility and handle stress that would cripple others if they had to make the sort of decisions you are required to face so frequently. I love you and I admire you, but none of it is easy to live with.”

  Peter guided the car into a parking spot. “I’ll be right back to pick you up.”

  True to his word, he was back in a remarkably short amount of time, arriving in a nondescript green sedan, tossing her suitcase in the back. “You won’t be alone,” he told her as he drove out of the lot. “I have a…colleague who also might be affected by this threat and his girlfriend will be there, so at least you’ll have someone to talk to.”

  “I suspect the topic of conversation will be how we ever got ourselves in such a convoluted position.”

  “Love,” her husband told her as they gained the freeway, “is a hell of a lot more complicated than war.”

  “Will you do this?”

  Eric looked back at him. “This is Nikki. Of course I will, but can you help me out a little here? What specifically am I doing?”

  “Not too much. How the hell am I supposed to tell you what I don’t really know yet?” Jack pulled the car into the lot. “When I get a call like that, I go. Orders are orders.”

  Testily, Eric said, “Last I knew I did not enlist in the Army or Navy or whoever else—”

  “The only other real choices would be the Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines,” Jack supplied helpfully. “Don’t forget the reserves. But I don’t see you as a military guy. And I assume since you want to keep her safe, you’ll keep them safe.”

  “She’s pregnant, and the wife of an important colonel? Thanks, Jack.”

  The sardonic edge of his tone got through.

  “You’re smart. That is what I’m going with. This isn’t protocol or usual military action, and for your informatio
n, all colonels are important, that is why they rise up to that rank.”

  “I’ve shot a gun twice in my life and both shots were at a deer. Neither bullet, by the way, hit its target, and the experience left me immensely relieved, because killing an innocent creature isn’t on my agenda, though my father was visibly disappointed. Which was fine. My real question is: Am I qualified to do this?”

  Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “We obviously didn’t see this coming. All we need is for you to guard them both. I’m not asking you for sniper duty on a rooftop. I’m just suggesting that they’ll be better off with you than anyone else I know.”

  “Could you stop discussing me as if I’m not here?” Nicole said it vehemently from the backseat where they’d both insisted she sit. “I’m fine protecting myself, or would be, if someone could just outline maybe who might represent this threat.”

  “I can’t.” Jack was regretful, no doubt about it. Thanks to him their lives were being upended, and he got it, but a long time ago he’d learned that was how it worked when he’d signed on to protect his country. A moment of notice—if you were lucky—and then the game changed and it was go-time.

  Bad things happened to good people.

  Colonel Hanes was already there, waiting in the parking lot of the hotel. Tall, blond, fit—in his command everyone was fit—and he flicked a glance over Nicole and then studied Eric as he got out of the car.

  “You aren’t a soldier.”

  Eric replied wryly, “No. Banker.”

  “We need those too.” There was a hint of humor in the colonel’s voice. “Nice car.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Yours?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “In the past twenty-four hours have you loaned it to anyone or seen anyone behaving suspiciously around it?”

  “No to both.”

  The colonel nodded approvingly. “Major Templeton tells me he’d trust you with his life. I guess I am supposed to trust you with two of mine.”

  A little too much information there about his rank, but if Hanes was comfortable with it, he was too. Jack watched as the colonel assisted his wife out of the car. The woman was a beauty with sleek dark hair and flawless skin, and definitely pretty pregnant. He sure as hell wasn’t a judge, but a month or two and the kid would be born. Eric gave him a sidelong look, to which he shrugged in sympathy.