Surrender (The Command Series Book 3) (24 page)

Ethan moved aggressively, surpassing her attempts to dominate, and slammed her back against the wall. This time the picture bounced on its hook, and hung crooked. Her sexy mouth fell open in shock, and her eyes hooded when he slid his hand down over the full curve of her breast, her ribs, down her waist, and behind to squeeze her hard up against him. She moaned against his mouth.

He used the most seductive voice he possessed. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Her feigned ignorance was intentional, spurring him to press forward.

“Tell me what I’ve done to you.” Jesus, how he’d wanted this tight body back beneath his hands. “Tell me how you feel about me.”

He didn’t give her a whole lot of time to do it, though, kissing her hard. She clawed at his tie, either tugging the knot loose or tugging him closer, he wasn’t quite sure.

“I like the way you look at me,” she said, breathless.

His fingers balled into a fist, grabbing the fabric of her skirt by her thigh, dragging it up at a painfully slow pace. “That’s not new intel.”

Her wicked smile hinted that she had something on him, like an ace up her sleeve. Her breath caught when he’d lifted the skirt high enough to slip his hand beneath the layers of fabric and touch the heated, silk-covered skin above her knee. Like the last time he’d trapped her against a wall, he yanked her knee up so she could wrap her leg around him. When he found a band of lace high up on her thigh, he glanced down.

“Jesus.”

“Is something wrong?” she purred, gloating.

“Hell no, nothing wrong here.” Only that he was going to have to rethink the plan of getting her naked. One look at her leg wrapped in that see-through black thigh-high, with her creamy skin peeking out at the top, and he was drowning in lust.

Since her leg was propped up, he now had access beneath her skirt, and he was ready to take advantage. The backs of his fingers skimmed over the inside of her raised knee, steadily drawing a line toward the target.

“Tell me,” he said again. Now her tremble wasn’t in fear, it was in anticipation and he watched her throat as she swallowed hard.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” she whispered quickly. “I close my eyes, and I see you.”

He found more black lace, and the panties were sexy as hell. Was he going to have to leave those on, too? She sighed in seeming relief as he put his hand right where the lace covered her, where her body was damp. Her green eyes slammed shut as he kneaded her, and the idea that she was still seeing him, even with her eyes closed, brought him closer to the brink. Every breathless moan and almost inaudible sigh rang loud in his ears. She thought about him as much as he thought about her.

“Is that all?” He tightened down on the last of the control he held over himself before it broke. Her eyes fluttered open when his hand stopped moving but remained cupping her, and the expression on her face was confusion. It accused him of asking too much, but, too fucking bad. He wanted to hear all of it, and that drove him down to his knees in more than one way.

Ethan had to spend a frustrating moment sorting through the layers of her skirt, until it was pushed to her waist. “Hold this,” he commanded and sat back on his heels. The beauty of her body packaged in the sexy lingerie was too much. It made him weak.

“I want to know everything about you,” she admitted. He understood. He held himself at arms-length because personal information could be used as a weapon against him.

“Oh, God, you make me feel out of control,” she gasped, realizing his intent when he leaned forward, pressing her thigh against the wall and holding it so she was open to him. He put his mouth on the black netting and dragged his tongue across the band at the top of her thigh-highs, then over her trembling skin, up toward her juncture. He sucked at her through the lace he found there, licking where it would give her the most pleasure. She cried out when the panties were pulled to the side and he tasted her, using his tongue to invade and please.

But he had to hurry. Soon the guard downstairs was going to wonder what happened to the couple he’d let go by, and he’d come knocking on the door.
Goddammit.
Next time, Ethan would get to do this on
his
timeframe. He’d drag the orgasms from her slowly and properly. There was no voice in his head correcting him about next time. There would most definitely be a next time.

The muscles in her legs tightened. The knuckles on the hem of her skirt went white. Above him, her chest heaved, and the sound of her gulping huge gasps of air echoed in the spacious office. Last time he’d done this, she’d been so close when they’d had to stop, and he’d be damned if he was going to deny her again. He drew back only for a moment and pressed a finger inside her wet heat, curling it back to find the spot that would send her over the edge. Her moan was so erotic, and his hand holding her thigh pinned to the wall tensed instinctively. His mouth ground against her, fluttering on her flesh.

She came in a spectacular rush, bowing off the wall and swallowing back what might have been a moan so loud it would draw attention. He had to hold her steady, letting her recover, while he released her so she could stand on both feet.

“I stare at that stupid phone all day,” she said in between breaths, “wanting to call you. I’m worried I’ll never see you again.”

The red dress dropped like a curtain, and he was on his feet a half-second later, back to towering over her. “Not a chance.”

-17-

Olivia clung to him, still recovering as his lips returned to hers. His kiss was slow and passionate. Her arms slipped inside his suit jacket to bring him closer, bumping the gun and . . . what was that? She stuck her hand in his interior pocket and it closed around the bottle. The drug he’d tried to get her to use in South Africa.

“Do you always carry that with you?”

“Yes.”

She drew her hand away and her head thudded back against the wall, the buzz in her body fading. In the quiet moments that followed, reality began to take hold, gripping her painfully. This was all too much. Too intense. Panic threatened to overwhelm her.

“Is . . . something wrong?” He studied her intently.

Olivia swallowed a breath. She set her hands on his broad shoulders. “No. I think we’d better get back outside before someone catches us up here.”

“I thought you wanted me to talk.”

“We can do it later.” Stupid. He could tell when she was lying.

For a split second, an emotion she hadn’t seen from him washed over his face. Hurt. But he said nothing. It was like someone had parked a 747 on her chest. What was this reaction? It was just fooling around and sex between them. But if she slept with him more than once, it meant she couldn’t write him off as a one-night-stand. Especially when she hoped for more than just twice . . .

She bolted away from the wall, and although he didn’t seem prepared for it, he had incredibly fast reflexes. Ethan’s thick arms locked around her, squeezing her in a vise. There was nowhere else to look but up into the dark pools of his eyes.

“What happened?” he asked. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything. Can you let me go?”

“I will, when you tell me why you’re looking at me like that.”

It was nice to feel annoyance rather than the
other
emotion, the one that wasn’t possible. “How am I looking at you?”

“Like I’ve royally pissed you off.”

Pressed up against him, she could feel the rigid grip of his gun against her shoulder, and it was uncomfortable. Everything was uncomfortable. The room seemed arctic and yet she felt feverish.

“I’m not pissed at you,” she said. “I’m pissed at myself. Now, let me go.”

When he released her, she had to stifle the disappointment that the connection to him was gone even though she’d asked for it, and that made her anger worse. A frustrated sound welled up in her throat.

“I told you,” she snapped. “I don’t do relationships.” And even if she did, how could she build one . . . with him? He had a fake identity and killed people.
So do you,
the voice in her head whispered.

His face was blank. “Yeah, you mentioned that.”

She needed to put some distance between them immediately. He was too close. If she didn’t stop it, he’d work his way in deeper and he’d get hurt when she couldn’t reciprocate his feelings. Since that dark night in Afghanistan, she wasn’t capable. “I just wanted to make sure you heard me about that.”

There was no response, not until the faintest hint of a smile teased his lips. He didn’t believe her. “I heard you, loud and clear.”

She couldn’t stay here in this room with him where she was choked by her feelings. Even though she wanted to talk, there was no other option but to flee and find neutral ground. To find a place where she had some control over herself.

“We should go,” she said, glancing away from him.

“Yeah.”

He strolled silently to the door and unlocked it, holding it open and gesturing for her. When she pushed through it, he caught her hand in his, and when she tried to shake it off, he refused to let go.

Ethan knew they were in deep trouble. She was freaking out and pushing him away. That woman was much too stubborn. Her hand hung like dead weight in his as they descended the steps, but he ignored it.

The security guard didn’t seem that interested in them.

“I’m sorry we were gone so long,” Ethan said. “She wasn’t feeling well.”

“It’s not a problem, sir. Mr. Dunn said not to disturb you.”

Ethan grinned internally, and then wished he’d known he could have taken more time with her. She shivered when they stepped outside. Even though it was warm for springtime in Germany, and the large outdoor heaters were going, there was a breeze.

“I’d offer you my jacket, but I can’t,” he said. Doing that would put his gun in plain view.

“I have a wrap back at my seat.”

Cutting through the dance floor wasn’t a good idea, given the mass of people who’d linked arms and sang with the German song blaring, all looking rather intoxicated. He had to slow down as they crossed the lawn beyond the tables because Olivia’s heels gave her trouble. She pulled him to a stop, and yanked the shoes off, collecting them in one hand because he refused to let go of her.

She’d grown to accept it apparently, because her hand fit more comfortably.

To his right, he overheard German words that were shocking, and whispered in a female voice. At first he thought he hadn’t heard Kara right. She leaned with her back against one of the trees, her tall husband over her, his hand crushed to her hip. But Ethan had heard her correctly, because Shawn responded, and kissed her with passion that was borderline indecent.

“What is it?” Olivia asked.

Ethan’s mouth hung open. He closed it and tried not to grin at catching this stolen moment between the newlyweds. “The new Mrs. Dunn has got a dirty mouth on her.”

Olivia smiled, maybe enjoying his reaction more than the concept. “Did she offend your delicate ears?”

“No. It was just . . . descriptive.”

They reached the table where Jason and Laurel were seated, his arm slung around Laurel’s small shoulders. Ethan hadn’t seen her since the morning the team had gone in to rescue Kara. Maybe motherhood had changed her, because her eyes were clear and calm when she glanced his direction. Or maybe she’d become better at hiding her emotions over the last eight months.

The infant in Laurel’s arms squirmed. “Is he tired?” Jason gestured that he wanted to hold the baby.

She passed their son carefully to her husband. “Hey, is your brother ever going to stop making out with my sister in the bushes and say hello to his guests? Aunt Rachel came all the way from Portland.” She glanced to the area where Shawn and Kara had retreated to, waving at them, and the couple made their way wearing guilty expressions.

“I didn’t hear you were coming,” Shawn said to Ethan, his expression friendly.

“It was last minute.” They shook hands. “Congratulations.”

Kara stepped forward and slipped her arms around Ethan, giving him a light, quick hug. “Thank you.”

The last time he’d seen her, he’d threatened to kill her. Thank God they were able to pretend that meeting hadn’t happened. Ethan had become impossibly entangled with the Dunn and Hayward families. No matter what happened going forward, he’d always have and keep this strange bond to them. He liked the marshal, too. If Jason had been another operative, he would have enjoyed working with him.