Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5 (6 page)

Harper had been trying to suppress falling apart for Marco’s sake, but the past few days…hell, the past few months came crashing down around her. Nina had been closer to her than her own sister had ever been, and watching her dwindle down to ninety pounds as her life drained from her body had been heart-wrenching. They had become best friends within a week of being assigned as dormitory roommates in college and it wasn’t long before they were telling each other their deepest darkest secrets. Secrets about which they were sworn to silence.

Marco’s strong arms enveloped her as she cried into his shoulder. His hands rubbed up and down her back slowly while his solid chest rumbled with his low murmurs of comfort. The heat from his body warmed the chill which had sent shivers down her spine. Inhaling deeply, she savored the leather and citrus scent of his cologne. Nina had gotten it for him a few Christmases ago, and after smelling it on him that first time, it had become Harper’s favorite scent. Unfortunately, it made her wish Marco wasn’t the man he was, instead of being the man she wanted him to be. The man she could fall in love with and who would fall in love with her. The man who would marry, settle down and have children, and, eventually, grandchildren with her. Nina had been after him to open up his heart to a woman he could spend a lifetime with, but he’d made it clear on several occasions that a wife and children were something he would never commit to. And Harper refused to settle.

As her sobs ebbed, she lifted her head and brushed the last few tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it in front of you.”

He didn’t respond, nor did he release her. In fact, she swore his embrace tightened around her. The temperature of the room appeared to have spiked sometime in the last few minutes and the air crackled with sexual electricity. She was suddenly aware of the bulge in his pants, which she couldn’t ignore if she tried. His charcoal-colored eyes pierced her own hazel ones and she saw heat in his stare. Not anger-heat, but,
holy hell
, lustful fuck-me raw heat. Her tongue wet her lips and the movement drew his gaze. His pupils flared as he moved even closer. A split-second of panic was replaced by desire, and she prayed she wasn’t misreading or imagining the situation. While he wasn’t a forever kind of guy, right now, she didn’t need forever. She needed comfort…the kind of no-holds-barred, balls-to-the-walls comfort which would make her forget her grief—if only for a little while.

He inched closer still and his voice dropped to a raspy, pain-filled whisper. “Tell me to stop, Harper. Tell me to let you go and not kiss you.”

Her voice was just as low and hoarse from her crying. “I can’t.”

A groan was dragged from his lungs seconds before his mouth came down on hers. The kiss was far from gentle, instead, being hard, demanding, and dominant, and it was just what Harper had hoped for. One of his hands snaked up into her hair, now down from its bun, and held her head in place as he took her breath away. The other hand at her back crept down to the swell of her ass and she wished he would rip her dress off because she never wanted to wear the bleak reminder of her loss again.

* * *

Marco had to be out of his mind, but he couldn’t stop if he tried, especially since Harper made it clear she wouldn’t ask him to. He’d always found her attractive, however, it was something he fought to ignore. Hooking up with your kid sister’s best friend was one of those taboo things, such as hitting on a friend’s current or ex-girlfriend. It only caused trouble for everyone involved. But Nina was gone, and the only other person in this scenario he had to consider was the woman whose arms were wrapped around his neck and was rubbing her delectable body against his. Thankfully, his dress pants gave him plenty of room for his cock, which was now fully erect and throbbing.

Holy hell!
He wanted her in the worst way. Wanted her warmth, her comfort, her submissiveness, but most of all, he wanted her to make him forget if only for a little while. The submissiveness was something he could do without occasionally. Vanilla was okay with him, as long as it wasn’t all the time. There was a time and place for everything, and now was the time for comforting each other. Joined by their mutual loss, for a few hours, they could help each other grieve and, hopefully, heal.

He kissed her like a man drowning in desperation. Hunger rose within him. His belly was full from their dinner, but the feast he now wanted was something altogether different. Skimming his hands down her body, he gathered up the fabric of her dress and drew it upward, bunching it at her waist. His hands reversed direction again and when they hit nothing but soft skin and lace, he withdrew from her mouth and glanced down.
Holy fuck!
“Woman, thigh-high stockings are my all-time favorite thing a woman can wear and you look fucking gorgeous in them.”

Dropping to his knees, he reverently kissed along the lacy edges of the sheers. Placing a hand behind one of her knees, he urged her to bend it and put her leg over his shoulder. He licked and nibbled on the silky skin just above the stockings on the now exposed inside of her thigh. Her hands went to his hair again, holding him in place as he worked his way up to her satin covered pussy. A wet spot on the navy panties told him she was as turned on as he was. He tongued the spot, tasting her, and making her even wetter. Grabbing the lacy strings of the bikini on both her hips, he glanced up at her. “I hope these aren’t your favorites. If they are, I’ll replace them.” Not waiting for an answer, he tore them from her body.

Fuck!
Another pleasant surprise. She was waxed bare—completely. Damn, the woman just kept pushing all the right buttons. He hoped like hell he hadn’t hit his head and was dreaming all this as he lay in a coma, because that would really suck.

Letting her leave the stockings and shoes on, he clutched her ass cheeks and held her still as he licked the soft folds of her pussy. Never had a feast tasted so incredible. He could eat her for hours and never be full. Encouraged by her moans and gasps, he plunged his tongue into her as far as it could go several times before moving to her clit. Its hood was pulled back, revealing the little pearl, and he sucked on it. Using his tongue and teeth, he tortured the bud until her breathing increased and her legs began to shake. “Cum for me, baby. I want to hear you scream.”

And she did as he thrust his tongue back into her hot, wet pussy. Her legs shook almost violently and he held her hips to keep her from falling. The hands in his hair clenched to the point of pain in his scalp, but it didn’t bother him. It was a testament to the fact they were alive. As her waves of ecstasy ebbed, he eased his assault. When her foot dropped to the floor again, he stood, grinning and licking the evidence of her orgasm from his lips and chin. She watched the movement, then leaned forward and used her tongue to help clean him up.
Damn, that was fucking hot!

Her fingers fiddled with the buttons of his shirt until, in exasperation, she yanked the two edges, sending the little fasteners flying across the room. She shoved the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. Her frenzy fed his. Pulling her dress over her head, he dropped it and then popped the front snap of her bra. Her breasts were round, perky, and beautiful. Taking her mouth again, he flipped his thumbs over her nipples, as her hands dropped to his belt. Within seconds she had it undone, along with the button and zipper of his pants, pushing them down past his knees with his boxer briefs. He toed off his shoes, and using his feet to push the material down further on his legs, managed to leave his clothing in a heap on the floor without ever taking his hands from her tits. Bending slightly, he picked her up, turned and backed her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his hips, with the feel of her high heels on his ass only making him harder. The tip of his cock found her wet warmth and his only thought was to get inside her. He shifted to line up with her slit and thrust forward without ceremony as her body yielded to him.

Harper cried out as he began to pump his hips. “Yes! Oh, shit, yes! Harder! Pleeeease, harder!”

The drag of his cock along her walls felt incredible. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he impaled her over and over again. This time was going to be fast and furious, but he was more than willing to go two or three rounds with her. Slow could come later. For now, he was sprinting toward the finish line. Something niggled in his brain as a tingling started in the base of his spine. Something was wrong. What…

Fuck!
He withdrew from her body so fast he almost dropped her, and she yelped. Unable to stop, he came all over her abdomen. “Fuck! Shit, Harper. I didn’t…I didn’t use a fucking condom…I’m sorry…Shit! I-I don’t know if I pulled out…in time.”

“It’s okay...
shhh
.” Calm hands went to his cheeks and she looked him in the eye. “It’s okay. I’m on the pill. Have been for years.”

He dropped his head to her shoulder, his lungs heaving for oxygen. “Thank God. I’m clean…I’ve always used them…I’m sorry….I wasn’t thinking.”

“Neither was I. I was too busy feeling.”

Bending his knees, he picked her up again, ignoring the mess between them, and carried her out of the kitchen toward his bedroom.

“Marco, what are you doing? Put me down,” she giggled.

“
Uh-uh
, sweetheart. You didn’t get to cum when I did that time, and I’m not satisfied with only one orgasm from you. I hope you’re not too tired because it’s going to be a long night.”

* * *

Present

Pulling up to the interior gate of the Trident compound, Marco rolled down his window and placed his hand on the security scanner a few minutes before noon. After the machine beeped, the chain link barrier slid open. He parked his truck next to Brody’s and got out, slamming the door behind him as his best friend exited the building housing the offices.

The geek had returned from the hospital about two hours ago. “What are you doing here? I figured you’d still be with Harper.”

Tucking his keys in his front pocket, Marco shrugged. “With the newbies, there were plenty of guards to watch her, so Devon told me to get lost for a while. Her mother showed up with the baby, and from the looks I was getting, the woman wanted to grab the first scalpel she saw to stab me. Between her, and Harper being allowed to go back to sleep for a few hours, I took a break. I’ll go back later.” He eyed a nearby vehicle. Although he hadn’t seen it in a while, he knew exactly who the sleek, black Dodge Challenger belonged to. “What’s Carter doing here?”

“Drove in about an hour ago. He’s crashing upstairs for the night before heading out to parts unknown again.”

The U.S. black ops agent was known for showing up unannounced and disappearing again just as quietly. The man, who only went by one name, was also a Dom, so when he was in town, it was a sure bet he would be stopping by The Covenant for some down time. The spare bedrooms above the offices were always available to him, but their friend’s sudden appearance was the last thing Marco cared about at the moment. “Has anyone heard from Murdock?”

Brody leaned against the bed of his Ford F-150 and crossed his arms. “Boss-man just got off the phone with him. Nothing new. Doc Dunbar is contacting her people at Friends of Patty, to see if any of the wife-beaters could have decided to go after Harper. From what I understand, she’d represented some of the women in court proceedings before they decided to disappear for good, so it’s not that big of a stretch.”

“Fucking great. The suspect pool just multiplied.”

“Yup. So…” The big geek paused and seemed to weigh his words. “
Um
…did you get a chance to talk to Harper about Mara without ticking her off again?”

“No.” He kicked a pebble on the ground in front of him. “After she finished puking, they drew some more blood then took her down for another CT-scan. Everything came back negative or normal, so it’s just a side effect of the concussion.”

“I’m sure your pissing match didn’t help.” There was that pause again. “So, what are you going to do? I mean, there are worse things in life than marrying a woman who’s as smoking hot as Harper.”

His anger and frustration over the situation growing again, Marco growled. “Who said anything about getting fucking married?”

“You’re obviously Mara’s father and, if I were you, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind going home to Harper in my bed every night. Hell, I even hit on her a couple of times.” He shrugged unapologetically at Marco’s angry glare. “What? I’d have to be dead not to. Tell me you never thought of us topping her together.”

“Fuck you.” He didn’t care that Brody and he had shared many women over the years. The thought of Harper in any other man’s arms, even his best friend’s, made his blood boil, even though he had no claim over her. “And I’m not marrying anybody. No fucking way!”

“You asshole,” Brody snarled, pushing off the truck and pointing his finger at him. “You better man-up and do the right fucking thing.”

Tossing his hands up to the side, Marco stared at his friend. His voice got louder with every word. “What? Get fucking married, just because she had my kid? I refuse to be trapped in a fucking marriage because of a fucking mistake! Stay the fuck out of this, Brody…I’ll support the brat financially, but that’s fucking it!”

“You son-of-a…”

He didn’t hear the rest as his jaw exploded in pain when Brody’s fist connected with a right hook. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he’d known they’d been the wrong things to say. The anger that had flared in the other man’s eyes was something Marco had only seen there while in combat. But he was just as pissed off, and beating the hell out of somebody, even if it was his best friend, was something he needed right now. Bending at the waist, he caught Brody in the gut with his shoulder and the two of them hit the pavement—hard.

While they were the same height, the geek had about ten or fifteen more pounds on Marco and used every one of them to his advantage. The two men had sparred in the gym and given each other bloody lips and bruised ribs on the basketball court many times over the years, but this was the first time they’d ever hit each other in anger. Grunts, growls, and curses were aplenty as they both wrestled, punched, and jabbed. And blood flowed. Using a tactical maneuver, Brody ended up behind him, wrapping his arm around Marco’s throat and squeezing. Turning his head into the crook of the elbow, Marco was able to use that bit of extra space to continue getting air into his lungs as he tried to dislodge himself. Thrusting his elbow back, he connected with hard flesh and heard a satisfying grunt, but the bastard wouldn’t let go of him. Reaching up over his shoulder, he managed to get a hand under Brody’s chin and pushed upward. In response, his opponent rolled to the side, trying to pin the free arm to the ground.