Into the Crossfire (38 page)

In.

She felt like heaven. He'd never fucked before without latex. Even wearing

a rubber, sex with Nicole would have been more intense than any other sex he'd

ever had. Bareback...it was sometimes a miracle he lasted those five strokes.

Out.

Bareback, he could feel every inch of her. He knew her cunt now like he

knew the back of his hand. He knew how it became even softer after she came, he

could tell in an instant what turned her on, the skin of his cock could feel the extra

wetness.

In.

No latex between them. The only thing stopping her from getting pregnant

was some hormones pressed into little pills. Had she been taking the pill over the

past few days, with everything going on?

Out.

Because, if she hadn't, if she'd forgotten to take them--and who could blame

her?--then...well, then she could be pregnant right now.

In.

With his baby.

Out.

At the thought, Sam swelled even more, became harder, longer. Nicole

gazed up at him, startled. She'd felt it, his almost unbearable excitement.

In.

Because if she were pregnant, it would have to be a little girl who looked

just like Nicole. With glossy black hair and intense blue eyes.

Out.

A little girl who would twine her little arms around his neck and tell him

she loved him. And he would love her and protect her, fiercely.

In.

Nicole would grow more outrageously beautiful in pregnancy. She just had

that look; she'd become rounder and rounder by the day, shining in her beauty.

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Out.

He'd fuck her carefully, entering from behind. Oh-so slowly. And late in the

pregnancy, he'd be inside her, and his hand on her belly would feel their child,

moving.

In. Out.

She could be pregnant...

In. Out. In.

right...

Inoutinoutinout

now!

Sam exploded, a hot wire drawn from the top of his head that ran straight

down his spine and through his cock blew in one pounding, electric second. The

top of his head threatened to blow off and his toes dug into the mattress so he

could be as deep in her as was humanly possible. He clenched his teeth against a

shout, it was so intense.

He came in waves, shuddering and spurting in enormous jets, flooding her

with his sperm, collapsing onto her. He was heavy, he knew that, but there was no

strength in his arms while coming, everything was concentrated on his cock.

It wiped him out. He lay sprawled on her, breathing hard, waiting for the

spots behind his eyelids to dissipate, thinking of absolutely nothing, only feeling.

Until consciousness slowly returned.

Shit, she hadn't...

Yes, there it was!

She was coming! Sharp little contractions around his cock, breath puffing

in his ear, thank you God, because he hadn't done anything to deserve this.

He held himself deep inside her while she writhed around him. It was

almost better than coming himself, feeling her pleasure. He'd learned to prolong

her climax by rocking slightly inside her while she came and he did so now, small

little movements with his hips, barely perceptible, but man, she liked that.

Sam smiled into her hair. He didn't need to look to see her expression, it

was imprinted on his brain. On his death-bed, he'd see her face, eyes closed tight

with pleasure, long neck arched, luscious mouth open to pull in more air.

The contractions slowed and he stopped his movements. She liked quiet at

exactly this moment as she slowly came back into herself.

He loved that. He loved that he knew her so well, knew her body, knew

what she was feeling. Nicole never dissimulated, never tried any female games on

him. Everything about her was utterly genuine, including her pleasure.

The pleasure he gave her.

Oh man, this was the best.

Her little cunt was still now, soft and wet, and her arms relaxed around him.

She gave a long sigh of contentment.

Sam nuzzled her temple with his nose, her hair soft in his face. It always

gave him a shock to feel how warm her hair was. It was so midnight black, he

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always expected it to be cool, but her hair, like the rest of her, was warm and soft.

Oh yeah, his woman.

He took the lobe of her ear in his mouth and bit, gently. His cock hardened

in her, expanding within her soft wet walls. He licked behind her ear, hips moving

forward to go more deeply into her.

"Sam?"

Another nuzzle in the warm, fragrant waves of her hair.

"Mm?"

"Sam--sorry. I think I have to check my e-mail. I haven't checked it in two

days, I can't simply close up shop. Can you hold that thought?"

She pushed gently at his shoulders and, stifling a sigh, he reluctantly

withdrew from her warm clasp. The air felt cold and unwelcoming against the wet

skin of his cock. If it had been a person, it would have grumbled. It was not happy

outside Nicole.

He smiled down at her, though. Even being near Nicole was better than

fucking anyone else. She smiled back, cupping his jaw in a gesture of affection

that was becoming familiar.

"When you're all caught up, could you translate something for me?" he

asked. "There's this bank in Tijuana that wants to upgrade their security. Drug

gangs have robbed them fifteen times in the past year, so they're looking further

afield than the local police. They put in a request for a bid but all the technical

information is in Spanish."

She raised herself up on her elbows and kissed his jaw. "Of course. Be glad

to. I'll even give you a special lover's discount."

Sam froze. An opening. An opening he could drive a truck through.

His heart started thudding, a frantic tattoo of hope and panic. He'd thought

to wait. A month, maybe two. Let her get over the past couple of days, settle

down. He had every intention of being by her side as much as possible, of course.

Get her used to being with him.

He knew perfectly well he wasn't the kind of man she ordinarily dated. On

the face of it, they were a mismatch.

He was a roughneck, more a beer kind of guy than a champagne one.

Nicole was champagne, the finest.

Being with him wasn't going to get her an entree into high society, though

arguably, as an ambassador's daughter, she had that covered on her own.

What he could give her didn't look like much on paper, but was very real,

though. Fidelity, devotion, unwavering support. And, presumably, at some time in

the future, a normal sex life where he didn't jump her bones at the slightest

opportunity. He knew that was in his future, he just didn't know when.

So the plan was to just stick by her like glue. He knew she needed to be

with her father, and he respected that. He could drive her to work and back. They

could have lunch together. She had to eat in the evening. He'd eat at her house,

take her out for an hour, he didn't give a shit, as long as he was with her. The point

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was to get her used to having him around and then...pop the question some time

down the line.

But life was unpredictable. Dangerous, even. No one knew that better than

he did.

He'd almost lost her, twice.

Now.

Sam took in a deep breath.

"I don't know about that," he said, making a major effort to keep his voice

cool, casual. "I don't believe in prenups, so when you charge me, you'll basically

be charging yourself. Doesn't make much sense to me."

Silence. Total, aching silence.

Sam sneaked a glance at Nicole, refraining from wincing at the totally

blank expression on her face.

Shit shit shit!

What the hell had possessed him to speak up now? Christ, why couldn't he

have waited? Now he'd shot his wad and how could he--Nicole narrowed her eyes. "Was that a marriage proposal I heard in there?"

He didn't have the courage to do anything but stare.

"Well, was it?"

Mouth dry, he nodded.

"Because if it was," she continued, aggrieved, "it was definitely the most

half-assed proposal I've ever heard of."

He nodded. Yes, yes, it was half-assed, all right.

"Sorry." He cleared his tight throat. "You're right, I don't know what I

was--"

"However," she said, talking right over him, "I'll cut you some slack since

you did save my life. Twice. That earns you points. Do you love me?"

That he could answer. "Yes," he said firmly and waited. And waited. She

simply looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Fuck. She was going to say no.

Well, hell. How could he expect anything else? He knew himself and he

knew what he wanted and he wanted her, no question. But not everyone was like

him, able to make important decisions fast. He had no doubts at all, but what about

her?

She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. She'd probably had men

falling balls-deep in love within five minutes of meeting her since she'd hit

puberty. He had no doubts, but she would. She'd be crazy to trust someone like

him, put her life in his hands.

She came from a solid, loving family. He was as far from that as it was

possible to be and still grow up on the same planet. How could she trust him to-"It's a very good thing that you're not going to be making any marriage

proposals after this one, because you suck at it. However, the answer is yes."

"I know I'm probably not what you're used to, but I swear, you can count on

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me forever. I'll take care of you. No one will ever hurt you, ever again. I promise

you I'll be true, and--"

"Sam," she sighed. "I said yes. And for the record, I love you, too."

His brain seized up, simply froze. He stopped breathing for a moment.

"Yes?" he echoed blankly. He couldn't possibly have heard right.

Nicole's eyes rolled in her head and she pulled his head down for a kiss.

190

Bellevue Cemetery

December 15

It was an unusually cold and blustery day. Nicole shivered as she laid a

small bouquet of snowdrops and baby's breath on her father's grave, then stood

back.

Sam put his arm around her and she leaned gratefully into his strength and

warmth. She'd dressed much too lightly. The morning had seemed almost warm

when they'd set out from Coronado Shores an hour ago.

The icy wind whipping off the Pacific felt like it came straight from the

North Pole. She didn't even have gloves with her. She hadn't been able to wear

gloves for six months now. There wasn't a glove in the world that would fit over

the diamond ring as big as a pigeon's egg Sam had insisted on buying her. It was

beautiful but enormous, a source almost of embarrassment in the beginning,

though she was starting to become quite fond of it.

Nicole reached out to touch the headstone. "Happy birthday, Pops," she

whispered. It would have been his sixty-second birthday.

She and Sam had been married by a justice of the peace in her father's

sickroom the day after he returned from the hospital, with Harry and Mike and

Manuela in attendance.

Before the wedding, Sam had gone into her father's room and closed the

door. They'd talked for more than an hour. She couldn't pry what had been said out

of her father. He'd only clasped her hand between his cold ones and told her she

was marrying a good man.

When the short, simple ceremony was over, instead of giving her a

passionate kiss, as she'd expected, Sam held her in his arms and whispered into her

ear, voice raw with emotion, "I'm going to make you a good husband, I swear."

He had, too. He'd made her a better husband, actually, than she'd made him

a wife, particularly in the first two months of their marriage--the last two months

of her father's life.

Sam had bought the small apartment next to his, opened up the door

between the two apartments, and turned it into a hospital suite for her father. For

the first two months of their marriage, Nicole basically let everything drop as her

father began his painful slide into death.

Sam had let her know in no uncertain terms that her only responsibility was

her father, she was to worry about nothing else. Bills were paid, food appeared and

was cleared away, doctors and nurses came and went. Nicole barely noticed. Sam

took care of everything.

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When, after she spent three straight nights awake at his bedside, her father

took his last breath, Sam had been there to hold her in her grief. As she moved in a

stupor of mourning and exhaustion, it didn't occur to her until later that he had

arranged the funeral and had bought the plot and ordered the headstone.

Time had brought a healing. After the funeral, Sam had taken her to Maui

for a belated honeymoon and made sure all she did was eat, sleep and make love

with him. At their return, she dedicated herself to Wordsmith. Every day, Nicole

rode with Sam to the office building and up to the ninth floor, where they worked

across the hall from each other. Wordsmith was finally taking off. Mike had quit

the force and joined Sam and Harry in the company, which was now officially

RBK Security.

Their nights were filled with a passion that showed no signs of slowing