Roth(Hell Squad 5) (7 page)

Marcus studied Elle’s face before his piercing gaze fell on Avery again. “If Masters gets to be too much, let me know. I’ll handle it.”

Avery straightened. “I appreciate the offer, but I can handle Roth just fine.” She saw that he and the others in Nine were now gone. “I should be off. Elle, I’ll see you later.”

“Sure, Avery. Thanks again for your help today.”

“Nice to meet you, Marcus. And thanks for the work you do out there.”

Marcus inclined his head.

Avery wandered the tunnels, not really sure where she was headed. She was thinking about the inhabitants having to abandon the base. If it came to that, some wouldn’t make it—the injured, the elderly, the very young. She thumped a fist against her head. She needed to remember.

She had to remember something that would help avoid an evacuation.

She turned toward the personal quarters and ended up at Roth’s door.

After a few minutes of trying to talk herself out of it, she knocked.

It took a moment, but finally it was yanked open. “Mac, I said I’m not up for a beer—” Spotting her, he broke off.

For a long moment, they simply stared at each other.

Avery opened her mouth to speak, but she was having trouble breathing, and no words would come out.

Roth had clearly just stepped out of the shower. The only thing he wore was a towel wrapped around his lean hips, leaving everything else bare.

Holy hell, the man was ripped. His arms were huge, his shoulders hard, his pecs sculpted, and his abdomen…it was ridge after ridge of muscle. Avery shifted, trying to quell the hungry feeling inside. She watched a small droplet of water that clung to the hair on his chest. It broke free, traveling downward over taut bronze skin and even tauter muscles.

“Avery?”

She jerked her eyes to his. “I…wanted to talk.”

He stepped back, holding the door open wider.

She walked into his quarters. They were much the same as hers. Bed against one wall, small kitchenette tucked in the back, and a tiny living area with a sagging couch. There was a door she knew would lead to a compact bathroom.

She wandered in and eyed the tablet on the coffee table. It displayed an old sports e-magazine on laser ball. “You’re a fan?”

“I was.”

Right. Because there was no laser ball league anymore. All the stadiums would be empty, the players dead. “I loved laser ball. Played when I was at school.” Based on American football, it incorporated a powered ball and shoes. Players ran faster, threw farther and jumped higher. “One of my foster fathers was the coach of a high school team. We used to watch all the games.” Her throat tightened. She’d let herself get too attached to Mr. Lee, and it had hurt when she’d been shifted to another home. She wondered if he was still alive and was shocked at the flash of grief that stole her breath.

“Hey.” A warm hand brushed her cheek. “You okay?”

She nodded and turned, to find her nose almost buried in that hard chest that kept pulling her gaze in like a magnet. He was too close. “We should toss a laser ball sometime. Bet I could score in under five minutes.”

Roth snorted. “My father was a professional coach. I got a university scholarship on laser ball.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Did you ever consider going pro?”

“Yeah.” He paused, his face hardening. “But…my family was killed during my freshman year, and I dropped out.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She didn’t remember the drug addict mother who’d given her up. She imagined losing a loving family you’d had your entire childhood was devastating. “Car accident?”

“No. They were at the Mount Brookside Shopping Plaza.”

Cold washed over her. Mount Brookside had been a terrorist attack. The shopping center had been raided by armed gunmen, then bombs had detonated. “God, Roth, I really am sorry.”

His face was composed, but those pale eyes glittered. “Thanks. After that, playing ball didn’t seem so important. I joined the Army.”

God, he’d given up his dream to fight for his country. To battle terrorists. She felt something inside her crumble. She took a step backward. “I’m going to try the memory stimulation—”

Roth scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’ve been over this. No.”

She scowled back. God, couldn’t the man put some clothes on? “My body, my brain, my decision. I have to do something, Roth. I have to help.” She spun away, taking a deep breath. “I’m useless like this, all these broken memories. Medical won’t clear me to fight—”

“You were in that tank for who knows how long, Avery. I know I was pushing you before, but now I think you just need more time.”

Time they didn’t have. She straightened and looked him directly in the eye. “The alien troops are back on the streets, getting closer to this base. Will they wait for my head to fill in the blanks?”

His mouth firmed into a line.

She closed the few steps between them. “We both know how it will go down if the base is overrun. People will die.” Her breath hitched. “And so many are already dead.”

He gripped her shoulders, his thumbs brushing over her collarbones. “I know you think that’s on you, but it isn’t.”

“I was head of the negotiations, Roth. My responsibility.”

He cursed and shook her a little. “Let it go.”

“I can’t.” A harsh whisper and she felt something inside her break. “I messed up, I have to make up for it somehow.”

“Avery—”

“All I can do is try the memory stim and pray that I can give you some intel that might help us keep the base safe and push back at the aliens.”

“Dammit.” His fingers tightened on her skin. “Why do you always have to fight everything I say?”

Anger sparked, hot and righteous. “Because sometimes you don’t listen! That head of yours can be pretty hard.”

With a warning tone, he backed her up a few steps. “Avery—”

“Don’t tell me to let it go, that it isn’t my fault. The same would apply to your family.”

He stiffened. “My family has nothing to do with this.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t feel guilty that they died and you didn’t. That you didn’t do something to save them. You gave up everything to join the military and fight for them.” She lowered her voice. “I have to do the same.”

His blue eyes turned to steel. Her back hit the wall and her throat suddenly went dry, but she stood her ground.

And found herself pinned to the wall by Roth’s body.

Then he cursed and slid his hands under her bottom. Helpless to resist, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and his hard cock pressed firmly against her. They both groaned.

“Damn,” he muttered. “You’ve crawled under my skin. I think of you every damn minute of the day. Even on my missions, when I should be focused on other things.”

His confession, delivered in that deep growl, made her shudder, her hands sinking into his shoulders. He was only covered by that thin towel, and a part of her was desperate to see him. She wanted to stroke her hands all over him—his hard chest, his thick thighs, the long cock she felt against her.

Roth cursed again, and then one of his hands was under her shirt, cupping her breast, kneading.

“This is crazy,” she whispered. “Half the time we don’t like each other, and the rest of the time—”

“And the rest of the time, we both want to tear each other’s clothes off.” He tweaked her nipple between his fingers making her moan.

“Damn you, yes,” she hissed.

“Nothing wrong in finding some pleasure, Avery.”

Because she couldn’t stop herself, she rubbed against him, saw his eyes flare. “I know. But generally I prefer to like my lovers.”

His hand slid lower, and then it was between them, shoving her skirt up. When a long finger slid against the edge of her panties, she made a small noise, her hips tipping forward.

“You like me, sweetheart. Even if you won’t admit it.”

He pushed her panties to the side, his finger running through her folds. She was embarrassingly wet for him.

He groaned. “Sweetheart. So wet, so perfect. I can’t wait to put my mouth here, lap you all up.”

His words made her belly clench. “Roth—”

Without warning, he slid one blunt finger inside her. She arched again, made a keening cry.

“You like that,” he growled. His thumb brushed through her curls, found her clit.

She made another choked cry. The sensations storming through her were glorious. “Yes. God, it’s been so long since anyone’s touched me.”

“I’ll touch you, baby,” he murmured.

Then suddenly, she was pulled away from the wall and he was carrying her, striding toward the couch. He dropped her on the over-soft cushions. Then he tugged her toward the edge, spreading her legs and kneeling between them on the floor.

Avery had the fleeting thought that she should say something, do something. But he ripped her panties away and left her spread there, bare for him to see, and she couldn’t form any words. She felt like she was in a sensual storm, unable to do anything except just hold on for the ride.

No, dammit
. She wanted him to enjoy this, too. She reached for him.

“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, lowering to nip her hipbone.

“Roth.” Her hips lifted. “I want to touch you.”

“You will. But right now, I want to lap at those pretty pink lips of yours and suck on that little clit until you cry out my name.” His ice-blue eyes blazed. “You going to call out my name, Avery? So loud my neighbors will know exactly what I’m doing to you?”

Her breath hitched. “Yes.”

He lowered his head and his tongue slid through her damp folds.

Oh, God
. Her hands clamped in his hair. It had been so long since she’d felt pleasure, since she’d had an insanely attractive man pleasuring her.

Avery gave herself up to the cascade of feelings. She felt her release thundering closer, making every muscle in her body tighten to the breaking point. He lapped at her like he needed her taste just to survive, all his concentration on his task.

He looked up at her, and she watched as his tongue licked her flesh. He kept eye contact as he tongued her clit, then he broke their gaze to tilt his head and suck the small nub into his mouth. “Christ, you are hot, Avery.”

Too much
. Pleasure slammed into her, her climax tearing through her body. Her back arched, and she felt Roth’s hands gripping her thighs, holding her in place. She screamed his name.

When she could think again, she felt like a warm puddle. She looked at him. He still knelt between her legs, his head bowed. She pressed a hand to his cheek. “Roth?”

He looked up and her stomach tightened. Desire was burning white-hot in his eyes, his face set in stark lines of need.

Impossibly, desire sparked in her sated body. This man seemed to wrench so many emotions out of her, and she couldn’t understand it.

She slithered off the couch and onto her knees beside him. The towel was still around his hips, but had slipped down a few inches, revealing more of the hard muscle of his stomach. She licked her lips. And the towel was tented impressively.

She tore it away.

She drew in a breath. As she took his large cock in her hand, he groaned. So big. She stroked it, and when he groaned again, her gaze went to his face. That look, that stark look of need, was all for her.

Suddenly, a beeping noise penetrated her pleasure-fuzzed head.

Roth cursed and pulled away. “I have to take that. That’s the general’s ringtone.”

As she watched, Roth hitched the towel around himself again, and Avery suddenly felt chilled. She tugged her clothes into place and looked around for her missing panties, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Roth stabbed a button on his communicator. “General.”

“Masters. The debrief started five minutes ago. Where are you?”

Avery watched as color filled Roth’s cheeks.

“Sorry, sir, just finishing…cleaning up in my quarters. I’ll be there in three.” As he ended the call, he turned to Avery. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Duty calls.” And maybe it was a sign. There was an alien war going on. She couldn’t afford to have Roth Masters messing her up. This…attraction between them was just a distraction. “It was a great little interlude. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Avery…”

She hurried to the door. “Don’t sweat it.”
Keep it casual, Avery. Easy
. She winked at him. “And I owe you a blow job.”

Roth made a growling sound. He charged at her, and damn the man could move. She dodged, but she wasn’t fast enough. She found herself caught between the wall and Roth’s bare chest once more.

His hands were pressed to the wall on either side of her head. “This was not some simple roll in the hay.”

“No, it was oral sex on your couch.”

He growled again. “So, you’re going to keep throwing walls between us.”

“There is no ‘us’, Roth. Most of the time, you don’t even like me.”

Something softened in his face. “You’ve got that wrong, sweetheart. I like everything about you, even your prickly stubbornness. And I really enjoy hearing you cry out my name when you come.”

Now Avery felt heat in her cheeks. “You have to go, remember?”

Frustration tightened his jaw. “Yes, dammit, I do.”

“I’m doing the memory stimulation, Roth.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Then I want to be there when you do.”

Her belly quivered. No one had ever been with her at her health checks growing up. A social worker, sure, but no one who’d ever wanted to be there. “Okay.”

“Promise me.”

“Yes.” A knot of tension that she hadn’t realized had been lodged in her belly unraveled a little. That was Roth Masters; he’d do the right thing, even when he disagreed.

She pushed against him, and he stepped back. As she opened the door, she realized she didn’t want to leave. She shook her head.
Don’t be stupid, Avery. Don’t get attached.

Suddenly, she was spun around and a hard mouth slammed down on hers. His tongue thrust between her lips, and Avery threw her arms around him and kissed him back. Then she was dragging her mouth over his jaw, down his neck. Something wild called to her and she bit down on the hard tendons. He growled, his arms curling around her.