Riding the Storm (33 page)

"I'd
never let anything hurt you," Kat told him.

He
turned his back on her, and she let him walk away, into the kitchen, didn't
follow him. He sank into one of the chairs around the old table and rested his
head in his shaking hands, feeling the reassuring rub along his shoulders.

It
was one of the few times he willingly allowed Kat to comfort him.

They're
in trouble but good
, Dev's father
always used to say whenever he'd get that look in his eye, and the terrible
headache followed, so even from the time Dev was very little, he knew that the
gift of second sight was something not to be envied.

Trouble
from the mission involving Remy was inevitable. Expected. Even though Dev
sensed it, there was nothing he could do now but wait. Wait, have backup ready
to go at a moment's notice and try to rid himself of the searing pain he always
got when one of his operatives was hurt or in trouble.

But
there was no rule that said he had to wait all by himself.

"So
good," he murmured after he'd tongued a taut nipple, an act that elicited
a primal moan and a thrust upward from the hard body trapped beneath his. His
balls tightened, the familiar thrill clenching his abs, and the ache in his
head began to lessen in response to his body's shift in pressure. But not
before the voice of memory started playing inside his head.

You
love it when I suck your nipples, don't you, baby?

He
shook his head softly, continued to suck on the hard, pebbled nipple. His cock
throbbed as his fingers traced the sensitive underside of the arms bound to the
headboard. He paused at the inside of the elbows and continued up the forearms,
past the tick of the pulse point beneath the leather straps that bound the man
with the dark hair helpless against Dev's caresses.

Let
me tie you down, Dev. I love it when you fight
…

"I
can fuck the worry right out of you," the man named Rich, one of ACRO's
newest Seducers, trained in the art of sex and the art of keeping his mouth
shut tight, had told him when he'd walked into the house less than fifteen
minutes earlier. His voice was husky, the tone cocky, which was just the way
Dev liked his lovers.

He
had used his second sight briefly to study Rich, the way his black hair was
shorter than Dev normally liked, but still long enough for him to twist in his
fingers, the way his eyes were more light brown than chocolate… the way he was
never going to compare to Dev's memories.

Nothing
ever would.

Rich
had moved forward boldly, had jerked Dev's robe open and off his shoulders, and
Dev had steadied himself and let the hot mouth nip and suck down his chest,
toward his abs. He let the talented tongue tease his belly button for a few
minutes with tight, probing circles that made his cock ache before he'd pushed
hard against Rich's shoulders and pulled the man from his knees.

I'm
going to fuck you until you pass out…

"You're
the one who's going to get fucked tonight," Dev had murmured, his hand
holding firm to Rich's biceps in a grip that showed there was no room for
arguments. Or memories.

Three
in a bed was too crowded.

Rich
hadn't argued, had let Dev lead him up the stairs. Dev had him stripped and
bound within minutes, and Rich seemed to find it fascinating that a blind man
could be in such command of everything, had told him so as Dev had strung the
man's arms over his head, pausing to suck hard at the tender skin of his neck
before sliding down the younger man's body.

And
now Rich was begging to be fucked, moving his body against Dev's in that
demanding way that only someone tied down could understand, his groans driving
Dev to that place he needed to be.

Dev
grabbed what he needed from the bedside table, rolled the condom on his cock
and squirted a generous amount of lube onto his fingers. He worked Rich's tight
hole as the man drew a sharp hiss in through his teeth, and then he began to
relax under Dev's machinations.

Dev
worked two fingers inside Rich, preparing him, even as he bent his head between
Rich's legs to nuzzle the man's cock, taking it into his mouth with a long,
slow slide.

Rich's
body jerked upward, his wrists pulling against the restraints.

"Oh,
yeah… don't stop." Rich pushed back against Dev's fingers, even as he
added another one, and Dev played his tongue along the tip of Rich's cock,
teasing, tormenting with mouth and fingers, instructing Rich not to come, until
the man's body shone with sweat and his pleas were incoherent groans.

He
crawled back up Rich's body, flipped the man's legs over his shoulders and
entered him, pushing the head of his cock inside hard enough to gain entrance.
Rich's back arched and he moaned.

Pain
with pleasure, baby…

Dev
waited until he felt Rich's body adjust to the intrusion and then he slid
farther inside, reveling in the tight fit until his balls slapped Rich's ass.

"Jesus,
fuck me now, Devlin. Hard," Rich panted, totally out of control and loving
every minute of it.

Dev
leaned in and kissed Rich with a ferocity that had built up over the past weeks,
when he'd tried to make due with Marlena, with other women, with his own hand
and cold showers.

It
never worked. No matter how hard Dev tried to push the memories—the needs—down,
when they roared to life, his inability to drive Oz out of his mind and his bed
always shocked him. It was always when he finally hit the end of his rope, when
he couldn't suppress the feelings anymore, that he would break down and bring a
man to his bed to try to exorcize the demons Oz had left behind.

And
even though Rich didn't look or smell or taste like Oz, if Dev turned off his
second sight, he could use the rest of his senses to conjure up the right
smells, the right tastes, and instead of fucking Rich he was fucking Oz,
hearing Oz's moans and other sounds from the only man he could totally let
himself lose control with.

Rich's
ass tightened around Dev's cock until his balls were hot and full and he
slammed into Rich with a frenzied need, hitting his prostate over and over,
until they were both slippery with sweat and Dev had to hang on to the bed with
both hands just to stay in place.

I
want in deeper, Dev. Want to be all the way inside…

He
released Rich's hands because he needed to feel arms around his back—strong
ones, ones that could hold him down if they needed to, and he moaned the name,
0z
,
against Rich's mouth until he came, his body shuddering with the release he'd
waited for, his heart ripping out of his chest all over again.

Remy
walked outside the motel room to breathe in some fresh air, clear his head and
prepare for the mission ahead of him. Because staying in that close proximity
to Haley without being able to touch her, or talk to her about their future,
was killing him.

Of
course, Ender was outside too, leaning against one of the black Humvees,
drinking a coffee. He handed one to Remy without saying a word.

"Thanks,"
Remy said. "Is there one for Haley? I'll bring it in to her."

"It's
a job, man," Ender said, pointing to the extra coffee, which was obviously
for Haley. "Don't get too attached to her. ACRO's got policies against
shit like that."

"She
didn't worry about that when she came to get me," Remy said, grabbing the
coffee off the car roof.

Ender
snorted. "Sex is fine with ACRO. That's how she got you to cooperate in
the first place, because all female operatives know that men think with their
dicks. But the relationship shit? Out of the question."

"I
never said anything about a relationship—" Remy started, but Ender held up
his hand.

"I've
seen you mooning after her. Forget about it."

"Are
we ready yet?" Wyatt asked.

Remy
turned and saw him lying on the hood of the car, wondered how long he'd been
there and how much he'd heard. But Wyatt merely slid off the car when Ender
said, "Now," and got into the backseat of the car Remy would ride in
with Haley.

According
to the plan, they would take the Itor house from four locations. Wyatt would
take the east on his own, with Remy and Haley driving him as far as necessary
and then letting him at hoof to it to the right location, in case the cars were
spotted. Remy and Haley would continue along to take the north, and Remy was
given permission to stay with Haley, after much arguing and a final, put his
foot down, I'm-the-right-one-to-protect-her command. To which Ender just
snorted and Wyatt smiled.

Ender
and the operative they called Annika would take the south and west,
respectively—all of them would abandon the cars when they were a quarter mile
from the location. They should have the element of surprise on their side,
especially since they'd be there an hour earlier than the time Remy himself was
supposed to meet Itor.

"I'm
ready," Haley said from the door of the room. She had her bag slung over
her shoulder and she closed the door and walked down the stairs and toward
Remy. He handed her the coffee, ignored Ender's smirk and watched as the woman
he assumed was Annika pulled into the parking lot.

"I
just want to talk to Annika for a second," Haley said, but Wyatt shook his
head, spoke through the opened, backseat window.

"We
don't have time. We need to move," he said, and Remy saw that Annika was
already pulling out, with Ender right behind her.

He
and Haley climbed into the car and within minutes they were driving along the
back roads toward their destination, headsets in place but not talking. Remy
could actually feel Wyatt's pent-up energy as though it were creating its own
electric field.

He
shifted in his seat and realized he'd been lucky that the weather had held out
this long. Although, just being around Haley made things easier on him. Ever
since the tattoos…

He
glanced over and saw that, even though Haley was looking out the window, she
was rubbing her hip, the one with the tattoo.

Man,
this was one strange deal.

"Pull
over here, Remy," Wyatt said.

"I
thought you wanted us to get farther?" Remy said, although he did what
Wyatt asked.

"Ender
wanted it that way. I don't answer to Ender." Wyatt checked his equipment
and then gave Remy a slap on the shoulder. "See you on the inside."

Remy
watched Wyatt take off into the trees, and within moments, he'd lost sight of
the man.

He
recalled the private meeting he'd had with Wyatt and Ender last night too, long
after Haley had gone to sleep. One that discussed backup plans. Last resorts.

The
last resort plan wasn't much different than the one he and his SEAL teammates
used to discuss, but there was so much more on the line if Remy got captured by
Itor than there ever was with the U.S. Navy.

He
pulled onto the road and started driving again. Haley was still rubbing her hip
thoughtfully. And Remy started to feel the familiar tingle along his skin, even
though the skies were mostly clear. He chalked it up to wanting Haley and tried
to ignore the feeling.

"Are
you all right?" he asked her finally, when the silence grew too thick
between them. The humming had started in his ears as well, and he needed to
take his mind off of that.

"I
will be," she said. "What about you?"

"I
will be," he repeated, and she smiled. "I do have one question for
you," he said, unsure whether it was the intensity of the upcoming mission
that made his heart beat so fast, or what he was about to ask.

"Okay,"
she said, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"Did
you fuck me as part of your job?"

She
drew in a sharp breath, but she didn't answer.

Fuck.

You
know Ender's a prick, so you can't trust him fully.

But
still, he knew he could trust Ender with his life. He figured he could trust
Haley too, but he wanted more than that from her. So much more, it physically
hurt while he sat there and waited for her to find her voice.

"Why
would you ask me something like that?"

"I
know why you came to the bayou. You knew all the rumors about me. And the only
way you could test your theories…

"Was
to get you into bed," she finished. "ACRO wanted me to get the job
done by any means possible."

"And
you're good at your job, aren't you?" he asked, aware that his voice
sounded raw, and more aware of how stupid he was to have this conversation
minutes before he was going to head out, risking his life.

"Remy,
no…

"It's
all right. I understand. I do. I'm all about doing anything it takes to get the
job done," he said, his life as a SEAL flashing before his eyes.

"I
am too, but caring about you was never part of the job. It wasn't supposed to
be. I can't believe that it happened." Her voice caught and he wished he
could pull over to the side and take her in his arms. As it was, all he could
do was grab her hand and squeeze it hard.