Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

24. Isla

24

ISLA

Three weeks.

Three fucking weeks of hell.

I was irritated, pissed off, and frankly, ready to murder someone. I hadn’t seen Kavanaugh in the flesh in way too long. Yes, our nightly video chats were amazing. He found new ways to torture me every night, bringing me to orgasm with only his words and that sexy gleam in his eyes. It was hot as hell, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to touch him, to sleep with my face smashed against his chest as his heart thudded beneath my cheek. Was that really too much to ask?

I glanced at the clock and sighed. He would be calling any second now and I had to find a way to check my attitude so I didn’t ruin what little time I had with him. But ever since I lost my shit and jumped to conclusions three weeks ago, I was the epitome of the understanding girlfriend. I just didn’t know how much longer I could hold out like this.

My phone buzzed in my hand and I stared at the screen, considering not even answering. Maybe if I just gave myself tonight, maybe I would relax and find a way to be okay with our situation. But in the end, my need to see him won out. Except, it wasn’t a video call like I expected .

I slid my finger across the screen and tried to perk up. “Hey.” I rolled my eyes at how depressed I sounded.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, instantly on edge.

“Nothing. I’m just grumpy,” I muttered. “This sucks.”

“I know, Red.”

I smiled at the nickname, but then realized he called his teammate Red. Wasn’t that a little weird? “Maybe you shouldn’t call me that.”

“Why?” he chuckled.

“Because…I would hate for you to think of your teammate while you’re screwing me. It might…make things weird.”

I heard a choking sound that almost sounded like gagging. “Thanks, Isla. That…puts so many disturbing images in my head.”

“Sorry.” I sighed heavily. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this tonight.”

“What’s wrong?” The heightened tone in his voice made me feel bad, but I just wasn’t into this tonight.

“I just…this is hard and…I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I swear, this will be over soon.”

“You keep saying that, but?—”

“No buts. I’m close to ending this.”

Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked them away, cursing myself for being a girl about this. I blew out a breath to regain control. “Tell me this is all worth it.”

“It is. Now, lay on the bed and let me help you relax.”

“I don’t think we should tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because…I’m not in the mood.”

“Then let me put you in the mood,” his voice rumbled.

“Kavanaugh—”

“Lay down on the bed,” he ordered.

I glanced at the bed, convinced this was not going to work. I wanted to argue further, but maybe he needed this. I could fake it. I could pretend I was getting off and he would never know. So, I followed his orders and laid down, putting the phone on speaker even though I had no intention of actually participating.

“Okay.”

“Take a deep breath and think of something calming. ”

“You inside me would work right about now,” I grumbled.

He chuckled. “How about a happy place?”

“Again, you inside me right now?—”

“Someplace that doesn’t require me inside you.”

“Well, that narrows it down significantly.”

I wiggled on the bed, trying to get comfortable, but finding a happy place was harder than I expected.

“Are you there?”

“No,” I grumbled.

“Imagine me in bed with you, then.”

I let out a deep breath and tried my best to imagine it. There was so much anger and resentment, though. Not toward him, but at the situation. It clouded what should be a fun experience.

“Take a deep breath.”

“I just did that,” I snapped.

But instead of being angry with me, he just chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re finding this funny,” I grumbled.

“Baby, I find everything about you funny. And sexy. And beautiful.”

I sank into the mattress, my body relaxing slightly at his words.

“Do you know the first thing I thought about when I saw you again?”

“No.”

“Shock. I was shocked. I never thought I would see you again. But then it was like a weight was lifted from my chest when you threw yourself into my arms. You were there, and you were so fucking happy to see me.” His voice grew gravelly as he continued. “After all those years, you hadn’t forgotten me. Out of all the shit that happened with the senator, you were the one good thing I remembered from living with him. You pulled me out of this pretentious way of life and made me live. You were perfect. So fucking perfect. And you were back. You were mine.”

“I still am yours,” I whispered.

“You always will be.”

I was no longer grumpy, but I was far from being relaxed. I needed him now more than ever, and if I had any chance of sleeping, I needed him beside me.

“Take off your clothes for me, baby.”

It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in the room with me. I stripped my clothes as if he could see me—as if he was watching my every move.

“Fuck,” he hissed. “Tell me you’re naked.”

“Completely.”

“Get back on the bed.”

I walked over and kneeled on the bed, then laid down, instantly spreading my legs. “What now?”

“Do you feel me beside you, baby?”

If I closed my eyes and thought about it hard enough, I could imagine him hovering over me, his breath fanning over my skin and sending chills down my spine. “You’re on the bed.”

“I’m right fucking next to you,” he whispered. “Do you feel me?”

I gasped as I felt his thick cock brush against my side. “Yes.”

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful. Spread your legs wider. Let me inside.”

I did as he asked, my breath catching in my throat as I imagined him settling between my legs. My hand drifted down, sliding over my highly-sensitized skin. The need was so strong that my skin prickled at my touch. I thought I heard his growl as I slid my fingers down, touching my center. It was like he was in the room with me, urging me on, even though he was a thousand miles away.

His warm breath on my pussy had me shuddering, but it was the look in his eyes that really sent me over the edge. The want—the need was unlike anything I’d ever seen or felt before. “Kavanaugh,” I whispered, desperate for him to touch me.

“I’m here.” His voice was a whisper, and it took me a moment to realize that there was something different about his tone. Then I felt his hot skin pressing against mine, and his soft lips skimming over my cheek until he was nuzzling my throat. My eyes sprang open and I jerked in surprise.

He was here. He was actually here.

He shot me a cocky grin as his fingers slid between my breasts, circling over one nipple and down…down …

“How are you here?” I asked breathlessly, gasping when his fingers slid inside me and he slowly pumped his fingers in and out.

“I couldn’t stay away. A month without you is way too fucking long.”

My fingers knifed through his hair as I pulled him down to my lips, kissing him softly. In mere seconds, he was undressed and settled between my legs, his cock pressing against my core. I gasped as he thrust inside me, his lips kissing my neck as his hands slid under my body and pulled me tightly to him.

We were one, our bodies connected in every way. His lips rarely left my skin as he thrust inside me, burying himself in my body and taking what he needed. There wasn’t a single second that I didn’t kiss him, didn’t remind myself that these moments were few and far between. He’d come home for me, just as desperate to see me as I was to see him.

“I couldn’t stay away,” he murmured. “I missed you so much.”

I wrapped my leg around him, pulling him further into me, forcing him to fuck me hard and deep. “Don’t stay away that long again.”

“Never,” he promised. He kissed me hard, gripping my hip as he crushed his body to mine, fucking me hard and fast—deep and long. I bit his shoulder as he worked his body in mine, pushing me higher and higher.

My breathing was ragged, my hands shaking as he bent my body and twisted my emotions. I’d never felt anything like this before. Nothing could compare to the way he made me feel right now—this need to have him, to keep him with me. He belonged to me, body and soul.

His breath fanned over my face as he leaned back and looked at me in earnest. “Isla…”

The words were on the tip of his tongue. I could feel them as his eyes searched mine. And when they didn’t immediately come, I knew it was only uncertainty holding him back. We’d been separated too long and he didn’t want to jump the gun. But he loved me, that much I was certain of.

His lips fused one last time with mine, and that’s when I felt it. His body tightened and his hips jerked as he gripped my waist, holding me against him. It was too hot. I couldn’t catch my breath as I felt him spill himself deep inside me. My body clenched around him, and then I was falling, clinging to him as I came apart in his arms.

His lips pressed against my forehead and a chuckle escaped his lips as his thumb brushed whispered kisses over my lips. “Better?”

A smile graced my lips and I kissed him again, pulling him to me. “So much better.”

He slid off me, pulling me to his chest as his breath brushed over my cheek. My eyes drifted shut as everything in me shut down. For the longest time, the only sound in the room was his heart thundering, making me smile because I got what I desperately wanted.

“I’m a little jealous,” he rumbled.

“Of what?”

“Whoever got to be your first.”

I smiled against his chest, running my fingers over the hard planes of his body. “I could say the same thing.”

“You always liked my brother better.”

“No, I didn’t,” I laughed. “He was too much of a rebel for me.”

His fingers slid through my hair, massaging my scalp. I sank into his touch, letting my eyes drift closed. “I saw the way you looked at him. You always had eyes for him.”

“I was looking at him because I didn’t want you to see me staring at you,” I admitted. I shifted, pulling the sheet up around my breasts as I turned to face him. “Whatever happened with Spencer?”

I felt him stiffen beside me and his eyes glared at the ceiling. I knew his brother was dead, but what I didn’t know was how it happened.

“Underground fighting ring,” Kavanaugh finally said. “One too many hits to the head. Knocked his brain loose.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, resting back against him. I had so many more questions, but by his clipped tone, I knew he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and pushing would only ruin the night. He quickly changed the subject before I could do it.

“You haven’t told me much about what you did after your family moved away.”

I grinned at him, though I could feel the strain in his body despite the smile on his face. “Are you worried I’ve had too many lovers for you to contend with?”

“That and how many I’ll have to kill just so they don’t have any memories of you naked.”

“Yes, that would be a healthy way to deal with your obsession.”

“And what obsession is that?”

“You need to control everything. It’s pretty clear by the way you hover over me when you’re here and the massive amount of security—and the insane way you wanted to place guards on me—that you have a tiny bit of a problem with not being in control.”

“That’s just ridiculous. Ask Eli. He’ll tell you I’m great at following orders.”

Uh-huh. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

He dug his fingers into my side, eliciting a yelp from me. But all too soon, I was trapped under his body, forced to endure the torture of his fingers dragging every last laugh from my lips. And every time I thought I was done, he started up again, just to see if he could get a few more giggles out of me.

“Stop! Stop!” I begged. Finally, he shifted off me, relenting from his endless torture. It took me several deep breaths to finally breathe properly again, and when I looked at him again, his eyes were brighter than I’d ever seen before. “What?”

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I blushed from head to toe, lifting my hand to brush his cheek. “You’re too sweet.”

“Not sweet. Just…”

Again, it was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t let the words out. I tried not to be disappointed as he rolled to his back and pulled me in close. It should have been enough that he was here with me. He came home when he wasn’t supposed to, all because he couldn’t stay away. And yet, something inside me longed to hear the words from his lips—for him to not hold back and tell me what was on his mind. I already felt like there was so much he wasn’t telling me. I just wanted one thing to be real. To know that through everything, there was something more than sex .

But as the moment passed and we laid together in the dark, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Not yet.

Maybe when this job was over, he could finally give me that piece of himself.

I stared at the package on my front porch and sighed. I didn’t need to see the return address to know who it was from. There would be shredded divorce papers inside, probably with a nasty note to me. Not that it mattered. My lawyer assured me there were ways to move forward and end this. That’s all I really wanted.

I’d become really good at ignoring the gray car parked on the street. It couldn’t be Shawn. There was no way. And yes, it bothered me that someone was out there, always watching, but they hadn’t made a move yet. What was I supposed to do? I got photos last week and sent them over to OPS, but the car was listed as belonging to a corporation. Any number of people could be driving it. Maybe it had nothing to do with Shawn. Maybe it was a spy for another graphic design company. Or the government, here to watch my every move and then tax the hell out of me when I bought a new pair of shoes.

Unrealistic? Yes, but it was the government. I wouldn’t put anything past them.

I tossed the box on the table and chose to ignore it as I grabbed a second cup of coffee. I heard a loud yawn behind me and spun, jerking as a naked man appeared before my eyes.

“Holy shit!” I gasped, shoving my hand out to block the more…endowed parts of his body.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Riley said you weren’t home,” he said, snatching the paper off the table and holding it in front of his lower half.

“Of course she did.”

“She knew?”

“Most likely. It’s probably payback for—” I snapped my lips shut as I realized I was about to reveal what Riley caught me doing. This man most definitely didn’t need to know any of that. “You probably don’t remember me. I only saw you in passing. I’m Isla.”

“Bowie,” he said, holding out his hand.

I cringed, shaking my head.

“Right. Naked.”

“Did you need something?”

“Coffee. Two cups.”

“Uh…right,” I said, spinning around to grab two mugs and top them off with coffee. I held them out to him, but realized it would be rather difficult for him to climb the stairs naked. “You know, I’m just going to set these down on the table and turn around so you can…” I made a motion with my hand for him to scurry back upstairs.

“I would appreciate that.”

I did just that, then closed my eyes as I spun around and counted to twenty. When I heard the floorboards creak upstairs, I finally opened my eyes. Well, that could have gone better. I never thought the first time I met Bowie, he would be completely naked.

I grabbed my mug and quickly headed outside to sit on the porch. There were no naked men there, and I wouldn’t have to hear Riley giggling about the prank she just pulled on me. But I only got about ten minutes of peace before she came outside and sat on the swing beside me, grinning like a fool.

“So, that was Bowie,” I said casually.

“Yep,” she grinned. “All twelve inches of him.”

I scoffed at that. “Twelve inches? Come on, you would be impaled and bleed out.”

“Well, it certainly felt like twelve inches last night. And his girth?—”

I had just taken a sip of coffee and choked, then spit out my coffee all at once, leaving me a hacking, gagging mess. She patted me on the back, laughing the whole time.

“Seriously, I do not need to know about the man’s girth before eight in the morning.”

“Well, maybe next time you decide to have phone sex with Kavanaugh, you’ll remember that doors are there for a reason,” she said, looking at me pointedly.

“Noted.” She’d played it well. “So, where is Bowie now? ”

“Rifling through my drawers. He likes to wear women’s underwear.”

Again, I spit, choked, and inhaled all at the same time, cursing her under my breath as I tried not to die.

She tossed her head back and laughed. “Sorry, last time. I swear.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve officially lost all taste for coffee.”

“If you must know, he’s taking a shower.”

“And putting on the same clothes afterward?” I asked, trying not to cringe.

“We uh…got a little dirty last night,” she chuckled. “It was best he didn’t put on his clothes without cleaning up first.”

Thankfully, I hadn’t taken another sip of my coffee. I learned my lesson the first two times. “And? Is he everything you wanted?”

“And so much more,” she grinned.

“Well…cheers to that.”

“So…Kavanaugh…”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to talk about him right now. I was grateful he came home, but I missed him so much. One night with him wasn’t nearly enough.

Thankfully, the front door opened and Bowie walked out, shooting me an awkward smile. I was saved from having to discuss my relationship with Kavanaugh, but I wasn’t sure that was better than what I was now faced with. My eyes involuntarily drifted lower, hovering over the man’s groin. He chuckled, thrusting his hips forward.

“Oh God,” I groaned, covering my eyes.

Riley thought it was hilarious, throwing her head back and cackling at my uncomfortable situation.

“This is so embarrassing.”

“For you?” Bowie asked. “I was the one who was naked.”

“Yes, but I…saw things.”

“And?” he asked, grinning widely at me. “What did you think?” he asked, his voice lilting with a musical tone.

“I think you’re very well-manicured, and my sister is lucky.”

“Care to give me a spin?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows at me.

Riley smacked him, still laughing. “She’s embarrassed enough. Don’t make it worse. ”

“Yes, please don’t make it?—”

Something sharp pierced the window behind me, and then a cacophony of noise shattered the peace of the morning. Bowie shouted at us to duck, flinging himself over Riley and dragging me to the ground with them. I cried out as I hit the deck hard. My head bounced off the wood and my vision swam. My gaze strayed to the sight of bright flashes firing rapidly from the passing car. And right behind it was IKE, running flat out toward the car, firing his own weapon. The car took off, peeling down the street to get away.

“Inside!” Bowie shouted, hauling Riley off her feet.

I struggled to sit up, dazed and confused by the events occurring. It was only because Bowie grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet that I was even moving. But as soon as IKE turned to me, something in my brain clicked into place. My gaze locked with his for only a moment, and then I turned, running into the house behind Riley.

The door slammed behind me, and as I spun, I realized Bowie had locked us inside. Away from the bullets. Away from the man who wanted me dead.

Dead, and yet, not a single bullet hit me. Or Riley. Or even Bowie. Shawn was a cop. He trained all the time, he went to the shooting range and practiced until the cows came home. I knew him. He was a very good shot. And yet…

Yet, he didn’t hit me. That was strange. Either he didn’t want me dead and just wanted to scare me, or?—

“What the fuck was that?” Riley snapped.

I shoved my hair out of my face, shaking my head in confusion. “Someone tried to kill us.”

“Well, no shit! I swear to God, if this is because of Shawn, I’ll go shove my foot so far up his ass, sunshine will go through his mouth and straight out his shit hole!”

I tried to keep a straight face at her anger, but the visualization was almost too much to bear. Laughter burst from my lips before I could choke it back. It didn’t take long for Riley to join in, and before I knew it, we were laying on the floor, each of us holding our sides as hysterical laughter roared through us.

“What the fuck is this?” I heard Bowie mutter .

I rolled over, only to laugh again at the confusion on his face. “You should see your face,” I laughed, wiping the tears from my eyes.

“Fucking hell,” IKE muttered, stalking through the door. “What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Bowie said to him. “I walked in and found them like this.”

“Are you hurt?” IKE asked.

“No,” Riley said, trying to contain her laughter. “But Shawn’s about to have a gigantic shit hole filled with sunshine.”

I snorted in laughter, clutching my side as the guys stared at us in irritation and confusion. I choked back my laughter and smacked Riley until she stopped laughing. We both sat up, trying to keep straight faces as we stared at the muscular men blocking us inside.

“You realize someone just tried to kill you, right?” Bowie asked.

I nodded, slapping a hand over my mouth as I let out a weird noise, disguising my laughter. It wasn’t logical. Hell, none of this was something we should be laughing about, but I just kept picturing light beaming out of Shawn at all angles. Maybe I just needed to describe it.

“See, Riley said if it was Shawn, she was going to shove her foot so far up his ass that sunshine would go through his mouth and straight out his shit hole.”

IKE quirked an eyebrow at me, his arms crossed over his chest. “And that’s funny?”

Clearly, he had no sense of humor. “I’m sorry. You’re right,” I said solemnly. “It’s not funny at all.”

But Riley squeaked and we both lost it again. Frankly, it was ridiculous to even try to contain our laughter.

“Why can’t we just get the normal ones who are afraid?” Bowie asked.

IKE looked at Bowie strangely. “When are you going to learn that none of them are normal?”