Iron Willed Warrior (Last Refuge Protectors #5)

19. Brynn

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Brynn

The hike back to the resort was much faster than the trip out. It was downhill, but that wasn’t the real reason.

I wanted to get Cole back to our room. Now .

I couldn’t believe I’d done that. Letting Cole touch me, pleasure me, like I was made for it. He’d brought me to orgasm right there in the middle of the trail, fully aware that a bodyguard for the head of Stillwater was watching us. Anyone might’ve walked by. Of course, Cole had an eye on the area, but usually I was the one maintaining situational awareness.

But instead of being careful, I’d completely surrendered. Special Agent Somerton didn’t do things like that.

And it had been hot . Hotter than anything I’d ever experienced. What was it about this man?

As we rushed down the trail, we didn’t run into O’Hanlon or anyone else. Good thing, because I was in no mood to pretend to be Brianna. It had been hard enough to keep up the fiction when we’d been on the trail.

I didn’t want Cameron. I wanted Cole . Wanted to give him just as much wild pleasure as he had given me.

We burst into the hotel room, already kissing, hands roving. Cole managed to slam the door shut and flip the lock. Then he pressed me to the closed surface, his mouth dominating mine. Tongue sliding and stroking.

His erection had flagged on the way back, and now I felt him hardening against me again. I fit my hands between our bodies. Flicked open the button of his fly and moved the zipper down to reach inside.

My fist closed around his thickness, and Cole tipped his head back as he groaned low in his chest.

“Need you,” I said hoarsely. “Right now.”

“Bedroom.”

“No. Can’t wait that long.”

His nostrils flared. Glancing around the room, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the couch nearby. Cole bounced on the cushion as he sat, then pulled me down onto his lap, just like we’d been positioned earlier on the flat rock overlooking the valley. But now, the soft upholstery of the couch provided a much more welcoming surface. My hips moved involuntarily, grinding me against him.

I’d never felt this kind of urgency. This uncontrollable frenzy to have a man inside of me.

Somehow, I pushed my shorts and panties down my thighs, lifting my legs to get them off. Cole pushed down his own shorts and boxers and his cock popped free, smacking his T-shirt over his stomach. He held his shaft at the base and squeezed.

“You sure you want this?” he asked.

Since my ex had left me, I had second-guessed every moment of intimacy with other men. Distrust had become my default. But being with Cole this way felt…simple. With him, I could just let go. Because I knew he’d be right there with me.

“I want it more than anything.”

He notched himself at my entrance, and I sank down. His blue eyes held me as his cock filled me inch by inch. Cole arched upwards, and I moaned at the sensation of him pushing deep. Taking my breath, touching places inside me I hadn’t allowed any man in too long.

This was exactly what I wanted. What I needed .

I still had my skirt on. He pushed up the fabric and gripped my hips as we rocked in a faster rhythm. My chest was tight, the skin of my stomach flushed with heat. The way he watched me, the lust but also the awe I saw in his gaze, made tingles of pleasure race along my limbs.

“ Brynn ,” he said, just before he cupped the back of my neck and kissed me. His tongue licked into my mouth, owning me with hot, filthy strokes as his cock thrust into my pussy. The scents of sweat, salt, and sex mingled in the room.

I gripped his strong, broad shoulders and bounced in his lap. Pushing away everything but the pressure of him inside me, the perfect way my clit rubbed against him. And that hungry look he gave me. I couldn’t get enough of that.

“So good,” he purred. “Ride me like you mean it. Take what you need, because I can’t last much longer, and I wanna feel you lose control first. Wanna see that pretty face twisted up with pleasure.”

So Cole was a talker during sex. I loved that.

I was close. Every part of me tensing as electric pleasure built between my legs. Then his large hands squeezed my ass, his hips bucking hard, and I careened straight off the edge. My fingers grasped at his short hair and I rubbed my face against his, feeling the soft abrasion of his whiskers on my cheek. I rode him as wave after wave zapped through me and left me breathless.

I was still coming when Cole let out a choked cry, and I felt his spasms inside me.

When the intensity faded, our faces were still pressed together. He hummed and trailed wet kisses across my cheek. “Told you my plan for today would be fun.”

“You had this part planned too?”

“Not specifically. But was I hoping? Hell yeah, I was.”

His arms wrapped around me like he didn’t intend to let me go anywhere. I smiled with my eyes closed. I wasn’t ready for this moment to end yet either.

He chuckled. “Been wanting to get you naked since the minute I saw you. Know what? I’m the exact kind of horny bastard you accused me of being.” To accentuate the point, he pinched my butt cheek.

My eyes popped open, jaw dropping in pretend shock. “Scandalous.”

We both smiled and then laughed. With the movement of my body, I felt him still inside me. Oh . He was softening, but yes, I felt him.

His eyelids got heavy. He exhaled and kissed me gently. “Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did,” he said.

“Every bit.” In fact, I wasn’t opposed to more. It was just past lunchtime. We weren’t due anywhere until dinner, and we’d certainly made an impact already today.

With luck, I’d have Garon’s attention again this evening, as well as his competitiveness to steal me from Cameron.

But with Cole’s lips on mine and our bodies still connected in the most intimate way, all I really wanted—even more than defeating the head of Stillwater—was to hold on to this warm, comfortable feeling. Maybe I should’ve been concerned about that.

Sadly, I couldn’t linger there forever, so I got up and pushed my skirt back down. Cole was quick to tug up his shorts.

A jolt of shyness made me hesitate, which was ridiculous. He had just been inside me, and I certainly hadn’t shown any inhibitions on the hiking trail. “I’m going to get cleaned up.” I started toward the bathroom, then added, “We could try out the Jacuzzi tub after. If you want.”

“That is an excellent idea.” His mouth quirked wickedly, revealing his incisor on one side. “Wouldn’t want our room upgrade to go to waste. But I should see if River has written back yet.”

I cursed myself for not thinking of it. “You’re right. I’ll be out in a minute.”

I went into the bathroom. Too quickly, the perfect comfort I’d been feeling on the couch evaporated, replaced by the knowledge that I should be focusing on our mission. As Cole had just reminded me.

I didn’t want this to be a mistake.

Please don’t let it be a mistake .

After rinsing off, I wrapped myself in a towel and emerged from the bathroom. It was either that or put my sweaty, dirty clothes back on.

I stepped into the room, finding Cole on the laptop. “Nothing from River yet. I guess for the moment, no news is good news.” He shut the lid of the device and leaned back in his seat, letting his eyes trace over me from head to toe.

“Shower’s free,” I said.

“Is that a hint that I smell bad?”

I tilted my head, giving him a sardonic look. Actually, his scent was already turning me on again. “After the hike and what we got up to after? I’d say we both need it.”

“I’ll shower. But I want you to come here first.” His tone had dipped back to a lower octave. That voice was hypnotic.

I couldn’t explain the effect this man had on me. Especially when he turned all grumpy and gruff.

“I’m supposed to follow your orders?” I asked, but I was already walking over to him .

As soon as I was close enough, he pulled me down to sit on the knee of his right leg. With his teeth digging into his lower lip, he hooked one finger into the top of my towel. “Can I?”

I lowered my hands, a silent agreement. Do what you want to me . Cole tugged again at the towel, and it opened, pooling around my hips. He groaned as my breasts and stomach came into view.

“Hot damn, you are gorgeous, B.”

My nipples beaded in the air-conditioned chill. Cole brought a finger to one of them and circled the nub. My breaths came faster. His same finger drew a line between my breasts, down my stomach, and all the way between my legs. I gasped as he found those spots that drove me wild. Just a couple of times together so far, and he was getting to know my body well.

“Want to make you come again.” He dropped a kiss to my collarbone. His tongue darted out to lick a bead of water. “But I want to do it in that big tub.”

I playfully pushed away his hand. “Then get cleaned up. You’re too dirty for the bath.”

“I’ll show you dirty.” He pinned me with his arms and rubbed his salty cheek between my breasts. Laughing, I pushed at him and tried to get up.

“Jerk!”

Cole let me go, grinning. And my heart gave a powerful thump. I wouldn’t have described this rugged man as beautiful before, but right now, that fit him perfectly.

I picked up the towel that had fallen to the floor. But Cole swiped it from me. “It’s a crime to cover a view that spectacular.”

My skin heated with a blush. I grabbed the towel back, draping it over my front. All Cole did was smirk at me, stand up, and start stripping his clothes on the way to the bathroom. I felt my eyes bugging as he shoved his boxers down, stepping out of them as he went. The tight muscles of his glutes flexed.

My towel fell to the floor, and I left it there.

When I followed Cole into the bathroom, he was sitting on the edge of the tub and removing his prosthesis. “Want me to switch on the water in the shower?” I asked.

“Nah. I’ve got it. Not my first time showering on one foot, honey.”

“Right.” I was an idiot. But Cole laughed, a sound I was coming to crave way too much.

“You just let me get away with calling you honey,” he pointed out.

I totally had. But him saying it today sounded far different than before. Today, I’d kind of liked it. “Would you rather I get pissed?”

“No, I’d rather you let me kiss you.” He set his prosthesis and the inner sock on the tile, then spread his legs so I could stand between them. Cole’s hands rested on my hips, bringing me close enough to kiss each of my nipples, tongue flicking over them. Desire ignited my bloodstream. Pulsed between my legs.

Somehow, with Cole and me both stark naked amid all this white marble tile and bright light, this scene felt just as scandalous as what we’d done on the hiking trail. He was supposed to be my partner. Sleeping with him, in the middle of a mission no less, went against every iota of my training.

Such a bad idea , I thought for the hundredth time since last night. But this felt too wonderful to stop.

“Start the bath,” he said. “I’ll join you in a minute.”

He got up, balancing on his right foot, and hopped to the shower. My mouth went dry as every muscle and sinew in his body went taut. His raw strength, built through hard work and years of experience, was undeniable. The scars on his skin spoke to his bravery. Everything he’d been through.

And then watching the shower spray roll down every angle and line of that breathtaking body?

I’d said before that he might be one of the sexiest men I’d seen. It was no longer a contest.

I managed to tear my gaze from him long enough to get hot water pouring into the tub. While it filled, I got in and rested my chin on the edge, still watching Cole through the glass walls of the shower. He was soaping up his arms, stomach, cock. Every couple minutes our eyes met, both of us smiling. But as he finished up, and the hot water lapped around my hips in the tub, it felt like the connection between us pulled taut. Rich with anticipation.

He switched off the water and pushed open the shower door. “This part might be less sexy,” he joked.

“Not possible.”

“Yet I suspect slipping on the wet floor and falling on my face is not a good way to impress you.”

“You’ve already impressed me. Twice today, in fact,” I added with a teasing wink.

“There’s more where that came from. I promise.” Cole sat down on the shower mat just outside the door. He’d already set a fresh, rolled-up towel within reach, and he used that to dry off a bit. Then, with a devious look, he spread the towel out to cover the short distance between the shower and the tub.

And proceeded to crawl toward me like some Apex predator toward his next meal.

He had said this wouldn’t be sexy?

When he reached the side of the tub, he got in. I moved back to make room. Hot water sloshed around us both.

Cole relaxed with his back to one end of the tub. I turned around so that I sat between his legs, resting against his chest. His right leg was bent, the left stretched out. With us both in the tub, the water had nearly reached the top, so I switched off the faucets.

“Want to turn on the water jets?” he asked.

“I’d rather just sit with you.” Settling back against Cole in the hot water, I was instantly surrounded by comfort. I breathed out and relaxed. “How does this feel so right?” I murmured.

He brought a hand to rest on my stomach. “I keep asking myself the same thing.”

Neither of us spoke for a while, just soaking in the ambience.

“Would you tell me about your family?” I said.

His thumb drew a semi-circle on my stomach. I felt him swallow, and I thought he might not answer me. I remembered from our previous conversations that his family hadn’t helped him after he was wounded. So clearly there were some kind of story there.

I was curious about this man. Cole intrigued me in a way no one else had in a long time. After my ex left, I hadn’t let myself get close enough to someone romantically to get to this step. Not just sharing mind-blowing orgasms, but truths about ourselves. Whether he wanted to share his past with me was another issue.

“I never knew my biological parents,” he said. “My mom was young when she had me, probably a runaway. That’s the theory, anyway. She abandoned me at a hospital when I was two.”

“Oh, Cole. That’s rough.” I was sure he didn’t want or need useless platitudes. But it was still hard to hear.

“I ended up in foster care. Was placed with a few different families, and the last one stuck. They fostered a lot of kids, and Mom and Dad were older by the time I came to them. But they were great. If anything, they should’ve been more selfish, because they gave absolutely everything to us and kept nothing in the tank for themselves. Never stopped putting other people first.” His chest moved against me as he breathed. “They both passed away while I was in the service.”

“They sound like amazing people. You must miss them.”

“They were. And…yeah,” he said softly. “I do.”

I rested my head against his shoulder. Reached for the hand that wasn’t already touching me to lace our fingers. “Do you have foster siblings?”

“None that I’m close to. So that’s why my family hasn’t been in the picture for a while. What about you? What’s your family like?”

“I didn’t know my father either. My mom and I lived with her brother. My uncle. He was…not a kind man, unfortunately.” Unlike Cole’s foster parents, my uncle had been a jerk, and my mom hadn’t been willing or able to stand up to him.

“Is this uncle still around?”

I knew that tone. It was the same one Cole used whenever he was getting protective. And potentially murderous towards anyone who’d hurt me. “Yes, but I haven’t seen him in a long time. He wasn’t physically abusive. Uncle Jim loved to tell me how weak I was, how I’d never amount to anything. What a fool I was for studying hard, or applying for scholarships, or thinking about enlisting.”

“I’m sorry, B. Clearly he was wrong.”

My eyes stung, and that made me feel ridiculous. I was glad Cole couldn’t see.

“In a way, he did me a favor. Gave me something to fight against. It was the best feeling in the world when I made it through boot camp. Like a big middle finger to him and anyone else who’d doubted me.” I blinked at the bathroom ceiling, but I was smiling. I hated that I still heard my uncle’s voice in my head sometimes. But I had proved him wrong. About my career accomplishments, at least.

“I sent Uncle Jim an invitation to my graduation ceremony at Quantico after I finished FBI training. He didn’t come, and I didn’t expect him to. But I would’ve loved to see the look on his face. Knowing I was an FBI special agent.” I closed my eyes. All kinds of emotions were bubbling up before I could stop them. “Thank goodness he didn’t find out about my engagement and how that ended. Uncle Jim would’ve been the first to say I told you so.”

“You were engaged?”

Dang it, why had I said that?

Probably because I’d been too comfortable. It was way too easy to let down my guard when I was with Cole.

He had already guessed that someone had broken my heart. Maybe I should just rip the Band-Aid off. Tell him the rest of my deep dark secrets, since the man had been so open with me.

I splashed warm water onto us. “It ended a couple years ago.” Before I’d met my best friend Charlotte. “You’ve probably heard this one before. Girl meets the perfect guy. Falls in love. Not just with him, but with his family too. The big, happy family she always wanted. They decide to get married.” Shame and anger swirled in my stomach. “Then, guy gets cold feet and backs out. Confesses he never loved her that much anyway.”

My ex was a professional mountaineer. He’d been the guide for a climbing trip I took, and I’d fallen for him up on the summit of a fourteener. I had believed every pretty word that came out of his mouth. As if my life had turned into a fairy tale.

Cole muttered a curse. He turned me so I was cradled against his chest. Stroked my arm and kissed my hair. “That’s a reflection on him, not you. ”

“But I was the fool who believed in him. In us. I should’ve known he was too good to be true.” Full of promises and short on followthrough.

Then last year, I had learned that a fellow FBI agent, another man I had trusted implicitly, was working for Stillwater. And my faith in my own judgment had crumbled even more.

Which was just a reminder that I shouldn’t get carried away. Whatever this was between me and Cole, however perfect he seemed to be, I had to be careful. Couldn’t risk my heart. Not ever again.

Cole’s fingers touched my chin, angling my head so my eyes met his. And it felt like he could read everything that was going through my mind.

“There is no shame in believing someone’s promises. Even if they break them. That doesn’t make you weak. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do.” My throat felt too thick. I shrugged. Maybe Cole was thinking of his ex-wife. Maybe I wasn’t the only one in this tub who knew what broken-hearted felt like.

“But I can think of more fun activities than talking about our past,” I said.

“You did start it.”

I shifted so I was kneeling between his spread thighs. Water sloshed around us against the sides of the tub. “And now, I’m starting this .”

I pressed my naked body into his, and I kissed him.