The Spy (King’s Security #3)

Chapter 17

17

FIONA

I hurried to the laptop and watched the little dot that represented Bergen move steadily down the street and around a corner. He was moving quickly enough that he must be in a car. He traversed the city, pausing in a few places, but not for long enough to suggest he’d actually gotten out of the car. He was probably just stuck in traffic in the busier areas.

Zeke sat beside me and we didn’t speak until Bergen finally came to a stop in a run-down commercial area. I brought it up on Google maps and looked at the satellite imagery. Several storefronts were boarded up, with only a vape shop and a convenience store that seemed to be open to the public—assuming the images were up-to-date.

“I have a better idea,” Zeke said.

He navigated away from the satellite imagery and switched through a few tabs, typing furiously. In a few minutes, a series of camera displays filled the screen, each of them showing a different angle on what appeared to be the same street.

“How did you—”

“Don’t ask,” Zeke cut in. “It’s best if you don’t know.”

I frowned, but when Bergen appeared on screen, I didn’t pursue the matter. My ex looked different from yesterday. He wore a sports jacket with a woolen hat pulled over his head and a scarf twisted around his neck. Only a slice of his face was visible between the scarf and the hat, but I’d recognize him anywhere. His jeans were scuffed, and he kept his head low as he hesitated, glanced around, and went to one of the boarded-up shops. He unlocked the door and let himself in.

“That’s got to be it,” I exclaimed. “That’s where he’s keeping the painting.”

“We can’t know that for sure,” Zeke replied. “But it does seem suspicious.”

I stood. “Then let’s go.”

He leaned back against the sofa and laced his hands together behind his head. “Go where?”

“To catch him in the act.” I waved at the computer screen. “This is the perfect time. If we go now and prove that he has it, the police will be able to arrest him and get it back.”

Every minute we weren’t getting closer to that shop was a minute wasted.

“We need to wait.” His tone was blunt, but his expression was apologetic. “We don’t want to rush in without a plan, and without knowing what kind of protective measures he has in place. The building might be alarmed, or he could have an armed guard. By the time we get there, he could be gone. It would take us a while to travel over, and he may not intend to stay long.”

“But what if he moves it again?” I couldn’t believe we were just going to sit here and let him do whatever he wanted.

“Then we’ll track him and see where he takes it,” Zeke said, far too reasonably. “We have the upper hand because he doesn’t know that we know where he is. He’s probably on edge after the incident on the yacht. If we wait another day, he might let his guard down. It’s important that he doesn’t know we’re coming.”

My chest felt hot and tight. I wanted to argue, but as much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I’d been so hung up on wanting him to trust me, but in order for that to happen, I had to make trustworthy decisions. I couldn’t allow my years of festering anger to take the lead.

“Okay,” I said. “When would you recommend going there?”

His smile loosened the tension in my chest. “Tomorrow night. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on anywhere else he goes in case he leads us somewhere even better.”

I gritted my teeth at the thought of delaying for so long, but I managed to keep my impatience in check. “Should we tell the police? It would be nice to give them a lead to follow that doesn’t come back to me.”

“How do you suggest we tell them we got the information?” Zeke asked. “Tell them we tampered with his phone and added an illegal location tracker?”

“What about an anonymous tip?” If Bergen could threaten me with that, surely we could return the favor.

“At this point, I doubt anything we give them will be enough for them to act on. If we wait until tomorrow, we can at least give them a firsthand account rather than a guess.”

I rubbed my temples, my head beginning to ache. I’d often believed Zeke did whatever he liked and dealt with the consequences later. It would seem I’d been wrong, because I really wished he’d do that now, but I could tell he wasn’t going to budge.

“So until tomorrow night, we just sit here and watch a dot move around on a screen?” I let frustration enter my voice.

“And we make plans so we don’t end up in hot water,” he said.

I growled. I understood the need for delay, but I didn’t like it.

“Hey, it’s not all bad.” Zeke’s voice was teasing. He pushed the laptop aside and dropped to his knees in front of me, bracketing me between his arms. “It means we get to spend more time together.”

“I suppose so,” I allowed, heat blossoming low in my core.

His hands traveled up my legs, to the tops of my thighs. “I bet I could distract you.”

I smiled slowly. “I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

“Nope.” He sat back on his heels and smirked. “I need enthusiastic participation or none at all.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “Please distract me, Zeke. I want it.”

“That’s more like it.”

He pushed my skirt up to reveal my panties. Whichever woman had packed my bag had opted to include my more sensible pairs—a smart call, but I couldn’t help wishing Zeke could see me in lace. I raised my hips and he pulled them down. He hovered above me, his breath teasing my oversensitive flesh. His tongue darted over me and I gasped, my hips instinctively chasing him.

He licked me again, with more pressure. I relaxed against the sofa and enjoyed the play of his tongue over me, and the way his lips rubbed my clit. Even though he’d shaved yesterday, his cheeks were stubbly already and the rasp of them felt wonderful against my thighs .

He sucked his finger into his mouth, then worked the wet digit inside me. When he stroked me and made love to me with his tongue at the same time, I lost my mind. I arched toward him, begging mindlessly. He hummed his approval and the vibrations made me groan.

When he stopped, I cried out in protest.

“Whose mouth is on you?” he demanded.

I stared at him in confusion. “Well, yours was .”

“Exactly.” He grinned. “Mine. Not Bergen’s. I’m not him. You get that, right?”

“I do,” I said. “I promise. Please don’t stop.”

“Never.”

He gave me what I needed, murmuring how beautiful I was and how much he wanted me. When a wave of pleasure washed through me, my limbs tingling pleasantly, I sighed his name, and I could have sworn I heard him whisper something in response, but in my blissed-out state, I couldn’t understand the words.

ZEKE

I was achingly hard, but I tried to pull away as Fiona came down from her post-orgasm high. I’d successfully distracted her, but I needed to keep my distance or I’d go overboard. I couldn’t think straight when I wanted her so badly.

“Don’t.” Her fingers tightened in my hair. “I can sense you retreating.”

I nuzzled against her. “Not for good. You need a moment to catch your breath.” And I needed to remember that she wasn’t mine yet, as much as I might want her to be .

“No, I don’t.” She smiled lazily. “That’s just you thinking you know what’s best for me. What I actually need is your cock in my mouth.”

My cock throbbed. It liked that idea. Fuck. I didn’t ask if she was sure, because if I’d learned one thing about Fiona, it was that she didn’t like to be questioned when she’d already made her thoughts clear. Besides, what kind of moron would I be to turn that down?

“Where do you want me?” I asked.

She turned herself around on the sofa so she was lying along it lengthwise. “I’m too boneless to move. Can you make this work?”

Was she inviting me to straddle her and fuck her face?

Oh hell, yes.

“I’d say so, yeah.” I climbed over her, with a knee on either side of her body, and crawled up until my groin was level with her mouth. I unzipped my pants, shoved them down, and placed my hands on the arm of the sofa, leaning my weight on them as I angled myself toward her mouth. Fiona’s slender fingers encircled my cock and directed it into the wet heat. She sucked, and I groaned in response. She tilted her head and reached around to grip my ass and urge me forward.

“Fuck, Fi.” I moaned as she took me deep. “That’s so hot.”

When she swallowed around my length, her throat milking me, my hips stuttered and I had to struggle not to come. I wanted to enjoy this, not give her the impression I couldn’t last long enough to satisfy her. A woman like Fiona had standards, and I’d meet them if it killed me.

I thrust into her gently, keeping my strokes shallow. She sucked, her lips stretched around my cock, and her eyes glazed with lust. She was easily the most enticing view I’d ever seen .

“You take me so beautifully,” I praised.

That seemed to encourage her, and it wasn’t long before she’d taken me right to the edge. I was shaking, cursing, letting her hear my appreciation. When my balls tightened and tingles started at the base of my spine, I tried to pull back, but she held me in place. Panting, I emptied in her mouth, shuddering as she gently licked my oversensitive cock. Before I collapsed and hurt her, I flopped onto the thin strip of sofa between her and the edge and wrapped my arms around her.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

She smiled like a cat with the cream. “I enjoyed it.”

“Me too.”

She laughed, the sound husky from the way I’d used her throat. “I never saw us ending up here.”

I kissed her cheek. “I did, but I wasn’t sure how I’d ever get past your dislike of me.”

She grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. It wasn’t fair of me to think the worst of you just because of how you look. It wasn’t intentional, but I should have done better.”

I secured her against my chest. “I get it.”

I knew how it felt to be betrayed. Perhaps her betrayal hadn’t resulted in any physical harm coming to her, but it had still completely upended her life. Some people might say Bergen had destroyed the life she’d built, but I happened to think she’d risen from the ashes pretty damn impressively. I wanted to tell her how much I could sympathize, but that would mean being open about things I’d never talked about. Not even Ronan and Kade knew the full story of how I’d ended my employment with the agency. They knew I wasn’t on good terms with my former bosses. I hadn’t wanted to relive the trauma I’d been through, and at the time, it hadn’t seemed necessary. Now, though? Now, maybe, it was .

If I wanted a real chance with Fiona, I’d have to share my history with her. We couldn’t have a relationship built on lies. And yeah, she hadn’t said she wanted a relationship with me, but if I wanted that to change, I had to do something about it. She’d trusted me when she jumped off the side of the Claudette and plunged into Lake Michigan. In return, she’d discovered that I’d kept things from her. It was time to show her that I trusted her in return.

“Hey, Fi?”

“Mm?” She turned to me sleepily, but something in my expression must have startled her because she frowned and tried to sit up straight. We shuffled around together until we were side by side on the sofa. “What is it?”

I hesitated. “There’s something I’d like to share with you, but you can’t ever repeat it to anyone else. Not even your closest friends. If you’d rather, I can keep it to myself, but you’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to tell.”