Atomic Beauty (3 page)

A moment of hesitation struck. Erika knew this decision could come back to bite her in the ass.

Jace's fingers looped around the heart-shaped locket hanging from her neck. Her hand shot up to protect it.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing. It's me. My mom gave me this. It's special.” She never took it off, not even in the shower. And she sure as hell didn't let anyone look at the picture inside.

“So are you, angel.”

Her gaze locked onto his and her heart sighed. Leaving, letting go of Jace was going to hurt more than she wanted to think about later. But, for now, she wanted this man.

She leaned forward and kissed him.

“You had fair warning,” he said against her lips. His body trembled, his tight-gripped control obviously faltering as he put his hands down at his sides and leaned back. “Either you get this going or I will.”

If she were going to do this, and God how she wanted to, she needed to stay in control because when it was over she had to find her bearings again. She grabbed the waistband of his jeans and he lifted his hips for her. She tugged them down and pulled them off. His boxers quickly followed.

Erika shimmied out of her black denims, and then her black silk panties.

“Jesus, you're gonna end this before it gets started with that rockin' bod of yours, angel.”

“I already told you I'm not an angel.”

“Yes, you are. You saved me.”

Well, damn, that was the sexiest thing any man had said to her. Did he need saving? Was he lost? That why he'd double-crossed the agency and hit the pavement? She'd worry about that later. Right now, there was a naked man in front of her, cock pulsing with the rapid beat of his heart, and she needed to know what he tasted like.

She dropped to her knees and stretched her body over him, her breasts grazing his thighs as she settled in between his legs. Contact made her skin tingle, like a thousand tiny pins applying gentle pressure, skittering across her flesh.

Her grip tightened around his thighs and then moved north until his rigid shaft was firmly in her hand.

His guttural groan was all the encouragement she needed to take the pink tip of his engorged head in her mouth, and then slide down his shaft.

The second her tongue licked from his base to his tip, his entire body tensed. She drove him deep inside her mouth, and then did it again as his breath quickened and muscles tensed. His body trembled, needing release, and she enjoyed the power she had over him.

To be honest, she'd wanted this and so much more from the moment she first laid eyes on Jace.

Droplets of his cream swirled on his tip. She lapped them up with her tongue.

“Fuck's sake, angel—” He sat up straight. “You're going to destroy me.”

In one motion, he lifted her as he stood. Her legs wrapped around his midsection, gripping him tightly, his lips had found hers and he didn't break the connection as he moved toward the wall where his bed was tucked. “Now it's your turn.”

Her arms around his neck, her fingernails dug into his shoulders for support as he unlocked the bed. It tumbled down next to them.

“You're so fuckin' hot.”

With his hands all over her, she felt like she might combust. Need surged through her like a thousand joules of electricity, a lightning bolt exciting her nervous system.

Before she could think about anything else, his weight was pressed onto her and his lips were all over hers as his tongue delved deep inside her mouth, licking, swirling.

* * *

Jace thrust his thick and heavy cock into the damp cradle of Erika's pussy, figuring he was about the luckiest idiot on earth about now with her soft-as-silk legs wrapped around him. He ran his finger along the inside of her calf, up her thigh, and couldn't hold back a grin as goose bumps rose across her skin under his touch.

Her sharp intake of air vibrated against his lips. Her breath was ragged as he captured her nipple in between his thumb and forefinger, using his left arm to hold most of his weight so he wouldn't crush her into the mattress.

Those lethal lips of hers had almost made him explode when they'd closed around his cock, but he couldn't think about himself. He needed to make sure she came first. Maybe it was selfish. Hell, he needed to hear her shout his name as he rode her over the edge, into the abyss and beyond.

She'd taken him there, to the edge, and it was all he could do to hold back. Now, it was her turn.

There was a better way to make her squirm. He pushed up on his knees, placed his hands on the insides of her thighs, and pushed them apart. He licked his lips at the sight of the dark curls positioned above her damp pussy. Christ, she was perfection. “Relax and enjoy.”

“Relax?” She eased out a breath as he leaned his face over her pussy and drew circles in those dark curls with his thumb.

Whatever the hell was going on between him and Erika was more than just physical. Although he'd taken matters into his own hands and drained himself in the shower plenty of times over the past few weeks thinking about that hot body of hers. Jace's hesitation about fucking her had been because of his conscience, not because he doubted the sex would blow their minds. It bothered him that she had no idea who he really was, that he'd been lying to her since day one, and he had no idea where the out-of-the-blue wave of guilt had come from. All he knew was that shit had careened out of control between them fast and with his past he was sure to disappoint her if he allowed this attraction to go any further.

Gripping both sides of her sweet ass, he leaned forward and laved his tongue on her clit and then delved inside her. His balls tightened when her fingers tunneled in his hair and dug into his scalp.

He sucked and licked her tiny bud as her body clenched and she moaned his name.

She was on the tip when she said, “I want you inside me. Now.”

“That an order?” She squirmed again when he dipped his tongue inside her. If heaven had a taste, it was the sweet honey of Erika's pussy.

His cock was already so hard, he was afraid he'd blow it the second his tip entered her.

Moving up her body, licking her belly button, her stomach, her fuckin' pert breasts, Jace battled to control his own body. He didn't want to come so fast. “Baby-doll, you're so fuckin' sexy. But we gotta slow down. I want this to last.”

Her answer came in the form of her fingers wrapping around his cock.

He was way beyond thinking rationally at this point, but they needed protection. He pushed up and snatched a condom from the night stand, which doubled as a side table when the bed was put away. He tucked the corner of the package in between his teeth and ripped it open. His hands were shaky so the condom spilled out.

Erika snatched the rubber before it hit the bed.
What was that about?

“Damn fast reflexes, angel.”

“My hand was already there. You were taking too long and I was about to rip it out of your teeth,” Erika said, trying to play off her mistake and hoping like hell Jace bought it. No woman would react that quickly unless she'd been trained. Erika had been so careful about making sure she hid her…talents up to now. To distract him, she placed the condom on the pink tip of his cock and rolled it down his shaft, stroking him.

Luckily, he didn't stay interested in her freakish ability to snatch a falling object out of thin air for long. But, damn, that mistake pretty much ensured that Erika needed to get the hell out of there. There'd be no encore to this sex no matter how badly her body would crave it.

As Erika pulled Jace on top of her, he seemed to forget all about her little slip. Being caught up in the moment had its benefits.

He might put two and two together later, but she intended to be long gone by then.

With his body on top of hers, his weight pressing her against the mattress, Erika didn't care about anything but the sweet feel of his cock against her wet heat. A little part of her wished this could last for more than one night. But she'd always lived in the moment. And even if Jace weren't a high-value target, there was no way they could be in a relationship. Her life didn't work that way. And neither did his.

His fingers stroked the tender inside skin of her leg on the way to her clit. He repositioned himself in between her thighs, cock to pussy, and she encircled her fingers around his thick shaft as she guided him, quivering as he dipped his tip inside and then pulled out.

He teased his cock inside again, and her whole body cried out for more.

“Don't stop, Jace.”

“You want more?”

“I want it all.” Truer words had never been spoken and she meant more than just sex with him. And yet, she had no right to expect anything close. Not in her line of work.

He thrust his hips, in and out, and she matched his stride, his intensity, his pitch. He plunged slowly at first, shallow little strokes, and her body burned for more until she thought her mind might explode from ecstasy.

Quickening the pace, deepening the penetration sent electricity rocketing through her, leaving her craving more. Deeper. Faster.

Erika reached the edge and tried like hell not to tip over. Not yet. She wanted to stay in the moment. All his muscles tightened and she knew he was on the brink, too.

She dug her fingernails into his back, begging him to ride her harder. Oh. God. This. Felt. So. Fuckin'. Amazing. She bucked her hips faster, harder, matching the fervor in his strokes.

On the edge, she craved the release that Jace could give her. God, she wanted, no
needed
, to soar.

Her mind began to spin, her body rocketed into orbit. She felt his body tense as he made the climb with her. Pushing. Faster. Harder.

More.

With a feral, sexy-as-hell groan, he detonated at the same time as her muscles exploded, tensing and releasing around his shaft.

He stayed on top of her, inside her, moving slowly as he drained every last spasm from her.

Breath ragged, heart pounding, Erika didn't move.

Jace dipped his head and kissed her, his tongue sweeping her mouth.

The steady hum of a cell phone vibrated on the table next to them. He ignored it, deepening the kiss.

It had barely stopped when it started buzzing again, which didn't seem to bother Jace. Erika's pulse, on the other hand, kicked up a notch. Had she made another mistake? Was it the satellite phone in her boot making that noise and not his cell? She'd never doubted herself before. Her carefully constructed wall was being chipped away being this close to him. She was getting too comfortable. Yet another reason to get out no matter how much her heart protested.

“Ignore it. I am,” Jace said, after pulling back from the kiss, and settling onto the bed beside her. He hauled her into the crook of his arm, and she noticed, maybe for the last time, the way her body liquefied this close to him, molding to fit his.

He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose.

The phone buzzed a third time.

“Fuck,” Jace muttered. “Hold that thought, baby-doll. I'll be right back.”

He moved to the edge of the bed, naked and glorious as sunlight streamed in from the partially opened blinds, and reached for his phone.

“This better be important.” He paused, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Right now?” Another pause. “Okay, okay. Just let me grab a shower and I'll be right there.”

He said a few uh-huhs into the phone before ending the call and tossing his cell onto the nightstand. “Knew I shouldn't have answered it. Buddy of mine needs a favor. Stay here. I'll be back in time for lunch.”

“That's a shame. I wasn't finished with you.” She drew circles on the tattoo on his wrist. A couple of hours was all she needed to find what she was looking for. She couldn't help but wonder if he knew she'd be gone—as in forever—by the time he got back, if he would still go?

Erika definitely needed her screwed-up head examined later because she was losing her grip on reality. Bag the elephant, get an MRI, go back to a normal life.

He kissed her, hard, and she kissed him back even harder. Next thing she knew, his body was against hers, her back flat on the bed, and she felt his weight on top of her again. Damned if everything in the screwed-up world seemed right in that moment. She wrote the sentiment off as the afterglow from great sex.

The cell buzzed again. “Dammit.”

He checked the screen, denied the call and then whispered, “Wait here for me.”

Maybe it was because it came out so soft, like a plea, or that he'd taken such good care of her the night before, but she agreed.

He made a move to get up. She caught his elbow and tugged him back down for one last kiss.

Jace pulled back first, looked her dead in the eye and said, “I meant it when I said I wanted you to stay. Eat breakfast. Check your email. I'll be back in a couple of hours.”

Erika smiled up at him, hiding the raw sinking feeling in her stomach, and nodded.

Jace moved to the bathroom and started the shower.

With any luck, she could be out of there before he finished. She'd given a piece of her heart to him and there was no taking it back now. There was no reason to stick around. Besides, she didn't
do
goodbyes. And if she had to look into those blues one more time, she might just change her mind and stay. That could be a deadly mistake. At some point, he'd remember her little slip from earlier. His subconscious was already working out the problem—a problem he would solve. The truth would eventually surface that she was a spy and he'd kill her.

Erika's heart beat in painful stabs as she moved to the desk and opened his laptop. Her limbs were heavy. The air thinned and breathing hurt. Her pain had nothing to do with the aftershocks of her migraine and everything to do with the thought of leaving Jace.

She fisted her hands, took a deep serrated breath and booted the laptop. She entered his password and waited. He'd started whistling in the shower a few feet away.