Beyond the Call of Duty (7 page)

“Mr. Elliott, when we have everything thought out, we’ll be more than happy to let you know our plans.”

Gabe looked over the man who spoke to him. “Where are Joe and Gerald?”

“Off duty, sir. I’m Luke, and that’s my partner Molly. We’ll be taking the day shift for you and Lexi.”

“I’m Gabe, and since what you’re discussing does concern me, I’d appreciate being told about it now.” He took a sip of the coffee, almost gagging at the consistency. It was like drinking thick acid. He set down the cup, going to the refrigerator and getting out the milk. Adding a healthy dollop, he stirred it carefully, waving at Luke to continue.

“Well, sir...we thought about moving you and Agent Hunter today. Since her part in this was blown yesterday, we think it might be best to relocate you.”

“Since that makes sense, why is there a big discussion about it?” He lifted the spoon out of the coffee, amazed to see it was still in one piece, and then took another sip, turning and cocking an eye at Luke as he hesitated.

“It isn’t about relocating you, Mr. Elliott,” Molly said, interrupting her partner. “We are having problems coming up with where we should take you.”

“What are our options?” Gabe asked, glancing up.

Luke glanced at Molly and Jack, and then back at Gabe. “That’s need to know, sir.”

“Since it’s my body you’re moving, I think I need to know.” He let some of his aggravation through in his tone of voice. He didn’t drop his gaze from Molly’s eyes even when he felt Lexi come into the room. He could smell her, the lotion she’d used last night, and the same aroma that had still been on his body this morning. It was a sweet smell, one he wouldn’t mind smelling every day of the rest of his life. That thought shook him, and he glanced her way, losing Molly’s gaze.

“I think you should tell us what Gabe wants to know, Molly.”

Molly suddenly looked as if she’d like to be anywhere but in the kitchen facing Lexi. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she said suddenly. “It’s that Jack said not...to...” She moved across the kitchen to stand by her partner, glancing over at Jack.

* * * *

“He told you not to...tell me?” Lexi asked. Gabe reached out, grabbing her hand when she tried to get by him.

“Whoa, Lexi. Don’t go ape-shit all over them. It’s not their fault if they are following orders.”

Molly nodded her head, but Luke kept his gaze on the floor. He looked guilty about having to follow Jack’s orders.

“So what are you allowed to tell me?” Her hand was still caught in Gabe’s, curled around his fingers, refusing to let him go. Of course it helped he wasn’t fighting her grasp.

“We’re moving you today,” Luke said, lifting his mug of coffee to take a long sip. “We are just trying to decide the best safe house for you.”

“What are our options?”

“That’s the part we aren’t allowed to discuss with you.” Luke held his hand out to try to diffuse some of the anger he could see in Lexi’s eyes. “Jack just doesn’t think you should be allowed in on the decision-making phases. You are in protection as much as Gabe or any of the witnesses you’ve dealt with through the years, Lexi. He wants you to stay safe.”

“Jack wants me to stay safe.” She spat the words as if they were curses. “He doesn’t have much faith in my abilities if he thinks I can’t handle any witness, even myself.” She turned to glare at Jack. “So is that what this is? Is it your inability to trust me?”

“Calm down, Lexi. This has nothing to do with trust. You know that.” Jack picked up his own cup of coffee, gazing down into the murky brew thoughtfully. “You know we figure out the best places for our witnesses. We don’t take into consideration what they think or want. If we did that, we’d lose too many witnesses.”

“I’m not your usual witness, Jack, and you know that. I’m not going to do anything stupid or anything that’s going to cause us to get caught. I would just like to have a say.”

Jack shook his head. “I understand how you feel, Lexi, I really do, but you know I’m up against a wall here. You’ve got to let us make these decisions for you.” He held out a hand toward her. “You’ll have my best marshals and the best safe houses. You know I’ll take care of you.”

Lexi sighed heavily. She obviously didn’t want him to be right. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to not seem petty, and left the room. Stopping in the living room, she spun in a circle and headed toward the stairs.

Only Gabe’s hand on her arm stopped her from running back up the steps and hiding upstairs. “Don’t even say it, Gabe. I know.”

“You know what, Lexi?”

“That I’m being an ass. I know I am, but it’s damn hard to just shut up and let them ride roughshod over my life. I don’t think I can handle letting someone else make those decisions for me.” She patted his hand and tried to pull away, turning to glance into his eyes when he wouldn’t let her go. “What?”

He smiled down at her, tangling her hand in his. “I understand how hard it is for you, Lexi. I’ve never let anyone tell me where or how to live, but I have a goal. I’m going to drag those bastards who killed off the Blandons through court. I’m not going to let them go without punishment.” He cocked his head to the side to gaze down at her. “While I’m not thrilled I can’t deal out my own form of punishment, I’m willing to use anyway I can. They were way too important to me to just let it go.”

“We are all determined to get you to that point, Gabe. I don’t know of too many of us who have had to deal with crime and want to let them get away with so little recompense.” He reached up, running the backs of his fingers down the side of her face.

“I think you’re going to be the only thing that gets me through this, Lexi. You’re going to keep me sane, and I already feel like I should thank you.” He dipped his head and held up her chin with his fingers so he could find her lips. He kissed her gently, caressing her chin and neck with his fingers. “Mmm,” he moaned. “What is that scent?”

“It’s the lotion I use on my skin.”

“It’s mesmerizing,” he growled, dipping his head to sink his face in her throat. “It’s driving me nuts.”

Lexi inhaled sharply, feeling his lips so incredibly warm against her skin. “If you’re trying to make me forget, you’re doing a damn fine job of it, Gabe.”

“I like how you say my name” He followed the line of her neck with his fingers and slid to her ear, teasing the lobe with his tongue. She held her head to the side to give him more flesh to kiss and touch. “Gabe?”

“Hmm?”

She closed her eyes in pleasure and gave out a low moan. “You’re going to drive me crazy,” she said heavily, reaching out her hands to hang on to his arms, to hold herself up. She wanted to fall at his feet and con him into making love to her the way she couldn’t stop thinking about.

However, she stayed on her feet, staring up at him. “We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered, not really wanting him to stop. “It isn’t right.”

“What isn’t right about this, Lexi? Is it the fact I want you, is that what you consider wrong?”

She shook her head. “No,” she managed to spit out. “No, that’s not the problem. We are in danger. We shouldn’t be enjoying this, or each other.” She pushed away from him and dropped her head into her hands. “It just isn’t right.”

“So these feelings, these emotions, what you make me feel, makes me a bad person? I don’t think so, Lexi. You are a very beautiful woman. I don’t know how any man could just back away from you. I know I can’t.” His voice grew even huskier. “I like you, Alexandra Hunter. I like you, and I like kissing you. I’m not going to apologize for that, or try to stop feeling this way. You make me feel like this is some kind of adventure, and I’m not giving it up.” He lifted her chin and dropped his head, finding her lips with his.

There was a lot of pleasure building up inside her, and she wrapped her arm tightly around his neck. He pushed her back in the small alcove right before the steps and crowded close. More than eager to taste his mouth, to give in to his passion and show him some of hers, she moved closer too. His mustache and beard tickled her lips, and she moaned in pleasure, using her fingers to investigate the wiry softness.

When he finally lifted his head, Lexi was full of pleasure-heat. His kisses sent her head spinning, his taste was addictive. “What?”

“Upstairs?” he whispered in her ear. “I want you up there and naked, waiting for me in my bed.”

She felt a thrill of pleasure, more at the tone of his words than at what he was actually saying. He brooked no arguments, his commands were meant to be obeyed. “Yes, sir,” she answered, and then turned and headed up the stairs. Going into his bedroom, she began to take her clothes off, slowing only once when she began to pull off her underwear.

“What in the hell am I doing?” She sank down on the side of the bed, reaching down for the sweatshirt she’d pulled on earlier. “Am I going to just do what he says? This could mark the end of my career.” She was still sitting on the side of the bed, wearing nothing but her underwear, still undecided, when he opened the bedroom door.

“Oh, Lexi, I’m so disappointed in you.”

She rose, pulling the sweatshirt back over her head and letting it fall over her hips. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, Gabe, but I’m not one of those women who get off on being told what to do. I’m a United States Marshal, and I’ve had to learn to listen only to myself or to my partner. I don’t play these games. I don’t know how to.” She scooped up her sweat pants and headed for the door, only stopping when he called her name.

“Lexi...come here.”

His tone once more brooked no argument, and he stood calmly, assuredly, waiting for her to do what he said.

She felt her feet hesitate, and then she turned back toward him. She stood in front of him, staring up at him. “I won’t play these games, Gabe.”

“This isn’t a game, Lexi. I’m giving you something you’ve always wanted.”

“What’s that?” She didn’t even flinch when his hand came down lightly over her arm.

“A man who isn’t afraid to tell you what to do, who expects your complete obedience and no argument. Go to your knees, Lexi.”

“What makes you think I want something like that?” she argued even as she felt her knees begin to shake. She was fighting not only him, but herself, because some of what he was saying was the truth. She’d always searched for a man like Gabe, a man who was strong enough to do what he wanted, to be who he had to be and to make her into what he wanted. Now that he was there, she was almost terrified to give in to him.

“Lexi, I said I want you on your knees...now.”

She dropped down, the sweat pants flying out of her hands to land on the floor.

“Now tell me how sorry you are, Lexi.”

“Sorry.” She narrowed her eyes as she stared up at him. “For what?”

He shook his head, letting his fingers form a temple under his chin. “For forcing me to tell you to do something more than once; that would usually be cause for punishment.”

“Punishment? What kind of punishment?”

“Oh, I have no doubt you’ll push me into the punishment phases very quickly, Lexi. They’ll be explained more thoroughly when you’ve managed to warrant one. For now, though, let’s see if you’ve learned anything. Pull down my sweats.”

She stared at the bulge that pushed out the front of his sweats. It was a respectable size, and she wanted little more than to expose it to her eyes. She reached out slowly, her fingers finding and digging into the waistband before tugging it out and down, his cock coming up to slap against his muscled belly. “Oh,” she sighed, smelling the aroma of his arousal.

She couldn’t take her gaze off it. She wanted to touch it, her body screaming for her to lean forward and get a taste. She wondered if she’d be able to hold it in her mouth, or if it would be too big to fit. She looked up at him, waiting for his next order.

“Very good, Lexi.” He stepped out of the sweats, leaving them on the floor as he walked back over to the bed. He lay on his back, looking over at her before he wiggled his fingers in invitation.

She didn’t protest; instead, she scurried over to him. “Take off the shirt, Lexi,” he ordered, grabbing the bottom hem and pulling it up and off over her head. It was dropped, forgotten, over the edge of the bed. Kneeling next to him, she wore nothing but a silky bra that only covered half of her sweet mounds. She also wore a thong that matched the dark purple of her bra.

She flinched when Gabe ran his finger along the edge of her thong, letting it snap back against her stomach. “Very pretty, Lexi. Take them off.”

“Take them...”

“Off, yes, Lexi. Take them off.”

She knew the look in her eyes let him know he’d won. She moved slowly, but it didn’t take long before she was stepping out of the thong and taking off her bra, planning on dropping them on top of her sweatshirt. He stopped her.

“No, Lexi, bring them here.”

She held the garments in one clenched hand. She climbed back onto the bed, her naked body soft and satiny looking in what little sunlight came in through the closed blinds. “Now what?”

* * * *

“Wrap the thong around my cock, Lexi.” He groaned as he felt her tiny fingers moving over the raging meat of his staff. The silky material felt almost too good as she took his silk-wrapped rod into her hand and began jacking it. There was just something very kinky about having a woman, completely naked, willing to do his every whim. She had her back turned to him now, and he took advantage of her position.