Deadly Target [IAD Agency 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (19 page)

“I understand,” Gage said, and to her relief she could see that he did. There was no judgment in his gaze. Instead, she saw something that made her pulse quicken and her breath catch.

“You were right. I may have played a soldier in movies, but I will never be able to truly understand what you’ve been through. You…you’re a hero, Mikayla.” He held a finger to her lips to silence him so he could continue without interruption. “You are even if you can’t admit it.”

“Gage,” Mikayla whispered after she pulled at his wrist to lower his hand. “I’m the same person I was when you met me. I’m still just me. Please don’t make me more than I am.”

“You’re wrong. You’re so much more. I wanted you when I met you. Call it hormones, or chemistry, but I can honestly say now that I respect you, I want you so much more.” Gage chuckled softly. “I didn’t believe that was even possible but it is.”

“Then we’re good? You…you’re okay with everything?”

“Baby, you’ve saved lives with your skill and I’m sorry I made you feel bad about it for even one second. What you are is a miracle,” he said softly. “To be who you are after what you’ve been through. I’m in awe of you.”

He paused and lowered his voice to a whisper. “You still do it don’t you?”

Well, shit.

“I…”

Gage smiled softly at her. “You don’t have to say anymore. I would rather you not say anything than lie to me.”

Her heart sunk. She wished she could tell him, but it wasn’t only her secret to tell. Safety was paramount for the members of IAD and until she knew Gage better, she couldn’t trust him with the lives of her colleagues, even if she trusted him with her own. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’ve given me enough for now to help me understand you and who you are. I can wait for you to tell me more. I’m not going anywhere, and sooner or later you will trust me enough to tell me more.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…it’s just that it isn’t only my secret to tell.”

“Shh. I can wait. We’ve made it through our fifth fight and we’re together. We’re good.”

She had to laugh at that. “Our fifth? Is that all? I could have swore this was more like our sixth or seventh.” She sobered. “Thank you for being patient with me. I…it means a lot that you’re willing to wait.”

“Patience isn’t something I’m usually good at. I’m willing to wait…for you. But eventually I’ll want to know everything. If you can promise me that then I’m cool with waiting, for now.”

She paused for a moment to study him then slowly nodded her head.

“Now, besides being a ninja is there anything else you want to tell me? Good, now onto the makeup portion of this program.” He pulled her close and cut off her laughter in a kiss so sweet she felt seduced the moment their lips met.

Here was comfort.

Here was acceptance.

She could see the hunger in his eyes. He now knew what she was, what she came from and yet he still wanted her. Nothing could have made that moment more perfect.

Gage kept his brilliant green eyes open so she watched him back as they continued to worship each other’s lips. It was like he was looking into her very soul. They rubbed against each other softly in a gesture of such tenderness that Mikayla couldn’t stop the tear that trickled down her cheek.

“God, don’t. Baby, please don’t cry. It kills me to see you cry,” Gage said as he licked away the salty evidence of her emotions.

“I’m not,” she lied.

“What is it, baby? Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You see me. You really see me,” she whispered.

Gage pulled her so she was straddling his lap. His arms wound around her, holding her close to him. He breathed her scent deep into his lungs as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, seeking to be closer to her. Gage was a tough man, but nothing brought him to his knees faster than a strong woman’s tears. Especially his woman.

And that was exactly what Mikayla was.

His.

He rocked her slowly on his lap, reveling at the way her breath hitched. She wasn’t the only one affected. He was acutely aware of the heat of her pussy sitting right on top of the rigid column of his erection. Christ, he was so hard he could practically swear he’d be wearing an impression of the zipper on his cock for days.

He told hold of her head in his hands, simply staring into her violet eyes in silence. She was so fucking beautiful it was difficult to breathe sometimes when he got lost in those witchy eyes of hers.

“I have to have you.” Gage wanted to wince at the longing he heard in his own deep voice, but her answering smile was worth it.

“Then have me,” Mikayla whispered. She moved forward to kiss him again. She gave him a questioning look when he stopped her.

“Not here. This time I want to love you on a bed. No more closets or moving vehicles.”

She laughed softly. “But I loved being with you there. I’ll love being with you in my bed, too.”

With a casual display of strength he stood with her still in his arms. She wrapped those long, gorgeous legs around his waist, holding onto him. He carried her down the hallway toward her bedroom. Soft, pale light filtered into the room through the windows, creating a gray background for them to see each other. The first time he had her in his truck he had been distracted by the need to keep her alive. The second time had been in the dim light from a single bulb that had been in the closet.

Apprehension filled him as he realized this would be the first time that she would see him naked. He knew he was a vain man and the scars that still graced his body had made being intimate with women difficult for him. But he would risk it. He could do nothing less for Mikayla when she had emotionally stripped herself bare for him.

Gage set her down on the bed and took a step back. The rich bronze tone of the duvet enhanced her golden complexion so it seemed like she was glowing.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

A surprised laugh left Mikayla. Her smile faded as she took in the seriousness that practically radiated from him in waves. Had he changed his mind about her? Reaching out, she took his hand. “What is it, Gage?”

“I have burn scars.” The words seemed to burst out against his will.

Everything in her melted. The apprehension she had sensed wasn’t about her at all. It was about him and his fear of letting her see him. All of him. She wasn’t the only one with issues to deal with.

“I have scars, too,” Mikayla whispered. “I think of mine as badges of honor. I’m grateful for every single one because it means that I survived. Just like you did.”

She watched his throat work as he swallowed before jerking his navy-blue shirt over his head, baring his torso to her gaze. Mikayla’s eyes roamed over him, taking in every inch of his muscular body. The man was certainly built. He had strong shoulders and sculpted six-pack abs that made her ache to touch. There was a light sprinkle of dark hair on his chest that trailed down and disappeared below his jeans.

Her eyes scanned over the burn scars that covered the left side of his body. There was a light web of discolored flesh that had healed over time, aided by countless surgeries, but she could tell by the extent of the ridges that they must have been extremely painful at the time he got them.

Gage had stayed still and silent through her perusal of his body. She noted that his hands remained fisted at his side, his body tight as if braced for a blow. It hurt her heart that this proud man doubted his appeal. The scars did nothing to detract from his looks. In fact, the scars on his body only seemed to enhance his beauty. Without them he would have been too gorgeous to be real. But to her, he was still perfection.

Mikayla slowly scooted to the edge of the bed so he was standing between her legs. She raised a hand to brush fingers lightly over the burn scars and felt him shudder at her touch. She let her gaze raise to meet his and let him see exactly what she was feeling.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” she whispered, repeating his words back to him.

“Fuck,” Gage groaned. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head into her to hide his face. “Give me a minute before I make a fool of myself.”

“Take all the time you need.”

She held him and stroked a hand though his thick hair, soothing him as she gave him time. He pulled back and looked up at her.

“You fucking undo me, Mikayla. The way you look at me, it’s like you don’t see my flaws.”

“They’re not flaws, Gage. Not to me,” she replied and pressed her lips to his. The light kiss heated and deepened. She pulled back. “Stand up for me. Let me show you.”

She waited until he was standing before her again then her hands reached down and popped the button of his jeans and yanked down the zipper so his rock-hard cock sprang free. She made a happy humming noise in her throat and pushed the jeans down over his hips so they pooled down at his ankles. He toed his shoes off then kicked the jeans off, leaving him standing before her completely bare, both physically and emotionally.

His cock jutted out proudly, pointing at her as a drop of pre-cum leaked from the tip. She loved the long, thick column, remembering the pleasure it brought her. She reached out and took him in her hand, watching his reaction as she began to slide her hand up and down the length of him. Heat pooled between her thighs as his nostrils flared and his eyes darkened with lust.

“Fuck, baby. That feels so good.”

She rubbed her finger into the silky liquid at the head of his cock and brought her finger up to her lips to taste the evidence of his desire for her.

“God, that’s hot.”

His gruff tone did something to her. She kept her eyes on his as she leaned forward and licked at the head of his cock and was rewarded when a low groan escaped him.

“You liked that?”

“Hell yes.”

“Good. Then you’ll love this.” Without warning Mikayla leaned down, engulfing the head of his cock into her mouth, sucking hard.

“Fuck!” Gage’s head snapped back, the corded muscles of his neck straining as he broke out into a sweat. He buried his hands into her dark curls as she worked her mouth over his growing erection. She relaxed and slid down his shaft, taking him to the back of her throat, pulling back only to do it again, each time taking more of his cock inside of her mouth.

She hummed with pleasure, savoring the taste of him as she flicked her tongue over the mushroomed head of his cock, lapping at the liquid seeping out of the tip. She watched him from beneath her lashes as he lowered his head to stare back down at her.

“God, that’s good. That’s right, baby, open that pretty little mouth for me. Suck my cock. Do you see how hard you make me? Yeah, just like that.”

He started rocking his hips, fucking his cock deeper into her mouth. His shaft got thicker as she continued to work her mouth over him. Her lips stretched wide to take him in, and she had to work to pull his cock away from his stomach as he hardened even more from her efforts.

Mikayla braced her hands on his hips pulling him harder toward her so he slid even deeper. She loved watching the pleasure on his face and smirked as much as she could with her lips wrapped around his thick shaft. Ready to blow his mind, she tilted her head back at the perfect angle and jerked her head down, forcing his cock into her throat.

He let out a strangled groan. “You’re deep-throating me. Fuck, your throat is like a tight fist. I’m gonna come if you do that.”

She pulled back, letting go of him so his cock slapped against his tight abs. “Do it. Come in my mouth. I want to taste you.” She pulled his cock back toward her and took him to her throat again. She worked him faster, using her hand to roll his balls gently in her grasp.

“Oh god, baby. Here it is. I’m gonna come down your throat. Drink me down. Oh, fuck here it comes.”

He thrust forward, driving deep into her mouth. She felt him get harder, swelling as thick fluid burst from the head of his cock, shooting down her throat. His whole body strained as he stared down at her, his eyes dark with pleasure.

Mikayla pulled back, the head of his cock still in her mouth as he jerked a few last times, his body shuddering as the last spurts of his semen shot from the tip.

Gage stepped back, pulling his semi-hard cock free from the confines of her mouth. Moving fast, he lifted her body so she was lying in the center of the large bed, his bigger body draped over her like a blanket. His mouth crushed down on hers, sharing the taste of his release as their tongues mated.

He kissed her with a hunger that stole her breath. She rocked her hips against him, knowing that she was dripping wet from sucking him off alone. She could feel his shaft was hard even though he just came. Both of them were panting for air by the time he pulled back.

“That had to be the best damn blow job of my life.”

“You’re welcome.” She laughed then cocked her head to the side and grinned impishly at him. “Care to return the favor?”

“Oh, hell yeah.”

He reached down and took hold of her shirt, hesitating to shoot her a look that asked for permission. She sat up and did the honors herself, yanking her shirt over her head and throwing it to the floor.

She lay back down and waited as he looked his fill. Mikayla had never felt so exposed in front of someone before. Sure, other men had seen her naked, but this was more. Gage was studying her. He was taking in every inch of her as if trying to memorize her body.