Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (43 page)

She would give it all to him.

He kept it up, his tongue going deep while he worked the plug in her ass. Soft heat slid over her clitoris and she could feel the pressure building.

And then it crested. So much pleasure, so much emotion. She found out there was another way for her to cry. Lying there with Case giving to her, she let herself go. She could do nothing else.

The mattress beneath her moved and she heard the sound of a wrapper being opened. Her blood pounded through her body as she began to float down from the high of her orgasm. Even without his hands on her, she could sense the connection between them, could feel the need rolling off him. She felt Case holding on to her hips as his cock found her pussy.

Yes. She needed him. Needed him inside her. “Please.”

“I love you, Mia. This is forever.” He thrust inside.

He didn’t hold back. He powered into her.

So full. Between the plug and Case’s cock, she could barely breathe, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. He was filling her up, letting her know he could master her on every level and yet they were still equals. They were still in this together.

He’d grown for her. He’d dealt with his problems because he’d wanted to be better for her, for their future.

Mia pushed back, needing to show him how much she wanted him, too.

“That’s what I want,” Case growled. He tugged on her hips and then forced his dick inside again. “Fight for it, princess. This is who we are. We fought it, but we don’t have to. We’re going to be okay no matter what happens. That’s what I had to figure out. You’re never allowed to leave me again. Never again, Mia.”

Never again. If he could work on his temper, then she could work on her pride. She should have kicked his ass after what he’d said, not walked away.

Case pounded into her, angling up and hitting that sweet spot that sent her reeling all over again. Tears poured from her eyes, her heart so full of love for him as she went flying for the second time. Pleasure crashed over her and she felt Case stiffen behind, calling out her name.

He finally slumped down, his body collapsing on hers.

Mia groaned because that was so not comfy.

Case chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I’ll free you in a minute. Just give me a second when I know you can’t run away from me.”

“I won’t, Case. If you want me, I’m all in, but you better believe there’s not going to be a quickie Vegas wedding.”

He rubbed his cheek against hers like a large predatory and affectionate cat. “But Vegas is so nice and quick. And I want to be married by the time we head to New York and help your brothers. We can do it in between rescuing my brother and making sure yours don’t kill themselves. You know when you think about it, our families are really pains in the ass.”

She couldn’t disagree with that, but she did have another pain in the ass to deal with. “How long do I have to wear this thing?”

He kissed her again. “Go and get in the shower and we’ll take it out, but next time you have to wear it for a lot longer. I want to fuck that pretty ass someday.” He sighed. “I love you, Mia.”

“I love you. I’m glad you decided to leave me those messages and I’m glad Riley decided I was being stubborn and saved them.”

He went still. “Tell me he didn’t listen to them.”

Her arms were starting to ache. “He didn’t.”

She’d promised not to run away. She’d never promised not to tell little white lies that would save her ass.

Case rolled off her. “Damn it. Maybe I’ll let him die in New York. But as for you, I haven’t even gotten started yet. Let’s get you cleaned up so we can get dirty again. And by the way, you’re staying here tonight. You’re actually staying with me forever so if you don’t like this place, we should look for another one.”

She sighed in relief as he started to unwind the rope that held her. “I’m good with anything, babe. But you should know we’ll be staying in the most gorgeous place on the Upper West Side when we get to New York. It’s going to ruin you forever.”

She’d worked with a real estate agent to find their base of operations in the city. And now it would feel like home because Case would be there with her.

“Well, considering I grew up in a trailer, it’s going to be an adventure.”

She was looking forward to the experience.

* * * *

Case watched Mia wrap a robe around her body as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet, but her skin glowed.

He’d put that look on her face.

How could he feel so damn settled? He was taking her to Africa in the morning. They were going into something dangerous and he wasn’t sure he would succeed, but here he was just hours away from the most important mission of his life and he had a dumb grin on his face. “You sure you’re okay with pizza?”

She stepped out of the room, but he could hear her voice floating in from the hall. “Yes, but you have to put some veggies on it.”

It was wrong. Pizza was supposed to be meat and cheese, but he could make the sacrifice. Mushrooms were sort of veggies. They would have to have a long talk if she was one of those people who put spinach or olives on a perfectly good pizza.

He went to grab his phone and noticed he had two voice mails. One from Michael and one from a number he didn’t recognize. Damn. How had he missed a call from Michael? Oh, yeah, he’d been balls deep in his almost wife, and that distracted him from everything. He quickly pushed the number to retrieve the voice mail and Michael’s voice came over the line.

“Hey, nothing to worry about, but I did get that video footage you asked for. It’s weird. I think he’s trying to avoid the cameras for some reason. He got off on the fourth floor but then took the stairs up to eight. That’s the floor the common room is on. There’s a gym and a big meeting room on that floor. He caught the elevator there, but it wasn’t the main elevator. It was the one that leads to the penthouse opposite from me.”

Michael had moved recently. He’d purchased a condo in Victory Park that he damn straight couldn’t afford because of his McKay-Taggart salary. Michael came from a super-rich oil family. The Malones were Texas royalty, but it was easy to forget how much money Michael came from due to his laid-back personality. He’d bought the place because he could share the top floor of the exclusive building with his cousin, Simon Weston and Simon’s wife, Chelsea.

“Anyway,” Michael continued, “I thought you should know. If he’s trying to get up to my floor, he needs a code. I’m going to warn Si that we think Ferland might be spying on us. No idea why. See you soon, brother. Good luck.”

Fuck. There was a scenario Michael wasn’t thinking of. Case strode out of the room, his phone in hand. “Mia, I need to know everything you know about Fain.”

She was standing in his kitchen, the fridge door open. “Really? Not even a beer?”

His fridge was empty. “I’ll go out and grab us some in a while, but right now I need to know if Fain’s ever done anything that made you suspicious of him.”

“I don’t know that I would use the word suspicious, but he’s a little secretive. He’s good at his job though. Sometimes I think my brothers are right and I’m a magnet for chaos. I swear if people don’t stop trying to steal my shit, I’m going to start shooting.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you talking about?”

She shook her head and leaned against the counter. “It was no big deal. You know me. I end up in some rough neighborhoods. Also, being a blonde American in some parts of the world means the local criminals think you’re an easy mark.”

“I thought Ezra was supposed to be with you at all times.” His phone went off again. He looked down. It was the same number from about an hour ago. He put a hand up. “Give me one second. And we might get that pizza to go. I think we’re going to pack up and spend the night at Ian’s.”

“Why?” But she was already moving. She closed the fridge door.

“I have a bad feeling. I’m going to grab my go-bag. You get dressed.” He moved toward the front hall closet. He swiped across the screen to accept the call. “This is Taggart.”

“Damn it. Do you ever pick up your flipping phone calls, Tiny Tag?” A familiar voice, heavy with a Southern accent, came over the line. “I’ve been trying to call you all night. None of you answer my calls.”

“Ten?” It was hard to hear him, but there was no mistaking that voice. It sounded like he was in a wind tunnel.

Then he realized what he was hearing. Ten was in a helicopter.

“I need you to get the fuck out of your place and you do it right now. I’m on my way. Ian’s on his way. Take Mia and run. Right fucking now. Ezra Fain isn’t who he says he is. I should know because Ezra Fain is dead. He died years ago. He was a medic. Had some military training, but I wanted to bring him in because he was an excellent field medic. I didn’t turn him down. He was supposed to be on our team. He died before he could join us.”

Shit. He was right. “He’s Agency.”

“What?” Ten’s voice cracked over the line. “I don’t know that, but I do know someone’s after your girl.”

There was a knock on his door. He reached for his gun. “Someone’s here. I’ll call you back.”

“It’s probably Ian. He was headed to your place. My ETA is ten minutes. Don’t open that fucking door unless you’re sure it’s Ian.” The line crackled. “… is dangerous. I didn’t realize how much.”

He needed all his faculties to deal with whoever the hell Ezra Fain was.

Mr. White. That’s who he’d heard him referred to as. Simon called him Mr. White and Simon had called him dangerous, too.

He clicked off the safety and started for his front door, his mind whirling.

“I’m coming,” a feminine voice said as he rounded the hallway and strode into his living room.

“Mia, don’t!”

But she’d already undone the bolt. She scrambled, trying to relock the door. It came open with a crack and Mia fell back.

Case watched in horror as a canister rolled in. He leapt to cover Mia’s body with his as the whole world turned to lightning and then smoke.

Flashbang.

It was so close it singed his skin.

His hearing was gone, his vision blurry. He held on to Mia as tightly as he could, trying to move them.

They had to get out. They had to run.

Mia clung to him.

Then he felt something smack against his head and the whole world went dark.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Case came to with a throbbing head and the deepest desire to shut his brothers up. They were arguing, but then that was kind of what they did. Both his blood brothers and his extended family.

What the hell had happened? Why was he on his couch?

“Give me one good fucking reason, Fain, or whoever the hell you are. One good reason I don’t blow your brains out right fucking now,” Ian growled.

“I can give you one,” Ten’s deep voice shot back. “We haven’t exactly questioned him yet. I don’t know why you always go straight for the kill. Subtlety, brother.”

“Fuck that,” Ian replied. “How about I kill him fast if he tells me what the hell is going on. If he doesn’t, then I’ll vivisect him from the toes up. How does that sound?”

Mia. The night came rushing back and Case sat up, his head throbbing and his vision still the slightest bit blurry. “Mia. Where’s Mia?”

She wasn’t here, wasn’t in his arms. The last thing he could remember was the way she’d held on to him.

Fain was sitting in one of Case’s dining room chairs, his hands behind his back and a couple of guns pointed at his head. “That’s what I’d like to know.”

“Keep playing dumb and I’ll cut your toes off and feed them to the nastiest stray cats I can find,” Ian promised.

His brother was being a little over the top, but then apparently there was some drama going on Case didn’t understand.

His heart raced. Mia was gone. They’d come after Mia.

Someone had come after Mia. More than one person. He thought he’d counted at least three. It had been hard to see through the gas. His eyes still burned.

Ten kept his eyes on Fain. “I got some intel four hours ago about a group wanting to move a blonde American from Texas to Africa. They were looking to hire a plane and they needed a passport for her in case the airfield they would have to refuel at checked. The picture that came over the line was Mia’s. I recognized her and realized they were moving tonight when the meet spot changed from Austin to Dallas about four hours ago. You are so lucky I was already on my way here.”

Fain frowned but didn’t seem like a man who gave a shit that he had a couple of guns pointed at his head. “I got the same intel. Why do you think I rushed in here like a crazy person? Why do you think you were able to catch me at all? I give a shit about that girl. If I didn’t I would have realized the takedown had already happened and I wouldn’t fucking be here.”

Something about Ezra. Ten had told him something about Ezra.

Ezra was a dead man.

Did any of it matter when Mia was gone? He had to find her. He had to get her back. He’d promised he wouldn’t let her leave again. He’d promised her they would be together.

“Case, sit down. You got hit pretty hard,” Ian ordered. “Charlie’s on her way. She had to drop the kids with Chelsea, but she’s going to take you to the ER. You probably have a concussion. I’ve already contacted Drew Lawless. He’s on his way, too. You understand that we have to keep this out of the press.”