Stripping Her Defenses Read online

  Looking suddenly mischievous, she bit her bottom lip. “Well, you’ve got me here all alone, what are you going to do with me now?”

  ~~~

  Kara

  “Take that fuckin’ shirt off.” His voice was a husky rasp that sent a shiver down my spine, and his eyes were blazing with promise.

  I grabbed the bottom of Ice’s shirt and started to pull it up, but Riley’s voice stopped me.

  “Do it slowly.”

  The command made my belly flutter. “You want a show, honey?”

  He nodded as he sat on the red satin covered bed, sending a thrill through me. The man I loved wanted a striptease, a presentation of what I’d learned about the art of turning a man on? Count me in. Doing this for Riley would be the stuff of fantasies.

  I slowly danced in a circle, rolling my hips until my ass was facing his direction. Then I slowly shimmied the tight pair of black yoga pants down my legs until I heard Riley suck in a breath because he’d just realized I’d been commando under those pants. Letting the pants drop to my ankles, I bent and waved at him through my legs. He gave me an amused smile that morphed into a look of pure heat as I ran my hands up the back of my legs and stood up slowly until my hands rested on each of my cheeks.

  I was about to move again when that husky voice ordered, “Splay those beautiful globes baby and show me what’s mine.”

  My entire body trembled at the thought of him looking at me there and me proving with the action that he really did own me in almost every way. Pulling the my ass cheeks slightly apart, I bent over a bit, popped my ass out, and made sure I gave him a good view of exactly what he wanted to see. I heard him suck in a breath behind me, which made me wet. With much more of this, I’d be dripping for him.

  “Now show me those beautiful breasts.”

  I let my hands slid off my ass, bringing it around to the front and toying with the hem of the shirt. Swaying my hips from side to side, I spun in a slow circle until I was facing him. I inched the shirt up my body, little by little. When the shirt was just beneath my breasts, I fisted the fabric in the middle and pulled it up until I was holding the knot between the already swollen, sensitized flesh so the shirt was framing them.

  “Off, Kara.”

  He was getting impatient. Good. That meant my teasing had worked. Now it was time to get what I wanted.

  I peeled off the shirt, dropping it to the floor. Riley sucked in a breath when he saw that I wasn’t wearing a bra, either.

  Sauntering towards him, I relished the look in his eyes. That look was for me. Instinctively, I knew no other woman had ever been looked at like that by Riley and no one ever would.

  I was staking a claim on my husband again. The other half of me. By the end of the night, Riley would know it, too.

  As I straddled his waist, his hands dropped to my ass, and he dug his fingertips in just enough that I knew I would carry his marks for hours. Leaning forward, I licked his lips with my tongue, making him groan. He instantly captured my lips, kissing me hungrily, as if he would never get enough of me. That was okay because I would never get enough of him, either.

  I pulled back, ending the kiss, and moved until my lips were against the shell of his ear. “Now you show me what’s mine, Riley Sullivan.”

  He pulled his head back, his face examining my own. “You askin’ me to strip for you, Kara Sullivan?”

  I nodded my head slowly, my tongue licking over my bottom lip at the delicious thought of it. His eyes tracked the movement of my tongue, and then he leaned forward and sucked it into his mouth. This time, he pulled away before picking me up and depositing me on the bed where he’d been sitting.

  Standing up, he unbuckled his belt, but he paused before pulling it off. Looking down at me, he rumbled, “I’m not fuckin’ dancing.”

  I couldn’t help it, I giggled.

  He gave me a glare with no heat behind it then pulled his belt from the loops of his jeans. Then he placed his hand underneath his shirt, low on his belly, and started moving it up, taking the shirt with the hand.

  I wanted to trace the muscles of his six pack with my tongue or lick the imaginary trail his hand was slowly traveling. Instead, I sat there unmoving, enjoying my visual feast being revealed.

  Once he reached his pecs, he stopped his tease and pulled the shirt off, dropping it on the end of the bed. Pointing a finger to it, he said, “That’s what you put on when I’m done fucking you, not another man’s shirt. Understand?”

  My heart was beating like a drum in my chest as I whispered, “Yes.”

  Reaching up, I ran my hand over the large tattoo that covered his ribs. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who got ink after our divorce. As I stared at the mermaid sitting on top of the anchor, holding a child, it wasn’t lost on me that she looked just like me. Perhaps Riley had tried to use the tattoo to express his internal scars, much like I had used my tattoos to cover up my external ones.

  “Is this for me?” I asked him hesitantly.

  “Yeah.” His voice was rough with emotion. Grabbing my hand, he dragged my fingers over the mermaid. “That’s you holding our little boy.” Then he moved my fingers so that they rested over the star above them. “And that’s my version of the North Star. It’s supposed to lead any sailor home. You’re my home Kara.”

  He waited for me to respond, but no words came. It was such a beautiful gesture, that it took my breath away.

  “You like it baby?”

  “Yeah.” I breathed out.

  “Good. You want to keep going?”

  “Hell yeah.” I murmured.

  My answer put him back in motion, and he unbuttoned his jeans, yet I stopped him before he slid the zipper down. Leaning forward, I took the small metal tab between my teeth and pulled down, unzipping him myself. Then I grabbed his jeans and boxers with both hands and pulled them down until they pooled around his ankles. His erection sprung up, hard and straining towards me.

  Not wanting to waste another moment, I took him completely in my mouth until his tip hit the back of my throat. He groaned as I ran my tongue against the bottom of his length, while pulling back until only the tip of him remained inside. Wrapping my hand around his base, I alternated between stroking up and down his swollen flesh with teasing licks and strong suction.

  I expected him to have his head thrown back, embracing the pleasure I was trying to give him, but his eyes never left me. His scrutiny made me hot and achy between my legs, creating an unbearable need for him to fill me. I wouldn’t give up the taste of him, though. As much as I wanted him inside me, I wanted to make him come that much more. So I sped up my movements and moaned when I got the first taste of his pre-cum.

  I started moving my hand more quickly and pulled him all the way out of my mouth so I could lick around his tip like it was the best thing I’d ever tasted.

  It didn’t take long before Riley’s control snapped. His hands buried in the hair on either side of my head, and he started thrusting. At the pace he was going, it didn’t take long before he was whispering he was about to come and tried to pull away. I wouldn’t let him, though. I reached around with my hands, grabbing his ass, and ran my teeth lightly over his length, giving him just what he needed to throw him over into his orgasm.

  He roared my name as he came.

  I whispered his name when he was done.

  That was all the invitation he needed to fuck me hard and often for the rest of the day until we both passed out from exhaustion later in the afternoon.

  Chapter

  19

  Riley

  Kara was sound asleep, sprawled across my body. Her breath was a slow, steady exhale of air across my chest, causing goose bumps to rise in their wake. My hand was tangled in her long hair that was splayed wildly behind her.

  I used to think that, if I could have this moment right here, just one more time, I could die a happy man. Now that I had it, I knew I had been wrong. I’d be pissed if I died after this. One more time like this with Kara wasn’t e
nough for me. I wanted hundreds of moments like this. Thousands of them. If I could live long enough to have millions of these moments, I would want that, too.

  I let my fingers glide through her hair one more time then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Sliding out from her slowly, to avoid waking her, I got out of the bed yet reached back to pull the sheet over her body. It was time for me to get ready to go after Sandoval.

  My reason to live was lying there in that bed. I took in everything about her and burned it into my memory. Never again would I take advantage of seeing her like this. It was a gift I would cherish each and every day.

  Quietly, I pulled my boxers and pants back on, followed by socks and boots, but I left my T-shirt on the end of the bed for her. I didn’t look back at her again as I left the room because this wasn’t goodbye. I would be back later tonight to get my woman.

  Stepping out into the hall, I found Ice propped against the wall across from the door, waiting for me. His body was relaxed, but his eyes remained alert.

  “There a reason you’re standing out here, Ice?”

  He nodded. “Three reasons. First, good news. A friend of ours on the force stopped by a while ago to let us know that a patrol cop stopped two gang bangers for suspicious driving. They were stupid enough to have a couple of AK-47s in their back seat, poorly hidden underneath a blanket. So, with both of them havin’ records, findin’ themselves with multiple new charges, includin’ possession of smack, driving under the influence, and possession of not one, but two unregistered assault rifles, they asked for a deal. Seems they knew about this photographer across town who wanted his competition intimidated out of the business. They confessed to vandalizing and then shootin’ up her studio for a reduction of sentence time on their charges. They also gave up the name of the photographer who hired them to do it.”

  I rocked back on my heels at this revelation. I’d known there was no way Kara’s troubles had been related to my mission, but I had thought it would stem from whatever the Regulators had going on. Instead, Kara had shit of her own going on and hadn’t even known. Un-fucking-believable.

  “Did the police already pick up the photographer?”

  Ice nodded. “Not before he got a visit, though.”

  “A visit?”

  He shrugged. “She may be yours now, but she’ll always be a friend of the Regulators. And nobody fucks with one of ours.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Not that I wasn’t thrilled the fuckwad who had hired thugs to scare my wife had probably had the shit beat out of him. I was fine with that. It was the ‘one of ours’ shit that sort of bugged me. It probably bugged me more than it should. The man had been there for Kara when I couldn’t. Because of that, she had created bonds with a group of men who probably saw her for the treasure that she was and wanted to protect her. I’d have to learn to live with that. That meant it was time to move on from my grudge.

  “I have to go. Can one of you run Kara home since it’s safe for her now? Tell her I’ll meet her there when I’m done with work.”

  “I’ll have Hammer run her home.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks. Now, what else did you need?”

  “Hammer told me you figured out our operation back here. I expected that. What I want to know is what you’re gonna do with that information.”

  I ran a hand over my chin and exhaled. “Nothin’.”

  “Nothin’?” he asked, somewhat surprised.

  “Yeah, nothin’. Kara explained the who’s and why’s. And I’m not going to take protection away from women who would be standing on a street corner, exposed and in danger if it weren’t for what the Regulators do for them.”

  “Appreciate that.”

  I waited for him to spit out whatever it was he had left to say, but he didn’t say a word. “I’m running out of time here, Ice. What else did you need?”

  He was quiet for a little while longer, but as I waited, something passed over his eyes. Acceptance maybe? The man was good at keeping his emotions concealed, so it was hard to tell for sure.

  “Saw you with her,” he finally mumbled.

  He must be talking about the parking lot the other night. Where was he going with this?

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked, wanting to be clear, “We talking the parking lot?”

  The side of his mouth tipped up in a half grin. “Wasn’t what I was talkin’ about, but I saw you there, too.”

  “Then what the fuck are you talkin’ about, Ice?”

  He tipped his head towards the room Kara was sleeping in. “We got cameras in every room as protection for the girls. I happened to walk into the control room while you two were in there.”

  “You into voyeurism, Ice?”

  “Sometimes, but it wasn’t my intention this time. I had Big Jim turn that camera off… but not before I saw it.”

  “Saw what?” I asked him impatiently.

  “The connection you two have. The look on her face when she’s with you,” he replied.

  “There a point to this conversation?”

  “I threw me and Kara in your face when you got here. I did that to protect her, but also because she means something to me. Thing is, she never meant to me what she means to you. I always knew it would never be like that between us, but now I see why she didn’t want to settle for a friendship with a little more. She’d had you, and she tried to tell me, but I didn’t get it. What I’m sayin’ now is, I get it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to disappear out of her life. I’m hopin’ you understand that.”

  It was hard to do it, but I had to give him that. So, I gave him a chin lift followed by a low, “Later.”

  I was halfway down the hall when he asked, “You sure you boys don’t need back-up?”

  I didn’t stop walking, but I turned my head, looked back at him, and told him, “No.”

  As I left the club behind me, walking towards the borrowed motorcycle, I realized I had the biggest mission of my life accomplished, and she was now lying asleep in the building behind me. Kara was mine again. This time for good.

  Now, it was time to go take care of the other mission—Sandoval.

  ~~~

  Jaxon’s voice came through my comm. link. “We move in when I give the signal. Remember, the objective is to take as many of them as you can alive so we can find out who Sandoval is.”

  I was squatted down in between some shipping crates and the outer wall of a building about a hundred feet from where we thought Sandoval was supposed to meet Medina. Chase, whose hobby was being a hacker when he wasn’t doing a mission, had found the plans for the docks south of Bayfront Park. Finding the docks wasn’t the problem. No, the issue was that the docks were vast and used for shipments of cargo. That meant there were a number of warehouses to house that cargo along with a number of other obstacles.

  Jaxon stationed us spread out through the docks to provide the best vantage points for at least one of us to spot wherever it was Sandoval showed up. I was betting he was going to show up in my area, though. I was stationed to cover the last three buildings. One was a good sized warehouse, and the other two were smaller hub stations, more than likely for the employees who worked there.

  My end of the docks were closest to an escape route with a boat, although furthest from where anyone would be able to escape with a car. The thing was, if Sandoval was traveling to and from Cuba, I was betting on a boat versus a plane and then a car. Boats could slip past the Coast Guard patrols in the dead of night. Planes were much more easily tracked.

  Our team had been in position for about two hours now, and the itch at the back of my neck told me action would be hitting us soon. As a result, I stayed crouched in my position, waiting. My legs were starting to ache, and my back was getting stiff, but I’d been trained long ago to ignore things like this while in the middle of a mission.

  Blocking out all of my discomforts and thoughts about Kara, I continued to wait.

  Finally, a little over an hour later, the wait paid off.r />
  While we were expecting someone to arrive, his mode of transportation ended up being a complete surprise. The subjects didn’t show up by car, and you couldn’t call it a boat.

  One minute there had been nothing out on the waters past the dock, and the next, I heard a muffled motor sound followed by the slow appearance of what looked to be the top half of some sort of small submarine.

  Holy shit! They had a semi-submersible!

  I’d known the Mexican and Columbian cartels had been utilizing them to transport drugs, but I’d never considered the Cubans showing up in one. I could see how that would come about, though. The Cubans could have bought or bargained for one in their dealings with the Rivera Cartel.

  Speaking softly into the comm link, I informed the rest of the team, “The party has arrived. Semi-submersible stopping at end of the docks.”

  “Ten-four, Sullivan,” Jaxon replied. “Everyone else, gravitate closer but wait for my signal.”

  Holding my position, I watched as the hatch on top opened. A figure stuck their head out a little bit, and the glint of the light off glass let me know that, whoever it was, they were sweeping the area with night vision binoculars. I wasn’t worried about him seeing me or anyone else from the team, for that matter, because we were the best of the best. If our asses ever got caught, it would be out of sheer stupidity or very bad luck.

  The figure disappeared back down the hatch and then re-emerged a couple of minutes later, this time, completely climbing up on top of his vessel. He stood guard as another figure climbed out and then a third and fourth before they exited the top of the ship and went onto the dock. The party of four headed towards the two smaller buildings situated side by side.

  I updated the team again as to their activities.

  “Hold your position, Sullivan. We’re almost ready,” Jaxon acknowledged.

  We had to move quickly. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out Medina was a no-show, and then they’d book it out of here.

  Adrenaline started coursing through my veins. I was ready.