Page 53 of Marked

His eyes softened around the edges.

“I renovated this cabin with one goal in mind; to share it with you. At the time, I never thought it would happen, but here we are.” He laid his forehead to mine. “Will you please move in here with me? Help me make this house our home.”

He won.

“Yes.”

“Nelson’s working on something,” Waverly informed the group.

She and Duncan had stopped by shortly after everyone else had left. They didn’t come for the welcome home dinner, rather to catch us up on the latest rumbling surrounding the Russians. According to our friends at the DEA, the Bratva was in the midst of a power struggle between warring families: the Bolotovs and the Vlaschenkos. While the former were ruthless criminals, there wasn’t much information on the latter.

“What exactly?” I questioned.

She side-eyed Duncan, then said, “We’d rather not say. Not yet, anyway. Give him time to work his magic.”

“Meanwhile,” Duncan added, “be vigilant. As far as we know, the threat remains. Noah’s house may have a top-of-the-line security system, but an alarm means jack shit when you’re in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere. I’ll take the first shift tonight. We’ll come up with a schedule tomorrow at the office.”

“First shift? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Let me be clear, Noah, this isn’t a suggestion. One of us will be staying here with you both, until I say otherwise.”

Glaring at my superior agent probably wouldn’t win me any accolades, nevertheless, I did it anyway. Was there a sale on alpha males who thought they knew what was best for me? I’d just had it out with one such male and now it looked like I was making it a twofer. There was little to no chance I’d get him to change his stance, however, I was determined to getsomesay in what would happen, no matter how minor.

“You know, Duncan. Noah and I are practically newlyweds, minus the wedding of course.”

“What does that have to do with your protection detail?”

“How do I say this?” I tapped my finger against my chin. “We’re going to be having a lot of sex, Duncan.”

“Oh shit,” Waverly sputtered.

“Lanie?” Noah warned.

“This is a whole new house for me, which means there are tons of surfaces to christen.”

Nothing ever seemed to faze Duncan. He rolled with whatever punches were thrown his way without batting an eye. One day I'd get him to crack. It was now my new mission in life.

“I’ll amend my last statement to say one of us will be parkedoutsideyour house until otherwise instructed.”

“Better.”

The three glasses of champagne I’d had earlier––courtesy of Jade and Koen’s leftover wedding supply––were working their way through my system. My eyes were starting to droop and my brain was a little fuzzy around the edges. I wasn’t a lightweight by any means, except when it came to the bubbly stuff. Although, given the circumstances surrounding our return, the alcohol may not be at fault for my sudden fatigue.

“You two, get some rest.” My boss gathered her coat from the back of the chair. “Lanie, I want you in my office at nine sharp.”

“Yes, ma’am. It’ll feel good to be useful again.”

Once we walked them out, I fell back against the front door. I thought for sure my feet couldn’t carry me another step until I saw the wicked gleam in Noah’s eyes; the one that promised a different sort of celebration than what we’d had earlier. My feet quickly got on board.

“Now, Little Lamb, about those surfaces…”

“Noooo,” I whined.

I was so close––seconds from satisfaction––when he tore his mouth away from my pussy. Then the bastard had the audacity to smirk.Smirk!And it wasn’t the first time. I’d lost count of the number of times he’d brought me to the edge, only to yank me back from the brink. If he didn’t let me come soon, I might die.

“Punishment comes in a variety of forms, Lanie.” He speared me with two fingers, moving them in and out of my body at a ridiculously slow pace. “Orgasm denial can be very effective when done correctly.”

“So effective,” I moaned, “maybe the CIA should add this shit to their arsenal of torture tactics.”

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