Текст книги "Blowback"

Автор книги: Emmy Curtis

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“The good thing is, I like watching.” He ran a finger around one of her nipples.

But she couldn’t take that much more. “Please. Please I want you so badly, David. I need you inside me. I’ve waited…”

At her words, his dick elevated even farther. “Your wish…” he said, grabbing his pants and taking out a condom.

He knelt again between her legs and drew her thighs over his. He rested his dick at her entrance. “You know what’s good about this? I get to watch you take my dick inside you.” He pressed against her until she felt the tip of him inside her. “I get to watch your pussy open for me, your clit beg for me.”

At his forceful words, she nearly came, attaining a plateau of need higher than she’d ever felt before.

He kneeled up and started thrusting inside her, hard, fast. It hurt, but in an amazing way. With every thrust he groaned as if she were bringing him to life. She watched the expression on his face change into one of blind, out-of-control need. Seeing her look at him, he licked his finger and pressed against her clitoris, dragging it with every thrust.

Heat splayed across her belly and up to her breasts, and she instinctively cupped them in her hands. As he thrust, his gaze rested on her hands. He liked to watch, did he? As excitement took her conscious movements, she removed her hands, except for her fingers. She played with her own nipples, pinching and twisting them, igniting a blaze of fire that jagged into her, taking her to her climax. The pressure on her clit increased with his thrusts and exploded in her spine, causing her to groan as it pulsed through her.

David took two more thrusts and groaned, “Molly,” as he closed his eyes and tipped his head down, taking heavy breaths.

Sweet Jesus. She never imagined it would be like that. How could she let him go now, knowing that he could do that to her? Knowing he could lift her to a level of need she’d never, ever felt.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt his fingers lightly stroking her sides, almost tickling. His touch flickered over her nipples again, puckering them again.

“You’re so beautiful. And you have a filthy mind,” David said smiling. “I love that.” His fingers drifted south until they were touching her clit again, so lightly. She took a jagged breath as he held the condom on as he withdrew from her.

He went to the bathroom and suddenly she felt vulnerable. Was that it? Was it once and done for him? What was she thinking about? She’d told him that this was all she wanted. But that was before… She should have kept her mouth shut. Molly. Get a grip. He’s said that he’s not reliable, or at least not ready yet. She looked for the edge of the sheet so she could cover herself.

David emerged almost immediately and paused. “Don’t hide yourself from me. I want to see you. All of you. Always.”

Always? Maybe this wasn’t over for him. She pulled back the sheet and lay back down.

He lay on top of the bed next to her and swung over onto one elbow. “I fantasized too. But it didn’t come close to the reality of touching you.” His hand tracked down her side to her hip. “Of fucking you.”

Her breath hitched, and he smiled a very smug, confident smile. He was a god in bed. It was like he knew everything about her, every place to touch her, everything that would get a response from her. He dragged her against him and draped a leg over hers.

She closed her eyes, satiated, safe, and protected.

After about ten minutes, Molly moved. She couldn’t bear to be still. Crazy because she’d been dreaming of post-sex euphoria with David for months. And she wanted to stay wrapped in his arms, basking in the wickedness he’d brought out in her. But she was also antsy. Restless. The visit from the Russian had shaken her, and all she really wanted to do was switch on the television and see CNN announcing that the authorities had caught the person responsible for Dr. Doubrov’s death.

She rolled over the bed and reached for the remote and proceeded to punch the buttons until the familiar CNN logo showed up. What she saw made her bolt upright. Rolling text on the screen below footage of a burning storefront said, “Anarchists cause mayhem in Greek capital with G20 leaders’ meeting just weeks away. Russians blame America for assassination of Minister Doubrov.” Her heart started racing as she tried to figure out what it meant.

“David. Look.” She hit his leg, eyes still on the rolling text of doom.

“I see it.” He was already sitting up next to her, and she hadn’t noticed. They listened to the CNN anchor’s measured tones explaining that the burning store was a Russian business, and that Moscow had insisted that Athens close down until the authorities found those responsible for what they called “a western-sponsored attack on the people of Russia.”

Molly whimpered. Literally a whimper came out of her mouth. She stretched her fingers out, trying to get rid of the numb coldness that had settled there in the previous few minutes. They shook.

David wrapped a warm arm around her and tucked the duvet around her. “Stay there. Keep warm and let me make a few phone calls.” His calm, low voice reassured her.

Slightly.

David stepped out on to his small balcony and called Mal, because who else? He seemed to always have his ear to the scuttlebutt, no matter where it came from. He called it bullshit filtering.

“S’up.” Mal answered with.

“I just saw the news. Is Russia stirring the pot, or is…”

“Is your country actually plotting the downfall of Russia?”

David used a visualizing technique he learned in therapy and imagined himself kicking Mal shitless.

“I just want to know what’s going on, buddy, okay?” He tried and failed to reach for a measured tone.

“Right you are. Touchy lot, you Yanks. Okay, so all I’ve heard is that the good old US of A is actually waging a covert war against Russia. Literally everyone from any country in the know”—he meant in the espionage business—“says all the chatter points to the CIA.”

“Shit.” David couldn’t get his head around that. It was so…uncharacteristic. No one used their intelligence agencies to take down a country.

“Well, shit, or maybe bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” David felt a glimmer of hope.

“Everyone had heard the same thing, but no one could tell me who the intel came from with any degree of confidence. Even the hot Russian chick. And I really tried to persuade her to tell. Chatter, nothing firm.”

“So…smoke and mirrors?”

“Mate. I know you think it’s good that it might not be true. And it is. But that makes it exponentially worse for you and your girl. If this is a war of misinformation, you two are on the front lines. Not to mention really easy targets.

David paused. He was right. If his country was really on the warpath, and frankly, most Americans would be totally behind unseating Putin and restoring glasnost to Russia, Molly and David needed to leave. And if this was all smoke and mirrors, and someone was setting the US up to take the fall for the assassination and the bombing, then they needed to get the fuck out of dodge too. “Bottom line is we’re leaving.”

Mal paused. “That’s a good idea. I’ve been reassigned, and I told Baston about you and Molly. Expect a phone call.”

Baston was the owner and operator of Barracks Security. The man who had given David his second chance. That settled it. He couldn’t go against Baston’s wishes, and he wasn’t going to leave Molly. So they were out of here.

Mal must have taken his silence for anger because he continued, “Don’t look at me like that”—David looked at his phone and rolled his eyes—“I can’t be your babysitter if I’m not in the same country as you.”

“Babysitter, my ass.” David clenched his fist.

“Enabler maybe. Anyway, got to run. Stay safe, brother.”

“You too.” The line went dead before he’d finished the last word.

Tosser. David half-smiled at himself already using Mal’s favorite epithet.

He let himself back in the room and explained to Molly that they had to leave for the airport. She seemed to have gone from shaking to icy-cold determination in the time he was out on the balcony.

“Not even remotely acceptable,” she said, even though ten minutes ago she’d been terrified. “I have a speech to give, and I’m not missing it. It’s important to me, and important that the world hears what happened last year and the implications of artifact trafficking.” She shoved her chin up in an adorable dare-to-tell-me-I’m-wrong way.

He hesitated. He wanted to exert his authority. Tell her there was no way they could make her speech, that they had to leave. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t deny her this…catharsis. Not least because he had been a part of the trafficking last year. “What time is the speech?”

“At five p.m. There are no questions, it should be just an hour.” She said, getting out of bed, still naked, and completely, blissfully unembarrassed. She was like walking, fucking, sex. He felt a twitch again. She turned to her suitcase and bent over to extract some items. No way could he ignore that.

In a second he was behind her, cupping her breast and lightly pinching her nipple. Her moan was like nutrition feeding his need for her.

She stood upright, her body flush against his as he reached around and cupped the other breast too. A perfect fucking handful. How was he going to walk away from her?

She wriggled against him, and his dick hardened between her ass cheeks. He pinched her nipples harder, reveling in the feel beneath his fingers and the groan that vibrated through her. He nudged her legs apart and, with a hand between her shoulders, he pushed her forward until she was braced against the wall with both arms outstretched and legs open to him.

He stepped back just to get a visual to remember. She was fucking glorious. Dropping to one knee, eye level with her pussy, he drew his finger lightly over her ass, all the way to her clitoris, just loving the sight and feel of her.

She wriggled, taking a tiny step back so his mouth was close to her. He blew on her exposed hot flesh, and she gasped. Then he flicked his tongue lightly on her clit while slowly sliding his fingers inside her. He stroked her with his tongue in time with his stroking fingers inside her until she gasped and spasmed, allowing him to feel and taste her orgasm. She was on fire. She came so easily for him, it was like an instant aphrodisiac.

He stood, and she immediately reached behind her for his dick, making him step closer to her. She stroked it once, and twice before directing it to her opening. He paused just long enough to fumble a condom, before pushing her forward again and pushing into her with one stroke.

“I love feeling you inside me,” she said, in a part-groan. “Take me. Really take me.”

He held on to her hips and pulled her back onto his dick. He felt like he was ramming her into the wall, but she moaned, “yes, yes.” As each stroke took her further.

“Wait,” she said suddenly.

He paused mid-stroke and felt his dick pulse in objection. “Am I hurting you?” He started to withdraw, but she shuffled back.

“Don’t you dare. Stay right where you are,” she ordered.

“Yes ma’am,” was all he could say in reply.

She inexplicably rummaged in her suitcase, unzipping a pocket. She straightened a little and immediately he felt a vibration around his dick.

A vibrator? If it was even possible, he got harder. He could feel the vibration in his balls as he continued to fuck her. She held the toy half against her clit and half at her vagina. He felt every vibration and every twitch her body made in response.

He was going to last about three minutes…if that.

Her breath started coming in pants as he thrust into her, hard and deep. She came with an audible breath and a shudder. He closed his eyes and emptied himself into her, the spasm of her own orgasm sucking every last bit of him into her.

As they stood there for a minute, he wondered how he was going to live the rest of his life knowing that Molly was in the world without him. Could he cope with the thought that she might be giving herself to someone else like this? Could he say goodbye? He was even reluctant to disengage from her, but he did, slowly, holding the condom in place.

She turned and laid her head on his chest and he stroked her hair. “You’re really quite something, you know?”

She breathed a laugh against his chest. “Men usually say that before storming out of a date or dumping me,” she said.

He squeezed her. “I don’t believe either of those things have ever happened.” He held her away from him before she could reply, because he really didn’t want to get into the previous boyfriend territory. That way madness lay. “Anyway, shower time.” He spun her and slapped her lightly on the ass.

She jumped toward the bathroom and looked back, raising an eyebrow at him as she disappeared into the shower.

He wished he’d gone to see her last year. Maybe he could have gotten her out of his system back then? He shook his head. No way. Out of everyone in the whole word, Molly would be the one who’d have totally messed with his system and broken him for anyone else.

Except he was already broken. Broken and not easily fixed.

CHAPTER FOUR

She was already clean by the time he joined her in the shower. He opened the glass door and stepped inside.

“How dirty are you?” he asked picking up the soap and lathering it.

“Very, very dirty,” she said, straight-faced.

“You certainly look it.” He stroked his soapy hands around her neck, massaged her shoulders a little, and then very thoroughly washed her breasts. God, she was in heaven with him. He was just so responsive to her physically. Her previous boyfriends had been academics. And she’d thought she liked that. Men who appreciated her for her mind and her experience, and recently, she assumed, because she’d been temporarily famous. But David. He responded to her on such a fundamental level, almost at a cellular level. And she reveled in his intensity, both physical and mental.

Mostly physical at that moment though. Her breasts were super clean, and she stood with her eyes closed, just allowing the sensation of his hands to dominate the space around her. She was completely sated by her time with him, but Jesus…he slipped his hand between her legs, stroking with the lather, every inch.

She wriggled away with a laugh. “I need a rest. Wine. Coffee at the very least.” She needed time to think about what she’d done. Of course, she’d wanted this all along. Of course she had, for virtually a whole year. But in her fantasies, he’d been complete. Confident and easy. But anyone with half a cell of perception could see that he was confident, but difficult to read, and maybe even broken. She could see uncertainty in his eyes when he looked at her. She was worried. There, she’d admitted it. She didn’t want to get emotionally attached to him if he would just run away again. She had to keep her feelings in check. Sex, not emotion.

He turned off the water and handed her a towel from a rack. She grabbed it and wrapped herself up in it again, flashing back to when she took the decision to drop it on the floor. Now she wondered if she’d done the right thing.

She changed into a sundress, still crumpled from her luggage. The heat and humidity would ease out the wrinkles in no time at all.

David came out of the shower and got straight on the phone after kissing her bare shoulder. “Hey Mal, have you checked out yet? Good, we’re coming down.”

He put his phone down and pulled on his clothes from earlier. “Mal’s leaving, and if we go now, we can stay in his room until we’re ready to go. No one here knows that we were here together, so if anyone comes looking for you or me, they won’t find us.”

A finger of fear poked her stomach as she suddenly remembered her predicament. She nodded and looked around the room anxiously. “We should probably go now, shouldn’t we?” Suddenly being where the Russian agent had threatened them with a gun sent chills down her spine.

“I’m ready if you are,” he said evenly. “We’re going down to the fourth floor via my room.” He held his arm out and she slid under it. He squeezed her once, and tension seeped out of her like water from a sponge. She was protected. Safe.

They arrived at Mal’s room as he was leaving. He was a big man with features to match. At around six and a half feet, he towered over Molly and was just a little taller than David. Dark stubble speckled his face, and only his clear blue eyes showed any expression. He bumped fists with David and handed him a key.

“Be careful of him,” he said to Molly. “We’ve only just put him back together.”

“Fuck off,” David said evenly.

“Love you too, mate,” he replied cracking a smile. “Don’t die. I don’t want to arse around training someone else.” Mal picked up his bag and headed down the corridor.

“What training?” David said loudly, grinning at his retreating back.

Mal just raised a hand without turning around and disappeared around the corner.

Clearly he hadn’t planned on waiting for them. Molly was glad they’d gotten there in time to get his key card.

“Hi guys!” a chirpy voice came from the other end of the corridor. It was Victoria.

“Hi! What have you been doing?” Molly asked, as she leaned into the rather exuberant hug that Victoria offered.

“Obviously nothing as fun as you,” she said with a sly smile. She held her hand out to David. “Victoria Ruskin, WAMP. The voice of the tri-cities.”

“Nice to meet you, Victoria. I’m David,” he said, wondering which tri-cities she was talking about.

“Do you two fancy having lunch? I found a great place away from the madness here. I’ve heard some crazy gossip about what went down last night.”

Molly glanced at David, who looked interested. “Sure, that would be great. Can we meet you there? We have a little unpacking to do first.”

“Awesome. It’s on the corner of Sina and Skoufa behind the hotel a few blocks. Great souvlaki, fabulous mimosas. Say in an hour?”

“Sure, see you there!” Molly said.

They opened Mal’s door and marveled for a moment at the array of empty bottles he’d left in there. Kristal champagne, which Molly remembered was being served at the cocktail party, and a variety of beers.

“It’s amazing he can function,” David said, shaking his head. “He didn’t tell anyone he was checking out early, so let’s just put our bags in the closet and call for housekeeping.”

Molly didn’t say anything, just wondered if Mal was in the same place as David had been. As if he’d read her mind he said, “I know it looks like he has a problem, but he doesn’t. He’s just English. Mostly everyone I’ve met from there can drink like it’s a national skill-set.”

At Molly’s silence, David turned. He noticed her dress for the first time. Really noticed it. Her sundress was a pale yellow with thin straps, and, God help him, with the light of the window behind her, it was almost transparent. Her hair, almost the same color as her dress, was still damp and curled around her face. She was mesmerizing.

She smiled. “We have an hour. Do you actually want to unpack, or get out of the hotel?”

“What do you suggest?” He really wanted to stay in the room with her and demand she remove her dress so he could see her naked again. He was fairly sure that she had only the tiniest panties and no other underwear on. He swore he could virtually see her nipples through the dress. If he looked really hard. Really hard.

Jesus, man. Get a fucking grip.

“There is the Temple of Olympian Zeus just around the corner. We could take a walk there. It was the largest temple in Athens when they built it.”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan.”

As they made their way out of the hotel, David couldn’t figure out if people were staring at them because Molly was a total knockout, or because they’d already been fingered as suspects. Whichever it was, it was making him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like people noticing him.

They walked toward the temple, David wanting to poke the eyes out of any man who looked at her. This was not a natural reaction, he was sure. He needed to bring things back on track.

“What do you know about this Doubrov guy?” he asked. “Was he into anything he shouldn’t have been?”

Molly was silent for a beat too long. “Not that I know of. I really didn’t know him that well at all. We were on the same archaeological conference circuit, but I really only knew him from attending his lectures, and the meet and greets afterward. He’d just passed a message through my boss that he was looking forward to seeing me again.”

“What exactly did you say to him when you met him at the party? In fact, why were you at the party with jeans and sneakers on?”

“The airline lost my bag with my cocktail dress in it,” she said as she pointed across the road to the tops of the temple pillars.

He noticed that she hadn’t answered his first question and a cloud of concern—or was it suspicion?—bloomed in his stomach. He took her hand to cross the road, wanting to make sure she couldn’t run. And suddenly he wondered why he thought she would. Instinct? He hadn’t been able to rely on his instinct for a few years. He wasn’t sure he could now. “And you couldn’t have waited for the cocktail party the next evening, or the evening after that?”

“Well, I had my speech tomorrow, and I was supposed to have a few days to relax afterward, maybe visit an old dig or two, but I guess that’s out of the question now, right?” She pulled some tickets out of her purse and handed them to a woman in the box, who gave her two brochures with color photos of the temple.

The temple loomed in front of them, huge white columns against a dark blue sky. It was a beautiful ruin, he had to admit. But it didn’t diminish the feeling that he was missing something key. Something he should have remembered. It chilled him that he wasn’t on top of his game, and he wondered if it was Molly fucking him up, or his own special demons doing the job.

As they walked around the site, he thought for the first time since he’d hit Athens about his EOD brother Danny, who had died in an explosion when he’d playfully kicked a soccer ball, on patrol in Afghanistan. A ball that had been filled with explosives. It had been nearly a decade ago, but as his therapist pointed out over and over, seeing the explosion, feeling the blast, smelling the burned flesh was not normal. Remembering it was normal. Being horrified by that memory was normal. His life however, was not normal, and at this stage he didn’t even know what normal looked like.

She sat on a bench facing the ruins. “I like to imagine the people who lived here, who worshipped here.”

He sat beside her and put his arm around her like they were teenagers on a park bench. Embarrassed he drew it back again, but she grabbed his hand and snuggled in his shoulder, despite the heat of the day. She fit there.

He took a breath, and then another. He wanted to just enjoy this today, because tonight they would both be gone and this would be a memory. Even if she wouldn’t tell him exactly what was going on, after today he didn’t really need to know her secrets. And would probably be better off not knowing them.

A man in a suit entered the site. He didn’t stop at the ticket booth, he just showed the lady something. David stood up. “Is there another way out of here?”

“Only over there.” She pointed to the other side of the temple, close to the way they’d come in.

David made a fairly simple deduction. The man was in a suit, so he wasn’t a tourist. He didn’t buy a ticket, so he probably flashed a badge or some kind of ID at the ticket woman. And, he and Molly were virtually the only people there.

“Molly, listen to me. I think that man is either with the police, or something worse. I’m going to distract him while you get to the exit. Go meet Victoria for lunch and I’ll meet you there, you remember where she said?”

“Sure. Sina and Skoufa.” Molly gathered her purse and looked anxiously at the exit.

“Great. Order me a doner kebab will you? I’ll be right behind you.” He caught her hand as she made to move and kissed it, trying to alleviate the concern etched on her face. The same concern that he felt.

She gave him a quick smile and headed in the opposite direction around the temple.

He coughed loudly to make the man look at him. It worked. Their eyes met and the other man’s step faltered a little. Excellent.

“Hi there,” he said lifting his hand and flashing a wide, wide smile. “How ya doin’?”

The man slowed right down and looked behind him in confusion. By the time he looked back, David was right on top of him. He stopped walking.

“Whatcha doin’ here? Looking at the temple? It’s quite somethin’ isn’t it?” He played a Deep South accent, cowboy-type. The type people expect to find in an American abroad.

The man up close was clearly out of place, pale, thinning hair, badly fitting suit. There was not much he could do to cover what he was doing. He was a dud in a suit at a tourist site. He knew he was busted.

“Who are you here for? Me, or the family over there?”

“Excuse me,” he replied in accented English as he tried to brush past David.

David just turned and walked with him. “Did your buddy tell you that I videoed him interrogating an American citizen without allowing her any legal recourse? That was so cool. Look, I can show you the footage. It was awesome. He took out his gun and everything. Just like an old school KGB officer. You know, Cold War days.”

The man stopped and looked closer at David, and then at the phone he was holding up. He shrugged. “You know it’s not so much cold war anymore. These days it’s an arctic freeze. And you don’t want to be in the middle of that. The exposure could kill you.”

David couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re in Greece, buddy. That’s in the European Union. Ally of the USA. You’re not going to be able to ride roughshod over the authorities here.”

“And you, ‘buddy’ should read a newspaper every so often. Greece is considering breaking with the EU and looking to its old World War II ally, Russia, for a bailout. And when we seal the deal with the new government”—he lowered his voice into a whisper—“we’ll have Russian military bases in a NATO country. Oh the fun we will have with you then.”

Jesus, he really did need to read a newspaper. He knew things were up in the air with the Greek government and the EU, but not that far up in the air. “You’re talking EU politics here, and we’re American. If you make a move on her—for any convoluted reason—I will ensure you will pay. You personally.” He dipped his head. “Okay, maybe also your friend.”

The man sighed and shook his head wearily. “I don’t care. I’ve been doing this for nearly thirty years. I do what I’m told when I’m told to do it. I don’t make waves, and I’m not about to start now. But let me tell you this. There are things in play here that even I don’t know. High level. I’ve been told that you are waging a war against my country.” He shrugged. “That means we’re following you, and following the girl. Beyond that I don’t know.”

Following the girl? David suddenly chilled in the hot air and turned his gaze toward the direction he’d sent her in. Shit.

He turned back to the Russian. “I didn’t post that video of your colleague, you know.”

“I do know that. There is an honor among thieves, and sometimes an honor among spies. It is for that professional courtesy, I tell you this about the girl so you can do whatever you need to do. Me? I’m here for the temple. It is a beauty.”

David looked at him for a couple of seconds. Who would have thought? “Enjoy it. Here.” He shoved the brochure into his hand. “Thank you.”

“Spasibo.” The man nodded and turned away.

David ran for Molly. He hoped he hadn’t sent her into harm’s way.