Cuckoo (Kindred, #3)

TWO-2

She was still panting, trying to catch her breath, when his hips rose and he matched their bodies, docking himself inside her in one hard shove. Still sensitive from her last crescendo, she winced and whispered his name, trying again to pull her hands free, but it was futile.

He stilled inside her. Through narrow eyes covered with hair and clouded by heat, she smiled at him. “Tell me you haven’t missed this,” she teased, huffing in each breath as she tried to calm her heart.

His palm landed on her forehead, and he pushed her damp hair out of her eyes. “My d**k’s only happy when he’s right here,” he said, shunting himself into her and pulling her hips up to rub her c**t with his groin. She hissed again, and he lowered to kiss her. “Your sweet little p***y, hugging him so tight.”

Pushing up to slide her tongue into his mouth, she could only show her affection through her kiss because she had no hands to caress him. But he broke away to look at her eyes as he lifted up and pushed in. Each thrust made her gasp, she wheezed in a breath and bit her lip, trying to restrain the pressure boiling in her belly.

He ducked to bite her lip away from her and let it drag out as he pulled back. “That belongs to me. I want to hear those breathy little gasps you can’t keep in when my d**k pumps the air out of you.”

His pace was even, in deep, slide back, shove, retreat, fast in, easy out. “Brodie,” she whimpered. “Give me my hands, beau.”

“Not a chance,” he said, kissing her nose then her chin. “This is my rodeo.”

Grabbing her knees, he pushed them up into her torso, giving himself leverage to rise higher and pump faster. Watching their bodies connect and part, he got faster and started to grunt when she squeezed tighter, clenching herself around him, trying to keep them locked together.

Stuttering, it took her a few tries to get his name out. But when o****m hit her, the sole word left in her vocabulary was his name. She must have said it ten times before he tightened his grip on her legs and hit her hard with one final dive of his d**k into her.

Her heart was working so hard that her other organs had to be suffering, but she made herself open her eyes to look at him. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, then with a loud exhale, he dropped onto his back on his own side of the bed. His hands landed on his chest. Ten seconds of silence passed before he rolled over to shove her onto her side so he could free her arms.

Her spine hurt and her arms ached. Brodie tossed aside the ripped, crumpled mess he’d used to restrain her, which turned out to be the panties she’d discarded for their tryst. Trying to stimulate feeling, she circled her wrists and extended her fingers. He took her hand and yanked her body over so her chest was pressed into his arm, and he began to massage her palm.

“We should get out of here,” he said, pressing his thumbs into her palm then working them up, squeezing her fingers in a stretch. “There’s a flight in an hour and—”

“I’m going to stay here,” she said, relaxing her neck so her head flopped onto his chest.

“You don’t have to do anything,” he said, with amusement in his voice betraying that he had misconstrued her statement as a declaration of exhaustion. “I’ll carry you to the shower and soap that sexy body... maybe we’ll aim to hit the flight that leaves in two hours.”

Wearing a smile, she freed her hands and rolled on top of him to kiss him then press her cheek down on his beating heart that shook his ribs. “No, I’m not tired from the sex.” She was, but that wasn’t the reason she planned to stay at the manor. “I meant I’m going to stay here for a few days.”

His voice became firm. He was no longer her pliable, relaxed lover. He was asserting his authority. “Swift needs us,” Brodie said, leaving no wiggle room. “Rigor’s been stand up so far, but he’s not Kindred and I don’t trust him to have Swift’s back all the way.”

Requesting to stay behind wasn’t something she’d done in the past, so he had to be curious about her reticence. She kept her reasons to herself because she knew he’d never understand them. She struggled to understand herself.

Rigor’s place shouldn’t be scary now that all of the threats had been flushed out. Zara felt uneasy there. Brodie and Swift handled being there like pros. But she didn’t like facing the paranoia that lurked when she moved through the halls or the traumatic memories that speared her without warning.

Following Art’s death, it had been her job to stay strong, and she had. Zara was proud of the way she slipped into the Kindred ranks and she didn’t want to lose her confidence. Rigor’s place would always be Sutcliffe’s compound to her and she didn’t want to spend any more nights there than she had to because it was having an effect on her conviction that she belonged in the Kindred. After all, how could she be equal to Raven or Swift when she couldn’t look at the spot Saint had fallen in without getting nauseous?

But Brodie was right, they couldn’t abandon Swift there, the Kindred had chosen Rigor’s as their base and so that was where Brodie needed to be. If she could keep him here and lose herself in him then she would, but it would be selfish to ask him to stay just because Rigor’s place made her feel vulnerable. Swift needed backup and it made her sick that she didn’t feel secure in being able to provide that support.

“You should go,” she said, opening her hand on his heart as she rose to meet his eye.

His brow furrowed. “You want to stay, but you want me to go,” he said. He wasn’t often confused, but she heard it in his tone now. “This from the woman who was begging to be allowed to come on the last trip.”

Learning that it wasn’t easy to evade the truth with him peering at her, she traced her fingertips up and down his sternum. “I have to check in at CI. I have to see what’s going on. Julian’s right, it will do the others good to see me there.”

Her closest colleague at CI had always been Grant. She wasn’t concerned with synergy because those left working there would have to learn to get along without her soon enough. But it seemed like a reason he might buy. “They’ll have questions,” he said, wearing a scowl. “Do you want to deal with that alone?”

No, she didn’t, but she was better at skirting awkward questions since going through her breakneck Kindred education. “What’s the alternative?” she asked. “Are you going to come in and field those questions for me?”

His scowl deepened. There wasn’t a chance in hell he would consider that an option. “I don’t want us to be separated. We’ve got a lot of enemies out there, baby.”

More with every mission. “You left Swift alone,” she said, dragging a fingernail over his pec as she rested her head on him again.

“Swift’s been doing this a lot longer than you have. And he doesn’t suck my dick.”

Which was his way of saying that he was worried about her as a boyfriend instead of a colleague. Turning her head to kiss his chest, she acknowledged his concern. “That’s good to know. Yeah, I guess if I got kidn*pped or murdered, your d**k would be neglected.”

“Yep,” he said.

The grump in his voice made her look at him again, this time with a smile. “That’s not why you’re worried about me.”

“No, it’s not,” he said and when he tried to look away again, she caught his face and climbed on top of him to tease.

“You worry ‘cause you love me.”

Though he considered it for a second, his sullen expression didn’t relax. “Yeah, so f**k, how am I supposed to keep an eye on you here if I’m there watching Tuck’s back?”

“This house is a fortress. I carry GPS wherever I go. CI is one of the most secure buildings in the city. Besides—”she cast a look over her shoulder—“You have eyes on me everywhere.”

She still hadn’t established where the cameras were, but Brodie had disclosed that he watched her, even in their private space. Instead of being shocked or feeling violated, she found his variety of attentiveness to be arousing.

At any time or in any place, he could be watching her. Since learning this secret, she’d done her best to tantalize him through her actions, especially if he was too far away to touch. She hoped it might entice him to come home to her.

Brodie wasn’t easily persuaded after he’d made his mind up about something, but she wasn’t finished trying. Staying here at base and working at CI was safer than hanging around with Rigor and his men. Using these facts and some intimate persuasion, she was confident he’d leave her here and go to New York alone.

She was a distraction to him there and being the solitary female in the house, she got more than her share of leers and suggestive comments. If she stayed here, Brodie would be less likely to put his fist through one of the men they were supposed to be working with.

Being the lone woman in the Kindred was something she was getting used to, but sitting in Rigor’s new home surrounded by skilled men who could be counted upon to protect the sanctity and secrets of their kin was highlighting to her just how confused her role in the world had become.

“If we’re separated, I can’t help you if you get into trouble,” he said.

Slanting her lips, she pressed them into his body and slid her hands up to squeeze his shoulders, which allowed her to lever up enough that her breasts hung close to his mouth. “You’ve taught me how to look after myself and I’m always armed. Think of how much fun it will be if I call you up and tell you to kick someone’s a*s for upsetting me. You’ll have an excuse for some sport. If I’m at CI, I’m out of the way of Rigor’s handsy men.”

Grabbing her body, he pulled her down. “Someone touched you?”

“No,” she said. “But we both know they’ve thought about it.”

And that was probably the decider because he didn’t even try to argue. “Forty-eight hours,” he said, coiling his hand in a fist around the locks at the nape of her neck to force her cheek onto his chest. “Go to sleep. I won’t be here when you wake up.”

Complying, she nestled close to him and closed her eyes. “Brodie,” she sighed.

“What?” he asked, loosening his fingers to comb them down her back.

Being away from base meant following Kindred rules and adhering to them was often frustrating, so she wanted to exploit this rare moment that they weren’t constrained. “Nothing. I just like being able to say your name.” His hand moved to her neck and squeezed.

“My girl,” he said, stroking her until she drifted off to sleep.