Blake: An Eidolon Black Ops Novel: Book 2 Read online

  “Lift up.” He positioned his cock at her entrance and watched as she sank down on him, taking his entire length until she was buried to the hilt. He held her hips still against him so she could get used to the feel of him inside her. Pax started to squirm, and he knew she needed to move.

  “Ride me, Gracie.”

  She did. Slowly at first, then finding her rhythm as she drove them both crazy.

  He felt her movements get un-coordinated and watched her falter and swore. “Fuck. Your ribs.”

  He slid out of her and she moaned. He lifted her off his knees and stood, turning her around and pushing her so she was bent over the couch, her ribs against the cushion, her feet on the floor. “If it hurts you fucking tell me,” he growled as he slid inside her from behind.

  The position allowed him to go deeper, to control the movements. He would take her slow next time but now he needed to come. Blake fucked her as his fingers toyed with her nipples, pinching and rolling them until she whimpered. Pax liked it a little rough and he loved that. They would definitely be exploring it more when they were both healed.

  Moving his hand down her belly he rolled her clit, but with not being able to put weight on his leg, he couldn’t hold the position. “Tease your clit, baby. Pretend it’s my fingers on you.”

  He moaned as she did, allowing him to grip her hips harder as he fucked them both to climax. His balls tightened and his legs shook as he came so hard, he saw stars. He heard the sound of her orgasm, felt the clench of her walls against him, milking every last drop of his come from him.

  They stayed still for a second, breathing hard as they let the last vestiges of pleasure leave their bodies.

  “You’ve killed me for all other women.” He kissed her shoulder and pulled out of her.

  He heard the chuckle from her as she stood and turned to face him. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t—”

  “No. Don’t say that. If you’re hurt or we do something that’s painful or uncomfortable or you just plain don’t like, you tell me, and we deal with it together. Sex isn’t about one person getting off at the expense or the enjoyment of the other. In fact, if you pull a stunt like that again and don’t tell me, I’ll be pissed,” he said firmly leaving no room for argument.

  “Okay,” she said with a small grin as she bent to pick up her discarded wet towel. He admired her ass unable to resist running a hand over the curve.

  “Perfect.” He kissed her softly exploring her mouth and wishing he had time to fuck her again, but knowing he didn’t, he pulled away. “You all right?” He wanted to make sure she was okay with the sudden change in their relationship. He had planned to wait but then she’d walked in looking like a fucking dream and he was done.

  Pax rested her nose against his and smiled “Perfect,” she repeated his word.

  “Right. I need to get showered and you need to get dressed and stop distracting me.” He laughed as he patted her ass gently and moved to get ready for his MRI scan.

  “Bossy.”

  He loved the fact she felt secure enough to sass him, and he smiled as he watched her walk away swinging her hips even more. Blake’s grin got wider. She was going to kill him, and he would love every second of it.

  Chapter Eleven

  There was no disguising her sex-tousled hair or the just fucked glow to her skin, so instead of trying to hide it she went with it. Leaving her hair to curl naturally and piling it into a sloppy bun on her head, she added lip gloss and mascara to her rosy-cheeked face. A green and white palm print skirt to mid-thigh and white camisole made her look relaxed and carefree, which was how she felt for the first time in years. Flat metallic ankle strap sandals completed the look.

  Pax stepped from the bedroom and saw Blake already dressed in navy cargo shorts and a white tee with white Converse shoes on his feet. He looked good enough to eat. His hair was still wet, his chin slightly stubbly making her wonder what it would feel like between her thighs.

  Sex with Blake was all consuming. It stole her breath, her thoughts, and made her feel as if nothing else mattered but him and how he made her feel. It was heady and terrifying, but she couldn’t make herself care. Blake made her feel more in one electric episode of lovemaking than she’d ever felt with anyone else. She was going to go all in with this and see what happened. They may not work out, it all might go horribly wrong and she could get her heart broken, but she was done hiding from life.

  She had used Zenobi to hide behind and stopped taking chances. She had lost the brave girl who’d walked out on her family years ago. Buried her under fear, sadness, and loneliness. She hadn’t realised how lonely she was until Blake had barged into her life and demanded to stay. Now she found she liked the sound of him in the living room while she dressed. Listening to him as he hummed a song off-key while he cooked.

  It had only been a few days but already she felt comfortable with him around, like this was normal and how it should be. Her body was still tingling from the orgasms he had given her earlier. He had seemed to know what she’d needed before she did and given it to her. His lecture afterwards had been bossy, but oh, so sweet. He was looking out for her and proving they were a team and she liked that.

  “You gonna keep staring or get your ass in the car before I decide to forgo the MRI and fuck you instead?” Blake moved into her body and put his arm around her waist.

  Pax tilted her head as she studied him. “I’m trying to decide if you’re threatening me or promising?”

  “There it is.” He fingered her lip.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Your secret smile again, and best of all I got to put it there.” He kissed her cheek tenderly and her throat clogged with emotion.

  “Softie.” She pulled away breaking his hold on her emotions. Blake quirked an eyebrow as he grabbed her bag and handed it to her and pocketed his keys.

  He smiled at her as they got in the car. “Let’s keep that our secret, I don’t want everyone to know.”

  He had insisted on driving despite his injured knee. They drove to the Nuffield in comfortable silence. The weather was still warm, and Pax turned her face to the sun, enjoying being out for the first time in days.

  They pulled into the carpark and were met by Aiden Wagner and realised he was the ‘Waggs’ Blake had mentioned. She’d met him once at a party held by Fortis Security, but hadn’t connected him with the nickname. The owner, Zack Cunningham, had married a fellow American and she and Ava had gotten on well.

  Aiden was slightly older than the rest of the team except perhaps Mitch. She guessed he was in his early forties. He had blond hair that was already showing signs of grey at the temples, a short-trimmed beard, and square jaw. He was around six feet with a muscular swimmer’s build and was incredibly soft spoken. Pax didn’t know a lot about him other than he was American, an ex-Green Beret Medic, and didn’t go out socially a lot.

  She and Blake exited the car which she was in love with. Audi was her favourite car and she had been considering a TT but decided she was getting one of these babies. Blake’s hand found her back as they approached Waggs.

  “Blake, Pax,” he said with a nod at them both.

  He studied them for a second before he nodded again and moved to the door leaving them to follow. Pax could have stayed at home, but she needed a few things to take with her to the States and was sick of being housebound. She sat with a mostly silent Waggs while Blake followed an older guy in a white lab coat to get the MRI done.

  He was noticeably limping now, and she worried that perhaps she had caused him more damage when they had fucked earlier.

  “Do you think he tore the ligament again?”

  Waggs’ head turned to her and his pale almost ice blue eyes watched her for a second before he answered. “Yes, most probably.”

  “Shit,” Pax said worrying her lip with her teeth.

  “It wasn’t anything you did.”

  Her head snapped up. Waggs was looking towards the door watching every time it opened. He had read her
mind, and if she wasn’t mistaken, was totally aware they were having crazy sex over couches before MRI scans.

  “How did you know? Did Blake—?”

  Waggs shook his head. “No. Blake might be a slut, but he doesn’t kiss and tell so you’re safe there.”

  “Then how?” She was genuinely curious now.

  “Blake steers clear of commitment. He doesn’t even have house plants for fuck’s sake. So the fact that you’re here and the way he all but pissed on your leg when he walked towards me was a bit of a giveaway.”

  Her instinct was to deny it, to say he was wrong, that nothing had happened but that would be wrong. Mainly because it was a lie but also because it would diminish what they had agreed to start. “I like him.” She found herself wanting to snatch the words back as soon as she made the admission.

  Waggs merely nodded. “Not blind, woman. Blake is one of the good ones despite what he might have you think. Don’t let him hide from something that could be beautiful because of what happened in the past.”

  Pax wanted to ask what he meant. What had happened in his past? But Blake appeared with the results of the MRI in a folder which he handed to Waggs.

  He smiled at her as he moved closer, until their shoulders were touching. “Miss me?”

  “Sure. I can’t go twenty minutes without you now that I’ve had you.”

  “Pax, not in front Waggs. I’m shy.” His look was one of mock offence.

  Pax laughed and rolled her eyes at him. “Of course you are!”

  “Well, the ligament is fucked good and proper this time.”

  Waggs’ assessment wasn’t something he hadn’t already figured out. “Yeah, I kind of guessed that.”

  “There’s no way Jack is going to let you go off on this mission with Pax without back-up.”

  Pax felt Blake tense. “Jack can’t fucking stop me,” he replied bristling with aggression.

  “No, he can’t, but you would be a fool to disobey him.”

  “I’m not leaving Pax to handle this situation on her own.”

  Pax felt increasingly guilty for the hassle she was causing. “I can—”

  Blake pinned her with a look. “No, you can’t.”

  Ignoring the instant knot of desire at his sexy growl she went on the defensive. “Don’t you tell me what I can and can’t do.”

  “Like you when you’re all sass and sexy but I won’t give on this, Gracie.”

  His use of her real name caused a pang, and Pax softened her tone really liking that he called her sexy and sassy but not willing to back down either. “I know you want to help but with your leg like it is you could get hurt.”

  “I love that you care about me, Gracie, but I’ve got a dick and that dick means I don’t let my woman go across the other side of the world to confront her asshole of a father who had her attacked. You are mine, and I protect what’s mine.” He curled her closer to his body as he said the words and looked at her lips before lifting his eyes to hers.

  Pax felt her body relax into him. He made her feel cared for, protected, and so fucking turned on she wanted to jump his bones right then and there.

  Waggs rolled his eyes at them both. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Will you two stop with the foreplay? I’ll come with you and I can see if Reid will too, or maybe Decker. I have a few days leave owed me anyway.” Pax felt Blake tense slightly at that and wondered why.

  “I can’t ask you to do that,” Pax said.

  “You ain’t asking. I’m offering so I don’t have to watch you two flirting with each other anymore” He pulled out his phone as he walked away.

  “Fine, call Jack.” She felt Blake tense again wondered what had caused the sudden change in him. He seemed on edge all of a sudden.

  “You okay?”

  “Got you in my arms, haven’t I?”

  Pax felt a smirk cross her face. “You like me.”

  “Yeah, babe. I like you,” he replied as he watched Waggs pace and talk a frown still on his face.

  Pax let him get away with his evasive answer, but she knew he was hiding something and all of a sudden Waggs words came back to her. Was he hiding something big from her or was she doing her usual trick of self-destructing before she could get hurt? Determined not to let that happen she pushed the gloomy thoughts away and kissed him lightly.

  Waggs moved back towards them as he slid the phone into his pocket. “Decker, Reid, and I will be going with you. Also, Jack wants you to call him as soon as you can. He said you know what about.”

  “Cool. Thanks, Waggs.”

  “Sure. Just ice that fucking knee and we’ll see you at the airport,” Waggs said as they parted at the entrance of the hospital and he walked towards a beefed up Ford Ranger pickup.

  “Let’s get what you need and go home. I need to ice my knee and call Jack.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Blake was exhausted. He had spent the eleven-hour flight to Los Angeles going over details of Sana Pharmaceuticals with Pax. She had told him everything she knew, including who the shareholders were. That list had included both her parents and her maternal grandfather, which he had found odd until Pax explained that it had been his financing that had allowed her father to start the company.

  The company was solidly in the black, making an obscene profit each year. It had quite a few lawsuits but nothing above the norm for a company of its size. They had decided between the five of them to divide and conquer. He and Pax would start with her parents and the board members, while Waggs, Reid, and Decker would look into the lawsuits, the current trials, and see if they could find any discrepancies.

  Pax had slept most of the flight, her body curled into his, legs tucked under her bum, head on his shoulder. Blake hadn’t slept. He had been watching the three men with him, one in particular. No matter how many times he’d thought back to his recent and older interactions with him, he couldn’t find any memory that sparked anything or indicated he could be the traitor.

  His posture was relaxed as it always was, face open. But Blake knew liars were masters at hiding things. Add to that some specialist training like could be found in the military or FBI, and you had someone who could have a pint with you while they stabbed you in the back.

  It was a sickening and terrifying thought and one that made him angry, so angry because this team had become extended family to him. There wasn’t one of them he wouldn’t die for and now one of them was causing him to question the entire team.

  Blake had closed his eyes and faked sleep the rest of the flight until landing, not wanting to talk to anyone. They had collected their bags with Reid, Decker, and Waggs doing most of the carrying due to his bum leg and taken two cabs to the hotel. Pax had been almost silent the entire time and he could still feel the tense worry coming from her even now as they settled into their room.

  She had been on edge since the moment she’d woken for landing and it hadn’t dissipated. He watched her walk out of the bathroom, having washed her face, brushed her hair, and wringing her hands together. It was a gesture he hadn’t seen from Pax before and he didn’t like it one bit.

  The woman he was falling for was not nervous and edgy—she was confident and relaxed. Perhaps a little unaware of her own worth—something he was going to rectify with a bit of time—but she wasn’t this nervous wreck who kept watching the window and rubbing her palms together.

  “Come here, Pax,” he said softly.

  She looked up as if surprised to see him standing not five feet from her. Then she walked towards him without question. He opened his arms and she walked right into them planting her head on his chest and letting him hold her. “Talk to me.”

  She stayed silent so long he thought she wasn’t going to share what was on her mind. “It just feels wrong being back here in this city where I grew up. I feel like I don’t fit here anymore. I was always the girl with lots of friends in the in-crowd. I thought I was the shit. I was superior and snooty, went to all the best parties, had the best clothes, best car, everything. But de
ep down I hated it all. The only person who ever saw that was Benny. He was my best friend and called me out on it all. He made me see that it wasn’t the real me. Then he was gone, and I was alone.” She went quiet for a minute and Blake sensed she wasn’t done. “I just hate this place and these people. They make me feel dirty, remind me of who I was, and I don’t like who I was.”

  “You’re too hard on yourself, Pax.” He pulled back a little but didn’t let go of her. “Teenagers the world over think they’re superior. You got caught up in it, but you didn’t become the same adult. You saw yourself and what you were becoming and were mature enough to recognise that. I’m glad you had a friend to help you with that, but I have no doubt that you would’ve seen it on your own eventually. Look at what you’ve achieved. You help people in difficult situations. You’re the backbone of Zenobi—Roz said so herself. You need to stop being so down on yourself and start seeing what the rest of us do.”

  “What do you see Blake?”

  He saw the vulnerability in her eyes at the question. “I see a woman who is brave and strong, beautiful and kind. A woman who makes me want to be a better person so I’m worthy of her.”

  “Blake,” she said in a whisper as she lifted her head and kissed him.

  It was passionate and yet so sweet. It made his blood pump harder as he moved in closer to deepen the kiss.

  A knock on the door had him pulling back with a sigh. “Time to suit up, baby,” he said with a grin. “We have to go visit the parents.”

  She made a sound somewhere between a moan and grimace and he laughed as he checked the peephole and saw a grinning Reid.

  “Y’all ready?” Reid leaned against the door jamb looking like he was about to go join a biker gang. Tattoos covered him from head to foot including his hands and neck, his hair was long on top and slicked back with an uppercut underneath. His accent seemed to have deepened into his southern drawl since they’d landed on US soil.

  “Your South is showing,” Blake said with a smirk.

  Reid’s slow grin was infectious as he replied. “Ladies love some Southern charm.”