Page 19
Story: Handling Haven
Climbing back onto the bed, he crawled up her body, kissing, nipping, and licking her flesh on the way up to her mouth. She tasted herself on his lips and tongue, as her hands roamed over his shoulders and back. Looming over her, he reached down and lined up the tip of his cock with her pussy, then rocked his hips against hers. Slowly, he entered her, sheathing himself within her slick heat.
“Damn, baby. You’re so tight. Please say I’m not hurting you.” He clearly had scant control over hisurge to fuck her with abandon but he somehow managed to hold onto it.
“I’m ... fine. Oh, please! More, Frisco! Don’t stop!”
His length and girth stretched her inner walls, as he went deeper with each restrained thrust. Leaning most of his weight on his forearms, he dropped his brow to her shoulder as he withdrew and advanced again until finally he was buried to the hilt inside her.
Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes, taking in her every response as he made love to her at a maddeningly slow pace. Haven dragged her hands down his torso and clutched his hips, digging her fingernails into his taut ass cheeks. “F-Faster, please!”
His hips picked up speed at her urging. A tornado of mixed sensations ripped through her body as his pelvic bone struck her clit with each thrust. The onslaught was too much for her to even try to hold back, and, once again, she screamed his name as she flew apart. Her walls quivered and clenched around him, making him groan and curse as his body tensed. With one final, near-violent plunge into her depths, he stiffened and roaredhis release.
Finally depleted, he collapsed on top of her, yet kept most of his weight on his arms as his chest heaved for oxygen. His pecs brushed against her still sensitive nipples with each ragged breath. Moments passed before he mumbled into her neck, “Does your pharmacy deliver?”
Bewildered at his question, all she could manage was, “Huh?”
“I don’t want to leave this bed and I only have one more condom. We’re going to need a lot more than that.”
CHAPTER 15
Grabbing his soda,Frisco took a swig, before putting it back down next to his empty plate. Slim made a damn good burger. This was the third different one Frisco had gotten over the past week and a half, and each one tasted better than the last. He was determined to sample every version on the menu before deciding which was his favorite. It would be a hard choice, but he was willing to give it a try.
It was a beautiful day, and he hadn’t had trouble convincing Haven to come to the park for lunch after their side-by-side physical therapy sessions. She was getting stronger as each day went by, but was still unable to put all her weight on her legs withoutassistance. However, her progress, thus far, was a great motivator for her to stick with the rehabilitation. The therapists agreed it was only a matter of time before she could stand on her own. As for Frisco, he probably had another two or three weeks before he’d be cleared for full duty again. Part of him couldn’t wait, but the other part wanted to stay as the Deimos-Army go-between. The mission obviously wouldn’t last forever, but working with Haven every day and sleeping in her bed every night was becoming a hard-core habit he didn’t want to break. He was worried that when the mission was over, she’d try to kick him out of her life again because she was too scared to see what the future might bring them. He was determined to fight for what he knew was right. He’d always heard that when you met the person you were destined to spend the rest of your life with, you’d feel it in your gut—and it was true. Now he just had to convince Haven it wasn’t indigestion.
“So ... tell me how you hooked up with Deimos.” He’d told her all about his family, friends, and past, but she hadn’t been as forthcoming about her own. If this was going to work between the two of them, she’d have to learn to open up to him. Hehadn’t said a word to her about the nightmare she’d had the other night when she’d mentioned her mother and someone named Tara. He’d discreetly asked Avery about Haven’s past, but she said she was as clueless about it as he was. He wasn’t sure if he believed her but he let it go. Carter had told him that neither he nor Jordyn knew about their fellow operative’s past either, so Frisco was going to have to get it from the horse’s mouth or not at all.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she swallowed a french fry. “I was recruited.” That’s all she offered him, and her hesitation prompted him to spin his hand in circles, encouraging her to continue. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You want the whole sordid story, don’t you?”
“I’d like to hear it, yes.”
“Fine,” she huffed. Her gaze went to the small lake behind him, and she took several moments before she spoke again. “I grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. My father walked out on my mom, my sister, and me when I was four ... Tara was six months at the time. As far as I know, my mother never heard from him again. She tried for years to have him tracked down for child support, but it was like he disappeared off the face ofthe earth. I used my contacts a few years ago to find him—intent on making him suffer and hand over all the money we’d been denied over the years. I wanted to donate it to a charity to help single mothers. Apparently, though, he’d been leading a double life—the name on my birth certificate was an alias. Turns out he was a bigamist who’d illegally married my mom, but I guess he decided he didn’t want two families or couldn’t handle it. The whole time Mom had been trying to track him down, he was only a hundred miles away, living with family number one. He died about two years before I found out who he really was. He’d never lost his wandering eyes and hands, and a mistress’s husband shot the two of them after walking in on them one afternoon. Once I found that out, I let it drop. His legal, first wife and kids didn’t need to know he had other kids out there. They were dealing with enough crap. Why should I make them suffer for his sins? Going after his meager estate would have just rubbed salt in their wounds. In fact, the guy that killed him, saved me the trouble.”
Frisco remained silent. He didn’t think she was kidding, but he also doubted she would’ve killed someone in cold blood, that wouldn’t have been an authorized hit.
“Anyway, Mom did her best to raise Tara and me. We called ourselves the Three Musketeers. Things were tight growing up, but Mom always found inexpensive ways for us to have fun. She was a great woman. After my father disappeared, she got a job as a secretary at a small advertising firm. Over the years, they grew, and she got an education from the ground up. When I was old enough to watch Tara for a few hours each night, Mom went back to college and got her degree. I was twenty-one and finishing up college—pre-law—when she got a huge promotion to vice president at the same firm she’d been working for all those years. Tara and I were thrilled for her. Mom had really come into her own. She’d even been dating this nice guy for a few months. Nothing serious, as far as I knew, but he was good to her.” Haven took a sip of her soda, but Frisco could tell she was lost in her memories. Her gaze was still everywhere but on him. If that made it easier for her to talk, it was fine with him.
“The promotion came in right before summer, and Mom decided she was going to start treating us to the big vacations we’d never had growing up, but had always wanted. The first one we took was to London and Dublin. For two weeks, we went everywhere we could and sawplaces we’d only read about or saw online. It was awesome, and Mom said we were starting a new tradition of traveling to new countries every year. The following spring break, we chose Paris and Madrid. I was going to be doing a summer internship in preparation for law school, so we went in March ... of 2004.”
Frisco’s stomach sank. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and it wasn’t good—not that he’d expected it to be, based on her nightmare. But Haven continued as if she needed to get it off her chest. “Again, we had so much fun. We’d been in Madrid for three days, and I’d woken up early that last morning and convinced Mom and Tara to get up too, even though my sister wanted to sleep late.” A sad smile appeared then faded quickly. “We were going to take an hour trip to San Lorenzo de El Escorial and decided to eat breakfast when we got there. A little after seven in the morning we left the hotel and walked to catch the train from the Atocha station.”
Where three of ten terrorist bombs, planted by members of al Qaeda, had exploded about twenty or thirty minutes later ... shit.
Her voice had trailed off as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Frisco stood, rounded the table,picked her up in his arms, and sat again with her on his lap. “It’s okay, baby. Sh. It’s okay.”
A combination of a sob and hiccup escaped her as she buried her face into his neck. It took a few moments for her to regain her composure while he held her tightly in his arms, stroking her hair and back. Finally, she took a deep breath. “W-We were waiting for the train, and I had to go to the restroom. Mom and Tara were waiting on the platform for me, not that far away. I was walking out of the ladies’ room ... there was a fl-flash of light, a deafening boom, and scorching heat. I was thrown backward through the doorway.”
She took a deep, ragged breath, then let it out slowly. “That’s all I remember. I woke up that night and found out 192 people had been killed and over 2000 injured after bombs exploded throughout the rail system. It took me four days to get confirmation that Mom and Tara had been killed instantly. I had a bad concussion, a couple of broken ribs, and my arm was busted too. The day before I was scheduled to be released and flown back to the States by the embassy, Gene McDaniel walked into my room and made me an offer. I would be listed among the dead and go work for the United States government, fighting terrorism. It took me all of twohours before I called the number he left and took the job. I allegedly died from complications during emergency brain surgery the next day.”
A thought popped into Frisco’s head, and he took advantage of her pausing to catch her breath. “How’d you get on McDaniel’s radar? I mean—” He cut himself off as the answer became clear. “You were trying to get in the FBI or CIA, weren’t you? That’s what you were going to do with your law degree.”
Haven nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “The FBI. That’s where my summer internship was going to be. When Homeland Security got the list of victims’ names, the other federal agencies were interested in learning everything about them, too, especially the survivors. With my family gone, my schooling and desire to become an FBI agent, topped off with needing a way to deal with my anger and grief, Gene figured I’d fit in perfectly with Deimos—and he was right. If I hadn’t been able to throw myself into my training, I honestly think I would’ve become self-destructive.
“The only things I have from my old life is one photo of Mom and Tara, and my grandmother’s wedding ring that my mom wore all the time—Gene retrieved it for me from the morgue. Oh, and threechallenge coins from when my grandfather—my mom’s dad—was in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam—Gene managed to get them from our house. I was able to keep the ring and coins because my mom’s relatives were never close to us, so nobody would miss them. I used to keep them in a safety deposit box that couldn’t be traced to me, but now they’re in my safe at the house. If anyone discovers them, it won’t matter anymore if they find out I’m not who I’ve pretended to be all these years since I’m no longer a field operative.”
Another sob was wrenched from her chest as the loss of her family and her identity hit her again. Frisco kissed her temple as more tears flowed. If anyone around them noticed her crying, they kept their distance. The usual sounds of the park and Frisco’s comfort seemed to calm her. He brushed his lips across her cheek. “Why do you think their deaths are your fault?”
His words startled her, and she tilted her head as her eyes narrowed at him. “How did—”
“You were blaming yourself the other night in your sleep. You were having a nightmare and telling your mom and Tara it was your fault and you were sorry ... why?”
“Damn, baby. You’re so tight. Please say I’m not hurting you.” He clearly had scant control over hisurge to fuck her with abandon but he somehow managed to hold onto it.
“I’m ... fine. Oh, please! More, Frisco! Don’t stop!”
His length and girth stretched her inner walls, as he went deeper with each restrained thrust. Leaning most of his weight on his forearms, he dropped his brow to her shoulder as he withdrew and advanced again until finally he was buried to the hilt inside her.
Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes, taking in her every response as he made love to her at a maddeningly slow pace. Haven dragged her hands down his torso and clutched his hips, digging her fingernails into his taut ass cheeks. “F-Faster, please!”
His hips picked up speed at her urging. A tornado of mixed sensations ripped through her body as his pelvic bone struck her clit with each thrust. The onslaught was too much for her to even try to hold back, and, once again, she screamed his name as she flew apart. Her walls quivered and clenched around him, making him groan and curse as his body tensed. With one final, near-violent plunge into her depths, he stiffened and roaredhis release.
Finally depleted, he collapsed on top of her, yet kept most of his weight on his arms as his chest heaved for oxygen. His pecs brushed against her still sensitive nipples with each ragged breath. Moments passed before he mumbled into her neck, “Does your pharmacy deliver?”
Bewildered at his question, all she could manage was, “Huh?”
“I don’t want to leave this bed and I only have one more condom. We’re going to need a lot more than that.”
CHAPTER 15
Grabbing his soda,Frisco took a swig, before putting it back down next to his empty plate. Slim made a damn good burger. This was the third different one Frisco had gotten over the past week and a half, and each one tasted better than the last. He was determined to sample every version on the menu before deciding which was his favorite. It would be a hard choice, but he was willing to give it a try.
It was a beautiful day, and he hadn’t had trouble convincing Haven to come to the park for lunch after their side-by-side physical therapy sessions. She was getting stronger as each day went by, but was still unable to put all her weight on her legs withoutassistance. However, her progress, thus far, was a great motivator for her to stick with the rehabilitation. The therapists agreed it was only a matter of time before she could stand on her own. As for Frisco, he probably had another two or three weeks before he’d be cleared for full duty again. Part of him couldn’t wait, but the other part wanted to stay as the Deimos-Army go-between. The mission obviously wouldn’t last forever, but working with Haven every day and sleeping in her bed every night was becoming a hard-core habit he didn’t want to break. He was worried that when the mission was over, she’d try to kick him out of her life again because she was too scared to see what the future might bring them. He was determined to fight for what he knew was right. He’d always heard that when you met the person you were destined to spend the rest of your life with, you’d feel it in your gut—and it was true. Now he just had to convince Haven it wasn’t indigestion.
“So ... tell me how you hooked up with Deimos.” He’d told her all about his family, friends, and past, but she hadn’t been as forthcoming about her own. If this was going to work between the two of them, she’d have to learn to open up to him. Hehadn’t said a word to her about the nightmare she’d had the other night when she’d mentioned her mother and someone named Tara. He’d discreetly asked Avery about Haven’s past, but she said she was as clueless about it as he was. He wasn’t sure if he believed her but he let it go. Carter had told him that neither he nor Jordyn knew about their fellow operative’s past either, so Frisco was going to have to get it from the horse’s mouth or not at all.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she swallowed a french fry. “I was recruited.” That’s all she offered him, and her hesitation prompted him to spin his hand in circles, encouraging her to continue. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You want the whole sordid story, don’t you?”
“I’d like to hear it, yes.”
“Fine,” she huffed. Her gaze went to the small lake behind him, and she took several moments before she spoke again. “I grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. My father walked out on my mom, my sister, and me when I was four ... Tara was six months at the time. As far as I know, my mother never heard from him again. She tried for years to have him tracked down for child support, but it was like he disappeared off the face ofthe earth. I used my contacts a few years ago to find him—intent on making him suffer and hand over all the money we’d been denied over the years. I wanted to donate it to a charity to help single mothers. Apparently, though, he’d been leading a double life—the name on my birth certificate was an alias. Turns out he was a bigamist who’d illegally married my mom, but I guess he decided he didn’t want two families or couldn’t handle it. The whole time Mom had been trying to track him down, he was only a hundred miles away, living with family number one. He died about two years before I found out who he really was. He’d never lost his wandering eyes and hands, and a mistress’s husband shot the two of them after walking in on them one afternoon. Once I found that out, I let it drop. His legal, first wife and kids didn’t need to know he had other kids out there. They were dealing with enough crap. Why should I make them suffer for his sins? Going after his meager estate would have just rubbed salt in their wounds. In fact, the guy that killed him, saved me the trouble.”
Frisco remained silent. He didn’t think she was kidding, but he also doubted she would’ve killed someone in cold blood, that wouldn’t have been an authorized hit.
“Anyway, Mom did her best to raise Tara and me. We called ourselves the Three Musketeers. Things were tight growing up, but Mom always found inexpensive ways for us to have fun. She was a great woman. After my father disappeared, she got a job as a secretary at a small advertising firm. Over the years, they grew, and she got an education from the ground up. When I was old enough to watch Tara for a few hours each night, Mom went back to college and got her degree. I was twenty-one and finishing up college—pre-law—when she got a huge promotion to vice president at the same firm she’d been working for all those years. Tara and I were thrilled for her. Mom had really come into her own. She’d even been dating this nice guy for a few months. Nothing serious, as far as I knew, but he was good to her.” Haven took a sip of her soda, but Frisco could tell she was lost in her memories. Her gaze was still everywhere but on him. If that made it easier for her to talk, it was fine with him.
“The promotion came in right before summer, and Mom decided she was going to start treating us to the big vacations we’d never had growing up, but had always wanted. The first one we took was to London and Dublin. For two weeks, we went everywhere we could and sawplaces we’d only read about or saw online. It was awesome, and Mom said we were starting a new tradition of traveling to new countries every year. The following spring break, we chose Paris and Madrid. I was going to be doing a summer internship in preparation for law school, so we went in March ... of 2004.”
Frisco’s stomach sank. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and it wasn’t good—not that he’d expected it to be, based on her nightmare. But Haven continued as if she needed to get it off her chest. “Again, we had so much fun. We’d been in Madrid for three days, and I’d woken up early that last morning and convinced Mom and Tara to get up too, even though my sister wanted to sleep late.” A sad smile appeared then faded quickly. “We were going to take an hour trip to San Lorenzo de El Escorial and decided to eat breakfast when we got there. A little after seven in the morning we left the hotel and walked to catch the train from the Atocha station.”
Where three of ten terrorist bombs, planted by members of al Qaeda, had exploded about twenty or thirty minutes later ... shit.
Her voice had trailed off as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Frisco stood, rounded the table,picked her up in his arms, and sat again with her on his lap. “It’s okay, baby. Sh. It’s okay.”
A combination of a sob and hiccup escaped her as she buried her face into his neck. It took a few moments for her to regain her composure while he held her tightly in his arms, stroking her hair and back. Finally, she took a deep breath. “W-We were waiting for the train, and I had to go to the restroom. Mom and Tara were waiting on the platform for me, not that far away. I was walking out of the ladies’ room ... there was a fl-flash of light, a deafening boom, and scorching heat. I was thrown backward through the doorway.”
She took a deep, ragged breath, then let it out slowly. “That’s all I remember. I woke up that night and found out 192 people had been killed and over 2000 injured after bombs exploded throughout the rail system. It took me four days to get confirmation that Mom and Tara had been killed instantly. I had a bad concussion, a couple of broken ribs, and my arm was busted too. The day before I was scheduled to be released and flown back to the States by the embassy, Gene McDaniel walked into my room and made me an offer. I would be listed among the dead and go work for the United States government, fighting terrorism. It took me all of twohours before I called the number he left and took the job. I allegedly died from complications during emergency brain surgery the next day.”
A thought popped into Frisco’s head, and he took advantage of her pausing to catch her breath. “How’d you get on McDaniel’s radar? I mean—” He cut himself off as the answer became clear. “You were trying to get in the FBI or CIA, weren’t you? That’s what you were going to do with your law degree.”
Haven nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “The FBI. That’s where my summer internship was going to be. When Homeland Security got the list of victims’ names, the other federal agencies were interested in learning everything about them, too, especially the survivors. With my family gone, my schooling and desire to become an FBI agent, topped off with needing a way to deal with my anger and grief, Gene figured I’d fit in perfectly with Deimos—and he was right. If I hadn’t been able to throw myself into my training, I honestly think I would’ve become self-destructive.
“The only things I have from my old life is one photo of Mom and Tara, and my grandmother’s wedding ring that my mom wore all the time—Gene retrieved it for me from the morgue. Oh, and threechallenge coins from when my grandfather—my mom’s dad—was in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam—Gene managed to get them from our house. I was able to keep the ring and coins because my mom’s relatives were never close to us, so nobody would miss them. I used to keep them in a safety deposit box that couldn’t be traced to me, but now they’re in my safe at the house. If anyone discovers them, it won’t matter anymore if they find out I’m not who I’ve pretended to be all these years since I’m no longer a field operative.”
Another sob was wrenched from her chest as the loss of her family and her identity hit her again. Frisco kissed her temple as more tears flowed. If anyone around them noticed her crying, they kept their distance. The usual sounds of the park and Frisco’s comfort seemed to calm her. He brushed his lips across her cheek. “Why do you think their deaths are your fault?”
His words startled her, and she tilted her head as her eyes narrowed at him. “How did—”
“You were blaming yourself the other night in your sleep. You were having a nightmare and telling your mom and Tara it was your fault and you were sorry ... why?”