Page 36 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

O livia yanked open the door to her room.

They’d gotten word a few hours ago that the team was back from their two-day mission that had turned into five.

And minutes ago, while she’d been about to grab a post-dinner snack after a follow-up X-ray on her shoulder, she’d learned Nic was done with his debrief and waiting for her.

Her breath stopped when she spotted him on the bed, shirt off, his head to the side and his eyes closed.

As she changed out of her jeans and boots and slipped on the silky blue robe she’d found in the bottom of her bag, her body warmed at the sight of his bare chest rising and falling.

Shutting off the light, she slid in next to him, snuggled into the crook of his arm, and placed her hand over his VIPER tattoo.

His heart beat a steady rhythm as he instinctively pulled her tight against him.

Lightly, so she didn’t wake him, she ran her fingers over the hard dips and valleys of his chest and down to his abs.

The man was a masterpiece, and she was all his.

For now, she’d let him sleep. But when he woke up, she’d finally get to experience Nic at her own pace, not at the frantic VIPER-verse speed.

Even though it had been a long five days of worrying about him and trying to contact Harlee to no avail, the time seemed to go at double speed down here— except when Ryan had called her into the conference room. The universe stilled when she’d seen the half-apologetic, half-angry look on his face.

“ What’s happened? Is Nic okay? My brother?”

“Both are fine.”

She breathed again. “Thank God.”

Ryan glanced at his computer bank. “We analyzed the data on Jonathan’s second phone.

The conversations are coded, but we were able to make some solid assumptions.

One, Jonathan’s been tracking your whereabouts since you started dating and reporting into the Diablos at regular intervals. How he’s tracking you, we’re not sure.”

She dropped her head in her hands, wishing Nic were by her side. “I still don’t get why the Diablos care about me.”

“We’re trying to figure that out. Someone named Ray is mentioned frequently. We believe he’s calling the shots. Does the name mean anything to you?”

“No, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Olivia. None of this is your fault.”

She knew that, yet it hadn’t stopped her from gathering the girl gang to conjure more ways to torture Jonathan.

Although the news had made her feel even more violated, and she missed her patients and itched to get back to practicing medicine, the rest of the week had been kind of great.

Shopping online with the girls for gowns to wear to President Bradley’s birthday party had been a blast. Playing video games with the demolition twins had worn her out, and rocking Tessa’s son to sleep had made her yearn for a child of her own.

But the best part of the week had been when she’d been reinstated at the hospital and then told her director off for not believing in her.

When he asked when she’d return to work, she’d promised to get back to him with a date.

Harlee needed her in Atlanta.

With a sigh, she pulled away from the man she’d thought about making babies with so she could pull the blanket up farther.

Nic wrapped both arms around her and held her tighter. “Stay.”

She tried to squirm out of his embrace, but he rolled on top of her and pinned her to the bed. “I told you to stay put.”

Pain shot through her injured arm. “Nic, you’re hurting me.” The glow from the night-light lit up the room just enough to see his tight expression. “Nic, are you with me?”

“Stay down.”

He was not with her. His mind wasn’t even in this room.

“It’s me, Olivia. You’re having a nightmare.”

“Stay. The. Fuck. Down.”

She willed herself to remain calm, so he would too. “Okay. I’ll stay down. Whatever you want. Nobody is going to hurt us.”

He let her go and jumped to his knees like he’d been surprised by the enemy. She reached out her hand. “Nic?”

In a move too quick to be human, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her to the headboard. Twisting, he sprang to a crouch. “Stay put.”

“Nic.” She spoke in a firm voice, like her mother used to do when her father had a nightmare. “I’m safe. You’re safe. We’re in my bedroom at VIPER headquarters. Come back to bed with me.”

She didn’t know how long she tried to coax him out of his nightmare with her voice. It could have been one minute or sixty. Her heart pounded harder and broke a little more with each word, but she kept going.

He rasped out a harsh breath. “Rachel.”

“I’m not Rachel. I’m Olivia, your very own mermaid. Come back to the beach with me. A private one with palm trees and sun on a secluded island where nobody can find us.”

She begged. Pleaded. Even told him the island was guarded by dragons, and he could learn to ride one.

Instead of relaxing, his body grew more rigid. She feared he might snap if she didn’t drag him back to the present soon.

“Come with me, Nic.” She no longer tried to keep the emotion from her voice. “It’s paradise here. I’ll stay with you forever if you just come back to me.”

He spun around. His gaze burned like embers in a fire. “Olivia.”

“Are you with me, Nic?” She placed a hand on his bare chest.

He closed his eyes. Swallowed. As he opened them, his clear, alert gaze warred with a wildness she couldn’t define and would never understand.

He pulled in a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you for bringing me back.”

“Where did you go while you were asleep? You called me Rachel and kept telling me to stay put, and you shoved me behind you like you were protecting me.”

He touched her shoulder with his steel. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine. You’re the one who’s hurting. You told me what happened with Natalie, but you never told me about Rachel.”

“No, I didn’t.” He pulled in a deep breath. “But I’ll tell you because you deserve to know the kind of man you’re in bed with.”

Olivia didn’t breathe as she waited for him to speak.

“I met Rachel in the Middle East when she was working on a story. I flirted. She flirted. We wound up being friends with benefits. She talked me into convincing my commanding officer to let her come with us on a routine maneuver. She promised she’d listen to my orders.

When we were ambushed, she didn’t stay put like I told her. ”

Nic’s words sped up as his tone grew darker. His obvious distress tore at Olivia’s heart.

“She didn’t stay down.” He dropped his gaze. “She died trying to get what I thought was a story when she was actually working a drug deal. I lost my arm and leg trying to protect her.”

“Oh, Nic.” Olivia cupped his cheek as the firestorm in his eyes scorched her soul. His insistence that she “stay put” and his anger when she didn’t all made sense now. “You think her death is your fault, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I’m guilty of not realizing she was deceiving me the whole time we were together, and I paid the consequences.”

Olivia’s heart stuttered in her chest. Another part of the puzzle slid into place. “And then I came along and deceived you.”

“That about sums up my issues.”

“You are not to blame for Rachel’s poor choices.”

“But I was in charge. I was the one responsible for her safety.” He blew out a shaky breath. “I relive the day Rachel died every night in my dreams, but since…”

Olivia touched his cheek. “Since what?”

“Since we learned about Natalie, she haunts the edges of my nightmares like a fucking ghost in a graveyard, laughing the whole goddamn time. I guess being doubly haunted is another consequence I’ll have to pay.”

“Are you still afraid there will be repercussions for being with me, because if you do, you need to cut that crap out. We have a connection. I know you feel it too. We’ve both been fighting it, but it’s as pointless as stopping thunder after lightning.”

He smiled. “Like at the beach the night I met you.”

“Yeah.” She drew on all the reckless courage her heart possessed.

“That night, I wanted to explore your body. Now I want to explore this thing between us, but you need to know that have a history of jumping in and then getting my heart broken. I don’t hold back.

I pour my heart into things I believe in and when I don’t believe in them anymore, I cut my losses and suck up the pain.

But if I didn’t chance heartache, I wouldn’t get the pleasure. ”

Nic let out a long breath. “I want to spend eternity exploring you, but I don’t know how to let my guard down. It’s been up for so long. I’m afraid that if I let a woman make the slightest crack, it may all crumble around me.”

The heaviness he expelled cut her to the core. It also buoyed her hope that he was finally letting some of it go. “That’s because the women you’ve trusted beat you with a sledgehammer. I’m a doctor, remember? I can help fix the cracks.” She held her hand out. “Take a chance with me, Nic?”

Straddling her thighs, he sat back on his heels.

With the tip of his bionic finger, he traced the underside of her breast. “Before I agree, I need a promise that if your safety is at risk, you will listen to me. If you disagree, we will discuss the matter and come up with a mutually agreeable compromise that will keep you safe.”

“Like sitting on top of me?”

“Yes.” He grazed his finger against her pussy and grinned. Placing his finger on his lips, he flicked his tongue out. “Do you have any idea how exquisite you taste? You’re like dark temptation and pure lust, and I swear I can taste the ocean.”

Her mouth dropped open as he unsnapped his jeans. She licked her lips as he pulled out his cock and fisted it.

“Time to finally taste me. Open your mouth, sirena.”

Olivia licked her lips. His cock was as impressive as the rest of him. Slowly, so he could watch and wait, she slid her tongue over her teeth.

He nudged his hips closer. “Stop playing, baby, and open all the way.”

With a smile that told him she knew exactly how much her teasing affected him, she licked the tip of his erection.

His guttural moan shook the bed. She remembered that animalistic sound and wanted more.

She licked him again. This time, his groan was harsher, deeper, and it shot straight to her clit.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about. Those pretty lips around my cock have been my wet dream since we met.”

His dirty words triggered a rush between her legs as she took him deeper.

“Fuck, Olivia. Your mouth is like heaven.” He gripped the base of her ponytail and guided his cock farther into her mouth.

The vulnerability of being trapped between the bed and his powerful body spiraled her desire to a level she’d only read about in books. Even the tears that leaked from her eyes each time he hit the back of her throat turned her on.

“ Dios mio , Olivia.” He tightened his grip on her hair. “You feel fucking amazing, baby.”

She forced herself to relax her throat as he pumped in and out of her mouth in short, sure strokes.

If she’d had makeup on, it would be running down her cheeks like a porn star.

Why did that idea make the moment even hotter?

Even hotter than that was the honor and thrill of being the woman he trusted to let his guard down .

“I need to come inside you.” He pulled out quickly, and in a move so fast she couldn’t believe it, his clothes hit the floor.

He placed a knee on the bed and leaned over her.

She sat up and pushed him away. “Wait. Just let me look at you for a minute.”

Without taking her eyes off him, she reached over and turned on the desk lamp. The light bathed his body in a dreamlike glow that made him seem inhuman in some ways, but pure, magnificent man in so many others.

“Will you ever be able to tell me your secrets?” She wanted to know everything about the wounded, powerful man she was falling for fast.

Bracing both hands next to her head, he lined up his cock with her entrance. “Depends on how much I’m willing to risk for you.”

She understood his answer as she lifted her hips. He’d been burned badly. It would take a lot more care to heal his wounds. Good thing she was a doctor with her own super skills. “Are you at liberty to demonstrate any other powers you may possess?”

With a grin, he filled her with one, two, three thrusts, each one plunging in harder and deeper than the next. “My superpower is being so far inside you, it won’t be possible to find your way back to Atlanta.”

“I was reinstated while you were gone, but you’re making it hard to want to go back.”

“Good.”

Grabbing both of her ankles and draping them over his shoulders, he rocked into her. The connection between them tugged so tight she felt it vibrate in her soul. As he pulled all the way out and thrust back in, fireworks ignited behind her eyes, and she screamed.

With his mouth on her neck and his hand in her hair, he stiffened.

A moment later, he howled her name as he crushed his lips to hers.

As they rode the last waves of their orgasms, she heard voices outside her door.

Whoever was out there had surely heard them.

She didn’t care, but something became clear.

She hadn’t just sucked Nic’s cock tonight. She’d been sucked into a world she never wanted to leave and a love she didn’t know if she was ready for.