Page 177 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“You dreamed about me?”

“On more than one occasion. You are the kind of woman who can kickstart a lot of male fantasies. You were a pain in the ass in the latest, a helluva good fuck, but in my face from the get-go.” He reached up and stroked her face with his finger. “You should know even in my dreams, you didn’t want to yield… but you did.”

She rolled her eyes.

“In the last one, you called me a coward and nailed me on the type of woman I thought I wanted, but even then, my soul knewyou were the one. We can take it slow on the relationship part. You need to fight me before you capitulate? I can deal with that for a while. But know that, at some point, I’ll make you tell me everything I want to hear.”

“So, you’re saying you aren’t going to touch me again?”

He laughed. “Oh, hell no. I have no intention of not availing myself of your sexy body whenever I want.” He drew her closer and ran his hand down her back, slipping inside the sweatpants and tracing his finger along the crack of her ass. “And I’ll take any hole I want and spank this sweet of ass of yours when you need it, but if you want to tell yourself for a while longer, we aren’t in a committed relationship, I can let you have that little victory… for now. But never, ever doubt for a minute, you will surrender everything to me in the end.”

Noah pulled her into his arms. She was already so much a part of him. Her body pressed close to his, especially when he had his cock buried in her, was the most perfect thing he would ever experience, and they both damn well knew it. He was just willing to admit it. She’d need to get over that, and if she couldn’t do it on her own, he’d help her—one way or another.

He stood and took her face in his hands before kissing her deeply, letting his mastery over her senses remind her she was his, and she could entrust herself to his keeping. Her resistance was brief and futile. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she melted into him, sighing and giving herself over to the kiss.

Noah raised his head and was surprised to see tears welling in her eyes. He kissed both of them, and she closed her lids as if afraid to let him see into her soul.

“It’ll be all right, Zara. It’s a really nice day. Why don’t we take advantage and go for a walk? The beach is private, and maybe the salt air and stretching your legs will help.”

“What’s it going to help? The situation with Fariq? Discovering Springer’s real end game?”

“Could be. Sometimes, a walk can give your brain the space it needs to process, but I was talking about helping you settle into the idea of us.”

“There is no us.”

“There is, but you just don’t want to admit it… yet, but you will.”

Noah took her by the hand and led her out to the beach. Several times, she tried to pull away, but once he showed her he had no intention of letting go of her hand, she relaxed and ended up actually holding onto his. They walked quietly and companionably along the beach, listening to the waves crash and gulls cry overhead.

“You don’t think Springer wants to take over Fariq’s operation?”

“No, I think he wants that. I just don’t think that’s his end game. I think it’s a step toward his real goal. I suspect he wants the money to fund other things.”

“You could be right. We’ve been able to piece together that the Springer brothers seemed to have had their own right-wing, fascist agenda. Do you think he needs Fariq’s operation to fund that?”

“If Springer wants to conduct terrorist operations on a global level, he’ll need access to that kind of money. The fact the money will come from ammunition and arms he needs just makes it a better option for him.”

“That makes sense, but is Springer intelligent enough to pull that off?”

“Doubtful,” she said. “But he’s smart enough to be right-hand to someone who is.”

“Someone other than Fariq…”

“Absolutely.”

Noah nodded, and they returned to silence. Making their way back to the cottage, they stopped by the outbuilding that housed the escape vehicle.

“Listen, Zara, can you ride a bike?”

“You mean a bicycle or a motorcycle? Actually, it doesn’t matter. I can ride both.”

“Good. I think we’re safe here, probably for the duration, but I don’t like staying in one place for too long. If something happens, and we get compromised, I need to know if I tell you to hightail it away from me, you will.”

“Leave you to die? I’d prefer to watch…”

“As I said, viper-tongued…”

“I wouldn’t leave you, Noah. It’s not in my nature. As you like to point out, you saved my life, for which I am grateful. There’s no way I wouldn’t do the same for you… for anyone.”

---